Featured Articles
Haymon Boxing on CBS
![](https://cdn.ib.tv/thesweetscience/images/Adonis-Stevenson-45.jpg)
The unveiling of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions continued on Saturday afternoon with a two-hour presentation on CBS.
Haymon has pursued ring hegemony so aggressively as of late that one half-expects to go online and read that he has signed Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano. On Saturday, boxing fans settled for Adonis Stevenson and Artur Bieterbiev.
Beterbiev is a two-time Olympian and 2009 World Amateur champion from Russia, who lives and fights out of Montreal. He turned pro in 2013, was placed on a fast track, and had compiled a 7-and-0 record with 7 knockouts. His opponent – 36-year-old Gabriel Campillo (25-6, 12 KOs, 3 KOs by) – had four wins in his last eight bouts and was regarded as a measuring stick for a potential star.
From the opening bell, Campillo had all the earmarks of a shot fighter (which is why he was chosen as Bieterbiev’s opponent). His balance was poor. His timing was off. His reflexes were slow. He offered virtually no resistance. Bieterbiev decked him in the opening minute of round one (the tenth time in Gabriel’s career that he’d been on the canvas) and ended matters convincingly at the 2:22 mark of round four (the eleventh time in Gabriel’s career that he’d been on the canvas).
Stevenson, age 37, came into ring with a 25-and-1 record and 21 knockouts. Two years ago, he made a splash with a first-round knockout of Chad Dawson to claim the WBC 175-pound crown. That looks less impressive now than it did then, given the fact that Dawson has 1 win, 3 losses, and 2 “KO’s by” over the past three years. Stevenson also looked good in stopping Tavoris Cloud in seven rounds. But Cloud is 0-and-3 over the same time period.
Sakio Bika (Stevenson’s opponent) entered the ring with 32-6-3 (21 KOs) record. Bika, who is winless since 2013, had never fought above 168 pounds, and has never beaten a world-class fighter. Worse, Sakio initially weighed in for the Stevenson fight eight-tenths of a pound over the 175-pound limit. Given the fact that he’d never fought above 168 pounds before, that suggested his training regimen had been less than diligent.
Stevenson-Bika was wasn’t much of a fight. Adonis dropped his opponent twice en route to a unanimous twelve round decision.
Some observations on the telecast . . .
The CBS commentating team consisted of Brent Stover, Kevin Harlan, Paulie Malignaggi, and Virgil Hunter.
Stover, who’s best known as a studio host for CBS Sports Network, was the host and also handled post-fight interviews. During the intro, he told viewers that Bika “is annoying to fight because he won’t go away quietly.” After Stevenson-Bika, Brent declared, “It was an absolutely epic fight” (which was an absolutely silly overstatement).
Harlan (a play-by-play veteran, who has been behind the microphone for NFL, NBA, and NCAA basketball telecasts) was a disappointment. During the fights, he offered a lot of stats and pre-scripted lines. But his blow-by-blow call was shaky, and he didn’t seem to understand the difference between orthodox and southpaw fighters (for example, telling the world “another shot with the left hook” when Stevenson landed straight lefts).
Eventually, Harlan was reduced to commentary like, “Oh! He got hit with a left!” After a while, that simply became “Oh!”
Malignaggi is a solid commentator, who has proven his value in the past.
Hunter was excellent. His insights were solid and he communicated them well, although he needed to be miked differently. That was part of a larger audio problem. The sound kept cutting in and out throughout the telecast.
As was the case with Haymon Boxing’s shows on NBC and Spike, the ring announcer was unseen and the ring ropes were black. The ring walk format was improved over previous telecasts. Bieterbiev and Campillo were already in the ring when first seen on camera. Stevenson and Bika were shown walking to the ring, but to music of their choosing rather than the ponderous Hans Zimmer score used on NBC and Spike.
Once again, there was no clown show in the ring, which was free of sanctioning-body officials and assorted hangers-on. That was a plus.
Stevenson and Bika both wore gold trunks in the main event, which can be confusing to viewers when a telecast changes camera angles.
Also, Stevenson was referred to as the light-heavyweight champion of the world throughout the telecast. That was a disservice to Sergey Kovalev. Worse; Deontay Wilder was referenced as the heavyweight champion, which was misleading at best given Wladimir Klitschko’s primacy in the heavyweight division.
The lack of paid advertising was a more troubling issue in terms of the overall landscape. In the New York market (where I watched the telecast), there was roughly two minutes (almost all of which was local) over the course of two hours. That was supplemented by twenty-two Premier Boxing Champions promotional spots and ten CBS promos. The PBC spots were repeated again and again to the point of being ineffective because of boredom.
