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HE LEFT NO DOUBT Trout Beats Cotto, Via UD, at MSG
Cotto looked like his face got run over by a tractor. Readers, should he hang up the gloves, after two straight losses? (Tom Casino)
Miguel Cotto picked the wrong opponent to fight in the main event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. That was apparent pretty early on, as he was a step behind, in foot speed and hand speed, and had difficulty cornering the slick mover Trout. By midway, Cotto’s face started to swell up, and Trout, a legit 154 pounder, didn’t wilt from the left hooks and too-few body shots from the Puerto Rican. After twelve rounds, we heard the verdict, and that confirmed what our eyes saw.
Judge Byrd had 119-109, and Poturaj and Weisfeld saw it 117-111, for Trout, who pre-fight told the world he needed a KO to insure the win, but actually just needed to box the way he did pre-Cotto fight to get the job done.
Cotto, as he hurriedly left the ring, indicated that he thought he won. Later, he said, “I was satisfied with the job I did. I will go back to Puerto Rico and think. He was a southpaw, difficult to fight. I felt I did my job, it was a great fight, we fought until the end. I’m thankful to all of my fans who came to see me tonight, there’s no place to fight like Madison Square Garden.”
There will be massive second guessing on the part of Team Cotto for choosing Trout, though I think it fair not to hammer them. They picked a tough foe, a guy who it is hard to look good against, who deserved a shot. They didn’t duck or dodge Austin Trout, and should be commended for that.
The 37-3 hitter out of Caguas, PR was 153.6 on Friday, and the 25-0 New Mexico fighter Trout (age 27) was 154 after dropping trou.
In the first, Cotto, age 32, ate a hard shot which maybe gave Trout the round. Trout moved, his feet and his torso, and was hard to hit in the second. Cotto ended the round with a bang but Trout’s quick hands, jab, movement and mastery of the distance troubled him. Cotto tried to close the distance, walk Trout down but the underdog was slippery. The PR fighter did land some left hooks in a tight round. In round five, Trout went low, and was warned. He backed up a ton and I wondered what the judges would think of that. Cotto landed the three best launches of the round, and by now had Trout coming to him. The sixth was tight, once again, but it looked like maybe the two hardest punches of the round were landed by Cotto in the sixith and in the seventh. Trout took the eighth, with smart movement and crisp launches. In the ninth, Cotto turned away, saying he was hit low. Trout worked harder in the round; could Cotto get a second wind? In the 10th, Trout impressed more but then Cotto comboed late. Did he steal the round, or make it even? In round 11, Trout looked fresher. Both men missed a bunch, but Trout trapped Miguel on the ropes and threw. Miguel landed at least two crisp counters. In the 12th, Cotto backed up too much. His face swollen, backpedaling, he sent the wrong message.
Jayson Velez gave Puerto Ricans hope that a PR prospect will pan out as he blasted out overmatched Mexican Salvador Sanchez in 38 seconds elapsed of round three, by TKO, as the ref stopped the scrap. Sal, wearing his Uncle Salvador’s trunks from his last fight before he died in a car accident in 1982, was never in it. He went down in the second and was not sturdy in the third. Velez, a Cotto Promotions boxer, won a feather crown.
Danny Jacobs got rounds in and made fellow middleweight Chris Fitzpatrick quit after five. Fitz was durable, and earned his check. Brooklyn’s Jacobs, back after cancer nearly felled him last year, took his time, went lefty then righty, and cracked with the right hand. A cut opened on Fitzy’s crown in the third but he moved enough and had a hard enough noggin to make it a couple more rounds. Jacobs said after he heard the boos and apologized for being patient. He will be back in the ring on the Feb. 9 show.
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The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
PRESS RELEASE — CANASTOTA, NY – DECEMBER 5, 2024 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum is thrilled to announce the newest class of inductees to be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend June 5-8, 2025 in “Boxing’s Hometown” Canastota, NY.
The Class of 2025 includes Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, “The Pazmanian Devil” Vinny Paz and Michael “Second To” Nunn in the Men’s Modern category; Yessica “Kika” Chavez, Anne Sophie Mathis and Mary Jo Sanders in the Women’s Modern category; Cathy “Cat” Davis in the Women’s Trailblazer category; referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous) and referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous) in the Non-Participant category; broadcaster / journalist Randy Gordon and television producer Ross Greenburg in the Observer category; Rodrigo Valdez (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Owen Swift (posthumous) in the Pioneer category.
Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians.
“We’re extremely excited about the Class of 2025 and are very much looking forward to honoring the newest class of inductees to earn boxing’s highest honor,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is scheduled for June 5-8th in “Boxing’s Hometown.” Many events will take place in Canastota and nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino throughout the four-day celebration including ringside talks, fist casting, fight night, 5K race / fun run, boxing autograph card show, banquet, parade and induction ceremony.
For more information on the 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, please call (315) 697-7095.
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Navarrete-Valdez and Espinoza-Ramirez Rematches Headline Phoenix Fight Fiesta
The annals of boxing abound with iconic rematches, and there’s a good chance that list will get longer after this Saturday in Phoenix’s Footprint Center with Top Rank’s ESPN card featuring Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) versus Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) and Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs, against Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs).
Valdez’s ties to the local area and multiple Arizona appearances give his bout against Navarrete top billing, but WBO featherweight titlist Espinoza’s initial encounter with Ramirez was the better bout the first time around, deemed Fight and Upset of the Year by many observers.
