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The Other Four Kings
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“During the1980s,” wrote TSS editor Arne Lang in a recent article, “Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Duran enlivened the sport, fighting each other in what amounted to a round-robin, nine fights in all fought across four weight divisions. Looking back 20-odd years later, the late Boston Herald (and TSS) columnist George Kimball dubbed them the Four Kings, a name that would stick.”
Arne went on to state: “It seems inevitable that [Devin] Haney, [Teofimo] Lopez, [Ryan] Garcia, and [Gervonta] Davis will cross paths with each other before their careers are finished. More than one writer has dubbed the quartet the new Four Kings.”
Maybe so, but let’s slow this down a bit before the memory of four other kings fades away. These particular four traveled on the U.K. Expressway, a uniquely fast, ferocious, and furious pathway. They were Chris Eubank, Carl Thompson, Nigel Benn, and Michael Watson and they, too, had lots in common.
This writer has always had a special affinity for fighters from the United Kingdom. Maybe it has to do with their grit or maybe the drama that seems to unfold in many of the top fights. It might have started when Alan Minter dismantled Sugar Ray Seales in 1976. However, watching the likes of Carl Thompson, Chris Eubank, Michael Watson and Nigel Benn has provided special thrills.
First and foremost, these four were warriors in the true sense of the word. They would risk their own well-being to render havoc on an opponent, and in too many instances, the price paid was terribly high.
Like their U.S. counterparts, they often fought each other. Watson lost to Eubank twice, but beat Benn by shocking TKO in 1989. Benn went 0-1-1 with Eubank with their second fight before 42,000 rabid fans in 1993 called Britain’s version of Hagler-Leonard. Thompson beat Eubank twice during his exciting chill-or-be-chilled career. But it wasn’t so much that they compiled great records or were world champions at one time or another as it was the way in which they fought.
Benn
Nigel “The Dark Destroyer” Benn was and is a complex, emotional and extremely soulful man who fought the best of UK competition at a time when that competition was as keen as any in the world. A middleweight and super middleweight boxing champion with a 42-5-1 record (three of his defeats came at the end of his career), Benn’s life in and out of the ring is the grist for a movie or Netflix series
When you think of Benn, words like fury, rage, and ferocity come to mind. These were his trademarks in the ring and they provided uncommon excitement and entertainment for fight fans, but sadly his career-defining fight with the great bomber Gerald McClellan ended with tragic results for McClellan and detracts from his entire body of work.
As Boxing Monthly contributor Ian McNeilly poignantly said, “One man’s finest hour was the end of another man’s life as he knew it…the fight with Gerald was one of the best and worst to ever take place. A triumphant and tragic microcosm of boxing.” It would change Nigel’s life forever, and according to his trainer, the tragic results of that fight took away his fighting spirit. “
Quoting McNeilly again, “The story of Gerald McClellan is a painful one, one that fighters, boxing writers and fans seem to find it easy not to discuss……This is because he is a living embodiment of the risks fighters take every time they step through the ropes, a reminder of the dangers that are ignored at peril. To dwell on cases like Gerald McClellan would destroy the sport. To ignore him is to debase ourselves.”
While Nigel Benn was a one of a kind and will not soon be forgotten, no boxing fan will ever forget Gerald MeClellan.
Eubank
A match with a James Toney or Michael Nunn would be a game of chess. A fight with Benn is another matter, because he punches like no other man. It took me 10 months to recover from that fight, (and) 10 months to recover from the Watson II fight, too. – Chris Eubank
No one was more eccentric than Chris “Simply the Best” Eubank, but this is not about his cane, bowler hat, jodhpurs, monocles, lisp, etc, etc. The cocky and flamboyant Eubank, who went undefeated in his first 43 bouts, was the antithesis of Benn and a great rivalry developed between the two culminating in two historic fights. Few can forget the manner in which Eubank seemed to get under Benn’s skin and drive him to distraction. It was high camp and it was hilarious.
The first fight between Eubank and Benn was termed “Grand Prix stuff” by BBC commentator Dave Brenner as both men went at each other with malice aforethought and evil intent. The fight was a classic with Eubank finally stopping Benn with 5 seconds to go in the 9th round, but not before being decked twice himself. Their second bout was a grueling and fierce affair after which each warrior paid the other their due respect.
