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Avila Perspective, Chap. 241: Puerto Rico’s Berlanga vs Ireland’s Quigley and More

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Puerto Rico’s Edgar Berlanga meets Ireland’s Jason Quigley.

It’s a perfect match.

The search for the next great male Irish fighter has long been a goal for promoters. It’s been hit and miss, but occasionally a John Duddy or Andy Lee comes along.

Promoters also seek the next great male Puerto Rican fighter. It’s not easy to replace a Miguel Cotto or Felix Trinidad.

The undefeated Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) crosses paths against Quigley (20-2, 14 KOs) on Saturday, June 24, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

Both fighters have similar paths.

Years ago, Quigley was signed by American promoter Golden Boy Promotions but was unable to crack that glass ceiling that determines world champions. Knockout losses to Tureano Johnson and Demetrius Andrade derailed his world title aspirations.

“I know what can come from winning this fight and that’s what excites me. The only thing in my head is Edgar, not any other fighter, it’s just him and me Saturday night,” said Quigley.

Boricua Berlanga, though undefeated, was deemed not ready for prime time by his original promoter Top Rank. He felt otherwise and signed with Matchroom Boxing and now gets an opportunity to prove world title ready.

“I feel great, I’m ready to go. For me there are bigger fish out there, the GGGs, the Charlo’s, these are the guys I want to get in the ring with, I feel I am ready and seasoned to get in with them, but I must beat the s*** out of Jason Quigley this weekend, that’s what it is,” said knockout punching Berlanga at the press conference on Thursday.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s the battle between Irish and Boricua fighters was a common sight at Madison Square Garden. It was also common to see the two ethnic groups battle it out on the streets.

Ever heard of “West Side Story”?

Though Quigley comes from Ireland he probably knows enough about the history between Puerto Rican fighters and Irish. It adds an extra element to this fight.

“We’ve been going into the Lion’s Den since day one. I’ve handled hostile environments, it’s nothing to concern me,” Quigley said.

Berlanga expects a battle.

“People are trying to say Jason is an easy fight, but I know it’s a difficult fight, we’ve prepared well for that, he’s not going to stand in the middle of the ring,” Berlanga says.

Something’s Coming.

Showtime in Minneapolis

Middleweights highlight the card as Carlos Adames (22-1, 17 KOs) fights Julian Williams (28-3-1, 16 KOs) for the interim WBC middleweight title on Saturday. June 24, at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minn. Showtime will televise the PBC card.

Adames, a Dominican living in New York City, has several key wins over top contenders including Sergiy Derevyanchenko who gave Mexico’s Jaime Munguia a heck of a ride. Three other fighters were eliminated by knockout since losing to Patrick Teixeira.

“J Rock” Williams held three super welterweight world titles for a bit after defeating Jarret Hurd four years ago. He failed to defend it when he lost to Jeison Rosario. Now he is a middleweight and looking for an opportunity to prove his relevance.

It should be good.

Also, Argentina’s Fernando Martinez (15-0, 8 KOs) defends the IBF super flyweight title against Philippine’s Jade Bornea (18-0, 12 KOs).

Martinez beat long-reigning champ Jerwin Ancajas twice to prove he was the true owner of the 115-pound title. Ancajas had held the IBF title since September 2016 when he defeated McJoe Arroyo and had defended it nine times.

Now Martinez must fight another Filipino to retain the belt.

Super Flyweights in Japan

WBA titlist Joshua Franco (18-1-3, 8 KOs) lost the title on the weight scale today (Friday) after weighing more than five pounds over the 115-pound weight limit. He can longer win that title when he meets WBO titlist Kazuto Ioka (29-2-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday June 24 in Ota-City, Japan.

Franco and Ioka ended in a majority draw in their first clash last December in Japan.

Most fighters below 118 pounds have problems staying in the lower weight classes. Franco, 27, will probably need to fight in the heavier weight classes.

Thompson Fights in Ontario

Super lightweights Jesus Saracho meets Tarik Zaina in the main event at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario on Friday, June 23. The Thompson Boxing Promotions card can be seen on its Facebook page or web site.

Mexico’s Saracho (13-1-1, 11 KOs) meets Mexico’s undefeated Zaina (12-0, 8 KOs) in a 10-round bout.

“Saracho has been in the ring and has beaten some top fighters. If I get him hurt, I’ll be looking to end the fight early,” said Tijuana’s Zaina, a Moroccan by birth, who is fighting in the US for the first time. “This will be a classic Mexican war!”

Fights to Watch

(All times Pacific Time)

Fri. www.thompsonboxing.com 7:45 p.m. Jesus Saracho (13-1-1) vs Tarik Zaina (12-0).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Edgar Berlanga (20-0) vs Jason Quigley (20-2).

Sat. Showtime 6 p.m. Carlos Adames (22-1) vs Julian Williams (28-3-1)

Photo credit: Melina Pizano / Matchroom

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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.

It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.

Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.

Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.

Bustillo Wins Rematch

Applerose2

In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.

Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.

Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.

After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.

Other Bouts

In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.

A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Tedious Fights and a Controversial Draw Smudge the Matchroom Boxing Card in Orlando

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Matchroom Boxing was at the sprawling Royale Caribe Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida tonight with a card that aired on DAZN. The main event was a ho-hum affair between super lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.

