Follow all the action as David Benavidez meets David Lemieux for the WBC Interim Super Middleweight Title.  The action begins at 10 PM ET with Luis Nunez against Jonathan Fierro;  In the co-feature, Yoelvis Gomez battles Jorge Cota

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Round 1: Left hook from Lemieux…Right to body from Benavidez..Body shot from Lemieux..Right from Benavidez..Another right…left to body..2 rights…1-2..Huge right rocks Lemieiux..15 big shots and the bell rang…Lemieux in a lot of trouble

ROUND 2 BIG RIGHT AND LEFT UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES LEMIEUX…Counter right from Benavidez..Lemieux fighting back…goes to the body…Big right from Benavidez..Massive uppercut..Left hook..Uppercut…Left side of Lemieux’s face is a mess…Left uppercut,..

ROUND 3 Jabs from Lemieux..Right from Benavidez..3 big left hooks..REFEREE STOPS THE FIGHT ON ADVICE OF CORNER

Round 1 Good counter left from Gomez..Rught hook to body…another..Gomez throwing wild lefts and lands a couple
Round 2 Jab from Gomez…Combination from Cota..Right hook from Gomez…Left uppercut..Cota trying to fight back..Gomez landing in the corner
Round 3 Jab from Gomez..Body shot from Cota..Good exchange on the ropes..Counter right backs Cota into the ropes..Straight left..Left and right..2 right hooks and left uppercut..
Round 4 Right and left from Cota…..Lead left from Gomez…Body shot from Cota..Left-right to head from Gomez…Had right hook..Left to body..
Round 5 Left from Gomez…Jab from Cota…Good exchange on the ropes…Left to body from Gomez
Round 6 Lead left from Gomez..Short right to body from Cota…Body..>left to body from Gomez
Round 7 Sharp Jab hurts Cota…Double jab..Uppercut from Cota…4 punch combination..Nice left from Gomez..Body combo from Cota..Left..Left from Gomez…Left to body from Cota
Round 8 Left uppercut and left hook from Gomez..Combunation from Cota..Right hook from Gomez..Overhand left and sharp jab from Gomez..Jab..2 hard rights
Round 9 Right Hook from Gomez..Cota lands a right and left..
Round 10 Left from Gomez

100-90 on all cards for YOELVIS GOMEZ

Round 1: Left from Fierro…Right from Nunez..1-2 from Fierro..Straight left to the body//3 Punch combination…
Round 2 Combination from Fierro..Counter Right from Nunez..Left to body..Fierro cut on the side of head…Nunez cut over left eye
Round 3 Counter right from Nunez..Jab to Body from Fierro…Nice right to body from Nunez..Quick jab from Fierro..
Round 4 Counter left hook rom Nunez…Counter left..Counter combination…Left…Uppercut staggers Foerro..
Round 5 Lead right from Nunez..1-2 from Fierro…Counter from Nunez..Counter right and left,,,Left from Fierro..Toe-to-action..Left uppercut and right hook from Fierro…Left from Fierro and a big left
Round 6 Big right from Nunez…Right hook from Fierro…
Round 8 Jab from Nunez..Counter…Counter right…Another counter right..Fierro gets warned for Head clash…Counter left from Fierro
Round 9 Body shot from Fierro…Counter from Nunez..Right to body…
Round 10 Counter from Fierro..Right hook…Counter right from Nunez

96-94 on ALL CARDS FOR LUIS NUNEZ

By Norm Frauenheim-

GLENDALE, Ariz. – It’s the only place he’s ever lost.

But the scale is no longer David Benavidez’ biggest challenge.

Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs), who lost the World Boxing Council’s super-middleweight title when he failed to make the weight in 2020, came in under the 168-pound mandatory Friday for an interim belt in a Showtime-televised bout Saturday against David Lemieux (43-4, 36 KOs) at Gila River Arena.

Under a hot desert sun at high noon, Benavidez stepped lightly on a scale located on a stage set on a pavilion outside of the ice-hockey arena’s front doors.

No problem. Jenny Craig would have been proud. Benavidez was more than a pound lighter than the maximum. He was at 166.4 pounds. Lemieux, a former 160-pound champion, was at 166.2.

The 25-year-old Benavidez couldn’t recall when he’s ever been so light. He grew up chubby. He likes to joke that he was the fat kid in the background of photos that featured his older brother, Jose Benavidez Jr., a former national amateur champion and an ex-junior-welterweight belt-holder.

When asked whether his second son has ever been so light, father and trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. shouted:

“Never.’’

The scale had loomed as problematic since David Benavidez was stripped of the title after he was 2.8 pounds heavier than the limit in August 2020. He went on to score a 10^th-round stoppage of Roamer Alexis Angulo at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. But he left the ring without the belt he has been trying to regain ever since.

Making the weight Friday is a key step in that direction. It keeps him in line for a mandatory shot at a title now in Canelo Alvarez’ possession. He has to beat Lemieux to stay there.

“David Benavidez is very solid, a big challenge,’’ said Lemieux, a Montreal fighter and the designated challenger in the main event on the Showtime telecast (7 pm PT/10 pm ET). “But I’m here to fight him. I’m here to take that belt away from him.’’

Benavidez is heavily-favored. He’s bigger. He’s younger. He’ll be fighting in front of a hometown crowd. He grew up in a tough Phoenix neighborhood, about seven miles from Gila River.

“This fight is not going to go the distance,’’ said Benavidez, who was already at the required weight on Monday. “It’s going to end in a knockout.

“And I’m going to win it.’’

By Norm Frauenheim-

GLENDALE, Ariz. – For a few seconds, there was more to David Benavidez’ future than questions about Canelo Alvarez.

There was his son, Anthony, a toddler in the middle of an audience full of reporters at a boxing news conference.

Anthony giggled. Benavidez smiled, a sure sign that he knew why he was fighting. No question about that one.

The Canelo questions would soon follow. So, too, will another opening bell, this time against David Lemieux Saturday (Showtime 7 pm PT/10 pm ET) at Gila River, a National Hockey League arena about seven miles west of where he grew up in a tough neighborhood on Phoenix’s west side.

There weren’t too many real answers to the Canelo questions. Then again, there never are for Benavidez, who has been frustrated in his pursuit of a big money date with Canelo. The same questions were there the last time Benavidez was in town for a stoppage of Kyrone Davis in downtown Phoenix last November.

Lots has changed since then, of course. Canelo lost his aura of invincibility. Dmitry Bivol beat him. Anthony is walking. The last time Anthony was in Phoenix he was giving his daddy’s fans a fist bump from his stroller. He made his dad smile then, too.  A son’s giggle is a father’s motivation. Dad fights on. Maybe, there’s a date with Canelo in his future. Maybe, not.

The business of keeping that possibility – questions and all – in place, however, is Benavidez’ immediate task. The fight is for a so-called interim title, the World Boxing Council’s super-middleweight version. Interim, of course, can mean just about anything. Interim titles get bought out by step-aside money. Interim gets forgotten, almost by definition.

But this one comes with a mandatory – also so-called — challenge of the WBC’s current champion, which happens to still be Canelo, the 168-pound division’s unified champ. The belts weren’t at stake against Bivol in a light-heavyweight stunner a couple of weeks ago.  

A victory over Lemieux would also embellish Benavidez’ resume. Benavidez remembers watching Lemieux when he was a kid hanging out at Central Boxing near downtown Phoenix.

“He was the Canadian Mike Tyson,’’ Benavidez said Friday after a formal news conference in a room overlooking a floor that will include a ring instead of a rink Saturday.

Lemieux, of Montreal, has power, especially in his left hand. Lemieux, who lost his most notable fight by stoppage to Canelo rival Gennadiy Golovkin in 2015, is confident that Benavidez has never faced anybody with as much one-punch power.

“Of course not,’’ Lemieux said.

But Lemieux, a former middleweight champion, is moving up from his natural weight, 160 pounds, to 168. Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) is bigger in every measurable way. He’s also younger. Lemieux (43-4, 36 KOs) who has won his last five bouts, is 33. Benavidez is 25. The differences, in years and on the tape, explain the one-sided odds. Benavidez is about a 10-to-1 favorite. Yet, Lemieux’s documented power still looms as a factor.

“David Lemieux is the most dangerous fighter we’ve faced,’’ Benavidez father-and-trainer Jose Sr. said.

Still, David Benavidez is confident he has the skillset to deal with Lemieux’s power.

“It’s not like I’m going to go In there and try to test how strong my chin is,’’ he said. “We’ve worked hard in the gym, put together a plan to deal with his power. I definitely want to follow the game plan. I don’t care (if the KO) comes in the first, second, fifth or 12^th round. When it happens, it’ll happen.’’

Best guess: It’ll happen. It’s an element – documented power from both corners — that promises an explosive fight. That, too, is important for Benavidez’ larger resume. He’s pursuing more than just another victory. He wants to do something memorable against a fighter who can hurt him.

Translation: He wants to create a groundswell of support among a growing fanbase already restless for a showdown with Canelo. He’s more than a good dad. He’s a pugilist. And a populist.

Yet, there’s still a question whether any of it will ever lead to a date with Canelo. There’s even some disagreement about that within the Benavidez camp.

David Benavidez and his father think the loss to Bivol improves their chances at Canelo.

“I think it’s more likely now than it was,’’ said David, who learned enough about Bivol from sparring sessions a couple of years ago to know that the Russian had a real chance at beating Canelo. “Before Bivol, there was all this crazy stuff from Canelo about fighting at cruiserweight or even heavyweight. I think Canelo believed all that hype.

“But you’re not going to hear that any more. He’s going to have to come back down to 168 pounds. That means me.’’

But Benavidez promoter Sampson Lewkowicz thinks the chances at Canelo are less now than they were pre-Bivol. Canelo’s box-office value took a hit, Lewkowicz says. He also doesn’t think Canelo can restore it in a rematch. Bivol will beat him again, he says.

“There’s no $50 million out there for Canelo anymore,’’ Lewkowicz  said. “Will he fight for less? $30 million?  $20 million? $10 million? I don’t know. He might just walk away and decide to play golf.’’

A decision from Canelo is forthcoming. His current promoter, Eddie Hearn, says he expects Canelo to decide next week on whether he’ll fight an immediate rematch or go on to a third fight against Golovkin in September.

Whatever Canelo decides, there are still big opportunities for Benavidez. There’s Jermall Charlo and Caleb Plant. David Morrell has emerged as a possibility, too.

Benavidez will stay busy. A toddler’s giggle will make sure of it.

Follow all the action as Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano battle for the undisputed Super Welterweight World Title. The action begins at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT with Kevin Gonzalez and Emanuel Rivera. Then Jaron “Boots” Ennis fights Custio Clayton

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ROUND 1 Charlo lands a right and double left hook to body..Jab..Castano lands a body shot…Counter from Charlo…Double jab…Nice left hook from Castano..Double jab..Left hook to body from Charlo..Right hook to the body..Nice overhand right..

ROUND 2 Nice Right from Castano..Charlo lands a 1-2..Nice right..Counter right..Left..Left uppercut and left hook..Lead left hook and right from Castano..Left hook to body from Charlo…Left and left uppercut from Charlo…Castano lands a left

ROUND 3 Right to body from Charlo…Body/Head…Jab…Right from Castano..Nice left hook…Left from Charlo…Left hook from each guy..

ROUND 4 Left hook to body from Charlo..Counter…Right from Castano..Jab from Charlo..Lead left hook and right from Castano..Left hook from Charlo..Jab..Left..Right uppercut…Big right from Castano,,,Toe to toe at the bell

 ROUND 5 Left to body from Charlo..Counter left…Right off the ropes…Combination…Body and head from Castano..Counter from Charlo..Nice right and double left hook..Right from Charlo..Right uppercut…Big combination..

ROUND 6 Lead right from Castano…Counter from Charlo…Lead right from Castano…Counter from Charlo…Right from Castano on ropes…4 jabs…Big right…right uppercut from Charlo…Left from Castano…Right from Charlo…Left hook from Castano…

ROUND 7 Combination from Charlo…Big left hook staggers Castano..Jab from Charlo…Jab to body from Castano…3 punch combo from Charlo…two punch combo from Castano

ROUND 8 Jab to chest from Castano…Right…Counter right from Charlo…Jab..3 punch combination..Right and left hook…left hook from Charlo..Left from Castano..Counter left from Charlo..1-2 from Castano…

ROUND 9 Combination from Charlo…and another…3 Punch combination from Charlo…Left hook and a double left hook…left uppercut from Castano…

ROUND 10 Combination from Castano..Combination from Charlo…Nice right from Castano..Combination from Charlo…RIGHT HAND AND DOWN GIES CASTANO..4 BIG SHOTS AND A LEFT AND DOWN GOES CASTANO AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1 Right from Ennis..Ennis dominating with the jab
Round 2 Nice left to the body from Ennis…Straight left..Straight left to the body…RIGHT TO THE HEAD AND DOWN GOES CLAYTON AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1 Rivera being busy..Gonzalez showing heandspeed..Uppercut from Gonzalez…Triple jab…left
Round 2 Good uppercut from Rivera…Double right hook from Gonzalez..Rivera lands a combination..Good body work from Gonzalez..Sharp jab…and another..Blood from Nose of Gonzalez..Left hook to body and right uppercut.
Round 3 Jab from Gonzalez…Right hook to head…Left uppercut..Lead left from Rivera..Body shot
Round 4 Gonzalez Jabbing…Left uppercut…Straight left …2 rights from Rivera…
Round 5 Rivera lands a 3 punch combination..Lead Right from Gonzalez..Right to head from Rivera..Jab from Gonzalez…1-2 from Gonzalez
Round 6 Gonzalez warned for headbutt..Hard right hook…Big shots by both..Right uppercut from Rivera..Right from Gonzalez stuns Rivera..
Round 7 Blood around right eye of Gonzalez..Left to body from Gonzalez
Round 8 Right uppercut on inside from Rivera…Right to body…Nice exchange…Straight left from Rivera..Body shot from Gonzalez..
Round 9 Gonzalez working the body…head shot from Rivera…Short uppercut from Gonzalez…Gonzalez
Round 10 Right uppercut and left body shot from Rivera..back up Gonzalez…Short left and right from Gonzalez..

96-94; 97-93 and 98-92 FOR GONZALEZ

By Norm Frauenheim–

Canelo Alvarez has an opportunity. That sounds crazy, especially in the immediate aftermath of his loss to Dmitry Bivol. The wounds are still there. The pain lingers. He tried to hide some of it with dark glasses a couple of hours after the stunning defeat. Nobody could look into his beaten eyes.

But the bruises will heal. The pain will subside. That’s when he’ll see a chance to actually fulfill the history he always says he is seeking. Legacy is become kind of a bumper sticker, not just in boxing. Its value has been eroded, a little bit like title belts. Everybody has one.

