Belated Ring IV Thoughts

The fourth event held under the Ring Magazine banner titled Ring IV, which was held at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 22nd was promoted as a night of champions. It is indeed true that the event featured four world championship fights that produced a variety that just about every type of Boxing fan is bound to have an opinion on. The most dominant performance of the evening in the view of this observer was the one put forth by WBC/WBO Jr. Bantamweight world champion Jesse Rodriguez, who defended his title against WBA number one contender and former IBF Jr. Bantamweight world champion Fernando Martinez.

After an opening round where Martinez seemed to narrowly get the better of the action and was able to land some hard punches particularly with his right hand, Rodriguez simply went to work. From the second round on, the champion put forth what can only be described as a “Masterclass" in displaying a full arsenal of Boxing skills. A display of lateral movement, defense, counter punching, and hand speed that Rodriguez frankly made his opponent, a world-class top contender and former world champion look outclassed to the point where what was going on in the ring looked more like a sparring session where a world champion was preparing for a fight rather than a defense ot a unified world championship. Although as high a compliment to Rodriguez skillset and standing in the sport as one of the top fighters currently active in Boxing, the one-sided combat may not have been appreciated for the dominant performance that it was. Perhaps a reason for that is it had the unenviable task of following a fight that will be discussed at the conclusion of this column that frankly stole the show and from an entertainment standpoint seemed to exhaust the crowd in attendance during the overnight hours in Saudi Arabia.

Nevertheless, Rodriguez’ performance was as good an illustration as any why so many, including yours truly regard him as the top fighter in the 115lb. Jr. Bantamweight division. Just as it appeared as though the champion was content to box his way to a wide unanimous decision victory, Rodriguez unleashed a brutal left hook to the jaw that sent Martinez down on his back for the ten count on the canvas in the tenth round. The fight was over. For the champion, his sixteenth knockout in twenty three professional fights also signaled the eighth successful title defense for Rodriguez. Simply put, it was as close to a flawless performance as one could draw up. If there is one criticism one might have it could be that Rodriguez waited a little longer than perhaps he should have to end the fight as it became apparent after six rounds that the contest had been decided and Fernando Martinez, though very “Game” was simply outclassed by a fighter that will likely be a Hall of Famer when all is said and done. 

Perhaps one of the most anticipated fights on the card took place in the 147lb. Welterweight division as undefeated WBO world champion Brian Norman Jr. defended his title against unbeaten former two-division world champion Devin Haney. An encounter that seemed rooted in legitimate bad blood between the fighters and their fathers, who were the respective trainers for their respective offspring. By now, most Boxing fans are familiar with the recent history of Devin Haney, a fighter who is one of the best currently in the entire sport, but one who recently suffered what was thought to be the first loss of his career, only to have his record restored due to his opponent Ryan Garcia testing positive for a banned substance. In his one outing since that controversy, prior to this fight earlier this year in Times Square in New York City, Haney did rebound and resumed his undefeated ways by scoring a twelve round unanimous decision over Juan Carlos Ramirez, but failed in terms of producing the type of crowd pleasing performance that fueled demand for a fight like this. Despite that fact, on this night Haney produced a career best performance.

After an uneventful opening round where neither fighter did much, to the surprise of many, Haney responded in the second round dropping the champion with a short, but crisp left hook, right hand combination to the jaw. Although Norman was able to get up from the knockdown, it was from that point in the fight that Haney seized full control of the combat, showcasing hand speed, lateral movement, and showing a willingness to stand in the pocket rather than solely relying on his legs to evade Norman. By doing this, Haney consistently beat Norman to the punch, seemed to stun him periodically, and simply got the better of most of the exchanges on the way to winning a convincing twelve round unanimous decision and with the victory, successfully becoming a world champion in a third weight division. A dominant performance that should also be viewed as a redemption of sorts for Haney after what he went through against Garcia, though he cannot and should not be blamed for the circumstances that followed that fight, which led to the restoration of his undefeated record. Whether Haney has a goal of eventually meeting Garcia again remains to be seen.

