By Mario Ortega Jr. –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime 

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

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime 

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

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS –David Benavidez promised.

And he punished.

He did to Demetrius Andrade what he did to David Lemieux and so many others. It was another moment in his demolition tour, an uninterrupted dominance of every super-middleweight other than the one he has been pursuing for so long.It was also another edition of the long-running message he has been delivering like punches at a machine-gun rate.

“Canelo, give the people the fight they want, Canelo Alvarez-versus-David Benavidez,” he said in the center of the ring to a roaring crowd just minutes after breaking down and breaking apart Andrade.

Who knows if Canelo was in the audience for Showtime’s final pay-per-view fight Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena? If he was, however, he had to be impressed.

Andrade, unorthodox and unbeaten before opening bell, was simply undone by the aggressive Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs), who knocked him down with right hand in the fourth round and then battered him through the next two rounds. There are few fighters with Benavidez kind of momentum. 

Once he gets going, he’s a freight train rolling down a steep incline. Get the hell of his way. Andrade (32-1, 19 KOs) couldn’t. After six rounds, he had no option other than surrender.

At ringside, there was Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight great who gave Benavidez his current nickname, The Monster.

Benavidez, who emerges as the World Boxing Council’s mandatory challenger to Canelo, went over and hugged him, perhaps an embrace between the modern version of the monster Tyson once was.

“I’m the best and I’m going to be the best,” Benavidez told a crowd full of his fans from Phoenix, his hometown. “i’m going to be a legend.”

Tyson smiled.

Andrade didn’t argue.

No telling what Canelo thought

Charlo scores one-sided decision over Jose Benavidez

It was a fight preceded by insults, broken promises and fines. 

But the profanity didn’t matter. The broken promises were followed by fines. The fight went on after one fighter, Jermall Charlo, paid $75,000 for every pound heavier than a contracted catchweight.

After all of that, it was a fight that went the way it was expected to. Chaos was  the prediction. But there was none. 

A bigger man beat a smaller man. 

Charlo, a middleweight champion who hasn’t made a title defense in 29 months, beat Jose Benavidez Jr., a former junior-welterweight and welterweight contender.

Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs) scored a unanimous decision. Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.  Argue with the score cards. The margins might have been too wide. The judges had it 98-92, 99-91 and 100-90. The third card, a shutout, seemed unfair to Benavidez (28-3-1, 19 KOs) who was never off his feet and appeared to make a competitive fight out of the early rounds.

But in the end, he simply wasn’t going to beat a fighter who was at least 15 pounds heavier. Charlo’s weight at opening bell wasn’t announced. He was ordered to be no more than 176 pounds at a secondary weigh-in Saturday morning, about 24 hours after he failed to make the 163-pound catch weight. Anything more than 176 pounds, would have cost him at least another $75,0000 per pound.

Whatever the final toll, he left the ring with his wallet a lot lighter. But that didn’t weaken his leverage-per-pound against a fighter who was simply too small to be in the ring with him.

Charlo knew that. After the scores were announced, he sounded more relieved than happy.

“Thank God, both of us are going home to our families healthy,” he said.

Benavidez, never a man with nothing to say before the fight, left the ring without a word. 

After a long 10 rounds, maybe there just wasn’t anything left to say. He was out of answers. Maybe, energy, too. 

Later, during an interview from his dressing room, he had this to say:

“He’s a good fighter, I’m not going to make any excuses. I came to fight. He said he was going to back me up and I didn’t back up. I kept coming forward. The best man won tonight.

“It’s boxing. I thought it was way closer than the judges’ said it was. At the end of the day I lost, and I’m not going to make any excuses.

“I don’t know if his extra weight had anything to do with it. Maybe. Maybe not. I came prepared. I gave my best. I’m going to take some time off – it’s the holidays. Of course, I’d like to run it back at the actual weight. At 160. If you weigh me right now I’m probably 165, and he still can’t do s— to me. It’s all good. I’m not worried about it. I gave it my all, and I came up short.”

Benavidez, ever fearless, opened the bout with abundant energy. He landed a straight right hand that bounced off Charlo’s face like a wicked tennis ball. It echoed throughout the arena. Benavidez also moved stubbornly forward, backing Charlo into the ropes and then into his corner. It was then, however, that Charlo answered with a flash of power, delivered like a pointed message from his bigger, stronger body.

Benavidez backed off. But his retreat didn’t go far. Didn’t last long either.

In the second and third, he continued his march into harm’s way, straight into Charlo’s dangerous wheelhouse. Charlo would throw a punch; Benavidez would counter with combos. The crowd roared. There was a chorus of chants.

Benavidez, Benavidez, was the lyric from fans who had traveled to Vegas from Phoenix, his hometown.

Jose, Jose.

Benavidez continued to give them hope with more combos and repeated bursts of energy. Increasingly, however, there were signs that the bigger blows from Charlo were beginning to have an impact.

In the seventh, Benavidez’ face bore the reddening signs of a bruising impact from Charlo’s punches. In the eighth, there were fewer combos from Benavidez. His hands began to drop. His chances began to diminish. It looked as if an energy crisis loomed. In the tenth, it landed, leaving with one more loss in his record and probably a purse fattened by a percentage of the fines paid by Charlo. 

Matias Retains Title with 6th Round Stoppage

Subtriel Matias is in the quitting business. Business is very good.

It continued uninterrupted and seemingly unstoppable Saturday,when Matias, the International Boxing Federation’s junior-welterweight champion, forced a fifth straight opponent to surrender Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

This time, it was a wiry-like fighter from Uzbekistan, Shohjahom Ergashev.

Matias (20-1, 20 KOs), of Puerto Rico, endured his punches early and then exhausted him with his own, forcing his corner to say no-mas a couple of seconds after the bell sounded for the start of the sixth round.

Matias’ stubborn power, he said, is a result of the work his team has done. It’s also a result of patience followed by wild bursts of energy. Ergashev (23-1, 20 KOs) simply could not slow him down. 

Lamont Roach wins junior-lightweight crown

Wait and worry has been a story line to Lamont Roach’s career.

The story ended Saturday night.

He can quit waiting. For now, he can quit worrying.

Roach (24-1-1, 9 KOs) won, finally calming a junior-lightweight world title, with a split decision over Hector Garcia (16-2, 10 KOs) in a Showtime pay-per-view bout on the card featuring David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

In an otherwise close bout, Roach took control in the final two rounds, knocking Garcia into the ropes with a piston-like punch in the eleventh and then scoring a debatable knockdown in the twelfth with a left to the back of Gracia’s head.

“I think I did enough,” said Roach, of Upper Marlboro MD, a winner on two scorecards, 116-111 and 114-113. “He played kind of a cat-and-mouse game .’

Garcia, who was  favored 114-113 on the third card, said he accepted the judging.

“I thought I won,” he said. “But they counted it as a knockdown in the twelfth. He hit me in the back of the head. Without that, it would have been different.”

Mercado scores junior-welterweight shutout

Mercado scores junior-welterweight shutoutFrom precision to poise, Israel Mercado had it all.

He used it all, too, scoring a four-round shutout of Wesley Rivers Saturday night on the non-televised portion of the the Benavidez-Andrade fight at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

Mercado (10-1-1, 8 KOs), a junior-welterweight from Pomona CA, scored at will from several angles in a one-sided decision over Rivers (4-4), of Dearborn Heights MI.

First-time winner

It wasn’t easy, but Alenn Medina finally moved into the win column.

Medina (1-1), a welterweight from Las Vegas, had just enough of an edge in aggression to get a majority decision over  Alex Holley (1-1), a Dallas fighter who landed in the loss column for the first time. 

In the fourth fight of the night Michel “Salsa Ali” Rivera 24-1 (14KOs) of Miami, FL took on Sergey Lipinets 17-2-1(13KOs) fighting out of Woodlands CA. The action began with Rivera establishing his Jab and keeping Lipinets off balance. Jabbing continued through the round and not much action from Lipinets. Sergey stepped it up in the second round as both fighters picked it up with the volume of punches. The third did not see too much of anything, just a warning from the referee about holding and hitting behind the head area. 

In the fourth — just as Rivera landed a stunning right — Lipinets came back in his own right, landing  a good left just as the round ended. Rivera once again wobbled his opponent. The fifth of the scheduled 10 was arguably the best round of the fight. Each fighter seemed to hurt one another — Lipinets with lefts and Rivera with rights. 

As the fight went into the later rounds the pace slowed.  Few meaningful punches landed. The fight went all 10 rounds and was a good showcase for Rivera. Rivera went on to win the unanimous decision — 97-93, 97-93, 96-94. Improving to 25-1 (14KOs)….By David Galaviz

Vito Mielnicki wins first round stoppage

Vito Mielnicki Jr. calls himself White Magic.

Saturday, he was White Lightning.

Mielnicki (16-1, 11 KOs) struck fast. Struck twice, all within the first round of the third bout Saturday on the Benavidez-Andrade card..

First, he dropped Alexis Salazar (25-6, 10 KOs), of Norwalk CA, with what looked like a glancing blow. Then, he struck with a head-rocking straight hand, finishing Salazar at 2:27 of the first round.. 

Jubin Chollet scores knockdown, wins split decision

It was timely, It was precise. It was the difference.

Jubin Chollet (9-0, 7 KOs), a lightweight from San Diego, needed a knockdown and he got one, flooring Jorge Perez (6-1, 2 KOs) with a beautifully-placed right hand in the fifth round of the second bout Saturday on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade card. It was just enough for Cholley to win a split decision. He won 57-56 on two cards. It was 57-56 for Perez on the third.

First Bell: Daniel Blancas scores unanimous decision

The show opened In an arena filled with only chilly November temperatures and echoes from punches from super-middleweight Daniel Blancas and Raiko Santana.

In the end, the loudest shots were landed by Blancas (8-0, 4 KOs), a long and lanky Milwaukee fighter who won a 76-75, 78-73, 77-74 decision over Raiko Santana in a Saturday matinee, the opener on a car featuring David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Blancas, who had Benavidez trainer Jose Benavidez in his corner, relied on his superior reach to keep Santana

(10-4, 6 KOs), of El Paso, at a distance.  

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

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED; THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Round 1:Left from Ergashev..Combination..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ROUND 4 Body shot from Roach

Round 5 Counter combination from Garcia 

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

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

ROUND 8 Left Hook from Roach

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

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

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

ROUND 12 BIG LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES GARCIA..

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

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

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED. THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

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

ROUND 2 Body shot from Cameron..hard right

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

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

ROUND 5 Great action

Round 6 Right from Cameron..1-2

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

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

ROUND 9 Hard right from Taylor

ROUND 10 Left from Taylor..

96-94, 98-92 AND 95 FOR TAYLOR

Round 1:

BY Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

Jose Benavidez-Jermall Charlo fight on with deal made after Charlo is heavier than catchwt. Charlo 166.4, then 166.6. Charlo fined $75,000-a-pound above 163, sources tell 15 Rounds. Trainer Jose Benavidez says Charlo to weigh Sat morning. He’ll pay more fines if heavier than 176.

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The biggest question, however is time.

“Father Time beats all,’’ Andrade said.

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

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

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

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

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

Nobody ever has. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Benavidez seeking KO

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

His promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz is sure of it.

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

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

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

I’ve written for The Ring.

I’ve got a subscription.

I buy my own belts.

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

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

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

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

That’s what threatens boxing.

Not The Ring.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY. NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED

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

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

ROUND 3 2 Jabs from Stevenson…

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

ROUND 5 Body shot from De Los Santos..

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

ROUND 7 Jab from Stevenson

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

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

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

ROUND 11 Double right hook from Stevenson..

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

116-112 TWICE AND 115-113 FOR STEVENSON

Round 1 Conceicao lands a combination…Body shot

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

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

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

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

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

ROUND 7 BIG RIGHT TO THE BODY AND DOWN GOES CONCEICAO

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

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

ROUND 11 Right from Conceicao..Combination from Navarrete

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

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

In a fight that was void of action, Shakur Stevenson became a three-division world champion as he captured the WBC Lightweight Title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos at The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Not much happened in the fight as neither guy pushed forward. Stevenson was able to jab more effectively, while the handful of times that De Los Santos tried to press, he was ineffective as the elusive Stevenson was never in range.

