Tag Archives: welterweight

Posted on 11/18/2021

Terence “Bud” Crawford has set his sights on defeating Shawn Porter on Saturday night.  There’s no hate but mutual respect for their respective journeys. 

Crawford is relaxed, speaking to BoxingInsider.com on Wednesday ahead of a final press conference with Porter and their respective teams. Instead of responding to the standard resume/camp-related questions, Crawford shares his insights on his team and how proud he is of them. Additionally, he says negotiations for Saturday night’s fight were “fairly easy” and how he respects Porter’s stacked resume. 

BI: Something that I’ve always admired is the strong team surrounding you. What are you most proud of when you look at BoMac (trainer Brian Mcintyre), Red, and Esau?

TC: I’m just happy and proud that they can share this light here with me. It’s been a long, tough road to get to this point. And we all made it. And we all made huge sacrifices. And I’m just happy to be the one to bring them to this point.

BI: A lot of sacrifices, a lot of long nights go into coordinating fights negotiations? Was this an easy negotiation? 

TC: Negotiations were fairly easy far as I can remember. As far as Top Rank and PBC, I don’t know. But as far as my side, it was nothing.

BI: The narrative of the fight has been Shawn smothering aggressive style versus Bud’s, pure technical ability boxing abilities. Those are the discussions that people are having. What do you think people observe about your boxing style are equally as strong as your technical ability?

TC: I think by now, and everybody knows that I’m strong, I can punch, I can box, I can bang, I can brawl. So, I think it’s out there now. And I think that’s something that a lot of people know now.

BI: I’ve admired the mutual respect you both have for each other. When I talked to Shawn before, he admired how you completely dominated your opponents in previous fights. There’s never been a victory of yours where it was close. What is something about Sean’s victories that you’ve admired?

TC: Well, you know, me and Shawn are two guys that are students of the game. I admire the fights he has won, you know, in the fashion he has won in it. Being that he fought his fight. No, he got his opponents off their name, and he did what he had to do to rattle them and get in their head to force a clean-cut victory in most cases. For others, it was close. 

Sometimes you get the nod, and sometimes you don’t. But, you know, those are the things that I admire from Shawn Porter because he always kept his head high. He never let that get to him or, you know, make him less of a fighter.

BI:  What are some narratives that you hear that you wish would die about you, your career, or anything?

TC: You know me. I don’t care what type of narrative they say about me or how they view me. Because they gon keep talking about you regardless. So, it’s not my job to care or follow behind what the next person is saying about me.

BI: Lastly, I saw a video going around the internet from a party you had in Omaha. Everybody was dancing in the street, and you’re getting down. Does boxing make you a better dancer? Does dancing make you a better boxer?

TC: [laugh] I think both.

Posted on 10/03/2019

By: Hans Themistode

It was the test that everyone wanted to see for Errol Spence Jr (26-0, 21 KOs).

Former WBC Welterweight champion Shawn Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) was viewed as a great fighter, but one that stood little to no chance against the now unified champion out of Desoto, Texas. Porter has always been a rough and rugged fighter, but he generally lacked the skill and poise to truly challenge Spence.

On Saturday night in front of a packed house in Staples Center, in Los Angeles California, Porter proved that just wasn’t the case.

It’s true that Porter is an over aggressive fighter with a penchant for getting into fire fights. Porter has also been known as a fighter who comes up short during his biggest moments. He failed his first test when he picked up the first loss of his career against Kell Brook back in 2014 by majority decision which resulted in him losing his IBF world title. Two years later he would lose another big fight, this time at the hands of former unified champion Keith Thurman.

For all of his short comings and awkward fighting style, Porter wasn’t given a fair chance by the media or the fans. Too often was the losses of Porter highlighted as opposed to the big wins he managed to pick up over the years. Amongst those wins were names such as Adrien Broner, Andre Berto and perhaps his biggest of them all, Danny Garcia.

Porter was adamant during the build up of this contest that he would prove his doubters wrong. “We’re looking forward to shocking the world on the 28th,” said Porter.

He did exactly that as both he and Spence went to war for 12 rounds this past weekend at the Staples Center. Spence would ultimately prevail but it wasn’t nearly as easy as the first 25 contest of his career had been.

For the first time in the career of Spence, he was in a real fight. The undefeated unified Welterweight champion had long grown accustomed to having his way in the ring. When he landed a flush shot on his opponents, they would fall, but not Porter. He kept coming all night long and forced Spence to dig deep.

It was the sort of fight that everyone wanted to see as it answered a ton of questions.

For Porter, even in defeat he proved that he is amongst the best in the division. No longer will he be underestimated going forward. His ability to take and give huge shots all night long was remarkable. As for Spence, he now holds two belts in the Welterweight division and solidified himself as one of the best fighters in the world and the best in the division. Or did he?

With big names such as Manny Pacquiao, Keith Thurman and Terence Crawford still lurking, Spence’s quest to become the best in his weight class is far from over. The easy ride he once had is now over. He has officially reached the elite of the weight class. He will now be pushed like never before. At one point in his career, Spence spent much of his time calling out the top names in the division. Now, they are all in line waiting their turn to knock him off.

Immediately following his unification victory, two weight world champion Danny Garcia stepped into the ring and proclaimed to the world that he wanted next. To the delight of Spence he happily accepted.

