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Saturday’s Fight in the UK Has a Beterbiev-Gvozdyk Sparkle
Light heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Oleksandr Gvozdyk fought last Friday in Philadelphia. The match, noted this reporter, among others, was of the sort that doesn’t come down the pike very often. Both competitors were undefeated, both held world title belts, and the odds bore witness that the match could be fairly touted as a 50/50 fight.
Indeed, it was the sort of match that doesn’t come down the pike very often, but son of a gun only one week has passed and here comes another. Saturday’s match at London’s O2 Arena between undefeated world title-holders Regis Prograis (24-0, 20 KOs) and Josh Taylor (15-0, 12 KOs) is a mirror image of Beterbiev-Gvozdyk aside from the difference in weight classes.
Beterbiev stopped Gvozdyk in the 10th. He was trailing on two scorecards through the completed rounds, but he was the apha fighter during the contest and one could see that he was wearing his opponent down. It was a coming-out party of sorts for the Montreal-based Russian who hadn’t had much exposure on national television.
The Ring magazine, the first entity to update their ratings after the fight, bumped Beterbiev on to their pound-for-pound list, installing him at #9. The other leading pound-for-pound list-makers (TBRB, BWAA, BoxRec, and ESPN) will likely follow suit.
Barring a dull, closely-contested fight, the winner of Prograis-Taylor will likely crack the pound-for-pound ratings too, especially if it happens to be Prograis who at last look was a 3/2 favorite. His U.S. promoter, Lou DiBella, believes it’s a travesty that he isn’t already there. “I’ve worked with some special ones – (Bernard) Hopkins, Jermain Taylor at his top, Sergio Martinez. This guy is special,” exulted DiBella after Prograis dismantled WBA belt-holder Kiryl Relikh.
The Prograis-Relikh fight was staged on April 27 in Lafayette, Louisiana. It pit the #1 (Prograis) and #3 seeds in a semi-final match-up in the World Boxing Super Series. Prograis knocked Relikh to the canvas in the opening round with a hard shot to the liver and it was all downhill from there for Relikh whose corner stopped the fight in the sixth round.
Three weeks later, Josh Taylor won his semi-final match-up. Fighting on his home turf in Glasgow, Scotland, Taylor won a unanimous decision over Ivan Baranchyk, but he had a few anxious moments, a far cry from his previous fight against Ryan Martin where he was so impressive that he evoked comparisons to Scottish legends Ken Buchanan and Benny Lynch. In fact, many savvy Scottish boxing fans, after viewing that fight, were of the opinion that when his career was finished, Taylor, the Tartan Tornado, would be remembered as Scotland’s best boxer ever.
Taylor, trained by Shane McGuigan, is two inches taller and will have a two-and-a-half-inch reach advantage. Although Prograis can certainly bang, the Scotsman is regarded as the harder hitter. The crowd will be overwhelmingly pro-Taylor even though it’s a good six-hour drive from Glasgow to London and that’s in light traffic. However, Prograis, the New Orleans native from Houston, is more fluid and has a more well-rounded game.
The Beterbiev-Gvozdyk fight was heavily-hyped and didn’t disappoint. It was an entertaining scrap. Hopefully this match-up, which has a strikingly similar sheen, will turn out to be as fan-friendly. The fight will air on Sky Sports PPV in the UK and will be live-streamed on DAZN in the United States.
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The other two pieces of the 140-pound title belong to former U.S. Olympian Jose Carlos Ramirez, the pride of California’s Central Valley. At age 27, Ramirez likely hasn’t reached his peak. His last effort, a sixth-round stoppage of WBO belt-holder Maurice Hooker on July 27, was his career-best performance.
A four-belt unification fight between Ramirez and the winner of Prograis-Taylor shouldn’t be all that hard to make. That’s assuming, of course, that Richard Schaefer, the former CEO of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and the driving force behind the World Boxing Super Series, is out of the way. There’s bad blood between Schaefer and Ramirez’s promoter Bob Arum, not that bad blood has ever eternally paralyzed a fight when there is big money on the table.
