Boxing Challenge

 The boxing challenge revolves around Showtime and PBC this Saturday with a three-fight program from the premium cable provider.

The main event pits WBC junior featherweight champion, Luis Nery, against minor champion Brandon Figueroa in what appears to be an almost guaranteed action fight.

Nery didn't dazzle anyone in his last fight in a decision win over Aaron Alameda, but in previous fights, Nery had shown an aggressive style that had seen him stop his last ten opponents before going the distance with Alameda, but chose to change things up after a change to trainer Eddy Reynoso entering that fight for a boxer-puncher manner that didn't work to his benefit.

Nery has returned to his original training team with a vow to return to slugging and against Figueroa, holder of a minor belt (the real WBA champion is Murodjon Akhmadaliev), Nery should find an opponent that will give him all the toe to toe opportunities that he'll ask for.

The undefeated Figueroa will face his toughest test and while Figueroa has beaten a solid group of opponents, they were of the top ten to fifteen types without the power of Nery.

Plus two fights ago, Figueroa drew with Julio Ceja in a fight I thought Ceja won (115-113), but Ceja missed weight by so much, Figueroa had a legitimate excuse against a much larger opponent.

I think this should be an excellent fight and it could end before the twelve-round distance.

The winner will fight WBO champion Stephen Fulton in the fall in a unification matchup that will leave the division with two fighters each holding two of the four titles.

The co-feature will pit a fighter that formerly held two of those titles in Daniel Roman, who lost to Akhmadaliev via a split decision in 2019 against Ricardo Espinoza.

Roman, who could very easily have gotten the decision against Akhmadaliev, would be very deserving of a rematch, or now that he fights for PBC a chance against the eventual winner of September's fight and isn't matched easily against Espinoza, who has won two straight since being stopped in the final round against JohnRiel Casimero.

Against Casimero, Espinoza was ahead on one card and was even on the other entering the last round before the stoppage and should give Roman a solid run.

The opener will pair undefeated junior lightweight Xavier Martinez against former WBC champion Juan Carlos Burgos in a match that has both fighters meeting with something to prove.

Martinez was knocked down twice by Claudio Marrero in his last fight and won a close decision in his first step toward contention, while Burgos lost decisions to Devin Haney and Hector Tanajara in an ill-advised move to lightweight before winning a decision over an 8-6 fighter.

Martinez needs to show that he can take a good punch from world-class opponents, while Burgos will be attempting to prove that he is still a world-class boxer and hasn't dropped a step to gatekeeper status,

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 62-60.

WBC Junior Featherweight Title 12 Rds

Luis Nery vs Brandon Figueroa

Both: Nery Unanimous Decision

Junior Featherweights.10 Rds
Daniel Roman vs Ricardo Espinoza

Both: Roman Unanimous Decision

Junior Lightweights.10 Rds

Xavier Martinez vs Juan Carlos Burgos

Both: Martinez Unanimous Decision

Cleveland Browns Draft Review

      I wrote so much over the NFL draft weekend that I took a few days off before I returned here.

However, the Browns review still needs to be posted with my thoughts on how the Browns draft stacked up.

This could be a very short post if I wanted to be succinct- I loved the draft.

Cornerback Greg Newsome in the first round will have a chance to start this season and at worst, will likely be the starter in 2022.

Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is the type of smaller, speedier player that may not have a defined position, but his ability to be moved around the field could make him a three-down player, which is far more important than the term used for where he is in the lineup and to get him for the difference of sending Carolina a third-rounder in return for Carolina's fourth, is absolute theft.

Wide Receiver Anthony Schwartz may have been a slight overdraft, but Schwartz brings elite speed, which might be the fastest in the NFL from day one and his one skill could be very helpful in opening up the field deep.

When the Browns lost Odell Beckham, the Browns lacked a receiver that could stretch the field and force opponents to respect the deep pass, so Schwartz's presence alone could be dividends in that area.

Fourth-round tackle James Hutson should be a depth player for a year or so and hopefully develops after only playing offensive line for two seasons.

Defensive tackle Tommy Togiai should be at least a rotational player and has the potential to eventually be a top-notch interior lineman.

Linebacker Tony Fields will contribute on special teams with his speed and plays very similarly to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, so Fields may be one of those day three players that just forces his way into the lineup somehow.

Big-hitting safety Richard LeCounte was very productive at Georgia, should be a special teamer at least, and I like his chances to beat out Sheldrick Redwine as a backup in the secondary.

