By Norm Frauenheim

The props and plots were all there. So was Ryan Garcia.

Garcia, ever the showman, delivered Thursday with a gag bag full of punchlines, insults, mockery, T-shirts, ring-card girls and many more of the usual theatrics he’s been rehearsing for so long

He may have left the white horse in the barn this time. Maybe, some of the manure, too. But place and stage — Avalon Hollywood — hasn’t changed much since Garcia’s gallop into a formal news conference in 2024 turned into a wild ride and controversial crash against Devin Haney.

Once again, Garcia proved his wit is still as quick as his hands. Maybe quicker, although we’ll have to wait and see on that Feb. 21 against welterweight Mario Barrios at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Barrios, the World Boxing Council’s 147-pound champion, was part of the live-streamed show Thursday, of course. But Garcia has a way of turning everybody around him into a bit player. Barrios — a champion, but no celebrity — understood his role, his place among the extras.

“This is turning into a circus,’’ Barrios said during his turn at the podium at the newser for The Ring-promoted bout.

By then, Garcia had already turned it into his bully pulpit.

First, there was the story line, the plot that will be explored ad nauseam for the next month.

Barrios’ trainer is Joe Goossen, Garcia’s ex. After Goossen, there was Derrick James. Before Goossen, there was Eddy Reynoso. Hand wraps last longer. Now, Garcia’s dad, Henry is back in the corner he occupied early in his son’s pro career and throughout his amateur days.

On Thursday, dad warmed up the show for his son. He complained about Goossen, suggesting that he’s betraying his son.

“At first, I was taken a back,’’ said dad, who called Goossen’s move “disrespectful.’’

Then, it was Goossen’s turn. He conceded that his new role in the latest chapter of Garcia’s ongoing show was “awkward.”

But Goossen’s explanation was quickly interrupted by Garcia, who delivered a perfectly-timed counter.

From his seat next to the podium, Garcia cried that he was suffering from a broken heart. Jaws and noses get broken all the time in what Mike Tyson once called the hurt business. Not many hearts do, perhaps because there just aren’t many in the prize-fighting business.

“How could you, Joe?’’ Garcia said. “That’s messed up. I just can’t believe you’re doing this to me. That’s insane. You hurt my heart.

“It’s over. We’re done. I’m breaking up with you again. You just broke my heart. Just move on. You were being sweet, but I’m offended.

“It’s too late. I’m offended. I’m offended already. I’m hurt. All of that.”

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. It’s a 1962 Neil Sedaka song not heard by anybody among fight fans in more than a half-century.  Garcia sounded as if he was humming a few of those forgotten lyrics. But the show, like the trainers, had to move on.

Garcia took the cue, reached into a bag at his feet and pulled out black T-shirts that said: I Am A Traitor. He threw one at Goossen. Goossen threw it back as though he was trying to throw a hook

At one point, Garcia raced backstage, chanting repeatedly that he loves the WBC. He returned to center stage with three ring-card girls, all waving WBC placards. Somewhere, Terence Crawford must be smiling.

In November, the World Boxing Council lifted a ban on Garcia, who is coming off a listless loss in May to Rolly Romero after the Haney bout was ruled a no-contest because of a positive PED test. The WBC had suspended him for racial slurs posted on social media. The move opened the way for him to fight Barrios.

“Last, but not least, I get to thank the WBC,’’ he said without saying he was sorry.

In the end, Garcia said whatever he wants. It wouldn’t have been much of a news conference if he hadn’t.

“I’m the ringmaster,’’ he said.

He’s that and more, said Barrios, who also showed he can deliver a quick counter.

“Payaso,’’ he said.

That’s Spanish for clown.

By Norm Frauenheim –

David Benavidez wore a polished symbol of the Phoenix logo around his neck a few days ago in a long-awaited homecoming.

The medallion represents, he says, where he’s been and who he still is.

In its brass reflection, however, there was something else. Something more. The mythological bird, now a modern city’s identity seen on government doors and busses, means a lot of things.

On this day, there was a message, a bold statement about a fighter transformed, unleashed from the years when he was defined by his futile pursuit of Canelo Alvarez.

He’s moved on, beyond Canelo and up the scale. The Canelo question is still there. Yet now, it’s almost an aside. Sorry to ask, video journalists say apologetically as he stands amid reporters and a long line of fans during an opening of the Visionary Boxing Club in west Phoenix last week.

No problem, Benavidez says, smiling. He hasn’t exactly eliminated Canelo as a possibility. He never will. The maturing Benavidez, 29-years-old last month, is a businessman, too. Business is a fundamental too often not included in a prize fighter’s skillset.

Canelo still means business, lots of it. Benavidez, like everybody else in the fight game, knows Canelo collected $100-million-plus for his September loss to Terence Crawford. That’s more than a prize. It’s a fortune.

Of course, Benavidez says he’d fight Canelo.

Canelo’s future, post-Crawford, was unclear until Thursday when The Ring reported he plans to fight again on Sept.12 in Saudi Arabia. He underwent elbow surgery in the immediate aftermath of the one-sided scorecard loss to Crawford.

In a video, Canelo’s return was called a “big, big,

big fight” by Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh, who bankrolled the Canelo-Crawford fight and owns The Ring.

Until then, Benavidez has other plans, all as ambitious as they are risky.

“Zurdo, Beterbiev, Bivol,’’ Benavidez said of Gilberto Ramirez, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Of the three, only Ramirez – Zurdo – is on the calendar, penciled in for May 2 – the Cinco-de-Mayo celebration that could have been called Canelo-de-Mayo during the Mexican’s primetime reign.

The risk in the Zurdo date, planned for Las Vegas, looks to be heavy. Benavidez, who defended his light-heavyweight title in a seventh-round stoppage of Anthony Yarde November 22 in Saudi Arabia, is making the jump to cruiserweight.

After only three fights at 175-pounds, the light-heavy limit, Benavidez will fight in a division 25 pounds heavier.

On the scale, it looks risky. According to early odds, however, it’s not. Some betting sites already make Benavidez a big favorite (minus-900).

Benavidez is confident, in part because he knows Zurdo well. They’ve sparred countless rounds. One hundred, 200 rounds, Benavidez says.

“Between 2017 and 2022, we sparred all the time,’’ said Benavidez, now a Miami resident who re-connected with his Phoenix fan-base Saturday by signing autographs for about six hours. “For five years, we sparred championship rounds. I knew then that I wanted to fight Zurdo. One day, I figured we would.

“After all of those championship rounds, it’s going to be a championship fight.’’

Benavidez is already at his new weight.

“I’m at 200 pounds now,’’ he said last Saturday.

The weight looked natural, unlike the 168 pounds that often left him gaunt and hollow-cheeked in the division long dominated by Canelo.

His father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr., says his son is already close to the weight he expects hm to be at opening bell May 2.

“Two-hundred, maybe 205,’’ Jose Sr. said.

Still, the jump in weight leaves questions about his hope to go back down to light-heavy for 175-pound dates against Beterbiev and Bivol. For at least a year, the expectation has been that Benavidez will grow into a heavyweight. Could cruiser be the first step in that direction?

It’s still not clear whether Beterbiev and Bivol will fight for a third time. Bivol is back in the gym after undergoing back surgery. Speculation has him back in the ring this Spring.

Meanwhile, time is the biggest question for Beterbiev. He’ll be 40 next Wednesday. He won’t be fighting much longer, unlike Benavidez whose ascent is just beginning.

By Norm Frauenheim

Marinate, a promotional euphemism for momentum, is either another tiring tease, or an early way to test public interest, or a little bit of both in a recipe that leaves hungry fans wanting but never getting.

The current example: Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez-versus-Naoya Inoue.

There’s more talk than ever, perhaps because of Junto Nakatani’s disappointing decision over Sebastian Hernandez last month in what was supposed to be a convincing steppingstone to Nakatani-Inoue.

Nakatani was left with a bruised right eye and perhaps a bruised resume, yet he survived, still unbeaten for a fight long planned to be the biggest in Japanese history. According to multiple reports — one from Boxing Scene this week and another from the World Boxing Council, the long-planned bout is projected to be on May 2, a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Tokyo.

News of the projected date was also accompanied by a poll conducted by The Ring. Who would you rather see, Nakatani-Inoue or Rodriguez-Inoue?

The timely question was prompted by Nakatani’s problematic performance Nov. 22 in the former bantamweight champion’s first fight at 122 pounds.

Fans, never a patient demographic, apparently have seen enough. Already, it looks as if they’re ready to cast aside Nakatani-Inoue for Rodriguez-Inoue. Seventy-three percent would prefer Bam in the ring against the feared Inoue instead of Nakatani.

The poll, like all polls, could mean just about anything. It also might be unfair to Nakatani, an accomplished fighter who struggled at a new weight against a dangerous foe virtually unknown outside of Mexico. It happens.

It also gives Nakatani more to prove, perhaps enough to make him more dangerous to Inoue than ever. Lessons delivered, lessons learned. That happens, too.

Still, surprising questions are there, left in the wake of his controversial victory. Left there, too, is an affirmation of the emerging interest in Bam, whose move up the pound-for-pound ratings has put the San Antonio fighter among the top five, consistently behind only Inoue and heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk.

Although hard to judge, a poll is one possible ingredient in a fight that might do more than just marinate. Maybe, it resonates. Maybe, it happens. Let’s say that Inoue beats Nakatani as decisively as he has beaten so many others. Then, there could still be questions about his claim – lifelong ambition — on pound-for-pound supremacy. Answers might be there only in a date with Bam.

For now, at least, there are already betting odds on Bam-Inoue, still marinating in the public imagination. Inoue is a solid favorite, minus 550.

In the collective mind of many fans, however, the odds of the fight ever happening are longer. Quit talking about it, they say. It’s a waste of time, they say, because the size difference is too big. Bam is a unified Super-Fly champion, fighting at 115-pounds, seven fewer than Inoue, undisputed at junior-feather (122).

But consider this: The 5-foot-4 Bam and 5-5 Inoue both started at the same weight, junior-flyweight, 108 pounds. The “Bam-is-too-small-for-Inoue” argument sounds a lot like “Inoue is too small for Nonito Donaire.’’

The “too small” Inoue beat Donaire, scoring a unanimous decision, at 120 pounds, in the 2019 Fight of the Year. In 2022, he backed it up, scoring a second-round stoppage of Donaire.

The more significant difference is in that other seven – the years that separate them in age. Bam will be 26 on January 20; Inoue will be 33 on April 10.

The pressure builds with every second on that unforgiving clock, especially for Inoue. It’s no secret that smaller fighters have careers shorter than those in the heavier divisions. Through interpreters, he has hinted at retirement in 2027.

That’s next year, which means the Bam-Inoue marination could be at full boil in about six months.      

By Norm Frauenheim

A year ends and another begins, leaving memories, controversies, brilliance, buffoonery, outrage, the usual suspects and lessons never heeded.

Ignore the lessons, and a battered business moves on from 2025 into 2026 full of the usual good, sad, bad and ugly.

First, the good: Fighter of the Year. It starts with the obvious, Terence Crawford. He’s Fighter of the Year with a singular performance, one of the best in several years.

This corner has said before and will say it again: Crawford’s decision over Canelo Alvarez in mid-September reminded us why boxing was once called The Sweet Science. It was brilliant for its fundamental adherence to time-honored skills, including footwork and smarts.

Lesson: It can be done again. Here are two fighters who have a chance at doing it in forthcoming years, both contenders now.

First runner-up: Naoya Inoue, who in 2025 stayed busy – old-school style – with four fights including this corner’s Fight of the Year, a Las Vegas stoppage of Ramon Cardenas in May. In an early round, then unknown Cardenas floored Inoue, who is at his dynamic best when he’s in trouble. The dramatic comeback from the perilous edge of defeat also saved boxing on a weekend that included the wreckage from an abysmal event in New York’s Times Square.

Second runner-up: Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. The three-division champ is boxing’s Quiet Man. He lets his performances speak for him. In 2026, they spoke volumes with two lethal stoppages, including this corner’s Knockout-of-the-Year of super-fly Fernando Martinez for a unified title.

It’s no coincidence that he and Inoue are linked in this Fighter-of-the-Year ballot. Bam-Inoue in late 2026 is the fight this corner wants to see more than any other.  

Now, the sad: A solemn 10-count for George Foreman, Ricky Hatton and Nino Benvenuti. Boxing lost all three in 2025. Foreman, ex-heavyweight champ from two eras, was a compelling story about personal transformation from angry to wise. A scary thug in the early 70s, he became as friendly as a cheeseburger in the 90s. Hatton was fearless and transparent, loved deeply by UK fans who serenaded him. Benvenuti, ex-undisputed middleweight champ with a matinee-idol’s look, is forever remembered by his fellow Italians.

Another 10-count for Michael Katz and Thomas Gerbasi, Sweet Scientists badly missed these days in the media seats. During times full of unsourced reports and feigned outrage in social media, both remind this corner that boxing can still be a writers’ sport.

On to the bad. It wouldn’t be boxing without it.

Worst Scorecard of the Year: Nawal Almohaimeed’s 118-110 in favor of Junto Nakatani in a unanimous decision over Sebastian Hernandez Nov. 22 in Riyadh. The other cards were 115-113, both for Nakatani and both debatable. The fight was supposed to set the stage for Inoue-versus-Nakatani in an all-time Japanese fight in May. 

Per sources close to the planned bout, Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda ended any chance of a speculated Bam-Nakatani fight months ago. He didn’t want to jeopardize plans for Inoue-Nakatani. 

Yet, Hernandez almost did what Honda feared Bam would. Questions linger about the decision and what it says about Nakatani’s chances versus Inoue.

The Enemy Within: Gervonta Davis calls himself Tank. That’s what’s he’s doing to his career. He’s tanking it with personal problems that never seem to end.

Davis has pound-for-pound skills and pound-for-pound troubles. The latest — a lawsuit alleging violent behavior, battery, and kidnapping – forced a cancellation of a date with Jake Paul, who wound up with a  fractured jaw when he decided to fight Anthony Joshua. In news conferences, Tank, 31, said he planned to retire after Paul. “Boxing is dead,’’ he said.

Exhibitions Ad Nauseam: Jake Paul, more promoter than fighter, suffered a painful loss – if not lesson – in facing Joshua. When Joshua’s brutal right snapped Paul’s jaw in two places, I immediately thought of an old line: You can’t play boxing. But authorities – the Florida Athletic Commission — allowed him to, despite the risk posed by Joshua’s enormous advantages in size and experience.

It reminded me of Paul’s date in November 2024 against Mike Tyson, aging yet in the ring despite a bleeding ulcer months before opening bell. Texas authorities shouldn’t have licensed Tyson, who was an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately, one didn’t. Against Joshua, the risk was to Paul, who’s victory over an ailing Tyson may have told him he could survive Joshua.

He couldn’t in what proved to be a sobering moment for somebody who is good for boxing only on the promotional side of the ropes.

Lesson: Do we really need to see Floyd Mayweather-versus-Tyson later this year? Resolve to just say no. 

By Norm Frauenheim

A consensus pound-for-pound champion is as temporary as it is rare, and — sure enough — Terence Crawford’s retirement this month reignites the debate about who’s No. 1.

Nobody is.

That’s an opinion, of course, but that’s all a pound-for-pound rating is anyway.

From this corner, the top spot is empty. In acronym-speak, it’s vacant and will remain so until somebody delivers a victory that’s proof of ownership.

For now, there are two contenders, both worthy. Take your pick, heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk or junior-featherweight Naoya Inoue, who was a 40-to-1 favorite to stay in contention before his bout Saturday against Allen David Picasso in Riyadh.

One rating already has filled the top spot. The Ring, Saudi-owned since it was purchased 14 months ago from Oscar De La Hoya, put Usyk into the top spot, moving him up like a passenger waiting in line for an open seat.

It was simple enough and somewhat expected. Usyk had been there, off and on, before Crawford left no doubt with his masterful decision over Canelo Alvarez in mid-September.

Even if Crawford makes a comeback nine months from now, his last fight serves as a guide, a lesson of sorts. To wit: One of boxing’s oldest debates should be driven more by performance than process.

Usyk and Inoue have resumes comparable to Crawford’s. Each is unbeaten; each has multiple belts at multiple weights. But neither has the kind of singular performance the equal of Crawford’s last triumph. Not yet.

With Crawford’s retirement, Inoue is the only undisputed champion in the pound-for-pound top 10. Even that, however, is part process. Usyk relinquished a piece of his undisputed title in November when he gave up the World Boxing Organization’s heavyweight version. 

He did so because of another process: Healing. Lingering injuries from his last fight prevented him from fulfilling a so-called mandatory date laid down by the acronym’s bureaucracy.

For now, we wait on Usyk’s next date, perhaps against the faded Deontay Wilder. Talks are said to be ongoing.

For now, we also wait on Inoue’s next real challenge. Prohibitive odds said it wouldn’t be against Picasso, a fighter with an artistic name and in need of something surreal to pull off a Buster Douglas-like upset.

It’s expected that Inoue’s chance at a definitive performance might happen early May in Japan against Junto Nakatani — also unbeaten and ranked among the pound-for-pound’s second five. Inoue-Nakatani is already being called the greatest prize-fight in Japanese history.

It’s no coincidence that Nakatani shared the Riyadh card with Inoue in a bout against Sebastian Hernandez, unbeaten before opening bell yet fighting a scheduled 12-rounder for the first time. It sets up what powerful promoter Akihiko Honda – Mr. Honda – has been planning for a couple of years. 

Until at least then, there’s a vacancy at the top of this pound-for-pound debate.    

By Norm Frauenheim

Terence Crawford’s retirement is being called a surprise. Even a shock. But is it? Really? Or is it just consistent, another thread in a career defined by a stubborn, defiant brilliance?

After all, Crawford, unbeaten and uncompromising, always defied expectations.

In retiring this week just three months after his masterful victory over Canelo Alvarez, he simply did what he’s always done.

Beating Canelo was unexpected, even in the way he accomplished it. A dynamic finisher throughout his career, he instead scored a decision, dismantling a confused Canelo with a comprehensive skillset throughout 12 rounds. It was another example of Crawford doing what nobody thought he could or would.

Boxing’s cynical wisdom, of course, dictates that skepticism be attached to any retirement. History tells us that no retirement is complete without a comeback or three.

