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RASKIN’S RANTS: A Barker, A Pig Parker & A Possible Jump-The-Sharker

Between the new fall season of television, baseball playoff games that last into the wee hours, NFL football in full swing, seven hours of televised boxing over the weekend, and this whole child-rearing thing I’m supposed to be doing, my leisure-time schedule is getting awfully tight. So to cut corners, I’m keeping this intro short. I might even remove one letter from Darren Barker’s last name to save time. Let’s get right to this week’s reader email:
Hi Eric,
I know you’re a fan of Max Kellerman and his Face Off show, and so am I … but you have to admit, the show totally jumped the shark tonight. That s— with Pacquiao and Marquez sitting in front of a giant movie screen, with Kellerman making them diagram plays together, I dunno, man, none of it worked. That was HBO’s worst prefight hype attempt since Calzaghe-Jones 24/7. What did you think?
Love the columns and the rants,
Brad
Hi Brad,
On the one hand, I want to give the creative forces behind Face Off credit for knowing they needed to do something different. Neither Pacquiao nor Marquez speaks English well enough to ever say anything particularly interesting. The two fighters have no hatred for one another and aren’t the types to pretend to hate each other for the benefit of the TV cameras. The producers recognized this, so they invited the trainers to sit in and built the whole thing around having the fighters watch the highlights of their first two fights together. So let’s give everyone a golf clap for trying. Imagine how dreadful the show would have been with just Max, Manny, Juan Manuel, and three steel chairs.
All that said, you’re right. None of the creative twists really worked. Freddie Roach didn’t have much of anything to say, and Nacho Beristain speaks even less English than his fighter. The idea of showing highlight clips was fine—you’ll never be bored watching replays of these two guys punching each other—but posing them in their stances and breaking down strategies came off more awkward than effective. Through no particular fault of anyone, this was the worst Face Off so far.
But it doesn’t mean the show has “jumped the shark.” When something actually jumps the shark, there’s no going back. This was just one subpar episode, and the show will recover. How do I know this? Because Kellerman tweeted “Oh. My. God.” in reference to the next installment, featuring Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. And Kellerman doesn’t lie about these things. He told us in advance that Bernard Hopkins-Jean Pascal and Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye were fantastic and, importantly, he didn’t tell us the same about Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz or Pacquiao-Marquez. So I’m confident that Face Off will bounce back next episode.
And I get the feeling the emotional intensity between Margarito and Cotto is going to render the fact that they need a translator irrelevant.
Okay, time for the Rants. Or, as Michael Buffer and his contempt for the letter “r” might say, time for the Ants:
–Here’s an outside-the-box idea for a future Face Off: Mayweather vs. Hopkins, debating which of them is the greatest American fighter of their era. Tell me that wouldn’t make for spectacular television.
–My favorite moment of the Sergio Martinez-Darren Barker fight: In the seventh round, as everyone else at the broadcast table was piling on Martinez and his mediocre performance, Larry Merchant interrupted the onslaught to give Barker credit for causing Martinez problems. Merchant can’t kick Floyd Mayweather’s ass at age 80, but he can still bring much-needed balance to a broadcast.
–On a related note, who would have guessed Martinez-Barker would be a more entertaining and competitive fight than Andy Lee-Brian Vera? It’s a strange thing to say, but the main event stole the show on Saturday night.
–You know that reputation Emanuel Steward has had for years as an aggressive, knockout-minded trainer? Given the way Lee fought against Vera, in combination with the safety-oriented styles Wlad Klitschko and Lennox Lewis mastered under Steward’s tutelage, I’m going to go ahead and declare the reputation undeserved at this point. (And I’m not criticizing Steward or Lee at all, mind you. Lee fought the perfect style to avenge his loss to Vera, and that’s to his credit. I’m just saying the trainer’s rep has outlasted the reality behind it.)
–I’m not quite sure why Hopkins was described on the screen Saturday night as “light heavyweight titleholder.” If a guy is actually the champion of the world, you may as well acknowledge it.
