By Norm Frauenheim –

There were swimmers, gymnasts and skiers standing alongside Vladimir Putin in support of his war against the Ukraine last week in a Moscow rally.

There wasn’t a boxer among them, according to reports. But boxing’s absence doesn’t mean there won’t be an impact.

Dmitry Bivol wasn’t there.

Yet, it was hard not to think about the Russian light-heavyweight and his May Day date with Canelo Alvarez. Putin’s war is everywhere. It’s there when buying a tank of gas. It’s there in tears and trauma, 24-7, on the television news. There’s no refuge, no place to hide from it all.

Business-as-usual is an illusion. Still, it’s been brisk, at least it has been for boxing. Tickets for Canelo-Bivol on May 7 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena sold out within the first day they went up for sale this week.

For now, at least, Bivol has sidestepped the escalating wave of controversy and sanctions. When the prizefight was announced, he was careful to say that he wasn’t political. He said all the right things. But words aren’t a rhetorical vaccine against getting swept up in it all.

Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, already on record with his opposition to letting Bivol fight, added some fuel to the fire this week with an impassioned video on social media. He didn’t mention Bivol this time. He didn’t have to.

Waldimir stood alongside his brother-in-arms and another ex-heavyweight champ, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and condemned the Russians, saying that the “Ukraine is not a battlefield, it is a crime scene.’’

Quit funding the crime, he then said.

“Stop doing business with Putin’s Russia, because every dollar buys them ammunition,’’ he said. “… Every cent going into the Russian budget is going today to killing our men, women and children.’’

That begs a question: Will any of Bivol’s purse go to the Russians? As a Russian citizen with a family in Saint Petersburg, he pays Russian taxes. According to reports when the bout was announced last month, Bivol is guaranteed $2 million. His final paycheck could grow to $4-million, depending on the pay-per-view sales. If the quick sellout of T-Mobile is a sign, there’s a pretty good chance that the PPV will be strong enough to double Bivol’s payday.

International sanctions limiting Russian access to banks and dollars might stop Russia from getting a share.

There’s an argument that Bivol should be allowed to fight. Fair enough. Citizenship shouldn’t be enough to keep any athlete off the track, out the water and out of the ring. Bivol appears to be a quiet craftsman. He’s not making any noise. He’s staying apolitical. But war, the money and his Russian citizenship won’t allow him to be neutral in what could be one of the most watched prizefights of the year.

For one thing, the Klitschko Brothers will continue to campaign against all things Russian. They are committed, compelling and comfortable in front of the camera.

Then, there are mounting sanctions against Russian athletes. Don’t confuse Bivol with any who stood with Putin at the Moscow rally. They were wearing the Z that is supposed to be a sign of support for his war. We keep hearing that Z is not in the Russian alphabet. Neither is a swastika.

They have identified themselves, front and center, as targets for the terror the Klitschko Brothers are fighting. But there’s more than one symbol that ties Bivol to them. There’s the dollar $ign.  

A swimmer, Evgeny Rylov, got an endorsement deal with Speedo after the backstroker won two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. Speedo terminated the contract Wednesday after video surfaced of him on stage with Putin.

“Any outstanding sponsorship fees will be donated to the United Nations,’’ Speedo said in a formal statement, perhaps precedent for a prizefight.

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s a busy schedule. Ambitious, too.

Showtime announced nine cards over five months on a spring-to-summer series that includes 21 unbeaten fighters, seven championship fights and a lot of the same old questions.

The ambition is to get some of the answers, never simple in a balkanized business plagued by noisy feuds and defined by its inherent divisiveness.

Search for logic at your own peril.

But that’s what Stephen Espinoza, Showtime President of Sports and Programming, is seeking.

Espinoza wants to give fans “a sense of logic,’’ he said Tuesday in announcing a schedule that kicks off next week Saturday (March 26) with legend Kostya Tszyu’s son Tim (20-0, 15 KOs) against former U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs) in a junior-middleweight fight at The Armory in Minneapolis      

Boxing and logic don’t belong in the same sentence. Not even in the same universe. Together, they create a classic oxymoron. Put it this way: Peace on earth is more likely than logic in boxing. If there was any, we would have already seen Terence Crawford-versus-Errol Spence Jr. and Canelo Alvarez-versus-David Benavidez.

But give Espinoza credit, or at least some sympathy. The logic he hopes to find will be a product of organization. In other words, he hopes fans can follow a telecast schedule like some sort of blueprint, a road map to title fights.

Under today’s chaos-as-usual model, title fights between Belt Holder and Who’s He just seem to appear, then vanish. Too many fighters have only a record and no name recognition. Their path to a title fight is a mystery. It hard to follow, which is a sure way to lose fans. There’s no way for them to sustain interest.

Trouble is, the messy web is there in large part because of the feuding   promotional entities and dizzy array of acronyms – all with sanctioning fees and mandatories. It’d be nice if it could be cleaned up and sorted out. But the business only knows chaos. There’s no simple tournament-like bracket to sum it all up.

At least, somebody is trying. But Espinoza’s mission looks quixotic. From this corner, logic is the longest of long shots.

At this point, a Crawford fight against Spence looks to be as elusive as ever. Still, there will be plenty of talk about it before Showtime’s biggest card, an interesting pay-per-view bout on April 16 between Spence and Yordenis Ugas on the Cowboys home field in Arlington, Tex. Ugas emerged with a stunning upset of Manny Pacquiao in August. Ugas was a late stand-in for Spence, who suffered an eye injury.

There are questions about Spence. We just haven’t seen enough of him since his scary auto accident in October 2019. Ugas might prove to be better than anybody thought. He also might be emboldened by his victory over Pacquiao. Maybe, Ugas has a chance at springing another upset. Whoever the winner, however, there’s still no clear path to logic, which is another way of saying Crawford, still a promotional free agent.

Another intriguing bout on the Showtime card involves David Benavidez on May 21 in his second straight appearance in hometown Phoenix. He faces faded David Lemieux. It promises to be another moment in evolution of Benavidez, still only 25 years old. His body is growing. So is his fan base. But his campaign to fight Canelo has been going nowhere. Don’t look for that to change.

Canelo has a DAZN deal, first to fight Russian light-heavyweight Dmitry Bivol on May 7 in a step that could lead to a third bout with Gennadiy Golovkin, who first has to beat Ryota Murata in Japan.

“Obviously, David Benavidez is angling for the biggest fight,’’ Espinoza said. “But this is the next best thing.’’

The next best thing is only good if it leads to the fights that frustrated fans want. There’s plenty to like about Showtime’s schedule. There’s a heavy investment in the junior-middleweights, first with Tim Tzsyu and Gausha. Then there’s a rematch of Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano on May 14 in southern California at a site to be determined.

But logic? For now, that’s still elusive as ever.

By Norm Frauenheim–

Dmitry Bivol doesn’t look like collateral damage. Not yet, anyway. But the controversy, if not the possibility, is there. Wladimir Klitschko made sure of it.

Bivol, a Russian light-heavyweight champion, should not be allowed to fight Canelo Alvarez, Klitschko told UK media in a condemnation of Russia and its ongoing attack of Ukraine, the former heavyweight champion’s homeland.

His blunt comments are not a surprise. He and brother Vitali, mayor of Kyiv and also a former heavyweight champ, are just a few of the prominent faces engaged in a desperate fight. Wladimir, soldier and statesman, wants a boycott of all things Russian.

Right now, that means Bivol. The light-heavyweight is a current face, a Russian symbol, of what the Klitschkos and their fellow Ukrainians believe the world should boycott.

Bivol’s deal to fight Canelo, the world’s wealthiest and best-known boxer, was formally announced last week.  Bivol can’t escape the timing. Perhaps, it’s just coincidence. But the timing of the deal and Klitchko’s subsequent comments put him in the crosshairs.

In interviews with BBC 5 Live Radio and London tabloid The Mirror, Klitschko likened a ban on Bivol to another sanction on Russia.

“Every sanction – and it’s nothing against the personalities or athletes, it’s about the politics of Russia,’’ Klitschko told BBC. “Every Russian representative in this case needs to be sanctioned, because this way we show to Russia that the world is against his senseless war and there is no good in this war.”

In other words: Don’t buy Russian oil, don’t let Russians use ATMS, don’t let them eat Big Macs, sink the oligarch yachts and don’t watch Bivol.

For promoter Eddie Hearn and Canelo, the aforementioned watch – as in watch DAZN’s pay-per-view telecast on May 7 – looms as perhaps the real threat, some collateral damage to the biggest boxing promotion this year.

The deal is done. Business, as it always has in boxing, moves on, no matter what. Muhammad Ali-George Foreman, 1974’s fabled Rumble in the Jungle, happened in dictator Mobutu’s country, then Zaire. Ali-Joe Frazier 3, 1975’s Thrilla In Manila, happened under strongman Ferdinand Marcos’ rule.

More tyranny from Vladimir Putin probably won’t stop the fight. But it might make at least some people in the projected audience think twice about paying $79.98 for the PPV. Nothing about Putin War is pretty. Ugly is the only word for it. Wall-to-wall coverage on cable networks is full of tears, trauma, rubble and blood. An end to the carnage is not in sight.

The sports world is reacting. The NBA’s Utah Jazz just announced it will fund 32,000 nights of housing for Ukrainian refugees. Expect more of the same. Maybe, the Canelo-Bivol promotion can do something similar. But that won’t silence the controversy over Bivol’s appearance on a card that could earn him a reported $4 million, more than four times bigger than his biggest payday.

He seems to be a nice guy. He’s quiet. He was born in Kyrgyzstan. He has lived in Russia most of his life. He has family in Saint Petersburg. He tried to say all the right things last week at the newser in San Diego. He said he has friends in Ukraine. He said he has friends in Russia.

“I wish everyone peace and only the best,’’ Bivol said. “It’s really sad for me. Every day, I wake up and read the news. I hope this ends soon.”

It’s a dilemma, one that Bivol didn’t seek. But there’s no hoping it just goes away. There’s also no way to pacify both sides. The Klitschko brothers stand as a lesson and also a warning, at least to the Russians. They won’t quit. 

It was hard not to notice Thursday that the Ukrainians destroyed a Russian tank column, a reported regiment, in Brovary, a suburban town about 10 miles east of Kyiv. It’s the same town where Wladimir Klitschko first learned how to box at Brovary Olympic Reserve School in the late 1980s.

Those burning tanks are a warning.

So, too, are Klitschko’s words.

So, too, are pound-for-pound contenders Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk, both symbols of Ukraine’s inexhaustible will to fight. Lomachenko and Usyk are still in the middle of brilliant ring careers. Lomachenko was projected to fight unified lightweight champion George Kambosos in Australia. Usyk was working toward a rematch of his heavyweight stunner over Anthony Joshua.

Lomachenko was training in the Greek islands. Usyk was in the UK. Then, Putin attacked. Their lives changed. But their priorities did not. They enlisted in the fight to save their homeland.

It’ll be impossible not to think about their real fight while watching Bivol in a prize fight.

By Norm Frauenheim –

The deal is done, all nine figures of it, without any chance that Canelo Alvarez will face David Benavidez over the next year.

It’s not a surprise. It’s more of a pattern. Months ago, Canelo and his trainer, Eddy Reynoso, were clear that their plans did not include Benavidez.

If not now, when?

It’s an unanswered question. The pressure is on Benavidez to provide an answer.  Canelo put it there, squarely on his young shoulders, in interviews after Canelo’s May 7 date with light-heavyweight Dmitry Bivol on May 7 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena was formally announced Wednesday.

Canelo repeated his mantra about his pursuit of history. He suggested there was no chance at making some against Benavidez or Jermall Charlo. He suggested that they needed to fight each other.

Mostly, he said they needed to bring more to the table in terms of legacy, a word that is at the cornerstone of the marketing for the Canelo-Bivol bout, the first in a rich Matchroom deal expected to lead to a third Canelo fight with Gennadiy Golovkin.

On the virtual fight poster, it says “Legacy Is Earned.’’ In social media, it comes with a hashtag, #legacyisearned. Intentional or not, the message to Benavidez and Charlo is that they haven’t earned enough of it.

“They have nothing to offer,’’ Canelo told reporters after the Bivol bout was announced at a news conference in San Diego. “I just want to make history, and they have nothing to offer me.’’

Canelo’s kind of history, of course, is attached to more than a hashtag. There’s a dollar sign, a very big one. According to some reports, the deal for perhaps three fights is worth $160 million.

That’s a lot of legacy, enough to be a powerful factor in any calculation of the risk-to-reward ratio.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. perfected it.

Canelo learned it.

It’s impossible to understand Canelo’s career without his loss to Mayweather on Sept. 14, 2013 at Vegas’ MGM Grand. The loss was a lesson, on both sides of the ropes for Canelo, who was 23 – two years younger than Benavidez – when he lost a decision to Mayweather.

In the eight-plus years since then, Canelo has evolved as a boxer. And a businessman. He has succeeded Mayweather at the top of the game because of what he learned from him.

There are two fundamentals: Knowing who to fight. And when to fight him.

It’s no coincidence that Canelo has waited until GGG turned 40 before a second rematch of their two controversial bouts, the first a draw and the second a Canelo victory by majority decision.

Assuming GGG beats Ryota Murata on April 9 in Japan, he’ll face Canelo, still well within his prime. He’ll turn 32 on July 18. Insert the respective ages to the risk-to-reward equation, and GGG looks less risky than a 25-year-old Benavidez, especially for a payday that could exceed $50 million.

Put it this way: Who would you fight? Dumb question. It’s GGG every time.

It’s hard to see how the emerging Benavidez ever gets included in Canelo’s application of the risk-reward ratio. Benavidez, expected to fight Canadian David Lemieux in May perhaps in hometown Phoenix, is just entering his prime. He’ll be 30 in five years. By then, Canelo might have moved from the gym to the golf course for good.

Benavidez might be to Canelo what Antonio Margarito was to Mayweather. Mayweather never fought Margarito. That’s not because he couldn’t beat him. He could. He probably would have. But it would have been a very tough fight. Margarito was tough and aggressive. He was dangerous. Manny Pacquiao beat him, scoring a one-sided decision in November 2010 on the Dallas Cowboys’ home field in Arlington, Tex.

But Pacquiao got hurt by a huge body shot midway through the bout from Margarito. It took something from Pacquiao. The Filipino great was never quite the same fighter, so relentless and fearless early in his pro career.

Pacquiao won. But he paid a price. Mayweather wouldn’t go there. A likely victory wasn’t worth the potential cost.

It looks as if Canelo sees Benavidez the same way. Canelo would probably beat him. But Benavidez’ size, high volume of punches and relentless pursuit could take a toll. The risk is a steep price, one not worth it on a scale that has rewarded Canelo with Mayweather-like money. 

