Featured Articles
Ajagba vs. Joyce: A Heavyweight SuperFight on Track for 2021

Ajagba vs. Joyce: A Heavyweight SuperFight on Track for 2021
Every successful speculator, from P.T. Barnum to Bill Gates to Mark Zuckerberg to today’s pitchers of products on Madison Avenue, know that the secret to making a really big score in the marketplace is to know what the public will want before people realize they want it. Consumers at various times were subconsciously primed to buy heavily into traveling circuses, personal computers, social media innovations and frozen pork-belly futures because swayers of mass opinion predicted it would be so, and then took the necessary steps to turn their vision into reality. Not that every smart guy’s wager on what will be pans out, which is why some unfortunate executive at the Ford Motor Company wrongly gambled that highways in the late 1950s would soon be traveled by happy owners of new Edsels.
And so it is with boxing, particularly heavyweight boxing, where fortunes can be won or lost on the unhindered development of relatively little-known, at least for now, big men who might, if sufficiently talented, reasonably charismatic and properly handled, blossom into the next Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson.
Pugilistic visionaries willing to go on the record are Richard Schaefer and Shelly Finkel, men with established track records for coming up with massive winners in the ring and at the box office. Each has a major stake in a different developmental project, undefeated fighters who will be appearing in separate bouts next month. If both prospects take another impressive step forward, expect the hype machines only now beginning to herald their potential superstardom to be cranked up a bit higher.
Are you, Mr. Average Fight Fan, ready to turn your heart and contents of your wallet over to a pairing of England’s Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce and Nigeria’s Efe Ajagba sometime in 2021, or thereabouts? You say you’re not quite sure? Well, maybe you should pay closer attention to what goes down when Joyce (9-0, 9 KOs) squares off against former world title challenger Bryant Jennings (24-3, 14 KOs on July 13 in the 12-round main event in London, and Ajagba (10-0, 9 KOs) swaps punches with Ali Eren Demirezen (11-0, 10 KOs) on July 20 in a 10-rounder at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, on the undercard of a show headlined by WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman’s defense against living legend Manny Pacquiao.
Because Joyce, the super heavyweight silver medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, is 33 years of age and Ajagba just 25, Schaefer, the former CEO of Golden Boy Promotions who now heads up Ringstar Sports, said his guy’s march toward high-visibility and big-bucks fights of necessity must be at an accelerated pace.
“When Joe signed with me he was 31,” Schaefer noted. “He’s 33 now, so he has to be fast-tracked. He made it clear that he didn’t want to be babied and, like (Vasiliy) Lomachenko, doesn’t want to fight 20 times before he fights someone who is ranked.”
So why the delay in Joyce, who is 6-foot-6 and was 261 pounds for his most recent ring appearance, a third-round stoppage of Russian veteran Alexander Ustinov on May 18, in turning pro?
“His dream was to go to the Olympics and represent the United Kingdom, but the super heavyweight qualification pool in England (for the 2012 London Games) was very deep, and Anthony Joshua filled that slot and won the gold medal,” Schaefer explained. “Joe had to wait another four years, and he went to Rio and got the silver medal. A lot of people thought he beat (France’s) Tony Yoka in the final and should have won the gold. In any case, his new goal is to become heavyweight champion of the world.
“If he beats Jennings he is in line to fight for the WBA `regular’ heavyweight title against the winner of (Manuel) Charr and (Trevor) Bryan. The mere fact that his next fight is against an experienced contender like Jennings shows he is not afraid to step up and expects to continue to pass all tests with flying colors.”
Schaefer dares to compare Joyce to another ponderous puncher not known for swiftness of hand or foot.
“Some say Joe is very slow, and I wouldn’t disagree with that,” he conceded. “He is slow. But he’s big, very strong and he has an unbelievable chin, an iron chin. It’s going to take a missile to put this guy down. He reminds me of George Foreman. People said George was slow, but he was a terrific puncher and he also had a great chin.”
