REAL COMBAT MEDIA WEEKLY BOXING REPORT
By Jason Gonzalez,Real Combat Media Arizona Boxing Correspondent
Welcome back to another edition of the Real Combat Media Boxing Weekly Report “Boxing Blaze Edition” where we cover all the top news stories in boxing each week!
Saturday (March 4, 2017)
Keith “One Time” Thurman is now the WBC and WBA Welterweight Champion after beating Danny Garcia by unanimous decision on Saturday night. Thurman was the favorite going into the fight but in reality each fighter had a 50/50 chance of winning the fight due to how skilled they both are. In the first couple of round Thurman came in aggressively, throwing hay makers hoping to land something to put Garcia on his butt. There was a time or two where Garcia was stunned by Thurman’s punches and it made you question whether Garcia was actually going to go down for the first time in his career. As the fight progressed it became a match of wits and less a game of who was the tougher fighter. Thurman was the busier and smarter fighter. Garcia lacked punch out put through the fight. In the late rounds Thurman had won a majority of the rounds and played it safe. Thurman kept his distance from Garcia because he didn’t want the risk of a Garcia landing a lucky punch on him. Even though it was clear Thurman won the fight one judge gave it to Garcia. Thurman did not say who he wanted next but it is possible that he might fight the winner of Kell Brook vs Errol Spence Jr for a unification bout. Who do you want to see Thurman fight next?
On the undercard Erickson Lubin (18-0, 13 KOs) knocked out Jorge Cota (23-2, 20 KOs) in a WBC 154-pound title eliminator, making Lubin one step closer to become Jermell Charlo’s mandatory. During the fight Lubin was the smarter and more technical fighter. It looked like it was going to be a slow paced fight that would lead to a unanimous decision but Lubin knocked out Cota with a left hook in the third round. Does Lubin have what it takes to beat Charlo?
Today Paulie Malignaggi has officially retired from the sport of boxing. Last Saturday night Malignaggi suffered a knockout loss against Sam Eggington on the undercard of Haye vs Bellew. This loss seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for Malignaggi causing him to retire. Malignaggi announced his retirement on twitter and instagram on Monday.
The post said this “19 years ago today- March 6, 1998- entered the ring for the first time as an amateur. That makes this as good as a time as any for me to officially announce my retirement from competition. My life is in the place 19 years later that I never dreamed it could be in. And I have boxing to thank for that. I gave up absolutely everything I had to this sport for almost two decades, and I will never lose the many, many incredible memories that were created during that time. I’m looking forward to a long, fruitful career now behind the mic, staying around the sport I love so much and the sport that changed my life for the better. Thank you to the sport of boxing, and thank you to everyone who supported me along the way on this incredible journey. I am forever grateful. – Paulie”
Tuesday (March 7, 2017)
Last time the boxing world saw Tyson Fury it was November 2015 and Fury had just defeated Wladimir Klitschko. Ever since then it’s been all downhill for Fury due to depression and drug use. Fury was set to fight Klitschko in a rematch several times but Fury was never well enough physically or emotionally to fight. Fury took time off from boxing to fix his personal issues before stepping into the ring again. Fury announced this week that he will be returning to the ring on May 13, 2017. No opponent nor venue has been announced at this time. Who do you want to see Klitschko fight?
Wednesday (March 8, 2017)
Keith Thurman defeated Danny Garcia on prime time television on Saturday March 4th and 5.1 million people tuned into the fight during its peak. This is the most viewed primetime boxing event since 1988. The fight averaged a viewership of about 3.74 million which is 19 percent higher than the Thurman vs Porter fight of last year. Who ever said boxing is dead might have to check again because it is alive and well.
Thursday (March 9, 2017)
Boxing Hall of fame trainer and manager Lou Duva died on March 8, 2017 at the age of 94-years-old. Duva trained 19 world champions during his lifetime. Some of the fighters he trained include Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Michael Moorer, Vinny Pazienza, Mark Breland, Jose Luis Lopez, Andrew Golota, Tyrell Biggs, Alex Arthur, and Scott Frank. Some of the fighters include Joey Giardello, Rocky Lockridge, Johnny Bumphus, Zab Judah, Shaun George, and Michael Marrone. Duva made a big impact on the sport of boxing, may he rest in peace.
Tony Bellew remains the WBC Cruiserweight Champion after he defeated David Haye by TKO in the 11th round of the fight. Coming into the fight Haye was talking up a storm but it proved to be useless. As the fight progressed into the later round Haye started slowing down and Bellew was catching him with clean punches. In the eleventh round Bellew knocked Haye into the ropes. As Haye got up his corner threw in the towel. In the post fight interview Haye practically begged for a rematch. Do you think he deserves it?
Friday (March 10, 2017)
Gold Medalist Wins Second Pro Bout
Claressa Shields is best known for winning gold twice in the Olympics women’s boxing but this Friday she just fought her second pro bout. Shields beat Szilvia Szabados by technical knockout in the fourth round of the fight. Szilvia was taking some nasty, hard punches from Shields in every round of the fight. It was a matter of when the referee was going to stop the fight not if he was. If Shields keeps this up she might just become the Ronda Rousey.
Saturday (March 11, 2017)
[Lemieux vs Stevens]
David Lemieux defeated Curtis Stevens by knockout in the third round. From start of the first round Lemieux came in aggressive and started landing clean power punches on Stevens. It looked like Stevens was going to get knocked down in the first but he endured. One of the worries was that Lemieux was going to gas himself out and Stevens was going to start to dominate as the round progressed but the fight never got that far. In the third round Lemieux and Stevens traded left hooks but Stevens was the one who was knocked out cold. Stevens was down on the canvas for what seemed to be forever but he could be seen breathing indicating he was still alive. It looks like Lemieux is wanting to fight with the likes of Billy Joe Saunders, Canelo, and Gennady Golovkin. As for Stevens, it looks like back to the drawing board for him.
