6/09/2017 – New York-  In a rather brief Showbox card, people got HURT,

Regis Prograis  (19-0-16K) v. Joel Diaz Jr. (23-0-19K)

In a battle of unbeaten punchers, Regis Prograis, NABF 140 lb. boss defended his NABF belt against Palmdale’s Diaz. Diaz said before the fight he was gonna’ “take it right to my opponent”. Well, he DID and he couldn’t have found a WORSE person to do that shit with. Diaz, sharp and accurate, was able to locate Prograis’ chin with some straight, lead right hands as he walked in and Regis could hardly contain his joy. As he ate Diaz’s shots up top, he landed some hard shit underneath, but Diaz didn’t seem concerned. He was in the second though, as the heavy and I DO mean HEAVY handed Prograis started to time Joel’s aggression and made him pay DEARLY. Man, this guy is POWERFUL. He started ramming Diaz with a cannon of a straight left and Joel was IMMEDIATELY in deep dookey.

Prograis landed that straight left with such stunning force that he had Diaz looking like a gymnast, doing summersaults on two of the four knockdowns, Regis served him with. Each time, Diaz re-entered the fray and Regis was like a Mako shark, he seemed to really be enjoying himself. At times, it seemed like Regis was standing straight up and STILL got great leverage on his shots. I’m SURE Diaz has never been hit like THIS before.  After this four knockdown carnage, the ref (and probably Joel, too) had seen enough. Afterwards, the articulate and loquacious Regis called out Adrian Broner  AND Terrance Crawford. Slow your roll, youngster. For SURE, he has the power to hurt ANYBODY at ’40 and he has the personality to match.

As for the once beaten Diaz, find a plan B man, if plan A proves THAT disastrous, swallow your pride and start boxing more. I’ve seen him spar in our gym and he has very good skills, maybe his cajones could use a little adjustment at times. I can’t WAIT to see  Prograis again, against the upper echelon guys. Prograis entered the ring donning a fearsome looking werewolf mask and it matched his persona to a tee, FEARSOME,  oh  yeah, he is every BIT of THAT. Now, I have my Prograis progress meter on high alert. The end came at 2:55 of round two.

Steve Rolls (15-0-9K) v. Demond Nicholson (17-1-1-16K)

In this super middleweight hookup, given the ko percentage of these two, I was expecting bombs to be detonated all night. Though the action was sporadic, I was still hopeful. There was way to much stylin’ and profilin’ for THIS ‘ol guy’s taste. Slippin’ and dippin’ and a lotta’ missed shots, in fact I call it a ‘miss match’. Aside from a left hook to the temple of Nicholson, dropping him in the second, there really wasn’t much to crow about. Rolls didn’t turn pro until the age of 26 and at 33, he really didn’t show much urgency. Nicholson seemed the more skillful guy, in fact, I gave him a slight edge but he didn’t really act like he NEEDED this win. The win was split in favor of Rolls after eight lackluster rounds.

Jon Fernandez (12-0-10K) v. Juan Reyes (14-3-3-2K)

I can never understand why managers send their guy in with certain types of opponents. Juan Reyes has Joe Frazier’s style with Paulie Malinaggi power and folks THAT’s a BAD mixture, ESPECIALLY when he’s facing a guy with 10 sleep inducing wins in 12 outings. Reyes should’ve entered THIS fight on a damn dinner plate. He had NO shot. With TWO ko’s in 20 fights, you can’t just fight ANYBODY, unless you have superb boxing skills. Reyes rushed out at Fernandez like he needed to go to the rest room. He walked right into the eye of the storm and THIS storm punches hard. Reyes, with his buzz saw style DID have some early success, but with so little power it was just a matter of how, not WHEN. Midway through the opening round, Fernandez had Reyes’ shit timed and was punishing him with hard right hands and busting him up early. Reyes was in this battle with a cap pistol and Fernandez had an AK 47. After having a field day in the second, blasting away at the overmatched, make that, SERIOUSLY overmatched Reyes, Fernandez dropped a beauty of a right hand on the jaw and Reyes looked like he was gonna’ sit on his stool, problem WAS, his stool wasn’t in the ring and he landed flat on his back eliminating the need for a count. All things considered, this was a nice showcase for Spain’s Fernandez, who is managed by former champ Sergio (Maravilla) Martinez. Serg, you’ve had your appetizer, this guy’s too good to be fighting guys like Reyes even though Reyes has a HUGE heart.

6/03/2017- It took longer for Andrzej  Fonfara to TELL his game plan than it did to implement it. I consider Hunter the same as Floyd Mayweather  Sr. as far as trainers go. They each have built their reps off ONE  guy. I don’t know WHY these guys keep running up to Oakland to be trained by Hunter. Abner Mares tried that shit and QUICKLY flew back to S. Ca. Hunter and Ward accused John David Jackson (Sergy Kovalev’s trainer) of wanting to team up with THEM.  Really?  Wtfk on earth FOR ?  I laugh whenever I see Virgil trying to act like some boxing philosopher and giving the impression he knows SO much more than everybody else. He’s the smart guy that had all the reasons Amir Khan had the answers for Canelo Alvarez and DAMN near got HIM decapitated. The same shit would’ve happened tonight if the fight had lasted another round. He said to Jim Gray after the carnage, “I told him to go out and not throw ONE punch, just defend”. Adonis (Superman) Stevenson (28-1-23K) was blasting away at the helpless   Fonfara with both hands and Hunter was telling his guy, NOT to fight back. Perhaps he thought Adonis would ease up on his prey.

It seemed like Fonfara  (29-4-1NC-17K) was on the mat before he even got his robe off.  With that pencil neck of his, it’s a wonder he hasn’t been stopped more often. Hunter has all these high-tech training shit he uses to get his guys ready, shit he must DREAM up. I know ONE thing, if Andre Ward tells Hunter, ‘I’m not paying you any more’, Virgil better say, ‘that’s cool’ just let me walk you to the ring and whisper in your ear’. Hunter went on and on about Kovalev’s camp, and all the distractions they’re having, well, I wonder if HIS guy was “distracted” tonight ?  Oh, btw, I don’t wanna’ hear ANY shit about ‘Virgil not being able to fight for Fonfara’, because if he’d beaten Adonis, all the talk would be about how the great Hunter resurrected Fonfara’s  career. The only question left after this blitzkrieg, was whether  Sam Watson was gonna’ try for as much camera time as Stevenson after the ‘fight’.. This was lens-hoing at its best.

In the supporting bout, a passive Juan Pascal (31-4-1NC-18K) seemed determined  to  see just how many jabs he could consume for twelve rounds. Trainers implore their guys to “use the jab” and Eleider  Alvarez  (22-0-11k) worked his left hand OVERTIME and it was a thing of beauty. It’s been a minute since I saw a left jab that was as hard and fast in the LAST round as the first. It DEFINITELY had Pascal in check most of the night. This was Larry Holmes- like. I don’t know WHAT Juan’s game plan was,  aside from seeing how many jabs he’d devour  but once he was full, he’d bum rush Alvarez with wild, looping shots, connecting only rarely. In his corner was Roy Jones Jr., waiting patiently to have the LAST word of advice between rounds. I’m sure he said, ‘whatever you do, DON’T go to sleep in there’.

Other Boxing Happenings

The contracts have been signed for WBC boss Mikey Garcia of Moreno Valley ( via Oxnard), to hookup with Adrian (Ghetto Boy) Broner  (33-2-24K) in a lightweight title fight. Now, FIRST of all, if Broner MAKES  ’35, I’ll be shocked. If he does, he’ll give Garcia an interesting evening but I still think Mikey’s too disciplined and patient for Broner. Mikey’s on a SERIOUS roll  while  Broner’s  still talking that same, “I’m a changed man” bullshit. If he comes in half-assed THIS time, he’ll get ko’d. Face it, Broner  is Broner and I don’t see him changing AT all. Garcia just has to make sure he doesn’t turn his back on Broner and cause flashbacks of his days in prison. Garcia trained with Marcos Maidana for a while and I’m sure he’s been warned about the ‘Broner  Butt Bump’.

Things are heating up for the redo of the LH title fight between LH champ, Andre Reward (31-0-15K) and his nemesis,  Kovalev (30-1-1-26K) in ‘Vegas on the 17^th of this month. It’s odd hearing ‘Dre talk as much shit as he HAS been. I wonder if Hunter is instigating this shit. This should be better than the first fight, which doesn’t happen often. Ward wants to stop all the ‘gift’ talk and The Mad Russian wants to kill him.

So, I wonder if champ Keith Thurman’s doctor has given him an extension for recovery time on his injured elbow after seeing what new champ Errol Spence Jr. did to Kell Brook. Actually, maybe he’d better NOT ask for an extension, THAT way when Spence runs THROUGH his ass, he’ll have an excuse. I don’t think the welters can expect another below par performance from Spence (22-0-19K). Actually I don’t hear ANYBODY calling out Spence. Brook’s people don’t have much regard for his safety. Maybe  they’re  gonna’ wait until they have another Gerald McClellan on their hands.

Well folks, that’s it for a light week, til next time, I’m DON and I’m DONE

BROOK COULDN’T HANDLE THE ‘TRUTH’

The scary thing about Texan Errol Spence Jr.’s hard fought title capturing effort over IBF champ Kel Brook and what is OBVIOUS to ALL the other welterweights, is, this was NOT one of his best performances. Questions galore abounded regarding the ‘readiness’ of the unbeaten (now, 22-0-19K) Texan. Could he take a shot, could he handle Kel’s power, what if they go to the late rounds, will the pressure unnerve the talented Texan, would Brook be too big and most of all, HOW was Spence Jr. favored to cross the pond and win unless he scored a stoppage?

Well, folks, as I said, while not even at his best, The Truth passed all the tests with flying colors. I wonder if Keith Thurman and Danny (Gift) Garcia STILL wonder if Spence Jr. is ‘ready’. Well, all that shit is out the window now, the youngster is in the catbird seat. As I recall, Shawn Porter was the only guy saying, “Errol’s ready”, MONTHS ago. TBH, I was concerned with the way this battle started out, Spence looked tight and wasn’t showing his usual poise. Now, I surely didn’t expect him to try and bum rush the big, strong, hard hitting champ. Brook (now, 36-2-25K) touched Errol a few times early and was accorded a deal of well earned respect. Spence later admitted he was “not at my best, due to the long layoff”, (nine months).

His timing and distance was a little off and his body shots, a huge part of his arsenal was not on point. He threw a lotta’ low blows and I’m surprised he wasn’t warned more. Brook actually was in charge the first 3-4 rounds and Spence wasn’t showing much urgency. Didn’t he realize where he was? He always looks SLEEPY as hell, anyway. Brook was  successful  early with his lead rights against the southpaw Spence Jr.  and set up his left hooks well. But in spite of his early success, Brook never had Spence in trouble.

Beginning with the second half of this grueling contest, Errol’s alarm clock went off, though he still LOOKED sleepy and his body shots were sharper and was starting to slow Kel down. Spence really made Kel  pay for laying on the ropes, ripping shots up and down and Kel’s

face was starting to show the effects. There were many exchanges but Spence was now runnin’ shit. I’d said all along I thought Brook was damaged goods from his foolish venture against GGG when he almost got his right eye removed. When he refused an interim fight before Spence, I KNEW he wasn’t completely together. He paid the price for that. In the tenth, a rampaging Spence was on Kel  like funk on a skunk and there was nowhere for Kel to hide. The crowd sang, “sweet Caroline” before the fight but by the tenth they were singing , “Goodnight, Irene”. A fusillade put the champ down for the first time but he roared back at round’s end, driving the youngster back with punishing right hands and left hooks but it was the dog’s dick by THAT time and he wasn’t  gonna’ stop this Texas tornado.

By the eleventh round, Spence Jr. was in full belt-snatching mode and Kel had hell to tell the captain as shots ripped his undercarriage and bounced off his now fogged dome. Backing up, finally conceding the inevitable. Errol was relentless and he cruised in for the finish but Special K was having GGG flashbacks. Kneeling in defeat, his corner and the  ref, rescued the gallant British champion. After the fight, Brook was asked about moving up in weight or staying at ’47, when the question SHOULD have been, are you concerned that your eye issues signal the end of your career?  If he continues, I see him always having these eye issues, especially since they will be his opponent’s   prime  targets.

