Tag Archives: fox

Posted on 08/29/2020

By: Sean Crose

Walking out to the Imperial March of Star Wars’ fame, the 22-3-1, Greg Vendetti entered the ring at LA’s Microsoft Theater on Saturday to face the one and only 26-3-3 Erislandy Lara in a twelve round super middleweight battle. The bout was presented by PBC and was broadcast live on Fox.

The heavily favored defending WBA champion Lara essentially fought a perfect first round, maintaining distance and landing cleanly. Challenger Venditti didn’t look bad – just outclassed early on. Vendetti tried moving in on his man in the second. Vendetti continued to move forward in the third, while Lara employed feints to keep his man at bay.

Lara began striking with power in the fourth. The fifth saw Lara continue to play bullfighter to Vendetti’s bull. By the sixth it was beyond obvious that Lara was the far more skilled of the two fighters. Yet Vendetti kept moving forward gamely.

Both men began fighting on the inside in the seventh. Vendetti continued to apply pressure in the eighth, but was unable to do real damage against the defending champion. Determined to reach Lara, Vendetti pressed forward in the ninth. It was monotonous, perhaps, but there was no doubt Vendetti was aiming to win the fig,ht.

The eleventh saw Lara using his brilliant defense and crisp punching to once again control the battle. Choosing consistency over excitement, Lara cruised through the twelfth, as he had most of the fight. The judges ruled in favor of Lara by scores of 116-112, 117-111, and 117-111.

Posted on 08/29/2020

By: Sean Crose

The 8-0 super lightweight Abram Martinez battled the 10-0 Luis Arcon in a scheduled 8 rounder at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday. It was the opening bout in a three fight card presented by PBC and broadcast live on Fox. The first round saw both men act with a bit of caution. The fighters traded heavy leather in the second. Arcon was dropped at the end of the round but was able to beat the count. Martinez landed well again in the third. The men continued to exchange in the fourth. It was an exciting opening bout.

Arcon effectively employed distance in the fifth…and continued to in the sixth. Martinez was able to land well in the seventh. Martinez got dropped at the final bell, but was able to get to his feet. The judges ruled the fight a 76-74, 76-74, 75-75 draw.

Posted on 08/28/2020

By: Sean Crose

The PBC returns to Fox this Saturday night with a pair of super middleweight battles. First, Alfredo Angulo, 26-7-0, will face Caleb Truax, 34-1-2, in a scheduled 12 rounder. Angulo is having something of a career resurgence after winning a surprising UD against Peter Quillan last September in Bakersfield, California. Truax will be returning to the ring after an eight month absence. He was last seen besting David Basajjamivule via majority decision in Minneapolis back in January.

The main event will feature the highly regarded, 26-3-3, Erislandy Lara as he defends his portion of the WBA’s super welterweight championship (the WBA is known to use a variety of different titles) against  widely unknown, 22-3-1, Greg Vendetii. Lara was last seen in the ring knocking out Ramon Alvarez last August in Minneapolis. Vendetti’s last ring go-round saw him win the IBO super welterweight title via a UD win over Michael Anderson in Everett, Massachusetts.

Posted on 08/27/2020

By Sean Crose

“I feel better than ever,” Erislandy Lara said on a Wednesday conference call to promote his Saturday night fight with colorful Massachusetts native Greg Vendetti. “I’ve been training hard and working well heading into this fight,” said the fighter known as The American Dream. “I feel stronger than I did a couple of years ago and I’m totally ready for this fight on Saturday.” Lara, 26-3-3, is one of the most highly regarded practitioners in the sport. Currently the WBA’s World Super Welterweight Champion, Lara will also earn the vacant IBO World Super Welterweight Title should he pull off the win this weekend.

“I’m not focused on my legacy yet,” Lara said. “There is a lot to accomplish still and I want to bolster my standing as one of the best Cuban fighters in history with more important wins.” Although Lara appeared to possibly be a fighter whose time had come and gone when he stepped in the ring to face Ramon Alvarez last August, Lara nevertheless walked away with the WBO belt that night…after he had knocked Alvarez out. For a fighter known to be a slickster, Lara put an exclamation point on his win by stopping Alvarez within the distance.

“The difference people have seen in my last few fights isn’t about my fighting style or even about trying pleasing the fans,” Lara said. “I just do what is needed inside of the ring. I have to see what each fight requires me to do. If it pleases the fans, then that’s great. But I’m always focused on doing what I have to do in each situation during each fight.” It should be said that the unheralded 22-3-1 Vendetti is also focused on what he has to do this Saturday. Although far from the favorite, the engaging underdog is exuding confidence in the lead up to the biggest fight of his career.

