British Boxing 2021 Year in Review

Published

3 years ago

December 31, 2021

Last year, British boxing was left to sink or swim on its own.

While the British government could not wait to line up lucrative support packages for those sports traditionally beloved by the British upper-classes, including the millionaire’s playground that is horse-racing, boxing, traditionally a working-class pursuit, was left to sink or swim.

It swam, then ran a mile for good measure. British boxing has proven that it has the heart to match its lungs and even the doldrums of the COVID-19 pandemic and the disastrous economic damage that accompanied it could not take its measure.

Here, we will review the year in British boxing that was 2021.

British Fighter of the Year: Josh Taylor

Everybody keeps saying you’re up against an American with Mexican blood…But he’s up against a mad Scotsman. The Romans built a wall to keep us out because we’re mental.

What a year it has been for British fighters. The mighty Tyson Fury cemented his place at the top of boxing’s tree with a thrilling destruction of Deontay Wilder in their third fight, despite being stricken with COVID-19 and personal disaster; flyweight Sunny Edwards dethroned the iconic South African veteran Moruti Mthalane and then defended against the ranked Jason Mama at year’s end; Lawrence Okolie stepped up and thrashed Polish tough Krzysztof Glowacki to establish himself as one of the world’s premier cruiserweights.

Still, I did not have to think for long before selecting Josh Taylor as the British fighter of the year.

This is despite the fact that he only stepped out once in 2021 whereas Edwards and Okolie both managed two fights; if ever there was a clear-cut case of quality over quantity, however, this was it.

Jose Carlos Ramirez was the last hold-out in Taylor’s 140lb backyard, wielding two of the straps handed out by the various ABCs in exchange for cash. It is a sign of a true champion that he will brook no resistance, and so it was for Taylor, who set out for Las Vegas to make his extant number one status definitive.

Josh Taylor won “the fight boxing had been waiting for” but it wasn’t easy. The difference was Taylor’s spite, his innate ability to throw his humanity out of the window and enforce his will on his opponent. He did this by dropping Ramirez twice in middle-rounds, once in the sixth and once in the seventh. Here he married class to spite, stepping back for the first knockdown to bring Ramirez onto a hard southpaw left that dropped him and rattled him but from which he almost immediately recovered. It made the brutal left-uppercut that deposited Ramirez to his backside once more in the seventh more impressive. This time Ramirez was hurt and given Taylor’s finishing credentials, was probably saved by the bell.

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Ramirez fought back hard to make the fight very close, but it was satisfying that these knockdowns were the difference on each of the official scorecards, and to mine, all of which read 114-112 Taylor. The Scotsman now holds victories over both his number one and number two 140lb contenders, his position as the best fighter in this division unassailable.

British Fight of the Year: Troy Williamson vs Ted Cheeseman

Both fought to extreme levels of exhaustion there. You can only watch in awe and applaud. – Tony Bellew.

For the second consecutive year, Ted Cheeseman finds himself in the British fight of the year. Last year, Cheeseman won a thrill-a-minute decision against Sam Eggington; this year he dropped a violent loss that doubles as the British knockout of the year.

The two men met in October for the 154lb British title, a belt that continues to inspire a cult following among fighters and to generate more than its fair share of supercharged domestic combat as a result. Cheeseman, a Londoner, was in possession of the title and Troy Williamson, out of Darlington, wanted it.

Cheeseman (17-3-1) is the everyman here. He has seen everything the British fight game has to offer, good and bad. He has been robbed, afforded more chances than he might deserve but has generated the fandom that comes of delivering on those chances. He is consistently in good fights and sometimes in great fights and is grateful for the opportunity.

Williamson is not those things. 17-0-1, he believes himself better than British level and openly stated it to be the case. Cheeseman bristled and set out in the first round to dominate, to push “the better man” back with hard punches, determining to overcome his lack of speed with a power-attack to the body. Williamson met him. His corner begged him to “keep it at range” between the first and second round. Williamson tried and the second was quieter but these two had determined to dominate one-another. When Cheeseman rattled Williamson with power-punches at the end of the second, the equal and opposite reaction awaited only the bell to begin the third.