“My have the tables turned,” said Spence in regards to Garcia’s challenge. “You line them up and I’m a knock them down”

Spence will have his hands full going forward but he wouldn’t want things any other way. He has officially made his mark as the best Welterweight in the world, but who knows how long that title will last.

Posted on 09/28/2019

By: Hans Themistode

The Welterweight division is in a great place. It’s been a long time since so many amazing fighters have resided in the division at one time.

All-time great fighters who have fought in this division such as Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley have all at one point or another been considered the best in their weight class.

Who amongst this new group of fighters can successfully lay claim to that notion?

Danny Garcia is a two weight world champion and undoubtedly one of the best Welterweights out there. His two losses however, came at the hands of both Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, so that would seemingly knock him out of the race for the best in the division. How about the aforementioned Keith Thurman? He does own wins over Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter but his most recent loss to Manny Pacquiao coupled with his lack of activity has cast doubts.

Manny Pacquiao is a viable name to mention as the best in the division. At 40 years of age, he picked up two huge wins this year. Back in January at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Pacquiao easily outpointed the much younger Adrien Broner. He would return to the same venue just a few months later in July against Keith Thurman, where he dropped and outpointed him in a close matchup. Still, even with those impressive wins under his belt, he would have a hard time dealing with the two men who are facing off in a unification contest this Saturday night.

IBF champ Errol Spence Jr and WBC belt holder Shawn Porter will collide at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles California.

This contest isn’t just to decide who will become a unified champion in the division but it will also allow the winner to hold a strong claim as the best Welterweight in the world.

Holding two belts simultaneously will be one heck of a feather in the cap of either one of these fighters. Throughout the entire career of Porter he has done nothing but fight the best. The same goes for Spence as well. Both are extremely skilled and ready to put their talents on full display. Who could argue against the winner being considered the best? Almost no one. The keyword is almost.

There is a forgotten man in the division. One that doesn’t get much attention or hype.

WBO champion Terence Crawford is arguably the best fighter in the world. At the current moment he is currently signed with Bob Arum and Top Rank so he isn’t afforded the opportunity to face the best fighters out there. When he does step into the ring, he provides nothing but fireworks. His greatness is undeniable and his skill set is almost unmatched.

Currently, he is scheduled to return to the ring sometime in December. His opponent is unknown, but don’t expect him to face a noticeable name. It is hard to deny the talent of Crawford but it is even harder to deny that the winner between Shawn Porter and Errol Spence Jr will rightly be considered the best Welterweight in the world. With two titles wrapped around their waist, it would be hard to argue otherwise.

Terence Crawford, Manny Pacquiao and the rest of the great Welterweights in the division have plenty of time to make their case as the best, but they need to act fast. The number one Welterweight in the world will be crowned this Saturday night.

Posted on 05/29/2019

By: Jonah Dylan

Keith Thurman and Manny Pacquiao have been promoting their July 20 welterweight world title fight this week, so, understandably, they’ve been trying to say stuff that’ll get picked up in the mainstream media. When Thurman (29-0, 22 Kos) was asked if he’d fight again this year, he had an interesting response.

“No sir, no sir,” he said. “We get this job done, shoot, we’ve gotta relax.”

It’s a concerning comment from a guy who’s been infamously inactive over the last two years. After he won a split decision over Danny Garcia in March 2017 to unify two titles, he didn’t fight again for 22 months before he returned with a shaky majority decision win over Josesito Lopez in January. Seeing him turnaround relatively quick for the Pacquiao fight was a good sign, but not if he doesn’t stay active after it.

This isn’t to write Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs) off, either. Obviously the guy is one of the greatest fighters of all time and still looks like a good fighter, even if he’s clearly not the fighter he once was. It’s very possible he could beat Thurman, especially considering the trouble Lopez – not considered a top-flight contender – gave him back in January.

In some sense, this fight is a no-win scenario for Thurman. If he wins, well, he just beat a 40-year-old guy whose career is on its last legs. If he loses, he just lost to a guy who no one thinks is in the same league as Terence Crawford or Errol Spence, and realistically Thurman would have a lot more work to do to rehabilitate his image as the best welterweight in the world.

It’s easy to forget, but it wasn’t that long ago that everyone had Thurman as their top guy in the division. Then Spence (25-0, 21 KOs) burst onto the scene when he knocked out Kell Brook to win a piece of the welterweight title and suddenly became arguably the most avoided fighter in the division. A couple months later, Crawford vacated his undisputed super lightweight crown to enter the mix and later won a world title in his first fight at 147 pounds.

Without fighting, Thurman went from being the No. 1 guy in the division to someone who isn’t even a real part of the conversation. Pacquiao probably picked him due in no small part to how beatable he looked against Lopez, and the fact that he doesn’t look nearly as dangerous as Spence in terms of his power (“One Time” nickname aside).

The fight everyone wants to see is Spence against Crawford, but that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Spence against Shawn Porter – a guy Thurman already beat – makes sense, and it’ll give Spence more leverage when he’s ready to actually negotiate with Crawford. The fight is also reportedly already in the works for late summer or early fall.

After that, Spence could opt to fight the Thurman-Pacquiao winner to get another belt (and continue #StrapSzn, as he says). Or he could fight Garcia, or Yordenis Ugas, or Sergey Lipenets, all solid welterweights under the PBC banner. Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs) has no one to fight, and as time goes on, he needs Spence more and more.

