Matchroom Boxing USA's Super Bowl of Boxing

By Frank Bartolini

Miami Beach has palm trees, coconuts, Cuban sandwiches and ladies with inflated rear ends enveloping their thongs. Miami was hosting Super Bowl 54 and Miami Beach attracted the rich and famous. Driving by in a glaring white Bentley, Joe Pesce could barely see over the steering wheel. Enjoying the warm weather, Mark Cuban jogged down Collins Ave. High-end ticket scalpers only get to deal this week. For these ticket hawkers, the score on the big game only comes once a year and nothing compares except for the NCAA Final Four, World Series, NBA Championship and a Heavyweight Championship of the World fight.

Hoards of harlots arrived into town peddling flesh, whisking their Johns into nondescript dives on Collins Ave. You see Collins Ave. is off the strip and its beauty lies in the Art Deco architecture. Ocean Ave. aka The Strip is one block over and runs along the beach and restaurants that blare JLo, Rihanna, Beyonce and of course salsa music out onto their canopied decks filled with customers who have Margaritas and rum filled drinks. High-end shops that sell Gucci, Prada, Polo and other glitzy brands squeeze in between, but the action and fun lies on Collins Ave. Maxine's Bistro & Bar serves drinks and food all day and night. During this week, in the wee hours of the morning you can always find the boxing world's hardcore revelers strolling in for a drink and one last bite to eat. Matchroom Boxing USA's CEO Eddie Hearn chose this environment to promote a top notch night of fights the Thursday prior to Super Bowl Sunday.

For Eddie Hearn, what is referred to as football in his native England does not resemble the game by the same name in America. As a matter of fact, what Americans call soccer is the United Kingdom's football. With this knowledge in hand, Hearn decided to promote a night of championship battles and a side show act featuring two YouTubers with huge followings.

The venue, the Meridian at Island Gardens, was a steel makeshift building that was going to host concerts the following two nights, with Lady GaGa headlining Saturday night. On Sunday, pre- and post-Super Bowl parties were scheduled. Nicely done inside and out with bars and food stands under the roof and several entertainment booths outside, the building held five thousand seats and three thousand five hundred were filled in for the fights. By the following Wednesday, the Meridian Arena will be dismantled and carted away, leaving memories and an empty lot.

Two world championships changed hands. Trying to successfully defend his IBF Super Featherweight Belt for the fifth time, Tevin Farmer of Philadelphia, PA dropped a twelve round unanimous decision to Jo Jo Diaz of Downey, California. Diaz, the former WBA World Featherweight title holder, entered the ring with blonde locks and a piece of his left eyebrow shaved. He got on a plane back home with a record of 31-1 with 15 ko’s. This was Farmer's first loss in eight years as his record drops to 30-5-1 with 6 ko’s.

Entering the ring unified WBA and IBF World Super Bantamweight king, Danny Roman, Los Angeles Calif., was an unusual +250 underdog against Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Namangan, Uzbekistan. A give and take battle that could have went either way, Akhmadaliev won a twelve round split decision by scores of 115-113 twice and the other judge seeing it 115-113 for Roman. A rematch will be welcomed by all those who watched the contest. Roman is 27-3-1 with 10 ko’s. The new champ Akhmadaliev stays undefeated at 8-0 with 6 ko’s.

Only WBO World Middleweight Champion Demetrius Andrade of Providence RI, entered and left the ring with his belt around his waist. Only seconds after the opening bell chimed, southpaw Andrade had challenger Luke Keeler of Dublin, Ireland, eating resin dust from a straight left hand to the chin. From that point on, Keeler put forth a game effort until he was stopped in round ten. Keeler returns to the Emerald Isle 17-3-1 with 5 ko’s. Two weight division title holder Andrade remains undefeated at 29-0 with 18 ko’s.

Matchroom Boxing USA's next stop on its roadshow is Frisco, Texas on February 29, when Mikey Garcia takes on Jessie Vargas.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

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. 

