Category Archives: Boxer Spotlight

By: Boxing Don D-MAC’S DEBUT AT THE DOUBLETREE

D-MAC’S DEBUT AT THE DOUBLETREE

4/19/2019-Having been a boxing coach for MANY years I’d stepped away for a minute and told myself it was gonna’ take a special person to get me back in the gym.  Last night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontariio, Ca. on my long time friend Kenny Thompson’s  LOCK ‘N LOADED SHOW, I think I found him. Turns out he was there all the time. I’d been training Davonte (D-MAC) McCowen  off and on for about six years. Since we’ve renewed our ties, he seems to be not just a new fighter  but more importantly, a new man.

After a brief and I do mean brief, amateur career,  we decided it was time to get paid to punch people. His amateur career consisted of a mere five ( that’s right) bouts and he won only one. One would say I’d lost my remaining marbles for doing this. But I’d seen a serious drive and dedication in this ‘new’ Davonte and liked what I saw. He works hard at the AV Boxing gym in Palmdale (owned by the Jack of all trades, Hervi Estrada) and handles his business away from the gym. I have always felt that what you do away from the gym is in some ways more important than what you do IN the gym.

It was a bit of a struggle finding a debut opponent at first but we settled on one, a Chris Crawle, fighting out of the TKO Boxing club in Santa Ana. Now there are debuts and there are debuts. Crawley turned out to be one of those strong, tough Irish guys that don’t seem to give a shit about too much of ANYTHING. People often ask “hey coach is your boy gonna’ do well tonight” and I always say, “I know what he can do and what he should do but I won’t know what he’s gonna’ do until he does it”. I knew this was a bit of a gamble because Mr. Badass Crawley had thirty  five amateur fights and was accustomed to fighting with no head gear. He was 25 years of age, as is my guy. In the weeks leading up to the fight, D-MAC was calmer than I’d ever seen him, calm and collected and unconcerned about the task at hand. He asked me, “you worried coach”? I jokingly said, “I’m worried because you’re NOT.

In the dressing room he was still as calm as can be,  shadow boxing in his fluid style, slick and sharp. He also happens to be a hard puncher so I knew this wasn’t gonna’ be your ‘garden variety’ debut. The main eventer,  Eric Ituarte was also from the TKO gym and I had word that Thompson was interested in our opponent. So, we had an ‘us v. the world’ attitude going in. I told D-MAC “ I want you to land the first punch AND the last”. If the fans were expecting a sloppy, feel ‘em out opening round between these two debaters, they were pleasantly in error. Shit got started right away. These two acted like they owed each other money.  My boy started with the jab and was boxing smoothly and picking his spots. Chris was looking to get this ‘novice’ up outta’ here early. He launched an assault and we met it head on and the crowd was already involved. Back and forth it went. Chris would start an attack and when he stopped, D-MAC  would land hard shots, earning his props. Each ‘newbie’ landed their share of hard shots and this was a REAL throw down. The action was ebb and flow and going into the last round, it was ‘anybody’s scrap’ Crawley got off first, forcing my boy to the ropes but was hit with counter shots on the way in. At the 10 seconds left, clapper, the crowd was on its feet and I think, rooting on both warriors. Keeping to our plan,  a second before the final bell, McCowen landed a hard left hook causing Crawley to pause just for a second, signaling a great finish to a war rarely seen in newbies.

The crowd was wet with anticipation, KNOWING this could go either way and I admit, I was concerned, as they carried Chris around the ring. Then, came the call, 39-37 for Crawley and then, 38-38, a draw. Nobody seemed disappointed as this was an EVEN fight. I would love to know what went through Chris’ mind, getting THIS much grief from a guy with FIVE amateur fights. Afterwards,  we were approached by LOTS of fans saying we won the fight. Even later at Denny’s restaurant, we were approached by people saying the same thing. All in all, I was extremely  proud of my boy’s performance, he was NOT here to lose this fight. A rematch you say? Not anytime soon, as D-MAC  feels better at 130 and this fight was 135 lbs. In fact, he weighed in at 131lbs. He’s 5’10” has long arms, boxes well and punches hard so I’m looking for great things from McCowen. Veteran ringside writer  Francisco Salazar wrote that this was the ‘fight of the night’. Imagine that and he wasn’t alone in his comment. A  job well done by BOTH guys. My guy’s already asking “when can I fight again, coach”? Music  to my ears.

By: John Pinto “Locked and Loaded” Ontario Doubletree Hotel Ontario, California

Photos by; John Pinto

Thompson Boxing Promotions hosted their April installment of Professional Boxing at the Ontario Doubletree Hotel on April 19. Billed as “Locked and Loaded”, a total of 5 bouts of differing weight classes, that varied in their intensity, were presented to those in attendance. An almost “full-house” of lively boisterous fans were on hand to enjoy all of the action.

