After Saturday the Lightweight picture gets clearer

By Luis A. Cortes III

Heading into this Saturday afternoon’s (ESPN+ 4 p.m. ET) lightweight unification fight, there are many sub plots that accompany this major fight.  WBA/WBO unified champion and top ranked pound for pound fighter in the world, Vasyl Lomachenko (13-1)(10 KO’s) defends his two portions of the lightweight crown against fellow 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, and England native Luke Campbell (20-2)(16 KO’s).  One of these sub plots is the fact that not only will the winner of this fight stake their claim as the best lightweight in the world with the two previously mentioned titles, the vacant WBC world lightweight title is also up for grabs.  This means that Lomachenko can add a third title to his ever-growing collection of championships.  While for Campbell, with one huge upset victory, he can go from top contender to owner of three of the four major titles in the division. 

While we will take a closer look at the type of fight that Lomachenko-Campbell could shape up to be once the first bell rings out from the O2 Arena in London, what is intriguing is just what this fight means to the lightweight division once the dust settles and a winner is announced.  Earlier this summer the lightweight division and the path towards crowning an undisputed champion was covered prior to the title defense of IBF champion, Richard Commey ("The Road to Undisputed Lightweight King Begins"). 

With Commey successfully defending his version of the title against Beltran, and Teofimo Lopez winning his fight to secure the spot as the IBF number one contender, all signs point to the two men meeting in a championship fight in December at Madison Square Garden.  The victor of this Saturday’s fight in London will be waiting with bated breath for the outcome of the proposed Commey-Lopez fight.  For Top Rank Promotions, the ideal situation would be for Lomachenko to continue to impress the world by proving with a victory over Campbell that he is the best fighter in the world.  It also would make a potential fight next year with the winner of Commey-Lopez much easier to make since both of those fighters also ply their trade under the Top Rank banner. 

As mentioned in the article earlier this summer.  Luke Campbell has attached himself to this scenario as the absolute wild card.  Campbell, unlike the other three fighters mentioned, is not signed to Top Rank and is promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.  However, something tells me that if he can accomplish the upset by beating Lomachenko, which not many boxing observers or fans on social media seem to give him a valid chance in doing, Team Campbell may in fact be demanding that they as well look no further then December’s fight for their next opponent. 

All of this means that Saturday will go a long way into making the path and picture of crowning an undisputed lightweight champion much clearer.  As for the fight itself, this event does say a lot about the reigning champion.  With the fight taking place in London, it’s not often that in today’s day and age of champions demanding to be considered the “A” side of a promotion that the hometown fighter is the challenger.  Lomachenko is proving that he is anything but a regular champion.  He sees this as an opportunity to display his skills on a large scale in front of an audience that hasn’t seen him compete live since his days in the World Boxing Series prior to turning professional, or since the 2012 Olympic Games (held in London).  One thing is for certain, while Campbell will most likely have most of his native land’s support, with over 18,000 tickets sold and a sellout expected, Lomachenko has been attending fight week events that have been packed with his supporters. 

Already an international star, an impressive victory over Campbell would just add the rest of England to Lomachenko’s growing list of supporters.  Although its rare to see the champion or pound for pound best willing to travel to the native land of the challenger, to his credit Lomachenko had this to say about the task at hand on Saturday.  “Maybe it will be a harder fight, but I can’t answer that until after the fight.  Luke Campbell is not an easy fighter.  He’s a top fighter.  He’s a smart fighter.  He’s a technical fighter, so it will be an interesting and technical fight.” 

What Lomachenko is referring, to aside from showing respect to his challenger and fellow Olympic champion, is the only thing that boxing observers have pointed to that favors Campbell going into this fight, his size and reach advantage over the smaller champion.  Campbell is a very tall lightweight with solid fundamentals and a tough southpaw style.  He also has good professional experience, only losing twice by split decision, one of those fights being a 2017 loss to then WBA champion Jorge Linares.  Although most people thought Linares was the rightful winner of the fight, Campbell showed grit and determination after being dropped in the second round by rising to his feet and adjusting in order to make the fight a close one.  Linares was also the fighter that wound up dropping Lomachenko during their heated fight last year when Lomachenko moved up in weight to capture the WBA title. ("Top Rank Boxing Presents Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Jorge Linares Recap")

“I’ve been through a lot having the experience of the London Olympics, the crowds, the pressure of going out there, getting a medal and winning.  My professional career, coming to America to fight Linares for a world title.  I’ve learned from my experiences, and boy, do I love a challenge.  I’ve said for years being in boxing, to be the best, you have to beat the best,” stated Campbell. 

