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Three Myths Explored On The 40th Anniversary Of Foreman vs. Ali

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It’s been 40 years since Muhammad Ali 44-2 (31) upset the boxing world as a 3-1 underdog and knocked out undisputed heavyweight champion George Foreman 40-0 (37) in the eighth round to become only the second fighter in history to reclaim the heavyweight title. Today, Ali, 72 and Foreman, 65, are America’s guest whenever they appear in public. With all the years and the passage of time, most have forgotten just how big of an event and fight Foreman-Ali was back on Oct. 29, 1974. Through the years there’s been so much discussed pertaining to the fight that it’s impossible to reveal anything that hasn’t already been hashed over ad-nauseum.

The fight took place in Kinshasa Zaire and was fought at the 20th of May Stadium. It was former Cleveland racketeer Don King’s first venture into big time boxing as a promoter and he titled it “The Rumble In The Jungle.” King used his gift of gab to coax all within his voice’s reach that the coming together of Foreman and Ali was symbolic. “The prodigal sons will be returning to Africa,” was his theme during the months leading up to the fight.

September 25th was the original scheduled date of the bout, but it was pushed back to October 29th when sparring partner Bill McMurray cut George over his right eye during a training session on September 16th. When the bout was postponed both Foreman and Ali were forced to remain in Zaire despite the fact that they both wanted to come back to the United States. However, the fast- thinking Ali turned the tables on Foreman and embraced staying there and roamed with the people of Zaire once word leaked out that George wanted to leave the country. In a short time Ali became a man of the people and by fight night Foreman felt as if an entire country was against him.

The fight started at four in the morning on Wednesday October 30th, 1974 in Zaire to accommodate audiences in the United States at ten in the evening Tuesday night October 29th. At the time George Foreman was thought to be the most unbeatable and invincible heavyweight champion in history. He demolished “Smokin” Joe Frazier in two rounds to capture the undisputed title in January of 1973. This was the same Frazier that Ali had to fight twice before he could claim a victory over him. In his second defense of the title Foreman mutilated Ken Norton in less than two full rounds in March of 1974, and yes, Ali needed to fight Norton twice before he could say he beat him. So the back-story for the “Rumble In The Jungle” was this: the only two fighters who ever defeated Ali just so happened to be two of Foreman’s easiest and most impressive victories. Foreman was often quoted saying in the weeks before the fight, “I hit a guy and it’s like magic. You see him crumbling to the floor. It is a gift from God.” And there were many astute boxing observers who saw Ali being the victim of the same fate. In fact it led George to believe that there was no way he could lose to Ali and it probably wouldn’t even be his toughest fight. If ever there was a supremely confident fighter before an historic bout, it was George Foreman before he fought Muhammad Ali.

The documentary “When We Were Kings” pretty much covered what transpired leading up to, during and after the “The Rumble In The Jungle.” However, there are three popular myths regarding the fight that neither the film nor anyone has ever really touched on or addressed. We start with the ring size, Foreman’s lack of a backup plan when the fight began to slip away from him, and the myth of Ali introducing the “Rope a Dope” strategy during the bout.

The Ring Size:

Much has been made about the loose ring ropes for the Foreman-Ali bout over the years. And yes they did have slightly more give than the ropes usually have around a boxing ring. And the reason for that was because the ropes were for a 19-foot ring. Before the fight Ali stressed he wanted a 20-foot ring and Foreman wanted a 19-foot ring. What they got in Zaire was a 16-foot ring. This is documented by the October 29, 1974 edition of the Milwaukee Sentinel, and countless interviews that referee Zack Clayton gave over the years after the fight. In fact this was discussed between me and Mr. Clayton when I mentioned it to him at the post fight press conference after Michael Spinks stopped Murray Sutherland in the eighth round on 4-11-82 to retain his WBA light heavyweight title in Atlantic City N.J. And Mr. Clayton confirmed to me that Foreman and Ali fought in a 16 foot ring in over 80 degree heat. He then added that he was somewhat surprised that, “Ali agreed to fight Foreman in a phone booth with ropes.”