The opening bout of the evening featured the “Pro Debut” of two contestants in the Lightweight Division, Chris “The Irish Mexican” Crowley (134.7 lbs., Brighton, England, Pro Debut) and Davonte “D-Mac” McCowen (131.1 lbs., Lancaster, California, Pro Debut). Young McCowen is trained by WestCoastBoxing.com’s owner and Editor, “Boxing Don” Dinkins. It was a “feeling-out” process at the beginning of the opening round, but this soon changed. Crowley soon unleashed a wicked body attack upon McCowen, and in this writer’s opinion, took the opening round. But McCowen was not yet finished. In the second, he made quite a comeback, and in the opinion of this writer, won the round, thus evening the score to this point. The remaining two rounds became a non-stop, toe -to-toe battle to the end, with both fighters having their moments. While one of the judges had the bout scored 39-37, the other two scored the bout 38-38, the result being a Majority Draw, but a very exciting opening bout, nonetheless.

Next on the program was a scheduled 4 Round contest in the Heavyweight Division, between Thomas “The Conqueror” Hawkins (253.6 lbs., Houston, Texas, 4-3, 1 KO) and Oscar Torrez (214.4 lbs., Rialto, California, 4-0, 1 KO). As usually happens with heavyweights, this contest started at a slower pace than the opening contest. The better shots were definitely landed by Torrez in the opening round. While Hawkins had his moments in the second round, Torrez continued to dominate the action. In spite of a game effort by Hawkins, Torrez continued to dominate the action in the third round, landing some “bombs”. Torrez had Hawkins reeling in the fourth round, from a flurry of punches, and at 1:20 of the round, Referee Tony Crebs had seen enough and called a halt to the contest. Torrez won by a KO.

A 4 Round Welterweight battle followed between Daniel Perales (146.9 lbs., Monterrey, Mexico, 10-16, 5 KOs) and Luis Lopez (145.3 lbs., Corona, California, 5-0, 3 KOs). The two combatants went right to work in he first round, but Luis Lopez got the best of the exchanges. Perales came out swinging in the second round, but the better shots were definitely landed by Lopez. Though Perales continued his game effort in the third round, Luis Lopez continued his domination of the fight, and continued it into the fourth and final round. All three judges scored the contest 40-36, in favor of Luis Lopez, the Winner by a Unanimous Decision.

The 4th fight of the evening was a 4 Round Super Middleweight battle between Sergio “Phoenix” Ramirez (163.3 lbs., Tijuana, Mexico, 6-5, 6 KOs) and Richard “Cool Breeze” Brewart (156.7 lbs., Rancho Cucamonga, California, 4-0, 2 KOs). Brewart dominated the action from the opening bell in Round 1. Though he slowed his pace down in the second round, Brewart continued to dominate contest. In the third round, Brewart unleashed a vicious body attack upon Ramirez, and continued to dominate in the fourth and final round. It was no surprise that all three judges scored the contest 40-36, in favor of Brewart, the Winner by a Unanimous Decision.

Before the Main Event of the evening commenced, two special introductions took place. The first was of Jose Sanchez, who was scheduled to fight on this evening’s card but had to “pull-out” of the contest due to an injury, and the second was actually a “Final 10 Count” for the late Dr. Joe Noriega, a Thompson Boxing “Regular” for many years, who had recently passed away. Dr. Noriega’s tribute was followed by the singing of the National Anthem, by Amanda Reeves.

It was time for the Main Event of the evening, a 10 Round Featherweight contest between Jose “Hollywood” Estrella (125.7 lbs., Tijuana, Mexico, 20-15-1, 14 KOs), and local favorite, Erick “All American Boy” Ituarte (125.3 lbs., Santa Ana, California, 20-1-1, 3 KOs). The fight began with a feeling-out process in round one. They stepped up the pace in round 2, but neither clearly dominated, in this writer’s opinion. The pace got busier in Round 3, but still neither appeared to dominate. Ituarte unleashed a wicked body attack in the fourth round, but Estrella did not “give any ground”, and it continued to be a “back-and-forth” contest. Round 5 was a duplicate of Round 4. Though the sixth round started somewhat slower, the pace soon quickened and became a toe-to-battle as the previous rounds. The contest remained this way through round nine, though it appeared that Estrella was hit with a low blow at the end of Round 7, but he was able to continue. By Round 9, Estrella appeared to have won over some of the crowd, and it appeared to this writer, that he had won some of the later rounds of the contest. After the customary, touching of the gloves to begin the tenth round, Ituarte “got on the bicycle” for most of the round. It was a battle to the end, and Estrella was really forcing the action. The judges scored the contest 98-92, 100-89, and 100-89, all in favor of Ituarte, declared the Winner by a Unanimous Decision.

And the April 2019 Installment of Thompson Boxing Promotions came to an end. Their next show will be on May 10, at their Corona location.

 

By: John Pinto – “New Blood” Ontario Doubletree Hotel Ontario, California

Thompson Boxing Promotions hosted their first monthly installment of Professional Boxing, for the 2019 season, at the Ontario Doubletree Hotel, on February 8. Billed as “New Blood”, a total of 5 bouts of differing weight classes, were presented, that varied in their intensity, to a nearly full house, that included some very lively boisterous fight fans. The show also featured the “return” of well-known Boxing writer and Commentator, Doug Fischer, to the live stream of the boxing action on the Thompson Boxing Facebook production. All who attended were in store for a “Knockout” night of boxing.

