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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:
* “When I got to the pros, I was a little surprised by how much of a business it is. Everything is business.”
* “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.”
* “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 it’s 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, ‘Oh, that was a great fight.’ It was a great fight for you to watch, but you don’t think about the fighters that went through hell to entertain you.”
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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LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its money’s worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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