But not everybody is confronted with the adversity that comes with defeat. It’s deeply personal, more in boxing than in any other sport. Egos can get busted up, just like jaws and noses, especially when a world-wide audience is watching.

The loss to Bivol wasn’t Canelo’s first. He’s been there, losing to a masterful Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013. But that was a younger Canelo, an apprentice still learning the craft. It was also a fight few expected him to win.

Last Saturday, Canelo was considered the master. He was the favorite. The scorecard defeat to a mostly unknown Russian light-heavyweight had to be more painful, which is what transforms it into the sort of opportunity that will put some real substance into Canelo’s pursuit. For him, legacy isn’t just a word or another belt anymore.

It’s real.

Adversity defines boxing. People watch to see fighters get off the canvas. To see comebacks. There’s an inherent dilemma in all of this. Nobody seeks defeat. Mayweather retired unbeaten. So, did Rocky Marciano, Andre Ward and Joe Calzaghe. So, did guys named Sven Ottke, Dmitry Pirog and Harry Simon. They’re all great fighters.

But the game amounts to a lot more than the 0 on the right side of the record. It’s about overcoming. It’s Ali coming back to beat Frazier. It’s Sugar Ray Leonard coming back to beat Roberto Duran. That’s history. Now, Canelo has a chance at some.

Late last Saturday at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, he wasn’t exactly clear about what he plans to do. His contract with Bivol included a clause for an immediate rematch. In the middle of the ring, Canelo said he would invoke the clause. A couple of hours later, he wasn’t sure.

“We’re gonna go to see what’s next, to talk about it,’’ he said.

Canelo will take his time. And he should. There’s plenty to consider. There’s a debate about his loss to Bivol, who displayed immense poise and smarts in front of roaring Cinco de Mayo crowd.

On the one hand, there’s an argument that Canelo took a risk in moving up the scale from super-middleweight to light-heavy. He failed. No shame there. Yet, questions about his tactics linger. There are also doubts about whether he took Bivol seriously.

Throughout the week before opening bell, there was talk about what Canelo would do after Bivol. Bivol was perceived as just another steppingstone. It got ridiculous. Even heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk was mentioned as a Canelo possibility. Everybody was buying into the hype, including me. I picked Canelo. I didn’t take Bivol serious and I’m not sure Canelo did. Yet, it become clear that Canelo didn’t have many plans beyond the first half of the fight against Bivol.

He went at the Russian, moving in a straight line throughout the first four rounds, as though he intended to bulldoze him they way he did Billy Joe Saunders. By now, we know it didn’t work. By the fifth round, there were signs that Canelo was fatigued. Earlier in his career, he had a habit of tiring late. He changed that with a more measured pace in the early moments, picking his spots and picking up the pace in the later rounds.

The argument is that Bivol beats Canelo again, that Canelo should just go on to a third fight with Gennadiy Golovkin in a bout that has been projected for September.

A victory at 168 pounds over GGG, a middleweight champion, would give Canelo the final say-so in their contentious rivalry. Canelo was 1-0-1 against GGG in two middleweight bouts. But what would it really prove? GGG is 40, several steps past his prime. The critics would be there. The critics would also gather into a social-media storm, demanding a rematch with Bivol.

Without Bivol, there would still be a lot of money for Canelo in super-middleweight bouts, post-GGG. There’s David Benavidez. But money can’t really be as decisive a factor as it was. Canelo’s got more of it than he can spend in a lifetime. He is ranked No. 8 on Forbes’ annual list of the world highest-paid athletes. He made a reported $90 million over a 12-month period, May 1 2021 to May 1 2022. That doesn’t even include his paycheck for Bivol. It was reported his purse could approach $50 million.

He doesn’t want for money. He wants history

History is calling. It’s in the rematch clause.

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Fighting two weight classes above where he normally campaigns, Malikai Johnson returns home to fight for the first time since the untimely passing of his beloved father earlier this year as he headlines a full evening of fighting at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton, Sacramento. Fighters weighed-in Thursday afternoon at the same hotel where the action will take place on Friday evening. 

Johnson (8-0-1, 5 KOs) of Sacramento was last in the ring in January, scoring a devastating second-round knockout of durable veteran Jude Yniguez at this very same venue. Batres (10-21-1, 3 KOs) of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico has been fighting professionally since 2010 and has shared the ring with former world champion Miguel Berchelt and rising contender Brandun Lee among others. Despite being a good three inches shorter and normally a 130-pounder just like Johnson, it was Batres that prompted the higher contract weight for the fight Friday. The experienced Batres will hope to test Sacramento’s power-punching super featherweight prospect Johnson in a six-round bout. Johnson weighed-in at by far the heaviest of his career, forcing himself up to 138-pounds, while Batres made the contracted limit of 140 after stripping down behind a tablecloth. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson struggled to find the right training situation he needed to move forward with his professional career. “I was honestly thinking that I was probably going to quit,” recalled Johnson. “I was down to my last, so I thought I needed to challenge myself. The next day, I received a text from my assistant coach now, Genaro, that said Ray [Woods] was talking about you and how he’d love to train you and he extended an invitation. It was almost like it was destiny or fate. So I asked them what time they train on Monday and went over there. I wasn’t in a good place. I was in a bad mood and down, but I was trying to be optimistic. But I went in with really low hopes. Then the first day we started doing mitts, and I was like wow this is new, this is different. Every day I start showing up and really seeing improvements.”

In early February, not too long after Johnson picked up the win with Woods in his corner, the promising young fighter lost his biggest supporter, his father Tommie Tom. As it turned out, Tom had long wanted Johnson to hook up with the well respected Woods, but did not want to impose his belief onto his son’s career plans.  

During that whole process, [Woods] said, ‘Your dad always wanted me to train you.’ And then I went through my dad’s texts, and sure enough he had always been saying that he wanted Ray to train me, but that it had to be my decision,” explains Johnson. “After my dad passed, he said, ‘When I heard the news that your dad passed, I was here alone, but I looked up and I said, ‘Don’t worry Tommie, I got him. He’s in good hands, I got him.’ And that really touched me. Coach Ray, he might have tough love and get after me, but I know he is only doing it because this is a tough sport and bad things can happen. He doesn’t want those things to happen, and I know if I work hard and listen to the things that he says, I know if I do that, I have the skills to be world champion and have a successful career.”

In other action on Friday, DoubleTree Hotel favorite Tony Hernandez (4-2, 3 KOs) of Live Oak, California will take on Alejandro Fugon (3-1-1, 3 KOs) of Palmdale, California in what should be a thrilling six-round light heavyweight bout between two power-punchers. Hernandez, who scaled 173-pounds, is on a three-fight win streak dating back to 2019. Fugon, who came in at 170, is looking to bounce back from his lone defeat to a full-fledged cruiserweight prospect, Marco Deckmann, trained by Freddie Roach. 

In a four-round pairing of unbeaten welterweights, Luis Chavez (2-0) of Salinas, California will take on Juan Meza Moreno (4-0, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, California. Chavez, who came in at 145-pounds on Thursday, has won two unanimous decisions since turning pro last July. Meza Moreno, weighing 144-pounds Thursday afternoon, turned professional last April, fighting exclusively in Tijuana, Mexico. 

In another battle of undefeated fighters, Kenny Lopez Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs) of Ceres, California will meet Andrew Garcia (4-0-1, 3 KOs) of Azusa, California in a four-round super middleweight bout. Lopez is eager to make his home state debut after a successful run in Tijuana last year. Garcia will also be making his California debut after scoring a second-round stoppage last time out in September in Tijuana. Lopez, who saw his January bout at this venue scrapped on the day of the fight, wound up cutting some weight on short notice after a mix-up on the weight limit. Despite the late notice, Lopez made the necessary 165 ½ and will finally enter the ring for the fifth time as a professional. Garcia came in at 165-pounds Thursday, four pounds north of his previous career high. 

In a highly anticipated encounter, Lizette Lopez of Salinas will take on Neveah Martinez of Victorville, California in a four-round featherweight bout. Both women will be making their professional debuts on Friday night. With their bout having been originally scheduled for January, both will be well-prepared for their first professional contest. Lopez, a product of the MXN Boxing Center, scaled 123 ½-pounds Thursday, while Martinez made 125 ½. 

Super featherweight prospect and former amateur standout Kevin Montano (2-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento will face veteran gatekeeper Corben Page (6-20-1, 1 KO) of Redding, California in a four-round super featherweight bout. Montano, who had been a finalist and a semi-finalist at the USA Boxing National Championships, turned pro with a knockout last August at the DoubleTree Hotel and returned for his second win two months later. Page scored a win in his last fight, a second-round stoppage. Montano and Page both scaled 130-pounds on Thursday. 

Irving Xilohua (1-0, 1 KO) of Stockton, California will meet Olaf Estrella Soto (0-1) of North Mankato, Minnesota by way of Apaseo El Grande, Guanajuato, Mexico in a four-round super bantamweight bout. Xilohua, who turned professional with a second-round knockout in Stockton this past December, weighed-in at 121-pounds on Thursday. Estrella Soto had a more difficult time getting to the contracted weight, weighing 123 ½ and then 123-pounds on his first two attempts. Well within the allotted one hour time-limit, Estrella Soto came back to the scale and made 122-pounds. 

Sacramento-based prospect Cain Sandoval (4-0, 4 KOs) was originally scheduled to make his hometown debut against veteran journeyman Jude Yniguez (5-9-4, 1 KO) of Oak Hills, California in a six-round lightweight bout. By the time the weigh-in ended, Sandoval was fighting a welterweight, David Minter (3-1, 3 KOs) of nearby Lincoln, California. Before Minter was named as the opponent and signed a contract, it briefly looked as though MMA fighter Alexander Carrillo, who saw his mixed martial arts fight scrapped when his opponent was not medically cleared, was going to bravely step in against the former amateur standout boxer.However, they were little too far apart on weight and experience and Minter was called in to replace Yniguez. Sandoval, who scaled 144-pounds, has kept busy since turning professional just last August, reeling off four knockouts in his four bouts. Minter, no stranger to the DoubleTree Hotel ring, made the welterweight limit of 147-pounds. 

In the lone mixed martial arts contest, Raheem Gilliam of Long Beach, California will take on Salvador Martinez of Stockton, California in a three-round middleweight fight. Both fighters are making their professional debuts. The contract had originally called for them to make 185-pounds, but both weighed-in a pound heavier and an agreement was made to make the bout for 186, so neither had to go sweat any extra poundage off. 

Quick Weigh-in Resuts:

Welterweights, 6 Rounds

Johnson 138

Batres 140 

Light heavyweights, 6 Rounds

Hernandez 173

Fugon 170

Welterweights, 4 Rounds 

Chavez 145

Meza Moreno 144

Super middleweights, 4 Rounds

Lopez Jr. 165 ½ 

Garcia 165

Featherweights, 4 Rounds

Lopez 123 ½ 

Martinez 125 ½ 

Super featherweights, 4 Rounds 

Montano 130

Page 130

Super bantamweights, 4 Rounds

Xilohua 121

Estrella Soto 122 

Welterweights, 4 Rounds 

Sandoval 144

David Minter 147

MMA

Middleweights, 3 Rounds 

Gilliam 186 

Martinez 186 

Tickets for the event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com or followed on Twitter @MarioG280

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

Boxing and the motion picture industry have a rich history dating back decades. Before even colorvision had come along, stories around boxing made for great films. Somebody Up There Likes Me, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Fat City, the Rocky franchise, Raging Bull all the way to modern entries in the genre like The Fighter, Southpaw, Creed and too many others to name have been examples of how the sweet science makes for great storytelling. Super featherweight prospect, and avid film buff, Malikai Johnson sees his life playing out like one of his favorite films. Though he is still undefeated as a professional, his story includes a major setback, something every lead character needs to overcome in a great motion picture. With a win on Friday night in his hometown of Sacramento, California, Johnson may have the perfect ending to part one of his biographical film series. 

On the night of January 21st, Johnson moved to 9-0-1 (including a win in Rosarito, Mexico yet to be recognized on his official record) with a highlight reel type second-round knockout before his large and supportive fan following at the DoubleTree Hotel, Sacramento. Among his supporters, his greatest supporter of all, his father Tommie Tom. Unfortunately for Johnson and his family, tragedy would cast a pall over his triumph just a handful of days later on February 6th. On that date, Johnson, and everyone ever touched by the kindness of his father, lost Tom. 

“My dad was pretty against the vaccine and all that,” explains Johnson. “I kind of racked my brain about it back-and-forth. Maybe I should have forced him, I should have pressed him more to go get the vaccine. You know, I blamed myself. I went back-and-forth in my head about what could I have done. But, everything happens for a reason. It was out of my control.  I just had to look back and think about all the lessons that he taught me and appreciate him for the memories that he did give me.”  

One of the many qualities Tom passed on to his eldest son was a love of feature films. “He was a movie collector and we have like over 8,000 DVDs,” describes Johnson. “I just had to see my life like a movie. I lived with my mom for half of my life, until I was about twelve-and-a-half. She taught me a lot of love and empathy and that type of stuff. But just like the movie Boyz in the Hood, when he says, ‘Only your dad can teach you how to be a man.’  He taught me a lot of great things, like insurance, ownership, taxes, finance and a lot of logical things. He bred into me how to be a man and how to keep on keeping on.”

When Johnson first moved in with his father as a youth he did not look up to the man that really had just reentered his life. One of the things that kept the young Johnson on the straight and narrow was boxing, and the fact that his dad could take that privilege away. “I had to listen to what he said, because with the boxing, he was paying for it,” explains Johnson. “He told me I had to get good grades or I couldn’t box. So I got good grades. I had to do what he said and live right. But as I started doing it and growing older, I saw that things were going well for me and getting better. I was saving money, investing as a kid, making money and flipping the money to make even more money. Growing up with my mom and being broke, not having any money, I always kind of invested it, and that is how my fight name became Bankroll Mali, because I was in middle school, high school, always trying to make a buck, and I got that from my dad.”

The father-son relationship between Tom and Johnson continued to grow and eventually the two became co-workers. “At age 18 he was like, ‘Hey, I think you should come work with me at UPS. You will have health benefits that will pay for your pro license and all that. You can make a little money. You are in shape and young, so the work won’t be hard on you. You work at night and can box during the day time. So I started at 18.  It’s a union job, so he taught me the ways of that. I am getting my seniority up. He taught me a lot of great things and how to maneuver in there.”

It would be while working at UPS that Johnson would really gain an idea of the kind of man his father Tommie Tom was. “I started seeing random people in there, of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities, gay or straight, everybody would come up me, ‘Oh, you’re Tommie Tom’s son? That dude, when I was struggling, he paid for my son’s school supplies. Awww, man, it was a rainy day and I didn’t have a car and had to walk home and he gave me a ride home. He would bring me Starbucks everyday or I was having a bad day and he brought me this. Or my daughter was selling girl scout cookies and he bought two cases, the entire 50-piece boxes they were selling,’” recalls Johnson. “I was thinking, ‘Damn, he’s touching all these people.’ I have visions of being a success in boxing and wanting to get into philanthropy. I am trying to be a pro and have a platform for myself to speak to the people. But, him, he’s changing the world, he’s doing positive things one person at a time. After I saw that he touched so many people out of the generosity of his heart, I was like I want to be like that. When I was 18, working at UPS, that is when I started thinking that I wanted to be just like my dad.”

In addition to the kindness he saw in his father, Johnson also took up his dad’s work ethic. “He was a hustler,” says Johnson. “Everybody in the wherehouse would tell me how he’s pulling three shifts or always trying to maneuver his hours so he could get the double pay on Sundays, whatever he could do to make the most money. He would work like 80 hours a week. He liked to brag that he made $200,000 a year, just being a trucker. But somehow, this fool always ended up losing sleep just so he could come watch me box, watch me train sometimes. He just loved to support me and loved to be there. He taught me that anything you care about, anything that you have a shot at greatness with, you should go all out. Most people can go to school and follow the herd, but if you have a real shot or a real talent, why not go all the way, but have a backup plan. That’s why he got me in with UPS. So I could have an opportunity to make x amount. I was in AP and honors and he was always proud of that.”

Prior to late last year, a rift had existed among members of Tom’s family. Around Christmas, Johnson’s grandmother had made a plea to members of the family to squash whatever had split them up for her sake. At his grandmother’s urging, members of the family had done just that and started mending fences. 

“With that, I ended up getting even closer with my grandma,” explains Johnson. “I would do anything for her. After his passing, she asked that I go to Buddhist temple every Sunday for 49 days after his passing. At first I was thinking it would be really boring, but I was in a dark place right after my dad had passed. Getting in touch with my Vietnamese side and their Buddhist culture, it was amazing. Every Sunday we would go and pray. Us praying, we were asking Buddha to please get him into Heaven and the more people that would show up, it would show how many people he affected. So we would all show up in nice clothes and bring food for his altar every day, like we were feeding him. And pray. It made the process a lot easier and I cried a couple times there because I felt good, like he was almost still alive. On the 100th day, you come back, and it just happens to be the Sunday after the fight. So after this fight, I will have a little celebration on Saturday, but I am not going to stay up too late because I will be waking up for Buddhist temple on Sunday morning and go back and pray for my dad. When I am going to be there, I am going to show him and make him proud.”

Even though Johnson will be taking to the ring for the first time without his father’s support or their normal pre-fight ritual of prayer, a crack of the back and an elaborate handshake, Tommie Tom did not leave his son alone to continue this boxing journey on his own. 

“Even though my dad passed, he left me with a lot of great people and a lot of great support,” explains Johnson. “He always told me to call my uncles and my aunts and they have been real good to me throughout this whole process. My sponsor Gold USA has made a lot of connections. My aunts and uncle have stepped in and have helped sell so many tickets and shirts and stuff. So my support system has been great and I have a lot of great fans thanks in part to my dad and the fact that he promoted me or posted for me everyday as such a proud dad.” 

The only thing standing in Johnson’s way of a feature film type ending this coming weekend is 32-fight veteran Pablo Batres of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, his opponent for the Friday night’s six-round main event at the DoubleTree Hotel. 

“I just know he’s got a lot of experience, so I can’t go in there expecting that I am just going to run him over,” says Johnson of Batres. “I am going to treat him like he’s a world champion. I am going to be in there, implement my game plan, break him down and box him from the first round, get him tired and finish him if I find the opening.”

Beginning with the fight on Friday, followed by his Sunday of prayer, this coming weekend figures to possibly be the most emotionally charged weekend in the young “Machine Gun” Johnson’s life. On Friday and Sunday, Tommie Tom’s first born, who happens to share his birthday, plans to show his father the type of man he raised while applying some of the lessons he learned while under his dad’s care. 

“I am going to live my life and make the choices like he was here,” says Johnson. “I know he is looking down proud and when he was here he was proud. While I am here, I just want to do right by him.”

Tickets for the event, titled “May Madness: Show Up or Shut Up” and promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com or followed on Twitter @MarioG280

By Mario Ortega Jr.-

In life, and in boxing, there is no substitution for experience. Exciting super featherweight prospect Kevin Montano believes that, despite his relative young age of 24-years-old. After years of learning and perfecting his trade over the course of a long amateur run, Montano and his team felt he had gained the experience needed to embark on a successful professional career and the Sacramento State graduate made the move to the paid ranks in August of last year. After notching two wins in 2021, the gifted young pro goes for win number three this coming Friday night, in front of his hometown fans at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento, California against the professionally more experienced 27-fight veteran Corben Page. 

Montano (2-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento began boxing at the age of eight, training under renowned Concord, California-based veteran trainer Gary Sullenger, who still trains him to this day. “My family and friends wanted me to stay out of trouble, so they kept me in the gym,” recalls Montano. “When I won my first fight at nine, I loved the feeling of winning. Nothing compared to performing in front of a crowd, and having your name announced as the winner.”

Montano kept the winning feeling with him throughout over 160 amateur fights, achieving great national and international recognition along the way. “Personally, I wanted to get the most out of my amateur career and gain experience fighting the most different types of fighters that I could, especially going into the Olympic Trials and fighting overseas with Team USA,” explains Montano. “I wanted to see it all, because I have seen a lot of fighters turn pro too early and come across a style that they are not used to. There’s a lot of very awkward or very slick types of fighters out there. If you aren’t used to that in the amateurs, you definitely won’t be used to that in the pros. I feel like I have seen it all over these 160 bouts. I feel like I am well seasoned to turn pro, so that is why we turned pro at this time.”

Montano, who earned his degree in kinesiology, has a student’s approach to the boxing business. “In my eyes, just kind of like high school, there is a four-year cycle where everyone turns pro,” says Montano. “For me, this was like my graduation year. The Olympic cycle is every four years. So I went for Olympic Trials, it didn’t go as planned, so it was time to graduate and take the next step in my career.”

The next step began with a second-round knockout in front of his Sacramento and Bay Area fanbase last August. Two months later, Montano returned to the DoubleTree Hotel with a four-round unanimous decision. Beginning his professional career in his adopted hometown is a luxury Montano has not taken for granted. “I like to call it my adopted hometown, because I have been here for several years now and the city has shown me a lot of love,” says Montano. “I am very comfortable here. The people love me and I love them back. I have been here for four or five years. I pursued a higher education and the city grew on me and I grew on them.”

Montano began his boxing training in Concord, where Sullenger has been based for decades. Now as a professional, living in Sacramento, Montano still makes the drive to get his boxing work in the Bay Area with his lifelong trainer. “I go down there about three times a week,” explains Montano. “It’s a lot of commuting, but this is my profession, so it is all worth it. He tunes me up, tells me what I need to work on. I get any extra sparring and then I go up here because my strength coach is in Sacramento, but my boxing coaches are in the Bay Area.”

Not surprisingly, the college graduate/professional boxer does not take any shortcuts when it comes to his homework, studying his opponents before fight night. “I definitely study my opponents, so I know what he has got and I don’t think he has that much to bring,” says the supremely confident Montano. “I am very confident in my ability, especially my strengths: my speed and my athleticism. I am also very well-rounded in experience. I have had over 160 amateur fights and now my power is developing. I am looking to capitalize on that in this fight.”

While he does hope to be expanding his horizons soon when it comes to fight locations, Montano is very appreciative to be fighting before his family and friends. If things all go according to plan, Montano will be back at the DoubleTree Hotel in August as well. “I want to thank everybody that bought tickets to come out and support me and watch me fight live,” says Montano, with appreciation in his voice. “That means a lot to me. Even if you tried to make it and couldn’t make it, I know a lot of things happen, so I do understand. I want to give a lot of attention to my supporters, because they are definitely a driving force that keeps me going.”

With years of experience and his local fanbase supporting him from ringside, Montano is more than confident that Friday the 13th in Sacramento will be a nightmare for one Corben Page. “I don’t underestimate anybody,” explains Montano. “I know that I am more than experienced enough to handle somebody like this. I have been fighting for 16 years now. I’ve seen it all. I feel like this is just another guy that I have to get past. I do expect to dominate him and stop him for sure. I feel more than ready.” 

Tickets for the event, titled “May Madness: Show Up or Shut Up” and promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com

Photos by Julio Sanchez 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com or followed on Twitter @MarioG280 

Follow all the action as Dmitry Bivol defends the WBA Light Heavyweight title against Canelo Alvarez. The action starts at 4:45 ET with 8 undercard bouts featuring Montana Love, Shakhram Giyasova and Zhilei Zhang.

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Round 1: Left from Alvarez..Uppercut at the bell

ROUND 2 Bivol Jabbing..1-2 from Bivol..Good right from Alvarez…Right from Bivol..Right from Alvarez..

ROUND 3 Right to body from Bivol…Uppercut from Alvarez..Left hook from Bivol..Right from Alvarez..Left..Right…Flurry from Bivol..Uppercut from Alvarez..

ROUND 4 Right from Alvarez..Right to body from Bivol..Hard right from Alvarez..Combination..Right..Good right…Hard uppercut

ROUND 5 Right from Alvarez..Right…Overhand right..Bivol lands a flurry and Canelo says “Come on”  Jab and left from Bivol..

ROUND 6 Good right from Bivol..Right from Alvarez…Uppercut..Left hook from Bivol..

ROUND 7  Right to body from Alvarez…Left to body…Left hook from Bivol..Right to chin by Bivol

ROUND 8 Combination from Bivol..Combination on ropes..Big Right..Right from Alvarez..

ROUND 9 Right from Alvarez…Bivol flurrying…Big flurry from Alvarez..Body shot..Left hook from Bivol..

ROUND 10  Uppercut From Bivol..Left hook…Counter right..

ROUND 11 Counter left from Bivol..Hard Jab…Right..Left ffrom Bivol…

ROUND 12 Body work from Canelo…Right…

115-113 FOR DMITRY BIVOL

Round 1 Straight left from Love…STRAIGHT LEFT FROM LOVE AND ITS A KNOCDOWN..
Round 2 LEFT FROM GOLLAZ AND DOWN GOES GOLLAZ…Right…Left from Love…
Round 3 Right from Gollaz
Round 4 
Round 5 Love lands a left..
Round 6  Not Much
Round 7 Left for Love…Right from Gollaz..Big Left from Love
Round 8   Right for Gollaz
Round 9 Right for Gollaz..Jab…
Round 10 2 Lefts from Love…
Round 11 Right for Gollaz
Round 12 Left hook/right uppercut from Gollaz…Right…Counter from Love…Straight left

114-112 on ALL CARDS FOR MONTANA LOVE

Round 1: Jab from Giyasov…Blood from Nose of Gomez..Left hook..
Round 2 Combination from Giyasov
Round 3 Big left hook from Gomez…Left hook..
Round 4 Counter left from Gomez…Blood from Nose from Giyasov…HARD LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES GOMEZ..Right from Giyasov…Left to body..
Round 5 Nice left to the body by Giyasov..Uppercut from Gomez..left from Gomez
Round 6 Good Jab from Gomez..Counter left
Round 7 Uppercut from Gomez…Jab from Giyasov…1-2 to the body…Uppercut fROM GIYASOV AND DOWN GOES GOMEZ..Nice Uppercut from Gomez Hurts Giyasov
Round 8 Good Jab from Gomez..Big Right..Nice right..Big Right…Left hook from Giyasov
Round 9 Giyasov lands a right…
Round 10 BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES GOMEZ…Overhand right…

99-88 Twice and 98-89 FOR GIYASOV

Round 1: Left from Zhang…Hard right hook…..STRAIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES ALEXANDER…FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1: Body shot from Castro
Round 2 right from Vicente…Body shot from Castro..Good Uppercut
Round 3 Left from Castro…Right from Vicente…Right from Castro…Right
Round 4 2 Hard Body shots from Castro
Round 5 Counter from Vicente..Left to body from Castro…Straight left..
Round 6 Left to body from Castro..Right over the top

60-54 ON ALL CARDS FOR CASTRO

Round 1 Good left from Abdurimov.Left to body..Good body shot…Right hook to body…Good left
Round 2 Left rocks Correa…STRAIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES CORREA..Blood on the face of Correa…Right hook over the top…HARD LEFT AND DOWN GOES CORREA…STARIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES CORREA., AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Combination from Molina…Uppercut…
Round 2 Good right from Molina..Right…left to body..Left hook from Molina..Double jab and right hand
Round 3 Right to body from Valdovinos..
Round 4 Jab from Molina…Right from Valdovinos…Right from Molina…Right from Valdovinos and a sweeping right..Counter from Molina..Right from Valdovinos…Good left hook from Molina…Right from Valdovinos..Good left hook from Molina
Round 5 Right from Valdovinos..Right from Molina..Body shot..Good right..Digging to the body…Good right from Valdovinos
Round 6 Good uppercut from Molina…Good right from Valdovinos…LEFT AND DOWN GOES MOLINA..Right from Molina

57-56 VALDOVINOS…58-56 MOLINA…57-56 MOLINA

 

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS — Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol made weight while a sweating crowd lost some Friday at a weigh-in under hot afternoon sun in the Nevada desert.

With temperature approaching triple digits, both Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) and Bivol (19-0, 11 KOS) came in under the 175-pound limit for their heavyweight title fight Saturday (Pay-Per-View, DAZN) at T-Mobile Arena.

Alvarez was at 174.4. Bivol, the current World Boxing Association belt-holder, tipped the scale 174.6. Both are expected to be several pounds heavier at opening bell (PPV telecast starts at * pm ET/5 pm PT)

“Canelo, probably 180,” promoter Eddie Hearn told reporters after the weigh-in in front of a lively Cinco de Mayo crowd at the Toshiba Plaza outside of T-Mobile. “Bivol, probably 190.’

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Canelo Alvarez is moving up scale. Saturday it’s a bid for a light-heavyweight title held by Dmitry Bivol.

Then, there’s some business to finish with Gennadiy Golovkin in a third fight projected for September.

After that, he and his current promoter, Eddie Hearn, are talking about a unified title at 175 pounds, perhaps against Artur Beterbiev in May 2023.

He continues to talk about a fight at cruiserweight. Welterweight champion Errol Spence was mentioned for a date at a catch weight. Now, there’s even some wild talk about a move to heavyweight against Oleksandr Usyk.

A lot of names are mentioned, all there like milestones on the path to what Canelo calls history. There are no apparent limits to what Canelo hopes to do. Bivol might change that at T-Mobile Arena in a pay-per-view bout (DAZN). But that would be a huge upset.