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

Errol Spence Jr. vs Mikey Garcia - Live Updates

By Milo Taibi, Ringside

PBC/Magna Media: Unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol "The Truth" Spence Jr. defends his title against undefeated four-division champion Mikey Garcia in a highly anticipated and historic showdown for pound-for-pound supremacy that headlines a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Weigh-In will be ringside at AT&T Stadium providing live updates and results! Stay tuned here for undercard and main card action from Arlington, TX.

Jose Valenzuela vs Christian Velez 

• Walkout bout time! Thanks to the slew of early stoppages tonight, only one of 17 bouts will follow the main event. Valenzuela secured a knockdown in round one, Velez looking unsteady entering the next frame. Valenzuela floored Velez again 1:40 into the 4th round, and the referee waved off the contest. Jose Valenzuela improves to 3-0, which caps an action-packed evening in Arlington, TX.

Errol Spence Jr vs Mikey Garcia 

• Feel-out round to open things up. Mikey has his moments in the second frame, but we've got two evenly matched rounds entering the third. Spence targets the body with more frequency in the third, he holds a 2-1 lead on my scorecard entering the 4th. 5-1 Spence at the halfway mark. Errol was really busting up Mikey in the 6th, and could run away with the fight unless Garcia switches up strategy. The pro-Mikey contingent has fallen silent at AT&T Stadium, as Garcia's getting picked apart. 6-1 Spence entering the seventh, with "The Truth" showing no signs of wearing down. We reach the final bell, and judges render 120-107, and 120-108 x2 scorecards for Errol Spence Jr. Dominant performance, but let's see Spence against a guy of his caliber next time...preferably a welterweight. 

David Benavidez vs J'Leon Love

•  J'Leon Love and David Benavidez come out cracking in this 10-round co-feature. Biggest shot of the round was a left hook that wobbled Love. Benavidez (21-0) whales away on Love (24-3-1) to open the second round, and the fight is stopped 1:14 into the frame. Grumblings of an early stoppage on press row, but Love had nothing for the younger Benavidez- likely time for J'Leon to consider hanging 'em up.

Lindolfo Delgado vs James Roach 

• This bout was added to the PPV after a string of early stoppages. 2016 Olympian Lindolfo Delgado (9-0) continued this trend, stopping Roach (5-2) at 2:59 of the first round. Wipeout from the opening bell.

Luis Nery vs McJoe Arroyo

• The long, lean southpaw Nery makes his PBC debut after a controversial run in Japan. Arroyo and Nery feel one another out in the opening round. Arroyo is knocked down in the second round. He beats the count, but Nery inflicts further punishment before the bell rings. All Nery entering the third round. Arroyo was knocked down again in the third, and the former titleholder is facing an uphill battle to win on points. Arroyo is floored by another Nery flurry in the 4th, and this has turned into a blowout. He beats the count, but hits the canvas again shortly after. Referee Laurence Cole lets Arroyo continue, but his corner does the right thing by stopping the fight between rounds. Luis Nery improves to 29-0 in his US and promotional debut.

Chris Arreola vs Jean Pierre Augustin

• Augustin comes out in a southpaw stance. He's looking to tangle up and frustrate Arreola, who would prefer to slug it out. Jean Pierre hits the canvas during the first round but it's ruled a slip. Augustin out-landed Arreola through two rounds, but ate a straight-right from Arreola to open the third round, and was staggered badly. Arreola secured a knockdown shortly after, and then stopped Augustin standing up when the fight resumed. Chris "The Nightmare" Arreola improved to 38-5-1, proving he still has gas left in the tank. 

Charles Martin vs Gregory Corbin

• Martin busting Corbin up through the first two rounds. The 38-year-old Corbin is resilient, but plodding as he maneuvers the ring. Corbin has a point deduced for low blows in the fourth round, no warning given. Another point deducted from Corbin in the 5th round, he's getting routed and almost certainly will need a knockout to win tonight. Corbin has a THIRD point deducted for low blows in the 6th round. The most recent infraction could have been a DQ, Corbin's facing an insurmountable deficit on scorecards. Through seven rounds, Corbin had landed 24 punches...woof. Good grief, Corbin goes low again in the 8th, and this fight is mercifully stopped. Charles Martin (26-2-1) picks up a much-needed W, albeit a painful one. Corbin had three points deducted for low blows and landed 26 total punches over 7+ rounds...shameful performance.

