Barclays Center-New York- There were no real surprises last night. Gary Russell Jr. whom I call Haley’s Comet because he fights as often as IT appears. It sucks for the fans because Russell (29-1-17) is a very talented guy but picks his spots very carefully. He’s obviously not concerned with greatness or he wouldn’t be fighting Leo Santa Cruz’s leftovers. He claims he wants Leo but I don’t buy that shit. Leo’s not worried about Russell, for DAMN sure.  Kiko Martinez was Gary’s latest TBA. That used to be the ONLY people Gary fought. I guess he remembers what happened when he fought a guy with TWO fights and got the hell beaten outta’ him. That was Vasyl  Lomachenko (6/21/2014). I was there and that fight could’ve been stopped about the 9^th round. Russell had more excuses than the number of times Sam Watson tries to find the cameras during a broadcast.

Martinez (39-8-2-28K) was just there to be beaten up, was a 50-1 ‘dog and played his part well. He may have won half a round before getting stopped in the fifth due to a cut over his left eye. What this win does for Haley’s Comet is a mystery to me. Hell, Hector Camacho Jr. won a comeback fight last night. They may have well had put his fight on tv. Camacho (59-7-1-33k) beat some guy with a slate of (9-6-5K). Russell says if he can’t get Leo he’ll move up and take on Gervontae Davis. I doubt THAT shit. He never calls out Lomachencko, I wonder why. If he fights Davis, it won’t be until around 2025.

In the main event, or rather the PAIN event, WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder (40-0-1-39K) faced very LITTLE ‘trouble’ in Dominic Breazeale (20-1-18K). The loud mouth, threatening power  punching Wilder had promised to “kill” Dominic in the ring but the fight didn’t last long enough. I love it when a fighter gets to a major fight and decides to switch trainers, one with a ‘name’.  The ‘name’ Dominiic ran to was Virgil Hunter. Aside from Andre Ward, I don’t  know what the HELL Hunter’s done in tha’ game. Anyway, he sure didn’t get a chance to whisper his infinite wisdom in Breazeale’s ear OR stop him from getting hit in the nuts. After a few range finding stiff left jabs, the champ sensed that there wasn’t much ‘trouble’ on the horizon. He soon located Breazeale’s exposed jaw with that lightning bolt of a right hand and it was the ‘’the dog’s dick’ at 2:17 of the opening round. Wilder has a unique record, aside from the first Bermane Stiverene fight, he’s dropped EVERY opponent he’s faced. Who ELSE in tha’ game can make that claim? Breazeale said afterwards, the ref stopped it too soon”. This ‘fight’ should’ve been stopped at the contract signing. That right-hand should be banned. Hardly anybody survives it. Fury got dropped and ‘played dead’ before getting to his feet. Breazeale didn’t have that luxury, his ass was out. He can thank ref, Harvey Dock from allowing the champ to keep his pre-fight promise.

, you ROCK

5/11/2019- Fairfax, Va.- I was rooting for my Philly Boi, Julian ( J-Rock) Williams (26-1-1-16K) to beat the WBA / IBF Jr. Middleweight boss Jarrett (Swift) Hurd but wasn’t sure enough to bet on him. I just felt his best shot was in the first 5-6 rounds and after that, the bigger, stronger champion would roll over the talented Philly boxer-puncher. Man, I’ve never been so happy being wrong about something. I was watching this thrilling back and forth bout with my Jr. lightweight boxer, Davonte ( D-MAC) McCowen. This war got my boi super fired up and raring to get back in the gym to resume training.

This firefight started out cookin’ right from the start. The bigger undefeated champion Hurd was on the attack but Williams and his team led by  his underated trainer, Breadman  Edwards. I was in my hometown of Philly a couple of years ago and interviewed Williams and his trainer. This was about a week before he fought Jermall  Charlo a in his first title attempt and was brutally dropped and stopped in 5 rounds. Written off by many after his first loss, Williams and Edwards were determined to NOT let that loss define them. Boxing smart and sharp, the smooth punching Williams was much too quick and accurate for the plodding, easy to hit, Hurd. In an exchange along the ropes in the second round, Williams dropped Hurd  with a left hook to the temple. It was a perfect  shot, dropping Hurd for the first time in his career.

