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The Hauser Report: Teofimo Lopez Shines at Madison Square Garden

The last boxing card of the year at Madison Square Garden had trouble gaining traction with ticket-buyers. Promoter Bob Arum conceded prior to the final pre-fight press conference that the main event between Terence Crawford and Egidijus Kavaliauskas was “a 10-to-1, 12-to-1 fight, so there’s not much interest in it.” But fans who made it to The Garden on December 14 (the announced attendance of 10,101 included some yeast) got their money’s worth. There was a competitive undercard (a pleasant change from the norm in boxing these days) coupled with several storylines of note. When the night was done, Teofimo Lopez had stolen the show.
First, some introductory notes.
Edgar Berlanga, a 22-year-old super-middleweight prospect, came into his fight against Cesar Nunez (16-1, 8 KOs, 1 KO by) with twelve first-round knockout victories in twelve bouts. On one level, that’s good. But Berlanga hasn’t experienced what it’s like to go back to his corner after the first round of a professional fight, have his trainer rinse out his mouthpiece, and get ready for more. He didn’t know what it was like to get off his stool and hear someone saying, “Round five . . . Round six . . . Round seven.”
Nunez had been knocked out in Germany four months ago by a gentleman named Vincent Feigenbutz. The assumption was that he would give Berlanga some rounds and then get knocked out. But Berlanga has heavy hands. He dropped Nunez early in round one, put a beating on him, dropped him again, and the fight was over . . . KO 1.
The first of three featured bouts of the evening matched 2016 Irish Olympian Michael Conlan (12-0, 7 KOs) against Vladimir Nikitin (3-0, 0 KOs), the man who defeated Conlon on a questionable decision in Rio de Janeiro.
Among the thoughts Conlan offered during fight week were:
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â “When I got to the pros, I was a little surprised by how much of a business it is. Everything is business.”
* Â Â Â Â Â Â Â “At first, when there were negative comments about me on social media, it bothered me. It gets to you a little. Then I realized there was no reason to give attention to it. I don’t even read it anymore.”
* Â Â Â Â Â Â Â “I’d love to be in a position someday where I can call the shots and demand longterm VADA testing for all of my fights.”
Insofar as the pro-ranks version of Conlan-Nikitin was concerned, Conlan maintained, “This is straight business for me. There’s no personal or emotional attachment to it. Vladimir, obviously he beat me in 2013 when I moved up to bantamweight. In 2016, he [just] got the decision. But he knows deep down he needs to prove something on Saturday night. I don’t believe he will.”
“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone,”Nikitin countered. “I won two bouts against him in the amateurs. This is just another big step in my professional career.”
When the moment of reckoning came, Nikitin was the more aggressive fighter. But it was ineffective aggression. Conlan outboxed him throughout the fight and went to the body often enough that it was a factor. On those occasions when Nikitin managed to work his way inside, Mick got off first or tied him up en route to a 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 triumph.
Conlan has flaws as a fighter, including a notable lack of power. But he’s a hard worker, articulate, and marketable with a solid Irish fan base. As long as he keeps doing what he’s doing, Top Rank will move him well.
The most intriguing fght of the night – and the one that fight fans most wanted to see – was Richard Commey (29-2, 26 KOs) vs. 22-year-old Teofimo Lopez (14-0, 11 KOs).
Commey, a 32-year-old Ghanaian now living in the Bronx, came up short against Robert Easter and Denis Shafikov in earlier outings but captured the vacant IBF 135-pound belt earlier this year with a victory over unheralded Isa Chaniev before defending it successfully against Raymundo Beltran.
Lopez (a 2-to-1 betting favorite) has been groomed by Top Rank and was being tested at a world-class level for the first time. The feeling going in was that, if he couldn’t hurt Commey early, things would get interesting. And if he did hurt Commey early – well, that would be interesting too.
