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One-punch boxing wonders: George Kambosos Jr. he needs a win to avoid making the list

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6 months ago

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Much like the music industry, boxing has had its fair share of one-punch miracles. George Kambosos Jr. seeks to avoid having his name added to the list of world title winners, only to quickly lose it and fall out of favor when he faces Vasiliy Lomachenko for the vacant IBF lightweight title on Sunday morning in Perth, Australia (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET in the USA, ESPN /ESPN+).

For some, becoming champion is the beginning of the end, as they lose the belt in their first defense and their career rapidly declines. However, it is still too early to put 30-year-old Kambosos from Sydney in that shameful category.

Kambosos (21-2, 10 KO) silenced Teofimo Lopez’s fans in Up-to-date York when he won a split decision in November 2021 to capture three lightweight world titles. Just over a year earlier, Lopez delivered the performance of a lifetime that nullified the fight due to Lomachenko’s dazzling skills. However, as a 7-1 betting favorite against Kambosos, Lopez was caught and sent to the court in the first round, and Kambosos left the game himself in the 10th round and took a split decision.

Kambosos didn’t have to enjoy life as a champion for long. Seven months later in Melbourne, the Australian lost his belts in his first defense against Devin Haney by unanimous decision. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, Haney did even better, winning another decision slow in 2022 in Melbourne.

A controversial majority decision victory over Maxim Hughes last year gave Kambosos his fourth world title shot in his last five fights.

Let’s take a look at some of the players who didn’t do much after winning the world title.

Harder falls

Andy Ruiz Jr. pulled off a major shock by stopping Anthony Joshua in round 7 to win three world title belts in 2019 as a slow substitute. Six months later, Ruiz showed up in the rematch weighing 15 pounds more than in the first fight and lost convincingly by unanimous decision to Joshua’s game.

Since then, Ruiz has recorded two unanimous decision victories, but both Luiz Ortiz and Chris Arreola are over 40 years antique. Ruiz (32-2, 22 KO) weighed 268¾ pounds when he scored three knockouts against Ortiz in September 2022. The Californian is expected to be born on August 3 in Los Angeles and will face Jarrell “Massive Baby” Miller. This will be his first fight since defeating Ortiz and he is one step away from a world title shot.

Joshua also ended the brief reign of Charles Martin, who hilariously entered the ring to face the Englishman for a massive crown in London in 2016. However, he was not majestic in the ring that night, as Joshua dispatched him in just two rounds to win the IBF world heavyweight title. Martin fell apart as soon as Joshua started to land.

When Vyacheslav Glazkov suffered a knee injury in the third round against Martin in January 2016, the American became champion. Martin, now 38, has so far failed to regain that lofty status and has suffered three consecutive defeats.

Deontay Wilder became champion for the first time, overtaking Bermane Stiverne in January 2015. Stiverne managed to become the first professional opponent to resist Wilder’s strength and defeat him at a distance, but he lost a unanimous decision in the first defense of the WBC belt, which he won by stopping Chris Arreola in the sixth round in May 2014. Stiverne’s career was in ruins, and in 2017, he was knocked out in the rematch by Wilder in a round. It was the first of four consecutive defeats, including three by stoppage, and he has not fought since January 2023.

Other notable heavyweight champions who lost the title in their first defense and whose career never recovered include Hasim Rahman (2001). The world was stunned when Lennox Lewis – boxing’s last undisputed world heavyweight champion in the three-belt era – was underestimated and unprepared for the heights in Johannesburg and was subsequently knocked out by Rahman in five rounds. Lewis quickly made amends in a rematch seven months later, and Rahman never became world champion again, despite fights against the likes of Evander Holyfield, James Toney, Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.

Lighter falls

Manny Pacquiao will go down in history as one of the greatest boxing champions of all time, but slow in his career he lost to fighters who were unable to maintain success at an elite level.

Kambosos’ Australian, Jeff Horn (20-3-1, 13 KO), also held the world title for a brief time. Horn benefited from a night off against Pacquiao, one of the best boxers of recent years when he won a unanimous decision to win the WBO welterweight title in Australia in 2017. Pacquiao complained about the controversial result, but a rematch never took place. Horn won his first defense against the little-known Gary Corcoran, but was then stopped by Terence Crawford, ending his reign less than a year after it began. Horn never fought for a world title again.

