By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – Tyson Fury stepped onto the official scale four pounds heavier for his third fight Saturday night with Deontay Wilder than he was for his victory in their rematch.

Fury didn’t take off his shirt or his black hat. Both might have weighed more than four pounds. But Fury was in no mood to pose – or perhaps expose a soft belly – after his weight was announced at 277 at Friday’s weigh-in. He only wanted to taunt and promise.

He did that, with a series of off-the-scale threats at Wilder, who was seven pounds heavier (238) than he was for his rematch loss (231).

The weight, Fury said, “means total obliteration of the Dosser.’’

Wilder stood and stared back through glasses dark enough to hide what had to be a darkening intent.

Wilder is seeking vengeance in an attempt to regain the World Boxing Council’s heavyweight title defense Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in a Fox/ESPN pay-per-view bout.

Fiury was at 273 pounds 19 months ago when he dominated Wilder in a seventh-round stoppage for the WBC belt.

A heavier Fury was no surprise. He had hinted repeatedly that he had added pounds. But he was from the 290 that been speculated during the days before the weigh-in.

Both fighters have been climbing up the scale throughout the trilogy.

Fury was 16.5 pounds heavier for the rematch than he was for their first fight, a draw, in December 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

That’s when a 256.6-pound Fury got up from two knockdowns. Wilder was at 212.5 for the first fight.

A heavier Fury proved to be more effective in the rematch. The added weight allowed him to suffocate Wilder with size and early aggression. The tactic forced Wilder to retreat. Wilder, who has never shown he can fight off his back foot, was never able to land his big right.

Fury goes into the third fight promising to stop Wilder earlier than he did in the second fight.

Fury might have to. If the fight goes into the late rounds, he might tire, make a mistake and walk into a deadly right hand that Wilder calls “the power of God.’’

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – Deontay Wilder, a man with many more personalities than punches, once talked about legal homicide. Now, he’s talking about love.

He’s changed all right, which is exactly what he promised to do after Tyson Fury fractured his identity in a one-sided stoppage more than a year-and-a-half ago

But it’s hard to know if the changes are real or rhetoric. Has he evolved? Repaired his sense of self after Fury stripped him of his defining power? Or is he role playing? It’s impossible to know. At least, it is until his heavyweight trilogy with Fury unfolds Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Call Wilder the biggest wild card in a bout hard to pick because of the 19 months that have come and gone since either fighter has answered an opening bell. There are questions after the long stretch of idle time amid a Pandemic and postponements brought on by legal issues and Fury’s positive tests for COVID.

A lot has led up to the third fight. The first two fights left plenty of clues about what to expect Saturday night. Yet, the third bout is wrapped in mystery. It’s almost as if they are starting over. At least, Wilder hopes so.

He has Malik Scott in his corner instead of Mark Breland, who threw in the towel midway through the seventh round, halting an embarrassing beatdown from Fury in the rematch. He still calls Breland disloyal, a word he used again Wednesday during an exchange with Fury during a heated news conference.

“Mark Breland, he saved your life that night,’’ Fury said. “You ought to have given him a pay raise.’’

What was striking about Fury’s edgy rip – one of many, however, was in Wilder’s reaction. He hasn’t changed his mind about Breland, who ranks among one of the good guys in a business without enough of them.

Wilder didn’t apologize, not for Breland or allegations that Fury cheated. But he didn’t go on a rant, either.

Throughout the newser, Wilder remained seated while Fury paced.

“I detect some nervous energy,’’ Wilder told him, sounding a little bit like a dispassionate psychiatrist analyzing an anxious patient.

“Insecure piece of shit,’’ Fury fired back.

It was at that point that the Wilder from six months might have jumped up and gone Mike Tyson on Fury. Didn’t happen. This time, there was no talk of body bags. The crazy Wilder of June was gone. This was the composed Wilder. He was happy and calm just a couple of days before a chance to wreak havoc against a bitter rival.

“With me and my team aboard, we all understand everything that has happened,’’ Wilder said during a Zoom call a couple of weeks before the news conference. “We’re just looking forward to it. We all smile. You know, we all laugh.

“You know, I always talk about the love I have in my camp. And it is so real. You know, I love to display it. I love to talk about it because, you know, so many people look for this type of love, because there’s so many fake people out there that show fake love. 

“And I know for sure if I see love, it’s between the family that I have within my team and my brotherhood that I have with all my guys. You know, and that means a lot to me.”

The imminent Fox/ESPN pay-per-view date won’t exactly be a lovefest. But peace and harmony in Wilder’s corner might be a sign that he and Scott are communicating. 

There’s an old theory that experienced fighters don’t change, at least not much. Wilder is 35. He’s fought 44 times (42-1-1, 41 KOs). He successfully defended the World Boxing Council’s version of the heavyweight title 10 times. It’s a comprehensive resume, one which says that new tricks in this old warhorse are unlikely.

Fury, who survived Wilder’s deadly right hand in the first fight and nullified it in the second, is confident he has seen every Wilder dimension. There’s been only one: That right.

Wilder promises more, saying Scott has found heretofore dormant weapons in a skillset that had started and ended with the right. There’s a guessing game that Wilder will enter the ring, planning a small adjustment that will allow him to create the space he needs for the leverage to throw – and land — the right. 

In the rematch, Fury suffocated him, leaving him no space. No leverage. In the end, Wilder was left with only an identity crisis.

Maybe, he has conquered it. If he has, he has a chance.Attachments area

By Norm Frauenheim –

Tyson Fury, street-corner philosopher and street-wise pugilist, has no illusions about what he does for a living.

“It’s not rocket science,’’ he said.

Sometimes, it’s not even Sweet Science.

That bring us to Fury’s third fight with Deontay Wilder on Oct. 9 for Fury’s heavyweight title at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

The long-awaited third chapter in the heavyweight trilogy is a lot of things. There’s rancor, trash-talk, some cheap drama, a little bit of mystery and an element of risk. The theatrics make it interesting.

But science, rockets or sweet, don’t figure to be a big part of the show. That might have to wait, perhaps for a Fury-Oleksandr Usyk fight in a division turned on to its top-heavy head last Saturday by Usyk’s skillful upset of Anthony Joshua in London.

Usyk took Joshua’s collection of belts, scoring a unanimous decision in a stunner that some argue places him at the top of the heavyweight ranks, ahead of even Fury, the World Boxing Council champion who also has a claim on the lineal title.

Fury, who knows a lot more about The Sweet Science than he does rockets, is not ready to step down or aside for anybody. No surprise there.

“Not a man born from his mother can beat me,’’ he said in a zoom call with reporters Wednesday.

No comment from Usyk’s mom, yet. But you get the idea.

Usyk, who waits on a contracted rematch with Joshua, is on Fury’s horizon and will stay there if there is no single misstep that will allow Wilder to land his right hand. The power in that Wilder right is scary.

“I only got one fight on my mind and that’s Deontay Wilder, the most dangerous heavyweight in the world right now,’’ Fury said.

The danger is there, all right. It nearly finished Fury in their first fight in December 2018, when Fury got up twice in a draw. Fury survived the power. Remembers it. Understands it, too.

He neutralized it in an embarrassing rout of Wilder in February 2020, forcing Wilder’s corner to throw in the towel after six-plus rounds. Then, Fury predicted what he would do and how he’d do it. As potent as that power is, it’s the only thing Wilder has had throughout his 44-fight career (42-1-1, 41 KOs).

Wilder has since changed his corner, firing Mark Breland and hiring Malik Scott. But a new corner, Fury says, won’t change Wilder’s fundamental character or add to his one-dimensional skillset.

“It’s been so long since that last fight that he could have got a college degree in that time,’’ Fury said in a crack that suggested he’s confident the same Wilder will be there at opening bell for an ESPN/Fox pay-per-view bout.

Wilder’s thorough whipping of Wilder in their rematch was a simple task of fundamental geometry. Fury went straight at him, smothering him with his 6-foot-9 frame and taking away the space he needs for leverage on that feared right hand.

The simple move stripped Wilder of his only weapon. More than that, it stripped him of his identity. That wasn’t science. It was the art of psychology, one that Fury seems to be practicing during the days before opening bell next week.

Wilder has never acknowledged that he lost the rematch. He blamed Breland. He blamed a costume that he says weakened him in the walk to the ring. He suggested that Fury’s gloves were loaded. He forgot to mention the grassy knoll. Lots of conspiracies, but no accountability.

“He hasn’t accepted defeat,’’ Fury said. “Therefore, he can’t overcome it.’’

Sometimes, common sense is the best kind of science. 

Follow all the action as Anthony Joshua defends 3 Heavyweight belts against former cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk in Lomdon. The undercard will feature a cruiserweight title defense featuring WBO champion Lawrence Okolie.

The action starts at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT / 6 PM UK Time

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED. THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1: Good right from Usyk..Rght from Joshua..Good left from Usyk…Right to the body..Straight left

Round 2 Good jab from Usyk…Straight left…Right from Joshua…Straight left from Usyk…

Round 3 Right from Joshua…Straight left from Usyk…Body…Jab…Straight left..Straight left Buckles Joshua…

Round 4 Right from Joshua…Usyk cut over the right eye..Left from Usyk

Round 5 Right to body from Usyk…Left to the body…Right to body for Joshua..Straight left From Usyk…Right  From Joshua…Right..

Round 6 Good combination from Usyk..Right from Joshua…Left to body from Usyk..Right from Joshua..Counter right…Straight right

Round 7  Jab from Usyk..Body shot..Left..Left to the chin….Jab and left from Usyk..Good Jab…Hard left rocks Joshua..Right hook…Jab…

Round 8 Right from Joshua…Good right..Left from Usyk…Right to bidy from Joshua..

Round 9 Good left from Usyk..Body shot by Joshua..Jab from Usyk

Round 10 Right from Joshua…Left from Usyk…Straight left…Blood from Nose of Joshua..Quick right from Joshua..Bigger cut over Usyk’s right eye..Joshua’s right eye closing..

Round 11 Jab from Usyk..Right from Joshua..Counter right..another right..  4 punch combination from Usyk..Good body shot

Round 12 Counter right Joshua…Double left from Usyk..Big left…Good jab…Big shots….Joshua in trouble

117-112; 116-112;  115-113 FOR THE WINNER AND NEW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION –OLEKSANDER USYK

ROUND 1 Left from Prasovic..Okolie lands a body shot…

Round 2 Right from L Prasovic…Jab to body from Okolie..Left hook from Prasovic…Right from Okolie…LEFT TO BODY AND DOWN GOES  PRASOVIC..Big Right from Okolie..

Round 3 LEFT TO THE BODY AND DOWN GOES PRASOVIC..FIGHT OVER

Round 1: Left to body from Hatton..Big uppercut from Martinez//Left hook from Martinez..Counter from Hatton..Big uppercut from Martinez
Round 2 Left hook from Hatton…Good left to the body..Right to body
Round 3 Double left hook from Martinez…Left hook…Right..Hatton lands an uppercut…Left hook..Uppercut from Martinez..Right..Right from Hatton…Right
Round 4 Nice right followed by a left from Hatton…Good right from Martinez….Uppercut..Right to body…good left hook..Good counter…
Round 5 Hatton lands a right..Uppercut from Martinez..Body shot..Uppercut..
Round 6 Left hook from Hatton…Combination from Martinez

58-57 FOR HATTON

Round 1 3 Jabs from Castillo..Left yo body Smith…Right…Left…2 nice rights…Right..Left to body…Hook…2 Counters from Castillo
Round 2  BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES CASTILLO….FIGHT OVER

Round 1 Nice right from Marku…4 jabs and a right…Right from Prodan…
Round 2 Right from Prodan..bod/head combination..
Round 3 Prodan slips..2 jabs from Prodan…Left…Good Jab from Marku..Good right from Prodan..
Round 4 Right from Prodan..Jab from Marku…Good inside right hand…Jab…good left…
Round 5 Right from Marku
Round 6 Jab from Marku…Blood from nose of Marku..Good jab back up Prodan 
Round 7 Jab and right hand from Marku.  Good right from Prodan
Round 8 Good boxing from Marku
Round 9  Jabs from Marku
Round 10 Right from Marku..Overhand right..Good jab from Prodan…Left hook from Marku..Counter jab from Prodan…Right uppercut from Marku..Left from Prodan..

99-91 Prodan; 97-93 Marku, 96-94 Marku

By Norm Frauenheim-

Oleksandr Usyk showed up a little early for Octoberfest. But there he was this week, wearing a red suit that made him look like a rare red pumpkin waiting to be the centerpiece of what could be a heavyweight celebration over the next few weeks.

Pumpkins, of course, get carved up.

But Usyk looked as if he has other ideas. Usyk, a man dressed for a change in the seasons, had the bold appearance of a fighter prepared for a changing of the guard. The heavyweights are a lot of things these days. The fabled division is a jagged collection of faces.

There’s Tyson Fury, a clever entertainer with one-liners as sharp as his long jab. There’s Deontay Wilder, wildly erratic with one scary punch to go along with crazy talk about body bags and legal homicide. There’s Anthony Joshua, proud yet often tentative in a brutal business that rarely rewards caution.

It’s a hard division to know. Harder, perhaps, to like.

For now, Usyk is the wild card, the Joker who also showed up at a news conference Wednesday in a black shirt and a yellow vest, appropriate complements to the autumn-like red. Call it Fashion by Candy Corn.

It was a statement all right. But it was more than just about fashion. Usyk has been the heavyweight of the future for a while now. Trick-or-treat, he thinks that day has arrived in his bid to take Joshua’s three versions of the belt Saturday (DAZN, 5 p.m. ET/2p.m. PT) at London’s Tottenham Stadium in the first of two heavyweight bouts in two weeks.

