Featured Articles
Cordina-Rakhimov Might Steal the Show this Saturday
As the eyes of the boxing world shift to Las Vegas and the stirrings of the undercard for the Tank Davis-Ryan Garcia showdown this Saturday night, a less important fight that is no less interesting will be in full swing. In the Cardiff International Arena, Wales, super-featherweights Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-0-1) out of Los Angeles via Tajikstan, and hometown boy Joe Cordina (15-0) will meet ring centre for a minor alphabet strap and divisional bragging rights that would set the winner at the foot of the divisional throne occupied by Oscar Valdez. Both men are unbeaten, and as Iâve discussed elsewhere on TSS this month, both occupy that sweet spot in the divisional rankings that has consistently delivered quality fights in the first third of 2023. Cordina and Rakhimov both inhabit the top five at 130lbs and both have reasons to expect to have their arm raised this coming Saturday.
But before we get to the fight we should have a brief word about the how and the why, if nothing else to underline once more the pitiful shortcomings of the alphabet organisations who are supposed to be organising our sport.
It is Rakhimov who will defend the IBF 130lb belt this weekend, but it was Cordina who won it less than a year ago in June of 2022 against Japanese veteran Kenichi Ogawa in what was the performance of his life. The latest in a line of fighters to be anointed the âWelsh Wizardâ and the direct heir to Joe Calzaghe, the most recent Welsh pound-for-pounder, Cordina delivered on the hype for his âworldâ title shot. Ogawa, who had been stopped just once a whole decade before, started quickly, schooled, weight on his backfoot, baiting to counter with his jab. He won that first round, but Cordina was getting a close look at his man, alternating between the centre of the ring and quick retreats, trying to dial in a one-two. In the second, Cordina seemed to have a special interest in distance, controlling when Ogawa would move in and move out, using very small moves. Ogawa responded with small moves of his own, forwards for the most part, repeatedly closing the distance on the moving Cordina with a little hop, once risking a huge uppercut. In double-time, Cordina had persuaded Ogawa that it was safe to come forwards.
Cordina stepped lively for the first minute, waited for Ogawa to go flatfooted and landed a perfect punch, a runaway moon of a shot behind a feinted left that caught the stilled Ogawa clean. He roiled on the canvas as Cordina celebrated. I have never seen a better knockout shot; it was a punch Joe Louis would have been proud of.
Such a punch: but it came at a price. Cordina broke his right hand clean, and the injury required surgery. The IBF immediately stripped him. Despite doing exactly what all fighters train for, executed as perfectly as any of the worldâs pugs might dream, he was a beltholder for just four months and never lost his âtitleâ in the ring.
âIâve been informed that Iâve been stripped of the title,â Cordina announced. âI worked my whole life and sacrificed everything to become a world champion, and I ainât even had the chance to defend it. It feels like Iâve been robbed. Breaks my heart, honestly.â
The scheduled fight he had pulled out of to undergo surgery was against Rakhimov. The IBF, like all the alphabets, get their cash by charging fighters to fight for their titles. They could make no money from Cordina as he recovered in his Cardiff home, so they took his title and threw Rakhimov in with Zelfa Barrett in order that they could service a new champion.
Barrett, already a sometime IBF customer, was otherwise an odd choice but not an indefensible one, a victory over a much smaller Kiko Martinez and a European belt at 130lbs the testimony to that. Either way, the Englishman found himself travelling out to Abu Dhabi to fight for Cordinaâs title. Handled by the same Matchroom Boxing promotional team that handled Cordina it was clear what the promotional hope was here: that Barrett would take the belt back to Wales for an all-British showdown against the returning Cordina. Rakhimov had other plans.
Barrett made it hard though. Fleet-footed and armed with a sparkly jab, Rakhimov was forced to pursue, and he did so recklessly as early as the second round. He was met with success, throwing with variety and intention, and winning the round clean, but right at the bell Barrett held his ground and threw hard shots to the body and head giving Rakhimov an uncertain moment. In the third Barrett drew Rakhimov forwards onto one of those over-reached rushes and buckled him with a flashing counterpunch. Barrett was on him immediately but in controlled fashion, lashing his man to the body before once more giving ground. Discomforted by a low blow and seemingly eager to punish Barrett, Rakhimov walked onto a right uppercut for a no-count followed by a standing eight and his fight-plan lay in tatters.