But this is where Thurman could come back into the picture. Let’s say he beats Pacquiao, and Spence takes out Porter and unifies titles. The next obvious fight would be Thurman against Spence, but if Thurman really doesn’t want the Spence fight, he could actually circumvent the whole process and try to get the Crawford fight for himself. Think about it: Top Rank is going to be desperate for Crawford opponents, and Thurman (especially an undefeated Thurman with a belt) would be a good one. They want one of the PBC welterweights, and he fits the bill.

Thurman could make a lot of money to go fight Crawford. This time, it’d be a win-win scenario. If he wins, he just went to the other side of the street and took down arguably the best fighter in the world. If he loses, he can say he was the one who was truly willing to fight anyone, not Spence. It would also justify his layoff if he actually fought top-level opposition in the near future. As an added bonus for fans, Crawford and Spence would both have two belts and that fight would be even more appealing.

This is still unlikely, for a number of reasons. For one, there’s no indication that Al Haymon is going to send any of his welterweights to fight Crawford. If he did, it probably wouldn’t be Thurman. But who knows?

Thurman needs to build himself back up, and he needs to do that with consistent activity, not against B-level guys but against the best the 147-pound division has to offer.

Posted on 03/12/2019

By: Ken Hissner

The Welterweight division is known to possibly be the most competitive with their five world champions. Hopefully in the near future they will fight one another to see who the “Real World Welterweight Champion Is”.

The most well- known is southpaw Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, 61-7-2 (39), of General Santos City, PH, who won his first world title back in December of 1998 though behind on points going into the eighth round. In that eighth round he knocked out Chatchai Sasakul, 32-1-1, of TH at the Tonsuk College Ground, Phuttamonthon, in TH, for the WBC World Flyweight Title.

“Pac Man” is a six division world champion. In his last defense of his WBA World Title he defeated former champ Adrien “The Problem” Broner, 33-3-1, at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV, in January.
Keith “One Time” Thurman, 29-0 (22), defended his WBA Super World Title in January winning a majority decision over Josesito Lopez, 36-7, at the Barclay Center, Brooklyn, NY. It was his first fight since March of 2017 when he won a unification bout over WBC champ Danny “Swift” Garcia, 33-0, at the Barclay Center but had the WBC vacated due to the layoff.

“One Time” defeated current WBC World Champ Shawn “Showtime” Porter, in June of 2016, at the Barclay Center. “Showtime” is now 30-2-1 (17), having won a split decision over Yordenis Ugas, 23-3, this past weekend in Carson, CA. This writer felt Porter won 120-108. There is no reason for a rematch. Since losing to “One Time” he has won four straight bouts and the WBC Title from Garcia in September of 2018, at the Barclay Center.

This Saturday the IBF World champion Errol “The Truth” Spence, Jr. 24-0 (21), of Desoto, TX, will defend his title against WBC World Lightweight champ Mikey Garcia, 39-0 (30), at the AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX. In “The Truth’s” last bout he knocked out Carlos Ocampo, 22-0, of MEX, in the first round in Frisco, TX. Garcia last fought in July of 2018 defeating Robert Easter, Jr., 24-0, at the Staples Center, in L.A.
The WBO World champ is 3-division world champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, 34-0 (25), of Omaha, NEB. He has an upcoming defense against former world champ Amir Kahn, 33-4, at Madison Square Garden, NYC, on April 20th. In “Bud’s” last fight he stopped Jose Benavidez, Jr., 27-0, in Omaha, in the twelfth and final round.

The five world champions do not have a unification bout scheduled at this time. Only Spence and Crawford have scheduled bouts. Crawford is promoted by Top Rank, Spence and Thurman by Golden Boy, Pacquiao by his own MP Promotions and Porter by TGB in his recent fight.

Most boxing authorities would probably say Crawford is the best. Thurman has proven to be the best prior to his layoff by many. Never bet against Pacquiao, and Spence is the future if he gets by Garcia. Porter is a long shot being the best but you never know.

Who do you think is the best welterweight Champ in the World?

Posted on 10/17/2018

By: Kirk Jackson

Terence “Bud” Crawford 34-0 (25 KO’s) successfully defended his WBO welterweight title over the weekend, stopping the Jose Benavidez 27-1 (18 KO’s) with a series of blistering right hands, to remain undefeated and on top of the pound-for-pound standings.
Heading into the fight, Benavidez questioned if Crawford was a special fighter. In spite of the overall-effective outcome and exhilarating knock-out finish, Crawford drew criticism from some observers watching the fight on ESPN.
​

No shade I don’t see nothing special about Crawford

— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) October 14, 2018

Current WBA junior lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis is not shy when offering his opinion on fellow contemporaries nor is he bashful regarding his boxing abilities.

I’m all around better fighter than bud https://t.co/10augIlTkt

— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) October 14, 2018

The criticism from Davis or other spectators is fine with Crawford. Doubt only serves as additional fuel for Crawford to sustain the level of excellence exhibited during his professional career. A level of excellence, leading to 34 victories, seven world titles across three weight divisions and the distinction as one of boxing’s best fighters contrary to the belief to some of his contemporaries.

@Gervontaa 🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫

— Terence Crawford (@budcrawford402) October 15, 2018

Regarding Crawford’s recent performance, was it his best to date? No, but not a bad performance everything considered.

Benavidez lacks the mainstream notoriety, but he may actually be underrated. He is the youngest Golden Gloves champion at 16, sparred with Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley, Shane Mosley and Amir Khan – all world champions and all before he turned 18.

Predicting and comparing the fighters on paper, Crawford was regarded as the more skilled fighter with the superior resume heading into the match-up. Obviously Crawford is regarded as a Tier A fighter and many thought of Benavidez as a grade below.

However, Benavidez is the bigger fighter, larger man, standing slightly over 6’0” and having competed above the welterweight limit. A sentiment echoed by the Mayweather family is “Skills pay the bills,” but size matters in boxing.

There are legitimate questions surrounding Crawford’s size in the division. The bout against Benavidez was his second fight at 147 lbs., while his first was against much larger specimen Jeff Horn.

In the past Benavidez competed at 154 pounds. The size difference regarding height was obvious as Benavidez held a four-inch height advantage.

The characteristic a special fighter displays while faced with physical disadvantages is the ability to use the most important muscle, the brain. Crawford used his high boxing IQ and his physical advantages of hand and foot speed to offset the size disadvantage.

The physical part of Crawford’s excellence was changing levels, providing different looks with his lateral movement, occasionally switching stances, probing with his jab to measure and establish proper punching distance, properly positioning his lead right foot outside of Benavidez’s lead left foot and consistently delivering hard shots to the body. Crawford’s endurance was excellence as he never appeared tired.

The mental aspect of Crawford’s brilliance was the ability to adjust to whatever Benavidez threw at Crawford, along with maintaining discipline to fight the proper fight and not over commit on punches in spite of the emotional trash talk and hostility between camps.

One performance good or bad does not define a fighter, albeit this was a good performance from Bud.

Contrary to criticism from Davis, it’s hard to question Crawford’s greatness; especially as he has often drawn legit comparisons to Marvin Hagler and Pernell Whitaker respectively.

The question will be if Crawford can secure bigger fights against the elite names of the division. Names such as Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Errol Spence.

The problem often discussed in recent months is the varying networks and promoters for these fighters. Crawford is with Bob Arum under Top Rank Promotions finding on ESPN, while Thurman, Spence, Garcia or any other elite welterweight is with Al Haymon fighting across different networks.

Crawford wants these fights, Arum says he ready to make these fights, but that remains to be witnessed.

“Al Haymon and Bob could sit down and talk to each other about it,” Crawford explained. “That’s it. I want all them [welterweight champions]. I’ve been saying it. How bad do you want me to say something over and over and over. I said what I said and that’s it.”

If these fights manifest, we’ll find out if Crawford can utilize his unique abilities and emerge victorious once the dust settles.

Posted on 10/05/2018

By: Rich Mancuso

Undefeated Jose Benavidez Jr. is the next opponent for Terence Crawford next Saturday evening at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Crawford, the three-division world champion, will defend his WBO Welterweight title for the second time. But this is not the opponent he wants in a fight that will be televised on the ESPN platforms.

Don’t get this wrong. Crawford, not one to stir the pot, is honored that Benavidez took this fight. And the home crowd will be thrilled to see their champion again. Many consider him to be either number one or two in the pound-for-pound discussion.

Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Not to overlook Benavidez, Crawford is very content with the promotional deal he has with Top Rank. However, in a Thursday afternoon conference call with media the names of champions such as Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Errol Spence Jr. came into the discussion. These are some of the elite fighters in the 147-pound division along with some others.

The welterweight division is the talk of boxing. Spence Jr. is known as the elite champion and always a target. With that in mind, where does Terence Crawford stand in the mix of all this? He is with Top Rank, the others with PBC and their platforms of Showtime and Fox.

“Spence, Porter, Thurman, those are the only champions,” Crawford said. “ I don’t look at the WBC Silver interim belts . I look at the actual champion in the division.”

So this is a matter, first of Crawford getting past Benavidez Jr. and then the talk about a mega fight with Spence Jr. who holds the IBF title. The issue is logistics with two major platforms of promoters and networks putting their differences aside and giving fight fans what they want.

Crawford has Top Rank in the corner. The ESPN deal with his promoter is strong and delivering what boxing fans and the sport desire. The Crawford camp is content but as everyone is aware, this is a business.

The talk has to be done at the table, and very similar to the deal that was made when Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. got in the ring three years ago. Brian McIntyre, manager and trainer for Crawford wants the elite fights to be made. He made his case on the conference call.

“We want after the champions, man,” McIntyre said. “There is no reason to be fighting a No. 6 dude or a No. 7 dude. Terence wants the best fighters out there at 147.”

Top Rank president Todd duBoef was also on the conference call. McIntyre is seeking the best for his fighter and said the heat is on with Top Rank and all for the best involved.

“We’ll put the heat on him,” he said. He’s the one who makes the fights happen. He could go to ESPN and make those fights happen. Terence wants the fights to happen. Let’s go. The only fights out there is the other champions.”

They don’t want a number 7 or 8 fighter in the division, because this is about the elite fighters at 147.

To that, duBoef said, “We have said this regardless of your affiliation, we don’t care what you are ,what you do, Terence is an elite fighter. in fact elite fight, all they talk is about Terence. “We’ve done the biggest fights with all the complications. We’ve done the biggest with no complications”

But there are always complications. Venues, purse, and how two networks that are in competition can co-exist. A response from the PBC was unavailable when reached for comment.

