By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS —David Benavidez promised dominance. He promised to seize a Cinco de May torch that has belonged to Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez.

For one night, the dominance was there.

So, too was that torch, which Benavidez grabbed with the fastest hands in a dangerous business. It belonged to him Saturday night and perhaps in future years after he claimed a third title in a third division with a sixth-round knockout of Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Benavidez, born-and-forged in Phoenix, is the first in history to win titles at 168 pounds, 175 and 200. In effect, he took the snoozer out of cruiser with hands that move at a rocket rate.

“Speed, power and punch selection,” Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) said.”That’s what I do. I’ll fight anybody. Don’t efff with me.”

Zurdo (48-2, 30 KOs) tried. But he had no way of dealing with Benavidez’ singular hand speed. HIs trademark flurries are a blitzkrieg. They overwhelm.

In the fourth round, Zurdo saw it coming at him from angles he never expected. His only escape was to take a knee. A storm shelter wasn’t available. He would got back onto his feet, blood smeared across his nose and both cheeks.

All the while, Zurdo tried to subdue Benavidez with his bigger body and advertised power. 

Benavidez answered the opening bell, looking smaller and somewhat cautious. Within the first round’s final minute, however, he landed the first significant punch, a short right hand. Zurdo countered. Then, however, Benavidez unleashed one of  those swirling, blinding flurries, It was a sign of things to come.

In the second, Zurdo introduced Benavidez to some of that power. It was enough to back Bhim up a step or two. But Zurdo would quickly discover there was nothing he could do to slow down  those hands

In the final second of the sixth, he encountered them again. Still, no counter. This time, the punches cascaded off of Zurdo’s face like incoming waves. Blood poured from his left eye. The right began to swell and take on the color of a purple grape. With one second left in the sixth, it was over. Cinco de Mayo, 2026, officially belonged to Benavidez, who stood in the middle of the ring and repeated his long-standing challenge to Canelo Alvarez, the last man to possess the valuable date..

There was no immediate answer from Canelo, who was at ringside. Then again, Canelo had just witnessed another reason nobody has been able to beat Benavidez, who — hands down — possesses the most devastating weapon in the prizefighting business.

Munguia wins belt, scores dominant decision

Jaime Munguia promised he would return to Tijuana with a title.

Promise fulfilled.

Munguia (46-3, 35 KOs) is homeward bound with a World Boxing Association super-middleweight belt in his bags after he easily beat Armando Resendiz ((48-2, 30 KOs)with superior hand speed, precision and even some surprising endurance.Saturday in the final fight before the David Benavidez-Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez main event at T-Mobile Arena.

For all but the final seconds of the final round, the fight was a mismatch. Put it this way: Munguia dominated Resendiz the way Canelo Alvarez dominated Munguia two years ago. Canelo was there, seated at ringside in support of Munguia. Canelo, who wore a T-shirt that said Jaime, is trained by Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Munguia, who left the ring amid a chorus of Cinco de Mayo cheers.

Within the first few moments, it was clear that Resendiz never had a chance. The scorecards would confirm that. It was Munguia –117-111, 119-109, 120-108. Only in the final seconds did it ever look as if Resendiz, a fellow Mexican, had a chance. 

Munguia was attempting to score a knockout. He swung wildly, leaving himself open. That’s when Resendiz landed a huge overhand right. But Munguia withstood it. Seconds later, he had his promised belt. 

Duarte wins controversial split decision

It began in controversy.

It ended in controversy.

For the winner, there were boos, lots of them.

Oscar Duarte heard them after he was given a split decision over Angel Fierro Saturday night on a Cinco de Mayo card featuring David Benavidez against Zurdo Ramirez at T-Mobile Arena.

“I thought I won this fight,” Duarte (31-2-1, 23 KOs) said. “I believe I won this fight.”

But the chorus of boos said loudly that many didn’t agree. Fierro looked to be in control early. Then, Duarte fought his way back over the final few rounds. Two cards had it for Duarte, 115-113 and 116-112. The third had it 116-112 for Fierro, The Boxing Hour scored it a draw.

Fierro, who was three-plus pounds over the 140-pound mandatory Friday, rocked Duarte repeatedly in the early rounds with a right, a lightning bolt of a punch. Fierro also got floored after the bell ending the fourth. But that right continued to land over the next couple of rounds.

Jose Tito Sanchez wakes up crowd, scores stoppage 

A restless, late-arriving crowd finally got a wake up call, delivered by Jose Tito Sanchez.

Sanchez (16-0, 10 KOs) threw a succession of powerful combinations that put Jorge Chavez down twice in the 10th, a round that finally got  fans out of their seats Saturday at T-Mobile Arena Saturday night on the Benavidez-Zurdo card.

After seven slow-paced bouts on the undercard, Sanchez struck. Suddenly, the crowd roared. It was as if Cinco de Mayo had finally arrived. Only Chavez (18-1-1, 14 KOs), a junior-featherweight from Tijuana, didn’t celebrate. 

First ,a five-punch combo dropped him flat on the canvas. Somehow, he got upright. But not for long. Sanchez, of Cathedral City CA,  quickly followed with another multi-punch combo, finishing Chavez at 2:30 of the 10th.

Ismael Flores scores 154-pound upset

Ismael Flores combined pressure to poise and added just enough patience to a thorough attack that left Isaac Lucero with only one option.

He backpedaled, backpedaled all the way into a  one-sided scorecard loss Saturday on the card featuring Benavidez-Zurdo Saturday at T-Mobile Arena

Flores (18-1-1, 12 KOs), a junior-middleweight from Argentina, sustained his tactical mix throughout 10 rounds, scoring a 98-92, 99-91, 98-92 upset of the favored Mexican, (18-1, 14 KOs), a 9-to-1 betting favorite at opening bell.

Blancas ices Salomon, wins decision

Daniel Blancas calls himself “The Ice Man.” Raul Salomon found out why.

Blancos, still an unbeaten (15-0, 7 KOs) super-middleweight from Milwaukee, repeatedly stopped Salomon’s forward pursuit throughout most of a hard-fought 10 rounds on Benavidez-Zurdo card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. 

It often looked as if the chilling sting in Blanco’s pouches froze Salomon (16-4-1, 14 KOs) in his tracks, leaving the Southern California fighter without many alternatives in a unanimous-decision loss

Capetillo escapes with narrow decision

Dylan Capetillo, a Las Vegas junior-welterweight, scored repeatedly throughout three-plus rounds and then held onto his scorecard advantage, eluding a late charge from James Pierce for a narrow decision Saturday in the fifth bout on a pay-per-view card featuring Benavidez-Zurdo Saturday at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Capetillo won 39-37 on all three cards over Pierce (2-1, 2 KOs), a Phoenix fighte

Carrillo stays unbeaten, delivers body-shot KO

It only takes one punch and Jose Carrillo, of Colombia, threw it, a lethal body shot that sent Marlon Delgado onto the canvas and kept him there for a fifth-round knockout in the fourth bout Saturday on the card featuring Benavidez-Zurdo at T-Mobile Arena..

The punch suddenly reversed Carrillo’s fortunes. Through four rounds, Carrillo (15-0, 11 KOs) was losing to a more active and precise Delgado, an Ecuadorian who lost for the first time in nine light-heavyweight bouts (8-1, 6 KOs).

No knockdowns, no winner either

There were no knockdowns. No cuts or bruising punches..

In the end, there was no winner either.

Julio Ocampo Hernandez, a Washington fighter who trains at David Benavidez’ Seattle gym, and Carlos Lewis, of Oklahoma City, fought to a draw in the third bout on the Benavidez-Zurdo-featured card Saturday.

Neither lightweight could gain much of an advantage throughout the six rounds.One judge scored 58-56 for Hernandez (9-0-1, 5 KOs). One judge scored 58-56 for Lewis (5-1-1, 3 KOs). On the third scorecard, it was 55-55.

Junior-welterweight Javier Meza dominates, wins TKO

Junior welterweight Javier Meza had more hand speed, more power, more accuracy.

More of everything.

Meza (6-0, 3 KOs) overwhelmed Damonte Smith (3-1, 1 KO), an Iowa fighter was knocked down twice in the fourth and was finished, a TKO victim, in the fifth round of the second fight on the Benavidez-Zurdo card Saturday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.

First Bell: Middleweight Khamukov delivers opening salvo, wins decision

Sometime between brunch and lunch, the show opened in a ring with more people within the ropes than in the seats.

About eight hours before David Benavidez and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez would enter the ring, middleweights Petr Khamukov (14-1,6 KOs) of Los Angeles and Bernard Joseph of Massachusetts got things started in an empty T-Mobile Arena.

With punches echoing throughout the venue, a more aggressive Khamukov, prevailed winning a 10-round unanimous decision, 99-91, 98-92, 99-91.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – For the first time ever, David Benavidez is looking up to look into an opponent’s eyes.

It’s an unfamiliar sight, yet also a symbol, a metaphor of sorts for a fighter who was looked down upon for much of his career.

Two decades ago, he was a chubby 9-year-old running through ropes and bouncing off bags at the old Central Gym near downtown Phoenix. Mike Tyson was there, probably never knowing that one day he would call that kid the Mexican Monster.

His prizefighting career began without any of the attention so often focused upon Olympic boxers and Police Athletic League champions. Instead, he fought quietly in small Mexican towns south of the border with Arizona.

He won but nobody knew, or even cared. All of the attention was on his brother, Jose Benavidez Jr., a celebrated prospect, an amateur prodigy who won a national Golden Gloves title as a 16-year-old.

David was just little brother, a kid running around an old-school gym like it was a playground. There was never any sign that little brother might transform himself into a fighter as feared as perhaps any in today’s generation.

But here he is, still somewhat unknown, yet ready to show just how far he has traveled in a boxing career as unlikely as any.

The burden of proof is still there, but so is the opportunity to knock out old doubts Saturday night in a bid for a title in a third weight class against the bigger Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at T-Mobile Arena in a pay-per-view, Cinco de Mayo bout.

In a mock weigh-in Friday afternoon at the MGM Grand, Benavidez looked up into Ramirez eyes with an intensity that suggested his career path had finally reached a critical juncture. It was as if he was looking at all of the doubts he has long encountered and conquered.

“The doubters have always been there and are still there,’’ said Benavidez, who believes the bout against Zurdo is a chance for him to deliver an opening statement on how good he is and how much better he intends to be throughout the next decade.   

In many ways, his Cinco de May appearance is a multi-sided chance to finally and definitively introduce his ferocious skillset to an audience that still doubts, even about his right to call himself Mexican.

At a media event Thursday night celebrating the boxing history that has evolved around Cinco de Mayo, Julio Cesar Chavez, the face of Mexico’s great ring tradition, seemed to dismiss Benavidez, who has a Mexican father, Ecuadorian mom and grew up American on Phoenix’s westside streets

In Mexico, many don’t even know who he is, Chavez told reporters after a discussion and film that included his old rival, Oscar De La Hoya, Zurdo’s promoter.

