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Avila Perspective, Chap.186: Southern California Stacked with Boxing

In a three-day span a locust swarm of prizefighting descends on Southern California with boxing shows big and small battling for public interest. It’s boxing stacked like a triple-decker sandwich.
Beginning on Thursday two rival promoters fire up the sunny landscape with 360 Promotions in Montebello, California led by Chelsey Anderson meeting Jessica Juarez. And 100 miles away, Golden Boy Promotions staging their card led by Angel Acosta and Janiel Rivera in a flyweight battle in Indio.
Then, after a day of multiple Friday weigh-ins in the Los Angeles area, things really get heated.
Carson
On Saturday, at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, formerly known as the StubHub Center, a battle for the undisputed super welterweight world championship between Jermell Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) and Brian Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) reboots after their first encounter that ended in a split draw. Showtime will televise.
“Being on the undisputed list means more to me than being on pound-for-pound lists. I want to be on the top tier and for people to see that I’m undisputed and say that he’s an animal. This is my moment,” said Charlo.
Castano feels that he was the actual winner in their first fight.
“I do believe that I won the first fight. It might have been by a small margin, but I won it. This time, we’re going to try everything to make sure we don’t leave the fight in the hands of the judges,” Castano said.
Inglewood
Also on Saturday, at the nearby Inglewood Forum, Sergey Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) meets Tervel Pulev (16-0, 13 KOs) in a cruiserweight fight set for 10 rounds. The Triller fight card with Fernando Vargas’s three sons also performing will be shown on FITE pay-per-view.
Kovalev feels his lengthy layoff has allowed his body to heal and he is ready for Pulev.
“I don’t really study my opponents. I will watch one or two rounds from his last couple of fights so I can see what style he likes – does he like to fight inside or from a distance, then I can prepare,” said Kovalev, the former light heavyweight titlist now moving up to cruiserweight. “I just can’t wait to get inside the ring and show the world who is the best cruiserweight on the planet.”
Ontario
About 40 miles east, Golden Boy Promotions has their light heavyweight star Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (43-0, 29 KOs) looking to maintain his place as a contender when he meets Dominic Boesel (32-2, 12 KOs) in the main event at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. DAZN will stream the fight card.
Dimitrii Bivol is the current WBA light heavyweight titlist and remains so after defeating Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last weekend.
“I’m first on the ladder and Zurdo is right under me, so it was a fight that had to happen. We’ll see what happens,” said Boesel about the winner facing champion Bivol.
Ramirez would like to be the one.
“In a way I do have to get revenge since I represent Mexico as well,” said Ramirez about avenging Canelo’s loss to Bivol.
Three major cards battling it out on the same day in the same region. Three different networks are also slugging it out for attention too.
By the way, a fourth boxing card also takes place in Simi Valley with a super lightweight main event pitting Robert “Scrappy” Ortiz (7-4-3) against Ryan Venable (2-11) at the Kid Gloves Gym on Saturday.
Take your pick boxing fans. Southern California continues to be the boxing universe for the entire world.
Need proof.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez trains in San Diego, Calif. and Dimitrii Bivol trains in Indio, Calif. They are about 50 miles apart from each other. Sergey Kovalev trains in Los Angeles and Brian Castano also trained in Los Angeles.
And why not? There are more than 100 boxing gyms in the Southern California area.
Mayweather exhibition
In the United Arab Emirates, Floyd Mayweather participates in another exhibition. This time against Don Moore. Another fighting an exhibition is Anderson Silva facing Bruno Machado. I’m guessing the winners will face each other. It can be seen on FITE.tv on pay-per-view. Cost is $29.99.
The actual fight card pits female fighters Delfine Persoon against Elhem Mekhaled in a super featherweight showdown. Persoon faced Katie Taylor twice and nearly defeated the Irish fighter. Mekhaled is undefeated and ranked high in the extremely talented super featherweight division.