“History is never retired,’’ Crawford said Tuesday in his social-media announcement.

But it does get re-written as new generations produce moments and fighters with their own timeless claims and challenges.

Guess here: Crawford’s legacy – three undisputed titles at three weights – will evolve. For now, there’s an intriguing debate about who was better, Crawford or Floyd Mayweather.

Their eras overlap; their styles were different; their ring IQs were similar. There’s no real answer to who was better. Never will be.

But the debate itself suggests that both could have held their own during a golden era defined by Four Kings, author George Kimball’s book about Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran. If Crawford and Mayweather were fighting then, there might have been six kings.

Crawford’s pursuit of legacy looks to be genuine, even more so than the one created by Mayweather, who has continued to pursue money in exhibitions after ending his real career at 50-0 against mixed-martial artist Conor McGregor.

The often-edgy Crawford is known for a lot of things. Above all, he’s authentic and so is his 42-0 record. He could risk that with a comeback many believe could happen next September in a rich rematch against Canelo, who reportedly had already been seeking a chance to avenge the one-sided loss he suffered at Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

Big money is the draw, and $100 million is as big as it gets. There has already been speculation that’s the number Crawford asked for when rumors surfaced that Canelo wanted a rematch. Canelo, the longtime face of Mexican boxing, got $100-million-plus in September, according to Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh.

One-hundred million changes minds. It’s a fortune Crawford couldn’t ignore, especially against somebody he’s already beaten decisively.

But the risk that lurks is in a number not preceded by a dollar sign. This is about time, measured by years instead of dollars. Crawford, who collected a reported $50 million for beating Canelo, will be 39 next September.

In the here-and-now, his retirement sounds genuine. It takes him away from the rigors and risks of thinking about another opening bell. It also preserves a legacy he knows is already his.

A loss, at any price, wouldn’t destroy that, but it could tarnish the unbeaten record and put him at risk of losing the argument about how his all-time resume stands up against Mayweather.

Whatever happens, his announcement does Canelo a favor. Belt-less for the first time in years, it offers the Mexican a couple of paths back to a world title.

In early December, the World Boxing Council created an alternate path back to a world-title belt by stripping Crawford of the super-middleweight version and then ordering that the vacancy be filled by the winner of a Christian Mbilli-Hamzah Sheeraz fight.

Two weeks later, Canelo, who is recovering from elbow surgery, figures to have a few other options back to IBF, WBO and/or WBA belts vacated by Crawford’s retirement.

The WBC decision was dominated by the controversy brought on by Crawford’s profane social-media counter to the ruling body, which said it took the belt because Crawford had not paid sanctioning fees, reported to be $300,000.

The subsequent furor might set the stage for fundamental change in the boxing-business’ hierarchy. But Crawford’s announcement Tuesday also suggests that the belt didn’t mean a damn thing to him any more.

Instead, he was angered by the WBC going public with why it was making the move. Intended or not, the WBC provoked a Crawford reaction. The proud Crawford, already known for not suffering fools gladly, is even more contemptuous of anybody who tries to make a fool out of him.

He fired back with familiar fury. A personal memory: I’ve long believed that it’s hard to understand Crawford without having seen him fight in Omaha, his hometown. The midwestern city is in his DNA. It’s a long way from the Vegas strip, New York and LA. By boxing standards, it’s in a different universe.

Omaha is a city most great fighters leave. But not Crawford, a loyal son who fights for it with tenacity.

In October 2018, I was there for a fight against Jose Benavidez Jr., David Benavidez’ older brother and then still a welterweight contender. The fight was preceded by trash talk, some of it racial.

At the weigh-in, things came to a full-blown boil. Benavidez, Phoenix born-and-forged, reached across the scale and shoved Crawford.

Crawford quickly reacted as though he was enraged at somebody trying to embarrass him in front of hometown fans. He threw an uppercut, one that was intended to land, yet narrowly missed Benavidez’ exposed chin.

The fight was allowed to proceed. The next night, however, Omaha police were on alert. Armed officers filled the ring before opening bell and were present throughout the building throughout the fight. The place was jammed with Crawford fans, including famed investor Warren Buffett.

Surprisingly, a fearless Benavidez survived 11 rounds, but Crawford finished him with an uppercut followed by two right hands in the final seconds. The crowd went wild, roaring almost as if Crawford, one of them, had won one for them. Within the ropes, retaliation is fair play. Crawford delivered it with authority.

And authenticity. Benavidez was never the same.

In the end, it’s the authenticity that people see in Crawford. Another personal experience: As I finished writing last September and left my seat in the Allegiant Stadium press box high above the ring, I stepped into the elevator. An older woman was the elevator attendant.

As we headed down to the first floor, she looked at me and smiled:

“I love Terence Crawford,’’ she said. “There’s nothing phony there.’’

Nothing phony in that retirement, either.

By Norm Frauenheim

The echoes from last week’s noisy Terence Crawford-World Boxing Council feud include lots of talk about what’s next for an always contentious business suddenly facing some fundamental change.

Still, it’s a guessing game. The only sure thing is that Crawford and the WBC won’t be exchanging Christmas cards this month. All else remains unpredictable. In other words: Business as usual.

Amid all the personal insults and profanity, however, one thing got lost in the WBC’s decision to strip Crawford of its super-middleweight belt for what it said was a failure to pay a $300,000 sanctioning fee. Crawford denied he had agreed to pay anything at all in an angry rant that made fee sound like just another f-word.

Take the belt, said Crawford, who doesn’t need it any more anyway. His undisputed resume is forever there, witnessed throughout his masterful decision over Canelo Alvarez by more than 72,000 at Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and a Netflix audience in mid-September.  

The WBC can take the belt.

But not the legacy.

The WBC strip, however, created a path for Canelo to reclaim it.

Canelo, the longtime face of Mexican boxing, has already announced he intends to be back, sometime next year after he recovers from left-elbow surgery, which he underwent in October.

For the first time in years, Canelo will be without a belt, especially the WBC’s green belt, by far the most valued one by fighters throughout the acronym era.

Before the Mexico City-based WBC stripped Crawford, the guess was that Canelo would have to face Crawford all over again in a problematic bid to reclaim the WBC belt, long the crown jewel in a collection that includes WBA, WBO, IBF and — increasingly — The Ring.

Crawford’s skillful victory in September suggests that a second fight would play out the same way. Once again, Crawford would dominate.

In the September showdown’s initial aftermath, there looked to be only one way for Canelo to regain a world title at super-middle. He had to go through Crawford. But the WBC opened an alternate path by stripping Crawford and ordering a Hamzah Sheeraz-Christian Mbilli fight for the vacant belt.

Canelo’s chances at regaining a title? Against Crawford or the Sheeraz-Mbilli winner? Dumb questions. After what happened in September, Canelo’s best shot is the latter, against Sheeraz or Mbilli.

Canelo’s are slim to none against Crawford, who goes into the New Year apparently undecided about his future, yet undisputed in the pound-for-pound debate. He’s the consensus No.1, rare in a business known more for only disputes.

By now, of course, the WBC’s relationship with Canelo is no secret. David Benavidez, a Phoenix born-and-forged fighter and current WBC light-heavyweight champion, was the WBC’s longtime interim champion at 168 pounds.

Interim doesn’t mean much, but it is supposed to come with a mandatory shot at the champion. In this case, it was Canelo. But Benavidez never got that mandatory, and the WBC never enforced it with even a threat to strip Canelo.

The WBC has been ripped for its favorable treatment of Canelo. To be sure, Crawford repeated it in his broadside.

That said – and Crawford said plenty, it’s still not clear whether he’ll be fighting for any kind of belt anymore. Before the WBC stripped him, there had been speculative reports that Canelo wanted a rematch. There were also speculative reports that Crawford would ask for the $100-million-plus purse Canelo received in September.

A sequel might attract streaming services willing to pay a fortune for an escalated episode of drama and trash talk. But heightened hostility between Crawford and WBC might be a hurdle. Could the two ever do business together again?

Reported options for Crawford also include a bid for another title at another weight, 160-pounds. At 38-years-old, however, retirement is still another possibility. Crawford just delivered a singular performance, one that reminded us why boxing was once called The Sweet Science.

It would be hard to top that one and maybe even harder to recreate, especially if Canelo opts to take the easier path.

By Norm Frauenheim

Boxing, unruly and unrepentant, is erupting all over again with Terence Crawford’s shotgun-like blast of insults in a social-media counter to the World Boxing Council’s decision to strip him of his title.

In a social-media post delivered from his vehicle late Wednesday, Crawford unloaded on the WBC and its president, Mauricio Sulaiman, who announced from a convention in Bangkok this week that it was stripping the 168-pound belt Crawford won in his masterful decision over Canelo Alvarez for not paying sanctioning fees.

Sulaiman said he failed to pay a $300,000 fee on a purse that Sulaiman said “allegedly earned” Crawford $50 million. If accurate, that’s less than the traditional fee, 0.6 percent instead of the usual 3%.

But Sulaiman’s use of the word “allegedly” is confusing. It suggests that the WBC did not know what the precise size of Crawford’s purse in a mid-September bout that resulted in Canelo collecting more than $100-million, according to Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh.

It’s not clear whether the WBC has filed a lawsuit or intends to.

In a subsequent post to his profane shot at Sulaiman, Crawford said he never agreed to pay anything to the WBC, which also said that the pound-for-pound champion failed to pay a fee for his junior-middleweight decision over Israil Madrimov in August 2024.

“Let’s make things clear …’’ Crawford said on an X post. “I never agreed on anything with (WBC), nor did my team. So, stop the crap with that narrative. I’ve always been a man of my word.’’

It’s also not clear what Crawford paid to the other three ruling bodies, — International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association. He also won a belt from The Ring, a century-old publication bought by Alalshikh from Oscar De La Hoya for a reported $10 million in November 2024.

Sulaiman said the WBC had tried repeatedly to communicate with Crawford. Sulaiman said there was never a reply. Stripping the belt, Sulaiman said, was a last resort.

Crawford, an undisputed champion in three weight classes, is bigger than any of the belts. After his career-defining decision over Canelo, his legacy is secure.

A prevailing theory is that he reacted angrily to the WBC because the acronym tried to embarrass him by going public with the reasons for its decision.

On any scale, $300,000 is a lot of money. But as a percentage of a reported $50 million, it’s small. Still, nobody likes to get outed for not paying parking tickets.

Crawford is known for his pride and defiance. In other words: Don’t try to tell him what to do. And don’t try to make a fool out of him. The WBC did both. An angry Crawford countered.

“No hard feelings,’’ Sulaiman told reporters late Thursday.

The controversy, however, doesn’t figure to disappear quietly. In a possible bid to monopolize the sport, there have been mounting signs for months that the Saudis are trying to rid

the sport of rival belts and acronym influence.

Alalshikh declined to display the WBC belt during a Canelo news conference in March 2025.  He did, however, happily display The Ring’s belt. It’s fair to wonder whether The Ring, a publication, will eventually become another four-letter acronym, RING.

“The effing real belt is the Ring belt, which is free,’’ Crawford said in a remark that sums up a looming battle over who controls the fighters, the fees, rule-and-regs and purses.

It’s still not clear whether Crawford will retire or fight on in perhaps a rematch against Canelo or in a bid for still another title, this time at middleweight.

 But his presence in the overall future of the business will be there, no matter whether he answers another opening bell. On Wednesday, he showed – he shouted – that he was ready to answer just about anything. 

By Norm Frauenheim

David Benavidez, who made more news after the Anthony Yarde fight than he did during it, is seizing the day.

Canelo’s day.

In a sure sign that Benavidez doesn’t intend to waste time waiting while in his prime, he followed up his stoppage of Yarde with an announcement that he plans to fight Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez for two pieces of the cruiserweight title on the Cinco de Mayo weekend.

A sudden step up in weight for another title was news, much of it precipitated by uncertainty about whether a third Dmitry Bivol-Artur Beterbiev fight will ever happen.

But the real significance was the date, May 2 at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. Zurdo, who is scheduled for a Jan. 16 tune-up against Swede Robin Sirwan Safar, confirmed the fight and the date. So did his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya. Already, Benavidez has been installed a 3-to-1 favorite by on-line books.

Odds are: A boxing May Day, a possible sea change at the top of the sport, is happening.

For the last couple of decades, the Cinco de Mayo weekend has belonged to the reigning face of the game.

First, there was Floyd Mayweather Jr., who honored the celebration by wearing a mariachi costume that included everything but a trumpet. Then, Canelo Alvarez, who took it back for Mexico.

But Canelo’s September loss to a masterful Terence Crawford and subsequent fall from the top 10 in leading pound-for-pound ratings for the first time since 2018 leaves a possible opening, a vacant throne, there for a successor.

Boldly, Benavidez has put himself first in line.

“I don’t want to waste any more time,” Benavidez told reporters in Riyadh at the top of his post-fight newser after a solid, expected stoppage in a light-heavyweight title defense.

“I want greatness, and I had an opportunity to go up to challenge Ramirez for two titles at cruiserweight.

“I didn’t get the opportunity at 168, and now I am not getting it at 175. So, I am going to make my own lane and achieve greatness, one way or the other.’’

Benavidez, forced to wait for years, no longer has to, in part because of the momentum that came with his victory over Yarde. The Phoenix-born-and-forged fighter goes into his prime – he’ll be 29-years old on Dec. 17 – with his record unbeaten and his options unlimited.

That said, Yarde, a competent gatekeeper, isn’t exactly Terence Crawford. Guess here, Canelo would have easily beaten Yarde, too. Canelo still looms as a factor in what Benavidez can do, will do. For years, he frustrated Benavidez, denying him a shot at his 168-pound undisputed title.

Now suddenly without a belt, Canelo has lost some of his leverage, but none of his influence. He’s still a draw among Mexican fans, ever loyal and the boxing audience’s biggest demographic. Translation: He’s still box-office. Saudi promoter and Prince Turki Alalshikh paid him a reported purse of more than $100 million for fighting Crawford.

Now there are reports that Canelo wants to double down. Reportedly, he wants a rematch, and there are at least 100 million reasons for why he wants the sequel. 

But there are no reports on what Crawford intends to do. His brilliant decision over Canelo was proof, the punctuation point to a genuine legacy. It would be hard to repeat.

Why risk it against Canelo or anybody else, for that matter? Then again, Crawford, who maybe got half of what Canelo was paid, might ask for the $100 million-plus in a proposed rematch. That might be enough to draw him back into the ring instead of retirement.

Timing is a big factor, second to only the money. Crawford turned 38 just a couple of weeks after delivering a thorough exhibition of Sweet Science skill in a unanimous decision over Canelo. He’ll surely get older, but probably not better. For him, the clock is ticking. Can he still fight? Stupid question. But the longer he waits, the bigger the risk.

If – a big if – a rematch agreement could be reached in early 2026, May 2 – the Cinco de Mayo weekend — would loom, offering Canelo a chance to reclaim a defining date in a still evolving battle with an impatient rival determined to take it from him, one way or another.  

By Norm Frauenheim

Jesse Rodriguez stands out for what he doesn’t do in a business otherwise full of gasbags and so-called influencers who pontificate more than punch.

Bam, a nickname, is the loudest thing about Rodriguez, a fighter as business-like as he is quiet. But don’t mistake the silence. Call him soft-spoken at your own peril. Many have, and all have been left senseless, if not speechless.

Rodriguez owns boxing’s proverbial bully pulpit, dominating with relentless pressure and precise punching. At ringside, there’s an old line about volume punching. That volume is how Rodriguez expresses himself. He turns it up — loud and lethal, then turns it down – clever and calculated – with a maestro’s sense of tempo that often ends in a beat down.

He answered Sunny Edwards’ trash-talking, unsupported allegations about PEDs with a punishing stoppage. A couple of fights later, Edwards retired, saying he no longer had the will to fight on. In response to the taunts, Rodriguez beat it out of him in a way only he could deliver.

After Edwards, he got up from a knockdown for a brutally efficient stoppage of accomplished Juan Francisco Estrada June, 2024 in Phoenix. Estrada waived a rematch clause, which was his way of saying a second chance offered no chance.  He has fought only once since then.

Quiet, but impossible to ignore, an unfolding run to the top of a contentious game continues, this time in Riyadh Saturday when the 25-year-old Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KOs) attempts to add another piece to his Super Fly crown against Fernando Daniel Martinez, a 34-year-old Buenos Aires fighter, also unbeaten (18-0, 9 KOs).

Predictably, perhaps, the emerging Rodriguez has been getting less attention than anybody else on the Saudi card. It’s been built around David Benavidez and his aspirations to become the so-called next face of the game. For now, it all depends on if the Phoenix-born-and-forged fighter prevails in a light-heavyweight title defense against London’s Anthony Yarde.

Then, there’s Devin Haney in a fight to reassert himself and his place against welterweight belt-holder Brian Norman

Jr. on boxing’s developing marquee for 2026.

Rodriguez hasn’t exactly been ignored. But he goes into Saturday’s bout with credentials that neither Benavidez nor Haney has. In every pound-for-pound rating, he ranks higher. Only on the scale is he smaller. In any other world, he’s a main-event fighter, capable of drawing crowds of 10-to-12,000 in Phoenix or San Antonio, his hometown.

In Riyadh, he’s on the DAZN undercard, the second prelim on the four-fight live-stream topped by Benavidez-Yarde.

It’s reasonable to argue that an emerging pound-for-pound contender on an undercard isn’t good for the overall business. Why not Phoenix, or San Antonio, or any other city in the Southwest? Fans there have been left behind, almost forgotten. Forget them, and eventually nobody gets paid.

It’s a complaint that this corner in Arizona hears with mounting frequency. But it’s not one you’ll hear from Rodriguez, still quiet and ever stoic. He’s there for the Saudi money. It’s huge and it comes at an important time in Rodriguez’ life.

Rodriguez, already the father of an 18-month-old daughter, is expecting a son. He missed media workouts Wednesday in Riyadh. Instead, he monitored social media, an anxious dad awaiting his son’s birth on the other side of the world.

“We knew that our fight was gonna end up a day after his birth, so I was telling my girlfriend (Rebecca) to hold him as long as she can,’’ Rodriguez told SunSport in Riyadh. “But just before I came over here, they had mentioned that he might be born either tonight (Wednesday) or tomorrow (Thursday). This is all for them at the end of the day.’’

