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Fistic Notes and Nuggets: The Hauser Report
The past three weekends have seen PBC fighters on center stage in the United States. In each instance, there was a lesson in boxing politics. Let’s take a look.
On February 10, Bounce TV televised a PBC triple-header. Robert Easter impressively dismantled an overmatched Luis Cruz, and Terrell Gausha looked lethargic in outpointing Luis Hernandez. But the story of the night was the WBA super-bantamweight title fight between Rau’shee Warren and Zhanat Zhakiyanov.
Warren was a heavy favorite. And the odds widened exponentially when he knocked Zhakiyanov down twice in the first round. In round three, the momentum shifted. Zhakiyanov appeared to drop Warren with a pair of right hands, but referee Gary Rosato ruled that Rau’shee’s trip to the canvas was caused by a push. Thereafter, Zhakiyanov forced the pace. Warren, bleeding from the nose, had his moments but spent a great deal of time avoiding conflict rather than engaging in it.
The fight was contested at The Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. Warren was the house fighter in every sense. He’s a favorite of PBC impresario Al Haymon; he’s a three-time U.S. Olympian; and he’s from Ohio. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Rau’shee would get the judges’ nod. Zhakiyanov is from Kazakhstan.
Then came the decision . . . Larry Hazzard Jr, 115-111 for Warren . . . John Stewart, 115-111 for Zhakiyanov . . . Ryan Kennedy, 116-110 for Zhakiyanov.
The wide discrepancy in the scoring was similar to the gap that existed last year when Warren lost a split decision to Juan Carlos Payano. On that occasion, two judges scored the fight 113-111 for Payano while the third judge had it 115-109 for Warren.
Kudos for the honest scoring that boxing fans saw in Warren’s fights.
* * *
Good judging was the takeaway from the February 10 PBC card in Toledo. Bad refereeing was the takeaway from the February 18 card featuring PBC fighters in Cincinnati Ohio.
Showtime televised the featured bouts. In the opener, Marcus Browne and Thomas Williams squared off in a light-heavyweight contest. Sixty-eight seconds into round two, Browne scored a flash knockdown, dropping Williams with a stiff jab. Then, with Williams defenseless and clearly on the canvas, Browne whacked him with a vicious left to the side of the head.
This isn’t the first time that Browne has punched an opponent who was on the canvas. He also did it in his last fight, an April 16, 2016, outing against Radivoje Kalajdzic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In that bout, midway through round one, Kalajdzic visited the canvas on what was clearly a slip. And Browne hit Kalajdzic with a jolting straight left when Kalajdzic was down. Instead of warning Browne for his transgression and deducting one or more points, referee Tony Chiarantano mistakenly called the incident a knockdown and ignored the foul.
Referee Ken Miliner was no better in overseeing Browne-Williams. Williams was badly hurt by the illegal blow. Browne should have been disqualified for a flagrant foul. Instead, Miliner counted Williams out. Then a light went on in the referee’s head, and he deducted a point from Browne while allowing Williams five minutes to recover. But that missed the point.
Williams was in no condition to continue after being knocked woozy by an illegal punch. He staggered and seemed a bit disoriented when he rose. He was not allowed to sit, nor was he examined by a doctor during the recovery period. He was knocked down twice more and counted out in the sixth round.
To repeat: Browne should have been disqualified for a flagrant foul.
Miliner also evinced an embarrassing lack of familiarity with the rules of boxing. Just before the action in Browne-Williams resumed, the referee was overheard on a Showtime microphone saying several times that the fight would pick up with the start of the third round rather than continuing the interrupted second stanza.
In the main event, Adrien Broner took on Adrian Granados. The contract weight was 142 pounds. But Broner had trouble making weight and Granados was advised – take it or leave it – that the new contract weight was 147 pounds.
Broner isn’t the only fighter with a history of blowing off weight requirements. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, among others, comes quickly to mind. But Broner has raised the practice to an art form with no repercussions to date. That tarnishes the integrity of the competition.
Broner-Granados was scheduled for ten rounds. Ernie Sharif was the referee. Unfortunately, Sharif allowed Broner (who was the house fighter and hometown favorite) to foul throughout the bout.
