By Eric Bottjer
Here’s what we learned over a weekend of three major shows
*A focused two-handed Ryan Garcia is a problem for anyone at welterweight (now that Boots Ennis has moved north). Garcia is not a great fighter. But he has great talent, and his speed and power can beat anyone – as long as the rest of him is there.
Garcia called out Shakur Stevenson, who already is all “there.” Stevenson has a bit to go to earn the “great” moniker, but he’s well on the way. A win over Garcia fits that journey.
A good match-up would be Garcia and Teofimo Lopez, two extraordinary talented, inconsistent operators. But with Lopez sticking with his father as trainer/head cornerman, Stevenson is the more competitive match-up (kudos to Garcia’s father, Henry, who had an obvious fight-plan for his son and kudos to Ryan for following it).
*Speaking of family in the corner, Gary Antuanne Russell needs a professional trainer. He can fight. I’m not saying brother Gary Russell (ex-featherweight belt-holder) is embarrassing. But at this level (the top), you need elite trainers. Training fighters is a profession like any other profession – it takes years to become great (that’s if you have the ability to do so). All the top dogs started at the bottom and worked their way, learning their craft. It’s not a part-time job.
*I’ll watch both Frank Martin and Nahir Albright again. Solid pros who laid it all out. And I’ll definitely watch Shakur Stevenson as a commentator again. He’s excellent (so is Sergio Mora, who’s the best ex-fighter/commentator in the game today).
*Bektemir Melikuziev is fun to watch, but he’s plateaued. He’s 29 and has spent literally half his life fighting elite boxers in the amateurs and pros. The good news for him is he’ll soon meet Jose Resendez, a belt-holder who upset Caleb Plant. It’s a good match for “Bek.”
*Oakland’s Amari Jones is a legit prospect. The 23-year-old’s stoppage over normally durable vet Luis Arias shows his whole team gets it. Golden Boy (promoter) picked the perfect opponent; manager Rick Mirigian is top-notch and trainer Virgil Hunter could teach a thing or three to some of the previous-mentioned fighters. The unknown for Jones in the immediate future is Golden Boy. Oscar De La Hoya is having issues with his top fighters (Vergil Ortiz and Garcia, who says after Saturday night he’s a free agent) and they have yet to re-up with DAZN. Without a platform and a star boxer, the company would be in trouble.
*Zuffa Boxing’s blob-like takeover of U.S. boxing continues. They signed Andy Ruiz and Conner Benn. Eddie Hearn saying his “misjudged his (Conner Benn) character” is brilliant comedy. This empty narcissist actually was serious when he said that. You mean the man who’s a repeat drug cheat has no character? Got it.
One of the few men with LESS character than Benn is the promoter who defended him to the hilt, offering word salads about the positive drug tests so he could line his own pockets while selling the fiction that Benn is an elite fighter who means something in the United States.
*Dana White doesn’t need to be a genius to compete in this world. After Zuffa’s event last week, White dismissed Hearn, stating, “He works for his Dad and I don’t think he’s come in and ever had any type of vision.” Hearn took the bait, angrily stating that UFC financial backers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta were White’s “daddies.” Said Hearn: “It normally takes people a few years to be battered into submission before saying, ‘He works for his Dad.’ Really frightening comments. Very strange.”
Yes, very strange, only you don’t give it a moment’s thought before reacting. One, Barry Hearn, who created Matchroom Boxing and built it into a monster, is Eddie Hearn’s biological father. Two, by Hearn’s definition of “daddies,” Len Blavatnik (majority owner of DAZN) is Hearn’s current Daddy. Three, White has a purpose when he talks shit.
Because here’s the kicker. As Hearn was reacting and calling his media favorite media sycophants to poo-poo White (“good luck, go and do your job and be a good boy”), White was negotiating a deal with Conner Benn.
“This is like beating up babies,” White said, before announcing the Benn signing.
*I’m shocked Ryan Garcia didn’t announce – with Oscar De La Hoya in the ring with him after the Barrios masterclass – that he had signed with Zuffa Boxing. White dismisses Hearn as a lightweight. But he despises Oscar.
*Claressa Shields is a legit ticket seller in Michigan. More than $1.5 million in the till by Wednesday of this week. No need to paper the house.
*The biggest fight in boxing today is Shields v. Jake Paul. You laugh? OK. Would you watch it? And the other question is: who else would watch it? Yes, that’s right. Everybody.
