Gary Russell- Speed Kills AND Thrills

5/19/2018-Nat’l Harbor, Md.- If the sight impaired people called Lomachenko-Linares a FOTY candidate, what did they think of last night’s thriller between Gary Russell Jr. (28-1-17K),WBC featherweight boss and El Monte’s  JoJo Diaz Jr. (26-0-14K? IMO opinion last night’s war was a no brainer.

Going into this match, I figured the extremely talented but inactive champion would out speed and stop the top contender in eight rounds. I was deemed “crazy” by my fight friends. “Boxing Don, you’re WAY off on this one”. To me, their best hope was for Diaz to catch Russell slipping due to inactivity. Russell’s like Haley’s comet

Early on, it looked like Russell’s hand and foot speed was gonna’ send JoJo home early. Flashing uncanny and accurate sets at Diaz, Gary was definitely on point. Diaz seemed blinded by the lightening fast fusillade of punches sent his way. He looked like that proverbial ‘deer in the head lights’ for the first three rounds. Russell didn’t seem to be hurting the youngster but he had no issues ‘finding’ him. It seemed whenever he got close, Diaz had to kinda’ figure out what to do next, giving Russell time to either tie him up or scoot away. (Who “ scoots”?) Now, I know the time zone in Crab City is different from Taco Town, and suddenly in round four, Diaz got his ‘the party’s already started, JoJo’ call, THEN it became a fight, for real. Pre fight, Diaz proclaimed to be the bigger man and would “walk down Russell”. He’s walking, all right, but eating shots, as well. JoJo started locating Gary’s rib cage and was digging deep, slowing Gary’s roll. I started wondering when this shit was gonna’ start registering because I KNOW Russell was feeling those digs. For the next few rounds Diaz thought he’d found the secret to success.

JoJo was digging hard for the next few rounds and occasionally landed upstairs as well. Man, this shit was getting’ GOOD. Gary wasn’t being given time to rest as Diaz was like a robot, plowing forward in search of more ribs. IN THE SEVENTH, WITH Gary still firing away, it looked like Diaz realized he’s done the best he could do and was slowing down his output, a bad thing against a guy with Gary’s skills. Whenever Russell would send his missiles Diaz’s way, he found little resistance as Diaz was on ‘pause’ too long. His crew realized the time off didn’t impact the way Gary would be performing this late after all those body shots and time off ( a year). In the twelfth, the affect   started to show as Russell was holding a lot. When his hands were free,  JoJo was nailing Gary, driving him around the ring, hurting the champ but the bell rang to end matters. The decision was unanimous but Diaz learned a lot and so did Russell. This was an excellent fight. It seemed as if Diaz Sr. didn’t find much urgency down the stretch, being too calm for me. Instead of lighting a fire under his son, he just gave him a pillow warmer. This seemed to be a time the maternal relationship failed. I don’t care WHAT people say, ‘your son is your son, NOT just another fighter’

Rematch, why, Gary’s not getting any younger and Diaz is too risky to be dealing  with  again. He has more room for improvement than Russell. He’ll see a lotta’ ‘what ifs’ when watching the tape. Plus, Gary said “I hurt my hand in the third round” so there goes another year delay. He claims he wants the winner of Leo Santa Cruz-Abner Mares hookup and if Mares wins the rematch, there will be need for a tie breaker, so we’re talking seeing Gary about 2020. Plus, there’s all those rib shots absorbed by the champ. Man, as badly as  Lomachenko beat Russell in their fight, I’d LOVE to see a rematch but I can’t see Gary at ’35. Seeing Russell’s  arsenal on display for twelve rounds will piss people off, KNOWING they won’t see this type of action from him for YEARS. It’s distracting watching that Hip-Hop ref trying to get around the ring. He always seems to be outta’ position and gets a little annoying, always bothering the fighters. Diaz often looked agitated when he was stopped from fighting his inside game.

In the second bout, airing from Toronto Ca.,  WBC light heavyweight champ Adonis Stevenson (29-1-24K) kept his strap in a twelve round majority draw against top contender, big talking Badou Jack (21-1-13K). Why do they act as if a ‘majority draw is any different from any other kind? A draw’s a draw, to me. I hate  ANY kinda’ draw. If I pay my money and watch a 12 round fight, I wanna’  damn  RESULT. My take is, if nobody won, nobody fought. I’m strange, like that.

In any event, Jack was whining his ass off about always getting the short end of the stick. He now has FOUR draws on his slate. I have a suggestion, don’t wait ‘til the seventh round to start fighting. These guys didn’t do Jack shit (or Jack the Ripper) for the first six rounds. Jack should realize those draws COULD’VE been losses. So with the the action at a virtual standstill and Al Berstein (who’s looking more and more like  Grandpa on The Monsters) pleading for action, things got heated in the seventh round. The champ, who calls himself Superman wasn’t living up to his moniker. What damage done, came from body shots as lots were landed in the second half of the match. Jack knows the power carried in that left hand of the champ wasn’t  gonna’ take two many chances but if that’s the case, don’t whine about draws. Jack even suggested the people scoring the fight must hate promoter Floyd Mayweather.  Jack is a Mayweather fighter. So if Jack’s right, what’s he  gonna’ do going forward, fight ‘unattached’ like they do in the ams?

 

Maybe I Need My Old Eyes Checked….

