Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Boxing Challenge: Ennis, Rodriguez retain titles.

      Two young champions defended their titles in Philadelphia with one dazzling and the other given a surprisingly difficult battle.

In the main event, IBF welterweight boss, Jaron "Boots" Ennis repeated his 2023 unanimous decision victory over Karin Chukhadzian but differently than in their first fight.

Chukhadzian spent their first fight in reverse and while he lasted the distance against Ennis, Chukhadzian made no fans in doing so and was the subject of raspberries entering the fight for receiving another undeserved mandated title opportunity.

To the surprise of everyone, including Ennis, Chukhadzian changed his tactics completely by embracing an aggressive attack, marching forward, and landing punches that few would have expected before the fight.

Chukhadzian even won a few rounds but was sent to a knee in round five from an Ennis charge and was deducted a point for holding in the tenth round.

Ennis won easily on the scorecards 119-107, 117-109, and 116-110, the latter was the same as mine but he took many more punches than expected and talked of possibly moving up to junior middleweight and vacating his welterweight title.

And while I have no desire to see Ennis-Chukhadzian III,  Chukhadzian's effort makes me want to see him against other fighters, something I didn't think I'd ever write entering this fight.

The star of the night made his appearance in the co-feature as Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez crushed former light flyweight champion Pedro Guevara in three rounds.

Rodriguez dropped Guevara in the third round with Guevara rising but was floored by an uppercut that ended the show without a count.

Rodriguez is rumored to possibly face Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez in what would be a big purse for each fighter but might not be competitive in the ring.

Raymond Ford looked very impressive in dominating Orlando Gonzalez in his junior lightweight bow, winning a unanimous decision and knocking Gonzalez down in the second and eighth,.

Ford won by scores of 100-88 times two (and my score) and 99-89 and looked like he could have a serious chance at a world title at 130 pounds.

In Bayamon, Puerto Rico, former IBF junior welterweight champion Subriel Matias returned from his upset loss to Liam Paro to knock out Roberto Ramirez in two rounds finishing Ramirez with a shot to the body.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 163 Pts (6)
TRS: 160 Pts (7)
Vince Samano:103 Pts (7)




Sunday, November 10, 2024

Ohio State pounds Purdue 45-0

        Will Howard threw three touchdowns, and ran for another, and the defense kept Purdue off the scoreboard as Ohio State dusted off Purdue 45-0 in Columbus.

The Buckeyes improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten with the win.

Ohio State will travel to Wrigley Field, of all places, to face Northwestern next week.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Yes, Ohio State notched the shutout against Purdue but they were fortunate enough to have Purdue miss two field goal attempts,one of those tries from a mere twenty-one yards.

2) Jeremiah Smith's touchdown catch was his eighth of the season, which gives Smith the record for freshmen at Ohio State, previously held by Cris Carter.

3) Caden Curry's block of a first-quarter Boilermaker punt led to the first score of the game.

Ohio State hadn't blocked a punt since 2022.

4) The Buckeyes were able to have Devin Brown and Julian Sayin take a few snaps in the big victory but neither of the two completed a pass in their time in the game.

5) TreVeyon Henderson was the standout in the running game as Henderson finished with eighty-five yards on only six carries including a touchdown,

Henderson also caught three passes, including a thirty-two-yard gain.

This is shorter than usual as I didn't watch as closely as usual due to work issues...

Boxing Challenge: Davis Destroys Lemos

     Gustavo Lemos didn't show very much respect for the game when he missed weight for a lightweight title eliminator by a full division.

Keyshawn Davis would make Lemos pay for his lack of respect as Davis knocked Lemos down three times in the second round to force the referee to shorten the evening in Davis's homecoming to his native Norfolk, Virginia.

Lemos entered the fight after his first loss to junior welterweight contender Richardson Hitchins and somehow thought he was going to drop five pounds to fight Davis in a lightweight eliminator.

It was thought that Lemos could enter the ring at over one hundred fifty pounds, raising questions about Davis's ability to handle a larger fighter.

None of that mattered as Davis overwhelmed Lemos in the second with three knockdowns and showed complete control with an impressive victory that is likely to move Davis into a title opportunity against WBO lightweight champion Denys Barinchyk in his next bout.

Barinchyk is a talented champion as he showed in his upset of Emanuel Navarrete to win the vacant title but Davis is a step above in talent and I would favor Davis in that matchup.

The better question might be will Barinchyk take more money to defend against Davis in Norfolk or fight in a neutral site that gives him a better chance to win?

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 157 Pts (1)
TRS: 153 Pts (1)
Vince Samano: 96 Pts  (2)

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Boxing Challenge

     The boxing challenge heads to Philadelphia with two of the brightest young champions in the sport defending their titles on a Matchroom/DAZN card.

The main event is a rematch of a fight that no one wanted to see once, let alone twice.

IBF welterweight champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis looked as poor as he had previously in a spectacular career when he won every round against a reluctant Karen Chukhadzhian in January 2023.

Chukhadzhian was determined only to last the distance, not to attempt to upset Ennis and every round was similar.

Most figured that was all that would be seen from Chukhadzhian but he won three fights against middling to average competition with the best win a decision over Harry Scarff, who is a fine domestic fighter in England but not world-class.

Those wins returned Chukhadzhian to the top of the IBF ratings and an undeserved rematch of a fight that was unwanted once.

Ennis had no choice but to make the fight or lose his title from the strip-happy IBF and I look for Ennis to attack and try to make this look as ridiculous as it is with an early knockout.

Another young superstar will defend his title as WBC junior bantamweight king Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez will defend his title against former WBC light flyweight champion Pedro Guevara.

