Boxing Challenge: Canelo Bullies Callum Smith, Hamburglar Alert in CT!

  Using a brutal body attack and imposing his physical prowess, Canelo Alvarez easily brushed aside Callum Smith in San Antonio to win Smith's WBA super-middleweight title and add the WBC title that was left vacant by David Benavidez missing weight in his last planned title defense.

Alvarez broke Smith down, especially to the body and caused Smith to retreat throughout the fight as the taller man was not the more physical fighter.

Alvarez landed repeated uppercuts that busted Smith open and caused him to literally wince in the late rounds and Smith bravely survived to the final bell.

I scored Alvarez a 119-109 winner, giving Smith only the sixth round.

A dominant victory by Alvarez and by methodically eliminating the top fighter in the division, Alvarez has several fighters that he could face from as many as five weight divisions, so who knows who will be next to face him.

Some of these fights I like better than others, especially considering styles, but it'll be interesting to see who the next opponent is, considering that Alvarez can deal with any promoter that he wishes.

On Showtime from Uncasville, Connecticut, the Hamburglar rose his ugly head with an awful decision as Reymart Gaballo won an awful split decision for a minor tile over former IBF bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez.

It was not an exciting fight, but the heralded Gaballo didn't rise to expectations as Rodriguez just outboxed him and Gaballo didn't win a round until the second half of the fight on my card and even then only two rounds, as Rodriguez won 118-110 on my scorecard.

Just an awful decision.

On the undercard, welterweight Jaron Ennis collided heads with veteran Chris Van Heerden in round one with the fight being stopped due to a bad cut on Van Heerden.

Too bad as I was looking forward to see Ennis get some experience against a rugged warhorse that once went eight rounds with Errol Spence.

In the opener, bantamweight Gary Antonio Russell won a unanimous technical decision over former WBA champion Juan Carlos Payano, due to an accidental headbutt.

I haven't watched this one yet, so no comments on the Russell win...

From Spain, former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez continued his comeback with a ninth round stoppage of Jussi Koivula of Finland via cuts.

A Martinez right had cut Koivula in the eighth round and the fight was stopped in the corner.

Martinez led on my card 78-74, but he's clearly not at the world-class level and he is turning 46 in February.

Martinez can win fights of this type, but I am skeptical on his chances against even the back half of the top ten-fifteen contenders.

In boxing challenge action, I scored five points to Ramon Malpica's four to move my lead to 188-177.

Boxing Challenge: Golovkin crushes Szeremeta

 Hollywood, Florida was the scene, for some unknown reason, for the awaited return of Gennady Golovkin and although the opponent was weak in mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta, Golovkin's performance was not.

Golovkin knocked Szeremeta to the floor on four occasions (rounds one, two, four, and seven) and was seldom smacked in return before the fight was concluded with Szeremeta not being permitted to continue after the seventh round.

Golovkin did indeed look like the GGG of the past in retaining his IBF middleweight title and most of his reviews for the win were glowing, but the tough, but inept Szeremeta was in no way a top contender and he looked like a child yelling at a water hose to stop squirting him without moving to turn off the faucet against the jab and hooks fired at him by Golovkin.

For Golovkin, he showed that it's plausible that he may have been ill in his close decision victory over Sergey Dereyvanchenko and that he would have more than an average chance of defeating Canelo Alvarez, Demetrius Andrade, or any of the other rumored bouts for him in 2021.

As for Szeremeta, he is the latest in what is a growing list of uncompetitive IBF mandatory challengers in the sport.

The IBF may have the fairest manner of determining their mandatory contenders, as they qualify four fights and place the winners against each other to fight for the first and second spot in their rankings, with the winners facing off to be named the first or second contender.

The winners of those fights are supposed to fight each other for the mandatory spot, which basically gives a fighter three fights in a row where they are told who they are supposed to fight with all the promotional mess that comes with that.

Many fighters don't want to put up with that and fighters from around the world see this process as a way to move up the rankings, so they will participate.

If a fighter is supposed to fight in an elimination fight, a fighter many times advances up the rankings without fighting and that is how the IBF arrives at so many undeserving fighters in the mandatory position.

So the IBF does follow its own rules, which more often than not the WBA, WBC, and WBO do not, the problem is that the process is a flawed one.

The co-feature was an excellent fight in the super middleweight division with undefeated and untested fighters Ali Akhmedov and Carlos Gongora squared off and exchanged punches often over the twelve rounds.

Akhmedov got off to a strong start and rocked Gongora in the second and built a lead on the cards.

Gongora began to compose himself and turned the tide in the second half of the fight with several strong exchanges between the two fighters.

I had the fight even after ten, but Akhmedov put together a strong eleventh and led by one point on my scorecard entering the final round.

Akhmedov led on all three of the official cards as well and seemed to be the stronger fighter, but when the bell rang, Akhmedov immediately looked like a fighter with nothing left and Gongora went for broke against his exhausted opponent.

Two knockdowns later, Gongora had a come from behind shocker and should find himself in some if not all of the sanctioning bodies ratings.

This was the type of grinding battle that prospects need to step forward against top fifteen competition, but it's also a fight that takes a lot out of the winner and loser, so who knows what each fighter left in the ring in this one.

The other fight from Hollywood was a real snoozer as super middleweight contender John Ryder dominated, but didn't dazzle in winning all ten rounds against journeyman Michael Guy.

Ten rounds of not very much action and hopefully Ryder returns against better opponents in the future.

In a pay per view for some reason, former WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez wore veteran Alfonso Lopez and then dropped him with one right hand in the tenth round to score the knockout.

I had Ramirez well ahead after nine rounds (88-83), but the aging Lopez landed occasionally and fought hard in defeat.

Ramirez, who might rank near the top of fighters that have done the most damage to their career alone, remains undefeated but has fought only two journeymen in the last two years in slipping down the light heavyweight ratings.

In addition, with his former promoter Top Rank promoting Artur Beterbiev with the WBC and IBF titles at 175 pounds, and the favorite to win the vacant WBO title in February in Joe Smith, Ramirez may be relegated to these types of fights because he may have no other options.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each scored six points on the evening.

I lead the boxing challenge 183-173.

Boxing Challenge

    The boxing year may not be finished, but after Saturday the embers will be fading with very little boxing remaining after this weekend.

But what a weekend that awaits as between Friday and Saturday with two of the best in the world in action and although Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin aren't facing each other for the third time, each is fighting in an interesting fight -especially in the case of Alvarez.

I've always thought Canelo Alvarez is going to be a fighter that is higher regarded currently than history may regard him.

Canelo, much like his former promoter Oscar De La Hoya, has received the benefit of let's say generous judging. 

I thought he lost both Golovkin fights, Erislandy Lara could have gotten the nod against him, Austin Trout may have deserved a decision as well without a late knockdown, and the awful draw scorecard put forward in his only loss to Floyd Mayweather mark his career.

It also will not look fondly at his ducking Golovkin when GGG was in prime form, or his refusal to fight the third fight either with GGG past his prime or perhaps not at all, but outside of Golovkin, Alvarez hasn't ducked challenges.

Canelo faced all the fighters named above, leaped two weight divisions to face the feared, but flawed Sergey Kovalev, Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto, and the very solid Daniel Jacobs and now will face the top super middleweight in WBA champion and winner of the World Boxing Super Series in Callum Smith.

