Boxing Challenge

   It's a literal one-fight weekend in the boxing challenge as ESPN+ presents a battle of former Olympic silver medalists as heavyweight contender Joe Joyce against Zhilei Zhang with Joyce's minor title at stake.

The WBO's mandatory contender for three title champion Oleksandr Usyk, Joyce still ranks behind Daniel DuBois for the WBA (and a former Joyce victim) and the IBF's Filip Hrgovic in the rotation that unified champions go through with each organization's mandatory challengers, so "The Juggernaut" is staying busy rather than wait for that eventual bout in order to stay sharp and even importantly, cash some checks to add to what he gains in sharpness.

And just as in his last fight, an eleventh-round knockout of former WBO champion Joseph Parker, Joyce isn't facing a soft touch in China's Zhilei Zhang.

Zhang matches Joyce in height at 6'6, outweighs the hefty Joyce by twenty pounds, and in his most recent bout in an IBF title eliminator, Zhang lost a very close decision to Filip Hrgovic in a battle that had he gotten the nod, it would be Zhang owning the IBF's top contender slot.

Zhang scored a flash knockdown of Hrgovic and won the fight by one point on my scorecard, only to lose on the official slates by margins of one, three, and three points.

Neither fighter is particularly fleet of foot and both like to slug in the middle of the ring, so I think the fight should be an entertaining battle with the potential for even more excitement. 

Boxing Challenge

Heavyweights. 12 Rds 

Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang

Ramon Malpica: Joyce KO 9

TRS: Joyce KO 11

V.S: Joyce Unanimous Decision

Boxing Challenge: Akhmadaliev, Fundora Upset!

     The DAZN and Showtime portions of the boxing Saturday were filled with action and with two massive upsets that will have large repercussions in two divisions in the near future.

Matchroom/DAZN's show from San Antonio featuring hometown hero Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez's attempt to drop a weight class and win his second world championship after vacating the WBC junior bantamweight title earlier this year.

Rodriguez was successful in winning the vacant WBO flyweight title but he was unable to stop a resilient Cristian Gonzalez and even worse suffered a broken jaw in the unanimous decision victory.

Gonzalez moved just well enough to frustrate Rodriguez and while Rodriguez never stopped chasing and landed plenty of punches, Rodriguez never hurt Gonzalez seriously.

I scored Rodriguez a 117-111 winner with the official scores reading 118-110,117-111 and 116-112.

The best fight of the evening was a stunning upset as double-digit underdog Marlon Tapales grabbed many of the early rounds and held off a late charge from Murodjon Akhmadaliev to win the WBA and IBF junior featherweight titles by a split decision.

Akhmadaliev started slowly and allowed Tapales to land his jab and looping right far too often in building a lead and it wasn't until the second half that Akhmadaliev began to step up his punch output.

When Akhmadaliev did, the fight was quite entertaining and Akhmadaliev generally got the better of the action but officially he waited too long with two judges giving Tapales a 115-113 edge for the upset.

Akhmadaliev won the other by a ridiculous 118-110 which was far too wide as I gave Akhmadaliev the win at 115-113.

As Tapales was a mandatory challenger, Akhmadaliev isn't owed a contractual rematch and may have to win an eliminator or two for an eventual try to regain his crown.

Featherweight Raymond Ford knocked down former WBO junior featherweight champion Jessie Magdaleno in the fourth and eleventh rounds and dominated the other rounds as well in winning an easy unanimous decision in a WBA eliminator.

Not much to say about this one other than Ford was the bigger, faster, and stronger fighter in winning the biggest fight of his career by scores of 119-107 x2 and 116-110, with my score agreeing at 119-107.

Magdaleno looks to be in a tough spot at being unable to make the weight at junior featherweight and is not strong enough to battle the best at 126 pounds.

Carson California was the site of the Showtime/PBC card for a strange evening of boxing led by an upset that changed the future of the junior middleweight division.

For six rounds, the 6'5 Sebastian Fundora was having a clear path to retaining his minor title and more importantly his spot at the top of the WBC ratings and an eventual shot at unified champion Jermell Charlo as he battered the face of Brian Mendoza in winning all six rounds on my card.

That would all change seconds into the seventh round as Mendoza countered an uppercut attempt from Fundora with an electric left hook that sent Fundora stumbling backward and as he tried to stay upright, Mendoza leaped into the space with a right and left that left Fundora on the floor for a stunning ten count.

