Boxing Challenge; Sandoval Surprises Teraji, Higa Retires

    Ricardo Sandoval surprised the world with a split decision victory in Yokohama, Japan, to take away the WBA and WBC flyweight titles from Kenshiro Teraji in a tight battle.

While the fight was exciting, the decision was controversial, and while I scored the fight for Teraji 114-113, as did one judge, I don't have an issue with someone thinking Sandoval won a tight verdict.

My issue is with the two scores for Sandoval at 115-112 (pretty bad) and 117-110 (Amazingly bad).

Teraji scored the fight's only knockdown in the third round, and that someone thought Sandoval won ten rounds (117-110 is 10-2 minus the knockdown) is amazing to me.

Ricardo Sandoval fought very well on the road and deserves kudos for his win, but Kenshiro Teraji certainly deserves a rematch.

The co-feature saw Antonio Vargas retain his WBA bantamweight title with a draw against Daigo Higa, which saw all three judges score the match 113-113.

I scored Higa 114-112, but the draw is very fair.

Higa dropped Vargas in the fourth, but a knockdown in the final round by Vargas would salvage the draw and save his title.

Higa fell short for the third straight time for a bantamweight title ( a split decision and two draws) and announced his retirement after the fight.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 117 Pts (0)

Ramon Malpica: 113 Pts (0)

Vince Samano: 46 pts   (0)

Boxing Challenge

     Wednesday morning from Yokohama, Japan, DAZN will showcase one of the most exciting lower-weight fighters in the world as WBA and WBC flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji defends those titles against Ricardo Sandoval.

Teraji came from behind on the scorecards to knock out Seigo Akui in the final round to take away Akui's WBA strap in a definite fight of the year candidate last time out.

Teraji is always exciting, win or lose, with knockouts in six of his last seven fights, and the eighth saw him suffer his only loss ( to current IBF champion Masamichi Yabuki) by stoppage.

Teraji avenged his loss to Yabuki in their rematch, and it's possible (since Yabuki has won the IBF title) that the rubber match with three titles at stake could be next for Teraji with a win over Sandoval.

Golden Boy's Sandoval has won six in a row since his razor-close majority decision loss to David Jimenez in 2022 and is far from a pushover for Teraji.

In the co-feature, Antonio Vargas defends his WBA bantamweight title against the challenge of Daigo Higa.

Vargas was recently promoted to the full WBA title after injuries to Seiya Tsutsumi forced him out of the sport for a while. Vargas's tenth-round KO of Winston Guerrero last December for the interim title qualified the former United States Olympian for the promotion.

Higa, a former flyweight champion, lost a narrow unanimous decision, which I thought he deserved, to WBO champion Yoshiki Takei in 2004 and drew with Tsutsumi in February for the belt Vargas now possesses.

Higa always makes great fights, so this should be exciting.

Boxing Challenge

WBA/WBC Flyweight Titles. 12 Rds 

Kenshiro Teraji vs Ricardo Sandoval 

All: Teraji Unanimous Decision

WBA Bantamweight Title 12 Rds

Antonio Vargas vs Daigo Higa

R.L: Vargas Unanimous Decision
TRS: Higa Split Decision

V.S: Vargas Unanimous Decision

Cleaning out the Inbox

  The miscellaneous Cleaning of the inbox is overdue, so let's get to work on tidying things up!

   Business Insider writes of the sale of the Brady Bunch house for 3.2 million dollars.

The home was renovated by the previous owner, HGTV, who matched the interior from the television show inside the real home.

The 3.2 million dollar price was less than the 3.5 million that HGTV paid for the home, but it made money from the reality show that filmed the renovation.

The new owner is planning to allow fans to tour the home and meet cast members by entering contests that will benefit various charities.

The New York (Upper East Side ) Townhouse that served as the exterior for the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's has hit the real estate market.

Decor Magazine reports that the famous Tiffany Blue door welcomes a home that was renovated a few years ago, adding an elevator, a basement, a wine cellar, and a fifth floor with a terrace.

Asking price? A cool fifteen million.

Smithsonian Magazine writes of the development of "Robo-Bunnies" in Florida to draw the invasive Burmese Python out of hiding.

The robot rabbits are built with internal heaters and motors to replicate the movement and warmth that pythons can detect and are used to hunt prey.

If successful, it could see an increase in pythons being removed from areas where they don't belong.

We finish with three articles from The Athletic.

Former NBA coach George Karl feels his voice is ignored by the NBA and its teams.

Karl has suffered from health issues in recent years, but the controversial Hall of Famer still fires away on social media and his 2017 book, which seemed to take shots at everyone in the game.

Karl would be a person worth listening to, but he has burned lots of bridges in the game, so I'm not sure that he'll have the chance to be more than an advisor at his age (74).

The Buffalo Bills are a franchise that draws a chunk of their ticket-buyers from nearby Canada, a country that Donald Trump has enjoyed tweaking often since his return to the Presidency.

This article looks at the financial aspects of what could sting the Bills, should fewer of their Canadian fans cross into New York for Bills game.

The Bills claim eight thousand of their season ticket holder are Canadian residents and the money they spend are safe but the non-season ticket holders could reduce with the extra hassle crossing the border and the current climate between the two countries.

It also discusses the NFL's marketing program in Canada, Buffalo fans past concerns about nearby Toronto, and how the Lions and Seahawks are doing with their Canadian neighbors.

The story of the rare baseball card from the Goudey company in 1933/34 is a good one and involves Cleveland Hall of Fame second baseman Napoleon Lajoie.

