Boxing Challenge: Davis Flattens Martin

  

    The boxing weekend was centered in Las Vegas for the latest Amazon/PBC pay per view and while the card saw two upsets, the fights at the top of the slate played out as expected.

Frank Martin boxed well at the start of the fight but slowly became more stationary and when you are in punching range of Gervonta Davis, a fighter is always in the danger zone.

I had Martin slightly ahead at 67-66 after seven rounds but he wouldn't see another scored round as Davis landed a crunching uppercut followed by a left that knocked Martin down and out in round eight for the conclusive ending.

Davis retained his WBA lightweight title with the knockout and he called out the remaining three champions in the division after the win.

WBC champion Shakur Stevenson becomes a promotional free agent after his next fight which would be the biggest fight but would Stevenson accept the likely B-side payday for such a fight?

IBF champion Vasyl Lomachenko (Top Rank) is unlikely and Top Rank also holds options (I believe) on WBO boss Denys Baranchyk, who would likely leap at a career-best payday otherwise.

Davis's problem is that unless he willingly works with promoters outside the PBC brand, his list of potential opponents is small.

Martin's resume wasn't bulked with top names and he was the best PBC fighter at Davis's weight.

Should Davis move to 140, a rematch with WBA champion Isaac Cruz might have some mild appeal as the best option.

At 29, it's time for Gervonta Davis to decide what he wants his legacy in the sport to be.

Does he want to bank lots of money (which he has done and will continue to do) and add to a career that is filled with spectacular knockouts against good opponents who aren't the elite?

Or does he want to face the best and take a chance of losing with the upside of winning and being remembered as the best of his era?

The comparison is the career of another PBC performer- Deontay Wilder.

Like Davis, Wilder notched spectacular knockouts against average competition, accumulating a high quantity of wins rather than quality (Wilder's best wins in his career are his decision win over Bermane Steverne in their first fight and his two wins over Luis Ortiz) before finally stepping up for his first fight against Tyson Fury.

Wilder finished 0-2-1 in his three fights against Fury and if not for a one-round squash match KO of Robert Helenius, Wilder hasn't won a fight since November 2019.

Wilder falls just short of the Hall of Fame in my opinion and while Davis still has plenty of time for the legacy-setting fights, his best wins to date are over Isaac Cruz (a win that looks much better now than it did when the two squared off) with other good wins that all have asterisks beside them.

Ryan Garcia, who unwisely agreed to weight demands and essentially quit, an undersized and overrated Leo Santa Cruz, and Jose Pedraza, who has lost to the best that he has fought as well.

I'll give Davis credit for the Pedraza win as that was when Pedraza was at the top of his game and his opposition is better than Wilder's but it still lacks that signature victory that comes to mind when a great fighter's name is brought up in conversation.

Deontay Wilder would eventually take the chance against better opposition and it might be argued that had he made the decision earlier in his career, his career could been even better (I could see Wilder landing the right hand and taking out Anthony Joshua when both were unbeaten heavyweight champions), will Davis wait too long to make his move as well?

I think Gervonta Davis could beat any of the three other champions (could, not will).

The question is when will he take the risk?

I'll have the rest of the boxing weekend tomorrow.

Boxing Challenge: Martin escapes

      The boxing weekend lacked a title fight but there were three fights that could affect boxing in the near future as well as down the road.

In the main event from Las Vegas for Showtime and PBC, lightweight contender Frank Martin used a late rally to escape with a narrow but unanimous decision over Artem Harutyunyan.

 Harutyunyan forced Martin's hand a bit with a style that I wouldn't call overly aggressive nor a pure boxing style either, that confused Martin through most of the fight and kept the Texan a step behind.

Martin had his moments, including a big sixth round that saw him stagger Harutyunyan and looked to have the momentum in his direction but Harutyunyan took over instead and had a sizable lead on my card after nine rounds.

Martin's trainer Derrick James thought so too as he exhorted Martin to step up the pace between the ninth and tenth round and Martin responded with some of his best rounds of the fight, sweeping the final three rounds and forcing Harutyunyan to take a knee in the final round.

The knockdown cost Harutyunyan on one scorecard as he would have gotten a draw on one scorecard without it, losing on that 114-113 and on the other two cards 115-112.

I scored Harutyunyan a winner at 114-113 but the fight was very close with several rounds that could have been given to either fighter, so giving Martin the nod is acceptable and reasonable in my opinion.

Still, even in victory, and considering the terrific try by the former Olympic bronze medalist, Harutyunyan, Martin now has some question marks for a potential fight against an elite fighter in the division.

PBC isn't especially strong at 135 pounds, other than Gervonta Davis and maybe Issac Cruz, so it's possible that Martin's outing might make either man more likely to try Martin now than after his dazzling win over Michel Rivera, so this could eventually be a good thing for Martin if he just had a bad night or trouble with a difficult style.

