Tag Archives: junior

Posted on 02/15/2018

By: Ste Rowen

On Saturday night in Manchester, an all-British world title fight takes place when WBA super middleweight champion, George Groves 27-3 (20KOs), steps into the ring with IBO belt holder, Chris Eubank Jr 26-1 (20KOs) in the much-anticipated World Boxing Super Series semi-finals.

Both boxers made easy work of their quarterfinal opponents back in October.

At Wembley Arena, ‘Saint’ George Groves knocked out fellow Brit, Jamie Cox in the 4th round with a clinical body shot that kept Cox down for the count and served as Groves’ first defence of his WBA belt, which he won back in April after stopping Fedor Chudinov.

In the pre-fight documentary, still available on the WBSS YouTube channel, Groves said…

‘I don’t like to waste shots so anything I do throw, believe me you’re gonna get hit with it… There’s absolutely nothing there for me to worry about because there’s gaping, gaping holes in that style, in that approach.

He’s a blown-up middleweight who’s come into this tournament to try and build his profile… If he managed to beat me he’ll be the next coming but if he fails he’s gonna have the biggest fall from grace that we’ve had in this country for a long time.’

Away from home and in the heated atmosphere of Stuttgart, Eubank knocked out, walking punchbag Avni Yildrim in the 3rd round of his quarterfinal bout, with a devastating right hook that finished the Turk off, after already forcing his opponent into briefly taking a knee in the first round following an uppercut.

Speaking on his own and his opponent’s capabilities, Chris was in confident mood…

‘It’s more than possible to push through that pain barrier and get up, and I’m sure that he’ll try and use that against me and I’m sure I’ll be prepared for it… It won’t go the 12 rounds, somebody’s getting knocked out. This chin doesn’t have an off button, his does.

I don’t have any hate for the guy, he’s just a guy with a belt that I need to get passed to win the tournament. I keep my emotions out of boxing. It’s nothing personal, it’s just punishment.’

It’s a difficult fight to conclusively call. It could come down to how well Groves weathers the storm in the early rounds and whether his chin holds up as well as it did against Chudinov. Along with being able to slip and counter off the ropes, if Groves is able to fire off the selection of shots we’ve seen in his 6-fight win streak since losing to Badou Jack back in 2015, Eubank will need to do more to protect himself when those huge swinging hooks go amiss.

Eubank may not be pillow-fisted, but he’s lacking that one-punch KO power. Even in his previous bout, the IBO champion constantly landed cleanly throughout the 3 rounds. It’s difficult to envisage a scenario where a seasoned pro like George Groves, gives his semi-final foe so many opportunities to take him out.

The second semi-final takes place next week in Nuremberg as super middle & light heavyweight veteran, Jurgen Braehmer, 49-3 (35KOs) goes up against 23-0 (17KOs) Callum ‘Mundo’ Smith. The winners will progress to a final that’s expected to take place in early June at London’s O2 arena.

On the undercard, and as long as there’s no late injury to either of the main event fighters, WBSS super middleweight injury reserve, Zach Parker, 14-0 (10KOs) will take on 16-6-2 (10KOs), Adasat Rodriguez.
Two British title fights will also be on the undercard as Ryan Walsh takes on unbeaten, Isaac Lowe; and Tommy Langford is up against Jack Arnfield for the middleweight belt.

Both Walsh and Lowe have a mutual opponent on their records in Denis Ceylan who Lowe fought to a disputed draw, in March 2017; Walsh was beaten on a split decision to Ceylan five months earlier.

It’ll be the first time Tommy Langford, 19-1 (6KOs) defends his British title since 2016, after a 1-1 record in 2017. He was comprehensively knocked out by Avtandil Khurtsidze back in April and ended the year with a routine comeback points victory over 11-36-1 Miguel Aguilar. Jack Arnfield is currently on a six-fight win streak including wins over John Ryder, and former junior middleweight world title challenger, Brian Rose.

Posted on 02/10/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Back to where he started in his hometown of Pensacola, FL, at the Bay Center Roy Jones, Jr. ended his career in the one division he didn’t win a title which was cruiserweight.

Jones defeated a game Scott “Cujo” Sigmon easily winning 8 out of the 10 rounds Thursday night before his home crowd. The hand speed was still there as the 49 year-old Jones gave his fans something to cheer about.

Jones won world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and even the heavyweight division. He was a modern day throw back to the 50’s when boxers like “Sugar” Ray Robinson dominated his fights.

Jones ended up with a career record of 66-9 (47), for a total of some 75 fights from 1989 to 2018. That’s 29 years of boxing after he was robbed of a Gold Olympic Medal in South Korea in the 1988 Olympics. He came home with a Silver Medal.

Jones defeated such boxers as James “Lights Out” Toney, split with Bernard “The Executioner Hopkins”, won 2 of 3 from Antonio Tarver, Jorge Vaca, Jorge Castro, John “the Quiet Man” Ruiz, Thomas Tate, Vinnie Pazienza, Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum, split with Montell Griffin, Reggie Johnson, Otis Grant, Eric Harding, Julio Cesar Gonzalez, Glen Kelly, Clint Woods, Prince Badi Ajamu, Anthony Hanshaw, Felix “Tito” Trinidad, Jeff Lacy, and Bobby Gunn.

Sigmon, 30-11-1 (16), was a good opponent for Jones to show the skills he still has. He once held the WBC USNBC title. He is from Lynchburg, VA.

Jones talked about fighting MMA suspended fighter Anderson Silva. Jones who in the past had played in a semi-pro basketball league prior to games worked the corner prior to his fight Thursday of Ikram Kerwat who outpointed Angel Gladney on the undercard.

Jones has a promotional group called Square One Promotions having put on some 63 events since 2015.

Jones gave a lot to boxing and was appreciated by his many boxing fans all over the world including Russia where he got dual citizenship winning 2 of 4 fights there.

Posted on 02/06/2018

Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of January 30th to February 6th; covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Roy Jones Junior Quotes for his Last Fight

One of the greatest careers in ring history will come to close this Thursday night, when the legendary Roy Jones Junior competes in his final bout as a professional boxer bout as a professional boxer.

Widely considered one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters of all time Jones, 65-9 (47KOs), competes in cruiserweight (200lbs) bout vs Scott Sigmon, 30-11-1 (16KOs). The 10-rounder serves as the main event to a five fight Island Fights main card which features both boxing and mixed martial arts bouts.

The event will be live-streamed and available on video-on-demand basis exclusively on UFCFIGHTPASS, the UFC’s digital streaming service.

Joining combat sport play-by-play veteran TJ De Santis in the commentator booth will be Jeff Lacy. Known as “Left Hook” during his boxing career, Lacy represented the United States at the 2000 Olympics and went on to win the same IBF super-middleweight title Jones had annexed a decade earlier. Lacy also fought Jones in 2009 (the entire fight is available on UFC FIGHT PASS) and will bring a wealth of knowledge to the event.

ROY JONES JUNIOR FLASH QUOTES:

ON FIGHTING ON UFC FIGHT PASS

“This is the first live boxing on UFC FIGHT PASS. I love being the first to do something, so to be the first boxing event on UFC FIGHT PASS is cool. When I turned pro back in 1989, I said I wanted to bring new audiences boxing and that’s what I tried to do. By having my last night as a fighter on the
UFC’s (streaming service) I’m bringing new eyeballs to boxing and I’m throwing a spotlight on the boxing and MMA fighters who are on the event.