This fight would be really anticipated if Smith wouldn't have looked awful in his last fight against veteran John Ryder in which many (including me) thought Ryder deserved the decision.

Still, give Smith a mulligan for an off night and give Canelo credit for facing the best guy in the division (other than David Benavidez) right away.

And give the WBC credit as well, although it's likely because of their relentless sucking up to Canelo, for making this fight for their vacant title as well after stripping it from Benavidez for missing weight earlier this year.

As for Gennady Golovkin, he returns on DAZN Friday night in his first fight since his narrow escape last year against Sergiy Dereyvanchenko, against IBF mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta.

Golovkin, who many thought lost to Dereyvanchenko in a fight that could have been judged for either man, could use an explosive victory over Szeremeta, who seems to be a fighter that is better suited for the European level than the world level.

Golovkin claimed illness entering his fight with Dereyvanchenko and he did appear gaunt entering the ring, but fighters often make claims after unexpected outings, so we will see if GGG is slipping or truly was ill last time out.

An interesting super middleweight co-feature pairs undefeated Ali Akhmedov against Carlos Gongora in a twelve rounder.

Both fighters have stellar amateur records, but Akhmedov is the more advanced of the two and Gongora is from Ecuador, not exactly a boxing hotbed.

The final challenge bout will see John Ryder, who as noted above I thought defeated Callum Smith last year, against journeyman Mike Guy in a stay busy fight for Ryder.

Guy lost to Akhmedov last year, so Ryder has the advantage in experience and skill...

Showtime's Saturday event has been riddled with several changes in the card since it was first announced and as a result, it appeared to be a tepid slate for the premium cable network to finish its 2020.

In the main event for a minor title, former IBF bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez, who has only lost to Naoya Inoue, will face undefeated Raymart Gaballo, who was very impressive when I saw him on an FS1 card last year.

Rodriguez-Gaballo may not have the cache' of the two original fights (Nordine Oubaali-Nonito Donaire and Donaire against Rodriguez), but it should be an excellent fight.

The other fights match the top prospect in the welterweight division as Jaron "Boots" Ennis, who is rapidly becoming the most avoided fighter at 147 pounds not named Terence Crawford,  faces veteran Chris Van Heerden, who took Errol Spence eight rounds before being stopped in his last loss five years ago.

The rugged Van Heerden hasn't fought anyone close to the level of Spence or Ennis in those five victories, but he may give Ennis rounds and some experience that can only be gained against veteran workhorses.

The opener will see one of the Russell family fighters in a bantamweight ten rounder with Gary Antonio Russell fighting former WBA champion Juan Carlos Payano.

The talented Russell hasn't fought any close to the level of Payano but has impressed against the limited competition. 

Payano has lost three of his last four, but the competition has been top-notch with all three being either current or former champions in Naoya Inoue, Luis Nery, and Daniel Roman. 

The winner could be positioned well for a title shot in 2021.

And the next fight is on pay per view for some reason, as former WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez fights for the first time in twenty months against veteran Alfonso Lopez in Ramirez's second fight at light heavyweight.

Ramirez was guaranteed a title shot by the WBO and was also guaranteed a spot in their four fighter box-off to fill their title vacated by Canelo Alvarez, but refused the invitation to participate.

Lopez has shown power against lower-level fighters but has lost each time that the competition has toughened with losses to Kelly Pavlik in 2011 and Dyah Davis in 2012 and an inexcusable 2012 loss to 3-5-1 Justin Williams after losing to Davis.

Former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez fights for the second time in his comeback against Jussi Koivula of Finland in Spain/
Martinez stopped Jose Fandino in seven rounds in his first match back in August and looked better than I expected.

Koivula has lost three of his last four including a brutal second-round knockout at the hands of prospect Conor Benn in June 2019.

I lead Ramon Malpica 177-167 as we near the end of the boxing challenge for 2020.

WBA and Vacant WBC Super Middleweight Titles. 12 Rds

Callum Smith vs Canelo Alvarez

Both: Alvarez Unanimous Decision

IBF Middleweight Title. 12 Rds

Gennady Golovkin vs Kamil Szeremeta

R.L; Golokin KO 6

TRS: Golovkin KO 5

Super Middleweights. 12 Rds

Ali Akhmedov vs Carlos Gongora

R.L:  Akhmedov KO 10
TRS: Akhmedov Unanimous Decision

Super Middleweights. 10 Rds

John Ryder vs Mike Guy

Both: Ryder Unanimous Decision

Bantamweights. 12 Rds

Emmanuel Rodriguez vs Reymart Gaballo

R.L:  Gaballo KO 8
TRS: Gaballo KO 6

Welterweights.12 Rds

Jaron Ennis vs Chris Van Heerden

R.L:  Ennis KO 5
TRS: Ennis KO 6

Bantamweights. 10 Rds

Gary Antonio Russell vs Juan Carlos Payano

Both: Russell Unanimous Decision

Light Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Gilberto Ramirez vs Alfonso Lopez

R.L:  Ramirez KO 11
TRS: Ramirez KO 8

Middleweights. 10 Rds

Sergio Martinez vs Jussi Koivula

R.L: Martinez Unanimous Decision

TRS: Martinez KO 4

Boxing Challenge: Joshua knocks out Pulev

 Anthony Joshua needed a victory in his title defense against Kubrat Pulev, but he needed an impressive performance even more and he delivered just that as Joshua knocked Pulev down four times on his way to a ninth-round knockout to retain his WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles in London.

Joshua knocked Pulev down twice in the third round and two more times in the ninth before the fight was ended. Joshua showed more aggression and looked more like the confident bomber as he was before the two fights with Andy Ruiz in 2019 and less like the cautious and tentative boxer that he showed in winning the Ruiz rematch.

An argument could have been made that the fight could have been stopped in the third round as twice Pulev turned his back to avoid Joshua's punches and that could have been judged to have been a sign of surrender.

The fight continued with Pulev occasionally rocked by right hands and right uppercuts throughout until the ninth round when Pulev was finished off for the evening.

I had Joshua leading 79-71 at the end of eight rounds and was on his to an easy win before concluding the fight.

It was the performance that Joshua needed to push the memories of his loss and dull win over Andy Ruiz to the background and get fans excited about unification with WBC champion Tyson Fury.

Both fighters and their promoters want that fight to happen next and it could- But it's all up to an arbitrator to decide whether Deontay Wilde breached his contract for a third fight with Fury.

Should Fury win the case, he's open for a fight with Joshua, but it may better if he is forced to fight Wilder as Joshua could face WBO mandatory Oleksandr Usyk at the same time and keep all four titles for the unification fight.

If Joshua fights Fury instead of Usyk, he could be stripped of the WBO title, and then all four championships would not be unified by a Joshua-Fury fight.

In undercard action, cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie stayed busy while he waited for Krzysztof Glowacki to return from and fight for the vacant WBO championship with a second-round knockout of late substitute Nikodem Jezewski.

Okolie knocked down Jezewski twice in the first round and once in the second before the mismatch was ended.

Hughie Fury won a clear, but unspectacular unanimous decision over Mariusz Wach in a fight that was a minor IBF eliminator.