“We’re gonna go after all those guys,” duBoef said. “We’re not allowing anything, no politics, no nothing, to get in the way. They wanna do it, we wanna do it, let’s just get it done. We’ll figure out a solution.”

Crawford, on the other hand, avoids this discussion about fighting the elite champions. He is focused on this fight next weekend and when it comes to consideration about being the Number 1 pound-for-pound, he just goes about his business. He wants to take on opponents and bypass the talk of Top 10 fighter or who is Number 1 or 2.

“Some people rate me number 1 some people rate me number 2,” Crawford said. “I can’t complain some people rate me number 2. Don’t pay attention. My main attention is Benavidez. I’m focused and ready to go next week. Keep winning in tremendous fashion.”

He added: “ I never predict a knockout. I just go in there if I see a chance for a knockout I’ll go for it. All i do is go in there and get the win. I believe he is going to come out and try and make it a fight and if he does do it we have a game plan for that as well.

However, this could be the tune-up fight towards the next one. There is time for the respective promotions and networks to stage an eventual Crawford and Spence Jr. title fight.

“Still growing up in this division,” Crawford said. “Not looking to move up. Great relationship with Top Rank. We build a lot of great memories together and built me up to where I am now. Takes me wherever I want to go.”

Benavidez Jr. sought this fight and there was no hesitation. Because Terence Crawford never ducks an opponent, and in boxing you take the opportunity as there is always a chance to pull off the unexpected. And by all means, the height and reach is something to look at with that undefeated record coming in against the champion.

But we all know, this fight is all about Terence Crawford. It’s about getting to the elite and opposing Errol Spence Jr. and soon.

Comment: Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso Twitter@Ring786

Posted on 09/06/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Former IBF World Welterweight Champion Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron has announced his retirement per Marshall Kauffman of King’s Promotions out of Reading, PA.

At the age of 38 Cintron’s last fight didn’t end as well as he would have liked. On February 13th of 2018 he was matched against upcoming Houston prospect Marquis Taylor, 8-1, at the Bethlehem Sands Event Center in Bethlehem, PA, on a King’s Promotions show. Cintron due to an accidental head butt had a bad cut above right eye. The ring physician refused to allow the contest to continue.

It was not the first cut Cintron has received during his 39-6-3 and 1nc record with 30 knockouts. It was at least the sixth time he has had cuts over both eyes. He has been known as a hard puncher which his 30 knockouts in 39 wins shows.

Considering Cintron didn’t get into boxing until he was 19 after being a high school wrestler after moving to PA from Carolina, PR. He was 24-4 with 17 knockouts as an amateur.

Kauffman was his fist trainer. Then Kronk’s Manny Steward, Ronnie Shields and ending with Joe Pastore. Cintron won the vacant IBF World title on October 28th in 2006 stopping Mark “Poison” Suarez, 25-2, at the Convention Center in Palm Beach, FL, in the 6th round. Cintron stopped David Estrada, 18-2, in a title eliminator in the 10th round for the No. 2 spot. Suarez had won a title eliminator in his previous fight stopping James Webb, 18-0, in the first round for the No. 1 spot.

Cintron defended his title twice successfully. First against Argentina’s Walter “El Terrible” Matthysse, 26-1, scoring a second round knockout in Atlantic City, NJ, in July of 2007. In November he stopped Jesse “El Rayo” Feliciano, 15-5-3, in the 10th round being well ahead in the scoring at time of the stoppage. Afterwards Cintron went to the hospital with a possible fractured right hand or wrist.

In Cintron’s third defense he lost his title by a knockout to the same boxer he lost his first fight. Cintron had won his first 24 fights before losing to Antonio “El Tornado de Tijuana” Margarito in Las Vegas in the fifth round for the latter’s WBO World Welterweight title then lost his IBF title to Margarito.

Before the year was out Cintron bounced back winning a solid 12 round decision over the former IBF World Super Lightweight champion South Africa’s Lovemore Ndou, 46-10-1, fighting out of Australia. He would follow this bout up with future world champion Sergio Martinez, 44-1-1, for the interim WBC World Super Welterweight Title. The fight would end up in a majority draw. Martinez would later win both the WBO and WBC Middleweight titles. His only loss going into the Cintron fight was to no other than Margarito.

When there was no rematch with Martinez Cintron’s next fight was a WBC Light Middleweight Title eliminator where he defeated tough Mexican Alfredo “Perro” Angulo, 15-0, over 12 rounds. Cintron was snubbed even though he won this eliminator to fight for the title.

Two fights later Cintron took on Paul “Punisher” Williams, 38-1, in May of 2010, losing by TD in the fourth round due to a severe back pain. He would split in his next two fights and got a title fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 38-0-1, for his WBC World Super Welterweight Title getting stopped in the fifth round. You can’t say Cintron was afraid to take on anyone.

Cintron was inactive for 16 months before returning to action with a split decision draw with Adrian Granados, 11-2-1, in March of 2013. After defeating Jonathan Batista, 14-1, Cintron was able to return to nearby Ready for the first time in almost eleven years at the Sands in Bethlehem, PA. In a solid 10 round bout and probably the most in attendance this writer has seen at that site he defeated Bethlehem’s Ronald Cruz, 20-2.

After six straight wins Cintron in March of 2017 he ended up in a TD draw in the fifth round due to an accidental head butt against David “Day-Day” Grayton, 15-1, at the Reading Santander Arena. Cintron suffered a cut right eye.