Demetric Felton was a UCLA running back, was expected to be a wide receiver, and played in the Senior Bowl at the position, but the Browns announced him as a running back and they could be looking at him as a Darren Sproles Swiss Army Knife type of player.

And to sign a Marvin Wilson, who has top 50 level talent, for the price of a check as an undrafted free agent has the potential to have people around the league not believing that someone didn't take this guy!

The Browns also added an extra fourth-rounder for next year's draft and who knows what they could use that for in 2022.

Part of being a playoff team and one that's expected to make some playoff hay this season is that not all of these players are going to make the team.

And while I'm sure that the Browns would like to slide anyone that they would release onto the practice squad, again when you are a stronger team other teams are more likely to claim the players that you have to waive, so that could come into play with any potential roster spot wars.

Give Andrew Berry and his bunch a lot of credit for this draft- Other than not drafting a defensive end, the Browns addressed every major need and minor needs as well.

Excellent job in Berea and I'd be surprised that if anyone thought the Browns didn't do very well with this draft. 

Boxing Challenge: Canelo breaks down BJS

    For almost eight rounds, the super middleweight title unification fight was close (unless you were one of two judges) between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders and seemed to be ramping up towards a dramatic ending in Arlington, Texas.

Alvarez ended all of that drama late in the eighth round when a crunching right undercut damaged the right eye of Saunders and as the round ended, Saunders' eye was inflating by the second.

Within the minute between rounds, Saunders's corner determined that the damage was too much for their fighter to continue and stopped the fight, which handed Alvarez the WBO title to add to the WBA and WBC championships that Alvarez held entering the fight.

Saunders was quite slippery and had some success against Canelo with my scorecard showing the battle even at 76 after eight rounds, but the eighth was Alvarez's best of the fight and with a damaged eye Saunders was clearly going to need a miracle as the scorecards had him trailing by two, four, and four points after eight.

Give Saunders credit for only stumbling a bit after taking a tremendous shot from Canelo and he was never even in mild trouble during the fight, but he didn't throw enough punches and going against a fighter like Canelo Alvarez when you aren't a big puncher you will need to win a decision and to win such a decision you may have to win 9-3 or 10-2 in rounds to win a 7-5 decision.

Saunders's eye socket is suspected to be broken and you have to wonder how Saunders will recover physically as after Kell Brook broke his eye socket against Gennady Golovkin, he broke it again against Errol Spence and was never the same fighter.

Canelo Alvarez called for the only champion that is left to defeat next in IBF champion Caleb Plant.

Plant fights for PBC and while you would think that Plant cannot make anything close to what he'd make to face Alvarez, PBC head Al Haymon has ways that make his fighters decide to work against their financial interest in the past, most notably, Jermall Charlo turning down seven million (twice his career-high at the time) to fight Demetrius Andrade on DAZN and Peter Quillin vacating his WBO middleweight title rather than fight Matt Korobov for a career-high 1.4 million (over three times his career-high purse at the time) for Roc Nation after the now-defunct company won a purse bid.

I could also see Haymon thinking that the missing title is what makes Plant valuable (he's right on that considering Plant's resume'), have Plant score another dominant victory over a non-entity (Plant has fought one fighter of top ten quality in Jose Uzcategui) in an attempt to increase Plant's value before he cashes in with a fight that he is likely to lose.

In other words, don't be surprised at all if Caleb Plant, the guy noted as "What else does he have to do" by Eddie Hearn, actually finds someone else to fight.

The co-feature saw WBO light flyweight champion Elwin Soto defeat former minimumweight champion, Katsunari Takayama, by ninth-round stoppage when our "favorite" referee Laurence Cole stopped the fight a bit early in my opinion.

I had Soto had ahead 76-75 (5-3 in rounds, with Soto losing a point in the first round for hitting after the bell) and Takayama was rallying on my card, winning three of the four previous to the ninth.

Soto could have a unification match with WBA champion Hiroto Kyoguchi soon as both fighters recently fought for the first time with Matchroom and what should be an almost guaranteed action battle.

Friday in Russia, Magomed Kurbanov won a unanimous decision over former WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith in a fight that could have been scored for either combatant.

I scored Kurbanov a 115-113 winner, which was the same as two judges with the third a ridiculous 117-111 card, but the fight was extremely close and I wouldn't even offer a word should someone score Smith a close winner.

Smith landed plenty but didn't seem to hurt Kurbanov and these two are the type of solid back end of the top ten/twelve contenders that could fight five times and deliver five tight affairs.

Ramon Malpica outscored me four to three in the boxing challenge and cut my lead to 62-60.

Cleaning out the inbox: Passings

   The tributes never stop in our world and we return with a few notable folks that have recently passed on.

Goodbye to Michael Collins at the age of 90.

Collins was the command module pilot on Apollo 11, the first flight to land on the moon, and while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, it was Collins floating in orbit alone as any human has ever been.

Collins also was the first person to have performed more than one spacewalk and had the opportunity to return to the moon as commander of what proved to be the last moon visit in Apollo 17.

Collins turned down the offer with his reasoning being that his goal was to help the dream of John F.Kennedy to reach the moon before the end of the 60s and since that goal was accomplished, Collins didn't feel the personal need to return to space.

Collins also was a key player in the building of the National Air and Space Museum as its director from 1972-78 and getting the museum opened on time as the museum was hoped to be opened by July 4. 1976 for the nation's bicentennial.

The museum made the goal by three days.

Goodbye to Johnny Crawford at the age of 75.

One of the original Mouseketeers, Crawford was one of the twelve that was released following the first year of the Mickey Mouse Club when Disney decided twenty-four was far too many to have on one program.

Crawford would reach his biggest fame in 1959 when he landed the role of "Mark McCain", the son of former Cubs and Dodgers first baseman Chuck Connors on "The Rifleman", which was one of the first shows to feature a single parent and perhaps the first with a single father.

Set in the 1880s, the Rifleman centered around Connors with his parenting of Crawford a key part of the show.

Crawford would continue to act after the Rifleman finished its run, including a guest appearance on "Branded", another vehicle that starred Connors and would sing as a teen idol of the age with four songs that reached the top forty, including "Cindy's Birthday" that reached eight on the charts in 1962.

Goodbye to Lloyd Price at the age of 88.

Price, known as "Mr.Personality" after his hit "Personality", which he is remembered most for, scattered several minor hits through 1963 before moving to a post-performing career that included owning record companies, construction companies, helping Don King with King's boxing promotions, and managing Global Icon Foods, a company that features southern-style foods.

Personality may be the song that most people connect with Price, but his only number one hit was 1959's "Stagger Lee", which is remembered by me for what other reason than professional wrestling?!

I'll try to remember to add that story to the next cleaning of the inbox that doesn't feature tributes.

Goodbye to Mike Davis at the age of 65.

Davis won two Super Bowls with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders in an eleven-year career after being drafted in the second round by Oakland in the 1977 draft but is remembered by many for one play.

And it's a play reviled in Cleveland to this day with the Browns trailing the visiting Oakland Raiders 14-12 with under a minute to play from the Raiders fourteen-yard line, the play call was "Red Right 88" with quarterback Brian Sipe instructed to throw the ball away if he didn't have a receiver open.

Sipe threw the ball to his checkdown receiver tight end Ozzie Newsome, who was briefly open before Davis cut in front of Newsome to intercept the pass and end the "Kardiac Kids" season.

Goodbye to Jim Bertelsen at the age of 71.

Bertelsen was the top ground gainer for the Texas Longhorns 1969 national champions and would have won the 1970 national title, had Texas not lost in the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame 24-11.

Bertelsen along with backfield mates Steve Worster and Ted Koy behind quarterback James Street revolutionized the ground game as part of the first "Wishbone" offense and would finish his Texas career with over 2,500 rushing yards.

Bertelsen would be selected in the second round by the Los Angeles Rams in 1972 and would make the Pro Bowl in 1973 when he rushed for a career-high 853 yards.

Bertelsen would retire after the 1976 season after his playing time had been reduced by the Rams drafting of Penn State running back, and 1973 Heisman winner John Cappelletti.

Goodbye to Del Crandall at the age of 91.

Crandall, an eight-time All-Star as a key part of the Milwaukee Braves of the 1950s that won the 1957 World Series and were the 1958 National League champions, won four Gold Gloves as arguably the National League's best defensive catcher of the 50s.

Crandall wasn't known as a hitter, but he did hit double-digit homers for the Braves in each season from 1953 through 1960, with a high of 26 long-balls in 1955 for Milwaukee.

Crandall would manage the Brewers from 1972 to 1975, managing a teenaged Robin Yount, and would manage the Mariners in 1983 and 1984, but would never finish a season with a winning record.

Crandall was the final surviving player to play for the Boston Braves, who moved to Milwaukee in 1953.

Crandall played two partial seasons for the Boston Braves in 1949 and 1950 at the ages of 19 and 20 and was the runner-up to Brooklyn pitcher Don Newcombe for the 1949 National League Rookie of the Year before missing the Braves final two seasons in Boston due to military service.

Boxing Challenge

It's not a huge weekend for boxing as far as quantity, but as quality, it doesn't come a lot larger than a Canelo Alvarez title unification fight.

But first, ESPN+ has a card from Russia with a title eliminator in the junior middleweight divisions with former WBO (and Canelo victim) Liam Smith facing Magomed Kurbanov.

Kurbanov is an undefeated and talented fighter but has been out of the ring for twenty-five months, while Smith hasn't fought for almost seventeen.

Smith has won three straight since his 2018 loss to Jaime Munguia and has fought better competition than Kurbanov, but this is a 50-50 fight and it might be tough for Smith to win a decision on the road.

Of course, the big news is Canelo Alvarez placing his WBA and WBC super-middleweight titles against the WBO version held by Billy Joe Saunders with the winner holding three of the four championships in the division from Arlington, Texas.

Saunders has been attempting to get inside the head of Alvarez with complaints about the size of the ring, remarks to Mexican reporters, and general mind games that bring to mind the tactics of Saunders' cousin Tyson Fury.

However, this is a chance to show how much Canelo has progressed since the last time that he faced a slick boxing southpaw as the last time he faced one similar to Saunders, he received yet another generous decision in a 2014 split decision win over Erislandy Lara.

Canelo has improved since that win and Saunders doesn't always impress in victory, but I have a feeling that like Tyson Fury, Saunders fights best when challenged, and I just cannot get past his brilliant win over David Lemieux.

I think Saunders has a real chance to pull this upset, but the Texas judges, the aura of Canelo, and his own style with its tendency to bore may all work against Saunders.

The co-feature pits Elwin Soto against Katsunari Takayama for Soto's WBO light flyweight title.

Soto will be fighting for the first time since signing with Matchroom Boxing and will be defending his title for the third time against the veteran Takayama, who held the minimumweight title on three occasions between 2007 and 2015.

Takayama won a six-round decision in December in the first fight of his comeback but will have plenty to overcome against Soto, including ring rust, age, and fighting on the road.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 59-56.

Junior Middleweights. 12 Rds

Liam Smith vs Magomed Kurbanov

Both: Kurbanov Unanimous Decision

Unification WBA/WBC-WBO Super Middleweight Titles. 12 Rds

Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders

R.L: Alvarez Split Winner

TRS: Saunders Split Winner

WBO Light Flyweight Title. 12 rds

Elwin Soto vs Katsunari Takayama

Both: Soto Unanimous Decision 

Boxing Challenge: Parker, Ruiz survive Heavyweight tests.

    Two former heavyweight champions survived stern tests from veterans attempting to stay relevant on Saturday with both winning entertaining affairs and both having to get off the floor to notch victories.

In Manchester, England, former WBO champion Joseph Parker was knocked down in the opening seconds and fell far behind on the scorecards against Dereck Chisora before rallying in the second half of the fight to grab a split decision.

Chisora was more aggressive and banked most of the first half of the fight, but tired badly as the bout continued with visible gasps for air in the corner between rounds.

Parker turned the tide against the weary Chisora in the second half of the fight, but on my card, it was decided by the knockdown in the opening round, 114-113 for Chisora.

Two judges scored it 115-113 for each fighter, which was very fair, and then the decisive score of 117-111 for Parker was ridiculous.

Parker is rated in the top six by the WBC, IBF, and WBO, so he'll likely have an eliminator soon, but the opponent is unknown as the fighters above him are with other promoters except for Oleksandr Usyk, who would be unlikely to take such a fight.

As for Dereck Chisora, it was yet another close fight that didn't quite go his way, but a strong effort that will earn him another paycheck against another contender.

On the other heavyweight fight, I wasn't surprised that Andy Ruiz and Chris Arreola put on an excellent fight, I was surprised that it went the twelve-round distance with Ruiz winning a unanimous decision.

Arreola knocked Ruiz down in the second round and won some early rounds, but Ruiz kept grinding and when Arreola courageously battled through a shoulder injury, he was meat on the platter for Ruiz, who swept the final rounds for the victory.

