By Norm Frauenheim –

Five days after one year turned into a new one and some resolutions were already turning into broken promises, boxing goes back to work.

2024’s first bell is Saturday with Virgil Ortiz Jr. against Frederick Lawson at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotel in a DAZN-streamed junior-middleweight bout.

On paper, it’s an appropriate beginning, mostly because of Ortiz, a nice guy with a perfect record, yet plagued by health issues that have left questions about whether his immense promise can ever be achieved.

There was COVID. There was a blood disorder called rhabdomyolysis. There’s been a year-and-a-half layoff. But he’s also only 25-years-old. Then, there’s the unbeaten record – 19 stoppages in 19 fights, all at welterweight. The age and the numbers say the promise is still there. A definitive answer won’t be Saturday, not against the 34-year-old Lawson (33-3, 22 KOs), who is unknown, but comes from Ghana, a country known for Ike Quartey and Azumah Nelson.

But it’s a chance at renewal, a new beginning for Ortiz.

“I just want to prove I’m still here,’’ Ortiz said Thursday at a news conference.

So is the rest of boxing.

The theme continues on the second Saturday in 2024 with light -heavyweight Artur Beterbiev, who is 38, yet has Ortiz’ identical record – 19 stoppages in 19 fights.

Beterbiev is at an age when some suspect he’s at or near the end. He’ll be 39 on Jan. 21. That has to be part of Callum Smith’s thinking as he prepares to challenge Beterbiev in Quebec City in Canada, Beterbiev’s adopted home country.

For Beterbiev, the task is to prove he’s still here too. If he does, he sets up what could be a light-heavyweight classic, Beterbiev versus Dmitry Bivol.

A couple of weeks later on the fourth Saturday in January, boxing’s new year moves onto a key crossroads that could determine who belongs and who doesn’t in a bout that could set the stage for a May-to-September test of boxing’s viability. Jamie Mungia faces John Ryder in a super-middleweight bout at Footprint Center, the Suns NBA home in downtown Phoenix.

It’s a good fight and significant in terms of what it might mean for the game’s biggest earner, Canelo Alvarez. There’s been talk that Canelo might fight Mungia in May in the second of a three-fight deal with PBC (Premier Boxing Champions).

For Canelo, the decision probably rests in how Mungia looks. In a tune-up last May, Canelo won a decision at home in Guadalajara over the veteran Ryder. Mungia, hoping for a shot at Canelo, will probably try to do what Canelo didn’t. Knock out Ryder.

Whether that would secure a Cinco de Mayo date with Canelo is anybody’s guess. But it would put him in the argument alongside Benavidez, who’s been there for a couple of years.

The Jan. 27 bout’s location heightens the intrigue. Benavidez grew up a few miles from Footprint on Phoenix’s west-side streets. He first began boxing just a few blocks away from Footprint at Central, a gym known ever since Mike Tyson trained there in the late 1990s. Tyson is a Benavidez fan and friend. Because of Tyson, Benavidez changed his nickname, from The Red Bandana to Mexican Monster.

Benavidez, now a Seattle resident, continues to wear PHX prominently on the back of his trunks. It’s more than a baggage tag. It’s his identity.

He’ll be a big part of the Mungia-Ryder story. He’s already part of the neighborhood.

Boxing’s New Year begins with the Benavidez-Canelo at the top of the fan’s most-wanted list.

If it happens, it enhances boxing’s relevance. On Jan. 27, there’ll be answers as to whether it happens in May or September and in a way that would allow boxing to say:

It’s still here.

Bam-Sunny Postscript

VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) posted this week that both Sunny Edwards and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez were clean for their entertaining Sept. 16 flyweight unification fight, won in a dramatic stoppage by Rodriguez at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ.

Congratulations for successfully completing the testing, @VADA_Testing.org said.

It was unusual. Not exactly news. But it was also necessary, mostly because of Edwards’ unfounded allegations that Rodriguez was a user. It was trash talk, which ignited a social-media war — X-rated — between Edwards and sports nutritionist Victor Conte, SNAC founder.

Edwards is sidelined until at least spring of this year. He was suspended 120 days for a gruesome eye injury he sustained from Bam, whose answer to the trash talk was a beatdown. Bam doesn’t say much, but it looked as if some retribution was at the end of his punches. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

One year ends and another begins with a re-energized debate ignited by Naoya Inoue, who didn’t let a chance at a year-ending statement go to waste.

Inoue was efficient for his blend of power plus precision. He was extraordinary for his consistency. He’s not going anywhere. Neither is Terence Crawford.

A good case for both can made in Fighter-of-the-Year and pound-for-pound arguments. Take a poll, and you might get a draw.

From this corner, Inoue gets Fighter of the Year for his brilliance over two bouts, first Stephen Fulton in July and then Marlon Tapales Tuesday in Tokyo. He moves up in weight, from bantam to junior-feather, and continues to do what he did at junior-fly in 2014.

Fighter of the Year? How about Fighter of the Last Decade?

At the top of this pound-for-pound scale, however, it’s still Crawford for a singular performance, best of the year, in stopping fellow welterweight Errol Spence Jr. There’s a lot of talk that Spence was/is shot. Maybe. Still there’s no substantive evidence – no documented answers — to the questions included in all that talk.

What we did see was an extraordinary Crawford, whose dynamic skillset had a lot – perhaps everything – to do with making a onetime pound-for-pound contender look shot.

The eye test continues to say that nobody – not even Inoue — has Crawford’s quick-silver versatility or calculated ability to make the right adjustment at the right time. He’s still boxing’s best finisher, a fighter with a predatory instinct. He knows how and when to close the show.

With only one fight, however, he just didn’t do enough of it last year. Inoue did. Hence, this corner’s split ballot.

But there are no losers in this debate. It’s the debate itself, its intensity, that gives the business some vital momentum going into 2024.

The biggest news story in 2023 was Showtime’s decision in October to leave ringside after a 37-year run of boxing telecasts. In its final year, the network provided what could be a good springboard into a new — pivotal — year, especially with the pay-per-view bouts featuring Tank Davis-Ryan Garcia in April and Crawford-Spence in July.

A reported pay-per-view number of 1.2 million for Davis-Garcia proved there was still an audience out there, despite all the doom-and-gloom that suggested boxing was dying all over again.

Then, there was Crawford-Spence, a long-awaited fight that restored faith among hard-core fans that big fights could still get made.

What’s next? Amazon Prime. It and Saudi money figure to be the biggest stories in 2024. It’s still not known how much Amazon Prime will invest in the sport as boxing’s next broadcast platform. Meanwhile, the Saudis have already shown they’re willing to spend, especially on the heavyweights. But the sport’s inherent unpredictability is always a risk.

To wit: Joseph Parker’s one-sided decision over Deontay Wilder on Dec. 23 in a stunner that upset a bigger plan: Wilder-versus-Anthony Joshua.

Still, there are a lot of fights to be made, up-and-down the scale. Just listen to the Crawford-Inoue debate. It sounds like potential business.

Notes

Oscar Valdez Jr., badly bloodied and beaten by Emanuel Navarrete on August 12 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ, is back in the gym, according to social-media footage posted this week. The 33-year-old Valdez is popular in Mexico and Arizona. The Mexican Olympian went to school in Tucson. The former featherweight and junior-lightweight champ hopes for a possible comeback in March.

More year-end talk: Crawford and Inoue are at the top of the debate. Devin Haney is third in most of the Fighter-of the-Year conversation. For the first-time, super-middleweight David Benavidez is getting mentioned among the first five possibilities. Benavidez probably wouldn’t put himself there. After his solid decision over Caleb Plant in March and beat-down of Demetrius Andrade in November, the Phoenix-born fighter said he still had to work to do to gain pound-for-pound recognition. But Fighter-of-the-Year consideration is the kind recognition that further strengthens his case for a shot at Canelo Alvarez in May or September

By Norm Frauenheim –

A year that included a goodbye to Showtime and hello to Amazon Prime is about to end. First, in Saudi Arabia. Then, Japan.

The Saudi stop Saturday (DAZN/11 a.m. ET) is $ignificant, mostly because of the heavyweight money, which brings together rival promoters who will only stop feuding if the price is right. We knew that, of course.

Still, it’s important to always remember that this is prizefighting, emphasis on prize. Show Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren the money, and they’ll smile for the cameras and do the business that makes big fights.

The stop in Japan three days later, Dec. 26, is at least noteworthy, perhaps historical. Naoya Inoue, the best former junior-flyweight to move up the scale to stardom since Manny Pacquiao and Roman Gonzalez, is poised to do what nobody else ever has:

Japan’s first Fighter of the Year.

The Ring, more than a century-old since first published in 1922, has been picking a Fighter of the Year since 1928. The Boxing Writers Association of America has been picking one since 1938. But never one from Japan.

A victory over Filipino Marlon Tapales in Tokyo (ESPN+/3 a.m. ET) might do it, although there’s still a good argument for Terence Crawford.

From this corner, nobody in 2023 was better than Crawford in his singular performance, a brilliant ninth-round stoppage of Errol Spence Jr. in May. He settled the pound-for-pound argument. There’s been no debate since then: Crawford No 1; Inoue No. 2.

But Inoue can change that, reignite the pound-for-pound debate and probably ensure his Fighter of the Year selection with more brilliance of his own in a defense of the junior-featherweight, 122-pound title.

Inoue has some advantages over Crawford. The biggest: Timing. Inoue has the year’s last word. But there’s more: Tapales is also his second fight in 2023. He beat Stephen Fulton, also in Tokyo, taking both of Fulton’s 122-pound belts in his first junior-featherweight championship.

Without that second fight, the guess here is that Crawford probably wins Fighter of the Year, although Devin Haney also has a solid argument with an impressive decision over Regis Prograis earlier in December and a controversial decision over Vasiliy Lomachenko in May.

Crawford’s credentials are undercut mostly because his stunner over Spence was singular in a couple of ways. Yes, it was brilliant. But it was also Crawford’s only fight in 2023.

A rematch, mandated in Spence’s contract, might have happened in December, if not for Showtime’s exit – announced in October — from ringside after a 37-year run of telecasts. There were also questions, still unanswered, about Spence’s readiness.

Maybe, Spence was weakened in the fight to make weight, 147 pounds. Maybe, he’s shot. Then again, maybe Crawford is just that good. For now, the only undisputed evidence is Crawford’s dominance.

Conclusion: More dominance from Inoue would be a decisive counter to Crawford’s claim and the only sure way to make some Japanese history.

NOTES

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez-Sunny Edwards afterthoughts:

·                Rodriguez punishing beatdown of Edwards last Saturday in Glendale AZ put his name into the speculative hat of possibilities for a shot at Inoue if – as expected – he beats Tapales. First, Rodriguez wants a shot at reigning Super-Fly Juan Francisco Estrada. A year ago, Estrada said after a decision over Ramon Gonzales in Glendale that he wanted to fight Inoue

·                Edwards lost, but he won a lot of recognition with his gutsy performance. Mostly unknown in AZ before opening bell, he developed a hate-love relationship with the crowd. Pre-opening bell, it hated him for trash-talk that included unfounded charges that Rodriguez was a drug cheat. After losing, the crowd loved him for his blood-and-guts and post-fight accountability.

·                In the face of Edwards’ pointed accusations, Rodriguez kept his poise – and his tongue – before and after he badly bloodied Edwards in a ninth-round stoppage. Still, it was hard not to think that there was some vengeance at the end of his punches, especially the left hand that finished Edwards. It landed with an emphasis that words could never express.

By Norm Frauenheim

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Sunny Edwards owned the news conferences.

Jesse Rodriguez owned the ring.

Rodriguez turned that ring into his own bully pulpit, punishing Edwards and then dropping him with a left hand that landed like his nickname, Bam, in the final moments of the ninth round Saturday night at Desert Diamond Arena.

In the final second of the ninth, Rodriguez got the last word after a long week full of unfounded accusations. He called Rodriguez a drug cheat. He called him weird.

In the end, he could only call him champ. Edwards, whose corner threw in the towel at 2:59 of the ninth, lost for the first time and lost his International Boxing Federation flyweight title.

Rodriguez (19-0, 15 KOs) added the belt to his collection, including the World Boxing Organization’s version of the 112-pound crown.

At the moment that Edwards’ corner tossed in the towel, Rodriguez fell to his knees and onto his chest. He looked relieved. 

Maybe, that’s because he won’t have to listen anymore to Edwards (20-1, 4 KOs), a little guy with heavyweight Tyson Fury’s big mouth.

The two, Sunny and Bam, embraced in the middle of the ring after it was all over. Sunny promised he’d be back. Bam promised that he was moving back up the scale, in pursuit of the super-fly title he vacated.

It was no coincidence that super-fly (115 pounds) champ Juan Francisco Estrada was in the crowd. It was also no coincidence that Hall of Fame junior flyweight Michel Carbajal was there, too.

Rodriguez showed why he is perhaps the best American in boxing’s lightest weights since Carbajal’s era through the 1990s.

Rodriguez kept his poise early and then slowly began to control the pace and the ring.

A key round was the fifth. That’s when Rodriguez grabbed the momentum At the end of the round, he rocked Edwards onto his heels with a big overhand punch. It was asign of things to come.

In the sixth, Bam opened up a cut under Sunny’s left eye. He drove him into the ropes. Then, he raised both hands over his head, as if to mock Sunny.

The mocking continued. Seconds later, the fighters drifted back toward the center the ring. That’s when Bam stuck his tongue out at Edwards. Edwards, suddenly no longer so Sunny, seemed to respond in anger. He went straight at Rodriguez, a bullish assault from a fighter known for working off his back foot.

It was as if he had forgotten who he was and how he fought.Rodriguez made him forget, mostly because the San Antonio fighter always remembered how to apply the fundamentals that are transforming him into a pound-for-pound contender. 

Murodjon Akhmadaliev restores confidence with solid TKO

Murodjon Akhmadaliev knocked out the doubt.

Knocked out Kevin Gonzalez too.

Akhmadaliev came off an emotionally crushing loss, scoring an eighth-round stoppage  in a junior-featherweight fight that restored his confidence and, he hopes, puts him back in line for a shot at pound-for-pound contender Naoya Inoue.

Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs)lost a debatable split decision to Marlon Tapales in April. Tapales used that victory to secure a date against Inoue on Dec. 26 in Japan. For weeks, Akhmadaliev wondered: It could have been me.

Saturday night, he quit agonizing and resumed fighting, knocking down the rugged Gonzalez (20-1-1, 13 KOs) four times — twice in the sixth round and twice in the eight —  for a solid TKO victory at 2:49 of the eighth in the final fight before the Sunny Edwards-Bam Rodriguez main event at Desert Diamond Arena.

“It’s been a long road back,” the Uzbekistani said. “I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder.”