Motivation to fight, he went on to say, was now rooted in the need to provide for a growing family.

“I have to put food on their plates and toys in their playpen,’’ he said, a quiet man saying it all.

By Norm Frauenheim

Boxing gets a head start on a New Year next Saturday with a card in Riyadh loaded with potential to set the table for 2026.

Mostly, it’s a card about expectations and an emerging generation poised to take center stage.

It’s face: David Benavidez, who captures the imaginations and hopes for what many foresee in the year after Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez.

It’s still not clear what either Crawford or Canelo will do. From rematch to retirement, the inevitable speculation continues to produce names, possibilities and fantasy. Nobody knows, not even them. But Crawford’s masterful, definitive decision over Canelo in mid-September had an air of finality about it.

One generation is moving on and a new one is moving in.

For now, at least, there’s a growing perception that it’ll be led by Benavidez. First, however, the Phoenix-born-and-forged fighter must prove – prove decisively — that he’s here to stay at a new weight, light-heavy, against a competent journeyman, Anthony Yarde, on a DAZN card that also includes welterweight Devin Haney and Super Fly Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

Haney is there in a fight to re-affirm his credentials and re-claim his place in the future against welterweight belt-holder Brian Norman, Jr.

Rodriguez, the youngest and highest rated pound-for-pound contender, is there for a Saudi paycheck. He’s a main event in any other part of the world.

Against Argentine Fernando Daniel Martinez, Rodriguez has an opportunity to unify the 115-pound title and strengthen chances at landing an eventual monster date against Naoya Inoue, Japan’s Rising Son whose supremacy faces a looming challenge in Junto Nakatani.

Every opening bell on Nov. 22 signals an intriguing look ahead, but none is capturing more attention than Benavidez, who is within a month of his 29^th birthday.

He enters his prime, full of confidence at the beginning of what figures to be the most important chapter in his unlikely career from a forgotten overweight kid to perhaps the most feared fighter of his day.

The perceived fear is creating its own momentum, including recent endorsements from former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Both called the unbeaten Benavidez the most unbeatable fighter.

Emboldened, Benavidez told reporters during a training camp in Dubai that he never felt stronger. In large part there is growing confidence in Benavidez because his future is no longer tied to Canelo.

For years, Benavidez chased Canelo in hopes of a 168-pound showdown. It was futile. In moving up the scale, Benavidez finds a new and unlimited horizon, away from Canelo’s suffocating influence. Now, he has a chance to define himself on his own terms. He moves up and on, a man with an unencumbered opportunity to shape his own destiny.

But, again, he first he must face Yarde, whose resume suggests he could be a so-called gatekeeper. To wit: Benavidez must beat him to gain entry to a place among the elite.

Yarde has tried to crash the party twice, first against Sergey Kovalev and then Artur Beterbiev. He lost both. But the experience indicates Yarde, a relative newcomer to boxing, has seen and endured light-heavyweight power and skill that Benavidez has not.

Odds suggest Benavidez will win easily. He’s a consensus pick, favored by odds as one-sided as 12-to-1.

Still, there’s skepticism, some of it brought on by the way he got the World Boxing Council’s version of the title. He was awarded the belt when Dmitri Bivol vacated it. An awarded belt is like a certificate of achievement, a bureaucratic piece of paper. Only punches can validate it.

That, of course, is what Benavidez intends to do while also planning on what happens after he does. There’s a risk in looking past somebody with Yarde’s experience. Then again, Benavidez’ evident confidence is a sign that maybe – just maybe – he’s as good as Tyson and Lewis think he is.

Already, the unbeaten Benavidez is talking about fights, post-Yarde. Before breaking camp in Dubai and heading to Riyadh late last week, he told reporters he expected to fight Callum Smith after Yarde. Smith had been in reported negotiations to before Yarde suddenly got the nod.

“We’ll probably get Callum next,’’ Benavidez told reporters.

Then, he talked in some frustration about uncertainty over when he’ll get a chance to fight Beterbiev and/or Bivol. Bivol is coming off back surgery. After they split their first two fights, a third is still possible.

“I’m disappointed I’m not fighting one of these guys,’’ said Benavidez, who remembers all the frustration he felt in his futile wait for Canelo.

Benavidez went on to say he respected Bivol for making moves that have kept alive a possible trilogy. Still, he wasn’t happy at the uncertainty about when or if a third would ever happen.

For now, it doesn’t matter.

Benavidez’ newfound future starts with Yarde.

Back to AZ

Eddie Hearn announced plans Friday for early 2026, including Feb. 28 at Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix suburb Glendale for a bout between Emanuel Navarrete-Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez for two pieces of the junior-lightweight title. Navarrete has the WBO belt; Nunez the IBF.

Initially, the fight was planned for early March at the NBA arena on the Suns home floor in downtown Phoenix.

It’s the first major card in the Phoenix area in more than a year. Phoenix had emerged as a go-to market before Saudi money changed how and where boxing does business.

Example: Super Fly Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, a main-event attraction, against Argentine Fernando Daniel Martinez in a 115-pound unification fight on a Riyadh undercard Nov. 22.

Boxers, prize fighters, go where the biggest prize is. It’s huge in Saudi Arabia. But the downside is for the crowds and towns that create those stars. They get left behind.

Bam became a star in Phoenix, thanks to Hearn’s promotional skills and the city’s proven appreciation for fighters in the smallest weight classes. It goes all the way back to Hall-of-Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal.

Guess here: The Bam-Martinez fight in downtown Phoenix or Glendale would have drawn a crowd of more than 12,000. The overall health of the boxing business would have been better off if Bam-Martinez had been featured as a main event in Phoenix instead of a prelim on an undercard in Riyadh.

Pay the fighters. But remember the fans. Forget them and eventually nobody gets paid.

By Norm Frauenheim

From the batter’s box to the finish line to the ring, there’s been a lot of good, bad and ugly over the last fifty years. Pete Rose’s ban, Mike Tyson’s prison sentence, Evander Holyfield’s ear and so much more are all there.

Somewhere on that historical list, there’s Victor Conte.

I’m not sure where. But he’s there, a personality hard to know, yet with an influence impossible to separate from the turmoil and triumph, shock and awe, the cream and the clear.

Conte’s gone, dead at 75 last Monday after a five-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

In the many obits, there is always a mention of major-league baseball’s so-called Steroid Era, almost as if Conte created it.

He didn’t.

To be sure, Conte was there, a man with a potion that enabled Barry Bonds to finish his career in 2007 with 762 homers, more than Henry Aaron’s record (755).

But the substance had already been around for at least a couple of decades in old East German, Soviet and Chinese labs populated by mad scientists who created swimmers, sprinters, shot putters and weightlifters who dominated the Olympic medal count in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Conte simply imported the potion, added a mineral here and there for what has been called “designer” steroids — a good fit for every pair of athletic genes.

It got Conte and his BALCO venture a lot of attention, most of it notorious enough to land him in prison for four months. But Conte was never the evil genius that some of the obits suggest. He was a salesman, who sold himself, first and foremost.

He also was shrewd and cynical. He understood his market, which is populated by ambitious, single-minded athletes who will do almost anything to get an advantage, especially if it can’t be detected, at least for awhile.

It’s fair to assume that gladiators entered the Roman Colosseum armed with more than shields and an arsenal of cruel weapons. Modern archeologists are finding evidence that was more in their cooking oil than just olives.

I swam competitively in college for four years, 1967 through 1971 — the Mark Spitz and pre-goggle era. At a dinner hosted by Conte in Vegas a couple of years ago, I told him cryptically that I was glad that he wasn’t around during my time in the pool. I would have taken just about anything to get to the Olympics.

Conte looked at me and just smiled, in retrospect a knowing smile.

I recall talking to late Arizona Senator John McCain in an interview for The Arizona Republic before the 2004 Athens Olympics. The conversation turned to steroids. McCain, who boxed and wrestled for the Naval Academy, looked at me and – without hesitation — said:

“Hell, I would have asked where can I get some and when can I get some more. I’d have been taking that stuff by the handfuls.’’

From Rome to now, athletes are always looking for an advantage — fair or not, artificial or not. There’s always been a Conte to fill that demand.

My first experience with Conte was after he had left prison and entered the inevitable: Boxing.

Then, he had taken on the role of reformer. For the media, he was the go-to source in a counter argument to the fighters who were contesting a positive test. He also had formed his own company, SNAC, an acronym for the supplements and advice he offered.

At the time of Conte’s death, Terence Crawford was on his SNAC client list. Conte was unable to attend Crawford’s masterful upset of Canelo Alvarez in mid-September in front of an Allegiant Stadium crowd of more than 70,000 and a reported Netflix audience of more than 42 million. Reportedly, his worsening condition prevented him from attending a fight he surely wanted to see in person.

Always, he had openly bragged about how he had worked with some of the sport’s best, including Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields and emerging pound-for-contender Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. He also had worked with Andre Ward and others.

But his prison time, relationship with Bonds, work with Olympic gold-medalist track star Marion Jones and former 100-meter dash world-record holder Tim Montgomery turned him into an easy target, especially in boxing.

That was never more evident than in Rodriguez’ fight against Sunny Edwards at Desert Diamond Arena for the flyweight title in Glendale, AZ nearly two years ago. Edwards, never shy, had seen the SNAC on Rodriguez’ shorts and jersey.

Edwards attacked, calling out Conte and suggesting that Rodriguez was a PED user throughout the days before opening bell. Rodriguez, who has never tested positive and had never even been questioned about it, responded to the pointed, noisy allegations with stone-faced silence.

That left it up to the media to get a response. I called Conte. He was quick to defend Rodriguez as a fighter who had as much integrity as any in the notorious sport. For the next two days, Conte sustained a loud attack on Edwards. Then, Rodriguez finished the job with a punishing stoppage. Two fights later, Edwards retired, saying he just didn’t have any desire to fight on.

In effect, Rodriguez, who let his hands do his talking, finished him. He also let Conte do all the talking.

No matter what Edwards or anybody else believed, Conte was good on stage and in the bully pulpit. It was a talent he learned, perhaps in his days in 1970 when he was the bass guitarist for a Bay-area R&B band, The Tower Of Power, a name and perhaps a pretty good metaphor for what opposing pitchers saw in Bonds when he came to the plate.

Conte, according to Wikipedia, also played for a band named Pure Food and Drug Act. Sunny Edwards isn’t surprised.

Rest-In-Peace, Victor Conte

Major card back in PHX plans

It looks as if a major card is headed back to the Phoenix area, a go-to city until Saudi money began to dominate the business.

Top Rank has plans for Emanuel Navarrete (39-2-1,32 KOs) against fellow Mexican Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez (29-1, 27 KOs) on March 7 on the Suns home floor. It’s a junior-lightweight unification fight. Navarrete has the WBO belt; Nunez the IBF.

Names have changed since the last major card has been staged in Phoenix. The downtown arena was called Footprint Center. Now, it’s the Mortgage Market Center.

By Norm Frauenheim

Only boxing is killing boxing. It’s an old line, yet

relevant as ever this week with news of talk about a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao rematch.

It’s been a decade since the first one, which has been hard to forget for all the wrong reasons. It was a dud, memorable only for all the money that was made. Pacquiao got rich. Mayweather got richer. Everybody else got robbed.

Many in a record pay-per-view audience of 4.6 million for the May 2015 fight grumbled at what they paid for and walked away, never to pay again.

For ten long years, the business has worked through futility and frustration, attempting to bring back old fans while trying to create a few new ones. The jury is out. So are the fans.

Yet, younger faces and new money, Saudi money, are creating newfound possibilities.

The business is also coming off a notable triumph in Terence Crawford’s scorecard upset of Canelo Alvarez in mid-September in front of a crowd of more than 70,000 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and a reported audience of more than 42 million on Netflix.

The numbers add up to a reason for cautious optimism, emphasis on the caution. Crawford’s masterful performance reminded an eroding and increasingly exasperated fan base of why boxing was once called The Sweet Science.

It still can be.

But Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 might make a returning crowd wary of getting fooled all over again. Caveat emptor is attached to any prizefighting venture, of course. But Mayweather-Pacquiao almost stands alone for what went wrong and what not to do all over again.

It’s no surprise that Pacquiao and Mayweather would want to, of course. Another chance at even a fraction of the money earned a decade ago is motivation enough to try once more. Pacquiao confirmed there have been negotiations.

“Right now, we have a lot of negotiations about my next fight; there’s a possible rematch with Floyd Mayweather,” Pacquiao said Wednesday during a news conference in Manila. “…”I’d love to have another fight, a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.”

Of course, he would.

However, there was no immediate confirmation from Mayweather, who reportedly has an agreement for an exhibition with Mike Tyson, also next year.

Pacquiao, however, made it sound as if a rematch — perhaps next spring — would be a genuine bout, one for the books.

“A real fight,” he said.

That, of course, would be a risk to Mayweather’s unbeaten, 50-0 record, a cornerstone to his claim on being the best ever. Unbeaten might be an issue, a legacy Mayweather does not want to jeopardize  

Pacquiao is 46 and coming off an entertaining draw with Mario Barrios in a July comeback. Against Barrios, he proved he can still fight. But for how much longer? The former Filipino Senator will be 47 in December.

Meanwhile, Mayweather, who has been on the exhibition tour for years, is 48. He’ll be 49 in late February.

Even a decade ago, both were late in their primes, yet fought with the hesitance of older men. Mayweather won a decision. After the scores were announced and the boos subsided, Pacquiao said he fought with a shoulder injury.

Even then, the fight was said to be a couple of years past its due date. Ten years later, it’s just ancient history. It’s time to move on, both for them and a game fighting to separate itself from their past.

David Benavidez on the move

David Benavidez, a Phoenix-born fighter now living in Miami, has already moved his training camp to the Middle East for his looming light-heavyweight title fight against 175-pound veteran Anthony Yarde in Riyadh Nov. 22.

With the move, he hopes to adjust to new surroundings and time zone. Benavidez will be fighting in Saudi Arabia for the first time. All of his fights have been in the U.S. and Mexico. 

By Norm Frauenheim

Boxing regulation, like colossal shrimp, is often a classic oxymoron, two words aligned yet always in conflict. After all, boxing is at its roguish best or perhaps worst when it avoids regulation. It’s been a way of doing business

These days, however, two emerging faces from the promotional side – one with unprecedented money and the other with White House connections – joined the regulatory side in an apparent effort to gain control over the balkanized game.

It’s hard to understand why else Prince Turki Alalshikh, the money man from the Saudi monarchy, and Dana White, UFC kingpin and friend of Donald Trump, played politics a week ago in seeking an endorsement from the

California State Athletic Commission.

Alalshikh and White, fresh off their triumph in the promotion of Terence Crawford’s masterful decision over Canelo Alvarez last month, are trying to push through the proposed Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act.

It’s supposed to replace the shopworn, often forgotten Ali Act, the original attempt to bring some ethics and order to a business known for notorious practices. For too long, fighters have been protected only by a sturdy mouthpiece.

Late Senators John McCain of Arizona and Harry Reid of Nevada had good intentions when they crafted the bill, introducing it in 1999 and enacting it in 2000. Both were former boxers. They understood the sport and the fighters. Both also got a lot of help and advice from Hall of Fame trainer and ringside commentator Emanuel Steward.

But all three are gone. Guess here, all three would see through what White and Alalshikh were doing at the California Commission. It was a campaign stop – a dog-and-pony show — for legislation that could strengthen their control of boxing when their Zuffa promotional banner debuts next year.

It’s evident that Alalshikh and White are trying to eliminate rivals and perhaps critics. White, an unchallenged giant in his promotion of mixed martial arts, says he wants to go into boxing without the old acronyms or rival promoters.

Part of the reported plan is to recognize only The Ring’s title.

It’s no coincidence that Alalshikh bought The Ring from Oscar De La Hoya last November for a reported $10 million. Then, De La Hoya, who has been feuding with White for years, thought he was selling a magazine, a century-old trademark. But now he knows he sold off a piece of what they intend to use as a further way dominate the business.

From this corner, however, it’s not clear that their proposed changes to 25-year-old legislation will have any more of a lasting impact than the original has had. The criticism of the McCain-Reid bill – bi-partisan and well-intended – is that it didn’t include any real way to enforce laws written to protect the fighters themselves.

An example: The Ali Act was supposed to eliminate the confusion about the difference between promoter and manager. But it’s still there, a conflict-of-interest that often leads to a double dip, leaving the unsuspecting fighter with only enough money for that new mouthpiece.

McCain, a Republican, and Reid, a Democrat, got a lot of endorsements for their legislation from fighters, media and fans when it was introduced.

But there’s no enforcement in another endorsement, which — for now — is the only thing fighters got from White and Alalshikh.

By Norm Frauenheim

Just when it looked as if boxing was facing only questions about shifting politics amid uncertainty over whether familiar faces are moving on as new ones move in, along comes Tyson Fury with an announcement that says one thing isn’t changing.

Fury, or at least his promoter, says he’s coming back.

Isn’t he always?

Fury’s comeback, unabridged and uninterrupted, will continue sometime next year, his promoter Frank Warren told Sky Sports last Wednesday.

It’s long been thought that Fury’s comeback would inevitably lead to Anthony Joshua. Apparently, however, Fury has other ideas, according to Warren, who says he is pursuing the third leg in a trilogy with Oleksandr Usyk.

“The fight he really wants is another bout with Mr. Usyk,’’ Warren said. “Those were wonderful, very close fights that were a pleasure to watch. He keeps talking about it.’’

Trouble is, Usyk isn’t talking about it. Neither are fans. Usyk’s disciplined mastery of tactical skill won the first two fights, both in 2024.

The scorecards from each are a sure indication that Usyk has figured out Fury. In May, Usyk wins by split decision. In a December rematch, the Ukrainian is the unanimous winner, 116-112 on all cards. Everybody knows where this one is headed. Been there. Done that. Why do it again?

Fury probably knows that. He also knows the promotional art better than even Warren. His comeback talk about Usyk is perhaps just an opening salvo in firing up fans for the one UK bout still on their most-wanted list. Fury-Joshua still makes money, although only Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Al-Sheikh can afford to pay the purses for a fight that would belong in London instead of Riyadh.