The most exciting part in Fury's win was an unintentional headbutt over his left eye that threatened to stop the fight in the fourth round, but Fury was able to battle through and finish with help from his cutman.

I scored Fury a 99-91 winner giving only the fifth round to Wach.

The winner is scheduled to face Martin Bakole, who won a unanimous decision over Sergey Kuzmin on the undercard in another eliminator.

The Las Vegas bubble hosted its final card of the year for Top Rank and ESPN and while the main event was the expected showcase match, the co-feature (thus far) was the fight of the day.

Shakur Stevenson continued to bide his time before a junior lightweight title attempt with a unanimous decision over Toka Kahn-Clary.

Stevenson won every round and was rarely hit doing so against the soft-fisted Kahn-Clary, who is a cut or two below world-class caliber.

I scored Stevenson a 100-90 winner in a fight that proved little other than Kahn-Clary could make Stevenson go ten rounds.

Stevenson is the number one contender in the WBO rankings and the number two in the WBC and with both of those champions and their next challengers controlled by Top Rank (WBO Jamel Herring vs Carl Frampton and WBC Miguel Berchelt vs Oscar Valdez), Stevenson could have the opportunity to win both of those championships in 2021.

The co-feature also was held in the junior lightweight division and the winner was going to move up into the lower part of some rankings as one-time sensation Felix Verdejo battled Masayoshi Nakatani in a ten-round fight.

Verdejo started fast and looked he was on his way to a career-changing victory over Nakatani, who was returning after his only career loss in which he surprised almost everyone in lasting the distance and giving a solid test to Teofimo Lopez. 

Verdejo knocked Nakatani down in the first with Nakatani surviving only because the knockdown occurred late in the round and sent him to a knee in the fourth round, although he didn't seem nearly as stung by that one.

I had Verdejo well ahead after six rounds (60-52) and it seemed like Nakatani would need a knockout to win unless he scored a knockdown in each remaining round.

Nakatani began to turn the fight around in the seventh when he landed a right that badly hurt Verdejo. Verdejo managed to stay upright, but you had the feeling that the race had begun- if Verdejo lasts through the final three rounds, he wins on the scorecards with ease, but would his legs give out on him first?

The eighth saw Nakatani continue to back Verdejo up and sting him, but Verdejo fired back gamely and even stunned Nakatani a bit in an action-filled exchange.

Midway through the ninth, Nakatani landed another right that sent Verdejo flying backward into the ropes and to the floor, and honestly, I wouldn't have complained if the fight was stopped after Verdejo rose in a daze.

Still, I don't have a problem in giving the fighter up on the scorecards every chance to hold on, but in seconds another Nakatani right dropped Verdejo facedown on the floor to end the fight.

For Nakatani, he places himself in the mix at 130 pounds and considering his effort against the naturally larger Lopez, is going to have plenty of fights to be made involving him.

For Verdejo, I wouldn't be against considering retirement, even at 27.

Verdejo's offensive skills are still among the best in the division, but he seems to hit a wall after six rounds ( Verdejo's other knockout loss was in the tenth round of a fight that he was winning against Antonio Lozada) and when he runs out of gas, his punch resistance completely goes away.

Verdejo didn't dog it in defeat, but I'd be concerned with him facing a big puncher.

I have not watched the three Showtime fights and I'll either write it up when I watch them or add them with an edit here.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica outscored me nine to seven due to the Nakatani win and a bonus point for calling the round in Anthony Joshua's win.

My lead was cut to 174-163 in the overall standings.

Showtime Edit:

Ronald Ellis lost the first four rounds to Matt Korobov, but Korobov injured his ankle and was unable to continue, giving Ellis the TKO victory.

It may be time for the aging and breaking down Korobov to consider retirement.

Korobov fights well, but his body doesn't seem to handle the stress, and injuries seem to follow him around.

Richardson Hitchens won a split decision over Argenis Mendez that should have been unanimous.

I scored Hitchens a 97-93 winner and that may have been generous to Mendez.

In the main event, Chris Colbert broke open a fairly close fight with a knockdown in the ninth round and scored three more to end the evening in the eleventh round with a victory over Jaime Arboleda.

I had Colbert ahead 96-93 entering the eleventh.

Ramon Malpica outscored me four to three in the Showtime fights to cut into my lead either further in the boxing challenge at 177-167

Boxing Challenge

    The boxing challenge nears its end for 2020, but the month of December is going to finish very strong with Errol Spence's victory last week, Anthony Joshua this week, Canelo Alvarez next Saturday, and the year will end with a super matchup from Japan on New Year's Eve with Kazuto Ioka against Kosei Tanaka.

This week will feature fights from all three major platforms and promoters and three of the four heavyweight titles on the line in London.

In the main event in London, Anthony Joshua makes his return to the ring for the first time in a year and for the first time since regaining his WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles from Andy Ruiz.

Joshua defends those three titles in a mandatory bout from the IBF against their top contender Kubrat Pulev.

Pulev is a straight-ahead boxer with little movement and suffered his only loss in a title shot against then-champion Wladimir Klitschko via a fifth-round knockout.

Since that defeat, Pulev has won decisions over Derek Chisora and Hughie Fury as the best of his eight straight wins since the Klitschko loss and he hasn't shown much that would make you think he can beat Anthony Joshua- BUT Andy Ruiz hadn't either and he managed the feat!

Joshua looked very tentative but effective against Ruiz and this version of Joshua may be the start of a transition from exciting and vulnerable to cautious and less so...

The co-feature was scheduled to see the WBO cruiserweight title finally filled after a year and a half (!) 

as Krzysztof Glowacki was to face Lawrence Okolie to crown a champion.

Glowacki lost controversially to Mairis Briedis last June, appealed for a rematch and due to the WBSS format, Briedis had a choice- either drop the WBO belt or face Glowacki and leave the WBSS.

Briedis chose the higher dollars and Glowacki has to be involved in any fight for the vacant title.

So Glowacki has dropped out twice due to injury, so Okolie faces substitute, Nikodem Jezewski.

Jezewski is undefeated against the low-level competition, but on short notice, you take what you can get.

The final challenge match from London pits two former title challengers as Hughie Fury (Cousin of Tyson) against Mariusz Wach in a heavyweight ten rounder.

Wach is fairly durable, but 3-4 in his last seven and painfully slow, while Fury is closer to top form, boxes smoother, and should outbox the lumbering Wach.

ESPN takes the stage in the evening with former WBO featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson staying busy before a junior lightweight title fight in 2021 against the winner of WBO champion Jamel Herring against Carl Frampton as Frampton moves to 130 pounds.

Stevenson is clearly about two cuts above Clary, who has lost in his biggest bout in a 2018 IBF featherweight eliminator that would have earned him a title chance had he defeated Kid Galahad.

Clary is a nice fighter at his level, but this shouldn't be very competitive.

I am intrigued by the co-feature with one-time phenom Felix Verdejo continuing his comeback against Masayoshi Nakatani in a ten rounder at junior lightweight.

Verdejo blew out Will Madera in a round in July and seems to be committed to fighting more frequently, but will be tested by Nakatani, who surpassed expectations in taking Teofimo Lopez twelve rounds last summer in Lopez's last fight before winning his IBF title with a second-round KO of Richard Commey.

The Lopez loss is the only loss for Nakatani, so the winner of this fight should wind up with a top ten ranking in the lightweight division.

