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Avila Perspective, Chapter 36: Cubans, Claressa Shields and More
Smooth as a yard of silk, and slick as a pool of oil, best explains what boxing fans can expect to see when Cuban fighters Erislandy Lara and Luis Ortiz step in the ring for their respective battles this weekend.
Cuban style boxing represented at its best.
Not everyone prefers the wait-for-the-moment kind of fighting that Cubans employ, but if you do, then you are in for a treat. Both Lara and Ortiz excel in this boxing strategy.
Lara (25-3-2, 14 KOs) steps in the boxing ring against undefeated Brian Castano (15-0, 11 KOs) of Argentina for a version of the WBA super welterweight title on Saturday, March 2. A heavyweight co-main event features Ortiz versus Christian Hammer (pictured).
Showtime will televise the two fights from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
In his last fight Lara was run over by Jarrett Hurd nearly a year ago. The fight resulted in a split decision loss for the Cuban southpaw but many felt he legitimately was vanquished by the bigger and more aggressive fighter. This time Lara faces an aggressive but smaller Argentine slugger. It should be a perfect fit.
Like most Cubans taught that island style of boxing, Lara is a lefty who waits until you make a mistake then pounces on you. Patience is his weapon and nobody out-waits Lara. But if the opponent is aggressive, then the Cuban style can be a thing of beauty if utilized correctly.
“Saturday, it’ll be my time to take his belt,” said Lara at the media day on Wednesday. “Castano is undefeated but he hasn’t fought anyone yet. He’s definitely never fought anyone close to my level. After Saturday night, he won’t be undefeated anymore.”
Castano, 29, hails from Buenos Aires, Argentina and you never know what to expect from that boxing country. They can surprise you like Marcos Maidana did years ago in his big stage arrival.
“I’m very proud to be representing Argentina here at Barclays Center on a card of this magnitude on Showtime. I couldn’t be any happier because I know what this moment can represent to others. Its motivation that fighters from Argentina can make it to the highest level,” Castano said.
In the heavyweight clash another left-handed Cuban enters the fray.
Ortiz (30-1, 26 KOs) returns to the ring and faces Germany’s Christian Hammer (24-5, 14 KOs) in a 10-round heavyweight clash.
The big Cuban heavyweight still moves pretty well at age 39 and he has a foe standing in front of him who doesn’t like movement. But Hammer has fought guys like Alexander Povetkin and Tyson Fury so he has experience with top tier heavyweights.
“I take every fight against top fighters and I will fight them anywhere in the world. I want to be a champion, so I know I have to travel,” said Hammer. “I have to go in there and prove myself. I’m going to leave it all in the ring and show the best version of myself.”
Ortiz is a classic example of the Cuban style. He probes and punches judiciously and when he spots a mistake he takes advantage with lightning speed for his size and age. This is his moment to prove he still belongs with the top 10 heavyweights.
“I know he can go 12 rounds with a top fighter like he did with Alexander Povetkin, so we’re not taking any chances,” said Ortiz. “I’m not Povetkin though. So he’s not going the distance with me.”
If you like smooth style boxing this fight card is for you.
An uncle of mine that we call “Feo” Teo – he’s called Feo (ugly) because that’s what he calls everyone else – always boasts Cuban boxers are the best. He constantly brings up fighters like Jose Napoles, Sugar Ramos and Teofilo Stevenson. But you can’t believe everything he tells you. He also claims he’s the most handsome man in Southern California.
Claressa and Christina
Female prizefighting still has ground to make up in terms of recognition but if you are looking for a reason to watch the best, then make room on your calendar for the battle between undefeated middleweights Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer on April 13. Showtime will televise the event that takes place at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
For those boxing fans that saw female boxing before and didn’t like it, well, all I can say is don’t base your opinions on the past. This is the present and these female prizefighters are a notch above anything in the past.
