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Road To Middleweight Title Goes Through Sergio Martinez
Next weekend, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. clashes with Marco Antonio Rubio in a middleweight clash for the so-called WBC middleweight title.
Hmmm. I thought Sergio Martinez was the true middleweight world champion?
Not according to WBC jefe Jose Sulaiman, who says Chavez is the real middleweight champion of the world.
Huh?
Seeking to find out what the real world champion Martinez had to say, four of us took a road trip on Thursday from Riverside, Calif. to Port Hueneme, where the Argentine southpaw gentleman works his trade. Few work out more strenuously or with more focus than Martinez.
Around 3 p.m. we arrived early in hopes of catching Martinez before he engaged in his various physical routines. The weather was a perfect 80 degrees, the skies were crystal blue and the nearby ocean breezes left the air freshly coated with a scent of early spring.
An hour passed before Martinez and crew arrived in the boxing gym, led by his trainer and friend Pablo Sarmiento. First things first, Martinez-a former cyclist- jetted upstairs to a stationary bike to warm up his body before the pending boxing workout. When he finally entered the gym we exchanged greetings and Martinez asked us to meet for dinner afterwards if we had time. We agreed and departed for another part of town.
Down the road we headed toward Robert Garcia’s Boxing Academy in Oxnard. As soon as we stepped in the doors, there was Garcia himself to greet us, though he wasn’t expecting us.
Garcia, a former junior lightweight world champion and current world famous trainer, greeted us all and gave us a rundown on his extremely busy schedule. After closing the gym he was heading to Las Vegas to meet Nonito Donaire, Brandon Rios and others that very night. No wonder he looks in shape. Despite the graying hair Garcia looks fit and youthful. He could really fight up a storm in his heyday. I was ringside when he fought the late, great Diego Corrales, who often told me that Garcia was his toughest battle. This was said despite his fighting Joel Casamayor and Jose Luis Castillo.
“You know we have Kelly Pavlik training here?” asked Garcia. “He’s been doing real good.”
Ironically Pavlik was the middleweight champion when Martinez challenged him and was victorious on April 2010. Pavlik had defeated Jermain Taylor, who had defeated Bernard Hopkins, who held all of the middleweight titles including the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF back in July 2005. You can say honestly that Hopkins was the dictator of all things middleweight and whoever beat him was the no-doubt middleweight champion.
That lineage was passed all the way to Martinez when he defeated Pavlik.
After speaking to Garcia and watching Rolando Reyes work the mitts in the ring, we returned to Martinez’s gym where he was patiently waiting in a car for us to return so that we could follow him home.
Martinez quickly showered and dressed at his seafront home and we headed out the door toward a restaurant in the city of Ventura called the Watermark. Inside the prim Renaissance styled restaurant we were greeted warmly by someone who recognized the middleweight champion.
Apparently Martinez regularly frequents the place, which has a remarkable ornate ceiling and upper floor dining area as well.
After an hour of dining and talking about various topics involving business and the world in general, we asked Martinez how he felt about Sulaiman’s letter sent to the boxing media around the world, especially the written comment: “Julio César Chávez Jr. is not a coward, as boxers are not cowards, and I am sure that he will respond to the spirit of Mexicans to prove with his valiant heart to fight to show that he is the real middleweight champion of the world, even when mercenaries try to tarnish his credibility.”
Martinez bowed his head slightly while he thought about the question I asked and slowly said with a slight sigh, “It’s very disappointing to hear those words. It’s not fair.”
Personally, this writer has known Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. since he first began training in a boxing gym in the horse grazing town of Mira Loma, a community formerly known as “Wineville” where children were captured and killed in the true story portrayed by Angelina Jolie “The Changeling in the 1920s.” The dark reputation from those crimes forced the city dwellers then to change the name from Wineville to Mira Loma.
Though undefeated, Chavez has not beaten anyone with the rightful ownership of the middleweight championship. When he defeated Sebastian Zbik in June 2011 he conquered a good middleweight contender, but Zbik had never fought the real middleweight champion Martinez. The Germany-based southpaw was literally given the title. Basically Chavez beat a fellow contender.
“His title is a big lie,” said Martinez with no hint of animosity or sarcasm. “I’m never going to fight Julio Cesar Chavez.”
Martinez said he read the note that Sulaiman sent and admitted the words were extremely hard to digest.
“It’s very hard to hear what he is says and everything that is going on,” said Martinez while sitting in the Ventura restaurant. “I try to fight the best fighters in the world.”
So far many of the so-called best fighters in the world have refused to meet Martinez in the boxing ring. Especially those considered by boxing fans to be champions like Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, or even Chavez.
Martinez is scheduled to fight United Kingdom’s Matthew Macklin, who many boxing experts call one of the most dangerous middleweights in the world.
“He’s the best option,” said Martinez, who has accepted no easy fights since fighting to a controversial loss against Paul Williams in December 2009. Since that fight the Argentine superstar has beaten Kelly Pavlik, Williams, Serhiy Dzinziruk, and Darren Barker. Those last two were undefeated when they entered the ring and promptly exited by knockout.
“I hurt my left arm in the second round against Barker,” said Martinez.
On March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, Martinez fights at Madison Square Garden in New York City against Macklin. It’s a tough fight and if he wins, what’s next?
“A fight with Mayweather would be my dream,” Martinez says.
Martinez is the true middleweight world champion regardless of what sanctioning organizations say or do. WBC, WBA, IBF or WBO are simply not deceiving the public. Who is really the mercenary?
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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.
The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.
Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.
The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.
An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.
Moses Itauma
Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.
His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.
Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.
Bohachuk-Davis
In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.
Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.
Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.
Fisher-Allen
In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.
Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.
In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.
He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Other Bouts of Note
In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.
A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.
In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.
McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.
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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.
The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.
Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.
The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.
That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.
The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)
Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)
Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.
Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).
Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.
The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.
Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.
Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.
We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”
The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.
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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year
Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year
The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguia’s promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.
Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.
Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.
Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canada’s previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.
There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France, Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.
It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed, it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.
Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached “10,”, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.
At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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