Marsellos Wilder vs Mark Sanchez

• Mark Sanchez (0-3) provided little resistance in a 90-second TKO loss to Marsellos Wilder (4-1). Marsellos, Deontay Wilder's little brother, needed a get-back win after his January upset loss to William Deets. 

Fernando Garcia vs Marlon Olea 

• Fernando Garcia (12-0) remains undefeated with a TKO win over Marlon Olea (14-5). Stoppage came 2:50 into round five. Olea now on a 2-5 skid over his last seven bouts.

Amon Rashidi vs Gabriel Gutierrez 

• Gutierrez was down three times in a TKO loss to Amon Rashidi (6-0). Stoppage came 24 seconds into the sixth round. 

Jesse Rodriguez vs Rauf Aghayev

• Rodriguez (9-0) picks up a TKO after Aghayev was unable to continue in the third round. 

Thomas Hill vs Limberth Ponce

• Thomas Hill (8-2) beat Limberth Ponce (17-4) via split decision. Scorecards were 60-54 Hill, 59-55 Ponce, 58-56 Hill. Very entertaining scrap between the two super welterweights.

Aaron Morales vs Fernando Robles

• Morales scores a 2nd round knockdown. Robles beats the count, and makes it through the round. Morales (6-0) would go on to pick up a wide decision with 60-53 x2, 59-54 scorecards. Robles (2-1) gritted it out to hear the final bell.

Adrian Taylor vs William Deets 

• Nebraska native William Deets (7-13) scored an upset TKO of Marsellos Wilder in his last outing, but had no such luck against Adrian Taylor (9-1) tonight. Taylor picked up a UD win with 40-36, 39-37 x2 scorecards. 

Luis Coria vs Omar Garcia

• Garcia dropped in the first round by the heavy-handed Coria. Omar hits the canvas again early in the second round, and the referee waves the bout off. Luis Coria improves to 11-2 with a TKO 53 seconds into the second round. 

Burley Brooks vs Randy Mast

• Randy Mast, whose nickname is "The Exterminator," gets dropped by a body shot early in the fight. Mast writhed in pain on the mat, and was quickly stopped on his feet when the action resumed. Burley Brooks (1-0) picks up a win 1:16 into the first round of his debut.

Robert Rodriguez vs Fernando Ibarra De Anda

• The 2-0 Rodriguez fights out of a southpaw stance, with "BIGGIE" emblazoned on his trunks. Rodriguez outclassed Ibarra en route to a unanimous decision; 39x37, and 40x36 scorecards twice.

Mikey Garcia Reaches for Greatness

By Luis A. Cortes III

Throughout the promotional build up for the mega showdown between IBF Welterweight Champion Errol Spence (24-0)(21 KO’s) and current WBC Lightweight Champion Mikey Garcia (39-0)(30 KO’s), the common theme has been that Garcia is simply put too small to contend with Spence.  Granted Garcia, while going for a world championship in a fifth weight class, will be jumping up two weight classes from where he currently holds a championship.  Garcia has fought at the 140-pound limit before, winning the IBF version of the championship, and while Spence will indeed be the biggest natural fighter that Garcia has ever faced, he is an experienced fighter that has been across the ring from every type of fighter that you can think of stylistically.

It’s this type of experience that Garcia believes will guide him to victory over the supremely talented Spence.  Six years ago, while still fighting under the Top Rank promotional banner, Garcia took on Juan Manuel Lopez for a portion of the featherweight title.  Garcia was defending his title but wound up losing his title on the weight scale when he failed to make weight.  While the fight went on (ironically in Dallas), Garcia wound up re-hydrating 14 pounds over night and entered the ring the much larger man at 142 pounds.  Since that fight, over the next six years, Garcia has consistently taken on tough challenges as his career continued to rise both in the pound-for-pound rankings and heavier weight divisions. 