The show opened with a scheduled 4 Round Junior Middleweight contest between Leo Ruiz (151.6 lbs., San Bernardino, CA, 3-0, 1 KO) and Adan “Cangrejo” Ahumada (154.4 lbs., Matamoros, Mexico, 3-6-2, 2 KOs). From the opening bell, it was target practice for Ruiz, and this continued to the end of Round 1, despite a game effort by Ahumada. Every punch that Ruiz threw, landed with authority. This continued until :49 of the second round, when the Referee, Raul Caiz, Jr. had seen enough, and called a halt to the contest. Ruiz won by KO, improving his record to 4-0.

Next on the program was another scheduled 4 Round Junior Middleweight battle between Richard “Cool Breeze” Brewart, Jr. (151.7 lbs., Rancho Cucamonga, CA, 3-0, 1 KO) and Abel “Dinamita” Reyes (151 lbs., Reynosa, Mexico, 4-2, 4 KOs). From the opening bell of Round 1, it was all Brewart. Reyes gave a game effort, but he was dominated by Brewart. During the round, Reyes claimed to have been hit illegally, went to his knees, and took a 8 count, but was able to continue until the end of the round. The two combatants picked up where they left off as Round 2 opened, and Reyes even rallied for a brief moment, but at 1:28 of the round, a crushing right hand from Brewart put Reyes to the canvas for the count. Brewart won by KO, keeping his undefeated record intact.

Next on the card was a 4 Round Lightweight contest between George “Yuyu” Acosta (134.2 lbs., South Whittier, CA, 6-0, 1 KO) and Guadalupe “Beach Boy” Arroyo (136.1 lbs., Huntington Beach, CA, 3-14). The 1st Round of this contest was open season for Acosta, as he hit Arroyo, at will. At about the 2:00 mark, Arroyo was warned for turning his back (after committing this offence for the third time). Arroyo gave a better effort in Round 2, but Acosta continued his domination, and he continued to dominate in the 3rd Round. By the 4th Round, in this writer’s opinion, the Referee could have stopped at any point in the round. To no one’s surprise, all three Judges scored the bout 40-36, in favor of Acosta, the winner by a Unanimous Decision.

It was time for the Co-Main Event of the evening, which was a scheduled 4 Round Junior Welterweight battle between “Ace” Ruben Torres (136.8 lbs., South Central LA, CA, 7-0, 6 KOs) and Elliot Brown (137.7 lbs., Erie, PA, 2-6, 2 KOs). Brown put forth a good effort from the opening bell, but Torres dominated the action, definitely landing the better shots. Torrez continued to dominate in the second round as well, in spite of the good effort by Brown. Between the 2nd & 3rd rounds, the Referee called a halt to the contest, as Brown was unable to continue. Torres was the winner by TKO.

It was time for the Main Event of the evening. Scheduled for 8 Rounds was a Super Bantamweight battle between Mario “El Gallito” Hernandez (118.3 lbs., Santa Ana, CA, 8-0-1, 3 KOs) and Luis “Siete Barrios” Saavedra (118.9 lbs., San Luis Potosi, Mexico, 7-6, 3 KOs). In the opening round, Hernandez took a trip to the canvas, the Referee called it a knockdown, so it most likely cost him the 1st round. Both had their moments in the 2nd Round, making that a hard round to score. Early in the 3rd Round, Hernandez’ legs looked a bit shaky due to a hard shot, but he recovered, as the round progressed, and the contest became a “toe-to-toe” battle for the remainder of the 3rd Round, and also the 4th & 5th Rounds. The pace of the fight slowed somewhat in the 6th Round. In the 7th Round, it had become a seesaw battle, with each fighter having their moments. By Round 8, the wear began to show on both contestants, but it was still a fight to the finish. The Judges scores were 79-72, 78-73, and78-73, all in favor of Saavedra, the winner by a Unanimous Decision

And one more evening of exciting boxing action came to a conclusion.

The next Thompson show at the Ontario Doubletree will be on April 19.

By John Pinto – “Locked and Loaded” Ontario Doubletree Hotel Ontario, California

Thompson Boxing Promotions hosted their final installment of Professional Boxing for 2018 at the Ontario Doubletree Hotel on November 16. Billed as “Locked and Loaded”, a total of 6 bouts of differing weight classes, that varied in their intensity, were presented to those in attendance. A near “full-house” of lively boisterous fans were on hand to enjoy all of the action.