So, while his amateur pedigree and his professional experiences, coupled with his physical traits have many feeling that Campbell will make this a competitive fight, mostly everyone winds up saying that in the end Lomachenko will find a way to figure out the right plan of attack during the fight and make the adjustments needed to chop down his worthy challenger.  What will be interesting to see is if Campbell will also be able to adjust to the champion’s adjustments in order to try and take control of the fight as the challenger, and clearly come out as the winner of the fight. 

A couple things are for sure, whichever way this fight winds up playing out, fight fans will continue to reap the benefits of cross promotion as the best fight the best.  Also, one fighter will walk out of the ring with three of the four major belts, thus taking us closer to an undisputed champion.  Lastly, even if the fight does wind up turning into a technical fight between the two fighters as they jockey for advantages, it will be an intriguing high tense chess match.  If this is the case, pay close attention to the subtle boxing moves done with both the fighter’s hands and feet as they probe for the right plan of attack to be successful.  Enjoy, and let the lightweight picture get that much clearer! 

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The Road to Undisputed Lightweight King Begins

By Luis A. Cortes III

On Saturday night from Temecula California, Top Rank Promotions and ESPN (10 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) will broadcast a fight card that’s main event will feature the beginning of the path towards an undisputed king.  The quest for lightweight supremacy begins as IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey (28-2, 22 KO’s) defends his title for the first time against former world champion and grizzled veteran Ray Beltran (36-8-1, 22 KO’s).  When Mikey Garcia decided to vacate the WBC portion of the lightweight crown back in April after his loss to welterweight champion Errol Spence, it meant that the biggest fight in the division between Garcia and the WBA/WBO champion Vasiliy Lomachenko would have to once again be placed on hold.

With Garcia now set to face Danny Garcia at welterweight, it meant that the division could now move on from the unification fight between Garcia and Lomachenko and allow for the rest of the world class talent a chance to stake their claim as the king of the talent rich division.  Lomachenko (a top pound-for-pound fighter) and already a unified champion in the division is clearly the proverbial favorite to be the last man standing when the dust settles.  This brings us back to what will take place this weekend between Commey and Beltran. 

Commey, the hard-punching champion from Ghana, won the IBF portion of the crown in February when he blasted Isa Chaniev with power shots in two rounds to earn the knockout win.  It was supposed to have set up Commey with the chance to unify his titles with Lomachenko in April.  However, due to a hand injury sustained during his title winning victory, it caused a need for surgery and Lomachenko to look elsewhere for his next opponent.

Beltran himself has had to navigate a twisting path towards this opportunity to have his name listed as the divisions king.  It was just last year that Beltran, after a long career that had seen its ups and downs, finally captured a world championship when he defeated Paulus Moses.  In his first defense of the WBO title in August, he dropped a decision to Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza.  Going into that fight (like the Commey situation this year), it was believed that with the victory over Pedraza, Beltran would be next in line for Lomachenko and the seven-figure payday that accompanies that type of fight.  Unfortunately for Beltran, Pedraza not only won the WBO title but would get the fight last December with Lomachenko.  With a comeback knockout victory last February, Beltran has now placed himself into a prime position to challenge Commey for another portion of the lightweight crown.   

“Being a world champion is great.  I went back home, and everyone welcomed me at the airport.  It was like a hero’s welcome, it was unbelievable,” stated Commey during the final press conference this week.  “I never try and knock out my opponent.  It comes when it comes.  I believe he’s a strong guy, a tough guy, and so am I.  It’s going to be a good fight, but I’m the champion, and I’m going to keep my belt.”

It’s clear that Commey has taken to the role of favorite for this fight as the champion, but for Beltran being an underdog is par for the course for him at this point in his twenty-year career.  “I feel like I made it the hard way.  Even when the sport or boxing world didn’t believe in me, that’s when I had to believe in myself,” expressed Beltran.  “Nobody gave me an opportunity, I had to go and take it.  I became a world champion and I am fighting for another world title.  It’s not about if people believe in you.  You must believe in yourself.”

Both fighters are clearly focused on the task at hand and through their words one can tell that they are not taking this opportunity to prove that they are elite lightly.  Having both missed out on an opportunity to fight for bigger fight purses, each fighter clearly is aware what victory and defeat can mean to their careers.  What should also be promising for fans is the fact that both men are hard nosed both in their approach to the sport in terms of preparation, but also in how they fight inside of the ring.  They do not shy away from trying to find their opponents and are happy to exchange power shots to inflict punishment.  In other words, get ready for a fight that has the potential to provide fireworks and bombs for as long as the warfare lasts. 