As Benavidez stood in front of Ramirez, the intensity in his stare seemed to say that on Saturday all of Mexico will know and remember him.

“This is going to be my best performance to date,’’ he said.

But the risks are there. Benavidez, a former super-middleweight champion and current light-heavyweight champ, is jumping up 25 pounds in his bid to take two cruiserweight belts held by Zurdo, a popular and soft-spoken Mexican champion Mazatlan.

There’s no bigger jump in weight in boxing. The boiler-plate question, of course, is just how Benavidez will react. At the official weigh-in behind closed doors Friday morning Benavidez was at 196.8 pounds. Zurdo was at a sculpted 200-even.

Benavidez’ father-and-trainer, Jose Sr., wants his son to be at 210 pounds at opening bell Saturday night. Jose Sr. expects Zurdo to be at 225 pounds.

The extra pounds, Jose Sr. says, will fortify his son when Zurdo leans in on him. Still, the open question is just how David Benavidez, who was campaigning in the 168-pound division just a few years ago, reacts the first few times he feels Zurdo punches leveraged by about a 15-pound advantage.

For Benavidez, the answer might be the difference between instantly forgettable and forever memorable.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Cinco De Mayo has its own boxing history, a lively legacy that starts with Julio Cesar Chavez in a bloodied line of succession that includes Oscar De La Hoya, then Floyd Mayweather and finally Canelo Alvarez.

A peaceful transition, it’s not. Never has been. From fight-to-fight, it’s ruthless as it is perilous, scarred and scary all at once.

Enter David Benavidez. Since Canelo’s scorecard loss to Terence Crawford, the hunt is on for a new successor, a crown prince ready to crown himself and anybody who stands in his way.

Whether he’s ready and able to be next is what’s at stake Saturday in big move upscale against a credible champion, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at T-Mobile Arena.

Benavidez insists he is. He uses words like destiny. Zurdo says he will try his best to win. But Benavidez has eliminated the maybe from his language.

He will win, says the Phoenix born-and-forged fighter, a former super-middleweight champion and current light-heavyweight champ who is boldly moving up 25 pounds in a risky attempt to prove that Cinco De Mayo belongs to him.

“A championship in a third division will catapult me into a place along the greats,’’ he said Thursday during a final news conference at the MGM Grand.

He talks the part. Thursday, he looked the part.

He wore a sequined black coat, complete with black gloves, to the newser. It was as if he found the look in Michael Jackson’s old closet. It was one sign perhaps that he’s ready to be The Mexican Monster, a nickname Mike Tyson gave him. He’s ready to dance the Monster Mash all over Zurdo, who holds two titles yet is still the betting underdog.

“At the end of the day, I’m a bad m-effer, and I like to take the risks,’’ Benavidez said with a characteristic edge that he and his brother Jose Benavidez Jr., say was just part of growing up on Phoenix’s west-side streets.

They survived.

They thrived.

Over the last few years of prize-fighting success, some of that edge has moderated. There’s less trash talk, fewer profanities.

“Yeah, you’re right, we don’t trash-talk like we used to,’’ Jose Jr., a former junior-welterweight champion said. “Over the years, we’ve learned to respect opponents more. If they respect the craft, we respect them. You learn that.’’

David Benavidez referred to Zurdo, a former sparring partner, as a friend.

“I want to give a big shutout to Zurdo Ramirez,’’ David Benavidez said Thursday. “He’s always been a friend. I like him. I respect him and the way he goes about his business.

“That said, it’s time to go to war. I’m going to walk into the fire and walk out of that fire a winner. I like Zurdo a lot. But he’s never seen a fighter like me. I’m different.’’

Different enough, perhaps, to possess the Cinco De Mayo mantle and all that it means.

“I plan to fight 10 more years,’’ I want to be there, at the top, proving myself. I still have to do that. This a step in that direction.’’

Still, there are old rivalries, one  intense as ever. For years, a younger Benavidez called out Canelo with one profanity after another. But Canelo would never fight him. That possibility seems to have passed, gone away for good.

But the rivalry has not. It still burns hot. Canelo is expected to be in the arena Saturday. Officially, he’s there to support Jaime Munguia, who is fighting super-middleweight champion Armando Resendiz in the co-main. Munguia is trained by Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso.

But an inevitable question will follow Canelo to his ringside seat. To wit: Is he there to plot his own attempt at reclaiming the date he once owned? Benavidez is promising that he won’t give him that chance.

Even a question about Canelo brought back that old edge in a maturing, wiser Benavidez. The Boxing Hour asked him what he thought about fighting with Canelo in the audience. In part, the bout is a potential passing-of-the-torch, from Canelo to Benavidez. But don’t expect them to shake hands.

As Thursday’s news conference ended, news broke in The Ring that Canelo will come back in September against Christian Mbilli in Saudi Arabia. It’s a sign that Canelo won’t just surrender Cinco De Mayo to Benavidez or anybody else.

“They just announced it today,’’ Benavidez said in response to a question from The Boxing Hour.

“Who wants to see that? You guys want to see that?

“I’m not trying to be a (bleep), bro. But at the end of the day, nobody wants to see that shit. Who’s Mbilli?’’

For now, just somebody else in the way of a Benavidez quest for what he calls his destiny.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – David Benavidez is bigger than ever, both on the scale and the stage.

He commands a room with energy and charisma, delivering answers at the rate he throws punches. He’s moving up, moving fast. Stand in his way at your own peril. He’s an incoming stampede.

His momentum– all of it — was there Wednesday in a ring at one end of the MGM Grand’s casino floor. The sports book was at one side. A restaurant on the other. Center stage belonged to Benavidez, who entertained a gathering crowd of onlookers and then tirelessly spoke to one group of reporters after another.

There’s an old line about winning the news conference. There was no debate about it Wednesday. It was Benavidez, undisputed in every way.

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, the champion, was there, but almost as an afterthought in a promotional step toward a cruiserweight showdown Saturday in a Cinco de Mayo celebration at T-Mobile Arena.

On paper, at least, Zurdo has all the advantages. He’s taller, tall enough to look down at Benavidez, who has never had to look up to look into an opponent’s eyes. Zurdo knows the cruiserweight division.

Like an old pair of shoes, it seems to be perfect fit for Zurdo, who won a title in March 2024 and defended twice.  Meanwhile, Benavidez is trying it on for the first time in a jump up in weight bigger and perhaps as daunting as any in boxing.

Twenty-five pounds pack a punch that many believe will provide Zurdo with enough of an advantage to steal the evident momentum and imminent stardom from Benavidez

“We’ll see,’’ Zurdo, a popular Mexican, said in a tone that was hard to judge.

Cautious?

Confident?

We’ll see.

In Benavidez’ tone, however, there was no room for guessing. No mistake, either, about what he intends in his bid to win a title at a third weight. As he stepped out of the ring after an entertaining display of his trademark hand speed, the ring announcer closed the show by saying he’s “looking to become” a three-division champion.

Benavidez quickly amended that.

“I’m not looking to become,’’ the Phoenix-forged fighter said into the microphone. “I will be a three-belt champion.’’

For now, there’s not much disagreement. Benavidez has been a solid betting favorite since the fight was announced. Even Zurdo’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, picked Benavidez to win what he predicts will be A Fight of the Year contender.

“I’m going to pick Benavidez to win by a haymaker,’’ said De La Hoya, who also suggested that Benavidez’ vulnerability might be his chin.

Zurdo has power and precision, according to De La Hoya. A precise shot from Zurdo could result in an upset, said De La Hoya, who apparently won’t be betting on that possibility.

What’s clear is that Benavidez is going into the fight pursuing a dominant victory. He wants to make a statement about credentials that’ll keep him in the pound-or-pound debate for a decade.

“I plan on doing this for the next 10 years,’’ he said.

And he plans to do it at the top of the game, which might mean nine more appearances on the Cinco de Mayo weekend that once belonged to Canelo Alvarez.

The date’s former owner is expected to be in the audience. Canelo, scheduled for a comeback in September from his loss to Terence Crawford, plans to be ringside for the Eddy Reynoso-trained Jaime Munguia against super-middleweight Armando Resendiz.

He’ll also get a look at whether Benavidez can prove that his Cinco de Mayo appearance is more permanent than temporary. 

By Norm Frauenheim

The witnesses outnumbered the Senators

Only three of the 28 members of the Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee showed up for a hearing that some say could lead to a bill that changes boxing. But the 25 empty seats seemed to say something else. Maybe, the absent Senators were busy kissing Donald Trump’s ring or campaigning for his impeachment.

Ted Cruz was there instead of Cancun. Then again, the Texas Republican had to be. He’s the committee Chairman.  Who else was going to ring that silly, cringe-worthy bell? It echoed throughout the room. But the commanding stage was mostly empty. So was the hearing, perhaps because we’ve already heard it all.

The hearing loomed as another step toward what many believe will be the passage of the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act. It’s being sold as a rewritten version of the Ali Boxing Reform Act, first passed in 1996.

Throughout the last three-plus decades, however, boxing has proven, ad nauseam, that it can’t be revived or reformed.

Or regulated.

It’s not clear how many of the committee’s absent Senators know much about boxing, or how it has governed itself.

Their committee also oversees the Coast Guard. I’m not sure even it could save boxing from itself.

The guess in this corner: Some of the Senators, like a lot of fans, don’t care anymore. It’s on the fringe, pushed there by its inherent chaos, which is often charming yet also a flaw as permanent as a nasty scar.

The testimony Wednesday in Washington DC from opponents Oscar De La Hoya and Ali grandson Nico Ali Walsh and supporter Nick Khan, a TKO Group/Zuffa Boxing executive, was competent enough.

De La Hoya, Olympic gold medalist and popular multi-divisional champion, voiced his position in boiler-plate fashion. He was there, he said, to support the first Ali Act. He said it was working the way it was designed, meaning the fighters get a lion’s share of the revenue.

De La Hoya, a Hall-of-Fame fighter was speaking in behalf of the current generation, supporting

boxers instead the billionaires.

As De La Hoya spoke, however, it was hard to forget his role in giving Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh an honorary induction into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame (NBHOF) before Alashikh’s American debut in Terence Crawford’s 154-pound victory over Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles in 2024. It was embarrassing.

Kahn, a lawyer, was thorough in giving his reasons why the rewritten Ali Act would help bring back money and major networks. Khan blamed the acronyms for the ridiculous accumulation of titles. He’s right, of course. But there are no Four Kings – Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran – in today’s generation of fighters. Without them, HBO eventually – inevitably – moved on.

From the TKO/Zuffa group, there is also the introduction of another acronym, UBC, Unified Boxing Organizations. Move over WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO, make room for UBC. Acronyms in, acronyms out.

TKO/Zuffa promises enhanced medical care and better money per round for apprentice fighters. But, Ali Walsh argues, that’s just window dressing on a bid to monopolize the sport with long term contracts and rules that would limit what they have been able to earn under the original Ali Act.

