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Boxing Notables Lay Bare the Top Storylines of 2019 in Our Newest TSS Survey

The first quarterly survey of 2020 is in the hopper. We asked our respondents this question: “If you were writing about the year 2019 in boxing, what would you title your article — and why?”
Almost 30 people weighed in with their thoughts. Here are their answers. The respondents are listed in alphabetical order.
MATT ANDRZEJEWSKI — TSS boxing writer: The Content Revolution. In 2019, there was more boxing available through various platforms than ever in the history of the sport. From small club shows in the US to fight cards all across the world, there was an unreal amount of live boxing for diehard fans to watch. And that is just the tip of iceberg as content is expected to grow in 2020. For those who love the sport, 2019 was as good as it gets.
DAVID AVILA — TSS West Coast Bureau Chief: The Year of the First Mexican World Heavyweight Champion as brief as it was.
BOB BENOIT– former boxer, now referee and judge: The Eleventh Round of a Ten-Round Fight. With the first ten rounds this year being very good ones
STEVE CANTON — President of the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame; author: 2019: The Year of the Unprofessional Professional. I would chronicle all those boxers who failed to make weight or never even tried to make weight, those who consistently made excuses to mask their laziness or lack of professionalism and those who talked a good game and didn’t produce. The boxers who only talk of how great they are but avoid all opponents who pose a risk and those who cheat (PED’s) to gain an unfair advantage would be detailed.
JILL DIAMOND — WBC International Secretary, WBC Cares Chair: Boxing Saves Lives and Also Costs Them. Boxing remains one of the most important tools we can give young people to help them live quality lives. This year, though, we’ve lost too many pros, and starting with the young, we must up the education on hydration and safety.
DAVID DIAMANTE — renowned ring announcer: Boxing Was Alive and Well in 2019. It’s undoubtedly expanding globally and getting stronger. However, the fans must continue to demand the super fights in 2020. The Fight Starts Now!
RICK FARRIS — former boxer, historian, and President and Founder of West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame: The Rise and Fall of the First Mexican Heavyweight Champ. That says it all for my memory of this past year.
BERNARD FERNANDEZ — TSS Mainstay and Lifetime Member of the BWAA; 2020 IBHOF Inductee: The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same. For several decades, the best possible matchups often did not get made because of Don King’s longstanding blood feud with Bob Arum, or because HBO and Showtime were constantly at cross-purposes. Now HBO is out of boxing, but with new broadcast and streaming entities providing more coverage of the sport than ever before, a lot of the familiar barriers are still in place, with different players wielding considerable influence. Arum and Top Rank remain a major presence, but His Hairness, King, has been replaced by Premier Boxing Champions and Al Haymon, as well as Matchroom Sport’s Eddie Hearn. DAZN doesn’t want to play in the same sandbox with ESPN, the revised equivalent of HBO vs. Showtime, which remains in the game but confronted by more and more powerful adversaries than in the past. And while there was a spate of good fights made in the year about to end, don’t hold your breath expecting a welterweight megafight between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. to happen anytime soon.
JEFFREY FREEMAN (aka KO DIGEST) TSS writer — Attack of the Killer Streaming Apps: How Boxing Went From the TV Screen to the Tiny Screen And How Nobody Can Actually See the Fights Anymore Without Glasses So They Don’t Watch Them At All Because Then They Can’t Be On Their Phones 24/7 Reading Articles With Super Long Headlines so They Just Put it Down and Fall Asleep Under a Landslide of Commercials They’re Being Billed For Monthly.
RANDY GORDON — radio host, writer, former head of the New York State Athletic Commission: 2019: The Year Streaming Took Over
LEE GROVES — writer, author, researcher and CompuBox punch counter: The Streaming Revolution Transforms Boxing Landscape. Every year in boxing is difficult to condense into just a few words because one in-ring scenario rarely dominates the sport in total (“The Year of the Knockout,” “The Year of the Upset,” etc.). Therefore, I went with an aspect that covers the entirety of boxing regardless of in-ring results, and, to me, the extraordinary depth and breadth of streaming platforms in boxing is the transformational story of 2019. Yes, ESPN +, DAZN and Facebook Live — among others — existed in 2018, and pay-per-view cards are still around, but, as a whole, fight cards around the globe have been made available on a wide variety of sites throughout the entire year, and it’s nearly impossible to keep up with all of them. A big plus is that every single fight on a show can be seen, which gives undercard fighters unprecedented exposure, and an even bigger plus is that these services can be had for a tremendously affordable price compared to the subscription rates of the past, either monthly or per-event. Best yet, the younger generation gets a vast amount of their entertainment from streaming services, and because boxing has been at the forefront of this transition, it should bode well for the sport’s future. For once, boxing fans are getting bang for the buck, and this positive momentum in terms of availability looks like it will continue for years to come.
