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At What Age Should Children Be Allowed To Watch Boxing?
DeMarco and daughter following his win over Linares. A Woman Who Loves Boxing lobbies persuasively that we should make darned sure young kids can handle the brutality in the sport that adults might be desensitized to. (Hogan Photos)
Boxing is a beautiful craft but a brutal sport. Sometimes even the most knowledgeable observers and ardent fans find it hard to watch.
Recently, I could not help but cover my eyes during the latter stages of Antonio DeMarco’s cruel eleven-round pore-by-pore surgical destruction of Jorge Linares’s once-beautiful face.
Linares was the better quicker boxer and had clearly won most of the rounds. But he was cut on the bridge of his nose, then over one eye, then seemingly everywhere. Eventually, DeMarco’s white trunks were stained with Jorge’s blood. Linares was being hit on the same cuts again and again. Blood seemed to be spurting everywhere. Those things are part of boxing. But seeing it all and sensing the danger to Linares when it appeared he could no longer see made it unwatchable for me.
As I averted my eyes and looked around the arena, I was stunned to see children in the audience; some small enough to be in their mother’s arms. I was having a difficult time processing the blood and gore in front of me. I wondered, how could these children process it? More importantly, why had they been put in a position where they had to see it in the first place?
NBA great Reggie Miller said recently on HBO that he became a boxing fan when he was growing up by watching the fights with his father. I’ve heard many people say the same thing. As with fans of every sport, the vast majority of boxing fans have been cultivated in one way or another. In the best of worlds, learning about boxing is part of an integrated process that also includes learning about what is right and wrong, what is acceptable social behavior and what is criminal, what is sporting competition and what is savagery.
In the special case of boxing, there is context. Children should learn that boxing offers a rare vehicle to some for rising up from the lower economic depths of society. It should be pointed out to them that hitting and getting hit are serious responsibilities. Someone should be teaching young fans of boxing a moral code of respect for the sport and how its lessons often mimic life. Sometimes the best must accept defeat; sometimes hard work is the reward within itself; but at all times, hard work will get you further than you expected.
At what age is it appropriate to allow children to watch? From my perspective — that of a female boxing fan and a mother — I believe a child can watch boxing on TV or on-site when he or she has exhibited an understanding of the issues that surround self-protective behavior. For some, that may be at eight years old; for others, much later. That is for the parent of the individual child to decide. My own children are all boxing fans, but they are not ashamed to cover their eyes when they choose to. Young children have no compass for that. They just watch.
Even more disturbing to me than seeing young children in the arena is seeing the children of the fighters themselves attending their father’s (or mother’s) fight. The only thing I can think of more disturbing than a child watching his or her parent get beaten up is having that child watch a parent beat up someone else. My heart aches when the camera scans a child’s face just as his or her father is losing . . . or perhaps worse . . . winning. I have seen these children break down into tears, coil into a fetal position, or run from the arena.
Would a cop take a young child on a drug bust, even if the child would physically safe? Would a soldier take a child into battle? Admittedly, these are not spectator events; no one is selling tickets. But I submit that the same psychological dangers are in play. I hope boxers and mothers will give this issue their best, most serious consideration.
The American Psychological Association says that children who are exposed to violence at a young age become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, may be more fearful of the world around them, and may be more likely to behave in aggressive or hurtful ways toward others. There is plenty of time for children to find their way to the ring, either as spectators or boxers, if it is something for which they are ready. But children are still children. So please, until they know enough to cover their eyes . . . please, leave them home.
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Boots and Bam Win in Philly
Boots and Bam Win in Philly
Second time arounds can be difficult.
Hometown hero Jaron “Boots” Ennis squeezed by familiar foe Karen Chukhadzhian and Philadelphia discovered why all the buzz about Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez with his blazing knockout victory on Saturday.
Two for one Philly. Two for one.
IBF welterweight titlist Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) found Chukhadzhian (24-3) more difficult the second time around but emerged the winner again in front of more than 10,000 fans at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Philly fighter Ennis looked ready to knock the stuffing out of Chukhadzhian in the rematch. Instead, the Ukrainian fighter made good on his promise to show a different approach and a different result from their first encounter dominated by Ennis 11 months ago.
