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Three Bold Predictions for 2019

THREE PUNCH COMBO: In the final edition of “the combo” for 2018, I will get the crystal ball out and look ahead with three bold predictions for the upcoming year.
Bold Prediction One – Manny Pacquiao-Errol Spence Will Be The Biggest Event of 2019
When Manny Pacquiao added Al Haymon as his advisor late in 2018, it was widely assumed in the industry that this would facilitate a big money rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. sometime in 2019. While this is certainly possible, I see a different course for Pacquiao, at least in the near term.
First of all, if Mayweather wants the Pacquiao rematch then it will happen. And Mayweather will unquestionably be watching Pacquiao’s upcoming bout with Adrien Broner on January 19th with vested interest. But I think after Mayweather watches Pacquiao-Broner that he will sour on the idea of facing Pacquiao later this year.
As we all know, styles make fights. Stylistically, I think Broner is the perfect opponent for Pacquiao at this point in his career. As a matter of fact, I would go as far as stating that Pacquiao is going to look close to the 2009 version of himself in this fight. Why? Broner is frankly a lazy fighter. He fights only in spots. Even a 40-year-old Pacquiao can easily out-work and out-hustle him.
But there is more. Broner also makes a lot of defensive mistakes and despite his lengthy history in the ring has never corrected these flaws. He does not move his head and often squares up to his opponents, making him an easy target to hit clean. Plus when he does let his hands go, he stands and poses after throwing. allowing himself to be easily countered.
Much like Marcos Maidana, Shawn Porter and Mikey Garcia exposed Broner’s flaws, so will Pacquiao. His hand speed and dazzling combinations will be on full display; PacMan will look sensational. And this will be cause for some concern for Mayweather who as we all know selects his opposition very carefully.
With Mayweather waffling, Haymon will be forced to look at other options. With Errol Spence in need of big name opponents, expect Haymon to look to make a super fight between Spence and Pacquiao later this year.
Of course, this assumes Spence beats Mikey Garcia in March. While I don’t think this will be an easy fight for Spence, it is one that I do see him ultimately winning. With Spence’s growing reputation and a win against Garcia under his cap, it will be tough to entice other top welterweights to face him unless they are heavily compensated. If someone is going to be heavily compensated to face Spence, they better bring a large audience with them. There is one fighter that could fit that criteria and that is Pacquiao.
Pacquiao-Spence would draw a lot of attention and sell big on pay-per-view. And for all these reasons, I expect the fight will happen.
Bold Prediction Two – Andre Ward Returns to Face the Winner of Alvarez-Kovalev II
Andre Ward is going to make a return to the ring. His cryptic social media posts as well as discussions with boxing media this past year can lead to no other conclusion.
But at what weight class will he return and whom will he fight? I speculated earlier this year that he could test the waters as a heavyweight. However, I now feel a return to the light heavyweight division seems more likely given recent happenings in the sport. And his opponent could very well be the winner of the February 2nd rematch between Eleider Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev.
Follow me here for a second before dismissing this notion. ESPN and Top Rank purchased the rights to the Alvarez-Kovalev rematch despite not having a promotional tie to either fighter at the time (although Top Rank did eventually sign Alvarez to a co-promotional deal). This raised some eyebrows in the industry. Clearly, ESPN and Top Rank had something in mind down the road in purchasing this fight.
Ward currently serves as an analyst for ESPN. He is a very sharp person with a bright mind for the sport. The tail end of Ward’s career was managed brilliantly from a risk versus reward perspective and no doubt Ward had plenty of input as to how his affairs were handled.
In a comeback bid, Ward will look to maximize financial value while mitigating risk in a similar manner to how his career was managed leading up to his initial retirement. And given his relationship with ESPN/Top Rank, it would be fully expected that a Ward comeback would take place under their banner.
Thus, facing the winner of Alvarez-Kovalev II makes perfect sense. From Ward’s prospective, he’d be returning to face an opponent whom he’d be favored to defeat while making a very nice payday. If it is Kovalev there is a natural rivalry to sell as well as the controversies from each of the two fights.
ESPN and Top Rank have been looking to get into the pay-per-view market. An Andre Ward comeback against with Alvarez or Kovalev would sell and be the perfect way to test the pay-per-view waters.
Bold Prediction Three – Promoters and TV Networks Play A Bit Nicer With One Another In 2019
In 2018, we saw more events compete directly with one another for eyeballs than I can ever recall. Granted, a lot of that had to do with an unprecedented amount of live boxing that was available on either traditional television networks or live streaming services. With promoters having to fill so much air time, I guess some overlapping of fight cards was inevitable.
However, common sense dictates that whenever eyeballs are split between competing cards everyone loses. My guess is that at some point in 2019 we see promoters and TV networks begin to work together to alleviate this problem.