Increasingly, the rewritten Ali Act includes devils in the details that look a lot like the UFC model, which resulted in a $375 million settlement in a UFC move to resolve two antitrust lawsuits filed by about 1,200 fighters.

Examples include what Zuffa fighters wear and collect in endorsements. Zuffa fighters wear a Zuffa uniform. Manny Pacquiao once got $2.25 million for wearing an ad on his trunks. Zuffa would have taken a sizable percentage of that, according to reports of what the UBC is planning. It’s a fee, not unlike the controversial sanctioning fees charged by the current acronyms.

Does anybody really think that Shakur Stevenson, recently stripped of a WBC belt for not paying a sanctioning fee, would salute and pay one to a UBC for an ad on his trunks? Didn’t think so. The rewritten bill calls itself American, but nothing could be more un-American.

From Walsh’s perspective, it’s just one detail, a single stitch in TKO/Zuffa’s plan to conquer and monopolize a balkanized sport populated by young fighters, who have worked like individual entrepreneurs. At opening bell, only they are at risk.

UBC control, Ali Walsh said, “removes independence. When that happens, you fight who you’re told to fight, or you don’t fight at all. At that point, real choice disappears…”

Few were ever as independent in word and deed than a grandfather who sacrificed a prime part of his career by saying what he thought in opposition to the Vietnam War.

If the rewritten Ali Act passes, his grandson wants boxing’s most revered name removed from it.

Don’t take Ali’s name in vain.

Carbajal Classic

Michael Carbajal is known for a lot of classics. This weekend he’ll sponsor one.

Carbajal, a Phoenix Hall of Famer and an all-time great in the lightest weight classes, will stage an amateur tournament this weekend at Shrine Auditorium located at 552 North 40^th Street in Phoenix.

The Michael Carbajal Classic, a USA Boxing sanctioned tournament, begins with preliminaries Friday at 5 p.m. It will continue Saturday and Sunday. 

By Norm Frauenheim

Cinco de Mayo, known for history in one century and hangovers in this one, goes global in a couple of weeks with a Las Vegas-Tokyo doubleheader sure to enhance the date’s significance to boxing.

From Madison Square Garden to Wembley Stadium, the where has always been meaningful, but that when matters more now than ever.

The first weekend in May is center stage. That’s when and where Naoya Inoue will be against Junto Nakatani in Tokyo, when and where David Benavidez will be against Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, both on May 2, three days before the 164th anniversary of a stunning Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla.

Old military victories fade away like statues of the soldiers who fought them, but this date has evolved, recreating itself within the ropes. The day’s significance was not lost on Benavidez, who quickly began to lobby for the date after Canelo Alvarez’ loss to Terence Crawford last September.

Benavidez couldn’t get a fight with Canelo, so he took the next best thing. The Phoenix-forged fighter took the date that Canelo owned for years in a reign that earned him huge wealth and celebrity. Will it, all of it, eventually belong to Benavidez?

That fight begins May 2 in a risky move up the scale to cruiserweight against Zurdo, a popular Mexican champion and the betting underdog who surely hopes to repeat some of his country’s history.

Benavidez and his father-trainer, Jose Sr., have no illusions. They are promising a kind of dominance that will suggest they – like Canelo – will own the day. Already, it’s significance is evident in its impact on Benavidez’ career.

Still a light-heavyweight champion, Benavidez first appeared among the second five in pound-for-pound rankings a few months ago. Now, he’s ranked No. 5, according to some. Does he belong there? Cinco de Mayo includes a party and a double-shot burden of 180-proof for anybody who wants it.

The day’s significance for the world’s best is the same in any language. In Japanese, that means Inoue. His May 2nd junior-featherweight title defense against Nakatani is being called the biggest prize-fight in a Japanese history that already includes the biggest upset ever – Buster Douglas’ stoppage of Mike Tyson February 11, 1990.

The Tokyo Dome crowd for Douglas-Tyson was estimated to be 40,000. No estimate necessary for Inoue-Nakatani, also at the Dome. It sold out – 55,000 — March 31, more than a month before opening bell.

Inoue is a solid favorite over Nakatani, about a 3-to-1 underdog who has been training in Los Angeles since he was a teenager. Still, the fight – much like Benavidez-Zurdo – is loaded with potential drama inherent to a match between Japan’s face of boxing and a Japanese challenger. The bout also includes its own pound-for-pound implications. Inoue is a consensus No. 2, behind heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk.

Yet, Usyk is scheduled to fight a kickboxer in his next bout, scheduled for May 23 in Egypt. That’s a factor, motivation perhaps for Inoue to prove that the pound-for-pound No. 1 belongs to him. Nakatani won yet struggled in his last fight in December on a Riyadh card featured by Inoue.

But Nakatani might have learned from a problematic performance. He’s also taller and has a longer, one-inch advantage in reach. Even more significant, he’s younger. Nakatani is 28, squarely in his prime.

Inoue, a four-division champion who had a birthday on April 10, is 33. Historically, fighters from the lightest weight classes age faster. If anybody is an exception, it’s Inoue.

Throughout his career, the former 108-pound champion has been at his dynamic best when he’s in the most peril, which is what he might be facing in Nakatani.

That’s why Inoue is called The Monster, also Benavidez’ nickname. After May 2, there’s a pretty good chance that there’ll be only one Monster.

That’s what we’ve come to expect from Cinco de Mayo, a monster day.

Fight Club PHX set for Saturday

Outdoor boxing is scheduled for Saturday (April 18/6 p.m.) at the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix.

Micky Scala (12-1, 6 KOs), a middleweight from Mesa who has been fighting on the East Coast, is the featured boxer in a Northstar Sports Advocates-promoted event – Fight Club PHX — that will open with MMA bouts. Vendors and live music are also planned.

Former welterweight champion and current analyst Shawn Porter is expected to be among the celebrities.

Notes on a scorecard

A report by The Athletic that the Saudis plan to stop funding LIV Golf, an alternate to the PGA, is raising questions about the Saudi investment in boxing.

Without oil money, could there have been Canelo-versus-Crawford?

Canelo collected a purse reported to be more than $100 million. Crawford, the winner, earned a reported $50 million.

The ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has impacted Saudi oil revenue, according to reports. Canelo is supposed to make his comeback Sept. 12 in Riyadh.

By Norm Frauenheim

Youth defines Xander Zayas and will continue to do so through at least his challenging date against Jaron “Boots” Ennis in an intriguing crossroads fight for both.

For the 23-year-old Zayas, it looms as an early milestone, a measure of maturity in his career path from a high school kid with a Top Rank contract.

For the 28-year-old Ennis, it’s an opportunity to finally deliver on his long-advertised potential, including a place among pound-for-pound contenders.

It’s compelling, mostly because it’s a steppingstone, a stage for the future. For now, it looks as if the key to that future is there for Ennis. 

Seemingly, he’s been emerging for years, always at the edge of crashing the pound-for-pound party but never quite getting there perhaps because of inactivity or Terence Crawford’s long reign of dominance.

Crawford is retired. The formal announcement this week of Ennis’ 154-pound bout June 27 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center is a sign of renewed possibilities in a very active division. Never has Ennis had a better chance to announce his arrival. He talked as if he knew that at a formal news conference this week

“I think Xander bit off way more than he can chew,’’ Ennis, a former unified welterweight champion, said Wednesday in Brooklyn. “Come fight night, he’ll see. I’m going to show everyone that I’m the best in the world.”

Betting odds suggest that’s exactly what Ennis will do. He’s about a 3-to-1 favorite. By knockout?

“For sure,” Ennis said.

Given the difference in their ages, it’s an irony that Ennis, 1-0 at 154, is the challenger. With two pieces of the junior-middleweight title, Zayas is boxing’s youngest current champion.

But youth, often called fickle, might be Zayas’ problem against Ennis, who at 147 occupied and conquered bigger stages. That, at least, is a theory, one that helps explain the early odds.

“There’s levels to this and I’m going to show him that,’’ Ennis said. “It’s about legacy for me. I want to show the world why I’m the best.”

Legacy is one of the most overused words in sport. As Ennis enters his prime, however, he might have a better understanding of what it means than Zayas, still more prodigy than legend. For Ennis, legacy is now. For Zayas, it’s tomorrow.

Despite the promise and plaudits attached to champions barely out of their teens, the experience can often be a crucible.

David Benavidez, a Phoenix-forged fighter, is just the latest example. Benavidez — a former two-time champion, yet still unbeaten – won his first 168-pound title when he was 20, making him the youngest champion in the history of the super-middleweight division. He beat Ronald Gavril in 2017. Then, the belt was stripped because of a positive drug test.

A couple of years later, Benavidez regained the title, stopping Andre Dirrell.

In his first defense of his second title in 2020, an overweight Benavidez lost it on the scale and then took out his frustration with a punishing stoppage of Roamer Alexis Angulo. He was 23-0, 23 years-old and – yet suddenly — a two-time ex-champion without a loss on the ledger. Growing-up is hard to do.

Benavidez has. In what is still an evolving career, he has moved beyond 168 and Canelo Alvarez to a prime-time resume that includes a light-heavyweight belt and a much-anticipated Cinco de Mayo date May 2 in a bid to take Gilberto “Zurdo’’ Ramirez’ cruiserweight titles. He’s added a commanding personal presence to his command of the ring.

For Zayas, however, there are lessons from Benavidez’ formative years. There are also a couple of notable parallels: Zayas is 23-0 and 23-years-old. Welcome to the crucible.

Ennis wasn’t the only one to talk legacy Wednesday. Zayas did too.

“It’s always been about legacy,’’ said Zayas, a Puerto Rican living in Florida who grew up wanting to be Miguel Cotto in a Puerto Rican lineage that also includes Wilfredo Benitez, a 17-year-old champion, still the youngest ever. “Becoming the youngest world champion at 22 when I did it. Youngest unified world champion. And now fighting one of the best in the world in the division. It’s about legacy.’’

Maybe lessons, too. 

By Norm Frauenheim

Floyd Mayweather cast doubt last Saturday on whether his September 19 sequel with Manny Pacquiao will be documented as a real fight and where it’ll happen, but tickets were available this week for a date already scheduled on the Las Vegas Sphere’s calendar.

Tickets, priced from $1,882 to $29,214, were up for sale on the Sphere’s website Thursday amid controversy raised by Mayweather, whose comments suggested the event was not the done deal it seemed to be when announced February 23 by Netflix and CSI Sports.

During a busy boxing day dominated by Sebastian Fundora’s stoppage of Keith Thurman last weekend, Mayweather told Vegas Sports Today that the venue was uncertain.

“We don’t know if it’s a hundred percent going to be there,’’ Mayweather said during a reported meet-and-greet at Caesars Palace.

Days later, however, the MSG-sponsored Sphere is moving forward as if it is certain.

Mayweather also told Vegas Sports Today that the fight would not count in the official record book, which has him at 50-0 after a boxing victory over then MMA star Conor McGregor in August 2017.

