Tag Archives: Boxing

RICHARD TORREZ JR. OUTPOINT VIANELLO IN FIRST 10-ROUNDER

2021 Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. stepped up to 10-rounders for the first time in his young career and worked hard for a unanimous decision win over Italy’s Guido Vianello on Saturday night at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The heavyweight contest headlined the Top Rank card televised on ESPN Plus.

Torrez Jr. got the nod by scores of 98-91, 97-92 and 97-92, but took a good deal of criticism for the awkward fight that was not pretty to watch. The heavyweights got tangled up numerous times and Vianello had a point deducted for holding in round two after several warnings. At the time of the point deduction, it looked like Torrez Jr.’s aggressive style was going to be a huge problem for Vianello, but over the middle rounds, the Tulare, CA native faced steady adversity for the first time as a pro.

Richard Torrez Jr. came into his first main event at 12-0 with 11 KOs and had mostly run over lesser competition with his all-action attack. But Vianello was a clear step up for the new American hero.

Guido Vianello, a 2016 Olympian himself, entered the ring with a record of 13-2-1 with 11 KOs. Just as importantly, at 6′ 6″, the Italian looked a lot more like the top of the division, in physical stature anyway. His only pro loss coming in was to top-10 contender Efe Ajagba by split decision last year.

So, Torrez Jr. was challenged to step up came away with a comfortable win on the scorecards. The aesthetics drew social media catcalls and the question has to be asked: what does the 25-year old need to do to climb the heavyweight mountain?

It’s a great time to jump into the heavyweight mix as many of the division’s big names are either long in the tooth or, quite honestly, limited in skill. The United States is clamoring for a champion in this glamour division and being an Olympic star is a great place to start.

Richard Torrez Jr. checks many of the boxes that a young heavyweight is measured by. But the bull-rush offense was exposed by Vianello as the taller, heavier fighter diagnosed the flaws and took advantage with some right-hand hammers to the exposed head coming in. The added rounds also showed that Torrez Jr. probably needs to dial it down a bit and plan for the long haul as he appeared to be gassed at points in the second half of the fight.

All reasonable points to be made visible at this stage of any fighter’s career, and not at all impossible to overcome.

How likely is it that Richard Torrez Jr. will improve on his weaknesses and make the climb to the heavyweight elite? This depends on the training and guidance he gets. This was one step up the ladder and he came away with a win. Let’s see how he looks next time out and against what style he is confronted with. He definitely has the drive and the athletic ability to develop into a great fighter.

ESPINOZA DEFENDS FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE WITH TKO6 OF RAMIREZ

Photo: Lance Pugmire

Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) defended his WBO featherweight title for the second time, this time against the man he won it from last year, Robeisy Ramirez, with a TKO6 on Saturday night in Phoenix, AZ. Ramirez waved off the fight himself just after the start of the sixth round due to double vision in his right eye.

Espinoza was coming on after a slow start in the first two rounds where Ramirez was able to have success with constant movement and rapid fire attacks on the inside before moving away. Espinoza stepped up the action in round three and slowed Ramirez’ progress the rest of the way.

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MIKE TYSON – JAKE PAUL COVERAGE

I’ll be following along on the Netflix event tonight with fight results and some commentary on the Serrano-Taylor rematch as well as the headliner.

JAKE PAUL UD8 OVER MIKE TYSON

Pretty underwhelming. Either you like the “event” or you don’t. I’m ok with it. Mike had very little and Jake went easy on him. Fair enough. We got a couple of great fights on the undercard and a lot of eyes were on boxing tonight. Just my personal opinion but this new era of boxing is going quite well. Events such as

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FURY PROVES IT WITH PUNISHING KO11

Tyson Fury capped off his trilogy with Deontay Wilder with a brutal 11th round knockout after a wild contest that saw both men on the canvas. Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) retained the WBC title and the linear heavyweight championship while apparently proving his superiority over Wilder once and for all.

Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) made good on his plan to change his attack and came out aggressively in the first round with some positive results. Fury took some time to figure things out and wasn’t able to bully Wilder like he did throughout their second fight.

The two-way action most people expected started in earnest in the second round as Fury came out ready to attack. Wilder was still active and got some good right hands in but Fury was always able to return fire. The pattern continued into the third, with Wilder coming forward and the champion throwing back, and near the end of the round Fury scored the first knockdown of the fight.