Fights to Watch
Thurs. DAZN 6 p.m. Angel Acosta (22-3) vs Janiel Rivera (18-8-3).
Thurs. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Chelsey Anderson (4-0) vs Jessica Juarez (3-1).
Sat. FITE ppv 11 a.m. Floyd Mayweather vs Don Moore (exhibition); Delfine Persoon (46-3) vs Elhem Mekhaled (15-0).
Sat. FITE.TV 4 p.m. Sergey Kovalev (34-4-1) vs Tervel Pulev (16-0).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Gilberto Ramirez (43-0) vs Dominic Boesel (32-2).
Sat. Showtime 6 p.m. Jermell Charlo (34-1-1) vs Brian Castano (17-0-2); Jaron Ennis (28-0) vs Custio Clayton (19-0-1).
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Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury on Feb. 26 in a Potential Pay-Per-View Blockbuster

It’s now official. The twice-postponed “grudge match” between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will come to fruition on Sunday, Feb. 26, at Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. An 8-rounder contested at a catch-weight of 185 pounds, the match and several supporting bouts will air in the U.S. on ESPN+ PPV at a cost of $49.99.
The hook for this promotion – a come-hither that will be hammered home incessantly in the coming weeks – is that Jake Paul will finally touch gloves with a legitimate professional boxer. Paul’s previous opponents were a fellow YouTube influencer (AnEsonGib), a retired NBA player (Nate Robinson), and three former MMA champions: Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva. He fought Woodley twice.
Tommy Fury, the half-brother of reigning WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, made his pro debut in December of 2018 in a four-round bout in his hometown of Manchester. He was two fights into his pro career when he became a contestant on the TV reality show “Love Island.” An enormously popular show in Great Britain, especially among the coveted 18-34 demographic, “Love Island” was in its fifth season.
Fury was paired with supermodel Molly-Mae Hague with whom he finished second. They developed a great chemistry, on and off the set, became engaged, and purportedly welcomed a baby girl this week.
What about Tommy Fury the boxer? How legitimate is he?
Fury’s record currently stands at 8-0 (4 KOs). His first opponent was a professional loser from Latvia whose current ledger reads 10-113-3. His next six opponents were a combined 4-73-2. Finally, in his last fight, which occurred in April of last year, he met an opponent with a good record, Poland’s Daniel Bocianski, who was 10-1. But look closer and one discovers that all but one of Bocianski’s 10 triumphs came against opponents with losing records. The exception was a 6-round decision over a fellow Pole whose record currently stands at 18-16-1 and who has been stopped 13 times.
Fury bloodied Bocianski and won a wide 6-round decision, but his performance was underwhelming. “Fury had the Hollywood teeth, tan, and diamante-colored shorts,” wrote Chasinga Malata of the London Sun, “leaving only his performance without sheen and sparkle.”
There is nothing in Tommy Fury’s background, aside from his biological pedigree, to suggest that he has the tools to become a world-class boxer. If he were a member of the Three Stooges, he would be Shemp.
Jake Paul, by contrast, may actually be legit. Those in the know that have watched him train have come away impressed. It says here that Paul isn’t moving up in class on Feb. 26; it’s the other way around.
In the co-feature, Ilunga Makabu (29-2, 25 KOs) will make the third defense of his WBC world cruiserweight title against Badou Jack (27-3-3, 16 KOs). A Congolese-South African, Makabu is the older brother of heavyweight contender Martin Bakole. Jack, four years older than Makabu at age 39, formerly held world titles at 168 and 175 pounds.
Although Badou Jack was born in Sweden and keeps a home in Las Vegas where he has long been affiliated with the Mayweather Boxing Club, he will have the home field advantage in Saudi Arabia where he has cultivated a loyal following. A devout Muslim, Jack will be making his fourth straight start in the Persian Gulf Region. In his last outing, he outpointed Richard “Popeye” Rivera at Jeddah, winning a 10-round split decision.

