Boxing Challenge: Sheeraz bursts Berlanga, Stevenson shines vs Zepeda

     Riyadh Season's first card in the New York market (Times Square) may have been a massive disappointment, but their second, held in the Louis Armstrong Tennis Center (home of the U.S.Open), was filled with exciting fights without a bad one in the bunch.

In the main event, Hamzah Sheeraz ended the carefully managed contention of Edgar Berlanga with a vicious fifth-round knockout.

Sheeraz dropped Berlanga twice in the fourth round, and Berlanga was lucky to survive. Sheeraz then drove a stunned Berlanga into the ropes seconds into the fifth round, forcing the end of the fight.

Despite being the first fight in the super middleweight division for Sheeraz, he looked bigger and stronger than Berlanga, who showed heart in getting up from the knockdowns but was overmatched and now faces several questions about his viability as a future contender.

Sheeraz could face Canelo Alvarez next (should Alvarez defeat Terence Crawford) as Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr appear to be next in line for a Canelo challenge.

In the co-main event (which I differ with), Shakur Stevenson not only retained his WBC lightweight title via unanimous decision over the difficult challenge of William Zepeda, but he also won in an entertaining fashion, which had turned off many fans in recent months.

Stevenson outboxed Zepeda, but he did so skillfully and didn't move around the ring, preferring to counter the aggressive Zepeda.

I had the fight even after eight rounds, but Stevenson dominated the final four rounds of the fight, winning them all to win 116-112 on my card.

The official scores were far too wide for my tastes (119-109 and 118-108 times two), were unkind to Zepeda, and didn't fairly represent the fight.

Stevenson spoke of a potential move to junior welterweight after his win but he could stay at lightweight for fights against any of Lamont Roach (his fall rematch with WBA champion Gervonta Davis appears in jeopardy after another Davis legal problem), IBF champion Raymond Muratalla or in the least likely option to happen, the winner of the vacant WBO title fight between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes.

Zepeda lost nothing in defeat and remains a very viable challenge for anyone in the lightweight division.

Subriel Matias won the WBC junior welterweight title with a majority decision victory over Alberto Puello.

The fight was well-paced from the start, with Matias walking down Puello, who boxed but didn't run from the stronger fighter.

Neither fighter seriously hurt the other, and the fight has been dubbed "controversial" by online pundits.

I scored it 115-113 for Matias, which agreed with two of the judges, with the other scoring a draw at 114-114.

Matias will face the WBC's top contender Dalton Smith in the fall, with the two meeting in the ring after the win.

Puello will reportedly face the winner of that fight after losing this one by such a small margin.

I could have been fine with either Matias or Puello winning their decision, as I thought the more controversial decision was the card opener with David Morrell winning a split decision over former Olympic bronze medalist Imam Khataev.

Khataev was the more aggressive fighter and landed the harder shots throughout the fight.

Khataev dropped Morrell late in the fifth round, and while Morrell wasn't seriously hurt, it capped off the scorecard for me, as I had Khataev a 96-93 winner.

The official scores were 96-93 and 95-94 for Morrell and 95-94 for Khataev.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 107 Pts (4)

Ramon Malpica: 97 Pts (4)

Vince Samano: 44 Pts (4)

Boxing Challenge: Roach wins while drawing vs Davis

  This will be a hybrid of the usual reports as I am still recovering (more on that in future posts) and still have plenty of other items to catch up with.

The biggest fight of the weekend saw the biggest story of the weekend as the top American star in the game, WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, was taken to the brink against WBA junior lightweight titleholder Lamont Roach, and held to a majority decision draw that bluntly should have given Davis his first career defeat.

Roach was robbed of a massive victory and a paycheck for a rematch that would be far larger with a win than a majority draw that he was given.

I scored the fight 114-114, as did two judges with the dissenter tabbing Davis the winner 115-113. so the scorecards were all reasonable but the travesty occurred in round nine when Roach landed a short right hand that was followed by a soft jab that then saw Davis voluntarily take a knee, which he claimed was needed when "grease from his hair had gotten into his eye".

That may have been the case but no matter the reason, if a fighter takes a knee it should be scored a knockdown.

Referee Steve Wilks started a count and then stopped it allowing Davis to save the point- a point that would save his title.

If the proper call had been made, Roach would have won round 10-8 and flipped all three cards in his favor for a unanimous decision stunner.

While I'm sure a rematch will be signed and Roach will be paid handsomely, he should have the title entering a second fight which would have been worth even more money.

As for Gervonta Davis, this could have been an off night or overconfidence against a former amateur rival moving up in weight and isn't known for his power in the smaller division.

While Davis didn't fight poorly, he didn't look sharp either.

Despite his tremendous one-shot power, Davis isn't a physically large lightweight, so perhaps there are some reasons that Davis is consistently matched against smaller lightweights (Frank Martin, Isaac Cruz) and junior lightweights moving up in weight (Roach, Hector Luis Garcia.

Davis is among the best bangers in the sport and his skills are excellent but in a division with excellent fights to be made, Davis appears content to defend against second-tier fighters for large paychecks.

