Boxing Challenge

 The boxing challenge will feature just two main events from two competing cards.

Golden Boy/DAZN will offer the most exciting fight of the pair with a minor junior middleweight title at stake between power hitters Serheii Bohachuk and Vergil Ortiz. 

Between the two, there is only one loss (Bohachuk's) and only one distance fight (Bohachuk's last fight, a decision pounding of Brian Mendoza), so this looms as an explosive fight between two fighters that don't allow a dazed opponent off the hook.

The biggest question for Ortiz is his lack of ring action, having fought only two rounds in two years while Bohachuk's concern is his chin against the pop of Ortiz as his only loss was by knockout to Brandon Adams, who doesn't have nearly the power of Ortiz.

This shapes as an entertaining evening as well as potentially a short one.

Top Rank/ESPN+ counters with a solid main event for the IBF featherweight title as road warrior champion Luis Alberto Lopez hits the trail again as Lopez visits Albuquerque, New Mexico to face hometown standout Angelo Leo.

Lopez has impressed since winning the title on the road in 2002 in England over Josh Warrington with defenses against Michael Conlan in Northern Ireland, Joet Gonzalez, and mandatory challenger Reiya Abe in New York.

Leo held the WBO junior featherweight title, winning the vacant title unanimously over Tramaine Williams before losing it in his first defense to Stephen Fulton.

Leo has won four straight since the Fulton defeat, moving up to featherweight, and returning home to New Mexico to fight in front of his home crowd since 2015.

This fight might not have the pure punching power of Bohachuk-Ortiz but it might be a longer fight with lots of punches being swapped.

Boxing Challenge

Junior Middleweights 12 Rds  

Serheii Bohachuk vs Vergil Ortiz

R.L: Ortiz Unanimous Decision
TRS: Ortiz KO 8
V.S: Bohachuk KO 9

IBF Featherweight Title. 12 Rds

Luis Alberto Lopez vs Angelo Leo

R.L and TRS: Lopez Unanimous Decision
V.S: Lopez KO 7 

TRS Boxing Ratings: Part Two

  Part two of the TRS boxing ratings is available covering the junior flyweights through the lightweight division.

Lightweights

1: Gervonta Davis WBA Champion 24 Pts

2: Vasyl Lomachenko IBF Champion 21 Pts

3: Shakur Stevenson WBC Champion 17 Pts

4: William Zepeda 8 Pts

5: Denis Berinchyk WBO Champion 3 Pts (Unranked)

Also Received Votes: Frank Martin, Keyshawn Davis

Junior Lightweights

1: Emanuel Navarrete WBO Champion 22 Pts

2: O'Shaquie Foster 17 Pts (Up Three)

3: Anthony Cacace IBF Champion 16 Pts (Unranked)

4: Lamont Roach WBA Champion 9 Pts (Unranked)

5: Oscar Valdez 6 Pts (Down One)

Also Received Votes: Robson Conceicao WBC Champion, Albert Bell

Featherweights

1: Luis Alberto Lopez IBF Champion 25 Pts

2: Leigh Wood 13 Pts

3: Rafael Espinoza WBO Champion 12 Pts (Unranked)

    Brandon Figueroa (Up One)

5: Nick Ball WBA Champion 8 Pts (Unranked)

Also received votes: Raymond Ford, Rey Vargas WBC Champion, Bruce Carrington, Robeisy Ramirez

Junior Featherweights

World Champion: Naoya Inoue

1: Murodjon Akhmadaliev 18 Pts (Up Four)

     Stephen Fulton (Up One)

3: Marlon Tapales 17 Pts

4: Luis Nery 12 pts

5: Sam Goodman 8 Pts (Unranked)

Also Received Votes: Ra'eese Aleem

Bantamweights

1: Junto Nakatani WBC Champion 25 Pts (Unranked)

2: Ryosuke Nishida IBF Champion 17 Pts (Unranked)

3: Takuma Inoue WBA Champion 16 Pts 

4: Yoshiki Takei WBO Champion 13 Pts (Unranked)

5: Emanuel Rodriguez 3 Pts (Down Four)

