Dogged Griffin he might get knocked down in the boxing ring one day, but he probably won’t be left out in the icy because it’s nothing compared to what he experienced in the “real life” arena. You’d have to go a long way to find another professional fighter who was wrongly imprisoned for murder and had to come back afterward.
There’s a success story in the works that will continue on Saturday when the Chattanooga, TN native takes on Nicaragua’s Lesther Espino in a scheduled eight-round welterweight bout. This is part of the performance that will take place on May 11 on the promenade, as Larry Goldberg’s Boxing Insider Promotions brings professional boxing back to the world Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City after a seven-year absence.
Griffin had approximately 160 amateur fights, competing against the best at the national level, doing so under the tutelage of his father Alvin, who introduced him to the sport at the age of eight.
They were inseparable and planned to climb the ladder together. But fate threw Griffin a curveball. Three weeks before he was scheduled to make his professional debut, a blood vessel in Alvin’s brain burst and while Avious was taking him to the hospital, he died in the backseat.
Avious felt his dad wanted him to fight, so he did. This took place in June 2016 and in the first 13 months of his professional career he recorded four knockouts in seven rounds.
Then fate intervened once again. There was an ongoing murder investigation in Chattanooga, and Griffin’s friend used his name in connection with the crime. This led to Griffin’s arrest and conviction, and he spent eleven months in prison. It was challenging because people turned away from him, but he had to believe in himself. As he says: “I had to rebuild myself from scratch. It was like kindergarten again.”
While he was in prison, some of the other people involved in the crime admitted that Griffin had nothing to do with it, and a subsequent trial led to his release.
After regaining his freedom, he went to Floyd Mayweather’s gym in Las Vegas and got to work. He fought his first fight in almost four years in May 2021, defeating Jair Garza in the first round.
Since then, no one has stopped him.
In thirteen professional fights, only one opponent – Marcelo Bzowski – was able to overcome such a distance with him. This was in February 2022. In his last fight, which took place in July, he scored a second-round KO over veteran Jonathan Jose Eniz. He was supposed to fight last November in Costa Rica, but missed it due to injury.
Griffin is no stranger to Atlantic City, having fought there twice. On Saturday (May 11), he is scheduled to face Espino, a Nicaraguan who is 8-5 and has six KOs. Four of Espino’s five losses came at the hands of undefeated opponents.
Currently 7th place in the United States Boxing Association rankings (USBA), Griffin takes aim at anyone who has an advantage over him. And he doesn’t care much about the obstacles in his way.
“Many people cannot withstand the blows I took and get up and keep going.”
Here is the lineup for Saturday’s Boxing Insider Promotions program, including the Avious Griffin fight:
8 rounds – Featherweights JAN LEONARD (10-1-1, 4 KO), Manalapan Township, Modern Jersey vs. FRANK GONZALEZ (12-5, 6 KO), Tampa, Florida
8 rounds – welterweights GREAT GRIFFIN (13-0, 12 KO), Chattanooga, TN vs. LESTHER ESPINO (8-5, 6 KO), Nicaragua
6 rounds – junior middleweight JUSTIN FIGUEROA (8-0, 6 KO), Atlantic City, Modern Jersey vs. ANTONIO ARMAS (13-7, 8 KO), Venezuela
6 rounds – Jr. medium weight DWYKE FLEMINGS (6-0, 6 KO), Paterson, Modern Jersey vs. JONATHAN HAMPTON (3-4, 1 KO), Gary, IN
4 rounds – heavyweight PRYCE TAYLOR (3-0, 2 KO), Brooklyn, NY vs. LAWRENCE KING JR. (2-1.1 KO), Rochester, Modern York
4 rounds – middleweight JACOB SOLIS (3-0, 3 KO), Modern York, NY vs. BRANDOON MARTINEZ (1-3, 1 KO), Tucson, Arizona
4 rounds – lightweights KOBY WILLIAMS (professional debut), Brooklyn, NY vs. KEVIN HICKS (1-2, 1 KO), Taswell, West Virginia
The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).
If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.