–If I kept a personal pound-for-pound list, I’d be putting Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in my top 20 now. In fact, I know this will rankle a few of the fight geeks, but I think the current Chocolatito beats any version of Ivan Calderon.
–I agree with Carlos Acevedo of TheCruelestSport.com, an ugly fight against an old Joel Casamayor is no way to market Timothy Bradley as a future Pacquiao opponent on the Pacquiao-Marquez III undercard. And Bob Arum and his matchmakers are no dummies, which is why I’m not ruling out a last-minute opponent switch to a face-first clubfighter.
–Note to self: Don’t date any of the same women as Matt Remillard.
–It’s safe to say you’ll never see a better fight with a 120-106 scorecard than Olusegun Ajose vs. Ali Cheebah.
–So Floyd Mayweather doesn’t just park in handicapped spots, he “pig parks” in two of them at once. Once again, we see that life imitates Curb Your Enthusiasm—kind of like that time Mike Buffer was paying tribute to someone before the ceremonial 10-count and misread “beloved aunt.”
–Check out a loaded episode of Ring Theory (http://ringtheory.podbean.com) this week, featuring a guest appearance from none other than the world light heavyweight champion (not titleholder), Bernard Hopkins. Here’s hoping Bill Dettloff and I are able to get more than one question in.
Eric Raskin can be contacted at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com. You can follow him on Twitter @EricRaskin and listen to new episodes of his podcast, Ring Theory, at http://ringtheory.podbean.com.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 317: Callum Walsh, Dana White and More

As Callum Walsh stood on the observation deck at the top of the Empire State Building with fists clenched, it harked back to actor Jimmy Cagney, an actor of Irish descent, yelling “Top of the world, ma,” in the 1949 motion picture White Heat.
The Irish-born Walsh brings that kind of attitude.
Once again Walsh (12-0, 10 KOs) returns to New York City and this time faces Scottish warrior Dean Sutherland (19-1, 7 KOs) in a super welterweight match set for 10 rounds on Sunday, March 16, at Madison Garden Theater.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions event.
Flanked by master trainer Freddie Roach and managed by Dana White it brings questions as to the direction that Walsh will be steered. It was just revealed that White will head a new boxing promotion outfit with big plans to make a more UFC type of organization.
Is Walsh part of the plans?
It’s a lot to digest as the hot prospect from Cork, Ireland proceeds toward world championship dreams. Can he cleanse his mind of this major distraction?
Walsh and Sutherland are both southpaws who are meeting at the crossroads in the heart of New York City. At this point of their careers a loss can mean rebooting and taking a few steps backward. The winner moves on to the next crucial step.
Sutherland, 26, hails from Aberdeen and has never fought outside of his native Scotland. It’s a lot to ask of someone whose country’s population of 5 million is dwarfed by New York City’s 8.2 million inhabitants all packed together.
Ireland’s population is also 5 million. So basically, both Walsh and Sutherland are on even terms when they enter the prize ring on Sunday.
Who knows what kind of competition Sutherland faced in Scotland. He beat two undefeated fighters and also conquered two foes who each had more than 100 losses on their resumes.
Meanwhile, Walsh has faced only one undefeated fighter but handled veterans like Benjamin Whitaker, Ismael Villareal and Carlos Ortiz Cervantes. But you never know until they meet face to face. Anything can happen in a prize ring.
Walsh has a three-fight knockout streak. Sutherland has slept two out of his last three foes. They will be joined by several Irish fighters on the card plus Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin.
Dana, Turk and TKO
The announcement earlier in the week that Turki Alalshikh together with TKO Group Holdings that include Dana White and Nick Khan formed a new boxing promotion company.
White, who does not own UFC but guides the MMA ship, works for Endeavor, the parent company of UFC and WWE. Their events are all shown on ESPN, the powerful sports network (albeit WWE’s flagship weekly show “Raw” recently moved to Netflix). It seems Endeavor has decided to allow White to guide its boxing program too.
Where does that leave Top Rank?
It seems the partnership plans to rid boxing of the many sanctioning organizations and have only one champion per division. The champion will be given a Ring Magazine belt. Recently, Turki Alalshikh purchased The Ring magazine from Golden Boy Promotions. This seems to have been the plan all along.