The official main event of Ring IV was a World Light-Heavyweight championship bout that saw undefeated two-division world champion David Benavidez defend his WBC crown against longtime top contender Anthony Yarde, who was making his third attempt at a world title. While frankly this had all the appearance of a fight designed to be a showcase for Benavidez, there were periods throughout this fight that were competitive. This was primarily due to Yarde attempting to limit the champion's ability to throw his punches in volume. David Benavidez has always had exceptionally quick hands for a fighter that stands 6’2 and has competed as a 168lb. Super-Middleweight and now as a 175lb. Light-Heavyweight and it is one aspect of his offense that truly makes him dangerous and a fighter fitting of his nickname “The Monster” because often, opponents are not used to facing and thus are unprepared for a fighter with such attributes in addition to the constant pressure Benavidez applies.

This was really no different in terms of the champion's approach, but what was a wrinkle to that attack at least for a period of time was Yarde attempted to punch with Benavidez rather than being strictly on defense and for a time did have some success in at least limiting Benavidez from being unable to unleash rapid fire bursts of combinations. Yarde was also able to periodically counter the champion. As has often happened in his fights, however, Benavidez was able to gradually increase his pace as the bout progressed and the challenger, though very “Game” found himself in a similar predicament as many previous Benavidez opponents, gradually succumbing to the pressure as the volume of punches increased and ultimately being dropped and stopped in the seventh round. 

What was a bit of a surprise came after the fight when Benavidez revealed his intention to move up in weight to challenge current WBO Cruiserweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez, possibly during Cinco De Mayo weekend in 2026. Obviously, if that fight does indeed happen, it would be one of the biggest bouts that could be made as the two have sizable fan followings and are similar in style. It also will shine a light on the Cruiserweight division that has seemingly always struggled for consistent exposure and marquee attractions that generate significant interest.

While David Benavidez had the honor of headlining this card as the official main event,  it would be a battle for the vacant WBO World Lightweight championship that would steal the show and frankly albeit unexpectedly became a Fight of the Year candidate. This observer is referring to the battle between undefeated top contenders Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes.

Despite this being the third fight on the card where two unbeaten fighters were pitted against each other, it was expected by many that this would serve as a coronation of sorts for Mason in making a transition from highly touted prospect, turned contender, to a world champion. This perception was rooted in the fact that Mason is promoted by the Hall of Famer Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc., who until this past July had a long-term broadcast deal with United States sports cable, now streaming network ESPN, and thus from the very start of Mason's professional career, he was one of the fighters in Top Rank's stable that was able to benefit from such exposure. 

While not necessarily being given a similar platform at least until his promoter the Hall of Famer Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions signed a global broadcast deal with digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN, which finally enabled the UK-based Warren to have a steady broadcast platform here in the United States as well as globally, Noakes did bring a similar record into the fight as Mason in addition to being a former British, Commonwealth, and European Lightweight champion. It did not take long for Noakes to show that this would not be a mere showcase for Mason.

From the opening bell Noakes forced the fight on Mason, forcing the combat to be fought in close. Despite suffering a deep gash in three as a result of an accidental clash of heads, Noakes consistent aggression and forcing a fight on the inside seemed to carry the ebb and flow for a significant portion of this fight. 

Although this would be a different type of fight than had been the norm for him up to this point in his career, which had been highlighted by hand speed and dominant performances, this fight would serve as not only a test for Mason, but also one where he showed a willingness to fight fire with fire as he was more than willing to stand and trade with Noakes. Despite being forced to fight in a manner he had not been before, Mason responded to the test. Whenever Noakes would land something significant, particularly to the body, Mason would often respond almost immediately and this was also what would happen when the roles were reversed with Mason landing first and Noakes responding as quickly as he could.

This resulted in several rounds being closely fought, but where yours truly felt that Noakes seemed to be edging many of the rounds as I had him up five rounds to two through round seven. Despite the view of this observer, which was based largely on the fact that Noakes forced the fight to be fought on his terms, I did sense that it was likely a closer contest than a 5-2 score would give an impression through seven rounds. As I have often said over the many years I have covered the sport of Boxing, when it comes to close fights, it will often come down to what a judge prefers in their own criteria based on the criteria in which Boxing is scored, clean punching, effective aggressiveness, ring generalship, and defense. What often also plays a role in the aforementioned criteria is one's perception. In this case, speaking only for myself, the perception I had was this was a close fight round by round, but after seven of the scheduled twelve rounds, I felt Noakes was doing enough to edge many of those rounds, based not only on aggression, but how he often brought the fight to Mason.