“My trainer has been saying for years that I have a good style to face Lara,” the thirty year old Vendetti said on Wednesday’s call, “and once I got the call, I took it as a real sign. I’m really motivated to show everyone what I can do and put on my best performance.” How zeroed in on Lara is Vendetti? Enough to ignore other matters that pertain to his ring career for the moment. “I just have to prepare the best and I can and perform the best I can,” he said. “I can’t control anything else. Could this be my only title shot? Maybe, but thinking about that won’t change anything in the ring. I just have to give myself the best shot to win.”

Saturday’s card, which will be aired live on Fox from the Microsoft Theater in LA beginning at 8 PM Eastern Time, will also feature popular fighters Alfredo Angulo, 26-7-0, and Caleb Truax, 34-1-2, facing off in a scheduled 12 round super middleweight affair.

Posted on 08/22/2020

By: Sean Crose

The 30-3-1 Shawn Porter returned to the ring after almost a year to face the widely unknown 22-0 Sebastian Formella at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday. The fight was the main event of a PBC card which was aired live on Fox. Formella employed solid ring generalship in the first. Porter went into classic Porter form in the second, bulling ahead and making it gritty. By the third, Porter was stalking and looking very sharp as he followed through with power shots behind a piston jab.

The fourth saw Formella doing as well as possible, but Porter was throwing heavy punches without looking stiff. Formella was doing fine – he just wasn’t at the skill level of Porter. Formella was able to land clean in the fifth, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the intensely aggressive former two time titlist. By the sixth, victory appeared to be only a matter of time for Porter.

To his well earned credit – Formella took to hunting Porter down in the seventh. Soon, however, Porter was once again the aggressor. Indeed, the man ended the round in brutal fashion, pounding Formella in the face with expertly thrown punches. Porter continued to bang away in the eighth, but Formella remained in the bout, regularly showing a willingness to trade.

By the end of the ninth, Porter didn’t even seem tired as he walked back to his corner after another successful three minutes of action. Porter turned up his attack in the tenth, but Formella continued to stay on his feet. Although he now had little chance of winning, the German fighter was still able to keep from being stopped. Nonetheless, Porter cruised through the eleventh.

The last round saw Porter try to finish things before the final bell. Formella was perhaps more skilled than some had given him credit for (though Porter made it clear before the fight that Formella was a foe who needed to be treated seriously), but he didn’t have what it took to win. Porter won the round, and the fight, via scores of 120-108, 120-108, and 120-108.

Posted on 08/21/2020

By Sean Crose

“I think the quarantine helped me,” Shawn Porter claims.”When this all began, I just took some time, and I believe that it refreshed and rejuvenated me. It gave me the opportunity to make some adjustments and we’ve all grown from it.” Porter, one of the most entertaining fighters in the sport, returns to the ring this Saturday night when he battles undefeated Sebastain Formella at LA’s Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The card will be aired live on Fox beginning at 8 PM eastern time.  

Porter views his position as one of the sport’s more popular participants with a sense of obligation. “Once I knew that we were coming back to boxing,” he says, “I wanted to take on the responsibility of bringing big-time boxing back. I’m one of the first big names to come back and I’m proud to represent my team and my family by getting back in the ring sooner than later.” Although his opponent this weekend is clearly an underdog, Porter knows Formella has some slick skills in his own right.

“I know that Formella is a boxer who likes to move and use the outside and box,” Porter claims. “We’re prepared to take the fight to him. We’re going to be smart and tactical, but aggressive as always. We’re going to go in there shining, looking great and make a statement to the world that boxing and Shawn Porter are still here.” Porter, who has been a two time titlist, is now thirty two years of age. Although he’s beaten such competition as Danny Garcia, Paulie Malignaggi, Devon Alexander, and Adrien Broner, he’s lost to the likes of Keith Thurman, Kell Brook, and Errol Spence respectively. As high level boxing makes its way back onto the public stage, it’s important for Porter to let people know he’s still prominent in the welterweight division.

In order to keep his career moving forward, then, Porter has made it a point not to overlook the slipperiness of Formella. “I’m different from most fighters,” Porter says. “It’s a trend in boxing where fighters look past opponents, but I learned a long time ago that you have to focus on what’s in front of you and make the most of it. In my dad’s mind, we did even more for this fight than we did in getting prepared for Errol Spence, Jr.”

“The plan is to get back into a world title fight,” Porter continues. “I don’t know exactly when that plan will come together, but I’ll be ready.”

Posted on 08/21/2020

By: Sean Crose

Shawn Porter, 30-3-1, returns to the ring this Saturday night at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles when he faces 22-0 Sebastian Formella in a scheduled 12 rounder that will be aired live on FOX beginning at 8 PM Eastern Time. Porter was last in the ring last year when he lost a close one to welterweight star Errol Spence Jr in a title unifier. Although he came up short on the judge’s scorecards, the bout was exciting enough for Porter to still be regarded at the top of this game. Now, with almost a year away from the ring thanks to the Covid-19 Pandemic, he’ll be wanting to impress.

