Garcia Victorious in Return

By Frank Bartolini, Ringside

No other region on this earth is as ethnically diverse as the five boroughs that encompass New York City. The population of Brooklyn represents that fact. This was truly the case on the evening of July 30 at the Barclays Center when Danny “Swift” Garcia, a Philadelphian who is proud of his Puerto Rican heritage, faced Mexican American Jose Benavidez Jr. in the twelve round junior middleweight main event. The heavyweight semi-windup pitted Polish native Adam Kownacki against Ali Eren Demirezen of German-based Turk. Cuban junior welterweight Rances Barthelemy and Ukrainian middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko competed in separate contests on the undercard. All these combatants were well represented in the audience with either flags or shirts displaying national colors.  

Danny Garcia returned to his home away from home, the Barclays Center, to face contender Jose Benavidez of Phoenix. This was the former two-weight division world champion Garcia’s first venture into the junior middleweight ranks. He weighed 152 ¾ lbs. Leading up to the fight, many questions were asked about Garcia, who was coming off a nineteen-month layoff (L12 Errol Spence). Have Garcia's skills faded? Can he still pack a punch in a higher weight class? Will Garcia shake off the rust accumulated during his long layoff? This was Garcia's ninth time fighting in The Barclays Center and the crowd of approximately 9,500 fans exhibited its appreciation by roaring upon his entry into the arena.  

From the onset, Garcia started fast and maintained a good pace throughout. Benavidez,153 ¾ lbs., could not match Garcia’s punch rate. During the second round, Garcia darted in and out as Benavidez became more aggressive trying to stunt Danny’s offense. However, beyond this point it was all Garcia as he moved well to avoid being hit while scoring counter right hands. Garcia took full control of the action and began landing combinations to both the head and body while the house cheered “DANNY, DANNY, DANNY” in round five.  

Trying to change the momentum, Benavidez pressed the action during the ninth stanza and it was the only session he clearly won. Closing out the fight, Garcia looked sensational in the final three minutes throwing beautiful, fast flurries. At the end, everyone in the building believed beyond a doubt that Danny had won. That is, everyone except for the official judges. Garcia, who is now 37-3, 21 KOs, won a majority decision by scores of 114-114 (Waleska Roldan), 116-112 (Glen Feldman), and 117-111 (Tony Paolillo). This writer had it 119-110 for Garcia, ten rounds to one with one even. Benavidez slipped to 27-2-1, 18 KOs.

This grand performance by Garcia not only extended his career it catapulted him into the junior middleweight rankings. In the days following the romp, Keith Thurman went on social media calling for Garcia to face him in a rematch. Garcia lost a close twelve round nod to Thurman in March of 2017 in a world welterweight unification tilt staged at The Barclays Center. One promoter said he finds Garcia vs. Connor Benn an intriguing match up and would like to promote it. Whispers of Garcia challenging WBA world middleweight champion Erislandy Lara, at a catch weight, are also circulating. Others have said Garcia is in line to meet physical anomaly 6’ 5 ½” Sebastian Fundora. With all these options, Garcia would be wise to enter the ring by year's end while he is still a hot commodity.

DEMIREZEN BEATS KOWNACKI

It was not long ago that Polish-born heavyweight Adam Kownacki, Brooklyn, NY, was a world rated contender in line for a chance to battle for the world heavyweight championship. But after losing his third straight against Ali Eren Demirezen, Hamburg, Germany, Kownacki's days as a world ranked fighter seem to be over. Nearly half of Kownacki's, 251¼ lbs., professional boxing career has taken place at the same venue. Polish fans came in droves and Kownacki admirers had plenty to root for following the first two rounds. Kownacki slowed down in the third and Demirezen got the better of the action from this point forward.

