Tag Archives: Boxing

Posted on 06/18/2022

There was a sudden roar from the crowd the moment Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (4-0, 3 KOs) made his way through the arena at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. Minutes later, Carrington gave them even more to cheer about as he went on to dominate Adrian Leyva (3-3-1, 1 KO), stopping his man in the fifth and final round.

Posted on 06/18/2022

Troy Isley (6-0, 4 KOs) was in no mood to enlist the help of three judges sitting ringside. With the middleweight prospect battering Donte Stubbs (6-6, 2 KOs) for most of their bout, he closed the show in the sixth and final round, scoring a one-punch knockout victory.

Posted on 06/12/2022

By: Hans Themistode

The opening act of Edgar Berlanga’s career went better than expected. The Puerto Rican native hollered loudly following 16 consecutive first-round knockouts, before screaming, “I’m a monster.”

Yet, with each concussive victory, Berlanga was slowly but assuredly placing more pressure on his broad shoulders. Admittedly, Berlanga responded well. Against Demond Nicholson, although Berlanga was pushed past the first round for the first time in his career, he knocked his man down multiple times, en route to a lopsided win. However, against Marcelo Esteban Coceres, Berlanga was sent crashing down to the canvas before scoring the win.

Several months later, Berlanga picked up a sloppy, yet clear, unanimous decision against Steve Rolls. With the 25-year-old anxious to not only maintain his undefeated record but do so in violent fashion, he was given an unwilling participant in Alexis Angulo.

Berlanga couldn’t help but smile as he made his way through his fellow Puerto Ricans at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. Moments later, Berlanga’s joyous attitude turned demonic as he stepped to the middle of the ring for the opening round. Angulo, undeterred by the roaring crowd, happily traded blows with the overly eager 25-year-old.

As Anuglo pushed the pace of the fight, Berlanga attempted to hold his ground, uncorking several wide-winging right hands. At the tail end of the first, he seemed to buzz Angulo with a stinging left hand. Aching to pick up where he left off, Berlanga came out aggressive to start the second. However, while he found a home for his right hand, Angulo made him pay, landing numerous uppercuts on the inside.

Berlanga, to his credit, seemed unfazed by the offensive onslaught of Angulo and baited him to move in. With the former title holder lunging forward, Berlanga landed a near picture-perfect right hand. Still, despite his precision, Angulo continued to march full steam ahead.

In the fifth, a visibly weary Berlanga plodded to the center of the ring. A clear pep in the step of Angulo was evident as he roughed up his much younger man on the inside. The 38-year-old pinned Berlanga up against the ropes and teed off, much to the chagrin of the pro-Berlanga crowd.

As the up-and-coming 168-pound prospect began tiring, he looked cautiously at the referee as Angulo buried his head into his chest in an attempt to make it a rough and rugged fight.

A seemingly exasperated Berlanga sauntered out of his corner in the seventh. With Angulo once again landing pernicious blows on his man, Berlanga did his best to box on the back foot. At times, the normally aggressive 168-pound prospect tagged Angulo with a head-snapping jab, forcing his loyal fans to rise to their feet and cheer him on vehemently.

In the eighth, Angulo was consistent in his attack. He placed his hands up high and smiled as Berlanga’s blows bounced innocuously off his gloves. When given the opportunity, Angulo found his range and pounded Berlanga against the ropes. It was much of the same in the ninth and 10th, as Berlanga tried desperately to change the momentum of the fight.

In the waning seconds of the final round, Berlanga angled out of Angulo’s way on numerous occasions, opting to play it safe. But, as the final bell rang, Berlanga stepped directly in front of Angulo, mouthing off while attempting to head butt his man. The two were then separated by their opposing corners and led to the center of the ring.

Both Berlanga and Angulo waited patiently for the final tally. During the protracted delay, Berlanga rose his hands confidently while flexing at the crowd. Moments later, he was given a reason to smile as he handed a lopsided unanimous decision victory.

Posted on 06/11/2022

Both Luis and Henry Lebron battled tooth and nail in front of a jam-packed crowd in Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater earlier tonight. Despite both fighters sporting the same last name, it was Henry who proved to be the better fighter, as he won a fairly wide unanimous decision.

