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Boxing Springs Forward with Big Fights
No matter what Punxsutawney Phil says every year, the groundhog that crawls out of his dwelling in Pennsylvania to ask his shadow when the weather will change, spring officially begins in the United States (and the rest of the northern hemisphere) when the sun crosses the celestial equator. This year, it happened last Wednesday, March 20.
After a pretty abysmal winter, boxing fans have good reason to be excited about the start of a new season, and it has nothing to do with the discarding of sweaters and jackets. Cold season mismatches, postponements and cancellations are gone, my friends. Spring is in the air.
Here are the five best fights of the bunch, the scrumdiddlyumptious Cadbury Eggs of your heavier-than-usual Easter basket this year.
1. Canelo Alvarez vs. Austin Trout, April 20in San Antonio (Showtime) â Boxing hardly ever gives us fights like this one. Both Alvarez and Trout (seen above in Rachel McCarson photo) are young, undefeated stars just now entering the prime of their years. Both men carry alphabet straps and are ranked top of the class by the TBRB. At only 22 years of age, Alvarez is already Mexicoâs most popular boxer. Meanwhile, Troutâs win over Miguel Cotto last December proved the 27-year-oldâs elite status. The atmosphere in the Alamo Dome will make for an electric evening, and Showtimeâs willingness to broadcast the bout on its regular channel instead of PPV will help make this fight just about everything it could be. The scrap itself should make for an entertaining affair, with neither man a clear-cut favorite. Simply put, this is the most anticipated fight of a splendid spring.
2. Nonito Donaire-Guillermo Rigondeaux, April 13 in New York (HBO) â As much as we wanted to see Donaire take on Abner Mares, the truth of the matter is that the consolation prize might be the more meaningful fight. Hear me out. Few pundits leave Donaire out of their pound-for-pound top five. Even fewer believe the ceiling for the uber-talented Rigondeaux is anything other than ridiculously high. The narrative saying Mares deserves the fight over Rigondeaux may have some merit. After all, Mares has fought a murdersâ row to get where he is today. Still, itâs not as if Rigondeaux deserves the fight any less. The Cuban fighting out of Ireland is the TBRBâs number one contender to Donaireâs junior featherweight crown for a reason. Fans should expect a high level chess match in this one. Will Rigondeaux be able to land his straight right hand? Or will Donaireâs counterpunches and potshots carry the day?
3. Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado 2, March 30 in Las Vegas (HBO) â The fact this highly anticipated rematch is ranked the third best fight of the spring tells you all you need to know about the upcoming boxing schedule. Last October, the first much ballyhooed throw down lived up to the hype, proving to be a Fight of the Year contender up to the very minute referee Pat Russell rightfully stopped it when Alvarado appeared wobbly beyond repair. Back and forth the fight went, neither man clinching or pretending to care about defense. Still, it appears from their first encounter that Rios is just too strong for the brave Alvarado, so this one gets bumped down a bit since most experts in the Twitterverse expect to see the same thing they saw the first time. It will be a spirited engagement again in Las Vegas before the stronger, heavier handed Rios batters Alvarado to the canvas. But if Alvarado can keep the fight on the outsideâŠ
4. Tyson Fury-Steve Cunningham, April 20 in New York (NBC) â If 24-year-old heavyweight contender Tyson Fury is capable of being in a bad fight, I havenât seen it yet. The 6â9â giant continues to prove his naysayers wrong. Unlike other Shaq-like heavies, heâs tall but he likes to brawl, and brings the fight to his opponent more often than not. More importantly, of the most prominent heavyweight prospects in the sport, Fury is the youngest, has fought the toughest schedule of opposition and has remained undefeated doing it while more celebrated big men, like David Price and Seth Mitchell, have fallen by the wayside. Meanwhile, Cunninghamâs move to heavyweight from cruiser proved to be smart but disappointing for the fighter. The 36-year-old Philadelphian seemingly outfought Tomasz Adamek last December but wasnât awarded the decision. Still, Cunninghamâs performance at the weight makes him another solid step up for the giant-striding Tyson Fury, who continues to represent the divisionsâ bright future admirably.
5. Carl Froch-Mikkel Kessler 2, May 25 in London (HBO) â Since his 2010 close decision loss to Mikkel Kessler in the latterâs home country of Denmark, Carl Froch has gone on an impressive run. The super middleweight from Nottingham has gone 4-1 in his last five fights, his lone loss being against division stalwart Andre Ward (who also defeated Kessler in 2009). During the stretch, Froch notched wins over Arthur Abraham, Glen Johnson, Lucian Bute and Yusaf Mack, vaulting him up the ranks to perhaps the UKâs most decorated 168-pound champions ever. Not to be outdone, Mikkel Kessler has remained Denmarkâs steady beacon of boxing brilliance. With losses on his resume only to Ward and all-timer Joe Calzaghe, Kessler maintains his viability as a top ranked division contender. The two put on a fantastic show their first go-around, and with the venue shifting to Frochâs raucous home turf in London, the second encounter should be another barnburner.
Honorable Mention (listed by date)â Sergio Martinez-Martin Murray, April 27 in Buenos Aires (HBO); Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero, May 4 in Las Vegas (Showtime PPV); Lucas Matthysse-Lamont Peterson, May 18 in Atlantic City (Showtime); Jean Pascal-Lucian Bute May 25 in Montreal (HBO).
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Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox
The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonightâs episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonioâs Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.
Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to the liver from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasnât able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.
The official time was 1:37 of round nine. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick âWreckingâ Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.
Co-Feature
In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.
The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.
The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.
Also
In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.
A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.
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The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpoolâs Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.
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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock
Saturdayâs skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated â the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort â but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.
Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.
The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadnât previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haneyâs second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter â watching at home â as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.
In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. âAt the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,â said Garcia. âHe could have stopped that fight.â
Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the âunder,â undoubtedly felt the same way.
The internet lit up with comments assailing Dockâs competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.
Stephen A. Smith, reputedly Americaâs highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: âThis referee is absolutely terribleâŠ.Unreal! Horrible officiating,â tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.
Harvey Dock
Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jerseyâs Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.
A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.
Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dockâs 364th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they werenât even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.
On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.
Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few âpremature stoppagesâ were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.
With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dockâs Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)
Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.
The Haney-Garcia fight wasnât Harvey Dockâs best hour, Iâll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.
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While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on âXâ that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.
Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.
FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie âBlazing Saddles,â described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricioâs late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.
Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaimanâs rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.
Haneyâs mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.
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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney
Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.
Ryan âKingRyâ Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.
âI just knew what I could do,â Garcia said.
Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.
Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Haneyâs WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.
After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haneyâs guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.
âHe caught me with it,â said Haney.
During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.
In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.
Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.
A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.
In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garciaâs body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.
From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.
Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garciaâs blazing combinations were too fast to defend.
In the 10th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garciaâs right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.
It didnât look good for Haney to survive.
Garcia walked into the 11th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.
Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garciaâs power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.
In the final round both were cautious with Garciaâs combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.
After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.
âYou really thought I was crazy,â Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. âYou guys hated on me.â
Other Bouts
Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdomâs Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McCombâs long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.
Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated Franceâs Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.
Costa Ricaâs David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John âScrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.
After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.
âIâm a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,â said Jimenez. âMy corner told me I had to work inside.â
Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.
Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.
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