Both boxers threw plenty of punches, and combined, unleashed almost eighteen hundred blows over ten rounds. A humongous tally for heavyweights. By throwing and scoring more power shots Demirezen had the left side of Kownacki's face looking horrible. Demirezen, 272 ¾ lbs., got off first and landed a straight right that opened a gash over Kownacki’s left eye. Brawling and rough housing kept Kownacki in the fight and many felt the fan-favorite might receive a hometown nod. However, judges Steve Weisfeld and Martha Tremblay (97-93) and Mark Consentino (96-94) all scored the fight in favor of Demirezen, 17-1, 12 KOs. Kownacki, 203, 15 KOs, must re-evaluate his career. It will be a long road back for Kownacki.

RUSSELL STOPS BARTHELEMY

Competing for the first time in his life without his late father in his corner, Gary Antuanne Russell, Capitol Heights, MD, 137 ¾ lbs., kept his knockout streak alive with a controversial stoppage of Cuban native Frances Barthelemy, Las Vegas, NV. Gary Russell Sr. passed away suddenly in May, and his son, former WBC world featherweight king Gary Russell Jr. took over his duties of training and working in his younger brother's corner. An even battle until round six, southpaw Russell setup right hook to the jaw of Barthelemy, 139 ½ lbs., by dipping low before unleashing the bomb. Barthelemy fell to the deck and rose quickly, walking himself to a neutral corner. For reasons unknown to anyone, referee Shada Murdaugh called off the match. A cognitive and stable Barthelemy looked perfectly fine to continue the scheduled ten-rounder. The time of the stoppage was 50 seconds of round six. Russell's record remains unblemished at 16-0, 16 KOs. Barthelemy must rebuild with a slate of 29-2-1, 15 KOs.

DEREVYANCHENKO SCORES WIN

On the undercard, Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko. 159½ lbs., obtained his first victory in three years. Derevyanchenko out-punched journeyman Joshua Conley, San Bernardino, CA, over ten rounds. Conley, 160 lbs., gave a game effort but fell to 17-4-1, 11 KOs. All three judges gave the fight to Derevyanchenko, now 14-4, 10 KOs, by wide margins: Allen Nace and Don Trella had it 99-91, while John Basile scored it 98-92.

Big Drama Show as GGG Wins IBF Belt

By Luis A. Cortes III, Ringside

Yes, the old saying that a win in sports is indeed a win rang out more than ever for the newly crowned IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1) (35 KO’s).  Ultimately that is the bottom line and most relevant detail that any prizefighter tends to worry about when a fight has concluded.  However, there is another saying that tends to accompany the previous sports cliché, and that is sometimes it’s not just if you win, but how you look doing it.  And it’s this second saying idiom that caught the attention of most ring side observers on Saturday night.  After twelve brutal rounds of back and forth action, it was indeed Golovkin’s hand raised in victory.  What was surprising is that for the first time in his career it was the effort of the other challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2) (10 KO’s) that grasped the hearts and minds of the crowd.

This notion was cemented when Golovkin started to address the crowd for his initial post fight interview moments after his name was announced as the victor.  Boo’s rained down from the capacity crowd inside of the “Mecca” of boxing Madison Square Garden.  Golovkin was clearly caught off guard by the reaction but handled it in stride by finishing his interview before both he and Derevyanchenko were escorted to a local hospital for precautionary measures.  The reaction steamed from the fact that most of the crowd believed that it was Derevyanchenko who had done enough in the close contested battle to earn the victory. 

Entering the fight, most of the narrative surrounding the fight dealt with the fact that Golovkin was frustrated with his inability to secure a third fight with reigning middleweight king Saul Alvarez.  Derevyanchenko was best known for his close decision loss to Danny Jacobs last year inside of the smaller adjacent theater at the Garden.  In the fight, Derevyanchenko pushed Jacobs to his limit and had moments in what turned out to be the first close decision loss in his first attempt to claim the IBF title. 

