Combat Talk Radio: Recent Episodes
CTR Stage Podcast Group
CTR Stage Podcast Group is a series of shows covering a wide variety of topics.
CTR includes Combat Talk Radio (https://www.CombatTalkRadio.net), where we discuss the beautiful sport of boxing every weekend.
There are two programs: Masterpiece Boxing (formerly "For The Love Of Boxing") and Lifeblood of Boxing.
Masterpiece Boxing content is uploaded every Friday, sometimes Saturday and/or Sunday. It covers the recent fights on the docket and analysis pieces.
Lifeblood of Boxing content is scheduled to be uploaded at minimum once per month, time permitting. It spotlights fighters that, more than others, gave the best possible performances to entertain the fans.
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We really can't see a reason why Joshua should lose this fight. But it'll be a great test of how good Derrick James really is.
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A stacked weekend of fights for sure.Second half of the episode is a wrapup of recent events surrounding Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.Finally, some notes on BLK Prime and Adrien Broner.
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Fairly decent fights happening today. Great fights for the duration of March overall. Let's see where Tim Tszyu is as a fighter.
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The promoters should be shamed for this type of presentation and platform. Guys like this deserve better.
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Prizefighters will do what they need to do - win prizes. That's what Paul vs. Fury is all about: money.
People are willing to pay for it, so let them hustle.
From our eyes, Jake Paul feels like the hungrier guy with something to prove.
But we noticed Matias vs. Ponce - we think that's going to be an amazing fight (for as long as it lasts).
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Nothing personal if Shane Mosley Jr. sees this - but we just don't think it's for him, frankly.
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Don't know if it was just camera trickery, a box Vargas was standing on or what. But...there's no way they're 1 inch apart.
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If you enjoy women's boxing, this is a must-see event.
On our side: We're cheering for Tania Alvarez. That is all.
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Now we're going to really test Yarde - but more importantly, we get to see if Beterbiev is finally declining, or not.
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A decent weekend of fights for international watchers for sure. The start of better fights to hopefully come.
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This weekend's events are better left not talked about - especially the bum known as KSI on PPV. As if the sport wasn't hurting enough.
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This is an intriguing fight for Boots, because his opponent fights awkward too. Has he trained for it?
Also, Rashidi Ellis is fighting the guy who upset Bocachica - which means we might get some interesting action there as well.
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Arguably, there's nothing really notable for the remainder of 2022. That's fine, because January is absolutely jam-packed with amazing fights to come.
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We didn't see any fights scheduled for this weekend - which is surprising. So they're either not televised or there aren't any. So we talk about what's coming up.
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Feels like people are underestimating Rivera's boxing ability. Martin is an excellent fighter in his own right, but to us this is 50/50.
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We know what you're thinking: why not Teo, or Crawford as the cover?
Because as we all know: Ebanie Bridges was the A-Side of the events and you also understand why that is.
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We still think Fury Chisora III is a waste of time - but Estrada Chocolatito III is likely to be a highlight of the year.
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There are a lot of fights this weekend. We don't think the majority will be that exciting, but if you're a boxing fan, it's worth dialing in on a few of them, especially Prograis/Zepeda.
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Current weekend events are rather dull, but big fights are on the horizon (at least, others that expose Crawford as a ducker.)
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Also, we're still not sure who is actually going to buy the Mayweather exhibition PPV.
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All we're saying is...if Zurdo somehow beats Bivol, it doesn't lessen Bivol's win over Canelo.
Also, not sure who would actually pay DAZN PPV to watch Floyd fight KSI's unskilled brother, but there it is.
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As Lomachenko makes his return to action, we have to see where his mind is at and whether he's still in the game at the top level. We also get to see where Jake Paul's level truly is as a boxer - but he appears to have the best of intentions to help combat sports overall.
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Next weekend will be a LOT more exciting, guaranteed.
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Wilder came in slim and trim, but this time he's not seeking a "Body on the Record", so it may be a boring fight overall.
Kambosos looks to become unified champion, but we don't think he's got enough for Haney.
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If you were expecting to see the Chris Eubank vs. Conor Benn freakshow, you'll be disappointed to hear that Conor Benn popped for a banned substance.
Your new main event is Sebastian Fundora vs. Carlos Ocampo, which we think is a MUCH better fight anyway.
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Very slim weekend of boxing with Luis Nery returning down in Mexico - appears untelevised but promoted (?) by Tapology.