Showtime also has a three-fight card that isn't as dazzling, but it's interesting enough.

The main event will see flashy Chris Colbert defend his minor title at junior lightweight against  Jaime Arboleta.

The colorful Colbert has plenty of speed and boxing ability but has only five knockouts in his fourteen wins and I wonder if he has enough pop as he begins to face the best fighters in the division.

Arboleta has defeated two undefeated fighters, another at 29-2, and in his most recent fight won a split decision over former title challenger Jayson Velez, so he's not an easy out.

Still, Colbert seems to be too elusive for Arboleta in this one.

Super Middleweights Ronald Ellis and Matt Korobov should be the best fight on the card.

Ellis missed weight by five pounds and paid Korobov a chunk of his purse for going through with the fight.

Korobov is in his first fight since tearing his shoulder in the second round against Chris Eubank Jr. last year and gave Jermall Charlo all sorts of problems in losing a close decision in 2018, while Ellis upset Immanuel Aleem in his last fight (Korobov has a draw vs Aleem), but suffered his first loss to DeAndre Ware (Not the Run and Shoot QB) in the fight before that one.

Korobov is 37 and with shoulder questions, but still on the resume' should be favored.

Ellis may be closer to his prime but is taking a leap in competition and I can make a case for either man winning this one.

The opener is Floyd Mayweather's Money Team member Richardson Hitchens taking his first try against better opponents as he takes on former IBF junior lightweight champion Argenis Mendez.

Hitchens is very similar to Chris Colbert, very flashy, fast and not a lot of power, while Mendez has failed against the best of the division with losses to Luke Campbell, Robert Easter, and Rances Barthelemy, despite holding a title at one time.

Mendez is 34 and the perfect opponent to gauge how close Hitchens is to the next level.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 167-154.

WBA/IBF/WBO Heavyweight Titles. 12 Rds

Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev

R.L: Joshua KO 9

TRS: Joshua KO 7

Cruiserweights 12 Rds

Lawrence Okolie vs Nikodem Jezewski.

R.L; Okolie KO 6

TRS: Okolie KO 8

Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Hughie Fury vs Mariusz Wach

Both: Fury Unanimous Decision

Junior Lightweights. 10 Rds

Shakur Stevenson vs Toka Khan-Clary

R.L: Stevenson KO 8

TRS: Stevenson KO 6

Junior Lightweights. 10 Rds

Felix Verdejo vs Masayoshi Nakatani

R.L: Nakatani Unanimous Decision

TRS: Verdejo Unanimous Decision

Junior Lightweights. 12 Rds

Chris Colbert vs Jaime Arboleta

Both: Colbert Unanimous Decision

Super Middleweights. 10 Rds

Ronald Ellis vs Matt Korobov

R.L.: Ellis Unanimous Decision

TRS: Korobov Unanimous Decision

Junior Lightweights. 10 Rds

Richardson Hitchens vs Argenis Mendez

Both: Hitchens Unanimous Decision

 

Boxing Challenge: Spence handily defeats Garcia

 Saturday night in Arlington, Texas quite a few issues were clearly resolved, but the biggest question of all still remains- Who is the best welterweight in the world, Errol Spence or Terrence Crawford?

Spence stated his case for that spot with a lopsided unanimous decision over former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Danny Garcia in retaining his WBC and IBF welterweight titles that only lacked a stoppage to prove about all one could prove in a victory.

Spence had been out of the ring since his September win over Shawn Porter due to a bad car accident and everyone wondered how that would affect the champion with some giving Garcia a better chance than usual to pull an upset because who knew how Spence would return to the ring.

The answer was simple- Spence was as sharp as ever in a win that couldn't have been much easier in defeating a top-five level opponent after time away from the game.

Spence's win over Garcia was far more conclusive than Garcia's other two (official, I'll never forgive the judges for giving Garcia the win over Mauricio Herrera) defeats against Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter and no one is going to want to see a rematch.

Spence never seriously hurt Garcia, but he used a thudding jab to swell Garcia's left eye and cheekbone that didn't allow Garcia to get any type of offensive attack moving.

Garcia was unable to counter Spence, yet didn't attempt to initiate often and even though Garcia did a reasonable job in making Spence miss, Garcia was never able to gain the respect of Spence with anything coming back at the Texan.

I scored Spence a 118-110 winner, which was a little wider than the official cards (116-112 twice and 117-111), but the victory was a definitive one and gave boxing followers one fact- We may not know who is the better welterweight in the world right now, but we know that there is a sizable drop from the top two to the next level of welterweight with Shawn Porter, Garcia, Keith Thurman, and Manny Pacquiao.

Spence didn't seem very excited about facing Crawford next and I'm not sure I blame him.

Spence is thought to be the stronger fighter and bigger puncher, but against Garcia who is better at 140 pounds than 147, he never hurt him, and against Shawn Porter, while he did knock Porter down in the eleventh round, it may be that Spence is a very strong fighter and not a huge puncher although a very good one.

If Spence isn't the power puncher that he is reputed to, he might have to use his physical strength on the leaner Crawford to try to win a potential battle and I'm not sure Spence has the quickness in his feet to stay with Crawford.

While the matchup would pit the best two welterweights in the world and this comes from a fan of both fighters, Errol Spence might have a difficult time matching up against Terence Crawford from a style perspective and that could be the most insurmountable obstacle of all in getting the fight everyone wants to see in the ring.

As for Danny Garcia, he simply didn't throw enough punches and confirmed the opinion that while he was an elite fighter at junior welterweight, he's merely very good at 147 pounds, and might have seen his peak years behind him.

That's not saying that Garcia is done by any means or even that he doesn't have some top wins still in him, but he may have passed the day that he is going to be really competitive against the elite in the division.

In the co-feature, 6'5 junior middleweight Sebastian Fundora knocked late replacement, Habib Ahmed, around the ring for a round and a half before referee Lawrence Cole stopped the mismatch.

This was a WBC title eliminator, so Fundora may be in line for another eliminator in the future for an eventual title shot against three-title champion Jermell Charlo down the road.

Fundora has been impressive in his last two wins and seems to be transitioning to more of a puncher rather than using his massive height and reach to outbox opponents.

I'll be interested in seeing how he fares in his next step up in competition...

In the boxing challenge, I outscored Ramon Malpica four to two to stretch my lead to 167-154.

Boxing Challenge: Saunders dances past Murray

     London was the scene for an easy defense for Billy Joe Saunders of his WBO super middleweight title as Saunders defeated veteran Martin Murray via unanimous decision in a dominant performance.

Murray was expected to try to maul Saunders as his best chance to win, but surprisingly the aging Murray's corner changed his tactics and by trying to show Saunders a different look, Murray took away his only chance to win as Saunders was able to control the fight from the outside with Murray unable to land from distance and waiting to try to rough Saunders up on the inside.

I agreed with two judges with Saunders a 120-108 winner and there were times that Saunders did attempt to step up the attack and stop Murray, but the game veteran managed to survive to the final bell in what should be his final fight.

Martin Murray ends his career as arguably the best fighter of his time not to win a world title in the four championship era, but the time is right for him to leave the sport.

Murray might have enough left to win some fights, but not at the world class level and at his age, why continue to take punishment if you aren't going to be a threat to win a world title?