The win gives Mendoza the minor title held by Fundora but more importantly, it will be Mendoza in a position to wait for the winner of Charlo's title defense against Tim Tszyu, assuming he could hold that spot until his turn arrives.

The upset was the second in a row for Mendoza, who knocked out former WBA and IBF champion Jeison Rosario in his previous bout, and while I'd rate him as a strong underdog against either Charlo or Tszyu, it could be that Mendoza is one of those stories that is finding lightning in a bottle at the perfect time in a career.

The co-feature saw an excellent action fight between junior welterweight prospect Brandun Lee and veteran Pedro Campa, who slammed the other with punches for the ten rounds with Campa's face looking the worse for wear but Campa landing the heavier punches.

Lee emerged with an unpopular unanimous decision by scores of 97-93, 98-92, and 99-91, all of which seemed far wide for my tastes.

I scored the fight even at 95 as a draw, so my beef isn't with Lee's win, just some awful judging.

Some of the shine from Lee has disappeared in his last few fights and I'm not sure he is championship caliber in a division that is filled with top boxers but he does make action fights and as long as he keeps winning, he'll get a chance eventually.

On the undercard, Gabriel Maestre forced former two-division champion Devon Alexander to surrender after three one-sided rounds.

Maestre didn't prove a lot in the victory as Alexander clearly needs to step into retirement.

I didn't add the opener of the Showtime telecast to the challenge as undefeated featherweights Luis Nunez and Christian Olivo started the show but I wanted to add to the ridiculous judging of the evening as Nunez won a unanimous decision that he didn't deserve by scores of an incredible 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93.

I scored Olivo a 97-93 victor and feel awful for him as he was robbed of a win that he deserved.

If there is any justice, PBC will set up a rematch as the fight was entertaining- hopefully with new judges.

Boxing Challenge 

TRS: 63 Pts (5)

Ramon Malpica: 59 Pts (6)

Vince Samano: 48 Pts (5)  

Boxing Challenge: Stevenson Superb, Teraji retains titles

 I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter!

I will be covering the two cards from ESPN+ from Saturday here and the DAZN and Showtime cards tomorrow with two tremendous upsets involved on those two programs!

From Newark N.J., Shakur Stevenson staked his claim in the lightweight division with a dominant performance in a WBC eliminator against Shuichiro Yoshino.

Stevenson was never mildly pressed by Yoshino and knocked him down twice in the second and fourth rounds before battering him in the sixth to force the stoppage.

My scorecard had Stevenson up 50-43 at the time of the stoppage

Stevenson is transitioning into a more exciting fighter by moving less but still remaining elusive for opponents to find and while Yoshino may have been sent from central casting as the perfect foil, don't allow that to take away from Stevenson's effort- he looked terrific and should this version of Stevenson continue to evolve, he might not only be the best of the lightweight division, he may be the most exciting as well.

Top Rank placed arguably their two best prospects at the top of their supporting card with both scoring victories.

Heavyweight Jared Anderson didn't score a knockdown. Still, he did control a reluctant George Arias until hurting Arias late in the third round with the corner calling it a night for the previously undefeated Arias.

It may not have been a brilliant outing for Anderson but it showed that he's ready to jump a level in opponent quality as Arias wasn't a remotely substantial test.

Lightweight Keyshawn Davis stopped former title challenger Anthony Yigit in the ninth round of a lightweight tilt that was filled with headbutts and sloppy fouls from each man.

Davis and Yigit each committed their share of fouls with Davis literally landing a knee-lift reminiscent of Mr. Wrestling II to Yigit's face in the seventh round.

Davis crushed Yigit with seconds remaining in the eighth with a punishing body shot to send him to the floor that may have been better suited to end the fight but Yigit surprisingly rose and even more surprisingly came out for the ninth before Davis swarmed over the Swede to finish the fight.

I had Davis ahead comfortably at 79-73 at the end of the fight.

Earlier in the day from Tokyo, Kenshiro Teraji retained his WBA and WBC light flyweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of late replacement Anthony Olascuaga in an excellent action battle.

The quality of the fight was a surprise considering Olascuaga stepped in on a few weeks' notice for WBO champion Jonathan Gonzalez and was facing Teraji in only his sixth pro fight.

Teraji won six of the first seven rounds on my card but Olascuaga was constantly winging right hands and landing his share against the perpetually attacking Teraji often enough to make things entertaining.

And it became even more interesting with Olascuaga stunning Teraji in the eighth as out of nowhere it seemed as if a major upset was very possible.

