fty r56uth

READY OR NOT

MONSTER MASH

EXIT STRATEGY

Fury and Wilder renew rivalry

Inoue terrorises latest victim

Josh Taylor reveals his plans

THE WORLD’S BEST FIGHT MAGAZINE EST. 1909

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JUNE 24 2021

DON’T KNOCK THE ROCK

‘I WON THE FIGHT!’

Marciano myths debunked

Joyce demands some credit

M AT R I X RELOADED £3.99 VOL. 77 NO. 25

But can the great Lomachenko still pull the trigger?

RICHIE WOODHALL

PACQUIAO

VS

BR ADLEY REVISITED

TANK DAVIS

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Contents June 24, 2021

18

VASILIY LOMACHENKO The Ukrainian marvel outlines his plans to return to the summit of the sport

UNMISSABLE

HIGHLIGHTS

>> 12 FURY vs WILDER III

>> 4 EDITOR’S LETTER

The heavyweight rivals speak ahead of their trilogy encounter next month

Why novelty boxing could be here to stay

>> 5 JOSH TAYLOR

>> 16 LOMACHENKO vs NAKATANI

Davis, Lopez, Crawford – bring ‘em on!

Loma has to prove himself all over again

>> 8 STEVE BUNCE

>> 22 DAVIS vs BARRIOS

Giving rightful respect to Rocky Marciano

‘Tank’ tests himself at super-lightweight

>> 10 NONITO DONAIRE

>> 32 PACQUIAO vs BRADLEY II Behind the scenes with Thomas Hauser

>> 38 RICHIE WOODHALL Reflecting on a WBC title-winning career

The evergreen star is set for a civil war

12

>> 15 JOE JOYCE ‘The Juggernaut’ on his upcoming fight

>> 24 HARRIS vs SANDOVAL

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Eliminators aplenty on this Bolton bill

>> 26 NAOYA INOUE Michael Dasmarinas gets a monstering

>> 28 ALL THE ACTION Jermall Charlo, Jaime Munguia and more

>> 43 DELICIOUS ORIE Britain’s next top super-heavyweight?

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JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 3

EDITOR’S LETTER

Photo: JAYNE KAMIN-ONCEA/GETTY IMAGES

BRACE YOURSELF: KSI is re-entering the boxing world

Time to subscribe l THERE are numerous ways to subscribe, including special offers.

Cover photography MIKEY WILLIAMS/TOP RANK

THE NEW NORMAL? Brace yourselves for an increase in novelty boxing masquerading as the real thing T’S almost four years since Conor McGregor invaded the world of boxing and was beaten by Floyd Mayweather in the 10th round.

The excuse from the powerbrokers who supported that contest, either by sanctioning, promoting or broadcasting it, was Matt ‘this will bring more Christie eyes to the sport and @MattCBoxingNews that can only be a good thing.’

Editor That line is still being regurgitated today. It’s understood to a degree. By combining celebrity with fighting, novelty boxing can attract a lot of people. Therefore, the theory goes, the sport will benefit by increased exposure, opportunities and revenue.

Yet I wonder how many new boxing fans, the kind that really care, were seduced by Mayweather-McGregor to the extent long-term relationships were formed. The undercard was poor and if the point of it was to generate new fans, it was an opportunity missed. Because if it’s really true – novelty boxing gets more eyes on real boxing – then those who supposedly have the sport’s interest at heart should make sure that real boxing is outshining its novelty counterpart at every turn.

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4 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

Exactly the same thing happened when YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul went to Atlantic City and topped a professional boxing card. The supporting fights were awful. Another chance to make the most of the ‘extra exposure’ wasted. One must also wonder how much of the money from this new revenue stream is actually trickling down to the roots of the sport, which is exactly where it needs to go if we’re truly building for the future. The counter-argument will be that amateur gyms, catering for the so-called rise in wannabe boxers, will see an increase in new members. The jury is out on that one.

What can’t be debated is though superfights are still thin on the ground, there has been a huge upturn in YouTubers parading as boxers and ex-boxers re-entering a sport they departed many years ago. And therein lies the irony: the novelty acts are drawing in crowds that boxing, by virtue of its raw appeal, should be more than capable of generating all on its own.

Problem is the sport is so convoluted at the highest level it’s incapable of being the best it can be. Incapable of simply matching the best fighters with the best fighters on a regular basis.

Because if it was capable, promoters like the Sauerlands, in conjunction with Wasserman Boxing, wouldn’t bother with this kind of nonsense. This week Wasserman announced a new venture with the aforementioned KSI, “to form a new ground-breaking boxing promotion company to stage the world’s biggest and best celebrity and crossover boxing events.” Kalle Sauerland added: “KSI is a mega-star with huge crossover appeal...

He will bring a new audience to the sport of boxing.” Sound familiar? For the hardcore, such an announcement from the man who brought us the World Boxing Super Series, our holy grail, is

frankly a little depressing. But keep in mind how hard the Sauerlands have worked on the WBSS in recent years.

It was insanely difficult to produce and though it’s not dead – the recentlyannounced women’s tournament is a fine idea – it’s true that staging novelty boxing, which can distance itself from all the politics that pollute the real thing, provides far fewer headaches. (Apart from, of course, the life-altering headache that could one day be administered to one of the combatants of a bad exhibition.)

The only way that the WBSS can work, really work, is for the whole sport to embrace it as a system. A system so simple – the best fighters in the world fight each other to establish the best – that it’s simply unworkable.

All the time we see how impossible it is for boxing to function as a sport. At heavyweight, we are now into a sixth year where a fight between No.1 and No.2 in the division has not materialised. We can go back substantially further than that (to Lennox Lewis taking on Evander Holyfield in 1999) for the last time such a fight occurred but the failure of the Klitschko brothers to fight each other, as they ruled simultaneously after Lewis’ retirement, was forgivable for obvious reasons.

Every now and again we are teased with new superstars emerging. Just last year we were told a new lightweight golden era was upon us. Eight months later, each of those golden boys continue to go their separate ways for a variety of reasons.

The biggest one, I’d argue, is it’s easier for their promotional teams to make money elsewhere than attempt to fight each other.

So get ready for the future. May-Mac, the supposed one-off novelty act, was only the start.

Follow us and keep up to date @BoxingNewsED

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The Opening Bell... l THE BN podcast has been described as the ‘most impartial and informative podcast around.’

There is at least one new episode every week to enjoy. l IN this week’s show (free to download every Thursday) we look back at Inoue’s latest highlight reel KO and ahead to the return of Lomachenko. l Listen (& rate & subscribe) via Apple, Spotify and all major platforms.

BoxingNewsOnline

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GUEST COLUMN

‘I COULD FIGHT PACQUIAO, THEN RETIRE’ Photo: DAVID BECKER/GETTY IMAGES

SUPREMO: Taylor beats Ramirez to ensure he’s the real champion

If Gervonta Davis tries to claim he’s a world champion after this weekend, do not listen to him WANT to do more. I want to go up in weight, I want to become a second weight world champion and really cement my name in the history books as one of the best ever to do it coming Josh from Britain.

Taylor I’ve got that desire now. I’ve World said for years No.1 and years I’m the best and now it’s proven true.

I still feel like I can go further and further and achieve more. I don’t feel like I’ve hit the ceiling of my potential yet. That’s why I’ve got the burning desire to keep doing more.

I could keep all the belts at super-lightweight. All the mandatories that are coming up I feel I’ve got absolutely no problem against everyone of them with

I

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beating them and beating them well. Jeremias Ponce, a good solid fighter, comes forward but he’ll walk into shots, he’ll get knocked out. I believe I beat Jack Catterall.

I like Jack Catterall, he’s a good fighter but I believe I beat him no problems either.

We’ll see how it goes, we’ll see what happens. A nice big homecoming fight, then get on the road again.

But I don’t need to prove anymore I’m the best at 140lbs. Doing all that, all these mandatories, stops me from getting the real big fights that want. So I think I’ll do my next one, against Jack Catterall probably, and step up and go for a second weight world title. I could vacate my belts now and go up and do it. I don’t have to prove that I’m the best.

Touting this Gervonta DavisMario Barrios fight as a world title fight, how can it be a world title fight when I’ve got the four world titles? That’s what I think is really wrong with the sport. There’s too many belts and too many

champions. It dilutes the sport and makes it hard for people to follow who’s who and who’s the best because there’s so many.

I’m the only champion in the 140lb division. I’m the only champion there. So it’s not a world title fight. If Gervonta Davis wants to win a belt at 140lbs, he’s got to fight me. I’ve got the belts. It’s the sanctioning bodies that are creating these belts and all these avenues for them to make more money so they can charge sanctioning fees.

If Teofimo Lopez wants to come up and fight me, I think he’s a great fighter but he’s too small for 140lbs.

I’m at the bigger end of 140lbs, he’s a big lightweight, I’m a big 140-pounder. I’d bash him up. He’d get a bit fiery in a fight week and I get fiery in fight week, so it would be good. But I really do believe that I beat him up.

I think Terence Crawford is the best of the bunch. I think he’s a great fighter. I think he’s top three pound-for-pound. He was the last guy to do it at my weight, to be undisputed at 140lbs. So I think it’s

got the makings of a great fight. He seems to be struggling to get a fight at the minute. So I’ll take that any day of the week.

I would fight Crawford tomorrow.

He’s a great champion, so clever and smart the way he boxes but he’s also got that punching power and spite as well. He’s got it all. He’s a great fighter and that’s why I’m in the game – to fight the best. I think he’s the best so I want to fight him and test myself against him. I think I can win, 100 per cent. I keep proving everybody wrong and I’ll prove everybody wrong again.

Manny Pacquiao is a possibility.

He’s my hero. I almost don’t want to fight him because I don’t want to share the ring with my hero. What if he beats me up, still at 40 years old? He looks like he’s rewound a few years. He’s amazing. I’d love to fight him. I’d love to share the ring with my hero. It would be brilliant.

I definitely would retire after that one. That’s me done. Fought my hero, beat my hero, won all the belts, game over, well done. That’s enough for me.

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 5

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LETTERS

ON FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/boxingnewsonline

LETTER OF THE WEEK

TIME TO TAKE CONTROL OF course, to me and most boxing ‘aficionados’, the moneymaking circus of an exhibition bout between YouTuber Logan Paul and ring legend Floyd Mayweather was viewed with contempt. But it has dawned on me that maybe we need to be a bit more pragmatic here. Although the exhibition bout was certainly not boxing as we know it, or like it, it was still nonetheless a form of boxing, and it attracted enormous publicity and millions of followers. Boxing needs to take stock here. Rather than simply rubbish the exhibition bout, the sport should look at the possible potential and turn a negative into a positive. It was ‘boxing’ and it got enormous viewing figures. Rather than admonish it, boxing should embrace and – key point here – control and manage it properly. The sanctioning bodies make a mockery of any sort of overall control of the sport, yet boxing is such a potentially dangerous sport that it needs to be better

controlled – professionally and legally. So why not have a respected group, such as the BBBofC, step up and say that they will offer independent regulatory control of such events? They could monitor training, monitor the boxers’ ability, offer medical examinations, provide officials and referees and critically offer not just advice but automatic insurance coverage, given the gold-plated sanctioning of such a reputable boxing body. The BBBofC could earn good revenue and it would be for the betterment of boxing, by stepping up as a sort of ‘universal’ boxing body. It was sad reading in the June 10 issue of Boxing News about the good intentions but lack of support for such a well-meaning group like the Ringside Charitable Trust. Maybe, just maybe, if boxing could generate more income via a source like the BBBofC, more money could be diverted to help such good boxing causes. By the way, given the shambolic handling of the failed Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury fight –

supposedly at the very top of professional boxing promotion and management in the UK – boxing should indeed explore more ways of getting the product to the public, but in a safe and efficient way, and with an eye on looking after its community much better than it currently does now.

David Doe SUPPORT THE CAUSE I AM far from being a wealthy man but I donated £100 to the Ringside Charitable Trust, so why haven’t people who owe a lot to boxing and have much more money than me forked out something to aid a very worthy cause? On another point, the latest Queen’s Birthday Honours list reminded me of two long overdue boxing knighthoods. Sir Lennox Lewis for obvious reasons and Sir Gerry Storey, who saved so many lives through boxing.

Mark Taha

MONEYMAKER: Is the sport getting all it can from events like this?

Photo: CLIFF HAWKINS/GETTY IMAGES

6 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

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POST Boxing News Letters, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL

10 COUNT THE PANEL

THE MANASSA MAULER

COULD NONITO DONAIRE BEAT NAOYA INOUE IN A REMATCH?

Kal Yafai Former WBA titlist You can never bet against Donaire with his left hook!

But I would favour Inoue and be very confident in him beating Donaire again. Inoue had some tough times in their fight, with being hurt and the injuries, but won pretty comfortably.

Paul Smith Former British champion I don’t see Donaire beating Inoue, no. I don’t see anyone around his weight beating him to be fair.

He has freakish power and is calm and composed in every single fight I’ve seen him in.

One of the best right now.

Paul Ready Boxing manager I don’t think Donaire, despite his recent form, has a chance in a rematch. Inoue really is an animal and only gets beaten if he’s reckless going up too heavy.

Chris McKenna Sports reporter As much as it would be the fairytale finish, I just can’t see Donaire getting the better of Inoue. Their first fight is an alltime great clash and should be remembered like that but Donaire is getting older and Inoue is getting better so I think it would be the same winner in a rematch. Still like to see it though.

WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST EMBARRASSING LOSS OF JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JNR’S CAREER? Kal Yafai I think Chavez’s most embarrassing loss has got to be against Anderson Silva. He’s not even a boxer! He’s a legend in MMA but boxing? Come on. I think Chavez senior is more embarrassed than Junior.

Paul Smith I think it has to be the last loss.

He is someone who I always believed bucked the trend of some ‘fighting sons’ as he could fight.

He’s obviously not putting in the effort needed to be a good fighter.

Losing to an MMA pro who is, with respect, past it is a kick in the teeth for him but also for boxing.

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Paul Ready Every time he misses weight!

Sympathise with him a tad as he couldn’t handle the burden of his surname. Chavez Snr treats Canelo as his real heir and torch bearer for Mexico.

Chris McKenna I didn’t see the nonsense at the weekend with the ex cage fighter but that’s got to be up there if it was an official fight.

When he didn’t come out for the sixth against Daniel Jacobs it was pretty bad too. A career that promised so much has become a bit of a joke, which is a shame.

The legendary Jack Dempsey was born on this day (June 24) back in 1895. Here are his 10 most famous fights 1. GENE TUNNEY II (SEP 1927) After dropping Tunney in the seventh round, Dempsey initially failed to go to a neutral corner, meaning that the referee was not able to start the count for five seconds. Tunney rose to his feet at an official count of ‘nine’, but was unofficially down for 14 seconds.

Tunney would go on to triumph via decision, with The Long Count being remembered as one of the most controversial moments in boxing history.

2. GEORGES CARPENTIER (JUL 1921) The blockbuster bout between Dempsey and Carpentier famously generated the sport’s first-ever million-dollar gate. Dempsey KO’d Carpentier in the fourth round.

3. LUIS FIRPO (SEP 1923) Dempsey vs Firpo is rightly regarded as one of the most action-packed fights of all time, despite lasting less than four minutes. Firpo was floored seven times in the opening round alone, yet rallied to knock Dempsey through the ropes and out of the ring. In the second, Dempsey uncorked a knockout punch to gain victory.

4. JESS WILLARD (JUL 1919) Dempsey also scored seven first-round knockdowns when he dethroned Willard to become the world heavyweight king. The savage coronation was complete when Willard failed to make it out for the fourth.

5. GENE TUNNEY I (SEP 1926) In his first fight with Tunney, Dempsey lost the world heavyweight title on points in front of over 120,000.

6. JACK SHARKEY (JUL 1927) Sandwiched between Dempsey’s two losses to Tunney was a scintillating seventh-round knockout of betting favourite Sharkey, who complained afterwards that the finishing shot had been preceded by a low blow.

7. TOMMY GIBBONS (JUL 1923) The Gibbons fight itself was not particularly memorable – Dempsey won a relatively uneventful contest on the scorecards – but it had crippling consequences for the host town of Shelby, Montana, which was left financially ruined after extreme overinvestment.

8. BILL BRENNAN II (DEC 1920) Dempsey engaged in a vicious war with old rival Brennan, who was rumoured to have ties with gangster Al Capone. Dempsey was victorious via 12th-round KO. 9. BILLY MISKE III (SEP 1920) In what was the first defence of his world heavyweight crown, Dempsey dispatched familiar foe Miske in the third round. Miske was suffering from a severe kidney disease at the time, which would prove to be fatal.

10. FRED FULTON (JUL 1918) Defying the oddsmakers, Dempsey cemented himself as the premier heavyweight contender in the world by knocking out Fulton after just 23 seconds.