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Shakur is no longer champion after losing his belt on the scales, which makes that fight less exciting.
We do think Kid Galahad deserves more respect than he's gotten.
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While we do need to solve the trilogy once and for all, it feels like a waste of time. However we're eager to see some of the other fights on deck. Will be interesting to see if Gabe Rosado can repeat what he did against NSB's 'eye test' in the Bully Bektemir.
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Due to the passing of the Queen, Elizabeth II, Shields/Marshall and all related fights (Mayer/Baumgartner most notably) were postponed until October, along with other fights in the UK regions.
As a result this weekend will be fairly slim pickings, and other fights may get postponed.
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We frankly think Ruiz vs. Ortiz is a waste of time. But seeing Isaac Cruz back in action is always bound to be a good fight.
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This weekend's list of fights don't really excite us. But seeing a bum in KSI fight another bum on DAZN PPV is a straight insult to the boxing business.
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Joshua's strategy was strange. I felt like he could have won this with more aggression than he showed.
But the post-fight rant is something to behold. I implore you to check it out on YouTube. It's one of the strangest we've ever seen.
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The real question here is whether or not Anthony Joshua can beat Oleksander Usyk. If he does, it will be the second time he's made such a comeback - but the odds are stacked HUGE against him.
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Tomorrow is when we get to see where Teofimo's head is at as he enters 140 as a potential challenger.
Also, Tevin Farmer looks to rebuild momentum after a loss and a significant layoff due to the pandemic.
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We need to see where Cobbs' head is at after the knockout loss to Rocha - plus he has a new team, which sometimes is good and sometimes isn't.
Everyone thinks it's a given that Cobbs knocks out Mo - we don't think it'll be that easy.
Plus, the return of Vergil Ortiz in the fight that was supposed to happen before - but we don't know what Ortiz's physical state is like now. He is lined up as mandatory for both Spence and Crawford - but if he loses to McKinson (who isn't highly ranked at all)...
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Open question is how Danny 'Swift' will react to 154 when his power never really carried up to 147; but Jose Benavidez' leg is his biggest weak point.
Gary Antuanne Russell feels like the highlight of this weekend, and we encourage anyone who's a fan to check out his fight. He is to us what others see in Boots - doesn't need to be flashy, just effective and not hitting people behind the head for stoppages.
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In a title eliminator, two guys who recently lost to Emmanuel Navarrete are squaring off.
Isaac Dogboe at one point appeared to be en route to something special with his shock of Jessie Magdaleno (who shocked Nonito Donaire).
We think that Joet Gonzalez's losses (Shakur and Navarette) were less damaging, as Dogboe appears to have lost motivation since the Navarette losses.
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As Garcia makes his return we have to see where he's at - because his peers have largely left him behind in terms of making a name for themselves. He has largely benefitted from a good level of promotion as well as his Instagram account, rather than accomplishments inside the ring at a championship level.
This week's events, both weekend and next week, will help us see who's going to move forward and who gets left behind, ultimately.
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We suspected that Vargas was arguably the better fighter but might fight the wrong fight.
He fought a very good fight - getting dropped at one point due to coming in at the wrong time, but he ultimately fought to win - and it paid off.
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Hopefully, we'll see some excitement with the fights this weekend. Magsayo has a lot to prove - whether his win over Mr. Gary Russell Jr. was a fluke or he's legit remains to be seen.
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We saw something in Opetaia...and although it wasn't the outcome we expected, his performance was excellent.
It was every bit the test we were hoping for, to test Breidis as the heir apparent.
Breidis has nothing to be ashamed of, as he fought well, but ultimately was beaten by the younger, fresher fighter.
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A fairly light weekend of boxing compared to previous, more for the international fans.
A decently good test for Mairis Breidis, who has recently been trying (and failing) to call out Jake Paul. Opetaia may very well make it a short night.
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Arguably one of the "4 Kings" of Super Flyweight, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai has been one of our favorite fighters for years; not just because he always comes to fight and entertain the fans, but because he has an inspirational story and is genuinely a good guy.
Unfortunately, his recent loss to Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez might cause him to consider retirement. We certainly hope not, but if he does, his legacy is already well cemented in the annals of history; and he might be the last of a dying breed of boxers that came up truly rough and turned into a success story.
The loss of HBO also had a significant impact - in our opinion - on the marketing for these guys, and we now are seeing a possible new breed of fighters come in.
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Very impressive performance by Bam as Srisaket fought like he always does, but didn't seem fully in the fight for some reason.
