Boxing Challenge: Japanese Super Cards!

     The two night boxing extravaganza from Tokyo with seven world championships at stake had a little of everything over the two evenings.

A dominant knockout from the best boxer on the card, two champions losing their titles in upsets, vacant titles were filled, and competitive bouts showcased the best fighters in Japan, except for the very best- Naoya Inoue.

The biggest star retained his title on Monday as Junto Nakatani blasted Petch Sor Chitpattana out in six rounds to keep his WBC bantamweight title.

Nakatani was the one prohibitive favorite of the seven championship events and he followed up with an impressive performance in winning every round before the stoppage.

The lean Nakatani could move up to junior featherweight and a mega match against undisputed junior featherweight king Naoya Inoue and that may have been sped up a bit after the result of the Sunday main event where the Monster's brother Takuma Inoue was upset by Seiya Tsutsumi and lost his WBA bantamweight strap along with a possible unification match with Nakatani.

Tsutsumi's aggressive attack reminded me of WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball and while Inoue was competitive, he was unable to slow Tsutsumi down and lost a lucrative potential fight with Junto Nakatani.

Tsutsumi scored a knockdown in round eleven for the highlight before the reading of the cards, which read 117-110, 115-112, and a surprisingly close 114-113.

My score for Tsutsumi was 116-111 and I'll be very interested in the new champion's first title defense.

The junior bantamweight division had only one title match and it saw a new champion walking away with a title-winning surprise as Phumelele Cafu upset Kosei Tanaka via split decision.

The fight was filled with exchanges and excellent stages for both men with the difference coming in round five with Cafu landing a punishing counter-right that knocked down Tanaka.

The knockdown made the difference for Cafu who won on two cards (and mine) at 114-113 with Tanaka winning on the other card at 114-113.

Had there not been a knockdown, Tanaka would have retained his title by a Majority Decision Draw.

I would not be against these two hooking up in a rematch soon.

Three of the four flyweight world titles were on the line over the two days.

Former unified junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji won the vacant WBC title by battering former champion Cristofer Rosales into submission when the doctor stopped the fight before the start of round eleven.

Rosales was brave in taking his beating but Teraji's varied attack was more than Rosales could handle at this stage of his career.

Says here that I'd favor Teraji against anyone in the division, he's that good.

Seigo Yuri Akui retained his WBA version of the title by a split decision over Thananchai Charunphak.

Another tight battle that I could use close either way.

Scores for Akui at 117-111 and 115-113 with the dissenting score of 115-113 for Charunphak.

I scored 115-113 for Akui.

The WBO title held by Anthony Olascuaga remained with him after a first-round head clash opened a cut over Jonathan Gonzalez's eye, which resulted in a no-contest.

One junior flyweight title was filled when Shokichi Iwata won the vacant WBO belt by stopping Jairo Noriega in the third round.

Noriega won the first two rounds but Iwata knocked Noriega down twice in round three, the second knockdown dropping him face-first for the finish,

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 147 Pts (4) 

TRS: 141 Pts (5)

Vince Samano: 86 Pts (6)

Browns fall in Philly 20-16

      The Cleveland Browns didn't produce an offensive touchdown and as a result, the Browns lost another winnable game. this one to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-16 in Philadelphia.

Myles Garrett blocked a Jake Elliott field goal late in the first half and Rodney McLeod ran fifty yards with the recovery for the Browns only touchdown. Dustin Hopkins kicked three field goals to complete the Cleveland scoring.

The Browns dropped to 1-5 and will return to Cleveland next week after losing all three games of their road swing to play the Bengals.

Brownie Bits

1) There will be more talk from the press and the fans about the future of DeShaun Watson as the starter but Kevin Stefanski immediately stated following the game that Watson would be starting against the Bengals next Sunday.

I wonder about the crowd reception after these miserable three losses.