However, Teraji may have decided that the fight may have been getting too close for comfort as he quickly leaped on Olascauga early in the ninth, sending him to the floor where referee Mark Nelson decided he had seen enough.

For Teraji, another action battle with a unification pairing against Jonathan Gonzalez coming up as soon as it can be re-scheduled, and for Olascuaga, gritty more than describe his outing under extraordinary circumstances.

I'm sure we will see Olascuaga again soon in the 105-pound division.

Takuma Inoue picked up the WBA bantamweight title that his brother Naoya vacated with a unanimous decision over Liborio Solis.

Takuma doesn't punch anywhere near as hard as Naoya but he controlled the second half of the fight with the aging Solis tiring badly down the stretch.

I scored Inoue a 117-111 winner, which agreed with the middle of the three scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Takuma has only four knockouts in his eighteen wins, so my guess is that Takuma's title defenses will be kept as easy as possible with those defenses held in Japan until an eventual mandatory against a top foe would be forced.

Japan's Reiya Abe dominated former junior featherweight and featherweight champion Kiko Martinez with an easy unanimous decision in a featherweight eliminator for the IBF.

Not much to say about this one as Martinez charged ineffectively as Abe scored easily with countershots or easily moved away from the Spanish veteran.

I gave Martinez the first two rounds and Abe the final ten for a score of 118-110.

The judges saw Abe as the winner at 119-109 times two and 117-111.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 58 Pts (10) 

Ramon Malpica: 53 Pts (12) 

Vince Samano: 43 Pts (10) 

Boxing Challenge

     It's a huge boxing weekend with several bouts in the challenge across the various networks.

ESPN leads with the talented two-time champion Shakur Stevenson in a WBC lightweight eliminator against Japan's Shuichiro Yoshino in Stevenson's hometown of Newark.

No one wants a piece of Stevenson in various eliminators, so it falls to Yoshino, who is undefeated with wins over former contenders Masayoshi Nakatani and Masayoshi Ito but seems badly overmatched in this fight.

The co-features will showcase Top Rank's two top prospects, heavyweight Jared Anderson and lightweight Keyshawn Davis.

Anderson faces undefeated George Arias, while Davis squares off with former junior welterweight title challenger Anthony Yigit.

Arias has beaten undefeated opponents in his last two fights but neither is close to the caliber of Anderson.

 Yigit has lost both of his fights against world-class opposition by knockout in losses to Ivan Baranchyk and Rolando Romero.

ESPN+ will have a special card from Tokyo with three matches of interest.

Kenshiro Teraji will defend his WBA and WBC junior flyweight titles against late replacement Anthony Olascuaga in the main event.

Teraji was supposed to meet WBO champion Jonathan Gonzalez in a title unification fight but Gonzalez dropped out due to illness.

In a matchup for the vacant WBA bantamweight title, Takuma Inoue will attempt to gain one of the four titles that his brother Naoya vacated against rugged veteran Liborio Solis.

Solis, the former WBA junior bantamweight champion, will be making his fourth attempt at winning a  title at 118 pounds while Inoue lost his only fight in his challenge of then-WBC champion Nordine Oubaali.

Another title eliminator at featherweight of the IBF style pits former junior featherweight and featherweight champion, Kiko Martinez against Reiya Abe.

Martinez looked to be washed up before his 2021 upset win to take the IBF title from Kid Galahad and lost the title in his next fight by KO to Josh Warrington before returning with a KO of British contender Jordan Gill.
Abe seems to be the underdog in this fight but will have the hometown crowd behind him.

DAZN and Matchroom have a strong three fights from San Antonio with the main event featuring undefeated Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez in an attempt to win the vacant WBO flyweight title against heavy underdog Cristian Gonzalez.

Rodriguez had a huge 2022 with wins over Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai to win and defend the WBC junior bantamweight title but decided to vacate that title to return to the flyweight division.

This appears to be a lesser fight for Rodriguez as he tunes up for future unification matches against fellow Matchroom boxer WBC champion Julio Cesar Martinez and recent Matchroom signee and IBF champion Sunny Edwards.

Murodjon Akhmadaliev puts his WBA and IBF junior featherweight belts on the line against mandatory challenger Marlon Taples.

The talented but oft-inactive Akhmadaliev knocked out Ronny Rios last June and looks to move on to a potential four-title unification against the winner of the WBC and WBO title battle this summer between Stephen Fulton and Naoya Inoue.

Tapales briefly held the WBO bantamweight title before losing the title on the scales before his first title defense and was knocked out in eleven in an attempt at the vacant IBF junior featherweight title against Ryosuke Iwasa in 2019.