Now, we have to see where both guys go from here.
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We're huge fans of Rungvisai.
When he's on his game (and enjoying grilled rat while training in jungles), we believe he's unstoppable.
We greatly respect Bam for the step up and if he can pull this off, it's a HUGE win over the guy who sparked someone who was at one point the #1 P4P fighter in the world.
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Beterbiev is a downright killer.
Joe Smith Jr. is a fighter for sure, but we just don't think he's got enough to deal with Beterbiev.
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Many people felt that Bumbanga got exposed again.
We noticed something different this time.
Bumbanga didn't perform nearly as badly here as he did against Steve Rolls even though he was taken the distance.
The problem is that people are still measuring him against the initial hype and the expectation of easy, dominant knockouts.
In this episode we analyze what we believe to be happening - and we think it's good, but is it too late?
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Very few people were surprised with the actual outcome, but it was surprising to see Bryan barely try after all the trash talking he did to sell the fight.
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It's make-or-break for Bumbanga. Angulo would be a decent test - but we heard he missed weight, which usually means he's losing.
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An absolutely stunning performance from Inoue in a rematch of a fight where it was very close the first time.
This wasn't close. At all.
Inoue was precise and dangerous for both rounds, resulting in a one-sided destruction of a legend.
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As we suspected, Kambosos simply didn't show up, as he had no answer for Haney's jab (just like Pacquiao had no answer for Floyd's jab).
Kambosos missing weight also likely played a factor.
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History will be made, as a true undisputed champion at lightweight might be in the cards.
The question is whether Devin Haney can overcome insurmountable odds to beat George 'Ferocious' Kambosos on his own home turf.
Kambosos once told Teofimo that the belts were his curse. We'll have to see if that applies to him as well.
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Erislandy Lara is so inconsistent it's frustrating - so we didn't spend too much time on that fight.
The real story is that either Tank is declining or Rolly Romero is better than people gave him credit for, because prior to the picture perfect shot that put him down for good, we had Rolly winning rounds over Tank simply by stalking Tank (who was excessively on the backfoot after feeling the power early on).
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The headliner this weekend is the Mayweather Promotions grudge match. Everyone has eyes on this fight, but many people feel that Rolly has nothing for Tank Davis - evident by bookies having Tank 10-to-1 over Rolly.
But as we learned from Jeff 'The Hornet' Horn, sometimes even the biggest underdog can surprise people come fight night.
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Fanlong was a 2-1 favorite going into this fight, primarily because of the wide age discrepancy.
It was a close decision win but Pascal showed the heart of a lion as he was not afraid to engage, and ultimately showed a strong veteran instinct.
The question now is what this means for the light heavyweight rankings.
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We already learned that Kerman Lejarraga got upset by James Metcalf, we didn't expect fights today.
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We're not down on Boots Ennis - but the guy was not tested this night. It's not his fault, but it needs to be fixed.
Custio Clayton didn't show up, and we're not sure why.
As a result we learned nothing new about Boots that we didn't already know - that's a problem.
Meanwhile, Jermell Charlo has made history, and is now one of our favorite fighters of the current generation - by far surpassing his brother.
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On the co-main you've got 'Boots' Ennis facing a slight step up against Custio Clayton.
Both fights are good and worth the watch.
We suspect Charlo pulls it out this time in a late stoppage.
With Boots it's hard to say. Clayton is a pretty good fighter in his own right but was unable to deal with Lipinets, who Boots dispatched by stoppage.
Boots tends to leave himself wide open upstairs, and Clayton's got power.
Boots seems to remain focused on his opponent for now, so we suspect that it'll be a short night with Boots getting a knockout or stoppage within 6 rounds.
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Surprising only because Canelo didn't seem at all able to breach Bivol's defense and didn't perform nearly as well as expected.
People were upset at the decision (UD 7-5). We felt that was fair if you score based on harder shots, which leaned Canelo. But Canelo arguably lost MINIMUM 5 rounds easily.
It wasn't a very exciting fight, either.
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Very few people don't know who Yuriorkis Gamboa is.
But what many may not know is how fast his rise and fall really was - or the fact that outside of the Castellanos fight, he's only lost to some of the best in the era.
We take a look through the career of one of the most naturally gifted, but not necessarily best trained, fighters of this generation.
Don't know what the deal was with Valdez. It seemed like he wasn't really there for the fight - corner not prepared, he seemed off, etc.
