Featured Articles
Errol Spence Jr is the TSS 2020 Comeback Fighter of the Year
Errol Spence Jr is the TSS 2020 Comeback Fighter of the Year
It is not unusual for boxers – accomplished individuals in any field, actually – to return to what they know and do best after some time away and stress that they are not technically making a “comeback.”
“I’ve never really been gone,” the prodigal usually points out in such instances.
Given the fact that he never announced, or even hinted at a retirement from the ring, WBC/IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.’s impressive 12-round unanimous decision over two-division former titlist Danny Garcia on Dec. 5 might not qualify as a comeback per se. True, he had not been in a bout that counted on his record for a career-long 14½ months, the result of a potentially fatal automobile accident, but up until the night he stepped inside the ropes at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to answer the sort of questions that had been posed by any number of skeptics, including, at times, himself, there was no way of knowing if it would be as the same evolving superstar he had been or as a clearly diminished version.
The verdict is now in, and the truth about a man whose nickname is “The Truth” is that he has gotten the nod as The Sweet Science’s Comeback Fighter of the Year for 2020.
Figuratively betting on himself rather than take a tune-up fight against someone far less dangerous than Garcia, Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) loudly announced his continuing presence atop the 147-pound weight division with wide point margins of 117-111 and 116-112 (twice) from the judges. Not that he said it in so many words, but what Spence had acclaimed with his performance was that, despite any suggestions to the contrary, he never really had been gone as a prime attraction and fixture on most boxing experts’ pound-for-pound lists.
“It was a long, long road to come back,” Spence said post-fight of a rehabilitation process that was far more grueling than he cared to admit. “It was a lot of sacrifice and buckling down and staying focused and trials and tribulations to get to this point tonight. I got to that point, and it paid off.”
Perhaps by its very nature boxing is rife with tales of fighters who shocked the world by refusing to give up on themselves when giving up was an option less-determined individuals might have readily chosen. Consider George Foreman, who ended a 10-year retirement from the fight game in 1987 and went on to win the heavyweight championship a second time, at age 45, seven years later. Or cruiserweight Craig Bodzianowski, who had his left leg amputated below the knee after a motorcycle accident yet, fighting with a prosthesis, went on to challenge for the WBA title. Or Vinny Pazienza, then the WBA super welterweight champ, who was told by doctors he would never fight again when he was diagnosed with two broken vertebrae in his spine and a third dislocated following a car crash. Fitted with a contraption known as a “halo,” attached to his skull with four screws, Pazienza’s dogged persistence (he legally changed his name to Vinny Paz in 2001) paid off and he was able to successfully resume his career.
Spence has had a lot of time to reflect on what was, what is, and what will be after his $117,000 Ferrari flipped over multiple times and crashed in the early morning hours of Oct. 10, 2019, just 12 days following his hard-fought split decision over Shawn Porter, which earned him Porter’s WBC belt in addition to the IBF one he already possessed. Zipping along at a high speed, Spence – who was charged with driving while intoxicated, a class B misdemeanor –- was ejected through the windshield (he was not wearing a seat belt) and landed on the pavement about 40 feet away from his demolished car. Rushed to a hospital by ambulance, his injuries, although listed as “non-life-threatening,” were serious enough for him to be wind up in the intensive care unit with a bruised knee, twisted ankle, some deep facial lacerations and several broken teeth.
In retrospect, Spence now admits that he had begun to buy into his own sense of invulnerability, a fairly common misconception among fighters accustomed to dominating their opponents. “I’m just blessed,” Spence, who has no recollections of the crash, said of the realization of just how fortunate he had been to have survived relatively intact. “What else can I say? I’m definitely going to heed the warning. You go through what I did, you definitely don’t take things for granted as you once did. When you’re young and an athlete at the top of what you do you think you’re invincible and nothing bad can happen to you. I definitely appreciate things now more than I used to. As far as boxing goes, maybe I was getting a little too comfortable. I’m more serious now about my life, my career.”
Two months after the crash, Spence returned to the gym, the first baby steps back toward reclaiming what had been his. There were days when, he said, the simplest exertions made “everything just hurt.” But progress was made day by day, and he had already made up his mind that he would put himself to the test against Garcia (now 36-3, 21 KOs), so that he either would or wouldn’t rise to the occasion.
The fact is, some undefeated fighters are never the same if they lose for the first time, especially by knockout. How much harder must it be for someone to be ejected through the windshield of a speeding sports car and jump back into a blood sport against someone with the credentials of a Danny Garcia? Even Spence wasn’t totally sure that he could live up to his usual high expectations.
“I had a lot of self-doubt that I didn’t let anybody else know about,” he said. “I didn’t tell anybody about it. But it was in my head.”
His head is now clear. He is 30 years old, the father of three children, two daughters and a son, and he is determined to provide for his family in a manner befitting a champion in life, not just in the ring. Not that anyone would wish such a thing for themselves, but he now considers the accident as “almost a blessing in disguise,” and maybe it will turn out to be just that.
A New Orleans native, Bernard Fernandez retired in 2012 after a 43-year career as a newspapers sports writer, the last 28 years with the Philadelphia Daily News. A former five-term president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, Fernandez won the BWAA’s Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism in 1998 and the Barney Nagler Award for Long and Meritorious Service in 2015. Last year, Fernandez was accorded the highest honor for a boxing writer when he was named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the Class of 2020. This past April 30, Fernandez’s anthology, “Championship Rounds,” was released by RKMA Publishing.
Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino
Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.
In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.
All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.
Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.
Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.
Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.
In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.
Other Bouts
Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.
Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.
Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.
A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Avila Perspective, Chap. 310: Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue and More
Many proclaim super bantamweight world champ Naoya Inoue to be the best fighter in the world today. It’s a serious debate among boxing pundits.
Is he Japan’s best fighter ever?
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) takes another step toward immortality when he meets Korea’s Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) on Friday Jan. 24, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank and Ohashi Promotions card.
Inoue defends the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO world titles.
This is Inoue’s third defense of the undisputed super bantamweight division that he won when he defeated Philippines’ Marlon Tapales in December 2023.
Japan has always been a fighting nation, a country derived from a warrior culture like Mexico, England, Russia, Germany and a few others. Professional boxing has always thrived in Japan.
My first encounter with Japanese fighters took place in March 1968 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. It was my first visit to the famous boxing venue, though my father had performed there during the 1950s. I was too young to attend any of his fights and then he retired.
The main event featured featherweights Jose Pimentel of Mexico against Sho Saijo of Japan. Both had fought a month earlier with the Mexican from Jalisco winning by split decision.
Pimentel was a friend of my female cousin and gave my father tickets to the fight. My family loved boxing as most Latino families worldwide do, including those in the USA. It’s a fact that most sports editors for newspapers and magazines fail to realize. Latinos love boxing.
We arrived late at the boxing venue located on Grand Avenue and 18th street. My father was in construction and needed to pick me up in East L.A. near Garfield High School. Fights were already underway when we arrived at the Olympic Auditorium.
It was a packed arena and our seats were fairly close to the boxing ring. As the fighters were introduced and descended to the ring, respectful applause greeted Saijo. He had nearly defeated Pimentel in their first clash a month earlier in this same venue. Los Angeles fans respect warriors. Saijo was a warrior.
Both fighters fought aggressively with skill. Every round it seemed Saijo got stronger and Pimentel got weaker. After 10 strong rounds of back-and-forth action, Saijo was declared the winner this time. Some fans booed but most agreed that the Japanese fighter was stronger on this day. And he was stronger still when they met a third time in 1969 when Saijo knocked out Pimentel in the second round for the featherweight world title.
That was my first time witnessing Japan versus Mexico. Over the decades, I’ve seen many clashes between these same two countries and always expect riveting battles from Japanese fighters.
I was in the audience in Cancun, Mexico when then WBC super featherweight titlist Takashi Miura clashed with Sergio Thompson for 12 rounds in intense heat in a covered bull ring. After that fight that saw three knockdowns between them, the champion, though victorious, was taken out on a stretcher due to dehydration.
There are so many others going back to Fighting Harada in the 1960s that won championships. And what about all the other Japanese fighters who never got the opportunity to fight for a world title due to the distance from America and Europe?
Its impossible to determine if Inoue is the greatest Japanese fighter ever. But without a doubt, he is the most famous. Publications worldwide include him on lists of the top three fighters Pound for Pound.
Few experts are familiar with Korea’s Kim, but expect a battle nonetheless. These two countries are rivals in Asian boxing.
Golden Boy at Commerce Casino
Middleweights Eric Priest and Tyler Howard lead a Golden Boy Promotions fight card on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA. DAZN will stream the boxing card.
All ticket money will go to the Los Angele Fire Department Foundation.
Kansas-based Priest (14-0, 8 KOs) meets Tennessee’s Tyler Howard (20-2, 11 KOs) in the main event in a match set for 10 rounds.
Others on the card are super welterweights Jordan Panthen (10-0) and Grant Flores (7-0) in separate bouts and super lightweight Cayden Griffith seeking a third consecutive win. Doors open at 5 p.m.
Diego Pacheco at Las Vegas
Super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) defends his regional titles against Steve Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) at the Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 25. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.
It’s not an easy fight for Pacheco.
“I’ve been fighting for six years as a professional and I’m 22-0 and I’m 23 years old. I feel I’m stepping into my prime now,” said Pacheco, who trains with Jose Benavidez.
Also on the card is Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz and Southern California’s dangerous super lightweight contender Ernesto Mercado in separate fights.
Fights to Watch (All times Pacific Time)
Thurs. DAZN 6 p.m. Eric Priest (14-0) vs Tyler Howard (20-2).
Fri. ESPN+ 1:15 a.m. Naoya Inoue (28-0) vs Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2).
Sat. DAZN 9:15 a.m. Dalton Smith (16-0) vs Walid Ouizza (19-2); Ellie Scotney (9-0) vs Mea Motu (20-0).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Diego Pacheco (22-0) vs Steve Nelson (20-0).
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing
Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.
As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.
This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.
A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”
Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.
Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.
Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)
Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.
When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.
Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.
Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).
For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.
“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.
As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.
As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”
Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
The Ortiz-Bohachuk Thriller has been named the TSS 2024 Fight of The Year
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
R.I.P. Paul Bamba (1989-2024): The Story Behind the Story
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
For Whom the Bell Tolled: 2024 Boxing Obituaries PART ONE (Jan.-June)
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
For Whom the Bell Tolled: 2024 Boxing Obituaries PART TWO: (July-Dec.)
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Oleksandr Usyk is the TSS 2024 Fighter of the Year
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Jai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
A No-Brainer: Turki Alalshikh is the TSS 2024 Promoter of the Year
-
Featured Articles5 days ago
Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing