Boxing
Noise Blocking – Denzel Bentley is turned on due to the “threat” of Danny Dignum
Published
7 months agoon
By
J. HumzaDENZEL BENTLEY admits it can be tough for him to motivate himself for a fight he hopes to win.
Distractions, or as he describes it, “external noise,” can enter his head and distract him from the task at hand. It was widely expected that Bentley would defend his British middleweight title against Nathan Heaney in November and would be the one to put an end to Heaney’s underdog history.
In the main event at the Manchester Arena, after Nick Ball, Liam Davies, Harry Scarff, Nathaniel Collins and Solomon Dacres had found success in the ring, Heaney delivered the biggest shock of the night and year. The underdog pounced on Bentley and eventually won a well-deserved decision to take the Lonsdale belt.
Bentley (18-3-1 (15 KO) didn’t want to make excuses when he spoke to him in the weeks after the loss, but he believed his wife’s pregnancy and the premature birth of his first child had an impact on his preparation.
He then said:
Four months later, Bentley will now face Essex middleweight Danny Dignum, 16-1-1 (9 KO), on Saturday night (May 11) at York Hall. Two years ago, both men faced “Qazaq Style” Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in Las Vegas six months apart. Dignum caught up with him in May 2022, lasting two rounds, but Bentley went the distance and then proved he was worthy of being a world title contender.
“If I go into another fight and I don’t win, what’s my excuse,” Bentley laughed.
The 29-year-old initially told him about his experience last week with Steel Warriors, a charity fighting knife crime, but graciously took more time to talk about the fight with Dignum, who headlines Saturday’s fight night on TNT Sports.
“I have to be there,” he said.
If I don’t perform next time, I shouldn’t be in the ring. But this time I feel good. Danny Dignum is a good player. In my opinion, a better player than Nathan [Heaney]. I’m excited to make a statement and get back to the same place I was before because I was in a good position before [loss]and I let Nathan take it from me. This hurt me a bit. I know this feeling and I don’t want it anymore. I have to perform well, get back in my place and move forward.
“He’s a good boxer, very technical,” Bentley said of Dignum.
“He’s a southpaw, he’s got good straight shots, he’s got good shot selection and he’s only lost once. He is a good fighter. I tell people it’s not a comeback fight. This is the fight I could have had after Heaney if I hadn’t gotten the chance to fight for the world title. It’s a real competition.
“I know we haven’t seen Dignum for a while and he hasn’t been vigorous, but I know he stays in the gym because I know where he trains. And I know they are quite vigorous at this gym. I don’t expect it to be rusty. I’m waiting for a good version of it. I’m excited about this fight, I’m really excited, I can’t express how much.
Like many boxing fans, Bentley is enjoying a period in the sport where the best fights are taking place. Undefeated records are not wrapped in protective materials because more and more players are willing to fail, knowing that it is not the end of their career. The financial injection from Saudi Arabia probably made the risk factor easier to swallow, but let’s not forget that boxing is also a fight for prizes.
“This is the phase we are in,” Bentley said.
“Good fighters take good fights and lose, so the undefeated stuff goes out the window. They realize that if you put up the right fights, you’ll get paid right. We are in a good phase in boxing because we are seeing good fights now.
“The most critical thing in boxing is that if you fight a good fight and present yourself well, people will still want to see you again. This is sport, this is competition. You can lose in a competition, that’s how you rebuild.
“I am a competitive person,” he added. “If I’m fighting someone who’s not at my level, it’s tough for me to oppose him. Sometimes I’m good at blocking out outside noise if the task at hand is more critical than what’s happening. When you’re fighting someone who you think isn’t as good as you or not at your level, sometimes outside noise can seep in and you don’t pay attention to it. I know you’re supposed to act professional, but that’s human nature.
“At the moment Danny Dignum is a threat and he can take something away from me. And all the outside noise that’s going on is straightforward for me to tune out because I have energy. There is a threat in front of me and I need to concentrate.
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Boxing
Brooklyn heavyweight Pryce Taylor is looking forward to 2025
Published
4 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
21 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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