So NOW, we’ll see how fast the other bad-ass welters start contacting Spence about some action. Thurman’s elbow injury just got worse, Garcia would be chewed up like a damn Philly cheese steak. Shawn Porter doesn’t duck ANYBODY but he’d take a steady ass whipping UNLESS Errol goes on another sabbatical, which I don’t think he will. At 27 years of age and winning a title over seas  on a sub par night, the rest of the 47’s , as they say, ‘ain’t got nuthin’ comin’. The talking heads said, “he’s the best Texas fighter since Curtis Cokes”, haven’t  they ever heard of Donald Curry?

So after a weekend of a boxing smorgasbord, THIS weekend was a snap for the old guy. Now, it’s back to Oscar De La Fishnets  advising fans to avoid the “circus” that is Mayweather-McGregor. He doesn’t have to warn ME, I wouldn’t pay a DAMN dime to see that joke, ESPECIALLY,  if Mr. Delusional counts this as win number 50. He sounds PATHETIC, saying, “I’m not sleeping on Connor, he’s never lost standing up”. There are SOME people that would pay to see Mr. D. take a crap, and some that would offer to wipe his butt cheeks afterwards, so don’t waste your breath, Oscar. I don’t see why they’re calling this a ‘cross sport’ event when both guys have to fight by the SAME rules. I STILL don’t  think  Mr. D would stop this guy and how embarrassing would THAT be?  So, that’s it folks, have a safe holiday, I’m Don and I’m DONE.

5/20/2017 MSG-N.Y. Carlos Beltran is like a cat with nine lives. He’s a throwback with an unwavering will to win. From humble beginnings to fighting for his Green card to make a better life for his family, Beltran (32-7-1D-1ND) faced  quick-fisted Jonathan Maicelo (25-2-12K-1NC). Beltran trains at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood and is many Pacquio’s main sparring mate, which tells you all you need to know. Beltran’s like Orlando Salido, gritty vets who, when they’re ‘right’, they are a hand full. This was a strange fight. In the first round, Maicelo was shifty and threw fast combinations, snapping Beltran’s head back. In spite of Maicelo’s fast start, the trained eye could see Carlos was timing him, processing shit and it was just a matter of ‘when’. A clash of heads resulted in Beltran taking a seat and Maicelo was credited with a knockdown. Both guys were bloodied from the head clash and at round’s end, a left hook dropped Maicelo but the ref called it a ‘slip’. Carlos, however is very familiar with bad breaks and wasn’t the least bit fazed. In round two, Marcelo came out throwing quick shots and at the precise moment, the ‘ol vet dipped to his left and uncorked a beautiful, sweeping bomb-laden left hook that located Maicelo’s chin and it was ‘Irene’, (as in good NIGHT)

Jonathan was asleep before he touched down. Jim Lampley asked Roy Jones Jr. about what that type of knockout must be like. With Marcelo being carried out on a stretcher, Roy said, “well Max, in the old days guys would get knocked out like that and their leg would shake”. I thought, ‘Roy, old days my ass, what about YOUR days’? For all the sleeping Jones did in the ring, he was the RIGHT guy to ask. Roy has spent more time on his back than a Hollywood hooker. Glen Johnson left Roy on the mat shaking like a ho in church. That- sleep inducing  left by Beltran has to rank as a ‘ko of the year’.

TERENCE TERRORIZES DIAZ

Terence Crawford (30-0-21K) v. Felix Diaz (19-1-9K)

Unbeaten WBO/WBC 140 lb champ Terence (Bud) Crawford solidified his position as one of the top five guys throwing punches today. They should call this guy ‘The Punisher’ because he takes special pleasure in issuing prolonged ass whippings. Bud probably wishes they’d bring back the 15 rounders,  more  time to hurt folks. Tonight’s opponent,  Diaz was supposed to give Crawford a stiff test. Didn’t  happen. Though Diaz landed some sweeping roundhouse shots early, he was simply not in Crawford’s class, who IS? Once Crawford had the 411 on his short muscular foe, it was just a matter of giving him a boxing lesson and not doing anything stupid. By the 6^th round, Crawford had Diaz completely in check and started toying with him, something he seems to do in most of his fights. He’d stick out his tongue, lightly  tap Diaz on the head like he was a kid, among other antics..

Crawford’s sizzling rib shots and vicious uppercuts from both sides were way too much for Felix to deal with. I knew Diaz was in bad hands when I saw that serpent,  Alex Ariza in his corner, TRYING to give instructions, though Joel Diaz was the lead corner man. Round by round, the evil Crawford drilled Diaz with every punch in the book and a few he made up. Diaz showed signs of wanting go home by the 8^th round but his corner was braver than HE was and didn’t call off this thrashing until AFTER the 10^th round. Minus the b.s. this was an impressive win for Crawford and now, he’s looking for the big fish, Pacquio, Garcia, One Time Thurman and the rest. He and Errol Spence Jr., two vicious body punching southpaws are on a collision course at ’47. Though Crawford’s a switch hitter, I don’t see him playing around with Spence. Jr.

LARA LEVELS BRIONES

Laredo Tx.

JORGE LARA (28-0-20K) v. Mario Briones (28-5-2D-22K)

Shades  of the late Edwin Valero. Why do they call dead people ‘the late, so and so”? What the hell are they “late” for? They’re  OUTTA’ time. Anyway, Jorge Lara is a bomb thrower of the highest order. He doesn’t care WHERE his shots land, he just knows they’re gonna’ HURT. He charged out at the bell, tossing shots at a befuddled Mario Briones, from all sorts of crazy angles. Looping shots, wild uppercuts, everything designed to inflict pain. Poor Mario didn’t have a shot. He was just pretty much slaughtered. He was dropped a FEW times and hurt a LOT more. After being bombarded in the opening round, there was more where that came from in the second as the rampaging Lara plastered Briones  against the ropes and fired bombs until the ref jumped in to save Mario. One sided would be the word’s I’D use. The rescue came at: 17 of the third round.

