Mayweather Weigh-In Goes Smoothly, Then Gloves Debate Erupts

Published

9 years ago

May 3, 2014

SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: I asked Showtime boxing boss Stephen Espinoza if GloveGate had been resolved, if a resolution had been reached between the Mayweather and Maidana teams on the exact pair of gloves the Argentine would be lacing on in a few hours. “The fight is going on,” he answered, summing up the mood and message of many involved in the promotion.

But, have they decided on the gloves, and shook on it? Not that he’d been told, Espinoza said.

So, as of 2:10 PM PT, it looks like GloveGate is still a thing. For the record.

Just know…all this material will be immaterial at any minute, and the fight will go on, and quite likely, from my perspective, the type of gloves Maidana is wearing won’t make a whit of difference.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Marcos Maidanas’ trainer Robert Garcia told me that he was headed to Chino’s hotel room, to discuss the gloves issue, and he thought the decision would be made shortly, perhaps before noontime, Vegas-time.

FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Promoter Richard Schaefer interrupted some quality family time, and addressed lingering media in the media center at the MGM on the subject of Glove Gate.

His message: Relax.

The fight will go on.

Schaefer said the Nevada Commission put the kibosh on the original gloves produced by the Maidana camp, Everlast MX. Different Everlast gloves, with a different formulation of padding, were offered to Maidana, and Schaefer is confident he will set on one, and the show will go on.

It must.

Too much money is at stake.

Mayweather, though, was heated during the high point of the glove kerfuffle, as you can see hear, in this Fighthype video.

________________________________________________

The weigh-in was drama free, with all the boxers, including the top dogs on the Saturday night card at the MGM, Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana, making their weight limit.

Floyd, TBE, he’s going by now, was 146 pounds, and soaked in the mix of cheers and boos at the arena, where the weigh-in was held, at 3 PM PT. He stepped on the scale, and it registered 146 pounds for the clash, during which the WBC and WBA welter belts will be up for grabs.

His six pack was as impeccable as ever, and he told interrogator Jim Gray that he wasn’t at all put off by any dramas that have popped up this week, involving ex gal pals, or basketball teams for sale. “As long as God loves me, it’s all good,” he said.

Some drama erupted a bit after the weigh in was completed. Downstairs at the MGM, the Nevada Commission went over the rules and regulations that all participants should adhere to. Be ready for PED tests, they hammered home, for example.

Then a little kerfuffle erupted. Floyd is set to use Grant gloves, and Maidana Everlast. The Everlast gloves set out for Maidana to use were flagged by Team Mayweather, for being “back loaded,” for having not enough padding in the knuckle area. John Hornewer, a Chicago based attorney with 25 years in the boxing business, was there to be part of the Mayweather squad watching over the glove-picking ceremony. He told me that he objected to those Everlast MX gloves, based on the way the padding is distributed–there is less padding ont he knuckles than typical goves, he said– and also objected to the fact that they didn’t come shrink-wrapped, in a manner he is accustomed to when receiving virgin gloves.

As of 4:30 PM PT, the matter was still swirling in the basement of the building, with Mayweather making it clear that he objected heated vehemently to Maidana using the gloves he wanted to use. Stay tuned, friends…

Maidana conjured no drama when he stepped on the scale, and it read 146.5. The Argentine has a respectable rooting section in town, and they started some chants, “Hit him, Maidana,” and the like.

The crowd did their share of hooting when Adrien Broner popped up. The Cinci kid is looking to bounce back after being dealt the indignity of his first loss, compliments of Maidana (UD12) last December. He weighed 140 on the dot, and grinned widely when hearing the boos. “Keep booing me, I’m going to keep doing my thing,” he said. And they did….His foe is Carlos Molina, who nobody figures to have much of a chance. He was 138.5, and promised a strong effort.

Amir Khan drew a great deal of positive hollering; the Brit weighed 147 pounds, and told Jim Gray after that he expects bigger things post Luis Collazo, but isn’t looking past the Brooklyner. Collazo, coming off a superb stunner of a win (KO2 over Victor Ortiz on Jan. 30) weighed 147, and a rumor kicked around after that maybe he looked like he’d had a hard time making weight. His trainer, Nirmal Lorick, told me that was not the case, in any way, shape or form. He ate and drank yesterday and today, so that’s not an issue.