That’s not to say Navarrete-Valdez 1 didn’t hold plenty of drama as Navarrete captured the WBO junior lightweight belt with a relatively widespread unanimous decision. Valdez got himself into an immediate bind in the first fight by walking into Navarrete’s jab, enabling Navarrete to score early with looping right leads from his six-inch reach advantage. Valdez’s corner implored him to stay patient but it seemed there was no avoiding a firefight that played into Navarette’s always busy hands.
By round 3 Valdez’s face was heavily marked and often on the defensive, waiting to establish an offense that never fully arrived. Though he scored with some big shots down the stretch, his swollen right eye closed by the 9th frame and the eventual outcome seemed obvious.
“I know there’s a lot of pride at stake in a Mexico versus Mexico battle,” said Navarrete. “I believe this will be an even better fight than before because we’re familiar with each other. I know I have to push Valdez to his limits.”
“I made mistakes the first time, the biggest one was trying to knock him out,” reflected Valdez. “I still have a few fights left in me, not everyone gets a second chance. I know what I needed to train for (this time) and I’ll make the most of it.”
Offense was never a problem for either Espinoza or Ramirez, who traded knockdowns in a give-and-take affair that might have gone either way. It was the gloved-up version of mongoose versus cobra as two time Olympic gold medalist Ramirez charged in behind blurring punches up the middle while the much taller Espinoza fired shoulder level combinations. In this case, it was the underdog cobra who triumphed.
Three days from first bell an unofficial consensus of online odds listed the previous winners as favorites, Espinoza by a hair and Navarrete by a solid margin. While the initial winners may still have an edge, that all disappears after the bell, and previous action indicates a pair of pick-em contests isn’t unlikely.
Boxing history is also full of tie-breaking trilogies, too. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if that’s what we’re looking at again in both these cases.
Adding to the electric atmosphere in Phoenix are a solid batch of undercard extras featuring multiple first-rate performers that should get the audience more than ready for the night’s headliners.
Top Rank junior welterweight prospect Lindolfo Delgado, 21-0 (15) from Nuevo Leon, meets skilled Dominican Jackson Marinez, 22-3 (10) in a contest that could qualify as main event worthy in many locales.
Undefeated southpaw heavyweight Richard Torrez, Jr, who earned the silver medal in that division for the USA at the 2020 Olympics faces off against Mexican big boy Issac Munoz Gutierrez, 18-1-1 (15) who reportedly packs a respectable wallop. None of Torrez’s pro opponents have made it to the final bell.
San Diego’s highly ranked welterweight title challenger Giovani Santillan, 31-1 (17) faces Fredrick Lawson of Ghana, 30-5 (22). Lawson has dropped his last two outings but that was against good opposition and he won’t be an easy test.
21 year-old DJ Zamora, a hot prospect at 13-0 (9) from Las Vegas meets experienced Roman Reynoso, 22-5-2 (10), from Argentina and emerging new stablemate Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, 11-0 (7), who recently signed a long term Top Rank contract faces Gerardo Antonio Perez, 12-6-1 (3).
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R.I.P Israel Vazquez who has Passed Away at age 46
Israel Vazquez, a three-time world champion at 122 pounds and one of the most crowd-pleasing prizefighters of any era, has passed away at the age of 46. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman revealed the bad news today (Dec. 3) on his social media platform.
Born on Christmas Day 1977, Vazquez began his pro career in his native Mexico City at age 17. He was 16 fights into his pro career when he made his U.S. debut in El Cajon, California, under the management of Frank Espinoza.
Vazquez is most remembered for his four-fight rivalry with fellow Mexico City native Rafael Marquez.
The first two meetings were contested before small crowds in Carson, California, and Hidalgo, Texas.
Marquez won the first meeting thanks to a left hook that broke Vazquez’s nose in the opening round. The nose swelled to the point that Vazquez, who was making the fourth defense of his WBC super bantamweight title, could no longer breathe and he was all done after seven rounds.
Vazquez won the rematch (TKO 6), setting the stage for a rubber match that would be a fight for the ages. The bout, contested on March 1, 2008 at the soccer stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, was a shoo-in for Fight of the Year, earning that accolade from the BWAA, The Ring magazine and others.
Vazquez pulled that fight out of the fire in the final round, knocking Marquez to the canvas to win a split decision. Ron Borges, writing for this publication, wrote, “they knocked pieces off each other that could never be fully reattached.”
That was true of the detached retina in Vazquez’s right eye. It would require multiple surgeries before Vazquez, nicknamed “El Magnifico,” fought again and the eye would eventually be replaced by a prosthetic.
Their fourth meeting, contested before a celebrity-studded crowd at LA’s Staples Center, was anticlimactic. Vazquez, damaged goods, was stopped in the third round and never fought again.
All four meetings were televised on Showtime which celebrated the rivalry in 2015, airing highlights from all four fights on March 7 of that year. TSS West Coast Bureau Chief David A. Avila, looking back at the series, wrote, “[It was] 28 rounds of the most scientifically brutal and awe-inspiring prizefighting at an elite level.” Avila would also call Israel Vazquez one of the sport’s greatest gentlemen, a class act, as evinced in his energetic handshake whenever meeting a new fan.
Vazquez used his ring earnings to open a boxing gym in the Greater Los Angeles City of South Gate.
Vazquez’s passing wasn’t unexpected. Mauricio Sulaiman announced last month that Vazquez had been diagnosed with Stage IV Sarcoma, a particularly virulent strain of cancer and along with Oscar Valdez and Top Rank, established a GoFundMe account to defray his medical expenses. Today, Sulaiman wrote, “Israel Vazquez is finally resting in peace. May God give strength and support to his wife Laura, their children, family and friends during these difficult times.”
We here at TSS share that sentiment and send our condolences.
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