Stevenson landed 65 of 209 punches. De Los Santos was 40 of 316.

Stevenson picked it up over the final six-rounds and won by scores of 115-113 and 116-112 twice.

Stevenson, 133.8 lbs of Newark, NJ is now 21-0. De Los Santos, 134.3 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 16-2.

Stevenson said, “I had a bad performance tonight. That’s all I’m really focused on. I wasn’t feeling too good, so I’ll live with it. It’s okay. I came here and got the victory, and that’s all I wanted to do.

“I just didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel good before the fight. Honestly, I had already told myself that if I feel like this in the ring and if it’s not going well, I’m going to make sure that I box and get the victory.”

De Los Santos said, “We all know what happened. He came for a track meet. He didn’t come to fight. I showed that I am on a higher level because he never stood and fought like he does with other fighters.

“I did my job. He came to survive. That’s what he did. They gifted him the title, but I’m the people’s champion.”

Navarrete and Conceicao Fight to Draw

Emanuel Navarrete and Robson Conceicao fought to a 12-round majority draw in a bout for Navarrete’s WBO Junior Lightweight title.

In round two, Navarrete had a small cut on the bridge of the nose. In round four, Navarrete dropped Conceicao with a left uppercut. In round six, Cinceicao was cut on the bridge of his nose.

In round nose, Navarrete landed a perfect right to the body that put Conceicao down.

Navarrete landed 116 of 47 punches. Conceicao was 213 of 852.

Navarrete, 130 lbs of San Juan, MEX won by a 114-112 score, while two cards were even at 113-113.

Navarrete is 38-1-1. Conceicao, 129.3 lbs of Bahia, BRA is 17-2-1.

Navarrete said, “The decision is well-deserved. Robson is a great fighter. He left his heart in the ring. There were some details with regard to technique, but we accomplished what we said we would do. We gave a great show for the fans. And, at least, I am very happy to come away with the title.
 
“He deserves the rematch, but that decision doesn’t depend 100 percent on me. But, if it does happen, I would train even better. He knows how I fight, and I know how he fights, so it would make for an excellent fight.”
 
Conceição said, “It was a hard fight. He is very strong. It was a difficult. But I know what I did tonight.
 
“It was a good fight. It deserves a rematch. If we do get the rematch, we will both train harder and will give an even better fight.”

Brian Norman Jr. remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Quinton Randall in a battle of undefeated welterweights.

In round four, Norman was cut over his right eye.

Norman landed 74 of 281 punches. Randall was 71 of 299.

Norman, 146.4 lbs of Atlanta, GA won by scores of 99-91 twice and 97-93 and is now 25-0. Randall, 145.3 lbs of Houston is 13-1-1.

Floyd Diaz remained undefeated with an eight-round split decision over Max Ornelas in a bantamweight bout.

In round two, Diaz dropped Ornelas with a leaping and wide left hook. In round three, it was a jab that put Ornelas on the canvas.

In round five, Diaz began to swell over his right eye.

Diaz, 117.7 lbs of Las Vegas won by scores of 78-72, 77-73 and Ornelas took a card by a 76-74. score.

Diaz is now 10-0. Ornelas, 117.9 lbs of Las Vegas is 15-2-1.

Troy Isley won an eight-round unanimous decision over upset-specialist Vladimir Hernandez in a middleweight bout.

Isley, 159.7 lbs of Alexandria, VA won by scores of 77-75 on all cards and is now 11-0. Hernandez, 156.8 lbs of Ciudad, MEX is 14-6.

Emiliano Fernando Vargas stopped Brandon Mendoza in round two of their six-round lightweight bout.

Vargas, 135.6 lbs of Las Vegas is 8-0 with seven knockouts. Mendoza, 134.9 lbs of Los Angeles is 6-3.

In round one, Vargas dropped Mendoza with a left hook that was followed by a right Hand. A second knockdown was ruled after the round when a right hand made the right glove of Mendoza touch the canvas. In round two, Vargas landed a double right over the top that put Mendoza down and the fight was stopped at 57 seconds.

In a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Jackson Murray won a six-round unanimous decision over Steven Torres.

In round three, Murray dropped Torres with a right hook to the side of the head.

Murray, 230.7 lbs of Sydney, AUS won by scores of 60-53 on all cards and is now 6-0. Torres, 240.7 lbs of Reading, PA is 6-1-1.

Abdullah Mason stopped Jose Cardenas in round two of their six-round lightweight fight.

In round one, Mason dropped Cardenas with a double left. In round two, Mason dumped Cardenas with a perfect one-two and the fight was stopped at 1:55.

Mason, 134.4 lbs of Cleveland is 11-0 with nine knockouts. Cardenas, 134.6 lbs of Laredo, TX is 7-2.

Hugo Micallef stopped Sergio Odabai after round four of their six-round junior welterweight bout.

Micallef, 142.7 lbs of Monte Carlo, MON is 9-0 with two knockouts. Odabai, 141.7 lbs of Vienna, AUS 6-2-1.

Giovanni Sarchioto remained undefeated with a third-round stoppage over Lucas de Abreu in a six-round super middleweight fight.

Sarchioto dropped de Abreu twice in round three. The first coming from a series of right hands. Sarchioto finisehed off de Abreu with a hard right that put his backside and the fight was stopped at 2:06.

Sarchioto, 167 lbs of Atazio, ITA is now 9-0 with eight knockouts. de Abreu, 166.3 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA 14-5.

By Norm Frauenheim –

There’s trash talk and there’s chaos.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then, he wouldn’t shut up.

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

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

That was the context.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

DALY CITY, CALIFORNIA – Longtime lightweight contender Adam Lopez proved to be a class above a game Giovannie Gonzalez in the main event of a six-bout card at the famed Cow Palace Arena & Event Center on Saturday night. 

Lopez (17-5, 6 KOs) of Glendale, California outworked and outboxed Gonzalez (18-6-2, 13 KOs) of Stockton, California over the eight rounds en route to a shutout decision. 

Lopez, 132, began to let his hands go in the second round, as he forced Gonzalez, 133, to the ropes with combinations. There was good two-way action in the third, but Lopez just threw and landed more often. 

Lopez clearly took control of the fight in the fourth. Two body shots late in the round really seemed to bother Gonzalez. The Stockton fighter may have thought the punches strayed low as a brief shoving match took place after the bell. 

The pace slowed in the fifth and sixth rounds, but Lopez was able to notch them by throwing in combination as Gonzalez looked to land one at a time. 

Gonzalez sprang to life late in the seventh and eighth rounds, but the late flurries were not enough to sway any of the judges. After dodging Gonzalez’ final effort along the ropes, Lopez had earned the nod on all three cards by the score of 80-72. 

With the win, Lopez, who has only have ever come up short against the very top level of the division, claimed the WBC Continental Latino title. Holding the regional belt will likely aide in placing Lopez among the top fifteen when the WBC releases their next world rankings. 

In the co-main event, featherweight prospect Malikai Johnson (12-0-1, 8 KOs) of Sacramento, California stopped Eugene Lagos (16-7-3, 11 KOs) of Laguna Hills, California by way of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines with seconds to go in the third round.

After a feeling out first round, things heated up in the second stanza. Lagos, 129, set to press the action and Johnson, 126, found his spots countering. 

Lagos was aggressive again in the third and found succes with combinations. Johnson was able to counter, especially as Lagos got a little wild with some of his swings. Lagos pressed Johnson to the ropes late in the round. The Sacramento fighter was able to maneuver off of the ropes, reversing position, before landing a left to the body that crumpled Lagos to his knees. With Lagos not moving, holding his ribs on the mat, referee Michael Margado called the fight at 2:57 of the third round. 

Jacob Macalolooy (7-0, 4 KOs) of Union City, California boxed his way to a six-round unanimous decision over rugged Jose Manuel Gomez (4-3-1, 4 KOs) of Livermore, California 

Macalolooy, 147, controlled most of the opening round until Gomez, 148, wobbled him with a right with seconds to go. The late round success may have turned Gomez into a head-hunter, as he never made a concentrated effort to slow Macalolooy with a body attack. 

Macalolooy regained his footing in the second and closed the round with a well-placed flurry. The third featured competitive action, but Macalolooy’s movement gave Gomez trouble as the fight progressed. 

As the fight moved past the midway point, Macalolooy was able to land one eye-catching blow and either move away or clinch on the inside. In the end, all three judges scored the bout a shutout for Macalolooy, 60-54.

Petr Khamukov (11-0, 5 KOs) of Woodland Hills, California by way of Labinsk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia notched a workmanlike stoppage of veteran journeyman Angel Hernandez (19-23-1, 14 KOs) of Gary, Indiana.

Khamukov, 160, methodically broke down Hernandez, 159, as the fight progressed, leading to the eventual conclusion. 

Khamukov, a 2016 Russian Olympian, nearly scored a knockdown in the first, but it was waved off due to the way Hernandez was assisted to the mat after the punch had landed. 

Hernandez fought bravely for much of the bout, but opted to take a knee with under 20 seconds to go in the third round. Referee Edward Collantes visited the corner during the rest period and quickly signaled for the end of the contest. Official time of the stoppage was 3:00 of the third. 

Damoni Cato-Cain (8-1-1, 7 KOs) of Oakland, California scored one knockdown on the way to stopping Juan Meza Moreno (4-4, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, California after three completed rounds. 

Cato-Cain, 151, and Meza Moreno, 150, both switched from southpaw to orthodox and back throughout the contest, but it was the Oaklander that found success from the opening bell. 

Cato-Cain landed with straight left hand out of southpaw stance that dropped Meza Moreno late in first round. Cato-Cain was more measured in the second stanza, but still rocked Meza Moreno midway through the round and then staggered Meza Moreno again in the third with a right hand. 

Ringside physician Gary Furness checked on Meza Moreno after the second and third rounds, ultimately stopping the bout after the second look, with the official time of :01 of the fourth round. 

In the opening bout, Sachery Sam (2-0, 1 KO) of Stockton scored a first-round technical knockout of Ezra Rabin (1-4, 1 KO) of Oakland. 

Utilizing his jab and quick, short punches, Sam, 130, dropped Rabin, 129, four times en route to the stoppage at the 2:07 mark of the round.

It was announced that Westside Promotions, promoter of Saturday’s event, will return to the Cow Palace next March. 

Photo by Shane Radin/srflicks.com 

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

By Norm Frauenheim-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Norm Frauenheim –

Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou defies description. Fight or fraud? Fish or foul? It depends on who’s doing the marketing and/or the mocking.

Sift through all of the possibilities, and there’s only one: Exhibition. That, and all of its interpretations, was on parade at a news conference Thursday in Riyadh.

 At times, it was slapstick funny. Send in the clowns. At times, it began to redefine what it means to be cringe-worthy.

A cringe-worthy moment: Fury stripped off his jacket and vest for a bare-chested pose in a forehead-to-forehead stare-down with Ngonnou. His 59-year-old father, John Fury, quickly joined the strip show shedding his shirt and then stepping in front of the camera. Gently, John Fury – animated as in cartoon-like — had to be moved to one side. It wasn’t his show. At least, it’s not supposed to be.

All of the time, it was clear it was all about the cash.

There’s plenty of that being exhibited, although none of the numbers have been confirmed. Let’s just say that Fury’s income could make him an oil baron.

Speculation puts his payday at $60 million for an exhibition (Saturday, 2 pm ET/11 am PT, ESPN + pay-per-view), that looks a lot like a tune-up for a fight – a real one –projected for Dec. 23 against Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, also in Riyadh and also for an astonishing bankroll. Talk – and that’s all it is – puts that paycheck at $100 million.

For the Saudis, Fury looks to be another investment in their so-called sports wash. He’s another name, another possible diversion from the controversy surrounding the Saudi Kingdom’s reputation for repression. Their sports collection includes Phil Mickelson, Formula One auto racing, soccer and horse racing. A major addition would be Fury-Usyk, one of the biggest heavyweight fights in a fabled history.