In June in one of the most explosive fights at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia for the vacant USA PA State Super Welterweight Title Cintron had Philly’s Tyrone “Young Gun” Brunson, 24-6-2, with 22 ko’s, down twice in the fourth round. In the next round Cintron went into end it when the hard hitting Brunson caught him coming in dropping Cintron three times ending the “Philly War!”

That was Cintron’s next to last fight before meeting Taylor in his final career bout. Cintron was very popular in the Reading area being a former champion with a solid knockout punch. Forty of his forty-nine opponents had winning records.

Former well known box man from the Reading, PA, area Rich Ormsbee worked Cintron’s corner as his cut man in early and later fights. He had this to say:

The biggest mistake his training people made is letting him be a nice guy in the fight. He was one of the hardest punching welterweights in his era, but he was too kind to his opponents. Jeff Jowett (writer) was responsible for his nickname “killer” but that didn’t fit. There is a big difference between boxing and fighting, but someone has to show the boxer also how to fight, and Kermit was never taught that. Kermit could have been one of the greatest welterweights of all-time if he only had been meaner. Even in his sparring matches, it always seemed like he was worried that he would hurt someone. There is nothing wrong with being a nice guy, but not in the “fight”. Also, I have never heard Kermit utter a bad word about anyone. He was and still is a truly nice guy.

Posted on 07/09/2018

By: Ken Hissner

The welterweight division is packed with talented boxers and mentioned as the toughest division in boxing. The WBA Super World champion is Keith “One Time” Thurman, 28-0 (22), of Clearwater, FL, who lost the WBC title due to inactivity. He defeated Shawn “Showtime” Porter, 28-2-1 (17), of Las Vegas, NV, in June of 2016, and Garcia in his last bout and is scheduled to fight on August 4th at the Barclay Center in NY, with an opponent yet named. Since his top two contenders are scheduled it may be No. 3 Jamal “Shango” James, 23-1 (10), of Minneapolis, MN. He last fought in April defeating Abel Ramos, 18-2-2. His only loss was to the Cuban Ugas.

Thurman in his last bout some fifteen months ago by split decision defeated WBC champion Danny “Swift” Garcia, 33-0, at the Barclay Center, in Brooklyn, NY. Porter won the WBC Silver title in November 2017. He entered the ring over the weekend barking at Garcia who had just defeated Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, 34-4-1 (25). Porter had to be escorted out of the ring. He and Garcia will fight!

Former champion Kell Brook, 37-2 (26), lost to Errol “The Truth” Spence, Jr., 24-0 (21), in May of 2017 and rebounded defeating Siarhei Rabchanka, 29-2, of Belarus. Spence of DeSoto, TX, who in his second defense on June 16th in Dallas, TX, knocked out No. 1 contender Mexico’s Carlos Ocampo, 22-0, in the first round, who was his mandatory. Brook is rumored to fight fellow UK and former champion No. 9 WBC Amir “King” Khan, 32-4 (20), who in April stopped Phil Lo Greco, 28-3.

Lucas “La Maquina,” Matthysse, 39-4 (36), of Argentina won the WBA World title stopping Tewa Kiram, 38-1, of Thailand, in January. He is now scheduled to meet former champion Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, 59-7-2 (38), on July 15th. “Pac Man” hasn’t fought since losing a highly disputed decision to Jeff Horn in July of 2017.

Speaking of Horn, he was defeated by former unified super lightweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, 33-0 (24), in June stopping him in the 9th round. He is scheduled to return home to Omaha, NEB, in October to defend his title. Custio Clayton, 15-0 (10), of Montreal, Canada, is his No. 1 contender.

Garcia, 34-1 (20), of Philadelphia, PA, lost his WBC title to Thurman in March of 2017. He just had his first fight since then stopping the former WBA Lightweight champion Brandon Rios, 34-4-1, this past weekend. Garcia was asked afterwards if he wanted a rematch with Thurman and he said “that’s up to him.” Garcia is No. 1 in the WBC and will meet No. 2 the former champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter, 28-2-1 (17), for the vacant title. Porter hasn’t fought since November.

Pacquiao is ranked No. 1 in the WBA. Cuban Yordenis Ugas, 22-3 (11), of Miami, FL, who is No. 2 in the IBF with the top spot vacant stopped “The New” Ray Robinson, 24-3, of Philadelphia, PA, in June to earn that ranking. He may be the next opponent for Spence.

Jesse “The Pride of Las Vegas” Vargas, 28-2-1 (10), of Las Vegas, NV, is No. 2 in the WBA, No. 3 in the WBC and WBO. He lost to Pacquiao in November of 2016. In April he drew with former champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner, 33-3-1, of Cincinnati, now No. 4 in the WBO.

So, as you can see there are plenty of possible matches to be made. Though Thurman was the man to beat he has been idle and coming off an injury. So now the main fight fans want is “when do Spence and Crawford meet?” Don’t be in a hurry to see this one for there will be a big build-up for that one!

Posted on 02/20/2018

By: Ken Hissner

The welterweight division is packed with talented boxers and mentioned as the toughest division in boxing. The WBA Super World and WBC champion is Keith “One Time” Thurman, 28-0 (22), of Clearwater, FL, who defeated Shawn “Showtime” Porter, 28-2-1 (17), of Las Vegas, NV, in June of 2016. Thurman is scheduled to defend his title May 19th at the Barclay Center, in Brooklyn, NY, with an opponent to be named. Thurman hasn’t fought since March of 2017. Porter won the WBC Silver title in November 2017. He also lost to Kell Brook, of the UK. He entered the ring over the weekend barking at Garcia who had just defeated Brandon Rios. He had to be escorted out of the ring.

Devon Alexander “The Great”, 27-4-1 (14), of St. Louis lost his IBF title to Porter in December of 2013. He drew with the former WBC champion Victor Ortiz, 32-6-3 (25), of Ventura, CA, this past weekend and was robbed. Porter lost it to Kell Brook, of the UK, in August of 2014. Brook lost it to Errol Spence, Jr. in May of 2017 and hasn’t fought since and dropped out of the ratings. Spence still holds the title and is 23-0 (20), of DeSoto, TX, and in his once defense he stopped Lamont Peterson, 35-4-1, in January of 2018 who is no longer in the ratings. Spence is scheduled to defend his title on June 16th in Dallas, TX, with an opponent to be announced.

Lucas “La Maquina,” Matthysse, 39-4 (36), of Argentina won the WBA World title stopping Tewa Kiram, 38-1, of Thailand, in January of 2018, and Kiram is no longer in the ratings. Matthysse lost to Danny “Swift” Garica in 2013 at Super Lightweight.

Garcia, 34-1 (17), of Philadelphia, PA, lost his WBC title to Thurman in March of 2017. He just had his first fight since then stopping the former WBA Lightweight champion Brandon Rios, 34-4-1, this past weekend. Garcia was asked afterwards if he wanted a rematch with Thurman and he said “that’s up to him.” Garcia is No. 2 in the WBC and No. 1 in the WBA.

The WBO champion is Australia’s Jeff “The Hornet” Horn, 18-0-1 (12), who won the title on a gift decision over former world champion Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, 59-7-2 (38), of the Philippines in July of 2017. Horn must fight his No. 1 contender Terence “Bud” Crawford, 32-0 (23), of Omaha, NEB, who held the four organization title at Super Lightweight and is having his first welterweight fight. That is scheduled for April 14th in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is ranked No. 3 by the WBC and No. 2 by both the WBA and WBO. He is scheduled to fight Mike Alvarado, 38-4 (26), of Thornton, CO, April 14th in Las Vegas. The IBF’s No. 1 and No. 2 slots are vacant. Cuban Yordenis Ugas, 21-3 (10), of Miami, FL, who is No. 14 and stopped No. 11 “The New” Ray Robinson, 24-3, of Philadelphia, PA, over the weekend with the winner promised the No. 2 spot.

The No. 3 spot in the IBF is held by Carlos “Chema” Ocampo, 22-0 (13), of Baja CA, Mexico, who has never fought outside of Mexico. He has not defeated anyone of record but still has that high rating. Either Ugas or Ocampo may get that title shot at Spence.

Jesse “The Pride of Las Vegas” Vargas, 28-2 (10), of Las Vegas, NV, is No. 3 in the WBA and No. 4 in both the WBC and IBF. He lost to Pacquiao in November of 2016. Vargas outgrew his WBA Super Lightweight title after his November 2014 defense and has gone 2-2 since.

The UK’s British champion Bradley Skeete, 27-1 (12), is the WBO No. 3 and IBF No. 5 contender. He hasn’t fought since July of 2017. Another unbeaten contender is Russia’s Konstantin Ponomarev, 32-0 (13), living in Big Bear, CA, ranked No. 9 in the IBF and No. 8 in the WBC.

So, to summarize the situation in the welterweight division both WBC and WBA champion Thurman and IBF champion Spence, Jr. have defenses scheduled without opponents at this time. Horn will be meeting Crawford who is heavily favored to take that title. Thurman may be fighting his No. 1 contender Porter. Spence could fight Ugas, Ocampo or Vargas. The division is wide open for some great fights!

Posted on 12/12/2017

By: Ken Hissner

The new WBO Welterweight champion Jeff “The Hornet” Horn, 17-0-1 (11), makes his first title defense Wednesday at the Convention & Exhibition Centre, in Brisbane, Australia. He will feel at home living in Brisbane as he defends his title against his No. 10 contender the British and WBO Inter-Continental champion Gary “Hellraiser” Corcoran, 17-1 (7), of London, UK.

Horn won the title in his last fight in July over former WBC World Flyweight, IBF Super bantamweight, IBF World Featherweight, WBC Super Featherweight, WBC World Lightweight and WBO World Welterweight Champion Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, 59-6-2, by scores of 117-111, 115-113 twice, at the Suncorp Stadium, in Bribane in July of 2017. The fight was close enough that Pacquiao has demanded a rematch in April in the Philippines when as a Senator of that country he is on break. I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one!
The 29 year-old Horn has a win over former IBF World Welterweight Champion Randall “Knock Out-King” Bailey, 46-9 and the WBO African Champion Ali Funeka, 39-6-3. Corcoran’s trainer Frank Greaves has complained that Horn has a reputation for coming forward and using a head butt. The allegation is strongly refuted by the Horn camp.

The 27 year-old Corcoran has defeated other unbeaten boxers such as Rick Skelton, 13-0, Rick Goddine, 21-0-1, Liam Williams, 14-0-1, and in July in his last fight over Larry Ekundayo, 12-0.

