Tag Archives: cbs

Posted on 03/04/2017

Pbc on CBS Results: Thurman Bests Garcia, Lubin Stops Cota
By: Sean Crose

The biggest fight on network television in decades went down Saturday night at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York. WBA welterweight champ Danny Garcia took on his WBC welterweight peer Keith Thurman in a unification battle of undefeated titlists.

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

The opening bout featured Jorge Cota 23-1 against rising star Erickson Lubin 17-0. The first round started off tentative with neither man showing a willingness to let loose. The second showed each man trading a bit, but the battle remained close. Lubin landed with purpose in the third and in the early fourth Cota was on his bicycle. It did him no good. A single left hook sent Cota down and out at around the halfway point of the round.

After a small eternity – which isn’t good for a network broadcast – it was time for the main event. The crowd was clearly behind Philadelphia’s Garcia, 33-0, but Clearwater, Flordia’s Thurman, 27-0-1, appeared cool as ice. The first round was pretty explosive with both men landing exceedingly hard. Thurman was aggressive from the opening bell, but Garcia held his own.

Thurman was aggressive in the second, as well, but Garcia was able to land hard and was also able to maintain his cool. Garcia subtly became more aggressive in the third and Thurman began slowing down his output. In the fourth Thurman was able to glide through at the end, though Garcia was striking the body well. Thurman controlled the fifth for the most part, but Garcia came on strong at the end.

Garcia landed hard and with frequency in the sixth, taking the round. Thurman grinded his way through the seventh, a round where Garcia was warned for low blows. Thurman continued to dominate through the eighth, but Garcia was still very much in the bout. Thruman ruled the tenth and looked to be pulling away. Not that it was an easy affair for the Clearwater native. Garcia slugged his way into taking the tenth.

Thurman cruised through the eleventh…perhaps too much. I had him winning the round by the skin of his teeth, but it may well have gone either way. It was time for the final three minutes. Garcia landed enough that I gave him the last chapter. Still, it appeared that Thurman had done enough to take the fight by a comfortable margin.

Needless to say, Thurman won by split decision. It was fair, but the fight was indeed close. Garcia was game, but came up short. Thurman looked excellent.

Posted on 03/01/2017

Trust the Process: Danny Garcia vs. Keith Thurman
By: Kirk Jackson

March 4th, Saturday night at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York, the world will witness history.

We will witness a clash between two undefeated welterweight champions in a unification championship bout.

The participants are Keith “One Time” Thurman 27-0 (22 KO’s) the current WBA welterweight champion vs. Danny “Swift” Garcia 33-0 (19 KO’s) the current WBC welterweight champion.

It may seem blasphemous to some, comparing this fight to the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns, Leonard again vs. Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad, Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton, Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio Caesar Chavez, among many other significant welterweight bouts.

But like many of the great welterweight match-ups just listed, this is a fight featuring two elite fighters and in this case, they happen to be undefeated and in their physical primes.

This fight also happens to be on free network television via CBS-Showtime. Just like the good ole days. And like the good ole days, this should be a classic.
Garcia and Thurman are among the elite fighters of the sport and in one of the deepest divisions in boxing.

Garcia should be on the top pound for pound list based on his levy of accomplishments; his achievements exceed those of Vasyl Lomanchenko, Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez – guys who are on the pound for pound list.

If Thurman is to defeat Garcia, he certainly will have earned a spot on the p4p list in his quest to unify the welterweight titles and of course this will change the outlook of the entire division.

The winner can make legitimate claim as the premier guy of the division and potentially (fingers crossed) lure the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley or the winner of Errol Spence vs. Kell Brook in the ring next.

Regarding this fight, Thurman is slightly favored and here is why.

Thurman is known for his explosive punching power. He lives by the phrase “KO’s for life,” even if he doesn’t always deliver the knock out.

But along with his piercing power, he is also a very good boxer, with outstanding athleticism. He is very intelligent and when he decides to use the jab, his jab serves as a great range finder and helps him defensively as well.