The chip is gone. A bright future is back.

Galal Yafai wins unanimous decision

-He has an Olympic gold medal, an unbeaten record and a lot of work still to do.

Galal Yafai (6-0, 4 KOs), the 2020 Olympic flyweight champion from the UK. Yafai scored a business-like decision over Rocco Santomauro (22-3, 6 KOs) Saturday night on the DAZN portion of the Sunny Edwards-Bam Rodriguez card at Desert Diamond Arena.

Yafai was never in danger of losing. The 99-91, 98-93, 97-93 scorecards, all in his favor, reflect that. He left Santomauro, a Califorina flyweight,  badly bloodied over one eye. But he didn’t do much to convince anyone in the crowd that he’ll be a major flyweight title anytime soon. 

They applauded the victory, then booed him for a dull performance.

Boom, DAZN lives-stream opens with a huge KO

One punch from Ja’Rico O’Quinn kicked DAZN’s live-stream into high-gear.

It happened suddenly.

It landed like an unseen bolt.

Peter McGrail was down, unconscious seemingly before he knew what hit him.

O’Quinn, of Detroit, was losing on the scorecards through the first four rounds Saturday on the first DAZN-streamed fight on a card featuring Sunny Edwards-Bam Rodriguez. McGrail controlled the pace and the punches. 

Then — boom, O’Quinn (8-1, 5 KOs) threw a counter-right that landed like a missile onto the side of McGrail’s face, sending the Brit  (17-1-1, 9 KOs) crashing to the canvas and under the lowest rope late in the fifth round. 

HIs cornermen, ringside physician, and paramedics rushed to help. For a few  scary moments, he simply laid on his  back. Then he was helped, first onto a stool and then to his feet..

“I knew they wouldn’t give me a decision,” O’Quinn said. “He was boxing well. But I seen him try to throw a right to the body. That’s when I countered and — boom — that’s all she wrote

Boom, indeed.

Prospect Arturo Cardenas wins 4th-round TKO

Arturo Cardenas, a Robert Garcia-trained super-bantamweight from Mexico, continued to combine power, precision and poise in his journey from prospect to contender Saturday in a thorough beat down of Carlos Mujica, a Las Vegas fighter who never had much of a chance.

From head-to-body, Cardenas (2-0-1, 8 KOs) landed punches from all angles, leaving Mujica (8-4, 2 KOs) defenseless and finally beaten, a TKO loser at 1:24 of the fourth round in the fourth fight on the Sunny Edward-Bam Rodriguez card. at Desert

 Diamond Arena  

Bostan wins, fans boo in hostile brawl

They exchanged profanities. Then, their respective camps brawled.

Turns out, the hostility at a news conference was real.

Junaid Bostan and Gordie Russ II don’t like each other.

Proof was delivered in a messy, junior-middleweight fight Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena on the Sunny Edwards-Bam Rodriguez undercard. They fought, they brawled, Russ (6-1, 6 KOs) hurt Bostan (8-0, 6 KOs) in the third, Bostan recovered and furt Russ in the seventh and again in the eighth.

Bostan, of the UK, won. The eight-round decision was probably closer than the three scorecards, 79-73. But Bostan’s unanimous decision didn;t settle anything. He stretched out a gloved hand, an offer of congratulations with a fist bump. But Ross, of Detroit, turned his back and walked out of the ring.

He might have been angry at the scoring. Some in the small crowd. They booed, and Bostan encouraged them too while standing at ringside for an interview.

“Go ahead, boo, go ahead,” he said, looking at the unhappy customers.

By then Russ was long gone. 

Albert Gonzalez chops down Molina

That’s exactly what California featherweight Albert Gonzalez (7-0, 3 KOs) did, chopping down Mexican Albert Molina (9-3-1, 5 KOs), who collapsed onto the canvas in evident pain after sustaining a lethally precise body shot late in the second round of the second fight Saturday on a card featuring Jesse Rodriguez-Sunny Edwards at Desert Diamond Arena.

Molina, who rolled around the canvas for several seconds after the punishing shot from the Robert Garcia-trained Gonzalez, got up. But he was finished, a TKO loser at 2:24 of the second.

First Bell: Joe McGrail scores second-round TKO

A card stacked with UK fighters began with a British accent.

Joe McGrail, a featherweight from Liverpool, wasted little time, quickly flashing all of the reasons he’s a prospect with a second round TKO of Carlos Ortiz Jr. Saturday in the opener to a card featuring flyweights Jesse Bam Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards at Desert Diamond Arena.

McGrail (8-0, 4 KOs) dropped the overmatched Ortiz (8-5-2, 4 KOs), of Phoenix, twice in the first round and twice in the second, finishing him with a left hook at 2:40 of the second. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

GLENDALE, Ariz. – There were no surprises on the scale. Off-the-scale, there weren’t many either.

On the scale, at least, Sunny Edwards and Jesse Bam Rodriguez were identical, 111.6 pounds each, Friday morning at the official weigh-in conducted by the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission.

They repeated that weigh-in in a staged version later in the day at Desert Diamond Arena just a few feet away from where the ring awaited them for Saturday night’s DAZN-streamed flyweight-title unification fight.

It was on that stage that the dramatic differences between them became evident. The left-handed Rodriguez (18-0, 14 KOs) had little to say. The right-handed Edwards (20-0, 4 KOs) had plenty to say.

Edwards is sometimes called the UK’s pound-for-pound best. You might get an argument from heavyweight champion Tyson Fury about that.

Place Edwards next to Fury, and it might be hard to find the flyweight. Fury was 268.8 pounds for his last fight. Even by heavyweight standards, Fury is mammoth, more than two times bigger than Edwards, the International Boxing Federation’s 112-pound champion

But Edwards’ mouth is just as big.

It continued to roar, Fury-like, at what promoters called a ceremonial weigh-in. After he stepped off the scale, he continued to call Rodriguez a cheater.

The drug-cheat theme started on social media a few days ago. It continued Thursday during a news conference when he called Rodriguez a cheat because of his relationship with SNAC and sports-nutritionist Victor Conte.

Friday, Edwards weighed in by pointing to the inside of each of his arms.

“Clean veins, clean veins,’’ he said.

By now, no interpretation of the body language was necessary.

Then, he grabbed the microphone and offered his own narrative of what had transpired in the moments leading up to the staged weigh-in. He said that Rodriguez had kept him waiting.

“Bam was still getting the needle outta his arm,’’ Edwards said.

Then, he promptly – and appropriately – dropped — the mike just as Rodriguez and his corner exited the stage, shaking their heads in dismay and perhaps anger.

The tension is there — nothing ceremonial about it — and it’s building for a contentious fight on the DAZN card (5 pm PT/8 pm ET/ 1 am UK).  

Edwards offers no real evidence to support his allegations. Promoter Eddie Hearn, Scott Fletcher of the Arizona Commission and Conte have all told 15 Rounds that both fighters have been undergoing anti-doping tests.

Edwards said on X (formerly Twitter) that he was tested by VADA Friday. Still, he continues his trash-talk campaign, which is seemingly intended to distract Rodriguez, the World Boxing Organization’s flyweight champion.

If it’s working, it’s not evident. Rodriguez, a quiet fighter from San Antonio, stayed composed in the face of Edwards’ latest rhetorical assault Friday.

“Mentally and emotionally, I’m as ready as I’ve ever been for any fight,’’ he said.

The favored Rodriguez, who plans to jump back up to super-fly (115 pounds) after Saturday, acknowledges that Edwards represents a challenge. The UK fighter is elusive. He’s often best when fighting off his back foot.

There’s no argument about Edwards’ ring style. It poses problems, both for Rodriguez and perhaps a crowd expected to be predominantly Mexican-American.

Can Edwards win a decision?

“He can’t win at all,’’ Rodriguez said in what might be a simple summation of what he thinks of Edwards and what he hopes to do to him.

By Norm Frauenheim –

GLENDALE, AZ – Sunny Edwards called Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez a cheater Thursday, alleging that he has been using banned performance enhancers.

Edwards leveled the controversial charges in a face-to-face exchange with Rodriguez in the final news conference before their flyweight fight Saturday for two pieces of the 112-pound title at Desert Diamond Arena.

“You have SNAC on your trunks,’’ Edwards said. “Everybody knows what that means. SNAC, that means cheat.’’

Edwards offered no other evidence to support his charges other than the SNAC acronym for a sports-nutrition company run by Victor Conte.

Rodriguez is a SNAC client, one of many in boxing.

“I don’t cheat,’’ Rodriguez said to reporters after the contentious newser. “I don‘t have to cheat.’’

Scott Fletcher, Chairman of the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission, and Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, the fight’s promoter, told 15 Rounds that both fighters have undergone testing.

Hearn said testing has been conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).

“VADA has been testing for months,’’ Hearn said of a fight that was announced in mid-August.

Conte told 15 Rounds that the testing was contractually-mandated at his urging in talks with Rodriguez trainer Robert Garcia.

“I strongly recommended to Robert that they test, and he agreed,’’ said Conte, who served time in prison for pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids in 2005 when he ran BALCO.

Conte also said he strongly recommended that VADA conduct the testing.

“It’s the most stringent and most expensive test,’’ Conte said.

Conte also told 15 Rounds that fighters aligned with SNAC “are, for the most part, the cleanest in boxing.’’

Edwards’ explosive allegations came near the end of a wild news conference that began with a scuffle between camps for a couple of undercard fighters, junior-middleweights Gordie Ross II of Detroit and Junaid Bostan of the UK.

They exchanged profane insults on-stage. Moments later, their handlers exchanged blows in an off-stage fracas that sent chairs flying and bodies falling.

Next up: Sunny and Bam. Their part in newser began predictably, meaning both fighters promised to win.

“I’ll be taking his belt and his 0,’’ Rodriguez (18-0, 14 KOs), a San Antonio fighter and the World Boxing Organization’s champion, said to the London flyweight (20-0, 4 KOs), the International Boxing Federation’s champ.

Then, it took a nasty turn when Edwards interrupted Rodriguez.

At first, it sounded as if Edwards was annoyed at remarks Rodriquez had made a few days ago.

Apparently, Edwards thought Rodriguez had questioned the Londoner’s confidence in himself.

“I know exactly who I am,’’ said Edwards, suddenly not so Sunny. ”But you, you don’t know who you are. Don’t deny all this stuff I’m saying to you. You’re weird, wear weird clothes, too.’’

The PED allegations soon followed in what might have been an attempt to rattle Rodriguez, who is known for his quiet composure.

Then, there was the closing curtain, except this ritual in boxing theater went on longer than most. Afternoon almost turned into after-dark – lunch into dinner — before Edwards and Rodriguez broke off their ritual face-off for the DAZN-streamed card.

Edwards talked and gestured, talked and gestured some more. Rodriguez mostly glared. For about 15 minutes, they stood, face-to-face, nose-to-nose, eye-to-eye. Hearn stood there, managing to squeeze an open hand between their faces – once, twice and again when there was an opening.

For one long moment, it looked as if it would ever end. But it did. Finally. Next, there’s a weigh-in Saturday. Then, opening bell Saturday. But, it’s safe to say, the hostilities are already underway.

ReplyForwardAdd reaction

Sunny Edwards calls Bam Rodriguez a cheater Thu at newser for Sat flyweight fight. Bam is SNAC client. “SNAC, that means cheat,” Edwards says. AZ Commission and promoter Eddie Hearn tells 15 Rounds both fighters have been tested. “VADA has been testing for months,” Hearn says

By Norm Frauenheim –

GLENDALE, AZ – Nobody has to ask Sunny Edwards for a prediction. It’s there, boldly stitched onto shorts he and his corner wear.

21-0, it says in bright green thread

It’s there, the introduction to his user name.

21-0Sunny, it says at the top of his X (Twitter) account that includes a confident, sometimes confrontational thread.

It’s not a matter of record, not yet anyway. But it’s clear that Edwards (20-0, 4 KOs) promises his record will go to 21-0 after his toughest challenge Saturday night in a flyweight title unification bout against Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (18-0, 11 KOs) at Desert Diamond Arena.

This one is for Lord of the Flies, the modern version, in an arena and a city that has a long tradition for classics in boxing’s lightest weight classes.

Its roots are about 17 miles east of Desert Diamond in Michael Carbajal’s neighborhood in downtown Phoenix. He was an American original, a junior-flyweight who fought his way into the Hall of Fame.

A few blocks from Carbajal’s neighborhood, Rodriguez, perhaps America’s best little guy since Carbajal, won his first major title, the World Boxing Council’s super-fly belt by scoring a unanimous decision over Carlos Cuadras at Footprint Center in February 2022.

Ten months later, Juan Francisco Estrada won that super-fly belt, vacated by Rodriguez, in a masterpiece performance, a majority decision over the accomplished Ramon Gonzalez at Desert Diamond on Dec. 3.

A year and a couple of weeks later at the same arena and within the same sprawling real estate, there’s another opening bell, a sound that promises another classic.

Rodriguez, the World Boxing Organization’s 112-pound champion, is favored by about 2-to-1 odds. That’s no surprise, in part because he’s already well-known within Arizona’s Mexican-American fan base. Rodriguez, a San Antonio fighter, is remembered in Phoenix for his victory over Cuadras. He’ll have a significant hometown edge in the DAZN-streamed bout.

There are questions about whether Edwards, the International Boxing Federation’s champion, can win a decision in front of what figures to be a Mexican-American crowd. He’s won 16 of his 20 bouts by decision.

But the London flyweight’s confidence looks to be unshakeable just days before he faces the powerful Rodriguez, who grew up in the Mexican school of boxing. Class starts and ends with knowing how to take a punch to throw one.

“He’s a great fighter, but he’s not been in the ring with me yet,” Edwards said during a Matchroom Face-Off in Arizona’s central desert not long after both arrived in Phoenix.

Edwards’ intricate footwork and often awkward style could prove problematic for Rodriguez, especially in the early rounds.

Confuse Rodriguez early, beat him later. That’s one theory, anyway.

Edwards’ older brother, Charlie Edwards, is fascinated by the wide stylistic differences. There are many, best defined by their popular names.

Sunny and Bam.

Boxing, football and perhaps life is ruled by a familiar line: Styles make fights. This one could be a puzzle, at least in the early moments. But Charlie Edwards, one of his brother’s prime sparring partners, is confident Sunny will be ready for Bam’s versatile aggressiveness and a hostile crowd.

“I know my brother,’’ Charlie, a former WBC flyweight champion said Wednesday at a hotel next to Desert Diamond.  “He’ll be motivated by that. That’ll bring out the best in him. I’ve seen it in him as professional and when he was an amateur, fighting a rival in a rival neighborhood.

“He likes to silence the crowd. That’s just who he is.

