Boxing in August often can be the slowest month of the year and looking at the schedule, this past Saturday was the biggest of the month, and up until the final bout of the day, the day had been mostly unsatisfying.
That bout would save the day as Emanuel Navarrete went to war with Oscar Valdez for twelve rounds and kept his WBO junior lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory that he deserved but not by the margins that he received on two cards.
The one card of 116-112 was the same as mine, with Navarrete pulling away in winning the final two rounds but the scores of 119-109 and 118-110 were extremely unfair to Valdez.
Navarrete is wide-open offensively and often fights down to his perceived competition but was clearly motivated on this night against a fellow Mexican and an underdog on the betting line.
Valdez's advantage in technical skill was outweighed by the relentless number of punches tossed by Navarrete and the right eye of Valdez was completely closed by the end of the fight to prove the point.
Give Valdez credit for grit and effort and should a rematch be eventually signed, I'd give him a chance to reverse the result but he'll have to throw more punches and he's going to have to do it against a Navarrete that could have full use of his right hand, which Navarrete injured midway through the fight.
Neither fighter scored a knockdown nor had the other in serious trouble, so the fight did lack some of the drama that other action fights but it deserves at least an honorable mention when the fights of the year are determined.
It's a good thing that Navarrete-Valdez delivered because the remainder of the weekend wasn't the most exciting that boxing has ever seen.
In London from Matchroom/DAZN, former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua sleepwalked through six dull rounds against late replacement Robert Helenius, even losing a round or two against Helenius, and had fans wondering if Joshua had become so defensive that he may never be the same fighter again.
And then it all went away as Joshua crunched Helenius with one right hand that was reminiscent of the right hand that Deontay Wilder wiped Helenius out with, albeit six rounds later than Wilder's, in the seventh round to end the fight and suddenly make the proposed December match with Wilder much more intriguing that it had been a few minutes previously.
Other than the fight-ending bomb, there isn't much to say about Joshua-Helenius other than Helenius lasting longer than expected, and doing better than expected.
I had Joshua leading 59-55 at the end of the fight.
Hopefully, it's onto the Wilder-Joshua fight that has been rumored seemingly forever, which could be a battle of who lands first between two bombers or a tentative disappointment with Joshua taking few chances or Wilder swiping wildly at air.
I can see either result occurring and that's some of the intrigue for the fight that thus far has been oft-rumored and never happening.
The co-feature saw the number one contender for the IBF heavyweight title score a final-round stoppage that was neither dramatic nor overly interesting as Filip Hrgovic stopped previously unbeaten Demsey McKean in round twelve.
It was pretty dull as Hrgovic didn't really press much of the action, McKean would grab when Hrgovic tried to be aggressive, and even when he didn't, with Marcos McDonnell, who is nearing Lawrence Cole level as far as obnoxious officiating, calling none of it and causing McKean to hold even more.
That covered it until Hrgovic landed a right that stunned McKean with Hrgovic landing a series of chopping Tim Witherspoon-style rights that trapped McKean along the ropes helpless before McDonnell ended the fight.
Not a great performance by Hrgovic but he finished it well and one would hope the work would be a positive for his challenge of the Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel DuBois title fight winner in two weeks.
Sometimes, two well past their prime warriors can put on a fun but sloppy fight because they can't move away and hit every punch they throw, and other times, well you get two old guys just doing enough to be safe with bored onlookers wondering when the next fight starts.
The latter was the result of the Derek Chisora-Gerald Washington fight that was filled with huffs, puffs, and holds in a forgettable fight that Chisora won by unanimous decision by scores of 96-94, 97-94, and 98-93.
My score for Chisora at 96-94 seemed about right and my hope is that Eddie Hearn won't put Chisora in next with someone that can hurt him due to the win.
Showtime's three-fight slate from PBC may not have had the most important fights of the weekend but they did fill a title vacancy, an unbeaten prospect wins by early knockout, and another prospect is shocked by another early-round KO.
The main event would see a dominant performance by Emmanuel Rodriguez, who won every round and knocked down Melvin Lopez three times in the final round on his way to a unanimous decision and would win the IBF bantamweight title vacated by Naoya Inoue.
Not much to add to the three judge's cards of 120-105 other than I concur.
Gary Antuanne Russell added his seventeenth knockout to his flawless mark with a first-round knockout of Kent Cruz.
Russell dropped Cruz twice with Cruz taking the count after the second knockdown.
Many have tabbed welterweight Travon Marshall as a future star and fighting near his home appeared to be the first step forward for Marshall's career.
Marshall had looked impressive in his eight wins with seven by KO and his opponent had disappointed as a pro in former Olympian Gabriel Maestre, who has been most remembered for his decision win over Mykel Fox that was such an awful decision that it was the fulcrum that forced the WBA into dissolving its minor titles, a process that they are still involved in to this date.
Marshall won round one and then ate a huge right hand from Maestre that sprawled him across the ropes and partially outside the ring.
Honestly, referee Sharon Sands gave Marshall every opportunity and could have stopped the fight there.
Maestre leaped on Marshall, who fired back as best he could but didn't try to hold and when he ran into a right hand that floored him again, the fight was over.
Marshall will definitely need some rebuilding after losing in his first test and Maestre will likely receive a shot against another mid-level welterweight soon after his surprising win.
Boxing Challenge
TRS: 137 Pts (9)
Ramon Malpica: 123 Pts (8)
Vince Samano: 95 Pts (6)
