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

Weekend Recap and More with the Accent of Heavyweights

Published

1 day ago

April 7, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Weekend-Recap-and-More-with-Accents-on-Heavyweights

There were a lot of heavyweights in action across the globe this past weekend including six former Olympians. The big fellows added luster to a docket that was deep but included only one world title fight.

The bout that attracted the most eyeballs was the 10-rounder in Manchester between Filip Hrgovic and Joe Joyce. Hrgovic took the match on three weeks’ notice when Dillian Whyte suffered a hand injury in training and was forced to pull out.

Dillian Whyte is rugged but Joe Joyce’s promoter Frank Warren did Joe no favors by rushing Filip Hrgovic into the breach. The Croatian was arguably more skilled than Whyte and had far fewer miles on his odometer. Joyce, who needed a win badly after losing three of his previous four, would find himself in an underdog role.

This was a rematch of sorts. They had fought 12 years ago in London when both were amateurs and Joyce won a split decision in a 5-round fight. Back then, Joyce was 27 years old and Hrgovic only 20. Advantage Joyce. Twelve years later, the age gap favored the Croatian.

In his first fight with California trainer Abel Sanchez in his corner, Hrgovic had more fuel in his tank as the match wended into the late rounds and earned a unanimous decision (98-92, 97-93, 96-95), advancing his record to 18-1 (14).

It wasn’t long ago that Joe Joyce was in tall cotton. He was undefeated (15-0, 14 KOs) after stopping Joseph Parker and his resume included a stoppage of the supposedly indestructible Daniel Dubois. But since those days, things have gone haywire for the “Juggernaut.” His loss this past Saturday to Hrgovic was his fourth in his last five starts. He battled Derek Chisora on nearly even terms after getting blasted out twice by Zhilei Zhang but his match with Chisora gave further evidence that his punching resistance had deteriorated.

Joe Joyce will be 40 years old in September. He should heed the calls for him to retire. “One thing about boxing, you get to a certain age and this stuff can catch up with you,” says Frank Warren. But in his post-fight press conference, Joyce indicated that he wasn’t done yet. If history is any guide, he will be fed a soft touch or two and then be a steppingstone for one of the sport’s young guns.

The newest member of the young guns fraternity of heavyweights is Delicious Orie (yes, “Delicious” is his real name) who made his pro debut on the Joyce-Hrgovic undercard. Born in Moscow, the son of a Nigerian father and a Russian mother, Orie, 27, earned a college degree in economics before bringing home the gold medal as a super heavyweight at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He was bounced out of the Paris Olympics in the opening round, out-pointed by an Armenian that he had previously beaten.

Orie, who stands six-foot-six, has the physical dimensions of a modern-era heavyweight. His pro debut wasn’t memorable, but he won all four rounds over the Bosnian slug he was pitted against.

Las Vegas

The fight in Las Vegas between former Olympians Richard Torrez Jr and Guido Vianello was a true crossroads fight for Torrez who had an opportunity to cement his status as the best of the current crop of U.S.-born heavyweights (a mantle he inherited by default after aging Deontay Wilder was knocked out by Zhilei Zhang following a lackluster performance against Joseph Parker and Jared Anderson turned in a listless performance against a mediocrity from Europe after getting bombed out by Martin Bakole).

Torrez, fighting in his first 10-rounder after winning all 12 of his previous fights inside the distance, out-worked Vianello to win a comfortable decision (97-92 and 98-91 twice).

Although styles make fights, it’s doubtful that Torrez will ever turn in a listless performance. Against Vianello, noted the prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, he fought with a great sense of urgency. But his fan-friendly, come-forward style masks some obvious shortcomings. At six-foot two, he’s relatively short by today’s standards and will be hard-pressed to defeat a top-shelf opponent who is both bigger and more fluid.

Astana, Kazakhstan

Torrez’s shortcomings were exposed in his two amateur fights with six-foot-seven southpaw Bakhodir Jalolov. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, the Big Uzbek was in action this past Saturday on the undercard of Janibek Alimkhanuly’s homecoming fight with an obscure French-Congolese boxer with the impossible name of Anauel Ngamissengue. (Alimkhanuly successfully defended his IBF and WBO middleweight tiles with a fifth-round stoppage).

Jalolov (15-0, 14 KOs) was extended the distance for the first time in his career by Ukrainian butterball Ihor Shevadzutski who was knocked out in the third round by Martin Bakole in 2023. Jalolov won a lopsided decision (100-89. 97-92, 97-93), but it did not reflect well on him that he had his opponent on the canvas in the third frame but wasn’t able to capitalize.

At age 30, Jalolov is a pup by current heavyweight standards, but one wonders how he will perform against a solid pro after being fed nothing but softies throughout his pro career.

Hughie Fury

Hughie Fury, Tyson’s cousin, has been gradually working his way back into contention after missing all of 2022 and 2023 with injuries and health issues. Early in his career he went 12 in losing efforts with Joeph Parker, Kubrat Pulev, and Alexander Povetkin, but none of his last four bouts were slated for more than eight rounds.

