boxing

KD6-3.7

credulous skeptic
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i don't know if there is a boxing thread. but the heavyweight division may be at the best it has been since the 90s. joshua will probably get a rematch with ruiz before the year is up, fury is the lineal champ, and wilder holds the wbc belt.
 

I am thinking about signing up for a free 7-day trial for ESPN + so I can see the Fury fight this weekend.

I've been watching a lot more boxing lately. ESPN and FS1 have cards on just about every Saturday night with Top rank boxing or Premier Boxing Champions, including some title fights.

Shango James has another fight coming up next month at the Minneapolis Armory. That is a great venue for boxing.

I was in college during the 70's, so I used to go to the Five Corners Saloon to watch Ali fight on the big screen. Still remember the Ali-Shavers fight. The Acorn hit Ali with a shot that would have knocked out 99% of heavyweights - and Ali just shook it off and came back to win the fight.
 

I am thinking about signing up for a free 7-day trial for ESPN + so I can see the Fury fight this weekend.

I've been watching a lot more boxing lately. ESPN and FS1 have cards on just about every Saturday night with Top rank boxing or Premier Boxing Champions, including some title fights.

Shango James has another fight coming up next month at the Minneapolis Armory. That is a great venue for boxing.

I was in college during the 70's, so I used to go to the Five Corners Saloon to watch Ali fight on the big screen. Still remember the Ali-Shavers fight. The Acorn hit Ali with a shot that would have knocked out 99% of heavyweights - and Ali just shook it off and came back to win the fight.

I got back into watching boxing by watching Truax and Shango fight at the Armory. I got the trial of ESPN+ last summer to watch Manny Pacquio fight. Might have to see if I can weasel another free trial out of them.
 

I don't understand the love for UFC. I find it to be pretty lame. All of my friends like it. I much prefer boxing.
 

I don't understand the love for UFC. I find it to be pretty lame. All of my friends like it. I much prefer boxing.

UFC seems like a lot of hype for such a short event. I've never gotten into it either.
 


I don't understand the love for UFC. I find it to be pretty lame. All of my friends like it. I much prefer boxing.

It is as boring as soccer, just in different ways. Boxing is so much better than both.
 

I still am a highlight guy for boxing and ufc. I still can't watch hockey highlights that sport just sucks.
 

I still am a highlight guy for boxing and ufc. I still can't watch hockey highlights that sport just sucks.

I used to be a hockey naysayer. But I've come around. Playoff hockey is some of the most entertaining sporting events around. Game seven in the Stanley Cup Playoff tonight is going to be great. Go Blues!
 

Turns out I did not watch the Fury fight on Saturday. Didn't want to stay up that late. (getting old is so much fun)

Sounds like I didn't miss much. This Schwartz must have been a real tomato can. Reports I read sounded like Fury didn't bother to get in the best shape for the fight. Hopefully he'll fight someone a little more challenging the next time around.
 



Turns out I did not watch the Fury fight on Saturday. Didn't want to stay up that late. (getting old is so much fun)

Sounds like I didn't miss much. This Schwartz must have been a real tomato can. Reports I read sounded like Fury didn't bother to get in the best shape for the fight. Hopefully he'll fight someone a little more challenging the next time around.

That was the first time I had seen Fury fight, so I have no comparison, but endurance didn't end up being an issue for him, as the fight didn't even last a full 2 rounds. I was entertained, from his ring entrance (had a Rocky IV Apollo Creed theme) to his performance in the fight itself. His opponent was undefeated, but hadn't fought the toughest competition. Nonetheless, I was really impressed by Fury's technique, range (there can't be many with longer arm lengths in the history of boxing), power, and mobility (especially for his size). To me, if that was not his best, then his best would put him as one of, if not the best in heavyweight history.
 


Wilder-Fury II really surprised me. Wilder was looking like a truly great puncher at this point in his career - and then overnight, he just falls apart. It's a little like Sonny Liston. Liston had that aura of being a truly dangerous fighter who made opponents fear him. then Ali stopped him, and Liston's aura vanished overnight. Fury also flipped the script - going from a guy who was more of a boxer and jabber to a real power puncher.

Bottom line - boxing is always more fun when the heavyweight division matters. There are great fighters in all the weight classes, especially welterweight and middleweight, but there's nothing like a big heavyweight fight to bring more attention to the sport. Now, let's get Fury - Joshua. That one might be enough to get me to cough up for PPV.
 

Bit of a stunner on Saturday. (March 7).