“This is not actually a fight,’’ Mayweather said. “It’s an exhibition.”

In a video posted by Source of Boxing, Pacquiao countered, saying he didn’t sign up for an exhibition.

“…he signed a real contract,’’ says Pacquiao, who lost a 2015 decision to Mayweather in a much-hyped fight remembered mostly for the record-setting pay-per-view revenue. “Yes, the contract that we signed is a real fight. I wouldn’t fight an exhibition.’’

There’s a theory that Mayweather is attempting to re-negotiate, because he wants to protect his official record. He might need money, but he still values the 0 on the loss side of the ledger more than anything. It’s his identity. Maybe, his future. He’ll be 50 next year. One loss might ruin the birthday party.

From the Netflix and Sphere point of view, however, that risk is part of the drama, a compelling reason to watch. After all, the first fight, more than a decade ago, was a dud.

As of Thursday, it’s not clear whether Mayweather thinks he’s found a loophole that will allow him to re-negotiate. The Pacquiao camp is certain he does not.

Mayweather is in breach of contract,

Jas Mathur, Manny Pacquiao Promotions CEO, told ESPN and Boxing Scene.  Now, there are reports that Mathur is demanding Mayweather re-confirm that he intends to fulfill the terms that –Pacquiao says — he agreed to.

Will he? Mayweather, a calculating and clever master of the feint within the ring, also uses it outside of it. Keep them guessing, before and after opening bell.

He’s done it often enough to think he’s trying to do it all over again. It also might help explain the odds. Mayweather opened as a slight betting favorite, minus 175. A couple of days later, money came in on Mayweather, making him more of a favorite, minus 190.

There are no odds on whether the fight, real or not, happens at all.

Not yet anyway.

By Norm Frauenheim

Keith Thurman promises history. A lot of people think he already is.

There’s a challenge in that, one that offers Thurman the motivation that always comes with an opportunity to prove them wrong.

It also gives him a chance to talk, and there’s never been a doubt he’s still better at that than just about anybody on boxing’s bully pulpit.

He was there, center stage, Thursday with a volume of words full of philosophy, preaching and psychology. If it weren’t for Sebastian Fundora’s much-hyped height, you wouldn’t have known Fundora was there at all.

Fundora, all 6-foot-6 of him, walks into a room and everybody looks up, including the 5-7 Thurman, who must have suffered a crick in his neck during the ritual stare down during a live-streamed newser a couple of days before the title fight Saturday at Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Fundora let his 154-pound title, recent string of impressive victories and that height do most of his talking. The 28-year-old with an emerging ring IQ is a smart guy. So, he listened.

Word-for-word, Thurman is unrivalled, if not undisputed. He has a broadcaster’s skillset. For now, however, he’s a fighter who plans to stay active. Thurman, nicknamed One Time, said Thursday he doesn’t intend to retire. One Time promised at least one more in a fight — he says — could open the door to Hall of Fame consideration

“A historic night,’’ he said many times.

In part, Premier Boxing Champions’ pay-per-view bout on Amazon Prime is historic for both PBC and Thurman. Thurman was featured in PBC’s first main event, a decision over Robert Guerrero 11 years ago — March 7, 2015 – also at the MGM Grand.

“It’s called PBC,’’ Thurman said. “It should be PB Me.’’

He’s a poet, too.

But a question lingers: Is he still the puncher with the finishing power defined by his nickname? The answer determines the fight.

Despite the nickname, his career has been a story about not enough times. It’s impossible to judge inactivity. That’s not exactly fair. There was Covid. There were injuries, including three surgeries. 

But none of that is attached to his record like an asterisk offering an explanation. It’s just a fact, including only 15 rounds since July 2019. 

That’s nearly seven years, a stretch when some fighters retire, come back and retire all over again.

At 37, Thurman is closer to the end than his prime. Perhaps, inactivity helped protect him from the inevitable wear-and-tear sustained in a busy career. But the surgeries suggest otherwise.

Thurman hears the skepticism. He uses it, effectively on stage and in video. The psychologist in him also might be using it against the younger Fundora. Media and fans were there with questions Thursday. In part, however, Thurman might have been talking to an audience of one: Fundora.

Fundora, he said many times, has been knocked out in his only loss to Brian Mendoza in 2023. Fundora’s muscle memory of that KO will be there, Thurman said, when a big shot lands. The body, he promised, will react in a way Fundora’s mind can’t control.

“I don’t know what all is going to go down,’’ Thurman said. “I just know Sebastian Fundora is going down.’’

It’s no coincidence that Mendoza is on Saturday’s card against Cuban prospect Yoenis Tellez in the co-main event. It’s also no coincidence that Thurman was seated next to Mendoza on the stage for the news conference.

“He gave me the cheat code,’’ Thurman said to Fundora, who was seated on the other side of the pulpit. “Night, night.

“I’m going to give you that flashback. Do you remember? Maybe, you forgot. I will make you remember.’’

Maybe, make some history, too.

By Norm Frauenheim

There are questions. Optimism, too. Mostly, there’s relief that Top Rank’s 60-years of expertise in the promotion and development of fighters is back on a significant platform with potential to sell and sustain the volatile boxing game.

We still don’t know exactly how long Top Rank’s deal with DAZN is, or whether there are any clear limits on exclusivity regarding dates and matchups with fighters tied to rival promoters.

Potential land mines, of course, are buried in the fine print of a deal announced Wednesday. It wouldn’t be boxing if they weren’t. Risk and reward, drama and disaster are all there. Caveat emptor. It’s a timeless warning, one that simply leads to another one heard before every opening bell. Defend yourself at all times.

Top Rank has, brilliantly so throughout a turbulent eight-month stretch when fans, pundits and a new generation of promoters were saying the longtime entity was dead. Mark Twain once had something to say about premature obits. News of his death, he said, had been exaggerated.

In Top Rank’s case, it surely was. After Top Rank’s final show with ESPN in July, it looked as if there was a vacuum. Saudi money, The Ring, Zuffa and TKO threatened to take over.

The threat is still there. The idea is to rewrite the Ali Act and do away with the confusing array of weight classes and titles prevalent throughout the so-called four-belt era. But there are still no real answers. Questions linger. Chaos looms.

Fans, so often forgotten, sit and wait, wondering whether it’s just a revolving door. The WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA leaving; The Ring, Zuffa and TKO arriving. Acronyms in; acronyms out.

Some fans don’t know much about it. Many don’t care. But they do know good fights and who puts them together. Over the last eight months, that’s been 94-year-old Bob Arum’s Top Rank. Amid the mess of uncertainty throughout the last year, Top Rank’s trademark resilience has been there with a quiet, yet powerful adherence to fundamentals.

The Top Rank template was never more evident than the co-promotional role it played with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom on Feb. 28 in a stunning performance by Emanuel Navarrete in an upset stoppage of Eduardo Nunez for a unified junior-lightweight title in front of a crowd of about 12,000 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb.

In the card’s immediate aftermath, it was a story about a couple of dramatic

comebacks, Navarrete and the Phoenix market, which had gone dormant with the advent of Saudi money and the Riyadh season.

A couple of weeks later, it became evident there was a third comeback: Top Rank. In part, it was expressed by Emiliano Vargas, the emerging son of former great Fernando Vargas, also his trainer. Vargas, boxing’s hottest prospect and a Top Rank fighter, had just embellished his credentials with a victory – punishing and powerful — over junior-welterweight Agustin Ezequiel Quintana.

Vargas thanked the fans and then said what fellow fighters are beginning to learn about the AZ crowd, called “educated” by Hearn. They know what they’re watching. He says he wants to fight his first main event in Phoenix. The crowd roared its approval.

Eighteen days later, there was a further approval in the Top Rank-DAZN alliance, formally announced during a news conference at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The deal is still being worked out, according to Arum. It had probably been under negotiation for weeks before Feb. 28.

But that last night in February was full of reasons, all comebacks, about why it got done. Top Rank is calling it “a new era,’’ and for the younger generation in that AZ crowd it is.

But it’s also proof that new eras work because of old fundamentals that always do.

By Norm Frauenheim

Reborn Emanuel Navarrete fought his way back from the edge of retirement and now looks at a restored future that starts with options, a decision and perhaps a dilemma.

What’s next?

More to the point, who’s next?

A couple of weeks after a dramatic career-best stoppage of Eduardo Nunez, Navarrete must choose between a promise and an opportunity.

Charly Suarez?

Or O’Shaquie Foster?

The either-or could change, of course. Unforeseen options are like insults from feuding promoters. There’s always another one.

This week, however, there were only two for Navarrete, who on Wednesday got an order that — in acronym-speak — told him he had 20 days to negotiate a deal for a “mandatory” rematch.

The only mandatory here is skepticism, of course. The only bet is an extension. Negotiations and Navarrete’s decision figure to go on for a while.

The dilemma was Navarrete’s own doing. In a contentious arena often devoid of what Ernest Hemingway called “grace under pressure,” a maturing Navarrete showed some.

He thanked Suarez.

He also acknowledged he owed him one.

“I know I owe Suarez that rematch,’’ Navarrete said at a news conference in the immediate aftermath of his 11^th-round TKO of Nunez in front of a roaring crowd in Glendale, AZ.

The rematch has been there, at one level or another, amid lingering echoes of the controversy over the Navarrete-Suarez fight in May. At first, Navarrete was declared the winner by an eighth-round “technical decision.” The referee ruled that a cut above his left eye was caused by a punch.

Thirty minutes after the San Diego fight, however, video showed the cut was caused by a Suarez punch.

Weeks later, the California State Athletic Commission changed the result, ruling it a dreaded “No Contest.”

Ten months later, there’s still no rematch. It screams for one. It sounds as if Suarez is already counting on it. The Filipino told Boxing Scene that he wants the rematch in Las Vegas.

On the last night in February, he was in the Arizona crowd for Navarrete’s victory, a definitive performance that proved to be a powerful answer to most questions about Navarrete’s future. It’s never been brighter.

Nevertheless, a ruling at a regulatory meeting allowed him to retain a title that many believe Suarez had rightfully taken from him in the ring. It remains unresolved, because Suarez stepped aside, allowing Navarrete to fight Nunez.

For that, Navarrete is thankful. But it’s still not clear whether he’ll agree to a sequel, or simply relinquish the WBO belt and move on to another 130-pound unifier against Foster.

Foster was in the Arizona crowd, too.

“Let’s do it …let’s make it happen,’’ Foster told reporters.

Then, he went on to suggest he has more name-recognition than Suarez.

“My profile has been raised,” he said.

Foster also has something that Suarez doesn’t. He’s got a junior-lightweight title, the World Boxing Council’s version – the green belt valued more than any other, especially by Mexican fighters.

The powerful Foster, who like Navarrete is a Top Rank fighter, also represents a significant 130-pound challenge to Navarrete’s renewed aspirations. There was talk that Navarrete merits some serious pound-for-pound consideration after his stoppage of a feared Nunez, a fellow Mexican who was the betting favorite at opening bell.