As for Formella, the German fighter hasn’t lost a single bout and will clearly be looking to make the best of what is surely a golden opportunity. A shocking win over Porter – and a win will certainly be shocking – will catapult the man’s standing among the red hot welterweight division. Formella, whose last fight was a UD win over Roberto Arriaza last January, will be facing the first truly big name in his career when the bell ring’s for Saturday’s action. Although seen as a less than menacing foe, the 33 year old has expressed confidence that he will make the most out of his American debut this weekend.

The 14-0-1 Sebastian Fondura will also appear on Saturday’s card. The 6’6 (you read that right) super welterweight will engage in a scheduled 10 round affair with the 21-4-1 Nathaniel Gallimore. On paper at least, this looks like a showcase fight for the towering Fondura, whose last match was a February decision win over Daniel Lewis. Gallimore, whose last bout resulted in a unanimous decision loss to Erickson Lubin last February, has only won one of his previous four fights. A win over Fondura would certainly alter Gallimore’s career trajectory.

OFFICIAL WEIGHTS:

Shawn Porter – 146.5

Sebastian Formella – 146

Sebastian Fundura – 153.5

Nathaniel Gallimore – 152 3/4

Posted on 02/14/2020

By: Alex Perl

This Saturday a fight card will be underway which is in unfamiliar territory for most boxing fans. Nashville, Tennessee will be hosting a card headlined by IBF super middleweight champion and hometown hero Caleb Plant. The night will consist of nine total fights, but this preview is going to talk about the two main fights.

Bryant Perrella vs Abel Ramos is a welterweight fight that should catch some attention.  Ramos may be a familiar name to some as he has faced some well known opposition.  Some of the opponents that the 28-year old Ramos (25-3-2) has fought along the way include former champions in Regis Prograis and Ivan Barachyk.   Ramos came up short against Prograis and Barachyk, but despite these losses, Ramos actually had a draw with former WBO light welterweight champion Maurice Hooker.

Perrella (17-2) is no fluke himself.  His only two losses were to familiar names Luis Collazo and Yordenis Ugas.  The hard hitting Perrella has knocked out 74% of his opponents.   You can expect a dog fight in this one, with a very possible knockout from one of the two power punchers.

The main event should be an interesting fight. 27-year old champion Caleb Plant looks to defend his title in his home state of Tennessee. Plant (19-0) from nearby Ashland City, will defend his belt for the second time against challenger Vincent Feigenbutz (31-2) of Germany. The 24-year old Feigenbutz, despite being three years younger then Plant, is the more experienced of the fighters, with 33 total professional bouts.

Although the competition for Feigenbutz has not been at the level of Caleb Plant, Feigenbutz has not lost a fight in four years. Although the undefeated Plant is a heavy favorite in this hometown fight, you can never quite call anyone out of it in this sport and Feigenbutz will be looking for the upset. If Feigenbutz could pull an upset in this hometown reunion for Plant, it could be reminiscent of Julian Williams upsetting Jarrett Hurd in his hometown fight in Virginia.

One thing is for sure, we will not know who takes this one until the bell rings, with that being said, expect some fireworks from this one with both fighters possessing more than their fair share of power.

Posted on 09/19/2019

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfile California will be the host site for Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions Card. This event will be shown live on Fox Sports 1.

The main event will be a Super Middleweight bout between former world titlist Peter Quillin and Alfredo Angulo. The co-main event of the evening will be between Miguel Beltran Jr. and Chris Colbert in the lightweight division.

The undercard is stacked with fights and well known contenders and prospects. Fighters on the undercard include Thomas Dulorme, Jesus Ramos, Gary Antonio Russell, Francisco Ochoa, and Gary Antuanne Russell.

The following is a preview of the co-main event and main event of the evening.

Chris Colbert (12-0) vs. Miguel Beltran Jr. (33-7); Lightweights

The co-main event of the night will be between Chris Colbert and Miguel Beltran Jr. in the lightweight division.

Colbert is a high ceiling prospects that actually qualified for the 2016 Olympics but decided to not participate and turned pro instead. Colbert is a former Golden Gloves Champion. Beltran has faced some significant opposition as a professional, but has no notable amateur experience.

Colbert is only twenty two years old and is eight years younger than Beltran. Colbert has also been significantly more active ein the past two years. He fought three times in 2019 and twice in 2018. Beltran has yet to fight in 2019 and fought twice in 2018.

Beltran does appear to have an edge in power. Beltran has twenty two stoppage victories while Colbert only has four stoppage wins. However, Beltran has been stopped twice in his career while Colbert is undefeated.

It should also be noted that Beltran is 2-2 in his last four fights.

Beltran doesn’t have many notable wins. His biggest wins were against Fernando Garcia, Miguel Roman, and Eduardo Lazcano. He has losses to Yuriorkis Gamboa, Casey Ramos, Francisco Gabiel Pina, Luis Sanchez, Carlos Diaz Ramirez, Roman Martinez, and Joksan Hernandez.