The first fight on the program was a four round Super Featherweight contest between Arnold “The Hawaiian Pitbull” Dinong (127.5 lbs., Ewa Beach, Hawaii, 2-0, 1 KO) and Alex “Girito” Solorio (127.5 lbs., San Quintin, Mexico, 4-4, 1 KO). Dinong dominated all four rounds, in spite of a game effort by Solorio. He landed by far the more effective punches, through the first two rounds, as Solorio seemed content to land one punch at a time, while Dinong landed punches in rapid flurries. In the third round, Solorio sort of came to life, and landed a few combinations, but Dinong continued his domination. This continued into the fourth and final round, and both released flurries at the conclusion of the contest, to the delight of the crowd. All 3 judges scored the fight, 40-36, in favor of Dinong, the winner by a Unanimous Decision.

A 6 Round Bantamweight contest between Mario “El Gallito” Hernandez (118.7 lbs., Santa Ana, California, 7-0-1, 3 Kos) and Luis “Cañitas” Montellano (118.6 lbs., Tijuana, Mexico, 0-3-2) was next. Round 1 started very slow, with Montellano forcing the action the first 2 minutes, and Hernandez dominated the last minute of the round. The pace of the fight picked up in the second and third rounds, and Hernandez dominated both. The pace slowed somewhat in the fourth round, and despite a game effort from Montellano, Hernandez continued his domination. In the fifth round it became a “toe-to-toe” battle from beginning to end, with a very good effort by both fighters. The pace slowed a bit in the sixth, but it picked up a little as the round progressed. All three judges scored the bout 59-55, in favor of Hernandez, the Winner by a Unanimous Decision.

Next on the program was a 4 Round Junior Middleweight battle between Leo Ruiz (152.6 lbs., San Bernardino, California, 2-0, 1 KO) and Nam Phan (155 lbs., Garden Grove, California, 3-7-1). From the opening bell of this contest, it was a case of Ruiz landing by far the better punches, while Phan threw wild punches, sometimes with an open glove, a slap, if you will. Phan must be credited for a game effort, but from start to finish of the bout, Ruiz dominated. The judges scored the contest 40-35, 40-36, and 40-36, all in favor of Ruiz, the Winner by a Unanimous Decision.

Another 4 Round Junior Middleweight battle followed. Matched against each other were Richard “Cool Breeze” Brewart (153.1 lbs., Rancho Cucamonga, California, 2-0, 1 KO) and Antonio Luis “The Dangerous” Hernandez (155 lbs., Kansas City, Missouri, 1-5). These two went right at each other from the opening bell. Both threw a lot of punches, but Brewart landed the better shots. This was the story for the second round as well. It became a toe-to-toe battle in the third round, as both fighters had their moments, but Brewart continued to dominate. The battle continued in the fourth round, and in this writer’s opinion, Hernandez won this round. The judges scored the contest 39-37, 40-36, and 40-36, in favor of Richard Brewart, the winner by a Unanimous Decision.

A scheduled 6 Round Junior Welterweight contest between Pedro “El Gallito” Moreno (139.5 lbs., Sacramento, California, 9-0, 5 KOs) and Erik “Monkey” Aguirre (136.1 lbs., Tijuana, Mexico, 6-9-1, 4 KOs) followed. Round 1 of this contest was mostly a “feeling out” round, yet, each had their moments. Moreno went on the attack from the opening bell in round 2, chasing Aguirre all over the ring. About one minute into the round, he bounced Aguirre of the ropes. A couple of seconds later, the Referee had seen enough, and called a halt to the contest at 1:13 of the 2nd Round. Moreno won by a KO.

It was time for the Main Event of the evening, a scheduled 8 Round battle between Michael “The West Texas Warrior” Dutchover (134 lbs., Midland, Texas, 11-0, 8 KOs) and Ruben “Kanelito” Tamayo (134 lbs., Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, 25-11-4). Both fighters started slow in the opening round though Dutchover got the better of it. Tamayo gave a game effort in the next round, but Dutchover let loose a vicious body attack that would continue through the end of the bout. In the 3rd Round, Tamayo’s game effort continued, but about one minute into the round, a wicked body shot from Dutchover, sent Tamayo to his knees. From this point, it was only a matter of time. Dutchover continued his body attack, and at about the 2:10 mark, he sent Tamayo to his knees for the second time in the round, and the Referee called a halt to the contest at 2:15. Dutchover had another victory by KO.

And Thompson Boxing Promotion’s “Grand Finale” of 2018 came to an end. Their 2019 season will begin in this coming February.

 

 

Garcia Unifies, Beats One Armed Man

07/28/2018-Staple Center, Los Angeles, Ca.- Remember that great crime series from MANY years ago called The Fugitive, starring David Jansen? It had to do with the weekly pursuit of a one armed man suspected of murder. Well, there was a one armed man in LA tonight, trying to beat one of the best fighters in tha’ game today. Tall, long armed Robert Easter Jr. from Toledo Ohio (21-0-14K) talked for months about what he was gonna’ do to Mikey Garcia. He promised to show Garcia (38-0-30K) and the boxing world what he was all about . The strange thing was, he tried to do it with one hand. Now, I don’t know exactly what Easter’s game plan was but it didn’t involve much more that a left jab.