He’s no Pernell Whitaker by any means but knows how to slip a punch.

When he can’t get the knockout, he has no qualms about scoring points and winning by decision. This will be a fight of adjustments; ability Thurman displayed in bouts against Shawn Porter, Leonard Bundu and Diego Chaves.

Another important factor is Thurman is the bigger man. He started his career back in 2007 as a junior middleweight (154 lbs.).

“I’ll never back down. I’m bigger than Danny naturally,” said Thurman.

“He was always smaller than me in the amateurs. He’s smaller than me in the pros. He’s moving up. He might hold his weight well but I’m just a little bit bigger.”

Great points emphasized by Thurman and if the fight wears on when they meet Saturday, it’s easy to see how this may favor the bigger man. Thurman will have to force his weight on Garcia and let him know he is in the ring with a full-fledged welterweight.

“Boxing is all about is making history,” Thurman says.

“That’s my ultimate goal is to not just make a living for myself, not just live my American dream and accomplish my goals as an athlete but my ultimate goal has been, ever since I was a child, is to make history in the sport of boxing.”

Garcia aims to end the streak of L’s for his fellow Philadelphia brethren.

From the sports spectrum, the Philadelphia 76er’s have been abysmal since the Allen Iverson days, the Philadelphia Eagles are rebuilding and the Phillies are almost a decade removed from their last World Series.

Philadelphia Hip-hop artist Meek Mill is still in recovery mode from the Drake debacle and the ageless wonder Bernard Hopkins finally called it a career after losing to Joe Smith.

In essence of carrying on the tradition of the underdog and displaying the fighting spirit of a blue-collar city like Philadelphia, Garcia once again has his opportunity to prove the critics wrong.

“It feels good to represent my city,” says Garcia. “This is what Philadelphia fighters are all about. We rise to the occasion. I’ve been doing it my whole career.”

He was counted out against Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse, Erik Morales and now Keith Thurman.

Garcia’s name and reputation was ruthlessly dragged through the mud (some criticism valid) for his opponent selection, questionable decision victories and overall ring performances.

But leading up to this point, the most important fight of his career and an important fight that will change the landscape of the welterweight division, there is a method to this madness.

To borrow a phrase made popular by Philadelphia 76er’s rookie sensation Joel Embiid, “Trust the process.”

One of the biggest perceived advantages many believe Thurman has over Garcia is his size. Garcia has prepared for this moment dating back the last two plus years.

The fight against Rod Salka was above the 140 lb. limit – Garcia’s first fight above the junior welterweight division. Albeit against terrible opposition, this was a barometer for Garcia to see which direction his career would go.

He struggled making the weight due to his body growing over time – which may have negatively affected his performances.

It’s a part of boxing, it happens.

An eventual move up had to take place.

With that realization, Garcia and his team moved up in weight gradually, at a calculated, measured pace, in spite of criticism from fans and boxing writers.

Even though there are plenty of fighters throughout the course of history who had soft touches in between major fights.

For those not old enough to remember the soft touches countless legends of yesteryear had, Google and Boxrec are helpful.

Back to Garcia, part of his process was fighting Lamont Peterson at 143 lbs., fighting Paulie Malignaggi and Robert Guerrero at welterweight, etc.

Gradually upping the weight and the level of opposition, staying active, getting acclimated to the weight, growing into the weight and leading to this moment.

Garcia states, “There’s a lot of pressure on me to be the best. That’s what keeps me focused.”

“I think about the eyes that are going to be on me and I have to go in there and look my best. These kind of fights really bring out the best in me.”

Garcia has a great chance to win but he must implore and stick to a brilliant game plan.

A noticeable weakness for Thurman is the body and he leaves himself open for right hand counters. Shawn Porter and Luis Collazo noticeably hurt Thurman to the body and Jesus Soto-Karass caught Thurman with a straight right hand and staggered Thurman.

He is still an excellent fighter, but these are weaknesses Garcia will aim to capitalize on.