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 7

THE BUNCE DIARIES

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

ROCKY TALE There has been a lot of nonsense written about Marciano over the years... It’s about time we appreciated him

HEN Rocky Marciano made his retirement from boxing official, it was a time of mob rule, a time of confusion, blood, lies and invented history in the boxing business.

Marciano was not running from anybody, there Steve was not a great Bunce unbeatable ogre on @BigDaddyBunce the heavyweight Voice of boxing horizon or fighting at the time; Marciano had beaten the best available during his years as champion. He just left on his terms.

And, he left behind a mess.

When Marciano fought for the last

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8 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

time in September of 1955, stopping Archie Moore, there was not a natural successor.

In that fight, watched by a crowd of 61, 574 at Yankee Stadium in New York, Marciano dropped Moore five times, but he was also dropped in the second.

He was hurt, gone, to tell the truth.

And then he bashed Moore, leaving the veteran slumped in the ninth.

Moore had earned the right to fight Rocky by beating the big Cuban, Nino Valdes, who stood 6ft 3ins and weighed about 15 stone. Now, I like Nino, he could fight, but in May of 1955 he lost an eliminator over 15 rounds to Moore.

It was the ninth loss of the Cuban’s career. How did Marciano avoid him?

Marciano was world champion from 1952 until 1956 and in that time, Valdes lost ten times.

The Moore win over Valdes in Las Vegas was also recognised by Nevada as

the heavyweight championship of the world, by the way. Liberace was ringside, introduced to the crowd at the dusty, outdoor venue; it was a hard 15-rounds, often in the sun and never easy. Valdes ended in tears, Moore, in his 175th fight, just moved on. He actually squeezed in a world light-heavyweight defence before his September fight with Marciano.

If Moore was ancient in the Marciano fight, he was also ancient when he beat Valdes, who was 30. Valdes then lost over 10 rounds to Bob Satterfield, a long, long-time contender. Satterfield had lost 19 of his 60 fights at that point.

Satterfield was hard, tricky, for sure.

And, Satterfield had been chinned in three by Rex Layne in 1951, but he had stopped Cleveland Big Cat Williams in 1954; Williams is another fighter Rocky is accused of avoiding. When Marciano retired, Williams was beating guys with poor, poor records; Patterson

www.boxingnewsonline.net

FAMOUS FACE: Marciano faces the cameras for the first time since his retirement to explain why he walked away from boxing at the very top

payday. I love Floyd Patterson, but Eddie deserved a crack at the heavyweight title by about 1957, he really did.

Sonny Liston had lost once in just nine fights by the time Marciano retired, but he was also 11 months into an exile of his own; Liston fought in March of 1955 and next fought in January, 1958; Liston was ignored by Floyd Patterson, who was the champion from 1956. Liston ruined Cleveland Williams, Roy Harris, Valdes, beat Machen over 12, did Zora Folley in fights in 1959 and 1960. I’m not sure any heavyweight has ever been overlooked so disgracefully as Liston at that time.

That’s official, not open to debate in a barber shop. But Rocky never ignored him.

So, there is also Tommy Jackson, Jimmy Slade and Folley. Good fighters, troubled fighters, men with odd records, savage losses, but still a danger to Marciano.

In 1954, Jackson was knocked out in two rounds by Valdes, but he did beat Ezzard Charles twice in 1955 on points; Marciano had twice beaten Charles in 1954 in world title fights.

Jackson also won and lost to Slade, and in June of 1956 lost a split over 12 rounds to Patterson in a world title eliminator. In 1957, Jackson lost a world title fight to Patterson.

Slade was a good fighter, a man who finished his career with 38 wins from 67 fights and a reputation as a danger when he fancied it. He won and lost against Jackson, was stopped

by Patterson in late December 1955, a time when Rocky knew he would not fight again. Slade also beat Don Cockell and then lost to Moore. Slade, with Satterfield, is the type of danger man

ROCKY WAS CUT, DROPPED, LOSING BUT HE COULD TAKE A MAN OUT WITH ONE PUNCH

as champion ignored him; Liston, during Patterson’s reign, ruined Williams twice.

The only unbeaten, potentially dangerous man at the time of Marciano’s last fight was Eddie Machen, the kid in the heavyweight crew. He stood about sixfeet tall and by the time Rocky officially quit in April of 1956, he had won 12, 10 quick. But, when Marciano last fought, Machen had only boxed eight times and five of those finished in the first round. Machen did beat Valdes twice in 1956, once by stoppage, and he stayed unbeaten until 1958 when he was knocked out by Ingemar Johansson in one round in Sweden. Machen also avoided the men that Marciano has been accused of avoiding. He took the Johansson job because he thought it would be an easy excursion and

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we miss now in our candy-store of a heavyweight division.

Folley had lost twice in 25 fights when Marciano officially retired. He had beaten some quality danger men and journeymen, but had not met at that point any of the real names, the contenders: Satterfield, Patterson, Jackson, Slade, Valdes, Machen or Liston. It’s harsh, but true – Marciano never avoided Folley.

So, that leaves Floyd Patterson and his management. Patterson was just 20 when Marciano had his last fight and had fought 24 times, losing just once; in 1954 he had been given a boxing lesson by light-heavyweight Joey Maxim over eight rounds, but he did have an odd win on points over Slade in 1954. He was just 21 when he beat Moore for the world heavyweight title in November, 1956. He was not ready for Marciano in 1955 or early 1956.

In fights, Marciano was cut, dropped, losing, but he could take a man out cleanly with just one punch. Bang, blood all over and fight done. He was crude, his management were rude. He was not cuddly, never. He was the betting underdog when he ruined Joe Louis and that is forgotten. He was the underdog against Rex Layne in 1951 and Layne, a Mormon farm boy, had good wins; Rocky removed Layne’s teeth in round six to finish the fight at the Garden in New York. In July of 1951, Walcott knocked out Ezzard Charles to win the heavyweight world title – Layne had beaten Walcott eight months earlier.

It’s too easy to dismiss Rocky; he was too short, he only met hand-picked opponents, he was mob-controlled, he only met old men, he was tight with a dollar and difficult to deal with.

Sure, there is truth there. However, a closer look reveals that he took care of business like a beast in the ring. It might be time for a bit of Rocky love.

AVOIDED? The facts about Machen, Williams and Valdes don’t match theories that Marciano ducked all of them

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 9

BOXING MEDIA REVIEW

Examining the best and worst of the sport’s weekly coverage

Photo: SEAN MICHAEL HAM/PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS

FEARLESS: Donaire plotting fairytale end

DONAIRE SETS A HIGH BAR The admirable veteran steps in for Rigondeaux to fight Casimero in hugely enticing bantamweight scrap, writes George Gigney as he rounds up the breaking stories

WEBSITES NONITO DONAIRE, at the age of 38, continues to show boxing’s young stars how it’s done. The Filipino star, just weeks after stunning Nordine Oubaali to win yet another sanctioning body belt, has confirmed he will be meeting John Riel Casimero in a bantamweight unification bout on August 14.

Donaire rolled back the years to run Oubaali inside four rounds in late May, setting up a tantalising swan song to what has already been an incredible career. The victory set him up for some potentially big fights, but few – if any – expected him to sign to fight hard-hitting Casimero.

This is mainly because Casimero was booked to fight former Donaireconqueror Guillermo Rigondeaux, however Showtime – who are broadcasting – switched the Cuban out for Nonito in order to stage what they

10 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

feel is a more marketable fight. That might seem a little harsh on Rigondeaux, but he hasn’t fought in almost a yearand-a-half when he laboured past Liborio Solis for a spurious belt.

Donaire could have retired years ago and still have been a lock for the Hall of Fame, but he continues to pursue greatness, all with a smile on his face.

He was in Las Vegas over the weekend, cracking jokes and taking pictures with former foe Naoya Inoue.

He’s a breed that’s not often seen in boxing anymore, a fighter who will seek out the biggest challenges no matter the odds and who will treat any and all opponents with the utmost respect.

There’s no pageantry with Donaire, he just wants to fight the best, and it’s a joy to watch him do it.

In his heyday, Oscar De La Hoya didn’t shy away from a fight either and now, at 48 and 13 years removed from his last contest, a painful hammering at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, he is officially

returning to the ring for an exhibition. He will face former UFC fighter Vitor Belfort, who is 44.

The contest will top a card on Triller, but the interesting news surrounds where and when it will take place. September 11 has been blocked out for the show - which will apparently heavily feature music performances - and it looks like it’ll be in Las Vegas, according to BoxingScene.

The reason this is intriguing is because Canelo Alvarez, who infamously split from De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions last year, is also planning to fight in Las Vegas on either September 11 or 18, in order to coincide with Mexican Independence Day, which falls on September 16.

Two of the front-running venues for Canelo’s next fight, which could be against Caleb Plant, are reportedly the Allegiant Stadium and the T-Mobile Arena. The problem is that both locations are booked on September 18 - the

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former is hosting a football game, while the latter will be holding a two-day music festival over that weekend.

This means Canelo and De La Hoya could not only be going head-to-head for views, but also in terms of where their respective fights will take place. The MGM Grand in Vegas is still an option for both as well. Nothing would better exemplify the current state of boxing than Canelo competing against his former promoter for attention on the same night.

The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is back and for the first time will hold an all-female tournament. No official announcement has been made about which fighters will be involved, though the tournament will focus on the superfeatherweight division.

“It’s fantastic the opportunity is being given to women for a sport that’s so hotly developed, especially during lockdown,” Kalle Sauerland told The Athletic.

“There’s been some real bangers with the women. We’ll be opening the doors to all the promoters in the world.”

Terri Harper and Mikaela Mayer could be involved, as well as Natasha Jonas.

Organisers will undoubtedly be hoping to attract undisputed lightweight queen Katie Taylor into the tournament as well.

It’s encouraging that a competition like the (WBSS), which has produced some terrific match-ups over the past few years, is investing in women’s boxing. This could help facilitate some huge fights and provide yet another significant platform for female fighters.

Mike Tyson is no stranger to drugs he has his own strain of marijuana and his podcast is literally called Hotboxin’ - but he’s now banging the drum for psychedelics to be used in the treatment of repetitive traumatic brain injury.

He serves as an advisor on the board of Wesana Health, a biotech company looking to bring psychedelic drugs to market as treatments for fighters and other athletes who have suffered brain injuries. While it might seem, well, trippy, at first, there is apparently scientific evidence to back this up. The Guardian ran an interesting piece on the topic, with input from Tyson, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman and scientists.

BROADCASTS The press conference for Tyson Fury’s third fight with Deontay Wilder produced the longest face-off in boxing history, according to the event’s organisers. The pair looked into each other’s eyes for roughly five minutes and 40 seconds, which is longer than I’ve ever looked at anything in my life without looking away, so kudos to them I guess.

Wilder also wore headphones throughout the entire thing in a bid to drown out any of Fury’s comments, inadvertently admitting that he still isn’t mentally prepared for Tyson yet. He also intimated, yet again, in interviews afterward that he wants to kill his next opponent in the ring. Shame on him.

UFC legend Anderson Silva proved that he might actually be a good boxer, even at 46, by outpointing Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr on Fite.TV. He’s now 2-1 as a boxer, having last fought in 2005.

Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess, but seeing him win, and win well, was shocking at this stage of his storied career.

UNSETTLED: De La Hoya the latest to confirm return in an ‘exhibition’

Photo: ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

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NEWS AND OPINION

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Rage & Fury FTER a long time out of the ring, Tyson Fury has a fight. It won’t be Anthony Joshua. He will go into a third fight with Deontay Wilder on July 24 at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Fury won’t dwell on the collapse of negotiations with Joshua’s team. “Useless dosser. It was only too good for him that the fight never happened,” the WBC heavyweight titlist declared. “I’ve got to deal with the most dangerous, concussive puncher in the history of the sport.

“I’m focusing on Deontay Widler, that’s the man in hand, that’s who I’m going to fight. That’s where my focus for attention is going to be. Nobody else. I don’t leave any stones unturned.”

“To overlook Deontay Wilder would be a stupid move. Deontay Wilder don’t need to do anything apart from land one punch in 36 minutes then it’s over, curtains,” he added. “Deontay Wilder’s the most dangerous heavyweight out there for anybody. Anybody. Even myself.

Even though I’ve beaten him twice [Fury was held to a controversial draw in their first fight]. The man deserves the utmost respect. The biggest puncher in the history of the game. One punch curtains, it’s all over, you’re out like a light switch.

“I respect him as the biggest puncher in the history of the game. I’ve been in there.

Don’t forget he put me down twice in the first fight. So I’ve tasted his power.”

But there is no sign of any trepidation in Fury and, even after the dominant stoppage victory he secured over Wilder last year, he sounds highly motivated. “I don’t care about history. I don’t care about being remembered. I don’t care about the belts. I care about f**k all, apart from doing my job and getting in and out of the ring in one piece. Don’t care about going down as a legend, not interested. I live for today. I’m sick to death of telling you all. I don’t care about pound-for-pound ratings, I don’t care about being remembered. I don’t care about undisputed, I don’t care about winning belts. I don’t care about any of that. I don’t care about earning money.

All I care about is fighting and that’s difference between me and them. I love to fight, they love the business. They love the money. They love the fame that comes with boxing. I love to f***ing fight, nothing else. That’s it. Strip it all away, it’s all a load of s**t anyway. The only thing I do care about is fighting. That’s why I continue

A

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Wilder is looking to punish Fury and then aim for the winner of Anthony Joshua’s next fight, writes John Dennen

POINT TO PROVE: Wilder believes he has been slighted Photo: RYAN HAFEY/PBC

to fight. I made $70million last year and I would have made a lot more if I’d had more fights. But has it changed me? Has it made any difference? Has it f**k. I don’t care about the money. There was talk of me getting $75-100 million for the Joshua fight. What’s it going to do for my life?

Nothing. I don’t care about any of that.

I only care about fighting because that’s what I was born and bred to do. Nothing else and nothing more. I wasn’t made to be a rock star. I wasn’t made to be a movie star. I wasn’t made to be a billionaire. I was made to be a fighting man,” he said. “That’s all we live to do is fight.

Without fighting we’re nothing. Without fighting I’m just another man with money. Plenty of them around. I’m in my element, I’m in the prime of my life at 32, the finest fighting man who’s ever lived, the Gypsy King.

“I never will be defeated, the greatest man that’s ever put on a pair of boxing gloves on, me the Gypsy King.

“Money doesn’t motivate the Gypsy King. Blood does. Smashing faces in does.

Knocking people out. Putting it in in the gym. Running 10 miles. The feeling you get when you go 15 rounds with four different men. The feeling you get when you get smashed in the face hard and see all blue lightning, your legs stiffen a little

bit and you think, ‘Yes, this is now, I’m alive.’ I’m an adrenalin junkie.”

More than a month out from the fight and Tyson Fury is ready for war.

Deontay Wilder did not want to talk.

He was terse, almost angry, when speaking to the British press ahead of their latest press conference. The first defeat of his career has left Wilder simmering with resentment. “I hate him,” he said of Fury.

“I don’t think nothing of him. Bad blood there will always be. Bad blood.”

That enmity was only compounded by Fury’s team’s very public negotiations to make a fight with Anthony Joshua this summer instead.

Wilder’s representatives had to enforce his contracted third fight with Fury through an arbitration.

“They should have got me early but they ran. They tried to dodge me. They did me wrong when I helped him and his family out. I put money in his pocket. I guess being a coward is his thing. I didn’t see none of you write about it,” Wilder said. “We were very confident because we knew we were in the right.

“With that being said, silence is golden.

We kept our silence. It wasn’t hard to do.”

His manager Shelly Finkel added, “They were going for the bigger fight they felt, they didn’t want to honour the contract that they had signed, that they had agreed to. They kept pushing it back.

“Deontay was ready, willing and able to fight without an audience and then the Joshua fight looked like it could happen and they tried to get out of the contract.

That’s the bottom line and that’s how it was seen in the arbitration.”

Wilder blamed former trainer Mark Breland for throwing in the towel in that fight, a decision which many other observers lauded Breland for. Now Wilder has brought in a former sparring partner Malik Scott as his trainer.

“A lot things are going to be different,” Wilder explained. “I’ve been training very hard. My mind is very violent. Whatever he [Fury] does I’ll have an answer for, just like answering the phone when it rings.”

If Wilder is victorious, he’ll be looking for the winner of Anthony Joshua’s next fight and the other three major heavyweight titles. “The mission is still the same,” he says. “It never changed. One champion, one face, one name.”

‘THEY DID ME WRONG WHEN I HELPED HIM AND HIS FAMILY OUT’

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Photo: SEAN MICHAEL HAM/TGB PROMOTIONS

INTENSE STARE: Fury and Wilder unleash their eyeballs

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NEWS AND OPINION

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Photo: DAVE THOMPSON/GETTY IMAGES

UPDATE FROM RINGSIDE CHARITABLE TRUST

TOP TALENT: Smith retires at the right time after a fine career

Setting the record straight on the upcoming fundraiser in America TWO weeks ago, Boxing News reported on a new event taking place in America in October this year that will raise funds and awareness for Ringside Charitable Trust. It takes place in Orlando and will see boxers like, among others, like Duke McKenzie, Chris Pyatt, Steve Collins, James Cook and Michael Watson head to the USA for a series of fundraisers.

