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Arum And Lomachenko Were Outmaneuvered By Salido
His name is Vasyl Lomachenko, he’s from the Ukraine, he’s 26 years old and is a two time Olympic gold medalist. As an amateur he was a reported 396-1. He’s long, strong and he can fight inside and outside. His fundamentals and basics are good and he can hit with either hand. The plan his promoter Bob Arum had mapped out for him was to win a world title in his second pro bout after winning a regional title in his debut a little less than four months ago. It would’ve been an astounding achievement.
A world title after two fights would’ve launched Lomachenko into an overnight sensation and fighters already representing boxing’s future such as Mikey Garcia, Andre Ward and Ganady Golovkin would’ve been joined by a new contemporary.
Enter Orlando Salido, who is 33 years old and has been fighting grown men as a pro since he was about 15 years old. Salido, a veteran of 55 professional bouts 41-12-2 (28) was the chosen title holder (who didn’t make the featherweight limit and relinquished his title the day before the fight) was thought to be the sacrificial lamb and launch pad for Lomachenko’s impending stardom. Only things didn’t go as planned and boxing’s next must see fighter has to regroup and learn from his twelve round crash course this past weekend.
As the fight unfolded, it was painfully obvious to all watching that the supposedly shrewd course Bob Arum had charted for Lomachenko was on a collision with a huge detour. For starters, Salido who obviously has been paying attention to how the boxing game operates, was onto their game and had a few tricks of his own up his sleeve. Add to the equation that Salido was nearly a 4 1/2 -1 underdog, he no doubt was insulted and was clearly on a mission to upend Lomachenko and company. At the weigh in the day before the bout Salido came in at 128 1/4, two and a quarter pounds over the featherweight limit. He had to pay Lomachenko a small percentage of his purse along with being forced to relinquish his WBO title. This was a gamble that he no doubt figured would pay off if he could beat Lomachenko. Orlando knows that titles don’t mean much today and are really just a vehicle in which promoters and the powers in charge manipulate the sport of boxing and fighters. Salido knew a win over the next big thing in boxing would pay huge dividends down the road without the title. Lomachenko made the weight at 125 1/4 as expected. On fight night Salido scaled 147, 11 pounds more than the 136 that Lomachenko would enter the ring at. In other words Salido the welterweight was fully ready to manhandle and rough up the inexperienced lightweight that Lomachenko showed up being.
Right from the onset, Salido made the fight ugly, used his weight, stepped on Lomachenko’s feet, hit him on the hips, punched low, roughed him up on the inside, even raked his gloves across Lomachenko’s face. There was no question about who won the fight, it was a slow ugly fight that suited Salido’s best interest. To his credit, Lomachenko’s best round was the 12th, where he actually had Salido in some trouble. But it really was a rough introduction to the pros for Lomachenko, who lost a split decision (116-112, 115-113 and 115-113). Remember, Lomachenko’s whole persona was based on his being the Golden Boy, completely unbeatable even at the top levels of the division. At 1-1 you have to wonder how the marketing for him will go now.
Lomachenko showed grit for a guy who’s really still, in many ways, an amateur. However, he and his team were dumb to agree to fight after Salido weighed in that morning at 147. That had to make Salido a good 20 plus pounds bigger than any fighter Lomachenko ever fought. In addition to that, Vasyl was foolish to continue his amateur approach to how to fight a dirty fighter (in effect to say “he can fight dirty, but I’m above that.”) There are a lot of sharks out there at 126-130 who will eat him up (Rigondeaux, Donaire, and Garcia would have a picnic with him). Now he should be moved back to safer waters in order to build up his record. Sure, they could probably get him another title shot, and winning a world title in his third bout would be a herculean effort, but he’s surely not a given and very well could get beat again, and that would be a catastrophe.
What was also troubling is how Lomachenko didn’t retaliate with an eye for an eye approach when it was obvious that Salido didn’t respect him. Granted, referee Laurence Cole did a terrible job in dealing with Salido, but we’ll never know whether he would have given Lomachenko the same leeway that he gave Salido, since he never tried to retaliate. That was on him, not Cole. The reality is Lomachenko’s passivity represents a mindset regarding his personality and makeup more than it does his lack of experience. Then again when you’re so conditioned to fighting for ribbons and trophies, Lomachenko was undone by the hardness and bravado of a solid pro like Salido.