“I’m been a fan of the UFC for years. Me and (UFC President) Dana White have been friends for a long time, since before he even got started with the UFC. We’ve talked about FIGHT PASS showing a fight (of mine) and it has come about perfectly.”

ON HIS FINAL FIGHT

“It feels different. I’m emotional even thinking about how I’m going to feel on the day. I’m almost tearing up talking. I’m worried about how I am going to feel all day of the fight. I may be crying all day – but once I am in the ring I’ll have to put those tears away because there’s gonna be a guy in the other corner looking to beat me. Scott Sigmon won’t care about those tears. He cares about getting the win, that’s the reality.

“I turned professional in May 1989 in this same arena, but I’ve been doing this since 1979. In 39 years there’s not been a single day where I didn’t put on glove, skip, watch tape or spend time thinking about boxing.

“Boxing has been my life and it is my life. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. So much of it is still fresh (in my mind), not one thing but so much jumps out when I look back… representing my country at the Olympics in 1988, becoming a world champion for the first time, becoming the No.1 pound-for-pound vs James Toney, winning the world heavyweight title… like it was all yesterday.”

ON GETTING OLDER

“I’m not sad to get older, we all get old. I had a great prime. I was good in my prime, y’know? I wasn’t surprised that I was getting old, and that my abilities were getting more limited. Everybody knows everybody gets old, but I think some guys really don’t think their body will get old.

“I accepted it. People told me to retire but I knew what I could do and I’ve never let anyone tell me what to do.

“There are things I wanted to accomplish that I knew were no longer within my reach. I love boxing, even out of my prime I love boxing like I did when I was champ. But you can’t go on forever no matter how much you love it. It’s time, I’m ready to say goodbye.”

After MTV Super Fight League Ropes in Fox Networks Group for an Asian Broadcasting Deal

FOX Sports Asia has entered into a brand new one-year exclusive multimedia and broadcastrights agreement for the second season of Super Fight League, the world’s first mixed martial arts tournament, promoted by British businessman and sports enthusiast Bill Dosanjh and British professional boxer Amir Khan on their television and digital platforms in Asia.

Promising reach in more than 500 million homes by broadcasting action pack content, the licensed territories include Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam . Earlier this year, SFL came to one-year agreement on a broadcasting deal with MTV, Viacom 18 in India to broadcast all matches for season 2 (till 2019)

Having garnered over a whopping 100 million views in 5 years for 67 live televised events, Super Fight League is ranked as the third biggest Mixed Martial Arts brand in the world and second most watched sport in India after cricket apart from being the fastest growing combat sport.The franchise-based league that is being organized in association with the All-India Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA) will entail prize money of INR 4 crores as well as 96 players and 8 teams as listed below –

Bill Dosanjh, CEO & Founder of Super Fight League stated, “We are excited to be partnering with FOX Networks Group, the leading multi-platform entertainment group across the world. This association will further capitalize on our long term vision of taking SFL to different markets. In the next 3 years we would like to take SFL to the Asian markets where MMA is more popular than a sport like cricket and comes second after soccer. The opportunity to have our premier content available in over 500 million homes will immediately accelerate the growth of the SFL brand and the sport of MMA across the region. The emergence of young Indian mixed martial artists coupled with FOX’s marketing muscle and distribution, will allow us to expand our event output beyond India and into the rest of the world in the coming years.”

Brian Sullivan, President of FOX Networks Groupadded, “This new agreement allows us to continue adding value to our uniquely holistic entertainment experience, aiming to suit all our fans’ preferences. We are quite delighted to deliver first class MMA content through our channels and digital platforms. The passion of Asian fans for mixed martial arts makes this category key to our content offering, and we will contribute with our know-how to make the experience of living it in our portfolio unbeatable.”

Elaborating Asian athlete and two-time world champion Amir Khan states, “I think we’ll be considered mainstream just like the NFL and NBA now. To be on the Fox platform, we’re not second class anymore. This new agreement represents a great opportunity and will allow us to attract a new fanbase for the sport where MMA has a strongly established tradition as well as huge potential to gather and galvanize new fans.”

Formed in 2012 by British-Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist, Bill Dosanjh with an intent to give Indian mixed martial artists a platform to compete and hone their talent in their country of origin whilst bringing in talented fighters from different parts of the world, SFL is a revolutionary approach to combat and is the first MMA organization to feature female fighters. MTV SFL 2018 will promote gender equality through a fair and unique platform with women having the same influence on the team as men. The league entails a group ‘A’ and ‘B’, consisting of four teams each. Every team has six players—five male fighters and one female—and six back-ups, belonging to six different weight categories. The teams within the group compete with each other in 12 league-level matches.

The second season of the leading MMA league will be conducted at MTV SFL Arena, Famous Studios, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai from February 9, 2018 to March 17, 2018.

Riddick Bowe to be Special Guest for February 22nd Golden Boy Boxing Card

Former Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe will be the special VIP guest for the Feb. 22 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. The highly anticipated headlining matchup will feature 126-pound contender Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, Jr. (25-0, 13 KOs) defending his NABF and NABO Featherweight Titles against former world champion Victor “Vikingo” Terrazas (38-4-2, 21 KOs) in a 10-round fight.

Doors to the Special Events Center open and first fight begins at 5:00 p.m. PT. ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will transmit the fights beginning at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT, and streaming on ESPN3 starting at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

A certified Hall of Famer, “Big Daddy” Bowe is known as the only Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion to have earned belts from all four main sanctioning bodies – WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO. The controversial heavyweight faced some of the best fighters of his era, including Andrzej Golota, Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Herbie “Dancing Destroyer” Hide, and Michael “Dynamite” Dokes. Bowe is also one of five former heavyweight champions to have never suffered a stoppage defeat in the span of more than 40 fights in his career. Bowe will be in attendance for this event to meet fans, sign autographs and take pictures inside the Fantasy Springs Special Events Center before the ESPN transmission begins. The meet-and-greet is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket to the event.

Tickets for the event start at $25 and are available at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling 1-800-827-2946, or by purchasing online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Chief support to the main event battle will be knockout artist Vergil Ortiz, Jr. (8-0, 8 KOs), who will participate in the eight-round co-main event for the vacant Junior NABF Super Lightweight Title against the dangerous Jesus “Carambolas” Alvarez (15-3,11 KOs) of Sinaloa, Mexico. Ortiz, Jr. has never heard the final bell of a bout and will be putting his spotless record on the line as he takes a step up in competition and fights for his first regional title.

Lightweight knockout artist Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (18-1, 15 KOs) will make his highly anticipated ring return over a scheduled eight rounds of action and will kick off the ESPN3 coverage.Gonzalez will face Rey “Flash” Perez (21-9, 6 KOs), a Filipino fighter who now calls Los Angeles home and who was last seen giving Lamont Roach, Jr. trouble in the main event of the Nov. 30 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN.

Manny “Chato” Robles III (14-0, 6 KOs), who is trained by his world-renowned father, Manny Robles, Jr., will participate in an eight-round featherweight affair. Power punching prospect Edgar “Kid Neza” Valerio (10-0, 7 KOs) of Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl by way of South Central, Los Angeles, Calif. will participate in an eight-round battle in the 126-pound division.