Having flirted with the welterweight division before competing against a couple of naturally bigger fighters at 140 pounds, Garcia recognized an opportunity to fight the current welterweight champion that many within the boxing industry have dubbed the next great champion.  Spence presents not just the biggest challenge in terms of physical size, but it’s also the type of challenge that will plant Garcia atop the pound-for-pound tree of the best fighters in the world.

For this challenge, Garcia enlisted the help of SNAC (Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning) to help his body, gain the proper type of strength for this monumental challenge.  “We had to build more mass, a little more muscle, leading up to this fight.  But we don’t want to compete against Errol with just size and muscle.  I want to use my other talents.  I want to use my other attributes, like my speed, reaction time, my explosiveness,” Stated Garcia during a recent phone interview.  It’s that type of skill set that has gotten Garcia to this point in his career. 

Garcia throughout his career has established himself as a fighter with some of the best timing during a fight.  He may not have the most powerful jab, the fastest jab, but he knows exactly when to throw it.  His foot movements along with the jab have helped him to control both the pace of the fight and the range.  The fact that he has been able to do this against every style he has faced thus far makes it even more impressive.

“We want to make sure that we kept all of my feet and muscle work and I feel very good with the results.  We had a great training camp and I don’t think the size is what I’m going to be using.  So that’s what we have focused on and making sure that everything else was done in the right way,” stated Garcia.  This is what makes this fight such an intriguing matchup.  We will find out just how much all of the work with SNAC in order to truly gain the right type of size to compete with Spence will translate into the actual fight. 

“We had to make adjustments, we had to figure out how to use my range and my timing against a bigger guy, against a left-handed fighter.”  Garcia also went on to mention that before the boxing training took over this camp, and he was still working with SNAC, his weight got up to 160 pounds.  It was the work back at his brother's boxing gym that helped him to shed the extra pounds of muscle and to get his weight back to the welterweight division.  While Spence will be taking fight week to make weight getting the extra pounds off and re-hydrating once the limit is met, Garcia will most likely only gain a couple of pounds between the weigh-in and the start of round one.     

Granted, Errol Spence is indeed the biggest fighter Garcia has ever faced when they fight.  However, size doesn’t always mean victory.  Even if the size is accompanied by a tremendous body attack and the type of power that any fighter would love to possess, skills and a high ring I.Q. also have their place in boxing, especially when you are dealing with fighters on this, the highest level of the sport. 

Garcia will look to establish the range against Spence with his well-timed jab.  It’s his jab along with a hard-right hand after he pivots to his left to avoid the return punch from Spence that Garcia will use early to score and warm up in the fight.  If he can land his hard jab consistently on Spence, whom for his part has never really shown that he naturally moves his head as he moves forward, he may be able to start to lock up Spence’s neck and this can have the same effect on an opponent that a vicious body attack can.

If Garcia sees this working in his favor and he is controlling the range and dictating the pace of the fight, look for him to start trying to get inside of the longer arms of Spence and once on the inside rip power punches on angles.  It’s the common opinion of many experts and boxing insiders that Spence’s body attack, hard left hands, and good right jab will not allow any of this to play out in Garcia’s favor.  Although this may be the case, the whole world of boxing agrees about one thing:  Garcia reaching out to take on this challenge to cement his legacy in the sport is something that makes the sport so unique from every other one.  It’s the reason why people are true fanatics of the sport, because we all enjoy witnessing when a fighter like Garcia reaches for greatness. 

Garcia vs. Spence: Fight Predictions

By Luis A. Cortes III

With the big fight between two of the top pound-for-pound ranked champions taking place this weekend in Dallas, TWI reached out to different members from the world of boxing to get their take on what is going to go down in the Lone Star state. 

Ray McCline – Atlantic City Hall of Fame

I love Mikey, but I just think Spence is going to be too big for him.  Spence does get hit, to try and counter with his excellent body work.  Mikey will score on Spence and it will be a close fight, but I think the size and power of Spence gets him the win. 

Joey Eye – Cutman

For some reason I like Mikey in this fight.  Garcia on points. 