The story, headlined Jolly Boys Outing, led some readers to come to the wrong conclusion – that it was being funded by the charity that is raising money to open a residential home for ex-boxers. To be absolutely clear, it is not.

“The trustees of Ringside Charitable Trust would like to make it abundantly clear that not a penny has been used from the Ringside Charitable Trust account to fund this venture,” Dave Harris of RCT stated.

“ALL expenses are being met

by David Moth, who is a tireless fundraiser and has inspired the David Moth Foundation. He is an inspiration to us all and we cannot thank him enough for his support to highlight our cause to a much wider audience.

“So please continue to support us in our quest to make our residential care home for ex-boxers a reality safe in the knowledge that no money paid into the account is used inappropriately.”

Boxing News, who know how tirelessly the team at RCT are working, apologise for the confusion caused.

In addition, RCT would like to let anyone who has bought tickets for their July 18 celebratory lunch it has, due to ongoing restrictions, been put back to August 1.

STEPHEN SMITH RETIRES ONE of the best British boxers of recent years, Stephen Smith, has retired at the age of 35. The announcement came exactly 13 years after he made his professional debut. His record reads 28-4 (15) and included winning British (feather and super-feather) and Commonwealth titles (feather), and unsuccessful bids for major sanctioning body titles at super-feather. As an amateur he won Commonwealth Games gold and won two ABA titles.

“I have retired,” Smith stated on Monday ( June 21). “I had a great career, amateur and pro, and gave all I had to boxing. I literally couldn’t have trained any harder in trying to be the best and making weight was tough – as it is for

‘Swifty’ walks away at the age of 35

all of us, I won’t miss that! If our paths crossed then I thank you because I met some amazing people through boxing, friends for life. I thank everyone who coached me from the Rotunda ABC, through the England schools, under 17, under 19 and seniors. Georgie Vaughan, Danny Vaughan and Joe Gallagher.

“The time and effort you all put into helping me, I can’t really put into words.

You all gave me amazing memories. And to my amazing family. For putting up with with me as well as supporting me over the years. Mum, Dad, brothers, sisters and my beautiful wife. How you coped with my moods I’ll never know. I love you all.”

Everyone at BN would like to wish ‘Swifty’ all the very best for retirement.

BRITISH BOXERS REUNITE A fine cast comes together for Michael Watson BRITISH boxing stalwart Eric Guy, alongside James Cook MBE, staged a reunion on Saturday night ( June 19) that put a smile on the face of Michael Watson.

Guy has been a friend of Watson for many years and wanted to stage an event that brought together boxers active during the former Commonwealth middleweight champion’s career. No media were present, Guy stressed. This was a night for the boxers to reminisce and remember the good old days.

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The plan was executed perfectly; all in attendance had a wonderful evening at the Pedro Club, we’re told.

In the photo you will see: [Back row, left to right] Prince Rodney, Horace Notice, Gerry Delaney, Darren Dyer, Adrian Elliot, Derek Williams, Haroun (Watson’s carer). [Front row, left to right] James Cook MBE, Ray Webb, Mark Reefer, Derek Grainger, Eric Guy, Colin McMillan, Michael Watson, Sylvester Mittee, Mo Hussein, Tony Adams, Johnny Oliver, Francis Ampofo.

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NEWS AND OPINION

DANGEROUS GAME THERE were many disappointed when Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury failed to agree an undisputed heavyweight title fight, apart from Deontay Wilder. But perhaps none moreso than Joe Joyce. His career has been on hold as he’s waited for the heavyweight title picture to resolve.

If Joshua-Fury had happened, Joyce was expecting to fight Oleksandr Usyk for an Interim belt from the WBO. Instead Usyk is now in the frame to challenge Joshua. Joyce has had to move on. He will do so when he boxes Carlos Takam on July 24 at the SSE Arena in Wembley.

“He’s a good, come-forward fighter. He likes to scrap. He always comes in good shape. He’s experienced and he always comes ready for his fights. He poses quite a problem so he’s a challenging opponent.

He’s not a southpaw [like Usyk], he’s orthodox, something I’m more familiar with.

A bit of a shorter fighter so he’ll be trying to loop them over the top and trying to get inside. He’s going to pose some challenges but they’re something I can overcome,” Joyce said.

Joshua took some time to break down Takam, while the Cameroonian was all over Dereck Chisora, until the Londoner levelled him with a knockout blow. Joyce is hoping to do a better job against him next month.

“Then make a statement. It also keeps me

Joe Joyce sets July 24 clash with Carlos Takam. He speaks to John Dennen

sharp and ready for a potential world title,” he noted.

He made a statement in his last fight, when he stopped Daniel Dubois, a result for which Joe does not feel he has received enough credit. “It seemed to me to be more about Dubois’ eye and his loss and his comeback than about me actually beating Dubois. When Dubois was supposed to wipe the floor with me, beat me in less than three rounds and then I made him quit,” Joyce said. “I think he was just used to people waiting to be knocked out. They just kind of stay there and he walks them down and knocks them out. He had like 30 second bursts where he was very dangerous, throwing everything but the kitchen sink. But then it was only for 30 seconds and then he was breathing heavily throughout the fight. I was trying to keep away from the heavy leather that he was throwing at me. I didn’t really take anything cleanly, most of them were glancing blows. I kept the jab still pumping out and it was just landing every time.

“I had taken his best punches and he was slowly getting more and more tired.

Especially in those final rounds. I was quite

comfortable, not getting hit and just landing the jab. The scorecards didn’t seem to reflect that.”

Joyce wants to make up for lost time. He intends to box at least once more this year, possibly twice, after the Takam fight. “I’m not hanging around. I will fight Takam and then there is something else lined up,” he insists.

“I’m just going to do my part in the gym and work out with my management team and Frank Warren to get me in the best positions to get the best fights.”

He could well be in a position to box the winner of Joshua vs Usyk, potentially next year. He has in fact boxed both before, as an amateur and in the World Series of Boxing.

“Usyk is going to warm into the fight, try and get out of the way, move around, use his footwork and skills to try and stay away from Joshua and try to steal the fight and win on points,” he said.

“But Joshua is quite quick, he dealt with Charles Martin pretty well so Joshua is going to end up catching up with him, put some shots together, landing something heavy and taking him out eventually.”

In the meantime, Joe Joyce will keep fighting and keep waiting.

‘IT SEEMED TO BE MORE ABOUT DUBOIS’ EYE THAN ME WINNING’

Photo: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES

GIVE ME CREDIT: Joyce is again refusing to take the easy road

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PREVIEWS

Previewing the best upcoming fights around the world

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ O U T S TA N D I N G ★ ★ ★ ★ G O O D ★ ★ ★ FA I R ★ ★ D I S A P P O I N T I N G ★ RU B B I S H T h e s t a r r a t i n g s i n d i c a t e h o w w e l l t h e w r i t e r b e l i e v e s t h e f i g h t e r s m a t c h u p, t h e f i g h t ( s ) ’ c o n t e x t u a l s i g n i f i c a n c e , a n d h o w g o o d t h e f i g h t ( s ) w i l l b e

TALENTED: But Lomachenko finds himself in an unfamiliar position Photos: MIKEY WILLIAMS/ TOP RANK

BACK TO THE START Lomachenko, despite his illustrious career, has it all to prove again when he takes on Nakatani in Las Vegas, writes Matt Christie

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★★★★★ MAIN EVENT ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ U N D E RC A R D

HIS time last year Vasiliy Lomachenko was considered untouchable. Then he lost a fight to Teofimo Lopez in October and it’s almost as if all that came before, the many years of work that made him untouchable, never happened.

But this is boxing, a fickle world when it comes to defeat.

Now, few people talk about Loma’s brilliant amateur career, the breakneck progress he made as a professional, the awe-inspiring beatdowns of some quality opposition and the wizardry he exhibited along the way. It’s all about that one loss and how, at 33 years old, Lomachenko is on the way down.

On Saturday night the Ukrainian makes his return against Masayoshi Nakatani, a 32-year-old opponent whose reputation was also once tarnished – but later elevated – by the very same Teofimo Lopez. The Japanese fighter went the full 12 with the future world lightweight king before losing widely on the cards in 2019 but it wasn’t that he failed to win that hurt his standing, it was the critics’ reaction to his opponent’s performance. The thinking back then was that if Lopez was forced to go 12 against someone like Nakatani then he might struggle against the elite. Not exactly a glowing reference for the Asian’s own hopes at the top level. But when Lopez then beat Lomachenko in a huge shock, Nakatani saw his own stock rise considerably as a consequence.

He backed up the newfound faith two months later when, in December 2020, he twice rose from the canvas to defeat former can’t miss prospect Felix Verdejo in nine thrilling rounds. So Nakatini is robust, game and can certainly fight. He appears the perfect comeback opponent: A genuine contender but not a formidable one. But at this level, only an impressive Loma win will do.

Modern history tells us that fighters of Lomachenko’s lofty standing can struggle after suffering humbling defeat.

Though he did go on to win an alphabet title at 154lbs, Donald Curry was not the same after losing the welterweight championship to Lloyd Honeyghan in 1986. Mike Tyson was never Mike Tyson, not really, after he was upset by James “Buster” Douglas four years later. The Roy Jones Jnr we knew and loved was gone forever after being wrecked by Antonio Tarver in 2004. More recently, Roman Gonzalez, though there has been a subsequent rejuvenation of sorts, followed a surprise points defeat to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai with an altogether more

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convincing KO defeat to the same fighter in his next bout.

Throw in evidence of slippage that was forming prior to Lopez beating him, fair and square it must be said, and it’s easy to conclude that the best of Lomachenko is gone: The long amateur career that surely took a toll; the build-up of injuries; the struggle he endured with Luke Campbell; the better performances taking place down at super-featherweight; the slowly eroding reflexes and an apparent desire to retire to a simpler life.

Yet to write off someone like Lomachenko right now would be grossly unfair. For every Roy Jones you will find a Manny Pacquiao, one who adapted his tools to the rigours of age to breathe new life into what many presumed to be a faltering career following a reverse.

The special ones, the really special ones, thrive in such reinvention. As well as Pacquiao, the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Bernard Hopkins, Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Roberto Duran all successfully rebuilt in different ways at times when they were being written off.

One suspects that Nakatani is not equipped to give us a definitive answer about Lomachenko’s future, unless of course he wins. To do so he’ll have to hope the shoulder injury that Lomachenko underwent an operation to repair immediately after losing to Lopez remains problematic. Hope, too, that the tools he has at his own disposal will not be embarrassed by those Loma can still draw upon. At a splinter under six-feet, Nakatani is tall and awkward and his long limbs can make trying to get past them frustrating, at least when he fights long.

But Verdejo had success by bursting inside and firing blows up close. Lopez, too, countered effectively with the overarm right and, maybe Loma’s key to victory

TALE OF THE TAPE LOMACHENKO NAKATANI @VasylLomachenko @boxingnakatani Feb 17, 1988/33 DOB/AGE Mar 8, 1989/32 Oxnard, CA HOMETOWN Tokyo Ukrainian NATIONALITY Japanese 5ft 7ins HEIGHT 5ft 11 1/2ins 65 1/2ins REACH 71ins 14-2 (10) RECORD 19-1 (13) Southpaw STANCE Orthodox Oct 12, 2013/25 DEBUT/AGE Jun 12, 2011/22 6 12-ROUNDERS COMPLETED 6 5 CLEAN KO WINS 4 1/14 ODDS 9/1

here, scored regularly to Nakatani’s long and slender body.

Yet it’s easy to envision the sheer size of Nakatani causing problems to the Ukrainian, who at 5ft 7ins, will give away around five inches in height and six inches in reach. Even against Lopez – an inch taller with a three-inch advantage in wingspan – Lomachenko’s dimensions were severely challenged and reaffirmed beliefs that he’s simply not big enough for the lightweight division. But Lopez is a special fighter and Nakatani, though unquestionably competent at world level, is simply not in that league.

Lomachenko may be forced to go the full 12 rounds but a lopsided points victory looks the likeliest outcome. There will surely be flashes where we’ll be reminded of the Loma we’ve all forgotten about, but they may not be sustained enough to roll out the red carpet and welcome back the invincible man of old. Whether that is down to the ageing process, or simply the sheer doggedness of his opponent, only time will tell. Regardless, expect Nakatani to again prove himself to be a tricky fighter to beat.

Also on the Top Rank show at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas is an intriguing crossroads middleweight contest. Revered Kazak starlet Janibek Alimkhanuly, the 2013 amateur world champion and 2016 Olympic quarter-finalist (where he beat Anthony Fowler in the first round), takes on 30-year-old Rob Brant.

Brant, 26-2 (18), has only lost to Ryota Murata in 2019 (via a second round stoppage that came after Brant beat him on points the year before) and Juergen Braehmer (on the cards after 12 super-middleweight rounds in the World Boxing Super Series in 2017). Decent names he’s defeated, aside from Murata, include Khasan Baysangurov and, in his most recent contest last August, Vitalii Kopylenko.

Alimkhanuly, at just 9-0 (5), is taking a step up but far from an insurmountable one. The southpaw, in a nod to his pedigree, hasn’t been matched easy so far; all of his opponents came with winning records and Top Rank clearly expect him to win this one too.

Brant will come with ambition but we also predict the 28-year-old to emerge victorious, perhaps even via a stoppage in the second half of the scheduled 10-rounder.

WATCH ON TV THOSE who lost their minds that they couldn’t watch Lopez-Lomachenko on Sky Sports last year should rejoice.

The channel will be showing Top Rank’s shows moving forward, including this one.

DID YOU KNOW? THIS is only the second time in Lomachenko’s career where there isn’t a major sanctioning body title on the line. The first time came in 2013, when debutant Loma knocked out Jose Luis Ramirez.

SPARMATES ACCORDING to a photo Lomachenko posted on social media, the comebacking star has been sparring super-featherweight Albert Bell, lightweight Jeremy Hill and lightweight Steven Galeano in the build-up to this contest.

THE VERDICT Lomachenko should get back to winning ways against the awkward Nakatani.

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After the loss to Teofimo Lopez there were accusations that the judges and the boxing world were against him. Now the dust has settled, Lomachenko is solely focused on restoring his reputation

By THOMAS GERBASI

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ASILIY LOMACHENKO isn’t talking. At least not to everyone in the lead-up to his Saturday meeting with Masayoshi Nakatani in Las Vegas.

It’s a comeback fight for the former three-division belt-holder, and those are two words – comeback and former – many believed they wouldn’t ever hear associated with the Ukrainian master boxer in the years following the first loss of his career against Orlando Salido in 2014.

That was the second fight of Lomachenko’s pro boxing career, and from then until the night of October 17, 2020, it was all wins, title fights and a lofty place on the pound-for-pound list.

Then Teofimo Lopez came along, and after chasing Loma and his belts for two years, he hit his mark, winning a unanimous decision that made him the lightweight champion of the world. As for Lomachenko, the aura of invincibility that had developed around him in the years after the Salido fight was shattered.

More than that, questions arose, wondering if Lomachenko was as good as we all assumed he was. Sure, he was dubbed “The Matrix,” but was it all a mirage? No, it couldn’t be; we had the video to prove it, along with the wins over Roman Martinez, Nicholas Walters, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla that reminded us why boxing was dubbed “The Sweet Science.”

But in Las Vegas against the unbeaten Lopez, Lomachenko wasn’t just human; he looked like a fighter who didn’t want to be in the ring that night, and some would say he wasn’t there, at least not for the first half of the bout, when he barely threw a punch as Lopez built a big lead.

By the time he decided to make a run at the New Yorker, it was too late, with the judges returning scores of 116-112, 117111 and 119-109 in favor of Lopez. It was a verdict that didn’t sit well with the BilhorodDnistrovskyi native.

“I said that I wasn’t ready to comment on the fight without watching it first,” Lomachenko said via his own social media on December 18. “And I said that I thought I didn’t lose the fight. And I can repeat it today. I didn’t lose the fight.”

Few agreed with that assessment, though some did think Lomachenko might have squeezed out a draw if he got favorable judging in close rounds. Even by his own account, the former champ explained to Kobelkov his scoring of the bout after watching it.

“His win reflects the bias against myself,” Lomachenko said. “If we counted scores strictly by the book, the scorecard would be different. I took one round for the first half of the fight and five rounds for the second one, namely rounds seven to 11. We’ve got six-six, which is a draw. And if it’s a draw, we use the unspoken rule of boxing. We look at rounds 10-12, and I won two of them. It’s 2-1. Even if I won three rounds in the first half of the fight, I wouldn’t win the

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fight on the scorecards. What does it say? it would have been unknown when the next one would happen,” he said of It’s not about bias, it’s about being bribed. the bout, which was held in the Top Rank There was nothing about honest judging.”

