Featured Articles
Odds and Ends: Studio Fights, Mayweather Gym notes, Adrien Broner and More

Odds and Ends: Studio Fights, Mayweather Gym notes, Adrien Broner and More
Back in the day when folks watched boxing on little black-and-white TVs and boxing aired in primetime several nights a week, Nat Fleischer said he could envision the day when fights were held in a TV studio without a live audience. Small fight clubs were then falling by the wayside, attendance was plummeting at the larger arenas, and everyone blamed television for giving away the product for free.
Itâs turns out that Fleischer, who died in 1972, was prophetic. However, he certainly didnât foresee the circumstances that may rumple boxing into a studio sport during these trying times.
In a conversation with the hosts of a daily boxing show on SiriusXM radio, Bob Arum acknowledged that he has been talking to the Nevada Athletic Commission about staging fights in a studio. For this to happen, said Arum, everyone allowed on the premises â the fighters, cornermen, officials, TV production crew, etc. â would first have to be tested for the coronavirus.
ESPN, noted Arum, would be amenable because at the moment the network is in desperate need of content. And boxing, more than any other major sport (and we donât count snooker or darts, both popular in the UK) can be squeezed into a very small space such as a TV studio.
One fight that may be âstudio-izedâ is the match between IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and mandatory IBF challenger Fanlong Meng. Scheduled for March 28 on ESPN, the bout was headed to Quebec City, Canada, but orphaned when the provincial government instituted a temporary ban on gatherings of over 250 people. Meng is from China, but has been training in New Jersey and hasn’t been back to his homeland since the epidemic hit.
The April 25 fight between IBF/WBA bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and WBO title-holder Jphn Riel Casimero may also be studio-bound if things havenât loosened up by then. The Top Rank promotion was announced for Mandalay Bay, an MGM property on the Las Vegas Strip. (There is a TV studio in the new state-of-the-art UFC headquarters in Las Vegas. Whether the organization would rent it to Top Rank is another story; Arum and Dana White havenât been on the best of terms.)
—
The Mayweather Gym was unusually quiet when we peeked in on Friday afternoon. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are the days set aside for sparring and these are usually the busiest days of the week.
We also looked in on Thursday and when we were there Floyd Mayweather Sr. was working the pads with a cute little girl that I guessed to be about nine years old. She was delivering fast combinations and her punches had some mustard behind them.
Layla McCarter was also there working the speed bag. She had a date vs. TBA for promoter Steve Forbes at the Clackamas Armory outside Portland, Oregon, on April 5 but that event has been scrapped by gubernatorial decree. McCarter last fought in January of last year. Finding opponents has been tough. Despite her advancing age, none of the good boxers from 135 to 147 want to get in the ring with her.
—
While weâre on the subject of womenâs boxing, there was a big upset on Saturday at an Olympic qualifying tournament in London. Belgiumâs Delfine Persoon (44-2 as a pro) lost a close decision to Nikoleta Pita of Greece.
Persoon fought Katie Taylor last June at Madison Square Garden underneath Joshua-Ruiz I. All four meaningful belts in the lightweight division were at stake. Persoon out-landed Taylor in a humdinger of a fight but came out on the short end of a majority decision. In many quarters and especially in Belgium, the verdict was viewed as a heist.
Persoon started slowly against the unheralded, 22-year-old Pita and it cost her. Pita won the first two rounds on four of the five scorecards and won a 4-1 decision. Persoon will get another chance to secure a berth in Tokyo at the Last Chance tournament scheduled for May 13 in Paris.
By the way, the 35-year-old Persoon isnât the oldest woman in the tournament. That honor goes to Finlandâs Mira Potkonen, a 39-year-old mother of two who won bronze at the 2016 Games. Potkonen, a lightweight, will be in action Tuesday against Caroline Dubois, the 19-year-old sister of fast-rising heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois. Caroline has never lost, but this is her first tournament at the senior level.
The London qualifying tournament is an 11-day event, but what are the odds that it will be allowed to run its course? The Americas qualifying tournament, which would have included Team USA and the always formidable Cuban team, was called off. It was slated to begin in Buenos Aires on March 26.
—
Has any boxer ever had a more apt nickname than Adrien âThe Problemâ Broner?
More details have emerged regarding Bronerâs arrest this past Friday evening in Miami Beach. According to TMZ, which received a copy of the police report, Broner was found passed out behind the wheel of a Rolls Royce SUV which was stalled in a traffic lane with the engine running. The boxer failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for DUI.
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing ChannelÂ
To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Frank Warrenâs Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Irelandâs Anthony âApacheâ Cacace.
Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.
In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Woodâs trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.
Akin to Wood, Northern Irelandâs Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasnât at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.
Semi-Wind-Up
Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
This was Taylorâs first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.
Other Bouts of Note
In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Irelandâs previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.
In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The refereeâs scorecard read 96-94.
Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.
A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Avila Perspective, Chap. 326: Top Rank and San Diego Smoke

Avila Perspective, Chap. 326: Top Rank and San Diego Smoke
Years ago, I worked at a newsstand in the Beverly Hills area. It was a 24-hour a day version and the people that dropped by were very colorful and unique.
