By Norm Frauenheim –

The first half of the year ended with Bam. The second half begins with Boots.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez’ brilliant stoppage of Juan Francisco Estrada on June 29 and Jaron “Boots” Ennis’ homecoming title defense against David Avanesyan Saturday are a couple of weeks at the heart of a busy boxing year, a problematic 2024 yet still with reasons to be optimistic that it’ll be remembered for more than just Ryan Garcia.

Through the rest of the week, it’s up to Ennis to extend the drama delivered by Rodriguez’ pound-for-pound statement in a seventh-round stoppage of the accomplished Estrada in front of a roaring crowd in Phoenix.

That’s a tall order. But the elements are there. Ennis is at home in Philadelphia, which celebrates its unrivaled boxing heritage with a statue of Rocky on the steps of the city’s Museum of Art. Boxing has always been something of an art form in Philly.

Ennis just looks as if he’ll be the city’s next master. There have been flashes of Ennis’ blend of power and style since his debut in 2016. But boxing’s forever balkanized politics and petty rivalries always seemed to keep him from achieving his projected artistry.

But now Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) has a new promoter, Matchroom, and a renewed future that begins, the promoters say, Saturday against Avanesyan (30-4-1, 18 KOs) in a DAZN-streamed-welterweight fight at Wells Fargo Center.

Philly fans have noticed. They bought 4,000 tickets in the pre-sale when the fight was first announced with Cody Crowley as the opponent. A month later, Crowley got injured and Avanesyan – knocked out by Terence Crawford in December 2022 – replaced him. Tickets continued to sell. Reportedly, about 10,000 had been sold three days before opening bell.

Call it Ennis’ coming-out party, not unlike Rodriguez’ defining victory over Estrada. Before the super-flyweight bout, it was called a chance for Bam to crash the top five in the pound-for-pound debate. Turns out, that was more than just hype. Bam jumped into the top tier in several ratings, including this one.    

Ennis, who figures to take over the top of the welterweight division in the wake of Crawford’s move up to junior-middle, has fought 31 times, all victories. He’s been fighting long enough to be an aging veteran. But he’s not. He’s just entering his prime, 27, about three years older than the 24-year-old Rodriguez.

Prime means promise. Bam and Boots haven’t squandered theirs. At the heart of boxing in 2024, they’re the future. The guess, perhaps the hope, is that they’ll continue to pursue it in the ring instead of social media.

That brings this column back to Ryan Gracia. He’s in the Bam-and-Boots generation. He’s about a year older than Rodriguez. He’s a couple of years younger than Ennis. But the 25-year-old Garcia has become the poster child for how-not-to-do-it throughout an ongoing story as sad as it is enraging.

He tested positive for a PED and blew off weight before bludgeoning Devin Haney on April 20 after weeks of dark and bizarre behavior on social media. He denied the PED test, alleging some kind of conspiracy about how he had been set-up.

He’s been suspended. But there’s been no suspension of the craziness. Racist remarks on twitter are the latest, including an unforgivable comment about George Floyd, a civil-rights symbol since he was slain on the streets of Minneapolis.

Within 280 characters, Garcia sounded like a rabid racist and a grave robber. Sick, sick stuff. Yet, it continues. He says he’ll go to rehab, but then says he’ll coach his brother instead. He’s been suspended by the New York Commission, his promoter and ruling bodies.

But he stays on social media, almost as if that’s a bigger addiction than any substance. By now, we all know he has a social- media following that only Gallup can count. 

Increasingly, however, his social-media audience is in more control of him than he is control of it. It wants outrage and Garcia delivers, repeatedly elevating the outrage.

It’s dangerous, even more dangerous than boxing, which throughout the first six months of 2024 has been unable to escape the distraction and damage done by the Garcia story.

This Saturday, however, there’s another chance to forget about him, his ongoing decline and his absolute lack of respect for a time-honored craft practiced at the highest level by Rodriguez and Ennis.

If you don’t go to rehab, Ryan Garcia, then just go away. Let the rest of this year be remembered for what Bam did and Boots is about to do. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

Jesse Rodriguez, whose simple nickname is synonymous with his power in the ring, is putting some of that Bam into the pound-for-pound debate.

His thorough seventh-round stoppage of accomplished Juan Francisco Estrada last Saturday is prompting a shuffle in some ratings, yet not all.

From this corner, Rodriguez’ comprehensive performance – he scored two knockdowns and got up from one – puts him in the top five.

On this list, Rodriguez is No. 4, behind Terence Crawford at No.1, Naoya Inoue at No. 2 Oleksandr Usyk at No. 3 and one spot ahead of Tank Davis at No. 5. Shuffle them anyway you like. After all, it’s only an argument.

That said, the 24-year-old Rodriguez delivered an argument hard to ignore. Some of the prominent ratings weren’t convinced. They kept him in the second five, behind Canelo Alvarez, Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev, Tank and – in some cases – Shakur Stevenson.

The pound-for-pound debate is political, meaning that evidence gets ignored and opinions are rooted in stubborn ego. Conclusion: They’ll never change.

Still, it’s hard to understand how any fair-minded rating can keep Rodriguez out of the first five. To do so is a little bit like scorecards turned in by judges Javier Camacho and Robert Tapper. Through the sixth round, Camacho had Estrada winning, 57-56. On Tapper’s card, it was even, 56-56.

What were they watching?

Not what a roaring crowd of 10,000 at Phoenix’s Footprint saw. Not what I saw either. I was there.

I suspect the controversial cards wouldn’t have mattered had the fight gone the distance. Rodriguez’ dominance was evident in the opening rounds with agile footwork that seemed to confuse Estrada.

His dominance was more evident throughout the next four-plus rounds with knockdowns in the fourth and the finishing blow – a paralyzing body shot — in the seventh.

It also was evident in the unshakeable poise he showed in getting up from a knockdown – the first in his career — in the sixth.

Over the final rounds of the fight, he would have convinced Tapper and Camacho that their rounds were just wrong. Guess here: He would have won a one-sided decision.

But he wound doing a lot more than just that: In a further expression of his nickname, he proved he had the power to take it out of the judges’ hands. Bam, he scored an astonishing knockout of a fighter who had never been stopped. That’s what pound-for-pound contenders do.

In part, I suspect some of the pound-for-pound ratings didn’t jump him into the first five because of traditional bias against the little guys. The flyweight categories – 108 to 115 pounds – have always been ignored.

But there have been exceptions. Bam is just the latest and perhaps the biggest. What’s intriguing is the terrific way in which Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has moved him up a scale from anonymity to prominence.

Hearn has done it at the right time and mostly in the right place. Phoenix has been the launching pad for the San Antonio fighter’s ascendant career.

Phoenix is an emerging boxing market, yet with one aspect missing in many cities. It grew up with a fundamental appreciation of the lightest weight classes. A personal story: I spent much of my newspaper career covering Hall-of-Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal for The Arizona Republic.

About three decades later, I meet fans in their 30s and 40s. They tell me that their dad used to read my stories about Carbajal in The Republic. They say they’re fans today because their dads were.

I think of them when I hear Hearn say that Phoenix fans “are very educated.’’ They are, especially about the flyweights. Today’s growing generation of Phoenix fans learned about the little guys from their dads.

Move the clock forward to today, to Bam.

It’s no coincidence that he won his first title at Footprint, a downtown Phoenix arena that Carbajal helped open in 1992 with a junior-flyweight title defense. Thirty years later, Bam won his first major title there, the then vacant World Boxing Council’s 115-pound belt, with a unanimous decision on Feb. 5, 2022.