5/13/18- MSG- N.Y.- I missed the original airing of the Vasily Lomachenko  fight against WNA lightweight champ Jorge Linares. Now, I’ve deduced I either need my eyes examined or get my tv fixed. After  Lomachencko (10-1-8K) stopped the champ in the tenth round with a combo capped off by a hard left hand to the liver. Linares (44-3-27) had fought well ended up taking the ten count on his knees. I’d read the comments of the new champ’s performance as “a fight for the ages, a candidate for the FOTY and how “brilliant” Loma’s performance was. PLEASE, STOP! This was a good fight and no more. I saw other fights this weekend that were better. The talking heads were complicit in forming opinions as they constantly and I DO mean CONSTANTLY, ranted and raved about Loma’s performance. If they’d heard him pass gas, they would’ve hyped THAT as well. This was obscene. They went on and on about the short time it was taking Loma to win his third title. I got the feeling there would’ve been some very disappointed people had Loma lost.

What I saw was a fast, accurate, shifty challenger that obviously was more skilled than the ‘ol vet. Drilling Linares with sharp leads and counters,  beating  the champ to the ‘get off’. Loma spun Linares, stepped around for counters, befuddling the champ at every turn, but where was the “brilliance, breathtaking showing by the guy? I’m not THAT sold on the guy. He CAN fight, nobody’s disputing that but I don’t see some FEARFUL monster that’s being promoted (created). When I hear he’s fighting, I don’t block any time to make sure I see him, to me, he’s NOT must see  tv, SORRY. They only real drama came when Jorge drilled Loma with a straight right in the seventh round dropping him. Loma was not hurt, just caught a shot, hey, it’s boxing. The name of the game is hit and get hit, that’s what happens in a fight, REGARDLESS of how many people say, the name of the game is ‘to hit and NOT get hit’. Once again, ALL fighters hit, get hit and EXPECT to get hit. Saying otherwise is to say, in basketball, the intention is to shoot and not miss. Like saying, if it’s raining and you’re running to your car, ‘the aim is to NOT get wet’.

Lastly, I’m glad I DID see the fight, but I was nowhere NEAR overwhelmed, just a good fight. It’s amazing, when a network is massaging the testacles  of a particular fighter on the regular, he can do no wrong. Hell, I’m more interested in seeing  new  154lb champ Jaime Munguia fight again. Now, I’d love to see Loma against Mikey Garcia or Bud Crawford. So sorry to rain on anybody’s parade and maybe I WILL  get these old peepers checked. Jeepers Creepers what about those peepers?

Vargas Again Donates to the Blood Bank

5/13/ Turning Stone Resort and Casino, NY.

Rey Vargas (31-0-22K) v. Azat Hovhannisyan (14-2-11K).

Has tall and talented WBC 122lb champion Rey Vargas ever left the ring without looking like he went ten with Eddy Scissorshands? This guy says he doesn’t “like to get hit”, but you can’t prove that by THIS writer. He’s a warrior and fights like one. He usually has a big height advantage over his foes and they have no problems finding him with his erect fighting style. I recall featherweight Danny (Little Red) Lopez was the same way. Over hand rights were his Kryptonite. I saw the weakest guys lower the heads and find Danny with overhand rights and would often drop him. Course, a few rounds later Danny’d be celebrating  another  ko win. Last night,  Armenian  AZAT Hovhannisyan, a short stocky free winger burned the champ often out of his crouching advances.

In the first round, while trying to judge the movements of Azat with his jab, a big right hand drove the champ into the ropes. Azat has a weird style, punching from anywhere, ask Ronny Rios. In fact, ask Rios about BOTH of these guys, they both gave him hell. A cut was opened over the left eye of Vargas (big surprise), hunh?  Azat used this as a target with his gloves as well as his head. Vargas, who facially resembles an Ostrich, has a big heart and was in no mood for backing up, zeroing in the shorter Azat, with fuel sapping body shots. Occasionally, Azat would time Rey’s reaching shots and land hard, short lefts and rights. This was a hard fought event, as are most of Vargas’s fights. He uses his reach for about three rounds, then it becomes, oh hell, let’s just  FIGHT. The body sapping shots of Vargas finally slowed the little fire plug down, slowing Azat’s output. In fact, he took the entire seventh round off. The eighth saw the champ lean into a head butt, opening up his second cut, this one, long and nasty, bleeding profusely. Azat tried desperately tried to capitalize, chasing Vargas around the ring, missing everything. Azat was cut and swollen, as well. This was the type of event that would cause one to seek employment at the post office.

Vargas was able to keep his belt, by keeping his distance and rolling to a points win. I enjoyed all the gestures from both guys, when one guy would miss badly the other would mimic him. Once, when azat was on the retreat, Vargas would act as if he may as well shadow box and started throwing punches. At the bell ending one round, Vargas dropped his hand and Azat threw a playful shot at his chin, like, ‘man you’re lucky the bell rang’.. This was an entertaining fight from both guys but I don’t know how Vargas is gonna’ go the way he gets cut. It seems to happen earlier in each fight. Azat is a fan friendly little guy and will always give a stern effort. I was surprised nobody got dropped with all the clean shots landed.

Ali Should Fire His Corner

5-13-18-Turning Stone Casino-N.Y.- I thought I was watching the NBA Playoffs, the way Sadam Ali got bounced around by Jamie Mungia Last night.

