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Joe Joyce and Joe Parker meet at the Crossroads and the Likely Winner is….

A meeting at the crossroads is one of the most oft used cliches in boxing, but for a reason. Contests which will help define two careers, especially ones from adjacent generations are rare. Joseph Parker (30-2) knocked out Alexander Dimitrenko, out-pointed Carlos Takam, and received a razor-thin decision win over Andy Ruiz, all before Joe Joyce (14-0) had turned professional. Usually, a meeting between a contender who never reached the very top and an apprentice on the prowl for a legitimate scalp is fought at a junction, not a crossroads; the inexperienced man can dust himself off after any loss and come again. Not so Joyce. 14-0 he may be, but he is also seven years older than Parker, who is thirty. A major setback here could keep Joyce off the championship grass into his forties, and while many will claim forty is the new thirty in heavyweight boxing, this is only true of those who can stomach it.
Getting punched for pay is hard.
Parker, meanwhile, embraces every facet of another common boxing cliché, that of the heavyweight Ronin. Parker has boxed in his native New Zealand just once since 2018 and hasn’t defeated a ranked contender in even longer. Seen with the right kind of eyes, Parker’s record is a mirage, and although he made a spirited effort against Dillian Whyte in July of 2018, his surrender to Anthony Joshua a few months before was meek. Since his desperately narrow victory over Ruiz, Parker is 0-2 versus ranked contenders in six years. Should he drop to 0-3, Parker’s status will be reduced to that of gatekeeper.
So, when these two meet this Saturday night in Manchester, England, it is for more than an ABC trinket. The loser gets linked with Otto Wallin and Martin Bakole; the winner will find himself positioned for a shot at Joshua, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and any other monied heavyweights that emerge in 2023.
“Deep down there is respect,” Joyce told Parker nonchalantly at a recent publicity event. “But I want to smash your face in.”
This is Joyce in a nutshell. He is to the point, honest, open and direct when he is at his very best, and a stumbling confusion of speech when he strays from these tenants. Joyce has drawn criticism for the seemingly disinterested monotone with which he answers many questions during interviews or at press events, even seeming to drift off into a deep sleep on one occasion. I personally enjoy it and he recalls for me a manifestation of Norman Mailer’s appraisal of George Foreman. Mailer said of Foreman, “he could be deep, he could be non-responsive…he is a physical guru.” This was a polite way of saying that there could be very little going on in Foreman’s head (wrong, as it turned out) but that his physicality and seeming unassailability more than made up for it.
It would be wrong to compare Joyce to Foreman, but these things can be said of him, also.
“He has height, reach and power,” was how Parker summarised his opponent’s offensive skills. “He’s got a very good engine.”
This last, in combination with a chin which might soon be confirmed granite, is what sets him apart. Joyce cannot be dissuaded in his seek-and-destroy mission, and his being shelled by opponents like Daniel Dubois, Carlos Takam and most recently Christian Hammer has made no more impact than the limited opposition he met upon turning pro in late 2017. Joyce does indeed appear to be a non-responsive physical guru, as non-responsive to punches as he sometimes is to questions. This has earned him the nickname “The Juggernaut” and a very ill-advised attempt to adopt at a ring walked dressed as the Marvel comic-book character of the same name aside, it suits him.
Joyce is the classic big heavyweight, he deploys himself behind a surprisingly good jab and then does his thing: solve him if you can, and if you can’t, you will get hurt.
Joyce claims to have recently had his bone-density checked and that it is five times denser than that of the average man, higher even than that of other elite-level impact athletes who tend to flatten out at three-times the density of the average man. This translates to a real advantage in the ring that Joyce is cognisant of; he would also prefer not to rely upon it quite so much.
“I wasn’t happy getting hit clearly [by Christian Hammer in his most recent fight]. Preferably I won’t get hit by those punches against Parker.”
