By Norm Frauenheim

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez’ rocket-like rise in the pound-for-pound debate and overall name recognition comes with a lot of risk, including the inevitable temptation to look too far ahead.

Actually, it’s not even a temptation anymore. It happened in Rodriguez’ last fight. Saudi Prince and Promoter Turki Alalshikh signed and announced his next fight before he had even answered the opening bell before his last one.

News of Rodriguez’ title unification date against dangerous Argentine Fernando Martinez Nov. 2 in Riyadh was all over social media in July long before Rodriguez took care of business, scoring a 10^th-round stoppage of South African Phumelela Cafu in Frisco, TX. Bam, he’s reliable, too.

But here’s the caveat: History is littered with examples of young fighters thinking more about what’s next instead of looking out for the incoming power punch thrown in the here-and-now. It’s a trap. Yet, it’s one that Rodriguez, mature beyond his 25 years, understands with a quiet, almost unnerving poise. The future is a feint. Rodriguez, already among the top five in several pound-for-pound rankings, hasn’t been fooled by it.

Yet, it’s here, all over again, this time in news that Junto Nakatani is expected to vacate his bantamweight titles, the 118-pound International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council belts. Boxing Scene reports that Nakatani will announce his move up to junior-featherweight in a recording for WOWOW’s Excite Match SP series early next week.

The move opens the door for Rodriguez, already a champion at flyweight and super-fly, to win a third division title. First, however, he has to add a third piece of the super-fly title against Martinez to the growing collection of hardware draped across his shoulders. By all accounts, he’s a huge favorite, minus-1000, according to Fan Duel.

The expectation – and Bam has fulfilled them all so far – suggests that that he would move up, perhaps pursue one of the two belts vacated by Nakatani or one of the two held by the other two champions. Antonio Vargas is the World Boxing Association’s version and Yoshiki Takei the World Boxing Organization’s.

Nakatani’s expected decision to move up the scale isn’t a surprise. The top-10 pound-for-pound fighter had been calling out Bam before a stoppage of Ryosuke Nishida June 8 in Tokyo. Then, however, there was silence about Bam from the Japanese fighter who trains in Southern California.

There had been various reports that Bam and Nakatani had agreed to fight. But the reported possibility was quashed by Akihiko Honda, the powerful “Mister Honda” of Teiken Promotions.

The long-range plan has always been an all-Japanese showdown between Nakatani and super-star Naoya Inoue, ranked alongside Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford among the top three in the current pound-for-pound debate. Inoue faces a challenging date in Murodjon Akhmadaliev for Inoue’s undisputed 122-pound belt Sept. 14 in Tokyo.

Then, there are reported plans for Inoue to keep sharp in a stay-busy fight against Mexican Alan David Picasso in December before a long-anticipated showdown against Nakatani next year.

According to sources in Japanese media, Mister Honda didn’t want a Nakatani-Bam fight to get in the way – perhaps risk – Inoue-Nakatani, a fight projected to break revenue records in Japan. It makes sense.

The timing of Nakatani’s move up would allow him a fight or perhaps two to get familiar with the new weight.

Meanwhile, it would allow Rodriguez to further his own reputation and perhaps move ever closer to his own shot at Inoue in a bout that is climbing up the list of “dream fights” as quickly as Bam is moving up the pound-for-pound ratings.

Oscar Valdez going home

Former two-division champion Oscar Valdez Jr. (32-3, 24 KOs) is going back to where it all started. Top Rank announced he’ll face Ricky Medina (16-3, 9 KOs) Sept. 6 in his hometown, Nogales, on the Mexican side of the border it shares with Arizona.

It’ll be the first time Valdez, an ex-champ at featherweight and junior-lightweight, will fight as a pro in the Sonoran city where he was born.

Valdez is fighting for the first time since a punishing loss to Emanuel Navarrete in a rematch last December in Phoenix. Before and after the loss, there was talk that Valdez would retire. But former Mexican Olympian, known for his no-quit mentality, has decided to fight on.

“Oscar Valdez is a proud warrior, and this is a great opportunity for him to return home and prove he still has what it takes to contend at 130 pounds,” Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said. “Oscar has been with Top Rank since he turned pro, and we are in his corner as he attempts to become a three-time world champion.”

By Norm Frauenheim

Netflix and Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium are sure signs that Canelo Alvarez-versus-Terence Crawford is transforming itself into an event, bigger than just boxing.

Netflix’s subscriber base, 301 million and counting, alongside the NFL brand attached to the Raiders’ home field is a powerful marketing combo, a chance perhaps to bring back some of that so-called cross-over crowd that continued to exit the boxing audience with ESPN’s final card last week.

With the Sept. 13 opening bell still six weeks away, anticipation for Crawford-Canelo has already been building for weeks. Unlike the sad spectacle of watching Jake Paul against aging Mike Tyson in Netflix’s last bit of boxing theater inside the Dallas Cowboys home in November, Crawford-Canelo is genuine.

At least, it can be.

That, of course, is the mandatory caveat, always there, attached to a sport as risky as it is resilient. Buyer beware. Nevertheless, Canelo and Crawford represent a rare opportunity to unify fans, hard core and casual.

It doesn’t happen often enough in any era, even a good one. But here we are, Crawford and Canelo, two of the best fighters from the same generation from different weight classes meeting in a fight that could determine the best of a passing era.

Some promoter somewhere will no doubt dust off the cliched label and call this one another fight to save boxing. It’s not, of course. Boxing has always been beyond saving, anyway. Still, this one has a chance to be a keeper

For Crawford, it’s a chance to prove he was as good a welterweight as any in any era, including the one defined by Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.

For Canelo, it’s a chance to deliver the proof to what he’s been saying all along. History’s only undisputed super-middleweight champion has long argued he’s the best. Period. A definitive victory over Crawford would be the proof and perhaps the piece that would allow him to say he’s the best in Mexican history, better than even the iconic Julio Cesar Chavez.

The stakes, like the purses, are enormous, heightened by the fighters’ ages. Crawford is 37. Fifteen days after the fight, he’ll be 38. Canelo celebrated a birthday on July 18. He’s 35. Both are leaving their primes. This is a chance for each to recapture the best of what made them great.

By now, their respective advantages and disadvantages have been analyzed to the point of redundancy. On the scale, the bigger, heavy-legged Canelo has all the advantages. He also more to lose.

Crawford, who is moving up two weight classes after winning at junior-middle more than a year ago, is quicker with a quicksilver ability to switch from right to left and back. Yet, he’s at a bigger risk of getting knocked out, a danger and perhaps a final punctuation to a Hall of Fame reign that could leave some doubts about his pursuit of a genuine legacy.

All and more are the backdrop to expectations that might be difficult – perhaps impossible – to fulfill. But that’s why Netflix will be there in a 65,000-seat stadium. It’s not exactly winner-take-all, but it has that kind of feel to it. Appropriately, it’s also a fight that could go a couple of ways.

The best and worst examples in modern history:

·    Manny Pacquiao’s star-making stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

·    Errol Spence Jr.’s unanimous decision over Mikey Garcia March 16, 2019 at the Cowboy’s A&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

Both were fights between the best in different weight classes. In each, the lighter fighter was jumping two divisions — Pacquiao from lightweight to welterweight to face De La Hoya, who dropped down from 154 pounds to 147 and Garcia from lightweight to welter against Spence.

Pacquiao-De La Hoya was the keeper. It ended with De La Hoya, beaten and finished on the stool at the start of the ninth. De La Hoya, a six-division champion, retired and Pacquiao, an eight-division champion went on to stardom still evident. At 46-years-old, he still filled the MGM Grand with fans chanting Manny in a controversial majority draw with Mario Barrios last month.

Spence-Garcia was the dud. Garcia was known for his footwork and versatile skillset. But his brother, trainer Robert Garcia, warned him about moving up two weights against the then-emerging Spence, who seven months later was badly hurt in a scary auto accident. Garcia should have listened to his brother. Spence dominated in every conceivable way, winning on scorecards – 120-108, 120-107, 120-108 — that reflected a bout best forgotten.

Keeper or dud? The only sure thing about Canelo-Crawford is that it’ll be an event. Boxing could use one. Could use a keeper, too.

NOTES

It was evident that Oscar Valdez Jr. (323, 24 KOs) had decided to fight on when it was disclosed last month that he was leaving trainer Eddy Reynoso and re-joining Manny Robles, his first pro trainer.

His first step back into the ring after a punishing rematch loss to Emanuel Navarrete in Phoenix in December is planned for Sept. 6, according to Boxing Scene.

However, no opponent or site has been reported. The expectation is that Valdez, 34, will make his comeback in Mexico. The two-time Mexican Olympian lives in Hermosillo. He grew up in Nogales, a border town south of Tucson, where he has family. He also went to school in Tucson, where he has always been a good draw.

By Norm Frauenheim

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s arrest on charges of being in the United States illegally just days after a loss to Jake Paul in an exhibition devoid of punches, energy and drama leaves questions about why he was allowed to fight despite an active warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged involvement with organized crime. 

According to multiple reports, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services alerted enforcement agencies about Chavez last year, saying he “is an egregious public safety threat.’’ 

Yet, he had reportedly been in the U.S. since January 4, training and licensed by the California Athletic Commission to fight Paul, a popular social-media influencer who beat him by unanimous decision in a state-sanctioned cruiserweight fight last Saturday in Anaheim

ICE agents arrested him Wednesday, while he was riding a scooter in front of his residence in Studio City. Chavez, whose tourist visa reportedly expired in February 2024, is due to appear in court on Monday. U.S. authorities are seeking to deport him, also according to multiple reports.

As of Thursday, there was no public statement from Paul about the arrest of Chavez, who has been linked to the Sinaloa cartel by law enforcement. 

Both Chavez and Paul appeared at promotional events, including news conferences and the weigh-in before the pay-per-view bout streamed live by DAZN. Paul’s company, MVP, was among the promoters.

Chavez, 39, is the son of Mexico’s most enduring boxing legend, Julio Cesar Chavez, El Gran Campeaon Mexicano —The Great Mexican Champion. There are few gyms in Mexico and the U.S. that don’t include a framed photo or rendering of the senior Chavez hanging from one of the battered walls. 

Dad was a feared champion in multiple divisions. His son is a former middleweight champion. But Junior’s boxing history is problematic, despite the powerful name, still a drawing card.

Including the loss to Paul, he’s 3-4 over his last seven fights, including a wild sequence of events that included a loss to Danny Jacobs December 20, 2020 at the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix. 

First, Chavez had to get an injunction on a ruling against him in Nevada, which had suspended him for not undergoing all of a mandated medical exam. The injunction allowed him to get licensed in Arizona. 

On the morning of the weigh-in, however, he missed weight, coming in 4.7 pounds heavier than the contracted 168. A compromise was reached. Jacobs, a super-middleweight, agreed to fight him at a catch weight, 173. 

The fight itself, however, sparked a near riot among the crowd of about 10,000 fans, who threw beer, cups, a chair or three and other debris into the ring when Chavez quit on the stool, losing a fifth-round TKO. 

Chavez Jr. could not continue, he said, because of a broken nose and a fractured hand. A couple of days later, Chavez posted a video of himself in a hospital bed with his father at his side. 

That video was followed by another one of him celebrating at a Christmas party. The reaction on social media was predictable. There was skepticism. And more anger.

Yet, Chavez fought six more times, including the loss to Paul in an exhibition the saw him backing away and throwing few punches throughout a dreary first eight rounds. 

A few days later, he’s facing what looks to be the biggest fight of his life.

Benavidez agrees to first title defense

In a bit of a surprise, Turki Alalshikh, Prince and promoter, announced Thursday that David Benavidez will defend his World Boxing Council light-heavyweight belt for the fist time against UK veteran Anthony Yarde, sometime in November in Riyadh.

It was thought that the unbeaten Benavidez, a Phoenix-born fighter, would face Callum Smith, instead. Smith said just a few days ago that he believed there had been progress in talks with Benavidez, who was awarded the WBC belt when Dmitrii Bivol relinquished it.

It’s believed that the Benavidez-Yarde winner could be in line for a shot at the unified 175-title pound, which is expected to be up for grabs in a projected third Bivol-Artur Beterbiev fight. 

Beterbiev won the fist one; Bivol won the rematch. Alalshikh says he wants to stage the third fight sometime later this year. But there’s not been much news about talks for Bivol-Beterbiev 3. If there’s a deal and it happens in November, Benavidez-Yarde could land on the card as the co-main.

Benavidez has been turning himself into a Las Vegas attraction. His last four fights have been in Vegas. A fight in Riyadh would be his first outside of the US since a string of eight fights in Mexico early in his career

By Norm Frauenheim

Vasiliy Lomachenko, complicated and gifted, announced on Thursday what many had expected months ago. He retired. 

Age was a factor. He’s 37. Injuries, including shoulder surgery and at last report a problematic back, were there, too. 

In the end, however, there was a growing sense that his retirement wasn’t just about the clock’s corrosive erosion of a singular skillset or even the inevitable battle with torn tendons and pain left by years of exchanging punches. 

Lomachenko landed more than he ever took. His Hall-of-Fame resume — amateur and professional — is evidence of that. But the ones the two-time Olympic gold-medalist and three-division pro champ took are the ones that leave their own permanent mark in the scars never seen on any won-loss record.

The guess here is that Lomachenko still had some big fights left in him. There was talk about Tank Davis. Fans wanted to see him against Shakur Stevenson. I would have liked to see him in a rematch against Teofimo Lopez, although it’s hard to know exactly who Lopez wants to fight anymore. Ask Devin Haney, who thought he had a reported deal this week to fight Lopez until he didn’t. I also would have liked to see Lomachenko in a rematch against Haney. 

On this scorecard, Lomachenko got handed a lousy decision in a loss to Haney for the lightweight title in May 2023. There was plenty of debate, even outrage about the 115-113, 116-112, 115-113 cards, all in favor of Haney. Some pundits acknowledged the controversy. But, they said, please don’t call it a robbery. Okay, but neither Haney nor many of his supporters called for a rematch, either.

In the fight’s immediate aftermath, there was video of Lomachenko crying in his dressing room. Then, as he walked onto the stage for the post fight-news conference, a hot mike caught his promoter Bob Arum telling him: “You won that fight easy.’’ That’s what I thought too. Then and now. After watching the fight a second and third time, this scorecard still has Lomachenko winning, 116-112.

In looking at the post-fight video, however, something else becomes even more evident, more relevant perhaps to what motivated Lomachenko to announce his retirement on social media Thursday. The fire had gone out. By the time he walked onto the stage for a post-fight newser, he was stoic. Arum was angry. He complained about a Las Vegas fight — Ukrainian-versus-American – that included three American judges. But Lomachenko remained stoic throughout the newser and the following weeks.

Only Lomachenko knows the real answer. And, perhaps, we’ll hear it some day. Still, there was a sadness about his retirement Thursday. He goes into the Hall of Fame, mostly because of his astonishing amateur record more than his pro career (18-3, 12 KOs). As an amateur, the Olympic gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games and again in 2012 in London was 396-1. I don’t know who beat him. But whoever you are — where ever you are — please take a bow.

As a pro, however, Lomachenko walks away amid a lingering sense that his career was somehow unfulfilled. That’s not exactly fair. But it’s there, on social media and in the minds of many. It was the stoicism in the face of the controversial loss to Haney, however, that suggests a level of resignation in Lomachenko, who did go on to fight one more time in a dominant stoppage of George Kambosos at Perth in Western Australia.

There just wasn’t much he could do about it. There was also his complicated relationship with his country, Ukraine, then and still now in a brutal war with Russia.

After years of fighting along Ukraine’s eastern border, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion February 2022.  At the time, Lomachenko was attempting to move up the scale from featherweight and junior-lightweight to lightweight. He had fought for his country in the Olympic ring, but there were increasing complaints in social media that he wasn’t fighting for his country in a desperate war. He had appeared in a photo in fatigues as part of a territorial defense battalion for his hometown, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, a port city in southwestern Ukraine.

But fellow Ukrainians were skeptical, mocking the photo as a public-relations stunt. The criticism grew and — by all accounts — it’s still there. 

It’s a story, best told by journalist/author Sean Nam:

It’s a brilliantly reported story about country, war, religion, patriotism and a fighter with a skillset that has been compared to Muhammad Ali and Roy Jones Jr. I read the long piece, published a year ago, again after getting the news about Lomachenko’s retirement. It’s fair to now wonder if he decided to walk away from the ring because of the pressures he felt — and may still feel — at home. The ring must have felt like a very small — irrelevant — place after the Haney loss. 

Lomachenko cried, but maybe for something a lot bigger than another controversial decision in the boxing business. 

Late last year, Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas gave some credence to talk that Lomachenko’s passion for boxing had been extinguished. Klimas confirmed that there were questions about whether the motivation was still there.

In Thursday’s post, Lomachenko talked about his faith and about how he had grown over the last few years from a prideful young man. He thanked his father. He thanked his fans. But, still, there was a stoicism from a man created by conflict within the ring and perhaps changed by a bigger one at home.