Sadam Ali (26-1-14K) v. Jamie Mungia (28-0-24K)

In his last fight, a title winning effort against retiring great, Miguel Cotto, the flashy Ali found himself facing a MUCH different animal. He faced a guy that reminded me of a cou0ple of heavy handed, mind numbing, slow bangers, Pipino Cuevas and Big George Foreman. Mungia was deemed unfit to fight GGG and Vanes Martirosyan was sacrificed, instead. Well, Ali should have his entire corner arrested for damn near letting him get decapitated in four rounds. Mungia bludgeoned  the champ, showing absolutely ZERO respect, dropping him four times (should’ve been at LEAST two more). The size difference in Mungia’s favor was so apparent in the first round, as the heavy handed Mungia dropped Ali with the first meaningful left hook he landed. Actually, Ali never recovered from that mind numbing blast. The challenger’s punches seemed to be the slow, wide, type that cause huge damage if you’re there when they land. Seconds later, a flurry put Ali on the canvas again and it became a matter of how long this carnage was gonna’ last. Not very, regardless of how brave Ali’s corner was.  A right hand dropped Ali in the second round and this was starting to resemble Foreman-Frazier. In the third, Ali staged a brief rally but the writing was on the wall, Ali’s corner just didn’t get the memo. Trainer Andre Rozier yelled, “that’s all you need to do, use the jab”. Cornerman Curtis Stevens wasn’t saying shit, he knew how deep the turds were, that Ali was in, he remembers what it felt like when GGG and David Lemeuix put paws on HIS smaller ass. The Dr. was called in to check on Ali as Rozier was hollering instructions and it was apparent the champ didn’t have a clue as to what state he was in, much less which casino. This was becoming very scary as Ali was again sent out to face a youngster (21) that was minus ANY type of pity. In the fifth, a clean, slow, flush, left hook located Ali’s jaw and down he went again. The punch was a sweeping hook that Ali STILL couldn’t avoid. There was no need for any type of count, the next guy to to visit Ali might have been a man in Black, carrying a scythe. It was great seeing my old friend Robert Alcazar, running Mungia’s corner. He’s always been another of the ‘good guys in tha’ game, despite the shafting he got from DeLaHoya years ago. Good job, Roberto, you have a monster on your hands. The only thing I see that might cause his guy issues is the lack of hand speed, but I thought the same thing about Big George. Mungia is now the new boss in the 154 lb class, WBO style.

Coverage of the Rey Vargas Azat Hovhannisyan, war, late

Seven fights, only Two, Decent

/11/18-As I settled in for another exciting night of throw downs, I was concerned about having to channel switch so as not to miss anything. Well, there was no problem, this time, only two of the seven bouts were worth a shit. Let’s hope tonight will be better.

PBC ON BOUNCE- SAM’S TOWN CASINO, LAS VEGAS, Nv.

Erick Bone (19-5-8K) v. Cameron Krael (13-12-3-3K)

Looking at the records of these two guys, especially Krael, with THREE kos in 28 fights, I thought,  good, let’s get this one outta’ the way first. To the ‘ol guy’s pleasant surprise, these two unknowns really gave the Vegas crowd their money’s worth. Sometimes it would be nice if guys got paid according to their performance (or LACK thereof). There were hard exchanges throughout this ten rounder, with both guys fighting as if a belt was on the table. There were no knockdowns but also, not too many breaks in the action. The action was as good inside as when both guys fought at range. The final verdict was a split (no problem) decision in Bone’s favor. Let’s do this again.

LaTeef Kayode (21-2-16K) v. Andrew Tabiti (15-0-12K)

Lateef Kayode is a fearsome, menacing, imposing figure, until the bell rings, that is. Once the action starts, this guy’s like a blind bull in a china shop. He has NO balance, No reflexes, No stamina and No apparent boxing skills. He just rushes forward, making it easy to get tied up and this is what happened against Tabiti. This was a lousy, stinking fight filled with bull rushes, clinches and everything else that frustrates a fight fan. For all the muscles piled up on his upper body, Lateef has no real punching power. Now, Tabiti wasn’t a helluva’ lot better, grabbing Kayode at every rush. Finally, with an (already) fading Kayode, trapped on the ropes, Tabiti landed a flush right uppercut that put Mr. Muscles down and out. Afterwards, the two men hugged and chatted for what seemed like five minutes, probably telling each other, ‘what a great show we put on’.

Ishe Smith (29-9-12K) v. Tony Harrison (26-2-21K)

Will someone PLEASE tell me why old-ass Ishe Smith is still headlining shows? I don’t know how old he is but last night, he looked 10 years older. He was lucky that he was in with a talented guy that was in no mood for trying for a ko. Except for a blistering right hand that had the squatting Smith almost down (actually it was ruled a knockdown), Harrison was content to go the distance. The normally durable Smith was on the brink of being stopped several times but Harrison let him off the hook. Harrison is a bit of a safety first guy that hardly senses a period of urgency. He’s not a fan friendly tv fighter, that’s for sure but he is a talented guy with all the tools, except that killer instinct. Smith is always referred to “the only champion from ‘Vegas” which doesn’t say much for TMT. Smith said later, “I fought a great fight”, when, after you got back to your dressing room?

SHOBOX, Philadelphia, Pa.