With a fight between the sport’s top young sensation lightweight Teofimo Lopez and veteran Masayoshi Nakatani scheduled for July 19^th as an IBF title eliminator, whoever survives the fight on Friday night and steps out of the ring with the IBF title will have his eyes focused on that ring in July.  In fact, Lopez will have his eyes on the ring Friday since he is scheduled to be in California to watch Commey and Beltran do battle from ringside. 

Lopez has not been shy about wanting to prove to the world that his days as “top prospect” are behind him.  He has been vocal in calling out the unified champion Lomachenko and with this road to crowning an undisputed lightweight king getting underway.  Lopez will have his chance with just two victories during the remainder of the year to not only fulfill his dream of becoming a world champion, but also, to put himself in the prime position to challenge Lomachenko to become undisputed champion.

A wild card has been thrown into the mix since there still is that issue of the WBC title being vacant.  While it seemed that Luke Campbell, the former 2012 Olympian, would somehow be involved as one of the fighters with top contender status in the WBC rankings, what became interesting was that the WBC named Lomachenko also as a top contender in their rankings despite holding two other portions of the crown.  As a result, there have been plenty of news circulating that a unification fight between Campbell and Lomachenko tentatively scheduled for late August in London is all but set.  Campbell could walk into a London ring with no titles, and if he were to pull off the mega upset, would walk out of that ring with three of the four portions of the undisputed lightweight crown. 

However, if all goes as expected late this summer across the pond, Lomachenko will add that WBC title to the other two portions of the crown he already holds and will await the fighter who survives this small tournament that gets underway Friday night to decide the IBF title.  Whichever way things will pan out in the division, by this time next year, barring any drastic changes or outside of the ring mishaps, fans of the sport should be happy to know that finally a talent rich division will have the elite champions and contenders fight to crown one undisputed king at lightweight. 

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Farmer Punishes Carroll over 12 Rounds in St. Patrick's Day Showdown

By Luis A. Cortes III, Ringside

The opening two rounds between Tevin Farmer (29-4-1)(6 KO's) and Jono Carroll (16-1)(3 KO's) were a bit slow as Farmer tried to get a feel for the type of fighter Carroll was.  In the third round, both fighters opened up as Farmer started to counter punch Carroll moving from side to side in order to avoid the punches from Carroll's high work rate.  These heated exchanges continued into the fourth round, but Farmer started to move away from Carroll until they started to exchange on the inside again.  

Farmer had a big fifth round landing clean counter punches that were powerful.  At one point, Farmer knocked the mouth piece out of Carroll's mouth.  The follow-up rounds saw Carroll bring a lot of activity to the fight, but he was constantly getting hit by the more accurate counter shots from Farmer.  Round eleven saw Carroll get beaten up by Farmer around the ring.  A huge right hook that Carroll didn't see rocked him, and he was a few more shots from being dropped.  

After twelve rounds of action all three judges scored the fight for the champion Farmer, 117-111 twice and 117-110.     

Taylor adds another belt to her impressive resume 

Unified featherweight champion Katie Taylor(13-0)(6 KO's) of Ireland and Rose Volante (14-1)(8 KO's) started fast as Taylor was able to land a short straight right that dropped Volante.  Following the knockdown, Taylor was able to control the early rounds with her skillful combination punching and footwork.  She caused a cut on the nose of Volante and punished her to the body with a left hook that stopped Volante's movement.  

Taylor came out in both rounds eight and nine throwing fast combinations in order to put a hurting on Volante.  She kept landing a beautiful left hook to the body that clearly was taking a lot out of Volante.  At the 1:40 mark of the ninth round, the referee stopped the fight.  With the victory, Taylor is now the unified WBA/WBO/IBF Featherweight Champion, and continues to move up the pound-for-pound ranks.    

Sulecki beats Rosado after he wars back in ten round battle

Things started out slow between Gabe Rosado (24-12-1)(14 KO's) and Maciej Sulecki (28-1)(11 KO's), until Sulecki caught Rosado bending down with a right to the ear that dropped him and wobbled the Philly native.  Rosado rose to his feet and finished the round, but as was the case in the second round,  Sulecki controlled the tempo and range of the fight with the harder punches.  In round three, Rosado was able to find a home with an overhand right that allowed him to control the round. 

