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Yo Rocky, Viva Balboa

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Andy Ruiz

In December of 2014, I was contacted by the publicist of a 25 year-old ham and egger heavyweight named Andy Ruiz Jr. At the time, Ruiz was 24-0 with 17 knockouts. He was only just starting to make a name for himself and his eager publicist was desperate to get her client some much needed publicity. Evidently his being signed with Top Rank just wasn’t getting it done. So I agreed to make Ruiz Jr. the featured KO Digest interview for January 2015.

In the informative Q&A session, Ruiz Jr. lambasted his own overweight frame; agreeing with the haters who disparaged him for it but saying he’d be willing to fight anybody to prove himself to them: “I fight well with a lot of skill. My only problem is my weight. I’m still winning, but there are a lot of critics in boxing saying they’re not happy with my weight and that I’m just too fat. But to tell you the truth, I agree with them. I do need to change that so I can have their support.”

We asked the humble Ruiz Jr. about his goals in boxing. “To prove to the world who I am, what I can do. All the guys that are up there, I would fight. I want to prove myself against elite fighters. Tyson Fury, Klitschko, Wilder—all the guys who say they’re the best are the guys I want to fight. That’s what I’m trying to do. I proved a lot of people wrong, a lot of people underestimated me, thinking I was going to lose against Hamer, Hanks, or Liakhovich, but I’m still winning.”

VICTORIOUS

I don’t know if the new Heavyweight Champion of the World Andy Ruiz Jr. wants an immediate rematch with dethroned kingpin Anthony Joshua, but there’s definitely gonna be one. It’s in the cards and it’s in the contracts. Ruiz, now 33-1, with 22 KOs, scored a Balboa quality upset last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in NYC, stopping an exhausted Joshua (now 22-1) in seven rounds to become the first Latino American heavyweight champion since John Ruiz beat Evander Holyfield for the WBA title in 2001. It was arguably the biggest upset in heavyweight boxing since James “Buster” Douglas did the impossible against Iron Mike Tyson in Tokyo.

This underdog Ruiz earned his title shot the same way Balboa earned his; by being willing to fight a heavily favored champ on short notice when a more qualified title challenger fell through. And despite looking like a bag of Bermuda onions, Ruiz moved his hands with the precision of a chef against Joshua, dicing him up and knocking him down a handful of times before Canadian referee Mike Griffin stopped the fight with AJ on his feet but unresponsive to verbal commands.

How big an upset was it?

Absolutely nobody picked Ruiz to win this fight and the most that was expected of him was to maybe go the distance. In the third round, Joshua rocked his challenger with a clean left hook for a knockdown and it looked like Ruiz would be outclassed and put away early as expected. Instead, he got up and fought back like Balboa against Creed, like Douglas against Tyson. By the end of the round, Joshua had been put down twice and was already breathing heavily.

As the middle rounds went on, Ruiz made hitting Joshua look very easy, especially to the body, forcing the chiseled defending champ into a defensive posture that he was never really able to get himself out of. Ruiz showed no fear of Joshua’s power and almost no respect for his pedigree. Ruiz simply walked in and did what he wanted just about whenever he wanted to.

In the seventh, Ruiz (with ‘Victorious’ tattooed to his back) made his dreams come true, decking AJ twice more for the improbable TKO-7 victory and for the unified WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight championships. Was the referee’s decision to stop the title bout a little premature? Some might have seen it that way but the former champion stayed classy in defeat and didn’t make an issue of it at all, instead congratulating the new champion and giving him all the respect now due.

Many expect Joshua will come back like Lennox Lewis did after being upset by Oliver McCall in 1994. You’ll remember Lewis was on his feet when that fight was stopped after McCall knocked Lewis down in the second. Lewis ultimately got his revenge, forcing a crying McCall to quit. Others argue this exposes Joshua as the next Frank Bruno—a chinless robot with no stamina. WBC titlist Deontay Wilder has already slagged the now beaten Joshua as a liar and a fraud.

Lewis pulled a similar trick in 2001 when he was upset again by another underdog American named Hasim “The Rock” Rahman. In the rematch just seven month later, Rahman was brutally knocked out and left out in the cold of a lucrative heavyweight division. Can Ruiz Jr. repeat his Upset of the Year performance against Anthony Joshua? He will absolutely need to in order to convince people this wasn’t just a massive fluke or a questionable referee stoppage.

AND THE NEW

Ruiz Jr. seems to understand the nature of the fight game. Asked to elaborate on the biggest differences between the amateur and professional ranks, the future champ shed some light on the system; revealing what he learned about leaving your fate in the hands of ringside judges.

“A lot of people, like the judges, were cheating. The pros are different. In the pros, you can get hurt and you are actually risking your life, so you have to go one hundred and twenty percent. This boxing thing is not a joke and we have to come prepared. There is a big difference between the amateurs and the pros, but amateurs are where we planted the seed and now it’s growing.”

On Saturday night in New York City, it flowered beautifully. In 2015, Ruiz told us he could be the “Mexican Mike Tyson.” No, Andy Ruiz Jr. is now the real life Rocky Balboa. Yo!

PHOTO by Kyte Monroe used with permission

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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

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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

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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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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

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Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.

Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.

In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.

Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.

Semi-Wind-Up

Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.

Other Bouts of Note

In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.

In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.

Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.

A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).

Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry

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