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The Avila Perspective, Chap 26: The State of Boxing 2019

Any time 20,000 fans pack an arena in the U.S. it’s a good thing for prizefighting.
Last weekend’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez victory over WBA super middleweight titlist Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden just before Christmas, proves professional boxing has reached a healthy state.
It’s going to get better in 2019.
Fans can be fickle, especially in the New York area, but if you give them a spectacle, such as watching the red headed Mexican fighter perform on the East Coast for the first time, they will show up in droves.
It was the same weeks earlier in Los Angeles. The sight of two gargantuan heavyweights with undefeated records clashing at the Staples Center, despite not having local ties, meant nothing. It was a spectacle and 17,000 fans clamored to see the world title fight.
Two boxing shows on opposite coasts from different promotion companies succeeded abundantly. The slate is now set for the coming year.
Producing a spectacle takes a little bit of gambling on the part of promoters, fighters and managers. The parties involved need to be willing to risk a loss. When it’s all said and done prizefighting is about entertainment.
Fighters are the most important factors but they can be very selfish when it comes to maintaining undefeated records, or gathering world titles against opposition they know stand no chance against them. The smart fighter will clash with anyone knowing the “no guts no glory” factor will work for them in the end. These are the guys that fans follow like Shawn Porter, Ivan Delgado, Ferdinand Kerobyan and John Molina, boxers who will fight anyone at any time. You absolutely know they are going to light up the ring too.
Fans will stay away from mismatches or sure wins, regardless of talent. They want to see intrigue, even fights and bloody wars. A few like to see skill and artistry but those are in the minority. The average fan wants to see Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo battle till the end.
In New York City and Los Angeles we saw two boxing cards in December that featured those stark entertainment factors needed to attract fans. It’s a template worth keeping.
State of Boxing
Earlier in the year I wrote about newspapers and their failure to notice the sport of boxing was about to explode. I noted in this publication that in Southern California more than 100 gyms exist filled with eager boxers from all over the world. This coming year the bubble will burst and the American boxing scene will be more visible than ever before.
With Premier Boxing Champions scoring a deal with Fox and Showtime, and Top Rank signing its deal with ESPN followed by Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing siding with DAZN, the world of boxing will be seen almost every single week.
Other promotion companies are getting into the act and for the next 12 months professional boxing will be available through television and streaming services. Boxing has arrived full force as if an atom bomb has exploded.
“In 2019 the entire sport is about to be lit and I can’t wait,” said Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions. “Boxing will be on numerous platforms globally and that’s a wonderful thing.”
Just an example: on Feb. 9 in Southern California two boxing cards will battle it out 100 miles apart. In Indio, Calif. a Golden Boy Promotions card packed with contenders and a world title fight features WBC super bantamweight titlist Rey Vargas defending against Franklin Manzanilla at Fantasy Springs Casino. Facebook Watch will stream the fight card. In Carson, Calif. at the StubHub Center, Gervonta Davis puts his WBA super featherweight title at stake against three division world champion Abner Mares who is looking to try for a fourth. Showtime will televise.
Two cards on the same day forcing fans to choose.
Saturday Action
This Saturday, a fight card from London, England features heavyweights Dillian Whyte (24-1, 17 KOs) and Derek Chisora (29-8, 21 KOs) finally meeting again in a rematch. Showtime will televise the event beginning at 2 p.m. PT. They met two years ago in an exciting clash with Whyte pulling out the victory by close decision. Supposedly, the winner will fight IBF titlist Anthony Joshua. We’ll have to wait and see about that. He’s been clamoring about fighting Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder ever since they lit a fire on the heavyweight boxing scene with their epic clash.
Following the heavyweight fight we cross the Atlantic Ocean to Brooklyn where brothers Jermell and Jermall Charlo defend their respective world titles at Barclays Center. WBC super welterweight titlist Jermell Charlo has Tony Harrison in front of him. This is Detroit’s Harrison’s second crack at a world title. About two years ago he was stopped by Jarret Hurd when they met for the vacant IBF version. It’s a good test for Charlo. Meanwhile Jermall Charlo defends the interim WBC middleweight version against Matt Korobov, a late replacement for Willie Monroe who failed a drug test. The two Charlo fights are part of a big card televised on Fox. It’s a hefty boxing card that also includes local heavyweight Dominic Breazeale.
If you’re not busy shopping for gifts there’s plenty of boxing on Saturday.
It won’t be the only overlap throughout the year. Expect the major boxing promoters to go head to head on many occasions in 2019. There’s no tapping out or crying in boxing.
Commerce Casino
Promoter Ed Holmes and All Star Boxing has a solid fight card on Saturday Dec. 22, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.
It’s one of the better venues to watch prizefighting and the casino is located alongside the Interstate-5 Freeway for easy access.