Very bizarre style he employed. Kudos to Shakur for his performance but, it felt like Valdez simply didn't show up like he needed to.
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Katie Taylor didn't "Clearly" win anything.
People online are being inconsistent, yet again.
Because if this were the men, nobody would have had Taylor winning that fight except for purists, and even then, everyone would have acknowledged a close decision win. But for some reason when it's the women, these poeple no longer care about who landed the HARDER shots.
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Taylor and Serrano are set to make #boxing history as the first female headlined event in Madison Square Garden. We think Serrano deals with Taylor, as Taylor seems to have lost confidence in her skills after Persoon.
We suspect Shakur Stevenson puts on a boxing masterclass against Oscar Valdez...but it will tell us who's the next big dog at Jr. Lightweight.
Also returning is Jesse Vargas fighting Liam Smith - and we suspect Smith deals with Vargas.
Some great fights happening.
This weekend isn't too exciting compared to the future, but everyone in the UK will have eyes on the main event.
Showtime has a STACKED card. It's must see for a #boxing fan.
DAZN not so much...but Conor Benn is facing his biggest test yet in Van Heerden.
We'll say it again.
Anyone who thinks Spence makes easy work of Ugas hasn't paid attention. Ugas is a tough out, period. This is his chance to become a superstar, and he knows it.
And The Ring can go to hell for conspiring against Spence and Ugas.
As good as Mayer is, it's a shame that it's taken this long for her to get showcased. Time will tell where she goes from here; but the business has a long way to go still with women's boxing.
Many of the women are already mid-30's by the time they get featured on a big stage, and there aren't really very many standouts other than Mayer and Marshall; but we're still nowhere near even legacy fights like Ali/Frazier-Lyle (Which was a PPV that had no business being one).
This was shades of Pacquiao vs. Clottey.
Garcia won every round, arguably.
What was frustrating is, just like Clottey against Manny, when Tagoe chose to throw, he was landing. But Tagoe simply refused to throw when he could have and was basically trying not to get knocked out.
Look, we think Fundora's a good kid. He clearly has the heart for the business.
But as we said in the preview, his defense is just leaky.
He looked great the vast majority of the fight, but he gets hit way too often for someone that tall. He doesn't have the speed necessary to avoid punishment, and someone with power that can get to him will hurt him badly.
He's now mandatory for the Charlo/Castano winner...and while we think he has a decent showing against Castano, Jermell Charlo will put a hurt on this man if his team doesn't get to work on that leaky defense ASAP.
Kudos to G for the decisive win and unifying the titles.
However, he showed his age in this fight.
He also showed that body work seems to now be a weakness, if someone is strong and aggressive enough to exploit it.
Murata seemed to abandon the body work for some reason, possibly due to G's adjustment, but then Murata never re-adjusted to match. The stoppage looked weird from our eyes.
Based on that, we'll have to see if Canelo decides to use that apparent weakness to finally wrap a bow on this trilogy - assuming he gets past Bivol.
This is a VERY exciting weekend for #boxing, if you're a fan.
We think that Lubin/Fundora is going to be the standout. Fundora is ether a star in the making or a flash in the pan - and Lubin will help show us what that answer is.
"Big Drama Show" has to earn his third shot at Canelo, and we don't think it'll be as easy as others think. We believe Murata has a shot to upset G.
Ryan Garcia SHOULD have an easy night against Tagoe, but it depends on where his head is.
And finally, Mikaela Mayer has to send a message against an opponent that might give her some slight style challenges.
Very few fighters have delivered FOTY and FOTY candidates like Eggington did.
The demise of HBO has caused a loss of ability to see some of these guys unless they were in with a top tier opponent.
Eggington never got to the pinnacle of world championship gold, but almost every fight he was in, delivered to the fullest extent.
We're understood that he retired in the end of 2021. If that's not true OR he decides to come back (he's still under 30 if we recall), we'd KILL to see Eggington against Conor Benn at 154.
Savannah did what we think she needed to do - which was make a statement. Hermans had not been stopped up until now, as a former champion, and Shields was taken the full distance by her.
Marshall's power in both hands is legit, and Shields has basically zero power. Her only chance from our perspective is to stay away from that power; but Marshall seems to be able to just walk opponents down at will.
This will be a great fight if/when it happens.
We saw one source that claimed this fight was on the 10th, but every other source says tomorrow, so we're not sure. May or may not happen.
Either way, it's one of the big fights of 2022, bar none.
Sandor Martin (known for beating Mikey Garcia) returns against a soft touch.
The other fights are regional.
Keef 'At One Time' Thurman perfected the art of the "Get Back" fights.
Fights against guys you're supposed to beat.
Keef did it. Danny Swift did it. Crawford did it (a lot).
But with Lomachenko, for example, he consistently fought threats.
Teofimo fought one or two threats, then leaped to Loma and beat him.
Teofimo then fought nobody before losing to Kambosos.
The A-Side can CHOOSE whether to fight, and if they do, whether they fight a scrub or someone that's a threat.
Kambosos could have taken a soft touch and nobody would have blamed him after the war with Teofimo.
Instead, he wanted a threat.
Tank (still rated at 135) is in a fight. Cryan Garcia is in a fight.
That left Loma and Haney.
Loma chose to stay in the war. That left Haney.
Kambosos STILL could have fought someone from 140 or 130 at a catchweight. Or fought some bum.
He made a CHOICE to fight a threat.
He CHOSE Devin Haney.
Kambosos is the perfect A-Side, stringing Haney along nicely especially given Haney's dad playing games about going to Australia.
But according to major outlets, the contracts were completed in Melbourne, and we're ready to go (assuming Devin or his dad doesn't back out).
Early prediction: we suspect a controversial draw if Devin doesn't step up and actively work to knock out or stop Kambosos.
Fight happened on a strange day, but yeah, that happened.
With Menayothin, certain places online were hyping him on after he had surpassed Floyd's record of 50-0.
Menayothin would retire at 54-0, but then someone convinced him to come back (probably Golden Boy), and he would take a loss to Freshmart, thus restoring Floyd's record as the fighter to retire with the best undefeated record.
This rematch went largely how we expected. Two guys were actively trying to win, but Menayothin looked to be a shell of himself, and we blame the excessive hype behind him.
We can't say Tim got "exposed" specifically, but we did predict that this would not be an easy out.
The question now, is whether Gausha was that good or that he had just been matched so well against guys he was able to blow out before.
Time will tell with Tim. He got the decision and looked otherwise good, but it was widely expected that this would not be a struggle for him.
That was unexpected. Completely unexpected.
We're not really sure what happened there. Nakathila looked elite. He shouldn't have. Decent fighter, but never has shown anything above a basic pedigree.
The Oscar Valdez fight took something from Berchelt. We think his team needs to rethink the matching.
We've got quite a few fights - mostly international.
To us, the one that's worth the price of admission is Tim Tszyu vs. Terrell Gausha.
This fight has the potential to be similar to Naseem Hamed vs. Kevin Kelly. Same origin countries, same rise on both sides and same test for the UK fighter making his US pro debut.
For someone who started way late, Jeff Horn had a hell of a career.
A win over a legend. One of a select few to beat that legend, of which all but one are certified future or current Hall of Famers.
A former world champion.
Key to the City of Brisbane.
Featured in worldwide news.
No matter what you think, he is and was a warrior in the ring, and worked hard to give the fans what they wanted - even when the fans weren't ready for his unique style.
Hopefully it's clear now why we've called him Bumlanga.
It's not because he's a bum.
It's because he's a bum beater.
Steve Rolls was not supposed to make this guy look basic - but he did.
That's a symptom of Bumlanga being excessively protected and only fighting C-levels.
Highlight of the night was Tim Bradley calling him the "Phony One".
Because Rocha has NEVER performed like that before. Ever. Not that good.
It also seemed like Cobbs' strategy was flawed from the get-go.
Either way, kudos to Rocha for pulling it out the way he did and getting the exposure he deserves for it. And this was a fight WELL WORTH watching (which is good because rest weren't that good).
We expect Cobbs to rebuild and readjust - hopefully with a new trainer, because every time these guys train with Roach, they take an L. Srisaket, Khan, Manny, now Cobbs.
Blair 'The Flair' Cobbs is getting his chance to prove he's the star that he presents himself to be, after an unfortunate finding with Vergil Ortiz forced Ortiz to withdraw from his scheduled match against McKinsson.
Alexis Rocha will not be an easy opponent for him...but we suspect Cobbs knocks out or stops him.
Either way, these two guys are not going to bore the fans once that bell rings. They both know that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get bigger fights in the future.
As expected, these two guys didn't disappoint. If you didn't catch the fight we highly recommend it. Very similar to Cheeseman/Eggington.
Conlan has nothing to be ashamed of. He put up a good showing and sounds like he's okay after the knockout.