San Diego’s Genaro “El Conde” Gamez (6-0, 4 KOs) will participate in an eight-round lightweight fight, and Hector “El Finito” Tanajara, Jr. (11-0, 4 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas will open up the stacked card at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in a scheduled eight-round super featherweight fight.

Opponents for all these exciting prospects will be announced shortly.

AIBA Releases Progress Report on Governance

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board decided to maintain the financial suspension of AIBA and demanded a new report on AIBA governance by April 30th . This decision was made despite AIBA’s fulfilment of the IOC’s request to submit a Progress Report outlining all steps AIBA was asked to take and continues to take to improve its governance. To access the full AIBA Progress Report, please see the AIBA website.

This decision is extremely disappointing for AIBA as it hoped the IOC Executive Board would have understood that the processes necessary to implement even more measures require more time and that the positive steps already taken in recent times are evidence of AIBA’s strong efforts and willingness to reform.

Over the next six months AIBA will be in the process of a complete organisational review, which will lead to the ‘New Foundation Plan’ for AIBA. This plan and the recommendations produced will be discussed during the AIBA Executive Committee meeting in July and an update will be provided to the IOC in the requested April 30th report.

In the meantime, AIBA will continue its efforts to convince the IOC of its determination to not repeat any of the past mistakes and its commitment to a fresh, positive future centered on good governance and sound management.

Tickets on Sale for Kovalev vs. Mikhalkin
Tickets are on sale for the upcoming showdown between two-time Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs) versus Igor Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs) and WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs) versus Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs), which takes place on Saturday, March 3 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Tickets for this exciting event are priced from $50 to $300 and are available through ticketmaster.com and the Madison Square Garden box office.

Promoted by Main Events, Krusher Promotions and World of Boxing in association with EC Box Promotions, the event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:05 p.m. ET/PT.

About March 3: The Saturday, March 3 main event between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Igor Mikhalkin is a 12-round match-up for the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The co-main event features WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol versus Sullivan Barrera in a 12-round title fight. The event is promoted by Main Events, Krusher Promotions and World of Boxing in association with EC Box Promotions and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®. Tickets range from $50 to $300 and will be available through TicketMaster.com, the Madison Square Garden Box office and the Main Events office by calling 973-200-7050 or emailing [email protected].

Posted on 02/06/2018

By: Ken Hissner
How many boxers have “retired” only to unretired again? Will Roy Jones, Jr. be one of them? He boxes Thursday in his hometown of Pensacola, FL, against Scott Sigmon, 30-11-1 (16), from Lynchburg, VA.

Jones has been middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight champion. This fight he will fight at cruiserweight. He is also a promoter of fights with Square One Promotions.

Jones won his first 34 fights before knocking down Montell Griffin and hitting him while down losing on DQ. In his next fight he knocked out Griffin on the first round.

Like too many boxers he gave Bernard Hopkins a rematch and got beat. Hopkins gave him a good fight in their first match. Hopkins is also older than Roy by about a year.

Jones started boxing after a controversial loss in the 2008 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He won his first 4 fights, 1 by KO and 3 by 5-0 decisions. He lost in the final to a South Korean 3-2. The decision was so bad he still won the Val Barker Award for the most outstanding boxer at the Olympics.

He turned professional the following year in his hometown of Pensacola where he plans to box and retire Thursday. Let’s hope he is a man of his word. His overall record until this match is 65-9 (47) and stopped 5 times. This will be his 75th fight and let’s hope his last. As a ringside commentator he is fine. Stay there Roy!

Jones has given many a good fighter their first loss such as James Toney 44-0-2, Glenn Thomas 24-0, Bryant Brannon 16-0, Montell Griffin 27-0, Eric Harding 19-0-1, Julio Cesar Gonzalez, 27-0, Glen Kelly 28-0-1, Anthony Hanshaw, 21-0-1, Pawel Glazewski 17-0 and Vyron Phillips 6-0 as an amateur making his debut.

Jones first title win was for the WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight title in 1992 stopping Percy Harris, 15-3, at the Taj Mahal, in Atlantic City, NJ. In 1993 he won the vacant IBF Middleweight title defeating Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, 22-1, at RFK Stadium, in Washington, DC. He defended it 7 times. In 1996 he won the interim light heavyweight title defeating Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum, 49-3-1, at the Ice Palace, in Tampa, FL. After losing to Griffin he came back in his next fight winning the WBC World Light Heavyweight title from Griffin, then 27-0, at the Foxwoods Resorts, in Mashantucket, CT.

In the next fight Jones knocked out former IBF & WBA Light Heavyweight champion Virgil Hill, 43-2, at the Coast Coliseum, in Biloxi, MS, in 1998. He defended it at that weight 11 times. Prior to the 11th time he won the WBA Heavyweight title defeating John Ruiz, 38-4-1, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, NV, in 2003.

After Jones 12th defense over Antonio Tarver, 21-2, the roof fell in for him in back to back fights being knocked out by Glen Johnson, 40-9-2 and in a rematch with Tarver along with a decision to Tarver.

Jones would go onto win 3 fights in a row before Joe Calzaghe, 45-0, made his second straight US fight defeating Jones. It would be Calzaghe’s final fight of his career due to bad hands.

Two wins later would become 3 straight defeats starting with Danny Green in 1 round. Then losing a rematch with Hopkins and making a trip to Russia being knocked out by Denis Lebedev.

Jones would return to the US and in 2011win the UBO Inter Continental Cruiserweight title defeating Max Alexander, 14-5-2, at the Civic Center in Atlanta, GA.

In 2013 Jones would win the vacant World Boxing Union Cruiserweight title (German Version) in Russia, which is the same title he is fighting Sigmon for Thursday. He defended it 3 times after defeating Zine Eddine Benmakhlouf, 17-3-1. Jones would fight 4 times in Russia going 2-2 and becoming a dual citizen there.

In 2015 on his final bout in Russia he was knocked out by former WBO Cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli, 40-7, whose traine was Calzaghe’s father. He would go onto win his next 3 fights and that brings us to Sigmon. This writer attended his last fight in Wilmington, DE, defeating the King of Bare Knuckle Boxing Bobby Gunn before a packed Chase Center for the vacant World Boxing Foundation World Cruiserweight title in 2017.

But like too many boxers “never say never” if this will be the last farewell fight for Roy Jones, Jr.

Posted on 01/19/2018

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions will televise one of the first big fights of 2018 on the Showtime Network.

Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. will defend his IBF Welterweight Title against the entertaining and always tough Lamont Peterson in the main event of the night. The co-main event will be between Robert Easter Jr. and Javier Fortuna for the IBF Lightweight Title.

Photo Credit: Tom Casino/Showtime

Errol Spence has been calling out all the top welterweights and Lamont Peterson is one of the few to answer his call. A victory for either could lead to a welterweight unification fight with Keith Thurman.

The following is a preview of both televised world title bouts.

Robert Easter Jr. (20-0) vs. Javier Fortuna (33-1-1); IBF Lightweight Title

This bout was supposed to be for the IBF Lightweight Title, but Javier Fortuna came in at 136.8lbs during the weigh ins and had two hours to lose the two pounds for fight for the belt. It appeared unlikely that he will make it.

Easter is twenty six years old and two years younger than Fortuna. He will also have a very large five inch height advantage and a seven and a half inch reach advantage.