And after the bout Lomachenko didn’t seem particularly upset about having lost when he should’ve been beside himself. Again, that’s a little troubling. Before the broadcast it was even talked about how Salido is always brought in as the “other guy.” And how often it’s a mistake to dismiss him that way. Salido was very smart to trade the title and pay a few dollars in order for him to game the system the other way. Having the extra weight played into his hands and he fully understood that his title didn’t mean much and that a win over the future golden boy is all that anyone will remember, and he’s right. He’ll now be known for being the supposed cannon fodder that struck down a fighter who things were being set up for him to become an overnight star in boxing. Yes, it registered to him how Lomachenko was having things handed to him.
It was a calculated and gutsy gamble, and I give Lomachenko props for lasting the twelve rounds against a rough guy who was using all kinds of old pro tactics and tricks to get him out of there. But it turned out to be a mistake in that they picked on the wrong fighter who was tired of being the set-up guy.
Vasyl Lomachenko has tools to work with and it’s not out of the question that if he takes the type of fights that he should be taking at this stage of his career, he might one day be one of boxing’s brightest stars. However, for that to happen he has to ditch his father as his trainer and bring in a real one to work his corner. He’s not an amateur anymore.
Also, Salido served notice on how fighters who are forced to fight Floyd Mayweather, and perhaps even Manny Pacquiao at some gimmick catchweight should handle their business. Like say maybe Saul Alvarez shouldn’t have come in at the contracted 152 for Mayweather and came in at 155 and given up his title. Force Mayweather to fight him at his real weight and see if he takes the fight or backs out. Mayweather would have a hard time living that down and if he goes through with it and Alvarez beat him, it would’ve paid Saul back exponentially what he had to pay Floyd for not making weight. Remember how Mayweather paid Marquez after he came in two pounds over the contracted weight and then took the smaller Marquez apart the night they fought? That should’ve been lesson 101 on how to deal with the catch-weight hussle.
Yes, Arum and Lomachenko were outmaneuvered from the weigh-in to the final bell by team Salido. Arum and Team Lomachenko were playing marbles when they should’ve been playing chess.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 304: A Year of Transformation in Boxing and More
A subtle transformation in professional boxing is taking place with the biggest fights no longer placed in Las Vegas, New York or Los Angeles. Instead, they are heading to the Middle East.
Golden Boy Promotions joined the crowd last week with one of their stronger fight cards taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main attractions were new unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez of Mexico along with Puerto Rico’s diminutive Oscar Collazo unifying the minimumweight division.
And there is more to come.
Matchroom Boxing seemed to lead the way in this rerouting of major boxing events. It goes as far back as December 2019 when Anthony Joshua fought Andy Ruiz in a rematch for the heavyweight championship in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
Little by little major fights are being rerouted to Saudi Arabia.
Is it a good thing or not?
For promoters looking to cut costs it’s definitely welcomed. But what does it do for the fan base accustomed to saving their money to buy tickets for one or two major events?
Now there is talk of Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney and Terence Crawford heading to the Middle East to fight on major cards sponsored by “Riyad Spring.” It’s a new avenue for the sport of pro boxing.
This past week Golden Boy and its roster of Latino fighters took its turn and showed off their brand of aggressive fights. Some like Collazo and Arnold Barboza made the best of their moments. And, of course, Zurdo proved he should have moved up in weight years ago. He could be the Comeback Fighter of the Year.
Benavidez vs Morrell
Interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez accepted a challenge from WBA light heavyweight titlist David Morrell to meet on Feb. 1 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Bad blood between the two tall fighters already exists.
Morrell claims Benavidez is over-rated.
“I’m getting the knockout. 100%. He’s all talk and no bite. He can’t do what he thinks he’s gonna do,” said Morrell. “He has no idea what he’s talking about, but he’s provoking me and now I want to go out there and beat the crap out of him. I’m here now and none of that talk matters.”
