By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Just when it sounded as if not much more could be said about Terence Crawford-versus-Errol Spence Jr., more was.

A lot more.

The last formal news conference at T-Mobile Arena took an unexpected turn Thursday. There was trash talk. It wouldn’t be boxing without at least some.

But this edition turned nasty with exchanges between fighters and fans from each of their camps.

At one point, it was punctuated by a racial epithet from Crawford, who used the N-word in an angry response to a Spence fan who had mocked his chances at beating Spence Saturday for the undisputed welterweight title.

“You ain’t gonna do nothing,’’ Crawford said to the fan. “You a (expletive), doing all that talking.’’

Initially, it was thought that the profane exchange was fueled by family members, who were at opposite ends of the seating arrangement in front of a stage on the floor at T-Mobile.

But Spence said the fan was not part of his family.

“He’s not a cousin,’’ Spence said. “He’s from Dallas.’’

Spence, who grew up in  the Dallas area, said Crawford went too far.

“He was definitely going a little too far,’’ Spence told reporters after the formal part of the news conference. “I mean, his people were saying stuff to me. I just smiled.’’

It wasn’t clear why emotional fans were even allowed to attend. The volatile moment – spontaneous combustion at a staged news conference – was sparked by the fight’s magnitude and escalating tensions as the opening bell nears.

Also, Crawford, who is known to be defiant, has never been afraid of confrontation. He has often said that he had a problem with his temper when he was younger.

The controversial language also stood out for another reason.

There was no real trash talk between the fighters themselves. Their mutual respect has been there since the fight was resurrected after it looked as if it would never happen in the wake of failed negotiations last fall.

Their mutual respect throughout the many media appearances doesn’t surprise Stephen Espinoza, Showtime’s President of Sports and Event Programming.

“If it’s Errol Spence, you’ve got to respect him,’’ Espinoza said just days before the pay-per-view bout. “If it’s Terence Crawford, you’ve got to respect him.’’

They do.

But fans and family put a different twist into the equation for a long-awaited fight that – for the last couple of months — has sold itself.

Even the trainers, Brian “BoMac” McIntyre for Crawford and Derrick James for Spence – got into the act Thursday.

McIntrye mounted the bully pulpit and said: “Comes a time when you can’t hide. War Time, War Time, War Time.’’

Then, it was James’ turn. He looked at McIntyre, a super-heavyweight who appears ready to go sumo.

“My chant is this: Time to Eat, Time to Eat,’’ James said. “Reason I’m saying this is he (BoMac) hasn’t missed a meal in years.’’

James and BoMac then went on to exchange a few more shots. James suggested that Crawford’s lofty pound-for-pound status and lone belt – The World Boxing Organization’s version of the 147-pound title – was manufactured against questionable opposition.

“Who you fought,?’ James said as he looked at Crawford.

Finally, BoMac just said:

“Shut the eff up.’’

On a hot afternoon when a news conference was about to go off the rails, that was the best suggestion of all. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

Errol Spence calls it the strap season. Maybe, it is. Suddenly, title belts count for something more than just another sanctioning fee. These days, they even count as a new chapter.

It’s called the four-belt era. It’s a crowded one, a chapter that looks a little bit like a messy closet full of belts, one indistinguishable from the other.

WBC or WBA or IBF or WBO, it’s hard to know – or care — about the difference between the acronyms, which is reason enough to just hang them all on to one rhetorical hook.

That’s why there’s a strap season in Spence’s closet. He’s has questioned their value. Yet, their significance is there, perhaps now more than ever for his long-awaited welterweight showdown with Terence Crawford July 29 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena in a Showtime pay-per-view bout.

It’s a chance to win all four for the first time in the fabled history of the 147-pound division. Maybe, just that will add some clarity to boxing messy proliferation of belts and weight classes during an era when there are almost more of both than there are prize fighters.

Then again, clarity in boxing is another way of saying clear as mud. There will be five-belt, six- belt and 12-belt eras if people keep paying the fees.

But Spence’s strap season is a pragmatic summation of an ever-chaotic game. Spence has long pursued legacy, despite the outrage last fall over news that talks with Crawford had failed.

“This is what I’ve always wanted,’’ he said Thursday before a media workout in Las Vegas. “It’s the only fight I’ve ever wanted.’’

I can confirm that. Four years ago – almost to the day, Spence appeared at a news conference with Shawn Porter before Manny Pacquiao’s victory over Keith Thurman at Vegas’ MGM Grand in July 2019.

After the newser, I saw Spence, standing alone behind a makeshift stage. I asked him about Crawford. He told me then that Crawford was the fight he wanted.

He promised it would happen.

Promise delivered.

But the path to that long-envisioned fight hasn’t been easy. Instead, there were times when it looked as if it just wouldn’t happen. There was Spence’s scary auto accident in Dallas in October 2019, not long after his narrow scorecard victory over Porter in Los Angeles.

He was out of the ring for more than a year. But, please, don’t say he was inactive, a word straight out of boxing’s fractured language. He was active all right, actively fighting for his life. Fourteen months later, he scored a unanimous decision over the accomplished Danny Garcia in front of a hometown crowd in Dallas.

Then, there was a date with Pacquiao in August 2021. But an eye injury forced him to withdraw. Spence was rushed into surgery for a torn retina in his left eye within two weeks of opening bell. His chance at adding a victory over one of history’s legends was denied. Late stand-in Yordenis Ugas went on to upset Pacquiao. Spence was left with only more questions

Still, he continued to pursue what he had envisioned. He beat Ugas, scoring a 10^th-round TKO for a third strap In April 2022. In retrospect, that was the strap that made the date with Crawford inevitable.

Crawford, too, is hunting straps. If he takes Spence’s three and adds them to his own, he’ll set some four-belt history. Crawford would become the first to win undisputed titles in two divisions. He was a four-belt champion at junior-welterweight.

“This fight is happening at the right time,’’ Crawford said at his media workout Wednesday, also in Vegas. “All the belts are on the line, so there’s even more to fight for. What better way to have this fight than to have it for the undisputed welterweight title?”

Crawford has been a slight favorite ever since the fight was announced. His quicksilver versatility, speed and ring IQ are just three reasons. Another reason, however, is the simple fact that Spence has answered only two opening bells – Garcia and Ugas — since the auto accident.

Spence trainer Derrick James was asked Thursday whether he was concerned about ring rust.

“He’s been training,’’ James said. “in between, he’s been sparring. In the fight itself, he’ll have to adjust to Terence’s speed. But that’ll happen over a few rounds.’’

There’s a theory that Spence might be able to break down Crawford with prolonged pressure. He’s bigger than Crawford. Presumably, he’s stronger, too. But there’s more.

A few weeks ago, there was a virtual media session with Porter, former welterweight champion Kell Brook and two respected trainers, Virgil Hunter and Stephen “Breadman’’ Edwards.

Spence’s auto accident was part of the discussion. Has he completely recovered? Are there lingering affects?

The insightful Edwards had his own take. He said he believed Spence had learned from the accident. He said he might be better because of it.

On July 29, Spence might prove to be the survivor.

Only a survivor figures to win this one, one of the best welterweight fights in any season. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s an unlikely partnership in an unforgiving business for blood and bucks. Maybe some legacy, too. Mostly, it’s still a surprise, an opening bell few expected to ever hear.

Yet, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. are moving closer to their July 29 pay-per-view date, a welterweight bout as intriguing as any in years.

It’s no secret that stakes are enormous for both fighters and a battered business. The real impact hinges on what happens in the long-awaited Showtime bout at Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena.

Narrow odds continue to slightly favor Crawford. But bet on just about anything in a fight few foresaw in the wake of failed negotiations and a lot of finger-pointing.

That’s all gone. At least, there was no rancor apparent in the last appearance of Crawford and Spence in a virtual news conference Wednesday.

They were businessmen – Crawford talking in a measured, unemotional tone and Spence wearing fashionable glasses that made him look like a CEO in command of a corporate board room.

For now, mutual respect is evident. There were rhetorical shots, but only at pundits and social media’s noisy army. In a trash-talking game, however, respect doesn’t do much for ticket sales.

The April 22nd box-office and Pay-Per-View success (1.2 million buys) of Tank Davis-versus-Ryan Garcia was proof of that. The talk was better than the fight – Davis, a TKO winner over Garcia, who has more words than skills.

As of Friday, Crawford-Spence tickets were still available in every category for a fight announced on May 22. Early sales were reportedly brisk, but most of the tickets – priced from $519 to $2,000 — went to brokers, who are betting that interest in Crawford-Spence will heat up.

Guess here, it will. But there might be lingering skepticism from fans, especially the casual crowd which hasn’t forgotten the abortive talks last fall. Negotiations were an on-again, off-again roller coaster. Misleading and often inaccurate reports from the media didn’t help.

Repeatedly, you could hear fans and pundits say they’d believe it only when both are gloved up, in the ring and echoes of an opening bell fill the arena.

Fair enough. But believe it. This one is on the horizon, approaching like a summer storm.

From this corner, it’s refreshing not to hear, ad nauseam, the trash talk. Spence and Crawford respect each other for documented reasons. They’re both unbeaten and both accomplished in ways that Ryan Garcia was not.

Trash talk is language used by the frightened or the foolish. Crawford and Spence are neither. Crawford, pragmatic and always edgy, summed up the build-up to July 29.

Yes, he said, there’s mutual respect. Yes, he said, Spence is an important business partner at this, a late stage in Crawford’s brilliant career. But don’t be misled, he said.

“We’re not friends on fight night, absolutely,’’ Crawford said. “I’m friends with Shawn Porter. You saw what happened. I knocked him out (10^th-round TKO, September 2021).

“I’m friends with Ray Beltran. You saw what happened. I beat him (unanimous decision, November 2014).

“I’m not friends on fight night with somebody who is there to do whatever to take me down, take my life.’’

That’s business.

Crawford-Spence undercard update

Emerging Jesus Ramos Jr, an unbeaten junior-middleweight from Casa Grande AZ and probably the best prospect from Arizona since David Benavidez, withdrew from the undercard because of a hand injury. He was scheduled to fight Sergio Garcia.

With the withdrawal, Nonito Donaire-versus-Alexandro Santiago was added to the card. It had been scheduled for July 15. Donaire and Santiago will fight for a vacant bantamweight title.

Meanwhile, Garcia stays on the card in a fight against prospect Yoenis Tellez instead of Ramos.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr, a fascinating fight embedded in the public imagination for years, is generating lots of ideas about how it will unfold, yet no idea about how it will end.

That much was evident Thursday in a virtual news conference featuring Shawn Porter and Kell Brook — retired welterweights beaten by both — and respected trainers, Virgil Hunter and Stephen “Breadman” Edwards.

The imagined scenarios were unlimited. So, too, was the insight. In the end, however, there was only one agreement. 

With opening bell on July 29 just a few weeks away, Porter, Brook, Hunter and Edwards agreed – for now — not to pick a winner.

“I don’t have a pick,’’ said Porter, a former two-time 147-pound champion who lost a 10^th-round TKO to Crawford in November 2021 and a split-decision to Spence in September 2019. “I don’t know who is going to win this fight.

“This is what boxing truly is.’’

Truly, true.

It’s why Crawford-Spence has been at the top of the public’s most-wanted list for so long. It also explains why there was so much frustration last fall at news that negotiations had fallen apart.

But the frustration is gone, supplanted by the fascination. There haven’t been too many high-level, high-wire fights during an era ruled by Floyd Mayweather’s risk-to-reward ratio. The formula mitigated the risk, much of the drama and most of the compelling reasons to watch.

Too many fights were easy to pick. Crawford-Spence isn’t.

“I don’t have a pick right now,’’ said Edwards, who was in the corner for Caleb Plant in a tense scorecard loss to super-middleweight contender David Benavidez in March. “That’s the honest truth. I think we’re going to have the Fight of the Century. ‘’

The Century is still young. It’s only 23-years old, still enough time for fights forever etched into history. There was Diego Corrales’ 10^th-round TKO of Jose Luis Castillo in a 2005 epic.

About 21 months ago, there was one that will be remembered as wild, even by the heavyweight division’s extreme standards. Tyson Fury’s crazy, up-and-down 11^th-round KO of Deontay Wilder was buckle-your-seatbelt crazy  

The last 23 years are not a lost era. Still, they are dogged by the one fight seen by more people than any other. Mayweather’s 2015 decision over Manny Pacquiao, also in a welterweight bout, fell short. Before opening bell, It was much hyped and it’s been much derided ever since.

There’s a suggestion – perhaps a prayer — Crawford-Spence can deliver a performance that will close the book on that lingering disappointment.

From Breadman’s perspective, both Spence and Crawford have qualities that remind him of a more celebrated era. He foresees a performance that won’t disappoint.

“I don’t see either guy choking up under the bright lights,’’ he said. “Both guys seem to have that clutch gene. 

“…Every time, I’ve seen one of these guys’ backs against the wall, they up the ante, raise the stakes.’’

Breadman says the fight will make fans want more. That means a rematch. But Breadman meant more than just that.

“I think the casual fan might say: ‘There’s not enough action,’ ‘’ Breadman said. “But for the purist, you’ll see some great, great stuff. It will become a classic.

“I think this one is one I wish was 15 rounds, because I think both guys are 15-round fighters and would have flourished in a 15-round era.’’

The winner? It depends.

Depends, perhaps, on how the bigger Spence rehydrates the week before opening bell at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, says Hunter, who was Andre Ward’s trainer.

Depends, maybe, on how Crawford adjusts to a blistering desert summer in Nevada after training at altitude in the Colorado mountains, Hunter also says.

“It’s going to come down to very small margin,’’ said Brook, a former 147-pound champion stopped by Crawford in a fourth-round TKO in November 2020 and knocked out by Spence in the 11^th round of a punishing bout in May 2017.

The calculating Crawford, Brook says, possesses a precision that can result in dangerous accuracy. It has a snap, Brook says of a Crawford punch that lands like a whip.

“Very sharp and snapping puncher,’’ said Brook, who won a majority over to Porter in August 2014.

Spence is more fundamental. Once Spence starts to move forward, he can run you over, he says.

“A grinding and thumping kind of power,’’ said Brook, who has felt Crawford’s dynamic snap and Spence’s grinding thump.

“That’s the difference,” Brook added.

Maybe, the drama, too. For now, that’s the only pick.

Valdez-Navarrete Update

 Emerging lightweight Raymond “Danger” Muratalla hopes to take another step in his swift ascent against fellow Mexican Diego Torres Aug. 12 on the ESPN-televised card featuring Oscar Valdez Jr.-versus-Emanuel Navarrete for a junior-lightweight title at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ, Top Rank announced this week.

Muratalla (18-0, 15 KOs) calls himself Danger, a nickname that reflects his unbeaten record, which includes 12 stoppages in his last 13 bouts. He’s also Busy.

He faces an equally dangerous Torres (17-0, 16 KOs) in his third fight in 2023.

 “I couldn’t be more excited to get back in that ring on such a great card,’’ Muratalla said. “I can’t wait to put on another great performance for the fans. I believe this is my time now, and I will continue to show the hard work that’s being put in.”

Muratalla has the momentum. Torres hopes to halt it.

“Fighting against another undefeated fighter is something that I was looking for,’’ Torres said. “It is my way of showing that I am made for this, and I am here to achieve great things.

“I am not afraid. I’m going to give it my all and come out with a great victory.”

Muratalla-Torres has been added to a card also scheduled to include  Richard Torrez Jr. (5-0, 5 KOs), a silver medalist for the U.S. at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, against Willie Jake Jr. (11-3-2, 3 KOs) in a six-round heavyweight bout. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s a fight that has already exceeded expectations. Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. got made. There was a deal just a few months after one looked to be impossible.

It’s the beginning of a bout loaded with the potential to deliver a classic and maybe more.  An agreement that emerges from a never-never land littered with all of boxing’s usual complications makes just about anything look possible.

Maybe even some history.

A historical parallel, at least, has been introduced and figures to be at the cutting edge of the promotional pitch throughout the month-long build-up before opening bell on July 29 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

It’s no ordinary parallel. Nothing about Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns in September 1981 on a Vegas summer night up the Strip from T-Mobile at an open-air arena behind Caesars Palace was ordinary. It was extraordinary in almost every way. It was a masterpiece, perhaps the best fight in boxing’s modern – and messy — history.

For more than four decades, it’s a fight that has stood alone, unmatched for its artistry and ferocity. There’s never been an encore, and the guess from this corner is that there never will be.

That corner of history belongs to Leonard-Hearns in a drama that saw the fighters switch styles. Leonard, the boxer, became the puncher, scoring a late TKO of the puncher, Hearns, suddenly the boxer. It was a different time, the end of an era when championship fights were scheduled for 15 rounds instead of 12.

In this era, Hearns would have won a 12-round decision. He was leading on all three cards going into the 13^th. Then, however, he was stopped suddenly and definitively after Leonard heard and heeded a warning from trainer Angelo Dundee.

“You’re blowing it, son, you’re blowing it,’’ Dundee said. 

Leonard flipped a switch — finesse to ferocious – mounting a blitzkrieg burst of violence that left Hearns exhausted and beaten along the ropes at 1:45 of the 14^th.

Can history repeat itself? It hasn’t. Not even Hearns and Leonard could in a 1989 rematch that was about eight years too late. Each beyond their prime, they fought to a draw. It was oh-so forgettable. Often, it’s not remembered at all, mostly because of the powerful memory of their first fight, a boxing monument if there ever was one.