Several of the next set of rounds started off with both fighters trying to use their jabs to establish control.  With the fight getting close in terms of the fighters exchanging winning rounds,  Rosado came out in the eighth round to try and get control of the fight.  As he threw a pair of power shots, Sulecki countered with a powerful left hook right hand combination that dropped Rosado.  Although he got up, Rosado was dazed and wobbled into a corner where he did his best to avoid power punches and make it out of the round.  

Round nine set the Liacouras Center on fire, as Rosado connected with a huge right hand that dropped Sulecki.  Rosado jumped all over his hurt opponent and mugged him with punches until he went down a second time.  They both warred in the tenth round, but it was Rosado landing upper cuts in close range that came away with the last round.  Sulecki was awarded the decision 95-91 twice and 95-93.  It was a great fight, that once again showed Rosado's warrior heart by making it an interesting ending.     

2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Luke Campbell (20-2) (16 KO's) stopped Adrian Yung (26-6-2) (20 KO's) in the fifth round, after overpowering him with a great body attack.  

Former amateur standout Raymond Ford (1-0) won his professional debut over Weusi Johnson (3-11) with all three scoring the contest 39-36.  Ford landed a big left hand that floored Johnson in the first.    

Daniyar Yeleussinov (6-0) (3 KO's), the Olympic champion, remained unbeaten by beating rugged veteran Silverio Ortiz (37-24)(18 KO's).

Sparrow wins majority decision over Lundy in grudge match 

In the Philadelphia grudge match between lightweights Hank Lundy (29-8-1)(14 KO's) and Avery Sparrow (10-1)(3 KO's), it didn't take long for the action to heat up.  Lundy had a good first round, landing a big left hook that stopped Sparrow in his tracks and shook up his back leg to win the round.  Sparrow answered with a huge second round, by landing powerful over hand rights.  Lundy's glove touched the canvas for the first knockdown.  The second knockdown came from a fierce right during an exchange that dropped Lundy flat on his back.  He rose to his feet and finished the round.  

Rounds three, four, and five saw the pace slow down a bit, as Lundy turned a war into a boxing match.  It was back to exchanging bombs at the end of the sixth round, with both fighters landing big right hands.  After six rounds, the fight was close in terms of rounds won by each fighter.  However, Sparrow had the huge second round.  

Rounds seven and eight was a return to a boxing match.  With the fight entering the final two rounds, the fight was closer than the second round would have suggested it would be.  After the ten rounds of good action, the decision would be up to the three judges.  One judge scored the fight 94-94, while the other two scored it 96-92, and 95-93 in favor of Avery Sparrow.  

D'Mitrius Ballard (20-0) (13 KO's) stopped Victor Fonesca (17-10-1)(14 KO's) in the fifth round of a super middleweight fight to start the show.

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When Irish Eyes Smile on Philadelphia

By Luis A. Cortes III

This Friday night from the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University marks the return of big-time boxing to the city of Brotherly Love.  Last April, Top Rank Promotions and ESPN put on a big show at Liacouras Center that featured plenty of hometown fighters in key matchups.  This year, while there have already been some compelling local shows that have all had great attendance, it’s time for Matchroom Boxing USA and DAZN to host a show in the city. The upstart streaming application that has taken the boxing world by storm, will broadcast their first show from Philadelphia on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.  Granted the St. Patrick’s Day Parade has come and went in the city, this Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day, which means that the city will be a buzz with plenty of festivities for Philly to indulge in.  A Friday night at the fights is the perfect way to kick things off.

Since signing a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA, IBF Junior Lightweight Champion Tevin Farmer (28-4-1)(6 KO’s)(1 NC) has gotten what he has asked for, an active schedule.  Eddie Hearn has made good on his promise to Farmer that if he did sign with Matchroom, barring any injuries, he would constantly get him fights.  Which means that when he defends his championship in the main event on Friday night, it will be his fourth fight in seven months and his third title defense.  What makes this title defense interesting for Farmer is not only will he be fighting for the first time as champion in his hometown, he will be facing the tough and rugged challenge of undefeated Irishman Jono Carroll (16-0)(3 KO’s).  On a weekend like the one approaching, it’s the perfect sell for a main event.  Hometown champion versus the tough challenge of a native Irishman during the city’s celebration of the latter’s heritage.

This is a huge fight for Farmer, even though it may seem that Carroll may not have the same experience to really test Farmer.  Carroll is in fact a durable fighter that has had to fight his way from the bottom to reach this opportunity.  Both fighters have exchanged barbs over social media, calling each other everything in the book.  Farmer has stated his pleasure with fighting under the Matchroom banner and has also let it be known that after this fight he would love the chance to unify the division titles in a fight against the WBA champion Gervonta Davis.  This is the fight that most hardcore fight fans have been asking for a couple of years already from a stylistic standpoint would be fun to witness.  Although the future looks bright for Farmer with a victory on Friday night, nothing by any means is guaranteed in terms of a victory.  Carroll for his part is planning to spoil those future plans as well as reach a point in his career that he has admitted only he dreamed could happen.