He defended it a couple of times, relinquished it and then won a vacant 112-pound title against Christian Gonzalez at home in San Antonio in April 2023.

Then, it was back to Phoenix at Desert Diamond Arena in suburban Glendale where he retained the 112-pound title by punishing the entertaining Sunny Edwards, forcing the UK fighter into a ninth-round surrender in front of a lively crowd of about 5,000. That performance put Rodriguez into pound-for-pound ratings – at ninth or 10^th — for the first time.

Next stop: A return to Phoenix, this time back to Footprint against the 37-year-old Estrada, one of the best little guys in his flyweight generation. This time, the crowd doubled, jamming the lower bowl for a chance to see a pound-for-pound star’s coming-out party.

After the concussive conclusion, Hearn stood in the ring and thanked the crowd.

“Thank you, Phoenix,’’ he said.

Hearn also said that Phoenix and Japan share a rare appreciation for the smaller weight classes. It’s a reason, in part, that some Phoenix fans will pay attention to Kazuto Ioka’s fight against Argentine Fernando Martinez bout for two 115-pound belts Saturday in Japan.

After taking the WBC title from Estrada, Rodriguez said he wanted the winner in a bout that might represent another step up in the pound-for-pound debate and toward a showdown that has already entered the public imagination:

Bam-versus-Inoue.

“Right now, it’s a fantasy fight,’’ Bam said with wisdom not often heard from somebody still in his early 20s.

It is fantasy. Inoue, a former junior-flyweight and super-fly champion, is fighting at junior featherweight.

“I got to work my way up,’’ Rodriguez said.

He does.

But his victory over Estrada is a further testament to the Bam who gets up, works his way up, on many scales, including one that turns fantasy into reality.

By Norm Frauenheim and David Galaviz

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Only SuperFly could crash the top of the pound-pound debate.

Jesse Rodriguez did that and maybe more with a definitive seventh-round knockout of Juan Francisco Estrada Saturday night in front of a roaring crowd at Footprint.

Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs), the World Boxing Council’s new SuperFly champion, did it by knocking down Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) in the fourth round and finishing him with a body shot in the seventh. He also did it by showing some of his own grit. He got up from the first knockdown in his career.

“Damn, that was crazy,” Rodriguez said.

Damn that was a good fight, a leading contender for Fight of the Year in 2024.

Estrada, down in the fourth round from a Bam uppercut, came roaring back in the sixth, knocking down Rodriguez with a right hand. What would follow in the seventh was — to use Bam’s word — crazy.

He threw a left hand to Estrada’s body.When it landed, it seemed to paralyze Estrada. He hit the canvas, rolled around in pain. In the final second of the seventh, he was finished, a loser by knockout.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” said the 37-year-old Estrada, who was fighting for the time in about 19 months.

He’s hoping to correct those mistakes in a rematch. Estrada said his contract included a clause for a rematch,perhaps later in the year.

For the 24-year-old Rodriguez, just about anything seems possible. There was even talk about a fight with Japan’s Naoya Inoue. That’s a pound-for-pound possibility, one created when Rodriguez crashed the top of the debate.

Bloodied Sunny Edwards wins technical decision

Sunny in Arizona? More like Scarred.

In his second straight fight in the Phoenix area science a bruising stoppage loss in December to Bam Rodriguez, UK flyweight Sunny Edwards sustained a nasty wound near his right eye in a fight eventually stopped because of a cut caused by a head butt.

This time, Edwards won, scoring a 90-82, 88-84, 87-85 technical decision over Adrian Curiel Saturday night at Footprint Center.

“I’m leaving Arizona a lot uglier than I was when I came here,” Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs) said after the flyweight bout.

The clash of heads came in the sixth. It caused a cut, a long deep gash from the inside of Edwards right eye and up along his forehead. Early in the ninth, referee Mark Nelson ended it on advice of the ringside physician.

The crowd booed.

“I’m not any happier than you are,” Edwards said.

Edwards, of the UK,  came out fast, moving side-to-side and forward behind a jab moving at a rapid-fire rate. Curiel (24-6-1, 5 KOs), a former champion from Mexico, didn’t seem to notice, or care. He moved laterally, kept his gloves up in a defensive posture and seemed to wait for an opportunity. It didn’t come.

 Edwards mocked him in the second, pushed him to the canvas with one hand in the third and mocked him again in the fifth. The crowd whistled, then booed. Then, there was the head butt. Edwards immediately responded, going straight at Curiel with a jab and long right hand. But the blood continued to pour from the cut and into his eyei, a sure sign that the fight would be stopped.

Mercado Decisions Ali To Retain Super Bantamweight belt

In the first of two world tittle fight we had Yamileth Mercado (23-3,5kos) of Ciudad Cuauthemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico taking on Ramla Ali (9-1,2kos) of London, United Kingdom. This will mark the first time fighting in the State since 2021 when she took on Amanda Serrano. This marks her 7th tittle defense of her WBC Super Bantamweight belt. Ramla is coming off a win in the rematch with Julissa Guzman last November. Both coming in at weight limit 

In the opening round was not much action with each filling out one another. However Yamileth pulled away with a few more effective punches. Ramla came out more aggressive to start the 2nd round landed a straight left flush to Mercados face. Mercado got her revenge at the end of the round as she appeared to hurt Ali but it was too late as the round ended. 

The fight picked up as both came out swinging and the continued through out the round with both landing good shots. Effortlessly getting the crowd excited in this tittle fight. 

Ali is finding a home with her Jab continuing to land it, as in the fifth it caught Mercado. 

The middle rounds of the fight had bits and pieces of action, no significant punches landing. 

Much of the same as we entered the championship rounds of the fight, Ali did land an over and right and a left hook to edge out the round. 

Yamileth came out swinging for the final round, but ali had an answer for the aggression once again with her neutralizer the left jab. Effectively halting Mercados offense. As the round continued both fighter put it in over drive and gave the fans in the Footprint Center a well deserved ending to the fight. 

Going to the judges as each having Yamileth Mercado winning 98-92, 98-93, and 97-93 getting the unanimous decision. Successfully defending her tittle for the 8th time Mercado stated she now wants to unify the titles. —-David Galaviz

Cardenas escapes with a majority decision

A slow start. A furious finish.

Arturo Cardenas (14-0-1, 8 KOs) opened the DAZN show featuring Bam Rodriguez-Juan Francisco Estrada Saturday looking tentative. He appeared unsure of himself and perhaps his opponent, Phoenix Mexican junior-featherweight Danny Barrios (15–1, 5 KOs).

But he quickly overcame his slow start and, in the end, overcame Barrios.

Midway through the 10-round bout, the Robert Garcia-trained Cardenas began to find his range and used his superior power. Repeatedly, he caught Barrios with left hands and short right-uppercuts. The crowd roared. Then, it booed as Barrios began to retreat, back away from the increasingly aggressive Cardenas in the ninth and 10th.

In the end, Cardenas escaped with a majority decision. He won on two cards, 97-93 nd 96-94. But on the third, it was a draw, 95-95

Gabriel Muratalla stays unbeaten 

Gabriel Muratalla, a workman-like bantamweight from Fontana CA, was all business.

