Boxing Challenge

All of the boxing challenge is brought to you on one card from Showtime on Saturday night...

The main event features one of the most talented fighters in the sport as IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence defends his title for the first time against mandatory contender Carlos Ocampo.
Spence is regarded by many as the best welterweight in the world, but fighting for PBC has often left him inactive and out of the public eye.
Nevertheless, Spence's last two victories were excellent ones as Spence broke down two excellent opponents in Kell Brook and Lamont Peterson.
Ocampo is undefeated, but has never faced world class opponents and seems to be a step down in competition for the talented Spence, who we all want to see against fighters such as Keith Thurman (if he ever fights again), the winner of the Danny Garcia-Shawn Porter fight and what might be the best fight to be made in boxing- Spence vs Terence Crawford..

The other two fights are interesting as Daniel Roman defends his WBA junior featherweight title against former title challenger Moises Flores.
Flores did not make weight so he cannot win the title with a victory, but Roman has a chance to still break out on the world boxing scene with a victory over the solid Flores.

Veteran brawlers Adrian Granados and Javier Fortuna open the card with what should be an entertaining bout in the junior welterweight division.
Granados, who has lost several questionable decisions, is sitting on a good performance here and is the bigger fighter against Fortuna, who I thought clearly defeated Robert Easter in his last bout, but lost a split decision.
I think this winds up being the fight of the evening with Granados grinding down the smaller man.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 97-78

IBF Welterweight Title. 12 Rds
Errol Spence vs Carlos Ocampo
R.L: Spence KO 6
TRS: Spence KO 8

WBA Jr. Featherweight Title. 12 Rds
Danny Roman vs Moises Flores
R.L: Flores Unanimous Decision
TRS: Roman Unanimous Decision

Junior Welterweights.10 Rds
Adrian Granados vs Javier Fortuna
Both; Granados Unanimous Decision

Road Trip: Rochester

The final day of our weekend trip saw us shoot over to Frontier Field for the Rochester Red Wings against the Durham Bulls.

I didn't really plan on doing a lot of graphing here, I had a grand total of three cards with me, all top 100's and hoped to be lucky enough to nab one of them.

Fred and I waited for a bit in the car for the gates to open before going to the gates where we ran into some local graphers and swapped stories from our various circuits.
One grapher told us that the team had one player come out and sign before each game on the concourse, but there was not a schedule of appearances.
Fred asked about the Red Wings top prospect in infielder Nick Gordon and the response brought a snicker and a comment that Gordon hadn't done that all year, but the other Red Wing that I needed on a 100 had done a few signings (Pitcher Steven Gonsalves) and there was some hope that he might do one today.
The day's giveaway was a team logo ball, which I had decided earlier this year to start collecting but only of teams that I had been able to visit their ballpark.
It was a white ball and I prefer more unique baseballs for this project, but it was free and the team store didn't have a baseball that I liked better, so I was happy to add it to the project at no cost.

Upon entering, I discovered that I had left my number list in the car, which wasn't so bad as I knew what Gordon looked like and knew that Durham's Willy Adames was number one, which meant only Gonsalves would need to be asked about.
We walked by the small booth that hosted the signings and the name on the wall was pitcher Dietrich Enns and who knew if Enns was today's signer or left over from the last game.
I decided to try the Red Wings side since I had two of those players and as I walked halfway down the first base line, an announcement came over the PA that Nick Gordon would be signing today!
I looked up and about every grapher was on a dead run to get to the concourse!
I hustled up and saved Fred's spot, which put us in a really good position near the first handful of fans in line.
We wound up getting Gordon easily (a top 100 for me and a baseball for Fred) and it really made my day, but it could have ruined the trip and here's why.

The day before I left, I was preparing cards and discovered that I had sent Nick Gordon's top 100 to Corey White in Tennessee!
Gordon had started the season with AA Chattanooga and I just wasn't thinking that Gordon might be in AAA when we made this trip.
Suddenly, I was faced with making the trip without a Gordon card and I knew I'd be furious if Gordon was signing and I didn't have that card.
Running very short on time, I wrote Kendall Morris, who also does the top 100 sets, and asked if I could "borrow" his Nick Gordon.
If I was able to get it signed, I would replace his card (Kendall, it is on its way) and if not, I'd return it.
Thanks to Kendall for the help because if Gordon would have been that easy, I would have been the biggest baby you've seen and Fred would have been in for a miserable ride home!!!