After the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions telecasts on NBC and Spike, there was a lot of spin-doctoring by pro and anti-Haymon forces with regard to the ratings. The fact that virtually no advertisers were onboard for the CBS telecast is a sign that advertisers didn’t think the NBC and Spike ratings were particularly good.
Equally important, Al Haymon has a well-deserved reputation for putting his favored fighters in soft. To be entertaining over the long haul, boxing needs competitive fights.
Stevenson was a 12-to-1 betting favorite over Bika. Beterbiev was favored over Campillo by 25-to-1. The favorites are now 7-and-0 on Haymon’s NBC, Spike, and CBS telecasts. Could we have more competitive fights, please.
Also, for a boxing storyline to be compelling, it needs destination fights. Who are Stevenson and Bieterbiev fighting next?
The WBC has designated Sergey Kovalev as Stevenson’s mandatory challenger and decreed that, if agreement between the two camps can’t be reached by April 17, it will order a purse bid with a 50-50 split. The problem is that Kovalev is an HBO fighter while Stevenson is promoted by Yvon Michel and backed by Haymon.
Most likely, Haymon will support Michel in a way that allows Yvon to bid well above market value for Kovalev-Stevenson. That might be good for Sergey in that he’d make a lot of money. But it would mean that HBO, which has spent a lot of time and effort developing Kovalev as an attraction, would be left out in the cold.
Main Events has a longterm contract with Kovalev and would get a percentage of Sergey’s purse should Michel promote a Stevenson fight pursuant to a purse bid. But allowing Kovalev to take the fight under those circumstances could lead to the deterioration of Main Events’ relationship with HBO.
In other words, Kovalev-Stevenson might not happen, particularly since Adonis has avoided it in the past.
As for Bieterbiev; he looks like slightly younger version of Kovalev. Both are big punchers. Sergey is more experienced. And Artur still hasn’t fought a full four rounds in any fight. But there were questions about Kovalev’s stamina and ability to go rounds before he fought Bernard Hopkins.
Stevenson-Bieterbiev would be an entertaining fight. It would be a big step up for Artur. It might also be a step up for Adonis.
Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book – Thomas Hauser on Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press.
Featured Articles
Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More
![Avila-Perspective-Chap-289-East-L.A.-A-Fight-Town-Claressa-Shields-and-More](https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lina.png)
Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More
East Los Angeles has long been a haven for some of the best fighters around if you can keep them out of trouble. For every Oscar De La Hoya or Seniesa Estrada there are thousands derailed by crime, drugs or drinking.
Boxing has always been a favorite sport of East L.A. Every family has an uncle or two who boxes.
On Friday, 360 Promotions’ Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) fights Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1) in the main event at Commerce Casino, in Commerce, CA. UFC Fight Pass will stream the fight card.
The City of Commerce used to be part of East L.A. until 1960 when it incorporated. It’s still considered to be part of East Los Angeles, but informally.
Plenty of fighters come out of East L.A. but few make it all the way like De La Hoya and Estrada. Will Trinidad be the one?
The first world champion from East L.A. or “East Los” as some call it, was Solly Garcia Smith back in the late 1800s. Others were Richie Lemos, Art Frias and Joey Olivo. There is also 1984 Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzalez.
Once again 360 Promotions brings its popular brand of fights to the area. On this fight card includes two female bouts. One features Roxy Verduzco (1-0) the former amateur star fighting Colleen Davis (3-1-1) in a featherweight fight.
All that action takes place on Friday.
Elite Boxing
The next day, also in East L.A., Elite Boxing stages another boxing card at Salesian High School located at 960 S. Soto Street in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles.
Elite Boxing has promoted several successful boxing cards at the Catholic high school grounds. The area is saturated by many of the best eateries in Los Angeles. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourself and grab some of that delicious food.
Boxing has long been a favorite sport of anyone who lives in East L.A. It’s a fight town equal to Philadelphia, Brooklyn or Detroit. There’s something different about the area. For more than 100 years some of the best fighters continue to come out of its boxing gyms. Some will be performing on these club shows.
For tickets or information go to www.eliteboxingusa.com
Claressa Shields in Detroit
Speaking of fight towns, pound-for-pound best Claressa Shields who won two Olympic Gold Medals in boxing, moves up another weight division to tackle the WBC heavyweight world champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday, July 27, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
DAZN will stream the heavy-duty fight card.
Shields (14-0) cleaned out the super welterweight, middleweight and super middleweight divisions and now wants to add the big girls to her conquests. She will be facing Canada’s Lepage-Joanisse (7-1) who holds the WBC belt.
The last time Shields gloved up was more than a year ago when she fought Maricela Cornejo. Don’t blame Shields. She loves to fight. She loves to win. The last time Shields lost a fight was in the amateurs and that was three presidential administrations ago.
Shields doesn’t lose.
I wonder if Las Vegas even takes bets on her fights?
