Three Punch Combo: Two Under the Radar Fights and Thoughts on Joshua – Ruiz

Published

4 years ago

June 26, 2019

THREE PUNCH COMBO — After what was in essence a bye week in the sport, the schedule ramps up again this weekend with several high-profile cards on major platforms. And as is usually the case in such busy weeks, a few very intriguing contests are flying severely under the radar.

On Friday, ESPN will televise a card from the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, CA headlined by the lightweight title fight between Richard Commey (28-2, 25 KO’s) and Raymundo Beltran (36-8-1, 22 KO’s). While I love this fight, the 154-pound co-feature between Carlos Adames (17-0, 14 KO’s) and Patrick Day (17-2-1, 6 KO’s) is no less intriguing.

Adames nicknamed Bronco Horse (El Caballo Bronco in Spanish), is an enigma. As far as talent goes, he has plenty of it. He’s very athletic with above average hand speed and heavy-handed power. There is also fluidity to his game that makes him stand out as a prospect. He seems to have star potential written all over him.

However, there is a major question mark on Adames. Though he oozes with talent, he often seems unmotivated. In his fight in January against Juan Ruiz, Adames looked asleep for the first two rounds allowing his opponent to do whatever he pleased. But in the round three, Adames looked like a different man and easily dispatched Ruiz. Thus far, these types of moments have been all too common in Adames’ career.

Day is a big step up in class for Adames. A classic boxer-puncher by trade, Day is quick on his feet and will certainly look to use his legs in this fight. He likes to work behind the jab and fire off combinations when in range with his quick hands. Though Day is not a huge puncher, he is sharp and accurate with his power shots. He will also be coming into this bout with a lot of confidence, having won his last six fights, several of which found him in the underdog role.

This fight is going to feature a nice contrast of styles. Adames will press forward as the aggressor while Day will look to use his legs to box from the outside. If Adames is motivated, he could certainly put on a scintillating performance, but if he is off his game, Day could be the one who puts on a show and vaults into contention in a deep 154- pound division.

Under The Radar Fight, Part Two

Showtime will televise a card on Saturday from the NRG Arena in Houston, TX that will be headlined by a middleweight contest between Jermall Charlo (28-0, 21 KO’s) and Brandon Adams (21-2, 13 KO’s) with an interim title belt at stake. While this bout is drawing most of the headlines, the televised undercard features a very intriguing featherweight crossroads fight between Eduardo Ramirez (22-1-3, 9 KO’s) and Claudio Marrero (23-3, 17 KO’s) that should provide plenty of fireworks.

Ramirez is just a solid professional fighter. He is not the most athletic, doesn’t possess the quickest hands, and doesn’t have much power, but he is skilled enough to compete at a certain level, often times making very good fights. Ramirez is a southpaw and does fight as a classic boxer-puncher using movement working behind the right jab. He also likes to counter and has shown in the past to be very effective as a counterpuncher. However, he will hold his hands low, presumably looking to get his opposition to lead to set up counters, but in the process can be easy to hit. And he has shown a willingness to get into exchanges which is not always the best idea for him although it does make for entertaining fights.

Marrero, also a southpaw, is an aggressive heavy-handed, volume puncher. At his best, he is pressing the attack from the opening bell throwing punches from all angles as he seeks to overwhelm his opponent. Marrero is not afraid to get into exchanges but unlike Ramirez carries thunderous power in both fists. Defensively, Marrero’s high work rate coupled with any sort of head movement often leaves him exposed to being countered. Essentially, he can be very easy to hit clean.

I love this match-up. It offers a nice contrast of styles between two solid fighters who are not afraid to move their hands as well as get into exchanges. And with both having serious flaws on defense, it figures to be the most action-packed fight of the weekend.

This is going to be fun to watch.

Joshua-Ruiz: Putting The Rumors to Bed

What is the correct explanation for Anthony Joshua’s shocking loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. a few weeks ago in New York? The rumor mill has been churning with all sorts of theories, but I am not buying any of them. In my mind, there’s a much more logical explanation for what happened.

