Boxing Challenge: Navarrete nails Nunez

      Entering Saturday's junior lightweight title unification match in Glendale, Arizona, most believed it had fight-of-the-year potential, and while it may have fallen short of that status, it was an exciting scrap.

IBF champion Eduardo "Sugar" Nunez was a slight favorite at the start of the fight, but he gave away the first four rounds to WBO boss Emanuel Navarrete in a manner that one would expect from a fan rather than a champion.

An overly respectful Nunez fell behind and never caught up as the larger and more powerful Navarrete backed Nunez up, closed his right eye, and in the tenth, busted the swelling open in gruesome fashion and forced the fight to be stopped before the start of the eleventh round.

Navarrete was the bigger man, the bigger puncher, and for a fighter known for his eccentric style, Navarrete showed some skills that he hadn't in previous fights.

Nunez showed heart and a good chin, but this is the type of battering that can ruin careers, and it will be interesting to see how he performs in his next outing.

Navarrete is now likely to meet Charly Suarez in a WBO-mandated rematch.

Suarez cut Navarrete with a punch in their first fight, but the cut was ruled to be from a butt and would go to the scorecards with Navarrete winning a close technical decision in the eighth round.

Suarez's appeal was successful, and the fight was changed to a no-contest with a rematch ordered.

Suarez accepted step-aside money to allow Navarrete to unify against Nunez, so the rematch will either be next or Navarrete will give up the WBO belt.

In the other challenge bout, veteran Abel Ramos continued his late career comeback with a split decision win over formerly unbeaten Tahmir Smalls.

Smalls led early, Ramos took over late in an entertaining fight.

I had it closer than the judges (96-94 for Ramos) did: 98-92 and 97-93, with the dissenting judge for Smalls at 96-94.

Ramos will likely move into a welterweight eliminator, while Smalls didn't hurt himself in defeat.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica:  25 Pts(3)

Vince Samano: 23 Pts (0)

TRS: 21 Pts (1)

Browns acquire Tytus Howard from Houston

  The reconstruction of the Cleveland Browns' offensive line began today with a surprising trade with the Houston Texans (Sidebar: doesn't it seem like it's almost always the Texans or the Jacksonville Jaguars with whom the Browns trade?) to acquire Tytus Howard for a fifth-round draft pick in the upcoming draft.

Cleveland traded the fifth-rounder that they acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders for quarterback Kenny Pickett, which is the highest of the three fifth-rounders Cleveland owned before trading for Howard.

Here's the good and bad news on Tytus Howard.

The good news is that, from the Texans writers, Howard was the team's best offensive lineman last season, and Houston did make the playoffs, so he can't be awful.

The bad news is that, depending on the source, the Texans' offensive line was ranked between 24th and 27th, and they were especially poor as run blockers.

Howard had one year remaining on his contract (seventeen and a half million) but immediately signed a two-year extension with the offensive line- starved Browns, so the twenty-nine-year-old Howard is now under team control through the 2028 season.

Howard spent his entire career with Houston after the Texans drafted him in the first round of the 2019 draft (23rd overall) from Division 1-AA Alabama State. He has been durable, playing in 14 or more games in six of his last seven seasons, and is versatile enough to play either guard or right tackle.

Howard spent most of the 2025 season at left guard for Houston, but the early press on the trade mentions Howard as a right tackle, so it could be Howard's job to protect the flank of whoever is the Cleveland quarterback.

The Browns are forced to attempt to plug the offensive line holes (they literally could lose all five starters, unless you count Dawand Jones as a starter, who was injured early in the season) through free agency, trades, and the draft, and All-Pro linemen generally aren't available through the first two avenues.

This means usually teams in this predicament will be paying over value for average players, and I think that's what the Browns have done here.

They are bringing in an average tackle for the first pick in the fifth round and overpaying him a little, but I can't say I hate the move.

I could see the Browns getting through 2026 with Howard at tackle and then moving him inside to guard for the final two years of his contract, where he is better suited.

Boxing Challenge

    Only two fights in the boxing challenge this weekend, but the main event has the potential to be a fight of the year candidate in a unification pairing from Glendale, Arizona, on DAZN.

