By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX, AZ — Eddie Hearn foresees the Bam Rodriguez-Juan Francisco Estrada bout Saturday night as a potential Fight of the Year, one that could have pound-for-pound implications. 

“Going into Saturday, I’d say this the best fight so far this year,” Hearn, of Matchroom Promotions, said Thursday at a news conference featuring Rodriguez and Estrada at a redone old building in a warehouse district south of Footprint Center. “Bam is in for a big test. Estrada is proven. He looks fresh.”

The 34-year-old Estrada is a decade younger than the emerging Bam, a Mexican-American from San Antonio who is fighting in Phoenix for the second straight time after his pound-for-pound attention-getting victory over Sunny Edwards last December at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale.

A big victory over the accomplished Estrada could vault Rodriguez into the top of the pound-for-pound debate alongside Naoya Inoue, Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford, according to Hearn.

“He’s only 24 years old,” the promoter said. “He’s just beginning. A phenomenal performance here against Estrada would set up some enormous fights.”

Phenomenal probably means a stoppage. Bam sounded confident that he could pull one off against the tactically-skilled Estrada, the son of a Mexican fisherman who grew up 215-miles south of Phoenix in a town named Puerto Penasco..

“I think I have the skills to stop any one,” Bam said.

But he also knows he never faced anybody better than Estrada, the World Boxing Council’s 115-pound champion.

“This is my biggest fight ever,” Bam said.

Estada, nicknamed El Gallo, says he stands in the way of Bam’s bold ambitions.

“It’s going to be a real good weekend, especially for the Mexican people,” Estrada said. “It’s a chance to show that El Gallo still has things to do in this sport.” 

Vasiliy Lomacheno won the IBF Lightweigt title with an 11th round stoppage of former world champion George Kambosos Jr. in Perth, Australia

In round seven, Kambosos was cut around his right eye. Lomachenko beat down Kambosos and softened him up. In round 11, Lomachenko landed a hard left to the head while Kambosos was bending down that put Kambosos on the canvas. Kambosos was clearly done, and Lomachenko ended the fight by landed a crushing left to the body that put Kambosos down again and the fight was stopped just as the towel was being thrown in from Kambosos corner at 2:49.

Lomachenko is a champion again with a record of 18-3 with 12 knockouts. Kambosos falls to 21-3.

Lomachenko said, “It looked like a knockout today, not ‘No-Mas-Chenko.’ But, you know, we trained hard for this moment. I want to thank my opponent. He is a strong man and a true warrior.

“My plan was to adjust to my opponent. This is what I did during the fight. I knew I needed to finish strong. And in the last three rounds, I was trying to find his body.

I never ran around during my boxing career. I always take fights. Right now, I want to come back to my home, spend time with my family, and after I rest a little bit, we can talk about my future.”

Kambosos said, “He’s a true champion. He’s a legend of the sport. I give him the utmost respect. We knew what we are coming up against, and I tried my best. But it wasn’t enough today.

He’s one of the best fighters in history. So, I’m not ashamed. I wanted to finish the fight on my feet. I wanted to finish the rounds like I always do. But there’s no shame in losing to a man like Lomachenko.”

Johnson Decisions Hughes to Win Bantamweight Title

Cherneka Johnson won the WBA Bantamweight Title with a 10-round majority decision over previously undefeated Nina Hughes

Johnson landed 167 of 520. Hughes was 133 of 570.

Johnson of Australia won by scores of 98-92, 96-94 and 95-95. and is now 16-2. Hughes of England is 6-1.

Guevara Decisions Andrew Moloney to Win Vacant Interim 115 lb. Title; Moloney Announces Retirement

Pedro Guevara won the vacant WBC Interim Bantamweight title with a split decision over Andrew Moloney.

In round 10, Moloney began to bleed from his hairline.

Guevara landed 177 of 661 punches. Moloney as 152 of 506.

The scorecards read 115-113 Guevara on two cards, 116-113 Moloney.

Guevara of Mexico is 42-4-1. Moloney of Australia is now 26-4. The bout capped a bad week for the Moloney twins as brother Jason lost his Bantamweight Title in Japan on Monday.

Right after the bout, Moloney announced his retirement by saying, “I am done with this sport, Fuck that.”

“I really want to come back here. It’s amazing here,” Guevara said. “I’d have no problem giving him a rematch.”

Moloney said, “I felt in total control. I did what I had to do in there tonight to get the win. I don’t want to make excuses, but I went into this fight with a torn biceps, so I couldn’t throw the left hook unless I needed to. I didn’t feel like I needed to throw it because I was in total control. “

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX – Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez once looked at Juan Francisco Estrada and saw an idol

Now, he sees a rival.

“The first time I saw him, I wanted to be like him,’’ Rodriguez said.

Now, he wants to beat him.

Rodriguez will get that chance on June 29 at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.

It’s an intriguing fight, junior-bantamweight according to some of the acronyms. But there’s nothing junior about it. It’s Super Fly, 115 pounds loaded with a chance to be as compelling as any fight up and down boxing’s scale.

“It’s what I think will be Fight of the Year,’’ Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn said at a news conference Wednesday on a stage located just off the Phoenix Suns home floor.

Hearn is expected to say those kinds of things, of course. He’s a promoter, after all. Hyperbole is part of the job. But he’s right-on this time. It’s hard to overstate this fight’s potential.

It matches tested experience against a younger man’s bold confidence.

Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), the defending champion, is a 34-year-old tactician from a Mexican fishing village, Puerto Penasco, about a five-hour drive south of Phoenix. He’s got some scars and lots wisdom to go with his proven ring IQ.

Then, there’s Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs), a 24-year-old from San Antonio with a cartoon-like nickname. Bam, it’s a word straight out of a comic book. But that power is no joke.

Just ask Sunny Edwards, who suffered from it in losing a violent beatdown — a ninth-round stoppage — in Bam’s last visit to the Phoenix area in December at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale.

“I’m a different breed,’’ said Rodriguez, who will be fighting for the third time in Arizona. “I’m a different animal. Come June 29, expect fireworks.’’

Rodriguez might need fireworks and more against Estrada, whose skillset was enough to score a majority decision over the accomplished Roman Gonzalez in a second rematch about 19 months ago, also at Desert Diamond.

It’s not clear how the long stretch between bouts will affect Estrada. An idle champion is a vulnerable one. At least, that’s the theory.

In his long career, however, he’s encountered some of the best, including three fights against Roman Gonzalez, the lightest fighter to ever be voted No. 1 in the various pound-for-pound ratings.

It’s no wonder, perhaps that he and his management look at Rodriguez and question his experience, if not his maturity.

“We’ll see if Bam is still in diapers or is potty-trained,’’ Estrada promoter/manager Juan Hernandez said Wednesday. “…Perhaps, he’s being fed leftovers.’’

That made Bam trainer Robert Garcia smile. It also prompted a counter from Bam, who mostly is known for letting his punches do the talking.

“People didn’t think I could stop (Srisaket Sor) Rungvisai,’’ Rodriguez said. “They probably didn’t think I could stop Sunny Edwards. They probably don’t think I can stop Estrada.

“But I’m here to shock the world.’’

TOKYO (May 6, 2024) —It had been more than 34 years since the Tokyo Dome hosted a boxing event. Naoya “Monster” Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), boxing’s pound-for-pound king, made it worth the wait. Inoue scored a sixth-round TKO over Mexican former two-division world champion Luis Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) in front a packed house Monday evening to defend his undisputed junior featherweight championship.

This marked the 22nd world title victory for Inoue, who recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of winning his first world title.

“Inoue is among the greatest fighters I’ve promoted, and he was sensational once again. Nery came to win, but ‘The Monster’ was too much,” said Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum.

Inoue was floored early by a counter left hand in the opening stanza as he closed in on Nery. The 31-year-old returned the favor in the following round by sending Nery to the canvas with a counter left hook. Inoue then began breaking Nery down during the ensuing rounds before dropping him again with a left hook in the fifth. In the sixth, the pound-four-pound great landed consecutive right hands to end the fight at 1:22.

Inoue said, “I appreciate Nery. That’s why I shook hands with him after the fight. The knockdown motivated me. I am thankful to have fought against a great fighter in Nery.

“I don’t remember anything my dad {head trainer Shingo Inoue} told me in the intermission, but that happening gave me motivation. I was so focused until the end of the fight.

“Thank you so much to everyone for witnessing my fight. There are over 40,000 people here in the Tokyo Dome. I promise that I will keep giving you fights that get you excited.”

Takei Dethrones Moloney

Japanese former kickboxing world champion Yoshiki Takei earned boxing hardware in just his ninth pro fight, using his length and tricky southpaw style to topple WBO Bantamweight World Champion Jason Moloney (27-3. 19 KOs) via unanimous decision.

Takei (9-0, 8 KOs) prevailed by scores of 116-111 2x and 117-110. Moloney had Takei badly hurt and out on his feet in the final round, but the Japanese upstart survived the late charge to notch the well-earned decision. 

Bantamweight: Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) UD 12 Sho Ishida (34-4, 17 KOs). Scores: 118-109 2x and 116-111. Inoue, Naoya’s younger brother, made the first successful defense of his WBA Bantamweight World Title.

Flyweight: Seigo Yuri Akui (20-2-1, 11 KOs) UD 12 Taku Kuwahara (13-2, 8 KOs). Scores: 118-110 and 117-111 2x. Akui retains the WBA Flyweight World Title.

LAS VEGAS–The face of Mexican boxing has aged.

But it hasn’t changed.

It’s still Canelo, now bearded, yet still proud and stubborn That inexhaustible streak of stubborn pride was there, a force that withstood a younger man’s challenge throughout 12 rounds Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Canelo Alvarez won it, scoring a unanimous decision over fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia.

“It means a lot,’’ Canelo (61-2-2, 3 KOs) said moments after the 117-110, 116-111, 115-112 scores were announced. ‘’I like this guy a lot. He is gentleman.”

But, he went on to say: “I’m the best. I’m the best fighter right now.’’

He might get an argument from Terence Crawford or Naoya Inoue. David Benavidez, who was in the T-Mobile crowd, might want a chance to prove him wrong. But on this night, there was no argument, especially from the 27-year-old Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs).

In the fourth, Canelo began to exert control. The spring in Munguia’s opening step was gone. He dropped his left hand.

Canelo saw it and capitalized with predatory instinct. He landed a wicked uppercut, followed by a body shot. Suddenly, Munguia was down on the canvas, his eyes empty of an earlier confidence.

For the next couple of rounds, Canelo ruled, patiently and thoroughly. By then, Munguia knew there was still power in the older man’s hands. He was wary. He was smart.

He knew what he had seen in Canelo’s last several fights. He had studied the video. Munguia would wait until the seventh to re-assert himself in an effort to test the theory that Canelo tires in the second half of fights.

In the opening moments of the seventh, Munguia backed Canelo up and into his corner.

But Canelo didn’t stay there. He stepped forward and broke through Munguia’s up-raised gloves with punches accented by deadly power.

It was a pivotal moment, a sure sign that Canelo was there to go the distance. He stood his ground in the eighth, the ninth and the 10th. He took punches. Landed punches.

“I took my time,”

Canelo said. “I have a lot of experience. Munguia is a great fighter. He’s strong and smart. But I have 12 rounds to win the fight and I did. I did really good, and I’m proud of it.

“He’s strong, but he’s a little slow. I could see every punch. That’s why I’m the best.”

At times, it looked like a standoff. But Canelo went into the final two rounds with a key edge. He had that fourth-round knockdown in the bank and he would fight to protect it with experience, tactical knowhow and stamina not often seen in the super-middleweight champion over the last couple of years.

In the first round, Munguia’s length and quick hands seemed to surprise Canelo.

On young legs, Munguia moved side to side, again seemingly surprising Canelo with his athleticism.

In the second, a wary Canelo began to look for a way to slow down Munguia. He landed a couple of warning shots, first a body blow and then a quick combo.

But Munguia, looking like a tireless kid on the playgrounds, responded by bouncing on his toes and firing straight shots at a backpedaling Canelo.

“I came out strong and was winning the early rounds,” Munguia said. “I let my hands go, but he’s a fighter with a lot of experience. The loss hurts because it’s my first loss and I felt strong.” 

The announced crowd of more than 17,000 was divided. For some, the young Munguia has a working-class appeal no longer there in the wealthy, celebrated Canelo.

Munguia’s entrance was cheered by folks in cheaper seats in T-Mobile’s upper deck.

Then, there was Canelo, cheered by folks in expensive seats on the floor and in the lower bowl.

At opening bell, the arena was a clash of chants.

First, Munguia, Munguia.

Then, Canelo, Canelo.

In the end, there was only Canelo.

Still Canelo.

Marios Barrios wins unanimous decision

Mario Barrios, a junior-welterweight champion and an emerging welterweight, scored a knockdown, but not a knockout out of a name synonymous with resilience.

Fabian Maidana is not as well-known as his brother, Marcos Maidana.

But the name sticks around mostly because the brothers know how to. Marcos did it against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fabian did it against a bigger, stronger Barrios in a. fight for an interim 147-pound title in the last boutt before the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia main event at T-Mobile Arena Saturday night.

Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs), of San Antonio, put Fabian (22-3, 16 KOs), of Argentina, on

to the canvas with a straight right hand in the second round. Then, it looked as if the end was near. But it was not. Fabian kept coming back, kept rocking Barrios’ head with piston-like pouches that started with an accurate jab. By the end of the 12-round bout, Barrios’ right eye was an ugly welt, swollen shut

Barrios had trouble seeing.  But not winning. On the judges cards, it was unanimous, 116-111 on all three, for Barrios. He won, but not as easily as expected because of another Maidana

Figueroa knocks out Magdaleno

Jessie Magdaleno had no chance at winning the title. Turns out, he didn’t have much of a chance against Brandon Figueroa either.

Magdaleno (29-3, 18 KOs), who forfeited his eligibility for a World Boxing Council’s interim belt when he failed to make weight, was simply no match for the busier, stronger Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs), of Weslaco TX.

In the opening rounds of the featherweight bout on the Canelo-Munguia card, Magdaleno tried to smother Figueroa. Instead, he often smothered any potential excitement. In the fifth, however, Figueroa delivered a low blow, a painful uppercut. Magdaleno fell. He was on hands and knees. His face was flat on the canvas. He was in evident pain. Somehow, he recovered, but not enough to give him a shot at victory.