Hammer, 28, has that classic European style that most of the female boxers have. She boxes and moves while sticking out the jab and using her height and reach to out-point the opposition. She’s a strong girl who fights out of Germany and has been tested once in a fight against France’s Anne Sophie Mathis. That fight ended in a disqualification and a no contest after it was ruled Hammer was knocked out by an illegal punch. That was five years ago. Since then the tall German middleweight has pretty much had her way in beating American middleweights Kali Reis and Tori Nelson easily.
Shields, 23, has a totally different style from most female prizefighters. She’s like a dragster fueled by nitro, she explodes on the opposition. She can box, she can bang and she can out-talk anyone. But what most people don’t know is she’s a student of the boxing game. She knows boxing in and out. If you want to talk about Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberto Duran or James Toney that’s OK by her. She lives, sleeps and drinks boxing 24/7.
“I study tapes of old fights all the time,” said Shields.
How many females do you know that can talk boxing and know more than you?
As my uncle Feo would say “that’s heaven baby.”
Heavyweight Tantrums
A couple of days ago a Twitter battle between Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza and Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn took place over the revelation that a contract by representatives for WBC titlist Deontay Wilder was sent to multiple belt holder Anthony Joshua and allegedly refused, ignored or not seen.
The other heavyweight, Tyson Fury, recently signed a mega deal with Top Rank and ESPN that further muddied the heavyweight picture. Fury is considered the true lineal heavyweight world champion by many because he defeated Wladimir Klitschko when he held all the titles. But then he took time off because of personal issues and all hell broke loose. Now there are three heavyweights who all claim to be the real heavyweight champion of course.
Last December, at the Staples Center in L.A., both Fury and Wilder engaged in a roaring heavyweight battle that ended in a split draw after 12 raucous rounds. That didn’t answer any questions; it simply added more fuel to the fire. Now a rematch between the same two is on hold because Fury already has a date set up. But recently, it was announced that Fury does plan to meet with Wilder in September. We shall see.
First up to bat is Joshua who meets Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 1. DAZN will stream the heavyweight title fight card.
Danny “Baby-Face Assassin” Roman
From the moment he won the WBA super bantamweight title in Japan, the Los Angeles native Danny Roman has openly sought to unify all of the world titles in the 122-pound weight division.
Roman, 28, finally gets his wish.
On April 26, at the Inglewood Forum, Roman (26-2-1, 10 KOs) puts his WBA title on the line against Australia’s TJ Doheny (21-0, 15 KOs) a southpaw who has the IBF version. The unification bout will be streamed on DAZN.
“It will be a new experience for me because I’m not fighting a challenger, I’m fighting another belt holder. It’s exciting in a lot of ways. I’ll be at my best because I’m planning to add another title on April 26,” said Roman.
For those not familiar with Roman, he’s defended the title three times since dethroning Japan’s Shun Kubo in August 2017 by knockout. In every defense Roman has defeated opponents with at least four inches in height advantage. But when he meets Doheny he will be looking the Aussie dead-in-the-eye.
“Nothing is easy at this point. It’s going to be a heck of a fight,” said Roman. “Two World Champions fighting for control of the division. What more could you want?”
Fights to watch
Thurs. 6 p.m. UFC Fight Pass – Ray Ximenez (18-1) vs. Luis Alberto Lopez (16-1).
Fri. 11:30 p.m. Telemundo – Ricardo Franco (22-2) vs. Ricardo Nunez (29-8).
Sat. 3:30 p.m. PT YouTube.com/Showtime – undercard at Barclays Center
Sat. 6 p.m. Showtime – Erislandy Lara (25-3-2) vs. Brian Castano (15-0); Luis Ortiz (30-1) vs. Christian Hammer (24-5).
Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / SHOWTIME
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Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City
Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City
The final ShoBox event of 2025 played out tonight at the company’s regular staging ground in Plant City, Florida. When the smoke cleared, the “A-side” fighters in the featured bouts were 3-0 in step-up fights vs. battle-tested veterans, two of whom were former world title challengers. However, the victors in none of the three fights, with the arguable exception of lanky bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi, made any great gain in public esteem.
