By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX – Hostile crowds, long odds are nothing new to John Ryder. He’s gone where few fighters ever have.

Last May, it was Guadalajara, Canelo Alvarez’ hometown. Canelo had not fought there in 12 years. He was welcomed back, a warrior-king and the face of Mexican boxing.

Ryder was there, almost as an after-thought or maybe as a target.

But the after-thought had plenty to say. He fought back. He endured 12 punishing rounds, doggedly eluding the stoppage Canelo pursued.

He didn’t win the fight.

“But I kind of won the night,’’ said Ryder, who joked at a news conference Thursday that if he could have done anything different he would have avoided the uppercuts that bloodied his nose and set him up for a fifth-round knockdown.

But if survival is a victory, Ryder won despite one-sided cards and a one-sided crowd.

It’s an experience, perhaps, that has prepared him for the emerging Jaime Munguia in more way than Munguia knows.

For Ryder, there’s nothing that compares to what he faced in Guadalajara.

In Phoenix however, there are some similarities. The Footprint Center crowd figures to be dominated by Mexican and Mexican-American fans. It’ll be a Munguia crowd, one that knows him from his days in Tijuana. He’s 42-0, a middleweight champion fighting for the second time at 168 pounds.

Promoter Oscar De La Hoya said at Thursday’s newser that he’s “poised to become the next face of Mexican boxing.’’

Munguia is also the betting favorite, 3-to-1.

It’s almost as if Ryder is there as a steppingstone in the plan for Munguia’s next step to stardom, perhaps an all-Mexican encounter with Canelo in May.

“Possibly,’’ Ryder said. “But it’s at their own cost.’’

Ryder, a UK fighter making his first visit to Phoenix, concedes he’s facing a tough challenge. There’s pressure, too, more perhaps than what’s facing Munguia. Ryder is 35 years old. He says his career hinges on what happens Saturday in a DAZN-streamed fight (8 pm ET/6 pm AZ time).

“I need to keep my career on a high level, he said. “This is the fight to keep it going on.’’

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX – Oscar De La Hoya, already busy promoting a real fight between Jaime Munguia and John Ryder, found himself addressing questions Thursday about reports of another one in what looks to be a further episode in an ongoing feud.

The news conference was about Munguia-Ryder, a significant super-middleweight fight Saturday night on the Suns home floor at Footprint Center.

The buzz was about Ryan Garcia.

De La Hoya-Garcia, a social-media soap opera even before Twitter became X, took a confusing turn late Wednesday and early Thursday.

The brief version – if only there was one – goes something like this: Garcia was fighting Rolly Romero. Then, he wasn’t.

Sounds simple enough, and maybe it would be, pre-social media. But it isn’t. Ryan Garcia is a social media star. He needs a census to count his followers.

And they were talking late Wednesday, first about a Garcia post that said he would be fighting Mexican junior-welterweight champion Rolly Romero on April 20.

Hours later, ESPN reported that Romero was fighting Isaac Cruz on March 30 in Las Vegas. Can you hear the buzz?

De La Hoya did, and he addressed the inevitable after a news conference that included a theme about promotional unity in The Boxing Balkans.

From De La Hoya’s perspective, there’s no feud with Garcia, at least not in what transpired this week.

“A lot is happening,’’ De La Hoya said after the formal Munguia-Ryder news conference concluded. “Look, me and Ryan are on a united front. We are going to get his fight, done and sealed. And I will announce it when it is done.

“I do know for sure it will be April 20 in Las Vegas. But no names.’’

No opponent, yet. The only sure thing is that it won’t be Romero, the World Boxing Association’s 140-pound champion.

“There were negotiations that took place,’’ De La Hoya said. “But nothing in writing.’’

De La Hoya went on to say that the Romero-Cruz fight on Amazon Prime – the first since it struck a deal with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) — could set up Garcia’s second fight in 2024.

“It turns out, the winner of the Rolly-Isaac Cruz fight could be in the Ryan Garcia lottery for the next fight.’’  

Unity, however, wasn’t exactly the message delivered by Garcia when he reacted to the ESPN news Thursday.

“Look I was informed the deal was finalizing and it would be announced in the coming days,’’ Garcia posted on X.  “Obviously That was a lie. My patience has been tested the last few weeks. I’m trying my best to be as honest and real as I can to you guys. I’ll be looking forward to announcing my next fight. I’m not going to say anything until it’s actually signed and delivered

 I still look forward to putting on a big PPV for Dazn Boxing. Have a Blessed day.’’

A blessed day, at least for some, would be the simple sound of an opening bell, a sound that for awhile might silence the back-and-forth on social media.

That, at least, is an opinion long held by the old-school, no nonsense Bernard Hopkins, a minority partner in De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions who is as direct with his words as he was with his deadly punches during his Hall of Fame days as The Executioner.

“I don’t control social media, so I don’t know what’s going on,’’ Hopkins said at the Phoenix newser. “Is there a fight or not? I don’t know.

“But I do know – and I’ll say it again – I’m sick of the drama queens.

“We as promoters, along with the fans, have to make it clear that we’re not putting up with this anymore. Last year, we started coming back to where we have to be.

“There was Ryan-Tank (Gervonta Davis) in April. People watched. More than 1.2 million watched. Then, there was Terence Crawford and Errol Spence. That was the second fight that said we’re coming back with what people want to see.

“But now we’re in a tug-of-war.’’

A war to keep it real.

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX – Oscar De La Hoya and Jaime Munguia were in David Benavidez’ old neighborhood Wednesday, talking to kids gathered at a Boys & Girls Club near a busy freeway.

In another time and place, one of those kids could have been a Benavidez.

David and his brother Jose Jr. grew up a couple blocks from the club founded by former Suns owner and general manager Jerry Colangelo.

They’ve moved on, yet they don’t forget those streets on Phoenix’s westside. It’s why they fight. Maybe, it’ says something about how they fight, too. But those streets are there. You can hear them in their words. You can see them on waistbands, trunks and robes that include the PHX logo, a symbol of their identity and fan base.

Ignore them at your peril.

De La Hoya didn’t.

“He is the guy, the most deserving guy,’’ De La Hoya said three days before opening bell before the Golden Boy-promoted Munguia fights John Ryder in a bout that could set the table for what — or who – is next for Canelo.

De La Hoya picked the right place and time to talk about David Benavidez, who somehow has not been included in the discussion about Canelo’s next fight, expected in May.

Munguia’s name is there, prominently, in speculation that is the theme of his DAZN-streamed super-middleweight fight with Ryder on the Suns home floor at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix, about six miles from where De La Hoya was standing Wednesday.

Jermall Charlo, a middleweight champion who beat former junior-welterweight Jose Jr. after failing to make a 163-pound catchweight in November, is also mentioned.

So, too, is pound-for-pound king and undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

Also, Ryder, who went 12 rounds in losing a decision to Canelo last May in Guadalajara, is fighting to put himself back in the argument. Maybe, he does, if he upsets Munguia and looks impressive in pulling it off.

But Benavidez? He’s mostly missing in all the talk preceding a key fight in his hometown.

It’s a surprise, big to even De La Hoya, who hopes Munguia beats Ryder with the stoppage that eluded Canelo in his hometown.

“I’m shockingly surprised,’’ De La Hoya said. “David has to be there, in any discussion.’’

He’s not, perhaps, because of boxing’s tangled, tortured politics and simple timing. Canelo and Benavidez are both aligned with PBC (Premier Boxing Champions).

Canelo has two fights left on a three-fight PBC deal signed last year. From a promotional perspective, the third fight – expected in September — against Benavidez makes the most financial

sense.

But Benavidez is tired of waiting. He‘s been calling out Canelo for a couple of years. Benavidez is also the World Boxing Council’s mandatory challenger for the WBC piece of Canelo’s undisputed title. It’s not exactly clear what mandatory means anymore.

