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PBC on Fox PPV Results: Benavidez Stops Love, Spence Cruises Past Garcia

Posted on 03/17/2019

By: William Holmes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The announced attendance for this fight was 47,525.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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PBC on FOX PPV Preview: Garcia vs. Spence, Benavidez vs. Love

Posted on 03/15/2019

By: William Holmes

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

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


Photo Credit: Premier Boxing Champions Twitter Account

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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PBC on Fox Preview: Quillin vs. Love, Alexander vs. Berto

Posted on 08/01/2018

By: Daniel Smith

This Saturday night, on August 4th, former welterweight world champs Andre Berto and Devon Alexander will mix it up within the square jungle in a 12-round main event. The undercard of the fight features former middleweight champ Peter Quillin vs. contender J’Leon Love in a super middleweight bout. The event takes place at the Nassau Coliseum in New York and will be televised live by FOX.

First and foremost, let’s sample the undercard before the main event.

Peter Quillin vs. J’Leon Love (Super Middleweight Division).

At thirty-five- years of age, the former WBO middleweight world champion, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin is chomping at the bit for another world title shot. A shot and prospect which he believes is potentially within touching distance.

However, he first needs to eradicate his opponent and younger contender, J’Leon Love, from a long line of rapacious super middleweight fighters within a rough, tough and dangerously competetive division.

Both Quillin and Love’s professional records are blemished with a loss and draw a piece, and both men will be more than prepared to rage against the tide and be dragged into deep waters; dissolving all strategic-game plans, scrapping it out in a brutal tear-up in order to advance to the next phase of their careers and compete at the top level for a super middleweight title.

Peter Quillin

Until 2015, Peter Quillin was ploughing his way through middleweight boxers, accumulating and notching up an impressive score of 23 knockouts on his professional record. However, since suffering a vicious first-round TKO at the fast-flurrying, lethal hands of Daniel Jacobs back in 2015, Quillin began re-scaffolding his boxing career, and in 2017, he fought for twelve rounds and earned a unanimous decision against Dashton Johnson.

Now, “Kid Chocolate” seems raring to go and ready to steamroll his way to victory against the (24-1-1) J’Leon Love. But can he achieve it? Can Quillin, at 35, return to the sport after a hefty 21 month lay off, only to come back in heavier weight class and present a challenge to the top, youthful, title-hungry super middleweight lions? Well, all will be revealed this commencing Saturday night, where a cracking night of boxing should be on the cards!

J’Leon Love

The former Olympian, sports a professional career of (24-1-1) – a fairly decent record with its sole defeat coming from a the Rogelio Medina fight, where a steely left hook rendered Love out by the eight count. However, this fight is a “must-win” if he is to be thrown into the blend of fighters that present a serious threat to the division’s reigning champions, Groves (WBA), Benavidez (WBC), Ramirez (WBO) and Uzcategui (IBF). If so, J’Leon needs to execute his game-plan with precision and effect; deploying and detonating with hard, clean-crisp punches and convincingly winning the bout to aid his ascending climb on the competitive super middleweight ladder.

This weekend, we’ll see if Love has the skill, determination and calibre to be regarded as a genuine contender that possess champion material.

The Main Event – Berto vs Alexander (Welterweight Division)

The main event will showcase Devon Alexander vs. Andre Berto. The former two-weight class, unified world champion, Devon Alexander – a man whose held the WBC and IBF light welterweight titles as well as the IBF welterweight belt, will trade leather against the two-time former welterweight world WBC, IBF and WBA champion, Andre Berto. Berto will clash with the No 4 ranked IBF, welterweight contender in a fight (if he’s successful) that will potentially hurl him back in contention with the division’s elite welterweight warriors.

Let’s take a preview and analysis of both men going into the bout.

Devon Alexander

Devon Alexander “The Great” (27-4-1) needs to be sharp and slick in this fight when utilising his solid three punch combinations. It’s clear that Alexander is capable and prepared to stand toe-to-toe and involve himself with terse and brutal, “fighting in a phone booth” slugfests – his battle against Ortiz springs to mind. However, “The Great” should get behind his jab, set traps and fire “in and out” with poised, venomous shots that rattle and breakdown his opponent.

With the No. 1 slot vacant for the IBF title, Alexander, absolutely needs to make this one count and do it in style, too if he’s to knock the top welterweight dogs from their championship spots.

Andre Berto

Andre “The Beast” Berto – with 36 fights, 31 wins and 5 losses in his repertoire; Berto should be licking his lips at the prospect of causing an upset by defeating the bookies favourite in this contest. If “The Beast” emerges victorious as the underdog going into the fight, then it would certainly raise his stock and add further spice to an already fiery division. But only time will tell.

For this fight, both men should prepare for vicious trades within an ugly, Gran Prix paced scrap that displays fast hands, rapid combinations and hard, solid punishing blows. Both fighters can’t afford to get caught cold and both need to be vigilant and wired-up, yet capable to dispatch a dynamite, powerhouse ferocity that explodes “at the ready.” Essentially, a convincing win is definitely required from one of the two boxers. But who wins and who goes away with second prize from a two horse race?

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Where’s the Love for Bud?

Posted on 09/12/2017

By: Kirk Jackson

Terence Crawford 32-0 (23 KO’s) became the first male fighter since Bernard Hopkins to become the unified, undisputed champion of a weight division, capturing the WBA and IBF junior welterweight titles as he knocked out the undefeated Julius Indongo in three rounds.


Photo Credit: Terence Crawford Facebook Account

Crawford joined an exclusive list of undefeated, undisputed champions, a list featuring the likes of Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, George Foreman, Jermain Taylor, Joe Frazier, Michael Spinks, Evander Holyfield and Cecelia Braekus.

It should be noted Cecelia Braekus holds all four belts at 147 lbs. and defended her titles numerous times since 2014.

Crawford already owned the WBO, WBC and Ring Magazine titles at 140 lbs., and his victory over Indongo further establishes Crawford as one of the best fighters in the sport; second only to the current unified, undefeated, light heavyweight champion Andre Ward 32-0 (16 KO’s).

Speaking of pound-for-pound fighters, Crawford and Ward were disrespected by ESPN’s Teddy Atlas.

During the post-fight interviews, Atlas discussed his top five pound-for-pound fighters and placed Vasyl Lomachenko 9-1 (7 KO’s) as his No.1 pound-for-pound fighter.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but how did Errol Spence rise to No. 5? I also didn’t know Spence was Cuban.

More importantly, no matter how spectacularly skilled one fighter is, how does so-called skilled fighter propel to the top position with only ten fights?

With one of those fights (against Orlando Salido) resulting in defeat.

Pound-for-pound rankings are supposed to be based on skills, performance, resume and accomplishments. It’s a collection of all four traits.

How one interprets skill based on the eye test can be subjective. Performance, resume and accomplishments are based on the level of opposition one faces and Crawford and Ward have Lomachenko beat in those categories.
Ward defeated Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham, Chad Dawson, Mikkel Kessler and Sergey Kovalev. At the time Ward defeated the aforementioned fighters, they were on the pound-for-pound lists and constants on the list.

Crawford virtually defeated every top fighter/champion at lightweight and super lightweight.
There is an argument from the Lomachenko contingent, stating it’s difficult to lure elite level fighters in the ring to face the Ukrainian star.

It’s difficult to argue elite fighters lacking the desire to face Lomachenko when we do not know the particulars of the negotiation process.

Even still his resume pales in comparison to Crawford or Ward. It’s not like there’s a pile of fighters, lining up to face Crawford or Ward either.

It’s important to note the risk vs. reward factor.

And of course we actually have a few guys taking aim at Lomachenko with Guillermo Rigondeaux and Mikey Garcia; two pound-for-pound level opponents who would certainly boost Lomachenko’s resume if he were to defeat them.

There is a contingent of observers, fans, writers, reporters, claiming to want toe-to-toe action inside the ring and watching the best fighters fight the best opposition available.

Crawford just bested the only other super lightweight in contention and displayed how large the gap is between him and everyone else at 140 lbs.

“Bud” also stopped the guy in three rounds. Prior to Indongo, Crawford mercilessly pummeled Felix Diaz across eleven rounds.

Five of his last seven fights have not gone the distance. This is what we want and expect from our elite guys right?

ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna threw a shot at Crawford immediately after his fight during the post-bout interview, suggesting the lack of importance of the sanctioning belts.

Since when did the sanctioning bodies and titles not important?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfaoIdGER3M

It can be argued the significance of the belts may have watered down a tad in this era of boxing, due to the politics of the sanctioning bodies, corrupt rankings, bribes, ridiculous sanctioning fees and the ability to label four or more champions per division because of the multiple and varying sanctioning bodies.