Colbert has never been defeated as a pro. He has defeated the likes of Alberto Mercado, Mario Briones, Josh Hernandez, Fatiou Fassinou, Austin Dulay, and Titus Williams.

This should be an easier win for an uprising Colbert against a downward trending Beltran.

Peter Quillin (34-1-1) vs. Alfredo Angulo (25-7); Super Middleweights

Peter Quillin is a former belt holder in the middleweight division, until he lost it by TKO to Daniel Jacobs. Since then he hasn’t been very active and only fought once in 2019, once in 2018, and once in 2017.

Luckily he is facing someone who has fought only once in 2019, once in 2018 and zero times in 2017. Both Angulo and Quillin are past their primes, but Quillin is one year younger at thirty six years old. They are about equal in power, with Angulo having twenty one stoppage victories and Quillin having twenty three stoppage victories.

Quillin will have a four inch height advantage and about a two inch reach advantage. Quillin also has a clear edge in speed over the at times plodding Angulo.

Quillin had a rather short amateur career and turned pro at a young age. Angulo competed for Mexico in the 2004 Olympics.

Quillin has defeated the likes of J’Leon Love, Michael Zerafa, Lukas Konecny, Gabriel Rosado, Fernando Guerrero, Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam, Ronald Wright, and Craig McEwan. His lone loss was to Daniel Jacobs.

Angulo does not have the professional resume of Quillin. He has defeated the likes of Evert Bravo, Jorge Silva, Raul Casarez, Joachim Alcine, Joel Julio, Harry Joe Yorgey, and Gabriel Rosado. His losses were to Kermit Cintron, James Kirkland, Sergio Mora, Freddy Hernandez, James De La Rosa, Canelo Alvarez, and Erislandy Lara.

Angulo has struggled as of late and has gone 3-5 in his last eight fights. Even though Quillin is getting older, he still has the goods to dispatch of Angulo.

Posted on 08/01/2019

By: Hans Themistode

The Light Heavyweight division is flooded with talent. Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Sergey Kovalev, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev are all belt holders in the division. With the exception of Kovalev they are all undefeated as well.

Rising contenders such as Badou Jack, Eleider Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez are also highly thought of within the division. The list of contenders and champions gets mighty long before we reach the name Marcus Browne.

The current WBA interim champion has an unsullied record at 23-0 and the personalty that should allow him to be easy to promote. He has managed to run through his competition with ease. That statement does however, come with a bit of caveat. Browne has spent the majority of his career facing mostly obscure opponents.

Browne has recently proven that he does belong with some of the elite of division. In 2017, it took him only two rounds to dispatch of the previously undefeated Sean Monaghan.

He has since followed that up with an impressive win over former two division champion Badou Jack. It was in that very fight where Browne knew he belonged.

“I always knew that I was a great fighter, but that fight allowed the world to see just how great I truly am,” said Browne. “It was a tough fight and Badou proved that he was a warrior that night so I tip my cap to him.”

Many believe that his contest against Jack was his coming out party. Still, even with the WBA interim title around his waist, Browne continues to get little credit for the sort of performance he put on that night. He will once again have another opportunity to prove his doubters wrong as he will take on multiple time champion Jean Pascal.

At age 36 and fresh off a defeat against WBA belt holder Dmitry Bivol, Browne is fully aware that Pascal is in a desperate situation.

“He needs this win. I know that he doesn’t want to have back to back losses at this stage in his career but that is exactly what is going to happen. He’s a great fighter and I respect everything that he has done in this sport but I’m not losing.”

Browne has said repeatedly that he is fully focused on just this fight. However, with pound for pound star Canelo Alvarez recently making headlines about his venture into Browne’s division, he made it clear that if he was given the chance he would welcome it with open arms.

“Canelo don’t want any problems with me. The only reason he keeps mentioning Kovalev is because he sees the chinks in his armor. I don’t think he wants any of the problems that I come with.”

With his fight now just a few days away, Browne is keeping his eyes on the prize.

“I would love to stop Pascal. Only Kovalev has been able to do it so of course I would love to get it done myself but I’m not focusing on that. As long as I get the victory, I’ll be happy. That’s the most important thing.”

Posted on 07/20/2019

By: Sean Crose

Rising heavyweight Efe Ajagba, 11-0, won yet another fight on Saturday – though it may have been a bit more challenging than he had expected to be. The Nigerian power puncher had stepped into the ring at the MGM Grand in Vegas with all but one of his wins coming by way of knockout. Yet Ajabga’s opponent, the 11-1 Turkish hitter Ali Eren Demirezen came in with all but one of his victories having come by knockout, as well. It was a fight where someone’s oh had to go, and one couldn’t be faulted for thinking the bout might end soon.