The size of the ring was a definite benefit for Foreman because he knew the less room that Ali had to move and box the larger the advantage for him. The conventional wisdom before the fight was this: Ali would look to circle and box George from the outside, utilizing his superior hand and foot speed the way he did when he fought Sonny Liston and George Chuvalo the first time he fought them. Ali also circled and boxed and used the entire ring 20-foot ring for seven or eight rounds of his rematch with Joe Frazier in his last bout before challenging Foreman. As witnessed by re-watching the fight, Foreman easily crowds Ali after taking only three or four steps to either side in the smaller ring. One of the things Foreman worked on and stressed before the fight was his ability to cut the ring off and how that would force Ali to have to mix it up and trade punches with him. That was considered ring suicide against Foreman circa 1973-74. Aside from forcing Ali to wear cement boxing shoes during the fight, Foreman couldn’t have been blessed with a better advantage than fighting Ali in a 16 foot ring. The ropes may have been a little loose during the bout, but the size of the ring was a bigger issue and a huge plus for Foreman.

Foreman’s corner and strategy:

On the night that he defended his title against Muhammad Ali, George Foreman’s corner consisted of all-time boxing greats Sandy Saddler and Archie Moore, along with trainer Dick Saddler. Before the fight it was assumed in order for Foreman to beat Ali, all that it would take was for him to be turned loose when the bell rang. As long as George didn’t hit the referee he’d enjoy clear sailing and win the fight in a spectacular fashion. Back then Foreman was boasting about his two famous punches: the “anywhere punch,” as in, anywhere it lands it does damage and the “deep sleep” in the other hand. At the time the prevailing thought was, Ali isn’t strong enough nor is he young enough at age 32 to hold off Foreman, age 25, or dance and use his legs to avoid George’s two handed rampage. The thought that Foreman would need a plan “B” or have to adjust to what Ali did during the fight wasn’t even a consideration to anyone before the bout.

The dynamic of the fight changed towards the end of the first round when Foreman managed to blast Muhammad to the head and body, and Ali openly talked to and mocked George after getting hit flush. The thought that Ali wouldn’t crumble once George caught him good wasn’t even a remote possibility before the fight in Foreman’s mind. And as George has said countless times over the years, Ali drew from his ability to take his punch and became more confident, and conversely, George began to lose confidence in his ability to hurt or defeat Ali as the fight progressed. Yes, Ali used the “Rope a Dope” strategy during the fight, but in a 16 foot ring, it’s not like his legs and lateral movement would’ve been all that effective in neutralizing Foreman’s power and aggression. In essence, because of the small ring, Ali had no choice other than to fight Foreman the way he did.

Archie Moore stated that everything they did with George in training for the Ali fight was to get Muhammad to the ropes, to cut the ring and maneuver him against the ropes. What they didn’t work on was what to do once George got him there and for some unforeseen reason Ali was able to take George’s punch. What they overlooked, along with the rest of the experts was, Ali’s body and ring strength were equal to George’s even though he wasn’t as big of a puncher. As the fight proceeded it was obvious because of Foreman being the same height as Ali, his punches to the head were wide and from outside, making them easier for Ali to see, anticipate and pick off or parry. As opposed to, say, Joe Frazier who started his tighter shots from down low and came up with them, making it more difficult for Ali to see and defend.

Immediately after the fight Foreman’s corner was wrongly excoriated and unfairly criticized by many fans and media for not instructing George on what he should do because their “catch ‘n kill” style of attack wasn’t working. Ali was handling Foreman’s power and aggression and in the midst George was walking into Ali’s lead rights and lefts. However, there was nothing they could’ve instructed Foreman to do in the middle of the fight that would’ve altered the result. By the time Team Foreman realized that George wasn’t going to get the anticipated early knockout, the fight was four rounds old and Foreman was starting to tire from throwing the kitchen sink at Muhammad. Aside from urging Foreman to stop head hunting, there’s not much else they could’ve instructed him to do differently. Foreman’s biggest advantage over Ali was his overload of punching power, and if Ali could withstand his Sunday punches, which he did, Foreman wasn’t going to beat him. He certainly didn’t stand a chance of beating the faster hand and footed Ali by trying to out-box him or out point him from center ring.