One elderly woman Eva, who bordered on homeless but pridefully wore lipstick, would stop by the newsstand weekly to purchase a pack of menthol cigarettes. On one occasion, she asked if I had ever been to San Diego?
I answered âyes, many times.â
She countered âyou need to watch out for San Diego Smoke.â
This Saturday, Top Rank brings its brand of prizefighting to San Diego or what could be called San Diego Smoke. Leading the fight card is Mexicoâs Emanuel Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) defending the WBO super feather title against undefeated Filipino Charly Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs) at Pechanga Arena. ESPN will televise.
This is Navarreteâs fourth defense of the super feather title.
The last time Navarrete stepped in the boxing ring he needed six rounds to dismantle the very capable Oscar Valdez in their rematch. One thing about Mexico Cityâs Navarrete is he always brings âthe smoke.â
Also, on the same card is Fontana, Californiaâs Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) vying for the interim IBF lightweight title against Russiaâs Zaur Abdullaev (20-1, 12 KOs) on the co-main event.
Abdullaev has only fought once before in the USA and was handily defeated by Devin Haney back in 2019. But that was six years ago and since then he has knocked off various contenders.
Muratalla is a slick fighting lightweight who trains at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy now in Moreno Valley, Calif. Itâs a virtual boot camp with many of the top fighters on the West Coast available to spar on a daily basis. If you need someone bigger or smaller, stronger or faster someone can match those needs.
When you have that kind of preparation available, itâs tough to beat. Still, you have to fight the fight. You never know what can happen inside the prize ring.
Another fighter to watch is Perla Bazaldua, 19, a young and very talented female fighter out of the Los Angeles area. She is trained by Manny Robles who is building a small army of top female fighters.
Bazaldua (1-0, 1 KO) meets Mona Ward (0-1) in a super flyweight match on the preliminary portion of the Top Rank card. Top Rank does not sign many female fighters so you know that they believe in her talent.
Others on the Top Rank card in San Diego include Giovani Santillan, Andres Cortes, Albert Gonzalez, Sebastian Gonzalez and others.
They all will bring a lot of smoke to San Diego.
Probox TV
A strong card led by Erickson âThe Hammerâ Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs) facing Ardreal Holmes Jr. (17-0, 6 KOs) in a super welterweight clash between southpaws takes place on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida. PROBOX TV will stream the fight card.
Ardreal has rocketed up the standings and now faces veteran Lubin whose only losses came against world titlists Sebastian Fundora and Jermell Charlo. Itâs a great match to decide who deserves a world title fight next.
Another juicy match pits Argentinaâs Nazarena Romero (14-0-2) against Mexicoâs Mayelli Flores (12-1-1) in a female super bantamweight contest.
Nottingham, England
Anthony Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs) defends the IBO super featherweight title against Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) in Woodâs hometown on Saturday at Nottingham Arena in Nottingham, England. DAZN will stream the Queensberry Promotions card.
Irelandâs Cacace seems to have the odds against him. But he is no stranger to dancing in the enemyâs lair or on foreign territory. He formerly defeated Josh Warrington in London and Joe Cordina in Riyadh in IBO title defenses.
Lampley at Wild Card
Boxing telecaster Jim Lampley will be signing his new book It Happened! at the Wild Card Boxing gym in Hollywood, Calif. on Saturday, May 10, beginning at 2 p.m. Lampley has been a large part of many of the greatest boxing events in the past 40 years. He and Freddie Roach will be at the signing.
Fights to Watch (All times Pacific Time)
Sat. DAZN 11 a.m. Anthony Cacace (23-1) vs Leigh Wood (28-3).
Sat. PROBOX.tv 3 p.m. Erickson Lubin (26-2) vs Ardreal Holmes Jr. (17-0).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Emanuel Navarrete (39-2-1) vs Charly Suarez (18-0); Raymond Muratalla (22-0) vs Zaur Abdullaev (20-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
âBreadmanâ Edwards: An Unlikely Boxing Coach with a Panoramic View of the Sport

Stephen âBreadmanâ Edwardsâ first fighter won a world title. That may be some sort of record.
Itâs true. Edwards had never trained a fighter, amateur or pro, before taking on professional novice Julian âJ Rockâ Williams. On May 11, 2019, Williams wrested the IBF 154-pound world title from Jarrett Hurd. The bout, a lusty skirmish, was in Fairfax, Virginia, near Hurdâs hometown in Maryland, and the previously undefeated Hurd had the crowd in his corner.
In boxing, Stephen Edwards wears two hats. He has a growing reputation as a boxing coach, a hat he will wear on Saturday, May 31, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas when the two fighters that he currently trains, super middleweight Caleb Plant and middleweight Kyrone Davis, display their wares on a show that will air on Amazon Prime Video. Plant, who needs no introduction, figures to have little trouble with his foe in a match conceived as an appetizer to a showdown with Jermall Charlo. Davis, coming off his career-best win, an upset of previously undefeated Elijah Garcia, is in tough against fast-rising Cuban prospect Yoenli Hernandez, a former world amateur champion.