Five days later, Lomachenko walked “Bubble” in Las Vegas due to the COVID19 pandemic. “And if it would happen back those incendiary comments, telling at all.”

Joe Santoliquito of The Ring, “I didn’t say “I propose everyone to see it from where that the judges were bribed, I said that I was standing,” Lomachenko explained. they were not being objective and they “Can you believe you’re having this chance? were being biased, they were not being And the chance is today. You have no idea objective in my personal opinion. After of what’s gonna happen tomorrow in the I saw the scorecards, I knew the judges world. What if the pandemic gets worse, were against me.” and everything is closed for the next That fire put out, it still didn’t cover one or two years? Nobody knows what Lomachenko’s insistence that his happens next. Besides, there’s too much performance was largely caused by a at stake. Too much was said from his shoulder injury, one he didn’t reveal before side. The MRI didn’t show a big problem; the fight and didn’t think would affect him, it showed bursitis. It’s very despite the insistence of his common. I made injections father (and coach) Anatoly that NOT ONE-SIDED: for the treatment of bursitis, he withdraw from the bout.

Lomachenko in a moment of success but it didn’t help. My father “If I’d postponed the fight, Photos: MIKEY WILLIAMS/TOP RANK

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said to postpone the fight. But I believed that everything would be fine.”

It wasn’t, yet a disappointing result could have turned into an opportunity for Lomachenko to come back stronger and get even in a rematch with Lopez, building his fanbase as they get on board for his return. Instead, the loss turned into a case of sour grapes that painted him as a sore loser at best and delusional at worst.

Lomachenko did get surgery on his labrum after the fight and he did pull back on the corruption statements he made, but instead of explaining that his loss had reasons attached to it and not excuses, he largely went off the grid.

There was the interview late last year, a few scattered chats with reporters here and there since, but even after the announcement of the Nakatani fight, he’s been fairly quiet, apparently choosing to

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let his reputation promote the bout and his performance to speak for itself.

“I give interviews to people who understand boxing and people who wouldn’t mangle my words,” said Lomachenko last December, clearly feeling torched by fans and media who have embraced Lopez and his always quotable father, Teofimo Snr. As for “The Takeover,” he’s apparently moved

on from the man he pursued with an obsessive intensity.

A fight with George Kambosos Jnr. has been rescheduled for August, and after that, he’s talked of moving to 140 pounds to chase another set of belts. Even if Lopez sticks around a little longer at 135 pounds, or moves back and forth between weight classes, the sexy headline is about Lopez being onefourth of a new Four Kings series along with Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia.

No talk of Loma, who wants a rematch with Lopez but isn’t necessarily expecting one.

“They know that he can’t fight with me,” Lomachenko told Kobelkov. “He reached the top. He got lucky. He doesn’t want to fight with me because he will lose the belts. They will trash talk, they will place conditions. And finally, they won’t fight.”

But Lomachenko will fight on, Lopez or no Lopez. At 33, he is young enough on paper to add more titles to his resume and engage in big fights, but after his last bout, he will have some proving to do against Japan’s Nakatani, whose only pro loss is to the current lightweight champion. Nakatani gave Lopez some issues at times in their bout, and at 5-foot-11 ½ to Lomachenko’s 5-foot-7, he could give the Ukrainian a tough go, as well. And a tough go is not what Lomachenko needs this weekend. He needs the kind of fight that will put him back in the win column in a way where fight fans won’t be talking about what happened last October, but what will happen this October.

What won’t happen is Lopez-Lomachenko II or a move back down to 130 pounds or up to 140. Those are pretty much certainties, as Lopez won’t be available if he fights in August, and Lomachenko is not big enough for super-lightweight. As for a return to super-featherweight, that’s more of a matter of stubbornness.

“I’m not going back to 59kg until I finish here,” Lomachenko said last December, determined to get back his lightweight titles. Maybe it will be from Lopez, maybe from Haney, or maybe someone else will swoop in and become champion if the titles are vacated. Whatever the case may be, Lomachenko plans on being there, regaining his crown, and regaining his status as one of boxing’s elite.

If he completes his mission, then there really won’t be anything for him to talk about because I think that’s what the kids these days call a mic drop. bn

I GIVE INTERVIEWS TO PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND BOXING AND WHO WON’T MANGLE MY WORDS”

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 21

PREVIEWS ALL TO PROVE: Davis prepares to rise in weight again Photo: RYAN HAFEY/PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS & ESTHER LIN/SHOWTIME

Testing ground Gervonta Davis will try out the waters at 140lbs, writes John Dennen ★★★★★ MAIN EVENT

ERVONTA DAVIS could end up calling himself a super-lightweight champion by the end of this weekend.

That would be to erase the real achievements of Josh Taylor, who unified all four of the major belts at 140lbs with his recent victory over Jose Ramirez. But

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22 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

Mario Barrios holds a spurious WBA ‘regular’ strap and he takes on Davis at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday ( June 26).

This particular belt is not significant but Barrios is a competent fighter. Trained by Virgil Hunter, the 26-year-old is unbeaten in 26 professional contests, 17 of those victories coming inside the distance. He knocked out Ryan Karl on the undercard of Gervonta Davis’ last fight.

But he has had hard bouts himself.

Batyr Akhmedov gave him almost all he could handle over 12 rounds in

2019. Akmedov is inexperienced as a professional, he’d only had seven fights when he met Barrios. But a solid amateur and an Olympian, it was Akhmedov who came on strong in the second half of the fight. He swarmed all over Barrios, getting to him with stern punches.

It was Barrios’ power that got him out of trouble and secured a win on the cards. A left hook dropped Akmedov in the first round and just when Mario needed it he blasted the Uzbekistan-born Russian off his feet and had him hurt in the last round.

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It shows that Barrios has power and can be dangerous. But Davis is the more complete fighter. At his best he’s looked devastating. Most recently, with a hellish uppercut, he knocked Leo Santa Cruz cold. He has the better resume, he’s had the better performances but these have all come at lighter weights. He’s fought no higher than lightweight and most of his performances have come at superfeatherweight. Barrios has been a superlightweight since 2017. The key unknown will be how Davis handles that move up into this new division.

“We know that Barrios is a bigger guy and that he can punch.

We’re working hard each day in the gym because we’re going up against a big task,” Gervonta said.

“We all have challenges we go through in life and that’s what makes us strong. This is another challenge that I have on my road to success. I’m ready to walk through it and keep pushing.

“We know this is a dangerous fight.

Barrios is coming with power and you know for sure I’m coming with power.

“I took this fight because I want to be great. All the other big names at lightweight had scheduled fights so I felt like I wanted to go out and beat the best fighter out there for me.

“Even if he is bigger than me on fight night, it doesn’t matter. This is all part of the sport. My goal is to break him down.

If I can get him out of there, I’ll get him out of there. He’s big and strong, but he’s

never faced anyone like me.”

Interestingly Akmedov, like Davis, is a southpaw. It’s likely that Davis will get to him with his speed and eventually grind Barrios down and force a late stoppage.

Barrios however insisted, “‘Tank’ is a good fighter and a very explosive fighter.

There is the question of whether he’s bringing his power up to 140. I don’t have any concerns about it though. He’s the guy who has to show people he can handle my power at this weight.”

“Whether you like ‘Tank’ or not, he has one of the biggest names in boxing.

This is the type of fight that can skyrocket my name up there to the top level of the sport,” he continued. “This is a huge opportunity for me. ‘Tank’ called me out.

I know he’s trying to do something great, but this is a dangerous fight for him. It’s going to be an action-packed fight. We’ve never faced fighters like each other before.”

Davis does tend to perform in his big fights, though outside the ring there are real concerns. Last year he was arrested and charged after an altercation with the mother of his child. Most recently he was indicted on various counts after a traffic collision. None of this has discouraged Showtime from putting this next fight on pay-per-view. UK viewers can watch the stream on Fite TV, also for a fee.

‘WHETHER YOU LIKE ‘TANK’ OR NOT, HE’S ONE OF BOXING’S BIGGEST NAMES’

HUGE CHANCE: Victory for Barrios will change his life

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THE VERDICT A test for Davis as he tries to prove he can rise through the weights but not quite PPV stuff.

THE EXPANSION Matchroom Mexico begins with Julio Cesar Martinez MATCHROOM in partnership with Canelo Alvarez and Eddy Reynoso are beginning a series of shows in Mexico. It begins with Julio Cesar Martinez defending his WBC flyweight title against Joel Cordova at the Domo Alcade in Guadalajara on Saturday (June 26).

“Me, Canelo and Eddy Reynoso, taking big time boxing back to Mexico with DAZN. It’s a multiyear deal, four fights in the next six months, non-stop fights and action and that’s coming after the UK announcement,” promoter Eddie Hearn told Boxing News. “It’s like the whole thing is built off the search for the new Canelo. But the talent is there.”

Screened worldwide on DAZN, it’s the next move in Matchroom’s vision for global expansion. “No one’s promoting globally. We’re the only promotional company that are promoting events globally in different markets,” Hearn continued.

“DAZN are looking to break into the Mexican market but also the content there will be of huge interest our American subscribers as well and it’s additional shows for our UK subscribers. They get that content as well. DAZN UK customers are going to get 16 UK shows, probably 10 US shows, four Italian, four Spanish, six Mexican a year. Then there’ll be Australia, then there’ll be Canada.

You’ll build a global schedule where there will be a show every week from a different major city around the world. That’s the thing we’ve always dreamed, having that almost internal circuit like the UFC. That’s how that’s going to be built.”

Martinez is strong for a flyweight and aggressive, so an exciting start to the series beckons even if he will be the clear favourite against the 12-4-2 Cordova.

Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela, who recently beat Robbie Davies Jnr, appears on the card as does unbeaten American prospect Diego Pacheco.

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 23

PREVIEWS ONE WIN AWAY: Harris can set up shot at IBF strap Photo: DAN MULLAN/GETTY IMAGES

★★★★★ MAIN EVENT ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ U N D E RC A R D

SWANSEA’S Jay Harris could soon be fighting for another major sanctioning body title when he takes on Ricardo Sandoval in a final eliminator for the IBF flyweight title, held by Sunny Edwards.

The fight was originally set for six weeks ago before being postponed. It is now set for Bolton Whites Hotel on Friday night ( July 25) and is promoted by Lee Eaton of MTK Global.

Harris’ fist shot at a major belt came last February, when he challenged Mexican puncher Julio Cesar Martinez for the WBC strap in Texas. The fear was the Welshman would be out of his depth, but though cut early and down in the 10th from body shots, he never let the champion dominate and was spirited until the final bell.

Harris won four, five and two rounds on the scorecards without ever putting a dent in Martinez with his crisp combination punching. As the boxing saying goes, Harris “lost well.” He had the satisfaction of becoming the first to take Martinez the full 12 rounds.

The 30-year-old has boxed once since, outpointing Liverpool’s Marcel Braithwaite over 10 rounds last October.

Next is Sandoval, a 22-year-old from California who’s had five straight stoppages. He has won all nine since Alonso Ceja, then 4-0, outpointed him on a majority over four rounds, but hasn’t had things all his own way.

Brent Venegas, 3-0, dropped ‘El Nino’ and pushed him to a split over six, while Sandoval had to rally from two knockdowns to stop the 12-1-1 Marco Sustaita in five. Sandoval is in the midst of a learning curve, it seems.

He showed a cooler head during the seventh-round stoppage of Filipino gatekeeper Raymond Tabugon (22-11-1), considered a step up, in his most recent outing last February. Sandoval dropped him in the second with a fast left hook counter and went on to dish out a beating. That was the furthest Sandoval

ONE MORE TRY: Butler is hoping to again step up to world level

24 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

ELIMINATION GAME Major title shots beckon for the big winners in Bolton, writes Matt Bozeat

has been in his pro career. It also means he’s been out of the ring for 16 months.

He is solid, heavy-handed and looks for eye-catching singles, particularly with his lead hand.

No question, Sandoval is an exciting prospect, but is he ready for Harris? We don’t think so. The Welshman can win either by late stoppage or on points.

Also in Bolton, Ellesmere Port’s Paul Butler and veteran Joseph Agbeko fight for a shot at the WBO bantamweight title, held by Filipino banger John Riel Casimero. Butler and Agbeko (38-5) are both former IBF champions at 118lbs.

Now 44, Agbeko had two spells with the belt (2007-2009 and 2010-2011), while Butler vacated 25 days after dethroning Stuart Hall on a split vote in June 2015 to move back down to 115lbs. There he was well beaten in eight by South African lefty Zolani Tete in a challenge for the IBF title and Butler was also dropped twice and outboxed by Puerto Rican boxer-puncher Emmanuel Rodriguez for the vacant IBF championship at 118lbs after weighing in heavy.

Everyone else the Joe Gallagher-trained Butler has faced in his 32-2 career he’s been able to outbox, including his last six opponents.

Agbeko is on a nine-fight winning run, spread over eight years since he was outpointed by Cuban southpaw Guillermo Rigondeaux in a bid for the world superbantamweight title.

Recent opposition has been less demanding for Agbeko, who was set to

box Kid Galahad in London four years ago before falling ill on the day of the fight.

Agbeko is most certainly past his prime while Butler is at the tail-end of his, and we go for the younger man to be too fresh and beat him on points.

Had results gone their way, Hosea Burton (25-2) and Liam Conroy (18-6-1) would have met in the final of the Golden Contract. Instead, they meet on Friday night in a real crossroads clash at 175lbs that has the makings of a good fight.

The 6ft 4ins Burton, British champion for 10 months in 2016 and now 32 years old, had a lengthy amateur apprenticeship, winning the ABAs in 2009, and is a disciplined long-range boxer who does his best work early.

By contrast, Conroy is a heart-on-hissleeve fighter with heavy hands who’s been vulnerable early and strong late.

In the Golden Contract last September, Cumbria’s Conroy was well beaten in four rounds by 2016 Olympian Serge Michel (10-1), four days after Burton was outpointed by Ricards Bolotniks (16-5-1) in Latvia.

The scorecards were ludicrous, two judges scoring 98-90 and the third a shut out 100-90. For me, Bolotniks shaded it after handing Burton two standing counts in the ninth.

We see Burton overcoming a wobble or two to win this British title eliminator on points over 10 rounds.

THE VERDICT Three quality matchups top this busy card.

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PREVIEWS

ENGLISH ELIMINATOR Ghaz and Shinkwin in crossroads scrap, writes Matt Bozeat

UNBEATEN: Ghaz starts as favourite

★★★★★ GHAZ-SHINKWIN

THE top-of-the-bill clash in Sheffield on Friday night should reveal a new contender for domestic honours at 135lbs. Rotherham’s Hamed Ghaz (16-0) meets Liam Shinkwin in an eliminator for the English championship.

Derby’s Myron Mills ground out a points win over the spirited Lucas Ballingall to keep his St George’s belt five weeks ago on the opening night of the new Fightzone app.

Fightzone, who have been churning out the content, also screen Friday night’s show from the Sheffield Arena car park, topped by a 10-rounder that Kevin Maree, Ghaz’s manager, describes as being between “two inactive lads who are at the crossroads.”

Ghaz has taken six-and-a-half years to compile 16 wins, while Shinkwin is 11-1-1 - after turning pro way back in 2008. Now 35 – he turns 36 in September – Shinkwin, whose cousin Miles, father Ronnie and uncle Danny were all pros, had a six-year break between 2013 and 2019.

Shinkwin says he lost motivation after

his career-best win, an upset 10-round points verdict over Matchroom hope Ryan ‘Crash Bang’ Taylor (7-0-1) that brought him the vacant Southern Area lightweight title in March, 2013, and an early exit from ‘Prizefighter’ up at 140lbs when Eren Arif (3-0) was able to outhustle him.

“The Southern Area title was like my world title,” he said, “and then I went in Prizefighter at a heavier weight when I wasn’t really ready. I lost a bit of motivation. I had been boxing all my life – I had my first fight at 11 – and felt I was missing out on life.

“I’ve got married, had a baby (five-year-old Teddy), got divorced and decided I didn’t want to get to my forties and have regrets. I have my boy from Thursday to Sunday evenings, so I haven’t been going out, I’ve been living the life and I feel like I’m 25 again.”

A pro at 18, Ghaz, who was born in Afghanistan, really is 25 years old and has made changes since his last fight, in September, 2019.

He is now trained by former kickboxing champion Al Osta and managed by Maree who says Osta has been getting Ghaz to “slow down because he’s very aggressive.” The nickname is ‘Hurricane’ and Ghaz sometimes neglects to use a jab that sets up his best attacks.

Maree says that every time he’s seen Ghaz spar over the last few months, he’s been impressed, but in fights, he is yet to be tested.