Note: I wanted to ask Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar how he views beards, especially the one being sported by Broner of late. Would AB have to shave it? Or trim it? I didn’t get a chance to talk to Aguilar, being that the gloves issue was playing out. So, being that indefatigable journo, I asked Sam Watson. Al Haymon’s right-hand man told me that Broner, no matter if the commission demanded it or not, was going to trim that growth down so it could be no issue. So there ya go. There should be no Beard Gate.

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Michael Woods

International Brotherhood of Prizefighters Rankings: Week of September 24, 2023

Published

3 hours ago

September 26, 2023

IB of P

International Brotherhood of Prizefighters Rankings: Week of September 24, 2023

What’s in a nickname, you ask? Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang exhibited shades of the legendary Brown Bomber, Joe Louis; the exception being he conducts business from the port side. Zhang’s 3rd round stoppage of Joe Joyce sees Joyce exiting the top 10 in the heavyweight division. Also exiting due to inactivity is Andy Ruiz and Luis Ortiz, who last fought each other on September 4, 2022. Gaining entries are Daniel Dubois, Dillian White and Derek Chisora, at 8, 9 and 10 respectively.

At 140, Richardson Hitchins earned his asterisk with a one sided decision over Jose Zepada. Hitchins enters the top 10 in the 7th slot, while Zepeda falls to 8th. Zhankosh Turarov drops to 9th in the world and immediately underneath him, rounding out the top 10, is Elvis Rodriguez. Scotland’s Josh Taylor gets bumped from the 10th slot.

At 108, World Champion Kenshiro Teraji defended his title with a stoppage of 4th ranked Hekkie Budler in round 9 of a scheduled 12. Budler drops to 7th, see list for reshuffle.

*Please note that when the fighter’s name appears with an asterisk it represents a movement in ranking from the previous week.

105lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Thammanoon Niyomtrong (Knockout CP Freshmart) (Thailand)

2 Panya Pradabsri (Petchmanee CP Freshmart) (Thailand)

3 Oscar Collazo (USA)

4 Ginjiro Shigeoka (Japan)

5 Daniel Valladares (Mexico)

6 Yudai Shigeoka (Japan)

7 Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines)

8 Masataka Taniguchi (Japan)

9 Rene Mark Cuarto (Philippines)

10 Yudai Shigeoka (Philippines)

108lbs

♛ Kenshiro Teraji (Japan)

1 Jonathan Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)

2 Masamichi Yabuki (Japan)

3 Sivenathi Nontshinga (South Africa)

4 Elwin Soto (Mexico)*

5 Regie Suganob (Philippines)*

6 Shokichi Iwata (Japan)*

7 Hekkie Budler (South Africa)*

8 Carlos Canizales (Venezuela)

9 Daniel Matellon (Panama)

10 Miel Fajardo (Philippines)

112lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Sunny Edwards (England)

2 Artem Dalakian (Ukraine)

3 Julio Cesar Martinez (Mexico)

4 Angel Ayala Lardizabal (Mexico)

5 David Jimenez (Costa Rica)

6 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)

7 Ricardo Sandoval (USA)

8 Felix Alvarado (Nicaragua)

9 Seigo Yuri Akui (Japan)

10 Taku Kuwahara (Japan)

115lbs

♛ Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico)

1 Roman Gonzalez (Nicaragua)

2 Kazuto Ioka (Japan)

3 Fernando Martinez (Argentina)

4 Junto Nakatani (Japan)

5 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Thailand)

6 Kosei Tanaka (Japan)

7 Andrew Moloney (Australia)

8 Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (Mexico)

9 Pedro Guevara (Mexico)

10 Donnie Nietes (Philippines)

118lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Emmanuel Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)

2 Alexandro Santiago (Mexico)

3 Jason Moloney (Australia)

4 Vincent Astrolabio (Philippines)

5 Gary Antonio Russell (USA)

6 Takuma Inoue (Japan)

7 Nonito Donaire (Philippines)

8 Ryosuke Nishida (Japan)

9 Keita Kurihara (Japan)

10 Paul Butler (England)

122lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Naoya Inoue (Japan)

2 Marlon Tapales (Philippines)

3 Stephen Fulton (USA)

4 Luis Nery (Mexico)

5 Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan)

6 Sam Goodman (Australia)

7 Azat Hovhannisyan (Armenia)

8 Kevin Gonzalez (Mexico)

9 Ra’eese Aleem (USA)

10 Liam Davies (England)

126lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Luis Alberto Lopez (Mexico)