By Norm Frauenheim-

Josh Taylor has always hoped a castle would be in his future. He likes history. Mostly, he likes making some.

The castle will have to wait. But another chance at history is close. It might be there Saturday after Taylor’s first bout in his native Scotland in more than four years. He defends his unified junior-welterweight title against somebody named Jack Catterall, known only in the UK.

Despite an unbeaten record, Catterall’s anonymity says a lot about what Taylor is expected to do. A win is almost assumed. He won’t say that. Not exactly.   

“How is he going to win?” Taylor asked Thursday at a news conference.

Taylor then went on to answer his own question. It was an answer that also included what Scottish fans expect.

“…This isn’t a one-sided fight,’’ he said. “It’s my job to make it a one-sided fight.’’

If that task gets done as thoroughly as the betting odds suggest, it’ll be definitive. Actually, it’ll be a lot more than that. On Thursday, Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) was a 20-to-1 favorite over Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs). Translation: He’d have to trip and fall into a moat to lose this one.

This fight itself has the feel of a homecoming parade. Taylor returns with all the relevant belts – WBO, WBC, WBA, IBF and The Ring. He’s the second Scottish fighter to win an undisputed title since lightweight great Ken Buchanan.

The only complaint, perhaps, is the setting. The bout (ESPN+, Sky Sports, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT) will happen at the OVO Hydro arena in Glasgow. No moat there. It has none of the magic of that castle, the one on a hilltop in Edinburgh about eight miles from Prestonpans, a mining town where Taylor grew up.

Taylor has long fantasized about a summer fight on a lawn in front of the castle or somewhere within the medieval walls. He talked about the possibility after taking possession of the belts in a decision over Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas last May. He talked about it before his long-awaited showdown with Ramirez. But there was no place at the roundtable for one of boxing’s royalty.

“I’m beginning to get to the point of telling them just to ram it,’’ Taylor told The Herald, a Glasgow newspaper, before his two-knockdown victory over Ramirez at Vegas’ Virgin Hotels. “It’s beyond me why the people at the castle don’t want to have one of their natives and have a massive historical event there.

“Yet they’ll let Lady Gaga or someone go up there and have a concert. It’s beyond me, the logic.’’

But history is not beyond him. There’s plenty of talk that his homecoming is also his goodbye to the junior-welterweight division. A jump up the scale makes sense. There’s not much else he can do at 140 pounds. Other than The Ring’s version, the acronym-sponsored titles come up with a succession of mandatories and sanctioning fees. That’s what Catterall is. He’s the WBO’s mandatory challenger.

In a move to welterweight, Taylor moves up to challenges he has long envisioned. He has talked about Terence Crawford for a couple of years. At 5-10, he’s two inches taller than Crawford. At 31, he’s four years younger. It’s time.

The problem is Crawford’s lawsuit against his former promoter, Bob Arum, Taylor’s current promoter. It was filed not long after Crawford’s November stoppage of Shawn Porter in a victory that enhanced his pound-for-pound credentials in the ongoing debate with Canelo Alvarez, still No. 1 in most rankings.

Crawford alleges racism, among other things. As long as the lawsuit is pending, the inflammatory allegations aren’t exactly a way of bringing Arum to the bargaining table.

Still, Taylor, who argues that Crawford – not Canelo –is pound-for-pound No. 1, believes the fight could happen. He has mentioned Crawford several times throughout the media tour for the Catterall bout.

The lawsuit, Taylor told FightHype.com “is a bit of an obstacle. But I still believe it’s a very doable fight. We’re both sort of in the same house. It looks like it can be made. I think it can be made.’’

Crazier things have been made in boxing, where today’s enemy is tomorrow’s business partner. The hostility between Crawford and Arum could be part of the promotion. Bad blood sells.

There are other possibilities. Taylor has also mentioned Errol Spence Jr. and Yordenis Ugas, who are scheduled to fight April 16 on the Dallas Cowboys home field at AT&T Stadium in Arlington TX. But Crawford is always first and foremost in any Taylor talk about the welterweight division.

“That’s the fight that would give me the fear factor and push me to new heights,” Taylor told The Guardian. “Otherwise, if you don’t have that kind of challenge, you go stale.’’

Going stale is also no way to get into that old, upscale house on top of a Scottish hill.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It looks as if Canelo Alvarez has more deals on the bargaining table these days than he has clubs in his golf bag. There’s no end to the reported options or the money. Mostly, the money.

The unsourced reports are all over the proverbial ballpark. Eight-five million dollars here. A hundred-million over there. Only the B-word — as in billion — hasn’t been reported. Given today’s inflation rate, that one can’t be too far away.

It’s always safe to attach some skepticism to the dollar sign next to those eight and nine-figure sums. When talks begin at boxing’s bargaining table, they might as well be speaking Russian. The numbers are hard to understand. Harder to believe. But they do include some lessons, especially for David Benavidez. He continues to be the odd man out.

He knows that. He’s known it for a while.

“Of course, I want to fight Canelo, (Caleb) Plant, (Jermall) Charlo, any of those guys,’’ Benavidez, a Phoenix native, said Wednesday during a media workout featuring middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco in Rancho Fe, CA. “But they don’t want to fight me, so I’ll fight who I have to fight, become a world champion until they have no choice but to face me.”

The abundance of Canelo’s options and his proven pay-per-view numbers allow him to do whatever he wants. For now and probably for a while, what he doesn’t want is a date with Benavidez.

Instead, all of the reports point to a Matchroom Boxing deal for a Canelo fight in May with light-heavyweight Dmitry Bivol that could lead to a third bout with Gennadiy Golovkin, according to ESPN. As of Friday, however, there was no agreement.

“About my next fight nothing is confirmed,’’ Canelo said in a tweet Thursday.

ESPN reported that GGG has yet to agree. He’s training for a bout at middleweight in Japan with Ryota Murata in April. He’s expected to beat Murata. But he’s past his prime and a third fight with Canelo is past its due date. GGG turns 40 on April 9. He still argues that he beat Canelo, first in a fight judged to be a draw in 2017 and then a rematch that Canelo won by majority decision in September 2018.

The lingering controversy perhaps is still reason enough for a third fight. It’s a chance for Canelo to shut up the doubters, once and for all. For the aging GGG, it’s a chance to make his point and an opportunity at one more big payday. But it’s a little late in the game.

The momentum, at least among younger fans, is swinging increasingly toward Benavidez-versus-Canelo.

On their respective career paths, Benavidez and GGG are going in opposite directions. GGG’s best days are behind him. Benavidez’ best is still ahead of him. The two-time former super-middleweight champion, who is expected face David Lemieux in a spring bout perhaps in hometown Phoenix, is about 15 years younger than GGG. He turned 25 on December 17.

That’s why Canelo appears to be leaning toward a deal that leads to GGG instead of a reported PBC offer that would have led to Benavidez.

On the risk-to-reward ratio – a formula that Canelo has learned and applied ever since his lone loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013, the choice is easy. Frustrating too, for Benavidez and his growing crowd of supporters who see him as the only real threat to Canelo Inc.

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s never been much of a secret. It could be a great fight. Now, it’s official. Shakur Stevenson-versus-Oscar Valdez Jr. is going to happen

Stevenson and Valdez formally signed Thursday for a junior-lightweight fight projected for April 30 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. Top Rank posted photos on social media of each fighter sealing the deal for a bout that has been in the works for at least a month.

In hindsight, it’s a fight that’s been inevitable for a couple of years. Both are unbeaten. Both have belts. Both are Top Rank fighters, meaning there weren’t the usual hurdles that keep rival promoters from ever getting to the table.

There’s been speculation that the deal wasn’t done a few weeks ago because Stevenson wanted provisions about drug testing written into the contract. That’s reasonable, given the furor over Valdez’ positive test for a stimulant – phentermine – about a month before his Sept.10 fight with Robson Conceicao in Tucson, Valdez’ second home.

Valdez was allowed to fight because of different rules – WADA instead of VADA — regulating the bout on Pascua Yaqui land. Valdez went on to retain his World Boxing Council title, scoring a debatable decision over Conceicao. But the controversy lingers. 

It’ll still be there, part of the story, if not the marketing.  For Valdez, it figures to be a source of motivation. The fight is an opportunity for him to get past the controversy. It’s still not clear why he tested positive. He blamed a herbal tea. 

But the social-media mob believes that one about as much as it believes Canelo Alvarez’ claim that tainted beef was the reason he tested positive in 2018 for clenbuterol, a steroid, before his rematch with Gennadiy Golovkin.

Canelo went on to answer the furor by beating Golovkin in a postponed bout. What controversy? Just a few days before the Super Bowl, here’s an old, yet always relevant quote from late Raiders owner Al Davis.

Just win, baby.

Question the ethics, but not the effectiveness. Winning works, especially in a game where ethics are, well, negotiable.

For Valdez, however, victory won’t be as likely as the “just” in Davis’ enduring line might suggest. 

Winning has been predictable for Canelo, now a Valdez stablemate whose current negotiations might lead to a bout, also in Las Vegas on May 7, the Saturday after the projected date for Valdez-Stevenson. Winning is all Canelo has done. He’s 8-0, post-clenbuterol.

Stevenson has already opened as the betting favorite, according to some online books. He’s at minus-250, making him a 5-2 favorite. That puts Stevenson’s chances at 71.4 percent. Don’t be surprised if the odds in his favor grow. 

He’s got all the documented advantages. At 24, he’s seven years younger than the 31-year-old Valdez. Stevenson is two inches taller and has a two-inch advantage in reach.

The numbers, however, don’t measure the intangibles, especially Valdez’ tenacity. It’s off the charts. Put it this way: Valdez is never in an easy fight. He’s never lost one either, including a crazy night nearly four years ago in the rain at Carson CA when he overcame a broken jaw to score a unanimous decision over a bigger Scott Quigg.

Despite the victory, there were doubts about whether there was much left of Valdez after that bloody night. Turns out there was plenty, including a stunning knockout of heavily favored Miguel Berchelt a year ago.

Then, there was the bigger Conceicao, who was beating Valdez through the first half of their fight on a hot desert day in an outdoor ring in Tucson. But Valdez battled back – both from potential distractions brought on by the PED controversy and Conceicao’s early advantage. 

So far, Valdez’ tenacity has been inexhaustible. Nobody bites down quite the way he does.

It’s a factor that’s hard to quantify and harder to predict. But if that Valdez tenacity is still there, it could test Stevenson in ways he has never been tested. 

For Stevenson, this a fight for pound-for-pound recognition. It’s a potential springboard to the stardom many believed was there when he came home from Brazil with a 2012 Olympic silver medal.

For both, the fight is defining. For different reasons, it’s personal, which is another way of saying the stakes have never been more dramatic. This deal has a chance to be a classic. An official one.

LAS VEGAS – Keith Thurman calls it the beginning of another campaign, a second fight in an attempt to reclaim the welterweight perch he once called home, But that old home is already occupied. It belongs to Terence Crawford. In the spring, maybe the winner of the projected

Errol Spence Jr.-Yordenis Ugas will move in.

For now, at least, Thurman is just a guy in line hoping for a chance to get the keys to the top of the 147-pound division.

He put himself back in that line Saturday night with his first fight in more than 30 months. He won a unanimous decision over Mario Barrios in Fox pay-per-view telecast at Mandalay Bay.

He was good. But not great.

“I give myself a C-plus, B-minus,’’ Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) said after winning a 118-110, 117-111, 118-110 victory.

That’s a grade that puts him in class behind Crawford and perhaps a few others. But Thurman, who calls himself One Time, says he’s in no hurry.

In Barrios, he was just looking to get back in the hunt.

He calls himself One Time. But he hasn’t been seen in a long time, or at least not since he lost a decision to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019.

Thurman suggests he’s going to be seen often for at least the next 10 months.

“I’m looking forward to a better year in 2022,’’ he said. “I want the belts, I want all the champions, baby.’’

Only time will tell if in fact his one-sided victory over Barrios is the springboard to a showdown with Crawford or a fight with the Spence-Ugas winner.

Barrios was a fight that got him back in the ring. It also was his first real payday in more than two years.

Through the first five rounds, he looked a lot like the old Thurman. His feet moved relentlessly in a lateral dance that began to make Barrios look confused, if not downright dizzy.

Barrios, a former junior welterweight fighting at 147 pounds for the first time, left himself open. But some of Thurman’s power just wasn’t there. He missed the KO shots he would have landed five years ago.

It was kind of the fight I expected,’’ Barrios (26-2, 17 KOs) said. “He’s a great fighter.’’

But Barrios tested that perceived greatness in the later rounds when some of the energy in Thurman’s legs seemed drain way. A well-placed punch from Thurman opened a nasty cut above Barrios’ left eye in the eighth.

Barrios was hurt, yet also re-energized. He went at Thurman, rocking him with a left hand.

Suddenly, Thurman looked all of his 33 years, a little bit like a guy looking more for a retirement home than his old residence near or at the top of the welterweight division.

Leo Santa Cruz was looking for a tune-up. He got a test, instead.

Santa Cruz (38-2-1, 19 KOs) fighting for the first time since he was knocked out by Gervonta Davis in October 2020, was forced to work 10 rounds Saturday by Keenan Carbajal (23-3-1, 15 KOs), a Phoenix fighter who many thought was way over his head in challenging one of the great featherweights of his generation.

Santa Cruz, a 12-to-1 favorite at opening bell, looked rusty early. He looked rusty late. In part, he was bothered by a nasty cut across his left eyelid, caused by a headbutt with the bigger Carbajal in the second round.On the scorecards, at least, Santa Cruz was never in peril in what the last fight before the the Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios main event at Mandalay. He won by a shutout, 100-90 on all three cards. From round-to-round, he scoreed repeatedly with body shots and a relentless pursuit.

Carbajal, who was nearl;y three inches taller, never could use his height to to uncork a powerful uppercut.In the later rounds. He seemed to back as, is to say that. Santa Cruz’ body shots were having the intended effect.

Jesus Ramos wins sixth-round TKO

It was beginning to look like a long night for Arizona.

But that all changed, thanks to Jesus Ramos.

There would be no 0-for-AZ on a card that featured four Arizona fighters on the Fox pay-per-view telecast of a card featuring Keith-Thurman-Mario Barrios Saturday at Mandalay Bay.

Jesus Ramos (18-0, 15 KOs), of Casa Grande, stepped through the ropes after Phoenix junior-featherweight Carlos Castro lost a split decision to Luis Nery and brother Abel Ramos lost a unanimous decision to Luke Santamaria in a welterweight bout.

In what was an immediate slugest, Jesus Ramos’ power and poise prevailed. He stopped Vladimir Hernanadez (13-5, 6 KOs), of Mexico, with a big left followed by a beautifully-executed combination. It left Hernandez dazed and done, a TKO loser at 2:21 of the sixth round.

