Tag Archives: menard

Posted on 12/11/2016

Terence Crawford wins by 8th round TKO

By: Matthew N. Becher

Live from the Century Link Center in Omaha, Nebraska, HBO Sports presented a World Championship Boxing event. With an undercard consisting of major players in the Lightweight division, Mason Menard (32-1) will have to get through gatekeeper and former title contender Ray
Beltran (31-7-1).

The main event involves the Pride of Omaha, former fighter of the year and current pound for pound lister, Terence Crawford(29-0) againstheavy hitting John Molina Jr. (29-6). Molina,unfortunately, did not make the 140lb limit and will no longer be able to win Crawfords WBC/WBO/Ring titles.

Ray Beltran v. Mason Menard (Lightweight):

Both fighters put in a lot of heavy work early in the fight. Beltran fighting for the second time at the Century Link, his first being a decision loss to the champion, Terence Crawford. Neither guy knows how to fight going backwards and are looking to punish their opponent.

Beltran who has been in the ring with the likes of Lundy, Kim, Burns and was the former sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao, was not taking this fight lightly, coming out with a very intense style.

Menard, who is a fighter that is normally able to confuse and counter his opponents well, has been set to follow Beltran and cover up against the veteran Beltrans hard shots. Menard was able to land some tough punches in the early rounds and did earn some respect from Beltrans chin.

The pace of the first three rounds was frenetic to say the least. The fourth round showed both fighters pick and choose when they would start to throw
heavy hands. Beltran may have a slight lead, but Menard is definitely not backing down.

Beltran very much was the aggressor and used certain veteran techniques to make this a very very tough and uncomfortable fight. Midway through the fight Beltran was making it apparent that he was in control and would not leave Omaha as a loser again.

Menard showed heart, taking on a fighter with much more experience and power.

Unfortunatley, Beltran was not only the better fighter, but may have been on
his absolute A game.

In the seventh round a counter left hook was what it took for Ray Beltran to end the fight. Menard was clearly over his head, and Ray Beltran has once again
added his name to the list of top Lightweight Contenders.

Beltran KO7 :51

Terence Crawford v. John Molina Jr. (Jr. Welterweight):

Molina came into the ring not looking very good. He came in overweight and was limited in his rehydration clause…it absolutely showed. Terence Crawford came
to the ring as the Lineal and Unified Jr. Welterweight champion in front of his hometown, he started off quickly, sharp and could see the wounded opponent in front of him immediately.

Crawford landed a few big shots early then made Molina follow him around the ring , letting Molina run into a straight right. Molina’s only chance from the first round would be a lucky punch.

Crawford was just too sharp.

The best quote was by HBO announcers saying “Throw Caution to the Wind”, which is exactly what John Molina had to do. He landed his best shot in the 3rd round,
but also got carved up by the technician that is Bud Crawford.

This fight truly looked like a fighter from the 1950s taking on a top pound for pound fighter of today, which Crawford is. Molina was throwing wild punches and
rarely covered up. Crawford was able to work easy as a southpaw, which he switched to one minute into the first round, and picked Molina apart.

In the fifth round Molina was doing more of the same, following Crawford around the ring, running into punches. Crawford was content with being the untouched
fighter.

Molina lived up to his name, Warrior, but unfortunatley it was in a non competitive way. Crawford completed his win from pillar to post, never once for a moment
looking in any type of trouble. Crawford will throw his name into the mix for this years fighter of the year and retain his place on the pound for pound list. Is a showdown with the living legend Pacquiao next, we’ll see.

Crawford TKO8 2:32

Posted on 12/08/2016

HBO World Championship Boxing Preview: Parker vs. Ruiz, Beltran vs. Menard, Terence Crawford vs. John Molina
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night HBO and Top Rank Promotions will team up to televise three bouts from two different locations.

Terence Crawford will defend his WBO and WBC Junior Welterweight titles in the main event of the evening against John Molina live from Omaha, Nebraska. Additionally, lightweight contender Raymundo Beltran will compete against rising prospect Mason Menard as the co-main event of the Nebraska card.