Garcia is typically a slow starter and it will take him a few rounds to get used to the speed and explosiveness of Thurman.

Thurman hinted at using lateral movement and intelligence to control this upcoming fight. With that in mind, Garcia will cautiously have to find his range and establish his rhythm before unleashing his patented left hook.

While finding his range, Garcia will have to jab and feint his way into position to better avoid Thurman’s incoming punches.

Thurman, can dispose his jab and control range; use it as offense to set up right uppercuts, right crosses and he can even use it as a defensive weapon as well. One of Thurman’s best punches is his quick, step-back, left check-hook counter.

Establishing a successful jab will allow for Thurman to hook off his jab and switch his attack up. In essence, the jab is a crucial weapon for both fighters.

Thurman has to be weary of not throwing a lazy jab because Garcia is an excellent counter-puncher and his right hand over the top of Thurman’s jab will be a deadly weapon.

Garcia is known for his left hook power; Amir Khan can attest to it. But people are sleeping on his sneaky right hand – whether it’s a right hand counter over a jab, a looping hook-like counter or a laser straight right hand lead punch as he displayed against Zab Judah, Guerrero and others.

The devious right hand can be a punch Thurman doesn’t see coming.

The advantages Thurman holds with athleticism and explosiveness can be offset with the technical ability, timing and the well-roundedness of Garcia.

Garcia is more compact offensively; he stays calm under pressure and is better on the inside. He has the propensity to dig shots to the body; whether its left hooks or straight right hands to the body, expect him to create openings and find a way to land effective shots.

Breaking down the body will also take the steam off of Thurman’s power punches. Remember, Thurman hasn’t scored a knockout since Soto-Karass back in 2013.

When you step in class and face a higher tier of fighter, knockouts are more difficult to score. Garcia withstood punches from Matthysse who was regarded as one of the top punchers of the sport.

If we look at how Errol Spence annihilated Leonard Bundu, it’s fair to question the extent of Thurman’s power. Yes it’s like comparing apples to oranges, but it’s plausible we may see this encounter go the distance.

This will be a fight of adjustments. Garcia excels at in fight adjustments; he fine-tunes his approach according to opponent and can make mid-round modifications with his ability to counter-punch as well as catch and shoot.

Thurman never fought from behind, Garcia has and it’ll be interesting to see if Garcia can force Thurman into some kind of deficit to test how he responds.

The spotlight and the occasion should not be too big for either fighter. Garcia has a history of rising to the occasion and Thurman displayed the same with his last fight against Porter. Both fighters appear to embrace the bright lights and the attention.

Garcia fights to the level of his opposition and the greater the opposition, the better he performs. This should be an excellent fight this weekend, Garcia’s right hand counters and his tendency to go to the body may be the difference.

“This is something that the fans are excited about and I’m truly looking forward to this fight,” says Thurman.

“I just want to keep living my dreams and working to become the best fighter in the world.”

We’ll see if Thurman can continue his path to achieving eternal greatness, or if Garcia can live up to his aspirations to unifying the titles in his second division.

“There’s no better feeling than unifying the title. I did it at 140 and now I have the chance to accomplish my goals at 147. It’s up to me to take advantage of it.” Garcia said.

Final Prediction is Garcia by majority decision.

Posted on 01/18/2017

Angel Garcia Melts Down In Rage Filled Rant At Thurman-Garcia Press Conference
By: Sean Crose

It was meant to be a celebration of a big deal. For WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia was at a press conference with his team to announce an upcoming bout with WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman live from the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn on CBS March 4th. That, friends, is quite the news, for this will be the biggest match to hit “free” television since before Larry Holmes faced Carl Williams over thirty years ago. People are already saying the ratings for the fight might be through the roof for a boxing match. In other words, there’s excitement in the air.

