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This Week in The Fight Game

Pacquiao vs Broner
Yesterday, Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner formally announced their upcoming fight, scheduled for January 19that the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The fight will be broadcast via Showtime PPV. Pacquiao has been a world title holder in eight different divisions, and now he will be defending his WBA world welterweight title against Broner, who has held titles in four divisions.
Pacquiao commented, “I have missed fighting in Las Vegas. It has been a second home to me. Returning to the MGM Grand Garden Arena to defend my world title against Adrien Broner is an exciting way to stage my homecoming. Adrien is a tough opponent with an accomplished record. But if I have learned one thing while serving in the Philippine Congress and Senate, it is problem solving.”
Apparently, Freddie Roach will be reuniting with Pacquiao for this fight, working alongside his head trainer, Buboy Fernandez. Pacquiao said, I just want to prove that I’m still in boxing and my journey in boxing is continuing. I chose Broner because we can have a good fight and entertain the fans. Adrien is a top caliber fighter and a good boxer. We cannot underestimate him.”
Broner stated, “There were a lot of people who wanted this fight and God blessed me to get it. I guess I am just the chosen one. He’s a future hall-of-famer. It’s going to be a hell of a fight. All the things he’s done in this game is unbelievable. I have only got a chance you all could dream of, I don’t even know how I’m feeling right now. It means a lot to me. A win, I turn a legend overnight.”
Martinez in training for a comeback.
In an interview with EFE, Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez announced that he is returning to boxing. Martinez, the former world super welterweight and middleweight champion, retired after his 2014 loss to Miguel Cotto. According to the article, Martinez will be finalizing the details of his upcoming fight shortly. He has been training in Madrid with his coach Tinín Rodriguez.
For the past four years, Martinez has spent his time writing, acting, and giving motivational speeches. He worked through his right knee injury and cleansed himself of the toxic people in his life. He healed what needed to be healed and changed his perspective. And he found himself training again.
Sergio said that they were in the final stages of signing a contract with Julio Cesar Chaves Jr, but believes that fell apart due to Chavez’s inability to make weight. He predicts that within a few days, his fight will be announced. “I have to see if it’s attractive to me, because I do not want just any fight. If I’m going back, I want to do it right. I am enjoying this moment very much.”
TSS had the opportunity to sit down with Sergio over dinner a few years back. We found him to be a driven and focused individual who carries himself with a great deal of class and dignity.
Martinez competed professionally for almost 20 years. He held the WBC super welterweight title and the unified WBC, WBO, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight titles. He defended the latter two with six successful defenses. He reigned as the lineal middleweight champion for 50 months.
We have all seen how age and injuries can take their toll on fighters, and Martinez has had more than his fair share of injuries. Although there are still many fighters that he would beat, we prefer him to stay retired, as he has nothing more to prove. That being said, we wish Sergio all the best.
Top Rank signs Vijender Singh to a multiyear promotional contract.
According to Dan Rafael, Top Rank just signed the super middleweight Vijender Singh to a multiyear promotional contract. The thirty-three year old Singh (10-0, 7 KOs) won a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Games. He also represented India in the 2004 and 2012 Olympics. Top Rank is planning on debuting Singh early next year.
Lamphoon, Thailand
Wednesday, In Lamphoon, Thailand, Komgrich Nantapech (24-5, 15 KOs) will face Masayuki Kuroda (30-7-3, 16 KOs) in an IBF flyweight eliminator bout. Nantapech is currently the IBF Pan Pacific Flyweight Champion and Kuroda has won the Japan light-flyweight and flyweight titles.
Boxeo Telemundo
Boxeo Telemundo is Telemundo Deportes’ number one Spanish language boxing program in the U.S. Boxeo Telemundo’s fall season continues on Friday, November 23rd at the Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City, Mexico. Flyweights Ganigan Lopez and Ricardo Rodriguez will be featured in a 10 round bout, along with six additional fights on the card. The card will be broadcast live at 11:35 PM ET/PT on Telemundo and live streamed on Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app. TelemundoDeportes.com will have additional extensive news and content, including access to the weigh-in and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
HBO World Championship Boxing, Atlantic City
On Saturday, November 24th, Dmitry Bivol (14-0, 11 KOs) will defend his WBA light heavyweight title against the former champion, Jean Pascal (33-5-1, 20 KOs). The event will be held at the Mark G. Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. The fights will be broadcast at 10:00 pm (live ET/tape-delayed PT).
Monte Carlo
Matchroom Boxing and DAZN are promoting the third edition of the Monte-Carlo Boxing Bonanza on Saturday, November 24th, featuring Cruiserweight Denis Lebedev (31-2, 23 KO’s) who will be defending his WBA title against the undefeated Mike Wilson (19-0, 8 KO’s). The event will be hosted by Le Casino de Monte-Carlo and broadcast live on DAZN in the U.S. and Sky Sports in the UK. The ringwalk is scheduled for 4:00 pm.
Auckland, New Zealand
On Saturday, November 24th, Lucas Browne (26-1-0), the Australian former mixed martial artist and kickboxer, will be fighting against Junior Pati (13-22-1), a Samoan born New Zealander for the WBC Asia Silver Heavyweight Title. Pati is a cousin of David Tua and is said to have a similar boxing style. Browne is hoping to get back into contention for a world title.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 24th
At the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino in San Juan, PR, Best Boxing Promotions will be featuring junior lightweights Christopher Diaz (23-1, 15 KOs) and David Berna (17-5, 16 KOs) in a 10 round bout, along with featherweights Luis “Popeye” Lebron and Jose Luis Gallegos, also scheduled for 10 rounds. Diaz, who is promoted by Top Rank, is looking forward to a strong comeback after suffering a loss in July to Masayuki Ito.
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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its money’s worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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