As the second half of this fight progressed, however, the pace understandably slowed, but the contest also began to narrow in my view with Mason taking control and landing hard body shots, which had Noakes hurt periodically, which was a bit of a reversal as earlier in the fight when he focused his own attack to Mason’s body, Noakes seemed to get the better of the action. As it was during those exchanges where Noakes seemed to have an advantage and had Mason hurt periodically, with the roles reversed, Noakes was able to respond as Mason did and the two fighters ultimately ended up splitting the final rounds on my scorecard resulting in an even score of six rounds to six or 114-114 in points. 

After a tooth and nail battle that also seemed to exhaust the crowd in attendance in the overnight hours in Saudi Arabia, it would be Mason who would emerge victorious via a twelve round unanimous decision with one judge having him up nine rounds to three or 117-111 in points while the other two remaining judges having scores that appeared more accurate based on the action that occurred of seven rounds to five or 115-113 in points. Although I felt the fight was a draw, I can easily see a seven rounds to five margin in favor of either fighter. Simply put, it was that kind of fight and though Mason won it unanimously, it was close and competitive from start to finish. 

Close and competitive to the degree that my immediate reaction that I shared on X (Formerly Twitter) along with my analysis of not only this fight, but of the entire card as I observed it in real time was “Rematch in 2026…” Not only did it prove to be a sleeper candidate for Fight of the Year honors, but it was the fight of the late night on this card to such a degree that not only did every fight that followed it have a tough act to follow, but it seemed to take the energy of the crowd along with it. While the latter element could be attributable to the fact that this card was held in the overnight hours in Saudi Arabia, which meant an early or late afternoon start time depending on where you live here in the United States, it is a fight definitely deserving of an encore and the promoters attached to this event as well as the broadcaster of it DAZN are likely smart enough to recognize that and so too should the WBO, whose World Lightweight title was on the line and is now subsequently held by Mason. 

With one more card under the Ring Magazine banner to be held in Riyadh remaining for this year, which will be on December 27th while most of the world is observing the Christmas/end of year holidays, it is obviously too soon to think rematch by present day standards and both Mason and Noakes will likely need some time to recuperate from an exhausting battle they fought. It would seem logical, however, that a rematch would likely be a shoe-in for a future Ring Magazine card presumably either Ring VI or Ring VII depending on when those events are scheduled and how quickly the two fighters want to meet again. It would also seem logical that a rematch deserves to be a main event of such a card. The fight that would have led to a potential rematch did steal the show after all.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

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The Close Of February 2022 In Boxing

 

Over the last few days, this observer has made a point of it to point out to his readers as well as those who follow me across social media platforms that Boxing is truly a 24/7 365 day a year entity and at times there is no stop in what goes on throughout the entire sport even if there is no action taking place inside the ring on a particular day. This point was in reference to the announcement on Friday, February 24^th that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez had agreed to return to digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN, but with the added twist that DAZN would be introducing a pay-per-view platform in seemingly reverting from its sales pitch as being a “Pay-Per-View Alternative” for consumers who are tired of paying inflated pay-per-view prices with little value attached to such fees. Although I have already shared my thoughts on this subject, which I stand by as a frequent critic of the pay-per-view model, and even though the subject and potential backlash from DAZN’s subscribers for their venturing into pay-per-view will likely remain for better or worse, a big story through the Boxing news cycle for the foreseeable future, the final weekend of February 2022 did feature action inside the ring that saw the return of world champions and top contenders.

