Boxing Challenge: Ugas ends the Pacquiao era.

    Late replacement and WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas ended the tenure of Manny Pacquiao by a close but unanimous decision in Las Vegas and retained his championship with the victory.

Ugas, a late replacement for WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence after Spence suffered a detached retina, didn't dominate the legend, but he did more than enough to earn the win in this on scores of 115-113 and 116-112 (twice), I agreed with the 115-113 score but that is about as close as I could see the fight possibly being scored.

Ugas used the jab to consistently keep Pacquiao off balance and blunted his trademark ability to hop in and out of the zone to land punches by using the jab.

Ugas landed his right very well against Pacquiao with a right hand that is a hybrid between a looping and overhand to its top effectiveness and Pacquiao seemed to catch it every time that Ugas needed to connect to keep the fight in his favor.

Contrary to many opinions, while I would like to see Manny Pacquiao walk away from the sport now, I'm not sure that he is a completely spent force.

I think fighting only three times in four years and only one in the previous two did not help his skills stay sharpened and Manny at this stage (and he did the same in his win against Keith Thurman) of his career reminds me of Hall of Famer Donald Curry at the end of his career.

Curry became a fighter that could build a lead for seven or eight rounds and the race was then on- could Curry make it to the end of the fight and hold the lead?

Pacquiao has become the same type of fighter and that type of fighter isn't up to the task of defeating the elite of the welterweight division but matched properly Pacquiao can still win some fights against the back of top ten style contenders.

The question is does he want to and does he have to?

The want to portion would depend on his Presidential ambitions in his native Philippines and being able to devote the time needed to get into better shape which seems unlikely at 42.

But the need to? It has been well-known that Pacquiao has dealt with multiple financial issues through the years and one never knows if one of those could pop up again.

While Pacquiao's effort wasn't a stimulating one nor a winning one, it wasn't so terrible that it would eliminate him completely should someone throw enough dollars at him to make it worth his while.

I still don't think that with the nostalgia craze in boxing running well, one could entirely cross out a future Marquez-Pacquiao V or with enough dollars on the line, a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya, or even Floyd Mayweather down the road.

As Ugas, it's pretty clear what his future will be as he most likely will face Spence in a three title unification bout next unless Spence wants a warmup fight in which case Ugas would take one as well.

Ugas still rates below Terence Crawford and Errol Spence in the division but between his win over Pacquiao and split decision loss to Shawn Porter, it's not unfair to list him with Porter and the two rising stars Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz at the level just under the top two.

In the co-feature, faded welterweight veterans Robert Guerrero and Victor Ortiz squared in a good fight but not as strong as I expected it to with Guerrero winning a close unanimous decision on all cards 96-94.

I agreed with the scoring but the downside is that whichever fighter won will likely be pushed above their pay grade by PBC in the future.

I could easily see Guerrero with a recognizable name and a recent win over another recognizable name in Ortiz being the fighter fed to Spence or Ugas should they need an interim fight before their clash.

It won't be competitive but I'm not sure PBC would really want competitive with bigger dollars on the line down the road.

Wait a second, forget I mentioned that.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each scored one point to move the season total to 118-104. 

Boxing Challenge

  The boxing challenge is short this week with Ramon Malpica selecting two fights off tonight's PPV because I, well forgot,.

The main event pits the returning Manny Pacquiao against WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas.

Ugas is a late replacement for WBC/IBF champion Errol Spence, who dropped out due to a detached retina.

Ugas is a solid fighter and not a walkover for Pacquiao who hasn't fought since his win over Keith Thurman two years ago.

Ugas has lost only one fight since 2016 and that was a split decision to Shawn Porter that could have been given to either fighter but lacks wins against anyone above the B level as well.

Still, Pacquiao has fought only twice in the last three years and Ugas is the type of lanky boxer that might give him some problems if Manny has slowed any from his absence at age 42.

In the other fight, it is a battle of aging welterweights as Robert Guerrero faces Victor Ortiz.

Honestly, these are two fighters that fit in the conversation of "Zabbie" eligibility and I still have no interest in seeing them (AGAIN) against top ten competition but this could be a fun fight between two fighters that could slug it out in an action battle.

When push comes to shove for all of each fighter's liabilities, Guerrero has shown heart and grit while Ortiz hasn't always done the same and that might give Guerrero the edge.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 117-103.

