Three Punch Combo: The Return Of Viktor Postol and More

Published

5 years ago

April 23, 2019

THREE PUNCH COMBO — This is beginning to sound like a broken record but we have another loaded week ahead of us on the boxing calendar. And as usual when this occurs, some fights fall under the radar, as is the case with the return of former 140-pound champion Viktor Postol (30-2, 12 KO’s) who takes on Mohamed Mimoune (21-2, 2 KO’s) on Saturday. Showtime will televise the key crossroads showdown from Las Vegas.

Postol has sort of gotten lost in the shuffle the last few years. He’s only fought four times since winning a title belt in October of 2015 in an impressive performance against Lucas Matthysse and he lost two of those bouts. Whatever momentum he built in his career from the Matthysse victory went by the wayside.

But we need to keep in mind those two losses were to world class fighters. In July of 2016, he lost his 140-pound title by decision to Terence Crawford who, of course, is considered by many to be boxing’s top pound for pound fighter today. Two years later, Postol would drop another 12-round decision to rising star Josh Taylor. Postol was not blown out in either of these fights and his status in the 140-pound division should have remained relatively intact.

After a bounce-back win in November against Siar Ozgul, Postol is poised to make another run in what is a stacked 140-pound division. But in order to do so, he must first get by Mimoune who is currently ranked #3 by the WBC in the 140-pound division and is on 10-fight winning streak. This streak includes a win over Sam Eggington which at the time was considered a big upset. But given how Eggington has looked since that match in October of 2017, that win does not hold the merit it once did and Mimoune needs to re-establish his position in the division to garner a title shot.

Stylistically, Postol-Mimoune should be a high stakes chess match. Postol will look to control range from the outside behind his jab. He will also look to land his precision right uppercut as Mimoune presses forward.

Mimoune, a southpaw, is very slick and not easy to hit clean. We have all heard the saying in boxing “stick and move” and that is precisely what Mimoune will look to do all night against Postol. Mimoune will pick his spots to jump in on Postol and fire off combinations. And then, just as quickly, look to jump out of range before Postol can counter.

On paper, this is the most competitive fight of the upcoming weekend with oddsmakers having made it a “pick’em” contest at the time of this writing. It’s certainly not going to be a slugfest but should be a high level competitive fight between two very good and evenly matched professional fighters.

More Streaming News and Thoughts

Just when it appeared the streaming market was tapped out for boxing another new service has come along. This week, Warfare Sports put out a press release announcing itself as boxing’s newest digital platform planning 24 live events over the next year along with shoulder programming.

It appears Warfare Sports will be working with U.S.-based promoters such as Star Boxing and King’s Promotions. They plan to go live in May and, at least according to the initial press release, the service will be free.

As I have touched upon before, we are in a new era in how we watch boxing and the amount of live content available is unlike anything we have ever seen before in this sport. But in order for all these streaming services to connect with fans and attract enough eyeballs, some must find a way to differentiate themselves from the pack, even if free.

As a die-hard fan, I am finding myself these days having to pick and choose what I can even watch. In the past, I could catch all available fights during any week (sometimes even re-watch them) but today, with most cards being jammed in on the weekends, I simply do not have the time to watch all that is available.

Is this a problem for the sport long term? Maybe or maybe not; time will tell. I am not going to harp on networks/streaming organizations coordinating events anymore as that simply does not seem realistic. However, I will make a suggestion, and that is for one of these streaming services to develop a consistent weekday series like we used to have with USA’s Tuesday Night Fight series.

This makes sense in so many ways. These streaming services need eyeballs and a weekday stand-alone series taking place when no other events are occurring is a good way to get viewership. Plus, back in its heyday the USA Tuesday Night Fight series provided a needed lifeline for the sport. Local promoters were kept active and their shows, as well as the fighters that appeared on them, received much needed publicity.

Fans responded well to the series because they knew when to tune in each week. There wasn’t a card on a random Thursday, followed by one on a Sunday, etc. This was a recipe for long-term success and something today’s streaming services need to take note of.

As a diehard fan, I watch as much boxing regardless of cost as I can in a given week but even I have had to draw the line. But there is still a desperate need for a consistent weekday series like we once had with USA’s Tuesday Night Fights. Maybe it will be this newest platform in Warfare Sports that capitalizes on this opportunity.