As for Billy Joe Saunders, he looked very sharp in this victory, but how much of that was Saunders and how much was it the advanced age of Martin Murray?

It certainly does keep him very viable as a unification opponent for the Callum Smith-Canelo Alvarez winner and I'd like to see him back in the ring again before the spring to be ready for a big fight when it eventually arrives.

Saunders could also fight Gennady Golovkin, since Canelo Alvarez seems to have no interest in a third fight with Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, who looked awful last week against Gabriel Rosado, or Demetrius Andrade in a fight that almost happened before Saunders failed a PED test.

Should Saunders be motivated and sharp, he could win any of those fights,

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each added two points to move the total to 163-152.

Boxing Challenge

   The boxing challenge is light this week, but two of the three fights are important in setting up bigger fights for 2021.

The biggest fight is the long-awaited return of one of the best fighters in the sport and depending on your opinion, either the best or second-best welterweight in the world as WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence defends those titles against former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Danny Garcia.

This will be Spence's first fight since unifying his two titles with an exciting decision win over Shawn Porter and it's also his first fight since a horrendous car accident that saw Spence lucky to escape with his life.

Spence isn't taking a warmup fight in his return in Danny Garcia, who has only two close losses (although I'll go to my grave screaming about his "win" over Mauricio Herrera being one of the worst decisions ever) to Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter on his ledger.

Garcia lost close decisions in those fights and despite winning the WBC title over Robert Guerrero (it was vacated by Keith Thurman), Garcia lacks a win against an elite fighter as a welterweight with his best win a very close decision over Lamont Peterson, which was technically at welter but was held at a catchweight.

Give Errol Spence plenty of credit here for avoiding the usual PBC M.O. of waiting for a good not great fight with a squash match or two and moving right to a fighter of Danny Garcia's quality after suffering such serious injuries.

At the risk of losing a few safe paydays, Spence knows this- If he's the same fighter as before the accident, then Spence is a cut above Garcia- the difference between an elite fighter and a top five/six fighter in their division.

However, if Spence has lost anything, even as small as moving from elite to very good, then Danny Garcia is good enough to pull the upset. 

We'll know a lot more about the welterweight division after this fight than we know right now.

The undercard is just terrible and I deliberated before selecting the co-feature for the challenge, a title eliminator at junior middleweight between Sebastian Fundora and Habib Ahmed.

The 6'5 Fundora was known more for his freakish height in the 154-pound division than for his wins in the ring, but he looked very good in his last fight in notching his biggest victory over veteran gatekeeper Nathaniel Galimore via a sixth-round knockout.

Ahmed is a late replacement for Jorge Cota, who tested positive for Covid-19 and has fought outside of Ghana on only three occasions with a sixth-round KO loss to Gilberto Ramirez his only fight in the U.S. scheduled for over eight rounds.

I can excuse Ahmed for being a late replacement under the circumstances, but Jorge Cota wasn't a world-beater for Fundora to face, so PBC still deserves some eye rolls for presenting this as a co-feature on PPV.

Friday from London, Billy Joe Saunders defends his WBO super-middleweight title against the Harold Stassen of professional boxing, Martin Murray in a fight that many aren't thrilled with, but I don't feel is a bad fight at all.

Saunders is a talented, if not exciting, boxer and I'd give him a chance against anyone on the right night with his skills and style.

Those skills and style are precisely why few top fighters wish to face him as you won't look good against him and he might beat you.

Saunders is very much like Erislandy Lara, he's just not worth the risk for the small reward.

However, Saunders hasn't beaten a top fighter in three years when he dominated David Lemieux in a masterpiece performance and I wonder if we'll ever see just how good Saunders can be.

A win would keep Saunders in the running for a shot at the Callum Smith-Canelo Alvarez winner later this month in what would be a title eliminator.

As for Martin Murray, Murray is taking his fifth shot at winning a world title and if you don't know who Harold Stassen is, try Murray as this generation's Yaqui Lopez or Oba Carr as the best fighter never to win a world title.

Murray received a draw against Felix Sturm in Germany, one of what seems to be 100 guys that were given draws or losses in Germany against Sturm, could have dethroned Sergio Martinez in Argentina in a fight that could have gone either way, fought Gennady Golovkin at Golovkin's peak and lasted eleven rounds, and lost another split decision to a German in Germany against Arthur Abraham.

While I'd love to see Murray pull this one out, he's 38 now, didn't look great in his last loss in 2018 to former WBO middleweight champion Hassan N'Dam, who is a slick boxer and isn't nearly as slick as Saunders.

I'm rooting for him and he'll give his all as he always does, but this is going to be a tough one to win.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 161-150

WBO Super Middleweight Title. 12 Rds

Billy Joe Saunders vs Martin Murray

Both: Saunders Unanimous Decision

WBC/IBF Welterweight Titles. 12 Rds

Errol Spence vs Danny Garcia

R.L;  Spence KO 10
TRS: Spence Unanimous Decision

Junior Middleweights. 10 Rds

Sebastian Fundora vs Habib Ahmed

R.L: Fundora Unanimous Decision
TRS: Fundora KO 8

Boxing Challenge: Joyce sends DuBois to his knees

  The highly anticipated heavyweight battle between unbeaten Britons Daniel DuBois and Joe Joyce lived up to expectations.

And while the fight wasn't a war, it contained enough action to more than suit the discerning boxing fan and it had more than enough drama for a fight that was so important in the heavyweight division itself, let alone the two fighters involved.

2016 Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce entered the fight as the underdog for a few reasons.

Many believed that undefeated Daniel DuBois might be the heir to the heavyweight throne after Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua clear up who the best in the world is today.

Joyce was also thought to be too slow with his punches and his feet for the more fluid DuBois and at 35, Joyce was again thought to have perhaps waited too long to turn pro.

However, Joyce did have the best victory of the two on his resume with a decision win over former title challenger Bryant Jennings, Joyce seemed to have a more than solid chin, and Joyce punches pretty well, so he was an underdog with a good chance of winning.

The fight itself was a battle of two blows that the other fighter could not miss the other with.

Joyce continually ate DuBois' right hand and DuBois couldn't miss with his left jab and as a result, you saw a competitive and pretty even fight.

As I watched the fight live and checked people on Twitter for their thoughts, the large majority had the fight for either fighter by a point and that was how I saw it with Joyce leading 5-4 in rounds entering the tenth, but the fight had a dramatic conclusion in the works.

The left jabs from Joyce had taken its toll on the left eye of DuBois and closed it to a slit that hampered his vision and made the problem of not being able to miss the jab even worse so.

DuBois was trying to make it to the finish line of a close fight before Joyce landed what seemed to be an ordinary hard jab that landed directly on the swollen eye.

DuBois dropped to a knee in pain and took the ten count.

For Joe Joyce, who I compared to Ray Mercer before the fight, the Mercer comparison seems apt for now after the upset of the phenom DuBois (Remember Mercer's brutal KO of then undefeated Tommy Morrison?) and although I'm sure at 35 years of age, Team Joyce would love to see a title shot in 2020, that doesn't appear to be in the cards with the Fury-Joshua agreement in place.

I'd love to see Joyce against Oleksandr Usyk, but I doubt Usyk would want to risk his own eventual title shot against a far larger and dangerous opponent.