It was a blast this time.
Chukhadzhian came out blazing with left hooks and shifty angles that caught Ennis by surprise from the first round. A good thing the champion can take a good punch.
Ennis, 27, seemed more frustrated than confused by the more offensive approach of the Ukrainian. Instead of running away from the action the Ukrainian was countering and punching in-between the champion’s combos. Both got hit and both kept punching.
In the fifth round Ennis erupted with a lethal combination including a right uppercut and down went Chukhadzhian. It was only Ennis’ incredible reflexes that helped refrain from unloaded a rocket right while the Ukrainian was on one knee.
It seemed the end was near but instead of folding like an old banana the Ukrainian fighter cranked it up and the fight resumed.
Though the Ukrainian fighter resorted to hitting and holding and was deducted a point for excessive grappling in the 10th round, he kept firing while Ennis seemed to wane in the last three rounds.
It was a tremendous showing for Chukhadzhian but fell short of winning as three judges saw Ennis the winner 119-107, 117-109, 116-110.
“I was prepared for anything coming,” said Ennis. “I wanted to get the knockout.”
Bam Wins
In the co-main boxing’s youngest world champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) became the first to knock out Mexico’s Pedro Guevara (43-5-1, 22 KOs) and retained the WBC super fly title.
Rodriguez, 24, pressured the veteran contender Guevara immediately and fired from various angles that forced the challenger to exchange. That was the first sign that the Mexican fighter was not going to be able to hit and move.
In the third round it seemed Rodriguez had figured out Guevara and moved in for the kill. He had promised to be the first to knock out the Mexican fighter and then opened up with a withering attack that saw both exchange with Rodriguez’s left cross connecting. It took Guevara two seconds later to collapse from the effect of the blow. He got up, and Rodriguez moved in with a feint and two blows then unleashing a hidden right uppercut that Guevara never saw.
Down went Guevara and he wasn’t getting up at 2:47 of the third round.
“I kind of already knew it was going to happen that way,” said Rodriguez of the knockout win. “I thought he was going to stand in there.”
Other Bouts
Former featherweight world titlist Raymond Ford (16-1-1, 8 KOs) rebooted as a super featherweight with a one-sided unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Orlando Gonzalez (23-3, 13 KOs) after 10 rounds at super featherweight.
Ford looks stronger at 130 pounds.
Ford floored Gonzalez twice with sizzling right hooks in the battle between southpaws. After dominating most of the first eight rounds Ford was forced to chase Gonzalez who refused to engage the last two rounds. After 10 rounds all three judges favored Ford 100-98 twice and 99-89.
Mexican light heavyweight Manuel Gallegos (21-2-1, 18 KOs) upset undefeated Khalil Coe (9-1-1, 7 KOs) dropping the American prospect four times before ending it in the ninth round.
Body shots by Gallegos broke down Coe’s defense who was a 20-1 favorite going into the fight. The taller Mexican fighter absorbed big shots to target Coe’s body and that proved the difference.
“I felt good, I felt strong at 175 pounds,” said Gallegos whose last fight was a loss to Diego Pacheco.
Ammo Williams (17-1, 12 KOs) returned to the win column with a blazing fifth round stoppage over Gian Garrido (11-2, 8 KOs) in a middleweight fight. In William’s last fight he lost to Hamzah Sheeraz last June in Riyadh.
Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom
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The Davis Brothers Hit the Trifecta in Their Norfolk Homecoming
On March 12, 1997, Top Rank promoted a show in Grand Rapids, Michigan, featuring the Mayweather clan – brothers Roger and Jeff and their precocious nephew Floyd Jr, an Olympic silver medalist. Tonight, Top Rank dusted off the homecoming template for the Davis family – brothers Keyshawn, Kelvin, and Keon. The venue was Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, where Norfolk legend Pernell Whitaker scored some of his best wins. But “Sweet Pea’ was never as spectacular as Keyshawn was tonight with a sellout crowd of 10,568 looking on.
Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) was matched against Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos who came in 6.4 pounds overweight. It was the second U.S. appearance for Lemos who brought a 29-1 record after losing an unpopular decision to Richardson Hitchins in his U.S. debut.