Benavidez begs to differ.
“Here we are again. I told you that I was going to give you the fights you want to see, and now we’re here,” Benavidez said while in Los Angeles. “Morrell has been talking about me for a while and disrespecting me. He wanted to make it personal with me, so I’m personally going to break his mouth. That’ll give him something to remember me by.”
Also scheduled to fight on the fight card are Isaac Cruz, Stephen Fulton, Brandon Figueroa and Jesus Ramos Jr.
Netflix
No surprise for me with the massive success of the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson event on the Most Valuable Promotions boxing card last week.
According to Netflix there were 108 million people tuned into the event last Friday that also featured the incredible Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor rematch. Another exciting card was the men’s welterweight clash between Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos that ended in a draw.
If fans weren’t satisfied with the Paul fight, they certainly got their fulfillment with the world title fights, especially Serrano and Taylor who were estimated to be viewed by more than 72 million people. No female fight in history can touch those numbers.
So, what’s next for Netflix in terms of boxing?
West Coast Blues
Southern California is usually a hotbed for boxing events no matter what time of the year. But this year only a few boxing cards are taking place within a driving distance until the end of the year.
Las Vegas is in slumber and Southern California has a few smaller boxing cards still on schedule. Arizona has a significant Top Rank fight card in a few weeks as does Golden Boy Promotions in the Inland Empire.
Here are some upcoming fight events worth noting:
Dec. 5 – at OC Hangar in Costa Mesa, Calif. Vlad Panin vs Sal Briceno by SOCA Fights.
Dec. 7 – at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Rafael Espinoza vs Robeisy Ramirez and Oscar Valdez vs Emanuel Navarrete by Top Rank.
Dec. 13, at Chumash Casino 360 in Santa Ynez, Calif. Carlos Balderas vs Cesar Villarraga by 360 Promotions.
Dec. 14 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. Alexis Rocha vs Raul Curiel by Golden Boy Promotions.
Turkeys in East L.A.
The 25th annual Turkey Giveaway by Golden Boy takes place on Saturday Nov. 23, at Oscar De La Hoya Animo High School starting at 11 a.m.
It’s incredible that 25 years have passed since the inception of this yearly event. Many current and past fighters for the promotion company will be passing out turkeys and meeting fans. Among those expected to appear are Alexis Rocha, Victor Morales, Joel Iriarte, Bryan Lua and others.
Photo: Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren, and HE Turki Alalshikh at the Joshua-Dubois fight
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Philly’s Jesse Hart Continues His Quest plus Thoughts on Tyson-Paul and ‘Boots’ Ennis
Jesse Hart (31-3, 25 KOs) returns to the ring tomorrow night (Friday, Nov. 22) on a Teflon Promotions card at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University. During a recent media workout for the show, which will feature five other local fighters in separate bouts, Hart was adamant that fighting for the second time this year at home will only help in his continuing quest to push towards a second chance at a world championship. “Fighting at home is always great and it just makes sense from a business standpoint since I already have a name in the sport and in the city,” said Hart (pictured on the left).
Hart’s view of where his career currently resides in relation to the landscape in the light heavyweight division leads you to believe that, at the age of 35, Hart is realistic about how far he can go before his career is over.
“Make good fights, win those fights, fight as much as I can and stay busy, that’s the way the light heavyweight division won’t be able to ignore me,” he says. Aside from two losses back in 2017 and 2018 to current unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez at super middleweight, Hart’s only other defeat was to Joe Smith during Smith’s most successful portion of his career.
When attempts to make fights with (at the time) up-and-coming prospects like Edgar Berlanga and David Benavidez were denied with Hart being viewed as the typical high risk-low reward opponent, it was time to find another way. So, Hart decided to stay local after splitting with Top Rank Promotions post-surgery to repair his longtime right-hand issues and hooked up with Teflon Promotions, an upstart company that is the latest to take on the noble endeavor of trying to return North Broad Street and Atlantic City to boxing prominence.