Of his 16 opponents, only Hungarian novice Pal Olah had a winning record. He went into their four rounder at Leeds United FC’s Elland Road 1-0, is now 9-34-3.

Best performance is possibly the eighth-round stoppage of Taka Bembere, a good journeyman based in Oldham who knows how to do just enough to lose and in fairness usually campaigns at around 130lbs.

Ghaz had been boxing up at 145lbs and proved to be too strong, getting on top as the fight went on and forcing the stoppage with a burst of unanswered punches in the last.

“I could have boxed another journeyman last year,” said Ghaz, “but I want fights that will get me noticed.”

Ghaz won’t be held back by a lack of confidence.

“I had a look at him (Shinkwin) on You Tube and he shouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “This is the perfect fight for me to take me up the rankings. I look at the top 10 lightweights in Britain and I wouldn’t shy away from fighting any of them. I think I’m levels above them. I believe I’m levels above what my record shows.”

What makes it even harder to pick a winner is that we don’t know how much Shinkwin has left.

The Shinkwin who outpointed Taylor looked to have an English title in him.

Shaken up early by a fighter who had knocked him out in sparring, Shinkwin toughed it out, won rounds with his in-and-out boxing and then held off Taylor’s late surge to win a cracking fight by a three-point margin.

But that was eight years ago. We go for youth to come out on top on Friday night. Ghaz looks strong at 135lbs, showed a good engine against Bembere and can win a good fight on points.

‘I HAVEN’T BEEN GOING OUT AND I FEEL LIKE I’M 25 AGAIN’

THE VERDICT Age and experience again looks like it could succumb to youth.

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JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 25

ACTION ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ O U T S TA N D I N G ★ ★ ★ ★ G O O D ★ ★ ★ FA I R ★ ★ D I S A P P O I N T I N G ★ RU B B I S H Re p o r t e r s ’ s t a r r a t i n g s fo r m a i n e v e n t s a n d u n d e rc a r d s a r e b a s e d o n i n - r i n g e n t e r t a i n m e n t , c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s a n d w h e t h e r o v e r a l l e x p e c t a t i o n w a s m e t

But it will take more than thrashing Dasmarinas for Inoue to get the attention he deserves, writes Sean Nam

L A S V EG A S , N V JUNE 19 ★★★★★ MAIN EVENT ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ U N D E RC A R D

APANESE athletes are having a moment. Shohei Ohtani may be the best switch-hitter in all of baseball; Naomi Osaka is the current face of women’s tennis and the world’s highest paid female athlete; Rui Hachimura figures to be a future NBA all-star; and Hideki Matsuyama just won a golf major and millions in subsequent endorsements deals; which brings use to Naoya Inoue, the relatively diminutive but nonetheless dangerous

J

boxing dynamo, who, despite the stiff competition from his Japanese peers, is probably the most entertaining athletic export the Land of the Rising Sun currently has to offer.

Elite quickness, technical knowhow, and, of course, unambiguous punching power make Inoue the complete prizefighter.

What he might be said to lack, however, is the broad mainstream recognition that his countrypersons, in one form or another, all enjoy. Of course, bolstering his marketing profile is one of the reasons why Inoue signed with Las Vegas-based promoter Top Rank last year. But superstardom, the kind that currently graces wunderkind Osaka, is a fickle animal with no set formulas. Which is another way of saying that perhaps all

Inoue, who speaks little English, can hope to do is to continue delivering one glitzy, highlight-reel knockout after another.

In his latest outing in the ring, the three-division titlist and reigning WBA/ IBF bantamweight titleholder did just that, scoring three bruising knockdowns – all via the body – en route to halting woebegone Filipino challenger Michael Dasmarinas inside three rounds at the The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

The official time of stoppage was 2-45.

Some day, way in the future, scientists are going to discover that Naoya Inoue had plutonium running in the veins of his fists.

Widely acknowledged as the greatest Japanese boxer since flyweight legend

Photos: MIKEY WILLIAMS/TOP RANK

MISMATCH: Inoue makes a mockery of the rankings that made Dasmarinas a number one contender

The complete prizefighter 26 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

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BRUISING: Mayer cracks Farias [below] while Dogboe comes through a tough scrap with Lopez [bottom]

Fighting Harada laid waste to the competition in the 1960s, the 28-year-old Inoue wasted no time in dispatching his overmatched foe.

He recorded his first knockdown with nearly a minute left in the second round: a right uppercut followed by a raking left hand that cut through the right ribcage of Dasmarinas, who responded by wincing in pain but would take a knee a few seconds later – a delayed reaction.

Dasmarinas would beat the count and survive the round, but not before eating no less than five scorching left hands to his already traumatised right flank.

The end arrived with 40 seconds left in the third round. Inoue caught Dasmarinas on the ropes and, once again, pelted him with a left hand to the body that went off like a stick of TNT. Instantly, the Filipino crumbled to the canvas, his mouth agape, as he flailed momentarily on his backside. Somehow, Dasmarinas managed to gather himself and beat the count administered by referee Russell Mora. But his resolve only delayed the inevitable. Inoue immediately jumped on his maimed prey and delivered another lightning quick dig to the selfsame spot on the torso. Dasmarinas went down again, only this time, Mora simply waved off the bout.

Post-fight, Inoue expressed his hope to face the winner of the upcoming (August 14) partial unification, all-Filipino title bout between John Riel Casimero (WBO) and Nonito Donaire (WBC), whom Inoue faced in a barnburner in 2019.

Mikaela Mayer treated her first defence of her WBO super-featherweight title no different from her 14 previous romps in the ring: she made it a convincing rout.

Working behind a dedicated jab, while mixing in stiff right hand leads and hard body shots, the Colorado Springs-based Mayer earned a unanimous decision over Argentina’s Erica Farias, a former two-division titleholder, on the Top Rank promotions undercard.

Judges Max De Luca (98-92), Eric Cheek (97-93), and Lisa Giampa (98-92) all scored the bout in the American’s favor.

Save for few moments, Farias had no answer for the taller, longer, and, well, simply better Mayer, who had the Argentine bleeding from the nose by the fifth round. By the end of the fight, Farias was sporting a shiner near her right eye.

Mike Ortega refereed.

London-born Ghanaian Isaac Dogboe squeezed past a determined Adam Lopez with a majority decision in a heated 10-round featherweight affair that could have gone either way.

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FULL R E S U LT S Naoya Inoue (118lbs), 21-0 (18), w rsf 3, Michael Dasmarinas (117 1/2lbs), 30-3-1 (20); Mikaela Mayer (129 3/4lbs), 15-0 (5), w pts 10 Erica Farias (128 1/4lbs), Isaac Dogboe (125 1/2lbs), 22-2 (15), w pts 10 Adam Lopez (126lbs), 15-3 (6); Lindolfo Delgado (141 1/2lbs), 12-0 (11), w pts 8 Salvador Briceno (141 1/2lbs), 17-7 (11); Eric Puente (126lbs), 6-0 (6), w pts 6 Jose Antonio Meza (136 1/2lbs), 7-6 (2); Omar Rosario (140 1/2lbs), 6-0 w ko 4 JJ Mariano (140lbs), 3-1 (2).

Judge Dave Moretti saw the bout a draw, turning in a 95-95 scorecard, but his peers Chris Migliore and Don Trella scored it 97-93 and 96-94, respectively, for Dogboe.

Considered to be something like damaged goods after this two brutal defeats at the hands of former junior featherweight titleholder Emmanuel Navarrete, Dogboe may have some wind in his sails with this latest feat, his second straight win. It seems that changing trainers, from his father, Paul, to veteran Barry Hunter, seems to have been the right move.

Still, despite the improvements he has made to his craft, Dogboe looked shaky at times, especially towards the end of the fight. In rounds eight and nine, the Glendale, California based Lopez walked down Dogboe and landed vigorous combinations.

After starting out strong in the early going, barnstorming the Glendale, California based Lopez with hard right hands, Dogboe ceded control midway through the bout. Indeed, Lopez, who made a name for himself by nearly upsetting current featherweight titleholder Oscar Valdez in 2019, was more than willing to exchange punches on the inside.

His right uppercut continually rocked Dogboe back on his heels. The confident Lopez even mouthed off at Dogboe in between their exchanges.

But Dogboe would not fold like he did in the Navarrete bouts. He found opportunities to land hard right hands and left hooks, in part because Lopez kept leaving himself open for easy counters.

The bout was officiated by Celestino Ruiz.

THE VERDICT Inoue far too good for the likes of Dasmarinas.

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 27

ACTION

Charlo is in command from the first bell to the last but Montiel plays his part in a gruelling scrap, writes Jack Hirsch

H O U S TO N , T X JUNE 19 ★★★★★ MAIN EVENT ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ U N D E RC A R D

THE city of Houston has not had it easy with their sports teams recently.

The Rockets and Texans are arguably the worst teams in the NBA and NFL respectively and their baseball team, the Astros, have been mired in scandal. But they do have the Charlo twins, Jermall and Jermell.

With COVID restrictions beginning to ease, arenas are starting to fill up again. Approximately 10,000 fans turned up at the Toyota Center (PBC) to see Jermall Charlo successfully defend his WBC middleweight belt by unanimous decision over Mexico’s Juan Montiel.

The scores of judges Steve Morrow (119-109), Nathan Palmer (118-109) and Chris Tellez (120-108) were wide, but not indicative of the comfort level that Charlo was forced to go to to obtain victory. What was expected to be nothing

more than a showcase for his hometown fans instead turned into a fight in which Charlo was pushed to the limit by his supremely conditioned and determined challenger.

We knew that Montiel could punch hard, but as they say all too often, there are levels to this sport and Charlo’s seemed well above his opponent’s. But Montiel’s heart and self-belief turned it into a battle of attrition few had predicted beforehand.

In terms of rounds Charlo clearly won one after the other, controlling his opponent behind a stiff jab. He was able to repeatedly hit Montiel, who boxes in a straight-up style. Montiel frequently alternated between fighting from the righty and lefty stances.

Montiel would take Charlo’s best blows and move forward, gesturing that he wanted more, but would be hurt on occasion, such as in the fifth round when he was forced to cover up on the ropes.

Montiel’s eyes were bruised, but Charlo also paid a price. For the first time in his career he was cut. Jermall complained a couple of times to referee

ONE-SIDED BATTLE Photo: LEO WILSON/PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS

FULL FORCE: Charlo spears Montiel

Jon Schorle when he was inadvertently hit behind the head.

At the end of the 10th round there was urgency in Montiel’s corner, telling him he could only win by knockout. And Montiel heeded the advice by going all out. A left hook to the body temporarily hurt Charlo as Montiel waged a furious charge, but the belt-holder dug down deep, as determined to retain the title as the challenger was to win it.

“The best fighters make the best adjustments,” Charlo would say later.

“I know with this experience later on down the line I’ll become a world champion,” opined Juan, whose brother, Fernando Montiel, held major belts in three of the lighter weight divisions.

Angelo Leo’s return to the ring for the first time since dropping his WBO super-bantamweight title to Stephen Fulton was a success, albeit barely. Leo, from Las Vegas, turned in a strong effort that resulted in him winning a majority decision over Mexico’s Aaron Alameda, who had the advantage of not making weight, coming in a pound-and-a-half over the contracted limit. In the end it did not matter as Leo took scores of 96-94 from judge Randy Russell (same as me) and a too-wide margin of 98-92 from Eva Zaragoza. Jesse Reyes had it 95-95. Gregorio Alvarez refereed.

There were no highlights to speak of, but it was a rough fight in which Leo’s battered face gave off the impression to the crowd (who booed the decision) that he was getting the worst of it. But that was not the case. Leo waged a strong body attack and his short hooks and uppercuts scored on the inside.

Isaac Cruz’s unanimous decision over fellow Mexico City lightweight and former WBC super-feather belt-holder Francisco Vargas ended uglier than it should have. With about 30 seconds remaining in the fight, a butt busted open Vargas’ right eye. After consultation with the ringside physician, referee James Green allowed the match to continue.

A badly wounded Vargas was sent to the canvas seconds later for the only knockdown. The bell soon rang, ending the contest.

Although Cruz’s use of the head was flagrant throughout, he nevertheless earned the victory by regularly scoring with lead left hooks. Judge Reyes had it 97-92, Russell 99-90 and Zaragoza 10089.

THE VERDICT Charlo overcomes a better-than-advertised Montiel.

K E Y R E S U LT S Jermall Charlo (160lbs), 32-0 (22), w pts 12 Juan Montiel (159 1/2lbs), 22-5-2 (22); Angelo Leo (122lbs), 21-1 (9), w pts 10 Aaron Alameda (123 1/2lbs), 25-2 (13); Isaac Cruz (133lbs), 22-1-1 (15), w pts 10 Francisco Vargas (134lbs), 27-3-2 (19).

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ACTION

A MEXICAN TERRIER IN SHEFFIELD Photo: ANDREW SAUNDERS/SPORTING CAPTURES

Andy Whittle sees the dogged Guarneros outpoint old foe Frank

DOUBLE DELIGHT: Guarneros [left] scores a repeat victory over Frank in their sequel

SHEFFIELD

FULL R E S U LT S Rosendo Hugo Guarneros (111 1/2lbs), 19-4-2 (9), w pts 12 Tommy Frank (111 3/4lbs), 13-2 (3); Reece Cartwright (178 3/4lbs), 23-1 (14), w rsf 4 Antony Woolery (182lbs 6oz), 2-6; Keanen Wainwright (137lbs 6oz), 6-1 (3), w rsf 2 Irvin Magno (134lbs 10oz), 5-5-1 (1); Michael Gomez Jnr (129lbs), 13-1 (3), w pts 8 Cristian Narvaez (129 1/2lbs), 16-28-6 (1); Perry Howe (194 1/4lbs), 3-0-1 (1), w rsf 3 Jevgenijs Andrejevs (188lbs), 10-113-3 (4); Adam Sircar (138lbs 2oz), 1-0, w pts 4 Jamie Quinn (138lbs), 7-110-2 1NC; Jake Andrews (165lbs), 1-0, w pts 4 Scott Williams (169 3/4lbs), 0-13; Linzi Buczynski (128lbs 10oz), 1-0, w pts 4 Gabriella Mezei (127lbs 2oz), 11-255 (3).

JUNE 18 ★★★★★ MAIN EVENT ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ U N D E RC A R D ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ AT M O S P H E R E

AN injured left shoulder put paid to the hopes of local flyweight Tommy Frank when he first fought Rosendo Hugo Guarneros on Dennis Hobson’s drivein boxing event in the main Sheffield Arena car park in December. At the end of their rematch in the overspill car park, it was the Mexican visitor who was left celebrating once again – the recipient of a split decision victory.

I thought Tommy, forced to work off the back foot for long periods by the more aggressive Guarneros, was just a touch off the pace. He was scoring, with some crisp, clean shots too, but I didn’t think he was landing enough in the closer middle rounds. I kept expecting him to kick on but it never really happened.

Meanwhile, the terrier-like Guarneros, admittedly not always the most accurate with his work, just kept chasing. He refused to surrender his early-won gains and made sure in the later rounds.

Howard Foster had Frank 115-113 ahead at the finish, but Phil Edwards and Darren Sarginson both scored in favour of Guarneros – 117-112 and 115-113 respectively. For what it’s worth, I had Guarneros winning 116-112. The referee was Steve Gray.

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Just one second remained in the fourth of a scheduled six-rounder between Reece Cartwright of Leeds and Wolverhampton’s Antony Woolery when referee Sarginson waved a halt to proceedings. A spell of sustained pressure from Cartwright prompted his action.

Already three rounds to the good, Reece quickened the pace going into the second half and Antony found himself increasingly under fire and having to work off the back foot. The late burst, hot on the heels of a more-than-decent left cross, signalled another gear change and there would likely have been more of the same had it been allowed to go on.

Another inside-the-distance winner was Sheffield’s Keanen Wainwright, who needed less than two rounds of a bout slated for eight to hand Buxton’s usually durable Irvin Magno the first stoppage loss of his career. There was certainly no cause for complaint at the decision of referee Sarginson, which came with 15 seconds of the round to go. Irvin was still unsteady despite having risen after being sent to the canvas.

Manchester’s Michael Gomez Jnr looked sharp against tough Nicaraguan Cristian Narvaez. The gritty Narvaez did what the Nicaraguan ‘opponents’ do best – he dug in, soaked up the pressure and replied just enough to keep it interesting. But in the main, it was a case of Michael pressing behind the jab and scoring with neat combinations and regular uppercuts. It came as no surprise that referee Andy Brook should turn in a card reading 80-72 to Gomez.

Popular local Perry Howe recorded his first inside-schedule win by halting hugely experienced yet limited Latvian Jevgenijs Andrejevs at 2-32 of the third and penultimate round. Andrejevs’ long black hair regularly formed a curtain across his face. Even the application of copious amounts of tape by his corner didn’t manage to solve the problem. At one point he had more tape in his hair than he did on his gloves. A good advert for the manufacturer, no doubt. Mr Brook officiated.

