McCarson’s Match For Charity Report; HE LIVES!

Published

9 years ago

December 5, 2014

He did it. He sparred a top tier pro, and lives to tell the tale. Tell us, Kelsey McCarson, what was it like being in there with Jermell Charlo, in a scrap set up to raise money for the family of a kid battling cancer?

McCarson: “Let me tell you: this is what it’s like to fight me,” Jermell Charlo told my wife before the bout started, ‘You think I’m right here, but really I’m back here. You want to punch me here, but really I’m over there.’

“I didn’t hear any of him say it,” McCarson said a bit after the session ended. “I was busy getting my headgear on my head over on the other side of the room. But I’d give the same summations of thing afterward. Because I couldn’t lay a hand on Charlo.

“We sparred for four rounds. Each round was a minute. I’m not sure why Danny Arnold and Ronnie Shields changed it right before the bout started. We originally planned for three three-minute rounds. But since each minute in the ring felt like forever, and since Charlo seemed to be going out of his way not to destroy me, I think probably it was best.

“Charlo was more than elusive,” the fighting writer continued. “He’d appear to be right in front of me, but I’d throw punches at him and just catch air. He’d pop me here and there as I went flailing about. But he was taking it easy on me. After all, he had “real sparring” scheduled for immediately after.

“But I tried. I listened to my corner tell me things. Arnold told me to slow down and stop rushing toward him. So I tried that. My friend William Fuller told me to go to the body. I tried that, too. My wife told me between rounds to throw the uppercut. I didn’t come close to hitting him with it.

“I used my jab. I tried this and that. Nothing worked. I knew it wouldn’t before the fight started. But I still thought maybe it would somehow anyway after the fight began.

“That’s a hard thing to explain, but I think you know what I mean.

“All in all, it was a great experience. We raised lots of money for a great kid, and I got to see just how great these elite boxers are at what they do.”

Bravo, my friend. You rock.

————————————————————————————————————————–

Better man than I, is Kelsey McCarson. I mean, based on what he’s doing on Saturday, putting his body, his brain, his pride on the line in a charitable endeavor, the dude deserves mad props.

You’ve heard about this, right? About how this slightly overfed sportswriter–and I can say that, I’m of the same ilk–has been training his tush off so pro ace Jermell Charlo can kick that tush around for three rounds, for a good cause.

The fight is being held to gain attention for and raise money for a little boy who has himself proven even a mite tougher than Kelsey; little Corbin Glasscock, who is dealing with bone cancer, handles with his chemo routine like a Hall of Famer….But in this nation, a severe illness can render a family on the ropes financially, and sometimes the community has to step up, and fill the gap. That’s what my man McCarson is doing, and so far, over $6,000 has been raised to go to the Glasscock family.

I hereby respectfully challenge some of my more well heeled friends–YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, I am not naming names—to get out that check book, and scribble a couple zeros on a donation to Corbin.

C’mon, folks…this is selfless task by McCarson and I’d love for us to move the needle in a most meaningful fashion, monetarily!

Here is a Q n A I did with my favorite Texas Republican, “Krusher” Kelsey McCarson!

Woods: Fight night almost here. You pooping bricks yet?

McCarson: It’s hard to explain. I’m not worried or nervous yet. I’m sure I will have butterflies that morning, but I feel that way over lots of things. I know what boxing is, so I’m not worried about the outcome of the fight. I am prepared for anything that can happen to me in the ring. I’ve had many struggles in my life (I’ve written about some of them at TSS), and I am certain I’ve been in more dangerous situations than the ring before. It’s actually really exciting. How many people get to do something like this? And for a six-year-old with bone cancer? I will say that as the fight approaches I’ve become more and more aware of just how difficult landing any kind of punch on Charlo will be. He’s really exceptional defensively and I am a damn novice. I’m doomed! Also, I watched some film of him against two southpaws a bit recently but found it just discouraged me more than anything. So I quit doing that!