We decided to try for Durham's Willy Adames, who in not unusual for AAA fashion wasn't interested, but still, my goal was to knock one of the three cards out and I was able to do that for a successful day.
Fred watched a few innings, while I walked around taking pictures and believe it or not, I was recognized by someone!
I won't waste your time there with that interaction, but in a different conversation, I was wearing one of my favorite shirts, my 1963 Lance Alworth jersey and an older fellow (that appeared to be a bit under some type of influence) wanted to talk about the AFL and Lance Alworth!
I usually wouldn't wear this jersey to a game as I learned this lesson years ago when a nitwit grapher sharpied a Cavaliers hoodie, that you don't wear things to graph that could get messed up, but since I was graphing so little I figured it was OK.

I was able to stop at the team shop and pick up team sets for other people (I only buy AAA team sets for three teams) and picked up a schedule holder for myself.
I really like those when they are made with a solid box floor (Most aren't) because not only do they look good, they are perfect for holding a few cards nearby when I'm working on things.
We then began to make the trip home and in a few hours, we neared Binghamton, New York, and both Fred and I began to get a bit hungry.
I hadn't eaten all day and I hadn't seen Fred eat, although he likely had breakfast when I was not around, so the time was right.
Since I was in that area, the best thing to do was contact Jason Christensen for advice on where to eat.
Jason advised us to roll past Binghamton about 20 miles and barely across the Pennsylvania line to a place named Bingham's.
Fred asked if it was right off the interstate and Jason said it was-it turned out to be so close that Fred was in the parking lot with a small tap of the brakes.

Bingham's turned out to be a family restaurant that reminded me of Lyn-Way in Ashland with a large number of pies and cakes among other desserts.
Fred really seemed to enjoy Bingham's and I would certainly go there again- I even ordered a small piece of cheesecake, which is a big deal for me considering that I almost never order dessert.

The ride back to Mechanicsburg was a wet one as rain most of the trip and fog on occasion, but one event happened that will be talked about for a long time.
We hadn't been on the road for very long and as I looked at my IPad, I glanced up to see a large black object hit my side of the windshield with a loud THWACK and I saw it tumble over the roof of the car!
I asked Fred "What the hell was that?" and his nonplussed answer was " I just hit a turkey".
I couldn't stop laughing at both the odds of hitting a wild turkey in mid-flight and then the matter of fact way that Fred said: "I just hit a turkey".
Many (many) turkey and death jokes later, the trip ended at Fred's house, but the turkey talk wasn't completed yet.

The following day, I visited my parents and after a while, my dad asked me if I wanted some lunch.
I wasn't hungry, so I declined, but he followed up with "Do you want a turkey sandwich?"
I started laughing like crazy, complete with dad looking at me like I'm nuts...

Great time with Fred for the weekend and I'd certainly do this trip again in the future!
Lots of stuff in the inbox with passings and other notes and I'll be trying to catch up on those very soon.
I'll also have the boxing challenge and next week, I'm planning on a look at the Cavaliers and Devils before they enter next week's drafts...

Road Trip:Canastota

The latest road trip on the TRS 2018 tour saw Fred Landucci (pictured left with Marco Antonio Barrera) and I travel to Canastota, New York for my first ever trip to the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Now, we didn't actually step inside the museum as that looked to be quite busy and smaller than I figured that it would be, so Fred and I decided to do the peripheral things around the induction weekend and just enjoy being around the fans and history of the sport.

I drove the hour plus to meet Fred at his home for the four-hour drive to Canastota.
It was a little strange for me because all of our past trips have been to the south and Fred (or any of my traveling companions) usually picks me up, but it only makes sense for me to drive north to avoid time wasting and doubling back.

