DANNY GARCIA REVEALS DIFFERENCE MAKER IN SPENCE VS UGAS; SAYS CRAWFORD N...

Video by Luis A. Cortes III

Jaron "Boots" Ennis Interview

By Luis A. Cortes III

I caught up with Philadelphia's Jaron "Boots" Ennis (25-0, 23 KOs) this weekend at the Liacouras Center in North Philly. Ennis is coming off of his 25th victory, the 23rd by way of knockout, over Bakhtiyar Eyubov (14-2-1, 12 KOs) on January 10th at the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City. Ennis and I discussed his career, and future in the welterweight division.

You can stream our interview on both SoundCloud and iTunes.

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Top Rank Stars Shine from the Garden: Crawford vs. Khan Results

By Matt Ward, Ringside

World championship boxing presented by Bob Arum's Top Rank returned to the Mecca of Boxing Madison Square Garden last night with a WBO World Welterweight title bout between boxing veterans and future Hall of Famers, Amir Khan (33-5, 20 KOs) and Terence Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs). Despite the fact that Crawford entered this bout as the favorite in betting circles, many boxing insiders believed that this would be a competitive matchup between two proven warriors. Unfortunately, Khan did not live up to the expectations of these boxing analysts. 

Crawford started the fireworks early in the main event with a first round knockdown. The shot that sent Khan crashing to the canvas was a big right hand to the head. Although Khan pulled himself up from the mat, Crawford's message had been sent loud and clear to Khan, who appeared to be on shaky legs for the remainder of the opening frame. Khan answered the second round bell a scared man, fighting most of the round with cautionary and defensive maneuvers. 

Khan appeared to settle down in the third round when he started to let his hands go against Crawford, who appeared to hold back offensively throughout the round. In the fourth round, Crawford unloaded on Khan with a multi-punch combo. Khan, again being reminded of Crawford's power, moved away from the pressure and chose not to exchange blows with the "Pride of Omaha." Crawford continued to stalk Khan, and around the 30 second mark of the fourth, hurt Khan again with a viscous multi-punch combo. Khan, hoping to make it to the bell, "jumped on the bike," and moved away from Crawford. He saved face in the eyes of the fans by cracking Crawford with a hard right hand to the head as the bell rang. 

Crawford snapped Khan's head back with a well-placed right hand to the head in the fifth. For the remainder of the round, Khan's form "went to hell" as he swung wildly at the calm and composed Crawford. At the end of the round, Khan walked back to his corner a frustrated and disheveled man. In the sixth round, Crawford connected with a left uppercut that landed below the belt. The referee, taking notice of the incidental low blow, called for a timeout to give Khan adequate time to recover. Instead of taking the full five minutes he was entitled to, Khan informed the ringside physician and his corner that he was unable to continue in the bout. The end came at the 47 second mark of the sixth round of a scheduled 12 round contest. Crawford walked away the winner by TKO, and called out Errol Spence in his post-fight interview. 

Knockout artist and Brooklyn native Teofimo Lopez (13-0, 11 KOs) added another knockout to his record last night over Finland's Edis Tatli (31-3, 10 KOs). Both fighters spent the opening round feeling one another out. Lopez put pressure on Tatli in the second round. Tatli employed some "fancy" footwork in the fourth round, as Lopez stalked him around the ring. Tatli had a smart game plan through four, choosing to not brawl with the dangerous and tough Lopez. Lopez finally caught up with Tatli towards the end of the fourth, landing a series of big shots that forced Tatli to wrap him up. 

Lopez landed a hard right hand to the ribs of Tatli that dropped the fighter to his knees. The referee counted Tatli out at the 1:32 mark of the fifth round. Lopez celebrated his eleventh knockout victory with a back flip. 

Newark, New Jersey's Shakur Stevenson (11-0, 6 KOs) continued his winning ways last night, and in the process captured the IBF Intercontinetal and NBO Featherweight titles. Stevenson's opponent Christopher Diaz (24-2, 16 KOs), trained by legendary trainer Freddie Roach, wore trunks that paid homage to the Philadelphia Phillies logo text style. The two fighters spent the first round feeling one another out. Stevenson fought a smart second round as he landed several solid and clean shots, and displayed outstanding defense against his tough veteran opponent. 