Do you think he will throw a punch at full velocity at you? Do u want him to?

I’m assuming he’ll throw punches at me like he does other sparring partners. So they’ll be painful, but I’ve not seen anyone really throw punches sparring the way they do on fight night. So I’m not sure. I’ve told Jermell numerous times that he’ll have to take care of business when the bell rings because he will never hear the end of it if he doesn’t. Now, he probably won’t run out to eradicate me in just a few seconds. He knows it’s a charity fight. So I’m sure he’ll move and do things here or there to show how much better he is at boxing than me. But I’m throwing mine at him for sure.

Do you have a nightmare of being dropped and stopped? Or cutting him and messing up his schedule?

I’d gladly get knocked out cold if it raises more money for Corbin. I don’t care about that. It doesn’t bother me in the least. I just don’t want to embarrass myself. The boxing ring has a way of bringing out the truth in people. I don’t believe I am a coward or a quitter, but I’m anxious to find out if I’m right. I’d be embarrassed to find out that I’m wrong, but if it raises more money for Corbin, I suppose I’m okay with that, too. On a side note, there have been cases in my life where I did act cowardly. And even more cases where I quit. Honestly, the latter is the thing that keeps me up at night. There were times and places I quit when I shouldn’t have. I didn’t just quit on myself in these cases, but I quit on other people! Some of my biggest regrets in life are around quitting on other people. I haven’t done that in a long time. But some things you carry with you the rest of your life. I’ll carry that in the ring with me, but I hope I can leave it there when the final bell rings. If not, I’ll carry it with me the rest of my life. But maybe it makes me a better person. I don’t know.

As far as cutting him or something, I’m not sure that’s something sparring partners should really worry about. Jermell spars three times a week or so. I’m sure I’ll land nary a punch! I’ll do my best, of course.

Do you stay in contact with the boy? Will the boy watch?

I talk to his mom on Facebook a few times a week, and I keep up with Corbin’s life through her and others who share his story. He’s quite admirable. Corbin is facing something tougher than anything I’ve had to deal with in my life and he’s only six years old! Yet Corbin is brave. Corbin is not a quitter. I used to have a glove signed by Erik Morales. I kept it near my desk at home. I’d look at it whenever I needed inspiration or something. That may seem corny, but it’s true. But Morales was a warrior. He was a real fighter. But I sent it to Corbin awhile back and told him I didn’t need it anymore because now I could just think of Corbin when I need inspiration. Because Corbin is a warrior. He’s a real fighter, too.

The family does hope to attend the fight. I didn’t expect that, but I suppose I maybe should have. It’s a fairly cool thing to have done on your behalf. I suppose I never considered that. I am sort of single-minded when it comes to things. I came up with the sparring idea because I figured it would garner the most attention so we could raise the most money possible. I hope they can be there to see it. Corbin has gone through a couple weeks of chemotherapy so they might not be able to come if he doesn’t feel well enough. Regardless, he’ll be in our hearts when Jermell and I fight on Saturday. Jermell talks about Corbin inspiring him, too. The kid has a way of doing that to people.

Will this or has it already changed you and how you cover the sport?

Absolutely. Boxing is the most difficult sport in the world. I knew that already, but I have experienced that now. And I have a deeper respect for fighters and what they put themselves through year-round. My body hurts everyday like never before, but so do all the other fighters up there at Plex. They live in pain everyday, and they work their butts off to be the best they can be. There is something amazingly wonderful in that. They are single-minded in their approach. They exercise for function not form. They live prioritized lives and give themselves entirely to their vocation. We could all learn from that. I know I have.

GO HERE TO DONATE http://www.gofundme.com/TeamCorbin

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Michael Woods

Boxing Odds and Ends: A Farewell to Bob Sheridan, Canelo-Charlo Notes and More

Published

2 hours ago

September 28, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Boxing-Odds-and-Ends-A-Farewell-to-Bob-Sheridan-Canelo-Charlo-Notes-and-More

Boxing broadcaster Bob Sheridan passed away at his home in Henderson, Nevada on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Sheridan was 79 years old.