Both boxers had a successful amateur career, but Easter was able to become an Olympic alternate for the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Fortuna has the edge in power. He has stopped twenty three of his opponents while Robert Easter only stopped fourteen of his opponents. Easter has been fairly active and fought twice in 2017 and twice in 2016. Fortuna was able to fight twice in 2017 and three times in 2016.

Fortuna has spent most of his career fighting in the super featherweight division so size will be an issue for him. His lone loss was a shocking TKO loss to Jason Sosa in Beijing in June of 2016. He has defeated the likes of Omar Douglas, Marlyn Cabrera, Carlos Velasquez, Bryan Vasquez, Patrick Hyland, Yuandale Evans, and Abner Cotto.

Easter has never tasted defeat as a professional but won a close bout against Denis Shafikov in his last bout. He has defeated the likes of Luis Cruz, Richard Commey, Argenis Mendez, and Juan Solis.

The fact that Fortuna failed to make weight his first time on the scale is concerning, especially since he’s used to competing at a lighter weight class. Robert Easter’s size and reach advantage will be too much for Fortuna to overcome.

Errol Spence Jr. (22-0) vs. Lamont Peterson (35-3-1); IBF Welterweight Title

Errol “The Truth” Spence is one of the welterweight division’s biggest stars. Many consider him to be the next kingpin of the division post Pacquiao and Mayweather. His opponent, Lamont Peterson, is always in a good fight but this may be his last chance at a world title.

Spence is in the middle of his athletic prime at twenty seven and is six years older than Lamont Peterson. They have the same reach and Spence will have a slight one inch reach advantage on Peterson.

Spence has the edge in power and speed. He has stopped nineteen of his opponents, and is currently riding a nine fight stoppage streak. Peterson has only stopped seventeen of his opponents, and only one stoppage victory in his past five fights.

Peterson was a national golden gloves champion and experienced moderate success on the world stage as an amateur. Spence was also a national golden gloves champion, but he also was a member of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Spence has looked sensational recently, but only competed once in 2017 and twice in 2016. He has defeated the likes of Kell Brook, Leonard Bundu, Chris Algieri, Chris Van Heerden, Phil Lo Greco, and Ronald Cruz.

Peterson has not been so active and fought once in 2017 and twice in 2015. He has defeated the likes of David Avanesyan, Felix Diaz, Dierry Jean, Kendall Holt, and Amir Khan. His losses were to Danny Garcia, Lucas Matthysse, and Timothy Bradley Jr.

Peterson’s biggest issue is his consistency. When he’s aggressive to the body he looks, at times, unstoppable. But as evident in his fight with Danny Garcia, he can be a slow starter and that often hurts him on the scorecards.

Peterson was impressed with Spence’s victory against Kell Brook. “”Errol even taking the Kell Brook fight was impressive to me. Most guys in his position take their time leading up to the first title shot, but he ended up fighting someone in his prime in his country. To will himself to that win was very impressive.”

Spence has looked untouchable and was very impressive in his fight against Kell Brook, in Kell Brook’s backyard.

Even Spence appears to know Peterson is a real challenge. He stated, “”I think it’s going to turn into a war. A lot of people have thought this would be an easy fight for me. But if you follow Lamont Peterson, you know this will be tough. He’s always in great shape and has a lot of skills. IT might be a dog fight and that’s what I wanted. He’s the guy who wanted to fight and I said of course. It’s going to be a rugged fight. Later on in the fights, he always gets rough and stands toe-to-toe.”

Even if Peterson is fighting at his best for all twelve rounds, it’s hard to imagine him beating Errol Spence.

Posted on 01/18/2018

By Eric Lunger

Errol Spence, Jr. is a three-time amateur national champion. He was a 2012 Olympian reaching the quarter finals in the welterweight division. Turning professional seven years ago, he is undefeated in twenty-two fights and has scored nineteen KOs. He is ranked number eight in the world in Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound list, and number two at welterweight.

Photo Credit: Premier Boxing Champions

These are impressive facts, but to gauge how good Errol Spence, Jr. is, we have to go back to May of last year, when he traveled to Sheffield, England, to face the experienced IBF welterweight champion, Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs). Spence took home the belt, stopping the British champion in the eleventh round, and showed a mature mastery of all areas of the sweet science.

Despite a thunderous home crowd and massive stage, Spence was calm and poised, relaxed even. His ring IQ is so high that he always seems to anticipate what his opponent is going to do. No movement wasted, everything under control – Errol looked at times like he was sparring in his home gym, not facing one of the best welterweights in a hostile stadium.

Here are some of his strengths. Spence has quick and precise footwork, which in turn means he can control the distance from which he fights and the style in which he fights. He is a southpaw with an excellent jab, and behind that jab is world-class hand speed and punching accuracy. Spence’s defense is also highly technical, utilizing a high guard from which he can counter punch effectively.

Spence is rightly known for being one of the best body punchers in the division, and it showed in the Brook fight. He was also able to switch styles at ease, sometimes fighting on his back foot and countering, sometimes walking Brook down, and sometimes getting inside and fighting in the phone booth. Spence also showed excellent conditioning and pacing in the Brook fight, hitting a new and higher gear in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh rounds, a gear that the Sheffield fighter could not match.

Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect fighter. Where is Spence vulnerable? Maybe against a more athletic puncher – like Thurman, or even Peterson – Spence’s technical skills could be nullified. Peterson might need to get inside, lean on Spence, muscle him, in order to get the younger man off his game. Brook had some success leaning on Spence, holding and wearing him out, and working the body. In short, turning the fight into a brawl rather than a boxing match might be one way (the only way?) to negate Spence’s skill level.

Spence has never been in real trouble and had to fight his way out. He has never been on the canvas as a professional. The flipside of Spence’s poise and calm in the ring is that he can get casual and too comfortable, as he did in the sixth round of the Brook fight, where Brook caught the American and put him in momentary difficulty.

Then there are the intangibles: focus, resilience, drive, mental preparation, late-round confidence. Nothing in Spence’s career so far has shown that he has anything less than the highest ability in all these categories. Errol Spence, Jr. is an elite-level boxer and a world champion. How good can he be? He will take another step toward that answer this Saturday night against Lamont Peterson, live on Showtime starting at 9:00 PM.

Posted on 12/03/2017

By: William Holmes

A champion in four divisions and a lock for the boxing hall of fame, the legendary Miguel Cotto fought the last fight of his career in the building that helped make him famous, Madison Square Garden.

Surprisingly, despite campaigning in the middleweight division, Miguel Cotto weighted in at 151.6lbs while Sadam Ali, who has fought in the welterweight division and is bumping up a weight class to face Cotto, weighed in at 153lbs. Many, including this writer, expected Cotto to weigh in at a heavier weight than Ali

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter

The opening bout of the night was between Rey Vargas (30-0) and Oscar Negrete (17-0) for the WBC Junior Featherweight Title.

Vargas, the taller fighter, was able to use his height to his advantage in the opening round and landed a high volume of punches to the body and head of Negrete. He was able to get a full extension on his shots in the second round and had Negrete taking some hard shots.

Vargas connected with three straight uppercuts followed by a right hook in the opening seconds of the third round. At one point in the third Negrete stepped on the foot of Vargas and knocked him over, but the referee correctly ruled it a push. Vargas’ sharp shots continued into the fourth round and fifth rounds but Negrete, to his credit, never stopped coming forward.