Undefeated heavyweight Adam Kownacki was TKO'ed by Robert Helenius in the 4th round. A win by Kownacki would have put him in line for a fight against unified heavyweight Champ Anthony Joshua.

that shakes up the heavyweight division a little.
 



Jamal "Shango" James of Minneapolis wins the interim WBA Welterweight title on Saturday with a unanimous decision over Thomas Dulorme. (I thought the judges had the fight scored a little closer than it appeared, but James still won it solidly.) This might get James in line for a fight against one of the top-rated Welterweights.

David Morrell, Jr - a Cuban fighter now training out of the Twin Cities - wins the WBA interim Super Middleweight title with a unanimous decision.

This was the first fight card for PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) since the virus shut down boxing in the Spring. ESPN, with Top Rank Boxing, had a series of fights during the summer.
 

the bad luck continues for Caleb Truax - Super Middleweight from Osseo, MN.
He was supposed on be on a PBC card Saturday night, but he got sick during the week and had to withdraw. Nothing covid-related - was trying to cut weight and got dehydrated.

To recap - April of 2019, Truax was fighting Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillan. Truax got a bad cut from a clash of heads, and the fight was declared no contest. While training for the rematch, Truax sustained an achilles injury. He was able to fight in January of this year and won. If he had won Saturday, he might have been in line for a shot against one of the top fighters in his division.

BTW - signed up for the Disney+ bundle, so I get ESPN+ now. Manna for boxing fans. Spent Saturday afternoon watching a live fight card from London.
 

Bit of a stunner on Saturday. (March 7).

Undefeated heavyweight Adam Kownacki was TKO'ed by Robert Helenius in the 4th round. A win by Kownacki would have put him in line for a fight against unified heavyweight Champ Anthony Joshua.

that shakes up the heavyweight division a little.
is AJ really considered the heavyweight champ? he lost his belts to ruiz (even if he won them back), while tyson is undefeated and the lineal champ. i guess we'll find out soon.
 

the bad luck continues for Caleb Truax - Super Middleweight from Osseo, MN.
He was supposed on be on a PBC card Saturday night, but he got sick during the week and had to withdraw. Nothing covid-related - was trying to cut weight and got dehydrated.

To recap - April of 2019, Truax was fighting Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillan. Truax got a bad cut from a clash of heads, and the fight was declared no contest. While training for the rematch, Truax sustained an achilles injury. He was able to fight in January of this year and won. If he had won Saturday, he might have been in line for a shot against one of the top fighters in his division.

BTW - signed up for the Disney+ bundle, so I get ESPN+ now. Manna for boxing fans. Spent Saturday afternoon watching a live fight card from London.
remember the days when boxing nicknames were original?

fighting haranda, midget wolgast, small montana, speedy dado, newsboy brown, pancho villa, memphis pal moore. and then there's abe goldstein. apparently no nickname needed.

even sugar and rocky were original at one time.
 

Wow. Just an insane fight Saturday night on ESPN+. Jose Zepeda and Ivan Baranchyk went at it in a Junior Welterweight title eliminator.

There were 8 knockdowns in a 5-round fight. Baranchyk knocked down Zepeda 4 times. Zepeda had knocked Baranchyk down 3 times, but late in the 5th round, Zepeda caught Baranchyk with a vicious left hook. Baranchyk literally crumpled like a rag doll. he appeared to be unconscious for a while. he eventually came to and was able to stand up, but had to be helped out of the ring.

I think you can find the video online. the final knockout is as devastating a punch as I've seen in 50+ years of watching boxing.

Just fortunate it didn't turn into another Duk Ku Kim situation.

BTW - the Lomachenko-Lopez fight for the Lightweight Championship comes up on October 17th. that has the potential to be a classic. and it's free on ESPN - no pay-per-view.
 

Lopez beats Lomachenko for the unified Lightweight championship. Judges had it 116-112, 119-109 and 117-111.

In my amateur opinion, the 119 is out of whack. I would have given Loma at least 4 or 5 rounds, but I thought Lopez won the fight. if there was any doubt, Lopez came out and had a big 12th round to clinch it.

On the undercard, super middleweight Edgar Berlanga kept his streak going. 15-0 in his pro career, and all 15 fights ended in 1st-round knockouts.

in future fight news, Bud Crawford will have a title defense coming up on ESPN on November 14th.
 

