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An Early Vote for Andy Ruiz from ‘Louisiana Lawman’ Chris Eubank
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At the MGM Grand this past Saturday, a group of boxing writers were having a round table discussion in the media room when they were joined by an outsider. The visitor, who stayed until the meeting disbanded, brought a little glamour to the gathering. Several of the writers were too young to remember when Chris Eubank was in his heyday, but everyone recognized Eubank who has remained one of Great Britain’s most well-known sporting personalities.
During a 14-year career that consumed 52 bouts, only three men defeated him. Steve Collins and Carl Thompson did it twice; the other was Hall of Famer Joe Calzaghe who, like Thompson, caught Eubank at the tail end of his career. Eubank’s 1990 fight with Nigel Benn and his two fights with Michael Watson the following year rank among the most storied fights in British boxing history.
At age 53, Eubank is fit and trim, seemingly up to following the example of old foe Nigel Benn and plotting a comeback. But that isn’t happening. “There’s wear and tear there that you can’t see,” he says. Instead, Eubank will live vicariously through the efforts of his son of the same name. Chris Eubank Jr has a date with Matt Korobov in Brooklyn on Dec. 7. The younger Eubank has been preparing at the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas.
During his fighting days, Chris Eubank was twice named England’s best dressed athlete. His name was also a fixture on polls of England’s most eccentric sportsman.
For a time, Eubank appeared in public dressed like a stereotypical born-to-the-manor, Regency Era gentleman with riding boots and a silver-tipped walking cane. His speech was concordant, more like that of a man of letters than that of a prizefighter. He was a pontificating philosopher in the words of author Donald McRae, a man who spoke in a “tortuously modulated manner.”
At the MGM, Eubank sported a solid black shirt, obviously custom-made, on which reposed a shiny silver badge. “There’s a new sheriff in town,” quipped Dan Rafael when Eubank casually took his seat with the assembled writers.
Eubank corrected him. “I’m a marshal, not a sheriff.”
And, indeed, he is. In March of last year, Eubank was formally sworn in as a city marshal in Opelousas, a predominantly black community buried deep in Louisiana’s Cajun Country. It’s basically an honorary position; he doesn’t carry a weapon. Eubank says that he is committed to spending three months of every year in Opelousas for the foreseeable future where he will assist local law enforcement in a public relations role.
Opelousas is a long way from London where he spent his formative years or, for that matter, Jamaica where Eubank spent a portion of his boyhood, or Atlantic City where he had his first five pro fights while staying with his mother in the grungy South Bronx. The fellow sure does get around.
An introduction to Opelousas’ Chief of Police Donald Thompson opened the door to the curious appointment. A number of civilians were issued various kinds of police badges while Thompson was in office, which became something of a scandal — he was voted out in last year’s November elections — but for Eubank, the badge, although adopted as a fashion accessory, isn’t merely for show..
“It’s important for boxers to be seen as protectors of the community at large,” he says. The city fathers of Opelousas have recognized him for his work speaking to youth groups about the importance of living a disciplined life.
At the MGM, Eubank took a seat next to mine at the table, allowing us to converse in low tones without intruding on other conversations. The talk naturally turned to the big fight coming up in Saudi Arabia.
Eubank insisted that he wasn’t surprised at all when Andy Ruiz upset Anthony Joshua and expects Ruiz to come out ahead again when they meet again on Dec. 7.
In Eubank’s view, the public gave too much credit to Joshua’s win over Wladimir Klitschko. “Klitschko had reigned for a long time,” he said, “but it was during an era when the heavyweight division was weak. It was much stronger back in the eighties and it is much stronger today.”
Eubank also believes that the public overreacted to Joshua’s more impressive physique. “The Adonis look doesn’t win in boxing,” he says, echoing an opinion held by old-time trainers.
Anthony Joshua didn’t take up boxing until he was 18 and was a relative novice on the international amateur scene when he won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He had answered the bell for only 32 rounds as a pro when he was matched against unexceptional Charles Martin in his first world title fight. “On the way to the title,” says Eubank, “Joshua was allowed to jump over several classes in school. He was still learning the art of boxing and still learning how to live the life of a fighter when he fought Ruiz. By contrast, Ruiz was very well-schooled.”
