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Canelo-GGG III: Odds and Ends

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Canelo-GGG III: Odds and Ends

It’s Mexican Independence Day Weekend and I am in Las Vegas so this must be boxing. Indeed, for most of the last three decades, the desert gambling mecca has hitched a big prizefight to the holiday festivities. Actually, it’s been the other way around. The festivities are an extension of the fight, not vice versa.

Tomorrow’s match-up between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin is unusual in several respects. There have been a number of famous trilogies in boxing, but rarely have all three fights been at the same venue. By and large, the third leg of trilogy is a rubber match. But the first fight ended in a draw, so one can’t really use that terminology, albeit in the eyes of most neutral observers the series is deadlocked at 1-1.

The 1991 fight between Julio Cesar Chavez and Lonnie Smith at the Mirage started the ball rolling with respect to important Mexican Independence Day Weekend fights in Las Vegas. The fight wasn’t heavily promoted. In fact, the hotel’s owner Steve Wynn didn’t want it. He was legally bound to let Don King promote a fight on his property. This was written into the out-of-court settlement that allowed Wynn to go forward with the Douglas-Holyfield fight which he snatched from clutches of King.

Although Chavez-Smith wasn’t well-advertised and Julio Cesar Chavez was a massive favorite, it drew well (11,314 paid). Of more importance to Las Vegas casino operators, the Mexican and Mexican-American visitors were good spenders. Casinos then started funneling some of their marketing dollars into this demographic which was previously “under-served.” And boxing became the lure on the two big Mexican holiday weekends, Cinco De Mayo and Independence Day.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the pride of Guadalajara (and indeed all of Mexico), will be making his 10th appearance in Las Vegas on a Mexican holiday weekend (evenly divided between Cinco de Mayo and Independence Day). This ties him with Oscar De La Hoya who had six of his 10 holiday fights on Mexican Independence Day. The biggest of the bunch was Oscar’s Sept. 18, 1999 fight with Felix Trinidad at Mandalay Bay, a controversial decision that went against him.

—-

As of this writing, Canelo Alvarez is a consensus 9/2 (minus-450 favorite). This is a startling turn-about.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, GGG was in the vicinity of a 3/2 favorite in each of the previous meetings: minus-155 in 2017 and minus-145 in 2018, odds prevalent in Las Vegas on the eves of the fights.

Since their last encounter, Canelo has answered the bell for 72 rounds, going 7-1 including stoppages of Rocky Fielding, Sergey Kovalev, Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders, and Caleb Plant. Golovkin has had only four fights in the interim, answering the bell for only 32 rounds including a hard-fought, 12-round decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

But during the interim, GGG turned 40, a fact that weighed heavily in setting the odds. He’s eight years and three months older than Canelo Alvarez who at age 32 is theoretically still in his prime.

Consistent with the odds, all of  the polls for the trilogy fight show a sharp skewing toward the Mexican redhead. Regular TSS contributor Matt McGrain concurs with the consensus. Here’s his pick:

“Nobody loves the scoring for some of what has gone before between Golovkin and Alvarez, but there are degrees of discomfort.  What is undeniable, whatever your own scorecards may read, is the discomfort caused in Golovkin by the combination of speed and chin possessed by Alvarez.  His edge in speed has only increased since 2017.  Expect another decision for Canelo, with less complaining on Twitter in the aftermath than we saw in 2017 or 2018.”

And here’s a contrary viewpoint from TSS New England correspondent Jeffrey Freeman:

“Conventional wisdom says that Canelo wins, maybe even stopping GGG late. I don’t subscribe to that misbegotten wisdom. I say Gennady Golovkin uses his stiff jab, iron chin and his iron will to grind out a close decision win to tie the series at 1-1-1. Come on guys, Canelo just got beat up bad by the bigger Bivol. The weight hopping is catching up to him and Golovkin is actually the fresher fighter.”

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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

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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

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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

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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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