If it can’t be put together, it’s time for the 38-year-old Fury to get off his career-long comeback trail and make room in the media landscape and public imagination for Moses Itauma.

Itauma, a powerful 20-year-old UK heavyweight, is poised to join light-heavyweight David Benavidez, super-flyweight Jessie “Bam” Rodriguez and newly-minted junior-middleweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis in a looming race to become the face of a game suddenly without one.

From retirement to rematch, it’s not clear what’s next for Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez.

Crawford is 38. Within a couple of weeks after losing to Crawford in front of a reported Netflix audience of more than 42 million, Canelo, 35, announced plans to undergo elbow surgery.

Maybe Crawford and Canelo fight a couple of more times. Maybe, not. Maybe, they fight each other once again. Maybe not. Whatever they do, they’re a lot closer to an exit than Fury Road, a comeback seemingly never near an end

By Norm Frauenheim

David Benavidez, who is moving up the scale in weight and prominence, didn’t surprise anybody this week when he said he would never fight at super-middleweight again.

He doesn’t have any choice.

Gaining weight and smarts are part of growing up, and the maturing Benavidez is showing a lot of both as he enters his prime at light-heavyweight, a steppingstone toward his hopes of making an enduring statement as perhaps the best of his generation.

Put it this way: At 6-foot-2, Benavidez, who will be 29 on Dec. 17, has a better chance at fighting one day at heavyweight than he has at ever going back to 168 pounds.

The biggest surprise is that he was able to stay at super-middle for as long as he did. He missed weight once, costing him the World Boxing Council’s version of the title in 2020. Over the next three-and-half years, he went on to win six straight bouts as the super-middleweight division’s most feared contender

Truth is, Benavidez is at a weight he probably should have been a few years ago. He actually fought at 175 pounds more than a decade ago – April 2015. As an unknown 18-year-old, he won a fringe NABF title with a first-round stoppage at Celebrity Theatre in hometown Phoenix. Then, he stayed – perhaps overstayed – at 168. A futile wait for a shot at Canelo Alvarez kept him there.

Now, he moves on, beyond a familiar weight and an exasperating wait in his third bout at light-heavy in a title defense against a dangerous gatekeeper, Anthony Yarde, a UK fighter who figures to test Benavidez’ future in his step up the scale Nov. 22 in Riyadh.

Benavidez announced the inevitable in an interview with Fight Hub TV in answer to a question first posed by Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Al-Sheikh at the end of Terence Crawford’s masterful decision over Canelo last month at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

“Can David Benavidez still make 168?” Al-Sheikh asked in a tweet.

Definitely not, Benavidez told Fight Hub.

“I’m done,’’ Benavidez told Fight Hub in his formal farewell to super-middle.  “I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Crawford. He put on a hell of a performance. He’s up there on the Mount Rushmore of the greatest fighters of all time. Let Crawford do his thing, bro. At the end of the day, I have no interest in fighting Crawford.

“I have no interest in going down to 168. Yeah, it would be dope, winning all the titles, but I’m way past that at 168. I wouldn’t even go down to 168 for Canelo. I’m just being real with you.”

With his decision over Canelo for the unified title at 168, Crawford did Benavidez a real favor. For too long, Benavidez’ career — and identity — had been defined by his chase for a rich date against Canelo. For now, that’s gone, forced by Crawford’s victory and Benavidez’ natural progression up the scale.

But it’s more than just a step away from Canelo. For Benavidez, it also represents a significant early step into his prime. For him, it’s an opportunity to make — and remake — his identity as a potential pound-for-pound contender.

There’s still a chance, of course, that Canelo comes back from elbow surgery and decides he’s finally willing to fight Benavidez, especially if Benavidez beats Yarde and goes on to a unified light heavyweight title against Dmitry Bivol and/or Artur Beterbiev.

There are lots of questions about what’s next for Canelo, yet there’s a consensus that a fight against Benavidez would still make money. Fans have clamored for Canelo-Benavidez for years. They’re not going away.

If that possibility is resurrected, however, it could be on different terms, this time forged by Benavidez, bigger both in body and name.

By Norm Frauenheim

Unintended consequences, or at least attention and speculation, have been there for Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez in the wake of their fight, one of the biggest in years.

That’s no surprise. More than a reported 42 million watched on Netflix. More than 70,000 watched in person. Everybody walked away wondering what’s next.

From the fighters, however, there’s been mostly silence, especially from Crawford, the winner whose hometown celebration took a wild turn when he was held at gunpoint in a traffic stop just hours after Omaha gave its loyal son a key to the city.

Crawford has yet to comment about what happened early Sunday. If he’s going to say anything, the best guess is that he’ll wait until a possible court appearance, perhaps in December. A crush of speculation and an ongoing in-house investigation by Omaha police suggest that’s the only smart move. Crawford has made a lot of those over the last couple of years.

Meanwhile, Canelo also has been silent about news, reported by The Ring, that he’ll undergo surgery on his left elbow.

At 35 years old, that raises questions, lots of them He’s talked about retiring when he turns 37. But he’s under contract for two more fights with Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh, whose seemingly unlimited bankroll is revolutionizing the prize-fighting biz.

The guessing game has Canelo, who will be 36 next July, returning to the ring some time in mid 2026. His next opening bell had been expected in February. Now, it looks as if he won’t fight again until sometime between May and September – Cinco de Mayo and Mexico’s Independence Day on Sept. 16

The biggest question, of course, is against whom? His army of Mexican fans want to see him avenge his scorecard loss to Crawford. But Crawford’s dominance raises questions whether a sequel would be any different.

In hindsight, the cards – 115-113 twice and 116-112, all for Crawford, look to be too close, especially the 115-113 scores.

Canelo never had a chance.

Why would he have one eight to 12 months from now?

Good question, but news of the surgery already is generating some second-guessing about whether Canelo’s left elbow was somehow injured before opening bell.

He never complained about it during or after the fight, yet his partisans already are pointing out that, according to ringside stats, he landed only 16 jabs in losing the undisputed super-middleweight title Sept.13 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

But he’s never been known for his jab. The power in his left hand is considered his best weapon. Would he have had a better chance if it had been attached to a healthy elbow? The answer might be as much marketing as it medical.

The questions are all part of speculation that often leads to a hunger for more.   

For both, there are rich reasons to do it all over again. Count them. Bank them. There are more than 150-million reasons. Canelo collected an astonishing $100-million-plus, according to Alalshikh.

Yet, Canelo, who is getting ready for surgery on Oct. 23, isn’t talking about the reported injury.

He doesn’t have to. Everybody around him is talking about it and how surgery might repair an elbow and the public interest in a rich rematch. 

By Norm Frauenheim

Terence Crawford’s celebration of a career-long fight for respect took a crazy turn when Omaha honored him with a parade Saturday and held him at gunpoint early Sunday.

Crawford was released and no charges were filed, according to multiple reports which included a statement from Omaha Mayor John Ewing and a promise to investigate from city police Chief Todd Schmaderer.

As of Sunday, Crawford had not commented on what happened early on his birthday and just hours after Omaha gave him a key to the city.

According to social-media reports, Crawford spent his first few hours as a 38-year-old in handcuffs. If accurate, his key to the city wasn’t enough to unlock them.

According to sourced news stories, Crawford’s vehicle was stopped for reckless driving just before 1:30 a.m., Central time. According to reports and posted video, he was the driver. Crawford and three passengers were ordered out of the car at gunpoint after a weapon was seen.

Omaha police issued a statement. Police, it said, stopped a vehicle that was traveling “recklessly.” During the stop, “a firearm on the driver’s side floorboard” was “observed.” For safety, “all four occupants were ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint.”

According to the statement, police questioned Crawford and found that he had a legal permit to carry the weapon. A member of Crawford’s security team was among the passengers. According to the police report, he also was found to be carrying a weapon.

“Police have confirmed that all occupants are legally permitted to carry firearms,” the statement said.

Omaha police also confirmed that Crawford requested that a department supervisor and lieutenant be called to the scene.

At the time of the stop, somebody in the vehicle can be heard saying on a social-media post that “I’m not reaching for no gun” as the officer orders them to “step out.’’

According to the video, Crawford – remaining as poised outside of the ring as he is in it — calmly cooperated with every order, including keeping his hands raised above his head. He was cited for reckless driving.

The controversial moment happened after an estimated 100,000 turned out for a parade honoring Crawford for a masterful upset of Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, Sept. 13.  With the victory, he made some history – a third undisputed title at a third weight.

Crawford has long been known for being Omaha’s loyal son. Boxing is populated by prizefighters who leave their roots to live in Vegas or Los Angeles.

But Crawford stayed home, drawing huge crowds in Omaha and nearby Lincoln. Famed billionaire investor Warren Buffett is often seen in a seat alongside Crawford’s many fans for fights in his home state.

Against Canelo, Crawford’s mouthpiece included Nebraska’s red football logo, N, front and center.

Omaha, all of Nebraska, decided to honor Crawford after he honored the city and state with a decision over Canelo that reminds many old-school fans of why boxing was once called The Sweet Science.

Even before the parade, it wasn’t clear what he’ll do next. There might be another bout. Might not. From a farewell fight at the Cornhuskers’ college football stadium in Lincoln to a Canelo rematch or a bid for still another divisional title, the possibilities are a lot like the countless angles on his punches.

Whatever’s next, however, has been complicated, left even more uncertain by questions that just weren’t there on a weekend that began with a celebration stopped in a way neither he nor anybody else could foresee. 

By Norm Frauenheim

A performance that reminds us why boxing was once called The Sweet Science screams for an encore.

In the days after Terence Crawford pulled a fading craft off the fringe and back onto center stage for 12 magnificent rounds in a masterful decision over Canelo Alvarez, there’s an inevitable clamor for more.

Fans and media are asking: Who’s next? A lot of fighters, some worthy and most not, are asking to be next. But there’s no immediate next on Crawford’s calendar, other than a birthday.

He’ll be 38 on Sept. 28, just 15 days after he celebrated a victory watched by more than a reported 41 million on Netflix and more than 70,000 at Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium last Saturday.

It’s an age – early middle-aged — that comes with questions. At 37, Crawford answered many with sustained movement and footwork not expected by a fighter with more than 40 bouts on his odometer.

Crawford never stopped in a tireless dance that confused Canelo, who saw Crawford in a different spot, with a different posture and at a different angle at almost every turn.

In the end, there was more than just confusion. It left Canelo, the younger man, without options and energy. He was exhausted. Crawford, the 35-year-old Canelo said, did everything.

Everything, other than knock him out.

Maybe it’s just coincidence, but Crawford patiently applied every element in his endlessly versatile skillset throughout. For one night, he managed to do all of what he does best. For most of his career, he was a finisher. We knew that, it’s there in his unbeaten record – 31 KOs in 42 wins.

Against Canelo, he had a chance to display even more.

In the days since the scorecards – 116-112, 115-113 (twice) were announced, the video of his comprehensive victory has been studied and re-studied for segments that were just missed. 

Here’s classic: A double left hand.

First, it lands squarely between Canelo’s eyes. Canelo seems to look away. As he does, that same left hand drops down by an inch, maybe two, and then lands onto Canelo’s jaw, all delivered as Crawford ducks in and away.

It was a thing of beauty, art according to the book on The Sweet Science.

Canelo’s reaction says it all. Stunned, he looks back at Crawford in disbelief, as if to say: Where in this universe did that punch come from?

It was a moment – one of many, that secured Crawford’s place as the best in his generation. Today, he’s the consensus – if not unanimous — pound-for-pound champion, ahead of heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk and junior-featherweight Naoya Inoue, who delivered his own statement with a dominant decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev in Japan just a few hours after Crawford’s triumph.

For Crawford, the history-making victory for a third undisputed title at three weights in his first bout at super-middle was a definitive counter to the critics who have questioned his record for years. Repeatedly, his credibility was undercut by doubt about the quality of his opposition.

Those doubts, perhaps, were reflected by the 115-113 scores. The 116-112 score was more accurate. On this scorecard, the margin grew – 116-112 in the arena to 117-111 the next day after watching the video.

Against Canelo, Crawford simply proved – round after round — he’s just been better than everybody else.

The dominance suggests that there’s more than that. Crawford has plenty of fight still within him.

But it also includes a question about what another fight or two might do to his legacy as an all-time great. There’s a pretty good argument that he has run out of opponents.

A rematch was mentioned. A second fight against Canelo would probably make money. But it’s hard to imagine a different result against the faded Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs), who has been fighting professionally since he was 15 years old and still had freckles. The popular Mexican is 68-fights old, and it’s beginning to show.

The other possibilities swirling around Crawford’s future are predictable. 

There’s the emerging Jaron Ennis, Canelo’s sparring partner for Crawford. 

There’s talk about a move down to middleweight – from 168 pounds to 160 – for another division title – his sixth.

There’s even David Benavidez, a former super-middleweight champion from Phoenix now training for a light-heavyweight title defense against Anthony Yarde in Nov. 22 in Riyadh.

Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh teased the Benavidez possibility from his ringside seat late in Canelo-Crawford by asking on social media whether the 6-foot-2 Benavidez could still make 168. 

Maybe, but at 28 and counting, Benavidez will only mature, which means more pounds and an even heavier division. In another year or two, he could be at cruiserweight, 200-pounds.

Crawford’s victory on one of boxing’s biggest stages in years includes prerogatives. To wit: He can do whatever he wants. But at what cost?

In a notable quote at the post-fight news conference in a tent outside of Allegiant, Canelo was asked to compare Crawford with Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat him twelve years ago by decision in September, 2013.

“Crawford is way better,’’ Canelo said.

That one comment is a bigger victory for Crawford’s legacy than another title, say the middleweight belt held by 42-year-old Erislandy Lara.

It’s also a legacy, including an unbeaten record, maybe worth protecting against one of those young lions — Ennis, unbeaten at welterweight and seeking to move to junior-middle and/or a much bigger Benavidez.

Legacy or encore? This time, it’s a decision only Terence Crawford can make.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – There was no blood. There were no knockdowns. There was only Terence Crawford.

Crawford’s dance, as brilliant as it was defiant, continued Saturday, reaching a peak few others have achieved or even imagined with an upset of Canelo Alvarez in front of a crowd of 70,482 at Allegiant Stadium.

Crawford, booed when he entered the arena and booed for weeks after the fight was announced, did what he was always done in his historic path to undisputed title in three weight classes.

He did it with his feet, frustrating Canelo at almost every turn in winning a unanimous decision. It was 115-113 on two scorecards and 116-112 on the third. Two of the cards appeared to be closer than what the dominant Crawford did in moving across the ring, in and out of harm’s way and into history.

Canelo always seemed to be a step behind, a dance partner that couldn’t quite keep up with the master.

If there was a surprise, it was in Crawford’s footwork. He moved his feet with an agility not seen in almost a decade. For 12 rounds, the 37-year-old Crawford sustained the dance that earned him the undisputed super-middleweight title and a place among boxing’s all-time greats.

If he had been around in another time, the game would have Five Kings alongside the foursome of Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.

In his hometown – Omaha, they simply call him Bud. On this night, however, boxing historians could have called him Sugar. He was that good, a former welterweight and junior-welter champion coming up two weight classes to take down Canelo, one of the most feared punchers in his day,

After it was all over, Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) went to one knee and looked toward Allegiant Stadium’s ceiling as though he was looking to the heavens.

Thanks, he said

The thank-you was preceded by a confident Crawford who opened the fight in the southpaw style. His right hand led the attack and hinted at imminent alterations. But he never switched up, never went from left-handed to right-handed. But the threat was always there, forcing Canelo to be wary.

Above all, Crawford’s two-handed, ambidextrous threat  threw some hesitancy, if not outright  confusion into Canelo’s tactical plans.

Crawford right hand landed first, followed by a glancing left in the opening round. The crowd roared. Canelo remained cautious.

But in the second round, the popular Mexican hinted, perhaps, at what he had planned. He moved forward, almost stalking and in an almost straight line that led him to his target: Crawford’s midsection.

The body punch landed, forcing Crawford to step to one side and then another. In the third, it began to look as if Crawford was poised to pick up the pace.

In the fourth, he did, landing a couple of quick hands, first a right than a left. Momentum in the fourth, however, suddenly shifted when Canelo landed a straight right hand. Crawford looked at at him and smiled as if to say: You can’t catch me.

Over the next eight rounds, Canelo never could.

Callum Walsh dominates in one-sided decision over Vargas Jr.

Callum Walsh had too much power and too much accuracy.

In the end, he had too much of everything in overwhelming Fernando Vargas, Jr, who has a legendary name but none of his father’s resilient skillset. 

On the scorecards, Vargas (17-1, 13 KOs) never had a chance. The judges nearly scored the 10-round junior-middleweight fight as a shutout for Walsh (16-0, 11 KOs), an agile Irishman who knows his way around the ring.

 It was 99-91 on two cards and 100-90 on the third in the final fight before the Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez main event at Allegiant Stadium.

Mbilli, Martinez fight to a bruising draw

It was punishing, a fight full of momentum swings and exhausting exchanges of punches that landed everywhere and from all angles. It was hard to pick a winner.

In the end, nobody could..

Christian Mbilli-Lester Martinez was a draw. The good news is that the super-middleweight fight set the stage for a sequel and perhaps a great new rivalry. The only winner was the gathering crowd for the main event, Canelo Alvarez-versus-Terence Crawford. The early undercards didn’t offer much in terms of drama. Allegiant Arena eats were empty. Knockouts were few. Cheers were muted.

Then, Mbilli and Martinez stepped through the ropes.

In the early rounds, it looked as if Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) might win easily. He appeared to have an edge in the number and power of inside punches. In the middle rounds, however, Martinez. (19-01, 16 KOs), showed a stubborn streak and and his own brand of body shots and uppercuts. The Guatemalan wasn’t going anywhere. In the eighth and again ninth, it looked as if the body assault had robbed Mbilli of his energy. He looked fatigued.

