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Golovkin-Rubio and Other Notes

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There was a standing room only crowd of 9,323 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, for Saturday night’s fight card featuring Gennady Golovkin vs. Marco Antonio Rubio and Nonito Donaire vs. Nicholas Walters. Before the telecast, it was clear that Golovkin and Donaire were going in different directions. After the telecast, it was clearer.

Donaire has moved from being hailed as “the next Manny Pacquiao” and honored as the 2012 “Fighter of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America to “let’s reevaluate his status.”

Nonito has an engaging personality, he’s an exciting fighter, and he can whack. But he’s technically flawed in that he (1) doesn’t cut off the ring against elusive opponents as well as he should; (2) has trouble setting up his power punches unless an opponent is trading with him; and (3) often over-reaches on his power shots, which leaves him vulnerable to counters.

Walters, a Jamaican knockout artist with 24 wins and 20 stoppages in 24 bouts, was expected to test Donaire. The established betting lines were close to even money on the bout.

Once the bell rang, Walters was the aggressor throughout. Donaire fought more cautiously than he usually does. When Nonito stayed on the outside, Nicholas outjabbed him. And when Donaire stopped moving to exchange, Walters outpunched him. The one bright spot for Donaire came at the end of round two. After getting hit with a low blow, Walters decided to trade low and was rocked by a hard left hook up top.

Other than that, it was all Walters. Donaire had never been knocked down before as a pro, but his glove touched the canvas for an official knockdown when he was jarred by a right uppercut at the end of round three.

Late in round six, there was a more definitive knockdown. Donaire lunged forward after overreaching on a left hook, missed, and got hit high on the back of his head behind the ear with a nasty overhand right. Nonito went down face first on the canvas and rose on unsteady legs. Referee Raul Caiz Jr appropriately stopped the fight.

“He overwhelmed me and he knocked the s— out of me,” Donaire conceded afterward.

That set the stage for Golovkin-Rubio.

Golovkin is the World Boxing Association “super” middleweight champion. Danny Jacobs holds a bogus WBA “world middleweight championship” belt.

Rubio had won the vacant World Boxing Council “interim world middleweight championship” in April of this year by beating Domenico Spada of Italy. Spada qualified for that “championship” bout by beating Sandor Ramocsa (12 wins in 33 fights), Norbert Szekeres (13 wins in 40 fights), and Marijan Markovic (4 wins in 25 fights) during the preceding 21 months.

Prior to Golovkin-Rubio, the WBC announced that it was sanctioning the bout for its “interim world middleweight championship.” That sanction meant the WBC could enrich its coffers by collecting another sanctioning fee. Rubio then showed his respect for the belt by weighing in 1.8 pounds over the 160-pound limit.

Going into the fight, Golovkin’s record stood at 30-and-0 with 27 knockouts. Rubio’s ring ledger showed 59 wins, 6 losses, and 3 draws. Marco Antonio had won a couple of rounds in going the distance in a losing effort against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in 2012. Three years before that, in his only other world championship bid, he was knocked out in nine rounds by Kelly Pavlik. The odds favoring Golovkin over Rubio were in the range of 50-to-1.

In the ring, Gennady always seems to be in control. This time was no different. Prior to the bout, Jimmy Tobin labeled the match-up a “sanctioned slaughter” and noted, “You can hit Golovkin. That much has been established. Taking what he offers in return thus far has proven too much to ask.”

That was certainly true of Golovkin-Rubio. Midway through round one, Rubio had tasted enough of Golovkin’s power that he was noticeably less aggressive than he’d been in the opening minute of the bout. By the midway mark of round two, it was over, courtesy of a left hook that landed high on Marco Antonio’s temple and deposited him on the canvas for a ten-count.

Miguel Cotto is currently the WBC “world middleweight champion.” In theory, Golovkin is now the mandatory challenger for Cotto’s belt.

The chances that Cotto will fight Golovkin are about as good as the chances that New Jersey governor Chris Christie will run a sub-four-minute mile. Cotto will avoid Golovkin. And the WBC will sanction Cotto’s next bout (which will be against someone else for some form of WBC championship). The WBC will say that this is for “the good of boxing.” Of course, a substantial sanctioning fee will be involved.

So let’s simply say that, right now, Gennady Golovkin is the best middleweight in the world. Anyone else who claims to be a “world champion” at 160 pounds is a pretender.

* * *

On May 4, 2013, J’Leon Love won a split-decision over Gabriel Rosado in Las Vegas to capture one of boxing’s many regional belts. Then Love tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide, a banned substance that’s used as a weight-loss aide and also to mask the presence of performance-enhancing drugs in a fighter’s system. The result of Love-Rosado was changed to ”no decision,” and J’Leon was suspended for six months in addition to being fined $10,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

At his NSAC hearing, Love admitted that he’d used Hydrochlorothiazide, but testified that it had been to lose weight and that he hadn’t known it was illegal. He further testified that the drug had been given to him by his strength and conditioning coach, Bob Ware.

