Dmitry Bivol Iced the Cake at an Eastern European Soiree in Atlantic City

Published

6 years ago

November 25, 2018

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – If ever there was proof that life sometimes imitates art, consider what took place here Saturday night in the Mark G. Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The eight-bout card was a veritable smorgasbord of Eastern European boxing talent, the centerpiece of which was WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol’s wide and efficient unanimous decision over shopworn but still reasonably dangerous former WBC light heavy titlist Jean Pascal. It was a historic occasion, in light of the fact that that it was the final telecast for HBO World Championship Boxing, ending the premium-cable network’s signature affiliation with boxing after a run of 45 years. But there was historical context of another sort, perhaps missed by spectators in the half-filled arena and HBO viewers.

Calling the action at ringside was the HBO broadcast crew of veteran blow-by-blow announcer Jim Lampley and commentators Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr., all of whom played themselves in Creed II, the eighth film in the iconic Rocky franchise, which opened nationwide just three days earlier. The fairly standard revenge plot is an outgrowth of 1985’s Rocky IV, which introduced audiences to Ivan Drago, the remorseless Russian Olympic champion who is his country’s first professional boxer. Drago fatally bludgeons former heavyweight titlist Apollo Creed in the ring and tries his best to more or less do the same to Rocky Balboa in a climactic slugfest in Moscow. Thirty-three years after the original East-meets-West storyline, Creed II has Apollo’s son mixing it up with Ivan Drago’s remorseless, intimidating son in a matchup that no longer seems unique because Russian pros – really, quality fighters from throughout Eastern Europe – are now commonplace in America and just about everywhere else where punching for pay is allowed.

Asked about the post-Iron Curtain makeup of the card, which included three fighters from Russia, three from Uzbekistan, four from Mexico, four from the U.S., one from Uganda and one from Canada by way of his native Haiti (Pascal), Bivol said it was a natural progression after a new generation of fighters from the former Soviet Union discovered the joys of capitalism and freedom of movement previously denied to their forebears.

“Before it wasn’t (possible) because we had USSR,” said Bivol, who was born in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan and now resides in St. Petersburg, Russia, in explaining the ever-increasing presence of highly skilled Eastern European fighters in bouts staged around the globe. “When there was USSR (which fragmented in 1991), there was no professional boxing, only amateur. Now it has kind of opened up with a lot of opportunities for these good amateurs to come out and fight in the world. They have really good backgrounds and they are showing it in the professional ring.”

After his turn at the post-fight podium, Bivol – whose English is surprisingly good, if heavily accented – posed for a sort of class picture with heavyweights Evgeny Tischenko and Sergey Kuzmin (both Russia), welterweight Shakhram Giyasov (Uzbekistan) and super bantamweight Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan), all of whom won their bouts in impressive fashion.

But make no mistake, the star of the show was Bivol (15-0, 11 KOs) who is too polite and a bit too light at 174.4 pounds to conjure thoughts of Drago the Terrible. Presumably just entering his prime at 27 (he turns 28 on Dec. 18), Bivol is a boxer-puncher who goes into every fight thinking knockout but is not displeased if his path to victory is more readily achieved with basic fundamentals and tactical superiority. There were moments in the methodical disassembly of Pascal – which one ringside observer described as “a competitive ass-kicking” – when it appeared that Bivol could conclude matters early and with a flourish, but his reticence in pressing his advantage owed at least in part to sparring sessions he had with Pascal two years earlier.

“When I sparred with Jean Pascal two years ago I felt his power,” Bivol said. “He is a really strong guy. He looks like Cross-Fit man.”

Impressive musculature or not, it soon became apparent that the 36-year-old Pascal is on the downhill side of a nice career and did not have enough weapons to seriously jeopardize Bivol’s hoped-for rise to the very top of the 175-pound weight class. After being semi-shellacked in the seventh round, Pascal –- chastised in the corner by his trainer, Stephan Larouche – came out in desperation mode to start round eight, winging wide and wild shots that Bivol easily stepped away from until the challenger’s furious assault gave way to fatigue.