Not badly hurt, the champ was buzzed and finished the round which was nearly over, anyway. But the script was pretty much written at this point. The sharp shooting Williams constantly beat Hurd to the ‘git off’ and landed the cleaner, more telling shots, maybe even the HARDER shots. This war took place near Hurd’s hometown and Williams knew he had to eliminate the crowd from the equation as they rooted for everything their homie did. This wasn’t a rout though and the burly champ landed some serious shit on the man from Philly but never hurt him badly or overpowered him, which was what I expected. There were many serious exchanges throughout and the only  real lulls came when Hurd’s tape on his gloves came loose about three times, even when Williams was landing shots.

After seeing some weird calls recently in fights, I was hoping the roaring crowd wouldn’t influence the judges. After all, there was already ONE decision overturned on the night, plus the announcers were tring their BEST to make us think Hurd was winning the battle. This time though, the scorers got it right when the cards were read, 115-112 (twice) and 116-111 and THEN those three words, AND THE NEW. The dedicated Williams and Breadman were completely overcome with joy as tears flowed. It was a joy to see and Hurd was a PRO in defeat, saying “he was the better man, tonight) This, my friends was a display of CLASS, all around. all around. And my hometown, a boxing  Mecca, has a new, classy champion. What a breath of fresh air for this writer’s favorite sport.  J, YOU ROCK, baby.

Thompson Boxing Promotions and Banner Promotions presented a total of 7 boxing matches, three of which were carried live on Showtime, as part of their regular SHOWBOX*The New Generation* on May 10, at the Omega Products Events Center. A near “full-house” of lively and boisterous fans were on hand to enjoy all of the action.

he Ontario Doubletree Hotel.

The show opened with a scheduled 8 Round contest in the Super Lightweight Division between 2 “ring veterans”, Petr “El Zar” Petrov (137 lbs., Madrid, Spain, 39-6-2, 19 KOs) and Ruben “Kanelito” Tamayo (135.7 lbs., Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, 27-12-4, 18 KOs). The two combatants went right to work from the opening bell with a lot of “leather” flying, though Petrov appeared to get the best of it. This pace continued into the 2^nd Round, however Petrov continued his domination. Just past the halfway point in the round, a left to the body of Tamayo made him take a seat on the canvas. Just before the 10 second warning for the end of the round, Tamayo took another trip to the canvas, and took yet another trip to the canvas, just before the bell ending the round sounded. At this point, Referee, Tom Taylor had seen enough, and called a halt to the contest at 2:59 of the round. Petrov won by KO.

A 4 Round Super Flyweight Battle followed between Steven “Canelo” Acosta (113.9 lbs., Dallas, Texas, Pro Debut) and Jose Emmanuel “Kobe” Lopez (115 lbs., Ensenada, Mexico, o-3-1). These two went right to work from the opening bell, though as the round progressed, Acosta appeared to be landing the better shots, in spite of a very game effort by Lopez. Acosta unleashed a wicked body attacked in Round 2 that appeared to this writer to be “target-practice” for this fighter. In the 3^rd Round, the pace slowed somewhat, but Acosta still continued to land the better shots, yet there was no “quit” in Lopez. Lopez finally came to life in Round 4, but it was too late. All 3 judges scored the contest the same, 39-37, in favor of Acosta, giving Acosta a Victory by Unanimous Decision in his debut.