However, championships still matter. Ask any competitor across any sport. How many undisputed champions are there in history? How many undefeated, undisputed champions are there in history?

Is it a problem when unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin states he wants to chase and unify all of the belts?

Crawford jumped up to junior welterweight in April of 2015 and in two years’ time already unified the division as the undisputed champ.

In comparison, Golovkin held at least one version of the middleweight championship since 2010, but has yet to accomplish his goal of capturing all of the middleweight titles.

Another glaring issue is the lack of promotion for Crawford.

In a tweet since deleted from Crawford, he mentioned the lack of promotion for his fights and brand.

“Glad everyone seen and notice the difference between how ESPN promoted my fight compared to the other two fights before me,” tweeted from Crawford Aug 22.

He has a point. His stable mates Manny Pacquiao, Lomachenko, a few others appear to get promoted differently.

For Pacquiao at this point his name precedes him, as he is already a well-established, if not a dwindling star.

Recently retired Timothy Bradley dealt with the same issues as Crawford regarding the lack of promotion. The question is why?

Crawford did what most so-called boxing fans want him to do, faced the best opponent available, knocked out his opponent in impressive fashion and called out the big names afterwards.

He draws bigger crowds and has better viewership than some of his contemporaries on Top Rank as well.

ESPN reported the Top Rank Boxing telecast of Terence Crawford-Julius Indongo drew the second-highest boxing match on cable television in 2017.

Progressing forward, the goal for any fighter is to attain the biggest fights, earn greater pay days, collect more belts and potentially more fanfare.

There are fans claiming to like a fighter because he is “down to earth” or “humble” right? It’s why many fans are attracted to fighters like Golovkin, Roman Gonzalez and others. Fans also enjoy the aspect of Golovkin and Gonzalez are action-friendly, knock-out seeking fighters.

Gonzalez lost again and was knocked out in four rounds. Imagine the treatment Crawford would endure if the same happened to him.

But why aren’t fighters like Crawford, or Bradley rewarded with the same fanfare and promotion? They are humble and in the case of Crawford, he aims for the knock-out while skillfully dissecting his opponents.

The question to ask is, where is the promotion, where is the love?

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Why is Terence Crawford Getting No love For His Next Fight?

Posted on 05/13/2017

Why is Terence Crawford Getting No love For His Next Fight?
By: Matthew N. Becher

​We can all agree, Terence “Bud” Crawford (30-0 21KO) is one of the best fighters on the planet right now. He is a two division lineal champ, with impressive wins against the likes of Ricky Burns (in Scotland), Yuriorkis Gamboa (his first professional loss), Ray Beltran, Thomas Dulorme and Viktor Postol (also his first professional loss). Crawford is set to fight in the big room at the mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden next weekend, May 20th. Unfortunately, nobody even realizes that is happening.

Crawford_Beltran_141129_004a

​Seriously, the promotion for this fight is non-existent. The Ring Magazine, WBC &WBO Jr. welterweight champion. The guy who is arguably the best American fighter today, fighting on the biggest stage of his career and people have no idea this is even on the calendar. I live in New York, and I haven’t seen one poster, heard one radio ad, nothing. What is going on with Top Rank?

​Could it be his lesser known opponent that is the problem? Maybe, but probably not. Crawford fought guys like Dulorme and Hank Lundy and those seemed to have gotten more press then this fight against Felix Diaz. Is Felix Diaz unknown, sure, but he is a very good fighter. Diaz is a 2x Olympian who won the gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for his native Dominican Republic. He sports an impressive record of 19 wins with only 1 defeat (which was a majority decision to Lamont Peterson) and he sports victories over decent foes, such as Granados, Bracero, and Sammy Vasquez. I personally don’t expect Diaz to win, but I do expect him to come in and turn this fight into a brawl, make it ugly for Crawford.

​One week before the fight, this writer checked ticket prices on a well-known secondary market site and saw that you can get a seat for as little as $17.68. That is in the lower bowl, 100 level, section 111. That is a seat that would have been $250 for March’s fight between GGG and Jacobs. $17.68!?!?!?!? That is an insane price for a chance to see an Olympic Gold Medalist take on a top 3 pound for pound fighter. The undercard even has the east coast debut of future American star and Silver Medalist Shakur Stevenson.

​If anyone has the answer why Bud Crawford is getting no love, please let me know.

He is one of the sport’s most exciting fighters, he is a pleasure to watch. But for some reason, he is not getting the publicity that he needs and deserves.

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