SoCal’s Zepeda has been in some wars in the past, notably his savage tussle with Ivan Baranchyk, but tonight he brought little to the table and was outclassed by the lanky Hitchins who won all 12 rounds on two of the cards and 11 rounds on the other.  There were no knockdowns, but Zepeda suffered a cut on his forehead in round seven that was deemed to be the product of an accidental head butt and another clash in round ten forced a respite in the action although Hitchins suffered no apparent damage.

It was the sort of fight where each round was pretty much a carbon of the round preceding it. Brooklyn’s Hitchins, who improved to 17-0 (7), was content to pepper Zepeda with his jab, and the 34-year-old SoCal southpaw, who brought a 37-3 record, was never able to penetrate his defense and land anything meaningful.

Hitchins signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotional outfit coming out of the amateur ranks and his style is reminiscent in ways of his former mentor. Like Mayweather, he loses very few rounds. In his precious engagement, he pitched a shutout over previously undefeated John Bauza.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, Conor Benn returned to the ring after an absence of 17 months and won a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco. It wasn’t a bad showing by Benn who showed decent boxing skills, but more was expected of him after his name had been bandied about so often in the media. Two of the judges had it 99-91 and the other 96-94.

Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) was a late addition to the card although one suspects that promoter Eddie Hearn purposely kept him under wraps until the week of the fight so as not to deflect the spotlight from the other matches on his show. Benn lost a lucrative date with Chris Eubank Jr when he was suspended by the BBBofC when evidence of a banned substance was found in his system and it’s understood that Hearn has designs on re-igniting the match-up with an eye on a date in December. For tonight’s fight, Benn carried a career-high 153 ½ pounds. Mexico’s Orozco, who was making his first appearance in a U.S. ring, declined to 32-4-3.

Other Bouts of Note

The welterweight title fight between WBA/WBC title-holder Jessica McCaskill (15-3-1) and WBO title-holder Sandy Ryan (6-1-1) ended in a draw and the ladies’ retain their respective titles. Ryan worked the body effectively and the general feeling was that she got a raw deal, a sentiment shared by the crowd which booed the decision. There was a switch of favorites in the betting with the late money seemingly all on the Englishwoman who at age 30 was the younger boxer by nine years.

The judges had it 96-94 Ryan, 96-95, and a vilified 97-93 for Chicago’s McCaskill.

In the opener of the main DAZN stream, Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, 27, improved to 15-0 (10) with a 10-round unanimous decision over 39-year-old Toronto veteran Steve Rolls (22-3). All three judges had it 97-93. Rolls has been stopped only once, that by Gennady Golovkin.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

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Zhilei Zhang KOs Joe Joyce; Calls Out Tyson Fury

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Joe Joyce activated his rematch clause after being stopped in the sixth frame by Zhilei Zhang in their first meeting. In hindsight, he may wish that he hadn’t. Tonight at London’s Wembley Stadium, Zhang stopped him again and far more conclusively than in their first encounter.

In the first meeting, Zhang, a southpaw, found a steady home for his stiff left jab. Targeting Joyce’s right eye, he eventually damaged the optic to where the ring doctor wouldn’t let Joyce continue. At the end, the fight was close on the cards and Joyce was confident that he would have pulled away if not for the issue with his eye.

In the rematch tonight, Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) closed the curtain with his right hand. A thunderous right hook on the heels of a straight left pitched Joyce to the canvas where he landed face first. He appeared to beat the count by a whisker, but was seriously dazed and referee Steve Gray properly waived it off. The official time was 3:07 of round three.

Zhang, who lived up to his nickname, “Big Bang,” was credited with landing 29 power punches compared with only six for Joyce (15-2) who came in 25 pounds heavier than in their first meeting while still looking properly conditioned. One would be inclined to say that age finally caught with the “Juggernaut” who turned 38 since their last encounter, but Zhang, 40, is actually the older man. In his post-fight interview in the ring, the New Jersey resident, a two-time Olympian for China, when asked who he wanted to fight next, turned to the audience and said, “Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?”

He meant it as a rhetorical question.

Semi-Windup

Light heavyweight Anthony Yarde was matched soft against late sub Jorge Silva, a 40-year-old Portuguese journeyman, and barely broke a sweat while scoring a second-round stoppage. Yarde backed Silva against a corner post and put him on the deck with a short right hand. Silva’s body language indicated that he had no interest in continuing and the referee accommodated him. The official time was 2:07 of round two.

A 30-year-old Londoner, Yarde (24-3, 23 KOs) was making his first start since being stopped in eight rounds by Artur Beterbiev in a bout that Yarde was winning on two of the scorecards. Silva, a late replacement for 19-3-1 Ricky Summers, falls to 22-9.

Also

Former leading super middleweight contender Zach Parker (23-1, 17 KOs) returned to the ring in a “shake-off-the-rust” fight against 40-year-old Frenchman Khalid Graidia and performed as expected. Graidia’s corner pulled him out after seven one-sided rounds.

In his previous fight, Parker was matched against John Ryder who he was favored to beat. The carrot for the winner was a lucrative date with Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately for Parker, he suffered a broken hand and was unable to continue after four frames. Tonight, he carried 174 pounds, a hint that he plans to compete as a light heavyweight going forward. Indeed, he has expressed an interest in fighting Anthony Yarde. Graidia declined to 10-13-4.

The Zhang-Joyce and Yarde-Silva fights were live-streamed in the U.S. on ESPN+.

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