His match this past Friday at London’s venerable York Hall with 39-year-old countryman Dan Garber was a 6-rounder. Fury reportedly entered the fight with a broken right hand, but didn’t need more than his left to defeat Garber (9-4 heading in) who was dismissed in the fifth round with a body punch. In the process, Fury settled an old family score. Their uncles had fought in 1995. It proved to be the last pro fight for John Fury (Tyson’s dad) who was defeated by Dan’s uncle Steve.

Negotiations are reportedly under way for a fight this summer in Galway, Ireland, between Hughie Fury and Dillian Whyte.

Looking Ahead

The next big heavyweight skirmish comes on May 4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Efe Ajagba and Martin Bakole tangle underneath Canelo Alvarez’s middleweight title defense against William Scull.

Ajagba has won five straight since losing to Frank Sanchez, most recently winning a split decision over Guido Vianello. Bakole, whose signature win was a blast-out of Jared Anderson, was knocked out in two rounds by Joseph Parker at Riyadh in his last outing, but there were extenuating circumstances. A last-minute replacement for Daniel Dubois, Bakole did not have the benefit of a training camp and wasn’t in fighting shape,

At last glance, the Scottish-Congolese campaigner Bakole was a 9/2 (minus-450) favorite, a price that seems destined to come down.

On June 7, Fabio Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) steps up in class to oppose Jarrell Miller (26-1-2) at the soccer stadium in Wardley’s hometown of Ipswich. In his last start in October of last year, Wardley scored a brutal first-round knockout of Frazer Clarke. This was a rematch. In their first meeting earlier that year, they fought a torrid 10-round draw, a match named the British Fight of the Tear by British boxing writers.

Miller last fought in August of last year in Los Angeles, opposing Andy Ruiz. Most in attendance thought that Miller nicked that fight, but the match was ruled a draw. For that contest, Miller was a svelte 305 ½ pounds.

Wardley vs. Miller is being framed as a WBA eliminator. Wardley, fighting on his home turf, opened an 11/5 (minus-220) favorite.

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Results and Recaps from Las Vegas where Richard Torrez Jr Mauled Guido Vianello

Published

2 days ago

April 6, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Results-and-Recaps-from-Las-Vegas-where-Richard-Torrez-Jr-Mauled-Guido-Vianello

LAS VEGAS, NV – In an inelegant but wildly entertaining rumble, Richard Torrez Jr, bullied his way past Guido Vianello. The 10-round heavyweight contest, an appealing match-up between former Olympians, was the featured attraction on a Top Card at the Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.

Torrez, the pride of Tulare, California and a 5/2 favorite, promised to show more dimensions to his game, but was the same old frenetic bull-rusher. Torrez likes to dig inside and smother the punches of his opponent who is invariably taller. His chief asset is an engine that never quits.

The early rounds were marred by a lot of wrestling. Referee Tom Taylor, who had a difficult assignment, took a point away from Vianello for holding in round two, a controversial call although it proved to be a moot point.

Vianello, who was coming off an eighth-round stoppage of Russian-Canadian behemoth Arslanbek Makhmudov, wasn’t able to build on that victory and declined to 13-3-1 (11). Torrez, competing in his first scheduled 10-rounder, won by scores of 97-92 and 98-91 twice, improving to 13-0 (11).

Co-Feature

In a tactical fight (translation: no fireworks) Lindolfo Delgado remained undefeated with a 10-round majority decision over Elvis Rodriguez. The scores were 95-95 and 96-94 twice.

Delgado, a 2016 Olympian for Mexico, won over the judges by keeping Rodriguez on his back foot for most of the fight. However, Rodriguez won the most lopsided round of the bout, the ninth, when he hurt the Mexican with a punch that sent him staggering into the ropes.

Delgado, a 3/2 favorite, improved to 23-0 (17). It was the second pro loss for Rodriguez (17-2-1), a 29-year-old Dominican who trains in Los Angeles under Freddie Roach.

Abdullah Mason

Cleveland southpaw Abdullah Mason celebrated his 21^st birthday by winning his first scheduled 10-rounder. Mason (18-0, 16 KOs) scored three knockdowns before the fight was waived off after the sixth frame.

Mason’s opponent, Mexican southpaw Carlos Ornelas (28-5), fought a curious fight. He wasn’t knocked down three times, not exactly; he merely thought it prudent to take a knee and after each occasion he did his best work, if only for a few brief moments.

Ornelas, a late sub for Giovanni Cabrera who had to pull out with an eye injury, was clearly buzzed after the third “knockdown.” The doctor examined him after the sixth round and when Ornelas left his corner with an unsteady gait, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough.

Other Bouts

Featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, a protégé of Robert Garcia, improved to 14-0 (7) with an 8-round unanimous decision over Australia’s durable but limited Dana Coolwell. The judges had it 80-72, 78-74, and 77-75.