Parker is no big hitter, but then it was the mind-mixing punches of Muhammad Ali that spun Foreman to the canvas, not the booming shots of Ron Lyle or Joe Frazier. Parker’s best shot is the right-hand over and it is this punch which has most troubled Joyce recently. Taking a tour through Parker’s early finishes (rarer and rarer as his opponents improved) we see a long right hand so often the weapon of destruction. He started Dimitrenko’s trouble with a right-handed feint and then seconds later a distance right-handed punch for which he leans all the way across himself. Parker makes his position the key and this in tandem with some light footwork has spared him the worst attentions of the big punchers he has met. This knockout of Dimitrenko was impressive. Parker was just the second man to do it, and he remains the quickest in getting the giant German out of there (Tony Yoka finally equaled him, knocking him out in three rounds in Dimitrenko’s final fight).
It seemed, in these days, that Parker would manifest as a puncher, an exciting prospect given his skill and his own superb chin. Alas, it was not to be – but for this particular fight, one of Parker’s strengths, the right hand, lines up with Joyce’s specific weakness, a propensity to be hit with the right hand. He simply does not defend expertly against it and given his age and style he probably never will.
This is tantalising thought and hints at potential excitement. Parker taking control of this fight early and hurting Joyce with right hands while keeping out of harm’s way would be a thrilling and attractive opening. Watching Joyce, listed at 6’6 with an 80-inch reach, try to recapture the initiative as Parker inevitably fades would be even more so.
Parker claims this will be his hardest fight, which rings rather hollow if he expects to win, but Joyce’s claim that “this fight raises the bar” does ring true. “I’ll have to fight at a higher level [to win],” the Londoner added and it is a valid question as to whether the face-first tactics we’ve seen Joyce employ against Takam and Hammer will be enough to get the job done against a fundamentally sound fighter of Parker’s experience. People associated with Joyce, including his broadcast partners, have rather nervously been telling each-other and themselves that Joyce won’t fight in that plodding, carefree manner against elite opposition but the hour is getting late for him to demonstrate the truth of this.
Parker claims to have to have reclaimed his passion for boxing under Andy Lee who he has been training with in the United Kingdom, his family awaiting him in New Zealand. Joyce meanwhile travels to Las Vegas to train, taking advantage of the world-class sparring and facilities available to him but inflicting upon himself two trips across the Atlantic. Awaiting him there is Ismael Salas, a trainer Joyce seems wed to, the man who “made Felix Savon” in his own words. The Cuban is unquestionably a truly gifted trainer but if he has made significant differences to Joyce’s game, they are subtle.
Included though is an ability to ride troublesome right-handed punches. This is likely to be the key metric on Saturday. If Joyce is able to lift the sting from Parker’s best shots in the first half of the fight, the fight is decided, whatever the scorecards say at that point. Parker must land his best blows on Joyce, often and early and cleanly.
If he does, then he’s in it, but only if he’s in the very best shape of his career, because the Juggernaut will be coming for him. My guess is that Joyce’s momentum will send Parker into hiding later in the fight and that Joyce will sweep the final four or five rounds. This will be too many. Joyce is sluggish but he is busy and he is huge and that combination is awful enough; the addition of Parker’s best work bouncing off a sliding Joyce’s head and body without great effect will compound the issue.
Parker is tough and savvy. I expect him to be tough and savvy enough to survive the twelve rounds and drop a clear decision in an excellent fight.
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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.
Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.
More than 65,000 fans attended.
Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.
Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.
Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.
It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.
In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.
Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.
“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.
Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.
There were surprises from both fighters.
Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.
With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.
Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.
Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.
“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.
McKenna Wins
In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.
Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.
McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.
In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.
All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.
Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.
Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.
Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More

Next generation rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. carry on the family legacy of feudal warring in the prize ring on Saturday.
This is huge in British boxing.
Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) holds the fringe IBO middleweight title but won’t be defending it against the smaller welterweight Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday, April 26, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.
This is about family pride.
The parents of Eubank and Benn actually began the feud in the 1990s.
Papa Nigel Benn fought Papa Chris Eubank twice. Losing as a middleweight in November 1990 at Birmingham, England, then fighting to a draw as a super middleweight in October 1993 in Manchester. Both were world title fights.
Eubank was undefeated and won the WBO middleweight world title in 1990 against Nigel Benn by knockout. He defended it three times before moving up and winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in September 1991. He defended the super middleweight title 14 times before suffering his first pro defeat in March 1995 against Steve Collins.