The match, however, went the full ten. It was the first time Ajagba has gone the distance, and – although he got the win – the fighter was given a true run. Demirezen was effectively a fighter on the offensive Saturday, something Ajagba had yet to face at such a level. Showing himself to be a quick study, Ajagba was able to fend off his aggressive foe, even though Demirezen actually had him going back – a strange thing to happen to a knockout machine. At the very least, Ajagba can now boast of having gone serious rounds, something that’s important for a fighter on the rise.

Next up, the IBF super middleweight champ Caleb Plant, 19-0, made quick work of the 21-1 Mike Lee. Although much had been made of Lee being a Notre Dame grad and for promoting Subway, the challenger was no match for the highly skilled Plant, who dropped his man numerous times before stopping Lee in the third round. Lee was first dropped in the first round. He survived that situation, making it through the opening round, and through the entire second round, as well. Plant sent his man down twice more in the third, however, and referee Robert Byrd wisely stopped the fight.

“I take my hat off to Mike for getting in here,” Plant said afterward, “because it takes a champion to get in the ring, but it’s ‘and still.’” Plant is looking to earn another super middleweight title belt, while Ajagba is expected to keep trying to move up the heavyweight ranks. Both fights were aired live on Fox as part of the undercard of the highly anticipated Manny Pacquiao-Keith Thurman WBA welterweight title bout, which would be aired on Fox Pay Per View, along with several other undercard bouts.

Posted on 07/19/2019

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will be the host site of a Fox Sports Pay Per View Offering. Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions is the lead promoter on the fight card as the Filipino Legend Manny Pacquiao takes on current undefeated WBA Welterweight Champion Keith Thurman in the main event of the night.

The co-main event will be a WBC Welterweight Title Eliminator between Yordenis Ugas and Omar Figueroa Jr. Other televised fights on the pay per view telecast include a welterweight bout between Sergey Lipinets and John Molina Jr., as well as a bantamweight fight between Luis Nery and Juan Carlos Payano.

Fox will be televising some fights before the start of the televised pay per view. The main fight on the Fox portion of Saturday’s card is an IBF Super Middleweight Title Fight between Caleb Plan and Irish Mike Lee.

The following is a preview of the co-main event and main event of the evening.

Yordenis Ugas (23-4) vs. Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-0-1); Welterweights

This is an intriguing fight between two boxers who were once considered by many to be shoe in future champions, but have since lost a bit of their luster.

Yordenis Ugas was a bronze medalist in the 2008 Olympics for Cuba, but has suffered four losses since turning pro, many against fighters he should have beaten. Figueroa turned professional at the age of 18 and is currently undefeated, but hand injuries have hindered the progress of his career. He has only fought twice since 2016.

Ugas has eleven stoppages on his record while Figueroa has nineteen. Ugas is thirty three years old and is in the tail end of his athletic prime, Figueroa is twenty nine years old and is still in the middle of his athletic prime. Ugas will have a one and a half inch height advantage while Figueroa will have a four inch reach advantage.

Ugas has been quite active the past three years. He fought once in 2019, three times in 2018, and three times in 2017. Figueroa, as stated earlier, fought once in 2019, zero times in 2018, once in 2017 and zero times in 2016.

Ugas has a significant edge in amateur experience. He’s a former world champion as an amateur and won the bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics. Figueroa turned pro at the age of eighteen and does not have the amateur accolades of Figueroa.

Ugas has defeated the likes of Ray Robinson, Thomas Dulorme, Bryant Perrella, and Jamal James. His losses were to Shawn Porter, Amir Imam, Emanuel Robles, and Johnny Garcia.

Figueroa has defeated the likes of John Molina Jr., Robert Guerrero, Antonio DeMarco, Ricky Burns, Daniel Estrada, and Nihito Arakawa.

Ugas has four losses on his record, but has gone 9-1 in his last ten fights, including a very close decision loss to Shawn Porter.

Figueroa’s lack of activity will hurt him in the ring against a veteran that has been surging as of late. This will be a close fight, but this writer expects Ugas to pull away in the later rounds.

Manny Pacquiao (61-7-2) vs. Keith Thurman (29-0); WBA Welterweight Title

Manny Pacquiao looked sensational in his last fight against Adrien Broner, but he was fighting an opponent who is known to come up short in big fights and has recently seemed reluctant to let go of his hands.

Keith Thurman does not have that reputation. Thurman is ten years younger than Pacquiao and will have a two inch height and reach advantage. Pacquiao has thirty nine knockouts in his career for a percentage of 56%, but Thurman has twenty two knockouts in his career for a percentage of 73%.

Thurman also has an edge in amateur experience. He went 101-6 as an amateur and was a US National Bronze Medalist. As most already know, Pacquiao turned professional as a teenager.

Inactivity should be of some concern to Keith Thurman. He only fought once in 2019, zero times in 2018, and once in 2017 and once in 2016. Pacquiao fought once in 2019, once in 2018, and once in 2017 but this will be his second fight in 2019. It appears Pacquiao may try to fight three times in 2019.

