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Ortiz’s Upset Ended a Long Night in Philly, and Much Longer Wait for the Met

As the featured attractions of the evening were preparing to enter the ring and make history of sorts, ring announcer Mark Fratto enthusiastically reminded the sellout crowd of 3,400-plus that what was about to happen was “the first main event here in 65 years!”
Put in that perspective, what had already been a long day’s journey into night, or more accurately a long night’s journey toward very early the next morning, didn’t seem that long at all. True, the first bout of a very full pugilistic dance card – 10 fights in all, with another canceled because of an unspecified “medical condition” involving one of the would-be participants – began right on time at 7 p.m., but over 4½ hours had elapsed when the scorecards for lightweight Steven Ortiz’s unanimous, eight-round decision over fellow Philadelphian Jeremy Cuevas were read by Fratto. Figure on a show that would have lasted five hours had that 11th fight taken place, or if three fights that did happen not ended in the first round, with two more only making it to round two.
But here’s the thing: boxing at the exquisitely refurbished The Met Philadelphia, which had not been the site of a boxing event since 1954, was back in the fight game, and back with a high enough entertainment quotient that few if any spectators left early because of fatigue, boredom or short attention spans.
“We’re just blessed,” Manny Rivera, president of Hard Hitting Promotions, said of the first of what he plans to be six fight cards at The Met in 2019, the next scheduled for April 26. “We had a turnout of about 3,350, maybe 3,400 (capacity for boxing had been pegged at be 3,200). I knew it could happen, but it is humbling to know that we have the support that we have. The people got their money’s worth that was more important to me than anything. We said we’re here to put on good, competitive fights, and we delivered.”
But Rivera – who snagged the coveted boxing tie-in with Live Nation Philadelphia, the concert promotional company that controls other usage dates at The Met, the erstwhile Metropolitan Opera House which over the past 18 months underwent a $56 million transformation to the historic building’s former opulence – didn’t have the total level of the satisfaction he might have had, the large audience notwithstanding. Two of Hard Hitting’s more important assets, Cuevas and super lightweight Samuel Teah, each lost his bout for a vacant Pennsylvania State championship. Then again, Rivera can justifiably note that he didn’t shortchange the paying customers by feeding a couple of his headliners no-hope opponents, as so often is the case with cards more geared toward padding the records of the favored few.
Cuevas, now 11-1 with eight victories inside the distance, might have preferred a softer touch than he got in Ortiz (10-0, 3 KOs), who floored him in the second and seventh rounds of the scheduled eight-rounder en route to a surprisingly wide margin of victory on the scorecards submitted by James Kenney (79-71) and Dewey LaRosa and Ron McNair (each 78-72).
Although Cuevas declined to be interviewed, his disappointment at being tagged with his first professional defeat elicited a familiar reaction from previously undefeated fighters whose initial reaction is that their dreams have come crashing down, never to be resurrected. “He was, like, `It’s all over, it’s all over,’” said his mom. Cuevas’ cornermen were a bit more pragmatic, vowing that their guy’s somewhat surprising comeuppance from Ortiz would simply serve as a learning experience, a useful building block on the way back to bigger and better things.
An exuberant Ortiz, on the other hand, thought he had just laid such a building block. He had helped prepare for Cuevas, a highly mobile southpaw with decent pop, in part through sparring sessions with Luis Collazo, the 37-year-old former welterweight champion and still a pretty slick lefthander at this advanced stage of his career.
“I’m excited. I’m glad I made history,” Ortiz, from North Philly, said of the distinction of being the first winning main-event fighter in the long-delayed return of boxing to The Met. “I got a win over a great fighter, and the crowd was a sellout. This is amazing, man. I’m impressed with myself.”
Ortiz’s 33.3 percent knockout rate coming in suggested a lack of punching power, but he didn’t just floor Cuevas with a left hook in the closing seconds of round two, he shook him, badly. That shot either had the effect of taking some of the spring out of Cuevas’ legs, or convincing him that he needed to stand and trade more to make up for lost ground. Either way, it didn’t work as he again went to the canvas after getting nailed by an overhand right in round seven.
