COMMISSIONER’S CORNER: Love For Bud, Our Man Harold, And Mayflower-Merriweather

Published

10 years ago

July 1, 2014

Last week, this column kind of just appeared out of nowhere, with no explanation of what the heck it is and when to expect it. It’s like this: After signing with Al Haymon, I struck a multi-billion dollar deal with Dino DaVinci & Michael Woods to allow me to throw this column onto TSS every Monday. So, here is installment #2…Oh, I also said I’d remind you guys to call toll free into my show on SiriusXM later today. The number is 1-866-522-2846. We are on from 6-8pm (ET). You guys in other time zones, make the adjustments.

On Saturday night in Omaha, Nebraska, a boxing match—for a world championship—took place in the CenturyLink Center. Not since 1972, when heavyweight Ron Stander—who was from across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa—took on heavyweight champion Smokin’ Joe Frazier in Omaha, had a title fight taken place there.

On Saturday, a capacity crowd came out to cheer for Omaha native Terence Crawford, who was making the first defense of the WBO lightweight title he had won less than four months earlier.

The opponent across the ring was as tough an opponent as Crawford could have possibly selected: A Cuban refugee named Yuriorkis Gamboa. The challenger brought a 23-0 professional record—enhanced by over 250 amateur fights, most of them on the elite level—into the fight. Sixteen of his wins were by knockout. Oddly and ironically enough, Crawford had the same record.

After falling behind in the first four rounds to the quick, shifty and talented Cuban, Crawford brought out his championship pedigree.

The right-hander switched to southpaw, a move which was questioned by many in the crowd and even by HBO announcers Jim Lampley, Roy Jones Jr. and Max Kellerman. However, it was really easy to see what Crawford was doing.

By switching to southpaw, his right jab began repeatedly finding the challenger. Not since switch-hitting middleweight champ Marvelous Marvin Hagler has any champion been able to switch boxing stances as easily as effectively as Crawford did. From the southpaw stance, he began to take Gamboa apart.

Crawford dropped Gamboa in the fifth and sixth rounds, only to have the Cuban come storming back each time. Finally, after two more knockdowns over a challenger who insisted on going out on his shield, referee Genaro Hernandez waved it off after 2:53 of the ninth round.

The incredibly game challenger later said he could have continued. He could NOT have. What he meant to say is that he WANTED to continue. He truly wanted to go down swinging. The fact is, he did exactly that.

He fought his heart out against probably the best lightweight on this planet and gave an amazing account of himself. A recommendation from this corner: Drop down to 130, Yuri. You’ll probably be able to win another belt there.

The fight itself was memorable in its two-sidedness and in how the champion was able to kick-start his huge heart into turning it on when the champion found himself falling behind on the scorecards.

For me, I took four things from this fight:

One: Yuri Gamboa needs to take the summer off, then get back in the ring before the end of the year. We want to see him again.

Two: Terence Crawford is the best lightweight in the world, perhaps far better than anyone else at 135 pounds.

Three: This fight might just beat out last week’s Robert Guerrero- Yoshihiro Kamegai battle for 2014’s “Fight of the Year.” How can that be, you ask, when Guerrero was 10 rounds of non-stop you-hit-me-and-I’ll-hit-you action? That’s because, Guerrero-Kamegai was contested between two guys with very little defensive skills. They get insulted if you miss them with a punch. Crawford-Gamboa was nearly nine full rounds of amazing boxing ability, drama and will-to-win excitement.

Four: Omaha, Nebraska, has a world champion. He’s one the city is in love with and who loves the city right back. His presence packed the arena on Saturday.

You can rest assured It won’t be 42 years before Omaha, Nebraska, hosts its next world title fight!