“Can he win a decision?

“Absolutely.’’

By Norm Frauenheim –

A deal, long rumored, became official Thursday with the announcement that Amazon Prime Video and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) have a multi-year agreement expected to begin in March.

For PBC’s roster of about 150 fighters and their fans, the announcement came as a relief, if not a lifeline, for a part of the business uncertain about its future after Showtime announced that it was leaving boxing.

Showtime’s 37-year run ends Dec. 16 with a non-pay-per-view bout featuring super-middleweight David Morrell against Sena Agbeko in Minneapolis.

According to multiple reports, the agreement includes 12-to-14 fight cards in a mix of pay-per-view and non-PPV.

As of Thursday, it wasn’t clear how the agreement might affect negotiations for high-profile bouts, including a Terence Crawford-Errol Spence welterweight rematch and Canelo Alvarez-versus-David Benavidez for Canelo’s undisputed super-middleweight title.

However, Prime Video’s 160-million subscriber base represents an opportunity.

“With Prime’s incredible reach and unprecedented marketing power, we’re very excited to reach new audiences for our sport as we continue to present the most exciting, competitive and biggest fights in boxing,” said Bruce Binkow, of Integrated Sports, a marketing agency for PBC.

Plans for a March start are intriguing. Crawford, the consensus pound-for-pound king after his singular performance in a stoppage of Spence in late July, said a few weeks ago that March was a possibility for a rematch with Spence.

Crawford told reporters in September that Spence had exercised the rematch clause in their first contract. Then, it was thought the sequel to Crawford’s ninth-round stoppage would happen in December.

But that plan was put on hold when Showtime, which carried the first fight, announced in mid-October that it would pull the plug.

Meanwhile, there’s talk that Benavidez, the World Boxing Council’s mandated 168-pound challenger after his beat-down of Demetrius Andrade Nov. 25, will fight Canelo in either May as part of the Cinco de Mayo celebration or about four months later in honor of Mexican Independence on Sept. 16.

Both would be pay-per-view bouts. There were a reported 650,000 pay-per-view customers for Crawford-Spence.

Meanwhile, Canelo is boxing’s biggest pay-per-view draw. He has slipped in the pound-for-pound debate, but his popularity is undisputed.

He is Forbes’ coverboy in the magazine’s current edition, which puts his fortune at an astonishing $275 million. Canelo has two more fights on his PBC contract.

Lords of the Flies back in AZ

The sprawling Phoenix market, known for its appreciation of the little guys since Hall of Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal, will again become the site of two of today’s best next Saturday (Dec. 16) in Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez against Sunny Edwards at Desert Diamond Arena in suburban Glendale.

Both are unbeaten – Rodriguez, of San Antonio, (18-0, 11 KOs) and Edwards, of London, (20-0, 4 KOs). Both hold flyweight belts, Rodriguez the World Boxing Organization and Edwards the International Boxing Federation.

They’ll fight in the same arena where Roman Gonzalez lost the super-fly title to Juan Francisco Estrada by majority decision in a masterpiece example of skill and guts from both fighters — a year and a couple of weeks ago — Dec. 3, 2022.

Rodriguez, a dynamic mix of power and skill, is already well known to the Phoenix audience.

He upset Carlos Cuadras, winning a decision for the WBC’s version of the 112-pound title in February 2022 at Footprint Center, the Suns arena just a few blocks from where Carbajal grew up in downtown Phoenix.

Edwards-Rodriguez is intriguing, a match of contrasts between Rodriguez’ rugged power and Edwards’ elusive skillset.

Don’t expect Edwards to brawl.

“It could get me knocked out.,’’ he said during his Matchroom Face Off with Rodriguez. ”It could get me tired. It could make me lose.

“When I box, I box in a certain rhythm and a certain flow state. I’m not even trying to hurt somebody. I’ll be real, when I box there’s not one part of me and my mind that’s trying to knock somebody out. I’m there for 36 minutes.”

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS –David Benavidez promised.

And he punished.

He did to Demetrius Andrade what he did to David Lemieux and so many others. It was another moment in his demolition tour, an uninterrupted dominance of every super-middleweight other than the one he has been pursuing for so long.It was also another edition of the long-running message he has been delivering like punches at a machine-gun rate.

“Canelo, give the people the fight they want, Canelo Alvarez-versus-David Benavidez,” he said in the center of the ring to a roaring crowd just minutes after breaking down and breaking apart Andrade.

Who knows if Canelo was in the audience for Showtime’s final pay-per-view fight Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena? If he was, however, he had to be impressed.

Andrade, unorthodox and unbeaten before opening bell, was simply undone by the aggressive Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs), who knocked him down with right hand in the fourth round and then battered him through the next two rounds. There are few fighters with Benavidez kind of momentum. 

Once he gets going, he’s a freight train rolling down a steep incline. Get the hell of his way. Andrade (32-1, 19 KOs) couldn’t. After six rounds, he had no option other than surrender.

At ringside, there was Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight great who gave Benavidez his current nickname, The Monster.

Benavidez, who emerges as the World Boxing Council’s mandatory challenger to Canelo, went over and hugged him, perhaps an embrace between the modern version of the monster Tyson once was.

“I’m the best and I’m going to be the best,” Benavidez told a crowd full of his fans from Phoenix, his hometown. “i’m going to be a legend.”

Tyson smiled.

Andrade didn’t argue.

No telling what Canelo thought

Charlo scores one-sided decision over Jose Benavidez

It was a fight preceded by insults, broken promises and fines. 

But the profanity didn’t matter. The broken promises were followed by fines. The fight went on after one fighter, Jermall Charlo, paid $75,000 for every pound heavier than a contracted catchweight.

After all of that, it was a fight that went the way it was expected to. Chaos was  the prediction. But there was none. 

A bigger man beat a smaller man. 

Charlo, a middleweight champion who hasn’t made a title defense in 29 months, beat Jose Benavidez Jr., a former junior-welterweight and welterweight contender.

Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs) scored a unanimous decision. Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.  Argue with the score cards. The margins might have been too wide. The judges had it 98-92, 99-91 and 100-90. The third card, a shutout, seemed unfair to Benavidez (28-3-1, 19 KOs) who was never off his feet and appeared to make a competitive fight out of the early rounds.

But in the end, he simply wasn’t going to beat a fighter who was at least 15 pounds heavier. Charlo’s weight at opening bell wasn’t announced. He was ordered to be no more than 176 pounds at a secondary weigh-in Saturday morning, about 24 hours after he failed to make the 163-pound catch weight. Anything more than 176 pounds, would have cost him at least another $75,0000 per pound.

Whatever the final toll, he left the ring with his wallet a lot lighter. But that didn’t weaken his leverage-per-pound against a fighter who was simply too small to be in the ring with him.

Charlo knew that. After the scores were announced, he sounded more relieved than happy.

“Thank God, both of us are going home to our families healthy,” he said.

Benavidez, never a man with nothing to say before the fight, left the ring without a word. 

After a long 10 rounds, maybe there just wasn’t anything left to say. He was out of answers. Maybe, energy, too. 

Later, during an interview from his dressing room, he had this to say:

“He’s a good fighter, I’m not going to make any excuses. I came to fight. He said he was going to back me up and I didn’t back up. I kept coming forward. The best man won tonight.

“It’s boxing. I thought it was way closer than the judges’ said it was. At the end of the day I lost, and I’m not going to make any excuses.

“I don’t know if his extra weight had anything to do with it. Maybe. Maybe not. I came prepared. I gave my best. I’m going to take some time off – it’s the holidays. Of course, I’d like to run it back at the actual weight. At 160. If you weigh me right now I’m probably 165, and he still can’t do s— to me. It’s all good. I’m not worried about it. I gave it my all, and I came up short.”

Benavidez, ever fearless, opened the bout with abundant energy. He landed a straight right hand that bounced off Charlo’s face like a wicked tennis ball. It echoed throughout the arena. Benavidez also moved stubbornly forward, backing Charlo into the ropes and then into his corner. It was then, however, that Charlo answered with a flash of power, delivered like a pointed message from his bigger, stronger body.

Benavidez backed off. But his retreat didn’t go far. Didn’t last long either.

In the second and third, he continued his march into harm’s way, straight into Charlo’s dangerous wheelhouse. Charlo would throw a punch; Benavidez would counter with combos. The crowd roared. There was a chorus of chants.

Benavidez, Benavidez, was the lyric from fans who had traveled to Vegas from Phoenix, his hometown.

Jose, Jose.

Benavidez continued to give them hope with more combos and repeated bursts of energy. Increasingly, however, there were signs that the bigger blows from Charlo were beginning to have an impact.

In the seventh, Benavidez’ face bore the reddening signs of a bruising impact from Charlo’s punches. In the eighth, there were fewer combos from Benavidez. His hands began to drop. His chances began to diminish. It looked as if an energy crisis loomed. In the tenth, it landed, leaving with one more loss in his record and probably a purse fattened by a percentage of the fines paid by Charlo. 

Matias Retains Title with 6th Round Stoppage

Subtriel Matias is in the quitting business. Business is very good.

It continued uninterrupted and seemingly unstoppable Saturday,when Matias, the International Boxing Federation’s junior-welterweight champion, forced a fifth straight opponent to surrender Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

This time, it was a wiry-like fighter from Uzbekistan, Shohjahom Ergashev.

Matias (20-1, 20 KOs), of Puerto Rico, endured his punches early and then exhausted him with his own, forcing his corner to say no-mas a couple of seconds after the bell sounded for the start of the sixth round.

Matias’ stubborn power, he said, is a result of the work his team has done. It’s also a result of patience followed by wild bursts of energy. Ergashev (23-1, 20 KOs) simply could not slow him down. 

Lamont Roach wins junior-lightweight crown

Wait and worry has been a story line to Lamont Roach’s career.

The story ended Saturday night.

He can quit waiting. For now, he can quit worrying.

Roach (24-1-1, 9 KOs) won, finally calming a junior-lightweight world title, with a split decision over Hector Garcia (16-2, 10 KOs) in a Showtime pay-per-view bout on the card featuring David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

In an otherwise close bout, Roach took control in the final two rounds, knocking Garcia into the ropes with a piston-like punch in the eleventh and then scoring a debatable knockdown in the twelfth with a left to the back of Gracia’s head.

“I think I did enough,” said Roach, of Upper Marlboro MD, a winner on two scorecards, 116-111 and 114-113. “He played kind of a cat-and-mouse game .’

Garcia, who was  favored 114-113 on the third card, said he accepted the judging.

“I thought I won,” he said. “But they counted it as a knockdown in the twelfth. He hit me in the back of the head. Without that, it would have been different.”

Mercado scores junior-welterweight shutout

Mercado scores junior-welterweight shutoutFrom precision to poise, Israel Mercado had it all.

He used it all, too, scoring a four-round shutout of Wesley Rivers Saturday night on the non-televised portion of the the Benavidez-Andrade fight at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

Mercado (10-1-1, 8 KOs), a junior-welterweight from Pomona CA, scored at will from several angles in a one-sided decision over Rivers (4-4), of Dearborn Heights MI.

First-time winner

It wasn’t easy, but Alenn Medina finally moved into the win column.

Medina (1-1), a welterweight from Las Vegas, had just enough of an edge in aggression to get a majority decision over  Alex Holley (1-1), a Dallas fighter who landed in the loss column for the first time. 

In the fourth fight of the night Michel “Salsa Ali” Rivera 24-1 (14KOs) of Miami, FL took on Sergey Lipinets 17-2-1(13KOs) fighting out of Woodlands CA. The action began with Rivera establishing his Jab and keeping Lipinets off balance. Jabbing continued through the round and not much action from Lipinets. Sergey stepped it up in the second round as both fighters picked it up with the volume of punches. The third did not see too much of anything, just a warning from the referee about holding and hitting behind the head area. 

In the fourth — just as Rivera landed a stunning right — Lipinets came back in his own right, landing  a good left just as the round ended. Rivera once again wobbled his opponent. The fifth of the scheduled 10 was arguably the best round of the fight. Each fighter seemed to hurt one another — Lipinets with lefts and Rivera with rights. 

As the fight went into the later rounds the pace slowed.  Few meaningful punches landed. The fight went all 10 rounds and was a good showcase for Rivera. Rivera went on to win the unanimous decision — 97-93, 97-93, 96-94. Improving to 25-1 (14KOs)….By David Galaviz

Vito Mielnicki wins first round stoppage

Vito Mielnicki Jr. calls himself White Magic.

Saturday, he was White Lightning.

Mielnicki (16-1, 11 KOs) struck fast. Struck twice, all within the first round of the third bout Saturday on the Benavidez-Andrade card..

First, he dropped Alexis Salazar (25-6, 10 KOs), of Norwalk CA, with what looked like a glancing blow. Then, he struck with a head-rocking straight hand, finishing Salazar at 2:27 of the first round.. 

Jubin Chollet scores knockdown, wins split decision

It was timely, It was precise. It was the difference.

Jubin Chollet (9-0, 7 KOs), a lightweight from San Diego, needed a knockdown and he got one, flooring Jorge Perez (6-1, 2 KOs) with a beautifully-placed right hand in the fifth round of the second bout Saturday on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade card. It was just enough for Cholley to win a split decision. He won 57-56 on two cards. It was 57-56 for Perez on the third.

First Bell: Daniel Blancas scores unanimous decision

The show opened In an arena filled with only chilly November temperatures and echoes from punches from super-middleweight Daniel Blancas and Raiko Santana.

In the end, the loudest shots were landed by Blancas (8-0, 4 KOs), a long and lanky Milwaukee fighter who won a 76-75, 78-73, 77-74 decision over Raiko Santana in a Saturday matinee, the opener on a car featuring David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Blancas, who had Benavidez trainer Jose Benavidez in his corner, relied on his superior reach to keep Santana

(10-4, 6 KOs), of El Paso, at a distance.  

BY Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – The Jose Benavidez Jr.-Jermall Charlo fight was still on late Friday, saved by a deal reached after Charlo failed to make weight.

Charlo, who was three-plus pounds heavier than the contracted 163-pound catchweight at the official weigh-in Friday morning, was fined $75,000-a-pound, multiple sources told 15 Rounds.

It wasn’t clear how much of that money went to Benavidez’ purse in an agreement that also included the Nevada Athletic Commission and promoters.

The size of the purses for both Benavidez and Charlo weren’t known. The Nevada Commission no longer discloses them.

Charlo faces further fines – for an undisclosed amount — if he is heavier than 176 pounds at another weigh-in scheduled for Saturday morning, according to Jose Benavidez Sr., father/trainer for Jose Jr. and super-middleweight contender David Benavidez.

David faces Demetrius Andrade in the main event after the Benavidez Jr.-Charlo fight at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Showtime’s final pay-per-view card (5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET).