Next on the card were the three bouts that were televised live on Showtime, as part of SHOWBOX*The New Generation*. The first of the three televised bouts was a scheduled 10 Round Battle for the vacant WBO Latino Bantamweight Championship between Saul “The Beast” Sanchez (118 lbs., Pacoima, California, 11-0, 6KOs) and Brandon “El Leoncito” Benitez (117 lbs., Queretaro, Mexico, 14-1, 6 KOs). The momentum of the fight went back-and- forth between the two fighters in Rounds 1 & 2. Both started at a fast pace with very little feeling out taking place. Round 3 was a continuation of the first two rounds and the first half of Round 4, as well, but Sanchez exploded upon Benitez in the last 45 seconds, leaving Benitez a bit bewildered. The pace of the fight slowed some in the fifth round. Both landed some punches, but not as many as in the first four rounds. In Round 6, it was much the same story, though Sanchez did unleash a flurry right before the bell rang to end the round. In Round 7, it became a toe-to-toe battle with both having their moments, though it appeared to this writer that Benitez was more the “worse for wear”. Eighteen seconds into Round 8, Sanchez landed a right hand to the side of Benitez’s head, which made his legs buckle slightly. Referee Raul Caiz, Jr. had seen enough and called a halt to the contest. Sanchez won the Championship belt by a Knockout.

The second bout of the 3 that were to be shown on Showtime was a scheduled 8 Round Super Lightweight contest between Michael “The West Texas Warrior” Dutchover (138 lbs., Midland, Texas, 12-0, 9 KOs) and Rosekie “Little Giant” Cristobal (137.8 lbs., The Philippines, 15-3, 11 KOs). Even though Cristobal took the fight with only Three days notice, from the opening bell he showed no fear or intimidation from Dutchover, a powerful KO artist, as his record indicates. The two went right at each other from the opening bell. Dutchover utilized a body attack from when the bell rang to start contest, and at 1:46 of the opening round, a left to the body spelled the end. Victory 13 for Dutchover came by a Knockout.

The third and final bout of the 3 Showtime bouts, the Main Event of the evening, was a 10 Round WBO International Featherweight Championship. It featured the current WBO International Featherweight Champion, Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez (125.4 lbs., Mexicali, Mexico, 17-1, 8 KOs) against Ruben “RV4” Villa (125.1 lbs., Salinas, California, 15-0, 5 KOs). After a brief feeling out process, the two began to let the gloves fly. It became apparent almost immediately, that Lopez had a very awkward style, while Villa chose to remain in the center of the ring, and pivot on one foot at a time. In the second round, Lopez continued his awkward style and he had his moments, but Villa continued his style as well, and as a result he landed the better punches. This was the story of the third round as well, but in the fourth round, Villa Opened it up a bit, taking a more aggressive attack upon Lopez. Both continued their respective styles in Round 5, and the result was that while Lopez threw far more punches than Villa, more of Villa’s landed. Rounds 6 & 7 were more of the same, Lopez throwing countless wild punches that did not land, while Villa landed about everything he threw, and he even trapped Lopez on the ropes for a brief moment at the end of Round 7. Lopez continued his wild, awkward style in Round 8, and result was the same, Villa landed more punches. Lopez settled down somewhat in the 9^th, and actually landed some decent shots, but Villa still did enough to take the round. In the 10^th, the desperation of Lopez was obvious. The Judges scored the bout, 97-93, 98-92, and 96-94, all in favor of Villa, the Winner and New IBO International Featherweight Champion by a Unanimous Decision. This concluded the Showtime segment of the evening, but two more “Off-TV” bouts followed.

The first “Off-TV” bout that followed the Showtime part of the night, was a scheduled 6 Round Welterweight contest between Angel “Relampago” Ruiz (143 lbs., Los Angeles, California, 4-0, 10 KOs) and Luis Gerardo Avila (142.1 lbs., Mexicali, Mexico, 8-17-3, 5 KOs). The opening round was more of a feeling out process, though both landed a couple good shots. As the second round opened, Ruiz landed a left to the body of Avila, and the fight was over. The end came at :26 of the 2^nd round. Ruiz was the Winner by KO.