A WBA featherweight eliminator looks very interesting with unbeaten Raymond Ford and former WBO junior featherweight boss Jessie Magdaleno.

Magdaleno looked like a coming star when he won the title via decision over Nonito Donaire in 2016 but defended once before an upset loss to Isaac Dogboe.

Magdaleno has fought only four times in the five years since the Dogboe loss and despite winning all four bouts, enters this one with several questions to answer.

Ford has gotten the benefit of the doubt twice, drawing with Aaron Perez and a split decision over Edward Vasquez but looked sharp in his last fight as he stopped difficult veteran Sakaria Lukas in eight rounds.

Showtime/PBC are in Carson, California with three fights for the challenge and the main event will see Sebastian Fundora defend his minor junior middleweight title against Brian Mendoza.

Fundora, the top WBC contender to the unified champion Jermell Charlo, looked spectacular in his 2022 win over Erickson Lubin but not as exciting in his last win over Carlos Ocampo.

Mendoza notched his top career win in his last fight when he knocked out former WBA and IBF champion Jeison Rosario in the fifth round but in his other bout against a top opponent was soundly decisioned by hot prospect Jesus Ramos.

Junior welterweight prospect Brandun Lee has received plenty of attention for his knockouts early in his career but seemed to have leveled a bit in decision wins over Zach Ochoa and Will Madera before a KO win in his last fight over Diego Luque in January.

Lee faces veteran Pedro Campa, who is best known for his seventh-round knockout loss to Teofimo Lopez last year.

It's an undercard fight that rounds out the challenge as two welterweights battle for relevancy as former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Devon Alexander attempts to turn back the clock against Gabriel Maestre.

Alexander has lost his last three fights but only one of those since 2019 when he dropped a unanimous decision to Luke Santamaria.
Should Alexander lose this one, it's time to step away.

Maestre is the former Argentine Olympian that won a controversial decision in 2021 over Mykal Fox for a minor title that was so awful and howled over that started the WBA down the road to abolishing their title silliness.

Maestre has fought just once since, a draw in Montreal vs Taras Shelestyuk.

Boxing Challenge

Lightweights. 12 Rds 

Shakur Stevenson vs Shuichiro Yoshino

Ramon Malpica: Stevenson KO 9

TRS: Stevenson KO 8

Vince Samano: Stevenson KO 7

Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Jared Anderson vs George Arias

R.L: Anderson KO 3

TRS: Anderson KO 2

V.S: Anderson KO 6

Lightweights.10 Rds

Keyshawn Davis vs Anthony Yigit

R.L: Davis KO 6

TRS: Davis KO 4

V.S: Davis Unanimous Decision

WBA & WBC Light Flyweight Titles. 12 Rds

Kenshiro Teraji vs Anthony Olascauga

R.L: Teraji Unanimous Decision
TRS: Teraji KO 8

V.S: Teraji KO 6

Vacant WBA Bantamweight Title. 12 Rds

Takuma Inoue vs Liborio Solis

All: Inoue Unanimous Decision

Featherweights. 12 Rds

Kiko Martinez vs Reiya Abe

R.L: Abe Unanimous Decision

TRS: Martinez Split Decision

V.S: Abe KO 4

Vacant WBO Flyweight Title. 12 Rds

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez vs Cristian Gonzalez

R.L: Rodriguez KO 7

TRS: Rodriguez KO 11

V.S: Rodriguez KO 8

WBA and IBF Junior Featherweight Titles. 12 Rds

Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs Marlon Tapales

R.L: Akhmadaliev Unanimous Decision

TRS and V.S: Akhmadaliev KO 9

Featherweights 12 Rds

Raymond Ford vs Jesse Magadaleno

All: Ford Unanimous Decision

Junior Middleweights 12 Rds

Sebastian Fundora vs Brian Mendoza

R.L: Fundora KO 10

TRS: Fundora KO 11

V.S: Fundora KO 7

Junior Welterweights 10 Rds

Brandun Lee vs Pedro Campa

R.L: Lee Unanimous Decision

TRS: Lee Majority Decision

V.S: Lee KO 7

Welterweights 10 Rds

Devon Alexander vs Gabriel Maestre

All: Maestre Unanimous Decision

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

   The tributes continue with recent passings from the sports world with one football Hall of Fame member, another with a strong case for induction that slipped through the cracks, and a boxing Hall of Famer and former champion,

Goodbye to Bud Grant at the age of 95.