Let’s start by looking back at Joshua’s boxing career. As an amateur, he had a lot of success including winning a 2012 Olympic Gold Medal. But that said, he only had about 50 amateur fights (even fewer according to some accounts). So entering the pro game in 2013, Joshua was still relatively green as far as experience inside the ring.

As a pro, Joshua was moved relatively swiftly fighting 15 times between October of 2013 and December of 2015. This seemed to be a very appropriate pace for a naturally talented fighter who overall lacked ring experience.

But early in 2016 those moving Joshua saw an opportunity they just couldn’t resist. Charles Martin had won the then vacant IBF portion of the heavyweight title when his opponent, Vyacheslav Glazkov, suffered an injury early in their title fight. Martin was still seen as raw and not nearly as talented as Joshua. So Joshua’s team made Martin an offer he couldn’t refuse to come to the UK to defend his newly won title against Joshua. And as expected, Joshua made quick work of Martin. Joshua was now a heavyweight champion.

From that moment forward, Joshua’s career path changed. It was now going to be about bigger fights and bigger events. The developmental stage was over and Joshua became essentially a two fight a year fighter.

I want to pause for a second here and look back at the early careers of three recent long- reigning heavyweight champions in Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko. Specifically, I want to look at what happened soon after they each had their 16^th fight as a pro.

After Lewis had his 16^th fight in July of 1991, he fought five more times in a span of 13 months before receiving a title shot against Donovan “Razor” Ruddock. Vitali Klitschko fought for the 16^th time in March of 1998 and went on to fight seven more times that year alone.

As for Wladimir Klitschko, he had his 16^th fight in December of 1997. In 1998, he fought nine times and that included a shocking loss to Ross Puritty. But that continued development, even with a loss suffered, would help Klitschko later on in his career.

My point here is that these three outstanding champions, all of whom had a much deeper amateur pedigree than Joshua, were still in the process of developing as pros and fighting relatively frequently after their 16^th professional fight.

My strong belief is that Joshua lost because he became a two fight a year fighter much too early in his career. He still needed to be fighting more frequently, like the three champions above, to develop his craft. Just how different was the Joshua who fought Ruiz to the Joshua who fought say Dillian Whyte in December of 2015? Not much different frankly and that is a problem.

Put all the rumors to bed. Joshua’s lack of development as a pro is what did him in against Andy Ruiz.

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Matt Andrzejewski

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Undercard Results from the Canelo-Charlo Card in Las Vegas

Published

3 hours ago

September 30, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Undercard-Results-from-the-Canelo-Charlo-Card-on-Las vegas

In a heavyweight battle slated for 10, Frank Sanchez (23-0, 16 KOs) stopped LA trial horse Scott Alexander (17-6-2) after four frames. Alexander’s corner attempted to stop it in the waning seconds of the fourth, but the referee did not see it and the bell rang before the fight was waived off.

Alexander had one big moment. In the opening round, he rocked Sanchez with a short right hand. But from there, it was all Sanchez in a rather messy fight.

A Miami-based Cuban defector, Frank Sanchez came in ranked #3 by the WBO, #4 by the WBC, and #5 by the IBF. His best win came in this building, a comfortable decision over Efe Ajagba in October of 2021. Alexander also fought here. In his previous visit to the T-Mobile, he was knocked out in the opening round by Zhilei Zhang.

Former WBO light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, in his third fight back since ending his retirement, improved to 20-0 (16) with a second-round stoppage of 38-year-old Brazilian Isaac Rodrigues (28-5). Gvozdyk, 36, left the sport after getting beat up by Artur Beterbiev, but got the itch and is pursuing a fight with Dmitry Bivol.

In an 8-round middleweight fight, 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (24-3-1) won a majority decision over Keandre Leatherwood (23-9-1). The judges had it 76-76 and 78-74 twice. Once a highly regarded prospect, Gausha is spinning his wheels. Leatherwood, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had been stopped four times.