“Tyson Fury is certainly the best heavyweight since Muhammad Ali and maybe ever,’’ said Fury’s 92-year-old American promoter, Bob Arum, also Ali’s former promoter.

But boxing isn’t golf. It’s a risk, one that maybe Mickelson wouldn’t even bet on.  With one punch, everything can go wrong and often does.

Fury-Ngannou, at $79.99 pay-per-view, is being mocked precisely because it looks like a set-up for the reported December date with Usyk. The Saturday exhibition is not even listed under Fury’s BoxRec entry. If the reliable, go-to BoxRec doesn’t list it, it’s not a fight. Then, there’s Fury’s World Boxing Council heavyweight belt. It’s not at stake, although WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman was there with a specially-made belt, named “the Riyadh Champion belt.’’ That makes interim sound like a promotion.

The guess is that if the unlikely happens, the WBC belt would still be in play in December against Usyk, who holds the three other belts. Then, there’s Ngonnou, a UFC champion, a mixed martial arts fighter known for unprecedented power.

Even Mike Tyson, a celebrity cornerman for Ngannou, marvels at power that once defined him.

“Nobody takes a punch like Tyson Fury, but this is a different kind of power,’’ said Tyson, who wore a businessman’s suit to Thursday’s exhibit of Fury exhibitionists.

Tyson is there to help sell the show. He’s an intriguing angle. In 1988, John Fury named his son after Tyson, who had just begun his wild run through the heavyweight division.

Mike Tyson warns his namesake about Ngannou’s power. It’s a limb-breaker, he says.

“I saw him hit this guy,’’ Tyson said as he gestured with an imaginary blow to the jaw. “And the guy wound up breaking a leg or ankle or whatever.’’

But there are doubts about whether Ngannou, of Cameroon, will ever land that big punch. He’s a novice boxer. Video of him hitting the mitts showed power, but no precision or hand speed. Autumn could turn to winter in the time it takes Ngannou to land. The clever Fury could feint, duck, feint again and counter within that long moment. Leg-breaker? Yeah Ngannou might break his own in a wild miss.

The real measure of Ngannou’s feared power is also hard to judge. He’ll be wearing 10-ounce gloves for the first time. He executed 17 stoppages in mixed martial arts wearing four-ounce gloves.

In his memorable trilogy with Deontay Wilder, he was knocked down four times by a right hand as explosive as any in history. What would Wilder’s power have done had he been wearing four ounces, instead of 10? He and Fury probably would have never gone beyond the first fight and Fury’s 12th-round resurrection from a crushing knockdown.

There are other possibilities, hard to predict and all common to boxing’s familiar chaos. Fury knows them. He’s been there. In September 2019, he fought Swede Otto Wallin in a fight perceived to be a tune-up for his first rematch with Wilder. The heavily favored Fury won a debatable unanimous decision in Las Vegas. He also suffered a nasty cut to his right eye.

A Wallin punch caused the cut in the third round. Wallin would do further damage, enough to argue that the fight should have been stopped in his favor.

Fury needed a reported 47 stitches and time to heal. There was speculation that it would delay the second fight with Wilder. It didn’t. Wilder conceded it was risky, that the cut might rupture. But he never gave a clueless Wilder the chance to try, blowing him away in the seventh round February 2020 in Vegas.

Call it a warning, Exhibit A among risks to a Saudi bet that it’ll host some heavyweight history.   

By Norm Frauenheim –

Showtime was at ringside before Canelo Alvarez was born, yet its imminent exit from boxing isn’t much of a surprise. It is however, a warning for a battered, balkanized business forever at odds with itself.

Only boxing is killing boxing. It’s an old line that bears repeating in the wake of the announcement this week that the network will televise one, maybe two more cards, including David Benavidez’ Nov. 25 super-middleweight date with Demetrius Andrade in Las Vegas.

Benavidez is 26, a face of boxing’s emerging generation. It’s fair to guess that the Phoenix-born fighter and former-two-time champion assumed that Showtime would always be there. He grew up with it. Throughout his unbeaten career, it was part of the show. 

But it’s exit, predicted for years, leaves questions about what awaits him, his rivals and their generation of fans.

Showtime has been fundamental to their hopes and expectations. It brought the money. But if Benavidez beats Andrade, will enough of that be there for a projected Canelo-Benavidez blockbuster next year, post-Showtime?

That’s just one question, emblematic of the many that boxing never really considered amid all the speculation that the network was approaching its final bell.

Rumors were there last month throughout the fight-week build-up for Canelo’s one-sided decision over Jermell Charlo, also on Showtime. By then, however, it was too late for any substantive change. After all, Showtime’s exit from boxing was predicted in 2018.

That’s when Top Rank’s Bob Arum said Showtime would eventually follow HBO and leave boxing.  

“Showtime does not belong in boxing,’’ Arum said.

Arum made the comment to reporters before Canelo’s majority decision over Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept 15 in a 2018 rematch on HBO. Twelve days later, HBO announced it was throwing in the towel, finished after 45 years.

“I mean, they’re wasting the stock holders money by doing boxing matches,’’ Arum said then.  “They should invest in entertainment because HBO realizes they’re in a dogfight with Disney, with Netflix, and so every dollar that they can conserve to put into entertainment, they need desperately.

“Showtime has to become aware of that fact, but the only way they’re going to survive is with good entertainment, because unfortunately when you do boxing, you open and close the same night.’’

Showtime’s exit became inevitable last January with Paramount+, a streaming service and a sure sign of change in philosophy – a move toward long-running shows.

Rather than one night of boxing or a live concert, Arum said, HBO and Showtime can only compete with shows that can draw an audience week after week, night after night.

“And five years from now, the linear platform won’t mean bleep,’’ Arum – aligned with ESPN since 2017 — said five years ago. “Everything will be streaming – everything. Entertainment, sports, everything will be streaming.”

Bingo.

However, either boxing didn’t listen. Or, it just assumed the good times would never end. Or, it did what it has always done. To wit: Grab the fast buck and move on.

Fighters with little name recognition made big money. The younger generation began to look upon Floyd Mayweather’s brilliant career as the model.

Throughout his long-running deal with Showtime, Mayweather did more than follow the risk-to-reward ratio to the top of the pound-for-pound debate. He rode it straight to the top of Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest athletes. He was No. 1 in 2018.

What could go wrong? Plenty. There was only one Mayweather. He made unprecedented money, pre-stream. But that risk-to-reward formula left an assumption that the money would never end. The Showtime exit is a sign that it will.

It’s still hard to say what impact that might have on a possible Benavidez-Canelo fight, a bout that fans have wanted for a couple of years.

It leaves a further question about the chances of a projected Terence Crawford-Errol Spence rematch of Crawford’s singular performance in a stoppage win in July, also on Showtime.

The sad aspect to the Showtime exit after 37 years is in the timing. 2023 has been one of boxing’s best years in some time. Under Stephen Espinoza’s guidance, it staged a comeback.

For years, there has been doom-and-gloom — persistent talk about an eroding fan base. But Showtime began to rediscover that audience, first in April with a reported 1.2 million pay-per-view customers for Tank Davis’ blowout of Ryan Garcia.

Then, there was Crawford-Spence. The welterweight fight had been talked about for years. Then, there were negotiations, misinformation and even a reported fight date — Nov. 19 2022. In the end, however, there was only futility.  Talks broke down in October.

Fans were outraged. More than a few editions of the boxing-is-dead theme were written, including one in this corner.

But Showtime persisted. The fight got made and it delivered a sensational moment from Crawford on July 30. 

The fight did fewer PPV numbers — a reported 700,000 — than Davis-Garcia. The number was solid. But, above all, Crawford-Spence delivered a message: The business had a pulse.

Still does.

But is anybody listening?

By Mario Ortega Jr.

Earlier this year, a new team boxing concept was launched that hoped to bring non-stop action from bell to bell. Team Combat League, the brainchild of promoter Ahmed Sheikh, featured six teams of about 24 fighters per team, spread over six weight classes, based across the United States. One of the budding young pugilists that shined over the course of the TCL’s inaugural season was featherweight Lizette Lopez of the Los Angeles Tengoose franchise.

Lopez, a 1-0 professional based out of the MXN Boxing Center in Salinas, California, was able to secure a tryout for the Los Angeles team, led by head coach Ricky Funez, through her co-head trainer Josh Sanchez. Heralded amateur Roxy Verduzco had already secured one of the female featherweight spots on the team, leaving only one more spot remaining. 

“When it really came down to it, it ended up being about a week in advance and Coach Funez asked Coach Josh if I could go down there and spar,” recalls Lopez. “We took the opportunity and went and I sparred and I ended up taking the second spot.” 

With that sparring session Lopez had made the team, which would base their training from the Tengoose Boxing Gym in Van Nuys, California, leaving the fighter from the Central Coast city of Salinas in a scramble to find housing in time for the start of the season. While most of the team were already based out of the Los Angeles area, Lopez would end up with a much longer commute than her teammates.

“I would stay in Chino Hills and have to commute an hour everyday,” remembers Lopez. “I have some close relatives that stay there and that was the only spot since it was so last minute. I want to say every Monday thru Friday we would train at about 11 am.” 

Lopez’ willingness to make the sacrifice to commute in unforgiving Southern California traffic to get to and from the gym everyday was just the first example of her dedication to the sport that impressed coach Danny Gonzalez.

“It was a long, long trip for her to come,” explains Gonzalez, one of the two assistant coaches for Los Angeles, alongside Jonathan Walley. “I instantly read it from her at the beginning, and I told her from the get-go that she was going to do great. She just had to focus on a little bit of things. That was what we ended up doing, working together and putting in the little things that she did and she ended up being one of the best female fighters on that show.” 

With less than two months between the time she found out she had made the team and the week one match-up against the New York City Attitude in Connecticut, Lopez had to quickly adjust to training in new surroundings, away from her home coaches for the first time, with new trainers with different styles and for the new format of fighting for just one, two-minute round. 

“It was definitely an adjustment, but I think I did pretty well adjusting to it,” proclaims Lopez. “It helped that I did so well training with [the Los Angeles coaches,] so everything came so natural to me. I did [have to change my mindset going into this]. In training and sparring we did a lot of pressure work and high volume punching. So I think that really helped me throughout the competition.” 

Over the course of the season, Lopez would fight a southpaw opponent seven times. One of the advantages she may have had was that her teammate and sparring partner, Roxy Verduzco, was herself a skilled southpaw. 

“It was amazing that she had the experience to move around with “Right Hook” Roxy, because she has the experience from being an amateur fighter,” explains Gonzalez. “When I would see them in there going at it, they were both going at it back-and-forth, so it was tough competition. That is why I think our girls were really, really tough and hard to beat throughout the whole entire show. Their chemistry working together was really good. After that, [Lizette] honed in and really began showcasing her skills. She was dominating a lot of the southpaw fighters she had to fight, as well as some of the orthodox fighters she fought too. Working with “Right Hook” Roxy the whole camp really sharpened her up and added to her boxing skills, because she is a forward-pressure fighter. She likes digging to the body and ripping uppercuts and using head movement. Working with Roxy, she was helping her use her jab and cutting angles, so that was really good.” 

In each week of competition, fights between each team would consist of 18 individual rounds, with each fighter competing one round at a time, once or twice throughout the night, depending on the fighter availability on each roster. The first week of action took place on March 29th at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, the host venue for the entire regular season. In the first fight on the first night, Lopez would meet southpaw Nicole Ocasio of New York. It would be the first of three meetings they had in what would become the signature rivalry of the inaugural Team Combat League season. 

Lopez and Ocasio had met before as young amateurs in the lead-up to the 2016 USA Boxing Junior National Championships in December of that year. “We had both traveled to Kansas City, Missouri and competed in that tournament for nationals,” recalls Lopez. “We ended up sparring each other, which is pretty cool that we ended up coming back into each other’s lives all this time later.” 