Ringside, Cordina will have noted this. Rakhimov showed in these moments both poor judgement and poor temperament, windows for a fighter of Cordinaâs talents.
Rakhimov steadied himself though and boxed the fifth halting at the half-distance, showing more head-movement and trying to prevent counters while landing his own stiffer punches. It was an important adjustment and for all that I could feel Rakhimov straining at the leash, he executed it well, and started to exert a drag on the moving Barrett. By the eighth, Barrett, still ahead on my card, had begun to fade and Rakhimov found him with some nasty little shots along the ropes, more organised than he was early in the fight, snatching less. Almost square over his front foot he favoured the southpaw right but began to make more and more room for the left. In the ninth, Rakhimov provided more of the same and Barrett was there to be hit by it, suddenly fighting in a war he couldnât win â giving ground in stages now, Barrett was forced to the canvas by right jabs and hooks, a second knockdown moments later spelling the end. So exhausted was Barrett that television commentary incorrectly assumed he had a leg injury.
Rounds five to nine are Rakhimov country. It was during these rounds that he punctured Azinga Fuzile out in South Africa in an excellent fight from 2019; but that is not to say he cannot get it done early. Three of his last six were finished in the first half of the fight.
But there are weaknesses and a hint in 2021 that the distance might be one. His draw with Jojo Diaz, posted over 12 rounds, was a fight he was narrowly winning through nine only to lose the tenth, eleventh and twelfth in an alarming fade that cost him the fight, a fight I thought he narrowly lost.
So, what does all of this add up to? Frankly, a defined stylistic advantage for Cordina which can easily be mined for maximum return. Cordina blew up Ogawa with one punch, a trick heâs turned before with what is a dynamite right-hand, but I suspect he will not want to risk this punch early against Rakhimov; rather he will seek to draw an over-eager and frustrated Rakhimov onto any and all punches while using neat footwork to control the timing of those clashes, which he will minimise. Barrett did not have the steam to keep Rakhimov off him, but Cordina does. All being well for the Welshman, he can look to up the tempo in the later rounds, the rounds in which we saw Rakhimov struggle against Diaz.
This is all very easy to write and extremely difficult to do. Most of all Cordina will have to deal with Rakhimovâs mid-round surge which he has posted too often not to expect to see again this Saturday. Once he, as a pressure fighter and a puncher, has a proper understanding of how his opponent moves he can change a fight with aggression and volume and an underrated line in cuffing, shortened punches. The straight read of the fight then would see Cordina out-speed Rakhimov early before Rakhimov dials in through the middle rounds to even matters up before Cordina puts his foot down to dominate the championship rounds and take a decision, hometown or otherwise.
Those middle rounds though may be hotly contested and might be the best boxing you see this weekend, whatever the much more hyped Davis-Garcia fight delivers a few hours later.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
In a Massive Upset, Dakota Linger TKOs Kurt Scoby on a Friday Night in Atlanta
Although it was an 8-rounder on a show with two âtens,â Kurt Scobyâs match with Dakota Linger was accorded main event status on tonightâs card at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. This had everything to do with Scoby (pronounced Scooby), a former record-setting college running back who was considered one of the brightest prospects in the 140-pound weight class. â[Scoby] works harder than almost anyone Iâve ever seen,â said veteran New York promoter Lou DIBella in a conversation with Keith Idec. âBut heâs literally getting better after every fight and heâs got the hammer of Thor, man. He can punch through walls.â
The Duarte, California product who has relocated to Brooklyn and trains at Gleasonâs Gym, was undefeated (13-0) heading in and was expected to make Linger his ninth straight knockout victim. But Linger, a 29-year-old Buckhannon, West Virginia policemen whose first ring engagements were in Toughman competitions, wasnât intimidated by Scobyâs press clippings or by Scobyâs bodybuilder physique.
