By Norm Frauenheim-

Canelo Alvarez has options. David Benavidez has only frustration.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good question.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Without one, Benavidez has only frustration.

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

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

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

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

By Mario Ortega Jr.-

ROSEVILLE, CA – Long established Sacramento area promoter Nasser Niavaroni’s Upper Cut Promotions will open its 2022 campaign this coming Friday, January 21st with what should be an action-packed card at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton, located at the state capitol’s Point West Marketplace. The six-round featured attraction pits venue favorite, Live Oak’s Tony Hernandez, who is riding a three-fight win streak, against unbeaten super middleweight and second-generation boxer Kenny Lopez Jr. of Ceres.

Hernandez (4-2, 3 KOs) last saw ring action last July against veteran trial horse Fermin Alberto Canedo, scoring a third-round stoppage in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. In his preceding three professional fights, Hernandez became a favorite amongst local fight fans, going 2-1 with one knockout all inside the DoubleTree Hotel ring. Just under two weeks away from his DoubleTree Hotel return, Hernandez is excited to remind the local fanbase what he brings to the ring.

“I’m ready to put on a show for all of my Sacramento fans and my 530 [area code] Yuba City fans,” says Hernandez. “This will be the best Tony Hernandez everyone has seen, I can promise that. I am looking forward to January 21.” 

The Friday bout marks Hernandez’ first foray into the scheduled six-round distance and his opponent sports the glossiest record of the Live Oak resident’s career. Neither of those aforementioned facts seem to be weighing on the mind of Hernandez however.

“Training has been going good, probably one of the best camps I’ve had,” proclaims Hernandez. “I feel the best physically and mentally for this fight. I’m sure Kenny Lopez has been training hard and is going to bring his best and I’m ready for whatever he brings to the table.” 

Though the less experienced professional of the two, it is Lopez (4-0, 3 KOs) that sports the undefeated record heading into the bout. Lopez compiled all four of his pro wins during the difficult 2021, finding a home away from home at the Big Punch Arena in Tijuana. Lopez last competed just a few weeks after Hernandez blew through the same ring in Mexico, scoring a first-round stoppage of an overmatched Jorge Rodriguez Gomez.

For Lopez, whose father Kenny Lopez was a longtime professional and former California State welterweight champion, January 21st has the young fighter thrilled to be fighting for the first time in the United States. “I’m excited about everything,” says Lopez Jr. “I’m excited for my career. I’m excited to see everyone and to do my thing. Just [excited about] all of it and to learn the lessons that come with this all.” 

In the night’s second six-round affair, unblemished Sacramento featherweight Malikai Johnson will meet longtime journeyman tough guy Jude Yniguez (5-8-4, 1 KO) of Oak Hills, California. Yniguez, who in his career has gone the distance with former title challenger Stephon Young and former world champion Rico Ramos, returned to the ring late last November, ending a two-and-one-half year sabbatical from the sport.

Johnson (7-0-1, 4 KOs) began his pro career with seven straight bouts, going 6-0-1, at the DoubleTree Hotel beginning in 2017. Unfortunately, the pandemic played a part in derailing his plans for advancing his career in 2021, but Johnson could not be more amped to get back in front of his Sacramento fans on January 21st, where he will be led to the ring by a new guiding voice in his corner. 

“I’ve had to fight many obstacles in my personal life in the last two years, along with the pandemic, just to make it here,” explains Johnson. “Leaving my old coach of nine years, deaths of family and friends, stress from business ventures and serious depression from not fighting. My mental health was at an all-time low and, honestly, I considered quitting boxing, but everything changed when I joined hall of fame coach Ray Woods and the Golden State Bloodhounds. I’m with a new team, got new skills and a new hunger I haven’t felt in a long time. This fight is where I show the world Malikai “Machine Gun” Johnson is back to make a statement in the featherweight division.” 

Sacramento’s power-punching middleweight Joeshon James (4-0, 3 KOs) will return to the DoubleTree Hotel ring as he takes on debuting Bryan Martinez of Paso Robles, California in a four-round tilt. James is coming off of a unanimous decision win over durable Christian Duran at the DoubleTree last August, the first time he had been taken the full distance.

“It’s an honor to be fighting close to home so my friends and family who have never seen me fight before can support my career and watch what I do best,” says James. “Nasser has been open arms from the start and I appreciate that he has given me an opportunity to showcase my skills once again.” 

In a four-round light welterweight bout, Mark Salgado (1-0, 1 KO) of San Jose, California returns to the site of his pro victory to take on Luciano Ramos of Stockton, California by way of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Salgado made his debut last August at the DoubleTree Hotel with a stoppage win over Cmaje Ramseur. Ramos has been matched incredibly tough in his short pro career, taking on highly regarded prospects Charlie Sheehy and Mandeep Jangra in his first two outings last year.

In a four-round lightweight contest, debuting Sergio Ibarra of San Bernardino, California will take on Cmaje Ramseur (0-1) of nearby Elk Grove, California. Local product Ramseur took on the super tough Mark Salgado in his debut and came up short in that DoubleTree Hotel bout.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the much-anticipated pairing of pro debuts between Salinas, California’s Lizette Lopez and Victorville, California’s Neveah Martinez, scheduled as a four-round super featherweight fight, was a late scratch from the card.

Tickets for the event, “Super Boxing Battles,” promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at Showclix.com or by phone or in person at Niavaroni’s Kickboxing in Roseville (916-782-4757). 

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

Follow all the action as Joe Smith Jr. defends the WBO Light Heavyweight Title against Steve Geffrard.  The action begins at 10 PM ET / 7 PM PT with featherweights Abraham Nova and William Encarnacion.

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED; THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1: Geffrard countering with the left hook..Triple jab..Left hook..3 rights from Smith..Left hook

Round 2 Smith shoe shining…Right to body..Good Jab

Round 3 Jab from Geffrard..Right from Smith…Big Right..Right..Nice Right from Geffrard..Left counter..

Round 4 Onslaught from Smith..Right to body..Big Right

Round 5 4 punch combo from Geffrard…Left counter..Double/jab left hook from Smith…Big Straight right..Right hurts Geffrard…

Round 6 

Round 7 Good right from Smith…Left hook and double right uppercut…left uppercut…

Round 8 Left from Geffrard..Uppercut from Smith and another

Round 9 BIG SEVEN PUNCH FLURRY AND DOWN GOES GEFFRARD…REFEREE COUNTS 10….FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1 Right from Encarnacion…
Round 2 Jab from Nova…Nice Right
Round 3 Nice hook from Nova…Nice Body shot
Round 4 Body shot from Nova..Body shots…Right to body
Round 5 Nova lands a combination to the head…More Body work
Round 6 Nova Teeing off on Encarnacion…Nova bleeding over right eye from a headbutt
Round 7 Hard 1-2 from Nova…Nice Right uppercut ..Left hook and hard right
Round 8 Nice right from Nova..Encarnacion on shaky legs…ENCARNACION’S CORNER STOPS THE FIGHT

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So far, it’s been nothing, nada.

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

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

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

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

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

By Norn Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

A few guesses:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ReplyForward

By Norm Fraienheim-

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

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

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

A look back:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow all the action as Artur Beterbiev defends the IBF/WBC Light Heavyweight Titles against Marcus Browne.

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED; THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1: Browne Jabbing…Body shot..Left down the middle

Round 2 Body shot from Browne…Nice Jab..Right by Beterbiev…Left from Browne..Jab from Beterbiev

Round 3 Right from Beterbiev..Browne lands a body combination…Good right from Beterbiev

Round 4 Quick combination from Browne…Unintentional Head Clash has both Guys Bleeding (Beterbiev on his forehead..Browne over his left eye)…Right from Beterbiev..Hard left to the body..

Round 5 Doctor looking at both cuts..Left down middle from Browne..Combination from Beterbiev..Jab..Beterbiev bleeding badly…4 punch combination…Good right…Ripping head shots

Round 6 Good left hook from Beterbiev..1-2..Good right..Hard Jab and right hand

Round 7 BETERBIEV LANDS A HUGE BODY AND RIGHT HAND AND DOWN GOES BROWNE..Beterbiev landing hard shots on the ropes

Round 8 Beterbiev lands a straight right…Left from Browne..Good right from Beterbiev..

Round 9 BIG COMBINATION AND BIG UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES BROWNE AND HE STAYS DOWN FOR THE 10 COUNT

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

History.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow all the action as Nonito Donaire defends the WBC Bantamweight title against Reymart Gaballo

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Round 1: Big right uppercut from Gaballo..Left to body from Donaire..Left..Sharp right…Left Hook..Counter right..

Round 2 Over hand right from Donaire..Counter from Gaballo…Double Jab from Gaballo..Jab from Donaire

Round 3 Gaballo lands a big right…Counter left from Donaire…Jab..Right…Nice Exchange…Sharp jab from Gaballo..Left hook…Right from Donaire..

Round 4 Right to body and head from Donaire…righ to body and left hook…BODY SHOT AND DOWN GOES GABALLO….HE DOES NOT GET UP AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

Vasiliy Lomachenko has figured that out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow all the action as Gervonta Davis defends the WBA Lightweight title against undefeated Isaac Cruz.  The fights begin at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT with Sebastian Fundora taking on Sergio Garcia; Sergiy Derevyanchenko taking on Carlos Adames and Eduardo Ramirez against Miguel Marriaga

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Round 1: 2 rights from Cruz..Uppercut from Diaz…Right staggers Davis..Left from Crus

Round 2 Left uppercut from Davis..Counter from Cruz..Left from Davis…Body shot from Cruz

Round 3 Left to body from Cruz..Combination from Davis..Uppercut…Counter right hook….Left uppercut/right hook…Counter left…

Round 4 Right and left to body from Cruz…Uppercut…Uppercut from Davis…Jab from Cruz…Left uppercut from Davis..and another

Round 5 Lead left from Davis…Jab and right Cruz..Right uppercut from Davis…Body shot from Cruz..Body shot from Davis..Upercut and straight left…Right from Cruz..Left uppercut from Davis..

Round 6 Right hook from Davis…Straight left…Right from Cruz…Right hook from Davis…Left uppercut..Lead right hook..Straight left…Body

Round 7 Uppercut from Davis…Left..Cruz lands a couple of uppercuts..Big uppercut by Cruz…Right to body from Davis..Cruz lands a right…right hook and left from Davis..Body shot from Cruz..Right uppercut…right to body

Round 8 Straight left from Davis..Uppercut from Cruz…uppercut…Uppercut

Round 9 Cruz lands a body shot…Left from Davis..Lead left…Straight left and right hook to body..Counter

Round 10 Big Flurry from Cruz..right to body..right hook from Davis..

Round 11 Body shot from Cruz…Right..3 jabs from Davis…Lead right uppercut…Right hook..

Round 12 Lead right hook for Davis..Good right hook..Davis Left hand is hurt…

116-112; 115-113 TWICE FOR GERVONTA DAVIS

Round 1 Left and right from Fundora…Right from Garcia..Left rocks Garcia
Round 2 Right from Garcia..Head combo..Lead left and right uppercut from Fundora..Combination..
Round 3 Right uppercut from Garcia…Right from Fundora..Right from Garcia..Left from Fundora…Right from Garcia..Right to body from Fundora
Round 4 Fundora bleeding from Nose…Left uppercut from Garcia…Body shot..Garcia cut around the right eye..Good right from Garcia..Right to body
Round 5 Jab from Fundora..Uppercut..Right from Garcia..Uppercut and right from Fundora,,,Uppercuts on inside from Garcia..Right hook and left from Fundora…Chopping left from Garcia,..Right uppercut on inside…ocunter from Fundora..Combination
Round 6 Left hand and right to body from Fundora…Left…Right hook…Garcia lands a left..Right…Left…
Round 7 Left from Fundora…Uppercut…Left uppercut…right from Garcia…Right to body..
Round 8 Left from Fundora…Garcia landing a combination
Round 9 Garcia trying to push the action
Round 10 Garcia lands a short uppercut…Right uppercut..Another
Round 11 Left from Fundora..Right to the body…Uppercut…Uppercut…Garcia lands a right and left..Solid right to body from Fundora…Right from Garcia
Round 12 Right from Fundora…Nice uppercut…Right hook…Garcia lands a left,,,Garcia lands a big left

115-113; 117-111; 118-110 FUNDORA

Round 1:
Round 2 Big right from Adams…Right Hook..Big left hook from Derevyanchenko
Round 3 Right uppercut from Adames..Right hook from Derevyanchenko…Trading Body shots…Right from Adames..Left hook to the body
Round 4 Right from Adames…Double Jab/Right Hand…Right from Derevyanchenko…
Round 5 Right from Adames..Right from Derevyanchenko..Exchanging Big Rights
Round 6 Right from Adames
Round 7 Right cross from Adames..Left hook…Left hook..
Round 8 Jab from Derevyanchenko…Adames lands a right..Sharp Jab…Right from Derevyanchenko…Lead left hook from Adames…
Round 9 Derevyanchenko lands a jab and right…Counter from Adames..sweeping left hook..Both landing heavy head shots..Jab from Derevyanchenko…Right from Adames..Left hook..Right from Derevyanchenko
Round 10 Both landing hard combinations in the corner…Chopping right from Derevyanchenko…Right from Adames..2 short left hooks from Derevychaneko…Right