Badou Jack
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 223: A Lively Weekend in SoCal with Three Fight Cards in Two Days

Avila Perspective, Chap. 223: A Lively Weekend in SoCal with Three Fight Cards in Two Days
Big money prizefighting returns to the Los Angeles area with back-to-back shows. First, Serhii Bohachuk heads a 360 Promotions card on Friday and then Alexis Rocha is featured on Saturday in a Golden Boy Promotions production. And on the same day Riverside’s Saul Rodriguez fights in his hometown.
Bohachuk, Rocha, and Rodriguez are aggressive big hitters.
Ukraine’s Bohachuk seeks to regain footing in the super welterweight division. He was rapidly climbing up the ratings ladder when first he was defeated by Brandon Adams two years ago. And then the invasion of his home country Ukraine stalled him even more.
On Friday Jan. 27, at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello, Calif. Bohachuk (21-1, 21 KOs) meets Nathaniel Gallimore (22-6-1, 17 KOs) in the main event. UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Boxing Promotions card.
Few fighters are as well-liked outside of the prize ring as Bohachuk. Always amiable, he’s one of the handful of fighters that always smiles. Inside the ring, he’s a killer. No one leaves without someone getting knocked out.
Gallimore, 34, is no slouch. He has a knockout win over former world titlist Jeison Rosario and has battled almost all of the top super welterweights. He is a veteran and very crafty.
The Quiet Cannon venue is not very large, but it does have a patio and good food and drink. Most of the crowd ventures from all over Southern California to attend the fights at that venue. It gets packed.
Golden Boy in Inglewood
Welterweight contender Alexis Rocha headlines the Golden Boy Promotions card on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the brand new YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif. DAZN will stream the fight card.
Rocha (21-1, 13 KOs) faces George Ashie (33-5-1) in the main event set for 12 rounds. Finally, there is an opponent for the left-handed fighter from Santa Ana. It didn’t look like he was going to fight after opponent after opponent fell out for one reason or another.
“You have to be ready for anybody they put in front of you. If it’s you or George Ashie, I have to prepare for it. I have to focus on what I can do,” said Rocha.
Others on the card include super middleweight Bektemir Melikuziev (10-1) vs Ulises Sierra (17-2-2) set for 10 rounds. Also, good looking lightweight prospect Floyd Schofield (12-0, 10 KOs) meets Alberto Mercado (17-4-1).
Schofield fights out of Austin, Texas and looks like someone to watch.
Doors open at 3 p.m.
Neno Returns in San Bernardino
Garcia Promotions stages a boxing card on Saturday Jan. 28, at the Club Event Center in San Bernardino. Garcia Promotions is associated with trainer Robert Garcia and family whose training compound is located in nearby Riverside.
A primarily local fight card featuring all fighters from Garcia’s gym will be performing.
Headlining is Saul “Neno” Rodriguez out of Riverside, California.
It’s been nearly three years since Rodriguez (24-1-1, 18 KOs) last fought and he faces Mexico’s Juan Meza Angulo (6-1, 3 KOs) in the co-main event.
At one time Rodriguez was a big fan favorite because of his fast work and knockout ability. Once he got to the top plateau he ran into another knockout puncher in Miguel Angel Gonzalez and lost by stoppage.
Prizefighting is a tricky road. One loss can mean difficulty in finding a big-time promoter or it can mean discovering what you need to do to re-establish your skills. A fighter can go the road of Kermit “The Killer” Cintron and find out other ways to win without a kill-or be-killed style. Or they can travel the road of Marco Antonio Barrera who was knocked out by Junior Jones but adapted a more boxer-puncher style that allowed him to defeat Erik Morales twice and Prince Naseem Hamed.
Rodriguez, 29, still has time to make a good run for a title bid. It all starts on Saturday.