What action did the Nevada State Athletic Commission take against Ware?

Zilch. And when Floyd Mayweather fought a rematch against Marcos Maidana on September 13, one of the men in his corner (he also wrapped Floyd’s hands on fight night) was Bob Ware.

* * *

In recent months, a great deal of attention has been paid to the dangers inherent in youth football. But little has been said about the perils of amateur boxing.

Take a look at: http://fusion.net/story/21483/the-little-fighters/

It’s a disturbing study of how poorly regulated youth boxing is today. The text is excellent and the videos are outstanding.

Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His next book (Thomas Hauser on Boxing) will be published later this month by the University of Arkansas Press.

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Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

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A Fresh Face on the Boxing Scene, Bryce Mills Faces His Toughest Test on Friday

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“He wants to test himself and find out just how good he really is,” said International Boxing Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz regarding super lightweight Bryce Mills. Peltz, who has dealt with a wide range of fighters throughout his lifetime in boxing, recognized the fire that burned inside Mills at a local show in Philadelphia in early 2022. At the time Mills had less than ten professional fights under his belt.

Mills hails from Liverpool in upstate New York and trains in nearby Syracuse. Currently 17-1 (6 KOs), he’s undefeated in his last 11 since losing a split decision to a Puerto Rican fighter from the Bronx who had fought much stiffer competition.

The fight in question that caught Peltz’s eye was arranged by the well-known and respected matchmaker Nick Tiberi who paired Mills in an intriguing fight against Daiyaan Butt, a tough and skilled fighter from the Philadelphia area. They fought at LIVE Casino in South Philadelphia on Feb. 24, 2022.

Although the crowd on hand that night favored Butt, Mills, although then only 20 years old, wasn’t intimidated and was the clear-cut winner at the end of their exciting, back-and-forth battle. This showed Peltz that Mills was serious about seeing just how far his ability could take him.

That’s why Peltz decided to join forces with Mills. Despite being semi-retired, Peltz is still active enough to help guide fighters through the ever-changing wild west landscape that is boxing. Since their union after Mill’s victory over Butt, Mills has been on a nine-fight winning streak heading into what Peltz believes is the toughest test of his career this Friday against Alex Martin 18-6 (6 KOs) of Chicago.

“I didn’t want him to take this fight, it’s a dangerous fight for him. Martin is a southpaw and is tricky, he’s a veteran and is experienced. His father (Mills’s father) called me and said that Bryce wanted the fight, to his credit,” says Peltz. One look at Martin’s resume and it confirms what Peltz stated. All six of Martin’s losses came against fighters with outstanding records including a former world title challenger. Martin also holds some quality wins over undefeated prospects that were at similar points in their careers to where Mills currently is in his development.

Bryce Mills looks like a fighter (he’s always in shape), acts like a fighter (testing his craft against all comers), walks the walk of a fighter, and fights with a fan-friendly pedal-to-the-metal style. That is a winning combination that could be the breath of fresh air the boxing world could surely use and on Friday night at the Wind Creek Events Center in Bethlehem, PA, live on DAZN, Mills is going to have the opportunity to put the boxing world on notice.

***

DAZN will televise the Mills-Martin fight along with a main event that features undefeated middleweight Euri Cedeno (10-0-1, 9 KO’s) against Ulices Rivera (11-1, 7 KO’s). Knockout artist Joseph Adorno (20-4-1, 17 KOs) and undefeated Reading, PA super featherweight Julian Gonzalez (15-0-1, 11 KOs) appear in separate bouts on the undercard. Tickets for the Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotion show are still available through Ticketmaster. Lobby doors open at 5:00 pm. First bell is at 7:00.

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High Drama in Japan as ‘Amazing Boy’ Kenshiro Teraji Overcomes Seigo Yuri Akui

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Overshadowed by countrymen Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, Kenshiro Teraji embossed his Hall of Fame credentials in Tokyo tonight with a dramatic 12th-round stoppage of Seigo Yuri Akui. At stake were two pieces of the world flyweight title. A two-time world title-holder a division below (108), Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) was appearing in his 16th world title fight.

This Japan vs. Japan matchup will go down in Japanese boxing lore as one of the best title fights ever on Japanese soil. Through the 11 completed rounds, Akui was up 105-104 on two of the cards with Teraji up 106-103 on the third. However, judging by his appearance, Akui was more damaged. The stoppage by Japanese referee Katsuhiko Nakamura, which came at the 1:31 mark of the final round with Akui still standing, struck some as premature but the gallant Akui was well-beaten.

A second-generation prizefighter, Kenshiro Teraji, 33, came bearing the WBC 112-pound belt which he acquired this past October with an 11th round TKO of Nicaraguan veteran Cristofer Rosales. The 29-year-old Akui (21-3-1) was making the second defense of the WBA strap he won with a wide decision over previously undefeated Artem Dalakian.