If Canelo walks through Bivol the way he bulldozed Callum Smith, Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders, his chances improve at actually doing what he envisions.

But at least one thing hasn’t changed. David Benavidez is still not in his plans. Among the myriad of names, weight classes and belts mentioned this week, there was no Benavidez. There was no mention of unbeaten middleweight belt-holder Jermall Charlo, either.

But increasingly Benavidez is the fighter at the top of the list. Take a poll. Benavidez, who faces David Lemieux on May 21 in Glendale AZ, is the fighter fans want to see against Canelo.

Even Hearn seemed to concede that much this week in a give-and-take with the media after a formal news conference Thursday.

“How can you say Charlo is a better fighter than Beterbiev? ‘’ Hearn said in a defensive counter to questions about the quality of Canelo’s opposition. “Are you mad? How can you say Charlo is a tougher fight than Dmitry Bivol at 175? Absolute rubbish.

“Who has Charlo ever beat? Keep going. Now, tell me the recent ones. (Juan Macias) Montiel? Terrible. He wasn’t motivated to fight. (Maciej) Sulecki? Lovely kid. But Sulecki? Put him in with Plant, with Benavidez.

“I think Benavidez could be the best of all of those.”

But it’s the best of a group that continues to be ignored in Canelo’s grand plan. For now, at least, that means the unbeaten Benavidez, a two-time former super-middleweight champion from Phoenix, is consigned to play the historical role that once belonged to Antonio Margarito. Oscar De La Hoya wouldn’t fight Margarito. Floyd Mayweather wouldn’t fight Margarito.

Hearn, however, suggests that Benavidez can change that role. It’s clear Hearn, like the fans, can see the explosive potential in a Benavidez-Canelo fight.

“That’s a big fight,’’ Hearn said.

But, Hearn also said, it’s up to Benavidez’ promotional team to put him in a better position to get the Canelo date he has sought for just about as long as Canelo has pursued history.

“Ultimately, the fights against Benavidez and Charlo are just voluntary defenses of his 168-pound title,” Hearn said. “He could (fight Benavidez at 175 pounds). But that’s another voluntary defense. If you said to Canelo, what would you rather do? ‘Fight Benavidez in a voluntary defense or fight Beterbiev for the undisputed light-heavyweight championship?’ it’s not even a conversation.

“Benavidez wants big fights. It’s embarrassing who they’re fighting. Why don’t you make Charlo versus Benavidez? Why don’t you make Benavidez versus Plant. You give them all these easy fights for all this money and they’re not selling. You’re just burning money.

“Get the guys together, make the fights. I know Benavidez. He wants the big fights. It’s PBC’s job to put him in big fights and they’re not. Canelo-Benavidez could be a massive fight.

“But it’s nowhere near what it could be.”

Interesting.Got it.Wow.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – It’s blood sport. It’s show biz, too. Canelo Alvarez does both in a career that includes risk and riches, a balancing act hard to master and even harder to sustain.

But Canelo is there, still on the high wire and on an ascending path notable in part because there just aren’t many apparent rivals in his way.

He says he fights for history. His promoter says he fights for legacy. Those are noble pursuits, of course. But fans are a little bit more pedestrian. They just want to see him fight somebody.

Maybe, Dmitry Bivol is that somebody. Bivol is there, next on Canelo’s assembly line to legacy.

He’s got a belt. He’s has an unbeaten record. He’s a step up the scale for Canelo, who is moving from super-middleweight to light-heavy. Those are elements easy to promote, easy to sell for a crowd anxious to see Canelo confront the sort of adversity he hasn’t seen since his draw and narrow decision over Gennady Golovkin in 2017 and 2018.

Front and center, those maybes have been the sale pitch this week for Canelo’s fight with Bivol at T-Mobile Arena in a pay-per-view, DAZN fight. Maybe, Bivol can deliver the drama. Maybe, he can do what Callum Smith, Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant could not.

“Yes, he is a good fighter,’’ Canelo said Thursday during a final formal news conference at MGM Grand. “He’s really a good champion. He’s solid champion, at 175 pounds. I respect Dmitry Bivol.

“This is the kind of fight that will put me in the books of history.’’

But it is also a fight burdened by much of what fans have seen for a couple of years. Despite Bivol’s overall competence and thorough skillset, he looks a little but like the string of Canelo earlier opponents.

None have had enough power to keep Canelo from mounting his trademark assault. The theory has played out repeatedly. If Canelo knows he can’t be hurt in the opening moments, he’ll launch his predictable beatdown. He’ll begin to move forward stubbornly with sustained punishment. Again, maybe Bivol has the skillset to slow him down.

“I believe in my victory,’’ said Bivol, notable because he’s a likeable Russian whose country is waging an unpopular war in the Ukraine. “If you don’t believe, you can’t win.

“Why not?’’

It’s a fair question. But there are lot of numbers that argue against Bivol’s belief. He hasn’t scored a stoppage in more than four years. More ominous, perhaps Is a revealing statistic from Compubox’s Dan Canobbio. Bivol has thrown fewer than 20 power punches in 44 of his last 51 rounds. You can’t beat Canelo that way.

Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, Canelo’s current promoter, is frustrated with the questions about Canelo’s opposition. He countered them repeatedly in a give-and-take with media after the news conference. The questions fail to acknowledge what Canelo is achieving in the here and now, Hearn said.

“He might be the greatest fighter ever since Ali,’’ Hearn said.

The generations since Ali have include some legendary names. Here are just a few: Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao. Does Canelo belong among them? Hearn seemed to say that he does.

Canelo has been fighting champions, Hearn said. He’s been beating them too. But there are belts and weight classes aplenty these days. Hearns rival Bob Arum called all the belt-holders a bunch of “Jambonis” last Saturday when asked if he would put together a couple of more title 130-pound unification bouts together for Shakur Stevenson after his one-sided victory over Oscar Valdez for two of the junior-lightweight belts.

“Most of the people out there don’t know who the hell those guys are,’’ Arum said.

But they do know Canelo.

“This is my time,’’ Canelo said.

It is. It has been. And it might continue to be his time for a while. There’s a third fight with Golovkin looming in September. The consensus is that Canelo, now in his prime, will knock out the remains of the GGG rivalry with a dominant victory over Golovkin, who looks to be a year or two past his best days.

Hearn foresees a couple of fights in Europe. Then, he said, maybe Canelo can unify the light-heavyweight title against Artur Beterbiev in 2023.

“Maybe, next year’s Cinco de Mayo fight,’’ Hearn said.

Maybe. More like probably.

Follow all the action as Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano square off in what is the biggest female fight of all-time, and will be contested for the undisputed Lightweight World Title. The action begins at 7:30 with Galal Yafai taking on Miguel Cartegena; Franchon Crews-Dezurn will take on Elin Cederroos for the Undisputed Super Middleweight title and Jessie Vargas battles Liam Smith.

THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY…NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED

Round 1: Left from Taylor..Left from Serrano..Another,Left to body

Round 2 Right from Taylor..1-2…Left from Serrano…Right from Taylor..

Round 3 Left from Serrano…Right from Taylor..Left from Taylor…Left from Serrano

Round 4 Left from Serrano..starlight left…  Combo from Taylor..Right…

Round 5 Left from Serrano..Furious exchange in the corner…Huge shots by Serrano..Taylor looks hurt…Great Round 

Round 6 Taylor holding..Shes trying to fihht back…Big left from Serrano…Big left

Round 7 1-2 from Taylor..Right from Serrano..

Round 8 Right from Taylor…Jab,

Round 9 Left from Serrano..Right from Taylor..Body shot…Right,,,

Round 10 Good left from Serrano..Right from Taylor…Toe to toe exchanges…cut over right eye of Taylor…AWESEOME FIGHT

96-94 Serrano……97-93 Taylor..96-93 Taylor

Round 1 Body shot from Smith…Right from Vargas..Uppercut from Smith,,,Right ..1-2
Round 2 Right from Vargas ..Left…Vargas working body…Right…Good right from Smith..Right and left
Round 3 Left from Smith…Uppercut from Vargas..
Round 4 Jabs from Vargas,,Body shot,,Great back and forth with Vargas getting better
Round 5 Right from Smith…Right drives Vargas back
Round 6 Uppercut from Smith….Uppercut..
Round 7 2 lefts to the body from Smith..Good right…Right over top..
Round 8 Big right from Smith,,,Right in the chin…Smith landing combinations
Round 9 Hard jab from Smith…Right backs up Vargas,,Big flurry on ropes..Body shot hurts Vargas,,Vargas looks done
Round 10  Doctor Checks Vargas before round…HUGE FLURRY BY SMITH STARTED BY LEFT HOOK AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1: Right from Crews…Huge right…Right from Cederroos 

ROUND 2 Big Right hurts Cederros..

Round 3 Right from Cederoos..

Round 4 Cederroos bleeding from the nose…Hard right from Dezurn..Overhand right 

Round 5 Dezurn boxing 

Round 6 Right from Cederroos …Left from Dezurn..Right…

Round 7 Left from Cederoos…

Round 8 Left from Cederroos…

Round 9 Right from Dezurn…

Round 10 Right from Dezurn….Right…

99-91, 97-93 for FRANCHON CREWS DEZURN

Round 1 Uppercut from Yafai…Straight left…Right from Cartagena…Hard combination from Yafai… .Body shot from Yafai..
Round 2 4 punch combaination from Yafai..Relenteless pressure..FIGHT STOPPED IN CORNER

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – The odds aren’t with Oscar Valdez Jr. But the crowd might be.

Valdez, a 7-to-1 underdog Saturday night against Shakur Stevenson at the MGM Grand, was the fan favorite at the weigh-in Friday.

The noise was off the scale, all for Valdez, who was at 129.6 pounds. The boos were for the heavily-favored Stevenson, who was at 130, the junior-lightweight limit.

Most of the hostility directed at Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) appeared to come from a few thousand fans who made the seven-and-a-half-hour trip to Las Vegas from Nogales, Valdez hometown on the Mexican side of the border south of Tucson.

Stevenson smiled at the crowd and then at Valdez, as if to say the cheers were in vain. Stevenson, of Newark, has long said that Valdez has no chance.

“I’m a dominant fighter,’’ Stevenson said a few days before the weigh-in. “I don’t know how much better I can get. But I’m going to find out.

“After this fight, I should be a big star.’’

First, however, he’ll have to get through Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs), who has fought through more adversity than many fighters ever see.

It’s Valdez’ proven resilience in the face of adversity that makes this fight (ESPN 10 pm/7 pm PT) for two pieces of the 130-pound title so intriguing.

Within the ropes, Stevenson has never encountered any of what Valdez has conquered. In part, that’s why Stevenson says he doesn’t know how much better he can be. The question and Stevenson’s projected stardom hinges on how he reacts to the adversity Valdez is expected to deliver.

On fight’s eve, at least, Stevenson appeared to be the more relaxed fighter. After they stepped off the scale, the fighters posed for the camera in the ritual stare down. Valdez didn’t blink. Didn’t smile either.

Stevenson returned the stare. He also smiled. But it wasn’t the child-like grin that was there for a couple of years after he won a silver medal at the 2016 Brazil Olympics. The innocence was gone, replaced by an edge that promised violence.

Valdez held the stare for a couple of long seconds. Then, he turned away, looked up at the crowd and gestured at his vocal fans with an upraised fist. Stevenson stepped forward and smiled some more, this time dismissively.

Valdez said nothing.

There was nothing else to say.

At least not until opening bell.

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s easy to underestimate Oscar Valdez Jr. Easier, too, to pick against him. But he probably wouldn’t want it any other way. The role fits him like an old pair of running shoes.

The underdog gene is there, an inseparable part of his identity – and motivation. Above all, it works. At 31, he can look into that full-length mirror in the gym and know exactly who he is. Let everybody else ask the questions.

Everybody else is, all over again, before his junior-lightweight fight (ESPN, 10 pm ET/7 pm PT) against Shakur Stevenson Saturday night at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. Look at the odds. It’s impossible not to see the doubt.

Valdez is about 5-to-1 underdog. For a long-awaited bout between two unbeaten fighters, that’s huge. Big fights come together because they’re hard to pick. But not this one. It’s hard to find many picks for Valdez.

The reasons are elusive, especially for a fighter who is known for an inexhaustible will. He ended Miguel Berchelt’s career. Berchelt was feared and also a big favorite before they fought in 2021. The biggest fear was that Valdez might get hurt. But Valdez destroyed Berchelt, scoring a knockout that stripped the fellow Mexican of his predatory aura. In his first fight since then, Berchelt was simply not the same. He was shot, a shell of what he had been, in a sixth-round stoppage loss to Jeremiah Nakathila in March.

Let’s say Berchelt had done to Valdez what so many had expected. Then, maybe Berchelt might have been fighting Stevenson. The odds? Guess here: Pretty close to 50-50, a pick-em fight.

But the Valdez-Stevenson forecast is decidedly one-sided.

Valdez thinks he knows why. 2021 was an up-and-down ride for Valdez, who calls the year a learning experience. It started with an emotional high in the aftermath of the Berchelt upset and then crashed with a positive drug test that surrounded Valdez’ difficult decision over Robson Conceicao in Tucson, Valdez’ second home.

“It ended in a place as low as I’ve ever been personally,’’ Valdez said this week in a zoom call with reporters.

The odds in favor of Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs), Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) says, are simple enough to explain. They answer that old question: What have you done for me lately? Valdez says he wasn’t at his best in his debatable decision over Conceicao.  In Stevenson’s last fight, he looked sensational in a 10^th-round TKO of Jamel Herring in October.

“You’re only as good as your last fight,’’ Valdez said.

But the victory over Conceicao wasn’t exactly an exception in Valdez’ decade in the pro ring. He often fights to the level of his opposition. Put it this way: He knocked out the accomplished Berchelt and got knocked down by the pedestrian Genesis Servania.

Valdez’ famous stablemate, Canelo Alvarez, says Valdez likes to please the crowd too often. That’s part of it, perhaps. He waved in journeyman Miguel Marriaga in the final rounds of a 2017 bout in Carson, Calif. He did so, he said then, because he wanted to give the fans an entertaining fight.

Yet, he survived a broken jaw for a bloody decision over Scott Quigg in 2018, also in Carson. That one wasn’t for the fans. There were none in the seats at the outdoor arena because of a rain storm on a chilly night in March in southern California. Valdez, the winner, left the arena with his blood in a pool next to pools of rain water on wet canvas. He was placed on a stretcher and into an ambulance. Then, there were questions whether we would ever see him back in the ring.

We have, of course.

That night in Carson probably defined Valdez more than any other in his 30-fight career. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Nobody bites down quite the way Valdez does.

It’s an intangible, meaning it’s hard to measure. Yet, it has always been there, a factor that has allowed Valdez to overcome whatever disadvantages he might have in foot speed, or power, or reach.