Leonard-Hearns, the golden oldie, is still the model. Maybe, Crawford-Spence is the remake.

“This fight is really as big as it gets,’’ Tom Brown, president of TGB Promotions, said on June 14 in New York as he formally announced the bout in the second of coast-to-coast news conferences. “We have the best two fighters in the world, unbeaten and in their prime.

“We haven’t seen fighters with skills like this since Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns.”

There’ll be some debate about that. Leonard was 25, Hearns 22. Crawford is 35, Spence 33. Leonard and Hearns were just entering their prime. Crawford and Spence are leaving theirs.

Over the last four decades, there’s been research, nutrition and technology that allows athletes to extend their careers.  

Maybe, Crawford and Spence still have some prime time that Leonard and Hearns didn’t. But this isn’t Olympic swimming. It’s boxing. A single punch on July 29 or forty-two years ago can still end a career.

Still, some potential elements are in place. Crawford enters the biggest welterweight bout in his generation as the boxer. At opening bell, he’ll play Leonard’s role. Yet, his power also has turned him into one of today’s few real finishers. His 39-0 record includes 30 stoppages.

The bigger Spence has the Hearns role. His feared power is an ever-present threat, yet his boxing skill is evident, especially in three of his last four fights – scorecard victories over Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia.

For Crawford and Spence, there’s a chance to do what Leonard and Hearns didn’t. Leonard and Hearns didn’t turn their all-time bout into a rivalry. They were finished by the time they got to the rematch. Leonard was 33, Hearns 30 in their June 1989 sequel, a bout fought at a 164-pound catchweight, also at Caesars Palace.

The Crawford-Spence agreement includes a rematch clause. If their promised classic happens, the prediction is that there’ll be rematch later this year.

But first they’ll have to deliver in a way that Floyd Mayweather’s 2015 decision over Manny Pacquiao didn’t. The Mayweather-Pacquiao dud, also at welterweight, didn’t exceed any of the inflated expectations. The disappointment lingered like a lousy hangover for years.

Mayweather-Pacquiao is also history, a lingering lesson and a more recent reminder about what not to repeat.

Guess here, Crawford-Spence won’t be Mayweather-Pacquiao. It won’t be Leonard-Hearns, either. In a fabled weight class, it’s a fight suddenly intriguing for one reason. During an era when so many big fights don’t get made, this one is about to happen.  

Call it the opening possibility, perhaps the first of many that haven’t been seen for far too long.

Jesus Ramos poised for next lesson

Jesus Ramos, of Casa Grande AZ, is beginning to look like the hottest prospect to emerge from Arizona since super-middleweight contender and two-time former WBC champion David Benavidez.

Ramos (20-0,16 KOs) hopes to embellish his credentials at junior-middleweight against Spanish veteran Sergio Garcia (34-2, 14 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round bout on the pay-per-view portion of the Showtime telecast of Crawford-Spence.

It’s a fight that could put Ramos in position to challenge Tim Tszyu or unified junior-middleweight champion Jermell Charlo.

 “With a victory, I believe I could get into the top five, or at least the top 10,’’ the 22-year-old Ramos said Thursday during a virtual news conference.

Ramos, who is coming off a seventh-round stoppage of Joey Spencer on the undercard of Benavidez’ decision over Caleb Plant on March 25, says each fight is a lesson plan.

“I’m doing things at my own pace,’’ he said. “Each fight is an opportunity for me to learn something. Seeing different styles is the perfect way for me. It’ll help prepare me for whenever my moment comes.’’

By Norm Frauenheim

PHOENIX, AZ — Trevor McCumby takes the second step in a comeback Saturday night at Celebrity Theatre.

The 30-year-old McCumby hopes to pick up where he left off against Rodolfo Ezequiel Martinez on an Iron Boy Promotions card.

In May, McCumby (26-0, 20 KOS) kicked off his comeback, scoring a solid stoppage of Vicente Rodriguez, also at Celebrity. Rodriguez, a super-middleweight from Argentina, was finished in the fifth after McCumby landed a lethal left to the body.

Not much is known about Martinez (44-10-3, 16 KOS), also an Argentine who hasn’tfought in more than two years. Over his 58-fight career, he’s fought at middleweight, super-middle and light-heavy.

McCumby, a Chicago-area native now of Glendale AZ and a light-heavyweight prospect five years ago, is back with plans to fight at super-middleweight.

Twelve fights are scheduled for the Iron Boy card. First bell is scheduled for 6 p.m., Arizona time.

By Norm Fraueneim –

Last week, there was a question. Is Canelo Alvarez listening?

This week, there’s an answer.

No.

It’s a definitive no, delivered by Badou Jack, who spoke for impatient fans in a restless, yet evolving marketplace.

Jack, a sudden entry in a search for a fall foe, withdrew from the Canelo lottery and left Jermall Charlo as the only option after getting an offer that would have made him fight at about 20 pounds lighter than his current division, cruiserweight. It also included a deadly rehydration clause.

That’s not an offer. It’s an outrage, but also no surprise. In a column headlined by the aforementioned question, Canelo’s offer was predicted:

Jack, nobody’s fool, did more than just say no, however. He ended his twitter reply with this:

“Canelo let’s give the fans what they want to see and fight David Benavidez.”

Jack repeated what has been said, ad nauseam, for a couple years. Yet, Canelo ignores the refrain. Jack called for Canelo to fight Benavidez on Monday. On Thursday, there was news that Canelo ignored him and just about everybody else all over again. 

Instead of Benavidez, he’ll fight the seldom-seen Charlo on Sept. 16, according to a twitter report from ESPN’s Mike Coppinger.

After his last few fights, Canelo wore a crown that symbolized his long reign. But his silence about anything Benavidez is turning him into the proverbial king with no clothes. You can speculate as to why.

Maybe, he fears the younger Benavidez’ abundant energy late in a long career when Canelo’s measured performances are characterized by fatigue in the late rounds.

Maybe, he’s angry at the trash talk from Benavidez and his trainer/father, Jose Sr. Canelo’s documented pay-per-view power has allowed him to dictate. He wants praise, not insults. Try to bully Canelo and he’ll walk away, angry and defiant. Maybe, that’s why it took so long for a third fight with Gennadiy Golovkin.

Maybe, all of the above. Maybe, not.

Maybe, it changes.

But time isn’t exactly on Canelo’s side any more. Patience is quickly draining through the hourglass in a marketplace that is moving on. There are abundant signs that there’s business beyond Canelo.

It was there in April with Tank Davis’ stoppage of Ryan Garcia in a pay-per-view bout that drew a reported 1.2 million customers.

On July 29, there’s the long-awaited Terence Crawford-versus-Errol Spence Jr. Crawford and Spence continued negotiations after talks failed last October.

It’s still uncertain whether they’ll be rewarded with numbers even close to Davis-Garcia. Still, there’s good news in the attempt. It’s simply says they’re responding to a market demand, one of many. For now, it looks as if Canelo is only trying to satisfy himself.

Benavidez never heard from Canelo on an offer for a September fight from Benavidez promoter/manager Sampson Lewkowicz. Reportedly, the deal was potentially worth as much as $60 million. From Canelo, however, it was met with just more of the same:

Silence.

The Phoenix-born Benavidez is now talking about fighting Jamie Munguia or David Morrell. Morrell had been the original plan. Contrary to some reports, however, David Benavidez says there’s no tentative date or final deal.

Meanwhile, Morrell has started to sound a lot like Benavidez. Morrell is trash-talking him, through a publicist, in an attempt push him into a bout.

Long-term, Canelo’s moves are a signal for Benavidez to move up, from super-middleweight to light-heavy. That’s where his future is. Where his prime is. `

On the Benavidez clock, it makes little sense to wait anymore on Canelo, who will turn 33 on July 18 and then enter the next stage of his long career against Charlo on a PBC deal that reportedly includes two more fights, May and September in 2024.

An agreement for two more Canelo fights, both next year, could mean just about anything.

But Benavidez can only judge it from what he already knows. To wit: Canelo won’t fight him. There’s no other way to interpret what Canelo has done since the Benavidez-Canelo possibility entered the public conversation. Repeatedly, the undisputed 168-pound champion finds another way to avoid him.

The latest example: Charlo.

Charlo, a middleweight belt holder, hasn’t fought in two years. He’s never fought at super-middleweight. Yet, he’ll fight Canelo instead of Benavidez, the World Boxing Council’s so-called mandatory challenger and a former two-time WBC champion. From virtually every conceivable corner, there’s no reasonable explanation for it.

Before Thursday’s news, Canelo’s sometime promoter Eddie Hearn told several media outlets that Charlo was next. In almost the next breath, Hearn went on to say it wouldn’t be a competitive fight. With that kind of recommendation, who’s going to buy?

From Benavidez’ perspective, there’s only one conclusion. For the sake of his career, he has to assume Canelo won’t fight him, now or next year.

For years, Benavidez has been chasing Canelo as though that one fight will define him.

Now, he’s forced to think about a career without Canelo. At 26, he’s got lots of time to do exactly that: Re-define himself according to his own terms.

Move on. A lot of fans already have.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s been a good week to be a fight fan, which is another way of saying the business is staging an overdue comeback with fights that matter.

Front-and-center, Terence Crawford-versus-Errol Spence Jr. in a July 29 bout formally introduced this week at coast-to-coast news conferences, first in Los Angeles and then New York.

In a year full of evidence that an audience is still there, Crawford-Spence represents what looks to be the best in a surprising comeback from widespread doom-and-gloom last fall.

First, there were a reported 1.2 million pay-per-view buys for Tank Davis’ stoppage of Ryan Garcia.

Then, there was news that Teofimo Lopez’ entertaining decision over Josh Taylor Saturday drew boxing’s biggest cable/network audience this year. According to Nielsen, it peaked at 980,000.

The sudden spike adds up to a rebound few saw in the immediate aftermath of news in late October that Crawford and Spence couldn’t reach a deal for what could be a welterweight classic. But they stayed at the table, amid mixed reports about how the talks were going.

Then, however, there was the million-plus PPV milestone for Davis-Garcia on April 22.

A month later, Crawford-Spence had a deal.

The marketplace had spoken.

The message: For the right fight, there’s an audience.

But not everybody got the message.

Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s lone pay-per-view draw since Floyd Mayweather Jr., is still searching for an opponent. It’s an ongoing process, ever-changing and a reflection of uncertainty that stands in stark contrast to a fan base sure about what it wants.

It wants Canelo-versus-David Benavidez. No secret there. For about as long as fans and  fighters have been calling for Crawford-Spence, there’s been an escalating demand for Canelo-Benavidez. 

Canelo and trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso have resisted, trotting out a litany of reasons at every turn.

Canelo has said Benavidez’ resume didn’t measure up. He said he didn’t want to fight fellow Mexicans. Benavidez, of Phoenix, has a Mexican dad and an Ecuadorian mom.

Canelo hasn’t blamed climate change. Not yet, anyway. But you get the idea. Over the last few weeks, any chance Benavidez had at fighting Canelo seems to have come.

And gone.

All over again.

Benavidez promoter and manager Sampson Lewkowicz had been publicly campaigning for a fall date with Canelo. He was reportedly offering Canelo a deal potentially worth more than $60 million. But Reynoso said he never got Lewkowicz’ message. Didn’t get that marketplace message either.

Lewkowicz, who offered $50 million a couple of years ago,  went on to tell South American media that Benavidez would move on and pursue a dangerous date with emerging super-middleweight David Morrell, a Cuban living in Minnesota. Morrell had always been Benavidez’ plan.

Besides, it was clear that Canelo had already altered his plans. There was no movement in reported negotiations for a rematch of his loss to light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. Now, there are questions about whether there was ever any substantive talk.

Over the last week, Jermall Charlo, who holds the World Boxing Council’s middleweight belt, and Badou Jack suddenly landed on Canelo’s short list, according to ESPN.

The 33-year-old Charlo hasn’t fought in two years. He’s been struggling with mental issues, according to WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman.

Meanwhile, Jack is a cruiserweight champion. He beat Ilunga Makabu in February to win the WBC’s 200-pound title in Saudi Arabia. Negotiations are reportedly underway for a fight in October, also in Saudi.

Problem is, Canelo, the undisputed super-middleweight champion, has never been heavier than 174.5 pounds, light-heavy. Some kind of crazy catchweight would have to be negotiated.

It’s hard to imagine that any state commission, ruled by traditional safeguards, would sanction a fight forcing Jack to be at 20 to 25 fewer pounds than he was for his last bout — 198.5 in February.

But this is Saudi, as in sportswash money. The Saudi role in the controversial LIV-PGA golf deal is just more proof that almost nothing is ever off the scale. Only the money is. Canelo, an avid golfer himself, might get in line for his own share of the sportswash.

But would it satisfy the market demand for significant fights?

Has there been any clamor for Canelo against a middleweight beltholder who hasn’t answered an opening bell in two years?

Any demand for Canelo against a cruiserweight champion in a bout turned gimmicky by crazy weight restrictions?

No.

No.

And no.

That’s what a resilient market is saying in numbers amplified by an audience suddenly back on pay-per-view, cable and network.

The message: Ignore it at your own peril.

By Norm Frauenheim –

There’s not much Teofimo Lopez won’t say these days. He’s a shock jock in a concussive business, one that has seemingly heard it all.

The latest came at a news conference not long after Lopez said he wants “to kill” Josh Taylor Saturday night. In so many words, it’s been said before by Deontay Wilder and many more.

Often, it’s hyperbole, an unnecessary exaggeration in an already deadly game.

But, no, Lopez apparently wasn’t exaggerating. Then again, it wasn’t exactly clear what he meant either

“Aim for death for that’s where life begins,’’ he said Thursday before a contentious ESPN (7 p.m PT/10 p.m. ET) fight for Taylor’s junior-welterweight title in The Theater at New York’s Madison Garden.

Taylor (19-0, 13 KOS) laughed, then said “OK, no comment.’’

Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) went on, doing what he does best. He talked.

“I think it’s a good one,’’ he said as he gestured like a sidewalk preacher at Taylor and Top Rank host Mark Shunock. “You aim at death for that’s where life begins. Everybody is scared of death. I don’t know why. We all gonna die.

“But at least if I die, I’m dying for something that means something, that’s gonna last forever. That’s what greats are all about. Something that you don’t really know.

“I mean, this is what we all about. Remaking history, making history and giving the fans, giving the kids – the youth – a good thing to follow on. They need that. They need that motivation, that they know they can do it too

“The only way they can. There’s earth, there’s man and, in between that, you bring the realization within yourself. From the heavens.’’

On stage, there were awkward glances. In the audience, there were awkward laughs. What on earth? From the heavens, no answer to that one.

“Listen, at the end of it all, everybody can laugh, do whatever the f— they want,’’ Lopez said just as Shunock turned and tried to address Taylor. “But it’s just me and him, this fighter.’’

The baffling, uncomfortable moment just left further questions about Lopez. As a fighter, he has struggled ever since his upset at lightweight of then pound-for-pound leader Vasiliy Lomachenko on October 2020.

He suffered a first-round knockdown in November 2021 against Australian George Kambosos Jr., who went on to upset him by split decision in front Lopez’ hometown fans in New York. Lopez, who suffered from a respiratory condition, loudly complained about the decision. Kambosos called him delusional.

In December, he got knocked down by unknown Spaniard Sandor Martin before winning a debatable split decision, also in New York. After the fight, a hot mike caught him asking himself:

“Do I still got it?’’

It was a question rooted in self-doubt. A crisis in confidence, a fighter’s identity in peril.

Since then, he talks and talks as though he’s trying to convince himself as much as his skeptics. He has ripped ESPN commentators Timothy Bradley and Andre Ward.

Bradley, he says, doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. Bradley will get inducted into the Canastota Hall Sunday after working the Lopez-Taylor fight.

He talks about seemingly everything yet ignores that anguished question he asked himself seven months ago.

It’s an answer that Taylor might deliver definitively and painfully. The odds make Taylor a slight favorite despite questions surrounding his controversial decision over Jake Catterall in his last outing.

But the pundits are one-sided. In a poll conducted by The Ring, the pick-to-win was unanimous. And perhaps devastating.

Twenty for Taylor, 0 for Lopez, a lonely man in a desperate fight for a victory that would speak for itself.

Valdez-Navarrete set for AZ

As expected, Oscar Valdez-versus-Emanuel Navarrete is set for Desert Diamond Arena August 12, Top Rank announced this week.

“I’m excited to return to the ring, especially because it’s for a world title against ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete” said Valdez (31-1, 23 KOs) a two-time champion from Nogales who went to school in nearby Tucson. “Being a world champion is something that I always dreamed of. I already did it two times, and this is yet another opportunity.

“So, I’m excited and prepared both mentally and physically for this new opportunity. And I like that it’s between two Mexicans, because it’s a win-win for Mexico. It’s a guaranteed war when there are two Mexicans in the ring.”

Navarrete won the World Boxing Organization’s vacant junior-lightweight title in a dramatic ninth-round TKO of Australian Liam Wilson, a late-stand-in for an injured Valdez, last December at Desert Diamond.

 “After so much time, this fight will finally take place,’’ Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) said. “Obviously, I am 100 percent motivated because Valdez is still a big threat, and a fight against him could possibly be the start of a new Mexico-versus- Mexico rivalry like the one between (Marco Antonio) Barrera and (Erik) Morales.”