As noted by Ron Borges in a 1999 story for the Boston Globe, “Colonel Bob” (an honorary title) called “more fights in more places watched by more people than anyone else in history.” All told, he was the blow-by-blow announcer for more than 10,000 fights, a number that included more than a hundred heavyweight title fights. The irony is that he was more well-known in places like Australia than in the United States. This was because when boxing switched from closed-circuit to pay-per-view, Sheridan didn’t make the transition, except for those tuning in overseas. During his long association with Don King, he was the anchor of the international feed.

Born in Boston to Irish immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as toddlers, Sheridan grew up in nearby Lexington, Massachusetts. He attended the University of Miami on a baseball scholarship and cut his teeth as a boxing broadcaster covering Chris Dundee’s Miami Beach club fights on WGBS radio.

Sheridan’s first heavyweight title fight was the 1968 match in Oakland between Jerry Quarry and Jimmy Ellis for the vacant WBA belt (Ellis won a narrow 15-round decision). He would subsequently sit ringside for some of the sport’s most legendary fights, including the “Rumble in the Jungle” (Ali-Foreman), the “Thrilla in Manila,” (Ali-Frazier III), and Tyson-Holyfield II, the infamous “bite fight.”

During his early days on closed-circuit telecasts, Sheridan was often forced to take on a celebrity as his color commentator. For Ali’s fight with Chuck Wepner, it was Pearl Bailey. For the “Rumble in the Jungle,” it was British TV talk show personality David Frost. (Sheridan recalled that Frost was very professional, assuaging his qualms that he would be a train wreck.)

In an article for The Ring written seven years ago, New Jersey good guy Henry Hascup noted that it was a miracle that Sheridan was still alive considering his myriad health issues which included seven heart attacks and a quadruple bypass. He famously announced one fight with his cardiologist sitting next to him with a defibrillator just in case.

Colonel Bob was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016, the second announcer accorded this honor following the legendary Don Dunphy. May he rest in peace.

***Will Canelo-Charlo be a sellout?

The word on the street here in Las Vegas is that tickets to Saturday’s card at T-Mobile Arena headlined by the match between Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo are moving very slow. Without a strong walk-up sale or serious discounts, goes the scuttlebutt, the event has scant chance of being a sellout.

A common explanation for the sluggishness (assuming it is true) is the date on the calendar. The event arrives too soon after Mexican Independence Day Weekend. For many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, the mid-September holiday is an occasion to spend money, perhaps a mini-vacation to Las Vegas or flying out of town to visit friends and family. Money that otherwise would have been spent to see Canelo Alvarez in action had already been spent, or so it is theorized.

At Stub Hub, last we checked, prices for a single ticket ranged from $282 to $31,850.

The four-fight SHOWTIME pay-per-view, which includes a delicious match between super welterweights Jesus Ramos and Erickson Lubin, carries a list price of $84.99. It airs at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

***A new phenom?

We sat mesmerized at the Mayweather Boxing Club a few days ago watching a boxing trainer work the pads with Curmel Moton who makes his pro debut in a 6-round featherweight fight on the Canelo-Charlo undercard. One did not need a trained eye to see that Moton is very advanced for his age.

Moton, a protégé of Floyd Mayweather Jr, is 17 years old and looks 15. As an amateur, he lost his first and last fights, but was 48-0 in-between.

Curmell Moton and Tank Davis

In a conversation with Fight Hype, Mayweather said that Moton would be a good match for Leigh Wood right now. Wood is the reigning WBA featherweight champion.

Mayweather uses hyperbole very sparingly. The last neophyte over whom he gushed as effusively was Gervonta “Tank” Davis. History would show that Floyd wasn’t blowing smoke.