Both David and Andrade came in under the super-middleweight’s 168-pound mandatory, David at 167.0 and Andrade at 167.6

“I’m very upset,’’ the senior Benavidez told 15 Rounds backstage at Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues after a mock weigh-in before a roaring crowd a few hours after the official weigh-in.

Benavidez’ father was not surprised that Charlo failed to make weight. But he was angered at how much heavier Charlo was.

“I thought maybe it would be a pound,’’ he said.

But it was more than three times more than that. Behind closed doors and under the Nevada Commission’s regulation, Charlo first stepped on the scale at 166.4 pounds. The second time he stepped on the scale, he was heavier – 166.6.

Benavidez’ dad would only say that he negotiated a stiff fine in an effort to ensure that Charlo would not come in heavy.

In bargaining, he said, Charlo said he wanted a catchweight at “166 or 167.’’ Benavidez said he refused. Eventually, they agreed on 163.

“This is my son,’’ he said. “I’m here to protect him.’’

Jose Jr. weighed in at 161.2 pounds Friday morning.  Before the controversial weigh-in, he was already at a heavy disadvantage against Charlo, a 160-pound champion who has held the World Boxing Council’s middleweight title despite not fighting for more than two years.

The 31-year-old Jose Jr., held a secondary title at 140 pounds. He then fought at 147, including a competitive loss to pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford, who was on stage for Friday’s weigh-in. Crawford stopped Jose Jr. in the twelfth and final round of a competitive bout in Omaha 2018.

Jose Jr. is not expected to be much heavier than he was at Friday’s weigh-in. Even if he stays at 161.2 pounds and Charlo is at the negotiated limit of 176 Saturday morning, Charlo would outweigh the Phoenix-born fighter by 14.8 pounds.

“I told my son not to do it,’’ his dad said. “I told him not to fight. But he really wants to fight. He’s determined. Really motivated. So, we’re going to fight.’’

After the ritual face-off after the mock weigh-in, Jose Jr. left little doubt about that. He tried to step through and around security that stood between him and Charlo.

Finally, the weigh-in show moderator stuck a microphone in his face.

“I’m going to knock his ass out,’’ Jose Jr., yelled, leaving echoes that only an opening bell can silence.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Jose Benavidez-Jermall Charlo fight on with deal made after Charlo is heavier than catchwt. Charlo 166.4, then 166.6. Charlo fined $75,000-a-pound above 163, sources tell 15 Rounds. Trainer Jose Benavidez says Charlo to weigh Sat morning. He’ll pay more fines if heavier than 176.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – He has a curious nickname. He’s Boo Boo.

Insert punch line here, and many do in a business surrounded by over-the-top characters whose nicknames are a mix of fantasy, fear and comic-book super-hero.

It’s just one piece in the puzzle that is Demetrius Andrade, who says he’s been Boo Boo since he was a daredevil kid climbing trees and jumping off roofs.

He’s something of an enigma, but that might be exactly what makes him a threat to David Benavidez, who now calls himself The Monster. Nothing curious about that one. Interpret at your own risk.

But Andrade doesn’t think much of The Monster moniker, one given to Benavidez by Mike Tyson on his podcast. In fact, Andrade makes a joke out of it.

“Like I said, Mike was real, real high that day,’’ Andrade said at a public workout a few days before his super-middleweight date with Benavidez Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Showtime’s final pay-per-view bout.

It’s funny and, some say, a foolish boo-boo from Andrade, a former junior-middleweight and middleweight champion who is fighting at 168 pounds for only the second time.

Against the bigger and younger Benavidez, there’s talk and odds – nearly 4-to-1 against Andrade – that this time the daredevil still in the 35-year-old fighter is on the precarious edge of a nasty fall.

But the problem with that argument is in Andrade’s record. He’s unbeaten, 32-0 with 19 knockouts. It’s a record and something of a riddle.

Andrade’s pro career doesn’t really include any defining moments, despite titles at 154 and 160 pounds. It’s unblemished and in some ways unremarkable for all things that haven’t happened.

Mostly, the 2008 Olympian has been elusive. The left-hander is hard to hit and harder to figure out. For the 26-year-old Benavidez and just about any other fighter, the unknown is often the biggest danger.

It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that Andrade is called the most-avoided fighter of his generation. The best in his time and perhaps any other time won’t fight what they don’t know. They won’t take on a riddle they can’t solve. So far, there aren’t any solutions. That’s what the 0 on the right side of Andrade’s ledger says.

Despite his many years in the pro ring, surprise appears to be Andrade’s best weapon against the aggressive Benavidez, also unbeaten (27-0, 23 KOs), in a fight that could lead to a big pay-day against Canelo Alvarez.

“I think he’s going to be very surprised,’’ Andrade says, almost cryptically. “I have the source. I can frustrate him, set traps and break him down while also hitting him.’’

The biggest question, however is time.

“Father Time beats all,’’ Andrade said.

Can Andrade 35-year-old legs carry him out of danger, especially in the later rounds. Benavidez has been at his punishing best from the eighth through the 12^th.

The Phoenix-born Benavidez is confident he can overwhelm Andrade – stop him – in part because Andrade won’t have room to run. Benavidez says a 22-by-22-foot ring was a factor in his inability to stop Caleb Plant last March. He won a unanimous decision. Plant, he says, was able to elude some of his lethal pressure in a bigger ring.

Plant demanded and got some extra canvas, 22-by-22 feet instead of the traditional 20-by-20 in contract negotiations.

“I’m going to strike whenever there’s an opportunity,’’ Benavidez said.

But, Andrade repeated, he’ll be surprised, suggesting that he’ll never get that opportunity.

Nobody ever has. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – David Benavidez sounds as if he is ready to be more than just another fighter chasing Canelo Alvarez.

Benavidez introduced bold aspirations, saying he wants to be a force all his own instead of just another name in the Canelo lottery, Wednesday at a public workout for his super-middleweight date Saturday with Demetrius Andrade.

“I think this is the start of the Benavidez era,’’ he said to a crowd of onlookers on the casino floor at Mandalay Bay, not far from the Michelob ULTRA Arena where he defended the first of two titles in a

victory over Ronald Gavril as a 20-year-old in 2018.

He was a kid, then. Nearly six years later, he’s a feared fighter, still young, yet just entering his prime and on a path that he believes will put him where Canelo has been.

He talked about a chance at making some history, which was Canelo’s mantra until he ran into Dmitry Bivol, a light-heavyweight who upset him and his ambitions in May 2022.

It’s not as if Canelo isn’t still on Benavidez’ horizon. The undisputed super-middleweight champion is there, dangerous as ever, as the next possibility for Benavidez, who will turn 27 on Dec. 17.

The World Boxing Council decided a couple of weeks ago at a convention in Uzbekistan that the Benavidez-Andrade winner will be Canelo’s mandatory challenger. These days, that could mean just about anything. Canelo’s celebrity and earning power equal clout. He calls his own shots. There’s talk of him fighting welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford.

There’s also uncertainty about the boxing business. The Benavidez-Andrade fight is Showtime’s last pay-per-view card. There’s still no news about a new broadcast network.

Canelo, the pay-per-view star of his generation, doesn’t come cheap. His purses have doubled and tripled since he collected $12 million for his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

But it’s clear that Benavidez is anxious to get out from under Canelo’s dominance. For years, he called out Canelo. For years, Canelo told him — in so many words — to get in line.

“I’m so sick of talking about Canelo,’’ said Benavidez’ father and trainer Jose Benavidez, whose older son, Jose Jr., fights middleweight champion Jermall Charlo in a contentious co-main event. ”He’s been fighting little guys.’’

Canelo scored a dominant decision over Charlo’s twin brother, junior-middleweight Jermell Charlo, in his last outing, a bout that looked a lot like a tune-up.

Since beating the smaller Charlo, there’s not been much comment from Canelo about Benavidez or his chances at being the mandatory challenger. Late Wednesday, he was nearly a 4-1 favorite over Andrade, a former middleweight and junior-middleweight champion.

But Benavidez doesn’t seem to care what Canelo thinks anymore.

“To be honest, I’m not worried about Canelo,’’ said the Phoenix-born fighter, now a Seattle resident who continues to wear the PHX acronym on his trunks. “I want to clean out the division.

“I promise you I will not disappoint you. This will be the best fight – to date – of my career.

That starts, he said, with Andrade, a former Olympian with a comprehensive skillset. The 35-year-old Andrade knows his way around the ring.

He can challenge Benavidez with versatility and agile footwork, both of which figure to be an intriguing test of Benavidez’ patience, maturity and emerging ambition.

Benavidez seeking KO

Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) is confident he can stop the unbeaten Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs). 

His promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz is sure of it.

“I promise you David will knock out Andrade,’’ Lewkowicz told the workout crowd.

A reason might the size of the ring. It’s the traditional 20-by-20, smaller than the 22-by-22-foot ring for Benavidez’ unanimous decision over Caleb Plant last March.

Plant, who has some of Andrade’s boxing skill, was able to use the bigger ring — the result of a contract demand — to elude some of Benavidez’ punishing pursuit, especially in the final rounds.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s not exactly a surprise that the World Boxing Council decided this week that the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade winner will be Canelo Alvarez’ mandatory challenger.

It only would have been news if the WBC had not done so during its Uzbekistan convention, a gathering that did produce headlines, including WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman’s silly fight with The Ring, a magazine older than any acronym and a century-old publication that charges a subscription fee but never a sanctioning fee.

I’ve written for The Ring.

I’ve got a subscription.

I buy my own belts.

Conventions, of course, are always trying to create news, and — from bridgerweight to franchise belts — the WBC has generated its share.

The Ring, which awards its own championship belts, “threatens the credibility’’ of boxing, Sulaiman told iFL TV. Year-in, year -out, boxing does a pretty good job of that, all by its lonesome.

Nevertheless, I’m sure the WBC-versus-The Ring will never be a Fight of the Year contender. X-worthy, maybe. Pay-per-view, definitely not.

It’s an unfortunate sideshow, a diversion from what will happen on Nov. 25 with the Benavidez-Andrade fight at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. It’ll be the beginning of Showtime’s end, it’s final pay-per-view boxing telecast.

That’s what threatens boxing.

Not The Ring.

It’s an existential threat, one that will be there no matter who – Benavidez or Andrade — emerges from the super-middleweight bout as Canelo’s mandatory challenger.

What’s really mandatory is a network, a streaming or lineal TV partner with the cash and clout to stage a projected May or September fight featuring Canelo, boxing’s highest earner over the last several years.  

Canelo got a reported $12 million in 2013 for his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Since then, his purses have doubled, tripled. His guarantee for a trilogy victory over Gennadiy Golovkin in September 2022 was reported to be $45-million.

Is there any network willing to join Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) in a partnership to pay that much to Canelo against the Phoenix-born Benavidez or Andrade?

There’s no answer, and there doesn’t figure to be one until after Nov. 25. The aggressive Benavidez is about a 4-to-1 favorite over the skilled Andrade. Canelo-Benavidez figures to be a better sell than Canelo-Andrade. Canelo-Benavidez, Mexican-versus-Mexican-American, has been one fight fans have been demanding for a couple of years.

Maybe, that demand is high enough to interest a network. For now, however, it’s only a question, one that’s also creating uncertainty about a contracted Terence Crawford-Errol Spence rematch, projected for early next year.

For as long as there’s no network, there’s no sequel.

Crawford, who was stripped of the International Boxing Federation’s welterweight title just months after his brilliant summer stoppage of Spence, was asked about it while in Vegas for the Shakur Stevenson-Edwin De Los Santos late Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.

“I don’t know,” Crawford told reporters at the weigh-in Wednesday. “It’s still up in the air, given the fact that Showtime has no longer decided to do boxing. So, everything’s up in the air right now with that.’’

Up and ominous, a real threat instead of an imaginary one.

By Norm Frauenheim –

There’s trash talk and there’s chaos.

The Jermall Charlo-Jose Benavidez edition of boxing’s long running, increasingly redundant exhibition tipped toward the latter in a hide-the-kids kind of exchange during a virtual news conference Tuesday.

It’s been called wild, a polite description of what was really a verbal food fight. It was just off the wall, not to mention off the rails.

Kudos to all those who were able to put together a few cogent quotes from a session that had me reaching for my noise-reducing headphones. Subtract the profanity and there just wasn’t much left.

I’m not opposed to trash talk. It’s how boxing communicates. But let’s just say it’s getting harder and harder to listen to the language. It’s not talking. It’s screaming. At least, Muhammad Ali, trash-talk’s undisputed original, used to mix in a few poems and clever punch lines. 

Trust me, there was nothing poetic or remotely clever from either Benavidez or Charlo. Put it this way: Nearly everything rhymed with puck.

Still, there was some news, but I’m only sure of that because of Boxing Scene’s Keith Idec, who makes sense out of chaos better than anyone else seated along press row.

Thanks to Idec, we know that the bout on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade Showtime pay-per-view card Nov. 25 will be at a catchweight, 163 pounds, and that Charlo’s World Boxing Council middleweight belt won’t be at stake in his first bout in more than two years.

The unbeaten Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) hasn’t fought since a decision over Juan Macias Montiel on June 19, 2021.  That’s 28 months between opening bells. According to the WBC, he’s been battling mental-health issues.

Idec quoted Charlo as saying the belt was “nothing but a trophy.’’  

It’s there. Hide the kids and listen to the tape. But WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman took exception, criticizing Idec on X (formerly Twitter) with a post suggesting that Charlo’s comment was taken out of context.

Sulaiman’s post: It’s very unfortunate to post such a misleading comment and not the many other statements he did. Charlo is a proud WBC Champion and fully respects the organization. We just spoke confirmed directly from him. It is very common to take a few words here and there and make a story

Sorry, but Charlo’s few words were the story, the only real story in what otherwise was a torrent of profanity. Blame Charlo. Benavidez, who has turned into one of boxing’s noisiest trash talkers, clearly got to him.

Benavidez (28-2-1, 19 KOs), David’s older brother, began his part of the PBC newser by saying: “I’m not ready to do much talking.’’

Then, he wouldn’t shut up.

In one shouting match after another, the Phoenix fighter called Charlo a baby and few other b-words.  Benavidez, known these days for his movie role in Creed III, questioned why Charlo was fighting at 163 pounds instead of 160. He asked him if he couldn’t make weight because he’s undisciplined. He referred to his reported mental-health issues. He mocked him, begging him not to cry.

Benavidez, an actor when he’s not fighting, went over the line. He also knows all the lines, most of them obscene and each intended to outrage.

That was the context.

Idec simply did what he always does: His job. He reported – reported exactly – what Charlo said in reaction to the chaos that was the context.

