Three Punch Combo: Under the Radar Fights, Potential December Upsets and More

Published

6 years ago

November 26, 2018

THREE PUNCH COMBO — While events on Showtime Championship Boxing and Showtime Pay-Per-View will dominate headlines this coming week, there are other fight cards on the docket. Here is a look at some of the under the radar events taking place this week.

On Friday night, former 140-pound champion Chris Algieri (21-3, 8 KO’s) will return to the ring to face journeyman Angel Hernandez (14-11-2, 9 KO’s) at the Paramount Theater in Huntington, NY. This will mark the first fight for now 34-year-old Algieri (pictured) since April of 2016 when he was stopped in five rounds by Errol Spence Jr., but he shouldn’t have too many problems shaking off the rust. Hernandez is tough and has never been stopped but is very limited.

Algieri’s return is significant and needs to be monitored in that opponents are needed for the many big names in both the 140-pound and welterweight divisions. With a win on Friday, Algieri is right in the mix to get a big opportunity in 2019.

For those wanting to watch live boxing on Saturday night but not wanting to shell over the PPV dollars for Wilder-Fury, there will be a free show streamed live on Facebook via FIGHTNIGHT LIVE from San Antonio, TX. The main event of this Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions card features a pair of undefeated 140-pound fighters in Kendo Castaneda (14-0, 7 KO’s) and Gilbert Venegas Jr. (10-0, 6 KO’s).

There is not a lot of video available for these fighters but what I have been able to view suggests this should be a competitive, good action fight. Castaneda is considered more of the prospect and appears to stylistically be a classic boxer-puncher. He has decent hand speed and has scored some pretty spectacular knockouts although against very limited opposition. He scored his best win in August when he decisioned 14-2-1 Jesus Gutierrez.

Venegas actually appeared on a PBC on FS1 card a few years ago when he defeated then undefeated Deonte Wilson. In a four-round fight, Venegas used smart pressure to get the win. He out jabbed the taller Wilson and worked his way inside to throw combinations to the head and body outworking the more athletic Wilson.

Castaneda-Venegas is a solid fight that should be competitive and fan friendly. Kudos to FIGHTNIGHT LIVE for making this event available for free on Facebook.

Possible December Surprises

We are closing out the year in boxing with a loaded schedule in December. With so many events, there are bound to be at least a few surprising results. Here are a couple of upset possibilities.

As the chief support to the Canelo Alvarez-Rocky Fielding main event on DAZN December 15th, middleweight David Lemieux (40-4, 34 KO’s) returns fresh off his September first round knockout win against Gary O’ Sullivan to face Tureano Johnson (20-2, 14 KO’s). A win for Lemieux could mean a crack at Alvarez in 2019. However, Johnson could pose a real threat to Lemieux getting that big money fight.

I will make this very simple. Assuming Johnson is healthy – he’s had some injury issues in the past – this is not a good matchup for Lemieux.

Lemieux looks great against fighters who come at him. His knockout wins against Curtis Stevens and O’Sullivan are such examples. But fighters with foot speed who can box give Lemieux issues. Johnson has good speed and good boxing ability. He won’t come forward bringing the fight to Lemieux. Instead, he will rely on his legs and movement to out-box Lemieux from the outside. And Johnson has the tools to out-box Lemieux.

A week later, Josh Warrington (27-0, 6 KO’s) will make the first defense of his featherweight title when he faces former two division champion Carl Frampton (26-1, 15 KO’s). This bout will be broadcast on ESPN+ in the United States. Frampton is a solid favorite in the sports books, but I like Warrington’s chances.

In my opinion, Warrington’s style is going to give Frampton fits. Warrington, who will be constantly moving, is shifty and very adept at setting up angles to land clean effective punches. In addition, he has a high work rate and has shown he can keep up a high output of punches through the course of a long fight. And coming off his best win against Lee Selby in May, he appears to be peaking.

I have not liked what I have seen recently from Frampton. I think Warrington will out-hustle him.

Remembering Tszyu-Hurtado

HBO’s Boxing After Dark series routinely produced classics in its early years in the mid-to-late 90’s. As a matter of fact, there were so many great fights on the series that some classics have gone forgotten. One such forgotten classic took place twenty years ago on November 28^th, 1998 at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA, when Kostya Tszyu (21-1-1, 17 KO’s) met Diosbelys Hurtado (28-1, 19 KO’s) in a 140 pound contest.

Tszyu was originally slated to face Miguel Angel Gonzalez but Gonzalez pulled out about two weeks prior due to an injury. Those involved in the event wanted to keep Tszyu on the card. Scrambling to find a suitable replacement, they quickly located Hurtado who was just coming off a fight of his own.

Tszyu had won three straight since suffering a stunning loss to Vince Phillips in May of 1997. Hurtado had fought once previously on HBO, giving Pernell Whitaker a tough test before getting stopped in the 11^th round, and was riding an eight fight winning streak since suffering that defeat.

Tszyu came out aggressively and put Hurtado down with a vicious right hand followed by hard left hook less than one minute into the fight. Hurtado appeared badly hurt but as Tszyu charged in for the finish, Hurtado landed a counter right that floored Tszyu. Tszyu would get to his feet and come back firing but would get clipped with another counter right that planted him on the canvas for a second time. The two would then slug it out to close the round but Tszyu seemed to turn the tide having Hurtado a bit wobbly as the wild first round ended. However, as Tszyu walked back to his corner there was visible swelling around his right eye.

The next three rounds saw some blistering action. Tszyu continued to press forward landing hard shots both to the head and body, but Hurtado stood his ground and found Tszyu an easy target to counter. Hurtado couldn’t miss with the counter right in particular which caught Tszyu clean on several occasions.