Fred and I made just one stop before Canastota as we stopped at Sonic for breakfast.
I know, I hate breakfast foods for the most part (I do like a breakfast buffet two or three times a year), but I felt starved after all night on the couch watching tv and not eating.
Sonic is a great place because it's one of the few places that you can order whatever you like whenever you like.
I never understand how fast food joints can't toss a burger patty on a grill with a sausage patty, but so many refuse to.

Arriving at Canastota and pulling off the exit, Fred inquired whether that was the location or not.
I wasn't sure at first because physically (from a short distance), it looked like a big flea market with a few stands selling fireworks with a building in front.
It turned out the small building out front is the actual Hall and the other building is a gift shop and houses other boxing memorabilia.
Once we left the toll booth, we could see a boxing ring and an area set up to host what turned out to be a Q and A session.
I kept checking the Hall's webpage and it mentioned some events, but never specifically mentioned who would be at the Q and A sessions.

Fortunately, I had an ace in the hole.
Jason Christensen (who you might remember from the old TRS podcast and occasional caller on the Fightheads show) has a friend that I had met on an occasion or two and Gary was gracious enough to talk to me the night before and gave me some tips on the event with the Q and A session with the one person that I really wanted to get something signed by.

Because I didn't know for sure who would be there, I didn't bring a lot of items to be signed.
I had a picture of Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns ready in case I saw him, but I never did, but I had been told by Gary that a 10;30 AM Q and A was scheduled with Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales discussing their trilogy of great fights.
As a huge Barrera fan, he was the main target for me and as soon as I was off the phone with Gary, I was ordering Barrera pictures from Walgreens just an hour before they were closing.

We arrived in the middle of a Christy Martin Q and A and Gary saw us and chatted for a while.
Fred's knees were hurting so I had him sit down while I spoke to Gary, who kindly gave me a picture of Martin to be signed since I didn't have anything for her.
Martin was very nice in signing my photo and used Gary's blue paint pen, which I instantly loved and Gary was nice enough to let me borrow.

Gary then told me where he and I would be standing during the Barrera/Morales session.
It wasn't a great spot for seeing them speak, but it would put us dead in front of where they would be signing afterward for a short period of time.
Gary clearly knew the landscape as he put us within the first five people (we actually were first, but people are rude, Ha Ha) which really came into play when they announced that both Barrera and Morales would only be signing for a few minutes because they needed to go to the card show across town.
I ordered a 16 x 20 photo of Barrera that I was getting signed and I had an 8 x 10 of Barrera and Morales in action that Fred was getting signed for me and we waited to begin.
I really wanted a picture with Barrera, but time was short and believe it or not-I have a conscience.
If you remember my complaints from last season's visit to Scranton and the Goose Gossage appearance about people slowing up the line with pictures and not giving nearly as many fans as they could have a chance to get their stuff signed.
I just couldn't do that to others, so I had my picture signed and moved on although I did take pictures of Barrera sitting at the table, that was harmless and took no time off the clock.

Meanwhile, Fred is getting Morales to sign that picture (which I deliberately picked with Barrera landing a punch) and Fred reported that Morales scowled a bit at the picture before he signed.
Barrera, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy signing the same picture as is shown above.

We then left for the card show at the local high school, where I was in heaven around so many boxing items.
I could have spent thousands of dollars and I was really taken with a world title belt signed by two of my all-time favorites in Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, but at 500 dollars, it was out of my price range.
My collecting budget is just that- a budget and I don't consider it being cheap, I consider it living in my means.
I just wish my means were larger!!!

I didn't get anything signed at the show, the lines were long and if I ever return for this weekend again, I'll be ready as I could have gotten many stars including multi-division champ James Toney, current WBA/IBF junior middleweight champ Jarrett Hurd, Leon Spinks and others, although Thomas Hearns wasn't there when I was, I would have waited for him.
I only bought a few things there and two of the three weren't boxing.
I added the late junior welterweight champion Aaron Pryor as the first of three autographed photos to go with the A-Train Artis Gilmore in game action with the ABA's Kentucky Colonels and former Pirate (and many others) batting champion Al Oliver on photos as well.
I was somewhat disappointed that I could not find what I was really looking for- a program and fight poster from the one bout that I truly could not choose who to root for because I was such a fan of both fighters, the 2007 fight between Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Nothing from that fight ever appears on EBAY and I was hoping to find some items.
If you read this and have something or know where they may be, let me know!
I could have stayed longer, but I had seen anything and Fred was clearly bothered by his ailing wheels.so the time was right.