Stevenson proved to be the faster fighter throughout round three, giving Diaz problems adjusting to his style. Stevenson connected with a big straight left to the head in the third. Later in the round, a multi-punch combo around the 30 second mark shook Diaz. By the fifth round, every shot Diaz landed was answered by double the number of shots by Stevenson. Stevenson peppered a frustrated Diaz with multiple straight left-right hand combos in the fifth round. 

By the sixth round, Stevenson was toying with Diaz as he tee'd off on him at will. Diaz winced under a hard left hand in the first minute of the sixth round. In the seventh round, both men were noticeably taking turns stepping on one another's lead toes as they threw punches. 

In the tenth and final round, the two fighters were openly taunting one another. Both fighters cruised through this round. The only "notable" moment involved Stevenson urging an exhausted Diaz to come forward and strike him. The judges scored the bout 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92 for Stevenson. 

The pay-per-view portion of the card kicked off at 9:00 PM EST with a lightweight fight between Bryan Vasquez (37-4, 20 KOs) and Felix Verdejo (25-1, 16 KOs). In what could have been a competitive fight, Felix Verdejo dominated the ten round contest. Verdejo picked up the momentum in the second, when he easily won the round by landing the cleaner shots throughout the frame. 

In the third round, Vasquez aggressively came forward numerous times but was always greeted with a Verdejo jab to the head. As the round came close to its end, a cut appeared under Verdejo's left eye. Verdejo connected with a big left-right hand combo to the head of Vasquez in the fifth. 

Verdejo continued to put pressure on Vasquez in the sixth and seventh round, but Vasquez escaped these attacks or wrapped his opponent up. In the eighth round, Verdejo landed a big right to the head, followed up with multi-punch body shots. In the tenth round, Vasquez hurt Verdejo with a left to the head. Both men, on shaky legs, exchanged big shots in the center of the ring during the final seconds of the fight. The judges scored the bout 97-93 twice and 98-92 for Verdejo. 

Frank Galarza (20-3-2, 12 KOs) fought Carlos Adames (17-0, 13 KOs) for the NABF/NABO Super Welterweight title. The two fighters spent the first round feeling each other out. The big highlight of this opening round was an Adames big left hand to the side of Galarza's head. There was limited action again in the second round as both men continued to fight cautiously from a safe distance. Adames, who is trained by Robert Garcia, came out swinging in the third round. 

Adames followed up his offensive onslaught in the fourth round, when he knocked Galarza down in the first 30 seconds of the round with a left hand to the jawline. Adames jumped all over Galarza when he pulled himself up from the canvas. He beat Galarza into the corner with a viscous multi-punch combo that forced referee Benjy Esteves to call a halt to the action at 1:07 of the fourth round of a scheduled ten rounds. 

Edgar Berlanga (10-0, 10 KOs) made fast work of Samir Barbosa (37-16-3, 26 KOs) last night. Berlanga, the fan favorite, put pressure on Barbosa early in the opening frame of a scheduled eight round middleweight contest. A Berlanga left hand to the jaw stunned Barbosa, and sent him stumbling back into the ropes. The referee saw enough at the 46 second mark after Berlanga landed two consecutive straight right hands to his opponent's face. 

Ireland's Larry Fryers (10-1, 3 KOs) defeated Dakota Polley (5-3, 2KOs) in a six round super lightweight contest. The two fighters spent most of the first round feeling one another out. Fryers hammered away at Polley, the son of current professional Byron Polley, in the second round after appearing to settle into his fighting rhythm. Fryers landed big right and left hands to the head of Polley, coupled with an increase in body shots during this frame. 

By the fourth round, it was evident that Fryers was throwing more punches. Despite this fact, Polley was not the one with swelling under both eyes. By the fifth round, Fryers had officially landed more punches in every round than his opponent. 