Eubank has always gushed over the potential of his son whom he once likened to Sugar Ray Leonard. “This is the most dangerous man on the planet,” he told Donald McRae prior to Junior’s 2014 fight with Billy Joe Saunders.
In that fight, Eubank Jr finished strong but came out on the short end of a split decision. More recently, he was out-boxed by George Groves who won a close but unanimous decision.
The elder Eubank had no quibble with the verdict. “My son had become in love with his power,” said Eubank, noting that Junior had knocked out Avni Yildirim in his previous fight. I told him (after the Groves fight), ‘you have to be clever, use your brains.’”
Eubank Jr has won two straight since that mishap, most recently a wide decision over former two-time title-holder James DeGale, plunging DeGale into retirement. Prior to that match, Eubank inked a three-fight deal with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.
Eubank Jr (28-2, 21 KOs) is dropping back to middleweight for his match with Korobov (28-2-1, 14), a Miami-based Russian who is coming off a draw with Emmanuwel Aleem, a bout that most everyone thought that he won. If Eubank Jr prevails, that will likely boost him into a fight with Jermall Charlo, the undefeated WBC champion, provided that Charlo gets past Australia’s Dennis Hogan on the same card.
Chris Eubank, quite naturally, thinks his 30-year-old son is a lock. “Junior has the same drive to succeed that I once had,” he said. “He is obsessed with training. Korobov can’t match his speed. If you have speed, that puts you in a different class.” (For the record, Korobov, a southpaw, is 36 years old. The odds favoring Eubank Jr, roughly 12/5, aren’t that high, reflecting the fact that there’s a general opinion that the Russian, although not as athletic, has the higher ring IQ).
The elder Eubank arrived at the little confab in the MGM with an agenda. He is in the process of starting a foundation for retired boxers that have fallen on hard times. Eubank admires Al Haymon and says, “I’m sure it’s a program that Al would get behind.”
Eubank is no stranger to money woes. In 2005, he was reportedly bankrupt. With a tax debt exceeding $1 million, he was forced to sell his mansion. He insists that he is in fine fettle today from an economic standpoint and that is likely true as he commands a nice fee for personal appearances in Great Britain where millennials recognize him from his frequent appearances on TV reality shows. The camera likes him and he’s a good talker.
“I’m one of the lucky ones,” says Eubank, who appeared in 22 world title fights, winning 19. Someone who wasn’t so lucky, notes Eubank, is Kirkland Laing, the Jamaica-born Englishman who once held the British welterweight title and whose upset of Roberto Duran in 1982 was named The Ring magazine’s Upset of the Year. In 2003, nine years after leaving the sport, Laing was found living on the street.
Psychologists tell us that retirement can be stressful, especially for an individual whose identity is wrapped up in his work. A full-time professional boxer spends countless hours in the gym which becomes his surrogate home. When it’s time to let go, it’s difficult.
Many retired boxers, noted Eubank, need more than economic assistance: “Most are uneducated and need help with all the paperwork that comes with navigating the system and keeping their head above water.”
We wish Chris Eubank well with his foundation. When the web site is up and running, we will pass along the info. And if we ever get to Opelousas and run into trouble while there, hopefully a certain marshal will be able to pull a few strings.
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Cain Sandoval KOs Mark Bernaldez in the Featured Bout at Santa Ynez
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Northern California’s Cain Sandoval remained undefeated with a knockout win over Mark Bernaldez in a super lightweight battle on Friday on a 360 Promotions card.
Sandoval (15-0, 13 KOs) of Sacramento needed four rounds to figure out tough Filipino fighter Bernaldez (25-7, 14 KOs) in front of a packed crowd at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez.
Bernaldez had gone eight rounds against Mexico’s very tough Oscar Duarte. He showed no fear for Sandoval’s reputed power and both fired bombs at each other from the second round on.
Things turned in favor of Sandoval when he targeted the body and soon had Bernaldez in retreat. It was apparent Sandoval had discovered a weakness.
In the beginning of the fourth Sandoval fired a stiff jab to the body that buckled Bernaldez but he did not go down. And when both resumed in firing position Sandoval connected with an overhand right and down went the Filipino fighter. He was counted out by referee Rudy Barragan at 34 seconds of the round.