The show-opener was a female fourtwos between Bolton first-timer Linzi Buczynski and a regular visitor from Romania in the shape of Gabriella Mezei. Buczynski, growing in confidence as the contest progressed, ran out a 39-37 winner for Mr Brook. However, Mezei made sure that there was never too much daylight between the pair.

There were shutout 40-36 wins for two more new starters, the first of those being Buxton’s Adam Sircar. Busy throughout, Sircar came out on top at the conclusion of a watchable encounter with Stockport centurion Jamie Quinn. There was a victory too for Salford’s exceedingly popular Jake Andrews, who delighted his army of supporters by bossing proceedings against Trafford’s game Scott Williams. The respective referees were Mr Sarginson and Mr Brook.

THE VERDICT Some awful weather and a lacklustre showing from the England football team sets the scene for a home defeat in the main event.

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 29

ACTION

Munguia marches on, Rosado shocks Melikuziev, Chavez Jnr is embarrassed

by Silva and Sturm continues his comeback.

Eric Armit rounds up the international action

JUNE 16 S Y D N E Y, AU S T R A L I A

JUSTIS HUNI (5-0) retained the Australian heavyweight title with a last-round stoppage of the outclassed but brave PAUL GALLEN (11-1-1). The taller Huni slowly broke Gallen down with body punches before flooring him in the 10th to force the referee’s intervention. In other bouts, ISAAC HARDMAN (11-0) successfully defended the Australian middleweight title with a fourth-round stoppage of EMMANUEL CARLOS (122), Russia-born middleweight ANDREI MIKHAILOVICH (16-0) stopped ALEX HANAN (13-1) in two rounds and featherweight prospect SAM GOODMAN (9-0) stopped New Zealander NORT BEAUCHAMP (18-5) in six. At cruiser, a farcical mismatch saw JASON WHATLEY (9-0) beat VICTOR OGANOV (32-9) in four rounds.

JUNE 17 HURLINGHAM, ARGENTINA

MARCELO COCERES (30-2-1) scored two

knockdowns in the second round to finish the overmatched NELSON ROSALEZ (5-4).

Coceres lost on an 11th-round KO against Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO supermiddle title in 2019.

JUNE 19 E l PA S O , T E X A S :

JAIME MUNGUIA (37-0) pounded the gutsy KAMIL SZEREMETA (21-2) to defeat in six rounds of a middleweight clash. A low-key and even first round saw both fighters trying to establish their jabs. Munguia turned up the heat in the second by banging home left hooks to the body and putting together some flashy and hurtful combinations, before rocking Szeremeta with a left hook to the head. In the third, Munguia was boxing more than he has in the past, but it was the power in his long sweeping hooks and body punches that were doing the damage. Szeremeta tried to fire back but lacked the power to match Munguia and his head was being snapped back by uppercuts in the fourth and fifth. Munguia

handed Szeremeta a savage beating in the sixth, driving him around the ring and connecting with straight rights, left hooks and uppercuts. Szeremeta wisely retired at the end of the round. Munguia is No. 1 with the WBC and WBO, so could be fighting for one of those titles later this year.

Veteran GABRIEL ROSADO (2613-1) shocked unbeaten Uzbek BEKTEMIR MELIKUZIEV (7-1) in a supermiddleweight contest. Melikuziev had dominated the first two rounds but he was overconfident and ran onto a thunderous right counter in the third that put him face down on the canvas, with the fight immediately being stopped. In three welterweight bouts, Mexican RAUL CURIEL (10-0) came from behind to stop Armenian FERDINAND KEROBYAN (14-2) in the ninth round, BLAIR COBBS (15-0-1) stopped the seasoned BRAD SOLOMON (29-4) in the fifth and ALEXIS ROCHA (161) floored Filipino JAMES BACON (26-4) twice, with the fight being stopped in the second.

Thrills and spills Photo: SYE WILLIAMS/GOLDEN BOY

ON TOP: Munguia slams the gutsy Szeremeta

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Photo: MANUEL VELASQUEZ/GETTY IMAGES

G UA DA L A J A R A , M E X I CO

JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JNR (52-6-1) slipped another few rungs down the ladder as he was beaten on a split decision by 46-year-old Brazilian former UFC star ANDERSON SILVA (2-1). It was an ominous sign when Chavez came in 2.4lbs over the 182lbs contract weight and had to pay Silva $100,000 from his purse. Chavez was competitive early on but then faded, and Silva was a clear winner on scores of 77-75 twice against 77-75 for Chavez. Silva had tried boxing a couple of times way back, losing a bout in 1998 and winning one in 2005. He says he intends to continue boxing. Chavez was 20lbs heavier than his last fight in November, which says all you need to know about his conditioning.

In another bout on the card, middleweight RAMON ALVAREZ (29-8-3 1NC), the elder brother of Canelo Alvarez, went 2-1 in his series of bouts with OMAR CHAVEZ (38-7-1). He easily outboxed Chavez on the way to a unanimous decision on scores of 80-73 twice and 79-73. This show was staged as a celebration of the career of the legendary JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ SNR – the father

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of Julio Cesar Jnr and Omar – who boxed an exhibition with HECTOR CAMACHO JNR in what “JCC” says will be his last appearance in a ring. Canelo stepped in to work Chavez’s corner for the last round of the exhibition. It was a lovely gesture to one of the all-time greats in Chavez – a six-time world champion across three weight divisions, with a 107-6-2 record, including an unbeaten run of 90 fights at the start of his career.

H A M B U RG , G E R M A N Y

Now 42 and fighting at light-heavyweight, the decorated FELIX STURM (42-5-3 1NC) continued his comeback by notching a unanimous verdict on scores of 99-93, 97-94 and 96-94 over the unbeaten JAMES KRAFT (19-1-1). VINCENT FEIGENBUTZ (33-3) is being talked about as the next opponent for Sturm and he floored NUHU LAWAL (27-9) twice on the way to a ninth-round knockout victory. At heavyweight, German HUSSEIN MUHAMED (17-0) scored two knockdowns and took a unanimous decision on scores of 97-91, 96-92 and 95-93 over Derek Chisora victim SENAD GASHI (21-4).

AT L A N TA , G EO RG I A

Super-welterweight YURI FOREMAN (35-4-1 1NC) may have reached the end of the road after being beaten on a majority decision by JIMMY WILLIAMS (18-6-2). The scores were 77-73 twice for Williams and 75-75. At 40 there seems no point in Foreman continuing.

GOOD GRIEF: Chavez Jnr is outscored by the 46-year-old Sliva

K E M P TO N PA R K , S O U T H A F R I C A

Local super-bantamweight LUDUMO LAMATI (17-0-1) won a majority verdict over Mexican JOSE ESTRADA GARCIA (12-2-1). Lamati built an early lead and then survived a strong finish from Garcia to win on scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114. In a welterweight clash, THULANI MBENGE (18-1) punched too hard for unbeaten hope JABULANI MAKHENSE (11-1), stopping him in the third round.

At super welterweight, BRANDON THYSSE (14-2-1) floored Finn TOMI SILVENNOINEN (9-4) twice to score a stoppage in the 10th, while cruiserweight JOHNNY MULLER (23-9-2) won a split decision over AKANI PHUZI (11-2) on scores of 97-93 twice (Muller) and 96-94 (Phuzi).

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 31

NO WIN

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Behind the scenes with Tim Bradley as he rematches Manny Pacquiao in 2014

By THOMAS HAUSER

SITUATION www.boxingnewsonline.net

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 33

HORTLY after one o’clock on the afternoon of April 10, 2014, Manny Pacquiao concluded a series of satellite interviews that were conducted in Section 118 of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The interviews were designed to promote his April 12 rematch against Tim Bradley, and everything had gone according to plan. After the interviews ended, Pacquiao was leaving the makeshift set when a voice from across the arena shouted out loud and clear: “Manny, we love you. Manny, we love you. Manny! Manny!”

Pacquiao turned to acknowledge the fan, one of many who follow him wherever he goes. Then his face broke into a broad smile. The man shouting was Tim Bradley.

Manny waved. Tim waved back. In two days, they would try to beat each other senseless in a boxing ring. But for the moment, there was fondness between them.

Pacquiao’s saga is well known. In an era of phony championship belts and unremitting hype, he has been a great fighter and a true peoples’ champion.

Unlike Pacquiao, Bradley hasn’t had to make his way through a mob of adoring fans each time he steps onto the street. But the more time that people spend with Tim, they more they like him.

Bradley is a man you’d let babysit for your children. He’s devoted to his wife, Monica, and has a smile that lights up a room when he enters.

There are no allegations of domestic violence, no conspicuous spending. The thought of Tim blowing twenty thousand dollars in a strip club is ludicrous.

When he takes his children to school in the morning, it’s not a designed photo op for television cameras.

“I try to be the best person I can be,” Tim has said. “I love friends and family. I stay out of trouble.

I always try to do the right thing. I don’t like a lot of drama in my personal life. I’m outgoing, stubborn, ambitious. I work hard and do whatever it takes to get what I want. I don’t want anything given to me.

I want to earn it. Whatever life brings me, I deal with it.”

Bradley came as close to getting 100 per cent out of his potential as any fighter in boxing. His success in the ring was based in large part on physical strength and a will of iron. Roy Jones called him “a 147-pound Evander Holyfield without the punch.”

“I’m not the most talented fighter in the division,” Tim acknowledged. “There are guys with better skills and better physical gifts than I have.

Where I separate myself from other fighters is my determination. I wear the other guy down. That’s what it is; hard work and determination. I work my butt off. I come ready every time.”

Bradley turned pro in 2004 and, over time, crafted a 28-0 ring record en route to annexing the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organisation super-lightweight crowns. That led to June 9, 2012, when he traveled to Las Vegas to challenge Manny Pacquiao who, at the time, held the WBO welterweight title.

“First round of the Pacquiao fight,“ Tim later recalled, “I was like, ‘Wow; this is it?’ This is the best fighter in the world? I can deal with him.’ Second round, I stepped on the referee’s foot and felt something pop. I’m like, ‘Damn!

I think I broke my foot. I can’t believe this is happening.’ I’d spent years trying to get to that place. It was the biggest fight of my life.

So I told myself, ‘Forget about the pain. Do what you gotta do.’ So I bit down hard on my

S

mouthpiece and kept fighting. I fought every minute of every round. Then, trying to protect my left foot, I sprained my right ankle. So now I had pain wherever I put my weight. And I had a lion in front of me. All I could do was take it round by round. And it wasn’t enough to survive each round. I had to win them. It was a close fight. I thought I’d done enough to win, and the judges agreed with me. I was on top of the world. And then the roof caved in.”

An overwhelming majority of on-site media had scored the fight for Pacquiao. Jerry Roth agreed that Pacquiao had won, although his 115-113 scorecard was closer than some observers thought appropriate. Duane Ford and CJ Ross ignited a firestorm of protest, scoring the bout 115-113 in favour of Bradley. Brian Kenny (who handled the blow-by-blow commentary for promoter Top Rank’s international feed) also scored the bout for Bradley.

But his voice was drowned out in the tumult that followed.

TRYING TO PROTECT MY LEFT FOOT, I SPRAINED MY RIGHT ANKLE. I HAD PAIN WHEREVER I PUT MY WEIGHT...

AND I HAD A LION IN FRONT OF ME”

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Suffering from severely strained ligaments, Bradley was rolled into the media center in a wheelchair for the post-fight press conference.

There, Bob Arum (who promoted both fighters but whose financial fortunes were linked to Pacquiao) declared, “I have never been as ashamed to be associated with the sport of boxing as I am tonight. To hear scores like we heard tonight; it’s unfathomable. This is an absurdity.”

Much of the debate in the days that followed focused on round seven, which HBO labeled “the smoking gun.” The CompuBox “punch-stats” had Pacquiao outlanding Bradley in round seven by a 27-to-11 margin. Yet all three judges scored the round for Bradley.

A smoking gun?

This writer went to HBO headquarters a week after the fight and watched a video of round seven in its entirety from multiple camera angles . . . Several times . . . In slow motion . . . In reality, Bradley outlanded Pacquiao 16-to-12 in round seven. It was a close fight, and Bradley deserved better treatment than he got from fans and the boxing establishment afterward.

“It should have been the happiest time of my life,” Bradley said of the weeks that followed. “And I wound up in the darkest place I’ve ever been in.

You prepare your entire life to get to a certain point.

You get there. And then it all gets taken away. I was attacked in the media. People were stopping me on the street, saying things like, ‘You didn’t win that

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POINT TO PROVE: Pacquiao and Bradley flex their muscles at the weigh-in in Las Vegas

fight; you should give the belt back; you should be ashamed of yourself; you’re not a real champion.’ I got death threats. I got hate mail like you wouldn’t believe. I turned off my phone. The ridicule got so bad that there were times when I didn’t know if I wanted to fight anymore. All I did was do my job the best way I could, and It was like I stole something from the world.”

“I watched the tape of the fight again and again,” Bradley continued. “I can be obsessive. I watched the tape maybe fifty times. I think I won. Part of the problem, I believe, was that the HBO announcers had Pacquiao on a pedestal. It was like they were calling The Manny Pacquiao Show. Don’t get me wrong. I like HBO. But their call was way off that night. A lot of the punches the announcers said were landing didn’t land. And everything they said was going into viewers’ minds. I was shattered. It was a dark time for me. I was walking around angry, bitter. Finally, my wife asked me, ‘Aren’t you tired of this?’ I said, ‘You’re right. Enough is enough. This isn’t me. I’m not going to let these people change who I am. The fight is over. It’s in the past.’”

In Pacquiao’s next fight, he suffered a one-punch knockout loss at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez.

Eleven months later, he rebounded to decision Brandon Rios. Meanwhile, Bradley edged Ruslan Provodnikov in a thriller and outboxed Marquez en route to another split-decision triumph. That brought Tim’s record to 31-0 and set the stage for his rematch with Pacquiao.

Bradley was the reigning champion, but Pacquiao was the engine driving the economics of PacquiaoBradley II. Each fighter felt that there was unfinished business between them.

Pacquiao was a 9/5 betting favorite, down from 4/1 in their first encounter.

Bradley was confident. “The first time we fought,” he said, “I didn’t know how much intensity Manny brought to the ring. He throws so many feints and closes the distance so fast and punches from all angles. He always keeps you guessing when he’s going to come in and out. Now I know what to expect. I was able to make adjustments in the first fight, and Manny had problems with me when I was moving. With two good feet, I’ll be able to move quicker this time and set down harder on my punches. With two good feet, I can adjust my footwork to deal with whatever Pacquiao brings to the table. Pain-free is another dimension, and I’ll be pain-free this time. I’m a more mature fighter now than I was two years ago. I’m better at getting in and out on guys and controlling the distance between us, which I showed in the Marquez fight. I’m a better fighter now than I was the first time Pacquiao and I fought. And Manny can’t say that.”

Indeed, the main concern in Bradley’s camp was that the judges might overcompensate for the perceived injustice of the scoring in PacquiaoBradley I and, fearing ridicule, have a default setting on close rounds that favored Pacquiao.

On fight night, Tim Bradley arrived in dressing room #1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 6:00PM. His father (known as “Big Ray”), Joel Diaz (who had trained Bradley from his first pro fight), assistant trainer Samuel Jackson, conditioning coach James Rougely, and attorney Gaby Penagaricano were with him. Big Ray had helped train his son from the early days of Tim’s career.

Bradley sat on a cushioned metal chair and rested his feet on another chair in front of him.

HBO production coordinator Tami Cotel entered the room and asked if Tim would weigh-in on HBO’s fight-night scale. Bradley complied. One day earlier,

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 35

he’d tipped the official scale at 145-1/2 pounds. Now he weighed 152. Minutes earlier, Pacquiao (who’d weighed in officially at 145) had registered 151 pounds.

After his weight was checked, Tim sat back on the chair and closed his eyes, envisioning the battle ahead. His family’s financial future, his physical wellbeing, and his legacy as a fighter were all at risk.

He was as well-prepared as he could be. But in all likelihood, so was Pacquiao.

At 6:25, Freddie Roach (Pacquiao’s trainer) came into the room to watch Bradley’s hands being wrapped. Tim took off his wedding ring and handed it to his father for safekeeping. Joel Diaz began taping. Roach’s own hands were shaking visibly,

a symptom of his Parkinson’s condition. Big Ray offered him a chair. Roach gestured “no, thank you.”

No one spoke. At 6:40, the taping was done. Tim took off his jacket and shadow-boxed for 10 minutes, stopping twice to sip water from a bottle that his father was holding. Then he sat down again.

Bradley gets his game face on earlier than most fighters. “On the day of a fight,” he has said, “it’s like there’s this huge rock on my back and I want to get it off.” The next few hours would be about fighting, not charm school. The look on his face said, “Don’t f**k with me.”