Who Could Be Next For Crawford? An Under The Radar Option

The big question in the aftermath of Terence Crawford’s TKO victory against Amir Khan this past Saturday is what will be next for Crawford? Given boxing’s current political climate, the answer is not so easy.

The fight that all fans want to see next for Crawford is against fellow welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. While there is no doubt in my mind that both Crawford and Spence badly want this fight, negotiations will likely be very delicate as well as lengthy. As such, I don’t think we see it until 2020.

Spence and most of the other top welterweights in the world are housed under the PBC banner. While making a fight for Crawford with, say a Danny Garcia or Shawn Porter, is not impossible, it also does not seem probable at the moment. PBC just does not seem interested in feeding one of their top fighters to Crawford unless the money is too big to turn down and it’s doubtful that Top Rank would be willing to make such a large financial commitment as they could be looking at a massive loss.

Looking at the other available options, the pickings are pretty slim. But there is a fighter with a recognizable name who is ranked highly by the WBO, the organization for whom Crawford holds his title, and that is Jessie Vargas.

Yes, political boundaries still have to be crossed. But Top Rank seems much more likely to work with Eddie Hearn, whose DAZN banner Vargas currently fights under, than PBC. Plus, Vargas would not come with nearly the financial demands of those other big name welterweights fighting under the PBC banner.

Vargas fights this coming Friday against Humberto Soto. With an impressive showing, Vargas will probably move to the front of the line to be the next opponent for Terence Crawford.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

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Matt Andrzejewski

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

10 hours ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s 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 – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – 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 hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – 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. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s 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 America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” 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 Jersey’s 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 Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t 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 “premature stoppages” 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 Dock’s 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 wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” 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 “Blazing Saddles,” 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, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s 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

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” 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.

“I just knew what I could do,” 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.

Haney’s 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, Haney’s 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.

“He caught me with it,” 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 Garcia’s 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 Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s 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 didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th 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 Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s 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.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s 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 France’s 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 Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy 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.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

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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Haney and Garcia: Bipolar Opposites

Published

3 days ago

April 20, 2024

TSS Press

Haney and Garcia: Bipolar Opposites

One young man flew halfway around the world to take on a world champion in his own living room; not once, but twice. The other young man quit prior to one fight, and then again during another one.

The first guy mentioned is an obedient son of an ultra-streetwise father. The type of parent where, if he doesn’t know the answer (and more times than not he most likely does), he will know where to find it. The second guy doesn’t appear to have that quality guidance scenario going on for him, which is probably for the best, because he believes he has all the answers.

The first guy is on record as saying he wants to go down in boxing history as an all-time great. The other guy? He decided not to continue in a fight while he was still sporting an undefeated record. You may think to yourself if there was ever a time to soldier through, right?

Then yesterday, that same guy missed making weight by 3.2 pounds, and seemed to be more than fine with it, to the point where he actually appeared to be quite pleased with himself.

If you haven’t heard, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are going to share a boxing ring in a twelve round go for God knows what will be at stake by the time they actually punch off. The fact that no one from Garcia’s team has stepped in and rescued him from these unfolding events, his own personal well-being, and/or not to mention Devin Haney is, well, troubling in and of itself.

Back in the amateur days, the record shows they split six fights. They were boys back then, so it means zero. If anything, you’d want to be the older of the two, and Ryan had over a three-month age advantage. If you’ve only been on the planet for a total of 120 months or so, every extra month could be a big enough difference in strength and development. Now as world class professionals in their prime? That’s different. Younger is always better. Devin is that guy.

Haney and Garcia fought six times for free but will fight only once as professionals. Then one of them will continue with their march for historic greatness, while the other will head back to Kamp Krazy, where he’s the current Mayor.

It’s never smart to lay 8-1, 9-1 in boxing. And if you see taking Garcia as a value bet with +500 to +600 and beyond, you don’t understand value and you evidently don’t like money.

There is, however, a wagering opportunity here.

Total Rounds: Fight doesn’t go 10.5 rounds.

Take anything over +125. It’s worth a unit on a scale of 5. Logically, there are a lot of ways to cash this ticket: legitimate victory, meltdown, catching lightning in a bottle, etc. Or simply the exiting stage left of a guy who may be already plotting his next career move.

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