Pacquiao’s list of defeated opponents is extremely impressive. He has defeated the likes of Adrien Broner, Lucas Matthysse, Jessie Vargas, Timothy Bradley Jr., Chris Algieri, Brandon Rios, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, David Diaz, Marco Antonio Barrera, Jorge Solis, Erik Morales, Oscar Larios, and Lehlo Ledwaba.

Some of his losses were to Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Timothy Bradley Jr., and a disputed loss to Jeff Horn.

Keith Thurman has defeated the likes of Josesito Lopez, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Luis Collazo, Robert Guerrero, Leonard Bundu, Julio Diaz, Jesus Soto Karass, Diego Chaves, Jan Zaveck, and Carlos Quintana.

However, Thurman looked a little rusty in his last fight against Josesito Lopez.

Pacquiao looks to be in incredible shape and he appears to be determined to prove he’s still a viable threat in the welterweight division. Keith Thurman could have used one more warm up fight before taking on Pacquiao, because Pacquiao doesn’t appear to have lost as much as some say he has.

Look for Pacquiao to win a close and possibly disputed decision. A fight with Errol Spence Jr. could be next.

Posted on 05/26/2019

By: Robert Contreras

FOX Sports 1 had the action Saturday night as Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) was live from Biloxi, Mississippi.

After Ahmed Elbiali opened the broadcast with a second-round knockout of a rather unorthodox Brazilian, who cited a broken jaw after the bout’s first knockdown, fans were treated to a demonstration of the sweet science between a pair of operators, former world champion Austin Trout and U.S. Olympic representative Terrell Gausha.

Photo Credit: Jamie Morton/Beau Rivage Resort Casino

Austin Trout (31-5, 17 KO) and Terrell Gausha (21-1, 10 KO) fight to a split draw (96-94, 95-95, 91-99)

The two junior middleweight contenders had themselves as close a contest as there can be Saturday night. While the PBC broadcast team saw a clear-cut win for Gausha, Trout’s complex attack and late surge left the ringside judges in a bind, resulting in a split-decision draw.

“We need to do that again,” Trout told PBC correspondent Jordan Hardy. “That’s after a year layoff. I need an immediate rematch.”

The time off did affect Trout’s approach. It took him a couple rounds to find his groove against Gausha, who employed a smooth, stylized long-range attack indicative of his amateur pedigree.

The center of the ring was Gausha’s in the opening round. Trout’s flickering jab did nothing to keep a right hand from stunning him along the ropes.

In Round 2, the 31-year-old Gausha began piling up a small lead in punches landed. Early on, his sharper punching was keeping Trout at bay but the action was for the most part at a standstill.

Trout, 33, refused to go away, alternating between southpaw and orthodox, and pressing forward and backwards. The former champion relied on his feet to disrupt his man: moving in and out, stray right hands found their home in Gausha’s belly.

But by the sixth period, Gausha began jabbing Trout’s face off. Familiar with southpaws, the former Olympian didn’t allow Trout to crowd him or land his left hand. Clean one-two-one combinations also secured Round 7 for Gausha before the two technicians continued their fencing match in the eighth round.

Trout had Gausha walking backgrounds in Round 8. Gausha found some success sitting back, and timing a slashing right uppercut but his inactivity provided an avenue to victory for his opponent.

In the penultimate round, Trout’s feinting froze up Gausha. And the final three finally provided a bang. The two met in the center of the ring and Gausha pitched big right hands at Trout but the southpaw evaded most of them. Trout closed the show with searing right and left hooks.

In all, the the nip-and-tuck affair was difficult to differentiate the two and, as expected, the PBC Fight Night stats was virtually identical. Trout landed 85 of 471 total punches (18 percent) while Gausha connected on 91 of 517 total punches (18 percent).

“I feel like I won’t the fight,” Gausha said inside the ring, before sharing the dark times he faced in preparation for the weekend. “I’ve been through a lot his camp. My father passed away during training camp but we got through it. Much respect to Austin Trout. He came out and fought but I came out with a victory, I thought.”

Chordale Booker (14-0, 7 KO) def. Wale Omotoso (27-3, 21 KO) by unanimous decision

Fighting for the first time over the 10-round distance, Booker passed the stiffest test of his career in the form of Omotoso. The American had a real puncher in front of him but was awarded a shutout decision for his tactical, flashy performance.

“I’m so happy—I used to dream about this,” Booker, nearly brought to tears, told Jordan Hardy after the fight. “To be here is amazing. It took me 10 years. I train everyday like I have a world title. Every fight means something to me.”

Booker, 28, chiseled away at his opponent’s head, delivering bolting left and right hands. He fought comfortably behind a southpaw jab, eventually sitting on winging left hands in the second half of the bout.

The 34-year-old Omotoso never really found his rhythm, following and hacking away at Booker, who remained in safe distance from long range. In the third period, he could only play spectator when his man began showing off with some high knees.