By Norm Frauenheim –

Politics, boxing style, continues to surround the David Benavidez-versus-Canelo Alvarez possibility and nobody is playing that game harder than Benavidez promoter Sampson Lewkowicz.

Lewkowicz has gone public with negotiations in an apparent attempt to push Canelo into an agreement for a September fight with Benavidez instead of Dmitry Bivol.

In a pubic letter this week to Canelo manager/trainer Eddy Reynoso, Lewkowicz wrote that he has made an offer.

“Please know that you do indeed have an offer to face Benavidez, a sizeable one, and I must tell you that I am offended by your claim that I’m ‘fantasizing’ about making this fight happen.,’’ Lewkowicz wrote.

“If you are also unable to find this open letter and no one tells you about it, would anyone who knows him please let Eddy know that I will send the same offer for him to communicate to Canelo Alvarez.’’

According to Sports Illustrated Thursday, the sizeable offer is as much as $50 million, including a percentage of ticket revenue and pay-per-view.

The reported number isn’t new. Lewkowicz said in February 2022 that he offered Canelo $50 million to fight the Phoenix-born fighter, the World Boxing Council’s No. 1 challenger for the WBC super-middleweight belt held by Canelo.

Canelo apparently said no and fought Bivol later that May, losing a decision in a huge upset at light-heavyweight.

Benavidez went on to a blowout of former middleweight champion David Lemieux, also that May, at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ, a few miles of roadwork from the Phoenix streets where Benavidez grew up. 

After the third-round stoppage, Lewkowicz told reporters that Benavidez-Canelo was “a fantasy.’’

But he changed his mind after Benavidez’ solid decision over Caleb Plant on March 25 in Las Vegas. 

Fantasy had become reality, he said. Canelo, he said, has nowhere else to go. A Benavidez fight had to be his next stop, he said.

Then, Lewkowicz told 15 Rounds that he believed there were complications that would prevent a Canelo rematch with Bivol, a Russian whose career has already been impacted by politics.  He’s banned from WBC ratings because of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war with the Ukraine.

Despite Bivol’s unanimous decision over Canelo, the 2022 Fighter of the Year has not fought since stunning the Mexican legend and pay-per-view star.

Canelo has said repeatedly that he wants to avenge the loss in a rematch at 175 pounds. However, Bivol has said he wants the fight at 168. 

He says he wants an opportunity to win Canelo’s super-middleweight belts, although the WBC title would not be at stake if the acronym stands by its Russian ban.

It’s not clear whether Canelo and Bivol can reach an agreement on weight. If not, there’s talk that Bivol will fight in August.

That would leave a date surrounding Mexico’s Sept. 16 Independence Day wide open.

Benavidez?

That’s still not clear. Lewkowicz’ public campaign reflects uncertainty about Canelo’s future, especially in the wake of his unanimous decision over John Ryder in a tune-up on May 6 in front of a hometown crowd in a soccer stadium near Guadalajara.

He battered and bloodied Ryder. He knocked him down. But he didn’t knock him out. Hence, the doubt.

There are questions about whether he needs another tune-up instead of an immediate challenge, be it Bivol or Benavidez. Edgar Berlanga has been mentioned.

Even if the Berlanga option made some sense in strict boxing terms, it would unleash further criticism of Canelo. 

Safe to say, it would represent a concession, perhaps further confirmation, of what fans have been saying. To wit: Canelo is in decline.

Another factor: A decision between Bivol and Benavidez represents a choice between legacy and more money for a wealthy fighter who has always said he wants to make Mexican history.

History means Julio Cesar Chavez.

There’s an argument that Canelo has to avenge the loss Bivol if he wants even a chance at ever surpassing Chavez’ historic reign as Mexico’s best ever.

But Canelo-Bivol 2 ranks behind Canelo-Benavidez in terms of what fans want to see. Despite Bivol’s accomplished resume, Benavidez is simply better known, especially among Mexican and Mexican-American fans.

On social media, there’s not much clamor for Bivol-Canelo 2. But there is for Canelo-Benavidez, a natural extension of the Mexican-Mexican American rivalry

Lewkowicz knows that. That why he’s on the campaign trail.

Valdez-Navarrete Update

An intriguing Oscar Valdez-Emanuel Navarrete has figured to be a Phoenix fight since the bout was first mentioned as a possibility.

Valdez stood in the ring alongside Navarrete and said “Let’s do it, maybe right here in Arizona” after Navarrete kept the junior-lightweight fight alive with a surprisingly tough victory over Aussie stand-in Liam Wilson on Feb. 3 at Desert Diamond in Glendale.

Valdez, a Mexican Olympian who went to school in Tucson, did his part, showing no signs of a rib injury or rust throughout a solid decision over Adam Lopez in a Vegas rematch on May 20.

Top Rank is still planning for Valdez-Navarrete for August 12. Still, it’s not official. It could still happen at Desert Diamond or at Footprint Center, the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix. As of Thursday, both were still available for the projected date.

ReplyForward

By Norm Frauenheim –

Chaos is boxing’s oxygen. If the last few months are a sign, the patient is breathing. Maybe even thriving.

The latest indication is news Thursday from Terence Crawford and Errol Spence that they’ll be fighting July 29.

Just a week after the controversy surrounding Devin Haney’s unanimous decision over Vasiliy Lomachenko erupted, Crawford and Spence took to Instagram to say they have a deal.

The announcement included a PBC poster, betting odds and just about everything else that would represent some sort of confirmation in any other world.

But this is boxing, so caveat emptor. Given the abortive Crawford-Spence negotiations last fall and the subsequent mess of premature reports and denials, skepticism is healthy. Make that necessary.

Every expectation should come with the warning that no fight is real until you hear an opening bell. For fans, that one is a little bit like a referee’s directive: Defend yourself at all times. Not everyone does, of course.

Opening bell was still 66 days away from the moment when Crawford and Spence made their announcement. In a business ruled by chaos, that’s a lot of time, meaning a whole lot can still go wrong.

That said, this round of Crawford-Spence news seems to indicate that the long-awaited welterweight fight on Showtime pay-per-view at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena is as close as it’s ever been.

“Time to reel in the big fish,’’ Crawford said in his post. “No more talking. Let’s get it.

“Everybody come out, show support, and watch me fry this fish.’’

Hopefully, this is not another fish story, as in another big one got away. Guess here: It’s not. At best, both Crawford and Spence are near the end of their respective primes. Crawford, 35, will be 36 in September. Spence, 33, will be 34 in March.

To extend Crawford’s analogy, it’s time to fish or cut bait. It’s their last chance to secure a true legacy.

It’s fair to wonder how they reached their agreement. Last fall, it looked as if Crawford-Spence would be just another big fight that never got made. The career clock exerts its own urgency, of course.

But there’s more to it than that. At the time the deal fell through about seven months ago, it looked as is if the possibility was dead.

Still, Crawford vowed he would continue to pursue the date. But the numbers just weren’t promising. Neither Crawford nor Spence has ever done well enough on pay-per-view to support an agreement that reportedly includes eight-figure purses for each.

Crawford’s best PPV is a reported 135,000 for a 10^th-round stoppage of Shawn Porter in November 2021. That fell 15,000 short of the 150,000 break-even mark.

Spence’s PPV high is reported to be between 300,000 and 350,000 for a split-decision over Porter in September 2019.

Those numbers just said the market wasn’t there.

Then, Tank Davis-Ryan Garcia happened on April 22. The fight itself disappointed. Davis forced Garcia into a seventh-round surrender. But the PPV number exceeded every expectation. Tank-Garcia did a reported 1.2 million.

It was a number that said a viable market is still there, hungry and willing to pay for the right fight.

Is Crawford-Spence that fight?

About that, there are questions.

But the marketing has been there, front and center, even before negotiations failed last fall.

Like it or not, there’s no market for a fight without outrage from fans and media these days. That might lead to a Lomachenko-Haney rematch. Maybe, the scoring wasn’t a robbery. But no rematch would rob the game and its fans.

All the while, social-media anger at Crawford and Spence never really vanished. The echoes are still there. They’ll be easy enough to stir up all over again.

The chaos is still there, a sure sign that the market is too. Enter at your own risk.

LAS VEGAS –If this was chess, TheGrandMaster got robbed.

That at least, was the verdict from an angry crowd that booed a unanimous decision handed down by three judges in favor of Devin Haney over Vasiliy Lomachenko Saturday night in a contentious pay-per-view fight for the undisputed title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The chants of Loma, Loma quickly turned to boos when the scorecards were announced. It was 115-113, 116-112, 115-113, all for Haney. On the 15 Rounds card, it was 116-112 for Lomachenko. 

The outrage reflects what was a tough fight to score. It also proved that boxing isn’t chess. It’s subjective. 

Checkmate only happens on a game board. 

On the canvas, just about anything can happen.

And it  did throughout Haney-Lomachenko in a bout that included more subtle twists and turns than anything wild. To wit: There were no decisive knockdowns. There was just a lot of footwork and counters.

In the beginning the subtlety seemed to belong to Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs), who appeared to dictate pace while landing purposeful jabs. Early on, it looked as if Haney (30-0, 15 KOs)  was confused. Slowly and subtly, however, the momentum appeared to shift, slowly towards Haney, who seemed to control the center of the ring with superior size and strength. He was beginning to land body punches.

From their ringside seats, the judges saw what fans in the upper deck didn’t. Haney was scoring, but not enough to convince those fans or Lomachenko.

“I don’t want to talk about [the decision].” Lomachenko said. “All the people saw what happened today. I think I showed that I can still be in boxing. I’m in good shape now. And see you next time.”

“I can’t talk about this right now. It’s not a comfortable moment for me. Thank you to everyone who came. Before, I thought he would be better. He’s a tough fighter. He’s a good fighter.  But he’s not a pound-for-pound fighter.”

Haney, of course saw it differently. He believes his destiny is to be the very best, pound-for-pound. He was modest about his decision over Lomahenko. He heard the boos, too. But he also believed his destiny was still there, still intact.

“He’s a crafty fighter,” Haney said. “He turns it up in the championship rounds. I just have to take my hat off to him. He’s a great fighter.

“This is all experience. Me and my team are going to go back to the house, watch the fight and reflect on it. I’ve been at 135 (lightweight) for a long, long time. 

“This is my 30^th fight. I’ve been here at 135 since I was 16 years old. We’re going to go back to the lab and figure out what’s next.”

Oscar Valdez back with unanimous decision

Oscar Valdez Jr. was back, back to rediscover himself.

Mission accomplished.

Valdez (31-1, 23 KOs) did it Saturday night in a rematch against Adam Lopez, who knocked him down and might have left him with some hard questions a couple of years ago.

He’ll never erase the knockdown. But he answered some of the questions with a solid performance in winning a 98-92, 98-91, 97-93 decision over Lopez in a fight before the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Devin Haney rematch at the MGM Grand.

It wasn;t always easy. Then again, it never is for the resilient Valdez, who was fighting for the first time since Shakur Stevenson beat him badly 13 months ago.

Above all, his victory over Lopez was a sure sign that Valdez is still a contender at junior-lightweight. In beating Lopez, he resurrected the possibility of an intrigving bout with fellow Mexican Emanuel Navarrete.

An earlier date with Navarrete in Glendale at Desert Diamond Arena near Phoenix was put on hold because Valdez hurt his ribs in a fall down some stairs. But the possibility is back on. Now, Top Rank is looking to stage Valdez-Navarrete in August.

 A re-energized Valdez  was there Saturday in the opening rounds. There was some familiar power in his left hand. There was also a precise, purposeful jab. He put Lopez on his back foot, the first step in an early retreat. 

But the younger Lopez flashed some of his aggression, stepping forward midway through the third and again late in the fourth with punches powerful enough for Valdez to be wary. Valdez continued to move forward. But he had to be careful that he wasn’t moving into a trap. Lopez appeared to gain some momentum in the fourth and again in the fifth. But it slowed when Valdez landed a couple of stinging left hands.

In the sixth, Lopez began to move, side to side. Back and forth. Always on his toes. It was a dance that forced the older Valdez into a chase. Catch me, if you can. In the sixth, Valdez could not.

In the seventh and eighth, Lopez ( 16-5, 6 KOs) continued to move his feet. It was elusive and – at times — effective. Yet it seemed to frustrate only the Valdez fans, many of whom had traveled to Vegas from his Mexican hometown, Nogales, south of Tucson . They chanted: “Oscar, Oscar.” They also booed Lopez. All the while, Valdez, true to the bulldog-like tattoo on  his chest, moved forward, ever forward.

In the tenth and final rounds, Valdez’ stubborn patience paid off. He took the spring out of Lopez’s feet, rocking him repeatedly with left hands. Both fighters tripped and tumbled onto the canvas like pro wrestlers once. Then, Lopez slipped, apparently tripping over his own feet.

In the end, only Valdez was still standing, a winner for the 31st time in a long career

Raymond Muratalia wins 2nd-round TKO

Raymond Muratalia talked about delivering a statement.

He did.

He delivered a couple of them.

First, he blew away Jeremia Nakathila within two rounds, a quick TKO that helped support his stated claim on being among the best lightweights.

Then, he stated he wanted the winner of the fight that was about to happen between Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko for the undisputed title Saturday night at the MGM Garden Garden Arena.

“I think I sent a big message to the lightweight division,” Muratalia (18-0, 15 KOs) said. “Nobody has ever stopped Nakathila. I just stopped him in the second round. I think that’s a huge statement.”

“I want the winner of the main event, That’s who I want.”

Nakathila (23-3, 19  KOs), of Namibia, never had much of a chance against the fighter from Fresno, Calif., who trapped him in the corner midway through the second round and unleashed a succession of blows, Referee Robert Hall stepped in and ended it at 2:46 of the round.

Junto Nakatani delivers scary KO

In the beginning, it was one sided. In the end, it was scary.

From start to finish, Junto Nakatani controlled all of it, knocking down Andrew Moloney in the second round, breaking him down with almost clinical efficiency in the middle rounds, flooring him again in the eleventh and then finishing him in the twelfth with punch that left the Aussie flat on his back for several perilous moments.

Moloney never had a chance in a title fight featured on the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko card Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. But he had plenty of courage, enough to endanger him against the proficient Nakatani (25-0,19 KOs), the World Boxing Organization’s new junior-bantamweight champion.

The finishing blow was set up by a couple of glancing right hands from Nakatani. He ducked once, then landed a glancing right. He ducked again, landing another. Moloney (26-3, 16 KOs) dropped his hands, leaned forward and directly into an incoming left. It looked as if he was unconscious before he hit the canvas and rolled flat onto his back.

He stayed there motionless until he was helped onto a stool, looking as if he had no clue where he was. Then, there was a glimmer of recognition He was helped to his feet. The crowd applauded. Then, cheered. Then, exhaled in relief.

Rosenberger fights Al Walsh to standstill in split draw

Daniel Rosenberger knows the name. Knows what it means. Ali is boxing royalty.

But for eight rounds he wouldn’t be intimidated by the name and all it represents.

Nico Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s grandson, was just another fighter to Rosenberger and a growing crowd of fans on the Vasiliy Lomachenko–Devin Haney undercard Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Rosenberger (13-9-5, 4 KOs) a middleweight from Youngstown Ohio, fought Ali Walsh to a standstill — a split draw. A debatable one, too. 

In his nine-fight career, it was the first blemish on Ali Walsh’s career. But the blemish could have been worse. It could have been a loss. Ali Walsh (8-0-1, 5 KOs), of Las Vegas, mounted an aggressive assault in the middle rounds. But he appeared to tire over the last two. That’s when Rosenberger backed him up and rocked him, but apparently not often enough to gain an edge on the cards.

Emiliano Vargas wins second-round TKO

It was quick. It was efficient. Lethal, too.

Emiliano Vargas (5-0, 3 KOs), an unbeaten lightweight and the son of ex-welterweight great Fernando Vargas, threw two right hands and then unloaded a looping left that crashed onto  Rafael Juno’s midsection. 

Juno (3-1, 1 KO, of Houston, winced, then collapsed onto his side, beaten at 1:41 of the second round in the fourth bout on the Loma-Haney card.

Floyd Diaz wins debatable decision

Luis Fernando Saavedra (9-9, 3 KOs) challenged Diaz (9-0, 3 KOs) throughout eight rounds and appeared to beat him over several of those rounds, despite one-sided cards. The judges had 80-72, 79-73 80-72, all for  Diaz of Las Vegas

But the judging didn’t account for Saavedra’s aggressiveness throughout the third fight on the Loma-Haney card Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Round after round, he pursued and Diaz retreated into what was a debatable decision

Lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason aces to an 8-0 record

Lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason has raced through his brief career, making it look easy.

That didn’t change Saturday in the second fight on a card featuring Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

For five rounds, Mason (8-0, 7 KOs), of Cleveland, scored at will against Desmond Lyons (8-3-, 2 KOs) of South Carolina. Then in the sixth, Lyons kicked it into another gear, unloading  a succession of shots at a blinding rate that left Lyons defenseless and finished at 32 seconds of the round.

Middleweight prospect Amari Jones scores impressive TKO

It was first bell, a good time to say hello.