After a torturous succession of delays and cancellations brought on by the Pandemic and contract complications, Fury and Wilder are finally scheduled to settle their differences in a third fight on Oct. 9 in Las Vegas.

It’s been assumed that, in the end, it would all lead to Fury-Joshua.  That’s still the best guess. But Usyk, who emerged as Joshua’s challenger because of an arbitrator’s ruling last summer, has a chance to overturn those long-term plans.

The guess here is that Usyk has a better chance at doing that than Wilder does. It’s hard to see how the third Wilder-Fury fight will be any different than the second one. That’s when Fury went straight at Wilder, taking away the leverage he needs to throw his feared right while also exposing him as one dimensional. Wilder’s corner threw in the towel after an embarrassing rout through six-plus rounds.

Put it this way: If Usyk were fighting Wilder instead of Joshua Saturday, he’d might be favored. He’d be this corner’s pick. Against Joshua, however, he’s not, for a variety of reasons.

Joshua (25-1, 22 KOs) is just the bigger man with enough of a skillset to offset the versatile Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs).

“I can outbox him, of course I can,’’ Joshua told Sky Sports this week. “And I can out-strength him. You have to have a bit of aggression, boxing skill, head movement. There is not just one factor that determines a fight.

“Obviously we have our go-to — our strength. I will use my strengths. But it’s called a boxing match for a reason. I love the sweet science. I will display my boxing skills, but I won’t make it too complicated in there.”

Strip away potential complications, and the guess is that Joshua will simply overpower Usyk to win a late stoppage. But it might not be that uncomplicated. Usyk has shown he can be tricky. He knows his way around the ring. The problem, however, is that he doesn’t exactly know his way around today’s generation of jumbo-sized heavyweights. All of his brilliant potential was on display during his undisputed reign at cruiserweight. At heavyweight, not so much.

The historical parallel is Evander Holyfield, who also made the cruiserweight-to-heavyweight jump.  But Holyfield took his time. He had six heavyweight bouts before he took the title from poorly-conditioned Buster Douglas in October 1990.

After just two heavyweight bouts, Usyk is trying to do what Holyfield did more than three decades ago. Usyk won both, a stoppage of Chazz Witherspoon and decision over Dereck Chisora. But each performance left questions about whether he was in fact ready for Joshua or Fury.

Usyk insists he is, saying he is a full-fledged heavyweight. Maybe. He has the ability to surprise Joshua. His footwork, southpaw style, smarts and instincts can give Joshua fits. If Joshua stays poised, uses his jab and remembers he’s the bigger man, he wins. Usyk won’t, but he wins the argument for a rematch if it goes the distance.

The pick: It’ll go 12 rounds. Joshua wins a narrow decision in a bout that will lead to calls for a rematch in the court of public opinion.

Pick, Part 2: The rematch will happen and this time Uysk won’t have to wear a costume before the opening bell. Then, there will be no disguise, no doubt, about what he’s become. He’ll be a full-fledged heavyweight, perhaps the best in the division because of what he figures to learn Saturday.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Last week, it was Triller. This week, it’s PBS.

It’s hard to go from the gutter to the Ivory Tower, but boxing knows the way. Maybe, that’s because of its curious mix of bloody brutality and ballet of footwork. At its best, it dances in and out, never far from garbage or grace.

Last week, it was the garbage, a pay-per-view Triller telecast that made heavyweight great Evander Holyfield look like an aging fool while Donald Trump played ringside commentator, praising fighters he claimed to have known. Instead, the ex-President should have been honoring dead American heroes at 9-11 Memorials.

This week, grace supplants disgrace with the build-up to a four-part Public Broadcasting Service documentary about Muhammad Ali.

I’m trying to forget the image of a 58-year-old Holyfield suddenly on the canvas within just a couple of minutes of opening bell in a depressing exhibition against somebody named Vitor Belfort last Saturday in south Florida. I have a friend who likes to say that boxing is dead. The Triller telecast was like hearing last rites.

Maybe the PBS series, scheduled to begin Sunday, will help. But I’m not sure. I’ll watch, but more out of nostalgia than anything else. I’m part of the generation that grew up with Ali. As a high-school kid, I listened to the radio for the blow-by-blow accounts of his victories over Sonny Liston. As a college student, I watched him lose to Joe Frazier in 1971 on a movie screen in an old theater. All the time, I argued with my father about who was better, Ali or Joe Louis.

As a sportswriter, I met Frazier and heard how his anger at Ali was still there, hard and bitter, more than 20 years after their brutal third fight in Manila. I met George Foreman, who moved beyond his 1974 loss to Ali in Zaire. He called Joe Louis the greater heavyweight. He called Ali the greater man.

Then, I met Ali, who had moved to Phoenix in 2005 for treatment of his advancing Parkinson’s. Initially, he was playful, almost childlike. He’d play magic tricks, then draw cartoons on a sheet of paper ripped from a reporter’s notebook. From year-to-year, however, the advancing disease trapped him and silenced even him, the very man who created trash talk.

It was hard to watch.

It was even harder to not think of the punches he took.

 I asked Frazier if he wondered whether his punches were responsible for Ali’s Parkinson’s.

“I don’t have to wonder,’’ Frazier said as he watched his feared left hook land during a replay of his ‘71 decision over Ali on a nearby screen during a US Olympic Committee celebration of an anniversary of the famous fight. “You see that left hand. See it. See it. That’s why he is the way he is.’’

When Foreman was making a memorable comeback that led to him regaining a heavyweight title in a victory over Michael Moorer in 1994, I asked him if Ali’s “Rope-A-Dope” tactic in ’74 might have led to Parkinson’s. Ali absorbed huge blows from the most powerful puncher of the day. The tactic paid off then. Foreman tired. Ali won, scoring an eighth-round knockout. But I’ve always wondered whether Ali paid for it later.

“Maybe,’’ Foreman told me before he launched his improbable comeback with a victory in 1989 over Bert Cooper in Phoenix.

In the years before and after he died June 3, 2016 in Phoenix, Ali’s legend has grown. He was always boxing’ biggest name, one of the sport’s original celebrities. He made sure of it with his braggadocio, social activism, opposition to the Vietnam War and his name change from Cassius Clay. He’s been gone for more than five years. But his charisma is alive. On video, it lives on in the eyes that dance like his feet. His voice is always there, a lyric like a Golden Oldie soundtrack. He had fun. And he was fearless. We can still see him. Hear him.

That’s a reason for the PBS documentary by Ken Burns, whose interest in boxing is not new. Burns’ work includes Unforgivable Blackness, the story of Jack Johnson. In Ali, he is trying to take a long look at somebody Burns calls the most important athlete in the 20^th century. Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Joe Louis and Jack Johnson might argue. But Ali’s role is impossible to deny. It’s huge, big enough for further documentaries, more rewrites. In boxing, at least, it is magnified by what we’ve seen – or haven’t seen lately — on Triller.

But Ali is also not bigger than boxing, although that has been suggested in some of the PBS promos. No boxer is bigger than the punches they take. Not even Ali, who landed many and took too many in a legend still growing long after the last one landed. 

By Norm Frauenheim-

TUCSON – Outrage is off the proverbial scale. On the real scale, it is quiet. Almost dull. Controversy magnified by multiple decibels by today’s social-media megaphone could barely be heard Thursday. Oscar Valdez Jr. and Robson Conceicao made weight without debate.

That’s not to say there weren’t some momentary questions. There was guessing about whether Valdez would come in at the mandatory 130 pounds. The doubt was there, inevitable after a week full of allegations and a noisy argument about whether he should be allowed to defend his title Friday at Casino del Sol after his positive test for a stimulant.

The banned substance, phentermine, is an appetite suppressant prescribed to people, mostly obese, who are fighting to lose pounds. If Valdez couldn’t make the junior-lightweight limit, safe to say it would be interpreted as further evidence that reasons for the positive test were less than innocent.

But peace prevailed. It went as planned, not an ounce more or less. Valdez had to take off his socks after his first step on to the scale. Then, officials from the Pascua Yaqui Athletic Commission and onlookers from Conceicao’s corner had to back away from a scale affected by movement on wooden planks from those wanting a closer look.

The third try was perfect, although there were some who might have lost some cellulite while sweating out the outcome. One-hundred-thirty pounds, even. ESPN+, Casino del Sol and the World Boxing Council have a fight, despite the crowd that says they shouldn’t.

The show goes on, one that is expected to attract a capacity crowd at the Casino del Sol’s outdoor AVA Amphitheatre on a day when temperatures in southern Arizona are expected to reach 103 degrees. It’ll be hot at first bell (3:15 p.m. PT).  Then again, it already has been for anybody involved or opposed to the card’s main event.

Conceicao’s manager, Sergio Batarelli, is still surprised it’s happening.

“About a week ago, I wouldn’t have believed it,’’ Batarelli said after Conceicao weighed in at 129.6 pounds. “I still don’t think it should happen. I think they should have just given the title to Robson. But that’s okay. He’ll win it anyway in the ring.’’

That would probably make many happy, especially ESPN commentator Timothy Bradley, a former welterweight champion who expressed his outrage by saying he hopes Conceicao knocks out Valdez.

A lot of ESPN commentators have said the fight should not happen. None of them, however, have gone so far as to say that their employer should pull the plug on televising the controversial bout on the network’s premium channel. All that outrage is a sign there will be more buyers for a bout that was just another title fight before news of Valdez’ positive test broke eleven days ago. But that’s another story.

For now, it a story about Valdez, a son of Sonora. He grew up in Nogales, a border town about 65 miles south of Tucson where he went to school. At home in front of family and old friends, he is fighting to defend a hell of a lot more than just another belt. His credibility, character, is at stake, both Friday and beyond whatever happens against a Brazilian Olympic gold medalist who beat him as an amateur during the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara.

Conceicao has been forgotten amid the furor surrounding Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs). But he would be a threat to Valdez, even without the controversy. He’s unbeaten (16-0, 8 KOS). He’s bigger. After the weigh-in, he looked down – perhaps in more ways than one – on Valdez during the ritual face-to-face pose for the cameras.

“He’s very motivated,’’ Batarelli said. “He’s upset at what happened.’’

A hint at Conceicao’s opinion of Valdez and the surrounding controversy was there in a somewhat cryptic remark translated by Batarelli Wednesday during a news conference.

“About the problem with the champion, what is done is done,’’ Conceicao said, according to the manager’s translation of his native Portuguese. “There is no explanation, but I’m here to do my best and fight the greatest fight of my life.” 

Interpret it anyway you want, it’s a tough fight for Valdez, who has had a lot of them in a career that reached a peak in his knockout upset of feared Miguel Berchelt in his last outing.

On any scale, it might be his toughest ever.

By Norm Frauenheim–

TUCSON – Oscar Valdez Jr. is about to step into the ring a little bit like a defendant about to take the witness stand in an attempt to defend himself against charges in the court of public opinion.

He’s doing it in a prizefight that many say is indefensible.

He’s doing it to defend a junior-lightweight title that many say the World Boxing Council should have stripped from him.

He’s doing it amid a furor of allegations from an angry internet crowd that accuses him of lying.

Questions his credibility.

Condemns his integrity.

He’s doing it to defend himself, more than a belt. His defense began Wednesday, a couple of days before opening bell in an ESPN+ fight Friday night at Casino del Sol against Robson Conceicao and eight days after news broke that he had tested positive for a banned stimulant.

Valdez took the stage at a news conference at a small casino just down the road from the AVA Amphitheater about 12 miles from what he calls his second home in downtown Tucson. The controversial belt hung from his right shoulder. Conceicao, an unbeaten challenger and a Brazilian who beat him as an amateur, was there too, alongside junior-lightweight contenders Gabriel Flores Jr. and Luis Alberto Lopez.

But all were there as props and bit players. Valdez was there by himself, solemn-faced and confronted with a lonely battle to defend his character.

“Yeah, it’s a fight to prove I’m a clean fighter,’’ said Valdez, who tested positive for phentermine.

Translation: It’s a fight he has to win long-term and within the ropes against Conceicao, mostly unknown but now a challenger who has gained a groundswell of support from those outraged at Valdez and the decision to go forward with his first defense of a 130-pound title he won in a stunning stoppage of feared of Miguel Berchelt. ESPN boxing commentator Timothy Bradley said he hopes that Brazilian knocks out Valdez.

“I’ve been disappointed, I’ve been angry,’’ said Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs), a two-time Mexican Olympian who returned to his native Nogales on the Mexican side of the border after a few formative years in school in Tucson. “I can’t lie. But I I’ve been very focused on not looking at anything negative out there. It has been a little difficult — I can’t lie — but this is what we have to go through. Sometimes, this is what you have tp go through to prove yourself as a person and a fighter. This is what it’s going to be.

“This is when you realize who the real people are around you, who are loyal to you and got your back. I realize that my family is number one and also my team. I have to thank everyone on my team, {including} my manager, Frank Espinoza, and my trainer, Eddy Reynoso. My father has always been there with me. Just everyone who has been around supporting me during these tough times because it has been difficult. They had my back, and we know we did nothing wrong. We’re going to be real concentrated for this fight.”

His father, Oscar Valdez Sr., has been at his son’s side and in his corner throughout his many triumphs and now his trouble. He believes his son is ready to begin his long fight to answer the allegations with a victory over Conceicao, who beat Valdez at the 2009 Pan American Game in Guadalajara. The fight against Conceicao (16-0, 8 KOs), a gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, figured to be tougher than expected even before the news of the positive test broke.

