Boxing Challenge: Junior Middleweight Madness!

    The non-New York side of the boxing weekend was centered around the junior middleweight division, with two titles being unified and another changing hands in a surprising upset.

The upset occurred in Newcastle, England, when former Olympian Josh Kelly upset Bakhram Murtazaliev to win the IBF version of the title via majority decision.

Kelly entered his pro career with plenty of hype, but was stopped by David Avanesyan and while on a seven fight winning streak, had beaten no one of note, while Murtazaliev had destroyed Tim Tszyu in three rounds fifteen months ago.

Kelly was the quicker and sharper fighter and when he survived a fourth round knockdown, Kelly began to take control and even scored a flash knockdown of his own in the ninth.

My issue is the scoring of Steve Gray, not for his scoring of the fight which was 114-113 Kelly same as mine.

It's for his scoring the final round even. 

I hate even rounds and to score the final round of a close fight even is a travesty.

Had Gray scored the final round for Murtazaliev, the fight would have ended in a draw with thee champion retaining the title.

The other scores were 115-111 for Kelly, a bit wide for my tastes, and even at 113-113.

The other title bout in the 154 pound division was in San Juan, Puerto Rico as Xander Zayas unified the WBA and WBO championships with a split decision over Abass Baraou.

Neither fighter was seriously hurt in the fight but I thought Zayas had the better of the action and agreed with the 116-112 scores on two cards for Zayas and the score for Baraou of 116-112 was surprised.

Sunday was the second card for Paramount+ and Zuffa Boxing for a very strong card.

In the main event, former WBC junior welterweight champion Jose Valenzuela fought through a severe cut to win a unanimous decision over Diego Torres.

Torres had his moments, including wobbling Valenzuela in the sixth round but his superior skils allowed him to counter the walk-down aggression of Torres.

All three scores were 99-91 for Valenzela, which I agreed with.

The co-feature was a cracker as Serhii Bohachuk rebounded from his second defeat to Brandon Adams, to win a split decision over Radzhab Butaev.

This fight was contested in front of the other throughout the fight with Bohachuk landing the harder punches and Butaev scoring more often.

Scorecards read 96-94 twice for Bohachuk and 96-94 for Butaev.

My scores was 95-95 even.

In the opener, former WBC light heavywweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk knocked down Radislav Kalajdzic down in the first and fourth rounds and badly hurt him in the fifth to build a huge lead on the cards before a stunning seventh round with Kalajdzic dropping the former champion and finishing him off in the seventh.

Kaladzic has always been an exciting fighter and his win might move him into contention in the division.

Gvozdyk's comeback will have to start over and at his age (38), I wouldn't be surprised to see "The Nail" consider retirement.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 17 Pts(3)

Vince Samano: 17 Pts (3)

Ramon Malpica: 17 Pts (4)

Boxing Challenge:Stevenson dominates Lopez

      The boxing weekend was packed with matches, so packed that the weekend previews were split into two; we will do the same with the results.

We start with the biggest show of the weekend and the performance of the weekend, as Shakur Stevenson ended Teofimo Lopez's reign as the WBO junior welterweight champion with a unanimous decision victory in New York City.

Lopez had struggled against mobile boxers like Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz, and with Stevenson's movement, it was natural to think Lopez would struggle against Stevenson.

Instead, Stevenson stood in front of Lopez and still made himself unable to be hit in a performance so dominant that Lopez appeared to be on a different level.

Stevenson won on all three cards (and mine) at 119-109 and now will have to choose between keeping his WBC lightweight title, WBO junior welterweight title, or even moving to welterweight for a potential bout with Conor Benn, whom Stevenson invited into the ring after the fight.

As for Lopez, I'm not sure he has the strength or the power at welterweight, but the division isn't strong at the moment, so it's possible he could succeed.

In the co-feature, Keyshawn Davis returned as a junior welterweight, knocking out Jamaine Ortiz in the twelfth round.

Davis dropped Ortiz in the eleventh round and finished him in the final stanza.

Ortiz had lost close decisions to Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez and was expected to test Davis, which didn't happen with the best performance of Davis's career.

Davis called out Devin Haney for a fight this year, and that would be interesting.

The best fight of the night was Bruce Carrington winning the vacant WBC featherweight title with a sudden ninth-round knockout of Carlos Castro.

