Boxing Challenge: Povetkin Pulverizes! Smith Shocks! PBC ZZZZZZ

Two surprises on a big boxing Saturday, one surprise was the winner and how it happened and the other occurred with the dominance of the victory during a bout that was expected to be even entering the fight.

We start outside London at the palatial home of Mr.Eddie Hearn with a minor heavyweight title on the line, but more importantly, the top heavyweight in the world, not named Fury or Joshua, facing a top-level opponent and his chance to face Fury at risk.

Dillian Whyte had been admired for his willingness to face any top opponent during his rise to the near-top of the division and for four rounds against former WBA champion and long-time contender Alexander Povetkin, Whyte looked every bit the part of a dangerous threat to either WBC champion Tyson Fury or the holder of all three of the other titles and the last person to defeat Whyte in Anthony Joshua.
Whyte knocked Povetkin down twice in the fourth round and looked to have Povetkin stung in the fifth round before he dropped his hands slightly as they exchanged punches at close quarters and Povetkin uncorked a short left uppercut that dropped Whyte onto his back along the ropes with the referee immediately signaling an end to the fight.
Whyte exercised his rematch clause after the fight, so the two will square off in the fall or winter 2021 and I'd suspect that Whyte will be favored after dominating all but one second in the first fight, but Povetkin has the puncher's chance to repeat.
Povetkin's career has shown that he has been unable to defeat the "super heavyweights" losing to Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko but defeating everyone else that is closer to his size.
And while this win at 40 years old won't help him against the much larger Joshua and Tyson Fury, it will enable him to continue to get fights for quite some time and Povetkin will always have a chance to pull a win from the flames.

Top Rank and ESPN+ took over in the evening with a card from their Las Vegas "bubble" with the main event that looked very even with former WBO light heavyweight champion Eleider Alvarez matched against Joe Smith in a semi-final to crown a new WBO champion after Canelo Alvarez vacated that championship.
It looked to be a very tight fight with Alvarez expected to box against the rock-fisted Smith, who hasn't always thrown enough punches in his defeats to Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol.
Instead, Smith threw lots of punches, won every round on my card by refusing to allow Alvarez to keep away from his attack, and then ended the fight with an impressive right and left that sent Alvarez to the apron and despite a nice effort to reach his feet, Alvarez was counted out.
For Smith, the win showed a new dimension for the second-hardest puncher in the light heavyweight division (after Artur Beterbiev) and he'll be a strong favorite in the finals against the winner of the Maxim Vlasov-Umar Salamov semi in the finals.
As for Alvarez, "The Storm" may have found his level as a top ten fighter, but below the top five and after two losses in a row, Alvarez might be a fighter in decline.

Rob Brant dominated Vitaly Kopylenko, imposed an impressive mouse under the left eye of Kopylenko, and forced Kopylenko to inform referee Jay Nady that his vision was handicapped and that he would not be able to continue after the end of the fifth round.
For Brant, it was an impressive win, but considering Kopylenko's limited skills and style, Brant's speed overwhelmed him in the victory but did little to prove that anything would be different in the contracted third fight against Japan's Ryota Murata.
Brant upset Murata by decision in their first fight in October 2018 but lost the rematch by second-round knockout in July 2019.

And then there's PBC- I always imagine Bea Arthur opening the door with "Then there's Maude" when I write that phrase as it seems I do often when writing about PBC, with another weak card, this one from Los Angeles as former welterweight champion Shawn Porter won every round over Germany's Sebastian Formella on every card in winning a unanimous decision and winning a minor title as well as the mandatory spot for Errol Spence's WBC title.
One couldn't quibble with Porter's performance other than maybe not scoring a knockout over an opponent that was easily below his level, but Porter never became lazy or clownish as he continued to move forward all night.
Give some credit to Formella, who was trying all evening and didn't fight merely to survive, but he was out of his league and should not have been in a title eliminator, against a fighter of the caliber of Shawn Porter, and in the main event on national network television.
Just think both Fox cards coming up have similar main events as well.
Ugh.

The co-feature saw the world's tallest junior middleweight in 6'6  Sebastian Fundora, who stopped veteran Nathaniel Gallimore in six rounds.
Gallimore, who owns a victory over WBA and IBF champion Jeison Rosario, has basically been a gatekeeper type for the PBC-dominated division and usually shows a good chin along with making a decent fight, but against the lanky Fundora, he was unable to get any offense going at all.
Fundora, who can look heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the eye, is going to give junior middleweights a unique look that no other fighter can prepare for, but he isn't a typical jab and dance man from the outside.
Fundora might be best served to do that from the outside against the best of the division, but against fighters such as Gallimore, Fundora has been able to stand on the inside and attack effectively.
I had Fundora ahead after five rounds, 49-45, and I would be interested to see Fundora's next step up in competition.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica gained some ground on me with five points to my three with Ramon scoring an extra point for Rob Brant and Sebastian Fundora's stoppage wins.
The total is currently 94-86.