***

WHERE’S HAROLD? : HBO’s longtime ringside scorer, Harold Lederman, was conspicuous by his absence from the HBO telecast from Omaha. Sitting in, explaining the rules and giving us his scoring was Steve Weisfeld, who has been working in that capacity for over a year. Sometimes, HBO uses both Weisfeld and Lederman. We like Steve Weisfeld a lot. When I was commissioner in New York, I gave Steve his judge’s license. He turned into one of the finest judges in the world. In my mind, he’s one of the Top-10 judges. As is another once of my N.Y. judges, Julie Lederman, Harold’s daughter. Back to Harold. Here’s a guy who is a pharmacist by trade. He may hold the Guinness Book of Records for getting fired from more jobs than anybody. That’s because of fights he was assigned to by HBO when the pharmacy expected him to work for them on that night. When it came to making a choice, there was no choice. Harold chose the HBO. Incredibly, early in his HBO career, Harold made more at his pharmacy job than at HBO. Harold has shown HBO nothing but respect. They should be proud they have an employee so loyal as Harold Lederman. You’d think the least they could do is show some loyalty back to him.

LIGHTWEIGHT RATINGS: With Terence Crawford’s huge victory on Saturday night, I couldn’t help but put my list together for the world’s top 135-pounders. The list, with the title they hold in parentheses, looks like this:

1. Terence Crawford (WBO)—24-0 (17)

2. Miguel Vazquez (IBF)—34-3 (13)

3. Yuri Gamboa—23-1 (16)…He’d help his cause if he dropped to 130

4. Omar Figueroa—(WBC) 23-0 (17)

5. Ray Beltran—29-6-1 (17)

6. Richard Abril (WBA)—18-3-1 (8)“The Road Runner”…Inactive since March 2013

7. Dejan Zlaticanin—19-0 (13) WBC International Champion

8. Paulus Moses—33-2 (21) WBO International Champion

9. Hank Lundy—25-3-1 (12)

10. Kevin Mitchell—38-2 (28)

***

MY TWEEKED PxP LIST: Last week after my column was posted, I realized I had omitted one of my favorite fighters, whom I believe absolutely belongs on the list. That man is GuillermoRigondeaux. So, here goes:

10. Leo Santa Cruz

9. Vasyl Lomachenko

8. Sergei Kovalev

7. Guillermo Rigondeaux

6. Mikey Garcia

5. Wladimir Klitschko

4. Gennady Golovkin

3. Manny Pacquiao

2. Andre Ward

1. Floyd Mayweather

If you guys would like, do your own PxP list and either post your own ratings or in-box them to me by Friday at midnight (ET). I will compile them all, giving 10 points for first place down to one point for 10^th place. That way, TSS can have its own PxP Top-10 List. I await your entries.

WEEKEND RESULTS: The boxing career of Ricky Burns lies in ruins, as he suffered a 12-round split decision loss on Saturday to Montenegro’s Dejan Zlaticanin. In front of a silent, stunned hometown crowd in Glasgow, Scotland, Burns was dropped by a left hook and was never in the fight, despite the scorecards (on which a British judge, naturally, gave it to Burns). In reality, he lost at least seven—perhaps eight—of the rounds. The fight, for the WBC International Lightweight Title, was Burns’ second loss in a row. He lost his WBO lightweight title to Terence Crawford last March 1…In Kinshasa, Zaire, localite Llunga Makabu won the vacant WBC International Cruiserweight Title with a ninth-round stoppage of former world champion Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson in the ninth round. The 45-year-old Johnson told me, when I saw him at the IBHOF weekend earlier this month, “I hope to get one more title shot.” This loss should effectively end his career and begin his five-year countdown until he is inducted in the IBHOF. Johnson is 54-19-2. Makabu is now 17-1 with 15 KO’s…Heavyweight Shannon Briggs was forced to go the distance for the first time in four comeback fights, taking a unanimous decision over Raphael Zumbano Love for the vacant NABA heavyweight title. Briggs is now 55-6-1 (48) and hoping to punch his way into a world title shot. He is 42…2012 U.S. Olympians Errol Spence and Marcus Browne scored impressive wins in Las Vegas on Saturday. Welterweight Spence took a unanimous 10-round decision over tough Ronald Cruz. It was Spence’s 13^th win in as many fights. He has 10 KO’s. On the same card, light heavyweight Marcus “The Liver Killer” Browne needed just 91 seconds to dispatch of last-minute replacement Donta Woods. Browne’s original opponent, Yusaf Mack, failed a NSAC blood test and was scratched from the card. “The Liver Killer” is 11-0 with eight stoppages. It is expected he will be fighting again on the August 9^th card at the Barclay’s Center…Also on the card in Las Vegas, heavyweight prospect Gerald Washington went to 13-0 (10) with a second-round wipeout of veteran Travis Walker…Unbeaten junior welter Ivan Redkach labored to a 10-round unanimous decision against rugged veteran Sergey Gulyakevich on a Showtime-televised card in St. Charles, MO.