In the main event, a lightweight affair, Jonhatan Cardoso, a 25-year-old Brazilian, earned a hard-fought, 10-round unanimous decision over Los Mochis, Mexico southpaw Eduardo Ramirez. The decision would have been acceptable to most neutral observers if it had been deemed a draw, but the Brazilian won by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 twice.
Cardoso, now 18-1 (15), had the crowd in his corner., This was his fourth straight appearance in Plant City. Ramirez, disadvantaged by being the smaller man with a shorter reach, declined to 28-5-3.
Co-Feature
In a 10-round featherweight fight that had no indelible moments, Luis Reynaldo Nunez advanced to 20-0 (13) with a workmanlike 10-round unanimous decision over Mexico’s Leonardo Baez. The judges had it 99-91 and 98-92 twice.
Nunez, from the Dominican Republic, is an economical fighter who fights behind a tight guard. Reputedly 85-5 as an amateur, he is managed by Sampson Lewkowicz who handles David Benavidez among others and trained by Bob Santos. Baez (22-5) was returning to the ring after a two-year hiatus.
Also
In a contest slated for “10,” ever-improving bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi improved to 12-0 (3 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of Filipino import Aston Palicte (28-7-1). Akitsugi caught Palicte against the ropes and unleashed a flurry of punches climaxed by a right hook. Palicte went down and was unable to beat the count. The official time was 1:07 of round six.
This was the third straight win by stoppage for Akitsugi, a 27-year-old southpaw who trains at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in LA under Roach’s assistant Eddie Hernandez. Palicte, who had been out of the ring for 16 months, is a former two-time world title challenger at superflyweight (115).
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Introducing Jaylan Phillips, Boxing’s Palindrome Man
On Thursday, Nov. 28, as Americans hunkered down at the dinner table with family and friends for our annual Thanksgiving Day feast, junior welterweight Jaylan Phillips and his trainer Kevin Henry were up in the sky flying from Las Vegas to Rochester, New York. For their Thanksgiving repast, they were offered a tiny bag of peanuts.
Phillips would not have eaten too much had the opportunity presented itself. The next day was the weigh-in. On Saturday, the 30th, he would compete in the 6-round main event of a small club show.
Phillips wasn’t brought to Rochester to win. His opponent, Wilfredo Flores, had a checkered career but he had once held a regional title and he lived in the general area. In boxing parlance, Jaylan Phillips was the “B” side. His role, from the promoter’s standpoint, was to fatten the record of the house fighter.
Jaylan didn’t follow the script. He won a unanimous decision over his 11-3-1 opponent, advancing his record to 4-3-4, and returned to Las Vegas with a new nickname, albeit not one of his own choosing or intended as a permanent accessory. This reporter dubbed him The Palindrome Man.
A palindrome is a word that spells the same backward and forward. Phillips’ current record is palindrome-ish.
It’s an odd record. One would be hard-pressed to find other active boxers with a slew of draws inside a small window of fights. It harks to the days, circa 1900, when some journeymen boxers accumulated as many draws as wins and losses combined.
A boxer with a 4-3-4 record would seem to be an unlikely candidate for a feature story, but the affable Jaylan Phillips is not your run-of-the-mill prizefighter.
Boxers, as we know, tend to be city folk, drawn from the black belts and the barrios of America’s urban places. Phillips grew up in Ebro, Florida, population 237 per the 2020 U.S. census. Ebro is in the Florida panhandle in the northwestern part of the state in a county that was dry until 2022. It is 23 miles due north of Panama City Beach but a world apart from the seaside Florida resort town and its pricey beachfront condos.
Of those 237 people, only five identified as African-American or black, or so it would be written, but the census-taker was obviously slothful. “That’s a crazy number,” says Phillips. “There has to be at least 40 or 50. And the reason I know that is that we are all related.”
“What does one do for excitement in Ebro?” we asked him. “Hunting, fishing, trapping, that sort of thing,” he said. And what does one trap? “Mostly raccoons,” he said, while adding that some of the elders in his extended family consider it a delicacy.