While I completely understand the goal of making as much money as possible, Davis is beginning to feel the backlash of being a fighter who is dodging the elite challenges that are available.

The problem with that gameplan is that when you eventually lose, it will be to an opponent that will be considered inferior, and the defeat usually hurts your "legacy".

It's not too late for Gervonta Davis but Davis needs a convincing win over Lamont Roach in a rematch and then set sail to finally make those matches to see just how he will be remembered.

In other bouts-

Gary Antuanne Russell dominated Jose Valenzuela to win the WBA junior welterweight title, winning by scores of 120-108 (same as mine) and 119-109 times two.

Russell, like his older brother and former WBC featherweight champion Gary, has excessive talent but falls into long periods of inactivity.

Hopefully, that will not happen this time as PBC would like to see Russell unify with WBC champion Alberto Puello, who kept his title via a split decision over Sandor Martin.

Puello won 116-112 and 115-113 to overrule the 115-113 card for Martin.

I scored it 115-113 for Martin.

Puello handed Gary Antuanne Russell his only career loss, so a rematch does have some intrigue.

Cuban junior middleweight Yoenis Tellez battered former WBA and IBF champion Julian Williams in winning a unanimous decision by scores of 119-109, 118-110 (my score) and 117-111.

Former IBF junior welterweight champion Subriel Matias won a title eliminator with an eighth-round knockout of Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela in Puerto Rico.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 25 Pts(6)

Ramon Malpica: 23 Pts(5)

Vince Samano: 15 Pts(0)

John Herndon: 5 Pts (5)

Boxing Challenge: Benavidez wins, Upsets abound

       In Satirday's co-feature from the PBC card in Las Vegas, David Benavidez won a unanimous decision over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his debut in the light heavyweight division.

Benavidez was solid and workmanlike in the easy victory over the former WBC champion but never dazed Gvozdyk and despite winning a minor title, Benavidez may be better suited (and he said he is considering this at the post-fight press conference) returning to super middleweight for the time being and hoping Canelo Alvarez will eventually decide to face him.

Benavidez won on scorecards of 119-109, 117-111, and 116-112, my score agreeing with the middle score.

In two fights that I have yet to watch, one title was retained and an undefeated contender was surprised with his first loss.

Carlos Adames retained his WBC middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Terrell Gausha.

Adames doesn't really have a big fight in the division, so look for Adames to have a few of these fights against Gausha types that aren't quite good enough to win a title.

Scores of 119-11 and 118-110 times two for Adames.

Gary Antuanne Russell was a big favorite to win a minor junior welterweight title against former WBA champ Alberto Puello and set himself up for bigger things in the future.

Instead, Puello survived an eighth-round holding deduction to pull a surprise split decision win for the minor title.

Russell has all the talent in the world but like his brother and trainer, former WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell, he doesn't fight more than once a year, and at the top level fighting that infrequently will eventually cost you in sharpness.

Scores for Puello were 114-113 and 115-112 and for Russell 118-109.

PBC and boxing observers have been glowing in their reviews on middleweight prospect Elijah Garcia and his potential but Garcia hit a roadblock in his fight against veteran Kyrone Davis, with Davis winning a deserved but surprising split decision.

Davis couldn't miss with his right hand and while Garcia was persistent with his aggression, Davis held serve until the final two rounds when Garcia rallied and perhaps if this fight were a twelve-rounder, Garcia could have snatched victory.

Scores for Davis at 97-93 x2 (same as mine) with an awful score for Garcia of 98-92, which is beyond terrible in my opinion.

In Puerto Rico, a huge upset occurred as Australia's Liam Paro upset Subriel Matias in the homecoming fight for Matias and took away the IBF junior welterweight title.

Paro lost a point in the seventh round for hitting behind the head and while Paro's move, jab, and grab offense wasn't exciting, it was very effective against Matias, who rallied down the stretch but ran out of time.

Scores for Paro 116-111 and 115-112 x2, I had it closer for Paro 114-113.

In London from Boxxer/Peacock, Chris Billam-Smith avenged his only loss and retained his WBO cruiserweight title with a unanimous decision outdoors at the home field of Crystal Palace.

This fight wasn't as exciting as their first fight and Riakporhe didn't throw enough punches to overcome the more active Billam-Smith.

Riakporhe lost a point in the final round for headbutting but that had no effect on the scorecards- all for Billiam-Smith 116-111 (same as mine) and 115-112.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 88 Pts (8)

TRS: 72 Pts (4)

Vince Samano: 46 Pts (3)

Boxing Challenge: Navarrete retains title, Lipinets pounds Figueroa.

    Saturday was a day with three different fight cards and while the excellent Usyk-Joshua card from Saudi Arabia earned the headlines, both Showtime/PBC and ESPN/Top Rank made their mark on the day as well.

ESPN Plus and Top Rank's main event saw the return of WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete after a ten-month absence and the man once touted as the busiest champion in boxing looked to be suffering from his inactivity as challenger Eduardo Baez seemed to be lightly tapping his way to a potential upset.

