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COMMISSIONER’S CORNER: The Big “E”—It Just Can’t Be Taught

Last year at this time, Chris Algieri was 18-0 and had just been given word that, on Valentine’s Day, around 11 weeks away, he’d be facing 17-1 Emmanuel Taylor in a scheduled 10-round bout to be shown on the NBC Sports Network. Taylor represented the toughest challenge to date Algieri had faced in his previous 18 fights, stretching back six years.
Algieri had come off an impressive stoppage of 14-12 Wilfredo Acuna back in September, as well as unanimous 10-round decisions against 10-1 Jose Alejo and 24-8-2 Mike Arnaoutis earlier in the year.
As soon as Star Boxing’s President, Joe DeGuardia and Matchmaker Ron Katz notified Algieri of the match, Algieri accepted. The fight would take place in the Paramount, a multipurpose nightclub in Algieri’s hometown of Huntington, New York. The Paramount is an old theatre, which promoters rent for the use of putting on plays, concerts, children’s events and boxing. For boxing, it can be configured to seat around 1,200. The Paramount closely resembles Philadelphia’s now gone Blue Horizon, which, for decades, played host to most of Philadelphia’s vast array of boxing talent, including Bennie Briscoe, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, Tyrone Everett, Jeff Chandler, Johnny Carter, Eugene “Cyclone” Hart and Stanley “Kitten Hayward.
Through the holiday season and into 2014, Algieri worked out with his two hard-driving and dedicated trainers, Long Island’s Keith Trimble and former Long Islander-by-way-of-Virginia and now Las Vegas resident Tim Lane.
Lane is a former ISKA (Kickboxing) champion. He left competitive kickboxing and moved into boxing in 1996. He won three of his five pro fights between 1996-1998, being trained and managed by former world heavyweight kickboxing champ Derek Panza. Lane was a much more proficient fighter when he was using his legs.
Keith Trimble runs a successful Martial Arts Gym, the Bellmore Kickboxing Academy, on Long Island, and is highly-respected in that field.
As a former kickboxer who did quite well in that field (Algieri was not undefeated as publicized in the pre-fight buildup), the triumvirate of Algieri, Lane and Trimble moved into the world of professional boxing as Algieri’s love of the sport grew and as his passion for kickboxing waned. Together, they were licensed. Together, they trained.
Day in and day out it was Algieri with Trimble. When fight time approached, Lane flew in from his home in Las Vegas, where he moved several years ago. Together, from mainly small venues in and around Long Island, Team Algieri racked up win after win.
He fought at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn…The Huntington Hilton Hotel…The Plattdeutsche Restaurant in Franklin Square, Long Island…The Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, Long Island….At Madison Square Garden on an undercard which featured Yuri Gamboa v Rogers Mtagwa and Juan Manuel Lopez v Steve Luevano in the co-featured fights…and he fought at the Paramount in Huntington. He fought eight main events there.
Only two years ago, he was fighting guys whose records were 10-5-1, 7-4-1 and 10-5. He stopped one of them and decisioned the two others. He was becoming more and more of a smooth boxer. His conditioning was increasing with every outing. But he wasn’t learning to punch even a drop harder. Either he wasn’t being taught by Trimble and Lane or he wasn’t learning.
While Algieri was fighting his 7-4-1 guys, Manny Pacquiao was fighting Timothy Bradley (twice). He was fighting Brandon Rios. He was fighting Juan Manuel Marquez. Though only 2-2 in those four fights, the experience Pacquiao was adding to his future Hall-of-Fame resume was invaluable. He won. He lost. He learned.
Algieri was building and padding his record, but he wasn’t learning. My SiriusXM co-host, Gerry Cooney, who knows more than a little about power-punching and throwing body punches and turning over a thunderous left hook and snapping out a ramrod left jab, would say to me, “Algieri is just not learning enough. I don’t know if it’s his trainers or what it is, but he should be learning to punch harder and move his head more. He needs more than what he is getting.”