Had Foreman eased up and not been so aggressive, he would’ve been throwing away his only path to victory in the fight. Foreman minus his aggression would’ve been a sitting duck for Ali’s fast hands and combinations. Had Foreman chose to box and fight more in a more measured way instead of going after Ali, Muhammad would’ve peppered him at will from outside the way he did George Chuvalo, Ernie Terrell and Mac Foster. If you remember, after George lost to Ali he returned to the ring 15 months later a more measured fighter under new trainer Gil Clancy. And he looked good against contenders like Ron Lyle, Joe Frazier, Scott LeDoux and Dino Dennis, fighters who had no means to get away from him while fighting on the move. Then he fought Jimmy Young. Against Young, Foreman fought much more measured than he did against Ali, hoping to conserve his energy and stamina. And what happened? Young peppered Foreman and won a decision over him because he never had to cope with the out of control wrecking machine that Ali had to confront. Jimmy never really had to address Foreman’s overwhelming power and strength because for most of the bout, George kept it under wraps looking to conserve his stamina and energy.

Try to imagine Foreman switching in the middle of the bout with Ali and fighting him like he did Jimmy Young. Ali was quicker, threw faster and harder combinations and had better legs than Young. Not to mention he was physically bigger and stronger. Had Foreman’s corner implored George to back off and pick his shots against Ali, sure, he might’ve lasted longer or even perhaps gone the distance – but he would’ve lost every minute of every round along with the fight.

So the reality is, Foreman’s corner shouldn’t be faulted for not having a plan “B” for George the night he fought Ali. The simple truth is, if Foreman couldn’t knock out Ali by forcing the fight and trying to make Muhammad fight and trade with him, he’s wasn’t going to beat him. There was nothing that Archie Moore, Sandy Saddler or Dick Saddler could’ve instructed Foreman to do in the middle of the bout, simply because there was no plausible plan “B” that they could’ve implemented to salvage the fight. As we learned, Foreman just didn’t match up with Ali.

The Introduction of “Rope A Dope” is a Myth:

Over the last 40 years since Ali defeated Foreman, the “Rope A Dope” strategy has been hailed as being some stroke of genius on Ali’s part that he invented on the fly during the fight. The “rope a dope” strategy was implemented by Ali during the second round of the fight. The strategy saw Ali go to the ropes and cover up with his guard high, thus allowing Foreman to punch at him. Sometimes Ali would get off a few quick one-twos in between Foreman’s already launched incoming bombs, hitting George squarely as he was coming in. And then George would reload and start the process all over again. Foreman used up a lot of his energy throwing looping punches at Ali looking to take his head off. Many of them grazed Ali and the ones that did get through, he took. Ali also out-wrestled Foreman in the clinches and held his head down by pushing on the back of his neck so George couldn’t get a good shot at him. This tired Foreman, along with Ali’s taunts of telling him to punch harder and calling him a big sissy. Finally in the eighth round Ali got off a beautiful combination that ended with a hard right hand to Foreman’s face and he went down. Foreman rose but didn’t beat the count and referee Zach Clayton waved the fight over.

Let it be noted that had any other fighter tried to beat Foreman using the “rope a dope” tactic that Ali employed against him, they would probably be beaten to death. The strategy worked for Ali because Muhammad was blessed with a concrete body and a cast iron chin. That, along with his very underrated mental toughness and constitution. The only fighter who could’ve beat George Foreman by allowing George to work him over, did. It would be suicide for any other “boxer” to try and duplicate what Ali did against the undefeated raging Foreman who didn’t believe anyone could stand up to his punch or beat him. The “rope a dope” worked against George Foreman and enabled Ali to regain the undisputed heavyweight title seven years after being stripped of it.