Middleweight prospect Amari Jones (9-0, 8 KOs) did, capitalizing on the opportunity with a thorough display of his versatility, power and speed in a sixth-round TKO of Chino Hill (8-3-1, 6 KOs) in the opening bout on the card featuring Devin Haney-versus-Vasiliy Lomachenko Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Jones, of Oakland CA, rocked Hill, of Davenport Iowa, with repeated right hands through the five rounds. In the sixth and final round, Jones, a Haney stablemate, went southpaw, finishing Hill with a multiple-punch combination. Referee Mike Ortega ended it at 1:16 of the round.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Waist-high chess pieces decorate a media room that includes posters that have Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko standing on a checker board.

It’s a good way to sell a game.

But now there’s a shove that reminds us it’s not.

It’s a fight.

At a so-called ceremonial weigh-in Friday at the MGM Grand, Haney went off script and perhaps out of character, shoving Lomachenko halfway across the stage and into the arms of his handlers.

It’s a good thing they were there. They caught him before momentum from the shove might have sent the Ukrainian tumbling off the stage and onto the floor.

Lomachenko, who underwent shoulder surgery a couple of years ago, could have been hurt, perhaps badly enough to jeopardize an ESPN+ pay-per-view bout ($59.99) Saturday night (7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET) for the undisputed lightweight title.

He wasn’t. There was no injury. Instead, there was a smile. For Lomachenko, the shove was a sign.

“Because he’s mine,’’ said Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs), a betting underdog who was suddenly sounding more confident than ever at his chance of upsetting the bigger Haney (29-0, 15 KOs). “Now, he’s mine.’’

Interpreting a shove is little bit like trying to read tea leaves. Who knows? At 24, Haney is still maturing. He’s unbeaten. He has all four of the relevant 135-pound belts. He’s a young fighter, known for his poise and discipline. Nobody ever foresaw a shove. But he’s never been on the sport’s biggest stage.

Until now.

For the clever, accomplished Lomachenko, it was a sign that Haney can’t withstand the pressure.

“Because he’s scared,’’ Lomachenko said. “He’s scared.’’

Predictably, Haney had his own interpretation. The shove was an introduction. He described it as the opening gesture in the next chapter to his unfolding career.

“The time has finally come,’’ said Haney, who was at 134.9 pounds, a tenth of a pound heavier than Lomachenko, in the official weigh-in about seven hours before the headline-making shove. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s been four years. I’ve always dreamed of, you know, facing off with him.

‘’…That was just the start. You see how easy I pushed him? He’s a smaller man and I’m gonna impose my will on him.

“It’s about legacy. This is a dream for me. You know, I’ve been wanting this fight for a long, long time. And it’s finally here.

“I cannot wait to show how great Devin Haney is. This is a fight that will bring out my greatness.”

The unscripted moment happened during the ritual face-off for the cameras. First, Haney started talking trash. Then suddenly, he placed his hands on Lomachenko — one on each shoulder — and pushed with power that needed no interpretation.

On this chessboard, more violence looms. 

Photo by Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – It was first mentioned about four years ago. It didn’t happen then. But the possibility was never forgotten, cast aside like so much else in a business known more for what doesn’t happen than what does.

Vasiliy Lomachenko-versus-Devin Haney was always there, always a fight to be made because of singular skill instead of the usual hype.

Hype still sells, of course. A tangible reminder of that was there just a month ago in Tank Davis’ stoppage of Ryan Garcia. Pay-per-view, it was a winner. It’s hard to argue with a reported million buys and counting.

On the artistic scale, however, what transpired within the ropes was forgettable. There’s no demand for a sequel. Don’t expect it to get any consideration for Fight of the Year. Garcia’s seventh-round surrender was a blowout. Thanks for watching. And buying.

Twenty-eight days later, Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) and Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) meet Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a lightweight fight that’s not been preceded by over-the-top insults or the social-media army that follows them

It’s also hard to predict how ESPN+’s pay-per-view telecast ($59.99, 7 pm PT/10 pm ET) will fare. Best guess: It won’t begin to approach the Tank-Garcia number. The Lomachenko-Haney posters include a couple of chess pieces. Chess attracts a crowd more interested in skill than screaming.

It’s on that skill scale, however, that Lomachenko-Haney figures to score. Artistically, it promises to be a hit. All the elements are there for what could be a technical masterpiece, a back-and-forth dance between lightweights with quick feet and quicker minds.

That’s not to say there hasn’t been some rhetoric. This is boxing, after all. Instead of trash, however, this talk qualifies as the psychological byplay that precedes any opening bell to a significant fight for an undisputed title.

To wit: Haney calls Lomachenko “a dirty fighter.” He tells him that he knows Lomachenko is training to “hit him on the break.’’  

Lomachenko looks back at him as though the Ukrainian has heard it all. At 35-years-old, he has.

The classically-schooled Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and perhaps the greatest Olympic boxer ever, has never been called dirty.

Dirty, perhaps, is another word for clever. Lomachenko is certainly that.

Haney might be throwing a psychological jab in an attempt to make Lomachenko think he’s not quite the accomplished tactician he believes himself to be.

Haney also might be asking the assigned referee, Harvey Dock of New Jersey, to take a closer look, especially during moments when Lomachenko steps inside. He’ll have to.

Lomachenko, who will be remembered as one of history’s great featherweights, has a 5 ½-inch disadvantage in reach. Expect him to step inside often. Expect Dock to separate them often. The key is what happens before and perhaps at the moment Dock steps between them.

If Haney can disrupt Lomachenko’s thinking early, he might have the cornerstone to victory. A couple of days before opening bell, betting odds suggested the fight will be close. Very close. From punch to psychology, any move – no matter how subtle – could prove decisive.

Haney doesn’t underestimate the challenge that awaits him. He’s never faced a smarter, more experienced foe.

The Lomachenko is about 11 years older, yet has 10 fewer pro bouts than Haney, who will turn 25 in November.

Haney has youth and size, a powerful, perhaps insurmountable combo. That double-edged advantage might be enough for the younger man to win a fight with enormous stakes.

Haney, currently under contract to Top Rank, will be a free agent after the bout. Against Lomachenko, he’s fighting for a victory that will enhance name recognition and pound-for-pound credibility. The bigger the victory, the brighter future for Haney.

It’s why he likes to mention that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum once compared Lomachenko to Muhammad Ali, acknowledged as The Greatest. He’s fighting to claim some of his own greatness

“I want to do more than beat him, I want to beat him up,’’ Haney told ESPN.

There are questions about whether he can. If there’s anybody who knows how to keep a fight close, it’s Lomachenko. There are also questions about how difficult it will be for Haney to make weight, 135 pounds. The official weigh-in is scheduled for Friday morning. The televised weigh-in late in the day is strictly for show.

A battle to make weight could drain Haney, who might make the jump to junior-welterweight (140) after the bout. Lomachenko knows that and probably has another tactic up his ever-resilient sleeve for that possibility.

Haney has shown great poise and discipline throughout his unbeaten career. He doesn’t get rattled. Guess here, he still won’t in a defining bout against his toughest foe ever.

Haney, by split-decision.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It was a homecoming that produced mixed reviews and perhaps a dilemma.

The mix, some praise and lots of criticism, was no surprise. Canelo Alvarez had to know that was coming. It was guaranteed the day Canelo signed to fight John Ryder, a tough fighter yet a second-tier talent.

Canelo beat him, bloodied him, in a one-sided decision last Saturday in his first fight in Mexico in more than a decade. The win was expected. So, too, was a knockout. The KO didn’t happen and therein rests the potential dilemma.

Who’s next?

Dmitry Bivol?

Or David Benavidez?

What’s next?

Legacy?

Or more money?

Canelo emerged from the predictable triumph at super-middleweight still sounding certain about his plans for a September rematch in a chance to avenge his loss to Bivol at light-heavyweight a year ago. It’s consistent with what he has been saying for weeks. It’s also consistent with his long-stated pursuit of legacy.

For years, he has said he wants to make history. If Forbes is accurate, he probably doesn’t need to make much more money.

Dollar-for-dollar, he’s a contender, according to Forbes, which produces a list more valuable than any pound-for-pound ranking. He’s fifth on Forbes’ latest edition of the world’s top earning athletes. The magazine reports he earned $110- million over the last 12 months.

Coincidently, he’s also at fifth in a lot of the pound-for-pound rankings. He’s slipped, or at least that’s the emerging consensus from media and bloggers who concluded that no KO of Ryder is a sure sign of decline in the Mexican’s long, rich career. It was also judged to be a sign that Canelo can’t beat Bivol at any weight.

For a man with just about everything, Bivol represents the one piece missing from a Canelo empire that includes real estate and his own line of gas stations. Bivol stands in the way of the legacy he pursues.

Canelo wants to be remembered as the best Mexican ever. That means supplanting Julio Cesar Chavez, for so long an enduring piece of Mexican history. Chavez is more than the face of Mexican boxing. He is its edifice.

Beat Bivol in a risky rematch, and Canelo will have carved out his own claim. For him, history means only one thing: Chavez. But there are doubts, more now than before the comeback against Ryder.

There are also complications about whether an agreement with Bivol can negotiated. Canelo, proud and stubborn, says he wants the rematch to be at the same weight, 175 pounds. But Bivol has been quoted as saying he wants it at 168. The light-heavyweight champion says he would be further motivated by a chance to take Canelo’s undisputed title.

However, one belt might not be there. The World Boxing Council has said it would not allow Bivol to fight for one of its titles because he’s Russian. The WBC has banned Russians because of Putin’s ongoing war with the Ukraine.

Even at the lighter weight, Bivol would still be the much bigger fighter. Barring some rehydration clause on the morning of the bout, Bivol’s size would still be an imposing challenge.

Canelo has heard that talk. It’s been impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, there’s the Benavidez option, who is still at 168 pounds.

The aggressive Benavidez is the WBC’s mandatory challenger for that piece of Canelo’s undisputed title. The Phoenix fighter is known for his volume punching and tireless pursuit. He moves forward, ever forward. He’s more powerful than Bivol, yet lacks some of the Russian’s agile defense. He might offer a better shot at victory for Canelo than Bivol ever would.

Benavidez might also offer a chance at bigger money than Bivol, the reigning Fighter of the Year, yet still an unknown Russian. Bivol has been inactive over the last year despite his upset of Canelo.

Benavidez is Mexican-American. He talks trash; Bivol speaks Russian.

Early Thursday, Benavidez got headlines for calling out Canelo on his Instagram account. It only would have been news if he hadn’t.

“Let’s give the people what they want to see,’’ Benavidez said all over again

From the promotional and pay-per-view perspective, Benavidez is the perfect opponent for a bout surrounding Mexico’s September 16 Independence Day.

I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again: In the history of Mexican-versus-Mexican American boxing, Canelo-versus-Benavidez could be the biggest since Chavez-versus-Oscar De La Hoya. It would generate huge money.

Canelo has plenty of that. Only the last piece to a legacy is missing.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s getting hard to identify the so-called face of boxing. One week, it looks a lot like Gervonta Davis. Next week, maybe it’ll look like Canelo Alvarez all over again.

Let’s just say it’s fractured.

Alvarez, at least, promises to erase the doubt Saturday on pay-per-view in a Mexican homecoming against John Ryder in a comeback that might help identify how much is left in Canelo’s long, legendary career.

It also figures to identify who’s next.

A couple of days before opening bell against Ryder in a DAZN super-middleweight bout (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) near Guadalajara, next continues to look a lot like Dmitry Bivol, the light-heavyweight champion whose upset of Canelo in May left persistent questions about the Mexican’s future.

The bout against Ryder, a 16-to-1 underdog, looks to be the first step toward a chance for Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) to set the record straight with an avenging victory. 

Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) could change all of that, or at least just add more questions. But don’t bet on it, especially in front of an expected crowd of more than 50,000 proud Mexican partisans at a soccer stadium near Canelo’s hometown.

Canelo, who is coming off wrist surgery, reiterated his plans to fight Bivol during a session with reporters Thursday. He repeated that he wants the rematch at light-heavyweight again. There had been some talk, mostly from promoter Eddie Hearn, about super-middleweight.

But, no, Canelo said, he wants everything to be the same on every scale. Only the result changes, he vowed. At light-heavy, his 168-pound titles also would not be in jeopardy.

Last week, World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman said he would not allow Bivol, a Russian, to fight for a belt sanctioned by the WBC. The Mexico City-based acronym has banned Russians from its rankings because of Putin’s war against the Ukrainians.

It’s a move that probably assures mandatory challenger David Benavidez will have to wait until at least next year. But there’s a silver lining. Finally, Benavidez now appears to be on Canelo’s agenda. After a year of dismissing Benavidez, Canelo mentioned him as a real possibility Thursday.

After Bivol, the plan is to fight Benavidez, he said.

“You know, I fight everybody,” Canelo said. “When Gennadiy Golovkin first appeared in the boxing community, I was the guy to face him. Same thing with Benavidez.’’

Plans are like faces, of course. They change. For the first time, however, it looks as if Benavidez’ long, often impatient pursuit of a bout with Canelo will be realized.

Yet, it also represents a potential risk for the Phoenix-born super-middleweight, whose credibility and celebrity were further enhanced by his unanimous decision over Caleb Plant on March 25.

It could mean a dangerous date against David Morrell, who is coming off an eye-opening first-round blowout of Yamaguchi Falcao on the undercard of Tank Davis’ stoppage of Ryan Garcia on April 22.

Morrell, who called out Benavidez after the victory, looks like a threat, perhaps the riskiest date in Benavidez’ own fight to become a face of the game.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It wasn’t a classic. Roberto Duran’s place as history’s greatest lightweight remains undisputed.

But it was a fight for the ages.

Ages 18-to-30.

Tank Davis’ victory over Ryan Garcia in a two-knockdown, seventh-round stoppage won’t be remembered for its competitive drama, yet it stands as a significant milestone.

The reported pay-per-view numbers add up to a victory in what was another example of boxing’s inexhaustible resilience. It’s always getting up, forever coming back.

With Davis-Garcia, it did that all over again.

According to reports Wednesday from Boxing Scene, Fight Freaks Unite, CBS and Sports Business Journal, Saturday night’s heavily-hyped bout at Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena did about 1.2 million buys over two platforms, Showtime and DAZN.

There’s always skepticism about PPV reports based on anonymous sources, especially during an era when hackers stealing the signal often out-number the paying customers.

Even if the reported 1.2 million is an exaggeration and closer to 800,000, the bout figures to rank as a major success at a critical time.

Put it this way: The patient, which has been on life support or in the obituary column for years, still has a pulse.

In the months since talks for Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. fell apart, there were questions about whether the predicted doom was finally at boxing’s doorstep.

Tank-Garcia, which also included a $22.8-million live gate, says it’s not.

Now, there are even reports that the Crawford-Spence talks have resumed, perhaps for a fight later this year.

I’ll believe it only if I see them gloved up and stepping through the ropes. I also suspect many in the audience for Tank-Garcia feel the same way.

They’ve moved on, exasperated by tired speculation about Crawford-versus-Spence or Oleksandr Usyk-versus-Tyson Fury.

But moving on, it turns out, doesn’t have to be forever. The exasperated can be brought back into the building by the right fight.

Tank-Garcia was that fight.

That’s not to say it went off without problems. There’s widespread anger at DAZN. Subscribers complained they couldn’t get the live stream. Others said they were charged multiple times. DAZN got into the business saying pay-per-view is dead. The streaming service then tried to make sure that it is.

Still, there are options – Showtime and ESPN — for a younger demographic with an interest resurrected by one fight that unlocked an appetite for a few more.

There’s Tank Davis against the winner of Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko on ESPN May 20. There’s Tank-versus-Shakur Stevenson.

Tank is 28; Garcia is 24. A generation of fans, weary of an older generation’s failure to make fights happen, identify with them.

They also bought into their willingness to do what Spence and Crawford, Usyk and Fury haven’t. They fought.

Tank-Garcia looks to be a welcome goodbye to a generation ruled by Floyd Mayweather’s risk-to-reward ratio. Increasingly, it became No Risk, All Reward. All Prize, No Fight. That’s not a ratio. It’s a rip-off. Young fans weren’t buying.

But the Tank-Garcia bout awakened an emerging market, or at least awakened the networks and promoters to a younger audience, impatient for a genuine reason to buy.

In news releases before opening bell, Showtime called the Tank-Garcia card “generational.’’ It was as if the network was searching for a new one.

It found one.

On both sides of the ropes. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

The last time Elijah Garcia opened the show he proved to be a showstopper. He said a memorable hello to a new audience with a quick goodbye to an unbeaten veteran.

It was an impressive introduction, one that Garcia can continue with another hello to an even bigger audience, again in the opening pay-per-view bout in what is being called boxing’s biggest card so far this year.

This time, Elijah Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs) can deliver the opening salvo on the much-anticipated and highly-hyped Tank Davis-versus-Ryan Garcia clash on pay-per-view ($84.99) Saturday night (5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET) at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

It’s significant for lots of reasons. Showtime is calling it a “generational” fight, meaning it’s time for the young guns to move in and the aging ones to move on.  The 28-year-old Tank and the 24-year-old Ryan Garcia are at the defining edge of what might be boxing’s passing of the torch.

It’s a good place for a promising 19-year-old to be. For Garcia, it’s the only place. The teenaged middleweight from Arizona can further enhance his credentials as a fighter to follow for the next several years

“My last fight was an opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up, just like this fight,’’ Elijah Garcia said during a media workout Wednesday at the MGM Grand. “I’m still learning. This is a huge card right here. I am so happy to be a part of it.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before, but it is not as hard as I thought it would be so far.’’