PORKY ROASTED BY BENAVIDEZ

Rogelio (Porky) medina (37-7-31K) v. David Benavidez (17-0-16K)

‘Ol vet,   Porky Medina picked the WRONG youngster to mess with tonight in 20 year old, tall and talented, David Benavidez. Medina, an Oscar Bonavena clone figured the youngster was too tender, this from a guy named Porky. He rushed at the youngster, pinning him on the ropes and was met with a hail of counter shots. Benavidez, calm under pressure withstood everything Porky tossed his way and he responded like a champion. This guy is a REAL prospect. At 6’1”, he gets serious leverage on his shots even though he stands a little too erect. He was on the cocky side, too. Smiling  at Medina after their many furious exchanges. These two let it all go in every round. Benavidez also boxes well, making himself a real problem for guys as he moves up. He broke the ‘ol vet down smartly, round by round, finally dropping him with vicious body shots in the sixth.

The seventh was particularly rough on Medina as David turned up the heat, caving Medina in with hard body shots. Finally in the eighth, a vicious six punch set drove a tired, beaten Medina to the ropes and the mat, causing the stoppage. I was very impressed with this kid, he has star potential.

FINALLY!!!!

It’s been a minute since this ‘ol guy has had his fill of boxing but THIS weekend took it’s toll, and my fingers and eyeballs are SORE. The LAST fight I saw was a couple of undefeated youngsters. Jordan White (4-0-3K) took on Adam Lopez (6-0 5K). My recording stopped before this one ended but the way things were going, I assume Lopez won. This kid has style AND talent. He put a beating on White that he won’t soon forget. White also has a lotta’ talent and I’m sure he’s wondering how a guy with just six fights can be so good. Lopez can do it ALL, and he has champion written all over him. He’s fast, slick can punch and move. WATCH THIS KID.. That’s it, folks, I’M DON AND I’M DONE. After all this, if I misspelled any names, I don’t wanna’ HEAR it.

Writer By Barbara Pinnella

This past Friday night Thompson Boxing Promotions gave us New Blood, held once again at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California. This marked the 17^th year anniversary for Thompson Boxing.

Giovani Santillan was supposed to be involved in the main event, but he became too dehydrated beforehand trying to reach 140 pounds and opted out of the fight.

Therefore, the main event became a fight for the Junior NABF featherweight title between Erick “The All American Boy” Ituarte (16-1-1, 2 KOs) and Isaac “Dinamita” Zarate (12-3-2, 2 KOs). This fight was scheduled to go eight rounds.

In the first round the fighters didn’t jump right in, but rather seemed to feel out their respective opponent. Round two was a back and forth one until the last 10 seconds, when Ituarte looked to almost end the fight, but the bell came in time. In the third Erick jumped on Isaac a little bit until a well-placed left hand by Zarate caught him and put him on the canvas.

The fight continued to go back and forth for the duration, but the fans were clearly behind Isaac. In the end we had a split decision. One judge saw it 76-75 for Zarate, and the other two had it 76-75 and 77-74 for Ituarte. Erick took home the belt, but kudos to Isaac for his performance.

5/20’2017 –London- Tough talking Brit, Liam Walsh LITERALLY got run over by an American tank in the form of undefeated IBF  Jr. Lightweight boss, Gervonta (Tank) Davis (17-0-16K). The Liam brothers are always talking shit, much like the Quarrys  from Bellflower used to do until they got the hell beaten outta’ them. The 22 year old Davis had no issues going across the pond to defend HIS belt. He’s no Andre reWARD. The Walsh boys and Davis’ promoter Floyd (Mr. Delusional ) Mayweather  carried on a steady stream of threats at the presser and weigh-in.

Coming to the ring looking like Michael Jackson, Davis was as happy as if he was going to a strip club. This guy has NO FEAR. After a tentative  first two rounds, the young bomber decided he had nothing to deal with AT all and proceeded to dismantle Mr. Walsh. A fusillade of overhand lefts and crunching body shots put Walsh down in front of his home crowd. Walsh, for SOME reason, got up and the ref allowed him to walk right back into the eye of the storm. Davis and Errol Spence Jr. are similar with their relentless body attacks and both are tremendous finishers, none of that ‘wait ‘til next round crap’. Afterwards a preening, smirking, Mayweather was in the ring and talking up a storm. He talked a LITTLE about his protégé and when asked about Connor McGregor, he said, “ tonight is Gervonta’s night, let’s talk aboutHIM, then IMMEDIATELY started talking about himself, saying he’s still thinking about “making McGregor “my 50^th”. So now, I realize, he WILL be counting that bullshit as a REAL fight, I damn near lost my dinner. ‘Oh yeah, I broke the record by fighting a guy that NEVER had a pro fight’. Great. Somewhere Kell Brook is having nightmares.

National Harbor, Md.

Rances Barthelemy (25-0-1ND-13K) v. Kiryl relikh (21-1-19K)

This was a wild, slugfest with takedowns, low blows, moms discussed and everything else. And to complete things, the ref was Ken Chavaliar. Now, as I said before, I’m all for the handicapped working where appropriate but THIS guy should NOT be reffing a pro boxing match. He’s too slow getting to the action and has a helluva’ time getting outta’ the way. He limps and skips around the ring like he’s Skiptomalou (that And one baller). AND he’s about five feet tall. He always looks like he’s outside the damn ring. This guy should be reffing a hopscotch match  NOT a fight. At one point Rances was being battered along the ropes and that ref was hopping in and out of the way so much, I thought I was watching ‘So You Think You Can Dance’

Both fighters took turns winging shots from all directions with the favored Barthelemy getting the brunt of it. He was given a standing 8 in the sixth and should have received another knockdown but it wasn’t called. At the end, it seemed like this was an easy one to call but WAIT, this is boxing and much to the astonishment of the crowd and the talking heads, Barthelemy was given the decision, this wasn’t even close, just BAD.