Bozy Ennis – Trainer

Its not going to be easy for Errol and people are counting Mikey out.  Not me, he has a real good chance even though people are looking at the size factor.  I think Mikey can pull it out. 

Stitch Duran – Cutman

I don’t like to make predictions.  I’m horrible at it and as a cutman, I look to see who has the possibility of getting cut or swollen.  I think both fighters will be okay, and it shouldn’t be a problem in the fight. 

Stephen Bird – Lineal TV (England)

Mikey by decision

Catherine Lebron – Kings Promotions

50/50 fight, but I’m going with Spence.  Mikey is flat footed; Spence is going to aggravate him with his skills.  Spence by unanimous decision. 

Jeremy Cuevas – Lightweight

I think Garcia can outbox and outsmart Spence.  Make him miss and make him pay.  Garcia on points. 

Kelly Pavlik – Former middleweight King

I got it a 50/50!  This is one of them fights I just want to chill and watch.

Jason Gonzalez – Writer

Errol wins by decision

Gene Pantalone – Writer

A good big guy beats a good smaller guy, unless he is another Duran.  Should be a great fun fight to watch.  Spence wins by decision.

Thomas LaManna – Jr. Middleweight

Mikey has underrated footwork and timing.  He creates the space very well, in a way that people don’t notice.  I think Spence is very slow and Mikey will use his size disadvantage and turn it into an advantage.  So, I’m going with Garcia, size matters, but skills pay the bills. 

   

Frankie Carto – Manager

I think I’m going to have to go with Spence.  I really like Mikey’s skill set, but I feel the size difference may be too much to overcome. 

Joey Dawejko – Heavyweight

I got Errol winning this one by decision.

George Hanson – Writer

Spence wins by TKO.

John DiSanto – Writer

As skilled as Garcia is, I think Spence is just too big and too good to lose this one. 

Matthew Ward – Editor in Chief of TWI

A lot of fans and analysts are writing off Mikey.  You can’t do that with a talented guy like that.  Spence is a great fighter, but Mikey has proven himself too.  This is going to be a great main event with an average undercard.  Fights like this are great for our sport though!  All I ask is that the judges don’t screw it up.  With that said, realistically both fighters can win... I’m sticking with Mikey though. Garcia wins by UD. 

James Dominguez – Writer & Co-host of the Punchline w/ Kelly Pavlik

I’m going to take Mikey by split decision.

Luis Cortes III – Feature Writer of TWI

Feature story on the fight and why I’m picking Mikey to win on points coming tomorrow. 

Adam Weiner – Low Cut Connie

I’m going to go with Spence by unanimous decision.  Mikey ends on his feet but loses a clear decision.  Should be a great fight.  I love Mikey, but I think Spence will be too much. 

Jerome Conquest – Lightweight

Spence wins this one by TKO

*After surveying 18 different people, Spence pulls out to get the most votes.  Could the fight on Saturday night be just as close and full of action?  We here at TWI sure do hope so.  Enjoy the fight - from the TWI family! 

Spence: 10

Garcia: 8

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

Mikey Garcia isn’t worried about anyone else

Check out Luis Cortes' recent article, Mikey Garcia isn’t worried about anyone else.

Luis' article on lightweight champion, Mikey Garcia is available on the Undisputed Champion Network website.

Congrats on another great article, Luis!

-Luis A. Cortes III

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

V is for Mikey Garcia’s VICTORY

Finally! The People’s Red Head has Come Back to The Weigh-In!

San Antonio played host to Mikey Garcia versus Sergey Lipinets Saturday night at the Freeman Coliseum. For those of you who read other boxing blogs, go fuck yourselves! I am completely kidding. There are a lot of different places to get your information from, and The People’s Red Head does not have the market cornered in this respect. However, as you read this article, please notice that The Weigh-In does not follow the masses, we pride ourselves on honest commentary, and are not influenced by mainstream media.

The reason I preface the above is the fact that my man, Mikey Garcia is getting a lot of negative criticism for his unanimous victory over Sergey Lipinets.  Let us not forget that Lipinets was the IBF Super Lightweight Champion heading into Saturday night’s showdown. Lipinets entered the contest with a record of 13-0, with 10 KOs. For Garcia, his body of work speaks for itself. He entered Saturday night’s contest as a three-division champion, looking to make history by acquiring a belt in a fourth weight class.