Devin Haney (18-0-12K) v. Mason Menard (33-2-24K)

Let me start by saying I was not overwhelmed with rising ‘Super star’ Devin Haney’s performance. He’d get booed outta’ the ring, fighting in LA like he did tonight. True, he’s young, and maybe overhyped but he fights like Money Mayweather   NOT Pretty Boy Floyd. He’s  definitely a Floyd wannabe, flashing all his material things and saying, “I wanna’be just like Floyd”. Didn’t we just hear that from Ghetto Boy, Adrian Broner ? Tonight was my first extended look at the Prodigy and he had the perfect guy as his opponent. Menard was as slow as whale shit sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I mean, he didn’t land a SINGLE shot in the first four rounds. Haney looked like he was boxing a tackling dummy. He was faster than Ali with his lateral movement, stopping only briefly to drill this heavy bag, making him seem even faster. He claims he wants to fight for the title in his next fight. Be careful what you wish for, youngster. There’s lots of guys out there that will show him what he has YET to learn. This wasn’t even a competitive fight, by a LONG shot. Actually, unless you’re a Haney fan (which there are many), this was actually a real SNOOZER. Poor Menard was like a dog on a leash out for a walk in the park. This card was partially promoted by Haney promotion. Looks like he’s WAY ahead of Floyd as far as the ‘bidness of boxing goes’ and, I can’t fault him for that but I won’t be breaking MY neck waiting for his next fight. Oh, after doing nothing for NINE rounds, Mason’s corner decided to pull the plug. He wasn’t getting hurt and it was obvious from the START he wasn’t gonna’ win shit, so why put that TKO’d by, on his slate

Joshua Greer Jr, (16-1-1-8K) v. Glenn Dezurn Jr. (9-1-1D-6K)

To me, this was the most entertaining scrap of the night. I enjoy watching Greer fight. He’s loquacious (sorta’ a Broner type but he moves his hands) fast, sharp with a little pop to his game. He’s called, ‘Don’t Blink’), and brings a pillow for his opponent into the ring. More  entertaining than a damn hairbrush. His opponent, Vernon Forrest look alike, Glenn Dezurn, Jr. was a willing foe until the heat became too much for him. Both little (122lbs) warriors were there for the party and staged some furious exchanges in this scheduled ten rounder. Greer Jr. always has a maniacal smile on his face, even when getting hit, like he’s a crazy man. He has all the weapons and is dedicated to the rib area. Greer Jr. took the starch outta’ Dezurn Jr. with a withering body attack before dropping him twice, leading to the ref to call a cease fire. This  little dynamo is only a fight or two away from running wit’ tha’ Big Dogs.

In  Other Action……

Light heavy weights Alvin Vermall Jr. (15-0-1ND-12K) struggles to a decision win against Charles Foster (15-0-8K). The 5’8’’ Vermall Jr, who has fought as high as 200 lbs, landed a few hard shots but was at a big physical advantage and was out boxed by the 6’2” Foster. The call was unanimous in Foster’s favor and Vermall needs to decide what weight lass he wants to compete in and he is NO Dwight Braxton (Qwai).

Adam Lopez (16-2-2D-8KO) had his hands MORE than full with Russian fireplug Arnold khegai (11-0-1-8K). Somebody must’ve told the Mad Russian, ‘when you fight in the US, don’t worry about ‘rules’. Arnold used every trick in the book and only lost one point as he shucked and jived his way to an eight round unanimous win. He has a herky jerky style and when you add the fouls, it’s a hard combination to beat, as Lopez discovered. Poor Lopez wanted to ‘play fair’ but that wasn’t the intention of Khegai. He gave Lopez too much to be concerned with, plus he’s a pretty decent fighter, anyway.

 

A NIGHTMARE, YEAH, I’D SAY SO

05/05/2018 Carson, Ca.- After the two round destruction dished out by multi title holder Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1D-33K), announcer Jim Lampley said, challenger Vanes  Martiroysan (36-3-1-21K) asked his wife to stay home in case “things don’t turn out well”. He should’ve added, ‘and make SURE I’m there with you’. I remember  Vanes from his amateur days and he could FIGHT. One thing I recall is how MEAN he was in the ring. He would beat up guys as if they  tried to sell him a used car. I wondered what was WRONG with this teenager, I know he had a new car. They’d have to pull him off people but outside the ring, he was as well mannered as one could hope for. Those Armenians always seemed pissed about SOMETHING, anyway and always drove nice cars.

GGG was supposedly hell bent on beating up SOMEBODY after  the butcher, Canello Alvarez shut down their lucrative rematch for the middleweight belts. It’s not advisable to as k Canello, ‘where’s the beef’, thought it’d make a nice ad for him and Stallone. GGG’s poor foe just happened to be a Jr. Middleweight that was coming off a two year layoff. Again, I don’t know WHY boxing allows this shit, especially against a GGG. Vanes’ ring name is NIGHTMARE and last night was every INCH of THAT. Canello hadn’t put anybody to sleep in a minute, so there were so  MANY  things going against Vanes. I was hoping he wouldn’t take a prolonged beating and he didn’t. In a first round that GGG planned on using to “check my opponent out”, Vanes didn’t get the memo and knocked the champ back with a three  punch set as well as landing some nice jabs. He said, prefight, he was “gonna” give GGG a “Mexican fight”, hell, he should’ve given him a Mexican TO fight. This was WORSE than stirring up a hornet’s  nest.  In round two, GGG attacked Martirosyan with an all out assault. Hurting him and putting him in the WORSE place possible, against the ropes. Booming rights and lefts had poor Vanes in  deep  dookie reeling along the ropes. Finally, a barrage of shots had Vanes in ANOTHER bad spot, a spot where he wasn’t safe even while on a knee where a final sweeping right hook landed on his left temple. It’s bad enough getting blasted by GGG while STANDING.  I saw the champ do this shit against David Lemieux, as well.  GGG feels as long as you’re wearing gloves, you’re ‘game.’ Ref Jack Reiss, for SOME reason finished the ten count with Vanes flat on his face, obviously thinking about being at home with his wife, where it was ‘safe’. GGG’s trainer, the soft spoken (lol) Abel Sanchez says, “guys are not the same after GGG gets finished with them”.