Andre Dirrell (25-2-16K) v. Jose Uzcategui (26-1-22K)

It seems like whenever Andre Dirrell fights (which isn’t TOO often) some strange shit  jumps off. From  that mess with Arthur Abraham to tonight. Dirrell has never fulfilled his promise in the pro ranks. He has talent but seems to wanna’ fight a defensive fight most of the time. He’s elusive, but doesn’t always make his opponents pay for their misses. Uzcategui was the stalker in this match but even when he had (or THOUGHT he had) Andre trapped, he missed his target. He got so frustrated; he nailed Dirrell after the bell a couple of times. Andre was starting to get his offense together midway through the fight, which threatened Jose even more. And THEN things got REAL crazy. After cornering Dirrell in the eigth round, just after the bell rang, Jose nailed Andre with a hard left hook and down went Dirrell. A brief flare-up took place in the ring with Andre’s people creating chaos, trying to attack Jose and his corner men. Things seemed to calm down and one of Andre’s people was led outta’ the ring. A few minutes later, his big ass was BACK in the ring, swinging on Jose who was standing in his corner. How he got THAT close was surprising but he did and he blasted José with a two piece. That’s when ALL hell broke loose. Finally that dude was ushered outta’ the arena and last reports said the police were looking to arrest him. Now, Maryland is NOT a place for a brotha’ to have the police after you. Hell, they’ll shoot you and then find the bumpiest road in the city to make your ride to the hospital a REAL adventure. Dirrell, to his credit apologized profusely to the crowd (after saying fk you) to the booers) and said he hopes you people can forgive what just happen. What he BETTER hope, is those Maryland cops don’t find his trainer.

Gary Russell Jr. (27-1-16K) v. Oscar Escandon (25-2-17K)

Talented, radar fisted WBC champion, Gary Russell Jr. made a RARE showing, ESPECIALLY for a guy that’s always claiming to wanna’ “fight all the top guys and unify”). He can’t unify shit, fighting once every three years. When I saw tonight’s opponent, a Marcos Maidana looking guy with Robert Guerrero Sr. in his corner, talking HIS madness, I thought Gary’s in for a quick night. Escandon even LOOKED slow in his corner. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Escandon could scrap a little bit and wasn’t afraid to’ git down wit it’ with the champ. This was an inside war that could’ve taken place in an elevator. Russell’s radar- like sets were bouncing off of Oscar’s head like ping pong balls, only harder. Seems like Oscar thought the best way to block Gary’s uppercuts was to put his chin in the way. He had Oscar looking like a bobble head doll early in the fight.

Escandon was firing back however and was landing some sweet shots to the rib area. Gary realized he wasn’t  shadowboxing and looks WERE deceiving. In the third, a right hook dropped Escandon and as we all know, Russell RARELY allows his opponents to get away. He unloaded holy hell on Oscar,  probably thinking ref Harvey Dock would intervene. To everyone’s surprise,  that onslaught only fueled Oscar’s fire and Mr. Tough Guy was staring to push Russell back and landing his own shots. This shit was getting REAL good. Russell was started to get that expression I saw on his face when Lomachenko was beating his ass. He was like, ‘why is this dude still HERE? Russell was warned about six times for low blows, I guess Dock missed the others and when Escandon landed a few, he stopped the action and allowed Gary to take a walk in the park. He didn’t dock Russell ONCE so he should change his name to Harvey NO DOCK.

By the seventh round Gary was tired of hitting Oscar’s hard head and started boxing a bit, looking for his shots. He finally blasted the fading Escandon with a solid right hook, wobbling him and driving him to the ropes where it appeared Oscar was gonna’ take a breather but when he sorta’ took a knee, Dock jumped in and stopped it. The talking heads complained of a quick stoppage but Escandon though tried like hell, he wasn’t gonna’ win anything, not TONIGHT, anyway. So now, no doubt Russell Jr. will call out everybody and won’t fight again until June of 2019.

Well, THIS is the weekend where there’s gonna’ be some ass kickings issued. All the crap talking is over and it’s time to either make good use of or get rid of, the proverbial ‘pot’. And I’m not referring to the reefer type. I’m referring to, either poop or get off of it. But speaking of ‘POOP’, can the media stop with this dumb-ass Mayweather-McGregor  FARCE?  In FACT, this doesn’t meet the level of being called a ‘farce’. I still haven’t read whether or not, Mr. Delusional will count this shit as a record breaking 50^th straight win. I would love to see McGregor, while being dominated, instinctively kick Mr. D in his damn head, make this shit interesting. Now, I’m sure Mr. D. has some clause in the paperwork preventing this but hell, Connor, just do it ANY damn way. ‘Vegas  has NO shame in trying to justify this shit as legit. I wonder why? If they let Mr. D fight before he went to prison so they could get that money, no wonder they’d sign off on this. For all their influence, they couldn’t keep Mr. D from being locked up in a tiny cell whining about the food and no room to do situps.

My boxing feast actually began on Thursday night when the talented cousin of Oscar DeLa Fishnets, Diego DeLaHoya stayed unbeaten with a good outing against Oxnard’s part time fighter, Erick Ruiz. DeLaHoya (17-0-9K) has a lotta’ weapons and is being moved along quite well. For a guy that has to work a full time gig AND raise a son, Ruiz gave a good account of himself. He was sharp and bothered Diego on a FEW occasions. Ruiz (16-6-1D-6K) is trained by Robert Garcia. With all his influence, Garcia should hook his boy up so he dedicates himself solely to the fight game. He obviously has some skills. With his record though, he’s not likely to get the call in a lot of his fights. Diego has a lotta’ tools and uses them all. Along with his offensive weapons, he’s also fleet of foot and is hard to hit with combinations. I’ll be watching closely as he moves up the ladder.

Also on that card which took place in Tucson, Az. was a hard fought super middleweight bout between hot prospect   D’Metrius  Ballard (16-0-12k) and late (but ready ) sub, Adrian Luna (18-4-1D-10k). Ballard has some tools and power but is easy to hit due to his straight up style and the late sub, Luna had no qualms about letting his hands go. After pushing Ballard to the ropes, Luna was hit with a beautiful counter left hook and took a seat. He was hurt and didn’t seem like he’d last the round. He’s a resilient dude, though and stayed the course, hurting Ballard with hard right hands and left hooks, even wobbling the fading Ballard late. I saw this as a possible draw or maybe a win for the late sub, but hey, Ballard’s the up ‘n comer and walked away with the call. This was a hotly contested hookup with both guys trading hard shots. I’d like to see Luna get a rematch and not come in as late freight. I’m sure if they meet again, Mr. Ballard would shrink the target a bit by bending his knees and using more upper body movement.