In round three, Broner rocked Granados with combination that consisted of an elbow to the nose followed by a head butt that opened a cut on the bridge of Granados’s nose. That was followed by more elbows, more head butts, forearms to the throat, and other maneuvers that might be acceptable in mixed martial arts but aren’t in boxing.
Sharif looked on as a somewhat interested spectator might throughout it all.
It was a difficult fight to score. I gave the nod to Granados by a 96-94 margin. The judges awarded Broner a split-decision victory, which led Granados to complain during a post-fight interview, “They were playing with me. We had to change the weight. They’re just playing all types of f****** games. That’s bullshit. Give me a fair go. You all are treating me like I’m a dumb ass. Come on, man. That’s bullshit.”
Broner has lost both times he went in tough (against Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter). He fights like a man who’s looking for shortcuts and, in recent years, has regressed as a fighter. He should be fighting at 140 pounds but appears to lack the discipline to make that weight.
* * *
And more on officials . . .
In all three of PBC’s February 25 fights on FOX, the referee stopped the bout with the loser still on his feet. Each stoppage was appropriate.
In the first televised bout of the evening, heavyweights Dominic Breazeale and Izuagbe Ugonoh engaged in an inartful slugfest that was more brawling than boxing. But it was fun while it lasted.
Breazeale was knocked out by Anthony Joshua in seven rounds last June. In that outing, he showed toughness and courage but not much more. Ugonoh was born in Poland to Nigerian parents, fought his first nine pro contests in Poland, and then moved to New Zealand where he had eight more bouts.
Ugonoh was the aggressor in rounds one and two against Breazeale, landing reasonably often as Dominic plodded stoically forward.
In round three, Ugonoh got careless, found himself on the receiving end of a right hand, acquainted himself with the canvas, and rose to stagger Breazeale before the round was done. Then, after the bell, Breazeale landed a thudding right hand to the kidney, and Ugonoh sank to the canvas in pain. Referee Jeff Dodson let the matter pass without warning, as he’d done when Breazeale tackled Ugonoh earlier in the stanza.
In round four, two overhand rights wobbled Breazeale. This time, Dominic missed the open-field tackle and stumbled to the canvas. But in round five, Breazeale turned things around, winding up with two overhand rights that everyone in the arena except Ugonoh could see coming. That put Ugonoh down for the second time. He beat the count but was being pummeled when the referee intervened to save him from further punishment at the 50-second mark.
Next up, Jarrett Hurd battled Tony Harrison for the vacant IBF 154-pound belt. Both fighters had beaten the usual suspects. But Harrison was knocked out in the ninth round when he stepped up in class to fight Willie Nelson in 2015. That said something about Tony’s staying power.
In the early rounds of Hurd-Harrison, Hurd was the more confident, more aggressive fighter. Harrison fought cautiously, picking his spots and throwing enough counterpunches to keep Jarrett honest.
In round three, Harrison found a groove and became busier and more effective than before. In part, that was because Hurd didn’t know how to cut off the ring (or if he did, he couldn’t implement the strategy). In part, it was because Hurd seemed mystified by a counterpuncher.
Then, in round eight, Harrison began to tire and one wondered if the Willie Nelson fight was in the back of his mind. If it wasn’t, it should have been. Two minutes eight seconds into round nine, a straight right dropped Harrison to the canvas. He rose, looked disoriented, spat out his mouthpiece, and referee Jim Korb stopped the fight.
That set the stage for Deontay Wilder vs. Gerald Washington.
Since winning his WBC heavyweight belt 25 months ago against Bermane Stiverne (who has fought only once since), Wilder has faced Eric Molina, Johann Duhaupas, Artur Szpilka, and Chris Arreola. That’s low-level competition.
Washington, age 34, is a former college football player who played defensive end, mostly as a back-up, for USC. He had 14 amateur fights and didn’t turn pro until four months after his thirtieth birthday. Prior to attending college, he was a helicopter mechanic in the United States Navy.
In an effort to hype Wilder-Washington, the promotion kept talking about what a “great athlete” Washington is. The same was said about former college football player Michael Grant before he was knocked out by Lennox Lewis, Dominick Guinn, Jameel McCline, Carlos Takam, and Manuel Charr. Grant was a better athlete than Washington and also a better fighter.