I'm not sure what the masses or media felt heading into this contest, but Lipinets heart and skill level seemed to be overlooked by many observers. I am shocked to hear anyone criticize Garcia’s victory. The overall perspective of other media sources and publications have me reminiscing of old college hook ups with randoms. I use that comparison to illustrate that I was not bringing these ladies back to the dorm to hear their opinion on the current climate of the social landscape. Trust me, they were brought back to the dorm so I could shame my socially inept roommate and give ceiling tours. I did not become The People’s Red Head by playing it safe back in those “glory days.” I sure as hell will not play it safe in today’s commentary. Get ready people, this article is going to be raw dog without a bag. However, in order to spare you all a lengthy soapbox commentary, I will pullout at the right time.

Garcia opened up Saturday night’s bout feeling out Lipinets. While many knew Garcia was a huge step up in class for Lipinets, there was no doubt in our minds that this would be a quality match up. Lipinets began to get inside Garcia’s defense around round three. In fact, Lipinets opened rounds three and four finding a home for his jab. Garcia’s chin was getting peppered but as the rounds went on, Garcia reestablished his dominance, and stole the rounds on the judges’ scorecards.

Garcia’s nose was bloodied from the repeated jabs of Lipinets. Lipinets was also beginning to show signs of Garcia’s power on his face. Round five displayed a good exchange. Lipinets opened round five as the aggressor, but Garcia again took over. Round five showed us all that these two were going to continue to trade hooks as their timing was proving perfect for dual contact. Garcia seemed to be getting the better of Lipinets every time they simultaneously landed on one another.

Round six ended up being one of Lipinets' best. Garcia’s corner warned him about getting out of the corners, but Garcia had issues with this throughout the round. Lipinets capitalized landing combos and committing to bodywork. For a moment, I was concerned about Garcia’s attempt to make history. The bell sounded, Garcia retreated to his corner, clearly having lost this round. Thank goodness round seven happened.

Round seven ended up being the most explosive round of the match. Lipinets hits Garcia with a flush left hook. This prompted a fierce exchange where Lipinets leaned right into Garcia’s powerful left hook. Garcia landed a flush punch and Lipinets fell to the canvas for the first time is his professional career. Lipinets immediately bounced up after being dropped, not even enduring a three count. At this point, if you were not a fan of Lipinets, you might have been becoming one.

The fight continued and Lipinets still continued to come forward. He spent rounds eight through twelve giving Garcia his best effort. Lipinets showed he had unquestioned heart and the skill to match it. While overcoming the knockdown was impressive, Garcia dominated the championship rounds and cruised to a unanimous decision victory, further cementing his place in boxing history.

Congratulations to Garcia for a well deserved win. Congratulations to Lipinets for a fantastic performance that was just not enough to overcome the elite talent that is Mikey Garcia. Finally, congratulations to me for attending Garcia’s after party. Do not Google images, shit got weird.

(Ginger Party)

People’s Red Head Out!

Special Thanks To:

Michael “The Mouth” Rapaport

Showtime Boxing for brilliant commentating and statistical analysis

Drew and Mike for years of entertainment in the “D”

Netflix for allowing all comedians, no matter their talent level to post their specials (a real thank you for all the shit I have had to turnoff)

Ward Brothers for handing out mustache rides since the late 80's

-Dustin Johnson, The People's Red Head

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

Sergey Lipinets vs. Mikey Garcia

On March 10, 2018, Sergey Lipinets (13-0, 10 KOs) will defend his IBF World Super Lightweight Title against Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) in a 12 round bout at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Lipinets captured this title with a unanimous decision victory over Akihiro Kondo (29-7-1, 16 KOs) on November 4, 2017. Garcia, who captured the WBC World Lighweight Title on January 28, 2017, most recently defeated Adrien Broner (33-3, 24 KOs) this past July via unanimous decision. The Alamodome crowd is expected to give the challenger, Mikey Garcia, the "home field advantage" over the Russian defending champion. The San Antonio stadium will likely be filled with fans of the Mexican American fighter, who was born and raised in southern California.