2) Watson did have a few highlights as his final drive bullet to Amari Cooper was drilled where it needed to be and he completed eleven of twelve passes in the second half but once again, Watson finished with less than two hundred yards passing.

3) I'm tired of writing this every week (but not as tired as I am of watching it)  but I still don't have a grasp on what the major factor is in why the Browns just aren't able to generate chunks of yardage.

Watson's inaccuracy, Watson's arm strength, wide receivers' inability to separate and their speed, and the offensive line's problems in protecting him, all contribute to this problem- I'm just not sure what can be fixed first.

4) The offensive line took another hit when center Nick Harris broke his fibula on the third play of the game.

Harris was starting in place of the injured Ethan Pocic and his injury forced Michael Dunn, who was starting at right guard rather than backup Zac Zinter, who had been ineffective in place of injured Pro Bowler Wyatt Teller, to shift to center and Zinter returned to the field.

5) Cleveland did receive some long-awaited help on the offensive line with the return of Jack Conklin at right tackle.

Conklin tore his left knee in the 2023 opener and hadn't played since.

Assuming Conklin can stay on the field, the line will be helped.

6) Myles Garrett didn't have a sack but he did have two tackles for loss and his block of a Jake Elliott field goal attempt led to the only Browns touchdown.

Garrett's athletic ability for a man of his size astounds me and it's always been reported how much Garrett loves basketball, which makes sense considering how he leaps!

7) Rodney McLeod's touchdown from the blocked field goal by Myles Garrett had to feel good for the former Eagle and it was his second touchdown of the season.

8) Rodney McLeod, a veteran defensive back, is tied for the team lead in touchdowns after six games.

That is how historically terrible the offense has been,

9) The Browns did use the running game a bit more than they previously had, finishing with one hundred yards as a team, forty-three of those for Pierre Strong.

10) The Browns lost Jerome Ford to injury after two carries but the Browns will return Nick Chubb to the field next Sunday, so the depth will not be affected. Ford is the most effective of the pass-catching backs though and would remove a target that DeShaun Watson looks for when he checks down.

11) I still can't believe the third quarter play call by Kevin Stefanski on a third and one.

After bringing Jameis Winston in for the QB sneak, which I have no problem with considering the size difference and the condition of Watson's shoulder, Stefanski called the number of wide receiver Cedric Tillman and on the replay, you hear a player screaming "It's coming to me".

That man was Brandon Graham, who was sitting in a spot where Tillman ran at him with Graham slamming Tillman to the ground for a five yard loss.

12) That play call resulted in a fifty-two-yard field goal try by Dustin Hopkins into a left-to-right wind that pushed the attempt wide of the goalposts.

13) If the draft was held today, Cleveland's first-round pick would be first overall as the Browns schedule is the third weakest in the league to date.

And they are 1-5.

Boxing Challenge: Beterbiev bumps Bivol

    The long-awaited light heavyweight unification match between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol may not have been a firefight but it was a fascinating technical battle at the highest level that the sport can offer and at the end of twelve closely-matched rounds, it was Beterbiev who emerged with the narrow victory and adding the fourth (WBA) title to his three (WBC, IBF, WBO) and the title as the undisputed best in the division.  

The fight's scoring has been criticized but I scored it 114-114 which agreed with one judge and the others giving an edge to Beterbiev 115-113 and 116-112.

Beterbiev threw over two hundred more punches and landed the stronger shots but Bivol landed six more punches overall for a higher percentage. 
I thought it was even but if I am forced to choose, I would lean towards the more aggressive Beterbiev.

Beterbiev went the distance for the first time in his career after twenty knockouts in his previous twenty fights, while Bivol suffered his first defeat.

I would not have an issue if someone scored Bivol a close winner and a rematch seems to be the main money fight for each man as neither is likely to move to cruiserweight and Bivol's loss may render him uninteresting for Canelo Alvarez, now that Bivol does not hold a title.