Chris participated in two more such fights against Michael Watson and they are discussed below. Eubank finished his great career with two losses to Carl “The Cat” Thompson and one to Joe Calzaghe, but his 45-5-2 record came against the very best opposition possible and if a tally were made of his won-loss record, the finding would be astounding.
Michael “The Force” Watson
September 21st, 1991, was the night that Michael Watson should have died. –Chris Baldwin
Getting angry won’t correct the past.— Watson
If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain’t that significant. —Vernon Forrest
Watson and Eubank fought one of the most savage fights in British boxing history. Indeed, it was Britain’s Hagler-Hearns.
Both Watson and Eubank had agility, skill, and power. They were classy and smart fighters who could adapt well for differing opponents and circumstances. After a grueling 10 rounds of action when they finally met in the ring, things came to a boil in round 11. It was an incredible three minutes with Eubank tiring badly, but then suddenly rallying and taking it to Watson, hurting him with several hard shots. But the rally almost gassed Chris, allowing Watson to return the punishment and finally knocking Eubank down with a crunching right to the head. Then, with Watson ahead on points and seemingly on the verge of a stoppage victory, Eubank — who had struggled to his feet– immediately connected with a devastating uppercut which caused Watson to crash backward and strike the back of his head against the ropes. His eyes glazed over as the bell rang and he staggered back to his corner. Soon after Round 12 began, a helpless Watson was trapped in a corner and Referee Roy Francis wisely stopped the fight. Watson then collapsed in the ring.
Michael’s life was at great risk. A total of 28 minutes elapsed before he received treatment in a hospital. He spent over a month in a coma, had six brain operations to remove a blood clot, and then languished over a year in intensive care and rehabilitation before facing six more grueling years in a wheelchair while he ever so gradually recovered some movements as well as the ability to speak and write.
No one really expected Watson to live, much less talk or write. Yet, against all odds, he finished the London Marathon in 2003, capturing the hearts and minds of an entire nation. As people wept in joy and urged him on, Watson walked for six days. He reached his goal after 12 long years, way too many operations and hospitals, and far too many years in a wheelchair. But he trained for months and walked the entire 26 miles and 385 yards, finishing with Eubank and his neurosurgeon Peter Hamlyn at his side.
I was completely inspired. I felt tears falling from my eyes. It has lived with me forever. How do you expect that to make a man feel when you are called ‘The People’s Champion?’ That’s the one label they will never take away from me. — Watson
On 4 February 2004, Michael was awarded the MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II.
Carl Thompson
Manchester-born Carl Thompson won the IBO cruiserweight title by beating Sebastian Rothmann in a closet classic and then turned right around and stopped contender and future champion David Haye in still another great fight in which Haye was winning but gassed out, allowing the cunning “Cat” to catch and claw him out. In 2001, The Cat lost his title to American Ezra Sellers in a fantastic slugfest in which both warriors were down multiple times. Thompson finished his career with six straight wins and will forever be adored by his fans as a humble but fierce warrior who participated in a number of true classics.
Reminiscent of the Norkus-Nardico classic, the Cat’s all-out Pier 6 with Sellers in 2001 produced six knockdowns (Thompson was knocked down four times, Sellers twice)! Sellers finally halted “The Cat” in the fourth round and ended a winning streak that had started after Thompson lost to Johnny Nelson in 1999. Thompson had been decked many times before, but he had always gotten up. Against Ezra, he was separated from his senses and sent to Feline Dreamland. This fight reliably demonstrated what can happen when two chill-or-be-chilled types face off.
It was truly a shame that Carl flew under the radar of American boxing writers and fans. In many ways, his exploits were just as noteworthy as those of Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank (whom he beat twice in 1998), or Michael Watson. Maybe it was because he fought as a cruiserweight (a lower profile weight division) but more likely it’s because he never fought outside of Europe.
Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com
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Cain Sandoval KOs Mark Bernaldez in the Featured Bout at Santa Ynez
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Northern California’s Cain Sandoval remained undefeated with a knockout win over Mark Bernaldez in a super lightweight battle on Friday on a 360 Promotions card.
Sandoval (15-0, 13 KOs) of Sacramento needed four rounds to figure out tough Filipino fighter Bernaldez (25-7, 14 KOs) in front of a packed crowd at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez.
Bernaldez had gone eight rounds against Mexico’s very tough Oscar Duarte. He showed no fear for Sandoval’s reputed power and both fired bombs at each other from the second round on.