Ajagba’s main claim to fame to date is a bout that was scheduled to have taken place on Aug. 24 of last year, against journeyman Curtis Harper in Minneapolis, Minn. Harper (13-6, 9 KOs) left the ring and headed to his dressing room as the chiseled, 6-foot-5, 240-pound Ajagba made his way toward it, leading to claims that Harper had bolted in fear of taking an inevitable beatdown. Although Harper has insisted his retreat owed to unhappiness over the purse he was to have received, the legend of Ajagba as a Listonesque or Tysonesque intimidator – someone whose mere scowl can turn opponents into quivering mounds of jelly – has taken on a life of its own.
Finkel, who has managed such megastars as Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, and currently has a managerial role with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, has high hopes that Ajagba will become as key a player in the big-man division as the aforementioned greats, and sooner rather than later.
“It’s early, but he has all the skills,” Finkel said of Ajagba, who is based in Stafford, Texas. “He trains all the time with Ronnie (Shields), which is a blessing, and he punches as hard as anyone, ever. Time will tell, but there’s no limit on how good he could become.”
Schaefer said there is ample reason for fight fans to begin looking ahead to a possible showdown of Joyce and Ajagba, if only because of the individuals who are backing them.
“Efe is with Shelly Finkel, Joe is with me,” he said. “I think Shelly and I have shown we have a great eye for talent, particularly with heavyweights. Shelly was telling me this is the most excited he’s been since he had Tyson.”
There are uncommonly deep eras for heavyweight boxing, sometimes followed by periods where lesser fighters are elevated to a status they could not have imagined a few years earlier. The talent-rich era that spanned the careers of Ali, Foreman and Joe Frazier, which also teemed with such gifted non-titlists as Jerry Quarry, Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers, was followed by a more fallow period in which various alphabet belts were passed around by the likes of Mike Weaver, Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, Trevor Berbick and James “Bonecrusher” Smith. Larry Holmes, Ken Norton and Michael Spinks, all legitimately terrific, served as a bridge between the Ali/Frazier/Foreman glory days and the next golden age, when Tyson, Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and Riddick Bowe helped to resuscitate big-man boxing.
It remains to be seen whether the present crop of top-tier heavyweights, headed by the presumed Big Four of Wilder, Tyson Fury, Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua, is eventually held in the same esteem as the Ali/Frazier/Foreman and Tyson/Holyfield/Lewis/Bowe elite groups. Maybe that will be the case, and maybe not. There is still much evidence to be provided that would serve to buttress either argument.
In 2021, when their promoters foresee Joyce and Ajagba crowding their way to the front of the line, will they find that one or more members of the current Big Four are still blocking their path? Might Wilder and Ajagba square off in a megafight in which Shelly Finkel is the only guaranteed winner?
There is always turnover, today yielding to tomorrow. Schaefer and Finkel agree that a bright new age of heavyweights is just beyond the horizon, boxing’s equivalent of baseball players who soon will make the jump from Triple-A to the majors and dominate when they get there.
In addition to Joyce and Ajagba, heavyweights who in time might take the place of more familiar names in the ratings include Yoka (5-0, 4 KOs), the 2016 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist from France; Filip Hrgovic (8-0, 6 KOs), a bronze medalist from Croatia at that Olympiad, and possibly the winner of the all-British matchup of Nathan Gorman (16-0, 11 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (11-0, 10 KOs), who vie for the vacant BBB of C title on July 13 in London.
“The next generation not only is going to be knocking on the door in the not-too-distant future, they’re going to kick down the door,” predicted Schaefer.
It should be remembered, however, that even those who would seem to have inside information are not always correct. In the Aug. 13, 1992, edition of the Philadelphia Daily News, I polled nine experts – past or future heavyweight champions Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Michael Spinks, Tim Witherspoon, Ernie Terrell and Tommy Morrison, onetime contenders Earnie Shavers and Marvis Frazier and legendary trainer Angelo Dundee – as to who would be the last man standing from a group that included Holyfield, Lewis, Bowe and Razor Ruddock. Tyson was then incarcerated on a rape conviction, and a sort of unofficial tournament was about to commence in which Lewis would mix it up with Ruddock on Oct. 31, 1992, in London and Holyfield, who had won the WBA/IBF/WBC titles by knocking out Tyson conquerer Buster Douglas, would defend against Bowe on Nov. 13, 1992, in Las Vegas.