Wilder defended the choice of Washington as an opponent, citing his own seven-month layoff due to a broken hand and torn biceps before adding, “We all know boxing is a business first. No matter what fans want to see, no matter what anybody wants to see, boxing is a business.”
Fighting in Birmingham as a native son of Alabama, Wilder was the local hero and a 12-to-1 betting favorite.
The first few rounds of Wilder-Washington saw Wilder do next-to-nothing while Washington tried to establish his jab. But Washington fights with his feet spread so far apart that he pushes his jab rather than stepping into it. Worse, Washington leans in when he throws the jab and brings it back low and slow. That’s a no-no in boxing and raised the question of what would happen when Wilder got around to timing Washington’s jab and dropped a right hand over the top. The answer came in round five . . . KO 5. At the time of the stoppage, one judge had Wilder ahead 39-37. The other two judges had the fight even at 38-38. That was hometown scoring.
Later in the evening, Wilder got into another fight. This one against Dominic Breazeale in the lobby of the Westin Birmingham Hotel where the fighters and their respective camps were staying.
Wilder had signaled bad blood toward Breazeale at the post-fight press conference, telling the media, “He had an altercation with my little brother. You don’t mess with my little brother. If you have a problem, you come to me and we can handle it. We can deal with it accordingly. So with that, I’ve got a problem with him. And it ain’t no problem that I wanna see him in the ring. So I’ll see him.”
See him, Deontay did. The fight spilled out onto the street and police intervention was necessary to restore order.
On Sunday morning, Breazeale posted a statement on Instagram that read, “I want to address the fact that Deontay Wilder and a mob of about 20 people unprovokedly attacked my team and my family in the lobby last night. My coach and I were blindsided by sucker-punches and my team was assaulted as well, all in front wife and kids. This cowardly attack has no place in boxing and, believe me, it will not go unpunished.”
Wilder had a previous run-in with the law when he was arrested in 2013 after an incident in a Las Vegas hotel room and charged with domestic battery by strangulation. According to a police report, the woman in question had a possible broken nose, swelling around her eyes, a cut lip, and red marks on her neck. Wilder’s attorney later said that Deontay was apologetic and had mistakenly thought the woman was planning to rob him. The matter was settled out of court.
But returning to in-ring combat . . . Wilder can whack with his right hand. The short chopping punch to the temple that dropped Washington would cause problems for any heavyweight. However, a good heavyweight might be experienced enough to not get hit by it. And Deontay has flaws as a fighter. Lots of them, including the fact that he pulls straight back from punches instead of slipping them.
It would be nice to see Wilder in the ring next against someone on the order of Luis Ortiz or Jarrell Miller. But more likely, he’ll fight Joseph Parker or an even less-threatening opponent while biding his time for a big-money bout against Anthony Joshua, Wladimir Klitschko, or Tyson Fury. That might be a good business strategy. But it makes Wilder an intriguing contender, not a champion.
Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book – A Hard World: An Inside Look at Another Year in Boxing – was published recently by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism.
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Canelo-Berlanga Postscript
By TSS Special Correspondent Raymundo Dioses — There was a palpable buzz in the air befitting a mega fight in Las Vegas on a Mexican holiday weekend. Canelo Alvarez retained his unified super middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga via unanimous decision at the T-Mobile Arena in front of a sold-out crowd who were treated to a one-sided, yet never boring contest.
Although Canelo, (62-2-2, 39 KOs) remains devoid of a knockout win dating back to November 2021 against Caleb Plant, there was plenty to like about his performance and enough offense being thrown his way by Berlanga to produce an entertaining fight.
It was about as jovial a crowd as any for a fight night and despite the wide scores (118-109, 118-109, 117-110) as well as Berlanga getting a “caught with his lead hand down’ moment” which enabled Canelo to score an early knockdown, the young Puerto Rican made a positive impression in his first title fight, his first main event pay-per-view, and his first Sin City atmosphere which can make or break a fighter.
“My experience, my talent, my hard work (was the difference). Everything together, because if you have a talent and you don’t have discipline you have nothing. If you have discipline and you don’t have talent you have nothing. So you need to combine both and hard work,” Canelo would say in the post-fight in-ring interview with Jim Gray. Canelo would go on to relay that message to Berlanga and tell his most recent adversary that he sees him as a future champion.