The junior lightweight battle between WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete and IBF boss Eduardo "Sugar" Nunez could be a match to remember between two hard punchers who aren't afraid to throw a high punch total at their opponent.

Navarrete has the superior resume, but in his last four fights, he has a 1-1-1 record with a no-contest in his last fight against Charly Suarez in a fight in which he was cut by a punch but was initially ruled a headbutt and declared a technical decision winner.

After a Suarez appeal, the fight was changed to a no-contest, and Suarez was ordered to receive an immediate rematch, but Suarez allowed the unification fight to take place for a fee and the right to fight the victor.

Nunez had won all twenty-nine of his victories by KO until his last two bouts, winning by decision in his title win over Masanori Rikishi and his first defense against Christopher Diaz in exciting contests.

This should be a great fight, and it's a 50/50 match with Navarrete having the better past, but Nunez may have the better present form.

The co-feature pits welterweight prospect Tahmir Smalls against former title challenger Abel Ramos.

Smalls fights his first world-class opponent while Ramos returns for the first time since his 2024 draw against Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title, which is currently held by Ryan Garcia.

Boxing Challenge

Unification IBF-WBO Junior Lightweight Titles 12 Rds

Eduardo "Sugar" Nunez vs Emanuel Navarrete

Ramon Malpica and TRS: Navarrete Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano: Nunez KO 8

Welterweights. 10 Rds

Abel Ramos vs Tahmir Smalls

R.L: Ramos Split Decision
TRS and V.S: Smalls Unanimous Decision

Boxing Challenge: Russell retains, Hitchins drops out

    The undercard of the Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios was supposed to feature two defenses of junior welterweight championships, but only one would be defended.

 In the scheduled co-feature, Richardson Hitchins claimed food poisoning combined with the IBF's re-hydration clause (in IBF title fights, the fighters must weigh in at ten pounds or less over the division limit on the day of the match) rendered him unable to defend the title as scheduled against Oscar Duarte.

The situation is muddled as the IBF could strip Hitchins and schedule a vacant title fight between their two contenders, Duarte and Lindolfo Delgado, or demand Hitchins fight his mandatory (Delgado) or face Duarte as planned.

Gary Antuanne Russell retained his WBA version of the 140-pound championship with a close and hard-fought unanimous decision over his mandatory challenger, Andy Hiraoka.

Russell was the busier fighter and built a sizable lead on the cards, but lost several rounds in the second half of the fight and held off the late rush of Hiraoka.

Hiraoka was deducted a point for a low blow in the tenth, which ended any hope of a comeback win.

Judges' scores for Russell were 117-111, 116-112, and 116-112, while I had Russell winning 115-112.

Former lightweight title challenger Frank Martin and Nahir Albright slugged for ten even rounds in a junior welterweight match.

So even, all three judges and I scored it the same, 95- 95, a draw.

It was an easy fight to score with Martin controlling the first half and Albright the second.

A rematch would be welcomed, but Martin is affiliated with PBC, as is Gary Antuanne Russell, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a Russell title defense against Martin.

In a super middleweight ten-rounder, Bektemir Melikuziev fought through a severe cut over his left eye to stop Sena Agbeko in the seventh round.

There were several head clashes between the two, and one caused the cut in the middle rounds.

Melikuziev scored a knockdown in the seventh, and after Agbeko rose, Melikuziev drove Agbeko into the ropes, forcing the referee to end the fight.

In Manchester, England, Leigh Wood dominated Josh Warrington in their junior lightweight rematch, winning a unanimous decision.

Boxing Challenge

Vince Samano: 23 Pts (5) 

Ramon Malpica: 22 Pts (4)
TRS: 20 Pts (2)

Boxing Challenge: Garcia dominates Barrios, Stevenson next?

   The boxing weekend's main event from Las Vegas wasn't an entertaining thriller, but it did return Ryan Garcia as a potential participant in future big fights and might have finally removed one of boxing's least talented champions from the scene.

I've been speaking for years about the mediocrity of Mario Barrios (and yes, I picked him to win, but my defense is Ryan Garcia sleepwalked through a loss to Rolando Romero, who is just as mediocre as Barrios in his last fight) and his title 'defense" draws against journeyman Abel Ramos and the ancient Manny Pacquiao didn't fill me with confidencce either.