In his last fight, Pacquiao suffered a unanimous decision loss to replacement opponent Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas in August 2021. At 35, Ugas was considered a secure opponent for the eighth-weight world champion as he approaches his last huge fight. But Ugas spoiled the party. Inspired by the opportunity given on 11 days’ notice and perhaps taking advantage of the 42-year-old Pacquiao’s waning powers, Ugas won as a +350 underdog. Pacquiao was preparing to face Errol Spence Jr. and perhaps the change of opponent, i.e. meeting another southpaw, contributed to the defeat. Ugas’ double jab proved decisive in winning the WBA title. However, Spence stopped Ugas in the unification title fight two years ago, and in September 2023, the Miami Cuban was passed by Mario Barrios.

Pacquiao was at the top of his game when the Filipino ended Chris Algieri’s brief reign. The Up-to-date Yorker survived two knockdowns in the first round to bravely defend himself and in June 2014 won a split decision over Ruslan Provodnikov in the fight for the WBO junior welterweight title. Five months later, he moved up the division and lost six times by wide decision. lost to Pacquiao. Algieri suffered further losses to Amir Khan, Spence and finally, at the age of 37, to Conor Benn in 2021.

Miguel Cotto was one of the greatest stars of his era, but like Pacquiao, his career ended in a shocking defeat. His bout was against Sadam Ali in December 2017. Ali, who had been stopped by Jessie Vargas for the WBO welterweight title the year before, was reluctant to beat the Puerto Rican Hall of Famer, but he put on an inspiring display in a unanimous decision. Ali never reached the same level again as he lost his title in a four-round defeat to Jaime Munguia and was stopped in his last fight by Anthony Newborn five years ago.

Cotto ended Yuri Foreman’s brief stint as the WBA junior middleweight champion with a ninth-round stoppage in June 2010 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, seven months after Foreman won the belt against Daniel Santos. Foreman failed to win another world championship belt despite 10 years of trying.

Sergio Mora, who gained fame thanks to the reality show “The Contender” on NBC, in June 2006 won the WBC junior middleweight title from Vernon Forrest by majority vote. However, three months later, in Mora’s first defense, he lost the belt to much improved Forrest by wide unanimous decision. Mora missed subsequent opportunities as Daniel Jacobs stopped him in two rounds and then in a seven-round rematch for the middleweight title in 2015 and 2016.

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James “Buster” Douglas, who overcame huge odds of 42-1 and ended Mike Tyson’s heavyweight rampage with a seismic 10th-round knockout in 1990, is perhaps the most obvious one-hit wonder in recent boxing history. Douglas, whose mother died 23 days before the fight, was inspired while Tyson was distracted. Douglas was overweight in his first defense against Evander Holyfield, who punished him in three rounds before winning all the belts eight months later. Douglas was never the same as that night against Tyson on February 11, 1990 in Tokyo.

Another one-hit wonder was Montell Griffin, who reigned as the WBC featherlight heavyweight champion for five months in 1997. Roy Jones Jr. he was in great shape and his skills made him seem untouchable at the time. Jones came close to another victory when Griffin went down to a knee in round 9, but Jones was disqualified for punching another American as he went down. Jones made Griffin pay in the rematch, resulting in a brutal first-round KO. Griffin lost his next two world title fights.

Leon Spinks may have been the 1976 Olympic gold medalist, but in 1978 the reasonable opinion was that Muhammad Ali would be unchallenged by a challenger who would be fighting for the world heavyweight title in only his eighth professional fight. Spinks, shockingly, won by split decision. but Ali returned to holding the belts five months later after winning the rematch on points. Spinks lost his next two world title fights and finished with a record of 26 wins, 17 losses and three draws.

Coming back further, the perfect performance of Randy Turpin, who in 1951 in London overtook the great Sugar Ray Robinson for the world middleweight title, was another huge shock. However, the Englishman lost a rematch with the imperious Robinson on the other side of the Atlantic just 64 days later and never regained the title.

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Boxing

“Mike Tyson knocking out Jake Paul is an ‘all-time backfire’

Published

2 days ago

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November 14, 2024

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Mike Tyson scuffles with Jake Paul

Mike Tyson may not win at all even if he knocks out Jake Paul on Friday.

Tyson is approaching a comeback fight that many believe will not end with anyone winning.

Tyson was told that winning at the age of 58 in boxing was an empty joke. Tyson can’t really win either way if he crushes Paul or gets knocked out himself.

