3 Punch Combo: Notes on New Welterweight Titleholder Alexander Besputin and More

Published

4 years ago

December 2, 2019

3-Punch-Combo-Notes-in-New-Welterweight-Titleholder-Alexander-Besputin-and-More

THREE PUNCH COMBO — Alexander Besputin (14-0, 9 KO’s) successfully out-boxed the power punching Radzhab Butaev (12-1, 9 KO’s) on Saturday in Monte Carlo to capture a version of the WBA welterweight title. This was a career best performance by the former amateur star who now finds himself firmly in the mix for much bigger fights in a loaded welterweight division.

Besputin is aligned with Top Rank which also promotes WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford. Top Rank has a bit of a problem with Crawford in that the big-name welterweights such as Errol Spence Jr, Manny Pacquiao, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia are all aligned with PBC. As such, with limited options for Crawford, Besputin would figure to be in his plans and probably in the not-so-distant future.

I think that Top Rank, as is their history, will want to add just a little “marination” to an eventual Crawford-Besputin unification fight. So, my guess is we see the Russian southpaw make at least one defense before a Crawford fight is targeted. (We’re assuming here that Crawford gets by Egidijus Kavaliauskas on Dec. 14.)

Top Rank is going to look for someone that Besputin should excel against. And he will have to be ranked by the WBA. My guess is that Top Rank will go with Harold Calderon (21-0, 14 KO’s), currently ranked #14 at 147 by that organization.

Calderon, a 32-year old Honduran, has built his record on less-than-formidable opposition. Just how he got ranked this high by the WBA is a mystery. That said, his undefeated record can help sell him as an opponent for a first title defense for Besputin and, frankly, after watching just a little video of Calderon on YouTube, I think Besputin will make quite an impressive showing; the type of performance that would help build up the hype toward a future showdown with Crawford.

An Under the Radar Fight

It’s another very busy week in the sport with plenty of live action available on numerous platforms. Of course, when this happens, some very good fights tend to fall in the cracks.

On Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Showtime Championship Boxing returns with a tripleheader headlined by Jermall Charlo (29-0, 21 KO’s) defending his middleweight title against Dennis Hogan (28-2-1, 7 KO’s). The undercard bouts will air on Showtime’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

One very intriguing bout on this pre-tripleheader livestream is a middleweight crossroads fight between Immanuwel Aleem (18-1-2, 11 KO’s) and Ronald Ellis (16-1-2, 11 KO’s).

Both were once considered promising prospects but each has suffered recent setbacks. Aleem is 2-1-2 in his last five fights after starting his career 16-0. He is an aggressive boxer-puncher by trade and is naturally very athletic with quick hands. Aleem is not afraid to get into exchanges and as such tends to be in exciting fights.

Ellis, an aggressive power puncher, is coming off his first loss as a pro. In February, he lost a 10-round majority decision to DeAndre Ware. In that fight, it appeared that he was loading up too much looking for that one big punch and that allowed Ware to outhustle him.

At his best, Ellis will work hard combinations behind the jab and exhibit thunderous power in both hands. But as that fight with Ware showed, he can be out-worked.

I think this is a good evenly matched fight. With both fighters preferring to be aggressive and both not defensive wizards, this has the potential to be a shootout. Aleem has been involved in his share of wars the past couple years and I think we could see another barnburner on Saturday.

A Gentle Reminder About the Upcoming Awards Season

Awards season is right around the corner. While I enjoy hearing the various opinions of those in the industry on the many award categories, I do have a pet peeve and that’s that fights that took place in the first part of the year often get overlooked. Let’s call it recency bias.

I think the one category especially vulnerable to recency bias is Upset of the Year. So, I just want to gently remind folks of some pretty significant upsets that took place in the first part of the year that should at least get some consideration.

Jorge Linares vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (Jan. 18)

Linares had lost to Vasiliy Lomachenko that previous May but dropped him in that fight and gave Lomachenko one of the toughest fights of his career. There was talk of a potential rematch in 2019.

In an effort to stay busy before a potential Lomachenko rematch or another big fight, Linares stepped in the ring with veteran Pablo Cesar Cano. A decided underdog, Cano had lost three of his previous five including getting stopped badly in two rounds by Marcelino Lopez in October of 2017. The general thought was Cano was showing signs of being shopworn and should be easy work for the much more gifted Linares.

However, just seconds into the fight, Cano dropped Linares who never fully recovered from that initial knockdown and was battered by Cano who dropped Linares two more times in the opening stanza before the fight was stopped.

Alberto Machado vs. Andrew Cancio I (Feb. 9)

I sense Cancio’s upset of Machado in February to capture a 130-pound title belt will be somewhat discredited when it comes to Upset of the Year consideration. First, there is the recency bias. And the fact that Cancio completely dominated Machado in the rematch four months later could cause some to forget just how big an underdog he was in the first fight.

Machado was listed somewhere around a -2000 favorite, meaning that a wager of $2,000 on Machado would net a $100 profit. That tells us that Cancio was given pretty much no shot of even being remotely competitive.