In the second round, Davis scored three knockdowns, closing the show. The first was the result of a counter left hook and the second, also a left hook, turned Lemos’s legs to jelly. He beat the count only to be crushed by a vicious tight uppercut. It was all over at the 1:08 mark of the second stanza.
Davis’s next fight is expected to come against Denys Berinchyk, the Ukrainian who holds the WBO version of the lightweight title. Down the road, there’s a potential mega-fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis who Keyshawn called out in his post-fight interview. And then there’s Cuban amateur standout Andy Cruz, Keyshawn’s amateur nemesis and the last man to defeat him, that coming on a split decision in the semi-final round of the Tokyo Olympics.
Semi-wind-up
In a fight that didn’t heat up until the final round, Virginia middleweight Troy Isley, an amateur and pro stablemate of Keyshawn Davis, out-worked and out-classed Tyler Howard en route to winning a one-sided decision. The judges had it 98-92 and 99-91 twice.
Isley improved to 14-0 (5). It was the second loss in 22 pro starts for Tennessee’s Howard who had been staying busy on the Team Combat League circuit where he lost five 1-round bouts.
Abdullah Mason Overcomes adversity.
Twenty-year-old Cleveland southpaw Abdullah Mason, a lightweight, just may be the best boxer in his age group in the world. Tonight, he faced adversity for the first time in his career. Yohan Vasquez, a 30-year-old Dominican fighting out of the Bronx, had Abdullah on the canvas twice in a wild opening round. Between those two knockdowns, Mason scored a knockdown of his own.
In round two, Mason brought matters to a halt with a left to the solar plexus. Vasquez went down in obvious pain and while he beat the count, the expression of his face showed that he was in no mind to continue and the bout was stopped. The official time was 1:59 of round two.
It was the sixth straight knockout for Abdullah Mason who improved to 16-0. Vasquez declined to 26-6.
Other Bouts
In a welterweight battle of southpaws, Kelvin Davis (14-0, 7 KOs) exploited a 7-inch height advantage to win a one-sided decision over Yeis Solano who fought a survivors’ fight for the first six rounds, hoping to land a counterpunch that never appeared. The oldest of the Davis brothers punctuated his triumph with a knockdown in the final seconds of the 8-round fight, putting Solano on the canvas with a short right hand. It was the fourth straight loss for Colombia’s Solano who opened his career 15-0.
In an 8-round middleweight contest enlivened by trainer Scott Sigmon’s commentary, Sigmon’s fighter Austin DeAnda, a native Virginian, improved 16-0 (10) with a unanimous decision over South Carolina’s DeAundre Pettus (12-3). Neither fighter exhibited a lot of skill in a fight that, in the words of ringside pundit Tim Bradley, was both entertaining and boring (our sentiments exactly). The scores were 78-74 and 77-75 twice.
Lanky, 23-year-old super welterweight Keon Davis, the youngest of the Davis trio, won his pro debut with a 40-36 shutout of Jalen Moore (1-2). Keon had a big fourth round, but Moore, a willing mixer, survived the onslaught and made it to the final bell.
Robert Meriweather III, a 19-year-old super bantamweight, advanced to 8-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 34-year-old St. Louis native Eric Howard (6-3). The judges had it 60-54 and 59-55 twice.
In the lid-lifter, Muskegon, Michigan native Ra’eese Aleem (21-1, 12 KOs) rebounded from his first pro defeat with a lopsided 10-round decision over hard-trying Derlyn Hernandez-Gerarldo (12-3-1). This was the first fight in 17 months for Aleem who lost a split decision to Naoya Inoue’s next foe Sam Goodman on Goodman’s turf in Australia. All three judges had it 100-89.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: East Coast Fight Cards Seize the Boxing Spotlight
Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: East Coast Fight Cards Seize the Boxing Spotlight
Once upon a time Olympic gold medalists provided America’s next great wave of fighters.
No longer.
Keyshawn Davis represents the new breed of American fighters that fell short of gold in the Olympics, but command respect as a professional.
The undefeated Davis (11-0, 7 KOs) meets Argentina’s rugged Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) on Friday, Nov. 8, at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. ESPN+ will show the lightweight battle set for 10 rounds on the Top Rank card.