After Derevyanchenko was dropped by Golovkin in the first round, it looked as if this version of the drama show was set to make it a statement victory.  Derevyanchenko answered the ten count, and as he warmed up physically, started to find a rhythm that included landing powerful right hands that continuously rocked Golovkin’s head back.  As the round started to pass, despite a deep cut over the right eye of Derevyanchenko caused by a huge left hook from Golovkin, it was clear to both fighters that they were involved in serious combat.  With the fight reaching its conclusion, there was no shortage of drama as everyone inside of the arena rose to their feet in the final rounds, clearly aware that a single punch could alter the result. 

With all three judges scoring the fight in favor of Golovkin (scores were 115-112 twice and 114-113), it was Derevyanchenko that became the sentimental victor for his valiant effort.  Two factors could be the cause for the reaction of the crowd.  One is that he indeed looked even better on this night than he did just a year ago in the fight with Jacobs.  He clearly pushed Golovkin to the brink and even had him hurt in the middle rounds when he landed a vicious left hook to the body that caused Golovkin to move away and avoid further exchanges to escape the round. 

The other factor could simply be that while Derevyanchenko did put forth a great performance, Golovkin looked like a shell of the dominate middleweight that fans and observers had become accustomed to watching.  At the age of 37 and with a style of fighting that his former trainer famously dubbed “Mexican Style,”  Golovkin looked a bit sluggish at times during the contest.  During many of the rounds, it was Derevyanchenko that initiated the exchanges to start out the rounds.  Golovkin, at times, seemed to be content with waiting for his turn to take control of the round by making an offensive push.  Ironically, it would be the experience of Golovkin that would play a major role in the victory.

He understood when he was letting rounds slip away from his control.  It was at these moments that he would turn on the offense and willingly exchange with Derevyanchenko, landing the harder punches to either put the round into question or to win them.  What was noticeable was the fact that, unlike in the past with a prime Golovkin, this didn’t happen in every round.  There were rounds when the applied pressure and constant punching, but the pure work-rate of Derevyanchenko was too much for Golovkin to overcome and he simply lost them.  This is a credit to Derevyanchenko’s determination to be victorious just as much as the sands of time dripping towards the bottom of Golovkin’s career hour glass.

For the record, The Weigh-In had the fight scored 6 rounds to 6, but due to the knockdown in the first round the score wound up 114-113 in favor of Golovkin.  It was indeed a close fight with the result in question as everyone inside of the arena awaited the scores to be announced.  Once they were announced, it was understandable that many felt Derevyanchenko did enough to win.  What should be focused on as well was the great performance from both fighters regardless of whom you thought was the victor. 

With Golovkin now the winner of the IBF title, one must ask what’s next for the veteran champion?  Well, with the fighter he still clearly wants a third crack at Canelo, who next month will aim to capture a portion of the light heavyweight crown.  Canelo has made it clear that he has grown tired of the Golovkin narrative and has no interest in facing him for a third time soon. 

It became a bit dis-concerning that DAZN released a social media poll for fan interest regarding the next opponent for Golovkin and it didn’t include a Derevyanchenko rematch.  Alvarez’s response to what he witnessed was yet another reassurance from him that a third fight with Golovkin would result in all but a foregone conclusion in his favor.  He even went as far as saying that he would stop Golovkin this time around.  This leads me to believe that a possible third fight with Golovkin will depend on the result of Alvarez’s November attempt at history.  Meanwhile, if there is any rematch that fans deserve before a third fight between Golovkin and Alverez, its for round 13 to take place between Golovkin and Derevyanchenko.

Notes from Ringside at the Garden:

Not much of note took place during the fights on the undercard.  This fight card was a classic case of the promoter believing that everyone was going to get their money's worth from the main event.  That it was a can’t miss fight that would provide all the entertainment that the paying audience could handle.  This frame of thinking was confirmed since the crowd looked to be sparse in comparison to previous Golovkin fights at the Garden until it was time for the main event, and suddenly the arena was packed with a raucous crowd that was engaged from start to finish.  Why shouldn’t they have been, since it was in fact a can’t miss main event.