Round one saw Commey throwing cautionary jabs. Lopez was the hunter. He wanted to make something happen. Forty seconds into the second stanza, he did. Both men threw right hands. Teofimo’s landed explosively. Commey plummeted to one knee, pitched forward, and rolled onto his back. He rose through an act of Herculean will and was being battered against the ropes when referee David Fields stopped the slaughter at the 1:13 mark. It was a statement win for Lopez.
Next came the main event.
WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs) unified the four major 140-pound belts in 2017 before moving north to claim the WBO welterweight title. For several years, he has been in the thick of boxing’s pound-for-pound conversation but says, “At the end of the day, it’s just opinion.”
Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17 KOs), a 31-year-old Lithuanian, was a typical mandatory challenger.
At a media sitdown just prior to the final pre-fight press conference, Crawford bridled when asked if he was frustrated by not getting fights against boxing’s other top welterweights because they’re signed with Premier Boxing Champions (which seems intent on freezing him out).
“I’m not frustrated by nothing,” Terence answered, “except I thought I’d get three fights this year and I only got two. I’m not focused on no other opponent besides the opponent that’s in front of me. My goal is to make sure I get the victory come this weekend, and that’s the only person I’m focused on now. Anyone else is talk. It goes in one ear and out the other.”
Crawford also had words for media and fans who disparage fighters who box rather than slug.
“All those people that criticize boxers for boxing never been in the ring before. They never had the pleasure of getting knocked upside the head for twelve rounds. It’s not fun. We do it because itâs our job. But boxers go in the ring as one person and leave a different person. You go home; you eat your popcorn; and you say, âOh, that was a great fight.â It was a great fight for you to watch, but you donât think about the fighters that went through hell to entertain you.â
Crawford-Kavaliauskas was an entertaining fight.
Crawford did what Crawford does best. He took his time, figured out what he needed to know, and broke Kavaliauskas down. But he was a bit sloppier and less surgical than usual.
Terence fights like he knows what he wants to do, while his opponents fight like, “Let me see if I can do something.”
Midway through round three, Kavaliauskas did something. He nailed Crawford with a sharp right hand that likely would have dropped him to the ring mat had Terence not held on. Egidijus then fired a hook to the body that deposited Terence on the canvas, but referee Ricky Gonzalez ruled it a slip (which looked like the wrong call).
More than most boxers, Crawford appears to take it personally when someone punches him in the face. Thereafter, he and Kavaliauskas fired back and forth. But Terence had the faster hands, sharper punches, and more effective body attack. Late in round seven, he put Kavaliauskas down with a right behind the ear. From that point on, it was a question of when the end would come rather than what the end would be.
Early in round nine, Kavaliauskas visited the canvas for the second time courtesy of right uppercut. He rose and, seconds later, was felled by a right hook. End of fight.
Crawford has an arguable claim to the #1 slot in boxing’s pound-for-pound rankings. But at age 32, he has yet to fight an elite fighter, and it’s unlikely that he will anytime soon. Meanwhile, it appears as though Teofimo Lopez, at age 22, will have the opportunity to make his mark in a signature fight against Vasyl Lomachenko in April.
Lomachenko-Lopez could be an interesting fight. Very.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams for Top Rank
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book — A Dangerous Journey: Another Year Inside Boxing — was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. On June 14, 2020, he will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Thomas Hauserâs Literary Notes: Johnny Greaves Tells a Sad Tale

Johnny Greaves was a professional loser. He had one hundred professional fights between 2007 and 2013, lost 96 of them, scored one knockout, and was stopped short of the distance twelve times. There was no subtlety in how his role was explained to him: âLook, Johnny; professional boxing works two ways. Youâre either a ticket-seller and make money for the promoter, in which case you get to win fights. If you donât sell tickets but can look after yourself a bit, you become an opponent and you fight to lose.â
By losing, he could make upwards of one thousand pounds for a nightâs work.
Greaves grew up with an alcoholic father who beat his children and wife. Johnny learned how to survive the beatings, which is what his career as a fighter would become. He was a scared, angry, often violent child who was expelled from school and found solace in alcohol and drugs.