2 Leigh Wood (England)

3 Brandon Figueroa (USA)

4 Rey Vargas (Mexico)

5 Mauricio Lara (Mexico)

6 Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba)

7 Mark Magsayo (Philippines)

8 Josh Warrington (England)

9 Reiya Abe (Japan)

10 Otabek Kholmatov (Uzbekistan)

130lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Emanuel Navarrete (Mexico)

2 Joe Cordina (Wales)

3 Hector Garcia (Dominican Republic)

4 O’Shaquie Foster (USA)

5 Oscar Valdez (Mexico)

6 Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (Tajikistan)

7 Otar Eranosyan (Georgia)

8 Lamont Roach (USA)

9 Eduardo Ramirez (Mexico)

10 Kenichi Ogawa (Japan)

135lbs

♛ Devin Haney (USA)

1 Gervonta Davis (USA)

2 Vasily Lomachenko (Ukraine)

3 Isaac Cruz (Mexico)

4 William Zepeda Segura (Mexico)

5 Frank Martin (USA)

6 Shakur Stevenson (USA)

7 Maxi Hughes (England)

8 George Kambosos Jr (Australia)

9 Keyshawn Davis (USA)

10 Raymond Muratalla (USA)

140lbs

♛ Teofimo Lopez (USA)

1 Regis Prograis (USA)

2 Jose Ramirez (USA)

3 Jack Catterall (England)*

4 Subriel Matias (Puerto Rico)*

5 Arnold Barboza Jr. (USA)*

6 Gary Antuanne Russell (USA)*

7 Richardson Hitchins (USA)*

8 Jose Zepeda (USA)*

9 Zhankosh Turarov (Kazakhstan*)

10 Elvis Rodriguez (Dominican Republic)*

147lbs

♛ Terence Crawford (USA)

1 Errol Spence (USA)

2 Jaron Ennis (USA)

3 David Avanesyan (Russia)

4 Cody Crowley (Canada)

5 Alexis Rocha (USA)

6 Rashidi Ellis (USA)

7 Souleymane Cissokho (Senegal)

8 Roiman Villa (Venezuela)

9 Egidijus Kavaliauskas (Lithuania)

10 Shakhram Giyasov (Uzbekistan)

154lbs

♛ Jermell Charlo (USA)

1 Tim Tszyu (Australia)

2 Brian Mendoza (USA)

3 Jesus Alejandro Ramos (USA)

4 Sebastian Fundora (USA)

5 Erickson Lubin (USA)

6 Michel Soro (Ivory Coast)

7 Magomed Kurbanov (Russia)

8 Tony Harrison (USA)

9 Israil Madrimov (Uzbekistan)

10 Bakhram Murtazaliev (Russia)

160lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan)

2 Carlos Adames (Dominican Republic)

3 Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (Kazakhstan)

4 Chris Eubank Jr. (England)

5 Liam Smith (England)

6 Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Ukraine)*

7 Vincenzo Gualtieri (Germany)

8 Felix Cash (England)

9 Michael Zerafa (Australia)

10 Esquiva Falcao (Brazil)

168lbs

♛ Canelo Alvarez (Mexico)

1 David Benavidez (USA)

2 Caleb Plant (USA)

3 Christian Mbilli (France)

4 David Morrell (Cuba)

5 John Ryder (England)

6 Pavel Silyagin (Russia)

7 Vladimir Shishkin (Russia)

8 Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)

9 Jaime Munguia (Mexico)

10 Demetrius Andrade (USA)

175lbs

♛ Artur Beterbiev (Canada)

1 Dmitry Bivol (Russia)

2 Joshua Buatsi (England)

3 Callum Smith (England)

4 Joe Smith Jr. (USA)

5 Gilberto Ramirez (Mexico)

6 Anthony Yarde (England)

7 Dan Azeez (England)

8 Ali Izmailov (Russia)

9 Michael Eifert (Germany)

10 Igor Mikhalkin (Germany)

200lbs

♛ Jai Opetaia (Australia)

1 Mairis Breidis (Latvia)

2 Chris Billam-Smith (England)

3 Richard Riakporhe (England)

4 Aleksei Papin (Russia)

5 Badou Jack (Sweden)

6 Arsen Goulamirian (France)

7 Lawrence Okolie (England)

8 Yuniel Dorticos (Cuba)

9 Mateusz Masternak (Poland)

10 Ilunga Makabu (So. Africa)

Unlimited

♛ Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)