95-95, 97-93 AND 96-94 FOR ADAMES

Round 1 Left from Marriaga…Right…Left to body…Body shot from Ramirez
Round 2 Left from Ramirez…Combination..Right…Straight left…Hard combination
Round 3 Left from Ramirez…Body shot from Marriaga…Right to the head..Body shot from Ramires…Jab..Lead right..left..Lead left from Ramirez..Left from Marriaga…Right…STRAIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES MARRIAGA
Round 4  Marriaga lands a right…Hard left from Marriaga…Hard left…Right hook…
Round 5 1-2 from Ramirez…Left..1-2…1-2 from Marriaga…
Round 6 Ramirez working inside…Uppercut…Right..uppercut…Body work…Straight left…Hard straight left…Counter right from Marriaga…3 punch combination from Ramirez…Right from Marriaga…
Round 7  Body shot from Ramirez…Right rocks Marriaga…2 right hooks from Ramirez…
Round 8 Combination from Marriaga…Left from Ramirez…Straight left…Right Hook..Straight left
Round 9 Straight left from Ramirez…3 Punch combination…Left uppercut
Round 10 Left from Ramirez…Ripping right Hook..Left..Good right

99-90 ON ALL CARDS FOR RAMIREZ

Follow all the action as Devin Haney takes on Joseph Diaz Jr. for the WBC Lightweight title.  The action begins at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT with four fights featuring the Undisputed Female Welterweight title bout between Jessica McCaskill and Kandi Wyatt.  Also seeing action will be undefeated Filip Hrgovic, Montana Love and Marc Castro.

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Round 1: Straight right from Haney…Combination..

Round 2 Body shot from Haney…Right to body from Diaz..Check hook from Haney..Jab from Diaz..Right..Good Body shot from Haney

Round 3 Nice uppercut from Haney…Uppercut on inside from Diaz,,,jab..Good right Hand from Haney..

Round 4 Good left to body for Diaz..Big left…Hard left..Good Jab from Haney

Round 5 Haney lands a body shot…Straight left by Diaz and follows up with a flurry…Good right from Haney…Haney outlanding Diaz 56-50

Round 6 Good body shot from Haney…Little flurry from Diaz…Haney Boxing…

Round 7 Uppercut from Haney..Counter right from Haney..3 hard lefts from Diaz…Another left…

Round 8 Right from Haney…

Round 9 Good right from Haney…Diaz flurrying…Body shot from Haney..Left-right to the body..Big Uppercut..Another left uppercut..Diaz lands a counter right hook and another

Round 10 Big right from Haney…

Round 11 Uppercut from Haney..Right to body…Body shot from Diaz…

Round 12 Big left from Diaz..ANother left buzzes Haney..Haney lands a straight right..

117-111 TWICE; 116-112 FOR DEVIN HANEY

Round 1 Check hook from Love..Nice Body shot..Uppercut..Check Hook from Diaz..
Round 2 UPPERCUT AND LEFT AND DOWN GOES DIAZ..LEFT TO THE TEMPLE AND DOWN GOES DIAZ…HARD LEFT-RIGHT AND DIAZ GOES DOWN
Round 3 Big left from Diaz…Straight left drives Diaz back and  COMBINATION FORCES A REFEREE STOPPAGE

Round 1: Hard rights from McCaskill..Good uppercut on inside..Chopping right from Wyatt..Jab..Big right from McCaskill..Good Body shots

Round 2 Good body punch on inside from McCaskill..Nice left to body…2 rights from Wyatt..Right from McCaskill

Round 3 Combination fromMcCaskill..Blood from Nose of Wyatt…Ckubbing right from McCaskill..Big Right..

Round 4 2 Hard rights from McCaskill..Uppercut

Round 5 8 Body shots from McCaskill…Uppercut and jab from Wyatt..

Round 6 Digging right to body and head shot from McCaskill…Hard 3 punch combination…

Round 7 2 RIGHT HANDS BY MCCASKILL AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Right from Ahmatovic…Left hook..Big right from Hrgovic..
Round 2 Clubbing shots from Hrgovic..Both guys sugging a way.  Left hook from Ahmatovic…CHOPPING LET TO TOP OF HEAD AND DOWN GOES AHMATOVIC..RIGHT HAND AND DOWN GOES AHMATOVIC
Round 3 ANOTHER CHOPPING RIGHT DROPS AHMATOVIC AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1 Nice 1-2 from Castro…Jab and right and DOWN GOES SOLIS..Hard left..Nice right snaps Solis head back..Big right
Round 2 HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES SOLIS…FIGHT OVER

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

That’s what Australian George Kambosos did.