One notable highlight on the undercard was the first bout on the main television portion on DAZN.  Ivan Baranchyk (20-1) (13 KO’s) scored a mean fourth round stoppage of veteran Brooklyn native Gabriel Bracero (23-4-1) (6 KO’s).  Baranchyk was impressive in his dismantling of the veteran in such lethal fashion that his promoter Lou DiBella walked around ringside telling anyone that would listen that he would be a world champion soon.  When asked what was next for the challenger, DiBella stated “anyone that has the balls to get in the ring with him.  What a war a fight (WBC champion) (Jose) Ramirez and him would be?”

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Eddie Hearn and his "Band" Matchroom Boxing

Eddie Hearn and his band Matchroom Boxing are not the Beatles or The Rolling Stones, still his pugilistic British invasion resembles an inaugural rock tour of the USA. Things got started in early October in Middle America. A couple weeks’ later Boston, seven days after that “The Big Apple” New York City. All these nights featured championship fights and numerous world class boxers.

Excited boxing fans from around the five boroughs filled all the fifty six hundred seats in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on October 27th. Whether their warrior won or lost every one of them departed knowing they got bang for their buck.

A stirring Main Event pitted former WBA Middleweight King Danny Jacobs, Brooklyn, against Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko, who now lives in Brooklyn, NY, for the vacant IBF Middleweight Championship of the world. Some people may have looked at this matchup as Jacobs being spoon fed a title. Derevyanchenko only had a dozen bouts entering the contest without much exposure. Insiders were whispering the outcome was a toss-up.

Wasting little time feeling each other out, lighting their fusses, both released bombs with Sergiy getting the better of the exchanges. Gaining momentum, Derevyanchenko had round one won when with seconds left an overhand right to the head from Jacobs,159.6 lbs., had the Ukrainian hitting the floor. Jacobs carries one hundred sixty pounds in a big way, his biceps look like they belong to a heavyweight. Leaving his corner for the second, Derevyanchenko, 159.4 lbs., showed no ill effects from his fall. Having mastered the art of cutting off the ring, Sergiy kept cornering or backing Jacobs against the ropes, scoring shots. Derevyanchenko continued hit Jacobs to body throughout. Offsetting the offensive in front of him, Jacobs bounced hard leather off his foes’ head. Ten rounds of oohs, aahs, and roaring cheers left the alacritous throng wanting to witness the championship sessions. Not disappointing the faithful, both soldiers willingly engaged in a slugfest for the final six minutes. Once the final second ticked off, the house cleared their lungs with a booming loud approval.

Sometimes a tenseness is felt when waiting to hear a decision in a close match. Those moments slow down the clock and each second feels longer than the last. At that moment, Ring Announcer Miguel Flores put the microphone close to his mouth “Ladies and Gentlemen……” and went on to announce Danny Jacobs as the new IBF middleweight king by split decision. Julie Lederman 114-113 Derevyanchenko overruled by Tom Schreck and Steve Weisfeld 115-112.

Following giving kudos to Derevyanchenko, Jacobs said “We absolutely want Canelo. It’s a fight the fans want. Now that I have the belt there will be more in the pudding for everyone.” With Canelo and Jacobs both connected to streaming sports network the DAZN this could be happen soon.

Even though Derevyanchenko lost, he has proven himself amongst the elite in the talent laden middleweight division. Suffering his first loss, Sergiy’s record is now 12-1 (10 KOs). With a new belt to hold up his pants Jacobs marches forward with a 35-2 (29 KOs} slate.

Lou DiBella’s DiBella Entertainment partnered with Matchroom to promote the show.

Negotiating a big dollar deal with DAZN to promote thirty two fights a year, Hearn has decided to enter the American market. 

-Frank Bartolini

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HBO results: Daniel Jacobs defeats Sergiy Derevyanchenko

Luis Cortes' report from Daniel Jacobs vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Saturday night from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden:

HBO results: Daniel Jacobs defeats Sergiy Derevyanchenko

-Luis A. Cortes III

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