The former UFC star turned analyst weighed in on the Tyson debate as Daniel Cormier offered his views on the controversial fight.

Tyson will wear his professional gloves on November 15, nineteen years and more since his last appearance. Despite “Iron” Mike losing his previous two contests by knockout, YouTuber Paul sees Tyson as a cash opportunity to gain some recognition.

However, Cormier joins many voices who believe that both men have no chance of winning this fight. The only advantage of the entire Netflix event is money, which is no reason to create such an antagonist, since both men are already millionaires.

On his “Funky and the Champ” show, Cormier discussed Tyson’s smokescreen training videos, saying, “I understand that [he looks good at 58]and I understand what he is saying [he feels great].

“I agree when he hits the pads with Rafael Cordeiro. It looks like there’s still something left there. But then I see Jake Paul fighting Mike Perry. I saw Jake Paul get overwhelmed to the point where he started to feel uncomfortable. It looked like Mike Perry had a chance. But Jake has a reserve tank he can go to and benefit from because he’s 28 years ancient. Then he comes back and finally finishes Mike Perry.

“At the beginning of the fight, Mike Perry gets beaten up and dropped. He looks trained and unmatched. This worries me because what if it looks like a 58-year-old man fighting a 28-year-old man while Mike can’t operate the backup tank to stay and compete with this juvenile kid? I think it’s a failure for Jake Paul because if you beat Mike Tyson, everyone will love him.

“What if Mike knocks him out? It’s over,” Cormier added. “Everything is ready. This would be the backfire of all time. If he gets knocked out, nothing like this has ever happened in the history of sports.”

Paul has eight two-minute rounds to get the job done, while the consensus is that Tyson only has 30 seconds before he’s blowing tough and having difficulty keeping up.

The only comparison fight fans have made to the Paul vs. Tyson fight is when Evander Holyfield returned to action at the same age as Tyson in 2021. Facing Vitor Belfort, who was twenty years older than Paul at the time, Holyfield lasted only 109 seconds.

Mike is in deep crisis and must get out of the fight or destroy his opponent to gain any recognition. Senior Tyson would have beaten that opponent in a matter of seconds. Therefore, he must prove that money is not the only thing that counts.

In a recent workout, Tyson’s muscle mass remains off the charts for a man his age. The only problems will be its resistance to attacks and movement. If Mike can’t move around the ring, he’ll be chosen at his discretion by a guy three decades younger, with a much more significant engine.

Paul clearly doesn’t have skills comparable to Tyson. However, Mike has shown on numerous occasions, even in his thirties, that he is prone to impoverished performances and falling out of the game.

An audience of millions will watch to decide his ultimate legacy.

If Paul knocks Tyson out, it will be a disaster.

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Ardreal Holmes Jr. is the leader of Large Time Boxing on December 12 in Flint, Michigan

Published

3 days ago

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November 13, 2024

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Ardeal Holmes Dec 12

Salita Promotions returns to Flint, Michigan on Thursday, December 12 with another edition of BIG TIME BOXING USA, the leading talent development series in the sport, featuring a fight card packed with some of boxing’s top prospects, including Michigan Jr.’s Ardreal “Bossman” Holmes. , Joey Spencer, Da’Velle “Hitman 2.0” Smith and Leon Lawson III.

This will be the sixth BIG TIME BOXING USA card since the series premiered in February, and it is without a doubt the series’ strongest lineup yet, from top to bottom. All the action takes place at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, and the top four fights are broadcast live on DAZN, the undisputed home of boxing worldwide. Tickets for the event go on sale Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST and can be purchased online HERE or in person at the Dort Financial Center box office.

After successfully defending his USBA junior middleweight title in September, Flint native Holmes (16-0, 6 KO) returns to his hometown to once again put his title on the line in the main event against an experienced challenger, French veteran Ahmed El Mousaoui ( 35-6-1, 9 KOs).

Fan favorite Spencer (18-1, 11 KO), from nearby Fenton, Michigan, will fight in a 10-round 160-pound fight. Spencer has bounced back with two wins since his lone loss to undefeated, highly-rated Jesus Ramos in March 2023.

Spencer will fight as a professional for the second time in his home state of Michigan. “Fighting in front of fans and friends from all over the state was the best experience,” Spencer said. “I grew up fighting alongside Ardreal Holmes and Leon Lawson – training and traveling to tournaments together and even sparring with each other as we grew into the same weight class.