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

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

Delusional, it was.

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

Delusional, it is.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guts instead of you-know-what, too.

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow all the action as Terence Crawford Defends the WBO Welterweight title against two-time champion Shawn Porter.

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Round 1: Porter comes right punching…Uppercut..

Round 2 Crawford turns Southpaw..Right hook from Crawford..Right from Porter..Right hook from Crawford..Good exchange…Right from Crawford..Jab…Body shot at the bell

Round 3 Body shot from Porter..Porter cut over right eye..Porter slips….Cut from Headbutt

Round 4 Hook from Porter..Good left to body from Crawford…Left to Chest…Right from Porter..Left from Crawford..Short left

Round 5 Double right from Porter…Counter right..Porter being aggressive…Right on inside..Left to body from Crawford

Round 6 Right from Crawford…Right from Porter,,,Body shot from Crawford…Left…Another headbutt…Crawford cut on the right eye…Combination from Crawford..

Round 7 Good right from Porter…Jab from Crawford..Uppercut..

Round 8 Good combination from Crawford…4 Punch combination…Jab…2 hard rights from Porter…Body shot from Crawford

Round 9 Double Jab from Crawford…Check Hook..Body shot from Porter…Jab from Crawford…Left to body..and another…Lead Left..

Round 10 COUNTER LEFT AND DOWN GOES PORTER…RIGHT,,,HEAD COMBINATION AND DOWN GOES PORTER…FIGHT STOPPED BY PORTER’S DAD

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Upset, maybe, in more ways than one.

By Norm Frauenheim–

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then and now.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crawford looked back and said:

“Maybe, maybe not.”

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

Maybe, maybe not.

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

By Norm Frauenheim–

PHOENIX – It was a pound that won’t matter Saturday, but it left questions that could have a heavy influence on David Benavidez’ career beyond his date against Kyrone Davis.

Benavidez came in at 169 pounds Friday, one more than the super-middleweight limit at the formal weigh-in at an outdoor pavilion in front of the Footprint Center, the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix.

There were no immediate consequences. No penalty. The Showtime-televised bout, a scheduled 10-rounder, is contracted for 168, plus or minus a pound. Davis, a Terence Crawford sparring partner who agreed to the fight two weeks ago, was at 167.75.

“No title involved,’’ Benavidez promoter Sampson Lewkowicz. “No problem.’’

One-hundred-and-sixty-eight pounds – not an ounce more – is the weight at which Benavidez hopes to fight Canelo Alvarez, who won all of the significant pieces to the super-middleweight title last week in an 11th-round stoppage of Caleb Plant in Las Vegas.

Benavidez’ fight Saturday in his first Phoenix homecoming in more than six years has been called an audition. A stepping-stone.

“Sometimes, with stepping-stones, you trip,’’ Davis (16-2-1, 6 KOs) said.

Benavidez didn’t exactly trip when he stepped on and then off the scale. But he did raise some alarms. Although unbeaten, Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) has lost the World Boxing Council’s version of the super-middleweight title twice, first for testing positive for cocaine in 2018 and then last August for failing to make weight.

Benavidez was 2.8 pounds over the limit the day before a scheduled title defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo. The next day – August 15, he blew out Angulo, scoring a 10^th-round stoppage at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. But the WBC belt had already been stripped from him. He’s been chasing it — and Canelo — ever since.

Then, he blamed the scale fail on Pandemic protocol that had closed gyms and saunas. Then, Benavidez said he was sure he could still make the weight. He turns 25 on Dec. 17. He’s young man still growing into his prime. He’s going to grow out of the super-middleweight division. The question is when.

“Maybe two more fights,’’ his father and trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. said earlier this week.

Benavidez hopes for only one against Canelo, perhaps on May 7 in celebration of next year’s annual Cinco de Mayo holiday. Benavidez, a Mexican-American, against Canelo, a Mexican, looks like a perfect fit. But only if Benavidez can still be perfect on the scale, which means 168 and not an ounce more.

Nobody expects Canelo to wait around. He’s boxing biggest draw. He has a banquet full of options, one that grew this week with news that Ryota Murata will fight old Canelo rival Gennadiy Golovkin in Japan Dec. 29 in a middleweight bout.

If the winner agrees to move to 168, Canelo could choose to settle his differences with Golovkin with a third fight or expand his brand to Asia with a fight against Murata in Japan.

If not that, a jump to light-heavyweight is a possibility. So, too, is Jermall Charlo, an unbeaten WBC champ at middleweight who Canelo mentioned last Saturday after his crushing victory over Plant.