Edwardsâ other hat is that of a journalist. His byline appears at âBoxing Sceneâ in a column where he answers questions from readers.
Itâs an eclectic bag of questions that Breadman addresses, ranging from his thoughts on an upcoming fight to his thoughts on one of the legendary prizefighters of olden days. Boxing fans, more so than fans of any other sport, enjoy hashing over fantasy fights between great fighters of different eras. Breadman is very good at this, which isnât to suggest that his opinions are gospel, merely that he always has something provocative to add to the discourse. Like all good historians, he recognizes that the best history is revisionist history.
âFighters are constantly mislabled,â he says. âEveryone talks about Joe Louisâs right hand. But if you study him you see that his left hook is every bit as good as his right hand and itâs more sneaky in terms of shock value when it lands.â
Stephen âBreadmanâ Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. His father died when he was three. His maternal grandfather, a Korean War veteran, filled the void. The man was a big boxing fan and the two would watch the fights together on the family television.
Edwardsâ nickname dates to his early teen years when he was one of the best basketball players in his neighborhood. The derivation is the 1975 movie âCornbread, Earl and Me,â starring Laurence Fishburne in his big screen debut. Future NBA All-Star Jamaal Wilkes, fresh out of UCLA, plays Cornbread, a standout high school basketball player who is mistakenly murdered by the police.
Coming out of high school, Breadman had to choose between an academic scholarship at Temple or an athletic scholarship at nearby Lincoln University. He chose the former, intending to major in criminal justice, but didnât stay in college long. What followed were a succession of jobs including a stint as a city bus driver. To stay fit, he took to working out at the James Shuler Memorial Gym where he sparred with some of the regulars, but he never boxed competitively.
Over the years, Philadelphia has harbored some great boxing coaches. Among those of recent vintage, the names George Benton, Bouie Fisher, Nazeem Richardson, and Bozy Ennis come quickly to mind. Breadman names Richardson and West Coast trainer Virgil Hunter as the men that have influenced him the most.
We are all a product of our times, so itâs no surprise that the best decade of boxing, in Breadmanâs estimation, was the 1980s. This was the era of the âFour Kingsâ with Sugar Ray Leonard arguably standing tallest.
Breadman was a big fan of Leonard and of Leonardâs three-time rival Roberto Duran. âI once purchased a DVD that had all of Roberto Duranâs title defenses on it,â says Edwards. âThis was a back before the days of YouTube.â
But Edwardsâ interest in the sport goes back much deeper than the 1980s. He recently weighed in on the âPittsburgh Windmillâ Harry Greb whose legend has grown in recent years to the point that some have come to place him above Sugar Ray Robinson on the list of the greatest of all time.
âGreb was a great fighter with a terrific resume, of that there is no doubt,â says Breadman, âbut there is no video of him and no one alive ever saw him fight, so where does this train of thought come from?â
Edwards notes that in Harry Grebâs heyday, he wasnât talked about in the papers as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The boxing writers were partial to Benny Leonard who drew comparisons to the venerated Joe Gans.
Among active fighters, Breadman reserves his highest praise for Terence Crawford. âBody punching is a lost art,â he once wrote. â[Crawford] is a great body puncher who starts his knockouts with body punches, but those punches are so subtle they are not fully appreciated.â
If the opening line holds up, Crawford will enter the ring as the underdog when he opposes Canelo Alvarez in September. Crawford, who will enter the ring a few weeks shy of his 38th birthday, is actually the older fighter, older than Canelo by almost three full years (it doesnât seem that way since the Mexican redhead has been in the public eye so much longer), and will theoretically be rusty as 13 months will have elapsed since his most recent fight.
Breadman discounts those variables. âTerence is older,â he says, âbut has less wear and tear and never looks rusty after a long layoff.â That Crawford will win he has no doubt, an opinion he tweaked after Caneloâs performance against William Scull: âCaneloâs legs are not the same. Bud may even stop him now.â
Edwards has been with Caleb Plant for Plantâs last three fights. Their first collaboration produced a Knockout of the Year candidate. With one ferocious left hook, Plant sent Anthony Dirrell to dreamland. What followed were a 12-round setback to David Benavidez and a ninth-round stoppage of Trevor McCumby.
Breadman keeps a hectic schedule. From Monday through Friday, heâs at the DLX Gym in Las Vegas coaching Caleb Plant and Kyrone Davis. On weekends, heâs back in Philadelphia, checking in on his investment properties and, of greater importance, watching his kids play sports. His 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son are standout all-around athletes.
On those long flights, he has plenty of time to turn on his laptop and stream old fights or perhaps work on his next article. Thatâs assuming he can stay awake.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Jaron âBootsâ Ennis Wins Welterweight Showdown in Atlantic City
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Boxing Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Avila Perspective Chap 320: Boots Ennis and Stanionis
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
âKrusherâ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his âFarewell Fightâ