“I’m surprised he took my jab to the body. I respect that. I have a knockout and I’m happy about that,” Sandoval said.
Other Bouts
Popular female fighter Lupe Medina (9-0) remained undefeated with a solid victory over the determined Agustina Vazquez (4-3-2) by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a minimumweight fight between Southern Californians.
Early on Vazquez gave Medina trouble disrupting her patter with solid jabs. And when Medina overloaded with combination punches, she was laced with counters from Vazquez during the first four rounds.
Things turned around in the fifth round as Medina used a jab to keep Vazquez at a preferred distance. And when she attacked it was no more than two-punch combination and maintaining a distance.
Vazquez proved determined but discovered clinching was not a good idea as Medina took advantage and overran her with blows. Still, Vazquez looked solid. All three judges saw it 79-73 for Medina.
A battle between Southern Californian’s saw Compton’s Christopher Rios (11-2) put on the pressure all eight rounds against Eastvale’s Daniel Barrera (8-1-1) and emerged the winner by majority decision in a flyweight battle.
It was Barrera’s first loss as a pro. He never could discover how to stay off the ropes and that proved his downfall. Neither fighter was knocked down but one judge saw it 76-76, and two others 79-73 for Rios.
In a welterweight fight Gor Yeritsyan (20-1,16 KOs) scorched Luis Ramos (23-7) with a 12-punch combination the sent him to the mat in the second round. After Ramos beat the count he was met with an eight punch volley and the fight was stopped at 2:11 of the second round by knockout.
Super feather prospect Abel Mejia (7-0, 5 KOs) floored Alfredo Diaz (9-12) in the fifth round but found the Mexican fighter to be very durable in their six-round fight. Mejia caught Diaz with a left hook in the fifth round for a knockdown. But the fight resumed with all three judges scoring it 60-53 for Mejia who fights out of El Modena, Calif.
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The Return of David Alaverdian
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By TSS Special Correspondent David Harazduk — After David Alaverdian (8-0-1, 6 KOs) scored a gritty victory against a tough Nicaraguan journeyman named Enrique Irias, his plans suddenly changed. The flashy flyweight from Nahariya, Israel hoped to face even tougher opposition and then challenge for a world title within a year or so. But a prolonged illness forced David to rip up the script.
The Irias fight was over 22 months ago. On Saturday, Feb. 22, Alaverdian will be making his first appearance in the ring since that win when he faces veteran road warrior Josue “Zurdo” Morales (31-16-4, 13 KOs) at the Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It’s the fifth promotion by Las Vegas attorney Stephen Reid whose inaugural card was at this venue on Feb. 13, 2020.
“I’m excited to come back,” Alaverdian declared.
During his preparation for Irias two years ago, Alaverdian felt fatigue after a routine six-round sparring session. “It was on April 1, 2023, about ten days before my fight. It felt like an April Fool’s joke,” he said. He came down with a sore throat, a headache, and congestion. He soon developed trouble breathing. At first, he thought his seasonal asthma had flared up, but his condition soon worsened. No matter what he did, Alaverdian could no longer take deep breaths. Fatigue continued to plague him. His heart constantly raced. Instead of breathing from his diaphragm, he was breathing from his chest. He sought out numerous doctors in the United States and in Israel.
His symptoms were finally diagnosed as Dysfunctional Breathing (DB). DB is a condition that can stem from stress and is often misdiagnosed. Its symptoms include dyspnea and tachycardia, both of which David experienced.
While receiving treatment, the Vegas-based pro went back to Israel where he coached aspiring fighters. “David’s influence on Israeli boxing is amazing, because he shows we can succeed in a big business even though we come from a small country,” said another undefeated Israeli flyweight, 20-year-old Yonatan Landman (7-0, 7 KOs). “A lot more Israelis are going to dare to succeed.”
Landman was able to work with Alaverdian during David’s return to Israel. “He is a great guy and a friend,” Landman said. “He has a lot of willingness to help, share his knowledge, and help you move forward.”