Phillips fought in Rochester, New York, on Saturday and was back in the gym in Las Vegas on Tuesday. He lives alone and does not own a car. His apartment, near UNLV, is three-and-a-half miles from the Top Rank Gym where he does most of his training. He jogs there and then jogs home again, this in a city where the temperature routinely exceeds 100 degrees for much of the year.
During his high school years, Phillips, now 25, concedes that he smoked a lot of weed and it impacted his grades. His interest in boxing was fueled by the exploits of Roy Jones Jr, another fighter with roots in the Florida panhandle. In his spare time, he enjoys watching tapes of old Sugar Ray Robinson fights which can be found on youtube. “He was the best,” says Phillips of Robinson who has been dead for 35 years, echoing an opinion that hasn’t diminished with the passage of time.
In his second pro fight, Phillips was thrust against a baby-faced novice from Cleveland, Abdullah Mason. Although Mason was only 17 years old, the Top Rank matchmaker did Jaylan no favors. He was still standing when the referee waived the fight off in the second round.
About the heavily-hyped Mason, Phillips says, “He’s a beast, like they say, but I would love to fight him again. I took that fight on two weeks’ notice. I’m confident the outcome would have been different if I had had a full camp.”
This observation will undoubtedly strike some as a delusion. Pound for pound, the precocious Mason just may be the top pro fighter in the world in his age group. But Jaylan isn’t lacking confidence which spills over when he talks about what lies ahead for him. “I will be a world champion,” he says matter-of-factly. And after boxing? “I see myself back home in Ebro living a humble life, hunting and fishing, but with a million dollars in the bank.”
If unswerving dedication and self-confidence are the keys to a successful boxing career, then Jaylan Phillips, notwithstanding his 4-3-4 record, is destined for big things. But here’s the rub:
“In boxing, it isn’t what you earn, but what you negotiate,” says the esteemed British boxing pundit Steve Bunce alluding to the importance of a well-connected manager. In a perfect world, each win would be stepping-stone to a bigger fight with a commensurately larger purse. But in this chaotic sport, a “B side” fighter who scores an upset in a low-level fight may actually be penalized for his “impertinence.” Promoters may be wary of using him again (the old “risk/reward” encumbrance) and, in a sport where it’s important for an up-and-comer to stay busy, his progress may be stalled.
Phillips doesn’t know when his next assignment will materialize, but regardless he will keep plugging along while setting an example that others who aspire to greatness would be wise to emulate.
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Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix
Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix
PHOENIX – Saturday was a busy night on the global boxing scene, and it’s quite likely that the howling attendees in Phoenix’s Footprint Center witnessed the finest overall card of the international schedule. The many Mexican flags on display in the packed, scaled down arena signaled the event’s theme.
Co-main events featured rematches that arose from a pair of prior crowd-pleasing slugfests. Each of tonight’s headlining bouts ended at the halfway point, but that was their only similarity.
Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, now 39-2-1 (32), defended his WBO Junior Lightweight belt with a dramatic stoppage of more-than-willing Oscar Valdez, 32-3 (24). The 29-year-old champion spoke of retirement wishes, but after dominating a blazing battle in which he scored three knockdowns, his only focus was relaxing during the holidays then getting back to what sounded like long-term business.
“Valdez was extremely tough in this fight,” said Navarrete. “I knew I had to push him back and I did. You are now witnessing the second phase of my career and you can expect great things from me in 2025.”
“I don’t really know about the future,” said the crestfallen, 33-year-old Valdez. “No excuses. He did what he wanted to and I couldn’t.”
Navarrete, a three-division titlist, came up one scorecard short of a fourth belt in his previous fight last May, a split decision loss to Denys Berinchyk. This was Navarrete’s fourth Arizona appearance so he was cheered like a homeboy, but Valdez was definitely the crowd favorite, evident from the cheers that erupted as both fighters were shown arriving in glistening, low rider automobiles.