Cancio was not only competitive but rose from the canvas in the first round to score an improbable fourth round knockout of the previously undefeated Machado. This was a shocking upset that nobody in boxing saw coming and deserves serious consideration for Upset of the Year.

Paddy Barnes vs. Oscar Mojica (March 17)

Barnes had represented Ireland in the Olympics in 2008, 2012 and 2016, capturing two bronze medals in the process. As a decorated amateur, he had lofty expectations for his pro career. And in just his sixth pro fight, Barnes challenged Cristofer Rosales for Rosales’ flyweight title. While Barnes fell short, many thought he would still acquire a world title belt one day.

Barnes made his return on St. Patrick’s Day at the Theater of Madison Square Garden in a supposedly tune-up fight against journeyman Oscar Mojica who entered with a record of 11-5-1 having won just one of his previous five contests.

Mojica took the fight to Barnes from the opening bell and was more than willing to exchange with the Irishman. And Mojica often got the better of the exchanges. After six hard-fought rounds, Mojica won a well-deserved split decision.

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Matt Andrzejewski

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Undercard Results from the Canelo-Charlo Card in Las Vegas

Published

3 hours ago

September 30, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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In a heavyweight battle slated for 10, Frank Sanchez (23-0, 16 KOs) stopped LA trial horse Scott Alexander (17-6-2) after four frames. Alexander’s corner attempted to stop it in the waning seconds of the fourth, but the referee did not see it and the bell rang before the fight was waived off.

Alexander had one big moment. In the opening round, he rocked Sanchez with a short right hand. But from there, it was all Sanchez in a rather messy fight.

A Miami-based Cuban defector, Frank Sanchez came in ranked #3 by the WBO, #4 by the WBC, and #5 by the IBF. His best win came in this building, a comfortable decision over Efe Ajagba in October of 2021. Alexander also fought here. In his previous visit to the T-Mobile, he was knocked out in the opening round by Zhilei Zhang.

Former WBO light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, in his third fight back since ending his retirement, improved to 20-0 (16) with a second-round stoppage of 38-year-old Brazilian Isaac Rodrigues (28-5). Gvozdyk, 36, left the sport after getting beat up by Artur Beterbiev, but got the itch and is pursuing a fight with Dmitry Bivol.

In an 8-round middleweight fight, 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (24-3-1) won a majority decision over Keandre Leatherwood (23-9-1). The judges had it 76-76 and 78-74 twice. Once a highly regarded prospect, Gausha is spinning his wheels. Leatherwood, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had been stopped four times.

Guadalajara super lightweight Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela advanced to 28-3-1 (17 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of overmatched Colombia import Yves Gabriel Solano (15-3). This was redemption of sorts for Valenzuela who lost an unpopular 12-round decision to Montana Love in his last outing inside these walls.

Kazakh super middleweight Bek Nuramaganbat (11-0) continued his fast ascent of the 168-pound ladder with a third-round stoppage of Bola Osundairo. A 30-year-old Chicago-based Nigerian, Osundairo was a 2021 USA National Champion at 178 pounds.

A four-round middleweight contest between Abilikhan Amankul (4-0-1, 4 KOs) and Joeshon James (7-0-2, 4 KOs) ended in a draw. Although he didn’t win, Sacramento’s James continued to exceed expectations. In previous contests he KOed previously undefeated Richard Brewart and fought to a draw with Top Rank signee Javier Martinez. Amankul, a 26-year-old Kazakh, lost a split decision to eventual gold medal winner Hebert Conceicao in the Tokyo Olympics.

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—

David Avila is ringside. Check back later for his report of the Canelo-Charlo fight and the main supporting bouts.

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Opetaia Demolishes Thompson in London; Wallin Upsets Gassiev in Turkey

Published

5 hours ago

September 30, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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In his first defense of his IBF cruiserweight title, Australian southpaw Jai Opetaia demolished overmatched Jordan Thompson in the featured bout of a Matchroom card at London’s Wembley Arena. Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) overwhelmed Thompson (15-1) from the opening gun and had the six-foot-six Mancunian on the canvas twice before the match was waived off at the 20-second mark of round four.

An Olympian at the age of 16, Opetaia won the title 15 months ago with a unanimous decision over longtime title-holder Mairis Briedis. Noting that Opetaia broke his jaw in two places early in that contest, prominent Australian sporting journalist Simon Smale called it “one of the bravest, gutsiest, victories in Australian boxing history.”

Following that fight, Opetaia had to eat through a straw for several months. Hence, there were questions about whether his jaw would hold up and whether he would show ring rust in his first title defense. But the towering Thompson, whose nickname is Troublesome, although game, proved to be no trouble whatsoever for Opetaia who would be favored to beat any cruiserweight in the world, no matter the locale.

Opetaia may return to England for his next fight which would be a unification match with Bournemouth’s 18-1 Chris Billam-Smith who captured the WBO version of the 200-pound title in May with a surprisingly one-sided decision over favored Lawrence Okolie. The other cruiserweight title-holders are the well-traveled Badou Jack (WBC) and the French-Armenian boxer Arsen Goulamirian (WBA).