To wit: Why not next May instead of September?

“For sure, nobody is more deserving than David,’’ De La Hoya said. “Nobody.

“I hope it happens. I want it to happen. I just think David has to stay on Canelo. He has to keep talking about it.

“In some ways, it reminds me of when I was younger and fought Julio Cesar Chavez. I was the young lion. Those (two) fights (both De La Hoya victories) were like passing the torch. Like Julio, Canelo is the big name, the star. But David is bigger and younger. Maybe Canelo sees that. I don’t know’’

For De La Hoya, the business at hand is to get Munguia a victory that can’t be ignored by fans and especially Canelo.

“I’m hoping he makes a statement,’’ De La Hoya said.

De La Hoya also said that he’d be happy to talk about a fight between Benavidez and Munguia.

Absolutely,’’ De La Hoya said. ”Munguia is willing to fight anybody. Anybody.”

Apparently, De La Hoya is already talking to Benavidez, but not necessarily about Munguia.

“As I was driving over here, I got a message from David on my phone,’’ De La Hoya said Wednesday. “He told me he’s in Mexico. He said he’s in Guadalajara.

“Says he’s looking for Canelo.’’

By Mario Ortega –

Proud to carry on the boxing rich tradition of his hometown Salinas, California, promising bantamweight Andrew Rodriguez will make his stateside debut just an hour’s drive up the road at the Guildhouse in San Jose on Tuesday, January 30th. The four-round bout will be featured as part of the initial Tuesday Night Fights broadcast presented by streaming service BLK Prime. 

Having turned professional in Mexico, Rodriguez (2-0, 1 KO) will not only be introducing himself to a national audience when he takes on Gabriel Ponce (5-4-1, 3 KOs) at the end of this month, but for many of his family and friends, the four-round contest will be their first chance to see “Superfly” fight live and in-person. 

Despite having just the two pro bouts under his belt, Rodriguez is in many ways a veteran of the ring, having taken up the sport while still in elementary school. As a youngster years ago, Rodriguez was inspired by the fistic success of his godbrother, current featherweight contender Ruben Villa. After watching Villa, six years his senior, compete, Rodriguez knew he wanted to give the sport of boxing a try. 

“He’s one of the main reasons why I have gone into boxing,” Rodriguez says of Villa. “I have always been around boxing because of him. I remember telling my dad this is something I want to do, and he was like, ‘Are you sure?’ And I said, ‘yes.’ That next week, I believe, we went to the gym he was at at that time. I trained with him for that week and at the end my dad asked me if this is something that I still want to do. I had fallen in love with the sport right then. After that, I got into my first sparring session and then from there on it was just history.” 

Before long, Rodriguez was writing his own name down in the pages of Salinas boxing history. As a 12-year-old, Rodriguez was already making waves on the national level in 2016. At the Junior Olympic National Championships in Dallas, Texas, Rodriguez claimed the silver medal. “That was one of my first tournaments fighting consecutively, day-after-day,” recalls Rodriguez. “That was a great experience for me.” 

Shortly after the tournament in Dallas, Rodriguez would go on to win his division in one of the biggest youth boxing tournaments in the country, the National Junior Golden Gloves in Mesquite, Nevada. For many fighters that achieve that level of success, the goal would soon become to make the U.S. Olympic squad or to go on to claim another national title. Rodriguez would end up taking a different path. 

“I took a break and stopped, so I’ll never know how big I could have got in the amateurs,” explains Rodriguez. “Everything happens for a reason and I think it was just me being more social in my personal life. I was making the change from elementary to middle school and I feel that is the time that people test the waters with new crowds. At the time, I felt I was burnt out and it was time to take a step back. For a while I didn’t want anything to do with boxing and I had no intentions to come back to boxing. But I would see all these kids that I would beat or I would train with in a good position in their careers and I would think I could be right there right now. That threw a little fire in me. So I thought maybe I should give it a try again.”

Even though Rodriguez gained a great level of success early in his amateur career, the Salinas native always believed he would be better suited to fight as a professional. “My big plan was always making it to the pros,” says Rodriguez. “I was never really an amateur type of guy. I feel the style I have is more of a pro style, more so than an amateur style. I did fight a couple more times in the amateurs, but that was more just to get the ring rust off. My main goal was always to become a pro and hopefully get a world title sooner or later.” 

A driving force in Rodriguez’ career has been his father Andres, who has trained him from the very beginning. It would take more than one chapter of a boxing history book to outline the successful father-son duos the sport has produced. For every success story, there are, of course, several more tandems whose story did not end as well. However, everything appears to be on track for the Rodriguez family. 

“We have a great relationship,” explains Rodriguez. “When my dad and I are in sync, I feel that there is no one that can stop us. Obviously we are going to bump heads here and there, that is only natural. But regardless, I know he only wants what is best for me and I know that is all he wants for me.” 

Ruben Villa, the same fighter that inspired Rodriguez to first pick up a pair of boxing gloves those years back, continues to be one of the key figures in his fighting career in the present day. 

“He plays a major role in my career,” Rodriguez says of Villa. “He is still my mentor to this day. Anytime I have questions or anytime I feel I need to express myself about boxing, I go to him. He will always give me advice and he never shies away. Now that I am older, I am able to train with him. Even today we are going to spar and I will get some rounds in with him.”

Villa (21-1, 7 KOs) has made the fighting town of Salinas proud, with the only blemish on his resume coming in the form of a highly-competitive decision defeat in a world title bout against the fearsome puncher Emanuel Navarette. 

“Just from him being from the same town, and not just for me, but I feel for a lot of people, he has shown that hard work will go a long way and that you should follow your dreams,” explains Rodriguez. “He only has that one loss and he never let that get the best of him. He didn’t shy away from the sport after that. He just kept training hard and right now he has a deal with Top Rank, so that just goes to show that hard work will always eventually pay off.” 

Rodriguez hopes to join Villa as a role model of success for those that follow them from their hometown. “Salinas has a good history in boxing and I am trying to help keep that going,” explains Rodriguez. “I want to show that if I can do it, anybody else can do it. I’ve had ups and downs in my life already and there are more ups and downs to come, but if I can make it through them, anybody can. That is the thing I am trying to portray to my family, my cousin and all the kids that look up to me.”

Rodriguez had been lined up to make his United States debut on several occasions over the last year. After winning his pro debut in Rosarito, Mexico in February and scoring his first knockout in Tijuana in April, Rodriguez saw California fights fall apart in July, November, December and earlier this month. On January 30th in San Jose, Rodriguez is ready to put on a show for his local supporters. 

“I would like to thank everyone that is supporting me, because without them I would not be where I am,” says Rodriguez. “I appreciate all their love and support. I know that they have been waiting to see me fight and, God willing, I will put on a great performance like I want to. I just want to show them that all this hard work has been put to good use. For the last about three years I have been perfecting my craft and now I am ready to make a statement. I am not in a rush, but I am ready to show my skills and I have been ready for a while now.” 

Tickets for the event, promoted by BLK Prime Boxing, are available online at eventcreate.com/e/tnfblkprime

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

The map is changing. More gloves and heavy bags are tagged for Riyadh than Vegas these days. But one path remains unchanged.

All roads still lead to Canelo Alvarez, or at least the money he still generates.

That continues to be part of the geography in an intriguing super-middleweight fight Jan. 27 between Jamie Munguia and John Ryder on the Suns home floor at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.

A projected date with Canelo is said to be at stake for the emerging Munguia, a middleweight champion who is 1-0 at super-middle with a decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in June.

For Ryder, maybe there’s a possibility at a rematch. He lost a decision to Canelo last May in Guadalajara in what looked to be a Canelo tune-up last May.