Boxing Challenge: Rosario shocks Williams!

Photo; Corey Perrine-Getty Images

The boxing weekend saw a shocking upset in Philadelphia as their hometown champion Julian Williams lost his WBA and IBF junior middleweight titles by fifth-round knockout to Jeison Rosario in Williams' first title defense since his upset win over Jarrett Hurd.

I was struck immediately by how much larger Rosario seemed than Williams at the start of the fight, but I still figured Williams would handle Rosario.
In hindsight, I should have remembered the other fight that Williams looked so much smaller than his opponent- His KO loss to Jermall Charlo.
Williams started well, but Rosario rebounded in the second round where his right hands began to puff Williams up around his left eye and what proved to be more important, cut Williams over the same eye.
This would impair the vision of Williams as he would spend the rest of the fight, occasionally swiping at the cut in an attempt to clear his vision and it would only make sense that the champion was having problems picking up the incoming right hands from Rosario.
Rosario won the third, but Williams rebounded to grab the fourth on my scorecard to even the fight entering the fifth.
The right hand was the most damaging punch throughout the fight for Rosario, but it was the left that started the road to the championship as a left sent Williams stumbling to the ropes in distress.
Rosario began to land further, but Williams hit the deck in an attempt to hold onto Rosario and was barely able to rise from the stumble.
Williams was in such despair that I wouldn't have argued if Benji Estevez stopped the fight then, but Williams was given the chance to survive.
He wouldn't as a swarming Rosario sent Williams careening off the ropes with a right uppercut that left Estevez no choice but to end the fight.

Once again, my theory that the PBC may have a lot of talented depth in the 154-pound division, but lacks a standout, proves true with Rosario's upset of Williams.
Adding Rosario to the mix improves that depth, but I doubt that Rosario is a star either.
PBC has several fighters that can make excellent fights against one another, but the winner of these fights depends on the style and whom they are matched against.
Jarrett Hurd beats Tony Harrison, Tony Harrison beats Jermell Charlo, the elder Charlo beats Julian Williams, Williams beats Hurd, who beat Erislandy Lara, add Jeison Rosario and the beat goes on.
Williams is contractually obligated to a rematch with Rosario, just as Williams was obligated to one vs Jarrett Hurd after Williams upset win (see what I mean?), but Rosario could take Williams' place in what was scheduled to be a three title unification fight with Jermell Charlo instead.
It would make sense to have Rosario-Charlo with Hurd-Williams II as the co-feature and natural next fight for the unified winner and I bet that would be a fun card for viewers.
PBC should make Rosario-Charlo quickly and not hesitate as knowing the three sanctioning bodies, they will start shoving mandatories at both fighters soon, which could cause delays for close to a year.


The co-feature was nothing to mention as promising junior lightweight Chris Colbert won a minor title with a unanimous decision over former WBA champion Jezreel Corrales.
Colbert knocked Corrales down in the tenth round, but Corrales wasn't seriously stunned.
I scored Colbert a 117-110 winner, but the most impressive thing about this fight was the deep purple shade that Colbert dyed his hair.
I think Colbert is a very good prospect, but I wouldn't rank him as the top prospect in the game as commentator Dan Goossen stated.
I'll go with Golden Boy welterweight Vergil Ortiz for that honor.

Over on ESPN with Top Rank, their fights weren't very stimulating, but they did deliver one exciting ending as former WBO light heavyweight champion Eleider Alvarez knocked out Michael Seals with one comet-like right hand in the seventh round.
Up to that crunching right, Alvarez had won every round on my card (60-54) but wasn't thrilling in doing so as he clearly paid plenty of respect for the big punching Seals, who tried to fire his own booming right but seemed a hair off in launching it.
Both fighters attempted to fire rights at the same time in round seven and as happened throughout the bout, it was Alvarez that threw the faster and straighter punch and Seals was falling forward after the punch landed, but as Seals fell, his head smacked into the shoulder of Alvarez as he followed through.
The collision changed the trajectory of Seals and instead of falling forward, he was driven backward and smacked his head against the bottom rope in an ugly scene.
Referee Danny ( Don't call me Tony) Schiavone quickly stopped the fight and fortunately, Seals was fine upon getting to his corner.
Alvarez will next face Joe Smith on an ESPN card this spring in what should be an entertaining fight as both guys can punch well (Smith has the edge) and both men take a punch well (Alvarez might have a small advantage there) so the styles should mesh well.
The winner of that fight might be in line for either WBC and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev or WBA titleholder Dmitri Bivol.
Beterbiev-Alvarez would be very intriguing to me as Beterbiev stops everyone, Alvarez has the best chin in the division and with both fighters establishing a home in Montreal, I would think pairing them for a title defense in the Bell Centre would draw an excellent crowd.

