AVILA’S ANALYSIS: On Chavez, Crawford, Klitschko, More

Published

10 years ago

April 21, 2015

It was all about middleweights and welterweights last weekend. It’s heavyweights this coming week with Wladimir Klitschko coming to NYC.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. got a lot of heat for taking the fight against Andrzej Fonfara and subsequently losing by knockout on his stool. It was a challenge he wanted to take before possibly meeting Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.

The son of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. took it and lost against light heavyweight contender Fonfara. There’s no disgrace in trying. It’s only disgraceful when hiding from challenges in boxing. Chavez did not hide, he took the challenge and simply fell short. Now what’s next?

Chavez needs to drop down to super middleweight where he has a fighting chance. Light heavyweights are simply too big and strong for the 29-year-old. Even the super middleweights may be a little too strong but it remains to be seen.

Fonfara looked and fought like a light heavyweight contender. The tall Polish prizefighter was efficient and composed in his win before an overwhelmingly large pro-Chavez crowd at StubHub Center last Saturday. There were nearly 8,000 fans mostly wearing the traditional red Chavez headbands. The crowd got angry at the stoppage and tossed water bottles and other refuse toward the ring.

Younger brother Omar Chavez defeated Colombia’s Richar Gutierrez and managed to defeat the former contender. It was a good win for Omar, who had not fought on American soil since 2009. It gave fans here a chance to see his progress. Last year he lost to Ramon Alvarez, the older brother of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Chiapas, Mexico. It was a good solid win for Omar Chavez in the junior middleweight division.

Amir Imam looked pretty sharp in his outing against Walter Castillo of Nicaragua who was a talented fighter. Imam was able to use his long left jab and counter right with deadly accuracy. Imam has good footwork and was able to stay away from Castillo. But when Florida’s Imam wanted to attack, he was frightfully effective. Had Imam started earlier on attack it might have ended before the 10th and final round.

Imam wants a crack at Terence Crawford and that’s a fight I would like to see. He’s got ultra-confidence and despite only 17 pro fights feels ready for a world title now. He can crack, has speed and good defense. Crawford has all that too and seems taller, but Imam can compete.

Crawford captured the vacant WBO junior welterweight world title with a sixth round technical knockout of Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme in Arlington, Texas while Imam was winning in Carson, California. Somebody has to connect them.

The tall, ambidextrous Nebraskan would have an interesting fight should he face Florida’s Imam. Crawford was able to chop down the taller Dulorme but can he compete with the speedy blows of Imam, who can box or bang.

Murat Gassiev was expected to run over Felix Cora Jr. but the Texan stood his ground and gave the Russian fighter all the rounds he needed. You could see Gassiev seemed pleased by Cora’s effort. In his previous fight in Montebello, Calif. his opponent clutched and hug for four horrible rounds. Finally, the referee saw enough and stopped the fight. Not this time. Cora used every trick in his veteran’s playbook to pull out a win. It was a gutsy effort by a gutsy fighter and ended with a Gassiev knockout in the ninth round.

Spike TV

Daniel Jacobs may not be the true WBA middleweight titlist but he’s still worth watching as he battles Caleb Truax in Chicago. Spike will show the middleweight showdown on Friday and a number of other prizefighters signed with Al Haymon. The match that looks compelling is Anthony Dirrell facing Badou Jack for the WBA super middleweight title that rightfully belongs to Andre Ward. But that’s another story. Still, Dirrell looks good and Jack needs a win to stay relevant in the 168-pound division. This can be a shootout.

Roberto Garcia is scheduled to fight James Stevenson but who knows. He didn’t make the weight in his last fight that was supposed to take place in Ontario, California. Garcia usually performs well when he’s in the boxing ring, but weight issues may be his future.

SoCal

Lightweight prospect Jose “Gato” Roman headlines the Thompson Boxing Promotion card when he faces Martin Cardona on Friday, April 24, at the Ontario Doubletree Hotel. Also on the same card will be heavyweight LaRon Mitchell clashing with Sylvester Barron.

Thompson Boxing has occasionally looked for a heavyweight and maybe this time they finally have one. Mitchell is a southpaw from the Bay Area and has knockouts in all of his wins. Heavyweights are a crap shoot. At one time the Orange County promoters had a shot at Chris Arreola and passed on him. That was a mistake. Now they hope they have a future contender. But they need to hurry up with Mitchell who’s already 34 years old.

Klitschko in NYC

Wladimir Klitschko may be the most unknown heavyweight world champion in the history of the sport in the U.S. Until the Klitschko brothers took over all of the belts, most Americans knew who held the heavyweight championship.

In Europe, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko are well known but ask someone in Los Angeles or any small American town and you will get a lot of puzzled looks. The world knows Mike Tyson or even Evander Holyfield, but the Klitschko brothers have fallen under the radar.

The reason is simple: neither brother has fought on American soil since 2009. Most of their fights have taken place in Germany. The last time any Klitschko fought in the U.S. was at the same arena and against Sultan Ibragimov, a slow fight which ended in a win by decision for Wlad.

Klitschko may be entering the twilight of his career. Now 39, he faces American heavyweight Bryant Jennings on Saturday April 25, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“I am really excited to be back in the States. I’ve been fighting – champion of the world means to fight in different countries, in different cities, which I have accomplished in the past years. I’ve been fighting in Berlin, Switzerland. I’ve been fighting in Moscow, Russia. I’ve been fighting in many German cities. It’s always exciting to be back in the States and to be back at The Garden,” said Klitschko.

A heavyweight world title fight at the Garden? Now that has a familiar tone.

“So I’m prepared for Bryant Jennings. I’m not going to underestimate him by no means. I’m not going to overestimate him by no means because as I said, we’re all limited, including myself. So we just can fight in the way we can fight and I think that it’s going to be an exciting fight,” Klitschko said.

Jennings was very respectful about the champion.

“Well, you know, the challenges that he brings, first of all, being a boxer, period, comes with a lot of challenges, especially being a heavyweight. We’re challenged because one punch from a heavyweight has the power to pretty much put just about any man down, so I’m aware of that. Plus, I’m aware of the specimen in Wladimir. He’s a very dedicated individual. He’s always been. He appears to live the clean life and he’s a 100% athlete,” Jennings said.

Photo credit : Rachel McCarson

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Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Jorge-Garcia-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-April

Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.

Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.

A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.

The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.

Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.

An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.

With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.

Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna

McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12^th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.

“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).

Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom

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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Published

3 days ago

April 27, 2025

David A. Avila

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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

Published

5 days ago

April 24, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective,-Chap.-323:-Benn-vs-Eubank-Family-Feud-and-More.jpg

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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