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The Hauser Report: Beterbiev-Smith and More

Boxing is never easy. But Artur Beterbiev (now 18-0 with 18 knockouts) made it look that way when he stopped Joe Smith (28-3, 22 KOs, 2 KOs by) in a 175-pound title-unification bout at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Beterebiev age 37, was born in Russia and has lived in Montreal for more than a decade. All but one of his fights have been in Canada or the United States. He won the vacant IBF 175-pound title by knocking out the unheralded Enrico Koelling in 2017 and added the WBC belt to his collection by stopping Oleksandr Gvozdyk two years later. His other title defenses have been against Callum Johnson, Radivoje Kalajdzic, Adam Deines, and Marcus Browne. He’s a dangerous fighter.
Smith, age 32, had been widely regarded as a high-level club fighter. Then, on December 17, 2016, he knocked out 51-year-old Bernard Hopkins in the final fight (and sole KO by) of The Executioner’s illustrious ring career. That raised Joe’s profile. But he lost two of his next three bouts (against Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol). Victories over Jesse Hart and Eleider Alvarez began the rebuilding process. On April 10, 2021, Smith won a majority decision over Maxin Vlasov to claim the WBO 175-pound belt. A January 15, 2022, stoppage of Steve Geffrard followed.
Beterbiev was a 7-to-1 betting favorite. Smith is at his best in the trenches but that’s where Artur shines brightest. The conventional wisdom was that Joe would give it everything he had but that what he had wouldn’t be good enough. His strengths as a fighter played into Beterbiev’s. And everything that Joe can do in a boxing ring, Artur does better.
It was hard to find an impartial observer who wasn’t picking Beterbiev to win by knockout. The prevailing view was that Smith wouldn’t be intimidated but that he would be ground down and beaten up. Artur is a champion and top-level fighter. Smith was a belt-holder who wanted to become a champion. There’s a difference.
There were no surprises on fight night. Fighters in the red corner won seven out of seven undercard bouts. There was no surprise in the main event either.
Smith came out aggressively at the opening bell, determined to live or die with what he does best. Beterbiev responded in kind. He knocked Joe down toward the end of round one and twice more in the next stanza with a barrage of punches that were like ocean waves crashing against the shore. Words like “obliterate” and “demolish” come to mind. He thoroughly outboxed Joe in addition to outpunching him. Referee Harvey Dock appropriately stopped the bout with Smith on wobbly legs at 2:19 of the second round.
The most intriguing next fight for Beterbiev would be a unification bout against WBA 175-pound champion Dmitry Bivol for the “undisputed” light-heavyweight crown. When asked in a post-fight interview whether he preferred Bivol or WBO “mandatory” challenger Anthony Yarde as his next opponent, Artur responded, “Unification fights is more interesting, is more motivation. I prefer unify.”
But this is boxing. So, in his next bout, Beterbiev will likely face Yarde (who was knocked out by Sergey Kovalev and split two fights against Lyndon Arthur).
* * *
Beterbiev-Smith was contested seven days after a particularly disturbing incident that occurred on another Top Rank fight card at the Hulu Theater.
I’ve written at length about the inadequacies of the New York State Athletic Commission. https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/71634-an-open-letter-to-gov-kathy-hochul-regarding-the-new-york-state-athletic-commission On June 11, these inadequacies were exposed again.
Dakota Linger had been brought to New York from West Virginia as an opponent for heavily favored Josue Vargas. Forty seconds into round two, Linger rocked Vargas with a hard right hand. Josue staggered backward and fell to the canvas. Inexplicably, referee Ron Lipton ruled the knockdown a slip.
ESPN blow-by-blow commentator Bernard Osuna responded to Lipton’s ruling with the declaration, “It’s called a slip. Unbelievable! That was a right hand that hurt Vargas.”
The action resumed. Linger threw three dozen unanswered punches, many of them blows to the head, that culminated in Vargas being blasted through the ropes. Rather than stop the fight, Lipton gave the obviously woozy Vargas a count and, when the fighter regained his feet, allowed the carnage to continue.
“Vargas is not all right,” Osuna told a national television audience with urgency in his voice. “He’s finished.”
Twelve more unanswered punches followed with ESPN expert analyst Timothy Bradley shouting, “Omigod! Stop the fight! Stop the fight! Stop the fight! Stop the fight!”
Finally, several ringside personnel climbed onto the ring apron and ended the slaughter. As of this writing, the atrocity can be seen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3X8sK5p9es.
How bad was it? The Mirror (one of the United Kingdom’s more popular news outlets) ran an article headlined “Boxing Referee Accused of Trying to Get Fighter Killed by Not Stopping Fight.” That was hyperbolic. But undisputed world lightweight champion Devin Haney wasn’t when he posted on social media, “This type of stuff will ruin a fighter forever.”
It can also leave a fighter with permanent brain damage.
After the bout, Vargas was hospitalized for observation.
“It doesn’t matter who the house fighter is,” Timothy Bradley told this writer one week after the carnage. “it doesn’t matter what the fans want to see. The referee has to stop that fight and he didn’t.”
The New York State Athletic Commission fails consistently to take corrective measures when confronted with poor refereeing and judging. Meanwhile, not a single NYSAC commissioner or executive director Kim Sumbler attended the June 18 fight card at Madison Square Garden.
Is this New York governor Kathy Hochul’s idea of good government?
* * *
Ring judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo has turned in some horrible scorecards; most notably her 117-110 tally in favor of Gabriel Maestre in a WBA title fight against Mykal Fox last August. But her conduct away from the ring has been worse.
Martinez has a history of making racist comments on social media. By way of example, in a July 11, 2020, post on Twitter mocking Black Lives Matter, she wrote, “Black Goya beans matter.” In an August 18, 2020, Twitter post, she referred to Michele Obama as “monkey face.”
On June 11, Daniel Dubois knocked out Trevor Bryan in the fourth round of a WBA heavyweight “world” title fight at Casino Miami Jai Alai in Florida. One of the judges assigned to the bout was Gloria Martinez Rizzo.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis oversees the Florida State Athletic Commission. Perhaps he finds Rizzo’s conduct and remarks acceptable. They aren’t.
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – Broken Dreams: Another Year Inside Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, he was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th 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

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

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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