Featured Articles
MGM Grand Results – Pacquiao Outclasses Bradley in Trilogy Closer

The MGM Grand was the place to be in Las Vegas this Saturday night as Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley fought for the third time on HBO pay-per-view.
The broadcast kicked off with 140 lb action as WBC Continental Americas champion Jose Carlos Ramirez (16-0) faced the challenge of Manuel Perez (25-11-1). In the end the judges all had the fight for Ramirez, via scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91. Ramirez successfully defends his Continental Americas title and runs his record to 17-0.
Check out highlights in The Boxing Channel Report “Pacquiao Returns Strong, Decisions Bradley in the Desert”.
The featherweight bout between Evgeny Gradovich (21-1-1) and Oscar Valdez (18-0) was one of the most anticipated fights of the card, and proved to be a zesty encounter. As expected, Gradovich was moving forward throwing a lot of punches, but Valdez sat back and landed his shots with more precision. Gradovich entered round 2 with a cut on his eye already, and Valdez had little trouble finding it. Gradovich never stopped coming forward, but Valdez’s movement and punching power were on full display. In the fourth round, Valdez set up a smooth left hook that knocked Gradovich to the canvas. As he got up nearing the end of the count, the referee saw him on wobbly legs and stopped the fight.
The co-feature bout saw Germany’s Arthur Abraham (44-4) defending his WBO super middleweight title against the undefeated Gilberto Ramirez (33-0).
Despite being a decorated champion, Abraham entered the fight an underdog and from the start Ramirez made things difficult for him. Abraham covered up and came forward while Ramirez showed a wide arsenal of punches and movement to bank the early rounds. It took until the sixth round before Abraham seemed to come alive and throw more punches. Still, the 36-year-old champion was not able to match the general energy level of the 24-year-old Ramirez. Abraham will go back to Germany regretting the fact that he never got started, and the judges scores reflect that. They gave every round for Ramirez, 120-108, as the young Mexican becomes the first ever world champion from that country in the 168 lb weight class.
The main event saw the two fighters arrive in the ring to wild cheers from the capacity crowd reported to be 14,665. Once all the preliminaries were out of the way the two got down to business, and the fight quickly became a chess match, with cautious back and forth exchanges and neither fighter seizing a noticeable advantage. By the midway point of the fight, the technical battle had settled into a routine and unfortunately for Bradley, he did not appear to be getting off anything effective while letting Pacquiao dictate the pace.
In round seven, Pacquiao caught Bradley and sent him to the canvas. In round nine, Pac-man caught Bradley again with a compact shot that sent Bradley down, rolling back onto his shoulders from the power of the punch. With Bradley hitting the canvas a second time, it was clear that it was Pacquiao’s fight to lose.
Comfortably ahead on the cards, Pacquiao cruised for the last few rounds. Bradley’s attempts at mounting an offense were shut down by Pacquiao’s sharp movement and counter-punching. Pac-man was still fresh at the end of the fight, bouncing around with energy in his legs. Like the first two fights, the match went to the judges and in this case all three judges had the fight for Pacquiao by identical scores of 116-110.
Because of their status as the #1 and #2 ranked welterweights with the Transnational Boxing Ranking’s Board, the victorious Pacquiao earns recognition as the lineal welterweight champion.
Pre-fight reports had Pacquiao assured a purse of at least $20 million, while Bradley’s haul was at $4 million. The evening’s complete fight results appear below.
Check out author David Avila’s recap of the prelims at The Sweet Science.
Saturday, April 9th, 2016 – MGM Grand Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Complete Results:
Welter 12 Rds: Manny Pacquiao over Timothy Bradley by UD (116-110,116-110,116-110).
Super Middle 12 Rds: Gilberto Ramirez over Arthur Abraham via UD (120-108 x3)
Featherweight 10 Rds: Oscar Valdez over Evgeny Gradovich via TKO in RD 4 @2:14.
140 LBS 10 Rds: Jose Carlos Ramirez over Manuel Perez via UD (97-93,98-92,99-91).
Welter 8 Rds: Egidijus Kavaliauskas over Denis Ilbay via UD (80-72,80-72,80-72).
LightHvy 10 Rds: Oleksandr Gvozdyk over Nadjib Mohammedi via TKO in RD 2 @2:06.
Welter 10 Rds: Konstantin Ponomarev over Brad Solomon via SD (98-92,96-94,94-96)
Super Middle 6 Rds: Leon Bauer over Ilshat Khusnulgatin via UD (59-55,59-55,60-54).
Lightweight 4 Rds: Devin Haney over Rafael Vazquez via UD (40-36,40-36,40-36).
Featured Articles
Avila Perspective, Chap. 324: Ryan Garcia Leads Three Days in May Battles

Avila Perspective, Chap. 324: Ryan Garcia Leads Three Days in May Battles
They’re fighting on the streets of New York again.
Times Square.
Ryan “King Ry” Garcia leads six of the best crack shots in boxing under 30 in New York City on Friday, May 2. It begins a three-day event that moves to Saudi Arabia on Saturday then Las Vegas on Sunday. Three targets.
A number of the best promoters in the sport of boxing are combining forces for “Ring Magazine’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.”
Time Square is target one.
Fresh off a one-year suspension, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) brings his brand of speed and power against Rollie Romero (16-2, 13 KOs), who is no shrinking petunia when it comes to power. They meet in the main event.