For now, at least, Benavidez can only wait. And make weight.

In another Showtime bout Saturday, Benavidez’ older brother, Jose, comes back after nearly more than three years against Argentine Francisco Torres. In a bout contracted to be at 159 pounds, Jose Benavidez Jr., (27-1, 18 KOs) a former welterweight, was at 158.75 pounds. Torres (17-3, 5 KOs) was at 157.50.

The Showtime telecast is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m., ET/6 p.m. PT. In Arizona (Mountain time), the non-televised part of the card is scheduled to begin at 4:40 p.m.

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

Benavidez learned to like it.

At least, most of it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nothing wrong with that fearlessness, either.

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

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

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

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

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

No rust on the rhetoric.Attachments area

Follow all the action as Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant battle it out from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  The Round by Round will be done from ringside.  The action begins at 9 pm ET / 6 PM PM with a three fight undercard featuring former two-time world champion Anthony Dirrell, Former 122 lbs world champion Ray Beltran and Elvis Rodriguez

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Round 1 Jab from Plant….Chopping right from Canelo…Body work…Body shot

Round 2 Left hook from Canelo…Uppercut on inside..Left hook from Plant..Right from Canelo…Jab from Plant..Body shot..Left hook..Uppercut from Plant..Left hook from Canelo..Couple jabs from Plant…Left hook from Canelo..3 punch combo from Plant…Jab and right from Canelo..Rught..Right uppercut..

Round 3 Jab from Plant..Lead left from Canelo..2 left hooks…Jab by plant…Body shot from Canelo

Round 4 combination on ropes from Canelo..Jab from Plant..Body shot from Canelo..Right hand

Round 5 Left hook to body from Canelo..Flurry from Plant…Left from Canelo…

Round 6 Right left combo from Canelo..Nice left hook..Stiff jab from Plant…Jab from Canelo….Chopping right..Left hook..Jab from Canelo..Jab from Plant…Jab from Canelo

Round 7 Counter right from Plant…lead left hook from Canelo…Jab from Plant..Counter right…left hook to body from Canelo

Round 8 Double left hook from Canelo..Mouse under right eye of Canelo

Round 9 Body shots from Canelo..Jab to body…Left hook from Plant..Counter right..Left hook from Canelo…Right from Plant..combination from Plant…Body combination

Round 10 Body shots from Canelo

Round 11 BIG UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES PLANT……hUGE FLURRY…PLANT IS WOBBLING ALL OVER AND THE RIMH AMD GETS DROPPED AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1:

BY Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tyson likes Canelo. He picks him to win

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

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

No Boxing, No Life.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It’s all we do, all we think about.

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

In other words: No Boxing, No Life.

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow all the action as Emanuel Navarrete defends the WBO Featherweight title against Joet Gonzalez. The fights start at 11:30 PM ET with welterweights Giovani Santillan and Angel Ruiz

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Round 1: Right and left from Gonzalez

Round 2 Body shot from Gonzalez…Nice Jab…Swelling under the right of Gonzalez..Nice Jab from Navarrete..

Round 3 Flurry from Gonzalez..Left and hook to body from Navarrete..Nice right from Gonzalez…Gonzalez cut under right eye from a punch…Navarrete digging to body..Right and combination from Gonzalez..Nice combinations

Round 4 1-2 and an uppercut from Navarrete…Short left..quick right from Gonzalez..Body and right..Left to body from Navarrete..Good body work from Gonzalez…Right hurts Navarrete

Round 5 Nice Jab from Gonzalez…Left and uppercut from Navarrete..Right

Round 6 Volume combination from Navarrete..Long right from Gonzalez…Nice right to body..Navarrete lands an uppercut..Short roght from Gonzalez..

Round 7 Gonzlez lands a counter…5 punch combination from Navarrete…Nice uppercut..

Round 8 Navarrete lands a right…Nice right…Hard right

Round 9 Nice right from Gonzalez..Body shot…Combination from Navarrete..Nice uppercut

Round 10 Gonzalez is cut around both eyes… Low blow landed by Gonzalez..Combination from Navarrete..body shot…Nice Combination..Gonzalez lands a nice left hook..

Round 11 Nice right from Gonzalez..5 punch combination from Navarrete..Left and right from Gonzalez..