In the end, that’s what he got, a business-like decision, over Carlos Fontes (23-4-1, 5 KOs), a well-conditioned Phoenix fighter,  who lacked enough hand speed to match Muratalla (12-0, 5 KOs) on the scorecard in the third bout on the Bam-Rodriguez card at Footprint Center..

Muratalla, who had Bam trainer Robert Garcia in his corner, scored often, winning a 99-73, 78-74, 77-75 decision 

AZ welterweight Fabian Rojo scores powerful stoppage

Fabian Rojo‘s left hand left no doubt.

No doubt about why he’s unbeaten.

And, on Saturday, it left Daniel Gonzalez with no chance.

Rojo (9-0, 7 KOs), of Glendale AZ, dropped Gonzalez (5-2,2 KOs), of Albuquerque, three times within two rounds, all with his left hand, in the second bout on a card featuring Juan Francisco Estrada versus Jesse “Bam Rodriguez at Footprint Center.

It ended with successive lefts, each moving like pistons in an engine. They landed like pistons, too, finishing Gonzalez at 1:13 of the second round. The crowd, already gathering in Footprint, roared. Even Gonzalez applauded. He got off the canvas and lifted Rojo up in celebration of a fighter who had just overwhelmed him.   

To get the night started Leonardo Rubacalva (7-0 3Kos) of Teocaltich, Jalisco Mexico took on William “Double barrel” Flenoy (3-3-1) of Fresno, CA. The first round was all Leonardo landing at will, stunning flurry a few times. Things picked up in the 2nd with the fight and the crowd, as Leonardo started to put more pressure on his opponent. Midway through the fight Leo landed s very effective punch combination. Not to stay quiet William came with some shots of his own as to say my double barrel is not empty to which earned the respect of Rubacalva. 

Half way through the fight both fighters showed the mutual respect and not much action happen. With 20 seconds in the 3rd, Rubacalva put it in another gear and landed a left hook that took Williams balance away and having going to the neutral corner with Leonardo following him and landing a few more punches before the bell rang to end the round. 

An over hand right that caught everyone by surprise in the arena by Rubacalva other than the big right the 4th round was not much action. 

The fifth round to which the fight lasted this long to many surprised was more of the same as the previous couple rounds a lot of respect and save the action till the last part of the round

The last round both fighters came out trading punches as if both needed to win the round. The way the round started is the way it ended with both fighters leaving it all out in the ring, not saving nothing for tomorrow. All 3 judges scored it for Leonardo 60-54, the other two having it 59-55 earning a unanimous decision improving to 8-0(3Kos). —-David Galaviz

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX, AZ — On the scale, there was no difference between them. Not even a single ounce.

In a weigh-in that might be a hint at how close a DAZN-streamed fight for the almost mythical  SuperFly title might be Saturday night at Footprint Center, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Juan Francisco Estrada were at the limit, 115-pounds each.

The only surprise, perhaps, was the crowd Friday night for a so-called ceremonial weigh-in at a re-done old building in the city’s warehouse district a couple of miles south of Footprint.

The official weigh-in, conducted by the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission behind closed doors at a downtown hotel, happened about nine hours earlier.

The ceremonial version was for show, and sure enough Mexican and Mexican-American fans showed up, most of them for Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), the World Boxing Council’s

defending champion.

They chanted his nickname.

El Gallo filled the old room as he stepped on to the scale.

El Gallo echoed through the place as he stepped off.

“They are here for me and more will be Saturday night,’’ said the accomplished Estrada, the son of a Mexican fisherman  who grew up about 215 miles south of Phoenix in a town, Puerto Penasco,  located at the top of the Gulf of California.

Despite the title belt, Estrada goes into the bout as betting underdog. The odds are dictated by time. Estrada hasn’t fought since a narrow decision over iconic Ramon Gonzalez 19 months ago in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb.

More significant perhaps are the years not included on a traditional tale of tape.

The 34-year old Estrada is a decade older than Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs), an emerging 24-year-old Mexican-American from San Antonio.

Rodriguez heard the chants and smiled at Estrada as they stood across from each other and stared into each other’s eyes during the ritual face-off for the cameras.

“This is another day for me, a day at the office’’ Rodriguez said. “I’ve been getting ready for this moment for a long time.’’

Still, Rodriguez’ deep-seated respect for Estrada was also evident. For years, Rodriguez looked at Estrada and saw a hero.

Now, he sees a rival.

“This the biggest fight of my life,’’ Rodriguez said. “It’s also a fight I’ve been preparing for for most of my life.’’

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX, AZ — Eddie Hearn foresees the Bam Rodriguez-Juan Francisco Estrada bout Saturday night as a potential Fight of the Year, one that could have pound-for-pound implications. 

“Going into Saturday, I’d say this the best fight so far this year,” Hearn, of Matchroom Promotions, said Thursday at a news conference featuring Rodriguez and Estrada at a redone old building in a warehouse district south of Footprint Center. “Bam is in for a big test. Estrada is proven. He looks fresh.”

The 34-year-old Estrada is a decade younger than the emerging Bam, a Mexican-American from San Antonio who is fighting in Phoenix for the second straight time after his pound-for-pound attention-getting victory over Sunny Edwards last December at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale.

A big victory over the accomplished Estrada could vault Rodriguez into the top of the pound-for-pound debate alongside Naoya Inoue, Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford, according to Hearn.

“He’s only 24 years old,” the promoter said. “He’s just beginning. A phenomenal performance here against Estrada would set up some enormous fights.”

Phenomenal probably means a stoppage. Bam sounded confident that he could pull one off against the tactically-skilled Estrada, the son of a Mexican fisherman who grew up 215-miles south of Phoenix in a town named Puerto Penasco..

“I think I have the skills to stop any one,” Bam said.

But he also knows he never faced anybody better than Estrada, the World Boxing Council’s 115-pound champion.

“This is my biggest fight ever,” Bam said.

Estada, nicknamed El Gallo, says he stands in the way of Bam’s bold ambitions.

“It’s going to be a real good weekend, especially for the Mexican people,” Estrada said. “It’s a chance to show that El Gallo still has things to do in this sport.” 

By Norm Frauenheim –

David Benavidez, who won at a heavier weight and looked beatable in doing so, is back to where he was before his decision over Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Waiting for Canelo.

On the financial scale, it makes sense. It always has. A fight with Canelo Alvarez still represents the quickest way to the biggest money. Over the last several years, that’s been the only formula in a business otherwise ruled by only chaos.

If you want to follow the money, follow Canelo. This is prizefighting, after all.

But it’s not clear what Canelo is thinking. There’s been silence on what he thought of Benavidez’ scorecard victory over Gvozdyk, a unanimous decision yet flawed in many ways on June 15 on an Amazon Prime card at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Presumably, he watched and saw that Benavidez’ power and energy in the later rounds weren’t there in his 175-pound debut. Speculate all you want as to why. Benavidez said he came into the fight battling injuries undisclosed before opening bell.

There was a stitched-up cut along his left eyelid, a reason that his father-trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr., brought in Stitch Duran to

work the corner.

He said he injured a tendon in his right hand. He massaged the hand throughout the post-fight news conference. The injuries, the Phoenix-born fighter said, happened in training in Miami. Just how they impacted his preparation – his focus and conditioning — is anybody’s guess.

But Benavidez clearly did not have the energy late in the fight against Gvozdyk that had been there throughout his run at super middleweight.

At 168, he seemed to have an extra gear in the later rounds. But it was missing against the Ukrainian, a former light-heavyweight champion, who was the bigger fighter. Benavidez said he was at 189 pounds at opening bell.

He and Gvozdyk were each at 174.2 at the official weigh-in. Gvozdyk never said what his weight was at fight time, but he looked to be at about 200 pounds. With his hand speed, Benavidez scored, but his punches didn’t have the power to hurt, or even move, Gvozdyk, a former Canelo sparring partner who was at his best in the final moments.

If Canelo was watching, he had to notice. Canelo, who will be 34 in July, is moving out of his prime, but his lower-body strength is still there. In some ways, he resembles Gvozdyk. It’s hard to knock him off balance much less off his feet.

At light-heavyweight, Canelo’s ex-sparring partner might have found a weakness in Benavidez that was not apparent at super-middle. He also might have found a reason for Canelo to say, yeah, I’ll fight him.

Over the first week after Benavidez light-heavy debut, however, there’s been silence. Perhaps, Canelo has decided he’ll let the process play out.

Benavidez announced, post-fight, that he would relinquish his mandatory challenger spot for the light-heavyweight champion, which would have meant an even riskier fight against the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol winner in October.

Instead, he said, he’d go back to super-middleweight and pursue the mandatory challenge – still Canelo — he’s been pursuing for a couple of years. He was expected to send the World Boxing Council a letter of formal declaration. Then, the WBC is expected to rule.

By now, however, we know Canelo does he what wants. Gets what the wants. He has said so, repeatedly, over the last year.

There’s already talk of Canelo fighting Edgar Berlanga in September. That speculation appeared to be the reason behind an agreement between Canelo and somebody named William Scull, a super-middleweight nobody knows yet is still a rival acronym’s mandatory challenger.

The speculation is that Scull will get step-aside money.

Then, Canelo will get Berlanga.

And Benavidez will get what he’s always had.

He’ll get to wait.

NOTES

In one of the best fights in the history of the little guys, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is about a 9-2 favorite over Juan Francisco Estrada for the SuperFly title next Saturday (June 29) on the Suns home floor at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.

Speaking of odds, what are the odds on Ryan Garcia ever fighting in another state-sanctioned bout again? He was suspended Thursday for a year by New York for testing dirty before his stoppage of Devin Haney. Garcia won’t go away. He’s a social-media freak show. Promoters will do whatever they can to get him back in the ring a year from now. There’s a market for his kind of unhinged behavior.

And the WBO orders negotiations for an Emanuel Navarrete-Oscar Valdez junior-lightweight rematch. In a futile attempt to win a lightweight title, Navarrete looked terrible in a sloppy scorecard loss – a split decision — to Denys Berinchyk in May. But a Navarrete-Valdez rematch might a hard sell. It was a good fight. But it was a blowout, Navarrete scoring a one-sided decision in August 2023 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale AZ. 

By Norm Frauenheim —Tank Davis looked vulnerable. The sign was there in an ugly bruise, going from red to crimson, beneath his right eye.

But the bruise might as well have been a mask.

For a while, it hid what has always been there. Davis’ quick-strike power is a dynamic that never stays hidden for long.

It struck all over again, this time dropping a gutsy Frank Martin onto his back alongside the ropes Saturday night in a devastating eighth-round knockout at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena in an Amazon Prime fight for the lightweight title.

“No question, I’m back,’’ Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) said. “No question.’’

No doubt, either.

Questions, however, were lurking after about 14-month stretch of no bouts and time in jail at home in Baltimore.

Martin hoped he had the ability to exploit them. And, for a while, it looked as if he might. He danced away. He moved inside, he moved outside with enough agility and courage to bruise Davis.

“But I knew, I knew, he’d tire out,’’ Davis said.

He did. Martin’s quick feet began to slow, round-after-round absorbing Tank’s wicked combinations.

At 1:29 of the eighth, it was finally over. Davis rocked Martin (19-1, 12 KOs) with a succession of punches. It looked as if Martin was ready to fall. Davis made sure of it with a left-handed shot that began at his hip and traveled like a menacing meteor in a direct strike on Martin’s exposed chin.

It was over, an exclamation point, a reminder of Davis’ pound-for-pound credentials and perhaps an even bigger opportunity to prove himself on a bigger stage against Vasiliy Lomachenko later this year. 

Benavidez scores unanimous decision in 175-pound debut

It was a debut that demanded a difference.

A different David Benavidez.

That’s what he delivered in his first fight at a heavier weight against an experienced and toughened light-heavyweight.

Oleksandr Gvozydk, a former 175-pound champion, endured Benavidez’ whirlwind arsenal early and tested him with his own fundamental power later.

In losing a unanimous decision to Benavidez Saturday night at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena, the Ukrainian didn’t tame The Monster in a fighter feared at super-middleweight.

But he did counter his evident mean streak with a durability Benavidez has never really encountered.

“I felt like I had a great fight against a great fighter,’’ said Benavidez, who also said he came into the fight with two injuries – a cut over his right eyelid and a torn tendon in his right hand – suffered two weeks ago. “It was a new weight, a different weight.’’

Benavidez left the ring with two things unchanged. He’s still unbeaten (29-0, 24 KOs). And he still intends to pursue a title at super-middleweight. That means Canelo Alvarez, of course.

“We’re going to go back to 168 and go after the title as a mandatory challenger or maybe if the title becomes vacant,’’ Benavidez said.

That of course, depends on what Canelo decides. But it’s safe to assume he was watching.

Early on, what he and a roaring crowd saw was the Benavidez they witnessed at super-middle.

He came out in the first round, shuffling, side

to-side while displaying some newfound head movement.

His father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr. had promised a renewed emphasis on defense and his son didn’t disappoint, at least not through the first three minutes.

In the second and third, there were moments when the 27-year-old Benavidez made the 37-year-old Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) look stiff, if not awkward.

The Ukrainian wasn’t exactly a stationary target. But he was there, in front of Benavidez, and open to a wide variety of punches thrown at alternating angles and speeds.

Gvozdyk couldn’t dodge them all. Benavidez’ punches are like debris in a tornado. They’re coming from everywhere. Example: In the sixth round, it looked as if Gvozdyk had begun to find his range with straight-handed shots.

They were beginning to slow down Benavidez. But in a momentary switch of momentum, Benavidez unleashed a triple shot – three right hands, each from a different angle and all three travelling at a blinding velocity.

From round-to-later round, however, Gvozdyk was there, an edifice impossible to bring down. Benavidez tried in an apparent attempt to fulfill his promised knockout.

Instead of a KO, however, there was only fatigue to go along with another victory in his introduction to a bout that also provided a reminder: There’s a reason for weight classes.

Puello scores SD over Russell/Tank-Martin card

Alberto Puello survived.

He survived a penalty for holding.

He survived a scorecard that suggested he never had a chance.

Turns out, survival was sweet.

Puello scored a split decision over a stronger, quicker Gary Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) for an interim junior-welterweight belt Saturday on the Amazon Prime card featuring David Benavidez-OleksansdrGvodzykand Tank Davis-Frank Martin Saturday at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Puello (23-0, 10 KOs), of The Dominican Republic, won on two cards, 114-113 and 115-113. It was a close fight from almost every perspective but one. Judge David Hudson scored it for Russell, 118-109

It was a hard fight to watch. A hard fight to score, too.

But Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) did what he had to, keeping the World Boxing Council’s version of the middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Terrell Gausha Saturday on the Amazon Prime card featuring David Benavidez-Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Tank Davis-Frank Martin.

One-sided scorecards — 118-110, 119-109, 118-110 — make it sound as if Adames, of The Dominican Republic, had an easy day at the office. He didn’t. Gausha (24-4-1, 12 KOs) tested him repeatedly in the later rounds. But it was never quite  enough for the middleweight from Encino CA to sore an upset.

Kyrone Davis scores split-decision over Elijah Garcia

Elijah Garcia made the weight. 

But lost the fight.

Kyrone Davis (19-3-1, 6 KOs) took some of the promise out of Garcia’s ambitious career Saturday with a careful, yet effective pace Saturday, scoring  a split decision over the Phoenix middleweight in a bout that was preceded by controversy. 

Late Friday, there were doubts about whether the bout, already postponed once, would even happen. 

Garcia missed weight, coming in at 165.4 pounds and then 163. Davis was at 160.4. 

Davis trainer Stephen Breadman Edwards demanded that Garcia weigh-in again Saturday morning, a few hours before opening bell at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena.

Breadman threatened to cancel the bout if Gracia was heavier than 173 pounds in the morning weigh-in. He wasn’t. According to the official bout sheet, he was at 163.2. The fight was on, but the early pace belonged to Davis.

He came into the ring looking angry, perhaps anxious to take out some frustration on Garcia (16-1, 13 KOs). At opening bell, however, he exhibited only poise. He patiently measured the distance between him and Gracia with a jab.  Then, he followed with repeated rights.

For four or five rounds, Gracia looked tentative, perhaps because of the weight controversy or maybe because of  Davis’ tactical patience. 

Whatever it was, the slow start proved costly. Davis won on two cards, both by 97-93 scores. On the third card, it was 98-92 for Garcia, who stepped up the pace and his level of aggression, especially from the seventh through the 10th rounds. The Arizona southpaw moved forward, trying to walk down Davis while also landing a succession of head-rocking combos.

But, in the end, it wasn’t enough to save Garcia from his first pro defeat, a loss and perhaps a lesson for a young fighter

Magsayo wins one-sided decision

Mark Magsayo (26-2, 17 KOs), a Filipino junior-lightweight, scored a third-round knockdown and then scored repeatedly over the next seven rounds for a decision — as thorough as it was unanimous — over Mexican Eduardo Ramirez (28-4-3,13 KOs) in the sixth bout on the Tank-Martin card Saturday.

After Magsayo rocked Ramirez with an uppercut and then dropped him with a straight hand, Los Mochis fighter continued, but never with much purpose or energy in what what turned into a dull bout. 

Justin Viloria stays unbeaten, scores fifth-round TKO

Justin Villoria (6-0, 4 KOs), a 19-year-old junior-lightweight from Whittier CA, had all of the energy and most of the punches in overwhelming Mexican Angel Contreras Saturday on the Tank Davis-Frank Martin card.

Villoria knocked down Contreras (15-9, 9 KOs) in the fourth and again the fifth, both times with body punches. Seconds after the second knockdown, an exhausted Contreras took a knee, a TKO surrender at  2:02 of the fifth round.

Phoenix junior-featherweight impressive in pro debut

Hello, Brayan Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, a junior-featherweight from Phoenix, was impressive in his professional debut, scoring a first-round knockdown and staggering James Mulder again in the fourth in an afternoon bout hours before the Tank Davis-Frank Martin main event.. 

Mulder (0-2), of Antioch CA, never had a chance. Never scored a point either. It was 40-35 on all three cards, all for Gonzalez (1-0).

Benavidez-trained Blancas stays unbeaten with first-round stoppage

David Benavidez’ stable is 2-0 through the early fights on a card that will feature its star attraction Saturday night in a light-heavyweight debut against  Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Daniel Blancas (10-0, 5 KOs), a super-middleweight from Milwaukee, didn’t waste any time, flashing Benavidez-like power with a sweeping hook for a first-round stoppage of German Aro Schwartz (23-8-1, 15 KOs). 

Ohio junior lightweight does enough to win majority decision

It was a hard fight to score. Neither fighter did much, but Peggy Whitmore (3-0), a junior-lightweight from Ohio, did more, winning a majority decision (39–37, 39-37, 38-38) over Mia Ellis (7-3, 6 KOs), of Baltimore, in the second bout on the Tank Davis-Frank Martin card

First Bell: Benavidez-trained featherweight opens marathon show with unanimous decision 

First bell sounded like a morning alarm.

It echoed through an empty arena, signaling a noon-time start to a card that eventually will feature David Benavidez-versus-Oleksandr Gvozydk in a light-heavyweight fight and Tank Davis-versus-Frank Martin for the lightweight title Saturday at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena.

Reina Tellez (8-0-1, 5 KOs), a San Antonio featherweight and a fighter in the Benavidez stable, got the marathon started, winning a four-round, unanimous decision over a taller, yet slower Beta Dudek ((4-2, 4 KOs) of Slovakia.

By Norm Frauenhem –

LAS VEGAS — The weigh-in ended with Gevonta Davis doing something no tank could ever do. He back-flipped. He stuck the landing. It wasn’t exactly Simone Biles.

But it was an example of his dynamic athleticism. His armored nickname is a symbol of his Abrams-like power.

Yet, it’s deceptive, almost a feint. He has power in his hands, to be sure. But it’s the power in those legs that creates openings and sets up angles for the knockout blows that really do land.

Really do stick.

Over 12 rounds, it’s hard to avoid his deadly combination of power and speed. Ryan Garcia couldn’t do it. The bet is that Frank Martin can’t either in their lightweight title fight Saturday night on an Amazon Prime card that also features David Benavidez and Olkesandr Gvozdyk in an intriguing light-heavyweight bout at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena Saturday night.

“it’s going to be crazy out there,’’ Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) said. “I hope he’s ready.’’

Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) only looked as if he were ready only for a meal or three. He was as gaunt as a Ghost, his nickname. He looked drained Friday after an apparent fight to make weight. He did, tipping the scale at 134.4 pounds, more than a half-pound under the lightweight maximum.

Meanwhile, Davis was full of energy and all of the usual trash talk. Do a back flip? Davis looked as if he could have done two or three more and then a floor routine for a weigh-in crowd estimated to be at 4,000, most of them Tank fans.

“I’m so happy that people in this arena underestimate me,’’ Martin said of the underdog role he has been assigned for this pay-per-view card.

Meanwhile, Tank seemed to celebrate, perhaps more for what might happen after his expected victory over Martin. He came in light. He was a pound lighter than Martin and more than a pound-and-half lighter than the lightweight limit.

There’s been a lot of talk about Tank at junior-welterweight, 140. But Friday’s weigh-in set off speculation about a lightweight showdown with Vasiliy Lomachenko, perhaps in November.

It all hinges on what happens Saturday night on a pay-per-view card scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. in Vegas (8 pm ET). But one thing was apparent. Tank’s backflip says he’s ready to leap into another opportunity, perhaps one as big as a date with Lomachenko.

Before Tank and Martin stepped on to the scale, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) and Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs) weighed-in for a second time. They were on the official scale a few hours before weighing in again for the crowd.

Benavidez, of Phoenix, reported to the Nevada Commission Friday, mid-day, thinking that he was scheduled to officially record his weight for what would be a so-called ceremonial weigh-in later in the day. That had been the routine in his last two fights in Nevada.

This time, however, the Nevada Athletic Commission decided there would be no mock weigh-in. Apparently, Benavidez didn’t get the news. But he asked if could weigh in earlier in the day anyway. The Commission agreed. So, did Gvozdyk.

Both were at 174.2, safely under the 175-pound limit. There was little doubt that Gvozdyk, a 37-year-old ex-champion from the Ukraine, had done the work. He was cut, almost with sculpted upper body, including a six-pack that Benvidez has never had.

At 27, however, he has youth, energy and an evident mean streak.

“The Monstruo,’’ he said of his Monster nickname, “always goes for the knockout. And that’s what I’m going to do.’’   

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Phoenix middleweight Elijah Garcia can be no heavier than 173 pounds at a weigh-in Saturday morning or his fight against Kyrone Davis is off, Davis trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards said.

Garcia failed to make weight Friday at the formal weigh-in for his bout with Davis on the undercard featuring lightweights Tank Davis-versus-Frank Martin and light-heavyweights David Benavidez versus Oleksandr Gvozdyk at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“I told him, if he (Garcia) is more than 10 pounds over tomorrow, we can’t fight,’’ Edwards told video journalist Sean Zittel.

The morning weigh-in is scheduled for 9:30 a.m (PT). Garcia-Davis is the ninth fight on a 13-fight card, according to the bout sheet.  First bell is scheduled for 12:15 p.m.

The Garcia-Davis fight was announced before the weigh-in. But neither fighter ever made it to the scale that was on the stage.

It was disclosed later that negotiations were underway after Garcia struggled to make weight.

According to Edwards, Garcia was at 165.2 pounds the first time he stepped on the scale, off-stage. The second time, he was at 163 pounds.

Davis was at 160.4. Edwards said the rehydration clause for Saturday morning’s weigh-on was set at 173.

He said that Garcia already had an advantage because he was 2.6 pounds heavier than Davis late Friday.

Davis, Edwards said, was unhappy.

“This is the second time this happened,’’ Edwards said.

The Garcia-Davis fight has already been postponed once. They had been scheduled to fight March 30. But the bout got cancelled when Garcia got sick.

He suffered from a respiratory infection.

“I wasn’t feeling good,’’ Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs), a 21-year-old prospect, said Wednesday at a news conference.  “I was feeling a little bit sick last time, but I’m good right now,” 

Garcia is anxious to regain the career momentum he had a year ago. He hasn’t fought since September.

“Absolutely,’’ Garcia said Wednesday. “It’s June, and I’m having my first fight, so that kind of sucks because I want to be fighting four or five times a year.”

Davis (18-3-1, 6 KOs) is seen as a tough test, especially for a young prospect who hopes for a shot at a middleweight title. Erislandy Lara, a 40-year-old belt holder, has been mentioned as a possibility.

Davis’ resume includes a date as a late replacement, a sub, for Benavidez in November 2021 in Phoenix. He gave the bigger Benavidez six tough rounds before his corner threw in the towel in the seventh.

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – Mike Tyson lost his cool and Evander Holyfield lost part of his ear.

Manny Pacquiao scored an upset that eventually transformed him into a worldwide celebrity, Filipino Senator and presidential contender.

Julio Cesar Chavez lost for the first time.

Floyd Mayweather never lost there or anywhere.

Welcome to MGM’s Grand Garden Arena. It’s still standing, a place that has seemingly seen it all, endured it all, throughout a long run of the drama, chaos and crazy that only boxing can deliver. Sometimes, it’s theater. Sometimes, comedy. Sometimes, absurd. Sometimes, scary. Often dangerous. And always unpredictable.

The ride, exhausting and exhilarating, continues Saturday with a milestone card featuring lightweights Tank Davis versus Frank Martin and light-heavyweights David Benavidez versus Oleksandr Gvozdyk. It’s number 100 for the 30-year-old arena near the intersection of Tropicana and The Strip. It’s a moment to remember – and in some cases perhaps a reason to forget – a lot of what happened in the world’s busiest boxing arena over the last three decades.

Throughout the week before Saturday night’s first bell, that’s what the sprawling hotel and casino has been doing. It’s been remembering with a museum that features video and mementos. Holyfield’s long-lost ear lobe isn’t among them. From gloves to scars, however, so much else is.

For a sportswriter who was there for the inaugural card – Chavez’ first defeat in 90 fights, a split decision loss to Frankie Randall in January 1994 – here are 10. From controversial to dramatic, I’ve put them in categories.

The Craziest

The Bite Fight. There’s only one. It’s more infamous than famous, it was a heavyweight fight that shut down a casino and a city.

In the third round of the Tyson-Holyfield rematch on June 28, 1997, Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield’s right ear. The arena erupted. Gunshots were heard in the parking lot. Blackjack tables were overturned on to the casino floor. A member of the Arena’s maintenance crew said he had found remains of Holyfield’s ear on the ring’s apron. He showed it to the media, a piece of flesh that he displayed like a relic. He placed it on the middle of a white napkin.

But apparently it was lost in a cab enroute to the emergency room where it was hoped that the bloodied Holyfield could be re-united with the missing earpiece.

Biggest Upsets

Pacquiao over Oscar De La Hoya, Dec. 6, 2008. Pacquiao, dominant in the lightest weight classes, jumps to welter in a fight against the bigger De La Hoya, one of the giants of his generation. Fans and media feared for Pacquiao. Pacquiao dominated, forcing De La Hoya to quit and retire after eight rounds.

Holyfield 11^th-round TKO over Tyson, November 9,1996. Holyfield wins an 11^th-round TKO. Tyson had gone into the fight heavily favored. Holyfield had been struggling. He had even been diagnosed with a heart problem. But his heart was huge and healthy. He was fearless in attacking Tyson, the bully of his time.

Biggest Knockouts

Pacquiao, KO of Ricky Hatton, May 2, 2008. In the last moment of the second round, Pacquiao lands a left hand that launches Hatton into mid-air. From a ringside seat, you could see the bottom of Hatton’s shoes. He was out before he hit the canvas.

Juan Manuel Marquez, KO of Pacquiao, Dec. 8, 2012. After a frustrating three losses to Pacquiao, a bulked-up Marquez took out his frustration in a third rematch. In the sixth round, Marquez ducked an attempted Pacquiao combo and delivered a straight right hand. Unconscious, Pacquiao, fell, face first, onto the canvas.

Dominating Performance

Marco Antonio Barrera, UD over Naseem Hamed, April 7, 2001. Barrera was one of the great featherweights and junior-featherweights of his generation. But Hamed was the show. As it turned out, he was also the victim. Barrera schooled him from round-to-round. Barrera looked frustrated by Hamed, who kept him waiting while he made a circus-like entrance. He dropped into the ring on a long cable attached to the Arena’s ceiling. Barrera waited, tapping one foot onto the canvas like an impatient teacher. The teacher then delivered a painful lesson.

Biggest Controversy

Timothy Bradley, SD over Pacquiao, June 9, 2012.

Boxing wouldn’t be what it is without scorecard controversies. But few have ever been as noisy as Bradley’s split-decision over Pacquiao, the Filipino’s first loss in seven years. Two judges had it 115-113 for Bradley. The third had it 115-113 for Pacquiao. The crowd and most of the media had Pacquiao winning easily. At the time, I was covering the fight for The New York Times. Going into the 12^th round, I had my story written and ready to send. Then, the scores were announced, forcing at least one writer into panicked rewrite.  

Biggest Event

Mayweather, UD over Pacquiao, May 2, 2015.

Since the Mike Tyson era, it was the one fight that generated attention from fans and media that had lost interest in boxing. Tickets and credentials were at a premium. Mayweather went on to win a careful decision. The pay-per-view did record numbers, 4.6 million buys.

Biggest Dud

Mayweather, UD over Pacquiao, May 2, 2015

Instead of fireworks, there were yawns. Mayweather’s defensive genius explains his unbeaten record. But the record pay-per-view audience paid to see the edgy drama that is created by fighters willing to risk it all. That didn’t happen.

Master Heavyweight

George Foreman, 10^th-round KO of Michael Moorer, Nov. 5, 1994.

Foreman, outsmarted by Muhammad Ali in Zaire in the 1974 Rumble In The Jungle, outsmarted a much-younger man two decades later. At 45, Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champ ever. With hands wrapped in gloves instead of wrapped around cheeseburgers, Foreman delivered  a crushing knockout of a 26-year Michael Moorer in a memorable, feel-good story. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

LAS VEGAS – On stage and in front of the cameras, Jose Benavidez Sr. looks at his son and sees a nice guy.

David Benavidez smiles.

He’s polite.

He’s cooperative.

But there’s a transformation when he steps into a ring and through ropes that are often a dividing line between the well-mannered personality of a consummate pro and the angry edge of danger that appears like a sudden storm amid the confines of boxing’s regulated violence.

“When he steps into the ring he’s often somebody I don’t recognize,’’ said Jose Sr., also his son’s trainer.

On Saturday, the day before Father’s Day, the son that Jose Jr. raised to be a fighter is expected to express that edgy persona in a light-heavyweight debut he’s favored to win against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, an accomplished ex-champion.

“I’m just going to be David Benavidez,’’ the 27-year-old ex-super-middleweight champion said Thursday during a co-main event news conference for an Amazon Prime card featuring lightweights Tank Davis and Frank Martin at the MGM Grand. “I’m going to go in and look to knock him out.’’

Through his 28 fights, Benavidez has collected nicknames, only victories, 24 knockouts and a fearsome reputation. He has a mean streak.

Insightful trainer Stephen Breadman Edwards was the first to see it from the opposing corner, initially in a Benavidez stoppage of Kyrone Davis in November 2021 and again in a punishing Benavidez decision over Caleb Plant in March 2023.

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach saw the early signs of it when Benavidez, a chubby kid in his mid-teens, showed up with his father and older brother, Jose Benavidez Jr. at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif.

“Yeah, you could see it then,’’ Roach said in Phoenix, Benavidez’ hometown, before a Jaime Munguia victory over John Ryder in March. “In this business, a mean streak is a good thing to have.’’

It’s there, perhaps, because of the way his father raised him long before he ever walked into Central Boxing off the streets in downtown Phoenix.

“I was very hard on my sons,’’ Jose Sr. said. “I’ve changed in that way. I couldn’t do that anymore. But I was tough on them. That mean streak, maybe, is in David’s DNA.’’

There’s more to it than just that. There has to be, especially if Benavidez hopes to one day fight at heavyweight. The maturing Benavidez is working on ways to refine his skillset, his father says. He’s been ripped for a lack of footwork and defense.

“We’ve heard that,’’ his father said. “We know that. We’ve been working on it.’’

But that evident mean streak is there, fundamental to Benavidez’ ring persona. It’s instinctive, and it’s augmented by his abundant energy. Put the two together, and Benavidez has a rare extra gear. In the later rounds, it begins to kick in with a stubborn pursuit and punches thrown at a whirlwind rate. Andrade couldn’t stop it. Neither could Plant.

Now, Gvozdyk has a chance, perhaps a much better one than Andrade or Plant ever had.

“He’s a big fighter,’’ Gvozdyk said. “He was a huge super-middleweight.’’

At light-heavy, some advantages in size won’t be there for Benavidez. In a face-to-face stand-off for the cameras Thursday, Benavidez looked into the eyes of a taller opponent for perhaps the first time in his career.

Benavidez and Gvozdyk already know each other. They sparred about seven years ago in Oxnard, Calif. Then, however, Benavidez was only 20 years old, still figuring out that he liked to fight and had enough of a mean streak to do so at a very high level.

“He’s not that guy anymore,’’ Gvozdyk, an Olympic bronze medalist for the Ukraine and a roommate of undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk at the 2012 London Games. “I know that they call him The Monster. I’m a little bit skeptical about that.

“But there’s no doubt that he knows how to put the pressure on. I’ll have to deal with that. That means good footwork and movement. I’m just going to resist The Monster.’’

Gvozdyk would be the first be the first in a bout that could lead to a mandatory shot at the winner of the Dmitry Bivol-versus-Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light-heavyweight title on Oct. 12.

“I’m going to be as dominant as I was in the super-middleweight division,’’ said Benavidez, who still hasn’t eliminated a possible showdown with undisputed 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez. “The better the competition, the better I’m going to be.’’

Maybe meaner, too.    

By Norm Frauenheim – 

 

LAS VEGAS – Other than Tank Davis showing up, it was a news conference without much news.

 

Davis, missing in action for the for the so-called Grand Arrivals Tuesday, appeared twenty-four hours later, armed with familiar insults and profanity at the final formal newser for his lightweight title defense against Frank Martin Saturday night.

 

“I’m going to eff you up,’’ Davis said at the MGM Grand, which will stage its 100^th fight card in a long, legendary run.

 

In so many words and gestures, Tank repeated the phrase ad nauseam. Only the eff never changed.

 

Martin, at least, delivered a clever counter.

 

“I’m glad Tank gave me the opportunity to kick his ass,’’ he said Wednesday.

 

From oddsmakers to fans, very few believe the 135-pound fight on Amazon Prime will play out quite the way Martin says it will.

 

Best guess, Martin winds up on his rear end midway through the fight, the main event on a solid card that includes David Benavidez in his light-heavyweight debut against former 175-pound champion Oleksandr Gvodzyk

 

But there is one notable exception. Former welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. thinks Martin has a real chance. Spence has to think that. He’s Martin’s manager.

 

“He’s going to show why he’s the best 135-pouder in the world,’’ said Spence, who sat next to his estranged trainer, Derrick James, Martin’s trainer.

 

Spence and James split not long after the stunning loss to Terence Crawford last July in a controversy that included a lot of angry allegations about money.

 

Apparently, they don’t agree about much, other than Martin, who for the most part managed to keep his cool in the face of insults and aggressive gestures from Tank.

 

Davis kept walking toward Martin, who backed away. At one point, Davis appeared to throw an aggressive couple of gestures. Martin reacted, almost as if an altercation was about to begin.

 

But it was a feint from Tank, who ran away and laughed at Martin.

 

“When he came up here, he was shaking,’’ Tank said.

 

Meanwhile, Tank appeared annoyed at stories of a sparring session with Martin several years ago. According to some, Martin landed a left hand that got Tank’s attention.

 

It “clipped” him, according to one account.

 

“He ain’t clipped s—,’’ Tank said.

 

In the end, the newser and maybe the sparring were nothing more than talk.

 

“We were just talking,” Martin said. “It can go how ever he wants it to go.

“If he acts up you all gonna see him get knocked out. If he comes in and acts crazy, he’s going to sleep.”

By Norm Frauenheim –

 

LAS VEGAS – If David Benavidez beats Oleksandr Gvozdyk Saturday night at the MGM Grand, he’ll have a decision to make.