Without any examples to watch before their meeting, Lopez and Ocasio functioned as the guinea pigs for the entire season and set the tone for what was to come by opting for an offensive-minded fight for the two-minute duration of their opening bout. 

“I was just going to go out there and try my best to box and fight my fight and fight smart and also just throw a lot, which is like the whole concept of the show I believe,” says Lopez. “I felt pretty good actually. I felt my performance was really good and I knew that I was only going to get better from there.” 

Though her team would end up losing to New York City by one point, Lopez held up her end by winning that opening round. Lopez gave Ocasio more movement and her conditioning held up a little better in the last half minute to seal a decision win in an entertaining contest. After each night of fights, the Los Angeles Tengoose team would fly back together to California and return to training before the next fight night would bring them back across country to Connecticut. 

In her next time out on April 13th, Lopez would meet one of her tougher adversaries for the first time in experienced pro Jennifer Miranda of the Dallas Enforcers. Miranda had already fought the ten-round distance twice and captured a WBA regional belt in Spain. For two minutes, Miranda was able to find success boxing and moving and tying up the shorter Lopez when she found her way in range. 

“I did find it a little bit challenging, fighting somebody like her,” admits Lopez. “Obviously, I was going to have to close the distance more and get inside more. She was kind of trying to hit and move, stick and move. So it was a little bit harder for me. I feel like towards the end, I started getting in closer and she would start clinching more. I just tried my best.” 

Lopez would be back in the ring on May 4th, fighting twice in one night for the first time of the competition. The first bout paired her against the tough Tyriesha Douglas of the DC Destroyers. The muscularly-built southpaw Douglas entered as a fifteen-fight pro and former WIBA champion and started out the round strong. Much like in her first bout with Ocasio, Lopez’ conditioning made the difference as she came on in the last 45 seconds, this time with clean head shots, while Douglas tried to clinch to run out the time.  Two of the three judges ringside scored the split decision for Lopez. 

In the second of her fights that night, Lopez took on Dupe Akinola, who had fought in the first overall round of the match, while the win over Douglas took place in the seventh round. Akinola got off to a strong start, in what was the 13th overall round between LA and DC. After getting knocked off balance with one shot early in the round, Lopez came on late as Akinola’s output slowed, but the late rally failed to sway the judges as the DC fighter earned the unanimous nod. 

Fighting two rounds with a break in between each round was something of an adjustment for the fighters in the competition. In boxing, maintaining adrenaline and staying warmed up is part of the routine when it comes to a fight. However, in this format there are some new challenges the fighters deal with when fighting multiple rounds. 

“I had been warming up for like a while and then we go and we sit down,” explains Lopez of the process. “I think I just needed to focus a bit more. I like being first and getting it out of the way. But I didn’t mind fighting later either. I like fighting twice and I like fighting once, either or. As long as I get to fight.” 

On May 18th, Lopez and Ocasio would engage in a two-minute war that would earn the two fighters great public acclaim and eventually the TCL’s Ali-Frazier Fight of the Year Award. In the type of fight promoter Ahmed Sheikh likely envisioned when he formatted the league, Lopez and Ocasio went all out on offense from the first bell to the last. Play-by-play announcer Ray Torres proclaimed the bout round of the year during the broadcast before it even had ended. Lopez scored the most telling blow when a right hand moved Ocasio back and again the Salinas fighter proved to have the conditioning edge down the stretch en route to the thrilling decision win. 

“I just kind of went in there and wanted to stick-and-move, basically, just get in and get out,” states Lopez of the original gameplan. “But then we just threw. The bell rang and we just started throwing. I think my conditioning just held up more. That is how the round went and we won an award for that. Shout out to Nicole again. It takes two to tango, so I am proud that I got to share the ring with her.” 

With the two minutes of war that took place the week prior fresh in her mind, Lopez entered her opening bout with the Las Vegas Hustle’s Florencia Britos with a different game plan in place on May 25th. The southpaw Britos boxed well, with one head-snapping right hook probably sealing the round in her favor. Attempting to brawl less and box with a more measured pace ended up working against Lopez. 

“I think the week before was in my head,” admits Lopez. “I should have applied more pressure and threw more with Florencia. I think I could have definitely beat her. She chose her punches really well and knew how to move out of the way. I think that would be a great fight [down the road].” 

In the tenth round of the match-up against Las Vegas, Lopez returned to her aggressive style against veteran Deanha Hobbs. Lopez utilized her come forward style and landed clean with both hands, while Hobbs attempted to box while backing up.  After two minutes, Lopez had rebounded with a unanimous decision. 

The next night of fights saw Lopez open the show with a clear-cut victory over Leanne Calderon of the Dallas Enforcers, before a rematch ten rounds later against the tall and rangy Jennifer Miranda on June 2nd. Miranda, who did not fight earlier in the night, stuck to her style of boxing at range and clinching whenever Lopez found her way in close. This time however, Lopez made it a closer fight, landing well with some head shots before Miranda was able to lock her up. The one-round decision went Miranda’s way by split verdict. 

“Lizette really did good in that fight, but since Miranda was potshotting and moving back, and grabbing into a clinch, it was difficult for her,” recalls Coach Gonzalez. “But she was slowly applying that pressure and getting more into her gamestyle, so with that type of fighter, like a Miranda, she would have slowly broke her down in maybe the third or fourth round, and slowly found the opportunity to finish her off [in a traditional bout.]. She was cutting off her angles and setting herself up so she could pin her up on the ropes, but that girl Miranda was awkward for everybody.” 

In the last week of the regular season, Lopez scored wins over Deanha Hobbs and Erisnelsy Torres Castillo on June 10th to close out her time as a member of the Los Angeles Tengoose, as her team did not qualify for the playoffs. In the first bout against Hobbs, Lopez controlled the action outside of one good right that found a home with about a half minute to go in the round. “There was that one shot, it was a good shot,” admits Lopez. “I am not going to lie. But I came out on top and I felt pretty good.” 

Lopez held a rare size advantage in her bout against Torres Castillo. The shorter fighter had trouble with Lopez’ reach and tried to swing in with looping punches. Lopez imposed her strength and rocked her opponent before the final bell en route to the decision. “I think I controlled the fight,” says Lopez. “I threw a lot of right hooks and I think I almost dropped her late in the round.” 

While still training in Los Angeles, Lopez got the call to replace a fighter on the DC Destroyers for their playoff match against the New York City Attitude in Long Beach, California on August 15th. The substitution meant a rematch of the most exciting fight of the competition was set, Lopez-Ocasio one more time. Lopez started out aggressive, just as in their previous encounters, while Ocasio attempted to box more than in their prior brawl. Several Lopez right hands were the most telling punches of the round, helping sway the bout in her favor. 

“I think that was my best performance of the whole show actually,” says Lopez. “I felt really, really good that fight. I believe I was coming in and coming out, and it was a hard time for her to hit me.” 

Watching the fight closely was coach Danny Gonzalez, who concurred with Lopez’ assessment of her performance that night. “What was the best fight for me, for Lizette, was the rematch when she fought [Ocasio] in the playoffs,” recalls Gonzalez. “In the first fight, they just sat down and were throwing blows and not really setting up their [offense.] It was one of the most amazing fights, and that is why they got nominated for the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier Award and they won it. That fight, I will never forget it. It was amazing and entertaining and they started a real great relationship. But after that, when they had their rematch, and by then we had been training together and established our gamestyle and our different strategies that would help her win the rounds that she fought, that fight was the most entertaining to me. She clearly did what we had strategized and what we had worked on after week five and for the rest of the show, when we really started getting into our groove, and I like that she showed dominance in that rematch fight.” 

After the playoffs, Lopez got one more night to showcase herself as she was named to the Team West all-star team to compete twice against Team East’s Tyriesha Douglas on August 20th. In the build-up to the showcase event, Douglas showed off her entertainer side by eating a sandwich on the scale at the weigh-in before an intense staredown as well as in a bravado-filled face-off segment on YouTube. By this time, it was clear that it was all in fun and the fighters had a mutual respect for one another. 

“In my mind I was just laughing about it,” recalls Lopez. “I think it was great that she did that because it brought so much more exposure to both of us and the show. I didn’t have any negative feelings about that or anything. It was all love, no hate with Tyriesha Douglas. She is a really good person and a really good fighter. I think we were just both going into the fight thinking we are going to give it a great fight and I think we did.” 

In a fitting conclusion, Lopez and Douglas split their two bouts. Lopez took the first round of the night by split decision by keeping the steadier pace and landing right uppercuts as Douglas faded a bit late. “I think I did pretty well,” says Lopez of that opening round. “It was just a little hard because going into it she’s like my friend. But I gave it my all and tried my best and I think I did pretty well.” 

In the second meeting, which was the 16th round of the night, Douglas won a unanimous nod after finding a home for her straight left hand for a couple of the more eye-catching blows. “I thought she took it honestly,” admits Lopez. “I thought she took it, but it is okay, it is all about the experience.” 

Lopez added greatly to her collection of supporters with her impressive showing throughout the Team Combat League competition. Los Angeles Tengoose assistant coach Danny Gonzalez counts himself as one of those believers in what the Salinas fighter could accomplish as she continues in her professional pursuits.

“Like I told her before she left, and I teared up a bit, because me and her were really bonding together,” recalls Gonzalez. “We were getting nothing but results and we were in the ring with some really tough opponents and we really held our ground and were doing really good. I told her, when you can focus and implement your strength and conditioning into what got accomplished in the last six weeks, I see nothing but super success for her. I think she can be a world champion easily because of her forward-style pressure and the way she moves and establishes her jab and she’s fierce, she’s smart, she digs uppercuts to the body and she knows how to get away from shots now that we focused on her defense. She would come a little bit too much with her forward offensive threat and she would get caught and lean forward, and she would lose rounds like that. But now that she has her feet under her and she’s managing her distance and being more intelligent with her feet, I see nothing but success for Lizette.” 

The future looks bright for Lopez, who remains ready in the gym for whatever comes next. “I do not have anyone [specifically] in mind, but whoever comes at me, trying to fight, I am ready for it,” says Lopez. “Whatever is for me, is for me. I am very grateful for the opportunity and the exposure. I got a lot of exposure out of this and I got to meet a lot of great people. Shout out to [TCL promoter] Akmed. He is a really great person that gave me the opportunity.”

With season one in the rearview, Lopez hopes to get another traditional professional bout under her belt before perhaps making a team for Team Combat League season two. Two teams have announced tryout schedules thus far, with the first one taking place November 4th as of press time. Season two kicks off on March 28, 2024 at a venue to be announced. 

Photo by Chris Farina

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

Janibek Alimkhanuly stopped Vincenzo Gualtieri in round six to retain his WBO and win the IBF Middleweight title at the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas.

Alimkhanuly hurt Gualtieri in round five with a devastating left uppercut. In round six, it was another uppercut that hurt Gualtieri that made him stumble to the corner and the fight was stopped at 1:25.

Alimkhanuly, 159.3 lbs of Kazakhstan is 15-0 with 10 knockouts. Gualtieri, 159.5 lbs of Germany is 21-1-1.

Janibek said, “This is my style of fighting. This is Qazaq style, and this is what I will continue to do.
 
“We knew from the beginning that he wasn’t going to fight back. He was waiting because he thought I was going to get tired. But I didn’t get tired.
 
“We would like to add another two belts to this collection. We hope that our promoter Top Rank can organize that.”
 
Gualtieri said, “Congratulations to Janibek. He was better tonight. But I think it was a little bit early to end the fight. But he was better today.

Keyshawn Davis won a 10-round majority decision over Nahir Albright in a lightweight bout.

Davis landed 139 of 331 punches. Albright was 92 of 425.

Davis, 135 lbs of Norfolk, VA won by scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95 and is now 10-0. Albright, 134.9 lbs of Sicklerville, NJ is 16-3.

Davis said, “I had it as a win for me. That’s all that matters. He was a tough fighter. And this fight today gave me some good experience. I was feeling good. I was just boxing. I was just having fun and doing what I want to do.
 