MY FAVORITE LOSER: British junior welterweight Kristian Laight dropped a four-round unanimous decision to Ryan Smith on the undercard to Dejan Zlaticanin-Ricky Burns. For Ryan, the win upped his record to 2-0. For Laight, the loss dropped his record to 9-176-7. In 2014, Laight is actually doing quite well—he has won two fights while only losing 12. He has two more fights scheduled in July. If he pushes, he may be able to reach that magical 20-loss circle this year. He has done it before. We just know he can do it again. Oh, in those 176 losses, he has only been stopped five times. In his nine wins, he has yet to record a knockout.

TWO MORE FOR AL: Junior middleweight Vanes Martirosyan recently signed with advisor Al Haymon. So did IBF lightweight king Miguel Vazquez. If you’re keeping track, here are some of the bigger names who have signed with the powerful but reclusive Haymon: $$$May, Deontay Wilder, Marcos Maidana, Shawn Porter, Lucas Matthysse, Amir Khan, Adonis Stevenson, Robert Guerrero, Keith Thurman, Omar Figueroa, Peter Quillin and most of the 2012 U.S. Olympians.

FUNNY: On Saturday evening, a few hours before the HBO telecast of Crawford-Gamboa, my wife and I went to see “Jersey Boys” at a Long Island theatre. As I was about to pay for the tickets, I noticed a poster on a stand. “CANELO ALVAREZ vs ERISLANDY LARA” read the poster. “See it Here.” Two female employees, one perhaps around 40 and the other in her early 20’s, stood behind the counter and saw me looking at the poster and then heard me discussing it with my wife.

“Are you a boxing fan?” asked the older woman.

“I am indeed a boxing fan,” I answered.

“Well, this is the second time we’ll be showing a big boxing match,” she replied.

“When was the first boxing match you showed? Who were the fighters?” I asked.

The older woman looked at the sign.

“We showed Alvarez,” she said, pointing to the photo of Canelo. “He fought, uh, uh…”

She had to think of Alvarez’ opponent’s name. Then it came to her.

“He fought Mayflower,” she said. I smiled. I knew who she meant.

Her younger colleague laughed and playfully said to her, “You dummy, it’s not Mayflower.”

“Well, it was something like that,” she retorted.

Before I could correct her on “Mayflower,” her colleague said, “It’s Merriweather.”

“Oh, that’s right,” said the Mayflower girl. “Merriweather. I knew it was something like that.”

I never bothered to correct her.

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Randy Gordon

A No-Brainer: Turki Alalshikh is the TSS 2024 Promoter of the Year

Published

8 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Arne K. Lang

A-No-Brainer-Turki-Alalshikh-is-the-TSS-2024-Promoter-of-the-Year

Years from now, it’s hard to say how Turki Alalshikh will be remembered.

Alalshikh, the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Some see him as a poacher, a man who snatched away big fights that would have otherwise landed in places like Las Vegas, New York, and London, and planted them in a place with no prizefighting tradition whatsoever merely for the purpose of “sportswashing.” If that be the case, Alalshikh’s superiors, the royal family, will turn off the spigot once it is determined that this public relations campaign is no longer needed, at which time the sport will presumably recede into the doldrums from whence it came.