The official scorecards – judges Carlos Ortiz and Lynne Carter each had it 119-109 for Bivol, with Henry Grant a bit more generous to Pascal at 117-111 – were reflective of the punch statistics tabulated by CompuBox, which showed Bivol connecting on 217 of 678, 32 percent, to 60 of 357 (16.8 percent) for Pascal, who chose not to convey his thoughts to the inquiring minds at the post-fight press conference. Pascal, a resident of the Montreal suburb of Laval, Quebec, had mentioned in the lead-up to the fight that he was on his “farewell tour,” a journey that appears to be accelerating to its conclusion, if it hasn’t arrived there already.

To his credit, Bivol is both a realist and as humble as most fighters of his stature ever get. He wants the kind of marquee fights his rising stock suggests are in his immediate future, but it takes two to tangle, as his consolation-prize pairing with Pascal demonstrated. Had he had his way, Bivol would have instead squared off in a unification bout with WBO champion Eleider “Storm” Alvarez (24-0, 12 KOs), but Alvarez instead elected to defend that title in a rematch against the man from whom he took the title, Russia’s Sergey Kovalev (32-3-1, 28), which will take place on Feb. 2 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.

“Every time I say to my team I want big fights,” Bivol said. “I want big names. I want belts. (But) if you can’t get me unification fights in my division, maybe I can go down a weight class. I want to make it big in boxing. I am ready. I have one belt and of course I want more.”

Which is Bivol’s way of saying that he does not have a strong enough argument to make a compelling case for being recognized as the indisputably best light heavyweight around, not with Alvarez, IBF champ Artur Beterbiev (13-0, 13 KOs) and WBC ruler Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (29-1-1, 24 KOs) all claimants to that designation. And don’t go to sleep on Kovalev, who might still have enough gas left in the tank at 35 to turn the tables on Alvarez, who knocked him out in seven rounds on Aug. 4, also at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City.

Those big fights to which Bivol refers are plentiful, at least in theory. In addition to the other titleholders against whom he’d love to test himself, there are Oleksandr Gvozdyk (15-0, 12 KOs), Badou Jack (22-1-3, 13 KOs), Marcus Browne (22-0, 16 KOs) and Joe Smith Jr. (24-2, 20 KOs). It should be noted that Beterbiev is a Montreal-based Russian and Gvozdyk a Ukrainian, making for even more Eastern Europeans splashing around in the deep end of the light heavyweight pool.

“These guys are the best,” he said in the sort of nod to other light heavyweight titlists that goes against the grain of the standard braggadocio found in boxing at the highest levels. “I am not the best in light heavyweight division. I am only one of four. We should make fights to understand who is the best.”

Should his preferred targets at 175 pounds prove difficult to land, Bivol said he has the frame to comfortably pare down to 168 and test himself against the biggest fish in that division, which likely will be Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez (50-1-2, 34) should he succeed, as expected, in wresting the WBC super middleweight crown from the United Kingdom’s Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) on Dec. 15 at Madison Square Garden.

“Many fighters want to fight against Canelo,” Bivol said of his willingness to move down if necessary. “Of course, me too. I’m not a big guy. I can make (168).”

In the other HBO-televised bout, Akhmadaliev (5-0, 3 KOs), a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, defended his WBA Intercontinental super bantamweight title on a ninth-round stoppage of fellow southpaw Isaac Zarate (16-4-3, 2 KOs), of San Pedro, Calif. And if you think Akhmadaliev won his minor belt in rapid fashion, consider Madrimov, who won the vacant WBA Regional super welter championship in his pro debut, on a sixth-round TKO of Mexico’s Vladimir Hernandez (10-3, 6 KOs).

Another Olympian, this one a 2016 gold medalist – Tischenko (3-0, 2 KOs) – put away Mexico’s Christian Marischal (11-2, 5 KOs) in two rounds.

Two U.S. fighters, lightweight Karl Dargan (19-1, 9 KOs) of Philadelphia and welterweight Logan Yoon (14-0, 11 KOs), upheld American pride in this night of Eastern European dominance, Dargan scoring an eight-round decision over Moises Delgadillo (17-13-2, 9 KOs) of Mexico and Yoon (14-0, 11 KOs) stopping Uganda’s Hamizah Sempewa (12-11, 6 KOs) in five rounds.

