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Boxing’s Best P4P in a Snapshot in Time

These days, more and more people seem to be living in the moment and that might be especially appropriate for boxing fans. Any list of so-called “best” fighters might have looked a certain way last week and then change tomorrow. However, today it just might look like this:
1. Vasiliy “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko. Lightweight 11-1-0 (9 KOs): Lomachenko is an improved version of Floyd Mayweather Jr. He trains uniquely and does things in the ring seldom seen before. That’s why his nickname is “Hi-Tech.” Said Loma recently, “My father explained to me that money can end tomorrow, but with history they will not forget you. That’s why, for me, boxing is a sport and not a business.
2. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Middleweight 50-1-2 (34 KOs): A grizzled veteran at a young age who does it all. His two close matches with Gennady Golovkin answered many questions, especially about his chin. And with his latest financial deal, he can afford all of the Kobe beef he wants.
3. Terence “Bud” Crawford Jr. Welterweight 33-0-0 (24 KOs): Moving up quickly with spectacular and dramatic knockouts, he has an uncanny ability to read his opponent, adjust if required, and then take control of the fight. Many think he should be number one on the lists of best boxers.
4. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. Middleweight 38-1-1 (34 KOs): He came this close to beating Canelo twice, but must now step it up because his aura of invincibility has been pierced and Father Time lurks. A rematch with Daniel Jacobs would tell us all we need to know.
5. Oleksandr Usyk. Cruiserweight 15-0-0 (11 KOs): Still another outstanding Ukrainian fighter with superb technical skills, but are they enough to allow him to compete with the heavyweights? The fact that Usyk as an amateur won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, as well as bronze and gold at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships, all in the heavyweight division, suggests that they might be.
6. Mikey Garcia. Lightweight 39-0-0 (30 KOs): The complete package and quintessential boxer/puncher who relies on a mastery of the fundamentals to win and win and win. However, he must be careful of that dangerous inflection point where more money meets the risk of moving up in weight class.
7. Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. Welterweight 24-0-0 (21 KOs): Like Crawford, he has a mean streak once the bell rings and will beat his opponent’s body until he can close matters. He has remarkable athletic skills but his level of opposition seems to be a bit out of sync with the high praise. Time will tell sooner rather than later, but he is a heavy load.
8. Naoya “Monster” Inoue. Bantamweight 16-0-0 (14 KOs): His nickname says it all. He really is a “monster.” A mini-Godzilla who ends fights upstairs and downstairs in highlight reel fashion. Kalle Sauerland, the German promoter, says, “I’m convinced he’s not only the number one power puncher in Japan, Asia or America, he’s the best on the planet”. That’s why he needs to showcase his stuff outside of Japan more often.
9. Anthony “AJ” Joshua. Heavyweight 21-0-0 (20 KOs): Best of the big guys who exploits his opponents weaknesses and then closes like a thunder clap. He defends with aplomb and hits with asunder. He also holds three of the four major world heavyweight championship belts. To their credit, others are sorting things out by fighting each other in order to get a chance to fight AJ before 90,000 plus rabid fans at Wembley. AJ is an “event fighter.” When he fights, it’s a major event in the UK—and possibly even an opportunity for his opponents to earn an early retirement payday.
10. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Junior Bantamweight 47-4-1 (41 KOs): The new “kid” on the block who gives every indication of sticking around for a while. He has won twenty straight and forty-six of his last forty-seven. He has duked in Japan (where he suffered three of his four defeats in the beginning of his career), Mexico, New York City, and Los Angeles. Look for this Thai to gain gravitas and big paydays as he beats more name opponents.
Lists, by their very nature, are always subject to criticism and attack and this one is probably no exception. Manny Pacquiao fans will ask why he is not on the list and so will those who follow Russians Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol Ukrainian fans—at the risk of becoming somewhat greedy– will want more representation in the form of the “Nail,” Oleksandr Gvozdyk, but first he must hammer dangerous Adonis Stevenson in December. Miguel Berchelt and Rey Vargas have Mexican aficionados cheering as does Leo Santa Cruz, while Carl Frampton gets raves in Ireland. Daniel Jacobs, Gervonta Davis, Jermell Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, and Keith Thurman have Americans piqued with interest and Callum Smith has suddenly hit the scene. Isaac Dogboe is the latest Ghanaian to attract notice. Finally, Thai minimum weight Wanheng Menayothin is 51-0 but he has not fought anyone of note. And oh, yes, Deontay Wilder is not exactly of the P4P type but his awkward style and incredible power could allow him to be on top of his own list.
Ted Sares is one of the world’s oldest active full power lifters and Strongman competitors. He is a member of Ring 10, and Ring 4’s Boxing Hall of Fame. He also is an Auxiliary Member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
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‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.
Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.
Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.
The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.
Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.
Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.
That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.
Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.
In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.
Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.
Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.
The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.
One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.
Take your pick.
The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.
Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.
Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.
If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.
He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.
During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.
Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.
Fundora
Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.
Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.
Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.
Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.
Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?
When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.
This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.
Commerce Casino
Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.
Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.
It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.
Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?
That’s a question for another day.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).
Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).
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TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.
Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.
Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)
Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.
The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).
Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”
A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.
Other winners:
Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon
Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney
Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire
Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix
The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.
The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.
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