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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
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
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Thomas Hauser’s Literary Notes: Johnny Greaves Tells a Sad Tale

Johnny Greaves was a professional loser. He had one hundred professional fights between 2007 and 2013, lost 96 of them, scored one knockout, and was stopped short of the distance twelve times. There was no subtlety in how his role was explained to him: “Look, Johnny; professional boxing works two ways. You’re either a ticket-seller and make money for the promoter, in which case you get to win fights. If you don’t sell tickets but can look after yourself a bit, you become an opponent and you fight to lose.”
By losing, he could make upwards of one thousand pounds for a night‘s work.
Greaves grew up with an alcoholic father who beat his children and wife. Johnny learned how to survive the beatings, which is what his career as a fighter would become. He was a scared, angry, often violent child who was expelled from school and found solace in alcohol and drugs.
The fighters Greaves lost to in the pros ran the gamut from inept local favorites to future champions Liam Walsh, Anthony Crolla, Lee Selby, Gavin Rees, and Jack Catterall. Alcohol and drugs remained constants in his life. He fought after drinking, smoking weed, and snorting cocaine on the night before – and sometimes on the day of – a fight. On multiple occasions, he came close to committing suicide. His goal in boxing ultimately became to have one hundred professional fights.
On rare occasions, two professional losers – “journeymen,” they’re called in The UK – are matched against each other. That was how Greaves got three of the four wins on his ledger. On September 29, 2013, he fought the one hundredth and final fight of his career against Dan Carr in London’s famed York Hall. Carr had a 2-42-2 ring record and would finish his career with three wins in ninety outings. Greaves-Carr was a fight that Johnny could win. He emerged triumphant on a four-round decision.
The Johnny Greaves Story, told by Greaves with the help of Adam Darke (Pitch Publishing) tells the whole sordid tale. Some of Greaves’s thoughts follow:
* “We all knew why we were there, and it wasn’t to win. The home fighters were the guys who had sold all the tickets and were deemed to have some talent. We were the scum. We knew our role. Give some young prospect a bit of a workout, keep out of the way of any big shots, lose on points but take home a wedge of cash, and fight again next week.”
* “If you fought too hard and won, then you wouldn’t get booked for any more shows. If you swung for the trees and got cut or knocked out, then you couldn’t fight for another 28 days. So what were you supposed to do? The answer was to LOOK like you were trying to win but be clever in the process. Slip and move, feint, throw little shots that were rangefinders, hold on, waste time. There was an art to this game, and I was quickly learning what a cynical business it was.”
* “The unknown for the journeyman was always how good your opponent might be. He could be a future world champion. Or he might be some hyped-up nightclub bouncer with a big following who was making lots of money for the promoter.”
* “No matter how well I fought, I wasn’t going to be getting any decisions. These fights weren’t scored fairly. The referees and judges understood who the paymasters were and they played the game. What was the point of having a go and being the best version of you if nobody was going to recognize or reward it?”
* “When I first stepped into the professional arena, I believed I was tough. believed that nobody could stop me. But fight by fight, those ideas were being challenged and broken down. Once you know that you can be hurt, dropped and knocked out, you’re never quite the same fighter.”
* “I had started off with a dream, an idea of what boxing was and what it would do for me. It was going to be a place where I could prove my toughness. A place that I could escape to and be someone else for a while. For a while, boxing was that place. But it wore me down to the point that I stopped caring. I’d grown sick and tired of it all. I wished that I could feel pride at what I’d achieved. But most of the time, I just felt like a loser.”
* “The fights were getting much more difficult, the damage to my body and my psyche taking longer and longer to repair after each defeat. I was putting myself in more and more danger with each passing fight. I was getting hurt more often and stopped more regularly. Even with the 28-day [suspensions], I didn’t have time to heal. I was staggering from one fight to the next and picking up more injuries along the way.”
* “I was losing my toughness and resilience. When that’s all you’ve ever had, it’s a hard thing to accept. Drink and drugs had always been present in my life. But now they became a regular part of my pre-fight preparation. It helped to shut out the fear and quieted the thoughts and worries that I shouldn’t be doing this anymore.”
* “My body was broken. My hands were constantly sore with blisters and cuts. I had early arthritis in my hip and my teeth were a mess. I looked an absolute state and inside I felt worse. But I couldn’t stop fighting yet. Not before the 100.”
