Tag Archives: Lightweight

Posted on 06/18/2020

By: Oliver McManus

As boxing returns to our screens gradually it seems appropriate to highlight a handful of fighters from across the weight classes worth keeping an eye on. The four names below cover super featherweight, lightweight and super lightweight: they all, naturally, have different ceilings to their ability but they are fighters we believe will provide plenty of much-needed entertainment.

Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov is already an established name at 130lbs having been a professional since December 2015. The talented Tajik fighter was pushed early on his career into regional belts but has blossomed in earnest over the past two years. Since being based in Ekaterinburg, Russia, the diminutive figure has racked up a series of impressive wins in defence of his WBC International title. As a combative southpaw Yaqubov frequently pops up with the jab to draw a counter before rolling under his opponent’s punch: a very fan friendly style of fighting.

From Russia, albeit via Tajikistan, with love to the streets of Toledo, Ohio. Otha Jones III is on a mission, alongside close friend Charles Conwell, to better his beloved city. Formerly a distinguished wrestler, Jones turned professional with Matchroom USA possessing a record of 283-13 and 21 national championships: all before the age of 19. Five pro fights in his first year saw Jones box in Verona, Bethnal Green, Providence, Chicago and Miami. Trained in-house by his father (Otha II) and brother (Roshawn) his success really is a family affair. Highlight of his career so far must be a brutal beatdown of Michael Horabin, dropping him twice, before the fight was called off inside two minutes.

Back to Europe and Artem Harutyunyan is busy making a name for himself at super lightweight. Having picked up Germany’s only boxing medal at Rio 2016, Harutyunyan turned professional after missing out on a medal when Germany hosted the World Championships in 2017. Since then he has been kept busy, often alongside his brother Robert, but has proven his pedigree in edging his nose ahead. The Original showcased his skills impressively in July to stop Miguel Cesario Antin in the fifth round when, in truth, Antin took a pasting from almost from the off.

Eight years younger than Harutyunyan is Danish southpaw Oliver Meng. Born in Gedser, a small town with a population of less than 1,000, Meng is as frosty cool in the ring as his surroundings. Boxing out of the Danish Fight Night stable, headed up by Brian Nielsen, the 21 year old is in good company as he looks to bring big time boxing back to the Nordic region. An IBF youth champion since January 2019, Meng dispatched of a wobbly Maono Ally with some flamboyance. The confident used his loose limbs to pepper Ally across the ring and worked the body well.

Posted on 09/04/2019

By: Hans Themistode

Gervonta Davis, at just the age of 24 is a two time world champion at Featherweight. He’ll now be looking to capture another world title, but this time at Lightweight as he has vacated his title and moved up in weight.

Davis goes by the alias “Tank” it’s because he hits as hard as one. It could also be because despite his five foot five frame, he is naturally a bigger fighter than what his weight class would indicate.

When Davis isn’t fighting, he often times blows up in weight. The process of cutting weight is never easy for Davis. In fact, he has already lost a title on the scales before. When he is prepared and fully focused, Davis loses the weight without much issue, but even then he looks weight drained and pale once he steps foot on the scale.

The issues he has suffered on the scale never seemed to affect him in the ring as he destroyed all of his opposition, but enough was enough.

The weight cutting issues have seemed to hit its breaking point since Davis has moved on from the Featherweight division. Dream fights against Tevin Farmer and Miguel Berchelt are officially a thing of the past.

Fight fans shouldn’t be too despondent about the news, instead, they should be rejoicing.

Davis now resides in the same weight class as pound for pound star, Vasiliy Lomachenko. A bout between the two has always been discussed but with the two campaigning in different weight classes, it was always thought to be nothing more than a pipe dream. Now that Davis has officially stepped into the weight class of Lomachenko this could pave the way for a super fight between the two.

As it currently stands, Lomachenko is in possession of every belt in the Lightweight division except for the IBF crown. With his move up in weight, the WBA has wasted no time in making Davis the number one contender in their sanctioning body. A collision course between the two seems destined to happen. When exactly it could happen is another question entirely.

It isn’t just Lomachenko who could challenge the 24 year old undefeated Davis but there is also the likes of Richard Commey, Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney to name a few.

Davis has been praised for his punching power, boxing ability and just overall skills. At Featherweight he was never truly tested. It isn’t because the weight division was lacking in talent but more so of the match making that has been made for him throughout his career thus far.

Tank is a very good fighter, but now that he is in the talent rich Lightweight division, he will be put to the test. Every fighter that currently campaigns at his division should be weary of his arrival. Even the fighter who most deem to be unbeatable in Vasiliy Lomachenko should have his eyes on Davis. He’s sure to be a force in his new division.

Posted on 05/08/2019

By: Sean Crose

Mandatory lightweight contender Luke Campbell, 20-2, was in line to face WBC champion Mikey Garcia before Garcia decided to move up in weight to face Errol Spence in an ill fated attempt at welterweight glory earlier this year. After being soundly bested by Spence, Garcia subsequently gave up his lightweight crown (although he remains Champion Emeritus), presumably leaving Campbell to face off against another contender. This being boxing, things didn’t end up as expected, for the WBC announced Tuesday that it was ordering Campbell to face none other than Vasyl Lomachenko himself for the green belt.

Bob Arum, Lomachenko’s promoter, and Eddie Hearn, Campbell’s promoter, are reportedly discussing the matter. Lomachenko is currently in possession of the WBO and IBF lightweight titles, meaning the winner of his fight will be unified champion of the division – though not undisputed champion – as the WBA belt won’t be up for grabs. “Excited,” the 31 year old Campbell told Boxing Social after the WBC made its announcement. “That’s the first word that comes to mind.” Campbell is clearly pumped about the prospect of facing the man who is perhaps the most highly regarded fighter in the sport. “I’m fighting the pound for pound number one,” he says. “This is where I make my mark.”