It was also recently announced that Top Rank will promote Joseph Parker in the United States; and HBO has decided to show the WBO Heavyweight Title Bout between Parker and Ruiz on a same day tape delay from Auckland, New Zealand.

The following is a preview of all three televised bouts.

Joseph Parker (21-0) vs. Andy Ruiz (29-0); WBO Heavyweight Title

Joseph Parker will be fighting in his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand and will be the favorite coming into this bout.

He has already fought four times in 2016, and four of his past five fights have been by TKO/KO. He is twenty four years old and is three years younger than his opponent. He will also have a two inch height advantage and a two inch reach advantage on Ruiz. Ruiz has also been fairly active and has fought three times in 2016.

Joseph Parker has the heavier hands of the two boxers. He has stopped eighteen of his opponents, and four of his past five fights have ended by TKO/KO. Ruiz has stopped nineteen of his opponents, but only two of his past five opponents failed to go the distance.

They both have had moderate success as an amateur. Ruiz was a Mexican National Amateur Champion and Parker medaled in several international competitions as an amateur.

Parker has a slight edge in quality of opposition. He has defeated the likes of Alexander Dimitrenko, Carlos Takam, and Bowie Tupou. Ruiz has defeated the likes of an aged Ray Austin and Siarhei Liakhovich.

Ruiz is a good enough of a boxer to last all twelve rounds, but it will be extremely difficult for him to pull out a victory in Parker’s home country of New Zealand.

Raymundo Beltran (31-7-1) vs. Mason Menard (32-1); Lightweights

The opening bout of the night in Omaha, Nebraska will be between Ray Beltran and Mason Menard in the lightweight division.

Beltran is a former sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao and is a rugged, tough, durable opponent. He’s much better than his record suggests and is known for having excellent stamina.

However, Beltran is thirty five years old and will be seven years older than his opponent, Mason Menard. Beltran will have about a two inch height advantage and a one inch reach advantage.

Menard does have a slight edge in power. He has twenty four knockouts on his record while Beltran only has nineteen.

Menard became well known with some upset victories on national television, including wins over Bahodir Mamadjonov and Eudy Bernardo. But prior to those wins he faced mainly non-descript opponents and most of his bouts were in his home state of Louisiana.

Beltran has defeated the likes of Ivan Najera, Arash Usmanee, Ji-Hoon Kim, and Henry Lundy. He also has several losses, but most of them have come against good opposition. He has lost to the likes of Terence Crawford, Luis Ramos Jr., and Sharif Bogere.

Neither boxer was very active in the past two years. They both fought twice in 2016 and once in 2015. Neither boxer experienced a great deal of success on the international stage as an amateur.

Menard has surprised many with his two latest victories, but Beltran is a big step up in competition for him and isn’t past his prime yet. This should be a fight that Beltran wins through a hard fought decision.

Terence Crawford (29-0) vs. John Molina (29-6); WBO/WBC Junior Welterweight Titles

Terence Crawford is one of Top Rank Promotions’ biggest stars and has been a rumored opponent for Manny Pacquiao in the future.

Crawford regularly fights in Omaha and will have a nearly sold out venue cheering him on.

He’s twenty nine years old and is in the middle of his athletic prime. He’s four years younger than Molina, but will be giving up about two and a half inches in height as well as an inch in reach.

Crawford has been fairly active for a champion and fought twice in 2016 and twice in 2015. Molina has only fought once in 2016 and twice in 2015.

Crawford has twenty stoppage victories and three of his past five fights did not go the distance. Molina has twenty three stoppage wins, but has gone 3-3 in his past six fights.

Molina is always a dangerous fighter, and this was evident in his last upset victory over the hard hitting Provodnikov. He has also defeated the likes of Mickey Bey, Dannie Williams, and Henry Lundy. However, Molina also has an impressive list of opponents that he has lost to. These fighters include Antonio DeMarco, Andrey Klimov, Lucas Matthysse, Humberto Soto, and Adrien Broner.

Crawford has never been defeated and has been slowly increasing the level of competition that he faces in the ring. He has defeated the likes of Viktor Postol, Henry Lundy, Dierry Jean, Thomas Dulorme, Raymondo Beltran, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Ricky Burns, and Andre Klimov.