Tszyu started the fifth round strong, seemingly making a more conscientious effort to work behind the jab. He hit Hurtado clean on several occasions with that powerful left jab, freezing Hurtado, which allowed him to then pound away to the head and body. Hurtado was clearly getting broken down as the round progressed and eventually would get dropped by a clean left hook to his liver. He got up but Tszyu landed another left hook, this time to his midsection, and that put Hurtado down for good.

HBO’s Boxing After Dark produced some memorable wars during its run. Tszyu-Hurtado hasn’t gotten the press of some others on the series, but was another classic.

Photo credit: Esther Lin / SHOWTIME

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Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April

Published

20 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Jorge-Garcia-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-April

Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.

Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.

A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.

The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.

Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.

An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.

With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.

Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna

McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12^th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.

“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).

Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom

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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2025

David A. Avila

Chris-Eubank-Jr-Outlasts-Conor-Benn-at-Tottenham-Hotsour-Stadium

Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.

Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.

More than 65,000 fans attended.

Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.

Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.

Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.

It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.

In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.

Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.

“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.

Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.

There were surprises from both fighters.

Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.

With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.

Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.

Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.

“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.

McKenna Wins

In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.

Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.

McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.

In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.

All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.

Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.

Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.

Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More

Published

5 days ago

April 24, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective,-Chap.-323:-Benn-vs-Eubank-Family-Feud-and-More.jpg

Next generation rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. carry on the family legacy of feudal warring in the prize ring on Saturday.

This is huge in British boxing.

Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) holds the fringe IBO middleweight title but won’t be defending it against the smaller welterweight Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday, April 26, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

This is about family pride.

The parents of Eubank and Benn actually began the feud in the 1990s.

Papa Nigel Benn fought Papa Chris Eubank twice. Losing as a middleweight in November 1990 at Birmingham, England, then fighting to a draw as a super middleweight in October 1993 in Manchester. Both were world title fights.

Eubank was undefeated and won the WBO middleweight world title in 1990 against Nigel Benn by knockout. He defended it three times before moving up and winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in September 1991. He defended the super middleweight title 14 times before suffering his first pro defeat in March 1995 against Steve Collins.

Benn won the WBO middleweight title in April 1990 against Doug DeWitt and defended it once before losing to Eubank in November 1990. He moved up in weight and took the WBC super middleweight title from Mauro Galvano in Italy by technical knockout in October 1992. He defended the title nine times until losing in March 1996. His last fight was in November 1996, a loss to Steve Collins.

Animosity between the two families continues this weekend in the boxing ring.

Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, has fought mostly as a welterweight but lately has participated in the super welterweight division. He is several inches shorter in height than Eubank but has power and speed. Kind of a British version of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“It’s always personal, every opponent I fight is personal. People want to say it’s strictly business, but it’s never business. If someone is trying to put their hands on me, trying to render me unconscious, it’s never business,” said Benn.

This fight was scheduled twice before and cut short twice due to failed PED tests by Benn. The weight limit agreed upon is 160 pounds.

Eubank, a natural middleweight, has exchanged taunts with Benn for years. He recently avenged a loss to Liam Smith with a knockout victory in September 2023.

“This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill. It’s about dedication. It’s about expertise and all those areas in which I excel in,” said Eubank. “I have many, many more years of experience over Conor Benn, and that will be the deciding factor of the night.”

Because this fight was postponed twice, the animosity between the two feuding fighters has increased the attention of their fans. Both fighters are anxious to flatten each other.

“He’s another opponent in my way trying to crush my dreams. trying to take food off my plate and trying to render me unconscious. That’s how I look at him,” said Benn.

Eubank smiles.

“Whether it’s boxing, whether it’s a gun fight. Defense, offense, foot movement, speed, power. I am the superior boxer in each of those departments and so many more – which is why I’m so confident,” he said.

Supporting Bout

Former world champion Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) tangles with Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) in a middleweight fight set for 12 rounds on the Benn-Eubank undercard in London.

“Beefy” Smith has long been known as one of the fighting Smith brothers and recently lost to Eubank a year and a half ago. It was only the second time in 38 bouts he had been stopped. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did it several years ago.

McKenna is a familiar name in Southern California. The Irish fighter fought numerous times on Golden Boy Promotion cards between 2017 and 2019 before returning to the United Kingdom and his assault on continuing the middleweight division. This is a big step for the tall Irish fighter.

It’s youth versus experience.

“I’ve been calling for big fights like this for the last two or three years, and it’s a fight I’m really excited for. I plan to make the most of it and make a statement win on Saturday night,” said McKenna, one of two fighting brothers.

Monster in L.A.

Japan’s super star Naoya “Monster” Inoue arrived in Los Angeles for last day workouts before his Las Vegas showdown against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday May 4, at T-Mobile Arena. ESPN will televise and stream the Top Rank card.

It’s been four years since the super bantamweight world champion performed in the US and during that time Naoya (29-0, 26 KOs) gathered world titles in different weight divisions. The Japanese slugger has also gained fame as perhaps the best fighter on the planet. Cardenas is 26-1 with 14 KOs.

Pomona Fights

Super featherweights Mathias Radcliffe (9-0-1) and Ezequiel Flores (6-4) lead a boxing card called “DMG Night of Champions” on Saturday April 26, at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Pomona, Calif.

Michaela Bracamontes (11-2-1) and Jesus Torres Beltran (8-4-1) will be fighting for a regional WBC super featherweight title. More than eight bouts are scheduled.

Doors open at 6 p.m. For ticket information go to: www.tix.com/dmgnightofchampions

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 9 a.m. Conor Benn (23-0) vs Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3); Liam Smith (33-4-1) vs Aaron McKenna (19-0).

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