The challenger rose looking as bad as he did throughout much of their second fight, unsteady, gassed, eyes not focused. Yet he weathered the storm and continued on into the fourth round. That’s when the fight shifted into its next phase.

The dazed Wilder gamely held up under a fierce attack, occasionally throwing dangerous shots back, but looking very much like his time was limited. Then he landed one of his patented, from-the-grave right hands and down went Fury. A master of recuperation, Fury rose and got back in there but quickly went down again with 10 seconds left in the round.

When round five began, both looked to be fully recovered from their knockdowns and the battle raged on. It was the last round I scored for Wilder. From then on, it was Fury hounding his tired, battered foe while Wilder would load up with huge shots from time to time, sometimes landing and causing Fury some trouble.

But rounds six through 10 all went to Fury on my scorecard and the second knockdown of Wilder came in the 10th with 1:18 left. He made it through the round but then in the 11th Fury put him down in such a manner that the fight was waved off the moment Wilder hit the canvas.

True to form for both fighters, Fury sang to the audience and Wilder left the ring immediately with no congratulations or post-fight interview. Given the beating Wilder took, it could be understood that he needed to get medical care right away, but poor sportsmanship most likely played a part.

We’ve seen them fight three times now and Fury got the better of most of the action. The moments where Wilder decked him violently are what makes this a competitive rivalry. At the time of this stoppage, the official scorecards read 94-92, 95-91 and 95-91, all for Fury. Combine that with the one-sided affair they had last time and Fury seems to have the clear upper hand over Wilder.

The first fight ended in a draw and many people believe Fury won that one, despite being knocked down twice. Regardless, Wilder does not have a win against Fury. But his lethal right hand has put him on the brink of victory several times in the series.

In real time, it was the most thrilling boxing match I can remember watching in a good, long while. I was tensed up and my heart was racing. When watching the replay, I’m sure that with the outcome already known, it will be clear that Deontay was on borrowed time for most of the way and both men were throwing wide, sloppy haymakers. But when you don’t know the outcome and you are aware of Wilder’s fight-saving power, it’s a wild ride.

Deontay Wilder is a freakishly talented athlete at 6’7”, too big and powerful for most men who walk the earth. He ruled the heavyweight division from 2015 until Tyson Fury entered the picture. After their draw in 2018, Wilder made two more defenses, both via KO, before losing his title in the rematch with Fury in 2020.

Fury, at 6’9″, appears to be the freak that nobody can handle. His boxing skills, while not to be confused with Sugar Ray Robinson, are daunting for anyone in the heavyweight division, and if he can survive Wilder’s powerful right hands (he did) it is hard to imagine him losing to any of the current heavyweights. He will have to be outworked. Putting him to sleep doesn’t appear to be on the table.

 

TYSON – JONES JR. PPV: A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

Boxing took centerstage on Saturday night as two of its all-time biggest stars squared off in a pay-per-view event that had the entire sports world’s attention. Even people outside of boxing took notice as Iron Mike Tyson stepped back into the ring to take on Roy Jones Jr.

In perfect 2020 form, Mike is 54 years old and Roy is 51 and this was an exhibition of eight two-minute rounds. The ground rules were quite restricting with safety measures in place to ensure no one would get seriously hurt. But with Tyson slimmed down and looking lethal, a one-punch demolition was still on the table.

The exhibition went the full eight rounds, Tyson clearly had the edge despite unofficial scoring that had it a draw, and the whole spectacle was quite entertaining. Snoop Dogg performed and then did ringside commentary. A lot of people could have gotten their $50s worth from the main event alone.

But this was a five-bout card that featured four other fights of varying degrees of quality. The opener was a barnburner between featherweights Irvin Gonzalez and Edward Vazquez, a split-decision win for Vazquez. Lightweight Jamaine Ortiz scored a TKO7 over Sulaiman Segawa before light heavyweight Badou Jack rolled all over an overmatched Blake McKernan for a UD8.

The co-main is the most talked-about part of this card besides Tyson-Jones Jr. YouTube sensation Jake Paul took his 1-0 record into the ring against former NBA star Nate Robinson, who was climbing through the ropes for the first time as a professional. It went spectacularly bad for Robinson who went down on his face three times, the last time completely unconscious. Paul probably wouldn’t have any business being in the ring against a trained professional boxer, but Robinson clearly had no business in the ring with Paul.

