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Avila Perspective, Chap. 244: ESPY Winner Claressa Shields and More Fight News

Out of all the boxers in the world Claressa Shields was chosen Best Boxer of the Year at the prestigious ESPY Awards given annually in Los Angeles. This includes all men and women.
Incredible honor.
“This award may have my name on it, but it is for every female boxer who has stepped into the ring and hopefully will inspire generations of young women in the future to pursue their dreams with no boundaries. I want to thank ESPN and all my fans who voted for me all over the world,” said Shields.
Shields, the undisputed super welterweight and middleweight world champion, became the first woman ever chosen for the award. Other candidates were Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney.
All were extremely worthy, but it was Shields who stood out with her victories over Maricela Cornejo and England’s Savannah Marshall who recently became undisputed super middleweight champion.
The Flint, Michigan native erupted on the boxing scene in 2016 after winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016. Since turning professional Shields has burned up the prizefighting scene and become one of the spearheads in breaking the glass ceiling that prevented women’s boxing from being televised.
chosen for the award. Other candidates were Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney.
For those that have never witnessed Shields in action, it’s best to see her perform in person. Her incredible hand-speed, agility and overall athleticism make her one of the best female fighters I ever saw. Perhaps the best.
If not for Shields and a few others, women’s boxing would have remained in the shadows. Thankfully, her willingness to prove her skills against the best fighters in the world smashed the barriers that kept women’s boxing hidden.
Now the top women fighters are promoted and televised by major companies and networks such as ESPN, which sponsored the ESPY Awards.
More Michigan
Undisputed super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner meets Christina Linardatou on Saturday, July 15, in Detroit. This is their second confrontation. DAZN will be streaming their fight.
Linardatou is the only fighter to have a win over Baumgardner and the champion is eager to avenge that loss that took place nearly five years ago in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I am coming for destruction. I have my grown woman strength and I am ready to put these hands on her and get that lick back that I have been waiting to do,” said Baumgardner at the Matchroom Boxing press conference.
Linardatou relishes the opportunity to prove her victory in 2018 was not a fluke.
“I always fight hard from first to last bell, because I am the underdog and I know I must go and get it. I have many skills, but I need to be dog and go and get it,” Linardatou said.
Las Vegas Heat
Lightweight contenders Frank Martin (17-0, 12 KOs) and Artem Harutyunyan (12-0, 7 KOs) meet on Saturday July 15, at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Temperatures outside are expected to be above 112 degrees.
Showtime will televise the TGB Promotions fight card.
Martin, a southpaw, outpointed Michel Rivera at the same venue last December. Many expected Rivera to become one of the stars of the lightweight division. Martin controlled the fight and won in convincing fashion with a gritty performance.
“I’m coming for it. I just want a dominant performance. I’m ready for whatever he’s got,” said Martin who trains with Derrick James in Texas. “He’s a come-forward fighter who tries to switch it up and be awkward. If he comes at me too aggressively, then it’s gonna be man down.”
Harutyunyan, an Olympic bronze medalist, hungers for this opportunity to crack the elite list. The undefeated lightweight is from Armenia. All of his fights have taken place in Germany and he is the only fighter to knock out Spain’s Sam Molina.
Armenia has long been a stronghold for very solid fighters.
Martin promises not to under-estimate Harutyunyan.
“Some people don’t respect my opponent because they don’t know who he is, but he’s an Olympic bronze medalist. They try to discredit him because they don’t want to fight me. No matter what, the goal is to dominate,” Martin said.
Also on the card are two fighters who trained with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif.
Elvis Rodriguez (14-1-1, 12 KOs) faces former world titlist Viktor Postal (31-4, 12 KOs) of Ukraine in a super lightweight match set for 10 rounds. Both have sparred each other before.
“My trainer Freddie Roach knows both of us very well. Ultimately that just makes the fight more interesting. Because we both know what to expect out of each other,” said Rodriguez.
Postal agrees with that sentiment and adds he has further inspiration.
“I’m gonna be myself in the ring. I’m always calm and collected in there. I’m going to do my best to raise the flag and represent Ukraine,” said Postal.
Fights to Watch (all times Pacific)
Sat. DAZN 11 a.m. Josh Kelly (13-1-1) vs Gabriel Corzo (18-0).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Alycia Baumgardner (14-1) vs Christina Linardatou (14-2).
Sat. Showtime 7 p.m. Frank Martin (17-0) vs Artem Harutyunyan (12-0).
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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

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
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

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

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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