In the ninth, Figueroa finished him, first with a sweeping right hook and then body shot. At 2:59 of the round. referee Allen Huggins counted Magdaleno out.

Stanionis retains welterweight title

Eimantas Stanionis, cool and efficient throughout 12 rounds, controlled pace, distance and — in the end — the World Boxing Association’s welterweight title.

In only his first title defense, Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOS) fought with the authority of a longtime champion, leaving challenger Gabriel Maestre (6-1-1, 5 KOs) few opportunities in a one-sided display of patience and tactical skill. 

Maestre, of Venezuela, was never off his feet. But he never had much of a chance either, losing a unanimous decision to the unbeaten Lithuanian on the Canelo-Munguia card.

Jesus Ramos back with a knockout

It was the right way to end a comeback.

Jesus Ramos (21-1, 17 KOs), a junior-middleweight prospect from Casa Grande AZ,  punctuated his  with a stoppage, a technical knockout of a tough Venezuelan, Johan Gonzalez (34-3, 33 KOs) Saturday on the card featuring Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Ramos, fighting for the first since his lone loss — a controversial decision to Erickson Lubin in September, began to take control of the fight in the fifth. He was moving forward, stubbornly forward, with powerful shots that drove Gonzalez into the ropes. In the sixth, however, a head butt left Ramos with a nasty cut over his left eye. 

The bloody gash seemed to take away much of Ramos’ momentum. But he regained it with heavy-handed shots delivered from a crouch.. His hands were down. 

But the power was deadly. In the ninth, it finished Gonzalez, first with a left-handed counter that put him on his back. Then there was a succession of blows, including a big right hand that knocked Gonzalez again. At 2:56 of the ninth, it was over, Ramos a TKO winner and and presumably on his way back to being a young fighter with championship potential  

BELOW BOUTS BY MARC ABRAMS

World-ranked junior middleweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. hammered out a 10-round unanimous decision over Ronald Cruz.

At the end of round three, Mielnicki dropped Cruz with a left hook just as the bell sounded. Mielnicku dumped him again with the same punch just before round four concluded.

Mielnicki landed 187 of 605 punches. Cruz was 143 of 460.

Mielnicki, 153.6 lbs of Roseland, NJ won by scores of 99-89, 98-90 and 96-92 and is now 18-1. Cruz, 153.2 lbs of Los Angeles is 19-4-2.

Alan David Picasso remained undefeated by stopping former world title challenger Damien Vazquez in round five of their 10-round super bantamweight bout.

Picasso, 121 lbs of Mexico City is now 28-0-1 with 16 knockouts. Vazquez, 122.2 lbs of Las Vegas is 17-4-1.

William Scrull scored a knockdown en-route to an eight-round unanimous decision over Sean Hemphill in a super middleweight bout.

Scrull dropped Hemphill in round five in the fight which eventually led to scores of 79-72, 78-73 and 76-75.

Scrull, 167.2 lbs of Matanzas, CUB is now 22-0. Hemphill, 167.4 lbs of New Orleans is now 16-2.

Lawrence King won a six-round unanimous decision over Anthony Holloway in a light heavyweight contest.

King, 181.2 lbs of San Bernadino, CA won by scores of 59-55 on all cards and is now 16-1. Holloway, 177.4 lbs of Peoria, IL is 7-4-3.

Adrian Torres won a six-round unanimous decision over Arsen Poghosyan in a lightweight bout.

Torres, 136.6 lbs of Tijuana, MEX won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 8-0. Poghosyan, 126.2 lbs of Yerevan, ARM is 3-2-1.

Julian Bridges won a six-round unanimous decision over Jabin Chollet in a battle of undefeated super lightweights

Bridges, 138.4 lbs of Antioch, CA won by scores of 59-55 on all cards and is now 5-0. Chollet, 139.8 lbs of San Diego is 9-1.

Follow all the action as Canelo Alvarez defends the Undisputed Super Middleweight title against Jaime Munguia. The action will take place at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT with three world title bouts.

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED. THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

ROUND 1 Munguia jabbing…Counter left from Canelo..Left Hook from Munguia,,,

ROUND 2 Right to body from Canelo…Body from Munguia,,,Right from Munguia,,,Body shot,,Left to body by Canelo…Hard right,,Left from Munguia..Right

ROUND 3 Right from Munguia,,,5 punches…Counter uppercut from Canelo.,..Counter,,Right from Munguia..Huge flurry 

ROUND 4 Combination from Munguia,,,Right from Canelo…left hook…trading rights…HUGE UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES MUNGUIA…

ROUND 5 Jabs from Munguioa..Right from Canelo..Flurry from Mungia..Thuudding left hook from Canelo..

Round 6 Left hook from Canelo…Left…Flurry from Munguia..Body shot,,,2 lefts from Canelo…

ROUND 1: Magdaleno cut over his right eye from a headbutt

ROUND 2 Figueroa working on the inside..

ROUND 3 Magdaleno moving

ROUND 4 Left to body from Figueroa and then hits Magdaleno low 

ROUND 5 Good action for Magdaleno

ROUND 6 Big Shot by Figueroa on the ropes

ROUND 7 Figueroa out working

ROUND 8 Left from Magdaleno…Body shots…3 punches inside from Figueroa..

ROUND 9 Figueroa landing on the ropes…BIG BODY SHOT…DOWN GOES MAGDALENO…HE CANT GET UP…FIGHT OVER

ROUND 1 Left to body from Stanionis…Right…Uppercut..Body shot from Maestre…Left Hook from Stanionis..

ROUND 2 Jab from Maestre…Hard Jab…Left hook..Counter Right…

ROUND 3 Double Left hook from Stanionis..Jab..Combination from Maestre..Jabbing and moving..Right from Stanionis..Right…Solid right..

ROUND 4 Right from Stanionis..Left Hook..Left to body…Right over the top…Uppercut…Left to body

ROUND 5 Jab and uppercut from Maestre…Right from Stanionis..Uppercut..Quick Jab..Jab…

ROUND 6 Jab from Stanionis..Right,,2 Rights…Right to Body from Maestre…Left hook and right to body..Right from Stanionis…

ROUND 7 Uppercut from Maestre…2 Body shots…Trading Jabs…More Body work from Maestre…Bolo Uppercut..

ROUND 8 Maestre working the body inside..2 more body shots..Jab from Stanionis..Right…Jab.

ROUND 9 Right from Stanionis…Body shot from Maeatre…Combo from Stanionis..

ROUND 10 Double left hook from Stanionis…Double jab…Counter right to the head…Left hook shakes Maestre…

ROUND 11 Jab from Stanionis..Right from Stanionis..2 rights…Jab from Stanionis…

ROUND 12 Jab from Stanionis…Right to the head…

117-111, 118-110, 119-109 FOR STANIONIS

By Norm Fraueneim –

LAS VEGAS – David Benavidez is ready to move on from years of waiting on Canelo Alvarez, yet he still hasn’t eliminated the chance that one day he might fight the celebrated Mexican.

Just hours before Canelo faced super-middleweight challenger Jaime Munguia Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena, Benavidez said he was poised to go his own way, upscale and away from his frustrating pursuit of Canelo.

“I want to make my own lane at 175 pounds, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,’’ Benavidez said at a news conference announcing his light-heavyweight date against ex-champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk on a June 15 card featuring Tank Davis-Frank Martin at the MGM Grand. “I’ve done everything I can at 168 pounds.

“The only thing was a fight for the unified title, but Canelo wouldn’t give me the fight.’’

Throughout the days before opening bell for Canelo-Munguia, there were mixed messages from boxing’s pay-per-view star about whether he might agree to fight Benavidez in September.

Yes?

No?

Let’s just say Canelo is a definite maybe.

But the 27-year-old Benavidez can’t wait around. He’s entering his prime. His body is maturing, which inevitably will force him out of the junior-middleweight division. Saturday, Benavidez, a former two-time 168-pound champion, even mentioned cruiserweight.

There are many in the media who think the Phoenix-born fighter will eventually fight at heavyweight.

“If Canelo was there for us in September, yeah, we’d consider it,’’ Benavidez father and trainer Jose told 15 Rounds after the formal part of the news conference. “We could go back down to 168. But whatever Canelo decides, we’ve got to move forward.’’

Against Gvozdyk, the unbeaten Benavidez has a chance to move into position for a 175-pound title. But even that wasn’t as clear Saturday as it had been a few days ago because of a knee injury suffered by Artur Beterbiev.

Beterbiev was scheduled to fight Dmitry Bivol on June 1 in Saudi Arabia. It’s not clear whether another opponent will be found for Bivol or the date with Beterbiev will be postponed to later in the year.

The plan was for the Benavidez-Gvozdyk winner to fight the Beterbiev-Bivol winner for a unified light-heavy title.

“If I can’t be a unified super-middleweight champ, I want to be unified at light-heavy,’’ Benavidez told 15 Rounds. “I want to create my own legacy.

“I just think that Canelo is leaving a great fight, a historical one, on the table.’’

It’s no surprise that the Tank-Martin part of the newser was contentious. Tank tried to slap Martin. He screamed insults at him. It wouldn’t be Tank without trash talk.

“You ain’t nothing, you’re from the suburbs,’’ Tank said to Martin, born in Detroit and now a resident of Indianapolis

Davis, the reigning lightweight champion and a leading pound-for-pound contender, hasn’t fought in more than 12 months, a stretch that included some time behind bars in Baltimore. His last fight was an April, 2023 stoppage of Ryan Garcia, boxing’s undisputed KingChaos. The Ryan reign has become a controversial circus.

“I’m just happy to be back,’’ said Tank, who was nearly an hour late for the news conference. “I’ve been in jail, been on house arrest.

“Things like that.’’

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – It was a so-called ceremony, meaning there was no controversy until Ryan Garcia showed up.

Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia made weight early Friday, Canelo at 166.8 pounds and Munguia 167.4, behind closed doors and for the regulators at the official weigh-in.

Hours later, they repeated the performance, this time for a roaring crowd on a pavilion in front of T-Mobile Arena where they’ll finally fight Saturday (Amazon Prime/pay-per-view card/5 pm PT, 8 pm ET). Neither the plot nor the weights changed.

“I feel very good, like I’m in my prime,’’ said Canelo (60-2-2, 34 KOs), the undisputed super-middleweight champion whose readiness has been evident throughout a week that included an edgy confrontation with promoter Oscar De La Hoya.

De La Hoya was there, ceremonial in his presence and also wearing a T-shirt with a message that at least hinted at some controversy.

Eat More Meat, the shirt said.

Clearly, it was a reference to his furnace blast full of insults at Canelo during a news conference Wednesday at the MGM Grand. That’s when De La Hoya reminded Canelo of his positive test for Clenbuterol, a steroid found in Mexican beef, in March 2018.

Canelo responded angrily. He got out of his chair and walked toward De La Hoya with some evident menace in every step. He alleged that De La Hoya wasn’t paying his fighters what they were promised.

The next day, their attorneys exchanged letters. They weren’t menacing. The words belonged on a legal brief instead of a T-shirt. Still, they were just another sign of how wide and deep the divide is between Canelo and De La Hoya, his former promoter.

Lost amid it all: Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs), the 27-year-old challenger from Tijuana who will be fighting at 168 pounds for only the second time.

The Canelo-De La Hoya rancor and Ryan Garcia’s PED controversy has almost turned him into a footnote.

But this footnote promises to upset Canelo, the proud face of Mexican boxing for years.

“Tomorrow, I will be the new world champion,’’ Munguia said after he appeared to nod at Canelo in a gesture of respect at the end of their ritual face-off for the cameras.

By then, the weigh-in was over. But Ryan Garcia was just getting started. He showed up in the crowd of about 3,000 and immediately attracted a crowd of reporters. That’s when he continued to say that his positive test for Ostarine, an anabolic derivative, before his upset of Devin Haney on April 20, was fraudulent.

“I don’t cheat, bro, this is God given,” Garcia said. “Of course, I’ll take (the ‘B’ sample). But who’s to say if they tainted the ‘A’ sample that they won’t taint the ‘B’ sample?

“At the end of the day, this is an inside job.”

At the end of the day, Ryan Garcia has turned the Canelo-Munguia promotion into his own bully pulpit.

He won’t answer an opening bell Saturday. But it’s safe to say he’ll continue to dominate the media.

Jesus Ramos, back after his first loss

Jesus Ramos (20-1, 16 KOs), a promising junior-middleweight from Casa Grande AZ, will fight on the untelevised portion of the card.

He faces Venezuelan Johan Gonzalez (34-2, 33 KOS). The bout is Ramos’ first since his lone loss to Erickson Lubin in a controversial decision in September.

“I learned from my first defeat,’’ Ramos said. “I learned a lot. It was really hard. But I’m hungrier than ever now.’’

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Ryan Garcia, self-proclaimed royalty, has been KingRy. Then, KingFly

These days, call him KingChaos.

The chaos, a kingdom seemingly without borders, continued to spread this week amid an explosive report Wednesday that he tested positive for a banned performance-enhancer days before his stunning upset of Devin Haney.

The news, first reported by longtime boxing journalist Dan Rafael, broke within hours after the King’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya got into a profane, edgy exchange with Canelo Alvarez at a newser just a few days before Canelo’s super-middleweight fight against fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

But the De La Hoya-Canelo confrontation was quickly pushed aside, if not exactly forgotten, by Garcia, who increasingly dominates and disrupts all the oversees.

About twelve hours after the PED story hit amid the usual collection of allegations, denials, conspiracy theories and ominous questions, there was another news conference at the MGM Grand, this time for the Canelo-Munguia undercard. 

The room was full. The undercard fighters were on stage, front and center. But the talk was all about the King’s latest episode.

For now, we only know that, according to a letter from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), Garcia tested positive for Ostarine, an anabolic derivative twice in the days before opening bell against Haney on April 20 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

A second banned substance, 19-norandrosterone, was also reported, but still not proven, according to reports. Further tests are planned.

In other words, this story is just developing.

De La Hoya’s company, Golden Boy Promotions, issued a statement:

“Ryan has put out multiple statements denying knowingly using any banned substances—and we believe him. We are working with his team to determine how this finding came to be and will address this further once we conclude that process.”

The New York State Athletic Commission (NYAC) also said it will investigate.

‘The Commission is in communication with VADA and is reviewing the matter,’’ it said in a statement.