Lomachenko is now one of the fight game’s biggest stars. Not only does the man win, he tends to make his opponents quit – frequently. High level opposition such as Nicholas Walters and Guillermo Rigondeaux have refused to answer the bell after facing the Ukrainian’s use of angles and intense pressure. It’s been suggested that Lomachenko’s dominance has faded a bit as he’s moved up in weight, but the fact the multi division titlist has stopped the likes of Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla in the past year suggests otherwise.

As for Campbell – the fighter has won his last three fights since dropping a 2017split decision to the same Linares Lomachenko faced. He’s never battled anyone of Lomachenko’s caliber, but the 5’9 southpaw may well square off against the intimidating 13-1 Lomachenko at home. According to the LA Times, Arum is willing to have the bout take place in England. “I’ve already talked to Eddie Hearn,” Arum is quoted as saying, “and he’s looking for an appropriate venue in the U.K..” With boxing now being a major draw in Britain, the image of a large, hyped crowd suddenly comes to mind.

“This is going to be one hell of a fight,” says Campbell.

Posted on 10/07/2018

By: William Holmes

The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada was the host site for the biggest UFC PPV of 2018, featuring a main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor for the UFC Lightweight Title.

Photo Credit: UFC Twitter Account

The arena was starting to fill by the time of the first fight of the main card of the ppv, a strawweight woman’s bout between Michelle Waterson (15-6) and Felice Herrig (14-7).

Waterson opened up with using her kicks more like jabs and was effective with her front leg side kick to the thigh. Herrig was able to land a solid straight right in the opening round, but Waterson was more effective with her strikes.

Herrig was able to get Waterson’s back against the cage in the early moments of the second round, but Waterson was eventually able to break free and land a hard high kick to the head of Herrig before throwing her to the ground. Waterson was able to finish the second round with some strong ground and pound.

Herrig was able to find some success in the third round with her dirty boxing and was able to defend one of Waterson’s takedown attempts and maintain control on top. But Waterson was able to land some hard elbows from the bottom and briefly threatened with an omoplata.

The final scores were 30-26, 29-28, and 30-27 for Michelle Waterson.

The next bout of the night was a heavyweight bout between Former M1 Heavyweight Champion Alexander Volkov (29-6) and Derrick Lewis (20-5) .

Volkov was the much taller fighter and was controlling the first round with his reach and counter right hands. He was able to get side mount and transition to taking the back of Lewis, but Lewis was able to regain top position and land some short elbows as the round ended.

Volkov was able to stun Lewis with a combination in the opening minutes of the second round and had the left eye of Lewis swollen. Lewis took several hard shots but was able to stay on his feet.

Lewis took several hard right hands form Volkov in first half of the third round but showed he had a strong chin and took his best shots. Lewis looked like he was going towards a decision loss but he landed a devastating right cross followed by some concussive ground and pound that turned off the lights of Volkov.

Derrick Lewis wins by shocking knockout at 4:49 of the third round.

The next bout of the night was between Ovince Saint Preux (22-11) and Dominick Reyes (9-0) in the light heavyweight division.

Reyes, a southpaw, exchanged body kicks with Saint Preux in the opening round and was able to stuff the takedown attempts of Saint Preux. Reyes was able to land some short elbows to the side of Saint Preux’s head on some of the takedown attempts, and had Ferguson is applying pressure. Lands a hard straight right.

By the second round Reyes had landed six times the number of strikes that Saint Preux had landed, and had the forehead of Saint Preux badly bleeding. Saint Preux looked exhausted near the end of the second and Reyes had built a comfortable lead.

Saint Preux needed a stoppage in the final round to pull out the victory and he did press the action, but Reyes was able to fight wisely and suddenly landed a stunning left cross to the chin of Saint Preux that sent him crashing to the mat as the round came to an end.

Dominick Reyes wins by decision with scores of 30-27 on all three scorecards.

The co-main event of the night was between Tony Ferguson (25-3) and Anthony Pettis (21-7) in the lightweight division.

Ferguson looked like the significantly bigger man but was hobbled by leg kicks from Pettis early on. Ferguson and Pettis both tried spinning back fists in the opening round and were able to land hard shots, but Ferguson was landing the harder shots.

Pettis was able to drop Ferguson early in the second round, who had blood pouring out of his mouth from the shots of Pettis. Ferguson was able to cut Pettis to and get back to his feet and recover, and continued to apply continuous pressure and pound on Pettis from cage side to cage side. Pettis had a cut by his hairline and the ringside doctor took a look at it but allowed the fight to continue. Pettis got tagged badly several times as the round came to an end.

When Pettis went back to his corner he told his corner he broke his hand and his corner stopped the fight

Tony Ferguson wins by TKO at the end of the second round due to a broken right hand on Anthony Pettis.

The main event was between Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0) and Conor McGregor (21-3) for the UFC Lightweight Title.

McGregor, despite being the bigger draw, entered the Octagon first to a positive fan reaction and Khabib entered second to mainly boos and jeers.

McGregor pressed forward in the opening round and was able to land an overhand right and some low leg kicks. Khabib went immediately for a takedown and McGregor was able to immediately stop it. Khabib completed the takedown and finished the round on top of McGregor but was not able to do much damage from there.

McGregor got tagged with an unexpected vicious overhand right in the second round by Khabib that had McGregor mometarily hurt. Both were throwing hard, wild punches and Khabib goes in for a takedown and is able to finish it. Khabib lands some hard ground and pound through the remainder of the round and at one point threatens McGregor with a kimura but doesn’t finish it.

McGregor had a much better third round and was able to tag Khabib with several combinations and stuffed his takedown attempts. McGregor appeared to gain some momentum this round and Khabib showed signs of tiring.

Khabib appeared fired up at the end of the third round and was yelling at McGregor as he went back to his corner.

Khabib opened up the fourth round by throwing a wild two punch combination but missed wildly, and McGregor was able to land with a two punch combination of his own. Khabib goes in for a takedown and completes it and transitions into a full mount. Khabib lands some heavy ground and pound before before taking McGregor’s back and sinking in a rear naked choke.

McGregor is forced to tap and Khabib doesn’t immediately let go. As Khabib rises to his feet he appears to spit in the direction of McGregor and immediately begins yelling at the corner of McGregor.