By Norm Frauenheim

Few great careers are complete without a risky comeback or two and, sure enough, 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao is poised to made a second one six weeks after he’s inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

What has been rumored for weeks became official Thursday with an announcement from a Pacquiao spokesman that he’ll face welterweight champion Mario Barrios in his first bout in four years on July 19, probably in Las Vegas.

Why? 

Why-oh-why? 

The question is little bit like a comeback. It’s almost — thank you, Marvin Hagler — inevitable, even if a good answer rarely is.

Pacquiao, boxing’s only champion to win belts in eight different divisions, fought and lost a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in his first comeback August 21, 2021 in Vegas. Mostly, that loss is remembered for his emotional, compelling post-fight news conference. He spoke like a statesman.

The next day, he formally announced his retirement in video posted on Facebook.

“Goodbye boxing, thank you for changing my life,” he said then.

Hello boxing, he said Thursday.

Plans have been in the works for awhile. Thursday’s formal news was preceded by online books posting opening odds earlier this week. That’s always a pretty good bet that a rumored fight is a done deal. Pacquiao is picked to lose to the 29-year-old Barrios, a San Antonio welterweight who opened as a minus-500 favorite. 

I’m only hoping for odds that Pacquiao doesn’t get hurt. That’s the only bet I’d make.

In an interview with Sean Zittel after the fight was announced Thursday, trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards said it best. 

Said it for us all.

“I don’t want to see a legend get hurt,’’ Breadman said. 

Too often, however, it’s the risk that sells, and this one figures to sell very well on a busy July 19 that will include heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Usyk 2 at London’s Wembley Stadium and super-flyweight champ Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a title unification bid against Phumelela Cafu in Frisco, TX, a Dallas suburb. Reportedly, the Pacquiao-Barrios card will also include Sebastian Fundora-Tim Tszyu 2, a terrific rematch.

But much of the attention will be on Pacquiao, who is just the latest example of how celebrity is a lot more durable than a chin or foot speed. 

Against Ugas, Pacquiao, then 42, looked every bit his age. Perhaps, his power — always the last thing to go — was still there then. 

And now. 

In 2021, however, he was never able to land much of a telling blow against Ugas, a slick fighter and former Olympian educated in Cuba’s elusive style. Barrios, the World Boxing Council’s 147-pound champion, looked vulnerable against Abel Ramos in a surprising draw last November on a card that drew worldwide interest because it featured aging Mike Tyson against Jake Paul. Tyson couldn’t move his feet or his head any more, either. 

Ramos — an aggressive fighter from Casa Grande, south of Phoenix — wore down Barrios, taking him into the final rounds with stubborn pursuit and quick reflexes. Ramos, who deserves a rematch, is 33, 13 years younger than Pacquiao.

That brings us back to the beginning: 

Why?

Why-oh-why? 

Pacquiao, who will be formally inducted to the Hall in Canastota NY June 8,  is as good a story as any. He’s been a people’s champ. Perhaps, The People’s Champ in a boxing history endlessly compelling because of them. 

He was a forgotten kid who fought his way out and off a third-world country’s poorest streets and into the hearts of his fellow Filipinos. 

He transformed himself into a worldwide celebrity, popular enough to become a Filipino Senator and even a Presidential contender. Politics cost a lot of money. Pacquiao— generous to a fault, if that’s possible — has been known to give away much of what he made in the ring to the poorest Filipinos. He bought meals, homes and fishing fleets.

But even the people move on, and now there are signs that has happened to Pacquiao, too. He failed in his second run for a Senate seat. It was announced Wednesday in the Philippines that he did not get enough votes to finish among the top 12 candidates for the Senate’s available seats. 

Pacquiao, the Federal Party’s nominee, finished with 10,208,499 votes, leaving him in 18th place overall. Turns out, he went from 18th in Filipino politics to fifth in the WBC’s welterweight ratings. But that’s a different story for a different day.

The question here is about money. Does Pacquiao have to fight to pay his political bills? We’ll never really know. At heart, he’s still a fighter, still the name that captured hearts In the Philippines and everywhere else. 

Maybe, he’s back just because he wants to re-live the ring moments that made him so captivating. But he doesn’t have to. His legacy is safe, no matter what happens on July 19. Forever, he’s a genuine legend.

That’s why, as Breadman says, we don’t want him to get hurt. 

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS — Naoya Inoue stood on the scale like a politician on the bully pulpit Saturday in his first American appearance in about four years for a bout that looks a little bit like a campaign stop in his bid to gain pound-for-pound supremacy.

Pound-for-pound is nothing more than debate, after all. It’s about gaining supporters and knocking out lingering doubts.

Inoue is expected to do both against likable, yet little-known junior-featherweight challenger Ramon Cardenas, a massive underdog  who insists he’ll prove to be more than a mere prop Sunday in Inoue’s defense of his undisputed 122-pound title at T-Mobile Arena.

“More than anything, I want people to see something they haven’t been able to see yet in the U.S,” Inoue said through an interpreter before he safely made weight, coming in under the junior-featherweight-limit by a slim tenth-of-a-pound, 121.9, also a tenth-of-a-pound heavier than Cardenas.

Those are bold words. Terence Crawford, an all-time welterweight great and America’s best practitioner of the sweet-science craft, is surely planning to introduce a couple of counter arguments of his own in a planned move up to the scale against Mexican super-middleweight Canelo Alvarez later in the year. 

On Sunday, however, Inoue, Japan’s rising son, will have the bully pulpit all to himself in what will be the four-division champion’s 25th successive title defense. 

Inoue’s dominance of boxing’s lightest weight classes has been thorough and reliable, so much so that it’s become expected, if not somewhat forgettable. 

It’s not, of course. In part, Inoue can reawaken America’s impatient, quick-to-forget audience with a showcase exhibition of a skill set still sharp, comprehensive and dynamic as any.

“I’m very motivated to fight in front of an American crowd in a big arena like this, but because it’s during Cinco de Mayo weekend, it feels like I’m playing an away game,” Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) said a day before the ESPN-televised bout. “So, I don’t know what to expect.”

He can expect skepticism, much of it planted by rival promoter Eddie Hearn, whose noisy criticism of Inoue’s recent string of opponents probably factored into Inoue’s agreement to fight Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev, a feared Uzbek and a former bantamweight champion, next September in Tokyo. 

Against Cardenas, there’s a chance to get an updated look at Inoue and how he might withstand a risky challenge from a dangerous Akhmadaliev.

If there are flaws in Inoue, Cardenas hopes to be the first to expose them.

Opportunities like this don’t come around often, so I had to jump at it,” said Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs), a 29-year-old San Antonio fighter and Akhmadaliev’s stablemate. “I’ve been mentally preparing to fight Inoue for a long time. I knew I’d eventually get a big fight if I kept winning. And here we are — a shot at the undisputed champion of the world.

“This is Inoue’s first fight in America in four years, so I know he’s motivated to show out. I’m prepared for the very best version of Naoya Inoue.”

By Norm Frauenheim

It was a different Ryan Gracia than the one who shocked, outraged and frightened throughout a long-running social-media ride to hell-and-back a year ago. He was composed, thoughtful. There was even a hint of humility. Was it real? Will it last? 

Those are questions only Garcia can answer as he resumes a career interrupted by the craziness that surrounded his date with Devin Haney, a fight preceded by Garcia chugging a beer on the weigh-in scale and one that turned into a virtual accident. It’ll be exactly a year this Sunday, Easter Sunday, since a bout that  included a positive PED test, suspension, lawsuit, reported settlement and repeated denials. The hangover, framed by the questions, lingers.

There were no simple answers last April. There were none this April at a public workout in San Diego Thursday a few weeks before Garcia answers an opening bell for the first time in more than a year May 2 against Rollie Romero in Times Square, about eight miles of roadwork through New York traffic from the scene of his last ring appearance against Haney at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Garcia, who is coming off a year-long suspension for testing positive for Ostarine, was calm. But will that prove to be only the calm before another storm? The answer to that one rests in what is about to transpire before a card that figures to get more attention for where it is than who is on it. 

For Garcia, it’s a tuneup. For Haney, it is too. He’s scheduled to fight Jose Carlos Ramirez. Teofimo Lopez will also be there in a defense of his junior-welterweight title against Arnold Barboza Jr. Hopefully, the weather will include only punches and no rain. 

“Looking to get the rust off,’’ Garcia said to a circle of reporters before a live-streamed workout at BXNG Club in Oceanside.

Looking to get some answers, too.

Garcia made some news Thursday, repeating that he had an interest in fighting welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis, the acknowledged best at 147 pounds today. He also mentioned Mario Barrios and Brian Norman.

“I’m excited, but do I want to fight somebody else that would make me feel more like a champion?’’ he said. “Whoever the champions are …any of those guys. I will win the word championship if I beat any of those guys.’’

But, mostly, the Friday night card — the first in a Cinco de Mayo triple-header  including Canelo Álvarez-William Scull Saturday in Saudi Arabia and Naoya Inoue-Ramon Cardenas Sunday at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena — is thought to be a steppingstone to a Garcia-Haney rematch, which is projected for a day in October. The planned sequel is full of immense potential to settle a lot of differences still there after Garcia’s three-knockdown beatdown of Haney in bout later changed to no-contest because of the PED positive.

“I want the Devin Haney rematch, 100 percent,’’ said Garcia, who has virtually disappeared from the wild social-media presence he occupied a year ago. “I need it and I’m going to do it for USADA this time. I want the Devin Haney rematch so bad. I really want it. There’s some personal bad blood there but it’s not going to overrule me but it’s got some extra oomph in there, you know, when you’re fighting and put it on him even more. 

“Then you got Bill’s (Haney’s father and trainer) crazy antics, and he’s constantly talking nonstop, and that makes me want to put a whooping in a little bit more. This is an opportunity to do it again, and I think after that, I’ll put a stamp on that and move forward.”

Garcia’s mention of USADA — a drug-testing agency — is a reference to the Ostarine controversy. Garcia tested positive twice for the substance — an anabolic agent, according to drug testing and New York State Athletic Commission. 

But he denied it after the fight. And he denied it again Thursday.

“I did a lot of things, but for me it was more mental,’’ Garcia said. “Everything was mental. It took a toll on my mentality, because I know I didn’t take steroids or anything like that.

“It was tough for me to overcome that, but throughout the year I got over it, re-focused myself, and got blessed with this opportunity.’’

This time, Garcia denies it without any of the angry histrionics that were there for weeks after the fight.  A year later, Gracia says it a matter-of-fact tone.

Still, it was an acknowledgement that Garcia knows what a lot of people are thinking. Hall of Famer and ringside analyst Roy Jones Jr, expressed it in an interview this week with AKHi TV, a You Tube boxing network. Jones gives a Haney a chance to win the rematch.

“If you (don’t) knock him out when you’re illegal, how you gonna beat him when you’re not illegal?’’ Jones is quoted as saying.

For Garcia, there’s only one opportunity. Only one answer. First, there’s Romero. Then, there’s the projected rematch.

“I felt that this is my chance to come back and show everybody I can really fight,” he said.

By Norm Frauenheim

Date and place remain uncertain, but exploding interest in Canelo Alvarez-versus-Terence Crawford six months before a projected opening bell is already evident in the noisy debate on social media and shifting numbers in the betting line. 

The social-media noise will continue, ad nauseam. But it’s the betting line, an early poll of sorts, that is showing a shift of public opinion toward Canelo. 

Canelo opened as a slight favorite, minus-190. But the odds, the dollars, are moving toward Canelo during the weeks since an 11th-hour deal was struck with Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh on Feb. 7. 

This week Canelo is at minus-230. Translated, that means there’s a 66-percent chance he wins a fight as intriguing as any for a bout expected to happen in September in either Las Vegas or Los Angeles. 

The early odds figure to change more, especially during the first Saturday in May when Canelo is expected to reunify the super-middleweight title against International Boxing Federation belt-holder William Scull, a Cuban living in Germany, in a perceived tune-up in Riyadh. 

Canelo figures to win easily, but how easily will be a key factor going into the fight against Crawford, a four-division champion and an all-time welterweight great who is moving up two weight classes.

Increasingly, there’s social-media talk that the smaller, more skillful Crawford can beat Canelo. But the shifting odds say something else. There’s an old line: In a fight between two good fighters, bet on the bigger guy. For now, that’s Canelo. 

According to the latest odds update, Crawford has a 33 percent chance at springing one of the biggest upsets since Manny Pacquiao, then a lightweight champion, jumped to welterweight and scored an eighth-round stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008.

Pacquiao weighed in at 142 pounds. De La Hoya, who came down from junior middleweight, was at 145 at the official weigh-in. It looked as if De La Hoya had weakened himself in the battle to make weight. Pacquiao overwhelmed De La Hoya late in the eighth, forcing him to quit before the start of the ninth.

Canelo, already known to tire in the later rounds, won’t have to weaken himself on the scale. According to the agreement, he’ll be at his customary weight, 168 pounds at the weigh-in the day before opening bell. 

It’s up to Crawford, who fought and won a belt at junior-middle (154) in his last bout, to add pounds. The question is how that will affect Crawford, who unlike Canelo does not have a fight scheduled before the projected September bout.

If Crawford can carry the additional weight without draining his endurance or eroding the dynamic resilience in his varied skillset, he’s got a real chance. Canelo has never faced anybody with Crawford’s quicksilver ability to adjust, including a seamless move from orthodox to southpaw and back. 

At 37 — he’ll be 38 on Sept 28, Crawford’s feet might not move with the agility and speed that they did when he was at lightweight and junior-welter. 

If, however, Crawford withstands Canelo’s early power, carries the weight and carries himself into the later rounds, there’s a chance he catches a tiring Canelo with counters from angles the powerful Mexican has yet to see.

On the scale of intangibles, the edge goes to Crawford. There’s charisma in his defiance. Motivation, too. Underdog will be the perfect fit for Crawford in his pursuit of big money and genuine legacy. 

It’s not as if Crawford is coming into what might be his last fight seeking a gigantic payout against a Jake Paul or a Conor McGregor. He’s taking on perhaps the biggest challenge possible against a bigger man, Canelo, who goes into the fight more than just favored.

Canelo is supposed to win. There’s pressure in that role, but it’s one Canelo understands better than any fighter in his generation. 

He’s learned how to counter it and how to use it throughout the years since a milestone scorecard loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013. If social media and shifting odds are any indication, that pressure is just beginning to build.

Best bet:

It’s going to be a hell of a fight.

By Norm Frauenheim

Surprise, surprise, the Canelo Álvarez-Terence Crawford fight was off. Then, faster than flipping a light switch, it was back on. For the nut jobs gathered in the murky bottom of the social-media cesspool, that was the first sign of a lot more off and on. Sure enough, that’s what followed within a few hours Thursday. Canelo-Jake Paul was on, then suddenly off, in a dizzy sequence of dueling reports, all hard to follow in a sport known more for feints than facts.

Welcome to boxing, once called the red-light district of sports.  Buyer beware, which these days means don’t believe anything you read or hear because it’s about to change.

It all started late Wednesday with a Canelo-Crawford report from The Ring. Suddenly, a fight rumored for about a year and reportedly a done deal for September was suddenly off. Why? Fill in the blanks.

Immediately after news that — for “now” — the reported Canelo-Crawford fight in September on the Las Vegas Raiders home field is off, there were reports that Canelo would fight Jake Paul, who issued a statement Thursday evening, saying “when there is something to announce, we will announce it.’’

Turns out, there was nothing to announce. Instead, there was boxing’s new money man, Saudi Prince Turki Alalshikh, on social media, saying — somewhat cryptically — that Canelo had a four-fight deal for the Riyadh Season. It’s supposed to start on the first weekend in May, but apparently Paul will not be included, despite multiple reports to the contrary earlier in the day.  Meanwhile, The Ring, which Alalshikh recently bought, posted that Canelo-Paul was off. Please, pass the dramamine. It’s hard to know when this messy merry-go-round stops.

Above all, it suggests what everybody already knows. To wit: Boxing doesn’t know what it’s doing. Never has. The difference this week is the chaos. There’s more of that than ever. The best bet — perhaps the only one — is that the chaos will continue, leaving fans and media free to speculate wildly about what to believe and who to mock, what to rip and who to insult.

The best guess in this corner is that an untold amount of money was offered in some furious wheeling-and-dealing between the offs and ons, all in an 11th-hour effort to convince Canelo that he was better off with the Saudis than with a reported bout against Jake Paul. 

The Paul reports were credible, mostly because they made sense.

Canelo, the wealthiest boxer on Forbes’ annual list of the world’s richest athletes, has been more businessman than boxer over the last couple of years. He has employed the risk-reward formula he inherited from Floyd Mayweather Jr., who reportedly became a billionaire boxer by adhering to the ratio.