Unfortunately, Garcia’s father and trainer, Angel Garcia went on a nearly incoherent rant while Keith Thurman was at the mic. Even before then, however, he had made his presence known by announcing that “two white boys and a hippie” couldn’t defeat his son in the ring (clearly, he was referring to the free spirited Thurman and his team). That edgy bit of PR, however, was nothing compared to what he had in store seconds later. Not since the meltdown of Mike Tyson has this particular writer seen anything like it. Think Conor McGregor in what might be a near psychotic rage and you get the general idea.

In truth, I don’t even really know what the elder Garcia said. The acoustics were all off at the Barclay’s, where the press conference was being held, to begin with. Angel’s hoarse voice yelling and antagonizing through the sound system made the words he was uttering a bit hard to decipher. The “N Word” was mentioned, as, I think, were some words on immigration. The elder Garcia also had what seemed to be some pro American things to say, though, again, I’m not sure what. Indeed, I don’t even know if the words he used to reference African Americans and immigrants were meant to be derogatory. I’m not trying to play nice here. I simply don’t know what the hell the guy was ranting about.

To be sure, the entire thing was completely off the wall. Boxing is a most decidedly un-PC sport. It’s one of the great things about it. Genuine respect can generally be found behind off the cuff bluster. That’s something boxing fans understand and appreciate. Crazed antagonism of the kind showed by Angel Garcia today, however, isn’t called for or needed. The dude really needs to chill out.

Having said that, the fighters themselves came across as gentlemen.

Posted on 09/16/2016

Dusty Hernandez-Harrison and Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna Rock the House at the Philly Arena!
By: Ken Hissner

This was a Peltz Boxing Promotion with GH-3 who has a good young group of boxers and on a Thursday night. CBS Sports Center will televise the show. The place was packed with standing room only. This one goes back to Ward and Gatti without the hoopla.

Photo Credit: Darryl Cobb Jr.

No. 4 Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna, 21-2 (9), of Millville, NJ, was defeated by No. 1 Dusty Hernandez-Harrison, 30-0-1 (16), of South East D.C. for the vacant USBA welterweight title. “I thought he won 6-4 not like the wide scores,” said Lamanna.

In the opening round Hernandez-Harrison moved around the ring countering well. Lamanna seemed to have problems with the speed of his opponent. In the second round Hernandez-Harrison landed a 3-punch combination. Lamanna is having a problem hitting the elusive Hernandez-Harrison.

In the third round Lamanna flurried having Hernandez-Harrison against the ropes only to have Hernandez-Harrison come back with 3 left hooks. Lamanna came out all fired up landing half a dozen punches without return. Things started heating up in the third round.

In the fourth round a lead right by Hernandez-Harrison rocked Lamanna who came back with a flurry of punches. In the fifth round Lamanna was doing well which seemed to anger Hernandez-Harrison who came back punching Lamanna around the ring. Lamanna has swelling around both eyes. In the sixth round Hernandez-Harrison is putting more behind his punches. Both boxers have plenty of fans in the crowd.

In the seventh round Lamanna landed a power right to the head of Hernandez-Harrison who was holding on. A half a round later it was all Hernandez-Harrison. In the eighth round both went back and forth controlling the round but Hernandez-Harrison’s hand and foot speed always keeps him one step ahead of Lamanna.

In the ninth round it’s more action from both but Hernandez-Harrison continues to batter Lamanna whose eyes are swelling while Hernandez-Harrison is unmarked. In the tenth and final round the fans are yelling “Dusty, Dusty”, as he is looking for a knockout to avoid a hometown decision. This was one of the best fights seen here in sometime with one from Millville and the other D.C.

Judges Bernard Bruni had it 98-92 while judges Tom Schreck and Dana DePaolo had it 97-93 while this writer had it 100-90.

In the co-feature former NFL player Ray “Cincinnati Kid” Edwards, 11-0-1 (7), out of Cinn., OH, won a 6 round decision over southpaw New Jersey champion Dan Pasciolla, 8-1-1 (0), out of Brick, NJ.

In the first two rounds it was the light punching Pasciolla who was taking good body shots from Edwards. The action was very slow. In the third round and fourth rounds Edwards was too strong for Pasciolla.