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The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
PRESS RELEASE — CANASTOTA, NY – DECEMBER 5, 2024 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum is thrilled to announce the newest class of inductees to be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend June 5-8, 2025 in “Boxing’s Hometown” Canastota, NY.
The Class of 2025 includes Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, “The Pazmanian Devil” Vinny Paz and Michael “Second To” Nunn in the Men’s Modern category; Yessica “Kika” Chavez, Anne Sophie Mathis and Mary Jo Sanders in the Women’s Modern category; Cathy “Cat” Davis in the Women’s Trailblazer category; referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous) and referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous) in the Non-Participant category; broadcaster / journalist Randy Gordon and television producer Ross Greenburg in the Observer category; Rodrigo Valdez (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Owen Swift (posthumous) in the Pioneer category.
Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians.
“We’re extremely excited about the Class of 2025 and are very much looking forward to honoring the newest class of inductees to earn boxing’s highest honor,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is scheduled for June 5-8th in “Boxing’s Hometown.” Many events will take place in Canastota and nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino throughout the four-day celebration including ringside talks, fist casting, fight night, 5K race / fun run, boxing autograph card show, banquet, parade and induction ceremony.
For more information on the 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, please call (315) 697-7095.
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Navarrete-Valdez and Espinoza-Ramirez Rematches Headline Phoenix Fight Fiesta
The annals of boxing abound with iconic rematches, and there’s a good chance that list will get longer after this Saturday in Phoenix’s Footprint Center with Top Rank’s ESPN card featuring Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) versus Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) and Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs, against Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs).
Valdez’s ties to the local area and multiple Arizona appearances give his bout against Navarrete top billing, but WBO featherweight titlist Espinoza’s initial encounter with Ramirez was the better bout the first time around, deemed Fight and Upset of the Year by many observers.
That’s not to say Navarrete-Valdez 1 didn’t hold plenty of drama as Navarrete captured the WBO junior lightweight belt with a relatively widespread unanimous decision. Valdez got himself into an immediate bind in the first fight by walking into Navarrete’s jab, enabling Navarrete to score early with looping right leads from his six-inch reach advantage. Valdez’s corner implored him to stay patient but it seemed there was no avoiding a firefight that played into Navarette’s always busy hands.
By round 3 Valdez’s face was heavily marked and often on the defensive, waiting to establish an offense that never fully arrived. Though he scored with some big shots down the stretch, his swollen right eye closed by the 9th frame and the eventual outcome seemed obvious.
“I know there’s a lot of pride at stake in a Mexico versus Mexico battle,” said Navarrete. “I believe this will be an even better fight than before because we’re familiar with each other. I know I have to push Valdez to his limits.”
“I made mistakes the first time, the biggest one was trying to knock him out,” reflected Valdez. “I still have a few fights left in me, not everyone gets a second chance. I know what I needed to train for (this time) and I’ll make the most of it.”
Offense was never a problem for either Espinoza or Ramirez, who traded knockdowns in a give-and-take affair that might have gone either way. It was the gloved-up version of mongoose versus cobra as two time Olympic gold medalist Ramirez charged in behind blurring punches up the middle while the much taller Espinoza fired shoulder level combinations. In this case, it was the underdog cobra who triumphed.
Three days from first bell an unofficial consensus of online odds listed the previous winners as favorites, Espinoza by a hair and Navarrete by a solid margin. While the initial winners may still have an edge, that all disappears after the bell, and previous action indicates a pair of pick-em contests isn’t unlikely.
Boxing history is also full of tie-breaking trilogies, too. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if that’s what we’re looking at again in both these cases.
Adding to the electric atmosphere in Phoenix are a solid batch of undercard extras featuring multiple first-rate performers that should get the audience more than ready for the night’s headliners.