Although Teraji keeps on rolling – this was his seventh straight win which began with a third-round blast-out of Masamichi Yabuki, avenging his lone defeat – things aren’t getting any easier for the so-called “Amazing Boy.” In his last three fights, which include a hard-earned majority decision over Carlos Canizales, he answered the bell for 35 rounds.

By and large, fighters in his weight class don’t age well. While Teraji is starting to slip, he has no intention of retiring any time soon. His goal, he says is to unify the title and eventually move up a notch to pursue a world title in a third weight class. The other pieces of the 112-pound title are currently the property of Mexico’s Angel Ayala who defends his IBF diadem against Yabuki later this month and LA’s Anthony Olascuaga who was in action on tonight’s undercard.

Other Bouts of Note

Olascuaga, a stablemate of Junto Nakatani, trained by 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year Rudy Hernandez, advanced to 9-1 (6) with a hard-earned unanimous decision over Hiroto Kyoguchi. The judges had it 118-110 and 117-111 (scores condemned as too wide) with the third judge having it 6-6 in rounds but scoring it 114-113 in acknowledgement of the knockdown credited to Olascuaga in round 11, the result of a short left that produced a delayed reaction.

Olascuaga was making the second defense of his WBO belt in his fifth straight trip to Japan. In his lone defeat, he was thrust against the formidable Teraji as a late sub, acquitting himself well in defeat (L TKO 9) despite having only five pro fights under his belt and having only 10 days to prepare. Kyoguchi (19-3) had previously held titles in the sport’s two smallest weight classes.

In a big upset, Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago, thought to be well past his prime at age 32, wrested the WBO light flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Shokichi Iwata who was making the first defense of the title he won with a third-round stoppage of Spain’s previously undefeated Jairo Noriega. Tokyo’s Iwata was a consensus 9/1 favorite.

Santiago, who advanced to 14-4 (9), won by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. It was the second loss for Iwata who had knocked out 11 of his first 15 opponents.

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Keith Thurman Returns with a Bang; KOs Brock Jarvis in Sydney

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The combination of age and ring rust made Keith Thurman a tricky proposition against Brock Jarvis, but the 36-year-old Floridian, a former WBA and WBC world welterweight champion, had too much firepower for the overmatched Aussie, knocking out Jarvis in the third round tonight in Sydney and setting up a massive fight with Tim Tszyu.

Thurman’s career has been repeatedly interrupted with injuries. He missed all of 2023 and 2024 and this was only his second fight back since being out-pointed by Manny Pacquiao in 2019. He was slated to fight Tszyu in March of last year in Las Vegas with two 154-pound straps on the line, but pulled out with a biceps injury and was replaced by Sebastian Fundora who saddled the snakebit Tszyu with his first defeat.

Against Brock Jarvis, Thurman started slowly. The TV commentating team, which included Tszyu and Shawn Porter, had the busier Jarvis winning the first two rounds. But the savvy Thurman was simply “processing data” and found his grove in the third frame, smashing Jarvis to the canvas with a combination climaxed by a wicked uppercut. Jarvis staggered to his feet but was a cooked goose and the referee waived it off immediately when Jarvis hit the deck again after absorbing a harsh left hook. The official time was 2:19 of round three.

It was the second bad loss for Jarvis (22-2), a noted knockout puncher who had previously been stopped in the opening round by countryman Liam Paro. He hails from the Sydney suburb of Merrickville which also spawned Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech, Jarvis’s former trainer.

Thurman advanced to 37-1 with his twenty-third win inside the distance. According to Tszyu’s promoter George Rose, the match between Thurman and Tszyu will finally come to fruition on July 6, likely at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach. That’s predicated on the assumption that Tszyu wins his next fight without complications which comes on April 6 against Minnesota’s 19-1 Joey Spencer at Newcastle, Australia.

Other Bouts of Note

Melbourne Middleweight Michael Zerafa, who also covets a match with Tim Tszyu, improved to 33-5 (21 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Germany’s obscure Besir Ay (19-2) who was on the deck twice before the referee waived it off. This was the second fight back for Zerafa after getting pulverized by Erislandy Lara who stopped him in the second round in March of last year. Ay, 35, is recognized as the middleweight champion of Germany.

In a middleweight match slated for 10, Tim Tszyu’s longtime sparring partner Cesar Mateo bombed out Sergei Vorobev in the fifth round, ending the match with a spectacular one-punch KO. The 26-year-old Mateo (18-0-1, 11 KOs) is a native of Tijuana. Vorobev (20-3-2) is a 30-year-old Sydneysider born in Russia.

Thurman vs. Jarvis, a pay-per-view event in Australia, aired in the U.S. on a tape-delay on the PBC youtube channel.

Photo credit: Grant Trouville / No Limit Boxing

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