Crawford was also very successful as an amateur on the national level, and has even won a Police Athletic League Boxing Championship.

This is a fight that very few expect Crawford to lose. He’s a more technically skilled boxer than the last man that Molina beat and should be able to stop Molina.

Molina has been known for upsetting the apple cart from time to time, but Saturday is unlikely.

Posted on 04/16/2016

ShoBox Results: Young and Potapov Fight to a Draw, Bejenaru and Menard Victorious
By: William Holmes

Tonight’s edition of ShoBox The New Generation was broadcast live from the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. Three fights were broadcast tonight and several foreign fighters were featured.

The first fight of the night was between Constantin Bejenaru (10-0-1) and Alexey Zubov (10-0) in the cruiserweight division. Bejenaru had experience fighting in the heavyweight division, but was the shorter man in length and in height.

Both boxers spent most of the opening round feeling each other out, but Bejenaru was beginning to land some combinations as the round came to an end.

Bejenaru had a very strong second round as his straight left hands were landing cleanly at the end of combinations as well as lead right hooks. Bejenaru’s activity continued to dominate in the third round as he used his superior foot movement to bounce in and out and connect with quick combinations.

Bejenaru at times was too aggressive as he slipped often in this bout, including the third and fourth rounds, but Zubov had no answer and by the fifth round Bejenaru 48 punches dwarfed the meager sixteen punches that Zubov landed.

There was a lot of tying up in the sixth round and Zubov kept the round close. Zubov scored an unexpected knockdown in the seventh round when Bejenaru appeared to have been knocked down from a punch, but in actuality slipped.

Zubov needed a knockout in the final round but instead was warned for a rabbit punch. Zubov had no answer for the activity of Bejenaru.

The judges scored it 77-74, 78-73, and 78-73 for Constantin Bejenaru.

The next bout of the night was between Eduy Bernardo (21-0) and Mason Menard (30-1) in the lightweight division. Menard was giving up four inches in height and seven and a half inches in reach, and neither boxer had much experience fighting outside of their locale.

The first round was more of a feel out round as Bernardo solely threw his jab and Menard attempted to find his range with little significant offense from either side.

Menard picked up the pace in the second round and was able to land a hard right hook right cross combination that hurt Bernardo and followed it up with a head snapping uppercut. Bernardo looked close to going down in the second, but was able to survive.

Menard started off the third round patiently and bided his time before landing an eye opening right hand to the chin of Bernardo that knocked him out instantly.

The referee immediately waived off the fight as Mason Menard won by a stunning knockout at 2:11 of the third round.

The main event of the evening was between Nikolay Potapov (14-0) and Stephon Young (14-0) in the bantamweight division.

Potapov had only fought twice in 2013, 2014, and once in 2015, but his ring rust did not show inside the ring.

Both boxers spent most of the first round feeling each other out, with Potapov throwing and landing to the body while Young appeared to have the quicker rounds.

In the second round Potapov picked up the pace and was successful with his straight right hands to the body of Young. Young did not throw enough combinations in the third round and would only throw one punch at a time while Potapov stayed active with a variety of punches. Young however was able to stagger Potapov near the end of the third round with a crisp straight hand.

Young’s counter punching was slightly more effective in the fourth round and he nearly scored a knockdown with a three punch combination that caused Potapov to lose his balance, but the referee ruled it a slip.

Young maintained a high defensive guard in the fifth round and landed the harder shots despite the fact Potapov threw more punches. Young’s counter right hook was sharp in the sixth round and he dictated the action in the ring and moved Potapov where he wanted.

Young stepped off the gas pedal in the seventh round and Potapov’s activity may have stolen him the round. Young’s punches were short in the eighth round and Potapov looked like he caught a second wind and boxed decently from the outside.

Young’s corner told him he needed a knockout in the final two wins in order to win the fight, and he responded positively in the ninth round and had Potapov backing away from his power shots as the round came to an end.

The fight was likely close on the scorecards in the final round and both boxers had their moments, but Potapov likely won the final round solely based on the fact he looked to be the least tired boxer.

The judges scored it 96-94 Patapov, 95-95, and 95-95 making it a majority draw.