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Avila Perspective Chap. 52 Andrew Cancio, Franchon Crews and More
During the early morning hours Andrew “Chango” Cancio wields a jack hammer and breaks up concrete with a small crew before the temperatures rise too high. At night, he dons boxing gloves in an open door gym in Ventura.
It’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde act he’s been doing for years.
People often ask: how can he withstand the heat and discomfort?
“It gets way hotter than this in Blythe,” Cancio answers back with a chuckle.
The native of Blythe, Calif. a small desert community just before the Arizona border, first learned the art of boxing while in that town where temperatures soar to ungodly heights above 120 degrees.
“That’s hot!” says Cancio (pictured with Oscar De La Hoya after receiving the ceremonial key to his hometown). It was in another desert town, Indio, that Cancio captured the WBA super featherweight world title by knockout after getting knocked down this past February.
Cancio (20-4-2, 15 KOs) returns to the site of his greatest victory this Friday June 21, to face Puerto Rico’s Alberto Machado (21-1, 17 KOs) at Fantasy Springs Casino. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions rematch.
The journey continues.
Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz always harbored a special fondness for Cancio who nearly quit after losing to Jojo Diaz in 2016.
“This kid is never in a boring fight,” said Robert Diaz no relation to Jojo Diaz.
After his last loss Cancio resumed his career but doubled up his ante. He was matched against undefeated Kazakhstani Aidar Sharibayev who knocked out six of his seven foes when he stepped into the ring. Cancio floored him three times in winning by technical knockout in the 10th round and claimed ownership of a regional WBA title.
Now he faces Machado once again whom he defeated to grab the WBA world title.
“I know that people say I was lucky,” said Cancio, 30. “But I’m going to do it again.”
In their first encounter Cancio was selected for both his ability to draw big crowds from nearby Blythe and for his inhuman ability to take a blow from knockout artists. Prior to his fight with Machado, the fighter known as “Chango” traded hellish blows against Dardan Zenunaj a no-nonsense kind of fighter from Eastern Europe who mirrored Cancio in tenacity and ruggedness.
After 10 rounds of fiendish exchanges Zenunaj said it was an honor to lose to a warrior like Cancio. The feeling was mutual.
Now he faces Machado again, a punching machine from San Juan, Puerto Rico, who walked into the arena an overwhelming favorite four months ago. Oddsmakers not familiar with Cancio were badly mistaken. Fans from the nearby desert region expected an upset. They had seen his victories against monster punchers before.
In the first round Machado did what was expected and floored Cancio . What was not expected was that Cancio would get up, turn up the fire and change from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde.
The native of Blythe brought the heat and broke the Boricua with a withering body attack that forced Machado to either protect his body or protect his head. Not both. Cancio knocked him out with a body shot at 2:16 of the fourth round to take the WBA super featherweight world title.
Machado acknowledges the defeat with a foot note.
“I don’t want to make excuses but I didn’t make weight properly,” said Machado who trains in Hollywood, Calif. with Freddie Roach. “This time I have prepared properly for this fight.”
Meanwhile, things remain normal for Cancio. He wakes up early in the morning, goes to work jackhammer in tow and busts concrete. On Friday he looks to put on the boxing gloves and drive to Indio to bust jaws and livers. Different locale same result.
More Fantasy
WBO light flyweight titlist Angel “Tito” Acosta (20-1, 20 KOs) the tiny powerhouse from San Juan, Puerto Rico looks to increase his knockout win total to “21” knockout when he faces Mexicali’ Mexico’s Elwin Soto (14-1, 10 KOs) in the co-main event Friday at Fantasy Springs Casino.
Acosta’s only loss was by decision to Japan’s Kosei Tanaka back in 2017.
Soto hails from nearby Mexicali which is a mere hour away from Indio and he should have plenty of fan support.
Also, super lightweight Luis Feliciano (11-0) an undefeated Boricua who trains in South El Monte meets Fernando Carcamo (23-9 a veteran from Mexico who is capable of beating upper tier fighters. He lost by majority decision to Andrew Cancio back in 2011.Of course that was a different Cancio.
Feliciano trains with Ben Lira and has moved up the ladder of the super lightweight rankings with steady performances.
Others on the card are Ireland’s Aaron McKenna, Las Vegas’ Blair Cobb and two others.
Thursday Show Tonight
A Golden Boy fight card based out of Atlantic City takes place tonight at Ocean Resort Casino. DAZN will show the fight.
Franchon Crews, the newly signed female prizefighting world champion, makes her debut with Golden Boy Promotions.
Crews (4-1) has the WBC super middleweight world title but will be fighting a non-title fight against Kayla Williams (0-2-1) in a bout set for eight rounds. It’s been almost a year since her last fight when she won the vacant world title by defeating Maricela Cornejo.