1 Tyson Fury (England)

2 Zhilei Zhang (China)

3 Deontay Wilder (USA)

4 Anthony Joshua (England)

5 Filip Hrgovic (Croatia)

6 Arslanbek Makhmudov (Russia)*

7 Frank Sanchez (Cuba)*

8 Daniel Dubois (England)*

9 Dillian White (England)*

10 Derek Chisora (Zimbabwe)*

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Canelo-Charlo Gets All the Ink, but Don’t Overlook the Compelling Match-up of Gassiev-Wallin in Turkey

Published

15 hours ago

September 26, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Canelo-Charlo-Gets-All-the-Ink-but-Don't-Overlook-This-Compelling-Match-in-Turkey

Canelo-Charlo Gets All the Ink, but Don’t Overlook the Compelling Match-up of Gassiev-Wallin in Turkey

The eyes of the boxing world will be on Las Vegas this Saturday where Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez risks his four super middleweight title belts against unified 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo. Earlier that day at a luxury resort hotel in the city of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, there’s a heavyweight match sitting under the radar that may prove to be the better fight. It’s an intriguing match-up between former world cruiserweight title-holder Murat Gassiev and Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin, a bout with significant ramifications for boxing’s glamour division.

Gassiev (30-1, 23 KOs) and Wallin (25-1, 14 KOs) have only one loss, but those setbacks came against the top dogs in the division. Gassiev was out-boxed by Oleksandr Usyk back in the days when both were cruiserweights. Wallin gave Tyson Fury a world of trouble before losing a unanimous decision.

Since those fights, both have been treading water.

Gassiev

Gassiev was inactive for 27 months after his match with Usyk while dealing with legal issues and an injury to his left shoulder. He is 4-0 (4 KOs) since returning to the ring while answering the bell for only eight rounds. The only recognizable name among those four victims is German gatekeeper Michael Wallisch. After stopping Wallisch, Gassiev was out of action for another 13 months while reportedly dealing with an arm injury.

A first-round knockout of Carlouse Welch, an obscure 40-something boxer from the U.S. state of Georgia on Aug. 26, 2022, in Belgrade, Serbia, was promoted as a title fight. The sanctioning body was the Eurasian Boxing Parliament (insert your own punchline here). Gassiev followed that up with a second-round knockout of former NFL linebacker Mike Balogun who came in undefeated and was seemingly a legitimate threat to him.

Although he has yet to fight a ranked opponent since leaving the cruiserweight division, Gassiev — a former stablemate of Gennady Golovkin who has been living in Big Bear, California, training under Abel Sanchez – is one of the most respected fighters in the division because he has one-punch knockout power as Balogun and others can well attest. The rub against the Russian-Armenian bruiser is that he is somewhat robotic.

Wallin

Otto Wallin, a 32-year-old southpaw from Sweden who trains in New York under former world lightweight champion Joey Gamache, fought Tyson Fury on Sept. 14, 2019 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There was a general feeling that the Swede would be a stroll in the park for Fury, but to the contrary, he gave the Gypsy King a hard tussle while losing a unanimous decision.

Wallin is 5-0 since that night beginning with victories over Travis Kauffman (KO 5) and Dominic Breazeale (UD 12), but his last three opponents were softer than soft and all three lasted the distance. In order, Wallin won an 8-round decision over Kamil Sokolowski, who was 11-24-2 heading in, won a 10-round decision over ancient Rydell Booker, and won an 8-round decision over Helaman Olguin. His bout with Utah trial horse Olguin was at a banquet hall in Windham, New Hampshire.

It isn’t that Wallin has been avoiding the top names in the division; it’s the other way around. His promoter Dmitriy Salita reportedly came close to getting Wallin a match with Anthony Joshua whose team had second thoughts about sending Joshua in against another southpaw after back-to-back setbacks to Oleksandr Usyk.

Gassiev vs Wallin is a true crossroads fight. Both are in dire need of a win over a credible opponent. At last look, Gassiev, who figures to have the crowd in his corner, was a 3/1 favorite.

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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

Published

3 days ago

September 24, 2023

David A. Avila

Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.

It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.

Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.

Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.

Bustillo Wins Rematch

Applerose2

In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.

Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.

Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.

After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.

Other Bouts

In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.

A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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