“I lost the fight, but I kind of won the night,’’ Ryder told reporters this week of his dogged ability to withstand Canelo’s pursuit of a KO.

Canelo, at least the possibility, was the primary question at a media day staged at the new Golden Boy Boxing Gym in Los Angeles Tuesday.

Munguia didn’t sidestep the question. Neither did Ryder.

“It is the obvious question everybody is asking,’’ said Munguia, a 27-year-old who possesses poise and enough smarts to also know he has to impress against the tough, experienced Ryder.

Munguia promoter of Oscar De La Hoya is talking about a knockout of Ryder. The reasoning is simple. Canelo couldn’t knock out Ryder in his hometown. If Munguia can do what Canelo couldn’t, the thinking is that Munguia will have an argument, a good reason to say he should fight Canelo next.

We’ve heard that one before, of course. We’ve heard it for at least two years from David Benavidez, who figures to be a very big part of the story that unfolds next week in Phoenix.

Munguia-Ryder will happen just a few miles of roadwork from the Phoenix streets where Benavidez grew up and just a couple of blocks from where he began boxing at Central, an old gym that was saved from the wrecking ball by Mike Tyson.

Tyson’s arrival nearly two decades ago brought money and fighters. Central sprung from the ashes, a lot like that mythical bird, the Phoenix logo and namesake. 

It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that Tyson is also Benavidez’ biggest fan. He gave him his current nickname, Monster. It takes one to know one, maybe.

But Benavidez, who lives in Seattle these days, will be an inevitable part of the discussion, if not a crowd that knew him as a kid.

Benavidez is the World Boxing Council’s interim 168-pound champion and its mandatory challenger for the WBC’s piece of Canelo’s undisputed title. But interim and mandatory can mean just about anything, especially when Canelo is in the equation.

He gets what he wants.

Fights who he wants.

A key question, still unanswered, is exactly what Canelo is thinking. We don’t know. Since his solid decision over Jermell Charlo in September, the last anybody has seen of Canelo is on the cover of Forbes magazine. Follow the money.

The decision, perhaps, as to who he’ll fight next will be determined by what he sees in the Munguia-Ryder fight, which will be streamed by DAZN

For months, the conventional thinking is that Canelo will fight in May and again in September. He has two more fights left on a contract signed with PBC (Premier Boxing Champions).

But there’s been no news on PBC’s plans for 2024. Showtime left boxing in December after a 37-year run of telecasts. It was announced then that Amazon Prime had struck a deal with PBC.

Reportedly, the deal would start sometime in March. Thus far, however, there’s been nothing concrete — bouts and dates — from PBC or Amazon Prime.

Maybe, they’re waiting to see what happens in Munguia-Ryder, too.

Munguia promises that they’ll see plenty.

 “I honestly feel like I can knock John Ryder out,’’ Munguia said. “That’s what we are working towards. Obviously, once you step inside the ring anything can change. But we’re training to get inside the ring in optimal condition, and if we can’t get the knockout we will be making sure we get the decision.”

Ryder promises something else.

“Munguia, obviously, is coming to use me as a stepping stone,’’ he told reporters. “I have other plans.’’

Munguia-Ryder Undercard

Strawweight champion Oscar Collazo (8-0, 6 KOs), a 27-year-old Puerto Rican, faces Nicaraguan contender Reyneris Gutierrez (10-1, 2 KOs), Golden Boy announced this week.

“With less than a week away for my second world title defense, I feel great and at my best moment,” said Collazo, who will defend his World Boxing Organization belt for the second time. “As always, we are very prepared and focused on what we are going to do and leave the ring with our hand raised.”

Collazo is promoted by fellow Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, a Hall of Famer and former four-division champion.

Also:

Super middleweight Darius Fulghum (9-0, 9 KOs), of Houston, faces Alantez Fox (28-5-1, 13 KOs), of Upper Marlboro MD, in a 10-rounder.

Women’s flyweight champion Gabriela “Sweet Poison” Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs) of Coachella CA, will make a first title defense against Christina Cruz (6-0, 0 KOs), of Fort Lauderdale Fl. Fundora signed a co-promotional deal with Golden Boy this week.

Mexican junior-featherweight David Picasso Romero (26-0-1, 15 KOs) will face Erik Ruiz (17-9-1, 7 KOs), of Oxnard CA, in a 10-rounder.

Oscar Valdez Jr. comeback

It sounds as if Oscar Valdez Jr.’s comeback might begin where he suffered a crushing loss in his last bout. 15 Rounds has confirmed news – first reported by ESPN – that Valdez, who lost a punishing decision to Emanuel Navarrete at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ on Aug. 12, might be back at the same venue on March 29 against Australian Wilson.

Wilson, who lost a controversial TKO to Navarrete at Desert Diamond last February, is talking as if it’s already a done deal.

“It’s going to be exciting,” Wilson told The Ring Wednesday. “We’re both fighters who like to come forward and love to fight. “We both bring a high intensity, and with him being a Mexican warrior, it’s going to be a war from the opening bell.’’

As of Wednesday, however, Valdez was still under medical suspension for his loss to Navarrete, who left him with a badly-bloodied right eye. The bout also was not listed on the Desert Diamond Arena calendar.

Valdez, a former featherweight and junior-lightweight champion, has strong roots in Arizona. The two-time Mexican Olympian went to school in Tucson. His comeback plans have been evident for weeks. Last month, he posted photos of himself back at work in the gym.

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Light heavyweight action fighter Tony Hernandez headlines a prospect-laden card as he takes on veteran Ramon Ayala in the main event at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Sacramento on Saturday night. Fighters for the seven-bout card weighed-in early Friday afternoon at the host venue. 

Hernandez (5-3-1, 4 KOs) of Live Oak, California returns to the DoubleTree as he takes on an experienced gatekeeper Ayala (25-9-1, 13 KOs) of San Francisco Acuautla, Estado de Mexico, Mexico in a six-round light heavyweight clash. 

Hernandez, who weighed-in at 172.3-pounds on Friday, last fought in November in a majority draw against rugged Marco Delgado in Oroville, California. Ayala, who long ago was a super featherweight, scaled 172-pounds even. 

Undefeated prospect Kevin Montano (4-0, 2 KOs) of Concord, California will end a fifteen-month layoff when he meets local tough guy David Minter (3-2, 3 KOs) of Lincoln, California in a four-round welterweight bout. 

Montano may have been happier than most to see the calendar turn to 2024 as he saw his career stall last year due to fallouts and the cancellation of two entire events the week of his scheduled bouts. Montano, a Sacramento State graduate who now trains full-time out of the Capital City, had been slated to make his six-round debut before his original opponent was a late scratch. 

Minter is no stranger to the DoubleTree ring as he has fought his entire professional career at the hotel. The word “no” may not be in Minter’s vocabulary as he steps in on short notice to meet one of the top young fighters in the region for the second straight outing. Montano, who normally campaigns at lightweight, and Minter both scaled 146-pounds.

Victor Guerrero (6-0, 5 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Morgan Hill, California will take on Matthew Monroe (1-1) of Sacramento in a four-round middleweight bout. Guerrero, of the famed fighting family that put Gilroy, California on the boxing map, makes his United States debut on Saturday. Monroe, who scored his first professional victory with a hard-fought split decision over Marco Ortiz in November at light heavyweight, weighed-in at 158.1-pounds, while Guerrero came in at 161.

Islam Abdusamadov (1-0, 1 KO) of Santa Clara, California by way of Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia will meet Juan Meza Moreno (4-4, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, California in a four-round light middleweight fight. Abdusamadov, a well-regarded amateur in his native Russia prior to turning pro, scaled 154.5-pounds. Moreno, who will be meeting his fifth consecutive opponent with no more than a single pro defeat, also weighed-in at at 154.5.