Dillian Whtye or Dereck Chisora would be good fights and Joseph Parker would bring a different style for Joyce to learn from.

As for DuBois, at 23 and fighting well despite the loss, he may not have lost very much from his first defeat- despite taking the ten count.

The Athletic UK is reporting that DuBois suffered nerve damage around the eye and a broken orbital bone, so that may muffle some of the criticism that he has been receiving for quitting, but considering the struggles that Kell Brook has dealt with since a similar injury.

One final note: Before this fight Joe Joyce was ranked behind some heavyweights that were puzzling choices.

The WBC had Joyce 11th and with no one ahead of Joyce that would be really awful although their 8,9, and 10 choices (Oscar Rivas, Filip Hrgovic, and Michael Hunter) were arguable.

The WBA ranks someone named Trevor Bryan first, recent knocked out Adam Kownacki 6th, Charles Martin 7th, and washed-up Chris Arreola 8th, while not rating Joyce at all.

The IBF placed Joyce at 13th,  behind Charles Martin with a head-shakingly awful second, Tyson Fury victim Tom Schwarz 8th, fellow prospect Tony Yoka 10th and Dempsey McKean (Who?) at 12th ahead of Joyce.

The WBO listed Joyce at 11th behind other prospects Junior Fa (6th), Frank Sanchez (7th), Zhilei Zhang (9th), and Evgeny Romanov (10th), none of which boasted a win of Joyce's over Bryant Jennings quality.

I'm not saying Joyce should have been top five entering the DuBois fight, but ratings of that ilk is how you receive awful mandatory challenger fights.....

Boxing Challenge: Jacobs nips Rosado

 The boxing challenge started on a rare Friday with two of the worst fights that you can imagine.

In all honesty, these fights would be good programming to show someone if you didn't want to them to become a boxing fan.

In the early evening (or late afternoon, it's dark here at this time of year either way), ESPN+ attempted to build an attraction with 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the (super) heavyweight division Tony Yoka of France, who recently signed a promotional partnership with ESPN's boxing provider, Top Rank.

Yoka, who defeated fellow prospect Joe Joyce of Great Britain to win the gold medal in London, stands 6'7 and while well-built, lacks the body beautiful look of Anthony Joshua and the defensive end frame of Tyson Fury, instead looks more like a power forward that needs to fill out a bit.

Veteran Christian Hammer did what he could against a bigger and more talented opponent, which was to land an occasional right hand and do what veterans do- rough the prospect up and see if they can intimidate them or change their game plan.

Yoka certainly stuck to his strategy of staying on the outside, using his jab, and outboxing the Romanian that now fights out of Germany, but he did get a bit frustrated with the tactics of Hammer and despite an easy win (99-90, Hammer was deducted one point),  Yoka didn't shine in a fight with little action.

Then we moved to DAZN with Matchroom Boxing from Hollywood, Florida for what was considered to be a mismatch between former two-time middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs and tough, but limited Gabriel Rosado.

I've never been much of a Daniel Jacobs fan, he really only has two major wins of note, yet he continues to be paid and treated like he is a star and must-see viewing.

Jacobs didn't wow anyone in his first fight at 168 in a win that saw Julio Cesar Chavez Jr quit in his corner and he was thought to be a prohibitive favorite against the charging Rosado.

Rosado always comes to fight, but his tender skin often haunts him and he is a natural junior middleweight, so against the larger Jacobs, he seemed to be overmatched.

Always isn't always anymore as Rosado didn't cut, but he also didn't land many punches and had a listless Jacobs on the hook for what would have been a massive upset in a fight that looked more like a limited sparring session instead of a fight involving a former world champion.

Instead, Rosado fell to Jacobs level and fought without energy in a match that normally would call for a rematch in a fight as close as this one.

Only in any of the twelve rounds did either fighter land double-digit punches in a round (Rosado landed ten in round eight) and while the decision was in doubt, what wasn't in doubt was not wanting to see these two guys against each other again.

The ending was worse when ring announcer Jeremiah Gallegos after announcing the scores of 115-113 on all three cards for a split decision, called the winner "from Philadelphia" sending Rosado into the air with emotion, and then calling it for Jacobs, who is from Brooklyn, not Philadelphia where Rosado resides. 

I scored it 114-114, so I have no problems with a close verdict either way but neither fighter seemed overly interested in winning it.

Just an awful two fights and I've written more than either fight deserves.

In the boxing challenge, I outscored Ramon Malpica 3-2 to boost my lead to 161-150.

Boxing Challenge

     The boxing challenge starts on Friday with two fights, moves to the most important fight of the weekend on Saturday, and believe it or not, it will not include the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones "exhibition" in the evening.

ESPN+ will be the place to be for heavyweight prospects with the top prospect in the game and the gold and silver medalists in the most recent Olympics (2016) all fighting with the added bonus of two fighting each other!!!

Friday afternoon features the 2016 super heavyweight gold medalist as Tony Yoka of France takes a small step in competition against veteran Christian Hammer of Romania.

Yoka, who stopped former WBC title challenger Johan Duhaupas in one round in September, will be in his second fight back from a suspension for PED usage and has stopped seven of his eight opponents in his career.

Hammer is a durable top 25 caliber fighter with losses when he has tried to move to top ten opponents in Tyson Fury, Luis Ortiz, and Alexander Povetkin.

Hammer lasted the distance against Ortiz and Povetkin and took Fury eight rounds, so Hammer has shown that he can take a punch.

If Yoka can score an early KO, that would mark the win as especially impressive.

ESPN Plus is back Saturday afternoon with what could be the most anticipated heavyweight fight of the year with the exception of Fury-Wilder II before the pandemic with the top prospect in the division facing the 2016 Olympic silver medalist.

Daniel DuBois is thought to have the talent to be the successor to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as the next dominant heavyweight with his size and punching punching, having stopped fourteen of his fifteen opponents.

DuBois has been very impressive in his wins and looks the part of a future champion.

However, the only name that he has fought lasted the distance in trialhorse Kevin Johnson and other than Johnson and countryman Nathan Gorman (who Dubois stopped very impressively in five rounds), so there are questions to be answered about his power as he moves up and the questions about his chin that every prospect needs to answer.

Those questions will start to be answered against former Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce, who is being moved quickly at 35 years of age.

With such a late starting date as a pro, Joyce is moving up the ladder against tough competition faster than would be the case if he were younger.

Of Joyce's eleven wins and ten stoppages, Joyce already holds a decision win over former world title challenger Bryant Jennings and a knockout win over a washed-up former WBC champion Bermane Stiverne.

Joyce looks like he has a terrific jaw and has above-average power, but he's painfully slow and I think almost any high-level heavyweight can outbox him with movement should they choose that option.

Still, Joyce reminds me a little of Ray Mercer (although slower) that he's going to lose his share of fights against contenders, is going to take them the distance in tough fights, and every once in a while will surprise one with the booming right hand to keep him as viable in the division.

This one is one that I'm excited about and it is all up to DuBois.

Can he take Joyce's best shot?

If he can, he has the potential to be a Lennox Lewis type.

If he can't, he may be Frank Bruno, a talented, but flawed fighter that will have his fans on the edge of their seat in every fight as they know any fight can go either way.