Both guys should go on to great things in the future.
ConlanWood #WoodConlan #Boxing #DAZN
Choco looked stylistically good. But he was in there against a guy with weight issues, hand issues and apparent stamina problems - and STILL couldn't get him out of there.
So Martinez will not join the Flyweight kings.
We'll just say this: Keep Choco the HELL away from Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, especially if Srisaket goes back to eating grilled rat and training in jungles.
Estrada? That rubber match is a tossup and one we'd like to see next so we can really know who's the superior. Right now, it's not guaranteed Choco beats Estrada - and if he can't beat Estrada, he damn sure isn't beating Srisaket. We think Srisaket leaves him looking like Amir Khan again.
The return of Chocolatito is going to be the more exciting fight - but we expect Pedraza and Ramirez to have a good showing.
We're not really excited for Ramirez/Pedraza because we already have answers for those guys. We don't have answers for Choco.
We also talk about Eubank Jr., Benn, Brook, Spence, Ugas and Crawford, among others to come in the 2nd quarter of 2022.
Some felt it was a premature stoppage.
However you cut it, slice it or weigh it, Russell got it done.
Russell is a solid fighter that is still developing. Time will tell where he goes from here.
For Postol, well wishes to his family.
Well...we told you this was a likely outcome. Happens every time these fighters talk about other fights and lose focus on the hungry opponent in front of them.
This one was arguably worse than Teo taking an L to 'CM Punk' Kambosos though. Many felt that Taylor came off like a B-level fighter rather than the P4P he's been called multiple times. At least Teo was mostly in the fight - it can be argued that Taylor dropped the first seven or eight rounds. It ultimately devolved into a dirty fight - it really needed Mark Nelson (who reffed Pac/Horn) to avoid the points deductions; then we think Catterall would have gotten his hand raised.
Our recommendation is that he stay far away from Tank and Crawford - and he should seriously consider leaving 140, because if Teofimo comes in, we think Teo destroys him, too.
The Ukraine situation is problematic all around.
Just learned that Usyk is also back out there.
Tomorrow's lineup should be exciting, but never forget that some of these guys are real warriors and not just feuding on Twitter.
Took him less time than we predicted, but we figured that'd be the outcome just based on styles.
Khan seemed completely unprepared for Brook's timing, despite (as expected) looking halfway decent early on.
Clearly, his punch resistance is completely gone, and it's even worse that Crawford couldn't spark Khan off the chin and had to toss a low blow to get him out of there.
Regardless, Brook is basically done at the upper level, and should maybe take one or two more fights before considering retirement.
Khan? We think it's time, dude. Take the money and hang them up.
We know Munguia is fighting but...we don't really rate him.
This weekend is all about Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook - nearly a decade outside of the sell date.
Our opinion: we think Khan gets caught late after looking brilliant, BUT this might go the distance. It depends on how pissed off Brook is with Khan's A-Side demands and finally giving in just to make the fight happen.
We said it before the fight: Jacobs should walk through this guy, but if he struggles, it might be time to hang up the gloves.
Jacobs didn't show up.
There was no robbery here.
The judges expected what we expected: Jacobs to obliterate this guy, shades of Peter Quillin. He didn't come close to that, and they punished him for it.
We saw a tentative, hesitant, lackluster Jacobs that frankly, should consider retirement rather than trying to call out Eubank Jr., because "Next Gen" would seriously - SERIOUSLY - hurt the guy we just saw in there. And Jacobs is a nice guy. We don't want to see that.
He also should stay far away from title shots. Even vacant ones.
Enjoy the money. Spend time with your family. Retire.
This isn't to say that fights aren't worth watching. Rather, many of the fights left for February aren't going to excite many fans.
Danny Jacobs has had a rough time of it. After an unexpectedly poor performance against Gabe Rosado (still the Big Knockouts Boxing champion BTW), Jacobs is looking to show he's still a force.
On paper, Jacobs should walk right through John Ryder, and that's not to dismiss Ryder, but we have to remember: Jacobs blitzed Peter Quillin like nobody's business and damn near beat Golovkin. He should not heavily struggle with Ryder, even if Ryder is initially somewhat effective.
How Jacobs looks will basically tell us if he's still a big player in the division.
Keef looked stylistically better than he did against Manny. Had he fought like this against Manny, Manny would have been absolutely bamboozled. So there's that.