In the fifth and sixth rounds Pasciolla got his jab in but it wasn’t enough to offset Edwards.

Atlantic City’s Anthony “Juice” Young 14-2 (6) easily stopped Malik “The Freak” Jackson, 3-10-4 (2), of Newark, NJ, at the end of the fourth round stopped by ring physician.

In the opening round a hard right by Young to the head of Jackson dropped him. Referee Clark gave him the 8 count. Jackson did what he had to do to get through the round.

On paper it looked like a mismatch and this writer was surprised Boxing Director Greg Sirb approved it.

In the second round it was more of the same but Jackson staying on his feet. In the third round Jackson’s corner is yelling out instructions but one wonders how they put him in with Young. In the fourth round Young continued bombing Jackson who has little power to hold Young off. A left uppercut to the midsection by Young dropped Jackson At the bell a left hook by Young to the head had Jackson out on his fight.

His corner should have stopped it but it took the ring physician to do it. This was a total mismatch from the time they signed the contracts. Working the corner for Young was Chino Rivas assisted by Rashiem Jefferson.

The Hottest prospect in Philly since 1984 Olympic Gold medalist Meldrick Taylor is Philly’s Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 6-0 (5), from the Germantown section of the city who showed flashes of greatness and needed a fight like Eddie Diaz, 2-4-2 (0), of Compton, CA, gave him. “I should have done better,” said Ennis. You can’t knock everybody out!

In the opening round Ennis came out orthodox showing very fast hands and going to the body of Diaz. Diaz managed to get some punches to the chin of Ennis. In the second round Ennis continued looking terrific but anytime you are in with a fighter from Compton, CA, which is possibly the baddest city in the country you have to be aware he came to fight. Diaz had a small cut outside of his right eye.

In the third round Diaz would take 3 to land 1 which was usually a right to the head of Ennis. The round was won by Ennis but he got rocked at the bell with a Diaz right to the chin. In the fourth and final round Ennis could not hurt Diaz who was one tough fighter. So Ennis continue to throw combinations and uppercuts to the body of Diaz who never took a back step. Ennis needed a fight like this. “We aren’t taking anymore 143 fights. We will move up to 147,” said Bozy Ennis. The young Ennis had an ice pack on his left hand.

Two judges had it 40-36 and one 39-37. This writer had it 40-36.

In a rematch bantamweight Leroy “Luscious” Davila, 3-0 (1), out of New Brunswick, NJ, had Edgar Torres, 3-4 (0), of Vineland, NJ, on the canvas 3 times with the final one in the second round at 2:03.

Both southpaws scoring well while Davila was very conservative with his punches when all of a sudden out of nowhere he drops Cortes not once but twice. Referee Rosato gave him he the 8 count both times. In the second round Cortes walked right into a lead straight left from Davila putting Cortes on the canvas almost knocked out. Referee Rosato wisely halted it and in no time the ring physician was in the ring administering to Cortes.

Junior welterweight Kenneth “Bossman” Sims, Jr., 7-0 (2), out of Chicago, won a hard fought 6 round decision over Gilbert “Gordo” Venegas, 14-24-5 (8), of E. Moline, IL.

In the opening round Sims goes from orthodox to southpaw having his way with tough veteran Venegas. In the second and third rounds Simms continues to show his skills while Venegas lands an occasional overhand right to the head of Sims. Left hooks by Sims are rocking the iron jawed Venegas.

In the fourth round Sims lands a 3-punch combination and follows with a flurry of punches. In the fifth round Venegas has a small cut along the eyebrow of his left eye. In the sixth and final round Venegas lands his best punch of the fight an overhand right to the head of Simms. This is probably the best round of the fight as both fighters were still throwing leather at the bell!

Judges Gail Jasper, Tom Schreck and Dana Depaolo had it 60-54 as did this writer. Sims was very impressive.

Good looking lightweight Devin “The Dream” Haney, 10-0 (6), out of Las Vegas, defeated southpaw “Mighty” Mike Fowler, 5-3 (2), out of Milwaukees over 8 rounds.
In the opening round Fowler controlled the first half before Haney got his rhythm together and took the second half. In the second and third round Haney unloaded on Fowler who is doing very little in return.

