Boxing
Lomachenko’s sacrifice means revival is at hand
Published
7 months agoon
By
J. HumzaVasily Lomachenko doesn’t have to do that and continues his efforts to regain another lightweight belt.
He has already won two Olympic gold medals, has already become world champion in his third professional fight, has already stopped four more opponents – including the two-time gold medalist of his rival Guillermo Rigondeaux – and has already won world champion titles in three divisions.
The 36-year-old Ukrainian Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KO) goes to ESPN on Saturday in search of the vacant IBF lightweight belt against former unified Australian lightweight champion George Kambosos (21-2, 10 KO).
“A few things matter for longevity: avoiding punches and lifestyle outside the ring, not partying,” Chris Algieri, an analyst for ProBox TV’s “Deep Waters,” said on Thursday’s episode. “And dedication and desire. Lomachenko has it.
“Lomachenko doesn’t fight for money. He is fighting to become champion again. Yes, he has great defense. Yes, he stays fit. But he also has this fire in his belly. He’s a guy who will survive.”
Considering that Lomachenko has only been narrowly defeated in his career – by the overweight Orlando Salido when Lomachenko was fighting for the world title in his second professional fight, and by Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney on the scorecards in this most unfavorable of the three categories weights in which he fought, Saturday’s fight is full of intrigue.
Yes, Kambosos has home advantage at the RAC Arena in Perth and is younger, but Lomachenko carries within him that elusive feeling of wanting that stripe so badly.
How bad? Go back and watch the video of his post-fight tears following his loss to Devin Haney. Who else in the game reacted this way?
And while Lomachenko could certainly follow the direction suggested by his promotional company Top Rank by scheduling further fights with the likes of their current and expected lightweight champions Shakur Stevenson and Emanuel Navarrete, respectively, there are also intriguing matchups with the rest of the weight class 135-pound champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis, 130-pound champion Oscar Valdez, or moving up to where he started at featherweight against Ring Magazine’s newly anointed pound-for-pound king, undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue.
“It’s a huge step down for (Lomachenko)… people make fun of Inoue because it’s such a scorching topic, but he weighs 122 pounds and that’s where he got there,” Algieri said. “I don’t see him going to 130 pounds. Against (Luis) Nery he looked feeble and was dropped. Are you going to give up (that many) pounds against a real boxer?
“I don’t (even) think Lomachenko is forgetting about this fight at all. This is the final fight for him and defeat could be the end.”
This is perhaps the harshest truth of all considering what Lomachenko has brought to the sport, evident in the exceptional skills he developed under the tutelage of his coach-father, Anatoli, which led to the creation of his great and well-deserved nickname “The Matrix”. “
Is he still 36? Are you still able to analyze your enemies mentally and physically like you did at the peak of your career?
“For (Kambosos) to be able to attack or leverage, he needs you in his range to (deliver) his explosive ability… I don’t think Lomachenko will give that to Kambosos,” former welterweight champion Shawn Porter said on “Deep Waters.” “If you don’t give Kambosos what he wants, he won’t create or force anything, he won’t work on his jabs, feints and good, quick feet.
“If Kambosos doesn’t have rhythm or doesn’t flow, it will be Lomachenko’s fight from the moment he starts to the moment he finishes the fight.”
Porter agrees that a win is necessary to ensure Lomachenko’s career continues.
This week, Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum, who once called his fighter “Picasso” and his most inventive boxer since Ali, said he sees some slippage from the Ukrainian.
Porter, however, said he views Lomachenko as fresher than another aging fighter who looked great on Saturday night, Canelo Alvarez.
“He has everything it takes to be champion again and fight anyone in the 135-pound division,” Porter said.
While Arum hints at the possibility of extending WBC champion Stevenson’s expiring contract by pitting him against a victorious Lomachenko, Porter predicts the better fight will be the one against Mexico’s Navarrete (38-1-1) if he manages to win a fourth-division title by defeating Denys Berinchyk May 18 in San Diego.
“The difference in style… this is one of the best fights you can have at 135 right now,” Porter said.
Lomachenko has also been courting a date with Davis for more than five years, and Davis’ June 15 title defense against Frank Martin gives them a favorable paragraph on the calendar.
Lomachenko is a -650 favorite to win Saturday.
“We can’t rule out Kambosos if he plays at the level he can, but… Lomachenko understands what he wants to do,” Porter said. “Lomachenko continues to train as he needs to to perform as he should.”