Linger, who improved to 14-6-3 with his tenth win inside the distance, took the fight right to Scoby and repeatedly found a home for his overhand right. In the sixth round, after Linger strafed the ever-retreating Scoby with a barrage of punches, referee Malik Walid determined that he had seen enough and waived it off. The decision seemed a tad premature, but neither Scoby nor his cornermen offered anything in the way of a protest.
Tournament results
In the first installment of an 8-man super welterweight tournament, Brandon Adams returned to boxing after his second three-year layoff and showed no ring rust whatsoever. Adams, a 34-year-old family-man who grew up in the Watts district of LA, dismissed Ismael Villareal with a wicked punch to the liver in the waning seconds of round three. The official time was 2:59.
A former wold title challenger, Adams who improved to 23-3 (16 KOs), has become the king of boxing tournaments. He first attracted notice in 2018 when he won the fifth edition of âThe Contenderâ series, scoring a wide 10-round decision over Shane Mosley Jr in the championship round.
Villareal, a second-generation prizefighter from the Bronx whose dad fought the likes of Hector Camacho, declined to 13-3.
Adams next opponent will be Francisco Veron who will bring a record of 14-0-1 (10).
In an energetic 10-rounder, Veron, a Florida-based Argentine with a strong amateur pedigree, scored a unanimous decision over Mexico-born, LA southpaw Angel Ruiz (18-3-1). The judges had it 100-90, 99-91, and 96-94.
Ruiz certainly had his moments, but Veron launched and landed many more punches despite fighting the last six rounds with a damaged eye.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Avila Perspective, Chap. 281: The Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia Show
Over the years bouts between old foes such as Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia tend to be surprising.
Yes, both are only 25 but have known each other for many years.
When undisputed super lightweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) steps into the prize ring at Barclays Center to meet challenger Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday, April 20, fans will be witnessing the continuation of a feud that began more than a decade ago.
And though the champion is a heavy favorite, familiarity is Garciaâs best weapon heading into their fight on the Golden Boy Promotions card that will be shown on PPV.COM with Jim Lampley and friends. DAZN pay-per-view is also streaming the card.
In many ways Haney and Garcia have ventured down the same path. From amateur sensations to fighting in Mexico while teens to asking for the biggest challenges available.
âWhichever version of Ryan shows up on April 20, I will be ready for him. Ryan Garcia is just another opponent to me,â said Haney who holds the WBC super lightweight title after his win over Regis Prograis.
The first time I saw Haney as a pro he battled the dangerous Mexican contender Juan Carlos Burgos at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. It was an impressive performance against a fighter who fought three times for a world title.
Haney was 19 at the time.
My first look at Garcia as a pro was in his first bout in the U.S. when he met Puerto Ricoâs Jonathan Cruz at the Exchange in downtown Los Angeles. The Boricua looked at Garcia and tried intimidating him with stares, taunts and the usual patter. During the fight both swung and missed until the second round when Garcia zeroed in and took him out.
Garcia had just turned 18, the legal age to fight in California.
Both fighters did not have the Olympics credentials that lead to fame. But their talent has allowed them to fight through the dense smoke that is professional boxing.
Haney has defeated numerous world champions such as Prograis, Vasyl Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr., while Garcia has stopped champions Javier Fortuna and Luke Campbell.
As amateurs, Garcia and Haney battled six times with each winning three.
âThey know each other very well,â said Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. âRyan is going to beat Devin Haney.â
Haney has a buttery-smooth style with one of the best jabs in boxing. Heâs very adept at keeping distance and not allowing anyone to fight him inside. His reflexes are outstanding, yet he seldom fights inside. Thatâs his weakness.
Garcia fights tall and has superb hand speed and a lightning quick left hook. Though his defense lacks tightness his ability to rip off three-punch combinations in a blink of an eye pauses opponents from bullying their way inside.
âThese guys always just look at me and look at me like I donât know how to box,â said Garcia on social media. âWhy was I one of the best fighters in the amateurs. Why was I a 15-time National championâŠwhy did I beat everyone I came across.â
Haney is a strong favorite by oddsmakers to defeat Garcia. But you can never tell when it comes to fighters that know each other well and are athletically gifted.
