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Ortiz Better Know The Difference Between Aggression And Pressure Against Mayweather…LOTIERZO

What’s left to be said about tomorrow’s WBC welterweight title bout between title holder Victor Ortiz 29-2-2 (22) and five division title holder Floyd Mayweather 41-0 (25)? Despite there not being much around in the form of competition because Floyd’s waited for the real challenges to age or move up in weight, Ortiz is probably one of the more difficult challenges for him, at least based on Victor’s last fight against former undefeated WBC welterweight title holder Andre Berto. So in the pre-fight analysis fighting Ortiz looks plausible for Mayweather if he’s not going to fight Pacquiao. Then again most likely after the fight maybe not so much so.
As for the fight itself, Mayweather has every advantage over Ortiz that one fighter could hold cover another except that he’s 10 years older and he doesn’t punch as hard. However, in boxing if you can fight, punching power isn’t the be all end all. We know Mayweather can fight and being Ortiz has dropped every foe he’s been in with, it’s obvious that the southpaw can hit. The problem in boxing is a fighter must have the capability to deliver his power or it’s useless. And there are some fighters who are terrific at disrupting and neutralizing their opponents who can really crack – and Floyd Mayweather is the best in the world today at being able to do that. If that weren’t enough to persuade you Ortiz’s only chance is to land a lottery punch, think about the fact that Mayweather is the more experienced, durable and mentally tougher man. Now what for Ortiz?
As for what Ortiz can do to give himself a chance to beat Mayweather… That’s simple, he must try to make the bout a fight. Which of course is much easier said than done. Victor must find a way to pressure Mayweather and get inside. He must force Floyd to trade hooks with him and more or less have to fight him off rather than allow him to pick his spots and box. The problem is Mayweather throws fast-straight lefts and rights that usually find their target. And Ortiz will be right there for Floyd to tag and pepper as he’s trying to force his way inside. No, Mayweather isn’t a life-taker when it comes to power, but straight shots that repeatedly hit their target will slowly but surely break down and impede the aggression of an opponent who’s trying to push the fight. Not to mention leave him open later in the fight for finishing crosses and hooks.
Everyone expects Ortiz to be the aggressor in the fight, but it must be understood that there’s a big difference between being the aggressor and applying effective pressure. Pressure is much more than walking towards your opponent. Marvin Hagler was the aggressor when he fought Sugar Ray Leonard, but he wasn’t that effective nor did he make Leonard do anything he didn’t want to. Ray forced Marvin to follow and chase him around the ring while he was being out-scored 3-1 and sometimes 4-0. And isn’t it funny how it was said that Leonard couldn’t hit, yet he hit Hagler hard enough to the point that despite having an all-time chin, Marvin couldn’t just plow over and walk through him. In fact the only time Hagler really got off good was when Leonard needed a breather and went to the ropes and let Hagler do the scoring.
Real pressure is what “Smokin” Joe Frazier presented Muhammad Ali with in all three of their epic fights. Joe cut the ring off and constantly forced Ali to move, hold or fight. All three of those things sapped Ali’s mental and physical strength. Against Frazier, Ali wasn’t afforded the luxury of sliding and gliding around the ring and picking his spots to flurry and open up. Joe pressured Ali into doing everything he didn’t want to. Eventually Muhammad got tired and decided it was easier to go to the ropes and let Joe get off than it was to try and fight him off. And if that wasn’t enough, Joe even made Ali miss with his jab with his non-stop bobbing and weaving as he was cutting off the ring and forcing the fight on the inside.
Granted, Mayweather is no Ali or Leonard, and Ortiz is even further away from being a Frazier or Hagler. But the fundamentals still apply. Ortiz must find a way to apply effective pressure against Mayweather or he has no shot to compete let alone score the upset over him. Victor must try to make the fight ugly and hit Mayweather anywhere his body is exposed. He just can’t look for the perfect shot or hope to score a single punch knockout. Instead of trying that losing strategy, he’s got to open Floyd up and make him fight him off.
The problem is Mayweather is well aware of this and knows that his fundamental defense and sharp shooting will eventually reduce Ortiz’s enthusiasm and subdue the pressure Victor is trying to apply. Floyd has seen Ortiz get discouraged and lose confidence in a few different bouts, although it didn’t happen against Berto when Andre was coming back in the fight against him. But that was because Berto was fighting Ortiz and that opened him up for Victor to land his Sunday punch and regain control of the bout. Mayweather won’t fall into that trap unless Ortiz physically forces him into that situation.
The only thing that you can look to if you are hoping Ortiz can pull it out is, Mayweather is no longer a mover. In his last fight he stood his ground against Shane Mosley and blunted his aggression with his accurate punching and upper body movement. He didn’t use his legs much, if at all. And the conclusion from that is either Mosley was so far gone that he didn’t have to, or Floyd knows he no longer can depend on them and must win his fights in the manner that Bernard Hopkins now goes about it – by taking the bullets out of their opponents’ guns and then engage them in mini-shoot outs. On top of that, Mayweather keeps himself in impeccable shape, age not withstanding, so I expect Ortiz’s legs to give out before Mayweather’s.
If Victor Ortiz is smart, he’ll do everything in his power to make Mayweather use his legs and force him to fight and trade. And even at that it probably won’t be enough, but it’s his only chance to win. Because if he is intimidated and doesn’t pressure Mayweather, he won’t be around to hear the bell ending the 12th and final round. For the sake of the fight being action packed with a little drama, hopefully Ortiz knows the difference between aggression and pressure, because there’s a monumental difference between them.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
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‘Krusher’ Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.
Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.
Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.
The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.
Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.
Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.
That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.
Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.
In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.
Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.
Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.
The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welter Week in SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.
One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.
Take your pick.
The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.
Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.
Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.
If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.
He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.
During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.
Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.
Fundora
Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.
Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.
Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.
Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.
Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?
When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.
This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.
Commerce Casino
Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.
Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.
It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.
Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?
That’s a question for another day.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).
Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).
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TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.
Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.
Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)
Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.
The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).
Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”
A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.
Other winners:
Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon
Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney
Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire
Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix
The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.
The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.
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