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

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2023

IB of P

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

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

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

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

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

105lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Thammanoon Niyomtrong (Knockout CP Freshmart) (Thailand)

2 Panya Pradabsri (Petchmanee CP Freshmart) (Thailand)

3 Oscar Collazo (USA)

4 Ginjiro Shigeoka (Japan)

5 Daniel Valladares (Mexico)

6 Yudai Shigeoka (Japan)

7 Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines)

8 Masataka Taniguchi (Japan)

9 Rene Mark Cuarto (Philippines)

10 Yudai Shigeoka (Philippines)

108lbs

♛ Kenshiro Teraji (Japan)

1 Jonathan Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)

2 Masamichi Yabuki (Japan)

3 Sivenathi Nontshinga (South Africa)

4 Elwin Soto (Mexico)*

5 Regie Suganob (Philippines)*

6 Shokichi Iwata (Japan)*

7 Hekkie Budler (South Africa)*

8 Carlos Canizales (Venezuela)

9 Daniel Matellon (Panama)

10 Miel Fajardo (Philippines)

112lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Sunny Edwards (England)

2 Artem Dalakian (Ukraine)

3 Julio Cesar Martinez (Mexico)

4 Angel Ayala Lardizabal (Mexico)

5 David Jimenez (Costa Rica)

6 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)

7 Ricardo Sandoval (USA)

8 Felix Alvarado (Nicaragua)

9 Seigo Yuri Akui (Japan)

10 Taku Kuwahara (Japan)

115lbs

♛ Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico)

1 Roman Gonzalez (Nicaragua)

2 Kazuto Ioka (Japan)

3 Fernando Martinez (Argentina)

4 Junto Nakatani (Japan)

5 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Thailand)

6 Kosei Tanaka (Japan)

7 Andrew Moloney (Australia)

8 Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (Mexico)

9 Pedro Guevara (Mexico)

10 Donnie Nietes (Philippines)

118lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Emmanuel Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)

2 Alexandro Santiago (Mexico)

3 Jason Moloney (Australia)

4 Vincent Astrolabio (Philippines)

5 Gary Antonio Russell (USA)

6 Takuma Inoue (Japan)

7 Nonito Donaire (Philippines)

8 Ryosuke Nishida (Japan)

9 Keita Kurihara (Japan)

10 Paul Butler (England)

122lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Naoya Inoue (Japan)

2 Marlon Tapales (Philippines)

3 Stephen Fulton (USA)

4 Luis Nery (Mexico)

5 Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan)

6 Sam Goodman (Australia)

7 Azat Hovhannisyan (Armenia)

8 Kevin Gonzalez (Mexico)

9 Ra’eese Aleem (USA)

10 Liam Davies (England)

126lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Luis Alberto Lopez (Mexico)

2 Leigh Wood (England)

3 Brandon Figueroa (USA)

4 Rey Vargas (Mexico)

5 Mauricio Lara (Mexico)

6 Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba)

7 Mark Magsayo (Philippines)

8 Josh Warrington (England)

9 Reiya Abe (Japan)

10 Otabek Kholmatov (Uzbekistan)

130lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Emanuel Navarrete (Mexico)

2 Joe Cordina (Wales)

3 Hector Garcia (Dominican Republic)

4 O’Shaquie Foster (USA)

5 Oscar Valdez (Mexico)

6 Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (Tajikistan)

7 Otar Eranosyan (Georgia)

8 Lamont Roach (USA)

9 Eduardo Ramirez (Mexico)

10 Kenichi Ogawa (Japan)

135lbs

♛ Devin Haney (USA)

1 Gervonta Davis (USA)

2 Vasily Lomachenko (Ukraine)

3 Isaac Cruz (Mexico)

4 William Zepeda Segura (Mexico)

5 Frank Martin (USA)

6 Shakur Stevenson (USA)

7 Maxi Hughes (England)

8 George Kambosos Jr (Australia)

9 Keyshawn Davis (USA)

10 Raymond Muratalla (USA)

140lbs

♛ Teofimo Lopez (USA)