Negrete snuck in a few good shots of his own, especially when he was in tight, but Vargas’ combinations were numerous.

Negrete took some heavy body shots by Vargas in the sixth round, but did land his best punch of the night, a left hook, in the ninth round.

The eighth round was also tight as Negrete surprisingly landed some combinations, and Vargas had a cuts over both of his eyes. The referee checked it in the eighth and before the ninth rounds but let Vargas continue.

Negrete was out matched and out gunned, but continued to press the pace in the final rounds but took a barrage of punches in the process.

Vargas’ cut over his left eye looked pretty bad, but he was never in danger of being hurt.

The judges scored it 119-109, 119-109, and 120-108 for Rey Vargas.

Miguel Cotto (41-5) and Sadam Ali (25-1) met in the main event of the night for the WBO Junior Middleweight Title.
Cotto walked out to no walk out music so that he could hear the crowd.

The crowd loudly chanted for Cotto in the opening round, but Ali established he had the superior hand speed early on and connected with some surprising punches. Cotto was able to land his patented left hook to the body, but Ali looked like he was landing at a higher connect rate.

Cotto was badly hurt in the second round from a right cross by Ali. Cotto’s legs were wobbly, but Ali did not press the action to try and finish the fight. Ali slipped in the second round, but he definitely had Cotto hurt.

Ali’s length gave Cotto trouble in the third round but Cotto was pressing the action. Cotto was hurt once again in the fourth round by Ali, but was able to recover and come forward behind his jab.

Cotto’s attack to the body appeared to be effective in the fifth and sixth rounds, especially when he had Ali backed into a corner. Ali’s right eye began to swell in the seventh round but he was landing good shots to the head of Cotto.

Cotto had Ali backed into the ropes several times in the eighth and did his best work there, but Ali retook control in the ninth round as Cotto looked like he was tiring.

Ali landed a vicious left hook on Cotto in the tenth round that had Cotto on wobbly legs again and his mouth wide open. Cotto was on full retreat in the tenth and appeared to be close to going down.

Ali came out aggressively in the eleventh round and looked like he was going for the knockout. His corner had previously urged him to be more aggressive. Cotto survived and circled away from the attacking Ali.

Cotto came out aggressive in the final round but looked tired and slow. Ali was the fresher fighter and closed out the fight well.

The final scores were 115-113, 116-112, 115-113 for Sadam Ali.

In the post fight interview Cotto confirmed it was his last fight, and revealed he hurt his left bicep in the seventh round.

Cotto stated, “Feeling good. Feeling good with the performance. Something happened to my left bicep, seventh round. I don’t want to make excuses, Sadam won the fight. It is my last fight. I am good, and I want to be happy in my home with my family.

“Thank you for all the fans, I am proud to call MSG my second home. I had the opportunity to provide the best for my family because of the sport.”

I worked hard for it.” Said Sadam Ali. “I took advantage of this fight, and I made sure to make it count. I want to Thank God, and also thank team Cotto, They could have taken an easier fight if they wanted too. ”

“I had him hurt here or there in the first couple of rounds. I knew I had to do something, or he would have dug in. By the 11th, I thought the fight was close. Whatever GBP has next, I’ll take it. Good things happen to good people. I have been training since I was 8 years old, and I am glad I got this win at MSG, in my hometown.”

Posted on 10/27/2017

By: Jacob Tanswell

It was June 25th 2016, Chris Eubank Jr, was sat in a press conference alongside promoter Eddie Hearn and his father, fresh from inflicting a damaging defeat on British Middleweight Contender, Tom Doran. As usual, Eubank Snr acted his usual maverick self, giving the journalists plenty of material; yet, the son, was his quiet, steely self, contemplating his future. When that topic did come up, the press conference came alive: “If they want it, it’s ready to sign” Eddie Hearn claimed after being asked about a possible well documented fight with Gennady Golovkin; if possible, this lit an ever bigger spark in Senior’s mind. “I genuinely don’t see how my son can be beaten by Ward or Golovkin, who are considered two of the pound for pound best fighters in the world.”

After the press conference and that bold and brash statement, the media starting drawing their own conclusions as if the lucrative fight had already been made. However, days passed and there was still no confirmation of the event, which was set to be on “Sky Sports Box Office.” The situation kept dragging on, until Hearn himself, drew a line in the sand; he gave the Eubanks a deadline. If they had not signed by then, the fight was off. The deadline passed. Abstract demands such as choosing who the commentator would be caused the deal to become well and truly dead in the water. All fans were wondering why the fight had not been made; there was a common opinion amongst boxing fans that the Eubanks had ducked the ferocious middleweight puncher. On social media, they were ridiculed and attacked. This was only emphasised further when IBF welterweight champion, Kell Brook, stepped up two weight divisions and signed the exactly same deal they had rejected for a fight with “Triple G.” How can a welterweight be more willing to fight Golovkin than Eubank? Are they really the warriors which they constantly claim to be?

For months after, talks of any deals involving Junior had become dead. Many were left wondering whether his career would stall due to his dad constantly being in the background, dictating his career. Towards the end of 2016, ITV had announced they wanted to bring big time boxing back to the channel; with Eubank being at the forefront. This enabled Eubank to force his way back onto the scene and establish himself, rightly or wrongly, as a pay per view fighter. The channel’s excutives along with Eubank Senior carefully picked the opponent to start the ITV pay per view platform off.

In a space of a couple of months, Junior had two fights against Renold Quinlan, winning the IBO super middleweight belt and Arthur Abraham, who was a shadow of his former self, who was once considered a dangerous champion. Both had in common a front foot style, coming forward in straight lines. This played to Eubank’s strengths as along with quick combinations and his work rate, he was able to dominate and win convincingly. During this time, his profile, especially to the casuals, was increasing as he was getting exposure on a platform that was open to approximately 50 Million people; to the point where he is arguably the second most well known British fighter behind Anthony Joshua. In these fights, the Eubank’s had made the decision to step up and establish Junior as a genuine super middleweight and go after the champions such as Groves and Degale and earn themsleves a mega domestic showdown. Slowly, but surely, Junior was starting to show he was capable of fulfilling his potential and becoming a British World Champion, replicating his father.

Fast forward to present and Junior is now considered the betting favourite in the Super Middleweight Tournament after putting on the performance of the series so far with a brutal third round knockout over previously undefeated Turk, Avni Yildrim. Many were surprised they chose to join this new knockout format in the division, due to them being previously anxious to step up competition. However, now there is a renewed sense of belief that the Eubanks are coming back to dominate British boxing and them doubters are now starting to believe it.

After progressing to the semifinals of the tournament he will meet the previous favourite and WBA Champion, George Groves, which promises to be a huge domestic fight which could be at a stadium in the UK. It will be his 28th fight and this is of course, the biggest. In his father’s 28th fight, he inflicted a points win over another domestic opponent, coming in the form of Michael Watson. By then, he had already defended his version of a world title 8 times.

Although, Eubank Juniors progression has been more steady than his father, it has given him the necessary time to learn his craft away from the bright lights and attempt to establish himself as an all time British Great, emerging out of his father’s shadows. There is a real sense of momentum and is considered to be riding a crest of a wave as he is now favourite to win the tournament and win the “Muhammad Ali Trophy” as well as pocketing approximately an enormous sum of £50 Million Pounds. As well as this, it could set up other domestic fights such as Callum Smith and the IBF champion, James Degale, which could be a massive unification showdown. And who knows, maybe be ready to box an older Gennady Golovkin? Once criticized for his management of his son, is there an argument to praise him and understand the plan for his son was correct all along?