Castro gave Carrington all that he wanted and had the favorite wobbled in one instant, but Carrington was leading on my card 77-75 at the end, and the fight was swinging his way before the knockout.

Heavyweight Jarrell Miller won a split decision over Kingsley Ibeh in a match that will be remembered by most for Miller losing his hairpiece during the fight and fighting the rest of it with a ring of glue around his head for the remainder of the match.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 13 Pts (7)

Vince Samano: 13 Pts (6)

Ramon Malpica: 12 Pts (4)

Cavaliers acquire Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroeder from Kings

   The Cleveland Cavaliers had been a disappointment this season but had improved of late, winning eight of their last ten games, including a five-game winning streak before a loss in Phoenix on the first day of a five-stop West Coast road swing.

Still, with the team tied for fourth with Toronto for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and with a recent calf injury to Evan Mobley (the second this season), Cleveland seemed like a possible player at the NBA trade deadline, even if their status as a "second-apron" team at the salary cap could make a trade harder to make.

Cleveland found a way to make things work as they sent swingman De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings and a 2027 second-round draft choice to the Chicago Bulls (for their help in making the dollars work) for guards Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder.

Cleveland released Luke Travers to free up a roster spot for the new arrivals.

Hunter was the Cavaliers' big deadline acquisition last season, and while he was decent after coming to Cleveland, I thought that with training camp and a better understanding of his teammates, Hunter would break out.

I was wrong, as despite Hunter averaging fourteen points last season and this season, Hunter's shooting has been dreadful, dropping in percentage from 48 percent to 42 overall and from 42 percent down to 30 percent from three point range.

Still, Hunter was excellent last season with Atlanta before being traded to Cleveland, and I'd bet he turns it around with the Kings.

Hunter could be one of those players who play better for a lesser team than he does for a contender, because he is better suited to be one of the focal points of the offense than as a supporting cast member.

Sacramento is doing some cleaning of its own, and Hunter could become one of their top options.

Keon Ellis's numbers are down this season ( eight points to five and forty-eight to thirty-nine percent shooting), but he was playing seventeen minutes a game off the bench, and he's not a bad shooter, averaging forty-six percent and forty-one from three for his career.

Ellis is a top-notch defender, and he'll be a big help on that end of the floor. Ellis is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, so it's possible that Ellis could be a rental player.

The well-traveled Dennis Schroder joins the Cavaliers as his eleventh team in his thirteen year career.

I could see Schroder staying as the third guard, especially if the Cavaliers could find a taker for the tremendously disappointing Lonzo Ball, but I could also see Schroder being moved in another trade if the team isn't finished dealing.

Schroder does bring a veteran's attitude and attitude to a team that could use some nastiness.

Schroder is under contract for three more seasons but only 2026-27 is with guaranteed money.

Schroder is averaging just under thirteen points a game for Sacramento and is shooting forty percent on the year.

Cleveland saves some money under this trade, swapping De'Andre Hunter's 23 million for the sixteen million paid to Ellis and Schroder, which doesn't quite move the Cavaliers out of the second apron but does move them closer to the mark and lessens the current season's luxury tax penalty by a significant margin.

This is a key factor for a team with the highest-paid roster in the league and should Cleveland look at Dennis Schroder (or Lonzo Ball) as a disposable asset in an attempt even get out of their cap level, Cleveland may not be finished trading.

On the whole, I understand the move as the Cavaliers were paying De'Andre Hunter a sizable chunk of money to be disappointing on the floor and didn't want to enter the playoffs gambling on Hunter and Lonzo Ball turning their season around.

Still, despite the lack of production from Hunter, I liked him as a player and I'm sad to see him leave.

I have tons of boxing to write about over the next few days, so I'll be working on those posts next.

Boxing Challenge: Part Two

  We move to the second part of the boxing weekend and the half that isn't at Madison Square Garden, with three of the four junior middleweight titles at stake at two sites.

In Newcastle, England, Bakhram Murtazaliev defends his IBF junior middleweight title against former Olympian Josh Kelly on DAZN.

Murtazaliev knocked out Tim Tszyu in the third round in October 2024 to retain his title in an upset win.

Kelly was knocked out in six by welterweight contender David Avanesyan in 2021 in his only fight above the European level, so Murtazaliev is a deserved heavy favorite.

Top Rank on their FAST channel moves to Puerto Rico for Xander Zayas meeting Abass Baraou in a junior middleweight unification of the WBO (Zayas) and WBA (Baraou) titles.