In essence, it is a calculated move that is potentially a win-win situation for all parties. Continued success for Hart along with some of the titles at light heavyweight eventually being released from Artur Beterbiev’s grasp due to outside politics, and Jesse Hart just may lift up Teflon Promotions into a major player on the regional scene.
Tickets for Friday’s show are available on Ticketmaster platforms.
**
As we entered November, a glance at the boxing schedule made me wonder if it was possible for the sport to have a memorable month — one that could shine a light forward in boxing’s ongoing quest to regain relevance in today’s sports landscape. Having consecutive weekends with events that could spark interest in the pugilistic artform and its wonderful characters was what I was hoping for, but what we got instead was more evidence that boxing isn’t immune to modern business practices landing a one-two punch on the action both inside and outside of the ring.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis was expected to make a statement in his rematch with Karen Chukhadzian on Nov. 9, a statement to put the elite level champions around his weight class on notice. What we witnessed, however, was more evidence of how current champions in their prime can be hampered by having to navigate a business that functions through the cooperation of independent contractors. Ennis got the job done – he won – but it was a lackluster performance.
It’s time for Ennis to fight the fighters we already thought we would have seen him fight by now and I do believe there is some truth to Ennis rising to the occasion if there was a more noteworthy name across the ring.
—
Some positives emerged from the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul event the following week. Amanda Serrano, Katie Taylor, and women’s boxing are finally getting the public recognition they deserve. Mario Barrios’s draw against the tough Abel Ramos, also on the Netflix broadcast, was an action-packed firefight. So, mainstream America and beyond got to witness actual fights before being subjected to Paul’s latest circus.
Unfortunately for fans, but fortunately for Paul, the lone true boxing star in the main event dimmed out from an athletic standpoint decades ago. In this instance modern business practices allowed for a social media influencer to stage his largest money grab from a completely unnuanced public.
As Paul rose to the ring apron from the steps and looked around “Jerry’s World,” taking in the moment, it reminded me of an actual fighter when they’re about to enter the ring taking in the atmosphere before they risk their lives after a lifetime of dedication to try and realize a childhood dream. In this case though, this was a natural-born hustler realizing as he made it to the ring apron that his hustle was likely having its moment of glory.
In boxing circles, Jake Paul is viewed as a “necessary evil.” What occurs in his fights are merely an afterthought to the spectacle that is at the core of the social media realm that birthed him. Hopefully the public learned from the atrocity that occurred once the exhibition started that smoke and mirrors last for only so long. Hopefully Paul’s moment of being a boxing performer and acting like a true fighter comes to its conclusion. But he isn’t going away anytime soon, especially since his promotional company is now in bed with Netflix.
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Boxing Odds and Ends: Oscar Collazo, Reimagining ‘The Ring’ Magazine and More
With little boxing activity over the next two weekends, there’s no reason to hold off anointing Oscar Collazo the Fighter of the Month for November. In his eleventh pro fight, Collazo turned heads with a masterful performance against previously undefeated Thammanoon Niyamtrong, grabbing a second piece of the title in boxing’s smallest weight class while ending the reign of the sport’s longest-reigning world title-holder. The match was on the undercard of the Nov. 16 “Latino Night” show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia headlined by the cruiserweight tiff between Mexico’s Zurdo Ramirez and England’s Chris Billam-Smith.
Collazo was a solid favorite, but no one expected the fight would be as one-sided. Collazo put on a clinic, as the saying goes. He took the starch out of Niyamtrong with wicked body punches before ending matters in the seventh. A left uppercut sent the Thai to the canvas for the third time and the referee immediately stepped in and stopped it.
Collazo, wrote Tris Dixon, “dissected and destroyed a very good fighter.” Indeed. A former Muay Thai champion, Niyamtrong (aka Knockout CP Freshmart) brought a 25-0 record and was making the thirteenth defense of his WBA strap.
A Puerto Rican born in Newark, Jersey, Oscar Collazo turned pro after winning a gold medal in the 2019 Pan American games in Lima, Peru. He was reportedly named after Oscar De La Hoya (we will take that info with a grain of salt), names Hall of Famer Ivan Calderon as a mentor and is co-promoted by Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto.