No matter who he fights, Valdez gets himself into trouble at some point because he has to. But he transforms his trouble into trouble for the opposition, be they named Berchelt or Servania.

Put it this way: I’ve never seen Valdez in an easy fight, but I’ve never seen him lose one either. That said, I think it ends against Stevenson, who said during the zoom session that he has never fought anybody with Valdez’ willpower.

The guess here is that time will work against Valdez, both short-term and long-term. He’s seven years older than the 24-year-old Stevenson. The wear-and-tear of his many wars will begin to take an inevitable toll. Meanwhile, Stevenson’s skill set is evolving.

Stevenson will employ all of it to score early. Then, he’ll survive a stubborn Valdez’ assault midway through the fight. In the end, Stevenson wins an unanimous decision.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope Valdez proves me wrong all over again in another victory for an underdog who knows the role and how to use it.

By Mario Ortega Jr.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – After taking two different paths, two sons of former world heavyweight champions find themselves at the same doorstep to much bigger things with only each other standing in their way, as Kenzie Morrison takes on Hasim Rahman Jr. tonight at The Theater of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas  

Morrison (19-0-2, 17 KOs) of Shawnee, Kansas by way of Miami, Oklahoma is the unmistakable son of the late Tommy “The Duke” Morrison. Unlike Rahman, Morrison did not come up through the amateur system, nor did he get the opportunity to take this career path with his famous dad by his side. 

“I’ve just felt in the last five or so years now, with my trainer Kevin Whiteburn, I’ve stumbled into being undefeated and to really now be in position to be in focus and push for this real last hard push to hopefully fight for a world title,” explains Morrison. “That is the goal and I feel like I can do it.” 

Rahman (12-0, 6 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Baltimore, Maryland is a product in part of USA Boxing, having come up through the national amateur system. As a professional, it has been a slow burn for Rahman, a Las Vegas resident, now 30-years-old, just one-year younger than Morrison. 

“For me, this fight is everything,” says Rahman, the son of Hasim Rahman. “The reason I came to [live in] Las Vegas was because of boxing, so my father could better his career and I just so happened to take up what my father did, following in his footsteps.”

With their Fite-televised ten-round bout being contested for the vacant WBC USNBC heavyweight title, the winner figures to gain a top fifteen world ranking and be in line for a major opportunity. Morrison weighed-in at 224.4-pounds, while Rahman scaled 224 even.

The pay-per-view card, dubbed “Sons of Legends,” features several other fighting sons of former world champions and contenders. 

In the co-main event, Keith Hunter (14-1, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas takes on unbeaten Demarius Driver (12-0, 7 KOs) of Atlanta, Georgia in a ten-round light welterweight bout. Hunter, the son of late former heavyweight contender Mike “The Bounty” Hunter, scaled 134-pounds Thursday.

Driver, coming off a first-round stoppage victory on February 26th, came in at 140.8-pounds on his first attempt and was given an hour to lose two pounds. 

Robert Duran Jr. (9-1, 7 KOs) of Plantation, Florida meets Arturo Moreno (5-0, 2 KOs) of Springfield, Missouri in a six-round welterweight contest.  Duran, the son of hall of famer Roberto Duran, scaled 147.4-pounds. Moreno, coming off of a four-round decision just last month, weighed-in at 143.8. 

Sharif Rahman (5-0, 3 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Baltimore will take on Reyes Sanchez (7-1, 3 KOs) of Topeka, Kansas in a six-round light middleweight bout. Rahman, another of Hasim Rahman’s fighting sons, scaled 156-pounds, while Sanchez came in at 153.6. Sanchez, best known for earning an even scorecard in a majority decision loss to Nico Ali Walsh last December, marks a step-up in competition for Rahman. 

The son of former super middleweight champion Gerald McClellan, Gerald McClellan Jr., will meet Demetrius Alexander (1-0, 1 KO) of Lincoln, Nebraska in a four-round cruiserweight bout. McClellan (1-0, 1 KO) of Beloit, Wisconsin weighed-in at 178.2-pounds, while Alexander scaled 183.2.

On the non-famous fighting family portion of the card, Shady Gamour (12-0, 9 KOS) of Pensacola, Florida by way of Broby, Scania, Sweden will meet Steven Pichardo (8-1-1, 2 KOs) of Gardena, California in a six-round middleweight bout. Gamour, taking the place of Quatavious Cash, scaled 160.2-pounds. Pichardo, taking a step-up in competition, weighed 159.8-pounds.

The son of two-time former cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham, Steve Cunningham Jr., was scheduled to make his professional debut in a four-round middleweight bout. However, according to Team Cunningham, 20 potential opponents failed to pass approval from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBC USNBC Heavyweight Championship, 10 Rounds

Morrison 224.4

Rahman Jr. 224

Light welterweights, 10 Rounds

Hunter 134

Driver 140.8*

Middleweights, 6 Rounds

Gamour 160.2

Pichardo 159.8

Welterweights, 6 Rounds

Duran Jr. 147.4

Moreno 143.8

Light middleweights, 6 Rounds

Rahman 156

Sanchez 153.6

Cruiserweights, 4 Rounds

McClellan Jr. 178.2

Alexander 183.2

*attempting to lose 2 pounds

Tickets for the event, promoted by Roy Jones Jr. Boxing and Ares Entertainment, are available online at AXS.com.

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com or followed on Twitter @MarioG280

By Mario Ortega Jr.-

One of two fighting sons of the late former WBO heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison, Kenzie Morrision, takes a step out of relative anonymity and onto the grand stage of a Las Vegas, Nevada pay-per-view heavyweight main event. Morrison takes on fellow second-generation fighter Hasim Rahman Jr. in the headline attraction at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas for the regional WBC USNBC title this coming Friday night. 

Though Morrsion (19-0-2, 17 KOs) of Shawnee, Kansas by way of Miami, Oklahoma finds himself headlining an event dubbed “Sons of Legends,” the former high school basketball standout did not foresee a future in prizefighting as a younger man. 

“I graduated high school and I had a couple scholarship opportunities to play basketball, but I was more interested in going right to work and making money,” recalls Morrison. “So I did that for a few years, but kind of got tired of the road work and being gone. So I came back and I was still young enough for boxing. I grew up around it, even though I was pretty young when my dad’s career ended.” Morrison, who was born in 1990, the year his father hit the big screen as Tommy “The Machine” Gunn in Rocky V, was six-years-old when his dad’s primary run as a professional came to an abrupt end after his well chronicled medical diagnosis. 

After a short stint back in the ring in 2008, the elder Morrison stayed close to boxing for a bit while living back in Kansas. “When I moved to Wichita when I was 19-years-old, my dad was opening up a gym on the southside of Wichita, which was kind of a low income area,” explains Kenzie. “He was trying to give them an opportunity to get into a boxing gym. So he started working with me a little bit and was kind of surprised by my ability. I was always an athlete, but I wasn’t a fighter growing up.”

Morrison worked with his dad for a while, before moving and training for a stint with his uncle Tim, another former professional fighter. “I was up there about nine months and then we had a falling out over something stupid,” recalls Kenzie. “I was young and I was like, ‘Dad, I’m going, I don’t feel like working with you.’ That was the last time that I trained with him because after that unfortunately he wound up getting sick. He wound up in Tennessee and then he would up getting in a hospital where he slowly, slowly declined in health.” 

With their time training together ultimately being very brief, Kenzie never received the positive recognition from his father as his trainer or an observer of his improvements that he likely would have heard at some point had things gone differently. At least he never heard those words from his father while his father was still with him. After Tommy’s passing, his widow ended up coming across audio recordings, which included messages he had recorded for himself about his son’s impressive progress in training.

“He was kind of a night owl,” says Kenzie of his late father. “He’d stay up late and think and he’d read the bible and do his meditation – the things he thought was necessary for him. He would also make these recordings. It was neat to hear. It was assurance that damn, he really did think I could do it. He just wasn’t going to tell me because he wanted to keep pushing me or for me not to get a big head. That was kind of his downfall. It was good to hear him say that. Even if it was in private and there was no one there to hear it.” 

A little ways into his run as a professional, Kenzie Morrison ended up joining forces with an individual that had strong ties to his father’s career and has helped move the young aspiring contender to the doorstep of big things. 

“My dad was involved in Tommy’s career, so I was around Tommy my whole life growing up,” explains Joe Kelly of Ares Entertainment, Kenzie’s promoter and the co-promoter of the event on Friday. “He was one of the investors in Tommy, so I got to see that and experience that [beginning in the late 80’s]. Tommy was always one of my favorite fighters growing up, because of the connection there, and with him training and living in Kansas City and whatnot. That is how I got into boxing. I guess everyone gets into it, at my age, probably from Mike Tyson. But my first true, intimate connection to boxing was with Tommy.” 

Over their run together, Joe and Kenzie have developed a clear bond. “It makes it even better because there is history behind it,” explains Kenzie. “I wasn’t fortunate enough to ever meet Joe’s father, but I did get to meet his mom. She was at two of my fights. She was awesome. How close his dad and my dad were and how it was all affiliated, with Joe growing up with my dad being one of his heroes and seeing all the lights and the glamor right there, front row and everything. Now, transition, and we are doing the same thing. It makes it a special deal, more than just business. You may hear it all the time: ‘This guy is family,’ but it does actually feel that way with Joe. You can tell when someone genuinely cares and the way we’ve done business so far, we are doing this together every step of the way.”

Morrison and his promoter had architected a step up in class when the COVID-19 pandemic helped slow those plans completely down. Now, with the wheels of the boxing business moving along again, Kelly can help Morrision see those plans through, beginning with the Rahman bout on Friday night. 

“This is the fight that would have been the fourth in our progression,”  says Kelly, who did three fights with Morrision pre-pandemic. “It is the right time to do it. Kenzie trains really hard, he’s ready for it. At this juncture, you have to make a step up in order to progress. I feel like a fight like this, with two great prospects, is a great fight for both of them. The winner takes a big step forward in the game. The fact that it is the first time in boxing history that sons of two former world heavyweight champions have fought, also makes it pretty cool. Just on the basis of competition, it is time for him to step up and I can say the same thing about Hasim Rahman, that it is time for him to step up as well. They are at that point in life where they need to progress.”

Morrison’s career path may have been slowed by unforeseen circumstances, but the young fighter seems to think he is ready to make up for lost time. “Joe and I were on our escalator and we were going up at the time, but then for a year and eight months I didn’t do nothing,” explains Morrison of the pandemic-induced hiatus. “We molded a game plan and we were pursuing it, but it kind of got cut short. I won’t know if it was a blessing until three years from now, or on April 29th, if what happened was good or bad. Some things happen for a reason. Maybe I needed that year to reflect and hit sort of a rock bottom in a way, to feel my hunger. I think it made me a different fighter. I feel like my mind is better conditioned for it in a weird way. Physically I am another year older, but physically I am doing things that I have never done before. I feel like I am still in my prime, at the moment. I am working my way out of it, but I am still in it right at the moment.”

Morrison understands the gravity of the moment and has been doing his homework in preparation for the regional title clash. “All I can do is watch footage, the bit that I could find,” says Morrison. “And then me and him have fought the same guy, Ronny Hale, from Alabama. Ronny came here and fought me in Oklahoma and turned around and fought Rahman, I think in New York. He ended up hurting Rahman, maybe hitting him around the ear, and I could understand why. Ronny can hit like a mule. He caught me off guard. [Rahman] is unorthodox in a way, where he fights orthodox and left-handed. He seems like more of a boxer and a defensive style boxer that likes to dictate the pace. I feel like he is going to challenge me. I’ve fought guys that have fought higher ranked people, but I’ve never fought someone that’s as athletic as Rahman, so it is going to be a step-up. He’s coming to fight and so am I. You’ve got two guys that are coming to test themselves and their opponents are their biggest test, so it has to turn out good.”

Morrison, like Rahman (12-0, 6 KOs) to this point in their careers, has been carefully moved, with little risk taken in competition, away from hardened eyes of national scrutiny. Now he takes the leap against an undefeated fighter under the bright lights of Las Vegas. “I am still trying to wrap my head around it,” explains Morrison. “This is for me one of the biggest fights I’ve ever had. I’m a country boy. My town has 2500 people in it and one stoplight. So I am a small town guy. I’ve been to Vegas one time on spring break, on our way through to California, but I was too young to go into anywhere, so I had to sit in the truck.”

On Friday night, Kenzie Morrison’s hard work will have put his family name back on the marquee in a town where his father never lost a professional fight. It will be up to Kenzie if it is a one-night only occasion, or whether there will be encores. In any event, he hopes to have earned the approval he’s only heard back on tape. 

“I know that there are going to be a lot of people watching and there are going to be a lot of comparisons, so I need to be and appear worthy of this opportunity and that’s what I plan to do,” says Morrision. “And I hope my dad is proud of me regardless, because everyone wins and loses. He knows that, and I know that too.” 

Tickets for the event, promoted by Roy Jones Jr. Boxing and Ares Entertainment, can be purchased online at AXS.com. The event is also being broadcast via pay-per-view on Fite. 

Photo by Keaton Ward

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com or followed on Twitter @MarioG280

Follow all the action as Tyson Fury defends the WBC Heavyweight Title against mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte in front of over 94,000 people at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The action begins at 1 PM ET / 6 PM UK time with a six-fight undercard

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED. THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY.

Round 1:

ROUND 2 1-2 FROM FURY…Jab…Check hook…Body work from Whyte

ROUND 3 Left from Fury…Jab to body..right behind the jab..Left to body…1-2…Jab..Left uppercut..

ROUND 4 Overhand right from Fury..Fury being admonished for not breaking…Whyte cut over his right eye…Left hook from Whyte…Right from Fury..Grappling in the corner…

ROUND 5 Body shot from Fury…Double jab..Right..Right to body…

ROUND 6 Left Hook to body,,Right to body from Fury…UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES WHYTE….HE WOBBLES..AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1:

Round 1:

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s a UK day to celebrate a Saint, Saint George, a long-forgotten Crusader. Not too many Saints in boxing. Not many Crusaders either, although the business could use one after a long week full of allegations and suspicions involving alleged Irish gangster Daniel Kinahan.

There are more questions than answers. But the questions are mounting, fueled by a sudden succession of sanctions, resignations and denials that leaves one of the biggest fights in British history under a darkening cloud.

Tyson Fury is coming home for his first UK fight in nearly four years Saturday (ESPN Pay-Per-View $69.99/2 p.m. ET) since he affirmed his worldwide celebrity. He’s the lineal heavyweight champ, which doesn’t mean he can trace his heritage all the way back to the sainted George. Nonetheless, it’s a lineage, historical enough for a projected milestone — a record crowd of 94,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium against challenger Dillian Whyte. It looked to be a majestic stage for Fury, the proverbial hero-come-home story about a people’s champ who has always been comfortable on just about any stage. He sings. He dances. He danced all over Deontay Wilder the last time we saw him.