1 Regis Prograis (USA)

2 Jose Ramirez (USA)

3 Jack Catterall (England)*

4 Subriel Matias (Puerto Rico)*

5 Arnold Barboza Jr. (USA)*

6 Gary Antuanne Russell (USA)*

7 Richardson Hitchins (USA)*

8 Jose Zepeda (USA)*

9 Zhankosh Turarov (Kazakhstan*)

10 Elvis Rodriguez (Dominican Republic)*

147lbs

♛ Terence Crawford (USA)

1 Errol Spence (USA)

2 Jaron Ennis (USA)

3 David Avanesyan (Russia)

4 Cody Crowley (Canada)

5 Alexis Rocha (USA)

6 Rashidi Ellis (USA)

7 Souleymane Cissokho (Senegal)

8 Roiman Villa (Venezuela)

9 Egidijus Kavaliauskas (Lithuania)

10 Shakhram Giyasov (Uzbekistan)

154lbs

♛ Jermell Charlo (USA)

1 Tim Tszyu (Australia)

2 Brian Mendoza (USA)

3 Jesus Alejandro Ramos (USA)

4 Sebastian Fundora (USA)

5 Erickson Lubin (USA)

6 Michel Soro (Ivory Coast)

7 Magomed Kurbanov (Russia)

8 Tony Harrison (USA)

9 Israil Madrimov (Uzbekistan)

10 Bakhram Murtazaliev (Russia)

160lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan)

2 Carlos Adames (Dominican Republic)

3 Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (Kazakhstan)

4 Chris Eubank Jr. (England)

5 Liam Smith (England)

6 Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Ukraine)*

7 Vincenzo Gualtieri (Germany)

8 Felix Cash (England)

9 Michael Zerafa (Australia)

10 Esquiva Falcao (Brazil)

168lbs

♛ Canelo Alvarez (Mexico)

1 David Benavidez (USA)

2 Caleb Plant (USA)

3 Christian Mbilli (France)

4 David Morrell (Cuba)

5 John Ryder (England)

6 Pavel Silyagin (Russia)

7 Vladimir Shishkin (Russia)

8 Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)

9 Jaime Munguia (Mexico)

10 Demetrius Andrade (USA)

175lbs

♛ Artur Beterbiev (Canada)

1 Dmitry Bivol (Russia)

2 Joshua Buatsi (England)

3 Callum Smith (England)

4 Joe Smith Jr. (USA)

5 Gilberto Ramirez (Mexico)

6 Anthony Yarde (England)

7 Dan Azeez (England)

8 Ali Izmailov (Russia)

9 Michael Eifert (Germany)

10 Igor Mikhalkin (Germany)

200lbs

♛ Jai Opetaia (Australia)

1 Mairis Breidis (Latvia)

2 Chris Billam-Smith (England)

3 Richard Riakporhe (England)

4 Aleksei Papin (Russia)

5 Badou Jack (Sweden)

6 Arsen Goulamirian (France)

7 Lawrence Okolie (England)

8 Yuniel Dorticos (Cuba)

9 Mateusz Masternak (Poland)

10 Ilunga Makabu (So. Africa)

Unlimited

♛ Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)

1 Tyson Fury (England)

2 Zhilei Zhang (China)

3 Deontay Wilder (USA)

4 Anthony Joshua (England)

5 Filip Hrgovic (Croatia)

6 Arslanbek Makhmudov (Russia)*

7 Frank Sanchez (Cuba)*

8 Daniel Dubois (England)*

9 Dillian White (England)*

10 Derek Chisora (Zimbabwe)*

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

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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

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

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

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

Since those fights, both have been treading water.

Gassiev

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

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

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

Wallin

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

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

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

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

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