Joel Diaz went next door to watch Roach wrap Pacquiao’s hands.

REVENGE: Pacquiao and his team celebrate after getting the decision this time Photos: GETTY IMAGES

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Tim stayed on his chair – sometimes with his eyes closed, sometimes open; sometimes with his head up, sometimes down – playing different fight sequences through in his mind.

If I do this, Pacquiao will do that. If Pacquiao does that, what do I do next?

The mood in the dressing room was intense. There were no attempts at levity, no smiles, no upbeat conversation. Few words were spoken.

At 7:10, Big Ray spread two towels side-by-side on the floor. Tim lay down and began a series of stretching exercises; first on his own, then with his father’s assistance. The exercises grew progressively more rigorous. At 7:40, Big Ray picked up the towels and Tim shadow-boxed again.

Referee Kenny Bayless entered and gave the fighter his pre-fight instructions.

Bayless left and Tim resumed shadow-boxing. Big Ray stepped in front of his son with a folded-up towel in each hand, assumed a southpaw stance to emulate Pacquiao, and aimed punches at his son.

“Don’t let him get lower than you,” Big Ray cautioned.

At eight o’clock, Tim sat again and stared silently ahead.

Big Ray, Diaz, and Samuel Jackson took on the role of a Greek chorus, voicing thoughts one at a time.

“Fast, like lightning.”

“Stay loose.”

“Control the pace. Make him do things he doesn’t want to do, and he’ll get tired.”

“Don’t be a gentleman. Rip his ass up on the inside.”

The voices were complementing, not competing with, each other.

“It ain’t about strength. It’s about knowledge.”

“That right hand will get him every time.”

“Fight like a cat.”

“Fight smart.”

Big Ray slammed the palm of his hand down hard on the table beside him.

“Do not be on the ropes,” he warned. “Do not be on the ropes. You’re in deep s**t if you’re on the ropes.”

Diaz gloved Tim up.

There was more shadow-boxing.

Again, the Greek chorus.

“That’s the way. Snap those punches.”

“On the inside, keep both hands up by your head.”

“Watch for his right hook on the inside.”

“It’s your night, baby. It’s your night.”

Tim sat.

“I’m excited,” he said. Then he fell silent, his face registering a range of emotions.

The Greek chorus continued.

“Right hand to the body. Hook to the body. Tear that body up.”

“If he gets under you, come up with the uppercut.”

“The conditioning is there. He won’t be able to deal with the pace.”

“Control him. Don’t let him control you.”

“Patience is a virtue. Take your time. If it goes twelve, amen.”

“We’re happy, man; we’re happy. Have fun” “Fight smart.”

“You’re the real deal, babe.”

Bradley rose and began hitting the pads with Joel Diaz.

“Right over the top,” Diaz instructed.

“Beautiful. You got 12 rounds, 12 f**kin’ rounds to time that punch. You’re the champion. You’re the boss. You’re the big dog. You’re the man.”

The padwork ended. Pacquiao could be seen on a television monitor at the far end of the room, leaving his dressing room and walking to the ring.

“It’s fun time, baby,” Bradley said.

Then the members of Team Bradley joined hands in a circle and Tim led them in prayer. He asked for the strength to prevail in the battle ahead. He asked that both he and Pacquiao emerge in good health.

And he closed with a final thought for the Creator: “Love you, man.”

The fight itself was heartbreak for Bradley. After a tactical first round, the combatants exchanged in the second stanza with Pacquiao getting the better of the action. In round three, Manny scored big early and maintained his edge with speed and angles.

Then Bradley found a home for his right hand, buzzed Pacquiao with a hard right up top, and took rounds four and five.

At that point, Bradley seemed to be where he wanted to be in the fight. Two of the judges (Michael Pernick and Craig Metcalfe) had him leading three rounds to two, while Glenn Trowbridge’s card was the reverse. Tim’s strategy from day one had been premised on the idea that the second half of the fight would belong to him.

But the unthinkable was happening. After round three, Bradley had returned to his corner and told Joel Diaz, “I pulled a muscle in my calf.”

Now Tim’s gastrocnemius muscle was tearing apart.

“You’re losing your rhythm,” Diaz told his charge after round six. “What the f**k is wrong?”

“I’m hurting,” Tim answered.

The rest of the fight belonged to Pacquiao. Except for a right hand to the body that hurt Manny visibly in round seven, Bradley couldn’t do much more than survive. The grinding aggression typical of his style was missing. He was an impaired fighter. And round by round, the injury was getting worse. Tim backed into corners, beckoned Manny in, and swung for the fences with wild right hands up top. It was an inexplicable strategy unless one knew that he was fighting on one leg.

The final scoring of the judges was anti-climactic: 118-110, 116-112, 116-112 for Pacquiao.

Monica Bradley was waiting for her husband when Tim returned to the dressing room after the fight. Their 14-year-old son, Robert, and Tim’s mother were with her.

A large lump was visible on the back of Bradley’s right calf. He was limping badly.

“What’s up, baby?” Tim asked as he hugged Monica.

Then father and son embraced. “Some you lose; some you win,” Tim said. “A champion has to accept defeat when it comes. I tried my best.”

A kiss for Kathy Bradley was next. “I love you,” Tim told his mother.

Joel Diaz took out his cellphone and began snapping photos of the lump on Bradley’s calf.

A commission doctor came in to examine the injury.

“I don’t want to go to the emergency room,” Tim told the doctor.

“And no wheelchair. I’m walking out on my own tonight.” bn

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@ gmail.com. His most recent book – Staredown: Another Year Inside Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism.

In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor - induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE HAPPIEST TIME OF MY LIFE AND I WOUND UP IN THE DARKEST PLACE I’VE EVER BEEN IN. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I DIDN’T WANT TO FIGHT”

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JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 37

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

THE STYLIST Richie Woodhall looks back on his career and the excruciating realisation that it was over INTERVIEW: ELLIOT WORSELL

WINNING the world title was, without doubt, the best night of my career. I’d just been beaten by Keith Holmes, had an operation on my arm that threatened to end my career, came back against Bernice Barber, and had to change my style because I could no longer throw the straight right hand like I used to. The elbow operation put a stop to that, so now I had to kind of throw it more in a hook motion.

It was frustrating because the old onetwo was my best weapon and now I was unable to throw the straight right; a go-to punch for me. If I threw the right as a bent-arm punch – a hook – I felt no pain, but as soon as it went straight, I’d feel a shooting pain go through my elbow.

To throw this new right hand I had to adjust my style in order to get inside and up close. Normally I’d throw the straight right from long distance and use my height and reach to make sure it landed.

But now I had to operate that bit closer to my opponent to cater for this hook.

My dad was probably one of the biggest keys to my success. He said, “This (Thulani) Malinga is tailor-made for you, son,” and I said, “Well, I’m going to have to go to him, Dad.” I then watched my dad shake his head. He goes, “Oh, no you’re not. Don’t have that in your head. Trust me, he won’t have any respect for you. You’re coming up from middleweight and you’re unproven at this new weight. You watch. Malinga will come at you.” I couldn’t believe it. I went, “Are you joking? He’s not going to come after me, Dad! He doesn’t fight like that.”

My dad stuck to his guns, though. He said, “I’m telling you now, Malinga will take the fight to you because he doesn’t have any respect for you.”

It was like he had a crystal ball really.

Malinga did come forward and he did

walk on to my jab and right hook all night.

Other than that, it’s the crowd I remember more than anything. They were so loud; I’d heard nothing like it before. I think we fought on a Friday night because I was watching an episode of Coronation Street just before the fight – I used to love Corrie – and my mate rung me and said, “Are you here yet?” I said, “Nah, I’m lying on my settee watching Corrie.” He goes, “Well, the queue to the Ice Rink is so long it’s gone right down to the car park. They’re nearly in the tennis and racket centre.” I wasn’t fussed at all.

I said, “Okay, well I’ll be there once Corrie finishes.” He laughed his head off and then put the phone down. It was a very surreal moment just before my world title fight, but that’s what I was like that night. I took everything in my stride and was confident. When I eventually got there, the noise from the arena could be heard outside. It was mad.

After the fight I couldn’t pee for hours so the drug-test guy came back to our house and didn’t leave until about two o’clock in the morning. Everybody is still around and buzzing at this point, and I remember taking my two dogs for a walk, on my own, until about half past three.

We went through these woods and, at times, I had no idea where we were going. They talk about the calm before the storm, but this was the calm after the storm. It was a really strange experience; I just went over the fight in my head and tried to let it all sink in a little.

Most fighters will tell you that after a 12-rounder you don’t really sleep all that well. It’s not easy getting to bed despite the fact you’re tired. So much has happened and the adrenaline is still wearing off. But walking through those woods was magical to me. It was all I wanted to do. I didn’t want to drink; I didn’t want to party. The silence was beautiful. I just let the dogs take me wherever they wanted to go that night.

I had all the time in the world. It was pitch black, silent, and it was bloody great.

Looking back, though, winning the world title ended up being an anticlimax. I remember coming home, sitting down with my missus – she never went to the boxing – and she goes, “Do you want a cup of tea?” I replied, “Yes, please.”

I used to love a nice cup of tea after a fight. No other drink, just a nice cup of tea. Anyway, after she brought me the tea, and we sat back down and watched a bit of telly, I said to her, “What am I going to win now?”

After you become a WBC champion, everything pales in comparison. That was the title my boxing heroes Muhammad Ali and Marvin Hagler had won and, I tell you what, a part of me flipping died that night. It was the beginning of my title reign but it was also the beginning of the end as far as my career was concerned. I was never the same after that night. The drive and intensity disappeared from me there and then and it never, ever came back. Now I knew what they meant when they said it was hard getting to the top and even harder staying there.

That’s why I really admire guys like Joe Calzaghe and Carl Froch because they were able to go to the well time and time again and carry that same drive and intensity into each and every fight.

After the Malinga fight, I wasn’t able to do that. I was mentally strong when I was boxing and when I was training – I could out-train anybody, I didn’t care who they were – but once my lifetime ambition of becoming a world champion had been completed, I wasn’t the same man anymore.

It was never about money for me. If Frank Warren had come to me and said, “Look, Richie, I’ve got you a title shot against ‘Sugar Boy’ Malinga but the only problem is I can’t pay you a penny,” I’d have given him a big hug and replied, “Frank, that’s fantastic. Thank you.”

‘MY AMBITION OF BECOMING WORLD CHAMP HAD BEEN COMPLETED... I WAS NEVER THE SAME MAN AGAIN’ 38 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

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JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 39

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

I would have taken the fight just because it was for the championship of the world.

My missus, though, put me right. Once I asked her what I was going to go for after winning the title and she said, “Well, you’ve got to do it for the kids now.” That was the reality check for me.

But you’ve got to remember, I’d been boxing since the age of seven, had my first fight at 11, had 110 amateur fights, went to the Olympics, did plenty of squad training, and all the rest. I hadn’t stopped.

Now I was at the stage in my life and my career where I was 31 or 32 and it wasn’t easy anymore. I had fallen in and out of love with boxing and it was becoming more of a chore to get up in the morning, go running, and then go the gym. I started thinking more about what I was going to do at the end of my career. Negative thoughts entered my head. And you know then that the clock is ticking. You know then that you’re on borrowed time as a world champion. So I was very much prepared to lose my title.

A year after losing my title against Markus Beyer in Germany, Frank Warren, out of the blue, comes up with the idea of me fighting Joe Calzaghe, who was and still is a big mate of mine. I went,

“Yeah, let’s do it,” knowing full well it was a massive task, both physically and mentally. It does annoy me, however, when people ask, “Did you really think you were going to win against Calzaghe?”

I usually look them straight in the eye and say, “Oh, yes, I totally believed it.”

Back then I had every reason to believe I could beat Joe. It was only his seventh defence against me and I wasn’t a bad fighter myself. I’d been a world champion; I’d done things as an amateur. I had every right to be confident.

For large parts of the fight, too, I was making it competitive. In fact, we had a chat after the fight and Joe said, “Oh, I was so frustrated. I just couldn’t get to you.”

I was a bit disappointed after the fight and it did feel like an opportunity missed. I thought, “Someone will get that right one day and beat Calzaghe.” I exposed little chinks in the armour that could have been opened up properly by a better fighter than me; maybe someone who punched a bit harder. Then again, without blowing my trumpet, there aren’t many of those fighters about. It’s tough to find someone who had the skills I had, and the dimensions I had, who could also punch really, really hard. Joe certainly

‘I KNEW THAT I’D NEVER FEEL AS GOOD AS NEW OR AMBITIOUS AGAIN’

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AT THE START: Woodhall’s excellent amateur career lays the foundation for professional glory

didn’t come up against anyone like that during the rest of his career.

What I admire most about Joe is that he worked out and handled every style that was put up against him. No matter what anyone says or thinks about Calzaghe, he figured out every style he faced. You have to be a hell of a fighter to do that.

I remember, once the Calzaghe fight was over, my dad in the changing room looked into my eyes, put both his hands on my hands, which were rested on my legs, and said, “It’s over. You’re finished.”

I just nodded my head and said, “Yeah, Dad, you’re right. You’re right.”

My dad later explained that he didn’t see the fight in me that night against Calzaghe. He detected there was something missing and I understood what he meant. I really did. Once again, he was spot on. Mentally, more than physically, I’d come to the end.

I didn’t argue and didn’t even think to myself, Well, let’s take a few days to let it settle and think it through. Once my dad said what he said, I was done. My brother was within earshot at the time and I remember him boll**king my dad a little bit. He said, “Hey, don’t say that. Let the dust settle and see what he thinks.” In a way, he was right, it was very immediate, but the writing was on the wall regardless.

Fairly soon after the Calzaghe fight, I had a meeting with Frank Warren and he

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said to me, “I’ve got you a WBU title shot against Toks Owoh,” which didn’t impress me much. I didn’t like the idea of fighting for the WBU title. I’d have rather he said, “I’ve got you a British title shot.”

Still, I told him I’d go ahead with it and started preparing to fight Toks Owoh.

Quickly, though, I didn’t feel right. I’d always had niggling back pain – for the five or six fights before Calzaghe even – but it usually meant I just had to do a few more stretches after sessions. I battled through; it was never a big deal. I remember the pain became greater while training for the Calzaghe fight, though.

I could still handle it – I just got on with the training – but I was more aware of it.

It was more noticeable.

After agreeing to fight Owoh, I felt the pain in my back during only my second run in my training programme. I was about four miles away from home, halfway through an eight-mile run, and the pain in my back got so bad it was the first time in my life I had ever stopped on a run. I was pi**ed off because I was four miles from home and was thinking, Why couldn’t it have gone half a mile from home?

I had to walk the entire four miles back home and it was the longest f**king walk

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NEARING THE END: The loss to Calzaghe is Woodhall’s last fight

of my life. Even when I walked, I was getting pain in my back. It just wouldn’t go. I rang my brother up and said, “My back is really bad.” He butted in and said, “Well you’ve had it before. Just...” and I said, “No, it’s really bad.”

My brother then came to my house, took me straight down the hospital, and I had an x-ray immediately. The specialist said I had two cracks in my lower spine.

He said, “What the hell have you been doing?” He had no idea that I boxed and I proclaimed my innocence. He then said, “Do you run a lot?” I said, “Yeah, five days a week.” He then asked me if I ran on roads, which I did, so I nodded. “This is due to running on hard surfaces,” he said.

“You’ve got two fractures in your lower spine and you need to stop running and take six months’ rest.”

Now, as a fighter, that doesn’t really leave you much else. You’ve got to run.

People said to me, “Why don’t you go on the bike or swim?” Nah, not for me.

You’ve got to run. For my style of boxing, I couldn’t do without running. No way.

I started to panic a little once I realised I was finished. You think, What the hell am I going to do now? I was only 32 or 33, so still young. I had no other trade.

I had a few quid, yeah, but I wasn’t that wise with my money. I should have bought some property instead of listening to the wrong people and making a few wrong decisions. Fighters tend to struggle making the right decisions financially. It’s not a strong point. And when you’re earning decent money, people come from everywhere and want to be your friend and help you. The advice I give young fighters now is this: when you start earning your millions, take a step back and look at who has come into your life and is earning a few quid off you, then ask yourself, “Do I need him around?”

Boxing had been my life for so long and I knew it was going to be tough to replace. I started to think, Shall I just take the six months off and come back? But then I realised this situation was only going to flare up again and would never really go away. I’d never feel as good as new again. I’d never feel young and ambitious again. I had to accept the fact I was a 32- or 33-year-old man and accept where my life was now heading. It wasn’t going back towards a boxing ring. You can’t box until you’re bloody 70-odd, so it must come to an end sometime. bn

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 41

AMATEURS

AMATEUR SCENE

The very best action, previews and news from Olympic-style boxing With JOHN DENNEN | @BoxingNewsJD

SEND us your club's news, results or upcoming events to john.dennen@boxingnewsonline.net or 020 7618 3478

PROBE LAUNCHED INTO RIO 2016 Photo: GETTY IMAGES

CONTENTIOUS: Joyce’s final against Yoka caused consternation

AIBA will launch a probe into possible corruption at the last Olympic Games. It will be led by Professor Richard McLaren of McLaren Global Sport Solutions, who is known for his investigation into allegations of state-sponsored doping by the Russian Federation.