Khabib, who just had the biggest win of his career, then goes nuclear and jumps out of the octagon and goes after one of McGregor’s cornermen and starts a fight in the crowd.

All hell breaks loose and one of Khabib’s teammates jumps in the ring and begins unloading on McGregor. It takes several minutes before officials are able to restore order.

Khabib, still enraged, demands his belt but Dana White refuses to put it on him. Khabib is escorted out of the cage and into the back with a lengthy suspension almost certainly to follow.

A career defining win for Khabib turns into one of the most shameful moments in MMA history.

Posted on 11/08/2017

By: Ken Hissner

Sun City is one of the world’s poorest, crime and disease ridden places in the world. It’s a sprawling shanty town on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Hope seems to have no place in this wretched, forbidden area of the Earth. Out of this comes Evens Pierre who has worked his way up to the No. 1 contender for the title WBA champion Jorge Linares now holds at lightweight.

Pierre is 29-1 (19), at 33 years of age. He goes by the nickname “The Sun City Kid”. He is promoted by Jacques Deschamps a businessman of French extraction who has put time and money into the career of Pierre because Pierre is a role model. His hope is to have Pierre fight Linares for the title.

Pierre goes to Evangelical groups to speak against drugs and crime. He buys food that he sends to Sun City. He plans to open a boxing school. If Deschamps is able to have Pierre fight in Haiti, it will be a momentous event probably held at the national soccer stadium that can probably hold 20,000 people. The poor people in Haiti have very little to cheer about and having Pierre fight for a world title would make that unlucky country proud. “Even if I make a lot of money I will never leave Sun City,” said Pierre.

Pierre holds the WBA Fedelatin Lightweight title that he won stopping Nicaraguan Rene Gonzalez, 31-6-1, back in November of 2014 for the second time. In his lone fight in May of 2015 he defended that title defeating Jesus Cruz Biblano, 15-9, of Mexico, by an 11 round decision. In 2016 he defended that title twice. In April he defeated Tomas Mendez, 21-6, of the Dominican Republic and in November in his biggest win he defeated former WBA & IBF champion Juan Carlos Salgado, 26-6-1, of Mexico. In March of 2017 he stopped Alfonso Perez, 12-8, of Venezuela, in 8 rounds in a non-title bout. In his most recent fight in October he defended the title and knocked out Jesus Laguna, 21-10-2, of Mexico in five rounds.

Pierre’s first twenty-four fights were in Panama up until the Gonzalez fight at the Caribe Convention Center in Petionville, Port-au-Prince, where his last six fights have taken place.

Linares, 43-3 (27) is from Venezuela but resides in Japan and has defended his WBA title he won in September of 2016 twice. He lost in his first attempt in 2011 for the WBC title but won that vacant title in 2014 in his last appearance in Japan. He defended it twice and gave it up to win the WBA title. Three of his title fight have been in the UK, one in Venezuela and the last at the Forum in Inglewood, CA, defeating the now No. 3 contender Luke Campbell of the UK. Linares held the same title that Pierre now holds when he fought for the world title.

Pierre’s only loss was in his thirteenth fight losing to Rosano Lawrence, 12-9-1, of Panama, in April of 2010, due to the fact the referee penalized him three points. He reversed that loss three fights later stopping Lawrence in six rounds. He is on a seventeen fight win streak since his only loss. He won the WBA Fedelatin title back in July of 2010 just prior to the re-match with Lawrence defeating Augusto Pinilla, 14-3-1.

Pierre is not only a No. 1 contender but an example how someone from one of the poorest countries in the world can make something out of himself and be a role model on top of it. With his promoter Deschamps backing him he should be fighting for the WBA world title in 2018. The only question is “where?”

Posted on 08/12/2017

By: Thomas B Nicholls

British Lightweight stars Anthony Crolla and Ricky Burns are set to do battle at a packed Manchester Arena on October 7th.

Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn announced the bout earlier this week and Sky Sports will broadcast the crossroads clash.

Both Crolla & Burns have been relieved of their world titles in 2017 and with their careers in jeopardy, it’s a simple “must win” for both men.

48 fight veteran Scot, Ricky Burns was convincingly beaten in his unification fight with Julius Indongo back in April, the Namibian southpaw outclassed Burns with a slick performance and is now set to tackle P4P star Terence Crawford.

Similarly, Mancunian Crolla lost his rematch with Jorge Linares in March as he had no answer for the Venezuelan’s s elite and elusive fighting style. Linares is now set to defend his world honours against British Olympian Luke Campbell at the end of September.

Burns will no doubt be backed by the partisan “Tartan Army” as he bids to find his former glory. Burns is Scotland’s first and only three-weight world champion and at 34, he knows he must win if his career is to get back on track.

Burns said “It’s going to be a great fight, there was a lot of talk in recent weeks, the response we got was unbelievable. People want to see it and now the deal is done I’m looking forward to it.”

“It doesn’t bother me where I fight, there will be a good crowd coming down from Scotland. It’s a fight the fans have been getting up for and I’m sure they will turn up in their numbers.

“When I held world titles at super-featherweight and lightweight, Crolla’s name was always mentioned but it never happened.

“He’s a great guy and a great fighter, I don’t think you’ll get much trash talk in the build-up. The best man will win on the night.”

Bookmakers SkyBet have installed Crolla as the pre-fight favourite, perhaps favouring the youthfulness of the Manchester man. Both fighters will be desperate for the win as a defeat could determine the end of their career.

Speaking of the importance of the fight, Crolla said “All I want to do is be involved in big fights and Ricky Burns is a three-weight world champion. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. He’s a great fighter and only lost to the very best.”

“I’m looking forward to going to battle and putting on a display for the fans. Camp started a few weeks ago and I’m in a good place. “It’s at a good time for both of us. A win puts us back in the mix for titles. I’m not going to say the loser has nowhere to go, but it’s going to be a tough road back. We’re both coming off losing our world titles and the incentive is to win the fight and get back in the frame.”