Julian Bridges (3-0, 2 KOs) of Antioch, California will take on Miguel Soto-Garcia (0-1) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico in a four-round welterweight bout. Bridges, returning to the DoubleTree ring where he scored his third pro victory, weighed-in at 147, as did Soto-Garcia. 

Former amateur standout Steve Johnson Jr. of San Francisco, California will make his highly anticipated professional debut in a four-round featherweight bout against Phillip Ramirez (0-2) of Sacramento. Johnson, who is now being trained by former world champion James Page, scaled 124.1-pounds. Ramirez, who has been matched tough his entire brief career, came in at 125.

Cmaje Ramseur (2-2-1, 1 KO) of Elk Grove, California will meet David Reyes (1-1) of Fresno, California in an evenly matched lightweight bout. Ramseur weighed-in at 134.2-pounds, while Reyes made 134 even.  

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Light heavyweights, 6 Rounds

Hernandez 172.3 

Ayala 172

Welterweights, 4 Rounds

Montano 146

Minter 146

Middleweights, 4 Rounds

Guerrero 161

Monroe 158.1

Light middleweights, 4 Rounds

Abdusamadov 154.5

Moreno 154.5

Welterweights, 4 Rounds

Bridges 147

Soto-Garcia 147

Featherweights, 4 Rounds

Johnson 124.1

Ramirez 125

Lightweights, 4 Rounds

Ramseur 134.2

Reyes 134

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

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

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

One month removed from Robert Guerrero’s unanimous decision win over Andre Berto, the next generation of fighting Guerreros from California’s Central Coast are poised to make their mark as they showcase their talents before their home state fans in the coming days. On January 30th, Jesse James Guerrero will take to the ring in San Jose. Getting the jump on his cousin, Victor Guerrero returns to the ring to make his United States debut this coming Saturday night as he takes on Matthew Monroe at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Sacramento. 

Guerrero (6-0, 5 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Morgan Hill, California launched his pro career in Mexico in 2019. After years of plying his trade on the road, the young Guerrero is excited to showcase his talents before his local supporters this weekend. 

“Sacramento is only about two hours from my hometown of Gilroy, so I have a lot of family and friends that are going to come out and support,” says Guerrero. “It pushes me that little extra to put on a performance for everyone out there and to make them proud. Obviously, fighting out there in Mexico, it was a pretty long drive, but right there in Sacramento, that is pretty much my backyard, so I am grateful to Upper Cut Promotions for this opportunity and having me on the card. I am ready to make my hometown proud and I am very excited.”

By design, Guerrero would have made his debut in the States last year, if it were not for a bit of bad luck. As can be the case, several fights fell out on short notice. Guerrero’s last scheduled bout in November was canceled by the threat of rain in Fresno. 

“It is just part of the game,” explains Guerrero. “Fights get canceled. I just get ready and stay in the gym. I train year-round. I stay out here in Vegas, training with a lot of the big names out here. I got a lot of good work and I feel that I have improved, even though I didn’t get to fight and show the people [those improvements.] On January 20th, I am ready to show what I have been working for and that all this training has been for a reason.”

Despite not getting the opportunity to add to his official record in 2023, Guerrero continued his development as a fighter by gaining ring experience in the gym with top fighters and trainers. “I have been training out of Pound 4 Pound in Vegas and they have a lot of good guys there,” says Guerrero. “I was in camp with Carlos Adames this summer, getting him ready for one of his fights. I got a lot of good experience working with him and learning from him. I was grateful to be a part of his camp. I was also working with Sports Illustrated Trainer of the Year Bob Santos as well. So being in there with those experienced guys, I feel like I learned a lot. I feel like I added a lot of tools to my arsenal and now I am ready to show out.” 

Guerrero, the grandson of respected trainer Ruben Sr. and nephew of former world champion Robert, is trained by his father and former fighter himself Victor Guerrero Sr. Many of the most successful fighters in recent history have been trained by their fathers. At times it can be a difficult dynamic to navigate, but the young Guerrero is grateful to have his father guiding him.

“For the most part it has been great,” explains Guerrero. “We are undefeated right now and we are going to keep the streak going. There’s times that we bump heads, but that is only natural for a father-son. My dad pushes me and I like that he pushes me. There have been things that I wasn’t comfortable with yet and he shows me and guides me. He’s been in the ring as well, so he understands what to expect. Me and my dad’s relationship, we’ve always been close but sharing the sport of boxing together brings us even that much closer. I am thankful to have him in my corner. We are going to keep on rising from this fight on.”

Victor is just one of young pugilists the Guerrero family has in the pipeline. “It is exciting,” says Victor. “We’ve got Jesse. His fight got pushed back to the 30th, but he’s been training extremely hard. He was in camp out here in Vegas too for a little bit. We’ve got my cousin, little Robert, he’s on the come up as well. He should be turning pro in March, so I am excited for that. We can’t really get work like that in the ring, because I am a little bigger than them, but I go with them when they get sparring and they are coming along really good. I’ve even got my little brother Andre, he just turned twelve yesterday, so he’s a little guy, but he’s coming up too. We are the next generation and we are ready to take over the sport of boxing. Pretty soon the whole world will know who us Guerreros are.”

In addition to making his home state debut, Guerrero will be taking on a southpaw for the first time as a professional on Saturday. However, Guerrero feels well prepared as he heads into battle against Monroe. 

“I’ve been sparring a lot of southpaws out here in Vegas,” explains Guerrero. “That is the good thing about Vegas, you see every type of style: southpaws, orthodox, awkward guys. I’ve been sparring a few different southpaws here and my uncle Robert is a southpaw too, so he’s been showing me some things on how to move with a southpaw, what to do and what not to do. So I feel really good and confident going into this fight. I am just ready to go.”

After a year of training without the reward of stepping into the ring under the bright lights, Guerrero is primed and ready to get his career rolling again beginning this Saturday in Sacramento. 

“After this fight, we are going to just keep going,” says Guerrero. I have a fight lined up in San Jose after this one, so I will probably take a couple days off and then get right back to it. I hope to fight at least 4 or 5 times this year to help make up for the fights I didn’t have this past year. I want to stay active and I want to stay busier. That’s the goal this year. In 2024 we are going to come out with a bang.”

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

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

Foll

Follow all the action as Artur Beterbiev defends the IBF/WBC/WBO Heavyweight title against former super middleweight champion Callum Smith.  The Action begins at 9 PM ET with the WBO Bantamweight title between Jason Moloney and Saul Sanchez Plus super middleweight Christian Mbili takes on Rohan Murdock

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED.  THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY.

Round 1: Beterbiev lands a big flurry right at the start..Good Jab..Right to body from Smith..Left from Beterbiev..Short right

ROUND 2 Short right from Beterbiev..Right to body…Left hook from Smith..Good jab from Beterbiev..

ROUND 3 3 Punch combo from Smith..Hard jab from Beterbiev…Good body shot..Good body shot from Smith..Right to body from Beterbiev..Double jab..uppercut and chopping right…Blood from the nose of Smith and swelling around the right eye.

