Boxing
Boxing Winners and Losers in July 2024
Published
6 months agoon
By
J. HumzaJuly 15: Rosettes and red cards
Rosette: It’s good to see Matchroom allow Ennis to return to fight in his hometown for the first time since 2018.
Red card: To the referee of the Gonzalez vs. Barrera fight. Barrera was finished after he got knocked down in the eighth round and he knew it. When the referee signaled for him to pick up his gloves, he left them hanging at his side, so the referee grabbed them and ran them down his shirt. So much for protecting the fighter.
Some kind of blow below the belt?
After the Usyk vs Dubois controversy I thought it was clear that anything on or below the belt line was a foul, but even after knocking Avanesyan down with a very low blow in the first round, Ennis kept landing on or below Avanesyan’s belt line, so now I have no idea what constitutes a low blow. Maybe they’ll adopt the knee line in Ennis’ future fights.
Newfangled tapes are too loose
Someone is making a fortune shipping junk glove packaging. Over the weekend, fights involving Roman Gonzalez, Albert Batyrgaziev, Ruben Villa and others were stopped to cut loose tape and add more tape. I thought the problem had been solved, but if it’s happening in Nevada, it clearly isn’t.
Suspended player Ritter narrowly avoids death
Beards seem to be all the rage in sports these days, but there are limits. Lithe heavyweight Kwame Ritter, who lost to Khalil Cole over the weekend, sports a very immense beard ornament. So immense that his record of suspensions by the Commission is accompanied by a note from the California Competition Commission stating: “All competitors must be neat and neat. The competitor’s face [hair] is considered an obstacle to the conduct of the fight. The competitor must trim or secure his facial hair before the next fight.” Samson and Delilah on the 21stsaint age!
July 22: Rosettes and red cards
Rosette: To promoters Jorge Fernandez and Williams Perez for their great show in Caracas. The biggest in Venezuela for many years. Even an honorable mention here is the show of Frank Warren in Birmingham, who had so many good matches.
Red card: For Jonathan Rodriguez, the real party-breaker. The three-fight show in Tokyo was a huge event, but Rodriguez came in 6.4 pounds overweight for his WBO super fly title challenge against Kosei Tanaka, so only two title fights took place.
Women’s game is slowly improving
It took men’s boxing over 100 years to reach the level it is today, so it’s unreasonable to expect women’s boxing to be at the same general level. The WBA delicate heavyweight title fight in Queensland was between former Australian heavyweight champion Che Kenneally (who weighed 163 ¾ pounds when she won the heavyweight title) and the Colombian, who started her career weighing around 136 pounds but weighed 174 ¼ pounds for the weekend’s fight.
Kenneally’s four victims had combined scores of 2-7. I don’t mean to criticize; it’s just an illustration of how different things still are in terms of the depth and level of competition that exists between men’s and women’s boxing today. Women’s boxing is getting stronger by the year, and the Olympics can provide more role models for aspiring boxers.
Jake Paul’s Distorted Values
What a twisted set of values in our sport. Jake Paul, a 9-0 novice with some moderate skill, is fighting a guy who has only had one previous fight and lost it. But Paul is a social media celebrity. Hence, he gets a lot more exposure and a lot more money than a 46-2-1, extremely talented pro with multiple championship belts like Amanda Serrano.
And ahead of us is the electrifying prospect of Paul (now 10-1-0) fighting 58-year-old Mike Tyson, who is recovering from a stomach ulcer and hasn’t fought since 2005 and hasn’t won a fight since 2003. It’s a crazy sport.
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Boxing
Ryan Rozicki is waiting for Badou Jack’s consent to mandatory cooperation with the WBC
Published
2 days agoon
January 13, 2025The 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.
The next move is Badou Jack’s.
Boxing
Floyd Mayweather’s record is not normal, it can’t happen in 70 years
Published
4 days agoon
January 12, 2025Floyd 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.
Boxing
Manny Pacquiao remains the favorite to win the title against Mario Barrios
Published
1 week agoon
January 6, 2025WBN 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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