The myth of the “rope a dope” strategy is that Ali had used it unsuccessfully twice before he fought Foreman, only he didn’t name it. Ali tried to “rope a dope” Joe Frazier from the sixth round on during the “Fight Of The Century.” Only it didn’t work because Frazier’s shorter punches and everlasting stamina piled up points and won rounds. Frazier’s lower center allowed him to be in the perfect position to work Ali over to the body, and at the same time, stay low and slip many of Ali’s return shots to the head. Punching down and missing Frazier actually drained Muhammad’s stamina. Ali sought a quick knockout against Frazier, who was a slow starter. When he failed to get the quick execution, he realized that in order for him to finish the fight, he was going to have to pace himself and see if at the same time Frazier would punch himself out. Only Joe never slowed down and his body work against a stationary Ali against the ropes sapped Muhammad’s stamina. So the “rope a dope” strategy failed Ali the first time he tried it.

Ali also tried to “rope a dope” Ken Norton the first time they fought two years after he lost to Frazier. Ali didn’t think much of Norton as a contender and was in terrible shape for the bout. Ali thought he could toy with Norton and stop him whenever he wanted. Once he realized that that wasn’t going to happen and the fight was probably going to go the distance, he went to the ropes and tried to get Norton to punch himself out so he could come on late in the fight. In the process Ali suffered a broken jaw. Again, he fought off the ropes and tried to pick his spots, but like Frazier, Norton had built up a head of steam and never slowed down.

You’ll notice that after the “rope a dope” failed against Frazier and Norton the first time he fought them, Ali abandoned it for the rematches with both men. What he did was get himself into great shape and down to 212 pounds for both rematches. Ali was never that low in weight before or after his rematches with Frazier and Norton during his comeback in the 70s. And before both rematches he promised not to lay against the ropes and give away rounds. He promised to dance and use his legs and not be the stationary target he was the first time he fought Joe and Ken. And in both fights Ali boxed and danced beautifully for the first half of the fight and banked those rounds. He eventually came down off his toes for a few rounds, but just when Frazier and Norton started to get back into the fight, he started circling and moving again because he was in great shape. Down the stretch his movement and his ability to fight effectively in retreat, something he was great at, enabled him to even the score with the only two men who ever beat him.

Let it be said for the record that Muhammad Ali used his famous “rope a dope” strategy twice before he fought George Foreman, and it failed both times. The only difference is, Ali didn’t coin it the “rope a dope” after if failed against Frazier and Norton. What he said was, he needed to lay against the ropes and rest against Frazier and Norton because he was coming off a long layoff when he fought Frazier – and he wasn’t in top condition when he fought Norton.

It wasn’t until the “rope a dope” strategy finally prevailed for Ali against George Foreman that he smartly gave it a catchy name. That’s part of the genius of Muhammad Ali.

In closing, Ali used the “rope a dope’ strategy once after he fought Foreman, and that was during his first fight with Leon Spinks, a fight he lost. Guess what he said after fighting Spinks? He said I underestimated him and wasn’t in top condition, that’s why I laid back against the ropes and rested, hoping the inexperienced Spinks would tire. For the rematch a determined Ali was in great shape and danced and boxed for 11 of the 15 rounds the fight went. Ali won an overwhelming decision victory and became the first fighter in history to win the world heavyweight boxing title three times.

In hindsight the “rope a dope” strategy didn’t serve Muhammad Ali well. He was 1-3 in fights when he used it. However, the one time it worked for him just so happens to be the signature win of his stellar career And that was 40 years ago. We are getting old!

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez

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Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez

March 7 was an unusually heavy Friday for professional boxing. The show that warranted the most ink was the all-female card in London, a tour-de-force for the super-talented Lauren Price, but there were important fights on other continents.

Brighton

Michael Conlan, who sat out all of 2024 on the heels of being stopped in three of his previous five, returned to the ring in the British seaside resort city of Brighton in a shake-off-the-rust, 8-rounder against Asad Asif Khan, a 31-year-old Indian from Calcutta making his first appearance in a British ring.

Conlan, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist who famously signed with Top Rank coming out of the amateur ranks, is now 33 years old.  Against Khan, he was far from impressive, but did enough to win by a 78-74 score and lock in a match with Spain’s Cristobal Lorente, the European featherweight champion.

Conlan, who improved to 19-3 (9), absorbed a lot of punishment in those three matches that he lost. With his deep amateur background, Michael has a lot of mileage on him and he would have been smart to call it quits after his embarrassingly one-sided defeat to Luis Alberto Lopez. His frayed reflexes speak to something more than ring rust. Heading in, Khan brought a 19-5-1 record but had scored only five wins inside the distance.

