Boxing
Lomachenko brings to mind “No Mas-Chenko”; What’s next for Kambosos?
Published
7 months agoon
By
J. HumzaVasily Lomachenko put on a classic performance on Sunday in Perth, Australia and became champion once again, proving that he is still among the sport’s elite.
Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO) has undoubtedly been one of the best boxers in the world since June 2014, when he became champion in only his third professional fight. Since his dominant performance against Gary Russell Jr. after Sunday’s 11th-round TKO victory over George Kambosos Jr. and winning the vacant IBF lightweight title, Lomachenko remains otherworldly.
The stoppage win over Kambosos – Lomchenko’s first win since June 2021 – was a reminder of the Ukrainian’s greatness at the age of 36. This is Kambosos’ third loss, but his previous two losses came by decision to Devin Haney. Kambosos beats Teofimo Lopez, ESPN’s 2021 Upset of the Year.
Lomachenko became the first player to complete the Australian, and he did it in fashion. He broke Kambosos with a string of pointed lefts, bleeding his right eye. Lomachneko finally took him down with a left hand to the body, followed by a violent attack that forced the corner to throw in the towel.
“He is a legend of the sport,” Kambosos said. “…He’s one of the best fighters in history.”
This is not hyperbole, of course. The two-time Olympic gold medalist is a future Hall of Famer, and after the disappointment of a contentious loss to Haney a year ago, Lomachenko is gaining momentum again.
He may find his next opponent in a week. On Saturday in San Diego, Emanuel Navarrete will fight Denys Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title.
Navarrete is a large favorite for the title of champion of four divisions, and Top Rank wants to match the Mexican Lomachenko this year. It’s a fascinating clash of styles. Navarrete is a 50-foot windstorm with a 72-inch reach.
Lomachenko proved Sunday that he still has the reflexes to shoot through holes when they appear. He can still evoke memories of No Mas-Chenko, the man who, when he was the pound-for-pound king, made opponent after opponent quit. And with the title wrapped around his waist, he seems primed for one last run at the top of the sport.
Kambosos’ career now hangs in the balance; what’s next for him?
Kambosos was fully aware of the enormous stakes when he entered the ring to fight pound-for-pound superstar Lomachenko.
He knew victory would cement his legacy as an Australian boxing icon, a world champion who would pull off not one but two of the most stunning upsets of his era against a pair of generational fighters. Kambosos argued ad nauseum that such an achievement would be enough to earn him a spot in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on only five of his compatriots. A victory would also open the door to further championship fights at 135 pounds.
However, Kambosos also knew that a loss to Lomachenko would mean the end of his international boxing career. On Sunday afternoon, after 11 rounds of humiliation on home soil, Kambosos left the ring dejected, knowing his career was hanging in the balance.
For Kambosos, Sunday’s defeat to Lomachenko means he will fall further down the lightweight hierarchy, dangerously on the brink of irrelevance not only in the division but also in the world of boxing. It is unlikely that Kambosos will fight for another world title, but he does not regret taking the fight.
“I gave it my all. I had the best preparation. I gave my all during the training camp and unfortunately it wasn’t enough today, but it is what it is. I gave it my all. I fought my best. You are failing.” Kambosos told ESPN. “He’s a real champion. He is a legend of the sport and I have the utmost respect for him. I never showed it. I always showed him respect and we knew what we would face.”
Kambosos’ victory over Lopez will never be taken from him, but last Sunday’s defeat – the third in four fights – proved that the winter night at Madison Square Garden was an anomaly of the highest order.
Since then, the Australian has not resembled a world champion-caliber player. Not only has he been the underdog in each of his last four fights, but he has also been unable to solve problems in the ring and has shown no signs of changing the energetic when things are not going in his favor.
Kambosos’ promoter, Lou DiBella, spoke earlier this week about the possibility of his fighter moving up to junior welterweight for a rematch with Lopez. The only caveat was that he had to show that he remained a world-class player. His performance against Lomachenko did nothing of the sort. Kambosos was outclassed from the opening bell until Lomachenko landed a flurry of punches, forcing the corner to wave the white flag.
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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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