The Hauser Report: Dueling Dates

Published

9 years ago

April 21, 2015

Boxing is in the midst of a remarkable run that has seen major fights on HBO, Showtime, CBS, NBC, and/or Spike virtually every week. April 18 brought more of the same with HBO and Showtime competing directly against each other.

The HBO card featured two fights and four different promoters: Ruslan Provodnikov (Banner Promotions) vs. Lucas Matthysse (Golden Boy) and Terence Crawford (Top Rank) vs. Thomas Dulorme (Gary Shaw Productions).

Crawford had compiled a 25-0 (17 KOs) record and earned recognition as the best lightweight in the world with a ninth-round stoppage of Yuriorkis Gamboa last year. This was his first fight at 140 pounds.

Dulorme (22-1, 14 KOs) was considered a prospect until Luis Carlos Abregu exposed his deficiencies and knocked him out thirty months ago. Since then, Thomas had carefully picked his opponents.

Thirty seconds into round six of Crawford-Dulorme, Terence’s skills and Thomas‘s limitations coincided. A straight right wobbled Dulorme, who appeared to take a knee rather than be put down by two errant punches that followed. Thomas then went into survival mode, but failed to survive. Knockdowns #2 and #3 ended the bout at the 1:51 mark of the sixth stanza.

Crawford looks like a complete fighter. It wasn’t just that he beat Doulorme. The way he beat him was impressive. Some intriguing fights await at 140 and 147 pounds if Terence is willing to go in tough.

Provodnikov-Matthysse brought to mind the words of Jay Larkin (the architect of Showtime’s boxing program). Larkin had a simple way of describing his job. “It’s not rocket science,” he’d say. “It’s boxing on television.”

In other words, a fight that looks good on paper is more likely to look good in the ring than a fight that shapes up on paper as a dud.

Provodnikov-Matthysse didn’t look good on paper. It looked great.

Provodnikov (24-3, 17 KOs) had lost narrow decisions to Mauricio Herrera and Chris Algieri (a split verdict) as well as a one-point defeat at the hands of Tim Bradley. But the latter bout (honored as 2013’s “Fight of the Year”) saw Bradley out on his feet twice and on the canvas once. In his next outing, Provodnikov battered Mike Alvarado into submission.

Matthysse (34-3, 34 KOs) had suffered one-point split-decision losses to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander and a two-point defeat at the hands of Danny Garcia. But 32 of his 34 wins had come by knockout and, two years ago, he brutalized Lamont Peterson en route to a third-round stoppage.

Matthysse and Provodnikov can be outslicked. Neither of them outslicks opponents. They bludgeon their foes. One day before the bout, Jimmy Tobin summed up the anticipation when he wrote, “The ring in the Turning Stone Resort and Casino will have a diamond set in it on Saturday night when Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov reveal what beauty can be wrought from pressure and heat. It is impossible to imagine these men leaving the ring unchanged by the other’s mischief.”

Provodnikov-Matthysse lived up to expectations. Matthysse has better boxing skills than Provodnikov. And he can whack. Worse from Ruslan’s point of view, in the opening minute of round two, an accidental clash of heads opened an ugly gash on his left eyelid that bled throughout the fight.

There are fighters who crumble and fighters who don’t. Earlier in the evening, Doulorme had crumbled. Provodnikov didn’t.

Ruslan lost five of the first six rounds and took a pounding in most of them. But he came on strong at the end of each round and gathered steam as the fight wore on. Instead of calling him “the Siberian Rocky,” one might refer to him simply as “the Siberian Rock.” His face was a bruised, battered, bloody, swollen, mess. It must have been a shock for him to look into a mirror after the fight. But he showed incredible resolve and heart.

Matthysse had enough in his arsenal to emerge victorious by a 115-113, 115-113, 114-114 margin.

Showtime’s card was an Al Haymon venture. In the opening bout, 24-year-old super-lightweight Amir Imam (18-0, 14 KOs) fought Walter Castillo (25-2, 18 KOs), who’d been imported from Nicaragua as a measuring stick. Iman won a clear-cut 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 decision. That set the stage for Showtime’s main event: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-1, 32 KOs) vs Andrzej Fonfara (26-3, 15 KOs).

Chavez (marketed as “son of the legend”) has his father’s DNA in his chin. He turned pro in 2003 and amassed a 48-1 (32 KOs) record while frustrating fans with an often-slovenly work ethic and inattention to such matters as making weight. Indeed, there were times (particularly prior to fighting Brian Vera in 2013) when Chavez seemed to be rewriting weight clauses in contracts to fit his eating and exercise habits rather than the other way around.