No matter what stage of his career he is in and who is waiting for him, Lomachenko knows no other way.
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Boxing
Brooklyn heavyweight Pryce Taylor is looking forward to 2025
Published
5 hours agoon
December 18, 2024Fighting for the first time with the full support of his promoter, Salita Promotions, undefeated Brooklyn heavyweight Pryce Taylor later said he was confident and confident he could do well in boxing.
Taylor (5-0, 3 KO), 28, defeated KeShawn Jackson last Thursday night in Flint, Michigan, fighting in an exhibition put on by his promoter in which he recorded an impressive third-round stoppage to finish his 2024 campaign on a high. year note.
“It was good to fight on a bigger stage, in a compact arena, in a nice atmosphere,” Taylor said about his first fight with a promotional contract. “My manager, Keith Sullivan, supported me by agreeing to sign with Salita Promotions. He talked to several promoters, but we felt that Dimitri Salita would be the right candidate for me.
“I felt like I had succeeded; I felt essential, but that was just the beginning. It was the same on fight night, I felt respect and appreciation from the entire Salita promotional company. My goal is to be a more recognizable player and be recognized by the fans. I’m hungry to perform in the coming year.”
“Four knockdowns were counted. I really hurt him with a body shot and when he felt my power he was done. I threw a barrage of punches into the corner (ss photo below) and he tried to hit me with a windmill punch. Then I hit him with a check hook, which ended the fight. He (Jackson) didn’t want to get knocked out, so he tried to show he was still fighting.”
“Of course,” Sullivan commented, “I’m joyful with the victory. This was another developmental fight and Pryce is learning and developing as a fighter. We had a busy year with 8 fights scheduled and 5 that actually crossed the line, so it was a very good first year for him as a pro. Right after that, I talked to Dimitri to arrange the next fight. We hope to have it scheduled in the coming weeks.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Taylor wants his next fight to be a six-rounder scheduled for his next outing, then move up to eight to fight for the junior title.
“I will now train to play 10 rounds,” Taylor concluded, “so that I will be ready when it comes time to play 12 rounds.”
Boxing
AI referee ‘free from bias and human error’ during audit of Usyk vs. Fury 2 match
Published
22 hours agoon
December 17, 2024Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch with Tyson Fury on Saturday night will go down in history for several reasons, but now there are more of them than any other.
Turki Alalshikh has confirmed that the Usyk vs. Fury 2 fight will be supervised by an AI referee in a first-of-its-kind boxing event. Artificial intelligence statistics are nothing recent in sports and have been developed for years by companies such as JABBR, which claim that “technological progress eliminates elements of human error from sports.”
AI referee overseeing the Usyk vs Fury 2 fight
Riyad’s season leader, Alalshikh, has taken the first step to ensure the future of the sport where all boxers who deserve to win receive their reward. The fourth scorer will only be present this time to check the score, but if he proves successful, he may become a indefinite player in the sport.
Explaining his intentions, Alalshikh said: “For the first time in history, the fight will be monitored by an artificial intelligence referee. [The judge will be] Free from bias and human error, which The Ring offers you [his recently purchased magazine].
“This groundbreaking experiment, which will have no impact on official results, will debut during the biggest fight of the century, Usyk vs. Fury 2, on December 21. Don’t miss the history in the making,” he added.
The news came during the Grand Arrivals event, which featured a monumental clash that will see Usyk and Fury fight for a unified heavyweight crown at the Kingdom Arena. Usyk [20-0, 13 KOs] puts his WBC, WBA and WBO belts on the line against former two-time heavyweight champion Fury [33-1-1, 24 KOs]. The highly anticipated rematch will take place on Saturday, December 21, worldwide on DAZN PPV at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Usyk vs Fury card information updated
Former interim WBC 154-pound titleholder Serhii Bohachuk [24-2, 23 KOs] Now he will face British boxer Ishmael Davis [13-1, 6 KOs] in a 12-round super welterweight fight after Israil Madrimov was forced to withdraw due to illness.
Rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma [22-0, 10 KOs] and his opponent, Australian Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KO), are ready to fight. Undefeated Johnny Fisher [12-0, 11 KOs[ squares off against former Commonwealth title challenger Dave Allen [23-6, 18 KOs].
Meanwhile, former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Peter McGrail [10-1, 6 KOs] takes over from Rhys Edwards at the last minute [16-0, 4 KOs] in a super featherweight fight. Isaac Lowe is also on the bill [25-2-3, 8 KOs[ will face Lee McGregor [14-1-1, 11 KOs] in a featherweight fight.