Even Canelo — composed instead of angry — peached patience.

“Let’s wait,’’ he said Thursday in an interview along radio row.

Canelo has been there, of course. The Nevada Athletic Commission suspended him for six months in 2018 after he tested positive for clenbuterol, a steroid found in contaminated Mexican beef.

He was branded a cheater then. De La Hoya reminded him of that Wednesday, saying he tested positive twice.

That was wild, but not as wild as the ongoing controversy surrounding Garcia, who said he never cheated and that the story was a fabrication.

“Fake news,’’ Garcia posted, using a well-worn term so often heard from a former President and presumptive nominee for another term, running this time – pundits say – as a wannabe King.

Garcia’s posts were met with some inevitable skepticism by a social media population that only Gallup can count. Garcia followers had watched him produce countless bizarre posts over the weeks since the Haney fight was announced in late February.

To wit: There’s Garcia, apparently posing with a joint. There’s Garcia, posing with an empty bottle of alcohol.

Even on the day before overwhelming Haney, Garcia stepped on the scale for a mock weigh-in after coming in 3.2 pounds above the mandatory 140 at the real weigh-in.

On the scale, he grasped what looked to be a beer bottle. Maybe, it was Pale Ale. Maybe, air. Maybe, apple juice. Whatever was in that bottle, he chugged.

It’s no wonder there’s skepticism on social media. His followers would have been surprised if he had not tested positive for something.

For now, however, only the process can play out. If it proves the PED abuse, then it’s time for the next step. The UK Anti-Doping Agency suspended Amir Kahn for two years after he tested positive for Ostarine after a loss to Kell Brook in March 2018. Khan never fought again.

It’s just one precedent. But, for now, let’s heed Canelo’s wisdom.

Let’s wait.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Ryan Garcia, the actor, chugged like it was last call at a crowded bar before stepping onto a scale at a weigh-in before his dramatic upset of Devin Haney.

It’s not clear what was in the brown bottle. Could have been beer. Could have been air. Garcia later said it was apple juice

By now, of course, we know that Garcia says a lot of things. To wit: He also said he drank, fully fermented and aged, throughout training camp. Only Haney suffered the hangover.

It doesn’t matter. The bottle was a prop. So was the scale.

The weigh-in was a show.

A sham, too.

It was one of those so-called “ceremonial” weigh-ins. It’s not clear how they became ceremonial.

Nothing about a weigh-in resembles a graduation, or a wedding, or an anniversary. Those are holidays, celebrations. But there’s nothing to celebrate in scripted weigh-ins, staged hours after the real thing happens behind closed doors on the morning the day before opening bell the following night.

Increasingly, however, the staged weigh-in is becoming part of the process before major fights.

Early on, it looked as if it was a way for commissions to do their work away from crowds and chaos interfering with regulatory procedure.

The staged version later in the afternoon, open to the public, retained the theatrics, including the face-to-face stare down for the cameras. That sells tickets and pay-per-view. It keeps the promoters, networks and book keepers happy.

More and more, however, the process has been manipulated in ways that rob fans of transparency.

When the morning weigh-ins were first introduced a couple of years ago, media were notified and often able to witness them.

But, now, they’re closed and seldom announced, leaving reporters to get the weights through sources who were there.

Meanwhile, many fans are just discovering that there’s nothing real about what they’re seeing in the afternoon.

There was some surprise among many that the live-streamed weigh-in for Garcia-Haney was fake, perhaps as phony as whatever was in that bottle Garcia brought to the stage.

It was announced that Garcia was 3.2 pounds heavier than the 140 mandatory. In fact, we only know that he was 3.2 too heavy five-to-six hours earlier.

No telling how much heavier he was at the staged weigh-in. Then, he was announced to be at 143.2, give or take a bottle. But that was just part of the show.

It’s fair to say he already had begun to put on pounds. He blew off making weight intentionally. That was part of the game plan.

The World Boxing Council belt didn’t matter. Only the victory did, which might have been worth $50 million for him.

That’s the number Garcia posted on social media this week. He also posted $35 million for Haney. He didn’t provide any proof, 180 or otherwise.

Haney, too, blew up in weight. He always has. But the weight – 10, 15 maybe 20 additional pounds — has always been speculation.

Weight at opening bell for Garcia and Haney for last Saturday’s fight in New York are closely-held secrets and will continue to be.

On any scale, however, it’s dangerous business. A radical overnight loss and gain in weight isn’t exactly a health plan.

Yet, it’s a tactic, a way to augment power, and a rehydrated Garcia had plenty of that in his three-knockdown scorecard victory.

Rehydration is more than a contract clause. Increasingly, It’s a weapon for any fighter in divisions other than heavyweight. A rehydrated fighter is a better fighter. That’s a theory, subject to time and physical differences.  But by how much? Plug in your guesstimate here.

Yet, it clearly worked for Garcia, and it has increasingly become an ominous practice, one that erodes the credibility of victories and creates the potential for dangerous mismatches.

The ceremonial weigh-in, five to six hours after the real one, has only provided more time to rehydrate. It’s an enabler.

From this corner, there’s only one real solution: Go back to weigh-ins on the day of the fight.

That one, however, is not realistic, at least not now. There have been too many years of weigh-ins with all of the trash talk, threats and face-to-face drama. They are a well-rehearsed ritual, as fundamental to the scarred business as a cheap shot.

Now, however, fighters — always in search of an edge — have a few more hours to gain one. Or several.

But there is a way to limit that edge. Eliminate the ceremonial, which Ryan Garcia celebrated with a powerful shot of mockery.

By Mario Ortega Jr.-

OROVILLE, CALIFORNIA – Salvador Briceño takes on comebacking Jonathan Garcia in a six-round welterweight bout to headline the return of professional boxing to the Gold Country Casino Resort on Friday night. The match-up of offensive-minded veterans will cap a six-bout card. Fighters weighed-in Thursday afternoon at the host venue. 

Briceño (18-7-1, 11 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and representing the Jose Morales Boxing Academy in Roseville, California is fresh off an eight-round unanimous decision over veteran Cameron Krael on March 16th and with a win Friday, hopes to keep a busy pace the rest of the year. 

“The plan Jose and I have is to win five or six more fights and then find the bigger fights,” Briceño explained. “We are taking it slow, making the right decisions for my career.”

Garcia (20-2, 16 KOs) of Watsonville, California will look to shake-off the second longest inactive period of his pro career with a tough assignment in Briceño. Garcia, looking to derail his opponent’s plans, went 5-1 entirely in Mexico after ending his last layoff of over four years in 2019. 

Garcia was known as a fan-friendly fighter during his rise in the Southern California boxing scene early in his career. Briceño is not often outworked in the ring, so the bout with Garcia figures to be entertaining as long as it lasts. Both fighters came in at 144-pounds on Thursday afternoon. 

In a lightweight fight that promises action, Christian Avalos (1-1-2) of Carson City, Nevada will take on Pedro Angel Cruz (3-4, 2 KOs) of San Jose, California over a scheduled six rounds. 

Avalos and Cruz are no stranger to fans that attended last May’s event at the Gold Country Casino Resort. On that night, Avalos engaged in a four-round war with Mark Salgado that ended in a draw. On that same May card, Cruz pounded out a four-round unanimous decision over tough David Reyes.

Avalos and Cruz were the last fighters to weigh-in Thursday. Avalos weighed-in one-half pound under the contracted weight at 134.5. Cruz, having attempted to sweat down to the contracted 135-pounds, came up short and scaled 136. The extra pound will cost Cruz, but the fight is on. 

Ebert Diaz (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Richmond, California will return to the Gold Country Casino Resort to take on Clayton Hibbert (0-2) of Los Angeles, California in a four-round light welterweight bout. Diaz and Hibbert both made 142-pounds. 

In a middleweight rematch, Marco Ortiz (0-2) of Red Bluff, California gets a second crack Matthew Monroe (1-2) of Sacramento, California. Monroe scored a four-round decision over Ortiz last November. Monroe made 165-pounds, while Ortiz scaled 168.5. When they met the first time, Monroe, at 176-pounds, was four pounds heavier than Ortiz.

Two fighters with mixed martial arts backgrounds will throw hands in a four-round welterweight bout when Scott Hayward of Redding, California makes his professional boxing debut against Miguel Soto-Garcia (0-2) of Fresno, California by way of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. Soto-Garcia came in heavy at 148.5 to Hayward’s 145.5-pounds. 

Maribel Guerrero (0-1) of Gilroy will take on Iris Contreras (3-0) of Richmond in a four-round bantamweight bout. Guerrero, cousin of Robert Guerrero and trained by her uncle Ruben Guerrero Sr., weighed-in at 117-pounds. Contreras, trained by her father Filemon Contreras, scaled 116.5-pounds. 

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Welterweights, 6 rounds

Briceño 144

Garcia 144

Lightweights, 6 Rounds

Avalos 134.5

Cruz 136

Super middleweights, 4 Rounds

Monroe 165

Ortiz 168.5

Light welterweights, 4 Rounds

Diaz 142

Hibbert 142

Welterweights, 4 Rounds

Hayward 145.5

Soto-Garcia 148.5

Bantamweights, 4 Rounds

Guerrero 117

Contreras 116.5

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

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

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

Veteran junior welterweight Salvador Briceño fights for the second consecutive calendar month when he takes on Jonathan Garcia this Friday night at the Gold Country Casino Resort in Oroville, California in a six-round bout at 147-pounds. The active schedule is all part of the plan Briceño and team have to get the California transplant ready for bigger fights in the near future. 

Briceño (18-7-1, 11 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and fighting out of the Jose Morales Boxing Academy in Roseville, California comes into Friday night fresh off of an eight-round unanimous decision over 56-fight workhorse Cameron Krael just six weeks ago. 

The March bout against Krael marked Briceño’s second working with Morales as his trainer. The first was a draw against Southern California-based Louie Lopez in November. 

“The last two fights weren’t easy either,” explains Morales. “We went to L.A. and went to his opponent’s hometown as the B-side and got a draw. It was really a win, but they weren’t going to give us that. Same thing last fight, we fought a tough, veteran guy with over 50 fights and won unanimously.”

Briceño found his way to his new team, led by Jose Morales, after attempting to navigate the difficult pro boxing landscape largely on his own to mixed results.  

“I originally came from Mexico to pursue fighting in the States,” recalls Briceño. “When I originally moved here, I was training at a gym in Woodland, and I came to [the Jose Morales Boxing Academy in Roseville] to spar Ruben Torres. I met Jose then and eventually decided to switch gyms and work with Jose instead.”

Prior to hooking up with Morales, Briceño had come up short in pandemic era bouts against well regarded prospect Lindolfo Delgado and contender Josue Vargas. Despite traveling to Vegas alone, without a corner, Briceño acquitted himself well enough to last the distance against both of his favored opponents.  

“The plan is to have rematches with them,” says Briceño. “When I was fighting them, my team did not go with me to the fights and I also took those fights on very short notice. It was difficult because my team wasn’t there in my corner.”

After the Delgado fight, Briceño stepped away for two years, which led him to seek fights seven pounds north at welterweight for the time being. That trend continues Friday when he takes on Garcia. 

“I’ve only had two fights at welterweight, but I’ve felt strong,” explains Briceño. “The plan is to go [back down] to 140-pounds. I had taken a year off from fighting and had gained weight, so I am fighting at welterweight for now.”

Garcia (20-2, 16 KOs) of Watsonville, California finds himself in a position similar to where Briceño was before returning to the ring last November. Garcia, with a new team behind him, will be ending a two-and-a-half year layoff Friday. 

“We look forward to the challenge,” exclaims Morales. “He has a good record and he’s coming off of a layoff, so I know he is probably hungry and determined to make a statement. We are excited for the challenge and the opportunity to showcase our skills against a tough opponent and put on a good show for everybody.”

In preparation for Friday’s contest Briceño has logged rounds with Sacramento’s rising contender Cain Sandoval, highly-touted Stockton prospect Sachery Sam and rugged veteran Jose Gomez, among others. 

“He’s definitely in shape and ready to go,” reports Gomez. “We sparred eight strong rounds. He just keeps coming and holds a good pop to his punches when he sits down on them. Overall he’s a great friend and very humble guy.”

Should everything go according to plan in Oroville, Briceño will return to the ring in July in Stockton, with his friend and sparring partner Jose Gomez a possible option for the bout. 

“The goal is to try to keep him as busy as possible against good opponents and get traction going into the next year when we will start to look for bigger opportunities,” explains Morales. “He’s got the skill, he’s got the work ethic and now he’s got the team behind him. He’s creating a fanbase and I think he’s trending in the right direction.”

“I feel good, better than ever before,” proclaims Briceño. “I am ready to fight. I am confident in the work I have put in. My fans who come out are going to see a good fight. We are going to fight in the front, and with my experience, we are hoping to put on a good show and win by a knockout. Don’t miss out on these fights.” 

Tickets for Friday’s event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions and Fisticuffs Productions, are available online at uppercutpro.com 

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

It was a moment that summed up a fight that is interesting, even intriguing for reasons still hard to read.

Ryan Garcia threw away a book.

It was a response to a mocking gesture, a paper-back from Bill Haney.

The title: Psychology For Dummies.

Garcia flung it into an audience full of dummies at the final news conference for the contentious Devin Haney-Garcia fight Saturday (DAZN, 5 pm PT/8 pm ET) at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Garcia, who was wearing what looked to be a flak jacket throughout the live-streamed newser, didn’t smile. It’s safe to say he didn’t get the joke.

There haven’t been a whole lot of laughs throughout the build-up before the bout for Haney’s junior-welterweight title.

Garcia has been throwing away a lot of proverbial books in an erratic path to opening bell. The book on trash-talk-at-its-best is to do it with a wink and a clever smile.

Bill Haney, Devin’s father and trainer, might have had that in mind when he arrived at the podium and delivered the sly punch-line, perhaps as a way to take off some of the anger on the fight’s sharpening edge

But it looked as if Garcia didn’t get the message. He still looked angry, a fighter fighting himself with a look he’s had throughout a bizarre succession of taunts, threats and temper tantrums posted on social media.

There’s no shortage of opinions about what he’s doing. From crazy to calculated, everybody has one, including this corner. We’re all dummies. Maybe, that’s why Garcia tossed that book into the crowd. Only he knows.

