Boxing Odds and Ends: Paul vs. Fury, the Mike Tyson Statue and More

Published

4 years ago

November 8, 2021

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They held a press conference on the afternoon of the Canelo-Plant fight to promote the forthcoming match in Tampa between you tube influencer Jake Paul and UK reality star Tommy Fury. Paul vs. Fury, an 8-round cruiserweight contest packaged with the usual frills that one associates with a Jake Paul production, will air on Showtime Pay Per-View on Dec. 18.

For the confab, Showtime commandeered the Red Tail, a combination sports bar and karaoke lounge inside Resorts World, the newest property on the Las Vegas Strip.

Resorts World is quite a joint (“joint” being an old Vegas term applied indiscriminately to any property with gambling). Built with Malaysian money, Resorts World harbors three different Hilton hotel brands with a combined 3,506 rooms and 40 restaurants and bars. It sits on the site of the old Stardust Hotel and Casino.

The press conference afforded this reporter the first look inside the property. It’s been open for several months — the grand opening was June 24 – but like most long-time Las Vegas residents, the opening of a new resort, no matter how lavish, carries no great allure. We’re jaded.

Another reason for attending was the free brunch. No matter the aliment, it had to beat the box lunches that were doled out to the boxing writers in the media room at the MGM Grand, the contents of which made a Subway sandwich shop seem like a 5-star restaurant.

The confab was moderated by Claudia Trejos who saw her role as that of a cheerleader (“Hello! Can you feel the excitement building?”). Tommy Fury, the 22-year-old half-brother of Tyson Fury, wasn’t there, having rushed back to England because of a family emergency; reportedly his mother had taken ill. He was represented by ace trainer SugarHill Steward who has taken Tommy under his wing. Steward noted that although Tommy is raw, he’s very athletic and learns fast and that fighting is in his blood and in his culture.

Jake Paul was joined on the dais by the newest member of his team, Coach D, a character developed by comedian/satirist Drew “Druski” Desbordes who Gentleman’s Quarterly calls Hip-Hops new favorite comedian. Coach D did not bring his A game.

Jake Paul, needless to say, is no shrinking violet. He considers himself solely responsible for bringing a younger demographic into a sport that had been overtaken by UFC. “Everyone should take up boxing,” he said, “just for fitness, confidence, and to be able to protect yourself.” As for Tommy Fury, he says this will be Fury’s “first real test against an opponent who’s not there to flop over…(and) he will crack under the pressure.” Had Fury been there, he would have undoubtedly countered that Paul, 24, is finally fighting a man of his own age and someone who is actually a boxer, not a refugee from another sport. Paul’s last three opponents — Nate Robinson, Ben Askren, and Tyron Woodley — were in their late thirties.

Tommy Fury is 7-0 (4). His former opponents were 14-175-5 in the aggregate. The oddsmakers chalked him the favorite. At the moment, Fury is a consensus 7/4 favorite.

Those in the know tell me that Jake Paul can fight more than a little, as Damon Runyon would have put it. Methinks the oddsmakers have the wrong favorite.

—

The Red Tail at Resorts World Las Vegas sits directly across from Mulberry Street Pizzeria. Mulberry Street was the main thoroughfare of New York’s Little Italy, but this pizza place, a tentacle of a small SoCal franchise, originated in Beverly Hills.

Last month, a 10-foot-tall statue of Mike Tyson was unveiled at the entrance to the pizzeria. It was commissioned by Mulberry Street’s founder and owner Richie Palmer as a tribute to the boxer who Palmer says has been a close friend for thirty-five years.

It’s an impressive piece of artwork but, as many have noted, it doesn’t look anything like him. Hopefully Mr. Palmer got a good deal on it.

statuebetter

By the way, by all accounts the pizza at Mulberry Street Pizzeria is outstanding. A plain cheese slice goes for $5.50. Add $1 for each topping. Yes, the days of the cheap buffets that were once a Las Vegas trademark, are long gone.

R.I.P. Jerry Martin

News arrived this past weekend that Jerry Martin had died. There were no details; merely that he had passed away. He would have turned sixty-eight on the 28^th of this month.

A light heavyweight, nicknamed “The Bull,” Martin was born and raised in Antigua. He turned pro in Philadelphia in 1976 without the benefit of any amateur experience and compiled a record of 25-7 (17).

Martin wasn’t a great fighter by any means, but his career invites comparison to Jerry Quarry, which is to say that he came along at the wrong time – at a time when his weight class was exceptionally strong. He had three cracks at the world title, losing to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (L TKO 10), Matthew Saad Muhammad (L TKO 11), and Dwight Muhammad Qawi (L TKO 6).

Jerry Martin’s signature win came inside New Jersey’s Rahway State Penitentiary. On May 25, 1980, he won a 10-round unanimous decision over Rahway inmate James Scott in a bout televised on NBC. Scott, who was in there for armed robbery, which violated his parole (that’ll do it every time), was undefeated (18-0-1). Eight of those wins had come inside prison walls including a win over future champ Mustafa Muhammad, then known as Eddie Gregory. Martin’s triumph was a major upset and Martin’s manager J. Russell Peltz would number it among the highlights of his 50-plus years in boxing.

We here at TSS send condolences to his loved ones. May he rest in peace.

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Arne K. Lang

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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

Published

2 hours ago

May 11, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12^th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.

The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.

But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.

Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.

Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.

As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.

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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

Published

4 hours ago

May 11, 2025

David A. Avila

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In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.

What do they feed these guys?

Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.

From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.

It was savage.

Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.

Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.

Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.

But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.

Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.

Interim IBF Lightweight Title

The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.

Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.

Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.

Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.

There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.

Muratalla was brief.

“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”

Perla Wins

Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.

Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Published

18 hours ago

May 10, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” 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 Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.

Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s 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 wasn’t 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 Taylor’s 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 Ireland’s 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 referee’s 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

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