The enigmatic Garcia has always been talented, but his form in borderline quitting against Gervonta Davis, his juiced-up "win" (later changed to a no-contest) against Devin Haney, and his walking down defeat to Rollie Romero made me wonder how much Garcia had left or what type of fighter would show up in Las Vegas.

Garcia sent Barrios down with a right hand in the first round and was never threatened thereafter, as neither his jab nor his right could miss Barrios.

I scored the fight 120-107, same as judge David Sutherland, with the remaining judges giving Barrios one and two rounds respectively

The victory gave Garcia his first world championship, the WBC welterweight title, and he immediately called out Shakur Stevenson, who recently defeated Teofimo Lopez for the WBO junior welterweight title, and that fight makes sense.

Garcia will always have the rematch against Devin Haney in his back pocket.

A Haney return would be a unification match (Haney recently won the WBO title from Brian Norman), that fight is viable at any time, IBF champion Lewis Crocker wouldn't be a draw in the USA, and while another rematch against WBA boss Rolando Romero would make sense, their first fight was very boring, with few lining up for an immediate second go.

And Stevenson doesn't have a big fight waiting in his division unless he wants to fight WBC champion Dalton Smith in the United Kingdom, which would be big there, not in America, so meeting Garcia would be a large payday for Stevenson.

I'm still lukewarm on Ryan Garcia's future, although this win is enough to keep him viable as a top name for a few more fights.

It just always seems that there's something with Garcia you can't count on. Despite his dominant win over Barrios, Garcia wasn't able to completely dispel that problem because of the disparity in talent between them.

Garcia-Stevenson only has one small issue, and it depends on how much Garcia values his new WBC belt.

Stevenson refused to pay the WBC a six-figure sum for "allowing" him to meet Lopez for the WBO title in another division and was stripped of his WBC lightweight title.

Stevenson claimed he will never fight for another WBC title, and it's a consideration, but this is boxing, and never is a word we never use!

The WBC wouldn't like that fight unless there was a change of heart from Stevenson, but I'm sure if Garcia was willing to pay the sanctioning fee, the organization could get past it, especially if there was a caveat that Garcia could keep the belt with a win and would become vacant should Stevenson grab the victory.

As for Mario Barrios, he's had a nice career filled with a world title and solid paychecks despite winning just one fight against a top opponent (Yordenis Ugas), and it would be nice to see him walk away.

Barrios will retain a name and will be a fighter in demand for young challengers and champions to add to their record book, but his days as a top boxer are over if he ever had them.

I'll be back next time with the undercard, a fight from England, and the unprofessional behavior of Richardson Hitchins, who was supposed to fight in the co-main event, only to drop out hours before his scheduled bout vs Oscar Duarte.

Boxing Challenge

Vince Samano: 18 Pts (0) 

Ramon Malpica: 18 Pts (0)
TRS: 18 Pts (0)

Boxing Challenge-Dragnet Edition

   WBC Welterweight Title. 12 Rds 

Mario Barrios vs Ryan Garcia

Ramon Malpica: Barrios Split Decision
TRS: Barrios Majority Decision

Vince Samano: Barrios Unanimous Decision

IBF Junior Welterweight Title. 12 Rds

Richardson Hitchins vs Oscar Durate

All: Hitchins Unanimous Decision

WBA Junior Welterweight Title 12 Rds

Gary Antuanne Russell vs Andy Hiroka

R.L: Russell KO 9

TRS: Hiroka Split Decision
V.S: Russell Unanimous Decision

Junior Welterweights. 10 Rds

Frank Martin vs Nahir Albright

All;: Martin Unanimous Decision

Super Middleweights 10 Rds

Bektimir Melikuziev vs Seka Agbeko

All: Melikuziev Unanimous Decision

Junior Lightweights 12 Rds

Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington

R.L and V.S: Wood Unanimous Decision
TRS: Wood KO 10

Just how good was the Browns 2025 draft?

    The main reason Jimmy Haslam and the Cleveland Browns consistently give for retaining Andrew Berry is his tremendous 2025 draft.

