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Is the ‘Mayweather Factor’ Stalling the Garcia-Lomachenko Fight?
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Since WBC/IBF lightweight champ Mikey Garcia soundly defeated IBF titlist Robert Easter, many have been speculating as to why he’s been very guarded talking about WBA title holder Vasyl Lomachenko, his only rival holding a title at 135. A fight between Mikey and Lomachenko for the undisputed lightweight title (assuming Lomachenko beats WBO title holder Jose Pedraza in December) would be the most anticipated lightweight title bout in ages. More than 50 years have elapsed since the last true super fight at lightweight.
As it was stated in this space on July 29th, it looks like, at least from afar, that Garcia has some trepidation pertaining to a showdown with Lomachenko. This is night and day different from saying Garcia actually fears Lomachenko; no, I don’t believe that. And if they were to meet I see it as a 50-50 fight with both presenting the other more questions stylistically than any other opponent they’ve ever faced, with a slight lean to Lomachenko presenting Mikey with a little bigger headache than the reverse.
In Garcia’s defense, for financial and other reasons, there is a strong case for him wanting to drag his feet regarding Lomachenko for as long as he can. And it could be that when he dropped Errol Spence’s name it was only a ruse.
Consider this: Mikey being 30 years old is/was no doubt most influenced by Floyd Mayweather, the most successful fighter financially in boxing history. Garcia learned by watching Mayweather that it doesn’t matter what’s said in the media as long as your name is continually in front of the fans. He watched Mayweather be accused of fearing Manny Pacquiao while being labeled a cherry picker. Floyd didn’t care, he continued to face fighters whose best days had come and gone. Mikey witnessed Floyd tease fans for over five years about fighting Pacquiao and then when the money was near its high water mark and Manny had been knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez after enduring some strenuous fights, Floyd finally gave it the go-ahead and he and Manny both were paid more for one fight than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard made during their entire careers.
Understanding the above, it’s easy to glean why Garcia doesn’t care if fans and some in the boxing media accuse him of fearing Lomachenko. What he knows for sure is that those same people will be there in droves when he finally does face him. He knows — in much the same way that Mayweather viewed Pacquiao — that this is the fight that fight fans want to see, so unless one gets knocked off before they meet, the fight will always be there. Floyd knew Manny would never decline it after he had strung him along for five-plus years.
Mikey Garcia doesn’t just have one of the highest boxing IQ’s of any active fighter in the ring, he’s no one’s fool out of it pertaining to the business side of boxing and that’s probably why, like Floyd, he left Bob Arum. He’s fully cognizant that he’s never fought on PPV and that is where the big money is. He also observes how some fighters have the media and the establishment behind them. Lomachenko is exhibit A.
Here’s a fighter in Lomachenko who has more experience than his 11-1 (9) record indicates and probably boxed more rounds getting ready for his 397 amateur bouts than Garcia has in his 39 pro bouts. And the funny thing is Lomachenko fought six fights in the “World Series of Boxing.” These fights, amateur in name only, were scheduled for five rounds, one more than the four rounders that entry level pros fight. But saying Lomachenko has won three titles in different divisions in just 12 bouts makes him a bigger monster and star than adding the six bouts before his debut, which would make him 17-1.
Stylistically Garcia is a fundamental boxer. He isn’t flashy, just super-efficient. Purists marvel at him but how many of them are around today? Lomachenko, who looks unlike other fighters past or present, is much better eye candy. Actually he’s sort of a hybrid of Hector Camacho and Pernell Whitaker. And he has the ring presence of a smaller Muhammad Ali. In other words, Lomachenko looks as if he’s in control when nothing is transpiring during a round, and whenever he does do something, it grabs your attention and influences the judges and many fans too.
Another issue Garcia might have is that he probably knows going in that he won’t get any of the borderline rounds since Lomechenko is perceived as the bigger star. More than likely, Garcia feels that he has to stop him to come out with the win and that certainly isn’t something he can bank on.