My late, great guru—Hall-of-Fame trainer/announcer Gil Clancy—used to say, “Nothing beats experience. If you want to be a good dancer, you need to have a good dance partner, someone who really knows what they are doing. If you are trying to become a better tennis player and continually play against lesser opponents, you’ll never get any better. The same thing holds for boxing. The better the opponents are, the better you’ll be, especially if you have boxing talent to begin with.”
Well, that upgrade to a higher opposition level came against Emmanuel Taylor. Algieri rose to the occasion against Taylor, winning by sores of 98-92 and 97-93 (twice).
Then came the big jump. Algieri fought last June 14 at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. His opponent was ultra-tough Ruslan Provodnikov. The “Russian Rocky” dropped Algieri twice in the first round, although the second knockdown was Algieri taking a knee to assess the damage the first knockdown did to his rapidly-swelling right eye.
Rising from the knockdown, Algieri finished the first round in a place he had never been before—behind by three points on each of the scorecards. He turned on his impressive foot-speed from that moment, and, showing heart and courage nobody knew he had, went on to take a disputed split decision against Provodnikov.
Off that victory, Algieri was offered a fight against Pacquiao and came to financial terms which would earn him around $1.5 million. For this camp, Algieri had everything. He had paid sparring partners. He had training like never before. There were two-a-days. There were three-a-days. HBO cameras were in his face wherever he went. He became an instant celebrity on Long Island…and in New York City…and in Los Angeles. They even loved him halfway around the world in Macao, China.
The training progressed and Algieri got in phenomenal shape. He used state-of-the-art machines to train on. He had hot tubs and ice baths. He had massages and strength coaches. His every step was recorded and monitored. So was his breathing and his heart rate. The plan was to turn Algieri into a fighting machine. His punch output was charted to be at an astounding 100+ per round.
Then the fight began. Algieri couldn’t find a rhythm. Pacquiao could. The taller, rangier, longer-armed Algieri could barely lay a meaningful punch on Pacquiao. Not so the other way around.
How could that be? Algieri had everything going into this fight. Or so he thought.
His corner had convinced him he was in better shape than Pacquiao. Algieri was told he had done everything humanly possible to win this fight.
He was told, over and over, that he has everything that Pacquiao has, and more.
On paper, he did have youth over Pacquiao. He did have height, he did have reach and he did have speed over the Filipino legend. Yes, he may have even had conditioning.
Yet, in reality, Algieri did not have everything. He lacked the one thing that Pacquiao has in abundance, the one thing no trainer or coach or fitness guru can give or teach.
Chris Algieri did not have experience.
He received it the hard way on Saturday night.
Photo Credit: Chris Farina
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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.
Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.
More than 65,000 fans attended.
Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.
Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.
Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.
It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.
In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.
Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.
“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.
Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.
There were surprises from both fighters.
Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.
With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.
Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.
Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.
“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.
McKenna Wins
In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.
Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.
McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.
In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.
All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.
Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.
Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.
Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More

Next generation rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. carry on the family legacy of feudal warring in the prize ring on Saturday.
This is huge in British boxing.
Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) holds the fringe IBO middleweight title but won’t be defending it against the smaller welterweight Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday, April 26, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.
This is about family pride.
The parents of Eubank and Benn actually began the feud in the 1990s.
Papa Nigel Benn fought Papa Chris Eubank twice. Losing as a middleweight in November 1990 at Birmingham, England, then fighting to a draw as a super middleweight in October 1993 in Manchester. Both were world title fights.
Eubank was undefeated and won the WBO middleweight world title in 1990 against Nigel Benn by knockout. He defended it three times before moving up and winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in September 1991. He defended the super middleweight title 14 times before suffering his first pro defeat in March 1995 against Steve Collins.
Benn won the WBO middleweight title in April 1990 against Doug DeWitt and defended it once before losing to Eubank in November 1990. He moved up in weight and took the WBC super middleweight title from Mauro Galvano in Italy by technical knockout in October 1992. He defended the title nine times until losing in March 1996. His last fight was in November 1996, a loss to Steve Collins.