Tip of the hat to Oscar De La Hoya, Eric Gomez and Robert Diaz for signing the Baltimore-based prizefighter. Crews becomes the third female fighter on their roster and deserves the attention. She made her pro debut and fought Claressa Shields back in November 2016. Though Crews lost the fight it was one memorable debut for both. Today Shields insists that was her most difficult fight.
Las Vegas
An expected rematch between WBC super welterweight titlist Tony Harrison and Jermell Charlo fell to pieces when the champion suffered an ankle injury a few weeks ago.
Now, ex-champion Charlo (31-1, 15 KOs) faces Mexico’s Jorge Cota (28-3, 25 KOs) in a non-title fight set for 12 rounds at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on Sunday June 23. FOX will televise the TGB boxing card.
Too bad.
Fans were looking forward to the rematch between Harrison and Charlo especially after their opening press conference in Los Angeles in April. Both didn’t mince words and attitudes were at fever pitch.
It’s still a card worth watching.
A couple of guys from Cuba are also on the card.
Former world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (18-1) meets Julio Ceja (32-3) in a super bantamweight battle set for 12 rounds.
Leduan Barthelemy (14-0-1) meets Jose Cayetano (21-6) in a lightweight match set for eight rounds.
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WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool
In his first fight in his native Liverpool since February of 2020, Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA title with a 10th-round stoppage of SoCal veteran Ronny Rios. The five-foot-two “Wrecking Ball” was making the first defense of a world featherweight strap he won in his second stab at it, taking the belt from Raymond Ford on a split decision after previously fighting Rey Vargas to a draw in a match that many thought Ball had won.
This fight looked like it was going to be over early. Ball strafed Rios with an assortment of punches in the first two rounds, and likely came within a punch or two of ending the match in the third when he put Rios on the canvas with a short left hook and then tore after him relentlessly. But Rios, a glutton for punishment, weathered the storm and actually had some good moments in round four and five.
The brother of welterweight contender Alexis Rocha and a two-time world title challenger at 122 pounds, Rios returned to the ring in April on a ProBox card in Florida and this was his second start after being out of the ring for 28 months. He would be on the canvas twice more before the bout was halted. The punch that knocked him off his pins in round seven wasn’t a clean shot, but he would be in dire straits three rounds later when he was hammered onto the ring apron with a barrage of punches. He managed to maneuver his way back into the ring, but his corner sensibly threw in the towel when it seemed as if referee Bob Williams would let the match continue.
The official time was 2:06 of round ten. Ball improved to 21-0-1 (12 KOs). Rios, 34, declined to 34-5.
Semi-wind-up
A bout contested for a multiplicity of regional 140-pound titles produced a mild upset when Jack Rafferty wore down and eventually stopped Henry Turner whose corner pulled him out after the ninth frame.
Both fighters were undefeated coming in. Turner, now 13-1, was the better boxer and had the best of the early rounds. However, he used up a lot of energy moving side-to-side as he fought off his back foot, and Rafferty, who improved to 24-0 (15 KOs), never wavered as he continued to press forward.
The tide turned dramatically in round eight. One could see Turner’s legs getting loggy and the confidence draining from his face. The ninth round was all Rafferty. Turner was a cooked goose when Rafferty collapsed him with four unanswered body punches, but he made it to the final bell before his corner wisely pulled him out. Through the completed rounds, two of the judges had it even and the third had the vanquished Turner up by 4 points.
Other Bouts of Note
In a lightweight affair, Jadier Herrera, a highly-touted 22-year-old Cuban who had been campaigning in Dubai, advanced to 16-0 (14 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Oliver Flores (31-6-2) a Nicaraguan southpaw making his UK debut. After two even rounds, Herrera put Flores on the deck with a left to the solar plexus. Flores spit out his mouthpiece as he lay there in obvious distress and referee Steve Gray waived the fight off as he was attempting to rise. The end came 30 seconds into round three.
In a bantamweight contest slated for 10, Liverpool’s Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) dismissed Colombia’s Lazaro Casseres at the 1:48 mark of the second round.
A stablemate and sparring partner of Nick Ball, Cain knocked Casseres to the canvas in the second round with a short uppercut and forced the stoppage later in the round when he knocked the Colombian into the ropes with a double left hook. Casseres. 27, brought an 11-1 record but had defeated only two opponents with winning records.
In a contest between super welterweights, Walter Fury pitched a 4-round shutout over Dale Arrowsmith. This was the second pro fight for the 27-year-old Fury who had his famous cousin Tyson Fury rooting him on from ringside. Stylistically, Walter resembles Tyson, but his defense is hardly as tight; he was clipped a few times.
Arrowsmith is a weekend warrior and a professional loser, a species indigenous to the British Isles. This was his twenty-fourth fight this year and his 186th pro fight overall! His record is “illuminated” by nine wins and 10 draws.
A Queensberry Promotion, the Ball vs Rios card aired in the UK on TNT Sports and in the US on ESPN+.
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Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs O’Connell in Sydney
IBF/WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, generally regarded as the best of the current crop of middleweights, retained his IBF title today in Sydney, Australia, with a ninth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Andrei Mikhailovich. The end came at the 2:45 mark of round nine.
Favored in the 8/1 range although he was in a hostile environment, Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) beat Mikhailovich to a pulp in the second round and knocked him down with one second remaining in the frame, but Mikhailovich survived the onslaught and had several good moments in the ensuing rounds as he pressed the action. However, Alimkhanuly’s punches were cleaner and one could sense that it was only a matter of time before the referee would rescue Mikhailovich from further punishment. When a short left deposited Mikhailovich on the seat of his pants on the lower strand of rope, the ref had seen enough.
Alimkhanuly, a 2016 Olympian for Kazakhstan, was making his first start since October of last year. He and Mikhailovich were slated to fight in Las Vegas in July, but the bout fell apart after the weigh-in when the Kazakh fainted from dehydration.
Owing to a technicality, Alimkhanuly’s WBO belt wasn’t at stake today. Although he has expressed an interest in unifying the title –Eislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos Adames (WBC) are the other middleweight belt-holders — Alimkhanuly is big for the weight class and it’s a fair assumption that this was his final fight at 160.
The brave Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia but grew up in New Zealand after he and his twin brother were adopted, suffered his first pro loss, declining to 21-1.
Semi-wind-up
Topping the flimsy undercard was a scheduled 8-rounder between Mikhailovich’s stablemate Mea Motu, a 34-year-old Maori, and veteran Australian campaigner Shannon O’Connell, 41. The ladies share eight children between them (Motu, trained by her mother in her amateur days, has five).
A clash of heads in the opening round left O’Connell with a bad gash on her forehead. She had a big lump developing over her right eye when her corner threw in the towel at the 1:06 mark of round four.
Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) was set to challenge IBF/WBO world featherweight champion Ellie Scotney later this month in Manchester, England, underneath Catterall-Prograis, but that match was postponed when Scotney suffered an injury in training. Motu took this fight, which was contested at the catchweight of 125 pounds, to stay busy. O’Connell, 29-8-1, previously had a cup of coffee as a WBA world champion (haven’t we all).
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More
Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More
A small brigade of Mexican and Latino-American fighters gathered at the beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Their mission: to export Mexican style fighting to the Saudi Arabia desert.
Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez defends the WBA cruiserweight title against WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith and they will be joined by several other top Golden Boy Promotion fighters on Nov. 16 at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy and BOXXER promotions card called “The Venue Riyadh Season.”
Mexican fighters are known worldwide for their ferocity and durability. Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, surprised many with his convincing win over former champion Arsen Goulamirian last March.
Now Ramirez seeks to unify the cruiserweight titles against United Kingdom’s Smith who has never fought outside of his native country.
“I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16,” said Ramirez.
Smith has a similar goal.
“This opportunity for me is huge,” said Smith. “I’ve been written off many times before.”
The cruiserweights will be joined by two top super lightweight warriors who’ve been itching to face each other like a pair of fighting roosters.
Arnold Barboza, an undefeated super lightweight contender from Los Angeles, has been chasing top contenders and world champions for the past six years. Former super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez simply wants action and a return to elite status.
“I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened,” said Barboza. “I want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight.”
“It’s honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on,” said Ramirez.
Others on the Riyadh fight card include Puerto Rico’s WBO minimumweight world titlist Oscar Collazo defending against Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong, along with Oscar Duarte and lightweight contenders William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer.
One fighter missing from the card is Charles Conwell, the super welterweight contender they recently signed earlier in the year. He last performed on the Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk clash in Las Vegas.
Conwell has similar talent to those two.
And what about the women fighters”
Yokasta Valle recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions. What is her next scheduled fight? She was spotted facing up against Australia’s Lulu “Bang, Bang” Hawton at a fight card. Is that on the horizon?
West Coast venues
Speaking of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, its just a few buildings north of the Belasco Theater where Golden Boy was staging its club shows for several years.
A majority of the boxing media favored that location for its cozy atmosphere and proximity to LA Live. A number of prospects that developed into contenders and world champions fought there including Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, Joshua Franco, and Oscar Duarte.
On any given fight night celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Lopez and others would show up in the small venue that held several hundred fans in its ornate theater setting.
The Mayan Theater and Belasco Theater are still open for business. According to one source, LA Laker owner Jeannie Buss stages a pro wrestling show at one of those theaters.
World title fight
England’s Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 5, at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Starting time for the Queensberry and Top Rank promotion card is 11 a.m. PT.
Ball was last seen nearly toppling WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas but lost last March. He then defeated Ray Ford for the WBA title
Fights to Watch
Fri. ESPN+ 2 a.m. PT Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) vs Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0)
Sat. ESPN+ 11 a.m. PT Nick Ball (20-0-1) vs Ronny Rios (34-4)
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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