In the co-feature, junior welterweight Elvis Rodriguez scored the biggest win of his career when he stopped former WBC champion Viktor Postol in the seventh round.

The fight was evenly fought through four rounds and Postol was winning the fifth before a Rodriguez right hand late in the round wobbled Postol a bit.

Rodriguez dropped Postol in round six and broke Postol's nose, causing some profuse bleeding.

Postol survived the sixth but Rodriguez poured it on in the seventh with the referee maybe stopping the fight a smidge too soon.

However, Postol wasn't going to turn the fight around and it seemed like a matter of time in any case.

Rodriguez looked much better than he did in his previous fight, a majority decision win over Joseph Adorno, and might be on his way to another improvement in opponent soon.

As for Postol, it was his second loss by stoppage in a row after never having an early loss before and unless he would be satisfied with being a name opponent, might be time to consider retirement.

The other boxing challenge fight was the co-feature from Matchroom/DAZN in Detroit for the pro debut of Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz, who used his superior skills and speed to dominate trialhorse Juan Carlos Burgos over ten rounds.

Burgos was at one time good enough to fight for a world title and should have won one, drawing against Roman Martinez in a fight he won in my opinion.

But those days are gone and Burgos is just another rugged opponent that good young lightweights face to gain experience with Burgos losing decisions to those fighters as each tries to be the first to stop him.

Cruz was no different than Keyshawn Davis, Mikey Garcia, or Devin Haney, all of who dominated Burgos, and yet couldn't stop him as they settled for dominant unanimous decision victories.

Cruz won every round on two cards and mine at 100-90 as the other card was 98-92 for Cruz, which in its own way is one of the crazier cards this year as I can't find one round for Burgos, no matter how hard I try to.

Cruz is planning on fighting an even better opponent in his second fight and hopes to gain a title fight in his third pro bout.

I'm not sure if that is feasible, especially if Devin Haney stays in the division and holds all four titles but Cruz will have his chances against the better fighters sooner or later and the inevitable fight with Keyshawn Davis, who Cruz defeated multiple times in the amateurs, including for Olympic gold.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 120 Pts (4) 

Ramon Malpica: 107 Pts (0)

Vince Samano: 87 Pts (3)

Boxing Challenge: Martin outclasses Rivera

     The Showtime main event from Las Vegas expected to see two undefeated young lightweights duel in their first major test and it was hard to predict which would emerge victorious.

Instead, the Errol Spence protege' Frank Martin dominated Michel Rivera, knocked him down in the seventh round, and showed that while Martin is a talented boxer, he can punch a bit as well.

Martin won easily by scores of 120-107, 118-109, and 117-110 officially with my scorecard in the range of the officials at 119-108.

Martin's win came in a WBA eliminator, so he should move up in the ratings and with his talent, Martin should be in the center of the fallout when Devin Haney eventually moves to junior welterweight and vacates all four titles.

Frank Martin is going to be a tough out for anyone in the lightweight division and I'm anxious to see him when he makes the next step of the ladder of contention but PBC isn't exactly lightweight-heavy currently.

Other than Gervonta Davis and I can tell you that I have a better chance of winning the Boston Marathon than Gervonta Davis does of facing Frank Martin unless he is forced and Issac Cruz, there are no other threats to Martin on the PBC roster, so I'm hoping that he doesn't stagnate against average opponents over the next year or two.

In the co-feature, undefeated Vladimir Shishkin defeated former IBF super middleweight champion Jose Uzcategui by unanimous decision in an IBF eliminator that will earn Shishkin another eliminator berth in his next fight.

Uzcategui never threatened Shishkin, who outboxed and outpunched the former champion, who has never resembled the one-time "fighter no one wanted to face" after his upset defeat to Caleb Plant in 2019.

Shishkin is a solid all-around fighter that does nothing outstanding but everything well and could pick up a world title at some time in his career, provided that an elite champion doesn't hold the title at the time of his challenge.

The Showtime broadcast mentioned Shishkin as a possibility for minor titleholder David Morrell and I would really like that fight.

It would test both fighters against the best opponent of their career and the winner could make an argument as the number two contender in the division behind the winner of the January David Benavidez-Caleb Plant matchup for unified champion Canelo Alvarez.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 213 Pts (4)

Ramon Malpica: 180 Pts (2)

Vince Samano: 165 Pts (0) 

Boxing Challenge: Chisora clips Pulev, Vargas dethrones Magsayo

     The boxing Saturday was filled with fun fights with lots of competitive matches and a title changing hands in the featherweight division.

We start earlier in the day from London with a Matchroom/DAZN card and a heavyweight fight that lived up to its hype as Derek Chisora avenged a split decision loss to Kubrat Pulev in 2016 with a split decision win of his own.

Chisora started strong and hit Pulev to the body often in the first few rounds but in the middle rounds decided to return to the tactic that he used effectively against Joseph Parker by going to the ropes, and firing looping right hands that often found the mark against Pulev.

