Boxing Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser

Published

10 months ago

June 9, 2024

Boxing Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser

There was a time when Madison Square Garden on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade belonged to Miguel Cotto.

Cotto fought from 2001 through 2017, going in tough more often than most elite fighters of his era en route to compiling a 41-6 (33 KOs) ring record. He was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee who personified dignity and grace, both in and out of the ring.

Top Rank did a brilliant job of building Cotto as a fighter and gate attraction. Part of that process was creating the tradition of Miguel fighting in the main arena at Madison Square Garden on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade. He did it four times in five years, beating Muhammadqodir Abdullaev (2005 – KO 9), Paulie Malignaggi (2006 – W 12), Zab Judah (2007 – KO 11), and Joshua Clottey (2009 – W 12). For an encore, he knocked out Sergio Martinez in 2014.

That history was a distant memory when Top Rank hosted a fight card in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night – the eve of this year’s Puerto Rican Day Parade. There were eight fights on the card. Each fight featured a local ticket-seller or a fighter who Top Rank is trying to build in a “learning experience.“ Only one of the fights was competitive. The A-side fighter won all eight bouts.

Some impressions:

Nisa Rodriguez (now 2-0) looked like a professional fighter until the fight started. Her opponent, Jordanne Garcia (4-4-3), didn’t look like a fighter at all. Garcia is winless in five outings dating back to 2019. And the four women she beat before that have a grand total of zero wins among them. Garcia didn’t know how to throw punches, so she didn’t. She simply bulldozed forward, grunting, and held. Rodriguez (a New York City police officer) sold some tickets, won every round, and her fans seemed happy.

Lemir Isom-Riley (now 4-3, 2 KOs, 2 KOs by) fought like the losing combatant in a toughman contest. But this was boxing. Ali Feliz (2-0, 2 KOs) knocked him out in the first round.

Ofacio Falcon (11-0, 6 KOs) won every round in a dreary match-up against Antonio Dunton El Jr (5-3-2, 2 KOs).

Jahi Tucker (11-1-1, 5 KOs) vs. Quincy LaVallais (17-5-1, 12 KOs) was troubling. Tucker had stepped up the level of competition in his last two fights and suffered a loss and a draw. So he went back to fighting softer opposition. Tucker hurt LaVallais (who seemed out on his feet and was saved by the bell) at the end of round one. Quincy never recovered. He took head shot after head shot from round two on. Tucker loaded up again and again but couldn’t put him away. Eric Dali might be the best referee in New York. He should have stopped the bout but didn’t. The fight went the distance with Tucker winning all eight rounds on each judge’s scorecard. What made it particularly ugly was that Jahi showboated in a way that was particularly demeaning to his opponent. At one point, with LaVallais backed into a corner, Jahi put one hand behind his back and pounded away with the other. With ten seconds left at the end of round six, he retreated to his own corner and stood disdainfully with his arms draped on the ring ropes. Let’s see how much showboating Jahi does if and when Top Rank matches him competitively again.

Andy Dominguez (11-1, 6 KOs) vs. Cristopher Rios (10-2, 7 KOs) was a good spirited action fight. Dominguez emerged with a majority decision victory but the scorecards could have gone either way.

Tiger Johnson (13-0, 6 KOs) won a snoozer over Tarik Zaina (13-2-1, 8 KOs).

Bruce “Shu Shu”Carrington (12-0, 8 KOs) looked good in stopping Brayan De Gracia (29-4-1, 25 KOs, 2 KOs by) in eight rounds. With the caveat that De Gracia had been in only one fight since 2022 and lost it. Carrington has the most upside of any fighter who was on the card. He brings a healthy dose of mean into the ring and isn’t content to coast to a decision. He wants to hurt his opponent and knock him out.

The main event matched Xander Zayas (19-0, 12 KOs) against Patrick Teixeira (34-5, 25 KOs, 1 KO by). Teixeira looked like a shot fighter from the opening bell. His timing and balance were off. His punches were arm punches. And Zayas couldn’t put him away, which suggests a ceiling on Xander’s future.

Miguel Cotto elevated Madison Square Garden. And Madison Square Garden elevated Cotto. Those times are gone.

***

On April 5, 2024, a 27-year-old professional boxer named Ardi Ndembo was knocked unconscious in a Team Combat League fight contested in Coral Gables, Florida, and placed in an induced coma by doctors who were trying to save his life. He died three weeks later.

Ndembo had been knocked unconscious twice in sparring sessions in Las Vegas gyms during the month immediately preceding the fatal fight. He was medically unfit to fight in Florida.

In early-May, the Association of Boxing Commissions issued a statement urging that the Florida State Athletic Commission “conduct a full and transparent regulatory investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ardi Ndembo’s death.”

On May 21, Florida State Athletic Commission executive director Tim Shipman declared, “We’re not investigating the case. And as far as our procedures are concerned, there’s nothing we’re going to change.”