WBA Welterweight Title. 12 Rds 

Yordenis Ugas vs Manny Pacquiao

Both: Pacquiao Unanimous Decision

Welterweights. 10 Rds

Robert Guerrero vs Victor Ortiz

R.L: Guerrero KO 4

TRS: Guerrero KO 8

Beautiful Bobby Eaton

 The death of "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton at the age of 62 brought forth every voice from the world of professional wrestling to give their tribute to the one man in the business that no one ever mentioned negatively.

Bobby Eaton won the world tag team titles (NWA/WCW version) three times with three different partners, winning the championship with Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane under the banner of the Midnight Express and with Arn Anderson.

Eaton's team with Stan Lane held the same promotion's United States tag championships on three different occasions and would hold the World Television Championship, defeating Arn Anderson a few months before Eaton would win the tag team titles with Anderson as part of the Dangerous Alliance.

Known as arguably the best "worker" in the business at his peak, Bobby Eaton was known for his aerial work off the top rope (Eaton was known to come off the top rope during the Midnights matches at the WTBS studios and touch the ceiling to "show" how high he could leap) and his realistic punches that looked like he was knocking the opponents head off but in actuality wasn't even touching them.

Eaton wasn't an aerial star as some wrestlers were with dropkicks and bodypresses, but it was his daredevil work off the top rope that helped make his name as a star with the most notable being the "Alabama Jam" with Eaton leaping into the air and landing with a leg drop onto his opponent.

The Midnight Express was noted as the best heel tag team globally, whether it was Eaton and Condrey or Eaton and Lane during their run from 1983-1990 for both their matches and their interview quality, although Jim Cornette did almost all the speaking for the Midnights.

Their standout matches against great teams such as the Rock N Roll Express, Fantastics, Road Warriors, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson, and countless others have made them the most popular team to the wrestling "smart marks" and only Blanchard and Anderson approaching their ranking as the top of the era historically.

The Midnight Express used their teamwork to shine in their matches and Bobby Eaton was the star of both versions of the team.

That's not to diminish the role played by Dennis Condrey or Stan Lane, but it was their job to set up the spectacular moves by Eaton and allow Eaton to pull off the moves that allowed him to shine.

Which Midnight Express version that you prefer depends on what is more important to you as a wrestling fan- If you prefer a pure old-school heel team then the Condrey and Eaton team could be your favorite with matches that would have a crowd sizzling and seething with hatred.

Should you prefer "workrate" then Eaton and Lane would likely be your preferred team with a catalog of great matches that hold up even to the modern fan.

The double team moves, many of which were created by the wrestlers themselves, were part of what made the Midnights so great, but just as knowing what to do at the right time can make a wrestler great, knowing what not to do at a certain time can be just as important.

Eaton is most remembered for his time with the Midnight Express and Jim Cornette, but his last big run came as part of arguably the greatest collection of talent in a group ever and one that often is forgotten due to the state of WCW at the time in Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance.

It would be as part of the Alliance that Eaton would win his final title in WCW when he teamed with Arn Anderson to win the tag team titles for the final time in his career.

The Alliance consisted of Ravishing Rick Rude, who was at his peak before the back injury that essentially ended his in-ring career, a pre-Stone Cold "Stunning" Steve Austin,  Larry Zbysko, Anderson, and Eaton and not surprisingly was handled poorly by WCW.

Eaton had a brief time as a hilarious mid-card team "The Blue Bloods" with Steven Regal with funny vignettes with Regal "teaching" Eaton manners and how to behave in social situations.

The Blue Bloods would challenge for the titles many times but fail to win them.

After Eaton was replaced on the team by Dave Taylor, Eaton moved down the cards and would finish his time on WCW's lower television shows and wrestle on house shows before leaving the company.

Eaton would become a regular on the independent circuit for years until health matters forced him out of the ring, although he would continue to make appearances for independent promoters/

Bobby Eaton had the knack of being able to look realistic in a business that often makes stars of those that are not and he did so by being a wrestler that not only made himself look strong but his opponents as well.

Eaton's ability to throw a punch well as noted above was top notch but his ability to take one was also above and beyond the abilities of many.

Eaton taking a shot with his long hair flying about, bouncing into a corner or off the mat was renowned for its value with Eaton often rubbing his jaw to emphasize the power of the blow.

The major bumps that Eaton took from opponents also helped stamp him as an elite wrestler of the time as Eaton would take drops and slams that few others would take even if they were capable of taking- which very few were.

The best in the game wanted to work with Bobby Eaton, even with Eaton's status as a tag team wrestler as both Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair took specific lengths to program themselves in television programs with Eaton with Rhodes doing a series of matches on their "World Wide" show that saw Eaton win the first two matches by disqualification and count-out before Rhodes won via pin in a steel cage match that saw Rhodes throw Eaton off the top of the cage to end the series.