There was talk around town and the sports world that the Spherical ‘Noche UFC’ event a few miles down the road would take some of the flair away from the PBC on Prime Video event which featured a $90 price with the B-side fighter Berlanga gloving up against an 18/1 favorite in Canelo.
Yet when all was said and done, 20,312 boxing fans were provided a good show with a decent undercard that saw Erislandy Lara retaining his WBA middleweight title against Danny Garcia via stoppage, plus an entertaining Caleb Plant-Trevor McCumby match won by Plant via TKO, and a first- time title challenger in Berlanga who didn’t show up to lay down against a top pound-for-pound fighter despite having literally all the odds stacked against him.
The post-fight press conference was held following T-Mobile Arena staff impressively breaking down the ring and transforming the canvas into a stage for fighters and their camps to react to the night’s proceedings. Up to the dais first were Plant and Lara, two veterans of the sport. Plant has made himself into a fan favorite with impressive performances throughout the years including solid showings in his only defeats in bouts with Canelo and David Benavidez. Lara spoke through an interpreter and thanked everyone involved in the win that solidifies him as the sport’s oldest title-holder at 41 years of age.
Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) preceded Canelo to the mic and had Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn and his team alongside him. The press showed great respect to Berlanga who said that he felt 50/50 towards the event and its outcome, knowing that while his first career loss was registered, he knows that the performance that he delivered was of the type that often propels the B-side fighter into more big fights and lucrative paydays (see Caleb Plant).
Reminiscent of a champion-last ring walk, Canelo arrived with his team and after the obligatory “thank you” to all involved, spoke briefly on a next possible opponent and was asked about the UFC fight that that took place the same night.
A media member brought up ‘Noche UFC’ sponsor Turki Alalshikh’s comments about a matchup between Canelo and fellow top pound-for-pound fighter Terence Crawford.
After once again filling up the T-Mobile Arena while headlining a pay-per-view event and securing a payday perhaps upwards of $50 million, Canelo’s response to Alalshikh was perhaps his best punch of the night:
“No comment.”
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Canelo Proves Too Canny and Tough for Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas
Canelo Proves Too Canny and Tough for Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas
Never underestimate a Puerto Rico versus Mexico fight.
Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez needed all 12 rounds to defeat Puerto Rico’s super strong Edgar Berlanga and retain the unified super middleweight championship on Saturday.
Berlanga never quit.
“He’s very strong,” Canelo said.
Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) showed that championship fighting is like high-speed chess and Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) did not have enough moves to out-wit the Mexican redhead at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Especially on Mexican Independence Day weekend.
Despite an early knockdown by a Canelo left hook, Berlanga was able to survive the Mexican fighter’s onslaught and withstand punishment that could have felled a rhinoceros.
“I got a little bit of Mexican in me,” Berlanga joked.
During an exchange in the third round Alvarez snapped a quick left hook that timed the Puerto Rican perfectly. Down he went for only the second time in his career. But he got up quickly and rallied a bit in the round.
It was the theme of the fight.
Every time Alvarez scored heavy with combinations to the head and body, Berlanga responded back as much as possible. He never wilted though he had plenty of opportunities.
It was a methodical attack by the Mexican champion that kept Berlanga guessing in every round. The Puerto Rican tried firing back and using his height and reach but Alvarez was always a step ahead.
Berlanga managed to score, but he never could mount a long rally. In the fifth round Berlanga used rough tactics including a head butt that angered Alvarez. It was the first time the Boricua was able to connect heavily.
But Alvarez proved too canny for Berlanga. The Mexican redhead who has won world titles as a super welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight, showed off his experience. The Puerto Rican could only absorb the blows and retaliate. But his strength was impressive.
“He will be a champion,” said Alvarez.
After 12 back-and-forth rounds, both hugged like old friends. It was exactly the type of fight Alvarez wanted for the thousands of Mexican and Puerto Rican fans at the arena and worldwide.
Alvarez was deemed the winner by unanimous decision 117-110, 118-109 twice and retains the world titles.
“I did good,” said Alvarez. “I’m the best fighter in the world.”
Berlanga was gracious in defeat.
“I could have done a lot more, but I was fighting a legend,” Berlanga said.