The only fight she may have been an underdog was against Savannah Marshall who was the last opponent to defeat her. And that was in 2012 in China. When they met as pros two years ago, Shields avenged her loss with a blistering attack.
Don’t get Shields mad.
Perhaps her toughest foe as a pro was in her pro debut when she clashed with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in Las Vegas. It was four rounds of fists and fury as the two pounded each other on the undercard of Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev in November 2016.
That was a ferocious debut for both female pugilists.
Assisting Shields on this fight card will be several intriguing male bouts. One guy you should pay special attention is Tito Mercado (15-0, 14 KOs) a super lightweight prospect from Pomona, California.
Many excellent fighters have come out of Pomona including Sugar Shane Mosley, Shane Mosley Jr., Alberto Davila and Richie Sandoval who just passed away this week.
Sandoval was best known for his 15-round war with Philadelphia’s Jeff Chandler for the bantamweight world title in 1984. Read the story by Arne K. Lang on this link: https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/81467-former-world-bantamweight-champion-richie-sandoval-passes-away-at-age-63 .
Fights to Watch
Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) vs Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1).
Sat. ESPN+ 12:30 p.m. Joe Joyce (16-2) vs Derek Chisora (34-13).
Sat. DAZN 3 p.m. Claressa Shields (14-0) vs Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1), Michel Rivera (25-1) vs Hugo Roldan (22-2-1); Tito Mercado (15-0) vs Hector Sarmiento (21-2).
Omar Trinidad photo by Lina Baker
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Arne’s Almanac: Jake Paul and Women’s Boxing, a Curmudgeon’s Take
![Arne's-Almanac-Jake-Paul-and-Women's-Boxing-a-Curmudgeon's-Take](https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/bestest.png)
Jake Paul can fight more than a little. The view from here is that he would make it interesting against any fringe contender in the cruiserweight division. However, Jake’s boxing acumen pales when paired against his skill as a flim-flam artist.
Jake brought a 9-1 record into last weekend’s bout with Mike Perry. As noted by boxing writer Paul Magno, Jake’s previous opponents consisted of “a You Tuber, a retired NBA star, five retired MMA stars, a part-time boxer/reality TV star, and two undersized and inactive fall-guy boxers.”
Mike Perry, a 32-year-old Floridian, was undefeated (6-0, 3 KOs) as a bare-knuckle boxer after forging a 14-8 record in UFC bouts. In pre-fight blurbs, Perry was billed as the baddest bare knuckle boxer of all time, but against Jake Paul he proved to have very unrefined skills as a conventional boxer which Team Paul undoubtedly knew all along. Perry lasted into the eighth round in a one-sided fight that could have been stopped a lot sooner.
Jake Paul is both a boxer and a promoter. As a promoter, he handles Amanda Serrano, one of the greatest female boxers in history. That makes him the person most responsible (because the buck stops with him) for the wretched mismatch in last Saturday’s co-feature, the bout between Serrano and Stevie Morgan.
Morgan, who took up boxing two years ago at age 33, brought a 14-1 record. Nicknamed the Sledgehammer, she had won 13 of her 14 wins by knockout, eight in the opening round. However, although she resides in Florida, all but one of those 13 knockouts happened in Colombia.
“We found that in Colombia there were just more opportunities for women’s boxing than in the United States,” she told a prominent boxing writer whose name we won’t mention.
The truth is that, for some folks, Colombia is the boxing equivalent of a feeder lot for livestock, a place where a boxer can go to fatten their record. The opportunities there were no greater than in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1995. It was there that Peter McNeeley prepped for his match with Mike Tyson with a 6-second knockout of professional punching bag Frankie Hines. (Six seconds? So it would be written although no one seems to have been there to witness it.)
Serrano vs Morgan was understood to be a stay-busy fight for Amanda whose rematch with Katie Taylor was postponed until November. Stevie Morgan, to her credit, answered the bell for the second round whereas others in her situation would have remained on the stool and invented an injury to rationalize it. Thirty-eight seconds later it was all over and Ms. Morgan was free to go home and use her sledgehammer to do some light dusting.
The Paul-Perry and Serrano-Morgan fights played out in a sold-out arena in Tampa before an estimated 17,000. Those without a DAZN subscription paid $64.95 for the livestream. Paul’s next promotion, where he will touch gloves with 58-year-old Mike Tyson (unless Iron Mike pulls a Joe Biden and pulls out; a capital idea) with Serrano-Taylor II the semi-main, will almost certainly rake in more money than any other boxing promotion this year.
Asked his opinion of so-called crossover boxing by a reporter for a college newspaper, the venerable boxing promoter Bob Arum said, “It’s not my bag but folks who don’t like it shouldn’t get too worked up over it because no one is stealing from anybody.” True enough, but for some of us, the phenomenon is distressing.
