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Avila Perspective, Chap. 75: Oscar Valdez, Carl Frampton and Heavyweights

Two former featherweight champions — Oscar Valdez and Carl Frampton — dip their toes into the world of the 130-pound super featherweights, prizefighting’s deepest division.
Don’t get bit.
While Valdez (26-0, 20 KOs) meddles with Andres Gutierrez (38-2-1, 25 KOs) in a 10 round test, Northern Ireland’s Frampton (26-2, 15 KOs) tries out Tyler McCreary (16-0-1, 7 KOs) in another 10 rounder, both at the Cosmopolitan on Saturday in Las Vegas. It’s a roll of the dice that will be shown on ESPN+.
Frampton looks to become the first from his country to win world titles in three weight divisions. Not even the great Barry McGuigan could accomplish the feat.
Super featherweights have long been the litmus tests for those seeking greatness as multi-division winners. It’s a division where the men are separated from the boys and a single punch can wreck a career.
More than a few former greats passed through the super featherweight division to achieve greatness like Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Even today the weight class has one of the deepest rosters of fighters that have a 50-50 chance of usurping any champion at any time.
Valdez, who is moving up after spending three years and six defenses as the WBO featherweight king, feels confident in delving into the talent-rich super featherweight division. He also has a new trainer in Eddy Reynoso who helped Saul “Canelo” Alvarez jump into the middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.
“Eddy has shown me a few things that will help me in the next weight division,” said Valdez while in L.A. “I know my opponent is tough, but I plan on putting on a show for the fans. This is my third camp with Eddy Reynoso, and it’s going great. This is an important first step towards another world title.”
Frampton stands as the other half of the super featherweight equation. Should he defeat the undefeated McCreary, it could more than likely lead to a showdown with Valdez early next year.
It’s a dream fight for the Irish fighter who’s very familiar with Mexican fighters. He had two classic battles with Los Angeles-based Leo Santa Cruz who won a version of the WBA super featherweight title last weekend in Las Vegas. On the same day, Nicaragua’s Rene Alvarado took the other WBA version away from Andrew “Chango” Cancio by knockout in Indio, Calif. Those are just two with titles. Several others hold super featherweight belts and all of them are equally talented and pose different obstacles like lanky southpaw Jamel Herring the WBO titlist, or Tevin Farmer the speedy IBF titlist. And then there’s Mexico’s Miguel Berchelt who many argue might be the best of them all.
It’s a loaded weight division and even the contenders pose danger like Mexico’s Andres Gutierrez who has almost as many knockouts as Valdez has wins. And he’s only 26 years old.
“I hope Valdez is prepared for a super featherweight war,” said Gutierrez who hails from Guadalajara. “I’m now training in Las Vegas with the professor, Ismael Salas, and ‘Memo’ Heredia. Boxing fans, get ready for a true Mexican-style battle.”
Frampton has no concerns about Valdez or Gutierrez. Not yet. He has his own dilemma with Toledo, Ohio’s McCreary.
McCreary knows all about Frampton.
“It’s an opportunity I couldn’t turn down, and I feel that every fight is a risk. This is one where, if anything, I would love to risk my undefeated record against a fighter like Frampton,” said McCreary. “A win here means a world title shot next.”
Frampton has world titles in the super bantamweight and featherweight divisions and seeks to be the first Irish fighter to claim three weight division world titles.
“It means the world to me to become the first,” said Frampton, 32, a native of Northern Ireland. “Nobody from my country has ever done it.”
The ultra-aggressive Irish fighter who handed Santa Cruz his first defeat, then was handed his first loss by Santa Cruz, confesses that the sport of boxing saved his life.
“I had many close friends that are dead or in prison,” said Frampton. “Boxing kept me from getting involved in the wrong direction.”
Weight has become an issue and Frampton believes this new weight class, though dangerous, presents an opportunity to not only win another world title but help him make history.
“It would give me a legacy as a three division world champion,” said Frampton.
It’s worth the risk.