I scored Ruiz a 116-111 winner and though Arreola had his moments in an entertaining battle, Ruiz was the clear winner.

Ruiz is ranked in the top five by three of the four organizations and even though his PBC affiliation hinders him from title chances against Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury, there are interesting fights for him against Deontay Wilder or Luis Ortiz at the top of the food chain or Adam Kownacki or Robert Helenius below him.

Any of those names would make entertaining brawls against Ruiz and a win over a Wilder or Ortiz would zoom him to the top of the contender list.

On the Parker-Chisora undercard, WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol won an unimpressive unanimous decision over a surprising Craig "Spider" Richards.

Richards had fought no one of Bivol's caliber, but tried throughout and landed occasional right hands which is more than I expected of him, but Bivol never tried to step up the pace and was content to take a closer than expected decision with two scores of 115-114 and 115-113, which were too close in my opinion.

I scored Bivol a 117-111 winner with Richards winning the final three rounds while Bivol was on cruise control, but Bivol, who was once thought of as a possible future superstar, continues to be content to win less than thrilling decisions that drive away fans.

Bivol is expected to face former WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez next in a fight that Bivol will need to perform far better than he has of late.

On the Ruiz-Arreola card from Carson California, former WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa was beaten up for six rounds by fringe contender Abel Ramos and then had the fight stopped in the corner in what has been reported as an uncompetitive fight.

I haven't seen this yet, but it sounds like the once-promising Figueroa may be headed for retirement.

On the Fox version of the undercard, Erislandy Lara knocked out undeserving Thomas LaManna with one punch in the first round to win one of the WBA's gumball machine belts, this one in the middleweight division.

I rambled about the wretched WBA in previewing this bout, so I'll save my breath now rather than ranting further about a mismatch that was clear before the contract was signed.

In the boxing challenge, I scored five points to Ramon Malpica's four and lead the challenge 59-56.

Browns sign Marvin Wilson

    I thought I was finished with the Cleveland Browns draft picks after their selection of UCLA running back Demetric Felton in the sixth round.

The keywords were draft picks because as I followed the draft while watching the Joseph Parker-Dereck Chisora fight, and the name that I continued to look for was Florida State defensive tackle Marvin Wilson.

I mentioned Wilson as one of my "Persons of Interest" for the Browns at defensive tackle and his 2019 season for the Seminoles was outstanding.

Wilson would have been at least a second or third-rounder in the 2020 draft after his 2019 campaign, but he didn't play as well in the shortened 2020 season after new coach Mike Norvell installed a different scheme at Florida State and Wilson fell down the draft boards.

Still, I figured Wilson would go somewhere on day three and even to the Browns, but the drafting of Ohio State defensive tackle Tommy Togiai in the fourth round made me believe that the Browns wouldn't select Wilson after Togiai.

The Browns dealt their seventh-round pick to Detroit in an earlier trade that landed Cleveland the Lions fifth and Detroit's 2022 fourth, so the Browns were finished after the sixth round, but like me, the Browns were keeping their eye on Wilson and when the draft ended, Andrew Berry acted swiftly to get the Browns involved in what was described as a "bidding war" for Wilson by Brad Ward for USA Today.

Cleveland would win that war by giving Wilson a $162,000 contract guarantee and a $ 30,000 signing bonus to add the 6'5 300-pound defensive tackle to their rotation.

Wilson may wind up making more money than sixth-round selection Demetric Felton, as the Browns had to pay up and quickly to land Wilson.

Wilson won financially by not being drafted as the Browns would have likely picked him had they retained a seventh-round choice.

Wilson is strong, difficult to stand up, good against the run, and is a solid pass rusher for a defensive tackle, but the bonus that comes with Wilson is his kick blocking ability.

Wilson blocked three last season and having a lineman with that skill is a rarely found bonus.

Remember the Browns claiming Vincent Taylor off waivers last season after the final cutdown with his kick blocking prowess as one of the reasons and Taylor did block an extra point last season.

Taylor signed with the Houston Texans in the off-season, so Wilson may have a leg up as he competes for a job in a tackle rotation with veterans Malik Jackson and Andrew Billings, 2020 third-rounder Jordan Elliott, and Tommy Togiai.

I didn't plan on another post on a Browns rookie, but I also didn't expect them to land a player such as Marvin Wilson after the draft had completed!