Posted on 06/11/2022

Although Josue Vargas was forced to learn the hard way, the 140-pound contender was confident that he would bounce back from his devastating first round knockout defeat at the hands of Jose Zepeda. But while Vargas picked up a fairly close unanimous decision victory against Nicolas Pablo Demario earlier this year, he was absolutely bulldozed earlier tonight.

Despite the public backing of the New York crowd, Vargas was pummeled in the second round against Dakota Linger.

Posted on 06/11/2022

With the roar of the crowd firmly behind him, Orlando Gonzalez (18-1, 11 KOs) refused to let his undying supporters down. The featherweight prospect blasted Pablo Cruz (22-5-1, 6 KOs) from pillar to post through five one-sided rounds until the referee mercifully stepped in to call a halt to their contest.

Posted on 05/23/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Canelo Alvarez’s plans were crystal clear.

After pilfering every world title at 168 pounds, the Mexican star would then audaciously go up in weight to take on WBA 175-pound titlist, Dmitry Bivol. Once Alvarez cleared that hurdle, he would then move on to a third, and presumably final, showdown against Gennadiy Golovkin.

Although Alvarez viewed Bivol as a significant challenge, the former four-division world titlist believed he would ultimately emerge from their contest victoriously. However, as the two faced off on May 7th, Alvarez and his undying fans were given a rude awakening. On the night, Bivol both outboxed and out brawled the pound-for-pound star, en route to defending his light heavyweight crown.

With Alvarez’s defeat, came a certain haze surrounding his once clear future. Initially, Alvarez stated that he would elect to take on Bivol in an immediate rematch. However, after further thought, Alvarez has decided against it and instead, will look to put an end to his rivalry with Golovkin.

“Surely yes [about fighting Golovkin next],” said Alvarez during a recent interview with ESPN Deportes. “We already had that contract, that agreement, so we have to continue what we started.”

By no means is Alvarez, 31, eschewing a second showdown against Bivol. Nonetheless, as the Mexican star eludes to, a matchup against Golovkin was already agreed upon well before he came up short against the current WBA light heavyweight champion.

Ultimately, news of Alvarez opting to face Golovkin for a third time is likely music to the longtime middleweight champion’s ears. Following their initial showdown in September of 2017, Golovkin was left shellshocked as he believed he had done more than enough to pick up the victory. Nevertheless, he was forced to settle for a majority decision draw. Anxious to prove their superiority to one another, the two locked horns once again. While their sequel was a back and forth affair, it was Alvarez who handed the majority decision victory, much to the chagrin of Golovkin.

Although acrimonious over the entire ordeal, Golovkin has returned to the win column over and over again. With four consecutive victories, including three of which came via stoppage, Golovkin is buzzing with confidence.

Most recently, the current unified middleweight champion was last seen in the ring on April 9th, earlier this year. The newly turned 40-year-old brazenly stomped into the Japanese home of Ryota Murata, before violently ending his middleweight title reign via 9th round stoppage.

As Alvarez now prepares to take on Golovkin at 168 pounds, he isn’t ruling out a return to the light heavyweight division. In fact, the Mexican star essentially guaranteed that following his showdown against Golovkin, a second contest against Bivol will be next on his docket.

“I think those are the two biggest fights in boxing, the fight with Golovkin and the rematch with Bivol. Unfortunately we lost, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try again. The important thing here is perseverance and we’re going to do it again.”

Posted on 05/22/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Although a fairly jam-packed crowd in Resorts World Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, was left shellshocked following Janibek Alimkhanuly’s second-round stoppage win over Danny Dignum, Alimkhanuly predicted an explosive win from the moment both signed their names on the dotted line.

Initially apoplectic over the sudden withdrawal of Demetrius Andrade, the current WBO middleweight champion, Alimkhanuly, somewhat reluctantly, accepted a showdown against Danny Dignum for the WBO interim crown.

While Dignum appeared ready for his big moment, Alimkhanuly refused to allow the 30-year-old step in the way of his championship glory.

From the sound of the opening bell, Alimkhanuly plunged straight ahead, winging looping right hands, unafraid of the firepower Dignum had in his possession. A straight 1-2 combination forced Dignum on his heels. Another combination by Alimkhanuly left his man on wobbly legs, but a straight left hand saw him hit the deck in the waning seconds of the period.