After the mediocre drafts run by Berry before 2025, an average draft would look good, but how good was the 2025 draft for Cleveland?

Let's take a look:

Round One: Mason Graham (5th overall) Defensive Tackle, Michigan.

Graham was obtained with the pick from Jacksonville in the trade that dropped the Browns from fifth to second and included Jacksonville's 2026 first-rounder.

Graham started every game and dropped runners for losses seven times, but only notched four hits on the quarterback and finished with only a half-sack on the year.

If you are picking a defensive tackle fifth overall, you expect an impact player, and I'm not sure Graham is that type of player.

He may make a Pro Bowl or two, but I still think he was overdrafted.

Two excellent wide receivers had strong rookie seasons (Tetairoa McMillan to Carolina and Emeka Egbuka to Tampa Bay), and the Browns have the league's weakest receiving corps; they could have used either of those two.

Round Two: Carson Schwesinger LB, UCLA

This is where I give Andrew Berry his first good grade, as I was concerned about Schwesinger as the first pick in round two.

Schwesinger was the deserving defensive rookie of the year, finishing with sixty-seven solo tackles, two and a half sacks, and two interceptions in sixteen games.

Schwesinger has a motor that never stops, and is a player who is fun to root for.

If he doesn't become beaten down by the organization, Schwesinger could be a stalwart for a long time in Cleveland.

Round Two: Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State

Judkins would have likely finished with over one thousand yards rushing if not for a late-season injury, but still finished with 827 yards and seven touchdowns as the person every defense focused on every week.

Judkins will be the main back for the Browns in 2026 and hopes to up his 2025 average of 3.6 yards per carry.

Round Three: Harold Fannin, TE, Bowling Green

This was the pick  I liked most after the draft, and another big hit for Andrew Berry.

Fannin caught 72 passes for over 700 yards and, as a rookie, was the only pass catcher Cleveland quarterbacks could depend on to catch the ball.

Fannin is still learning the position and has the type of potential to be a long-term standout.

Round Three: Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon

I hated this pick when the Browns made it, and even though it was an "extra" third-round pick (Obtained from Buffalo for Amari Cooper), the Browns gave it away.

Gabriel appeared in 10 games, throwing 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, but those numbers are deceiving, as he rarely threw the ball more than a yard or two downfield.

Two picks later, Atlanta chose Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts, who intercepted five passes and was a challenger to Carson Schwesinger as defensive rookie of the year.

A blown opportunity for the Browns, who now will either give Gabriel away before the draft, or he will have to beat someone out next season to be the third-stringer.

Round Four: Dylan Sampson, RB, Tennessee

Used as a pass-catching back (33 catches, 271 yards, and two touchdowns) more than as a runner (175 yards on 65 carries), Sampson didn't dazzle anyone in his playing time.

Rather than a second running back, Cleveland could have taken Iowa State tackle Jalen Travis, who showed promise for the Colts and could have been a starter for the Browns next year since all of their  2025 starters on the offensive line could be elsewhere.

Round Five: Shedeu Sanders, QB, Colorado,

Sanders showed occasional flashes of talent but just as often seemed lost against the speed of NFL play, and for all the touting about his accuracy, he completed fifty-six percent of his passes (nothing special) and threw ten interceptions against seven scores.

Sanders struggles against the pass rush, and while he needs to develop patience in the pocket, he never gives up on a play.

This was a low risk high reward selection, and while the jury is still out on Sanders being the long-term answer at quarterback, I'm in on giving him the chance to be the starter in 2026 to find out.

My scores are as follows

Home Runs: (2) Carson Schwesinger, Harold Fannin

Solid Base Hits: (1) Quinshon Judkins,

Base Hits: (2) Mason Graham, Shedeur Sanders

Meh: (1) Dylan Sampson

Strikeouts: (1) Dillon Gabriel.

That's a very good draft class with a chance of being excellent, if Mason Graham improves, and especially with development from Shedeur Sanders.

But I still wince at the selection of Dillon Gabriel, and taking Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders wasn't fair to either of their development.

Overall, give Andrew Berry credit, but I'll still have to see Berry do it again before I'm convinced the Browns are on the proper track.