Knockdown #1 came in the first round, Robinson had no idea where the right hand came from, went down hard and only beat the count because the ref slowed down his pace. Clearly hurt, Robinson survived the onslaught but the beginning of round two saw Paul land another haymaker that put the slam-dunk champion down again. Robinson got up but not for long and the last knockdown/KO was scary. He went down flat, motionless, asleep.

Are you not entertained?

Boxing is a tough business for the pros. When a guy gets in there without the proper preparation and it goes like that, some people are appalled while others think it was the best thing that could have happened. I’d rather not see it again, but I’m willing to bet that I am waaaaaaayyyyyy outnumbered.

Then came Tyson vs. Jones Jr. Both guys breathed heavily but Mike looked more like his old self than Roy did. They Tyson menace was clearly there as an in-shape Tyson, even at age 54, stalked Jones Jr. and let fly with eye-popping combinations. Jones Jr. had just enough of his old movement and all of his ring smarts to tie up his attacker or move away from danger. It wasn’t a great boxing contest. It wasn’t very competitive and there was no doubt who was winning. But just like the late 80s and early 90s, it was all about if Tyson’s opponent could get out of this without getting his head knocked off.

It’s two days later and there is still a buzz around this event, but what does that mean in the grand scheme of things for boxing? The sport is cranking back up in the face of the pandemic and there have been some very enjoyable shows on the calendar. The Charlo twins’ doubleheader that ran $80 and went on for most of a day was a bold step for boxing-starved fans. The huge fights haven’t happened yet but we’ve got Errol Spence Jr. vs. Danny Garcia this coming weekend. Canelo Alvarez is back at it in a couple of weeks and Anthony Joshua is scheduled for later in December.

In the middle of all that, we had this. Middle-aged boxing fans as well as Gen Z fans wanted to see Iron Mike Tyson in the ring and they got it. The Paul/Robinson fight probably brought an insane number of fans due to Paul’s popularity. The other three bouts were about the same as you could expect on any fight card, a blowout, a back-and-forth war and a seventh-round stoppage.

What do you want for your $50? The rap performances, the Paul/Robinson show and Snoop Dogg as an announcer probably won’t work on a conventional boxing card. Or would they? Tyson himself said yesterday that boxing owes these YouTubers for bringing their fans to the sport.

This event was fun. I didn’t pay to see it but I enjoyed it and, while I wouldn’t want one of these every month or two, I’d be interested in seeing more. Rather than have Oscar De La Hoya do something embarrassing in a comeback fight at his age, why not do what Julio Cesar Chavez and Jorge Arce have been doing? You could fill up the undercard however you want and this Tyson-Jones Jr. show gave some pretty good suggestions. The key to the whole thing is for people to understand, or even not understand, what they are buying insofar as a competitive fight, a YouTube attraction or an exhibition. Mixed together like they were on Saturday night, the show was a roller coaster and the whole world took notice.

USYK – WITHERSPOON WEIGHTS

Here are the weigh-in results for Saturday night’s heavyweight fight airing on DAZN starting at 7PM ET:

Oleksandr Usik (16-0, 12 KO’s) – 215
Chazz Witherspoon (38-3, 29 KO’s) – 242

Dimitry Bivol (16-0, 11 KO’s) – 174.3
Lenin Castillo (20-2, 15 KO’s) – 175

J-ROCK DETHRONES HURD

Julian “J-Rock” Williams took the fight to unified super welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd on Saturday night and won a majority decision, taking the WBA, IBF and IBO belts. Williams (27-1-1, 16 KO’s) floored Hurd in the second round and forced the action all night in an entertaining contest in front of Hurd’s hometown supporters in Farifax, VA.

Official scores were 116-111, 115-112 and 115-112. InTheCorner.Net scored the fight 116-111 for Williams.

Hurd (23-1, 16 KO’s) is a notoriously slow starter and J-Rock was waiting for him and took advantage early. After winning the first round on the basis of more activity, Williams stunned the now-former champ with a combination that sent Hurd to the canvas in the second round. Hurd heated up after the first few rounds but Williams didn’t give an inch.

Williams asserted himself in this training camp as he tried to bounce back from a previous title challenge loss to Jermall Charlo in 2016. That loss put Williams on a path of comeback fights and when he got another title shot he poured his heart and soul into his preparation.