“I just want to show that I belong at the top of the 135-pound division. I’m working my way up there. If Jose Pedraza is willing to take a fight with me, then let’s do it.”

Richard Torrez Jr. remained perfect by stopping Tyrell Anthony Herndon in a scheduled six-round heavyweight bout.

In round two, Torrez dropped Herndon with a hard 1-2 combination. Torrez jumped all over Herndon and landed an assault and the fight was stopped when Herndon turned his back at 1:26.

Torrez, 233.1 lbs of Talure, CA is 7-0 with seven knockouts. Herndon, 234.8 lbs of San Antonio is 21-5.

Torrez said, “This is a process. Top Rank has the best matchmakers, and I fight whoever they put in front of me. If they say I’m ready to fight eight-rounders next, I’ll be ready.
 
“I’m not expecting knockouts. When I don’t expect them, that’s when they happen. It’s a Catch 22. If I expect the knockouts, then they don’t happen. I just want to show my boxing ability, and I got two rounds in this time. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

Guido Vianello won an eight-round unanimous decision over Curtis Harper in a heavyweight bout.

Vianello, 241.3 lbs of Rome, ITA won by scores of 80-72 and 79-73 twice and is now 11-1-1. Harper, 275.5 lbs of Clarksville, TN is

Giovanni Marquez remained undefeated with a second-round stoppage over Donte Strayhorn in a scheduled six-round junior welterweight bout.

In round two, Marquez dropped Staryhorn with two right uppercuts. Seconds later, it was a vicious four punch combination that was punctuated by a left hook that put Strayhorn on the deck. Marquez ended things by landing seven unanswered punches that finished the fight at 2:47.

Marquez, 141.3 lbs of Houston, TX is 7-0 with five knockouts. Strayhorn, 140.2 lbs of Dallas, TX is 12-5-1.

Duke Ragan got off the deck to win a eight-round split-decision over Jose Perez in a featherweight bout.

In round five, Pere landed a big left hook that dropped Ragan. Ragan was cut on his right cheekbone. In round seven, Perez was cut over his right eye.

Ragan, 125.3 lbs of Cincinatti, OH was coming off a year layoff, and won by scores of 76-75 twice, while Perez took a card 76-75.

Ragan is now 10-0. Perez, 126.4 lbs of Oak Hill, CA is 11-2-2.

Kelvin Davis remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Narcisco Carmona in a junior welterweight. fight.

Davis, 142 lbs. of Norfolk, VA won by scores of 80-72, 79=73 and 77-75 and is now 10-0. Carmona, 142.6 lbs of Servilla, SPA is 11-2-1.

Alan Garcia remained with a six-round unanimous decision over Nelson Hampton in a junior welterweight fight.

Garcia, 137.8 lbs of Ulysses, KN won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 10-0. Hampton, 137.3 lbs of McAllen, TX is 10-8.

Oscar Bravo and Humberto Galindo fought to a eight-round majority draw in a junior lightweight fight.

In round three, Galindo was deducted a point for a low blow. In round four, Bravo was deducted a point for holding.

Scores were 76-74 for Galindo and 75-75 twice.

Bravo, 130.8 lbs of Sabtiago, CHL is 25-13-1. Gallindo, 131.7 lbs of Tijuan, MEX is 14-3-2.

Jakhungir Zokirov made a successful pro debut with a fourth-round stoppage over Guillermo Del Rio in the final scheduled round of their heavyweight bout.

In round one, Zokirov dropped Del Rio with a left hand.

In round four, Zokirov dropped Del Rio Again with another straight left and the fight was stopped at 39 seconds.

Zokirov, 263.5 lbs of Uzbekistan is 1-0 with one knockout. Del Rio, 217.1 lbs of Monterrey, MEX is 4-5-1.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s a Thanksgiving weekend fight, a main event between David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade and a Holiday date projected to lead to a possible fight with Canelo Alvarez.

Sorry for the Thanksgiving reference, but it could set the table for what might be the biggest fight in 2024, which is planned for another May 5 celebration, Cinco in Mexico and Canelo de Mayo in Vegas

But there were no thanks for Canelo Thursday.

There were questions, of course. Follow the money. In boxing, that means follow Canelo.

“F— Canelo,’’ Andrade said Thursday in the first formal news conference announcing his super-middleweight fight with Benavidez at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay on Nov. 25, the Saturday after Turkey day.

Even without the Canelo intrigue, it’s an interesting fight, especially for Benavidez, who has formally changed his nickname since he overwhelmed Caleb Plant in a punishing late-round assault in a scorecard victory last March.

Benavidez used to call himself El Bandera Roja, The Red Flag, as in warning. But the Phoenix-born fighter, who will be 27 on December 17, has outgrown that one. By now, the warning is well-known enough to make some – perhaps even Canelo – wary.

Now, Benavidez calls himself “El Monstruo,” The Monster. That’s how he was introduced at Thursday’s newser in Los Angeles. In part, it’s what Mike Tyson called him more than a year ago. In fact, Tyson called him The Mexican Monster. But Benavidez simplified it, stripping it down to a scary simplicity. Trick or treat, he sees himself as The Monster, no nationality needed.

Canelo seems to have his own name for Benavidez. When asked about him after his one-sided decision over Jermell Charlo a few weeks ago, he used the same language that Andrade did Thursday.

“I don’t effing care,’’ Canelo said more than once.

Subtract the effing and that’s pretty much what Benavidez said about Canelo Thursday.

“I’m not worried about Canelo,’’ said Benavidez, who went on to say that only the Andrade fight concerned him.

On several levels, it was the right thing to say, of course. In tone, however, it was a different Benavidez, more pragmatic and perhaps a lot wiser. For a couple of years, he was always calling out Canelo with volumes of unabridged trash talk.

But the talk only seemed to anger Canelo, whose celebrity and documented pay-per-view number gives him all the leverage. He put Gennadiy Golovkin on ice, denying him a third fight until it was too late for GGG. Why? Maybe, because GGG angered him when he accused Canelo of being a user after a positive test for clenbuterol.

Silence on Canelo looks to be a smarter negotiating tactic. Besides, there’s only Andrade for now.

Lose to him, and Benavidez likely says goodbye to a chance at big money and a share of legacy. The oddsmakers like Benavidez to beat Andrade, a 35-year old former junior-middleweight and middleweight champ who will be fighting at 168 pounds for only the second time.

Benavidez, who will make his second appearance on Showtime pay-per-view, opened as a solid favorite, minus-320, which means he’s given about a 78 percent chance at winning.

Andrade, however, has a chance in part for skills that many say Benavidez does not have. Andrade has an Olympic pedigree. That means footwork and a high ring IQ. A fighter with an educated skillset say the critics, including ESPN analyst Tim Bradley, who says the 2008 Olympian’s footwork could lead to an upset.

“That’s why I’m taking this challenge,’’ Benavidez said. “I want to shut everybody up.’’

However, Benavidez dad, Jose Benavidez Sr, continues to talk, buoyed perhaps by his son’s powerful dominance, especially over the last four rounds.

“I think David stops him in the eighth round,’’ Jose Sr. said.

That would say it all.

NOTES: Initially, Benavidez-Andrade was headed to San Antonio, according to multiple sources and reports. It was moved to Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena within the last week. The move makes sense. Benavidez’ fan base is Phoenix, his hometown. Vegas is a lot closer to Phoenix than San Antonio. 15 rounds talked to some Benavidez fans. They said there’s a better chance of them traveling to Vegas than San Antonio on Thanksgiving weekend. Tickets went on sale Thursday.

There have been several reports that Benavidez’ older brother, Jose Benavidez Jr. will fight middleweight champion Jermall Charlo on the undercard. However, that bout has yet to be announced.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Other than heavyweight and perhaps welterweight, there’s no division that has had a bigger impact on boxing than middleweight. The names tell the story. Hagler, LaMotta, Hopkins, Zale, Monzon, the original Sugar and so many more.

Suddenly, however, it’s a weight class without a face. More mediocre than middle. The top of The Ring’s 160-pound rating is blank. A division without definition. The title is vacant, an empty lot in what used to be historical real estate.

Some of that might begin to change next week, October 14. A title unification between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Vincenzo Gualtieri is scheduled for Rosenberg, Texas.

It’s an ESPN fight. But a Houston suburb is a long way from Vegas, Los Angeles or New York. There’s a reason for that. Few know Janibek, the World Boxing Organization’s champion. Nobody knows Vincenzo Gualtieri, the International Boxing Federation’s belt holder. These guys need name tags. They have titles, but no name recognition.

Janibek is probably today’s best middleweight. He’s powerful and aggressive enough to be scary. But the Kazak is unknown, a reason perhaps that he continues to be ranked by The Ring and ESPN behind the widely known Gennadiy Golovkin, the 41-year-old fellow Kazak who relinquished his 160-pound titles last March, about six months after his forgettable scorecard loss at 168 pounds to Canelo Alvarez in a trilogy fight. For all anybody knows, the next time we see GGG might be at his Hall-of-Fame induction.

Then, there’s Gualtieri. Gualtieri answers an opening bell somewhere other than his home country, Germany, for the first time next week.

Chris Eubank, a much better-known middleweight contender from the UK, probably put it best weeks after his stoppage of Liam Smith in August. He was asked about fighting Janibek or Gualtieri.

“I don’t know who they are,” Eubank told Sky Sports. “And I’m in the game. So, the general public are not going to know who these guys are, which means it’s hard for them to tune in.’’

I bring all of this up because the fabled yet faded middleweight division is desperate for a fighter who has at least some name recognition. Enter Elijah Garcia.

There was a lot of controversy about Canelo’s decision over Jermell Charlo last Saturday on Showtime at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. But there were no complaints about Garcia’s dynamic stoppage of Armando Resendiz in the opener to a pay-per-view card that drew an audience reportedly between 650,00 and 700,000 customers.

Garcia delivered the best performance on a card that otherwise generated lots of social-media flak, mostly directed at Charlo, who appeared to be there only for a paycheck. For Garcia, there were cheers from a crowd that increasingly likes what it sees. It was the third straight time that Garcia, now 16-0 with 13 knockouts, has opened a pay-per-view show. It’s been an introduction that fans haven’t seen from Janibek, much less Gualtieri.

It’s also been an introduction that has created an appetite for more from Garcia, who has been adept at using social media since his amateur days. Potentially, his ongoing emergence is welcome news for a division fighting to reverse a slide into anonymity.

For Garcia, it’s an opportunity. The 20-year-old Arizona fighter, who grew up in Phoenix and has a ranch in Wittman, is known for a bold goal. Repeatedly, he says he wants to be a 21-year-old champion. He’s in the right place to pull that one off.

“I want to be a mandatory for a title pretty soon,’’ he said after delivering a beautiful combo – a left-handed body shot followed by a seamless right to the body then head in an eventual eighth-round stoppage of Resendiz. “I’ll be 21 in April and I’m gonna keep taking it one step at a time.’’

Garcia is clearly on the fast track. But that comes with a dilemma. Too fast is a risk. Janibek might be unknown. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous.

Garcia told 15 Rounds before the Canelo-Charlo card that he would want at least one more fight before a shot at a major title.

“I think I’m getting better every single fight and I think it starts in the gym,’’ he then said after the card. “I’m getting back in the gym on Monday. I just have to keep getting better every single fight, take it one step at a time, fight harder opponents and I’ll get that world title.’’

For now, Garcia will have to wait on the unpredictable collection of haphazard rankings by the acronyms. This week, he’s at No. 7, according to the IBF, which has vacancies at both No. 1 and No. 2. The WBC (World Boxing Council) puts him at No. 6 for a title held by the troubled and ever unpredictable Jermall Charlo, Jermell’s twin brother who reportedly will fight Arizona-born Jose Benavidez Jr. on Nov. 25 on a card projected to feature his brother — super-middleweight contender and Canelo possibility David Benavidez — against Demetrius Andrade.

Meanwhile, Garcia, No. 9 by The Ring, is suddenly at No. 2 by the notorious WBA (World Boxing Association) for a title held by Cuban Erislandy Lara, now 40.  Lara is expected to fight Danny Garcia.