The tally favored Ruddock, who received votes from Holmes, Witherspoon, Terrell, Shavers and Morrison. Bowe was the pick of Marvis Frazier and Dundee, Lewis got a single vote from Spinks. Holyfield was blanked, and Foreman, who picked winners of the two “semifinal” bouts, abstained from making a selection for the final on the basis that he would want to fight the survivor himself.
Said Shavers: “Ruddock is a real big puncher, and you know I’m partial to big punchers. You can never count a big puncher out. He’s got a chance to end things with one good shot right up to the last bell.” That view was seconded by Terrell, who opined that “Ruddock is too much of a puncher for Holyfield (in the final). Nobody can take Ruddock’s punch.”
Almost 27 years after I authored that story, this is what we know: Holyfield, Lewis and Bowe are enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Razor Ruddock is not.
Proving, as if we didn’t know it already, that nobody knows with any degree of certainty how the future will play out.
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser: Callum Walsh Returns to Madison Square Garden

On Sunday, March 16 (the night before St. Patrick’s Day), Callum Walsh continued his move up the junior-middleweight ranks with a brutal first-round knockout of Dean Sutherland at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The seven-bout card promoted by Tom Loeffler featured seven Irish boxers. Walsh stole the show but two non-Irish fighters on the undercard caught the eye.
In the third fight of the evening, Cletus Seldin (known as “The Hebrew Hammer) took on Yeis Gabriel Solano. The last time Seldin fought at Madison Square Garden (March 15, 2024), he took the ring announcer’s microphone after a majority-decision win, dropped to one knee, held out a diamond engagement ring, and asked one Jessica Ostrowski to marry him. The future Mrs. Seldin (who was clad in black leather) said yes, and the happy couple paraded around the ring together. They were married on September 7.
“So I’ve got a ring now,” Seldin says. “And I love married life because I love Jessica.”
A cynic at ringside on Sunday night wondered if Jessica might serve Cletus with a summons and complaint for divorce in the ring after the fight. Not to worry. The couple seems happily married and, after Seldin eked out a majority decision over Solano (now winless in five fights dating back to 2019), Cletus and Jessica announced in the ring that they’re expecting the birth of their first child.
In the next fight of the evening, Irish heavyweight Thomas Carty (255 pounds) brought a 10-0 (9 KOs) record into the ring to face 409-pound Dajuan Calloway (10-3, 9 KOs, 1 KO by).
Carty-Calloway was a poor match for a prospect. A fighter gets relatively little credit for beating a 400-pound opponent. And the problems posed by a physical confrontation with a 400-pound mountain are considerable.
With fifty seconds left in round two, Carty collapsed to the canvas as Calloway spun him around on the inside. Thomas rose, limping badly on a clearly-injured left knee. And referee Jamil Antoine foolishly allowed the bout to continue.
Carty tried to circle away, fell again. And Antoine – more foolishly – instructed the fighters to fight on. There was a third fall that the referee ruled a knockdown. The bell rang. And then the fight was stopped. It goes in the record book as a knockout at 3:00 of the second round.
Worse for Carty, he now appears to be facing surgery followed by a long rehabilitation. There’s no way to know how much further damage was done to his knee in the forty seconds that he was clearly impaired and under assault by a 409-pound man who was trying to knock him unconscious.
But the night belonged to 23-year-old Callum Walsh.
Walsh is from Cork, Ireland, trains in California with Freddie Roach, and came into the ring with a 12-0 (10 KOs) record.
“He’s a pretty good fighter,” Roach says. “He’s getting better. And he works his ass off in the gym.”
Equally important in an age when social media and hype often supersede a fighter’s accomplishments in the ring as the key to marketability. Walsh has the enthusiastic backing of Dana White.
Callum seems more at ease with the media now than when he fought at Madison Square Garden a year ago. And he has a new look. His hair is shorter and no longer dyed blond.
“It’s a new year, so time for a new look,” Walsh explained. Later, he added, “I don’t want to be a prospect anymore. I want to be a contender. I expected the road to be tough. I’ve never had anything easy in my life. I’ve worked as a fisherman. I’ve worked on a cargo ship. I like this job a lot more. They have big plans for me. But I still have to do my job.”