Paul has been calling out Canelo for years. As an aside, he has never called out David Benavidez, who also had been pursuing Canelo for years before his solid victory at light-heavyweight Saturday over David Morrell. Paul fought MMA star Anderson Silva in a boxing match two-plus years ago in Glendale AZ, just a few blocks from Phoenix streets where Benavidez grew up. 

“You call out Canelo, why not Benavidez?’’ I asked him at the formal news conference.

“I’m not ready for that,’’ Paul said.

He’s not. 

Not then. 

Especially not now.

Canelo, super-middleweight champ and still ranked in the middle of most pound-for-pound ratings, knows that, of course. He also knows that Crawford, an all-time welterweight great still among the top three in the pound-for-pound debate and now 1-0 at junior-middle, is a bigger risk than Paul ever could be. 

Like Benavidez, Paul has never called out Crawford either. 

The risk in either is not worth the reward.

But Paul, whose persona includes an edgy notoriety, has a social-media following that only Gallup can count. His drawing power is also undisputed. A Netflix audience for Paul’s sad spectacle against aging and ailing Mike Tyson on Nov. 15 was reported to peak at 65 million. The live crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington TX was announced at 72,300. Factor in all of that and it looked to be a no-brainer. 

The only downside would be the criticism Canelo would inevitably hear if he fought Paul, a novice boxer, instead of the emerging Benavidez or the feared Crawford, who is promoted by Alalshikh.  But the Saudi offer apparently was big, bigger than even the money Canelo might have made in a May date against Paul.

Apparently, the Saudi deal also restores plans for a Crawford fight against Canelo in September. Crawford tweeted Thursday night that he would wait on Canelo to fight a perceived tuneup in May. Super-middleweight belt-holder William Scull, a Cuban living in Germany, Jermall Charlo and Bruno Surface — who knocked out Jaime Munguia in a huge upset — are possibilities for the May date.

But there’s still a caveat. As of late Thursday, there was still no word — yes or no — from Canelo, the reigning Face of the Game. Only his final say-so can stop the chaos, or maybe just ignite a lot more of it.   

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS — Two days before opening bell, promoter Tom Brown promises violence. Minutes later, David Benavidez says enough to enrage David Morrell and his manager, Luis DeCubas, pushing Brown’s promise ever closer to reality during a contentious news conference Thursday. 

Benavidez turned up the rhetoric, elevating the potential hostility by several octaves, with everything from profane threats to personal insults during an angry hour in a ballroom at the MGM Grand.

Ordinarily, trash talk at a boxing news conference is a redundancy. It’s all part of the show. Increasingly however, a method in Benavidez’ madness is apparent. It’s in his words, to be sure. But it’s also in his eyes. Again and again Thursday, the Phoenix-born fighter looked  across the table at Morrell and De Cubas with eyes that flashed like sparks off flint. Benavidez, nicknamed The Monster and sounding like one, looks to be serious in the final hours before his light-heavyweight clash with Morrell Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

The trash talk is like another training session, one that further sharpens the edge on his mind and emotion. Ask him about it, and he acknowledges that the verbal exchanges help channel his energies and maybe his anger, too.

That wasn’t apparent in his last fight, a light-heavyweight debut, a bout with former 175-pound champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June. Benavidez won, but without any of the dynamic energy that has been a trademark for so long. He liked Gvozdyk, a quiet and skillful Ukrainian.

“We spoke different languages and we respected each other, unlike this effing guy, who I don’t effing respect at all,’’ Benavidez told The Boxing Hour/15 Rounds as he waved a dismissive gesture toward Morrell’s side of the stage.

One thing became loudly clear at the newser. Benavidez and Morrell understand each other. Both are fluent in profanity. But there were signs that Morrell wanted to insert a little civility to the pre-fight proceedings.

“Peace and love,’’ Morrell, a Cuban living in Minneapolis, said at the end of his first turn at the bully pulpit.

Benavidez reacted to that like a predator pursuing prey.

“Peace and love, what’s the hell is that?’’ Benavidez said. “But I’m not surprised, because I know he’s effing afraid of me.’’

The hostility, sparked by Benavidez, began with a barrage of insults aimed at De Cubas. De Cubas tried to keep his cool as he spoke amid one interruption after another. But it was to no avail. Finally, De Cubas answered, profanity-for-profanity.

“—-sucker,’’ he yelled, throwing out an obscene insult that set the stage for an X-rated show.

It got so bad that Benavidez manager and promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz actually admonished De Cubas.

 “I want to apologize for De Cubas’ behavior,’’ said Lewkowicz, who isn’t exactly known for diplomacy. “We didn’t need anybody to scream. This fight sells it itself.’’

But the screaming continued anyway for an intriguing light-heavyweight bout between young fighters, both entering their primes and both unbeaten. They’re both cocksure, which isn’t exactly the word De Cubas used to describe Benavidez. But you get the idea.

After the newser, De Cubas said he wasn’t surprised at how Benavidez went at him.

“We know all about Benavidez’ bullying and all of that other stuff,’’ De Cubas said in the relative calm just outside the doors to the MGM Grand’s media room. “I knew it was coming. But when you behave like that, it’s because of fear. I saw that fear in him. Look, I think he knows that some time during the fight he’s going to realize that he shouldn’t have taken this fight in the first place.

“He’s complaining about not shaking hands. Before that, there was all this stuff about steroids. But we were the first to agree to VADA testing. There’s always something. Why? Because he’s afraid he’s gonna get knocked out.”

Who’s afraid of who? Brown’s promise suggests that nobody is afraid at all. In part, that’s why he’s forecasting violence.

“At the end of the day, we’re selling fights, right?’’ said Benavidez, who lives in Miami these days yet continues to honor his Phoenix roots with PHX boldly stitched onto the waistband of his trunks. “Would I rather say he’s a good fighter? I’m trying to sell the fight. I’m trying to sell pay-per-views. I’m trying to generate interest because if I don’t say anything, this effing guy’s not going to say anything. People are paying hard-earned money for this fight. 

“They want to see something. Let’s give them something to see.”

Angry words, but they’re also words from a fighter who hopes to be a peoples champ. Perhaps, The Peoples Champ

“I want to be the Face of Boxing,’’ said Benavidez, who on Thursday was a face hard to ignore. 

Harder to silence. 

By Norm Frauenheim

Naoya Inoue’s astonishing career continues without any apparent limits.

There are 10 straight knockouts, 22 in title fights. There are four titles in four weight classes, two undisputed. He’s unbeaten, and for now unchallenged.

Yet, he talks as if his resume is somehow incomplete. He talks about his career as though it’s more of a search for identity than just another fight.

Inoue, Japan’s Rising Son, wants to know more about himself.

“I don’t know how complete I am as a boxer,’’ Inoue said.

That might surprise Ye Joon Kim, who was destroyed in another thorough beat down delivered by Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) at home in Tokyo Friday with still another deadly display of tactical efficiency and predatory instinct.

The result, a fourth-round knockout of Kim in a junior-featherweight title defense, was also thoroughly predictable. Kim (21-3-2, 13 KOs) was a late stand-in for Sam Goodman, an Australian forced to withdraw because of a nasty cut suffered in training. But we expect a lot from Inoue these days. Anything less than dominance would be disappointment.

Kim didn’t have a chance. Goodman wouldn’t have either. That, of course, has raised a familiar chorus of skepticism. Terence Crawford, an Inoue rival alongside Oleksandr Usyk in the pound-for-pound debate, has heard the same questions. They go all the way back to Joe Louis’ Bum Of The Month during his heavyweight reign.

Dominance is double edged. Too much of it, and fans begin to doubt because of inevitable questions about the quality of the opposition.

Inoue might wonder himself.

Might wonder, too, about how more complete he can be against fighters perceived to be real threats. Fighters like Junto Nakatani, or Murodjon Akhmadaliev, or Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. Against them, perhaps, Inoue will be forced to extend himself beyond the limits of what it means to be complete.

That journey in self-discovery begins — appropriately enough — on the road. Inoue confirmed what Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told The Boxing Hour/15 rounds and Boxing Scene in early December while in Phoenix for Emanuel Navarrete’ stoppage of Oscar Valdez in a rematch. Inoue said he will leave the comforts of home and the intense loyalty of Japanese fans for the first time in nearly four years.

“Yes, 2025 will be a big year for me to go overseas to have a fight,’’ Inoue said during a post-fight monologue that was seen on ESPN+ in the early-morning hours in the United States. “In spring of 2025, I’ll be going to Las Vegas to show the great match. I am planning to have fights in Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia this year.’’

Arum, who likened Inoue to Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, foresees an Inoue fight in Vegas in April or May. The initial road test is not expected to present Inoue with a steep challenge. The opposition figures to be more like Kim than Bam.

Both The Boxing Hour/15 Rounds and Boxing Scene reported in early December that there had been some preliminary talks about Alan David Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs), a Mexico City junior-featherweight with the perfect last name for Inoue’s masterpiece of a career.

So far, it’s been an artistic run, one summed up Friday with a body assault that — in the end —was punctuated by a head-rocking, left-right combo. At 2:25 of the fourth, Inoue was already planning to hit the road.

“The great country of Japan has given Ohtani to the city of Los Angeles, and at least for one fight, the great country of Japan will give this great Inoue to the city of Las Vegas for one fight this spring,” said the 93-year-old Arum, who was at ringside at Ariake Arena.

For the 31-year-old Inoue, it’s an opportunity to introduce and re-introduce himself to fans whose only opportunity to see him has been in the early-morning hours. Hitting the road is another way of saying he’s going global, all in an attempt to become a complete craftsman and the game’s first real cross-over star since Manny Pacquiao.

Jesus Ramos wants Lubin rematch

Colleague Marc Abrams broke some news this week on his 15 Rounds podcast in an interview with Jose Ramos Jr., who fights former junior-middleweight champion Jeison Rosario Feb. 1 on the card featuring fellow Arizonan David Benavidez against David Morrell at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

The fight is Ramos’ second since a controversial scorecard loss to Erickson Lubin in September 2023. Ramos, who stopped Johan Gonzalez last May in his first fight since his lone loss, says he’s seeking a rematch.

“Definitely,’’ said Ramos (22-1, 17 KOs), who lives and trains in Casa Grande, south of Phoenix. “We’ve been trying. Whenever he’s ready.’’

Rosario’s power poses a threat in what’s an interesting fight and perhaps a step toward a rematch. Lubin (18-2, 8 KOs), of Orlando, stopped Rosario (29-4-2, 23 KOs), dropping the Dominican twice in the sixth round nearly four years ago in Atlanta.

Ramos, now 23, says there are lessons in the loss, controversial because of a couple of widely different scores, all favoring Lubin — 117-111, 116-112, 115-113. When announced, there were lots of boos from a crowd at T-Mobile for Canelo Álvarez’ decision over Jermell Charlo.

The defeat, Ramos said, changed his mindset.

“I’m learning more, growing as a person,’’ he said.

By Norm Frauenheim

Say goodbye to the good, bad and the stupid. 2024 was a lot like so many other years on boxing’s roller-coaster ride through history. 

From Ryan Garcia to Jake Paul-versus-Mike Tyson, there was plenty to forget. Actually, Tyson probably had the best advice. He said he didn’t remember a thing about the Paul fight, a Netflix show of the absurd. Wish it was that easy.

But there were moments and performances worth remembering. Thank you Oleksandr Usyk, Jesse Rodriguez, Naoya Inoue, Artur Beterbiev, Dmitrii Bivol and the Ukrainians for saving the year from becoming one for the spit bucket.

A look back at 2024 and hoping for better in 2025:

Fighter of the Year

Usyk, From this corner, it looks to be a no-brainer. He beat Tyson Fury twice, nearly stopping him in May and then backing it up in December with a comprehensive — 116-112 on all three cards — decision on Dec. 21, both in Saudi Arabia. But there is no consensus in boxing or anywhere else these days. The social-media mob dismissed the rematch’s scoring and Usyk’s place in history. If you don’t like him as Fighter of the Year, how about Man of the Year? He stands up for the Ukraine, his home in a desperate war against the Russians. He is boxing’s most compelling personalty since Manny Pacquiao, also a people’s champ still revered by fellow Filipinos.

What does Usyk do in 2025? Nobody knows. He doesn’t know. The answer might rest in the fate of his country. If he continues to box, there’s an opportunity to further his claim on a genuine legacy. 2025 includes the 50th anniversary of Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier 3. Ali won the 1975 fight, an unrivaled mix of courage, skill and brutality on October 1 of that year. Trainer Eddie Futch, knowing that Frazier couldn’t see and had only his inexhaustible will to continue, ended it after the 14th round. 

The fight was many things. There was the violence witnessed in Fury-Deontay Wilder 3. There was Evander Holyfield’s masterful skillset, a key to conquering the bully in feared Tyson. All of the classic elements were there — all at once — in the Thrilla In Manila. A reported 100 million watched on closed-circuit. A reported 500,000 bought HBO pay-per-view. Boxing will never be the same. But the aniversary is an opportunity to look at heavyweight history and a chance for Usyk to prove that he has place in it.

Fighter Of The Year Runner-up

Jesse Rodriguez. He calls himself Bam and that’s exactly the impact he had on 2024. His power was already documented, but there might have been some questions about the skills needed to deliver it against an equally skilled opponent. 

Enter Juan Francisco Estrada in late June on a hot desert night in downtown Phoenix. Rodriguez, then a flyweight champion, re-claimed his Super Fly belt and reputation in a bout that was fought at a skills-and-will level as high as any throughout 2024. Bam scored a knockdown, got knocked down himself, got up and finished Estrada with body punches delivered with timing and precision. Estrada, an acknowledged master of  ring tactics, was finished, moving up in weight instead of a rematch. Rodriguez went on to win a third-round stoppage of Pedro Guevara in Philadelphia in November.

Bam in 2025? His momentum carries him into the New Year, but it is double edged. Everybody saw what he did to Estrada, who said no to another one, despite a rematch clause. Roman Gonzalez had been rumored, but apparently he also said no to a proposed date with Rodriguez. Rodriguez wants to unify the 115-pound title, perhaps against Argentine Fernando Martinez, who withdrew from a New Year’s Eve rematch with Kazuko Ioka in Japan because of the flu. Eventually, Martinez figures to fight Ioka. Rodriguez gets the winner?  It looms as a possible steppingstone to what is still a dream fight — Rodriguez against pound-for-pound claimant Naoya Inoue.

Fight Of The Year

Ageless Artur Beterbiev, in majority-decision over Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight title in a beauty of a bout in October. 

It was close enough to do it all over again, and that’s the plan, also in Saudi Arabia on Feb 22.

What happens in 2025? The rematch, a pick-em fight, is a stage setter for the rest of the year. Three weeks before, David Benavidez and David Morrell, light-heavyweight newcomers, face each other in the first real significant fight of 2025 in Las Vegas. 

The Benavidez-Morrell winner on Feb. 1 is a so-called mandatory, meaning it will lead to a fight against the Beterbiev-Bivol winner. But only complications are really mandatory, especially if the tactically-skilled Bivol wins this time. 

That might might mean Canelo Alvarez, the undisputed super-middleweight champion in a move to to avenge his 2022 scorecard loss to Bivol.

It’s not clear what Canelo intends to do. A date with former welterweight great and current junior-middleweight champ Terence Crawford continues to be at the top of the rumor mill. But Bivol would be an option. So, to would Beterbiev, although that one is unlikely because of the rugged Beterbiev’s heavy-handed power.

No matter what happens, Benavidez has to beat Morrell first. It’s risky, but it has fans talking a month before opening bell precisely because it is. 

If Benavidez wins what will be only his second fight at 175 pounds and Canelo chooses to fight the Bivol-Beterbiev winner, Benavidez will find himself  in the same place the Phoenix-born fighter  has always been:

Waiting on Canelo — another chapter to a story line that dominated in 2023 and again in 2024.

Trainer Of The Year

Robert Garcia. This is a no-brainer. Garcia, Jesse Rodriguez’  trainer, is putting the best into busy. Latest example: Garcia, Jesse Rodriguez’ trainer, put in a lot of roadwork on Dec. 7. From dressing room to ring and back, Garcia worked five corners on a Top Rank/ESPN-televised card featuring Emanuel Navarrete’s blowout stoppage of Oscar Valdez in a rematch at Footprint Center, the Phoenix Suns home arena.

Fighters of the Year

The Ukrainians. They aren’t all as talented as Usyk or Vasiliy Lomachenko. Throughout 2024, however, virtually all have proven to be a tough out. There’s an old line in boxing: They come to fight. It’s a cliche, but the Ukrainians gave it new life throughout 2024. With their country in peril from the Russians in a brutal war, they boxed with skill and inexhaustible resilience against better-known and always heavily favored fighters. In 2024, an unprepared Ukrainian did not answer an opening bell.

Here are just two:

Denys Berinchyk. He introduced Navarrete to the lightweight division. The favored Navarrete lost a split decision to Berinchyk in San Diego for a vacant 135-pound title in May. Instead of a rematch with Berinchyk for a bid at a fourth division title, he chose to fight Valdez for a second time.

