Sunday, December 9, 2018

Boxing Challenge: Lomachenko Unifies!

 Al Bello/Getty Images
The Boxing Challenge had its main event from New York, but the performances on the undercard were equally as strong and it was a nice night of the Sweet Science from the Big Apple (Big Apple, Big Cesspool as Wes Huntley once quipped).

The main event starred Vasyl Lomachenko in his return from shoulder surgery against Jose Pedraza as he won a unanimous decision to add Pedraza's WBO lightweight belt to the WBA version that he held entering the fight.
Lomachenko looked a little slow to start, but he dominated the second half of the fight and the eleventh round where he knocked Pedraza down twice might have been the best fought round by a fighter this year.
Only the bell saved Pedraza after that onslaught and his best in the final round allowed him to go the distance.
My card had Lomachenko winning 117-109 and Lomachenko mentioned after the fight wanting to have a chance to collect the remaining two belts in the division.
Mikey Garcia holds the WBC title and between his Quixote-like attempt to defeat Errol Spence and his noted difficulty to do business with makes such a fight as unlikely to happen as it would be awaited by fans and the IBF title is vacant currently to be decided by the winner of a Richard Commey- Isa Chaniev bout in February.
The Commey-Chaniev fight will take place on the ESPN telecast of the Eleider Alvarez-Sergey Kovalev rematch and according to Top Rank president Bob Arum, an agreement has been made with Lou DiBella, who promotes both fighters, that the winner will face Lomachenko in May.
I've never seen Chaniev fight, but I have seen Commey and Chaniev will have to be pretty strong to win that fight.

Lomachenko wasn't the only impressive winner on the worldwide leader as Emanuel Navarette upset Issac Dogboe by a unanimous decision to earn the WBO junior featherweight title that Dogboe won earlier this year.
Navarette entered the fight untested, but with an impressive record, much larger and taller than Dogboe and using those advantages was able to control Dogboe to rarely allow the Ghana native to step inside and do his best work.
Navarette was very sharp in the win, but let's wait to see if he is truly a new star.
Often styles make fights and physically, Dogboe was made for Navarette.
I scored Navarette a 116-112 winner.

And there was Teofimo Lopez, the talented lightweight prospect who faced his toughest opponent to date in trialhorse Mason Menard.
Menard had lasted seven rounds with former WBO champion Ray Beltran and eight against another nice lightweight prospect in Devin Haney in May, but I wrote if Lopez is as good as I think he is, he'll take Menard out in less than five.
Menard lasted forty-four seconds and ended the fight face down on the canvas in what will at least be a competitor in the race for KO of the year.
That was about as impressive as you could be and Lopez needs to receive yet another bounce in competition.
I hate to rush young boxers, but he's not going to be tested by the level of Menard-like fighters and he might as well take those risks.

In England, Matchroom, and DAZN led the top of their card with Kell Brook against what appeared to be a squash match and title eliminator in journeyman Michael Zerafa.
Instead, Brook won a clear decision (118-110 on my card) but looked dreadful winning and looked to be nowhere near ready to take on a top contender
Brook looked slow, took his share of punches from Zerafa and never seriously hurt a fighter that was taken out in five by Peter Quillin in the past.
Amir Khan vs Brook has been a dream fight for British fans for years, but unless Khan watched this fight and decides easy money against Brook is better than a bid to dethrone Terence Crawford, Brook might be in No Man's land.
It's sad to say, but although Brook should be applauded for courage for jumping to middleweight to try Gennady Golovkin, it was a foolish move as the beating that Brook took seems to have ruined him as a world-class fighter.

The other challenge bout from England was canceled when welterweight prospect Josh Kelly fell ill and his leap in competition against David Avanesyan was canceled.

On the final HBO card, junior featherweight contender Juan Francisco Estrada wore down former sparring partner Victor Mendez and Mendez's corner ended the fight after the seventh round.
I had Estrada ahead six to one on my card and Mendez looked ready to go, had he continued the fight and tried the eighth round.
Estrada is the mandatory contender for WBC champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and a rematch of their exciting fight that Rungvisai squeaked a majority decision would be welcomed.

In the boxing challenge, I earned six points to Ramon Malpica's five with the difference being two points for me to Ramon's one for the Juan Francisco Estrada win.
The total is currently 206-185.



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