The investigation into the boxing at Rio 2016 will take place in two phases, starting with the refereeing and judging at that tournament and then the activity of the individuals involved in the management and administration

AIBA open investigation into questionable activity at the last Olympics, headed by Richard McLaren, writes John Dennen of AIBA, to determine if there have been acts of corruption.

“Boxing has a long history of questionable activities. There have been multiple past investigations into the sport that have either not been completed or acted upon. It is time for boxing to turn the page, but it cannot do so without a full accounting of any alleged misconduct,” McLaren

said. “Our team will conduct an independent investigation into the questions surrounding corruption or manipulation of sporting results during the Rio Olympic Games, identify the persons responsible and recommend the appropriate course of action.”

In the International Olympic Committee report, that saw AIBA suspended from administering

RESTRICTIONS REMAIN The delay to easing lockdown restrictions further keeps amateur boxing where it is THE delay in easing lockdown restrictions means the current regulations around amateur boxing remain in place. There had been hopes that these would be eased

by June 21. You can find details of what is and is not permitted in the England Boxing Return to Boxing Framework, but, for the avoidance of doubt, all England Boxing members are reminded of the following key points:

42 l BOXING NEWS l JUNE 24, 2021

Children (defined by the government as under 18 before August 31 2020) remain at phase 2, which means they may do padwork and spar providing they follow guidance in the Return to Boxing Framework, but they cannot take part in competition.

Adults remain at phase 1, which means they may do padwork providing they follow guidance in the Return to Boxing Framework,

but they cannot spar or take part in competition.

Coaches must wear protective equipment for pad work, as described in the Return to Boxing Framework.

Inter-club sparring is not permitted, to ensure boxers remain within their own club bubble.

Permission to box abroad will not be granted until the government allows it.

Olympic boxing, officiating irregularities were identified as one of the reasons AIBA was suspended. It’s hoped that this investigation will be an important step forward.

“Boxing was created when rules were introduced to ensure fair fights. Any undermining of those rules is unacceptable. For some time, it has been clear that AIBA could do more in following up on allegations of unfairness.

Unfortunately, in order to move to a brighter future, we must now also shine a light on AIBA’s past,” said AIBA president Umar Kremlev. “The best way to do this is to bring in independent experts to uncover any wrongdoing so that we can learn any lessons that need to be learned and restore confidence. Professor McLaren has an unparalleled track record when it comes to sporting investigations and I encourage everyone in the world of boxing who may have evidence of interest to step forward and share it with McLaren and his team.”

The first stage of the report is expected to be released in August of this year.

Rio 2016 was particularly contentious. The draw in the tournament seemed questionable.

During the Games the five star, i.e. the leading referees and judges, were stood down and later all the judges from those Olympics were stood down. An unwelcome “axis of influence” was also reported to have been found at those Games.

Boxers who were on the receiving end of the most controversial decisions at Rio 2016 will hope to see those results overturned. Joe Joyce, for instance, for most observers was highly unlucky to see the decision go against him in Tony Yoka’s favour in the Olympic super-heavyweight final. He would like to see his silver medal upgraded to gold. “Keep researching it and also have a look at the punch output and the stats on the fight. Then you’ll get your answer who was the winner,” Joyce said. “I thought there might have been some shenanigans.”

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AMATEURS

THE RISING SUPER-HEAVY

LEARNING CURVE: Orie has been steadily improving

Delicious Orie hopes to be the GB’s next top super-heavyweight, writes John Dennen DELICIOUS ORIE is hoping to uphold Britain’s tradition of successful Olympic superheavyweights. He is currently training and sparring with Tokyo Olympian Frazer Clarke, helping prepare the veteran for the first Games of his career. But for the next cycle, Orie wants to step into his place. There is a World championships later this year and in 2022 the Commonwealth Games take place in Birmingham. Boxing at that event would have a special meaning for Orie. It’s close to home. He lives nearby and spent

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his formative years in the city.

“I lived in Birmingham for four years,” he explains. “I did a lot of my growing there, boxing-wise and developing into a man.

“Being able to represent not just the UK but Birmingham in Birmingham, I couldn’t even describe to you how much that would mean to me. It’s huge.

“Starting boxing in Birmingham, Birmingham is the place, the location that’s given me the facilities and the chance in order to become what I am today.

Giving back to this amazing city is something that I aspire to do and I’m working towards.”

Orie has risen steadily, winning the Haringey Box Cup, the England Boxing Elite championships then the Tri Nations to get onto the GB squad. But born in Moscow,

to a Nigerian father and Russian mother, he needed to resolve his immigration status before he could box for Britain. “I had to learn English from scratch at the age of seven or eight years old, so Russian is my first language. I only just got citizenship earlier this year. I wasn’t on GB formally until this year. I was training with GB, I was unfunded, I didn’t get funding or anything like that because obviously I wasn’t fully a citizen, so it’s not allowed. But I still stayed committed, I still trained.

I just finished uni last year so it gave me more time to train. I have an amazing family that supported me,” he tells Boxing News. “I was just being as determined as I possibly could. There were times when I wasn’t funded, I didn’t have any money at all but I was still training every day full time, three times a

day because I thought this is what I’m doing, this is going to be my career.

“Honestly I’m so lucky to be here. Amateur boxing was hit very, very hard during the pandemic.

Compared to other sports it’s been hit very hard. To be in a position where I was still able to train and spar under the roof of GB, I couldn’t be more thankful for them. I’m just looking forward to representing GB at major tournaments and major events and really associating my name with Team GB because they’ve really helped me out, especially over the last couple of years.”

The experience he’s getting now is invaluable, even if his first tournament for GB overseas ended in a defeat. “It didn’t go my way and losing is really heart-breaking especially in your first one, so it was very, very heart-breaking and it was difficult to accept at the start,” Orie said. “I haven’t really lost for two and a half years and having a loss now, this is my third loss now of about 34 fights. So having that is difficult, especially for GB. I worked so, so hard towards it… Starting to compete at this world level, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.

“It does go up and down and I feel like the downs are when you get tested. You mentally get tested.

Now I’ve accepted it. I’ve watched it back. I know what I need to do.

I needed a fight like that actually.

That specific kind of style that he had was great for me to know what I need to do to improve.

“If I have to lose, I’d rather lose now than when it gets really serious, the majors and stuff like that. I’d rather take the big lessons now than later.”

As well as competing himself, training and sparring with the current, highly decorated squad is developing him. “Being able to be surrounded by guys who are prepping for the Olympics and seeing what they do and having that eye in for what they’re doing nice and early, I feel is good for me in terms of experience,” he said. “I will make the most out of it, helping Frazer and watching him do what he’s doing. To take on board for when it’s my time.

“All I have to do is take advantage of it, take the opportunity.”

Expect him to do that. Delicious Orie is a name to look out for.

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 43

YESTERDAY’S HEROES

East and West divide Looking back on the NorthWest Counties Championships

Miles Templeton Boxing historian

EGULAR readers of this column will know that I have a soft spot for amateur boxing, particularly for the golden era of the sport in Britain, the 1950s through to the 1980s, when amateur boxing was at its most competitive and the standard was so high. They will also know that I regret the changes that have been made to the structure of the ABAs, with the old regional competitions largely losing their identity. The London Divisionals, which I wrote about back in June 2019, were very tough to win, and the same is true for the North-West Counties Championships.

At that time, the North-Western counties were split into two regions, the East and the West. This meant that the lads from Liverpool, within the Western area, came into direct competition with those from Manchester, in the Eastern area. It would be difficult to find two English cities that have a greater rivalry, and this was reflected in the boxing when the respective champions from the two cities often met in the North-Western finals. There were, of course, plenty of other boxers from different parts of Cheshire and Lancashire who won these finals, including Frankie Taylor (Lancaster), George and Ray Gilbody (St Helens), Kelvin Travis (Oldham) and Steve Hill

R

(Blackpool), but the lads from the two cities tended to dominate the event.

The championships were often held at Liverpool Stadium and at Belle Vue, Manchester, with Preston Guildhall and Kirkby Sports Centre also hosting them upon occasion, and the list of champions reads like a who’s who of British greats – John Conteh, Alan Rudkin, Joey Singleton, George Turpin, Terry Wenton, John Lynch and Robbie Davies from Merseyside, and Phil Martin, Ray Shiel, Alan Tottoh, Kenny Webber, Eddie Copeland and Lee Hartshorn from the Cotton City.

Let us travel back to one of these championships and sample the occasion.

On March 15, 1973, the championships were held at Liverpool Stadium in front of a huge crowd of nearly four thousand.

At heavyweight, Les McGowan of Speke, who was rated at No. 1 across Britain at the time, had to withdraw due to a back injury. This opened the door for Paul Sykes, a Wakefield lad who had recently enlisted with the Liverpool club, Golden Gloves ABC. Sykes had demolished former NW Counties champion, Terry Connor, in two rounds to win the Western title and he did a similar job on Manchester’s 19-year old Barry Peacock (Cavendish ABC) to win the title. He eventually lost out to Garfield McEwan in the ABA semi-final and McEwan went on to win the ABA title that year before becoming a decent pro.

Two other Liverpool fighters, Joe Lally and Robbie Davies, also won their titles at welterweight and light-middleweight respectively. Both were big punchers and Davies was in particularly devastating from when he dispatched another Mancunian from the Cavendish club, Carlton Lyons, by one-round knockout.

Carl Speare, who as a pro fought Larry Paul, Billy Knight and Maurice Hope, won his only NW Counties championship by outhustling Terry Dolan (BDS) over the full course, and George Gilbody, one of the greatest amateurs during this era, won at bantamweight by a walkover when Keith Howard (Ardwick) withdrew.

Another exceptional talent, southpaw John Lynch of Kensington, won at featherweight by beating Paul Dykes (Brookdale Park), and Tony Carroll and Steve Hill were standout winners at lightweight and light-heavyweight respectively. Among these names were many future professionals and they all came through a tough series of contests to become North-Western champion in a challenging era. Since 1957, the two teams from the Eastern and Western Areas had competed for the Jack M. Peel Memorial Trophy, awarded to the Area who had the most winners, and the Liverpool lads had never lost it. In 1973, they triumphed by nine bouts to one, but only one of their representatives, John Lynch, went on to win that year’s ABAs.

SEVENTY NOT OUT! Happy Birthday to Manchester EBA and some noteworthy boxers

Simon Euan-Smith simonoldtimers @googlemail.com EBA correspondent

CONGRATULATIONS to Manchester EBA, who celebrate their 70th birthday today ( June 24) – and how wonderful that (at the time of writing) they are due to meet on Sunday week ( July 4), for the first time in 15 months.

The meeting will be at their HQ, the Derby Brewery Arms, Cheetham Hill Road – 12 noon to 2pm. “It will be great to see you all once again,” Welfare Officer Eddie Cartwright says in the latest newsletter, but adds: “Just a word of caution – with the ups and downs of the COVID-19 virus, bring a mask just in case we are still in the present situation.”

Wise words – things do seem to be improving, but no one wants a “one step forward, three steps back” situation.

I hope the meeting goes well – a real birthday celebration.

There’s a brief but very informative

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history of the Association. Originally known as the Oldham, Ashton and Manchester EBA, its name was changed in 1953 to the Ex-Boxers’ Association of Great Britain. It was revived in 1968 as Manchester and District EBA – today it’s MEBA. “Long may it continue,” the paragraph ends. Indeed.

The newsletter mentions several birthdays for May and June. Former WBC light-heavyweight champion John Conteh also turned 70 on May 27 – and special congratulations go to long-time member Johnny Butterworth on reaching 89.

Johnny campaigned between 1951 and 1960, with 35 wins (26 inside-schedule) and four draws in 55 outings. He held the Central Area lightweight title, twice beat future British champion Joe Lucy and campaigned extensively in both the USA and Australia.

Other birthdays include former champion Brian London (87), Ken Buchanan (76), Bunny Johnson (74), Ensley Bingham (60) and Michael Brodie (47). I’m reminded of the song “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof – “I don’t remember growing older – when did they?” I saw all of them box ‘in the flesh’ apart from London, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at a Muhammad Ali Tribute Night in 2006. He was happy to talk about his career, and refreshingly free of excuses – “Yeah, there was some good nights and some bad ones.” Many happy returns, Brian – and all ex-boxers celebrating birthdays.

Lawrence Yearsley’s look at the past features one of the dirtiest fights ever – America’s Jack McAuliffe vs England’s Jem Carney for the world lightweight title in Massachusetts on November 16, 1887.

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CRUSHING CORONATION: Davies knocks out Lyons in the first round to become the 1973 North-West Counties light-middleweight champion

AUTHENTIC: London is respected for telling it as it is

As the bout went on, Carney definitely gained control, but the Americans weren’t going to let their man lose if they could help it. In the 60th round a McAuliffe supporter leant over the ropes and hit Carney on the head with a shillelagh; in the 67th someone outside the ring aimed a gun at Carney but was quickly disarmed; and in the 74th a ring invasion caused the bout to be abandoned and declared a draw. Not surprisingly, Carney never got another chance.

More good news – the Scottish EBA, too, will be holding their first meeting since lockdown on Sunday July 11, at Hutchesontown Bowling Club, 9 Oatlands Gate, Glasgow. The meeting will start at 12.30pm, and will be strictly ‘Members only’ – like every EBA, Scotland normally welcomes guests, but these times are not normal. To quote the newsletter:

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“All COVID procedures have been put into place. Sanitiser, masks and social distancing must be adhered to as per government advice.” The message is clear – follow the rules, and we should continue to make progress.

I keep stressing that EBAs need to show they care about today’s scene, not just the past, and there’s a great colour picture of “Proud Scot” Josh Taylor, displaying all his super-lightweight title belts. There’s also a round-up of the Scottish scene in 1958, which was a particularly good year for Edinburgh’s Bobby Neill – five straight wins. The following year he beat Charlie Hill in nine rounds to become British featherweight champion – today he’s based in London and a LEBA member.

EMAIL simonoldtimers@googlemail.com with your ex-boxer association news.

JUNE 24, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 45

SIXTY SECONDS

CALLUM THOMPSON John Dennen talks to the former GB boxer ahead of his pro debut

‘I’M A CHOCOHOLIC. IT’S NOT IDEAL FOR A PRO FIGHTER’ Other sportsperson you would like to be: Any professional footballer. To get the amount of wages they get to kick a ball about. I’m in the wrong sport here.

Last film/TV show you saw: Line of Duty. Because that new series came out I thought I’d start from the beginning again and get up to speed.

Have you ever been starstruck: Not that I can think of.

Last time you cried: Probably when I lost a fight maybe.

Because I love boxing so much, losing is a very hard thing.

Best advice received: That hard work pays off. Everyone does say it a lot but it’s true. If you work hard for something you reap the rewards.

Worst rumour about yourself: I have absolutely no idea. There probably would have been some.

Something not many people know about you: I’m a chocoholic. I love chocolate.

It’s not ideal for a professional fighter but I am.

FAST FACTS

When and why you started boxing: I started boxing when I was seven.

I went down to the gym with two of my friends and never left really.

It was Tower Hill ABC. I was always at Tower Hill, that was the only gym I’d ever been at.

Favourite all-time fighter: My favourite fighter is Vasiliy Lomachenko. He’s someone I studied from quite a young age.

Some of the stuff he’s done, twotime Olympic gold medallist, won a [WBO] title three fights into his career.

Best fight you’ve seen: I’d probably say Micky Ward-Arturo Gatti I, probably the best one I’ve watched on tape.

Personal career highlight: As an amateur it would be getting on the Olympic squad, that would have been the biggest thing.

Toughest opponent: My last amateur fight I boxed an Olympian [Mohamed Hamout], a Moroccan lad in Poland. He was definitely the toughest fight of my career. He was all-out come forward, non-stop.

Best and worst attributes as a boxer: Footwork is my best attribute. I’d say my worst is I like to get involved sometimes, maybe too much. Get involved in a fight too much rather than sticking to what I do best, my boxing.

Training tip: Hard work pays off.

Favourite meal/restaurant: I love an Indian, a curry. Not during camp unfortunately.

Best friends in boxing: Probably Will Cawley, but I’ve met a lot of people in boxing, a lot of friends.

Age: 22 Twitter: @callumTomo98 Height: 5ft 6ins Nationality: English From: Liverpool Stance: Southpaw Record: n/a Division: Super-featherweight Next fight: Thompson is turning professional with trainer Joe Gallagher and looking to make his pro debut soon.

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