In the WBO ratings, he’s No. 13 for the title held by today’s most feared middleweight, Janibek.

Add it all up, and Garcia’s ambitious goal looks doable, made possible by a young fighter who is introducing himself and maybe re-introducing an old weight class to fans.  

LAS VEGAS –Welcome back, Canelo Alvarez.

A perceived slide was interrupted, if not halted altogether, Saturday night with Canelo’s thorough  victory over Jermell Charlo in front of a Showtime pay-per-view audience and a roaring crowd at T-Mobile Arena.

Other than a knockout, Canelo did it all. He didn’t  tire in the end. He reasserted his documented power, forcing Charlo to take a knee with a huge right hand in the seventh. He had Charlo and his doubters in retreat throughout 12 rounds.

For months, the argument was that Canelo’s 18-year career in the prize-fighting ring was over. It was as if somebody had jammed Canelo’s skillset into a barrel and shipped it to the dump. But there were signs throughout the last week that Canelo had redefined himself, his body and his career.

“Nobody is going to beat this Canelo,” he said .

The one-sided scores — 118-109, 119-108, 118-109 — were just one measure of how dominant Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) was in his fight to stop the slide. Charlo (35-2-1, 15 KOs) simply had no chance.

“I don’t make excuses for myself,” Charlos said. “it is what is is.”

One question will linger. Charlo, an undisputed champion at junior-middleweight, was fighting for the first at super-middle, a division Canelo has long ruled.

Charlo jumped two weight classes. He was feeling super-middleweight power for the first time. The question will be there until Canelo faces a true super-middleweight. That might be David Benavidez, the unbeaten super-middleweight from Phoenix.

First, Benavidez has to beat Demetrius Andrade. 15 Rounds confirmed with promoter Tom Brown that Benavidez will fight Andrade on November 25 in San Antonio. The World Boxing Council aso is planning to address Canelo’s next mandatory defense at its convention in November in Uzbekistan, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told 15 Rounds. The Benavidez-Andrade winner might get a mandatory shot at Canelo. 

But nothing is ever certain. Welterweight champion Terence Crawford, the undisputed pound-for-pound No. 1 after his blowout of Errol Spence, has talked about facing Canelo at a catchweight. Crawford was in the crowd Saturday.

“We can;t rule on what we don;t know,” Sulaiman said. “We can only deal with the facts.”

For now, here’s one:

Canelo is back.

Lubin wins unanimous decision for a fight that only earns boos

A firefight was the promise. But there was no fire. Not much of a fight, either. Instead there were boos.

A gathering crowd for the Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo fight Saturday night turned into a storm of discontent at a bout that had been projected to be a significant junior-middleweight match.  

But the Erickson Lubin-Jesus Ramos bout was a dud in the final Showtime pay-per-view bout before Canelo-Charlo at T-Mobile Arena.

For 12 rounds, Ramos (20-1, 16 KOs) moved forward, chasing a backpedaling Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs). If it weren’t for ropes that kept him in the ring, Ramos would have been chasing Lubin down the Vegas Strip. Lubin would not engage.

But he did enough backpedaling to convince the judges. All three scored it in his favor. It was 115-113, 116-112 and 117-111. All for Lubin. The decision was unanimous. So was the crowd’s discontent.

Lubin looked surprised when the scores were announced.  Ramos, a 22-year-old Arizona fighter from Casa Grande, looked
stunned. After Lubin  stopped backpedaling enough to be interviewed in the ring, his answers couldn’t be heard above the roar of boos.

“I’m one of the top dogs,” he said after a dog fight.

Meanwhile, Ramos was left to deal with one of boxing’s lessons. Lousy decisions are like scars. Everybody has one.

“I’ll move on and deal with this loss,” said the young fighter who came into the ring  amid expectations that he had a chance to be one of boxing’s next great champions.

All he has now is a loss. And maybe a lesson. 

Barrios scores decision over a bloodied Ugas

In the end, it belonged to Mario Barrios, who scored a decision — unanimous and contentious — over Yordenis Ugas Saturday night on the Showtime pay-per-view telecast of the card featuring Canelo Alvarez-versus-Jermell Charlo at T-Mobile Arena

Barrios (28-3, 18 KOS), a San Antonio welterweight, scored two knockdowns of Ugas (27-6, 12 KOs), a Cuban best known for ending Manny Pacquiao’s legendary career.

A left jab put Ugas down in the second. He was down again in the twelfth. Twice, the ringside doctor looked at his bloodied eyes. Each time, the fight was allowed to continue. But there was never much of a chance that Ugas could win. By  A lucky punch? Maybe.

But Barrios had too much energy and more precision in his punches. Ugas was just hanging on for an end that would go against him. It did.  He lost on all three cards, 118-107, 117-108, 118-107..

Elijah Garcia delivers TKO victory in his “toughest” fight

There were questions in the beginning. Then, there were lessons, sharply delivered and still there to learn. In the end, there was some perfection.

For emerging middleweight Elijah Garcia, still a student of the game, it was a fight full of just about everything. From aspirations to possibilities, it was all there.

 Above all, Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs) stayed unbeaten and on track to accomplish an ambitious goal with an eighth-round TKO of Armando Resenediz Saturday in the first Showtime pay-per-view bout on the card featuring Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

“It was really a hard fight,” said Garcia, a 20-year-old Arizona fighter who wants to be a 21-year-old middleweight champion. “It was my toughest, yeah 100 percent.”

They’ll get tougher. A lot tougher. There’s no other way to get to that middleweight title. But he’s still there, perhaps on the fast track, mostly because of what he continued to prove. His power is deadly and he sustains it. Without it, he might be dealing with his first defeat.

But it was alway there and always accurate enough  to stagger, stun and then wear out the gritty Resendiz (14-2, 10 KOs). 

The Phoenix born left-hander, who continues to wear 602 — the PHX area code — stitched onto the belt buckle of his trunks — set the tone in the opening round, buckling Resendiz at the knees with a big left hand.

But Resendiz, stubborn and brave, would not go away. For the next few rounds, Resendiz tirelessly moved forward and relentlessly threw straight-handed punches. They landed, again and again. The evidence was in the reddening skin around Garcia’s eyes. Garcia was dropping his hands, especially his left.  Sometimes, it was down at his hip. It was risky against Resendiz. Against a middleweight champion, it could be deadly. A lesson still to be learned.

For now, Garcia’s power prevails. Within Resendiz’ busy style, there was no counter for it . There was only an inevitable end and It came at about two minutes of the eighth round, delivered by a sequence of punches that were a thing of beauty. Garcia put together three punches, almost seamlessly. First, Gracia landed a left to Resendiz’s body. Then, he followed with a right to the body. Then, there was the finishing touch, a right to the head. It was all done with a certain rhythm that ended in Resendiz crashing to the canvas.

About 30 seconds later, referee Tony Weeks saw a dazed and defenseless Resendiz. Wisely, Weeks ended it at 2:33 of the eighth round of a fight that included a statement, punctuated by three perfectly delivered punches that summed up Garcia’s potential.   

Frank Sanchez wins fourth-round stoppage

Frank Sanchez has more than just heavyweight power. He’s a quick thinker.

He had to be against Scott Alexander Saturday night on the Caneo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo card Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Alexander (17-6-2, 9 KOs) of Los Angeles, quicky showed that he was more than just another opponent. He threw a head-rocking right hand, a wake-up call in the first round 

Sanchez’ response was immediate. The merging contender from Cuba countered with his own right, staggering Alexander with a blow that delivered a preview of what was to come. 

In the second round, Sanchez (23-0 16 KOs) knocked down Alexander. In the fourth, he did it again. But this one finished Alexander, who was slow to get up and wobbly when he did, a loser by TKO late in the fourth

Gausha wins majority decision

Terrell Gausha took another step  toward turning his loss to Tim Tszyu into a fading memory.

He beat KeAndrae Leatherwood.

But it wasn’t easy.

Gausha (24-3-1, 12 KOs) a middleweight from Cleveland, found himself caught up in a slow-paced bout with an awkward Leatherwood (39-1, 13 KOs), of Tuscaloosa AL, in an eight-round middleweight bout on the card featuring Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo.

A cautious Leatherwood was content to hold , but never engage Gausha. That made the fight hard to score.

Gausha, an Olympian who lost a unanimous decision to Tszyu in March 2022, won a majority decision. He was a 78-74 winner on two cards. The third judge scored it a draw.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk back with quick KO

Former light-heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk says he’s ready for Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

He won’t get an argument from Isaac Rodrigues.

In his third comeback fight this year, Gvozdyk (20-1, 15 KOs) continued to work on restoring his world-class skills with crushing second round knockout of Rodrigues (28-5, 22 KOs) in the the third fight on the Canelo-Charlo undercard, Gvozdyk, a Ukrainian, is working his way back after he retired following a punishing loss to Beterbiev in October 2019 in Philadelphia.

Rodrigues’ 22 stoppages suggested that he might be dangerous. He wasn’t. Midway through the second, Gvozdyk, who calls himself “The Nail”, hammered him with a couple of precise punches. Rodrigues, of Brazil, had to be helped out of the ring. Middleweights fight to forgettable draw

It was a draw. Dull,too

A crowd might been bored by a forgettable middleweight bout between Abilkhan Amankul (4-0-1, 4 KOs), of Kazakhstan, and Joeshen James (7-0-2, 4 KOs) , of Sacramento, in the second bout on the Canelo-Charlo card. But there was nobody at T-Mobile to bore.

One card favored Amankul, 39-37. On the other two, it  was, yawn 38-38.

First Bell: Canelo-Charlo card opens with crushing KO

Call it a power lunch.

Gabriel Valenzuela brought all the power, He opened the show about six hours before the Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo main event Saturday. He dropped Yeis Gabriel Solano three times. Nobody noticed.That’s because nobody was there for the matinee opener to a 12 fight card at T-Mobile Arena.

It was over when Valenzuela (27-3-1, 17 KOs), of Mexico, sent Solano (15-3, 10 KOs), of Colombia, crashing onto the canvas, a knockout victim at 2:33 of the sixth round. An unconscious Solano remained on the canvas, surrounded by echoes, for several seconds until hs cornermen helped up and out of the ring.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – It was only a show, but a big audience saw plenty.

Canelo Alvarez promises he’s back and – at first glance – it looks as if he’s not kidding.

Canelo stepped on the scale for a staged weigh-in Friday, looking a lot like the old Canelo, or at least the one who dominated pay-per-view sales and pound-for-pound debates before his upset loss to Dmitry Bivol.

Canelo’s work in the gym was evident in a redefined upper-body. Only after opening bell Saturday against Jermell Charlo will anybody know whether Canelo has redefined his career.

But a sculpted look was a sign he’s serious about halting an apparent decline that began with a scorecard loss to Bivol at light-heavyweight and continued with forgettable victories at super-middle-weight over Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder.

“The size factor is no matter here,” said Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs), the undisputed super-middleweight champion said after stepping off the scale a day before opening bell for his bout at T-Mobile Arena with Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), undisputed at junior middle.  “I did that before and I felt good. So, it’s gonna be a great fight, and I’m ready for anything.’’

Both fighters were lighter than the super-middle mandatory, 168 pounds. Both were reported to be at 167.4 pounds at an official, Nevada State Athletic Commission weigh-in Friday morning behind closed doors at the MGM Grand.

A few hours later, they moved outdoors and onto a stage at an outdoor pavilion in front of T-Mobile. A big crowd was waiting. So were the beer vendors.

It was 96 degrees under an afternoon sun in the Nevada desert. The fighters did the sweating and some of the swearing.

“I’m a bad m-effer,’’ Charlo said.

The crowd did the drinking.

It also did the cheering, all for Canelo. Nobody is quite sure what had happened to him, post-Bivol. For a crowd full of the Canelo faithful, however, Friday’s show re-affirmed hopes that he’s back.

Betting odds suggest that he will be against Charlo on a Showtime pay-per-view card (5 pm PT/8 pm ET).