It’s impossible to really know how Valdez will react until opening bell at an outdoor arena in front of what is expected to be a sold-out crowd. But a victory has taken on a sense of urgency brought on by the controversy. Valdez wants to keep himself in the public, perhaps now more than ever. He has a lot of to prove. It’s a burden he never anticipated. And it’s a burden that his many detractors believe will crush him.

But his manager, Frank Espinoza, is confident he has moved on from the controversy and onto the task of beating both Conceicao and the internet crowd with tweets and taunts. After Conceicao, Espinoza says the task will be to prove that the positive test was not intentional.

“We have to,’’ said Espinoza, who said he has some preliminary discussion on how to proceed with Valdez attorney Pat English.

Valdez’ father continued to say that he believed his son tested positive for the stimulant because of herbal tea. He said his son quit drinking coffee and started drinking tea during training. He tested positive on August 13. He tested negative on August 30.

However, it was still unclear Wednesday what kind of tea Valdez was drinking, or where the brew and brand were acquired. This fight – and perhaps controversy – is just beginning.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It looks as if Oscar Valdez won the argument. He’s expected to fight, expected to defend his junior-lightweight title on Sept. 10 in a homecoming, according to an ESPN report both in English and Spanish. But he could have never known he’d be going home to so much controversy.

Fight or no fight, the controversy will be there at Casino del Sol, about 12 miles down the road from downtown Tucson where he grew up.

It’ll be in headlines and social media. It’s already been there, a virtual storm of criticism and the usual taunts. Brazilian challenger Robson Canceicao might be a lot easier to beat than questions that promise to come at Valdez like dangerous punches from unseen angles.

Valdez’ title, patience and poise are among the heightened stakes in an expected fight that appeared to be in real jeopardy just a day ago because of a positive test for a reported stimulant.

Three contentious days full of an ongoing debate about whether he should or shouldn’t fight appeared to end late Thursday. The Top Rank-promoted fight is on, according to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, who cited unnamed sources in his report.

The reported decision to go forward came a day after a Zoom meeting that included Top Rank, Valdez attorney Pat English, the World Boxing Council’s Mauricio Sulaiman and the Pascua Yaqui.

The fight at an outdoor arena adjacent to the casino is subject to approval and jurisdiction by the Pascua Yaqui commission. 15 Rounds could not confirm ESPN’s report. There was no answer to calls to Commissioner Ernie Gallardo’s office at the Pascua Yaqui headquarters. However, the bout was still advertised on both Casino del Sol and Top Rank websites late Thursday.

The reported decision also came down a few hours after news, also from Coppinger, that Valdez’ B-sample tested positive.

Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Who knows? There’s never much clarity, much less certainty, in the hazy, balkanized business of boxing and drugs. We can only be sure that there probably will be another opening bell.

As this one approaches, public and pundits are increasingly split, thumbs up or thumbs down. But it’s not that simple.

Deliberations had been ongoing since the story broke Tuesday on ESPN, which also is scheduled to televise Valdez-Conceicao on its premium channel, ESPN+.

There’s an inherent conflict-of-interest in ESPN’s role. Emphasis on conflict. But boxing wouldn’t have its corner on chaos without the messy mix of conflicting interests. It’s always there, often just beneath the surface, but always ready to emerge with more conflict, confusion and controversy.

That made everything about Thursday’s news volatile, hard to predict. As I wrote early Thursday, the jury was still out. A decision was expected soon. But mostly the controversy raged on, especially on social media.

It’s been noisy enough for ESPN to sell more premium buys for the bout. Yes, that’s cynical. But cynicism, like conflict, is also part of boxing.

Let’s face it, Valdez-Conceicao was interesting.  And it still figures to be more competitive than expected. But it was never a must-see bout. Until now.

Over just a few days, it’s been transformed — turned into a hot-button issue — for fans who might have had a moderate interest, but now have a definite opinion. They’ll buy the telecast.

Add to that, a capacity crowd – about 5,000 – at Casino del Sol’s Ampitheatre. Sellouts, in any sport, have been rare during the Pandemic. This will be an exception.

The Pascua Yaqui is not new to professional boxing. It knows what it’s getting into. The Tribal Commission has been regulating bouts since Fernando Vargas fought there in 2003. It’s also a Commission that’s been caught squarely in the conflict-of-interest web. Fair or not, a sellout will be seen as motivation for the Pascua Yaqui to sanction the bout, despite the positive test for a banned substance.

The Pascua Yaqui commission is aligned with the Association of Boxing Commissions, which means it should follow its guidelines.

Then again, so is the Arizona State Boxing & MMA Commission, which licensed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to fight Danny Jacobs in December 2019. Chavez turned to Arizona when Nevada said no after he reportedly ran away from VADA when it showed up at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles prepared to subject him to a a random test.

Chavez got his AZ license and then went on to lose, quitting on the stool against Jacobs, at the Phoenix Suns arena. The crowd erupted, throwing debris in a near-riot. But that’s another story.

Another Arizona story.

This chapter will be controversial for everyone involved, regardless of what happens.

It’s inevitable that discussion at Wednesday’s meeting included an argument that Valdez tested positive for a substance, phentermine, that WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) prohibits only on the day of competition. Valdez’ underwent the test while training mid-August in San Diego.

If Valdez were a UFC fighter, there’d be no doubt.  according to Kevin Iole in a story for Yahoo. WADA rules apply, meaning Valdez would be fighting on Sept. 10 without questions.

But this is boxing, meaning options, loopholes and argument. The Valdez test was conducted by VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association). WADA, VADA, nobody knows nada. But there’s a difference, minor most of the time but major now.

VADA doesn’t differentiate between in-competition and out-of-competition when it comes to phentermine, which suppresses the appetite for people trying to lose weight. It’s banned, period.

For someone who had plans to cover the fight, I would have been happy if everyone just tested positive for Moderna.

But I understand the argument that Valdez, a good guy, should be held accountable. Perhaps, he was confused. As a two-time Mexican Olympian, he was under WADA rules. As a pro, he’s under VADA rules. Too many different rules mean no rule at all. Confusion is understandable. But not an excuse.

That said, everybody on social media and elsewhere, please, stop condemning Valdez. Please, get off the pulpit. There’s no high ground in boxing. There’s just that messy collection of rules, regs, commissions, acronyms, egos and self-interest.

If Valdez wins, he’ll still have to deal with scarring questions that never go away. His stablemate, Canelo Alvarez, still gets hammered by talk from the cheap seat in social media about whether tainted Mexican beef was the real reason he tested positive for performance-enhancing clenbuterol in 2018.

Meanwhile, boxing continues to sow the confusion that allows it to move on. That’s unfair to Valdez and any other fighter so often caught in the middle.

Don’t blame him. Blame the business.

By Matthew Benoliel-

Think about it. An untitled event. Five fights on the card. A sold-out arena. An estimated 1,000,000 Pay Per View buys. The headliner: a motivated but untested YouTube star facing an ex-UFC Champion. An opening act featuring the half-brother of the Heavyweight Champion against the sparring partner of the headliner. And three, more meritable fights featuring up-and-comers and two female world champions. Throw in one MMA turned boxing commentator, alongside seasoned network professionals. It seems that last night’s Showtime card had something for everyone. 

     The opening bout featured Tommy Fury, who is arguably more well-known for his role on the reality series “Love Island,” than for being the half-brother of Heavyweight Champ Tyson Fury. From a promoter’s standpoint, it is  usually a pretty good thing to have a famous last name. Fury took on ex-Bellator fighter Anthony Taylor, a man ten years his senior, with whom Fury enjoyed a five inch height advantage, and a ten-inch reach advantage. Fury’s professional boxing record stood at 6-0 with 4 KOs, while Taylor was 0-1. Taylor did enjoy some success in Bellator after losing his first few fights, but it seemed here like all the advantage would go to Fury, a -1400 favorite. However, Taylor was able to stand his ground, tie-up Fury when he had to, and made it a much closer fight than anyone expected. But what is interesting to note is that Taylor met Jake Paul through social media. By calling out Jake Paul. The two had since become friends, with Jake Paul funding the training camp, as well as the purse for Anthony Taylor.   

   Jake Paul has also publicly stated his affinity towards Puerto Rican fighters and multi-division title holder Amanda Serrano in particular. The matchup between Serrano and 122-pound champ Yamileh Mercado was exciting and helped shed a positive light on women’s boxing, as well as being one of the biggest stages either lady has fought on so far.  With so many other up and coming fighters claiming Puerto Rico as home, there may be opportunity for bigger purses on Paul’s future cards for the likes of Xander Zayas or Edgar Berlanga.   

  Former IBF Super Lightweight Champion Ivan Baranchyk (20-2) vs. Montana Love (15-0-1) is a respectable match on any card. Love is an up and comer who showed fierce tenacity and skill against a former world champion. The fight ended at the behest of Baranchyk’s corner following a particularly brutal seventh round. Baranchyk and trainer Pedro Diaz are well-known in the Miami boxing scene and it’s more than likely that the team and Jake Paul have crossed paths in the not-so distant path.  

   Pedro Diaz was also featured in Tyrone Woodley’s corner. Throughout the main event, it became apparent that Woodley could have beaten Paul if he were more active. His tools were sharper all around. But with a guaranteed $500,000 paycheck, and possibly another $500,000 from the PPV buys, along with a possible rematch with the condition that he slap an “I Love Jake Paul” tattoo on his person, perhaps Woodley was thinking about his future. In the end, one judge did favor Woodley, who lost by split decision, giving Woodley enough clout to request the rematch.    

  At the end of the night, we saw two good fights, the American debut of a talented heavyweight, and a well-paced show without all the extra music and performances of some other recent platforms.  While many in the boxing world are debating Paul’s merits as a fighter, and asking, “when is he going to fight a legit boxer in his weight class?” the real question should be, “Is Jake Paul going to be the sport’s next big promoter?”

Follow all the action as Jake Paul takes on Tyron Woodley.  The action begins at 8 PM ET with a four-fight undercard featuring a title defense by Amanda Serrano.  Also featured Daniel DuBois, Ivan Baranchyk and Tommy Fury

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Round 1: Paul lands a right to the body..Double jab…right to the body..Combination…2 rights to body from Woodley..

Round 2 Right from Paul..Right to body…let to head..

Round 3 Good right from Paul..Right to body…Left to head…Lead right uppercut

Round 4 Paul Lands a right to the body..Right hand rocks Paul…Jab from Woodley

Round 5 Right uppercut from Woodley…

Round 6 Left hook from Paul…Jab..Left hook…

Round 7 Left from Woodley…counter right from Paul

Round 8 Jab from Woodley..Right…

77-75 for PAUL…77-75 FOR WOODLEY….78-74 FOR PAUL

Round 1 Right from Mercado…Right hand..Body shot from Serrano

Round 2 Jab from Serrano…2 rights…

Round 3 Left hook from Mercado…Body work from Serrano…Left from Mercado..Right hook from Serrano…Boy shot

Round 4 Right from Serrano..Left From Mercado…Body shot from Serrano…Trading lefts..Mercado lands a left

Round 5 2 rights from Mercado…Counter from Serrano..Hard jab..2 body shots

Round 6 Lead left hook from to body from Mercado…Big uppercut from Serrano..Left to the body..

Round 7 Serrano continues to pressure

Round 8 Sweeping left from Mercado…Body shot from Serrano..left from Mercado…More body work rom Serrano..Right from Mercado..Combination from Serrano..

Round 9 Straight left from Serrano…Body shot..Mouse under the left eye of Mercado…Serrano landing …Mercado cut under the left eye

Round 10 Looping left from Mercado…Body shot from Serrano…left to the head..Big counter left…Short right hook…Left from Mercado..Big left from Serrano

97-93; 98-92 and 99-91 for AMANDA SERRANO

Round 1: Cusumano lands a right…RIGHT HAND AND DOWN GOES CUSUMANO..Right uppercut from DuBois…BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES CUSUMANO.. 2 MORE CHOPPING RIGHTS AND DOWN GOES CUSUMANO…FIGHT STOPPED

Round 1 Straight left from Love…Body combination. Double jab and straight left
Round 2 Body shot from Love..Check hook..Counter left…Nice left
Round 3 Right from Baranchyk..Rght and left…Left..Right hurts Love…Hard right…Hard right…Good right hook from Love
Round 4 Nice left hook from Baranchyk…Right…Straight left from Love…Left to the jaw…Hard left..Counter to the body…Right from Baramchyk…
Round 5 Right hook from Love…3 punch combination…1-2 from Love…left…Right hook..Left…..Big right from Batranchyk
Round 6 Double Jab from Love…Short left,..1-2…Lead left..1-2…Right from Baranchyk..Left hook to the body
Round 7 Combination from Love..Right hook..COUNTER LEFT AND DOWN GOES BARANCHYK….FIGHT STOPPED IN CORNER AFTER ROUND

Round 1 Right from Fury…Show shine from Taylor…Right uppercut from Fury..Right..Right from Taylor…Uppercut from Fury…Another  right
Round 2 Jab from  Fury…series of body shots…Couple of rights…
Round 3 Uppercut from Fury…Body shot..
Round 4 Left from Fury…Uppercut…

40 -36 on all cards for FURY

By Norm Frauenheim-

Sometimes, schedule makers are a little bit like map makers. They can draw up a pretty good path to what might be next. Or, at least, how to get there.

Connect the dates, which on boxing’s current map means David Benavidez-versus-Canelo Alvarez might be closer than ever. For a couple of years, it’s been mostly talk, most of it from Benavidez.