The final bout of the evening was 6 Round Super Lightweight contest between George “El Yuyu” Acosta (135.6 lbs., South Whittier, California, 7-0, 1 KO) and Ruben “Ace” Torres (135.8 lbs., South Central Los Angeles, California, 8-0, 7 KOs). Though they started at a somewhat slower pace than some of the earlier fights, both landed good shots in the opening, and it became readily apparent from the opening bell, that both had brought a loud cheering section. Round 2 was pretty much like the opening round except that the pace got faster at the end of the round. The third round was pretty much like the 2^nd round. In Rounds 4 & 5, the momentum went back and forth between the two contestants. In the 6^th round, Torres had a couple of moments, but otherwise, the 6^th round was a carbon copy of the previous rounds. In this writer’s opinion, it was an exciting closing bout. All three judges scored the contest 59-55 in favor of Ruben Torres, the Winner by a Unanimous Decision.

And the May 2019 Co-promotion of Thompson Boxing Promotions and Banner Promotions came to an end. Thompson Boxing Promotions next show will be on June 14, at t

Thompson Boxing Promotions hosted their latest installment of Professional Boxing at the Ontario Doubletree Hotel on September 21. Billed as “New Blood”, a total of 5 bouts of differing weight classes, that varied in their intensity, were presented to a near full house of very lively boisterous fight fans.

The show opened with a 4-round contest in the Welterweight division. Matched against each other were David Ortiz III (140 lbs., Bloomington, California, making his professional debut), and Mario “El Lion” Angeles (145 ¾ lbs., San Diego, California, 2-10-2). A good part of the “lively boisterous” crowd mentioned in the previous paragraph appeared to be in attendance to cheer for Ortiz. Though Angeles gave a very game effort, Ortiz dominated the contest throughout with a wicked body attack. Angeles had a few brief spells of activity, but the fight was all Ortiz, and all three judges scored the bout 40-36, in favor of David Ortiz III, the winner of his pro debut by a Unanimous Decision.

Next on the card was a scheduled 4-round Junior Middleweight contest between Richard “Cool Breeze” Brewart, Jr. (152 ¾ lbs., Rancho Cucamonga, California, 1-0), and Edward “Eddie” Aceves (152 ¾ lbs., Houston, Texas, 0-4). From the opening bell, Brewart unleashed an onslaught of punches upon Aceves that did not stop. Aceves took a trip to the canvas at the end of round 1. Only the bell saved Aceves from getting knocked out. However, in the 2^nd round, Brewart continued has onslaught, and at 1:32 of the round, Referee Edward Hernandez, Sr. had seen enough, and called a halt to the action. Brewart had won his second pro fight by a Knockout.

A scheduled 6-round Lightweight contest between Ruben “Ace” Torres (136 lbs., South Central, Los Angeles, 6-0, 5 KO’s), and Eder “Koreano” Amaro (132 ¾ lbs., Matamoros, Mexico, 6-5, 2 KO’s). This fight appeared to be more evenly matched than the fight that preceded it. Both contestants exploded upon each other from the opening bell, each one having their moments. Rounds 2 and 3 were pretty much the same, however, by the end of the 3^rd round Torres started to take charge. Torres continued his domination of the contest in the 4^th round. Amaro’s corner stopped the contest in between the 4^th and 5^th rounds. Torres was the winner by a KO.

Next on the card was a 6-round Bantamweight battle, introduced as the Co-Main Event of the evening. The contest featured Mario “El Gallito” Hernandez (118 lbs., Santa Ana, California, 7-0, 3 KO’s) and Ivan “Ivan Lee” Gonzalez (115 ¾ lbs., Mexico City, Mexico, 4-1-1, 1 KO). This contest began at a somewhat slower pace than the preceding bouts had, but Hernandez came to life about halfway through the opening round, and dominated the round to its conclusion. The pace of the fight got faster in the 2^nd round, and Gonzalez gave a very game effort. In the opinion of this writer, Gonzalez gave a very game effort in the third round, but Hernandez won the round by a slim margin. This torrid pace continued in the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th rounds. This fight was a “seesaw” battle to its conclusion, with each contestant having their moments. When the final bell rang, one judge scored the contest 58-56, in favor of Hernandez, while each of the other 2 judges scored the contest 57-57, the result being the fight ended in a Majority Draw.