Despite there being no title on the line, this has the foundations to be a fight for the ages. Both men conduct themselves impeccably outside of the ring and there was little trash talking in the press conference, it’s clear to see that their energy will be channelled in to resurrecting /prolonging their careers.

If I was to give my prediction, for whatever it’s worth, I predict Ricky Burns the victor in a barnstorming 12 round war.

Posted on 08/06/2017

By: William Holmes

Top Rank Promotions continued their relationship with ESPN tonight by placing one of boxing’s pound for pound superstars, Vasyl Lomachenko, on the main event in a WBO Junior Lightweight Title Bout.

The Microsoft theater in Los Angeles, California was the host site for tonight’s card with an announced attendance of 4,102. The NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame ended late and the first undercard fight was shown on ESPN2.

Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Arnold Barboza Jr. (16-0) and Jonathan Chicas (15-2) started off the telecast halfway through the bout and both boxers scored a knockdown by the sixth round.

The crowd responded well to this bout as Chicas was going for an upset and had Barboza hurt several times throughout the bout.

The final scores were 76-74, 77-73, and 78-72 for Arnold Barboza Jr,

The next bout of the night was between Raymundo Beltran (33-7-1) and Bryan Vasquez (36-2) in the lightweight division.

Vasquez came in overweight and was unable to fight for Beltran’s titles. However, Beltran looked significantly bigger than Vasquez inside the ring.

Both boxers started off in the orthodox stance in the first round and Beltran was showing good head movement while landing his straight right hands and counter lefts. Vasquez switched stances during the first round, but was not effective with it.

Beltran went to the body more I the second round and landed several hard shots in the last thirty seconds. Vasquez tripped Beltran at the end of the round.

Vasquez started off the third round strong but Beltran took over in the second half of the round. Beltran’s best combination of this round started off with two hooks to the body followed by a left hook to the head.

Vasquez was able to land an impressive wind up right uppercut on Beltran in the fourth round, but Beltran walked right through it and seemed unaffected. Beltran had Vasquez backing up with jabs to the body and head in the fifth round but may have been out landed by Vasquez during their exchanges.

Vasquez appeared to be more willing to exchange in the sixth round, but Beltran’s punches were noticeably more effective and had more pop behind them. Beltran landed an impressive right hook around the high guard of Vasquez in the seventh and looked to be establishing firm control of the fight.

Vasquez had a decent eighth round and proved to be elusive for Beltran and at the start of the ninth round Beltran had a cut by his right eye.

Vasquez and Beltran clashed heads in the tenth and Vasquez probably needed a knockout to win. The blood was obscuring the vision of Beltran but he was able to avoid succumbing to a last round knockdown.

Beltran was bloodied but walked away with a close win. The final scores were 95-95, 96-94, and 96-94.

The main event of the evening was between WBO Junior Lightweight Champion Vasyl Lomachenko (8-1) and Miguel Marriaga (25-2).

Both boxers showed a lot of upper body movement in the opening round but Lomachenko was the boxer that was applying the pressure. Marriaga was able to land the early punches but Lomachenko began to land some good combinations as the round came to an end.

The pressure by Lomachenko continued in the second round and he was able to land hard left uppercuts and punches from all angles.

Marriaga was tagged with hard lefts to the head and body in the third round as Lomachenko was starting to settle into his grove. Lomachenko landed two consecutive straight left hands on Marriaga that sent him to the mat. Marriaga was able to get back to his feet and Lomachenko willingly backed into a corner and waived Marriaga forward. Marriaga came forward and threw several punches at Lomachenko, but was not able to land anything of significance.

Lomachenko’s pressure continued into the fifth round but he suffered a cut near his left eye due to a clash of heads.

Lomachenko’s pressure and hand speed had Marriaga back pedaling while getting peppered from all angles in the sixth and seventh rounds. Marriaga looked like he was hurt in the sixth round from a consistent body attack by Lomachenko.

Lomachenko looked like he was going for the stoppage in the seventh round as he was landing heavy shots and taking a lot of risks. Lomachenko was able to score a late round knockdown and Marriaga looked mentally defeated as he went back to his corner.

Marriaga’s corner told the referee their fighter was unable to continue before the start of the eighth round.

Vasyl Lomachenko dazzles once again with a 7th round TKO.

Posted on 05/18/2017

HBO World Championship Boxing Preview: Raymundo Beltran vs. Jonathan Maicelo, Terence Crawford vs. Felix Diaz
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night the under appreciated Terence Crawford will defend his WBO and WBC titles against former Olympic Gold Medalist Felix Diaz. This bout will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The co-main event of the night will be between Raymundo Beltran and Jonathan Maicelo in an IBF Lightweight eliminator. American prospect Shakur Stevenson will also be featured on the undercard.

Top Rank will be the lead promoter on Saturday night and HBO will be televising the fights. The following is a preview of Saturday’s card.

Raymundo Beltran (32-7-1) vs. Jonathan Maicelo (25-2); IBF Lightweight Eliminator

The opening bout of the night will be between the rugged and entertaining Raymundo Beltran and contender Jonathan Maicelo.

Beltran is always a tough fight, but at thirty five years old his best days physically are likely behind him. He’s two years older than Maicelo and will be about one inch taller than him but will also be given up one inch in reach.

Beltran has the edge in power over Maicelo. He has twenty victories by stoppage and his last three wins have been by KO or TKO. Maicelo has twelve wins by stoppage but his last four fights were decision victories. Both boxers are able to be stopped, as Beltran has two stoppage losses and Maicelo has one.

Neither boxer has any notable international success as an amateur, though Maicelo did compete in several regional amateur tournaments in South America with a moderate amount of success.

Beltran’s last fight was a sensational knockout victory over Mason Menard. He has also defeated the likes of Arash Usmanee, Ji-Hoon Kim, Henry Lundy, and David Torres. His losses were to Terence Crawford, Luis Ramos Jr., Sharif Bogere, and Ammeth Diaz. He stopped Takahiro Ao in the second round, but that bout was overturned due to a positive test for steroids.

