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Boxing As An Escape From Societal Madness

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Boxing As An Escape From Societal Madness

The year 2020 has been roiled by a potpourri of turmoil. Terribly damaging wildfires again rage on the West Coast; dual hurricanes hit the Gulf; trauma associated with police and other shootings lands hard as deadly protests, riots, lootings, and racial discord abound; police shootings, most recently in Kenosha, Wisconsin, trigger marches and (for the first time) pro sports boycotts; general divisiveness is fueled by politicians, the press and social media; upcoming presidential and House election campaigns portend more turmoil; politicians doing the “Perp Walk” blend in with lurid, high-profile sexual trysts; immigration issues fester; healthcare availability remains a major concern as does climate change — and all of these issues are umbrellaed by a pandemic that has claimed close to 185,000 American lives and decimated an economy as recession fears permeate, giving new meaning to the word “virtual.”

Masks, social distancing, sanitizers, vaccines and even plasma have their place as do Doctors Fauci and Birx but Dr. Stella Immanuel of “Demon Sperm” infamy does not– nor do disinfectants as a cure for the virus. Many from all sides seem to have lots of snake oil to sell. Reopening the economy is a difficult and risky consideration.

Meanwhile, politicians haggle as the unemployed await badly needed financial relief.

Additional factors have turbo-charged the anxiety index but the foregoing is more than enough to make the year 2020 infamous and dangerous and to incentivize one to look for an escape hatch other than online movie channels.

March 2020

Covid 19 seemed to rear its ugly head in the US around the time Robert Helenius scored a stunning upset victory over previously unbeaten Adam Kownacki by stopping him in the fourth round of a WBA Heavyweight Title Eliminator on March 7 at the Barclays Center.

“… It is what it is.” Adam Kownacki

On March 6, twenty-one passengers on a California cruise ship tested positive for the virus.

It starts.

BOXING

During past periods of turmoil, boxing was a sanctuary. This time around is no exception; it provides a cathartic and exciting safe place — bubble and all.

While the crowd reactions and cheers are missed, the shot that Alexander “Sasha” Povetkin (pictured) landed on Dillian Whyte at the Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex, England, made every boxing fan watching from home yell, “Oh my God, he knocked him cold.” As predicted, it was a battle of left hooks (mostly from Whyte who was ready to end matters) when the likable Russian landed a short left uppercut from Hell in round five that made one forget all about hydroxychloroquine.

I can’t quite believe it. When the punch landed, I felt like I was in some dream.” – Eddie Hearn.

A stalking Delfine Persoon and slick Katie Taylor put on another 10 rounds of non-stop, fan-friendly action with the Irish Lass winning a close but clear UD.

While this was going on, Joe Smith Jr, knocked Eleider Alvarez almost through the ropes and out in the ninth round in Las Vegas to improve his stock as an exciting power hitter. Smith will now face the winner of the Maxim Vlasov-Umar Salamov fight for the vacant WBO 175-pound title.

Going Forward

There are plenty of prospective fights that will help boxing fans get through the next several months, and unlike many team sports, boxing can more readily thrive in a controlled environment as there are fewer people involved.

“We have a date of early December for Anthony Joshua, where we hope live crowds will return” — Eddie Hearn

But the prospect of live crowds doesn’t seem to be in the cards for Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez Jr. when they meet in October. Gervonta Davis vs anyone (probably Leo Santa Cruz) would be a welcome tonic from the boredom of staying inside. Same with Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin — and, of course, Errol Spence and Terence Crawford remain the ingredients for a great cure from self-imposed quarantine, but Spence must first get by tough and talented Danny Garcia. Jermall Charlo vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Daniel Dubois vs. Joe Joyce are the kind of “debates” that boxing fans want to see.

Still to come is more from streaking Tim Tszyu and a “rejuvenated” Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. Heavyweights Fury, Wilder and Joshua need to sort things out as Pulev, Parker, and Ruiz Jr loom. The brutish Artur Beterbiev is on a roll and will fight Germany’s Adam Deines in Moscow in October, but whether Manny Pacquiao has another big one remains to be seen.

Oleksandr Usyk vs Dereck Chisora is guaranteed to take some edge off externally-induced tension.

The point is, boxing is resilient, alive, and well, and given the external circumstances, perhaps more so than ever.

Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com or on Facebook and welcomes responses and/or questions.

Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel 

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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

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LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.

Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.

Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.

The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.

In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.

Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.

Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.

From the seventh until the 10th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.

“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”

Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.

Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”

Other Bouts

Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.

A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.

The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.

San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

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At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.

Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.

Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.

With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.

Co-Feature

Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.

Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.

Other Bouts of Note

New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.

In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.

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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

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Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.

It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.

Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.

In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.

The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.

As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) —  has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.

Other Bouts of Note

In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.

Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.

A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.

It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.

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