ROUND 4…Beterbiev pounding away and battering Smith..Right behind the jab..Smith lands an uppercut..Good combination…

ROUND 5 Combination from Beterbiev…Left to body from Smith..Right from Beteriev…Good jab

ROUND 6 Good lead right from Beterbiev…Good jab from Smith…Jab and right from Beterbiev..Good jab..Short right on inside..Chopping right..Good upjab..Combination from Smith…

ROUND 7  GOOD RIGHT ROCKS SMITH…HUGE FLURRY AND DOWN GOES SMITH…6 MASSIVE PUNCHES DROPS SMITH AGAIN….fight stopped by Corner

Round 1 Right uppercut from Mbilli..Right from Mbilli
Round 2  3hard rights from Mbilli…Big Barrage of punches
Round 3 Short from Mbilli…Uppervy on the inside…Ripping right..Left hook
Round 4 Mbilli lands an uppercut…Body shot from Murdock..Short right to head from Mbilli…Double left hook…Right from Murdock..2 huge rights to the jaw…Mudock;s left eye is swelling…
Round 5 Right from Mbilli…Left to body..Big Right,,,Mbilli is ianding vicious shots…Murdock taking a beating
Round 6 Combination from Murodck…Right from Mbilli…Right uppercut..Rught from Murdock..Left hook from Mbilli…Blood from nose of Mbilli…Short right and big left from Mbilli…Huge right…Murdock taking a beating….FIGHT STOPPED IN CORNER

Round 1: Sanchez Jabbing…Body shot from Moloney..Nice Left hook

ROUND 2 Counter right from Sanchez..Good Right from Moloney

ROUND 3 Body work for Moloney..Left hook from Sanchez..Right to the ribs..MOLONEY CUT AROUND THE RIGHT EYE…Nice uppercut from Sanchez..Jab..Right uppercut…Short left from Moloney

ROUND 4 Cut was ruled a headbutt. Combination from Moloney..Good right..

ROUND 5 Nice right from Moloney..Double Jab..Short uppercuts from Sanchez..Combination…

ROUND 6 Body work from Moloney..Nice combination from Sanchez..

ROUND 7 Body work from Sanchez…Nice uppercut..Body work from Moloney…Right-Left from Sanchez

ROUND 8 Leaping left hook from Sanchez..Right..Good Jab…Good combination. Short right…Good inside shots from Moloney…Short right..Sanchez lands a right..Nice jab and good combination from Moloney

ROUND 9 Nice Right from Sanchez…Uppercut from Moloney

ROUND 10 Great back and forth,,,Moloney pressing the action

Round 11 Left from Sanchez..Hard 1-2 from Moloney…Left hook from Sanchez..Body shot..Moloney lands a flurry to the head..Nice body work from Sanchez…Short right from Moloney…Nice combination

ROUND 12 Moloney landing body shots

114-114; 116-112 MOLONEY

By Norm Frauenheim –

Errol Spence Jr.’s announcement this week included a stunning video of him in a wheel chair with his right eye bandaged.

It wasn’t a good look.

It was sad.

Hard to watch.

Harder to explain.

Spence tried, but his cryptic words and tone leave more questions than any real answers

“It’s been past due,’’ he said of cataract surgery, which he underwent more than five months after Terence Crawford punished him in a ninth-round TKO on July 29 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. “Shit was covering my eye.

“Why you think I got hit with so many jabs, hooks? Still a great performance by bro.’’

The author of that great performance had only two words for Spence’s video.

“No comment,’’ Crawford said in a social media post that succinctly showed why he’s one of the smartest guys in boxing.

It’s not clear whether Spence got the message. But he deleted the video post from his Instagram account.

Monday, he moved on to X (formerly Twitter), saying he wouldn’t retire.

“All that said you can kill the retire shit.’’

He added: “Yea I got my ass beat shit was past due. I didn’t live exactly like a boxer for the most part.”

The post is gone. But the questions aren’t. They’ve been there, before and after the brutal loss to Crawford.

The questions date back to Spence’s scary auto accident in October 2019. It was never clear how badly he was hurt in the single-car wreck. He was ejected from the vehicle, a Ferrari, as it flipped in midair in Dallas. According to Spence, he got into another auto accident in December 2022.

He fought twice after the first accident and before the long long-awaited welterweight showdown with Crawford last July. First, he scored a unanimous decision over Danny Garcia in December 2020. Then, he stopped Yordenis Ugas in April 2022.

But it’s what happened between Garcia and Ugas that leaves questions.

And concern.

Spence had agreed to fight faded legend Manny Pacquiao in a bout scheduled for August 21, 2021. About 10 days before opening bell, however, he had to withdraw because of surgery for a retinal tear in his left eye. Ugas, a late stand-in, went on to upset Pacquiao.

Within the last three years, Spence, 33, has undergone eye surgery twice, once on each eye. He’s expected to recover from the cataract surgery within eight weeks.

Then what?

The timing of the cataract surgery and Spence’s social-media explanation are mystifying. Apparently, the cataract condition was bothering him when he stepped into the ring against Crawford, the most dangerous man in a dangerous business. He wore glasses to the final news conference a couple of days before opening bell.

He jokes about getting hit by “jabs and hooks.’’

But it’s no joke. If he delayed the surgery for the cataract condition, he did more than compromise his chances at beating Crawford. He might have compromised his vision.

His plan, apparently, is to fight Crawford in a rematch, this time at a heavier weight, 154 pounds instead of 147. He had a rematch clause in his contract with Crawford. He exercised it in late August.

But here’s another question: Shouldn’t he have undergone the cataract surgery before exercising that rematch clause?

There’s a lot of selfish – make that stupid — talk on social media from fans who say they never wanted to see Crawford-Spence 2 in the first place because the July fight was so one-sided.

Who cares? A rematch is irrelevant. Instead, there are serious question about whether a fight against any contender, welterweight or junior-middleweight, would endanger Spence’s long-term well-being.

Yes, there’s uncertainty about what’s next for Crawford. But it was there anyway. He had planned on a sequel with Spence, perhaps in March. Now, however, he might have to move on to a date with Jaron “Boots” Ennis or a big paycheck against Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds, three divisions heavier than the welterweight class he has dominated so brilliantly.

But, now, none of that matters.

Only Spence does.

Top Rank Boxing on ESPN presented by AutoZone: Beterbiev vs. Smith will be presented live this Saturday, January 13, at 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT, on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ from Videotron Centre in Quebec, Canada.

In the main event, WBC/WBO/IBF light heavyweight king Artur Beterbiev will defend his crown against former world champion Callum Smith.

Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs), who resides in Montreal, is boxing’s only current world champion with a 100 percent knockout ratio. He has made seven title defenses since capturing the IBF strap in November 2017. Smith (29-1, 21 KOs), from Liverpool, England, and the WBC’s mandatory challenger, has won two bouts by stoppage since dropping a decision in a 2020 title unification fight against Canelo Alvarez.

In the undercard action, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. ET exclusively on ESPN+, Australian Jason “Mayhem” Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs) will defend his WBO bantamweight world title against Mexican-American challenger Saul Sanchez (20-2, 12 KOs), who enters his first world title challenge.
 

Calling the action will be: ESPN’s Joe Tessitore, Hall of Famer, Timothy Bradley, Jr., Mark Kriegel, and Bernardo Osuna. 

ESPN+: On Demand Shows, Archives & Premium Articles

• Top Rank: Real Time– All-access with top fighters throughout fight week as they work their way to fight night. 
• Who Do U Fight 4?– Learn what drivesthe next generation of Top Rank stars. 
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• Best of Boxing Spotlight – An archive of the all-time best Top Rank fights. 

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Beterbiev vs. Smith (All Times ET)

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By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

So is the rest of boxing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s still here.

Bam-Sunny Postscript

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

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notes

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

Japan’s first Fighter of the Year.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOTES

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez-Sunny Edwards afterthoughts:

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

But Edwards’ mouth is just as big.

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

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

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

“Clean veins, clean veins,’’ he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can Edwards win a decision?

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Norm Frauenheim –

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

21-0, it says in bright green thread

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunny and Bam.

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

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

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

“Can he win a decision?

“Absolutely.’’

Follow all the action as Regis Progaris defends the WBC Junior Welterweight Title against former undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney.  The action begins at 8 PM ET with IBF Bantamweight champion Ebanie Bridges defending against Miyo Yoshida.  Andy Cruz takes on Jovanni Straffon and Liam Paro battles Montana Love.

