Avila’s L.A. to Las Vegas Journal

Published

10 years ago

March 11, 2015

With the summer-like weather heating up the southwest region come the mega fights all in a row.

The southern California freeways were not crowded bumper to bumper like normal on Friday afternoon as I headed to downtown L.A. I covered the 65-mile drive in less than 90 minutes. The weather was about 88 degrees.

Golden Boy Promotions was staging its first boxing card at the Belasco Theater for the debut of the L.A. Fight Night series. The monthly series will be on Thursdays, but on this occasion Friday night was the opening salvo. JoJo Diaz was the main event.

A long line of people snaked around the building that is regularly a spot for salsa and bachata dancing. On this night there were no dancers. The fans were eagerly waiting to get inside though it was an hour before the doors were opening. I looked for parking. One parking lot had a sign for $5 dollar parking. It was a ruse to get you there. Parking was actually $10. I hate liars. I left and looked somewhere else. It’s the principle.

After spending 20 minutes looking for a better parking spot, I walked a few city blocks to the fight event. It was next door to the Mayan Theater that used to be the hot spot for L.A. back in the 90s. The first person I met at the doors was Rachel Charles, the pretty British native who does public relations for Julian “El Camaron” Ramirez and middleweight Jason Quigley of Ireland among others.

After an intense shake down and inspection by security for weapons, I had my chewing gum taken away. That was a first. There were three lines of security I had to pass through. But it went quick. Golden Boy Promotions has a whole new crew doing media and operations, except for Monica Sears. She’s still running things.

People were packed in the 20s art deco style theater, including on the balcony. On one side of the boxing ring sat Oscar De La Hoya, actor Mario Lopez and several others. On the other side of the ring sat the radiant Alysha Del Valle, ABC’s traffic advisor. She was one of the star attractions at the event and was constantly surrounded by fan requests for photos. I don’t blame them.

The Belasco Theater is located on the back street of the old Herald-Examiner newspaper that closed its doors in 1989 when Hearst Newspapers shut it down to defy the union newspaper. What kind of person shuts down a newspaper to spite a union?

About a half mile south is where the old Olympic Auditorium is located. That was a palace of prizefighting that was sold in 2005 to a Korean church group. What kind of person sells an old fight palace to a religious congregation?

Boxing took a heavy loss when they closed down the doors to the Olympic where Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Art Aragon and Manuel Ortiz all gave their heart and soul in spectacular fights back in the day.

The fights on this Golden Boy card were well matched. There were no predictable endings as seen on some other fight cards. Every bout was a struggle with undefeated guys getting upset by their opponents, until the main event. Star attraction Jojo Diaz completely dominated Mexico’s Juan Luis Hernandez with body shots. Diaz was digging into that guy’s body and was merciless. That was the first time in my opinion that Diaz looked like a prizefighter and not an amateur boxer. The bout following the main event was Ireland’s Quigley facing Louisiana’s Lanny Dardar. It was no contest. Quigley was too strong, too fast and too good for Dardar, who was simply over-matched. Quigley looked pretty good. His guard seemed a little open and wide but sometimes it works. The crowd seemed pleased with his work. Ireland may have another middleweight contender.

After the fight card the crowd was allowed to remain and partake in the party afterward. I had to leave and get ready for my trip to Nevada. On the way out I stopped along with my photographer and pal Al Applerose to grab a sidewalk hotdog. It was messy but hit the spot.

Las Vegas

Applerose was supposed to pick both me and writer Katherine Rodriguez up at 8 a.m. It didn’t happen. When we finally departed from my house it was nearly 10 a.m. Traffic wasn’t too bad considering it was NASCAR week in Las Vegas. We made it to Vegas around 1:30 p.m.

At the MGM Grand we picked up our press credentials and ran into Chuck Giampa, the former boxing judge now working for Ring Magazine. Inside the media room we saw p.r. great John Beyrooty. He’s been around boxing since his days at the L.A. Herald-Examiner. I’ve known him since 1990 or as long as Katherine Rodriguez has been alive. She smiled at the comparison.

Premier Boxing Champions was making its first large boxing show and it was early, and there were very few journalists in the media room.

