Boxing
Mayweather says Vergil Ortiz Jr. didn’t deserve to beat Bohachuk
Published
5 months agoon
Trainer Jeff Mayweather believes Vergil Ortiz Jr. did not deserve his victory over interim WBC junior middleweight champion Serhiy Bohachuk last Saturday night.
Mayweather’s view that Virgil (22-0, 21 KOs) did not deserve a 12-round majority decision was shared by many fans on social media, who dismissed it as just plain old-fashioned stealing.
Vergil Jr.: Elementary Everyday Warrior
Ortiz Jr. has shown that he is not an elite fighter, but an everyday, front-of-mind fighter. He is be well-groomed like former Golden Boy fighter Jaime Munguia, matched up against a weaker opponent for a large payday. Vergil is now in position to get his payday against Terence Crawford, and there’s already talk of that happening next, in a package deal with the Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda fight.
Last night’s fight proved that with popular fighters like Vergil Ortiz, you have to knock them out to win because they are treated like champions. As we saw last night, winning a decision against fighters like Vergil is nearly impossible.
Jeff notes that Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) scored two knockdowns, which gave him a four-point lead, and won more than three rounds, which should have given him the victory.
Vergil, his fans, and promoter Oscar De La Hoya claimed that his two knockdowns were the result of slips. However, Bohachuk hit him twice in the head, implying that the punches caused the slips.
The referee’s decision did not make sense to many fans, as Bohachuk was landing more and more punches and in the last quarter of the fight Vergil was on the defensive.
“He’s a good fighter, but I don’t think he’ll really win tonight,” Jeff Mayweather said on his YouTube channel canalspeaking about Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s highly controversial victory over Serhiy Bohachuk on Saturday night.
“Two knockouts, you’re already down by four points. The other guy won more than three rounds,” Jeff said of Bohachuk knocking Vergil down twice and winning more than three rounds. “I don’t believe in 10-9. I believe in 10-8,” Jeff said when asked about the possibility that Vergil fought well enough for his two-round knockout to end 10-9 instead of 10-8.
“Every time you get knocked down, you get two points. It’s an automatic 10-8.
Cash withdrawal from Crawford?
“I don’t think he’s ready for Terence Crawford,” Jeff said of Vergil Ortiz. “He’s a guy that was built on all those knockouts [against guys] nobody really knows how good of a fighter he was. He had a real fighter in front of him tonight and it showed,” Jeff said of Vergil being matched up against frail opponents throughout his 21-fight career, up until his controversial fight with Bohachuk.
Crawford looked so bad in his last fight against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrilmov on August 3 that it is hard to predict how he will fare against Vergil.
Crawford, who turns 37 in September, is starting to age and will likely enjoy the millions he made from the Madrimov fight and will remain inactive until 2025. If Vergil fights Crawford, it will be next year and he will likely have 75% of what he made in the Madrimov fight.
Crawford appeared to have lost 25% in his previous fight with Errol Spence by not training for 13 months, and he will lose even more if he doesn’t get in the ring until mid-2025. It’s challenging to be ambitious when you’re already a millionaire and have so many things to do every day for all that money.
While Vergil is your average, leisurely, hefty, lumbering bum, he would have a chance of beating Crawford due to his age and inactivity. If Crawford was still hungry and mentally motivated for the sport, he would fight three times a year and destroy a basic fighter like Vergil.
Vergil Ortiz = Alfredo Angulo 2.0
Ortiz Jr. reminds me of a younger version Alfredo Angulo when he started. Angulo had the same style and hefty hands, but was very basic and ready to strike. He did well until he faced a tougher opponent, which would happen to Vergil. Angulo had more strength than Vergil, but was just as much of a fighter as he was.
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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
3 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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