Ever since Garcia took off the amateur head gear, he’s shown almost inhuman explosive power and speed. Though his destruction of Devin Haney last year was overturned by the New York Athletic Commission, what viewers saw cannot be erased.
“His dad likes to talk a lot,” said Garcia of Haney. “that’s what got his son beat the first time.”
Now he faces Romero, whose years ago sparring superiority caused a furor when it happened. But sparring and fighting are distinctly different. Now there will be millions watching and future earnings at stake.
“This fight was destined to happen. I called it. I knew it was gonna be at 147 pounds and be one of the biggest fights in boxing history,” said Romero, a two-division champion.
Then, you have Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) who got his loss in the ring removed by the commission but now faces former two-time champion Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a welterweight showdown. It’s a compelling match.
“Styles make fights. He does a lot of good things and a lot of bad things in there. It’s my job to go in there and handicap him of the good things he does and exploit the bad things,” said Haney of Ramirez.
Ramirez recently lost his last match and has a history of problems making weight. This fight will not be at 140 pounds, but five pounds heavier.
“I owe it to myself to show up and move up into a bigger weight class. I think that’s going to do wonders for me,” Ramirez said. ““I’m preparing for the best Devin Haney. That’s the guy I want to beat. I want that challenge.”
A super lightweight battle between New York’s Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) and California’s Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) might be a Rubik’s Cube battle or a blast of nitro. Both are highly skilled and master craftsmen in a prize ring.
“We’re going to go out there and do what I have to do. I’m going to have fun and beat the brick out of this boy,” said Lopez, one of the local fighters who now lives and trains on the West Coast.
Barboza, a Los Angeles native, has knocked off several top contenders in remaining undefeated.
“This is the toughest opponent of my career,” said Barboza, who bested England’s Jack Catterall and fellow Californian Jose Carlos Ramirez. “I’m gonna punch him in the mouth and see what happens.”
Six of the best American fighters under 30 are slugging it out on Times Square. It probably hasn’t been done since Boss Tweed.
Day Two: Riyadh
Super middleweight champions Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) meet on Saturday, May 3, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s an extension of Ring Magazine’s event on Friday and presented by Riyadh Season. DAZN will stream the event on pay-per-view.
Another world title match pits Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) versus Norair Mikaeljan (27-2 12 KOs) for the WBC cruiser world title.
Also, a return match between Mexico’s Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) and France’s Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) in a super middleweight fight.
Day Three: Las Vegas
Immensely talented Naoya “Monster” Inoue of Japan returns to Las Vegas to showcase his fighting skills to an American audience.
It’s been nearly four years since Inoue appeared in Las Vegas and demonstrated why many experts and fans call him the best fighter pound for pound on the planet. The best.
“I’m excited about everything,” said Inoue about the opportunity to fight in front of an American audience once again.
Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) defends the undisputed super bantamweight championship against a little-known banger from San Antonio, Texas named Ramon “Dinamita” Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs). ESPN will televise the Top Rank and Teiken Promotions fight card.
Don’t dismiss Cardenas casually. He is co-promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz who knows a thing or two about signing little known sluggers such as Manny Pacquiao, Marcos Maidana and female undisputed champ Gabriela Fundora.
Cardenas trains with brothers Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio, California and rumor has it has been cracking on the Uzbeks who are pretty rough and tumble.
Of course, the Monster is another matter.
Inoue has fought many of the best smaller weight fighters such as Luis Nery, Stephen Fulton and the great Nonito Donaire and swept them aside with his combination of speed, power and skill.
“I’m always going for the knockout,” Inoue said.
Cardenas always goes for the knockout too.
Two bangers in Las Vegas. That’s what prizefighting is all about.
“I hope to enjoy the whole atmosphere and the fight,” said Inoue. Also, it’s my first time fighting in the T-Mobile Arena.”
Co-Feature
WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) of Mexico defends against Edward Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOs) of Texas. This will be Espinoza’s third defense of the world title.
Espinoza could be Inoue’s next opponent if the Japanese legend decides to move up another weight division.
Also on the fight card will be Emiliano Vargas, Ra’eese Aleem and others.
Fights to Watch (all times Pacific Time)
Fri. DAZN ppv 2 p.m. Ryan Garcia (24-1) vs Rolando Romero (16-2); Devin Haney (31-1) vs Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2); Teofimo Lopez (21-1) vs Arnold Barboza (32-0).
Sat. DAZN ppv 2:45 p.m. Saul Alvarez (62-2-2) vs William Scull (23-0); Badou Jack (28-3-3) vs Norair Mikeljan (27-2); Jaime Munguia (44-2) vs Bruno Surace (26-0-2).
Sun. ESPN 7 p.m. Naoya Inoue (29-0) vs Ramon Cardenas (26-1); Rafael Espinoza (26-0) vs Edward Vazquez (17-2); Ra’eese Aleem (21-1) vs Rudy Garcia (13-1-1).
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
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 12th 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
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
History has Shortchanged Freddie Dawson, One of the Best Boxers of his Era
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 320: Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, Heavyweights and More
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Results and Recaps from Las Vegas where Richard Torrez Jr Mauled Guido Vianello
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Filip Hrgovic Defeats Joe Joyce in Manchester
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Weekend Recap and More with the Accent of Heavyweights
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Remembering Hall of Fame Boxing Trainer Kenny Adams
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis Wins Welterweight Showdown in Atlantic City
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Boxing Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser