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Fast Results from the MGM Grand: Haney Retains His Title in an Entertaining Scrap
LAS VEGAS — In his third title defense, WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney successfully defended his title with a unanimous decision over Joseph “Jojo” Diaz. The judges had it 116-112 and 117-111 twice. This reporter favored Haney by 116-112.
The scores were somewhat misleading as this was an entertaining scrap. Haney was far more effective going to the body, albeit some of those punches strayed a bit south of the border, twice drawing warnings from referee Russell Mora. But Diaz was superbly conditioned and those body punches did not wear him down. In fact, he landed the best punch of the fight in round 11, a straight left that drew a roar from the animated, largely pro-Diaz crowd.
George Kambosos, fresh off his upset of Teofimo Lopez, was in attendance. Promoter Eddie Hearn has it made it known that he wants to pit Haney against Kambosos in a unification fight with all the belts at stake. Both are on board with it. When Haney was asked in his post-fight interview if he would be willing to fight Kambosos on Kambosos’s turf in Australia, he said he would be willing to go all the way to Jupiter to make it happen.
Other Bouts
In the semi-windup, Clevelandâs surging Montana Love, a 140/147 âtweener,â stopped Guadalajaraâs Carlos Diaz (29-2) in the third round. The official time was 1:22.
Love (17-0-1, 9 KOs) knocked Diaz down three times in round two with combinations. Diaz wasnât badly hurt and wasnât dissuaded from the pressing the action when he got upright, but there was a conspicuous difference in hand speed and he effectively was overwhelmed. Diaz protested when referee Raul Caiz Jr called it off and the crowd booed, but there was really no reason to continue.
The 26-year-old Love, a southpaw whose career has been interrupted by legal problems, scored his second straight impressive triumph. In his previous bout, he stopped Belarusian warhorse Ivan Baranchyk whose corner stopped the fray after seven one-sided rounds. Carlos Diaz was making his U.S. debut.
Their was a long delay after this fight. To the disgruntlement of many tuning in on DAZN, the main go did not start until 11:23 pm Eastern time.
Unified four-belt welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill (11-2, 4 KOs) retained her titles with a seventh-round stoppage of game but out-gunned Kandi Wyatt (10-4). McCaskill came out throwing haymakers in the opening round, but Calgaryâs Wyatt, a replacement for former IBF lightweight title-holder Victoria Bustos of Argentina, was a willing mixer. However, as the bout wore on, it became more one-sided.
Referee Celestino Ruiz visited Wyattâs corner at the end of the sixth round. Early in the next round, he waived it off. The official time was 19 seconds of round seven.
McCaskill, who was working in a Chicago investment bank as she was climbing the ladder, is the only woman to defeat Cecilia Braekhus and she did it twice.
To no great surprise, Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic (14-0, 12 KOs) needed less than three full rounds to dismiss late sub Emir Ahmatovic (10-1). Ahmatovic, a 34-year-old Serbia-born German making his U.S. debut, landed a few good shots in the opening round, but one could sense that he was out of his element against Hrgovic, the most-avoided heavyweight.
Hrgovic knocked him down twice in the second round with chopping right hands, the second of which landed behind the Germanâs ear. In round three, Hrgovic trapped Ahmatovic in a corner and reigned blows on him as he was sagging to the canvas, forcing the referee to intervene. The official time was 0:35 of round three.
In the opening bout, a late addition to the card, 22-year-old SoCal flyweight Ricardo Sandoval won his 16th straight, advancing to 20-1 (14) with a seventh-round stoppage of Nicaraguaâs Carlos Buitrago (32-7-1).
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WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool
In his first fight in his native Liverpool since February of 2020, Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA title with a 10th-round stoppage of SoCal veteran Ronny Rios. The five-foot-two âWrecking Ballâ was making the first defense of a world featherweight strap he won in his second stab at it, taking the belt from Raymond Ford on a split decision after previously fighting Rey Vargas to a draw in a match that many thought Ball had won.
This fight looked like it was going to be over early. Ball strafed Rios with an assortment of punches in the first two rounds, and likely came within a punch or two of ending the match in the third when he put Rios on the canvas with a short left hook and then tore after him relentlessly. But Rios, a glutton for punishment, weathered the storm and actually had some good moments in round four and five.
The brother of welterweight contender Alexis Rocha and a two-time world title challenger at 122 pounds, Rios returned to the ring in April on a ProBox card in Florida and this was his second start after being out of the ring for 28 months. He would be on the canvas twice more before the bout was halted. The punch that knocked him off his pins in round seven wasnât a clean shot, but he would be in dire straits three rounds later when he was hammered onto the ring apron with a barrage of punches. He managed to maneuver his way back into the ring, but his corner sensibly threw in the towel when it seemed as if referee Bob Williams would let the match continue.
The official time was 2:06 of round ten. Ball improved to 21-0-1 (12 KOs). Rios, 34, declined to 34-5.
Semi-wind-up
A bout contested for a multiplicity of regional 140-pound titles produced a mild upset when Jack Rafferty wore down and eventually stopped Henry Turner whose corner pulled him out after the ninth frame.
Both fighters were undefeated coming in. Turner, now 13-1, was the better boxer and had the best of the early rounds. However, he used up a lot of energy moving side-to-side as he fought off his back foot, and Rafferty, who improved to 24-0 (15 KOs), never wavered as he continued to press forward.
The tide turned dramatically in round eight. One could see Turnerâs legs getting loggy and the confidence draining from his face. The ninth round was all Rafferty. Turner was a cooked goose when Rafferty collapsed him with four unanswered body punches, but he made it to the final bell before his corner wisely pulled him out. Through the completed rounds, two of the judges had it even and the third had the vanquished Turner up by 4 points.
Other Bouts of Note
In a lightweight affair, Jadier Herrera, a highly-touted 22-year-old Cuban who had been campaigning in Dubai, advanced to 16-0 (14 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Oliver Flores (31-6-2) a Nicaraguan southpaw making his UK debut. After two even rounds, Herrera put Flores on the deck with a left to the solar plexus. Flores spit out his mouthpiece as he lay there in obvious distress and referee Steve Gray waived the fight off as he was attempting to rise. The end came 30 seconds into round three.
In a bantamweight contest slated for 10, Liverpoolâs Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) dismissed Colombiaâs Lazaro Casseres at the 1:48 mark of the second round.
A stablemate and sparring partner of Nick Ball, Cain knocked Casseres to the canvas in the second round with a short uppercut and forced the stoppage later in the round when he knocked the Colombian into the ropes with a double left hook. Casseres. 27, brought an 11-1 record but had defeated only two opponents with winning records.
In a contest between super welterweights, Walter Fury pitched a 4-round shutout over Dale Arrowsmith. This was the second pro fight for the 27-year-old Fury who had his famous cousin Tyson Fury rooting him on from ringside. Stylistically, Walter resembles Tyson, but his defense is hardly as tight; he was clipped a few times.
Arrowsmith is a weekend warrior and a professional loser, a species indigenous to the British Isles. This was his twenty-fourth fight this year and his 186th pro fight overall! His record is âilluminatedâ by nine wins and 10 draws.
A Queensberry Promotion, the Ball vs Rios card aired in the UK on TNT Sports and in the US on ESPN+.
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Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs OâConnell in Sydney
IBF/WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, generally regarded as the best of the current crop of middleweights, retained his IBF title today in Sydney, Australia, with a ninth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Andrei Mikhailovich. The end came at the 2:45 mark of round nine.
Favored in the 8/1 range although he was in a hostile environment, Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) beat Mikhailovich to a pulp in the second round and knocked him down with one second remaining in the frame, but Mikhailovich survived the onslaught and had several good moments in the ensuing rounds as he pressed the action. However, Alimkhanulyâs punches were cleaner and one could sense that it was only a matter of time before the referee would rescue Mikhailovich from further punishment. When a short left deposited Mikhailovich on the seat of his pants on the lower strand of rope, the ref had seen enough.
Alimkhanuly, a 2016 Olympian for Kazakhstan, was making his first start since October of last year. He and Mikhailovich were slated to fight in Las Vegas in July, but the bout fell apart after the weigh-in when the Kazakh fainted from dehydration.