[Gamboa vs Alvarado]
Yuriorkis Gamboa defeated Rene Alvarado by unanimous decision on the undercard of Lemieux vs Stevens. Gamboa had come back from a fifteen month layoff coming into this fight. Gamboa is usually a hyper offensive fighter who usually takes risks throughout an entertaining fight but this time it was the opposite. For twelve rounds Gamboa out boxed Alvarado. When the fight ended there was no question that Gamboa had one the fight with ease. The fight took place at 133 lbs meaning he could possibly fight anyone from 130 lbs to 135 lbs. I would like to see Gamboa matched up with other Vasyl Lomachenko or Mikey Garcia in the near future. Who do you think Gamboa should fight next?
[Andrade vs Culcay]
Demetrius Andrade is now the WBA World Super Welterweight Champion after defeating Jack Culcay by split decision. This was probably one of the worst performances by Andrade I had ever seen. Andrade is usually a very technically smart fighter who knows how to tear up his opponent going toe to toe but this time Andrade was throwing wild and without technique. It looked like in the later rounds Andrade got tired and just started looking for a lucky punch to end it all. Given that he was fighting in Germany, his body might have not been use to the time difference which ended up affecting the performance. But otherwise any of the champions at 154 lbs could have beat Andrade with a performance like this one. The judges could have easily gave it to Culcay. Andrade is in line to fight against Erislandy Lara, do you think he can beat him?
Sunday (March 12, 2017)
While touring in the UK, Floyd Mayweather announced that he will be coming out of retirement to face Conor McGregor. The fight is not official but Mayweather is doing this in hopes of making this fight into fruition.
Here’s what Mayweather has to say “I want y’all to record this…put this on the internet ASAP…when I faced Arturo Gatti, I went to his turf, he was the A-side, I was the B-side…when I faced Oscar De La Hoya, he was the A-side, I was the B-side…for Conor McGregor, I’m coming out of retirement just to fight Conor McGregor…fight me in June…if you want to fight, sign the paperwork,”
By the looks of it Mayweather has a contract ready to go for McGregor all we need now is for the UFC to allow McGregor to fight Floyd. Do you think this fight will happen?
Monday (March 13, 2017)
MGM On Hold For Mayweather vs McGregor
This past week Floyd Mayweather said he has come out of retirement. Today there are several reports saying that the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is on hold for a possible matchup between Mayweather and Conor McGregor. Nothing is official yet and there is no reports on how negotiations are going between the two camps. Considering that the fight is being looked at for June 10th, an official announcement for the fight should follow soon. Do you think McGregor has a chance at beating Mayweather in a boxing ring?
Please stay tuned every week for news and updates. If you have any questions that you want answered in the weekly report please email me at [email protected] or follow me on Twitter @boxingblaze or on Facebook at Jason Gonzalez.
Tuesday (March 14th, 2017)
Championship Boxing returns to “The World’s Most Famous Arena” on Saturday, March 18th with a must-see match-up between the two best Middleweights in the world! Unified Middleweight Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN returns to “The Mecca of Boxing” to defend his titles (WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO) against WBA Middleweight Champion and Mandatory Challenger DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS.
Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs), originally from Kazakhstan but now living in Los Angeles, currently holds the highest knockout ratio (92%) in Middleweight Championship history which has quickly distinguished him one of the most exciting attractions in all of sports. “GGG” will be going for an incredible 24th consecutive knockout victory when he steps into The Garden’s famed ring on March 18th. The bout will mark Golovkin’s fifth appearance at MSG.
Brooklyn’s Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) is one of the biggest punches in the sport, winning his last 12 fights all by stoppage. “The Miracle Man” will look to prove that he is the best Middleweight in the world by handing “GGG” the first loss of his career.
Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World and World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Flyweight Champion ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ, (46-0-0, 38 KO’s), fighting out of Managua, Nicaragua, will defend his title against Mandatory Challenger SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI (41-4-1, 38 KO’s) of Si Sa Ket, Thailand. Chocolatito vs. Rungvisai will be the co-feature to the World Middleweight Championship
Former World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Flyweight Champion CARLOS “PRINCIPE” CUADRAS, (35-1-1, 27 KO’s) of Mexico City, Mexico returns to battle against cross-town rival and Former World Title Challenger DAVID “SEVERO” CARMONA, (20-3-5, 8 KO’s), also of Mexico City, Mexico. Cuadras vs. Carmona, scheduled for ten rounds, will also be featured on the televised undercard.
Top Lightweight Prospects, WBC Lightweight Continental Americas Champion, RYAN “BLUE CHIP” MARTIN, (17-0, 10 KO’s) of Cleveland, Ohio via Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Port Chester, New York’s BRYANT “PEE WEE” CRUZ, (17-1-0, 8 KO’s) will battle in a scheduled ten rounder.
To view the complete bout sheet, click here.
ABOUT REAL COMBAT MEDIA: Real Combat Media was founded in 2012. Since then realcombatmedia.com has become one of the most efficient premier international boxing and mixed martial arts online publications in the world. Our talented international team covers the latest combat news on a daily basis to provide the combat community with the best news in the industry for our readers. Our mission is to spread positive awareness of the combat sports to grow interest among the mainstream and to every region of the world.
REAL COMBAT MEDIA BOXING & MMA PUBLICITY SERVICES
REAL COMBAT MEDIA BOXING RANKINGS
English
No Comments Yet