• 

I don’t know why we watch sports anymore if there is a “national” commission that pre-determines the winners. Last week I saw Jeyson Rosario get knocked out by Jermell Charlo with a jab to the elbow. I’m not saying that Charlo was involved but I am saying that anyone that paid for this fiasco just got ripped off for $75. A jab to the elbow, the new Achilles tendon, we’ll call it the Rosario elbow. I’m also not saying that Rosario threw the fight, what I am saying is that phones should be banned and fights should be held in candle light. Rosario was doing well until he forgot to protect his elbows from the softest shot Charlo threw that night. I would like to know ahead of time who they choose to win so I can put my money down as well. Pay per fraud…. Hispanics are having a hard time in the ring, my money is on Loma over Lopez. Can’t beat the lightning.

 

 

Former welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus lost  in Tullsa against a very game fighter Jessica McCaskill. Congratulations to McCaskill. It was a very electrifying fight that saw the challenger come out ahead. Braekhus didn’t seem to have her feet/legs under her. She lost her bid to take over Joe Louis’ record for most title defenses. Her mistake was fighting in the USA because of the electrical atmosphere that creates home town waves. She should have fought in Europe and I’m sure given the even electrical atmosphere, she would have fared a lot better.

The betting odds were probably paying out big to some few electricians.

Congratulations to David Benavidez, who scored an 11th round stoppage of Roamer Angulo, a fighter that has never been stopped before. Benavidez showed maturity beyond his years in making Angulo look like he did not belong in the same ring as him. Benavidez addressed the issue of not making weight, which he said he felt might have been unprofessional but given the current COVID-19 pandemic, his record, his maturity, we can honestly say that these things happen. Boxing, especially training is exponentially more difficult so making weight or coming a little bit above is something that can reflect the current times. For Benavidez, who I feel is the best boxer at 168 currently, it actually might be a blessing in disguise. Most boxing organizations don’t recognize champions in their ratings, making it more difficult to have the best fight the best. Well, now, Benavidez, with no belt, will definitely be a mandatory challenger for people like Jacobs, Smith, Saunders, Plant and even Alvarez. It might seem funny but he might make more without holding a title belt.

Buena suerte a los dos peleadores en el futuro.

It was the boxing bully being bullied by the boxing savant. Wilder, the most feared man in boxing, was put on his back foot by the white Ali. That is the synopsis or the story line in a nutshell. A closer in depth look would paint a different picture. Fury was, I wouldn’t say scared, but aware of Wilder’s power, having faced him prior. Wilder, who seemed off, wasn’t his usual self, it almost seemed like he wasn’t sure of his game plan. When the opening bell rang, Fury charged like a bull seeing red and Wilder played the part of a novice matador, not moving and almost asking himself is Fury going to stop or is he going to run me over. You can tell that Fury wanted to make a statement, which was I’m not scared of you. You could also see that Fury wanted to play the inside game, where Wilder couldn’t extend that right arm, to limit Wilder’s max effectiveness. Fury wanted to keep the shots short and quick and then hold or get close. Well, it worked like a charm. Wilder did land some rights, but for some reason, either because Fury was keeping that left shoulder up or because he had to punch up and over that shoulder, they weren’t landing with the same velocity as with his other opponents. By the fourth round, Wilder suffering, what looked to be a punctured ear drum, seemed to be on shaky legs and chose to be on the ropes more, allowing the Gypsy King to take advantage of his own quick herky jerky movements and feints to create opening and land flush shots. At times both fighters were throwing awkward shots with what seemed closed eyes hoping to land, but when you fight people that size, most people close their eyes while reciting the hail Mary. In the end it was Tyson Fury that prevailed and reigned victor. Oddly, probably the last outcome anyone would have bet on. It was 50/50 with a Wilder KO or a Fury decision victory, then another draw, then a Fury KO. No offense to the UK killer, but with someone like Wilder in front of you, only a crazy Gypsy King would go on the attack like that. Congrats to Fury, a well deserved win. As for Wilder, I always said, the best always have one loss on their record, that shows he was tested. What will make him one of the best now is to take some time and reflect on what went wrong, come back smarter, don’t know if he could get any stronger, that would be insane power, and regain his belt and at the same time cement his legacy. He can do it.

I did notice, that Wilder’s left arm was a little injured prior to the fight. Swelling generally means an injury, even though he didn’t say it, it was noticeable. Maybe he injured that thumb? Or was that the other fight? Nevertheless, Wilder was not 100% and for a Tyson Fury you have to be. Last thing, not one single ladies boxing match, what’s up with that? They have to eat as well. Kinda tired of the ladies being treated as second class citizens in this sport. I’m sure one could have been made.

Great night of fighting on DAZN as Jorge Linares dispatched of his opponent Morales, a durable fighter that has never been KO’ed until now, with a short right hand, the signature punch of Linares. Linares did not come away unscathed as he suffered some cuts.