 

While this observer had planned to cover the Boxing card headlined by WBO Cruiserweight world championship fight between champion Lawrence Okolie and WBO number four contender Michal Cieslak, which took place at the O2 Arena in London, England on February 27^th as it’s own separate piece of content, I made a decision that this would be better suited to be covered as part of this column seeing as it’s subject is what occurred in the final weekend of February in the sport. As for what occurred inside the ring, the first topic that will be covered concerns the return of undefeated Undisputed Jr. Welterweight world champion Josh Taylor, who returned to the ring after a lengthy absence due to both an injury suffered while in training as well as a bout with COVID-19, to defend his crown for the first time as undisputed champion against undefeated WBO number one contender Jack Catterall in Taylor’s home country of Scotland.

 

Taylor, who was making the third defense as a world champion since winning the IBF Jr. Welterweight world championship in May 2019, but his first since fully unifying the championship by defeating previously unbeaten WBC/WBO world champion Jose Ramirez last May, seemed to have all the advantages going into this fight with the unbeaten, but untested Cattreal. Height, punching power, as well as hand speed.

 

Although there were a lot of things that seemed to favor the champion, what a lot of people including oddsmakers, who had Taylor as a significant favorite going into the fight, did not factor into the equation was a fight plan implemented by Catterall that emphasized timing and elusiveness. In the interest of honesty with the reader, this was at times not the most entertaining fight to watch. This was due to an awkward style that Catterall used that including staying close to the champion, using lateral movement to deflect much of Taylor’s offense, but only attacking at opportune times, particularly with a right jab followed by variations a left hand either, straights, hooks, and overhands from the southpaw stance as the champion came forward that he would not see coming.

 

The fact that both fighters are southpaws as well as frankly a bad meshing of styles made this an ugly fight in the sense that there was almost as much grappling akin to a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight as there was Boxing. Nevertheless, Catterall’s awkwardness proved to be effective in minimizing the opportunities that Taylor could land his punches. This in addition to the success he had in landing the left hand off of his jab gave the appearance that while it was not the most entertaining bout to watch, it was the challenger dictating the tempo of the combat, despite the elements of it being a fight designed as a homecoming for the champion as well as a hostile crowd.

 

As the fight progressed, I felt that Catterall’s approach, while not necessarily smooth, was carrying the fight as I felt he won several of the rounds over the course of the first half of the twelve round world championship bout. With the fight moving into rounds seven through twelve, I felt that while not impossible, Taylor would have a significant deficit to overcome in terms of scoring. A reason for this was even though he was aggressive at times, Catterall was able to make him miss with the majority of his offense and if one views a fight with an objective mindset, it becomes very difficult to justify scoring a round for one fighter when whatever punches they do land, does minimal damage and does not score knockdowns, which can have an impact on the scoring of a bout.

 

In contrast to the champion, despite attacking in spurts, Catterall seemed to be out working and out landing Taylor. The highlight for the challenger came when he was able to score a knockdown of the champion, the first of Taylor’s career in the eighth round with a short combination to the head. An element that would increasingly become part of the story of this fight however, would be the involvement of Referee Marcus McDonnell, who became overly involved at times and appeared to fail in terms of being able to control the rough housing/grappling between the two fighters. This unfortunately included deducting points from both fighters at seemingly inappropriate times. First deducting a point from Cattreal in round ten for holding, which was followed by deducting a point from the champion at the conclusion of round eleven for tapping Catterall on the stomach, a common practice throughout the sport seemingly under most circumstances as a sign of sportsmanship between the two fighters as if to say “Good round.”

 

It is important for me again in the interest of honesty with the reader as I always am, to point out that this was the first time in my recollection that I can remember seeing Marcus McDonnell officiating a bout on the amateur or professional level of the sport. This does not necessarily mean that I have not covered a fight or a full Boxing card over the past two and a half decades that I have been covering the sport where McDonnell may have officiated bouts. I bring this up because as ugly as this fight was to watch, due largely to the grappling/rough housing involved between the two fighters and McDonnell’s in ability to control it, I feel that the decision by McDonnell to deduct points was not appropriate in either case, considering what he had allowed from both fighters throughout much of the fight without deducting points, but issuing stern warnings from time to time.