“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”
29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.
Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.
“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”
Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.
Floyd Mayweather’s incredible 50-0 record is not normal and cannot be repeated in sports for another seventy years.
This is the view of Saudi Arabian president Turki Alalshikh, who wants to adopt the UFC model in which fighters lose many fights during their career.
In a speech as he hosted the Ring Magazine Awards after acquiring the long-running boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya, Alalshikh was unequivocal in his opinion.
“Now losing some fights in boxing must be normal,” he explained. “All fighters want a career similar to Floyd Mayweather – no losses. This may happen once every 50, 60 or 70 years.
“We need it [to be] like currently in the UFC model, where champions lose and win,” added the matchmaker during the Riyad season.
Mayweather rose through the sport in the tardy 1990s to become one of its youngest superstars. Mayweather’s professional success came after winning a bronze medal at the Olympics after losing to Serafim Todorov.
Winning world titles in five weight classes, Mayweather was untouchable. The Grand Rapids native only came close to defeat a few times. He dominated Manny Pacquiao and overtook Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya after heated debates, with decisions that should have been made unanimously.
Towards the end of his career, Mayweather chose to face Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, easily winning and ending his boxing career at the age of 50 without ever going out. Calling himself “the greatest of all time,” Mayweather earned first-ballot Hall of Fame honors and is widely considered one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter of all time.
However, Alalshikh says this type of career needs to end so that fans can get the most out of boxing, as is the case with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Boxing needs to become more attractive, and Alalshikh sees the failures of top stars as a way to keep interest at an all-time high.
In this sport, many boxers enjoy undefeated streaks, the most notable of which is Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian Pound for Pound King is 23-0 and has beaten the best he has to offer in his division and cruiserweight classification.
It remains a mystery how Alalshikh plans to make Usyk suffer while he dominates everyone else. By the time his grand plan goes into action, Usyk will be long gone, and Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney may be more realistic targets.
WBN understands that despite alternative options emerging, it is more likely that Manny Pacquiao will face Mario Barrios next.
Bob Santos, coach of WBC welterweight champion Barrios, told World Boxing News that he is currently in contact with Pacquiao’s team. Asked by WBN if he had spoken to Pacquiao or representatives of any other challenger, Santos replied: “Yes, Pacquiao’s promoter, Sean Gibbons.” Pressed on whether Barrios vs Pacquiao might happen next, he added: “It’s challenging to say. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”
WBN contacted Santos after Conor Benn emerged as a potential alternative to Barrios. The British fighter, who recently returned from a suspension following two positive drug tests, is keen to return to competition.
Benn showed favor with the World Boxing Council at the recent WBC Convention, the WBC Evaluation Committee and during an interview with the sanctioning body over the weekend. “The Destroyer” is ranked second in the rankings at 147 pounds, despite less than solid opponents during his time in exile, during which Benn competed twice in the United States while his career in the United Kingdom was in doubt.
As he battled to clear his name and with the British Anti-Doping Authority finding no evidence that Benn had intentionally taken ostarine, the 28-year-old’s career took a pointed nosedive. Despite this, he remains highly rated and at least one step away from fighting for an eliminator or one of the remaining championship titles.
However, Pacquiao remains Barrios’ favorite. Now it’s up to the boxing legend and Hall of Famer who got the first votes to secure his shot. WBN believes a July date – most likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – is the most realistic date for a Nevada swan song.
Pacquiao could extend his record as the oldest welterweight champion by six years if he can secure a huge victory over the 29-year-old world champion. At 46 years antique, such a scenario remains unlikely, but he can never be compared to one of the greatest players of this generation.
Unlike heavier boxers and his training regiment, Pacquiao looks in great shape despite his advanced age. Everything is set for a massive return to the boxing capital of the world, provided Pacquiao and his team can manage his political ambitions, which are expected to run from this month until May. After that time, Pacquiao could find himself in the summer finals and become the all-time champion, regardless of the result.
Barrios is based in the city, where he trained with Santos, and would be the perfect opponent to see out the career of one of the greatest fighters in history.
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