For the first 3-4 rounds, he boxed smoothly and smartly, keeping Garcia at bay. Problem was, that’s pretty much ALL he did, aside from a brief exchange in the ninth round. Though a right hand, left hook  set in the third round dropped him for a moment, Easter wasn’t badly hurt. In fact, he rallied at the end of the round. But, mostly he was stuck in reverse as Garcia pursued him around the ring, trying to get Easter to do at least do SOME of the shit he promised. How in the hell, Easter thought he was gonna’ come to LA and be an LA homie like that baffled me. I thought maybe the plan was to lure Garcia to sleep with that long, stinging jab and then blast him with his right hand. I don’t think Easter threw a hook until the ninth round. Spending lots of time pinned to the ropes and being assaulted by Garcia, Easter would rarely fire back, choosing instead to either tie Mikey up or jab his way off the ropes.

At no time did he seem interested in TAKING  Mikey’s  belt. He seemed to think, ‘I’ll stay with my jab and as long as I don’t get hurt, I’m good’. Garcia stayed on the attack, pressing and landing decent shots along the way, as Easter’s D is pretty good. It was a good, NOT great fight and there was no disputing the scores which read, 116-111/ 117-110 and 118-109. As usual, Garcia remained composed and didn’t look sloppy trying for the ko. He stayed with the plan and calmly snatched Easter’s belt along the way. Garcia now has the WBC AND IBF straps.

Now, Mikey doesn’t get hit too much during his fights so SOMETHING must be happening in sparring because he keeps mentioning Errol Spence’s name. Even his brother/trainer Robert AND his uncle Eduardo keep telling Mikey, “don’t SAY that”. I admire Mikey’s courage and I think he’d take the fight but he wouldn’t SURVIVE it. Imagine how difficult it would be for Robert to train Mikey to fight Spence when his heart’s not in it? It would be a strange scenario and how would Mikey  feel ? Afterwards, when told about Mikey’s desire to get killed, Spence needed a bib to catch the drool as he thought about that fight. He struggled to contain his glee at the thought.  Mikey, you’re a HELLUVA’ fighter and I know it’s been hot as hell in LA and maybe the heat’s getting to you, but YOU need to stop playin’. You won’t have to chase Errol like you did Easter and you SURELY don’t wanna’ ‘sit there’ with the best fighter in tha’ game today. He’s too big and too strong and your wish is ALL wrong. Take a couple of Aspirin and call me when you feel better and are thinking clearly.

In the semi, there was a so-called heavyweight fight and I always say, with the big boys, you never know what to look for. Once beaten Cuban Luis King Kong) Ortiz (28-1-2ND-24K) hurt himself by pounding his chest more than his sorry opponent  Razan Cojanu (16-3-9K) did in this brief encounter. They said this Cojanu was some type of ‘former champion’. Yeah, so was I. They also say Ortiz is 39 years old. If he’s 39, I’m 69 and I was born in 1942. Yes, they kept records back then. In any event, after a slow first round, the ‘ol Cuban lined up the ‘former champio’ and drilled his ass with a sweeping right hook and straight hand that dropped Cojanu TWICE. This was some Tyson-Berbick shit. Cojanu went down and reached for the ropes which he missed judged by two feef and eventually wound up on his face. He fell AGAIN, causing the ref to intervene and he had the unmitigated gall the AUDACITY to complain to the ref. He was probably saying, ‘why did you stop it ref, I could’ve gotten killed’.

In the first aired fight, unbeaten (24-0-13K) Mario Barrios fought a guy that put up as much résistance as a two dollar ho.  Jose (El Gato) Roman (24-2-1D-16K) was in survival mode from the time he left his dressing room. He just let Barrios beat on him for seven rounds until his corner awakened from their slumber and told the ref to stop the trouncing. Barrios dropped his woeful opponent with a combination in the fourth round and poor Roman just took his beating like a man.

Hometown Rematch, Good, Not ‘Great’

Los Angeles 6/9/2018- After a long buildup to their long awaited rematch, local featherweights, WBA champion, Leo Santa Cruz (35-1-1-19K) faced his homie,  Abner Mares (31-3-1-15K). Not since the Bobby Chacon-Danny Lopez  days has there been a fight of this magnitude in the 126 class. The hometown crowd was moist with anticipation for this one,  (especially after last night’s semi, but later for that). But how often does the sequel outdo the original? Not often, there’s only so many Israel Vasquez-Rafael Marquez wars to go around and they did it THREE times, each outdoing the other. Maybe Santa Cruz  and Mares remembered that trilogy.

Tonight’s rematch, while a goody, wasn’t a ‘great’ fight. There were sporadic fire fights but not as many or as sustained as the first time around. One difference was Santa Cruz fought a more measured, distanced fight against the shorter Mares. Also, this time, Abner  had outstanding Oxnard trainer, Robert Garcia, helming his corner. One constant was, Abner  still had the better hairdo and facial hair.

