Avila Perspective, Chap. 139: The Return of the Club Circuit, Shakur and More

Avila Perspective, Chap. 139: The Return of the Club Circuit, Shakur and More

Boxing is back.

A prizefighting card featuring Jesus Soto Karass and Marco Antonio Barrera in an exhibition along with multiple professional fights takes place on Friday night, June 11 at Pico Rivera Sports Arena in Pico Rivera, California. FITE TV will stream the Marv Nation Promotions card.

It’s called “Return of the Legends.”

The return of the smaller club circuit shows in the state of California finally happens for the first time since the pandemic hit the world. It’s a significant step because no other place in the world brings more club shows annually than California.

During the pandemic, all club shows could not afford to stage fight cards without fans.

Based on a media workout that took place on Tuesday, fans are eager to see live boxing. More than 100 showed up to see Soto Karass, Barrera and a few prizefighters perform short workouts for the public free.

Until this week, only the large promotion companies like Golden Boy Promotions, Thompson Boxing and Premier Boxing Champions could afford to stage fight cards without fans. Only this year has PBC allowed a limited amount of fans to buy tickets to their events. Of course, those seats were spaced out.

All entertainment events will allow 100 percent capacity in California beginning on June 15, if recent Covid-19 numbers remain at the same level. The vaccinations seem to have stymied the spread that began more than a year ago. California and Vermont lead the nation in reversing the spread according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

This Friday night, MarvNation Promotions opens up California for club shows and that’s a good thing for fans. Tickets are available at www.Ticketon.com or it can be watched on FITE.TV for a fee.

Shakur

Featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs) moves up one weight division and meets Jeremia Nakathila (21-1, 17 KOs) of Namibia for the interim WBO super featherweight title on Saturday, June 12, at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Stevenson attempts to set himself in position with a win to meet actual WBO super featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez who has the WBO and WBC titles after obliterating fellow Mexican Miguel Berchelt last February.

Both Stevenson and Valdez are promoted by Top Rank.

Despite having tremendous athleticism Stevenson often drops back into his amateur mode of hit and run tactics. That usually translates into boredom for most fans. Can he sell tickets with this fighting style?

Stevenson needs to use his athletic prowess to win by convincing fashion. He needs an impressive knockout win to make fans want to see a match between him and Valdez. He has the tools.

Aftermath

Floyd Mayweather allegedly earned another $100 million for his exhibition match against Logan Paul last Sunday in Florida.

It’s a common trend nowadays for former boxing greats to participate in exhibition matches that catch the interest of casual fans. First it was Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor, then Mike Tyson versus Roy Jones Jr.

Paul had participated in another bout in Los Angeles back in November 2019. That was a fight against Olajide William Olatunji aka KSI that took place at the Staples Center. Both made their professional debut against each other. KSI won by split decision despite being knocked down.

This trend of retired fighters and social media influencers participating in prizefighting has become more prevalent. It’s all entertainment. If people want to see it, they want to see it.

Lately UFC’s Dana White has been screaming about boxing is dead again. That means he is worried. He should be. While boxers like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez make $30 million per fight, MMA fighters rarely pass $2 million per fight, if that.

Wait until Canelo’s new contract agreement is completed this summer. Boy is Dana White going to be upset.

Fights to Watch (all time Pacific Coast Time)

Fri. FITE.TV 6 p.m. Marco Antonio Barrera vs Jesus Soto Karass

Sat. DAZN 11 a.m. Lewis Ritson (21-1) vs Jeremias Ponce (27-0)

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Jose Pedraza (28-3) vs. Julian Rodriguez (21-0); Shakur Stevenson (15-0) vs Jeremia Nakathila (21-1)

Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel

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