There was a chance, but it vanished about 13 months ago when Benavidez failed to make weight for the defense of a World Boxing Council title he had regained. Had he made the weight, he would have kept the belt. He went on to beat Roamer Alexis Angulo.

But the vacant title fell into Canelo’s powerful hands, who took it easily in what was a one-sided decision over an overmatched Callum Smith last December

Had Benavidez’ kept the belt, Canelo’s determined pursuit of a unified super-middleweight title might have already led to the Phoenix fighter. Instead, Canelo will go after the 168-pound’s last piece, the International Boxing Federation belt held by Caleb Plant.

That’s going to happen on Nov. 6, presumably in Las Vegas. Showtime made it official last week. Plant showed up at press row Saturday before the Yordenis Ugas’ upset of Manny Pacquiao at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, confirming that – yeah – they finally had a deal.

“Don’t congratulate me now,’’ Plant told reporters, who wanted to applaud the resolution to talks that had fallen apart a couple of weeks ago. “Congratulate me after the fight.’’

Three days later, Showtime and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) announced that Benavidez-versus-Jose Uzcategui – originally set for Aug. 28 and postponed by Benavidez’ positive test for COVID — had been rescheduled for Nov. 13, a week later, still at the Footprint Center, the Suns arena in downtown Phoenix.

Coincidence? Only if you’re not paying attention to the signs. The timing is just the latest piece to fall in place for a fight that has been near the top of the fans’ wish list.

A Benavidez victory would put him back at the front of the WBC line for another shot to regain the title he has held twice. He would be the so-called mandatory challenger to Canelo. Benavidez, still unbeaten, is favored.

That’s not to say Uzcategui doesn’t have a chance. The Venezuelan has challenged for a major title, losing a decision to Plant in January 2019. But he’s considered a steppingstone for Benavidez, 24 and still emerging.

Before the fight was postponed, some betting sites listed Benavidez as a 1/9 favorite, meaning he has about a 90 percent chance at winning. That seems a bit much. But you get the idea. Benavidez figures to win – and win big – in his first appearance before hometown fans since he fought his way to stardom.

Canelo, too, is a big favorite, although some think Plant’s combination of footwork and toughness will surprise the sport’s top draw. Canelo is a minus-600 favorite, meaning an 85.71-percent chance at victory.

Whatever the odds, it looks as if it’s a lock that Benavidez and Canelo will win convincingly, one Saturday after the other in November. What’s not a lock is what happens next. That’s boxing, not betting. Odds are always pretty good that something unforeseen – from injury to insanity — will happen.

Benavidez-Canelo, Mexican-American-versus-Mexican, would be a good Cinco de Mayo bout in 2022. May 5 falls on Thursday next year. That Saturday, May 7, would be the day to celebrate with an opening bell.

But all of that depends on another road map, the one Canelo has drawn up for his career. He talks about history. If he beats Plant, he will have accomplished one goal with a unified title.

It’s not clear if his next step would be the pursuit of a unified title at light-heavyweight. His record already includes a key 175-pound victory, a stoppage of Sergey Kovalev in November 2019. During the on-and-off negotiations with Plant, there was talk that he might opt for a fight against Dmitry Bivol, who holds a light-heavyweight belt.

Canelo’s decision might hinge on a couple of scales — the one that measures weight and the bigger one that measures history. There’s another one, too: Benavidez. He failed on the first scale, but he’s back and still there on the second, a face and a factor that Canelo will eventually have to confront.

Now or then, at another date or another weight, November’s timing will make it inevitable.

Follow all the action as Manny Pacquiao and Yordenis Ugas fight for the WBA Welterweight title.  The action begins at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT with a three fight undercard featuring Robert Guerrero and Victor Ortiz; Mark Magsayo and Julio Ceja plus Carlos Castro against Oscar Escandon

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED; THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1: Double Jab from Ugas..Combination by Pacquiao…Hard right from Ugas..Jab from Ugas

Round 2 Counter jab from Ugas..Right from Ugas…Good uppercuts from each…

Round 3 Pacquiao lands a combination on inside…Quick right from Ugas..Another right…Left from Pacquiao..Combination…Right from Ugas…

Round 4 Double jab from Ugas…Left to body from Pacquiao…Ugas warned for low blow..Left from Pacquiao…Counter right from Ugas..Right..3 jabs from Pacquiao..Right and jab from Ugas…

Round 5 1-2 from Ugas…Right…3 punch combination from Pacquiao

Round 6 Right from Ugas..Hard counter right…Double jab…Jab and right

Round 7 Jab from Pacquiao…Flurry..Right from Ugas…Right to the body..Right down the middle…double jab/right hand…2 rights…

Round 8 Counter right from Ugas..Right to the body…Ugas cut over the right eye..God right from Ugas..

Round 9 Combination from Ugas,..Counter..Right

Round 10 Right from Ugas…Right to the body…right….Right to the head…Hard right

Round 11 Right from Ugas..

Round 12 2 hard counter rights from Ugas…Body shot..Good right and left from Pacquiao…Right

115-113; 116-112 TWICE FOR YORDENIS UGAS

Round 1 Left from Ortiz…Combination from Guerrero…
Round 2 Left from Ortiz..Good Exchange……Hard left from Guerrero…Combination from Ortiz
Round 3 Nice left from Ortiz…Right hook to the body…Blood over right eye of Ortiz…Body shot from Guerrero
Round 4 Good body work from Ortiz
Round 5 Left from Guerrero..Good body shot from Ortiz..Right eye of Guerrero closing…
Round 6 Nice left from Ortiz…
Round 7
Round 8 Pushing left from Ortiz…Uppercut..Right from Guerrero…
Round 9 Nice combination from Guerrero…Combination
Round 10 

96-94 FOR GUERRERO ON ALL CARDS

Round 1: BIG LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES CEJA 30 SECONDS INTO THE FIGHT..Hard combination…Good hook from Cejas..Left hook kfrom Magsayo…
Round 2 Left hook from Magsayo…Left hook from Cejas…Combination from Magsayo..Uppercut from Cejas…2 body shots from Magsayo..Left to body..Nice right from Ceja
Round 3 Good Body work from Ceja…Combination from Magsayo..Right from Ceja…
Round 4 Body shot from Ceja…Right from Magsayo..Left to body from Ceja..Good uppercut
Round 5 Magsayo lands a body shot..Blood from nose of Magsayo…Body shots from Ceja…Magsayo has unsteady legs…BIG BODY SHOT AND DOWN GOES MAGSAYO…
Round 6 Ceja digging to the body..More hard body shots..3 punch combination..Left hook from Magsayo
Round 7 Right from Ceja..Right from Magsayo…Ceja lands a body shot
Round 8 Combination from Magsayo…Long right…
Round 9 Right from Ceja…Good body shot..5 Punch combination…Good right from Ceja…
Round 10 6 Punch flurry from Magsayo..HUGE DOUBLE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES CEJA AND HE IS KNOCKED OUT

Round 1 Big right from Escandon..Counter from Castro..Body shot from Escandon….Big left hook rocks Castro at the bell
Round 2 Right from Castro….2 jabs…Right from Escandon
Round 3 Good Jab from Castro…Right to body from Escandon..Uppercut from Castro..Right from Escandon..Left hook…Left from Castro..Chopping jab..
Round 4 Jab from Castro…Left to bodyUppercut from Escandon…Uppercut…Body shot from Castro…Nice right from Castro…Right
Round 5 Right from Castro…Right from Escandon…Counter right from Castro
Round 6 Left hook from Escandon…Left hook from Castro…Right hand…Uppercut..Good uppercut
Round 7 BIG LEFT AND DOWN GOES ESCANDON….Big right from Castro..Left hook…..Big right from Escandon..B1g left hook from Castro..Right from Escandon..Left to body…Right..Toe to toe action…Uppercut and hook from Castro…REPLAY SHOWED THAT IKNOCKDOWN SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SLIP…AND IT IS REVERSED
ROUND 8 Uppercut from Castro…
Round 9 Right from Castro..Nice right…
Round 10 Right from Castro rocks Escandon…he is hurt…BIG FLURRY AND DOWN GOES ESCANDON…HE GETS UP BUT THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao stepped off the scale, walked to the edge of the stage and winked. Then, he waved.

Weigh-ins are nothing if not about body language. In a week full of talk about whether Pacquiao is on the eve of his last fight, one wave Friday was enough for endless speculation and interpretation.

Was this one more goodbye wave? All week long, he has been dropping hints that he might be moving on.

Or was he just saying hello? Just Manny being Manny.

Or was the gesture a mocking way of saying that he intends to make Yordenis Ugas go bye-bye Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in a pay-per-view fight? Pacquiao’s corner is saying he will win by knockout, which would be his first as a welterweight and his first since 2009.

The possibilities are all there, tipping the scale toward an intriguing fight, an event that could mark the final chapter to one legend and the beginning of another in the Filipino Senator’s likely campaign for his country’s presidency.

Pacquiao, now a practiced politician, never says much. Pacquiao, the presumed candidate and eight-division champion, also knows a thing or two about how to throw an artful feint, in the ring and on the stage. He dedicated the fight to the people who will cast ballots in next year’s presidential election, May 9.

“For the Filipino people,’’ Pacquiao said after weighing 146 pounds, one less than the mandatory, for the 72nd fight in a career that includes world titles in four decades.

Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) is the favorite, both at the sports book and on the street. That’s not much of a surprise. He was more than a 3-1 favorite about 24 hours before opening bell on the PPV card (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET). The weigh-in was closed to the public. Only a media crowd of a few hundred was allowed into the scheduled ritual at the Grand Garden Arena at the MGM, because of the ongoing surge in COVID.

But the Pacquiao constituency was there, gathered up a flight of stairs and behind a roped-off barrier.

“Manny, Manny,”” they chanted.

It was loud and clear. Their echoes could be heard on the floor, up on the stage and on the scale. They expect 42-year-old Pacquiao to win.

He’s only smaller physically. In stature, he overshadows Ugas in every conceivable way. At 5-foot-9, Ugas is taller by a couple of inches.  With a 69-inch reach, he’s wider. He was also one pound heavier Friday at 147. But there was no way to get out from under long shadow that the Pacquiao legend casts.

“I respect him,’’ Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs) said Friday, sounding very much like a young man speaking of a wise elder.

On Saturday, however, Ugas promises something else.

“All respect is finished when we get into the ring,’’ the 35-year-old said through an interpreter.

In terms of respect, there’s not much of it on Ugas’ side of the scale. He’s the late stand-in, rushed into the main event off the undercard because Errol Spence was found to have a torn retina during a formal physical a couple of weeks ago.

Ugas has neither Spence’s power nor proven skillset. But he does have a performance that some think indicates he has a chance. He lost a controversial split-decision to Shawn Porter in March 2019. Many thought he won.

Few are picking Ugas to win. If Porter were fighting Pacquiao instead of Ugas, however, Porter might get the nod. At the very least, it would be a pick’em fight  

  “I’m here to wreck any future plans Manny Pacquaio has in the ring,’’ Ugas said when he arrived at the MGM Grand Tuesday.

Maybe, Pacquiao was waving bye-bye to that one.

By Norm Frauenheim-

History follows Manny Pacquiao. It’s a parade of titles, weight classes, money and mostly fans that has marched, Pied Piper-like, down through the decades.

Is it ending? It might be. The if has been attached to Pacquiao’s fight Saturday night against Yordenis Ugas at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena in a pay-per-view bout.

That if, in fact, is a bigger part of the fight than just about anything, including Ugas, a relatively unknown Cuban who is a late stand-in for Errol Spence, out with a torn retina.

That’s not fair to Ugas, a competent enough welterweight with perhaps a better chance at springing an upset than the betting odds suggest. But it’s hardly a surprise.

That if has transformed the fight into an event. To wit: Will Elvis be in the building for the last time?

The fact that Pacquiao is thinking about moving on is about as big a secret as his plans to run for President of the Philippines are. Front-and-center, it’s the story – the theme — leading up to the PPV card’s first bell (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET, $74.95). It might be hard to sell Ugas. But a chance to see a legend answer the bell for the last time? Now, there’s a compelling sales pitch.

“It might be my last fight,’’ Pacquiao said, hinting at retirement all over again, during the final news conference Wednesday at the MGM Grand. “Or, there is more.’’

More, of course, could mean just about anything. More could mean a run for President. He has until early October to declare his candidacy. More could mean Spence or Terence Crawford. He mentioned both if and when he decides to continue his ring career.

But Spence or Crawford could also give his political rivals some red meat. Current Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has already said Pacquiao is “punch-drunk.’’ That suggestion might gain some real traction if Pacquiao were to fight Spence or Crawford, both of whom are more than just competent welterweights. They’re dangerous, especially against a man years past his physical prime and well into middle age.

In the here-and-now, the decision hinges in how the 42-year Filipino Senator performs Saturday. He’s favored, of course, by odds that are expected to grow — and grow some more — by opening bell. He was minus-360 Thursday, which means about a 73-percent chance at victory. That chance promises to multiply, driven by public sentiment. It’s a powerful factor, and all of it is in Pacquiao’s corner.

It’s an understatement to say that Pacquiao is beloved. To his fans, he’s Manny, the same Manny he was more than two decades ago. His fans have grown up with him. They’ll bet on him, if for no other reason than to have a betting slip as a souvenir for what might be his last fight.

For the politician in Pacquiao, that’s good news, a sign that he might get as much support at the polls as he does at the window.