Luis Nery scores split decision over Carlos Castro

Carlos Castro entered the ring hoping to get his world-class credentials punched.

He left the ring without the credentials.

They didn’t get punched.

He did.

In a painful lesson Saturday night on the Fox pay-per-view telecast of the Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios fight at Mandalay Bay Saturday, Castro (27-1, 12 KOs) was dealt a loss that could force him to re-set his goals. Luis Nery (32-1, 24 KOs), a former champion at two weights, beat him.

The loss itself was controversial. It was a split decision. Judge Tim Cheatham scored it 95-94 for Castro. Max DeLuca had it 95-94 and Steve Weisfeld 96-93, both for Nery. On the 15 Rounds card, it was 96-93 for Nery, who floored the Phoenix fighter in the opening seconds of the junior-featherweight bout.

Nery’s early salvo, a jab followed by concussive left, sent an early message. It set the tone for the next nine rounds. Castro appeared tentative. For about three rounds, he tried to stay away. He fought behind a cautious jab. By the fifth he appeared to regain his footing and much of his poise. He began to land sporadic shots against Nery. It appeared as though the Tijuana fighter was coasting to what he thought was an easy win. That might explain Cheatham’s scorecard.

But there was never a moment in the mid-to-late rounds when it looked as if Castro had enough power to gain the momentum or even keep the aggressive Nery off him. In the eighth and again in ninth, Nery drove Castro into the ropes and unleashed a succession of deadly punches, all of which left Castro with a collection of more questions than credentials.

Abel Ramos loses unanimous decision

Abel Ramos started fast. Faded fast, too.

Ramos, the first of four Arizona fighters on the Thurman-Barrios-featured card Saturday,  couldn’t sustain his early pace and power, allowing Luke Santamaria to gain enough momentum to win a unanimous decision.at Mandalay Bay.

From A-to-Z, Ramos (27-5-2, 21 KOs), a welterweight from Casa Grande, looked to be the better fighter. In the opening moments, he landed a left that sent Santamaria (13-3-1, 7 KOs), of Garden Grove CA, backpedaling across the ring. Ramos pursued, but couldn’t finish the job.

Slowly and almost deliberately, Santamaria fought his way back into the fight. By the middle wounds, he was beating Ramos to the punch. By the ninth and 10th, he was in control .Of the ring. 

And the scorecards (96-94, 98-92, 96.94) 

Mexican welterweight Omar Juarez wins split-decision

It was close. Controversial, too. In the end, it belonged to Omar Juarez, a welterweight from Brownsville TX.

Juarez (13-1, 5 KOs) prevailed after about an hour-long intermission on the card featuring Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios at Mandalay Bay. Correction. Let’s say he survived, overcoming a point penalty for throwing an elbow and repeated power shots straight down the middle from fellow Texan Ryan Karl (19-4, 12 KOs), a cowboy from Milano. 

Karl got rocked repeatedly from looping counters. He also came back from a deep wound above his left. Blood, brighter than his red hair, poured down his face and across chest. In the end, two scorecards favored Juarez, 95-94 and 96-93. The third card went to Karl, 95-94 

Bloody cut forces quick end to junior-welterweight bout 

A bloody cut, ruled to be the result of a punch instead of a head butt, brought a quick end to a junior-welterweight bout between Keith Hunter (14-1, 9 KOs) and Jesus Silveyra (10-7-2, 4 KOs) in the fourth fight on the Thurman-Barrios card.

Hunter, of Las Vegas, got the victory at 1:42 of the first round. Blood poured from the wound and into Silveyra’s left eye. The ringside physician ruled that it would have affected the Mexican’s vision. Referee Russell Mora ruled that a punch caused the injury.

Junior-welterweights fight to debatable draw

Enriko Gogokhia (14-0-1, 8 KOs), a junior-welterweight from The Republic of Georgia, scored two knockdowns, but that wasn’t enough for the judges scoring the third bout on the Thurman-Barrios card.. Gogokhia wound up with a split draw after a back-and-forth eight rounds with elusive Kent Cruz (16-0-2, 10 KOs), a St. Louis fighter who was dropped twice in the fifth round by short right hands.

Fernando Vargas Jr. flashes dad’s old power for TKO win

Fernando Vargas was back in the Vegas arena where he lost to Oscar De Hoya nearly 20 years ago. The place hasn’t changed much.

But Vargas left it as a winner this time.

His son, junior-middleweight Fernando Vargas Jr. (5-0, 5 KOs), dominated, flashing some of dad’s old power en-route to a third TKO victory. With his dad in his corner, Vargas Junior scored two knockdowns, flooring Kody Kobowski (2-1, 2 KOs, of Ventura CA, in the first and again in the third in the second bout on the Thurman-Barrios card at Mandalay Bay. That’s where De La Hoya knocked out Vargas Sr. in a memorable fight on Sept. 14, 2002.

First Bell: Welterweight Joba Rincon opens the show, wins unanimous decision 

It’s early. It’s empty. But it’s underway.

Joba Rincon (6-0, 2 KOs), a welterweight from Corpus Christi TX, fired the first salvos, landing most of them for a unanimous decision over Mexican Ramon Marquez (4-1, 4 KOs) in an afternoon matinee in front of empty seats in the first bout on a  card featuring Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios Saturday at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob-Ultra Arena 

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – Time is in his nickname. But time is not on his side.

Keith Thurman, who calls himself One Time, faces the inevitable.  At 33, the former welterweight champion is confronted by the calendar, the ceaseless career clock, that says not much prime time is left.

It’s easy to make fun of Thurman’s nickname. He hears it often.

“People can say what they want,’’ Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) said a few weeks before his comeback Saturday night against Mario Barrios (26-1, 17 KOs) in a Fox-pay-per-view telecast (9 pm ET/6pm. PT) at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena. “Thurman ‘sometimes,’ ‘one time’, ‘no time.’

“Say what you want. I see your comments. Say what you want. But Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman will always be one of the best welterweights in the welterweight division today.”

But all the mocking has yet to include the inevitable:

Out Of Time.

That prospect approaches and might bring a growing sense of urgency to Thurman’s first fight in more than 30 months.

Thurman’s pursuit of legacy and a spot in the Hall of Fame has been interrupted by injuries, or the Pandemic, or boxing’s balkanized politics, or all of the above during the five years since he held two of the 147-pound belts in 2017. Then, it looked as if anything was possible. Now, not so much.

Instead, there are questions. Maybe, Thurman knocks them out against Barrios, a former junior-welterweight who is fighting for the first time at 147 pounds. But there are doubts, all still there after Thurman lost a split decision to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019.

There’s enough doubt, in fact, that a panel of trainers picked Barrios, who has Virgil Hunter in his corner, to upset Thurman during a zoom session Tuesday.

“I truly believe Mario Barrios has a great chance of beating Thurman, especially since Thurman has been out for so long and he’s made millions of dollars, so that changes anybody,’’ Robert Garcia said, “He’s (Thurman) gonna say he’s been training 10, 12 months, non-stop.

“But he could be saying that, it might not be true. I can’t wait for this fight, I’m actually excited about this fight, but I truly believe Barrios has whatever it takes to win.”

Thurman, about a 2-to-1 favorite, says a lot, of course. He’s a tireless self-promoter. His confidence has been evident throughout the sales-pitch for the Fox telecast, which has been criticized for it $75 pay-per-view price tag. 

At the formal weigh-in Friday, he laughed at any suggestion that Barrios had a chance.

“He already knows what’s up,’’ Thurman said after weighing in at 145.5 pounds. “Keep your hands up, defend yourself at all times, because you’re about to get your ass knocked out.’’

But the weigh-in also included one fact that could not be explained away. Barrios is bigger. In posing for the cameras, Barrios stood taller, looked broader. He also weighed more, He came in at 146.25 pounds.

“I’m just more comfortable now,’’ said Barrios, who was knocked out by Gervonta Davis in his last outing at 140 pounds in a June loss in Atlanta. “I feel better, stronger. This is my natural weight.’’

Barrios is also 26. He’s seven years younger, which only means he’s got more of the time that is no longer there for Thurman.

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – It’s a noisy business. Maybe that’s why you haven’t heard much about – or from – Carlos Castro. 

He’s the quiet guy in a contentious crowd full of tireless trash-talkers who work harder in social media than they do in the gym. In Jake Paul’s world, clicks are more valuable than punches. A twitter account is today’s bully pulpit.

But Castro confines his craft – and perhaps his identity — to doing the work where it has always been done.

In the gym. 

And within the ropes.

That’s where he’ll be Saturday night at Mandalay Bay on a Fox pay-per-view card featuring seldom-seen Keith Thurman in his first fight in 30 months against newly-minted welterweight Mario Barrios.

For Castro (27-0, 12 KOs), the fight is a huge step. He faces Luis Nery (31-1, 24 KOs) in a junior-featherweight fight that could lead to a world-title shot against Stephen Fulton or Uzbek Murodjon Akhmadaliev, each of whom have two of the division’s significant belts.

A Castro victory over Nery, a former two-time champion, would speak volumes. Just don’t expect the volume to come from Castro, 

The bout is a chance at affirmation for the Phoenix fighter, one of four Arizona fighters (also Keenan Carbajal of Phoenix and the Ramos brothers, Abel and Jesus, of Casa Grande) scheduled to appear in Las Vegas on the same night when DAZN is scheduled for another PPV card featuring Carlos Cuadras-versus-Jesse Rodriguez at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix. Location, location, location??? 

Cuadras-Rodriguez might be a good fight on an otherwise shuffled card. But it’s in the wrong place on the wrong night. Footprint, the Suns home arena, has 18,422 seats. A good bet is that there will be more people at the FanDuel book on the concourse level than in the arena’s seats at opening bell.

Arizona’s fight crowd figures to watch Castro, instead. If you haven’t heard about him yet, he’s hoping you will with a victory that will finally affirm his place on the world-class stage.

“He’s already one of the best in the world at junior-feather and featherweight,’’ his longtime promoter Robert Vargas of Iron Boy Promotions said. “He knows that. He’s proven it. But he just needs the victory that will get people talking about him.

“A win over Nery, a really tough guy, could do it.’’

It could. But a victory over Nery would also qualify as a mild upset, at least according to the prevailing odds. Castro is plus-140, meaning he’s a 7-to-5 underdog. On the percentage scale, that means he has less than a 50-50 chance at beating Nery, an aggressive lefthander from Tijuana. His chances? 41.7 percent.

There are countless ways to interpret the narrow odds. In part, they look to be based on simply who’s better known. That would be Nery. But Castro has been patiently working his way into the collective awareness of fight fans. He did so in February 2019 with a one-sided decision (110-90, 99-91,98-92) over Filipino Genesis Servania, who knocked down Oscar Valdez and had the current junior-lightweight champion in trouble throughout a 2017 Tucson fight. Valdez escaped with a decision (117-109, 116-110, 115-111).

That’s when Vargas and Castro knew they could play on the world-class stage. But Castro’s patient work ethic kept him from bragging. Kept him off social media, too. All the way, he continued to work on developing his skillset and upper body. Power has been a question, one that looms large against Nery. Does he have enough of it to keep the Mexican off of him?

We’ll see. In an eye-opening performance on a card featuring Yordenis Ugas’ upset of Manny Pacquiao last August, Castro flashed newfound power in scoring a 10^th-round stoppage of former contender Oscar Escandon in a featherweight bout. At 37, Escandon might not have had much left.

But he still had enough power to hurt Castro. He did. But that’s when Castro displayed newfound command of an evolving skillset. For nine-plus rounds, he did it all. 

All, and even more, might be necessary against Nery, whose lone defeat is a stoppage loss to Brandon Figueroa in his last bout.

“This the beginning of a new chapter to my career,’’ Castro said after the Escandon stoppage, his first bout with former Valdez trainer Manny Robles in his corner.

The career’s beginning was humble. Castro, now 27, arrived in Arizona from Obregon, Mexico as a 3-year-old. He grew up in trailer park in southwest Phoenix. The surrounding streets only led to trouble. Vargas said his father decided to get him into one of the countless mom-and-pop boxing gyms that dot the Phoenix landscape. 

Vargas signed him as a 17-year-old with a long amateur career. He labored – always quietly – on small cards in Phoenix. He also labored as a landscaper to support his family. He‘s a husband. And a dad. Now, he’s a contender, one step from a shot at the world title he has always wanted.

By today’s chest-thumping standards, that’s reason to brag. But there is no boast in Castro’s skillset. He’ll let a victory over Nery speak for itself. At least, he hopes one will.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Can anyone make sense of the heavyweight mess? Sorry for the stupid question. But boxing’s old flagship is awash in uncertainty and misinformation these days

Three fights are apparently under consideration. Apparently is the key word here, simply because it’s hard to know who or what to believe.

The reported options:

A – Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua.

B – Usyk-Tyson Fury

C – Fury-Dillian Whyte

Best guess, C. At least, that was the early leader about 24 hours before a re-scheduled purse bid Friday at the World Boxing Council’s offices in Mexico City.

Fury, who has been as loud and unbelievable as ever for the last couple of weeks, appeared on social media early Thursday shouting out a promise that suggests Whyte is next.

“I can’t wait to punch Dillian Whyte’s face right in, mate,” said Fury on video posted to UK promoter Frank Warren’s Twitter account. “I’m going to give him the best hiding he’s ever had in his life, boy. Dillian Whyte, train hard sucker, cause you’re getting annihilated, bum.”

Fury says a lot of things, of course. Let’s just say his punches are more accurate than his talk. But maybe – only maybe – he dropped a reliable hint at what’s up. Warren is his promoter. Early Thursday, there were already reports that Fury-Whyte would happen in March in the UK.

But don’t be surprised if there’s news that Fury has said something different, delivered some sort of late reversal, before or after the scheduled meeting. Nobody throws a more artful feint than Fury.

After all, the purse bid had been postponed twice. Whyte apparently had been unhappy at the reported split – 20 percent for him and 80 for Fury, the WBC’s defending champion. Be 100 percent skeptical.

Even if this purse bid results in an agreement for a so-called mandatory defense, skepticism about when and where is, well, mandatory. In Saudi or Saturn, there might not be enough money to fill the purse that Fury and Whyte hope to divide.

After all, it’s not Fury-Usyk. It’s not Fury-Joshua, a fight that was proposed yet never came off last year despite reports of a $150-million offer from the Saudis. Instead, there was an arbiter’s ruling that resulted in Fury’s dramatic stoppage of Deontay Wilder in the 2021 Fight of the Year last October.

Fury-Whyte simply looms as a prelim, one step and untold sums of money before the main event. Maybe, that’s unfair, at least to Whyte. He’s a solid heavyweight, yet unknown to fans outside of the UK. That might be his best chance against Fury.

For the world’s best-known heavyweight, there might not be as much motivation for Whyte as there would be for better wages against the better-known Usyk or Joshua.