Benn won the WBO middleweight title in April 1990 against Doug DeWitt and defended it once before losing to Eubank in November 1990. He moved up in weight and took the WBC super middleweight title from Mauro Galvano in Italy by technical knockout in October 1992. He defended the title nine times until losing in March 1996. His last fight was in November 1996, a loss to Steve Collins.
Animosity between the two families continues this weekend in the boxing ring.
Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, has fought mostly as a welterweight but lately has participated in the super welterweight division. He is several inches shorter in height than Eubank but has power and speed. Kind of a British version of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
“It’s always personal, every opponent I fight is personal. People want to say it’s strictly business, but it’s never business. If someone is trying to put their hands on me, trying to render me unconscious, it’s never business,” said Benn.
This fight was scheduled twice before and cut short twice due to failed PED tests by Benn. The weight limit agreed upon is 160 pounds.
Eubank, a natural middleweight, has exchanged taunts with Benn for years. He recently avenged a loss to Liam Smith with a knockout victory in September 2023.
“This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill. It’s about dedication. It’s about expertise and all those areas in which I excel in,” said Eubank. “I have many, many more years of experience over Conor Benn, and that will be the deciding factor of the night.”
Because this fight was postponed twice, the animosity between the two feuding fighters has increased the attention of their fans. Both fighters are anxious to flatten each other.
“He’s another opponent in my way trying to crush my dreams. trying to take food off my plate and trying to render me unconscious. That’s how I look at him,” said Benn.
Eubank smiles.
“Whether it’s boxing, whether it’s a gun fight. Defense, offense, foot movement, speed, power. I am the superior boxer in each of those departments and so many more – which is why I’m so confident,” he said.
Supporting Bout
Former world champion Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) tangles with Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) in a middleweight fight set for 12 rounds on the Benn-Eubank undercard in London.
“Beefy” Smith has long been known as one of the fighting Smith brothers and recently lost to Eubank a year and a half ago. It was only the second time in 38 bouts he had been stopped. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did it several years ago.
McKenna is a familiar name in Southern California. The Irish fighter fought numerous times on Golden Boy Promotion cards between 2017 and 2019 before returning to the United Kingdom and his assault on continuing the middleweight division. This is a big step for the tall Irish fighter.
It’s youth versus experience.
“I’ve been calling for big fights like this for the last two or three years, and it’s a fight I’m really excited for. I plan to make the most of it and make a statement win on Saturday night,” said McKenna, one of two fighting brothers.
Monster in L.A.
Japan’s super star Naoya “Monster” Inoue arrived in Los Angeles for last day workouts before his Las Vegas showdown against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday May 4, at T-Mobile Arena. ESPN will televise and stream the Top Rank card.
It’s been four years since the super bantamweight world champion performed in the US and during that time Naoya (29-0, 26 KOs) gathered world titles in different weight divisions. The Japanese slugger has also gained fame as perhaps the best fighter on the planet. Cardenas is 26-1 with 14 KOs.
Pomona Fights
Super featherweights Mathias Radcliffe (9-0-1) and Ezequiel Flores (6-4) lead a boxing card called “DMG Night of Champions” on Saturday April 26, at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Pomona, Calif.
Michaela Bracamontes (11-2-1) and Jesus Torres Beltran (8-4-1) will be fighting for a regional WBC super featherweight title. More than eight bouts are scheduled.
Doors open at 6 p.m. For ticket information go to: www.tix.com/dmgnightofchampions
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 9 a.m. Conor Benn (23-0) vs Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3); Liam Smith (33-4-1) vs Aaron McKenna (19-0).
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Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton

Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton
In any endeavor, the defining feature of a phenom is his youth. Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper was a phenom. He was on the radar screen of baseball’s most powerful player agents when he was 14 years old.
Curmel Moton, who turns 19 in June, is a phenom. Of all the young boxing stars out there, wrote James Slater in July of last year, “Curmel Moton is the one to get most excited about.”