The undercard was pretty mundane with one exception as Fabio Wardley conclusively finished his rivalry with Frazer Clarke with a stunning first-round knockout.

The two hooked up in a sensational war in March that was scored a draw but this one ended when Wardley hurt Clarke with a right hand and sent him to a knee in the corner in no condition to continue.

An excellent win for Wardley, who will move up in the ratings after a spectacular victory.

Jai Opetaia retained his IBF cruiserweight title with a sixth-round stoppage of Jack Massey.

Opetaia was well ahead on my card when Massey's corner threw in the towel.

Opetaia is the top cruiserweight currently and I would love to see him against the winner of this fall's unification match between WBA champion Gilberto Ramirez and WBO king Chris Billam-Smith.

Middleweight Chris Eubank Jr, knocked down Kamil Szeremets three times before stopping him in the seventh round of a middleweight mismatch.

In Nagoya Japan, Masamchi Yabuki won the IBF junior flyweight title with a ninth-round stoppage of Sivenathi Nontshinga.

Yabuki, the former WBC champion in the division and the only fighter to defeat Kenshiro Teraji knocked down Nontshinga late in the eighth round and was dropped twice in the ninth round before the referee ended the fight.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica; 143 Pts (6)

TRS: 136 Pts (6)

Vince Samano: 80 Pts (4) 

Not what Quacked up to be- Oregon 32 Ohio State 31

     The Ohio State Buckeyes came to Eugene Oregon with the reputation of an offensive machine that was able to outscore anyone.

They left with the knowledge that they were good enough to beat anyone but any team can be felled on a particular day, as the Oregon Ducks slipped by the Buckeyes 32-31 to end hopes for an unbeaten season.

Will Howard threw two touchdown passes and 326 yards but Howard's game will be remembered for the final play rather than anything else he did.

Jeremiah Smith caught nine passes for one hundred yards and a touchdown but his day will be remembered for an offensive pass interference call that took Ohio State out of field goal range and led to the eventual time running out for OSU at the Oregon 25.

Ohio State falls to 5-1 overall  (2-1 in the Big Ten) and will be off next Saturday before hosting Nebraska.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Here's my number one takeaway.

Ohio State took the best shot of an excellent team, complete with fluke plays (the onside kick in the first half) trick plays, that had home field three time zones away and lost by one point.

Any loss isn't a good loss but all things considered, if Oregon emptied the tank under those conditions, I like Ohio State's chances in a likely rematch in Indianapolis.

2) Will Howard played well and I'm going to not baste Howard over the scramble that saw time expire before using what would have been Ohio State's final timeout.

I understood what Howard was trying to do, get close enough to make a field goal attempt plausible, he simply made an error with the time.

3) BUT the problem is this- Ohio State brought Howard to add experience to the position from someone who had been in situations before, and he came up short.

4) Ohio State was moving the football and was in field goal range before an offensive pass interference call on Jeremiah Smith turned a nine-yard gain into a fifteen-yard loss.

While I did think Smith pushed off and the call was fair, one can question the call late in a game, considering the field position, etc.

The penalty was fair but I do question a little why the flag was thrown.

5) The surprising part of the game for me?

Oregon's speed at receiver was better than I expected against the Buckeye secondary.

It wasn't only the multiple big plays for touchdowns, it was how many additional big plays could have occurred if not for errant throws from Dillon Gabriel.

6) Oregon attacked cornerback Denzel Burke all evening with multiple receivers for chunks of yardage all night and the thought that I couldn't remove was Burke losing NFL draft status and money with each long completion.

Hopefully, this was a bad matchup or bad evening for Burke because if Oregon has discovered a weakness in Burke's game, it won't be bad only for Burke, it will be bad for the Buckeyes.

7) I'm still not sure if the first-half onside kick by Oregon was deliberate or not.

It was kicked very hard and could have been intended to get downfield as a squib kick with the Buckeyes unfortunate to have someone get in the way.