Be that as it may, there is no doubt that boxing is in much better shape today than it was just a few years ago and that Alalshikh, operating under the rubric of Riyadh Season, is the reason why.

One of the most persistent cavils lobbied against professional boxing is that the best match-ups never get made or else languish on the backburner beyond their “sell-by” date, cheating the fans who don’t get to see the match when both competitors are at their peak. This is a consequence of the balkanization of the sport with each promoter running his fiefdom in his own self-interest without regard to the long-term health of the sport.

With his hefty budget, Alalshikh had the carrot to compel rival promoters to put down their swords and put their most valuable properties in risky fights and he seized the opportunity. All of the sport’s top promoters – Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn (pictured below), Bob Arum, Oscar De La Hoya, Tom Brown, Ben Shalom, and others – have done business with His Excellency.

Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn Flank the big Cheese

The two most significant fights of 2024 were the first and second meetings between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. The first encounter was historic, begetting the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era. Both fights were staged in Saudi Arabia as part of Riyadh Season, the months-long sports and entertainment festival instrumental in westernizing the region.

The Oct. 12 fight in Riyadh between undefeated light heavyweights between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol produced another unified champion. This wasn’t a great fight, but a fight good enough to command a sequel. (Beterviev, going the distance for the first time in his pro career, won a majority decision.) The do-over, buttressed by an outstanding undercard, will come to fruition on Feb. 22 in Riyadh.

Turki Alalshikh didn’t do away with pay-per-view fights, but he made them more affordable. The price tag for Usyk-Fury II in the U.S. market was $39.99. By contrast, the last PBC promotion, the Canelo vs. Berlanga fight on Amazon Prime Video, carried a tag of $89.95 for non-Prime subscribers.

Almost half the U.S. population resides in the Eastern Time Zone. For them, the main event of a Riyadh show goes in the mid- to late-afternoon. This is a great blessing to fight fans disrespected by promoters whose cards don’t end until after midnight, and that goes double for fight fans in the U.K. who can now watch more fights at a more reasonable hour instead of being forced to rouse themselves before dawn to catch an alluring match anchored in the United States.

In November, it was announced that Alalshikh had purchased The Ring magazine. The self-styled “Bible of Boxing” was previously owned by a company controlled by Oscar De La Hoya who acquired the venerable magazine in 2007.

With the news came Alalshikh’s assertion that the print edition of the magazine would be restored and that the publication “would be fully independent.”

That remains to be seen. One is reminded that Alalshikh revoked the press credential of Oliver Brown for the Joshua-Dubois fight on Sept. 21 at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium because of comments Brown made in the Daily Telegraph that cast a harsh light on the Saudi regime.

There were two national anthems that night, “God Save the King” sharing the bill, as it were, with the Saudi national anthem. Considering the venue and the all-British pairing, that rubbed many Brits the wrong way.

The Ring magazine will always be identified with Nat Fleischer who ran the magazine from its inception in 1922 until his death in 1972 at age 84. It was written of Fleischer that he was the closest thing to a czar that the sport of boxing ever had. Turki Alalshikh now inherits that mantle.

It’s never a good thing when one man wields too much power. We don’t know how history will judge Turki Alalshikh, but naming him the TSS Promoter of the Year was a no-brainer.

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The Ortiz-Bohachuk Thriller has been named the TSS 2024 Fight of The Year

Published

1 day ago

December 25, 2024

Arne K. Lang

The-Ortiz-Bohachuk-Thriller-has-been-named-the-TSS-2024-Fight-of-the-Year

The Aug. 10 match in Las Vegas between Knockout artists Vergil Ortiz Jr and Serhii Bohachuk seemingly had scant chance of lasting the 12-round distance. Ortiz, the pride of Grand Prairie, Texas, was undefeated in 21 fights with 20 KOs. Bohachuk, the LA-based Ukrainian, brought a 24-1 record with 23 knockouts.