Hurd presents a matchup problem for just about anybody in the 154-lb division with long arms and power in both hands. He’s known as a volume puncher once he gets into gear. Williams neutralized all of these points and came back with his own sharp attack. Both fighters were marked with Hurd bleeding from his right eye while Williams had swelling around his left eye. When Hurd let his hands go, he was able to get strong power shots in and uppercuts on the inside. But Williams never let him get any momentum. For every Hurd action, there was a counter by Williams.

An emotional J-Rock addressed the intensity of his training and the respect he has for Hurd and his family in the ring after the fight. The fighters praised each other in post-fight interviews, a show of mutual respect. There is a rematch clause but Williams didn’t commit to an immediate sequel.

SPENCE JR. DOMINATES GARCIA

Errol Spence Jr. put on a dazzling display of boxing skills in whitewashing Mikey Garcia over 12 rounds on Saturday night. The welterweight title fight pitted two previously undefeated fighters against each other in a pay-per-view showdown, but the issue was decided early on. Official scores were 120-108, 120-108 and 120-107.

InTheCorner.net scored the fight 119-109 for Spence Jr. (25-0, 21 KO’s).

The defending welterweight champion gave Garcia (39-1, 30 KO’s) just about nothing to aim for from the opening bell. Garcia, a tactician and multi-division champion, had all kinds of problems getting off any attack as Spence Jr. worked a jab relentlessly and seemed to always be in an offensive posture. Garcia’s only success came in isolated moments where he rushed in and landed shots against the retreating champion.

But Spence Jr. quickly turned the tide back in his favor each time. Final punch stat numbers were absurd: 345 punches landed by Spence Jr. vs. just 75 by Garcia.

Errol Spence Jr. pumped his jab, threw precision shots with both hands and seemed to be an impossible target for Garcia for most of the fight. Garcia fell behind early and needed desperately to rally but Spence Jr. gave him very few opportunities. Behind on all the cards, Garcia spent more time in a defensive posture than firing off shots.

Mikey Garcia moved up two weight classes for this fight and really didn’t have much to lose. The biggest risk was serious injury, and it looked at times that the beating was going in that direction. But to suffer his first loss at the hands of a much bigger fighter who is one of the dominant fighters in the sport, his stock can’t be affected too badly.

Errol Spence Jr. may have had his true coming-out party tonight. Those who follow boxing know he is most likely the cream of the crop in a deeply talented welterweight division. But to headline an event with over 47,000 people in the seats at AT&T Stadium, including stars and legendary athletes, speaks to Spence Jr.’s standing as a star. Garcia certainly sold his share of tickets, but Spence Jr. owned the night.

It was a great night for boxing with Jerry Jones hosting, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott by his side, and a who’s-who of boxing legends including Evander Holyfield and Manny Pacquaio sprinkled throughout the expensive seats. Errol Spence Jr. capitalized to the fullest by showing his incredible repertoire of boxing skills for all of the 12 rounds and making a highly skilled opponent look completely lost.

GARCIA – SPENCE JR. WEIGHTS

Weigh-in results for Saturday night’s pay-per-view card in Dallas, Tx:

MIKEY GARCIA – 145.5
ERROL SPENCE JR. – 146.25

DAVID BENAVIDEZ – 167
J’LEON LOVE – 168.25

LUIS NERY – 118
MCJOE ARROYO – 117

CHRIS ARREOLA – 239.25
JEAN PIERRE AUGUSTIN – 226

EUBANK JR. BATTERS DEGALE

Chris Eubank Jr. won a unanimous decision over James DeGale on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. The victory earned Eubank (28-2, 21 KO’s) the IBO 168-lb title and likely send DeGale (25-3-1, 15 KO’s) into retirement.

Official scores were 114-112, 115-112 and 117-109, all for Eubank Jr.

DeGale was knocked down in rounds two and 10 and looked to be under duress for most of the fight. Eubank Jr. had a point deducted in the 11th round as an awkward fight got all the way out of control with Eubank Jr. slamming DeGale to the canvas.

This fight wasn’t about clean punching action as much as it was about wrestling, holding and firing off shots out of clinches. DeGale looked very much on the down side of his career and Eubank Jr. took advantage of it.