Serhii Bohachuk. He knocked down talented junior-middleweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. twice before losing a debatable majority decision in August in Las Vegas. It was the first time any fighter had taken Ortiz to the scorecards.

Remember them. Without them, boxing wouldn’t have been what it was in 2024.

By Norm Frauenheim

Oleksandr Usyk, never a man of many words, has had even fewer this week, just days before a sequel that has all of social-media’s usual suspects talking. 

But Usyk doesn’t have to say much, if anything, before a rematch full of its own redundancies. His name already says it best.

Oleksandr, which is of Greek origin, means:

To Defend.

It’s a goal as clear as it is risky against Tyson Fury, whose heavyweight resume is a masterpiece collection of adjustments within fights and between them.

To wit: He doesn’t lose rematches. 

Then again, neither does Usyk. 

That’s about to change Saturday (DAZN) in Riyadh in a rematch perhaps as significant as any in the history of boxing’s fabled flagship division.

Of course, Fury, unlike Usyk, has had a lot to say this week without really saying anything at all.

“The biggest adjustment I’ve made is to grow a beard,’’ Fury said after he arrived in Saudi Arabia to a parade that added a few octaves and exclamation points to what over-the-top means.

Fury has always been better with lyrics and one liners than just anybody in the crowded trash-talking corner of the noisy game. It’s part lousy-lounge act. But it’s also a tactic, one he has used with great effect throughout his heavyweight reign. 

After opening bell, his brilliant feint is a weapon. Before opening bell, he weaponizes his words. 

It worked against Deontay Wilder, especially in their first rematch when the dangerous Wilder tried to blame the sudden loss of his singular power on fatigue he said he suffered by wearing an armored medieval costume in his ring walk. 

Truth is, Wilder didn’t know who the heck he was anymore. He had lost his feared identity, his armor of confidence, on the night Fury got up from his power six years ago in Los Angeles, in a wild draw. 

Fury then reminded him of that repeatedly — hauntingly — during the weeks and months before their first rematch — won by Fury in a seventh-round TKO — February 2020 in Las Vegas.

Wilder was embarrassed then. Later, he was destroyed in a concussive conclusion to the trilogy, five knockdowns of violence that ended in Fury winning an 11th-round KO October 2021, also in Vegas.

Fury dominated Wilder, both physically and psychologically, perhaps finishing his career. 

The damage done to Fury is still an open question, one that Usyk surely hopes to answer Saturday in the rematch to his contentious split decision over Fury seven months ago. 

Fury swears he’s in better condition. He says he went into seclusion in training at a camp in Malta. He says he didn’t speak to his wife for months. She might have been relieved. Just joking, I think. This time, he says he won’t clown around. This time, he says he promises to deliver only pain. 

Blah-blah-blah. By now, we’ve heard it all from Fury.

So, too, has Usyk.

A difference, however, is that Usyk, unlike Wilder, doesn’t really listen. At least, he doesn’t appear to react to anything said or sung by Fury. Usyk — poised, patient and menacing — is his own counsel. 

Amid everything he didn’t say this week, he had one comment, quotable if you’re the media and perhaps foreboding if you’re Usyk.

“Don’t be afraid,’’ Usyk said at a final news conference that included an unblinking, 12-minute stare-down. “I will not leave you alone.’’

By now, Fury knows that. Since May, I’m guessing he has had dreams of Usyk, always there and always in his face. 

In a style that borders on a battle of attrition, the smaller Usyk, stubborn and stealthy, tirelessly works his way inside. It a risk, big enough to be costly for Usyk, especially in the early rounds.

Fury knows that. Fury’s immense advantages in size and power could end this fight before the sixth round. If, however, Usyk is able to push the fight into the seventh, then the eighth and again into the ninth, perhaps he has a chance to finish what he could not in their first fight. 

That’s when he hurt a fading Fury badly. He didn’t stop him, although there’s a solid argument that it should have ended, then and there. But a knockdown was ruled, which was enough for Usyk to win on two of the three scorecards.

It was close, but close is when Usyk is at his very best. Fury is best at pulling off the dramatic. Only Fury got up from the full impact of the lethal power in Wilder’s right hand. Only he could survive that right once more, get up all over again and knock out Wilder in a scary third encounter. 

Guess here: Each fighter knows the other very well by now. For Usyk, the task is to endure an early assault, then launch one of his own later. For Fury, the test is to end it, close the show as fast as possible.

There’s a temptation to predict that this one ends in a draw. Yes, that’s cynical, but some cynicism is a fight fan’s best defense. Riyadh, Matchroom, Top Rank and DAZN would love a third fight. 

A close first fight suggests that the second will be too, which also would probably lead to a trilogy. Neither Usyk nor Fury is young. But they’re not exactly old either. Usyk is 37. He’ll be 38 on Jan. 17. Fury is 36. He’ll be 37 on August 12.

A rematch clause is in place, according to Fury promoter Frank Warren.

“It’s contracted,” Warren told Boxing News. “That will be the case if Tyson wins, providing nobody retires.”

Providing, too, that Usyk, the defending champion, doesn’t do what his name has always told him:

To Defend.

By Norm Frauenheim

Busy is a vanishing fundamental in boxing these days, although likable Jaime Munguia continues to practice the old-school art-form this week with his fourth fight in a year Saturday in a Tijuana homecoming.

It’s not much of a fight, notable only because of Munguia, who continues to work on his craft in a super-middleweight bout that sets the stage for what could be a significant step into his prime next year. Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs) is not quite a full-blown star, but his busy schedule is a sure sign that he intends to be. 

He re-introduces himself to hometown fans for the first time in nearly three years on ESPN against unknown Bruno Surace (25-0-2, 4 KOs), who is leaving France for the first time for a fight not expected to last long. Munguia is a 25-to-1 favorite. Those kind of odds suggest that Munguia will spend more time saying hello to old friends than exchanging punches with the Frenchman.

Nevertheless, he’ll re-acquaint himself with his loyal fan base while also alerting it to a year he hopes will put him at centerstage in the super-middleweight shuffle. 

Other than the Tijuana homecoming, the biggest news involving Munguia this week actually comes out of Germany at the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) annual convention in Hamburg. The acronym’s menu included an order Wednesday that Munguia fight feared Christian Mbilli for an interim (aren’t they all?) title significant only because it’s supposed to lead to a shot at the real championship. 

We say “supposed to” because so many never do, especially at super-middle. That’s Canelo Alvarez’ division, the pay-per-view star and boxing diva who gets what he wants. 

It’s no coincidence that the WBC ratings committee noted that Canelo will be granted “a voluntary” title defense. Call it the Canelo Clause, meaning he does whatever he wants. Still, it’s not clear what his plans are. Guess here, he won’t fight anybody still in his twenties and with enough energy to stage an aggressive assault in the late rounds. 

Again, the guess here is that’s exactly why he hasn’t — and probably never will — fight David Benavidez, the Phoenix-born fighter who will be 28 years old on Tuesday.

Benavidez’ upcoming birthday included a promising gift this week, also from the WBC, which designated his Feb. 1 fight against dangerous David Morrell as a light-heavyweight eliminator for a shot at the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol 2 winner for the undisputed title, scheduled for Feb. 22. 

By now, of course, Benavidez knows all about the mandatory role. Nothing mandatory about it. It’s limbo land. Benavidez was there, the so-called mandatory challenger for Canelo’s title. Yet, Canelo has always found ways to fight somebody else. 

The Canelo Clause gives him free rein, one that could even put him at the front of the Beterbiev-Bivol line, especially if Bivol manages to reverse his earlier loss to Beterbiev. That would give Canelo a chance to avenge his scorecard loss to Bivol.

But who knows? Canelo hasn’t been saying much about plans for 2025. For now, at least, the volunteer in his “volunteer defense” might still be Terence Crawford, one of the all-time welterweight greats and a newly-minted junior-middleweight champion. There’s still talk that Crawford will move up to 168 pounds to fight Canelo for what might be Crawford’s final fight in a Hall of Fame career.

All of this puts Munguia in an uncertain spot. He’s already fought Canelo, losing a unanimous decision last May in one of what will be his four-fight schedule in

2024. 

Munguia stopped John Ryder, a solid and skillful UK fighter, at Footprint Center in Phoenix in January. He stopped Canadian Erik Bazinyan in September at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb. Following the WBC’s Mbilli-Munguia announcement from Germany, all of the talk centered on an eventual Mbilli-Canelo showdown, perhaps in May or September of next year.

That, of course, presumes that Mbilli beats Munguia. But what if the opposite happens? Let’s say Munguia, still perfecting his craft, beats Mbilli and puts himself in line for a rematch. 

Would the 34-year-old Canelo, who is near the end of his prime, agree to a second fight with Munguia, 28 and just entering his prime?  Munguia didn’t have much of a chance against Canelo. He lost on all three scorecards — 117-110, 116-111, 115-112. Canelo knocked him down in the fourth round, putting Munguia on the canvas for the only time in his career.

After the fight, Canelo told reporters that he “carried” Munguia. The narrative circulated for weeks. Munguia was very careful with polite, diplomatic answers to inevitable questions. Finally, Munguia objected. In an interview with Boxing Scene and The Boxing Hour days before his stoppage of Bazinyan, Munguia said:

“Truth is, I found it disrespectful.’’

The forthright comment was a certain sign of Munguia’s emerging maturity. In effect, he was telling Canelo that he belongs at center stage and perhaps in a rematch. 

Above all, the comment is there, a good promotional angle and a on-the-record demand from Munguia for some respect from the game’s biggest name. There’s only way to get that: 

A rematch.

Until then, there’s only one thing to do:

Stay busy. 

NOTES

In the wake of Emanuel Navarrete’s devastating three-knockdown, sixth-round stoppage of Oscar Valdez last Saturday in a junior-lightweight rematch Saturday at the Suns home arena in downtown Phenix, there are mounting calls for Valdez, 34, to retire. Top Rank’s Bob Arum told Yahoo’s Keith Idec that he would urge Valdez to retire when they talk again, probably early next month. In an interview with Boxing Scene and The Boxing Hour before the rematch loss, Valdez was adamant. Retirement talk was already circulating. Valdez said he would not. He said retirement was not in his mindset. Question is, what are his options if he decides to fight on after the second loss to Navarrete, who also said in post-fight interviews that he’s contemplating retirement after two or three more fights. Arum says he believes Valdez would be a good trainer. The bi-lingual Valdez also has done some media work as a ringside commentator.

Apparently, Mike Tyson has already done what everybody else is trying to do. He tells Fox Sports Radio that he doesn’t recall much of what happened in the Jake Paul fiasco last month. “I don’t remember the fight that much,’’ Tyson says of an exhibition that was something other than a fight. “I kind of blanked it out.’’ Forget about it? Not quite. Lawsuits and stupid conspiracy theories continue to circulate in the wake of a Netflix show that attracted a reported audience of more than 70 million. It generated lots of money, which probably answers the one question nobody wants to address: How in the hell did Texas license Tyson? He underwent transfusions for excessive bleeding from an ulcer just months before the show. The 58-year-old Tyson told New York Magazine that he asked a physician whether he was going to die. Apparently, Texas regulators ignored that question. I’ve said it once; I’ll say it again. We’re lucky we didn’t witness something more than an embarrassment on Nov. 15 in a ring on the Dallas Cowboys home field.

By Norm Frauenheim

PHOENIX — Plans for Naoya Inoue’s return to the United States next spring already include a possible opponent.

Mexican David Picasso, an artistic name and perhaps an opportunity for Inoue to enhance his masterpiece of a career, is being mentioned as a possibility for the Japanese pound-for-pound contender in a possible April fight in Las Vegas.

“It’s on the table,’’ Rene Aviles, of Zanfer Promotions, said Friday while in Phoenix for the Oscar Valdez-Emanuel Navarrete rematch Saturday at Footprint Center. “Nothing is set, but that’s the plan.’’

Picasso (30-0-1, 16 KOs), a Zanfer-promoted junior-featherweight from Mexico City, has appeared on two major cards in the U.S., first in January of last year in a victory over Erik Ruiz at Footprint and again in a victory in May over Damien Vazquez at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs), a four-division champion who hasn’t fought in the United States since a victory in June 2021 in Vegas, is already scheduled to test his pound-for-pound supremacy against Australian junior-featherweight Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) on Dec. 24 in Tokyo.

“On Christmas Eve, I’ll be there,’’ said Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who will celebrate his 93rd birthday Sunday. “If successful, then we’ll announce his next fight, hopefully in Las Vegas.’’

By Norm Frauenheim

PHOENIX — Rafael Espinoza is in line for a possible shot at the Oscar Valdez-Emanuel Navarrete junior-lightweight winner if he beats Robeisy Ramirez in a featherweight rematch, one of two title rematches on the ESPN-televised card Saturday at Footprint Center.

There’s talk that Espinoza, unusually tall for a featherweight, is about to move up in weight, from 126 pounds to 130, if he again beats Ramirez, who lost a dramatic majority decision to Espinoza a year ago in Pembrook Pines, Fla.

The 6-foot-1 Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs), the World Boxing Organization’s featherweight champion, was at 125.7 pounds Friday at the official weigh-in. He was only a tenth-of-a-pound heavier than Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs), but was five inches taller. At 30 years old, it looks as if Espinoza is ready to fight in a heavier division.

“Rumor is, he’ll go up,’’ Brad Goodman, of Top Rank, said.

First, however, he has to beat Ramirez, a Cuban who many thought won the first fight. Late Friday, Ramirez was a slight betting favorite.

There has been talk that Espinoza might move up to challenge Texan O’Shaquie Foster (23-3, 12 KOs), the World Boxing Council’s junior-lightweight champion. But Espinoza, who wore late Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s jersey to Friday’s weigh-in, in an all-Mexican fight against either Valdez or Navarrete for the WBO’s 130-pound title looks to be a more marketable match among Mexican and Mexican-American fans.

By Norm Frauenheim

It’s the first significant fight in a New Year. That’s mere coincidence, but it’s also appropriate.

David Benavidez-versus-David Morrell on February 1, formally announced this week, is all about timing, a theme sure to unfold as both fighters step into their respective primes in only their second fight at light-heavyweight.

In part, it’s a potential stage-setter, both for the sport and the 175-pound division. On the calendar, at least, it’s a chance to move beyond a dreary year, one that figures to be remembered mostly for the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fiasco. Maybe, the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury rematch on Dec. 21 changes all of that. We can hope. Make that pray.

At 175 pounds, it’a a chance for the Benavidez-Morrell winner at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena to move into a shot at perhaps the undisputed title against Artur Beterbiev, although even he is talking about Jake Paul.

Paul is calling himself the Face of the Game, mostly because he’s got the key to the vault. There’s speculation he might even coax Andre Ward out of retirement. Big money can do that, and that’s what Paul’s face brings to prize-fighting, more prize than fight these days. Forget the scars, skills and courage. Cash is the only feature that matters anymore. 

Even Saudi Prince Turki Al-Sheikh, who has brought even more cash into the sport, claimed to be the Face after his promotional role in a card featuring accomplished Terence Crawford’s debut victory at junior-middleweight in Los Angeles last summer. Apparently, Al-Sheikh forgot that Crawford had more rights to the Face than just about anybody. When reminded that the reigning Face has to risk that face in the ring, Al-Sheikh — to his credit — backed off.

Meanwhile, Paul’s face eluded most of Tyson’s punches. Then again, there weren’t many to elude. Eighteen landed, for a pathetic average of fewer than three per round over the eight-round farce last Friday in Arlington, Tex. More punches land in shadow boxing. 

It was sad because Tyson used to be The Face. But it’s unrecognizable anymore, bought off by anybody with only cash in his skill set.

Can it be restored? Hard to say. But it’s worth a try and maybe Benavidez-Morrell is a place to start.

Start over. 

I remember an exchange I had with Paul more than two years ago before he fought mixed-martial-arts legend Anderson Silva at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ, just a few miles of roadwork from the mean streets where Benavidez grew up near downtown Phoenix.

At the news conference in October 2022, I welcomed Paul to Benavidez’ hometown. At the time, Paul was calling out Canelo Álvarez. He still is. So, I asked him if he wanted to fight Benavidez, too. Paul stopped, looked at me intensely and said: “I’m not ready for that.’’

It was an honest answer, a real moment in a business turning into a carnival, a Hall of Mirrors. Nobody knows what they’re looking at anymore. 

Last week, I had a theory that most in the crowd of 72,000 at AT&T Stadium and a Netflix audience — estimated at 75 million viewers, worldwide — would not know that Usyk and Fury are fighting a rematch for the undisputed heavyweight title next month. Wouldn’t care either. Now, I’m not even sure many would know who Usyk or Fury are. 

To them, the craft is no longer the attraction. Only $pectacle is. They got one, but now there are weird, wild conspiracy theories. $pectacle and conspiracy go together like show and business. 

At last report, a class-action lawsuit has been filed by fans unhappy at Netflix’s production of the event. No word on whether they’re unhappy at themselves from buying into the hype.

The Sweet Science?

Nothing Sweet or Scientific about it.