Things turned in favor of Sandoval when he targeted the body and soon had Bernaldez in retreat. It was apparent Sandoval had discovered a weakness.
In the beginning of the fourth Sandoval fired a stiff jab to the body that buckled Bernaldez but he did not go down. And when both resumed in firing position Sandoval connected with an overhand right and down went the Filipino fighter. He was counted out by referee Rudy Barragan at 34 seconds of the round.
“I’m surprised he took my jab to the body. I respect that. I have a knockout and I’m happy about that,” Sandoval said.
Other Bouts
Popular female fighter Lupe Medina (9-0) remained undefeated with a solid victory over the determined Agustina Vazquez (4-3-2) by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a minimumweight fight between Southern Californians.
Early on Vazquez gave Medina trouble disrupting her patter with solid jabs. And when Medina overloaded with combination punches, she was laced with counters from Vazquez during the first four rounds.
Things turned around in the fifth round as Medina used a jab to keep Vazquez at a preferred distance. And when she attacked it was no more than two-punch combination and maintaining a distance.
Vazquez proved determined but discovered clinching was not a good idea as Medina took advantage and overran her with blows. Still, Vazquez looked solid. All three judges saw it 79-73 for Medina.
A battle between Southern Californian’s saw Compton’s Christopher Rios (11-2) put on the pressure all eight rounds against Eastvale’s Daniel Barrera (8-1-1) and emerged the winner by majority decision in a flyweight battle.
It was Barrera’s first loss as a pro. He never could discover how to stay off the ropes and that proved his downfall. Neither fighter was knocked down but one judge saw it 76-76, and two others 79-73 for Rios.
In a welterweight fight Gor Yeritsyan (20-1,16 KOs) scorched Luis Ramos (23-7) with a 12-punch combination the sent him to the mat in the second round. After Ramos beat the count he was met with an eight punch volley and the fight was stopped at 2:11 of the second round by knockout.
Super feather prospect Abel Mejia (7-0, 5 KOs) floored Alfredo Diaz (9-12) in the fifth round but found the Mexican fighter to be very durable in their six-round fight. Mejia caught Diaz with a left hook in the fifth round for a knockdown. But the fight resumed with all three judges scoring it 60-53 for Mejia who fights out of El Modena, Calif.
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The Return of David Alaverdian
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By TSS Special Correspondent David Harazduk — After David Alaverdian (8-0-1, 6 KOs) scored a gritty victory against a tough Nicaraguan journeyman named Enrique Irias, his plans suddenly changed. The flashy flyweight from Nahariya, Israel hoped to face even tougher opposition and then challenge for a world title within a year or so. But a prolonged illness forced David to rip up the script.
The Irias fight was over 22 months ago. On Saturday, Feb. 22, Alaverdian will be making his first appearance in the ring since that win when he faces veteran road warrior Josue “Zurdo” Morales (31-16-4, 13 KOs) at the Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It’s the fifth promotion by Las Vegas attorney Stephen Reid whose inaugural card was at this venue on Feb. 13, 2020.
“I’m excited to come back,” Alaverdian declared.
During his preparation for Irias two years ago, Alaverdian felt fatigue after a routine six-round sparring session. “It was on April 1, 2023, about ten days before my fight. It felt like an April Fool’s joke,” he said. He came down with a sore throat, a headache, and congestion. He soon developed trouble breathing. At first, he thought his seasonal asthma had flared up, but his condition soon worsened. No matter what he did, Alaverdian could no longer take deep breaths. Fatigue continued to plague him. His heart constantly raced. Instead of breathing from his diaphragm, he was breathing from his chest. He sought out numerous doctors in the United States and in Israel.
His symptoms were finally diagnosed as Dysfunctional Breathing (DB). DB is a condition that can stem from stress and is often misdiagnosed. Its symptoms include dyspnea and tachycardia, both of which David experienced.
While receiving treatment, the Vegas-based pro went back to Israel where he coached aspiring fighters. “David’s influence on Israeli boxing is amazing, because he shows we can succeed in a big business even though we come from a small country,” said another undefeated Israeli flyweight, 20-year-old Yonatan Landman (7-0, 7 KOs). “A lot more Israelis are going to dare to succeed.”