So what’s next for the champ and his re discovered fury? Charlo,  Billy JoeSaunders, Andrade (why?) or Danny Jacobs whom he dropped and beat, who was damn near a  cruiserweight at the bell. GGG stops a legit middleweight Jacobs if Jacobs looks ANYTHING like he did in his last two fights. To me, his worst ‘nightmare’ (pun intended) would be the fast feet of Saunders. I see him BORINGLY outpacing ANY middleweight, but I’ll pass on that one. In the semi, a couple of ladies laced them up. I know a lotta’ coaches and fight fans hate to see women fight. I do as well, but ONLY because those pretty faces and other er, OTHER ATTRIBUTES shouldn’t be punched on, they should be massaged and, oops, now I’m getting distracted. Focus,  Don FOCUS. Four belt, unbeaten champ Cecelia Braekhus  (30-0-9K) thought she had a gimme’, facing Kali Reis (13-6-1D-4K) These ladies were well trained and ( I hate saying this) and fought JUST like guys, but without power. They dipped, slipped punched and moved like good fighters do. There  wasn’t much being done offensively  to rile up the fans though, until Reis located the champ’s jaw with a nice right hand, dropping her. Things heated up after that with both ladies landing shots. In the eighth round, a left hook rattled the champ, who was obviously surprised by Reis’ power. In the final round, the champ caught second wind and scored with both hands, right up to the bell. The decision was unanimous in Braekhus’ favor.

On Friday night, also (?) at the Stub Hub, rising “star”, Ryan (King) Garcia, (14-0-13K) from Victorville risked his unbeaten record against ‘ol vet Jayson Velez (26-4-1D-18K) . Now, I don’t know if the Latino boxing community is pushing too hard for their next idle or what but they need to slow the hype train for Ryan. Comparing him to a   young DeLahoya is a bit of a stretch. Yes, he’s talented, good looking, attracts the ladies blah, blah, blah. Is he talented, yes, fast, yes and can punch BUT he has flaws that if not corrected soon, they’re gonna’ be scraping him up with a spatula. I get sick of this shit about pumping up a ‘star’ and as soon as he looks less than super, people whine, “he’s only 18”. Can’t have it both ways, folks. He stands too erect when fighting  and his defense consists of grabbing and holding on. He landed good shots on Velez but got a bit sloppy when learning this was gonna’ be more than a walk in the park. He landed good shots but struggled late and was pissed that he was booed in spots, cussing at the fans during his post fight interview, being arrogant AND cocky. He’s calling out Tank Davis, is he DELUSIONAL? With his head up in the air like a Tootsie Pop, he’d get decapitated. I have an idea Ryan, wanna’ test yourself, fk with Dannay Roman, he’ll correct your mistakes before Tank rolls over you.

A Fight Smogasboard

Last night was one of those that had my eyeballs spinning like a Roulette wheel. I think I saw Sam (where’re  the cameras) Watson at EVERY fight. Let’s start in my hometown of Philly. First thing I noticed was how loose Tim Bradley has gotten without Teddy Atlas blowing in his ear. He gets to talk a LOT more and doesn’t have his every comment critiqued by Mr. Know it All ( or would THAT be Max Kellerman?)

Bryant Jennings (22-2-13K) v. Joey Dawejko (19-5-54D-11K)

In a pretty decent hookup, a pair of Philly guys that met in the ams set out to prove how much they’ve improved in the pay ranks. Jennings is not spectacular, nothing outstanding about him, carries a lunch pail. At LEAST, at times, Joey resembled a White James Toney, or White Andy Ruiz ( which would be a decent fight). Only thing is, Joey spends more time feinting and slipping and ‘being cute’ than actually fighting. He has some skills but doesn’t work any harder than he needs to. With only 11 kos in 28 fights, he needs a higher work rate. Plus, he seemed to fade a bit at the end. Veteran trainer Shadeed Suluki was manning Joey’s corner. Bryant was his normal self, doing enough to earn a unanimous decision. After seeing Pal Joey land a left uppercut, body hook and a hook upstairs, it was easy to see, he has a nice arsenal. There were quite a few ‘infractions’ during the fight and that annoying ass ref made this fight hard to really focus on.

Jesse Magdaleno (25-1-18K) v. Issac  Dogboe  (19-0-11K).

In a high pitched super featherweight battle with the WBO strap at stake, the talented Magdaleno bit off more than he could chew against this little brawling Pitbull. Rumor was, Jesse wasn’t in the best of shape and trying to take short cuts in training, to which I say, “who’s problem was THAT”? He answered the bell, so it was on him. Shortcuts only get you to the WRONG place, QUICKER and he paid for it tonight. Dogboe didn’t seem to be experiencing any such issues. Dogboe treated Jesse like he was a DOG BONE. Magdaleno gave Issac the first knockdown of his career in the first round. I’m sure Jesse would have LOVED for this to end early so he could get back to the gym. Though shaken, Dogboe was up for the down stroke and accepted whatever Jesse tossed his way and had a huge arsenal of his own that Magdaleno painfully learned over the course of this encounter. Both warriors traded big shots to the body AND head. In the fifth round, it was Jesse’s turn to eat some canvas and he was hurt badly. He FOOLISHLY beckoned to Issac to ‘c’mon wit’ it and that’s EXACTLY what occurred. Landing air sucking body shots that drained Magdaleno, this was turning into a real WAR, that was now in Isaacs’s favor. Jesse was brave as hell and unfortunately, was in JUST enough shape to take a bad beating over the last half of the bout. It became a sad sight, seeing macho Magdaleno eat savage shot after shot, from a guy that DID train. It was obvious by the tenth round that Jesse would be lucky to finish on his feet as there was no ‘easing up’ on Issac’s agenda. In the eleventh, a battered and tired Magdaleno was dropped twice, forcing the ref to call a ‘cease fire’, giving an overjoyed Dogboe a well earned ko and the chance to hear, and the NEW….. So if it’s true about Magdaleno’s discipline, this sustained ass whippin’ should cure it. Is  it me or does it seem that trainer Manny Robles’ fighters lose a lotta’ fights?