Owing to a technicality, Alimkhanulyâs WBO belt wasnât at stake today. Although he has expressed an interest in unifying the title –Eislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos Adames (WBC) are the other middleweight belt-holders — Alimkhanuly is big for the weight class and itâs a fair assumption that this was his final fight at 160.
The brave Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia but grew up in New Zealand after he and his twin brother were adopted, suffered his first pro loss, declining to 21-1.
Semi-wind-up
Topping the flimsy undercard was a scheduled 8-rounder between Mikhailovichâs stablemate Mea Motu, a 34-year-old Maori, and veteran Australian campaigner Shannon OâConnell, 41. The ladies share eight children between them (Motu, trained by her mother in her amateur days, has five).
A clash of heads in the opening round left OâConnell with a bad gash on her forehead. She had a big lump developing over her right eye when her corner threw in the towel at the 1:06 mark of round four.
Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) was set to challenge IBF/WBO world featherweight champion Ellie Scotney later this month in Manchester, England, underneath Catterall-Prograis, but that match was postponed when Scotney suffered an injury in training. Motu took this fight, which was contested at the catchweight of 125 pounds, to stay busy. OâConnell, 29-8-1, previously had a cup of coffee as a WBA world champion (havenât we all).
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More
Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More
A small brigade of Mexican and Latino-American fighters gathered at the beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Their mission: to export Mexican style fighting to the Saudi Arabia desert.
Gilberto âZurdoâ Ramirez defends the WBA cruiserweight title against WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith and they will be joined by several other top Golden Boy Promotion fighters on Nov. 16 at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy and BOXXER promotions card called âThe Venue Riyadh Season.â
Mexican fighters are known worldwide for their ferocity and durability. Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, surprised many with his convincing win over former champion Arsen Goulamirian last March.
Now Ramirez seeks to unify the cruiserweight titles against United Kingdomâs Smith who has never fought outside of his native country.
âI will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16,â said Ramirez.
Smith has a similar goal.
âThis opportunity for me is huge,â said Smith. âI’ve been written off many times before.â
The cruiserweights will be joined by two top super lightweight warriors whoâve been itching to face each other like a pair of fighting roosters.
Arnold Barboza, an undefeated super lightweight contender from Los Angeles, has been chasing top contenders and world champions for the past six years. Former super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez simply wants action and a return to elite status.
âI’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened,â said Barboza. âI want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight.â
âItâs honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on,â said Ramirez.
Others on the Riyadh fight card include Puerto Ricoâs WBO minimumweight world titlist Oscar Collazo defending against Thailandâs Thammanoon Niyomtrong, along with Oscar Duarte and lightweight contenders William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer.
One fighter missing from the card is Charles Conwell, the super welterweight contender they recently signed earlier in the year. He last performed on the Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk clash in Las Vegas.
Conwell has similar talent to those two.
And what about the women fightersâ
Yokasta Valle recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions. What is her next scheduled fight? She was spotted facing up against Australiaâs Lulu âBang, Bangâ Hawton at a fight card. Is that on the horizon?
West Coast venues
Speaking of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, its just a few buildings north of the Belasco Theater where Golden Boy was staging its club shows for several years.
A majority of the boxing media favored that location for its cozy atmosphere and proximity to LA Live. A number of prospects that developed into contenders and world champions fought there including Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, Joshua Franco, and Oscar Duarte.
On any given fight night celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Lopez and others would show up in the small venue that held several hundred fans in its ornate theater setting.
The Mayan Theater and Belasco Theater are still open for business. According to one source, LA Laker owner Jeannie Buss stages a pro wrestling show at one of those theaters.
World title fight
Englandâs Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern Californiaâs Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 5, at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Starting time for the Queensberry and Top Rank promotion card is 11 a.m. PT.
Ball was last seen nearly toppling WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas but lost last March. He then defeated Ray Ford for the WBA title
Fights to Watch
Fri. ESPN+ 2 a.m. PT Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) vs Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0)
Sat. ESPN+ 11 a.m. PT Nick Ball (20-0-1) vs Ronny Rios (34-4)
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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