Earlier this year, in March, one of the most spectacular knockouts occurred at the Commerce Casino and it came during a female prize fight as local prospect Adelaida Ruiz showed off her vaunted power. It’s what you can expect at one of All Star Boxing’s shows.
Four undefeated boxers are on the card including 18-year-old Adrian Corona in a super featherweight fight, but a couple of fighters to especially watch are Jhon Sanchez Leon a clever welterweight from Colombia and also local fighter Arthur Saakyan who trains with Dean Campos, the coach who engineered the careers of former world champion Sergio Mora and top female contender Seniesa Estrada.
The All Star Boxing card at Commerce Casino begins at 6 p.m. For more information including tickets call (323) 816-6200 or go to www.Allstarfights.com
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
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Undercard Results from the Canelo-Charlo Card in Las Vegas

Undercard Results from the Canelo-Charlo Card in Las Vegas
In a heavyweight battle slated for 10, Frank Sanchez (23-0, 16 KOs) stopped LA trial horse Scott Alexander (17-6-2) after four frames. Alexander’s corner attempted to stop it in the waning seconds of the fourth, but the referee did not see it and the bell rang before the fight was waived off.
Alexander had one big moment. In the opening round, he rocked Sanchez with a short right hand. But from there, it was all Sanchez in a rather messy fight.
A Miami-based Cuban defector, Frank Sanchez came in ranked #3 by the WBO, #4 by the WBC, and #5 by the IBF. His best win came in this building, a comfortable decision over Efe Ajagba in October of 2021. Alexander also fought here. In his previous visit to the T-Mobile, he was knocked out in the opening round by Zhilei Zhang.
Former WBO light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, in his third fight back since ending his retirement, improved to 20-0 (16) with a second-round stoppage of 38-year-old Brazilian Isaac Rodrigues (28-5). Gvozdyk, 36, left the sport after getting beat up by Artur Beterbiev, but got the itch and is pursuing a fight with Dmitry Bivol.
In an 8-round middleweight fight, 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (24-3-1) won a majority decision over Keandre Leatherwood (23-9-1). The judges had it 76-76 and 78-74 twice. Once a highly regarded prospect, Gausha is spinning his wheels. Leatherwood, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had been stopped four times.
Guadalajara super lightweight Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela advanced to 28-3-1 (17 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of overmatched Colombia import Yves Gabriel Solano (15-3). This was redemption of sorts for Valenzuela who lost an unpopular 12-round decision to Montana Love in his last outing inside these walls.
Kazakh super middleweight Bek Nuramaganbat (11-0) continued his fast ascent of the 168-pound ladder with a third-round stoppage of Bola Osundairo. A 30-year-old Chicago-based Nigerian, Osundairo was a 2021 USA National Champion at 178 pounds.
A four-round middleweight contest between Abilikhan Amankul (4-0-1, 4 KOs) and Joeshon James (7-0-2, 4 KOs) ended in a draw. Although he didn’t win, Sacramento’s James continued to exceed expectations. In previous contests he KOed previously undefeated Richard Brewart and fought to a draw with Top Rank signee Javier Martinez. Amankul, a 26-year-old Kazakh, lost a split decision to eventual gold medal winner Hebert Conceicao in the Tokyo Olympics.
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David Avila is ringside. Check back later for his report of the Canelo-Charlo fight and the main supporting bouts.
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Opetaia Demolishes Thompson in London; Wallin Upsets Gassiev in Turkey

In his first defense of his IBF cruiserweight title, Australian southpaw Jai Opetaia demolished overmatched Jordan Thompson in the featured bout of a Matchroom card at London’s Wembley Arena. Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) overwhelmed Thompson (15-1) from the opening gun and had the six-foot-six Mancunian on the canvas twice before the match was waived off at the 20-second mark of round four.
An Olympian at the age of 16, Opetaia won the title 15 months ago with a unanimous decision over longtime title-holder Mairis Briedis. Noting that Opetaia broke his jaw in two places early in that contest, prominent Australian sporting journalist Simon Smale called it “one of the bravest, gutsiest, victories in Australian boxing history.”
Following that fight, Opetaia had to eat through a straw for several months. Hence, there were questions about whether his jaw would hold up and whether he would show ring rust in his first title defense. But the towering Thompson, whose nickname is Troublesome, although game, proved to be no trouble whatsoever for Opetaia who would be favored to beat any cruiserweight in the world, no matter the locale.
Opetaia may return to England for his next fight which would be a unification match with Bournemouth’s 18-1 Chris Billam-Smith who captured the WBO version of the 200-pound title in May with a surprisingly one-sided decision over favored Lawrence Okolie. The other cruiserweight title-holders are the well-traveled Badou Jack (WBC) and the French-Armenian boxer Arsen Goulamirian (WBA).
Four female fights were on the undercard including two 10-rounders, both of which were won by the “A side” Englishwomen.