The action was paused in the fifth round around the 1:59 mark after the referee noticed the bad cut above Polley's right eye caused by an accidental headbutt. The doctor examined the cut and opted to allow him to continue. Soon after the timeout, Fryers went on the attack and knocked Polley off balance with a multi-punch combo. Polley returned to his corner with blood running down the side of his face. Polley's cut man certainly earned his paycheck last night at the Garden! 

Before the start of the sixth round, the ringside physician took another look at Polley's eye and allowed him to continue. Polley lost a point in the sixth for what appeared to be rabbit punches. All three judges scored the bout 60-53 for Fryers. 

Two-time Indian Olympian Vikas Krishan (2-0, 1 KO) continued his winning ways as a professional in the super welterweight division with a unanimous decision victory over Missouri's Noah Kidd (3-2-1, 2 KOs). Krishan answered the opening bell throwing big shots, however, slowed down midway through the round. Krishan connected with a flush right hand to the jaw of Kidd in the first round.

Krishan landed a series of big left hands to the head and body of Kidd in the third round. At the end of the third round, blood trickled out of a cut on the side of Krishan's right eye. A Krishan left hook to the Kidd's head in the fourth appeared to take the steam out of him. This shot forced Kidd to readjust his defensive stance, as he clearly kept his guard up to better protect his head as the fight continued. 

Kidd's big uppercuts and shots forced Krishan to backpedal into the ropes in the fifth round. In the sixth and final round, Kidd, realizing he was behind in the cards, desperately charged at Krishan looking for a late knockout to no avail. The judges scored the bout 60-54 twice and 59-55 for Krishan.

Bantamweights Lawrence Newton (12-0, 7 KOs) and Jonathan Garza (7-3, 2 KOs) fought in a six round contest. Early on, Garza swung wildly trying to make something happen against the taller and lengthier Newton. Newton connected with big right hands to Garza's head in the second round. 

Garza spent much of the third round trying to punch up at Newton. These upward shots opened himself up for Newton to bang away at Garza with quality body work. Garza tried to battle back in the fourth but was peppered with clean and accurate shots as he moved forward. Garza showed spirit in the closing seconds of this round by landing a hard right hand on Newton's jaw. 

Garza chased Newton in the fifth round, until Newton began to pick Garza apart with multi-punch combos to the head and body. The two men had a good exchange in the final round, but Newton again had the advantage during this frame by landing the cleaner and more effective shots. Garza looked smoked as the final bell rang. The judges scored the bout 59-55 twice and and 60-54 for Newton. 

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Hard Hitting Promotions Presents Fight Night - Saturday, February 10th (Philadelphia, PA)

The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions, and boxing is back in force in 2018 throughout the greater Philadelphia area. This was evident last night at the 2300 Arena where a sell-out crowd came out to see a six fight card promoted by Philadelphia-based promotion, Hard Hitting Promotions.

The card was headlined by an eight round, lightweight battle between Philadelphia's Hammerin Hank Lundy (29-6-1, 14 KOs) and Washington D.C.'s DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley (50-29-1, 28 KOs). Former WBO World Super Lightweight Champion, DeMarcus Corley, stepped into the ring looking to defeat the hometown fan favorite for his 51st career victory. The fireworks started in the second round of the contest when the two men were engaged in a brawl in the center of the ring that required the referee's intervention after the bell rang. In the fourth round, Corley caught Lundy with a short left to the jaw. Corley was knocked down during this round by a Lundy right hand to the body, which he quickly recovered from. At the end of the fifth round, Lundy pushed Corley back with a straight left to the head. Lundy effectively used his jab through the final three rounds of the contest. In the eighth and final round, the two men fought aggressively through the final three minutes of action. The round was highlighted by a vicious exchange of punches that lasted all the way up to the final bell. The ringside judges scored the bout 78-73 and 79-72 twice, all in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Hank Lundy. Lundy has now won three straight since losing to Terence Crawford in 2016.