Jesse Hart (23-1-19K) v, Demond Nicholson (18-1-17K)

These two talked so much pre-fight crap, I had a feeling this wasn’t gonna’ be so hot. Hart, from Philly, continues to try to be better than his dad, the fearsome hitting middleweight of the 70’s-80’s, Eugene (Cyclone) Hart. First of all, his dad was a REAL ‘Philly Fighter’, Jr., not so much .Hart drilled Nicholson with a big right hand in the opening  round, leading to one thinking this would be a ‘quickie’. Not so, in the second the Philly guy got blasted by a right hand at the bell and stumbled to his corner. The pattern was established in the third, when this turned into a street fight with fouls, name calling and threats. In round seven, Demond lost his will to fight. After going down again, he ignored the ref’s count and argued  the validity of the shot, all the while, being counted out. Can you say ‘weird’ ending?

Josesito Lopez (35-7-19k v. Miguel Cruz (17-0-11K)

If Miguel didn’t feel like fighting, he should’ve stayed the hell at home. He traveled all the way to El Paso to provide the Riverside Rocky, Lopez, target practice. Seriously, he didn’t do squat. The name “Cruz’ suits him just fine. Lopez must’ve been wondering how long this guy was gonna’ play ‘possum’. Round after round, Cruz barely did much more than throw low blows and rabbit shots. It was a boring outing for Cruz, but Lopez didn’t care, he deserves a ‘gimmie’ from time to time after all the wars he’s had in his career.

Barclay Center, New York

Jarrell Miller (20-0-18K) v. Johann Duhaupas (36-4-22K)

Brooklyn’s hot prospect, Big Baby Miller had his hands full with tough, durable Johann Duhaupas and had to go twelve rounds for the first time. Of course, (as they all say), “I wanted to get the rounds in”. Bullshit, if so, why were you landing bombs in the eleventh round? The 304lb Miller is a deceptive guy, with solid D, good head and shoulder movement and better than average speed. I’ve seen him a few times and for his size, he has just ‘good’ not ‘great’ power. His opponent is as game as they come and took all that Miller could muster and never came close to dropping.  Miller pounded  on Duhaupas as much and as long as he wanted. Duhaupas was no slouch though and caught Big Baby with clean shots but neither guy has huge power. Miller is smooth and has all the punches at his disposal and is hard to hit flush with more than one shot at a time. Duhaupas did have some success, landing with his right hand. After twelve rounds, the decision was a real no brainer and of course, Miller called out everybody except  ME. He would be hard for champ Devonta Wilder to land a clean shot but if he does…… He doesn’t seem to have the power to stop Wilder, either but pretty soon, he’ll be in with either Wilder OR Anthony Joshua.

Danny Jacobs (33-2-29K) v. Maciej Sulecki (26-0-10K)

Maybe it’s me but I have not been overly impressed with Danny Jacobs lately. He outweighed GGG by about 20 lbs in their fight and STILL got dropped. He gets too much credit for going the distance imo. Then, that other who- he, went the distance and never was close to getting dropped and STILL there’s that ice job put on him a few years ago, not to mention getting dropped by of ALL people, Javier Mora! In tonight’s scrap, he got touched too many times by Sulecki. Had that been a true ’60, Danny may have had issues. I DO know THIS, Jermall Charlo punches pretty well. Another thing, Jacobs is a bit stubborn, ignoring his fine trainer, Derrick James’ instructions, causing him to catch unnecessary shots. Lots of times, maybe outta’ lack of respect. He stood right in front of Sulecki with no upper body movement. Danny is a skillful fighter but has too many lapses. He was able to drop a tiring Sulecki in the 12th round and won a unanimous decision but something seems to be amiss with Jacobs.

NOTE: I didn’t catch all the undercard action but learned Kevin Watts (12-2-5K) scored a big upset ko win over once promising ‘Cowboy’ Ryan Karl (15-2-09K) Watts was coming off consecutive losses but it seems as Herve Estrada has him back on track. This could be a new beginning. Good job guys. Watts trains out of Estrada’s gym, The AV Boxing club.

 

 

 

Two Blowouts and a Ghetto Rant

4/21/2018- New York City- On showtime, there were two serious blowout ‘fights’ and one spirited contest that was better than expected.

Gervonta (Tank) Davis (19-0-18K0) v. Jesus Cuellar (28-2-21K)

In a battle for the WBA Super bantamweight strap, precocious brawler, Gervonta Davis put an ass whippin’ on former champ Jesus Cuellar that he won’t soon forget. Cuellar had not had the gloves on since his losing effort against Abner Mares on 12/16. What the hell’s up with guys fighting for belts coming off extensive  layoffs ?  Vanes Martirosyn hasn’t fought in two years, just signed to fight GGG for the middleweight belts.

In ANY event, tonight, Cuellar’s problems were HIS, NOT Tank’s. Cuellar started fast, like he was gonna’ get shit done, backing Davis up. This was fine until the little Tankster dug some serious shots to the basement, slowing Jesus’ roll. In the second round, a straight, hard, left found some ribs and down went Cuellar in delayed fashion. Cuellar made it to the third when all hell broke loose. Davis was warmed up and rolling downhill, pinning the woeful Cuellar on the ropes and landing tremendous body shots and savage head shots. The twenty two year old Davis was on fire and Jesus was providing the fuel. It wasn’t long before ref  Benji Esteves  rushed in to rescue Cuellar after he suffered  a total of three drops. Davis was sharp and vicious and during his post fight interview with Jim Grey, showed a maturity we hadn’t seen before and if he HAS learned his lessons, the rest of the division is in DEEP.