It was time for the Main Event of the evening. The contest was scheduled for 8 rounds in the Lightweight Division. Matched against each other were Michael “The West Texas Terror” Dutchover (136 lbs., Midland, Texas, 10-0, 7 KO’s), and Bergman “Snake” Aguilar (135 ½ lbs., San Jose, Costa Rica, 14-3-1, 4 KO’s). Though the contest started at a slow “feeling-out” pace, in the opening round, Dutchover soon took control, and dominated the opening round, and he continued his domination in the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds. By the 4^th round, it was literally “target-practice” for Dutchover, and to this writer it appeared to be only a “matter of time”. In the 5^th, the pace slowed somewhat, but Dutchover continued his domination. A vicious left to the body sent Aguilar to the canvas, and Referee Wayne Hedgepeth had seen enough, calling a halt to the contest at 2:31 of the round. Michael Dutchover had scored his 11^th victory with a KO.

And a very enjoyable, exciting evening of Professional Boxing had reached its conclusion.

/13/2018- Los Angeles, I guess it wouldn’t be fair to expect outstanding action every weekend, though that WOULD be nice. I started out Friday the 13^th which should’ve been an omen, watching the Golden Boy Card on ESPN. Weak is the word that comes to mind. It may be Oscar’s budget. Maybe he spent too much on Canelo’s  issues. He supposedly paid a lotta’ extra scratch to finally get the rematch with GGG underway. Anyway, this card had two women’s fights that were aired and neither SHOULD’VE been. No wonder my boy Henry Ramirez hates women’s boxing.

In the first ‘fight’ a girl named Samantha Pill ( I NEEDED a pill after this thing), 3-0 was completely outta’ her orbit when she was trounced by Maricela Cornejo (11-2-4K) It was a sham and Pill was left a crying wreck after being beaten around the ring by the aggressive Cornejo. Mercifully, the end came at :43 seconds of the second round. The next one was even worse ( if that was possible) as Seniesa Estrada (13-0-6K) from East LA had a day at the beach against hapless, helpless Jhosep Vizcaino (6-6-3K) who supposedly traveled all the way from Peru, alone without a trainer. Well, as it turned out, Oscar saved a few bucks by hiring some local yokels to man the corner. It was a total farce as this Peruvian couldn’t fight at all and was battered around the ring by the talented Estrada, finally succumbing to a body shot in the second round. I’m sure the crowd was wondering what else was going on downtown tonight.

The main event, featuring local favorite Joet Gonzalez (19-0-11K) from Glendora faced vet Rafael Rivera from Tijuana. Everybody KNEW what Raf (25-1-2D-16K) had to do just to get a DRAW. Especially since homie had sold over a hundred ducats. This was a pretty entertaining ten rounder between two little guys that were in excellent shape. Both guys stayed busy the entire ten, each giving as good as they got. There wasn’t much power involved, nothing close to a knockdown, just a busy fight with not a lot to choose from. Actually it was so close the crowd was nervous when one judge gave it to the visitor. Restoring sanity, though, the other two officials scored it for Gonzo. Commentating at ringside (and doing a good job) was once beaten Jo-Jo Diaz who had given Rivera his first loss.

7/14/2018-NOLA-  The most impressive guy I saw tonight was the brash, cocky AND talented Teofirmo Lopez (9-0-7K) facing the dangerous William Silva (25-1-14). This to me, seemed like risky business for Lopez, just 20 years old and in his first ten rounder after just 9 fights. I wonder what’s the hurry with some of these people. Turns out, Lopez can handle himself. He, along with Devin Haney and Ryan  Garcia, all young and unbeaten are the future of tha’ game. After seeing how Lopez pretty much made Silva his honey, stopping him in six rounds, I’d say he’s ahead of the rest. He dropped Silva with a sizzling left hook in the opening round and from that point on, he had no problems. Lopez started clowning in the third, knowing what he had in front of him, showing great reflexes and defensive skills. He said he was “something different” and he wasn’t far off. He stepped it up in the fifth dropping all sorts of shit on the vet, showing ZERO respect. He proved to be a good finisher as well, when after dropping Silva at the end of round five, came out in the sixth to close the show and did just that, trapping Silva in a corner and terrorizing him with big shots, dropping him with a left to the body, closing the show. I don’t know what the weight difference is between him and the mouthy Haney, but they need to fight. It would be interesting, all the pre fight b.s. that would take place.  If Haney fights Lopez the way he fought that last lead footed dude, he’ll get chased outta’ the ring. Lopez is fast and punches hard and has that killer attitude.