“The power was there,” Ortiz said. “We’re definitely going to start getting more guys out of there. It comes with experience, with discipline, with staying focused. We’re going to keep getting better, we’re going to keep getting stronger, we’re going to keep getting smarter.”
The Ortiz-Cuevas fight was good stuff, and it had to be, given that the preceding bout – an eight-round unanimous decision for Baltimore welterweight Malik Hawkins (14-0, 9 KOs) over Gledwin Ortiz (6-3, 5 KOs) – was main-event worthy. No knockdowns were registered, but Hawkins’ heavier hands made the difference the active and very game Ortiz (no relation to Steven Ortiz), whose bleached blond hairstyle would make him the winner of a Jarrett Hurd (he’s the IBF/WBA super welterweight champion) lookalike contest, if there were such a thing. Scores were 79-73, 79-74 and 77-75, all for Hawkins.
Teah (15-3-1, 7 KOs), from Northeast Philly by way of his native Liberia, couldn’t come close to solving the southpaw stylings of Tre’Sean Wiggins (11-4-1, 6 KOs) in an eight-rounder for the vacant Pennsylvania State super lightweight title. That almost was to be expected, Teach having lost an eight-round majority decision to another lefthander, Montana Love, on Feb. 2, 2018.
“Typically Sammy has problems with southpaws,” said Rivera, who thus might not have done Teah any favors by making this particular bout. “But Sammy has fights he needs to take, and win. Tonight he couldn’t pull it off, but he’ll be back.”
Some found it curious that Wiggins, who was introduced as being from Newburgh, N.Y., was fighting for a Pennsylvania state championship. Rivera, however, said it was a legit pairing, that Wiggins was only born in Newburgh and that he now resides in Johnstown, Pa.
The most emphatic ending of the night was registered by super lightweight Brandon Pizarro (14-1, 7 KOs), a 19-year-old up-and-comer who put Zack Ramsey (8-6, 4 KOs), of Springfield, Mass., down twice in the opening round, the first time on a left hook to the body, the second, for the full count, on a left uppercut.
Super featherweight Gadwin Rosa (10-0, 8 KOs), of Ocala, Fla., remained undefeated with a second-round stoppage of Jorge Luis Santos (5-3-1, 2 KOs), of Mexico. Also extending an unblemished record was another super featherweight, Puerto Rico’s Christian Tapia (8-0, 7 KOs), who also required just two rounds to put away David Veras Pena (0-2-1) on a second-round TKO.
In other bouts, bantamweight Emanuel Rodriguez (4-0), of Newark, N.J., took a four-round unanimous decision over Jose Lopez (0-1-1), Bronx, N.Y.; light heavyweight Benjamin Sinakin (3-0, 2 KOs), South Philly, bombed out fellow Philly guy Ronald Lawrence (0-4) in one round; Josue Rosa (1-0, 1 KO), Philly, turned pro with what goes into the books as a first-round stoppage when Willie Anderson (0-2), Paulsboro, N.J., did not come out for the second round, citing injury, and bantamweights Tamar Israeli (2-0-1, 2 KOs) and Karen Dullin (3-16-1, 1 KOs), North Kingstown, R.I., fought to a four-round majority draw in a women’s matchup.
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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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur 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

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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Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton

Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton
In any endeavor, the defining feature of a phenom is his youth. Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper was a phenom. He was on the radar screen of baseball’s most powerful player agents when he was 14 years old.
Curmel Moton, who turns 19 in June, is a phenom. Of all the young boxing stars out there, wrote James Slater in July of last year, “Curmel Moton is the one to get most excited about.”
Moton was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. His father Curtis Moton, a barber by trade, was a big boxing fan and specifically a big fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr. When Curmel was six, Curtis packed up his wife (Curmel’s stepmom) and his son and moved to Las Vegas. Curtis wanted his son to get involved in boxing and there was no better place to develop one’s latent talents than in Las Vegas where many of the sport’s top practitioners came to train.