Bernard Fernandez is the retired boxing writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. He is a five-term former president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, an inductee into the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Atlantic City Boxing Halls of Fame and the recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism and the Barney Nagler Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Boxing.

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Fast Results from Atlantic City: Bivol-Pascal Plus Full Undercard

Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

David A. Avila

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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

LAS VEGAS-Shades of Henry Armstrong and Baby Arizmendi. If you don’t know those names, look them up.

Floyd Schofield battled his way past Mexico’s super tough Rene Tellez Giron who walked through every blow the Texan could fire but lost by decision on Saturday.

It was a severe test and perfect matchmaking for Schofield who yearns for the big bouts against the lightweight giants roaming the world.

Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) remains undefeated and won the war over thick-necked Mexican Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) who has never been knocked out and proved to be immune to big punches.

In the opening rounds, the Texas fighter came out firing rapid combinations from the southpaw and orthodox stances. Meanwhile the shorter Tellez Giron studied and fired back an occasional counter for two rounds.

Tellez Giron had seen enough and took his stand in the third stanza. Both unleashed blazing bombs with Schofield turning his back to the Mexican. At that moment referee Tom Taylor could have waved the fight over.

You never turn your back.

The fight resumed and Schofield was damaged. He tried to open up with even more deadly fire but was rebuked by the strong chin of Tellez Giron who fired back in the mad frenzy.

For the remainder of the fight Schofield tried every trick in his arsenal to inflict damage on the thick-necked Mexican. He could not be wobbled. In the 11^th round both opened up with serious swing-from-the-heels combinations and suddenly Schofield was looking up. He beat the count easily and the two remained slugging it out.

“He hit me with a good shot,” Schofield said of the knockdown. “I just had to get up. I’m not going to quit.”

In the final round Schofield moved around looking for the proper moment to engage. The Mexican looked like a cat ready to pounce and the two fired furious blows. Neither was hit with the big bombs in the last seconds.

There was Tellez Giron standing defiantly like Baby Arizmendi must have stood in those five ferocious meetings against the incomparable Henry Armstrong. Three of their wars took place in Los Angeles, two at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 1930s as the U.S. was emerging from the Great Depression.

In this fight, Schofield took the win by unanimous decision by scores 118-109 twice and 116-111. It was well-deserved.

“I tried to bang it out,” said Schofield. “Today I learned you can’t always get the knockout.”

Fundora

IBF flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora needed seven rounds to figure out the darting style of Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz before firing a laser left cross down the middle to end the battle and become the undisputed flyweight world champion.

Fundora now holds all four titles including the WBO, WBA and WBC titles that Alaniz brought in the ring.

Fundora knocked down Alaniz midway through the seventh round. She complained it was due to a tangle of the legs. Several seconds later Fundora blasted the Argentine to the floor again with a single left blast. This time there was no doubt. Her corner wisely waved a white towel to stop the fight at 1:40 of the seventh round.

No one argued the stoppage.

Other Bouts

Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) didn’t make weight in a title bout but managed to out-fight David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) in a super middleweight fight held at 12 rounds.

Melikuziev used his movement and southpaw stance to keep Pennsylvania’s Stevens from being able to connect with combinations. But Stevens did show he could handle “The Bully’s” punching power over the 12-round fight.

After 12 rounds one judge favored Stevens 116-112, while two others saw Melikuziev the winner by split decision 118-110 and 117-111.

Super middleweight WBA titlist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) pummeled his way to a technical knockout win over southpaw veteran Chris Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs) who attempted the rope-a-dope strategy to no avail.

Fulghum floored Pearson in the first round with a four-punch combination and after that just belted Pearson who covered up and fired an occasional blow. Referee Mike Perez stopped the fight at 1:02 of the third round when Pearson did not fire back after a blazing combination.

Young welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) blasted away at the three-inch shorter Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs) who hung tough for as long as possible. At 2:50 of the first round a one-two delivered Madrid to the floor and referee Thomas Taylor called off the beating.

Iriarte, from Bakersfield, Calif., could not miss with left uppercuts and short rights as New Mexico’s Madrid absorbed every blow but would not quit. It was just too much firepower from Iriarte that forced the stoppage.