Maicelo has defeated the likes of Jose Felix Jr., Samual Amoako, and Art Hovannisyan. His losses were to Darleys Perez and Rustam Nugaev.

Beltran is that type of contender that will seemingly always be in the title hunt and has a pressure style that is difficult for some boxers to overcome. Maicelo has never defeated a high level opponent and doesn’t seem suited to handle the forward pressure that Beltran is known for.

This should be a good fight, but despite his age Beltran has enough gas in his tank to squeak out a decision victory.

Terence Crawford (30-0) vs. Felix Diaz (19-1); WBO/WBC Junior Welterweight Title

Terence “Bud” Crawford is considered to be a possible future opponent for Manny Pacquiao and is one of the top talents on the Top Rank roster.
He’s twenty nine years old and is in the middle of his athletic prime. His opponent, Felix Diaz, is thirty three years old. Crawford will also have a three inch height advantage and a three inch reach advantage.

Crawford has been fairly active the past two years. He has fought three times in 2016 and twice in 2015. Diaz fought twice in 2016 and twice in 2015.

Both boxers have strong amateur backgrounds. Crawford had success on the national level as an amateur and won the Police Athletic League Championship as well as the United States Pan American Games. Diaz won the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics for the Dominican Republic.

Crawford has looked sensational throughout his career and nobody has come close to defeating him. He has defeated the likes of John Molina Jr., Viktor Postol, Henry Lundy, Dierry Jean, Thomas Dulorme, Raymundo Beltran, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Ricky Burns, and Andrey Klimov. Even though Crawford has fought many fights in his native Nebraska, he has shown a willingness to travel to fight as evident in his past fight with former champion Ricky Burns in Scotland.

Diaz is a technician but lacks power. He only has nine stoppage wins while Crawford has twenty one. The best opponents Diaz has defeated so far are Sammy Vasquez, Gabriel Bracero, Adrian Granados, and Emmanuel Lartei Lartey. His lone loss was a disputed loss to Lamont Peterson.

This writer thinks Diaz be one of the most difficult fights in Crawford’s career. He’s a technician and has a deep and successful amateur background. But Crawford has faced elite talent several times in his career and has defeated every opponent put in front of him. Diaz’s resume is void of any elite talent, and the one time he did face a legitimate title contender in Lamont Peterson he came up short.

Crawford should win the fight by decision.

Posted on 03/25/2017

Showtime Boxing International Results:
By: William Holmes

The last time Anthony Crolla and Jorge Linares faced each other their bout was televised in the United States on A Wealth of Entertainment (AWE) Network.

However, their bout was so good that Showtime decided to televise the rematch, with the winner likely to face Mikey Garcia.

The Manchester Arena in Manchester, England was the host site for tonight’ fight and the arena was rocking for local favorite Anthony Crolla.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Matchroom

Anthony Crolla (31-5-3) and Jorge Linares (41-3) met in the main event of the card for Linares’ WBA Lightweight Title.

The opening round was a close round and the ring was smaller than the last time they fought. Most of the punches of Crolla were blocked by Linares, but neither boxer landed a dominant punch or combination to clearly win the round.

The second round was a clearer round for Linares, who used good lateral movement and a steady jab to keep Crolla at a safe distance. Crolla was able to land a few good jabs, but Linares landed the higher number of punches.

Crolla was warned for a low blow in the third round, but was met with a lead left hook almost immediately afterwards and was tagged with several sharp and crisp combinations form Linares for the rest of the round. The right uppercut by Linares found it’s home several times in the third and fourth round as Linares’ hand speed looked like it was too much for Crolla to handle.

Crolla was able to land a couple of jabs in the fourth round, but nothing of note that had Linares hurt.

Linares confidence appeared to be very high in the fifth and sixth rounds as he was masterfully out boxing Crolla and landing punches and combinations at will. Linares had the Manchester crowd quiet and had the face of Crolla swollen by the end of the sixth.

By the seventh round in their last bout their fight was close to even on the judges’ scorecards. In this fight Linares was clearly ahead.

Linares landed a looping left uppercut that caught Crolla by surprise and sent him to the mat in the seventh round. Crolla was able to get back to his feet and survive the onslaught by Linares, and even landed some good punches of his own as the round came to an end, but the left uppercut had badly hurt him.

Crolla picked up the pressure in the eighth round and tried to get in on the inside with Linares, but he had difficulty doing so and ate several hard right uppercuts. Crolla had his moments in the eighth and ninth rounds, but Linares was quick to land sharp uppercuts and combinations every time Crolla started to build up some momentum.

Crolla’s left eye had a bad cut over it before the start of the tenth round and he continued to press forward in an effort to back up Linares and test his chin. But Linares’ accuracy and hand speed showed no signs of slowing down as he was able to pop shot Crolla and then move out of danger’s way.

Anthony Crolla clearly needed a knockout in the final two rounds to win the title. But in the eleventh round Linares was closer to knocking down Crolla than Crolla knocking down Linares and Crolla’s corner seemed hesitent to send him out for the final round.

The knockout punch that Crolla badly needed never came in the final round.

Jorge Linares wins convincingly on the judges’ scorecards with scores of 118-109, 118-109, and 118-109.

Posted on 03/23/2017

Showtime World Championship Boxing Preview: Anthony Crolla vs. Jorge Linares
By: William Holmes

In the early evening on Saturday Showtime will broadcast an international boxing event between Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla for Linares’ WBA Lightweight Title. This is a huge bout in England and will take place at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Linares and Crolla met in September in Manchester which saw an exciting back and forth affair in which Linares won with scores of 115-114, 115-113, and 117-111 by unanimous decision. It was the first time that Linares went the full twelve rounds in his career.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Matchroom

Mikey Garcia, who will be a guest commentator, has been mandated by the WBC to face the winner of this bout.

The following is a preview of the upcoming WBA Lightweight Title fight.

Jorge Linares (41-3) vs. Anthony Crolla (31-5-3); WBA Lightweight Title

Prior to facing Crolla in September, Linares had never gone twelve rounds in his career. However, that does not mean he has never tasted defeat.

