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The Hauser Report: A Night at the Fights at Barclays Center

It’s an old story. A man has three or four mistresses, spreads himself thin, and tells each of the women that he loves her. Despite evidence to the contrary, each of the women believes that the man loves her best.
Right now, Al Haymon is romancing Showtime, Fox, Barclays Center, several other venues around the United States, and more than a hundred fighters. It’s an interesting balancing act that continued to unfold on the Showtime Championship Boxing card televised from Barclays Center on March 2.
In recent years, Barclays has established a credible boxing franchise, in large part by casting its lot with Haymon. On September 6, 2018, it announced that it had become “the official east coast venue” for Premier Boxing Champions (Haymon’s primary promotional vehicle) and the exclusive New York City venue for PBC fights. As part of the deal, Barclays will host a minimum of eight PBC fight cards per year.
Meanwhile, on December 14, 2018, it was announced that Brett Yormark (CEO for BSE Global, which oversees Barclays Center) would head an advisory board devoted to “PBC marketing, branding, and growth initiatives.”
But in recent months, Barclays hasn’t hosted the kind of match-ups that boxing fans have come to expect. One year ago – on March 3, 2018 – an excited crowd saw Luis Ortiz do battle against Deontay Wilder. On Saturday night, Ortiz fought Christian Hammer in a half-empty arena. It was the twentieth boxing telecast from Barclays Center for the Showtime-CBS-Haymon combine and one of the least attractive.
As expected, the fighters in the blue corner won all six undercard bouts.
Then Bryan De Gracia (24-1-1, 20 KOs) of Panama fought Eduardo Ramirez (21-1-3, 8 KOs) of Mexico for something called the WBA “gold featherweight championship.” For eight rounds, Ramirez seemed more committed to, and adept at, evading punches than landing them. De Gracia wanted to engage, but Ramirez had enough skills to neutralize his clumsy lunging assault.
Then De Gracia got sloppier. Maybe it was lack of respect for his opponent. After all, Ramirez had been running for most of the fight and had recorded only eight KOs in 25 previous outings. Regardless, one minute 52 seconds into round nine, De Gracia lunged once too often and Ramirez landed a hellacious right uppercut that put him on wobbly legs. If De Gracia had gone down, he might have had time to recover and regain control of his senses. But he stayed on his feet, which enabled Ramirez to pound him some more.
With 54 seconds left in the stanza, De Gracia fell into the ropes with his butt landing on the bottom strand. At that point, referee Benjy Esteves could, and should, have called a knockdown. Instead, he let the action continue before halting the proceedings at the 2:10 mark.
Next up, Ortiz (30-1, 26 KOs), now 39 years old, stepped into the ring to face Hammer (24-5, 14 KOs, 3 KOs by).
Ortiz is a product of the Cuban amateur system. His signature victories were knockouts of Bryant Jennings in 2015 and Tony Thompson one year later. Hammer, who was born in Romania and now lives in Germany, is a high-level club fighter. When a world class fighter meets a club fighter, the world class fighter can be expected to win.
Hammer fought bravely, gave a good account of himself, and landed more lead right hands than he should have. He also took Ortiz’s punches well, but he took too many of them. And he was handicapped by the fact that he appeared to not know how to throw a jab.
Ortiz – a 12-to-1 betting favorite – was the more polished, stronger fighter. He fought sluggishly at times but moved inexorably forward. Both men tired down the stretch with Ortiz prevailing on the judges’ scorecards by a 100-90, 99-91, 99-91 margin.
In the main event, Erislandy Lara (25-3-2, 14 KOs) challenged Argentina’s Brian Castano (15-0, 11 KOs).
Lara, age 35, was born in Cuba and now lives in Houston. Like Ortiz, he was a much-decorated amateur and is a world-class boxer. At one point, he held the WBA 154-pound title, which he lost last year to Jarrett Hurd. But Lara was defeated by Paul Williams (an unjust decision) and Canelo Alvarez in addition to his loss to Hurd and was held to a draw by Carlos Molina and Vanes Martirosyan. The most impressive win on his resume was a 2013 decision over Austin Trout.
Castano is the phony WBA 154-pound “champion,” having decisioned someone named Cedric Vitu for a belt in March 2018. Hurd is the real WBA 154-pound champion.
Lara has slowed in recent years. Castano was the aggressor throughout the bout and came on strong at the end to sweep the last three rounds on each judge’s scorecard en route to a 115-113, 113-115, 114-114 draw.
“Branding,” Charles Jay once wrote,” goes beyond mere name recognition. Branding is a promise. It’s something that the brand stands for, what the consumer can depend on.”
Right now, PBC, Showtime, and Barclays have some decisions to make regarding the quality of their brand.
The two most attractive PBC fights on the calendar so far this year have been the January 19 match-up between Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner in Las Vegas (on Showtime PPV) and the scheduled March 16 bout between Errol Spence and Mikey Garcia in a Dallas suburb (on Fox-PPV). Fight fans would be better served without the pay-per-view price tag attached to these fights.
Meanwhile, no one knows with certainty what Deontay Wilder will do next. Showtime and Barclays have suggested that they’ll host Wilder vs. Dominic Breazeale on May 18. That would be an exciting night of boxing. Wilder-Breazeale on Showtime PPV would be less enticing for boxing aficionados. Or Team Wilder might find a way to bypass Breazeale and fight a less threatening opponent.
And let’s not forget; until February 19, Showtime and Barclays thought that Wilder would be fighting Tyson Fury at Barclays Center on May 18 on Showtime Pay-Per-View.
Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / SHOWTIME
Thomas Hauser’s new email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – Protect Yourself at all Times – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism.
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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.
Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.
Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.
The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.
In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.
Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.
Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.
From the seventh until the 10th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.
“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”
Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.
Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”
Other Bouts
Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.
A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.
The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.
San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.
Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.
Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.
With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.
Co-Feature
Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.
Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.
Other Bouts of Note
New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.
In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.
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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.
It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.
Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.
In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.
The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.
As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) — has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.
Other Bouts of Note
In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.
Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.
A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.
It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.
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