Others on the Garcia Promotions card are fighters who are part of trainer Garcia’s stable including Gabriel Muratalla, Leonardo Ruiz, Jose Rodriguez and others.
Doors open at 4 p.m. with amateurs opening the boxing program.
Fights to Watch
Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Serhii Bohachuk (21-1) vs Nathaniel Gallimore (22-6-1).
Sat. ESPN+ 11:30 a.m. Artur Beterbiev (18-0) vs Anthony Yarde (23-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Alexis Rocha (21-1) vs George Ashie (33-5-1).
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Artur Beterbiev: “I’d prefer to fight Bivol because he has the one thing I need”

Russian Artur Beterbiev, triple champion of the 175-pound division, is the only current world champion who, thanks to the enormous power he wields in his fists, has won all his fights inside the distance.
Beterbiev has 18 victories by way of chloroform since he debuted as a professional fighter in June 2013 when he anesthetized retired American, Christian Cruz, in the tenth round at the Bell Center in Montreal where Beterbiev currently resides.
Beterbiev, who turned thirty-eight last Saturday, will defend his WBC, IBF, and WBO titles against Brit Anthony “The Beast from the East” Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs) on Saturday, January 28th at the OVO Arena in London.
Beterbiev obtained the WBO belt on June 18th this past year when he defeated American Joe Smith (28-4, 22 KOs) in the second round at Madison Square Garden. This was Smith’s second defense of the belt.
Earlier, in November 2017, Beterbiev won the vacant IBF belt after defeating German Enrico Koelling (28-5, 9 KOs) by knockout in the twelfth round in Fresno, California.
Two years later, Beterbiev seized the WBC belt from Ukrainian Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) in Philadelphia. Three knockdowns in the tenth round forced referee Gary Rosato to stop the lopsided bout with 11 seconds remaining in the round. Beterbiev maintains that although his intention is to win each fight, in no way does he want to harm his rival and that his greatest wish is for both of them to leave the ring healthy.
Referring to his upcoming matchup, Beterbiev told BoxingScene that “after the fight, I just hope he (Yarde) is okay.”
He acknowledged that he does not know much about the British boxer, although he has watched several of his fights: “He’s a good fighter, has good experience as a professional and he’s a boxer. He’s dangerous so I have to prepare for this fight like I always do.”
Beterbiev said that his main motivation is to successfully defend the three belts he owns and that is why he will try to be one hundred percent ready and then it will be evident who is the better fighter.
Regarding his knockout streak, Beterbiev emphatically denied that he enjoys knocking out his opponents: “No. There’s no pleasure in it. I just hope everything is OK with them. I just want to do good boxing, not hit people.”
Beterbiev smiles enigmatically and stares at the horizon when they ask him to what he attributes the strength of his fists to. “I know for sure, 1000 percent, that the secret to my power is somewhere in my boxing gym but I don’t know exactly where,” he adds. “I don’t know which exercise or bag gave me this secret. I don’t know where it comes from. I wasn’t always like this either, it has come from working every day. But really my dream is to be a good boxer one day.”
Aside from the upcoming fight with Yarde, Beterbiev acknowledges in each interview that his goal is to be the undisputed champion of the division, which means facing (and defeating) the undefeated Russian Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs), who holds the WBA light heavyweight super championship belt.
“I need Bivol,” Beterbiev admits. “I’d prefer to fight Bivol because he has the one thing I need. I hope I fight him in 2023 but the hold-up is not from my side, it’s from their side. In the last three years he always says he will fight me next but in this time we’ve done unification fights against Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Joe Smith. We’ve done that whereas he has just been talking about it.
Beterbiev recalled that he was with Bivol on the Russian national team where they were amateurs. “I knew him then, but he is younger than me. We haven’t talked for 10 years now. He was 75kg back then, too small for me. We were never friends.”
Article submitted by Jorge Juan Alvarez in Spanish.
Please note any adjustments made were for clarification purposes and any errors in translation were unintentional.
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