As it is, there already have been reports about negotiations for an immediate fight between Fury and Usyk, who took four of the heavyweight belts in a stunning unanimous decision over Joshua in September.

There are also widespread reports that Joshua turned down so-called step-aside money. He would have withdrawn from his contracted right for an immediate Usyk rematch, making way for Fury-Usyk.

Step-aside, however, might hasten a permanent step-away from a ring career. His confidence looks broken ever since his upset loss by stoppage to Andy Ruiz in 2019. Acceptance of step-aside cash would only be a further sign of a shot fighter. The message: Take the money, and you’re done.

According to The Telegraph, however, the money was more than just a step aside. It was a step into some serious cash. The UK newspaper reported that the offer was for 15-million pounds. That’s 20,082,150 dollars.More, maybe, than Fury-Whyte is worth

By Norm Frauenheim-

Canelo Alvarez has options. David Benavidez has only frustration.

Canelo’s future has become a multiple-choice game. He was thinking about cruiserweight. Then, there are reports about a super-middleweight defense against a middleweight champion. Or, maybe a light-heavyweight challenge between tee times.

None of the above. Or all of the above. Benavidez is not among the reported possibilities, despite a growing number of fans and pundits who are calling for Canelo to fight him. ESPN’s Tim Bradley is just the latest to cast his vote for Canelo-Benavidez.

‘’That’s the guy that everybody wants to see him face, you know,’’ Bradley said during an ESPN telecast about the mounting speculation surrounding Canelo’s next fight.

But, you know, Benavidez is the one guy Canelo isn’t considering. His trainer, Eddy Reynoso, said so, eliminating Benavidez from a projected May 7 date.

Actually, Reynoso did more than eliminate Benavidez. He insulted him, or at least dismissed his resume. It just doesn’t measure up, Reynoso said in so many words. That brought on an inevitable counter from Benavidez, who extended his unbeaten record (25-0, 22 KOs) with a stoppage of Kyrone Davis in front of a roaring hometown crowd of about 8,000 in downtown Phoenix Nov. 13.

“It kind of, like, frustrates me now that everybody’s coming out and saying I haven’t fought nobody, that I’ve never fought on pay-per-views, I’m nobody, this and that,” Benavidez said during an appearance on the Calling Russ Anber podcast. “You can say all that, but I’m going through the ranks at super middleweight. I’ve been number one like three fights already. I’ve been beating the people I have to beat.

“The people love to see me fight, so why wouldn’t he want to fight me?’’

Good question.

Other than an opening bell, there’s not a very good answer. Inevitably, there’s talk that Canelo is simply ducking Benavidez. Maybe.

For now, however, there’s only one thing that seems to guide Canelo’s thinking on who he will — or won’t fight. A belt has to be involved. Benavidez doesn’t have one. At least, he doesn’t anymore. The World Boxing Council’s 168-pound belt was taken from him twice, first for testing positive for cocaine and then for not making weight.

Belts are like hood ornaments. They’re cheap and plentiful. But Canelo still places value on them. They are symbols, perhaps, in the history Canelo says he is pursuing.

Presumably, that’s why Reynoso mentioned cruiserweight Illungu Makabu. Makabu has a belt, the WBC’s version. A two-division jump up the scale generated a lot of headlines and social-media talk. But the possibility has cooled over the last several weeks. Makabu defends his title on Jan. 29 against Thabiso Mchunu Jan. 29 on a Don King-promoted card in Warren, Ohio.

King, of course, is still trying to trumpet the Canelo possibility. After all, he has to sell the pay-per-view. But even King hinted that Canelo’s interest has cooled.

“Hopefully, I can get him to come on in to the fight,’’ King said last week during a Zoom session for a card scheduled for a chilly locale. “So far, he don’t want to come in to that cold snow. Maybe, the sun will shine one day.’’

And, maybe, Canelo will fight Jermall Charlo instead. Talks for a May fight with Charlo, first reported by ESPN, make more sense than a risky jump up to cruiserweight.

Against Charlo, Canelo would eliminate much of the risk and retain all of the reward. It would be Charlo’s first fight at 168 pounds. But he has the one thing Benavidez doesn’t. He has a belt, the WBC’s 160-pound version.

The other Canelo possibility is at light-heavy. Joe Smith Jr. and Dmitry Bivol have been mentioned. They, too, have one thing in common: A belt. Smith retained the World Boxing Organization’s 175-pound version with a stoppage of Steve Geffrard. Bivol has a World Boxing Association belt.

Without one, Benavidez has only frustration.

His immediate future figures to include faded Montreal middleweight David Lemieux. Caleb Plant is also there. Plant is looking for a comeback from his one-sided loss to Canelo, who took his International Boxing Federation belt in a beatdown that ended in an 11^th-round TKO on Nov. 6.

Benavidez and Plant had set the stage for a showdown with trash-talking exchanges. But it all ended when Canelo decided he wanted another belt. Benavidez-Plant could still be a good fight.

For Benavidez, it also would be a yardstick, one way to measure himself against the pay-per-view star who continues to elude him.

A stoppage of Plant in an earlier round than the 11^th would give Benavidez some bragging rights. That’s better than just more of the same frustration.

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s a lawsuit that probably shouldn’t surprise anybody. Its inevitability was evident throughout an awkward news conference a couple of months ago.

Bob Arum and Terence Crawford looked like a couple headed to divorce court after Crawford’s stoppage of Shawn Porter on Nov. 20.

The fight itself was worth celebrating. But the post-fight newser was troublesome, another sign of a game going nowhere. Arum frowned. Crawford, whose Top Rank contract expired the second Porter’s dad/trainer threw in the towel, said he was moving on. Wednesday, we found out where he’s headed.

For now, at least, Crawford is moving only into the legal ring with a lawsuit filed in Las Vegas’ Clark County District Court. The 23-page document accuses Top Rank of racism and breach of contract.

Arum called it frivolous. Crawford’s attorneys called it a lot of other things, most of which mean the same thing.  (Insert F-word of choice here). The suit is generating lots of social-media heat. But it’s anybody’s guess whether it does much more than that.

There are some predictions that it’ll go the way of a Golden Boy Promotions anti-trust suit against PBC (Premier Boxing Champions). That one was filed in May 2015. About 19 months later, it was in the trash.

A federal judge dismissed the case in January 2017 because of Golden Boy’s failure “to demonstrate that there is a genuine issue of material fact.’’ Translation: No evidence. Let a judge decide the merits of this one.

But you don’t need a law degree to wonder about the timing. For Crawford, time is everything. He’s 34 now. He’ll be 35 in September. Prime time is slipping through the hour glass. Nineteen months from now, he’ll be nearly 36.

Right now, he needs a fight more than a lawsuit against his former promoter   

Nothing in a legal brief or a courtroom will further Crawford’s claim on the top spot in the pound-for-pound debate or enhance his Hall of Fame legacy. He can do that only in the boxing ring.

Maybe, that move is forthcoming. Maybe, he’ll announce his next fight tomorrow or next week, or next month. Maybe, the lawsuit is the first step toward a deal with another promoter in what would be a new chapter to an otherwise unappreciated career.

This lawsuit, like any other, will wait. Even if it moves forward to a trial, it will sit forgotten on a docket long after the due date on its relevance has expired.

Crawford’s brilliance in the ring – he’s still No. 1 in this pound-for-pound rating – hasn’t been complemented by what he’s done, or not done, outside of the ropes.

The lawsuit’s many issues center around the allegation that Top Rank failed to turn him into a pay-per-view star. His PPV record is dismal, including a reported 130,000 customers for his powerful statement win against Porter.

Those PPV numbers have left him with little bargaining power, despite his pound-for-pound acclaim. The public clamors for Crawford to fight Errol Spence Jr.

But Spence is demanding a 60-40 share of the total purse, because his PPV record proves he’s the bigger draw. Fifty-fifty or nothing, counters Crawford, who is as proud as he is defiant.

So far, it’s been nothing, nada.

Do you blame stubborn demands from both corners? Do you blame Top Rank for failing to fulfill alleged promises it can’t really keep? Do you blame a shrinking boxing market? Boxing’s gilded age – the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather era – is gone.

For now, boxing’s traditional ranks (sorry, Jake Paul) include only one proven PPV star – Canelo Alvarez. He followed Mayweather. They turned themselves into PPV stars. They broke with their promoters.

Mayweather paid Arum $750,000 to get out of his Top Rank contract in 2006. At the time, he was collecting Crawford-like wages — between $3 and $5 million per fight. Crawford earned a reported $6 million for his victory over Porter.

In November 2020, Canelo split with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. His $250-million complaint “was resolved to everyone’s satisfaction,’’ De La Hoya said at the time.

Both took a risk that Crawford did not. A lawsuit won’t change that.

By Norn Frauenheim-

Year-enders, 2021 awards and 2022 projections, were notable for one traditional category that was mostly overlooked, if not missing altogether.

There wasn’t a whole lot of talk about fights we want to see. Maybe, that’s because only another rematch with COVID-19 seems to matter.

The New Year is only a week old, yet already there are more of the cancellations/postponements that drained enthusiasm and energy from boxing. This one is being blamed on omicron. It’s a so-called variant. From this corner, however, nothing about it has varied from exactly a year ago. Same old virus, same old buzz kill.  

It’s hard to get excited, even sustain interest when it’s uncertain exactly when or even whether an opening bell will happen.

The latest sign was news Thursday that light-heavyweight Joe Smith Jr. was looking for a new opponent for his title defense, still scheduled for Jan. 15 in Verona, N.Y., because UK challenger Callum Johnson tested positive.

“It’s a real great shame for Callum,” his promoter Frank Warren told BBC Sport. “Hopefully we can get him back in, they may want to [reschedule the fight] in late spring.’’

The Top Rank card had already been hit by COVID. Emerging featherweight Abraham Nova of Albany, NY, was supposed to fight Mexican Jose Enrique Vivas. But the stubborn virus spread through Vivas’ camp, forcing him to withdraw. Instead, Nova will fight Dominican William Encarnacion.

If the card had been scheduled for the UK, there would have been no uncertainty. No doubt at all. The date would have been off. Ring lights in the UK will be dark throughout January. Boxing won’t resume until at least Feb. 1, according to news from the British Boxing Board of Control in a story reported this week by Boxing Scene.

The step was taken because of another huge COVID surge in Britain.  In the U.S. that’s ominous, another word for omicron.

What COVID does in the UK usually foretells what it’s about to do in the U.S.

Still, the American version of the game fights on. At least, for now.

There were weigh-ins Thursday for a card featuring junior-lightweights Luis Nunez (15-0, 8 KOs)-versus-Carlos Arrieta (14-0, 9 KOs). The card includes six unbeaten fighters in three bouts. It’s a ShoBox telecast scheduled for Friday (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET, Showtime) from Orlando, home for Disney World.

It’s also in the heart of Florida, where – according to a University of Florida report –up to 80 percent of the state’s population will get COVID during the omicron wave.

With those kind of odds, it’ll be a huge upset if the fighters, fans, cornermen and officials don’t get infected. Put it this way: Getting vaccinated is the best bet. Hopefully, they all are.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Predictions, like glass jaws, are fragile. Hangovers from a New Year’s Eve party last longer.

The best resolution: Resolve to never make another one. That’s an old line, also a lesson forgotten quickly as one year ends and another begins.

Other than a surge in more COVID-related postponements, nothing is certain. But 2022’s opening bell means just about anything else can happen.

A few guesses:

It made for an entertaining headline, but don’t expect Canelo Alvarez to fight cruiserweight Ilunga Makabu, unknown until the possibility was introduced about a month ago. There are too many issues and maybe too much risk in moving up two weight classes. Don’t expect him to fight David Benavidez or Gennadiy Golovkin, either. Do expect him to fight Joe Smith Jr. in the super-middleweight champion’s first attempt to unify the light-heavyweight division.

Expect Benavidez to say, again and again, that Canelo is ducking him. He might be right. Fans and Floyd Mayweather Jr. agree with him. But Canelo doesn’t care. Boxing’s biggest draw can do whatever he wants. Instead, expect the maturing Benavidez, who turned 25 on Dec. 17, to blow out David Lemieux and then jump up the scale, from super-middle to light-heavy, in his chase to fight Canelo.

Terence Crawford isn’t underrated. He’s unappreciated. Maybe that changes in 2022, but don’t bet on it. Pay-per-view sales for his brilliant stoppage of Shawn Porter Nov. 20 were reported to be 135,000. Underperformed is how much of the media described the PPV. But it was devastating for what it says about the state of the game. Crawford’s versatility and old-school instinct – he’s a finisher – still makes him No. 1 in some pound-for-debates, including this one. But the PPV number says that most in the boxing audience don’t care. Or, maybe, it says that audience isn’t very big anymore. Or, maybe, they’re watching Jake Paul.

More Crawford: He announced he was moving on, leaving Top Rank after he forced Porter’s dad/trainer to throw in the towel. His PPV number in November makes free-agency in 2022 problematic. Still, the year is pivotal. He’ll be 35 on Sept. 28. Does he fight Josh Taylor? Taylor might be ready to jump from junior-welterweight to welter later this year. Taylor has the UK audience. But he’s a Top Rank fighter. Errol Spence is still there. But don’t be surprised if Spence finds more ways to not fight Crawford. November 20 was just another way. Crawford stopped Porter; Spence scored a split decision over Porter.

The lightweight division was called a modern version of The Four Kings – Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez — after Lopez dethroned Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020. Don’t be surprised if Lomachenko is back as the only lightweight king before 2022 turns into 2023. He took one step in that direction with a solid decision over Richard Commey. Now, he’s talking about Australian Geroge Kambosos Jr., who made a mockery out of The Four Kings with a decision over Lopez. Guess here: He beats Kambosos.

Oleksandr Usyk might have the same problem against the best and biggest in the heavyweight division that fellow Ukrainian Lomachenko had in the lighter weights. There’s a reason for weight classes. Lomachenko, a natural featherweight, got hurt at 135 pounds. That leaves a question about Usyk, a natural cruiserweight. Dynamic skills and guile were enough to beat Anthony Joshua. Both should be enough for victory in the rematch, projected for April. Then, there’s a looming showdown with Tyson Fury, who may or may not fight Dillian Whyte first in a mandatory. It’s hard to say how Usyk does against Fury and his 6-foot-9 NBA dimensions. But it’s a reason to look forward to 2022.

Here’s wishing ring announcer David Diamante a full recovery, a Filipino presidency for Manny Pacquiao and a Happy 2022 to everybody.

ReplyForward

By Norm Fraienheim-

Another year ends the same way the last one did.  Good riddance. At least, the approaching New Year can’t be postponed. It feels as if just about everything in 2021 was.

Some of the same old trouble is surging all over again. It’s ominous, which today means omicron. From the NFL to the NHL, the Postponement Pandemic is back.