It was getting time for a late lunch and Canastota isn't exactly loaded with options, so the easy place was Graziano's Italian Inn, across the street from the Hall
It has some boxing decor and the owner Tony Graziano trained both of the area's two world champions in Carmen Basilio and Billy Backus.
The food was ok, but the highlight came when Miguel Cotto sat at the table next to us as we waited for our meal.
I didn't have anything for Cotto to sign and my general rule is that if someone is eating, I don't ask them to sign until they are ready to leave.
I'm not saying that I wouldn't ever make an exception of that rule, but it would have to be a very special situation.
Fred wanted to have Cotto sign, so I told him to get him on a baseball.
I see those all the time from celebrities and in this case, it made sense.
Cotto had signed for others and he did for Fred as well.
I was happy for Fred to add such a star for his collection.

After a short return to the HOF for Fred to grab some souvenirs for his family, we were on the road to Rochester.
I was exhausted by this time and after arriving at the hotel, I needed a nap and agreed to meet Fred in the lobby for a few hours for dinner.
I didn't have much of a nap as I watched the two bouts that Showtime was streaming from the U.K., but just being able to stretch out and relax went a long way to being revitalized.
I also watched the local news as I like to do on trips as I 'scout' for future news stars to keep an eye on.
I didn't really find anyone in my other trips earlier this year, but you might remember my notes on Hannah Bueller in Buffalo last season as an example of this.
The Buffalo TV market is next to Rochester's and I wondered if Buffalo would have a presence.
That wasn't the case, but Rochester did have a prospect working her way up the ladder in Jeannie McBride.
I heard three sentences and knew McBride had to have spent some time in Ohio.
Turns out she's a native and was an Akron Zip and I tweeted her about that and before the show was over, she had tweeted me back.
Keep an eye on Jeannie McBride, just as I wrote last year about Hannah Bueller.

As I was watching the fights, I looked at TripAdvisor and saw a Duff's Buffalo Wings fairly close.
In Buffalo, Duff's isn't the originator of wings, but they are often talked about on the travel shows that go to the area as the best wings in town.
When we arrived at Duff's, the sign read our medium is hot, the hot is very hot and the very hot is super hot.
I asked for a sample of the sauce and frankly, I didn't think they were all that hot.
They tasted more like Frank's Hot Sauce, which is my go-to sauce at home and mildly hot, but not super hot.
I asked about their two hottest sauces Suicide and Death and was told they were hot.
I decided to split my order of boneless wings between Very Hot and Death-if you are "going for it", go for the top.
I can see why Duff's is the top of the New York wing list because they were delicious as well as their buffalo cheese dip with tortilla chips that Fred and I had as our appetizer.

After Duffs. I went back to the hotel for the night, where I watched the Showtime card from Los Angeles to end the evening.
It had been long and tiring and I barely made it through the Santa Cruz-Mares fight.
What a great time I had and I was so pleased to meet Marco Antonio Barrera!.
Thanks to Gary for all of his help and most to Fred for going on the trip.
I never figured on making the trip there, because I didn't think anyone would want to attend with me-thank you very much my friend for the companionship and the great day!
I would definitely do the HOF weekend again and I have circled the eventual induction of another all-time TRS favorite in Juan Manuel Marquez for a return visit.

Still another day to cover and lots of inbox items as well.
Back next time with day two in Rochester and the home of the Rochester Red Wings-Frontier Field.

Crawford batters Horn, Santa Cruz decisions Mares

Lots to catch up on here at TRS as we have lots of inbox cleaning, our trip last weekend and starting to prep for the drafts for the Cavaliers and Devils.

First, though we have to move to the weekend in boxing while I was in the Canastota/Rochester area, there was plenty of boxing in the boxing challenge to catch up on.