Lomachenko’s style is rooted more in athleticism and speed than boxing brilliance. Vasyl breaks a lot of rules and as he ages, his effectiveness — like Ali and Roy Jones — will decline. Conversely, Garcia’s supreme fundamentals and technique travel better with age. And with both being 30 years old, Mikey is the one who just may have more years ahead of him fighting near his peak. So the longer he keeps the fight from happening, the more it works in his favor.
The reasons for Garcia acting as if Lomachenko doesn’t exist don’t in any way indicate fear on his part. Mikey surely knows that Lomachenko is a very tough man for him to fight stylistically, but it’s not like he cannot be decoded and if there was a fighter at or near Vasyl’s weight to crack his code, it’s Garcia. But it’s a tough fight, and knowing that all the close calls will go to Lomachenko, Mikey needs to be paid like he’s never been paid before.
It’s plausible Mikey knows the fight with Lomachenko isn’t going to disappear. So it makes sense for him to “Mayweather” it, allowing it to be said he’s fearful of Vasyl as he strings it along. And when the money is right and he feels he’s leveled everything outside the ring as much as he can – then he’ll okay it.
One thing is for sure, Garcia is the more accomplished pro and at age 30 he’s covered more ground than Lomachenko has. Mikey has more leverage fighting Lomachenko than Deontay Wilder does fighting Anthony Joshua. Unlike Wilder, Garcia shouldn’t agree to anything less than a 50-50 purse split, whereas Wilder should kiss the ground if he can get 40 percent when he fights Joshua.
No, Mikey Garcia doesn’t lose sleep over Vasyl Lomachenko – he just believes he’s probably not going to get a level playing field going in without playing games, mixed in with a little subterfuge and actually fighting at the bargaining table. My feeling is when Garcia is confident he’s worked out the best deal he can and maybe Loma has eroded slightly – we’ll see maybe the biggest lightweight championship fight ever with all the meaningful hardware on the line.
Super fights in the lightweight division have been few and far between. Garcia-Lomachenko just could be the most anticipated lightweight title fight ever and if it never comes to fruition I sincerely doubt Mikey Garcia will be the reason. Those who have followed boxing for a long time know it’s just not a matter of two guys wanting to face each other. Gamesmanship and leverage have always been a part of boxing. Floyd Mayweather took it to a new level and it’s hard not to believe his influence isn’t in play here regarding Garcia’s approach to fighting Lomachenko.
It’s really shortsighted to think Mikey fears Vasyl, but it’s not bad business to let fight fans believe it.
Between 1977 and 1982, Frank Lotierzo had over 50 fights in the middleweight division. He trained at Joe Frazier’s gym in Philadelphia under the tutelage of the legendary George Benton. Before joining The Sweet Science his work appeared in several prominent newsstand and digital boxing magazines and he hosted “Toe-to-Toe” on ESPN Radio. Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@gmail.com
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Cain Sandoval KOs Mark Bernaldez in the Featured Bout at Santa Ynez
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Northern California’s Cain Sandoval remained undefeated with a knockout win over Mark Bernaldez in a super lightweight battle on Friday on a 360 Promotions card.
Sandoval (15-0, 13 KOs) of Sacramento needed four rounds to figure out tough Filipino fighter Bernaldez (25-7, 14 KOs) in front of a packed crowd at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez.
Bernaldez had gone eight rounds against Mexico’s very tough Oscar Duarte. He showed no fear for Sandoval’s reputed power and both fired bombs at each other from the second round on.
Things turned in favor of Sandoval when he targeted the body and soon had Bernaldez in retreat. It was apparent Sandoval had discovered a weakness.
In the beginning of the fourth Sandoval fired a stiff jab to the body that buckled Bernaldez but he did not go down. And when both resumed in firing position Sandoval connected with an overhand right and down went the Filipino fighter. He was counted out by referee Rudy Barragan at 34 seconds of the round.
“I’m surprised he took my jab to the body. I respect that. I have a knockout and I’m happy about that,” Sandoval said.
Other Bouts
Popular female fighter Lupe Medina (9-0) remained undefeated with a solid victory over the determined Agustina Vazquez (4-3-2) by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a minimumweight fight between Southern Californians.