Linares is one year older than Crolla and will have a two inch reach advantage and a slight half an inch height advantage. Both boxers have not been very active in the past two years. Linares fought once in 2016 and twice in 2015 while Crolla fought twice in 2016 and twice in 2015.

Linares had the edge in power as he has stopped twenty seven of his opponents while Crolla has stopped thirteen. Crolla only has one stoppage loss. However, every single defeat of Linares was by stoppage and his chin is highly suspect.

Linares has beaten the likes of Anthony Crolla, Ivan Cano, Kevin Mitchell, Rocky Juarez, and Oscar Larios. He lost to Juan Carlos Salgado, Antonio DeMarco, and Sergio Thompson. Linares’ last loss came over four years ago and he won his four of his past five fights by stoppage.

Even though Linares beat Crolla last time, he understands that Crolla will be better prepared this time. He stated at a recent press conference, “Crolla could come better prepared than last time. Maybe he will throw more punches, maybe he will box more, I don’t really know. The most important thing is I hope he has worked really hard and comes in great condition so there are no excuses and no doubts after the fight.”

Crolla has defeated the likes of Ismael Barroso, Darleys Perez, John Murray, and Gavin Rees. He has lost to Derry Matthews, Gary Sykes (x2), Jorge Linares, and a relatively unknown Youssef Al Hamidi early on in his career.

Crolla has acknowledged he needs to come in with a different game plan in order to win. He stated, “This time I know I need to deal with the flashy combinations better, cut the ring off better and capitalize when he is open for shots.”

Linares has a slight edge in amateur experience as he was a national champion in Venezuela as an amateur.

This should be a good fight like last time, and Crolla will get a much needed boost from the hometown crown spurring him on. But, the result will likely be the same as last time if Crolla doesn’t take risks and try to test the questionable chin of Linares.

Posted on 09/24/2016

Boxing on AWE Results: Linares Defeats Crolla In Front of a Rowdy Manchester Crowd
By: William Holmes

The Manchester Arena in Manchester, England was the host site for tonight’s WBA/WBC Diamond/ and Ring Magazine Lightweight Championship. Matchroom Boxing was the lead promoter for the card tonight.

The first bout of the night was in the light heavyweight division between Fernando Castaneda (24-10) and Hosea Burton (17-0).

Burton, the British light heavyweight champion, looked to be the taller and better boxer early on and was able to keep Castaneda at bay with his long reaching jab early on. Burton looked significantly bigger than Castaneda, who looked like he could cut down to the middleweight division or lower easily.

Burton took his time in the first two rounds, but was able to end the fight in the third round after scoring two knockdowns. Burton wins by TKO at 2:18 of the third round.

The next bout of the night was in the welterweight division between Ross Jameson (1-0-1) and Conor Benn (4-0).

Conor Benn, the son of Nigel Benn, fought his first six round fight against a game but overmatched opponent. Benn was able to bust the nose of Jameson in the opening round and showed good head movement and choice of combinations.

Benn pressed the action the whole fight and kept up a good pace. Jameson was able to land a few shots of his own, but wasn’t able to score a knockdown or convincingly win a round.

Conor Benn won the decision with scores of 60-55 on all three scorecards.

The next bout of the night was between Callum Johnson (15-0) and Willbeforce Shihepo (23-8) for the Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Title.

Shihepo, the WBO African Champion, was aggressive in the first round and presented an awkward style that gave Johnson fits early on. Johnson was looking to time his counters in the second round, but wasn’t able to land anything of note.

Johnson turned the fight in his favor in the third round when he hurt Shihepo with a left hook, and he hurt Shihepo again in the final minute of the fourth and sixth rounds.

Johnson was strong in the early parts of the seventh round as Shihepo was forced to tie up whenever they got in tight. Johnson scored a knockdown in the seventh round when a body shot forced Shihepo to sit on the ropes which kept him from going down. Shihepo was able to get up before the count of ten, but tied up for the remainder of the round.

Shihepo looked like he was close to going down again in the eighth round, and looked exhausted by the start of the ninth round, but he dug in deep and landed some good shots on Johnson by the corner. However, Johnson landed a brutal combination that sent Shihepo down to the mat again, but this time for the full ten count.

Callum Johnson wins by knockout in the ninth round.

The next bout of the night was an uneventful fight between John Ryder (23-2) and Jack Arnfield (20-2) for the WBA International Middleweight Championship.

The crowd lost interest in this bout quickly, and began chanting for Crolla while ignoring the action in the ring. Arnfield’s reach was used well throughout.

Ryder had his moments, but Arnfield won a majority of the rounds.

The final scores were 117-114, 118-110, and 115-114 for Jack Arnfield.

Anthony Crolla (31-4-3) met Jorge Linares (40-3) in the main event of the night. The crowd loudly serenated “Sweet Caroline” before the boxers entered the ring.

Jorge Linares was introduced first and entered the ring the to a chorus of boos. The crowd was electric and sung loudly as Anthony Crolla entered the ring.

Linares circled towards the left hand of Crolla in the opening round and Crolla was able to stop that movement with early shots to the body. Linares began to heat up in the last thirty seconds of the round and landed a quick three punch combination, but the action and tension was tight.

Linares was crisp in the second and third round and was able to land several good combinations. However, Crolla ket up the pressure and was able to back Linares up to the corner.

Linares was warned for a low blow in the fourth round, and the back and forth action began to pick up. Both boxers were able to land their share of hard body shots. Crolla’s pace seemed to effect Linares in the fifth round as he was able to land short jabs and shots to the liver while keeping in tight with Linares.

Crolla kept up the pressure in the sixth rounds and was dominant in the first two minutes, but Linares cracked a hard right hook to the cin of Crolla in the final minute and had him hurt badly. Crolla looked like he was still on wobbly legs in the seventh round, but recovered halfway through and was able to trap Linares in the corner and land hard shots to the body.

The eighth and ninth rounds were close and both boxers looked like they were tiring, but Crolla may have been the slightly more active fighter.