From this corner, the formal announcement of the Benavidez-Morrell date in the aftermath of Tyson-Paul was a relief. It’s something real, old-school and fundamental in a world gone awry. 

Maybe, I’m expecting too much from Benavidez and Morrell. But all of the time-honored elements are there for a real fight. A memorable one, too. Nobody 58-years-old will be answering an opening bell. Benavidez is 27. He’ll be 28 on Dec. 18. Morrell is 26. He’ll be 27 on Jan. 17. They’re both unbeaten — Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs).

They’re the face of the future. 

For now, that’s the only face we’ve got.

NOTES

Jesus Ramos Jr., a promising junior-middleweight from Casa Grande AZ, will fight on the Benavidez-Morrell undercard. The 23-year-old Ramos was last seen in the corner for his brother Abel in his spirited draw with welterweight champion Mario Barrios on the Paul-Tyson undercard. Jesus Ramos (21-1, 17 KOs) will fight former champion Jeison Rosario (29-4-2, 17 KOs). “I’ve learned my lesson about leaving things up to the judges,’’ Ramos said during a news conference this week in Los Angeles. “I can’t do that anymore. I’m coming to knock him out.”

Emanuel Navarrete is a slight favorite to again beat Oscar Valdez in their junior-lightweight rematch Dec. 7 at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix. Navarrete is coming off a disappointing performance at a new weight, a split-decision loss at lightweight to Denys Berinychk. Meanwhile, Valdez was impressive in a stoppage of Aussie Liam Wilson, who many believe got robbed of victory over Navarrete in a controversial bout, also in Arizona in 2023. Navarrete is talented, yet erratic. Meanwhile, consistency defines Valdez, whose seemingly inexhaustible resilience continues to make him dangerous.

I’ve already said this on other platforms and I’ll say it again: Tyson-Paul generated real numbers. Real money, too. Here’s a real question: Why was Tyson licensed? In a post after the bout, he talked about dying, saying that he underwent transfusions for excessive bleeding in May from an ulcer that postponed the bout. Yet, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation licenses him anyway? Texas regulators must have known about Tyson’s condition. He talked about it in ominous detail in a story published by New York Magazine before opening bell. Did Texas listen, decide he was exaggerating and license him anyway? If so, we’re fortunate we witnessed only an embarrassment. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

Mike Tyson has been making a fool out of himself and just about everybody around him for decades. Maybe, he’ll do it again, making a fool out of Jake Paul and the rest of us who believe he shouldn’t be in a traditional boxing ring against anybody anywhere.

Any more.

But, of course, he will be Friday night on the Cowboys home field in Texas in front of an expected crowd of 80,000 and who-knows-how-many from Netflix’s subscriber population of 287.2 million, millions more than the nearly 150 million who voted in the recent presidential election. 

Don’t call it a fight, although the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation elected to do so, but only after adding four ounces to the usual 10-ounce gloves while reducing the number of scheduled rounds from 10 to eight and subtracting a minute from each round, from three to two.

Texas, like Netflix, knows a money-maker when it sees one. In this transactional era, traditional rules and regs are just some of the numbers that can be adjusted if the projected financials are big enough. They are. 

Reportedly, Paul will walk away with $40-million, a purse that might make the accomplished Canelo Alvarez — the only traditional boxer left among the wealthy athletes near the top of Forbes’ annual rating — wonder if he’s in the wrong game.

But Tyson-Paul isn’t about boxing, although boxing surely wishes it was. Does anybody in the Tyson-Paul audience plan to watch the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury heavyweight rematch next month? Guess here: Very few. Truth is, very few probably even know it’s happening.

Usyk-Fury is a real fight. It’s intriguing, but only for a shrinking demographic that still enjoys a craft historically defined as The Sweet Science. Nothing about the 58-year-old Tyson versus a 27-year-old Paul figures to be sweet or scientific.

It’s spectacle, a Tyson speciality. It also happens to be the only thing about Tyson that hasn’t eroded over the decades. He’s feared for his punching power, and perhaps some of that is still there. It’s the last thing to go. 

But the real power, the most durable element in Tyson’s skillset — is his ongoing ability to create the kind of anticipation that precedes a spectacle and sometimes an accident. A crowd will gather for both. 

Tyson’s career as an active fighter is remembered more for what happened in defeat than victory. The infamous Bite Fight — Evander Holyfield lost part of his ear and won the fight in a DQ — defines him. It shut down the MGM Grand and the city of Las Vegas on a hot night in June 1997. 

Cabbies still driving Vegas streets tell stories about it to this day. Meanwhile, Holyfield, one of history’s great heavyweight champions, occupied an almost forgotten role in one of boxing’s most unforgettable moments, infamous because of Tyson and the genuine unpredictability he brings to any event.

Then.

And now.

Twenty-seven years later, that unpredictability is still centered around Tyson. He’ll be 60 in a couple of years. Texas regulators and Netflix can alter the length of rounds and the amount of padding in the gloves. It can tamper with a lot of the numbers. But not that one. 

Father Time doesn’t negotiate. 

On the scale Thursday, Tyson, reported to be at 233 pounds, looked good, especially for a man moving from middle age into old age. Some of the photos posted on social media included one word: SCARY.

Yeah, scary for him.

I’ve been asked to pick the fight. The sure winner, of course, is Netflix. But there’s another pick, really more of a hope. Here’s hoping Tyson emerges unhurt. Guess is, he will. For all of his trash-talk, Paul, reported to be at 220 pounds, is smart enough to know that his fellow Millennials in the crowd and audience are cheering for Tyson. 

They remember him like kids remember their favorite comic-book SuperHeros. They never get old. But Tyson has. 

Father Time beats us all, perhaps because of an unforeseen injury or just because of exhaustion, or an erosion in reflexes, or some problematic pre-condition. Remember, this fight was postponed in May because of an ulcer, which Tyson said was bleeding. Tyson told New York Magazine that he was spitting up blood. He was quoted as saying: “I said to the doctor: ‘Am I going to die?’ ‘’

Scary.

A hint at what might happen, perhaps, comes from his greatest rival, Holyfield. 

Twenty-four years after The Bite Fight, a 58-year-old Holyfield lost to a mix-martial-arts fighter, Vitor Belfort, who agreed to do an exhibition just eight days before the show in 2021. 

Within two minutes of opening bell, Holyfield went down, falling to the canvas in a chaotic crash of uncoordinated legs and limbs. Holyfield got up, but without any of the instinctive reflexes he possessed a couple of decades earlier. They were gone, washed away by the years. He was finished at 1:49 of the first round. It was sad, yet inevitable.

Then. 

And probably now.

By Norm Frauenheim

He’s a little guy about to embark on a second chapter, also a significant one with the potential to be the biggest in the history of fighters at the bottom — the forgotten — end of boxing’s scale.

Jesse Rodriguez’ emergence over the last year is impossible to ignore. His popularity, perhaps, is best defined by his nickname. Bam, it’s simple, descriptive and easy to remember in just about any language. Bam, it could be in a super-hero cartoon or a TV ad for some new household product. But these days it sums up a fighter whose dynamic skillset can put some rare bam into a sport in desperate need of some.

Increasingly, today’s boxing is about fights that don’t happen. Anyone interested in more exasperating speculation about Canelo Alvarez-versus-David Benavidez or Canelo-versus-Terence Crawford? Didn’t think so. Anybody interested in more dreary news about the IBF, Irrelevant Boxing Federation, stripping another fighter of another title? Didn’t think so.

There have been lots of headlines this week, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s iconic stoppage of George Foreman in then Zaire. The stories are terrific. But, mostly, they fill a void. Nostalgia is about all boxing has these days. 

Baseball celebrated its rich history this week  with another compelling World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees while boxing remembers its colorful past while wondering whether there’s much of a future.

Increasingly, I fear, boxing’s biggest moments will be the circus-like exhibition that we’re about to witness in the 57-year-old Mike Tyson against the 27-year-old Jake Paul. A big crowd figures to gather November 15 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. A big Netflix audience is likely. 

But they’ll be watching for the same reason people stop to watch a car wreck. In Tyson-Paul, there’s a chance an accident is about to happen.

It’s a dreary landscape, mostly devoid of promise. But there is Rodriguez, unbeaten (20-0, 13 KOs) and a reason for optimism. He just renewed his deal with Matchroom, the opening step in the 115-pound fighter’s move up the pound-for-pound scale. 

Next up: A date against a so-called mandatory challenger, Mexican Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) on Nov. 9 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on a card featuring welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis against Karen Chukhadzhian.

Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn added Bam to the card after hearing complaints about Chukhadzhian in a rematch. Ennis scored a one-sided decision — 120-108 on all three scorecards —over the Ukrainian in January 2023.

Hearn countered the complaints with his newly-minted star, Rodriguez, a small fighter who figures to be a big draw for Philly’s Puerto Rican audience. In part, the Philadelphia fight is a chance for Rodriguez to further affirm the stardom he established in entertaining fights in Phoenix, the best market for little guys in the United States since Hall of Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal’s memorable run in the 1990s.

The milestone moment was Rodriguez’ masterful seventh-round stoppage of Juan Francisco Estrada last June in front of a roaring crowd of about 10,000 at Footprint Center, the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix. It was a Super Fly fight that included power — three knockdowns — two by Bam and one by Estrada. Mostly, however, it was an almost artful exhibition of boxing skill from both. 

If boxing passed out an award for Most Skillful Fight Of the Year, Rodriguez-Estrada would be this corner’s choice with light-heavyweight Artur Beterbiev’s majority decision over Dmitry Bivol on Oct. 14 in Saudi Arabia a close second. Rodriguez-Estrada was fought at the craft’s highest level.

Initially, the proud Estrada talked about a rematch. After thinking about it, however, he decided no and announced he would move up in weight. In effect, it was an affirmation of just how good Rodriguez is. 

And will be. 

The best guess is that Rodriguez will beat Guevara, a 35-year-old former champion who is perhaps best known for beating former featherweight and junior-lightweight champion Oscar Valdez Jr. as an amateur.

Then, there’s a move to unify the 115-pound title. For now, it’s not clear where that takes him. There had been talk about a fight with the winner of a projected rematch between Kazuko Ioka and Fernando Martinez, an Argentine who scored a decision over Ioka in Japan in July. 

There have confusing reports this week about whether the Irrelevant Boxing Federation had stripped Martinez of its 115-pound title. At last report, the acronym said Martinez had relinquished the belt because he wanted to proceed with the Ioka rematch instead of a so-called mandatory. I don’t know. I don’t care.

The only significant scenario here is a path for Rodriguez to secure a shot at another belt — against Ioka or Martinez or whoever — in an effort to unify one title in perhaps another step toward Naoya Inoue, maybe the most popular Japanese athlete not named Shohei Ohtani. 

For now, Rodriguez-versus-Inoue is a dream fight. Inoue, a former junior-flyweight champion, is currently fighting at junior-featherweight, 122 pounds. There’s been talk about him at featherweight, 126. Weight might be a hurdle, although  the 24-year-old Rodriguez is expected to mature. His body type suggests he can carry more weight. 

There’s also Junto Nakatani. Nakatani, unbeaten with dangerous power, is fighting at bantamweight. He looms as the most immediate threat to Inoue’s Japanese reign.

Still, Rodriguez-versus-Inoue — a cross-cultural, world-wide clash between a Mexican-American and a Japanese star — is still the Dream.

Boxing needs one. 

By Norm Frauenheim

An old line is as current as ever this week because of the acronyms, which continue to prove that the only thing killing boxing is boxing itself.

The IBF is redefining itself. Call it the Irrelevant Boxing Federation. The latest move dropped Thursday with news that defies common sense. Business sense, too. Then again, the IBF is in the business of collecting sanctioning fees.  But there won’t be too many more of those if the IBF continues to make baffling moves that can only shove the acronym into further obscurity.

The latest: A threat to strip Artur Beterbiev of the IBF piece of the light-heavyweight title within a week after he retained it, two other belts and added a fourth in a controversial scorecard decision over Dmitry Bivol in Riyadh. 

You didn’t have to watch the fight to know that a rematch had to be next. I didn’t watch because of another acronym, DAZN, which advertised that the undercard’s live stream would be free in the US and Canada, yet then charged $19.99. Frustrated, I just decided to say no. It was just the latest example of how boxing conducts itself. Only in boxing can a circular firing squad become a business agenda.

According to many accounts in the post-fight scuffle on social media, Bivol got robbed. Maybe. Maybe not. However, at least one of the scorecards in the majority decision says that Bivol did enough to get a rematch. One judge scored it a draw, 114-114. The other two cards favored Beterbiev, 115-113 and 116-112, a score that managed to generate a lot of the outrage. 

Whatever you think, the fight and subsequent debate left a question. The only way to get an answer is with a rematch. For a few days, at least, that seemed to be what everyone wanted.

Beterbiev, who says little, said enough to indicate he’s willing.

With Bivol and his corner, there was never much doubt. Many in the Bivol corner were shouting robbery. An attorney for Bivol petitioned the acronyms Wednesday, asking for a rematch. 

For once, there seemed to be some consensus. But — surprise, surprise — it didn’t last. The familiar chaos was back with news from the IBF that it would order Beterbiev to fight somebody named Michael Eifert. It could have ordered him to fight the Eiffel Tower for all that it mattered. Does anybody know who Michael Eifert is? Didn’t think so.

Then again, does anybody know William Scull? He’s a good name for Halloween, but as a champion, or challenger he is as unknown as Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs), an IBF challenger living in Germany who is best known for scoring a decision over a faded Jean Pascal in March 2023. 

By coincidence, perhaps, Scull (22-0, 9 KOs), a Cuban also living in Germany, fights for the first time Saturday since the IBF elevated him to the top of super-middleweight ratings after stripping Canelo Álvarez of its 168-pound belt. 

Scull fights for Canelo’s former piece of the undisputed title against an unbeaten Russian named Vladimir Shishkin, (16-0, 10 KOs) in Falkensee, a town west of Berlin. Will anybody see it? Put it this way: There won’t be any speculative stories about the pay-per-view count. No television or streaming is planned.

In effect, the IBF stripped Canelo of the belt and itself of his drawing power. The numbers are smaller, but the IBF could be taking a similar step in a baffling move, a so-called order that Beterbiev fight an unknown or risk losing his 175-pound belt. 

Common sense dictates that the IBF — or any other acronym arrogant enough to issue orders, designate mandatories and call itself a ruling body  — threatens to strip Beterbiev of only if he declines to do an immediate rematch.

Anything else is a down payment on irrelevancy.

NOTES

Speaking of rematches, a couple of them were formally announced this week. Top Rank will stage Emanuel Navarrete-versus-Oscar Valdez Dec. 7 in Phoenix in a rematch of Navarrete’s punishing decision over Valdez in a dramatic junior-lightweight title bout August, 2023 at Glendale’s Desert Diamond Arena. 

The card, aptly called Scores 2 Settle, will also include Rafael Espinoza versus Robeisy Ramirez in a featherweight rematch of Espinoza’s majority-decision victory in December.

The ESPN card has been in the news for months. The only difference will be the site. Initially, it was believed that Navarrete-Valdez would go back to Glendale. But it was announced this week that they’ll do the sequel at Footprint Center, the NBA Suns home in downtown Phoenix. 

By Norm Frauenheim

Power and perfection define Artur Beterbiev. Truth is, that’s about all we really know about him. The two elements are linked like numbers in an astonishingly simple equation, a record that says a lot about him and perhaps says everything he wants to say about himself.

Twenty fights, twenty victories, twenty knockouts. 

Challenge that one at your own peril. Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) will, of course, Saturday (main event, DAZN/ESPN+, 6 pm ET) in Saudi Arabia in a light-heavyweight fight as significant as any in the division since the first Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev bout eight years ago.

Yet, Ward-Kovalev 1, marketed as Pound For Pound, was different on so many other levels. Mostly, there was personal enmity, even before Ward won a hotly-debated decision — 114-113 on all three cards — over Kovalev in November 2016. 

It was as controversial as any over the last decade. But the controversy was fitting. Ward and Kovalev didn’t like each other. Actually, like is a polite way of describing it. But it is a four-letter word. 

The hostility, marked by equal amounts of contempt and abundant suspicion, helped make the fight marketable. Seven months later, it also spawned a rematch, which ended with Ward winning an eighth-round TKO in a sequel as forgettable as the first was memorable.

On the insult scale, Beterbiev-Bivol isn’t even close, although Bivol promoter Eddie Hearn tried to change that this week. First, Hearn insulted Beterbiev, calling him “arrogant.’’

At an earlier newser, Hearn told TNT Sports, “Beterbiev said about three words, I found it quite arrogant.”

Beterbiev, Hearn then added, limited his answers to the media to about one word.

“I think he just went ‘good,’ ‘’ Hearn said. “You’re getting paid an absolute fortune, the entire world’s media here, you owe us a little bit more than that. He couldn’t care less. In a way I respect it, but in a way, I think it’s a little disrespectful.”