Daniel Lapin completes the card [10-0, 4 KOs]in which he will face another undefeated lightweight champion prospect, Dylan Colin [14-0, 4 KOs]and heavyweight knockout artist Andrii Novytskyi [14-0, 10 KOs] will face Edgar Ramirez [10-1-1, 4 KOs].
As is the tradition of the season, Riyad will feature local talent as Mohammed Alakel looks for a 2-0 win over Joshua Ocampo [8-33-5, 6 KOs].
Boxing
Billy Dib wins the final battle after a successful battle with cancer
Published
2 days agoon
December 16, 2024Former two-time world champion and cancer survivor Billy Dib won an eight-round super lightweight farewell bout against Game, the brave but outclassed Atilla Kayabasi.
The Z’s, aka all-time greats Carlos Zarate and Alfonso Zamora, brought “Billy The Kid” to the ring accompanied by the sweet tones of Frank Sinatra singing My…what else? Adolescent Bridger Walker performed Round Card duties between rounds.
Billy gave us a virtuoso performance, making Atilla’s face turn red with every strike on the book. The gulf of experience and a cascade of blows would have defeated a weaker man, Atilla survived it. Billy raised his hand moments before the bell rang to end the eighth and final round.
By winning his last fight, the WBC Champion of Hope achieved the impossible. He and Atilla embraced, and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman entered the ring to say: “This is an extraordinary dream come true. Now we welcome Billy outside the ring.”
Dib said, “Alhamdulillah, I won and left on my own terms. There’s no better way to close this chapter. Thank you to Mauricio Sulaiman, my wife, my son Laith, my family and my amazing fans for all the love. I dedicate this victory to Israel Vázquez, every cancer warrior, and to my brother Vames.”
Billy brave. Billy the fearless one who fought against the darkest and most pressing adversities. Our tears of joy and admiration for the Hero who always smiles, even in the darkest hour, before the dawn.
The results of the glorious fight night organized at the 62nd World Boxing Council Convention at the Grand Elysee Hotel saw several hard-fought fights for the WBC championship from nuclear to heavyweight.
In the main fight of the evening, WBC super flyweight champion Asley González successfully defended her title against Mary Romero.
The more compact and harder-hitting Asley pursued a longer-armed, short-haired opponent who was constantly spinning in retreat.
There was some heated exchanges when they came together, but the lasting combinations came from Asley, who actually got caught with some tough, but single, solitary rights. Her level of work, more precise, concise beam punches and high-pressure fighting forcing Mary to constantly retreat won UD over.
Tough-hitting southpaw striker Mourad Aliev defended his WBC International Silver heavyweight title with a sixth-round KO victory over Davide Brito. Physically more imposing, Mourad made contact and often.
In the third round, David suffered a nosebleed and his mouthguard was broken, causing him to fall from one side of the ring to the other. He tried to fight back sporadically, but in round six he was trapped on the ropes and dropped by a massive right hand. Everything is over.
Serkay Comert won the WBC International silver title by defeating Yassin Hermi via UD. In the third round, it turned into an all-out war, which continued into the next round.
Serkay often struggled against the ropes and landed frequently. Yassin’s face swelled and in the sixth round a series of punches landed on him, and before the eighth round the ring doctor looked at him for a long time. He fought tough but got hit, especially down the stretch.
Ermal Hadribeaj won the MD title by defeating Eddy Colnenares to win the WBC International super welterweight belt. The lanky, much taller Eddy, who has the reach of an albatross, was shaky for the first three rounds. He then came to life and there was a lively exchange of words.
Southpaw Ermal was constantly jumping and weaving to avoid those long ramrod arms. He was more concerned with getting the win.
Benjamin Gavazi defeated Branimir Malencia in the tenth and final round to win the WBC international silver featherlight heavyweight title. Ben was catching Bran with right hands and various uppercuts. While Bran tried to crowd him and deal damage from head to toe. Two left-right headshot combinations in round ten convinced Bran to throw in the red towel at 1.41. So… TKO.
Esneidy Rodriguez defeated Sana Hazuki via UD for the WBC Silver Atomweight belt. The taller Suri tried to keep him at bay, but was relentlessly pursued by the more compact and powerful and grimly determined Esneidy, who landed several piercing combos and uppercuts. Suri had some success with long straight rights, but paid the price when Esneidy negated the range.
‘USYK THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME if he beats Fury again!’ – Gareth A Davies
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