Also Received Votes: Vincent Astroblabio

Junior Bantamweights

1: Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez WBC Champion 20 Pts

2: Juan Francisco Estrada 18 Pts (Down One)

3: Fernando Martinez WBA/IBF Champion 17 Pts (Up One)

4: Kazuto Ioka 10 Pts (Down One)

5: Kosei Tanaka WBO Champion 9 Pts (Unranked)

Also Received Votes; David Jimenez

Flyweights

1: Sunny Edwarda 23 Pts

2: Angel Ayala 20 Pts (Unranked)

3: Seigo Yuri Akai WBA Champion 17 Pts (Unranked)

4: Artem Dalakian 7 Pts

5: Alberto Sandoval 4 Pts (Unranked)

Also Recieved Votes: Gal Yafai, 

Junior Flyweights/Under

1: Kenshiro Teraji 18 Pts

2: Sivenathi Nontshinga 14 Pts (Up Two)

3: Jonathan Gonzalez 13 Pts (Down One) 

4: Oscar Collazo 11 Pts (Unranked)

5: Hiroto Kyoguchi 5 Pts (Unranked)

    Carlos Canizales (Unranked)

    Adrien Curiel  (Unranked)

Also Recieved Votes: Shokihi Iwata

TRS Boxing Ratings: Part One

      Sorry these are a bit late and might even be unusual due to fights that have happened since I received votes.

I lost a voter and between short time on my part and waiting for that person, these are a little late.

Also, it's been close to a year since the last ratings, so that is why so many that were unranked last time are ranked now.

This will not happen again.

If you and anyone else are knowledgable in the fight game and want to vote in the next rankings, LMK.

A few notes- Oleksandr Usyk is still recognized as a full four title champion, even though he has been stripped of the IBF title because that title is currently vacant.

Same for Canelo Alvarez, who has been stripped by the IBF, but remains full champion for this period as the IBF belt is vacant.

David Benavidez and David Morrell for this rating period only are ranked at both super middleweight and light heavyweight as both men last fought at 175 pounds but held minor titles at 168, so next ratings period, it will be decided on one division for each.

This will skew the ratings a bit as some voted for each man in one division and not the other, both divisions or neither.

Terence Crawford, who has won a world title at 154 pounds and still holds the WBO title at welterweight for now, isn't ranked at 154 as his win came after voting was completed.

Crawford is still ranked at welterweight for those reasons this time.

At junior welterweight, voting had concluded when Jose Valenzuela upset Isaac Cruz for the WBA title, which is why Cruz is ranked and Valenzuela is not.

Heavyweights 

World Champion: Oleksandr Usyk

1: Tyson Fury 24 Pts

2: Anthony Joshua 19 Pts (Up Two)

3: Joseph Parker 16 Pts (Unranked)

4: Daniel DuBois 9 Pts (Unranked)

5: Zhilei Zhang 4 Pts

Also Received Votes; Agit Kabayel, Martin Bakole

Cruiserweights

1: Jai Opietaia IBF Champion 25 Pts

2: Chris Billam-Smith WBO Champion 19 Pts (Unranked)

3: Mairis Breidis 11 Pts

    Gilberto Ramirez WBA Champion (Unranked)

5: Noel Mikaelian WBC Champion 7 Pts (Unranked)

Also Received Votes: Yuniel Dorticos

Light Heavyweights

1: Artur Beterbiev WBC/IBF/WBO Champion 25 Pts

2: Dmitry Bivol  WBA Champion 20 Pts

3: David Benavidez 11 Pts (Unranked)

4: Joshua Buatsi 10 Pts

5: Anthony Yarde 6 Pts (Down One)

Also Received Votes; Callum Smith

Super Middleweights

World Champion: Canelo Alvarez

1: David Benavidez 21 Pts

    David Morrell (Up One)

3: Christian Mbilli 16 Pts

4: Jaime Munguia 8 Pts (Unranked)

5: Osley Iglesias 4 Pts (Unranked)

    Diego Pacheco (Unranked)

Also Received Votes: Caleb Plant

Middleweights

1: Janibek Alimkhanuly IBF/WBO Champion 24 Pts

2: Carlos Adames WBC Champion 18 Pts

3: Jermall Charlo 12 Pts

4: Hamzah Sheeraz 8 Pts (Unranked)