If it was a called play, it makes me question why more teams don't try the "bullet kick" more often.

8) Pro and Con on defense.

Pro- they needed a stop on Oregon's final drive and held them to a field goal, which placed Ohio State in a spot where a field goal would win the game, not a touchdown

Con- they needed one stop, allowing Oregon to move seventy-five yards for the field goal and win.

9) Classy move by Oregon's Traeshon Holden to spit over Ohio State's Davidson Igbinosun.

Holden was rightfully ejected.

10) Defense allowed over five hundred yards of offense, and didn't record a sack or turnover.

11) Ohio State took a loss on the offensive line with tackle Josh Simmons suffering a season-ending injury.

I always hate the term "next man up" because usually, the next man isn't as solid as the man down.

The offensive line was the biggest question mark entering the season and losing Simmons doesn't help.

12) Ryan Day is now 1-7 against top-five teams.

Just for the record, not that Day had a glaring mistake in this loss.

13) I'm surprised about two things on the day after.

The first is the glee that some media is taking in this loss, notably CBS in this article.

The other is from Buckeye Nation. Yes, there are things to clean up, and yes, this game was there to be won, but in the playoff era, one loss doesn't kill your hopes.

All things considered, a one-point loss to the third-ranked team in the country on the road isn't a devastating defeat.

However, the buffer is now gone- any loss from here on out will be a season-ending one.

Boxing Challenge

     Tokyo, Japan is the place to be for boxing on Sunday and Monday with two cards filled with world title matches that will hopefully lead to bigger fights in 2025.

This will be a just the facts version but the best of Japanese boxing (Other than Naoya Inoue) will be in action on these cards with seven world titles at stake, ranging from the junior flyweight to the bantamweight division.

Sunday Card

WBA Bantamweight Title. 12 Rds

Takuma Inoue vs Seiya Tsutsumi

Ramon Malpica: Inoue KO  10
TRS and Vince Samano: Inoue Unanimous Decision

Vacant WBC Flyweight Title.12 Rds

Kenshiro Teraji vs Cristofer Rosales

R.L and TRS: Teraji Unanimous Decision
V.S: Teraji KO 7

WBA Flyweight Title

Seigo Yuri Akui vs Thananchai Charunphak

All:  Akui Unanimous Decision

Vacant WBO Junior Flyweight Title. 12 Rds

Shokichi Iwata vs Jairo Noriega

All: Iwata Unanimous Decision

Monday Card

WBC Bantamweight Title 12 Rds

Junto Nakatani vs Petch Sor Chitpattana

R.L: Nakatani Unanimous Decision
TRS: Nakatani KO 4
V.S: Nakatani KO 5

WBO Junior Bantamweight Title. 12 Rds

Kosei Tanaka vs Phumelele Cafu

R.L and V.S: Tanaka Unanimous Decision
TRS: Tanaka KO 9

WBO Flyweight Title. 12 Rds

Anthony Olascuaga vs Jonathan Gonzalez

All: Olascuaga Unanimous Decision

Boxing Challenge

     It's a huge few days in boxing with perhaps the best fight in the game finally happening and then two cards from Japan with several title bouts over the following two days.

From Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a fight that many thought may never happen finally will as light heavyweight champions Artur Beterbiev (WBC, IBF, WBO) and Dmitry Bivol (WBA) clash on ESPN+.  

The last unification fight that had been this awaited and was thought to be a pick 'em fight, was last summer's welterweight unification between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence and while that one was one-sided in the ring, I don't think this one will be.

Bivol is currently the favorite by the slimmest of margins but it's very even in the eyes of most observers.

Bivol is considered the more rounded of the two and owns the best victory with his decision victory over Canelo Alvarez while Beterbiev is the feared puncher who has won every fight by knockout and has unified three of the four titles.

I can imagine Bivol outboxing Beterbiev over twelve frustrating rounds and I can imagine Bivol building a lead and Beterbiev grinding forward and breaking Bivol down in a late-round knockout.