However, Linares caught his wind in the championship rounds and closed out strongly. Crolla’s punches had lost their snap and Linares looked comfortable pop shotting Crolla and showing off his incredible hand speed.
Linares most dominant rounds of the fight were the tenth and eleventh round. Crolla needed a knockdown or knockout in the final round to win, but he was unable to hurt Linares.

The final scores were 115-114, 117-111, and 115-113 for Jorge Linares.

Posted on 09/22/2016

Anthony Crolla vs. Jorge Linares Lightweight Title Fight Preview
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night, Anthony “Million Dollar” Crolla will face Jorge “El Nino de Oro” Linares at the Manchester Arena live at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. This bout will be televised live on AWE, A Wealth of Entertainment, and will also be shown live on the internet at www.klowedtv.com.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Matchroom Boxing

This bout will be a unification bout in the lightweight division and will be for the WBA, WBC Diamond, and the vacant Ring Magazine Lightweight Championship.

The light heavyweight commonwealth title will be on the line on the undercard and will be between Callum Johnson and Willbeforce Shihepo. Additionally, Isaac Lowe will defend his commonwealth featherweight title against Tshifhiwa Munyai.

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

Anthony Crolla (31-4-3) vs. Jorge Linares (40-3); WBA Lightweight Title

This is a matchup between the two top rated boxers in the lightweight division, a division that is quite frankly lacking in big time names.

Linares was once considered a future pound for pound star, but three losses by stoppage have since hurt his value. However, he’s still considered to be the best boxer by many in the lightweight division and is a three division champion.

Linares is thirty one years old and is two years older than Crolla. Linares will be giving up a half inch in height to Crolla, but has a two inch reach advantage. Linares has traveled the world to fight and has fought in locations such as Japan, Venezuela, Mexico, the United States, and England. Crolla has only fought once in the United States and has spent most of his career fighting in England.

Crolla will be fighting in front of a friendly crowd in Manchester, and this is a fact that does not escape Linares.

“I love fighting in my opponent’s back yard with all the noise that comes with it from their fans,” said Linares. “The supporters cannot get in the ring with their fighter, it’s just me and him.”

Linares won several tournaments as an amateur on the national level in Venezuela, but did not win any medals in any major international tournaments such as the world amateur championships or the Olympics. Crolla doesn’t have the amateur success of Linares, and he seems to recognize the technical prowess of Linares.

Crolla stated, “I rate Linares very highly, he’s technically brilliant. Everyone in the gym loves to watch him fight, and he’s the kind of fighter young kids should watch.” He went on further to state, “He likes to fight at his pace and I can’t allow that. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ve got to take advantage of some weaknesses that I think I’ve seen there. I’m confident I can do that.”

Linares’ one glaring weakness is his chin. He has three losses and they have all come by KO or TKO. His losses were to Sergio Thompson, Antonio DeMarco, and an upset of the year loss to Juan Carlos Salgado. He has notable victories over the likes of Kevin Mitchell, Nihito Arakawa, Francisco Contreras, and Rocky Juarez. However, Linares has won six fights in a row and four of his past five victories have come by way of stoppage.

Crolla has four losses on his record but only one knockout loss. His losses were to Gary Sykes (twice), Derry Matthews, and Youssef Al Hamidi. He holds victories over Ismael Barroso, Darleys Perez, John Murray, and Gavin Rees.

Crolla doesn’t have the stoppage power that Linares has. Linares has stopped twenty seven of his opponents while Crolla has only stopped thirteen. Both boxers have been very active recently. Crolla fought three times in 2014, twice in 2015, and once in 2016. Linares fought twice in 2015 and three times in 2014.

If Crolla was known for his power he’d have a good chance at pulling off the upset victory. However, he is not known for stopping his opponents and he will be in the ring with a very skilled, technical boxer. If Linares’ chin can hold up, he should win a wide decision victory. But he may want to go for the stoppage since he’s fighting in Crolla’s backyard.

Posted on 09/09/2016

Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini Reflects On Friend And Former Rival, Bobby Chacon
By: Sean Crose

Make no mistake about it, boxing lost a legend Wednesday when Bobby Chacon passed away at the way too young age of 64 in his native California. Having suffered from brain damage for some time, the former television star finally succumbed to the results of a fall. Having blasted his way to stardom in the 70s and 80s as a featherweight and junior lightweight champion, as well as a ferocious lightweight contender, Chacon faced some of the biggest names of a red hot era, where boxing was a television staple.

Tragedy, however, was to hold a prominent place in Chacon’s life. Aside from the brain damage that was to plague him in later years, Chacon lived through the brutality of a wife’s suicide and a son’s murder. He was also a reputed alcoholic. Still, each man is a sum of his parts and there were many parts of Chacon to admire. For here was a true warrior who engaged in battle with the likes of Alexis Arguello, Cornelius Boza-Edwards and Rafael “Bazooka” Limon (on four separate occasions, no less); quite a resume for any fighter.

Indeed, one of the more famous opponents Chacon faced was legendary lightweight champ Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini. Chacon was stopped by the Youngstown, Ohio native in that January 1984 encounter. Mancini made it clear to Boxing Insider on Wednesday night, however, that he held his former rival in the highest regard. Indeed, the history of the two Hall of Fame fighters extended beyond the ring.

“The day of the press conference in NYC for my fight against Bobby,” Mancini stated, “I invited Bobby to dinner that night. I took him down to Little Italy, Mulberry Street.”

It proved to be a memorable evening for WBA world lightweight champion.

“He was eating,” Mancini recalled, “like he was going to the ‘electric chair.’ He says to me,’ Ray, I gotta put on weight, I can afford to eat.’ I said to him, ‘Ya, Bobby I know, but I don’t want you eatin’ your way up to the next weight class!’”
Mancini also learned that Chacon had a taste for more than just Italian food. He recalled that while training for their bout, Chacon was stationed “up near a brothel in Northern California.” Needless to say, Chacon would kiddingly blame his subsequent loss to Mancini on his surroundings in the lead up to their fight in Reno. Sure enough, Mancini recalled Chacon saying that his close proximity to the brothel caused him to lose his legs for the fight.