Just a couple of days before opening bell, however, it’s not clear that the last-chance pitch has had much impact at the box-office. On Thursday, seats were still available throughout T-Mobile at prices that range from $211 to $1,292. The announcement a couple of weeks ago that Spence was out and Ugas in didn’t help. But there are other circumstances, including another surge in COVID.

Fans might not fill the building, but the guess here is that they’ll be there, in the pay-per-view audience to watch their Elvis for maybe the last time.

By Norm Frauenheim-

From pugilist to populist, the campaign continues. Manny Pacquiao is always running, toward the fight and for the Senate. Maybe for President, too.

Before a run at the Filipino Presidency, however, there’s a fight, at least one more in a life as storied as it is improbable. Pacquiao will answer another bell, not against Errol Spence Jr., an encounter as feared as it was anticipated.

Instead, the Senator faces Yordenis Ugas, a capable welterweight yet without any of Spence’s notoriety. Spence was a real risk; Ugas is a late stand-in.

That’s unfair to Ugas, a Cuban who got the call Tuesday after Spence was forced out of the August 21 pay-per-view date at Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena by a torn retina. But nothing about public perception, or boxing, has ever been fair. It’s fickle. Dangerous, too.

For Pacquiao, a late change in opposition has done little to alter the danger. He’s 42. The 31-year-old Spence could have hurt him. The 35-year-old Ugas can too. It all depends on how Pacquiao adjusts. Ever the politician, Pacquiao promises no adjustment is too much.

Spence is left-handed. Ugas is right-handed. So what, says Pacquiao, whose two-plus decades in the boxing and political rings have shown he can work both sides of any aisle.

“I consider myself a bipartisan boxer,” Pacquiao said Wednesday during a Zoom session with reporters. “I am used to fighting right and left-handed, so it’s not going to be a problem,”

It was a good quip, one that suggests Pacquiao is also in training for an imminent presidential campaign.  In the here-and-now, however, the pressing question is whether his reflexes have resisted time’s corrosive process.

 If not, Pacquiao’s career could end as abruptly as so many others have. Pacquiao’s quick hands and quicker feet could carry him in-and-out of danger, in-and-out of victory. But he hasn’t fought in more than two years. He hasn’t tested those reflexes since a split decision over Keith Thurman on July 20, 2019.

He looked forever young against Thurman. But 25 months later, forever might be forgotten. Spence or Ugas, that’s part of the risk. Part of a perverse attraction, too. But Pacquiao has never been afraid. In part, that helps explain his popularity. It endures. His chin has betrayed him. But never his popularity.

Against Spence, the numbers were daunting. He was four inches shorter. Eleven years older. He had a five-inch disadvantage in reach. Yet shrinking odds, driven by public sentiment, gave Pacquiao a chance against Spence. How come?

Because he’s Manny.

The world’s love affair with Pacquiao continues. It’s also an exception. Politicians are hated. Fans buy fights because they want to see the designated bad guy take a whipping. But Pacquaio, pugilist and politician, is loved. His goodness is inexhaustible. It also might be the only thing about him that hasn’t aged.

It helps explain how opening odds favoring Spence were cut in half, from 4-1 to 2-1, within just a couple of weeks. With Spence out and Ugas in, Pacquiao is the favorite, minus-300, meaning he has a 75-percent chance at victory.

From this corner, the odds are off.  The younger Ugas has a real chance in what looks to be a pick-em fight. Had it been Spence, it still might have been close to an even fight at opening bell.  

The bet, really the hope, is that goodness will prevail all over again. It’s rooted in what is remembered about Pacquiao. Risk was never tied to reward. For Pacquiao, it has never been part of a ratio. From Oscar De La Hoya to Antonio Margarito, he just took it on. Now, he decides to fight Ugas, a real fighter, instead of a Paul. Hard not to love that.

But the risk has never been bigger. Time isn’t sentimental. It just moves on. A tale of the tape tells you that Ugas has Spence-like advantages in almost every relevant dimension. The clock tells you something else. Ugas is in his prime; Pacquiao is not.

Pacquiao’s 26-years in the pro ring are a thorough record of what he does. There are no secrets. His power is intact. But nothing should surprise Ugas, whose advantages and relative youth will allow him to play a punishing waiting game. Like an incoming target, Pacquiao will have to pursue — step inside repeatedly.

Ugas figures to erode his energy with blows early and hurt him with big punches later. The Pick: Ugas, unanimous decision.

Ugas will beat him, but not knock out his popularity. Pacquiao might have enough of that to win the Filipino presidency. It’d be nice to see a good guy go on to win that fight.

By Norm Frauenheim—

There’s been uncertainty surrounding Canelo Alvarez’ next fight, questions about when, where, weight and mostly who.  There’s been none about David Benavidez, whose mind and purpose are locked in on an August 28 homecoming in Phoenix.

All paths lead to Canelo, or at least they have for Benavidez, who poured a lot of noise into social media in trash-talking Canelo, the game’s biggest draw.

Follow the money in today’s boxing business and it inevitably leads to Canelo. But there’s no sure way to get there, a fact that Caleb Plant might have learned the hard way. Plant’s speculated date in mid-September with Canelo is reportedly off because negotiations went awry. Instead of Plant, Canelo’s next foe looks to be Dmitry Bivol, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

“Bivol is the front runner, in my opinion, for that slot on September the 18th, Hearn said Monday during an appearance on The DAZN Boxing Show.  “I think if it’s not Bivol, then I think there’s a very good chance that September 18 will be put on hold, and we’ll move on to another date and potentially another opponent.’’

As of Thursday, there was no new of a deal. That could change Friday, or Saturday or whenever. Boxing talks are nothing if not notoriously unpredictable

“Now I’ll reiterate that he wants that Plant fight, you know, it’s the undisputed fight, but he also wants to face other champions,’’ Hearn said. “So, we’ve been in touch with Dmitry and they’re ready to fight Canelo Alvarez on September the 18th. They’ve been sort of training really for the last two or three weeks in the hope that they do get that pick.” 

Plant has always been seen as the fight at the top of Canelo’s immediate wish list. Plant holds the International Boxing Federation’s super-middleweight belt. Canelo’s stated goal has been to be the first in the division to unify the168-pound title. He could always go back to Plant and resume negotiations if he beats Bivol, who holds a light-heavyweight belt, the World Boxing Association’s version, the least-respected piece to boxing’s unification puzzle.

Bivol, perhaps weakened by a battle to fight at a catchweight, would qualify as a stay-busy date. It would fill a traditional boxing weekend that celebrates September 16, Mexican Independence. It also could become a megaphone for the growing number of fans who want to see Benavidez fight Canelo.

It all depends on what Canelo does – whether he in fact fights on Sept. 18 and how Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) performs against Venezuelan Jose Uzcategui (31-4, 26 KOs) in a Showtime-televised bout at the newly-name Footprint Center, the Phoenix Suns home arena.

Benavidez knows that. In a mark of his emerging maturity, the 24-year-old talked this week, in effect saying he can control only what he does instead of what Canelo may – may not — do.

“This is a big opportunity for whoever wins this fight, Benavidez said Tuesday in a zoom session with reporters. “He’s (Uzcategui) been in this sport for a long time and has a lot of experience. This is the kind of fight we both need to get to the bigger dogs. I’ll fight whoever I have to in order to get back to the world title. I’m going to earn my opportunity any way it comes.’’

Benavidez might have already fought Canelo had he not lost the World Boxing Council belt on the scale nearly a year ago, Aug. 14, for a title defense against Alexis Angulo. He went on to score a 10^th-round stoppage of Angulo. Then, he made weight and stopped Ronald Ellis on March 13. Against Uzcategui, he faces a former champion who lost a unanimous decision to Plant in January 2019.

“I take my career fight-by-fight and I of course want to get back in the ring as soon as possible after this fight,’’ Benavidez said. “Right now, August 28 is the only thing on my mind. I can’t overlook anybody, especially an ex-champion like Uzcategui.

“I want to be in the game for 10 more years. So, it doesn’t matter when the belt comes back to me. I have to keep taking it, fight by fight, and let the rest take care of itself.’’

No question about that either.

By Norm Frauenheim-

The Arizona boxing market is little bit like the mythic symbol for which the state’s capitol is named. It’s always climbing off the deck like that proverbial bird seen on the side of a Phoenix bus and in the city’s flag. It’s fighting to take flight.

Always fighting.

Appropriately, there’s been more fight than flight in the state’s boxing history. It’s been up-and down, poised somewhere between new heights and familiar depths.

Barring another COVID disruption, the old fight goes on, this time with a real chance to reach an unprecedented peak. Two major cards are scheduled within two weeks in late summer, the first featuring super-middleweight David Benavidez on Showtime on the Suns home floor in downtown Phoenix on August 28 and then junior-lightweight champion Oscar Valdez Jr. on ESPN at Casino del Sol in Tucson on Sept. 10.

It’s a powerful combo, a testament to a lively market that lives on without coverage from the state’s traditional media. Full disclosure: I covered boxing for The Arizona Republic for three-plus decades before the state’s biggest newspaper pulled the plug on me and the sport.

The sport is thriving. Me? I’m older than that ancient bird. I’ll let somebody else decide. But boxing’s resiliency in Arizona is no surprise. It’s deeply rooted in the state’s culture, unique for the number of mom-and-pop gyms throughout neighborhoods in Phoenix and Tucson. They’re next to convenience stores, in backyards and on the sidewalk in front of a barber shop.

It’s appropriate that David Benavidez and his brother, Jose, will be fighting at the newly-named Footprint Center. Boxing’s footprint is everywhere in Arizona.

It was there in the 1950s with Jimmy Martinez, a Phoenix middleweight and an undisputed world traveler whose passport nearly included as many stamps as his record included fights (142). It was there all over again, this time generating headlines when Michael Carbajal came out of his Phoenix backyard, won silver at the controversial 1988 Olympics and fought his way into the Hall of Fame.

In late August and early September, that indelible footprint re-appears, potentially in a way that it never has. Once, twice, it’s a speed bag of affirmation that AZ boxing will outlive just about anything, even newspapers.

“Phoenix, Arizona made me into the vicious puncher and entertaining fighter I am today,’’ David Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs), a former two-time champion at 168-pounds, said after his bout with Venezuelan Jose Uzcategui (31-4, 26 KOs) was formally announced Thursday. “I am grateful to have given up my childhood and be in the gym all day in phx to become something other than just ordinary.’’

Ordinary became extraordinary in the years after Benavidez left home. He hasn’t fought in Phoenix since a victory in May 2015 when he won a prelim on a card that featured brother Jose in a junior-welterweight title win, also in a ring on the Suns home floor at what was then US Airways Center. The arena’s name has changed. So, has David Benavidez. He looms as very real possibility for Canelo Alvarez, the biggest name in the sport.

It’s no coincidence that Canelo’s trainer, Eddy Reynoso will be in Tucson a couple of weeks later with Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs), a two-time Mexican Olympian who went to school in Tucson. Valdez’ strong ties to AZ are evident in his record. He has fought four times in the state, twice in Phoenix and twice in Tucson. His title defense against Brazilian Robson Conceicao (16-0, 8 KOs) is intriguing on a couple of levels.

They have history. Conceicao, a 2106 Olympic gold medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Games, beat Valdez by a single point for a Pan American Games gold medal in 2009.

For Valdez, the fight is his first since his dramatic upset of Miguel Berchelt for the 130-pound title. Few gave Valdez a chance against Berchelt last February. Then again, few have ever given him much of chance against the best, first at featherweight and now at junior-lightweight.

Nevertheless, he fought his way through a broken jaw on a rainy night in an outdoor ring in Carson Calif. to beat a bigger Scott Quigg in Match, 2018   

There were doubts he would be able to come back from that bloody triumph. Valdez, the winner, was put on a stretcher and rushed to the emergency room.  Nearly three years later, he beat a feared, bigger Berchelt in a 10^th-round stoppage.

It was stunning. From A-to-Z, It was a testament to resiliency, a stubborn streak that defines him and the state of the AZ game. 

By Norm Frauenheim–

Opening ceremonies mean first bell for an ancient craft older than the Olympics. Punches for medals. Punches for prize-money. Punches for vengeance. Punches for bribes. Punches for national pride. It’s been hit, miss, memorable and misery for as long as anybody can recall.

The show must go on, this time in Tokyo for troubled Olympics dubbed the Pandemic Games. COVID is no game. I’m not sure these Olympics will be much of a game either. But the modern version of Olympics has survived world wars and boycotts. It has even survived boxing, an Olympic stepchild again at the brink of expulsion for scandals that have become a permanent scar.

Preliminary bouts begin Friday without the usual acronym, AIBA, running the show. In effect, AIBA is on probation for reported financial transgressions, controversial judging and who-knows-what-all. That leaves questions about who and how judges and referees will be appointed. And paid. The International Olympic Committee says it will be running the competition. But if the IOC really knew anything about boxing, the corruption would have ended generations ago.

Boxing, which can be as resilient as it is corrupt, survives in spite of itself. It’s there in part because third-world nations don’t need world-class swimming pools to field a team. A pair of hand-me-down gloves can be a down payment on a ticket to the Olympic ring. According to the IOC, boxers from 73 nations are in Tokyo. Everybody fights. It’s a common language, understood as much as it is forever feared.

But there’s even more. There’s the history. The Olympics just wouldn’t be the same without the names and legends who have stepped through the ropes and onto the medal stand.

Here are a few, a pound-for-pound look at Olympic boxing.

1.   – Teofilo Stevenson. He’s the Olympic legend, one that captures worldwide imagination because there appeared to be no limit on what he could have done. He was the beginning of the Cuban legacy. Fidel Castro had outlawed the pro game. He won three gold medals – 1972, 1976 and 1980. He never fought as a pro. But there was talk that he was better than Muhammad Ali, the original GOAT (Greatest Of All Time.)

2     — Ali. Then named Cassius Clay, he won gold in 1960 at light-heavyweight, He would later change his name and the world. Somehow, he lost the medal. He said he threw it into the river in hometown Louisville. It was a good story, but it isn’t true. The medal was never found. But the Olympics never forgot him. He lit the Atlanta cauldron in 1996.

3     – Joe Frazier. Without Joe, the Ali legend wouldn’t be the same. Frazier, a heavyweight gold medalist in Tokyo in 1964, and Ali created a defining rivalry. There are great rivalries. But there is only one Ali-Frazier

4     — George Foreman. Like Frazier, the Ali story wouldn’t be the same without Foreman, a 1968 gold-medalist who will forever be remembered for a photo of him clutching a small American flag in his bear-paw-sized hand after his victory in Mexico City. Without Foreman, there would have been no Rumble In The Jungle, Ali’s epic victory in Zaire.

5     – Felix Savon. He furthered Stevenson’s Cuban legacy, winning gold in 1992, 1996 and 2000. He might have won a fourth if not for Castro’s boycott of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

6     — Sugar Ray Leonard. The light-welterweight gold-medalist was the face of America’s 1976 team, the best US team ever. He put boxing at center stage in Montreal at an Olympics otherwise known for Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci. He then became cornerstone for The Four Kings, an era dominated by his rivalries with Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.

7     — Laszlo Papp. He was Vasiliy Lomachenko before Loma. A Hungarian, Papp was the first three-time boxing gold-medalist, winning at light-middleweight and middleweight in 1948, 1952 and 1956.

8     — Lomachenko. The Ukrainian won gold at featherweight in 2008 and again in 2012. He won a major title in only his second pro fight. His story continues to unfold in a career that saw him come back with an impressive victory after a loss to Teofimo Lopez in October.

9     — Roy Jones Jr. He’s known for what was stolen from him in 1988. Jones, whose great talent was confirmed throughout his Hall of Fame pro career, got robbed of gold in a light-middleweight bout in Seoul. There was evidence when the fixed scorecards were announced. There was further evidence in secret-police files made public after East Germany fell a couple of years later. The IOC has yet to correct the record. It has yet tp give Jones his rightful gold. It’s no coincidence that the boxing scandals continue.

10 – Oscar De La Hoya. The 1992 gold medalist at lightweight had a great story. He won for his mom, Cecilia, who died nearly two years before the Barcelona Games. His victory also set the stage for a brilliant pro career, one that made him a wealthy man in the pay-per-view industry of the 1990s.

11 – Andre Ward. He won gold for his performance and his poise in 2004. The Americans struggled. But Ward quietly and proficiently won gold at light-heavyweight on the day of closing ceremonies in Athens. An American man hasn’t won boxing gold since. He went onto to an unbeaten pro career.

12 – Claressa Shields. She won two gold, first in 2012 in London and again in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Shields, the first American woman to win gold in the Olympic ring, brought international media attention to women’s boxing, new to the Olympics.

13 – Howard Davis. The 1976 lightweight gold medalist, Leonard’s teammate, was voted the most outstanding boxer on a team that also included gold-medalists Leon and Michael Spinks.

14 – Vassily Jirov. The 1996 light-heavyweight gold medalist got world-wide headlines long before Gennadiy Golovkin and long before anybody knew where Kazakhstan was. Jirov, also a former IBF light-heavyweight champ also got the Val Barker Trophy for a memorable gold-medal run that included an upset of favored American Antonio Tarver in the semi-finals.

15 – Floyd Patterson. He won gold as a middleweight in 1952. Likeable yet shy, he went on to fight as an undersized heavyweight, winning the title twice, first against Archie Moore and then in a rematch with Ingemar Johanssen. At the time (1956) of his victory over Moore, Patterson was 21, then the youngest heavyweight champ in history.

Follow all of the action as Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano battle it out for the undisputed Junior Middleweight championship.  The action begins at 9 PM ET as Middleweights Amilcar Vidal takes on Immanuwel Aleem as well as Rolando Romero defends the WBA Interim Lightweight title against Anthony Yigit

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Round 1: Right from Castano..Lead right to the body

Round 2 Big left hook staggers Castano..1-2…

Round 3 Charlo Jabbing..2 Big left hooks from Castano

Round 4 Right to body from Castano…Jab and left hook from Charlo..Sweeping left hook..Right from Castano.. Left hook..right and left to jaw…Right from Charlo…Right from Castano..Right from Charlo..

Round 5 1-2 from Charlo…Lead right from Castano…left hook…1-2 from Charlo..Counter from Castano…Jab and right from Charlo…

Round 6 Jab from Charlo..Counter..Body..Right from Castano..Furry..Castano landing on the ropes

Round 7 Jab from Charlo…2 rights from Castano..Chopping right…left hook to the Liver..Short left from Charlo

Round 8 Short left hok from Cstano..Right hand and left hook..Nice right..Left to head…Jab…Right from Charlo

Round 9 Jab from Charlo..Combination from Castano…Right hand..Body shot

Round 10 Left hook from Castano…Charlo lands a right..Right rocks Castano…Left hook to the body..Hard right..Left hook to the jaw..Right

Round 11 Hard right from Charlo..Left hook to body and head….Right and left from Castano…Left hook..Jab pops Charlo’s head back..Left hook and right hand..Uppercut from Charlo

Round 12 Left hook from Castano…Combination from Charlo..Double left hook from Castano…Body work…Left hook from Charlo..

114-113 CASTANO; 117-111 CHARLO; 114-114

Round 1 Left from Romero..Right drives Yigit back…Bdy shot from Yigit…Counter from Romero..

Round 2 Left from Yigit..Left hook from Romero…Left from Yigit…Right from Romero…2 Lefts from Yigit…Big right from Romero..

Round 3 Right from Romero…Right to body

Round 4 Left from Yigit..Solid left from Romero..3 punch combination

Round 5 Jab from Romero…Counter right from Romero..Left from Yigit…ROMERO DEDUCTED POINT FOR HOLDIMG…BIG RIGHT ATTHE BELL DROPS YIGIT

Round 6  Jab to body from Romero…Clipping right to the jaw..Right

Round 7 Right from Romero…COUNTER RIGHT AND DOWN GOES YIGIT..Big right from Romero....BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GIES YIGIT…FIGHT OVER

Round 1: Jab from Aleem.  Double left hook
Round 2 Lead right from Vidal…Right to the body..Left to the body…Long right…Left hook to body from Aleem
Round 3 Lead right from Aleem…Left hook…Nice left to body from Aleem..Double left to body from Vidal…Body shot from Aleem…Nice left hook to the body from Vidal…Double jab from Aleem…Left hook to liver from Vidal…Lead uppercut
Round 4 Uppercut from Vidal..Right…Left hook to body and head…Left to liver…Right uppercut from Aleem…2 body shots from Vidal..Good action inside…Uppercut and left hook from Vidal..Trading shots at close range…Right uppercut from Aleem…Short uppercut on inside from Vidal…
Round 5 Lead right from Vidal…Double jab from Aleem..Right from Vidal….Nice right…Uppercut and body shot from Aleem..Double left hook…Counter left hook from Vidal…2 right uppercuts from Aleem…Combination from Vidal
Round 6 Left hook to live from Vidal…Aleem lands on the inside…Sharp hook from Vidal…Left hook from ALeem…Vidal lands 2 shots to the body and a right to the head….Right to body hurts Aleem..Straight right and a big left to the body
Round 7 Jab o the body from Aleem..Right…Right uppercut from Aleem
Round 8 Left hook from Aleem..2 rights to body from Aleem…Left hooks to the body…Good counter shot…Left Staggers Vidal
Round 9 Trading heavy flurries…Right to body from Vidal…Combination from Aleem,…double right from Vidal
Round 10 Ripping shots to the body from Vidal….Both guys giving their all down the stretch

95-95; 97-93 TWICE FOR VIDAL

By Norm Frauenheim-

Ray Beltran’s 23 years in the ring include lots of punches. Lots of lessons, too.

One of those lessons landed all over again Thursday. No payday is ever guaranteed. Beltran’s comeback fight Friday night at Legends Center in Maryvale on the west side of Phoenix has been cancelled. His scheduled opponent didn’t show up for the weigh-in Thursday.

Beltran (36-9-1, 22 KOs), a former lightweight champion, said he was told Wednesday night that Osorio just didn’t want to fight. The bout, which would have been Beltran’s first since a stoppage loss to Richard Commey in June 2019, was supposed to be at 143-pounds. Osorio (12-20-2, 8KOs), of Monterrey, Mex., was 2-6 over his last eight bouts.

“It’s disappointing,’’ said the 40-year-old Beltran, once Manny Pacquiao’s primary sparring partner. “You invest a lot of time and money into training and all.  But it’s part of boxing. Part of the business. I used to fight because of my passion for the game. I still do. But now I also see it as a business.’’

Beltran, who lives in Avondale on the west side of Phoenix, said he hopes to fight on a card featuring super-middleweight David Benavidez-versus-Jose Uzcatequi on Aug. 28. It was announced this week that the Showtime-televised card will be at Talking Stick Arena in a ring on the Suns home floor in downtown Phoenix.

Jose Benavidez Jr. is also expected to fight on the card. It would be Benavidez Jr.’s first bout since a 12^th-round stoppage loss to welterweight champion and pound-for-pound contender Terence Crawford in October 2018. The Benavidez brothers grew up in Phoenix.

“That’s going to be a big night for Phoenix boxing,’’ said Beltran, who was brought to Phoenix from Mexico in the late 1990s by late Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward.

Beltran made his pro debut in Tucson in July 1999.

“At this stage, I just want to stay busy,’’ said Beltran, who says he will fight at junior-welterweight. “I’m hoping for August 28. Then, maybe in September. At this stage, I’ve got to stay busy. I can’t sit around and wait.’’

With the Beltran comeback off Friday night’s card, young featherweights Danny Barrios (5-0 1 KOs) and Edward Ceballos (9-3-1, 5 KOs) will fight in the main event for a 126-pound state title sanctioned by the Arizona State Boxing & MMA Commission. First bell is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Follow all the action live as Dustin Poirier takes on Conor McGregor in a much anticipated trilogy fight.  The action starts at 10 PM ET with a four fight undercard that is featured by former title challengers Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson.

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Round 1 McGregor coming out kicking….Straight Left..Poirier lands a big left..McGregor going for a standing GuillotineHe has it…Elbow by Poirier…6 Elbows off his back by McGregor..Poirier landing ground and pound…Big right from Poirier…Big pounding by Poirier…MCGREGORS LEG SNAPPED IN HALF,,,,FIGHT OVER

Round 1 Burns landing hard shots on the cage…Kick from Thompson…
Round 2 Spinning kick from Thompson…Takedown from Burns,,,Good shots rom Burns on the cage
Round 3 Spinning Kick drops Burns…Burns comes back to land  a right..Takedown…Hammer Fists

29-28 ON ALL CARDS FOR BURNS

Round 1: Tuivasa lands 2 leg kicks…Hard right from Hardy…2 more leg kicks from Tuivasa..HUGE LEFT AND DOWN GOES HARDY…2 GROUND AND POUND SHOTS LATER AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED…..

Round 1:  Good kick to the body from Kunitskaya…Kick to the body..Kunitskaya’s nose is bleeding..Aldana lands a low kick and a right hand..Body shot…2 Body kicks from Kunitskaya…Huge LEFT DROPS KUTNITSKAYA..Dropping elbows on the ground..6 hard ground strkes..6 MORE HARD STRIKES AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1: Mouthino charging at O’Malley..O’Malley landing long front kicks…Lead right.Hard combination…Right from Mouthino…Hard jab from O’Malley..Hard combination and spinning kick land..Mouthino taking big shots..Front kick to the body…Inside leg kick from Moutinho…Right hand..Good low kick..Huge right from O’Malley…Big right drops Moutinho at the end of the round..Moutinho being helped to the corner
Round 2 Front kick to body from O’Malley…Juge kick to the head..Moutinho kick to the body…2 lefts…2 hard rights..another right
Round 3 Jabs from O’Malley…Good right from Moutinho…Hard right from O’Malley..Moutinho’s nose is bested up…Low kick from Moutinho…Jab from O’Malley and a front kick..Big flurry…Moutinho showing an incredible chin..Hard right…Big right from moutnho…HUGE FLURRY OF PUNCHES AND REFEREE STOPS THE FIGHT–TKO FOR SEAN O’MALLEY

By Norm Frauenheim-

The Olympics are often portrayed as a standard, the flip side to what the boxing acronyms represent. But the IOC, the International Olympic Committee, is beginning to look like just another ruling body with a rack of made-up belts for sale. The IOC wraps itself in flags, national anthems, mottos and the medal count. But the IOC counts only the money.

A looming disaster in Tokyo exposes the bottom line.

Citius – Altius – Fortius. That’s Latin, Olympic-speak, for Faster – Higher – Stronger. More like Faster – Higher – $tronger.

The IOC landed in Tokyo this week like the WBA seeking a sanctioning fee for an interim title. Opening ceremonies for the already postponed Olympics, the 32^nd in the history of the Summer Games, are supposed to happen on July 23, just 16 days from the date that Japanese health authorities declared a state of emergency.