“Something is wrong with this m-effer,’’ Haney said Thursday at the end of the newser, which did not include the traditional face-to-face ritual for the cameras.

But Haney, whose eyes were hidden by sunglasses throughout, couldn’t say exactly what was wrong. Maybe, his dad should have given his son a copy of that book, too.

The prevailing diagnosis is that Garcia’s wild, often dark rants are in fact a tactic – his way of confusing and angering Haney so much that he’ll make mistakes –leave himself open for a big left hand — in a foolish pursuit of an early stoppage.

By when has Haney ever fought that way? At 25, he’s already known as cerebral. The book on Haney is that he’s guided by poise and discipline.

There was a sign, perhaps, that Garcia was getting to him earlier this week when both faced off for the media at the top of the Empire State Building. Haney appeared to reach for Garcia’s throat. Then, he shoved him.

But Haney did the same thing against the accomplished Vasiliy Lomachenko at the weigh-in before their fight last May in Las Vegas. He nearly shoved Lomachenko off the stage.

The next night, Haney’s poise prevailed in scoring a unanimous decision over the skilled Ukrainian. The scorecards were debatable. But Haney’s discipline was not.

Against Garcia, Haney faces a different dynamic. His hands are fast. The power in his left is lethal. He’s explosive. But what happens if Haney’s disciplined defense eludes his early assaults? What does Garcia do next? More anger won’t get it done.

Garcia’s posts have been condemned and countered, evaluated and analyzed. You see the anger, but no patience.

Whatever the conclusions, it’s beginning to look as if Garcia is performing for his social media universe, a place never known for patience or accountability.

Only Gallup can count the number of Garcia followers. They’re hard to ignore, especially for any promoter. But they’re even harder to control. Garcia used to run them, but increasingly it looks as if things have switched. They’re running him, demanding more and more, all in the blink of virtual time.

“Social media and reality are two different things,’’ Garcia promoter Oscar De La Hoya said in a DAZN interview before Garcia and Haney arrived for Thursday’s newser.

They are, or at least they should be.

But the reality is also this: Without some newfound patience in Garcia, Haney will teach him that social media is not a skill set.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s hard to keep track of Ryan Garcia. A fighter, often called one-dimensional within the ropes, is a personality with multiple dimensions outside of them.

From crazy to common sense, there’s no end to Garcia’s many roles. He’s got more of them than he’s had trainers.

One day, funny.

One day, frightening.

Maybe it’s schtick. Maybe, it’s strategy. Maybe, it’s social media.

In a sport built on feints, however, it could just be boxing’s familiar pre-fight plot — a mix of taunts, trash talk and threats.

Psychology-followed-by-a-punch has always been the game’s best combo.

If Garcia can distract Devin Haney with shifting rhetoric before opening bell for their compelling junior-welterweight fight on April 20, maybe he can land that big left hand after it begins.

The latest version of Garcia, perhaps at his mercurial best, showed up Tuesday at a media workout in Dallas, looking and sounding a lot different than the weary and distracted Garcia who appeared at a disturbing news conference in Los Angeles in late February.

Then, Garcia arrived at the newser on a horse. After it was over, there were bets that the horse had a better chance at making it to the ring at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center than Garcia did.

For the next several days, there were dark social-media posts that suggested Garcia needed a clinical psychologist more than a ringside physician.

In one, he’s smoking a joint. In another, he finishes off a bottle of wine, talks about the devil and angrily tells his population of followers that he’s only doing what they do.

Then, it sounded as though the fight within himself was a lot more dangerous than a fight with Haney ever could be.

But on Tuesday we saw a composed, focused Garcia, seemingly ready to fight. He ended opening remarks in a DAZN interview with a pointed message for the favored Haney and his father/trainer, Bill Haney.

“You thought I wasn’t going to make it to the fight,’’ he said. “I bet that you hoped I got pulled out. I bet that you hoped it was some kind of mental-health issue.

“But guess what? I’m right here, I’m right here. I’m going to see you in about a week-and-a-half, and I’m going to knock you the eff out in front of the world.’’

Just another line from an accomplished actor? Or a fighter poised to deliver on a promise in what would be a defining confirmation of evident boxing potential?

Against Haney, Garcia can answer both.

Be both, actor and fighter.

NOTES

-RIP, Gary Shaw: Boxing lost one of its true characters, former regulator and promoter Gary Shaw. He died at 79. He promoted Timothy Bradley, Shane Mosley, Winky Wright and Diego Corrales.

He put together the 2005 classic between Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, perhaps the best bout in boxing’s modern era.

“I was sad to learn today about the passing of Gary Shaw,’’ Hall of Fame promoter Don King said through a publicist. “Gary’s contributions to the world of boxing were immense, and his passion for the sport was truly inspiring.

“He will be remembered not only for his expertise as a promoter but also for his dedication to the athletes he represented.

“Gary was always a stand-up guy who kept his word, and his spirit will live on. I loved him and we are going to miss him. My thoughts and condolences go out to his family.”

-Oscar Valdez, title favorite: Odds are that Oscar Valdez Jr. will have another belt before spring turns into summer.

The odds are about 5-1, the betting number attached to Emanuel Navarrete’s chances at beating Denys Berinchyk for a vacant World Boxing Organization lightweight title on May 18 in San Diego.

Navarrete, who is pursuing a fourth division title, is expected to relinquish the WBO’s junior-lightweight belt if he wins. Then, the acronym is expected to make Valdez its 130-pound champ. Valdez is coming off an impressive stoppage of Aussie Liam Wilson for an interim 130-pound title March 29 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Finally, David Benavidez is poised to take his first real step away from Canelo Alvarez in a move to re-define himself on his own terms with a light-heavyweight debut against Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

There’s yet to be a formal announcement, but Benavidez said Wednesday on a Fresh and Fit podcast that he expects to face Gvozdyk on June 22 instead of June 15, possibly in Houston at the Toyota Center.

The bout, he said, is expected to be on a PBC/Amazon Prime card featuring Gervonta Davis’ in his first fight in more than a year against Frank Martin.

Benavidez, a Phoenix-born fighter currently training in Miami, hasn’t exactly given up on the Canelo possibility.

But Canelo’s decision to fight Jaime Munguia on May 4 in Las Vegas and subsequent comments about a Benavidez fight, possibly in September, have left him without many options.

“We’re still trying to look for that Canelo fight,’’ said Benavidez, who at 27 will move up and out of the super-middleweight division in June.

But, he also said, “I don’t think that Canelo fight is gonna happen, so I’ve got to move on.’’

Canelo sent him that message a couple of weeks ago when he said he would only fight Benavidez for a prohibitive purse – “$150 million to $200 million.’’

That sounds as if it was just another way for Canelo to say it’s just not going to happen.

Initially, however, Canelo’s price tag fueled speculation that the Saudis would be interested. But apparently Canelo’s demands were even too rich for them.

Instead, Saudi Prince Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the oil-rich country’s General Entertainment Authority, said he’d be interested in the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol winner for the undisputed 175-pound title against Benavidez, if Benavidez beats Gvozdyk. Beterbiev-Bivol is set for June 1 in Riyadh.

Benavidez, who first indicated he was ready to move beyond Canelo last year, is still frustrated with Mexico’s pay-per-view star.

In deciding to fight Munguia in May, Canelo called Munguia “respectful’’ – a shot at Benavidez, who is not.

Over the last couple of years, Canelo has been angered by trash talk from Benavidez and his father/trainer Jose Benavidez Sr.

“Canelo,” Benavidez said, “is with this bull—-, ‘He needs to be respectful.’ 

“I’m not going to bow my knee to nobody, because I’ve earned my shot for the belts.’’

Benavidez is the World Boxing Council’s mandatory challenger to Canelo, the undisputed 168-pound champion. But the WBC has done nothing to enforce that so-called mandatory.

Instead, the WBC took the unusual step of announcing plans for Benavidez-Gvozdyk, a light-heavyweight eliminator for a fight with the Beterbiev-Bivol winner.

Usually, fights are planned and announced by the promoter, in this case PBC (Premier Boxing Champions). 

It was as if the WBC was offering Benavidez an alternative in an attempt to sidestep any controversy that would surround a threat to strip Canelo of the belt if he did not agree to face the unbeaten fighter from Phoenix.

“I try not to say too much,” Benavidez said, “because if I say he’s scared, people say I’m a hater. ‘What have you proved?’

“I’m the No. 1 contender. I don’t need to prove s—. I have beat the people they have told me to beat so I can fight for the title.

“I’ve done that over and over again. I’ve been his mandatory challenger for three years. That has never happened. Canelo is the money man right now.’’

Money equals power, and Canelo has plenty of both.

He’s already on record as saying he makes his own decisions.

“I will do what I want to do,’’ he told LA Times-Espanol in a video interview Thursday — a comment that will force Benavidez to do what he has to.

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

Middleweight prospect Victor Guerrero will meet his toughest test to date in veteran spoiler Moris Rodriguez as Upper Cut Promotions and Fisticuffs Productions bring live professional boxing back to the Gold Country Casino Resort in Oroville, California on Friday, April 26th. The six-round main event will cap an exciting night of action featuring some highly competitive match-ups. 

Guerrero (7-0, 5 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Gilroy, California made his U.S. debut with a thrilling four-round unanimous decision over a determined Matthew Monroe in Sacramento, California in January. Representing the next generation of the fighting Guerrero family, Victor will meet the most experienced opponent of his young pro career as he moves up to the six-round scheduled distance for the first time. 

“I am just very thankful to be part of a great card with great fights, as well as being the main event,” says Guerrero. “I am truly blessed with the opportunity to perform in front of my friends and family. Being my first six-rounder, it’s driven me to put in that extra work and pushed me to push myself to that next level in training. I can’t wait for April 26 to show everyone what’s coming.” 

Rodriguez (8-16-2, 5 KOs) of Sacramento has been matched incredibly tough throughout his nearly fifteen-year professional career. Despite taking tough fights, sometimes on very short notice, Rodriguez has the scalps of several previously undefeated or well-regarded prospects on his mantle. Now, taking on one of the biggest opponents in his career, Rodriguez will aim to spring another upset. 

In a pick ‘em fight between two hard-nosed veterans, Salvador Briseño will take on Jonathan Garcia in a six-round welterweight clash.

Briseño (18-7-1, 11 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and representing the Jose Morales Boxing Academy in Roseville, California is fresh off an eight-round unanimous decision over veteran Cameron Krael on March 16th. 

Garcia (20-2, 16 KOs) of Watsonville, California will look to shake-off the second longest inactive period of his pro career with a tough assignment in Briseño. Garcia, once one rising prospects of the California scene, went 5-1 entirely in Mexico after ending his last layoff of over four years in 2019.

In a lightweight battle that promises action, Christian Avalos (1-1-2) of Carson City, Nevada will take on Pedro Angel Cruz (3-4, 2 KOs) of San Jose, California over a scheduled six rounds. 

Avalos broke through into the win column in his last bout after two successive wars with another San Jose-based fighter in Mark Salgado. The first Avalos-Salgado war took place at Gold Country Casino Resort last May. On that same May card, Cruz pounded out a four-round unanimous decision over tough David Reyes.

Ebert Diaz (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Richmond, California will return to the Gold Country Casino Resort to take on Clayton Hibbert (0-2) of Los Angeles, California in a four-round light welterweight bout. 

In a middleweight rematch, Marco Ortiz (0-2) of Red Bluff, California will attempt to avenge a hotly contested four-round split decision he suffered at the hands of Matthew Monroe (1-2) of Sacramento, California last November.

Two fighters with mixed martial arts backgrounds will throw hands in a four-round welterweight bout when Scott Hayward of Redding, California makes his professional boxing debut against Miguel Soto-Garcia (0-2) of Fresno, California by way of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. 

Maribel Guerrero (0-1) of Gilroy will take on Iris Contreras (3-0) of Richmond in a four-round super flyweight bout. Guerrero, cousin of Robert Guerrero and trained by her uncle Ruben Guerrero Sr., turned pro in March. Contreras, trained by her father Filemon Contreras, holds a win over top ranked Shurretta Metcalf. 

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

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

GLENDALE, Ariz. –Never count out Oscar Valdez Jr.

That’s been the story of his career, one that has included broken jaws and busted eyes.

But that will is still there, still unbroken

Add another chapter to the Valdez edition, an ongoing example of resilience.

If somebody was to ever write a song about Valdez, the lyric would be Never Quit.

It was there all over again Friday night with a seventh-round stoppage of Australian Liam Wilson in a victory at Desert Diamond Arena that puts Valdez at the brink of re-claiming a junior-lightweight world title.

“People say you’re 30-something, they say this, they say that,’’ said Valdez, who won an interim 130-pound title and may be elevated to the World Boxing Organization’s real champion if Emanuel Navarrete wins a lightweight title in May and vacates the junior-lightweight version. “But I always come back. I always want to come back.

“In life you lose. It happens. But you have an obligation to come back.’’

This time, he did just months after a punishing loss to Navarrete last summer, also at Desert Diamond. That loss resurrected the familiar doubts about Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs).

The end is near they said, especially against Wilson, who knocked down Navarrete last summer. Arguably, Wilson was of robbed of a victory, a huge upset, on that controversial night,

But the Wilson we saw against Navarrete may have been a mirage. Now, you can wonder whether Navarrete took the then unknown Aussie seriously.

But Valdez did. Very much so.

Seconds after opening bell, the chants started, from a Desert Diamond Arena crowd of 7,102, which was populated by much of Nogales, a Mexican town south of Tucson where Valdez grew up.

Oscar, Oscar.

But the taller Wilson silenced them, at least for a few minutes. Wilson came out aggressively, trying to employ his advantage in height and reach with a long jab.

Initially, it worked. But Valdez quickly adjusted, almost as if he knew what was coming.

In the late seconds of the opening round, he slowed down Wilson with a couple of wicked body shots.

A more tentative Wilson came out for the second round. Valdez’ bodywork was an effective warning. Wilson’s forward progress stalled.

Valdez went on the attack, stepping inside and landing blows that appeared to bloody Wilson’s nose.

There was blood at his nostrils. In the third, however, there was also more aggression in the Aussie’s tactics.

Suddenly, he was willing to step inside and trade with Valdez. That, too left a mark, this time on Valdez. Suddenly there was swelling beneath his right eye.