The good news is that boxing did in 2021 what it has always done. It bleeds, but never breaks. It survived. It came out of the bubble and hopefully will stay there. I like its chances, mostly because of an inexhaustible defiance that was expressed throughout a problematic year.

A look back:

Fight of the Year: It’s obvious. Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder 3 was wild, wildly wonderful enough to forget about variants and protocol. It knocked our masks off. Fury was down twice; Wilder was down twice. Then, Fury delivered the finishing blow in the 11th round of their second heavyweight rematch Oct. 9 in Las Vegas. Some complained that it wasn’t an exhibition of refined skill. So, go to a museum. It was fun for fans in desperate need of some.

Honorable Mention: Juan Francisco Estrada’s split-decision over Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. It was controversial. It was crazy. Estrada threw 1,212 punches; Chocolatito 1,317. That’s 2,529 punches without a knockdown. In the end, both had enough energy to still be standing after the March 13 junior-bantamweight bout in Dallas.

Fighter of the Year: Canelo Alvarez. Busy was possible for just one fighter during the Postponement Pandemic. The reigning super-middleweight fought three times, winning each by stoppage –  first a gimme against overmatched Avni Yildirim, then a punishing one against a skilled Billy Joe Saunders and finally one over a limited Caleb Plant. The victories kept Canelo in the headlines and at the top of year-ending ballots.  

Honorable Mention: Oleksandr Usyk turned the heavyweight division upside-down with his dominant decision over Anthony Joshua Sept. 25 in London. Usyk has more than a dynamic skillset. He’s got some charisma. If his decision on Oct. 31, 2020 over Derek Chisora had happened in early 2021, he would have been this corner’s Fighter of the Year.

KO of the Year: Tyson Fury. In a fight with five knockdowns, it’s fitting that the fifth and final one would be KO of the Year. Put it this way, each of the first four knockdowns were concussive enough to be knockouts. The fifth defined Fury at his furious best. It was also delivered by a right, the hand that Deontay Wilder had turned into a wrecking ball, feared by every heavyweight but one. Fury delivered it – a clean shot to Wilder’s temple – at 1:10 of the eleventh.

Honorable Mention: Oscar Valdez Jr.’s 10^th-round KO of Miquel Berchelt. Valdez landed a wicked left hook in the final second of the 10^th-round, finishing a feared and favored Berchelt for the 130-pound title Feb. 20 in The Bubble at Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Upset of the Year: Yordenis Ugas, whose unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao ended an era. The Manny Era. Pacquiao finally began to show his age, all 42 years of it. As sad as it was for 12 rounds, it was compelling in the end. At the post-fight news conference on Aug. 21 at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, Pacquiao delivered a touching performance, one that could be The Farewell of this Year or any other year. It set the stage for his inevitable decision to retire a few weeks later. It also reminded us of why we’ve liked him so much for so long.

Honorable Mention: George Kambosos, who scored a split-decision over Teofimo Lopez on Nov. 27 in New York. It was a shocker, especially for Lopez, who couldn’t quite get over the shock. Looking bloodied and beaten, he grabbed the microphone and insisted he had won. “Delusional,’’ Kambosos said, saying it all before taking the undisputed lightweight title home to Sydney, Australia. The upset left the 135-pound division upside-down, or at least Down Under. 

By Norm Frauenheim-

Olympic boxing is about to become what it has been known for making.

History.

At least, it sounds as if it’s closer to Olympic abolition than it ever has been.

Boxing, which has been around since the ancient Greek Games, was not included on a list of sports for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, The Associated Press reported this week.

The story didn’t get any attention. No surprise there. Nobody much cares anymore. Olympic boxing is already a ruin, unrecognizable and seemingly beyond repair after more than three decades of uninterrupted scandal and rank corruption.

Other than last rites, there doesn’t seem to be anything left to say. But there is concern. After all, the prize-fighting business has relied on Olympic boxing. From Muhammad Ali to Andre Ward, Olympic gold has led to box-office gold. It has been a place where talent can be discovered, refined and introduced to a diverse audience.

Even now, it’s a way of re-creating the game. To wit: Keyshawn Davis. The Tokyo silver medalist is an interesting prospect. Will he make it to the top of the pro game? Who knows? But we know him because of the Olympics. He’s a lightweight worth following.

Seven years from now, however, the Keyshawn of a new generation might not have that Olympic platform. That robs an emerging generation of fighters of an early goal. It also robs the business of prospects who sustain its future. An Olympics without boxing is one step toward the end so often predicted by the Boxing-Is-Dead crowd.

Mauricio Sulaiman knows that. Olympic boxing is a cornerstone to his place in the pro game. He plans a fight to preserve it, which is in effect a fight for his sanctioning body, the World Boxing Council (WBC).

“It’s a matter of great concern,’’ Sulaiman, the WBC president, said Thursday in an annual year-end zoom session with reporters from his office in Mexico City.

Sulaiman said he is communicating with the bodies supposedly in charge of amateur boxing. Trouble is, it’s not exactly clear what – who — those organizations are anymore. It was AIBA a year ago. Now, it is IBA. There’s acrimony in the acronyms, neither of which were supposed to be within earshot of an opening bell at the Tokyo Games last summer.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to keep amateur boxing’s ruling cartel as far away from a scorecard as possible. It looks as if nothing about the IOC’s evident exasperation has changed.  It was expressed all over again with the decision to keep boxing off its initial list sports for 2028.    

Initial is the operative word here. According to the AP, there’s a chance that boxing could still be added – restored? — if it gets its act together. Big if. We’ve been waiting for Olympic boxing get its house in order for more than three decades

No matter what the letters are in the ever-changing acronym, there’s still the whiff of more scandal.

A year ago, Russian Umar Kremlyov was elected president of the governing body. Kremlyov is still the president. And the IOC is still skeptical, according to an AP report, which a year ago cited his promise to clear up the acronym’s $16-million debt if boxing’s Olympic status was retained.

Now, Kremlyov is promising to reform boxing’s judging system, which has been riddled with corruption ever since Roy Jones Jr. and Michael Carbajal were robbed of gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: If Olympic boxing is serious about cleaning up its act, go back to the initial scene of the crime. Give Jones and Carbajal their rightful gold medals. Those are the fixes that never got fixed. There’s been a long succession of them ever since.

Despite Kremlyov’s lofty promise, he’s not willing to go into down and dirty details    

“We have nothing to hide,’’ Kremlyov told the AP this week.

Then, however, Kremlyov was asked about allegations of fixed fights reported in an Olympic investigation of the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Games. Kremlyov said he couldn’t he couldn’t be specific about what fights were fixed.  Or who did the fixing.

A memo to Kremlyov and everybody else with AIBA, IBA or whatever it’s called today: Get specific, or stay off that list. 

By Norm Frauenheim-

With apologies to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Ward and few others, defeat is a little bit like a scar. It’s hard to get through a boxing career without one.

The key is what to do with it. There’s denial. There’s delusion. There’s blaming someone else. Anyone else.

But there’s never much healing in any of that, at least not in a sport so singularly lonely. There’s no backup quarterback to blame. No dog who ate the homework.

There’s only the fighter, looking in the mirror and at months of shadow-boxing with the personal torment left in the turbulent wake of a loss. Tough to win that one, yet a victory is often the defining fundamental in a game that’s always been about adversity.

Vasiliy Lomachenko has figured that out.

His understanding of defeat, even his empathy for a bitter rival now dealing with one, is evident in the days before the Ukrainian’s bid to get back into the lightweight title mix Saturday (ESPN, 6 pm PT/9 pm ET) against Richard Commey at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

His date with Commey comes just two weeks after Teofimo Lopez lost the 135-pound belts and his composure to George Kambosos Jr. in the same building. Lopez upset Lomachenko, taking the belts and knocking out his pound-for-pound supremacy with a unanimous decision in October 2020.

Lopez went on to rip Lomachenko, ridiculing him for saying he suffered an injury to his right shoulder. Lomachenko moved on, underwent surgery, a second procedure on a shoulder that had been injured against Jorge Linares in his first fight at lightweight.

Lomachenko, who still believes the scorecard loss to Lopez should have been judged a draw, wanted a rematch.

No way, Lopez said often and always with a dismissive tone that suggested Lomachenko (15-2, 11 KOs) was yesterday’s news.

He’s not, of course. Commey (30-3, 27 KOs) is his second fight in a comeback that began with a ninth-round stoppage of Masayoshi Nakatani in June.  

Given the trash-talking rancor left over from Lopez’s upset of Lomachenko nearly 15 months ago, however, it was easy – too easy – to think Lomachenko might experience some schadenfreude – a uniquely German word that means taking pleasure in another’s misfortune.

No, Lomachenko said Thursday during a session with reporters after the formal part of the final news conference for the Commey bout.

“I am not happy, because I understand what he’s feeling,’’ Lomachenko said when asked how he felt about the Lopez loss. “I was in the same situation.’’

It’s a situation that the once-beaten Lopez is just beginning to confront. Questions linger, including troubling news about his physical condition at opening bell. ESPN quoted a doctor as saying he could have died because of a breathing issue.

Lomachenko went on to say that he was happy Lopez would recover and “get out of this situation.’’

The situation – dealing with defeat – is a place he has been a couple of times. He had to come back from defeat after just his second pro bout – a loss to Orlando Salido. In retrospect, that defeat might have been more of a bruising way to pay some apprenticeship dues against a tough gatekeeper.

Lomachenko arrived in the pro ranks as perhaps the most celebrated Olympic boxer ever. He won two gold medals, 2008 and again in 2012. Lomachenko responded to Salido’s brutal welcome to the pros by winning titles at featherweight, junior-lightweight and lightweight.

He did, he says, mostly because of the way a defeat forces a fighter to accept accountability and then re-commit to the craft.

“Losing is not comfortable, but if you have a goal, you have to continue,’’ he said.

For Lomachenko, the goal has always been there. He talked about it in a compelling, Top Rank-produced video with Hall-of-Fame inductee Roy Jones Jr., his boyhood hero.

“You need to have just one dream,’’ he said. “You need to go to bed with your dream. You need to get up with your dream.

“You need to live with your dream.’’Sometimes, that means you have to come back from a nightmare

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s appropriate that the lightweight division and much of boxing have been turned upside-down, which is another way of saying Down Under.

That’s what Australian George Kambosos did.

His stunning upset of Teofimo Lopez is a sign that maybe it’s time to get back under the hood. Time to take another look at boxers and the business from a different angle.

Kambosos used the word “delusional” to describe a bloodied and beaten Lopez, who asserted that he had somehow won their title fight last Saturday in New York.

Delusional, it was.

That much was evident in the boos at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater from a crowd filled with Lopez’ hometown partisans. Kambosos tried to give him a break, suggesting that maybe he was concussed in losing the 12-rounds by a split-decision also tainted by judge Don Trella’s 114-113 card in favor of Lopez.

Delusional, it is.

In the days since the upset and before a key lightweight doubleheader– Devin Haney-JoJo Diaz Saturday (DAZN, 5 pm PT/8pm ET) and Gervonta Davis-Isaac Cruz Sunday (Showtime, 5 pm/8 pm), Lopez has taken to social media, still insisting he won.

Meanwhile, he and father-trainer, Teofimo Sr., say they’re moving on, moving up to junior welterweight. But going up the scale won’t wipe away what happened last Saturday. There’s no moving beyond.

Instead of repeating the delusional double-down, how about congratulations to Kambosos? How about Lopez saying he’d like a rematch if he can make weight?

Maybe, Lopez will eventually review the video, review his conduct, and do both. Maybe, he just can’t make the weight any more. Maybe, he can wait to fight Kambosos at a heavier weight. Or at a catch weight. Maybe, maybe.

An acknowledgment that he lost, however, would be a beginning, the first step toward redemption for a good fighter who brags about being The Takeover, his nickname. More like the take-down.

Lopez is a likable kid, emphasis on kid. Whether he can grow into the great fighter he’s been projected to be, however, begins now.

His defeat is exactly the sort of adversity that transforms good young fighters into Hall of Famers. Ray Leonard wouldn’t be Sugar if not for his Montreal loss to Roberto Duran in 1980. Ali wouldn’t be Ali without his New York loss to Joe Frazier in 1971. Inherently, boxing is about overcoming, getting up off the canvas and coming back from defeat. Now, Lopez has that opportunity, but it’s up to him to see something beyond the delusional.

Lopez’ loss was surely on the minds of everybody at separate news conferences Thursday. First, there was the Davis-Cruz newser in Los Angeles for a 135-pound fight at Staples Center on pay-per-view (talk about delusional, but a story for another delusional day).

“Last Saturday, we all saw what happens when you don’t take your opponent seriously,’’ said Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, who promised the heavily-favored Davis is deadly serious about Cruz, a late-stand in.

Then, there was the Haney-Diaz newser in Las Vegas for the lightweight fight at MGM Grand. Kambosos, the winning face of what can happen to the delusional, was there. In an interview with UK promoter Eddie Hearn, he said was on a “scouting mission.” He’ll be at ringside for Haney-Diaz Saturday and Davis-Cruz Sunday.

He’s hoping, he says, for a fight against Haney, who apparently holds the last link to the 135-pound division’s undisputed title. Sorry, but there’s that word again, Kambosos’ word: Delusional. It’s everywhere. Boxing has no effective vaccine for it.

In beating Lopez, Kambosos took five belts, including the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) so-called “franchise’’ designation. That left only the WBC’s other lightweight belt in the hands of Haney. Apparently, the undisputed puzzle just keeps metastasizing.

Let’s just say that Kambosos is the lightweight champion. Period. Please.

In a welcome twist, the unlikely Kambosos might have finally awakened the lightweight division. When Lopez upset Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020, there was a lot of talk about a golden era at 135-pounds. It was even called Four Kings (insert the D-word here).

That, of course, was an insult to Leonard, Duran, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns, the four pillars to George Kimball’s enduring book on their defining rivalry in the late 1970s and early 80s.

In Twitter time, Lopez, Davis, Haney, and Ryan Garcia suddenly became Four Successors. But time is proving them to be Four Reluctants. They’ve yet to fight each other.

Enter Kambosos, who isn’t shy about his willingness to fight any of them as soon as possible. If not Haney, then Davis. Or maybe Lomachenko, who has a chance to reclaim his place in the division on Dec. 11 against a bigger Richard Commey at Madison Square Garden.

Five days after his bruising victory over Lopez, Kambosos was still a long way from an Aussie-style celebration in hometown Sydney He was on the road looking for another fight.

He told Hearn that he’d be willing to step in if either Haney or Diaz suffered some inadvertent injury before Saturday’s opening bell.

“I’ll use the same shorts I used against Lopez,’’ Kambosos said. “They must be still full of blood.’’