When Sergio Mora challenged Vernon Forrest he was a big underdog. When Tim Bradley fought Manny Pacquiao the first time, he was also the underdog. And when Andy Ruiz met Anthony Joshua few gave him a chance.
Haney and Garcia have history in the ring. It should be an interesting battle.
PPV.COM
Jim Lampley will be leading the broadcast on PPV.COM for the Haney-Garcia card at Barclays and texting with fans on the card live. He will be accompanied by journalists Lance Pugmire, Dan Conobbio and former champion Chris Algieri.
The PPV.COM broadcast begins at 5 p.m. PT. and is available in Canada and the USA.
Other News
MMA stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will be holding a media day event on Friday, April 19, at NOVO at L.A. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Diaz and Masvidal will be boxing against each other in a grudge match on June 1 at the KIA Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The two MMA stars met five years at UFC 244 with Masvidal winning by TKO over Diaz due to cuts.
This is a grudge match, but under boxing rules.
Fight card in Commerce, Calif.
360 Promotions returns to Commerce Casino on Saturday April 20 with undefeated super lightweight Cain Sandoval leading the charge.
Sandoval (12-0) faces Angel Rebollar (8-3) in the main event that will be shown live on UFC Fight Pass. Also on the card are two female events including hot prospect Lupe Medina (5-0) versus Sabrina Persona (3-1) in a minimumweight clash.
Doors open at 4 p.m.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round
Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round
There were few surprises when co-promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren and their benefactor HE Turki Alalshikh held a press conference in London this past Monday to unveil the undercard for the Beterbiev-Bivol show at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 1. Most of the match-ups had already been leaked.
For die-hard boxing fans, Beterbiev-Bivol is such an enticing fight that it really doesnât need an attractive undercard. Two undefeated light heavyweights will meet with all four relevant belts on the line in a contest where the oddsmakers straddled the fence. Itâs a genuine âpick-âemâ fight based on the only barometer that matters, the prevailing odds.
But Beterbiev-Bivol has been noosed to a splendid undercard, a striking contrast to Saturdayâs Haney-Garcia $69.99 (U.S.) pay-per-view in Brooklyn, an event where the undercard, in the words of pseudonymous boxing writer Chris Williams, is an absolute dumpster fire.
The two heavyweight fights that will bleed into Beterbiev-Bivol, Hrgovic vs. Dubois and Wilder vs. Zhang, would have been stand-alone main events before the incursion of Saudi money.
Hrgovic-Dubois
Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 13 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) fought on the same card in Riyadh this past December. Hrgovic, the Croatian, was fed a softie in the form of Australiaâs Mark De Mori who he dismissed in the opening round. Dubois, a Londoner, rebounded from his loss to Oleksandr Usyk with a 10th-round stoppage of corpulent Jarrell âBig Babyâ Miller.
Thereâs an outside chance that Hrgovic vs. Dubois may be sanctioned by the IBF for the world heavyweight title.
The May 18 showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury has a rematch clause. The IBF is next in line in the rotation system for a unified heavyweight champion and the organization has made it plain that the winner of Usyk-Fury must fulfill his IBF mandatory before an intervening bout.
The best guess is that the Usyk-Fury winner will relinquish the IBF belt. If so, Hrgovic and Dubois may fight for the vacant title although a more likely scenario is that the organization will keep the title vacant so that the winner can fight Anthony Joshua.
Wilder-Zhang
The match between Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) and Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) is a true crossroads fight as both Wilder, 38, and Zhang, who turns 41 in May, are nearing the end of the road and the loser (unless itâs a close and entertaining fight) will be relegated to the rank of a has-been. In fact, Wilder has hinted that this may be his final rodeo.
Both are coming off a loss to Joseph Parker.
Wilder last fought on the card that included Hrgovic and Dubois and was roundly out-pointed by a man he was expected to beat. Itâs a quick turnaround for Zhang who opposed Parker on March 8 and lost a majority decision.
Other Fights
Either of two other fights may steal the show on the June 1 event.
Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) meets Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) in a 12-round featherweight contest. New Jerseyâs Ford will be defending the WBA world title he won with a come-from-behind, 12th-round stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov in an early contender for Fight of the Year. Liverpoolâs âWreckingâ Ball, a relentless five-foot-two sparkplug, had to settle for a draw in his title fight with Rey Vargas despite winning the late rounds and scoring two knockdowns.
Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KOs) meets fellow unbeaten Austin âAmmoâ Williams (16-0, 11 KOs) in a 12-round middleweight match. East Londonâs Sheeraz, the son of a former professional cricket player, is unknown in the U.S. although he trained for his recent fights at the Ten Goose Boxing Gym in California. Riding a skein of 13 straight knockouts, he has a date with WBO title-holder Janibek Alimkhanuly if he can get over this hurdle.
The Forgotten Heavyweight
âUnbeaten for seven years, the man nobody wants to fight,â intoned ring announcer Michael Buffer by way of introduction. Buffer was referencing Michael Hunter who stood across the ring from his opponent Artem Suslenkov.
This scene played out this past Saturday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was Hunterâs second fight in three weeks. On March 23, he scored a fifth-round stoppage of a 46-year-old meatball at a show in Zapopan, Mexico.
The second-generation âBounty Hunter,â whose only defeat prior to last weekend came in a 12-rounder with Oleksandr Usyk, has been spinning his wheels since TKOing the otherwise undefeated Martin Bakole on the road in London in 2018. Two fights against hapless opponents on low-budget cards in Mexico and a couple of one-round bouts for the Las Vegas Hustle, an entry in the fledgling and largely invisible Professional Combat League, are the sum total of his activity, aside from sparring, in the last two-and-a-half years.
Hunterâs chances of getting another big-money fight took a tumble in Tashkent where he lost a unanimous decision in a dull affair to the unexceptional Suslenkov who was appearing in his first 10-round fight. The scores of the judges were not announced.
You wonât find this fight listed on boxrec. As Jake Donovan notes, the popular website will not recognize a fight conducted under the auspices of a rogue commission. (Another fight you wonât find on boxrec for the same reason is Nico Ali Walshâs 6-round split decision over the 9-2-1 Frenchman, Noel Lafargue, in the African nation of Guinea on Dec. 16, 2023. You can find it on YouTube, but according to boxrec, boxingâs official record-keeper, it never happened.)
Anderson-Merhy Redux
The only thing missing from this past Saturdayâs match in Corpus Christi, Texas, between Jared Anderson and Ryad Merhy was the ghost of Robert Valsberg.
Valsberg, aka Roger Vaisburg, was the French referee who disqualified Ingemar Johansson for not trying in his match with LAâs Ed Sanders in the finals of the heavyweight competition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Valsberg tossed Johansson out of the ring after two rounds and Johansson was denied the silver medal. The Swede redeemed himself after turning pro, needless to say, when he demolished Floyd Patterson in the first of their three meetings.
Merhy was credited with throwing only 144 punches, landing 34, over the course of the 10 rounds. Those dismal figures yet struck many onlookers as too high. (This reporter has always insisted that the widely-quoted CompuBox numbers should be considered approximations.)
Whatever the true number, it was a disgraceful performance by Merhy who actually showed himself to have very fast hands on the few occasions when he did throw a punch. With apologies to Delfine Persoon, a spunky lightweight, U.S. boxing promoters should think twice before inviting another Belgian boxer to our shores.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Australiaâs Nikita Tszyu Stands Poised to Escape the Long Shadow of His Brother
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
R.I.P. IBF founder Bob Lee who was Banished from Boxing by the FBI
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 277: Canelo and Munguia and More Boxing News
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
A Closer Look at Brian Mendoza who Aims to Steal the Show on the Tszyu-Fundora Card
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Hitchins Controversially Upends Lemos on a Matchroom Card at the Fontainebleau
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Undercard Results from Arizona where Richard Torrez Jr Scored Another Fast KO
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 278: Clashes of Spring in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and LA
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Dalton Smith KOs Jose Zepeda and Sandy Ryan Stops Terri Harper in England