Elijah Garcia expects the hardest part to happen at opening bell against Kevin Salgado, a Mexican middleweight living in San Antonio with a taste of world-class experience.

Salgado’s lone loss is to Joey Spencer, who lost a seventh-round TKO to junior middleweight prospect and fellow Arizona fighter Jesus Ramos March 25 on a card featuring Phoenix super-middleweight David Benavidez’ decision over Caleb Plant at Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Salgado (15-1-1, 10 KOs), who is listed as Kevin Salgado Zambrano on BoxRec, is more than five years older than Elijah Garcia. Then again, most everybody in the pro ranks are older than Elijah. He likes it that way.

“This is going to be a war,’’ said the young middleweight, who wears his Phoenix roots with city’s 602 area code stitched across his waist band “Someone is going to get knocked out.’’ 

Less than two months ago, Elijah Garcia opened the pay-per-view portion of a card featuring featherweight Brandon Figueroa’s stoppage of Mark Magsayo on March 4

The bout looked risky. His opponent was 27-years old, unbeaten and known for power. Elijah Garcia knocked out Amilcar Vidal within four rounds.

With the victory, Garcia did more than introduce himself as a prospect. He said hello to fans who didn’t know him. He also introduced heightened expectations, both for himself and newfound followers.

“Being a main event fighter is everybody’s dream,’’ he said. “My goal is doing it even sooner than [Tank] Davis and [Ryan] Garcia did.’’

Time to say hello again.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s called a tune-up. A long-awaited homecoming. But it’s beginning to look as if Canelo Alvarez’ fight with John Ryder on May 6 might prove to be more than just that.

The bout, Canelo’s first since his trilogy decision over Gennadiy Golovkin in September, is turning into a key date that could set the stage for the next and perhaps final chapter in a long, legendary career.

For weeks, the bout has been advertised as a way for Canelo to come back from surgery on his left wrist.

After a seven-month layoff, it’s a chance to see whether the wrist is repaired and the energy restored. In Canelo’s first fight in Mexico in more than a decade, it’s also an opportunity to say thanks to his fans in hometown Guadalajara.

It’s still all of those things. But increasingly there’s more at stake. More to consider.

There’s David Benavidez, who emerged from his unanimous decision over Caleb Plant on March 25 with unmistakable momentum. Then, there’s light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, who has been on the sidelines longer than Canelo in spite of his career-defining upset of the undisputed super-middleweight champion in a 175-pound last May.

The clamor for more Benavidez from his growing fan base and Bivol’s disappointing inactivity despite Fighter-of-the-Year recognition for the Canelo stunner are creating crosswinds and perhaps a crossroads for Canelo.

What’s next?

That plan looked simple enough before Benavidez-Plant. On Canelo’s to-do list, the first item was beating Ryder without complication and with only the roar of an adoring hometown crowd. Second item: A rematch with Bivol in September in a bid to correct the record with an avenging victory that would silence the Canelo doubters.

Before and after Benavidez plowed through Plant in the late rounds of a so-called 12-round eliminator, Canelo insisted that his 2023 calendar was booked.

Benavidez would have to continue waiting until at least next year. But Benavidez’ victory over Plant represents something of a coming-out party for the Phoenix-born fighter. There’s leverage in that. His growing number of fans are amplifying his call for a Canelo fight this year. Put it this way: His victory over Plant has put him squarely in the argument and will keep him there.

In on-line and social media, it’s an argument that – like Benavidez — won’t go away.  Just three weeks after Benavidez-Plant and three weeks before Canelo-Ryder, it continues. It’s sure to still be there, part of the proceedings at opening bell in Guadalajara.

It’s a debate fueled, first and foremost, by business interests. In prize fighting, follow the prize.

Despite Bivol’s comprehensive ring skill, he’s doesn’t have Benavidez’ emerging name recognition, especially among Mexican and Mexican-American fans. A further complication is Bivol’s Russian citizenship during Putin’s war with the Ukraine. Both loom as explanations for his inability to stay active in the wake of a victory that should have created opportunity. It just didn’t.

Depending on how Canelo does against Ryder, there are now reports that Showtime might make “an aggressive” offer to Canelo to fight Benavidez in late 2023. Bivol-Canelo would be interesting, but Benavidez-Canelo is the path to the biggest money, both for the fighters and the networks

But beware. In February 2022, Benavidez promoter/manager Sampson Lewkowicz said he had made an offer to Canelo to fight Benavidez in the fall of last year. It was aggressive, as in $50-million aggressive, according to Lewkowicz.

Canelo declined then.

He might decline again and instead pursue a rematch with Bivol. He has said he would want the rematch to again be at 175 pounds. His current promoter, Eddie Hearn, has mentioned super-middle, 168, which would put Canelo’s titles at risk.

But the biggest risk would be another loss, dealing a huge blow to Canelo’s career and long-stated pursuit of history. It would also damage the big-money potential of an immediate fight with Benavidez.

Already, there are hints of what many inside boxing have been saying since May. To wit: He can’t beat Bivol at either weight, 168 or 175. At opening bell, the Russian would still be the much bigger man.

Echoes of that opinion were evident last week in comments from Bivol manager Viktor Kornilov

“I don’t think Canelo’s team wants this fight and everything will be done to try to avoid this rematch and I don’t blame them,’’ Kornilov told RingTV.com.

Kornilov preceded that comment by saying that Canelo, Hearn, DAZN and fans wanted the fight.

“I do believe that Eddie, the fans and DAZN want the rematch,” Kornilov said. “There is no doubt this fight is attractive, as this is a fight Canelo clearly lost by majority of the rounds. I am sure Canelo personally wants revenge as well.’’

But, Kornilov continued:

“At the same time …” he said like somebody who could foresee a crossroads.

By Norm Frauenheim –

For now, the David Benavidez-Canelo Alvarez possibility isn’t about boxing. It’s about politics.

The debate goes on.

And on.

It also brings to mind an old line. To wit: You can’t play boxing. But you can play politics. Turns out, Benavidez is playing them very well.

In the ring, I’m not sure he could beat Canelo, at least not right now. But he’s winning the argument in terms of support that continues to grow in the wake of his unanimous decision over Caleb Plant on March 25 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

His performance was not his best. At the post-fight news conference, the Phoenix-born fighter said: “I could have done better.’’ His long-time fans have seen him better.

Since the 117-111, 116-112, 115-113 cards were announced, however, it’s become increasingly evident that the victory on Showtime was, far and away, his biggest. It boosted his celebrity and credibility like no other bout on his 27-fight resume.

It was also the latest step in his stubborn march forward, always forward. It affirmed his credentials in the ring and signaled some newfound power at the box office.

Who knows about the pay-per-view numbers? They don’t mean much anymore, not during an era when so many are armed with the decryption tech needed to rob the telecast.

But he and Plant did sell out 13,865 available seats at the Grand Garden Arena on a busy weekend in Vegas. The NCAA Basketball Tournament and Taylor Swift were in town.

Canelo and Eddie Hearn had long argued that Benavidez wasn’t worthy. They said he hadn’t fought anybody. It was another way of saying nobody really knew him. But that roaring crowd a couple of weeks ago said something else.

They do know him and they like what they see. Increasingly, they’re buying Benavidez and not the tired Canelo/Hearn argument. I’m not sure exactly what Hearn and Canelo will say next. But it might be hard to hear them

Even fighters, active and retired, are beginning to amplify the public sentiment. Ex-heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder, who was at ringside March 25, said Benavidez would be too big and strong for Canelo, the undisputed super-middleweight champion.

Then, there’s retired, multi-division champion Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s questioning his fellow Mexican legend publicly.

“I’m going to give my point of view: As champion I would show the world that, if Benavidez hasn’t had opponents like me, then it would be an easy fight, because I show that he is not an opponent that is at my level and I can beat him,’’ Marquez told Mexican media. “I am at a higher level and I will show you that you will not beat me.”

That, and more, sets the stage for loud echoes from Benavidez’ victory over Plant and his growing fan base on May 6 in Guadalajara, where Canelo fights John Ryder for his first bout in his homeland in more than a decade. 

A month before opening bell, the criticism is already there. But it’s short-sided. Amend that. It’s unfair.

Canelo, who hasn’t fought since a trilogy victory over Gennadiy Golovkin in September, is coming off surgery on his left wrist. He should test it in a tune-up. He’d be stupid if he didn’t.

But what happens after that is fair game. If all goes well against Ryder, Canelo is already on record as saying he’ll fight Dmitry Bivol next September in a rematch of Bivol’s stunning upset of him at light-heavyweight.

The Bivol plan is loaded with potential complications. It’s still not clear whether Canelo would fight him again at light heavyweight (175 pounds) or at super-middleweight (168). If it’s 168, Canelo’s titles would be at risk.

There’s a reasonable argument that Canelo can’t beat him at either weight. One-seventy-five or 168, Bivol will still be the much bigger man at opening bell.

At any weight, the bout would resurrect the argument about Bivol’s Russian citizenship. For as long as Russians are killing Ukrainians in Putin’s unprovoked war, Ukraine will demand that all Russian athletes be banned. 

Bivol – promoted by Hearn, who also promotes Ryder — was a gentleman with no political comments before and after his first fight with Canelo in Vegas.

Yet, the Ukrainians, including Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, condemned the decision that allowed him to fight. If there’s a rematch, further condemnation is sure to follow, especially in the wake of a World Boxing Council decision to ban Russians from its rankings.

Why risk the controversy and another loss to a Russian who wouldn’t bring as many fans as the unbeaten Benavidez, a Mexican American in perhaps the biggest Mexican American-versus-Mexican fight since Oscar De La Hoya-versus-Julio Cesar Chavez?   

It’s just another question. But if you’re taking a poll, the guess here is that the majority would say don’t take the risk. Just go straight to the Benavidez-Canelo option. More money, more interest, is there than in Bivol-Canelo. Barring a crazy miracle from Ryder, the belts would still be there, too.

“If he wants to go with Bivol, then I think what’s going to happen is, maybe — because I’ve been the mandatory for the past three fights for the WBC belt, I think maybe he’ll get stripped of that,’’ Benavidez, a former two-time WBC champion, said Wednesday on The DAZN Boxing Show. “And I was hearing some talk saying he might get stripped of the WBA belt, too, if he doesn’t accept a fight with me.

“If he doesn’t get in the ring, it might be me versus David Morrell or me versus (Jermall) Charlo for the WBC and WBA belt. So, even if you take Canelo out of the equation, these are still huge fights for me. This is still my dream I’m chasing after. The WBA belt is a belt I’ve never had. I want to get the WBC back again, so I’ll be three-time world champion.

“That’s really all I’m in it for, I’m looking for these belts. There’s big things on the way.’’

Call it a good political jab. It’s landing, landing in a big way.

By Norm Frauenheim –

David Benavidez gained name recognition and some first-time recognition in pound-for-pound ratings with his victory over Caleb Plant, but he has yet to move into Canelo Alvarez’ plans for at least the next year.

Alvarez, who picked Benavidez to beat Plant, remained unmoved about whether Benavidez would be an option in a year when he’s scheduled to face John Ryder and plans for a rematch with Dmitry Bivol.

“I don’t say no to any fight,’’ Canelo said during a media workout in San Diego Wednesday, four days after Benavidez’s unanimous decision over Plant at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. “But I have goals this year. Then, we’ll see.”

Benavidez continued to call out Alvarez after his 117-111, 116-112, 115-13 scorecard victory over Plant, who Canelo beat in an 11th-round stoppage in 2021.

Showtime, which televised Benavidez-Plant on pay-per-view, will replay the bout this Saturday (April 1, 11:05 pm ET).

“He has to give me that shot now,” Benavidez said after a victory for a so-called mandatory shot at Canelo, the super-middleweight division’s undisputed champion. “That’s what everyone wants to see.’’

However, Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) also conceded that Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs), boxing’s pay-per-view leader, has options. For now, at least, it sounds as if Benavidez won’t be one of them until next year.

If all goes according to plan for Canelo, he’ll come out his of tune-up against Ryder in hometown Guadalajara with his surgically-repaired wrist intact.

Then, he’ll face Bivol, perhaps in September in hopes of avenging his stunning loss by unanimous decision to the Russian light-heavyweight champion last May.

It’s still not clear whether Canelo would fight Bivol again at light-heavy, 175 pounds, or negotiate a deal to face him at 168, which would put his super-middleweight titles in jeopardy.

There’s widespread doubt about whether Canelo can beat Bivol at any weight. At opening bell, Bivol would still be the much bigger man, regardless of the weight class.

If Bivol takes his super-middleweight belts, the reason for a mandatory goes away.

Still, there’s a ripening rivalry between Benavidez and Canelo. Benavidez-Plant proved to be dramatic, mostly because of anticipation that was heightened by a constant stream of trash talk. It was over-the-top, often tiresome. But it worked.

Also, Canelo-Benavidez looms as perhaps the best fight in the Mexican-versus-Mexican American rivalry since Julio Cesar Chavez-versus-Oscar De La Hoya.

Canelo has been Mexico’s most popular fighter for more than a decade. Benavidez’ popularity among Mexican-Americans continues to grow. He grew up in Phoenix. A lot of people from his old westside neighborhood were in the MGM Grand crowd, a big part of a sellout on a busy Vegas night when Taylor Swift was in town.

Benavidez lives near Seattle now. But his Phoenix roots are evident. The desert city’s name was stitched across the back of his trunks against Plant.

Last May, there were doubts about the Benavidez-Canelo possibility. After Benavidez blew out David Lemieux last May in Glendale – a Phoenix suburb, his manager/promoter Sampson Lewkowicz said it would never happen.

“A fantasy,’’ Lewkowicz said then.

But Lewkowicz has changed his mind.

“I have, because I don’t think Canelo has anywhere else to go,’’ he said after Benavidez-Plant. “Ask the fans.’’

They spoke, spoke loudly last Saturday. Now they’re asking:

When?

Only Canelo can answer that one.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Elijah Garcia, an emerging middleweight from Phoenix, will fight on the Tank Davis-Ryan Garcia card on April 22 against Kevin Salgado Zambrano, Garcia manager Anthony McDonald said.

Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs), who has dropped six of his last seven opponents, had announced on his web page that he would fight on the much-anticipated card on DAZN/Showtime pay-per-view at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. But it wasn’t clear who his opponent would be.

Garcia’s management had approached Shane Mosley Jr., son of Hall of Famer Sugar Shane Mosley.

“He declined,’’ McDonald said.

Zambrano (15-1-1, 10 KOs) is a 25-year-old fighter, born in Mexico City and now living in San Antonio. He’s 1-1-1 over his last three bouts.

Zambrano’s lone loss is to Joey Spencer, who lost a seventh-round TKO to junior-middleweight prospect and fellow Arizona fighter Jesus Ramos March 25 on a card featuring Phoenix super-middleweight David Benavidez’ decision over Caleb Plant at Vegas’ MGM Grand.

The 19-year-old Garcia, who is coming off an attention-grabbing fourth-round stoppage of formerly unbeaten Amilcar Vidal on March 4, is just the latest in a promising generation of fighters with AZ roots. He wears 602, the Phoenix area code, on his waistband.

LAS VEGAS –  It was contentious. It was surprising. It was ugly. It wasn’t everything David Benavidez thought it would be. Or promised it would be.

But it was a victory, a big one that enhanced his chances at climbing to the top of boxing’s marquee and into its pound-for-pound argument.

He beat Caleb Plant Saturday night, scoring a unanimous decision at the MGM Grand in Showtime pay-per-view bout. But it was neither the beat-down he vowed nor the blood-letting he threatened. Plant survived. His jaw stayed intact. He was still upright after six rounds. He didn’t go to the hospital.

Benavidez had promised to shatter that jaw. He said he would knock him out within six rounds. He promised him a trip to the emergency room. 

But, in the end, he hugged Plant. He praised him. Instead of contempt, there were congratulations.

“I would talk shit,” said Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOS), who had talked enough of it to fill a couple of metropolitan sewers. “But I like this guy now.”

It was an astonishing comment. Maybe,  peace-on-earth is possible, after all.. Benavidez and Plant had behaved as though they would be enemies until the bitter end. And that’s how the super-middleweight bout — a so-called title eliminator for a shot at undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez — began.

Just seconds before the opening bell echoed throughout a sold out arena, Referee Kenny Bayless ordered them to touch gloves, a gesture of respect. They didn’t.

For the next 12 rounds, however, they were forced to respect each other. Benavidez moved forward, stubbornly and seemingly sure that one of his promises would become reality. But Plant had other ideas and perhaps more resilience than the Phoenix-born fighter expected 

.

Plant ( 22-2, 13 KOs) threw body shots and moved around the ring, trying to take advantage of every inch in its 22-by-22 feet of real estate. Benavidez stalked and often mocked. He followed Plant to his corner after the ninth, talking to the back of Plant’s head as if to say the end was near. It wasn’t. 

Plant came roaring out of his corner for the 10th, throwing a low blow as a warning shot.

He wasn’t finished. But he was behind on the cards. Tim Ceathham scored it, 115-113. David Moretti had it 116-112. On Steve Weisfeld’s card, it was 117-111. All for Benavidez, whose size and strength were dominant factors over the five six rounds.