The Hall of Fame coach holds several unique honors and one that I think that he holds alone and almost certainly will never be matched.

Grant, to my knowledge, is the only person to play in both the NFL and CFL and work as a head coach in both leagues.

Grant was the Eagles' first-rounder in the 1950 draft and led the Eagles in sacks in 1951 as a defensive end before moving to wide receiver for 1952 when he finished with 997 yards, which was second in the league.

Grant left the Eagles after that season in a contract dispute and moved to the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the days when a player could make more money in Canada in the right situation.

Grant also played for the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers for two seasons as a reserve and won a championship with the 1950-51 Lakers.

Grant would become the head coach of the Blue Bombers in 1957, keeping the job through 1966 and winning four Grey Cups with Winnipeg before leaving for the Vikings in 1967 for the greatest run in franchise history.

After a weird 3-8-3 record in his first season, the Grant-led Vikings would win the NFC Central division title in every season but one (1972 was won by Green Bay) and win the NFL/NFC championships on four occasions (1969,73,74, and 1977) but would never push through with a Super Bowl win.

I don't hold that against Grant as arguably only in one of those games (Much as Marv Levy in his four Super Bowl defeats) did Grant have the better team (1969 vs Kansas City) and even then Grant was handicapped by quarterback Joe Kapp, a much better runner than passer against a Hall of Famer in Len Dawson.

Grant's Vikings relished their home-field advantage and would often use it to their psychological advantage with Grant not allowing heaters on the sidelines and most of the team wearing short-sleeve shirts in the often freezing weather to intimidate the opponent.

While I can certainly understand Minneapolis preferring a domed stadium for its multiple uses, I've always thought that it is no coincidence that the Vikings have never made another Super Bowl appearance since moving inside (and not since Grant retired for that matter) and giving away an advantage that no team could match other than arguably Green Bay.

Goodbye to Otis Taylor at the age of 80

Taylor foiled Bud Grant in Super Bowl IV when Taylor grabbed a Len Dawson pass and shrugged off a tackle attempt by Minnesota's Earsell Mackbee and ran uncontested for a forty-six-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, immediately after the Vikings had scored their first (and only) touchdown of the game and appeared to be getting back into the contest.

Taylor was one of the first big (6'3) and fast receivers in the game and was one of the heavily contested AFL vs NFL signing battles between the AFL Chiefs and NFL Cowboys.

Taylor was being babysat by NFL agents in a hotel room and was snuck out by Chiefs agent Lloyd Wells.

Taylor escaped through a window and was smuggled to Kansas City to sign his contract with the AFL.

Taylor finished his career with over four hundred receptions, and over seven thousand receiving yards, averaging 17.8 yards per catch for his career, and was a seniors nominee for the Hall of Fame in the most recent election but failed to be inducted.

Taylor is just one of many players from the 60s and 70s that deserve enshrinement in Canton, yet never seem to climb the hill as the statistics from the age aren't as glossy as more recent players that play more games in a season and are able to accumulate flashier numbers.

Goodbye to John Brockington at the age of 74.

Brockington was a key part of the recruiting class of 1967 (freshmen ineligible) that led Ohio State to the 1968 national title and within one win (loss to Michigan in 1969, and Rose Bowl loss to Stanford for 1970) of two more national championships.

Brockington's recruiting class finished with an overall record of 27-2 in their three varsity seasons in Columbus and he rushed for over 1,100 yards in 1970, which set the Ohio State record for rushing yardage in a season at that time.

Brockington was selected in round one in 1971 by Green Bay and would win the rookie of the year award with the first of his three consecutive 1,000 yards seasons with all three seasons seeing Brockington named to either the first or second-team All-Pro squad.

Brockington was the first player in NFL history to rush for over one thousand yards in his first three seasons but his physical running style led to a short shelf life, running for 884 yards in 1974 and a large drop to only over four hundred yards in both 1975 and 1976.

Brockington played in the Green Bay opener in 1977 but was then released and picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs, where he would finish the season and retire at the end of the year.

Goodbye to Ken Buchanan at the age of 77.

The former lightweight champion from Scotland, in the United States Buchanan is remembered most as the victim of Roberto Duran in Duran's first world title victory but the smooth boxing Buchanan's career was far more than only that.

Buchanan won his title in an upset in 1970 over Ismael Laguna, another Hall of Famer, and would defend it twice before the loss to Duran in New York.

Duran stopped Buchanan in the thirteenth round with a controversial ending that Buchanan and trainer Gil Clancy claimed that Buchanan was unable to continue after a knee to the groin.