Sha’Carri Richardson, an American sprinter banned for smoking pot, won’t be the only one not there. Fans won’t be either. They’ve been banned from attending because of the re-emergence of COVID-19. Apparently, The Games must go on. But the delta variant isn’t playing games.

The emergency declaration coincided with IOC President Thomas Bach’s arrival in Tokyo, where he began three days of quarantine at a five-star hotel. Enjoy the room service. It’s hard to know what else there will be to enjoy at a joyless Games. It’ll be an Olympics in the bubble, essentially a television show.

For Japan, it’s already a financial disaster. Japan invested a reported $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics before the Pandemic. Now it’s reported to be at least twice that much.

Who pays? The Japanese, who in polling over the last six months were increasingly opposed to staging the Pandemic Games. The IOC should have listened, or at least been prepared with alternate plans. But the money – rights’ fees, advertising, travel and all the rest – added to a force that led to the danger confronting a nation and the world’s best athletes.

 The debt is staggering. All it buys is the potential for more of a Pandemic that just won’t go away. It scares the stock market. It means empty planes, empty hotel rooms and empty seats all over again. Vaccines are supposed to work. But not everybody is willing to take a couple of jabs. No vaccine for stupidity.

Meanwhile, the ominous news is everywhere, including boxing, which had begun to move ahead with plans for business as usual.

On the same day that Japan’s emergency ban on fan attendance at Olympic venues was announced, there was a Twitter report from Mike Coppinger about a possible COVID outbreak in Tyson Fury’s training camp for a second rematch with Deontay Wilder on July 24 at Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena. As of Thursday, there was no confirmation of the report.

If true, however, it would represent a major setback in boxing’s hopes for business as usual. At best, it would force a postponement, another one in a long series of chaotic delays. At worst, it would mean no fight at all. Only a ruling through arbitration forced the third fight.

But neither Fury-Wilder III nor Tokyo Olympics XXXII is worth the risk of more COVID.  If this Pandemic continues, there won’t be any sanctioning fees left for anybody.Attachments area

Follow all the actions as Chris Colbert defends the WBA Interim Super Featherweight title against former featherweight title challenger Tugstsight Nyambayar.  The action begins at 9 PM ET with a lightweight battle between Michel Rivera and Jon Fernandez.

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Round 1: Jab from Colbert…3 punch combination…Hard Jab…

Round 2 Left to body from Nyambayar…Jab from Colbert..Snapping jab…Right from Nyambayar..left uppercut from Colbert

Round 3 Nice left hook from Nyambayar…chopping right from Colbert…Lead right…Body and right to head…Right from Nyambayar..Colbert lands a flush combination…

Round 4 exchange jabs…Right from Nyambayar…Double-Jab/Right hand from Colbert

Round 5 Double jab rom Colbert…Counter right from Nyambayar…Jab from Colbert…3 punch combination…Jab…Overhand right

Round 6 Body shot from Colbert…Combination..Counter left to liver from Nyambayar…2 rights from Colbert….

Round 7 Right to body from Nyambayar…Combination…Lead right from Colbert…right and left…Body shot

Round 8 2 jabs from Colbert…Sweeping left hook..Right…

Round 9 Nyambayar lands a combination…

Round 10 Barrage of head punches from Colbert…Uppercut/left and right…Combination from Nyambayar…

Round 11 Colbert jabbing and moving

Round 12 Left from Colbert

117-111, 118-110 TWICE FOR CHRIS COLBERT

Round 1 Jab..uppercut and jab from Fernandez…Right….Body shot from Rivera..Uppercut from Fernandez..1-2 to the body…
Round 2 Combination from Rivera…Body shot from Fernandez..Right uppercut..Body from Rivera…Right..Combination from Fernandez..Right from Rivera..
Round 3 Body from Rivera…Jab from Fernandez…Rivera lands a jab…left hook to the body
Round 4 Nice right from Fernandez…3 punch combination from Rivera..Lead left hook to the Liver..Thudding right…Body…Left hook from Fernandez…Lead left hook..Lead right from Rivera….Jab and thudding right…Short left and right uppercut from Fernandez..
Round 5 Right from Rivera…Chopping right from Fernandez…Jab from Rivera…
Round 6 RIGHT HAND AND DOWN GOES RIVERA..Right from Rivera…Left hook from Fernandez..
Round 7  1-2 from Fernandez..Rivera lands a combination to the body….1-2….short right uppercut for Fernandez
Round 8 HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES FERNANDEZ…FIGHT OVER

By Norm Frauenheim

Amateur boxing is talking reform. Again. With another Olympics just a few weeks away, the sport’s international ruling body says it plans far-reaching change for what it promises will be “a fair fight.’’

Fair enough. Easy to do, too. The body, AIBA, took an opportunity to grab the bully pulpit this week with an international news conference less than a month before opening ceremonies. Trouble is, AIBA isn’t supposed to have anything to do with boxing at the delayed Tokyo Games.

The Olympic czars in Switzerland have ordered AIBA to get its house in order. That means cleaning up a reported $16-million debt, a mob-like history of bureaucrats and bosses and decades full of corrupt judging.

Olympic boxing makes the scarred pro game look like Mister Clean. Hard to do. Yet, it hangs on, pushed to the edge of the Olympic fringe because of its long history and its universality. Everybody fights, and everybody has been fighting since at least the ancient Greeks. It’s there, in spite of itself.

But it’s not clear how many people watch anymore. Exasperation at boxing’s failure to root out the corruption forced NBC to drop it as a featured part of its telecast schedule. It’s embarrassing and has been since Roy Jones Jr. got robbed 33 years ago in Seoul. The world saw it. Then, boxing still generated an audience, one that remembered 1976 and a Montreal Olympics that starred Sugar Ray Leonard.

The Jones theft, a decision that cost him the gold medal, might as well be forever framed in yellow-crime tape. It was defining, for him and the Olympics. It was no coincidence, perhaps, that Jones was part of the news conference from Lausanne. He appeared alongside AIBA’s new president, Umar Kremlev, a Russian. Remember, Jones is Russian, too. At least, he has a Russian passport. The American was granted citizenship by Vladimir Putin in 2015.

Whatever the connection, Jones belonged there. Despite all of his great moments in the pro ring and his long run atop the pound-for-pound ratings, he will be remembered for what happened at the 1988 Olympics. His voice is the key to any discussion about Olympic boxing and its troubled path to irrelevance. Say it in Russian. Say it In English. Roy Jones Jr. said it all this week.

“Whenever I see that, it feels like yesterday,’’ Jones said of the photo that shows the ref raising South Korean Park Si-hun’s hand in victory for the light-middleweight gold. “And not in a great way.

“All the judges that were part of that decision were crooked. They’ve all been banned. And I know they were not the only ones.

“So, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The judges were crooked. The whole world knows it. Even my opponent agrees I won the fight. But how come I don’t have my gold medal? How can you beat someone so bad and not get the gold medal, and they don’t go back and fix it? Because I’m still here. And I still earned it. And we have to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.’’

The key is in Jones question: Why-oh-why doesn’t he have the gold? More than three decades have come and gone. Jones was awarded the Val Barker Trophy, the award for being the most outstanding boxer at the Seoul Games. In 2002, the IOC honored him with something called The Olympic Order.

But never the gold.

Kremlev said this week that he wants Jones to finally get that gold. For Olympic boxing, it’s a beginning, really the only beginning.

All of the talk about reform is hollow – Fool’s gold – until Olympic boxing gives Jones his moment on the podium’s top pedestal. In the years since 1988, enough has been revealed to give not only Jones the gold. Give one to Michael Carbajal, too. Carbajal’s loss to Bulgarian Ivailo Hristov was just the beginning of rigged judging in a scheme that included an officer in the former East German police force (Stasi). Years after the Seoul Games and subsequent collapse of East Germany, Stasi files were found to include allegations that the fights were fixed and bribes were paid.

Carbajal, of Phoenix, fought and lost on Oct. 1. Jones lost the next day. The night before the Carbajal fight, talk circulated that the fix was in. A shouting match erupted between the American coaching staff and members of the committee responsible for assigning the judges.

Stan Hamilton, a judge-referee from Knoxville, Tenn., told the Los Angeles Times about a contentious 2 a.m. meeting. Hamilton told sportswriter Earl Gustkey that two judges, Hiouad Larbi of Morocco and Alberto Duran of Uruguay, were supposed to have been suspended for questionable work early in the Olympics. He said neither was eligible to work any gold-medal bout. But they worked both the Carbajal and Jones losses – five judges-to-zero against Carbajal and 3-2 against Jones.

Before the meeting ended, Hamilton said, committee member Vladimir Gordienko, of the former Soviet Union, left and ran into Jim Fox, then executive director of the U.S. amateur federation.

“Gordienko was angry,” Hamilton said. “He found Fox and told him: ‘You will lose, 5-0, to the Bulgarian.’ ‘’

That’s what happened. First, Carbajal, then Jones, both losing with judges working while suspended. Carbajal and Jones moved on, both to Hall-of-Fame careers. Neither Hristov nor Park fought again, amateur or pro.

It was the fix that never got fixed. Until it does, there will never be a new beginning for Olympic boxing.

A fair fight is possible, but first give Jones and Carbajal the gold they fairly won.Attachments area

Follow all the action as Gervonta Davis takes on Mario Barrios for Barrios version of the WBA Super Lightweight title.  The action begins at 9 PM ET with a three fight undercard featuring Erickson Lubin taking on Jeison Rosario; Carlos Adames battling Alexis Salazar, and Batyr Akhmedov fighting Argenis Mendez

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Round 1: Not Much

Round 2 Right from Barrios..Left hook to the body…Left from Davis..Right to body from Barrios…Left hook/Right hand..double jab…Right from Barrios..Left uppercut from Davis

Round 3 Davis lands a left to the body and then to the head..Left to body from Barrios

Round 4 Jab from Davis..Right from Barrios…Another right

Round 5 Right from Barrios.. 2 lefts from Davis…Right to body from Barrios…Left from Davis..Left hook to boy/Right to head from Barrios..Straight left from Davis..Right hook to body from Davis…Left hook to body from Barrios…Hard left from Davis…Body shot from Barrios…barrios cut around his right eye

Round 6  Jab from Barrios..Left from Davis..2 Lefts…Counter right from Barrios…Left from Davis..Uppercut from Barrios..Left and right to body

Round 7 Lead left from Davis…Left..Double Jab/Left hand

Round 8  BIG RIGHT HOOK AND DOWN GOES BARRIOS….BIG STRAIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES BARRIOS AGAIN…Huge right hook from Davis..Left and right..Barrios cut under left eye

Round 9 Body shot from Barrios..Combination..Right hook from Davis…Left hook from Barrios..Double jab/left hand from Davis..

Round 10 Right to body from Barrios…Double left hook..Combination….Huge right hook from Davis…Right hook..Jab from Barrios..Right to the body..Left to body from Davis..Good right to the body from Barrios…left to liver from Davis..Left uppercut from Barrios…Big left from Davis…Exchange of body shots…Big left from Davis…

Round 11 3 punch combination from Barrios…Double jab/left hand from Davis…Right Hook…right to bisy from Barrios…BODY SHOT AND DOWN GOES BARRIOS...BIG LEFT THAT ROCKS BARRIOS AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Jab-Right hand from Lubin…
Round 2 Left and right from Lubin
Round 3 Right hook from Lubin…1-2 buckles Rosario..Good right hook and left…hard right
Round 4 ..Hard right staggers Lubin
Round 5  Lubin steadies himself
Round 6 Nice Uppercut from Lubin…Body shot…Left to the head…HARD RIGHT HOOK TO THE BODY AND DOWN GOES ROSARIO…HUGE STRAIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES ROSARIO…HE DOES NOT BEAT THE COUNT

Round 1: Right from Salazar…
Round 2:  1-2 from Salazar…
Round 3 Hard combination from Adames…HUGE LEAD LEFT AND DOWN GOES SALAZAR…THE FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1 Jab from Akhmedov..Left to the body..Counter from Mendez
Round 2 Jab from Mendez..Body work from Akhmedov…Blood around the left eye of Akhmedov…Jab from Akhmedov..Body shot
Round 3 Good right to body from Mendez…Body shot from Akhmedov…Right uppercut to body from Mendez…Right..Body shot…Right from Akhmedov..Nice counter right from Mendez..Lead right
Round 4 Left from Mendez…Left hook..Lead right..Lead left hook…another…sweeping right..
Round 5 Straight left from Akhmedov…Jab…right hook to the body and another…Counter right from Mendez…2 left hooks to the body..Jab from Akhmedov..Head shot from mendez..Body from Mendez…Double jab..left from Ahkmedov…Body shot..
Round 6 Jab from Akhmedov…Left hook from Mendez…Jab..Akhmedov lands a nice jab…Left..
Round 7 Left uppercut and body work from Akhmedov…2 left hooks from Mendez
Round 8 2 straight lefts from Akhmedov..Right hook to the body..double jab and left hand…FIGHT STOPPED IN CORNER…MENDEZ RETIRES ON STOOL

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s high risk for a fighter who calls himself Hi-Tech.

Vasiliy Lomachenko, a consensus pound-for-pound No.1 for a couple of years in the post-Floyd Mayweather era, is at a career crossroads in a fight that appears to be a way of strengthening his argument for a rematch with Teofimo Lopez.

But Masayoshi Nakatani is a tough way to go. In Nakatani, Lomachenko encounters all of the dimensions –and then some – that troubled the Ukrainian in his move up the scale and into a loss last October to Lopez.