“Large Time Boxing is a very cold series and Dmitriy Salita does a lot for boxing in Michigan. I can’t wait for December 12th and I’ll be ready to put on a show.

“My team and I are proud to announce the strongest BIG TIME BOXING USA fight card to date,” Salita said. “Since the series launched in February, we have been building and evolving it to become the premier talent development platform for newborn fighters, and this fight card is the best yet. Thank you to DAZN for providing a global platform for these fighters to shine and earn a shot at a world title. We would also like to thank Flint fans for supporting their hometown heroes and the entire sport of boxing. We had a great performance at the Dort Financial Center in September and this fight card is even more packed with incredible talent.”

Smith, touted as Detroit’s best undefeated middleweight prospect since Tommy Hearns, scored an impressive victory over Gilberto Pereira dos Santos last month in Puerto Rico. Smith has a record of 10-0 and 8 knockouts, and his momentum will be even greater when he returns to the ring against William Townsel (8-1, 6 KO) from Virginia Beach. This matchup represents the first major test for Smith, who is considered the second coming of the legendary Hearns due to his combination of speed, power and physique. Townsel previously upset Nadim Salloum, who had a 12-1 record heading into the fight, during the March edition of BIG TIME BOXING USA.

Flint native Lawson (16-1, 9 KO), cousin of Anthony and Andre Dirrell, returns after an impressive performance in September when he dominated Argentine Luis Alberto Veron and scored his second straight TKO. Lawson’s super welterweight opponent will not be announced. Additionally, former world title contender Byron Rojas (28-4-3, 11 KO) will fight on the fight card.

Rising star Samantha Worthington (9-0, 7 KO) of Lexington, Kentucky, will compete for the third time in 2024, defending her undefeated record in women’s super lightweight fighting. Worthington is ranked No. 2 by the IBF, No. 4 by the WBO and No. 6 by the WBC and WBA at 140 pounds. Worthington is promoted by “GWOAT,” unified women’s world champion and Flint native Claressa Shields and T-Rex Promotions. Shields and Worthington were members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.

Shields added that Worthington is a player that Flint fans won’t want to miss. “Samantha will showcase the relentless work ethic and tremendous skill that first caught my eye and has seen her rise through the ranks,” Shields said. “Samantha is well on her way to challenging the top competitors in the sport, with future world title fights against the likes of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano well within her reach. Michigan fans, get ready to watch a rising women’s boxing star in your own backyard.

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Deontay Wilder returns, inspired by the work of Sylvester Stallone

Published

3 days ago

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November 13, 2024

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Deontay Wilder quote Sylvester Stallone

Deontay Wilder revealed his intentions to fight again in an address to his supporters, inspired by a quote from Rocky star Sylvester Stallone.

The “Brown Bomber” tries to leave behind two devastating defeats and the decline of personal relationships, starting a comeback with a novel attitude. Wilder has sought professional support for his mentality and intends to return to the ring to give himself one last chance.

In a video post on Instagram, Wilder said: “Listen, everyone is going to have an opinion about you, but those opinions don’t matter. Life will hit you and knock you down. It’s a mindset to keep moving forward.

“I experienced failures long before boxing. I faced challenges long before I stepped into the ring. I was punched and knocked down long before I even put on boxing gloves. I’m still here because my attitude is to get up and keep going…

“So over the last few months I have been building the protocol with mentality [strength]. I always say that we all have greatness within us, but greatness is only defined in service, so I wake up every day trying to serve. To teach other men how to move forward and support other men improve their mindset because mental health is my primary mission.

“The next critical mission is to get in the ring and do what I was supposed to do,” Wilder added.

Responding to those who believe his career is over, Wilder stated: “If any of you have negative opinions, look at your mindset and step back from that negative bull****. How about this?

“To all my fans and supporters and those who have never left me, I love you all very much and thank you very much. Because no matter how many losses and how many challenges, no matter how many times life hits you and knocks you down, you better get up and keep going. That is the power of thinking.”

Wilder was inspired by Rocky’s original quote from the movie “Rocky Balboa.”

Stallone’s quote reads: “Let me tell you something you already know. The world is not all sunshine and rainbows. This is a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are. It will bring you to your knees and keep you there forever if you let it.

“You, me or no one will hit as tough as life. But it’s not about how tough you hit. It’s about how tough you can get hit and keep going.

“As much as you can take and keep going. That’s how you win!”

Whether Deontay Wilder can win again will depend on his choice of opponent.

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