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ROUND 1: Body Punch from Haney…

ROUND 2 Body shot from Prograis…Combination from Haney..Straight left from Prograis..Good uppercut from Haney..

ROUND 3 Nice overhand right from Prograis..COUNTER RIGHT AND DOWN GOES PROGRAIS…Right to body…Swelling around eyes of Prograis

ROUND 4 Right to body from Haney…1-2 from Haney…

ROUND 5 Good body shot from Haney…Right..

ROUND 6 Left from Haney..Body shot..Big right buckles Prograis…Prograis bleeding from the nose…

ROUND 7 Combination from Haney..Body shot

ROUND 8 Counter left from Haney…Uppercut..

ROUND 9  Right rocks Prograis

ROUND 10 Left from Prograis..Counter right from Haney…

ROUND 11 Straight Right from Haney…Straight Right

ROUND 12   Haney boxing and moving

120-107 ON ALL CARDS FOR HANEY

Round 1 Check hook from Love
Round 2 2 Lefts from Paro
Round 3 Nice right hook from Love at the bell
Round 4 Left from Paro
Round 5 Jab from Paro..Left
Round 6 UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES LOVE…STRAIGHT LEFT AND LOVE GOES DOWN AGAIN..Huge flurry from Paro…Love’s legs are wobbly…MORE PUNCHES AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1: Big Right from Cruz..
Round 2: Hard flush punches from Criuz…Huge right hand…Straffon in trouble…2 Big rights
Round 3:  Cruz continuing to batter StRAFFON AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

ROUND 1 Good jab from Yoshida…Body shot

ROUND 2 Body shot from Yoshida…Left hook

ROUND 3 Right from Bridges…Right from Yoshida…Left…

ROUND 4 Good right from Yoshida

ROUND 5 Good right from Yoshida..Body shot..Right

ROUND 6 Chopping right from Yoshida..Another right and uppercut

ROUND 7 Nice left hook from Bridges..Right from Yoshida…Flurry..Chopping right

ROUND 8 Right from Yoshida…Right from Bridges

ROUND 9 Overhand Right from Yoshida…Big uppercut..2 rights wobbles Bridges…Jab

ROUND 10 Good right from Bridges..Right from Yoshida..Left..Big left from Bridges

99-91 TWICE AND 97-93 FOR THE NEW WORLD CHAMPION MIYO YOSHIDA

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – Devin Haney, until recently the unified lightweight champion, aims to make a splash in his junior welterweight debut as he takes on one of the most avoided 140-pound title holders in Regis Prograis Saturday night at the Chase Center on pay-per-view. The twelve-round fight, which headlines a seven-bout card emanating from the home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, also marks a homecoming for the San Francisco-bred Haney, who has never before fought in the Bay Area. Fighters weighed-in on Friday at the venue and continued a week of contentious back-and-forth. 

In the lead-up to the fight, bad blood has spilled over as Devin’s father-coach Bill Haney and Prograis’ strength coach Evins Tobler have debated everything from who grew up on the harder streets to which of their main event fighters has real punching power.

In their final face-off on Friday, Haney and Prograis took the lead in the heated back-and-forth between the camps. No one came to blows, but the animosity seemed legitimate as the two shouted each other down in an expletive-laden exchange. 

Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada closed out his lightweight campaign and solidified his standing among the pound-for-pound elite in his last bout as he scored a hotly-contested unanimous decision over former three-division ruler Vasyl Lomachenko in May. Just over a week ago, Haney relinquished all four of his 135-pound belts to signify his focus on an already crowded junior welterweight division. Haney weighed-in at 140-pounds on Friday.

Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) of Houston, Texas by way of New Orleans, Louisiana was last in the ring in June as he had a tougher-than-expected time moving past once-beaten late replacement Danielito Zorrilla in the first defense of his WBC title reign. In an admittedly poor performance, Prograis, who was making his hometown return, struggled to close the distance and cut-off the ring against Zorrilla en route to a split decision. Prograis came in at 139-pounds Friday.

In the chief supporting bout, WBO #11 ranked light welterweight Liam Paro takes on Montana Love in a ten-round bout. Paro (23-0, 14 KOs) of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia was the opponent that had to withdraw from the June title bout against Prograis in New Orleans when he injured his Achilles tendon a month before the scheduled clash. Six months later, Paro auditions for another title opportunity, while Love seeks a different type of redemption. Love (18-1-1, 9 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio was an emerging contender at 140-pounds before he was dropped and frustrated to the point of forcing a blatant disqualification in his bout against unheralded Steve Spark last November. 

In a bout for the regional WBO Intercontinental lightweight title, Paro and Love both weighed-in at 140-pounds. 

Highly touted lightweight prospect Andy Cruz (1-0) of Miami, Florida by way of Matanzas, Matanzas, Cuba will meet Jovanni Straffon (26-5-1, 19 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico in a ten-round bout. Cruz will be defending the regional IBF International lightweight title he impressively claimed in his pro debut over respected veteran Juan Carlos Burgos in July. Straffon figures to be a sturdy test for Cruz’ second pro opponent, considering the Mexican native went the twelve-round distance with Maxi Hughes and ended the career of former title challenger James Tennyson by first-round knockout in 2021. 

In a bout also for the vacant WBA Continental Latin America title, Straffon came in at 134 even. Cruz, a 2020 Cuban Olympian gold medalist, scaled 134.4-pounds. 

Ebanie Bridges (9-1, 4 KOs) of New South Wales, Australia seeks to make the second defense of her IBF bantamweight title against late replacement Miyo Yoshida (16-4) of New York, New York by way of Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Japan in a ten-round bout. Bridges had been slated to meet IBF #11 ranked Avril Mathie until an injury late last month forced her fellow Aussie to withdraw. 

Bridges was last in the ring one year ago as scored an eighth-round stoppage of Shannon O’Connell in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. In the time since, Bridges nursed a surgically-repaired right hand and began training under Dave Coldwell.  Yoshida, the IBF #10 ranked bantamweight, fought just a month ago, coming up short to Shurretta Metcalf in her 118-pound debut. Bridges, who, as always, was not camera shy while hitting the scales, came in at 117.8-pounds.

Yoshida, a former WBO super flyweight champion, weighed-in at 117.6. 

Beatriz Ferreira (3-0, 1 KO) of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil will take on Destiny Jones (5-1, 2 KOs) of Austin, Texas in an eight-round super featherweight bout. Ferreira, a 2020 Brazilian Olympian and former international amateur standout, weighed-in at 130-pounds. Jones, stepping up to the eight-round distance for the first time, scaled 129.8-pounds.  

Shamar Canal (6-0, 4 KOs) of Albany, New York will take on veteran Jose Antonio Meza (8-8, 2 KOs) of Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico in a six-round featherweight fight. Canal, promoted by Devin Haney Promotions, was last in the ring in October, scoring a second-round knockout in Colima, Mexico. Meza last saw action in September, fighting to a double disqualification against Leonardo Padilla. Canal weighed-in at 132-pounds, while Meza made 131.8-pounds. 

Middleweight prospect Amari Jones (10-0, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Oakland, California will make a step-up against veteran Quilisto Madera (14-4, 9 KOs) of Stockton, California in an eight-round bout. Jones, promoted by Devin Haney Promotions, last fought in October, scoring a first-round stoppage in Colima, Mexico. Madera, a nine-year pro, is hoping to rebound from an eight-round decision loss to Kevin Newman II in August. Jones, who like Haney is making his Bay Area debut as a professional, weighed-in at 159.2-pounds.