We decided to get lunch and right outside the media room we ran into referees Kenny Bayless and Tony Weeks. We said hello and visited the hotel check-in area where a display of Floyd Mayweather’s belts and robes are showcased. We ran into Norman Horton, the former p.r. rep for Sugar Shane Mosley back in the day. We shared some stories, then moved on.

The fights were about to begin so we walked into the arena. Inside we ran into our Russian colleagues Anna Dragost and Igor Frank. Both are great people and love boxing more than me. It’s something that most people don’t know about Russians: they love boxing. Anna asked to take a photo with me so we did.

Once I took my seat I spotted Laila Ali and waved to her, and she waved back. When she was fighting I often wrote about her fights. Female boxers seldom get ink. Even Laila Ali did not get the ink she deserved. She was at the PBC event as a journalist for NBC. Also working was BJ Flores. He can fight and he’s pretty good with the mike too.

Seeing Sugar Ray Leonard do the analysis was good to see. He’s a legend who’s kind of unknown to this new generation who were born in the late 80s and 90s. They never saw Leonard in action live.

The staging set up in the MGM Grand Garden Arena was quite impressive. It reminded me of concert setting, only this time the only music would be the sound of punches.

First up on the televised portion was Adrien “The Problem” Broner facing hard-charging John Molina. It proved to be kind of a dud.

Broner doesn’t know that he’s not in the amateurs any longer. He ran around the ring most of the 12 rounds and engaged Molina occasionally. In prizefighting you have to fight, not run. Pro boxing is all about entertaining. It’s not just about winning. Acting crazy and clowning in the ring won’t be enough to capture millions of old and new fans. They want to see action. Yes, he won, but so what?

Keith “One Time” Thurman and Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero came out thumping. The crowd was electrified by their exchanges and ability to evade destruction. For 10 rounds it was a classic fight. Then Thurman decided to get on the bicycle. I was thoroughly disappointed by that maneuver. Thurman has a reputation of being a big hitter. How many times did Mike Tyson ever run? None. Running is for the hunted, not for the hunter. It was a big mistake and one I hope he never does again. Thurman has talent.

The referees were also 50/50. Robert Byrd did a horrible job allowing Broner to get away with hitting during the breaks, yet warning Molina for lowering his head. It was one-sided refereeing and seemed biased from the opening bell. All of America saw it on NBC. Don’t take my word for it.

Kenny Bayless did a superb job of allowing the fight to be a fight. This time he did not stop the infighting when Guerrero decided to fight up close. It was Bayless at his best. Yes, head butts come from infighting but, they happen. It’s fighting.

My favorite fight of the night was when heavyweight prospect Dominic Breazeale was knocked down by Victor Bisbal in first round from a left hook during an exchange. The big guy got up composed and fought on for the rest of the round. It took Breazeale another round to figure out Bisbal, who won the second round too. But in the third, Breazeale zeroed in on Bisbal and zipped a left hook and right cross that wobbled Bisbal. You could see Breazeale’s eyes kind of light up as he calmly stalked Bisbal and dropped him with a series of blows. Bisbal made it to the fourth round but was turned around with left hooks and finally a left uppercut. The referee jumped in and stopped the fight at 1:28. It was an impressive comeback for Breazeale, who showed he can rally when necessary.

After the fights some of the journalists talked about the differences on the PBC fights and others, plus the lack of ring girls. Overall, it was a good showing, especially when 10,000 show up when they could be watching it free at home on NBC.

The 300-mile ride home was filled with boxing talk and other things between Al, Kat and me. What’s next?

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 310: Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue and More

Published

4 hours ago

January 23, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-310-Japanese-Superstar-Naoya-Inoue-and-More

Many proclaim super bantamweight world champ Naoya Inoue to be the best fighter in the world today. It’s a serious debate among boxing pundits.

Is he Japan’s best fighter ever?

Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) takes another step toward immortality when he meets Korea’s Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) on Friday Jan. 24, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank and Ohashi Promotions card.

Inoue defends the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO world titles.