But Wilson’s move inside proved to be his biggest mistake. That’s where Valdez is at his best. He brawls. He battles. The inside is his turf. By the fifth round, it was clear he had declared ownership of the bloody real estate.

In the seventh, he stunned a tiring Wilson with a big left hand. That was the beginning of the end.

“He caught me,’’ said Wilson (13-3, 7 KOs), who before opening bell vowed that he would knock out Valdez. Valdez saw Wilson stagger. Then, he capitalized, swarming him with punches. Wilson leaned on the ropes, looking defenseless.

Referee Mark Nelson had seen enough. He ended the fight at 2:48 of the with a stoppage that proved be a new beginning, another one, for Oscar Valdez Jr.

History; Made!

The build up to this fight was nothing short of fire works, as it should be. This one is for all the minimum weight belts (105llbs) and the chance to become the first ever Undisputed Women’s minimum weight champion. Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada 25-0(9KOs) out of East Los Angles, CA took on Yokasta Valle 30-2(9KOs) fighting out of San Jose, Costa Rica. Estrada having the WBC, WBA and Ring belts, and Valle with the WBO and IBF titles. 

In a surprise to most in the audience, Estrada was escorted to the ring by the phoenix and boxing legend Micheal Carbajal. Who is the fore father of boxing in Arizona with the linage of his talents some would say this is why boxing is here tonight. Another reason one would have to think is it mind games to have  the AZ fans on her side giving her one advantage.

Both fighters came in at a ready 104.2 lbs and ready to go at it. With the first round going a little less than exciting then the lead up. Valle came out of the round with a cut over her right eye from a accidental head butt. Estrada also did some work with landing some over hand rights to Valles head

Perhaps tasting blood estrada came out with more intensity looking to capitalize on the cut. Maybe a little too aggressive Estrada took some clean shots 

The third was the most exciting round of the night it is too bad that the rounds only last 2 minutes. Each fighter having their moments landing significant punches in a good ole fashion brawl. Picking up where they left off in the forth it was all action, estrada looking like the better boxer jabbing and moving and Valle the more of the power puncher. 

In the fifth round Valle once again proved to be the stronger fighter taking over as she stunned estrada with a right, left combo to the head. Valle did not let off the gas as she pressed estrada till the end of the round. After the mid way point of the fight estrada was still trying to out box her opponent but Valle had different plans landing some crowd pleasing punches. With a lot of fight in her, estrada landed a strong left hook of her own. 

The next following round were just unbelievable each fighter going back and forth with their best game plan Estrada with her boxing skill going to the body most often and Valle using her power against her. So far the crowd has been on their feet in the sold out Desert Diamond Arena. 

Round 9 seniesa came out with a little bull fighting antics, baiting Valle to come and fight. As the old saying goes mess with the bull, get the horns. Valle took her up on that and went after estrada, both going at until estrada went back to boxing. 

The 10^th and final round was nothing short of fireworks, from beginning to the end both leaving it all out in the ring. As the blood of Valle started to trickle down her face again but did not play a role in the fight, As it went to the score cards. With all 3 judges scoring it the same 97-93 in favor of “Super Bad” Seniesa Estrada becoming the first Undisputed Minimum Weight champion. 

This will be one the best women’s fights not only for the significance but the action inside the ring. They gave the fans a fight possible the fight of the night. —-DAVID GALAVIZ

Muratalla wins decision over Ndongeni in awkward fight

Skillset versus puzzle.

Raymond Muratalla, an unbeaten lightweight trained by Robert Garcia, had all the skill, enough of it to win a unanimous decision over South African Xolisani Ndongeni on the Valdez-Wilson car at Desert Diamond.

But Muratalla (20-0, 16 KOs) didn have an answer for Ndongeni’s mix of awkward athleticism and resilient energy. Muratalla just couldn’t finish him. He tried repeatedly, with head-rocking shots throughout the late rounds of a 10-rounder. 

But Ndongeni (31-5, 18 KOs)  answered each challenge with a wild hook, foot speed and — in the end — gestures that said he would not fall. Repeatedly, he shook his head at Muratalla. He lost, 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93. But, in the end, he survived.  

Delgado scores seventh-round KO

Lindolfo Delgado turned boos into cheers.

Delgado (20-0, 15 KOs), booed loudly for a dull performance in his last visit to Desert Diamond Arena about a year ago, brought the  crowd to its feet with a two-knockdown stoppage of fellow Mexican Carlos Sanchez (25-3, 19 KOs) on the Valdez-Wilson card.

In the fifth, Delgado knocked down Sanchez, his former teammate on the Mexican National Team, with a left-right combo. In the seventh, the former Mexican Olympian finished the job with a short hook to the chin that put Sanchez onto the canvas — flat on his face — for a knockout at 48 seconds of the seventh.

Richard Torrez goes to 9-0, all by KO

 Richard Torrez Jr. a fan-friendly heavyweight, says he doesn’t pursue knockouts.

Don’t tell that to his opponents.

There have been nine. Torrez (9-0, 9 KOs) stopped all of them. The latest was Don Haynesworth (18-9-1, 16 KOs), a North Carolina heavyweight who was finished within three minutes on an ESPN card featuring Oscar Valdez Jr. and Liam Wilson at Desert Diamond Arena. 

Torrez (9-0, 9 KOs), a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, unleashed more than 20 successive punches at a whirlwind rate. It looked as if most of them landed. At 2:19 of the first, referee Raul Caiz had seen enough. He ended it, a TKO. 

“I go in there to box,” Torrez said. “If a punch lands, it lands, I landed a body punch and I could kind of hear the air go out of him.” 

Sergio the home town attraction earned a unanimous Decision 

In what was a tall order before the fight having been sandwich between 2 of the top prospects on Top Rank Emiliano Vargas and Olympian Richard Torres. Sergio “Checo” Rodriguez in his return to the Desert Diamond Arena as he took on Sanny Duversome 12-6-2 (1KO) of Avon Park, Florida. Sergio stated earlier in the week he wanted to give the fans that came early a show.

Looking calm as if he has done this before, as he walked to the ring greeting the fans with a smile on his face. From the opening bell the fans made it known who they came to see. In what was mostly a feel out round sergio made the most of what he could get landing some clean shot, more importantly he showcased his head movement and eluding his opponents punches. 

The next 2 rounds were much of the same, however at the end of the 3^rd round Checo landed a few combination while backing Sonny into the ropes and then throwing his combos. He landed the best of the night at that point a upper cut followed by a shot to the body that got the crowd back into the fight. 

In the fourth both fighters came out with more intensity, with Checo winning the exchanges. Landing another uppercut with the left Checo stunned sonny which led to him backing into the ropes and Checos continued punches. Once Sanny got his legs back he than gave Checo some of his one medicine. 

The fifth was Sanny’s best round in what was still not much action. He caught checo with a clean left to the face. As the fight went on the crowd started to get inpatient and started with the boos. The best action came in at the last 10 seconds of the fight with both fighters exchanging till the closing bell. It went to the judges score card with one having it 60-54, and other 2 scoring it 59-55 all for Sergio “Checo” Rodriguez improving his record to 11-0-1 (8Kos). This was a really good challenge for Sergio who proved that he can go the distance and show his ring IQ and not just knocking his opponents out. The future is bright for him and will be exciting.—DAVID GALAVIZ 

Emiliano Vargas wins shutout decision

There was no knockout, but there was a workman-like performance from lightweight prospect Emiliano Vargas, who did a little bit everything in an evolving skill set for a shutout decision over Nelson Hampton in the fourth fight on the Valdez-Wilson card at Desert Diamond.

Vargas (9-0, 7 KOs), wearing silver shoes as bright as his future, displayed agile feet, good head movement and solid combinations, especially to the body, in a thorough victory over six rounds.

Vargas, whose legendary dad — Fernando Vargas — was in his corner, appeared to hurt Hampton (10-9, 6 KOs), of McAllen TX, with a body shot in the sixth. But Hampton held on, taking the bout to the scorecards.

Kid Kansas impressive in Top Rank debut

Alan Garcia didn’t waste any time showing just why Top Rank signed him.

Garcia (12-0, 10 KOs), a lightweight nicknamed Kid Kansas, didn’t kid around, delivering a multi-punch combo that left Gonzalo Fuenzalida (12-4, 3 KOs), of Chile, exhausted and slumped along the ropes, a TKO loser at 1:58 of the second round in the third bout on the Valdez-Wilson card.

Art Barrera scores lethal, second-round KO

It was short.

And lethal

Art Barrera Jr., (4-0, 4 KOs, a Robert Garcia-trained junior-welterweight, unleashed a left hand that traveled a few inches, landed and dropped Keven Soto (5-2, 3 KOs), who was unconscious before he hit the canvas at 2:17 of the the second round in the second bout on the Valdez-Wilson card at Desert Diamond

First Bell: Knee injury forces TKO end to opener

There were empty seats and echoes. But there was nothing else ordinary about First Bell, the opening bout Friday on a card featuring Oscar Valdez versus Liam Wilson at Desert Diamond Arena.

It ended in a limp.

Avner Hernandez Molina had an iron chin, but a glass knee.

Molina (4-4), a stocky junior-welterweight from Mexico City, absorbed repeated right hands from a long, lanky Ricardo Ruvalcaba (11-0-1, 10 KOs), of Ventura, CA. But in the fifth round, he ducked a wide, looping attempt and suddenly came up lame. Immediately, he bent over and grabbed his right knee, his face twisted in  evident pain. He couldn’t continue. At 1:44 of the fifth,  the matinee bout was, Ruvalcaba a TKO winner because of a knee injury.

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX — Not much separated Oscar Valdez and Liam Wilson on the scale.

Not much figures to separate them in the ring either Friday at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale in an intriguing junior-light fight (8 p.m./PT), a potential stepping stone to a world title.

Both came in under the 130-pound mandatory Thursday, Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) at 129.7 and Wilson (13-2, 7 KOs) at 129.6.

“I saw somebody who’s ready for war,’’ Wilson said after the ritual face-to-face stare down in a ballroom and lobby crowded with fans from Valdez’ Mexican hometown in Nogales, south of Tucson.

The weigh-in, at a hotel in downtown Phoenix, also included Seniesa Estrada and Yokasta Valle, who will fight for an undisputed women’s minimum-weight title on the ESPN televised card.

Both came in under the 105-pound mandatory, Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs) at 104.2 and Valle (30-2, 9 KOs) at 104.3.

There were only unblinking stares and no words between Estrada and Valle as they posed for the cameras the day before a women’s fight that has generated plenty of trash talk and lots of attention, including media from Costa Rica, Valle’s home country.

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX — Super Fly.

Super fight.

Juan Franciso Estrada and Jesse “Bam’’ Rodriguez, little guys with a huge chance at making some history, will fight on June 29 at an arena appropriately named Footprint Center, Matchroom Promotions announced Thursday.

It’s not often that fighters in the smallest weight classes ever occupy the center of boxing or have an opportunity to leave an enduring footprint on the sport’s storied past.

But that rare moment, a potential classic, now looms with Estrada and Rodriguez in a fight for the 115-pound title. Some of the acronyms might classify the weight as junior-bantam.

Sorry, nothing junior about.

Only Super, as in Super Fly.

It was a good movie. A great sound track. Thank you, Curtis Mayfield

It could be a better fight, a master mix of technical skill and head-rocking power.

“What a fight this is,” said Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, who first disclosed his plans for Estrada-Rodriguez in late January. https://www.15rounds.com/2024/01/27/eddie-hearn-looking-at-az-for-projected-super-fly-showdown/ “When the best fight the best, excitement is guaranteed, and there’s no doubt that these are two of the best fighters on the planet.

“There are so many plot lines for us all to get our teeth into in the build-up to this incredible clash. But when the bell goes, the talking will stop, and we will be treated to something very special.’’

Hearn, a London promoter, made the announcement about an hour before the weigh-in for the Oscar Valdez-Liam Wilson junior-lightweight fight Friday night at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale.

The weigh-in was staged at a downtown Phoenix hotel, within a couple of blocks of Footprint, the Suns home arena.

Initially, there were reports that the Estrada-Rodriguez would go to Desert Diamond, where Rodriguez beat UK flyweight Sunny Edwards in a violent stoppage last December.

Desert Diamond was booked. But Footprint was available. As it turns out, the move — location, location, location – was like everything else about this bout: It fits.

Footprint is a couple of miles within flyweight Michael Carbajal’s home. He helped open the place early in his Hall of Fame career in 1992. He left his footprint there when it was named after an airline.

Hearn is staging Estrada-Rodriguez in Phoenix, in large part because of a growing city’s traditional enthusiasm for fighters in the lightest weight classes.

“There are a lot of educated fans here,’’ Hearn said in January while in Phoenix for super-middleweight Jaime Munguia’s stoppage of John Ryder.

There are, many fans and fighters say, because of Carbajal, who will have a street in his neighborhood named for him in late April. The Phoenix City Council approved a proposal to do so at a meeting on March 20.

“One-hundred percent, it’s because of Michael,’’ said Rodriguez trainer Robert Garcia, who will work the corners for lightweight Raymond Muratalla against Xolisani Ndongeni and for welterweight Lindolfo Delgado versus Curtis Sanchez on the Valdez-Wilson undercard. “These Phoenix fans grew up with Michael.

“They know who they’re watching, what they’re watching.’’

Rodriguez will be making his third appearance in Phoenix. In December, he beat UK flyweight Sunny Edwards, scoring a violent stoppage at Desert Diamond.  In February 2002, he beat Carlos Cuadras, winning a Super Fly title with a unanimous decision at Footprint.

Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) is from San Antonio, but there was never much of a chance that the fight would happen in his hometown, Garcia said.

“No,’’ said Garcia, who says Rodriguez had agreed to terms a couple of weeks ago. “We just couldn’t ask Estrada to fight Bam’s hometown.’’

Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), the World Boxing Council’s reigning Super Fly champion, is no stranger to the Phoenix area. He scored a majority decision over legendary Roman Gonzalez at Desert Diamond 18 months ago. He hasn’t fought since.

He was born, the son of a Mexican fisherman, in Puerto Penasco, a town that is located at the top of the Gulf of California, about a five-hour drive south of Phoenix – the right place for the right fight.

