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3 Punch Combo: Under The Radar Fights, Elton Dharry’s Improbable Journey and More

Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Roberto Ortiz, Alberto Palmetta vs. Erik Vega Ortiz, and the Improbable Journey of Elton Dharry
THREE PUNCH COMBO — There is no preeminent fight this week, but there is still a lot of boxing that will be broadcast on various platforms. Some very good fights are falling under the radar including one that should be an all-out slugfest.
On Saturday night, the latest edition of Golden Boy Fight Night on Facebook Watch will be streamed from Mexico. The card is headlined by two entertaining 140-pound brawlers in Pablo Cesar Cano (32-7-1, 22 KO’s) and Roberto Ortiz (35-4-2, 26 KO’s) who will meet in a bout scheduled for ten rounds.
Cano, 30, has been a pro now for over 14 years. After back to back losses in 2017 to Fidel Maldonado Jr. and Marcelino Lopez, Cano’s career seemed to be headed toward permanent journeyman status. However, he recently revived his career with a pair of upset wins.
In September of 2018, he scored a technical decision over the previously undefeated Ruslan Madiyev. And earlier this year, Cano pulled a stunner when he stopped former three division champion Jorge Linares in the first round. Those wins put Cano back in contention at 140 pounds where he is currently ranked sixth by the WBC.
Ortiz has a glossy record but he is 0-3-1 in his last four fights and is now in a similar place in his career to where Cano was in 2017. At 34, Ortiz finds himself in desperate need of a win over Cano to regain any hope of one day fighting for a world title.
Stylistically, these fighters are perfectly matched to make for an entertaining scrap. Both are pressure fighters who aren’t afraid to mix it up. And they each are more than willing to absorb a few punches just to create the opportunity to land their own shots.
There is something else to keep in mind about this fight. While both fighters have been stopped on multiple occasions, they don’t necessarily have the weakest of chins.
In the case of Ortiz, he suffered his knockout losses to three very big knockout punchers (Lucas Matthysse, Cletus Seldin and Vergil Ortiz Jr.). In the case of Cano, his stoppage losses have mostly come due to cuts and/or swelling around his eyes.
And it should also be noted that while both fighters are heavy handed punchers, neither would be considered to have one punch knockout power.
The above is my way of saying that we have two brawlers who like to slug it out with better chins than they are given credit for and who don’t possess that one punch power to suddenly end a fight. This can’t be anything but an extended all-out shoot-out.
ShoBox Returns
The acclaimed prospect-oriented series ShoBox returns on Friday from the WinnaVegas Casino & Resort in Sloan, IA. Consistent with the history of this series, the six fighters in the televised tripleheader have a combined record of 65-1. The main event is an intriguing welterweight clash between Alberto Palmetta (12-1, 8 KO’s) of Argentina and Erik Vega Ortiz (16-0, 9 KO’s) of Mexico.
Palmetta, 29, had a long and distinguished amateur career that culminated with him representing Argentina at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. Co-promoted by Sergio Martinez of Maravillabox Promotions and Sampson Boxing, this is his fifth appearance on US soil, but his first as a headliner in a nationally televised card.
Palmetta is very athletic and his overall game is multifaceted. I would even go as far as describing him as a poor man’s Sergio Martinez. Fighting as a southpaw, Palmetta mixes his attack, sometimes working behind the right jab using his legs and in other spots attacking aggressively from various angles. The amateur experience shows in his overall game as his footwork is superb and his movement is very fluid. He possesses very fast hands and what can best be described as heavy-handed power.
For all that appears to be good about Palmetta’s game, there are some weaknesses. He has a bad tendency of holding his right hand low and as such is vulnerable to getting clipped with his opponent’s left hook. And he does have an early knockout loss on his resume. Was that an aberration or are there issues with his chin?
There is not a lot known about Vega Ortiz. There’s very limited video of him available online. The press release for this fight says that Vega Ortiz possesses “an all-out pressure style similar to many of his fellow countrymen of Mexico,” but the limited video I was able to see differs greatly from that description.
Vega Ortiz appears to be a natural counter puncher. He is not aggressive but likes to work behind the left jab, circling his opponents, waiting for counter opportunities. When those opportunities arise, he will open up and throw combinations. But he is also more than content to wait for those moments and work cautiously behind the jab.
Vega Ortiz is not that athletic nor does he possess quick hands or devastating power. But he has decent skills and defensively keeps a tight guard with good head movement.
I like this fight because I think Vega Ortiz could present an interesting puzzle for Palmetta to solve. Will it be a slugfest? Probably not, but I think it will have its moments. Palmetta will look to lead and try to find openings through the tight guard of Vega Ortiz. And when Palmetta does open up, Vega Ortiz will look to counter, particularly with the left hook upstairs. On paper, it’s a classic competitive ShoBox fight that should provide good action.
The Improbable Journey of Elton Dharry
On September 11th, 2009, Elton Dharry dropped a four-round unanimous decision to Isander Beauchamp on a small show in Plymouth, Mass. The loss dropped Dharry’s record to 3-5-1.
Ten years and 21 straight wins later, Dharry finds himself in a position that once seemed improbable. On Friday, he will face off against 20-0 Andrew Moloney for an interim title belt in the 115-pound weight division. The contest will take place in Moloney’s home country of Australia and be broadcast in the United States on ESPN+.