Late Friday, Canelo continued to be about a 4-to-1 favorite over Charlo, who is jumping up two weight classes. In his first fight at 168, there are questions about whether Charlo can endure Canelo’s punching power throughout the scheduled 12 rounds.

There’s also speculation about the condition of Charlo’s left hand. He suffered a reported fracture in the hand last December, eventually forcing him to withdraw from a key date with Tim Tszyu.

“I don’t speak on those things because, I don’t want to make an excuse for myself,” Charlo said to reporters Wednesday after the final news conference. “I want to go in there and be a dog.”

Also, Charlo has not been the non-stop trash talker most fans remember and expect. The bad m-effer has almost been polite. In part, he says, that’s because he hasn’t been around his notorious twin brother, Jermall Charlo.

“Just don’t got that noise in my head,’’ he said.

No noise, no chance? That’s just one question for a fight that on Friday, at least, hinted at an answer in some redefined body language from Canelo Alvarez. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Process and patience, routine and roadwork are at the beginning of any young fighter’s career. Jesus Ramos has done them all. Does them all. He’s made the weight and run the miles. The demanding lifestyle never changes a whole lot. Cheat the routine and you cheat the craft.

Ramos, a quiet 22-year-old, practices that craft, one he learned in the desert town of Casa Grande between Phoenix and Tucson. It’s a farming community known for some ancient Native American ruins. Mostly, it’s known for unforgiving summers. Phoenix is hot. Casa Grande is hell.

Ramos has emerged from that cauldron, tempered by an environment as unforgiving as his chosen profession. Try and cheat the desert at midday in July, and it’ll kill you. Cheat the craft, and it’ll beat you.

Place and profession, they are inseparable in Ramos, a fighter who seems to have an innate understanding of who he is, what he wants and what he can and can’t control in a game ruled by chaos. Break it all down, and it leaves only himself.

Perceptions change. Popularity moves up and down like mercury in thermometer. For Ramos, however, there’s the process, ongoing and now on the brink of another challenge Saturday night against experienced junior-middleweight contender Erickson Lubin in the co-main event on a Showtime pay-per-view card featuring Canelo Alvarez-versus-Jermell Charlo at T-Mobile Arena.

“I’m here to showcase my talent,’’ said Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs, who made weight Friday, tipping the scale at 153.4 pounds. “I’ve seen a lot of people say that I don’t have a lot of ring IQ.

“So, I’m looking to show that and other dimensions to my game. It’s going to be a new Jesus Ramos. It’s not really about exposing Lubin, but more about exposing my talent.’’

The new Jesus Ramos? More like the evolving Jesus Ramos. He’s just figuring out how good he is. He was called a prospect just a few months ago.  

“Now, I think of myself as a contender,’’ he said.

So, too, does everybody else. His sudden emergence is the reason he’s featured in the last fight on the pay-per-view (5 pm PT/8 pm PT) before the Canelo-Charlo show. There’s a sense, a buzz about Ramos. He looks as if he’s the real deal, a future star in a game searching for new blood.

It’s appropriate, perhaps, that he’s on a card expected measure whether the game’s long-reigning star, Canelo, has begun to fade. That, however, is just one of the many things Ramos can’t control. He can only beat Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs), who was also at 153.4 pounds Friday.

Lubin praises Ramos. But he also warns that the Arizona fighter is getting ahead of himself in so-called eliminator bout expected to earn the winner a shot at a junior-middleweight title.

Lubin, now 27, was once a young lion. He was 22, confident and very sure of himself. But that’s when Charlo beat him, knocking him out in October 2017. History, Lubin promises, is about to repeat itself.

“I took the Jermell Charlo fight at 22 and Jesus Ramos is doing the same thing, daring to be great by fighting somebody like me,’’ Lubin said. “I know he comes ready to fight, but I feel history repeats itself in my favor.’’

Ramos doesn’t exactly think in terms of history. He’ll leave that to Canelo. For him, it’s more about the resume. He needs an impressive entry, one that would qualify him for a job, a role as a challenger for a middleweight title.

“It’s really important that I dominate, because Lubin is so tough’’ Ramos said. “He’s given guys like Stephen Fundora a lot of trouble. It would be a big statement, a big win for my resume.’’

It’d also be another answer to questions about Ramos’ IQ, within the ropes and outside of them. He’s always learning, a fundamental part of a never-ending process forged by place and profession.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Rounds in the gym are done.

Thursday, it was time for rounds – and more rounds — with the media for Elijah Garcia, who has moved swiftly through the prospect stage and graduated into a contender.

That graduation was confirmed by his promoter Tom Brown during an undercard news conference for Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo fight at T-Mobile Arena.

Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast begins with Garcia (15-0, 12 KOs) against Armando Resendiz (14-1, 10 KOs) n a fight expected to do more than just warm up the audience with an opening act.

Brown expects it to create possibilities. Garcia-versus-Resendiz is a step toward a New Year.

“The winner of this fight will fight for a middleweight world title in 2024,’’ Brown said in introductory remarks in a crowded ballroom at the MGM Grand.

That, perhaps, wasn’t news to Garcia, one of two Arizona fighters on a pay-per-view card including Casa Grande junior-middleweight Jesus Ramos against Erickson Lubin in the co-main event.

Brown’s promotional plan aligns with Garcia’s goal to be a 21-year-old world champion.

It’s ambitious. Garcia is 20. He’ll be 21 next year, still an apprentice in a lot of other crafts. But that apprenticeship looks to be another completed round in Garcia’s emerging resume. Garcia’s career is taking off in terms of name-recognition and possibilities.

But all contenders are enrolled in the next step, a kind of finishing school for champions. The burden of proof is always there. What have you done for me lately?

Now, it’s up to Garcia to deliver that proof, that answer, against a 24-year-old fighter known for his toughness.

“I know Armando comes in shape, and he’s really strong,’’ said Garcia, who grew up in Phoenix and has a ranch in Wittman. “He throws a lot of punches, so I have to control the pace.

“You saw in his last fight what happens when he controls the pace. So, I’m definitely not going to let that happen.’’

Garcia is cool and confident. Both are there in his demeanor, whether at work within the ropes or on a stage with reporters. Both also are signs of an emerging craftsman ready for his next job. He’s prepared for the punches. And prepared for the questions.

He’s learning. Always learning, a task that ends only for former champions. From prospect to aspiring champion, one thing never changes. The student always has to be there.

“I try to choose the best opponent every time,’’ the student in Garcia said. “Armando was on the top of the list, because he’s gonna give me the experience I need. He’s gonna prepare me for the world title. I want to get better, each and every fight.’’

There’s only way to do that. The perennial student isn’t afraid of a lesson plan that includes some honest self-criticism.

“I don’t think my last performance was my best,’’ he said. “I started a little slow. But I’m gonna prove that I’ve got more experience than I showed.

“I’m a new class fighter and I’m gonna show I’m on a different level.’’’

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – It’s a fight at the crossroads.

Canelo’s crossroads.

Where it’ll take him is just about anybody’s guess. There’s right. There’s left. And there’s nowhere, or at least no more. Canelo Alvarez has answered 63 opening bells over the last 18 years.

The 64^th is significant, but not for the way it’ll sound. Canelo has been answering opening bells the way the rest of the world answers its morning alarm. They’ve been his lifestyle, his 9-to-5 routine. It’s hard to imagine what he’d do – who he’d be – without one.

But Jermell Charlo is there, promising to end the only thing Canelo has ever known Saturday night in a Showtime pay-per-view bout at T-Mobile Arena. Charlo looms as an unlikely threat to undo that Canelo identity.

Canelo, perhaps, will prove just how unlikely. All the documented data suggests that’s what will happen.

Charlo, an undisputed champion at junior-middleweight, is jumping up two weight classes in a bid to upset Canelo, undisputed at super-middle.

Charlo has been idle for more than a year. Above all, he’s never been subjected to the pressures that accompany the kind of stage occupied by Canelo for so long.

“He’s gonna feel it,’’ Canelo said at a news conference Wednesday in a crowded ball room at the MGM Grand. “It’s hard to explain it, but it’s just something different. He’s not used to being in there with a fighter like me.’’

That begs a question, one that served as something of a promotional theme ever since the fight was announced in the summer months.

After all of those opening bells and subsequent punishment, just who is Canelo? The same fighter he believes himself to be? Still the aggressive finisher who stopped a then-feared Sergey Kovalev in the 11^th round in November 2019?

Or is he at the end? It’s too easy to suggest that Canelo’s career is at the precipice. Still, there are signs he’s preparing for life after he answers that last bell. He’s selling his own brand, VMC, of Tequila cocktails. In and around his hometown, Guadalajara, he has his own line of gas stations, Canelo Energy.

Energy, of course, is one of the factors in Canelo’s perceived decline. Over his last three fights, there’s just been none of it in the late rounds. By the seventh or eighth, Canelo is running on empty.

Maybe, it’s just been a question of conditioning or injuries, especially to his left hand.The hand, he said, is fine, back to what it was following surgery.

But if that energy crisis continues Saturday night, the career is problematic.

Potentially, it could put a fatigued Canelo in jeopardy against a fighter, Charlo, who is known for staging the late assault. Charlo, a lot like possible Canelo foe David Benavidez, gets on a roll over the final three to four rounds

Canelo promises he’ll have the right counter to whatever Charlo plans to deliver.

“I never overlook any fighter,’’ said Canelo, who switched up his usual routine with a training camp at altitude in the Nevada mountains near Reno. “I know what he brings and I’m ready.

“I’ve been in there with all types of fighters. He hasn’t experienced this kind of level of fight. You will see and you will learn.’’

Throughout Wednesday’s newer, there were moments when he sounded like the fighter known worldwide today as simply Canelo. He finds motivation. He uses it. He remembers Charlo for criticism of his skillset.

“He never believed in my skills.” he said. “…Now, I have the opportunity to show my skills.’’

Charlo, known for crazy trash talk earlier in his career, has said little to annoy Canelo. If anything, the Houston fighter has been cautiously complimentary. Wednesday’s news conference was notable for all the slurs that weren’t said and all the shoves that were deliver. By boxing standards, it was polite.

Only a lion might complain.

Charlo likes to think of himself in lion-like terms. They are lionized, stitched across the front of  his caps and shirts.

“I’m an effing lion,’’ he roared during the news conference.

Canelo smiled.

“I don’t know what animal I need to be,’’ he said.

Probably the animal he used to be.    

Depending on the pundit doing the autopsy, Canelo Alvarez is – or isn’t — in decline.

It’s a story line that has become Canelo’s motivation and almost a theme for the promotion of his Sept. 30 date with Jermell Charlo on Showtime pay-per-view at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Canelo has endured his share of controversy. But not much adversity. Within the ropes, at least, he’s never been knocked down. Some believe those same ropes saved him from a trip to the canvas in 2010, Canelo, then 19, rebounded, bouncing off ropes at Vegas’ MGM Grand like a projectile from a slingshot.

A first-round assault from Jose Cotto, Miguel Cotto’s brother, put him there, in peril yet never finished.  He went on to win a ninth-round stoppage. It was a moment that summed up a career with few missteps.

Since then, nobody has been able to knock him off his feet. Not Gennadiy Golovkin. Not Floyd Mayweather. Not Dmitry Bivol.

Through 63 fights, Canelo has remained upright, always surefooted, throughout nearly two decades in a place full of chaos, cheap shots, slick spots and accidents.

Boxing is a sucker for the drama that transpires when a fighter gets up, off the deck to win. Yet, it has never seen Canelo in that moment. He loses. But he never falls.

Yet, an evident decline, starting with a scorecard loss to Bivol in May 2022, has fellow fighters, rival trainers and pundits wondering whether Canelo’s career is where he was 13 years ago: Off-balance and held up by only the ropes.

Maybe. A week before opening bell, time looms as a bigger question than Charlo. For Canelo, age is only a number on his birth certificate. He’s 32, still standing and squarely within the middle of the traditional window defined as prime time.

Instead, the relevant measure is 18 years. That’s how long he’s been a prizefighter, swapping punches and punishment for paychecks.