We start in Las Vegas, where Terence Crawford battered Jeff Horn for nine rounds, gave him over twenty stitches for his cuts and lifted his WBO welterweight title as well.
Crawford was reported to have won every round and pounded the overmatched Horn to the point of needing to be saved by the referee.
I didn't see this fight as I am not an ESPN+ subscriber, although I will be soon.

I didn't start the ESPN+ subscription because at the same time (as I watched from my hotel room in Rochester), Showtime offered two title bouts from Los Angeles.
In the main event, Leo Santa Cruz retained his WBA featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Abner Mares in another good, but not great encounter.
Nothing really changed from their first fight and I didn't really need to see it again this time, but it was entertaining enough.
I had Santa Cruz as a 116-112 (8-4) winner and that was roughly how the judges saw it as well.
Santa Cruz is talking about a unification fight with WBC champion Gary Russell and with both being promoted by PBC, one would think that would be easy to make.
However, with Russell's history of inactivity and Santa Cruz often taking most of a year off before a squash match to prepare his return for an exile of his own making, I'd be only mildly surprised to see this happen at all and downright shocked to see it before 2019.

Jermell Charlo retained his WBC junior middleweight title with a majority decision over veteran Austin Trout.
Charlo dropped Trout in the third and eighth rounds and those knockdowns saved him from losing on one card, but Charlo generally controlled a less than thrilling bout.
I had Charlo a 116-110 winner, but to a certain degree, I thought Charlo was exposed in this one when you consider that WBA/IBF champ Jarrett Hurd stopped Trout last year and was much more dominant, Charlo may have shown that his hype and power might be overrated because many (including me) thought so highly of Erickson Lubin before Charlo knocked him out in one round.
I still don't think Charlo has beaten anyone of top five caliber and I'd pick Hurd over him in a potential bout.

Showtime continues to build itself as the fans fight network with a free stream from England with the return of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and a title vacancy filled in the junior welterweight division.
Fury goofed, clowned and patted his way to a TKO when Sefer Seferi surrendered in his corner after the fourth round.
In a fight that was more spectacle than contest Fury proved little other than to truly see what he has retained of his talents, we will still have to wait.

Maurice Hooker upset former WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan via a split decision to win the final of the 140 pound belts (WBO) to be filled after Terence Crawford vacated his four titles last year.
I had Hooker a close winner (115-113) in a bruising fight that was filled with more action than I've ever seen from a Flanagan bout.
Hooker's win not only gained him the WBO belt, but also an entry into the World Boxing Super Series in the fall tournament in the junior welterweight division.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica matched my weekend total of seven points.
Ramon earned three points from Terence Crawford, two from Leo Santa Cruz and one each from Jermell Charlo and Tyson Fury.
My points came from two each from Crawford, Santa Cruz and Fury with one from Jermell Charlo.

The challenge for the year stands at 97-78

Boxing Challenge

The Boxing Challenge moves into June with five fights- all of which are important as we move into the second half of the year/

ESPN Plus has the biggest bout as the long-awaited move of Terence Crawford to the welterweight division occurs with Crawford challenging WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn in Las Vegas.
Horn, who upset Manny Pacquiao for the championship in Top Rank's debut on ESPN is a heavy underdog against Crawford but gives Crawford a test against a big, durable welterweight.
Crawford looks to be the odd man out for now in the division even with a win as the biggest names in the division are all with Al Haymon's PBC, so Crawford needs to win impressively in order to build his name for future bouts...

Showtime has a two-bout card from Los Angeles with the main event hosting a rematch from 2015 with Leo Santa Cruz defending his WBA featherweight title against Abner Mares.
I thought their first fight was good, but not great and considering the depth in the division along with many of these fighters being with Showtime/PBC, I'm really not sure why this fight had to happen.
It should be interesting at least and neither has been really active since their fight, although Santa Cruz has had two fights with Carl Frampton which is at least high-level competition.

Jermell Charlo defends his WBC junior middleweight belt against former champion Austin Trout.
Charlo is returning after his vicious first round KO of Erickson Lubin last year and might be getting the seemingly fading Trout at the right time in his career.
Trout lost a decision to Charlo's brother Jermall before being knocked out by Jarrett Hurd and might be a shot fighter at the world class level.