Duran and the referee felt that it was a left hook to the body that ended the fight, which was the official verdict.

Duran was far ahead on the scorecards, so the ending didn't change the victor but due to the controversy, a rematch was signed by both men but twice the bout was canceled on Duran's end with Buchanan never receiving the promised return match for the championship against Duran, although he did receive a shot at the WBC title against Guts Ishimatsu, losing a unanimous decision in 1975.

Buchanan never contended for the lightweight title again, losing the final four fights (half of his career total) of his career and five of his ten after the loss to Ishimatsu.

Buchanan was voted into the boxing hall in 2000. 

Boxing Challenge: Joshua decisions Franklin

   The main event from Matchroom/DAZN on Saturday was able to give Eddie Hearn what he needed most in a victory but that's about all anyone received in Anthony Joshua's return from his two decision losses to Oleksandr Usyk as Joshua looked inflexible and at times reluctant against Jermaine Franklin,

However, the Joshua jab was enough to deter Franklin and give Joshua an unsatisfying but unanimous decision victory in London.

My card agreed with two of the judges at 117-111 with the other scoring 118-111 with Joshua working his strong jab to keep Franklin from getting inside to rough Joshua up and as a result, a less-than-exciting affair occurred.

When Franklin did decide to move his hands, he did have some success, particularly in the fourth and tenth rounds but he didn't take the risk of doing so and fell behind on the scorecards.

Joshua called for Tyson Fury after the win but from what I saw in this fight, Fury wouldn't have too many concerns against Joshua in a match that has been talked about for years but seems to be well past its prime.

Franklin is a top-ten-level heavyweight, so the victory isn't a complete washout for Joshua, and until someone beats him that isn't arguably the best fighter pound for pound, you will have to give the respect that his resume deserves.

However, if Joshua has a prayer of winning against the best in the division, this version of Joshua will have to improve a great deal.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma from ESPN/Top Rank, the WBO featherweight title vacated by Emmanuel Navarrete was at stake as Robiesy Ramirez faced former WBO junior featherweight champion Isaac Dogboe to fill the vacancy.

It was Ramirez dominating from the outside by keeping the smaller Dogboe off balance throughout the fight and scoring a final-round knockdown of an off-balance Dogboe to clinch the unanimous decision for the two-time Olympic gold medal winner.

I scored Ramirez a 117-110 winner, which was the same as the closest judge with the remaining cards listing scores of 118-109 and 119-108.

Ramirez would make a lot of sense to oppose the winner of May's IBF title fight in Ireland between Luis Alberto Lopez and Michael Conlan, with both fighters affiliated with Top Rank, a unification battle should be fairly easy to sign.

The fight of the weekend was the featherweight co-feature with two-time title challenge Joet Gonzalez and Jose Enrique Vivas banging out a ten-rounder that could have been held in an office cubicle with both men throwing and landing plenty of punches.

Gonzalez broke open a close fight in the final rounds with Vivas suffering a severely swollen jaw that I would guess is broken as Gonzalez picked up the pace in those rounds to outwork Vivas.

I think Vivas's jaw injury occurred in the ninth round and had this been a twelve-rounder, I think the fight would have stopped in favor of Gonzalez.

I scored the fight closer than the official judges at 97-93 as the official scores were 99-91 and 98-92 x2.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 48 Pts (6)

Ramon Malpica: 41 Pts (5)

Vince Samano: 33 Pts (5) 

Not an April Fool- Promise

   I promise this isn't an April Fool's joke, but I wanted to write that I'm not sure how much I will be able to write soon.

A schedule change at work will eliminate some time for writing and the same change could take away at least some of my time for watching some of the teams that I follow.

The timing is especially bad with both the Cavaliers and Devils heading for the postseason but this is beyond my current control and not by my choice or even my employer's.

Trust me, I'm far from happy but I'm hoping that this will be a temporary issue until other shifts open up for me, and I'm making the best that I can out of what isn't a great group of options.

I'm sure I will have time on my off days and the feature-based posts should not be affected but the same-day articles on boxing and the other teams could be slower, especially for topics that take place on a Friday or Saturday evening.

I'll likely do a boxing challenge recap, it just may be on Sunday night or even Monday, while the other events may either have a quick mention or even be skipped entirely, if I think there isn't much to add if too much time goes by.

I'm disappointed by much of this, mainly as I was just feeling a bit more motivated to write more often.

Fingers crossed that this doesn't last until the fall...