In a surprise, the fight went the full 12. And it was a doozy.

The first round, conventionally a feeling-out round, was anything but. “From the opening bell, [they] clobbered each other like those circus piledriver hammer displays,” wrote TSS ringside reporter David A. Avila.

In this opening frame, Bohachuk, the underdog in the betting, put Ortiz on the canvas with a counter left hook. Of the nature of a flash knockdown, it was initially ruled a slip by referee Harvey Dock. With the benefit of instant replay, the Nevada State Athletic Commission overruled Dock and after four rounds had elapsed, the round was retroactively scored 10-8.

Bohachuk had Ortiz on the canvas again in round eight, put there by another left hook. Ortiz was up in a jiff, but there was no arguing it was a legitimate knockdown and it was plain that Ortiz now trailed on the scorecards.

Aware of the situation, the Texan, a protégé of the noted trainer Robert Garcia, dug deep to sweep the last four rounds. But these rounds were fused with drama. “Every time it seemed the Ukrainian was about to fall,” wrote Avila, “Bohachuk would connect with one of those long right crosses.”

In the end, Ortiz eked out a majority decision. The scores were 114-112 x2 and 113-113.

Citing the constant adjustments and incredible recuperative powers of both contestants, CBS sports combat journalist Brian Campbell called the fight an instant classic. He might have also mentioned the unflagging vigor exhibited by both. According to CompuBox, Ortiz and Bohachuk threw 1579 punches combined, landing 490, numbers that were significantly higher than the early favorite for Fight of the Year, the March 2 rip-snorter at Verona, New York between featherweights Raymond Ford and Otabek Kholmatov (a win for Ford who pulled the fight out of the fire in the final minute).

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Women’s Prizefighting Year End Review: The Best of the Best in 2024

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

David A. Avila

Women’s Prizefighting Year End Review: The Best of the Best in 2024

It’s the end of the year.

Here are our awards for the best in women’s boxing. But first, a rundown on the state of the sport.

Maybe its my imagination but it seems that fewer female fights of magnitude took place in 2024 than in previous years.

A few promoters like 360 Promotions increased their involvement in women’s boxing while others such as Matchroom Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions seem stagnant. They are still staging female bouts but are not signing new additions.

American-based promotion company Top Rank, actually lost 50 percent of their female fighter roster when Seniesa Estrada, the undisputed minimumweight champion, retired recently. They still have Mikaela Mayer.

A promotion company making headlines and creating sparks in the boxing world is Most Valuable Promotions led by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian. They signed Amanda Serrano and have invested in staging other female fights

This year, the top streaming company Netflix gambled on sponsoring Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, along with Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor and hit a monster home run. According to Netflix metrics an estimated 74 million viewers watched the event that took place on Nov. 16 at Arlington, Texas.

“Breaking records like this is exactly what MVP was built to do – bring the biggest, most electrifying events to fans worldwide,” said Nakisa Bidarian co-founder of MVP.

History was made in viewership and at the gate where more than 70,000 fans packed AT&T Stadium for a record-setting $17.8 million in ticket sales outside of Las Vegas. It was the grand finale moment of the year.

Here are the major contributors to women’s boxing in 2024.

Fighter of the Year: Amanda Serrano

Other candidates: Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields, Franchon Crews, Dina Thorslund, and Yesica Nery Plata.

Amanda Serrano was chosen for not only taking part in the most viewed female title fight in history, but also for willingly sacrificing the health of her eye after suffering a massive cut during her brutal war with Taylor. She could have quit, walked away with tons of money and be given the technical decision after four rounds. She was ahead on the scorecards at that moment.

Instead, Serrano took more punches, more head butts and slugged her way through 10 magnificent and brilliant rounds against the great Taylor. Fans worldwide were captivated by their performance. Many women who had never watched a female fight were mesmerized and inspired.

Serrano once again proved that she would die in the ring rather than quit. Women and men were awed by her performance and grit. It was a moment blazed in the memories of millions.

