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Arnold Barboza Advances to 27-0 on a Top Rank Card at the Pechanga Resort

TEMECULA, CA.-In a fight that seemed much closer, Southern California’s Arnold Barboza won the battle of the unbeaten super lightweights over Puerto Rico’s Danielito Zorrilla by unanimous decision on Friday.
“I was a little rusty, it had been a little awhile,” said Barboza.
It was the boxer versus the puncher and Barboza (27-0 10 KOs) out-punched Zorrilla (16-1,12 KOs) to win a regional super lightweight title in front of a near-sellout crowd of 2,836 at Pechanga Arena.
The battle of contrasting styles took a few rounds to unravel.
“I was just trying to relax. It was hard,” said Barboza about the first three rounds.
Zorrilla had knocked out most of his opponents silly and had a long reach that enabled him to tag Barboza a few times in the early going. But the Puerto Rican fighter relied on that power and seldom punched in combination. That’s where Barboza excelled.
Though it took three rounds to break the ice, especially in the form of body shots mixed with head blows, the Southern California boxer began to find his reach. Zorrilla connected with a solid counter right. It proved to be the invitation Barboza needed to take more risks and he did.
Barboza opened up the fourth round on a quicker tempo and fired combination after combination. It seemed to surprise Zorrilla who seemed stunned by one of the shots. But when Barboza tried to attack he was met by a sizzling left hook counter.
During the next few rounds Barboza unleashed the combination punching while Zorrilla settled on one-punch bombs. That began the signature of the fight. And when Barboza connected solidly with uppercuts and a right cross, Zorrilla covered up and relied on setting traps.
They mostly did not work.
Zorrilla scored heavy with a right counter that sent Barboza into a swerve.
“I was more off-balance. I went back into it,” said Barboza about the big blow landed by the Puerto Rican fighter. “My conditioning was on point.”
Though Zorrilla connected in each of the last three rounds, he was always out-punched by Barboza who was always the busier fighter. After 10 rounds one judge scored it 98-92, and two others 97-93 all for Barboza who picks up a regional title and moves into contention territory.
“The main goal is a title shot,” said Barboza. “We want Teofimo Lopez.”
Semi-Final
Fontana’s Ray Muratalla (15-0, 12 KOs) showed off his boxing mastery with a convincing win over Mexico’s tough Jai Valtierra (16-2, 8 KOs) to win their lightweight contest by unanimous decision after eight rounds.
Muratalla scored a knockdown in the fourth round with a left hook to Valtierra’s temple that short-circuited his legs. Even after he beat the count his legs were unsteady but the fighter from Leon, Mexico kept upright and remained vigilant.
Valtierra was able to remain competitive but just couldn’t match Muratalla’s speed and technique. Muratalla was especially effective going to the body and using the double left hook to score heavily throughout the fight.
“I felt I was a little bit sloppy. He was tough and had a strong head,” said Muratalla who trains in Riverside at Robert Garcia Boxing Academy.
All three judgers scored the fight 80-71 for Muratalla.
Other Bouts
In a battle between heavyweights named Junior, it was Olympian Richard Torrez Jr. (2-0, 2 KOs) stopping Roberto Zavala Jr. (2-2-1) with a three-punch combination that prompted referee Eddie Hernandez to halt the action at 58 seconds into the first round. Torrez wins by knockout according to California rules.
San Diego’s Austin Brooks (7-0, 2 KOs) had the size, reach and speed advantage over L.A.’s Victor Saravia (1-3) but a slight adjustment in the third round made the four-round fight more difficult. Still, Brooks won by unanimous decision over Saravia who waited until the third round to use a bob-and-weave style to confuse Brooks in a featherweight bout.
Stephan Shaw (17-0, 13 KOs) wiped out Mexicali’s Bernardo Marquez (14-5-1, 10 KOs) with three knockdowns in the first round in a heavyweight fight. Referee Jose Cobian ended the fight in 2:35 of the opening round. Marquez tried valiantly to provide action but was simply out-gunned by Shaw who hails from St. Louis.
Las Vegas’ Floyd Diaz (6-0, 2 KOs) remained undefeated via knockout over Pedro Salome (3-1-1) at 1:17 of the third round of a featherweight fight. Diaz scored a knockdown and then followed up with a three-punch combination that forced referee Daniel Zamora to stop the fight.
A welterweight fight between Mexico’s Adrian Yung (28-7-3) and Jorge Marron Jr. (20-3-2) ended in a majority draw after six rounds.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images
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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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