Showtime also has a two-fight live stream from London and give Showtime and their brain trust plenty of credit for their recent run of buying European fights of interest and streaming them for free.
It's a great gesture of goodwill to boxing fans and develops names for future broadcasts on the main network, so it's a great idea for a small investment.

In the bout of most interest, former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury returns to the ring after a multi-year layoff after his upset win over Wladimir Klitschko.
Fury, who trudged through a dull victory over Klitschko, deserves a soft touch considering his time off and got it in Sefer Seferi, who lost to the only fighter that I have heard of on his resume in Manuel Charr,
It should be a good chance for Fury to chip the rust off a bit and a good first step towards bigger bouts.

The vacant WBO junior welterweight title vacated by Terence Crawford is on the line with former WBO lightweight champ Terry Flanagan vs Maurice Hooker.
Flanagan vacated his title after five successful, if not thrilling defenses, while Hooker is undefeated although his draw against Darleys Perez ranks as one of the worst decisions of the last few years.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 90-71

WBO Welterweight Title. 12 Rds
Jeff Horn vs Terence Crawford
R.L: Crawford KO 9
TRS; Crawford KO 7

WBA Featherweight Title. 12 Rds
Leo Santa Cruz vs Abner Mares
Both: Santa Cruz Unanimous Decision

WBC Junior Middleweight Title. 12 Rds
Jermell Charlo vs Austin Trout
R.L: Charlo KO 7
TRS: Charlo KO 3

Heavyweights. 10 Rds
Tyson Fury vs Sefer Seferi
R.L; Fury Unanimous Decision
TRS: Fury KO 8

Vacant WBO Junior Welterweight Title. 12 Rds
Terry Flanagan vs Maurice Hooker
Both: Flanagan Unanimous Decision

Cavaliers fall behind 3-0

The Cleveland Cavaliers controlled most of the first half and seemed to have things going their way for a victory that would be the tightener for the NBA championship series, but a late half spurt by the visiting Golden State Warriors allowed them to keep the game close at the half and then the defense that stopped most of the Warriors other than Kevin Durant in the first half, sprung a leak in the second half.

The leak didn't take the Cavaliers out of the game, but an inability to stop Kevin Durant did and when Durant hit a three-pointer from Akron with less than a minute to play, the chance at a series-changing win was dead.
Seconds later, it was Golden State taking the 110-102 decision and with it a 3-0 lead in the series.
In other words, it's over, it's just a matter of whether it is needed to take one more trip to Oakland to end it.

LeBron James led Cleveland with 33 points, Kevin Love added 20 points and the return of Rodney Hood score him score 15 points off the bench.
Game four is Friday night in Cleveland.

Swashbucklings

1) In this one, there aren't a lot of things that you can blame (other than not being strong enough on defense) other than the better team won.
This series might have been won two summers ago when Golden State signed Kevin Durant.
These teams were closely matched before that signing.
Now, they aren't that close at all and it takes a standout game from Cleveland and a slightly off night from the Warriors to keep it close.
Thanks, NBA.

2) Even the Cleveland defense, which usually isn't terrific managing to scrape together a nice night in holding Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to poor shooting nights.
The pair shot 7 for 27 from the floor and combined for just 21 points-nights like that should give you a chance to win.
On this night-Cleveland had a chance, but it wasn't enough.

3) That doesn't mean that the defense is still anywhere near average and when the Warriors move the ball around, the Cavaliers consistently find themselves out of position.
They just don't have the athletes to stick with the Warriors weapons and some Cavaliers just don't keep their wits about them enough to be in the right place.

4) Cleveland did use Rodney Hood for the first time since the Clinton administration and he responded with not only 15 points, but some unexpected energy too.
Hood could have made a difference in game one (If motivated) I think and it'll be interesting to see if he can play well again in game four.

5) I've always liked the shooting skills of Kyle Korver, but either the Warriors defense him well or he has issues of some type because he just doesn't shoot well against them.
Korver played just eleven minutes but was zero for four.
When you have just one elite skill, one can't afford to slump.