WBC ON THE ROAD

It’s been a minute since I traveled to Ontario for one of my good friend Ken Thompson’s TBP shows at the Doubletree Hotel. As usual, the place was packed and man, those folks make a lotta’ noise and the Muchachas  are PLEN-TY  fine. It was a tough drive as the 138 was single file from hwy 18 to the 15. There’s always some construction going on on the 138. It’s a dangerous highway to begin with, used to be called ‘blood alley’. Anyway, I got there in plenty of time and had a ball seeing my old friends again (Ken, Alex, Pierre, Dr. Noriega, Willy Silva with Carlos Borjorkas,  Barbra  and all the cuties that work for Ken. I even had the pleasure of hooking up with an old friend, Ricardo Serrano and his brother, whom I hadn’t seen in over 15 years. It’s always good to see them.

Now, I have a confession. Given the late hour of the fight and the condition of the 138, I didn’t stay for the main event, which as I understand, was a thriller between two of Thompson’s fine young prospects, Erick Ituarte (16-1-1-2k) and Isaac  Zarate (12-2-2-2k).

In the opener, I looked at the fighter’s records and thought,  “awww , hell” Pablo  Capul came in with 22 losses, three of which probably came during his ringwalk, (tough crowd). He was 5-22- with 3k’s FOR or against, I don’t know. His opponent, making his debut was Brandon Trejo of Napa, Ca. Now, as a trainer the ONLY way I’d put my novice in with a guy with 27 fights would be if it was a guy from MY gym and I’d seen them spar a LOT and my novice was killing him. I don’t care HOW many losses he has, 27 is 27. Anyway, it looked like easy pickings at the start as the sharp, smooth Trejo was enjoying himself, blasting Mr. ‘knows how to lose’ at will. But Capul turned out to be a durable guy. Trejo looked up and found himself in a fight. Capul was coming forward, smiling shaking his head ‘no’ whenever he was drilled and seemed to be having as much fun as Brando. The decision was a foregone conclusion and I’m sure Trejo won’t believe in a guy’s record EVER again.

CESAR Villarraga (9-3-4k) v. Juan Garcia Mendez (19-2-1)

There wasn’t a whole lot to choose from between these two in a pretty even matchup. Both guys did their bests and I really kept looking for something to hang my hat on but didn’t find it. It was just a tough call with no knockdowns or either guy hurt and the verdict was reflected in the decision, a split draw.

Mario Hernandez (1-0) v. May Garduno (Debut))

In a highly spirited bantamweight scrap, Mario Hernandez had his

Santa Ana faithful in tha’ house (including my old friend Mary Lara) as he boxed his way to a unanimous four round win, and it wasn’t easy. Like, Mario, Garduno from San Bernadino was here for the same reason. This was a you or me affair with both guys having their moments Garduno was rocked at the bell ending the first round and this had the looks of a ‘quickie’. Wrong! He came back firing as HIS fans cheered him on. This was an excellent scrap, in fact, hey, let’s do this AGAIN. At the end Hernandez was awarded a hard fought decision and rightfully so.

Ruben Villa (5-0-3ko) v. Anthony Ruiz (2-2-2k)

Hot prospect under the TBP banner, Villa showed why he’s considered a can’t-misser. Even though his opponent was willing until feeling Villa’s power, he quickly changed his game plan. Willing to get involved early, he soon found himself getting very familiar with the ropes as Villa trapped him there and unloaded again and again. This one showcased Villa but could’ve been stopped around the third round, Villa was just working with too much for the hapless Ruiz. After more corner carnage took  place, ref Ray Corona was advised by the ring physician to call a halt in the fifth round.

Ricardo Espinoza (10-1-8K) v. Christian Neito-Ayala (9-1-4K)

Now, THIS is what Canelo was talking about with ‘two Mexican warriors hooking up. Two guys from Tijuana with nothing better to do but bomb away on each other. Ayala was dropped by a right hand early in the first round by the aggressive two handed attack of Espinoza but he forgot about that in a BIG  hurry. The taller Ayala concentrated on his shorter rival’s body, often landing South of Tijuana, but not worrying  about  it. These guys were there to ‘do it’ and neither had much of a reverse gear. Espinoza blazed away with short compact head shots as he gave up his body. This went on for the duration and the ‘Tree crowd was lovin’ it. After carrying on for eight rounds the verdict was much in doubt. With the appreciative crowd standing, waiting for the call, Ayala, the body snatcher was awarded a split decision, good call, rematch, anyone?

Now, I have to see if my friend Barbra will share her main event coverage with WCB.

May 14, 2017-  After sleepwalking through that thorough ass whippin’ at the fists of Canelo Alvarez, it seems  Jr’s night didn’t end there. I’ve seen prostitutes put up more resistance than Chavez did. Usually, when one guy has his hands on another as much as Canelo did, we’d call it ‘dating’. Canelo did everything   to Jr. except  kiss him and ‘run pork’.  After the so-called fight, Jr. claims he was rolled by  a group of hos in his hotel room. If he offered as little resistance as he did earlier, that was easy work for these women. Jr. said they took his cash, fight check,  a 40,000 dollar watch AND a bowl of freshly poured cheerios. What good is a 40G timepiece if you STILL can’t get your ass to the gym on time? If I paid THAT much for a damn watch, it better be able to pleasure me at LEAST twice a day.