Nothing But An Opinion: Charlo’s controversial line – “nothing but a trophy” – applies all over again, just a couple of days after he used it to describe his WBC belt. Late Thursday, news broke that the International Boxing Federation stripped Terence Crawford of its welterweight belt.

Before a formal announcement, the IBF quietly dropped Crawford and elevated Jaron Ennis to its 147-pound title in its ratings. Social media noticed.

Ennis figures to be a great champion. But only if he fights for the title. In confirming the move, the IBF cited no deal for Crawford to defend the title against Ennis, the mandatory challenger. 

Therefore, the acronym said, it “has withdrawn recognition of Terence Crawford as the IBF Welterweight world champion.”

It’s fair to say that recognition isn’t shared by fans, who watched Crawford become the consensus pound-for-pound champion against Errol Spence just a few months ago.

More Notes: A strong undercard has fallen into place for Benavidez-Andrade. PBC announced this week that ex-junior-welterweight champion Sergey Lipnets (17-2-1, 13 KOs) will face former lightweight Michel Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs) in a scheduled 10-rounder at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

Off-TV, Floyd Mayweather’s heavily-hyped prospect, 17-year-old junior-lightweight Curmel Moton (1-0,1 KO) faces Hunter Turbyfill (3-0, 1 KO), of Memphis, in a four-rounder. Moton made his debut Sept. 30 on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez’ one-sided decision over Jermell Charlo.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Tyson Fury exited Saudi Arabia with a bag full of cash and a lot of questions after a controversial, problematic performance that dropped boxing’s old flagship division back into a familiar mess.

Fury is still the lineal champion, although a novice almost interrupted that long line of heavyweight succession. For the record, he can still say he beat the man who beat the man.

But one judge, a lot of active fighters, retired fighters, pundits and the social-media mob argue otherwise. Before reporters even learned how to spell his name, the unlikely Francis Ngannou knocked down Fury and did enough to win on one of three scorecards last Saturday.

It was Fury, by split decision, a split that ensures that this controversy won’t go away quietly. Everybody said all the right things, picked up their paychecks, praised their hosts and headed home as if to say: “Let’s move on, nothing to see here.’’

In Fury’s bruised left eye and bloodied forehead, there was plenty to see. Plenty to question. Is he the same guy, or just another fighter who has suddenly grown old?

It comes as no surprise that his performance has forced some quick adjustments. Remember all of those reports about a December 23 date with Oleksandr Usyk? Not going to happen then. Not after what happened Saturday.

Frank Warren, Fury’s UK promoter, confirmed to reporters Thursday that there’s been a postponement. Probably in February, also in Saudi, Warren said.

“The fight will happen before 2 March and it will be for the undisputed title and all four belts,” Warren said. “The IBF (International Boxing Federation) have given consent for that now and it’s all done. The fight is on. Everybody’s agreed, and it will be announced fairly soon.”

For now, the timing of that announcement hinges on how quickly Fury heals. He’s been here before. He was badly bloodied in a unanimous decision over Otto Wallin in September 2019.  He was cut twice, once above the right eye and then along the eyelid. 

Reportedly, he needed 47 stitches to close the wound, which could have forced an early stoppage in what would have been a huge upset.

But a Fury rematch with Deontay Wilder was at stake. It was planned for Feb. 22, 2020. Then, there were similar questions about whether Fury could heal up in time. He did, and he went on to a seventh-round stoppage of Wilder on the projected date in Las Vegas.

But he was about three years younger and perhaps a lot more resilient than the 35-year-old, who struggled against Ngannou, a former mixed-martial arts champion with a big punch. Also, he had yet to face Wilder in a third fight, a violent brawl that Fury won after getting knocked down twice in October 2021.

Fury got up all over again in the third round against Ngannou. But this time it was with evident hesitancy instead of the inexhaustible resiliency he displayed against Wilder. 

He finished that trilogy definitively. Dramatically. He left no doubt in an 11^th round KO that represents the peak of a great heavyweight in his prime.

Against Ngannou, he simply held on, looking like an aging fighter with a couple of titles, plenty of money and ominous scars.

“Look, you can get somebody becoming very old in boxing overnight,” Warren said “I don’t think it’s the case with Tyson,  and we’ll find out in his next fight.

“My opinion is that I don’t think anybody expected that from Ngannou. I did expect he would be tough. But I genuinely never expected that Ngannou could shape up as a boxer like he did.’’

For the next couple of months, expect just about anything.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Showtime was at ringside before Canelo Alvarez was born, yet its imminent exit from boxing isn’t much of a surprise. It is however, a warning for a battered, balkanized business forever at odds with itself.

Only boxing is killing boxing. It’s an old line that bears repeating in the wake of the announcement this week that the network will televise one, maybe two more cards, including David Benavidez’ Nov. 25 super-middleweight date with Demetrius Andrade in Las Vegas.

Benavidez is 26, a face of boxing’s emerging generation. It’s fair to guess that the Phoenix-born fighter and former-two-time champion assumed that Showtime would always be there. He grew up with it. Throughout his unbeaten career, it was part of the show. 

But it’s exit, predicted for years, leaves questions about what awaits him, his rivals and their generation of fans.

Showtime has been fundamental to their hopes and expectations. It brought the money. But if Benavidez beats Andrade, will enough of that be there for a projected Canelo-Benavidez blockbuster next year, post-Showtime?

That’s just one question, emblematic of the many that boxing never really considered amid all the speculation that the network was approaching its final bell.

Rumors were there last month throughout the fight-week build-up for Canelo’s one-sided decision over Jermell Charlo, also on Showtime. By then, however, it was too late for any substantive change. After all, Showtime’s exit from boxing was predicted in 2018.

That’s when Top Rank’s Bob Arum said Showtime would eventually follow HBO and leave boxing.  

“Showtime does not belong in boxing,’’ Arum said.

Arum made the comment to reporters before Canelo’s majority decision over Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept 15 in a 2018 rematch on HBO. Twelve days later, HBO announced it was throwing in the towel, finished after 45 years.

“I mean, they’re wasting the stock holders money by doing boxing matches,’’ Arum said then.  “They should invest in entertainment because HBO realizes they’re in a dogfight with Disney, with Netflix, and so every dollar that they can conserve to put into entertainment, they need desperately.

“Showtime has to become aware of that fact, but the only way they’re going to survive is with good entertainment, because unfortunately when you do boxing, you open and close the same night.’’

Showtime’s exit became inevitable last January with Paramount+, a streaming service and a sure sign of change in philosophy – a move toward long-running shows.

Rather than one night of boxing or a live concert, Arum said, HBO and Showtime can only compete with shows that can draw an audience week after week, night after night.

“And five years from now, the linear platform won’t mean bleep,’’ Arum – aligned with ESPN since 2017 — said five years ago. “Everything will be streaming – everything. Entertainment, sports, everything will be streaming.”

Bingo.

However, either boxing didn’t listen. Or, it just assumed the good times would never end. Or, it did what it has always done. To wit: Grab the fast buck and move on.

Fighters with little name recognition made big money. The younger generation began to look upon Floyd Mayweather’s brilliant career as the model.

Throughout his long-running deal with Showtime, Mayweather did more than follow the risk-to-reward ratio to the top of the pound-for-pound debate. He rode it straight to the top of Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest athletes. He was No. 1 in 2018.

What could go wrong? Plenty. There was only one Mayweather. He made unprecedented money, pre-stream. But that risk-to-reward formula left an assumption that the money would never end. The Showtime exit is a sign that it will.

It’s still hard to say what impact that might have on a possible Benavidez-Canelo fight, a bout that fans have wanted for a couple of years.

It leaves a further question about the chances of a projected Terence Crawford-Errol Spence rematch of Crawford’s singular performance in a stoppage win in July, also on Showtime.

The sad aspect to the Showtime exit after 37 years is in the timing. 2023 has been one of boxing’s best years in some time. Under Stephen Espinoza’s guidance, it staged a comeback.

For years, there has been doom-and-gloom — persistent talk about an eroding fan base. But Showtime began to rediscover that audience, first in April with a reported 1.2 million pay-per-view customers for Tank Davis’ blowout of Ryan Garcia.

Then, there was Crawford-Spence. The welterweight fight had been talked about for years. Then, there were negotiations, misinformation and even a reported fight date — Nov. 19 2022. In the end, however, there was only futility.  Talks broke down in October.

Fans were outraged. More than a few editions of the boxing-is-dead theme were written, including one in this corner.

But Showtime persisted. The fight got made and it delivered a sensational moment from Crawford on July 30. 

The fight did fewer PPV numbers — a reported 700,000 — than Davis-Garcia. The number was solid. But, above all, Crawford-Spence delivered a message: The business had a pulse.

Still does.

But is anybody listening?

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s a Thanksgiving weekend fight, a main event between David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade and a Holiday date projected to lead to a possible fight with Canelo Alvarez.

Sorry for the Thanksgiving reference, but it could set the table for what might be the biggest fight in 2024, which is planned for another May 5 celebration, Cinco in Mexico and Canelo de Mayo in Vegas

But there were no thanks for Canelo Thursday.

There were questions, of course. Follow the money. In boxing, that means follow Canelo.

“F— Canelo,’’ Andrade said Thursday in the first formal news conference announcing his super-middleweight fight with Benavidez at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay on Nov. 25, the Saturday after Turkey day.

Even without the Canelo intrigue, it’s an interesting fight, especially for Benavidez, who has formally changed his nickname since he overwhelmed Caleb Plant in a punishing late-round assault in a scorecard victory last March.

Benavidez used to call himself El Bandera Roja, The Red Flag, as in warning. But the Phoenix-born fighter, who will be 27 on December 17, has outgrown that one. By now, the warning is well-known enough to make some – perhaps even Canelo – wary.

Now, Benavidez calls himself “El Monstruo,” The Monster. That’s how he was introduced at Thursday’s newser in Los Angeles. In part, it’s what Mike Tyson called him more than a year ago. In fact, Tyson called him The Mexican Monster. But Benavidez simplified it, stripping it down to a scary simplicity. Trick or treat, he sees himself as The Monster, no nationality needed.

Canelo seems to have his own name for Benavidez. When asked about him after his one-sided decision over Jermell Charlo a few weeks ago, he used the same language that Andrade did Thursday.

“I don’t effing care,’’ Canelo said more than once.

Subtract the effing and that’s pretty much what Benavidez said about Canelo Thursday.

“I’m not worried about Canelo,’’ said Benavidez, who went on to say that only the Andrade fight concerned him.

On several levels, it was the right thing to say, of course. In tone, however, it was a different Benavidez, more pragmatic and perhaps a lot wiser. For a couple of years, he was always calling out Canelo with volumes of unabridged trash talk.

But the talk only seemed to anger Canelo, whose celebrity and documented pay-per-view number gives him all the leverage. He put Gennadiy Golovkin on ice, denying him a third fight until it was too late for GGG. Why? Maybe, because GGG angered him when he accused Canelo of being a user after a positive test for clenbuterol.

Silence on Canelo looks to be a smarter negotiating tactic. Besides, there’s only Andrade for now.

Lose to him, and Benavidez likely says goodbye to a chance at big money and a share of legacy. The oddsmakers like Benavidez to beat Andrade, a 35-year old former junior-middleweight and middleweight champ who will be fighting at 168 pounds for only the second time.

Benavidez, who will make his second appearance on Showtime pay-per-view, opened as a solid favorite, minus-320, which means he’s given about a 78 percent chance at winning.

Andrade, however, has a chance in part for skills that many say Benavidez does not have. Andrade has an Olympic pedigree. That means footwork and a high ring IQ. A fighter with an educated skillset say the critics, including ESPN analyst Tim Bradley, who says the 2008 Olympian’s footwork could lead to an upset.

“That’s why I’m taking this challenge,’’ Benavidez said. “I want to shut everybody up.’’

However, Benavidez dad, Jose Benavidez Sr, continues to talk, buoyed perhaps by his son’s powerful dominance, especially over the last four rounds.

“I think David stops him in the eighth round,’’ Jose Sr. said.

That would say it all.

NOTES: Initially, Benavidez-Andrade was headed to San Antonio, according to multiple sources and reports. It was moved to Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena within the last week. The move makes sense. Benavidez’ fan base is Phoenix, his hometown. Vegas is a lot closer to Phoenix than San Antonio. 15 rounds talked to some Benavidez fans. They said there’s a better chance of them traveling to Vegas than San Antonio on Thanksgiving weekend. Tickets went on sale Thursday.

There have been several reports that Benavidez’ older brother, Jose Benavidez Jr. will fight middleweight champion Jermall Charlo on the undercard. However, that bout has yet to be announced.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Other than heavyweight and perhaps welterweight, there’s no division that has had a bigger impact on boxing than middleweight. The names tell the story. Hagler, LaMotta, Hopkins, Zale, Monzon, the original Sugar and so many more.

Suddenly, however, it’s a weight class without a face. More mediocre than middle. The top of The Ring’s 160-pound rating is blank. A division without definition. The title is vacant, an empty lot in what used to be historical real estate.

Some of that might begin to change next week, October 14. A title unification between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Vincenzo Gualtieri is scheduled for Rosenberg, Texas.

It’s an ESPN fight. But a Houston suburb is a long way from Vegas, Los Angeles or New York. There’s a reason for that. Few know Janibek, the World Boxing Organization’s champion. Nobody knows Vincenzo Gualtieri, the International Boxing Federation’s belt holder. These guys need name tags. They have titles, but no name recognition.

Janibek is probably today’s best middleweight. He’s powerful and aggressive enough to be scary. But the Kazak is unknown, a reason perhaps that he continues to be ranked by The Ring and ESPN behind the widely known Gennadiy Golovkin, the 41-year-old fellow Kazak who relinquished his 160-pound titles last March, about six months after his forgettable scorecard loss at 168 pounds to Canelo Alvarez in a trilogy fight. For all anybody knows, the next time we see GGG might be at his Hall-of-Fame induction.

Then, there’s Gualtieri. Gualtieri answers an opening bell somewhere other than his home country, Germany, for the first time next week.

Chris Eubank, a much better-known middleweight contender from the UK, probably put it best weeks after his stoppage of Liam Smith in August. He was asked about fighting Janibek or Gualtieri.

“I don’t know who they are,” Eubank told Sky Sports. “And I’m in the game. So, the general public are not going to know who these guys are, which means it’s hard for them to tune in.’’

I bring all of this up because the fabled yet faded middleweight division is desperate for a fighter who has at least some name recognition. Enter Elijah Garcia.

There was a lot of controversy about Canelo’s decision over Jermell Charlo last Saturday on Showtime at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. But there were no complaints about Garcia’s dynamic stoppage of Armando Resendiz in the opener to a pay-per-view card that drew an audience reportedly between 650,00 and 700,000 customers.

Garcia delivered the best performance on a card that otherwise generated lots of social-media flak, mostly directed at Charlo, who appeared to be there only for a paycheck. For Garcia, there were cheers from a crowd that increasingly likes what it sees. It was the third straight time that Garcia, now 16-0 with 13 knockouts, has opened a pay-per-view show. It’s been an introduction that fans haven’t seen from Janibek, much less Gualtieri.

It’s also been an introduction that has created an appetite for more from Garcia, who has been adept at using social media since his amateur days. Potentially, his ongoing emergence is welcome news for a division fighting to reverse a slide into anonymity.

For Garcia, it’s an opportunity. The 20-year-old Arizona fighter, who grew up in Phoenix and has a ranch in Wittman, is known for a bold goal. Repeatedly, he says he wants to be a 21-year-old champion. He’s in the right place to pull that one off.

“I want to be a mandatory for a title pretty soon,’’ he said after delivering a beautiful combo – a left-handed body shot followed by a seamless right to the body then head in an eventual eighth-round stoppage of Resendiz. “I’ll be 21 in April and I’m gonna keep taking it one step at a time.’’

Garcia is clearly on the fast track. But that comes with a dilemma. Too fast is a risk. Janibek might be unknown. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous.

Garcia told 15 Rounds before the Canelo-Charlo card that he would want at least one more fight before a shot at a major title.

“I think I’m getting better every single fight and I think it starts in the gym,’’ he then said after the card. “I’m getting back in the gym on Monday. I just have to keep getting better every single fight, take it one step at a time, fight harder opponents and I’ll get that world title.’’

For now, Garcia will have to wait on the unpredictable collection of haphazard rankings by the acronyms. This week, he’s at No. 7, according to the IBF, which has vacancies at both No. 1 and No. 2. The WBC (World Boxing Council) puts him at No. 6 for a title held by the troubled and ever unpredictable Jermall Charlo, Jermell’s twin brother who reportedly will fight Arizona-born Jose Benavidez Jr. on Nov. 25 on a card projected to feature his brother — super-middleweight contender and Canelo possibility David Benavidez — against Demetrius Andrade.

Meanwhile, Garcia, No. 9 by The Ring, is suddenly at No. 2 by the notorious WBA (World Boxing Association) for a title held by Cuban Erislandy Lara, now 40.  Lara is expected to fight Danny Garcia.

In the WBO ratings, he’s No. 13 for the title held by today’s most feared middleweight, Janibek.

Add it all up, and Garcia’s ambitious goal looks doable, made possible by a young fighter who is introducing himself and maybe re-introducing an old weight class to fans.  

LAS VEGAS –Welcome back, Canelo Alvarez.

A perceived slide was interrupted, if not halted altogether, Saturday night with Canelo’s thorough  victory over Jermell Charlo in front of a Showtime pay-per-view audience and a roaring crowd at T-Mobile Arena.

Other than a knockout, Canelo did it all. He didn’t  tire in the end. He reasserted his documented power, forcing Charlo to take a knee with a huge right hand in the seventh. He had Charlo and his doubters in retreat throughout 12 rounds.

For months, the argument was that Canelo’s 18-year career in the prize-fighting ring was over. It was as if somebody had jammed Canelo’s skillset into a barrel and shipped it to the dump. But there were signs throughout the last week that Canelo had redefined himself, his body and his career.

“Nobody is going to beat this Canelo,” he said .

The one-sided scores — 118-109, 119-108, 118-109 — were just one measure of how dominant Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) was in his fight to stop the slide. Charlo (35-2-1, 15 KOs) simply had no chance.

“I don’t make excuses for myself,” Charlos said. “it is what is is.”

One question will linger. Charlo, an undisputed champion at junior-middleweight, was fighting for the first at super-middle, a division Canelo has long ruled.

Charlo jumped two weight classes. He was feeling super-middleweight power for the first time. The question will be there until Canelo faces a true super-middleweight. That might be David Benavidez, the unbeaten super-middleweight from Phoenix.

First, Benavidez has to beat Demetrius Andrade. 15 Rounds confirmed with promoter Tom Brown that Benavidez will fight Andrade on November 25 in San Antonio. The World Boxing Council aso is planning to address Canelo’s next mandatory defense at its convention in November in Uzbekistan, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told 15 Rounds. The Benavidez-Andrade winner might get a mandatory shot at Canelo. 

But nothing is ever certain. Welterweight champion Terence Crawford, the undisputed pound-for-pound No. 1 after his blowout of Errol Spence, has talked about facing Canelo at a catchweight. Crawford was in the crowd Saturday.

“We can;t rule on what we don;t know,” Sulaiman said. “We can only deal with the facts.”

For now, here’s one:

Canelo is back.

Lubin wins unanimous decision for a fight that only earns boos

A firefight was the promise. But there was no fire. Not much of a fight, either. Instead there were boos.

A gathering crowd for the Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo fight Saturday night turned into a storm of discontent at a bout that had been projected to be a significant junior-middleweight match.  

But the Erickson Lubin-Jesus Ramos bout was a dud in the final Showtime pay-per-view bout before Canelo-Charlo at T-Mobile Arena.

For 12 rounds, Ramos (20-1, 16 KOs) moved forward, chasing a backpedaling Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs). If it weren’t for ropes that kept him in the ring, Ramos would have been chasing Lubin down the Vegas Strip. Lubin would not engage.

But he did enough backpedaling to convince the judges. All three scored it in his favor. It was 115-113, 116-112 and 117-111. All for Lubin. The decision was unanimous. So was the crowd’s discontent.

Lubin looked surprised when the scores were announced.  Ramos, a 22-year-old Arizona fighter from Casa Grande, looked
stunned. After Lubin  stopped backpedaling enough to be interviewed in the ring, his answers couldn’t be heard above the roar of boos.

“I’m one of the top dogs,” he said after a dog fight.

Meanwhile, Ramos was left to deal with one of boxing’s lessons. Lousy decisions are like scars. Everybody has one.

“I’ll move on and deal with this loss,” said the young fighter who came into the ring  amid expectations that he had a chance to be one of boxing’s next great champions.

All he has now is a loss. And maybe a lesson. 

Barrios scores decision over a bloodied Ugas

In the end, it belonged to Mario Barrios, who scored a decision — unanimous and contentious — over Yordenis Ugas Saturday night on the Showtime pay-per-view telecast of the card featuring Canelo Alvarez-versus-Jermell Charlo at T-Mobile Arena

Barrios (28-3, 18 KOS), a San Antonio welterweight, scored two knockdowns of Ugas (27-6, 12 KOs), a Cuban best known for ending Manny Pacquiao’s legendary career.

A left jab put Ugas down in the second. He was down again in the twelfth. Twice, the ringside doctor looked at his bloodied eyes. Each time, the fight was allowed to continue. But there was never much of a chance that Ugas could win. By  A lucky punch? Maybe.

But Barrios had too much energy and more precision in his punches. Ugas was just hanging on for an end that would go against him. It did.  He lost on all three cards, 118-107, 117-108, 118-107..

Elijah Garcia delivers TKO victory in his “toughest” fight

There were questions in the beginning. Then, there were lessons, sharply delivered and still there to learn. In the end, there was some perfection.

For emerging middleweight Elijah Garcia, still a student of the game, it was a fight full of just about everything. From aspirations to possibilities, it was all there.

 Above all, Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs) stayed unbeaten and on track to accomplish an ambitious goal with an eighth-round TKO of Armando Resenediz Saturday in the first Showtime pay-per-view bout on the card featuring Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

“It was really a hard fight,” said Garcia, a 20-year-old Arizona fighter who wants to be a 21-year-old middleweight champion. “It was my toughest, yeah 100 percent.”

They’ll get tougher. A lot tougher. There’s no other way to get to that middleweight title. But he’s still there, perhaps on the fast track, mostly because of what he continued to prove. His power is deadly and he sustains it. Without it, he might be dealing with his first defeat.

But it was alway there and always accurate enough  to stagger, stun and then wear out the gritty Resendiz (14-2, 10 KOs). 

The Phoenix born left-hander, who continues to wear 602 — the PHX area code — stitched onto the belt buckle of his trunks — set the tone in the opening round, buckling Resendiz at the knees with a big left hand.

But Resendiz, stubborn and brave, would not go away. For the next few rounds, Resendiz tirelessly moved forward and relentlessly threw straight-handed punches. They landed, again and again. The evidence was in the reddening skin around Garcia’s eyes. Garcia was dropping his hands, especially his left.  Sometimes, it was down at his hip. It was risky against Resendiz. Against a middleweight champion, it could be deadly. A lesson still to be learned.

For now, Garcia’s power prevails. Within Resendiz’ busy style, there was no counter for it . There was only an inevitable end and It came at about two minutes of the eighth round, delivered by a sequence of punches that were a thing of beauty. Garcia put together three punches, almost seamlessly. First, Gracia landed a left to Resendiz’s body. Then, he followed with a right to the body. Then, there was the finishing touch, a right to the head. It was all done with a certain rhythm that ended in Resendiz crashing to the canvas.

About 30 seconds later, referee Tony Weeks saw a dazed and defenseless Resendiz. Wisely, Weeks ended it at 2:33 of the eighth round of a fight that included a statement, punctuated by three perfectly delivered punches that summed up Garcia’s potential.   

Frank Sanchez wins fourth-round stoppage

Frank Sanchez has more than just heavyweight power. He’s a quick thinker.

He had to be against Scott Alexander Saturday night on the Caneo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo card Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Alexander (17-6-2, 9 KOs) of Los Angeles, quicky showed that he was more than just another opponent. He threw a head-rocking right hand, a wake-up call in the first round 

Sanchez’ response was immediate. The merging contender from Cuba countered with his own right, staggering Alexander with a blow that delivered a preview of what was to come. 

In the second round, Sanchez (23-0 16 KOs) knocked down Alexander. In the fourth, he did it again. But this one finished Alexander, who was slow to get up and wobbly when he did, a loser by TKO late in the fourth

Gausha wins majority decision

Terrell Gausha took another step  toward turning his loss to Tim Tszyu into a fading memory.

He beat KeAndrae Leatherwood.

But it wasn’t easy.

Gausha (24-3-1, 12 KOs) a middleweight from Cleveland, found himself caught up in a slow-paced bout with an awkward Leatherwood (39-1, 13 KOs), of Tuscaloosa AL, in an eight-round middleweight bout on the card featuring Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo.

A cautious Leatherwood was content to hold , but never engage Gausha. That made the fight hard to score.

Gausha, an Olympian who lost a unanimous decision to Tszyu in March 2022, won a majority decision. He was a 78-74 winner on two cards. The third judge scored it a draw.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk back with quick KO

Former light-heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk says he’s ready for Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

He won’t get an argument from Isaac Rodrigues.

In his third comeback fight this year, Gvozdyk (20-1, 15 KOs) continued to work on restoring his world-class skills with crushing second round knockout of Rodrigues (28-5, 22 KOs) in the the third fight on the Canelo-Charlo undercard, Gvozdyk, a Ukrainian, is working his way back after he retired following a punishing loss to Beterbiev in October 2019 in Philadelphia.

Rodrigues’ 22 stoppages suggested that he might be dangerous. He wasn’t. Midway through the second, Gvozdyk, who calls himself “The Nail”, hammered him with a couple of precise punches. Rodrigues, of Brazil, had to be helped out of the ring. Middleweights fight to forgettable draw

It was a draw. Dull,too

A crowd might been bored by a forgettable middleweight bout between Abilkhan Amankul (4-0-1, 4 KOs), of Kazakhstan, and Joeshen James (7-0-2, 4 KOs) , of Sacramento, in the second bout on the Canelo-Charlo card. But there was nobody at T-Mobile to bore.

One card favored Amankul, 39-37. On the other two, it  was, yawn 38-38.

First Bell: Canelo-Charlo card opens with crushing KO

Call it a power lunch.

Gabriel Valenzuela brought all the power, He opened the show about six hours before the Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo main event Saturday. He dropped Yeis Gabriel Solano three times. Nobody noticed.That’s because nobody was there for the matinee opener to a 12 fight card at T-Mobile Arena.

It was over when Valenzuela (27-3-1, 17 KOs), of Mexico, sent Solano (15-3, 10 KOs), of Colombia, crashing onto the canvas, a knockout victim at 2:33 of the sixth round. An unconscious Solano remained on the canvas, surrounded by echoes, for several seconds until hs cornermen helped up and out of the ring.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – It was only a show, but a big audience saw plenty.

Canelo Alvarez promises he’s back and – at first glance – it looks as if he’s not kidding.

Canelo stepped on the scale for a staged weigh-in Friday, looking a lot like the old Canelo, or at least the one who dominated pay-per-view sales and pound-for-pound debates before his upset loss to Dmitry Bivol.

Canelo’s work in the gym was evident in a redefined upper-body. Only after opening bell Saturday against Jermell Charlo will anybody know whether Canelo has redefined his career.

But a sculpted look was a sign he’s serious about halting an apparent decline that began with a scorecard loss to Bivol at light-heavyweight and continued with forgettable victories at super-middle-weight over Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder.

“The size factor is no matter here,” said Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs), the undisputed super-middleweight champion said after stepping off the scale a day before opening bell for his bout at T-Mobile Arena with Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), undisputed at junior middle.  “I did that before and I felt good. So, it’s gonna be a great fight, and I’m ready for anything.’’

Both fighters were lighter than the super-middle mandatory, 168 pounds. Both were reported to be at 167.4 pounds at an official, Nevada State Athletic Commission weigh-in Friday morning behind closed doors at the MGM Grand.

A few hours later, they moved outdoors and onto a stage at an outdoor pavilion in front of T-Mobile. A big crowd was waiting. So were the beer vendors.

It was 96 degrees under an afternoon sun in the Nevada desert. The fighters did the sweating and some of the swearing.

“I’m a bad m-effer,’’ Charlo said.

The crowd did the drinking.

It also did the cheering, all for Canelo. Nobody is quite sure what had happened to him, post-Bivol. For a crowd full of the Canelo faithful, however, Friday’s show re-affirmed hopes that he’s back.

Betting odds suggest that he will be against Charlo on a Showtime pay-per-view card (5 pm PT/8 pm ET).

Late Friday, Canelo continued to be about a 4-to-1 favorite over Charlo, who is jumping up two weight classes. In his first fight at 168, there are questions about whether Charlo can endure Canelo’s punching power throughout the scheduled 12 rounds.

There’s also speculation about the condition of Charlo’s left hand. He suffered a reported fracture in the hand last December, eventually forcing him to withdraw from a key date with Tim Tszyu.

“I don’t speak on those things because, I don’t want to make an excuse for myself,” Charlo said to reporters Wednesday after the final news conference. “I want to go in there and be a dog.”