5: Chris Eubank Jr. 7 Pts (Unranked)

Also Received Votes: Erislandy Lara WBA Champion

Junior Middleweights

1: Sebastian Fundora WBC Champion 24 Pts (Up Three) 

2: Tim Tsyzu 19 Pts (Down One)

3: Israil Madrimov 16 Pts (Unranked)

4: Vergil Ortiz 7 Pts (Unranked)

5: Bakhram Murtazakliev IBF Champion 3 Pts (Unranked)

    Erickson Lubin (Unranked)

Also Received Votes; Sergei Bohachuk, Charles Conwell

Welterweights

1: Terence Crawford WBO Champion 25 Pts

2: Jaron Ennis IBF Champion 20 Pts (Down One)

3: Eimantis Stanionis WBA Champion 13 Pts

4: Errol Spence 7 Pts (Down Two)

5: Mario Barrios WBC Champion 4 Pts (Unranked)

Also Received Votes: Cody Crowley, Brian Norman, Conor Benn

Junior Welterweights

1: Teofimo Lopez WBO Champion 24 Pts

2: Devin Haney 16 Pts (Unranked)

3: Jack Catterall 13 Pts

4: Liam Paro IBF Champion  10 Pts (Unranked)

5: Isaac Cruz 6 Pts (Unranked) 

Also Received Votes: Alberto Puello WBC Champion, Jose Ramirez.

Road Trip: Finding Paladin or Have Collectibles Will Travel

     The next day on the trip was Cherie and I's thirty-seventh anniversary, so we kept the day low-key.

We agreed far ahead of time about the trip being our gifts to each other, so we kept that day very basic as we started the day with a visit to Conrad's elementary school for his award as "Tiger of the Month", complete with school fight song "We are the Tigers".

I've always thought teams named the Tigers used the song "Tiger Rag," but times change.

After that concluded, Cherie and I returned to the hotel for a while before another visit to the hospital to see Archie.

I never got tired of that trip, but I did leave for a bit to go shopping in Omaha as Conrad needed a thing for an upcoming football camp the following day.

We spent the rest of the day around the hotel and enjoyed hanging out with plenty of talk about the good times.

The following day, we had agreed to take Conrad to his football camp, starring Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco, because Archie was coming home, and that's what we could do to help.

After making the football camp stop, we traveled to an Omaha suburb, Gretna, and our second trip to a Brass Armadillo!

At the Omaha Armadillo, I found this Exhibit card of Richard Boone, the star of the 50s television show Have Gun Will Travel.

The case with this card was in the first row that we walked through, but I took note of it in case I didn't overspend.

The Exhibit Company produced postcard-sized cards in the forties, fifties, and sixties, and they came out of vending machines one card at a time, with cards of baseball and football stars, singers, and film and television stars.

I wound up buying it for $15.50, and it came with three other Hollywood cards from the set as well.

I only knew one of them (Gene Barry of Bat Masterson TV fame), but I would have bought the "Paladin" card anyway, so the others were an added bonus.

That was the only thing that I bought for myself here, although Cherie and I found some things for other people. Still, I was very close to buying a vintage Mego Catwoman, but the price was a little higher than I saw it on eBay, and I decided to pass.

We drove back to Ryan's for pizza and a visit before ending the day back at the hotel.

The following day was our day with Ryan, who showed us the sights of Omaha, but that will wait until the next installment. 

Boxing Challenge: Upsets and Pushes

 The Crawford-Madrimov undercard was filled with interesting fights that saw a few upsets and spectacular endings.

In the co-feature, Isaac "Pit Bull Cruz" lost his WBA junior welterweight title and a possible rematch against Gervonta Davis in a split decision defeat to Jose Valenzuela.

Cruz didn't fight badly but he seemed a step behind Valenzuela throughout the fight and never grabbed any type of rhythm that would wear down the challenger.

I scored Valenzuela the winner at 116-112, the same as the two judges with the dissenting card for Cruz at 115-113.

With both fighters aligned with PBC and this fight being an optional defense for Cruz, I'd think that a rematch is possible soon.

