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Boxing Clearly Not Dead, as The #GolovkinLemieux Presser Mood Is Lively

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Nah, boxing isn’t dead, I thought to myself, as I watched the principals who’ll clash Oct. 17 at Madison Square Garden, in the capital of the world, New York City, have their say at a Tuesday presser.

Diminished from hey-days, sure, but this is an age of change and transition and I can name a thousand things and entities that are more nichified now, aren’t such a mainstream mass-appeal draw. But dead, DOA, no way, not with the extreme and pleasing reaction, if you are promoter K2 and Golden Boy, to the entry into the pay-per-view realm for Gennady Golovkin, who’ll get his chin tested by David “Captain Caveman” Lemiueux, a fellow middleweight with a selfsame penchant for bomb-throwing.

More than 15,000 seats sold less than a week after tix went on sale, a sellout a certainty, all for one fella who was known only to the hardcore four years ago and another who shrugged off two losses, dedicated himself to the craft for maybe the first time….yeah, no DOA tag for this sport.

OK, could the sport be in a better place? Sure; the PPV model puts excess pressure upon Joe Q. Fan to carry the financial load to be a rooter. The cost to see this scrap will be $49.95, which is not as high as it could be, I found myself thinking when the price was put out there. I think I was somewhat accepting of the construct because I feel like these guys get it, that they comprehend that there’s no reason not to stack the card, put on four solid on-paper fights. After all, in a restaurant, does the A grade steakhouse throw stale rolls and iceberg lettuce with Wishbone dressing at you, and finish off with a popsicle, because they know their t-bone is to die for?That is a rehorical question…

I was impressed by the mood in the room, and the interplay between the teams. Tom Loeffler of K2, who should win promoter of the year from the BWAA next year, presided, and there was no sniping, veiled or outward, as Golovkin, as always genial and humble, and Lemieux, sporting a hipster wide-Mohawk, both promised a good bang for the buck for the fans. “There will be blood,” said Lemiuex, age 26, who in the recent past has promised thunder and lightning and mayhem, but this time dialed it back, comprehending that Triple G is a different animal than the Rosados and N’Dams he’s handled. The mood was light and upbeat, and the two bombers even broke into grins during the staredown. They both know this one has lit a fire under fans, especially since there is hope in the air that the winner will meet the winner of the Nov. 21 Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez fight.

Some tidbits:

Golovkin told me this one could easily go the distance, though other fight game pundits are thinking it could be a Hagler-Hearns sort of eruption.

Both men aren’t sure who who will win Cotto-Canelo…but Lemieux is sure that fight should be at 160, not a catchweight, of 155 or less.

Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez said he thinks highly of Lemieux’ cajones, and power, but believes Curtis Stevens has better pop that Lemieux, who he thinks has more thudding than snappish pop.

Loeffler said Team Golovkin wanted a reasonable price point, to maximize buys, and also a solid undercard, to give value.

Lemieux promoter Camille Estephan, of Eye of the Tiger, said that come Oct. 18, there will be countless copycats sporting Lemieux hair-dos, after his kid scores the upset.

Lemieux admitted that he did say to himself, “already?”, when offered this bout…but because he has a warrior heart, he thought about it and said yes, I want the opportunity to show I’m the better man.

Lemieux told us that he’s pinching himself, getting here. He smoked cigarettes at age 9..and now to be a world class athlete headlining at MSG. Goosebumps…

Golovkin still didn’t talk trash. He doesn’t admit to thinking maybe he will lose, but he doesn’t talk up his prospects for victory, and he said he’s looking forward to giving fans entertainment: it will be “amazing history” on Oct. 17, he said.

All told, the vibe was sort of anti-Mayweather for me. Bragging and posturing and veiled and stated barbs weren’t thrown about. The humility and appreciation for the place of the stage was real, not staged, and a trillion sponsors weren’t thanked, so boredom was minimized.

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A Fresh Face on the Boxing Scene, Bryce Mills Faces His Toughest Test on Friday

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“He wants to test himself and find out just how good he really is,” said International Boxing Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz regarding super lightweight Bryce Mills. Peltz, who has dealt with a wide range of fighters throughout his lifetime in boxing, recognized the fire that burned inside Mills at a local show in Philadelphia in early 2022. At the time Mills had less than ten professional fights under his belt.