“Carl Frampton and Oscar Valdez are great fighters moving into the next weight category,” said Top Rank’s Bob Arum. “Either fighter can be a great match with Shakur (Stevenson).”
Stevenson currently holds the WBO featherweight title recently vacated by Oscar Valdez.
Though Stevenson just captured the title with a decisive victory over Joet Gonzalez last month, Arum sees the former Olympian moving up quickly to grab another division world title. He also envisions more co-promotions with Golden Boy Promotions who promoted Gonzalez and also Lamont Roach who was recently paired against Herring.
“The more we can do that stuff, the better,” said Arum.
Heavyweights
WBC heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder’s electrifying knockout over Luis Ortiz last weekend in Las Vegas opens the door for a return showdown with Tyson Fury. It’s slated for February 2020.
Wilder is promoted by Premier Boxing Champions and will be facing Top Rank’s Fury early next year in Las Vegas.
Top Rank and PBC normally do not mix together, but in this instance, as proven a year ago, money talks, or better still Wilder wanted the match and Wilder will get the match again.
Wilder is the big wild card in the heavyweight division. He can be matched against any of the other heavyweights and a knockout will be expected – whether it is him or the other guy. Fans simply love knockouts. If you were to survey 100 boxing fans more than 90 percent would confess to liking wins decided by a knockout over a decision. That’s Wilder’s calling card.
“I’m a knock Fury out,” said Wilder following his knockout win of Ortiz. “I’m the hardest hitting man, most devastating puncher in the history of boxing.”
That’s impossible to prove but he very well could be today’s most powerful punching heavyweight. No doubt about it.
A match between Wilder and Fury could be the opening of a relationship between PBC and Top Rank. That could set the table for a future match between Terence Crawford and any of the many welterweights in the PBC kingdom like Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Manny Pacquiao or Errol Spence Jr. if he can recover from his recent injuries from a car accident. That indeed would make Wilder a man of influence.
Next week another heavyweight world title clash takes place when Chicano heavyweight Andy Ruiz puts the WBA, WBO and IBF titles up for grab when he faces former champion Anthony Joshua in a rematch. It happens next Saturday, Dec. 7, in Saudi Arabia.
If Ruiz wins again, then it’s almost guaranteed that he would fight the winner of Wilder-Fury later in 2020. Both fight under PBC. If Joshua wins, a fight could be made but it’s not a guarantee.
Wilder is holding all the cards now. He’s got a full house but is looking for the Royal Flush.
Fights to Watch
Sat. Nov. 30 DAZN 11 a.m. Cecilia Braekhus (35-0) vs Victoria Bustos (19-5); Radzhab Butaev (12-0) vs Alexander Besputin (13-0)
Sat. Nov.30 ESPN+ 7 p.m. Oscar Valdez (26-0) vs Andres Gutierrez (38-2-1); Carl Frampton (26-2) vs Tyler McCreary (16-0-1); Carlos Adames (18-0) vs Patrick Teixiera (30-1).
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 229: Benavidez, Plant and NCAA Hoops in Vegas

Avila Perspective, Chap. 229: Benavidez, Plant and NCAA Hoops in Vegas
If you know the history of Las Vegas, it’s endured a number of phases since its first major growth spurt when the Hoover Dam project brought thousands to the desert region in the 1930s.
Then came the New York phase when the Flamingo Hotel was built in the 1940s and was followed by numerous other major casino hotels like the Sands, the Dunes and the Aladdin. Of course, boxing was always a way to entice people to the desert.
This Saturday, four star boxing returns to Las Vegas. But it be competing against the western regional finals of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Prepare for crowds.
Las Vegas is packed.
Undefeated David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) meets once-beaten Caleb Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 25. The TGB Promotions card will be televised on Showtime pay-per-view.
The winner gets a shot at undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. And that means big money.
It’s all happening in Las Vegas and so will the NCAA tournament. Expect an extremely crowded Strip as fans of boxing and basketball convene on the strip by the thousands. Its also a gambler’s paradise for betting so make sure you allow yourself time because the lines will be long at the sportsbooks.
