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The Year in Boxing, Part 3

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Tommy Morrison, a certified hammerfist with a compelling bio and Tiger Beat-level looks, left us too soon, this September. He was presented as a Caucasian sensation who could maybe take the Tyson baton but too much partying and a diagnosis of the presence of HIV in his system short-circuited his career. He left behind a solid body of work, though, and a rep as a damned-fine pugilist.

Here’s what I wrote upon his passing: Morrison used boxing to get distance from himself and a difficult home life, where his volatile dad could be abusive–dad put him in Toughman shows when he was in seventh grade–so it can be argued that Morrison is an example of boxing’s ability to lift up, as it gave him purpose and direction. He also helped convince holdouts that HIV isn’t a “gay” disease, that the virus can be spread by heterosexuals, so for that inadvertent public service, he can be commended.

The theater of the unexpected didn’t disappoint in September, with the news that the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya, had succumbed to the perils of addiction again, and that he’d miss the Floyd Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez fight because he’d instead be entering rehab. This statement went out days before Floyd’s bout: Canelo Alvarez and I have big fights coming up this weekend. His is the ring and mine in treatment. I will not be at the fight to cheer Canelo to victory since I have voluntarily admitted myself into a treatment facility. I explained this to Canelo and he understood that my health and longterm recovery from my disease must come first. Thank you for your understanding. I ask for your support and privacy during this difficult time for me and my family. Oscar exited rehab in time to share the holidays with his family.

Mayweather on Sept. 14 made Alvarez look like the guy who didn’t win rounds against Matthew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes and Austin Trout as definitively as you’d want in order to give him much of a chance to beat the best boxer of his (and maybe others’) generation. Somebody named CJ Ross inserted herself into the narrative, when she hallucinated a 114-114 draw scorecard in Las Vegas, but luckily sobriety and the scorecards of Dave Moretti (116-112) and Craig Metcalf (117-111) over-rode Ross’ brown acid trip of idiocy. A couple days later, Ross slid herself under the bus, telling commission boss Keith Kizer, “I will be taking some time off from boxing but will keep in touch.”

Ken Norton died at age 70 on Sept. 18, his legacy best understood by true fight fans who knew he simply had Ali’s number, and probably deserved better than a 1-2 record against The Greatest.

Miguel Cotto turned back the clock on October 5, showing a brand of handspeed, body-snatching and aggression against Delvin Rodriguez that many assumed he’d left in the rear-view mirror. The Puerto Rican kept himself in the mix for megafights, out-landing the Friday Night Fights staple, 55-16, in a bit less than three rounds of target practice. Next for Cotto? “Line ’em up,” said the newest new trainer, Freddie Roach.

There was no shortage of takers who liked Juan Manuel Marquez to outsmart and strip down Timothy Bradley when they clashed fists on Oct. 12, especially after it became clear how messed up Bradley was from his violent carcrash against Ruslan Provodnikov. But Bradley boxed beautifully, playing all the angles just right and staying a step ahead of the vet Marquez, who looked like a regular 40-year-old rather than one who’d latched on to the services of a magical strength and conditioning coach. Glen Feldman’s garbage card for Marquez luckily was deemed irrelevant, but his poor eyesight shan’t go unremembered by me.

The following week saw another wickedly enjoyable rumble, for everyone but Mike Alvarado and team. Ruslan Provodnikov re-stamped himself into the hearts and minds of fight fans with his savagely stubborn effort in wresting the WBO 140 pound crown from Alvie at home in Colorado. The overseers, including ref Tony Weeks, drew props for their handling of the ending, which came after Alvie sat down following round ten. His body language screamed no mas, and Weeks pulled the plug. Weeks later, we’d be reminded what can happen when such signals aren’t paid attention to…

We hope that fight fans never forget the name Frankie Leal, a Mexican kid who gave, literally, his all in the ring. November will be remembered for an in-the-ring tragedy which leaves us holding out hope.

Russian heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov on November 2 met Mike Perez on the Gennady Golovkin-Curtis Stevens undercard in NYC, and one heavyweight, each mans’ handlers told me, would leave the ring a star in the division. Little did we know one man would leave the ring with compromised health; Mago suffered brain damage, was rushed to an NYC hospital after losing a ten round decision, and today, is working to regain basic bodily abilities in an upstate rehab facility.

On Nov. 9 in Texas, Mikey Garcia kept up his momentum, with a win over Rocky Martinez, and Nonito Donaire restored a bit of luster with a win over Vic Darchinyan after taking on damage during a Rigolutionary war against the Cuban wizard Guillermo Rigondeaux. Last year, it was Donaire who was seen as an ascendent stud with Garcia still climbing the prospect to contender to champ rungs, again illustrating for us how fortune can shift like the mercury in the age of climate change.

The drama leading up to the Nov. 23 Manny Pacquiao-Brandon Rios fight wasn’t much present until Freddie Roach and former pal Alex Ariza stirred the pot. A few days before fightnight, Roach wanted Team Rios to exit the hotel gym, so Team Pacman could work out, and had words with trainer Robert Garcia and Ariza, who threw a karate kick at Roach when Dedham Freddie advanced on the former Pacman employee. Pacman’s offense in Macau was better than that offered by Ariza, as he had his way with an overmatched Rios, who showed more zest for combat after the fight, against the media, than he did versus the Congressman.

The exultation for Pacman, who dedicated the win to countrymen laid out by a horrific typhoon, was tempered slightly by tangles with tax collectors in the Philippines and the US, which are still being dealt with and negotiated at the time of writing.

The light heavyweight division reached a level of prominence unseen in a dog’s age, when Sergey Kovalev rolled over Ismayl Sillakh and Adonis Stevenson took apart Tony Bellew in Montreal Nov. 30. All expect them to do the obvious, and meet each other in a test of supremacy but this being boxing, only a fool believes that’s a given.

Showtime looked to end the year with a conclusive, concussive stamp, putting on back to back Golden Boy cards December 7 and Dec. 14.

Paul Malignaggi won the night in Brooklyn, showing that he had oodles more in the tank than ultra-desultory Zab Judah, enroute to a UD win in the Battle of Brooklyn.

The next week, Marcos Maidana stripped Adrien Broner naked in Texas, exposing the man who boasted he was About Billions, and the next logical star to inherit the Mayweather throne. No fighter had more people tuning in to see him lose than Broner, apart from Mayweather, and AB left the haters happy, losing a wide UD, while getting knocked to the mat twice.

The theater of the unexpected had one more showing, with cornerman Alex Ariza being accused of possibly giving fighter Maidana some sort of liquid or chemical aid during the bout, an allegation Ariza vigorously denied. Frame by frame examination of out of context video makes Ariza’s denials less sturdy, but Twitter is a place to brag about your gymflow and such, not a place to examine, process and litigate issues with much in the way of stringent standards and practices. But lordy, does it pass the time in entertaining fashion. Just like our sweet science does. It was a year of beauty and beastliness, the sublime and the sordid, a year in which we celebrated the best a man is capable of giving and the exorbitant price that is sometimes paid for entering a zone where only the hardiest of souls, people composed of a sturdier fiber than I, dare step.

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his least three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, delivered the coup-de-gras, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is the winner of the Feb. 2 match between Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa/Fulton have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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