This is Inoue’s third defense of the undisputed super bantamweight division that he won when he defeated Philippines’ Marlon Tapales in December 2023.

Japan has always been a fighting nation, a country derived from a warrior culture like Mexico, England, Russia, Germany and a few others. Professional boxing has always thrived in Japan.

My first encounter with Japanese fighters took place in March 1968 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. It was my first visit to the famous boxing venue though my father had performed there during the 1950s. I was too young to attend any of his fights and then he retired.

The main event featured featherweights Jose Pimentel of Mexico against Sho Saijo of Japan. Both had fought a month earlier with the Mexican from Jalisco winning by split decision.

Pimentel was a friend of my female cousin and gave my father tickets to the fight. My family loved boxing as most Latino families worldwide do, including those in the USA. It’s a fact that most sports editors for newspapers and magazines fail to realize. Latinos love boxing.

We arrived late at the boxing venue located on Grand Avenue and 18th street. My father was in construction and needed to pick me up in East L.A. near Garfield High School. Fights we already underway when we arrived at the Olympic Auditorium.

It was a packed arena and our seats were fairly close to the boxing ring. As the fighters were introduced and descended to the boxing ring, respectful applause greeted Saijo. He had nearly defeated Pimentel in their first clash a month earlier in this same venue. Los Angeles fans respect warriors. Saijo was a warrior.

Both fighters fought aggressively with skill. Every round it seemed Saijo got stronger and Pimentel got weaker. After 10 strong rounds of back-and-forth action, this time Saijo was declared the winner. Some fans booed but most agreed that the Japanese fighter was stronger on this day. And he was stronger still when they met a third time in 1969 when Saijo knocked out Pimentel in the second round for the featherweight world title.

That was my first time witnessing Japan versus Mexico. Over the decades, I’ve seen many clashes between these same two countries and always expect riveting battles from Japanese fighters.

I was in the audience in Cancun, Mexico when then WBC super featherweight titlist Takashi Miura clashed with Sergio Thompson for 12 rounds in intense heat in a covered bull ring. After that fight that saw three knockdowns between them, the champion, though victorious, was taken out in a stretcher due to dehydration.

There are so many others going back to Fighting Harada in the 1960s that won championships. And what about all the other Japanese fighters who never got the opportunity to fight for a world title due to the distance from America and Europe?

Its impossible to determine if Inoue is the greatest Japanese fighter ever. But without a doubt, he is the most famous. Publications worldwide include him on lists of the top three fighters Pound for Pound.

Few experts are familiar with Korea’s Kim, but expect a battle nonetheless. These two countries are rivals in Asian boxing.

Golden Boy at Commerce Casino

Middleweights Eric Priest and Tyler Howard lead a Golden Boy Promotions fight card on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif. DAZN will stream the boxing card.

All ticket money will go to the Los Angele Fire Department Foundation.

Kansas-based Priest (14-0, 8 KOs) meets Tennessee’s Tyler Howard (20-2, 11 KOs) in the main event in a match set for 10 rounds.

Others on the card are super welterweights Jordan Panthen (10-0) and Grant Flores (7-0) in separate bouts and super lightweight Cayden Griffith seeking a third consecutive win. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Diego Pacheco at Las Vegas

Super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) defends his regional titles against Steve Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) at the Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 25. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

It’s not an easy fight for Pacheco.

“I’ve been fighting for six years as a professional and I’m 22-0 and I’m 23 years old. I feel I’m stepping into my prime now,” said Pacheco, who trains with Jose Benavidez.

Also on the card is Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz and Southern California’s dangerous super lightweight contender Ernesto Mercado in separate fights.

Fights to Watch (All times Pacific Time)

Thurs. DAZN 6 p.m. Eric Priest (14-0) vs Tyler Howard (20-2).

Fri. ESPN+ 1:15 a.m. Naoya Inoue (28-0) vs Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2).

Sat. DAZN 9:15 a.m. Dalton Smith (16-0) vs Walid Ouizza (19-2); Ellie Scotney (9-0) vs Mea Motu (20-0).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Diego Pacheco (22-0) vs Steve Nelson (20-0).

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

4 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

6 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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