Early on Vazquez gave Medina trouble disrupting her patter with solid jabs. And when Medina overloaded with combination punches, she was laced with counters from Vazquez during the first four rounds.
Things turned around in the fifth round as Medina used a jab to keep Vazquez at a preferred distance. And when she attacked it was no more than two-punch combination and maintaining a distance.
Vazquez proved determined but discovered clinching was not a good idea as Medina took advantage and overran her with blows. Still, Vazquez looked solid. All three judges saw it 79-73 for Medina.
A battle between Southern Californian’s saw Compton’s Christopher Rios (11-2) put on the pressure all eight rounds against Eastvale’s Daniel Barrera (8-1-1) and emerged the winner by majority decision in a flyweight battle.
It was Barrera’s first loss as a pro. He never could discover how to stay off the ropes and that proved his downfall. Neither fighter was knocked down but one judge saw it 76-76, and two others 79-73 for Rios.
In a welterweight fight Gor Yeritsyan (20-1,16 KOs) scorched Luis Ramos (23-7) with a 12-punch combination the sent him to the mat in the second round. After Ramos beat the count he was met with an eight punch volley and the fight was stopped at 2:11 of the second round by knockout.
Super feather prospect Abel Mejia (7-0, 5 KOs) floored Alfredo Diaz (9-12) in the fifth round but found the Mexican fighter to be very durable in their six-round fight. Mejia caught Diaz with a left hook in the fifth round for a knockdown. But the fight resumed with all three judges scoring it 60-53 for Mejia who fights out of El Modena, Calif.
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The Return of David Alaverdian
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By TSS Special Correspondent David Harazduk — After David Alaverdian (8-0-1, 6 KOs) scored a gritty victory against a tough Nicaraguan journeyman named Enrique Irias, his plans suddenly changed. The flashy flyweight from Nahariya, Israel hoped to face even tougher opposition and then challenge for a world title within a year or so. But a prolonged illness forced David to rip up the script.
The Irias fight was over 22 months ago. On Saturday, Feb. 22, Alaverdian will be making his first appearance in the ring since that win when he faces veteran road warrior Josue “Zurdo” Morales (31-16-4, 13 KOs) at the Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It’s the fifth promotion by Las Vegas attorney Stephen Reid whose inaugural card was at this venue on Feb. 13, 2020.
“I’m excited to come back,” Alaverdian declared.
During his preparation for Irias two years ago, Alaverdian felt fatigue after a routine six-round sparring session. “It was on April 1, 2023, about ten days before my fight. It felt like an April Fool’s joke,” he said. He came down with a sore throat, a headache, and congestion. He soon developed trouble breathing. At first, he thought his seasonal asthma had flared up, but his condition soon worsened. No matter what he did, Alaverdian could no longer take deep breaths. Fatigue continued to plague him. His heart constantly raced. Instead of breathing from his diaphragm, he was breathing from his chest. He sought out numerous doctors in the United States and in Israel.
His symptoms were finally diagnosed as Dysfunctional Breathing (DB). DB is a condition that can stem from stress and is often misdiagnosed. Its symptoms include dyspnea and tachycardia, both of which David experienced.
While receiving treatment, the Vegas-based pro went back to Israel where he coached aspiring fighters. “David’s influence on Israeli boxing is amazing, because he shows we can succeed in a big business even though we come from a small country,” said another undefeated Israeli flyweight, 20-year-old Yonatan Landman (7-0, 7 KOs). “A lot more Israelis are going to dare to succeed.”
Landman was able to work with Alaverdian during David’s return to Israel. “He is a great guy and a friend,” Landman said. “He has a lot of willingness to help, share his knowledge, and help you move forward.”
Alaverdian finally started to feel like he could compete again eight months ago. He won last year’s Israeli national amateur championship and competed in Olympic qualifiers. Now, he’s preparing to fight as a professional once again. “He doesn’t mention anything about [his breathing issues] like he did before,” his coach Cedric Ferguson said about this camp. “He’s been working like there’s no issue at all.”