Alaverdian finally started to feel like he could compete again eight months ago. He won last year’s Israeli national amateur championship and competed in Olympic qualifiers. Now, he’s preparing to fight as a professional once again. “He doesn’t mention anything about [his breathing issues] like he did before,” his coach Cedric Ferguson said about this camp. “He’s been working like there’s no issue at all.”
It has been a whirlwind week for the 31-year-old Alaverdian. In addition to putting the finishing touches on his preparation ahead of Saturday’s comeback fight, David got married on Tuesday. His mom came over from Israel for the wedding and will stay for the fight. “It’s a good distraction,” David said of this week’s significant events. “It helps me. That way I don’t have to focus on the fight all day.”
Josue Morales, a 32 year old from Houston, hopes to play spoiler on Saturday. The crafty southpaw has never been stopped during his 52-fight career. “He’s a seasoned guy with a lot of experience,” Alaverdian said of Morales. “He knows how to move around the ring and is more of a technical boxer. He’s a tough opponent for someone who has been out of the ring for two years.”
A win Saturday night would complete a monumental week for David Alaverdian, both in and out of the ring, repairing the once-shredded script.
Doors open at the Westgate fight arena at 6:30 pm. The first bout goes at 7:00. Seven fights are scheduled including an 8-round female fight between Las Vegas light flyweight Yadira Bustillos and Argentine veteran Tamara Demarco.
NOTE: Author David Harazduk has run The Jewish Boxing Blog since 2010. You can find him at Twitter/X @JewishBoxing and Instagram.
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Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History
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Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History
Saturday’s fight card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, topped by the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for undisputed light heavyweight supremacy, was being hyped as the greatest boxing card ever. That was before Daniel Dubois took ill and had to pull out of his IBF world heavyweight title defense against Joseph Parker, yielding his slot to last-minute replacement Martin Bakole.
The view from here is that the card remains in the running for the best fight card ever, top to bottom. The public didn’t view Dubois as the legitimate heavyweight champion. That distinction goes to Oleksandr Usyk.
Terms like “greatest” are, of course, subjective. Are we referring to the most attractive match-ups or the greatest array of talent, or the card that gives the most satisfaction by churning out a multiplicity of entertaining fights?
We won’t know how satisfying this card is until after the fact. We won’t know whether the talent on display was the greatest ever assembled on one night until many years have passed. Contestants such as Shakur Stevenson, Vergil Ortiz Jr, and Hamzah Sheeraz are still in their twenties (Stevenson is the oldest of the three at age 27) and it’s too soon to gauge if they will leave the sport with a great legacy.
As for which fight card in history had the deepest pool of attractive match-ups, this is a query that is amenable to an operational definition. Betting lines are a useful tool for informing us whether or not a fight warrants our attention if the likelihood of witnessing a closely-contested bout is our primary consideration.
Based on these factors, I would submit that the current leader in the race for the best card ever assembled goes to Don King’s May 7, 1994 promotion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Six future Hall of Famers – Julio Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez, Azumah Nelson, Terry Norris, Julian Jackson, and Christy Martin — were on that card, an 11-fight, eight-hour marathon with five WBC world title fights, four of which were rematches.
These were the five title fights:
140 pounds: Julio Cesar Chavez (89-1-1, 77 KOs) vs. Frankie Randall (49-2-1, 39 KOs)
Odds: Chavez 3/1 (minus-300)
154 pounds: Terry Norris (37-4, 23 KOs) vs. Simon Brown (41-2, 30 KOs)
Odds: even (11/10 and take your pick)
160 pounds: Gerald McClellan (30-2, 28 KOs) vs. Julian Jackson (48-2, 45 KOs)
Odds: McClellan 7/2 (minus-350)
130 pounds: Azumah Nelson (37-2-2, 26 KOs) vs. Jesse James Leija (27-0-2, 13 KOs)
Odds: Nelson 17/10 (minus-170)
105 pounds: Ricardo Lopez (36-0, 27 KOs) vs. Kermin Guardia (21-0, 14 KOs)
Odds: none
Results
Chavez-Randall — Julio Cesar Chavez avenged his loss to Frankie Randall, but not without controversy. An accidental clash of heads in the eighth round left Chavez with a bad gash on his forehead. Ring physician Flip Homansky would have allowed the bout to continue if that had been Chavez’s preference, but El Gran Campeon wasn’t so inclined. A WBC rule specified that in the event of a significant injury accruing from an accidental head butt, the less-damaged fighter is penalized a point. The fight went to the scorecards where Chavez won a split decision that would have been a draw without the point deduction. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Chavez, but the big bets were mostly on Randall and the odds got nicked down on the day of the fight.