Collazo, 27, won the WBO version of the 105-pound title in his seventh pro fight with a seven-round beatdown of Melvin Jerusalem. He won a world title faster than any Puerto Rican boxer before him.
His goal now, he says, is to become a unified champion. He would be the first from the island in the modern era. Although Puerto Rico has a distinguished boxing history – twelve Boricua boxers are enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame — there hasn’t been a fully unified champion from Puerto Rico since the WBO came along in 1988.
The other belt-holders at 105 are the aforementioned Jerusalem (WBC) and his Filipino countryman Melvin Taduran (IBF). Both won their belts in Japan with upsets of the Shigeoka brothers, respectively Yudai (Jerusalem) and Ginjiro (Taduran). Collazo would be a massive favorite over either.
A far more attractive fight would pit Collazo against two-time Olympic gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov. In theory, this would be an easy fight to make as the undefeated Uzbek trains in Indio, California, a frequent stomping ground of Collazo’s co-promoter Oscar De La Hoya who had a piece of the action when Dusmatov made his pro debut in Mexico. However, it’s doubtful that Dusmatov’s influential advisor Vadim Kornilov would let him take such a treacherous fight until the match-up had been properly “marinated,” by which time they both may be competing in a higher weight class. The Puerto Rican, who began his pro career at 110, is big for the 105-pound division notes the noted boxing historian Matt McGrain who is partial to the little guys.
—
Outside the ropes, the big news in boxing in November was the news that The Ring magazine had been sold to Turki Alalshikh. The self-acclaimed Bible of Boxing, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022, was previously owned by a subsidiary of Oscar De La Hoya’s company, Golden Boy Enterprises, which acquired the venerable publication in 2007. Alalshikh purportedly paid $10 million dollars.
Alalshikh, the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, confirmed the sale on social media on Monday, Nov. 11.
“Earlier this week, I finalized a deal to acquire 100% of The Ring Magazine, and I want to make a few things clear,” he said. “The print version of the magazine will return immediately after a two year hiatus and it will be available in the US and UK markets. The magazine will be fully independent, with brilliant writers and focusing on every aspect in the sport of boxing. We will continue to raise the prestige of The Ring Titles, and plans are already underway to have a yearly extravagant awards ceremony to celebrate the very best in the boxing industry.”
Alalshikh, blessed with an apparently unlimited budget, is already the most powerful man in the sport and more than a few concerns have been raised about his latest venture, especially in light of an incident involving prominent British scribe Oliver Brown.
Brown, the chief sports writer for the Telegraph who had previously covered three of Tyson Fury’s fights in Saudi Arabia, had his credential pulled for the Joshua-Dubois show at Wembley Stadium after calling the event “a grisly conduit for glorifying the Saudi regime.”
“I frankly do not trust Alalshikh to keep his personal aims from influencing the publication’s content,” says boxing writer Patrick Stumberg. One thing is certain: So long as the publication remains in the hands of the Saudis, the word “sportswashing” will never appear in the pages of The Ring magazine.
The Ring is the second major online boxing magazine to change hands this year. In February, Boxing Scene, one of the most heavily-trafficked sites in the ecosystem, was sold to Canadian-American entrepreneur Garry Jonas, best known as the founder of ProBox, a promotional entity headquartered in Plant City, Florida.
—
Mike Tyson’s showing against Jake Paul was mindful of something that Jimmy Cannon once wrote: “…the flesh was corrupted by time. The mind operated as if it was in another man’s head…the talent has been contaminated by age.”
Cannon was describing Joe Louis in Louis’s farewell fight against Rocky Marciano.
True, Jake Paul is no Rocky Marciano. To include their names in the same sentence borders on sacrilege. But the fabled Brown Bomber was 37 years old when he was rucked into retirement by Marciano on that October night at Madison Square Garden. At age 58, Mike Tyson was old enough to be Joe Louis’s father and yet human lemmings by the thousands couldn’t resist betting on him.
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