Glassboro, New Jersey's Derrick Webster (25-1, 13 KOs) fought Colombia's Francisco Cordero (38-10, 29 KOs) in an eight round, super middleweight bout. Webster, who stands at six feet, four inches, towered over the short and stocky, Cordero, who appeared soft in the abdomen. Webster connected on a series of big punches in the first round. Cordero responded to these blows by taunting his southpaw opponent. Webster rocked Cordero with a hard multi-punch combo in the second round, but the veteran Colombian fighter stayed on his feet, proving he had a tough jaw. Cordero fought valiantly throughout the bout, and managed to catch Webster multiple times, despite having to punch wildly and upwards to hit the taller man. It looked like Webster was going to get the knockout he craved in the sixth round after bullying his opponent with a vicious multi-punch combo near the center of the ring. Despite being dazed by the onslaught, Cordero survived to finish the bout. As the final bell rang, Cordero, who was clearly behind on the cards, celebrated like he had won a major title. Although his toughness during the bout was admirable, Cordero was defeated by unanimous decision on the judge's scorecards (79-73 and 80-72 twice). Despite injuring his hand early in the contest, Webster controlled the bout and won his sixth straight match.

For about 30 minutes on Saturday night, it was lady's night at the 2300 Arena. Nydia Feliciano (9-10-3) and Alicia Baumgardner (5-0, 4 KOs) fought for the vacant WBC International Female Super Featherweight Title. The two women battled over the course of eight rounds in hopes of being crowned a champion. Baumgardner, who is promoted by Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Promotions, opened up the second round by teeing off on her opponent with a series of big shots to the head and body. In the fourth round, Baumgardner hurt her opponent with a left hand to Feliciano's head. To the capacity crowd's delight, Feliciano and Baumgardner ended the seventh round by exchanging a series of hard shots with one another. Feliciano demonstrated her toughness by staying on her feet throughout the bout. The judges' scored the bout 80-72 and 79-73 twice, all in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Alicia Baumgardner.

Philadelphia's Jeremy Cuevas (7-0, 6 KOs) fought Wisconsin's Mike Fowler (6-13, 2 KOs) in a six round, lightweight contest. From the opening bell, Cuevas controlled the fight. He dropped Fowler in the first round with a straight left to the head. Fowler was again sent to the canvas in the second round, when Cuevas connected on another left hand to his opponent's head. Cuevas dominated Fowler in the third and fourth rounds. By the end of the fourth, Fowler looked spent physically and emotionally from the contest. He refused to answer the bell marking the beginning of the fifth round. This was Cuevas' fourth straight knockout victory.

Heavyweights, Hasim Rahman Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs) and Ronny Hale (3-11, 3 KOs) fought in a four round bout. Rahman Jr. was escorted to the ring by his father, former world champion, Hasim Rahman. Rahman Jr. controlled the first round of action by working Hale's unconditioned body. Rahman Jr. also landed a number of heavy shots to Hale's head in the first round. Just before the end of the opening round, Hale swung wildly after connecting with a clean shot to Rahman Jr.'s jaw. Hale went to his corner with a bloody nose and looked winded. He stunned many observers when he answered the bell for the second round. By the end of the second round, both big men appeared exhausted. Rahman Jr. continued to maintain a slight edge over his opponent in the third and fourth rounds, despite both fighters appearing to be one big punch away from calling it a night. Hale landed a big right hook to his opponents head in the third round. Just when it looked like the upset was coming, Rahman Jr. battled back to finish the round. The fourth and final round was uneventful. Both men attempted to land one big shot in between periods of gasping for air. The judges' scored the bout 38-38, 39-37, and 40-36 for the winner by majority decision, Hasim Rahman Jr. 

The opening bout of the evening was a middleweight contest that was scheduled for four rounds between Dillon Kasprzak (0-1) of Philadelphia and Michael Crain (1-1) of Smyrna, Delaware. Kasprzak, who made his professional debut on Saturday night, had a slight height advantage over his opponent. In the second round, it appeared that Crain hurt his opponent with a mult-punch combo. In the final two rounds, Kasprzak looked exhausted, as he landed a number of shots on his opponent while falling into him. Crain was knocked down in the fourth round by a Kasprzak multi-punch combo. He recovered from the knockdown to finish the bout. One judge scored the bout 38-37 for Kasprzak, with the other two scoring the bout 38-37 for the winner by split decision, Michael Crain.