When I first visited Las Vegas in the early 1970s sports betting was done outside of the casinos. The state law back then prohibited sportsbooks inside hotel-casinos. My favorite sportsbook, for sentimental reasons, is the Westgate Hotel, formerly the Hilton International. It’s has a huge sports betting area.
I’m not a betting type of guy but sports betting to me is the center of everything and adds luster to the atmosphere of Las Vegas. You won’t find a sports book in California.
Boxing has always been a sport made for betting, probably since the stone age.
When Benavidez steps into the prize ring he will be the big favorite but if you truly know boxing, Plant does have a chance. Anything can happen in boxing. Anything.
A man can parachute from the sky and land in the middle of the fight as happened back in 1993 when Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe were combatting for the heavyweight title at Caesars Palace. Of course, this won’t happen on Saturday because the fight is indoors at the MGM Hotel.
One major lesson about pro boxing is that nothing is a sure thing.
Though Benavidez has power and has never been defeated, he could tear an Achilles tendon right during the fight. Or he could break a wrist delivering a punch. I’ve also seen a great fighter like Pernell Whitaker get his clavicle broken from a single punch and be unable to continue.
Don’t bet your house on the outcome.
What you will see on Saturday is two very talented super middleweights with completely different fighting styles engage. They do not seem to care for each other but that doesn’t matter. It’s a fight, not a marble contest.
Words have been exchanged all through the promotion. But words don’t mean a thing once the first bell rings.
Plant has speed, agility and solid defensive skills. His only loss came to Canelo Alvarez. That’s more a medal of honor than an embarrassment.
“I feel I’m the better boxer, I have the better IQ and I have more experience,” said Plant. “I have the better pedigree and its going to show on Saturday night.”
Benavidez has power, speed and a very solid chin. He seems to intimidate foes with a come forward style that reminds me of a young George Foreman.
“We’re going to see what that chin is like on Saturday,” said Benavidez.
Supporting fights
Cody Crowley meets Abel Ramos in an welterweight elimination fight for the WBC title held by Errol Spence Jr.
Both of these guys are rough and tough. It’s the ram versus the bull.
The other Ramos, Abel’s brother Jesus, is fighting Joey Spencer in a super welterweight clash.
Six other fights are planned at the MGM Grand.
Top Rank
Fresno’s Jose Carlos Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs) gets a hometown crowd when he meets Richard Commey (30-4-1, 27 KOs) on Saturday March 25. The former super lightweight titlist needs a win to get back in the hunt. ESPN will televise the Top Rank card.
“All of a sudden after one loss people started walking away,” said Ramirez. “We’re focused on Richard Commey.”
Commey wants what Ramirez wants too, a title.
“I really want to become a two-time world champion, so I’m coming strong,” said Commey.
Also on the same Fresno card will be WBA titlist Seniesa Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs) seeking to unify the minimumweight titles against Germany’s WBC titlist Tina Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs).
“This is the moment that Ive dreamed of since I was seven years old,” said Estrada. “Its crazy to think how far I’ve come in this sport.”
Rupprecht is also excited.
It’s a big honor to fight for both titles,” Rupprecht said. “This is always what I wanted.”
Fights to Watch
Sat. Showtime ppv 6 p.m David Benavidez (26-0) vs Caleb Plant (22-1); Cody Crowley (21-0) vs Abel Ramos (27-5-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Jose Carlos Ramirez (27-1) vs Richard Commey (30-4-1); Seniesa Estrada (23-0) vs Tina Rupprecht (12-0-1).
Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / TGB Promotions
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Mbilli Stays Unbeaten: Outpoints Gongora in a Bruising Tiff

Camille Estephan’s “Eye of the Tiger” promotions returned to the Montreal Casino tonight with an 8-bout card capped by an intriguing match between super middleweights Christian Mbilli and Carlos Gongora, both former Olympians.