Guts instead of you-know-what, too.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Terence Crawford put the debate back into the pound-for-pound campaign. But there’s no argument about pay-per-view. Canelo Alvarez owns it. Almost monopolizes it.

Perhaps the two, P4P and PPV, shouldn’t be linked. But forget the old apples-and -oranges advice. Punches-and-pay do mix. It’s called prizefighting. It’s one word, sometimes separated only by a hyphen, depending on who’s doing the spell check. Yet, they’re forever one and the same, a little bit like blood-and-sport.

The linkage was never more evident than it has been over the last couple of weeks. It was capped by Crawford’s statement stoppage of Shawn Porter last Saturday in Las Vegas. At one level, it was almost predictable. It was vintage Crawford — always poised, powerful and predatory.

Because of delays throughout the pandemic season and some of the usual divisions in in the balkanized boxing business, however, we just forgot how good – scary good — he really is.

He reminded us, winning a 10^th-round TKO over a smart, tough ex-welterweight champion who had never been stopped. Within one round, Porter was down twice, which equaled the number of times he had been on the canvas before the 36^th bout in his 13-year career. Then, Porter announced his retirement.

It was stunning. From Keith Thurman to Errol Spence Jr., there have been all kinds of explanations as to why Crawford had not faced the best-known fighters in the 147-pound division. There was the promotional divide, PBC and Top Rank. There were rival networks. Yet in one dynamic performance, Crawford displayed plenty of reasons to avoid him.

The big reason, however, arrived a couple days after the fight. The pay-per-view numbers were a disappointment, despite a capacity crowd of 11,568 at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

According to various reports, they ranged from 135,000 to 190,000. Whatever the number, it fell short of expectations. The guess before opening bell was 300,000. Top Rank’s Bob Arum had talked about 500,000 to 1.5 million for a bout carried exclusively on ESPN +. That exclusivity might have limited the television audience. Crawford thinks so.

“I feel like there was a lot of opportunities left on the table,” Crawford said Tuesday on Shawn Porter’s podcast, The Porter Way. “You know what I mean? Not only with fighters (like Thurman and Spence), but also with pay-per-view. Like for instance, me and Shawn Porter fought on a app. 

“There were so many people that was telling me they don’t know how to get the app on the TV. They don’t know how to do it. And, you know, the average elderly or person that doesn’t — you know, know tech – they’re not gonna know how to get the app on the TV. So, what do they do? They don’t buy.’’

There were other factors. Crawford-Porter was just the latest in a string of pay-per-view bouts. There was Tyson Fury’s wild KO of Deontay Wilder on Oct. 9. There was Canelo’s stoppage of Caleb Plant on Nov. 6.

Then, there’s inflation. The PPV price for Crawford-Porter was $69.99. Add another $6.99 if you weren’t already an ESPN+ subscriber. A month-long subscription was part of the price tag. That comes to $76.98. In other words, do you buy the fight or a tank of gas?

Maybe, the disappointing PPV numbers were also a result of bad scheduling. It was the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Turkey isn’t exactly cheap either.

Trouble is, Crawford’s PPV numbers have never been good, despite his brilliance. That’s problematic for a fighter who was a promotional free agent the second Porter’s father and trainer, Kenny Porter, ended it at 1:21 of the 10^th. Then, Crawford indicated he was leaving Top Rank. But his PPV record, more than his unbeaten record, will determine whether he can land a rich deal. The prize in prizefighting is pretty simple: Follow the money.

Arum has talked about a one-fight deal with Crawford versus Scotland’s Josh Taylor, the best fighter in the UK today. It makes sense. Taylor, the unified junior-welterweight champion, would move to 147 to face Crawford, a former unified champion at 140.

However, Arum is talking about doing the fight in the UK. Why? Because Crawford’s PPV numbers make him the so-called B-side. The money for a Crawford-Taylor fight would be in pounds instead of dollars. More Brits than Americans would buy it.

Meanwhile, Crawford’s victory over Porter appears to have resurrected interest in a fight with Spence, who underwent eye surgery in August. Spence was at ringside for Crawford-Porter. So was Taylor. But Spence has stronger PPV numbers than Crawford. That creates a real dilemma for the fighter who – from this corner – emerged from the victory over Porter as the pound-for-pound No.1, ahead of No. 2 Canelo.

But this debate will continue, well into 2022. Canelo has more than punching power. Pay-per-view, he’s undisputed. His victory over Plant did a reported 800,000 buys, or at least 600,000 more than the reported number of customers for Crawford’s victory. The result is that Canelo can do what he wants. 

For now, that means Ilunga Makabu instead of David Benavidez.

In a surprise, Canelo manager/trainer Eddy Reynoso asked the World Boxing Council (WBC) for permission to challenge Makabu, the acronym’s cruiserweight champion from The Congo.

The WBC is about the prize, too. There’s money – a good sanctioning fee –in the move. There’s risk, too. Canelo would be jumping up the scale in a bid for a fifth division title. There’s a reason for weight classes. Canelo is in jeopardy of suffering a knockout. He could get hurt.

If he wins, however, he wins the PPV debate. Even if he’s defeated and emerges unhurt, he’s in a no-lose situation. He’ll still have his undisputed super-middleweight title. He’ll be applauded for taking the risk, and applause counts for a lot in the pound-for-pound race, which is inherently political.

For Benavidez, that means more waiting and more calling out Canelo. He did so after blowing out a brave Kyrone Davis in an impressive Phoenix homecoming a couple of weeks ago. If he fights David Lemieux – as rumored — for a mandatory shot at Canelo WBC 168-pound title, Canelo could decide to fight at light-heavyweight. Maybe, Benavidez gets shot at him at 175, Maybe, not.

For now, it’s Canelo’s call. On any scale, he’s got all the clout.

LAS VEGAS — Shawn Porter announced Saturday that will retire during the post-fight news conference following his stoppage loss to Terence Crawford for the welterweight title at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

“I am ending my career tonight,” Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOS) said after father and trainer Kenny Porter ended it in the 10th-round of a bout televised by ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Porter was knocked down twice in the 10th by Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs).

In losing for the first time by stoppage, Porter was knocked down as many times within one round as he was in his career — first by Adrian Broner and then by Errol Spence Jr.

LAS VEGAS – In the end, it was Terence Crawford’s dance floor.

He danced with his family. Danced with his mom. Maybe he danced to the top of the pound-for-pound debate.

Neither the dance nor the debate figures to end anytime soon. Above all, Crawford proved he still belongs on any dance floor and in any debate with a 10^th-round stoppage of Shawn Porter Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Porter came as advertised. He knows a lot of dance steps. But he couldn’t sustain them against the patient Crawford. He knows how to wait. Knows how to adjust. And how to finish.

The finish came at 1:21 of the 10^th round after two knockdowns of Porter. Porter’s first trip to the canvas started with a left-uppercut from. The return trip started with a combination followed by a left hand to the head. Frustrated, Porter got up and stomped his foot.

 But the gesture was futile. It was over. His father and trainer, Kenny Porter, was already up the steps with towel in hand. The towel was never thrown. The referee and inspector for the Nevada Commission saw it and acted. Kenny Porter would later say his son wasn’t properly prepared, confirming rumors that Shawn Porter had a problematic camp.

For Crawford, however, it was a moment that punctuated what he wanted to accomplish.

The belt, the World Boxing Organization’s version of the welterweight. Title, was still in his dangerous hands. More important, he strengthened his claim on the top spot in the pound-for-pound debate. Canelo Alvarez, are you listening?

One potential Crawford rival, however, was there. Listening and watching. Errol Spence had a ringside seat.

“Now wait, my thing is, who’s No. 1 in the welterweight division now?” Crawford said in a comment clearly intended for Spence.

At the top of the 147-pound division, it’s either Spence or Crawford. There is nobody else. Crawford made sure of it by eliminating Porter from any real say-so in the weight class. Crawford also has the last word, at least for now.

“You know who I want,’’ said Crawford, who collected about $6 million, $2 million more than Porter’s $4 million payday. “I’ve been calling him out all day. Maybe, Spence will get his tail out of his butt and fight me.’’

Maybe.

For now, there are questions about where Crawford is headed. Promotionally, he’s a free agent. His victory of Porter was the last fight on Top Rank contract.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum is confident he can re-sign him. Arum is already talking about a fight between Crawford and junior-welterweight champion Josh Taylor, who is preparing to move up in weight

For now, however, Crawford only wanted to celebrate a night that began with Porter coming out fast, moving forward and attacking throughout the first three minutes. For one round, it worked. He appeared to win the round with his aggressiveness.

He also was sending a message, one that he wore on the back of his black-and-orange robe. Marvelous War, it said. It was a tribute to legendary warrior, Marvin Hagler. It was note of respect to the past. But it was also a look at the immediate future, a sign of what Porter intended to do.

To wit: Crawford better be ready to brawl. He was. Porter unleashed a whirlwind of an arsenal — conventional, unconventional and often a blur of both.

“I figured that I had the reach and he had to take chances to come to him and he did what he normally does,’’ Crawford said.  “He tried to maul and push me back but I used my angles and I pushed him back at times as well.  Shawn Porter is a slick fighter he was doing some things in there and made me think

“I know I caught him with a good uppercut and then when I caught hidm with another left hook clean in his face that he was real hurt and his dad did the right thing by stopping it because I was coming with a vengeance.’’

In the end, there was nothing else to do but dance to Chaka Khan’ “Ain’t Nobody.’’

For one night, nobody but Terence Crawford.

Falcao wins technical decision in dull bout stopped by head butt

It was called an eliminator. In one way, it was. The crowd cheered when the final six rounds of the Esquiva Falcao-Patrice Volny was eliminated because head butt.

The butt came late in the sixth after Volny (16-1, 10 KOs), of Montreal, swung his head into Falcao’s face. The bout, so-called eliminator for a shot at the International Boxing Federation’s middleweight title. Everything before then was boring. Think deadly dull.

After it was determined that Falcao could not continue, the scorecards were turned in and counted. Two scores, 57-56 and 58-56 were for Falcao, an Olympic silver medalist from Brazil The third — a head scratcher — was for Volny, 86-84. Falcao (29-0, 20 KOs) got the victory by technical decision.

The crowd got some relief. At least, it was over.

Kazak middleweight Alimkhanuly wins stoppage

Janibek Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7KOs) ), a heavy-handed middleweight from Kazakhstan, administered a beating, landing lethal left hands that rocked Hassan N’Dam around the ring and off the ropes, virtually everywhere except on to the canvas.

Somehow, N’Dam (38-6, 21 KOs) , a former middleweight champion from Cameroon, stayed on his feet throughout the bout on a card featuring Crawford-Porter. But that wasn’t enough for him to have even a slim chance of winning. Finally, Kenny Bayless stopped it at 2:46 of the eighth round of a bout that could have easily been stopped a round or two earlier.

Unbeaten Raymond Muratalla wins fifth-round TKO

There was no stopping Raymond Muratalla (13-0, 11 KOs), a lightweight from Fontana CA. Elias Araujo (21-4, 8KOs), of Argentina, couldn’t. But Allen Huggins could. And did.

Huggins stepped in and ended the bout at 2:20 of the fifth round in the first ESPN + PPV bout on the Crawford-Porter card. Araujo protested, first in anger. Then, in tears. But the referee had seen enough. Muratalla began to land punch after punch. Blood began to drip from a cut on Araujo’s cheek and from his nose.

Huggins saved him from what would have been a bad beating.  

Dogboe wins majority decision

LAS VEGAS –Isaac Dogboe, a fighter from Ghana once projected to be a star, continued to try to regain some of his abundant promise, scoring a narrow victory — majority decision — over Puerto Rican Christopher Diaz (26-4, 16 KOs) on a card featuring Crawford-Porter.

Dogboe , a former 122-pound champion now at featherweight, won his third straight since his career(26-4, 16 KOs) was sidetracked by successive losses to Emanuel Navarrete.

Head butt leads to no decision

There was blood. But there was no decision.

Adan Ochoa (12-2, 5 KOs), a featherweight from Long Beach CA, was badly cut above his right eye in a head butt with Adam Lopez (15-3, 6 LOs of Glendale CA during the first round of a scheduled eight-rounder. on the Crawford-Porter card.

Late in the second, the blood began to flow into Ochoa’s eye. Just as the bell rang to start the third, the fight was stopped, declared a no decision because it had not gone at least four rounds.

Karlos Balderas wins fourth-round stoppage

Karlos Balderas (11-1, 10 KOs), a junior-lightweight from Santa Maria CA, was bigger and just better, scoring repeatedly with combinations, including a headrocking left-right that finished Julio Cortez (15-4, 11 KOs) of Ecuador at 2:13 of the fourth round in the second bout on the Crawford-Porter card.

First Bell: Tiger Jonson kicks off his career and Crawford-Porter card with TKO win

It was first bell. A debut, too.

Tiger Johnson, a welterweight from Cleveland, kicked off his career and the card featuring Terence Crawford-versus-Shawn Porter with a stoppage of Antonius Grable (3-3-1, 3 KOs) in a Saturday matinee at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Johnson landed successive right hands, leaving Grable of Sarasota, FL dazed and done at 1:54 of the fourth round.

Just to make sure that everybody noticed, celebrated by walking toward retired welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, who was already in his ringside seat for he ESPN + pay-per-view telecast..

“I’m here, Tim,” Johnson shouted as he leaned over the ropes. “I’m here.”

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Only two ounces separated them on the scale. That amounts to a couple of AA batteries, or maybe a tennis ball. It’s not much, somewhere between tiny and imperceptible.

Call it even, a sign perhaps of what to expect in a compelling welterweight fight between Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter Saturday (ESPN + pay-per-view/6 pm PT, 9 pm ET) at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena.

Betting odds suggest otherwise. They were 6-to-1 in favor of Crawford after he was at 146.4 pounds and Porter at 146.6 Friday at the formal weigh-in.

If those odds are reliable, Crawford will prove what he’s been saying all along. His skillset, he says, is unrivaled at welterweight and perhaps any weight.

It’s a claim he has asserted and re-asserted throughout a pound-for-pound debate that has shifted in favor of Canelo Alvarez, a super-middleweight champion who apparently is planning to fight for a cruiserweight title.

Against the smart and stubborn Porter, Crawford has a chance to punch some real evidence into his pound-for-pound claim.

“Beating a guy like Shawn Porter would boost my resume and my legacy to the next level,’’ Crawford, the World Boxing Organization’s champion, said earlier this week. “I’m not going to be biased. I’m going to be realistic.

“It depends on how I beat Shawn Porter and what fashion.’’

Fashion could mean just about anything. But a stoppage seems to fit best. It would say everything Crawford hopes to.

However, Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs), never a man of many words, said even less Friday. Opening bell is close. He stepped off the scale Friday and only said he wanted to win.