Animosity between the two families continues this weekend in the boxing ring.
Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, has fought mostly as a welterweight but lately has participated in the super welterweight division. He is several inches shorter in height than Eubank but has power and speed. Kind of a British version of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
“It’s always personal, every opponent I fight is personal. People want to say it’s strictly business, but it’s never business. If someone is trying to put their hands on me, trying to render me unconscious, it’s never business,” said Benn.
This fight was scheduled twice before and cut short twice due to failed PED tests by Benn. The weight limit agreed upon is 160 pounds.
Eubank, a natural middleweight, has exchanged taunts with Benn for years. He recently avenged a loss to Liam Smith with a knockout victory in September 2023.
“This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill. It’s about dedication. It’s about expertise and all those areas in which I excel in,” said Eubank. “I have many, many more years of experience over Conor Benn, and that will be the deciding factor of the night.”
Because this fight was postponed twice, the animosity between the two feuding fighters has increased the attention of their fans. Both fighters are anxious to flatten each other.
“He’s another opponent in my way trying to crush my dreams. trying to take food off my plate and trying to render me unconscious. That’s how I look at him,” said Benn.
Eubank smiles.
“Whether it’s boxing, whether it’s a gun fight. Defense, offense, foot movement, speed, power. I am the superior boxer in each of those departments and so many more – which is why I’m so confident,” he said.
Supporting Bout
Former world champion Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) tangles with Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) in a middleweight fight set for 12 rounds on the Benn-Eubank undercard in London.
“Beefy” Smith has long been known as one of the fighting Smith brothers and recently lost to Eubank a year and a half ago. It was only the second time in 38 bouts he had been stopped. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did it several years ago.
McKenna is a familiar name in Southern California. The Irish fighter fought numerous times on Golden Boy Promotion cards between 2017 and 2019 before returning to the United Kingdom and his assault on continuing the middleweight division. This is a big step for the tall Irish fighter.
It’s youth versus experience.
“I’ve been calling for big fights like this for the last two or three years, and it’s a fight I’m really excited for. I plan to make the most of it and make a statement win on Saturday night,” said McKenna, one of two fighting brothers.
Monster in L.A.
Japan’s super star Naoya “Monster” Inoue arrived in Los Angeles for last day workouts before his Las Vegas showdown against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday May 4, at T-Mobile Arena. ESPN will televise and stream the Top Rank card.
It’s been four years since the super bantamweight world champion performed in the US and during that time Naoya (29-0, 26 KOs) gathered world titles in different weight divisions. The Japanese slugger has also gained fame as perhaps the best fighter on the planet. Cardenas is 26-1 with 14 KOs.
Pomona Fights
Super featherweights Mathias Radcliffe (9-0-1) and Ezequiel Flores (6-4) lead a boxing card called “DMG Night of Champions” on Saturday April 26, at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Pomona, Calif.
Michaela Bracamontes (11-2-1) and Jesus Torres Beltran (8-4-1) will be fighting for a regional WBC super featherweight title. More than eight bouts are scheduled.
Doors open at 6 p.m. For ticket information go to: www.tix.com/dmgnightofchampions
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 9 a.m. Conor Benn (23-0) vs Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3); Liam Smith (33-4-1) vs Aaron McKenna (19-0).
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Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton

Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton
In any endeavor, the defining feature of a phenom is his youth. Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper was a phenom. He was on the radar screen of baseball’s most powerful player agents when he was 14 years old.
Curmel Moton, who turns 19 in June, is a phenom. Of all the young boxing stars out there, wrote James Slater in July of last year, “Curmel Moton is the one to get most excited about.”
Moton was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. His father Curtis Moton, a barber by trade, was a big boxing fan and specifically a big fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr. When Curmel was six, Curtis packed up his wife (Curmel’s stepmom) and his son and moved to Las Vegas. Curtis wanted his son to get involved in boxing and there was no better place to develop one’s latent talents than in Las Vegas where many of the sport’s top practitioners came to train.