The Cameroon-born Mbilli (pictured on the left) represented France in the 2016 Rio Games. He was undefeated (23-0, 16 KOs) coming in and ranked #2 by the WBA. The Massachusetts-based Gongora, a two-time Olympian for his native Ecuador, brought a 23-1 (16) record, his lone defeat coming on the road in Manchester, England, to currently undefeated Lerrone Richards.
When the smoke cleared, Mbilli won a unanimous decision, but the scores (99-91, 98-92, and 97-93) were misleading as this was an entertaining fight and the granite-chinned Gondora, a southpaw, was always a threat to turn the tide with his signature punch, a left uppercut. In fact, he may have landed the best punch of the fight when he hurt Mbilli in the opening minute of the eighth round. But the muscular Mbilli shook off the cobwebs and stormed back, dominating the final minute of the eighth and then finishing strong, nearly forcing a stoppage with a non-stop assault in the final frame.
Mbilli would love to fight the winner of Saturday’s tiff between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant, but that’s not likely to happen. A more likely scenario finds Mbilli opposing fellow unbeaten Vladimir Shishkin, the Detroit-based Russian.
Co-Feature
Simon Kean, a six-foot-five, 250-pound heavyweight from Three Rivers, Quebec, advanced to 23-1 (22 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of 40-year-old warhorse Eric Molina (29-9).
Both were tentative during most of the match. The end came rather suddenly when Kean knocked Molina down with an overhand right after landing a good left hook. The punch did not appear to land flush, but Molina was swaying as he made it to his feet and the referee called it off.
It was not a particularly impressive performance by Kean. Molina, a special education teacher in the Rio Grande Valley community of Edinburg, Texas, hinted before the bout that this would be his final fight. That would be a sensible idea. He has been stopped six times in his last 10 outings and nine times overall.
Also
In a 10-round bout contested at 140 pounds, Calgary veteran Steve Claggett improved to 34-7-2 (24) with a TKO over Mexican import Rafael Guzman Lugo (26-3-2) whose corner pulled him out after seven frames. This was a good action fight fought at close quarters, albeit Claggett was clearly in control when the bout was halted.
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A Conversation About Boxing with Author and Journalist Steve Marantz

If you ask former sportswriter Steve Marantz when was boxing’s Golden Age, he’s quick with a response.
His answer just so happens to coincide with the period when he was on the beat as a boxing columnist for the Boston Globe (1979-1987).
“You could argue that boxing has had a few Golden Ages, but yes, that was an exciting and memorable era,” said Marantz, who sat ringside for many legendary matches. “The round-robin bouts amongst [Ray] Leonard, [Marvin] Hagler, [Thomas] Hearns and [Roberto] Duran, certainly was a major element.”
Those four legends are important but other weight division kings also played an integral role in boxing’s global popularity.
“Let’s not forget [Aaron] Pryor, [Alexis] Arguello, [Julio Cesar] Chavez, [Salvador] Sanchez, [Hector] Camacho, [Wilfredo] Gomez, Michael Spinks, [Dwight Muhammad] Qawi, [Donald] Curry, [Mike] Tyson and [Evander] Holyfield,” Marantz offered. “The key was competitive balance in most of the divisions.”
Marantz began his journalism career in 1973 at the Kansas City Star after graduating from the University of Missouri. After leaving the Globe, he worked for the Boston Herald (1999-2004) and ESPN (2004-2016). Nowadays, in addition to freelance writing for publications such as the Jewish Journal of Greater Boston, he produces the podcast “Championship Stories.”
Marantz recalled one particular moment that stood out while covering boxing and it happened at Aaron Pryor’s training camp.
“I have a vivid memory of his workout before he fought Arguello in Miami, November 1982. He had a hot funk song on the speakers, “You Dropped A Bomb On Me,” and as it played, loudly, he shadow-boxed to its beat and lyrics,” he recalled. “A rope was stretched across the gym, four feet off the floor, and Pryor moved along the rope, ducking under and back, gloves flashing. He was hypnotized by the music, in a trance. Hypnotized me, too. A moment that made boxing so cool to cover.”
That classic matchup at the famed Orange Bowl was halted in the 14th round with Pryor winning by technical knockout.