In the final moments of the tenth and final round, however, Mbilli recovered, scoring repeatedly and often enough to perhaps ensure a draw. One judge scored it for him, 96-94. One scored it for Martinez, 97-93. On the third, it was a draw, 95-95

Can’t wait for the rematchThe punishing fight ended with exchanges of punches and moment

Mohammed Alakel wins unanimous decision

Saudi junior-lightweight Mohammed Alakel (5-0, 1 KO) employed faster hands and feet, scoring quickly and repeatedly for a unanimous decision  overTravis Crawford (7-4) a hard working fighter from (7-4-1) from Corpus Christi, TX in the first fight on the Netflix part of a card featuring Terence Crawford-versus-Canelo Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium Saturday. 

Brandon Adams wins rematch, scores decision over Bohachuk

Brandon Adams wore a gray wig to news conferences and weigh-ins. He shed the costume in the ring and answered questions about his age with a variety of punches.

Body shots, hooks and uppercuts were repeated answers to Serhii Bohachuk, who called the 36-year-old Adams — a Los Angeles middleweight — an old fighter.

Age is just a number, or at least it was for 10 rounds of punishing shots from multiple angles from Adams in a rematch victory Saturday at Allegiant Stadium over Bohachuk (26-3, 24 KOs) , a Ukrainian known for his power. 

In the end, Adams made the 30-year Bohachuk look old.  Adams, who scored an eighth-round TKO of Bohachuk in 2021, landed shots almost at will, winning a unanimous decision in the final fight before the Netflix portion of the Canelo-Crawford card.

Jermaine Franklin wins dull decision

It was unanimous.

On the cards.

And in the seats.

Jermaine Franklin Jr. won the decision. He also shared some of the contempt hurled at Ivan Dychko from a few fans scattered across Allegiant Stadium’s 65,000 seats Saturday on the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford card in a heavyweight matinee Saturday.

Franklin (24-2), of Saginaw MI,  and Dychko (15-, 14 KOs), a two-time Olympic bronze medalist from Kazakhstan, clinched and clutched more than they punched through 10 forgettable rounds. By the fifth, the scattered crowd began to jeer. By the eighth, the boos began to echo through the empty arena.

By the end of the 10th, there were cheers.

Finally, it was over. 

Tsutsumi scores first-round stoppage

Reito Tsutsumi, a Japanese junior lightweight, didn’t need much time, mostly because Javier Martinez didn’t have much of anything at all.

Tsutsumi (3-0, 2 KOs) did it all within 2:18, walking down Martinez (7-3,4 KOs), hurting the Dallas fighter first with a succession of body shots and then finishing him with with straight punches that put Martinez on the canvas, a lonely figure in an empty building early on a card featuring Terence Crawford-versus-Canelo Alvarez fight.

Sultan Almohammed made a succsessful pro debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Martin Caraballo in a lightweight bout.

In round one, Almohammed dropped Caraballo with a right to the jaw.

Almohammed, 132.5 lbs of Jeddah, SA won by scores of 40-36 on all cardsa and is now 1-0. Caraballo, 133 lbs of Hollywood, FL is 0-1-1….Marc Abrams

Raiko Santana scored a mild upset by stopping Steven Nelson in the opening round of their 10-round light heavyweight bout.

Santana landed a hard right hand that hurt Nelson and a follow-up flurry forced the stoppage at 2:38.

Sanatana Of El Paso, TX is 13-4 with with seven knockouts. Nelson of Omaha, NEB is 20-2…...Marc Abrams

Potential Mexican star, Marco Verde stopped Sona Akale in round our of their six-roumd middleweight bout.

In round one, Verde landed a right hook that put Akale on the canvas.

In round four, Verde continued the assault and referee Mark Nelson stopped the bout at 1:11.

Verde, 158 lbs of Mazaltan, MEX is 3-0 with two knockouts. Akale, 158 lbs of St. Paul, MN is 9-4….Marc Abrams

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – It was called ceremonial. But a huge, roaring crowd called for it to be known as something else.

Something more.

Much more.

It was off the scale, a Woodstock of weigh-ins Friday at T-Mobile Arena for a crowd that gathered in huge numbers and generated noise that echoed up-and-down the Vegas Strip in a sure sign of mounting interest in the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium.

The weigh-in, the real one, had already happened, hours earlier in a chilly, quiet ballroom in a luxury hotel at the opposite end of The Strip.

For the record, both Canelo and Crawford weighed the same, each at 167.5 pounds, safely under the super-middleweight’s 168 limit.

There wasn’t an ounce of difference between them, perhaps an indication of just how close this fight for Canelo’s super-middleweight title really is. The late afternoon weigh-in was staged to sell a few more tickets and Netflix subscriptions.

But the crowd, perhaps as big as any in Vegas’ long and colorful boxing history, delivered an exclamation point to anticipation rare in this era of boxing. It’s been called a dying sport. From lower bowl to the upper deck at T-Mobile, however, that obituary sounded premature Friday.

This ceremony wasn’t a funeral. It was a celebration. Even Crawford and then Canelo seemed almost surprised at the roar that greeted them as they walked onto the stage and stepped onto a scale that was little more than a prop.

It came with expectations, all of which will echo throughout the hours before opening bell in a ring that figures to be near the 50-yard line on the Raiders home field.

Canelo, the favorite, spoke to the crowd of Mexican partisans with a promise to do everything.

“I trained for everything,’’ said Canelo, who continues to be a narrow betting favorite. “I’ll need to do everything in this fight.”

He said it in a way that suggested some emerging respect for Crawford and his comprehensive skillset.

Throughout the build-up for the fight, there’s been a sense that Canelo and Crawford are more than just business partners in a bout that reportedly will add at least $100 million to Canelo’s net worth. They like each other. There’s been no trash talk and an absence of dismissive gestures.

Crawford, a two-time undisputed champion at welterweight and junior welter, hears boos only from the Canelo fans. They – fans and boos — were everywhere Friday.

Crawford jumped on and off the scale quickly Friday. He exited the stage, before Canelo spoke. Then, the promoters asked him back for a word.

When he returned, there they were, the boos all over again.

Nobody had to ask him about them. Instead, he was asked:

How are you feeling?

“Lovely,’’ Crawford said as if he were enjoying a deep breath of the noisy element that has motivated him throughout his brilliant career.

Defiance is Crawford’s oxygen.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow,’’ he said.

This time the crowd only roared, as if to say nobody else can either.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – First, there was Terence Crawford, dressed in a white top and a friendly smile.

Then, there was Canelo Alvarez, his eyes hidden by sunglasses darker than the undershirt he was wearing.

For about the next hour, both answered questions, talked philosophy, exchanged a few promises and threats.

There were a lot of roles on stage at T-Mobile Arena throughout a news conference Thursday, and both fighters played them well for a super-middleweight fight hard to predict, yet loaded with story lines and opinions

Sometime after opening bell at nearby Allegiant Stadium Saturday night, however, neither the opinions nor the stories will matter much in a ring near the 50-yard line of the NFL Stadium.

That’s when Canelo and Crawford will take matters into their own hands – hands as dangerous as any over the last decade of prize-fighting

Boxing newsers are always part of the show, of course. They set the stage for feints and perhaps a little bit of psychology.  Rhetorical jabs before the real ones.

Crawford and Canelo were there, each with an answer for whatever was asked in front of a crowd that has already made up its mind.

For Crawford, that means changing minds.

For Canelo, it means affirming what many already think in the remaining hours before the Netflix-streamed bout.

No matter what else was said Thursday, Crawford and Canelo were in the place they’ve been since their intriguing super-middleweight fight was announced several weeks ago.

Crawford is the underdog, defiant and yet seemingly happy to be in the role.

“They say I’ve fought nobody, they say I can’t sell, they say I’ve got no personality,’’ Crawford said with the defiant edge that has helped him forge a career with skeptics but no losses

For the last decade, Crawford has proven everybody wrong. It was clear Thursday that he intends to deliver some definitive say-so against Canelo, who has played the popular favorite throughout most of his career.

It was no surprise that Canelo was the crowd favorite at Thursday’s newser. He’s been a powerful favorite for about as long as Crawford has been doubted.

The news-conference crowd amplified its expectations Thursday. It is betting Canelo’s long reign as Mexico’s best fighter since Julio Cesar Chavez will continue.

Canelo said he doesn’t listen to cheers or criticism. Maybe not. Go ahead, he says, and debate about his place in Mexican history, which has for long started and ended with Julio.

“In the end, the people will decide,’’ Canelo said. “The numbers will be there or they won’t.’’

For now, however, the numbers are in the seats, there at least in terms of support for Canelo in his risky date as the bigger man in defense of his undisputed super-middleweight. 

Those numbers also add up to what might be an astonishing paycheck. There’s talk that Canelo will collect $100-million for fighting Crawford

Wrong, Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh said Thursday.

“Our contract is for more than that,’’ said Alalshikh , who negotiated a three-fight deal in an 11^th hour offer that convinced Canelo to agree to the Crawford fight.

Like the purses perhaps, Crawford, it’s thought, will enter the ring smaller. He’s a former undisputed welterweight and junior-welter champion, who is jumping up the scale from junior-middleweight to fight Canelo.

The Canelo chants, like the expectations, were bigger Thursday, echoing throughout the building like an old lyric.

Crawford heard them and smiled. He’s been there. Defiance has been his lifestyle. He’s good at it, and he intends to be just as good for at least one more time.

But defiance isn’t a physical attribute. It’s not included on any tale-of-the -ape. There’s no way to measure it. Canelo’s experience and documented power at a heavier weight might just be too much for Crawford.

It’s easier to defy skeptics than it is a left counter. In the end, it might prove to be that stark, that simple, no matter what else was said Thursday. In boxing, some roles never change.

By Norm Frauenheim

It’s in Japan. But it might as well be on Jupiter. It’s the forgotten fight, shoved off stage and out-of-mind by attention and anticipation captured by the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight next week at Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

At any other time, Naoya Inoue-Murojdon Akhmadaliev would be a talker. It’s a big fight, significant enough to include pound-for-pound implications. For Inoue, it’s perhaps the biggest challenge to his pound-for-pound claim and emerging celebrity since victories over Nonito Donaire in 2019 and again in 2022.

In the here-and-now, however, only Canelo-Crawford is doing numbers that multiply and amplify as the Sept. 13 opening bell approaches. Will Inoue and Akhmadaliev the next day eventually matter? Forgotten now, but unforgettable later?

The relevance to their  junior-featherweight fight, of course, hinges – first – on Canelo-Crawford Sept. 13 in Vegas and then what they do a few hours later in Nagoya Sept. 14. By the time Inoue and Akhmadaliev enter the ring, they should know who won between Canelo-Crawford.

On Vegas’ clocks, Inoue-Akhamadaliev is scheduled to begin at about 1 a.m. Sept 14. That’s about the same time Canelo has been known to arrive at post-fight news conferences.

It’s anybody’s guess as to who will celebrate at the newser. Canelo-Crawford is hard to pick for reasons that have been analyzed and over-analyzed over the last few weeks. Betting odds suggest the super-middleweight fight is a close call, which helps explain some of the interest. Those odds suggest the post-fight newser could be controversial, too.

Inoue-Akhmadaliev is not expected to be as close, although the Uzbek’s punching power is reason not to rule out an upset. Still, the odds are one-sided. Inoue is about an 11-1 favorite, which simply means his unbeaten run continues. Also, Inoue is the only fighter the public really knows.

Most people, including media, are still learning how to spell Akhmadaliev.

But people know Canelo, maybe Mexico’s best fighter ever and still the game’s only pay-per-view star. They know Crawford, still unbeaten and bidding to be an undisputed champion at three weights.

Both have been at the top of the pound-for-pound debate for years. Canelo-Crawford is full of reasons to stop and watch. Guess here, Inoue and Akhmadaliev will too in the hours before they face each other.

What they’ll witness, however, is anybody’s guess. Still, the result might be the source of some motivation, especially for Inoue. The dynamic little guy, Japan’s Rising Son and a giant name in a sports universe dominated by Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, is already arguing that he’s the world best fighter, No. 1 in the pound-for-pound debate.

Above all, Inoue needs to beat Akhmadaliev to keep himself in the argument, which for the last year has been down to three — Inoue, Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk.

A knockout of Akhmadaliev would strengthen Inoue’s claim, especially if Canelo-Crawford comes down to a debatable result on the scorecards – a split or majority decision.

Crawford by stoppage or one-sided decision would probably end the argument, putting him at No. 1 in what could be the final punctuation to a fight some speculate will be the last in his brilliant career.

Canelo, whose record includes two defeats, could resurrect his pound-for-pound claim with a big knockout. Whatever happens, Usyk, unbeaten at two weights and undisputed at heavyweight, will still be there with another date, another fight to stay relevant.

Oscar Valdez comeback scheduled for ESPN Deportes

Oscar Valdez Jr. is going home in a fight to resurrect his career in a bout against Ricky Medina Saturday that will be televised by ESPN Deportes.

Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs), a former two-division champion,  returns to Nogales, his birthplace, for his first fight since a punishing rematch loss to Emanuel Navarrete in December in Phoenix.

The card featuring Valdez-Medina is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. The fight at Domo Binacional will be Valdez’ first in Nogales, the Sonoran town on the Mexican-Arizona border.

“The main goal for me right now is to become a world champion again,” Valdez, a two-time Mexican Olympian, said. “I want to return to Nogales as a world champion, and I want to be your champion.

“But in order to do that, I have to get through this fight. I’m taking this fight very seriously. I respect Ricky Medina a lot. I have seen him fight. He is strong and young, and he has the same dream that I have. All boxers want to become a world champion, and that’s why we are all here.”

The 34-year-old Valdez, popular in Mexico and Arizona, held world belts at featherweight and junior-lightweight. He was beaten twice by Navarrete and once by Shakur Stevenson.

His most noteworthy victory was a stunning stoppage of Miguel Berchelt. Medina (16-3, 9 KOs) is a 24-year-old junior-lightweight from San Antonio.

By Norm Frauenheim

Pressure is for tires, Hall of Fame pundit Charles Barkley once said famously.

A couple of weeks before opening bell, however, there’s more than just hot air evident in the anticipation building for the Canelo Alvarez-versus-Terence Crawford fight Sept. 13 in front of an expected football-sized crowd at Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium.

Alongside big money, lots of legacy is at stake for fighters already wealthy, yet still pursuing proof of what they’ve done and who they’ve become.

Legacy, of course, is overused enough to be meaningless these days. Just about everybody has one. But the size and significance of Canelo-Crawford puts a spotlight on careers that will meet in a collision that promises to provide a real answer.

Who’s the best of their generation? That’s the simple question. Crawford is 37; Canelo is 35. They come from different weight classes, are from different places, are motivated by different opinions and answer to different fan bases.

Over the years, however, they have emerged as rivals despite that difference in weight, which ironically might be what determines the answer.

But the weight was close enough to be negotiable. Only the date, place and purse remained. Where better than in a four-sided ring where two fighters will seek to be the definitive best of an era they defined? It doesn’t happen that often.

Forget those historical parallels, which have often turned boxing into little more than an exasperating video game.

To wit: How would Oleksandr Usyk, the best heavyweight of this era, have done against Muhammad Ali? Okay, it’s a fun argument, but still mere fantasy. There’s no answer. Never will be. But one is possible in Canelo-Crawford. It’s what makes Canelo-Crawford special. It’s not virtual reality. It’s blood-and-guts real, rare in this day and perhaps in any other.

That’s where the pressure starts. It’ll be there, building throughout next week, fight week, weigh-in, opening bell and post-fight conversation.

For now, it also explains all of the talk preceding the bout between Crawford, an all-time great at welterweight who is coming up from junior-middleweight and jumping two divisions to fight Canelo, the greatest super-middleweight in history.

The biggest risk — in the ring, at least — appears to be in Crawford’s corner, simply because he’s never taken, much less endured, a punch in a sanctioned bout from a true 168-pound fighter.

How will Crawford react when Canelo lands the power that is his trademark? There’s no answer until it lands. That uncertainty sums up the odds. Since the fight was announced, they’ve never changed. Canelo was a slight favorite then. He’s a slight favorite now.

It’s a reflection of an old, reliable guide in a game that has seen it all. To wit: In a fight between two good fighters, always bet on the bigger one.

The documented difference in weight might force Crawford to take a chance. If he hopes to win, he’ll have to step into Canelo’s dangerous wheelhouse at some point. By any definition, that’s a huge risk.

Yet, Crawford might be the personification of what, who Barkley was talking about with his dismissive take on pressure.

Crawford has been known for his cool, calculating demeanor throughout his reign as a four-division champion, including undisputed at 140 pounds (junior-welterweight) and 147 (welter). Ringside commentators like to say Crawford has the It factor. It is in his composure. It is overall poise

In Boxing Speak, Crawford is also known for another intangible called Ring IQ. There’s no exam to measure that, other than his unbeaten record. Let’s just say he knows what he’s doing with a versatile, two-handed style that includes unerring anticipation and a keen predatory instinct. If there’s a weakness, he’ll find it.

And attack it.

If there’s a weakness in Canelo, it appears to be his endurance, especially in the later rounds against fighters known for agile footwork. Crawford’s middleaged feet don’t move at the rate they did a decade ago.

But Canelo’s scorecard loss in May 2022 to light-heavyweight Dmitrii Bivol – perhaps mandatory viewing in Crawford’s video library – showed what’s possible in the late rounds. Canelo gets tired.

If that fatigue factor persists, there’s an opportunity for Crawford if he can withstand – survive – Canelo’s power through the first six to eight rounds. That’s an IF, as big as it is decisive.

Bivol threw punches at varying angles as he moved in-and-out of harm’s way in the late rounds of a decision over Canelo. Canelo was slow to react, slower to recognize, the angles on Bivol’s punches.

Angles are one of Crawford’s unequalled specialties, an aspect augmented by his ability to switch hit. The ambi-dextrous Crawford can fight left-handed, right-handed and makes the switch from one to the other and back in quicksilver fashion.

A tired Canelo might not see what’s coming. But Crawford, who will have to prove he can endure early power shots to the body and upper arms, might have to battle through some early rocky moments just to take the fight into that late stage when Canelo has proven to be vulnerable.

Pick here: Crawford will, getting up from an early knockdown to win a narrow decision.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Jake Paul announced another show this week on Don King’s birthday.

Presumably, it was a coincidence. It was also appropriate, or perhaps inappropriate depending on the perspective.

Put it this way: Not even King, 94 on Wednesday, would have been allowed to put a lightweight in against a guy who last fought at cruiserweight.