He’s been there, in harm’s way, longer than Aaron Rodgers, whose 17 years as an NFL quarterback suffered a career-threatening injury to an Achilles tendon a few weeks ago in the opening moments of his debut with the New York Jets.

Betting odds, at least, continue to suggest that Canelo will get his career off the metaphorical ropes this time with a victory over Charlo, whose power at junior-middleweight might not be there at super-middle.

As he has for the last couple of years, Canelo might tire in the later rounds. But everything in his long career says his durable defense will keep him there, throughout the scheduled 12 rounds. 

The prevailing bet is that the fight will go to the scorecards. But that leaves a prevailing question: Can Charlo win a decision? The promotional tag for the fight is Undisputed. Charlo is the undisputed champ at junior-middle; Canelo is undisputed at 168. There’s some fear that Undisputed will be a huge dispute if it goes to the judges.

Canelo, currently about a 4-to-1 favorite, figures to be the overwhelming favorite among fans in front of an expected capacity crowd at T-Mobile. 

Charlo can win, even if it’s close, but only if he forgets about the judges, says his former trainer, Ronnie Shields.

“That’s the biggest problem,’’ Shields said during a Zoom session with reporters. “But going in, you can’t think about that. Just go in to win rounds, round after round.

“Charlo has to make sure he wins rounds convincingly. You won’t win close rounds against Canelo.’’

Shields picks Charlo to win by split decision. Charlo, he says, has an edge, especially late.

“Charlo is one of the few fighters who holds his power throughout the whole fight.,’’ Shields said.” You don’t get too many of those.’’

You don’t get too many decisions over Canelo, either. For Charlo, the question is whether the power will be decisive enough – early or late – to do what no one else has: Knock down Canelo.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Microphones become megaphones. Humble turns to hype. If noise is a way to measure a fight, Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo is a biggie.

Opening bell is still a couple of weeks away, but the talk got a lot louder this week at media workouts, first with Charlo at home in Houston and then Canelo at altitude near Lake Tahoe.

Charlo turned it up a decibel or ten, saying that a victory over the favored Canelo on Sept. 30 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Showtime pay-per-view would ensure him of a place alongside the greats.

“If I accomplish this massive goal, it’ll be hard to top,’’ Charlo said on the live-stream. “I’ll be in the record book with the greats of boxing for a long time.”

Move over Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. Make room for a fifth King.

Charlo, undisputed champion at junior-middleweight, has never been shy, of course. He argues he’s already done enough to be in the Hall of Fame. I guess that means Dmitry Bivol is already in that book of greats and enshrined in the Canastota Hall. I mean, didn’t Bivol beat Canelo about 17 months ago?

In 21 fights, Bivol is unbeaten. In 37 bouts, Charlo has one loss and a draw. Bivol, a light heavyweight, can’t call himself undisputed, a claim defined by a so-called four-belt era. But who knows when four belts become five belts, then six belts? Belts, all attached to sanctioning fees, are like dollars. They’re inflationary.

Amid Charlo’s hyper-ventilating, however, there was a reflective moment.

“I would’ve fought Canelo years ago, and it probably wouldn’t have been as big as it is now,’’ he said.

The bout, at super-middleweight, is magnified in all ways by Canelo, undisputed at 168 pounds. There’s everything and everyone that the Mexican star and reigning pay-per-view draw brings to the ring. Now, there’s more. There’s evidence of a decline in Canelo’s career. It’s no secret

It’s a decline that started with – and because of — Bivol. Forgettable victories over Gennadiy Golovkin in a second rematch and journeyman John Ryder followed. Each of those only raised more questions. 

It all adds up to adversity Canelo hasn’t faced since his loss to Floyd Mayweather a decade ago. On Thursday, Mayweather’s scorecard victory happened exactly 10 years ago — Sept. 14 2013.

The Mayweather loss, however, happened when Canelo was young, 23. He isn’t anymore. He’s 33, a primetime age that really doesn’t reflect the punishment he’s endured. It’s been inevitable. Cumulative, too.

I thought of Canelo when I saw Aaron Rodgers tumble onto the turf Monday night with a torn Achilles tendon after only four snaps as the New York Jets new quarterback and long-awaited savior.

The 39-year-old Rodgers is a 17-year NFL veteran. Canelo, six years younger, has been boxing professionally for 18 years. Despite their difference in age, Rodgers and Canelo are old men on the career clocks that measure wear and tear in two dangerous sports.

At the moment of Rodgers’ injury, it almost looked incidental. But it wasn’t. It was potentially career ending, a symptom of the vulnerability almost built into the end of any long run. Only Father Time is unbeaten.

Time, more than Charlo, looks to be Canelo’s real challenge. He’s under contract with PBC for two more fights after Sept. 30.

He says he might fight until he’s 37. At camp Wednesday, he sounded like the vintage Canelo, the fighter who always arms himself with motivation that comes more from alleged insults than accurate punches.

Canelo said he remembers how Jermell and his twin brother, Jermall, questioned his ring skill about five years ago. He said this fight is a chance to prove them wrong.

“I never forget, no,’’ Canelo said.

Never is one thing Canelo and time have in common. It never stops.

By Norm Frauenheim –

History has always motivated Canelo Alvarez. He fights to make some. Now, it looks as if he’s fighting not to become some.

The 33-year-old Mexican, the pay-per-view star of his generation, enters the ring for the first bout in another rich deal in three weeks amid uncertainty about his career. What’s left?

Against Jermell Charlo on September 30 at Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena in a Showtime pay-per-view bout, the task is to reverse a decline that isn’t exactly a secret anymore. His fans have seen it. Those close to him talk about it. Only he can reverse it.

But skepticism is everywhere, enough of it to wonder whether Charlo can spring an upset that would raise inevitable questions about Canelo’s future.

Five years ago, Charlo wouldn’t have been perceived as a threat. The junior-middleweight, 154-pound champion is jumping up a couple of weight classes to face Canelo, who has all of the relevant belts at 168-pounds. Charlo has been idle for more than a year. His last fight was a stoppage of Brian Castano in May 2022. He’s spent his career at junior-middle.

Those are documented items on a resume that should make Canelo the overwhelming favorite. For now, they are still enough to persuade the betting public. When news of the fight was disclosed in July, most betting services had Canelo at minus-280, meaning there was a 69.7-percent chance of a Canelo victory.

A couple of months later, Canelo is at minus-310, meaning his chances at winning have improved to 75.2 percent.

Canelo has fought and won at heavier weights, including a defining late-round stoppage of once-feared Sergey Kovalev in 2019. He’s busier.

Yet, the uncertainty persists. It was there in a virtual news conference Wednesday with prominent trainers Ronnie Shields, Bob Santos, Calvin Ford and Robert Garcia, who like everybody else witnessed Canelo struggle through his last three fights.

There was the scorecard loss to light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, also in May 2022. A dull decision in a long-awaited third fight over Gennadiy Golovkin followed. Then, there was another forgettable decision over journeyman John Ryder.

When asked for a pick, there was a split decision from the trainers.

Shields picked Charlo. “I think, Jermell wins by split decision,’’ said Shields, his former trainer, who still trains his twin brother, Jermall.

Santos, the 2022 Ring Magazine’s Trainer of the Year, leans toward Canelo “55-45” in a fight he says will end in a KO.

Ford, Gervonta Davis’ trainer, didn’t pick a winner. Like Santos, however, he foresees a knockout. “Somebody is going to sleep,” Ford said. “I don’t know which one, but someone is going to sleep.”

Garcia, whose resume also includes Trainer of the Year, picks Canelo, yet foresees different scenarios in which either can win.  “This is a tough one to pick,’’ Garcia said. “If Canelo wins by knockout, I think it’s under eight rounds. Late rounds is where Charlo could actually stop Canelo. If it goes the distance, I think Canelo edges a decision.”

There’s consensus about only one thing: Charlo has a chance, mostly because nobody knows whether Canelo’s last three fights are an aberration or evidence of an irreversible decline.

A key to the younger Canelo’s emergence was a willingness to learn from defeat. He was a 23-year-old student when he was schooled by then 36-year-old Floyd Mayweather.

A decade later, there are questions about whether a long career has eroded Canelo’s physical capacity to learn and rebound from Bivol, only his second loss in 63 fights.

In an effort to resurrect the fighter who was there against Kovalev, Canelo has altered his preparation. He moved his training camp to the mountains near Reno. He’s working at altitude, a sign that he hopes to eliminate fatigue that was evident late in each of his last three fights.

“It’s gonna be one of those challenges that Canelo will need to be in top shape for,’’ Garcia said. “The size won’t matter. I’m pretty sure when it comes to fight night, they’ll be around the same weight. It’s gonna be very competitive and I can’t wait.

“Everyone says that Canelo is one of the hardest working fighters they’ve ever seen. But Canelo hasn’t looked that good his last couple of fights. That is a reason to give Charlo a really good chance. Charlo is not gonna hold back.

“You can train to the best of your abilities, but sometimes your body just doesn’t respond as well. Canelo may be training as hard as ever, but he’s had 18 years as a professional fighter.

“I still pick him to win the fight, but I don’t think it’s gonna be easy.’’

History never is.

Chris Eubank Jr. showed tremendous resolve in stopping Liam Smith in round 10 of their 12-round middleweight bout in Manchester, England.

Eubank dominated from the second round on as he boxed very well with his jab and landing solid combinations behind it.

In round four, Eubank dropped Smith with an uppercut.

In round 10, Smith began to bleed from his right eye. Eubank jumped on Smith and hit with a barrage of punches that made Smith crumble to the canvas in the corner. Later in the round, Eubank landed another seven unanswered shots to the head that forced a referee stoppage at 1:45.

Eubank, 159.4 lbs of Bolton, England is now 33-3 with 24 knockouts. Smith, 160 lbs of Liverpool is 33-4-1.

This was a rematch of a January 21st fight that saw Smith stop Eubank in four-rounds.

Chris Eubank Jr said to Sky Sports after the fight: “Liam is a warrior. I respect him, his team, his family and his brothers. They always come out and put it all on the line. He fought until the last second, so big up to Liam and his team. 

“I’m not going to lie, what happened tonight was supposed to happen in January. Like I said, it wasn’t my night. I trained hard for that fight, I trained hard for this fight. The focus is always there. I dedicate my life to this sport. Now we’re onto bigger and better fights. There’s some big names out there.”

Liam Smith said to Sky Sports after the fight: “Everything from start to finish. I was flat. I think the weight killed me. I was flat and Chris was sharp. Chris was the better man tonight.”

Adam Azim won a 10-round unanimous decision over Aram fanyan in a junior middleweight bout.

Azim, 139.4 lbs iwon by scoresof 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93. Fanyan of Ukraine is 23-2.

Frazer Clarke remained undefeated with a stoppage after round six over David Allen in a 10-round heavyweight bout,

In round five, Clarke was cut around the right eye.

In round six, Clarke lost a point for a low blow. With Clarke dominating the action, Allen’s corner stopped the bout after the sixth frame.

Clarke, 270 lbs is 8-0 with six knockouts. Allen, 257 lbs is 21-6-2.

Jack Cullen stopped Mark Heffron in round three of their 12-round super middleweight bout.

In round three, Cullen landed a right hand that was followed by a left hook right on the chin that put Heffron on the canvas. Heffron got to his feet but plummeted to the canvas and the fight was stopped at 2:43.

Cullen, 167 lbs of Little Leaver, ENG is 22-4-1 with 10 knockouts. Heffron, 167 lbs of Manchester falls to 29-3-1.

Former unified world champion Mikaela Mayer won a 10-round decision over Sylvia Bortat in a junior welterweight bout.

Mayer, 141.4 lbs of Las Vegas won by a 100-90 score and is now 19-1. Bortat, 139 lbs of Italy is 11-3-1.

Florian Marku obliterated Dylan Moran in the opening round of their 10-round welterweight bout.

Marku hurt Moran with a left hand that knocked him backwards. Marku unloaed with a series of hard punches that forced a referee stoppage at 54 seconds.

Marku, 146.4 lbs is now 13-0-1 with eight knockouts. Moran, 145 lbs of Ireland is 18-2.