Both men came out throwing huge shots, but it was Navarrete who scored a flash knockdown in the first round, setting the tone for the rest of the fight. There was fierce action in every frame, with Navarrete getting the best of most of it, but even when he was in trouble Valdez roared back and brought the crowd to their feet. He got dropped again at the very end of round four, and Navarrete sent his mouthpiece into orbit the round after that.
When Navarrette drove Valdez into the ropes during round six it looked like referee Raul Caiz, Jr was about to intervene, but before he could decide, Navarrete finished matters himself with a perfect left to the ribs that crumpled Valdez into a KO at 2:42.
“He talked about getting ready to retire soon so I told him we had to fight again right now,” said Valdez prior to the rematch. There were numerous “be careful what you wish for” type predictions of doom and he entered the ring at around a two to one underdog, understanding the contest’s make or break stakes. “Boxing penalizes you if you have a lot of losses,” observed Valdez. “It’s not like other sports where you can lose and do better next season. In boxing, most people don’t want to see you again after a couple of losses.”
What Valdez might decide remains to be seen, but even in defeat he proved to be a warrior worth watching.
Co-Feature
After their epic, razor-close encounter almost exactly a year ago, it was obvious Rafael Espinoza, and fellow 30-year-old Robeisy Ramirez should meet again for the WBO featherweight title belt Espinoza earned by an upset majority decision. Espinoza turned the trick again this time around, inside the distance, but it was more anti-climactic than anything like toe-to-toe.
The 6’1” Espinoza, now 26-0 (22), was the aggressor from the opening frame, but 5’6” Ramirez, 14-3 (9) employed his short stature well to stay out of immediate danger and countered to the body for a slight edge. The Cuban challenger avoided much of their previous firefight and initially controlled the tempo. The crowd jeered him for staying away but it was an effective strategy, at least at first.
Espinoza connected much better in the fifth round and looked fresher as Ramirez’s face rapidly reddened. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere in round six, Ramirez took a punch then raised a glove in surrender. Whatever the reason, even looking at Ramirez’s swollen right eye, it looked like a “No Mas” moment. Replays showed a straight right to the eye socket, but that didn’t stop the crowd from hooting their disgust after ref Chris Flores signaled the end at 0:12.
***
Richard Torrez, Jr, now 12-0 (11), displayed his Olympic silver medal pedigree in a heavyweight bout against Issac Munoz, 18-2-1 (15). Torrez, 236.6, found his punching range quickly with southpaw leads as Munoz, 252, tried to stand his ground but looked hurt by early body work that forced him into the ropes. He was gasping for breath as Torrez peppered him in the second, and Munoz went back to his corner on unsteady legs.
Munoz’s team should have thought about saving him for another day in the third as he ate big shots. Luckily, referee Raul Caiz, Jr. was wiser and had seen enough, waving it off for a TKO at 0:59.
“I don’t train for the opponent,” reflected Torrez, who isn’t far from true contender status. “Every time I train, I train for a world championship fight.”
***
Super-lightweight Lindolfo Delgado, 139.9, improved to 22-0 (16), and took another step into the world title picture against Jackson Marinez, now 22-4 (10), 139.2.
On paper this junior welterweight matchup appeared fairly even, and Marinez managed to keep it that way for almost half the scheduled ten rounds against a solid prospect but Delgado kept upping the ante until Marinez was out of chips. The assembled swarm was whistling for more action after three tentative opening frames, as Delgado loaded up but couldn’t put much offense together.
That changed in the 4th when Delgado connected with solid crosses. In the fifth, a fine combination dropped Marinez into a delayed knockdown and a wicked follow-up right to the guts finished the wobbly Marinez, who had nothing to be ashamed of, off in the arms of ref Wes Melton. Official TKO time was 2:13.
In a matter of concurrent programming, Saturday also held a lot of highly publicized college football and basketball games which likely detracted from the larger mainstream audience and media coverage this fight card deserved. That’s a shame but you can’t fault boxing, Top Rank, or any of the fighters for that because, once again, they all came through big time in Phoenix.
Photos credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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