Moton was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. His father Curtis Moton, a barber by trade, was a big boxing fan and specifically a big fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr. When Curmel was six, Curtis packed up his wife (Curmel’s stepmom) and his son and moved to Las Vegas. Curtis wanted his son to get involved in boxing and there was no better place to develop one’s latent talents than in Las Vegas where many of the sport’s top practitioners came to train.
Many father-son relationships have been ruined, or at least frayed, by a father’s unrealistic expectations for his son, but when it came to boxing, the boy was a natural and he felt right at home in the gym.
The gym the Motons patronized was the Mayweather Boxing Club. Curtis took his son there in hopes of catching the eye of the proprietor. “Floyd would occasionally drop by the gym and I was there so often that he came to recognize me,” says Curmel. What he fails to add is that the trainers there had Floyd’s ear. “This kid is special,” they told him.
It costs a great deal of money for a kid to travel around the country competing in a slew of amateur boxing tournaments. Only a few have the luxury of a sponsor. For the vast majority, fund raisers such as car washes keep the wheels greased.
Floyd Mayweather stepped in with the financial backing needed for the Motons to canvas the country in tournaments. As an amateur, Curmel was — take your pick — 156-7 or 144-6 or 61-3 (the latter figure from boxrec). Regardless, at virtually every tournament at which he appeared, Curmel Moton was the cock of the walk.
Before the pandemic, Floyd Mayweather Jr had a stable of boxers he promoted under the banner of “The Money Team.” In talking about his boxers, Floyd was understated with one glaring exception – Gervonta “Tank” Davis, now one of boxing’s top earners.
When Floyd took to praising Curmel Moton with the same effusive language, folks stood up and took notice.
Curmel made his pro debut on Sept. 30, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the undercard of the super middleweight title fight between Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo. After stopping his opponent in the opening round, he addressed a flock of reporters in the media room with Floyd standing at his side. “I felt ready,” he said, “I knew I had Floyd behind me. He believes in me. I had the utmost confidence going into the fight. And I went in there and did what I do.”
Floyd ventured the opinion that Curmel was already a better fighter than Leigh Wood, the reigning WBA world featherweight champion who would successfully defend his belt the following week.
Moton’s boxing style has been described as a blend of Floyd Mayweather and Tank Davis. “I grew up watching Floyd, so it’s natural I have some similarities to him,” says Curmel who sparred with Tank in late November of 2021 as Davis was preparing for his match with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz. Curmell says he did okay. He was then 15 years old and still in school; he dropped out as soon as he reached the age of 16.
Curmel is now 7-0 with six KOs, four coming in the opening round. He pitched an 8-round shutout the only time he was taken the distance. It’s not yet official, but he returns to the ring on May 31 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas where Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo are co-featured in matches conceived as tune-ups for a fall showdown. The fight card will reportedly be free for Amazon Prime Video subscribers.
Curmel’s presumptive opponent is Renny Viamonte, a 28-year-old Las Vegas-based Cuban with a 4-1-1 (2) record. It will be Curmel’s first professional fight with Kofi Jantuah the chief voice in his corner. A two-time world title challenger who began his career in his native Ghana, the 50-year-old Jantuah has worked almost exclusively with amateurs, a recent exception being Mikaela Mayer.
It would seem that the phenom needs a tougher opponent than Viamonte at this stage of his career. However, the match is intriguing in one regard. Viamonte is lanky. Listed at 5-foot-11, he will have a seven-inch height advantage.
Keeping his weight down has already been problematic for Moton. He tipped the scales at 128 ½ for his most recent fight. His May 31 bout, he says, will be contested at 135 and down the road it’s reasonable to think he will blossom into a welterweight. And with each bump up in weight, his short stature will theoretically be more of a handicap.
For fun, we asked Moton to name the top fighter on his pound-for-pound list. “[Oleksandr] Usyk is number one right now,” he said without hesitation,” great footwork, but guys like Canelo, Crawford, Inoue, and Bivol are right there.”
It’s notable that there isn’t a young gun on that list. Usyk is 38, a year older than Crawford; Inoue is the pup at age 32.
Moton anticipates that his name will appear on pound-for-pound lists within the next two or three years. True, history is replete with examples of phenoms who flamed out early, but we wouldn’t bet against it.
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