By David Galaviz –

Phoenix, AZ –

Checo Checo is what you will hear in any arena Sergio “Checo” Rodriguez of Hermosillo, Mexico is fighting. Sergio 10-0-1 (8Kos) is now fighting out of Phoenix, AZ like many who dare to take up boxing it was the trying to be like your big brother. Checo at the age of 8 years old started following his brothers to the local gym down the street from his house in the rough barrio in central Phoenix. Since that day over 20 years ago he has been training and fighting in some form. Drawing inspiration from his favorite fighter Hall of Famer and 9x world champion Juan manual Marquez. 

Checo made his professional debut in the summer of 2021, it just so happened that another future world champion out of phoenix was on the card Elijah Garcia 16-0 (13Kos) who is fighting this Saturday vs Kyrone Davis on the the first PBC Amazon telecast. Receiving a draw for his first fight, but has been as hot as the phoenix heat in the summer knocking his opponents out in 8 of the following 10 fights. Even sending 2 to the hospital one with a broken foot and the other with a severe concussion. 

This Friday he has another huge opportunity to show case his talent on another top rank card as he did in august of last year when he stopped his opponent in the 2^nd round. Catching the eyes of national boxing fans it was a no brainer to have him on another Top Rank card in Arizona, perhaps on many other cards in the future if he can take care of business fight night. This fight has the writings of being the one that breaks Sergio into a top prospect and upcoming star on the Top Rank roster.

Checo is now at the point in his career where he wants to fight as much as he can but would rather face tougher opposition even if that means not stepping in the ring as often. As he stated “I want to challenge myself and be a world champion Ill be able to take care of my family, myself and live a better life”. He is ready to give the fans a show no matter where or who is in front of him. 

You can catch Sergios fight as he takes on Sanny Dubersonne 12-6-2 (9Kos) on the Oscar Valdez Liam Wilson card tomorrow on ESPN plus starting at 3pm at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ. Get there early as you don’t want to miss this fight. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX – Liam Wilson is back in a city for the first step in a mission to reclaim what he says was taken from him more than a year ago.

“Unfinished business,’’ Wilson says of his junior-lightweight fight against Oscar Valdez Friday in an ESPN-televised bout that could put him in position to finally possess the belt he believes he should already have.

Wilson will return to the same arena, Desert Diamond in nearby Glendale, in an attempt to finish some messy business that erupted into controversy on February 3, 2023.

Then, at least, an angry Wilson described the ring as though the canvas should have been surrounded by yellow crime tape instead of traditional ropes.

Emanuel Navarrete, Wilson said, got away with one.

Wilson, an Australian, knocked down the unbeaten Mexican in the fourth round.

Navarrete clearly hurt, spit out his mouthpiece in an apparent attempt to gain some time to recover his consciousness and composure. As it turned out, he got plenty. It took the referee 27 seconds to retrieve the mouthpiece.

Five rounds later, Navarrete went on to win a vacant World Boxing Organization 130-pound title with a ninth-round stoppage

But it wouldn’t have happened without that long count, said Wilson, the only fighter to put Navarrete on the canvas.

“The whole world saw it,’’ Wilson said Wednesday at the final news conference at a hotel ballroom in downtown Phoenix. “I should have been world champion.’’

Wilson did not file a formal complaint with the WBO or the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission. He said Wednesday that he only complained to the promoter. But he also said that the Long Count controversy motivated him to return for a second shot at a world title.

“Arizona, I’m glad to be back,’’ said Wilson, a road warrior from Brisbane who trained in Thailand and Las Vegas.

Another shot at a title, — the same title – was created Tuesday when the WBO ruled that Wilson (13-2, 7 KOs) and Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) are fighting for an interim belt. What happens next depends on Navarrete.

In pursuit of a fourth division belt, he’s fighting for a vacant lightweight title against Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk on May 18 in San Diego

If Navarrete wins, as expected, he could decide to defend the 135-pound title and vacate the 130-pound version.

If that happens, the WBO announced that the Wilson-Valdez winner will be elevated from interim to real. Inevitable controversy would follow. You can already hear the social-media mob screaming “e-mail champion.’’

But, at least, it wouldn’t be a Long Count.

That controversy left some angry echoes and lessons. To wit: In his AZ return, Wilson has no illusions. It’ll be hard to win a decision.

Valdez, a former featherweight and junior lightweight champ, is favored in part because the crowd promises to be with him. He’s popular in Arizona. The two-time Mexican Olympian grew up in Nogales, about a three-hour drive from Phoenix. He has roots in Tucson

Despite his punishing loss by decision to Navarrete at Desert Diamond last August, the crowd cheered him.

“They said thank you for your performance,’’ Valdez said. “At first, I wondered why they were thanking me for a loss.’’

Above all, it was a sure sign that Valdez has some very loyal fans. They’re expected to be there for him Friday

He’ll have the crowd, leaving Wilson with a pretty good idea of what he has.

“No options,’’ he said. “I’ve come here to knock him out.’’ 

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By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX – Kids and fans stood and waited in a line that stretched out into a parking lot and almost onto a busy westside street just for a chance to say hello to Oscar Valdez Jr.

Champ, they called him.

He hasn’t been one for a while.

But a real chance to prove them right all over again opened up Tuesday when the World Boxing Organization ruled that Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) and Liam Wilson (13-2, 7 KOs) will fight for the acronym’s interim junior-lightweight title at Desert Diamond Arena Friday night in nearby Glendale.

“It’s added motivation,’’ Valdez said after signing autographs for a crowd of moms, dads, kids and fans at Old School Boxing, a gym in the industrial section of central Phoenix. “I always train like I’m fighting for a world title.

“But that chance is closer now than I thought it would be.’’

Valdez, a former featherweight and junior-lightweight champion, said the news surprised him.

“I had no idea this might happen,’’ said Valdez, a popular fighter in Arizona who was born in the border town of Nogales and has roots in Tucson.

It did because of Emanuel Navarrete’s pursuit of a fourth division title. He’ll fight for the WBO’s vacant lightweight title against Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk on May 18 in San Diego.

In its ruling, the WBO announced that the Valdez-Wilson winner would be elevated to champion if the favored Navarrete beats Berinchyk and then decides to defend the 135-pound belt instead of the 130-pound version.

The announcement was not without controversy. The WBO currently ranks Wilson No. 2 and Valdez at No. 4.

The WBO’s top-ranked contender is unbeaten Albert Bell (27-0, 9 KOs), a Toledo fighter who is coming off a first-round KO of Jonathan Romero. The No. 3-ranked contender is Andre Cortes, also unbeaten (21-0, 12 KOs).

Valdez is coming off a punishing scorecard loss to Navarrete in August, also at Desert Diamond.

“I have a tough battle facing me now,’’ Valdez said. “That’s my focus.’’

Valdez is the betting favorite, but Wilson represents a significant challenge in an EPSN-televised bout. Wilson, an Australian still pursuing his first world title, lost a controversial bout to Navarrete in February, also at Desert Diamond.

In a wild fourth round, Wilson knocked down Navarrete, clearly hurting him. In an apparent attempt to gain extra time to recover, Navarrete spit out his mouthpiece.

On the clock, it was 27 seconds before the referee retrieved the mouth piece. It was time enough for Navarrete to regain his consciousness and composure.  

Five rounds later, Navarrete won, scoring a ninth-round TKO over Wilson to take the WBO’s 130-pound title.

It was vacant then. It might be again, leaving it open for the winner of a Friday night fight that suddenly has some heightened stakes.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Canelo Alvarez threw out a couple of numbers that would seem to eliminate any chance he’ll ever fight David Benavidez

“One-hundred-and-fifty million dollars to $200-million,’’ Canelo said this week at a news conference formally announcing his May 4 fight with Jaime Munguia at Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena.

Not even Donald Trump can come up with that kind of money these days.

It’s hard to know whether Canelo is serious, but conventional wisdom

suggests that the prohibitive purse numbers are just another way of Canelo telling Benavidez that it’s just not going to happen.

But fantasy numbers have also ignited more Benavidez-Canelo trash talk, which seemed to enter another inflationary spiral this week.

Benavidez fired back from Miami, where the Phoenix-born fighter is training for a light-heavyweight fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, projected for June 15.

“Hopefully, after you make that $150 million, you have enough left over to buy a pair of nuts,” Benavidez said on his Instagram account.

Presumably, he wasn’t talking about a couple of Pistachios.

Nobody has yet given up on a Benavidez-Canelo possibility in September. Even Benavidez mentioned it in an Instagram post early Thursday.

“Just wait on it,’’ Benavidez posted. “don’t be surprised when this fight happens in September.’’

First, however, a lot would have to happen. Canelo has to beat Munguia. That’s considered likely. From this corner, however, Munguia has a real chance to take Canelo’s undisputed super-middleweight title in what would be a huge upset.

The 26-year-old Munguia, who in January did what Canelo could not in stopping John Ryder in Phoenix, has young legs. If he can take the fight into the late rounds – say, the eighth — he’s got a shot.

It’s no secret that Canelo runs out of gas down the stretch.

Then, there’s Benavidez, who will get a look at his future at a heavier weight against the competent Gvozdyk, a former 175-pound champion.

As of Thursday, there was still no word on where Benavidez and Gvozdyk will fight on a card also expected to feature Tank Davis, who hasn’t fought since last April’s stoppage of Ryan Garcia.

Moving on up

Emanuel Navarrete’s move up to lightweight is official. He’ll fight Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk on May 18 for a vacant World Boxing Organization in San Diego, Top Rank announced this week.

Navarrete, already a three-division champ, is expected to win. If he does, he figures to vacate the WBO junior-lightweight title.

That could open the door for the Oscar Valdez-Liam Wilson winner to land a possible shot at the vacated belt.

Valdez and Wilson, both beaten by Navarrete last year, fight March 29 – next week Friday — at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ in the main event on an ESPN-televised card.

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX – The streets have always been part of Michael Carbajal’s identity.

He’s endured them. Survived them. Fought because of them. They’ve left their mark, scars still there like deep cracks in an old sidewalk outside of his Ninth Street Gym, which was a church about a century ago.

It’s still a bully pulpit, but punches do all the preaching these days. You can hear the choir in the rhythm of a speed bag.

Step out of the gym and down the street, Fillmore, and you’re at Carbajal’s childhood home.

I’ve walked that street with him often and asked what keeps him there. He looks at me, eyes flashing like sparks off flint, as if to say I don’t understand.

For years, I didn’t.

Today, I do.

That was delivered definitively this week at a Phoenix City Council meeting just a few miles of roadwork from Ninth Street and Fillmore. Carbajal was on the agenda, Item No. 65. From liquor licenses to zoning issues, the session began with the usual process. Think about your last visit to the Motor Vehicle Division. Take a number, please.

But, suddenly, it went from protocol to poignant with Item No. 65, a resolution to rename one of those streets after Carbajal.

Ordinarily, council meetings in any city don’t attract a crowd. But this one did. From Carbajal friends and neighbors to those who had a role in his ring career, dozens were there.

I was there, too, and I was lucky enough to speak in his behalf. I was asked to.

Ordinarily, that’s not the job of a journalist, sports or otherwise. I had covered Carbajal’s career during my years at The Arizona Republic.

I was there in Seoul when he got robbed of a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics.

I was there in Las Vegas when he got up twice and knocked out Chiquita Gonzalez in a dramatic 1993 Fight of the Year, a fight as memorable as any in the history of boxing’s smallest weight classes.

I was there in Mexico City in 1994 in front of at least 30,000 Gonzalez fans, then unhappy at California’s Proposition 187, controversial immigration legislation.

Carbajal was Mexican only in name and heritage on that night, which ended in Gonzalez wining a debatable decision in a second rematch.

For those Mexican fans, he was a convenient American target for their anger at the California proposal. They drank, threw debris and waited for Carbajal to enter the hostile arena as if he were the bull that the place had been built for.

About an hour before opening bell, I saw Carbajal, seated with his hands taped and ready to take that long walk through a gathering storm.

He was a lonely figure at the end of a long dark tunnel that was his dressing room.

All the while, restless partisans stomped their feet in unison.

The noise had an angry beat, one that echoed a fundamental cliche: You can’t play boxing. I looked at Carbajal and wondered what I would feel at that moment.

One word: Terror.

I think I would have headed for the parking lot, jumped into a taxi, gone to the airport and boarded a flight in a panicked escape to Cabo San Lucas.

But I also knew then that I admired Carbajal. It’s hard to be objective about courage, and I saw plenty of it on that night in a 108-pound kid off the streets of Phoenix.

Over the years, I was often accused of crossing the line. I was told I had gotten too close. I can’t deny that. But I won’t apologize for it, either.

Boxing, itself, is different than any other sport in traditional journalism, now a dying craft. Trust is hard to come by from fighters who grew up mistrusting cops, teachers and a gringo reporter from a big daily that had not paid much attention to their neighborhoods.

In more than a decade as the Suns beat reporter, I had worked hard to keep my distance. But those traditional lines weren’t there in trying to cover Carbajal, a tough Mexican-American from a dangerous neighborhood just a few blocks from The Republic’s newsroom.

Through it all, there was controversy, an inherent part of almost any ring career. After all, prizefighting is controversial, almost by definition.

There were arrests, police investigations, shootings, gang allegations and ominous rumors. It was part of the Carbajal story and part of the reason I would ask him: Why, Michael, why do you stay here?

He has for the same reason he took that long ring walk on that night in Mexico City three decades ago. His adherence to a dangerous craft is as unshakable as his ties to those streets in a dangerous neighborhood.

Turns out, his friends, neighbors and a few retired cops understood that better than a gringo reporter.

They spoke to the city council before and after I did at Wednesday’s meeting Retired cops, who had worked Carbajal’s neighborhood, confirmed there was trouble, but they said, it didn’t come from Michael.

By the time it was my turn to take the podium, I realized that legacy — a word so overused to be almost meaningless – is still relevant in Carbajal, now 56 and 25 years removed from his last fight in 1999.

Younger neighbors, who weren’t even born when he was fighting, know him and identify with him because he’s still there. Their challenges were his challenges.

For Phoenix, he continues to be a living piece of tangible history. In my two minutes before the City Council, I talked about how the Phoenix area has become an emerging market for promoters from all over the world.

Eddie Hearn, of London’s Matchroom Promotions, has been staging cards in Phoenix and Glendale for the last couple of years. Hearn is putting together a Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez-Juan Francisco Estrada SuperFly showdown, projected for June 29 at Glendale’s Desert Diamond Arena.