Chavez had a host of excuses for his loss. He claimed he didn’t eat for two weeks just before the fight, then it was a pre-fight massage among others. I wonder if he was complainin’ when those ladies were massaging his ass. A few days afterwards, Jr. said he’s getting “right back in the gym with Nacho (or did he say ‘Nachos’) and wants a fight with Danny Jacobs because “he really beat GGG”. Now, I don’t know HOW many head shots the stats guys say Jr. took, but they missed quite a few, judging by THAT comment. A few old time Mexican boxing legends were all over Chavez’s ass after his PUTRID effort. Even ‘ol Iguana skin himself, Lupe Pintor  said “he was an embarrassment to Mexican fighters of the past”. I loved watching Pintor  squabble, he’d take a lotta’ shots but I’d never seen him cut or even bruised and the doctors used to say Chavez Sr.’s skull was thicker than the average human. Once again, after the fight, Canelo  called GGG into the ring after proclaiming, “Golovkin,  YOU are next, my friend”

Maybe THIS time it’ll happen. I’m sure that Oscar DeLaFishnets  was emboldened when GGG struggled against Jacobs who came in as a damn cruiserweight and is STLL going around talking that dumb shit about winning the fight. Hey Danny Boy, fight David Lemieux on the GGG-Golovkin undercard, that’ll keep your ass busy. I think GGG-Canelo will be a very competitive hookup but I say GGG wears Oscar’s Golden Goose out and stops him late. I don’t think Canelo is punching as hard at the 160 limit. He never really hurt Jr. and he hit him with everything. Hell, Jr. says the hos hurt him more. I remember when Sugar Ray Leonard got rolled by a bunch of hos IN ‘Vegas when HE was champion and he had the  UNMITIGATED GALL to run to the police. Man, SOME shit you just don’t TELL. Like that bullshit he said about riding with his am coach and before he KNEW it, his coach was giving him skull. C’MON RAY, you had some of the fastest hands in tha’ game and you couldn’t stop THAT shit? That’s right folk, Boxing Don is relentless, FRESH outta’ breaks for ANYBODY.

I see James Toney won a fight over the weekend. And it damn sure wasn’t against the scales. They must’ve weighed his big ass on a truck scale.  They call James, ‘Lights Out’, they must not be talking about that light in his refrigerator. When he took off his robe, I expected to see, ‘FLY  GOODYEAR’ across his fat ass. They should’ve been one of his sponsors. I don’t know WHAT kinda’ belt he was fighting for but I would suggest the Orcaweight Championship or the Shamu Intercontinental ( I know, damn, Don)

I also saw where Thomas DeLorme a TMT fighter is driving for UBER in ‘Vegas. I though Mr. Delusional “took care of my guys”. Maybe the guy pissed it all off but he said, “ I’m part of the Money team, just not the Money part. You’d think Mr. D would at LEAST hire him as HIS driver.

Is Gary Russell Jr. actually about to fight again? Man, all I read on that Bullshit Fighthype  site is how many Russells are fighting. There’s about five of them and I STILL don’t read about them fighting. Gary threatens  everybody, Mares, Lomachenko, Santa Cruz, Frampton, I’m surprised he hasn’t called out Wilder yet. Looking forward to the next couple of weekends with Gervontae Davis and Erroll Spence  Jr.  getting ready for their upcoming fights. I STILL think Kell Brook should’ve taken a tuneup after GGG damn near knocked his eye out. Maybe his peeps don’t wanna’ take any chances before the Spence fight, NOT a good sign. I know if he sees more than ONE Spence (ala the GGG fight) he’s gonna’ be in a British shitload of trouble, Spence is a MEAN dude. He LOOKS sleepy but he’s on high alert. Better watch those British refs though, he might take a look at Errol’s eyes and stop the fight, thinking he’s out on his feet. That’s it folks, I’m DON and I’m DONE.

4/29/2017- ENGLAND- FINALLY, a heavyweight title fight that was worth the price of admission. It was GREAT, not seeing the likes of Chris Martin, Eric Molina, or Dominic Breazeale, Tyson Fury (spare me), guys that have NO damn reason  fighting for any KIND of belt. Before a raucous crowd of 90,000 plus and pre-fight festivities that took forever, I was just hoping the fight wouldn’t be anti climatic, another 3-4 round blow away.  Well, the ‘ol  guy got his money’s worth. Usually, the big boys plod around the squared circle with barely enough stamina to last a good five rounds. Let’s get to it.

Anthony Joshua (18-0-18K) v. Wladimir Klitchcko (64-4-54K)

The two biggest questions were, is the young champion Joshua in too big a hurry to make history and did the Dr. Steelhammer , that held the heavyweights at bay for over ten years, have anything left after losing to that damn non fighting octopus, Tyson Fury. These two big guys took the first few rounds sizing each other up but there was the anticipation of bombs going off at any moment. There was definitely signs of respect  with each guy probing with left jabs and landing occasional solid right hands.  Klitchko  always seems a right hand away from rendering someone senseless. Suddenly, in the fifth round the youngster blasted Klitchko with a set that had the Ukranian wobbling and crashing to the canvas. Joshua,  knew it was just a matter of time, or DID he? The former champ got to his feet but was in bit of trouble as the undefeated IBF champ did a little celebrating,

This was the type of fight where ONE shot could rearrange ALL your shit, which is exactly what happened in the sixth when a Klitchko right hand located the youngster’s jaw and he was in a place he’d never been, flat on his back, on queer street, This looked like the dog’s dick for Joshua as a shocked crowd took a deep breath, Anthony was in some deep dookie and didn’t look as if he’d survive the round, but he weathered the storm and passed his first BIG test. The question was, how long would the memory of that  shot stay with him? Klitchko, with all his experience, didn’t go bat poop, figuring he’d land that bomb again at SOME point.

The action slowed for the next couple of rounds with respect well earned.  Klitchko would stalk, looking to do a little more chin checking and Joshua was taking No unnecessary risks, knowing he’d never gone past seven rounds in his LIFE and that Wladimir HAD. Klitchko’s age and mileage started to register about the eighth round and Joshua was starting to feel himself, talking smack to his tiring foe. Klitchko was able to land a couple of stiff right hands at the end of the tenth as things were still up for grabs. This was pleasantly unusual in today’s heavyweight fights.

Suddenly in the eleventh round, a recharged Joshua, realizing what was at stake, jumped on Klitchko’s  ass and wouldn’t get off. Shot after shot bounced off  Wladimir’s head as he was cornered by a ferocious Joshua. For a guy never going this far, he was showing the boxing world he’s something to be dealt with for the ENTIRE fight. Landing vicious right uppercuts, body shots and hooks to a battered klitchko’s, head it was all but over. Down went Wladimir and he made a courageous attempt, rising from the canvas to confront a sneering, confident man, wanting to hold on to his shit. Another two handed assault was mounted and I was looking for the other Klitchko to jump in to stop his brother from getting killed. It was a helluva’ way to go out, but it’s what the great ones do. A vicious attack ensued, putting the former champ flat on his back as the crowd went absolutely nuts. Again, the battered ex champ got to his feet and was immediately set upon by the champ, pinned against the ropes and being terrorized, causing the ref to mercifully call things off. The time was 2:25 of round eleven, the same number of years Wlaidimir ruled the roost.