“I feel good, my mind’s right,” Plant said. “David is a helluva fighter. It’s a big rivalry but that’s what boxing is all about. We came here and settled it like men. I take nothing from David. We haven’t been the best of friends but we got into the ring and we settled it like men.”

In the super-middleweight division, there’s much more to settle, of course. For the 26-year Benavidez, the victory might represent the beginning of a new stage, especially if Canelo agrees to fight him.

“I just want to tell everyone that I have a lot of respect for Canelo Alvarez but he has to give me that shot now,” he said. “That’s what everyone wants to see. Let’s make it happen.

“I don’t think Canelo is trying to avoid me. I just feel like he has a lot of options. But now the fans are calling for this fight, the legends are calling for this fight, so let’s make it happen.”

Even Caleb Plant would agree.

Cheers welcomed Benvidez, the first to enter the jammed arena. There were boos for Plant, who He wasn;t far from his hometown. He grew up on on the westside of Phoenix. It sounded if a lot.

Third Benevidez beging to cuut off the ring during the round’s finl minute. In the opening    

Jesus Ramos wins dominant stoppage

Jesus Ramos moved up the scale, hoping to be a good fit.

For one night, at least, the fit looked to be perfect. 

For Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs), the prospects look promising at junior-middleweight.

Ramos, of Casa Grande AZ, dominated Joseph Spencer, forcing his corner to surrender at 1:25 of the seventh round in the final fight Saturday before Showtime’s Pay-Per-View biggie, David Benavidez-versus-Caleb Plant at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

It didn’t take long for Ramos, a former welterweight and Abel Ramos’ nephew, to show that he’s very comfortable at junior-middleweight. Very dangerous, too

Late in the first round, Ramos threw a short left that landed like the hammer on a  pulled trigger. It crashed off Spencer’s chin and sent him crashing onto the canvas. A resilient Spencer (16-1, 10 KOs) , of Fenton Mich., got up. But it also set up the inevitable. Ramos continued to walk down, push around Spencer before his corner told referee Tony Weeks “no mas.”

Chris Colbert gets ups from knockdown to win controversial decision 

Jose Valenzuela’s first impression rocked and rolled.

But Chris Colbert survived. Make that thrived.

Colbert got up from a first-round knockdown to win a controversial decision — 95-94 on all three cards — over Valenzuela Saturday night on the Showtime pay-per-view card featuring David Benavidez-versus-Caleb Plant.

A roaring crowd expressed its outrage over the decision from judges Glenn Feldman, Lias Giampa and Don Trella. Colbert stuck his tongue out at the booing fans and Valenzuela, junior-middleweight and Benavidez stablemate.

“You called me a loser,” Colbert screamed at Valenzuela.

An angry Valenzuela then looked at broadcaster Jim Gray as he prepared for an interview in the middle of the ring.

“Who do you think won,?” Valenzuela asked.

“I ask the questions,” Gray said..

There was no question about what happened during the fight’s first few seconds. The opening bell still echoed through the arena when Valenzuela landed a thunderbolt-like left. 

Colbert and Valenzuela heard the ref’s instructions.

They touched gloves.

Valenzuela dropped Colbert.

One-two-three,  all in one quick sequence.

Looking like the best leftie since Fernando, Valenzuela (12-2, 8 KOs) ducked and came up with a left that Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs) never saw. It was astonishing that Colbert got up. He calls himself Prime Time. He knew there was still some left in the hour glass and prove it repeatedly by coming back with solid shots from the second through the 10th rounds.

 He was up and on his feet, fighting back at about the same time former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder walked into the arena and toward his ringside seat.

Cody Crowley win emotional decision in punishing fight with Abel Ramos

Abel Ramos wanted to make a statement. 

Instead, he got one.

Cody Crowley delivered it repeatedly with stubborn  pressure and wicked uppercuts in a punishing majority decision over Ramos Saturday in the first televised bout on the Showtime pay-per-view card featuring David Benavidez-versus-Caleb Plant  at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

The bout, a WBC title eliminator, was close and somewhat controversial. Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs) was the winner on judge Chris Migliore’s card, 116-112. He he won on Steven Wiesfeld’s card, 11-113. However, judge Tim Cheatham scored it a draw, 115-115.

In the eleventh, it looked as if Ramos (27-6-2, 21 KOs) might have a chance. Ramos, of Casa Grande AZ, landed a short right that buckled Crowley’s knees. Referee Robert Hoyle ruled that Ramos had scored a knockdown. It looked as if  the Canadian touched the canvas with a glove as he tried to stay on his feet. But video replay showed that he had not.

The knockdown was overturned from ringside before the 12th and final round. . A punishing victory belonged to Crowley.

An emotional Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs) came into the welterweight title eliminator determined to win one for his late dad, who committed suicide in June. Crowley cried during news conferences when asked about him during news conferences before the welterweight bout.

Crowley was fighting for a lost dad. Fighting for his dad’s memory. And fighting to make a statement against the mental illness that led to his father’s tragic death.

Consider it delivered.

Kevin Gonzalez remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Jose Sanmartin in a super bantamweight fight.

Scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Gonzalez, 121.4 lbs of Culican, MEX is 26-0-1. Sanmartin, 121.8 lbs of Barranquilla, COL is 34-7-1.

Orestes Velazquez, a Cuban living in Miami, had advantages in reach, power and energy. 

That and more proved to be too much for Argentine Marcelino Lopez (37-3-1, 22 KOs) throughout 10-rounds of junior-welterweight bout, the first on card featuring David Benavidez-Caleb Plant Saturday at the MGM Grand’s Grand Garden Arena.

Velazquez’ long jab dictated the pace as it landed repeatedly, sending echoes throughout a mostly empty arena hours before the main event. Velazquez (7-0, 6 KOs) won easily on all three scorecards –99-91, 97-93, 99-91. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS — On the scale, David Benavidez and Caleb Plant did what they had to. They made weight. 

Off the scale, they did what they’ve been doing for years. They exchanged profanities, threats and taunts in a noisy feud that will finally escalate Saturday into a real exchange of punches in a fight motivated by a potent mix of anger and mutual contempt. It’s a potent cocktail, a shot glass full of tension, 180-proof.

That tension continued to spill out into the open in a second face-off in as many days Friday after Benavidez and Plant were comfortably within the super-middleweight limit, 168 pounds. Then, they walked around to face each other in front of the scale. What followed was off-the-scale, over-the-top and thoroughly predictable.

Plant stuck out  his left hand, which was cocked like a loaded weapon, and pressed his index finger into Benavidez’ neck. Benavidez stepped forward, ready to retaliate. But that’s where it ended.

Wary security quickly intervened, stepping between the and pushing each to opposite ends of the stage at the KA Theatre, a short walk from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, site of Saturday’s night’s simmering grudge match.

“Just exchanging pleasantries,” said Plant, who was at 167.25 pounds.’

For Benavidez, there was nothing pleasant about it.

“He tried to put his finger in my face,” Benavidez (26–0, 23 KOs) said. “I tried to push him back and onto his expletive.”

Benavidez didn’t exactly say expletive. But you get the idea. The Benavidez-Plant feud has been nothing if not for the expletives. On and on, it goes. Finally, the two are expected to mix in a few punches in a bout with enormous stakes. 

The winner takes a step toward further stardom and into the pound-for-pound debate. There’s also a possible shot at undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and the big money that could come with it. The possibilities are life-changing. There’s no other expletive way to describe it.

That accounts for a lot of the tension. But there’s some personal history, too. A long and jagged path precedes their date Saturday in Showtime’s pay-per-view bout (6 p.m. PT/9 pm ET, $74.99). Plant and Benavidez have attacked each other’s families, demeanor, courage and ethics. There’s nothing that one likes about the other..

Perhaps, only a fight can calm the storm — alleviate the personal contempt one has for the other. But don’t count on it.

After the face-off furor, Benavidez was asked if the fight will end the rivalry.

“Effing no,” Benavidez said.

He didn’t say effing. But, by now, you know that.

Benavidez, a Phoenix-born fighter nicknamed “The Mexican Monster” by Mike Tyson, goess iot the fight as the favorite. He’s at least a 3-to-1 favorite. His energy and lanky leverage gives him an edge, especially with his raw power. The consensus is that he’ll walk down Plant (22-1, 13 KOs), scoring a late-round stoppage.

However, it’s not as if Plant hasn’t watched and studied a Benavidez career. He’s demolished almost everyone in front of him. Plant’s chances might rest with his ability to slow him down. A possible tactic:  Make Benavidez chase him across a bigger than average ring. It’s 22-feet by 22-feet, a Plant demand met in negotiations.

For Pant, the task is to interrupt Benavidez’ focus and momentum. That might lead to a frustrating fight,  both for Benavidez and his fans, many of whom made the trip up from Phoenix.

“In the end, you’ll see my hand raised,” Plant said in a comment that suggests a decision.

Benavidez envisions another kind of ending. In one breath, he promises to send Plant to the hospital. In another, he vows to break his jaw.

He’s not kidding.

You choose the expletive.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS — Nobody blinked, but David Benavidez got the face-off he wanted Thursday with Caleb Plant after the final news conference for their super-middleweight grudge match Saturday at the MGM Grand .

“I’m real happy we were able to get that face-off,” Benavidez said after he and Plant exchanged threats and profanities during a few tense moments on a stage at the casino’s KA Theater.

Benavidez and father/trainer Jose Benavidez Sr, expressed doubts Wednesday that the face-off would happen.

“I was very surprised that it did,” Benavidez Sr. said. “There was never any chance that anything bad was going to happen. It wasn’t like I going to throw a punch.”

But his son did throw some verbal shots during what was just another extension of a long-running feud.

“I’m going to send you to the hospital,” he said to Plant as they stood eyeball-to-eyeball, each flanked by security guards.

Security finally stepped in between them, breaking off the face-off. As they were led to opposite ends of the stage, Plant pointed at Benavidez with a hand cocked like a loaded weapon.

“He said what I thought he would, what he’s supposed to say,” Plant told reporters and a small crowd of fans, including ex-heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

Tyson is the first to call Benavidez “The Mexican Monster”, a nickname that is beginning to supplaint his first nickname, “The Red Flag.” 

When the Showtime pay-per-view card (6 pm PT/9 pm ET) was formally announced at a newser in Los Angeles on February 2, the two had to be separated twice.

It’s not clear whether the two will do another face-off Friday after the official weigh-in. During the formal part of the newser Thursday, each was asked what the fans could expect in a fight that could lead to a shot at undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alavrez..

“You’re going to see my hand get raised,” Plant said.

Then, Benavidez delivered a chilling counter:

“You’re going to see me break his jaw, that ‘s what the fans are going to see,” he said.

Photo by Esther Lin / SHOWTIME

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS — In terms of trash talk, it’s all been said.

Maybe that’s why David Benavidez and Caleb Plant didn’t have much else to say Wednesday at media workouts for their super-middleweight clash Saturday at the MGM Grand in a pay-per-view bout.

That’s not to say threats weren’t there. Benavidez climbed through the ropes and into a  ring near the MGM Sportsbook. He looked at the crowd and made what has become a familiar, throat-slashing gesture. It was his way of saying he intends to do more than just knock out Plant.

“Everybody I hit, gets hurt,” Benavidez said.

The hurt will be there early, Benavidez promises , in what he says will be a quick finish. He intends to knock out Plant within six rounds in a bout that could lead to a shot at big money against pay-per-view star Canelo Alvarez, who last week agreed to a May 6 bout with John Ryder at home in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

“This is the most focused I’ve ever been for a fight,” Benavidez said. “I know Caleb Plant is going to be a hard fighter, moving around a lot. But whatever he brings to the table, I’m going to be ready for it. I’m looking for that knockout and I’m going to get it.’

If there was a surprise, it was the way Benavidez looked. The Phoenix fighter has long had a soft-looking upper-body. He was a chubby kid, he says. Plant had another word for it. He called him fat. Whatever the description, he entered the ring Wednesday, looking every bit like the maturing fighter who turned 26 in December  

“This is the best I’ve ever felt mentally, physically and emotionally,” Benavidez said. “I was already a monster before, but Caleb Plant brought the ‘Mexican Monster’ out of me.”

On Wednesday at least, there were no taunts from Plant.

“I’ve been here before,” said Plant, a Tennessean who grew up near Nashville. “I’ve been in big fights before. I know what this is all about and I know what it takes. Me and my team are fully prepared to get my hand raised on Saturday night.”

Both fighters were understated, wary perhaps of a confrontation that could lead to a scuffle. Opening bell is just a couple of days away. Years of trash-talk has left evident tension. As a result, there are doubts the fighters will engage in the ritual face-off both at the final formal news conference Thursday and at the weigh-in Friday. But Benavidez was hopeful.

“I’m hoping we can still do a face-off, give the fans what they want,” Benavidez said. “I’m not going to do something, something stupid, that might jeopardize this event. Not after all the work I’ve done.

“There’s a lot at stake here. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long, long time.”

By Norm Frauenheim –

The proof has been unfolding for years. First, David Benavidez had to prove it to himself. Now, he has to prove it to everybody else.

The journey from fat kid to feared fighter, from anonymity to stardom has been a process that almost looks inevitable just days before it undergoes its most significant test yet against Caleb Plant on March 25 in a Showtime pay-per-view bout at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

But it hasn’t been easy, much less predictable. Growing-up never is, especially when the lesson plans are subjected to all of the twisted dynamics and drama that rule boxing. Within those ropes, there’s no playground. Just chaos.

At 26, however, Benavidez looks as if he was born for it. Beneath the baby fat, he discovered his identity. A fighter’s instincts were always there, part of his DNA. He’s a natural, comfortable with the craziness and more confident than ever that he can control the violence.

“I’m at the beginning stages of my prime,’’ Benavidez said during a media workout Tuesday in Burien WA, a Seattle suburb and home far from the streets where he grew up in west Phoenix. “After this fight, the sky is the limit.’’

Plant has other ideas, of course. He’s about four years older. At 30, he’s squarely in his prime. He’s also been on boxing’s biggest stage in a stoppage loss to PPV star Canelo Alvarez in November 2021. That’s a place Benavidez has yet to see, yet to experience. Plant says he’s had to learn and adjust in ways that Benavidez has not. He calls it an advantage.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

It’s a key question in a super-middleweight fight that has been brewing for a long time. In the promotional media, it’s been dubbed Bad Blood. The Bad is genuine. The Blood is likely.

“I’ve been training for this fight for three-and-a-half months,’’ said Benavidez, who has vowed to knock out Plant in what he promises will be a painful stoppage to a long-running trash-talk exchange that has been over-the top, even by boxing standards.

Truth is, Benavidez has been training for Plant for longer than mere months. More like years.

Besides all of the noisy trash, Benavidez’ volatile career has been unusual. He’s unbeaten, yet he lost the World Boxing Council title twice, first because of a positive test for cocaine and then a failure to make the 168-pound weight.

If not for that, he might have already experienced what Plant says Benavidez has not. He might have already fought Canelo. He might already be a long-reigning champ.

“If not for issues losing his titles, he’d be on the pound-for-pound list,’’ Plant trainer Stephen “Breadman’’ Edwards told Sean Zittel in a compelling interview for FightHype.

From Terence Crawford to Naoya Inoue, Artur Beterbiev and newcomer Shakur Stevenson, Benavidez’ 26-0 record and knockout rate – 23 KOs – compares favorably to any other on the various pound-for-pound lists.

A place in the pound-for-debate is among the stakes against Plant. So, too, is a possible shot at Canelo, who is coming off wrist surgery against Brit John Ryder in a tune-up on May 6 at home in Jalisco, Mexico. Canelo-Ryder was formally announced Tuesday, the same day Benavidez in Washington and Plant in Vegas did their media workouts. 

Coincidence? Probably. Still, the Benavidez-Plant showdown has been designated as a bout that will lead to a so-called mandatory shot at Canelo, the undisputed champion at 168.

“The winner gets Canelo, or so they say,’’ said Benavidez, who has been calling out Canelo for just about as long as he’s been trash-talking Plant.

If anything, Benavidez has taken the edge off his talk about Canelo. He complimented him for agreeing to fight at home, his first in Mexico in more than a decade. A possible date and a big paycheck against Canelo are part of the motivation, both for Benavidez and Plant.

Before opening bell, however, Canelo is almost secondary to the bitter rivalry and all that it means. For both Benavidez and Plant, the bout carries a burden of proof. Edwards called it a test of character in his FightHype interview.

The maturing Benavidez knows that. He’s using it as just one more source of motivation. In saying that Benavidez lacks big-fight experience, Plant left questions that are being asked by fans and media. Benavidez has heard them. Can he deal with adversity? Can he adjust?

Benavidez repeatedly counters with facts and figures that he says the doubters ignore.

“I throw punches in bunches and I land them at a 46-percent rate,’’ he said. “Nobody ever mentions that. I’ve never lost two rounds in a row. Every man I’ve fought, I’ve hurt.

“If you guys don’t think I know what I’m doing, you’re stupid.’’

Next task:

Prove it. 

Oscar Valdez Update

15 Rounds has confirmed that former two-time champion Oscar Valdez Jr. expects to be back on a Top Rank card featuring Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko planned for May 20 at Vegas’ MGM Grand.