 

The opinion of yours truly notwithstanding as someone who has covered Boxing on every level possible and keeping in mind that I cannot recall at least at the time of this writing seeing McDonnell work a fight before, it is certainly not the first time I have seen what I refer to as a strict “By The Book” referee. Under most circumstances, referees who earn that moniker are the type with a strict adherence to rules and regulations giving fighters very little leeway to get away with things in the process. While McDonnell seems to fit this moniker based on what I observed in this fight, I feel he made a mistake as far as when he chose to deduct points as there were moments during the course of the bout particularly in the middle and late rounds where seeing as he did admonish both fighters, point deductions may have been appropriate. I can also not recall ever seeing a point deduction issued for a fighter seemingly saying “Good round” to his/her opponent at the end of a round.

 

Although I cannot personally recall as of this writing seeing McDonnell officiate prior to this fight, which given how many fights and Boxing cards I cover year in and year out, I would not be surprised if I were told that I had covered a fight before in which he was the referee, after some time following this fight, I did do some due diligence and Marcus McDonnell has been a referee in the sport since 1988, having officiated nearly 1100 bouts in his career. It would therefore be irresponsible of me to suggest that McDonnell’s officiating in this bout was a result of inexperience, as obviously the research I was able to do shortly after this bout in an effort to jog my memory, shows that the man is indeed experienced. It was clear however, that the two point deductions issued by McDonnell proved to have a significant impact on this fight as Taylor would go on to win a twelve round split decision, but with two differing scorecards, one in favor of Taylor and the other in favor of Catterall being separated by a single point, with each scorecard coming out to 113-112.

 

While an argument could certainly be made that had it not been for the point deductions, this fight could have ended in a draw, which would mean Taylor would have still retained his championship, I believe that the point deductions at minimum eliminated clarity in the scoring if not led to a change in the outcome, whether that outcome had been a draw or perhaps Catterall winning the decision. The bottom line, no matter how one chooses to view this fight, Josh Taylor had a bit of a scare in this bout and for a fighter who is trying to earn opportunities against some of the biggest names in the sport, which would then lead to more lucrative paydays for him, this was not the type of performance or victory that builds a strong argument as for his getting those opportunities.

 

As for this observer, I feel Jack Catterall did enough to win as I scored the fight 115-111 in his favor. It was certainly not the worst fight I have seen or covered in a lifetime of covering Boxing, but I do feel that the styles of the two fighters simply did not mesh well and if Taylor and Catterall were to meet in a rematch, the fight would probably be fought in a similar way as this fight was.

 

Stop number two on our journey discussing the Boxing events that concluded the month of February takes us to Las Vegas, NV where the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) group of promoters presented a card headlined by undefeated Jr. Lightweight contender Chris Colbert as he faced fellow unbeaten contender Hector Garcia in a scheduled twelve round bout. Garcia, who took the fight on short notice, was not particularly well known prior to this fight, but quickly proved he belonged in the ring with Chris Colbert, who has been one of the rising contenders in the sport in recent years. Garcia dominated the bout over twelve rounds including scoring a knockdown of Colbert, the first time Colbert had been dropped in his career to earn a convincing unanimous decision victory.

 

An obvious story coming out of this fight is was this a case of Colbert being under prepared for an opponent on short notice as he was scheduled to fight WBA Jr. Lightweight world champion Roger Gutierrez, who had to withdraw from the bout after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus. This made the bout between Colbert and Garcia an elimination bout to determine who will challenge Gutierrez. Although Hector Garcia won this bout and did so convincingly, there is the obvious possibility now that the PBC will look to secure a rematch between he and Colbert as soon as possible as Colbert has been a fighter they have been developing over recent years and the fact that this fight occurred on limited notice gives for better or worse, an opportunity to sell a potential rematch as giving both fighters adequate time to prepare.

