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In Cedric Agnew, Sergey Kovalev Faces the Unknown

“I know nothing about him,” admitted Sergey Kovalev in regards to his next opponent, Cedric Agnew.
No matter. Kovalev said he didn’t usually get bogged down in watching videos of his opponents anyways. He said his trainer, John David Jackson, was the one who prepared the gameplan for his fights. His job was just to train hard and be ready for fight night.
“I feel good,” said Kovalev.
But Kovalev said he couldn’t find video on Cedric Agnew on YouTube, meaning he had at least tried to have a look at the undefeated light heavyweight prospect he’ll face this Saturday night in Atlantic City.
Agnew’s promoter, Malcolm Garrett, said he’s glad his guy is veiled in such mystery. It’s not exactly by design though, at least not up until this point. Garrett said he’s tried for over a year now to get Agnew a fight on television. He said he felt like he was given the runaround by ESPN multiple times and sounded frustrated about the whole process, even on the precipice of revealing his fighter to the world in a main event attraction on HBO.
Garrett said he hopes Kovalev is looking past Agnew a bit. He said much of the talk he’s heard from Kovalev as of late has been about a potential showdown with lineal champion Adonis Stevenson. He said he hopes Kovalev is thinking about Stevenson and not Agnew.
“Maybe that’s better for us,” said Garrett.
When I visited Agnew in camp last week at Main Street Boxing Gym in Houston, trainer Bobby Benton came over and asked me not to show too much of his fighter on the video I was capturing for Boxing Channel.
Mystery seems to be a big part of the plan, and when we chatted after the workout, Benton sounded as frustrated as Garrett with the business of boxing. Mystery is important right now, but that hasn’t always been the plan. These guys want their fighter to get his due.
“Fights fell through,” said Benton. “We took several fights … every one offered to us. They just didn’t happen.”
Benton said Agnew asked for Kovalev. He said the kid is an underrated fighter who just needs a chance to shine on the big stage. He and his fighter are confident they can shock the world.
“He’s a world champion,” Benton said of Kovalev. “That’s where we want to be.”
There were two people there to visit Agnew’s camp. One being me, and the other was Fighthype’s Lamont Joseph.
Agnew avoided eye contact with us for the most part. He was aware we were there but didn’t seem sure how to act in front of us. He hit the bag, worked the mitts with Benton and trotted around the ring up on his toes. He appeared to be in good shape, a product of being a “gym rat” as Benton put it.
But when we finally talked, Agnew displayed a quiet confidence about him. He genuinely believes he’ll defeat Kovalev on Saturday. That’s not always the case. You can always tell when a fighter believes he’s been chosen a sacrificial lamb. Agnew might have been, but he doesn’t believe it.
Agnew’s nickname is L.O.W. He said the acronym stands for Leader of War. He’ll need that kind of attitude against a rumbler like Kovalev.
“I’m very excited,” said Agnew. “I feel like this has been a long time coming. We’ve been waiting for this chance [for what] feels like forever.”
I asked Agnew to tell me how he sizes Kovalev up.
“I look at him as a very strong fighter [with a] good punch. You attack that type of fighter with your brain … the smarter fighter wins.”
During a teleconference call earlier this month, Agnew called Kovalev ordinary. I asked him to clarify the comment. Is this knockout machine really just ordinary?
“Let me clarify ‘ordinary’ for you guys … we’ve had the Ray Leonard and the Roy Jones [types] … I don’t look at Roy Jones in his prime as an ordinary fighter because he had everything: speed, power and movement–everything. All Sergey [has] shown throughout his fights is just power, and you can beat a guy with power … you just got to use your brain in there.”
Agnew wouldn’t give any prediction for the bout other than this: “Winning.”
I asked Benton what kind of training they’d been doing over the past few weeks. How will they attack a fighter with such good power and technical skill? Will they try to box him from the outside? Or will they surprise everyone by taking it right to Kovalev?
“You’ll have to see,” said Benton with a sly smile.
Kovalev is probably better than just ordinary. He has tremendous power and was one of the top amateur boxers in Russia before he turned pro. He’s really hit his stride over the past year or so, and he’s on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport.
For his part, Kovalev said he’s fine being in the dark on Agnew. He said training has gone exactly as planned, and his weight was right where he wanted it to be leading up to the fight.
“Everything is going well,” said Kovalev. “Like usual.”
Still, it’s a big moment for him. I asked Kovalev what it was like to finally be headlining a show on HBO. It doesn’t get much bigger in our sport, and this could be the start of something really big for him.
“For me, every fight on HBO is big … I’m happy. This time, I have the main event of the evening. It’s the most responsibility … It’s my show.”
Still, Kovalev said he wasn’t feeling any additional pressure, and seemed to be telling the truth. Kovalev seemed just as pleasant and calm as when I visited him a few weeks ago in San Antonio. Ordinary or not, he’s a man well adjusted to his place and time.
“No pressure. It’s the same, just more motivation, more responsibility.”
Kovalev will seek to prove to Agnew that he’s the real deal. Agnew will hope to show the world he’s as good or better than Kovalev, the WBO light heavyweight titleholder and one of the best fighters in the sport.
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (23-0-1, 21KOs) faces Cedric “L.O.W” Agnew (26-0-0, 13 KOs) March 29 at the Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic, City, NJ. The broadcast begins live on HBO Boxing After Dark at 10:00 PM ET. Junior welterweights Thomas Dulorme and Karim Mayfield kick things off as the co-feature.
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.
Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.
In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.
Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.
Semi-Wind-Up
Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.
Other Bouts of Note
In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.
In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.
Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.
A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry
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