Female Best Boxers Pound for Pound June 2013

Published

7 years ago

June 4, 2013

When putting together a pound-for-pound list it’s best to imagine all of them fighting at the same weight and how they would do against each other.

Right now, the female prizefighter with the ability to beat anyone at any weight is Layla McCarter. The Las Vegas boxer has been fighting since 1998 and acquired boxing skills and craft that rival James Toney in the boxing ring. With more than 50 pro fights and world titles in featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight and junior middleweight, that’s more than enough proof that she is the best.

Others like Mexico’s Jackie Nava and Argentina’s Yesica Bopp also have experience to go with their skills. Alicia Ashley is 45 years old and could be called the female version of Bernard Hopkins. Melinda Cooper has been fighting professionally since the age of 17 and though she is actually a flyweight, has been fighting junior featherweights to get fights.

Welcome to the women’s best fighters pound for pound June 2013:

1. Layla McCarter – (35-13-5, 8 Kos) – If you need proof of her abilities just ask Floyd Mayweather Jr. who has seen her in the ring many times and can vouch for her fighting skills. McCarter, 34, known as “the Amazing” McCarter, has not lost a fight since 2007. She is really a featherweight fighting as a junior middleweight. Last year she knocked out South Africa’s Noni Tenge in her country. Now her sights are targeted on Cecilia Braekhus.

2. Jackie Nava – (28-4-3, 12 Kos) – The scourge of the junior featherweight division has been out of action most of this year due to pregnancy. Now 33, Nava is a skillful and strong 122-pound junior featherweight from Tijuana, Mexico who loves to put on the gloves. Last August she stopped former world champion Lisa Brown in the third round. That was a tremendous win for Nava, who is slowing down a bit. How much longer will she continue?

3. Melinda Cooper (22-2, 11 Kos) – The petite Las Vegas female boxer is only 28 years old and has been fighting since 2002. She’s the rare blend of speed, power and boxing ability. Most of her fights have taken place in the super bantamweight division, but she is actually a super flyweight forced to fight in the heavier divisions. She is also a former flyweight world champion. Seldom is she engaged in a boring fight unless the opposition resorts to holding or running. Cooper is a very exciting fighter and will be looking to regain a world title in junior bantamweight, bantamweight or the junior featherweight division.

4. Alicia Ashley (19-9-1) – Now 45-years-old the southpaw from New York still has speed and remains a force in women’s boxing. Ashley can fight from flyweight to featherweight and has been willing to travel out of the country to obtain fights. The left-hander hasn’t lost a fight in four years and recently won a world title in the super bantamweight division in Panama. That’s not easy to do.

5. Cecilia Braekhus (22-0, 6 Kos) – The tall athletic fighter from Norway is now 31 years old. She doesn’t have the boxing skills of a McCarter, Cooper or Nava but does have speed and some pop. Her height also helps. She was hoping for a fight with her American mirror image Holly Holm, but the redhead retired from boxing. Will Braekhus fight Layla McCarter? That’s the big question. Braekhus’ last fight was against Mia St. John. Other boxing sites have Braekhus ranked number one. That’s way too high. Until she beats someone like fellow pound-for-pound fighter McCarter she belongs beneath the more skilled female boxers. She’s simply a very good athlete.

6. Ava Knight (12-1-3, 5 Kos) – The Northern California flyweight has basically cleaned out many of Mexico’s flyweights. Now 24 years old, Knight probably should move up in weight to gather some more world titles. Ironically, two of the other flyweight world titlists, Carina Moreno and Melissa McMorrow, live in Northern California too. A flyweight world title tourney seems in order but don’t hold your breath. Knight is very tall for a flyweight and packs good speed and power. She can also box if necessary as proved against Mariana Juarez.

7. Erica Farias (16-0, 9 Kos) – The lightweight from Argentina has not fought outside of that country. That’s usually a bad sign. Farias, 28, does have strength and was able to defeat Melissa Hernandez by decision after 10 rounds a year ago. But maybe some of those wins are tainted by Argentine judging? It would be good for Farias to fight outside of her country to see if she really can fight without support from biased judges.

8. Susie Ramadan (23-1, 8 Kos) – Now 34, the Aussie bantamweight has a tremendous amount of heart and willingness to fight anyone in any country. Ramadan’s only loss came in Mexico by decision. Amazingly she was willing to return for a rematch but the Mexican promoters were unable to keep the fight date. Instead she fought the champion from Thailand and beat her to regain a world title. Too bad other female fighters are not as fearless as Ramadan.

9. Jessica Chavez (18-3-2, 4 Kos) – Chavez, 24, took a few years to avenge a loss to Argentina’s Yesica Bopp, but she did just that last weekend in Mexico. For years Chavez has been boxing under the radar of the more well-known Mexican female fighters. That all changed with the win over Bopp, who suffered her first career loss.

10. Kina Malpartida (15-3, 4 Kos) – Peru’s Malpartida, 33, has been fighting for more than 10 years professionally. The tall junior lightweight could easily win by boring decisions simply by using her jab. But she opts to slug it out at times and gets dropped occasionally. Then she gets up and continues beating the opposition. Malpartida is a very under-rated fighter and the first world champion from Peru.

11. Yesica Bopp (24-1, 11 Kos) – Argentina’s golden girl had been undefeated for a number of years. Bopp, 29, finally fought outside of her country and was handed a loss by Jessica Chavez in Mexico. But the petite Argentine still has quickness, speed and agility to spare. Losing to Chavez was not an embarrassment. Bopp still remains one of the top female boxers.

12. Ana Julaton (12-3-1) – San Francisco’s Julaton has been globe-trotting looking for the big fights for the past several years. Although judging and refereeing in other countries has been terrible in several of her fights, Julaton has no hesitation about fighting the best. Each year she seems to add another layer of boxing skill to the repertoire. Three world titles have been won so far, but the Filipina-American eyes a showdown with Mexico’s Jackie Nava.

13. Anne Sophie Mathis (26-3, 22 Kos) – The hard punching Frenchwoman may not be the most nimble boxer on her feet, but if she connects, it usually means good night. Age hasn’t taken anything away from her power and though she lost to Holly Holm and Cecilia Braekhus, they were not one-sided as the scores suggest. The knockout of Holm in their first encounter is a highlight reel for female prizefighting.

Honorable mention:

Mariana Juarez, Melissa Hernandez, Katy Wilson Castillo, Daihana Santana, Kaliesha West, Monica Acosta, Shindo Go, Delfine Persoon and Ina Menzer.

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David A. Avila

Boxing Odds and Ends: The Sept. 26 Horn of Plenty and Other Notes

Published

3 days ago

September 15, 2020

Arne K. Lang

Boxing-Odds-and-Ends-The-Sept-26-Horn-of-Plenty-and-Other-Notes

Considering the constraints, the month of September has been a pretty good month for professional boxing. And the month will close with a flourish. Eight world title-holders will be in action on the 26^th, the last Saturday of the month.

Five of the belt-holders will appear on the SHOWTIME PPV doubleheader featuring the Charlo twins. The most intriguing fight on that card finds Jermall Charlo risking his belt and his undefeated record against rugged Sergiy Deveryanchenko. At last glance, Jermall was a consensus 17/10 (minus-170) favorite. In baseball, a 17/10 favorite is a heavy favorite. In boxing, not so. A serious handicapper who wouldn’t think of laying 17/10 in a baseball game would have no hesitation about laying these odds in a boxing match.

When Deveryanchenko steps into the ring, 51 weeks will have elapsed since his last fight, his bruising tiff with Gennadiy Golovkin. Jermall Charlo hasn’t been on the shelf for quite that long, having last fought in December.

A more interesting match on this particular Saturday, at least in the eyes of this reporter, will unfold earlier that day in Munich when the curtain finally comes down on Season 2 of the long-drawn-out World Boxing Super Series. Two titles will be on the line when Mairis Briedis (26-1, 19 KOs) meets Yuniel Dorticos (24-1, 22 KOs).

Briedis’ lone defeat came at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in a very competitive fight. Briedis won five rounds on two of the cards and won six rounds on the other. Dorticos’ lone defeat came on enemy turf in Sochi, Russia when he was stopped with eight seconds remaining in a doozy of a fight with Murat Gassiev.

Forget the titles; titles are a dime a dozen. These two guys are plainly the two best cruiserweights on the planet.

“The tickets are flying out the door and we expect to sell out within hours, if not days,” said co-promoter Kalle Sauerland at a pre-fight press conference.

That assertion was made way back on January 22 when the fight, originally targeted for late December of last year, was headed to Riga, Latvia, on March 21. That date didn’t work, nor did the re-scheduled date of May 16, and ultimately Riga didn’t work either.

Whatever tickets were sold, had to be refunded. There will be no fans in attendance when Briedis and Dorticos finally lock horns on Sept. 26 at a TV studio in Munich. The fight will air on DAZN in the U.S.