In Round 4, Booker continued the show, crushing Omotoso with a winging left hand and then began shimmying his shoulders. Omotoso was visibly tired by the fifth round and was on the receiving end of more fierce one-twos through the latter stages.

For a short time in the ninth stanza, both men traded haymakers. But going backwards, Booker caught Omotoso with a stiff left hand that clearly shook up the veteran. He followed Omotoso down and pounded away at him as the commentary booth debated over his chances of stopping Omotoso for the first time. The Nigerian-born puncher found some life by hurling right hands, falling over with all his weight into Booker, but it wasn’t enough to win even a single round.

According to the PBC Fight Night stats, Booker landed 179 of 647 total punches (28 percent) and Omotoso connected on just 90 of 574 total punches (16 percent).

Posted on 03/17/2019

By: William Holmes

AT&T Stadium, the home site of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, was the host site of tonight’s PPV offering by Fox Sports and Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.

This was the first ever boxing pay per view offering by Fox.

The first fight of the pay per view was between Chris Arreola (37-5-1) and Jean Pierre Augustin (17-0-1) in the heavyweight division.

Augustin was seven years younger than Arreola and has never suffered a defeat as a professional, but he has never faced someone on the level of Arreola before.

Arreola started the fight off by coming forward behind his jab, but Augustin was able to land his jabs from the outside and touch Arreola often, but his power didn’t bother Arreola.

Arreola had blood coming from his nose in the second round, but he didn’t appear to be bothered by it. Arreola connected with a stiff jab in the third round that staggered Augustin, and he was backing away and looked wobbly. Arreola followed it with a combination that sent Augustin to the mat and down for a count of nine, but the referee allowed it to continue.

Arreola immediately jumped on the still wobbly Augustin and forced the referee to stop the bout.

Arreola wins by TKO at 2:03 of the third round.

The next bout of the night was between Luis Nery (28-0) and McJoe Arroyo (18-2) in the bantamweight division.

Nery is a talented boxer and is making his US debut. Both boxers were southpaws and Nery was able to keep his distance and land outland his opponent early on.

Nery scored a knockdown in the second round with a short left uppercut, but Arroyo was able to survive the round.

Nery scored another knockdown in the third round after a quick combination that sent Arroyo to the mat. Arroyo had a small laceration by his nose as the third round came to an end.

Nery did not look like he was concerned about the power of Arroyo at all and landed a three punch combination in the fourth round that sent Arroyo down again. Arroyo got back to his feet, but was sent to the mat again in the fourth round after another combination and he got to his feet as the round came to an end.

His corner didn’t wait long to stop the fight in the fifth round, as Nery wins by TKO at 0:10 of the fifth round.

A walkout bout between Lindolfo Delgado (8-0) and James Roach (5-1) in the super lightweight division was shown due to the quick stoppage of the prior two fights.

Delgado looked to be in superior shape, and he has stopped all eight of his opponents that he faced so far.

This bout did not last long. Delgado blasted Roach for nearly the entire round and sent him down for the ten count after a vicious combination that ended with a body shot

Delgado remains undefeated with a knockout at 2:59 of the first round.

The next bout of the night was between David Benavidez (20-0) and J’Leon Love (24-2-1) in the Super Middleweight Division.

Benavidez looked to be a lot taller than Love, and was able to avoid the jabs and body attacks of Love early on. Benavidez was able to land some heavy combinations on Love when his back was against the back of the ropes, and he had Love stumbling back to his corner at the end of the first.

Benavidez continued to pound J’Leon Love when his back was against the ropes in the second round Benavidez landed two hard straight right hands to the chin of J’Leon Love, who covered up and offered nothing in return to stop the onslaught.

The referee jumped in to stop the fight at 1:14 of the second round to give Benavidez the TKO victory.

The main event of the evening was between Errol Spence Jr. (24-0) and Mikey Garcia (39-0) for the IBF Welterweight Title.

The announced attendance for this fight was 47,525.

Spence was active with his jab in the opening round and Garcia was showing good head movement. Spence’s straight left was landing in the first and second rounds, but Garcia kept it close in the second.

Spence’s reach was a major factor in the second round as his jab kept Garcia at bay. Garcia was unable to solve the reach of Spence and took some heavy shots in the third and fourth rounds, as he landed some heavy power shots.

Garcia came out strong in the beginning of the fifth round, but Spence quickly turned the momentum back in his favor with a crisp jab followed by power left hands. By the sixth round Spence looked like he was running away with the fight and was walking Garcia down and in total control.

Spence continued to touch Garcia at will in the seventh and eight rounds and Garcia had no answer for the offense of Spence. Garcia was able to land a few counter shots, but they had little to no effect on Spence.

Spence looked like he was close to stopping the fight in the ninth round as he pounded Garcia from corner to corner, but Garcia was able to stay on his feet and grit his way through the round.