In the co-feature, the once-touted Felix Verdejo continued to slog along the comeback trail with a unanimous decision over Manuel Rey Rojas in a lightweight ten rounder.
Verdejo dominated the fight (98-92 on my card), but never stepped the pace up in an attempt to take the journeyman Rojas out.
Verdejo is now being trained by Ismael Salas and there is always a process of development, so I wouldn't give up hope of a career rebound yet, but it could very well be that the promise that Verdejo once showed could have been left on the side of the road where he had his motorcycle accident in 2016.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica outscored me five to four to take the early season lead at six to five.
The point difference was the Eleider Alvarez knockout, which Ramon predicted with my prediction having Alvarez a decision victor.

Boxing Challenge: Kovalev's Revenge

Photo Credit: Top Rank 

In Frisco, Texas in front of a packed crowd of fight fans that included our own Ramon Malpica and his stunning wife, Ryan, Sergey Kovalev answered the questions that almost any boxing fans thought needed to be answered after his knockout loss to Eleider Alvarez last August as he flourished under new trainer Buddy McGirt on his way to a clear unanimous decision and regaining the WBO light heavyweight title.

I was back and forth all week and at various times was prepared to select either fighter.
Kovalev was the more skilled fighter, but more often than not, the general rule in boxing proves true- In a rematch, the winner usually wins easier than in the initial encounter, so I reluctantly selected Alvarez, although I would have been just as reluctant to take Kovalev as the fight looked to be that close.

It wasn't as Kovalev shrugged off the barbs of Andre Ward and seemingly everyone at ESPN (other than Tim Bradley) tracing back to George Grande in the pre-fight analysis to deliver arguably the best performance of his career.
Kovalev threw many more punches than Alvarez, took the occasional counter right that stopped him in the first fight, very well, and dominated the fight by controlling Alvarez from the outside with the left jab.
Steve Kim of ESPN put it best, this Kovalev fought more like the technician that dominated Bernard Hopkins and less like the Krusher that steamrolled so many light heavyweights.
Kovalev turned back the clock and with his promoter (Main Events) having the ability to work with Top Rank, Kovalev could find himself in unification talk with WBC champ Oleksander Gvosdyk and new Top Rank signee IBF champion Artur Beterbiev to prove this version of Sergey Kovalev might be the best of all.

It was a crazy night for ESPN and fans watching this card.
The undercard ran from 7 (All times EST) to 10 on their streaming service before cutting to the main channel then for two title fights and then back to ESPN+ for prospect Teofimo Lopez and the Kovalev-Alvarez fight.
I understand the finances of Kovalev-Alvarez on ESPN+, but the network might have been better served just putting the entire card online.
Two lopsided blowouts led to way too much talking and some of the comments mentioned earlier were noted by what would be my choice for the crew that I would say I like least in the sport.
By the time both fights were completed on ESPN+ and the Kovalev/Alvarez interviews were completed, it was just short of 2 AM Eastern time.
Hopefully, someone involved with the boxing program will begin to see just how unpopular the late finish along with the jumping from platform to platform like one steps on rocks to cross a stream and attempt to avoid situations as these again.

I might try to work on a piece this week that looks at the broadcasting talent and production from each of the three forces in televised boxing, you might want to count on some less than flattering words on ESPN.

The ESPN+ fight that preceded Kovalev-Alvarez allowed the best prospect in boxing to get some work and he delivered not only a beating to former world title challenger Diego Magdaleno for seven rounds- he also added the early leader for knockout of the year.
Teofimo Lopez did about everything one could ask for, he boxed, punched, scored a sixth-round knockdown and he carved Magdaleno's face into pieces before finishing him in as an impressive manner as you could imagine with a left hook that landed with booming force and sent Magdaleno crashing to the mat without the consciousness to even try to break his fall.
The only bad part was with the concussed and prone Magdaleno out on the floor, Lopez, who had already danced a small jig and leaped to the turnbuckle, then ran across the ring to stand over Magdaleno and offer a walk-off swing, which could be considered a baseball uppercut or even a long drive off the tee.
Magdaleno's corner was justifiably upset with former world champion and Diego's brother Jessie leading the charge, but fortunately, any incident was avoided.
Lopez is fun to watch and has loads of talent, but behavior like that is ridiculous.
I know part of building a fan base can also be making fans want to see you defeated, but there is a line and Lopez crossed it.

