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Give 'Em Five, Pacquiao-Marquez V Will Be Coming This Fall

Willie Pep had Sandy Saddler (4 times), Sugar Ray Robinson had Jake LaMotta (6x's) and Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier (3x's).
They are just three rivalries and six all-time great fighters whose names will be forever linked together in fistic history.
Today, we have Manny Pacquiao 56-5-2 (38) and Juan Manuel Marquez 56-7-1 (40) who have fought each other four times and had the eyes of the boxing world focused on them every time. Pacquiao and Marquez don't need anything to build up a fight between them. Four fights=four great fights. Each one had fireworks, each one was close, each was hard to predict. And there's no reason why the fifth wouldn't continue the tradition.
Of the four fights between them, the first three resulted in very close and controversial decisions. Their first fight was a draw and Pacquiao was the benefactor in the second and third meetings via a split decision in fight II and a majority decision in fight III. In their last meeting, the fourth between them, Marquez, who was trailing at the time, won the only non controversial bout between the duo when he knocked Pacquiao out with one punch with only seconds remaining in the sixth round.
And that brings us to why there will most likely be a fifth and final meeting between these two future hall of famers this coming November.
For starters, there is nobody substantive left for them to fight with something significant to gain other than Floyd Mayweather. Marquez had his shot at Mayweather and was jobbed on the scales at the weigh in when Mayweather came in above the contract weight and had to cough up a lot of dead presidents. But Floyd didn't care and was happy to buy the advantage. In the ring that night it looked like a welterweight versus a lightweight and Marquez didn't compete. Although Marquez would probably like another shot at Mayweather, there's no way that happens because Floyd would have nothing to gain by fighting him again. Sure, the boxing world would love to see Mayweather and Pacquiao fight, and it will happen, but not this year, so forget about it for now. There's another formidable terror out there named Ruslan Provodnikov 23-2 (16), who is promoted by Bob Arum who would love to fight either Pacquiao or Marquez. However, he's too dangerous for both of them. His style, toughness and aggression would make it really tough for Marquez to overcome at age 40. Perhaps Pacquiao's unorthodox style and speed would lead Provodnikov into walking into a killer shot that he didn't see. But Ruslan's chin has shown to be upper-tier and very sturdy.
Provodnikov beat up and hurt Timothy Bradley much more than Marquez did when they fought and more than Pacquiao did in two fights against him. Forget either Manny or Juan going near Provodnikov. They have nothing to gain by fighting him and it could easily end badly for both. Something else to keep in mind is the names Pacquiao and Marquez matched together can't miss as a draw. Boxing fans know when they share a ring they'll see professional fighting exhibited at its highest level. The fight will have many ebbs and flows with the outcome being in question until the very end. And the stakes and bragging rights on the line in a fifth fight between them will be monumental. How can it not be? Marquez handed Pacquiao the most devastating and humiliating defeat of his career a year and a half ago. Manny was out, face down, on the canvas for over a minute. After the fight his wife pleaded with him to retire from boxing. Since the last Marquez fight, Pacquiao has fought twice. He won a lopsided decision over a limited tough guy in Brandon Rios and then out thought and out boxed Timothy Bradley in their rematch. But he didn't look spectacular in either bout and it's obvious to anyone who knows what they're watching that Manny doesn't carry the same punch he used to – nor is he the non-stop punching machine he was going back just three or four years ago. That said, there's no way in the world I could be convinced that Pacquiao doesn't want Marquez one more time.
He was beating Marquez up, leading in the bout and had his face a mess when he let his guard down for a second and got nailed and put to sleep by the best right hand Marquez ever landed. And if we know nothing else, it's that Manny has not suffered any residual effects from that knockout and certainly isn't glove shy as a result of it.
As for Marquez, he's fought twice since beating Pacquiao. He lost a decision to Timothy Bradley in his next fight, but that was more of a style conundrum than it was Bradley being the better fighter. For the better part of 12 rounds Bradley used his better hand and foot speed to do just enough to win a couple more rounds than Marquez en-route to a split decision victory. And this past weekend Marquez won a lopsided unanimous decision over Mike Alvarado 34-3 (23), who was coming off a stoppage loss to Provodnikov in his last fight. After beating Alvarado, Marquez said he wants to be the first Mexican fighter in boxing history to win a world title in five different weight classes. Guess who holds the WBO welterweight title? Yep, Manny Pacquiao. What could be sweeter for Marquez than winning his fifth title and further enhancing his legacy at Pacquiao's expense?
Think about the drama/soap opera and back story attached to Pacquiao-Marquez V. Manny wants to avenge being knocked out by Marquez and Juan wants to make history and solidify himself historically as being Pacquiao's superior. If Pacquiao were to knockout or beat Marquez convincingly in their fifth meeting, most would look back at his knockout loss to him as being a fluke. That would give him a 3-1-1 advantage head to head and the debate as to who got the better of whom between them would be settled. On the other hand, if Marquez stopped Pacquiao again or beat him beyond question in a fifth meeting, the series would be 2-2-1. And most would say that Marquez deserved at least one of the two decisions he lost to Manny, and he scored the only clear cut wins between them – so Marquez would be thought of as the superior fighter between them, at least in a head to head comparison.
If Pacquiao and Marquez meet a fifth time they would both make a ton of money. One of them will enhance their legacy and the loser will not be shamed one bit by losing to the other. And even though Pacquiao is 35 and Marquez is 40, it's not an old-timers fight, it's a top of the contemporary era's best match-up even now.
After beating Alvarado this past weekend, Marquez was very coy when asked about fighting Pacquiao for a fifth time in his next fight. He wouldn't commit to anything but left the door open. He no doubt did that because he doesn't want to seem too anxious and wants to strengthen his financial interest if the fight comes to fruition. Marquez knows that Pacquiao wants a chance to make the boxing public forget about their last fight and just might be willing to make a few concessions in order to make the fight that he normally might not if that's what it takes to get him in the ring again. It was smart of Marquez to answer the question regarding Pacquiao the way he did for business reasons.
And it's smart for Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach to have recently said to Michael Woods that he's considering letting Provodnikov fight Pacquiao, giving Marquez a dose of his own medicine. Both Pacquiao and Marquez have nothing to gain fighting a dangerous guy like Provodnikov, who lost to Timothy Bradley, and they have everything to lose.
Rest assured, Marquez and Pacquiao know they'll be seeing each other again one more time later this year in China. And boxing fans can also rest assured that if nothing else big happens this year in professional boxing, at least they have Pacquiao-Marquez V to look forward to this coming fall.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
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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
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

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

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
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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