Is this good for boxing?
Mark Shapiro, the president of TKO Group Holdings, said:
“This is a strategic opportunity to re-imagine the sport of boxing globally. TKO has the deep expertise, promotional prowess, and longstanding relationships. HE Turki Alalshikh and Sela share our passion and vision for evolving the current model. Together, we can bring the sweet science back to its rightful place in the forefront of the global sports ecosystem.”
DAZN all day
Three boxing cards take place on Saturday beginning with WBA featherweight titlist Nick Ball (21-0-1) the human cannonball, defending against former champion TJ Doheny from Liverpool, England. The first bout begins around 9:30 a.m. (Pacific Coast Time). Ball likes to charge forward and punch. Doheny is no slouch and has experience.
Later, Matchroom Boxing presents a show from Florida that features Edgar Berlanga (22-1) fresh off a solid contest against Canelo Alvarez. He fights undefeated Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz (20-0-1) in a super middleweight match. Also, Ammo Williams (17-1) returns to face dangerous Patrice Volny (19-1) in a middleweight clash. The card starts at 3:30 p.m. (Pacific Coast Time.
Saturday evening MarvNation presents Amado Vargas (11-0) meeting Eduardo Hernandez (8-2) in a super lightweight contest at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. Start time is set for 8 p.m. (Pacific Coast Time). The son of the great Fernando Vargas remains undefeated.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 11:30 a.m. Nick Ball (21-0-1) vs TJ Doheny (26-5).
Sat. DAZN 3:30 p.m. Edgar Berlanga (22-1) vs Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz (20-0-1) ; Ammo Williams (17-1) vs Patrice Volny (19-1).
Sat. DAZN 8 p.m. Amado Vargas (11-0) vs Eduardo Hernandez (8-2).
Sun. UFC Fight Pass 3 p.m. Callum Walsh (12-0) vs Dean Sutherland (19-1).
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A Fresh Face on the Boxing Scene, Bryce Mills Faces His Toughest Test on Friday

“He wants to test himself and find out just how good he really is,” said International Boxing Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz regarding super lightweight Bryce Mills. Peltz, who has dealt with a wide range of fighters throughout his lifetime in boxing, recognized the fire that burned inside Mills at a local show in Philadelphia in early 2022. At the time Mills had less than ten professional fights under his belt.
Mills hails from Liverpool in upstate New York and trains in nearby Syracuse. Currently 17-1 (6 KOs), he’s undefeated in his last 11 since losing a split decision to a Puerto Rican fighter from the Bronx who had fought much stiffer competition.
The fight in question that caught Peltz’s eye was arranged by the well-known and respected matchmaker Nick Tiberi who paired Mills in an intriguing fight against Daiyaan Butt, a tough and skilled fighter from the Philadelphia area. They fought at LIVE Casino in South Philadelphia on Feb. 24, 2022.
Although the crowd on hand that night favored Butt, Mills, although then only 20 years old, wasn’t intimidated and was the clear-cut winner at the end of their exciting, back-and-forth battle. This showed Peltz that Mills was serious about seeing just how far his ability could take him.
That’s why Peltz decided to join forces with Mills. Despite being semi-retired, Peltz is still active enough to help guide fighters through the ever-changing wild west landscape that is boxing. Since their union after Mill’s victory over Butt, Mills has been on a nine-fight winning streak heading into what Peltz believes is the toughest test of his career this Friday against Alex Martin 18-6 (6 KOs) of Chicago.
“I didn’t want him to take this fight, it’s a dangerous fight for him. Martin is a southpaw and is tricky, he’s a veteran and is experienced. His father (Mills’s father) called me and said that Bryce wanted the fight, to his credit,” says Peltz. One look at Martin’s resume and it confirms what Peltz stated. All six of Martin’s losses came against fighters with outstanding records including a former world title challenger. Martin also holds some quality wins over undefeated prospects that were at similar points in their careers to where Mills currently is in his development.