An injury suffered in training forced Valdez to withdraw from a bout for a vacant junior-lightweight title against fellow Mexican Emanuel Navarrete at Desert Diamond Arena on Feb. 3 in Glendale AZ, a Phoenix suburb.

Navarrete, a former featherweight champion, went on to win the WBO ‘s 130-pound title in a wild ninth-round stoppage of late stand-in Liam Wilson of Australia.

Valdez, who was at ringside and joined Navarrete in the ring after his controversial stoppage of Wilson, said he hurt his ribs in a freak accident — a fall down some stairs.

After the planned May 20 bout, Valdez and Navarrete are expected to fight later in the year on ESPN, which reported Friday that Valdez is expected to face Adam Lopez in a rematch.

By Norm Frauenheim –

They went coast-to-coast. They trash-talked, face-to-face, at midday in New York on Wednesday and after lunch on Thursday in Los Angeles. They postured, preached and promised.

But, mostly, Tank Davis and Ryan Garcia kept us waiting. The NY version of the coast-to-coast newser was about two hours late. Something about Davis getting caught in traffic.

The sequel, an LA matinee, started about an hour after it was scheduled to begin. On BST – Boxing Standard Time, late starts are like low blows. Count on them.

In any time zone, however, boxing news conferences are all about theater. The bigger the fight, the bigger the stage. And Davis-Garcia is a biggie, at least it is in a market that has left its eroding fan base starving for something relevant – something real – in the wake of collapsed negotiations for Terence Crawford-Errol Spence.

Enter Davis-Garcia, which has moved into the vacuum with a fight loaded with dynamic potential. But, like the news conferences, we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out on April 22, the scheduled opening bell for their 136-pound bout at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Showtime pay-per-view.

For now, it’s a show like full of familiar hyperbole, stunts and proclamations. Believe at your own risk. The common theme has been that Davis-Garcia represents another new beginning for a sport that always seems to be starting over. Davis is 28; Garcia 24.

“You all keep saying boxing is dead,’’ Davis trainer Bob Ford said Thursday “Naaah, the young-ins is coming.’’

The Youngblood plot line is compelling. I hope it’s right. I wrote a New Year’s column for 15 Rounds in January, saying it was time for a new generation. Depending on who’s doing the talking, it’s already here.

“Whoever wins this is on top, the face of boxing,’’ Garcia said Thursday. “I truly believe that.’’

Davis, never shy or short on confidence, believes he’s already that face. Move over, Canelo Alvarez. Hand over that pound-for pound crown, Terence Crawford

 “I’m already in that position,’’ Davis said matter-of-factly Thursday. “Canelo, he’s already out the door. I’m the face of the sport.’’

As I heard Davis declare his supremacy, I kept hearing that automated message you get after pushing the button for the crosswalk signal at a busy intersection. Wait, wait, wait.

If Davis-Garcia lives up to the hype, it will herald that the new is moving in and the old is moving out. The 26-year-old David Benavidez has a chance to kick in the door a few weeks earlier in a super-middleweight bout against Caleb Plant on March 25 at Vegas’ MGM Grand.

At best, Davis and Garcia could motivate Crawford and Spence to do what they wouldn’t late last year. Rights to pound-for-pound supremacy are won and retained only in the ring, a piece of real estate they have been unwilling to share thus far.

Davis and Garcia have agreed to do what they won’t. Maybe that changes their minds.

Maybe.

The waiting game continues, however, until we see Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) and Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) walk down the aisle, up the steps and through the ropes. Only the sound of an opening bell ends the waiting.

There’s nothing new about late arrivals for news conferences. They are a well-rehearsed part of the show. In New York, however, Davis sent off some alarm bells that have been there before and after the date with Garcia was a done deal.

Davis is often compared to Mike Tyson because of his dramatic punching power. But another Tyson parallel is trouble outside of the ring. Like Tyson, you get the sense you’re watching an accident about to happen.

The Davis-Garcia fight is happening on April 22, because Davis won’t be sentenced on a Baltimore hit-and-run until May 5. He also was arrested on Dec. 27 on a domestic-abuse charge in Broward County, Fla. His accuser later retracted the allegation.

When he’s nearly two hours late for a newser, you wonder. Fans wonder.

But they wait, too.

There’s evident enthusiasm for Davis-Garcia  

In terms of experience, power and proven skillset, Davis figures to beat Garcia. Yet, Garcia’s abundant poise and smarts suggest he’ll be more of a threat to Davis than the odds might suggest. Davis is a narrow favorite.

After the staged part of the New York newser, Garcia talked to a group of reporters and questioned Davis’ ability to fight through adversity.

“When Tank gets into trouble, he takes the easy way out,’’ Garcia said in a comment captured on video.

Whether Garcia has enough in his skillset to prevail, however, is there. He’s known for his speed and a huge left hook.

But, Davis wonders, is that all there is?

“He’s going to hit me with that hook, because that’s all he’s got,’’ Davis said as he looked over at Garcia Thursday. “A left hook. What else? That’s all you got. You’re not a complete fighter.

“What happens when that one punch don’t work?’’

We’ll have to wait for an answer to that question. And a few more.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Elijah Garcia wears 602 on his waistband. It’s his hometown. It’s also a busy area code, a fight town that is beginning to live up to the name of the city it represents.

Phoenix is named for a mythic bird rising from the ashes. it’s the city crest. It’s on the side of busses and on the patch police wear on their uniforms.

But it’s more than myth these days. There’s Kevin Durant, who has the town buzzing about whether the Suns can finally soar to their first NBA title. And there’s boxing, a market that is climbing off the deck the way that proverbial bird is coming out of those ashes.

Phoenix and most of Arizona are becoming a go-to area for matchmakers looking for fighters and promoters searching for an audience.

From A to Z, fighters and fans are drawing the boxing business back to a market that had gone dormant in the years after Michael Carbajal’s Hall of Fame run in the 1990s.

Increasingly, AZ’s place in the boxing universe is evident.

It was a month ago in Emanuel Navarrete’s stoppage of Australian Liam Wilson in an entertaining, controversial junior-lightweight bout in front of an ESPN audience and a lively crowd at Desert Diamond Arena in suburban Glendale.

AZ will be there again Saturday, this time on the road when the 19-year-old Garcia (13-0, 11 KOs) gets a true test of his middleweight credentials in Ontario CA against Amilcar Vidal (16-0, 12 KOs)) on a Showtime Championship Boxing card (6 pm PT/9 pm ET) featuring featherweights Brandon Figueroa and Mark Magsayo.

Vidal, of Uruguay, is 27. He had 59 amateur fights, reportedly losing only once. Vidal has his own AZ connection. His manager/promoter is Sampson Lewkowicz, who promotes former super-middleweight champion David Benavidez, today’s best-known AZ fighter.

Lewkowicz has been at ringside for two Garcia fights, first when Benavidez beat Kyrone Davis at the Suns home area and then last year when Benavidez blew out former middleweight champion David Lemieux in Glendale.

In terms of physical maturity, Vidal is a tough fight for Garcia, who is still nearly two months from turning 20. His birthday is April 26.

“Yeah, it’s my toughest,’’ Garcia said.

But, Garcia says, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He has watched video of Vidal.

“He’s a tough guy who likes to come forward,’’ Garcia said. “I like to fight on the inside.’’

The idea is that Vidal will step forward and into Garcia’s wheelhouse. It’s not clear whether Vidal can fight in retreat, off his back foot.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen, to be honest,’’ Garcia said.

But it’s an answer Garcia will pursue. It’s what he’s been doing since he was a kid. A son of former Arizona heavyweight George Garcia, Elijah says he never envisioned a prizefighting career.

“I hated boxing as a kid,’’ he said. “But when I was about 11, I was in the gym, working out and suddenly I just knew. I loved it.’’

Boxing was there, in his DNA and his geography. On the same night as his bout with Vidal, there will be a card in the 602 at Phoenix’s Celebrity Theatre (7 p.m.) promoted by Iron Boy’s Robert Vargas. It is Vargas’ first boxing card in the New Year.

Garcia is an emerging face in a AZ generation that includes David Benavidez and his brother, Jose Jr., a former 140-pound champion who has a film role in the current sequel, Creed III.

There’s also welterweight Abel Ramos and his nephew, junior-middleweight Jesus Ramos, both of Casa Grande, 50 miles from Phoenix. Both will fight on the Showtime pay-per-view card featuring David Benavidez versus Caleb Plant at Las Vegas MGM Grand on March 25.

Then, there’s Oscar Valdez, Jr., a former featherweight and junior-lightweight champion who calls himself a Son of Sonora, the name of the desert that stretches from northern Mexico to Phoenix. Valdez grew up in Nogales in the Sonoran state of Mexico, south of Tucson. He went to school in Tucson.

After Navarrete got up from a knockdown to beat Wilson in Glendale, Valdez joined him in the ring. He and Navarrete are expected to fight later in the year for the 130-pound title.

“Maybe, here in Arizona,’’ Valdez said.

The crowd roared, as if to say:

Where else.

By Norm Frauenheim –

For an emerging 22-year-old nephew, he’s a wise uncle. Uncle Abel. But don’t be misled. This uncle isn’t retired. And most of his wisdom is still evolving.

Abel Ramos is still seeking, fighting on in a stubborn quest for an elusive piece to his career.

At 31, the welterweight uncle to junior-middleweight prospect Jesus Ramos sounds more motivated than ever to gain a 147-pound title.

A bout against Cody Crowley March 25 on the Showtime pay-per-view card featuring fellow Arizona fighter David Benavidez against Caleb Plant at Las  Vegas’ MGM Grand is an opportunity, another one, to move closer to a second chance at a belt.

Abel Ramos (27-5-2, 21 KOs) is still in his prime. But 30 isn’t 20. He’s at an age when the horizon begins to include fewer chances. That focuses the mind. Puts an edge on the motivation.

“I want to make a statement,’’ he said this week during a stop at Central Boxing in downtown Phoenix, about 50 miles from the Ramos home in Casa Grande.

Ramos said it with an easy smile and a quiet poise that includes no hint at the ever-present danger that defines his two-fisted, relentless ring style.

Translation: It’s unwise to ignore him.

For a while, he has been.

He’s been mostly forgotten since a split decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in September 2020 in Los Angeles for the World Boxing Association’s welterweight belt.

Against Crowley (21-0, 9 KOs), a Canadian, he has a chance to remind the division that he’s still there, still a force at 147-pounds.

In part, the narrow scorecard loss to Ugas drives Ramos. It represents an endless source of motivation.

“I thought I did enough to win,’’ said Ramos, who struggled to find a way to negate Ugas’ long, precise jab. “I watch it, and I can see that I could have done more. But I still thought I won.’’

A split decision often sets the stage for a rematch. Ramos lost 115-113 in two cards. He was a big winner on the third, 117-110, a surprising card that must have reflected moments when his power had Ugas in trouble. It’s that third card that said – says – there’s reason for a rematch.

So far, however there’s been no interest from Ugas.

“Not yet,’’ said Abel’s brother and trainer Jesus Sr, Jesus Jr.’s father.

Ugas is back in training in Las Vegas after suffering a fractured eye socket in a stoppage loss to Errol Spence last April.

Ugas wants to make a comeback. Perhaps in April, he says. But, Ugas says, he wants to fight only contenders. He mentioned Terence Crawford, Spence, Jaron Ennis and Virgil Ortiz during a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) podcast interview with Michael Rosenthal and Kenneth Bouharie in late January.

“I want the top contenders,’’ the Cuban said in comments translated into English. “I believe I’m one of the best. I want to fight the best. Why hold back?”

For Abel Ramos, that means delivering proof that he still belongs. Proof positive would mean a big knockout, one that could force dominoes to fall in the balkanized business.

A sensational KO could lead to a ranking that might set up a so-called eliminator for a title shot.

It’s part politics and part crap-shoot, which is another of saying it’s boxing. Anything can happen, and it did in Ugas’ first fight after Ramos

In a stunner, Ugas went on to score a huge upset over fading legend Manny Pacquiao in May 2021. Ugas was a late stand-in for an injured Spence. He got the fight because Pacquiao wanted the WBA title that went to Ugas on a night when the cards fell his way.

That won’t happen again. History probably won’t get rewritten. If Ramos gets a big win and some bigger luck, however, it might get a rematch for a shot at a title and a real reason for a wise uncle to one day think it could have been him.   

By Norm Frauenheim –

It’s a main event, pay-per-view, between fighters with a combined 14-0 record compiled against YouTubers, a 3-time NBA Slam Dunk champion, a 47-year-old mixed-martial-arts legend and a guy – who at last count — is 0-47.

A pound for-pound list, it’s not. More like butchers, bakers and tomato can makers.

Step right up. For just $49.99, you can get ripped off, too. Plenty of customers will, of course. But there’s a market for it, proven repeatedly by Jake Paul, who is expected to deliver some more of the evidence against Tommy Fury on Feb 26 in Saudi Arabia

The Paul-Fury promoter, Skill Challenge Entertainment, knows that. So, too, do the networks. That’s why the bout will be staged on ESPN+, which from this corner gets more of a minus than a plus for selling this one.

But only the numbers matter. Paul has been generating big ones. He draws crowds. He gets PPV buys that Terence Crawford never has. And never will. But can he fight? That’s a stupid question.

He’ll say he can. Ever the provocateur, he calls out Canelo Alvarez. He rips UFC czar Dana White. He accuses UK promoter Eddie Hearn of a fix. Hearn sues, then says he’d still do business with him.

At the bully pulpit, there’s never been a bigger bully. There, Paul knows what he’s doing. Within the ropes, who knows?

But it doesn’t matter. It’s all about the show, and — in the here-and-now – Paul is the undisputed showman.

I’ve only been to one Paul fight. He scored a boxing decision over 47-year-old Anderson Silva, a former UFC star, at a jammed Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ early last December. On my scorecard, it was a draw. But a knockdown of Silva was enough to give it to Paul. No argument there.

Still, it looked as if Paul was just too easy to hit. He looked to be a long way from a main event, much less a chance at a champion or even a contender. He left himself wide-open for repeated shots from Silva. Maybe Fury, Tyson Fury’s brother, can take advantage. Maybe not. In Saudi Arabia, it might not matter in a bout that figures to go Paul’s way. Translation: Expect controversy.

That, however, would set the stage for what Paul does best. He’s the master of post-fight controversy.

The post-fight newser is an irreplaceable part of the show.

So, too, is the pre-fight newser.

That’s when I asked a question after welcoming Paul to former super-middleweight champion David Benavidez’ hometown.

Paul had been saying he wanted to promote Benavidez. I asked: Why not fight Benavidez instead? Paul looked back at me as though I was a nutcase.

Then in a sober, measured tone, he said he wasn’t ready for a fight at Benavidez’ level. No bullyboy response. It was the right answer.

A couple of days later, he called out Canelo. The Canelo challenge got the attention. The reasonable answer to the Benavidez question got little.

It was an instructive sequence, a plot line in a well-rehearsed show that must go on.

About four months later, Paul arrives in Saudi Arabia with assurances from the World Boxing Council (WBC) that he will be ranked at cruiserweight if he wins.

At first, I was confused. Did the WBC say ranked? Or rank? The Paul-Fury fight is more of the latter than deserving of the former.

Paul, a 26-year-old novice, has yet to face a full-fledged boxer. He beat Silva, who had some boxing experience. Silva beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Before Silva, he beat Nate Robinson, an ex-NBA point guard and slam-dunk champ. Then, there’s Fury, whose record is arguably even more problematic than Paul’s.  

His 8-0 record came against opponents with a cumulative record of 24-176-5. One, Genadij Krajevskij, went into a November 2020 loss to Fury at 0-11. After a TKO loss to Fury, Krajevskij lost 35 more bouts.

At 0-47, it’s a wonder that Krajevskij, a Lithuanian living in the UK, can get licensed.

To drive or fight.

But that’s another story.

It’s the promised WBC ranking that has generated most of the controversy. Presumably, Fury will get the ranking if he wins. But would there be any ranking at all if the fight didn’t include Paul? Sorry, that’s another stupid question.

It’s been pointed out that WBC rankings include 40 fighters in each division. Most other rankings only include the top 15. It was a revelation that there were 40 cruiserweights in the world. Who knew? But Oleksandr Usyk, now a heavyweight champ hoping to fight the other Fury, took the snoozer out of cruiser. He made it relevant.

But a Paul ranking threatens to return it to irrelevancy, even if he moves into the bottom half of the 40. But those aren’t the kind of numbers that matter.

To the WBC

Or ESPN.

By Norm Frauenheim –

It looks as if boxing is moving up and on, beyond dashed hopes for a definitive date at welterweight and onto light-heavy.

Don’t call the move upscale. There’s no new real estate in a battered place where nothing much gets made anymore.

For now, however, more opportunities are beginning to appear at 175 pounds, soon to be one of boxing’s busiest neighborhoods.

That much has become evident in comments from David Benavidez, who still has some career-defining work to do at super-middle in a risky Showtime pay-per-view date with Caleb Plant on March 25 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Benavidez is signaling that a jump to light-heavy looms. At a formal news conference announcing his bout with Plant a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles, he said he would probably fight three more times at 168.

He foresees a victory over Plant in a bout that is supposed to lead to a so-called mandatory shot at Canelo Alvarez, who holds all the 168-pound belts and the key to boxing’s pay-per-view vault.

Post-Plant, he said, he plans to fight David Morrell, Demetrius Andrade and Jermall Charlo.