If DuBois boxes Joyce, he wins an easy decision, but will he choose to go for the knockout which gives him the chance to step on the world stage with a huge win, but gives Joyce his only chance to pull this one out?

DAZN offers a far less compelling main event as Daniel Jacobs continues his attempt to gain a title in the super middleweight division, but he does so against a fighter that he should defeat easily as he did in his initial voyage at 168 pounds.

Unlike Julio Cesar Chavez. Jr., Gabriel Rosado's heart and toughness have never been in question as he never quits and always gives what he has to offer.

Unfortunately, that rarely is enough against the top fighters when Rosado faces them.

Against the fighters around the back end of the top ten to fifteen, Rosado gets beaten up, receives one or more facial cuts and then makes a run down the stretch, and takes the fight to the scorecards, where the decision often goes against him and controversially so in many cases.

The problem comes when Rosado faces the best of the game because against those fighters, he gets beaten up, suffers bad cuts, doesn't generate much offense, and takes the chance of being hurt permanently.

Against Gennady Golovkin, Peter Quillin, and David Lemieux, all badly pounded Rosado and you wonder how long he can hold up against Jacobs, the best fighter that he has fought in years at a weight that favors Jacobs far more than Rosado.

I wouldn't call this a mismatch, but I truly don't see a way for Rosado to be competitive in this fight.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 158-148.

Heavyweights.10 Rds

Tony Yoka vs Christian Hammer

R.L: Yoka KO 8

TRS: Yoka Unanimous Decision

Super Middleweights. 12 Rds

Daniel Jacobs vs Gabriel Rosado

R.L: Jacobs KO 8

TRS: Jacobs KO 6

Heavyweights. 12 Rds

Daniel DuBois vs Joe Joyce

R.L: DuBois KO 6

TRS: DuBois Unanimous Decision

Boxing Challenge: Crawford stops Brook

Photo: Mikey Williams-Top Rank

        Terence Crawford may not be facing the best welterweights in the world, through no fault of his own, but against the opposition that is facing Crawford is showing why the elite fighters in his division have shown such reticence to meet him in the ring.

Crawford took a few rounds to figure out former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook and then took Brook out in the fourth round in a manner that enhanced his standing as the best finisher in the sport.

Crawford's fourth round right hand spun Brook into (and almost through) the ropes and his resulting hop away brought to my mind the desperate leap by Joe Frazier against George Foreman in 1973.

After the knockdown was declared, Brook attempted to continue but with Crawford jumping on him and scoring with another strong right hand, Brook was fortunate to have the fight ended before serious injury occurred.

For Kell Brook, the time appears right to walk away from boxing for a once-excellent boxer.

Unless the UK-lusted for fight with Amir Khan can be signed, I don't see a lot of reasons for Brook to continue fighting.

A Khan fight would bring a sizable payday and not a lot of danger, so I can see making that fight, but otherwise I don't see the point.

Terence Crawford was the best welterweight in the world entering this fight and I believe he left this fight at the same level.

Errol Spence has a legitimate claim to the same title, but with promotional issues involved a fight that needs to be made looks unlikely.

Mainly because it appears that both see more money to be made by fighting a 42 year old Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East somewhere.

Both Crawford and Spence would be favored to win such a fight and enrich themselves doing it, but the best fight is with each other.

It appears to be possible that Crawford may have to leave Top Rank to meet Spence (Although all bets are off if Danny Garcia upsets Spence in December) and I'm fine with that, if that's what it takes to make the fight, but it shouldn't be this hard to put the best against the best- yet boxing always finds a way.

Speaking of boxing always finding a way, there was the co-feature in which boxing botched another one.

In Andrew Moloney's rematch vs Joshua Franco, Moloney dominated the first two rounds and appeared to close Franco's eye shut with his jab.

However, referee Russell Mora ruled the eye was swollen by a headbutt, but no worries as Nevada has installed an instant replay program to avoid these travesties.

BUT this is boxing and after a twenty minute delay for a national television audience and countless reviews from the ESPN truck, the Nevada officials decided not to overturn Mora's mistake and ruled the fight a no-contest to deprive Moloney of a deserved win.

Only in boxing.

In the boxing challenge, I added two points to Ramon Malpica's one and move the season total to 158-148.

Boxing Challenge

  A soft weekend in boxing as far as depth is salvaged by an appearance by arguably the best fighter in the world on somewhat free ( you do pay for cable after all) television from ESPN and Top Rank.

Terence Crawford defends his WBO welterweight title against former IBF champion Kell Brook in a heavily anticipated fight- If this was 2016.

At that time, Brook was possibly the best welterweight in the world, having a decisive win over Shawn Porter ( that holds to this day, as Brook's win was far more authoritative than later wins by Keith Thurman and Errol Spence) and few wanted to face Brook.

That was before his gutsy, but questionable decision to face middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, in which he was stopped and suffered a broken orbital bone, and a title defense against Errol Spence that saw him fight well and take a lead before another broken orbital bone and stoppage loss. Since losing to Spence, Brook has won three in a row at junior middleweight against weaker competition and hasn't looked good doing it.

Combine all of that for Brook along with fighting at a weight that he hasn't seen in years with the skills of Crawford and this looks like an easy fight to call.

I can see Brook winning some rounds early as Crawford doesn't always start fast, but Crawford should break him down and finish him in the middle to late rounds.

The co-feature is a junior bantamweight rematch from an ESPN bubble fight earlier this fight with Joshua Franco battling Andrew Moloney for a minor title.

Franco surprised Moloney (and Top Rank) in winning a unanimous decision that Franco won (on two cards) only because of an eleventh round knockdown, but deserved to be far wider in my opinion.

Moloney was in deep trouble in the eleventh and had the fight been ended in the round, I don't think many would have objected, but Moloney finished as well as he could for a fighter with two busted eardrums and Moloney exercised his rematch clause immediately after.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 156-147

WBO Welterweight Title. 12 Rds

Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook

R.L:  Crawford Unanimous Decision
TRS: Crawford KO 9

Junior Bantamweights. 12 Rds

Joshua Franco vs Andrew Moloney

Both: Franco Unanimous Decision

Boxing Challenge: Haney decisions Gamboa

   Devin Haney didn't prove anything unexpected in his unanimous decision win over Yuriorkis Gamboa, but he did retain his WBC lightweight title in a dominant fashion in Hollywood, Florida.

Haney landed more and connected with some heavy shots but never seemed close to ending the fight by stoppage and never knocked down Gamboa, who had been stopped in the final round of his previous fight by Gervonta Davis.

Haney hadn't fought in close to a year (two days shy) after shoulder surgery and the inactivity did show, as, despite his effectiveness in the bout, Haney didn't land as many punches as in past fights.

Gamboa tried his best against Haney and even threw more punches than the far younger man, but at 38 Gamboa appears to be finished as a serious challenge to the best fighters in the division.

I scored Haney a 120-107 winner, winning every round with Gamboa losing a point in the eleventh round for holding.

Devin Haney is a very talented young fighter, but he seems to be a step ahead of where he should be in his career.

Haney has not lost a round in his last two fights, but both went the entire twelve round distance, he scored only one knockdown in those rounds (against Alberto Santiago), and with Gamboa's history of being knocked down (and three times out), it's not unreasonable to begin to wonder about Haney's power a little.