Round 12 Body work from Navarrete…Nice right from Gonzalez and a body shot..2 left hooks..4 punch combination from Navarrete..Big right..Great fight

118-110, 116-112 For EMANUEL NAVARRETE

Round 1 Uppercut Hurts Santillan
Round 2 Flurry from Santillan..Short left..Left from Ruiz..Left from Santillan..Body from Ruiz..Body shot
Round 3 Double right hook from santillan…Nice right from Ruiz..Left hook..Left and and right from Santillan..Double left..Nice Uppercut..right Hook from Ruiz..Right uppercut from Santillan
Round 4 Hard combination from Santillan..Right from Ruiz
Round 5 Nice counter right from Santillan..Nice body shot..Right uppercut…Nice left..2 Uppercuts from Ruiz..1-2 from Santillan…
Round 6 Solid right from Ruiz…Body..Right to the head..Trading body shots…Nice right from Ruiz
Round 7 Right from Ruiz..Hard left from Santillan..Right hand..
Round 8 Combination from Santillan..2 lefts..Big combination..Uppercuts..Big Flurry
Round 9 Santillan landeing damaging shots on the ropes
Round 10 Left and 3 punch combination from Santillan..Nice right hook from Ruiz…2 punch combination from Santilan..Flurry..Double Right hook..

99-91, 100-90 FOR SANTILLAN

By Norm Frauenheim-

Classics never end. Look it up. They are timeless by definition. So, too, is Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder.

A sure sign of it is in the story of the beautiful brawl. It’s still being told, four days after Fury got up twice, scored three knockdowns and finished Wilder in the eleventh round.

Just four days might as well be four decades on a modern clock accelerated by social media. The public attention span lasts about as long as a tweet these days. Here now, forgotten a blink later.

But we’re still talking about Fury-Wilder, rare for a heavyweight fight or any other bout in a crowded schedule full of baseball playoffs and football. Interest endures, not because there will be a fourth fight. No worries, there won’t be.

But the third fight will continue to reverberate, repeated and re-written, mostly because of the personal drama that continues to unfold.

Unlike the definitive end brought on by Fury’s right hand at 1:10 of the eleventh, there are still more rounds to go in this one. The first of many came from Wilder Thursday.

“We didn’t get the win but a wise man once said the victories are within the lessons,” Wilder said through social media. “I’ve learned that sometimes you have to lose to win. Although, I wanted the win I enjoyed seeing the fans win even more. Hopefully, I proved that I am a true Warrior and a true King in this sport. Hopefully, WE proved that no matter how hard you get hit with trials and tribulations you can always pick yourself up to live and fight again for what you believe in.

“Last but not least I would like to congratulate Tyson Fury for his victory and thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever.”

There was a tone of resignation, if not outright concession, in Wilder’s words. It was far from what he told Fury in the fight’s immediate aftermath. Video shows him saying he didn’t “respect” Fury, who went to his corner. Fury also said he refused to shake hands.

Many in the Twitter mob weren’t happy with Wilder’s message. It didn’t go far enough, they said. “Last but not least” angered many. “First and foremost” apparently should have been the lead.

Some also ripped Wilder for his faith. They were unhappy with his reference to God. Their complaints remind a soldier’s son of something he often heard from his father after he returned from combat in some far-flung hellhole. There are no atheists in a foxhole, he used to say.

Wilder had just been under hellish fire in what these days is called a combat sport. I’m not sure how many of those key-board chicken-hawks have experienced, much less endured, incoming punches from a 6-foot-9 heavyweight named Fury. But, please, give Wilder a break.

From this corner, Wilder’s message is another step in a personal evolution. We’ve watched him – and Fury – grow up in a cruel place. While covering the Beijing Olympics 13 years ago, I remember a wide-eyed kid with a bronze medal. He was just happy to be there.

His emergence, first as a heavyweight contender and then a feared champion, has been both unlikely and unsettling. The happy kid changed. Increasingly, he believed in the infallibility of his one-dimensional power. Then suddenly, his deadly right hand failed him.

Fury got up from it in their first fight and eliminated it in their second. In the third, Fury again got up from it and then delivered some cruel irony, knocking out Wilder with his own right hand. For Wilder, it had to be devastating. His sense of self – the singular power that defined him – was gone.

His identity crisis was evident throughout the long delays before the third bout. He called Fury a cheater. His crazy talk included body bags and legal homicide. He wouldn’t – couldn’t — begin to accept defeat.

Until now.

The nice kid in Beijing is beginning to re-emerge, this time with some of the wisdom that comes with a hard-earned maturity.

He reminds me of George Foreman, the biggest power puncher of his generation. A defining photo of Foreman is of a smiling kid waving an American flag in a bear-paw-sized hand after winning gold at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Like Wilder, however, Foreman’s fundamental good nature got fractured by Muhammad Ali in a devastating loss, the classic Rumble in the Jungle in the former Zaire almost exactly 47 years ago — Oct. 30, 1974.