“When I used to see Bobby,” Mancini claimed, “he’d say, ‘Ray, there were too many of them, what was I supposed to do?’ I said, ‘Bobby, if I had known that, I would’ve sent more!’ He’d always laugh about it and give me a hug.”

Although he can laugh at the memories, it’s clear Mancini is still impacted by the loss of his former rival. “My heart aches,” Mancini stated. “I truly loved him. As a friend, as a fighter but more so, as the man he was!!!”

Posted on 09/07/2016

Jacobs vs. Mora II and Easter vs. Commey at Santander Arena in Reading, PA, Friday!
By: Ken Hissner

Two World Title fights headline Friday night at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA! King’s Promotions bring’s big time boxing to Reading on SPIKE TV with co-features starting at 9pm. Jacobs-Mora II and Easter and Commey for vacant title should be nothing but fireworks!

Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, 31-1 (28), of Brooklyn, NY, defends his WBA World middleweight title against former WBC super welterweight champion and No. 15 contender Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, 28-4-2 (9), of L.A. in a rematch from August of 2015. In December Jacobs scored a sensational knockout over former WBO champion Peter Quillin in the first round. Mora has not fought since August. Several weeks ago on a conference phone call Jacobs said “If he’s saying I didn’t knock him down that caused him to twist his ankle I felt the contact it in my hand,” said Jacobs. “He grazed the back of my head but my ankle was already twisted,” said Mora. Both boxers are managed by Al Haymon. The call ended with “Go F yourself. I’ll see you in two weeks old boy,” said Mora. “Well let’s do it on September the 9th. You already know Sergio I’m coming for you brother,” said Jacobs. There is obvious bad blood between the two since their first fight which should make for a very interesting contest.

In the other co-feature 2012 Olympic alternate Robert Easter, Jr., 17-0 (14), of Toledo, OH, and Richard Commey, 24-0 (22), of Accra, GH, fight it out for the vacant IBF Super lightweight title.

“Yeah I am very excited coming to Reading and fight for the IBF title. I hope Richard Commey is bringing his A game because I will be bringing mine,” said Easter. “I’ve worked very hard to get this opportunity as I’m sure Robert Easter, Jr. has too so it should be a great fight,” said Commey. Commey is No. 3 and Easter No. 4 with both the No. 1 and No. 2 vacant.

There are a dozen bouts on the undercard at this point but several will fall out or the Boxing Director Greg Sirb will see to it you don’t have much more than 7 bouts. In 8 round bouts former IBF welterweight and interim WBC champion Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron, 37-5-2 (28) of Reading continues his comeback. Local favorite super featherweight Frankie De Alba is in an 8. Another local favorite super Heavyweight Travis “My Time” Kauffman, 30-1 (22), of Reading is in a 10.

In a pair of 8 round bouts from Philadelphia crowd pleaser super middleweight Christopher “Ice Cold” Brooker, 10-1 (5) steps up to meet Elvin Ayala, 28-7-1 (12), of New Haven, CT. Light heavyweight Earl Newman, 9-0 (7), of Brooklyn will meet Leo Hall, 8-1 (7), of Detroit. Also scheduled yet without an opponent is Argentina’s Jorge Sebastian Heiland, 27-4-2 (14), who is the No. 1 WBC middleweight contender.

Super welterweight Erik Spring 7-1-1 (1), super welterweight Miguel Martinez, 2-2 (0), and super lightweight Kashon Hutchinson, 1-0 (1) all of Reading are in 6 round bouts. Also, from Philadelphia, the popular super featherweight Thomas “T.J.” Velasquez, 5-0 (4) out of the Danny “Swift” Garcia camp is in a 4 round bout. He is still without an opponent.

Posted on 07/11/2016

Terence Crawford: The Quiet Man
By: Sean Crose

Boxing is looking for a big star – one that can fill the void left by Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Sure, those guys may return to the ring in some form or other, but the truth is that their best days are most likely behind him. Someone has to step up and be the new face of boxing. People had said the throne was Canelo Alvarez’ to sit on, but Canelo has been on the fast track to a diminished reputation as of late. As for middleweight terror Gennady Golovkin – well, he’s got a major fight with Kell Brook coming up, but many in GGGs weight class are clearly unwilling to face the guy in the ring.

One of the more unlikely contenders to be boxing’s top attraction, however, is a junior welterweight from Nebraska. He’s undoubtedly one of the more talented of boxing’s rising stars, but the young man’s quiet personality may keep him from being the kind of celebrity modern America craves (mouthy Adrien Broner and equally mouthy Tyson Fury fill that bill nicely). Yet it’s good to remember that there have indeed been fighters who weren’t blabbermouths who still managed to capture the public’s attention. Jack Dempsey comes to mind – as does early era Mike Tyson.

And Terence Crawford, who possesses the WBO super lightweight title, along with a sterling 28-0 record, might have the makings to be one of boxing’s great quiet men. For while the 28-year-old is soft spoken, his fists are loud as cannons. Just ask Yuriokis Gamboa, who gave the cornhusker a hell of a fight. Just ask Ricky Burns, who Crawford travelled to across the ocean to beat in Burns’ home country of Scotland. Just ask Henry Lundy, Crawford’s last opponent, who was stopped in no less an iconic location than New York’s Madison Square Garden.

And just ask Viktor Postol, the extremely capable Ukrainian who Crawford will face on a pay per view event in Las Vegas on July 23’d. Like Crawford, Postol boasts a perfect 28-0 record. Postol also has enough of a skill set that it’s no guarantee that Crawford will pull off the victory this time. Make no mistake about it, Crawford-Postol is an excellent matchup. It’s doubtful the fight will be a big pay per view hit, however. Why? Because in all honesty, this bout would be better served on regular HBO. Neither Crawford nor Postol has reached pay per view levels of popularity, after all. The winner may well be on his way to reaching that pinnacle, though…which means the quiet man may indeed make it big solely by virtue of letting his gloved fists do the talking.

Imagine that.