None of this mattered though, as the taller, rangier, hypnotizing you glove shaker, Santa Cruz was in total control in an action fight with  moments of suspense. There  were no back and forth exchanges that had either guy on the mat or even CLOSE to it but it was an entertaining scrap. When he was able to check Santa Cruz’s range, Mares wasn’t able to do any real damage. In the eighth, Leo was slightly cut over the left eye which wasn’t an issue at all. These two guys are among the good guys in tha’ game, not  much smack talking and WHEN they do it, seems  outta’ character. Just grab the lunch pails and get in the Lambo and head off to work, no muss, no fuss. Mares seemed to tire a bit around the ninth round as Leo peppered him from out side. After the fight, the two ‘real’ pros, had nothing but good things to say about each other. I’m surprised they’re able to fight each other as hard as they do. This will probably end up like a buddy-buddy thing like Ward and Gatti, which isn’t a bad thing. Mares yelled, “LA, yall wanna’ see this again, Santa Cruz, Mares3”?  No, sorry Lil Abner, this isn’t one of those ‘do it ‘til you get it right’, deals. Maybe Leo’ll call you since he surely has your number. Btw, he called out Gary Russell last night, psssst, Leo, that’s JoJo Diaz on your phone, better take the call. The cards read 115-113/116-112 and117-111 for Leo. 117-111 ??????????

To all promoters, don’t put two stylish Black fighters on the same card as some little fast, busy Latinos, NOT a good idea. In the semi, unbeaten WBC Jr. middleweight champ (30-0-15K) faced long time vet,  Austin (No Doubt) Trout (31-4-17K) in a fight for Charlo’s belt. This was a strategic affair, (TOO much so) with the strong, heavy-handed champ stalking the gatekeeper. Trying to keep his 7 bout ko streak intact, Charlo was missing wildly on several occasions. He at times looked like Deontay Wilder going for the kill, letting Doubt off the hook. There  were three questionable knockdowns, all scored by the champ. After eating a few shots early on, Trout hung out the ‘Gone Fishing’ sign and just pretty much stayed outta’ harm’s way. Trout says “take away the knockdowns) and I won the fight. That’s what Patterson said when Johanssen dropped HIS ass SEVEN times in the third round. Trout is like Riggundeau (sp) and Lara , they can make you look for the air freshener at times. Somehow, one judge had the fight a draw (must’ve been Adalaide Byrd (lol), while the others had it 115-111 and 118-108 for Charlo. 118-108 was a bit much as well. So now, the shit talking Charlo (runs in the family) wants the hard punching, punch eating robot, Jarrett Hurd. I can see people getting dropped in this one, multiple times, in fact.

It’s been a couple of days now and I wonder if shit talking Jeff Horn has landed a clean shot on the Terror , Terrence (Bud ) Crawford. In the highlights I’ve seen, Crawford beat the kangaroo piss outta’ the Aussie champion and relieved him of his belt in the process. No one expected Horn to have that belt long, anyway. They should’ve had it engraved, ‘ON LOAN TO JEFF HORN’.

DON’T START THIS CRAP

6/09/2018…. To BEGIN with, there was not that much happening in that so-called finals, title game. So wth interrupt the fights? I hate that sht. It’s either girl’s softball, Little League W.S. or some other non-descript  bs.  Javale McGee has never been interviewed in his life. This shit should’ve been aired in The Bay Area.

It in turn caused the  ‘ol guy to get his hopes dashed. The fights I’d recorded earlier were not fully recorded and I KNOW I set my recorder set. However, here’s what I DID see and I hope things are better tonight. I saw a Damar Singleton (10-2-1-9k) face a guy that couldn’t fight sleep. His opponent Tommy Hughes (6-1-3K) In the sixth round of a so-so affair. Singleton struggled to finally stop Hughes on a nasty cut over the left eye which bled profusely. It was a weird stoppage because there were no punches thrown by either guy for an entire MINUTE before the ref waived it off. Singleton went bonkers, as if he’d done something, jumping around, dancing, praying, jumping on the ropes and he hadn’t done Shit.

Next up was an even WORSE fight. A guy that was 10-0-11K named Turvel Pulev knocked out a TOTALLY inept Armando Ancona (8-7-2K) in the first round, PITIFUL.

Then came the main event. Now, this is where the ‘ol guy’s gonna’ irritate the masses. Lancaster’s Jose Hernandez (19-3-1-9K)is a very popular, aggressive two fisted type  that doesn’t fear a good brawl. At least, that’s the guy I watched from ringside at the PEC Center in Lancaster. His trainer, Allan Cox, a long time friend  from our Hoover St. Days, is the very capable trainer of Hernandez. I ran into Big Al  and his son a few days before his effort to win NABO light heavy weight  title against the hoagie hype job, Mike Lee.  Lee (20-0-11K) whose claim to fame was as  a former   Notre Dame footballer and pitch man for the Subway food chain. Big Al was saying “ this is a VERY winnable fight for us Don, if we take care of business”. Al had just come from hooping with his son and giving him grief about the lessons just administered. His son wasn’t taking things too well, looking like Trump when Merkel was chewing at his ass. He was VERY irritated.   Now,  about the fight. When Big Al said the fight was “winnable”, he was ON IT. Jose should’ve beaten this guy. He didn’t much resemble the guy I’d seen live. Lee was no submarine, but Jose had this thing won. Not saying this was Jose’s case but sometimes a fighter thinks a situation may be too big for him, fighting in the guy’s home town, he’s undefeated, he’s the guy with the hype, etc. In MY eyes, however, Jose was too tentative at times. He wasn’t as imposing as usual. He and his camp KNEW the situation and KNEW they had to “take this”. This was a tough, grueling affair and I was going, “c’mon Jose, c’mon, man”. In my eyes Hernandez just didn’t push hard enough. He took all Miller issued and was right there. He moved Miller back often when he wanted to. I see a lotta’ friends on FB raving about Jose’s performance but THIS Jose looked about 85%. He should’ve kicked this guy’s ass, he was the better fighter. My recording stopped in the ninth round, so I don’t know how Jose closed.