Posted on 09/05/2017

By: Ken Hissner

Both Rocky “The Brockton Blockbuster” Marciano and Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. retired after posting a 49-0 record. Mayweather would come back after a 23 month layoff to post his 50th win recently against amateur boxer and current MMA champion Conor McGregor 0-0.

Marciano was 42-0 before getting a world heavyweight title fight stopping “Jersey” Joe Walcott in the 13th round while behind on points. He defeated former world champions Joe “The Brown Bomber” Louis prior to winning the title. He also defeated former world champion Ezzard Charles twice after winning the title. He defended his title six times before retiring in 1956 mostly due to a reported disc problem and being away from his family too much.

Marciano had a limited amateur career of about 13 fights winning the NE Heavyweight title. He was inducted into the IBHOF in 1990 and the World Boxing HOF in 2010. His SD win over Roland LaStarza in 1950 was his only controversial win but in 1953 he stopped LaStarza in a title defense.

“I have always adhered to two principles. The first was to train hard and get in the best possible physical condition. The second is to forget about the other fellow until you face him in the ring and the bell sounds for the fight”. The end of his life came in an airplane crash in a corn field in IA in August of 1969 at the age of 45.

Marciano had his own TV show and did commercials something as far as this writer knows Mayweather hasn’t been asked to do. His arrogance may have something to do to it. Marciano was very well liked and never had a cocky attitude and reported he cried after defeating his boyhood hero Joe Louis.

Mayweather, Jr. won numerous amateur titles posting an 84-6 record. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA, he lost a controversial decision in the semi-finals receiving a Bronze medal. He would go onto win world titles starting with the WBC World Super featherweight, WBC Lightweight, Super lightweight, IBF Welterweight, and WBA/WBC Super welterweight titles. He won his first title in his eighteenth fight.

Mayweather’s only controversial win was in his first fight with Jose Luis Castillo in April of 2002. In his next fight in December he defeated Castillo. In May of 2014 he fought the style that Marcos Maidana had and this writer felt it was a draw. In their return match five months later he returned to his normal style and won. He would post 21 title defenses overall.

Upon retiring 13 months before coming back Mayweather seemed to finally do something out of respect to Marciano after equaling his record without going past it. The same may have gone for Welsh Italian Joe Calzaghe retiring at 46-0. Mayweather’s latest promotion for his most recent bout caused quite a stir which was probably more theatrical than on the up and up.

Rumors are Mayweather may be dealing with the IRS now. His ownership of 100 automobiles worth over 15 million dollars that sit in his Las Vegas garage never driven is a big investment. He pays cash and is known to deal with one dealer in particular. He recently put up for auction the highest price automobile in the world valued at approximately 4.6 million. He is known to fly out of the country to one of the richest islands in the world and spend a bundle on jewelry. One highlight is he has sponsored Golden Glove tournaments in his former home state of MI.

The comparison of Marciano to Mayweather is like night and day. Marciano’s career earnings were about $50 thousand which is what Mayweather probably uses for training expenses today. His overall assets are probably more like $600 million.

Posted on 09/02/2017

By Jake Donovan

With his win over Julius Indongo in their 140-pound unification clash two weeks ago, Terence Crawford became just the third boxer in history to simultaneously own all four titles in one weight division.

The unbeaten two-division world champion from Omaha, Neb. made history just 12 days later, though for all of the wrong reasons.

The International Boxing Federation (IBF) was notified by Crawford’s camp on August 31 that the reigning super lightweight king was relinquishing their portion of the crown. The vacancy now makes his four-belt reign the shortest ever, although he still remains in possession of the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles—though it remains to be seen for how long.

Whatever his decision, the IBF has already begun the process of taking the next step toward filling the super lightweight void.

“Jr. Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford officially vacated the IBF Title (on Thursday),” IBF spokesperson Jeanette Salazar confirmed in a statement released through the New Jersey-based sanctioning body’s press office. “The leading available contenders according to the current list of IBF Jr. Welterweight rankings are #1, Sergei Lipinets and #3, Akihiro Kondo. Both boxers have indicated in writing they are willing to participate in the fight for the vacant IBF Jr. Welterweight title.”

Lipinets (12-0, 10KOs) was the mandatory challenger waiting in the wings, although the unbeaten Kazakhstani boxer was forced to wait out two unification bouts. He sat by as Indongo was granted what was supposed to be a one-time exception to bypass his mandatory title defense in favor of a unification bout with Ricky Burns, whom he outpointed in April to add the WBA title to his collection.

The IBF ordered a showdown between Indongo and Lipinets soon thereafter, but negotiations were non-existent as they were compromised by a vocal interest from the Crawford camp in unifying all four titles. Indongo and his co-promoter Eddie Hearn attempted to file a medical exemption, claiming a hand injury suffered in the Burns fight, but lacked sufficient proof of injury causing delay in ordered talks with Lipinets

From public demand – and a violation of its own rules – the IBF granted a final exemption to allow Crawford-Indongo, on the condition that the winner next face Lipinets by no later than November. Crawford emphatically collected all the belts on the heels of a 3rd round body shot knockout of Indongo on August 19 in Lincoln, Nebraska, but his victory tour lasted all of two days before receiving notification to immediately negotiate terms for his mandatory title defense.

Lipinets, however, decided he’d waited long enough for a title shot and—through promoter Tom Brown’s TGB Promotions—informed the IBF that his team opted to bypass the 30-day negotiation period and immediately enter a purse bid hearing which was due to take place on August 31.

Crawford and promoter Top Rank initially entertained the idea of winning a purse bid and perhaps showcasing the fight on ESPN. Instead, the purse bid hearing was called off as Crawford informed the IBF that he no longer desired to represent the organization at that weight, with the possibility of vacating all of his 140-pound titles in exchange for an expected move up the scale to welterweight.

Now a three-belt titlist for the moment, Crawford’s stay as a fully unified world champion lasted a grand total of 12 days.

Bernard Hopkins managed to hold all four middleweight titles for the final 10 months of a historic reign that saw 20 title defenses of at least one belt over the span of 10 years and three months. He obtained his fourth and final belt with a Sept. ’04 knockout of Oscar de la Hoya, and–with a 12-round win over Howard Eastman—remains the only boxer in history to make a single defense of all four belts at one time.

His reign ended in controversy, dropping a highly questionable 12-round decision to then-unbeaten Jermain Taylor in July ’05. Taylor’s stay as a four-belt king lasted four months, also eventually vacating his IBF title though in favor of a rematch with Hopkins.

Meanwhile, a new set of negotiations are underway to crown the next IBF 140-pound titlist.

“The IBF has ordered Lipinets and Kondo to fight for the vacant title and their respective teams should start negotiating immediately,” Salazar stated. “They have until September 30, 2017, to come to an agreement.

“If an agreement isn’t reached by then, the IBF will order a purse bid.”

Posted on 08/27/2017

By Bryanna Fissori

The sport of Mixed Martial Arts as a whole had little to lose putting its poster boy up against arguably the most familiar face in boxing for this generation. McGregor the MMA fighter was coming into this bout with literally no professional boxing experience against boxing’s undefeated 49-0 Mayweather.