But the expected parade is taking an ominous turn. Fury, who has more lyrics and one-liners than counters, is uncomfortable with all things Kinahan. But, increasingly, the Kinahan question is impossible to ignore. It’s crashing the party. 

Within about 10 days, the questions have gone from absent to everywhere. From muted to megaphone. On April 12, news broke that the US Treasury Department had levied sanctions against Kinahan. Actually, sanction is a polite word for what the Feds have done. They published a poster, bordered in red and Kinahan’s photo beneath a headline offering a reward of up to $5 million for “financial disruption of the Kinahan criminal organization or the arrest and/or conviction of Daniel Joseph Kinahan.’’

The wanted poster has morphed into the main event.

Fury has long acknowledged his relationship with Kinahan, who has been living in Dubai as a fugitive, reportedly since 2019. The High Court of Ireland and Irish law enforcement has long called him a gangster who smuggles drugs and guns throughout Europe. Murder has also been alleged.

But Fury doesn’t get specific about his relationship with Kinahan.

“I just had about a million questions about all of this rubbish,’’ he told Sky Sports. “But, like I said to them, it’s none of my business. I don’t get involved in other’s people’s business. So, it doesn’t really concern me.’’

But the relationship is there, caught in photos and in logos. For a while, he fought with MTK Global stitched onto his trunks. The MTK logo – originally called MGM — was the management/promotional company reportedly formed by Kinahan, who would only say that he worked as an advisor for the MTK boxers, mostly from the UK.

“I haven’t done any dealing, business, with him for a long time.’’ Fury said, again to Sky Sports. “I think there was a statement released in 2020. So, that was the end of the business.’’

A succession of moves in the aftermath of the US sanctions on Kinahan, however, suggests that the end is not that simple or definitive. MTK, which said it parted with Kinahan in 2017, shut down Wednesday, the day after MTK CEO Bob Yalen, a former ESPN executive, resigned. Thursday – just a couple of days before the Fury-Whyte opening bell, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) froze Kinahan’s assets.

World Boxing Council President Maurico Sulaiman, who helped broker the deal for the Fury-Whyte fight, appeared in a photo while meeting Kinahan during a stop in Dubai last month. Then, Sulaiman defended the meeting, saying he had no “knowledge of any wrongdoing” by Kinahan. Monday, Sulaiman said in a statement that “at no time have we (the WBC) had any relationship with Daniel Kinahan.’’

There’s no end in sight. This story is just starting. 

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

Undefeated second generation fighter Kenny Lopez Jr. returns to the ring for elusive professional bout number five on Friday, May 13th at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento, California. Lopez, who has been itching to get into the squared circle since late last year, will meet fellow unbeaten super middleweight Andrew Garcia in a four-round bout as part of “May Madness: Show Up or Shut Up.” 

Lopez is the son of former California State light middleweight champion Kenny Lopez, a venerable TV-friendly fighter that fought a bevy of top guys over the course of a 44-bout career, including a win over former world champion Simon Brown in 1999. The younger Lopez was born too late to witness his father in his prime, but he does have some recollection of his dad’s three-fight comeback which ended with a victory in Stockton in May of 2005. 

“I went to a couple of his fights, like two or three in Stockton, but I was hell of young though,” remembers Lopez Jr. “I wasn’t excited, but I would watch him. I was more into karate, that was my thing. I thought it was cool that my dad was fighting, but my mom and dad were divorced, so I wasn’t really with my dad all the time, if you know what I mean.”

Later in life, Lopez Jr. found his way to the same sport his father spent over twenty years competing in as a professional. “In high school, we used to do these backyard boxing fights,” explains the younger Lopez. “They used to get me to fight and I was doing it all the time. They would set it up and it was just fun after school type shit. So I remember going to my dad, ‘You need to teach me some shit, because this is getting to the point that a lot of people are watching. He said ‘alright.’ That’s how it kind of started.”

Lopez Sr. had moved on from being a professional fighter, and though he spent some time helping in gyms after his career, it would be his son that would bring him back to the sport. “My dad showed me how to throw my first jab and everything,” says Lopez Jr. “When I went back to the gym, sparring to just get into shape, that’s when my dad would come in and out, helping me here and there after work. When I started getting serious, he started showing up at the gym everyday. He told me, ‘You’ve got to start running and doing your shit.’ He was my first coach from the get-go.” 

Growing up with divorced parents, one obviously does not get as much time with both of their parents as they would under different circumstances. Now as adults working towards a common goal, Lopez Sr. and Jr. have made up for lost time. “[Growing up,] with me, he was the man in my eyes,” explains Lopez Jr. “When we first started training, I was just listening to everything he said. Nowadays, he is more like my friend than a parent. We’ve gotten pretty close and I can tell him anything low-key and it is good.” 

Once the younger Lopez got a feel for the fight game, he wanted to turn professional immediately, given his age at the time. However, Lopez relented to his father’s advice and gave the amateurs a run before entering the paid ranks. 

“I just barely started boxing when I was 20-years-old,” describes Lopez Jr. “My thing was that I wanted to go pro right away and my dad was like, ‘No, you have to do amateurs.’ So I went the amateur route and rode that wave for a little bit. In 2020, with COVID, we were waiting for nationals, but the nationals kept getting rescheduled. I just wanted to do one national tournament against hell of good people and then go from there. My goal was to win the whole tournament and then leave [amateur boxing.] Then it just kept getting rescheduled and I just got impatient.”

Impatience for the pause on national level amateur boxing, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, led Lopez Jr. to go against his father’s advice and turn professional in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico on January 30th of last year against Luis Juan Hernandez. “In the beginning of last year there were no fights happening locally,” explains Lopez Jr. “I was already in shape. I am always training and always in shape, sparring 24/7. I was getting impatient. My dad was against the Mexico fights at first. He didn’t want me to do any of them. I was kind of against them too, but I thought I needed to get busy, instead of just sitting around here and becoming an Instagram fighter.” 

The experience ended up being a little more harrowing than Lopez Jr. had expected. “The first fight [in Tijuana], my first fight, I could write a movie about it honestly,” explains Lopez Jr. “I went there by myself, with no coach, no corner, nothing. My dad and the people from the gym, everybody that was supposed to corner me, even Nate [Diaz] and all of them were going to come to the fight on the day of the fight. I was in San Diego, training with Diaz and them. My dad was going to meet up with me the day of the fight after I went down there to do the weigh-ins. So when I am weighing-in in Mexico, they announce that everyone that is going to be in your corner needs to be here to take a COVID test. It was a whole situation, and I almost didn’t [fight], because I had no coach. The promoter ended up having to corner me. It was a pretty crazy experience.”

Fighting without anyone familiar in his corner, for his professional debut no less, was only a fraction of what made Lopez’ first pro fight weekend an experience to remember. “I even got took for a couple hundred bucks at the border,” recalls Lopez. “I had cut a few pounds and was not eating and drove myself to the weigh-in. The guy at the border started fucking with me. He told me to pull over and asked me why I didn’t have something. My car was registered, but maybe I didn’t have the paperwork with me or something. He said he couldn’t let me through, but when I pulled out my I.D. he saw the money in my wallet. I was just trying to hurry because I needed to get to the weigh-ins. I didn’t think to put my cash away. He said, ‘It is going to be 200 bucks or I can’t let you through.’ It was a shit experience. It honestly didn’t go well until I walked into the venue. Once I got to the venue I felt like nothing else bad would happen.” Lopez would be right, as he started his pro run with a second-round stoppage. 

Despite his difficult first experience fighting in Tijuana, Lopez would go back three more times last year to run his record to 4-0. “I learned a lot [from fighting in Tijuana]. As far as in the ring, I got used to the lighter gloves, no headgear and the pace,” explains Lopez. “These Mexico fights take a lot of energy out of you, at least for me, because I was doing it all by myself. I would talk to the promoter myself, get the fight myself and my dad didn’t want me doing it. So I thought if no one was going to do it for me, I was going to do it myself. So I was going to these Mexico fights always worrying about some janky shit. So I felt it took me out of my game a little bit, energy wise. Also, on top of that, I don’t speak Spanish. So I am over there in Mexico on toes, feeling like everybody was out to get me, being skeptical about it. It took a lot of the focus away from the fight, but it was good to get used to. I felt it kind of got me more experience in the ring, but also outside of the ring as far as the business end and how shit is handled on that end.” 

As tough as the business of boxing can be for an English speaker in Tijuana, Lopez has run into a couple of roadblocks getting that first pro bout on his home soil as well. Back in October of last year, Lopez, a native of Ceres, California, was primed to take on Yuba City, California’s Tony Hernandez at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento. Much to the chagrin of Lopez and his team, it turned out Hernandez was a little too far from the super middleweight limit to make the fight a reality after some back and forth over the contract. 

“It got to the point where I said this guy is not that big of a deal to me,” explains Lopez. “And I am pretty sure I am not that big of a deal to him either. That all happened in October. I was ready to go in October, went to Vegas and had a full ass camp and everything.”

Fast forward to the next event to be held at the DoubleTree, promoted by Nasser Niavaroni’s Upper Cut Promotions this past January, and again Lopez-Hernandez was put together and looked to be a go for the main event. With a new COVID variant running rampant across the country, both fighters would end up coming down with the virus in the lead up to the bout. 

“There was a news interview on that Monday, and I was supposed to go, but Joeshon [Jones], who is hell of cool, ended up going in my place because I was sick that day,” remembers Lopez. “I was getting skeptical, because I was really, really sick, with chills and everything. I had to change my shirt like four times in the night. Just really sick, with aches and pains. I told Nasser, ‘I can’t make it to the news interview today, I am too fucking sick, but I am going to work out tomorrow and I’ll tell you how I feel.’ I worked out the next day and I felt regular, so I said, ‘Let’s go.’ We had the weigh-in and the face-off, so I thought we were on.”

Unfortunately for Lopez and fans of both fighters, the fight ended up getting canceled the afternoon of the fight, as Hernandez fell ill with reemerging symptoms from the virus. Despite the obvious disappointment, Lopez holds no ill will against Hernandez, who is scheduled to fight on the same bill next month, but he decided to go another route all the same. 

“I ran into [Hernandez] at Lightning’s [Boxing Club], and it was all good,” explains Lopez. “He’s a cool dude. He seems hell of cool and owns his own gym, which is something I want to do. I just figure we need to lay off this guy for a bit, because I am not going to give him a two-year camp to fight me. We might as well just relax, find somebody else. When it comes up for the next fight, if Anthony is ready to go and is back in his fighting mode, then fine, we will fight Anthony.”

With the off-and-on Hernandez fight on the backburner for now, Lopez looks towards finally stepping into the ring in his home state and country against Andrew Garcia (3-0-1, 2 KOs) of Oxnard, California on Friday, May 13th. “I don’t know anything [about Garcia] really,” says Lopez confidently. “All I have looked up is his BoxRec. I am just taking it as a performance. I am trying to put on for my first show [in the United States.] The fight is at 165, which is nothing for me. I weighed-in at 167 for my last fight, easy.”

Even though Garcia’s fights, most of which took place at the same Tijuana venue Lopez made a home away from home last year, are readily available for viewing online, Lopez doesn’t get too hung up on studying the videos. “They are on YouTube and I sent it to my dad,” explains Lopez Jr. “Honestly, I’ll watch [my opponent’s fight], but I’ll only watch it for 30 seconds. I don’t like over analyzing it. [My dad]  will probably just tell me a few things about the dude and tell me to keep one or two things in mind. That’s all it really is, sticking to your game, but keeping a few things in mind for the specific person. Mostly I just really want to stick to my game and do my thing that I always do.” 

While not looking past Garcia, Lopez hopes to carry momentum from May into a run of victories in the United States, with less strenuous car rides over the border and more fights in front of his family and friends.

“I want to fight out here against whoever,” explains Lopez. “I want to get up in the rankings on these people and just keep moving up. I can’t wait to put on a show in front of everybody. My local people and my family. I can’t wait to see everybody out there.” 

Tickets for the event, titled “May Madness: Show Up or Shut Up,” and promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com

Title photo by Cristian Correa 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com

Follow all the action live as it happens when Errol Spence Jr. meets Yordenis Ugas in a Welterweight unification fight.  The action kicks off at 7 PM ET with five fights that includes Isaac Cruz against Yuriorkis Gamboa; Cody Crowley and Josesito Lopez; Jose Valenzuela vs Francisco Vargas as well as the WBA Welterweight title between Radzahb Butaev and Eimantas Stanionis

THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY; NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED

Round 1: Exchanging jabs to the body…Right to body from Ugas..jAB

ROUND 2 Spence lands a left…1-2..Good left..

ROUND 3 Left to body by Spence..Hard lefts…Short left uppercut..Lead left..Left hook..Good right from Ugas…3 lefts..Combination and right…

ROUND 4 Right from Ugas…Left from Spence…Combination…

ROUND 5 Left Uppercut and right from Spence…Hard left..Right uppercut  and left from Ugas…Left from Spence..

ROUND 6 Huge right rocks Spence..Spence Mouthpiece goes flying…Spence Cut over his Right eye..Hard right…

ROUND 7 Left drives Ugas back..Spence all over Ugas…Ugas Right eye closing…Good right from Ugas…Huge combination from Spence…

ROUND 8 Spence lands a left..Ugas eye swelling badly…Doctor checking eye…Spence beating Ugas up…

ROUND 9 Right to body from Ugas..Right to body..