A victory over Foster would validate what Navarrete did against Nunez. It also would answer a lingering question about Navarrete’s consistency.

He had grown erratic, which was all too evident in a now-forgotten, yet still-controversial stoppage of unknown Australian Liam Wilson, also in Glendale where Navarrete won a then-vacant WBO title in February 2023.

To do it, Navarrete had to get up from the only knockdown in his career. He was floored by a left hook. Clearly dazed, he was still alert enough to spit out his mouthpiece, giving him a controversial 27 seconds to recover. He survived.

Wilson’s corner was outraged. It threatened a protest. It demanded a rematch. Wilson never got one. Will Suarez?

For now, not even Navarrete knows. It’s a tough question, one bound to be controversial in the court of public opinion.

Stand-up guy?

Or pound-for-pound guy?

By Norm Fraueneim

David Benavidez, once branded as a weight bully, now looks up-and-down the scale and sees only options.

Bullies are sometimes hostages, too, trapped by a narrow pursuit that eliminates other possibilities.

For Benavidez, that was Canelo and only Canelo. It kept him at 168 pounds, a super-middleweight division long ruled by Canelo Alvarez. For as long as it did, there was nowhere else to go for Benavidez.

At 23-years-old, he missed weight in 2020, losing the World Boxing Council’s 168-pound title for the second time since a positive drug test, yet never losing it in the ring. Still, he chased Canelo for five more fights over three-and-half years. The pursuit bullied the bully, keeping him at 168 and only 168.

From bout to bout, birthday-to-birthday, he battled to make the weight while his maturing body told him to move on, move up.

His toughest fight?

“The scale,’’ Benavidez, now 29, said at a recent news conference for the formal announcement in his bid for a cruiserweight title against Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez May 2 in Las Vegas.

It was a joke. Kind of. The question asked by The Boxing Hour, should have been more specific. To wit: Who was his toughest opponent?

“Caleb Plant,” said Benavidez, a Phoenix born-and-forged fighter who battled and beat Plant, scoring a hard-fought decision in Vegas March 2023.

He would fight once more at super-middle, winning both the fight with the scale and then Demetrius Andrade later that year.

Still, Canelo would not budge, perhaps because he saw Benavidez as too big, or too loud or too much of both. Whatever the reason, Benavidez moved on, moved up. The question, however, is still there.

“For as long as Canelo is still out there, still active, it’ll always will be,’’ Benavidez said.

Canelo is planning a September 12 comeback in Riyadh from his scorecard loss to Terence Crawford. Christian Mbilli and others have been mentioned for what will be Canelo’s first fight in a year. But don’t bother to look too far down the list. Benavidez’ name is not there. The question is, of course.

These days, it’s almost always preceded by an apology. Sorry, but we have to ask.

Benavidez is happy to answer. Maybe, relieved, too. His move up the scale has freed him from the frustration that had been attached to the futile pursuit of what would have been a rich date with Canelo. It’s also freed him to take on risks that can make or break a legacy.

Cruiserweight is that risk. After three fights at light-heavyweight, Benavidez is making the jump, from 175- pound champion to 200-pound challenger.

Zurdo, Benavidez’ old sparring partner, has been at the weight for three fights over the last two years. He’s won two of the belts. His experience, familiarity, gives him an edge.

Another Zurdo advantage is measurable. Benavidez has always been the bigger fighter. In a face-off at the end of a Las Vegas newser late last month, however, Benavidez had to look up to look into Zurdo’s eyes. Will that matter? Maybe not.

But that photo is just one indication of adjustments confronting Benavidez in a bid for a third division title.

There’s a sense that Benavidez’ energy and whirlwind punching rate will propel him to victory. Betting odds reflect that. Benavidez is a slight favorite, minus 310.

Jai Opetaia, the world’s most feared cruiserweight, talked about Benavidez-Zurdo during the days before his bout against Brandon Glanton in a Zuffa-promoted card Sunday in Vegas. He wants the winner.

Opetaia, the most interesting big guy from Down Under since David Tua, also talked to Benavidez during the Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios fight on March 21. They weren’t exchanging gardening tips. The Benavidez-Opetaia possibility has got fans talking.

Whatever happens, Benavidez hasn’t eliminated anything on either side of his current place on the scale. He says he still wants to fight Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev at light-heavy.

The difference between 175-to 168 is seven pounds however. That’s a lot less than the 25 pounds separating 200 from 175.

Can he go back down, win another fight with the scale? He’s done it before, which explains why he’s confident he can do it again.

But doubts increase as he gets older. It’s also not clear what Bivol and Beterbiev plan to do. There was talk of them in a second rematch, a trilogy. But both names have begun to fall out of the media and the pound-for-pound ratings. Their careers are close to the end.

Meanwhile, Benavidez is just beginning on a path that some say will lead to heavyweight. Cruiserweight is just seen as a steppingstone for him and Opetaia, as it was for Evander Holyfield and Oleksandr Usyk. But that option will have to wait.

“The question is not whether I can fight at heavyweight,’’ Benavidez said. “It’s whether I want to.’’

By Norm Frauenheim

GLENDALE, Ariz. –The blood poured into a right eye. A swelling bruise began to close the left eye. Only the end was easy to see.

Emanuel Navarrete’s punches, long and deadly, bloodied, bruised and busted-up Eduardo Nunez, forcing the ring physician to call an end to the carnage in the first second of the eleventh round Saturday night at Desert Diamond Arena.

Navarrete’s victory proved to be a definitive answer to a growing chorus of critics who believed that the three-division champ was in a steep decline. He’s not. Instead, he’s a unified junior welterweight champion. He took Nunez’ International belt and added it to his World Boxing Organization title.

“I feel like I got back to what it is to be a Mexican warrior,” he said to a roaring crowd after his fourth appearance in the state since 2023.

The only way back to his warrior roots, however, was through a determined challenge from another resilient Mexican. Nunez (29-2, 27 KOs) was a slight favorite. And there were moments when it looked as if he might prevail.

“I want to be champion again,” he said after hugging Navarrete in the center of the ring. “I will continue to learn. 

Nunez’ right eye was cut in the fourth round. From the fifth through about the eighth, however, his power and evident discipline forced Navarrete to retreat.

But his corner stopped the bleeding after the round.  The blood was gone, suddenly and seemingly replaced by a sharper Nunez. He began to find his range. He landed a solid body-to-head combination that backed Navarrete into the ropes. 

The double shot, perfectly executed, seemed to surprise Navarrete, whose loosey-goosey style managed to confuse Nunez over the first two to three rounds. But the combo interrupted Navarrete’s momentum. He hesitated just enough for Nunez to get back into the fight.

Nunez’ power was finding avenues under Navarrete’s long, spaghetti-like arms. First, he targeted Navarrete’s body. Then his head, Navarrete went into reverse. He marched forward in the opening round. He retreated in the seventh. Increasingly, the relentless Ninez was there, his head and face in Navarrete’s chest. In the eighth, Nunez backed  him into the ropes and followed with a succession of head shots that landed with an echo that could be heard above the roar from the crowd. 

In the ninth, the blood started flowing again. A rapid swelling, the color of a purple grape, appeared around the left. Only the end was left.  

Emiliano Vargas prevails in punishing fight

There’s more to Emiliano Vargas than just a pretty face. There’s a mean streak too.He displayed it Saturday in a contentious, bruising stoppage of Augustine Quintana Saturday In a junior-welterweight fight that was a good measure of the young prospect’s chances of fulfilling his potential at Desert Diamond Arena.

“I want to become a world champion in my next fight,” the 21-year-old Vargas said after forcing Quintana’s corner to end it after the ninth round.

In the early rounds, it looked as if Vargas would win easily. In the fifth, however, Quintana (22-3-1, 13 KOs)  suddenly got aggressive. He marched forward, pursuing Vargas and throwing punches at a wild rate and in every direction. One landed low. Then, another. Vargas was in evident pain. The referee called time and warned Quintana.

For a few seconds, Vargas walked it off. The warning, however, changed the fight. It got nasty, borderline ugly. Quintana continued to throw punches, some that repeatedly seemed to land just at or below the beltline. But Vargas didn’t back away. 

Instead, he stood and exchanged shots that echoed throughout the old ice hockey arena. In the eighth, Quintana slipped onto his hands and knees. Vargas looked at him. Actually, he glared and gestured at the Argentine, urging him to get up. No interpretation necessary. Vargas wanted to administer some more punishment. 

He did with punches that forced another timeout  Quintana was sent to his corner where the ringside physician was waiting. The  good doctor took a look at his busted-up face and determined the fight could continue. Nobody was happier about that than Vargas.  A round later, it was over, despite angry protests from the busted-up Quintana.

Abel Ramos storms back, scores decision over Smalls

Now we know why Mario Barrios wouldn’t fight Abel Ramos again.

Ramos, fighting for the first time since a controversial draw with Barrios for the WBC welterweight title more than a year ago, displayed great conditioning, unleashing another furious rally for a victory over prospect Tahmir Smalls at Desert Diamond Arena.

It was close, but this time the judges got it right, giving Ramos (29-6-3, 22 KOs) a split decision– 98-92  and 97-93 for Ramos, 96-94 for Smalls.

Ramos and the crowd — populated by many fans from hometown Casa Grande about an hour drive from Glendale — celebrated as though they had been waiting for fate and fairness to finally favor Ramos.

For months, he waited and wondered, praying and hoping for a rematch with Barrios. 

“It’s been awhile since I last fought,” he told The Boxing Hour before opening bell.  “I thought I’d get the rematch. There were. a couple times I thought it was done. They kept saying yeah. But then he got the Manny Pacquiao fight. That’s when I knew I’d have to fight somebody else. No regrets. 

“I’m just happy to be here, fighting again. 

“I just love to fight.”

For the last six rounds, that was evident, painfully so for Smalls (16-1 11 KOs). First, there were body shots from  Ramos. Then, head shots. In the final round, Smalls slipped to the canvas, a picture of exhaustion..

“It’s exactly how I thought it would go,” said Ramos, who resurrected his future. “I hope this win will give me another title shot. I want Ryan Garcia, all of the champions.” 

Martinez, Cardenas fight to a draw

Jordan Martinez didn’t get the win. But he got the cheers and probably a rematch.

Martinez, an entertaining mix of energy and speed, wound up with a draw in front of hometown fans Saturday against favored Arturo Cardenas in the first fight of the DAZN live stream of the Emanuel Navarrete-Eduardo Nunez fight at Desert Diamond Arena.

Martinez (16-0-1, 15 KOs) appeared to grab the early momentum in the junior-featherweight fight. He danced into the ring and kept his feet moving throughout most of the early rounds. By the mid rounds, however, Cardenas (17-0-2, 9KOs) began to catch with solid shots. It was enough for him to also catch him on the cards — 98-92 for Martinez, 96-94 for Cardenas and 95-95. It was a split draw. A split audience, too..