Unable to close the show in the first, Alimkhanuly picked up where he left off in the second. A visibly cautious and worried Dignum pumped a range finding jab. Despite planting his feet in an attempt to keep Alimkhanuly honest, the Kazakhstan native continued to move ahead.

With roughly two minutes remaining in the period, Alimkhanuly uncorked a barrage of shots on a defenseless Dignum. In one instance, Dignum attempted to avoid the perpetual assault of his man by ducking low and getting back to the center of the ring. However, the moment Dignum crouched, Alimkhanuly landed a perfectly placed uppercut, nearly sending him out of the ring.

Referee Tony Weeks had seen enough, opting against giving Dignum a standing eight count and instead, simply waved off the rest of their bout. An ecstatic Alimkhanuly banged his gloves and stomped around the ring, feeding into a frenzied crowd.

Shortly after grabbing his newly won interim crown, Alimkhanuly refrained from simply calling out one world champion but instead, placed his sights on the entire division.

“I am in the ring right now and I want to tell every champion in this weight class, I am here waiting for you,” said Alimkhanuly following his victory. “I am waiting.”

Posted on 05/21/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Countless superlatives can be used to describe Jean Pascal. Multiple-time world champion, deleterious knockout artist, resilient, and of course, willing to take on all comers. However, while Pascal has wrapped his waist with gold several times over, numerous disparaging words were hurled in his direction.

Following Pascal’s close but clear victory over Badou Jack in December of 2019, Pascal’s name was dragged through the mud as he failed numerous post-fight drug tests. Both bemused and in utter disbelief, Pascal, at the age of 39, dusted himself off and began his career revival. While the former two-time light heavyweight champion entrenched himself in an arduous training camp, it paid off for him earlier tonight.

A fairly raucous crowd filled Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida, in full support of Pascal. As he walked confidently through the ropes, Pascal nodded in approval. Moments later, a more stoic Fanlong Meng made his own ring walk as he looked emotionlessly at Pascal’s supporters.

In the opening round, Meng pumped a range finding jab in an attempt to find his distance. Pascal kept a high guard, allowing Meng’s jab to bounce innocuously off his gloves. When given the time to strike, Pascal did just that, landing two stinging overhand rights in the waning seconds of the opening round.

In the second, a much more assertive Meng reemerged from his corner. The Chinese native blasted the former world titlist mere seconds into the frame. A strong straight left hand from the undefeated title hopeful pushed Pascal into the ropes. As the Haitian product stumbled around the ring, Meng launched a full-on attack. For the remainder of the round, Pascal retreated and held onto his opponent, refusing to absorb any more blows.

Needing the next few rounds to regain his composure, Pascal came out aggressively in the fifth. He eagerly met Meng in the center of the ring and bullied his man against the ropes. The crowd roared in approval as he peppered Meng’s body with numerous blows before connecting on several straight rights and overhand lefts.

A seemingly flustered Meng continued to lay against the ropes, waiting for his reprieve. That moment, however, would come shortly after. In the seventh, Pascal appeared winded. He lethargically waltzed to the center of the ring. A quick barrage of punches by Meng left Pascal on wobbly legs. The former world titlist languished listlessly in the corner as Meng teed off mercilessly.

Appearing to take the eighth off, Pascal performed at his best in the ninth. During the period, a short and quick exchange on the inside was punctuated by Pascal with a sharp uppercut. Seconds later, Meng hit the deck.

Pascal’s confidence grew in the 10th. After connecting on several unanswered shots, time was called by referee Chris Young as Meng’s corner was ordered to fix the tape around his gloves. Given more time to rest, Pascal seethed and pounded his gloves together, garnering a reaction from his staunch supporters.

Once given the green light to continue, Pascal launched a full-blown assault. Although Meng’s corner appeared worried, the Chinese product remained calm, fighting back vigorously in the waning seconds.

After a nip and tuck 11th, both fighters left it all in the ring in the final round. Pascal took the initiative, pounding his man against the ropes before Meng turned the tables in the remaining few seconds.

From the moment the final bell rang, both fighters rose their hands victoriously in the air. Nevertheless, only one man would leave with the victory.