Interesting fight. Given....I don't quite understand how the scoring works. Not to mention that I missed the beginning because I was watching the ALDS game seven....but that Loma guy was landing shot after shot in those mid-late rounds. Lopez looked like he had nothing left until that last round when the reserves kicked in. But from what I've seen....Lopez basically won the entire first half when Loma decided to sit back and hope for him to wear himself out.

Oh....and I'm sure I've mentioned this in the "unpopular opinion" thread.....but boxing is way better than UFC.
 

Yeah I was curious about the scoring system as well. And so:

The 10-point Must System is the most widely used scoring system since the mid-twentieth century. It is so named because a judge "must" award ten points to at least one fighter each round (before deductions for fouls). Most rounds are scored 10–9, with 10 points for the fighter who won the round, and 9 points for the fighter the judge believes lost the round. If a round is judged to be even, it is scored 10-10. For each knockdown in a round, the judge deducts an additional point from the fighter knocked down, resulting in a 10–8 score if there is one knockdown or a 10–7 score if there are two knockdowns. If the referee instructs the judges to deduct a point for a foul, this deduction is applied after the preliminary computation. So, if a fighter wins a round, but is penalized for a foul, the score changes from 10–9 to 9-9. If that same fighter scored a knockdown in the round, the score would change from 10–8 in his favor to 9–8. While uncommon, if a fighter completely dominates a round but does not score a knockdown, a judge can still score that round 10–8.


As far as UFC ... I just think that all the grappling/holds type stuff is boring as hell to watch. I totally understand that it is very difficult, very technical, takes lots of skill, etc.

So I'd rather watch Kickboxing, if leg attacks are allowed. But then you get to the simple truth that: legs are much heavier than arms, much harder to control than arms, and are much slower (usually). Unless it's in the lower weights, which I can see is maybe why kickboxing is so popular in countries like Thailand.

But yeah, anyway ... with kicks, I feel like they mostly just miss, get blocked, or are used to slap to hit the other guy's legs, in the same sense as a body shot in boxing. Not really meant to win the fight, just hoping the accumulated pain/damage slows him down later on.


Thus, at the end of the, I agree that boxing is still usually the most entertaining form of one-on-one combat sports.
 

I wonder why more judges don't rule rounds as even. it seems like someone "has" to win each round.

Again, I watched the entire fight, and Loma basically gave away the first half of the fight. he had rounds where he only landed 4 or 5 punches. apparently the game plan was to come back in the second half of the fight, and that is where he won his rounds, but Lopez clearly won the 12th round, and as it turns out from the scorecards, even if Loma would have won the 12th round, he was so far behind that only a knockout would have saved him.

I would not be surprised if Loma doesn't drop back down a weight class and go back to 130 or even 126.
 

Maybe they wanted to go for the knockout? Tire him out in the first half, mentally and physically?
 

Weird night. Two title fights on ESPN.

Franco - Maloney rematch for the WBA Super Flyweight title. Maloney had the belt, but lost it to Franco earlier this year. In the rematch, Maloney came out strong. then, Franco's left eye swelled shut after the 2nd round and the ring doctor said he could not continue. Referee said it was due to an accidental head butt, so the fight was declared a no-contest. then, the Nevada State Boxing Commission spent well over 20 minutes looking at replays before upholding the referee's ruling. the ESPN crew went nuts. they showed the entire fight in slow motion, and could not find a head butt - but did show Maloney landing a couple of jabs flush on Franco's eye. promoter Bob Arum got into a shouting match with the head of the Boxing Commission, and made some noise about pulling his fights out of Vegas.

Then, Terrance 'Bud' Crawford faced Kell Brook for the WBO Welterweight title. Brook started strong, but Crawford opened up in the 4th round, knocked down Brook once, then unloaded on Brook and the referee stopped the fight. It's time for Crawford to face some of the other top Welterweights - if any of them are willing to fight him.
 

FWIW - was reading about Leon Spinks after his death.

Found this nugget - Spinks' 3rd pro fight was a draw against......MN's own Scott LeDoux. The fight was ruled a draw.

Surprised to discover that Spinks ended his career with a record of 26 wins (14 by KO), 17 losses and 3 draws.

By comparison, Scott LeDoux had a career record of 33 wins (22 by KO), 13 losses and 4 draws.

Didn't post on here after the Caleb Plant - Caleb Truax fight. Truax was overmatched. He got in a few decent right hands, but Plant was just way too fast for him. Don't know if Truax is planning to hang it up, but I think his days of being a title contender are past.

A couple of decent bouts are coming up later this month.