“Most of his shots were hitting me on the gloves,” Cardenas, of Mexico, said.

The, crowd booed,

“We can run it back for sure and I’ll come back better,” said Martinez, a Phoenix fighter who wore the city’s logo on the back of his trunks.

Mesa junior welterweight Ochoa suffers first loss

Mexican Oscar Alvarez Guerrero brought Julio Cesar Chavez out of his broadcasting seat and onto his feet with a resilient burst of late energy that led to an upset decision over Trini Ochoa, a popular junior welterweight from Mesa, Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena.

The early moments in the eight-round fight appeared to belong to Ochoa, who delivered an effective body attack. But the lanky Guerrero (15-2, 12 KOs) endured the shots, recovered and then began to dominate, especially in the final couple of rounds. That’s when Guerrero mounted a relentless attack, backing Ochoa (21-1, 9 KOs) on to the ropes and into the loss column for the first time.

Bantamweight Velle stays unbeaten with dominant decision

Phillip Velle, an accomplished amateur, continued to add a prospect’s credibility to his resume Saturday, displaying a comprehensive skill set in a dominant decision over Brayan Ramos at Desert Diamond Arena.

Velle (5-0, 2 KOs), landed several well-executed counters throughout a sxi-round bantamweight fight. He staggered Ramos (8-8-1, 2 KOs), a resilient Mexican who managed to stay on his feet and in the fight. 

Prospect Beltran extends unbeaten record

Hector Beltran calls himself Handsome. The nickname still works. His face and record remains unmarked.

Beltran, a Robert Garcia-trained prospect, stayed unbeaten with a shutout decision over a game Cesar Diaz in the second fight on the Navarrete-Nunez featured card Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena.

Beltran (7-0, 5 KOs), of Dallas, took complete control of the welterweight bout in fourth, landing successive shots that rocked Diaz (10-2, 6 KOs) from one side of the ring to the next. 

First Bell: Navarrete-Nunez card opens with quick KO

Las Vegas welterweight Rahman Muhammad turned a scheduled matinee into a short feature Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena

Muhammad (3-0, 2 KOs) wasted little time, opening the show with second-round stoppage of Mitchell McFadden, (1-1), of Atlanta, on a Matchroom card featuring the Emanuel Navarrete-Eduardo Nunez fight for two pieces of the junior-lightweight title

By Norm Frauenheim

GLENDALE, Ariz. – For a while, the only thing separating Emanuel Navarrete and Eduardo Nunez was a valid passport. Now, even that’s gone.

Navarrete and Nunez stood face-to-face, seemingly even for perhaps the most intriguing fight in a new year Friday, just a day after Navarrete resolved issues over a lost passport and boarded a private jet in Mexico City for a flight to Arizona.

He landed, his papers and weight all in order. As he stepped off the scale, he looked relieved. Finally, he was where he was supposed to be. Finally, there were no issues about the weight. He safely came in under the junior-lightweight limit of 130 pounds.

In a staged weigh-in after the official one behind closed doors Friday morning at Desert Diamond Arena, he was at 129.2 and Nunez at 129.8.

Over the last few years, the 31-year-old Navarrete (39-2-1-1, 32 KOs) has often struggled to make weight. But this time, more than a passport was lost.

Pounds were, too, enough for him to stay in the hunt to keep his World Boxing Organization belt and to take Nunez’ International Boxing Federation title Saturday night at Desert Diamond in a DAZN-streamed bout.

“Obviously, we had our setbacks, all out of our hands,’’ Navarrete said through an interpreter. “But, finally, we’re here.’’

Navarrete sounded confident. The three-division champion is no stranger to Arizona where he’s already fought three times since 2023.

“This is a lot like my second home,’’ Navarrete said.

He’s been lucky in Maricopa County. He escaped with a victory over Australian Liam Wilson, scoring a stoppage after getting up from a controversial knockdown. He’s also been dominant, punishing Oscar Valdez, first at Desert Diamond and again at the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix.

He knows the city. It knows him. But a boxing ring never includes any of the comforts of home. It’s full of danger and shifting allegiances, both of which are personified in the emerging face of Nunez.

Navarrete has the resume and an awkward style, a puzzle to most who have tried to solve it.

But Nunez has the momentum, which includes an astonishing knockout rate. He’s not perfect, but he’s close. He’s stopping opponents at a 93.1-percent clip.

Twenty-nine victories in 30 fights, 27 by stoppage. It comes with no surprise, perhaps, that his only loss came on the scorecards early in his career. Nunez’ power has dictated what he does. Who he is.

“Navarrete has been a champion for a long, long time,’’ Nunez said, also through an interpreter. “But I feel like it’s my time to write my own destiny.’’

Nunez woke up Friday as the favorite. The betting odds have been close since the fight was announced. Throughout, however, Nunez has been the bettors’ slight favorite, a sign perhaps that the fighter from Sinaloa has captured the imagination of Mexican fans.

For now, at least, Nunez is a name. Few American fans have seen him fight. In August 2024, he beat Miguel Marriaga in Carson, Calif. Last May, he traveled to Japan, scoring a unanimous decision over Masanori Rikiishi for a vacant IBF title in Yokohama. Twice, his passport has been punched with some noteworthy credibility.

But none would be more powerful than a victory over Navarrete, whose name has been near the top of Mexico’s boxing royalty for many years.

A victory over Navarrete would be a sure sign that he has arrived, especially among Mexicans, boxing’s biggest and loudest demographic. It’s no coincidence that promoters, Matchroom and Top Rank, have dubbed the fight “King of Mexico.”

Canelo Alvarez, who still plans a post-Terence Crawford comeback in September, might argue with that one. For one night, however, the marketing title works.

The 27-year Nunez has youth and evident energy. Against a Navarrete, he might need a lot of both. Navarrete’s edgy victories over Valdez suggest he’s at his best against fellow Mexicans. Valdez is popular in Arizona, in part because he has roots in Tucson. But Navarrete walked through him. From round to round, it looked as if he was energized by a partisan crowd. Those Valdez fans might be his fans now.

Nunez figures to encounter that version of Navarrete, who is also motivated by talk that he is not the fighter he was five years ago. In his last fight, he escaped against Charly Suarez. It ended in controversy over whether a punch or a head butt left Navarrete with a nasty cut. Eventually, it was ruled a No Contest. Navarette kept his belt, but couldn’t shed the questions.

“Some of the criticism was unfair,’’ said Navarrete, who has never had a better chance to prove just how unfair.   

By Norm Frauenheim

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Emanuel Navarrete missed a news conference Thursday for a fight for a unified junior-lightweight title Saturday against emerging fellow-Mexican Eduardo Nunez at Desert Diamond Arena because he lost his passport.

The fight for the World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Federation belts was still on, however. 

During the  undercard portion of a delayed news conference, promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed a story first reported by The Boxing Hour and said  Navarrete was on a private jet from Mexico City to Phoenix.

“”Earlier, he was sitting in an embassy in Mexico City,” Hearn, Nunez’ promoter, said. “Nobody could find his passport.

Hearn had hoped to stage the ritual stare-down between Navarrete and Nunez later in the night. But there was still no sign of Navarrete as the undercard part of the newser ended.

Representatives for Top Rank, Navarrete’s promoter, were confident he was enroute.

“We had some drama this week,” Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said.

Moretti then thanked Hearn for acquiring a private jet.

“We’re still negotiating that,” Hearn said.

Navarrete is popular in the Phoenix area. His scheduled Saturday fight on DAZN is his third at Desert Diamond and his fourth in Maricopa County since 2023. He beat Oscar Valdez in a rematch in December, 2024 at the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix in his last Arizona appearance. His drawing power has been evident.

“This fight will happen in front of what will be 12,0000 fans,” Hearn said.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Belts and acronyms are at stake, but a date matters the most to David Benavidez’ in his upscale move to prove he’s the undisputed face of the game.

Ownership of that date, Cinco de Mayo, is there, up-for-grabs on May 2 in an intriguing fight against cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez.

It’s been there, vacant and valuable, ever since a masterful Terence Crawford beat Canelo Alvarez in September. Crawford retired; Canelo abandoned the date amid plans for a comeback in September.

For Benavidez, just the chance to claim the date is an opportunity to kick his career into prime time.

“That date doesn’t belong to just one fighter,’’ Benavidez said at a formal news conference announcing the Zurdo bout early Saturday, just hours before the Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios fight at nearby T-Mobile Arena.

No, but it does belong to a long list of legends.

“Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Canelo,’’ Benavidez, a Phoenix born-and forged fighter, said to an audience that included De La Hoya, Zurdo’s promoter. “It’s for the best fighter of his time.’’

Benavidez, still a light-heavyweight champion, thinks his time is approaching. A definitive victory over Zurdo during the first weekend in May would serve as a sure sign that it is.

For Benavidez’ trainer and dad, the opportunity also serves as motivation for his son to deliver the kind of performance that will ensure an encore.

“We’re not going to let anyone take it from us,’’ Jose Sr. said.

Zurdo, of course, has other plans. He knows Benavidez. Since 2016, they’ve sparred about 100 rounds. 

“Pay-per-view rounds,’’ Zurdo trainer Julian Chua said during the newser for a bout that will be streamed by Amazon Prime Video.

There’s some debate about how the rounds went.

“I hurt him,’’ Benavidez said. “He might not say that, but I know he knows. But I also remember that through all that sparring I once told him that one day we’re going to do this on pay-per-view.’’

Turns out, it’ll happen on boxing’s biggest day.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS ––For one night, there were no doubts about Ryan Garcia.

He eliminated them with a disciplined, thorough decision over Mario Barrios Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs), often known for wild controversy, simply performed, a boxer trying to redeem the considerable talent in his skillset. He did that, dominating the scorecards – 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109.

Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) never had a chance, mostly because Garcia never lost control.

Along the way, Garcia picked up his first world title, the World Boxing Council welterweight belt.

He also reconnected with his dad, Henry, who was back in his corner. Garcia wore dad’s first name, stitched onto the beltline of his red trunks.    

He also put himself in line for bigger fights, perhaps a sequel in a grudge match with Devin Haney. There’s also Shakur Stevenson, who has quickly emerged as a pound-for-pound contender. Stevenson was at ringside. Sure enough, Garcia called him out after the scores were announced. He still knows when and how to deliver a line.

There were no complaints, except for maybe one.

“To be honest, I should have got the knockout,’’ Garcia said.

He didn’t, perhaps, because defense is the only weapon in Barrios’ skillset. He’s careful, but now he’s also an ex-champion

It didn’t take long for Garcia to display just how fast and powerful his hands are. Not long after David Benavidez’ young son, Anthony, welcomed him into the ring with a fast flurry of his own punches, Garcia went to work. But it began with a surprise

He’s known for a lethal left. But he opened with a right that put Barrios down just seconds after opening bell.

Barrios kept his poise. He got up, patience instead of panic in his eyes. Those eyes, however, also had to be filled suddenly with some unexpected concern.