And there was the interaction with manager Jim Cornette, complete with inferences that the two were a couple such as Cornette giving Condrey or Lane a high five before their matches before giving Eaton a hug and then a kiss on the cheek.

It was the small touches such as the above note that made the act of the Midnight Express so entertaining and made almost everyone that watched professional wrestling a fan of the threesome- even if many of them hated them at the time!

A final note about Bobby Eaton, who as noted above few spoke of in a negative manner, that I didn't know until recently.

Eaton traveled to his matches with two huge duffel bags that Jim Cornette compared to aircraft carriers, one of which was filled with his ring gear and extras of each of the items that he would need for his match that evening.

The other of the massive bags held everyday items such as towels, socks, toiletries, etc that were available to anyone that may have forgotten an item that they could need along with what Cornette described as a very large plastic bag filled with penny candy.

That not only speaks to the professionalism of Bobby Eaton in wanting to be prepared as possible for a situation but it also speaks of the generosity of the man outside of the ring.

I never met Bobby Eaton but I know people that have (including my nephew Jeff) and they rave about his kindness and gentleness as a person.

Bobby Eaton the wrestler isn't lost- he lives on through videos of his matches available through different avenues.

Bobby Eaton the man is the bigger loss to the world. 

There just aren't that many good people in the world that we can afford to lose many before their time.

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: Ortiz derails the Mean Machine

    I'm going to divide the boxing recap into two portions since I am in the middle of watching the final few fights over the next few hours.

This post will cover the three fights from the two DAZN cards with the follow-up post covering the ESPN and Showtime cards from Top Rank and PBC respectively.

The main event of the Golden Boy card from Frisco Texas saw one of the two young welterweights that none of the elites of the division want to face stop his best opponent to date as Vergil Ortiz (Jaron Ennis is the other) stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas in the eighth round with four knockdowns in the final round before referee Lawrence Cole ended the affair.

Ortiz dropped Kavaliauskas in the third round with a straight shot in close but the biggest news in this one was Kavaliauskas hurting Ortiz in the second round.

Give Ortiz credit for stemming the tide and proving some mettle against the power of a top ten welterweight like Kavaliauskas but it may have placed the thought into the minds of the welterweights rated above him that Ortiz can be hurt.

I had Ortiz ahead 68-64 at the time of the stoppage.

Ortiz is the number one rated contender in the WBO to champion Terence Crawford but the WBO has instead forced Crawford to negotiate with their second rated contender Shawn Porter.

I'm not complaining a bit about the prospect of Crawford-Porter, which would be a tremendous battle, but what's the point of being the number one contender if the sanctioning body mandates the champion fighting the number two guy?

I'm not sure what Ortiz does from here.

He could use more experience but Golden Boy doesn't really have any welterweights to test him and even if they did- should Ortiz fight someone that could cost him that number one rating?

What we found out about Vergil Ortiz against Kavaliauskas might be all we know until his eventual title challenge.

In the co-feature, Roger Gutierrez won a split decision over Rene Alvarado to retain the WBA minor title that means anything ( explained here) and win the third fight between the two.

This wasn't as exciting as their previous fighters as both fighters seemed a bit tentative against a fighter that knew them so well. and there were many lulls in the action.

In the end, the taller and heavier punching Gutierrez did just enough pecking and pawing from the outside with his jab to win the split decision officially and on my card 115-113.

Earlier in the afternoon from Eddie Hearn's palatial estate (as they used to say on Batman) in Brentwood England, undefeated light heavyweight Joshua Buatasi stopped a game Ricard Bolotniks in the eleventh round in the type of fight that every young contender needs before stepping to the championship level.

Buatasi dropped Bolotniks down in the sixth round and appeared to be poised to finish the veteran off for a spectacular win but Bolotniks survived the attack and even had a few moments of his own in the next few round before Buatasi concluded the fight in the eleventh with a right hand that sent Bolotniks sprawled along the ropes forcing the ending.

Buatasi lost a point for low blows in the eighth round but I still had him far ahead in the fight after ten rounds at 97-91.

That's exactly the type of middle-range fights that young fighters get experience from when a veteran just won't fall down the first time that they get cracked by a big puncher and I think it'll be the advantage of Buatasi for doing so.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each added three points from the DAZN cards and moved the total to 111-97.

I'll be back with the weekend from Top Rank on ESPN and the snoozer from PBC on Showtime.