But Chavez is a ratings magnet. Also, over time, he became a legitimate contender, beating opponents like John Duddy, Andy Lee, and Marco Antonio Rubio, in large measure because of his superior physical gifts.

In theory, Chavez also briefly held the WBC middleweight championship after the sanctioning body shamelessly lifted Sergio Martinez’s crown to accommodate Julio. But Martinez ended that fiction by winning eleven of twelve rounds en route to a unanimous-decision triumph over “son of the legend” three years ago.

Fonfara (a natural light-heavyweight) had been chosen as Chavez’s opponent on the theory that Andrzej is there to be hit, doesn’t hit too hard, and would make Chavez look good. Also, Julio hoped that the 172-pound contract weight would add to Fonfara’s limitations by depleting Andrzej’s strength.

Chavez didn’t look to be in particularly good shape when Chavez-Fonfara began; a suspicion that was confirmed as the bout wore on. His technique (which has never been particularly good) fell apart. And his body work didn’t have the same effect on Fonfara that it has had on smaller men in the past.

By round six, there was bruising and swelling beneath both of Julio’s eyes, and he was only fighting in spurts. Fifty-five seconds into round nine, Fonfara (an orthodox fighter) shifted position and threw what in effect was a straight left that put Chavez on the canvas for the first time in Julio’s career. At the end of the round, Chavez went back to his corner, where trainer Joe Goossen asked, “How do you feel?”

“Stop it,” Chavez told him. “Stop the fight. I’m done. Stop it. I want it stopped.”

Fonfara had an 89-80, 88-81, 88-81 lead on the judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage and outlanded Chavez by a 285-to-118 margin.

After the bout, Chavez put the blame for his defeat on fighting at a contract weight of 172 pounds. “The guy is too heavy for me,” he said. “172 is too much for me.”

Question: Whose fault was that?

Answer: Julio’s.

That said; Chavez is still marketable. He’s a good fighter with an aggressive ring style and defensive deficiencies that make for entertaining fights. He also still has his name, although Saturday night tarnished it a bit.

When Chavez lost to Sergio Martinez, he was treated in some circles as though he’d won because of a dramatic last-round effort that saw him floor Martinez twice. After losing to Fonfara in abysmal fashion, Julio will be treated as though he lost.

* * *

Earlier this year, Andre Ward signed a promotional contract with Roc Nation, which tried unsuccessfully to land a date for him on HBO or Showtime. The problem is that Ward wants big-fight money for a tune-up bout. His excuse is that he hasn’t fought since November, 19, 2013, and needs a soft-touch opponent to work off the ring rust.

Ward has fought twice since 2011. His inactivity is largely is consequence of his own making. And while Andre is a very good fighter, he doesn’t engender strong ratings.

It now appears as though Ward will get his soft touch. He’s tentatively scheduled to fight on June 20 in his hometown of Oakland against TBA in a bout that most likely will be televised by BET. That means Ward will get a smaller purse than anticipated, Roc Nation will take a bath, or both.

Sugar Ray Leonard had been out of the ring for three years when he returned to action in 1987, went up two weight classes, and fought Marvin Hagler. Vitali Klitschko came back after four years of inactivity and faced WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter in his comeback fight.

There’s no reason for HBO or anyone else to pay big money for an Andre Ward tune-up fight.

* * *

To their credit, both Ruslan Provodnikov and Lucas Matthysse agreed to be tested for performance enhancing drugs by VADA during the lead-in to their fight. Vadim Komilov (Provodnikov’s manager) explained how that came about.

“When we fought Tim Bradley,” Kornilov said at a fight-week press conference in New York, “Bradley’s people insisted on VADA testing, and we agreed to it. I liked the way VADA conducted the testing. So this time, we asked for VADA. Matthysse didn’t want to pay for it, so we agreed to pay for all of the testing. The important thing is that VADA is good. They are known for doing things the right way.”

* * *

Boxing fans have been reading for weeks that Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao will generate a live gate of $74,000,000 with tickets priced as follows: $10,000 (1,100 tickets), $7,500 (2,500 tix), $5,000 (2,500 tix), $3,500 (4,000 tix), $2,500 (2,500 tix), and $1,500 (2,500 tix).

I might be old-fashioned. But the way I was taught math, that comes to a live gate of $66,250,000.

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.