 

While this observer is as old school as it gets when it comes to Boxing and feel that Garcia should get the opportunity he earned to fight Gutierrez as soon as Gutierrez is medically cleared to return to competition, the sport and to be more specific, the business that surrounds the sport does not always work in a simple structure like a fighter who wins an elimination bout will get a title shot at the earliest possible opportunity. I know that I have used this phrase more than a few times now, but for better or worse, there are business interests in play and whether Boxing fans or those of us who cover the sport agree with it or not, there are times where the business interests take priority over what a fighter has earned. Even though more often than not, a rematch of an elimination bout occurs after some form of controversy happened in the elimination bout, Hector Garcia won this fight clearly, there was no controversy attached to it, and by all rights, he should face Roger Gutierrez next. Whether or not, he does, remains to be seen.

 

One of the best fights of the year took place on the undercard of Garcia’s victory over Colbert as unbeaten Jr. Bantamweight contender Fernando Martinez scored a thrilling twelve round unanimous decision over longtime IBF Jr. Bantamweight world champion Jerwin Ancajas to win the championship. Martinez set a very aggressive pace from the opening bell and the two fighters went toe to toe for virtually all twelve rounds. When it comes to fights like this, there often is not much you can offer in terms of analysis, as this was simply a toe to toe battle with Martinez generally getting the better of the action. Although this was clearly a star-making performance for Martinez, particularly here in the United States where many of Boxing’s lower weight divisions, like the 115lb. Jr. Bantamweight division, do not always get consistent television exposure, my concern is that his style is such that even though it will often lead to entertaining bouts as this one was, it does not necessarily translate to a long career as defense is usually not a priority and it will often lead to fighters taking significant punishment over the course of a fight as was the case for both fighters in this fight, but more so for Ancajas. It will be interesting to see if Martinez adapts a new approach with more emphasis on not putting himself in positions to get hit as easily as he was in this fight. Despite Ancajas indicating after the bout that he would look for a rematch with Martinez per a rematch clause in the contract for the bout, he may want to take time to heal from the sustained beating he took over the course of the fight. Both fighters quite frankly need the rest after a grueling fight like this where 1381 total punches were thrown between the two fighters and the majority of them were landed by Martinez who landed 427 total punches of 833 thrown to Ancajas’ 170 of 548 total punches according to CompuBox statistics.

 

A bout that was in the middle of the card between Martinez’ victory over Ancajas and Hector Garcia’s win over Chris Colbert, saw undefeated Jr. Welterweight contender Gary Antuanne Russell score a tenth round stoppage over former WBC Jr. Welterweight world champion Viktor Postol. Russell controlled the majority of the bout and was able to get a stoppage late in the tenth round that was seen as controversial by some simply because there was less than thirty seconds remaining in the bout and Postol did not appear as though he were in enough trouble to warrant a stoppage at that point in the bout. For Russell, the victory is likely one that will put him in line to face undisputed world champion Josh Taylor at some point, assuming that Taylor is not moved into a rematch with Jack Catterall later in the year.

 

This brings us to the final bout that will be discussed in this column and I am speaking of course of the card that took place in London, England where Lawrence Okolie defended his WBO Cruiserweight world championship against Michal Cieslak. In what was a convincing performance by the undefeated champion Okolie, which saw him score a knockdown of the challenger in round five, the champion was able to box his way to a twelve round unanimous decision in what was his second title defense. While historically, the Cruiserweight division has seen many of it’s more prominent world champions ultimately venture towards the Heavyweight division in search of greener pastures, most recently former undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk, who went on to become the current unified Heavyweight world champion, the current state of the 190lb.-200lb. Cruiserweight division is one of limbo. Despite Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’ next two fights being announced taking place in the two divisions below Cruiserweight, there are still ramblings that Alvarez will ultimately venture into the division to continue seeking greater accomplishments.

 

For a fighter in Okolie’s position as a current world champion who has a promotional agreement with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, and Matchroom Boxing's firm alignment with DAZN as it’s broadcast partner and the network’s new agreement with Alvarez, the possibility is there for Okolie to eventually get an opportunity against Alvarez, assuming of course that everything that has been drawn up on paper with Alvarez potentially winning his next two fights goes on with no issue or a loss.  As always in the world of Boxing, the Boxing fan should always expect the unexpected even as what goes on outside of the ring with networks vying for the best fights for their respective platforms even if it is not in the best financial interest of the consumer who supports the sport, is just as compelling as what goes on inside the ring.

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

 

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