Conlan vs Khan was the co-feature. In the main event, Brighton welterweight Harlem Eubank, the cousin of Chris Eubank Jr, improved to 21-0 (9 KOs) with a dominant performance over Conlan’s Belfast homie Tyrone McKenna. Eubank was credited with three knockdowns, all the result of body punches, before referee John Latham had seen enough and pulled the plug at the 2:09 mark of round 10. It was the fourth loss in his last six outings for the 35-year-old McKenna (24-6-1).

Harlem Eubank wants to fight Conor Benn next and says he is willing to wait until after his cousin “wipes Benn out.” Chris Eubank Jr vs Benn is slated for April 26 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The North London facility, which has a retractable roof, is the third-largest soccer stadium in England.

Toronto

Local fan favorite Lucas Bahdi and his stablemate Sara Bailey were the headliners on last night’s card at the Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto. The event marked the first incursion of Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions into Canada.

Bahdi, who is from Niagara Falls but trains in Toronto, burst out of obscurity in July of last year in Tampa, Florida, with a spectacular one-punch knockout of heavily-hyped Ashton “H2O” Sylva. His next fight, on the undercard of Jake Paul’s match with Mike Tyson, was less “noisy” and the same could be said of his homecoming fight with Ryan James Racaza, an undefeated (15-0) but obscure southpaw from the Philippines who was making his North American debut.

Bahdi vs Racaza was a technical fight that didn’t warm up until Bahdi produced a knockdown in round seven with a sweeping left hook, a glancing blow that appeared to land behind Racaza’s ear. The Filipino was up in a jiff, looking at the referee as if to say, “this dude just hit me with a rabbit punch.”

The judges had it 99-90, 97-92, and 96-93 for the victorious Bahdi (19-0) who was the subject of a recent profile on these pages.

Sara Bailey, a decorated amateur who competed around the world under her maiden name Sara Haghighat Joo and now holds the WBA light flyweight title, successfully defended that trinket with a lopsided decision over Cristina Navarro (6-3), a 35-year-old Spaniard who “earned” this assignment by winning a 6-round decision over an opponent with a 1-4-3 record. The judges scored the monotonous fight 99-91 across the board for Bailey who improved to 6-0 and then returned to the ring to assist her husband in Lucas Bahdi’s corner.

Also

Twenty-two-year-old super bantamweight Angel Barrientes, a Las Vegas-based Hawaii native, delivered the best performance of the night with a one-sided beatdown of Alexander Castellano whose corner mercifully stopped the contest after the seventh round as the ring doctor stood in a neutral corner chatting with the referee.

The gritty Castellano, who hails from Tonawanda, New York, brought an 11-1-2 record and hadn’t previously been stopped. A glutton for punishment, he appeared to suffer a broken orbital bone. Barrientes improved to 13-1 (8 KOs).

The show was marred by an excessive amount of fluffy gobbledygook by the TV talking heads which slowed down the action and made the promotion almost unwatchable.

Cartago, Costa Rica

Fighting in his hometown, super flyweight David Jimenez scored a lopsided 12-round decision over Nicaragua’s Keyvin Lara. The judges had it 120-108, 119-109, and 116-112.

Jimenez, now 17-1, came to the fore in July of 2022 when he upset Ricardo Sandoval in Los Angeles, winning a well-earned majority decision over a 20/1 favorite riding a 16-fight winning streak. That boosted him into a title fight with the formidable Artem Dalakian who saddled him with his lone defeat.

Jimenez’s victory over Lara was his fifth since that setback. It sets up the Costa Rican for another title fight, this time against Argentina’s Fernando Martinez who acquired the WBA 115-pound title in July with an upset of Kazuto Ioka in Japan. Lara, who unsuccessfully challenged Ioka for a belt in 2016, falls to 32-7-1.

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Price Conquers Jonas on an All-Female Card at Royal Albert Hall

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Ben Shalom’s BOXXER Promotions was at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall tonight with an all-female card topped by a welterweight unification fight between WBC/IBF belt-holder Natasha Jonas and WBA champion Lauren Price.