Guadalajara super lightweight Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela advanced to 28-3-1 (17 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of overmatched Colombia import Yves Gabriel Solano (15-3). This was redemption of sorts for Valenzuela who lost an unpopular 12-round decision to Montana Love in his last outing inside these walls.

Kazakh super middleweight Bek Nuramaganbat (11-0) continued his fast ascent of the 168-pound ladder with a third-round stoppage of Bola Osundairo. A 30-year-old Chicago-based Nigerian, Osundairo was a 2021 USA National Champion at 178 pounds.

A four-round middleweight contest between Abilikhan Amankul (4-0-1, 4 KOs) and Joeshon James (7-0-2, 4 KOs) ended in a draw. Although he didn’t win, Sacramento’s James continued to exceed expectations. In previous contests he KOed previously undefeated Richard Brewart and fought to a draw with Top Rank signee Javier Martinez. Amankul, a 26-year-old Kazakh, lost a split decision to eventual gold medal winner Hebert Conceicao in the Tokyo Olympics.

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—

David Avila is ringside. Check back later for his report of the Canelo-Charlo fight and the main supporting bouts.

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Opetaia Demolishes Thompson in London; Wallin Upsets Gassiev in Turkey

Published

5 hours ago

September 30, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Opetaia-Demolished-Thompson-on-London-Wallin-Upsets-Gassiev-in-Turkey

In his first defense of his IBF cruiserweight title, Australian southpaw Jai Opetaia demolished overmatched Jordan Thompson in the featured bout of a Matchroom card at London’s Wembley Arena. Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) overwhelmed Thompson (15-1) from the opening gun and had the six-foot-six Mancunian on the canvas twice before the match was waived off at the 20-second mark of round four.

An Olympian at the age of 16, Opetaia won the title 15 months ago with a unanimous decision over longtime title-holder Mairis Briedis. Noting that Opetaia broke his jaw in two places early in that contest, prominent Australian sporting journalist Simon Smale called it “one of the bravest, gutsiest, victories in Australian boxing history.”

Following that fight, Opetaia had to eat through a straw for several months. Hence, there were questions about whether his jaw would hold up and whether he would show ring rust in his first title defense. But the towering Thompson, whose nickname is Troublesome, although game, proved to be no trouble whatsoever for Opetaia who would be favored to beat any cruiserweight in the world, no matter the locale.

Opetaia may return to England for his next fight which would be a unification match with Bournemouth’s 18-1 Chris Billam-Smith who captured the WBO version of the 200-pound title in May with a surprisingly one-sided decision over favored Lawrence Okolie. The other cruiserweight title-holders are the well-traveled Badou Jack (WBC) and the French-Armenian boxer Arsen Goulamirian (WBA).

Four female fights were on the undercard including two 10-rounders, both of which were won by the “A side” Englishwomen.

In her first title defense, Ellie Scotney, a 25-year-old Londoner, retained her IBF world super bantamweight title and improved to 8-0 at the expense of 37-year-old Argentine veteran Laura Soledad Griffa (20-9). In a rather monotonous fight, Scotney won every round on two of the scorecards and nine rounds on the other.

Rhiannon Dixon, a 29-year-old southpaw, had a surprisingly easy time with Norwegian veteran Katharina Thanderz, a former world title challenger. Dixon (9-0) won every round on all three cards. Thanderz, who trains in Spain, declined to 16-2.

Wallin-Gassiev

In a 12-round heavyweight fight in Antalya, Turkey, Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs) won a split decision over Murat Gassiev (30-2). This was a dull fight. Owing to various issues, Gassiev had answered the bell for only eight rounds in the previous seven years and his vaunted power had deserted him. True, he landed the harder punches, but Wallin, who kept pecking away with his jab, was far busier and won the fight on volume alone. Two of the judges had it 115-113 for the Swede who is 6-0 since going 12 rounds with Tyson Fury. The other judge scored it for Gassiev by a bizarre 117-111.