Both Zayas and Baraou will making their first defenses of titles won last year, and in a division with several solid fighters in need of a standout, the winner could shove their way near the top.

Sunday night in Las Vegas, Zuffa returns with its second card on Paramount+ and a much-improved one with three crossroads bouts.

The main event pits former WBA junior welterweight champion Jose Valenzuela, returning to the ring for the first time since losing the title to Gary Antuanne Russell last year.

Opponent Diego Torres has just one loss, but it was to his best opponent, current IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla, who stopped Torres in eight rounds in 2023.

Two former contenders meet at middleweight as Serhii Bohachuk battles Radzhab Butaev.

Bohachuk was the mandatory challenger for WBC champion Sebastian Fundora before attempting to avenge a loss to Brandon Adams in a stay-busy fight last September.

Adams surprised Bohachuk for the second time, knocking him out of a title chance.

Butaev has fought just twice since his only loss in 2022, a split decision to Eimantas Stanionis.

The winner will move up the ladder, and the loser will take a step back.

Two former victims of Artur Beterbiev face off in the opener as former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk meets Radivoje Kalajdzic.

Both are attempting to rebound from recent losses, Gvozdyk to David Benavidez, Kalajdzic to David Morrell.

This appears to be a good style match, so it might be a very entertaining fight.

Boxing Challenge

IBF Junior Middleweight Title 12 Rds

Bakhram Murtazaliev vs Josh Kelly

Ramon Malpica: Murtazaliev Unanimous Decision
TRS and Vince Samano: Murtazaliev KO 6

Unification WBA vs WBO Junior Middleweight Titles, 12 Rds

Abass Baraou vs Xander Zayas 

All: Zayas Unanimous Decision

Lightweights 10 Rds

Jose Valenzuela vs Diego Torres

R.L: Valenzuela Unanimous Decision
TRS: Valenzuela KO 9
V.S: Valenzuela KO 4

Middleweights 10 Rds

Serhii Bohachuk vs Radzhab Butaev

R.L and TRS: Bohachuk Unanimous Decision
V.S: Bohachuk KO 4

Light Heavyweights, 10 Rds

Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs Radivoje Kalajdzic

All: Gvozdyk Unanimous Decision

Boxing Challenge- Part One

   It's the first big weekend of the 2026 boxing calendar, and when I say big, I mean it with ten matches in the boxing challenge.

The biggest of the bunch is part of the DAZN/Ring Pay-Per-View, with two of the biggest names in the sport, as Teofimo Lopez defends his WBO junior welterweight title against WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson at Madison Square Garden.

Lopez is an underdog to the talented Stevenson, and he has struggled the most against boxers, winning questionable decisions to Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz, but Lopez seems to fight his best when he's the underdog, with his best victories over Vasyl Lomachenko and Josh Taylor in that role.

Stevenson continues his move up in weight in a career that started at featherweight and he was even fun to watch in his most recent win (and arguably best) in his unanimous decision nod over William Zepeda.

Style-wise, I'll pick Stevenson all day, but Lopez always surprises most when he's counted on least, so I'm open to either man getting the duke!

Former WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis returns to the ring for the first time since losing his title on the scales last year and then getting into a brawl behind the scenes against Jamaine Ortiz in a junior welterweight match.

Ortiz is known for his close losses to Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez, and his boxing could give Davis, who has been off for close to a year (a knockout win over Denis Berincyk in four rounds), problems if Davis is rusty.

Davis, a former Olympic silver medalist, could use an impressive win to wipe the stench of his fiasco last June away a small amount.

The vacant WBC featherweight title, vacated by Stephen Fulton, will be contested between top prospect Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington and Carlos Castro.

Carringron received lots of attention on the Top Rank cards on ESPN and is an excellent young fighter, but has yet to face a contender in his short career.

Castro has failed against his best opposition but was robbed against Stephen Fulton in his last fight (September 2024), losing a majority decision when he knocked Fulton down in the fifth round and deserved the victory.

Carlos Adames and mandatory challenger Austin "Ammo" Williams have a recent common opponent in their fight for Adames's WBC middleweight title- super middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz.

Sheeraz stopped Williams in the eleventh round in 2024, but Williams has won three straight bouts since that loss.

Adames drew with Sheeraz last February in a fight that most thought Adames won.

Editor's Note: Adames was unable to make weight due to dehydration and was forced to drop out of the fight.