However...Mario Barrios is a guy that's coming up from lightweight (he HAS fought at welter before, and he looked good for the weight, but still). Keef couldn't drop OR stop Azteca, despite landing absolute brutal bombs right flush on Barrios's chin. It was like his power just wasn't there.
So Tank is able to stop Barrios, but Keef couldn't even drop him.
We're not sure he gets past Spence or Crawford. He beats Ugas if he fights like this, though. Problem is, if Spence beats Ugas, Keef is right back to square one unless one of them vacates.
Kudos to Barrios though, he brought everything he had and looked good in his losing effort at least.
I expected Cuadras to be the veteran that he is and pull out the experience. Didn't happen.
I suspected that late replace could be the difference maker, but didn't expect that kind of performance.
Cuadras didn't seem able or willing to be elusive, which is strange. He was able to bamboozle Rungvisai plenty. But Rodriguez was just too fast and accurate.
Clearly, Roy Jones Jr. has improved Chris Eubank's striking/boxing ability. However, we're not sure his newer style will get him wins at the top level.
Liam Williams was game and had a decent showing, but he's not the upper echelon.
Whew. Talk about a stacked weekend.
Two of these events feature guy who are hungry to make a name against a Top 10 opponent. The third features a grudge match where anything can happen as well as the return of Claressa Shields to boxing after her shocking MMA loss.
But in all three events, one thing is clear: the main event winner will position themselves for championship gold, which we believe all fighters should strive for.
People have criticized FOX for putting Thurman/Barrios on PPV, but (A) Thurman is a PPV fighter and (B) look at the undercard. Everyone claims Luis Nery is a P4P fighter - surely he deserves a P4P payday, right?
Say what you will about "Irish" Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti, Cheeseman is arguably one of the most spirited fighters of the modern generation.
Not a top flight player, not a headliner and not a big draw, but always puts on a show for the fans.
Some call us crazy. But here's the thing.
We're not saying Boots isn't skilled. He's clearly skilled.
But we don't see this top tier fighter - yet.
He reminds us very closely of when Broner was fighting at the lighter weight classes.
People only think of 147 Broner, and they forget how explosive Broner used to be in his absolute prime, before he turned 30.
Some called him a weight bully. Maybe - but Ennis is fighting guys long past the sell date, so it balances.
Regardless, from a styles match, we see basically a newer version of what Broner used to be. And we don't see what others seem to see about him.
We need to see him really tested against a prime fighter that won't fall for his okie-doke in the ring and just settle him. Someone like Ugas - someone fundamental and sound.
Spence said he beats Crawford. We disagree. We think Crawford completely embarrasses this guy.
Our dream fight: 'Boots' Ennis vs. Blair 'The Flair' Cobbs. Two guys who want to entertain the fans. Let's see who gets it, who can outflash who.
We're seeing a LOT of fighters get COVID, and since most all of them would have needed to get jabbed in order to even travel overseas, it means that the spread isn't being mitigated. That means that fights that get scheduled are up in the air as omicron remains a thing.
This one really bothered me, because I'm a big Rungvisai fan, and seeing this fight would have closed some open doors with the history between these two.
Rodriguez was going to fight for a regional title against Fernando Diaz on the undercard. Nothing yet about that fight, and while I suspect Rodriguez will come hard against Cuadras, I don't find him anywhere near Cuadras' class as a boxer. That said, late replacements do always seem to give the A-Side problems since there was no way to prepare - so who knows really.
Between this and the possibility of Choco getting upset by his late replacement, we might be shaking up super flyweight.
Reports from watchers is that Makabu should not have had his hand raised. Regardless, he did.
The question is, will Canelo's camp want to book a fight with Don King in the mix? Is it possible that Makabu's performance turns Canelo off and makes him want to go another route?
We analyze the other possibilities, from 168 through cruiserweight, and why we think that Joe Smith Jr. (WBO @ 175) makes the most sense (for those that don't recognize the name, Smith is the one who in 2016 literally knocked Bernard Hopkins out of the ring and into retirement, causing B-Hop to claim he "Pushed me out the F'n ring!" (Yeah, with his fist).
Many will say "Smith can't get ready that fast!" If Makabu was next, it'd be the same thing. What's the difference?
[Originally Recorded Nov 5, 2021 - that's why the audio sounds different]
Deontay Wilder is one of the most polarizing and controversial sports figures of the modern era, triggered mostly by his previous "Body on the Record" fight promotion speech (despite the fact that fans cheered Tyson talking about eating children and homosexual assault prison-style), comments about certain female interviewers possibly using sex to advance their positions, (despite the fact that fans cheered Rampage Jackson dry humping an interviewer live on air) and the various excuses that came out after Wilder/Fury 2.