The fighters Greaves lost to in the pros ran the gamut from inept local favorites to future champions Liam Walsh, Anthony Crolla, Lee Selby, Gavin Rees, and Jack Catterall. Alcohol and drugs remained constants in his life. He fought after drinking, smoking weed, and snorting cocaine on the night before – and sometimes on the day of – a fight. On multiple occasions, he came close to committing suicide. His goal in boxing ultimately became to have one hundred professional fights.
On rare occasions, two professional losers â âjourneymen,â theyâre called in The UK – are matched against each other. That was how Greaves got three of the four wins on his ledger. On September 29, 2013, he fought the one hundredth and final fight of his career against Dan Carr in Londonâs famed York Hall. Carr had a 2-42-2 ring record and would finish his career with three wins in ninety outings. Greaves-Carr was a fight that Johnny could win. He emerged triumphant on a four-round decision.
The Johnny Greaves Story, told by Greaves with the help of Adam Darke (Pitch Publishing) tells the whole sordid tale. Some of Greavesâs thoughts follow:
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âWe all knew why we were there, and it wasnât to win. The home fighters were the guys who had sold all the tickets and were deemed to have some talent. We were the scum. We knew our role. Give some young prospect a bit of a workout, keep out of the way of any big shots, lose on points but take home a wedge of cash, and fight again next week.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âIf you fought too hard and won, then you wouldnât get booked for any more shows. If you swung for the trees and got cut or knocked out, then you couldnât fight for another 28 days. So what were you supposed to do? The answer was to LOOK like you were trying to win but be clever in the process. Slip and move, feint, throw little shots that were rangefinders, hold on, waste time. There was an art to this game, and I was quickly learning what a cynical business it was.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âThe unknown for the journeyman was always how good your opponent might be. He could be a future world champion. Or he might be some hyped-up nightclub bouncer with a big following who was making lots of money for the promoter.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âNo matter how well I fought, I wasnât going to be getting any decisions. These fights werenât scored fairly. The referees and judges understood who the paymasters were and they played the game. What was the point of having a go and being the best version of you if nobody was going to recognize or reward it?â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âWhen I first stepped into the professional arena, I believed I was tough. believed that nobody could stop me. But fight by fight, those ideas were being challenged and broken down. Once you know that you can be hurt, dropped and knocked out, youâre never quite the same fighter.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âI had started off with a dream, an idea of what boxing was and what it would do for me. It was going to be a place where I could prove my toughness. A place that I could escape to and be someone else for a while. For a while, boxing was that place. But it wore me down to the point that I stopped caring. Iâd grown sick and tired of it all. I wished that I could feel pride at what Iâd achieved. But most of the time, I just felt like a loser.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âThe fights were getting much more difficult, the damage to my body and my psyche taking longer and longer to repair after each defeat. I was putting myself in more and more danger with each passing fight. I was getting hurt more often and stopped more regularly. Even with the 28-day [suspensions], I didnât have time to heal. I was staggering from one fight to the next and picking up more injuries along the way.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âI was losing my toughness and resilience. When thatâs all youâve ever had, itâs a hard thing to accept. Drink and drugs had always been present in my life. But now they became a regular part of my pre-fight preparation. It helped to shut out the fear and quieted the thoughts and worries that I shouldnât be doing this anymore.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âMy body was broken. My hands were constantly sore with blisters and cuts. I had early arthritis in my hip and my teeth were a mess. I looked an absolute state and inside I felt worse. But I couldnât stop fighting yet. Not before the 100.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âI had abused myself time after time and stood in front of better men, taking a beating when I could have been sensible and covered up. At the start, I was rarely dropped or stopped. Now it was becoming a regular part of the game. Most of the guys I was facing were a lot better than me. This was mainly about survival.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âWas my brain f***ed from taking too many punches? I knew it was, to be honest. I could feel my speech changing and memory going. I was mentally unwell and shouldnât have been fighting but the promoters didnât care. Johnny Greaves was still a good booking. Maybe an even better one now that he might get knocked out.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âNobody gave a f*** about me and whether I lived or died. I didnât care about that much either. But the thought of being humiliated, knocked out in front of all those people; that was worse than the thought of dying. The idea of being exposed for what I was â a nobody.â
*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â âI was a miserable bastard in real life. A depressive downbeat mouthy little f***er. Everything Iâve done has been to mask the feeling that Iâm worthless. That I have no value. The drinks and the drugs just helped me to forget that for a while. I still frighten myself a lot. My thoughts scare me. Do I really want to be here for the next thirty or forty years? I donât know. If suicide wasnât so impactful on people around you, I would have taken that leap. I donât enjoy life and never have.â
So . . . Any questions?