Rodriguez earned his biggest career victory in his last fight when he stopped Juan Francisco Estrada in seven rounds to win the WBC title while Guevara upset Andrew Moloney via a split decision in May in Moloney's native Australia to earn his title shot.

Guevara has never been stopped in his four losses, so a knockout win by Rodriguez would be an added bonus to his expected triumph.

Former WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford moves to the junior lightweight division for the first time against Orlando Gonzalez.

Ford won his title with an electric final round knockout of Otabek Kholmatov in March and came right back in June against Nick Ball on the "Five vs Five" card between Queensbury and Matchroom promotions.

Ford lost a split decision to Ball that was a very close fight and the best matchup on the Five vs Five card.

Ford faces Orlando Gonzalez, who once lost a decision to former WBO featherweight champion Robiesy Ramirez, who appears to be the perfect foil for Ford's junior lightweight debut.

In Puerto Rico, former IBF junior welterweight champion Subriel Matias returns from his title loss to Liam Paro against Roberto Ramirez in a fight that is somehow on pay-per-view.

Matias was considered to be the champion no one wanted to face before his loss to Paro and he'll attempt to rejuvenate his career against Ramirez, who has been stopped by William Zepeda and Abel Ramos and is being brought in to boost Matias with a spectacular knockout.

Boxing Challenge

IBF Welterweight Title. 12 rds
Jaron Ennis vs  Karen Chukhadzhian 
Ramon Malpica: Ennis KO 7
TRS: Ennis KO 3
Vince Samano: Ennis Unanimous Decision

WBC Junior Bantamweight Title. 12 Rds
Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez vs Pedro Guevara
R.L: Rodriguez Unanimous Decision
TRS: Rodriguez KO 10
V.S: Rodriguez KO 7

Junior Lightweights 10 Rds
Raymond Ford vs Orlando Gonzalez
All: Ford Unanimous Decision

Junior Welterweights 10 Rds
Subriel Matias vs Roberto Ramirez
R.L: Matias KO 7
TRS: Matias KO 5
V.S: Matias Unanimous Decision

PPM

 Another week in the PPM with important games in the college football stretch run to the postseason and a Cleveland Browns bye week!

Last Week: 10-4 
Overall: 94-44

College
Ohio State over Purdue 41-7
Texas Tech over Colorado 40-38
Boise State over Nevada 37-17
Bowling Green over Central Michigan 21-13
Liberty over Middle Tennessee State 31-14
N.C. State over Duke 24-21
Oregon State over San Jose State 34-24

Games of the Week
Georgia over Ole Miss 34-24
LSU over Alabama 29-27

NFL
Games of the Week
Commanders over Steelers 21-17
Lions over Texans 30-24

Premier League
Newcastle over Nottingham Forest


Friday, November 8, 2024

I Tell Ya' Herbie

    It's time for our weekly look at the college football world entitled "I Tell Ya' Herbie"!

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             I usually don't write about Ohio State in the "Herbie" verse but their win over Penn State last Saturday caused a breakdown in the Penn State fan base and their coach had a small version as well.

James Franklin was returning to the locker room with his daughter and was heckled by fans upset with the latest Nittany Lion loss to Ohio State, their eighth in a row to the Buckeyes and the tenth in eleven games under Franklin.

Franklin fired back at the fan verbally and doubled down at a press conference later in the week.

Penn State's schedule is still soft down the stretch ( Washington and Maryland at home and at Purdue and Minnesota) which would put an 11-1 Nittany Lions easily in the CFP but with a fan base that is growing weary of Franklin's act, if Penn State lost their first round game in the CFP which is likely to be at State College, Could there be a full-fledged rebellion at Penn State?

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             One thing that I wonder about and the data won't be available for a few years is this-

Which will be more useful, the first-round bye or playing and staying sharp but taking the risk of injuries?

In the bowl era, the best teams were off for a month before the game and it could cost some sharpness but the chance of losing key players in the first round is a major factor.

It'll be interesting to review after the first few years.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            One of the games that play out through college football is the hot seat game as in what jobs could be open at the season's end and how each new hire affects another school.

This year looks comparatively light against past seasons as the SEC and Big 10 don't have many jobs in peril after Florida committed to keeping Billy Napier for a fourth season.

USC would be a desirable job but the cost of buying out Lincoln Riley's massive contract makes that unlikely for this season, which leaves Purdue as possibly the only job available in the Big Ten.

Purdue is 1-7 this season, 0-5 in the Big Ten, and 5-15 overall under Ryan Walters, who committed a gaffe last week in overtime against Northwestern that cost them the game.

Walters eschewed a field goal in overtime, went for it on fourth down, and was stopped which gave Northwestern the field goal to win the game.

Purdue might be the glamour job in the two top conferences this off-season, which says a lot for the stability in the leagues!

Boxing Challenge

     It's a Friday night main event from ESPN for the boxing challenge.

Undefeated lightweight Keyshawn Davis fights in what was a scheduled title eliminator but is now an over-the-weight bout with Gustavo Lemos, who missed weight by a few pounds.

Davis decisioned veteran Miguel Madueno in July and assuming that he defeats Lemos, Top Rank is targeting WBO champion Denys Barinchyk for an early 2025 challenge by Davis's first world title opportunity.

Lemos suffered his first loss in a junior welterweight eliminator to Richardson Hitchins in April and it seemed odd that he was in a lightweight eliminator after losing and dropping in weight.

Boxing Challenge

Lightweights 12 Rds
Keyshawn Davis vs Gustavo Lemos
R.L.Malpica and TRS: Davis Unanimous Decision
Vince Samano:  Davis KO 5