Expectations were exceeded by many when McGregor was able to not only make it through the early rounds, but to actually win rounds on the scorecard. Maywether contends that losing the early rounds was his plan all along. Given his propensity to warm up in the later rounds, this is not unlikely. Despite the loss, McGregor made many MMA fans proud and has undoubtedly served as a catalyst for change in the sport.

Several MMA fighters and industry professionals such as Max Holloway, Daniel Cormier, Eddie Alvarez, Cody Garbrandt, Mick Maynard, Matt Brown and more have praised McGregor for his representation of MMA athletes.

Increased Fan Base for Both Sports

McGregor’s efforts in entering the world of boxing will have long lasting effects on the MMA industry. First and foremost, a new demographic of fans has been introduced to the sport. Even if unintentional, hardcore boxing fans have sat through a plethora of UFC focused images and clips during the media circus surrounding this fight. Undoubtedly, many boxing fans who may not have the utmost appreciation for Mayweather have found themselves cheering for “the MMA fighter.” How much more likely are they now to tune into McGregor’s next UFC fight?

On that same note, MMA fans have been introduced to the world of boxing. They have looked up rules, questioned and compared striking styles and sat through at least nine full rounds. Talk of which other MMA fighters have good enough hands to box has already started to circulate through the discussion threads.

MMA Fighter Salaries

McGregor has been the most vocal proponent for an increase in MMA fighter salaries. In his professional boxing debut McGregor will have made more than his four and a half years in the UFC combined.

“The game changes every time,” McGregor said when asked about returning to a sport where the purses are traditionally much smaller than boxing.

With MMA promotions like Bellator and the Professional Fighter’s League who may be able to offer competitive salaries and bonuses, it is likely that the UFC will have to step up its pay scale. This is even more true now that fighters have seen how much more can be made in boxing rather than MMA.

The Best Got Tested

Boxing is something sacred that requires complete focus on the specific discipline. Boxing . . . went into the 10th round with a debut fighter. Some could view that as a weakness in the competitive caliber of boxing, others would see the strength of a 40 year old veteran coming out of retirement and still able to be victorious.

Props to Mayweather for a victory and solid game plan. For many fans of both sports, this was boxing versus MMA. No matter how it is viewed from the perspective of the actual fight, McGregor went nearly 10 solid rounds in an entertaining fight with a boxer some may consider TBE (The Best Ever.) McGregor landed 111 punches, which was 30 more than Manny Pacquiao. A debut boxer, an MMA champion and now the face of two sports, McGregor has done well for himself and the sport of MMA despite the loss.

Posted on 08/19/2017

By: William Holmes

Top Rank Promotions returned to pound for pound star Terence Crawford’s home state of Nebraska to promote his attempt to unify the WBA/WBC/IBF and WBA Junior Welterweight Titles.

The Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska was the host site for tonight’s ESPN telecast. The undercard featured stars such as Bryant Jennings, Mike Alvarado and Mike Reed fought on the undercard and emerged victorious.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Promotions

The first bout of the night was between former Olympian and prized prospect Shakur Stevenson (2-0) and David Paz (4-3-1) in the super featherweight division.

Stevenson, a southpaw, opened up the fight with quick, accurate combinations while staying outside of the range of Paz. His counter right hand and right uppercut was finding it’s home in the second round, and Stevenson was finding success going to the body in the third round.

Paz was clearly outmatched and lost his mouthpiece in the third round, had his knees buckled from a straight left hand in the fourth round, and was knocked down from a straight left hand in the fifth round.

Stevenson probably had some opportunities to finish the fight but wasn’t able to capitalize it. He won with scores of 60-53 on all three scorecards.

The next bout of the night was in the light heavyweight division between Oleksandr Gvozdyk (13-0) and Craig Baker (17-1) in the light heavyweight division.

Gvozdyk’s nickname is the “Nail” and he had a lot of hype coming into this fight. Baker kept a high guard early and Gvozdyk seemed content to stay behind his jab. Gvozdyk wasn’t very impressive in the first three rounds of the fight but was doing enough to win the rounds.

Baker was able to land some punches in the fourth round but wasn’t able to match the work rate of Gvozdyk. Gvozdyk landed some heavy shots at the end of the fifth round and he started to move away from using his jab.

The end came in the sixth round when Gvozdyk landed a short right hand that sent Baker down. Baker was able to get back to his feet and told the referee he wanted to continue, but Gvozdyk immediately jumped on Baker with unanswered combinations and forced the referee to stop the bout.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk wins by TKO at 2:04 of the sixth round.

The main event of the evening was between Terence Crawford (31-0) and Julius Indongo (22-0) for the WBA, WBO, WBC, and IBF Junior Welterweight Titles.

Indongo entered the ring first and was greeted by the chorus of boos from the Nebraskan crowd. Terence Crawford decided to walk in through the crowd instead of the usual ring walk on the ground and was greeted warmly by his fans.

Indongo looked like he was several inches taller and longer than Crawford. Crawford, despite traditionally fighting in an orthodox position, came out fighting as a southpaw.

Crawford opened up the fight by landing a counter left hook and Indongo answered with a looping and wide lead right hook. Crawfrod was able to stay out of the range of his taller opponent and was accurate with his counter hooks.

Indongo kept his jab in the face of Crawford at the start of the second round but Crawford was able to time Indongo and land a hard left hook followed by a right uppercut. Crawford was able to roll with Indongo’s punches and land a left hand that sent Indongo down to the mat. Indongo looked like he was still buzzed when he got to his feet but survived the round.

Indongo, to his credit, started off the third round aggressively. Crawford however was able to stay calm and counter a combination by Indongo and land a hard left hand to the body that sent Indongo crashing to the mat writing in pain.

The referee counted to ten and Indongo was unable to get up. Terence Crawford wins by knockout at 1:38 of the third round.

Posted on 08/18/2017

By: Sean Crose

“This is my last one, ladies and gentleman.”

Photo Credit: USA Today

So said Floyd Mayweather during a Thursday call to promote his August 26th superfight against UFC superstar Conor McGregor. “I gave my word to Al Haymon,” he added, “I gave my word to my children…I’m going to stick to my word.” At least some on the call (it seemed like more) didn’t appear to want to talk about the fight itself. Floyd’s legacy, for instance, was important to one of the reporters who spoke. Racism, not surprisingly, is what obviously interested the caller from the New York Times. Floyd, however, remained the same laid back guy he has largely been with the media in recent years.

“I haven’t had time to focus on anything but this event,” he claimed, which anyone who has closely followed Mayweather knows is most likely true. Yet Mayweather also made it clear that he was as serenely confident as ever. “I’m not really worried about the outcome,” he said, referring to the match itself. Floyd, however, was still Floyd, no matter how over the hill he wants to come across to the media these days. When asked about his early struggle to make it as a star, for instance, the 49-0 slickster suddenly came alive.

“Floyd Mayweather has never been struggling,” he asserted. “Me and (boxing guru) Al Haymon joined forces.” When asked about the notorious Paulie Malignaggi – Conor McGregor sparring session the public has seen clips of, Mayweather also made it clear that he found McGreggor to be a dirty fighter. “A lot of shots were illegal,” he noted. When queried as to whether he was worried about McGregor fighting dirty when they meet in the ring, though, Mayweather stated that he’s “pretty sure the referee is going to be fair on both sides.”