Mills hails from Liverpool in upstate New York and trains in nearby Syracuse. Currently 17-1 (6 KOs), he’s undefeated in his last 11 since losing a split decision to a Puerto Rican fighter from the Bronx who had fought much stiffer competition.

The fight in question that caught Peltz’s eye was arranged by the well-known and respected matchmaker Nick Tiberi who paired Mills in an intriguing fight against Daiyaan Butt, a tough and skilled fighter from the Philadelphia area. They fought at LIVE Casino in South Philadelphia on Feb. 24, 2022.

Although the crowd on hand that night favored Butt, Mills, although then only 20 years old, wasn’t intimidated and was the clear-cut winner at the end of their exciting, back-and-forth battle. This showed Peltz that Mills was serious about seeing just how far his ability could take him.

That’s why Peltz decided to join forces with Mills. Despite being semi-retired, Peltz is still active enough to help guide fighters through the ever-changing wild west landscape that is boxing. Since their union after Mill’s victory over Butt, Mills has been on a nine-fight winning streak heading into what Peltz believes is the toughest test of his career this Friday against Alex Martin 18-6 (6 KOs) of Chicago.

“I didn’t want him to take this fight, it’s a dangerous fight for him. Martin is a southpaw and is tricky, he’s a veteran and is experienced. His father (Mills’s father) called me and said that Bryce wanted the fight, to his credit,” says Peltz. One look at Martin’s resume and it confirms what Peltz stated. All six of Martin’s losses came against fighters with outstanding records including a former world title challenger. Martin also holds some quality wins over undefeated prospects that were at similar points in their careers to where Mills currently is in his development.

Bryce Mills looks like a fighter (he’s always in shape), acts like a fighter (testing his craft against all comers), walks the walk of a fighter, and fights with a fan-friendly pedal-to-the-metal style. That is a winning combination that could be the breath of fresh air the boxing world could surely use and on Friday night at the Wind Creek Events Center in Bethlehem, PA, live on DAZN, Mills is going to have the opportunity to put the boxing world on notice.

***

DAZN will televise the Mills-Martin fight along with a main event that features undefeated middleweight Euri Cedeno (10-0-1, 9 KO’s) against Ulices Rivera (11-1, 7 KO’s). Knockout artist Joseph Adorno (20-4-1, 17 KOs) and undefeated Reading, PA super featherweight Julian Gonzalez (15-0-1, 11 KOs) appear in separate bouts on the undercard. Tickets for the Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotion show are still available through Ticketmaster. Lobby doors open at 5:00 pm. First bell is at 7:00.

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High Drama in Japan as ‘Amazing Boy’ Kenshiro Teraji Overcomes Seigo Yuri Akui

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Overshadowed by countrymen Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, Kenshiro Teraji embossed his Hall of Fame credentials in Tokyo tonight with a dramatic 12th-round stoppage of Seigo Yuri Akui. At stake were two pieces of the world flyweight title. A two-time world title-holder a division below (108), Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) was appearing in his 16th world title fight.

This Japan vs. Japan matchup will go down in Japanese boxing lore as one of the best title fights ever on Japanese soil. Through the 11 completed rounds, Akui was up 105-104 on two of the cards with Teraji up 106-103 on the third. However, judging by his appearance, Akui was more damaged. The stoppage by Japanese referee Katsuhiko Nakamura, which came at the 1:31 mark of the final round with Akui still standing, struck some as premature but the gallant Akui was well-beaten.

A second-generation prizefighter, Kenshiro Teraji, 33, came bearing the WBC 112-pound belt which he acquired this past October with an 11th round TKO of Nicaraguan veteran Cristofer Rosales. The 29-year-old Akui (21-3-1) was making the second defense of the WBA strap he won with a wide decision over previously undefeated Artem Dalakian.

Although Teraji keeps on rolling – this was his seventh straight win which began with a third-round blast-out of Masamichi Yabuki, avenging his lone defeat – things aren’t getting any easier for the so-called “Amazing Boy.” In his last three fights, which include a hard-earned majority decision over Carlos Canizales, he answered the bell for 35 rounds.

By and large, fighters in his weight class don’t age well. While Teraji is starting to slip, he has no intention of retiring any time soon. His goal, he says is to unify the title and eventually move up a notch to pursue a world title in a third weight class. The other pieces of the 112-pound title are currently the property of Mexico’s Angel Ayala who defends his IBF diadem against Yabuki later this month and LA’s Anthony Olascuaga who was in action on tonight’s undercard.

Other Bouts of Note

Olascuaga, a stablemate of Junto Nakatani, trained by 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year Rudy Hernandez, advanced to 9-1 (6) with a hard-earned unanimous decision over Hiroto Kyoguchi. The judges had it 118-110 and 117-111 (scores condemned as too wide) with the third judge having it 6-6 in rounds but scoring it 114-113 in acknowledgement of the knockdown credited to Olascuaga in round 11, the result of a short left that produced a delayed reaction.

Olascuaga was making the second defense of his WBO belt in his fifth straight trip to Japan. In his lone defeat, he was thrust against the formidable Teraji as a late sub, acquitting himself well in defeat (L TKO 9) despite having only five pro fights under his belt and having only 10 days to prepare. Kyoguchi (19-3) had previously held titles in the sport’s two smallest weight classes.

In a big upset, Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago, thought to be well past his prime at age 32, wrested the WBO light flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Shokichi Iwata who was making the first defense of the title he won with a third-round stoppage of Spain’s previously undefeated Jairo Noriega. Tokyo’s Iwata was a consensus 9/1 favorite.

Santiago, who advanced to 14-4 (9), won by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. It was the second loss for Iwata who had knocked out 11 of his first 15 opponents.

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Keith Thurman Returns with a Bang; KOs Brock Jarvis in Sydney

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The combination of age and ring rust made Keith Thurman a tricky proposition against Brock Jarvis, but the 36-year-old Floridian, a former WBA and WBC world welterweight champion, had too much firepower for the overmatched Aussie, knocking out Jarvis in the third round tonight in Sydney and setting up a massive fight with Tim Tszyu.

Thurman’s career has been repeatedly interrupted with injuries. He missed all of 2023 and 2024 and this was only his second fight back since being out-pointed by Manny Pacquiao in 2019. He was slated to fight Tszyu in March of last year in Las Vegas with two 154-pound straps on the line, but pulled out with a biceps injury and was replaced by Sebastian Fundora who saddled the snakebit Tszyu with his first defeat.

Against Brock Jarvis, Thurman started slowly. The TV commentating team, which included Tszyu and Shawn Porter, had the busier Jarvis winning the first two rounds. But the savvy Thurman was simply “processing data” and found his grove in the third frame, smashing Jarvis to the canvas with a combination climaxed by a wicked uppercut. Jarvis staggered to his feet but was a cooked goose and the referee waived it off immediately when Jarvis hit the deck again after absorbing a harsh left hook. The official time was 2:19 of round three.

It was the second bad loss for Jarvis (22-2), a noted knockout puncher who had previously been stopped in the opening round by countryman Liam Paro. He hails from the Sydney suburb of Merrickville which also spawned Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech, Jarvis’s former trainer.

Thurman advanced to 37-1 with his twenty-third win inside the distance. According to Tszyu’s promoter George Rose, the match between Thurman and Tszyu will finally come to fruition on July 6, likely at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach. That’s predicated on the assumption that Tszyu wins his next fight without complications which comes on April 6 against Minnesota’s 19-1 Joey Spencer at Newcastle, Australia.

Other Bouts of Note

Melbourne Middleweight Michael Zerafa, who also covets a match with Tim Tszyu, improved to 33-5 (21 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Germany’s obscure Besir Ay (19-2) who was on the deck twice before the referee waived it off. This was the second fight back for Zerafa after getting pulverized by Erislandy Lara who stopped him in the second round in March of last year. Ay, 35, is recognized as the middleweight champion of Germany.

In a middleweight match slated for 10, Tim Tszyu’s longtime sparring partner Cesar Mateo bombed out Sergei Vorobev in the fifth round, ending the match with a spectacular one-punch KO. The 26-year-old Mateo (18-0-1, 11 KOs) is a native of Tijuana. Vorobev (20-3-2) is a 30-year-old Sydneysider born in Russia.

Thurman vs. Jarvis, a pay-per-view event in Australia, aired in the U.S. on a tape-delay on the PBC youtube channel.

Photo credit: Grant Trouville / No Limit Boxing

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