Sutherland, age 26, was born in Scotland and has lived there his entire life. He came to New York with a 19-1 (7 KOs, 1 KO by) record and, prior to fighting Walsh, noted, “I’m under no illusions. Fighting an Irishman on St. Patrick’s Day in New York; it’s all being built up for him. If it goes to the scorecards, no matter how the fight goes, I’m unlikely to get the decision. But when the bell rings, it will be only me and Callum. I’ve watched his fights. I’ve studied his habits and rhythm. I’ve been through hard fights. He’s untested. This is my big opportunity. I’m not here to be part of Callum’s record.”
Talking is easier than fighting. When the hour of reckoning came, Walsh was faster, stronger, better-skilled, and hit harder than Sutherland. Indeed, Callum was so dominant in the early going that round one had the look of a 10-8 round without a knockdown. Then Sutherland was flattened by a right hook at the 2:45 mark and any thoughts as to scoring became irrelevant.
It was Walsh’s best showing to date, although it’s hard to know the degree to which Sutheralnd’s deficiencies contributed to that showing. What’s clear is that Callum is evolving as a fighter. And he’s the kind of fighter who fits nicely with the concept that Turki Alalshikh and Dana White have voiced for a new boxing promotional company. Whether they’ll be willing to put Walsh in tough is an open issue. UFC puts its fighters in tough.
****
There was a void at ringside on Sunday night. After more than four decades on the job, George Ward is no longer with the New York State Athletic Commission.
Ward was the model of what a commission inspector should be. I watched him in the corner and in dressing rooms countless times over the years. A handful of inspectors were as good as he was. Nobody was better. Later, as a deputy commissioner, he performed the thankless back-of-the-house administrative duties on fight night while other deputy commissioners were enjoying the scene at ringside.
George and Robert Orlando (who, like George, is a former New York City corrections officer) also normally presided over pre-fight weigh-ins. That’s worth mentioning here because it ties to one of the more unfortunate incidents that occurred during the tenure of former NYSAC executive director Kim Sumbler.
On November 1, 2019, Kelvin Gastelum weighed in for a UFC 244 match against Darren Till to be contested at Madison Square Garden. The contract weight for the fight was 186 pounds. It was known throughout the MMA community that Gastelum had been having trouble making weight. Before stepping on the scale, he stripped down completely naked and a towel was lifted in front of him to shield his genitals from public view. Then, to everyone’s surprise, his weight was announced as 184 pounds (two pounds under the contract weight).
How did Gastelum make weight? Video of the weigh-in showed him resting his elbow on his coach as he stood on the scale.
Why am I mentioning this now?
Ward and Orlando know all the tricks. While they were readying for the Gastelum-Till weigh-in, Sumbler told them that they were being replaced on the scales by two other commission employees who had been brought to New York City from upstate. They asked why and were told, “Because I said so.”
George Ward was one of the behind-the-scenes people who make boxing work. He’ll be missed.
****
Six years ago, Gene Pantalone wrote a traditional biography of former world lightweight champion Lew Jenkins. Now he has written – shall we say – a creative biography of lightweight great Freddie Welsh.
Welsh was born in Wales in 1886 but spent most of his ring career in the United States. He captured the lightweight crown by decision over Willie Ritchie in 1914 and relinquished it to Benny Leonard three years later. BocRec.com credits him with a 74-5-7 (34 KOs) ring record in bouts that are verified and were officially scored. If “newspaper decisions” are added to the mix, the numbers rise to 121 wins, 29 losses, and 17 draws. Many of the losses came when Welsh was long past his prime. He’s on the short list of boxing’s greatest fighters. The only knock out he suffered was when he lost the title to Leonard.
Chasing The Great Gatsby is styled as a biography of Welsh and also an advocacy brief in support of the proposition that Welsh was the inspiration and model for the title character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s seminal novel The Great Gatsby. I’m unsure how factually accurate Pantalone’s work is in some places. Also, too often, he uses big words when small ones will suffice. For example:
“He was a pugilistic virtuoso, a pummeling poet with fists of fury and a keen intellect. His duality was evident in every aspect of his being, an amalgamation of the vicious and the benevolent.”
Over the course of 349 pages, that weighs a reader down.
Still, there are some interesting observations and nuggets of information to be mined in Chasing The Great Gatsby. Among my favorites are Pantalone’s description of Jack Dempsey training for his historic 1921 fight against George Carpentier at a “health farm” that Welsh owned in New Jersey; Pantelone’s description of how the stadium that hosted Dempsey-Carpentier was built; and Pantalone’s evaluation of the fight itself, which he calls “a spectacle of titanic proportions,” before adding,” The truth was inescapable. The fight had not lived up to its grandeur, but the event did.”
****
Several of the books that Robert Lipsyte has written during his storied career as a journalist focus on boxing; most notably, Free to Be Muhammad Ali and The Contender (a young adult novel). Lipsyte’s most recent book – Rhino’s Run (published by Harper) – is a young adult novel keyed to high school football, not the sweet science. But the opening sentence bears repeating:
“Punching Josh Kremens didn’t feel as good as I thought it would, and I’d been thinking about it for five years.”
Be honest! Don’t you want to read more?
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – MY MOTHER and ME is a personal memoir available at Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/My-Mother-Me-Thomas-Hauser/dp/1955836191/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5C0TEN4M9ZAH&keywords=thomas+hauser&qid=1707662513&sprefix=thomas+hauser%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1
In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Ever-Improving Callum Walsh KOs Dean Sutherland at Madison Square Garden

Irish luck was not involved as Callum Walsh won the battle of hard-hitting southpaws over Dean Sutherland by knockout on Sunday.
One right hook was all it took.
“You’re never going to beat the Irish,” said Walsh.
In a contest between Celtic super welterweights Walsh (13-0, 11 KOs) retained the WBC Continental America’s title against Sutherland (19-2, 7 KOs) in quick fashion at the Madison Square Garden Theater in Manhattan.
Usually fights between southpaws can be confusing to both contestants. But Walsh had expressed a fondness for fighting lefthanders then vividly exhibited the reasons why.
Walsh, 24, a native of Cork, Ireland, now living and training in Los Angeles, quickly demonstrated why he likes fighting lefties with a steady flow of combinations from the opening bell.
He did not hesitate.
Sutherland, 26, had only lost once before and that was more than two years ago. Against Walsh the Scottish fighter was not hesitant to advance forward but was caught with lefts and right hooks.
After two minutes of scattered blows, Sutherland fought back valiantly and when cornered, Walsh tapped two jabs then unleashed a right hook through the Scottish fighter’s gloves that floored the Aberdeen fighter for the count at 2:45 of the first round.
“I’m feeling very good. Dean Sutherland is a very good opponent. I knew he was going to be dangerous. That was my best opponent,” said Walsh.
It was the fourth consecutive knockout win for Walsh who seems to improve with every single combat.
“I’m looking forward to the future. I’m getting stronger and stronger,” said Walsh who is trained by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach. “Anyone that comes to me I will take him out.”
Other Bouts
Super featherweight Feargal McCrory (17-1, 9 KOs) survived a knockdown in the fourth to out-muscle Keenan Carbajal (25-5-1, 17 KOs) and batter down the Arizona fighter in the seventh and again in the eighth with volume punching.
Carbajal was deducted a point early for holding in round two, but regained that point when he floored the Irish southpaw during an exchange in the fourth.
Despite suffering a knockdown, McCrory continued stalking Carbajal and floored him in the seventh and eighth with battering blows. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stopped the fight without a count.
A rematch between two Irish super middleweights saw Emmet Brennan (6-0) remain undefeated by unanimous decision over Kevin Cronin (9-3-1).
Cronin started quickly with a pressure style and punches flowing against Brennan who resorted to covering and countering. Though it looked like Cronin was building up a lead with a busier style, the judges preferred Brennan’s judicious counters. No knockdowns were scored as all three judges saw Brennan the winner 98-92 after 10 rounds.
Dajuan Calloway (11-3, 9 KOs) emerged the winner by technical knockout over Thomas Carty (10-1) who was unable to continue after two rounds when his leg tangled and thereafter was unable to stand. Because he could not continue the fight was ruled a technical knockout win for Calloway in the heavyweight match.
Also
Cletus “Hebrew Hammer” Seldin (29-1, 23 Kos) defeated Yeis Solano (15-5) by majority decision after eight rounds in a super lightweight contest.