Haney certainly belongs in the lightweight discussion with Teofimo Lopez, Vasyl Lomachenko (should he decide to remain in the division), Gervonta Davis, the winner of next month's Ryan Garcia-Luke Campbell fight, and maybe Jorge Linares, but he'll need to begin to fight better opponents soon.

Haney's resume' doesn't have any standouts and should Garcia defeat Campbell, Haney will have the weakest opposition of any of the four standout young fighters in the division.

Hopefully, Haney will be facing a stern test in his next outing.

In Los Angeles, (Full Van Earl Wright here) heavyweight Luis "King Kong" Ortiz returned to the ring for the first time since his second of his two knockout losses to Deontay Wilder in what seemed to be an incredibly awful Fox main event from PBC.

Sadly, it was as awful as expected as Ortiz stopped Alexander Flores in 45 seconds in what appeared to be a glancing shot at best.

I say glancing because I didn't really see a punch, the two came together and Flores fell to the floor unable to beat the count.

Ortiz officially landed three punches in the win, but proved nothing about what he has remaining in his career.
Flores had been stopped early in both of his losses which happened to be the two fighters that you may have heard of (Joseph Parker and Charles Martin), but this was just beyond awful and a pathetic excuse for a main event on FS1, let alone network television.

An absolute joke.

Ramon Malpica and I each added three points on the day in the boxing challenge to move our totals to 156-147.

The Browns are on bye, so the next post will be the sloppy, but easy win by Ohio State over Rutgers.

I may do a smaller version of a recap as I really hate those squash match recaps sometimes.

Boxing Challenge

 The boxing weekend is fairly light, but with two cards and one world title fight to watch, there is still some intrigue.

DAZN's main event will feature the WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney defending against aging Yuriorkis Gamboa from Hollywood, Florida.
Haney, who received the WBC title when Vasyl Lomachenko was promoted to the organization's ridiculous "franchise" champion and therefore cost boxing a four title unified champion when Teofimo Lopez upset Lomachenko, is still an extremely talented young fighter and is one of several top-notch lightweights that can make great fights over the next few years.
Sadly that great fight will not likely be Saturday against the well-worn Gamboa, who suffered an Achilles injury in his last fight against Gervonta Davis, where Gamboa fought better than expected but never bothered "Tank" before being stopped in the final round.

Gamboa will be the best name on Haney's record after this projected win, but that shows how soft Haney's opposition has been thus far in his career.

The main attraction to this one is comparing how Haney performs against Gamboa against Gervonta Davis's win over Gamboa.

Other than that, this is a showcase bout...

Fox will have an all-heavyweight card in primetime from PBC, which will likely be an infomercial for the upcoming Errol Spence- Danny Garcia with some heavyweight matches of less than world-class caliber to help fill out the time slot.

The main event has the return of former world title challenger Luis "King Kong" Ortiz against Alexander Flores.

Ortiz has been out of the ring for a year since his seventh-round knockout loss to then-WBC champion Deontay Wilder, in which Ortiz won the first six rounds and then was knocked out by one Wilder right hand in the seventh.

The 41-year-old Ortiz is boxing on borrowed time and is being fed Alexander Flores in an effort to build Ortiz up for one more run in the suddenly sparse PBC portion of the heavyweight decision.

Flores has a solid record at 18-2-1, but only three fights scheduled for more than eight rounds, only two fighters that are name heavyweights (Joseph Parker and Charles Martin) and lasted only three and four rounds against those two for his two losses.

If Ortiz has only his punch left, this could be very ugly and perhaps a highlight reel knockout.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 153-144.

WBC Lightweight Title. 12 Rds

Devin Haney vs Yuriorkis Gamboa

R.L:  Haney KO 5
TRS: Haney KO 8

Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Luis Ortiz vs Alexander Flores

R.L: Ortiz KO 6
TRS: Ortiz KO 3

Boxing Challenge: One Punch Knockout Night for Davis,Inoue

  The boxing Saturday was filled with world title defenses, title contenders returning to the ring, and two of the most devastating one-punch knockouts that you'll see.

Let's start with the final card of the evening with PBC putting together a pay-per-view from San Antonio, Texas, and a fight that has been reported to be quite an action-packed affair.

Editors Note: As of this writing, I have not seen any of the PPV cards yet, so I'm just reporting the results. When I have a chance to see and score them, I'll come back and edit my scorecard with thoughts for posterity.

In the main event, Gervonta Davis took away Leo Santa Cruz's WBA junior lightweight title and kept his own minor title by a crunching sixth-round knockout that left Santa Cruz out cold for a period of time and will be a contender for knockout of the year.

The fight was noted to be fought on mostly even terms before the left uppercut (that I have seen!) that will threaten Alexander Povetkin's knockout of Dillian Whyte for the KO of the year.

Davis claims that he will keep both championships (Which I don't have an issue with if he can continue to make the weight), but in the past, the WBA has claimed that they will not allow a champion to hold two of their titles, but organizations in boxing tend to make these decisions on the fly and according to the fighter or promoters so who knows how the WBA will rule on this.

In the undercard matches.

Mario Barrios kept his minor title over Ryan Karl by 6th round knockout

Regis Prograis stopped Juan Heraldez in three rounds

Isaac Cruz knocked out Diego Magdaleno in the first round...

From London's television studio, Oleksander Usyk received what he was looking for from Derek Chisora- A good twelve-round test as a heavyweight and moved to the future with a unanimous decision victory.

Chisora started well in the first few rounds and had his moments late, but Usyk rallied after the early stages and banked rounds to build a solid lead on the scorecards.

No knockdowns, although Usyk did wobble Chisora a bit near the end of the seventh round.

I scored Usyk a 116-112 winner, so the verdict was a fair one.

Usyk is the mandatory contender in the WBO for champion Anthony Joshua, but could take step aside money for Joshua's unification fight with Tyson Fury, or should he refuse to move away, he could fight for a vacated title from Joshua.

The co-feature saw a mild upset as George Kambosos won a split decision over former IBF featherweight champion Lee Selby in an IBF lightweight eliminator to earn a mandatory title shot next year against Teofimo Lopez.

The thoughts were as wide as the scorecards as experts from England (Selby) and Australia (Kambosos) were each puzzled by a split decision and complained about the judges not favoring their man.

I thought Kambosos landed the harder punches against the smoother Selby and deserved a close call- 115-113 on my scorecard.

On ESPN Plus from the Las Vegas bubble, Top Rank featured the "Monster" Naoya Inoue in his debut for the company, and Inoue shined as hoped with a one-punch knockout of tough Australian contender Jason Moloney.

Moloney fought on almost even terms for the first three rounds, but Inoue began to land well in the fourth and fifth before a left hook sent Moloney to the mat in round six.

Inoue's right hand ended the fight in the seventh with a KO that would have received far more attention had Gervonta Davis not scored his highlight-reel knockout later in the evening.

Inoue could face WBO champion John Riel Casimero next in a unification fight that was scheduled earlier this year before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In an untelevised bout, former cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev made his heavyweight debut with a first-round KO of Sefer Sefari.

Gassiev scored an early knockdown with Seferi rising unsteadily and the referee stopping the fight.

In the boxing challenge, I outscored Ramon Malpica 13-9 on the day and boosted my lead to 153-144.