As the crowd waited nervously, they erupted as Pascal was handed a fairly wide unanimous decision victory.

Posted on 05/20/2022

Clarence Booth had grown sick and tired of the up and down performances followed by lackluster results. In 2017, after going 1-2, the Florida native took what he believed was a well-needed break. After re-energizing his batteries, Booth reeled off numerous pristine performances. That trend, however, would end earlier tonight.

From Whitesands Events Center, in Plant City Florida, Michael Dutchover dazzled the crowd. With Booth’s hometown fans standing firmly behind him, he attempted to turn his fortunes around as they engaged in an all-out war.

Dutchover, to his credit, continued to find success. As a result, Booth reacted desperately, winging looping shots that failed to land on their mark. Dutchover’s overall boxing ability and iron clad chin, proved to be enough as he eked out the split decision victory.

Posted on 05/20/2022

Jeffrey Torres was relentless in his pressure as he faced off against Antonio Moran. Even with the Mexican born slugger planting his feet and firing away, Torres refused to take a backward step.

As the two continued to swap fists at Whitesands Event Center in Plant City, Florida, it was Moran who got the better of most of their exchanges. At the conclusion of eight hard-fought rounds, the two continued the action well after the bell. Regardless of what appeared to be bad blood, both men embraced shortly after, to the approval of the deafening crowd.

In the end, to the crowds dismay, Moran was awarded the close unanimous decision victory.

Posted on 05/20/2022

Jusiyah Shirley (5-0, 4 KOs) refused to allow his hometown fans leave Whitesands Events Center without receiving major bang for their buck. Following four consecutive knockout wins to begin his career, Shirley was unable to secure his fifth straight against journeymen Miguel Angel Perez Aispuro (12-13-2, 8 KOs). He did, however, punish his man, resulting in a lopsided unanimous decision victory.

Posted on 05/20/2022

Daniel Blancas (2-0, 2 KOs) looked incredibly confident as he walked through the ropes tonight to take on his inexperienced opponent. In the opening fight of Jean Pascal’s return to the ring against Fanlong Meng, both Blancas and Heinrich Coorssen Caceres (0-1) waged an all-out war.

Caceres, to his credit, refused to wilt under Blancas relentless pressure. While the debutant managed to reach the final bell, he was handed a wide unanimous decision defeat.

Posted on 05/14/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez has begged, pleaded, and urged the top names at 175 pounds to step into the ring against him. Although he has yet to lure the current titleholders to ink their names on the dotted line, Ramirez may have forced their hand.

The unbeaten 30-year-old from Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico punished Dominic Boesel during the main event of their DAZN headliner earlier tonight at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

From the sound of the opening bell, a confident Boesel walked calmly to the center of the ring. Moments later, he was greeted by a stiff jab from Ramirez. As the former 168-pound titlist continued to tag his man, an eye-catching exchange took place as Ramirez connected with a right hand on the elbow of Boesel.

Shortly after, Boesel turned in pain before resuming the action. Round two saw Ramirez overwhelm his man with a barrage of punches as he languished against the ropes. While he was primarily a headhunter, Ramirez refused to neglect working the body, doing so with approximately one minute left in the round.

Although Boesel proved to be game, egging Ramirez on in the fourth round, the hard-hitting Mexican happily obliged, landing pernicious shots against the fringe contender until he was forced to take a knee. Under normal circumstances, when said fighter opts to take a knee, they are immediately issued a standing eight count. However, considering how severely hurt Boesel was, their bout was waved off.

With the victory, Ramirez not only advances his career record to a pristine 44-0, he now emerges as the WBA mandatory challenger to current belt holder, Dmitry Bivol. While Ramirez has stated on numerous occasions that he would like nothing more than to fight Bivol, the Russian native could be forced to take on pound-for-pound star, Canelo Alvarez. The two recently battled on May 7th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Although he was pegged as a considerable underdog, Bivol rose to the occasion, handing Alvarez only the second defeat of his Hall of Fame bound career. Just mere moments after suffering defeat, Alvarez revealed that he fully plans on enacting his immediate rematch clause, a statement he has somewhat backed away from.

Posted on 05/11/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Gennadiy Golovkin was always a patient hunter. But one who never wasted his time on prolonged prey.