I did investigate the case. My report was published on June 4 in The Guardian and can be read in full here:https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jun/05/the-death-of-ardi-ndembo-was-a-fatal-boxing-fight-preventable

Ndembo was killed in a fight conducted under the auspices of an organization called Team Combat League. A video of the fatal fight can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVxxgSPVV7A

A video of Ndembo being knocked unconscious by Efe Ajagba in the Bones Adams Gym in Las Vegas can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3l34zH2n50

A video of Nbembo being knocked unconscious by Patrick Mailata at the Split-T Management Gym in Las Vegas can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRmhMmxPwlM

The video of Ndembo being knocked unconscious by Mailata was posted on RealFightStories.com (a site founded by combat sports journalist Mike Russell). The video has an arrow on the screen pointing to a spectator standing by the ring ropes as Ndembo is knocked out and identifies the spectator as Dewey Cooper.

Dewey Cooper is president of Team Combat League.

Mike Russell is light years ahead of everyone else in investigating Ardi Ndembo’s death. Look for his follow-up work on the issue at RealFightStories.com

ABC president Mike Mazzulli oversees combat sports for Mohegan Sun. The New York franchise of Team Combat League hosts its fights at Mohegan Sun. That gives Mazzulli the authority to investigate what the Florida State Athletic Commission won’t.

Meanwhile, the Florida State Athletic Commission has forfeited the right to tell anyone that the health and safety of fighters is its primary concern. Clearly, it isn’t.

Ardi Ndembo

***

Does anyone remember Marselles Brown?

Brown was a seven-foot club fighter who compiled a 33-18-1 (25 KOs, 13 KOs by) ring record between 1989 and 2016. Along the way, he was knocked out by Trevor Berbick, Lamon Brewster, and Tommy Morrison.

Why am I mentioning this now?

Brown has a son named Jaylen. Yes, that Jaylen Brown. The Jaylen Brown who’s an NBA superstar and is on the verge of leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA Championship.

***

It’s often said that the older we get, the more we think about long-ago times. In Jerry Izenberg’s case, that’s good. Izenberg is 93 years old. And his latest book – Larry Doby in Black and White (Sports Publishing) – is one of his best. So let’s step outside the insular world of boxing and take a look at a man who helped reshape America more than seven decades ago.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson shattered baseball’s color barrier. Eleven weeks later – on July 5, 1947 – wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform, Larry Doby followed suit

Robinson was on a team that welcomed him with open arms. Doby entered a mostly cold locker room that included teammates who refused to shake his hand. Robinson was in Brooklyn – a borough of New York City that thrived on diversity. Doby was in Cleveland, a city with public schools that were still segregated, restaurants that often refused to serve black patrons, and movie theaters that confined people of color to the balcony.

Except for the World Series, the American and National Leagues were separate institutions with separate administrative structures. There was no interleague play.

When New York Yankees general manager George Weiss was asked after Robinson’s debut whether the Yankees were interested in signing a Negro (the accepted term in those days), he responded, “Our fans are different. Do you think a Wall Street stockbroker would buy season box-seat tickets to see a colored boy play for us?”

Thirteen years later, when Calvin Griffith moved his team from Washington to Minnesota where they became the Minnesota Twins , Griffith declared, “I’ll tell you why we came to Minnesota. It was when we found out you only have fifteen thousand colored people here. We came here because you’ve got good, hardworking white people here.”

“Jackie got all the credit for putting up with the racists’ crap and abuse,” Doby later told Jet magazine. “He was the first. But the crap I took was just as bad. Nobody said, ‘We’re going to be nice to the second Negro.'”

Izenberg chronicles Doby’s journey from his birth in South Carolina through his formative years in Paterson, New Jersey (where he was a multisport high school star) to his longtime marriage to high school sweetheart, Helyn Curvy. There was time spent in the United States Army during World War II and four seasons in the old Negro Leagues.

Then Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck – a decent man with a strong sense of social justice – signed Doby to a contract, and the next stage of Larry’s journey began.

Jackie Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1962. The culmination of Izenberg’s book is Doby’s long overdue induction in 1998.

“When it looked as though I’d never get here,’ Doby told Izenberg after they toured the Hall of Fame Museum together on the night before his induction ceremony, “I used to tell myself it didn’t matter. But tonight I realize how much it means to me.”

Doby and Robinson had comparable major league career statistics. Robinson had a higher batting average (.313 to .283). Doby had the edge in home runs (253 to 141) and RBIs (970 to 761). But as Izenberg notes, “At the end of their careers, a peculiar form of perception widened the gap between Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby on their way to the history books. Each endured the same humiliations. Each emerged as a superstar. But the nation’s memory of Doby began to shrink. The perceived divide between the two grew even wider. It morphed into a conviction that the breaking of the National League’s color line by Robinson dwarfed the breaking of the American League’s color line by Doby. After all, once Jackie did it, it was done. No problem. No story. Right?”

Larry Doby is worth learning about. And Jerry Izenberg is an ideal teacher.

—

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – MY MOTHER and me – is an intensely personal memoir available at Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/My-Mother-Me-Thomas-Hauser/dp/1955836191/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5C0TEN4M9ZAH&keywords=thomas+hauser&qid=1707662513&sprefix=thomas+hauser%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1

In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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Thomas Hauser

Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

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Xander Zayas Wins a Lopsided Decision over Patrick Teixeira

Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

2 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside-at-the-Fontainebleau-where-Mikaela-Mayer-won-her-Rematch-with-Sandy-Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

2 days ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

3 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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