Hits and Misses from a Huge Boxing Weekend

Published

5 years ago

October 28, 2019

Hits-and-Misses-from-a-Huge-Boxing-Weekend

Boxing fans were treated to some very important fights over the last weekend in October.

The riveting action included the final of the 140-pound tournament in the World Boxing Super Series between Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis, a battle between unbeaten 126-pounders Shakur Stevenson and Joet Gonzalez for the vacant WBO title, the continued rebuilding of 154-pound prospect Erickson Lubin, and a slew of other significant matchups.

But with three massive fight cards spread across DAZN, ESPN+ and SHOWTIME on Saturday, who among the many fighters in action scored the weekend’s biggest hits? And which ones ended up with the biggest misses?

Behold, here were the biggest hits and misses.

HIT: The Coronation of Josh Taylor

Josh Taylor’s coronation as the best junior welterweight in the world didn’t come easy.

In fact, Taylor had to use every ounce of his ability and pour himself out completely to seize the 140-pound throne by defeating Regis Prograis on Saturday night in London. Among the many spoils Taylor earned from outworking Prograis over 12 grueling rounds, perhaps the most important one (to go along with retaining his IBF title and nabbing the American’s WBA belt) was the Muhammad Ali trophy awarded to all WBSS tournament winners.

It’s not so much the hardware. Sure, the trophy is beautiful and also aptly named for one of the most accomplished fighters ever. But the most important aspect of the thing through one-and-a- half seasons of WBSS tournaments is how each trophy winner has gone on to experience amazing leaps in terms of career trajectories after winning it.

Both Callum Smith and Oleksandr Usyk have enjoyed the better parts of their professional fighting careers after winning the WBSS. Now Taylor has the chance to do the same thing.

MISS: DAZN’s Production Quality of Otherwise Great Content

There’s just something off about the production quality of DAZN’s WBSS presentations.

Without knowing the inner workings, the disjointedness of its production—especially in regards to the digital assets used between fights—seems to point to DAZN having been given those highlight reels by the entity that runs the tournament, Comosa AG.

The problem with that model, or whatever process actually exists, is that there’s been a steep drop in quality from standard DAZN boxing shows to the WBSS shows. It really shouldn’t be that way. In fact, the WBSS has proven itself to be so vitally important in the sport in such a short amount of time, that it’s almost as if the opposite should be true: the production of a WBSS event should be among the best in the sport.

But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, it has the appearance of one of those second-rate cards that have become the norm in this age of unlimited over-the-top streaming platforms showing fights that would have otherwise gone unseen under the previous model.

Whatever has to happen to get that corrected needs to happen now. There’s no reason such a huge event should look so paltry on fight night.

HIT: Shakur Stevenson’s Status as Future Pound-for-Pound King

Shakur Stevenson was supposedly in a blood-feud with Joet Gonzalez over having dated that fighter’s sister for the last three years without the approval of the Gonzalez family. That was the promotional angle for the Stevenson-Gonzalez bout in Reno, though on paper it didn’t really need that kind of WWE-type treatment because both Stevenson and Gonzalez were undefeated prospects who many envisioned having stalwart professional careers.

But Stevenson completely dismantled Gonzalez in such a way that it didn’t just prove he was one of the better young fighters in all of boxing. Rather, by the end of the fight, it was clear that Stevenson was on his way to perennially appearing on pound-for-pound lists. Just 22 years old, the former Olympic medalist is now the WBO featherweight champion and is already calling out the likes of IBF titleholder Josh Warrington for unification.

While Stevenson is still a work in progress, it’s not hard to envision him growing into a generational talent. His stalwart defense is reminiscent of a young Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his ice-cold ability to keep his emotions in check over the course of 12 full rounds in the face of a pretty strange circumstance indicates he has all the tools to become something really special.

MISS: The Exploitation of the Gonzalez Family Feud

Admittedly, I hit the full range of judgments and emotions when I was first presented with the promotional angle used for Stevenson-Gonzalez. Perhaps it was just me, but the first idea I had about the whole thing was that it was silly, exploitive and the type of thing that I understand makes sense from a promotional perspective but still hate anyway.