The two fights in the heavyweight division featured a former heavyweight champion, a former top contender, and the top American prospect, and yet none of those became the star of the evening.

That honor belonged to Martin Bakole, whom I described as a live dog in my preview of his fight against Jared Anderson and then punished the touted American prospect for five rounds, dropping him three times on his way to the knockout triumph.

Bakole forced Anderson into retreat from the beginning and while Anderson fought back gamely when he could have packed it in, Bakole's domination was complete.

Bakole would make some interesting fights against other contenders (Zhilei Zhang, perhaps?) and made a name for himself with his upset win while Anderson, who has made no secret of not being in love with boxing and has had legal issues, answered questions about his heart and desire but created others about his ability to fend off bigger and aggressive fighters.

In the other heavyweight bout, former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz and former contender/PED user Jarrell Miller slugged it out to a majority decision draw in a "Battle of The Big Boys" that brought to mind the Saturday Night Main Event from the 1980s between King Kong Bundy and Uncle Elmer.

Miller dropped thirty pounds from his loss to Daniel DuBois but still weighed over three hundred pounds against Ruiz, who hadn't fought for almost two years and fought at two hundred seventy-four pounds, yet it was Miller who finished the fight stronger in the second half of the fight.

I scored Miller the winner 115-113 with one judge giving the edge to Miller 116-112 and the other two scored the fight even at 114-114.

While the fight was somewhat entertaining, it was also sloppy enough that neither fighter distinguished themselves enough for a bigger fight soon, so it makes sense to hook these two up for a rematch.

David Morrell moved up from super middleweight to light heavyweight for a minor title but the vaunted "boogeyman" didn't look especially strong in winning a unanimous decision over Radivoje Kalajdzic.

Kalajdzic fought surprisingly well and deserved better on the cards, which I thought were unfair to Kalajdzic with Morrell winning by scores of 118-110 and 117-111 times two.

I scored Morrell the narrow victor 115-113 and Morrell continued the strange circle of call-outs as Morrell constantly requests to face David Benavidez while Benavidez asks for Canelo Alvarez and uses similar excuses to not face Morrell as Alvarez uses to avoid Benavidez.

In the opener, former Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz was struggling in his fight with veteran Antonio Moran before stopping him in the seventh round.

Moran appeared to have hurt Cruz in round five and the fight was even on my card at 57-57 entering the seventh round.

Cruz didn't dazzle anyone in victory but deserved credit for ending the fight and avoiding what could have been a close decision.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica; 111 Pts (4)

TRS: 99 pts (4) 

Vince Samano: 55 pts (5)

Boxing Challenge: Crawford squeaks by Madrimov

     The premiere card in the United States for Riyadh Season offered a few upsets, good action, and a mildly controversial main event, all of which added up to a strong debut in Los Angeles.

In the main event, Terence Crawford was severely tested by Israil Madrimov before breaking away in the later rounds to win a close but unanimous decision and the WBA junior middleweight championship.

It was a highly technical affair that wasn't boring and showcased the skills of both men at the elite level.

I had Crawford winning three of the final four rounds and pulling out a 116-112 win, which was the same score as one judge with the remaining cards scoring for Crawford 115-113.

Most watchers thought Crawford deserved a close nod but some did have Madrimov as the winner and while some are now saying that Crawford's ambitious goal of facing Canelo Alvarez has taken a hit, I beg to differ- I think I like Crawford's chances a bit better now than before.

Some might question my thinking but bear with me.

Bud Crawford has never been truly extended other maybe in his win over Shawn Porter and he showed his ability to win a close fight against a bigger man, one that was better than some anticipated in Israil Madrimov.

Now he's been tested in a close fight and showed the ability to pull away against a larger talented and gifted opponent, which he certainly would need in a fight against Canelo Alvarez and has fought for the first time in a year, which would help Crawford's sharpness if that fight could be made in the next six months or so.

A historical parallel might be this one-  the great Salvador Sanchez's final fight in 1982 against little-known Azumah Nelson, who was a late replacement for Mario Miranda, and Sanchez all that he wanted before Sanchez stopped Nelson in the fifteenth and final round.

Sanchez would tragically die a few weeks later but it was only as time progressed and it was learned just how great Azumah Nelson was that Sanchez's victory was truly appreciated for the great triumph that it was.