Photos credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Results and Recaps from Turning Stone where O’Shaquie Foster Nipped Robson Conceicao

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Top Rank was at the Turning Stone casino-resort in Verona, New York, tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster with the victor retaining or recapturing his IBF world junior lightweight title. When the smoke cleared, the operative word was “recapturing” as Foster became a two-time title-holder, avenging his controversial setback to the Brazilian in Newark on July 6.

This was a somewhat better fight than their initial encounter and once again the verdict was split. Foster prevailed by 115-113 on two of the cards with the dissenting judge favoring Conceicao by the same margin. Conceicao seemingly had the edge after nine frames, but Foster, a 4/1 favorite, landed the harder shots in the championship rounds.

It was the thirteenth victory in the last 14 starts for Foster who fights out of Houston. A two-time Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, the 36-year-old Conceicao is 19-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in world title fights.

Semi-wind-up

SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) made a big jump in public esteem and moved one step closer to a world title fight with a second-round blast-out of Jose Antonio Perez who was on the canvas twice but on his feet when the fight was stopped at the 1:24 mark of round two. Muratalla, a product of Robert Garcia’s boxing academy, is ranked #2 by the WBC and WBO. A Tijuana native, Perez (25-6) earned this assignment with an upset of former Olympian and former 130-pound world titlist Jojo Diaz,

Other Bouts

Syracuse junior welterweight Bryce Mills, a high-pressure fighter with a strong local following, stopped scrawny Mike O’Han Jr whose trainer Mark DeLuca pulled him out after five one-sided rounds. Mills improved to 17-1 (6 KOs). It was another rough day at the office for Massachusetts house painting contractor O’’Han (19-4) who had the misfortune of meeting Abdullah Mason in his previous bout.

In a junior lightweight fight that didn’t heat up until late in the final round, Albany’s Abraham Nova (23-3-1) and Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (14-3-3) fought to a 10-round draw. It was another close-but-no- cigar for the likeable Nova who at least stemmed a two-fight losing streak. The judges had it 97-93 (Galindo), 96-94 (Nova) and 95-95.

Twenty-one-year-old Long Island middleweight Jahi Tucker advanced to 13-1-1 (6 KOs) with an eighth-round stoppage of Stockton’s teak-tough but outclassed Quilisto Madera (14-6). Madera was on a short leash after five rounds, but almost took it to the final bell with the referee intervening with barely a minute remaining in the contest. Madera was on his feet when the match was halted. Earlier in the round, Tucker had a point deducted for hitting on the break.

Danbury, Connecticut heavyweight Ali Feliz, one of two fighting sons of journeyman heavyweight Fernely Feliz, improved to 4-0 (3) with a second-round stoppage of beefy Rashad Coulter (5-5). Feliz had Coulter pinned against the ropes and was flailing away when the bout was halted at the 1:34 mark. The 42-year-old Coulter, a competitor in all manner of combat sports, hadn’t previously been stopped when competing as a boxer.

Featherweight Yan Santana dominated and stopped Mexico’s Eduardo Baez who was rescued by referee Charlie Fitch at the 1:57 mark of round four. It was the 12^th knockout in 13 starts for Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican father of three A former world title challenger, Mexicali’s Baez declines to 23-7-2 but has lost six of his last eight.

In his most impressive showing to date, Damian Knyba, a six-foot-seven Pole, knocked out paunchy Richard Lartey at the 2:10 mark of round three. A right-left combination knocked Lartey into dreamland, but it was the right did the damage and this was of the nature of a one-punch knockout. Referee Ricky Gonzalez waived the fight off without starting a count.

Knyba, 28, improved to 14-0 (8 KOs). A native of Ghana coming off his career-best win, a fourth-round stoppage of Polish veteran Andrzej Wawrzyk, Lartey declined to 16-7 with his sixth loss inside the distance.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More

Published

3 days ago

November 1, 2024

David A. Avila

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Those lightweights.

Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.

Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.

Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.

“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.

Even in Las Vegas.

Verona, New York

Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.

Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.

“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.

Foster disagrees.

“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.

Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).

Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.

“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.

Muratalla likes challenges too.

“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.

Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship

WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.

Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.

But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.

“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.

In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.

Bad choice for Mucino.

Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.

Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.

Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.

Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.

“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.

It should be exciting.

Fights to Watch

Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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