Dharry’s career trajectory is starting to look relatively similar to that of Tevin Farmer and Orlando Salido. Similar to those two, Dharry received some tough on-the-job training in the early portion of his career. In his sixth pro fight, for example, he dropped a four-round unanimous decision to future three division title-holder Leo Santa Cruz.
Thinks started to click for Dharry following his loss to Beauchamp. He pulled a few mild upsets along the way and with the exception of a period in 2017 has stayed relatively active. In his two most recent outings, he scored his best wins. In May of 2018, he scored a ten round unanimous decision against Oscar Mojica. And earlier this year, Dharry won a ten round unanimous decision against Gilberto Pedroza to set up this opportunity against Moloney.
From the video I have seen, I don’t think Elton Dharry should be considered such a substantial underdog. Dharry likes to apply pressure working behind an excellent well-timed left jab from the orthodox stance. He throws fluid, heavy handed combinations and makes a point to work his opponent’s body. And defensively, he does keep a tight guard with very good head movement.
Moloney, who is more athletic, is going to try to box Dharry. But Dharry’s pressure and body punching could be a major factor as this fight progresses. Keep in mind we have not seen Moloney in a fight where he has been substantially pushed down the stretch.
Make no mistake about it, Dharry can fight and it’s not out of the question to think he may continue his improbable journey with an upset on Friday in Australia.
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welter Week in SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.
One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.
Take your pick.
The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.
Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.
Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.
If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.
He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.
During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.
Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.
Fundora
Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.
Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.
Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.
Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.
Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?
When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.
This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.
Commerce Casino
Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.
Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.
It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.
Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?
That’s a question for another day.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).
Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).
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TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.
Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.
Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)
Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.
The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).
Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”
A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.
Other winners:
Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon
Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney
Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire
Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix
The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.
The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.
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Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday

To say that Mekhrubon Sanginov is excited to resume his boxing career would be a great understatement. Sanginov, ranked #9 by the WBA at 154 pounds before his hiatus, last fought on July 8, 2022.
He was in great form before his extended leave, having scored four straight fast knockouts, advancing his record to 13-0-1. Had he remained in Las Vegas, where he had settled after his fifth pro fight, his career may have continued on an upward trajectory, but a trip to his hometown of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, turned everything haywire. A run-in with a knife-wielding bully nearly cost him his life, stalling his career for nearly three full years.
Sanginov was exiting a restaurant in Dushanbe when he saw a man, plainly intoxicated, harassing another man, an innocent bystander. Mekhrubon intervened and was stabbed several times with a long knife. One of the puncture wounds came perilously close to puncturing his heart.
“After he stabbed me, I ran after him and hit him and caught him to hold for the police,” recollects Sanginov. “There was a lot of confusion when the police arrived. At first, the police were not certain what had happened.
“By the time I got to the hospital, I had lost two liters of blood, or so I was told. After I was patched up, one of the surgeons said to me, ‘Give thanks to God because he gave you a second life.’ It is like I was born a second time.”
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened in any city,” he adds. (A story about the incident on another boxing site elicited this comment from a reader: “Good man right there. World would be a better place if more folk were willing to step up when it counts.”)
Sanginov first laced on a pair of gloves at age 10 and was purportedly 105-14 as an amateur. Growing up, the boxer he most admired was Roberto Duran. “Muhammad Ali will always be the greatest and [Marvin] Hagler was great too, but Duran was always my favorite,” he says.
During his absence from the ring, Sanginov married a girl from Tajikistan and became a father. His son Makhmud was born in Las Vegas and has dual citizenship. “Ideally,” he says, “I would like to have three more children. Two more boys and the last one a daughter.”
He also put on a great deal of weight. When he returned to the gym, his trainer Bones Adams was looking at a cruiserweight. But gradually the weight came off – “I had to give up one of my hobbies; I love to eat,” he says – and he will be resuming his career at 154. “Although I am the same weight as before, I feel stronger now. Before I was more of a boy, now I am a full-grown man,” says Sanginov who turned 29 in February.
He has a lot of rust to shed. Because of all those early knockouts, he has answered the bell for only eight rounds in the last four years. Concordantly, his comeback fight on Saturday could be described as a soft re-awakening. Sanginov’s opponent Mahonri Montes, an 18-year pro from Mexico, has a decent record (36-10-2, 25 KOs) but has been relatively inactive and is only 1-3-1 in his last five. Their match at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, is slated for eight rounds.
On May 10, Ardreal Holmes (17-0) faces Erickson Lubin (26-2) on a ProBox card in Kissimmee, Florida. It’s an IBF super welterweight title eliminator, meaning that the winner (in theory) will proceed directly to a world title fight.
Sanginov will be watching closely. He and Holmes were scheduled to meet in March of 2022 in the main event of a ShoBox card on Showtime. That match fell out when Sanginov suffered an ankle injury in sparring.
If not for a twist of fate, that may have been Mekhrubon Sanginov in that IBF eliminator, rather than Ardreal Holmes. We will never know, but one thing we do know is that Mekhrubon’s world title aspirations were too strong to be ruined by a knife-wielding bully.
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