Two things that could decide this fight that aren't getting attention.

One- Beterbiev was a decorated amateur with an Olympic background, he's not a crude bomber and is a much better boxer than people think.

Two- I remember Bivol wobbling badly late in his fight against Joe Smith.

Smith is an excellent puncher but he's no Beterbiev, I think Beterbiec eventually gets to Bivol and takes him out - but I wouldn't bet on it!

The undercard consists of a world title, a rematch of a terrific fight earlier this year, and a squash match.

The co-feature is the worst of the three on paper as Chris Eubank Jr faces Kamil Szeremeta in a twelve-round middleweight pairing.

Eubank Jr. last fought in September 2023 when he avenged his loss to Liam Smith with a tenth-round knockout, while Szeremeta has five wins and a draw against non-entities since his back-to-back losses to Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguia.

The anticipated match on the undercard is the rematch between unbeaten British heavyweights Fabio Wardley and Fraser Clarke of their dynamic war that ended in a draw in March.

If the rematch is even close to the action of their first battle, we will have a great fight!

I thought Wardley won the first fight but Clarke is capable of reversing that on Saturday.

The world title fight will feature the best cruiserweight in the world defending his title as Jai Opetaia defends against Jack Massey.

Opetaia defended his title in May against the fighter he won the title from, Mairis Bredis, by unanimous decision, while Massey earned the title chance with a mild upset over Isaac Chamberlain in June.

Saturday's fight from  Nagoya Japan will match Sivenathi Nontshinga against Masamichi Yabuki for Nontshinga's IBF light flyweight title.

Nontshinga regained the title in February from Adrian Curiel, stopping him in round ten.
Yabuki holds the only win over the sensational Kenshiro Teraji, defeating Teraji for the WBC title via tenth-round KO in 2021 before Teraji crushed him in three rounds in the rematch.

Yabuki has won his three fights since the Teraji loss, so he's rebounded well from the defeat.

I hope to do a preview of the Sunday and Monday cards from Tokyo but with Beterbiev-Bivol, Ohio State-Oregon, and Browns-Eagles, that may be a just the facts prediction post.

Boxing Challenge

Unification WBC/IBF/WBO- WBA Light Heavyweight Titles. 12 Rds 

Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol

Ramon Malpica and Vince Samano: Bivol Unanimous Decision
TRS: Beterbiev KO 10

Middleweights. 12 Rds

Chris Eubank Jr. Vs Kamil Szeremeta

R.L: Eubank Unanimous Decision

TRS: Eubank KO 5

V.S: Eubank KO 6

Heavyweights. 12 Rds

Fabio Wardley vs Fraser Clarke

R.L: Wardley KO 7

TRS: Wardley Split Decision

V.S: Clarke Unanimous Decision

IBF Cruiserweight Title, 12 Rds

Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey

R.L: Opetaia KO 6

TRS: Opetaia Unanimous Decision

V.S: Opetaia KO 4

IBF Junior Flyweight Title. 12 Rds

Sivenathi Nontshinga vs Masamichi Yabuki

R.L and V.S: Nontshinga Unanimous Decision

TRS: Yabuki Split Decision

PPM

    After a crazy college football weekend last week, we move to another action-packed trip to the PPM. 

Last Week: 9-4

Overall: 63-21

College 

Ohio State over Oregon 27-17

Boise State over Hawaii 52-20

Louisiana Tech over Middle Tennessee State 21-18

Northern Illinois over Bowling Green 27-24

UTSA over Rice 34-24

Oregon State over Nevada 40-17

N.C.State over Syracuse 28-24

Georgia Southern over Marshall 31-28

Games of the Week

Texas over Oklahoma 35-24

LSU over Ole Miss 28-24

NFL

Eagles over Browns 27-13

Games of the Week

Ravens over Commanders 24-20

Saints over Buccaneers 28-26