Ryan Garcia, the anglo first name and Hispanic surname phenom of the Golden Boy stables, was poised and showed why, even though he doesn’t hold a major belt……yet… he is a force to be reckoned with. At 21 and to have that kind of timing and power in his left hook is pretty amazing. Timing comes with confidence and you can see that Ryan has that in abundance. Garcia dispatched his opponent in devastating fashion, a very appropriate phrase, given that Fonseca seemed to be unconscious prior to hitting the canvas.

The next fight for these talented fighters is against each other. While the advantage is seemingly for Garcia, Linares is fighting for relevance so he will definitely come with everything. I saw Devin Haney in the ring requesting to be next. Mr. Haney, who throws his power right by reaching behind his right ear, is a perfect candidate for Garcia. His wins over Garcia in the amateurs don’t translate to the pros where the gloves are way lighter and you aren’t wearing head gear. Haney’s flaws are perfect for Garcia to exploit. I say to him, Mr. Haney, watch what you ask for, you might just get it.

If I had the money and was a promoter, the one fight I would make happen is Mikey Garcia vs. Vasyl Lomanchenko. This is the biggest fight boxing can make today. Pure boxing fans see this fight as the match up of the decade but for right now it doesn’t look like it will materialize. Garcia is a pure boxer, who at 135 pounds should be ranked number 1 but do to boxing politics would be ranked under Loma. Loma is a special talent that comes once in a decade, he is the type of fighter that future fighters will try and emulate. This fight has the makings or maybe compares itself to another fight that happened years ago when a fighter with a special talent fought a pure boxer, Hamed vs. Barrera. Hamed was running through his opposition like a hot knife through butter. Barrera was the proud Hispanic fighter that wanted to cement his legacy. Everyone turned in to watch that fight and it was one of the most entertaining fights of the decade.

While I compare the two fighters to two different fighters of a different era, they are not alike in personality. Mikey is a laid back congenial person outside the ring that represents himself well. Loma is not the brash, cocky fighter, like Hamed, that feels that he needs to promote himself, his promotion comes from his quality wins. Loma is more of a business man that realizes that he started his professional career later than most of his opponents and only looks for challenges that make sense. The fact still remains though, that this fight is a must see, will bring in the numbers, will definitely give one of them a guaranteed spot in the BHOF and put him at the numero uno spot in the pound for pound list.

For right now we wait and see if Arum and Hearn can work together to make it happen. Mikey is at 147 getting ready for Vargas, a sure to be entertaining and tough fight and Loma just dispatched Campbell in a closer than expected fight where we saw Loma rise to the challenge against the taller fighter late in the fight to secure a really good win. We’ll see if Santa will bring these fighters together in the upcoming year and give all boxing fans the best Christmas gift.

In a test for Danny Jacobs, the former middleweight champion fought JC Chavez Jr. in a super middleweight bout. Chavez (51-3-1) is a good fighter and real test for Jacobs who is making his debut at the 168 pound limit. To Jacobs credit, he decided to keep the fight on after Chavez came in heavy. Jacobs was more on the defense in the first round and used his movement to offset Chavez’s aggression. As the fight went on, Chavez slowed, maybe due to the broken nose, and Jacobs pot shotted and landed the heavier and more telling blows. This fight would end in the 5th round when Chavez called it a day due to the broken nose, say what you want, a shattered nose will make you do just that and also his inability to breathe wouldn’t let him recuperate between rounds. Jacobs was, in my opinion, on his way to a decision win because even though Jacobs did land those telling shots, he was never in any serious trouble.

Chavez is a durable fighter that went 12 rounds with Sergio Martinez when Martinez was at the top of his game. Martinez, a true middleweight, hit Chavez with everything and couldn’t get him out there. For Jacobs, who I believe clearly drew with Canelo Alvarez, his game plan for this weight class should be more of something he is well equipped to do, that’s to fight smart and set traps. Jacobs is by far one of the smartest fighters in the game today, if not the smartest. When it comes to Ring IQ, he is the Einstein of the boxing world and he is going to need every bit of that IQ because that weight class is loaded with big punchers and granite chinned beasts. You have Benavidez, probably the best at 168, Smith, the English version of Canelo Alvarez, Canelo Alvarez, pound for pound challenger along with Crawford at 147, and Saunders, an undefeated fighter that can make anyone look bad and Caleb Plant, the quick handed American champion that has a lot of passion for the sport. It is not an easy weight class to dominate but he definitely can do it, if he keeps his wits and uses his best asset, his boxing IQ.

What a fight, ehh, boxing match. It really was a good fight for people that love pugilism. I thought the fight was good, even though non-purists will probably call it a stinker. Joshua did what he should have been doing all along in every fight, he used his physical gifts to outclass his opponent. I do think though he should have took some chances here and there to try and secure the knockout or at least a knock down, but that style will make him a more formidable opponent for all other contenders. When Joshua mixes his old style of fighting (me break you now) with his new style of boxing (float like a butterfly and sometimes sting like a bee) he will be a devastating fighter. Joshua just needs the right mix and realize when his opponent is hurt.

For Ruiz’s part, Joshua could not have shown him more respect. Ruiz still has fast hands and heavy shots, you could tell with the jabs he landed to the body. Ruiz was buzzed a little and he took it well. The problem Ruiz had was his game plan. He should have made the big man chase him by backing up all so slightly and moving in with a high guard and quick combos when his opponent moved forward, this would have closed the distance twice as fast. It was, after all, Joshua’s job to come and take the belts and Ruiz’s job to retain them. Ruiz stalked the big man and grew frustrated when Joshua wouldn’t stand and trade. Ruiz, for his part, was humble in defeat and said he has only himself to blame but we all know he was thinking that Joshua didn’t really man up but boxing is about hitting and not getting hit, so Joshua stayed disciplined, didn’t fall for the bait, didn’t let his machismo get the better of him and walked away with a solid win from a really good fighter in Ruiz, who by the way would have destroyed Buster Douglas on his best day even if he were fighting two of them.

To compare Ruiz to Buster Douglas would be like comparing a Pinto hatchback, remember those, to a Cadillac Escalade, without the spinning rims, he did lose the belts, so, no spinning rims. And, no offense to a really good fighter in Joshua, but Mike Tyson in his prime was a better fighter, not by much, even though Mike may not say it, he was. So the upset of Buster over Iron Mike, was a way much more upset then Ruiz over Joshua. I found it completely insane, the comment that it was as a big as an upset as the Tyson v Douglas fight. I hope that Joshua does give Ruiz another run at it, maybe not the next fight, but the one after that. I would like to see the adjustments both camps make and how the fight would go.

It comes down to one simple equation. F=MA… Force equals mass (x) acceleration.

Force – In science, force is the push or pull on an object with mass that causes it to change velocity (to accelerate). Force represents as a vector, which means it has both magnitude and direction

Mass – in physics, the quantity of matter in a body regardless of its volume or of any forces acting on it. The term should not be confused with weight, which is the measure of the force of gravity (see gravitation) acting on a body.

Acceleration – In physics, acceleration is the rate of change of velocity of an object with respect to time. An object’s acceleration is the net result of all forces acting on the object, as described by Newton’s Second Law. The SI unit for acceleration is meter per second squared.

Wilder’s punches are faster, he has more behind his punches and land with more impact than anyone else in the heavyweight division.

The test is if he can reach the 50 and 0 mark and take Marciano’s record away.

Not that it mattered that much, this call, but it might have, so for the sake of argument lets just see who was right. Trea Turner hits a slow roller towards third base, Peacock,  the pitcher, then scoops it up and tries to throw out the speedy Turner. Turner books up the first base line, a foot or so outside the lane, towards the infield, and gets there as the ball gets there. They called interference on the play and they called Turner out. My opinion, it was a bad call. That Turner ran outside the first base lane had nothing to do with the throw, since the throw was coming from third base side. The throw, which got their after Turner and hit him in the back of his right leg, which at that time was inside the first base lane, should have hinted that there was no way that Gurriel would have been able to get to it without impeding the runner. The truth is that it was a bad throw by the pitcher and Turner should have been safe. When the ball got there, Turner was right on the line, with his right leg inside the first base path. To me it seems simple, but in a big game atmosphere, maybe the umps over analyzed the situation. I’m a Mets fan, so the Nats winning while the Mets are at home scratching their bellies isn’t my favorite outcome but fair is fair. To quote Teddy KGB from the movie Rounders (sort of) “He beat’em fair and square, give that man his base”.

Lets hope that there is no shenanigans going on here. I just read how they made a movie about an NBA ref who intentionally made bad calls to cover the spread on bets he made, lets hope that these umps aren’t vying for a movie deal.

Last nights ESPN+ bouts were pretty good. One of my favorite fights of the night was Mayer vs. Zamora. These two ladies were good fighters, with pretty impressive skills. Mikaela Mayer, the taller fighter and former Olympian, used her size and range to knock down Alejandra Zamora in the first round. Zamora got up and continued and traded punches with Mayer. The two fighters showed an impressive grit and endurance and were fun to watch. In the end, Zamora’s cornerman stopped the fight prior to the sixth round. The corner, Zamora’s dad, reasoned that they had lost every round and that taking further punishment was unnecessary. I will say that Zamora was impressive but you can tell that she is two weight classes to high. Mayer, for her part, did exactly what she was supposed to do. She used a long rangy jab and let her hands go when in close. Mayer used that strong right hand to punch down on her opponent, giving her extra added power to her shot. Mayer, with her height and long jab, is going to be someone to be dealt with in that division. Zamora, if she drops down to 118 or 122, could actually make waves in those divisions. Zamora is too small for the 130 pound division. She had some really good skills and moved well and her timing was impressive but she will not be able to overcome the natural disadvantages at the higher weight. If she cuts down to 118, Zamora looks like she could reign at that weight.