When does such strategy become attrition? Sometimes it happens almost in secret, you glance down at your scorecard, and you glance up and two men are at war. This one arguably didn’t catch fire in the same way as Cheeseman-Eggington had the year before, but every minute of every round was closely contested, with clean, hard punches landed in turn-and-turnabout, a pattern that soon became both alarming and inspiring.

Every time Williamson’s right-handed shots seemed about to decide matters, Cheeseman would find a risky uppercut or left-hook to the body; either the sixth or seventh could have been the British round of the year. By the tenth, both had been hurt and both were near the bottom of their respective wells.

Cheeseman was absolutely deboned in that fateful tenth, rendered senseless by uppercuts and then a winging left-hook. Williamson delayed his celebration until Cheeseman’s disastrously failing nervous system could be brought under control. He was walked from the ring before the winner was announced and would have been passing out of the auditorium as news of Williamson’s victory reached his ears. His thoughts in that moment remain private.

“I wasn’t backing down from no tear up,” were the thoughts of the winner.

Quite.

British Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Lerrone Richards

The future’s bright. I just can’t wait. – Lerrone Richards.

There is very little excitement about Lerrone Richards.

This is odd given that he currently ranks number five to the super-middleweight championship martialled by Canelo Alvarez. Richards had a huge year, and it makes no sense that he continues to fly below so many radars.

Lerrone

Twenty-nine years old, Richards is out of Surrey, England and is on the short side at 5’11 with a 71” reach. Sporting both a physique and a flattop that recalls the prime of one Chris Eubank Snr., Richards is working on a line in patter to match. Stop-start in the early part of his career, he seemed in danger of stalling, but a chance meeting with trainer Dave Coldwell has led to a hound-like commitment to fighting and seemingly to excel in fighting. Last week, on the undercard of Joseph Parker’s second meeting with Dereck Chisora, Richards landed in earnest, defeating number seven 168lb contender Carlos Gongora.

Gongora, who holds a 2020 victory over the much-touted Kazak Ali Akhmedov, was in possession of a strap but Richards, a former British, Commonwealth and European champion seemed in no way intimidated by the occasion. This is the benefit of what is known in Britain as “doing it properly”, of fighting an apprenticeship at three defined title levels before stepping up to match a boxer from the top ten. Richards is massive across the back and huge across the shoulders, a man of real strength, but he uses footwork and quick-handed forays to score points. It was Gongora who seemed the more bemused of the two by the midway point, while Richards hoovered up points.

No puncher, Dave Coldwell has promised that the stoppages will come as Richards evolves, but now 16-0 with zero stoppages, that seems unlikely. But he is learning his trade and despite the bizarre split decision the judges found, he dominated Gongora with skill.

At the end of 2020, Richards was boxing an eight-rounder against a fighter called Timo Laine. At the end of 2021, he is one big win away from joining the conversation as to Canelo’s next opponent. A breakout year indeed.

I’ll sneak him one more gong before we bid him farewell: Lerrone “Sniper the Boss” Richards also has British boxing’s best nickname.

British Prospect of the Year: Galal Yafai

Being a world champion, it might financially be better in the long run, but being Olympic champion is something I can live with forever. – Galal Yafai.

British boxing, then, is healthy, despite the odds and despite the ravages that have afflicted it not. We sport two men in the pound-for-pound top ten and three of the world’s four premier heavyweights – most of all though, the sport is festooned with prospects of both genders and in many weight-classes. A short list of honourable mentions would have us here for a while but fortunately there is a standout prospect who will emerge as a professional in the coming year having conquered the world as an amateur in 2021.

Galal Yafai, one of three fighting brothers, will turn professional in early 2022, at either 112 or 115lbs.

His path to an outstanding gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics was not an easy one. Yafai drew Cuban legend Yosbany Veitia, a 190-fight veteran, in his opening match. A victory saw him rewarded with a semi-final against Kazakh nationals finalist (Sweet Scientists will know the true meaning of that sentence) Saken Bibossinov. In the final, he dropped Carlo Paalam to his haunches among the ropes in the first round and cantered home to win the gold.

“I’m at the top of the tree now with [my] brothers,” he told a British newspaper this year. “I think so, I won’t tell them that though!”

In truth, Galal has a long way to go to emulate Khalid, who held a belt and measured one of the best superflies in the world before running into all-time great Roman Gonzalez in 2020.

At the cusp of 2022 with a record of 0-0, anything seems possible.

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

4 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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