It has been a whirlwind week for the 31-year-old Alaverdian. In addition to putting the finishing touches on his preparation ahead of Saturday’s comeback fight, David got married on Tuesday. His mom came over from Israel for the wedding and will stay for the fight. “It’s a good distraction,” David said of this week’s significant events. “It helps me. That way I don’t have to focus on the fight all day.”
Josue Morales, a 32 year old from Houston, hopes to play spoiler on Saturday. The crafty southpaw has never been stopped during his 52-fight career. “He’s a seasoned guy with a lot of experience,” Alaverdian said of Morales. “He knows how to move around the ring and is more of a technical boxer. He’s a tough opponent for someone who has been out of the ring for two years.”
A win Saturday night would complete a monumental week for David Alaverdian, both in and out of the ring, repairing the once-shredded script.
Doors open at the Westgate fight arena at 6:30 pm. The first bout goes at 7:00. Seven fights are scheduled including an 8-round female fight between Las Vegas light flyweight Yadira Bustillos and Argentine veteran Tamara Demarco.
NOTE: Author David Harazduk has run The Jewish Boxing Blog since 2010. You can find him at Twitter/X @JewishBoxing and Instagram.
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Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History
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Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History
Saturday’s fight card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, topped by the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for undisputed light heavyweight supremacy, was being hyped as the greatest boxing card ever. That was before Daniel Dubois took ill and had to pull out of his IBF world heavyweight title defense against Joseph Parker, yielding his slot to last-minute replacement Martin Bakole.
The view from here is that the card remains in the running for the best fight card ever, top to bottom. The public didn’t view Dubois as the legitimate heavyweight champion. That distinction goes to Oleksandr Usyk.
Terms like “greatest” are, of course, subjective. Are we referring to the most attractive match-ups or the greatest array of talent, or the card that gives the most satisfaction by churning out a multiplicity of entertaining fights?
We won’t know how satisfying this card is until after the fact. We won’t know whether the talent on display was the greatest ever assembled on one night until many years have passed. Contestants such as Shakur Stevenson, Vergil Ortiz Jr, and Hamzah Sheeraz are still in their twenties (Stevenson is the oldest of the three at age 27) and it’s too soon to gauge if they will leave the sport with a great legacy.
As for which fight card in history had the deepest pool of attractive match-ups, this is a query that is amenable to an operational definition. Betting lines are a useful tool for informing us whether or not a fight warrants our attention if the likelihood of witnessing a closely-contested bout is our primary consideration.
Based on these factors, I would submit that the current leader in the race for the best card ever assembled goes to Don King’s May 7, 1994 promotion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Six future Hall of Famers – Julio Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez, Azumah Nelson, Terry Norris, Julian Jackson, and Christy Martin — were on that card, an 11-fight, eight-hour marathon with five WBC world title fights, four of which were rematches.
These were the five title fights:
140 pounds: Julio Cesar Chavez (89-1-1, 77 KOs) vs. Frankie Randall (49-2-1, 39 KOs)
Odds: Chavez 3/1 (minus-300)
154 pounds: Terry Norris (37-4, 23 KOs) vs. Simon Brown (41-2, 30 KOs)
Odds: even (11/10 and take your pick)
160 pounds: Gerald McClellan (30-2, 28 KOs) vs. Julian Jackson (48-2, 45 KOs)
Odds: McClellan 7/2 (minus-350)
130 pounds: Azumah Nelson (37-2-2, 26 KOs) vs. Jesse James Leija (27-0-2, 13 KOs)
Odds: Nelson 17/10 (minus-170)
105 pounds: Ricardo Lopez (36-0, 27 KOs) vs. Kermin Guardia (21-0, 14 KOs)
Odds: none
Results
Chavez-Randall — Julio Cesar Chavez avenged his loss to Frankie Randall, but not without controversy. An accidental clash of heads in the eighth round left Chavez with a bad gash on his forehead. Ring physician Flip Homansky would have allowed the bout to continue if that had been Chavez’s preference, but El Gran Campeon wasn’t so inclined. A WBC rule specified that in the event of a significant injury accruing from an accidental head butt, the less-damaged fighter is penalized a point. The fight went to the scorecards where Chavez won a split decision that would have been a draw without the point deduction. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Chavez, but the big bets were mostly on Randall and the odds got nicked down on the day of the fight.