 

A Benavidez victory would make him the World Boxing Council’s mandatory light-heavyweight challenger for the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol fight, re-scheduled for October 12.

 

He is already the WBC’s super-middleweight mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez’ undisputed title.

 

If Benavidez, a solid favorite, beats Gvozdyk in his 175-pound debut on Amazon Prime, he is expected to choose one or the other immediately after the fight, Benavidez promoter Sampson Lewkowicz confirmed Wednesday before a news conference featuring the main event, Tank Davis-versus-Frank Martin

 

Benavidez, a Phoenix fighter now living in Miami, would have 10 days to decide, according to a deadline imposed by the WBC.

 

Benavidez, who has said he is moving past all the talk about a showdown with Canelo, still talked about the Mexican pay-per-view star after he arrived in Vegas Tuesday.

 

He still believes the fight can happen.

 

Still, believes he can beat Canelo, too.

 

“in my heart, it’s going to happen,” Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) said. “When? I don’t know.

 

“But we’re 100 percent ready to get that fight and get that victory as well. I’m ready to fight whoever and beat whoever.’’

 

This week, that means Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs), a whoever who held the WBC’s light-heavyweight belt from 2018 to 2019.

Great! Let’s go! Agreed! ReplyForward Add reaction

By Norm Frauenheim –

It looks as if Deontay Wilder’s improbable career has come to an end. Let’s hope so, anyway.

Zhilei Zhang delivered an unmistakable message in Saudi Arabia Saturday with successive rights that sent Wilder spinning onto the canvas like debris caught in a whirlpool.

It’s over, Deontay. More time in harm’s way only means the kind of harm that more money can’t correct. It was hard to watch. Sad in many ways.

I was there in 2008 when Wilder, an unknown novice from Tuscaloosa, won a modest bronze at the Beijing Olympics. He was a story only because he was the only American to win a boxing medal at the Beijing Games.

Then, he looked like another symbol of what was wrong with American boxing and its storied place in Olympic history, sports history.

Most of the U.S. media had already written off American boxing, Olympic and professional. It was on the fringe, and editors were trying to push it off that edge and into extinction. They still are.

Then, Wilder looked like an ominous marker on that road to nowhere. I was in Beijing for the same reason everybody else was.

I covered Michael Phelps’ record-setting eight gold medals in the pool. I watched Usain Bolt sprint into a history defined by Jesse Owens, Bob Hayes and Carl Lewis.

I wrote about Henry Cejudo, a Mexican-American from Phoenix who won wrestling gold yet couldn’t get his mom into China because of questions about her immigration status.

But, 16 years later, I mostly remember Wilder.

He sat in a dank, aging building in a dark Beijing neighborhood somewhere far from an Olympic complex that the Chinese had built to showcase their confidence and ambitions.

For now, boxing is still an Olympic sport, but you wouldn’t know it, at least not by real estate’s proverbial mantra: Location, location, location.

At the 2004 Games in Athens and then in Beijing, boxing was shoved, hidden perhaps, into urban corners not exactly known for swimming pools and rhythmic gymnastics. Good luck at finding a cab. Then again, cabbies know not to go there.  

Late at night in Beijing, there was the familiar chaos in the ring and mostly outside of it. American fighters rebelled against their appointed coaches. There was a midnight news conference about bribed judges and fixed fights. Cubans were screaming at Romanians.

It was an angry mess.

But in a crowded room that smelled like an Eastern European’s arm pit, there was Wilder, a 22-year-old going on 10. He was ecstatic.

He kept shaking his head in wonder. The rest of us just shook our heads. The media figured we’d seen the the last of Wilder

For the next 10-plus years, he surprised us. He enlivened the heavyweights – the flagship division suffocated by the stoic, effective Wladimir Klitschko. The media dismissed Wilder for his lack of boxing skill. He didn’t start until he was 20. His smarts were questioned. He was called a one-hit wonder.

But his right, the biggest since Tommy Hearns’ right hand, kept blowing away everybody in front of him. It was a force of nature, a lightning bolt, that shook up boxing’s dormant division.

To wit: It was a hell of a lot of fun.

His fifth-round stoppage loss to Zhang, whose ZZ initials are a pretty good acronym for what his right does, has been explained in a lot of ways.

One theory suggests that Wilder just doesn’t have the same kind of power in his right. Maybe. He’s 38. But power is the last thing to go, especially in heavyweights. Think George Foreman.

The guess here is that Tyson Fury took away Wilder’s childlike fearlessness, especially in their violent, five-knockdown fight in October 2021.

There are still questions about whether Fury – a heavyweight great in his own right because he got up from Wilder’s ferocious right – is the same after their trilogy fight about two-and-a-half years ago.

If Fury watched Wilder fall to Zhang, he might have wondered how much Wilder took from him. It’s a question that was there in the wake of his split-decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk, and it’s a question that lingers in his decision to fight a rematch projected for October.

At one level or another, Fury too might discover that it’s time, past-time, to walk way. Wilder should have retired after that third fight. Boxing, especially the heavyweight variety, doesn’t forgive. It just punishes.

It’s time, Deontay, to move on, to protect yourself and your family from the punches that jeopardize your future. Let your improbable career stand as an enduring example of what’s possible.

Boxing is at its best when it surprises. The unlikely Wilder is a face of its inexhaustible resilience.

I thought about that when I watched him lose to Zhang. For me, Wilder is a reason to be a fight-writer.

I say that just as my part in the business changes all over again. This column is appearing on a new, re-branded platform, TheBoxingHour.com instead of 15Rounds.com.

A couple of weeks ago, I learned that the boxing version of 15 Rounds was going away, another website change-up amid many during the last few months. Throughout my sports-writing days, I’ve been through this, ad nauseam.

Right after Beijing, I was shown the door by The Arizona Republic, where I had worked for 30-plus years.

I got a buyout, but I wasn’t ready to quit writing. I was also angry about the virtual end of my newspaper career.

When I was honored with the Nat Fleischer Award for excellence in boxing journalism from the Boxing Writers Association in 2008, I said in my acceptance speech that boxing would outlive newspapers. That might be the best pick I ever made.

Still, I concede that a couple of weeks ago I thought: Not again. Then, I watched Wilder in a loss at the end of a career that I saw begin.

He didn’t quit.

I won’t either.

By Norm Frauenheim –

PHOENIX — It’s impossible to separate Michael Carbajal from his neighborhood.

His identity is its identity and has been ever since he got robbed of a gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and went on to a Hall of Fame career as a junior-flyweight as ferocious as the streets he grew up on.

His name and those streets just east of the Phoenix skyline are almost synonymous

Today, one of those streets bears his name.

It was unveiled Tuesday in a ceremony that attracted a few hundred neighbors and fans, who lined Fillmore Street between 9th and 10th streets They watched, listened and applauded throughout a ceremony on a hot afternoon that saw temperatures climb toward triple digits.

The Phoenix City Council voted unanimously on March 19 to add Carbajal’s name to a street corner just a couple of houses down from the house where Carbajal grew up  and first began to train in a backyard ring that included corroding hoses for ropes. Now 56, Carbajal still lives in that house. 

Throughout years marked by personal turmoil, he vowed he would never leave. He stuck around, doing it his way 

Or like the sign says: Michael Carbajal Way.

 “Thanks to my neighborhood and everybody here,” Carbajal said. “Good or bad, you’ve always been there for me. When I was fighting and you were there, I could step into the ring and know that I wasn’t going to get my ass whipped on that day.”