The boxing challenge is in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, with four good matches that, sadly, are on pay-per-view and shouldn't be.
Although the fights are intriguing, they lack the star power that would entice people to purchase them.
In the heavyweight main event, unbeaten bomber Moses Itauma faces his biggest name to date in former heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte.
The twenty-year-old Itauma may be that level in the future as his hammering of opponents to date has been spectacular, while Whyte has won three straight since his 2022 KO loss to Tyson Fury.
Whyte appears to be in great shape, but I'm not sure how much he has left.
If Whyte can bring what he once had to the ring Saturday, he'll be a stern test.
In the co-feature, perpetual punching machine Nick Ball defends his WBA featherweight title against Australia's Sam Goodman.
Ball will be making the third defense of the title he won from Raymond Ford last year.
Goodman was once mandatory for the undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue, but his challenge was cancelled when Goodman suffered a cut in training..
The key in this one is this- Can Goodman hit hard enough to keep Ball's aggression from dominating?
Another heavyweight encounter sees Filip Hrgovic continue his comeback from his loss to Daniel DuBois against once-beaten David Adeleye.
Adeleye's only loss was by KO to contender Fabio Wardley, so it's certainly not a bad defeat, but Hrgovic is on a higher level, so I'd be surprised to see Hrgovic win this fight.
Former WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford faces Abraham Nova in a ten-round junior lightweight event.
Ford's only loss came to Nick Ball via split decision, while Nova may be on a downward slide.
I'm a fan of both men, but Ford has the talent edge in this one.
A musical parodist in the fifties and sixties, Lehrer influenced many in the world of music and comedy with his songs, which often poked fun at news items and popular culture.
Lehrer entered semi-retirement from music in the early seventies, preferring a career in education, teaching mathematics and musical theatre, but wrote and performed a few songs for the children's show "The Electric Company" that so many of my era recall fondly.
Lehrer worked for the NSA (National Security Agency) in the fifties and claimed to have invented the "Jello Shot" there to circumvent his base's alcohol restriction.
The frontman for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, Osbourne had a successful solo career after leaving Black Sabbath and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath.
Between the two, Osbourne sold over one hundred million albums and later became a reality television star with his wife, Sharon.
Osborne also appeared at WrestleMania 2 as the cornerman for the British Bulldogs in their tag team title victory over Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake.
Francis sold over one hundred million records during her career, was the first woman to hit number one on the Top 100 chart, and was the first woman to hit number one three times among her 53 hits.
Hits such as "Who's Sorry Now," "Stupid Cupid," and "Lipstick on Your Collar" were all part of the Francis sound, and until the British invasion, Francis was the most popular female singer in the country.
Mangione's 1978 hit "Feels So Good" reached number four on the charts as a rare instrumental hit, and he continued to create instrumentals, including several themes used during the Olympics.
Mangione is also known for his cameos on "King of the Hill" as the celebrity endorser for the department store "Mega Lo Mart".
The cleaning of the inbox starts with the long-overdue induction of Dick Allen into the baseball Hall of Fame.
Jayson Stark of The Athletic writes about Allen's induction and why Allen was such an important player to fans who grew up in his era.
I've always thought of Allen as a member of the White Sox more than a Phillie, despite Allen spending more seasons with Philadelphia, because Allen's best Phillies years came before I could remember, but no denying that, outside of Chicago, Allen is remembered as a Phillie.
Finally, it appears that McDonald's has come to its senses as Cherie sent me this note that McDonald's is returning its missing McDonaldland characters as part of a new meal aimed at adults.
The meals will return the classic characters that the company shelved over twenty years ago, and there will be more promotions with those characters in the future, per the company.
Hoping to see more Mayor McCheese, Officer Big Mac, and Captain Crook!
Youngstown, Ohio, will be decorating the entire side of a building with a penguin.
Youngstown State uses the Penguin as their mascot and has given permission for the Gallagher building to paint a mural of Pete the Penguin on the side of the building.
No word on what Pete's wife thinks of the exposure.
The Athletic writes about a treasured staple of my childhood and even adulthood-the preseason football preview magazines.
I collected these for years (and still do), ranging from childhood Street and Smith's to Lindy's and Athlon's regional (Big Ten) magazines, and in recent years, the massive Phil Steele versions.
Steele's college football preview is the number one selling magazine for Barnes and Noble every year, and that stat doesn't come from Steele's self-promotion; it comes from Barnes and Noble itself which has no reason to lie.
I used to buy these from all sports, but now I'm down to only college football in the internet age.