The two additional bouts that are scheduled for this Showtime aired card include a title fight between Rances Barthelemy (26-0, 13 KOs) and Kiryl Relikh (21-2, 19 KOs), as well as a title eliminator between Richard Commey (25-2, 22 KOs) and Alejandro Luna (22-0, 15 KOs).

Cuba's Barthelemy looks to not only preserve his undefeated record against Relikh, but hopes to captured the vacant WBA World Super Lightweight Title in the bout which is scheduled for 12 rounds or less. Barthelemy defeated Relikh last May via a unanimous decision victory. Belarus' Relikh has lost his last two fights. Prior to losing to Barthelemy, he was defeated by Ricky Burns (41-7-1, 14 KOs) by unanimous decision in October of 2016.

Richard Commey of Ghana will face undefeated lightweight contender, Alejandro Luna in a IBF Lightweight Title eliminator. Commey is coming off a March 11, 2017 victory over Hedi Slimani (28-4, 15 KOs) for the vacant WBC International Silver Lightweight Title. Luna, the California native, defeated Andrey Klimov (20-4, 10 KOs) this past April via unanimous decision in a ten round bout. This bout is also scheduled for 12 rounds.

Stay tuned to the Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports for further coverage of this exciting night of super lightweight and lightweight bouts!

MW

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

Will the Real Boxing Fans Please Stand Up

"As fans, the situation could be worse." So says everyone that has to deal with the business aspect of boxing. I believe that if you really do care and are a fan of boxing, you are able to read in-between the lines. During the days when boxing only had baseball and horse racing as its rivals, sports fans understood the world of boxing and even excused how the business was handled. As times change, so does the thought process of the ultimate arbitrator, the fan.  

My introduction to this website dealt with the way responsibilities were handled within the world of boxing. The responsibilities I'm speaking of are the finger pointing that everyone does to avoid their part for the overall unfavorable way the public views boxing. If you have a misunderstanding of my initial contention please follow this link and listen (it may be a long diatribe, but I guarantee you will understand the rest of where I'm going a tad better).  

As I left the 2300 Arena following my interview with Matt Ward, and since that time, I wondered just what role or responsibility towards the determent of the sport, if any, do the fans play? Are they part of the problem by not truly supporting the sport? Yet they are willing to give their negative opinions on social media platforms whenever a negative element regarding the sport is in the forefront of the sporting news world. Are fans too quick to write off the sport and kick it when it’s on the canvas (admittedly boxing knocks itself down plenty of times)? With this on my mind, I came to the following conclusion regarding both the fans and the sport. 

Fans of boxing are already in the midst of this so called “mortuary-state” that the overall sports world and public claim boxing has sunk into. Nothing will be or can be done to repeat the days of years past when boxing results were on the front cover of newspapers, or for that matter, even covered in most major newspapers. As time passed, one thing in my daily life is a constant - Boxing is always present or is just around the corner in terms of the conversations I have with others. And, no, it's not just because I cover the sport or am considered an insider. Every time I open a social media platform, there are some deals being made between promoters and sports networks starving for more boxing content. Boxing is back in the daily discussion of the overall sports world, or at least, it is part of the weekly conversation.  

I'll admit I'm lucky to cover the sport in a city steeped in tradition, where a credible boxing gym is a stones throw away. Here, there are at least two or three major boxing cards in the city per month (That's not including cards in the New York or South Jersey areas). So it does make boxing as a constant in my life a bit easier.  However, places like Philadelphia and surrounding metro areas owe their flourishing boxing scenes to faithful fans. I'm honestly amazed at how many daily posts and conversations take place that are either sparked or driven by the thirst for information from boxing fans. Nothing is off limits from boxing fans, and the interaction between fans and boxing insiders (media, promotions, trainers, fighters, etc.) is something that has never been seen before in other professional sports.  