Foreman was supposed to win. There were even fears that he would hurt Ali. But Ali won, scoring a stunning eighth-round stoppage. The loss changed Foreman.

“For a couple of months, it was like he was in a trance,’’ said Bill Caplan, Foreman’s publicist then and his friend forever. “I couldn’t talk to him.’’

Foreman even had his own conspiracy theories as a way to explain away the loss. He suggested he had been drugged, alleging that somebody put something in his water bottle.

If that sounds familiar, it is. Wilder alleged the same thing after his loss to Fury in the second fight in February 2020.

But eventually Foreman took it back, got over it.

Eventually, Caplan said, Foreman became Ali’s friend.

He grew up, which is what we are seeing Wilder do.

Foreman, himself, marveled at what he saw in Fury-Wilder.

“I’m just so happy to have lived long enough to see the past come alive again,’’ Foreman said on his YouTube platform from a desk that included a photo of Ali in the background. “It was like something out of the past.’’

Foreman also said it’s time to move on.

“We can quit talking about George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson,’’ he said.

The graceful humility in those words is a Foreman trademark, there now as a 72-year old man just as surely as they were in his flag-waving gesture 53 years ago.

But I, for one, will never quit talking about Foreman, Ali, Johnson or Joe Frazier or Joe Louis or any of the other heavyweights made great by the classics they won. And lost.

In Fury-Wilder, it’s just nice to have another one, alongside all of them.Attachments area

LAS VEGAS – It’ a fight between friends. It’s a fight for legacy. It’s a fight for all seasons. And all the right reasons.

Finally, there will be a step toward some real resolution at the top of the welterweight division between fighters represented by rival promotional entities.

The fight between Terence Crawford, of Top Rank, and Shawn Porter, of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), was a done deal a few weeks ago. The marketing began Saturday with a formal news conference for the November 20 fight (pay-per-view, ESPN+) at Mandalay Bay.

“It’s my biggest fight, no doubt,’’ said Crawford, a former lightweight and junior-welterweight champion who has a chance to reassert his pound-for-pound claim on a big stage.

For Porter, it’s a chance to define how he will be remembered. A victory over Crawford, he said, will put him closer to the fame be believes Crawford already has.

“I think I’m on the brink of being in the Hall of Fame,’’ Porter said. “I think he’s done enough already to be in. My legacy depends on me beating Terence Crawford.’’  

The news conference at the MGM Grand was a preliminary to a long day of boxing in Vegas. The newser ended just a few hours before the Fox/ESPN pay-per-view card featuring Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder at T-Mobile Arena began.

Follow all the action as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder meet in their trilogy fight for the WBC Heavyweight Title

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Round 1 Right to bidy from Wilder..Left hook..Left hook from Fury..1-2…Big 1-2

Round 2 Right from Fury..Left to body from Wilder..Right to body from Fury..Nice right from Wilder…right from Fury..

Round 3 Jab from Fury…Jab to body from Wilder…Good jab from Fury…Big right from Wilder..Stiff jab from Fury…Right from Wilder..HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES WILDER…Big right..Left hook

Round 4 Good body shot from Fury..HUGE RIGHT FROM WILDER AND DOWN GOES FURY…BIG COMBINATIOMD AND DOWN DOWN GOES FURY

Round 5 Big right from Wilder…Good jab from Fury..left-right…Big uppercut…Good jab..Right from Wilder…

Round 6 Exchanging of rights…2 rights from Fury…Right from Wilder…Right from Fury..uppercut..Hard right..

Round 7 Hard right from Fury..Body shot…Body shot from Wilder…Big Right from Fury..Right from Fury…Right from Wilder..Jab and right..Uppercut hurts Wilder..Right..

Round 8 Jab frm Fury..Right..right and uppercut…Hard right from Wilder..Left from Fury..2 rights wobble Wilder..Big right

Round 9 Doctor looks at Fury…Right to body from Wilder…Good combination..Jab from Fury..Right hurts Wilder..Right from Wilder…hook from Fury..right..Uppercut from Wilder…

Round 10 Big right from Fury and another…body shot..HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES WILDER…Big from Fury…Big right..Right from Wilder…Big uppercut from Fury wobbles Wilder..Big flurry from Wilder

Round 11 Jab from Fury…Big right..Hard body shot…Good uppercut..right…HUGE RIGHT…DOWN GOES WILDER FACE FIRST…FIGHT OVER

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Throughout the newser, Wilder remained seated while Fury paced.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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