In the fourth Haney is landing 3 punches at a time as the nose of Fowler is bleeding. In the fifth round Haney continued to rock Fowler until referee Rosato wisely halted the fight. ”I fought a good fight especially going to the body,” said Haney. He is one to watch!
In the opening bout a war broke out. Darryl “Dreamking” Bunting, 2-1-2 (1), of Asbury Park, NJ, was stopped by Darryl Gause, 2-0 (1), of Vineland, NJ, in a super middleweight match at 2:14 of the second.

In the opening round it was a slugfest with Bunting having the edge until a right hand from Gause had him out on his feet. It looked like referee Dali might stop it. He gave him a standing count at the bell. In the second round the slugfest continued until once again a Gause right hand drove Bunting across the ring into the ropes Gause jumped on him and referee Dali wisely halted the action.

Ring announcer was Mark Fratto.

Posted on 06/23/2016

PBC on CBS Preview: Thurman vs. Porter, Hurd vs. Molina
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions will put on one of their best cards on network television of the year as Keith Thurman defends his WBA Welterweight Title against Shawn Porter in the main event of the evening.

Abner Mares was originally scheduled to face Jesus Cuellar in the co-main event of the evening, but an injury to Abner Mares forced him to withdraw. Instead, fight fans will be get to see two prospects battle it out in the junior middleweight division when Jarret Hurd takes on Oscar Molina.

The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York has been a boxing hotspot since the Barclays Center inception and it will be the host site for Saturday’s fight card.

Jarrett Hurd (17-0) vs. Oscar Molina (13-0-1); Junior Middleweights

Jarrett “Swift” Hurd first burst into the national spotlight when he scored an upset stoppage victory over Frank Galarza, and win over Molina could lead to a big fight in the junior middleweight division.

His opponent, Oscar Molina, will be the third straight undefeated opponent he has faced in a row and is also known for his power. Hurd has stopped eleven of his opponents and four of his past five fights failed to go the distance. Molina has ten stoppage wins, and three of his past five fights failed to go the distance.

Hurd is twenty five years old and Molina is twenty six, but Hurd will have a four inch height advantage and a six and a half inch reach advantage. They both have been very active the past two years. Hurd fought three times in 2015 and four times in 2014 while Molina fought twice in 2014 and four times in 2015.

Hurd has the better professional record so far. He has beaten the likes of Jeff Lentz, Frank Galarza, and Eric Mitchell. He’s also never been knocked down during his professional career. Molina has not beaten many names of note, but has defeated the likes of Adrien Torres and drew with Domonique Dolton.

The only noteworthy advantage Molina has over Hurd is that he fought in the 2012 Olympics for Mexico. However, Hurd is in the middle of an impressive winning streak and his height, reach, and power will be too much for Molina to handle over the course of ten rounds.

Keith Thurman (26-0) vs. Shawn Porter (26-1-1); WBA Welterweight Title

The main event of the evening is the best fight the PBC can put on in the welterweight division.

Keith Thurman, the current WBA Welterweight Champion, is considered by many to be the best boxer in the welterweight division now that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have retired. However, Shawn Porter recently beat Adrien Broner, the man many people felt would replace Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Porter is twenty nine years old and two years older than Thurman. Thurman will have a slight half an inch height advantage on Porter and Porter will have a slight half an inch reach advantage on Thurman.
They both fought twice in 2015 and in 2014. Thurman has the heavier hands, as he has stopped twenty two of his opponents while Porter has only stopped sixteen. However, as the level of competition that Thurman faces continues to get better his knockouts seems to be happening less often. Two of the past three opponents that Thurman has faced went the distance.

Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter both experienced success as an amateur. Porter was a US National Golden Gloves Champion and Thurman was an Olympic Trials Runner Up.