Although I do have a weakness for the seventies Street and Smith's editions, and I still collect them if the price is right.
Still, I look forward to these every year, and I devour Phil Steele's every year as a throwback to a simpler time.
Shedeur Sanders was handed an opportunity through circumstance that few young quarterbacks receive — a chance to play an almost complete preseason game to showcase his talents to a live studio audience.
Sanders threw two touchdown passes to Kaden Davis and played into the fourth quarter in the Browns 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Sanders completed fourteen of twenty-three passes for 138 yards and didn't throw an interception.
I'm not going to get too in-depth on the game because I was watching at work, and I'll review it later this week, but I did want to write about Sanders, who is dueling for a roster spot against fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.
The Browns may need to find a way to keep both, because after a successful game under these constraints, Cleveland will lose Sanders if they try to slide him through to a practice squad slot.
There's no way he wouldn't be grabbed by another team, so Andrew Berry and the Browns already need to be working on how to keep both rookie quarterbacks, because I don't believe either makes it through waivers.
Sanders threw the ball very well, and both of his scoring throws were on the dime, especially the second, which was an absolute dart to Kaden Davis.
Sanders wasn't perfect, though, as he did have a few struggles against the pass rush.
On two occasions, Sanders managed to avoid the rush but hurried his throws, resulting in incomplete tosses.
Sanders's best throw was his thirty-yard gain to free agent WR Luke Floriea, who stretched out to make the catch, but Sanders put the ball exactly where he needed to -where his receiver could catch and where the defensive back couldn't.
It's hard to place preseason success in its proper perspective.
Shedeur Sanders' debut had to be judged a success, and he showed the field vision and skills to give some optimism.
However, he played two drives against the Panthers' starting defense, completed four of eight passes, and didn't score against them, so his success came against reserves and players who won't be playing in the league in a few weeks.
That's preseason football for most players, so that's not a judgment or a criticism; it's just a fact.
Sanders isn't likely to play nearly this much in the final two exhibition contests.
Joe Flacco will likely need a drive or two for sharpness' sake, and Kenny Pickett, along with Dillon Gabriel, will want their look, assuming their injuries will allow it, which I bet each player will badly want their spotlight time, especially after Sanders' play in this game.
There were good things and reasons to hope after seeing Shedeur Sanders, but Browns fans and media need to keep things in line.
"The Camden Buzzsaw" held the WBC light heavyweight and WBA cruiserweight titles with an aggressive, stalking style that ripped through opponents, leaving them tattered and torn.
Known as Dwight Braxton before his name change, Braxton suffered a defeat and a draw in his first three professional bouts following his release from Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, before ripping off an impressive string of wins that included a KO win over former WBA champion Mike Rossman and a decision win over top contender James Scott in Braxton's return to Rahway.
Braxton's win streak earned him a WBC title shot against Matthew Saad Muhammad, an anchor of network television known for his exciting brawls and miracle finishes to keep his title.
There would be no miracle as Braxton punished Saad Muhammad on his way to a tenth-round knockout to take his title.
Braxton added three quality wins, all stoppages, in his three title defenses against Jerry "The Bull" Martin, Saad Muhammad in a rematch, and Eddie Davis before a highly anticipated unification match in Atlantic City against WBA champion Michael Spinks.
The fight appeared to be a can't-miss action pairing with Spinks's one-punch power and Braxton's charging style. Braxton didn't fight as aggressively as expected, and Spinks chose to box rather than bang, as Spinks won a deserved but disappointing unanimous decision.
Braxton changed his name to Dwight Muhammad Qawi after the fight, winning a few fights before a Spinks rematch was cancelled when Qawi injured himself in training.
Qawi was short (5'7), and there were questions about his size when he moved to the cruiserweight division for a 1985 title challenge in South Africa against WBA champion Piet Crous.
Qawi cut Crous down in eleven rounds to win the title and followed up with a brutal sixth-round stoppage over former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks in his first defense.
This set up a nationally televised fight on ABC in July 1986 from Atlanta's Omni against unbeaten Olympian Evander Holyfield that is still the best cruiserweight fight ever (apologies to Vasily Jirov vs James Toney) with Holyfield winning a split decision over fifteen rounds of hell (fifteen rounders were soon to become extinct) in a fight that could just as easily gone to Qawi.
The Holyfield loss took away (understandably) the best of Qawi, who lost a very questionable decision to former WBA champion Ossie Ocasio and knocked out former IBF boss Lee Roy Murphy in six before the Holyfield rematch, where Holyfield took Qawi out in four rounds.