In her first title defense, Ellie Scotney, a 25-year-old Londoner, retained her IBF world super bantamweight title and improved to 8-0 at the expense of 37-year-old Argentine veteran Laura Soledad Griffa (20-9). In a rather monotonous fight, Scotney won every round on two of the scorecards and nine rounds on the other.
Rhiannon Dixon, a 29-year-old southpaw, had a surprisingly easy time with Norwegian veteran Katharina Thanderz, a former world title challenger. Dixon (9-0) won every round on all three cards. Thanderz, who trains in Spain, declined to 16-2.
Wallin-Gassiev
In a 12-round heavyweight fight in Antalya, Turkey, Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs) won a split decision over Murat Gassiev (30-2). This was a dull fight. Owing to various issues, Gassiev had answered the bell for only eight rounds in the previous seven years and his vaunted power had deserted him. True, he landed the harder punches, but Wallin, who kept pecking away with his jab, was far busier and won the fight on volume alone. Two of the judges had it 115-113 for the Swede who is 6-0 since going 12 rounds with Tyson Fury. The other judge scored it for Gassiev by a bizarre 117-111.
Opetaia-Thompson photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 254: Canelo vs Jermell Charlo in a Battle of Undisputed Champions

LAS VEGAS-Less than the usual massive crowd gathered for boxing kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Jermell Charlo in the desert heat outside of the T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon. Usually the weigh-ins are slightly bigger for Mexico’s idol.
Is the declining crowd an indicator of Alvarez fans ebbing belief in his abilities?
Still, on Saturday night, two undisputed world champions from differing divisions will collide as Guadalajara, Mexico’s Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) meets Houston’s Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena for the super middleweight world championship. PPV.Com will stream the clash of champions.
This year has seen a hyper-speed uptick in champions fighting other champions, perhaps the result of watching their female counterparts Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor produce the biggest fight of 2022. This year several marquee collisions were spawned from lightweights to heavyweights.
Or maybe the pandemic lull created a twitch panic among the elite.
Charlo was one of those who had been sidelined while others like Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Naoya “Monster” Inoue and Canelo Alvarez filled their pockets with cash. And others like Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez gained undisputed glory.
Instead of watching on the sidelines, Charlo decided to make his move for greater glory by attempting to dethrone one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, if not the kingpin of boxing when it comes to money.
“If I accomplish this massive goal, it will be hard to top,” Charlo said a few weeks ago during his media workout. “I’ll be in the record book with the greats of boxing for a long time.”
Risks brings rewards.
Canelo, long a member of the boxing elite, has held his position as the box office king for many years now by taking the daunting risks throughout his boxing life.
“Jermell is right, I have nothing to prove. But this time I have something to prove to him,” said Alvarez while in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “He never believed in my skills. He’s been calling me out. Now I have an opportunity to show him my skills.”
Undisputed super welterweight will challenge undisputed super middleweight in a two-division jump not often seen, except for Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran and Sugar Shane Mosley. It’s the road taken by those who seek to be great.
Both are 33 but the redhead Alvarez has been fighting professionally since he was 15. That’s a lot of bullets in the chamber he has already used. Charlo has height, speed and the ability to adapt to different styles. Stylistically, it’s a battle that makes even the skeptics take pause.
It all depends on Alvarez’s resiliency. Charlo has ring rust, while Alvarez seemingly has lost the hunger. Whose weakness will prove the greater?
“Now is the time for this fight. We’re in our primes and at our best,” said Charlo. “I wanna shake the doubters off and prove to the world why I”m in this position. There’s a reason I made it this far.”
Alvarez remembers being as hungry as Charlo.
“I never overlook any fighter,” Alvarez said. “I know what he’s going to bring and I’m ready.”
Undercard
Several other notable bouts are included on the pay-per-view card.
Former world titlists and current welterweight contenders Yordenis Ugas (27-5) and Mario Barrios (27-2) battle for an interim title set for 12 rounds.
Super welterweights Jesus Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs) and Erickson Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) match skills in a match that pits a southpaw veteran against an undefeated southpaw from Arizona. For the past three years Ramos has been moving up the ladder and was last seen pounding out highly-touted Joey Spencer. Can he survive Lubin who nearly toppled Sebastian Fundora?
Doors open at T-Mobile Arena at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.
Lampley is back
Legendary HBO announcer Jim Lampley was hired along with ace reporter Lance Pugmire who will co-host the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus Jermell Charlo showdown via viewer chat live on PPV.com.
It’s the same concept used by Monday Night Football that features former quarterback greats Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in alternative programming.
Lampley returns to boxing after a five-year absence following HBO’s yanking of the popular program that vaulted elite boxing to the top behind the likes of George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.
The veteran announcer will be live streaming all the action on media platforms before and during the fight action. He was sorely missed by all who follow the sweet science.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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