Lomachenko’s scorecard defeat was debatable on a couple of levels. The judging was one-sided, especially the 119-109 and 117-111 scores. ESPN’s Andre Ward, former super-middleweight and light-heavyweight champion, scored it a draw. So did I.

After reviewing the lightweight bout several times, my card could have been 115-113 or even 116-112, — the third official score – all for Lopez. Never for Lomachenko, who has since said he is convinced it was a draw.

From every angle in repeated reviews, Lopez wins the argument with energy, poise, size and – in the end – knowing he was the bigger guy. That was the key then. It might be the key now for Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) Saturday night (ESPN+, 4:15 PT./7:15 pm ET)) against Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs) at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotels.

Nakatani is bigger in every significant aspect. At 5-11 ½, he is 4 ½ inches taller than Lomachenko and 3 ½ inches taller than Lopez. In reach, he has a 5 ½ advantage over Lomachenko, 3 ½ over Lopez. The appropriately named tale-of -the-tape doesn’t measure everything, of course. If it did, Russian 7-footer Nikolai Valuev would still be the heavyweight champ. It doesn’t measure those proverbial intangibles. Lomachenko has plenty in terms of footwork, punching angles, smarts and instinct.

Then, again, so does Nakatani. The Japanese fighter’s skill set has been questioned, but there’s not much doubt about his will. He’s there for the distance. For Lomachenko, that’s the problem. And the challenge.

Lomachenko needs a stoppage. He has to do what Lopez could not. His argument for a rematch with Lopez hinges on one because Nakatani is the reference point. Nakatani forced Lopez to go the distance for the first time a couple of years ago in Oxon Hill, MD.

Lopez won a unanimous decision, similar to his decision over Lomachenko in that the scoring didn’t reflect the fight in July 2019. It was close, or at least a lot closer than the 118-110, 119-109, 118-110 cards. Even the ever-confidant Lopez called the bout, a then a lightweight title eliminator, “horrible.’’

A decision — from one-sided to close and everything in between — just won’t do it for Lomachenko. A complication, perhaps, is injury. Since the former featherweight and junior lightweight champion jumped to 135 pounds, he’s been vulnerable. He underwent surgery on his right shoulder the week after his loss to Lopez. He apparently aggravated a lingering injury. But, apparently, it was enough to make him cautious through the first seven rounds against Lopez.

Believe what you want, he can’t afford another injury, even with a definitive stoppage of Nakatani. He’s 33. The best of his prime is probably behind him. Another injury, even in a definitive knockout of Nakatani, would leave him with a dilemma.

Risk further injury against Lopez, perhaps at even heavier weight, 140 pounds?

Move back to 130, where his skill set was dominant in every way?

The latter would end any hope at avenging his loss to Lopez, who is already calling out undisputed junior-welterweight Josh Taylor.

There’s really no choice for a fighter whose Hi-Tech nickname has summed up the variety of options included in his unique skill set. Lomachenko needs a clean stoppage for his career at the top of the game to continue. Attachments area

By Norm Frauenheim-

Silence from Deontay Wilder can be a good thing. But even a little wasn’t enough in a news conference bizarre, even by boxing’s twisted standards. A lot was said about Wilder’s decision to say almost nothing during a scheduled appearance in front of the media this week for the formal announcement of a third fight with Tyson Fury.

Wilder wore sunglasses dark enough to hide his eyes and headphones, presumably the noise-canceling model. He appeared to be a man determined to insulate himself from the chaos he and his craft promise. It was an angry look, appropriate for the stage.

But it was also another costume. The last time he fought, he wore a comic book-like suit of armor into the ring, a get-up he would later blame for his loss to Fury in their second bout. He went on to blame a lot of things. But never himself. It’s hard to blame somebody you don’t know. Increasingly, that’s who Wilder appears to be. There’s a confused sense of self in the ex-heavyweight champ, one that has been further fractured by the loss of his title to Fury 16 months ago.

The belt was his identity. It’s gone.

Power also has been his identity. But Fury left some doubt about its potency. It’s fight-stopping potential is still there, still dangerous enough respect. To fear. But Fury stripped some of the deadly certainty out of Wilder’s right hand and perhaps his mind when he got up – twice — in their first bout, a draw in December 2018.

It looks as if Wilder can’t be sure of much, including himself, these days. Perhaps, the costumes are a way of hiding, or a method of searching for changes that can transform him into the fighter he once knew. For now, however, it just looks like an act, one that’s not fooling anyone, especially Fury.

Fury had all the lines in what was supposed to be the only news conference before their July 24 bout at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

“Thank you everybody for coming out for this one-sided press conference,” said Fury, who knows something about acting and even more about a show-stopping quip.

By then, it was already evident that the silence was just one part of the act. Before the Los Angeles news conference, Wilder talked to UK reporters via Zoom. After the news conference, he met, one-on-one, with Elie Seckbach for the popular ESNEWS on YouTube.

Turns out, silence was a little bit more expendable than the vow it appeared to be during the presser. In Wilder’s ever-changing wardrobe, it was just a costume accessory. This one proved to be awkward for PBC, Top Rank and everybody else trying to conduct the newser.

It ended with perhaps the longest, if not the strangest, face-off ever. Fury and Wilder were asked to pose for the cameras. It’s a ritual that sometimes goes awry because of a shove or a punch. Without the extracurricular violence, it’s a pose meant for video and still photos. Look mean, act angry. It’s marketing. It’s theater. Wilder and Fury walked to center stage, separated by a few feet. Fury smiled, talked some trash. Then, Wilder took off his sunglasses in what could have been interpreted as a threatening gesture. The idea, perhaps, was to show Fury his angry eyes, an intimidating look into his furious soul.

Fury looked. And looked. He also smiled. Wilder looked. And looked.  He also ran his tongue beneath his lower lip, back-and-forth, in a gesture meant to add to a scary mask.

For an estimated five-and-a-half minutes, nobody would break the stare. The first to blink is a sign of weakness. At least, that’s an old theory in an ancient sport. Fury and Wilder might still be standing there if not for the bodyguards and security who stepped between them and begged them to walk away.

Wilder was the first to break it off.  It was time for another costume change.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Manny Pacquiao got back into the gym for some honest work for his summer date with Errol Spence a few days before Floyd Mayweather pulled off another heist, an exhibition he called legalized bank robbery.

The timing was mere coincidence, yet symbolic of how the two are connected by opposite paths each has taken since their fight six-plus years ago fell woefully short of expectations.

The differences have never been more polarized. Pacquiao still embraces risk; Mayweather has never been more risk-averse. Despite their divergent paths since Mayweather’s unanimous decision in 2015 over Pacquiao in the richest fight ever, danger is there for both in what looks to be a dilemma for a troubled business and its polarized fan-base.

Applaud Pacquiao for his courage, but worry that a younger, bigger Spence might hurt him. Defend Mayweather’s right to make as much as he can, but worry about his legacy.

Mayweather’s string of cash grabs continued Sunday in Miami against one of the Pauls. Logan or Jake or Rand? I can’t keep them straight. I also didn’t watch a show without an official winner, although both corners apparently scored a victory for their bank accounts. Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast was expected to hit the one-million mark, according to multiple reports.

Mayweather still sells, although recent photos of him made me think of a word applied to a former boxing entrepreneur and ex-president who was back on the bully pulpit in North Carolina last weekend. The New York Times called him diminished.

Diminished might just be another way of saying Mayweather, 44, is beginning to look old. Apparently, nothing about his net worth has been diminished. Still, there’s a question about whether his string of legalized bank robberies is diminishing the legacy he has defined and marketed with his official record, 50-0.

From this corner, TBE — The Best Ever — looks to be a diminishing acronym. Stop The Steal, Floyd, or the unbeaten legacy will become unrecognizable.

There might be opportunity in that. Mayweather’s diminishment might be Pacquiao’s enrichment. But the risk is huge. In age, Pacquiao is a lot closer to Mayweather than Spence. At 31, Spence is squarely in his prime.

He’s also bigger, a big welterweight, who at opening bell on August 21 is sure to be the middleweight he is about to become. Think Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao beat him decisively on the scorecards in a junior-middleweight bout on the Dallas Cowboys home field in Arlington, Tex. But Pacquiao called it his toughest fight. The bigger Margarito hurt him with body punches along the ropes midway through the bout. Hurt him 11 years ago.

The question is whether Pacquiao can still endure — and recover — from that kind of punishment. He thinks he can, although he hasn’t answered an opening bell in a couple of years. When he faces Spence, it will be about 25 months since his last fight, a split decision over Keith Thurman in July 2019.

“It’ll be a good fight,” Pacquiao told The Philippine Star Wednesday after nearly a week of some preliminary work at his home in Manila. “A lot of world titles will be at stake. Spence is unbeaten, younger. But I’m confident, I have the experience, speed and power.”

The Filipino Senator with Presidential aspirations also has wear and tear, all inevitable after 26 years in the pro ring. The middle-aged Pacquiao is the early underdog. He was at minus-240 this week, according to various on-line betting sites That translates to a 29.41-percent chance of victory. There might be a better chance of him getting hurt.

But the role is not new. Oscar De La Hoya was a huge favorite, Then, there was also fear that a smaller Pacquiao might get hurt. Pacquiao stopped him, forcing De La Hoya to quit after eight rounds. It was a career-defining moment. A moment that happened 13 years ago.

For now, Pacquiao seems to enjoy being the underdog. Maybe, it makes him feel younger.

“It was the same trend when I fought Thurman,” said Pacquiao, who was expected to move his training to his hometown, General Santos City, on Thursday. “In the beginning, he was the favorite, but as people found out how I was training and saw my speed and power hadn’t changed, the odds reversed by the time the fight started.”

He’s an underdog with a legacy that will always be compared to a rival moving in another direction, yet on a parallel track. Each has a risk-to-reward ratio. Each also has own way of calculating it.

For Mayweather, it’s the safest possible bet on more money, his nickname. For Pacquiao, it’s another risky chance at history. 

Follow all the action as Legendary Floyd Mayweather returns to the ring to to fight an Exhibition fight with Youtube sensation Logan Paul.  There will be two regulated boxing matches featuring former world champion Badou Jack fighting Dervin Colina; And former world champion Jarrett Hurd taking on Luis Arias.  Also there will be an appearance by former NFL All-Pro Chad Johnson taking on Brian Maxwell in an Exhibition..  The action begins at 8 PM ET

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Round 1: Counter left from Mayweather..Big flurry by Paul at the bell
Round 2 Jab from Mayweather
Round 3 Left uppercut by Paul…2 body shots from Mayweather..Lead right from Paul…Left hook from Mayweather
Round 4 Lead left hook from Mayweather..Right from Paul…Counter right from Mayweather…Left from Paul..Lea right from Mayweather..
Round 5 Left hook from Mayweather..Counter right..Uppercut…Right….right to the body
Round 6 Left to body from Mayweather..Left hook…Counter right
Round 7  Left from Mayweather
Round 8 Left from Mayweather

Round 1: Jab from Jack..Counter combination from Colina..Lead left hook to body..Body shot from Jack…Lead right from Colina..
Round 2 Counter right from Jack..COLINA DEDUCED A POINT FOR HOLDING..Counter right from Colina
Round 3 Right drives Colina back…COLINA DOCKED ANOTHER POINT FOR HOLDING…Right from Colin…counter right from Jack..3 lefts to the body..Double jab..Combination from Colina
Round 4 RGHT HAND AND DOWN GOES COLINA…RIGHT TO THE HEAD AND DOWN GOES COLINA AGAIN…Counter right and left uppercut from Colina…HARD SHOT AND DOWN GOES COLINA…FOHT OVER

Round 1: Left to body by Arias…Short right uppercut on inside from Hurd…Jab from Hurd…Combination from Arias..
Round 2  It’s now raining at the stadium and Arias slips…Right from Arias…Right..Arias is cut over right…2 rights from Hurd…Arias left to body…Counter right and right from Hurd…Right from Arias..Chopping right from Hurd..Left hook from Arias and a right
Round 3 Left from Hurd…Jab..Right from Arias..2 rights..Right uppercut on the inside.Blood around the left eye of Hurd…Hood body punch from Hurd
Round 4 Short right from Arias..Combination..Overhand right…Right..Right on the ropes….short right from Hurd…Hard right from Arias….Lea right and counter right from Hurd…
Round 5 Short uppercut on inside for Hurd..Right and left from Arias…Left
Round 6 Right upper cut and left hook from Arias…Short upercut on inside from Hurd…Right from Arias..Hard right and another right hurts Arias…Right over top from Arias
Round 7 Combination from Arias…Exchanging…Lead uppercut from Arias….Arias gets hit with 2 low blows..Exchanging body shots…right to head from Arias…
Round 8 Right uppercut from Hurd..Counter right from Arias…Right from Arias…Right…Right from Hurd..Short uppercut on inside…Combination from Arias..
Round 9 Arias slips on the wet canvas again as the rain is back…RIGHT HAND AND DOWN GOES ARIAS…HE MAY HAVE SLIPPED ON THE WET CANVAS…Short uppercut from Hurd…Body shot from Arias…Right uppercut…Hard lands a combination..Right from Arias…
Round 10 Left hook from Arias..Left…Wicked right..Uppercut and right..Hurd holding on…

95-94 HURD; 97-93 ARIAS; 96-93 ARIAS

Round 1 Jab from Johnson..Jab and right hook…Left from Maxwell..Combination from Johnson…Right from Maxwell
Round 2 Left from Johnson…
Round 3 Lead left from Maxwell..Right hook…
Round 4 Right from Maxwell..Left from Johnson..RIGHT HOOK FROM MAXWELL AND DOWN GOES JOHNSON..