If we were writing now about the pinnacle of Terence Crawford's career, his win to unify the welterweight division over Errol Spence would have to be considered the best of his career and it could remain so.

However, this win over Israil Madrimov might be the one years later that is looked at as his best win- that's how good Israil Madrimov might be and it took an all-time great in Terence Crawford to edge him.

I'll write about the undercard bouts next time.

Boxing Challenge

   Riyadh Season comes to America with a spectacular card from Los Angeles along with several important fights from various promoters.

The main event will see welterweight champion Terence Crawford move to junior middleweight to attempt to win the WBA title held by Israil Madrimov.

Crawford hasn't fought since his virtuoso performance last summer against Errol Spence and Madrimov is far from a pushover and holds an impressive amateur background.

Madrimov won the vacant title in Riyadh with an impressive stoppage over unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov and is the naturally larger man.

I think Madrimov is going to push Crawford a bit but I think Crawford pulls away late and wins a close fight.

The other title at stake will be the WBA junior welterweight title held by Isaac Cruz, who defends against Jose Valenzuela in a bout provided by PBC.

Cruz steamrolled Rolando Romero to win the title in eight rounds last March and is a very popular fighter in Southern California.

Valenzuela avenged a controversial decision loss to Chris Colbert with a vicious sixth-round knockout last December and the styles should match up well for an exciting fight that is likely to end early.

The heavyweight division presents two interesting battles that should see the victors move up the ratings and set themselves up for bigger future fights.

Former three-title champion Andy Ruiz returns after almost two years away against Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller in a pairing of talented big men that often are too big for their own good.

Ruiz decisioned Luis Ortiz in September 2022 and Miller was knocked out by Daniel DuBois in the tenth and final round last December in suffering his first loss.

Both fighters have fast hands for men their size and it may come down to which man is in the better condition.

Unbeaten Jared Anderson faces his best opponent in dangerous Martin Bakole in a ten-rounder.

Anderson takes a huge leap in the caliber of opponent after a dreadfully dull win over Ryad Merhy in April.

Bakole impressively knocked out veteran Carlos Takam in four rounds last October and is a live dog against Anderson, who was rocked badly against his best previous opponent Charles Martin.

David Morrell moves to the light heavyweight division for a minor title against Radivoje Kalajdzic.

Morrell has been very impressive in his ten wins but never beat a true top ten contender at 168 pounds, so as good as he appears and he may be VERY good, we still don't know what happens when someone fights back.

Kalajdzic's two losses are excusable, an eight-round split decision loss to Marcus Browne that I thought he deserved, and a knockout loss to Artur Beterbiev in a title challenge.

The card opens with former Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz battling veteran Antonio Moran in a lightweight ten-rounder.

Cruz is unbeaten in his three fights and has the talent to burn while Moran has been stopped only once in his six losses ( a one-round stoppage against Devin Haney) and defeated Romero Duno in January, stopping Duno in six rounds.

Moran is as tough as they come and if Cruz can end this one early, it will be a strong victory.

Boxing Challenge

WBA Junior Middleweight Title 12 Rds

Israil Madrimov vs Terence Crawford

R.L and TRS: Crawford Unanimous Decision
V.S:  Crawford KO 7

WBA Junior Welterweight Title. 12 Rds

Isaac Cruz vs Jose Valenzuela

R.L: Cruz Unanimous Decision

TRS: Cruz KO 4
V.S: Valenzuela Split Decision

Heavyweights 12 Rds

Andy Ruiz vs Jarrell Miller

R.L and V.S: Miller KO 9

TRS: Ruiz Unanimous Decision

Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Jared Anderson vs Martin Bakole

R.L: Anderson KO 5

TRS: Anderson Split Decision
V.S: Bakole Unanimous Decision

Light Heavyweights. 12 Rds

David Morrell vs Radivoje Kalajdzic.

R.L: Morrell KO 10
TRS: Morrell KO 5
V.S: Morrell KO 4

Lightweights 10 Rds

Andy Cruz vs Antonio Moran

R.L and TRS: Cruz Unanimous Decision
V.S: Moran Unanimous Decision