Boxing Challenge: Donaire regains, Haney retains.

    In the boxing challenge, one title remained with a talented young star, and one title was returned to a star of the past with one more remarkable effort in a career filled with them.

Starting in Carson, California with PBC and Showtime, 38-year-old Nonito Donaire regained the WBC bantamweight title that he held in 2011 (that's ten years, folks) by knocking out formerly undefeated champion Nordine Oubaali in the fourth round.

The two split the first two rounds of feeling each other out before Donaire hit Oubaali in the third round with a glancing left hook that caused Oubaali to touch his gloves to the floor but didn't seriously stun the champion.

That couldn't be said when at the bell and I mean just at the bell, Donaire landed another left hook that knocked Oubaali down, and referee Jack Reiss did an excellent job in realizing that Oubaali wouldn't have to take another punch in the round and allowed the champion to go to his corner (Well, he walked to the wrong corner first) and try to summon the strength to get himself together.

It didn't help as Donaire walked Oubaali down for ninety seconds or so and then landed a left hook which was the best shot followed by a right and another left hook that sent Oubaali to the canvas with Reiss ending the fight without a count.

For Donaire, who entered the fight an underdog after what appeared to be his last stand in a gallant losing effort to Naoya Inoue where he lost his WBA title by unanimous decision, Donaire wants a rematch with Inoue which would unify three of the four bantamweight titles.

I'm not sure of Donaire's contract situation with PBC, but if an Inoue match couldn't be worked out Donaire could fight for the WBO title, should John Riel Casimero retain his title in his summer match vs Guillermo Rigondeaux.

A Donaire-Casimero fight could be quite the shootout, but I doubt Donaire would have any interest in a Rigondeaux rematch after his loss chasing Rigondeaux around the ring.

In any event, it was a terrific night for boxing as Donaire showed that even at 38, he is still a quality bantamweight and could give Inoue another tussle, although it could be that Inoue is still too strong for the veteran.

No matter Donaire's future, he gave boxing fans another great memory and added another page to a career that will eventually see him inducted into the boxing hall of fame.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas. Devin Haney held off the late charge of Jorge Linares and defeated the former three-division via unanimous decision to retain his WBC lightweight championship.

Haney boxed very well and dominated the first nine rounds until late in the round when Linares landed a strong uppercut that foretold the final three rounds as Linares won the final three rounds and seemed to have hurt Haney just before the bell in round ten.

The Linares right hand bothered Haney to the point that he wobbled to his corner in the most tenuous state of his career and Haney would do well to get through the eleventh before Haney's head started to clear against several strong punches from Linares.

Linares would win the final round, but Haney did better than in the previous two stanzas and avoided a mishap to work his way to the final bell.

For Linares, the impressive finish and lasting to the final bell in defeat for the first time in his career will earn him another solid fight or two for sizable paychecks, even if he will have to live a late rally that fell short.

As for Haney, his dominance will be remembered, and now there will be some that question Haney's chin after riding out the late rounds.

I think it's fair to keep that in mind, but remember Linares knocked down Vasyl Lomachenko and is noted for his punching ability, so it wasn't a pillow-fisted boxer that stunned Haney.

The fight to make next for Haney should be Teofimo Lopez and settle this WBC franchise champion nonsense to unify all four titles as it should have been, to begin with.

Eddie Hearn said he had no problem allowing Haney to fight Lopez on ESPN for a Top Rank appearance against Lopez, which solves a major roadblock in making the match.

I'd favor Lopez in that fight, but give Haney a chance of winning as well.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each scored two points on the weekend and moved the total for the year to 72-68.

Boxing Challenge: Inoue holds off Donaire!

It might have been held while East Coast fans were in the midst of their commute, but if you were able to watch Naoya Inoue's unanimous decision over Nonito Donaire, you won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

In a year with plenty of strong candidates for the fight of the year, my money is on Inoue-Donaire and it's going to take one hell of a fight in the waning weeks of 2019 to take that title away- Inoue-Donaire was that good.

Inoue's win unified the IBF title that he entered the fight holding, added the WBA title formerly held by Donaire, as well as the bonus cash for winning the World Boxing Super Series tournament.
Inoue was a heavy favorite to win the fight from his home country and most (me included) thought that Inoue could actually hurt the aging Donaire, who is on the downside of a career that will eventually land him in the hall of fame.

This fight had it all- action, both men fighting through facial adversity (Inoue dealt with a cut over his right eye, while Donaire dealt with both of his eyes swelling), constant shifts in momentum, and the storyline of the young lion at his peak and ready to take the final step into stardom against the aging gunslinger that had been counted out before the fight started, yet was prepared to fire one final shot.
Inoue looked like he was going to end the fight in the fifth when he was landing strong rights and had Donaire backing up, but Donaire had his moments too with the best rounds of the fight in the eighth and ninth, almost knocking Inoue down in the ninth.
The pendulum swung back towards Inoue again in the tenth, stunning Donaire and looking to finish the former champion off for the evening.
Inoue would try, but as he did so the stage was set for a round of the year contender.