Brown-Norris — In their first meeting in December of the previous year, Simon Brown dominated Terry Norris from the opening bell before stopping him in the fourth round. It was a massive upset. Norris was in the conversation for the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. In the rematch, Norris opened a slight favorite, but the late money was on Brown. And, once again, the so-called “sharps” were on the wrong side. Terry Norris, the would-be avenger, won a comfortable decision.
McClellan-Jackson — A murderous puncher, Gerald McClellan bombed out Julian Jackson in 83 seconds, or four rounds quicker than in their first engagement. Jackson was also a murderous puncher and attracted money in the sports books, lowering the price on the victorious McClellan who yet remained a solid favorite.
Nelson-Leija – WBC President Jose Sulaiman mandated this rematch after the first meeting ended in a draw after an error was found in the tabulation of one of the scorecards, overturning the original verdict which had Nelson retaining his title on a split decision. Leija thought he was robbed and was the rightful winner in the do-over, outworking Nelson to win a unanimous decision. At age 35, Azumah was getting long in the tooth.
Lopez-Guardia – Before the digital age, bookmakers didn’t trifle to post lines on bouts that on paper were egregious mismatches, save perhaps a fight of great magnitude. Guardia, the Colombian challenger, overachieved by lasting the distance in a fight with no knockdowns, but “Finito” won a lopsided decision.
A Note on Odds
Betting lines serve a useful purpose for boxing historians; they quantify the magnitude of an upset. However, quoting odds is tricky because they are fluid and vary somewhat from place to place. What this means is that two journalists can quote different odds on the same event and they both can get it right – unless there is a significant disparity. The odds quoted above are the closing lines at the MGM Grand or, at the very least, a very close approximation.
Saturday in Riyadh
One reason why tomorrow’s fight card is the best ever, said the tub-thumpers, is that the card (in its original conformation) included seven world title fights. But that’s no big deal There are so many title fights nowadays that the term “world title” has been trivialized. And what wasn’t acknowledged is that three of the title fights were of the “interim” stripe.
However – and this is a big deal — a glance at the odds informs us that tomorrow’s card is chock-full of competitive match-ups (at least on paper) and from that aspect, a blend of quality and quantity, it is a doozy of a boxing card.
The greatest boxing linemaker of my generation, now deceased, once told me that any fight where the “chalk” was less than a 3/1 favorite is essentially a “pick-‘em” fight. Yes, I know that makes no sense mathematically. However, I know what he was getting at. In a baseball game, for example, it’s very rare to find a team favored by odds of more than 3/1. In boxing, where self-serving promoters are constantly feeding us King Kong vs. Mickey Mouse, odds higher than 3/1 are the norm.
As this is being written, there are six fights on Saturday’s card where one could play the favorite without laying more than 3/1. I believe this is unprecedented. Moreover, the main event and a fascinating match-up on the undercard, Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov, are virtual toss-ups with the favorites, Beterbiev and Ortiz, currently available at 5/4 (minus-125). Another very intriguing fight is the heavyweight contest between late bloomers Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang which finds the less-heralded Kabayel cloaked as a small favorite. And kudos to Joseph Parker for accepting Martin Bakole when he could have held out for a lesser opponent. If Bakole is in shape (a big “if”), he will be a handful.
And so, where does tomorrow’s card rank on the list of best boxing cards ever? Right up there near the top, we would argue, and, if the bouts in large part are memorably entertaining, we would push it ahead of Don King’s May 7, 1994 extravaganza.
That’s the view from here. Feel free to dissent.
Postscript: If you plan to watch the entire card ($25.99 on DAZN for U.S. buyers), it would help to stock up on some munchies. The first fight (Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith) is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 a.m. for us viewers in the Pacific Time Zone / 11:45 a.m. ET. If the show adheres tight to its schedule (no guarantee), Beterbiev and Bivol are expected to enter the ring at 3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET.
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