In effect, that’s what Paul plans, according to reports Wednesday of a done deal for an exhibition between him and Gervonta Davis, who might want to change his nickname from Tank to Tiny for another Netflix spectacle scheduled for mid-November in Atlanta.

Exhibition could mean just about anything these days. It’s a euphemism for anything goes. There are 65 reasons for why it shouldn’t happen. During an era when weight classes still meant something, that’s the difference – 65 pounds of leverage — between Paul, a natural cruiserweight and Davis, a lightweight champion.

Paul was at 199.4 pounds the day before his victory in June over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a unanimous decision in a 200-pound bout. Davis was at 133.8 for his controversial draw in March with Lamont Roach, who was robbed of a deserved victory in a 135-pound title fight.

Tank-versus-Paul simply would never have happened during King’s tumultuous era. Try to imagine Evander Holyfield, undisputed at cruiserweight in 1988, against Julio Cesar Chavez, the unified lightweight champ at the time.

You can’t.

King always pushed the envelope, crossed several lines of decorum, yet never really trespassed on the craft itself. Then, a 65-pound difference was off the scale, real or imagined. It was simply impossible, beyond comprehension.

But no more. Reasonable these days is defined by whether it can make money. Paul-Tank can, so it’ll happen no matter what kind of risk the massive weight difference creates.

Paul was a 227.2-pound heavyweight for a sad victory over Mike Tyson in a bout that Texas allowed, despite news that Tyson, now 59, had suffered an ulcer in May. His condition forced a postponement from July to November.

Still, Tyson’s performance was full of signs that the ulcer had impacted him physically and perhaps psychologically. He was hesitant at every turn and in every moment. It was hard to watch.

Yet, the fight went on, made possible by a Texas commission represented by Governor Greg Abbott. Gov. Gerry Mandering was there, at ringside, applauding a bout with re-written rules, including two-minute rounds instead of the traditional three. It was a sanctioned exhibition, as in anything goes.

In terms of money, it worked. The live gate at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, was announced at 72,300. The average ticket price was $302. Texas regulators did the math and smiled. Netflix reported an audience of 60-million households.

Those are numbers that add up to an encore, including Paul, the promoter, against Tank, an agile pound-for-pound contender when he’s ready and willing to do more than just collect a paycheck. He’s erratic in and out of the ring.  

What’s clear, however, is that a lot of viewers still follow. Tank continues to be one of boxing’s best draws.

What’s unclear, however, is exactly how Georgia will supervise. Rewritten, Texas-like rules? Shorter rounds? A ladder for Tank?

Everything is up for negotiation, including weights and the other fundamentals that have long defined the ring craft.

The key in so much of this is Paul. Within the ropes, he’s a fighter who says he wants to win a cruiserweight belt. Safe to say, somebody is going to give him that opportunity. He’s already ranked by one acronym.

Above all, he also has the best promoter of the day: Himself. He’ll say anything, do almost anything. He’s King-like in that way.

The difference is that King didn’t answer any opening bells, at least sanctioned ones. Paul answers all of them at multiple weights and does so with a successful promoter’s clout and money. He’s created his own audience, a so-called influencer with some unprecedented punch throughout social-media.

If the Boxing Writers Association of America had an annual award – say, the Don King Promoter of the Year, Paul would have already won it repeatedly.

Is that a good thing? Is he an evolution from King’s contentious reign, often marked by noisy feuds with Bob Arum?

Social-media, Paul’s home turf, has erupted with condemnation at his plan to fight Tank. The angry posts read like last rites. Boxing-is-dead, of course, is a lyric to a very old dirge. We’ve heard it. And we’re hearing it again.

Weights apparently don’t matter much anymore, but there’s still a lot on a scale that this time might provide an answer to whether it’s a game forever changing or forever gone.  

By Norm Frauenheim

David Benavidez has moved up the scale and into the pound-for-pound ratings, both marks of progress that say that bigger stardom is imminent.

But one thing hasn’t changed. 

Benavidez is still maturing.

Still waiting, too.

The wait game continues with his approaching date, a light-heavyweight title defense against Anthony Yarde on a date, Nov. 22, and place, Riyadh, that might test that maturity as much as the opponent.

It’s easy to think of Benavidez as forever young, mostly because of his resume. He was a 20-year-old champion, youngest in the history of the super-middleweight division and young in any weight class.

But there is no forever in young. There’s only that clock, stubborn and relentlessly demanding. Benavidez begins a new stage just five days before Thanksgiving. He’ll enter the ring at 28, within a month of turning 29 on Dec. 17. Ready or not, his prime has arrived. So, too, have the expectations that come with it.

He’s already been fighting professionally for more than a decade. He made his debut as a teenager in Puerto Penasco, a Sonoran fishing town at the top of the Gulf of California about four hours south of Phoenix, his hometown. He won that one and that’s all he’s done ever since.

He’s won, and only won, at a ferocious rate and in a punishing manner that has denied him a true test of his maturity. That’s what happens when a feared fighter gets stuck with the most-avoided tag. He gets stuck in the waiting room, an enforced limbo with lots of potential, but none of it ever completely fulfilled by a significant test. Blame Canelo Alvarez. Blame boxing’s balkanized politics. Blame both.

Now, however, Benavidez enters a stage of his career armed with the potential to generate more money and a name now known to be among the second five in the pound-for-pound-for-pound debate. Both represent leverage, enough of it perhaps to secure the defining fight he has yet to land.

For now, however, the frustration is that it’s still not there. Surely, it’s not Yarde. Benavidez is a 10-to-1 favorite to beat the UK challenger in a 175-pound title defense.

Already, there’s confusion about whether and when the big fight will finally land on his calendar. When the November date with Yarde was first announced by Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh, it was thought that a Benavidez victory would lead to a showdown for the light-heavyweight’s undisputed crown against the winner of a third Artur Beterbiev-Dmitrii Bivol fight.

But Beterbiev-Bivol 3 fell apart. First, there were rumors that there was Russian money involved for a fight expected to be in a nation still trying to destroy Ukraine in Vladimir Putin’s desperate war. Even by boxing’s crazy standards, it just made no sense. As it turned out, a third Bivol-Beterbiew fight didn’t either.

Finally, Bivol announced on social media that he decided to undergo back surgery, a procedure that will sideline him for at least the rest of this year.

Frustrated, Beterbiev decided to move on. Eventually, he was added to the Nov. 22 card against second-tier contender Deon Nicholson. Presumably, the idea is for Benavidez to fight Beterbiev. But Beterbiev is fighting at an age when most are making comebacks. He’s from the generation personified by Manny Pacquiao, who at 46 came back last month and fought Mario Barrios to a draw.

Beterbiev is 40. He’ll be 41 before – make that if – he ever agrees to fight Benavidez, who is at an age and a point in his career when he needs a defining date.

It could still happen, of course. For Benavidez, the immediate task is to take care of business – simply do his job. Benavidez has yet to fight outside of North America. In Riyadh, Benavidez figures to fight at an unusual hour, perhaps early in the morning in a move to accommodate viewers in Mexico and the United States.

In a tune-up for his fight next month against Terence Crawford at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, Canelo fought William Scull May 7 at 6 a.m., Riyadh time.

Canelo complained about the early hour after delivering a dull – call it sleepy – performance at dawn. The crowd wasn’t exactly awake either. From Phoenix to Vegas, Benavidez – known for his abundant energy in the later rounds — has been fueled by loud, passionate crowds.

How he’ll react without one at an unusual hour could prove problematic against Yarde, whose only edge might be his well-traveled resume.

Put it this way: Benavidez might have to beat more than just Yarde in a bout that could finally get him out of the waiting room and into prime time.

By Norm Frauenheim

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez’ rocket-like rise in the pound-for-pound debate and overall name recognition comes with a lot of risk, including the inevitable temptation to look too far ahead.

Actually, it’s not even a temptation anymore. It happened in Rodriguez’ last fight. Saudi Prince and Promoter Turki Alalshikh signed and announced his next fight before he had even answered the opening bell before his last one.

News of Rodriguez’ title unification date against dangerous Argentine Fernando Martinez Nov. 2 in Riyadh was all over social media in July long before Rodriguez took care of business, scoring a 10^th-round stoppage of South African Phumelela Cafu in Frisco, TX. Bam, he’s reliable, too.

But here’s the caveat: History is littered with examples of young fighters thinking more about what’s next instead of looking out for the incoming power punch thrown in the here-and-now. It’s a trap. Yet, it’s one that Rodriguez, mature beyond his 25 years, understands with a quiet, almost unnerving poise. The future is a feint. Rodriguez, already among the top five in several pound-for-pound rankings, hasn’t been fooled by it.

Yet, it’s here, all over again, this time in news that Junto Nakatani is expected to vacate his bantamweight titles, the 118-pound International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council belts. Boxing Scene reports that Nakatani will announce his move up to junior-featherweight in a recording for WOWOW’s Excite Match SP series early next week.

The move opens the door for Rodriguez, already a champion at flyweight and super-fly, to win a third division title. First, however, he has to add a third piece of the super-fly title against Martinez to the growing collection of hardware draped across his shoulders. By all accounts, he’s a huge favorite, minus-1000, according to Fan Duel.

The expectation – and Bam has fulfilled them all so far – suggests that that he would move up, perhaps pursue one of the two belts vacated by Nakatani or one of the two held by the other two champions. Antonio Vargas is the World Boxing Association’s version and Yoshiki Takei the World Boxing Organization’s.

Nakatani’s expected decision to move up the scale isn’t a surprise. The top-10 pound-for-pound fighter had been calling out Bam before a stoppage of Ryosuke Nishida June 8 in Tokyo. Then, however, there was silence about Bam from the Japanese fighter who trains in Southern California.

There had been various reports that Bam and Nakatani had agreed to fight. But the reported possibility was quashed by Akihiko Honda, the powerful “Mister Honda” of Teiken Promotions.

The long-range plan has always been an all-Japanese showdown between Nakatani and super-star Naoya Inoue, ranked alongside Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford among the top three in the current pound-for-pound debate. Inoue faces a challenging date in Murodjon Akhmadaliev for Inoue’s undisputed 122-pound belt Sept. 14 in Tokyo.

Then, there are reported plans for Inoue to keep sharp in a stay-busy fight against Mexican Alan David Picasso in December before a long-anticipated showdown against Nakatani next year.

According to sources in Japanese media, Mister Honda didn’t want a Nakatani-Bam fight to get in the way – perhaps risk – Inoue-Nakatani, a fight projected to break revenue records in Japan. It makes sense.

The timing of Nakatani’s move up would allow him a fight or perhaps two to get familiar with the new weight.

Meanwhile, it would allow Rodriguez to further his own reputation and perhaps move ever closer to his own shot at Inoue in a bout that is climbing up the list of “dream fights” as quickly as Bam is moving up the pound-for-pound ratings.

Oscar Valdez going home

Former two-division champion Oscar Valdez Jr. (32-3, 24 KOs) is going back to where it all started. Top Rank announced he’ll face Ricky Medina (16-3, 9 KOs) Sept. 6 in his hometown, Nogales, on the Mexican side of the border it shares with Arizona.

It’ll be the first time Valdez, an ex-champ at featherweight and junior-lightweight, will fight as a pro in the Sonoran city where he was born.

Valdez is fighting for the first time since a punishing loss to Emanuel Navarrete in a rematch last December in Phoenix. Before and after the loss, there was talk that Valdez would retire. But former Mexican Olympian, known for his no-quit mentality, has decided to fight on.

“Oscar Valdez is a proud warrior, and this is a great opportunity for him to return home and prove he still has what it takes to contend at 130 pounds,” Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said. “Oscar has been with Top Rank since he turned pro, and we are in his corner as he attempts to become a three-time world champion.”

By Norm Frauenheim

Netflix and Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium are sure signs that Canelo Alvarez-versus-Terence Crawford is transforming itself into an event, bigger than just boxing.

Netflix’s subscriber base, 301 million and counting, alongside the NFL brand attached to the Raiders’ home field is a powerful marketing combo, a chance perhaps to bring back some of that so-called cross-over crowd that continued to exit the boxing audience with ESPN’s final card last week.

With the Sept. 13 opening bell still six weeks away, anticipation for Crawford-Canelo has already been building for weeks. Unlike the sad spectacle of watching Jake Paul against aging Mike Tyson in Netflix’s last bit of boxing theater inside the Dallas Cowboys home in November, Crawford-Canelo is genuine.

At least, it can be.

That, of course, is the mandatory caveat, always there, attached to a sport as risky as it is resilient. Buyer beware. Nevertheless, Canelo and Crawford represent a rare opportunity to unify fans, hard core and casual.

It doesn’t happen often enough in any era, even a good one. But here we are, Crawford and Canelo, two of the best fighters from the same generation from different weight classes meeting in a fight that could determine the best of a passing era.

Some promoter somewhere will no doubt dust off the cliched label and call this one another fight to save boxing. It’s not, of course. Boxing has always been beyond saving, anyway. Still, this one has a chance to be a keeper

For Crawford, it’s a chance to prove he was as good a welterweight as any in any era, including the one defined by Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.

For Canelo, it’s a chance to deliver the proof to what he’s been saying all along. History’s only undisputed super-middleweight champion has long argued he’s the best. Period. A definitive victory over Crawford would be the proof and perhaps the piece that would allow him to say he’s the best in Mexican history, better than even the iconic Julio Cesar Chavez.

The stakes, like the purses, are enormous, heightened by the fighters’ ages. Crawford is 37. Fifteen days after the fight, he’ll be 38. Canelo celebrated a birthday on July 18. He’s 35. Both are leaving their primes. This is a chance for each to recapture the best of what made them great.

By now, their respective advantages and disadvantages have been analyzed to the point of redundancy. On the scale, the bigger, heavy-legged Canelo has all the advantages. He also more to lose.

Crawford, who is moving up two weight classes after winning at junior-middle more than a year ago, is quicker with a quicksilver ability to switch from right to left and back. Yet, he’s at a bigger risk of getting knocked out, a danger and perhaps a final punctuation to a Hall of Fame reign that could leave some doubts about his pursuit of a genuine legacy.

All and more are the backdrop to expectations that might be difficult – perhaps impossible – to fulfill. But that’s why Netflix will be there in a 65,000-seat stadium. It’s not exactly winner-take-all, but it has that kind of feel to it. Appropriately, it’s also a fight that could go a couple of ways.

The best and worst examples in modern history:

·    Manny Pacquiao’s star-making stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

·    Errol Spence Jr.’s unanimous decision over Mikey Garcia March 16, 2019 at the Cowboy’s A&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

Both were fights between the best in different weight classes. In each, the lighter fighter was jumping two divisions — Pacquiao from lightweight to welterweight to face De La Hoya, who dropped down from 154 pounds to 147 and Garcia from lightweight to welter against Spence.

Pacquiao-De La Hoya was the keeper. It ended with De La Hoya, beaten and finished on the stool at the start of the ninth. De La Hoya, a six-division champion, retired and Pacquiao, an eight-division champion went on to stardom still evident. At 46-years-old, he still filled the MGM Grand with fans chanting Manny in a controversial majority draw with Mario Barrios last month.

Spence-Garcia was the dud. Garcia was known for his footwork and versatile skillset. But his brother, trainer Robert Garcia, warned him about moving up two weights against the then-emerging Spence, who seven months later was badly hurt in a scary auto accident. Garcia should have listened to his brother. Spence dominated in every conceivable way, winning on scorecards – 120-108, 120-107, 120-108 — that reflected a bout best forgotten.

Keeper or dud? The only sure thing about Canelo-Crawford is that it’ll be an event. Boxing could use one. Could use a keeper, too.

NOTES

It was evident that Oscar Valdez Jr. (323, 24 KOs) had decided to fight on when it was disclosed last month that he was leaving trainer Eddy Reynoso and re-joining Manny Robles, his first pro trainer.

His first step back into the ring after a punishing rematch loss to Emanuel Navarrete in Phoenix in December is planned for Sept. 6, according to Boxing Scene.

However, no opponent or site has been reported. The expectation is that Valdez, 34, will make his comeback in Mexico. The two-time Mexican Olympian lives in Hermosillo. He grew up in Nogales, a border town south of Tucson, where he has family. He also went to school in Tucson, where he has always been a good draw.

By Norm Frauenheim

Yesterday, today and tomorrow played out on a three-sided weekend last Saturday that summed up what boxing has been, is now and might soon become.

Manny Pacquiao brought the golden-oldie nostalgia. Oleksandr Usyk re-asserted himself as the best of this era and maybe a few others. And Jesse Rodriguez provided another preview at what could be next.

It’s hard to say just who made the biggest statement. Pacquiao’s enduring celebrity dominated the headlines and perhaps contributed to some of the frustration over the scorecards for his majority draw with Mario Barrios, who retained his welterweight title with a second successive draw. Maybe, there’s been some erosion in the 46-year-old Filipino’s skillset, but his likability is intact, as powerful as ever.

“Manny, Manny’’ chants filled the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena like a memorable lyric from an old pop song. I’m not sure he’ll ever be a welterweight champion again, but he’ll always be remembered more than the collection of forgettables among today’s belt-holders.

Pacquiao, who talked about a rematch with Barrios and already is mentioned as a possible challenger for Rolly Romero’s belt, reminds us of what we miss. There’s a huge risk there. He could get hurt. But he’ll fight on, and a Pied Piper-like crowd is sure to follow.

Pacquiao’s immense popularity is matched by what Usyk has in terms of respect for his discipline and smarts. He’s an undisputed heavyweight champion all over again with his stoppage of Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium.

It’s not exactly clear what undisputed means anymore. Acronyms get in the way with so-called mandatories and hollow threats to strip. Already, the World Boxing Organization is ordering Usyk to defend its piece of the heavyweight puzzle against Joseph Parker. 

Usyk hasn’t replied and doesn’t have to, of course. It’d be nice if these self-proclaimed ruling bodies quit issuing orders and just showed Usyk some mandatory respect. He’s a great champion, whose unbeaten record over 24 bouts is notable for what it doesn’t include. He’s never had a pro fight in his home country, war-torn Ukraine. Yet, he fights on, winning with an unerring instinct. To wit: He knows what he’s doing.