6) I don't want to talk LeBron James future yet, but he has to look at this team and wonder if the future to contend in Cleveland is finished.
Having turned Kyrie Irving into a collection of mismatched parts, I cannot imagine as James looks around that he feels confident with a team with salary cap issues can make enough changes to turn the tide.
Other than the number eight pick and maybe Kevin Love, Cleveland lacks the assets to otherwise make a lot of moves.
If there is one factor that could cause James to leave Lake Erie, that is more than likely at the top of the list...

Golovkin stripped of IBF title

A stunning decision was ruled today by one of boxing's sanctioning bodies as the IBF took away its middleweight championship from Gennady Golovkin.

While this all circles around to Canelo Alvarez's PED or "tainted beef" suspension (depending on whom you believe), I still think that even though the IBF made a mistake in stripping Golovkin, Team GGG made the bigger errors.
GGG promoter Tom Loeffler didn't pursue a May fight vs IBF mandatory challenger Sergey Dereyvanchenko after the questionable decision to force a Cinco De Mayo bout for Golovkin, even if it meant a soft touch in inactive career junior middleweight Vanes Martirosyan, who Golovkin easily trashed in two rounds.
Fighting Derevyanchenko then would have lifted a mandatory obligation, would have been a likely win (although a tougher fight) and they would have continued with all three titles to move onto the next hurdle.
Loeffler did pay the IBF $20,000 to not strip Golovkin for fighting Martirosyan but did not agree to the IBF's stipulation that Golovkin faces Dereyvanchenko next.
That's understandable considering the possibility of a Canelo rematch, but with Golovkin's recent demand for purse parity (another mistake in my opinion), that bout seems to have fallen through and now with one of the four belts being vacant, a prospective bout against WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders seems a bit anticlimactic.

The IBF seems a bit haughty here and will lose some dollars for their ham-handed handling of the matter as either a Derevyanchenko or his opponent for the vacant title as champion. will mean a far lighter sanctioning fee than Golovkin's defenses, so they'll take a hit as well.
They also look bad as Derevyanchenko's representatives didn't ask to have Golvokin stripped-they asked to force Golovkin's next fight against their fighter and only strip if that fight didn't happen.
The IBF could save some face here with a ruling that the title is vacant, but Golovkin could fight for the title against Dereyvanchenko, should he agree by a reasonable date, say 30 days.
I still have my doubts that happens considering the body would likely dictate the terms for the fighters purses, but it still would be a good P.R. move.

This does give Golovkin options for his next fight without a standout contender for the bout as now it seems that we are back to the beginning of few (except Dereyvanchenko) really wanting to face GGG, but what about the IBF's prospects?
Their rules state that they will offer the fight to each contender below Dereyvanchenko in order until someone accepts the fight.
The possibilities start strong but quickly roll downhill with Daniel Jacobs getting the first crack.
Jacobs has been offered the B-side for the Canelo Alvarez return, so that would trump the IBF unless Oscar De La Hoya is simply strongarming Golovkin with Jacobs as a backup plan.
Editor's Note: Both Dereyvanchenko and Jacobs are both trained by Andre Rozier making a bout between them even more unlikely.
Jermall Charlo is Golovkin's number one contender in the WBC, but I can see Charlo trying to grab a belt and try to build his name for a future big fight, so that could happen.
Demetrius Andrade would be next and he's a talented guy but isn't always exciting and I can't see many being thrilled about that one, although I'd find it interesting.
If all those pass-look out as the rest of the top ten are Euro's Tommy Langford (untested) and Martin Murray (0 for 4 in title bouts), unknowns Rafael Berajan and Kamil Szeremeta and recent loser to Daniel Jacobs in Luis Arias.
Considering that Billy Joe Saunders' title claim was often ridiculed, I cannot imagine the winner of Derevyanchenko against anyone south of Andrade getting anything more than an "also holds a belt"
mention by boxing media.

In the end, everyone here loses- Golovkin loses a title and becomes less likely to gain his long announced goal of all four titles. Derevyanchenko loses a larger payday, although he's more likely to win a title now, the IBF loses as now they will likely have the least recognized champion and the followers of boxing lose as well because it will take a while for this mess to clear itself up.
Only in boxing...

Back later with the Cavaliers loss to the Golden State Warriors in game three...