Madera, who refused to attend the pre-fight press conference on Thursday, citing bad blood, scaled 160-pounds.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBC Light Welterweight Championship, 12 Rounds

Prograis 139

Haney 140 

WBO Intercontinental Light Welterweight Championship, 10 Rounds

Paro 140

Love 140 

IBF International Lightweight Championship

WBA Continental Latin America Lightweight Championship, 10 Rounds

Cruz 134.4

Straffon 134

IBF Bantamweight Championship, 10 Rounds

Bridges 117.8

Yoshida 117.6

Super featherweights, 8 Rounds

Ferreira 130

Jones 129.8

Super featherweights, 6 Rounds

Canal 132

Meza 131.8

Middleweights, 8 Rounds

Jones 159.2

Madera 160

Tickets for the event, promoted by Matchroom Boxing, Devin Haney Promotions and Rougarou Promotions, are available online at Ticketmaster.com 

Photos by Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing 

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lords of the Flies back in AZ

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

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

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

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

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

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

Don’t expect Edwards to brawl.

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

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

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

While wrapping up his training camp, Hancel Gonzalez suffered an injury that forced him to pull out of the scheduled eight-round Combate Space main event against veteran contender Ve Shawn Owens, which was to take place this Saturday at the Arena Ring Central in Mexico City, Mexico. 

Owens (14-3, 12 KOs) of Minneapolis, Minnesota was going to give up weight and natural size against the larger Gonzalez. Now, stepping in for the Colombian Gonzalez, will be a more natural welterweight in Heriberto Flores (10-0, 9 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. 

Preparing for Saturday’s originally scheduled bout, Owens made the sacrifices that fighters make, stunting celebrations for Thanksgiving and his son’s birthday, which both took place last week. 

“It is a sacrifice, it is,” Owens explained. “I couldn’t do everything I actually wanted to do for my son’s birthday. I couldn’t really do as much as I wanted to do for Thanksgiving. Both of those days I was training and working. That is just the thing with this career. You are going to have to make sacrifices. It is a good thing that I have a good team behind me. When I say team, I mean support system. My family really understands. When it is fight time, they understand I am going to push it. They get it. It is hard, but everyone gets what I am trying to do.”

Coming off a career-best performance in decisioning once-beaten Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in February, Owens fielded some offers in the time since, but wanted to keep this date in Mexico. 

“I’ve gotten lots of offers,” explained Owens on Friday, shortly after arriving in Mexico, but before the opponent change. “Lots and lots of offers. Some of them were a bit ridiculous. Some were actually really good, but I was already really dedicated to this one. I don’t want to back-up from my word. I made a commitment to this one.”

Another component playing a part in Owens’ ten-month layoff, and the decision take this fight, is that his long-time head trainer Sankara Frazier has been slowed by a health issue. 

“Our head coach is kind of sick and going through a few things right now and putting our careers on hold,” explains Owens. “I told him, these people and our teammate in Mexico are serious. There’s not much we can really do right now and I am not getting any younger. I am 32, so I can’t keep on waiting.”

Many of Owens’ biggest fights have been televised by Showtime. With the network concluding its long association with boxing at the end of the year, keeping Saturday’s date in Mexico has added importance. 

“This year, has been kind of tough, just being active,” says Owens. “I understand changes are going on, and Al Haymon has a few tricks up his sleeve, but he’s going to need some time. I want to stay on that hot streak, so when everything with PBC takes effect, I can get going hot.”

Owens represents a huge step up in class for Flores. In his last bout, Flores stepped up to the scheduled ten-round distance for the first time and stopped fellow unbeaten Eduardo Sanchez in nine. Prior to that win in Costa Rica, all of Flores’ bouts had come against soft opposition in Mexico. 

Regardless of the opponent change, Owens aims for the same planned result as he continues his rise in the welterweight division on Saturday night. 

“Hopefully it gets me closer to the top ten in the world,” says Owens. “As far as the future, I don’t really want to speak too much on that. I want to focus on what’s in front of me right now, so I don’t want to talk about this and that. My main objective is this guy right now.”

Tickets for the event, promoted by Producciones Deportivas and televised throughout Latin America on Space, are available at the venue. 

Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime 

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

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

Welterweight contender Ve Shawn Owens will return to the ring this Saturday night as he takes on Colombian Hancel Gonzalez at the Arena Ring Central in Mexico City, Mexico. The eight-round bout marks Owens’ first ring appearance since his eye-opening victory over Kudratillo Abdukakhorov on Showtime in February. 

Owens had been a familiar face in the mix from 140 to 154-pounds dating back to 2018. After coming up short against elite opposition, Owens rose to the occasion in his native Minneapolis, Minnesota and broke through with the dominant ten-round unanimous decision over Abdukakhorov. 

As Owens’ tells it, the main change that led to his sterling performance in February was mental. “Honestly, it was more of a mindshift,” says Owens. “In the beginning phases, I was really hungry to be a world champion. Then life took full blown advantage of my career. When it came to taking some fights, it was more the fact that I needed money. I needed the money and I wasn’t really serious. But this one, I felt like I could really be something. That hunger that I had in my youth is back.”

The highly touted Abdukakhorov was hoping to rebound from his lone defeat by getting past Owens in their Showtime-televised encounter. However, Owens had been eyeing the Uzbekistani native for some time.

“This guy, I watched him fight twice, and when I saw him fight, I knew I could beat him,” remembers Owens. “Then ironically, in 2021, I had a few fights that dropped and I needed a break. I had a family member that had passed. I really needed to get my life together and then I get the call to fight this guy. I looked at him and [excitedly] said set that up. I knew I could beat him and then a year later they gave me that offer. I remembered his style; how he feints, how he reacts to certain things. And it all worked.”

A self-described student of the game, Owens (14-3, 12 KOs) has taken the same approach heading into what some may see as a stay-busy bout against the unknown Hancel Gonzalez (11-2, 9 KOs). 

“I picked up on a few things, and the things I picked up are the reasons why I want to go forward with it,” says Owens. “That one fight when he got stopped, that was a big thing, because I noticed in another fight, he would get caught with that same shot, but the second guy didn’t have the strength to get him down. I noticed his feet. He’s not going to be one of those guys that move around. He’s going to sit there and be a big target for me. We all know I love big targets. I have a huge gameplan for him, as long as he can make the weight.”

Weight is one of the main stories heading into this bout, much as it has been throughout Owens’ career. After the win against Abdukakhorov, Owens’ has decided to stake his place in the 147-pound welterweight division. Having ventured up to 154 to meet the challenge of the largest junior middleweight of recent memory, Sebastian Fundora, as well as sliding down to 140 to take on current titleholder Alberto Puello, Owens is putting his yo-yo away moving forward. 

“Nothing is throwing me off,” proclaims Owens. “My A-game is here. I feel like I should have been here. I should have been staying at 147. I feel amazing at this weight class.”

Gonzalez’ relationship with the scale has seen him see action in the light heavyweight and super middleweight divisions in recent bouts. Owens and his team will be insistent that the Colombian weighs within a few pounds of the welterweight limit at Friday’s weigh-in. 

“The only thing that is of my concern is the weight thing,” explains Owens. “As long as he can make the weight. I’m giving him a few pounds, but if he can’t do that, then we can’t.”

Gonzalez, who has looked at home physically while competing in the higher weight classes, will have an audience when he steps on the scale. “My team is on it,” explains Owens. “We are going to have eyes on there. I am not doing that anymore, fighting guys out of my weight class. I am not doing that anymore. I want to prioritize my career and the avenue that I want to go. No more silly stuff. I am not doing that anymore.”

Owens, a long-time drawing card in Minnesota, looks forward to putting on for the people in Mexico and those watching the broadcast around the world.

“I have a love for Mexico City,” says Owens. “I love the atmosphere and the people. They are going to see the fundamentals, but also that explosiveness. They are going to see a lot of fireworks.”

Tickets for the event, promoted by Producciones Deportivas and televised throughout Latin America on Space, are available at the venue. 

Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime 

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

Follow all the action as David Benavidez defends the WBC Interim Super Middleweight title against two-division champion Demetrius Andrade. The action starts at 8 PM ET with three-fight undercard that includes two-world title fights. Hector Luis Garcia defends the WBA Super Featherweight title against Lamont Roach Jr.; Subriel Matias defends the IBF Junior Welterweight title against Shohjahon Ergashev Plus Jermall Charlo takes on Jose Benavidez Jr.

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Round 1: Right to Body from Benavidez..2 lefts to body from Andrade..Straight to body from Benavidez..Nice combination from Andrade

ROUND 2  Body/Head combo from Andrade…Benavidez an overhand right..Blistering combination from Andrade…

ROUND 3 Counter body shot from Andrade..Body shot from Benavidez..

ROUND 4 Benavidez lands a low blow..Straight left to body from Benavidez..Right uppercut..Double jab from Andrade..Left to body …BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES ANDRADE

ROUND 5 Big uppercut from Benavidez…Big right hand..2 big uppercuts..Body shot…Right hook from Andrade….Big left..Andrade is hurt

ROUND 6 Uppercut rocks Andrade,,.Clubbing left hand..Uppercut from Andrade..right uppercut..Big right from Benavidez..Right—FIGHT STOPPED IN CORNER

Round 1  Big Combination from Charlo..Lead left hook and uppercut
Round 2 3 Punch combination from Charlo…Jab..Straight from Benavidez..Right uppercut and jab from Charlo…Big right..Jab
Round 3 Benavidez landing combinations that are backing Charlo up..1-2 from Charlo…Sharp Jab..Good right..Left hook from Benavidez
Round 4 Uppercut from Charlo…Left hook..Jab from Benavidez…Benavidez lands a big shot After the bell
Round 5 Double left hook from Charlo..Jab..Body shot from Benavidez..Overhand right..Body..Body shot from Charlo..Combination from Benavidez..and another
Round 6 Overhand right from Charlo…Jab..Jab to the body..Big right…Combination from Benavidez..right hand
Round 7 Right from Charlo..Jab from Benavidez…Jab from Charlo..
Round 8 1-2 from Charlo..3 Punch combination..Sharp jab..
Round 9 Combination from Charlo..Right and left from Benavidez…Left uppercut from Charlo..Thudding left hook..Big uppercut..
Round 10 Hard right from Charlo..

99-91, 98-92 and 100-90 FOR JERMALL CHARLO

Round 1:Left from Ergashev..Combination..

ROUND 2 4 Punch combination from Ergashev..Uppercut and hook from Matias..Body shot from Ergashev..Combination from Matias..Chopping left..Left hook..Uppercut and left hook..

ROUND 3 Chopping left from Ergashev..left and combination from Matias…Left from Ergashev..Right uppercut…Combination

ROUND 4 2 left hooks and big right from Matias..Big flurry in the corner

ROUND 5 Big left from Left from Matias..Ergashev looks tired…Body shots from Matias..Sharp jab….ERGASHEV CANT CONTINUE IN THE CORNER

ROUND 1 Good right to body from Roach…Anther..Left from Garcia

ROUND 2 Left hook from Roach..Right..Lead right from Garcia..Straight from Roach..Nice counter left from Garcia

ROUND 3 Right from Garcia..Counter from Garcia…Body shot from Roach..Counter Hook from Garcia..Lead left…Body Combination..Nice left from Roach..Body shot from Garcia

ROUND 4 Body shot from Roach

Round 5 Counter combination from Garcia 

ROUND 6 Left to body from Garcia..Jab from Roach..

ROUND 7 Roach lands a jab..Combination from Garcia…Nice jab..Roach lands a jab…Body counter from Garcia..Jab from Roach…Left from Garcia..

ROUND 8 Left Hook from Roach

ROUND 9 Good right from Roach..Good left hook..

ROUND 10 Right uppercut from Roach..Good left hook..Left from Garcia…

ROUND 11 Right from Roach..Right Buckles Garcia…Uppercut and big flurry on the ropes..Right

ROUND 12 BIG LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES GARCIA..

114-113 Roach, 114-113 Garcia, 116-111 for Roach

Follow all the action as Chantelle Cameron defends the Undisputed Super Lightweight Title in a rematch against Katie Taylor. The action Begins at 5 PM ET

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Round 1: Combination from Taylor..Jab..Right from Cameron..Taylor goes down but ruled a slip…

ROUND 2 Body shot from Cameron..hard right

ROUND 3 Good combination from Taylor..Right from Cameron..Cameron is cut on the forehead

ROUND 4 Right from Taylor..Left-right combination..Body shot from Cameron..

ROUND 5 Great action

Round 6 Right from Cameron..1-2

ROUND 7 Left From Cameron..Combination from Taylor..3 Punch combination

ROUND 8 Cameron working on the inside…Big right from Taylor

ROUND 9 Hard right from Taylor

ROUND 10 Left from Taylor..

96-94, 98-92 AND 95 FOR TAYLOR

Round 1:

BY Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The biggest question, however is time.

“Father Time beats all,’’ Andrade said.

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

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

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

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

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

Nobody ever has. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Benavidez seeking KO

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

His promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz is sure of it.

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

I’ve written for The Ring.

I’ve got a subscription.

I buy my own belts.

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

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

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

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

That’s what threatens boxing.

Not The Ring.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow all the action as Shakur Stevenson and Edwin De Los Santos fight for the vacant WBC Lightweight Championship. The action begins at 10:30 PM ET with The WBO Junior Lightweight Title bout between Emanuel Navarrete and Robson Conceicao.

THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY. NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED

Round 1: Short left from Stevenson..Left to body..

ROUND 2 Jab from Stevenson..De Los santos lands a body shot…

ROUND 3 2 Jabs from Stevenson…

ROUND 4 Triple Jab from Stevenson..Jab to body from De Los Santos..Left to body from Stevenson

ROUND 5 Body shot from De Los Santos..

ROUND 6 De Los Santos lands a double jab to the body…

ROUND 7 Jab from Stevenson

ROUND 8 Good jab from De Los Santos..Good Jab from Stevenson..

ROUND 9 Nice right from Stevenson..Good exchange…Right Hook from Stevenson

ROUND 10 Right hook from Stevenson..Right hook..Another right hook…

ROUND 11 Double right hook from Stevenson..

ROUND 12  1-2 from Stevenson..Right from De Los Santos…

116-112 TWICE AND 115-113 FOR STEVENSON

Round 1 Conceicao lands a combination…Body shot

ROUND 2 Right to body from Navarrete..Right from Conceicao..4 punch combination from Navarrete

ROUND 3 Navarrete has small cut on bridge of nose..3 Punch combination from Navarrete..Counter from Conceicao..

ROUND 4 Right to body from Navarrete..Short right and LEFT UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES CONCEICAO..Right drives Conceicao off balance

ROUND 5 Short right and sweeping left from Navarrete…Combination…Left to body from Conceicao..

ROUND 6 Counter right from Conceicao..RightCombination from Navarrete..1-2..Good hook..Conceicao cut on the bridge of his nose.

ROUND 7 BIG RIGHT TO THE BODY AND DOWN GOES CONCEICAO

ROUND 8 Right from Conceicao.  Blood from mouth of Conceicao…Left hook hurts Conceicao…

ROUND 9  Doctor checks Conceicao before round…1-2 from Conceicao…Right to body from Navarrete…Body shot..Another..

ROUND 11 Right from Conceicao..Combination from Navarrete

ROUND 12 1-2 from Conceicao..Short right…

114-112 NAVARRETE…113-113 ON 2 CARDS…DRAW

By Norm Frauenheim –

There’s trash talk and there’s chaos.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then, he wouldn’t shut up.

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

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

That was the context.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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