Landman was able to work with Alaverdian during David’s return to Israel. “He is a great guy and a friend,” Landman said. “He has a lot of willingness to help, share his knowledge, and help you move forward.”
Alaverdian finally started to feel like he could compete again eight months ago. He won last year’s Israeli national amateur championship and competed in Olympic qualifiers. Now, he’s preparing to fight as a professional once again. “He doesn’t mention anything about [his breathing issues] like he did before,” his coach Cedric Ferguson said about this camp. “He’s been working like there’s no issue at all.”
It has been a whirlwind week for the 31-year-old Alaverdian. In addition to putting the finishing touches on his preparation ahead of Saturday’s comeback fight, David got married on Tuesday. His mom came over from Israel for the wedding and will stay for the fight. “It’s a good distraction,” David said of this week’s significant events. “It helps me. That way I don’t have to focus on the fight all day.”
Josue Morales, a 32 year old from Houston, hopes to play spoiler on Saturday. The crafty southpaw has never been stopped during his 52-fight career. “He’s a seasoned guy with a lot of experience,” Alaverdian said of Morales. “He knows how to move around the ring and is more of a technical boxer. He’s a tough opponent for someone who has been out of the ring for two years.”
A win Saturday night would complete a monumental week for David Alaverdian, both in and out of the ring, repairing the once-shredded script.
Doors open at the Westgate fight arena at 6:30 pm. The first bout goes at 7:00. Seven fights are scheduled including an 8-round female fight between Las Vegas light flyweight Yadira Bustillos and Argentine veteran Tamara Demarco.
NOTE: Author David Harazduk has run The Jewish Boxing Blog since 2010. You can find him at Twitter/X @JewishBoxing and Instagram.
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Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History
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Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History
Saturday’s fight card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, topped by the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for undisputed light heavyweight supremacy, was being hyped as the greatest boxing card ever. That was before Daniel Dubois took ill and had to pull out of his IBF world heavyweight title defense against Joseph Parker, yielding his slot to last-minute replacement Martin Bakole.
The view from here is that the card remains in the running for the best fight card ever, top to bottom. The public didn’t view Dubois as the legitimate heavyweight champion. That distinction goes to Oleksandr Usyk.
Terms like “greatest” are, of course, subjective. Are we referring to the most attractive match-ups or the greatest array of talent, or the card that gives the most satisfaction by churning out a multiplicity of entertaining fights?
We won’t know how satisfying this card is until after the fact. We won’t know whether the talent on display was the greatest ever assembled on one night until many years have passed. Contestants such as Shakur Stevenson, Vergil Ortiz Jr, and Hamzah Sheeraz are still in their twenties (Stevenson is the oldest of the three at age 27) and it’s too soon to gauge if they will leave the sport with a great legacy.
As for which fight card in history had the deepest pool of attractive match-ups, this is a query that is amenable to an operational definition. Betting lines are a useful tool for informing us whether or not a fight warrants our attention if the likelihood of witnessing a closely-contested bout is our primary consideration.
Based on these factors, I would submit that the current leader in the race for the best card ever assembled goes to Don King’s May 7, 1994 promotion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Six future Hall of Famers – Julio Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez, Azumah Nelson, Terry Norris, Julian Jackson, and Christy Martin — were on that card, an 11-fight, eight-hour marathon with five WBC world title fights, four of which were rematches.
These were the five title fights:
140 pounds: Julio Cesar Chavez (89-1-1, 77 KOs) vs. Frankie Randall (49-2-1, 39 KOs)
Odds: Chavez 3/1 (minus-300)
154 pounds: Terry Norris (37-4, 23 KOs) vs. Simon Brown (41-2, 30 KOs)
Odds: even (11/10 and take your pick)
160 pounds: Gerald McClellan (30-2, 28 KOs) vs. Julian Jackson (48-2, 45 KOs)
Odds: McClellan 7/2 (minus-350)
130 pounds: Azumah Nelson (37-2-2, 26 KOs) vs. Jesse James Leija (27-0-2, 13 KOs)
Odds: Nelson 17/10 (minus-170)
105 pounds: Ricardo Lopez (36-0, 27 KOs) vs. Kermin Guardia (21-0, 14 KOs)
Odds: none
Results
Chavez-Randall — Julio Cesar Chavez avenged his loss to Frankie Randall, but not without controversy. An accidental clash of heads in the eighth round left Chavez with a bad gash on his forehead. Ring physician Flip Homansky would have allowed the bout to continue if that had been Chavez’s preference, but El Gran Campeon wasn’t so inclined. A WBC rule specified that in the event of a significant injury accruing from an accidental head butt, the less-damaged fighter is penalized a point. The fight went to the scorecards where Chavez won a split decision that would have been a draw without the point deduction. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Chavez, but the big bets were mostly on Randall and the odds got nicked down on the day of the fight.