Donagh Keary (1-0) defeated Geral Alicea-Romero (0-1-1) by decision after four.
Light heavyweights Sean O’Bradaigh (0-0-1) and Jefferson Almeida (0-1-1) fought to a majority draw after four.
Photo credit: JP Yim
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Nick Ball Wears Down and Stops TJ Doheny Before the Home Folks in Liverpool

Fighting in his hometown, Liverpool’s five-foot-two fireplug Nick “The Wrecking” Ball stopped TJ Doheny after 10 progressively more one-sided rounds to retain his WBA belt in the second defense of the featherweight title he won with a hard-earned decision over Raymond Ford in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Referee Michael Alexander, with the assent of Doheny’s corner, waived it off following the bell ending Round 10, much to the chagrin of the brave but mildewed Doheny who burst into tears. But then, Doheny’s right eye was closed shut and he was plainly exhausted. This may be the end of the line for the 38-year-old campaigner from Perth, Australia via Portlaois, Ireland who was 26-5 heading in following his first loss inside the distance which came against pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue.
There were no knockdowns, but Ball (22-0-1, 13 KOs) was docked a point in round nine for throwing Doheny to the canvas after having previously been warned for this infraction. Earlier, both he and Doheny were warned for an incident that could have ended the bout prematurely. At the end of the first round, Ball extricated himself from a headlock by kicking Doheny in the back of his knee. The challenger’s leg appeared to buckle as he returned to his stool.
Going forward, Ball has many options. The 28-year-old Liverpudlian purportedly relishes a unification fight with WBC belt-holder Stephen Fulton, but the decision ultimately rests with Ball’s promoter Frank Warren.
Other Bouts of Note
In a 12-round bantamweight contest that was close on the scorecards but yet a monotonous affair, Liverpool’s Andrew Cain won a split decision over former WBC flyweight title-holder Charlie Edwards. The scores were 116-112 and 115-114 favoring Cain with judge Steve Gray submitting a disreputable 115-113 tally for Edwards. At stake were a trio of regional titles.
The science of boxing, they say, is about hitting without getting hit. Charlie Edwards is adept at the latter but the hitting part is not in his DNA. He was on his bicycle from the get-go, a style that periodically brought forth a cascade of boos. Cain, who trains in the same gym with Nick Ball, was never able to corner him – Edwards was too elusive – but Cain, to his credit, never lost his composure.
In improving to 14-1 (12), Cain achieved a measure of revenge, in a sense. In his last documented amateur bout, in 2014, Cain was defeated by Charlie’s brother Sunny Edwards, also a former world title-holder at the professional level. Heading in, Charlie Edwards (20-2, 1 NC) was unbeaten in his last 13 which included a comfortable decision over Cristofer Rosales in his flyweight title fight. Charlie relinquished that belt when he could no longer make the weight.
Showboating Cuban lightweight Jadier Herrera, who fought 13 of his first 14 pro fights in his adopted home of Dubai, advanced to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of spunky but outclassed Mexican import Jose Macias (21-4-2). The official time was 2:31 of round seven.
An all-Liverpool affair between super flyweights Jack Turner (11-0, 10 KOs) and Ryan Farrag (23-6) was over in a jiff. The match, which went next-to-last in the bout order, ended at the 42-second mark of round two. A barrage of punches climaxed by a left hook sent Farrag down hard and the referee waived it off.
The noted spoiler Ionut Baluta, whose former victims include Andrew Cain, forged another upset with a 10-round split decision over local fan favorite Brad Strand. The judges favored Baluta 98-91 and 96-94, out-voting the Italian judge whose 97-93 tally for Strand was deemed the most accurate by the TV pundits.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Lamont Roach holds Tank Davis to a Draw in Brooklyn
-
Featured Articles6 days ago
A Fresh Face on the Boxing Scene, Bryce Mills Faces His Toughest Test on Friday
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Lucas Bahdi Paid His Dues, Quite Literally, and Now his Boxing Career is Flourishing
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Greg Haugen (1960-2025) was Tougher than the Toughest Tijuana Taxi Driver
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Gene Hackman’s Involvement in Boxing Went Deeper than that of a Casual Fan
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
The Hauser Report — Riyadh Season and Sony Hall: Very Big and Very Small
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History