Many father-son relationships have been ruined, or at least frayed, by a father’s unrealistic expectations for his son, but when it came to boxing, the boy was a natural and he felt right at home in the gym.
The gym the Motons patronized was the Mayweather Boxing Club. Curtis took his son there in hopes of catching the eye of the proprietor. “Floyd would occasionally drop by the gym and I was there so often that he came to recognize me,” says Curmel. What he fails to add is that the trainers there had Floyd’s ear. “This kid is special,” they told him.
It costs a great deal of money for a kid to travel around the country competing in a slew of amateur boxing tournaments. Only a few have the luxury of a sponsor. For the vast majority, fund raisers such as car washes keep the wheels greased.
Floyd Mayweather stepped in with the financial backing needed for the Motons to canvas the country in tournaments. As an amateur, Curmel was — take your pick — 156-7 or 144-6 or 61-3 (the latter figure from boxrec). Regardless, at virtually every tournament at which he appeared, Curmel Moton was the cock of the walk.
Before the pandemic, Floyd Mayweather Jr had a stable of boxers he promoted under the banner of “The Money Team.” In talking about his boxers, Floyd was understated with one glaring exception – Gervonta “Tank” Davis, now one of boxing’s top earners.
When Floyd took to praising Curmel Moton with the same effusive language, folks stood up and took notice.
Curmel made his pro debut on Sept. 30, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the undercard of the super middleweight title fight between Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo. After stopping his opponent in the opening round, he addressed a flock of reporters in the media room with Floyd standing at his side. “I felt ready,” he said, “I knew I had Floyd behind me. He believes in me. I had the utmost confidence going into the fight. And I went in there and did what I do.”
Floyd ventured the opinion that Curmel was already a better fighter than Leigh Wood, the reigning WBA world featherweight champion who would successfully defend his belt the following week.
Moton’s boxing style has been described as a blend of Floyd Mayweather and Tank Davis. “I grew up watching Floyd, so it’s natural I have some similarities to him,” says Curmel who sparred with Tank in late November of 2021 as Davis was preparing for his match with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz. Curmell says he did okay. He was then 15 years old and still in school; he dropped out as soon as he reached the age of 16.
Curmel is now 7-0 with six KOs, four coming in the opening round. He pitched an 8-round shutout the only time he was taken the distance. It’s not yet official, but he returns to the ring on May 31 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas where Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo are co-featured in matches conceived as tune-ups for a fall showdown. The fight card will reportedly be free for Amazon Prime Video subscribers.
Curmel’s presumptive opponent is Renny Viamonte, a 28-year-old Las Vegas-based Cuban with a 4-1-1 (2) record. It will be Curmel’s first professional fight with Kofi Jantuah the chief voice in his corner. A two-time world title challenger who began his career in his native Ghana, the 50-year-old Jantuah has worked almost exclusively with amateurs, a recent exception being Mikaela Mayer.
It would seem that the phenom needs a tougher opponent than Viamonte at this stage of his career. However, the match is intriguing in one regard. Viamonte is lanky. Listed at 5-foot-11, he will have a seven-inch height advantage.
Keeping his weight down has already been problematic for Moton. He tipped the scales at 128 ½ for his most recent fight. His May 31 bout, he says, will be contested at 135 and down the road it’s reasonable to think he will blossom into a welterweight. And with each bump up in weight, his short stature will theoretically be more of a handicap.
For fun, we asked Moton to name the top fighter on his pound-for-pound list. “[Oleksandr] Usyk is number one right now,” he said without hesitation,” great footwork, but guys like Canelo, Crawford, Inoue, and Bivol are right there.”
It’s notable that there isn’t a young gun on that list. Usyk is 38, a year older than Crawford; Inoue is the pup at age 32.
Moton anticipates that his name will appear on pound-for-pound lists within the next two or three years. True, history is replete with examples of phenoms who flamed out early, but we wouldn’t bet against it.
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