Truth be told, Mayweather is always interesting to listen to speak. Love him or hate him, he’s an fascinating individual. If McGregor rides on overdrive with the media, Mayweather likes to sprinkle his talks with interesting asides. For every boast (“My real estate portfolio is truly amazing.”) there’s something telling about the man that’s offered. Like the fact that he refuses to watch his own fights. “When I look at them,” Mayweather said, “I’m like I could have done this better I could have done that better.” There’s also his interesting take on Rocky Marciano, the man whose 49-0 record most assume Mayweather will best in a week from Saturday.

“Rocky Marciano is a legend,” he claimed. “Rocky Marciano did it his way. I just want to do it the Mayweather way.”

One interesting side note:

No one – not a single person – asked Mayweather why he chose a man who has never had a boxing match in his life as his supposed last opponent. Perhaps those who spoke already had asked that question previously. Or perhaps those who were allowed to ask questions didn’t think it was important.

Or perhaps they simply didn’t want to hear the answer.

Posted on 08/16/2017

By: Sean Crose

It’s doubtful he’d ever admit it, but Conor McGregor is different on a conference call than he is when all eyes are on him. The McGregor who spoke to the media on a Wednesday call was polite, smart…and actually somewhat likable. Incredible, I know, but true. While it’s a fact the smack talk of lore was still evident (“I don’t not see him absorbing the blows in the first few rounds…I’m ready to put him away in the first ten seconds”) the McGregor of Wednesday was most distinctly not the same man seen strutting about the outrageous press tour of several weeks ago. With his August 26th megabout with Floyd Mayweather less than two weeks away, the McGregor of Wednesday came across often enough as thoughtful and at ease.

Photo Credit: USA Today

With that in mind, it was still clear McGregor is something of strange man. “It is what it is,” he said in regards to Bud Crawford and others making fun of his training methods online. “It’s lighthearted and I don’t take it personal.” Then, however, McGregor went on a tangent about why his way of doing things is legitimate, replete with some anger against his antagonists. There was little doubt, however, that McGregor is taking Mayweather seriously. “It is what it is,” he once again claimed (it was clearly a favorite phrase of his) of the fact that many in the boxing world are essentially writing him off. “I use it as motivation…but, at the same time, I get it.” McGregor went on to speak of “earning my respect in this game (boxing) also.”
As for training camp, the Irish UFC star made it clear he’s feeling confident as fight week closes in. “We’ve had one hell of a camp,” he said, “now we are closing in on the weight cutting phase.” McGregor was also obviously aware of the differences between boxing and mixed martial arts, the sport which has made him famous. “You’ve got to factor in there’s not as much grappling,” he said of boxing. “We’ve stretched it (his preparation) out to accommodate the twelve three minute rounds.” Things got a bit awkward when the New York Times acted the part of the New York Times by bringing up the race issue. “It’s give and take here,” McGregor claimed in response to the accusation he can get away with things Mayweather can’t. “I’ve been given my fair share of hate and my fair share of love also.”

There was, however, one particularly odd statement that came from McGregor’s mouth, one that made this author take note. “We are prepared,” McGregor claimed, “for every possible outcome.” Was McGregor, the very picture of confidence, showing a bit of uncertainty – even unintentionally so? Or was it all just a slip of the tongue, an off way of putting things, something that might be misinterpreted?

That’s something only that perhaps only Conor McGregor knows

Posted on 08/14/2017

By: Kirk Jackson

Floyd Mayweather 49-0 (26 KO’s) aims to join the 50-win club, as he takes on MMA star Conor McGregor 21- 3 (MMA) 0-0 (Boxing) in the biggest combat sports-related event of the year as we approach the date Aug 26.

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few months, you may be familiar with all of the commentary and criticism leading up to this event.

Some of the boxing purists, mma and UFC supporters, perennial Floyd Mayweather detractors – appearing in all forms whether it’s a fan, fighter, trainer, promoter or whomever, voiced their displeasure of the match-up and the notion of Mayweather adding another win to his record if he can defeat McGregor in their showdown.

“He doesn’t deserve (the 50-0) record, because he’s not fighting a fighter,” Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum told TMZ Sports about the 49-0 Mayweather.

“He’s not fighting a real boxer. McGregor is a good MMA guy, but it’s a different sport. It’s not a fight, for Christ’s sake. And three weeks later, De La Hoya’s doing a hell of a fight, (Gennady) Golovkin and (Canelo) Alvarez. That’s a good fight.”

Golden Boy Promoter De La Hoya echoed similar sentiments, but don’t be fooled by these two. If afforded the opportunity, they would jump at the chance to pit any of their fighters against McGregor. Only issue is the demand for whatever match-up they can conjure up isn’t there.

Mayweather link.

Win No. 50 holds significance because it breaks the tie Mayweather has with legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.

Although Mexican Great Julio Caser Chavez Sr. long surpassed the mark during his career, the 49-0 record holds great significance for whatever reason.

For the critics believing a Mayweather victory would be hollow the record/achievement or should warrant an asterisk due to McGregor’s lack of experience, the question to ask is how do you feel about Roberto Duran?

What are your thoughts about Sugar Ray Leonard and Joe Louis?

This question is posed because if we analyze their careers, we will find instances when these legendary fighters faced opponents with either zero experience or zero chances of winning.

Leonard defended his welterweight title against a fighter (with experience) but was a garbage man.

45 fights into his career, Duran fought Jose Vasquez 4-0 and right after next faced Adalberto Vanegas 2-0-1. For Duran’s 48th fight he faced 1-4 Andres Salgado.

Duran would then go on to fight guys like Ezequiel Obando, Pepe El Toro, Bernando Diaz, Alirio Acuna and they all had less than six fights each. Some of these fighters were winless.

Keep in mind this is a prime Roberto Duran. I understand the concept of tune-up fights and fights to keep busy but if the criteria applies…
The “Brown Bomber” Joe Louis had the “Bum of the month.” In the span of 29 months beginning January 1939 through May 1941, Louis defended his title thirteen times.

Despite its disparaging nickname, most of the “Bum of the month” club were top-ten heavyweights. Of the 12 fighters Louis faced during this period, five were rated by The Ring as top-10 heavyweights in the year they fought Louis.

Some of the fighters not rated in the top ten by The Ring, we could argue did not belong in the ring with the heavyweight champion.

There was controversy surrounding many of Marciano’s fights with rumors of Mafioso influences, crooked judges and fighters taking dives or purposely forfeiting fights.

Many of the opponents Chavez Sr. faced possessed abysmal records with worse skills to match.

Should Scott Walker have shared the ring with Chavez? Another question is at which point can we discredit a win on someone’s record?

Across many sports, combat sports included, the team or singular athlete (in this instance) has a soft touch every now and then.

This may not necessarily be a walk in the park for Mayweather. There’s a certain demographic believing McGregor is the better fighter, or that mma fighters are vastly superior to boxers even if they face a boxer in their sport.

Remember former mma star Ronda Rousey has the ability to defeat Mayweather in the boxing ring too.

At the very least, McGregor is in his physical prime at the age of 29-years-old, as Mayweather is coming off a two-year retirement and he is the older athlete as he is well into his forties.