After victimizing his foes in the ring, Golovkin would normally remove his blood-soaked gloves, grab the nearest microphone and publicly call out his next target. Seldom, however, would Golovkin’s desired opponents issue a direct response.

The current unified middleweight titlist begged for a showdown against Miguel Cotto. Yet, when the former four-division world titlist openly ignored him, Golovkin turned his attention elsewhere. In addition to placing a target squarely on the back of Cotto, Golovkin has also called out the likes of Sergio Martinez and Jaime Munguia.

Ultimately, to Golovkin’s disgust, he was unable to lure any of those previously mentioned names into the ring. Still, while acrimonious, Golovkin moved on. So why won’t he do the same now?

At the age of 40, and having fought Canelo Alvarez on two separate occasions, Golovkin has appeared hell-bent on facing the Mexican star for a third, and presumably final time. In all fairness, Golovkin had officially gotten his wish granted.

Initially, after mulling over several offers, Alvarez opted to accept Eddie Hearn’s lucrative three-fight deal. In Alvarez’s perfect world, he would willingly leave his undisputed 168-pound throne and successfully snag Dmitry Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title. From there, Alvarez would then return to 168 pounds for a third bout against Golovkin, before closing out his year with either a homecoming fight in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico – or a trip over the pond to London, to face who appeared to be the frontrunner in Joshua Buatsi.

Of course, Golovkin needed to hold up his end of the bargain, as he was scheduled to face off against Ryota Murata. Despite turning 40 years of age one day prior to their April 9th showdown, Golovkin brutalized his man, scoring the stoppage victory in the ninth round.

As Golovkin flicked on his television set this past Saturday night to take in the sights of Alvarez’s showdown against Bivol, a part of him, albeit reluctantly, was heavily rooting for his longtime rival. But while Golovkin nodded and smiled in approval as Alvarez started strong, Golovkin placed an incredulous hand over his mouth as he watched the rest of their bout unfold.

Outside of the first initial few rounds, Bivol dominated the pound-for-pound star. At times, a visibly gassed Alvarez languished against the ropes, breathing deeply, hoping for a reprieve from a relentless Bivol. Alvarez’s amnesty, however, never came.

Bivol, beaming with confidence at this point, closed strong, lacing Alvarez with a nonstop barrage of pernicious shots, doing so until the sound of the final bell. Alvarez, 31, had on his best poker face as he waited patiently for the final scores to be announced. While he raised his hand in victory, it was Bivol’s name that was announced shortly after.

With the Mexican star tasting defeat for the first time in nearly a decade, he impetuously declared that he would enact his immediate rematch clause, a statement he has somewhat backed away from. If Álvarez does, in fact, opt to face Bivol once more, Golovkin should turn his back on their lucrative and personal rivalry.

There’s nothing more for Golovkin to gain at this point in his career from facing Alvarez. His perpetual rival’s aura of invincibility has already been stripped away.

During their first encounter in 2017, most of the boxing world was bemused by the final result as Alvarez appeared lucky to have been given a split decision draw. In their immediate sequel one year later, while Alvarez scored a majority decision victory, both pugilistic media minds and rabid fans of the sport were ambivalent with the final call.

Not only has Bivol successfully ended Alvarez’s reign atop boxing’s Mount Everest, but, by and large, he’s also dampened his third showdown against Golovkin.

While no one else will allow the Kazakstan native to fatten his wallet the way a bout against Alvarez can, he does have both lucrative offers and mouthwatering showdowns that stand before him.

For years on end, Jermall Charlo has publicly called for a middleweight unification bout against Golovkin, something the now 40-year-old has never truly entertained. In addition to Charlo, Demetrius Andrade has remained loquacious over a matchup against Golovkin.

The seemingly countless zero’s that were expected to come with a showdown against Alvarez has ostensibly evaporated. So has a chance at revenge. That doesn’t mean Golovkin and Alvarez won’t meet again, however. But for the time being, while both bouts will be forever etched in boxing history, there’s no need for a third.

Charlo, Andrade, or even an audacious move to 168 pounds to take on David Benavidez, are all on the table for Golovkin if he so pleased. Whatever Golovkin ultimately chooses, it’s time for him to leave his rivalry with Alvarez in the rearview mirror.