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Thomas Hauser

Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool

Published

2 hours ago

October 5, 2024

Arne K. Lang

WBA-Feather-Champ-Nick-Ball-Chops-Down-Rugged-Ronny-Rios-in-Liverpool

In his first fight in his native Liverpool since February of 2020, Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA title with a 10^th-round stoppage of SoCal veteran Ronny Rios. The five-foot-two “Wrecking Ball” was making the first defense of a world featherweight strap he won in his second stab at it, taking the belt from Raymond Ford on a split decision after previously fighting Rey Vargas to a draw in a match that many thought Ball had won.

This fight looked like it was going to be over early. Ball strafed Rios with an assortment of punches in the first two rounds, and likely came within a punch or two of ending the match in the third when he put Rios on the canvas with a short left hook and then tore after him relentlessly. But Rios, a glutton for punishment, weathered the storm and actually had some good moments in round four and five.

The brother of welterweight contender Alexis Rocha and a two-time world title challenger at 122 pounds, Rios returned to the ring in April on a ProBox card in Florida and this was his second start after being out of the ring for 28 months. He would be on the canvas twice more before the bout was halted. The punch that knocked him off his pins in round seven wasn’t a clean shot, but he would be in dire straits three rounds later when he was hammered onto the ring apron with a barrage of punches. He managed to maneuver his way back into the ring, but his corner sensibly threw in the towel when it seemed as if referee Bob Williams would let the match continue.

The official time was 2:06 of round ten. Ball improved to 21-0-1 (12 KOs). Rios, 34, declined to 34-5.

Semi-wind-up

A bout contested for a multiplicity of regional 140-pound titles produced a mild upset when Jack Rafferty wore down and eventually stopped Henry Turner whose corner pulled him out after the ninth frame.

Both fighters were undefeated coming in. Turner, now 13-1, was the better boxer and had the best of the early rounds. However, he used up a lot of energy moving side-to-side as he fought off his back foot, and Rafferty, who improved to 24-0 (15 KOs), never wavered as he continued to press forward.

The tide turned dramatically in round eight. One could see Turner’s legs getting loggy and the confidence draining from his face. The ninth round was all Rafferty. Turner was a cooked goose when Rafferty collapsed him with four unanswered body punches, but he made it to the final bell before his corner wisely pulled him out. Through the completed rounds, two of the judges had it even and the third had the vanquished Turner up by 4 points.

Other Bouts of Note

In a lightweight affair, Jadier Herrera, a highly-touted 22-year-old Cuban who had been campaigning in Dubai, advanced to 16-0 (14 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Oliver Flores (31-6-2) a Nicaraguan southpaw making his UK debut. After two even rounds, Herrera put Flores on the deck with a left to the solar plexus. Flores spit out his mouthpiece as he lay there in obvious distress and referee Steve Gray waived the fight off as he was attempting to rise. The end came 30 seconds into round three.

In a bantamweight contest slated for 10, Liverpool’s Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) dismissed Colombia’s Lazaro Casseres at the 1:48 mark of the second round.

A stablemate and sparring partner of Nick Ball, Cain knocked Casseres to the canvas in the second round with a short uppercut and forced the stoppage later in the round when he knocked the Colombian into the ropes with a double left hook. Casseres. 27, brought an 11-1 record but had defeated only two opponents with winning records.

In a contest between super welterweights, Walter Fury pitched a 4-round shutout over Dale Arrowsmith. This was the second pro fight for the 27-year-old Fury who had his famous cousin Tyson Fury rooting him on from ringside. Stylistically, Walter resembles Tyson, but his defense is hardly as tight; he was clipped a few times.

Arrowsmith is a weekend warrior and a professional loser, a species indigenous to the British Isles. This was his twenty-fourth fight this year and his 186^th pro fight overall! His record is “illuminated” by nine wins and 10 draws.

A Queensberry Promotion, the Ball vs Rios card aired in the UK on TNT Sports and in the US on ESPN+.

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Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs O’Connell in Sydney

Published

1 day ago

October 4, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Alimkhanuly-TKOs-Mikhailovich-and-Motu-TKOs-O'Connell-in-Sydney

IBF/WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, generally regarded as the best of the current crop of middleweights, retained his IBF title today in Sydney, Australia, with a ninth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Andrei Mikhailovich. The end came at the 2:45 mark of round nine.