In the main event, explosive, hard punching Regis Prograis (21-0-18K), ranked number one at Jr. welter, patiently stalked and disassembled what was supposed to  be a test, Juan Jose Velasco (20-0-12K). This was no contest, as Regis, with his herky-jerky upper body movement seemed to be more interested in punishing Juan than knocking him out. The southpaw Prograis KNEW he had a gimmie and treated it more like a sparring session, trying to prove he could “go rounds”. His people need to remind him the pay’s the same whether he wins in one round or twelve. After marching through whatever little resistance Velasco offered, Regis finally landed a vicious body shot that ended matters in the fifth. Afterwards, he called out everybody, including Mikey Garcia, who seems to be on everybody’s bucket list. For sure, he’d get shutout by Garcia if he works at the same rate he did tonight. He should’ve gotten this guy outta’ there sooner. There’s a TON of action for this guy in the ‘40’s. He reminds me of Tank Davis who he might face in the future. So far, he seems to fight to the level of his compitition, that will have to change.

Didn’t order the Paquiao-Matthyesse fight but I think Manny’s done and he may have picked the wrong guy in the heavy handed Argentine. I see Manny beaten badly and possibly stopped late.

Detroit’s talented, unbeaten Claressa Shields (5-0-2K) seems hell-bent on becoming the female Adrien Broner. Tonight, she won a tough, hard fought battle against the more experienced Hanna Gabriels (18-1-1D-11K). Tonight was a night of ‘firsts’ as the two time Olympian was dropped and cut for the first time as a pro. The knockdown came in the opening round, courtesy of a short right uppercut during an exchange. More shocked and embarrassed in front of her home town, Shields got up and went on to pretty much dominate the rest of the fight. Gabriels had her moments but Claressa as usual, was too big for her opponent. Now training in Florida with new coach John David Jackson, Shields showed poise and confidence and a nice arsenal of punches.

With the great former multi champion Thomas (Hitman) Hearns sitting ringside, Shields handled her business. I’d like to have a dollar for every suit Hearns  has. He looked fit. Shields always talks about becoming the “face of women’s boxing”. Well, if so, she’s gonna’ have to turn down that ghetto-ass attitude of hers. Almost every interview I’ve seen of her, that mouthy attitude surfaces. She seems to relish having that attitude, bragging about being from Flyht, blah, blah. In fact a while back Andre Dirrell’s trainer sucker punched a fighter that had just beat Dirrell. There are a couple of Dirrells that fight, one is about to get his ass kicked by David Benavidez in September. When the punk coach sucker punched that fighter (who should’ve flattened his ass), Shields said, “damn right he did the right thing, I would’ve done that, too”. Go, Ghetto girl. After  she  won  tonight, unanimously, the interviewer said, “Hammer’s here and said…. and before he could finish his comment, (Hammer had just  beaten some 41 year old to earn a fight with Sheilds) the former Olympian and ‘face of women’s boxing went fkn berserk. “where she at, I’ll beat her ass right now”, screeched Shields. Later she charged at Hammer and was seen throwing punches and had to be forcibly restrained, more than once. Now, I’m about promoting fights but Shields was absolutely Ghetto, cursing and going nuts. Even my wife said, “dang, why’s she doin’ all that?

So, Ms. Shields, if you’re planning to be the “ face” of ANYTHING, you need to to do something about that attitude sista’. I’ve seen clips of her talking to the kids, supposedly encouraging them to “be all they can be” and never give up. I wonder if she said anything about conducting yourself as a professional, win, lose or draw.