Pulev scored well from distance and wobbled Chisora badly in the eighth round with a left uppercut and landed more throughout the fight.

Both fighters stayed active to the end and the final four rounds were fought toe to toe with two tired veterans throwing and landing bomb after bomb until the final bell.

I scored the fight even at 114, so I had no issues with Chisora getting the nod by scores of 116-112 and 116-114 (No typo, one judge scored two even rounds) while the dissenting judge scored 116-112 for Pulev.

I had to feel good for Chisora, who has so often lost close decisions in the past but as exciting as his fights have been of late, I have concerns about the punishment that he is taking.

I wonder about referees that know Chisora's tactics and will want to give him every chance to continue in fights and on a wrong night it could result in Chisora receiving an even worse beating.

Chisora called out Deontay Wilder after the fight and while promotional issues make that fight unlikely, it would be very interesting to pair Wilder's power but vulnerable chin against Chisora's toughness.

In the co-feature, a second try at a WBA junior middleweight eliminator worked just as the first time- without a winner as Israil Madrimov battered Michel Soro in the second round and appeared poised to finish the Frenchman in the third but as he charged after Soro to start the round, an ugly head clash opened a bad cut over Soro's left eye and forced the fight to be stopped immediately.

While the cut was bad, it wasn't any worse than the one that Kubrat Pulev would fight through and now with another no-victor result, the WBA will likely order these two to fight again for a third time to determine their mandatory contender to Jermell Charlo.

In Ekaterinburg, Russia, Magomed Kurbanov decisioned former WBO champion Patrick Teixeira to become Charlo's mandatory challenge in the WBO junior middleweight rankings.

I haven't watched this one yet but I've read Kurbanov knocked Teixeira down in the first round on his way to the unanimous decision.

Showtime and PBC put together what proved to be an excellent three-bout card from San Antonio, Texas, and the Alamodome.

In the main event, former WBC junior featherweight champion Rey Vargas moved up in weight to the featherweight division and pulled a mild upset in winning the WBC championship from Mark Magsayo via split decision.

Vargas has been known for his less than interesting victories but engaged more against Magsayo and built a solid lead into the middle rounds against Magsayo, who ended the long-time reign of Gary Russell in his last appearance.

Magsayo had fallen behind on the cards against Julio Ceja in his fight before the Russell win and needed to score a come from behind tenth round knockout to win, and Magsayo almost did the same to retain his title against Vargas, knocking Vargas down in round nine to tighten the scorecards.

Magsayo looked like he scored another knockdown in the tenth, but it was surprisingly scored a slip and by the end of the round, Magsayo had allowed his final and best chance to pass him by.

The eleventh and twelfth rounds were pretty evenly fought and while it wasn't the most exciting fight I've ever seen, it was far more action-filled than any previous fight from Vargas.

Vargas won on two cards 115-112, which was the same as my score, with Magsayo taking the fight according to one judge 114-113, which seemed to be a stretch for me.

Vargas called for WBA champion Leo Santa Cruz after the fight, but the WBA, who has allowed Santa Cruz to keep their title for 41 months and counting without a fight in the division and still hasn't announced a mandated fight against Leigh Wood but he's more likely to face the WBC mandatory contender Brandon Figueroa.

Figueroa earned the mandatory spot with a sixth-round knockout of Carlos Castro in the co-feature that Figueroa controlled but Castro occasionally established himself in the action.

Figueroa knocked Castro down in the third round and Castro barely beat the ten count, but survived the round and landed a few good shots over the rest of the fight.

Castro started the sixth round strong and trapped Figueroa along the ropes before Figueroa was able to turn things around, trapping Castro along the ropes himself and battering him with several combinations forcing the referee to step in and end the fight.

I had Figueroa ahead 49-45 at the time of the stoppage.

It was an excellent outing for Figueroa, who was returning after his narrow majority decision loss to Stephen Fulton last November (I scored Figueroa a close winner), and whenever he would face Rey Vargas, it seems to be an interesting mix of styles.

In the opening fight, lightweight prospect Frank Martin received a good fight from late replacement Jackson Marinez before pulling away in the late rounds and stopping Marinez in the tenth and final round.

Martin almost finished Marinez in the ninth round, knocking him down with the bell ringing to end the round before the fighters could be brought back together to continue.

Martin polished Marinez off quickly in the tenth, scoring a knockdown and ending the fight within thirty seconds.

I had Martin ahead 78-71 entering the last round, so it was very impressive how Martin ended the fight rather than cruise to the finish.

Martin is the best lightweight prospect that PBC currently promotes and clearly has the potential to eventually be a title contender but considering PBC's lack of top fighters in the division other than Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz, neither of which Martin is quite ready for currently, look for a few more fights for Martin against fighters on the level of Marinez.

That may not be totally a bad thing for Martin's development but it may not make for many competitive battles.

Boxing Challenge

TRS:  127 Pts  (9)

Ramon Malpica: 105 Pts  (6)

Vince Samano: 102 Pts  (6)