Top Rank junior welterweight prospect Lindolfo Delgado, 21-0 (15) from Nuevo Leon, meets skilled Dominican Jackson Marinez, 22-3 (10) in a contest that could qualify as main event worthy in many locales.
Undefeated southpaw heavyweight Richard Torrez, Jr, who earned the silver medal in that division for the USA at the 2020 Olympics faces off against Mexican big boy Issac Munoz Gutierrez, 18-1-1 (15) who reportedly packs a respectable wallop. None of Torrez’s pro opponents have made it to the final bell.
San Diego’s highly ranked welterweight title challenger Giovani Santillan, 31-1 (17) faces Fredrick Lawson of Ghana, 30-5 (22). Lawson has dropped his last two outings but that was against good opposition and he won’t be an easy test.
21 year-old DJ Zamora, a hot prospect at 13-0 (9) from Las Vegas meets experienced Roman Reynoso, 22-5-2 (10), from Argentina and emerging new stablemate Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, 11-0 (7), who recently signed a long term Top Rank contract faces Gerardo Antonio Perez, 12-6-1 (3).
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R.I.P Israel Vazquez who has Passed Away at age 46
Israel Vazquez, a three-time world champion at 122 pounds and one of the most crowd-pleasing prizefighters of any era, has passed away at the age of 46. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman revealed the bad news today (Dec. 3) on his social media platform.
Born on Christmas Day 1977, Vazquez began his pro career in his native Mexico City at age 17. He was 16 fights into his pro career when he made his U.S. debut in El Cajon, California, under the management of Frank Espinoza.
Vazquez is most remembered for his four-fight rivalry with fellow Mexico City native Rafael Marquez.
The first two meetings were contested before small crowds in Carson, California, and Hidalgo, Texas.
Marquez won the first meeting thanks to a left hook that broke Vazquez’s nose in the opening round. The nose swelled to the point that Vazquez, who was making the fourth defense of his WBC super bantamweight title, could no longer breathe and he was all done after seven rounds.
Vazquez won the rematch (TKO 6), setting the stage for a rubber match that would be a fight for the ages. The bout, contested on March 1, 2008 at the soccer stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, was a shoo-in for Fight of the Year, earning that accolade from the BWAA, The Ring magazine and others.
Vazquez pulled that fight out of the fire in the final round, knocking Marquez to the canvas to win a split decision. Ron Borges, writing for this publication, wrote, “they knocked pieces off each other that could never be fully reattached.”
That was true of the detached retina in Vazquez’s right eye. It would require multiple surgeries before Vazquez, nicknamed “El Magnifico,” fought again and the eye would eventually be replaced by a prosthetic.
Their fourth meeting, contested before a celebrity-studded crowd at LA’s Staples Center, was anticlimactic. Vazquez, damaged goods, was stopped in the third round and never fought again.
All four meetings were televised on Showtime which celebrated the rivalry in 2015, airing highlights from all four fights on March 7 of that year. TSS West Coast Bureau Chief David A. Avila, looking back at the series, wrote, “[It was] 28 rounds of the most scientifically brutal and awe-inspiring prizefighting at an elite level.” Avila would also call Israel Vazquez one of the sport’s greatest gentlemen, a class act, as evinced in his energetic handshake whenever meeting a new fan.
Vazquez used his ring earnings to open a boxing gym in the Greater Los Angeles City of South Gate.
Vazquez’s passing wasn’t unexpected. Mauricio Sulaiman announced last month that Vazquez had been diagnosed with Stage IV Sarcoma, a particularly virulent strain of cancer and along with Oscar Valdez and Top Rank, established a GoFundMe account to defray his medical expenses. Today, Sulaiman wrote, “Israel Vazquez is finally resting in peace. May God give strength and support to his wife Laura, their children, family and friends during these difficult times.”
We here at TSS share that sentiment and send our condolences.
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