Top Rank and Golden Boy set the blueprint in 2018 for one way promoters can work with instead of against one another when they each have televised shows. On May 12th, Top Rank and ESPN moved up the start time of their card so the main event between Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares did not interfere with the start of Golden Boy’s card on HBO. Fans were able to watch the main fights on both cards and eyeballs were not split so everyone won. Granted, this was a unique situation but at the very least this did provide a blueprint for how promoters can work together on such matters in the future.
Also, I see a scenario in 2019 where a deal is cut between major platforms to avoid competing cards. I don’t know who will do it but again it is to everyone’s benefit not to split eyeballs. Maybe Top Rank/ESPN cuts a deal with PBC or DAZN. Or PBC and DAZN come to some sort of an agreement. With so much money involved, business interests will at some point supersede the egos of the various parties. It is just common sense. And in 2019, I think we see rival promoters and networks come together at times to coordinate events for everyone’s mutual benefit.
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Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside

It was just a numbers game for Gabriela Fundora and despite Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo’s elusive tactics it took the champion one punch to end the fight and retain her undisputed flyweight world title by knockout on Saturday.
Will it be her last flyweight defense?
Though Fundora (16-0, 8 KOs) fired dozens of misses, a single punch found Badillo (19-1-1, 3 KOs) and ended her undefeated career and first attempt at a world title at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
Fundora, however, proves unbeatable at flyweight.
The champion entered the arena as the headliner for the Golden Boy Promotion show and stepped through the ropes with every physical advantage possible, including power.
Mexico’s Badillo was a midget compared to Fundora but proved to be as elusive as a butterfly in a menagerie for the first six rounds. As the six-inch taller Fundora connected on one punch for every dozen thrown, that single punch was a deadly reminder.
Badillo tried ducking low and slipping to the left while countering with slashing uppercuts, she found little success. She did find the body a solid target but the blows proved to be useless. And when Badillo clinched, that proved more erroneous as Fundora belted her rapidly during the tie-ups.
“She was kind of doing her ducking thing,” said Fundora describing Badillo’s defensive tactics. “I just put the pressure on. It was just like a train. We didn’t give her that break.”
The Mexican fighter tried valiantly with various maneuvers. None proved even slightly successful. Fundora remained poised and under control as she stalked the challenger.
In the seventh round Badillo seemed to take a stand and try to slug it out with Fundora. She quickly was lit up by rapid left crosses and down she went at 1:44 of the seventh round. The Mexican fighter’s corner wisely waved off the fight and referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight and held the dazed Badillo upright.
Once again Fundora remained champion by knockout. The only question now is will she move up to super flyweight or bantamweight to challenge the bigger girls.
Perez Beats Conwell.
Mexico’s Jorge “Chino” Perez (33-4, 26 KOs) upset Charles Conwell (21-1, 15 KOs) to win by split decision after 12 rounds in their super welterweight showdown.
It was a match that paired two hard-hitting fighters whose ledgers brimmed with knockouts, but neither was able to score a knockdown against each other.
Neither fighter moved backward. It was full steam ahead with Conwell proving successful to the body and head with left hooks and Perez connecting with rights to the head and body. It was difficult to differentiate the winner.
Though Conwell seemed to be the superior defensive fighter and more accurate, two judges preferred Perez’s busier style. They gave the fight to Perez by 115-113 scores with the dissenter favoring Conwell by the same margin.
It was Conwell’s first pro loss. Maybe it will open doors for more opportunities.
Other Bouts
Tristan Kalkreuth (15-1) managed to pass a serious heat check by unanimous decision against former contender Felix Valera (24-8) after a 10-round back-and-forth heavyweight fight.
It was very close.
Kalkreuth is one of those fighters that possess all the physical tools including youth and size but never seems to be able to show it. Once again he edged past another foe but at least this time he faced an experienced fighter in Valera.
Valera had his moments especially in the middle of the 10-round fight but slowed down during the last three rounds.
One major asset for Kalkreuth was his chin. He got caught but still motored past the clever Valera. After 10 rounds two judges saw it 99-91 and one other judge 97-93 all for Kalkreuth.
Highly-rated prospect Ruslan Abdullaev (2-0) blasted past dangerous Jino Rodrigo (13- 5-2) in an eight round super lightweight fight. He nearly stopped the very tough Rodrigo in the last two rounds and won by unanimous decision.
Abdullaev is trained by Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio.
Bakersfield prospect Joel Iriarte (7-0, 7 KOs) needed only 1:44 to knock out Puerto Rico’s Marcos Jimenez (25-12) in a welterweight bout.
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‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.
Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.
Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.
The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.
Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.
Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.
That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.
Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.
In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.
Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.
Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.
The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.
One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.
Take your pick.
The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.
Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.
Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.
If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.
He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.
During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.
Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.
Fundora
Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.
Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.
Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.
Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.
Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?
When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.
This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.
Commerce Casino
Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.
Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.
It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.
Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?
That’s a question for another day.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).
Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).
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