ROUND 10 Right to body by Spence..Uppercut hurts Ugas..Doctor checking eye…FIGHT STOPPED

Round 1 Hard left buckles Gamboa bad…Hard Right
Round 2 Hard right from Gamboa… 3 hARD SHOTS AND DOWN GOES GAMBOA
Round 3 BIG LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES GAMBOA
Round 4 2 Big rights from Cruz…Right to the head…HUGE LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES GAMBOA
Round 5  VICIOUS OVER HAND RIGHT DRIVES GAMBOA INTO ROPES AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1: HUGE LEFT…DOWN GOES VARGAS AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1 Left to body…another…Left to body..
Round 2 Body shot from Lopez…Left uppercut and right from Crowley..Combination on the ropes…
Round 3 Three left hook from Lopez…Combination from Crowley..Double jab and counter left from Lopez
Round 4 Body shot from Crowley…Right to the head
Round 5 Body shots from Lopez…Body shot…Right from Lopez…
Round 6 Left from Lopez…Crowley lands a 1-2..Left to body…
Round 7 Right hook from Crowley..RIGHT HOOK AND DOWN GOES LOPEZ..Lead left from Crowley
Round 8 Body shot from Crowley…Hard combination ..Left to body
Round 9 Good straight left doubles Lopez over…Right hook..Left eye of Lopez starting to swell
Round 10  Straight left to the body by Crowley

98-91 TWICE AND 99-90 FOR CROWLEY

Round 4 Right hook from Butaev
Round 5  Combination from Stanionis
Round 6 Big left from Stanionis..Right from Butaevv
Round 7 Combination from Stanionis…
Round 8 Sharp right from Stanionis
Round 9 Combination from Stanionis …
Round 10 Right from Stanionis…Nice Combination…Right to body
Round 11Butaev deducted a point for holding..
Round 12 Hard jab from Stanionis…Big right

Round 1 Left hook from Lee…Right from Ochoa..
Round 2 Right from Ochoa…2 left hooks from Lee…Nice uppercut..
Round 3 Lee starting to assert more..Uppercut .
Round 4 Body shot from Ochoa…1-2 from Ochoa…Good left..Combination from Lee…Right..Right uppercut..Combination from Ochoa
Round 5 Right from Lee…Blood from nose of Ochoa..Overhand right from Ochoa..
Round 6 Left hook from Ochoa..Left to body and right to head from Lee
Round 7 Right from Lee..
Round 8  Right from Lee
Round 9 Nice uppercut from Lee..Combination from Lee..Nice right from Ochoa..Uppercut from Lee…Good body shot from Lee..Good left, right and left from Ochoa..Right from Lee
Round 10  Combination from Lee..Nice overhand right from Ochoa..Left…Right from Lee..Nice combination..right to body and right to head..

By Norm Frauenheim-

Errol Spence Jr. guarantees victory. But he wants more. He wants a knockout. He wants to be the fighter he was. More important, perhaps, he wants to be the fighter he remembers.

Given his unbeaten record, a hometown crowd and measurable advantages in height, reach, and age, his promised win over Yordenis Ugas looks likely.

“One-hundred percent,’’ Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) said during media appearances this week before his welterweight showdown with Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) Saturday night (9 p.m. ET/6pm PT, Showtime PPV/$74.99) in a ring near the 50-yard line on the Dallas Cowboys home field at AT&T Stadium.

Spence didn’t offer any guarantees on a KO, however. That might have been an acknowledgement of Ugas’ skillset, which is rooted in the Cuban school of fundamentals. He knows the defensive art. It’s there, a skill turned into instinct through years and years of practice in Cuban gyms

To wit: It’ll be really hard to stop Ugas. But it would also be a huge statement and self-affirmation from and for a fighter who hasn’t scored a stoppage in almost four years. 

A knockout would say he’s back, all the way back. The KO has been part of Spence’s identity. From 2014 through 2018 he scored 11 straight, including a notable KO of Kell Brook in May 2011 in the UK. 

Then, it would have been a victory if a Spence opponent took a fight to the scorecards. For four years, nobody did. Nobody could. It was head-rocking run, one that seemed to be headed straight to the top of the pound-for-pound debate. But it ended with a first-round KO of Carlos Ocampo in June 2018 in Frisco, Tex.

The KO has been missing, raising questions, including one still asked: Who is Errol Spence Jr.? It lingers, in large part because of the October 2019 auto accident that put Spence’s career on the shelf for about 15 months. He was back in December 2020, winning a unanimous decision over Danny Garcia. 

But even before the scary accident, the familiar stoppage was MIA. First, there was an efficient, one-sided decision over Mikey Garcia in March 2019, also at AT&T. Spence won every round on every card. He got a 10-8 score in the ninth even though there was no knockdown. It was that overwhelming. Still, there was no KO.

Six months later, he faced a tough, clever Shawn Porter. Spence won a split decision in September 2019 in Los Angeles. Still no KO. The decision over Garcia had the look of a new beginning. Manny Pacquiao was next. But Spence had to withdraw from that one last August because of a torn retina. That allowed Ugas to step in with a stunning upset, a unanimous decision that sent the legend into retirement.

Any kind of victory over Pacquiao would have been enough for Spence to say he’s back, all the way back. At 42, Pacquiao’s skills weren’t the same. But there was no erosion in the Filipino’s name recognition. At 5-foot-5 and with a 67-inch reach, Pacquiao had some of the same dimensions as Garcia. The always aggressive Pacquiao might have walked right into the power possessed by the bigger Spence. We’ll never know.

But eye surgery put Spence back on the shelf for another 16 months. He returns, this time seeking the KO that could – once and for all – answer the lingering questions.

“There’s no way to elaborate on when I said I’m going for the knockout,’’ Spence said. “It’s what I said. So, if I get it, I get it. If I don’t, I don’t.

“But I definitely want to knock him out.’’

Definitely, it would be a knockout that would leave no doubt. 

By Mario Ortega Jr.-

Fathers indoctrinating their sons, especially first borns, into their line of work is a long standing worldwide tradition. The sport of professional boxing is one of the many trades that has been handed down from one generation to the next in the history of humankind. Some second generation fighters have found great success emulating their fathers, while many others failed to excel inside the squared circle, perhaps in part to the inherent pressure that comes with following in large footsteps on a grand stage. Steve “USS” Cunningham is one father that left mighty big shoes to fill for his aspiring fighter sons. The former two-time world cruiserweight champion’s first born and namesake, Steve Cunningham Jr., looks to one day put his name on the side of the ledger of second-generation boxers that fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Cory Spinks call home. The junior Cunningham begins that journey as he makes his professional debut in boxing’s capitol on April 29th, on a card titled “Sons of Legends,” at the Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. 

The elder Cunnigham’s pro career was just starting to ramp up when he and his wife brought young Steve Jr. into the world. Despite bestowing his first son with his own name, Cunningham did not originally plan on molding his offspring into a world class boxer. “From the cradle I was actually more like, ‘No, my son is not going to box.’ I don’t know why, but maybe because I saw how dirty this business could be at that time,” remembers Senior. “I was signed with Don King and they were frustrating years for me. I beat everybody they put in front of me, but it was just a very uncomfortable contractual situation. So I’m like I don’t want my son going through this.”

The way life worked out for the Cunninghams played a part in Steve Jr. developing an affinity for the sport of boxing. “My wife worked and I went to the gym,” recalls Steve Sr. “I would take him to the gym, packed in the car seat and at around seven, I’d have him workout with me. I didn’t want him sitting there doing nothing and getting into trouble at the gym. It wasn’t that he showed talent, but I was just like, ‘Why not have him box?’ If I was a lawyer I would send him to law school. Or if I were a doctor, I would send him to medical school. I’m a boxer and not just a boxer, but a two-time world champ. Let me give him a shot.”

Having a world champion father surely opens doors for an aspiring second generation boxer, but with that advantage comes some strings attached. “Being his son, you never get a light sparring [session] or any easy sparring,” explains Cunningham Jr. “Whoever spars you or comes to your area, you get the hardest sparring there is. They bring their game. I will see them spar somebody else and think, ‘Dang, you didn’t spar them nearly as hard you sparred me.” They try to test you or get over on you.” 

As Cunningham progressed in his pursuit of an amateur boxing career, he closely followed the career of his father as one might expect. The elder Cunningham has had a great career, but when you go up against the best in the world as many times as “USS” did, there are bound to be some setbacks. 

“There was one thing I remember, and I don’t think he remembers this: it was after the first Adamek fight,” describes Senior. “When we were in the locker room after the fight…and it was a great fight, it was smoking. Junior said ‘When I grow up, I’m going to beat him for you.’ And I was like alright man, cool. So we are going to find Adamek, and in a few years he will be old as hell and he’ll have to fight Junior now. I remember that. That has been on my mind for years.”

While Cunningham Jr. may not remember vowing to defend his father’s honor after the first of two fights his dad had with the great Tomasz Adamek, there were other tough nights he does remember. 

“The [Amir] Mansour fight was a crazy one because we were sitting there watching the fight and it was going good and then boom, he gets dropped,” remembers Cunningham Jr. of the 2014 bout.” And I looked over to my cousin and we started praying. Then he gets up and he gets dropped again. I thought, ‘It’s going bad, it’s going bad.’ Then he ends up coming back in the fight and whipping him. Finishing the fight and whipping him. It was really inspiring, we almost broke the ring celebrating that night.”

The two-time world champion father Steve Cunningham Jr. has always looked up to is also the man he looks up to from his stool in between rounds. The elder Cunningham did not always have confidence in his training ability, but found words of wisdom from the legendary Naazim Richardson that led him on the right path before a 2015 event held between fighters from Pittsburgh and fighters from Cuba. 

“I called Brother Naazim and I was biting my nails, telling him, ‘We have got to fight a Cuban. I am going to send Junior to live with you for two months.’ Brother Naazim was like, ‘Listen, you have everything you need to train him to beat this Cuban.’ I was nervous as heck, but what he said and with what happened, for him to say I had enough to train him to win that fight, that helped to propel me as a coach. 

As a fighter I excelled, but as a coach I didn’t know a damn thing. But I’ve been blessed to be under the wing of guys like Brother Naazim, Coach Shar’ron [Baker], Anthony Chase, Richie Giachetti…all of these guys I have trained under and I have stolen from, along with my own experience in the ring, and that’s what we get. With that we were able to beat a Cuban and I was like, ‘Wow, here we go.’” 

Just as the elder Cunningham began the only prolonged layoff of his pro career, Steve Jr. came onto the scene at the national level in 2018. “Starting out it was cool and the only tournaments I would do were the Silver Gloves,” explains Cunningham. “The Silver Gloves are cool, but nothing compared to the national tournaments. It was a great experience, but the nationals are another level. Three to four rings running at one time. They are just knocking the fights out. It’s pretty dope. It’s fast-paced. You’ve got to keep your head in the game, stay locked in and be ready.”

During the 2020 USA Boxing National Championships (which were held in April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the father-son duo of Steve Cunnighams did something maybe no other father and son have done together before: prepare for major boxing events that they each were going to compete in the same month. Just a couple weeks after the tournament, where Junior would end up short in the quarter-final round, the original Steve Cunningham competed for the first time in sanctioned action in over three years with a decision win over former MMA star Frank Mir in a boxing bout. 

“When we were at the tournament in Louisiana, I was training mostly myself for that [Mir] fight,” explains Senior. “I sparred Junior for that fight, because Frank is a southpaw and Junior is a southpaw. He helped get me ready for that fight, a few rounds, but I didn’t even spar a lot. Keep it real, I didn’t expect too much from Frank, but I got in shape. Junior gave me that southpaw look more than a few times during that national tournament.” 

Although Cunningham may have inherited some of his athleticism and ability to improve and grow as a fighter from his father, he did not completely inherit his dad’s height or overall size, being a middleweight. While the size discrepancy may alter some aspects of the sparring sessions between the two, Senior refuses to hold back on his ability out of necessity while sharing the ring with his first born. 

“With him being 160-pounds, of course I hold back on the power, but skillswise heck no, I have to match him on the skill,” says Cunningham Sr. proudly. “Because he’s throwing and he can go 100 and sometimes he’s caught me and it hurts. He hits hard. Skill-wise, I am at 100 [percent] with him, but powerwise of course I’m holding back a little. Because I could just overpower him and that’s not helping either one of us.” 

The more Cunningham Sr. has worked with his son in the ring, the more even the sessions have become. “There was one time we were sparring and I couldn’t get him,” recalls the senior Cunningham. “So I had to adjust my life after that. It’s been great. Of course I’ve seen his level stepping up, especially in the sparring. The things he does and the punches he chooses, so I’ve seen growth. Sparring me is the best thing for him on certain levels.” 

Despite his affinity for how national tournaments operate as events, Cunningham Jr.’s last national amateur experience was one of a handful that left a bad taste in his mouth for the system on a whole. In the immediate aftermath of the 2021 USA Boxing National Championships, the Cunninghams decided it was time for Junior to make the leap to the paid ranks. 

“A big part of the decision [to turn pro] was the last tournament that we were in,” recalls Cunningham Jr. of the December 2021 event in Louisiana. “I was boxing and did good in the first round. Then in the second round, I fought this tough dude [Ruben Salazar], but I was fighting two fights at the same time. I was fighting the ref and the fighter. I was boxing him and boxing him and the ref told me to stop running. I was moving, and I’m moving my head, and the ref started giving me eight counts. In the last round, he managed to squeeze in three eight counts to stop the fight. And the last eight count was on the bell. So it was really tough. So after that, we couldn’t take the amateurs anymore. We decided it was time to go pro.”

Cunningham Sr. shares his son’s frustration with how his last national tournament played out. “He’s beautifully boxing, and the referee tells him to stop running? And they find a way to give him three eight counts,” says Senior with frustration in his voice. “The last eight count was just him slipping. He slipped every punch that guy threw, only to get an eight count. I saw the look on his face, and I’m like, ‘I am sick of this happening to my kid.’” 

Amateur referees are in the rearview now for Team Cunningham as they have their sights set on success in the professional ranks. At age 19 and with his dad in his corner, Cunningham Jr. seems to feel he is right where he was always meant to be in his career at this point in his life. “It’s crazy because the way my career has gone up until now is exactly how I imagined it as a kid,” proclaims the junior Cunningham. “Almost exactly like how I imagined it growing up and looking up to my father.”

“USS” Cunningham is in agreement with his son that now is the time for the next phase of Junior’s career. “I didn’t want his spirit for boxing to get damaged from the way amateur boxing was treating him, so I said we are going pro,” explains Cunningham Sr. “It’s done. Even at 19, I feel he is ready. He wants this bad, he works hard and he is only going to get stronger and stronger. So this is it right here. Now it is time to build him into a world champion.” 

On April 29th in Las Vegas, Cunningham will make his debut on a card featuring sons of famous fighters like Tommy Morrison, Hasim Rahman, Roberto Duran and many others. One would think being featured in such a way for your pro debut would be intimidating, but Steve Cunningham Jr. sees the event in a different light. 

“I’ve always been a junior, so there has always been attention drawn to my name because of my father,” explains the young Cunningham. “Actually there is not as much pressure as there would be usually [by fighting on a show with other famous sons]. I love it. It is a great opportunity for me. I feel good. It’s everything I’ve been waiting for all my life. All of the things I’ve been doing have been leading up to this. I’m ready. Ready to put on a show.” 