****
Steve Albert was Showtime’s blow-by-blow commentator for two decades. But his reach extended far beyond boxing.
Albert’s sojourn through professional sports began in high school when he was a ball boy for the New York Knicks. Over the years, he was behind the microphone for more than a dozen teams in eleven leagues including four NBA franchises.
Putting the length of that trajectory in perspective . . . As a ballboy, Steve handed bottles of water and towels to a Knicks back-up forward named Phil Jackson. Later, they worked together as commentators for the New Jersey Nets. Then Steve provided the soundtrack for some of Jackson’s triumphs when he won eleven NBA championships as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s also a matter of record that Steve’s oldest brother, Marv, was arguably the greatest play-by-play announcer in NBA history. And brother Al enjoyed a successful career behind the microphone after playing professional hockey.
Now Steve has written a memoir titled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth. Those who know him know that Steve doesn’t like to say bad things about people. And he doesn’t here. Nor does he delve into the inner workings of sports media or the sports dream machine. The book is largely a collection of lighthearted personal recollections, although there are times when the gravity of boxing forces reflection.
“Fighters were unlike any other professional athletes I had ever encountered,” Albert writes. “Many were products of incomprehensible backgrounds, fiercely tough neighborhoods, ghettos and, in some cases, jungles. Some got into the sport because they were bullied as children. For others, boxing was a means of survival. In many cases, it was an escape from a way of life that most people couldn’t even fathom.”
At one point, Steve recounts a ringside ritual that he followed when he was behind the microphone for Showtime Boxing: “I would precisely line up my trio of beverages – coffee, water, soda – on the far edge of the table closest to the ring apron. Perhaps the best advice I ever received from Ferdie [broadcast partner Ferdie Pacheco] was early on in my blow-by-blow career – ‘Always cover your coffee at ringside with an index card unless you like your coffee with cream, sugar, and blood.’â
Writing about the prelude to the infamous Holyfield-Tyson “bite fight,” Albert recalls, “I remember thinking that Tyson was going to do something unusual that night. I had this sinking feeling in my gut that he was going to pull something exceedingly out of the ordinary. His grousing about Holyfield’s head butts in the first fight added to my concern. [But] nobody could have foreseen what actually happened. Had I opened that broadcast with, ‘Folks, tonight I predict that Mike Tyson will bite off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear,’ some fellas in white coats might have approached me and said, ‘Uh, Steve, could you come with us.'”
And then there’s my favorite line in the book: “I once asked a fighter if he was happily married,â Albert recounts. âHe said, ‘Yes, but my wife’s not.'”
“All I ever wanted was to be a sportscaster,” Albert says in closing. “I didn’t always get it right, but I tried to do my job with honesty and integrity. For forty-five years, calling games was my life. I think it all worked out.”
 Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His next book â The Most Honest Sport: Two More Years Inside Boxing â will be published this month and is available for preorder at:
https://www.amazon.com/Most-Honest-Sport-Inside-Boxing/dp/1955836329
         In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Argentinaâs Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentinaâs Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Iokaâs familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasnât able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse âBamâ Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonioâs Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africaâs obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won todayâs rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexicoâs Emanuel âVaqueroâ Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippineâs Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarreteâs left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarreteâs face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the refereeâs call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond âDangerâ Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russiaâs Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaevâs guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratallaâs accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
âHe was a tough fighter,â said Muratalla. âMy defense is something I work on a lot.â
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Wardâs attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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