In the co-main event, WBA and IBF unified featherweight queen Katie Taylor (12-0)(5 KO’s), looks to add the WBO title to her growing collection when she battles Brazilian Rose Volante (14-0)(8 KO's).  Taylor, an Olympic Champion from the 2012 London Games, is quickly working her way up the pound-for-pound rankings in women’s boxing.  She already retains celebrity status in her native Ireland, and having fought already in Boston and New York, adding Philadelphia to her resume will continue to add to her rising popularity.  If she were to get by Volante, she already has stated that she would love to battle Amanda Serrano, a fellow pound-for-pound ranked fighter in a super fight.  Taylor is open to fighting the best in the world and along with Carroll, her fellow countrymen, adds yet another Celtic flavor to the fight card.

On the undercard two matchups look to shine a spotlight on the world of Philadelphia boxing.  Middleweights Gabriel Rosado (24-11-1)(14 KO’s) of Philadelphia and Maciej Sulecki (27-1)(11 KO’s) will battle in a pivotal matchup for both men.  Earlier this week, Eddie Hearn went on the record and stated that the winner of this matchup would be in line for a world title shot against WBO Middleweight Champion Demetrius Andrade.  That statement put an added incentive to the already motivated mind of Rosado, who will be fighting in front of his hometown crowd for the first time in several years.  During the pre-fight promotion, Rosado’s trainer Billy Briscoe stated that he was indeed impressed with the skills of Sulecki and in no way was Rosado going to take this fight with anything but a serious approach.  This is a solid fight that should please both the crowd in attendance and the fans watching at home.

Lightweight Hank Lundy (29-7-1)(14 KO’s) will take on his fellow Philadelphian Avery Sparrow (9-1)(3 KO’s).  Although both fighters are from Philadelphia, believe me when I tell you there is no love lost between these two fighters.  Both are no stranger to speaking their minds, which was the case during the kick-off press conference.  Lundy told TWI that he expects to capture his 30th victory of his veteran professional career and feels that a win on this type of show and platform in his hometown could launch his career towards at least one more run towards a world championship at lightweight.  With a career that has seen Lundy face some of the best fighters of the past generation at both lightweight and super lightweight, it is this experience that he believes will be the difference maker in the fight.  Sparrow is looking to use a victory of Lundy to jumpstart his career and put in on a path towards championship glory.  Sparrow is the younger fighter, that has shown glimpses of raw natural talent that has made him a fighter that not many lightweights want to risk their padded records against.  Both hometown fighters are coming to fight, and it should be interesting while it lasts.

A pair of former Olympians round out the undercard.  John Joe Nevin (10-0)(4 KO’s) is a thirty year old super featherweight from Ireland.  He captured the Silver medal at the 2012 Olympic games in London.  Over the past seven years, his career has not taken off the way some of the other Olympians from that year have.  But Neven, who has fought in Philadelphia before, would like to use this chance to start being more active.  Luke Campbell (19-2)(15 KO’s) is a lightweight fighter from England, that won the Gold medal for his home country during the 2012 games.  Like his fellow 2012 Olympian, Nevin, Campbell is trying to gear his career towards the next level that has so far eluded him in the professional ranks.  Also, Raymond Ford an amateur standout from across the river from Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey will make his professional debut. 

Tickets for this great night at the fights in Philadelphia are still available. You can purchase them by visiting liacourascenter.com.  Of course, if you can’t make it out to the fights, which I suggest you do,  DAZN will begin their broadcast at 7pm.    

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WBC Orders Mikey Garcia vs. Jorge Linares Title Fight

The WBC has been busy at their annual conference in Baku, Azerbaijan!

The sanctioning body recently ordered Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) to defend his WBC World Lightweight Title against Jorge Linares (43-3, 27 KOs), who currently holds the WBC Diamond Lightweight Champion. Garcia most recently defeated Adrien Broner (33-3, 24 KOs) by unanimous decision in Brooklyn in July. Linares is coming off of a September 23rd split decision victory over Luke Campbell (17-2, 14 KOs) for the WBA World Lightweight Title in Inglewood, CA.

The two men will meet in the ring in a yet to be determined date in 2018.

Stay tuned to The Weigh-In Boxing Blog and Podcast for more information on this lightweight title fight!

MW

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