Amanda Serrano is the Fighter of the Year.

Best Fight of the Year – Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor 2

Their first fight that took place two years ago in Madison Square Garden was the greatest female fight I had ever witnessed. The second fight surpassed it.

When you have two of the best warriors in the world willing to showcase their talent for entertainment regardless of the outcome, it’s like rubbing two sticks of dynamite together.

Serrano jumped on Taylor immediately and for about 20 seconds it looked like the Irish fighter would not make the end of the first round. Not quite. Taylor rallied behind her stubborn determination and pulled out every tool in her possession: elbows, head butts, low blows, whatever was needed to survive, Taylor used.

It reminded me of an old world title fight in 2005 between Jose Luis Castillo a master of fighting dirty and Julio Diaz. I asked about the dirty tactics by Castillo and Diaz simply said, “It’s a fight. It’s not chess. You do what you have to do.”

Taylor did what she had to do to win and the world saw a magnificent fight.

Other candidates: Seniesa Estrada versus Yokasta Valle, Mikaela Mayer versus Sandy Ryan, and Ginny Fuchs vs Adelaida Ruiz.

KO of the Year – Lauren Price KO3 Bexcy Mateus.

Dec. 14, in Liverpool, England.

The IBO welterweight titlist lowered the boom on Bexcy Mateus sending her to the floor thrice. She ended the fight with a one-two combination that left Mateus frozen while standing along the ropes. Another left cross rocket blasted her to the ground. Devastating.

Other candidates: Claressa Shields KO of Vanessa LePage-Joanisse, Gabriela Fundora KO of Gabriela Alaniz, Dina Thorslund vs Mary Romero, Amanda Serrano KO of Stevie Morgan.

Pro’s Pro Award – Jessica Camara

Jessica Camara defeated Hyun Mi Choi in South Korea to win the WBA gold title on April 27, 2024. The match took place in Suwon where Canada’s Camara defeated Choi by split decision after 10 rounds.

Camara, who is managed by Brian Cohen, has fought numerous champions including Kali Reis, Heather Hardy and Melissa St. Vil. She has become a pro fighter that you know will be involved in a good and entertaining fight and is always in search of elite competition. She eagerly accepted the fight in South Korea against Choi. Few fighters are willing to do that.

Next up for Camara is WBC titlist Caroline Dubois set for Jan. 11, in Sheffield, England.

Electric Fighters Club

These are women who never fail to provide excitement and drama when they step in the prize ring. When you only have two-minute rounds there’s no time to run around the boxing ring.

Here are some of the fighters that take advantage of every second and they do it with skill:

Gabriela Fundora, Mizuki Hiruta, Ellie Scotney, Lauren Price, Clara Lescurat, Adelaida Ruiz, Ginny Fuchs, Mikaela Mayer, Yokasta Valle, Sandy Ryan, Chantelle Cameron, Ebanie Bridges, Tsunami Tenkai, Dina Thorslund, Evelin Bermudez, Gabriela Alaniz, Caroline Dubois, Beatriz Ferreira, and LeAnna Cruz.

Claressa Shields Movie and More

A motion picture based on Claressa Shields titled “The Fire Inside” debuts on Wednesday, Dec. 25, nationwide. Most boxing fans know that Shields has world titles in various weight divisions. But they don’t know about her childhood and how she rose to fame.

Also, Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) will be fighting Danielle Perkins (5-0, 2 KOs) for the undisputed heavyweight world championship on Sunday Feb. 2, at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. DAZN will stream the Salita Promotions fight card.

“Claressa Shields is shining a spotlight on Flint – first on the big screen and then in the ring on Sunday, February 2,” said event promoter Dmitriy Salita, president of Salita Promotions. “Claressa leads by example. She is a trailblazer and has been an advocate for equality since she was a young lady. This event promises to be one of the most significant sporting and cultural events of the year. You don’t want to miss it, either live, in person or live on DAZN.”

Shields is only 29 years old and turns 30 next March. What more can she accomplish?

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