Also, Charlo has not been the non-stop trash talker most fans remember and expect. The bad m-effer has almost been polite. In part, he says, that’s because he hasn’t been around his notorious twin brother, Jermall Charlo.

“Just don’t got that noise in my head,’’ he said.

No noise, no chance? That’s just one question for a fight that on Friday, at least, hinted at an answer in some redefined body language from Canelo Alvarez. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Process and patience, routine and roadwork are at the beginning of any young fighter’s career. Jesus Ramos has done them all. Does them all. He’s made the weight and run the miles. The demanding lifestyle never changes a whole lot. Cheat the routine and you cheat the craft.

Ramos, a quiet 22-year-old, practices that craft, one he learned in the desert town of Casa Grande between Phoenix and Tucson. It’s a farming community known for some ancient Native American ruins. Mostly, it’s known for unforgiving summers. Phoenix is hot. Casa Grande is hell.

Ramos has emerged from that cauldron, tempered by an environment as unforgiving as his chosen profession. Try and cheat the desert at midday in July, and it’ll kill you. Cheat the craft, and it’ll beat you.

Place and profession, they are inseparable in Ramos, a fighter who seems to have an innate understanding of who he is, what he wants and what he can and can’t control in a game ruled by chaos. Break it all down, and it leaves only himself.

Perceptions change. Popularity moves up and down like mercury in thermometer. For Ramos, however, there’s the process, ongoing and now on the brink of another challenge Saturday night against experienced junior-middleweight contender Erickson Lubin in the co-main event on a Showtime pay-per-view card featuring Canelo Alvarez-versus-Jermell Charlo at T-Mobile Arena.

“I’m here to showcase my talent,’’ said Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs, who made weight Friday, tipping the scale at 153.4 pounds. “I’ve seen a lot of people say that I don’t have a lot of ring IQ.

“So, I’m looking to show that and other dimensions to my game. It’s going to be a new Jesus Ramos. It’s not really about exposing Lubin, but more about exposing my talent.’’

The new Jesus Ramos? More like the evolving Jesus Ramos. He’s just figuring out how good he is. He was called a prospect just a few months ago.  

“Now, I think of myself as a contender,’’ he said.

So, too, does everybody else. His sudden emergence is the reason he’s featured in the last fight on the pay-per-view (5 pm PT/8 pm PT) before the Canelo-Charlo show. There’s a sense, a buzz about Ramos. He looks as if he’s the real deal, a future star in a game searching for new blood.

It’s appropriate, perhaps, that he’s on a card expected measure whether the game’s long-reigning star, Canelo, has begun to fade. That, however, is just one of the many things Ramos can’t control. He can only beat Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs), who was also at 153.4 pounds Friday.

Lubin praises Ramos. But he also warns that the Arizona fighter is getting ahead of himself in so-called eliminator bout expected to earn the winner a shot at a junior-middleweight title.

Lubin, now 27, was once a young lion. He was 22, confident and very sure of himself. But that’s when Charlo beat him, knocking him out in October 2017. History, Lubin promises, is about to repeat itself.

“I took the Jermell Charlo fight at 22 and Jesus Ramos is doing the same thing, daring to be great by fighting somebody like me,’’ Lubin said. “I know he comes ready to fight, but I feel history repeats itself in my favor.’’

Ramos doesn’t exactly think in terms of history. He’ll leave that to Canelo. For him, it’s more about the resume. He needs an impressive entry, one that would qualify him for a job, a role as a challenger for a middleweight title.

“It’s really important that I dominate, because Lubin is so tough’’ Ramos said. “He’s given guys like Stephen Fundora a lot of trouble. It would be a big statement, a big win for my resume.’’

It’d also be another answer to questions about Ramos’ IQ, within the ropes and outside of them. He’s always learning, a fundamental part of a never-ending process forged by place and profession.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Rounds in the gym are done.

Thursday, it was time for rounds – and more rounds — with the media for Elijah Garcia, who has moved swiftly through the prospect stage and graduated into a contender.

That graduation was confirmed by his promoter Tom Brown during an undercard news conference for Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo fight at T-Mobile Arena.

Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast begins with Garcia (15-0, 12 KOs) against Armando Resendiz (14-1, 10 KOs) n a fight expected to do more than just warm up the audience with an opening act.

Brown expects it to create possibilities. Garcia-versus-Resendiz is a step toward a New Year.

“The winner of this fight will fight for a middleweight world title in 2024,’’ Brown said in introductory remarks in a crowded ballroom at the MGM Grand.

That, perhaps, wasn’t news to Garcia, one of two Arizona fighters on a pay-per-view card including Casa Grande junior-middleweight Jesus Ramos against Erickson Lubin in the co-main event.

Brown’s promotional plan aligns with Garcia’s goal to be a 21-year-old world champion.

It’s ambitious. Garcia is 20. He’ll be 21 next year, still an apprentice in a lot of other crafts. But that apprenticeship looks to be another completed round in Garcia’s emerging resume. Garcia’s career is taking off in terms of name-recognition and possibilities.

But all contenders are enrolled in the next step, a kind of finishing school for champions. The burden of proof is always there. What have you done for me lately?

Now, it’s up to Garcia to deliver that proof, that answer, against a 24-year-old fighter known for his toughness.

“I know Armando comes in shape, and he’s really strong,’’ said Garcia, who grew up in Phoenix and has a ranch in Wittman. “He throws a lot of punches, so I have to control the pace.

“You saw in his last fight what happens when he controls the pace. So, I’m definitely not going to let that happen.’’

Garcia is cool and confident. Both are there in his demeanor, whether at work within the ropes or on a stage with reporters. Both also are signs of an emerging craftsman ready for his next job. He’s prepared for the punches. And prepared for the questions.

He’s learning. Always learning, a task that ends only for former champions. From prospect to aspiring champion, one thing never changes. The student always has to be there.

“I try to choose the best opponent every time,’’ the student in Garcia said. “Armando was on the top of the list, because he’s gonna give me the experience I need. He’s gonna prepare me for the world title. I want to get better, each and every fight.’’

There’s only way to do that. The perennial student isn’t afraid of a lesson plan that includes some honest self-criticism.

“I don’t think my last performance was my best,’’ he said. “I started a little slow. But I’m gonna prove that I’ve got more experience than I showed.

“I’m a new class fighter and I’m gonna show I’m on a different level.’’’

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – It’s a fight at the crossroads.

Canelo’s crossroads.

Where it’ll take him is just about anybody’s guess. There’s right. There’s left. And there’s nowhere, or at least no more. Canelo Alvarez has answered 63 opening bells over the last 18 years.

The 64^th is significant, but not for the way it’ll sound. Canelo has been answering opening bells the way the rest of the world answers its morning alarm. They’ve been his lifestyle, his 9-to-5 routine. It’s hard to imagine what he’d do – who he’d be – without one.

But Jermell Charlo is there, promising to end the only thing Canelo has ever known Saturday night in a Showtime pay-per-view bout at T-Mobile Arena. Charlo looms as an unlikely threat to undo that Canelo identity.

Canelo, perhaps, will prove just how unlikely. All the documented data suggests that’s what will happen.

Charlo, an undisputed champion at junior-middleweight, is jumping up two weight classes in a bid to upset Canelo, undisputed at super-middle.

Charlo has been idle for more than a year. Above all, he’s never been subjected to the pressures that accompany the kind of stage occupied by Canelo for so long.

“He’s gonna feel it,’’ Canelo said at a news conference Wednesday in a crowded ball room at the MGM Grand. “It’s hard to explain it, but it’s just something different. He’s not used to being in there with a fighter like me.’’

That begs a question, one that served as something of a promotional theme ever since the fight was announced in the summer months.

After all of those opening bells and subsequent punishment, just who is Canelo? The same fighter he believes himself to be? Still the aggressive finisher who stopped a then-feared Sergey Kovalev in the 11^th round in November 2019?

Or is he at the end? It’s too easy to suggest that Canelo’s career is at the precipice. Still, there are signs he’s preparing for life after he answers that last bell. He’s selling his own brand, VMC, of Tequila cocktails. In and around his hometown, Guadalajara, he has his own line of gas stations, Canelo Energy.

Energy, of course, is one of the factors in Canelo’s perceived decline. Over his last three fights, there’s just been none of it in the late rounds. By the seventh or eighth, Canelo is running on empty.

Maybe, it’s just been a question of conditioning or injuries, especially to his left hand.The hand, he said, is fine, back to what it was following surgery.

But if that energy crisis continues Saturday night, the career is problematic.

Potentially, it could put a fatigued Canelo in jeopardy against a fighter, Charlo, who is known for staging the late assault. Charlo, a lot like possible Canelo foe David Benavidez, gets on a roll over the final three to four rounds

Canelo promises he’ll have the right counter to whatever Charlo plans to deliver.

“I never overlook any fighter,’’ said Canelo, who switched up his usual routine with a training camp at altitude in the Nevada mountains near Reno. “I know what he brings and I’m ready.

“I’ve been in there with all types of fighters. He hasn’t experienced this kind of level of fight. You will see and you will learn.’’

Throughout Wednesday’s newer, there were moments when he sounded like the fighter known worldwide today as simply Canelo. He finds motivation. He uses it. He remembers Charlo for criticism of his skillset.

“He never believed in my skills.” he said. “…Now, I have the opportunity to show my skills.’’

Charlo, known for crazy trash talk earlier in his career, has said little to annoy Canelo. If anything, the Houston fighter has been cautiously complimentary. Wednesday’s news conference was notable for all the slurs that weren’t said and all the shoves that were deliver. By boxing standards, it was polite.

Only a lion might complain.

Charlo likes to think of himself in lion-like terms. They are lionized, stitched across the front of  his caps and shirts.

“I’m an effing lion,’’ he roared during the news conference.

Canelo smiled.

“I don’t know what animal I need to be,’’ he said.

Probably the animal he used to be.    

Depending on the pundit doing the autopsy, Canelo Alvarez is – or isn’t — in decline.

It’s a story line that has become Canelo’s motivation and almost a theme for the promotion of his Sept. 30 date with Jermell Charlo on Showtime pay-per-view at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Canelo has endured his share of controversy. But not much adversity. Within the ropes, at least, he’s never been knocked down. Some believe those same ropes saved him from a trip to the canvas in 2010, Canelo, then 19, rebounded, bouncing off ropes at Vegas’ MGM Grand like a projectile from a slingshot.

A first-round assault from Jose Cotto, Miguel Cotto’s brother, put him there, in peril yet never finished.  He went on to win a ninth-round stoppage. It was a moment that summed up a career with few missteps.

Since then, nobody has been able to knock him off his feet. Not Gennadiy Golovkin. Not Floyd Mayweather. Not Dmitry Bivol.

Through 63 fights, Canelo has remained upright, always surefooted, throughout nearly two decades in a place full of chaos, cheap shots, slick spots and accidents.

Boxing is a sucker for the drama that transpires when a fighter gets up, off the deck to win. Yet, it has never seen Canelo in that moment. He loses. But he never falls.

Yet, an evident decline, starting with a scorecard loss to Bivol in May 2022, has fellow fighters, rival trainers and pundits wondering whether Canelo’s career is where he was 13 years ago: Off-balance and held up by only the ropes.

Maybe. A week before opening bell, time looms as a bigger question than Charlo. For Canelo, age is only a number on his birth certificate. He’s 32, still standing and squarely within the middle of the traditional window defined as prime time.

Instead, the relevant measure is 18 years. That’s how long he’s been a prizefighter, swapping punches and punishment for paychecks.

He’s been there, in harm’s way, longer than Aaron Rodgers, whose 17 years as an NFL quarterback suffered a career-threatening injury to an Achilles tendon a few weeks ago in the opening moments of his debut with the New York Jets.

Betting odds, at least, continue to suggest that Canelo will get his career off the metaphorical ropes this time with a victory over Charlo, whose power at junior-middleweight might not be there at super-middle.

As he has for the last couple of years, Canelo might tire in the later rounds. But everything in his long career says his durable defense will keep him there, throughout the scheduled 12 rounds. 

The prevailing bet is that the fight will go to the scorecards. But that leaves a prevailing question: Can Charlo win a decision? The promotional tag for the fight is Undisputed. Charlo is the undisputed champ at junior-middle; Canelo is undisputed at 168. There’s some fear that Undisputed will be a huge dispute if it goes to the judges.

Canelo, currently about a 4-to-1 favorite, figures to be the overwhelming favorite among fans in front of an expected capacity crowd at T-Mobile. 

Charlo can win, even if it’s close, but only if he forgets about the judges, says his former trainer, Ronnie Shields.

“That’s the biggest problem,’’ Shields said during a Zoom session with reporters. “But going in, you can’t think about that. Just go in to win rounds, round after round.

“Charlo has to make sure he wins rounds convincingly. You won’t win close rounds against Canelo.’’

Shields picks Charlo to win by split decision. Charlo, he says, has an edge, especially late.

“Charlo is one of the few fighters who holds his power throughout the whole fight.,’’ Shields said.” You don’t get too many of those.’’

You don’t get too many decisions over Canelo, either. For Charlo, the question is whether the power will be decisive enough – early or late – to do what no one else has: Knock down Canelo.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Microphones become megaphones. Humble turns to hype. If noise is a way to measure a fight, Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo is a biggie.

Opening bell is still a couple of weeks away, but the talk got a lot louder this week at media workouts, first with Charlo at home in Houston and then Canelo at altitude near Lake Tahoe.

Charlo turned it up a decibel or ten, saying that a victory over the favored Canelo on Sept. 30 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Showtime pay-per-view would ensure him of a place alongside the greats.

“If I accomplish this massive goal, it’ll be hard to top,’’ Charlo said on the live-stream. “I’ll be in the record book with the greats of boxing for a long time.”

Move over Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. Make room for a fifth King.

Charlo, undisputed champion at junior-middleweight, has never been shy, of course. He argues he’s already done enough to be in the Hall of Fame. I guess that means Dmitry Bivol is already in that book of greats and enshrined in the Canastota Hall. I mean, didn’t Bivol beat Canelo about 17 months ago?

In 21 fights, Bivol is unbeaten. In 37 bouts, Charlo has one loss and a draw. Bivol, a light heavyweight, can’t call himself undisputed, a claim defined by a so-called four-belt era. But who knows when four belts become five belts, then six belts? Belts, all attached to sanctioning fees, are like dollars. They’re inflationary.

Amid Charlo’s hyper-ventilating, however, there was a reflective moment.

“I would’ve fought Canelo years ago, and it probably wouldn’t have been as big as it is now,’’ he said.