Other Fights
After nine rounds of whistles and boos by a disgruntled crowd due to inactivity, Erislandy Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs) fired a lead left cross to drop Danny “Swift” Garcia (37-4). Lara was making the third defense of the WBA middleweight world title he won with a one-punch knockout of Thomas La Manna.
The battle between counter-punchers did not please the fans, but slowly Lara kept Garcia at bay with his sharp right jabs. The Cuban southpaw caught Garcia moving with his hands down with a single strafing left. Down he went for the first time in his career and the fight was ended at the end of the ninth round.
It was the first loss by knockout for Garcia, the former super lightweight and welterweight world titlist.
Plant
Once again Caleb Plant (23-2, 15 KOs) made the fight personal and found Trevor McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs) a worthy challenge for the interim super middleweight title for most of the fight.
It was thoroughly entertaining.
McCumby battered Plant early and put him to the canvas twice, although only the second was ruled a knockdown. A strong left hook to the shoulder caught Plant perfectly and down he went.
That seemed to wake up Plant.
The former super middleweight world titlist who lives in Las Vegas took the fight inside and pinned McCumby to the ropes. Plant went to work from that point on and did not allow his foe another big opportunity.
In the ninth round Plant pinned McCumby against the ropes once again and unloaded a dozen blows that ravaged the Arizona fighter. Referee Allen Huggins stopped the fight at 2:59 of the ninth round.
“Word on the street is I cant fight inside,” said Plant sarcastically.
Rolly Wins
Former lightweight champion Rolly Romero (16-2) proved too experienced for the rugged Manuel Jaimes (16-2-1) who resembles slightly Antonio Margarito. The only problem is he doesn’t punch enough like the Tijuana tornado.
Romero hit and held through much of the fight until the referee warned him repeatedly. Still, Romero was busier and far more accurate than Jaimes. All three judges scored in favor of Romero 99-91.
Photo credit: German Villasenor
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Stephen Fulton Nips Carlos Castro in a Prelude to Canelo vs Berlanga
In his first fight back after being dominated and stopped by pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue in a fight for super bantamweight supremacy in July of last year, Stephen Fulton nipped upset-minded Carlos Castro, improving to 22-1 (8) in his first start as a featherweight. The verdict was split, with Fulton prevailing by 96-93 and 95-94 with the dissenter favoring Castro 95-94. The decision seemed fair although not in eyes of the predominantly Mexican crowd which booed the decision.
This was an entertaining 10-round fight between two evenly-matched 30-year-old campaigners. Long-time Phoenix resident Castro (30-3) put Fulton on the deck in round five with a counter right hand and Fulton rode his bicycle to shed the cobwebs as the round played out. But the Philadelphian, with new trainer Bozy Ennis in his corner, recuperated well and had a strong sixth round.
In round eight, Castro buckled Fulton’s knees with another straight right, but was unable to press his advantage. The bout served as the “main” prelim to the four-fight PPV card.
—
In a welterweight contest slated for “10,” Mexico City’s Ricardo Salas, a 6/1 underdog, scored a second-round stoppage of Roiman Villa. The end in this slam-bang and all-too-brief skirmish came at the 2:06 mark of round three when Salas, fighting off the ropes, nailed Villa with a perfectly-placed, short right hand. Villa went down for the count.
Salas, whose de facto manager is the ubiquitous Sean Gibbons, improved to 20-2-2 with his 15th win inside the distance. From Colombia by way of Venezuela, Villa (26-3) was making his first start since being stopped by Boots Ennis in July of last year.
—
In the opener on the PBC YouTube channel, super featherweight Jonathan “Geo” Lopez, a 21-year-old Pennsylvania-born southpaw, won a wide 8-round decision over rugged San Antonio campaigner Richard Medina. Lopez pitched a shutout, winning 80-71 on all three cards, but this was hardly a stroll in the park for him.
Lopez, who improved to 17-0 (12), simply had too much class for Medina. A 20/1 favorite, the Eddy Reynoso-trained boxer hurt Medina at the end of round seven and put him on the canvas in the final round with a straight left hand, but Medina (15-3) kept on plugging away and maintained his distinction of never being stopped.
Also
In an off-TV fight, super middleweight Bek Nurmaganbet, a 26-year-old Kazakh, won his eighth straight inside the distance, improving to 12-0 (10) with a second-round stoppage of SoCal’s Joshua Conley (17-7-1).
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