On Feb 20, Miguel Berchelt vs. Oscar Valdez, 12 rounds, for Berchelt's WBC junior lightweight title.

Feb 27 -
Jamel Herring vs. Carl Frampton, 12 rounds, for Herring's WBO junior lightweight title

And also on Feb 27 (different venue) - Canelo Alvarez vs. Avni Yilidirim, 12 rounds, for Alvarez's WBC and WBA super middleweight titles
 

Whoa! Oscar Valdez knocked out Miguel Berchelt in the 10th round to win Berchelt's WBC Junior Lightweight title. Valdez got off to a good start and won the early rounds. Berchelt got rocked in the 4th round and took more punishment in the 5th. Berchelt came back and had a couple good rounds in the 6th and 7th, but then Valdez started taking the fight over, and took Berchelt out in the 10th with a vicious left hook. Berchelt was literally out cold for a while, but eventually he was able to get up.

In the other featured bout, Gabriel Flores, Junior earned a technical knockout over Jason Velez. Flores is getting closer to a possible title shot at 130 pounds.
 

Damn. Marvelous Marvin Hagler died. Only 66 years old.

If you want to see the greatest freakin' round of boxing ever, google the 1st round of the Hagler - Hearns fight. Two all-time greats just throwing leather non-stop for 3 minutes.

that era when you had Hearns, Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran all fighting at middleweight may have been one of the best ever for good, sustained competition - and the best fighters facing each other.
 

So, Vasily Lomachenko had his first fight since the loss to Teofimo Lopez. Loma went up against a Japanese fighter named Masayoshi Nakatani. Nakatani was 19-1 with 13 KO's.

Loma looked 100% better than he did against Lopez. Dominated the fight and pounded Nakatani until Nakatani's left eye was swollen shut. Won it on a TKO when Nakatani could not continue.

Loma is now claiming that he had a shoulder injury 3 weeks before the Lopez fight and that is why he didn't use his right hand against Lopez.

Loma wants a rematch with Lopez, and Lopez' father said they would consider it, but it would have to be the next fight after Lopez faces George Kambosos in August. that fight was supposed to be earlier but Lopez tested positive for covid.

BTW - Fox has a card tonight (June 27) on TV from the Minneapolis Armory featuring Cuban Super-Middleweight David Morrell. And it sounds like Jamal "Shango" James will be fighting on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao - Errol Spence fight in August.
 

Quite the end to the Sunday night boxing card at the Mpls Armory.

Cuban super-Middleweight David Morrell ended his bout with a crushing KO of Mario Cazares at 2:32 of the 1st round. Morrell caught Cazares with a straight left hand, and as Cazares was backing up, Morrell nailed him with a better left hand. Cazares crumpled to the ring and the ref stopped the fight without even bothering with a 10-count. Morrell is fighting out of Mpls and the Circle of Discipline gym led by Jamal "Shango" James.

good action in just about all the undercard fights, with the underdogs winning three consecutive bouts.

A cruiserweight battle between former college FB player Brandon Glanton and Efe Apochi saw Glanton win a split decision. this was a slugfest, with both fighters trading shots for 10 rounds.

Rising star at 140 Omar Juarez took the first loss of his career on a close decision to All Rivera.

And Nate Gallimore handed Leon Lawson the first loss of his career at 154 lbs on a majority decision.

The boxing scene will be a little quiet until the 3rd fight between Tyson Fury and Deonte Wilder in July. The Pacquiao - Spencer fight comes up in August, including an undercard bout featuring Muhammad Ali's grandson making his professional debut. (typing that last sentence makes me feel very old....)
 

Well, an interesting night in Boxing on Saturday (Aug 14).

In a card on ESPN, Muhammad Ali's Grandson made his professional boxing debut.

Nico Ali Walsh is 21-years old. Apparently has a fairly limited amateur background. Kid's a middleweight - right around 160 lbs.

So, for his first pro fight, the promoters apparently wanted to ensure a win, so they matched him up with some tomato can on legs. a former MMA fighter who had no business in a pro boxing ring.

Ali Walsh won on a TKO in 1:29.

In all fairness, he showed some good movement, a decent jab and appears to have some pop in the right hand. it will be interesting to see how he does against an actual fighter.

and now the kicker - the kid's god parent is.....I'm not making this up......Flavor Flav! Flav was ringside and jumped in the ring after the fight - and yes, he was wearing the clock around his neck. Ya gotta luv it.
 




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