The stoppage of Dubois in a rematch has generated a lot of talk about how he would have done against the all-time greats in boxing’s fabled division. Even Muhammad Ali’s name has been dropped into the conversation. Who knows? It’s a fun argument, but it’s impossible to compare fighters from different generations.

I’m not even sure he’s the greatest Ukrainian heavyweight ever. Shouldn’t Wladimir Klitschko and brother Vitali Klitschko, now the major of Kyiv, be included in the conversation? I’m sure Usyk himself would mention them. Then again, Usyk knows something about respect for history, Ukrainian and boxing.

It’s not exactly clear what Usyk does next. Parker is an okay fight, but it doesn’t bring anybody to the edge of their seat or to a live-stream audience. At 38 – 39 in January, Usyk will be exiting his prime, a stage that Pacquiao left long ago.

In terms of prime time during last week’s triple-header, there was only Rodriguez, a poised and master tactician who continued to fulfill everything it means to be Super Fly by unifying the 115-pound belt with a 10^th-round stoppage of Phumelele Cafu in Frisco, Texas.

Rodriguez’ victory got less attention than Pacquiao and Usyk, but at one level it was the most significant bout of the three.

At 25, Rodriguez is 21 years younger than Pacquiao, 13 years younger than Usyk. Pacquiao and Usyk are moving on. So, too, is the way we watch boxing. ESPN is leaving ringside with its last Top Rank show Saturday featuring unbeaten Puerto Rican junior-middleweight Xander Zayas against Mexican Jorge Garcia in New York at The Theater in Madison Square Garden.

How we watch, who we watch is about to change.

Enter Bam, a nickname that Rodriguez manages to fulfill nearly every time he answers an opening bell. To be fair, it was hard to judge the Cafu victory. Cafu, a South African, was fighting in the United States for the first time after scoring a notable upset of Kosei Tanaka in Japan for a belt last October.

The circumstances dictated that Rodriguez do more than just win. He had to be brilliant. He was, delivering a methodical beatdown that led to a 10^th-round knockout at Ford Center on the Dallas Cowboys complex.

Short-term, it set up what had already been announced – Bam in a bid for a third Super Fly belt against Fernando Martinez Nov. 22 in Riyadh on a card that includes Phoenix-born David Benavidez in a light-heavyweight defense against Anthony Yarde.

Long-term, it puts Rodriguez a little bit closer to what has been a dream fight for a couple of years. On the pound-for-pound ratings, Rodriguez’ last victory put him within talking – if not striking – distance of Japanese star Naoya Inoue, the current junior-featherweight champion who is a consensus No. 2, second to Usyk.

Rodriguez, who jumped into the pound-for-pound debate with a stoppage last June of accomplished Juan Francisco Estrada in downtown Phoenix on the Suns home floor, is a consensus No. 5 in ratings released this week.

Bam’s victory over Cafu prompted his promoter, Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, to put him at No. 2, ahead of Inoue, who is not among Hearn’s favorites. He’s ripped Inoue for a resume that – Hearn says – includes weak opposition. His criticism of Inoue might have helped land Inoue’s next opponent, Murodjon Akhmadaliev, Sept. 14 in Nagoya, Japan.

It’s no coincidence that Hearn also represents Akhmadaliev. It’s also no coincidence that Hearn publicly ranks Bam ahead of Inoue. Some early negotiations – opening salvos — have already begun.

A lot still has to fall into place if in fact Bam-versus-Inoue has any chance at ever happening. Inoue is projected to fight Mexican Alan David Picasso, perhaps in December.

Then, there’s Junto Nakatani, a unified bantamweight champion living and training in southern California. Just a couple of months ago, Nakatani had been calling out Bam. But that talk ended, abruptly, after Nakatani stopped Ryosuke Nishida June 8 in Tokyo.

Nakatani-versus-Inoue has been at the top of the want-to-see list for Japanese fans. It’s also at the top of fights most wanted by Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda, known simply as Mr. Honda.

Multiple sources in Japanese media and boxing circles told The Boxing Hour that Mr. Honda told Nakatani to forget about a fight with Bam any time soon. The reasoning is as clear as it is solid. Mr. Honda doesn’t want to risk Nakatani-Inoue, a fight expected to generate record receipts in Japan. In part, that’s an acknowledgement of just how dangerous – how good – Bam is.

The path is still there, if Inoue beats Akhmadaliev, Picasso and then Nakatani. There are doubts he can, in part because of the way he was knocked down by little-known Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas May 4.

Cardenas floored him in the second round. Inoue went on to win by TKO in the eighth. But there’s talk that Inoue would not have been able to get up if the knock-down punch had been delivered by Nakatani, who’s noted for his power.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez has to beat Martinez and then continue to win as he moves up the scale, first to 118 pounds and then 122.

A lot still has to happen. Last Saturday, a lot did.

NOTES

Thanks to emerging Mesa, AZ junior-welterweight Trini Ochoa (21-0, 9 KOs) for helping kids get ready for school while also helping the old-school boxing gym, Central, in downtown Phoenix (1755 West Van Buren Street) Saturday. Ochoa there (9 am to noon) to sign autographs, pose for pictures, pass out school supplies and help the famed gym raise funds for repairs to fix some vandalism on a mural, a west-facing wall covered with faces and memories from Arizona’s rich boxing history

LAS VEGAS –The chants were back.

But Manny Pacquiao wasn’t, at least not in the eyes of three judges.

The 46-year-old Pacquiao, who seemed to defy middle-age and perhaps the aches-and-pains that come with it Saturday, was left with a controversial majority draw with World Boxing Council welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand.

The controversial scorecards mean Barrios keeps the belt and Pacquiao was denied a chance to make history. The Filipino legend had hoped to become boxing’s second-oldest world champion ever.

“I thought I won,” Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) said.

So did a crowd of 13,107 fans, who chanted the familiar “Manny, Manny” before and after every round. But those chants were supplanted by boos when the cards were announced. Max DeLuca had it 115-113 for Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs). Both Steve Weisfeld and Tim Cheatham had it, 114-114. The Boxing Hour scored 116-112 for Pacquiao.

Pacquiao, his worldwide celebrity still intact, suggested that his quest in the risky ring will continue.

“I need to continue my training for longer going into a championship fight,” Pacquiao said. “Because of the election I started late, but it’s okay. Of course, I’d like a rematch. I want to leave a legacy and make the Filipino people proud.”

Barrios said he would give Pacquiao another opportunity.

“I’ll do the rematch,” Barrios said. “Absolutely. This was huge for boxing. I’d love to do it again.” 

Expect the controversy to linger. It looked as if Pacquiao was well on his way beating a man 16 years his junior in a tactical, patient execution of the sweet science. He wasn’t the explosive, Bruce Lee-like figure that once blew away Hall-of-Fame names like a force of nature. This was a former Senator, deliberative and still dangerous enough to be a world champion.

Pacquiao’s familiar footwork, including a stutter-step inside, was there. The punch that followed, however,  missed more often than it had when Pacquiao’s power proved to be so lethal against Oscar De La Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Ricky Hatton.

All the while, Barrios looked tentative, cautious perhaps because he was looking into the face of a legendary lion,  or maybe because he didn’t want to go out like Hatton, who waa lifted so high by a Pacquiao knockout punch that you could see the bottom of Hatton’s shoes from ringside. The years have left some lines on that Filipino face. There’s gray in his facial hair.  The punches travel at a slower rate. The explosive dynamic isn’t there anymore.

But the skillset is still solid, tempered by time yet improved by wisdom. Above, he still knows his way around the ring. That has changed. Then again, neither has the judging.

Welcome back, Manny, on a night full of cheers and boos.

Tszyu surrenders, Fundora wins TKO

Blood was expected. There was a trace. In the end, however, there was surrender.

The rematch ended abruptly with Tim Tszyu sitting on his stool after the seventh, perhaps his best round, Saturday night against Sebastian Fundora in front of an astonished crowd awaiting Manny Pacquiao’s comeback against Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand. 

This was the same Tszyu who refused to quit after he suffered a gruesome cut at the top of his head in their first fight.  Then, it seemed as though nothing could stop him from fighting on. This time, however, he didn’t lose much blood from a cut above his right eye. This time, he lost his will.

“That’s one tough m-effer,” Tszyu said as he pointed at Fundora after the surprising conclusion to a much-anticipated sequel.”And I tried to give everything.”

It was decided that everything was just not enough this time. The fight ended on the advice of his corner. His corner must have looked into his eyes and saw that there was no more blood to spill. Suddenly, they saw a fighter exhausted and unable to continue in a fight that raises doubts about the rest of his career

Tszyu’s challenge, a complicated mix of height and geometry, quickly became apparent. Tzsyu’s only path to victory is to step inside against the 6-foot-6 Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs), who has the wing span of a gigantic praying mantis. In the first round, Tszyu took that perilous first step. Boom, Fundora saw it and threw a counter-right that dropped Tszyu (25-3, 18 KOs) onto the canvas with a thud.

Emboldened, Fundora, still the junior-middleweight champ, took the initiative in the second, moving forward and forcing Tszyu into what looked to be a tentative retreat. Suddenly, blood appeared over Tszyu’s eye. For him, it had to be an uncomfortable reminder of the bloodletting he suffered in their first bout, won by Fundora in a split decision.

In the third and throughout the fourth, however, Tszyu became more surefooted and appeared to regain his aggressiveness. He also got a little quicker with his punches, effectively rocking Fundora with shots that seemed to take some of the edge and precision out his long punches. Tszyu capitalized. He began to circle , a wary predator. He also began to land throughout the fifth and again in the sixth.

In the seventh, the rematch began to settle into a brawl. It began with Tszyu rocking Fundora with a short right. But Fundora also began to re-employ his reach.

“We’ve been working on that all of the time,” said Fundora, who talked as if he wanted to use his incredible reach throughout the rest of the fight.

But Tszyu and his corner had already seen enough of it.

The seventh round was more than the beginning of the end. 

It was the end.

Pitbull Cruz wins dominant decision

Omar Salcido was a late stand-in, which is another way of saying he probably doesn;t have a chance.

He didn’t.

Salcido, who replaced Angel Fierro Friday, did a lot of things. He endured. He even took Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz into the 10th and final round. But any chance at a huge upset was never really there. Cruz started slowly and then showed all the aggressiveness defined by his nickname with a bullish assault over the final three rounds of a live-streamed bout on the Pacquiao-Barrios card at the MGM Grand.

In the 10th, Salcido ((20-3, 14 KOs) went to his knees. He was also penalized, losing a point for an apparent attempt at an illegal blow.

In the end, it was more than a shutout on the scorecards. Cruz, an interim junior-welterweight champion, won 100-88 on one cad and 99-89 on the other two

After it was over, Cruz (28-3-1, 18 KOs) had kind words for Salcido, who suddenly became his opponent when Fierro was sent to the hospital after a futile attempt to make weight.

“I have ultimate respect for him taking the fight,” said Cruz, who had only contempt for Fierro, whom he called unprofessional. “He’s a good fighter. We’re both champions.’

Figueroa scores decision over Joet Gonzalez

Brandon Figueroa calls himself The Heartbreaker.

Figueroa did that and more Saturday. The heartbreak was suffered by Joet Gonzalez, who continues an up-and-down ride through a career that is 4-4 over his last eight bouts, including successive losses over his last two.

Figueroa (26-2-1, 19 KOs), a former champion at 122 and 126 pounds, appeared to have a slight advantage in size and strength against the star-crossed Gonzalez (27-5, 15 KOs), a Los Angeles fighter who was game yet just no good enough in a featherweight eliminator on the Pacquiao-Barrios card at the MGM Grand.

Throughout the middle rounds, it often looked as if Gonzalez was fighting Figueroa to a standstill. It looked to be close in the ring, but not on two of the three scorecards. Both favored Figueroa 116-112. The third had it 115-113, also for Figueroa, a Texas fighter still in the hunt for another bel

Gary Russell Jr. scores four knockdowns for stoppage win

Gary Russell Jr., more idle than active, still possessed enough power and poise  to dominate, knocking down Hugo Castaneda twice in the second round and again in the sixth enroute to 

Castaneda, a lightweight from Mexico, came roaring back in apparent desperation in the fourth, driving the 37-year-old Russell (32-2, 19 KOs) into the ropes. But a sweeping right hook from Russell, an ex-featherweight champion from Washington DC, ,dropped Castaneda in the sixth. Yet, Castaneda (15-3-1, 11 KOs), ever resilient, continued to march forward, all the while throwing a succession of punches. 

Yet he could never hurt Russell, or even knock him off balance. In the end, Russell power was decisive, including a fourth knockdown in the 10th, ending the fight at 26 seconds of the round

Nothing artistic, but PIcasso wins majority decision

It wasn’t artistic, but Mexican junior-featherweight David Picasso did enough to win and perhaps keep himself in contention for a  possible shot at Naoya Inoue.

Picasso (32-0-1, 18 KOs), who turned down a chance to fight Inoue months ago,  struggled throughout a close 10-round fight against Inoue’s fellow Japanese fighter, Kyonosuke Kameda (15-5-2, 9 KOs), who appeared to mock him in the middle rounds. Kameda dropped his hands, stuck out his chin and shook his rear end.

The gestures proved to be an opportunity for Picasso, who applied fundamentals at MGM Grad., many of which scored often enough for him to escape with a 95-95, 97-93, 98-92 majority decision on the Pacquiao-Barios card.

Mark Magsayo wins one-sided decision

He had a little bit more experience. HIs feet were a little bit quicker. His hands were a little bit faster. 

Little added up to a lot, allowing Mark Magsayo to score efficiently and repeatedly in a one-sided, yet otherwise uneventful decision over Jorge Mata in a junior-lightweight bout Saturday on the card featuring Manny Pacquiao’s comeback against Mario Barrios.

Magsayo (28-2, 18 KOs), a Filipino who briefly held the World Boxing Council’s featherweight title in 2020. began to take control of the bout in the fourth round when he backed up Mata (41-3-2, 13 KOs) with a body-to-head assault. Still, Mata, of Mexico managed to endure, but never much more than that, losing by a wide margin on all three cards — 100-90, 98-92,100-90.   

First Bell: Filipino prospect drops the thunder, wins TKO

It opened with a Filipino beat.

Beat-down

Middleweight prospect Eumir Marcial warmed up the ring for fellow Filipino Manny Pacquiao with a heavy-handed stoppage of Bernard Joseph in a Saturday matinee, hours before Pacquiao would take the stage in his comeback against Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand.

Marcial (6-0, 4 KOs), a 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, dropped Joseph (11-3-1, 5 KOs), of Dorchester MA, in the second and again in the third. A succession of shots in the third thundered throughout the empty arena, ending the bout in a TKO at 1:55 of the round. 

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao stepped off a scale and looked up toward a corner high above the floor at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It was a flag that celebrated his legacy. It was also a symbol of a story still unfolding. 

Another chapter awaits, this one as risky as any in the iconic career of a fighter now 46 and still fighting for more more.

The flag was there to mark Pacquiao’s 16th bout at the old arena. After it’s over Saturday night, nobody in the rich history of the historic address near the well-traveled intersection at Tropicana and The Strip will have fought there as often. 

Pacquiao will rank No. 1, one bout more than his old rival Floyd Mayweather and four more than Oscar De La Hoya, who ranks third on the list and perhaps first among the Pacquiao victories that turned him into an enduring Filipino legend. 

The question, of course, is whether the flag will wave goodbye or say hello to another chapter in Pacquiao’s pursuit of history. He’s written a lot of it.

He’s been a champion in eight different weight classes. After a political career that included a run for the Filipino presidency, the Sergeant, Senator and statesman is back in an attempt to become the second-oldest champion in boxing history. 

To pull it off, he’ll have to beat a fighter 16 years his junior (Prime Video on card starting at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT). Thirty year-old Mario Barrios has a belt — the World Boxing Council’swelterweight version — and a fresh face without any of the gray that’s evident in Pacquiao’s facial hair.

On the scale Friday at a ceremonial weigh-in in front of a roaring crowd, Barrios came in at 146.2 pounds looking every much as though he had done the work. His trainer Bob Santos bragged and gestured about a sculpted upper body that suggests no task was left undone. Pacquiao, who was at 146.8 pounds, looked solid, yet far from the Bruce Lee look-alike of a decade ago.

Those different looks — gray-streaked beard and young fresh face — stood in contrast, a stark reflection of all the risks Pacquiao faces. Yet, risk has always been a part of his story. It’s why he fights. Why we watch. 

He took a risk against a bigger and better-known name in De La Hoya in 2008. He blew him away, stole De La Hoya’s celebrity and created his own kind of global stardom. 

This time, however the risk is in the nature of time itself. How much of it has eroded the magnificent reflexes Pacquiao had in his prime? How will he attack Barrios’ superior reach and punches when Pacquiao steps inside. 

There’s a minefield full of questions, the simplest of which might be the one that confronts everybody in the middle-aged demographic. 

Who will get up Saturday morning? The Pacquiao we remember against De La Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and so many more? Or will he be just another 46-year-old guy struggling to walk through the aches and pains that come with the years. It’s impossible to say, which makes this fight impossible to pick.

Pacquiao hasn’t fought since his scorecard loss to late stand-in Yordenis Ugas four years ago. Ugas’ youth and slick footwork — combined with some youthful energy — allowed the Cuban to dart in, out and away in a slow, yet deliberate plan that Pacquiao failed to counter.

A key question is whether the middle-aged Pacquiao will have to try to take out Barrios early. Fatigue appeared to be a Barrios’ weakness in a draw with Abel Ramos last November. Ramos was able to catch and hurt him with successive body shots over the last four to five rounds. 

But Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) wasn’t fighting a 46-year-old man. Ramos, an aggressive welterweight from Casa Grande south of Phoenix, is 34.

Nevertheless, Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) is confident that four years away from the ring helped him conserve much of his skillset and energy.

The four years, he said, were a time of healing and re-evaluating what he wanted in life, post-politics.

“I missed boxing,’’ Pacquiao said. “The four years were good. It was good to rest.’’

But time doesn’t rest. It keeps moving forward, stubbornly and in the relentless way that defined the Pacquiao reign from flyweight to junior middleweight. 

Pacquiao stopped most everybody he faced. But not even he couldn’t stop that clock, his biggest opponent in one the biggest risks he’ll face in a many-sided life. 