“There are a lot of educated fans here,’’ Hearn said repeatedly when he was in Phoenix, representing John Ryder in January for Ryder’s stoppage loss to Jamie Munguia.

There are, because of Carbajal. At recent cards, I’ve often been approached by young fans who tell me that their dads used to read me all the time when I was writing about Carbajal for The Republic.

Those sons are Hearn’s educated fans, the demographic that has turned the Phoenix market into a go-to place for promoters and networks.

They also represent Carbajal’s ongoing legacy, an avenue to what the emerging market has become.

There are no avenues in Carbajal’s neighborhood. But there will be a street, from Ninth to Tenth, named after him. The Council voted to attach Michael Carbajal Way onto the street signs. It was a unanimous decision, 9-0.

It’s appropriate. The streets that created him will soon be named after him.

By Mario Ortega Jr. (Ringside)

STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA — Making good on his hometown return, Gabriel Flores Jr. took a step back towards contention with a ten-round unanimous decision over durable and previously unbeaten Julian Rodarte at the Adventist Health Arena on Saturday night. 

Flores (23-2, 8 KOs) of Stockton used his superior boxing ability to great effect early in the bout as Rodarte (19-1-2, 8 KOs) of Downey, California struggled to find his way past the jab. 

Rodarte, 134.8, looked to be on his way to banking the fourth, until Flores, 134.4, completely took over midway through the round. Flores landed with a combination upstairs that staggered Rodarte and brought the partisan crowd to their feet. Rodarte weathered the storm with his elbows high before firing back after he regained his footing late in the act. 

Flores found the right range midway through the fight. After Rodarte made the fifth round competitive, Flores kept the Downey resident at the end of his punches for most of the sixth. Flores continued to keep his distance and land effectively throughout the seventh. Rodarte did land one of his better shots in the bout, snapping Flores’ head back in the final seconds of the round. 

As the fight moved into the final quarter, Flores seemed content to box his way to a decision as he kept his distance and picked his shots more judiciously. Rodarte was game, but struggled to cut off the ring throughout bout.  

One judge scored the bout for Rodarte, 96-94, but was overruled by the score of 98-92 twice for Flores, who claimed the vacant WBA Continental USA lightweight title with the victory. 

Fernando Vargas Jr. (14-0, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Oxnard, California made a statement as he moved up in class and stopped veteran Brad Solomon (29-7, 9 KOs) of Douglasville, Georgia by way of Lafayette, Louisiana via fourth-round stoppage. 

Vargas, 152.8, began to pull away in the fight early in the third round. Solomon, 151.2, did not have the power to keep Vargas at bay. Solomon showed signs of wilting after Vargas began a rally with a left upstairs midway through the stanza. Vargas moved in early in the fourth, forcing Solomon to a knee in his own corner. As the referee moved in, Solomon’s corner had already begun to signal to the official that they had seen enough. With the official time of 1:32 of the fourth round, referee Rudy Barragan called a halt to the bout. 

Lorenzo Powell (1-0) of Sacramento, California was made to work for his first professional victory en route to scoring a four-round unanimous decision over free-swinging Jose Valenzuela Alvarado (2-13-1, 1 KO) of Puebla, Puebla, Mexico. 

Powell, 134, was the more polished boxer but failed to consistently make Valenzuela Alvarado, 136.2, pay for his less-than-refined style. Powell made the fight more difficult than necessary, allowing Valenzuela Alvardo in close instead of keeping his distance and making the most of his Mexican adversary’s mistakes. In the end, the fight was never in doubt, as Powell took all three cards, 40-36. 

Jessie James Guerrero (4-0-2, 4 KOs) of Salinas, California returned to the ring and quickly shook off any ring rust with a second-round stoppage of veteran Jose Rodriguez Montemayor (7-9, 6 KOs) of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin by way of Piedras Negras, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico.

After an aggressive, offense-minded opening round, Guerrero, 113.4, came out with a concentrated body attack to begin the second. Rodriguez Montemayor, 115.4, struggled to defend before giving in to a left hook on the beltline for the first of three trips to the mat. Guerrero would quickly find Rodriguez Montemayor’s sweet spot twice more, lastly with a right to the kidney, prompting a stoppage at 1:40 of the second round. 

In the walkout bout, Salvador Briceno (18-7-1, 11 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico bested Cameron Krael (20-32-3, 7 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada via eight-round unanimous decision. 

Briceno, 146.4, and Krael, 147.6, fought on fairly even terms throughout. Briceno may have edged the rounds with a busier output. In the end, one judge scored the bout 79-73, while the other two had it 80-72, all for Briceno. 

Saturday’s near sold out event served as the inaugural showcase for G-Squad Entertainment,  new promotional entity helmed by Gabriel Flores Sr. 

Photo by Julio Sanchez/G-Squad Entertainment 

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

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

Gabriel Flores Jr., once one of the most highly regarded lightweight prospects in all of the sport, returns home to Stockton, California on Saturday night, as he and his father Gabriel Sr. have taken the step of launching new promotional entity G-Squad Entertainment as they chart a path for the next stage of their careers. Flores will take on unbeaten Julian Rodarte for the vacant WBA Continental USA lightweight title in the ten-round main event of a five-bout card at the Adventist Health Arena. Fighters weighed-in Friday at the host venue. 

Flores (22-2, 8 KOs) of Stockton was last in the ring at this same venue last May, making short work of veteran journeyman Derrick Murray as he helped boost ticket sales for the Top Rank-promoted event. Now with more control than ever over his own career, Flores will hope a victory over Rodarte, while claiming a regional title in the process, will put his name back in the mix at 135-pounds. Flores weighed-in just under the lightweight limit at 134.4-pounds on Friday. 

“This is going to be a great performance,” Flores told 15rounds.com on Friday. “I am going to have another memorable night. Get your tickets now!” 

Rodarte (19-0-2, 8 KOs) of Downey, California sports a similarly glossy record, but a comparison of resumes will show that Flores represents a significant step-up in competition for the out-of-town challenger. Rodarte last fought in August where he was held to a draw by a fighter that had dropped his previous seven contests. Rodarte, fighting in California for the first time since 2019, scaled 134.8-pounds at Friday’s weigh-in. 

With his famous father of the same name in his corner, Fernando Vargas Jr. (13-0, 12 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Oxnard, California will meet perhaps his toughest foe to date in veteran Brad Solomon (29-6, 9 KOs) of Douglasville, Georgia by way of Lafayette, Louisiana in a six-round light middleweight bout. Vargas’ knockout streak ended two fights back as he was finally taken the six-round distance last August, before scoring his twelfth knockout over Wilfrido Buelvas in November. Solomon, a 16-year professional veteran, did not fight in 2023, last seeing ring action in December of 2022 in a failed bid at a regional title. Vargas scaled 152.8-pounds Friday, while Solomon made 151.2. 

Making his professional debut on Saturday, well-regarded Lorenzo Powell of Sacramento, California will take on Jose Valenzuela Alvarado (2-12-1, 1 KO) of Puebla, Puebla, Mexico in a four-round lightweight bout. Powell, who had been slated to turn professional last November before the event was canceled due to weather forecasts, scaled 134-pounds. Valenzuela Alvardo came in heavy at 136.2-pounds at the weigh-in. 

Two veteran gatekeepers meet in a scheduled eight-round welterweight bout, as Salvador Briceno (17-7-1, 11 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico takes on Cameron Krael (20-31-3, 7 KOs) of Las Vegas. Briceno, who took Gabriel Flores Jr. the eight-round distance back in 2019, weighed-in at 146.4-pounds. Krael, who managed to fight eight times last year and is somehow still just 30-years-old, came in at 147.6-pounds. 

Representing the third generation of his vast fighting family, Jessie James Guerrero (3-0-2, 3 KOs) of Salinas, California returns to the ring for the first time in almost a year, as he takes on Jose Rodriguez Montemayor (7-8, 6 KOs) of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin by way of Piedras Negras, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico in a six-round super flyweight bout. Guerrero, expecting his first child to be born this Father’s Day, will be fighting on his pregnant girlfriend Ariel’s birthday on Saturday night. Montemayor, originally slated to meet Jesus Haro, came in heavy at 115.4-pounds, while Guerrero made 113.4-pounds. 

Tickets for the event, promoted by G-Squad Entertainment and to be streamed live by FightHub TV, are available online at Ticketmaster.com 

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBA Continental USA Lightweight Championship, 10 Rounds

Flores Jr. 134.4

Rodarte 134.8

Light middleweights, 6 Rounds

Vargas Jr. 152.8

Solomon 151.2

Lightweights, 4 Rounds

Powell 134

Valenzuela Alvarado 136.2

Welterweights, 8 Rounds

Briceno 146.4

Krael 147.6

Super flyweights, 6 Rounds 

Guerrero 113.4

Rodriguez Montemayor 115.4

Photo by Julio Sanchez/G-Squad Entertainment 

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

It looks as if stakes for the Oscar Valdez-Liam Wilson fight March 29 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ have been heightened by news this week that Emanuel Navarrete and Denys Berinchyk are in negotiations for a vacant lightweight title.

The news, reported by ESPN Knockout Wednesday, could put the Valdez-Wilson winner in line for the World Boxing Organization’s junior-lightweight (130-pound) title if Navarette beats Berinchyk for the WBO’s 135-pound belt in a bout projected for May 18 in San Diego.

Navarrete retained the WBO’s version of the junior-lightweight belt in a punishing decision over Valdez last August, also at Desert Diamond. Navarrete, already a champion at three weights, has talked about moving up the scale in pursuit of a fourth.

He would be the likely favorite against Berinchyk. If he beat the Ukrainian, he’s likely to defend the new title and relinquish the old one, a potential scenario with immediate significance for Valdez-Wilson later this month.

Valdez, a former champion at featherweight and junior-lightweight, wants to regain a title.

“This is definitely a crossroads fight because it will determine who gets closer to a world-title opportunity,’’ he said this week from his training camp in San Diego. “My goal for 2024 is to be a world champion again. I miss being a world champion. Boxing is my life. If you are not striving to be the best, then what are you doing in this sport?

“I always train hard to be the best. So, this fight means everything because winning this will put me one step closer to a world-title shot.”

For Wilson, the unfolding story could lead to a second chance at his first world title. In a controversial fight in February 2023 at Desert Diamond, Wilson floored Navarrete in the fourth round. Navarrete, dazed, spit out his mouthpiece. Wilson, an Australian now training in Las Vegas, argued that Navarrete – with help from the referee — bought himself some extra time to recover. Navarrete went on to win the belt, then vacant, by a ninth-round TKO.

It’s expected that the Valdez-Wilson fight, initially called a special attraction by Top Rank, will be for the WBO’s so-called interim title.

In the WBO’s current 130-pound ratings, Wilson is No. 2 and Valdez No. 4. That reflects how they did against Navarrete. Wilson had a real shot at beating him. Valdez had no chance.

However, Valdez, a two-time Mexican Olympian with roots in Tucson, is about a 3-to-1 favorite over Wilson. The odds reflect his popularity in Arizona. He was born in Nogales, about 178 miles south of Desert Diamond.

The WBO will already have a role on the card. Yokasta Valle has the WBO version of the women’s minimum tile in a challenge for the undisputed title against three-belt holder Seniesa Estrada.

Bam-Estrada negotiations

15 Rounds confirmed Thursday that Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Juan Francisco Estrada are close to completing a deal for a Super-Fly showdown on June 29 at Desert Diamond.

News of the possibility first broke in Phoenix during the week before Jamie Munguia’s stoppage of John Ryder on Jan. 27 at Footprint Center.

That’s when Eddie Hearn, Ryder’s promoter, said he wanted to stage Bam-Estrada in Arizona, a boxing market known for its appreciation of fighters in the smallest weight classes.

“There are a lot of very educated fans here,’’ Hearn told 15 Rounds then.

Bam-Estrada has potential to be among the best in the history of divisions between 108 and 115 pounds.

“Estrada-versus-Bam is just a stunner,’’ Hearn said on Matchroom Promotions’ YouTube channel this week. “You keep seeing these small guys giving us unbelievable nights.’’

It looks as if both Bam and Estrada will make second straight appearances at Desert Diamond.

Bam, of San Antonio, blew out Sunny Edwards, scoring a ninth-round stoppage on Dec. 17 at 108 pounds. In his last fight, Estrada, son of a Mexican fisherman in Puerto Penasco south of Phoenix, won a second rematch, a majority decision over legendary Ramon Gonzalez at 115 at Desert Diamond on Dec. 3, 2022.

Bam-Estrada, Hearn said, has Fight-of-the-Year contender “written all over it.’’

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

Nearly one year removed from his last fight, undefeated Jessie James Guerrero makes his long-awaited return to the ring this coming Saturday night when he takes on veteran Jose Rodriguez Montemayor at the Adventist Health Arena in Stockton, California. The six-round flyweight bout will serve as one of the featured attractions underneath Gabriel Flores Jr.’s homecoming main event. The event serves as the inaugural showcase for Gabriel Flores Sr.’s G-Squad Entertainment promotional entity. 

Guerrero, from the famed fighting family out of Gilroy, California, is primed and ready for Saturday night, considering he has been in camp since the fall of last year. Unfortunately for Guerrero, fight after fight fell through during that stretch: one in November, one in December and a third was first postponed, rescheduled and then ultimately canceled in January. 

“It does mess with us,” explains Guerrero. “Are we going to fight or are we not going to fight? I am working my butt off in camp, cutting weight, gaining weight, cutting weight. For me, it’s a good thing that I walk around between these weights, so I don’t really have to worry too much about it. So I feel pretty good right now.” 

Guerrero, the nephew of former world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, has continued to develop his craft in the gym, despite not getting the chance to show off his new tools before a paying crowd. Training under and alongside his uncle and sparring different types of fighters, Guerrero has been working hard away from the spotlight since the fall. 

“Camp has been great,” says Guerrero. “We started camp off in October. I went out to camp with my uncle for his fight with [Andre] Berto. I was out there with my cousin Vic, who just fought in January. We were getting ready for our fights in November. We were out there working in a world championship camp with my uncle and nothing gets better than that. I was sparring with all different types of guys; lefties, righties, switchers, power punchers, counter punchers. I got all the work I needed.”

When the January bout, scheduled to take place in San Jose, California, was taken off the books, Guerrero (3-0-2, 3 KOs) almost immediately shifted focus to this Saturday in Stockton, which will now serve as just his second contest to take place in the United States. 