Boxing Challenge

   A huge boxing Saturday starts today with four cards across three platforms with a world title and one of the best welterweights in the world in action.

DAZN and Golden Boy are in Frisco, Texas with one of the top welterweights in the world as undefeated Vergil Ortiz meets his toughest foe ever in Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

Ortiz knocked out former WBO junior welterweight champion Maurice Hooker in what was his previous toughest opponent in seven rounds, but Kavaliauskas is a legitimate welterweight that unofficially knocked down Terence Crawford before succumbing in nine rounds.

Kavaliauskas is tough and durable, so he should be a stern test for the big banging Texan but should Ortiz take him out there should be little doubt that he would be ready for a championship attempt against Errol Spence, Terence Crawford, or the Yordanis Ugas-Manny Pacquiao victor.

Also on that card is the third match between Roger Gutierrez and Rene Alvarado for the one WBA trinket title that has some legitimacy.

Allow me to explain why.

The WBA's real champion traces back to 2017 and Alberto Machado's upset of then-champion Jezreel Corrales.

Shortly thereafter, the WBA decided to make the winner of Gervonta Davis-Jesus Cuellar (Davis in three) their "super" champion and dropped the actual champion (Machado ) to their regular title.

So, this title from Machado to Andrew Cancio to Rene Alvarado to Roger Gutierrez traces to the true title and gives this minor title the only one with a stated claim.

Gutierrez avenged a seventh-round knockout loss to Alvarado in 2017 with a unanimous decision win in January to win the championship and set their third fight in place.

DAZN also has an afternoon fight from England with former Olympian Joshua Buatasi in a light heavyweight battle against veteran Ricards Bolotniks.

Buatasi has stopped thirteen of his fourteen foes, but Bolotniks is a veteran that is coming off three wins in the Golden Contract tournament in Europe.

Showtime is in Carson California with three interesting bantamweight fights with the main event pitting WBO champion John Riel Casimero defending against former WBA and WBO junior featherweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux.

Casimero was scheduled to fight Rigondeaux but then Showtime managed to insert WBC champion Nonito Donaire in place of Rigodeaux for a title unification match,

Donaire then pulled out over VADA testing that Casimero didn't want to do, so Rigondeaux is back in for what is still a solid matchup.

Rigondeaux at 40 years of age doesn't have the magnificent legs of his youth which allowed him to cruise past fighters such as Nonito Donaire easily if not in an exciting manner and he barely squeaked by Liborio Solis by split decision in his last tedious fight.

Casimero is a big puncher and has won his last six fights by knockout so the key may come down to can Rigondeaux move for twelve rounds as he did at his best?

The middle bout may be for a worthless WBA trinket but the fight is legitimately interesting with undefeated Gary Antonio Russell facing former IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has lost his last two fights (only two of his career) but his December loss by split decision to Reymart Gaballo was a terrible decision that brought out the Hamburglar as I had Rodiguez winning by eight points!

Russell is coming off a four-round technical decision win over former WBA champion Juan Carlos Payano and will be matched tough against Rodriguez in a very tough fight to call.

The Showtime opener will pair former WBA champion Rau'Shee Warren against Damian Vasquez.
Warren has won his last two since losing to Nordine Oubaali by decision and should be heavily favored against Vazquez.

ESPN and Top Rank have a card with three intriguing fights from Tulsa Oklahoma from Top Rank.

The main event is the third fight between bantamweight Joshua Franco and Andrew Moloney.

Franco upset Moloney via unanimous decision in their first fight, but Moloney seemed to be controlling Franco in the rematch before the fight ended in a no-contest after a supposed headbutt caused the fight to be stopped due to swelling to the eye of Franco.
Replays didn't show a headbutt and despite several replays under Nevada rules, the initial call of a headbutt stood, so the third fight should conclude this matter for good.

Top ten junior welterweight Arnold Barboza stays busy against veteran Antonio Moran.

Barboza enters after his biggest career victory over Alex Saucedo in an exciting fight that ended the career of Saucedo shortly after the battle.

Moran is a solid veteran but has failed in his attempts against world-class fighters losing to Devin Haney and Jose Pedraza, so if Barboza can win impressively he will notch another victory on his resume' as a top ten fighter.

The other fight in the challenge is the other Moloney brother, Jason against Joshua Greer in a crossroads fight that could lead to bigger things for the winner.

Moloney was knocked out in a title attempt against WBA and IBF champion Naoya Inoue in seven rounds last October while Greer seemed to be on his way to a title shot until an upset loss to Mikey Plania and then an eight-round draw against 11-5-1 Edwin Rodriguez.