Barrios had to be as wary of the right as much as that feared left. It confronted Barrios with some double-edged danger. Power on one side and diversionary on the other.  

It was meant, perhaps, to set Barrios up for a finishing blow. But the defending champion from San Antonio proved to be tougher than perhaps Garcia expected. He withstood what Garcia threw with either hand and from almost any angle.

Still, there was a toll. From round-to-round, it became increasingly evident. Garcia punches and stubborn pressure began to wear down Barrios. He remained upright in trough the remaining eleven rounds.

But there were moments when his balance looked shaky. Barrios’ attempts at landing his best punch, a counter, began to dwindle as he kept his distance, perhaps because he didn’t want to step inside and within the range of the destructive power in both of Garcia’s hands.

It was a tactic. But Barrios couldn’t win that way. It allowed Garcia to stand outside, often with his hands down, as he fired from distance, almost sniper-like. Again and again, he scored enroute to the fist win on what might be redemption.

Russell survives, scores decision over Hiraoka

It was a fight for survival, or at least a punishing exhibition in how to prevail. Gary Antuanne Russell. won. Andy Hiraoka lost.

To the winner, there were mostly bruises. Russell’s resilience and early energy guaranteed victory. But the defending World Boxing Association’s junior-welterweight champion (19-1, 17 KOs)  suffered mightily in the tenth round because of an ugly low blow, thrown inadvertently but right on target. 

Hiraoka (24-1, 19 KOs) was penalized a point. But it didn”t matter. He lost on all three cards — 117-110 and 116-111 twice. In the Japanese junior-welterweight’s first loss, he won over the fans. The gathering crowd for Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios at T- Mobile Arena cheered him and booed Russell when the scores were announced.

Hiraoka was fighting just a couple of days after a long flight from Japan. He was delayed by VISA problems. Early on, he looked stiff and tentative, almost as if he was suffering from jet lag. If he was , however, he shook it off in the middle rounds, That’s when he began to land big lefts and thundering body shots.

As the fight went on, it began to look as if jet lag might be contagious. Russell looked tired. In the end, however, he had scored often enough in the early round to survive.

Martin, Albright fight to wild draw

Anybody for a rematch?

It sounds as if everybody is, including  Frank Martin and Nahir Albright who set the stage for one with a wild draw Saturday on a card featuring Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios at T–Mobile Arena.

Through eight rounds, Martin (19-1-1, 13 KOs), a Detroit junior-welterweight, appeared to hold a slight edge. He dictated pace. He landed more solid shots. In the ninth, the lefthander rocked Albright (17-2-1, 7 KOs), of Philadelphia.

In the tenth, however. Albright attacked, capturing the momentum and badly hurting Martin with a head-spinning combination of ;punches. Martin stumbled, then desperately held on and held himself up just enough to avoid defeat.

In the end, it was 95-95 on all three scorecards.

“Should we re-run it?” Martin asked the fans.

The crowd roared yes.

Melikuziev Stops Agbeko in 7

Bektemir Melikuziev stopped Sena Agbeko in round seven of their 10-round super middleweight bout,

In round four, Melikuziev was cut around the right eye from a clash of heads. Agbeko was cut on his forehead

In round seven, Melikuziev wobbled Agbeko with a right hook and then was dropped with a straight left. Agbeko was badly hurt and ate another straight left and the fight was stopped at 2:58.

Melikuziev is now 17-1 with 11 knockouts. Agbeko is 29-5.

Amari Jones dominates, scores stoppage

It started with a counter hook. It ended in a beatdown.

From start to end, it was all Amari Jones (16-0. 14 KOs), a middleweight from Oakland, CA, who delivered a perfectly-executed hook that put Luis Arias down onto his rear and sliding across the canvas Saturday on the Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios card.

Arias (22-7-1, 11 KOs), of Las Vegas, got up from the shot, but never really covered from the damaging impact. He looked hurt. He moved around the ring  in evident fatigue. In the fourth, he was down again.The ringside physician took one look at him and ended it.  Before the fifth, he was finished.

Uppercut thunder keeps Alakel unbeaten

Mohammed Alakel is unbeaten because of an uppercut.

David Calabro (5-2, 3 KOs) couldn’t elude it. It landed once, leaving him with a bloodied nose. It landed again, this time landing on his midsection with a shot that echoed throughout an empty Mobile Arena Saturday afternoon. Both put Calabro, of Aston PA,  on the canvas, both within a few moments in the second round. 

Calabro had seen enough. So had the referee, who ended it at 2:17 of the second in a TKO victory for Alakel (8-0, 2 KOs) of Riyadh.

First Bell: Hitchins withdraws from title defense versus Duarte as Garcia-Barrios card gets off to slow start

The show opened with empty seats, news that the co-main event was off the card and Joshua Edwards.

A few fans had just reached their seats at T-Mobile Arena when it was reported that junior-welterweight Richardson Hitchins withdrew from his title defense Saturday against Oscar Duarte on the Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios card because of an undisclosed illness. Delay and dull followed.

Edwards, a former Olympic heavyweight, appeared to have the power to eliminate the dull. But there was no stoppage. Edwards, a perfect five knockouts in five fights before the bout, could never land anything solid against Canadian Brandon Colantonio (7-3, 1 KO). Instead, Edwards settled for his first scorecard win, a unanimous decision.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – The weigh-in was staged on a day when nothing else was.

Ryan Garcia, known to miss weight, was a half-pound lighter than the 147-pound mandatory and Mario Barrios was at the welterweight max Friday just as boxing’s familiar chaos descended all over again.

There’s redemption, and maybe Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) gets some along with his first real title Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in a DAZN-streamed fight.

There’s respect, and maybe Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) gains some by retaining the World Boxing Council’s green belt after keeping it twice with a couple of unconvincing draws.

From redeem to retain, there’s an R-word for just about everything in boxing. The only missing one is retirement. There’s no such thing. Prizefighters are like the tide. They keep coming back.

As Garcia and Barrios stepped off the scale and then indulged in the trashing-talking, non-blinking stare-down ritual, Floyd Mayweather, now more Sr. than Jr., was announcing a comeback.

Who knows if it really happens – and there are reasons to be skeptical. If it does, however, maybe the 30-year-old Barrios or the 27-year-old Garcia are in his future. Mayweather will always get closer to social security than he will his prime. He’ll be 49 next Tuesday (Feb. 24).

Who knows if Mayweather needs the money or the attention or both. Whatever the motivation, he becomes a legendary name that younger fighters – a Garcia or a Barrios – might one day want to have on their resume. 

One way to become a legend is to beat one. Mayweather is surely that, although his plan for a comeback risks his 50-0 sanctioned record. 

A loss to a face in the game’s emerging generation – again a Garcia or a Barrios – is a risk to Mayweather’s carefully-calculated claim on being an all-time great.

There’s a lot of talk that Mayweather’s comeback plan will include a rematch of his revenue record-setting victory over Manny Pacquiao. On Friday, at least, it was impossible not to note that Barrios fought to a controversial draw in July with Pacquiao in his last fight.

In announcing his comeback plan, Mayweather said he would fight his next sanctioned bout after a reported exhibition with Mike Tyson this spring. He’s also engaged in a looming court battle, a lawsuit against Showtime for $340 million.

Meanwhile, no specifics – date, place and network – have ever been announced about the speculated Mayweather-Tyson show. It’s fair to be as skeptical about that as it is to wonder whether we’ll ever see his comeback really happen. At 49, things change.

The body doesn’talways cooperate. Ask Bernard Hopkins, who went from an ageless wonder until he got stopped, knocked out of the ring by Joe Smith in 2016. Hopkins was 51. His body finally said no mas.

For now, however, Mayweather says he has contract, deal with CSI Sports/FIGHT SPORTS for a comeback career, post Tyson. 

“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said in a written statement.

More records, maybe more revenue too, But there’s another R-word: Regret. Without retirement, that’s often all that’s left.   

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Ryan Garcia came in from the storm.

He didn’t exactly leave it behind. He never does. But on a rare day that left Vegas chilled by rain instead of warmed by the desert sun, Garcia stepped inside, looking peaceful. Almost serene.

Calm before an opening bell vanishes like spilled beer up-and-down the Strip in mid-summer. It’s there, then it’s gone faster than a mirage.

Perhaps, that’s all it was for Garcia Thursday during a news conference that was moved from an outdoor pavilion and onto the bottom floor of T-Mobile Arena because of persistent showers.

But you never know with Garcia, who has more roles in his erratic career than he has angles on his

punches.

For Mario Barrios, a peaceful Garcia on a Thursday before their welterweight title fight Saturday night on DAZN might have been a little eerie.

After all, the last time they shared a stage, he encountered a Gracia full of the usual mocks, insults and theatrics.

Who is this guy? His father, Henry Garcia, hears the question. Dad, who is back in his son’s corner, promised a fighter fans remember.

“The boxer that beat Luke Campbell, beat (Javier) Fortuna, beat (Devin) Haney, that’s the fighter you’re going to see,’’ Henry Gracia said.

The fighter who beat Haney, of course is the fighter who tested positive for a PED that might have explained his ferocity throughout a wild and notorious fight in New York. It led to Garcia’s suspension and widespread condemnation.

But this is boxing. Ferocity is the way many of his fans want to remember him. The passive, disinterested fighter they saw in a subsequent loss to Rolly Romero in his last bout is the fighter they’d rather forget.

The Haney fight, eventually ruled a no-contest, has them hoping for a rematch, one that could be there if Garcia beats Barrios and claims the World Boxing Council’s 147-pound belt. That possibility is why The Ring has attached the promotional label, High Stakes, to the bout.

Haney-Gracia would be a grudge fest, a storm for which there would be no shelter. For now, at least, Garcia’s quiet confidence suggests confidence he’ll take a step in that direction against Barrios.

During the newser, Barrios said he hoped to make Garcia uncomfortable

Garcia was asked the inevitable: 

Can he?

“No,” he said.

Then, he paused, almost ominously

“I don’t,’’ he said

Since the bout was announced, Garcia has been the favorite, both in the ring and on the billboards. Barrios has the title, but Garcia owns the show.

There’s been a lot of talk about Barrios trainer, Joe Goossen, who is Garcia’s ex-trainer. In the first news conference, Garcia passed out T-shirts that said Traitor. Then, that was what Garcia apparently wanted everybody to think of Goossen. On Thursday, however, there were no divorce-like insults.

There were just questions about whether Goossen’s experience with Garcia might give Barrios an advantage.

Barrios didn’t talk much about that possibility. He doesn’t talk much at all, anyway.

But Garcia had a profane response.

Goossen, he said, knows him, knows what he can do.

“He also knows I can be a bad m-effer,’’ Garcia said. “On Saturday night, I’m going to be a bad m-ffer.’’

Moments later, Garcia and Barrios walked to the middle of the stage for the ritual face-off. Just as they broke off, Garcia flashed the middle finger, an obscene gesture that flashed like lightning on the horizon.

Another m-effing storm might be coming.  