* “I had abused myself time after time and stood in front of better men, taking a beating when I could have been sensible and covered up. At the start, I was rarely dropped or stopped. Now it was becoming a regular part of the game. Most of the guys I was facing were a lot better than me. This was mainly about survival.”
* “Was my brain f***ed from taking too many punches? I knew it was, to be honest. I could feel my speech changing and memory going. I was mentally unwell and shouldn’t have been fighting but the promoters didn’t care. Johnny Greaves was still a good booking. Maybe an even better one now that he might get knocked out.”
* “Nobody gave a f*** about me and whether I lived or died. I didn’t care about that much either. But the thought of being humiliated, knocked out in front of all those people; that was worse than the thought of dying. The idea of being exposed for what I was – a nobody.”
* “I was a miserable bastard in real life. A depressive downbeat mouthy little f***er. Everything I’ve done has been to mask the feeling that I’m worthless. That I have no value. The drinks and the drugs just helped me to forget that for a while. I still frighten myself a lot. My thoughts scare me. Do I really want to be here for the next thirty or forty years? I don’t know. If suicide wasn’t so impactful on people around you, I would have taken that leap. I don’t enjoy life and never have.”
So . . . Any questions?
****
Steve Albert was Showtime’s blow-by-blow commentator for two decades. But his reach extended far beyond boxing.
Albert’s sojourn through professional sports began in high school when he was a ball boy for the New York Knicks. Over the years, he was behind the microphone for more than a dozen teams in eleven leagues including four NBA franchises.
Putting the length of that trajectory in perspective . . . As a ballboy, Steve handed bottles of water and towels to a Knicks back-up forward named Phil Jackson. Later, they worked together as commentators for the New Jersey Nets. Then Steve provided the soundtrack for some of Jackson’s triumphs when he won eleven NBA championships as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s also a matter of record that Steve’s oldest brother, Marv, was arguably the greatest play-by-play announcer in NBA history. And brother Al enjoyed a successful career behind the microphone after playing professional hockey.
Now Steve has written a memoir titled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth. Those who know him know that Steve doesn’t like to say bad things about people. And he doesn’t here. Nor does he delve into the inner workings of sports media or the sports dream machine. The book is largely a collection of lighthearted personal recollections, although there are times when the gravity of boxing forces reflection.
“Fighters were unlike any other professional athletes I had ever encountered,” Albert writes. “Many were products of incomprehensible backgrounds, fiercely tough neighborhoods, ghettos and, in some cases, jungles. Some got into the sport because they were bullied as children. For others, boxing was a means of survival. In many cases, it was an escape from a way of life that most people couldn’t even fathom.”
At one point, Steve recounts a ringside ritual that he followed when he was behind the microphone for Showtime Boxing: “I would precisely line up my trio of beverages – coffee, water, soda – on the far edge of the table closest to the ring apron. Perhaps the best advice I ever received from Ferdie [broadcast partner Ferdie Pacheco] was early on in my blow-by-blow career – ‘Always cover your coffee at ringside with an index card unless you like your coffee with cream, sugar, and blood.’”
Writing about the prelude to the infamous Holyfield-Tyson “bite fight,” Albert recalls, “I remember thinking that Tyson was going to do something unusual that night. I had this sinking feeling in my gut that he was going to pull something exceedingly out of the ordinary. His grousing about Holyfield’s head butts in the first fight added to my concern. [But] nobody could have foreseen what actually happened. Had I opened that broadcast with, ‘Folks, tonight I predict that Mike Tyson will bite off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear,’ some fellas in white coats might have approached me and said, ‘Uh, Steve, could you come with us.'”
And then there’s my favorite line in the book: “I once asked a fighter if he was happily married,” Albert recounts. “He said, ‘Yes, but my wife’s not.'”
“All I ever wanted was to be a sportscaster,” Albert says in closing. “I didn’t always get it right, but I tried to do my job with honesty and integrity. For forty-five years, calling games was my life. I think it all worked out.”
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His next book – The Most Honest Sport: Two More Years Inside Boxing – will be published this month and is available for preorder at:
https://www.amazon.com/Most-Honest-Sport-Inside-Boxing/dp/1955836329
In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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