Pacquiao has made a lifestyle out of doing what people think he can’t. That’s a reason not to pick against him versus Barrios or anybody else he might face if a victory Saturday launches him into another risky date against another young champion. Maybe, a rematch with Mayweather awaits him. Pacquiao is never out of options, promise and potential. 

Against Barrios, however, the question is whether he’s out of time.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS — Tim Tszyu saw why boxing is called bloodsport. He saw a lot it. All his.

His craft — the inescapable nature of his sport — was defined by his blood in a gruesome fight that left him looking more like an accident victim than the warrior he has chosen to be about 16 months ago in a  split-decision loss to Sebastian Fundora.

Tszyu remembers what he saw. Or, perhaps what he couldn’t.

“I was distracted,’’ he said Thursday, nearly a year-and-a-half after he was cut at the end of the second round at the top of his forehead and at the center of his hairline at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena in March 30, 2024. “When I went back to my corner, I wasn’t thinking about my fight. I was thinking about the blood.’’

It never quit. 

Neither did he. 

Tszyu fought on, his vision obscured and his focus distracted. But that blood, including the DNA that motivated him to endure through the 12th round, continues to drive him now. He fights on, hoping only that the bleeding won’t resume. Still, he’s hell-bent on risking that and perhaps more in a rematch Saturday that he has pursued since Fundora turned his face into a crimson mask. For more than 10 rounds, he couldn’t see clearly. The clarity of what he seeks, however, has always been there.

“That answers the question of why my corner didn’t stop the fight,’’ Tszyu said of the first bout that ended with Fundora winning on two cards, 116-112 and 115-113. The third card favored Tszyu, 116-112.

Fundora left the ring with two junior-middleweight belts and newfound stardom. Tszyu was left with his first loss and all the stitches.

In the wake of the nasty defeat, there were doubts, many left by a third-round stoppage loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev, who knocked him down four times before his corner surrendered in a stunning stoppage in October, 2024 in Orlando. Suddenly, it looked as if blood and more had been lost on that shocking night against Fundora.

Tszyu went on to scored a fourth-round TKO of Joseph Spencer last April at home in Australia. It was a solid stoppage, but it didn’t exactly stop some of the questions about whether the promises in Tszyu’s career had been stopped, all in one bloody night.

Tszyu, the son of feared Kostya Tszyu, is back in Vegas to say that it hasn’t been.

“I will put together  a different performance,’’ said Tszyu, who will share the stage in a co-main event to a card featuring 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao’s comeback against welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena. “A more intelligent one.’’

Tszyu’s bloodied, yet narrow loss to Fundora was preceded by complications. Initially, the opponent was supposed to be Keith Thurman. But Thurman got hurt in training, forcing a late switch. 

Twelve days before opening bell, the skinny, yet NBA-tall Fundora got the gig and the improbable victory that has put him on the fringe of enduring stardom. In part, perhaps, he’s fighting Tszyu a second time to prove that his emergence is more about his skillset and poise than his 6-foot-6 height.

Fundora relinquished a belt, bypassing a mandatory defense against Xander Zayas for a rematch with Tszyu. Against Tszyu, there’s a chance for Fundora to validate his place in the boxing galaxy, even at the risk of more blood.

“Yeah, why not,’’ Fundora said Thursday in a tone that suggested it would not be his blood.

The only promise from both is that their bout will steal much of the anticipated thunder from Pacquiao and Barrios.

“May the best man win, but we just don’t know who the best man is yet,’’ Tszyu said in a matter-of-fact way that says he’s willing to bleed some more to answer that

By Norm Frauenheim

Manny Pacquiao has never faced a risk he’s feared. He came to Los Angeles, then an emerging little guy yet mostly unknown Filipino, to ask Freddie Roach to train him. He beat a much bigger Oscar De La Hoya amid concern that he would get seriously hurt. He’s scored dramatic knockouts and been knocked out, face down. He’s been a Sergeant and a Senator. A Filipino street kid, he ran for President.

From canvas to celebrity, there’s not much he hasn’t seen.

Or done.

Now, he’s poised to make a comeback against Mario Barrios next week at 46-years-old, an age that poses a risk as hard to measure as any. 

Already, he’s repeated a predictable line. Age is just a number, he says. No, it isn’t. Inevitably, It takes its toll, eroding quickness and endurance, destroying tendons and timing. But it’s also sneaky. Nobody ever really knows when or how it’ll arrive to do its damage.

Much of this confrontation with risk on July 19 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand rests in Pacquiao’s ability to beat time to the punch once more. 

George Foreman did it, winning the heavyweight title when he was 45 with a knockout of Michael Moorer in 1994. Bernard Hopkins was 49 when he won his last title, a light-heavyweight belt in 2014. Foreman and Hopkins are the modern examples of what can happen, both powerful reasons to think Pacquiao will, too.

But Pacquiao — remember, he’s done it all — is also the very example of why he won’t. He lost to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021. That was four years ago. Pacquiao was 42, yet had trouble with Ugas’ Cuban elusiveness. Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision and announced his retirement a couple of days later.

I was one of the few to pick Ugas then. Ugas’ footwork and defensive skill just turned Pacquiao’s attempts to catch him into a haphazard exercise — hits-and-miss, mostly miss. It would be easy, too easy, to pick against an even older Pacquiao all over again. 

But the 30-year-old Barrios brings a different style to the ring. Against Abel Ramos last November, Barrios got tired in the later rounds. The slowing Barrios energized Ramos, who launched an aggressive body-to-head assault. In the end, the fight ended in a draw. 

Barrios kept his welterweight belt. Ramos, a tough and competent welterweight from Casa Grande south of Phoenix, deserved a rematch. Still does. But Barrios has shown no interest in a sequel.

Instead, he got Pacquiao and the paycheck that comes with it. Guess here, Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach have watched — and watched — the Barrios-Ramos video. 

It’s a roadmap for what Pacquiao hopes to accomplish in the later rounds against the favored Barrios. Barrios might prove to be the perfect dance partner for Pacquiao in this comeback. Call him the wise choice, and wisdom is also a part of getting old. Pacquiao and Roach have plenty of that.

There’s more: Complications in the circumstances leading up to Pacquiao’s comeback in 2021 could have compromised his chances. 

Errol Spence, the original opponent, withdrew eleven days before opening bell because of an eye injury. Enter Ugas. It was a sudden move that must have scrambled Pacquiao’s camp, forcing him to suddenly abandon much of he had planned throughout months of routine in training.

Routine, like wisdom, is also part of the aging process. It gives the aging fighter a chance to meld experience and muscle memory in preparation for the specifics he saw in Spence. The sudden switch to the comparatively unknown Ugas dropped that playbook into the spit bucket. Pacquiao fought Ugas as though he was searching, all in futility.

Against Barrios — by now a known quantity, Pacquiao figures to have an overall plan that will allow him to put his muscle memory back to work. 

Does that mean I’m picking Pacquiao? No. I just think he has a much better chance in this comeback than he had in the last one. It promises to be close, very close. In the end, the real factor is his age, a wild card risky because of the unknowns that will confront Pacquiao with unforeseen challenges, all critical to the fight’s outcome. 

Hatton plans comeback

Ricky Hatton is making a comeback? Of course, he is. Hatton, also 46, announced he’ll be back Dec. 2 in Dubai, is coming through a door left wide open by Pacquiao.

Hatton played a chapter in Pacquiao’s long legendary run. Pacquiao blasted out Hatton, sending him into a never-more orbit with a scary second-round knockout 16 years ago —May 9, 2009 — also at Vegas’ MGM Grand. Power makes its own statement and creates its own future. Pacquiao had plenty of it that night. In part, it’s what we remember about Pacquiao. In part, it’s why we’ll watch his comeback. Is the power still there?

But power is also double-edged. What it gives, it takes away. The lasting memory of Hatton is seeing the bottom of his shoes. That’s how high Pacquiao launched him with his knockout shot. Hatton fought one more time, three years later. 

But it was clear he was finished in 2012 and still should be in 2025. But he had a part in the Pacquiao show, which is about to resume for everybody who was there and still wants to be. For Hatton, hopefully there won’t be an encore.

By Norm Frauenheim

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s arrest on charges of being in the United States illegally just days after a loss to Jake Paul in an exhibition devoid of punches, energy and drama leaves questions about why he was allowed to fight despite an active warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged involvement with organized crime. 

According to multiple reports, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services alerted enforcement agencies about Chavez last year, saying he “is an egregious public safety threat.’’ 

Yet, he had reportedly been in the U.S. since January 4, training and licensed by the California Athletic Commission to fight Paul, a popular social-media influencer who beat him by unanimous decision in a state-sanctioned cruiserweight fight last Saturday in Anaheim

ICE agents arrested him Wednesday, while he was riding a scooter in front of his residence in Studio City. Chavez, whose tourist visa reportedly expired in February 2024, is due to appear in court on Monday. U.S. authorities are seeking to deport him, also according to multiple reports.

As of Thursday, there was no public statement from Paul about the arrest of Chavez, who has been linked to the Sinaloa cartel by law enforcement. 

Both Chavez and Paul appeared at promotional events, including news conferences and the weigh-in before the pay-per-view bout streamed live by DAZN. Paul’s company, MVP, was among the promoters.

Chavez, 39, is the son of Mexico’s most enduring boxing legend, Julio Cesar Chavez, El Gran Campeaon Mexicano —The Great Mexican Champion. There are few gyms in Mexico and the U.S. that don’t include a framed photo or rendering of the senior Chavez hanging from one of the battered walls. 

Dad was a feared champion in multiple divisions. His son is a former middleweight champion. But Junior’s boxing history is problematic, despite the powerful name, still a drawing card.

Including the loss to Paul, he’s 3-4 over his last seven fights, including a wild sequence of events that included a loss to Danny Jacobs December 20, 2020 at the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix. 

First, Chavez had to get an injunction on a ruling against him in Nevada, which had suspended him for not undergoing all of a mandated medical exam. The injunction allowed him to get licensed in Arizona. 

On the morning of the weigh-in, however, he missed weight, coming in 4.7 pounds heavier than the contracted 168. A compromise was reached. Jacobs, a super-middleweight, agreed to fight him at a catch weight, 173. 

The fight itself, however, sparked a near riot among the crowd of about 10,000 fans, who threw beer, cups, a chair or three and other debris into the ring when Chavez quit on the stool, losing a fifth-round TKO. 

Chavez Jr. could not continue, he said, because of a broken nose and a fractured hand. A couple of days later, Chavez posted a video of himself in a hospital bed with his father at his side. 

That video was followed by another one of him celebrating at a Christmas party. The reaction on social media was predictable. There was skepticism. And more anger.

Yet, Chavez fought six more times, including the loss to Paul in an exhibition the saw him backing away and throwing few punches throughout a dreary first eight rounds. 

A few days later, he’s facing what looks to be the biggest fight of his life.

Benavidez agrees to first title defense

In a bit of a surprise, Turki Alalshikh, Prince and promoter, announced Thursday that David Benavidez will defend his World Boxing Council light-heavyweight belt for the fist time against UK veteran Anthony Yarde, sometime in November in Riyadh.

It was thought that the unbeaten Benavidez, a Phoenix-born fighter, would face Callum Smith, instead. Smith said just a few days ago that he believed there had been progress in talks with Benavidez, who was awarded the WBC belt when Dmitrii Bivol relinquished it.

It’s believed that the Benavidez-Yarde winner could be in line for a shot at the unified 175-title pound, which is expected to be up for grabs in a projected third Bivol-Artur Beterbiev fight. 

Beterbiev won the fist one; Bivol won the rematch. Alalshikh says he wants to stage the third fight sometime later this year. But there’s not been much news about talks for Bivol-Beterbiev 3. If there’s a deal and it happens in November, Benavidez-Yarde could land on the card as the co-main.

Benavidez has been turning himself into a Las Vegas attraction. His last four fights have been in Vegas. A fight in Riyadh would be his first outside of the US since a string of eight fights in Mexico early in his career.

By Norm Frauenheim

Deontay Wilder, another example of how heavyweight power frightens and fascinates, will attempt to ensure fans and mostly himself that his defining right is still there, scary as ever.

There’s a body of evidence, powerful in its own right, to doubt it. 

Doubt him. 

Wilder is 39 and coming off a couple of years when he looked a lot older. But his return to the ring, in Kansas Friday night against somebody named Tyrrell Herndon, is attracting attention.

Herndon doesn’t have a chance. At least, he shouldn’t. He’s a 37-year-old San Antonio heavyweight (24-5, 15 KOs), who is 3-0 since Top Rank prospect Richard Torrez Jr. knocked him out midway through the second round in October 2023.

Herndon, stopped in four of his five defeats, looks like the perfect springboard for Wilder’s promised resurrection in Wichita from a 1-4 record over his last five bouts, including a TKO loss to Zhilei Zhang 12 months ago and a unanimous decision to Joseph Parker in December 2023.

The promise is part of the promotion, which is calling the BLK Prime-streamed bout “Legacy Reloaded.” It’s a complicated legacy. Surprising, too. That’s why much of the media and perhaps fans are interested in Wilder’s risky comeback. 

There are stakes, of course. If Wilder does enough to at least show there’s still potential for him to regain a piece of who he was, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is talking about a fight against faded Anthony Joshua. No telling what promoters would call Wilder-Joshua. “Past Prime Time?” Insert more punch lines here. But you get the idea.

By now, of course, it’s no secret there’s talk that Wilder is shot. 

Even old rival Tyson Fury has come around to saying Wilder should retire. Fury heard some of the same talk, all rooted in a furious trilogy that ended with Fury’s wild win by 11th-round stoppage of Wilder in October 2021. It was a fight as violent as any over the last couple of decades. Wilder was down three times; Fury twice.

In the aftermath, neither was the same. Fury fought five more times, getting a gift decision over MMA fighter Francis Ngannou and losing twice to Oleksandr Usyk in his last two. 

At first, Fury dismissed suggestions that the Wilder trilogy had taken something from him. Recently, however, he’s conceded that it did. Another big paycheck could always change Fury’s plans. He’s known to retire and un-retire at a dizzy pace and all at a price.

In recent comments, however, Fury has said that Wilder should retire for the same reason he’s still retired. They took their best from each other. Welcome inside the ring. That’s the price of admission.

Wilder, who never beat Fury, is perhaps trying to prove his old rival wrong. He insists he has gone to great lengths to re-discover the feared and fearless heavyweight he was on a run that saw him knock out his first 32 opponents.

It was extraordinary, especially for a fighter who never had been expected to do much. He wanted to play football at Alabama, the college powerhouse in Tuscaloosa, his hometown. He thought about basketball and enrolled in a junior college. But he was never a prospect on the field or on the court. Yet, he kept searching. Finally, he walked into a boxing gym. He was 20, ancient by boxing’s amateur stewards.

It was in the gym that he and trainers discovered he could throw a right hand with the kind of leverage only welterweight/middleweight Thomas Hearns had. It was deadly and dynamic. Few knew about it simply because of his age and modest entry to an old craft that has seen it all. 

Wilder, perhaps boxing’s most unlikely heavyweight champion in the modern era, went his own way, in large part because he knew no other way.

He stood alone, an unlikely American to make the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. Then, he won bronze, the only medal won by an American in Beijing. Hence, he called himself The Bronze Bomber, after Joe Louis, who also grew up in Alabama. He entered the pros and suddenly began to unleash a right as lethal as any since Hearns. 

Still, nobody believed. There were questions about his footwork, his defense, his ring smarts. Throughout it all, he continued to beat everyone in front of him until Fury, who halted his historical run with an amazing draw in Los Angeles in December 2019. Fury, the skilled boxer, fought him to a standstill, but not because of that versatile, clever skill set. Fury took the punch. Got up. Endured. 

Only, Fury was able to break the myth and in the process fracture the way that Wilder saw himself. Without the power, there was no Wilder. The draw set up the rematches, both won by Fury who had in the process stripped Wilder of his identity. Over the subsequent years, Wilder says he labored — often in desperation — to repair and restore that identity. 

Now, he insists he has. 

He told Boxing Scene this week that he hired a sports psychologist to repair  broken confidence and perhaps mend an identity crisis. Wilder’s fragile psychology has always been part of his story. 

His emotions — like that right hand — have been there, ever present and a source of who he is. 

Those emotions were also there about a year-and-a-half ago, outside of the ropes and inside a television studio for a reality TV series, The Traitors. It’s a show about friendship and betrayal. Wilder had a role as “a Friend.” But then he decided another so-called friend had betrayed him. He called him “a Traitor’’ and had him banished from the show. Later, Wilder broke down in tears and left the show before the third episode.

It was an emotional scene that fans and media had seen from Wilder throughout his boxing career, especially during the intense rivalry with Fury. A suspicious and angry Wilder alleged that Fury’s gloves had been illegally manipulated in the second fight, won by Fury in a seventh-round TKO in February 2020.

Wilder’s emotions were edgy and evident, there for all to see. It was a Mike Tyson-like moment, also a heavyweight whose mix of remembered power and emotion continue to draw an audience.

Over the years, that mix has been as genuine as it has been volatile. It’s why people watch. They might watch again Friday, just to see if Wilder has rediscovered any of what looked to be lost in fury and taken by Fury.

Benavidez Jr. under suspension for positive cocaine test

Jose Benavidez Jr., is under suspension for testing positive for cocaine  after his stoppage Danny Rosenberger Feb. 1 on the Las Vegas undercard of brother David Benavidez victory over David Morrell.

Jose Benavidez, a former junior-welterweight champion, was also assessed a $3,750 fine. The Phoenix-born fighter, no reading in Seattle, will be under suspension through Oct. 31.

It’s not clear what the suspension will mean to the 33-year-old, who is best known for taking pound-for-pound contender Terence Crawford into the final round of a challenging welterweight date — October 2018 — in Omaha, Crawford’s hometown. Crawford stopped Benavidez in the twelfth.

Benavidez (28-3-1, )19 KOs) is 1-2-1 since then. His victory over Rosenberger was changed to no-contest. Benavidez, a 17-year-old national champion as a Phoenix amateur, will have to undergo a random testing process if he hopes to continue boxing.

The positive test had been rumored for weeks. The Nevada Commission ruled on it June 20.