The Horn camp may be looking past Corcoran having their eyes on Terence Crawford who holds all the four super lightweight title and recently announced he is moving up to welterweight. He is also targeting IBF Champion Errol Spence and WBA & WBC Champion Keith Thurman according to trainer Glenn Rushton. “Jeff has trained for a 12 round bout but I want him to score the knockout. I want this to be a big statement to the rest of the welterweight division,” said Rushton. Horn’s only non-win was against Rivan Cesaire in 2013 but stopped Cesaire in 2014. Horn has never fought out of Australia.

It’s already been announced that American Benjy Esteves, Jr., will be the referee. This writer considers him one of the world’s best having seen him on numerous occasions.

The championship fight will be broadcasted over ESPN 6:30AM EST.

Posted on 09/02/2017

By Jake Donovan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on 08/19/2017

By: William Holmes

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

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

Photo Credit: Top Rank Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on 08/14/2017

By: Sean Crose

Terence “Bud” Crawford is a serious force to be reckoned with. The 31-0 junior welterweight titlist can fight orthodox or southpaw, can hit like a mace, and can seemingly adapt to any situation. Those sleeping on Crawford’s opponent this weekend, however, might want to pay attention. For although Julius Indongo is little known here in North America, he too holds a junior welterweight strap (the fight with Crawford will be for divisional supremacy). Indongo can also put people to sleep – quickly. Sure enough, the straight punching 22-0 Nambian has taken out half of his opponents – some in highlight reel fashion.

Why is this important? Because Indongo isn’t simply some hard hitter looking for a puncher’s chance. He’s a man who can box. Just ask Ricky Burns, who Indongo defeated in his home country of Scotland. Look at it this way – fighters like Yuriorkis Gamboa and Viktor Postol had a good few rounds apiece against Crawford. Yet if the enigmatic Nebraskan decides to take his usual tact this Saturday night of warming up as time goes on, it may well be too little, too late. Indongo is too skilled and powerful not to make the most of every available opportunity, just like he isn’t afraid to go into enemy territory to get what’s his.

That’s right, this weekend’s fight is in Crawford’s native Nebraska, just like the Burns fight was in Burn’s Scottish homeland and Indongo’s fight before that was in Russia – against a Russian, the undefeated Eduard Troyanovsky. Indongo won that one by first round knockout, by the way. While it’s true Nambia isn’t known as being a boxing hotbed, it says something that a man like Indongo is so willing to travel. For here’s a fighter with enough confidence to actually go for it. Really go for it. In the age of Mayweather-McGregor, that’s pretty impressive.

Still, this is Crawford we’re talking about here, a man who has beaten everyone in his path impressively. And, make no mistake about it, Crawford’s had some solid competition. Gamboa was a serious adversary when the two men met a few years back. So was Viktor Postol, a man who some assumed had been well avoided by Danny Garcia and who had mopped the figurative floor with Lucas Matthysse. Oh, and Ray Beltran was anything but a soft touch. So yes, the man called Bud is so good, it’s worth wondering aloud if he’s an elite level talent. That’s something Indongo might want to think about in the lead up to this weekend’s ESPN broadcast bout.

Not that he hasn’t thought about it already. Good fighters tend to know what they’re getting themselves into.

Posted on 07/31/2017

By: Sean Crose

He seemed on top of the world once, not so long ago, a terrible representative or the sport who was on his way to stardom, nonetheless.

And now this.

After being dominated this past weekend in New York by Mikey Garcia, many are left asking what happened to Adrien Broner. This was the future celebrity, the Mayweather with a bad/worse attitude, the soon to be face of boxing. Now, though, it’s clear the man can’t beat an above average opponent. All that talk, all that hype, and for what? For three losses in a row to big names? For smack talk after defeat? For endless acts of stupidity outside the ring with little to show in the way of real merit inside of it? This isn’t what the public was led to expect.

Oh, the public was led to expect bad behavior when it came to Broner, of course. In fact, the public was expected to celebrate it. For Broner was supposed to be the big mouth who couldn’t be shut up, the man who appealed to people’s inner mean streaks, the guy who acted like many amoral types wished they could have, but were afraid to. Yet the public was also led to expect Broner to back it all up with big win after big win. Thing is, with the possible exception of Paulie Malignaggi, who some feel actually won their fight, Broner has no big wins to his name.

What he has is a record of having attained lots of belts without placing lots of big names under them. It’s now being said the man was a hype job from the word go. Perhaps that assertion is the correct one. Perhaps Broner was never as good as advertised. Perhaps he was simply never going to become as good as advertised, even if he took his profession seriously, which – until recently – he didn’t seem to on any sort of regular basis.

The question, of course, is where to from here for the Cincinnati native. Many, if not most, hope he will fade away. Don’t expect him do, though. Broner’s colorful image is still marketable, even on a smaller scale than it used to be. There’s still titles and lots of money available for the man in the future. Keep in mind that he’s fun to watch fight – and that people also like renegades (and Broner is most certainly that).

The truth is that Broner took a tough loss and if he’s not the total hype job some are saying he always was, he’s going to want to grow as a fighter – as in actually pick up new things. That might take a bit of learning, but he’s still a young man with a considerable amount of God given talent at his disposal. The story of Adrien Broner might still have some more chapters to go. He’s going to have to play is smart, though, if he hopes to eventually go out on top…if it’s even possible for him to go out on top at this point.