Jaron Ennis: My Time Is Coming

By TWI Staff

Our very own Luis Cortes teamed up with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to bring you another great boxing article about Jaron "Boots" Ennis! 

Jaron Ennis: My Time Is Coming

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Let the Renaissance Continue

By Luis A. Cortes III

After last week’s super fight in Dallas and the start of college basketball’s annual March Madness tournament, boxing didn’t exactly take a complete back seat in the world of sports.  Sure, opening day for baseball is set for later this week along with the continuation of college basketball’s tournament, but, unlike in other years when boxing would tend to take a hiatus during the weeks in the holiday season, all four major sports have key dates in October, the dog days of summer, and the spring.  Boxing this year continues to heat up on the calendar with several major shows still yet to take place.  This weekend shows, promoted by major outfits, found a way to fit into the already hectic sports schedule.  This is yet another indication that the sport is dealing with a renaissance with the various platforms that have invested in boxing.

Top Rank Promotions and ESPN used this weekend to showcase a returning former world champion and a top heavyweight contender in a fight that was more than just a stay busy assignment.  Former WBO Jr. Featherweight Champion Jesse Magdaleno (26-1)( 18 KOs) returned to the ring for the first time in close to a year with a ten round decision win over former world champion Rico Ramos (30-6)(14 KOs).  Last April, Magdaleno lost his jr. featherweight championship to Isaac Dogboe in a fight that was as brutal in terms of the physical punishment that both fighters absorbed.  While Magdaleno came up short, after an extended time away from the ring to regenerate his body and mind, Magdaleno returned this time making his debut in the featherweight division. 

It was a good performance by Magdaleno as he showed that although he was off for a full year, he didn’t seem to have any major lingering obvious effects from his war with Dogboe.  He was able to move fluidly as well as pull the trigger with both his jab and combination punching.  Ramos on the other hand had trouble letting his hands go and it looked as if he was overthinking the fight, while Magdaleno was fighting instinctively.  This is a good sign for Magdaleno, since many undefeated champions after a brutal loss can show signs of losing a step physically and mentally (confidence) in his abilities.  Although this fight with Ramos was a true cross roads fight for both men, it is indeed a good sign for Magdaleno that he seems to have put last April in the rearview mirror as his career begins its new journey.   

Moving forward there are some real good options for him for some big fights at featherweight.  One of those options was mentioned during the broadcast, a fight with his stable mate and current WBO champion Oscar Valdez.  Yes, it’s true they are friendly with each other, but business and championships shouldn’t get in the way of this fight being made.  When it is made, sign any boxing fan up to watch a fight that easily could be a fight of the year candidate.  From the looks of Magdaleno the featherweight, the only thing that was noticed was the fact that while he showed real good power four pounds lighter at jr. featherweight, fighting as a full featherweight may be the heaviest division for him to compete in in terms of his natural power.  Which again, will make a fight with Valdez even more interesting.

Heavyweights were the main event of the night, with Kubrat Pulev (27-1) (14 KOs) winning by TKO in the seventh round over the game Bogdan Dinu (18-2)(14 KOs).  Coming into the fight, Pulev was rated as the number one contender in the rankings by the IBF.  This means he could have easily waited for a chance to have the sanctioning body force a fight with their current champion Anthony Joshua, or have him fight for the vacated title if Joshua would chose not to fight him.  With Top Ranks recent signing of the lineal champion Tyson Fury, Pulev and Top Rank understood that it would be wise to showcase Pulev in a solid matchup to increase his name recognition to make a fight with Fury in the future more appealing.  This gamble was worth it both in terms of future business and entertainment for fans watching on ESPN.  Pulev survived some powerful right hands from Dinu that caused a serious cut over his left eye, that put the outcome in jeopardy for Pulev.  A sense of urgency took over and Pulev answered any questions about his grit and determination as he battled back to stop Dinu.  In the process, he gained the recognition needed to justify a shot against any of the top three champions in the division, as well as interjecting his name into the minds of the casual boxing fan that follows the heavyweight division.  It was a successful night for the fighters and thus a solid show for Top Rank Promotions during a weekend being dominated by what was taking place around the country on the hardwood.  

FS1 Card – Sunday

While Top Rank squeezed in their card on Saturday night, Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) broadcasted their show on Sunday evening from Maryland featuring a welterweight fight between Lamont Peterson (35-5)( 17 KOs) and Sergey Lipinets (15-1)(11 KOs).  Going into the fight, with the welterweight division being the hottest in the sport outside of the heavyweights, Peterson and Lipinets were trying to stake their claims that their names should also be mentioned with the current champions and big-name contenders for future fights.  Peterson, for his part, had already fought most of the big names in the division and was trying to make one last run at championship glory.  Lipinets, was setting out to prove that after his lone loss at jr. welterweight against Mikey Garcia, was behind him and that he is ready to face key opposition as a welterweight. 

Normally my thoughts would include things that took place throughout the entire card, which included some entertaining fights.  However, in this case, the main event went above any expectations and turned out to be a solid fight.  With both fighters aware of their current career positions, they wasted no time trying to establish that it was going to be their evening.  Everything that Peterson did throughout the fight consisted of veteran moves, which at times had Lipinets confused.  Peterson dedicated his attack to the body with whipping right hands and left hooks.  At times, some of the shots wandered a bit south of the boarder to stop Lipinets from coming forward.

These veteran tactics were met and countered with energy from Lipinets, the fresher of the two fighters.  As the fight progressed, Lipinets was down on the scorecards, but continued to plow ahead and never wavered from his approach of applying pressure and throwing power punches.  After a ten-round war, Lipinets kept scrapping away with his punches, which caused Peterson to abandon his veteran moves and accept he invedibable.  After taking several last stands against his younger foe, Peterson was clearly hurt at the end of the ninth round and hung on to hear the bell. 

The inevitable came to fruition in the tenth round when Peterson was dropped to the canvas for the first knockdown of the fight.  Bloodied and clearly beaten down, his trainer and father figure Barry Hunter decided that his champion had enough and threw in the towel.  It was clearly a decision that might not have been easy for other trainers to make on the behalf of Peterson’s well-being, considering that he was ahead in the fight.  However, for Hunter it was clearly an easy choice to make.  Once the announcement of the result was made, Hunter took the microphone and along with Peterson stated that his fantastic career had come to its end.

Thank you to Lamont Peterson for his entertaining career and dedication to the sport of boxing.  He always handled himself in a professional manner and gave fans and the media access to his incredible story that saw him rise from the streets of Washington D.C., as a homeless youth with his brother Anthony, to becoming a national champion and standout amateur before becoming a two-division world champion.  His five losses came only against other world champions, and aside from his losses to Errol Spence and Lucas Matthysse (during Matthysse’s solid run), Peterson was competitive in all his fights and gave everyone he fought fits.  His career best win came against Amir Khan in a great fight in 2011 and unfortunately there was never a rematch.      

As for Lipinets, his name will now be thrown around as a possible opponent for any of the welterweights affiliated with PBC.  He most likely will get his shot at one of the main names when the business of some of the bigger fights may get in the way from being made.  Fights against Thurman, Porter, and even a fighter like Ugas would be interesting while they last, however, those outcomes may be a little easier to determine considering the fact that a younger Peterson would have most likely had his hand raised in victory last night.    

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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

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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

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