The granite-chinned Coolwell (13-4) was making his second start in a U.S. ring after taking Shu Shu Carrington the distance in an 8-rounder underneath the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson exhibition at the stadium of the Dallas Cowboys.

SoCal bantamweight Steven Navarro, the TSS 2024 Prospect of the Year, stepped up in class and scored a fourth-round stoppage of Mexicali’s Juan Esteban Garcia who was winning the fourth round when Navarro (6-0, 5 KOs) reversed the momentum with a flourish, forcing the stoppage at the 2:46 mark.

Junior middleweight Art Barrera Jr (8-0, 6 KOs) polished off Daijon Gonzalez in the second round. Barrera decked Gonzalez with a hard left hook and when Gonzales got to his feet, he was immediately greeted with another devastating punch which forced the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:56 of round two. A 32-year-old campaigner from Davenport, Iowa, Gonzalez brought a 12-5 record but had scored only one win vs. an opponent with a winning record.

Jahi Tucker, a 22-year-old middleweight from Deer Park, Long Island, scores his best win to date, winning a lopsided decision over former British junior middleweight champion Troy Williamson. The scores were 99-89 across the board.

Tucker (14-1-1) scored two knockdowns. The first in the second round was called a slip but overruled on replay. The second, in round eight, was the result of a left hook. Williamson stayed on his feet but the ropes held him up and it was properly scored a knockdown. The Englishman, 34, fell to 20-4-1 in what was his U.S. debut.

In a junior lightweight bour slated for eight rounds, 21-year-old Las Vegas southpaw DJ Zamora, advanced to 16-0 (11 KOs) with a fourth-round stoppage of Tex-Mex campaigner Hugo Alberto Castaneda (15-2-1). The official time was 1:24 of round four.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Filip Hrgovic Defeats Joe Joyce in Manchester

Published

3 days ago

April 5, 2025

David A. Avila

Filip-Hrgovic-Fefeats-Joe-Joe-Joyce-in-Manchester

In a battle to retain heavyweight contender status, Filip Hrgovic out-fought Joe “The Juggernaut” Joyce to win by unanimous decision on Saturday on Queensberry Promotions’ first card on DAZN.

It was a heavyweight brawl.

Croatia’s Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) was the more accurate puncher over England’s Joyce (16-4, 15 KOs) in their heavyweight title fight at Manchester, England. Both were coming off losses.

Hrgovic, 32, entered the boxing ring as a replacement for Joyce’s original foe Dillian Whyte. Though short on notice, he worked with Abel Sanchez who formerly trained Joyce. It proved to be a wise move.

From the opening round Hrgovic opened-up with a battering attack, especially with the one-two combination that rocked Joyce repeatedly in the first two rounds. The British fighter known for his rock-hard chin, withstood the challenge.

“He is a beast,” said Hrgovic. “This guy is like steel.”

For the first half of the 10-round heavyweight clash, Hrgovic was the aggressor and the much more accurate puncher. Joyce seemed unsteady on his legs but every round he seemed to gain more stability and confidence.

By midway, Joyce resorted to his juggernaut ways and began to stalk the Croatian fighter whom he defeated in the amateurs a dozen years ago.

Though Joyce had lost by knockout to Zhilei Zhang and was knocked down by Derek Chisora, he was able to remain upright throughout the match with Hrgovic despite some wicked shots.

Just when it seemed Joyce might take over the fight, Hrgovic opened-up with an eight-punch volley in the eighth round that had the British heavyweight reeling. The fight turned around.

Hrgovic seemed to get a second wind and began connecting with left hooks and pinpoint accurate combinations. Joyce tried to fight back but his accuracy was off. The Croatian fighter regained the momentum and never allowed Joyce back in the fight.

After 10 rounds all three judges scored for Hrgovic 97-93, 96-95, 98-92.

“I came to fight on short notice. Thanks to God he gave me strength,” said Hrgovic. “Thanks to Joe for the opportunity.”

The Croatian fighter said he seeks a fight with IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois.

“This guy beat Dubois and I beat him,” said Hrgovic who lost to Dubois a year ago but defeated Joyce who knocked out Dubois when they fought.

Other Bouts

Heavyweight David Adeleye (14-1, 13 KOs) knocked out Jeamie Tshikeva (8-2, 5 KOs) during a clinch and interference by the referee. It remained a knockout win for Adeleye at 55 seconds of the sixth round. Adeleye becomes the British heavyweight champion.

Super lightweight Jack Rafferty (26-0, 17 KOs) knocked out Cory O’Regan (14-1, 3 KOs) in a punch seemingly delivered during a clinch in the fifth round. The match was stopped at 2:26 of the sixth round.

British Olympian Delicious Orie (1-0) made his pro debut and won by decision over Milos Veletic (3-8) in a heavyweight contest.

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