Four female fights were on the undercard including two 10-rounders, both of which were won by the “A side” Englishwomen.

In her first title defense, Ellie Scotney, a 25-year-old Londoner, retained her IBF world super bantamweight title and improved to 8-0 at the expense of 37-year-old Argentine veteran Laura Soledad Griffa (20-9). In a rather monotonous fight, Scotney won every round on two of the scorecards and nine rounds on the other.

Rhiannon Dixon, a 29-year-old southpaw, had a surprisingly easy time with Norwegian veteran Katharina Thanderz, a former world title challenger. Dixon (9-0) won every round on all three cards. Thanderz, who trains in Spain, declined to 16-2.

Wallin-Gassiev

In a 12-round heavyweight fight in Antalya, Turkey, Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs) won a split decision over Murat Gassiev (30-2). This was a dull fight. Owing to various issues, Gassiev had answered the bell for only eight rounds in the previous seven years and his vaunted power had deserted him. True, he landed the harder punches, but Wallin, who kept pecking away with his jab, was far busier and won the fight on volume alone. Two of the judges had it 115-113 for the Swede who is 6-0 since going 12 rounds with Tyson Fury. The other judge scored it for Gassiev by a bizarre 117-111.

Opetaia-Thompson photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 254: Canelo vs Jermell Charlo in a Battle of Undisputed Champions

Published

1 day ago

September 29, 2023

David A. Avila

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LAS VEGAS-Less than the usual massive crowd gathered for boxing kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Jermell Charlo in the desert heat outside of the T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon. Usually the weigh-ins are slightly bigger for Mexico’s idol.

Is the declining crowd an indicator of Alvarez fans ebbing belief in his abilities?

Still, on Saturday night, two undisputed world champions from differing divisions will collide as Guadalajara, Mexico’s Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) meets Houston’s Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena for the super middleweight world championship. PPV.Com will stream the clash of champions.

This year has seen a hyper-speed uptick in champions fighting other champions, perhaps the result of watching their female counterparts Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor produce the biggest fight of 2022. This year several marquee collisions were spawned from lightweights to heavyweights.

Or maybe the pandemic lull created a twitch panic among the elite.

Charlo was one of those who had been sidelined while others like Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Naoya “Monster” Inoue and Canelo Alvarez filled their pockets with cash. And others like Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez gained undisputed glory.

Instead of watching on the sidelines, Charlo decided to make his move for greater glory by attempting to dethrone one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, if not the kingpin of boxing when it comes to money.

“If I accomplish this massive goal, it will be hard to top,” Charlo said a few weeks ago during his media workout. “I’ll be in the record book with the greats of boxing for a long time.”

Risks brings rewards.

Canelo, long a member of the boxing elite, has held his position as the box office king for many years now by taking the daunting risks throughout his boxing life.

“Jermell is right, I have nothing to prove. But this time I have something to prove to him,” said Alvarez while in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “He never believed in my skills. He’s been calling me out. Now I have an opportunity to show him my skills.”

Undisputed super welterweight will challenge undisputed super middleweight in a two-division jump not often seen, except for Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran and Sugar Shane Mosley. It’s the road taken by those who seek to be great.

Both are 33 but the redhead Alvarez has been fighting professionally since he was 15. That’s a lot of bullets in the chamber he has already used. Charlo has height, speed and the ability to adapt to different styles. Stylistically, it’s a battle that makes even the skeptics take pause.

It all depends on Alvarez’s resiliency. Charlo has ring rust, while Alvarez seemingly has lost the hunger. Whose weakness will prove the greater?

“Now is the time for this fight. We’re in our primes and at our best,” said Charlo. “I wanna shake the doubters off and prove to the world why I”m in this position. There’s a reason I made it this far.”

Alvarez remembers being as hungry as Charlo.

“I never overlook any fighter,” Alvarez said. “I know what he’s going to bring and I’m ready.”

Undercard

Several other notable bouts are included on the pay-per-view card.

Former world titlists and current welterweight contenders Yordenis Ugas (27-5) and Mario Barrios (27-2) battle for an interim title set for 12 rounds.

Super welterweights Jesus Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs) and Erickson Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) match skills in a match that pits a southpaw veteran against an undefeated southpaw from Arizona. For the past three years Ramos has been moving up the ladder and was last seen pounding out highly-touted Joey Spencer. Can he survive Lubin who nearly toppled Sebastian Fundora?

Doors open at T-Mobile Arena at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.

Lampley is back

Legendary HBO announcer Jim Lampley was hired along with ace reporter Lance Pugmire who will co-host the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus Jermell Charlo showdown via viewer chat live on PPV.com.

It’s the same concept used by Monday Night Football that features former quarterback greats Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in alternative programming.

Lampley returns to boxing after a five-year absence following HBO’s yanking of the popular program that vaulted elite boxing to the top behind the likes of George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.

The veteran announcer will be live streaming all the action on media platforms before and during the fight action. He was sorely missed by all who follow the sweet science.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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