This is something that is a major difference from the "golden age" of boxing.  It's also something this scribe believes the sport needs more of.  Obviously, because it is good for the sport, but mainly because it's the open flow of dialogue that will keep the sport as honest as it has ever been.  If the fans have unprecedented access, their responsibility is to express their educated honesty about what they witness unfold in the business handling of the sport and the actual fights.

“Educated” being the ideal word in that last statement. We all are aware that along with the type of access I'm writing about, comes the opportunity for “trolls” or overall negative opinions to try and reign supreme in the boxing dialog. True educated fans can be the police that tell these no good "haters" what to do with their feedback that is not constructive to the overall dialog. Believe me fans, the boxing world takes notice and is grateful to those of you who already participate in this fashion.   

Every time I enter an arena where professional bouts are about to take place, fans are there ready to stake there claim as the loudest supporters of the fighters they are there to support. It is within these instances that my loathing for days gone by is excommunicated from my present state of mind. These are the same fans who are part of the daily dialog of the sport. It is always refreshing to witness fighters in victory or defeat addressing the fans who spend their hard earned money in order to support their dreams of glory.    

As I take my time and walk through any given “house” that holds a fight card, I realize to myself that certain fans have an unrelenting passion for the sport. For example, Jeff Rutizer is the epitome of a passion filled fan. Fighters, promoters, managers, and the media all know Jeff. He is a true fan that has traveled the area and built relationships with the aforementioned members of the boxing world. At times, Jeff can have more access than some media types, and rightfully so. He genuinely cares for the sport.

Fans, like Greg Bickel, also care about the sport. He had the pleasure of taking his young son to his first fight card at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia. While they may have been there to support Greg’s pal, heavyweight Joey Dawejko in his successful return to Philadelphia, his son was able to meet and take pictures with current lightweight champion Mikey Garcia. Greg’s son was treated to a great first experience at the fights, and will likely be a fan for years to come. Greg is also known to take trips to fights in New York and Atlantic City. Like Jeff Rutizer, he is an educated fan whose opinion is valued.  

This world of boxing access and knowledge is there for everyone to reach out and grab. If you are reading this, it's probably because you are already one of these fans, in which case for the entire world of boxing, I say thank you.   

If not, take the dive! Follow fighters based off of their style, swagger, or whatever it may be online.  Trust me, they will be happy to see you show up in times when a fans support is needed. Boxing is not dead, it will never die. What will keep it going is you, the fan. So get out there and support local shows. Don't be the fan on the sofa after a horrendous decision in a high profile fight, blasting on your social media that you hate boxing. Use it as the opportunity to separate yourself from the politics and let your educated voice be heard, by showing your support through the fighter, and ultimately for the sport. 

As a writer, I will commit my time to call out the unjust of what you get in the sport, to help you, the fan, with policing up the malarkey we experience as fans.  Maybe, just maybe, you should take time and invest in the sport.  If you truly love boxing, stick with a fighter; you'll know which one you support (sometimes it happens naturally). Start there and make sure you let those fighters know that you do support them. Trust me they will; win, lose, or draw they will appreciate your support.   

Support your local shows! If you don't know how to find local shows, go to Boxrec.com and search for your location. In this day and age, it isn’t that hard to find a local boxing show, especially if you live in California near the StubHub Center. 

Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) is actually hosting an upcoming fan fest at the StubHub Center. Check it out! Fighters like Mikey Garcia, Victor Ortiz, and Robert Guerrero will be on hand to sign autographs starting at 1:00 PM this Saturday, in support of the PBC boxing double header featuring Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares. Tickets for that show start at just $30.   

By all means if you live in the Philadelphia area, come by the press row and say hello to the media as well. If you think this article was full of “bologna”, please let me know, and I will be happy to hear your educated opinions as to why you believe so. 

Once again, if my examples remind you of yourself and the way you care for the sport, thank you, and...       

Till next time... FIGHTS, FIGHTS, AND MORE FIGHTS!!!

- Luis A. Cortes III

Support your healthy lifestyle and The Weigh-In Boxing Blog and Podcast by shopping Bulletproof products! CLICK below for more information -