Anyone at Caesars Palace on April 15, 1985, knows what happened over roughly eight minutes of hot action when Hagler and Hearns tangled. It was nonstop punches from both participants.
“Hagler and Hearns fought as if possessed,” recalled Marantz of that showdown. “The stark final image [for me] was that of Hearns, now helpless, semiconscious, looking very like a black Christ taken from the cross, in the arms of a solemn aide.
“Hagler’s pent-up bitterness found release in a violent attack, even as each crack of Hearns’ gloves reinforced a lifetime of slights. In the end, Hearns was martyred to absolve Hagler of victimization. The first round is legendary, among the most vicious and splendid ever fought on the big fight stage. Action accelerated so quickly that spectators were left breathless. Punches windmilled into a blur, though the actual count was 82 punches for Hagler and 83 for Hearns, about three times that of a typical round.”
While that fight has blended into boxing folklore, a 1976 Olympic gold medal winner from Palmer Park, Maryland, was the epitome of true greatness for Steve Marantz.
“The way Sugar Ray Leonard maneuvered [Roberto] Duran to ‘No Mas’ in their rematch was brilliant. His grit and toughness beat Hearns, one of the great fights of the 1980s. And he beat Hagler with brains and psychology. Not to overlook his win over [Wilfred] Benitez in 1979. He was gorgeous to watch, stylish and rhythmic. His combinations were a blur. And he strategized like a chess master. Smooth and cooperative in interviews, always aware of the marketing and promotional necessities. Leonard was the gold standard.”
Marantz re-visited the Hagler-Leonard fight and the drama that surrounded it in “Sorcery at Caesars: Sugar Ray’s Marvelous Fight,” first released in 2008 and now available as an eBook.
Boxing’s been called the cruelest and the most unforgiving sport, but it’s also filled with high drama.
“It’s a test of athleticism, intelligence, grit and character. At its best, it’s dramatic and unpredictable, exciting,” Marantz said of the fight game. “A rich history of iconic personalities and events. Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, for example. A window into history bigger than just sport, a window into popular culture and politics.”
Marantz fondly recalls some of the characters he met while covering the sweet science: “Promoters Don King and Bob Arum, both conniving quotable snakes. Trainer Ray Arcel, in his 80s, a pillar of honesty and integrity. Emanuel Steward and Prentiss Byrd, running the Kronk Gym as a beacon of light and hope in Detroit’s blighted inner city. In Brockton, Massachusetts, two Italian-American brothers, Goody and Pat Petronelli, formed a sacred trust with an African- American boxer, Marvin Hagler.”
Marantz went on: “On my first newspaper job with the Kansas City Times/Star, I met a kindly trainer, Peyton Sher, who welcomed me into his gym and taught me the basics,” he said. “Never will forget Daeshik Seo, the Korean therapist for Larry Holmes who two weeks before the Holmes-[Gerry] Cooney fight in June 1982, tipped me to a story that a member of Holmes’ entourage pulled a pistol on Cooney’s entourage at Caesars Palace. Caesars top brass had to call Holmes on the carpet to get his people under control. Holmes was incensed at the story. In his media session after he won, he said I wrote it because I was [expletive] … and that I worked in a racist city, Boston.”
Marantz has never been put off by the seedy elements of the sport. “I don’t feel polarized by it.,” he says. “Nobody is forced to box. Nobody is forced to watch it. The world has bigger problems than boxing.”
Marantz has fond memories of the people he met and the friendships he made while covering boxing. Does he miss not being rinigside? “Not really,” he says. “My time came and went. Journalism and life took me in other directions. I do have some nostalgia for that era, and for the people who were part of it.”
Having been around the sweet science for a spell, Marantz offered sage advice to anyone inclined to mix it up: “Be disciplined, work hard, find a good trainer, learn the subtleties, read the tea leaves and don’t be pig-headed.”
Actually, all of those traits are always handy, even if one doesn’t step into the ring.
You can read more about Steve Marantz at his website: www.stevemarantz.com
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