Jermell Charlo (26-0-20K) v. Hugo Centeno (26-1-1ND-14K)

In the night’s mismatch, Oxnard’s Centeno discovered early, he was in way over his head. This didn’t last LONG enough to be called a ‘blow out’. After a tentative feel ‘em out first round, Charlo went into ‘knock ‘em out second round. Hugo landed a few shots which turned out to be the worse thing he could do. Charlo set off a six punch set that left Centeno down for the ‘teno’. He seemed to be totally out of his element from the opening bell. In a strange twist, after the usual preening around the ring, Charlo showed some REAL professionalism. Normally, he and his twin, Jermall act like lunatics in front of a mike. He spoke in measured tones to Jim Grey and didn’t diss his opponent. Charlo is a REAL and PRESENT danger to the middleweights and will have to be dealt with. The prospect of he and Danny Jacobs hooking up gets me REAL excited.

Jessie Vargas (28-2-10K) v. Adrien Bronner (33-3-1NC-24K)

I must confess, I wasn’t expecting a fight this hotly contested between these two. I expected Vargas to beat the undisciplined Ghetto Boy, Broner. Dancing to the ring and getting his hair brushed led me to believe this was the same old Broner, the guy that has reinvented himself as many times as POS45 lies. Vargas started quickly, working his left jab overtime, up and down. I figured this was gonna’ slow Broner down later. This was a theme played out over the first half of the fight. I guess it’s just a fact that Broner is just NOT a fighter that’s gonna’ move his hands that much. His new trainer Kevin Cunningham informed us, this was a “new” Broner. The only thing “new” was that damn hair brush. Stabbing Broner with belly jabs, Vargas seemed to be putting points on the board. Finally after being cussed out after every round by Cunningham, Broner started fighting. Ramming Vargas with hard body shots, and lead right hands, Broner was getting involved. The last four rounds saw a cut up, bruised up Vargas as he had no D for Broner’s (now moving) hands. Vargas was slowing down and at times seemed on the cusp of getting dropped. There was a LOTTA’ trash talking between the two as the fight was winding down. Broner had closed the gap a lot and this was heading for a close decision. Broner doesn’t have much pop beyond ’35 ‘40 and if Jessie punched harder, I’m sure those early body shots would’ve slowed Broner down.

During the interview, Ghetto Boy,Broner resurfaced. Now, I’ll admit, I’ve been Black a NUMBER of years and I don’t know what the fk  Broner was ranting about. He was trying to grab the mike from Grey and was talking about Mexicans and chicken and Rice, and all sorts of shit, homophobic shit spewed from his trench mouth untouched, explaining how he felt he won. Later he came back to Gray and started with the, “first of all, I give all glory to God”, and I’m saying damn, just a second ago all I heard was mf this and fk that, NOTHING about God. The fight was declared a majority draw  and I didn’t have an issue with it at all but Broner said he ‘s not interested in a rematch. During one instance while going face to face with Broner, Jessie said, “ we can do it again right NOW, Boo”. BOO? I never heard a man call another man, “Boo”. Vargas needs to learn how to trash talk. Hell, the guy with the hairbrush could give him lessons. This was a real good fight and a rematch wouldn’t’ make ME mad.

GOOD ACTION AT THE ‘ROCK

4/7/2018-Las Vegas, Nv. There was some pretty good activity taking place tonight. On the surface, one might think that 45 rounds and only ONE droppage would be boring, and that ONE came in the last minute of the last round.

Julian (J-Rock) Williams (24-1-1-1ND) v. Nathaniel Gallimore (20-1-17K)

This was the fight I was worried about. My Philly Boi, Williams, was facing a guy that I thought would be nothing BUT trouble. The tall, hard punching Jamaican Gallimore, reminds me of Nicholas Walters, The Axeman, always a threat. But trainer Breadman Stephens had J-Rock finely tuned and firing on all cylinders. Aside from a few anxious moments (VERY few), Gallimore was taken to school and told to ‘take notes’ on Boxing, 101. Boxing smoothly and obviously surprising Gallimore with his power, J-Rock had Nate in check, big time. On more than one occasion, Gallimore was on shaky pins at the end of a couple of rounds. Boxing smoothly, striking when he was in range and showing beautiful movement, this was the best I’ve seen Williams look. At times, Nathaniel seemed totally perplexed by the talented Williams. Many times when he thought he had Williams lined up, he’d fire a big shot that was either easily slipped or blocked effortlessly. I gave Gallimore about four rounds but somehow the one judge (ANOTHER LADY), score the fight 114-114. Vegas is gonna’ have to do something about this shit. This was an eliminator for  the IBF Jr. middleweight crown and my Boi is firmly in the mix. Great job J-Rock and Bread. At the end of the match, Sam (where’s the camera) Watson was chewing on Williams’ ear like he was Mike Tyson, I didn’t know he was William’s assistant trainer.