Regardless of this, Wilder had always said that he was willing to die in the ring, because he loved doing it so much and wanted to make sure the fans were sent home happy every time. Fury/Wilder 3 showcased why Deontay Wilder is one of the few fighters in current boxing that actually practiced what he preached, fighting as hard as he could until he could fight no more. Deontay Wilder has never been in a boring fight, no matter what you thought about his opposition. We challenge you to contrast that with Frank F'n Sanchez and stinking out the joint every time.
Wilder's recently talked about retiring, which I think would be a mistake. The heavyweight division is (especially now) in desperate need of true warriors like him, and he could still 'baptize' guys like Jarrell 'Big Baby' Miller before hanging them up and enjoying time with his family. The heavyweight division has needed all-out war for a long time, and those two didn't disappoint.
No matter which way he goes, and no matter what NSB might say, the Fury/Wilder trilogy WILL be reflected on years from now as one of the greatest trilogies in history. Not for the "boxing masterclass", but for the psychology, the emotion, the feeling of not knowing who was going to get knocked spark out and not really believing that a guy who looks like Tyson Fury could completely decimate a guy that looks like Deontay Wilder.
Don King Promotions - PPV via FITE TV apparently. The winner is frontline to fight Canelo Alvarez next.
Same story we always hear, another late replacement - and you know what means...possible upset incoming.
Chocolatito seems to not like aggressive fighters that aren't afraid of him, and Martinez is a tough fighter who will likely come in trying to make a name against a highly regarded A-Side.
It wouldn't surprise us.
You strike me as a fairly learned follower of the sport.
Notice I said sport. Not the BUSINESS of boxing.
Because ultimately, A-Side fighters call the shots. Always have, always will.
B-Side fighters (which Crawford is for a Spence fight) don't.
Fighters have to be inspired by what Floyd had to do against Oscar de la Hoya, which catapulted him into superstardom - accepting whatever he had to in order to make the fight, as B-Side, then going in there and doing what he had to do.
Fighters today should be learning from what Canelo is doing, which is to collect belts and make a legacy that keeps continuing, not just hanging on to what you did at lesser weight classes.
Crawford should have challenged Teixeira when Teixeira was 154 WBO as Crawford had basically a guaranteed shot - didn't do it, and that would have been an easy belt for him to win. Then defend in two divisions.
Crawford should have challenged Ugas the moment Ugas got elevated for WBA. Didn't happen.
Instead of paying Crawford $12-15 million to fight a slew of lesser fighters, he should have told Arum to stack that money, pay him $1-2 per fight and then use the bulk of the excess to get the Spence fight made instead of chasing a Manny fight he knew wasn't going to happen.
Crawford himself said that Arum failed to get him fights. Then why'd you re-sign with him when you knew the smoke was over at PBC? At that time, Keef was undefeated WBC/WBA, Spence was undefeated IBF, Danny Swift was still at the top of the division as was Porter.
Regardless, blaming only Arum makes no sense when Arum was able to book multiple fights with Wilder/Fury.
Manny got a temp deal with PBC. Mikey got a temp deal with PBC. Canelo got a temp deal with PBC.
All three were financially better off and had signature fights as a result.
So why does Crawford get a pass for not doing the same when we know he could have?
It's because in the BUSINESS of boxing, Crawford knew that he could make guaranteed $3 million each to fight guys he's supposed to beat with ease. He also knew that it's not assured he beats Ugas or Spence, and he just wanted to beat Manny on the way out for an easy payday, as everyone did.
Going forward: assuming Keef gets past Barrios (which isn't guaranteed), Crawford should sign with PBC, fight Keef, the one guy Spence won't fight, make a statement, then unify with Spence/Ugas winner.
OR
Go up to 154 and take belts and keep making a name.
AS I mentioned on a previous episode, with no evidence of the accusations against Rolly, it wasn't going to go anywhere.
Now, the WBA has come out and ordered the two to make a deal within 30 days under mandatory rules.
Since they had an agreement before with veritable ease, it's fairly safe to believe there'll be another agreement made as these two don't like each other - UNLESS 'CM Punk' Kambosos decides to go after Tank which wouldn't make any sense; but Tank is mandatory for one of Kambosos' titles.