The set was missing a number and collectors beseiged the company for the card to finish the set.

The company never released the card in packs and only people that wrote the company received a card to finish the set.

The card attached most of the cards to a paper clip which means that very few cards of the already limited card are in top condition.

Boxing Challenge: Zayas zaps Garcia

     On the final evening of ESPN's boxing program (for now, at least), Top Rank's two young stars earned victories that landed one a world title and the other a lesser title that could eventually become another. 

In the main event, Xander Zayas outboxed Jorge Garcia to win the WBO junior middleweight title that Sebastian Fundora vacated earlier this year.

Zayas was too slick for Garcia, and although Garcia, who earned the title chance with a still-surprising upset of Charles Conwell, never stopped his aggression, Zayas's skills never allowed Garcia to impose his will on the fight.

Zayas won by scores of 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112, with my score coming in at 117-111.

Zayas appears to be below the standard of WBC champion Sebastian Fundora and IBF king Bakhram Murtazaliev for now (Terence Crawford holds the WBA belt but will vacate before his September match with Canelo Alvarez) mainly because I will need to see more power from him to believe he could hold off either of those champions but at twenty-two I wouldn't rule Zayas out for improvement.

Bruce Carrington won a minor title at featherweight with a unanimous decision over Mateus Heita.

Carrington dominated but never hurt Heita, and despite his obvious skills, might lack the pop to hold off power-hitting WBO champion Rafael Espinoza or the relentless aggression of WBA boss Nick Ball.

Carrington wins by scores of 120-108 times two (and my score) and 119-109.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 117 Pts (3) 

Ramon Malpica:  113 Pts (4)
Vince Samano:  46 Pts (1)

Boxing Challenge

    After an overflowing boxing weekend last week, this weekend is light with one major card.

In the last card from Top Rank with ESPN, two of the company's young stars are showcased from New York City, one fighting for a world title.

Xander Zayas was signed as a teenager by Top Rank and heavily pushed as a prospect from the start of his career, but while he's still unbeaten, Zayas's power hasn't developed full,y and he's yet to defeat a top opponent although he does own a decision win over faded former WBO junior middleweight champion Patrick Teixeira.

Top Rank and Zayas attempted to work out an agreement with WBC and then-WBO champion Sebastian Fundora, but Fundora was contractually obligated for a rematch with Tim Tszyu and vacated the title, setting up Zayas to fight for the vacant title against Jorge Garcia.

Garcia earned his spot in the title picture in April when he pulled a major upset, defeating then-unbeaten Olympian Charles Conwell by split decision.

The co-feature is for a minor WBC title in the featherweight division may eventually be important as undefeated Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington meets Mateus Heita for the minor title.

Currently, Stephen Fulton holds the WBC featherweight crown, but Fulton plans to challenge WBC junior lightweight boss O'Shaquie Foster and could leave the division.

That would result in the winner of Carrington-Heita being promoted to the full champion.

Carrington stopped Enrique Vivas in three rounds in March, while Heita, who fights out of Namibia, has never fought outside of Africa nor against world-class opposition.

Boxing Challenge

Vacant WBO Junior Middleweight Title. 12 Rds

Xander Zayas vs Jorge Garcia

All; Zayas Unanimous Decision 

Featherweights 12 Rds

Bruce Carrington vs Mateus Heita

Ramon Malpica; Carrington Unanimous Decision

TRS: Carrington KO 8

Vince Samano: Heita Unanimous Decision

Jordan Hicks Retires

    The already ailing Cleveland Browns took another blow with the surprising retirement of linebacker Jordan Hicks.

Hicks's retirement was announced on the third day of training camp after Hicks had asked to be excused from the first two days for personal reasons.

The thirty-two-year-old Hicks played in twelve games last season in his only year with Cleveland, finishing with forty solo tackles and two sacks.

Hicks finishes his ten-year career with over six hundred solo tackles, sixteen sacks, and thirteen interceptions.

As for the Browns, the linebacking corps was already shorthanded with the possible career-ending injury to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and combined with Devin Bush's legal issues, Hicks's retirement leaves the Browns very vulnerable at the position.

Second-round draft pick Carson Schwesinger, free agent signee Jerome Baker, Devon Bush, and special-teams ace Mohamoud Dibate comprise the corps for now.

Jerome Baker's signing seems prescient now that Hicks has retired, and without Baker, this situation would be a very difficult one.

Baker is a similar player to Hicks and will have the first chance to replace Hicks in the lineup.

I'm sure the Browns will be looking to address the position sometime between now and the start of the season, most likely trying to add a veteran to replace Hicks.

Boxing Challenge: Bam goes Cafu!

    In Frisco, Texas, WBC junior bantamweight champion Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez continued his rise among the best champions in boxing as he dominated Phumelele Cafu and took away his WBO title via tenth-round knockout.

Cafu had a strategy, and he followed it, but it wasn't a winning one, as Cafu anchored himself along the ropes and in corners and allowed Rodriguez to batter him.  

Rodriguez could have boxed Cafu from the outside and won an easy decision, but instead chose to bully and batter Cafu to make a more entertaining fight.

Rodriguez will face WBA champion Fernando Martinez in the fall in a three-title unification.

In the co-feature, unbeaten super middleweight Diego Pacheco dominated Trevor McCumby in winning a unanimous decision.

Pacheco dominated with the jab and won going away by scores of 120-108 and two scores of 119-109.

Boxing Challenge 

TRS: 114 Pts 3)

Ramon Malpica; 109 Pts (4)
Vince Samano: 45 Pts (1)