“Rest makes rust” was an often-heard caution when big gamblers of yesteryear dissected a boxing match. The late, great pricemaker Herb Lambeck reflexively shied away from boxers that had been inactive for a considerable period of time. For him, the Briedis-Dorticos match would likely be a head-scratcher. Both combatants have been inactive since June 15 of last year when they appeared in separate bouts on the same card in Riga, Briedis’s hometown. And they aren’t getting any younger. Briedis is 34 and Dorticos is 35.

The odds got nicked down somewhat when the site shifted from Riga with fans to Munich without, predictably so as Briedis, the first fighter from Latvia to win a world title, has an avid local following.

Briedis, the superior boxer, is a consensus 9/5 favorite. That seems a shade high as he won’t be able to feed off the crowd – there won’t be a crowd – and Dorticos, the Cuban KO Doctor, has a better chance of ending the fight with one punch. It wouldn’t be shocking if the fight followed a similar tack as the recent fight between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin.

In case you missed it, Whyte was dominating his Russian adversary when things changed in a flash in the fifth round. Out of nowhere, Povetkin, the underdog, unleashed a picture-perfect uppercut that left Whyte flat on his back, unconscious before he hit the canvas. There have been other smashing one-punch knockouts this year – Ryan Garcia’s demolition of Francisco Fonseca comes quickly to mind – and there may be a few more, but it’s hard to visualize anyone topping Povetkin in the voting for Knockout of the Year.

By the way, if he wins it, Povetkin, 41, would be the second-oldest boxer to score the Knockout of the Year. George Foreman was 45 when he knocked out Michael Moorer in 1994. The source is The Ring magazine which has been issuing this award since 1989.

And if you happen to know the youngest fighter to score The Ring Knockout of the Year, then you’re pretty sharp. No, it’s not baby-faced Naoya Inoue, who is older (27) than he looks. The honor goes to the long-forgotten African-American/Filipino southpaw Morris East who was 19 when he knocked out defending WBA 140-pound champion Akinobu Hironaka in 1992.

In a rarity, it didn’t take long for Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte to agree on a rematch. They will meet again on Nov. 21. The venue is undecided, but Eddie Hearn is hopeful that he can pot the fight somewhere outside his backyard “fight camp” with fans in attendance. The first lines on the fight show Whyte the favorite in the vicinity of 13/5. Povetkin-Whyte II will be a nice appetizer for the Errol Spence vs. Danny Garcia match that goes off later that day.

In an unrelated development, Fury-Wilder III is purportedly going to Allegiant Stadium, the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders, in late December. Bob Arum anticipates a crowd of 10,000-15,000 with social distancing protocols in place.

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Meekins vs. Kawoya: File It Under Bizarre

Published

3 days ago

September 15, 2020

Ted Sares

It was August 8, 1988. The location was Resorts International in Atlantic City. The main event featured New Yorker John Wesley Meekins (18-1-2) vs another New Yorker (via Uganda and Denmark) Mohammed Kawoya (11-3).

The rangy and skilled Meekins with a stellar amateur career was a clear favorite over the lesser known Kawoya who had fought only once in the US, losing to Jorge Maysonet on cuts at the Felt Forum. Meekins was expected to move on to a world title fight after dispatching Kawoya.

Meekins enjoyed a successful career between 1984 and 1994, fighting the likes of Davey Montana, Mike Mungin, Harold Brazier, Saoul Mamby, Santos Cardona, Darrin Morris (who won his last 16 fights in a row), and Terence Alli. He would lose to a prime Meldrick Taylor (20-0-1) in 1989 with the IBF World Super Lightweight title at stake.

On June 15, 1990, Meekins beat Santos Cardona over 12 rounds to win the NABF light-welterweight championship, but would lose it to Terence Alli some seven months later. It was downhill after that and he retired in November 1994 with a record of 24-5-2 after being stopped by so-so Darryl Lattimore.

Back to Meekins vs. Kawoya

This one did not go as expected. After being decked in round 2, Kawoya dropped Meekins in the opening seconds of round 3. An exciting fight with multiple knockdowns and furious exchanges was in progress and the fans loved it.

An aroused Meekins then went after the Ugandan with a vengeance and set up one of the most bizarre endings that few boxing fans have ever heard about, much less witnessed, as he again dropped Kawoya this time with a fast left hook. He then went for the kill. Referee Paul Venti sensed it and moved in—perhaps prematurely– as Meekins unleashed what he hoped would be a fight-ending volley of hard shots.