Many father-son relationships have been ruined, or at least frayed, by a father’s unrealistic expectations for his son, but when it came to boxing, the boy was a natural and he felt right at home in the gym.
The gym the Motons patronized was the Mayweather Boxing Club. Curtis took his son there in hopes of catching the eye of the proprietor. “Floyd would occasionally drop by the gym and I was there so often that he came to recognize me,” says Curmel. What he fails to add is that the trainers there had Floyd’s ear. “This kid is special,” they told him.
It costs a great deal of money for a kid to travel around the country competing in a slew of amateur boxing tournaments. Only a few have the luxury of a sponsor. For the vast majority, fund raisers such as car washes keep the wheels greased.
Floyd Mayweather stepped in with the financial backing needed for the Motons to canvas the country in tournaments. As an amateur, Curmel was — take your pick — 156-7 or 144-6 or 61-3 (the latter figure from boxrec). Regardless, at virtually every tournament at which he appeared, Curmel Moton was the cock of the walk.
Before the pandemic, Floyd Mayweather Jr had a stable of boxers he promoted under the banner of “The Money Team.” In talking about his boxers, Floyd was understated with one glaring exception – Gervonta “Tank” Davis, now one of boxing’s top earners.
When Floyd took to praising Curmel Moton with the same effusive language, folks stood up and took notice.
Curmel made his pro debut on Sept. 30, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the undercard of the super middleweight title fight between Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo. After stopping his opponent in the opening round, he addressed a flock of reporters in the media room with Floyd standing at his side. “I felt ready,” he said, “I knew I had Floyd behind me. He believes in me. I had the utmost confidence going into the fight. And I went in there and did what I do.”
Floyd ventured the opinion that Curmel was already a better fighter than Leigh Wood, the reigning WBA world featherweight champion who would successfully defend his belt the following week.
Moton’s boxing style has been described as a blend of Floyd Mayweather and Tank Davis. “I grew up watching Floyd, so it’s natural I have some similarities to him,” says Curmel who sparred with Tank in late November of 2021 as Davis was preparing for his match with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz. Curmell says he did okay. He was then 15 years old and still in school; he dropped out as soon as he reached the age of 16.
Curmel is now 7-0 with six KOs, four coming in the opening round. He pitched an 8-round shutout the only time he was taken the distance. It’s not yet official, but he returns to the ring on May 31 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas where Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo are co-featured in matches conceived as tune-ups for a fall showdown. The fight card will reportedly be free for Amazon Prime Video subscribers.
Curmel’s presumptive opponent is Renny Viamonte, a 28-year-old Las Vegas-based Cuban with a 4-1-1 (2) record. It will be Curmel’s first professional fight with Kofi Jantuah the chief voice in his corner. A two-time world title challenger who began his career in his native Ghana, the 50-year-old Jantuah has worked almost exclusively with amateurs, a recent exception being Mikaela Mayer.
It would seem that the phenom needs a tougher opponent than Viamonte at this stage of his career. However, the match is intriguing in one regard. Viamonte is lanky. Listed at 5-foot-11, he will have a seven-inch height advantage.
Keeping his weight down has already been problematic for Moton. He tipped the scales at 128 ½ for his most recent fight. His May 31 bout, he says, will be contested at 135 and down the road it’s reasonable to think he will blossom into a welterweight. And with each bump up in weight, his short stature will theoretically be more of a handicap.
For fun, we asked Moton to name the top fighter on his pound-for-pound list. “[Oleksandr] Usyk is number one right now,” he said without hesitation,” great footwork, but guys like Canelo, Crawford, Inoue, and Bivol are right there.”
It’s notable that there isn’t a young gun on that list. Usyk is 38, a year older than Crawford; Inoue is the pup at age 32.
Moton anticipates that his name will appear on pound-for-pound lists within the next two or three years. True, history is replete with examples of phenoms who flamed out early, but we wouldn’t bet against it.
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