“I took a week off and reset,” recalls Guerrero. “I came home for a week before going to camp again. I stayed in shape and worked on what I needed to improve on so I could be 110 percent for this fight coming up on March 16th.” 

Guerrero’s pro ledger fails to include two bouts he won as a 16-year-old in Tijuana, Mexico that have yet to be recognized by official record keeper BoxRec. With only a year of amateur fights under his belt, Guerrero’s team, which includes his father Ruben, his grandfather Ruben Sr. and his uncle Robert, believed Jessie James could handle the move to the paid ranks shortly after completing his sophomore year of high school. 

“A lot of people thought we were crazy,” admits Jessie James. “A lot of people told my grandpa…but from a coach with a lot of experience, doing this for over 40 years, he knows what’s best for me and my team knows what’s best for me. I was excited to go pro and I got a little glory while I was still at school. By the time I fought my fourth and fifth fight in Mexico, I would take two weeks off of school to finish the last two weeks of camp. I would go back and a lot of the staff would give me congratulations or tell me they were proud of me. Teachers had newspapers of me in the classroom. I got a good amount of glory for the next two weeks at school.”  

In his last outing, Guerrero made his stateside debut in Fresno, California on a big Top Rank-promoted event. The night got off to a great start for the young Guerrero. “It was a great experience that I will never forget,” recalls Jessie James. “I remember walking out through that tunnel and seeing all those people. This is what it feels like. It all happened so quick, so I didn’t really look around. But after the fight, I could look around at all the people yelling and cheering, so it was a great excitement. Now I have that experience and got those butterflies out of the way, so now I know what that moment feels like, moving on.” 

After the pageantry ended, Guerrero encountered new challenges and endured a learning experience before ultimately settling for a draw against Eduardo Alvarez. The first hiccup would be seeing his own blood as the result of an accidental headbutt in the first round. 

“I didn’t even realize I had got cut until I got back to the corner,” says Guerrero. “My first pro fight, I got headbutted. My opponent’s head went right to my nose and my nose started swelling up and I thought I broke it. But this fight I had got cut and I didn’t notice until I got back to the corner and they told me and then I saw the blood on me. I handled it well and didn’t let it faze me. When I went back to the corner, I just felt like it was a dogfight now and that we were in for a good one.” 

After battling his own blood, Guerrero also came up against an official he felt had it out for him. The end result would be a split decision draw where no judge scored it the same. “That whole night was a bunch of drama,” exclaims Guerrero. “The ref was a jerk to us the whole time. I couldn’t fight my fight, it just threw me off. Any little thing, I felt like he was going to take a point or find a way to mess with us. That’s why they say in four-rounders, you have to take them out easy. Anything can happen in four-rounders. That was the last four-rounder and I’m glad to move to six-rounders.” 

With his uncle Robert’s hall of fame type career winding down, Jessie James is one of four Guerreros of his generation carrying on the family’s fighting legacy. His cousin Victor Guerrero is an undefeated middleweight and his cousins Maribel and Robert Guerrero Jr. just made their professional debuts this past Saturday in Tijuana. 

“It is not just one of us in the hot seat,” says Jessie James. “There’s four of us. We see each other in the gym. We push each other. We watch and give each other tips. We have my uncle here helping with my cousins and I, and my grandpa. We are all in the gym and working, so it helps a lot. For my uncle, making the way and making a name in this sport, that does bring us a bonus to get into these fights. A lot of promotional companies want fighters with an amateur background, Olympians and national champions. So for us, with very few amateur fights, it is a big opportunity for us and the window is very small, so we are taking everything we can and pushing for it, to get our names out there.” 

Adding to his motivation in carrying on the Guerrero family business, Jessie James will soon be welcoming a new addition to the clan, as he and his girlfriend Ariel are expecting their first born to arrive in June. 

“I found that out the first week I was in Vegas for camp,” remembers Jessie James. “When I found that out, my switch flipped. Every single day, I put 150% into everything I did, day-in and day-out. No matter what it was, sparring or running…I said to myself I have a family to support now. When I had a one-on-one talk with my uncle, he told me that he could see the difference since I had been there and found out. He had seen it, that I had changed and in everything I did, I had stepped up. He was surprised and could see how hungry I was to do something. Coming from not only a world champion in this sport, but coming from my uncle, that motivates me and pushes me because I have seen him do it. Now that I have a baby on the way, I have to make a statement in the sport. ” 

With a baby shower slated for the end of the month, and a fight scheduled on his expecting girlfriend’s birthday, March 2024 is lined up to be one of the most memorable calendar pages in the life of young Jessie James Guerrero. The first order of business comes this Saturday in Stockton. 

“I am ready to put on a show. I want to say thank you for all my supporters, my family and friends and everyone that has been supporting me. It is not just hard on me when these fights fall out. I’ve got people buying tickets and taking time off of work to come, some coming from out of state, to come and just to have these fights fall out. This time around, it just adds that fire to me, that they came to support me and I can’t let them down. For months, we’ve been in camp and ready to fight. With the fight on my girlfriend’s birthday, I got to come home with the win. I’ve gotta show out.” 

Tickets for the event, promoted by G-Squad Entertainment, are available online at Ticketmaster.com 

Photo by Trini Guerrero

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

Follow all the action as Antony Joshua takes on Francis Ngannou in a heavyweight slugfest. The packed undercard includes a heavyweight tussle between Zhieli Zhang and Joseph Parker. Plus two world title bouts Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball for the WBA Featherweight Title and Israil Madrimov and Magomed Kurbanov for the WBA Super Welterweight title

THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATCIALLY. NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED

Round 1:Jab from Nagannou..jab from Joshua..Right from Nagannou..HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES NAGANNOU..Left from Nagannou
Round 2 Solid right from Joshua..HUGEN RIGHT THAT PUT NGANNOU DOWN AGAIN…ANOTHER PERFECT RIGHT AND NGANNOU IS KNOCKED OUT COLD

ROUND 1 Right hand from Parker…Left to the body..Left from Zhang…

ROUND 2 Overhand right from Parker…Left From Zhang…

ROUND 3 Right to body from Parker…Right..Left From Zhang..Jab to body from Parker..BIG LEFT AND DOWN GOES PARKER..Big Left 

ROUND 4 Right drives Zhang back

ROUND 5 Right to the body from Parker..Right from Zhang…Right from Parker

ROUND 6 Left to body from Parker

ROUND 7 Nice short left uppercut from Zhang…Big left..

ROUND 8 Perfect right to the head from Parker..LITTLE RIGHT HOOK ON THE INSIDE AND DOWN GOES PARKER

ROUND 9 Body shot from Zhang..Right from Parker..Jab..

ROUND 10 1-2 from Parker…

ROUND 11 Right hook from Zhang…Right from Parker

ROUND 12 Right from Parker..

113-113….114-112…115-111 FOR PARKER

ROUND 1: Right to body from Vargas..Right..

ROUND 2: Jab from Vargas..Body shot..Right to body..

ROUND 3: Ball throws Vargas to canvas..Right from Ball..right to body from Varhas..Left to body..Good uppercut..Left

ROUND 4 Jab and uppercut from Vargas

ROUND 5 Left hook from Ball..Right

ROUND 6 Good right from Vargas..Left from Vargas..

ROUND 7 Right from Ball..Right…Big right rocks Vargas..Left hook buckles Vargas..Right…Right

ROUND 8 Ball flinged Vargas and THEN LANDS A LEFT AND DOWN GOES VARGAS

ROUND 9 Vargas lands a body shot..Right…Left from Ball

ROUND 10 Left hook stuns Vargas..Body shot..Jab from Ball

ROUND 11 Left from Ball..Counter right..BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES VARGAS 

ROUND 12 Right from Ball..Nice jab

114-112 VARGAS….116-110 BALL…113-113

ROUND 1 Jab to body from Madrimov…right..Right..

ROUND 2 Straight fright from Madrimov..Jab to body..Left hook..

ROUND 3  2 Rights from Madrimov..Overhand right…

ROUND 4 Left hook from Madrimov…Good left from Kurbanov…Madrimov lands a right…Jabs to the body..Good right from Kurbanov..Right from Madrimov

ROUND 5Right from Kurbanov..Right from Madrinov..Right from Kurbanov..Good right from Madrimov that drives Kurbanov back to the ropes…HUGE RIGHT HURTS KURBANOV…2 MORE RIGHTS AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1: Good left from Chamberlain…Gwynne has some swelling around right eye…
Round 2 Good counter left from Chamberlain…
Round 3 Doctor looks at Gwynne’s eye..Big combination from Chamberlain..Doctor looking at eye again, which is rapidly shutting…Straight left from Chamberlain…
Round 4 Counter left from Chamberlain…Big lead right hook, follow up flurry and THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Left from Lerena…Straight left..Jab to the body..Right from Huni…
Round 2 Nice uppercut from Lerena…Left wobbles Huni..Huni Holds on..Body shot and uppercut from Huni..Right..
Round 3 Good right from Huni…
Round 4 Right to body by Huni…Good left to body and jab from Lerena…
Round 5 Good straight right from Huni…Combination from Lerena…
Round 6 Right from Huni…Right
Round 7 Big left from Lerena
Round 8 Straight left from Lerena…Right to body from Huni..
Round 9 Big Left from Huni..Lead right from Lerena..Straight left buckles knees of Lerena
Round 10  Straight right from Huni…Left rocks Huni..Huge flurry and Huni has no legs left…

98-92 AND 96-94 TWICE FOR HUNI

Round 1:

Former unified Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua scored a brutal second round stoppage over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a scheduled 10-round bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

In round one, Joshua landed a perfect right to the jaw that put Ngannou on the deck. In round two, Joshua landed a perfect counter right that put Ngannou in the canvas aagain. Ngannou was clearly clearly hurt with a bloody lip and then ate a humongous right hand that bent him over his right leg and out cold at 2:31.

Joshua, 252.4 lbs of London is 28-3 with 25 knockouts. Ngannou, 272.6 lbs of Cameroon is 0-2.

Parker Decisions Zhang; Captures WBO Interim Heavyweight Title

Joseph Parker survived two knockdowns and won the WBO Interim Heavyweight totle with a 12-round majority decision ovr Zhilei Zhang.

In round three, Zhang landed a little left hand that put Parker on the seat of his pants.

In round eight, Zhang landed a little right hook on the inside that put Parker down for a second time.

Zhang did not capitalize on the knockdowns and Parker did a little more to win by scores of 115-111, 114-112 and 113-113.

Parker, 247.6 lbs of South Auckland, NZ is 35-3. Zhang, 291.6 lbs of China is 26-2-1.

Vargas and Ball Battle to Draw in Featherweight Title Bout

Rey Vargas built up a nice lead, and he needed it as Nick Ball scored two knockdowns in the second half of their fight and battle to a split draw. Vargas keeps his WBC Featherweight title.

Vargas dominated the first half of the fight as he landed hard body shots. The fight started turning in the second half of fight.

In round seven, Ball rocked and buckled Vargas on two occasions. In round eight, Ball was able to register a knockdown when he was off balance and Ball landed a left hook. Ball continued to sure forward in the ensuing rounds. In round 11, Vargas was dropped again as Ball landed a hard right on the chin.

Vargas landed 118 of 536 punches. Ball was 111 of 472.

Scores were 114-112 for Vargas, 116-112 for Ball and 113-113.

Vragas, 125 lbs of Mexico is 36-1-1. Ball, 125 lbs of Liverpool is 19-0-1.

Madrimov Stops Kurbanov in 5 to win Super Welterweight Title

Israil Madrimov won the WBA Super Welterweight title with a fifth round stoppage over Magomed Kurbanov.

Madrimov dominated the action by landing some hard right hands over the first four frames. Kurbanov showed some life but that was short lived as in round five, Madrimov landed a hard right that rocked Kurbanov to the ropes. Madrimov followed up and landed two more hard overhand rights that forced a stoppage at 2:20

Madrimov, 153.6 lbs of Uzbekistan is 10-0-1 with seven knockouts. Kurbanov, 153.6 lbs of Ekatinberg, RUS is 25-1.

Mark Chamberlain stops Gavin Gwynne in 4

Mark Chamberlain stopped Gavin Gwynne in round four of their 10-round lightweight bout.

In round one, Gwynne started to swell around his right eye. In round three, Gwynne’s eye was shutting rapidly. Chamberlain continued to pour on the offense and in round four, landed a hard right hook that drove Gwynne to the ropes. Chamberlain followed up with a flurry and the fight was stopped at 2:46.

Chamberlain, 134.6 lbs of Portsmouth, ENG is 15-0 with 11 knockouts. Gwynne, 134 lbs or Treharris, WAL is 17-3-1.

Huni Hangs on and Decisions Lerena

Justis Huni was hurt bad in the 10th and final round but was able to hang on and defeat Kevin Lerena via 10-round unanimous decision in a heavyweight bout.

The bout was close throughout. In round 10, Lerena landed a huge left that rocked Huni across the ring on bad legs. Lerena followed up but was not able to put him down.

Huni, 243.2 lbs of Brisbane, AUS won by scores of 98-92 and 96-94 twice and is now 9-0. Lerena, 232.4 lbs of Johannesburg, SA is 30-3.

Louis Greene scored an emphatic first-round stoppage over Jack McGann in a 10-round super welterweight bout.

Greene landed a booming right hand that put McGann hard on his back. McGann got to his feet, but the fight was waved off at 1:29.

Greene, 153.2 lbs of Kent, ENG is 17-4 with 11 knockouts. McGann, 153.4 lbs of Liverpool, ENG is 9-1-1.

In a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Roman Fury won a four-round decision over Martin Svarc.

Fury, 224 lbs of Manchester, ENG won by a 39-37 score and is 4-0. Svarc, 225 lbs of CZE is 2-1.

Fury is the brother of WBC Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who was ringside.

Ziyad Almaayouf remained undefeated with a six-round decision over Christian Lopes Flores in a super lightweight contest.

Almaayouf, 144.4 lbs of Riyadh, SA won by a 60-54 score and is now 6-0. Flores, 142 lbs is 14-36-2.

Andrii Novytskiy scored a third-round stoppage over Juan Torres in a eight-round heavyweight bout.

Novytskiy, 239.4 lbs is now 10-0 with nine knockouts. Torres, 255.6 is 11-6-1.