The loser of this one may be headed to gatekeeper status.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 108-94

Welterweights 12 Rds 

Vergil Ortiz vs Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

R.L: Ortiz KO 7

TRS: Ortiz KO 10

Junior Lightweights. 12 Rds

Roger Gutierrez vs Rene Alvarado

R.L: Alvarado Unanimous Decision

TRS: Draw

WBO Bantamweight Title. 12 Rds

John Riel Casimero vs Guillermo Rigondeaux

Both: Casimero Unanimous Decision

Bantamweights. 12 Rds

Emmanuel Rodriguez vs Gary Antonio Russell

R.L: Russell KO 9

TRS: Rodriguez Split Decision

Bantamweights. 10 Rds

Rau'Shee Warren vs Damian Vazquez

R.L: Warren KO 9

TRS: Warren KO 6

Junior Bantamweights. 12 Rds

Joshua Franco vs Andrew Moloney

Both: Moloney Unanimous Decision

Junior Welterweights 10 Rds

Arnold Barboza vs Antonio Moran

R.L: Barboza KO 7

TRS: Barboza KO 5

Bantamweights. 10 Rds

Jason Moloney vs Joshua Greer

Both: Moloney Unanimous Decision

Light Heavyweights. 12 Rds

Joshua Buatasi vs Richard Bolotniks

R.L: Buatasi KO 5

TRS: Buatasi KO 3

Boxing Challenge: Hamburglar arrives in Minneapolis

    The Saturday night card with three welterweight fights showed one thing- when it comes to boxing in loosely regulated states, nothing should surprise you.

In the main event, undefeated prospect Eimantas Stanionis was in the middle of a surprisingly salty battle with former WBA champion Luis Collazo in the fourth round when their heads collided.

When Collazo fell to the floor with a mild cut and was concussed, it didn't take much to see that this one was over.   

Had the fight lasted less than a minute longer, the ending would have moved to the scorecards but instead, the fight was ruled a no contest. 

That's too bad because even though that Stanionis was controlling the fight, Collazo was landing his share and going all out to make what he said was to be his final fight of a long career a good one.

Collazo stated that this was his final fight afterward, but this is boxing and that can change on a dime.

As for Stanionis, he appears to be ready to face top ten competition and considering the talent that PBC owns at welterweight that could come very soon.

The middle fight was supposed to be the coming-out party for two-time Olympian Gabriel Maestre for another WBA minor title.

Maestre's original opponent, another former Olympian Cody Crowley, dropped out due to Covid-19 and was replaced by Mykal Fox, who had lost in his most recent fight to Lucas Santamaria who fought in the opening fight of the televised portion of the card.

The 6'4 Fox was expected to be broken down by Maestre, a supposed big puncher, but it was Fox the scored the only knockdown of the fight when he connected with a straight left in the second round.

I had Fox a 118-109 winner (10-2 with a knockdown) and it seemed like a formality for the decision for Fox.

Then the decision was announced 114-113  (which had me thinking someone saw this even other than the knockdown),115-112 (uh oh), and then 117-110- All for Maestre, and as I watched and uttered a loud profanity, Cherie (who could care less about boxing) asked: "How do you watch this again and again?"

I don't know dear but this is the worst decision of the year and while the current heat is on judge Gloria Martinez's 117-110 score and on some racist tweets that she has made in the past, where the heat should be is on Martinez's husband Ricardo Rizzo-obvious conflict of interest and Marcos Villegas, Fox's unofficial reporter, reports that a WBA official stood in Maestre's corner.

The WBA is the oldest sanctioning body in boxing and it's also the worst of the four organizations.

They bring nothing of value other than the best title belt and while the other three all have their issues, none of them bring the sewage-like quality of the WBA.

I'm planning a post on the bad points on each of the sanctioning bodies and what can they do to fix them should they have the desire to along with why the WBA is truly the worst of them all.

In a dull opening match, the aforementioned Santamaria won a unanimous decision over former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Devon Alexander.

It was an awkward mix in styles but evenly matched over the first half of the fight before Santamaria controlled the final few rounds to win a boring affair 96-94 on my card.

Alexander's not a totally shot fighter, but he was never a puncher and he's lost that slickness that once made him a champion.

Now he just shuffles forward, throws pitty-pat shots that don't deter the opponent, and might be best suited to consider retirement.

In the boxing challenge, I scored three points to Ramon Malpica's one to extend my lead to 108-94 in the season standings.