Notably absent: Canelo, the prize that is supposed to be there for the Benavidez-Plant winner.

Why?

Best guess: Benavidez doesn’t believe Canelo will fight hm. There are too many indications that he just won’t. Canelo has dismissed Benavidez’ worthiness, saying his record is lacking.

He has said he doesn’t want to fight fellow Mexicans, which presumably means Mexican-Americans, including the Phoenix-born Benavidez, whose father is Mexican and mother Ecuadorian.

Now, there are increasing signs that Canelo will test a surgically-repaired wrist in a reported tune-up against UK pushover John Ryder and then go directly to light-heavy for a rematch later this year with Dmitry Bivol, the 2022 Fighter of the Year who upset Canelo in a stunner last May.

Maybe, Benavidez is just following Canelo in the next step of what has been a futile chase. But a move up-the-scale is already on-the-clock. Benavidez is simply out-growing super-middleweight. The social-media mob is already accusing him of overlooking Plant. Of course. But the real surprise is that he’s still at super-middle.

After all, he lost the WBC title in August 2020 when he failed to make the 168 pounds. He turned 26 on December 17. Maturity means gaining experience and weight. Making super-middle is about go from difficult to impossible. Benavidez is simply acknowledging reality.

In subsequent interviews after the LA news conference, Benavidez even talked about a move beyond light-heavy.

“Right now, my sights are 168,’’ he told Fight Hub TV. “I want to be unified champion at 168 and go up to 175, and it definitely could be a possibility at cruiserweight and then we’ll see from there.’’

Benavidez adds that he believes he’d beat Bivol. They sparred.

“I know I can win a belt at 175,’’ Benavidez said. (Insert more twitter trash here). “I know a lot of people saw the video of me saying I’d knock Bivol out.

“I mean, I would. I’m not going to lie.

“Every professional boxer should have that much confidence. I’m not lying about anything. I sparred him at Churchill Boxing (in Santa Monica CA). There were a lot of people there. They seen what happened. I’m not going to lie to anybody.’’

Above all, it’s what lies ahead. Light-heavy is inevitable, not just for Benavidez but for much of boxing. Talk about Terence Crawford-versus-Errol Spence is beginning to subside.

The business is moving on from news of their failed negotiations for a bout that would have been a 147-pound battle for pound-for-pound supremacy. But that could still happen at 175.

Bivol-versus-Artur Beterbiev is supplanting Crawford-Spence as a definitive fight, one fans want to see. The balkanized business might prevent it. Eddie Hearn promotes Bivol; Bob Arum has Beterbiev. Peace-on-earth has a better chance.

Yet at 175, there’s still a chance at legacy and good money. It’s a division where there are still some possibilities.

And, for Benavidez, maybe still a chance at Canelo.

But first, there’s still a challenge. There’s Caleb Plant. There’s no other way to upscale.

Liam Wilson-Emanuel Navarrete Update: Navarrete’s ninth-round stoppage of the tough Australian on Feb. 3 in Glendale AZ was entertaining, yet controversial.

Wilson and his promotional/management team protested loudly, first at the weigh-in and then a “long-count” late in the fourth round of a 130-pound title fight at Desert Diamond Arena.

As of Wednesday, however, no formal protest had been filed with the Arizona State Boxing & MMA Commission.

There was no protest from Wilson or anybody representing him on the Commission agenda for its monthly meeting on Feb. 15

Wilson’s promotional team threatened to protest, first the weigh-in for a scale that it alleged was rigged. Wilson came in light, 126.3 pounds for a 130-pound title fight. Wilson’s promoters said they suspected Navarrete was in fact overweight. He was at 129.2.

Then, Wilson’s corner threatened to “launch” a protest of a wild fourth round. Wilson knocked down Navarrete, hurting the Mexican, who spit out his mouthpiece. About 27 seconds passed before the referee retrieved the mouthpiece and put it back in Navarrete’s mouth.

Wilson’s corner charged “a long count” that allowed Navarrete to recover from a knockdown that could have resulted in a TKO win for Wilson, a huge betting underdog. A review of the video also appears to show that Wilson landed an illegal punch, a left, after he had knocked down Navarrete.

If nothing else, the controversy generated a lot of headlines and might have “launched” a solid campaign for an All-Aussie fight between Wilson and George Kambosos, who is coming off a couple of losses to American lightweight champion Devin Haney. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

For now, it’s a fight known for its rancor. David Benavidez and Caleb Plant have been insulting each other for at least a couple of years.

The four-letter festival continued, ad nauseam, at a news conference in Los Angeles last week. Between now and opening bell on March 25 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, there’ll be no end to the trash.

Trash in, trash out. In boxing, that’s a business plan. But there’s more to this bout than just another effing expletive.

It’s a multi-dimensional date, edgy for the bad blood and the threat that some real blood will be spilled. Above all, it’s a genuine fight during an era when there just aren’t many.

Who wins? Who knows?

Benavidez appears to have the momentum and most of the energy. Narrow odds suggest he’ll win and move closer to a so-called mandatory date with undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.

Even Canelo, who has beaten Plant and dismissed Benavidez as unworthy of a shot, picks Benavidez in an interview with ESNEWS. Still, it’s not clear whether Canelo would fight him or resume his career at light-heavyweight.

Nevertheless, he’s interested. Canelo and other fighters are talking about Benavidez-Plant. There’s a buzz building for the first significant fight in 2023.

Plant knows the odds, yet believes he has an edge because of his experience. He’s been where Benavidez has not, he says. It’s a comment that has echoes of what Canelo said during a news conference after his trilogy-ending victory over Gennadiy Golovkin in September. That’s when he angrily shut the door on any immediate prospect of a date with Benavidez.

“This is [Benavidez’s] first big fight,’’ Plant told reporters after a rancorous news conference in downtown LA on Feb. 2.  “This ain’t my first big fight. I’ve been here before. I’ve been on the big stage more than once.”

He has, exactly once.

In his lone loss, Canelo delivered a punishing beatdown, scoring an 11^th-round TKO on Nov. 6, 2021, also at Vegas’ MGM Grand. Plant’s comment suggests that he doesn’t believe Benavidez has had to deal with the kind of adversity that comes with a defeat under boxing’s brightest lights. It appears Plant learned from the loss. He has a new trainer in Stephen “Breadman” Edwards and some newfound power, which he flashed in a stoppage of Anthony Dirrell in one of last year’s most sensational knockouts.

“A lot of the people that [Benavidez has] fought have been one dimensional,’’ Plant said. “IQ has been decent, but not even the same universe as what I am able to do on fight night.

 “I can do a lot of things.”

But Dirrell is the reference point that says Benavidez-Plant is a pick ‘em fight. Both beat Dirrell — Plant in the ninth round of a bout last October in Brooklyn and Benavidez, also in the ninth of a September 2019 bout in Los Angeles.

Plant ended it with a big left hand. Benavidez simply wore down Dirrell, beating him into submission with relentless pressure and forcing his corner to throw in the towel. At the time of each stoppage, each led on the cards by similar scores. It was Plant, 79-73, 80-72, 79-73. It was Benavidez, 78-74, 79-73, 78-74.

A possible key to a Benavidez’ advantage might be what’s not on the Phoenix-born fighter’s record. He sparred with Dmitry Bivol, the 2022 Fighter of the Year, before Bivol’s masterful upset of Canelo in a light-heavyweight bout last May. Bivol’s stunning performance put him alongside today’s very best in terms of boxing skill. Plant talked about IQ. Bivol’s IQ ranks at the top of the scale. For Benavidez, those rounds of sparring might have been an education, an invaluable lesson plan.

It’s evident that Benavidez and Bivol emerged from the sparring with mutual respect. Benavidez said he was not surprised by Bivol’s upset of Canelo. He saw what he could do in the gym.

Before Bivol’s decision over Canelo, he was asked about Benavidez and whether he deserves a shot at the Mexican star, boxing’s biggest pay-per-view draw.

“He has enough to get the fight and win the fight,’’ Bivol said last year at a news conference announcing his date with Canelo. “Why not? He has good skill. Good combinations, good defense and lots of conditioning.’’

Just enough, perhaps, to beat Plant.

GLENDALE, AZ – Some Mexican history was the plan. The plan survived.

So did Emanuel  Navarrete.

Navarrete was forced to come back from the edge of losing Friday night to an unlikely Australian, LIam Wilson, a determined young fighter from Brisbane who was given no chance on either side of the equator.

Wilson arrived in Arizona after a training camp that included stops in Washington DC and London. He had punched his passport, all in an attempt to punch out the favored and feared Navarette. Wilson promised to win. He wasn’t kidding, but he couldn’t hold off Navarette, who regained his focus and ferocity just in time to win a vacant junior-lightweight title.

Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) did it in a wild ninth round. He moved forward, threw punches as if he was motivated  by a mix of desperation and determination. For Wilson, a big right hand from Navarrete was the beginning of the end. It dropped Wilson, who collapsed onto the canvas in a thud that echoed throughout Desert Diamond Arena.

Wilson got to his feet. But his eyes were dazed and his defenses were down. Referee Chris Flores stopped it at 1:57 of the ninth. Flores ended it just as Wilson’s corner man was climbing up the steps. He was about to throw in the towel.

The crowd went wild. It was a celebration. It was also an expression of relief. Five rounds earlier, it looked as if Navarrete was about to lose. He was on the canvas in the fourth looking tired and beaten.

“But it was that Mexican spirit that never lets me down,” said Navarrete, who stormed back and fulfilled his goal of putting his name in Mexican history as the country’s 10th boxer to win a world title at a third weight.  “The satisfaction of winning like this is enormous. I think that I needed this test in order to be able to say my career is more complete. 

“Now that I know that I can hit the canvas and get back up and keep fighting, I’m more than happy because I know that I can continue forward.”

 The crowd went silent in the fourth when the long-armed Navarette fell to the canvas and tumbled, head over heels, like a bowl full of cooked spaghetti. He was clearly hurt after Wilson (11-2, 7 KOs) landed two rights and a huge left.

“I just wanted to be [patient,” said Wilson, who also thanked Arizona after his gutsy performance.

Navarrete could also thank his good fortune. He was lucky. Had Wilson’s punches landed earlier the round, he might have been finished, then and there. He also was helped by Flores, who took several seconds to pick his mouth piece off the canvas and put it back in his mouth. Navarrete’s trip to the canvas happened with about 42 seconds left in the fourth. There wasn’t enough time left for Wilson to finish the job. Thanks in part to Flores, there also was just enough time for Navarrete to escape

To survive. 

Arnold Barboza moves closer to title shot with solid decision

Arnold Barboza Jr. has been searching for a fight that would finally secure him a shot at a world title.

The search has been frustrating. Often futile.

But Barboza )28-0, 10 KOs) appeared to take a significant step toward completing the mission. The junior-welterweight from Southern California scored a solid victory over the decorated Jose Pedraza (29-5-1, 14 KOs), a former two-time champ, in the final fight before ESPN’s main event between Emanuel Navarrete and Liam Wilson Friday night at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ.

The win — by unanimous decision – allowed Barboza to state his case.  He was asked  if he was closer to a world title.

“Of course,” he said, after winning 96-94, 97-93, 96-94 on the cards. 

A possibility is Regis Prograis, the WBC champion.

“We’ll see what happens,” Barboza said. “But I feel like I’ve paid my dues.”

In beating Pedraza, the unbeaten Barboza becomes a lot harder to ignore. Or duck. Barboza controlled most of the 10 rounds against the skilled Pedraza, a Puerto Rican who returned to an arena where he upset Raymundo Beltran in August 2018. Pedraza had his moments, but he never could completely elude a sharp right hand that landed again. And again. 

Punching Power: Richard Torrez Jr. delvers it for quick stoppage

He reads Plato. He punches with power.

The puncher-philosopher, Richrd Torrez Jr., delivered the power suddenly and definitively on the Navarrete-Wilson undercard Friday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ.

Torrez (5-0 5KOs), a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, flashed heavyweight credentials, driving James Bryant (6-3, 4 KOs) into the ropes with an uppercut-right hand combo in the closing seconds of the first round

“From the knuckles through the hand, it was a solid shot,” said Torrez, who reads the great philosophers when he isn’t in the gym.

Bryant, of Reading PA, never recovered. He walked to his corner on unsteady feet. His trainer took one look at him and ended it before the bell for the second round ever sounded

Unbeaten Andre Cortes wins shutout

There were boos from restless fans. They wanted more.

Las Vegas junior-lightweight Andres Cortes heard them. And delivered.

Cortes (19-0, 10 KOs) injected some energy into an otherwise dull bout with aggressiveness that woke up the crowd and stunned Luis Melendez (17-3, 13 KOs) in the last fight before the main ESPN telecast of Navarrete-Wilson featured card at Desert Diamond Arena.

The sudden intensity from Cortes was enough for him to score a runaway decision over the Puerto Rican. He won it in a shutout, 100-90 on all three scorecards

Unknown Phoenix fighter gets up from knockdown, tests Ali Walsh late in loss 

It’s one of boxing’s majestic names. It comes with crushing expectations. It can intimidate, both the man who has it and the man who faces it. But it didn’t scare or stop Eduardo Ayala, an unknown Phoenix middleweight who got up from a knockdown and went on to engage in a hard-fought battle with Nico Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s grandson.

Ayala told a couple of Phoenix sportswriters before the bout Friday that he wasn’t fighting a name. He was just another guy, another fighter, Ayala said. Ali Walsh looked as if he might have been a little bit more than just that in the second round. A thundering left hook put Ayala flat on the canvas.. 

But he recovered, then endured a succession of shots from the Las Vegas middleweight who inherited the greatest expectations. Ayala would not go away. He wouldn’t win either. Ali Walsh (8-0, 5 KOs) won a unanimous decision (59-54, 60-53, 59-54), one that was all but assured with the early knockdown.

But Ayala (9-3-1, 3 KOs) won over the crowd in the third fight on the Navarrete-Wilson card at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ. As both fighters hugged after the sixth and final round, fans who had chanted the familiar “Ali.Ali” were chanting “Ayala, Ayala.”  

Lindolfo Delgado stays unbeaten, dominates in decision win

Mexican junior-welterweight Lindolfo Delgado employed defense, careful footwork and power in the second bout on an an ESPN-televised card featuring Emanuel Navarrete-Liam Wilson Friday night at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.,

 It was a triple-edged attack that proved to be  too much for Clarence Booth of Saint Petersburg, Fla.

Delgado (17-0, 13 KOs), who had trainer Robert Garcia in his corner, repeatedly landed crisp counters that echoed through the arena and backed Booth (21-7, 13 KOs) into the ropes, onto the canvas for an eighth-round knockdown and – in the end — into defeat. Delgado won on all three cards, a decision, one-sided and unanimous.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Sweet Science Boxing Promotions of Phoenix lost its bid for a license renewal by a 2-0 vote at a meeting of the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission this week.

The Commission denied the Sweet Science’s application Wednesday after a review of its promotional business practices in 2022 according to Commission Chairman Scott Fletcher

Part of the denial was based on what happened on a chaotic August 12 in Prescott Valley, north of Phoenix, on a card that was supposed to feature ex-champions Tevin Farmer and Mickey Bey in a pay-per-view bout. 

Sweet Science also canceled a card that it had advertised for December 18 at Sky Event Center in west Phoenix.

“The promoter, through both words and actions, appeared to not have the best interests of fighters and ticket holders in mind,’’ Fletcher said. “During their last event, the final six fights were canceled. These fighters had endured weeks of preparation, traveled to the venue and made weight.

“Ticket holders purchased tickets to see specific fights, which were canceled without notice.

“When questioned, the promoter could not name the co-promoters with which she had worked on this event.

“The Arizona Commission requires licensed promoters to be in complete control of fighters and ticket holders. It is for this reason that I believe the renewal application was denied.’’

The Bey-Farmer fight, which was scheduled to show on RedemptionPPV.com, never happened. Bey, a former lightweight champion, and Farmer, an ex-junior lightweight champ, refused to fight. The fight’s cancellation was never announced within the arena, the Toyota Center. News of it came through social posts from Farmer and Bey as they sat aboard a flight ready to depart SkyHarbor in Phoenix.

Both Bey and Farmer said the promoters didn’t have the money they were promised. At the time, the event was described as a Sweet Science promotion in collaboration with Bigger Than Life Sports.

Farmer-Bey was advertised as the main event. Bey-Farmer co-promoted with Bigger Than Life, which was represented by EJ Matthews. Bey-Farmer was shopped around. First it was scheduled to happen in Ghana and then Dubai, before it wound up in central Arizona.

The undercard bouts featured fighters promoted by the Sweet Science, including Keenan Carbajal, whose uncle is Hall of Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal.

At Wednesday’s commission meeting, Sweet Science was represented by Lucinda Morrow. She is listed as the Sweet Science manager in the company’s LLC filing with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The company also included Josephine Carbajal, who was listed as an officer until August 5 2021. Josephine is Keenan Carbajal’s mom. Keenan is trained by Danny Carbajal, Michael’s older brother and his former trainer/manager.

Danny Carbajal was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison in February 2008 on charges he robbed Michael, who at the time had earned more than any fighter in boxing’s lightest weight classes.

Danny Carbajal pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent schemes and two counts of theft.

He was accused of unlawfully transferring land and property that was jointly held by himself and his late wife, Sally, who was shot to death in 2005.