This was an outstanding fight with both guys going deep. Joshua was grateful (aren’t ALL winners), afterwards, praising his victim for his great career. Wladimir says there’s a return bout clause and he’d LOVE to do it again. Don’t do it, ‘ol man. Joshua has a HUGE upside and is now more confident  than ever and if he gets in Klitchko’s ass EARLY in a return match, I say Klitchko will suffer a really bad ending to what’s been a great career. Joshua called out the octopus clown, Fury and for MY money, I’ll pass, this would be some UGLY 12 round CRAP. I’ve NEVER seen Fury in an exciting fight. Let’s do Josh and Deontay, that’ll work. Wild man Wilder has a huge right hand, but not as many tools as Joshua. Last week I read where Wilder said, “when you have MY power, you don’t need SKILLS” He must train that way because he hasn’t improved much at all, for the many years he’s been fighting.

What’s been happening then? About a month ago in Germany Marco Huck the former WBO cruiserweight champion had a stab at contesting the vacant WBC cruiserweight strap which was vacated by our Tony Bellew after he’d had his money spinning scrap with David Haye. Up against him was an undefeated Latvian called Mairis Breidis. Who the hell, you might ask but he was undefeated and still is for a reason. The man can scrap but if I’m honest, he’s good at European level but will get found out up at the elite level. This was supposed to be Marco’s redemption after he lost in America to Krzsysztof Glowacki (what’s that worth at Scrabble?) and after fighting for the IBO title against some Ukrainian nobody it was all set up for him to win this. However, Breidis didn’t read the script and won conclusively by unanimous decision. Also on the card was Christina Hammer defending her WBO/WBC female middleweight straps against a midget in comparison called Maria Lindberg. You American observers will note this is Claressa Shields division and Miss Shields will have her eye on those prizes too. Hammer is technically a text book boxer who does everything correct but against this dwarf-like opponent she did the job as expected. She is also a model when not training and I’m not talking about for a welder’s mask either! Schwing, baby! Google her because she is a hotty!

A couple of weeks ago in Manchester, northern England, a new heavyweight prospect was unveiled called Daniel Dubois. This kid is 19 years old, 6’4” and about a solid 230lbs. He was set up to box a chap from my neck of the woods in the Deep South West of England called Marcus Kelly. Marcus is actually a personal friend of mine and had had one bout which he won here in my hometown in Plymouth last year. The word on the street was that as he only sold a handful of tickets which was enough to pay his opponent, thus fighting for nothing! Welcome to the pro game. Anyway, Dubois is promoted by Frank Warren and he’d swiped him from the GB elite training squad and turned him over and also the word in the gym was he’d put IBF heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua on his arse too. Marcus weighed in at 241lbs but only 5’10” if that, so go figure how he looked come fight time as he wore a sweatshirt and tracksuit bottoms at the weigh in. As an amateur he weighed in at 200lbs but the word was that he was offered a shitload of money and at 10 days notice it was too good to turn down. Sad to say, the bout was over before it started in 35 seconds, Kelly came out swinging and with some sort of ambition but Dubois connected with a hook to the ample body and head of Kelly and the bout was over, albeit a bit premature from the referee in this observers opinion. Perhaps he should have given him a chance and let him have another pop but it was not to be. Keep an eye out for Dubois, he’s already boxed since and done away with a Cameroonian kid in just over a round.

Ricky Burns from Coatbridge (or as my Scottish chums would say “fae Coatbridge”, bad speaking heathens!) is the only Scottish boxer to win 3 world titles at 3 different weights. You might remember he got duffed up by Terence Crawford a while back and he met up with a Namibian called Julius Indongo on April 15^th. This African stringbean is tall and lanky and he went over to Russia and won his IBF title in a round with a winging left hook from a southpaw stance off Eduard Troyanovsky that no one saw coming. This was particularly so because footage of big Jules is as rare as rocking horse shit so not many people know much about him. He has put a few bits and pieces of himself on YouTube so he is a best kept secret if ever there was one. “Rickster” had his work cut out from the first bell because not only is Indongo tall and rangy, he has an effective jab and a very good engine on him too. This contest was also for Ricky’s WBA super lightweight strap and it was a virtual shutout on all three cards of the judges. Keep ‘em peeled for this Namibian fellah because he is not to be underestimated.

The last one for me to mention here is a Georgian character called Avtandil Khurtsidze who is the new interim WBO middleweight champion. He came over to Leicester last week (April 22) and was up against another localish (to me) lad called Tommy Langford, who grew up in a place called Bideford which is about 55 miles from where I am. The odds were stacked in Tommy’s favour as Tommy is 6 foot and Khurtsidze 5’6”. However, he calls himself the White Mike Tyson (I suppose someone thinks he’s that) and solidly built. Not only that, he’s a mad as a box of frogs!! Tommy was boxing to script with his height and reach and keeping Khurtsidze on the end of his long shot combinations and basically winning the rounds. Come the 5^th, however, Khurtsize, who was ungainly and pretty clumsy but effective when he got a shot in and winged a left hook just as Langford had thrown a 1-2 and failed to get his right hand back to his chin. Well, you’ll never guess what happened next!! Yep, Thomas copped it on the whiskers and went down like a big sack of potatoes dropped from a great height. That had to hurt but Tom probably knew nothing about it and was probably trying to get the registration number of the truck that knocked him over. Thing is, Langford was up to challenge Billy Joe Saunders for his ‘regular’ WBO strap after Chris Eubank Jr. and his old man proved to be the biggest pain in the arse as per at the negotiating table for Junior’s British title. Let it be known to you, my American friends, that the Eubanks are worse than Bernard Hopkins when it comes to cutting a deal so don’t expect a GGG fight to materialise despite Jr. being a worthy opponent. If I’m not mistaken they did try but as said those two pair of clowns were unreasonable in their demands.

Right, that’s my lot, I’ll give you my tuppence’s worth on the big heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko and it’s undercard soonest.