Boxing Challenge: Garcia busts Benn

   Ryan Garcia dropped Conor Benn with a right hand and finished him off after a shaky Benn got to his feet in round two, for a painless stoppage of Benn in the biggest fight promoted by Zuffa Boxing in their short existence.

Benn slugged it out evenly with Garcia in the first round, but his drop from the middleweight division may have weakened him, as the Englishman crumbled with the big right hand from Garcia.

Garcia has spoken of several opponents for his next fight, asking for a return from retirement from former three-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford, a rematch with Gervonta Davis, who stopped Garcia in seven rounds in 2023, or a unification fight with WBA champion Teofimo Lopez.

Benn will likely rise in weight but doesn't have an obvious opponent for his next fight and will have to revitalize himself after a devastating loss.

Unbeaten former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opietaia stopped WBC champion Noel Mikelian in nine rounds in the co-feature, but didn't win the title as Mikaelin was stripped of the title before the fight.

Andres Cortes won a unanimous decision over former featherweight champion Mark Magsayo in a lightweight ten rounder and in the best fight of the night, welterweight contender Alexis Rocha won a competitive unanimous decision over former junior welterweight champion Jose Ramirez.

I'd like to see Rocha and Ramirez in a rematch.

Boxing Challenge

TRS:  106 Pts (5)

Ramon Malpica: 91 Pts (4)

Vince Samano: 60 Pts (0)

 

Boxing Challenge: Figueroa oupoints Magsayo

    Brandon Figueroa outpunched and took advantage of two points deducted from his opponent, Mark Magsayo, for holding to win a unanimous decision in a WBC featherweight eliminator to decide the mandatory challenger for champion Rey Vargas.

Figueroa dominated the second half of the fight other than Magsayo's last attempt to pull the fight from the fire in the final round.

The numbers showed the fight fairly equal but Figueroa outworked Magsayo when the fight was on the line and frustrated him into committing the holding violations as Magsayo tired late.

I thought the fight was closer than the judges at 116-100 (official cards 117-109 x2 and 118-108) but Figueroa was the deserved victor.

Figueroa will now face Rey Vargas for Vargas's WBC title and I like Figueroa's chances of pressuring Vargas, who returns to the weight class after a loss for the vacant 130 pound title to O'Shaquie Foster and will have to drop weight, which for a taller, lankier boxer as Vargas could be a problem.

As for Magsayo, the loss is his second in a row after his upset win over Gary Russell and while he hasn't hurt his career very much with the two defeats, Magsayo might be well-suited to take a confidence builder in his next affair.

In the co-feature, former WBA and IBF junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd dropped his second fight after rising to the middleweight division and this time to the relatively unheralded Armando Resendiz when the fight was stopped before the start of the tenth and final round due to a deep laceration to Hurd's lip.

Hurd vowed before the fight that he was going to return to the aggressive style that won him two titles at 154 pounds and defeated the likes of Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, and Tony Harrison, and he did that but he was overpowered by Resendiz, who isn't world-class currently and has a loss on his record to the average Marcos Hernandez.

I had Resendiz ahead on my card at 86-83 and I'm sure this win will get him more fights, while Hurd showed some signs of his former style, he might have to return to the junior middleweight division to make any advances.

The other challenge fight was in Newcastle, England in a WBA junior welterweight eliminator as Ohara Davies knocked out Lewis Ritson in the ninth round.

I haven't seen the fight yet but the reports are that Davies scored a spectacular KO.

Boxing Challenge 

TRS: 31 Pts (2)

Ramon Malpica:  25 Pts (1)

Vince Samano: 24 Pts (5)

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)

Boxing Challenge: Magsayo dethrones Russell!

  Boxing's longest-reigning champion is no more as Gary Russell lost his WBC featherweight title to mandatory challenger Mark Magsayo by majority decision in Atlantic City, New Jersey Saturday night on the Showtime-televised card.

While the decision was close but not really in dispute (Magsayo won 115-113 on two cards with the dissenting at 114-114, I agreed on my card with the majority of the judges), the controversial part is the injury to the right shoulder of Russell that forced Russell to be a one-handed fighter for much of the bout.

Russell claimed he entered the bout with the injury that he suffered two weeks ago in camp and insisted that he fight through the pain anyway, Magsayo stated that he landed a punch in the third round that caused the damage, and I thought Russell's injury came in the fourth round when he winced in pain following a punch.

While the timing of Russell's shoulder issue, the courage, and talent of Russell can't be as he essentially fought one-armed and battled his way to a fight that could have easily been scored for him.

Magsayp started fast in winning the first two rounds but Russell's shoulder began to be a factor just as he was turning the tide and Magsayo, on my card, won just enough over the remainder of the fight to win on my card

Magsayo didn't dominate the fight as one would have hoped against a one-armed fighter and that alone makes a rematch appealing to me.

The reign of Gary Russell was one that was a disappointment to most boxing fans and observers and the loss of his title had the same disappointing ending with a close loss and a less than satisfying ending.

The co-feature was the fight of the evening as junior welterweight Subriel Matias avenged his only loss when Petros Ananyan was unable to answer the bell at the beginning of round ten.

Matias was far ahead on my card after nine (89-81) dominating but entertaining rounds that saw Ananyan give his all and land some shots on Matias but the Puerto Rico native was a different fighter than in their first fight and pounded Ananyan with counter shots as Ananyan walked in.

Matias landed a strong left hook late in round nine that dropped Ananyan and only the bell ringing after he got off the mat. saved him as the fight may have been ended then and there if there had been more time remaining in the round with Ananyan looking badly dazed.

The doctor/corner did the right thing and ended the fight rather than send Ananyan out to take more punishment, which was definitely the right decision.

Matias appears to be in good shape with the IBF with a fight against Jeremiah Ponce, which would be a very interesting fight between two exciting bombers, that would either be a final eliminator or could be the vacant IBF title should Josh Taylor start shedding belts after his title defense against Jack Catterall next month to move to welterweight.

In the evening's first event, late replacement Sakaria Lukas was robbed of an upset win over Tug Nyambayar in a ten-round featherweight opener.

Lukas landed a left in the eighth round that knocked down Nyambayar but was not scored as a knockdown and cost Lukas a win in the fight that was scored a draw at 96-94 for each fighter and then a 95-95 even card.

Had the knockdown been scored properly, Lukas would have gotten the decision.

In the boxing challenge, here are the current standings with the points for this week in parentheses.

Ramon Malpica 9 pts (3)

Vince Samano 8 pts (2)

TRS 6 pts (1)