CLARENCE GEORGE — writer and historian: Anthony Joshua Could Eat No Fat. His Opponent Could Eat No Lean. Alternately, Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Fat. Joshua-Ruiz I was more than the Upset of the Year; it was payback for all those overweight heavyweights who came up short against all those lean-mean-fighting-machine pretty boys. Take that, Charles Atlas!
HENRY HASCUP– historian; President of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame: The Ups and Downs of Andy Ruiz! Andy Ruiz shocked the boxing World twice in one year! First, when no one gave him a chance he came off the canvas to stop Anthony Joshua, who was being regarded as the next Great One, to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World! Then just 6 months later Andy shocked the boxing world again when he came into the ring 15 pounds heavier and in no condition to defend his title and now is regarded as an embarrassment.
CHUCK HASSON — writer, historian: Boxing Makes a Positive Comeback in 2019.
DANNY HOWARD — writer: 2019: The Year We (Almost) Got it Right. Our year in the ring featured shocking upsets, career defining moments and was packed to the brim with spectacular fights and fan engagement was the best it has been in the post- Mayweather era. Unfortunately, shades of the iron curtain have slowly fallen once again as the streaming networks begin to draw the battle lines, executives and media personalities once again aimed to steal the spotlight and the best possible fights that can be made face an insurmountable layer of red tape.
DR. STUART KIRSCHENBAUM — Boxing Commissioner Emeritus, State of Michigan: Raging Bulloney. 2019 marked the year in boxing when the bull hit the fan. We have slowly witnessed the demise of boxing as the king of sports. The one-time boxing fan can no longer name more champions than there are fingers on his hand. It is as impossible to have a conversation with another sports fan about boxing as it is to figure out the crimes Trump committed for impeachment. Most of your major news publications do not have a boxing writer…but just use the wire services. Reporters are so young that they don’t even recognize names that come across the news desk of deceased legendary champions or names of inductees into a hall of fame. Musical chairs of champions losing their title on their first defense is commonplace. Bling and entourage have replaced substance and loyalty. Is it so bad that no one has even noticed or yet cared what has happened? “Yeah….I’m talkin’ to you.”
JIM LAMPLEY — linchpin of the HBO Boxing announcing team, 2015 IBHOF inductee: My title is The Relentless Tide Of Globalism Strengthens.
ARNE LANG — TSS editor-in-chief, author, historian: I might title it with a metaphor such as The Levee Has Been Breached. In 2019, boxing was suddenly bursting out all over, resulting in many attractive shows going head-to-head with other attractive shows. This was the result of the sport’s new economic model with promoters contractually bound to provide a steady stream of fresh content to their live-streaming partners.
JIMMY LANGE — former boxer and promoter: It Ain’t the 80’s No More. This might sound negative but it’s not intended to be. Many complain that boxing has greatly diminished since the 50’s, but it’s still great with many outstanding fights in 2019.
RON LIPTON — A member of the New Jersey and New York Boxing Halls of Fame, former fighter, active pro referee and retired police officer: Holding the Big Fights at Madison Square Garden. Other wonderful venues in New York State such as Barclays Center, the renovated Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Resorts World, and Turning Stone keep big time professional boxing alive and well in the Empire State, yet the illuminating, electric and almost magical feeling that boxing fans visibly experience while attending a Madison Square Garden fight show takes on a life of its own as it certainly did in 2019. In refereeing several shows at MSG in 2019 the magic of it all never leaves me for a moment. Boxing at MSG remained as exciting to me as it did in the early 60’s when I attended every boxing show at the old Garden, never missing a prelim.
In mourning the loss of Patrick Day, it comforts me to know that his happiest career moment may have been winning the WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight belt at Barclays Center where it was my honor to referee him that night.
PAUL MAGNO — author and writer: Business vs. Boxing. 2019 was the year the sport had to battle the business to keep from having its life force snuffed out. With so much talk about the business of boxing and why the best fights couldn’t be made, fighters were still able to show why boxing is such a magical sport. Joshua-Ruiz I, Golovkin-Derevyanchenko, Pascal-Browne, Cano-Linares, etc. were fights born out of cynicism and negativity where the will and drive of an underdog– one man with two fists—flipped the script and made for memorable moments. The business of the sport may be preventing some of the biggest and most anticipated fights from happening, but it hasn’t taken the spirit from the fighters just yet.