By Norm Frauenheim

From outrage to silly, Ryan Garcia’s many sides have shown up on either side of the ropes and lots of other places.

There are so many roles, it’s hard to know what’s genuine, who’s real. Garcia has a mask for every opening bell. In a craft dictated by feints, it often works.

Along the way, he’s made fools out of opponents, fans, media and regulators.

Sometimes, he just makes a fool out of himself

That sets up a new stage. This time, however, who’s-fooling-who is more than just a question. It’s a theme, the inescapable drama, for his return next Saturday (July 21) against Mario Barrios in a DAZN-streamed bout from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

The Ring, the promotional entity, calls the fight “High Stakes”, a fair enough marketing that suggests Devin Haney will be there for a rematch if Garcia prevails.

He’s expected to. He’s favored, but the odds (minus 225) are close, in part because of Garcia’s scorecard loss to Rolly Romero last May on a messy night at New York’s Times Square.

Garcia performed more like a guy trying to wave down a vacant cab than an elite fighter trying to land a punch in a fight that could have restored credibility badly damaged in a notorious New York night against Haney.

Eventually, a beat-down of Haney was ruled a no-contest because Garcia tested positive. Sometimes, masking doesn’t work. In his first fight – opportunity — since then, Garcia just looked disinterested.

Just another disguise, or a real look at what, who Garcia has become? Guess here: Narrow odds are also a fair reflection of the public perception of Garcia. Fans don’t know what to make of him, either.

High Stakes, perhaps, says more about him — his identity — than his future. If he fails against Barrios, his career is in crisis.

If he loses to Barrios, forget Haney, who might move on to a speculated shot at newly-minted junior-welterweight and pound-for-pound contender Shakur Stevenson. For this fight, fans will watch, knowing that only Garcia’s future is at stake.

Is that fair to Barrios? No. But fair and boxing, like jumbo and shrimp, don’t belong in the same sentence. Boxing is always a working definition for oxymoron.

Barrios, a nice guy in a notorious workplace, seems to understand his role in the looming show. He’s the B-side, which is the same bit-player role he had in a controversial draw with middle-aged celebrity Manny Pacquiao in July.

Garcia was there for that one too, reportedly engaging in some extracurricular exchanges on the arena floor after Barrios escaped with the draw.

Seven months later, the two would meet in the ring. Who knew? In a news conference dominated by Garcia last month, Barrios watched the show and reviewed it simply with perhaps the only trash talk he’s ever delivered. He called Garcia a clown.

“Payaso,’’ the proud Mexican-American said of Garcia who arrived on-stage with T-shirts, insults and his own dancing girls, all with ring cards mocking the World Boxing Council.

There’s more than just Bozo in the Spanish definition of clown. It could mean buffoon. It also could mean mischief, which, of course, has been a Garcia specialty. Expect some more.

For Barrios, a clown is what he hopes to make out of Garcia, who has been pretty good at doing that all by himself. In the process, Barrios hopes to put together a performance worthy of a shot at Haney in what would be a welterweight title-unification fight.

For now, there are just questions about Barrios’ path to the WBC’s version of the 147-pound belt.

He was awarded the belt without throwing a punch after Terence Crawford moved up,  from welter to junior-middle for a victory over Israil Madrimov

Then, Barrios kept the title with two draws, the last one with Pacquiao and the first one against Abel Ramos.

Ramos, resilient and tireless, battled his way back and seemed to dominate Barrios throughout the final rounds on the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul show in November 2024.

Barros retained the belt, but didn’t answer gathering questions with a rematch. Ramos, of Casa Grande south of Phoenix, earned a shot, yet never got one.

More than a year later, Ramos makes his first appearance since then. Seven days after Garcia-Barrios, Ramos faces prospect Tahmir Smalls on the Emanuel Navarrete-Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez Feb. 28 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ.

Who’s fooling who? Maybe only time can answer that one. Garcia-Barrios is a fight for one. 

By Norm Frauenheim

Shakur Stevenson’s sudden transformation from boring to brilliant isn’t exactly a surprise.

The potential, sometimes suffocated by bouts of immaturity, has always been there.

What we saw from the 28-year-old’s captivating mastery of technical skill against Teofimo Lopez appears to be just a beginning, an awakening of who he really is.

What’s next? Who’s next? The possibilities appear to be unlimited, although a return to lightweight looks unlikely. The World Boxing Council made sure of that by stripping him of its 135-pound belt while he was still celebrating his scorecard masterpiece over Lopez for a fourth division title.

I’m not exactly sure why the WBC stripped him. Amend that: I don’t care. I don’t think most fans do, either. Apparently, it had something to do with an unpaid fee – reported to be $100,000, even though the WBC was not part of the sanctioning for a 140-pound fight for Lopez’ World Boxing Organization and Ring belts. Fees, flies and fine print, they’re all over boxing.

What nobody can strip from Stevenson, however, is his future, including his place among the top five in the pound-for-pound debate, Against Lopez, he engineered a bold and early statement about 2026. On the last day in January, he made a New Year look like his year.

It was timely, a move that coincides with a changing-of-the-guard in the wake of Stevenson mentor Terence Crawford’s retirement after his September victory over Canelo Alvarez.

Stevenson is no Crawford. Few are. Stevenson is not a finisher.

Crawford’s last two fights went to the cards. But both were at heavier weights – junior-middleweight against Israil Madrimov and super-middleweight against Canelo. At junior-welter and welterweight, however, Crawford was deadly, scoring 11 successive stoppages from 2016 through 2023.

It’s not clear that Stevenson will ever develop that kind of show-stopping dynamic. Given his first nine years in the pro ring, you’d have to say no. Yet, that can change. He’s just entering his prime, meaning power along with maturity are expected to grow. That figures to be part of his unfolding story.

For now, at least, he’s already talking as though he intends to go upscale. He mentioned Conor Benn in the immediate aftermath of beating Lopez by a decision more one-sided than the scorecard numbers. Somehow, unanimous just didn’t explain how big his victory really was.

But promoter Eddie Hearn seemed to dismiss the Benn possibility, saying he wanted to get the UK fighter a title bout or two. For now, at least, the weight difference looks to be too much. Benn has been campaigning at middleweight.

A more intriguing possibility rests closer to home, against Devin Haney, who began to restore his credibility in November with a victory for the WBO welterweight title over Brian Norman, Jr.

“a tremendous fighter, …,’’ Haney said of Stevenson in a post. “but hell yes I know I can beat him.”

Haney also posted: “Me & Shakur is the biggest fight in boxing!’’

Exclamation point not necessary.

Stevenson, who knows how to time a good counter, fired back on social media in a way sure fire up demand among fans weary of stories about belts and fees.

“Be careful what you ask for things might just happen,” said Stevenson, already the biggest happening in a year just underway.

By Norm Frauenheim

Teofimo Lopez arrived looking more like a preacher than a prizefighter. He wore a half-coat and reading glasses, carefully balanced at the end of his flat nose.

Instead of a belt, he carried a book.

No telling what it said. But, safe to say, there was no sermon from the bully pulpit. This was the Church of Chaos, another boxing ritual, a news conference Thursday intended to offend and sell, sell, sell.

The Lopez-Shakur Stevenson fight is doing that and perhaps a lot more. The junior-welterweight bout Saturday at New York’s Madison Square Garden is already sold out. A big audience for the DAZN live-stream is expected. Chaos, staged or otherwise, really isn’t necessary.

This fight, the first significant one in a New Year, sells itself. From the pound-for-pound debate to the race to be the game’s new face, it’s all there. Nevertheless, neither Lopez nor Stevenson nor anybody in the audience could resist another chance at some drama in the live-streamed newser.

First, there was Lopez’ look, or perhaps costume. He’s unpredictable, so much so that many wonder about his chances against Stevenson’s classic skillset. Hence, the inevitable question: Which Lopez will show up? The fighter who beat Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor? Or the one who lost to George Kambosos?

His fashion statement Thursday offered no clues. On paper, at least, Lopez has some documented advantages. At opening bell, he’ll be the defending champion. He holds the World Boxing Organization and The Ring versions of the 140-pound belt. He’s held them for more than two years, including three defenses.

He knows the weight. Stevenson doesn’t. The former champion at 135, 130 and 126 pounds is at the heavier weight for the first time.  A jump too fast, a bridge too far? The oddsmakers don’t think so. Stevenson is about a 3-to-1 favorite.

Stevenson mentor Terence Crawford, a retired face of the game since his September triumph over Canelo Alvarez, doesn’t think so, either.

“Shakur is on a whole ‘nother level,’’ Crawford said in an interview after the newser in New York. “Come Saturday, he’s going to prove it.’’

Stevenson’s cool confidence has been evident since the fight was formally announced. Still, the ever-enigmatic Lopez tried to rattle him Thursday. In a spontaneous flash of anger, it looks as if he might have succeeded.

In the middle of a trash-talking exchange full of profanity – both racial and sexual, Lopez insulted Stevenson’s mom. Stevenson, who ran to defend his mom after his 2022 victory over Oscar Valdez in Las Vegas, got up from his seat on the stage and walked toward Lopez.

“I will smack the (bleep) out of you,’’ Stevenson said with evident menace.

It was a moment when it looked as if the newser was going off the rails. It was also a moment when pundits decided it was enough to score an early victory for Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs). But Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) quickly regained his evident poise. After all, he had an unexpected counter waiting for Lopez.

Lopez’ father and trainer, Teofimo Sr., missed the newser. “Under-the weather” was the formal explanation. “Hungover” was the Stevenson explanation. Stevenson and his corner said they saw Lopez’ dad in the hotel lobby Wednesday.

That’s when they decided to buy a bottle that they wrapped in a brown-paper bag, which could have been used to wrap much of what transpired Thursday. Stevenson reached under his chair and handed it to Teofimo Jr., who apparently had no answer. Maybe, he should have consulted that book.

Guess here: After some early success, Lopez will run out of answers in the late rounds against Stevenson’s technical, southpaw skillset. Stevenson by unanimous decision.

Notes on an undercard

Carlos Castro (30-3, 14 KOs), of Phoenix, faces a tough challenge on the undercard against emerging Bruce Carrington (16-0, 9 KOs), of New York, on the Lopez-Stevenson card.

Castro knocked down Stephen Fulton in his last bout, yet still lost a split decision.

“I’m good, I’m confident,’’ said Castro, who grew up in a Phoenix trailer park. “I’m here to take on the best, here to prove myself.’’

Kingsley Ibeh, a Nigerian and a former defensive tackle at Washburn University in Topeka, has been training in Phoenix for a heavyweight bout against Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, also on the Stevenson-Lopez card.

Ibeh (16-2-1, 14 KOS), who also played soccer in Romania, wound up in the ring only after a chance encounter in a Phoenix gym. He scored a knockout in an impromptu sparring session during a workout. Ibeh, who started playing football at Glendale Junior College in suburban Phoenix, had been working as an insurance salesman and personal trainer.

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.