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Avila Perspective, Chap 152: Oscar and Oscar and More

Avila Perspective, Chap 152: Oscar and Oscar and More
There’s a saying in the entertainment business “the show must go on.” That seems to apply in boxing too.
Oscar is out. Evander is in.
A return by the Golden Boy to the boxing ring was canceled when Oscar De La Hoya announced he had contracted the coronavirus. Instead of canceling the Triller Fight Club program, it was moved from the Staples Center in Los Angeles to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at Hollywood, Florida.
Evander Holyfield replaces De La Hoya in facing former MMA star Vitor Belfort in the main event. Other fights on the card pit MMA stars against each other in boxing gear. Former champions like Anderson Silva against Tito Ortiz will slug it out.
Florida will now be the host for this pay-per-view card on FITE.TV.
De La Hoya seemed fit and ready after spending months of training. He even hosted a small group of reporters at his Golden Boy Promotions headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. But within days he was felled by the virus and a subsequent test revealed he had the Covid-19 Delta variant though he had been vaccinated.
Ten days ago, I sat next to him as he explained his reasons for returning to the boxing ring after a 13-year absence. There were five of us reporters who shook his hand and spoke to the six-time division world champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee.
“I’m a fighter,” said the East Los Angeles boss. “I miss getting hit.”
All of his reasons seemed to point to a return to boxing. Not a last-minute cancellation. Yesterday he reported he was released from the hospital. That was good news.
Maybe a return to the fight game was not meant to be for the Golden Boy. He paid his dues.
Most of my friends are unaware that for five years I did not always cover boxing. Instead, I was a metro reporter covering crime, politics and other hard news for the Los Angeles Times. In 1993 I was asked if I knew anything about boxing and East Los Angeles. Of course, I explained my former involvement in the sport and that I was raised in East L.A.
The first time I interviewed Oscar De La Hoya one-on-one he was training in a dojo in Big Bear for one of his early Las Vegas fights in the early 1990s. I forget the year. He was a huge star and skyrocketing to fame. Think Ryan Garcia times 10 and you get a semblance of his popularity and fame. In his fifth pro fight he defeated Jeff Mayweather, the uncle of Floyd Mayweather who had 22 wins and only two losses at the time. By the time he was 21 years old he was a world title-holder.
Everywhere De La Hoya appeared, a large crowd would immediately gather. I was living in Whittier when he bought a condo there. He would show up at a restaurant and throngs of people would surround the place. It was amazing how quickly the word would spread. Cell phones were still new to the general public.
I’ve covered all of his big fights except the Ike Quartey clash in February 1999. At the time I was in Miami, Florida so I watched it from a dog racetrack. The place was packed with Puerto Ricans who backed Felix Trinidad. They booed his victory but cheered when it was announced that De La Hoya would fight Tito. I attended that September 1999 fight in Las Vegas and sat next to actor Jack Nicholson.
Those were good times.
So, when he announced his retirement following the Manny Pacquiao fight in 2008, it seemed to be a perfect time. De La Hoya had accrued nearly a billion dollars. His Golden Boy Company was doing well and he was a mere 35 years old.
This past year some of the old warriors have ventured back to the prize ring to get paid or to simply feel and smell the fragrances of new boxing gloves. De La Hoya was one of them and looked eager and excited to return.
Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.
Top Rank in Tucson
When Oscar Valdez tested positive for a banned substance by VADA it was universally assumed he was out of the picture for the main event on Friday. Sept. 10, against Robson Conceicao (16-0, 8 KOs) at Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. But, “the show must go on” at the desert casino. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank card.
Though Valdez did indeed intake a banned substance that is used as a diuretic, not an enhancement tool or drug, he was given a pass by the boxing powers. Because of that simple fact the WBC organization and the opponent Conceicao deemed that it was OK to proceed with the title fight.
Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs) returns to the ring after his most shocking knockout win over former king Miguel Berchelt last February. It was sensational and unexpected by many who thought the opposite was going to happen. One single left hook ended that fight.
Brazil’s Conceicao, a 2016 Rio Olympic gold medalist, will be challenging Valdez on his home turf. Though undefeated, he had a rough time against Luis Coria and was nearly defeated by the Southern California fighter. He wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away and neither was Top Rank which invested time and money in the Olympian.
It’s a pretty good fight card too.
Co-headlining the fight will be WBO flyweight world titlist Junto Nakatani (21-0, 16 KOs) of Japan defending against Puerto Rico’s Angel Acosta (22-2, 21 KOs) a former light flyweight world titlist.
Nakatani has a four-fight knockout streak and Acosta a two-fight KO streak. It’s the Japanese fighter’s first match on American soil, but he has trained in Los Angeles. Don’t expect the judges to be needed for this one. Each has a rocket in his fists.
Others on the fight card include Lindolfo Delgado, Raymond Muratalla and Gabriel Flores Jr. from the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside, Calif. Also, Puerto Rican knockout specialist Xander Zayas (9-0, 7 KOs) in a tough welterweight test against New Mexico’s Jose Luis Sanchez (11-1-1, 4 KOS) who settled for a draw after eight rounds in his last fight versus veteran Adrian Granados.
Miami Honors Yordenis Ugas
WBA welterweight world titlist Yordanis Ugas was given the key to the city by Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez on Tuesday Sept. 7, in the office of the honorable mayor for not only successfully defending the title against eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, but for his words bringing attention to the people of Cuba.
Ugas was a late replacement for Errol Spence Jr. who suffered a torn retina and was forced to surrender his challenge against Filipino boxing legend “Pacman” Pacquiao.
The former Cuban refugee holds one of the versions of the title; Spence has the other. It’s confusing.
Covid KOs TGB Las Vegas Fight Card
A super bantamweight clash between WBO titlist Stephen Fulton and WBA and WBC titlist Brandon Figueroa will have to wait because Figueroa tested positive for the coronavirus.
They were headlining a TGB Promotions card at the Park Theater at Park MGM in Las Vegas in a unification clash on Sept. 18. The pandemic continues and it has struck not only the boxing world, but many other sports as well.
Fulton had a prior match canceled a year ago when he tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.
TrillerVerz
WBC and WBO super middleweight titlist Franchon Crews-Dezurn (7-1) meets IBF and WBA titlist Elin Cederroos (8-0) for the undisputed world championship on Tuesday Sept. 14, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
The co-main event pits Mexico’s Pablo Cano (33-7-1, 23 KOs) against Puerto Rico’s Danielito Zorrilla (15-0, 11 KOs) in a welterweight battle set for 10 rounds.
Fights to Watch
(All Times Pacific Coast Time)
Fri. ESPN+ 11:45 a.m. Tony Yoka (10-0) vs Petar Milas (15-0).
Fri. ESPN+ 2:30 p.m. Oscar Valdez (29-0) vs Robson Conceicao (16-0); Junto Nakatani (21-0) vs Angel Acosta (22-2).
Sat. FITE.TV pay-per-view 4 p.m. Evander Holyfield vs Vitor Belfort; Anderson Silva vs Tito Ortiz.
Tues. FITE.TV 3 p.m. Franchon Crews-Dezurn (7-1) vs Elin Cederroos (8-0); Pablo Cano (33-7-1) vs Danielito Zorrilla (15-0).
Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel
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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its money’s worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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