But he punctuated that comment with the intense eyes that appear to to see opportunity in the approaching storm. Lose the opportunity and he has lost the debate.

Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) also understands the stakes. He said a few weeks ago that he thought Crawford, unbeaten and a three-division champion, is already in the Hall of Fame. Porter is not quite there yet. But he’s on the brink, he said. An upset of Crawford would put him there.

Despite the seemingly one-sided odds, Porter has a resume that suggests he can spring that upset.

He has lost three fights – to Errol Spence Jr., Keith Thurman and Kell Brook He has a draw with Julio Diaz. He’s been down twice, once against Spence and once against Adrian Broner. That’s the part of his record that says he’s vulnerable.

But here’s what says he has a shot: He’s never been stopped. More significant, perhaps, is that he lost narrowly on the scorecards — a split decision — to Spence before Spence was badly hurt in a car crash. Pre-accident, Crawford-Spence might have been a pick-em fight.

Porter’s gritty resilience against Spence is just one marker that says that he can do what the odds say he can’t.

He knows that, knows it enough to smile straight into the menace projected by Crawford’s unforgiving eyes.

They measured each other throughout an unblinking stare-down during the ritual face-off for nearly 23 seconds after the weigh-in.

Porter finally broke it off, faced the crowd and smiled.

“Terence, you know better than I do that you’ve matured,’’ he said a couple of days before the weigh-in. “I feel like people see your personality and your character right now more than they’ve ever seen, but I feel like I’m still correct in saying that when the wrong Tweet or Instagram post goes up, you can get upset.’’

Upset, maybe, in more ways than one.

By Norm Frauenheim–

LAS VEGAS – Friends aren’t supposed to fight each other. But Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter are about to in a fight fascinating in large part because of a friendship forged and often tested over a couple of decades.

Both 34, they’ve grown up together, brothers-in-arms who on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena will walk to opposite corners and then face each other in perhaps the best bout (ESPN+ pay-per-view, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET) in the fabled welterweight division in awhile

It’s intriguing for all the usual reasons. There’s legacy and the pound-for-pound debate. It’s also the best fight at any weight in the post-Manny Pacquiao era. It’s a chance to move on in a business so often trapped in nostalgia.

That accounts for some late buzz suddenly surrounding a fight that was kind of lost when formally announced amid noisy hype before Tyson Fury’s wild stoppage of Deontay Wilder in the capper to a heavyweight trilogy on October 9.

Fury-Wilder was a carnival. Crawford-Porter could be a classic.

A sure sign of it is in the absence of the tired trash talk that cheapens so much of what boxing has to offer. In terms of the pre-fight rhetoric, most bouts these days are a cross between pro wrestling and a lousy-lounge act.

The pre-fight tone to this one is different. Translation: Nothing phony about it. The reason rests in what Crawford and Porter know about each other. They’ve watched each other, sometimes in admiration and sometimes warily, as amateurs and then as young pros. They might never have imagined that they would one day meet at the top of the 147-pound division.

But here they are, at a crossroads to a shared journey. In some ways, it almost looks inevitable. Then again, doesn’t everything in hindsight? But much of the bout revolves around what they’ve seen in each other over the years. Their past creates a dramatic dynamic.

They’ll step into the ring as very different personalities. Crawford says little. Porter, a television analyst, says a lot.

Crawford has the most expressive eyes since Thomas Hearns. They say everything. There’s anger there. Menace, too. More than a few opponents have looked into Crawford’s eyes and melted down.

But Porter won’t. He has looked into them. Looked back. Seen that anger. If anything, he’ll try to turn it around, turn it against Crawford.

Porter’s father and trainer, Kenny Porter, looks at Crawford and recalls a testy confrontation with him when the Omaha welterweight was 20-years old. Both Crawford and Shawn were fighting in an amateur tournament in Venezuela. There was a brawl in the stands. Kenny Porter thought he saw Crawford in the middle of it.

Kenny Porter decided to confront Crawford about it. He said he encountered Crawford in a dark hallway beneath the stands. He was about to ask him what in- the-hell happened.

That’s when Kenny Porter said he looked at Crawford and saw those eyes flash like a spark off flint.

“Then, I looked at Terence’s hands, which were already balled up into fists,’’ Kenny Porter said. “He looked at me. It was a look that said: ‘What do you want to do?’

“I decided to walk away. But that’s Terence.’’

Then and now.

It’s the Terence Crawford that father Kenny Porter and son Shawn say is essentially still there.

“I believe Terence Crawford is more dangerous than any fighter today,’’ Kenny Porter said.

But dangerous doesn’t mean unbeatable. Mike Tyson was the defining face of dangerous until he ran into Buster Douglas and then Evander Holyfield.

Shawn Porter puts on his analyst’s cap when he studies today’s Crawford, No. 2 to Canelo Alvarez in many pound-for-pound rankings.

He sees a fighter he might be able to disrupt with an inside attack full of uppercuts and counters.

Crawford’s versatile skillset – an ability to switch from orthodox to southpaw and one-punch power – has allowed him to dictate tempo throughout his unbeaten career (37-0, 28 KOs), which includes titles at three weights. That – and those eyes – help explain the odds. He was a 6-to-1 favorite Thursday.

But Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) thinks he can frustrate Crawford in ways that might anger him enough to interrupt a rhythm that from – fight-to fight – Crawford has been able to establish and sustain.

Porter knows Crawford’s temperament. He has seen him get angry at criticism.

“Every tweet, every social-media post that goes up, you’re going to get upset,’’ Porter said to Crawford Wednesday during the final formal news conference.

Crawford looked back and said:

“Maybe, maybe not.”

Texts and social media posts aren’t exactly uppercuts and counters. But Porter hopes they have the same impact, mostly because he’s seen how an old friend reacts to them. Porter’s use of the word “upset” was no coincidence. That’s what he’s planning.

Maybe, maybe not.

The Pick: Crawford, split decision. In the end, it’s a fight between consummate professionals. That means it will be decided by inches. Crawford is an inch taller. He has four-and-half more inches in reach. He’ll need those advantages and he’ll know how to use them against the clever Porter for a margin of a few points – inches – on the scorecards.

By Norm Frauenheim (Ringside) –

PHOENIX – There was a crowd of about 8,000. And there was an audience of one.

David Benavidez hopes he heard them.

All along, the Benavidez campaign has been about Canelo Alvarez. He’s been chasing Canelo for a couple of years. On Saturday, he delivered another performance in a homecoming that keeps him squarely in the mix for a shot at the undisputed super-middleweight champion.

Benavidez (25-0, 25 KOs) beat a tough Kyrone Davis (16-3-1, 6 KOs), forcing Davis’ corner to throw in the towel early in the seventh round at The Footprint Center.

“I think everybody wants to see me fight Canelo, right? Benavidez said in the middle of the ring moments after his victory.

The crowd roared yes. A Showtime audience heard it. Maybe, Canelo did too. The echoes will be there weeks from now as Canelo thinks about who’s next. There’s plenty of talk about a Benavidez-Canelo showdown on May 7. It’s a perfect match – Benavidez, a Mexican-American against Canelo, a Mexican — for the Cinco de Mayo celebration.

But Canelo, deliberate in the ring and out of it, said he won’t be in a rush to make a decision. He has the belts. He has the pay-per-view numbers. He has options aplenty. He has the time. He’s has it all.

For now, Benavidez can only wait. That won’t be easy.

“I don’t care what his assessment of my fight is,’’ Benavidez said of Canelo. “But they keep putting these contenders in front of me. 

“…They need to give me the opportunity. I’ll go through anybody.’’

At 24, Benavidez is still a maturing fighter with poise and power. He’s anxious to test that poise, use the power against the biggest name in the game.

Both were evident, again and again, through six rounds against Davis, who took huge shots from a relentless assault from the taller Benavidez.

Benavidez is known for throwing a so-called volume of punches. But there was no silencing Davis, a Terence Crawford sparring partner who agreed to the fight just two weeks before opening bell.  In the end, Davis trainer Stephen Edwards stepped in with a timely decision. It was time to end it. He did so at 47 seconds of the round

“David Benavidez is a tremendous fighter,’’ Edwards said. “He’s a monster.

“We fought. We tried to win. We didn’t come here to lay down. I think a lot people through that was the case. But I love this kid. I didn’t want to see him get hurt.’’

Seconds after the towel landed in the center of the ring, Benavidez showed his appreciation for Davis. He hugged him.

“He thanked me, thanked me for being a warrior,’’ Davis said.

David Benavidez’ victory helped his family and his fans forget about brother Jose Benavidez Jr.’s debatable majority draw with Argentine Francisco Torres (17-3-1, 5 KOs) in 10-round fight contracted to be at 159 pounds. Two judges scored it 95-95 each. One judged scored it 96-94 for Jose, who was fighting for the first time in three years. 15 Rounds scored it 96-94 for Torres.  

“I don’t know how I got a draw,’’ Jose Jr. (27-2, 18 KOs) said.  “We can run it back. I beat him. I thought I beat him. He kept running. He didn’t want to stay in the pocket. I can’t do anything about the judges’ decisions. I felt good. He just kept holding. I beat him every round. What can I do?

“I beat him. I beat him. He wasn’t hitting me hard. He just kept holding.’’

But the crowd seems to think otherwise. It booed Jose Benavidez. It cheered Torres.

In the end, however, there were only cheers.

For both David Benavidez and Davis.

Best of the Undercard

Junior-middleweight Elijah Garcia (9-0, 8 KOs) of nearby Glendale AZ, opened the show, flashing some prospect possibilities with a succession of power shots for a fifth-round TKO of Todd Manuel (2-91-1, 6 KOs) of Rayne, LA.

The Rest

Micky Scala (3-0, 1 KO), a Mesa AZ junior-middleweight who recently signed with Floyd Mayweather, endured some head-rocking shots, countered and in the end won a four-round unanimous decision over Martez Jackson (5-6-3, 2 KOs) of Macon GA.

Jesus Ibarra (12-0, 6 KOs), a junior-welterweight from Mesa AZ, calls himself Monsoon. He showed why in the second, storming Mexican Hector (12-14-2, 6 KOs) for a TKO victory at 2:05 of the round.

Farid Ngoga (12-0, 11 KOs), a junior-middleweight from Glendale AZ, employed a mix of speed and precision for a unanimous decision over Isaac Freeman (3-10-2, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles.

Junior-lightweight Jonathan Fierro (12-0, 11 KOs) didn’t waste any time. It took him 29 seconds to blow out fellow Mexican Victor Ruiz (13-12, 11 KOs). Officially it was a technical knockout. Nothing technical about it.

Phoenix featherweight Keenan Carbajal (23-2-1, 15 KOs) was too big for an overmatched Josean Bonilla (12-7-2, 9 KOs), who was bloodied and beaten after three rounds. The referee ended it after just two second of the fourth.

By Norm Frauenheim-

PHOENIX – More than three years, 37 months and counting, have come, gone and almost been forgotten since Jose Benavidez Jr. answered an opening bell.

He learned how to be a dad. He has a young daughter and his wife is expecting another child in February. He learned how to live like just another guy. There was no roadwork at sunrise. Holidays were spent at home and at the dinner table instead of at a gym decorated by only bags and bruises.

Benavidez learned to like it.

At least, most of it.

But he couldn’t quite learn how to live without that old regimen. He grew up to the rhythm of a speed bag.  He missed it, all of it during the days, weeks, months and years since he fought fearlessly against Terence Crawford, perhaps the game’s most feared fighter.

It was an intriguing fight then. Now, it’s a memorable one, a significant fight remembered for what it still says about Crawford’s pound-for-pound aspirations as he prepares for a key test against Shawn Porter. It’s memorable, too, for what it still says about Jose Benavidez Jr.

The bold swagger is still there, impossible to contain. You can hear it in his words and see it in dark eyes that flash like a spark off flint.

All that and more were evident Thursday at a news conference for Jose Jr.’s comeback at junior-middleweight against Argentine Francisco Torres in Showtime-televised card (6 p.mp PT/9 pm ET) featuring brother David Benavidez-versus-Kyrone Davis on the Phoenix Suns home floor at Footprint Center.

The brothers are there to make a statement. For David, it’s about a fight that says he belongs at the front of the line for a shot at Canelo Alvarez. For Jose Jr., it’s a fight to say he’s back.

In a sport that has seen and done it all, thirty-seven idle months are expected to leave so-called rust on much, if not all, of the skillset. We’ll see. But there was no rust or reticence in Jose Jr.’s willingness to engage in some familiar trash talk. The words and the look were as fearless as ever.

“I feel like I’m a different animal now,’’ Jose Jr.  said as he looked at Torres. “When I say I’m going to do something, I do it. He better not run on Saturday. I’m coming to break his ribs with body shots. 

“I don’t care how busy he’s been. He’s never seen anyone with power like mine. You better be ready for Saturday night.

“He’s a bum just like the bums that he’s fought. I’m back to take this clown out and show everyone that I’m going to be the next 154-pound world champion.’’

Moments later, he would stand in front of Torres in the ritual face-off for the cameras. All the while, a media consultant for PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) said: “Easy, easy.’’

Three-plus years away from the ring have done nothing to dull Jose’s mind set. It’s still got that fearless edge. It was there on Oct. 12, 2018 in Omaha, Neb., at the weigh-in before the bout with Crawford. Jose Jr. shoved Crawford. Crawford countered with a missile-like, bare-handed punch that narrowly missed Benavidez’ jaw.

“I thought maybe he was trying kiss me or something,’’ Benavidez said then.

Let’s just say that Crawford’s attempted punch was not motivated by affection. Hostility at the weigh-in led to Omaha police adding further officers to its presence both in and outside the ring. There was tension evident in the capacity crowd, which gathered to watch the hometown Crawford punish Benavidez. But Benavidez wasn’t intimidated. Crawford stopped him, but not until midway through the 12^th and final round.

Benavidez didn’t win. But there was – still is — talk that maybe he could have. He took Crawford into the 12^th, limping on his right leg. He kneecap was blown way in a still mysterious shooting on a Phoenix canal bank in August 2016.

“The knee is fine,’’ he said Thursday. “It’s 100 percent. One-hundred-and-ten percent.’’

Nothing wrong with that fearlessness, either.

A day before the news conference, Jose Benavidez Jr. was reminded of the Crawford fight. In a zoom call Wednesday, Porter said he has been studying video of the fight in training for his Nov. 20 date against Crawford at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

“You could see that Jose had boxing abilities that gave Terence problems,’’ Porter said.

Then, Porter added: “I’ve got everything Jose has got and maybe a little bit more.’’

Porter’s comment seemed to be a nod a respect for Benavidez. When told of the quote, Jose Jr.’ eyes flashed the way they would at Thursday’s face-off with Torres.

“I used to kick Porter’s ass when I was 16-year-old sparring with him,’’ Benavidez said. “Terence Crawford is going to kick his ass. After he does, I’ll be happy to.’’