James DeGale (23-2-1-14K) v. Caleb Truax (29-3-2D-18K) were in a rematch of their IBF 168lb. tiff which was won by Truax first time around. This was a title bout but honestly, these guys didn’t look like more than average guys. This was a bloody mess with numerous head butts low blows, shoulder rams, just a sloppy affair. There were no sharp punches, no combinations, just two guys that resembled barroom brawlers. Worse part was, from the start, I could tell this mess was going the distance. Seriously folks, I can’t put my finger on anything impressive about this struggle. I can’t recall a fighter that was as accurate with his head butts as DeGale was, ramming Truax’s chin almost every time. He should’ve worn an extra glove. This was a fight where you didn’t care who won, just glad when it ended. To the surprise of many, the crown switched heads as Degale was awarded a split decision. Now THAT did surprise me, the parts I DID see, Truax seemed to have a sloppy edge. The scores read, 117-110 Truax (which was wide) and 114-113 DeGale, ho hum.

Jarrett Hurd (21-0-15K) v. Erislandy Lara (25-2-2D-14K)

The main event lived up to its billing in a hard fought, bombs away deal which saw undefeated IBF champ Hurd, the defense challenged brawler trying to end the career of ‘ol vet, WBA champ, Lara. I figured this would be the last go ‘round for the slick, stylish Cuban boxer. Hurd seems to think he doesn’t need defense as long as he has the size and strength advantage over most ‘54’s. But I will go on record saying, if he fights Jermell Charlo and gets hit flush as much as he did tonight, he’ll get stopped. Time and again the southpaw Lara would ram Hurd with straight lefts and booming right uppercuts. Hurd, like a robot would just trudge forward, I guess he felt, at SOME point, Lara would get tired of drilling him. Hurd reminds me of an Iran Barkley, that just plows straight ahead, digesting shit until he wears you down. I was at the Lara-Angulo fight where Lara was dropped a couple of times but fought like a real warrior in rallying to stop Angulo. Tonight he was JUST as sharp and accurate as he was then. Hurd looked like he outweighed Lara by some 15lbs. As he walked  through Lara’s bombs, Hurd would bully his smaller foe to the ropes and rip vicious left hooks to the body. Early on, the shots didn’t seem to faze Lara, but you just KNEW at some point they would register. By choice or necessity, Lara started finding himself in an inside battle where Hurd showed that size DOES matter. By the eighth round, Lara was in deep trouble,. Those body shots and ripping uppercuts were wearing his ass out. Though he was able to stand and deliver, his accurate shots had no real impact. With his face and eyes swollen and unable to get away, Lara was a sitting duck, being overpowered. In the final round, Lara was again forced to trade shots and was battered by the steamrolling Hurd. A short right uppercut followed by a sizzling left hook dropped the worn out Lara to all fours. Now THIS is where I think he got some love from ref Robert Byrd (what’s with the Byrds, anyway)? His wife is sight challenged and Robert gave Lara way to much time at this juncture. Normally, when a guy goes down, and his opponent immediately goes to a corner the ref starts his count. This time, Byrd was ushering Hurd to the corner as Lara was on one knee. He should’ve already started his count. Add to that, when Lara was on his feet, he asked, “you ok, you wanna’ fight, you sure, come to me, give me your gloves”. This was way too much conversation, imo. This robbed Hurd of the chance to stop Lara. Perhaps Byrd wanted to give the former champ respect for the battle he had waged, so I’m not mad. Lara was able to finish and though he showed a huge heart and a shitload of courage in the fight, he paid a price and his face showed. If he was a bigger puncher, he might’ve at least dropped Hurd as he stopped him in his tracks a few times. Overall, a helluva’ war and now, Hurd has two belts but if he doesn’t at least learn how to SPELL defense, he won’t be able to just soak up shots against the bigger hitting guys, LIKE Charlo.

 

 

WILDER WISELY SAVED HIS MONEY

03/31/2018-Cardiff, Wales—Undefeated (40-0-39K) WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder figured he could see better fights at ANY bar in Birmingham, Al, his home, than what happened between Anthony Joshua (20-20K) and Joseph Parker (24-0-18K). On paper, this seemed to be something worth checking out. Joshua deemed by most boxing fans and writers as a better fighter  than the sometimes wild swinging, Wilder. Joshua entered the ring wearing the WBA/IBF and IBO straps. At stake was the WBO, somehow worn by Joseph Parker. I was wondering who Parker beat to win HIS belt and realized it was the perennial doughboy, Andy Ruiz, Jr., big Whoops. Joshua’s clown promoter Eddie Hearn made a big stink about the fact Wilder wasn’t  gonna’ be in attendance for this bout, after announcing Wilder wouldn’t be permitted to enter the ring to confront the winner, to promote the next fight, ASSUMING Wilder got the winner. I guess Eddie had a special seat for Wilder somewhere in the upper deck.

After waiting for some bombs to be detonated, after 12 dreary rounds, all I saw was a clueless ref and two guys that didn’t seem too willing to assume any risks over the twelve rounds. At no time did Joshua seem intent on keeping his ko streak intact. After 20 straight, he was content to box his way to a sleeper. The decision was unanimous, I assume the judges had to be aroused from their siestas. Joshua’s biggest problem was some cheap tape on his gloves that kept coming loose. There were no knockdowns, nothing evenCLOSE, just a chess match and I hate chess. Afterwards, after being asked for the fifth time, Joshua said he’d face Wilder in Wales and that “I’ll spark him out”. If you fight like you did tonight, buddy, you’ll be asleep before you spark ANYTHING. If he wasn’t willing to get involved with a guy with a limited offense and no real visible power, what the hell is he gonna’ do with a flame thrower like Deontay? I don’t expect to see this fight any time in the near future, marinate my ASS. Joshua was starting to sound like Keith (take my time) Thurman when he hears the word ‘Spence’. Well, there’s always the upcoming weeks as we have some real action on tap.