Heavyweight Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller continues his comeback against Kingsley Ibeh.

Miller drew with Andy Ruiz in August 2024 in his first fight since his initial career loss to Daniel DuBois.

Ibeh has won eleven straight since a 2021 loss to Jared Anderson.

In part two of the challenge, we'll write about this weekend's fight outside the MSG PPV.

Boxing Challenge

WBO Junior Welterweight Title. 12 Rds

Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson

Ramon Malpica: Stevenson Split Decision
TRS and Vince Samano: Stevenson Unanimous Decision

Junior Welterweights 12 Rds

Keyshawn Davis vs Jamaine Ortiz

All: Davis Unanimous Decision

Vacant WBC Featherweight Title. 12 Rds

Bruce Carrington vs Carlos Castro

R.L: Carrington Unanimous Decision
TRS: Carrington KO 9
V.S: Carrington KO 8

Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Jarrell Miller vs Kingsley Ibeh

R.L: Miller KO 5
TRS: Miller KO 8
V.S: Miller Unanimous Decision

Browns hire Todd Monken as head coach

    After a month of searching, the Cleveland Browns came up with a coach they could have hired three weeks ago: Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

Monken had been the offensive coordinator for Baltimore for the last three seasons but had struggled in 2025 with Lamar Jackson, both on and off the field.

The soon-to-be 60-year-old Monken has been a head coach only once in his career, compiling a 13-25 record in three seasons with Southern Mississippi, though after winning one game in his first season there, He won nine games in his final season before moving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their offensive coordinator.

Monken was with the Browns before, serving as their offensive coordinator in 2019 during the one season that Freddie Kitchens was Cleveland's top man.

Monken's offenses with Baltimore were at the top of the league in their first two seasons, but slid in 2025 due to injuries to Lamar Jackson and an offensive line that was worse than in past seasons.

The Browns have had several candidates remove themselves from consideration due to the team's insistence on the new head coach keeping Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator, but Schwartz is reported to have said his goodbyes inside the Browns headquarters and isn't interested in returning to the Browns.

The Browns have bungled this beyond even the Browns' usual screwups.

I wasn't thrilled with the Browns going too young with Jacksonville's Grant Udinski or the Los Angeles Rams Nate Scheelhasse, but I could see why they would decide on that path.

Monken, who has been described by The Athletic's Zac Jackson as a "Grumpier Kevin Stefanski," doesn't bring youth, a dynamic personality, or a winning head coaching background and might have been the compromise candidate between Jimmy Haslam and Andrew Berry (Berry, who shouldn't be here to begin with) as a coach who would take the job with Jim Schwartz, only to see that go awry when Schwartz (rightfully so) is angry about not getting the job and doesn't want to return.

In the end, the Browns took over a month to hire a coach who no one else interviewed (sound familiar?) because it was so important to keep Jim Schwartz, yet not important enough to give the head job to Schwartz, who now wants to leave the team and cause the one unit that has worked (the defense) to be in an uproar.

 I just don't understand the decision or rationale in hiring Todd Monken.

The Browns somehow took the worst-case scenario and made it their own.

Keeping Andrew Berry as GM, hiring another candidate no one else is looking to hire, losing Jim Schwartz, turning off their players, and sending their fan base into "business as usual" mode is clown show material.

Clownshow- meet Brownshow.

Devils obtain Tsyplakov for Palat

  While watching the New Jersey Devils 4-3 loss against the Winnipeg Jets (I haven't seen many games and written about what I have watched), the Devils announced a trade that will help the team under the salary cap next season.

New Jersey sent veteran winger Ondrej Palat, with 2026 third, and 2027 seventh-round picks, to the New York Islanders for right winger Maxim Tsyplakov.

Maxim Tsyplakov is twenty-seven years old and is in his second season in the NHL after playing several years in Russia's KHL.

Tsyplakov scored ten goals with twenty-five assists for the Islanders last season, but has scored just one goal with one assist in twenty-seven games this season.

Ondrej Palat was in his fourth season with the Devils after the team signed him as a free agent from Tampa Bay in 2022.

Palat scored four goals and six assists in fifty-one games for New Jersey this season, and with the trade, the Devils will save six million dollars on next season's salary cap.

The savings on the cap are why the Devils had to add the draft picks to make the deal, as Tsyplakov will be under contract for next season at a more palatable 2.25 million.