No rust on the rhetoric.Attachments area

BY Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – It was part weigh-in. Part popularity contest.

Caleb Plant made the weight and – from the sound of it – a ton of more enemies.

On any scale, Canelo Alvarez won Friday’s weigh-in by thunderous acclamation for Saturday night’s super-middleweight fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

That wasn’t exactly a surprise. Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast (6p.pm PT/9 pm ET) has always been Canelo’s show. He’s the draw, the irreplaceable dynamic that stirs up the interest, if not the drama. The odds say so. Canelo was still a 10-1 favorite late Friday, according to BetMGM.

The purses say so, too. Canelo will collect at least $40 million, or four times more than Plant’s $10-million guarantee, according to multiple sources.

Canelo, who was at the 168-pound limit Friday, appears to be close to having it all. A final piece, Plant’s International Boxing Federation belt, is expected to be in his possession. sometime Saturday night.

A lot of it depends on Plant (21-0, 12 KOs), however. Can he surprise – stun – the heavily-favored Canelo? His agile footwork and hand speed might give Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) some trouble in the early rounds. Still, the questions are whether he has any real power and whether he can survive a predictable Canelo assault to body and head in the later rounds.

There were no sounds of doubt in Friday’s weigh-in crowd. There were only jeers, all for Plant at every turn. First, there were boos when he stepped onto the scale. Then, there were insults when he stepped off after weighing 167 pounds.

Plant fired back, mocking the Canelo crowd with gestures and words. He looked angry. Then, the Tennessee native turned defiant, sounding like a southern-fried Vanilla Ice.

“It’s easy to sit in those seats,’’ Plant said. “It ain’t easy to stand up here.’’

Canelo, of course, is saying that Plant won’t be standing at all when it’s over. The Mexican superstar says he’ll stop Plant between the seventh and ninth rounds.

With his growing command of English and all its expletives, Canelo trash-talked Plant while the two glared at each other. They were separated by the scale, regulators and promoters. Everybody was anxious to avoid an encore of the brawl that erupted two months ago during a news conference in Los Angeles.

Behind them, stood Mike Tyson, a former heavyweight champion known for wild news conferences and wilder moments. He was standing not far from the floor where he bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the notorious Bite Fight in 1997.

Tyson likes Canelo. He picks him to win

“He’s the he best fighter of his generation,’’ said Tyson, who at the time almost looked as if he were relieved not to be involved in any of the tension, words and other signs of imminent hostility.

Showtime’s Jim Gray asked him if he missed the scene, a mix of chaos and nervous anticipation.

“Not so much,’’ said Tyson, a Canelo fan who also knew how Plant felt.

He’s been there, a sign perhaps that just about anything can happen Saturday night.    Attachments area

By Norm Frauenheim –

Canelo Alvarez moves forward, forever forward. In the ring. Out of it, too.

In a twist to an old line, his life on the safe side of the ropes is beginning to imitate his punishing mastery of a brutal art.

He wears silk pajamas. Sorry, Marvin Hagler. Hagler used to say that it was hard to get up early to train when you’ve been sleeping in silk sheets. Hagler’s words are classic, a timeless warning about how wealth in a successful prizefighting career can erode motivation.

But the reasons to fight remain undiminished in Canelo (51-1-2, 38 KOs), powerfully evident and still evolving in a 31-year-old fighter moving into his prime Saturday against Caleb Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) with business-like attention to detail.

He wears caps and T-shirts that include trainer Eddy Reynoso’s trademark motto:

No Boxing, No Life.

It’s good advertising, marketing that sells gloves and gear. But it’s also a philosophy, a guide that helps define how Canelo fights. How he lives. Other than the ropes, there’s no separation between the two. Boxing buys the silk. It allows him to work on his handicap on the golf course when he’s not in the gym working on how to handicap his next opponent.

This week, it happens to be Plant in Canelo’s pursuit of the fourth significant piece to the super-middleweight title at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena (Showtime PPV). Months from now, it could be David Benavidez, who is expected to stay in the Canelo mix against Kyrone Davis on Sept. 13 in Phoenix another Showtime-televised 168-pound bout.

Or, it could be against a bigger fighter in a jump up to light-heavyweight in the beginning of another bid for another unified title.

Canelo likes to say he is pursuing history. That’s a little easier to do these days with a preponderance of title and weight classes. But make no mistake about his pursuit. It’s methodical, almost merciless if, like Plant, you happen to be in his way.

“They know what I’m going to do in the ring, even more so in this fight,’’ said Canelo, who is seeking to become the first so-called undisputed champion in the 54-year history of the super-middleweight division. The weight class was created in 1967.

They – Plant and his corner – should know. It’s hard not to for anybody who has watched Canelo’s steady, almost deliberate ascent from an entertaining kid from Mexico with red hair to the feared fighter he is today.

There’s always something new, some additional tactical wrinkle to his war chest. Sustaining a successful business means evolving. Canelo always is. A couple of years ago, there was more head movement. More defense.

Lately, there appears to be more precision to his power, a warning for Plant, who might be in trouble if he doesn’t deliver a punch in the early rounds that says he has enough power to hurt Canelo.

It’s abundantly clear that neither Canelo nor the odds makers think Plant has that power. It’s never really been there with much consistency. The betting odds favor Canelo by a one-sided margin, now at 11-1.

Then, there’s Canelo’s evident confidence. He’s relaxed and seemingly as sure of himself as he has ever been. He’s a man in command of the ring and the bully pulpit. Years ago, he relied on an interpreter to translate his Spanish. In the weeks before Saturday’s opening bell, he’s been answering questions in English. He’s even been translating for Reynoso.

It’s just another sure sign that Canelo never quits learning.

Against Plant, he says the fight is personal. For a fighter who conducts himself according to the No Boxing, No Life motto, when is it not?

Plant, who was involved in altercation with Canelo a couple of month ago during a news conference in Los Angeles, knows that. He said so Wednesday after the final formal news conference at the MGM Grand.

“All fights are personal for me,’’ Plant told reporters. “It’s not a job. It’s my whole life. My dad is a boxing coach. My wife is a boxing reporter. …

“It’s all we do, all we think about.

“Anybody getting in my way of what I’m trying to accomplish — being remembered after I’m no longer here – anybody trying to disrupt that, that’s personal.’’

In other words: No Boxing, No Life.

Canelo makes it personal better than anyone. It’s the way he does business.

“I need to be patient the few first rounds, like Eddy said,’’ Canelo says. “Then, I’ll start doing my job.”

Prediction: He’ll do to Plant what he did to Avni Yildirim and Billy Joe Saunders in his last two bouts. Yildirim quit after three rounds. Saunders’ corner threw in the towel after eight. This one figures to end with Plant on the stool, finished in a late round.

By Norm Frauenheim–

David Benavidez, unbeaten and lately unlucky, waits more than wins these days.

He waited to recover from COVID. He waited to regain a shot at a super-middleweight title. He’s waited on Canelo Alvarez. And waited to go home.

The wait continued Thursday. The good news: It didn’t last long.

The day broke with a report that Benavidez’ homecoming foe, Jose Uzcategui, had been pulled from his Nov. 13 date in Phoenix because of a positive test for a banned performance enhancer.

About six hours later, the homecoming — Benavidez’ first fight in Phoenix in more than six years – was still on with an announcement from PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) and Showtime that a late stand-in had been found.

His name: Kyrone Davis (16-2-1, 6 KOs), a Wilmington, Delaware fighter who is 3-1-1 over his last five. The draw on Feb. 27 in Los Angeles was with Anthony Dirrell, whom Benavidez stopped in a ninth-round blowout in September 2019.

The potential bad news: The quick switch in opponents 17 days before opening bell means Benavidez won’t be fighting a World Boxing Council (WBC) title eliminator. The winner would have gained a mandatory chance at the acronym’s version of the belt, which Canelo will defend Nov. 6 against Caleb Plant in Las Vegas.

It was a scheduled 12-rounder against Uzcategui, a former 168-pound belt holder in a bout that had already been postponed. It was supposed to happen August 28 but was rescheduled after Benavidez caught COVID.

Against Davis, it’s a scheduled 10-rounder at Footprint Center at the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix.

Will it matter? Maybe not. Benavidez was expected to beat Uzcategui. He was a 9-to-1 favorite. He is expected to beat Davis by odds so one-sided that they might never be posted.

Uzcategui or Davis, Benavidez is the overwhelming choice against either, a lot like Canelo versus Plant at T-Mobile Arena. Canelo is an 8-to-1 favorite.

With an eliminator victory for the so-called mandatory, Benavidez might have gained some trash-talk leverage in the media about securing a deal for fight with Canelo fight.

But Canelo has the final say-so. It’s a prerogative that comes with his documented status as boxing’s biggest draw. If he takes the final piece in the 168-pound puzzle – the International Boxing Federation’s belt – from Plant, he might choose to move up the scale to light heavyweight.

However, he didn’t shut the door on the possibility of a fight with Benavidez. Before news of Uzcategui’s positive test, Canelo was asked what – who – was next during a Zoom session Wednesday for his bout with Plant. Would he fight the winner of Benavidez-Uzcatequi winner?

“Right now, I am 100-percent focused on this fight,’’ Canelo said. “Then we will see. If it’s right, no problem.’’

The calendar suggests an answer. Canelo, a Mexican, is fighting one Saturday and Benavidez, a Mexican-American, is fighting the next Saturday, both on Showtime.

That might be mere coincidence. But it doesn’t look like it. Canelo-Benavidez looks to be a perfect fit for May 7, two days after the Cinco de Mayo celebration next year.

Benavidez’ best argument for a fight with Canelo is in his performance. To wit: Do to Davis what he had promised to do Uzcategui.

“I’m going to go in there and do what I always do,’’ Benavidez said during a zoom session with reporters last week. “I’m always looking for a spectacular knockout. That’s just the way I train. I put my heart and soul into camp. No matter what fight might be on the horizon, it doesn’t change the way I prepare.

“…I’m the best super-middleweight in the, and I just have to show everybody why.’’

That’s one way to end all that waiting.

By Norm Frauenheim-

David Benavidez comes home in three weeks for his first fight in front of Phoenix friends and neighbors in about six-and-half years.

He’s back for a key date against Jose Uzcategui on the Suns home floor on November 13, a teenager no more. He was 18 then. He’s 24 now, still young. Young enough, in fact, to still be making that pivotal passage from prospect to contender.

But Benavidez blew past that step fast enough to be a prodigy. He was a contender and then a champion almost before anybody noticed.

Suddenly, he was a 20-year-old with a world title at super-middleweight, the youngest in the division’s history. He couldn’t buy a beer in his home state, but he was old enough to win a belt. Everything looked possible. Turns out, everything was.

He would go on to lose the title twice, but never within the ropes. He tested positive for cocaine, sat out a suspension and regained the belt.

Then, he failed to make weight, losing the title for a second time. His career is still years from its predicted prime, yet it has already moved along at an astonishing rate, including all of the ups and downs that are often the bookends — the beginning and the end – to other careers.

Now, he fights this time after battling COVID. His homecoming, initially scheduled for Aug. 28, was postponed when he tested positive for the virus.

Benavidez, who will step into the ring next month just 35 days before he turns 25 on Dec. 17, has seen a lot. But not all.  That won’t begin to happen, at least probably not until he gets a chance to fight Canelo Alvarez (More on that later.)

But enough has happened to say his wild ride has already included lots to celebrate and lessons to use. With each birthday, those lessons could grow in value.

A test of how much he has learned – how much he’s maturing – will be there against Uzcategui in an eliminator for a mandatory shot at his old title, the World Boxing Council’s version of the 168-pound title.

That makes his imminent Showtime date something of a milestone. Enough time has passed since his last appearance to get a measure of he was and who he’s becoming. A kid then. A man now.

He’s changed. So, has everything else, including. The last time he fought in Phoenix, it was at US Airways Center.

Now, it’s Footprint Center. Then, it was May 15, 2015. David Benavidez was the little brother. He was on the undercard for big brother Jose Benavidez Jr.’s victory for a junior-welterweight title.

This time around, Jose Jr. is on the card, making a comeback from his 12th-round stoppage loss in October 2018 to Terence Crawford.

“Now, roles are reversed,’’ David Benavidez said in a Zoom session with reporters earlier this week. “Still, I have my brother with me.’’

The brothers, both trained by their dad Jose, have been inseparable since they first started appearing on cards in and around Phoenix. Eventually they moved on, first to Los Angeles and then Seattle.

They’ve sparred. They’ve trashed talked, opponent and probably each other. There are no siblings without some kind of rivalry. In terms of their boxing records, however, they may one day have a unique connection.

Jose Benavidez Jr. lost to Crawford at a point when Crawford was beginning to lead the pound-for-pound polls. Their fight is among Crawford’s toughest bouts. During a recent session with reporters for his Nov. 20 bout with Shawn Porter, Crawford said it wasn’t his toughest. Instead, Crawford mentioned his ninth-round TKO of Egidijus Kavaliauskas in 2018.

Nevertheless, Benavidez was resilient throughout, still there midway through the final round in front of a roaring crowd in Omaha, Crawford’s hometown. It was memorable enough for Porter to include it as a fight film he says he will study throughout his training for Crawford.

Then, Jose Benavidez challenged a leading pound-for-pound contender. Now, brother David wants his pound-for-pound chance against Canelo, who first has to beat Caleb Plant the Saturday (11-6) before his date with Uzcategui.

Over the last 18 months, Canelo has overtaken Crawford in the pound-for-pound debate. Canelo is the consensus No. 1. David Benavidez wants to knock him off that perch. The calendar suggests he’ll get a chance to that.

Showtime’s scheduling doesn’t look to be a coincidence. Canelo-Plant the first Satuday in November Benavidez- Uzcategui on the second is sure to fuel speculation, especially if both Canelo and Benavidez win. Both are favored. The winners, Canelo a Mexican and Benavidez a Mexican-American, would be a perfect fit for the Cinco de Mayo date next year.

“I feel like the winner of this fight deserves the Canelo-Plant winner,’’ Benavidez said. “We’ve definitely put the work in throughout our careers to earn it. I think Canelo has the experience and power that’s going to help him get the victory on November 6 over Plant.’’

Unlike times earlier in his career, Benavidez is cautious. He seems determined not to get ahead of himself with words that would say he is looking past Uzcatequi’s power. He also knows that Canelo might have other ideas in his ambitious plans to make history. If he beats Plant, he’ll have all of the significant super-middleweight titles. That might signal a permanent move up to light-heavyweight.

“I don’t know, I don’t know,’’ David Benavidez said. “I don’t know why he’d (Canelo) go in a different direction. But, sometimes, things happen.’’

Wise words from a fighter who has seen things happen often enough to make him wise beyond his years.  Attachments area