Brown-Norris — In their first meeting in December of the previous year, Simon Brown dominated Terry Norris from the opening bell before stopping him in the fourth round. It was a massive upset. Norris was in the conversation for the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. In the rematch, Norris opened a slight favorite, but the late money was on Brown. And, once again, the so-called “sharps” were on the wrong side. Terry Norris, the would-be avenger, won a comfortable decision.
McClellan-Jackson — A murderous puncher, Gerald McClellan bombed out Julian Jackson in 83 seconds, or four rounds quicker than in their first engagement. Jackson was also a murderous puncher and attracted money in the sports books, lowering the price on the victorious McClellan who yet remained a solid favorite.
Nelson-Leija – WBC President Jose Sulaiman mandated this rematch after the first meeting ended in a draw after an error was found in the tabulation of one of the scorecards, overturning the original verdict which had Nelson retaining his title on a split decision. Leija thought he was robbed and was the rightful winner in the do-over, outworking Nelson to win a unanimous decision. At age 35, Azumah was getting long in the tooth.
Lopez-Guardia – Before the digital age, bookmakers didn’t trifle to post lines on bouts that on paper were egregious mismatches, save perhaps a fight of great magnitude. Guardia, the Colombian challenger, overachieved by lasting the distance in a fight with no knockdowns, but “Finito” won a lopsided decision.
A Note on Odds
Betting lines serve a useful purpose for boxing historians; they quantify the magnitude of an upset. However, quoting odds is tricky because they are fluid and vary somewhat from place to place. What this means is that two journalists can quote different odds on the same event and they both can get it right – unless there is a significant disparity. The odds quoted above are the closing lines at the MGM Grand or, at the very least, a very close approximation.
Saturday in Riyadh
One reason why tomorrow’s fight card is the best ever, said the tub-thumpers, is that the card (in its original conformation) included seven world title fights. But that’s no big deal There are so many title fights nowadays that the term “world title” has been trivialized. And what wasn’t acknowledged is that three of the title fights were of the “interim” stripe.
However – and this is a big deal — a glance at the odds informs us that tomorrow’s card is chock-full of competitive match-ups (at least on paper) and from that aspect, a blend of quality and quantity, it is a doozy of a boxing card.
The greatest boxing linemaker of my generation, now deceased, once told me that any fight where the “chalk” was less than a 3/1 favorite is essentially a “pick-‘em” fight. Yes, I know that makes no sense mathematically. However, I know what he was getting at. In a baseball game, for example, it’s very rare to find a team favored by odds of more than 3/1. In boxing, where self-serving promoters are constantly feeding us King Kong vs. Mickey Mouse, odds higher than 3/1 are the norm.
As this is being written, there are six fights on Saturday’s card where one could play the favorite without laying more than 3/1. I believe this is unprecedented. Moreover, the main event and a fascinating match-up on the undercard, Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov, are virtual toss-ups with the favorites, Beterbiev and Ortiz, currently available at 5/4 (minus-125). Another very intriguing fight is the heavyweight contest between late bloomers Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang which finds the less-heralded Kabayel cloaked as a small favorite. And kudos to Joseph Parker for accepting Martin Bakole when he could have held out for a lesser opponent. If Bakole is in shape (a big “if”), he will be a handful.
And so, where does tomorrow’s card rank on the list of best boxing cards ever? Right up there near the top, we would argue, and, if the bouts in large part are memorably entertaining, we would push it ahead of Don King’s May 7, 1994 extravaganza.
That’s the view from here. Feel free to dissent.
Postscript: If you plan to watch the entire card ($25.99 on DAZN for U.S. buyers), it would help to stock up on some munchies. The first fight (Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith) is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 a.m. for us viewers in the Pacific Time Zone / 11:45 a.m. ET. If the show adheres tight to its schedule (no guarantee), Beterbiev and Bivol are expected to enter the ring at 3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET.
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