—
The next big women’s fight happens Saturday in Detroit where Claressa Shields seeks a world title in a third weight class against WBC heavyweight belt-holder Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, undefeated in 14 fights as a pro, Shields is very good, arguably the best female boxer of her generation which makes her, arguably, the best female boxer of all time. But turning away Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) won’t elevate her stature in our eyes.
Purportedly 17-4 as an amateur, the Canadian won her title in her second crack at it. Back in August of 2017, she challenged Cancun’s Alejandra Jimenez in Cancun and was stopped in the third round. Entering the bout, Lepage-Joanisse was 3-0 as a pro and had never fought a match slated for more than four rounds.
![Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse](https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Vanessa-300x263.png)
Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse
True, on the women’s side, the heavyweight bracket is a very small pod. A sanctioning body has to make concessions to harness a sanctioning fee. Nonetheless, how absurd that a woman who had answered the bell for only 11 rounds would be deemed qualified to compete for a world title. (FYI: Alejandra Jimenez was purportedly born a man. She left the sport with a 12-0-1 record after her win over Franchon Crews Dazurn was changed to a no-contest when she tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol.)
Following her defeat to Jimenez, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, now 29 years old, was out of action for six-and-a-half years. When she returned, she was still a heavyweight, but a much slender heavyweight. She carried 231 pounds for Jimenez. In her most recent bout where she captured the vacant WBC title with a split decision over Argentina’s Abril Argentina Vidal, she clocked in at 173 ¼. (On the distaff side, there’s no uniformity among the various sanctioning bodies as to what constitutes a heavyweight.)
Claressa Shields doesn’t need Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to reinforce her credentials as a future Hall of Famer. She made the cut a long time ago.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63
![Former-World-Bamtamweight-Champion-Richie-Sandoval-Passes-Away-at-age-63](https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/richie.png)
Richie Sandoval, who won the WBA and lineal bantamweight title in one of the biggest upsets of the 1980s and then, not quite two years later, suffered near-fatal injuries in a title defense, has passed away at the age of 63.
News circulated fast in the Las Vegas boxing community on Monday, July 22, the grapevine actuated by a tweet from Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler: “Boxing and the Top Rank family lost one of our own last night in the passing of former WBA bantamweight champion Richie Sandoval. It hurts personally and professionally to know that Richie is gone at age 63. RIP campeon.”
Details are vague but the cause of death was apparently a sudden heart attack that Sandoval experienced while visiting the Southern California home of his son of the same name.
Richie Sandoval put the LA County community of Pomona, California, on the boxing map before Shane Mosley came along and gave the town a more frequently-cited mention in the sports section of the papers. He came from a fighting family. An older brother, Albert “Superfly” Sandoval, became a big draw at LA’s fabled Olympic Auditorium while building a 35-2-1 record that included a failed bid to capture Lupe Pintor’s world bantamweight title.
Richie was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team that was stranded when U.S. President Jimmy Carter (and many other world leaders) boycotted the event as a protest against Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.
As a pro, Sandoval’s signature win was a 15th-round stoppage of Jeff Chandler. They fought on April 7, 1984 in Atlantic City. Chandler was making the tenth defense of his world bantamweight title.
Despite being a heavy underdog, Sandoval dominated the fight, winning almost every round until the referee stepped in and waived it off. Chandler, who was 33-1-2 heading in and had avenged his lone defeat, never fought again.
Sandoval made two successful defenses before risking his title against Gaby Canizales on the undercard of Hagler-Mugabi in the outdoor stadium at Caesars Palace. In round seven, Sandoval, who had a hellish time making the weight, was knocked down three times and suffered a seizure as he collapsed from the third knockdown. Stretchered out of the ring, he was rushed to the hospital where doctors reduced the swelling in his brain and beat the odds to save his life. This would be Richie’s lone defeat. He finished his pro career with a record of 29-1 (17 KOs).
Bob Arum cushioned some of the pain by giving Richie a $25,000 bonus and offering him a lifetime job at Top Rank which Richie accepted. And let the record show that Arum was good to his word.
A more elaborate portrait of Richie Sandoval was published in these pages in 2017. You can check it out HERE. May he rest in peace.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Middleweight Title Fight Canceled; Super Welterweight Sizzler Announced by Golden Boy
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Angelo Leo’s Homecoming Fight in Albuquerque was Fermented on ProBox
-
Featured Articles4 days ago
Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is the Boss at 115, but Don’t Sleep on Ioka vs Martinez
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Results and Recaps from Philly where ‘Boots’ Ennis Stomped Out David Avanesyan
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Results & Recaps from Miami where Teofimo Lopez Out-Classed Steve Claggett
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Shakur Improves to 22-0 and Christmas Comes Early for Conceicao in Newark
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Trevor McCumby Fell Off the Map and Now He’s Back with a Big Fight on the Horizon