Garcia was warned by his brother/trainer Robert Garcia that he was going to stop the fight before the start of the tenth round if he didn’t’ show him a little more than what he saw in the ninth round. Garcia was able to land some punches, but still got pummeled by Spence through most of the round and didn’t really threaten his opponent.

Garcia needed a knockout in the final two rounds in order to win the bout, but in the eleventh round it appeared it was Spence who was going for the stoppage as he brutalized both the body and head of Garcia.

Even though Spence was comfortably ahead in the final round, his corner told him to go for the stoppage and he did, but Garcia was able to survive the fight.

Errol Spence wins by a wide decision with scores of 120-107, 120-108, and 120-108.

Afterwards, Spence called out Manny Pacquiao for a fight and Pacquiao appeared to willingly accept it.

Posted on 03/15/2019

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions along with Fox Sports will put on a Pay Per View offering live from Arlington, Texas. This card will take place at the home of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

The main event of the night will be a bout between two undefeated fighters, Mikey Garcia and Errol Spence Jr. for Spence’s IBF Welterweight title. Garcia looks to make history as he jumps up two weight classes to take on Spence while Spence looks to cement his place as the welterweight division’s top fighter.

Photo Credit: Premier Boxing Champions Twitter Account

The co-main event of the night will be between David Benavidez and J’Leon Love in the super middleweight division. The winner of this bout will put him closer to a future title shot.

Seventeen fights are currently scheduled on the card! The undercard will feature boxers such as Luis Nery, McJoe Arroyo, Chris Arreola, Charles Martin, and Fernando Garcia.

The following is a preview of the co-main event and main event of the evening.

David Benavidez (20-0) vs. J’Leon Love; Super Middleweights (24-2-1)

David Benavidez is known as the youngest boxer to ever hold a Super Middleweight Championship, but he hasn’t been super active in the ring since he had a positive test for Cocaine in September of 2018 and had to serve a four month suspension.

On Saturday he’ll be facing one of the toughest tests of his career in veteran J’Leon Love.

Benavidez will have an inch and a half height advantage as well as an inch and a half reach advantage over Love. He is also nine years younger than Love, though Love is still in his athletic prime.

Benavidez has been fairly active, but only fought once in 2018 due to his suspension and fought three times in 2017. Love fought twice in 2018 but only fought once in 2017.

Benavidez didn’t fight often as an amateur, but has been boxing as a professional since he was a teenager. Love does have an edge in amateur experience as he competed both in the Olympic trials and the Golden Gloves tournament as an amateur.

Benavidez has the edge in power, as he has stopped seventeen of his opponents while Love has only stopped thirteen. In fact, Benavidez has been able to stop eight of his past ten opponents.

Benavidez has defeated the likes of Ronald Gavril, Rogelio Medina, Sherali Mamajonov, Denis Douglin, Francy Ntetu, and Philip Jackson Benson.

Love has defeated the likes of Marcus Upshaw, Scott Sigmon, Marco Antonio Periban, Vladine Biosse, Lajuan Simon, and Derrick Findley. His losses were to Peter Quillin and Rogelio Medina.

Love is a veteran, but he lacks that big named win on his resume to consider him to be a serious threat to Benavidez. The action may be slow in the beginning as Benavidez attempts to figure out Love’s style, but this writer expects him to dominate the middle to later rounds.

Errol Spence Jr. (24-0) vs. Mikey Garcia (39-0); IBF Welterweight Title

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Mikey Garcia is bumping up to weight classes to face Errol Spence and will have a size disadvantage. He’ll also be giving up three inches in height and about four inches in reach to Spence. Garcia has fought as high as the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds, but fought his last fight at 135 pounds.

Spence is also two years younger than Garcia, but both fighters are still in their athletic prime.

Both boxers are known for their power and their ability to stop their opponents. Spence has stopped twenty one of his opponents while Garcia has stopped thirty. However, Spence is currently riding an eleven fight stoppage streak while Garcia has only stopped two of his past five opponents. The power has not follow him as he has jumped weight classes.

Spence has never been defeated and has defeated an impressive list of fighters. He has beaten the likes of Carlos Ocampo, Lamont Petereson, Kell Brook, Leonard Bundu, Chris Algieri, Chris Van Herrden, Phil Lo Greco, Samuel Vargas, and Ronald Cruz.

He also had a successful amateur career and was a former US National Champion as well as a Olympic Participant for the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Garcia has defeated the likes of Robert Easter Jr., Sergey Lipinets, Adrien Broner, Dejan Zlaticanin, Juan Carlos Burgos, Roman Martinez, Juan Manuel Lopez, and Orlando Salido. As an amateur Garcia was a Police Athletic League Silver Medalist as well as a Bronze Medalist in the National Golden Gloves Championship.

Garcia is an excellent fighter, but he’s facing a man who’s bigger, longer, and more powerful. The size advantage will likely be too much for Garcia to overcome, but he should still have his moments in this fight.

This writer expects Spence to win a closer than expected decision victory.