Boxing Challenge: Zuffa Era begins with Opietaia win

   Jai Opietaia's victory over Brandon Glanton was as dominant as one could see, but it could be more significant for what happened outside the ring, as Opietaia was stripped of his IBF cruiserweight title before the bell rang.

In the ring, the bout was forgettable as Opietaia puffed up Glanton's eyes and forehead and did about everything a fighter could do short of scoring a knockdown.

Honestly, the fight could have been stopped in the corner of Glanton in the late rounds, and I would not have complained.

Glanton was penalized for holding and low blows, and somehow Opietaia was penalized for holding, which was the only thing preventing Opietaia from a perfect score with all three judges scoring the fight 119-106 for the Australian.

The real fun was outside the ring where despite paying the sanctioning fees, the IBF still took their title away in a snit over the Zuffa championship.

I'm no Zuffa apologist but this is all on the IBF.

Yes, Dana White (Zuffa head) has made his statement about the boxing status quo but their fighter (Opietaia) has made it clear that he wanted to unify all four titles, and they are trying to make that happen with their cooperation to date.

I could do without the Zuffa title but it's not a major problem yet.

There will be a showdown eventually but for now, Zuffa has played by the standard rules and deserves the recognition of being right.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 26 Pts (1)

Vince Samano: 24 Pts (1)

TRS: 22 Pts (1)

Boxing Challenge: Eubank outslugs Benn

    The boxing weekend was all about the British as London's Tottenham Hotspur stadium held the four fights in the boxing challenge.

The main event was a surprise as I believed the match between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn would be a bigger man wearing down a smaller man in a lopsided result of a heavily hyped fight.

Instead, the two brawled for twelve rounds in a fight that begged for these two to hook it up for a second time, with Eubank Jr emerging with the unanimous decision victory.

All three judges scored the bout 116-112 (as I did) for Eubank Jr.

Eubank's larger frame was too much for the gutsy Benn to get past, and it wasn't until the final round that either fighter was seriously in trouble, when Eubank stunned Benn and attempted to earn the stoppage, with Benn barely surviving.

I have to admit this fight did very little for me before the bout, but both men showed heart and skill,s and I was wrong, this fight was worth the time.

Light heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde won the rubber match in his third fight against Lyndon Arthur by unanimous decision.

This one was entertaining for six rounds, but Yarde controlled the second half of the fight to win by scores of 116-112 times two (my score) and 115-113.

Middleweight Aaron McKenna won the biggest fight of his career with a battering of former WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith.

McKenna almost stopped Smith in the final round, dropping him after a punch to the body, but Smith managed to hear the final bell.

McKenna's winning scores were 119-108, 118-108, and 117-109, with my score at 118-109.

McKenna should be moved to the next level after a tremendous outing, while Smith should consider retirement after an excellent career.

Former WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith was a winner in his return from his title loss to Gilberto Ramirez with a unanimous decision over Brandon Glanton.

I had the fight even after eight rounds, but it was all Billam-Smith late to earn the nod on the scorecards.

Scores of 116-112 times two (same as mine) and 116-113 for Billam-Smith

Billam-Smith is now in line to meet the winner of this weekend's WBC cruiserweight title match between champion Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelian.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 61 Pts (4)

Ramon Malpica:56 Pts (6)

Vince Samano:23 Pts (0)