Rather than be overwhelmed by the powerful Inoue or simply collect a paycheck for boxing cautiously, it was the once-great Donaire that made this fight what it was as it was Donaire that gave almost as good as he got and it was Donaire that fought on when he could have conceded after a valiant effort and called it a day.
When I watched Donaire finally knocked to a knee by an Inoue body shot in the eleventh round, you could almost read the story of the fight written- "a gritty Nonito Donaire finally was worn down by the younger, stronger, faster Naoya Inoue".
And honestly, the count by referee Ernie Sharif (Whom I remember from his boxing career) was very close to counting Donaire out, but then you could hear "My Way" in the background as Inoue charged in and was ready to close the curtain, it was the badly hurt Donaire firing back and for a brief second, Donaire stunned Inoue and thoughts of Corrales-Castillo began to float through my mind.
Inoue then turned the tide again and had Donaire in trouble late in the round.
Both fighters landed heavily in the final round in exchanges that were filled with action before the decision.

I scored Inoue a 115-112 winner (7-5 in rounds with the knockdown)  and I thought two of the three cards were a little wide (114-113 was fine, but 116-111 and 117-109 were off-base), but the winner was correct and that's the main thing.
After the fight, Inoue announced an agreement with Top Rank which will see him fight twice in the US next year and once at home in Japan.
Donaire would be best suited to consider retirement off such a terrific fight as I'm not sure that he can repeat the performance in a rematch and at 37 the time seems to be right to walk away

The natural next fight for Inoue would be a unification fight with Nordine Oubaali, who successfully defended his WBC belt with a unanimous decision over Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of Naoya, in the co-main event.
I scored Oubaali a 117-110 winner over Inoue, who showed heart against Oubaali, but nowhere near his older brother's punching power. although he did have Oubaali somewhat in trouble in the final round.
Oubaali knocked Inoue down in the fourth round for the fight's only knockdown.

Boxing Challenge: Pacquiao solves the Problem

 Before their pay per view fight, the story had been almost entirely about the typically boorish behavior of Adrien Broner and only a little about the skills of 40-year-old Manny Pacquiao.

The questions now are these-  just which PBC star will Manny Pacquiao face next and when will PBC realize that Adrien Broner is simply not an elite level fighter and when will their promotional company stop presenting him as such?
Manny Pacquiao threw more punches, landed the harder punches and was never threatened in a unanimous decision victory that some scored as a shutout.
I scored it 118-110 and it was surprisingly closer on the official cards, but the easy win opens up Pacquiao several avenues to choose from for his next fight.
There's always the rumors of a Floyd Mayweather return, but in hoping that never happens, Manny still has options.
Fights vs WBA champion Keith Thurman (Pacquiao holds a WBA minor title) and WBC champion Shawn Porter are possible as could be one vs Danny Garcia, who always seems to be in the thick of these events, much like Adrien Broner (more on him in a bit) and could be of interest.
IBF champion Errol Spence would be a huge challenge, should he defeat Mikey Garcia, but I'm doubtful we ever would see a Spence-Pacquiao fight as many of the reasons that Pacquiao left Top Rank was an unwillingness to face Terence Crawford so Spence wouldn't be as equal of a reward as the risk.
Mikey Garcia is a possibility, especially if he upsets Spence as the two are close to the same natural size, might make the exciting fight of the bunch and would be an attractive PPV event.

Manny Pacquiao showed enough in victory to remain viable, but Adrien Broner did not.
Broner, who despite a watered down "four division champion" resume' line has never decisively beaten a fighter better than Antonio DeMarco, has some 'arguable' decision wins over the likes of Daniel Ponce DeLeon, Paulie Malignaggi, Adrian Granados and a really questionable draw vs Jessie Vargas and losses against every top opponent he has faced (Marcos Maidana, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and now Manny Pacquiao) continues to receive sizable paychecks and big fights despite mouth that delivers more in the press conference that he ever brings to the ring.
Broner's awful treatment of Al Bernstein and racist statements towards the Pacquiao camp were bad enough, but his effort, which showed a sturdy chin and nothing else, was lacking until his delusional post-fight conduct where he hollered about whipping Pacquiao for "The Hood", screaming about being robbed and talking about beating up 60-year-old Showtime interviewer Jim Gray, seemed more aimed at being a character rather than a fighter.
If we see Broner anywhere near a big fight again, PBC needs to take a deeper look at their managemental decisions and perhaps "The Zabbies" may eventually be renamed "The Bronies"!

In the co-feature, former Olympian Marcus Browne dominated and busted open Badou Jack in winning a unanimous decision (116-110 on my card) to win a minor title.
Browne boxed very well off the jab and clearly controlled the fight, but his best shots were a right hand that seemed to hurt Jack in the fifth and a headbutt that left a vertical cut down Jack's forehead which gushed as much blood as you'll see in a boxing ring.
Browne has the potential with his size and skills to be a tough fight with any of the best at 175, but
his chin has been shown to be questionable and I still think he received a gift split decision against Radivoje Kalajdzic, in a decision that was as bad you'll see.
Browne now holds a WBA minor title and will eventually face their true champion Dmitry Bivol down the road.

In the other challenge bout, Nordine Oubaali won the vacant WBC bantamweight title with a competitive, yet clear unanimous decision over Rau'Shee Warren in a pairing of southpaws.
The fight was a rematch of their 2012 Olympic fight, which was also won by Oubaali, who marched forward with a strong right hook and is in a position to be the only bantamweight title that will not be held by the winner of the World Boxing Super Series in the division.

The Jhack Tepora-Hugo Ruiz fight was canceled when Tepora was far overweight at the weigh-in.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica earned four points to my wo on the evening.
Ramon added two points each from the Pacquiao and Oubaali wins, while both of my points were due to the Pacquiao win.
I lead the challenge 9-8.