The two ESPN fights ended early with Richard Commey dispatching Isa Chaniev in two rounds to win the vacant IBF lightweight title along with a ticket to unify his newly gained title with that of WBA/WBO champion Vasyl Lomachenko in April.
Commey showed the power that he hadn't shown often of late as he dropped Chaniev near the end of the first round, put him down again in early in the second and then punished Chaniev along the ropes until referee Lawrence Cole was forced to end this one early.
Richard Commey will give Vasyl Lomachenko a tougher fight that he's been used to (Jorge Linares aside) and he just might have some moments roughing Lomachenko up to a degree that hasn't been seen since Lomachenko's only loss, the controversial split decision to Orlando Salido.

Oscar Valdez kept his WBO featherweight title in his first fight in eleven months with a relentless performance over Carmine Tommasone with a seventh-round knockout.
Tommasone never threatened, although he did what he could with the limited skills that he brought to the fight, and was knocked down four times including the knockdown that ended the fight.
Valdez did exactly what he needed to do, get some rounds in, dominate an overwhelmed foe and be ready to move to the next and hopefully more competitive opponent with the hopes that might be IBF champion, Josh Warrington.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica tied the challenge at 20 for the year as he scored six points to my four on the evening.
Ramon added two points each from Valdez, Commey and Lopez, while I posted two from Lopez and just one each from Commey and Valdez.

Boxing Challenge: Alvarez storms through the Krusher

The boxing challenge rumbled into the Northeast on Saturday with a five-bout slate split between Atlantic City and the renovated Nassau Coliseum in Long Island and at the end of the evening, there was one fighter that clearly was the star of the weekend- and he did it without winning a round.

In an upset that some thought could happen, but that few thought would occur in this fashion- Eleider Alvarez scored three knockdowns on Sergey Kovalev out of nowhere in the seventh round and stripped Kovalev of not only his WBO light heavyweight title but also his fearsome demeanor and possibly even his career.
I thought Kovalev had won every round and seemed to be on his way to a lopsided win over the long-time WBC number one contender that champion Adonis Stevenson had spent almost three years avoiding.
One right hand changed all of that and three knockdowns later, the immediate future of the 175-pound division was gone as a Kovalev-Dmitry Bivol unification bout in December was gone.
There is a rematch clause and Kovalev winning all the rounds gives "Krusher" backers hope for a second battle, but this is a huge shot for the light heavyweight division in the short-term.
Alvarez, this KO aside, is not a big puncher and being promoted by Canada's Yvon Michel, who has managed his man Adonis Stevenson away from challengers for years, makes things even more confusing for his future.
As for Kovalev, he did answer some questions about his heart from the Andre Ward fight, as he rose from each knockdown and tried gallantly to fire back and survive, but he still was knocked out by a contender that had never knocked a top ten contender at 175 ( worn-out former super middleweight champion Lucien Bute doesn't count) out and isn't a draw even in his adopted country.

The co-feature from HBO saw Dmitry Bivol retain his WBA title via a unanimous decision over Issac Chilemba.
I haven't been able to watch this fight yet, so no scoring from my card.
Bivol has made some noise about fighting Alvarez in the same December unification bout planned for Kovalev, but after what has been reported to be a workmanlike, but nothing special effort for Bivol.

PBC wasted another national television platform on Fox with three less than thrilling fights.
In the main event of faded former welterweight champions, Andre Berto won a surprising split decision over Devon Alexander at the renovated (Praise the Lord for that fixup project from the home of Circulatory Socks) Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.
Alexander gave away some rounds late, but scored the fight's only knockdown in round three and won going away on my card 116-111.
Berto now gives us the gift of yet another undeserved PBC title shot in which the net result is a one-sided beatdown and waste of the viewers time.
Alexander has to feel snake bitten as for the second fight in a row (This loss and a draw with Victor Ortiz), the judges took away a deserved decision victory.

Former WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin dominated super middleweight J'Leon Love and won a clear unanimous decision as the co-feature.
It wasn't a fun fight to watch as Quillin walked Love down, as Love did little other than bounce around the ring and generated little offense.
Quillin might be an interesting name to see as an opponent for WBC champ David Benavidez or IBF kingpin Jose Uzcategui on a future PBC card, especially Uzcategui, who may be looking for an opponent with the injury to mandatory Caleb Plant pushing that fight back until late 2018 or early 2019.
I had Quillin winning 99-91.

The first fight saw Sergey Lipinets struggle to a majority decision win in his welterweight bow against trialhorse Erick Bone.
I agreed with one judge at 95-95, but the remaining judges had their cards filled out before the fight with ridiculous cards of 99-91 and 98-92, which were insulting to the effort of Bone.
Lipinets might be better served to stay at junior welter, where he made a strong effort in his loss to Mikey Garcia earlier this year.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica gained two points on me in the boxing challenge as he scored five points to my three.
Ramon added two points each from the Quillin and Bivol wins and one from the victory by Lipinets.
I scored one point for each of the above victories.
The challenge now stands at 120-97.