MW

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Who will Errol Spence Jr. Face Next?

Errol Spence Jr. (23-0, 20 KOs) decisively defeated Lamont Peterson (35-4-1, 17 KOs) via TKO on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Peterson, a former two-division world champion, was hurt in the second round by a barrage of Spence body shots. In the fifth round, Peterson was sent to the canvas by Spence right and left hands. In the sixth round, Peterson's right eye showed the effects of Spence's powerful punches, as it was nearly swollen shut. Peterson was examined by the ringside physician just after the bell marking the beginning of the seventh round rang. At the conclusion of the seventh round, Peterson was being swept by Spence on the judges' scorecards. By this point, Peterson's trainer, Barry Hunter, had seen enough and asked for the fight to be stopped. This was Spence's first defense of his IBF World Welterweight Title, and tenth straight career victory by knockout.

Who will Errol Spence Jr. face next?

The talented 28-year-old welterweight sits on top of the IBF's 147 pound division rankings, and holds a major title in a weight class that is crowded with some of boxing's biggest names and talent. Keith Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) holds the WBC and WBA titles in this weight class, while Jeff Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs) holds the WBO World Welterweight Title. Keith Thurman is coming off of a March 4th victory over former champion, Danny Garcia (33-1, 19 KOs). Jeff Horn is scheduled to make his second title defense on April 14th against super lightweight boxing star, Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs).

Bad Left Hook recently reported that Spence wants to fight Thurman in 2018. However, it is likely that Thurman will schedule a tune up fight before agreeing to a showdown against the IBF champ. Before a bout can be scheduled between Spence and Thurman, Spence may have to defend his title against other highly ranked, IBF welterweights, such as Carlos Ocampo (22-0, 13 KOs) and Konstantin Ponomarev (32-0, 13 KOs).

Who do you think is Errol Spence Jr.'s next opponent? Make your voice heard by replying in the comments section!

MW

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Dustin's Corner: Why Terence Crawford is Winning More than Charlie Sheen Ever Dreamed Of

Finally, The People’s Red Head has come back to The Weigh-In!

He may not be banging 5 pound rocks, or be an Adonis, but he is doing something very important, winning! Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs) made boxing history Saturday night in Lincoln, Nebraska, defeating Julius Indongo by third-round knockout to unify all four world titles in the junior welterweight division. Hopefully you were not too busy watching Mayweather-McIrish press conferences. Can we take a moment to truly marvel at what Mr. Crawford has accomplished? Crawford’s accomplishment marks the first time a boxer has unified all four belts since 2005.

All this writer wants to know is who is on board now? Crawford has somewhat quietly dominated the competition to end up at a stunning 32-0. Crawford may just be all things that are good. He fights out of his home state of Nebraska and he just plain wins. I used to live in Omaha, Nebraska, for a short stint. Let me tell you, redheads are welcome there if any of you are interested. However, I made a huge mistake, I know where Mr. Crawford trained, and I should have probably tried to bottle his sweat and sell it on the boxing underground black market; I am pretty sure that is a thing, but we do not fact check people.

A brief breakdown of the fight, Crawford as usual, was all business from the first bell. Crawford scored a knockdown in the second round. I for one thought Indongo was done, but what heart, he appeared to recover, and answered the bell for the third round.  In the third, Crawford delivers a hook that would have tucked lesser men into bed, wearing a onesie. This hook retried Indongo for the night and forever cemented Crawford’s place in history.

Fans, please get at me. What do you think of Crawford’s achievement? What is next for Crawford? I know that I for one would like to see Crawford head into the UFC and challenge the biggest name. Wait a minute, I am being told that has been done already, damn it! We will have to wait and see what the future holds for Mr. Crawford, but no doubt, this writer will remain giddy with excitement.

*Thank you to Boxrec.com for statistical analysis used in this article.

- Dustin Johnson, The People's Red Head

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