Tickets for the event, promoted by Roy Jones Jr. Boxing and Ares Entertainment, which will be streamed live on Fite and headlined by a heavyweight clash between Kenzie Morrison and Hasim Rahman Jr., are available online at AXS.com. 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @MarioG280  

Follow all the action as Gennady Golovkin and Ryota Murtata in a IBF/WBA Middleweight Title Elimination bout.  The card begins at 5:10 am ET and 6:10 PM in Tokyo with an undercard that will feature the WBO Flyweight bout between Junto Nakatani and Ryota Yamauchi

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Round 4: Body shot from Golovkin.  Good left hook..Uppercut

ROUND 6 Hard right from Golovkin knocks the mouthpiece out..Good right…2 hard jabs…Good counter right

ROUND 7 Good lft hook from Golovkin…Uppercut..Big left hook…Good right from Murata

ROUND 8 Jab from Golovkin…Hard rights and lefts…Big right from Murata…Good right…Left hook from Golovkin

ROUND 9 Big Right hurts Murata..Hard flurry…Murata looks done…Muata lands a left…HARD RIGHT DOWN GOES MURATA…TOWEL COMES IN FIGHT OVER

Round 4 Good body work from Nakatani…2 hard lefts and an uppercut

ROUND 5 Good combination from Yamauchi..Good left hook…Left hook to the body..Flurry on inside from Nakatani

ROUND 6 Double left and 1-2 from Nakatani..Left hook to body from Yamauchi…

ROUND 7 Big left from Nakatani…  Another hard left

ROUND 8 Good right from Yamauchi…left hook…BIG BARRAGE FROM NAKATANI..YAMAUCHI IS HURT AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Yoshino lands a jab..Ito lands a right to the body..Right from Yoshino…Jab from Ito..Left hook to the body from Yoshino
Round 2 Jab from Yoshino..Good overhand right and uppercut..Chopping right on the inside..Blood from nose of Ito..Hard body shots from Yoshino…2 Rights..Good right from Ito..Good 3 punch combination..Uppercut on inside from Yoshino
Round 3 Hard right from Yoshino..Left hook from Ito..Right..Right from Yoshino..Quick combination from Ito…Right..Body shot from Yoshino
Round 4 Left hook from Yoshino..Good rights from each guy..Counter from Ito..Jab from Yoshino..Left hook to body…Good right from Ito
Round 5 Hard right from Yoshino..Good body work…Chopping right…Ito lands 2 uppercuts..Right from Yoshino..Hard right..Big left hook..Hard right
Round 6 Ito working on the inside…Nice right..Right and uppercut..Right..Uppercut…Good body shot from Yoshino..Another..Right from Ito…Good action…hard right from Ito
Round 7 Trading hard shots..Good body work from Yoshino…
Round 8 Good right from Yoshino on the inside…Combination from Ito..Good jab from Yoshino and a left hook..Ito cut underneath his left eye
Round 9 Ito lands a left hook and right hand..Good right and jab..Trading rights…Hard right from Yoshino
Round 10 Uppercut on Inside from Ito..Doctor looking at Ito’s cut..Good left hook from Yoshino..Right from Ito…
Round 11 Good right from both fighters..Lead right from Yoshino and a good body shot..Headbutt and another cut on Ito’s left eye,  THE FIGHT IS STOPPED…GOES TO SCORE CARDS

YOSHINO WINS 107-102 twice and 106-103

By Norm Frauenheim-

The odds suggest that Gennadiy Golovkin is in Japan to celebrate a birthday. He’ll blow out 40 candles Friday. Then, he’ll blow out Ryota Murata.

It’s not that simple, of course. It might not be that one-sided either. The guess here is that Golovkin wins. But the real question is in the margins. How does he win?

It’s no secret that the middleweight bout Saturday (DAZN, 5:10 am ET/2:10 am PT) is projected to be a steppingstone to a fight that fans have wanted for three-and-half years. A long-awaited Canelo Alvarez-GGG 3 looms. It’s supposed to be next.

It’s believed that a third leg to the contentious rivalry will answer, once and for all, questions left in the unresolved wake of a draw in the first bout and Canelo’s majority decision over GGG in the second.

But a chance at finality doesn’t last long. It’s up to GGG to prove that it’s still there. He’ll be 40 at opening bell in Saitama, north of Tokyo. He’s at an age that’s hard to judge. Milestone or millstone?

It’s a question complicated by a long stretch out of the ring. It’s been about 16 months since GGG’s last fight, a seventh-round stoppage of Kamil Szeremeta in December 2020.

A fighter stuck in idle during his prime is one thing. Rust is temporary.  An idle fighter a few years beyond his prime is a question. Erosion is permanent.

GGG is in Japan, perhaps amid some uncertainty about how his legs and reflexes will respond. He’s also there aware of the country’s unique boxing history. One of history’s defining upsets happened in Japan. Buster Douglas upset Mike Tyson in 1990.

“Japan is the land of surprises, at least when it comes to boxing,’’ GGG (41-1-1, 36 KOs) said. “I remember what happened in the Tyson-Douglas fight. It has been in the back of mind throughout training camp.’’

The danger of history repeating itself, however, seems remote. Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), whose spotty record includes losses to Hassan N’Dam and Rob Brant, is listed as a 4-to-1 underdog. He’s also not exactly young. He’s 36. He’ll be 37 in January. He’s also been idle longer than GGG has. Murat hasn’t fought in about two-and-half years. He last answered an opening bell in December 2019, scoring a fifth-round stoppage of Steven Butler, an unknown Canadian.

GGG’s biggest concern might be recent history. His birthday Friday makes me think about Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao’s legendary career ended last August in a scorecard loss to Yordenis Ugas, then a late-stand-in for Errol Spence Jr., who withdrew because of an eye injury.

Pacquiao was a huge favorite. He was the Pacquiao everybody remembered and not the 42-year-old fighting for the first time in two years. He was coming off a split decision over Keith Thurman in 2019. He was 40 then. Two years later, he was just too old.

GGG is a couple of years younger. He also appears to be facing an opponent, Murata, who isn’t the threat that Ugas turned out to be. Still, some of the questions are familiar, all brought on by a 40^th birthday.

A dramatic GGG knockout of Murata would set the stage for a third fight with Canelo, who has to take care of his own business on May 7 against light-heavyweight Dmitry Bivol. A big KO, a resurrection of GGG’s Big Drama Show, is promoter Eddie Hearn’s hope. Make that bet. It would sell the pay-per-view.

But a narrow decision – or, worse, a controversial one — would only leave further questions. It might be unfair to expect GGG to still be the force he was four, five years ago. If he isn’t, however, a third fight with Canelo won’t prove anything other than to say it is past due. 

By Norm Frauenheim-

Melbourne and Los Angeles are separated by 18 time-zones and 7,932 miles. You can get on a plane in Melbourne and arrive in Los Angeles before you left Australia. It sounds upside-down, which is another way of saying Down Under.

But there was no confusion Thursday evening in Los Angeles and Friday morning in Melbourne. Only the clocks said different things.

George Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney spoke a universal language in a formal news conference introducing their lightweight fight June 5 in Melbourne. The newser for a world-title bout was steamed, appropriately enough, worldwide.

No interpreters were necessary. Trash talk is understood everywhere

“He keeps saying he will leave this fight as a King,’’ Kambosos said from a stage in Melbourne to Haney and his trainer/father, Bill, who were seated in a LA studio. “But what’s a King to an Emperor?’’

Kambosos is one belt short of an empire. Haney has it, a World Boxing Council version, and Kambosos intends to take it at an arena called Marvel Stadium. It’s no place for a comic book hero. Kambosos looks to be the real thing after his wild upset of Teofimo Lopez on Nov. 27 in New York.

Lopez sounded delusional after the defeat. His delusion is still evident. Now, he’s alleging that the scorecard loss was somehow fixed. It makes you wonder if Lopez is somehow finished. That’s another story for another day and another weight class. Lopez is moving up the scale, from 135 pounds to 140. Maybe, he’ll gain the pounds and lose the delusions. We’ll see.

But it’s become evident that Kambosos, a former Manny Pacquiao sparring partner, is a keen practitioner of psychology, one of boxing’s timeless arts. To wit: He knows how to get into somebody’s head long before he ever lands a head-rocking shot.

In what was perhaps an opening salvo of rhetoric, Kambosos mocked Haney. The clever Aussie suggested that the likeable American was already losing his cool. He wasn’t, of course. 

But it was the sound of what’s to come in this bout between a couple of unbeaten lightweights from different hemispheres. Kambosos is at home, and he intends to use every advantage in what is expected to be a huge Aussie crowd at the 53,000-seat stadium.

Haney laughed off the mocking. But he was also annoyed. Kambosos called the 23-year-old Haney a kid.

“He keeps calling me a kid,’’ Haney said. “I am not a kid. I am a man. So, quit calling me a kid.’’

However, it’s beginning to sound as though Kambosos is just getting started. For now, at least, Kambosos is the underdog. That’s a surprise, mostly because Kambosos is coming home after scoring a huge upset in Lopez’ hometown.

Haney, who steps in as Kambosos’ challenger when Vasiliy Lomachenko decided to stay at home in Ukraine to fight the Russians, opened as a minus-280 favorite, meaning he has about a 73-percent chance at winning.

Australia is known for gambling. From Sydney to Melbourne to Perth to Brisbane, you can bet on just about anything. It’s called “the national sickness. The guess here is that Kambosos will be favored at opening bell.

He’ll talk his way into the favorite’s role. Bet on it. But can talk his way into Haney’s head? That’s the real question. If he can, he’ll win. 

LAS VEGAS (March 29, 2022) – Despite winning the WBA Light Heavyweight World Title Eliminator last December to become the mandatory challenger for WBA Super Champion Dmitry Bivol, 43-0 Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez finds himself blocked from fighting for a world light heavyweight title due to boxing politics and a unification fight.

Rather than sit and wait, or fight a meaningless tune-up, Ramirez is fully prepared to move up in weight once again, this time to challenge World Boxing Council (WBC) Cruiserweight World Champion Ilunga Junior Makabu (29-2, 25 KOs).

“I’m always ready to take on anyone,” Ramirez said. “I was hoping to make the Bivol fight, but he took another route. It’s definitely disappointing but I’m glad he was rewarded with Canelo. He’s a good guy and definitely has a chance to change his life forever. Now moving forward, as always, I’m open to fighting anyone from light heavyweight to heavyweight, and why not start with cruiserweight? Golden Boy did mention Makabu to me and if he has the balls to face me, I will snatch that WBC title from him with ease. Despite the weight difference, I would out-skill, out-speed, and out-fight him in every aspect.”

Last December in San Antonio, Ramirez (43-0, 29 KOs) did his job to earn his long-awaited showdown with Bivol, stopping Yunieski “The Monster” Gonzalez (21-4, 17 KOs) in the 12th round to become Bivol’s mandatory challenger. However, Bivol has since been allowed by the WBA to fight unified super middleweight world champion “Saul“ Canelo” Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) on May 7th in Las Vegas.

The other two world light heavyweight champions, (WBC/IBF) Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) and (WBO) Joe Smith, Jr. (28-3, 22 KOs), are reportedly fighting in a unification bout June 18th in New York City, effectively shutting out the 30-year-old Ramirez from fighting for the world light heavyweight title until this fall at the earliest.

Makabu, 34, is the first and only native of the Democratic Republic Of The Congo to be world boxing champion. According to reports, ironically, he was all set to fight “Canelo” until boxing’s “rainmaker” shifted gears and chose Bivol as his next opponent. Makubu captured his WBC Cruiserweight crown January 31, 2020, when he decisioned Michael Cleslak, followed by two successful title defenses versus Olanreqaju Durodola (34-7) and Thabisco Mchunu (23-5), both by 12-round decision.

The first Mexican to capture the world super middleweight title, “Zurdo” wants to write Mexican boxing history again as the first from his country to be world cruiserweight champion.

Rated as the No. 2 light heavyweight in the world by both the WBA and WBO, as well as No. 4 by the IBF and #5 by The Ring magazine.

“Zurdo” is ready to move on up and add to his growing boxing legacy.

INFORMATION:

Website: www.ZurdoPromotions.com

Instagram: @zurdoramirez, @zurdopromotions

Twitter: @ZurdoPromotions, @GilbertoZurdoRamirez

Follow all of the action as Kiko Martinez defends the IBF Featherweight title against Josh Warrington in a rematch. The action starts at 3 PM ET with a four-fight undercard that feature the IBF Bantamweight title between Maria Cecilia Roman and Ebanie Bridges

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Round 1: Jab from Warrington…Good body shot..Head combination….big barrage on the ropes…Good left hook…BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES MARTINEZ..Martinez bleeding from his left eye

ROUND 2 Warrington opening up again on Martinez

ROUND 3 Body shot from Warrington…Good right.

ROUND 4 tough fight on the inside.  Warrington forcing  the action

ROUND 5 Good right from Warrington..

ROUND 6 Warrington backing Martinez on the ropes..

ROUND 7 Right and left Martinez..Hard right…Huge BARRAGE FOR WARRINGTON…MARTINEZ IS HURT ON THE ROPES ANDS THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

ROUND 1 Nice Jabs from Bridges..

ROUND 2 Body work from Bridges..Bridges outworking Roman

ROUND 3 Bridges good work to the body…Good combination..

ROUND 4 Good right hook from Roman..Body shot…Left hook from Bridges..Solid right from Roman..Right to body from Bridges..

ROUND 5 Overhand right from Bridges..Jabbing..

ROUND 6 Right from Bridges

ROUND 7 Right from Roman..

ROUND 8 Body work from Bridges

ROUND 9  HARD WORK INSIDE…BRIDGES FINISHES UP STRONG

ROUND 10  Comination and Hard right from Roman

100-91 and 97-93 twice FOR EBANIE BRIDGES

Round 1:  Left from Hughes
Round 2 Good left from Hughes…Right…
Round 3 Good right from Walsh..Good left from Walsh.. Walsh cut over left eye
Round 4 Uppercut from Hughes…Body work..Jab…Uppercut..3 punch combination…Good right hook..
Round 5 Jab and left from Hughes..Right..Good left from Walsh…
Round 6 Hughes goes to the body
Round 7 Right from Walsh..
Round 8 
Round 9 Hughes lands a left…
Round 10 Left..Counter from Walsh…Jab…Right from Hughes..
Round 11 Jab from Hughes..Straight left…
Round 12 

120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 for HUGHES

Round 1 Right from Smith…Body shot…Left hook..Left hook..Counter right…Counter left hook
Round 2 Right to head by Smith…Right Hand/Left Hook..Lead left hook..Moylette starting to swell under left eye
Round 3 Left hand from Smith..
Round 4 Uppercut from Smith..Another..Good right hand
Round 5 Body shot from Smith…3 uppercuts
Round 6 1-2 from Smith..Jab..Body shot..Body combination..
Round 7  Left hook that is very low from Smith crumples Moylette to the canvas..Smith Deducted 2 Points
Round 8  Right from Smith…Another low blow
Round 9 Left from Moylette…Uppercut from Smith…
Round 10 BIG LEFT AND DOWN GOES MOYLETTE….HARD LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES MOYLETTE…FIGHT OVER

Round 1 Nicholson lands a body shot…Jab..
Round 2 Nicholson Jabbing
Round 3 Right hook from Nicholson…Combination…Left
Round 4  Left from Nicholson
Round 5 Blood from Nose of Connolly
Round 6 Nicholson boxing and moving

60-54 for Nicholson

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.