The brash lightweight from Norfolk managed to win a silver medal in the 2021 Olympics but for many, he looked like the winner. Since then, he’s blazed his way through whoever Top Rank put in front of him.
Not winning gold in the Olympics is not a blemish, especially with the East European dominated judging. Unless an American wins by knockout they are not going to be awarded a decision.
It’s a major reason why boxing may not be a sport in the L.A. Olympics.
The pro fight world offers a true glimpse of a boxer’s talent. Capricious judging can be eliminated by a knockout with smaller gloves and no head gear. The hurting game is ruthless and no amount of biased judging can stop a deadly left hook.
Davis has a non-apologetic thirst for ripping through easy trials and sipping success against top tier talent. He wants success and wants it now even against dangerous opponents like Lemos.
“It’s not going to be beautiful. There’s going to be blood everywhere. His nose might be a little lopsided after,” said Davis. “But, I respect you, Gustavo. You are an amazing fighter. I appreciate you for taking the fight in my hometown, but I’m going to f**k you up.”
Lemos, who recently lost a very close and much debated decision to another East Coast American fighter, is happy to be offered another opportunity to showcase his Argentine style.
“I have a strong opponent, and I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Lemos who lost a spirited battle to Richardson Hitchins in Las Vegas last April. ““I’ve always said that he (Davis) is a good opponent and that we’re going to have a beautiful fight.”
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Davis will be joined on the fight card by his brothers Keon Davis who makes his pro debut and Kelvin Davis who fights Yeis Solano in a welterweight bout.
Also on the same card will be elite fighters in featherweight contender Ra’eese Aleem and hot lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason.
Saturday in Philly
Two world champions Jaron Ennis and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez headline an impressive fight card in Philadelphia.
IBF welterweight titlist “Boots” Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) once again meets Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) but this time with a world title at stake on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Wells Fargo Center in Philly. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.
Their first encounter was not easy for either and resulted in a decision win for Ennis. But that was back in January. Whoever adjusts quicker will be the winner in this competitive-on-paper world title fight.
Chukhadzhian, 28, can take a punch and has a deceptive style of counters and attacks that seem simple but is effective. In their first match 11 months ago Ennis quickly discovered the Ukrainian fighter’s durability and slipped into a boxing mode to utilize speed and mobility. It proved effective but will it be enough this time?
Ennis, 27, has a world title and seeks more lucrative fights but could stumble if not prepared for another tough clash. But he’s confident that his skills can help him evade any kind of slip.
The Philly fighter filled the arena last time when he defeated David Avanesyan by knockout in the fifth. This time he’s joined by another young gun in Bam Rodriguez, a fellow world titlist.
“He’s going crazy right now. Going up and down in weight divisions. I’m blessed to have him on this card,” said Ennis. “I’m here to steal his fans and he’s here to steal mine.”
Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) 24, meets former world titlist Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) a Mexican veteran who wants to take away Bam’s WBC super fly title.
“I’m trying to go undisputed at 115 and then go on from there,” said Rodriguez. “I’m only 24 so I still have some strength to gain.”
Both will be joined by another hot prospect from Pomona, California named Tito Mercado, an undefeated lightweight.
Mercado (16-0, 15 KOs) is a tall and fast lightweight with power who recently signed with Matchroom Boxing. He has a knockout streak of five and meets Mexican banger Jesus Saracho (14-2-1, 11 KOs) in a 10-round fight. At 23, he’s fought impressive competition and handled it easily.
Puerto Rico
Former super welterweight world titlist Subriel Matias (20-2, 20 KOs) meets Mexico’s Roberto Ramirez (26-3-1, 19 KOs) on Saturday. Nov. 9, at Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Ramirez is jumping up three weight classes for this fight. PPV.COM will stream the fight card live.
Fights to Watch
Thurs. ESPN+ 3:30 p.m. Osleys Iglesias (12-0) vs Petro Ivanov (18-0-2).
Fri. ESPN + 3:20 p.m. Keyshawn Davis (11-0) vs Gustavo Lemos (29-1);
Sat. PPV.COM 3 p.m. Subriel Matias (20-2) vs Roberto Ramirez (26-3-1).
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