As soon as Venti stepped in to stop the fight, Kawoya landed a right that dropped Meekins and had him crawling on the canvas and holding on to the ropes devoid of his senses for at least ten seconds. The punch was thrown at the exact moment that Venti ended matters and Venti didn’t realize what had occurred.

While Kawoya thought he has scored a clean KO and celebrated wildly, the fact was that Venti had ended the fight a fraction of a second before and his decision would stand.

The fans not only enjoyed a great fight, they witnessed something truly memorable—something that had to be seen to be believed; namely, a winner struggling to get up and a loser celebrating what he thought was a knockout.

Kawoya pulled out of the rematch because of a throat infection and Saoul Mamby took his place as a late sub. The Ugandan never fought again, while Meekins never got the title shot that a more impressive effort might have gotten him.

Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com or on Facebook and welcomes comments.

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Price and Programming Lineup for Sept. 26 Charlo Twins PPV Doubleheader

Published

5 days ago

September 13, 2020

The Sweet Science

Price-and-Programming-Lineup-for-Sept-26-Charlo-Twins-PPV-Doubleheader

PRESS RELEASE — SHOWTIME Sports has announced the price and programming lineup for the first-of-its-kind pay-per-view doubleheader on Saturday, September 26, featuring two stacked fight cards each headlined by one of the world champion Charlo twins in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions. THE SHOWTIME PPV event, CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER, is available for purchase at a suggested retail price (SRP) of $74.95 and includes six compelling fights, five of which are world championship bouts.

THE EVENT

The first card of the SHOWTIME PPV telecast will be headlined by undefeated WBC Middleweight World Champion Jermall Charlo defending his title against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Brandon Figueroa will defend his title against Damien Vázquez in the co-featured bout, while WBO Bantamweight World Champion John Riel Casimero faces off against Duke Micah in the pay-per-view opener. Following the main event and a 30-minute intermission, the second three-fight card headlined by WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Jermell Charlo facing unified 154-pound World Champion Jeison Rosario will begin. Luis Nery will battle Aaron Alameda for the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship in the co-feature, while former unified champion Danny Román faces former champion Juan Carlos Payano in a WBC Super Bantamweight title eliminator bout to open the second three-fight card of the pay-per-view.

TELECAST TEAM

The announce team for the SHOWTIME PPV telecast is comprised of the most experienced and decorated boxing team on television. Veteran sportscaster Brian Custer is the host. Versatile combat sports voice Mauro Ranallo handles blow-by-blow action alongside Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and four-time world champion Abner Mares. Two Hall of Famers round out the telecast team: boxing historian Steve Farhood as unofficial scorer, and world-renowned ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr.

THE JOURNEY: CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER and DIGITAL PROGRAMMING LINEUP

In the leadup to the unprecedented two-event pay-per-view, SHOWTIME Sports will produce and premiere THE JOURNEY: CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER, a 30-minute show that chronicles the unique story of Jermall and Jermell, twins born one minute apart in Houston, Texas, as they rise through the ranks and put themselves in position to become global boxing stars. Voiced by SHOWTIME boxing host Brian Custer, THE JOURNEY: CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER features rarely seen footage and gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at their most pivotal career moments, motivations, and life outside of the ring.

THE JOURNEY will premiere on SHOWTIME on Sunday, September 13 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT and will be available for free on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and all SHOWTIME On Demand platforms.

SHOWTIME Sports will also release new episodes, of the original, digital franchiseRING RESUME which examines the career progressions of boxing’s top stars, available on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel. Beginning Monday, September 21, the SHOWTIME Boxing Snapchat page will focus on high-energy fight and training camp highlights featuring the Charlos. In addition, the Snapchat page will feature the Charlos’ RING RESUMES and THE JOURNEY to expand reach to young audiences with short-form, fast-paced storytelling. Plus, Brendan Schaub and Kenny Florian will preview the keys to the fights on BELOW THE BELT BREAKDOWN, available on the BELOW THE BELT YouTube channel.

MORNING KOMBAT INTERMISSION

Combat sports aficionados Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell will host a 30-minute intermission show after the conclusion of the Charlo vs. Derevyanchenko main event and the start of the second three-fight card. The duo, hosts of the popular live combat sports talk show and podcast MORNING KOMBAT, will also host live streams of the main events press conference and official weigh-in in addition to providing in-depth coverage on MORNING KOMBAT throughout the week. The official weigh-in and main events press conference will stream live on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page.

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