Boxing Challenge: Showtime Snoozer

   The boxing weekend continued with cards from Top Rank on ESPN and PBC with Showtime with the main event that might rank among the worst ever and considering that Guillermo Rigondeaux has many of the candidates for that title- that says it all.

Sometimes in boxing programming, you have a card that just doesn't work out the way you planned it and you received next to no action at all.

It was one of those nights for PBC and Showtime from Carson, California as they received two rounds of a lopsided blowout, about fifteen seconds before a headbutt ended a fight, and then a major title fight with premium ramifications turned into a 10,000-meter race.

The WBO bantamweight title between John Riel Casimero and Guillermo Rigondeaux was hoped to be an entertaining battle as Casimero usually makes action fights and Rigondeaux's legs seemed to be slowing in his second to most recent fight against Julio Ceja in what was arguably the only entertaining fight of Rigondeaux's career.

So it wasn't an unreasonable thought to think that this should be at least an average action fight with the potential for more- which meant that fans were served up twelve rounds of Rigondeaux running around the ring and neither fighter landing double-digit punches in any round (which may be a record for a world title fight) in the worst "big" fight that anyone can remember in recent history.

With the live crowd and almost everyone watching at home booing the hell of this mess, fans knew the cards for this one would vary and everyone crossed their fingers that Casimero's attempted aggression would be rewarded so exciting fights like Casimero-Donaire or Casimero-Inoue may be made rather than sleep inducers such Rigondeaux-Donaire II or heavens forbid Rigondeaux-Inoue.

Fortunately, the fans caught a break with Casimero winning a split decision with scores of 117-111 and 116-112 (my score) to overrule a 115-113 tag for Rigondeaux.

Hopefully, Casimero and WBC champion Nonito Donaire can be made next time in what almost certainly will be a war with both fighters having personal grudges against the other.

As for Rigondeaux, I'd like to say at 40 years old we have seen the last of him but don't bet on it.

The co-feature ended in sixteen seconds as featherweights Emanuel Rodriguez and Gary Antonio Russell each moved to the center of the ring, collided skulls, and the fight was called with both fighters dazed and Rodriguez taking the worst of it.

That's about as much as one could say about that.

The two rounds of the opener saw all the action for the televised portion as former WBA bantamweight champion Rau'shee Warren stopped an outclassed Damien Vazquez in two rounds.

Warren knocked down Vazquez twice in the first and once in the second before the merciful ending.

Warren could be in the title picture, should Donaire-Casimero fall through as a potential opponent for either champion.

The card looked good on paper but this is boxing and you just cannot ever take things for granted inside the ring.

Top Rank and ESPN starred a third fight that was compelling for the two fighters not for the minor WBA belt on the line as Joshua Franco and Andrew Moloney battled hard after a rematch that ended after a phantom headbutt allowed Franco to escape with a no-contest in a fight that Moloney seemed to be on the way to winning.

The second fight made Moloney the favorite but it was Franco that outworked Moloney in a good not great fight to win a unanimous decision in Tulsa Oklahoma.

Moloney started well but Franco took control winning most of the middle part of the fight.

Moloney rallied late but he was too far behind on the scorecards, all of which agreed with my 116-112 card for Franco.

A huge win for Franco, who might be a good opponent for Naoya Inoue, should Inoue be unable to make unification matches with either Nonito Donaire or John Riel Casimero.

The co-feature saw junior welterweight contender Arnold Barboza dominate veteran Antonio Moran over ten rounds as a stay busy bout for Barboza. who broke the nose of Moran and won the final nine rounds on my card in a 99-91 card.

Barboza will likely be in the mix whenever Josh Taylor vacates his four titles for a vacant title but should Taylor decide to stick around the division for a while Barboza might be a nice opponent for Taylor with both boxers associated with Top Rank.

In the main event on the ESPN+ card, Jason Moloney rebounded from his knockout loss to Naoya Inoue to win a close unanimous decision over Joshua Greer in a crossroads bantamweight fight.

Again as in the main event, this fight was entertaining enough but not outstanding as I saw Moloney as a 96-94 winner.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each scored six points on the two cards to move our total to 117-103.

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.