Liverpool’s Jonas, who turns 41 in June, has had a sterling career, but Father Time has caught up with her. The 30-year-old Price, an Olympic gold medalist, had faster hands, faster feet, and hit harder. The classy Jonas (16-3-1) acknowledged as much in her post-fight interview: “She beat me to the punch every time.”

The scores were 100-90, 98-92, and 98-93.

In advancing her record to 9-0 (2), Price built a strong case that she is the best fighter to come down the pike from Wales since Joe Calzaghe. As for her next bout, she hopes to fight the winner of the March 29 rematch in Las Vegas between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan. That match, with all of the meaningful welterweight hardware at stake, would be a hot ticket item if potted in Cardiff.

Semi-wind-up

Caroline Dubois staved off a late rally to successfully defend her WBC lightweight title with a majority decision over South Korea’s spunky Bo Mi Re Shin. The judges had it 98-92, 98-93, and 95-95. Although the 95-95 tally by the Korean judge was quite a stretch, Shin performed far better than the odds – Dubois was a consensus 35/1 favorite — portended.

Dubois, a 24-year-old Londoner trained by Shane McGuigan, is the sister of IBF heavyweight title-holder Daniel Dubois. Reportedly 36-3 as an amateur, she advanced her pro record to 11-0-1 (5). Heading in, Shin (18-3-3) had won nine of her previous 10 with the lone setback coming via split decision in a robust fight with Belgium’s Delfine Persoon in Belgium.

Other Bouts of Note

Kariss Artingstall returned to the ring after a 14-month absence and scored a unanimous decision over former amateur rival Raven Chapman. The scores were 98-91, 97-92, 96-93.

The prize for Artingstall, who happens to be Lauren Price’s partner, was the inaugural British female featherweight title and a potential rematch with Skye Nicolson who would relish the chance to avenge her last defeat, a loss by split decision to Attingstall in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics. Nicolson, who was part of tonight’s broadcast team, defends her title later this month in Sydney against Florida’s Tiara Brown.

It was the first 10-rounder for Artingstall (7-0). Chapman (9-2) had an uphill battle after Artingstall decked her in the second round with a straight left hand.

In a mild upset, Jasmina Zopotoczna, a UK-based Pole, won a split decision over Chloe Watson, adding Watson’s European flyweight title to her own regional trinket. One of the judges favored Watson 97-93, but each of his colleagues had it 96-95 for the Pole. Although there was no great furor, the verdict was unpopular.

Zapotoczna, who fought off her back foot, improved to 9-1. It was the first pro loss for Watson who is trained by Ricky Hatton.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 316: Art of the Deal in Boxing and More

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So, they want to save boxing?

A group of guys with recent ties to the sport of boxing and bags of money suddenly believe they can save a sport that is older than any other sport since the dawn of mankind.

Boxing is the oldest sport.

When cavemen roamed the planet, you can believe one tribe bet another tribe their guy could whip the other guy. Thus began the sport of boxing. There was no baseball, soccer or horse racing.

Even the invention of the wheel was still a few generations away when men were duking it out with other men for sport.

Throughout history mentions of one man fighting another man without arms are written in the Tales of Ulysses and other literary references.

Boxing will never die. Period.

Here is the reason why.

Boxing requires only two men in their underwear with no weapons and no requirement of classes in jujitsu, kickboxing, wrestling or advance training facilities. You can prepare in your backyard with one heavy bag and a pair of boxing gloves. It’s simple.

MMA, on the other hand, requires money.

Boxing is for the poor. Any kid can walk into a gym and begin training. When they become adults, then they start paying to use the gym.

Don’t let people fool you and tell you “boxing is dying.”

People have been saying those same words since John L. Sullivan in the late 1800s. You can look it up.

The phrase “boxing is dying,” is said by people who want you to pay them money to save it. Kind of sounds like the guy currently sitting in the White House who is going to save America by firing Americans from their jobs and allowing Russia to take over Ukraine.

Don’t believe these people.

Boxing does not need saving.