Favored in the 8/1 range although he was in a hostile environment, Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) beat Mikhailovich to a pulp in the second round and knocked him down with one second remaining in the frame, but Mikhailovich survived the onslaught and had several good moments in the ensuing rounds as he pressed the action. However, Alimkhanuly’s punches were cleaner and one could sense that it was only a matter of time before the referee would rescue Mikhailovich from further punishment. When a short left deposited Mikhailovich on the seat of his pants on the lower strand of rope, the ref had seen enough.

Alimkhanuly, a 2016 Olympian for Kazakhstan, was making his first start since October of last year. He and Mikhailovich were slated to fight in Las Vegas in July, but the bout fell apart after the weigh-in when the Kazakh fainted from dehydration.

Owing to a technicality, Alimkhanuly’s WBO belt wasn’t at stake today. Although he has expressed an interest in unifying the title –Eislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos Adames (WBC) are the other middleweight belt-holders — Alimkhanuly is big for the weight class and it’s a fair assumption that this was his final fight at 160.

The brave Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia but grew up in New Zealand after he and his twin brother were adopted, suffered his first pro loss, declining to 21-1.

Semi-wind-up

Topping the flimsy undercard was a scheduled 8-rounder between Mikhailovich’s stablemate Mea Motu, a 34-year-old Maori, and veteran Australian campaigner Shannon O’Connell, 41. The ladies share eight children between them (Motu, trained by her mother in her amateur days, has five).

A clash of heads in the opening round left O’Connell with a bad gash on her forehead. She had a big lump developing over her right eye when her corner threw in the towel at the 1:06 mark of round four.

Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) was set to challenge IBF/WBO world featherweight champion Ellie Scotney later this month in Manchester, England, underneath Catterall-Prograis, but that match was postponed when Scotney suffered an injury in training. Motu took this fight, which was contested at the catchweight of 125 pounds, to stay busy. O’Connell, 29-8-1, previously had a cup of coffee as a WBA world champion (haven’t we all).

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

Published

2 days ago

October 3, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

A small brigade of Mexican and Latino-American fighters gathered at the beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Their mission: to export Mexican style fighting to the Saudi Arabia desert.

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez defends the WBA cruiserweight title against WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith and they will be joined by several other top Golden Boy Promotion fighters on Nov. 16 at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy and BOXXER promotions card called “The Venue Riyadh Season.”

Mexican fighters are known worldwide for their ferocity and durability. Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, surprised many with his convincing win over former champion Arsen Goulamirian last March.

Now Ramirez seeks to unify the cruiserweight titles against United Kingdom’s Smith who has never fought outside of his native country.

“I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16,” said Ramirez.

Smith has a similar goal.

“This opportunity for me is huge,” said Smith. “I’ve been written off many times before.”

The cruiserweights will be joined by two top super lightweight warriors who’ve been itching to face each other like a pair of fighting roosters.

Arnold Barboza, an undefeated super lightweight contender from Los Angeles, has been chasing top contenders and world champions for the past six years. Former super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez simply wants action and a return to elite status.

“I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened,” said Barboza. “I want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight.”

“It’s honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on,” said Ramirez.

Others on the Riyadh fight card include Puerto Rico’s WBO minimumweight world titlist Oscar Collazo defending against Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong, along with Oscar Duarte and lightweight contenders William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer.

One fighter missing from the card is Charles Conwell, the super welterweight contender they recently signed earlier in the year. He last performed on the Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk clash in Las Vegas.

Conwell has similar talent to those two.

And what about the women fighters”

Yokasta Valle recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions. What is her next scheduled fight? She was spotted facing up against Australia’s Lulu “Bang, Bang” Hawton at a fight card. Is that on the horizon?

West Coast venues

Speaking of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, its just a few buildings north of the Belasco Theater where Golden Boy was staging its club shows for several years.

A majority of the boxing media favored that location for its cozy atmosphere and proximity to LA Live. A number of prospects that developed into contenders and world champions fought there including Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, Joshua Franco, and Oscar Duarte.

On any given fight night celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Lopez and others would show up in the small venue that held several hundred fans in its ornate theater setting.

The Mayan Theater and Belasco Theater are still open for business. According to one source, LA Laker owner Jeannie Buss stages a pro wrestling show at one of those theaters.

World title fight

England’s Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 5, at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Starting time for the Queensberry and Top Rank promotion card is 11 a.m. PT.

Ball was last seen nearly toppling WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas but lost last March. He then defeated Ray Ford for the WBA title

Fights to Watch

Fri. ESPN+ 2 a.m. PT Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) vs Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0)

Sat. ESPN+ 11 a.m. PT Nick Ball (20-0-1) vs Ronny Rios (34-4)

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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