Qawi was the biggest name in the early portion of George Foreman's comeback, creating quite a dichotomy in the ring with the 6'4 Foreman against the 5'7 Qawi.
Qawi's seventh-round stoppage loss looked like the end of his career, but the Buzzsaw wasn't finished yet, winning four fights in a row to qualify for the WBA cruiserweight title vacated by Holyfield when he moved to heavyweight.
Qawi would lose a split decision to Daniels and would lose his next fight to Mike "The Bounty" Hunter before winning seven of his final nine fights, including a win over former IBF champion Rickey Parkey and a decision loss to former WBA champion Nate Miller.
Qawi retired after the 1992 loss to Miller but returned in 1997-98 with three lower-level fights, winning two of them.
Qawi trained fighters after his retirement and worked with patients at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center before his battle with dementia in recent years.
Qawi was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004, but I wonder how his career could have been even better.
What would have happened had he been more aggressive against Michael Spinks?
Would that have been enough to win the biggest fight of his career?
What if the first Holyfield fight had been held anywhere but Atlanta?
Would that have nudged Qawi on the judges' cards?
Either way, Dwight Muhammad Qawi was a deserving inductee into the Hall of Fame and led an interesting life that might make a great film.
We welcome Dwight Muhammad Qawi to the Forgotten Superstars Universe.
The Golden Boy/DAZN card from Chicago seemed to have an excellent main event, but the co-main event looked almost sad with two former champions meeting in a fight that would only settle which one had lost less from their prime.
The main event lived up to expectations as Oscar Duarte outslugged Kenneth Sims to win a majority decision and an eventual chance against WBA junior welterweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell.
Duarte was more aggressive, while Sims countered well but allowed Duarte to drive him often to the ropes and corners, which the judges preferred.
Duarte won by scores of 116-112, 115-113 (my score), and 114-114, and I think Duarte's eventual challenge of Russell will be another entertaining battle.
The co-feature stole the night as aging former champions Regis Prograis and Joseph Diaz hammered each other for ten brutal rounds in a fight that must be considered at year's end for fight of the year honors.
The fight was action-filled as neither fighter had the legs to move away from the other, and surprisingly, the naturally smaller Diaz packed more power than Prograis, who was a power puncher for most of his career.
Diaz bled badly from a cut over his left eye from a headbutt for most of the battle, which caused several visits from the ringside doctor throughout the match.
No knockdowns were scored, although Diaz wobbled Prograis on a few occasions. However, I'm not sure if that was due to Diaz's punches or the increasingly precarious quality of Prograis's legs.
Prograis was scored the winner by scores of 96-94 (the same as mine) twice and 98-92, which was a bit unfair to Diaz.
This was a great fight, but both fighters had questions before this fight, and a war this fierce may have taken even more out of them.
I'd rather see a rematch than fighters against younger fighters who may overwhelm either fighter.
Boxing Challenge
TRS: 119 Pts (2)
Ramon Malpica: 113 Pts(0) Vince Samano: 46 Pts (0)
August is usually a slow month for boxing, and looking at the upcoming schedule, 2025 will be no different.
The only card for this weekend will be from Chicago, from Golden Boy/DAZN, with two junior welterweight fights of interest.
The main event could be a good one with a title eliminator between Oscar Durante and Kenneth Sims.
Duarte has won three straight since his ninth-round knockout loss to Ryan Garcia in December 2023, and his straight-ahead style almost always makes for fun fights.
Sims doesn't have the power of Duarte, but he possesses better boxing skills and yet isn't a strict mover, as Sims is willing to swap punches.
I like this fight very much between the two contenders, and I'd be surprised if this wasn't an entertaining scrap.
The co-feature looks good on paper with two former champions meeting, but both combatants have seen better days, with the loser of this one should consider walking away from the game.
Regis Prograis has held world titles on two occasions but has looked terrible in losing routs to Devin Haney and Jack Catterall in his two recent fights.
What's worse for Prograis is that he was knocked down by both Haney and Catterall, neither of whom is a strong puncher.
Joseph Diaz once held the IBF junior lightweight title but is only 2-6 in his last eight fights, and while some of those losses are to excellent fighters (Devin Haney, William Zepeda, Oscar Duarte) others are of lesser quality and his recent win in an eight rounder went the distance against an opponent with a 6-4-1 record.
Some times you can get a good fight out of two guys past their prime because they can't move out of each others way but just as often, you can have two guys huffing and puffing while they do nothing.