Why would Dana White, who has stated for decades that MMA is bigger than boxing, though no MMA fighter can equal the purses of a Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Tyson Fury, why is he involved in boxing?

There is big money to be made in boxing, especially with internet gambling sites being allowed all over the world. And boxing is popular worldwide. MMA is not.

More people know who Canelo is than UFC’s Alex Pereira.

I respect the UFC fighters. They put in hard work and battle injuries throughout their careers. But MMA is simply not as big as boxing. The purses of MMA fighters at the top level don’t come close to boxing’s top money earners.

Why did Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and others quickly switch to boxing when called?

The money in boxing is much bigger.

Follow the money.

NYC

A rumble is planned for Times Square in New York City.

Vatos from Southern California are fighting dudes from Nevada and Brooklyn. Sounds like a script from the Gangs of New York.

Where is Leonardo DiCaprio when you need him?

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will meet Rollie Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) in a welterweight match set for May 2, on Times Square in mid-Manhattan. This is one of three marquee bouts planned to be streamed on DAZN.

Others matched will be Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) versus super lightweight titlist Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs), and Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) against Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a welterweight contest.

This is the proposed match by The Ring magazine backed by Turki Alalshikh who, along with Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, is sponsoring this fight card.

It was also announced that Alalshikh, TKO Group Holdings, and Sela are forming a promotion company.

TKO owns UFC and WWE.

SoCal Fights

Southern California will be busy with boxing cards this weekend.

This Thursday, March 6, is Golden Boy Promotions with a boxing card featuring Manny Flores (19-1, 15 KOs) versus Jorge Leyva (18-3, 13 KOs) in a super bantamweight match at Fantasy Springs Casino. DAZN will stream the boxing card from Indio, California.

On Saturday, March 8, the Fox Theater in Pomona, California hosts a boxing card featuring super middleweights Ruben Cazales (10-0) vs Adam Diu Abdulhamid (18-16). Also, super featherweights Michael Bracamontes (10-2-1) meets Eugene Lagos (16-9-3) at the historic venue promoted by House of Pain Boxing.

On Saturday March 8, Elite Boxing hosts a boxing card at Salesian High in East Los Angeles featuring East L.A. native Merari Vivar (8-0) against Sarah Click (2-8-1) and several other fights.

On Saturday, March 8, an event hosted by House of Champions features top contenders Joet Gonzalez (26-4) vs Arnold Khegai (22-1-1) in a featherweight main event at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, Calif.

A Big All-Female Card in London

On Friday, March 7, the historic Royal Albert Hall in the Kensington borough of London will host an all-female card with two world title fights including a unification fight in the welterweight division.

Natasha Jonas (16-2-1) and Lauren Price (8-0) meet 10 rounds for the IBF, WBC, and WBA belts.

Jonas, 40, the current WBC and IBF titlist, recently defeated Ivana Habazin and before that edged past Mikaela Mayer in a win that could have gone the other way very easily. She will be facing Price, an Olympic gold medalist and current WBA and IBO titlist.

Price, 30, hails from Wales and has an aggressive pressure style that saw her win a battle between punchers with a third-round knockout of Colombia’s Bexcy Mateus this past December in Liverpool. Before that she defeated the always tough Jessica McCaskill.

In the co-main event, lightweights Caroline Dubois (10-0-1) and Bo Mi Re Shin (18-2-3) meet for the WBC world title.

Me Re Shin, 30, fights out of South Korea and has knockout power. She was one of only two fighters to stop Venezuela’s Ana Maria Lozano who has 38 pro fights. That says something. She lost a split decision to Delfine Persoon in Belgium. That really says something.

Dubois had two competitive fights, first, against Jessica Camara that ended in a technical draw due to a clash of heads. Before that she defeated Maira Moneo. Dubois has very good talent and is still young at 24. Is she ready for Mi Re Shin?

Times Square photo credit: JP Yim

Fights to watch:

Thurs., March 6: DAZN, Manny Flores (19-1) vs. Jorge Leyva (18-3)

Fri., March 7: free on DAZN, Lucas Bahdi (18-0) vs. Ryan James Racaza (15-0)

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