I had Baez ahead 49-46 and I might have been generous in giving the champion one round but one left hook to the liver put Baez away in round six and saved the title for Navarrete.

Baez led on two cards (50-45 and 48-47) while judge Pat Russell somehow saw Navarrete leading 49-46,  a scorecard that seems downright nutty.

Along with Navarrete's unusual inactivity, the Mexican champion had problems making weight and he seems to be faced with a choice of either moving up to 130 and a clash with Shakur Stevenson or fighting more often to help him keep in sharp and in shape.

Navarrete's problem with staying at 126 is a lack of big-fight possibilities.

The winner of November's WBA title fight would be unlikely if Leo Santa Cruz (PBC) retains the championship over Leigh Wood (Matchroom), although Navarrete vs Wood could happen if the Englishman pulls a mild upset.

Josh Warrington (IBF and Matchroom) appears to be waiting for a fight vs Wood if he beats Santa Cruz and the mandatory for Navarrete's title is Isaac Dogboe, who has already lost to Navarrete twice in lopsided defeats and no one wants to see a third fight, likely not even Dogboe.

Meanwhile, over on Showtime, PBC's main event turned out to be very predictable but the other two matches on the telecast decided two new world champions in solid battles.

The main event was originally scheduled to be a faceoff of two faded former champions that badly needed a win and preferably an exciting one, in Adrien Broner and Omar Figueroa.

Broner's late exit from the fight brought in former IBF junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets into the fight in his place from the undercard as, since the Covid-19 pandemic, PBC has been very smart in arranging to have suitable replacements on their undercards in the event of a fighter not being available at the last minute.

That has proven to be prescient thinking on this and several other occasions and I applaud their preparation for different scenarios.

However, Figueroa wasn't likely to appreciate it as Lipinets is closer to his prime and a harder puncher than Broner, so Figueroa was facing a tougher opponent for his trouble and was battling back losing to Abel Ramos when he was battered into submission with the fight ending after the sixth round.

That fate was going to be repeated as Lipinets handed Figueroa another beating and forced his corner to stop the fight at the end of the eighth round.

Figueroa might have won the first round but was dropped in the second and took a pounding for the rest of the fight that might have been best suited to end a round or two sooner than it lasted.

Figueroa stated that he was planning on retiring and based on what I've seen in his losses to Ramos and Lipinets, that's a pretty good idea.

Figueroa may not have lived to the early hype of many (including myself) and became a huge star but he did win a world title and that's a pretty decent career even if it wasn't as good as was expected.

Alberto Puello won the WBA title that was relinquished by Josh Taylor via a split decision over hard-luck Batyr Akhmedv in another close fight with awful scoring.

Both fighters landed plenty and although Akhmedov attacked more, Puello didn't run away and did walk forward on some occasions.

I thought Akhmedov nosed the win out 115-113 as did one judge but I would have no issue at all with a Puello triumph-IF someone scored 115-113 for the Dominican Republic native as the fight was extremely tight.

The problem was that the two odd judges saw Puello as the winner at 117-111 and there is simply no way that either fighter in this fight won nine of twelve rounds.

Again, no issues with Puello getting a slight edge- it's the size of the win that is so awful.

It was a great fight and I wouldn't be against a rematch, considering the scoring and the quality of the fight.

In the opener, Hector Luis Garcia won the WBA junior welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Roger Gutierrez.

Garcia entered the bout after dominating the flashy and well-thought of Chris Colbert in his last fight, knocking Colbert out of a challenge of Gutierrez, and the WBA, deservedly and surprisingly, installed Garcia in the position previously held by Colbert as the mandatory challenger.

It was truly a tale of two fights- the first eight rounds were dominated by Garcia as Garcia controlled Gutierrez with aggression that wasn't reckless with Gutierrez downright reluctant to move his hands.

Gutierrez's corner was even threatening to stop the fight after eight rounds if Gutierrez didn't start to throw punches.

So to start the ninth, Gutierrez changed his tactics, started to reach Garcia with his right hand and began to bully Garcia to the ropes and forced the younger man to give ground as Gutierrez won the final four rounds on my card but the comeback started far too late in losing on my scorecard 116-112.

On the official cards, Garcia won a little wider with two scores of 117-111 and a 118-110 slate but Gutierrez has to be just sick after seeing how effective he was once he started throwing more punches that he was backing Garcia and had he done so earlier in the fight that he may have retained his title.

Garcia brings one junior lightweight title to PBC, who didn't have a presence in the division other than Chris Colbert entering the year, so this is good for PBC's fighters at 126 and 130, who would have had problems in making a fight with WBC/WBO champion Shakur Stevenson (Top Rank) or IBF king Joe Cordina (Matchroom).

I would think Gary Russell would make some sense as a challenger to Garcia in the PBC fold and would make an interesting fight as well.

Boxing Challenge

TRS; 152 Pts (4)

Ramon Malpica: 131 Pts (5)

Vince Samano: 120 Pts (4)