Bryce Mills looks like a fighter (he’s always in shape), acts like a fighter (testing his craft against all comers), walks the walk of a fighter, and fights with a fan-friendly pedal-to-the-metal style. That is a winning combination that could be the breath of fresh air the boxing world could surely use and on Friday night at the Wind Creek Events Center in Bethlehem, PA, live on DAZN, Mills is going to have the opportunity to put the boxing world on notice.
***
DAZN will televise the Mills-Martin fight along with a main event that features undefeated middleweight Euri Cedeno (10-0-1, 9 KO’s) against Ulices Rivera (11-1, 7 KO’s). Knockout artist Joseph Adorno (20-4-1, 17 KOs) and undefeated Reading, PA super featherweight Julian Gonzalez (15-0-1, 11 KOs) appear in separate bouts on the undercard. Tickets for the Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotion show are still available through Ticketmaster. Lobby doors open at 5:00 pm. First bell is at 7:00.
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High Drama in Japan as ‘Amazing Boy’ Kenshiro Teraji Overcomes Seigo Yuri Akui

Overshadowed by countrymen Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, Kenshiro Teraji embossed his Hall of Fame credentials in Tokyo tonight with a dramatic 12th-round stoppage of Seigo Yuri Akui. At stake were two pieces of the world flyweight title. A two-time world title-holder a division below (108), Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) was appearing in his 16th world title fight.
This Japan vs. Japan matchup will go down in Japanese boxing lore as one of the best title fights ever on Japanese soil. Through the 11 completed rounds, Akui was up 105-104 on two of the cards with Teraji up 106-103 on the third. However, judging by his appearance, Akui was more damaged. The stoppage by Japanese referee Katsuhiko Nakamura, which came at the 1:31 mark of the final round with Akui still standing, struck some as premature but the gallant Akui was well-beaten.
A second-generation prizefighter, Kenshiro Teraji, 33, came bearing the WBC 112-pound belt which he acquired this past October with an 11th round TKO of Nicaraguan veteran Cristofer Rosales. The 29-year-old Akui (21-3-1) was making the second defense of the WBA strap he won with a wide decision over previously undefeated Artem Dalakian.
Although Teraji keeps on rolling – this was his seventh straight win which began with a third-round blast-out of Masamichi Yabuki, avenging his lone defeat – things aren’t getting any easier for the so-called “Amazing Boy.” In his last three fights, which include a hard-earned majority decision over Carlos Canizales, he answered the bell for 35 rounds.
By and large, fighters in his weight class don’t age well. While Teraji is starting to slip, he has no intention of retiring any time soon. His goal, he says is to unify the title and eventually move up a notch to pursue a world title in a third weight class. The other pieces of the 112-pound title are currently the property of Mexico’s Angel Ayala who defends his IBF diadem against Yabuki later this month and LA’s Anthony Olascuaga who was in action on tonight’s undercard.
Other Bouts of Note
Olascuaga, a stablemate of Junto Nakatani, trained by 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year Rudy Hernandez, advanced to 9-1 (6) with a hard-earned unanimous decision over Hiroto Kyoguchi. The judges had it 118-110 and 117-111 (scores condemned as too wide) with the third judge having it 6-6 in rounds but scoring it 114-113 in acknowledgement of the knockdown credited to Olascuaga in round 11, the result of a short left that produced a delayed reaction.
Olascuaga was making the second defense of his WBO belt in his fifth straight trip to Japan. In his lone defeat, he was thrust against the formidable Teraji as a late sub, acquitting himself well in defeat (L TKO 9) despite having only five pro fights under his belt and having only 10 days to prepare. Kyoguchi (19-3) had previously held titles in the sport’s two smallest weight classes.
In a big upset, Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago, thought to be well past his prime at age 32, wrested the WBO light flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Shokichi Iwata who was making the first defense of the title he won with a third-round stoppage of Spain’s previously undefeated Jairo Noriega. Tokyo’s Iwata was a consensus 9/1 favorite.
Santiago, who advanced to 14-4 (9), won by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. It was the second loss for Iwata who had knocked out 11 of his first 15 opponents.
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