Brown-Norris — In their first meeting in December of the previous year, Simon Brown dominated Terry Norris from the opening bell before stopping him in the fourth round. It was a massive upset. Norris was in the conversation for the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. In the rematch, Norris opened a slight favorite, but the late money was on Brown. And, once again, the so-called “sharps” were on the wrong side. Terry Norris, the would-be avenger, won a comfortable decision.
McClellan-Jackson — A murderous puncher, Gerald McClellan bombed out Julian Jackson in 83 seconds, or four rounds quicker than in their first engagement. Jackson was also a murderous puncher and attracted money in the sports books, lowering the price on the victorious McClellan who yet remained a solid favorite.
Nelson-Leija – WBC President Jose Sulaiman mandated this rematch after the first meeting ended in a draw after an error was found in the tabulation of one of the scorecards, overturning the original verdict which had Nelson retaining his title on a split decision. Leija thought he was robbed and was the rightful winner in the do-over, outworking Nelson to win a unanimous decision. At age 35, Azumah was getting long in the tooth.
Lopez-Guardia – Before the digital age, bookmakers didn’t trifle to post lines on bouts that on paper were egregious mismatches, save perhaps a fight of great magnitude. Guardia, the Colombian challenger, overachieved by lasting the distance in a fight with no knockdowns, but “Finito” won a lopsided decision.
A Note on Odds
Betting lines serve a useful purpose for boxing historians; they quantify the magnitude of an upset. However, quoting odds is tricky because they are fluid and vary somewhat from place to place. What this means is that two journalists can quote different odds on the same event and they both can get it right – unless there is a significant disparity. The odds quoted above are the closing lines at the MGM Grand or, at the very least, a very close approximation.
Saturday in Riyadh
One reason why tomorrow’s fight card is the best ever, said the tub-thumpers, is that the card (in its original conformation) included seven world title fights. But that’s no big deal There are so many title fights nowadays that the term “world title” has been trivialized. And what wasn’t acknowledged is that three of the title fights were of the “interim” stripe.
However – and this is a big deal — a glance at the odds informs us that tomorrow’s card is chock-full of competitive match-ups (at least on paper) and from that aspect, a blend of quality and quantity, it is a doozy of a boxing card.
The greatest boxing linemaker of my generation, now deceased, once told me that any fight where the “chalk” was less than a 3/1 favorite is essentially a “pick-‘em” fight. Yes, I know that makes no sense mathematically. However, I know what he was getting at. In a baseball game, for example, it’s very rare to find a team favored by odds of more than 3/1. In boxing, where self-serving promoters are constantly feeding us King Kong vs. Mickey Mouse, odds higher than 3/1 are the norm.
As this is being written, there are six fights on Saturday’s card where one could play the favorite without laying more than 3/1. I believe this is unprecedented. Moreover, the main event and a fascinating match-up on the undercard, Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov, are virtual toss-ups with the favorites, Beterbiev and Ortiz, currently available at 5/4 (minus-125). Another very intriguing fight is the heavyweight contest between late bloomers Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang which finds the less-heralded Kabayel cloaked as a small favorite. And kudos to Joseph Parker for accepting Martin Bakole when he could have held out for a lesser opponent. If Bakole is in shape (a big “if”), he will be a handful.
And so, where does tomorrow’s card rank on the list of best boxing cards ever? Right up there near the top, we would argue, and, if the bouts in large part are memorably entertaining, we would push it ahead of Don King’s May 7, 1994 extravaganza.
That’s the view from here. Feel free to dissent.
Postscript: If you plan to watch the entire card ($25.99 on DAZN for U.S. buyers), it would help to stock up on some munchies. The first fight (Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith) is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 a.m. for us viewers in the Pacific Time Zone / 11:45 a.m. ET. If the show adheres tight to its schedule (no guarantee), Beterbiev and Bivol are expected to enter the ring at 3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET.
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