At the final newser Thursday in Riyadh, Hearn continued the theme, all in an apparent attempt to break through Beterbiev’s taciturn defense.

For a moment, it looked as if Hearn was getting through.

Beterbiev looked at Hearn and said during the live-streamed newser:

“You talk a lot.”

Hearn’s quick counter:

 “It’s my job. You should try it.”

End of conversation. 

It wasn’t surprising. Statues are more quotable than Beterbiev. But we knew that. He’s memorable more for how he fights than anything he’s ever said. But here’s another number: 39. He’s within four months of turning 40. That includes recent injuries. A knee injury forced Beterbiev to postpone the original date with Bivol, June 1.

He’s beyond prime time, and time might be the only thing that can undo his reign of perfection. He’s the favorite to leave Riyadh with the undisputed light-heavyweight title. Then, it’s back to Montreal and quiet anonymity. 

However, there’s a sense that Father Time’s arrival at Beterbiev’s doorstep will come in the form of the 33-year-old Bivol, a fellow Russian who is given a real chance at an upset in a fight noteworthy for how it sets up the 175-pound division.

It was announced this week that David Benavidez, a Phoenix-born fighter, and David Morrell, a Cuban living in Minnesota, have agreed to fight. When and where, however, aren’t certain. January 25 or a date in February are mentioned. But time and place are subject to what happens in Riyadh. 

Benavidez holds an interim belt at 175 pounds, which makes him a mandatory challenger — whatever that means — for the Beterbiev-Bivol winner. Benavidez would have to beat Morrell to keep his place in line. 

Then again, Canelo Alvarez could always cut in line. Canelo, who Benavidez has been been pursuing for years, began talking about Bivol in September, before and after his one-sided decision over Edgar Berlanga in a solid defense of the undisputed title at 168 pounds. Bivol beat Canelo a couple of years ago.

The potential scenarios provide several talking points for what Beterbiev-Bivol means. One Example: Beterbiev, still aggressive and powerful at 39, beats Bivol with a stoppage, another notch in his perfect record. Then, Benavidez beats Morrell with his trademark energy and volume punching. Next, Beterbiev-Benavidez, a fight with the kind of fireworks that could ignite a classic. It would be an instant talker, which for now Beterbiev-Bivol is not.

Even Bivol, a pragmatic and patient tactician,  is careful not to speculate about anything beyond Saturday. Beterbiev, of all people, spoke for both of them Thursday.

“It’s not my business,’’ he said when asked for his thoughts about possibilities beyond Bivol.  “I have a fight this Saturday. I’m only focused on this fight.”

A fight that’s bound to generate lots of talk, no matter what anybody says.

Or doesn’t say.

By Norm Frauenheim (Ringside)

LAS VEGAS –On the scorecards, there was no upset.

But in the court of public opinion, there was a big one.

From pillar to post — sports book to social media, Edgar Berlanga had been mocked, dismissed and damned. The consensus was that Berlanga had no chance against Canelo Alvarez.

But Berlanga was there in the twelfth and final round, trading punches and more than a few words in a pay-per-view fight Saturday night in front of an announced crowd of 20,312 at T-Mobile Arena. Berlanga went the distance. Before opening bell, his chances at that were about as good as the Chicago White Sox winning the World Series.

At 27, Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) managed to surprise Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs), who promised a knockout before the eighth round. Early on, however, Berlanga displayed something Canelo didn’t expect. The younger man was– is –durable. Above all, he can take a punch.

In the third round, Canelo landed his best, a counter left that has stopped so many other Canelo challengers. It dropped Berlanga, flat on his rear end. But Berlanga did what so many have failed to do. He got up.

Canelo attacked, almost in a desperate pursuit to end it, then and there. But Berlanga had the presence of mind to elude those assaults and then to attack in his own right.

In the end, Canelo, still the unified super-middleweight champion, walked away with a solid decision, 118-109 on two cards and 117-110 on the third. But he didn’t fulfill his promised knockout, which means he didn’t dispel questions about how he’d do against David Benavidez or Terence Crawford. More on them later.

“No, I did good,” he said to a roaring crowd of Mexican partisans.. “Now, what are they going to say.”

There will be doubts. That’s a safe bet. He hasn’t scored a knockout in almost three years. Canelo has his critics and they will be out in force after going the distance against the underrated Puerto Rican. Canelo seemed to know that. Still, his confidence remains unshaken.

“I’m the best fighter in the world,” he said.

Dispute that claim, and many will.  But his dominance at the box office remains unchallenged. He jammed T-Mobile with a crowd that was called a sellout. This side of Japan’s Naoya Inoue, what other boxer in the world can do that these days? Dumb question.

Boxing has its own way of saying: Follow The Money. Follow Canelo. That won’t change, tomorrow or until he retires, perhaps when the 34-year-old fighter turns 37..

But his challengers are younger and only getting better. Berlanga was evidence of that.

“I’m upset because at the end of the day I’m a winner,” Berlanga said.

He was Saturday and he will be again.

Meanwhile, questions about Canelo’s future remain unanswered Crawford at a 168 pounds? Benavidez?

“I”m going to rest and then I’m going to decide what’s next,” he said.

Garcia takes knee, Lara retains title

Danny Garcia apologized.

But an angry crowd booed.

Forget apologies, a near capacity crowd at T-Mobile Arena wanted a fight and it didn’t get one in an advertised middleweight title fight between Garcia and a defending belt-holder, 41-year-old Erislandy Lara Saturday night in the final bout before the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga main event.

Garcia, a former junior-welterweight and welterweight champion fighting at 160 pounds for the first time, took a knee in the final second of the ninth round and then surrendered on his stool seconds before the 10th.

“I’m sorry,” Garcia (37-4, 21 KOs) said. “I tried. You can’t succeed if you don’t try.”

Garcia wasn’t able to do much of anything against the middle-aged Lara (31-3-3, 18 KOs), who claims to be the oldest champion in Cuban history.

Presumably, Lara will schedule a few more title defenses. He’ll be 42 in April. It wasn’t clear what Garcia or his volatile father trainer Angel will do next. But the boos included an unmistakable message:

Retire.

Caleb Plant stops McCumby for TKO win

Caleb Plant and Trevor McCumby exchanged insults. They mocked each other in word and gesture. But this was no clown show.

Not in the end.

Plant and McCumby settled their difference along the ropes, boxing’s trenches where blood and bruises are more decisive than words can ever be.. That’s where Plant was at his brutal best. That’s also where he won, pounding McCumby with an avalanche of punches that rained off him from round to round.

At 2:59 of the ninth round of the  contentious super-middleweight fight on the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga card at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, it was over. That’s when the referee stepped in and halted the brawl.

Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) was the TKO winner, leaving McCumby, a former prospect, to ponder what he’ll do next after his first loss, yet only his fourth fight since 2018 .

McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs), a Chicago native now living in Glendale AZ, scored a knockdown in the fourth, although it looked as if a push instead of a punch sent Plant backpedaling into the ropes onto the canvas. McCumby danced after that one. He shook his hips at Plant.

As it turned out, however, Plant was just warming up. He began to pin McCumby on the ropes, punishing him with successive blows from the fifth until the inevitable end. 

“It was a pretty tough fight,” Plant, a former super middleweight champion, said.  “I was just easing in. I proved that I can fight on the inside tonight and I did what I had to do.

“He caught me pulling out and hit me in the shoulder, but that’s part of the game. He came in with wild punches and I just had to stay focused. That’s what champions do..”

Romero wins one-sided decision, hopes for title shot

Rollie Romero wanted a steppingstone.

He got one, scoring a unanimous decision over Manuel Jaimes in junior-welterweight bout Saturday on the Canelo-Bernlanga card at Mobile Arena Saturday night. 

“I needed a tough 10-round fight against someone hungry and that’s what I got tonight,” Romero (16-3, 13 KOs), a Las Vegas fighter said. “I was doing a lot of stuff tonight that I should have done in my earlier fights.

“Jaimes was coming forward a lot, but I was controlling the pace. The fight was going how I wanted it to. In the later rounds I started coming forward more and landing more body shots. 

“Hopefully I’m fighting for a title next.

“I have my eye on any of the champions.”

Jaimes (16-2-1, 11 KOs), of Stockton CA, simply couldn’t keep up with Romero, who simply outworked him.

“The judges saw what they saw”  he said.  “I’d have to watch the tape to be able to score it myself. I could have been more active, that would have helped me land more.”

Fulton scores controversial decision over Carlos Castro

Carlos Castro got the knockdown.

Got the loss, too.

For Stephen Fulton, there were boos. 

“A shout out to the boos,” Fulton said.

Fulton accepted the booing, because he got the win too, a controversial split decision Saturday over Castro, a resilient Phoenix featherweight whose bid for a significant upset was denied by some debatable scoring.

Lisa Giampa had it 95-94, for Castro. On David Sutherland’s card, it was 96-93 for Fulton. On Don Trella’s card, it 95-94, also for Fulton

Castro (30-3, 14 KOs), a skilled boxer, pursued Flulton early and often with a slick mix of head shots and body punches. The early attack seemed to surprise Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs), who hadn’t fought since getting knocked out by pound-for-pound front-runner Naoya Inoue in Tokyo in July 2023.

There were moments when it looked as if Fulton underestimated Castro, especially his power. In the fifth, however, Castro delivered an overhand right that stunned Fulton. It also might have awakened Fulton to a threat he might not have foreseen in his first fight in more than a year. 

It knocked him down. 

For the next couple of rounds, Fulton was cautious. And Castro was aggressive. moving forward with quick hands to the body and head. In the seventh and eighth, a still-arriving crowd for the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga main event began to chant:

“Castro, Castro.”

By then, Fulton had begun to rally. landing repeated head shots, all powered by the realization that the fight was up for grabs.

Again in the ninth and the 10th, it looked as if Castro had begun to tire. Yet, he answered Fulton’s punches with some of his own, especially in the fight’s final, furious seconds.

“Castro, Castro,” the crowd chanted.

Apparently, Sutherland and Trella didn’t hear them

Boom, one big counter from Ricardo Salas scores a stoppage

One counter was enough.

Ricardo Salas, a Mexico City welterweight, threw it.

It floored Venezuelan Roiman Villa, draining him of any motivation to continue. He stayed down, wiping blood away from a wound beneath one eye and waving one hand in apparent surrender midway through the third round.

Salas (20-2-2, 15 KOs) threw it – a straight right hand, — just as Villa (26-3, 24 KOs) missed wildly with a lunging punch. Sala followed with a glancing left. But the counter did the job, finishing Villa at 2:06 of the third. 

Eddy Reynoso-trained Goe Lopez wins decision

Geo Lopez had power, hand speed and quick feet.

Only a stoppage was missing.

It eluded Lopez (17-0, 12 KOs), a junior lightweight from Orlando,  in the eighth and furious final round Saturday. A powerful left hand sent Ricky Mediana down and tumbling onto the canvas. 

Somehow, however, Medina (15-3, 8 KOs) scrambled to his feet. He survived. But Lopez , who had Canelo trainer Eddy Reynoso in his corner, won, scoring a one-sided decision Saturday on the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga card at T-Mobile Arena

Canelo-Berlanga Undercard: Middleweight suffers scary KO

Three fights, three second-round stoppages.

But this one was devastating, momentarily scary.

Cuban middleweight Yoenli Feliciano Hernandez‘ perfect record (5-0, 5 KOs) suggests world-class power. It was more than just a suggestion Saturday in the third fight on a card featuring Canelo Alvarez-versus-Edgar Berlanga Saturday at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Hernandez’ power put Jose Sanchez Charles down, flat on his face midway at 1:47 of the second. Charles (21-6-1, 12 KOs), of Mexico, stayed on he canvas,  motionless and face down, for several long moments before he was able to climb to his feet and onto a nearby stool.

Eventually, he stood up and seemed to say he was OK to medical personnel who had rushed to his side. Then, he waved at a sparse crowd of fans.They applauded, relieved to see the fighter walk out of the ring under his own power. 

Canelo-Berlanga Card: Second fight delivers another second round stoppage

Two fights, two stoppages, both in the second round.

Lawrence King (17-1, 14 KOs) delivered an encore of the Canelo-Berlanga  card’s opening salvo, scoring a second-round stoppage of Vaughn Williams Saturday at Vegas’ T- Mobile Arena.

King, a light-heavyweight from San Bernardino CA., dropped Williams (12-2, 8 KOs), of South Carolina, twice in the second. It was over at 2:15 of the round.

First Bell: Canelo-Berlanga show opens with quick KO

The doors opened, the first bell sounded and Bek Nurmaganbet took care of business before anybody among a handful of early arrivals could get to their seats.

That’s how fast the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga card  got underway Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

Nearly eight hours before the main event and about an hour after high noon, Nurmaganbet ((12-0, 10 KOs) a super-middleweight from Kazakhstan, wasted little time and not much energy, overwhelming Joshua Conley (17-7-1, 11 KOs) within two rounds.  Conley, of San Bernardino CA, never had a chance. Nurmaganbet stopped him in the closing seconds of the second. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

Canelo Álvarez, who often acts like a Prince, and Turki Alalshikh, who is one, are engaged in a contentious face-off, emphasis on face. It’s messy, then again most things are in boxing.

This one has been brewing for a while, but it escalated in the wake of Terence Crawford’s solid, yet pedestrian decision over Israil Madrimov, who was known more for his amateur accomplishments than his pro resume. Crawford was supposed to be sensational. That expectation was built into his unbeaten record, his history as a two-division undisputed champion and his reign as the  consensus pound-for-pound No. 1. 

The Madrimov fight last Saturday was seen as a step toward bigger things, specifically a fight with Canelo. Instead, it left questions about what’s next for  Crawford. In retrospect, it’s no surprise. Crawford was attempting to make one the riskiest moves in boxing. He was jumping up in weight, from welterweight to junior-middle. 

Perhaps, it was a jump too far. Crawford looked tentative early and beatable later. Only a furious burst of energy and uppercuts over the final two rounds saved him from a scorecard upset. He won on all three cards. He won on this one, 115-113. But not everybody agrees, including Canelo. He told media that, on his card, Madrimov won.

Fair enough. In the end, however, the close fight is a sign that Crawford should stay at welterweight, Reportedly, that won’t happen. Boxing Scene reported Thursday that he intends to relinquish his World Boxing Organization version of the 147-pound belt. 

The consensus is that he’ll stay at junior middle, defend the 154-pound belt he took from the unappreciated Madrimov, whose up-and-down,  side-to-side movement was a defensive puzzle that the calculating Crawford could not solve.

Still, it was Crawford’s debut at a heavier weight. It was a new beginning for a fighter known for his smarts. Perhaps, he learned from it and will be more effective against Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora, or Vergil Ortiz Jr. in his next date at junior-middleweight. Ortiz faces Serhii Bohachuk Saturday in an intruding 154-pound belt for an interim title at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

There are still options for Crawford. But the close decision over Madrimov — Crawford’s first victory after an eight-year run of 11 straight stoppages — eliminated one. For now, there’s no immediate chance of him facing Canelo, unified champion at 168 pounds. 

Throughout the buildup to Crawford-Madrimov, that was the talk. It was the one fight that Prince Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, seemed to want more than any other. Crawford insisted that he wasn’t listening, that he had only Madrimov on his mind. But it was impossible to ignore. 

If it was ever real, however, is another question for one reason: Canelo. He never seemed to exhibit any interest, perhaps because he knew that he wouldn’t get any credit for beating a smaller man. For whatever reason, Canelo continued to rebuff any and all attempts by Alalshikh to put together the fight. Tension was evident when Canelo continued to sidestep David Benavidez and  chose to fight over-matched Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14. The Canelo-Berlanga  fight at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on the same night Al Sheikh will work a UFC event at the brand new Sphere.

“We will eat him,’’ Alalshikh said of Canelo.

That’s one way of saying Alalshikh promises to destroy Canelo’s live gate on Sept. 14.

It was also a comment that offended Canelo, who has a history of getting angry at anything said that he views as disrespectful. After Gennadiy Golovkin trashed him for a positive test for clenbuterol, GGG offended him enough for their third fight to be delayed. Trash talk from Benavidez and his father, Jose Benavidez, is one reason there’s been no Benavidez-Canelo fight, despite a widespread demand for one. Now, it looks as if he won’t do business with Alalshikh, at least not for awhile.

“I don’t like the way (Alalshikh) talks,’’ Canelo told Boxing Scene this week.

He didn’t like the way Golovkin talked.

He didn’t like the way Benavidez and his dad talk.

Nevertheless, the Prince kept talking, countering in his own way on social media . “I have no desire in discussing another conflict,’’ he said.

Amid it all,  he did something else. He called himself “the face of boxing” in a social-media post that included his photo. Other than spending lots of money, it’s hard to know what he exactly thinks qualifies him to be the so-called face of anything other than perhaps a bank. Face-of-Boxing is one thing he can’t buy. 

It’s not in the purse.

It’s in the heart. 