They both have an impressive resume as a professional. Thurman has defeated the likes of Luiz Collazo, Robert Guerrero, Leonard Bundu, Jesus Soto Karass, Diego Chavez, and Jan Zaveck. Porter has defeated Adrien Broner, Paul Malignaggi, Devon Alexander, Phil Lo Greco, and Alfonso Gomez. Porter’s lone loss was to Kell Brook.

This should be an excellent fight and could go either way. Thurman has to be considered the favorite based on his undefeated record and power. Porter is a physical and in your face type of boxer, but he can get sloppy at times and Thurman is the type of boxer that will eat up your mistakes.

Posted on 05/29/2016

Mosley Is Still A Warrior, But Can’t Get Past Avanesyan
By: Sean Crose

The Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona hosted the biggest fight of the legendary Shane Mosley’s comeback on Saturday evening. For Mosley 49-9-1 was, at 44 years of age, fighting an eliminator against the 21-1-1 David Avanesyan. Sure enough, the winner of the fight was going to be the mandatory for a title shot against the winner of this summer’s Shawn Porter-Keith Thurman WBA welterweight title showdown. Indeed, this bout was relevant.

First, however, the CBS Sports Network presented cruiserweights Dimar Ortuz, 10-0-2, and Ricardo Campillo 9-9-1. Clearly, Ortuz was the favorite, but he wasn’t able to finish his man off after hurting Campillo in the first. Still, Ortuz went on the dominate the fight. It was a boring affair to be sure, though Campillo certainly seemed happy to be hanging in there round after round. By the 6th, however, Ortuz was finally able to stop Campillo with a somewhat wild attack.

Afterwards Mosley’s son, Shane Jr, 6-1-0, took on Roberto Yong, 5-7-2, in a super middleweight throwdown. The fight was at times a somewhat chaotic affair, with both men tagging each other wildly. That being said, Mosley Jr effectively kept his range and was skilled enough to take the fight by majority decision. The younger Mosley isn’t a bad fighter, but his last name and pedigree may simply lead to expectations that exceed his talent.

Assured that at least one Mosley would walk away from the night with a victory in tow, Mosley Sr. finally entered the ring to face his Russian opponent (who was the “interim” WBA world welterweight champion – for what that’s worth). Mosley climbed through the topes with the legendary Roberto Duran (who looked pretty good for his age, thanks very much) in his corner. He may have been an advanced 44 years old, but Mosley most certainly looked to be in prime condition.

Mosley also appeared sharp and in control during the first, his jab allowing him to keep distance. Avanesyan was able to land a few times cleanly in the second, yet Mosley remained disciplined, his movements practiced and smooth. It was a tough round to call. Avanesyan continued to land in the third, however, before being taken down by a Mosley low blow. By the end of the third it was clear that the fight was becoming a rough affair.

Mosley picked up the pace to start the fourth. After Mosley appeared to take the first half of the round, however, Avanesyan began coming on strong, landing hard and pushing forward. It was a close fight, a good fight, but Avanesyan was clearly landing the harder shots. A more energetic Mosley rolled through the fifth, however, thus continuing to make things interesting. Mosley then owned the sixth, though he almost lost it due to a late rally by Avanesyan. Still, it appeared the aging legend had done enough to take the chapter.

With the first half of the fight essentially even, things moved into the 7th round, which Mosley dominated. Avanesyan retaliated by chopping his way through the 8th through grinding aggression, though the 9th was far tougher to call (I gave Avanesyan the slightest of an edge). Then, in the 10th, possible disaster struck for Mosley when the referee deducted him a point for hitting low.

Both men went for broke early in the 11th with an explosive flurry of punches. This had become more action fight than chess match. Mosley ended up going back to his corner breathing heavily, however, as Avanesyan had clearly tough guyed his way through the chapter. After getting clinical instructions from Duran, Mosley went out for the 12th and final three-minute clip.

Long story short, Mosley fought gamely until the end. It appeared, though, as if the old warrior was simply too far past his prime to earn the win. Or was he? Whaling away, the former champion landed hard on his foe, making it clear that he wasn’t there to lose. Indeed, I gave Mosley the last round. Who would the judges give the entire fight to, however?