Sorry for not being on the ball and telling all as it has been happening over this side of the Atlantic, I’ve being busy with trying to find employment; I’m pleased to say I have got a job in the security industry and am working hard and all hours too.

Last night was the big comeback of Tyson Fury, the former undisputed world’s heavyweight champ, the self styled “Gypsy King”. Tyson has been out of the ring for almost 1000 days and it showed. He had ballooned up to nearly 400 pounds in weight by eating junk and so on; he’d had mental health issues and had not been in a good place with himself. This might seem incredible considering the money he had earned from his career so far, but then depression and drug abuse can hit anyone. I’m 55 and have never snorted cocaine and believe me, I have suffered depression and PTSD from the Falklands War backdated from 1982, but I suppose when you are at a low ebb it can be surprising what it does to you. Some of us have a better sense of self worth and discipline I guess.

Anyway, Fury entered the ring at 276lbs, still looking to shed a lot more weight and standing head and shoulders over an Albanian doorman (ha! Just like me!) who was a blown up cruiser weighing in at 217lbs by the name of Sefer Seferi, who entered the ring with a record of 23-1. His sole defeat was a 10 round loss to Manuel Charr, no great shaker of the heavyweight division either. Fury, as we all know was expected to win, and convincingly so too. I had a wager he’d get this stiff out in 2, and yet again the bookies had the last laugh. Fury was having fun with his ring walk, and once the pre-fight instructions were over you got the impression that Fury was not taking it very seriously. It certainly didn’t look that way and the referee Phil Edwards told the boxers to get on with it and stop clowning around.

The second round was much the same and not a lot going on, it was getting a bit pathetic. However, when Fury did decide to do something useful he looked good with it despite his moobs wobbling about a bit. Into the 3^rd round and not much to write home about, in fact there was more action in the crowd as apparently a 15 man brawl was occurring and even the two supposed to be doing the fighting for pay were looking outside to see what was going on! Again, the referee had to remind them what the two inside the ring were supposed to be doing. This was pretty farcical, and out for the 4^th, and this time Fury decided to take the task in hand and get the job done. Fury showed some skill and was throwing big shots, they were taking their toll on Seferi and a big uppercut was the blow that made up his mind that enough was enough and he quit on his stool and failed to answer the bell for the 5^th.

So did we learn anything by that? Not really, it was a bit more what we expected as in Fury taking those baby steps into the ring with the horse play but other than that, after nearly 3 years out of action you couldn’t have expected much. This was conceded by Tyson and his HOF promoter Frank Warren, in front of a sell-out Manchester Arena. Promises to get in better shape and lose some more of the timber from the midriff will remain to be seen, Tony Bellew was being touted as the next opponent. Watch this space.

On the undercard, we had a very lively scrap for the vacant WBO super lightweight strap with Manchester’s Terry Flanagan 33-0 against an Amerikaner by the name of Maurice Hooker, 23-3. This was a clash of southpaw v orthodox and Hooker had a huge reach advantage of 9 inches. This was always going to be a tough task for Flanagan to attend to, Hooker using his rangy advantage to good effect. However this did not deter Terry and he made good inroads scoring with good left hands and being the way this being with Terry stepping outside Maurice’s front foot, eventually it was going to be a bit messy. Unfortunately it turned out that way, with a clash of heads in the 6^th round, with Flanagan suffering a nasty gash on his forehead and over his eye. This was a tough, hard fight and both were having success and for me was hard to score. How the judges scored it at 117-111 one way, again the same scoreline the opposite way and 115-113 for Hooker made me think and the new champion, made me wonder if Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles were totting up the scores 117-111! I wouldn’t have argued with 115-113 for Hooker and he was a worthy champion, Flanagan a tad unlucky and always battling the elements with those nasty cuts, the fight might’ve not gone the distance.

Well that’s me for now, I’m up at 0415 for a job that starts at 6 in a town an hour’s drive away. Take it easy and stay lucky. Rab………..

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?

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.

/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.