Opetaia-Thompson photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 254: Canelo vs Jermell Charlo in a Battle of Undisputed Champions

Published

1 day ago

September 29, 2023

David A. Avila

Avils-Perspective-Chap-254-Canelo-vs-Jermell-Charlo-in-a-Battle-of-Undisputed-Champions

LAS VEGAS-Less than the usual massive crowd gathered for boxing kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Jermell Charlo in the desert heat outside of the T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon. Usually the weigh-ins are slightly bigger for Mexico’s idol.

Is the declining crowd an indicator of Alvarez fans ebbing belief in his abilities?

Still, on Saturday night, two undisputed world champions from differing divisions will collide as Guadalajara, Mexico’s Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) meets Houston’s Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena for the super middleweight world championship. PPV.Com will stream the clash of champions.

This year has seen a hyper-speed uptick in champions fighting other champions, perhaps the result of watching their female counterparts Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor produce the biggest fight of 2022. This year several marquee collisions were spawned from lightweights to heavyweights.

Or maybe the pandemic lull created a twitch panic among the elite.

Charlo was one of those who had been sidelined while others like Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Naoya “Monster” Inoue and Canelo Alvarez filled their pockets with cash. And others like Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez gained undisputed glory.

Instead of watching on the sidelines, Charlo decided to make his move for greater glory by attempting to dethrone one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, if not the kingpin of boxing when it comes to money.

“If I accomplish this massive goal, it will be hard to top,” Charlo said a few weeks ago during his media workout. “I’ll be in the record book with the greats of boxing for a long time.”

Risks brings rewards.

Canelo, long a member of the boxing elite, has held his position as the box office king for many years now by taking the daunting risks throughout his boxing life.

“Jermell is right, I have nothing to prove. But this time I have something to prove to him,” said Alvarez while in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “He never believed in my skills. He’s been calling me out. Now I have an opportunity to show him my skills.”

Undisputed super welterweight will challenge undisputed super middleweight in a two-division jump not often seen, except for Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran and Sugar Shane Mosley. It’s the road taken by those who seek to be great.

Both are 33 but the redhead Alvarez has been fighting professionally since he was 15. That’s a lot of bullets in the chamber he has already used. Charlo has height, speed and the ability to adapt to different styles. Stylistically, it’s a battle that makes even the skeptics take pause.

It all depends on Alvarez’s resiliency. Charlo has ring rust, while Alvarez seemingly has lost the hunger. Whose weakness will prove the greater?

“Now is the time for this fight. We’re in our primes and at our best,” said Charlo. “I wanna shake the doubters off and prove to the world why I”m in this position. There’s a reason I made it this far.”

Alvarez remembers being as hungry as Charlo.

“I never overlook any fighter,” Alvarez said. “I know what he’s going to bring and I’m ready.”

Undercard

Several other notable bouts are included on the pay-per-view card.

Former world titlists and current welterweight contenders Yordenis Ugas (27-5) and Mario Barrios (27-2) battle for an interim title set for 12 rounds.

Super welterweights Jesus Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs) and Erickson Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) match skills in a match that pits a southpaw veteran against an undefeated southpaw from Arizona. For the past three years Ramos has been moving up the ladder and was last seen pounding out highly-touted Joey Spencer. Can he survive Lubin who nearly toppled Sebastian Fundora?

Doors open at T-Mobile Arena at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.

Lampley is back

Legendary HBO announcer Jim Lampley was hired along with ace reporter Lance Pugmire who will co-host the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus Jermell Charlo showdown via viewer chat live on PPV.com.

It’s the same concept used by Monday Night Football that features former quarterback greats Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in alternative programming.

Lampley returns to boxing after a five-year absence following HBO’s yanking of the popular program that vaulted elite boxing to the top behind the likes of George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.

The veteran announcer will be live streaming all the action on media platforms before and during the fight action. He was sorely missed by all who follow the sweet science.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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