Ultimately, it went to Avanesyan, who won by scores of 114-113, and, inexplicably, 117-110 on two of the judges’ cards. Avanesyan claimed afterward he could best Keith Thurman. Mosley, on the other hand, was a class act in defeat.

Posted on 05/26/2016

CBS Sports Net Boxing Preview: Mosley vs. Avanesyan
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night “Sugar” Shane Mosley’s GoBox Promotions will present a televised card on CBS Sports Net live from the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Shane Mosley will be featured in the main event of the evening when he takes on David Avanesyan for Avanesyan’s WBA Interim Welterweight Title.

Several prospects will be featured on the card, including Dimar Ortuz (10-0), Shane Mosley Jr. (6-1), Victor Castro (16-0), and Luis Oliveras (10-0). The only other bouts scheduled to be televised will be Victor Castro against Carlos Zatarian (6-2-2) in the lightweight division as well as Dimar Ortuz (10-0) against Ricardo Campillo (9-9-1) in the cruiserweight division.

Several pre fight activities were planned this week. The promotion attempted to break the Guinness world record for the largest boxing lesson in history on May 24th and they held a ring girl search on May 25th. The promotion will also hold a public workout on May 26th with celebrity guests.

Additionally, the official weigh in will be open to the public on May 27th at the Westfield Shopping Center and a publicized flash mob will be held on the same date following the weigh in.

UFC fighter Brendan Schaub and boxing journalist Steve Kim are the scheduled broadcasterse for the bout.

The following is a preview of the main event of the evening.

David Avanesyan (21-1-1) vs. Shane Mosley (49-9-1); WBA Interim Welterweight Title

Despite the fact Shane Mosley is forty four years old and has nine losses on his record, he gets another shot at a world title when he faces David Avanesyan for the WBA Interim Welterweight Title.

The winner of this bout will be next in line to face the winner of Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman which is scheduled for June 25th in Brooklyn, New York. The winner, no matter who it is, will be a significant underdog against Porter or Thurman.

Avanesyan is seventeen years younger than Mosley, but will be giving up a half an inch in height and approximately two and a half inches in reach. On paper, Mosley appears to have more power than Avanesyan. Mosley has stopped forty one of his opponents while Avanesyan has only stopped eleven. However, Molsey’s last two fights were stoppage victories in 2015, but before that he hasn’t had a stoppage win since 2009. Avanesyan last two fights were also by stoppage victory.

Mosley has the better professional resume and amateur resume. Mosley won the US Amateur Championships as a lightweight but failed to qualify for the 1992 Olympics when he lost to Vernon Forrest in the light welterweight semifinals.

Mosley’s recent record has been subpar as he defeated a clearly past his prime Ricardo Mayorga and fringe contender Pablo Cesar Cano. His other notable victories came earlier in his career, and include Antonio Margarito, Luis Collazo, Fernando Vargas, Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Diaz, and Jesse James Leija.

Mosley’s nine losses have come against some of the best in boxing. They include Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright twice each, Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez, and Anthony Mundine.

Avanesyan lone defeat was to Andrey Klimov early on in his career. His notable victories pale in comparison to Mosley, but they include Charlie Navarro, Dean Byrne, Kaizer Mabuza, and Carlos Herrera.

Mosley has hired the legendary Roberto Duran to be his trainer for this bout and they are calling themselves the “Sugar and Stone” team. Mosley is clearly past his prime, and he hopes that pairing up with Duran will help recapture that magic he had earlier in his career.

If this bout happened five years ago Mosley would be a clear favorite. But his recent fight against Mayorga was considered by many to be a farce and he looked terrible in his loss to Anthony Mundine.

Avanesyan doesn’t appear to have the power to stop Mosley, but the seventeen year difference in age should make a difference if the bout goes all twelve rounds.

It’s a tough fight to pick, but father time is not on Mosley’s side.