Promoter Bobby Hitz said “Lee broke two ribs in the first round”. If true, he GOT his ribs broken, HE didn’t do it. And  IF true, if only Jose’s team knew. The body attack is one of Jose’s attributes. Al should ask for a redo, tell Hitz, “we want him, without broken ribs, no excuses. But if Lee’s folks are smart, he’ll leave Jose alone, maybe treat  him to a Subway sandwich. Can’t  wait to hear from Big Al on this one. Lee won the tiff and remains unbeaten and is the NABO champ, enjoy it mike and don’t make Jose your first defense.

And now, it’s on to tonight and Santa Cruz and Mr. Cool, Abner Mares and Charlo-Hurd.

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?

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

FIGHTS LEFT ME CROSSEYED

2/17/2018- El Paso, Tx.-There were so many fights last night, I lost track, so don’t mess with me if I get a few stats wrong. But, let me start with this. I saw Caleb Plant’s debut at the Galen Center years ago and said, “damn this White dude is smooth and has skills. That was about four years ago and after watching him last night, I see very little difference, YET, whenever I see him being interviewed, he’s calling out David Benavidez, “that’s a fight I’d like” he said. Trust me, David would knock Plant’s dickstrap loose. Benavidez is now my favorite guy to watch (and Errol Spence). If Caleb Plant EVER lets his peeps put him in a ring with David, it better be just to take a picture. With that light spraying, Plant (16-0-10K) likes to do, I don’t think Benavidez, with HIS chin, would even have to block them. Plant would never have the luxury of strolling around the ring like he’s at the damn beach, with Benavidez . Plant faced a guy that was so slow and inept, it was pitiful. I’ve seen sloths faster than Porky Medina. I thought that was a rap by Tone Loc. There were times when Medina (38-8-32K) would miss by such wide margins, Plant would just clown him by waving his gloves in the air and those Latinos in El Paso did NOT like the shit he was doing ONE damn bit. I’ve seen guys shadow boxing land more punches than Porky last night. Plant has a smooth style, slick moves, but is BOOOORING as hell at times. Thing is, he never tries to hurt anybody,  too busy stylin’ smilin’ and profilin’ and he’ll do that shit for ten rounds. Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see where he goes next, if he plans on being a star, he’d better change his lackadaisical ways. PPV,  yeah RIGHT. Oh, Plant won a unanimous decision (yawn).

Now, I have NO idea what the judges were drinking during the Devon Alexander (27-4-14K)- Victor Ortiz fight. Ortiz (32-6-3D-25K) tried his damndest, didn’t quit but STILL got his ass whipped by the sharp shooting Alexander. This was a pretty good hookup though as one NEVER knows what the hell Ortiz might do. He might enter the ring on a surfboard. Vic’s a classic underachiever, has power, talent but never really had a fighter’s mentality and if the heat got to be too much, he has no problem asking “where’s  the nearest exit”? Devon was pretty much on point, raking the game Ortiz with uppercuts, straight left hands and whatever else he wanted to toss in Vic’s direction. Ortiz got his shit off, but never really did more than buzz Devon a few times. There were no knockdowns. Ortiz’s left eye started swelling as early as the fourth round and I thought oh, oh, quitting time, but he hung tough and lasted the distance in this WBC welterweight elimination scrap. Then came  the  Adelaide Byrd moment. The fight was scored a split decision DRAW. I saw it at 8-4. Talking head Virgil Hunter couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for Devon and didn’t give Ortiz many props at all, that was left to the other talking scalp, Ghost Guerrero. The welters are a hot division and Ortiz doesn’t belong in THAT mix, any way.

In a four rounder, hot prospect, Olympian, Carlos Banderas (3-0-3K) caught an erection after rocking the world of Jorge Rojas (4-2-2K) with a blistering one-two set early in the opening round and spent pretty much the rest of the time seeking a spectacular ko. Rojas wasn’t just there to entertain Bandaras and after getting drilled from time to time, informed the young upstart that ‘some of us can go more than four’. It was a good learning experience and should bode well in Bandaras’ future. Carlos is super quick and accurate and looks very promising, just has to be a little patient at times.