ROBERT MLADINICH— former boxer, former NY Detective, writer, author, actor (see him in The Irishman): Fleeced. Because after the first Ruiz-Joshua fight I was excited about my love affair with boxing being rekindled. It was all taken away in the rematch. Both fights reminded me of all that I love and loathe about the Sweet Science.
RUSSELL PELTZ — venerable Philadelphia boxing promoter and 2004 IBHOF inductee: It was another year in which the promoters who control television did what was best for their own company but not what was best for the long-term health of the sport.
FRED ROMANO — researcher formerly associated with ESPN, historian, author: Here Come the Young Guns: In 2019 a group of exciting young fighters moved forward in their quest to become boxing stars. This cadre of boxers include T. Lopez, D. Haney, G. Davis, R. Garcia and V. Ortiz. 2019 was the set-up year and 2020 should tell us who is legit and who is a product of promotional and media hype.
DANA ROSENBLATT — former middleweight champion of the world, inspirational speaker and TV host: Canelo Alvarez. In 2019, in his defeats of another two fighters that had odds makers questioning the matchups, Alvarez exhibited his dominance of the sport of boxing.
TED SARES — TSS writer: Viva Mexico. There were/are seven world champions of Mexican heritage at one point during the year—Saul Álvarez, Miguel Berchelt, Leo Santa Cruz. Rey Vargas, Emanuel Navarrete. Juan Francisco Estrada, and Elwin Soto—and, of course, Andy Ruiz.
ALAN SWYER — filmmaker, writer, and producer of the acclaimed “El Boxeo”: Why Every Boxing Trainer in The World is Happy. Why? Because if Andy Ruiz had beaten Joshua again, it would have given license to every aspiring boxer to skip workouts and eat three more desserts.
Observations:
The answers reflected an overview in some cases or turned on a specific event in others.
Andy Ruiz took a piñata–like pounding and that was predictable, but there was surprisingly little mention of the ring deaths that occurred during the year.
A common thread had to do with boxing’s new business model with more fights brought to the masses via live-streaming.
While many (but far from all) acclaimed 2019 as an excellent year in boxing, the biggest surprise (to me at least) were the number of potential respondents who have lost interest in boxing. For the most part, these were students of boxing history who recalled the days when the best often fought the best.
Any discussion about the advent of new business models and how they differ from those of yore seemed to go by the wayside for them as modern boxing was simply bypassed. Then again, maybe it IS the advent of such new business models that have turned off so many historians.
In the meantime, what would be the title of your article covering 2019?
Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com
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Thomas Hauser’s 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: “Look, Johnny; professional boxing works two ways. You’re either a ticket-seller and make money for the promoter, in which case you get to win fights. If you don’t sell tickets but can look after yourself a bit, you become an opponent and you fight to lose.”
By losing, he could make upwards of one thousand pounds for a night‘s 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 – “journeymen,” they’re 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 London’s 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 Greaves’s thoughts follow:
* “We all knew why we were there, and it wasn’t 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.”
* “If you fought too hard and won, then you wouldn’t get booked for any more shows. If you swung for the trees and got cut or knocked out, then you couldn’t 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.”
* “The 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.”
* “No matter how well I fought, I wasn’t going to be getting any decisions. These fights weren’t 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?”
* “When 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, you’re never quite the same fighter.”
* “I 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. I’d grown sick and tired of it all. I wished that I could feel pride at what I’d achieved. But most of the time, I just felt like a loser.”
* “The 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 didn’t have time to heal. I was staggering from one fight to the next and picking up more injuries along the way.”
* “I was losing my toughness and resilience. When that’s all you’ve ever had, it’s 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 shouldn’t be doing this anymore.”
* “My 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 couldn’t stop fighting yet. Not before the 100.”
* “I 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.”
* “Was 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 shouldn’t have been fighting but the promoters didn’t care. Johnny Greaves was still a good booking. Maybe an even better one now that he might get knocked out.”
* “Nobody gave a f*** about me and whether I lived or died. I didn’t 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 – a nobody.”
* “I was a miserable bastard in real life. A depressive downbeat mouthy little f***er. Everything I’ve done has been to mask the feeling that I’m 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 don’t know. If suicide wasn’t so impactful on people around you, I would have taken that leap. I don’t enjoy life and never have.”
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.’”
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,” Albert recounts. “He 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 – The Most Honest Sport: Two More Years Inside Boxing – 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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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s 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 Ioka’s 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 wasn’t 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 “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s 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 Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s 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 Navarrete’s 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 Navarrete’s 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 referee’s 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 “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s 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 Abdullaev’s 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 Muratalla’s 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.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
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 Ward’s 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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