The bout, at super-middleweight, is magnified in all ways by Canelo, undisputed at 168 pounds. There’s everything and everyone that the Mexican star and reigning pay-per-view draw brings to the ring. Now, there’s more. There’s evidence of a decline in Canelo’s career. It’s no secret

It’s a decline that started with – and because of — Bivol. Forgettable victories over Gennadiy Golovkin in a second rematch and journeyman John Ryder followed. Each of those only raised more questions. 

It all adds up to adversity Canelo hasn’t faced since his loss to Floyd Mayweather a decade ago. On Thursday, Mayweather’s scorecard victory happened exactly 10 years ago — Sept. 14 2013.

The Mayweather loss, however, happened when Canelo was young, 23. He isn’t anymore. He’s 33, a primetime age that really doesn’t reflect the punishment he’s endured. It’s been inevitable. Cumulative, too.

I thought of Canelo when I saw Aaron Rodgers tumble onto the turf Monday night with a torn Achilles tendon after only four snaps as the New York Jets new quarterback and long-awaited savior.

The 39-year-old Rodgers is a 17-year NFL veteran. Canelo, six years younger, has been boxing professionally for 18 years. Despite their difference in age, Rodgers and Canelo are old men on the career clocks that measure wear and tear in two dangerous sports.

At the moment of Rodgers’ injury, it almost looked incidental. But it wasn’t. It was potentially career ending, a symptom of the vulnerability almost built into the end of any long run. Only Father Time is unbeaten.

Time, more than Charlo, looks to be Canelo’s real challenge. He’s under contract with PBC for two more fights after Sept. 30.

He says he might fight until he’s 37. At camp Wednesday, he sounded like the vintage Canelo, the fighter who always arms himself with motivation that comes more from alleged insults than accurate punches.

Canelo said he remembers how Jermell and his twin brother, Jermall, questioned his ring skill about five years ago. He said this fight is a chance to prove them wrong.

“I never forget, no,’’ Canelo said.

Never is one thing Canelo and time have in common. It never stops.

By Norm Frauenheim –

History has always motivated Canelo Alvarez. He fights to make some. Now, it looks as if he’s fighting not to become some.

The 33-year-old Mexican, the pay-per-view star of his generation, enters the ring for the first bout in another rich deal in three weeks amid uncertainty about his career. What’s left?

Against Jermell Charlo on September 30 at Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena in a Showtime pay-per-view bout, the task is to reverse a decline that isn’t exactly a secret anymore. His fans have seen it. Those close to him talk about it. Only he can reverse it.

But skepticism is everywhere, enough of it to wonder whether Charlo can spring an upset that would raise inevitable questions about Canelo’s future.

Five years ago, Charlo wouldn’t have been perceived as a threat. The junior-middleweight, 154-pound champion is jumping up a couple of weight classes to face Canelo, who has all of the relevant belts at 168-pounds. Charlo has been idle for more than a year. His last fight was a stoppage of Brian Castano in May 2022. He’s spent his career at junior-middle.

Those are documented items on a resume that should make Canelo the overwhelming favorite. For now, they are still enough to persuade the betting public. When news of the fight was disclosed in July, most betting services had Canelo at minus-280, meaning there was a 69.7-percent chance of a Canelo victory.

A couple of months later, Canelo is at minus-310, meaning his chances at winning have improved to 75.2 percent.

Canelo has fought and won at heavier weights, including a defining late-round stoppage of once-feared Sergey Kovalev in 2019. He’s busier.

Yet, the uncertainty persists. It was there in a virtual news conference Wednesday with prominent trainers Ronnie Shields, Bob Santos, Calvin Ford and Robert Garcia, who like everybody else witnessed Canelo struggle through his last three fights.

There was the scorecard loss to light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, also in May 2022. A dull decision in a long-awaited third fight over Gennadiy Golovkin followed. Then, there was another forgettable decision over journeyman John Ryder.

When asked for a pick, there was a split decision from the trainers.

Shields picked Charlo. “I think, Jermell wins by split decision,’’ said Shields, his former trainer, who still trains his twin brother, Jermall.

Santos, the 2022 Ring Magazine’s Trainer of the Year, leans toward Canelo “55-45” in a fight he says will end in a KO.

Ford, Gervonta Davis’ trainer, didn’t pick a winner. Like Santos, however, he foresees a knockout. “Somebody is going to sleep,” Ford said. “I don’t know which one, but someone is going to sleep.”

Garcia, whose resume also includes Trainer of the Year, picks Canelo, yet foresees different scenarios in which either can win.  “This is a tough one to pick,’’ Garcia said. “If Canelo wins by knockout, I think it’s under eight rounds. Late rounds is where Charlo could actually stop Canelo. If it goes the distance, I think Canelo edges a decision.”

There’s consensus about only one thing: Charlo has a chance, mostly because nobody knows whether Canelo’s last three fights are an aberration or evidence of an irreversible decline.

A key to the younger Canelo’s emergence was a willingness to learn from defeat. He was a 23-year-old student when he was schooled by then 36-year-old Floyd Mayweather.

A decade later, there are questions about whether a long career has eroded Canelo’s physical capacity to learn and rebound from Bivol, only his second loss in 63 fights.

In an effort to resurrect the fighter who was there against Kovalev, Canelo has altered his preparation. He moved his training camp to the mountains near Reno. He’s working at altitude, a sign that he hopes to eliminate fatigue that was evident late in each of his last three fights.

“It’s gonna be one of those challenges that Canelo will need to be in top shape for,’’ Garcia said. “The size won’t matter. I’m pretty sure when it comes to fight night, they’ll be around the same weight. It’s gonna be very competitive and I can’t wait.

“Everyone says that Canelo is one of the hardest working fighters they’ve ever seen. But Canelo hasn’t looked that good his last couple of fights. That is a reason to give Charlo a really good chance. Charlo is not gonna hold back.

“You can train to the best of your abilities, but sometimes your body just doesn’t respond as well. Canelo may be training as hard as ever, but he’s had 18 years as a professional fighter.

“I still pick him to win the fight, but I don’t think it’s gonna be easy.’’

History never is.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Arizona’s early identity was once defined by a Chamber of Commerce kind of acronym – the five Cs – that stood for Copper, Cattle, Cotton, Citrus and Climate.

Somehow, Cactus, Canyons and Crazy – as in growth – got left out. Like AZ itself, however, it’s a changing acronym, which means at least one more C.

C, for Contenders.

That one might evolve to mean Champions, but that depends on David Benavidez, Jesus Ramos and Elijah Garcia.

Average age: 26.66 years old. Garcia, of Phoenix, is 20. Ramos, of Casa Grande, is 22. Benavidez, also of Phoenix, is 26, a senior only in terms of experience.

Time belongs to all three. Their prime approaches, a strong sign that the state’s emergence as a primetime boxing market will continue.

Phoenix likes to brag about its status as a major-league market. Add boxing – forever confined to the so-called fringe in other cities — to a list that includes the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL.

There are some questions about the NHL. At times, the Coyotes look as if they’ll melt away faster than ice in 120-degree heat. But boxing has moved into the arena that the Coyotes left.

It’s a working example of Rodney Dangerfield’s old joke, but with a twist. Went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out, Dangerfield cracked. The twist: The fight has replaced the hockey. At least, it has in Glendale.

At Desert Diamond Arena’s last card on August 12, Top Rank opened up some upper-level seats to accommodate the demand for Emanuel Navarrete’s dramatic decision over Oscar Valdez Jr. in a Fight-of-the-Year contender. More than 10,000 roared throughout 12 rounds of the junior-lightweight fight.

It was another sign of AZ’s place in real estate otherwise limited mostly to Las Vegas, New York and Los Angeles.

Multiple reasons explain the state’s emergence. The population has exploded, including the Mexican and Mexican-American dynamic, the key demographic in boxing’s fan base.

But there’s more. From Hall-of-Famer Michael Carbajal in the 1990s and Louie Espinoza, Zora Folley and Jimmy Martinez before him, boxing has always been part of AZ. Gyms dot the Phoenix landscape like potholes. There are heavy bags hanging from tree limbs in backyards. There are kids skipping rope on sidewalks outside of downtown barber shops. There are rings inside of old churches and abandoned storefronts.

Fifteen years ago, Benavidez, Ramos and Garcia were among those kids. They, like the market, have emerged, almost on parallel paths.

Of the three, Benavidez is the best known, mostly because of his long, still futile, pursuit of a showdown with Canelo Alvarez, the unified super-middleweight champion.

As of Thursday, Benavidez, who lives and trains in Seattle these days, was still in talks for a deal to fight Demetrius Andrade later this year.

Meanwhile, Benavidez, who fights with Phoenix stitched across the back belt of his trunks, can only continue to win while waiting on Canelo.

The Mexican pay-per-view star has a date with Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30. He’s also talking about a fight with welterweight Terence Crawford, who left no doubt about his pound-for-pound dominance in a stunning stoppage of Errol Spence Jr., a month ago.

Crawford, too, is talking about fighting Canelo at a catch weight. First, however, he’s obligated to fight Spence in a rematch.

As expected, Spence exercised his contractual right to a rematch, according to multiple reports Thursday.

No news yet on date or site. No news either on the weight. After Crawford’s one-sided victory at 147 pounds, Spence said he would want the rematch to be at 154.

Meanwhile, nobody is talking about Benavidez.

But, again, Benavidez has time. His prime awaits. Canelo or no Canelo, his future is still very much intact, probably at light-heavyweight. He says he’ll fight three more times at super-middleweight before moving up the scale in perhaps a goodbye to Canelo, whose primetime appears to be slip, slip-sliding away.

While Benavidez continues to train and hope for a big payday against Canelo, he and the AZ connection are sure to be there throughout the build-up for Canelo-Charlo.

Ramos and Garcia will make that angle inescapable. Both will be featured on the Showtime pay-per-view undercard – Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs) against contender Erickson Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) at junior-middleweight and Garcia (15-0, 12 KOs) against Armando Resendiz (14-1, 10 KOs) at middleweight.

Ramos and Garcia appeared together on the same stage Tuesday at a news conference in Los Angeles. For the first time, they’ll appear together on a PPV card.

For both, it’s another fight in a year that has brought them to prominence. Already, both are ranked among the top contenders by the various sanctioning bodies.

Ramos, currently as hot as any prospect in boxing, is ranked among the first five at 154 pounds.

Garcia, who continues to wear the 602 Phoenix area code across the front of his waistband, is among the top 10 at 160.

“This has been the biggest year of my life,’’ said Garcia, whose goal is to be a 21-year-old world champion “It’s been crazy, a snap of a finger and I’m blowing up.’’

For Ramos, Lubin represents another step in a process he hopes will further prepare him for his chance at a major title.

“I’m going to take a lot from fighting Lubin,’’ Ramos said. “After this fight, I’ll be a different fighter. …

“”Whatever I have to do to win, I’m ready for. I’m here to dominate. I want to make a statement, and in order to do that, I have to dominate. That’s the plan.’’

While watching Garcia and Ramos share a stage, I could only wonder whether they might share a ring one day, maybe on a card featuring Benavidez in his prime.

A lot more would have to happen for that one to become a plan and then an opening bell. Above all, they’d have to keep winning, enough for each to win a major belt. For now, at least, they’re close enough in weight.

From A to Z, they’re also products of a market place poised to add another champion or three to its legacy of Cs.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Oleksandr Usyk is going into a fight against Daniel Dubois while talking about Tyson Fury.

If that sounds confusing, it is.

Then again, this is the heavyweight division, often as exasperating as it is entertaining.

“I need him,’’ Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) said of Fury in an interview with the BBC just a week before risking his heavyweight titles against Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) Saturday (ESPN+, 5 pm ET/2 pm PT) in Wroclaw Poland, not far from Usyk’s war-torn home in the Ukraine.

Usyk is right, of course. No showdown with Fury leaves Usyk with an incomplete resume. At 36, there’s not much time left for Usyk to punctuate his career with the fight that could define a legacy. He wants to be remembered.

“People will talk about our fight for 20, 30, 40 years,’’ he said. “We need to fight.’’

The division, boxing’s old flagship, needs them to fight, too. But the inability to put together a deal is a many-layered sign that the unpredictable Fury just isn’t interested. He’s been there before. He came roaring back with a memorable trilogy against Deontay Wilder. The third fight was wild, a violent five-knockdown epic a couple of years ago.

Then, it was a celebration of what the heavyweight division was.

And still can be.

The inherent power was there. So, too, was the danger, the risk to both Fury, the winner, and to Wilder, the loser left on the canvas in an exhausted, broken heap midway through the eleventh. Loser and winner, each paid in ways still impossible to imagine.

Since then, Wilder has fought once, scoring a quick KO of Robert Helenius Now, he says he’s in talks with Anthony Joshua, who seems to be in a perpetual search to re-discover the guy who retired Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017.

Fury has fought twice, first scoring a sixth-round stoppage of Dillian Whyte and then a 10^th-round TKO of Derek Chisora. Both were as predictable as they were forgettable.

Now, Fury, still the World Boxing Council’s champion, has an off-beat bout scheduled with MMA power striker Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou will have Mike Tyson in his corner. But none of Evander Holyfield’s skill will be there.

For Fury, it’s another chance at some sports-wash money. It’s also a way to avoid another bout that would likely include a further toll, a physical price hard to calculate. Fury has said he suffered a couple of concussions against Wilder. Fury, of course, says a lot of things. He’s a lousy-lounge act. But the concussions are believable. Fury-Wilder 3 was a concussive fight for both.

Usyk, the best cruiserweight champion ever, is an undersized heavyweight, especially by today’s NBA-like standards. But his skillset is comprehensive and disciplined. The mindset is a mix, both fearless and clever. Combine skill and mind, and Usyk represents a real test of what’s left of Fury.

It’s not clear Fury wants to take that kind of risk anymore. He’s talked retirement. He even insisted that he was retired in 2022. That lasted for a few weeks. It was funny, but it also suggests he’s not sure whether he still wants to fight.

In part, that might explain why Usyk and Fury couldn’t agree to a 50-50 purse split for a fight in London. Usyk has three of the belts; Fury has one. Fifty-fifty sounds fair. But Fury reportedly demanded the lion’s share. When he didn’t get it, he cracked jokes, insults and then scheduled one of those awkward MMA-boxer bouts for money big enough to be a Phil Mickelson wager.

Usyk promoter Alexander Krassyuk told Boxing Social he will continue to pursue a fight with Fury. That, of course, hinges on an expected Usyk victory over Dubois. Usyk was at 220.9 pounds and Dubois at 233.2 at Friday’s weigh-in.

Krassyuk is confident the money will be there, probably in Saudi Arabia. But Fury’s willingness to risk belts, body and brain once more?

“That’s the only thing pending,’’ Krassyuk said. “If he’s ready, then he’s ready.

“If he’s not, then there’s nothing we can do about it and no money in the world can buy his consent.”