Mandalay Bay- Las Vegas

Errol Spence’s next victim, Yourdanis Ugas (21-3-10K), scored a hard fought victory over Philly’s Ray Robinson (24-3-12K), dropping him twice and scoring a TKO at 1:05 of the seventh round. Ugas, as rugged as they come, finished matters with an overhand right. Robinson had his moments in this back and forth affair but was finally worn down by the strength and power of Ugas.

I was fired up to watched my favorite guy to watch, David Benavidez, tha’ games youngest champ at 21. Benavidez (19-0-17K) out to inform us that this rematch with the ultra rugged, Ronald (the Thrill) Gavril (18-2-14K) in this super middleweight hookup. In their first encounter, Benavidez survived a knockdown in the final round but was ahead on the cards. Both guys had been threatening a different result this time. The Thrill questioned the maturity of the youngster and David just said, I’m gonna’ knock his ass out this time. The tall and super talented Benavidez was like an unchained Cobra, piercing the tight defence of his opponent with laser jabs from the gate. He then switched to a vicious body attack that had the normally aggressive Gavril on the lam. David is one mean youngster. Gavril would barrel forward with his strong body shots but was met each time with a hail of leather from the young, well conditioned champion. This was a beautiful performance by Benavidez as he showed a maturity beyond his years. He doesn’t have a fighter’s body, hardly any muscles to talk about but he can and WILL bang. It seemed like the only time Gavril landed was when Benavidez allowed him to,like when he was on the ropes. Things got pretty tortuous for the hard trying Gavril who had NO help from his corner. Former lightheavyweight champ (and a good one) Eddie Mustofa Muhamed kept repeating the OBVIOUS, “you’re taking his best punches, look at how tired he is, he’s dead-ass tired”. He said this after nearly every round. Problem was, he was lying about the “tired” part. I’m sure The Thrill was thinking’ yeah, I’m taking his shots now wtfk   can I DO about it’? Eddie had NO solutions and the ass whippin’ continued. Gavril had fleeting success but otherwise just got trashed. It was reported that he suffered a broken jaw AND nose. Did I say David can ram? The only think that kept him from stopping the rugged Gavril was the injury suffered to both hands in the ninth round. He only threw about six rights over the last three rounds. Overall, a brilliant performance and  a bad sign going forward for this division. So, THIS is what Caleb Plant wants, DON’T fkn make me laugh.

In an interesting hookup, Philly’s Danny( Swift) Garcia (33-1-19K), with his heavy hands, faced the supposedly rededicated tough guy, Brandon (Bam Bam ) Rios. The Oxnard vet (34-3+-1D-24K). Rios had shown some improvement since reuniting with one of California’s top trainers, Robert Garcia of Oxnard. Early on, Rios was seen slipping shots and a better defense. Garcia showed lots of patience, boxing well, behind good movement an a stiff left jab. Rios started getting inside in the third and landing with uppercuts but Garcia was starting to fire bac, landing jarring rigt hands to Brandon’s face.Both guys were landing well but Garcia was started to really get to Rios with big hooks to the body and head slowing Rios down. In the seventh, Brandon was pretty much walking in and dieting on Danny’s power shots. It was pretty obvious at this point that Rios was in deep caca. Danny’s shots were starting to shake up Rios. Rios would shake his head ‘no’ but I think those rights were rocking his head. With his face showing the wear and tear, Brandon was a sitting duck as Garcia was duck hunting. A lazy jab sealed Rios’ fate as Garcia counter with a monster right hand, putting Rios flat on his back. Forever the gamester, Rios got to his feet at nine and when ref Kenny Bayless  asked if he wanted to go on, Brandon said ‘yes’ but his underpinnings told a different story. If Bayless had allowed Garcia to get off another right hand like that, he’d be considered an accessory

Then, things got REAL funky. As they annoying Jim Gray was interviewing Garcia, top contender, Shawn Porter started yapping at Danny. Needless to say, Danny and daddy weren’t having it. The shit was flying and I never understand why a guy in a three piece would get in the face of a fighter with gloves on and STILL hot from the battle. Danny told Porter, “go back home, boy, this is my town” Porter said, “I live here, I train here, I’m from here”. Garcia” we can do it now, we can take it to the streets. Porter: No, I wanna’ do it for money, make the fight. Garcia: this is the Danny Garcia show, tha’ fk outta’ here”. The boxer’s dads were chirping as well. If they sign, it would be great theater. And somewhere, the slow-healing champ, Keith (Sometime) Thurman was trying to show some spunk. He was in shock when Rios hit the deck, but perked up when he saw the lens was pointed at HIM. Poor Thurman can’t catch a break. He sounds like that Sow Sarah Sanders dodging, when asked a direct question. You ask that swine where she’s going, she’ll tell you where she’s been. Thurman’s like that when asked about Spence. This morning, however, I read he said, “Spence can’t beat me, I’ll whip his ass, I’ll handle him”. It’s about TIME he started at least SOUNDIN unafraid.