But then I noticed I was thinking about the fight a lot more than I did before I learned that the two fighters hated each other over Stevenson dating Gonzalez’s sister. So, by the time the fight was about to start on Saturday night on ESPN+, I was all about completely immersing myself in the presented storyline.

But as the event unfolded, I couldn’t help but feel icky inside. Here was a real family locked in some serious turmoil by events that began long before these two fighters were ever in the position to face each other for a world title. Whatever happened in the ring wasn’t going to change any of that. This wasn’t just some storyline that’s sole purpose was my entertainment. These were broken relationships that no one outside the people involved ever really needed to know about.

To that end, let’s hope we don’t get any more of these type promotions in the future. There’s no need to exploit life’s harder parts in a sport that’s already filled to the brim of numerous heartbreaks and tragedies.

HIT: Dereck’s Chisora’s Plan to Fight Oleksandr Usyk

Dereck Chisora scored a highlight-reel knockout over David Price in the fourth round in the co-main of the Prograis-Taylor card in London.

Chisora never made it to the top of the heavyweight heap, but it’s been a joy to see him keep trying to scale the mountain anyway. The 35-year-old is a mainstay on the British boxing scene, and he’s really upped his game in recent years after linking up with former rival turned promoter David Haye.

While he tends to go overboard with self-promotion antics outside the ring, inside the ring he’s a hustling big man who always brings the action and consistently throws bombs. There aren’t many of those types in the sport, and it’s a good bet that anyone hoping to climb to the top of heavyweight division would be wise in first testing their mettle against Chisora.

After the win, Chisora said he wanted to fight Oleksandr Usyk next. That would be the perfect test for the former undisputed cruiserweight champion who just scored his first win at heavyweight over Chazz Witherspoon last month.

And Chisora isn’t the type to show up for a paycheck. He’s the type who would do everything in his power to wreck Usyk’s plans and grab that long-awaited world title shot for himself instead.

MISS: Joshua Greer’s Lack of Urgency About Getting Better

Joshua Greer’s gimmick is to bring a pillow to his fights for when he puts his opponent to sleep, but over the last few outings, it seems more like he should bring pillows for everyone else in attendance.

The 24-year-old bantamweight prospect seems to have a lot of talent, but having talent only implies the potential to do great things. It’s one thing to be able to do something. It’s entirely another thing to actually do it.

Greer has a wonderful backstory. Like many in the sport, he came out of some really tough circumstances that he says helped him realize just how precarious life can be. It’s hard not to root for a guy like that to be successful.

But after seeing him struggle to earn a close decision win over part-time fighter Antonio Nieves on Saturday in Reno just a few months after escaping with a majority decision over Nikolai Potapov, one wonders if Greer fully understands how important it is to continually get better.

His post-fight comments to ESPN’s Mark Kriegel suggest he doesn’t.

“At the end of the day, all I do is win,” said Greer.

No, Mr. Greer. All you do right now is escape with wins against lackluster opponents that future world champions should dominate.

HIT: The Continued Resiliency of Erickson Lubin

Lubin came up in the sport as an amateur prodigy who skipped trying to make the 2016 Olympic team so he could sign a promotional deal with Mike Tyson’s quickly defunct Iron Mike Productions. That didn’t work out and Lubin ended up fighting under Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions banner where he quickly made a name for himself as a legitimate junior middleweight prospect.

But Lubin’s world title hopes were dashed by then WBC champion Jermell Charlo in 2017 via one-punch knockout. After suffering such a devastating loss in the first round of his first world title opportunity, it might have been easy for Lubin to slip into self-pity and despair. Instead, Lubin simply went back to work and has now won four straight fights including his unanimous decision win over the hard-hitting Nathaniel Gallimore on Saturday night in Reading. PA.

Now, Lubin is right back to where he was before the Charlo loss. He’s a young prospect with lots of potential, and one who is again eager for his chance to win a world title.

It takes a considerable amount of resiliency to be humiliated like Lubin was on the national stage against Charlo and not let it affect one’s personal belief. Congrats to Lubin for climbing out of a difficult circumstance to take another run at his dream.

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

4 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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