It might be an ill-defined title, but only a face that risks lifetime scars qualifies. In saying he’s the face, Alalshikh tries to puts himself alongside Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez, Floyd Mayweather and so many others. There’s a debate today about whether the current face is Canelo, or Crawford, or Naoya Inoue, or Oleksandr Usyk. But neither Alalshikh nor any other promoter, matchmaker or sportswriter is in the argument. Or should be.

Alalshikh has access to unprecedented bills of currency that include the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Hamilton, Jackson, Grant and Benjamin. It was hard to ignore — I tried —  that many in boxing were willing to get on bended knee to acquire as many of those Benjamins as they could Saturday. Repeatedly, broadcasters called Saturday’s card at BMO Stadium “the best ever.’’ Was that before or after Ali-Frazier? Before or after Duran-Leonard? Before or after Leonard-Hearns?

Spending money to change today’s game doesn’t include the right to rewrite its rich history 

Canelo, I think, knows that . Often, he’s easy to dislike. Money has turned him into a diva. When he says he wants $150-to-$200 million to fight Benavidez and $150 million to fight Crawford, he’s only saying he won’t fight either. If he is in fact the Face of Boxing, it’s blemished for as long as doesn’t fight Benavidez. 

But he’s proud and he also understands history. He’s always saying he wants to make history. This time, he is. In his stand against Prince Alalshikh, he’s saying that not everything can be bought.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LOS ANGELES — It was a ceremonial weigh-in, which is another way of saying it was phony. But there was nothing phony about the look. From Terence Crawford, it never has been.

Crawford looked at and through Israil Madrimov the way he has throughout a career introduced and defined by unblinking, unforgiving eyes impossible to ignore and intense enough to fear. Crawford doesn’t say much. He doesn’t have to. Those eyes say it all. They have throughout a career without a loss and never a sign of hesitancy or self-doubt.

Errol Spence has seen it. Shawn Porter, and so many more, have seen it. It was Madrimov’s turn at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles Friday about 24 hours before their junior-middleweight title fight at BMO Stadium just a few miles of roadwork down the freeway.

They had already made weight earlier in the day behind closed doors for the California State Athletic  Commission. Crawford (40- 31 KOs) was at 153.4 pounds. Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) was at the 154-pound limit. A ceremonial version in front of fans and cameras was next. It’s one way to sell the pay-per-view for a card scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. PT (4:30 ET). It’s mostly theater, rehearsed and packaged. 

But for Crawford it was one more chance to unleash a look seen for the first time for the fighter standing across from him. We’ve seen the look on video and in photos. For those last few moments on a stage in downtown LA, however, it included more than just ceremony. There was chaos. At least, that was the promise, the forecasted threat, on the night before the first jab ignites the controlled violence.

Did it affect Madrimov? We won’t know until opening bell in a soccer stadium built on real estate that once included the old Sports Arena, a cornerstone to LA’s rich boxing history. But the look was a sure sign that the fight was already underway in the minds of both Crawford and Madrimov.  

“I was already the best at 154 when I stepped into this division,’’ said Crawford, a former undisputed champion at welterweight and junior-welter, who will fight for the first time at junior-middle against Madrimov, the champion about to make a first-time defense.

Madrimov is given a chance because of his familiarity at the weight. He’s a natural junior-middleweight. Then again, Crawford might be a natural force-of-nature. He’s on a roll, including a streak of 11 successive stoppages. 

The argument is that eventually a move up the scale will stop Crawford, end his pound-for-pound reign. Madrimov appeared to be unshaken by a look that has left a lot of Crawford opponents beaten before the first counter lands.

“I have a plan,’’ said the unbeaten Uzbek, who has been training in the desert east of Los Angeles under veteran trainer Joel Diaz’ guidance. “I have a plan to showcase my skills and prove I’m the best in this division.’’

Madrimov, mostly unknown among Mexican-American fans in Southern California, possesses athleticism and two-fisted power. Like Crawford, he’s versatile, able to switch from southpaw to orthodox and back.

A former gymnast, his footwork includes angles that could give Crawford problems. He’s an educated fighter, one who learned the craft through a decorated amateur career that includes more than 300 bouts. 

Translation: He knows what he’s doing. But, Crawford said, he’ll have to know a lot more than just that.

Crawford says he has beaten a lot of fighters whose resume includes trophies and medals.

“They all left the ring the same way, and I look for him to leave the same way,’’ Crawford said moments after a stare down that has always included an unmistakable look at him.

And what he intends to do. 

On The Undercard 

Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2, 22 KOs), who is coming off a 23-month layoff,  faces Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs). Miller was at 305.6 pounds, the lightest Miller has weighed in six years. Ruiz was at 274.4 pounds, the heaviest he’s been since his rematch loss to Anthony Joshua in December 2019. “This is everything for me, of course it is,’’ said Ruiz, remembered for his huge upset of Joshua in New York. “I had everything in the palm of my hand. Then, it just went away. I want to be a damn champion again.’’

In another heavyweight fight,  promising Jared Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) is in for his toughest test against Martin Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs). Anderson was at a career-high 252.4 pounds. Bakole also came in at a career-high weight, 284.4 pounds.

Mexican junior-welterweight champion Isaac Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) got huge cheers from Mexican fans  He was at 140 pounds against Jose Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs), who was at 139.8.

David Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs), a Cuban living in Minneapolis, looks as if  he’s a possibility at light-heavyweight for David Benavidez, the Phoenix fighter who has decided to stay at 175 pounds. Benavidez relinquished his spot as the WBC’s so-called mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez’ super-middleweight title. Instead, Benavidez, who hopes to resume his career later this year, has a so-called mandatory shot at the 175-pound winner of Dmitry Bivol-versus-Artur Beterbiev in October. Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) will be at light-heavy for a vacant title against Radivoje Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs). Morrell, who has scored seven successive stoppages, was at 174.8 pounds Friday. Kalajdzic was at 174.4.

Andy Cruz (3-0, 1 KO), an Olympic gold medalist from Cuba, was at 134 pounds for his lightweight bout against Antonio Moran, who came in at 134.8. Cruz is a Boots Ennis stablemate. “Boots will be here, at ringside,’’ Cruz said of Philadelphia’s welterweight champion. Ennis wants to fight Crawford, who instead might be in line for a big-money bout against 168-pound Canelo. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

Jesse Rodriguez, whose simple nickname is synonymous with his power in the ring, is putting some of that Bam into the pound-for-pound debate.

His thorough seventh-round stoppage of accomplished Juan Francisco Estrada last Saturday is prompting a shuffle in some ratings, yet not all.

From this corner, Rodriguez’ comprehensive performance – he scored two knockdowns and got up from one – puts him in the top five.

On this list, Rodriguez is No. 4, behind Terence Crawford at No.1, Naoya Inoue at No. 2 Oleksandr Usyk at No. 3 and one spot ahead of Tank Davis at No. 5. Shuffle them anyway you like. After all, it’s only an argument.

That said, the 24-year-old Rodriguez delivered an argument hard to ignore. Some of the prominent ratings weren’t convinced. They kept him in the second five, behind Canelo Alvarez, Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev, Tank and – in some cases – Shakur Stevenson.

The pound-for-pound debate is political, meaning that evidence gets ignored and opinions are rooted in stubborn ego. Conclusion: They’ll never change.

Still, it’s hard to understand how any fair-minded rating can keep Rodriguez out of the first five. To do so is a little bit like scorecards turned in by judges Javier Camacho and Robert Tapper. Through the sixth round, Camacho had Estrada winning, 57-56. On Tapper’s card, it was even, 56-56.

What were they watching?

Not what a roaring crowd of 10,000 at Phoenix’s Footprint saw. Not what I saw either. I was there.

I suspect the controversial cards wouldn’t have mattered had the fight gone the distance. Rodriguez’ dominance was evident in the opening rounds with agile footwork that seemed to confuse Estrada.

His dominance was more evident throughout the next four-plus rounds with knockdowns in the fourth and the finishing blow – a paralyzing body shot — in the seventh.

It also was evident in the unshakeable poise he showed in getting up from a knockdown – the first in his career — in the sixth.

Over the final rounds of the fight, he would have convinced Tapper and Camacho that their rounds were just wrong. Guess here: He would have won a one-sided decision.

But he wound doing a lot more than just that: In a further expression of his nickname, he proved he had the power to take it out of the judges’ hands. Bam, he scored an astonishing knockout of a fighter who had never been stopped. That’s what pound-for-pound contenders do.

In part, I suspect some of the pound-for-pound ratings didn’t jump him into the first five because of traditional bias against the little guys. The flyweight categories – 108 to 115 pounds – have always been ignored.

But there have been exceptions. Bam is just the latest and perhaps the biggest. What’s intriguing is the terrific way in which Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has moved him up a scale from anonymity to prominence.

Hearn has done it at the right time and mostly in the right place. Phoenix has been the launching pad for the San Antonio fighter’s ascendant career.

Phoenix is an emerging boxing market, yet with one aspect missing in many cities. It grew up with a fundamental appreciation of the lightest weight classes. A personal story: I spent much of my newspaper career covering Hall-of-Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal for The Arizona Republic.

About three decades later, I meet fans in their 30s and 40s. They tell me that their dad used to read my stories about Carbajal in The Republic. They say they’re fans today because their dads were.

I think of them when I hear Hearn say that Phoenix fans “are very educated.’’ They are, especially about the flyweights. Today’s growing generation of Phoenix fans learned about the little guys from their dads.

Move the clock forward to today, to Bam.

It’s no coincidence that he won his first title at Footprint, a downtown Phoenix arena that Carbajal helped open in 1992 with a junior-flyweight title defense. Thirty years later, Bam won his first major title there, the then vacant World Boxing Council’s 115-pound belt, with a unanimous decision on Feb. 5, 2022.

He defended it a couple of times, relinquished it and then won a vacant 112-pound title against Christian Gonzalez at home in San Antonio in April 2023.

Then, it was back to Phoenix at Desert Diamond Arena in suburban Glendale where he retained the 112-pound title by punishing the entertaining Sunny Edwards, forcing the UK fighter into a ninth-round surrender in front of a lively crowd of about 5,000. That performance put Rodriguez into pound-for-pound ratings – at ninth or 10^th — for the first time.

Next stop: A return to Phoenix, this time back to Footprint against the 37-year-old Estrada, one of the best little guys in his flyweight generation. This time, the crowd doubled, jamming the lower bowl for a chance to see a pound-for-pound star’s coming-out party.

After the concussive conclusion, Hearn stood in the ring and thanked the crowd.

“Thank you, Phoenix,’’ he said.

Hearn also said that Phoenix and Japan share a rare appreciation for the smaller weight classes. It’s a reason, in part, that some Phoenix fans will pay attention to Kazuto Ioka’s fight against Argentine Fernando Martinez bout for two 115-pound belts Saturday in Japan.

After taking the WBC title from Estrada, Rodriguez said he wanted the winner in a bout that might represent another step up in the pound-for-pound debate and toward a showdown that has already entered the public imagination:

Bam-versus-Inoue.

“Right now, it’s a fantasy fight,’’ Bam said with wisdom not often heard from somebody still in his early 20s.

It is fantasy. Inoue, a former junior-flyweight and super-fly champion, is fighting at junior featherweight.

“I got to work my way up,’’ Rodriguez said.

He does.

But his victory over Estrada is a further testament to the Bam who gets up, works his way up, on many scales, including one that turns fantasy into reality.

By Norm Frauenheim and David Galaviz

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Only SuperFly could crash the top of the pound-pound debate.

Jesse Rodriguez did that and maybe more with a definitive seventh-round knockout of Juan Francisco Estrada Saturday night in front of a roaring crowd at Footprint.

Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs), the World Boxing Council’s new SuperFly champion, did it by knocking down Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) in the fourth round and finishing him with a body shot in the seventh. He also did it by showing some of his own grit. He got up from the first knockdown in his career.

“Damn, that was crazy,” Rodriguez said.

Damn that was a good fight, a leading contender for Fight of the Year in 2024.

Estrada, down in the fourth round from a Bam uppercut, came roaring back in the sixth, knocking down Rodriguez with a right hand. What would follow in the seventh was — to use Bam’s word — crazy.

He threw a left hand to Estrada’s body.When it landed, it seemed to paralyze Estrada. He hit the canvas, rolled around in pain. In the final second of the seventh, he was finished, a loser by knockout.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” said the 37-year-old Estrada, who was fighting for the time in about 19 months.

He’s hoping to correct those mistakes in a rematch. Estrada said his contract included a clause for a rematch,perhaps later in the year.

For the 24-year-old Rodriguez, just about anything seems possible. There was even talk about a fight with Japan’s Naoya Inoue. That’s a pound-for-pound possibility, one created when Rodriguez crashed the top of the debate.

Bloodied Sunny Edwards wins technical decision

Sunny in Arizona? More like Scarred.

In his second straight fight in the Phoenix area science a bruising stoppage loss in December to Bam Rodriguez, UK flyweight Sunny Edwards sustained a nasty wound near his right eye in a fight eventually stopped because of a cut caused by a head butt.

This time, Edwards won, scoring a 90-82, 88-84, 87-85 technical decision over Adrian Curiel Saturday night at Footprint Center.

“I’m leaving Arizona a lot uglier than I was when I came here,” Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs) said after the flyweight bout.

The clash of heads came in the sixth. It caused a cut, a long deep gash from the inside of Edwards right eye and up along his forehead. Early in the ninth, referee Mark Nelson ended it on advice of the ringside physician.

The crowd booed.

“I’m not any happier than you are,” Edwards said.

Edwards, of the UK,  came out fast, moving side-to-side and forward behind a jab moving at a rapid-fire rate. Curiel (24-6-1, 5 KOs), a former champion from Mexico, didn’t seem to notice, or care. He moved laterally, kept his gloves up in a defensive posture and seemed to wait for an opportunity. It didn’t come.

 Edwards mocked him in the second, pushed him to the canvas with one hand in the third and mocked him again in the fifth. The crowd whistled, then booed. Then, there was the head butt. Edwards immediately responded, going straight at Curiel with a jab and long right hand. But the blood continued to pour from the cut and into his eyei, a sure sign that the fight would be stopped.

Mercado Decisions Ali To Retain Super Bantamweight belt

In the first of two world tittle fight we had Yamileth Mercado (23-3,5kos) of Ciudad Cuauthemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico taking on Ramla Ali (9-1,2kos) of London, United Kingdom. This will mark the first time fighting in the State since 2021 when she took on Amanda Serrano. This marks her 7th tittle defense of her WBC Super Bantamweight belt. Ramla is coming off a win in the rematch with Julissa Guzman last November. Both coming in at weight limit 

In the opening round was not much action with each filling out one another. However Yamileth pulled away with a few more effective punches. Ramla came out more aggressive to start the 2nd round landed a straight left flush to Mercados face. Mercado got her revenge at the end of the round as she appeared to hurt Ali but it was too late as the round ended. 

The fight picked up as both came out swinging and the continued through out the round with both landing good shots. Effortlessly getting the crowd excited in this tittle fight. 

Ali is finding a home with her Jab continuing to land it, as in the fifth it caught Mercado. 

The middle rounds of the fight had bits and pieces of action, no significant punches landing. 

Much of the same as we entered the championship rounds of the fight, Ali did land an over and right and a left hook to edge out the round. 

Yamileth came out swinging for the final round, but ali had an answer for the aggression once again with her neutralizer the left jab. Effectively halting Mercados offense. As the round continued both fighter put it in over drive and gave the fans in the Footprint Center a well deserved ending to the fight. 

Going to the judges as each having Yamileth Mercado winning 98-92, 98-93, and 97-93 getting the unanimous decision. Successfully defending her tittle for the 8th time Mercado stated she now wants to unify the titles. —-David Galaviz

Cardenas escapes with a majority decision

A slow start. A furious finish.

Arturo Cardenas (14-0-1, 8 KOs) opened the DAZN show featuring Bam Rodriguez-Juan Francisco Estrada Saturday looking tentative. He appeared unsure of himself and perhaps his opponent, Phoenix Mexican junior-featherweight Danny Barrios (15–1, 5 KOs).

But he quickly overcame his slow start and, in the end, overcame Barrios.

Midway through the 10-round bout, the Robert Garcia-trained Cardenas began to find his range and used his superior power. Repeatedly, he caught Barrios with left hands and short right-uppercuts. The crowd roared. Then, it booed as Barrios began to retreat, back away from the increasingly aggressive Cardenas in the ninth and 10th.

In the end, Cardenas escaped with a majority decision. He won on two cards, 97-93 nd 96-94. But on the third, it was a draw, 95-95

Gabriel Muratalla stays unbeaten 

Gabriel Muratalla, a workman-like bantamweight from Fontana CA, was all business.

In the end, that’s what he got, a business-like decision, over Carlos Fontes (23-4-1, 5 KOs), a well-conditioned Phoenix fighter,  who lacked enough hand speed to match Muratalla (12-0, 5 KOs) on the scorecard in the third bout on the Bam-Rodriguez card at Footprint Center..

Muratalla, who had Bam trainer Robert Garcia in his corner, scored often, winning a 99-73, 78-74, 77-75 decision 

AZ welterweight Fabian Rojo scores powerful stoppage

Fabian Rojo‘s left hand left no doubt.

No doubt about why he’s unbeaten.

And, on Saturday, it left Daniel Gonzalez with no chance.

Rojo (9-0, 7 KOs), of Glendale AZ, dropped Gonzalez (5-2,2 KOs), of Albuquerque, three times within two rounds, all with his left hand, in the second bout on a card featuring Juan Francisco Estrada versus Jesse “Bam Rodriguez at Footprint Center.

It ended with successive lefts, each moving like pistons in an engine. They landed like pistons, too, finishing Gonzalez at 1:13 of the second round. The crowd, already gathering in Footprint, roared. Even Gonzalez applauded. He got off the canvas and lifted Rojo up in celebration of a fighter who had just overwhelmed him.   

To get the night started Leonardo Rubacalva (7-0 3Kos) of Teocaltich, Jalisco Mexico took on William “Double barrel” Flenoy (3-3-1) of Fresno, CA. The first round was all Leonardo landing at will, stunning flurry a few times. Things picked up in the 2nd with the fight and the crowd, as Leonardo started to put more pressure on his opponent. Midway through the fight Leo landed s very effective punch combination. Not to stay quiet William came with some shots of his own as to say my double barrel is not empty to which earned the respect of Rubacalva. 

Half way through the fight both fighters showed the mutual respect and not much action happen. With 20 seconds in the 3rd, Rubacalva put it in another gear and landed a left hook that took Williams balance away and having going to the neutral corner with Leonardo following him and landing a few more punches before the bell rang to end the round. 

An over hand right that caught everyone by surprise in the arena by Rubacalva other than the big right the 4th round was not much action. 

The fifth round to which the fight lasted this long to many surprised was more of the same as the previous couple rounds a lot of respect and save the action till the last part of the round

The last round both fighters came out trading punches as if both needed to win the round. The way the round started is the way it ended with both fighters leaving it all out in the ring, not saving nothing for tomorrow. All 3 judges scored it for Leonardo 60-54, the other two having it 59-55 earning a unanimous decision improving to 8-0(3Kos). —-David Galaviz

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX, AZ — On the scale, there was no difference between them. Not even a single ounce.

In a weigh-in that might be a hint at how close a DAZN-streamed fight for the almost mythical  SuperFly title might be Saturday night at Footprint Center, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Juan Francisco Estrada were at the limit, 115-pounds each.

The only surprise, perhaps, was the crowd Friday night for a so-called ceremonial weigh-in at a re-done old building in the city’s warehouse district a couple of miles south of Footprint.

The official weigh-in, conducted by the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission behind closed doors at a downtown hotel, happened about nine hours earlier.

The ceremonial version was for show, and sure enough Mexican and Mexican-American fans showed up, most of them for Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), the World Boxing Council’s

defending champion.

They chanted his nickname.

El Gallo filled the old room as he stepped on to the scale.

El Gallo echoed through the place as he stepped off.

“They are here for me and more will be Saturday night,’’ said the accomplished Estrada, the son of a Mexican fisherman  who grew up about 215 miles south of Phoenix in a town, Puerto Penasco,  located at the top of the Gulf of California.

Despite the title belt, Estrada goes into the bout as betting underdog. The odds are dictated by time. Estrada hasn’t fought since a narrow decision over iconic Ramon Gonzalez 19 months ago in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb.

More significant perhaps are the years not included on a traditional tale of tape.

The 34-year old Estrada is a decade older than Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs), an emerging 24-year-old Mexican-American from San Antonio.

Rodriguez heard the chants and smiled at Estrada as they stood across from each other and stared into each other’s eyes during the ritual face-off for the cameras.

“This is another day for me, a day at the office’’ Rodriguez said. “I’ve been getting ready for this moment for a long time.’’

Still, Rodriguez’ deep-seated respect for Estrada was also evident. For years, Rodriguez looked at Estrada and saw a hero.

Now, he sees a rival.

“This the biggest fight of my life,’’ Rodriguez said. “It’s also a fight I’ve been preparing for for most of my life.’’

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX, AZ — Eddie Hearn foresees the Bam Rodriguez-Juan Francisco Estrada bout Saturday night as a potential Fight of the Year, one that could have pound-for-pound implications. 

“Going into Saturday, I’d say this the best fight so far this year,” Hearn, of Matchroom Promotions, said Thursday at a news conference featuring Rodriguez and Estrada at a redone old building in a warehouse district south of Footprint Center. “Bam is in for a big test. Estrada is proven. He looks fresh.”

The 34-year-old Estrada is a decade younger than the emerging Bam, a Mexican-American from San Antonio who is fighting in Phoenix for the second straight time after his pound-for-pound attention-getting victory over Sunny Edwards last December at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale.

A big victory over the accomplished Estrada could vault Rodriguez into the top of the pound-for-pound debate alongside Naoya Inoue, Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford, according to Hearn.

“He’s only 24 years old,” the promoter said. “He’s just beginning. A phenomenal performance here against Estrada would set up some enormous fights.”

Phenomenal probably means a stoppage. Bam sounded confident that he could pull one off against the tactically-skilled Estrada, the son of a Mexican fisherman who grew up 215-miles south of Phoenix in a town named Puerto Penasco..

“I think I have the skills to stop any one,” Bam said.

But he also knows he never faced anybody better than Estrada, the World Boxing Council’s 115-pound champion.

“This is my biggest fight ever,” Bam said.

Estada, nicknamed El Gallo, says he stands in the way of Bam’s bold ambitions.

“It’s going to be a real good weekend, especially for the Mexican people,” Estrada said. “It’s a chance to show that El Gallo still has things to do in this sport.” 

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX – Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez once looked at Juan Francisco Estrada and saw an idol

Now, he sees a rival.

“The first time I saw him, I wanted to be like him,’’ Rodriguez said.

Now, he wants to beat him.

Rodriguez will get that chance on June 29 at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.

It’s an intriguing fight, junior-bantamweight according to some of the acronyms. But there’s nothing junior about it. It’s Super Fly, 115 pounds loaded with a chance to be as compelling as any fight up and down boxing’s scale.

“It’s what I think will be Fight of the Year,’’ Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn said at a news conference Wednesday on a stage located just off the Phoenix Suns home floor.

Hearn is expected to say those kinds of things, of course. He’s a promoter, after all. Hyperbole is part of the job. But he’s right-on this time. It’s hard to overstate this fight’s potential.

It matches tested experience against a younger man’s bold confidence.

Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), the defending champion, is a 34-year-old tactician from a Mexican fishing village, Puerto Penasco, about a five-hour drive south of Phoenix. He’s got some scars and lots wisdom to go with his proven ring IQ.

Then, there’s Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs), a 24-year-old from San Antonio with a cartoon-like nickname. Bam, it’s a word straight out of a comic book. But that power is no joke.

Just ask Sunny Edwards, who suffered from it in losing a violent beatdown — a ninth-round stoppage — in Bam’s last visit to the Phoenix area in December at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale.

“I’m a different breed,’’ said Rodriguez, who will be fighting for the third time in Arizona. “I’m a different animal. Come June 29, expect fireworks.’’

Rodriguez might need fireworks and more against Estrada, whose skillset was enough to score a majority decision over the accomplished Roman Gonzalez in a second rematch about 19 months ago, also at Desert Diamond.

It’s not clear how the long stretch between bouts will affect Estrada. An idle champion is a vulnerable one. At least, that’s the theory.

In his long career, however, he’s encountered some of the best, including three fights against Roman Gonzalez, the lightest fighter to ever be voted No. 1 in the various pound-for-pound ratings.

It’s no wonder, perhaps that he and his management look at Rodriguez and question his experience, if not his maturity.

“We’ll see if Bam is still in diapers or is potty-trained,’’ Estrada promoter/manager Juan Hernandez said Wednesday. “…Perhaps, he’s being fed leftovers.’’

That made Bam trainer Robert Garcia smile. It also prompted a counter from Bam, who mostly is known for letting his punches do the talking.

“People didn’t think I could stop (Srisaket Sor) Rungvisai,’’ Rodriguez said. “They probably didn’t think I could stop Sunny Edwards. They probably don’t think I can stop Estrada.

“But I’m here to shock the world.’’

LAS VEGAS–The face of Mexican boxing has aged.

But it hasn’t changed.

It’s still Canelo, now bearded, yet still proud and stubborn That inexhaustible streak of stubborn pride was there, a force that withstood a younger man’s challenge throughout 12 rounds Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Canelo Alvarez won it, scoring a unanimous decision over fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia.

“It means a lot,’’ Canelo (61-2-2, 3 KOs) said moments after the 117-110, 116-111, 115-112 scores were announced. ‘’I like this guy a lot. He is gentleman.”

But, he went on to say: “I’m the best. I’m the best fighter right now.’’

He might get an argument from Terence Crawford or Naoya Inoue. David Benavidez, who was in the T-Mobile crowd, might want a chance to prove him wrong. But on this night, there was no argument, especially from the 27-year-old Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs).

In the fourth, Canelo began to exert control. The spring in Munguia’s opening step was gone. He dropped his left hand.

Canelo saw it and capitalized with predatory instinct. He landed a wicked uppercut, followed by a body shot. Suddenly, Munguia was down on the canvas, his eyes empty of an earlier confidence.

For the next couple of rounds, Canelo ruled, patiently and thoroughly. By then, Munguia knew there was still power in the older man’s hands. He was wary. He was smart.

He knew what he had seen in Canelo’s last several fights. He had studied the video. Munguia would wait until the seventh to re-assert himself in an effort to test the theory that Canelo tires in the second half of fights.

In the opening moments of the seventh, Munguia backed Canelo up and into his corner.

But Canelo didn’t stay there. He stepped forward and broke through Munguia’s up-raised gloves with punches accented by deadly power.

It was a pivotal moment, a sure sign that Canelo was there to go the distance. He stood his ground in the eighth, the ninth and the 10th. He took punches. Landed punches.

“I took my time,”

Canelo said. “I have a lot of experience. Munguia is a great fighter. He’s strong and smart. But I have 12 rounds to win the fight and I did. I did really good, and I’m proud of it.

“He’s strong, but he’s a little slow. I could see every punch. That’s why I’m the best.”

At times, it looked like a standoff. But Canelo went into the final two rounds with a key edge. He had that fourth-round knockdown in the bank and he would fight to protect it with experience, tactical knowhow and stamina not often seen in the super-middleweight champion over the last couple of years.

In the first round, Munguia’s length and quick hands seemed to surprise Canelo.

On young legs, Munguia moved side to side, again seemingly surprising Canelo with his athleticism.

In the second, a wary Canelo began to look for a way to slow down Munguia. He landed a couple of warning shots, first a body blow and then a quick combo.

But Munguia, looking like a tireless kid on the playgrounds, responded by bouncing on his toes and firing straight shots at a backpedaling Canelo.

“I came out strong and was winning the early rounds,” Munguia said. “I let my hands go, but he’s a fighter with a lot of experience. The loss hurts because it’s my first loss and I felt strong.” 

The announced crowd of more than 17,000 was divided. For some, the young Munguia has a working-class appeal no longer there in the wealthy, celebrated Canelo.

Munguia’s entrance was cheered by folks in cheaper seats in T-Mobile’s upper deck.

Then, there was Canelo, cheered by folks in expensive seats on the floor and in the lower bowl.

At opening bell, the arena was a clash of chants.

First, Munguia, Munguia.

Then, Canelo, Canelo.

In the end, there was only Canelo.

Still Canelo.

Marios Barrios wins unanimous decision

Mario Barrios, a junior-welterweight champion and an emerging welterweight, scored a knockdown, but not a knockout out of a name synonymous with resilience.

Fabian Maidana is not as well-known as his brother, Marcos Maidana.

But the name sticks around mostly because the brothers know how to. Marcos did it against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fabian did it against a bigger, stronger Barrios in a. fight for an interim 147-pound title in the last boutt before the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia main event at T-Mobile Arena Saturday night.

Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs), of San Antonio, put Fabian (22-3, 16 KOs), of Argentina, on

to the canvas with a straight right hand in the second round. Then, it looked as if the end was near. But it was not. Fabian kept coming back, kept rocking Barrios’ head with piston-like pouches that started with an accurate jab. By the end of the 12-round bout, Barrios’ right eye was an ugly welt, swollen shut

Barrios had trouble seeing.  But not winning. On the judges cards, it was unanimous, 116-111 on all three, for Barrios. He won, but not as easily as expected because of another Maidana

Figueroa knocks out Magdaleno

Jessie Magdaleno had no chance at winning the title. Turns out, he didn’t have much of a chance against Brandon Figueroa either.

Magdaleno (29-3, 18 KOs), who forfeited his eligibility for a World Boxing Council’s interim belt when he failed to make weight, was simply no match for the busier, stronger Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs), of Weslaco TX.

In the opening rounds of the featherweight bout on the Canelo-Munguia card, Magdaleno tried to smother Figueroa. Instead, he often smothered any potential excitement. In the fifth, however, Figueroa delivered a low blow, a painful uppercut. Magdaleno fell. He was on hands and knees. His face was flat on the canvas. He was in evident pain. Somehow, he recovered, but not enough to give him a shot at victory.

In the ninth, Figueroa finished him, first with a sweeping right hook and then body shot. At 2:59 of the round. referee Allen Huggins counted Magdaleno out.

Stanionis retains welterweight title

Eimantas Stanionis, cool and efficient throughout 12 rounds, controlled pace, distance and — in the end — the World Boxing Association’s welterweight title.

In only his first title defense, Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOS) fought with the authority of a longtime champion, leaving challenger Gabriel Maestre (6-1-1, 5 KOs) few opportunities in a one-sided display of patience and tactical skill. 

Maestre, of Venezuela, was never off his feet. But he never had much of a chance either, losing a unanimous decision to the unbeaten Lithuanian on the Canelo-Munguia card.

Jesus Ramos back with a knockout

It was the right way to end a comeback.

Jesus Ramos (21-1, 17 KOs), a junior-middleweight prospect from Casa Grande AZ,  punctuated his  with a stoppage, a technical knockout of a tough Venezuelan, Johan Gonzalez (34-3, 33 KOs) Saturday on the card featuring Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Ramos, fighting for the first since his lone loss — a controversial decision to Erickson Lubin in September, began to take control of the fight in the fifth. He was moving forward, stubbornly forward, with powerful shots that drove Gonzalez into the ropes. In the sixth, however, a head butt left Ramos with a nasty cut over his left eye. 

The bloody gash seemed to take away much of Ramos’ momentum. But he regained it with heavy-handed shots delivered from a crouch.. His hands were down. 

But the power was deadly. In the ninth, it finished Gonzalez, first with a left-handed counter that put him on his back. Then there was a succession of blows, including a big right hand that knocked Gonzalez again. At 2:56 of the ninth, it was over, Ramos a TKO winner and and presumably on his way back to being a young fighter with championship potential  

BELOW BOUTS BY MARC ABRAMS

World-ranked junior middleweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. hammered out a 10-round unanimous decision over Ronald Cruz.

At the end of round three, Mielnicki dropped Cruz with a left hook just as the bell sounded. Mielnicku dumped him again with the same punch just before round four concluded.

Mielnicki landed 187 of 605 punches. Cruz was 143 of 460.

Mielnicki, 153.6 lbs of Roseland, NJ won by scores of 99-89, 98-90 and 96-92 and is now 18-1. Cruz, 153.2 lbs of Los Angeles is 19-4-2.

Alan David Picasso remained undefeated by stopping former world title challenger Damien Vazquez in round five of their 10-round super bantamweight bout.

Picasso, 121 lbs of Mexico City is now 28-0-1 with 16 knockouts. Vazquez, 122.2 lbs of Las Vegas is 17-4-1.

William Scrull scored a knockdown en-route to an eight-round unanimous decision over Sean Hemphill in a super middleweight bout.

Scrull dropped Hemphill in round five in the fight which eventually led to scores of 79-72, 78-73 and 76-75.

Scrull, 167.2 lbs of Matanzas, CUB is now 22-0. Hemphill, 167.4 lbs of New Orleans is now 16-2.

Lawrence King won a six-round unanimous decision over Anthony Holloway in a light heavyweight contest.

King, 181.2 lbs of San Bernadino, CA won by scores of 59-55 on all cards and is now 16-1. Holloway, 177.4 lbs of Peoria, IL is 7-4-3.

Adrian Torres won a six-round unanimous decision over Arsen Poghosyan in a lightweight bout.

Torres, 136.6 lbs of Tijuana, MEX won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 8-0. Poghosyan, 126.2 lbs of Yerevan, ARM is 3-2-1.

Julian Bridges won a six-round unanimous decision over Jabin Chollet in a battle of undefeated super lightweights

Bridges, 138.4 lbs of Antioch, CA won by scores of 59-55 on all cards and is now 5-0. Chollet, 139.8 lbs of San Diego is 9-1.