The Boxing Truth®

Boxing’s Cruiserweight division , positioned between the Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions on the weight scale, is often one that one does not associate with marquee fights that become dates on the calendar that the entire sport marks down and looks forward to. The reason for that is that the division is not viewed as a career destination for most fighters. Either fighters start as a Cruiserweights with a keen eye towards becoming Heavyweights, Light-Heavyweights move into the division with the same eventual goal of becoming Heavyweights, or the Cruiserweight division ends up being a fallback option for those who have tested the Heavyweight waters and feel they can compete more effectively in the division just below the Heavyweights. Although this observer has periodically chronicled the division, most notably referencing the 1986 WBA World Cruiserweight championship fight between the late Dwight Muhammad Qawi and Evander Holyfield , an encounter between two eventual Hall o...

Originally, this column was to be the follow-up/post-fight feature to the much anticipated Light-Heavyweight clash between former WBC Super-Middleweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez and longtime veteran contender and former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado in what was to be Rosado's debut in the 175lb. Light-Heavyweight division. As most now know however, the fight was cancelled on the day before the scheduled March 18th bout at the official weigh-in when Ramirez arrived in being what was described as significantly overweight and in no condition to attempt to get down in weight to a point where the bout was salvageable, resulting in the fight being cancelled. While this is certainly nothing new in the sport of Boxing as it is unfortunately all too common for there to be complications regarding the weight of a fighter in at least one bout on a full card, the cancellation, though disappointing did not result in the entire card being cancelled along with it as unfortunately al...

At the official weigh-in on Friday for his scheduled Light-Heavyweight bout with Gabriel Rosado on Saturday, which was to be televised by digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN, former WBC Super-Middleweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez arrived at the weigh-in in what was described as being significantly over the 175lb Light-Heavyweight limit and was deemed unable to compete resulting in the bout with Rosado being cancelled. The remainder of the card however, will proceed as planned woth former IBF Jr. Featherweight world champion Joseph Diaz facing former world title challenger Mercito Gesta in a scheduled twelve round Lightweight bout with now main event the scheduled card at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach University in Long Beach, CA. As of this writing, there is no word regarding if or when the bout between Ramirez and Rosado will be attempted to be rescheduled. If there are further developments, we will update on the situation as they become availabl...

On Saturday, Match 18th an intriguing battle will take place in Boxing's 175lb. Light-Heavyweight division, which could both be defined as a "Crossroads Fight," as well as a bout that could have implications for the winner challenging for a world championship down the line. This observer is referring to the encounter between former Super-Middleweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez and longtime veteran and former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado. The fight between the two, which will take place at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach University in Long Beach, CA, which can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN, has two key storylines going into it. While both Ramirez and Rosado will come into this encounter coming off losses, one might argue that both men are moving in different directions at this stage in their respective careers. Ramirez is coming off of his first career defeat at the hands of undefeated WBA Light-Heavywei...

  Perhaps the biggest story in Boxing in 2022 came in the month of May when undefeated WBA Light-Heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol scored a dominant twelve round unanimous decision over current Undisputed Super-Middleweight world champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to retain his WBA crown. While Bivol was naturally bigger and stronger than Alvarez and has a difficult Boxing style that has proven difficult for opponents to combat, much less solve, most viewed his victory over Alvarez as “An Upset.” This view, which is not shared by this observer, is based largely on the fact that Alvarez is one of the sport’s biggest stars and the expectation of many was that he would defeat Bivol, a fighter not well-known to casual fans on what was his quest to begin the process of trying to fully unify a second division after what he had accomplished in fully unifying the 168lb. Super-Middleweight division. While Boxing is truly the theater of the unexpected, Bivol did go against the script that ...

  There are times when the ingredients for what most identity as a major fight throughout combat sports seem to match up perfectly at least on paper. Among those ingredients, two undefeated fighters, one a former world champion attempting to win a world title in a second weight class going against a world champion that is also unbeaten, has been dominant, and when you add into the equation that both fighters are in their competitive prime, the set up for a marquee bout that would be highly anticipated would appear to be close to perfect. Such a set up was the scenario when undefeated WBA Light-Heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol defended his crown against undefeated former WBC Super-Middleweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez on November 5th at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, U. A. E. A fight that came in the aftermath of the champion Bivol’s biggest win of his career in a dominant successful title defense against multi-division world champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May of th...

In May of this year, undefeated WBA Light-Heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol entered the to defend his portion of the World Light-Heavyweight championship against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the man regarded by many as the best fighter in the world pound for pound, who had recently fully unified the Super-Middleweight division to become Undisputed world champion. Although Bivol went into the fight unbeaten and was a longtime champion, the champion was treated almost as if he were the challenger.   This was due largely to Alvarez’ standing in the sport and for better or worse fighters who are fortunate to covet such a position often take advantage of what are seen by some fans as perks, whether it be in contract negotiations and/or in the ability to dictate terms including, but not limited to at times who they fight, when they fight, and unfortunately for the fan/consumer how said bouts will be made available to the public. While some have used such a position to avoid challenges by...

  Press Release: August 30, 2022 By DAZN – Dmitry Bivol will defend his WBA Light-Heavyweight World Title against Mandatory Challenger Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Saturday November 5, live to subscribers worldwide on DAZN (excluding South Korea and MENA). Credit: DAZN   Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) is coming off a huge upset win over Mexican pound-for-pound superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in May, where he retained his 175lbs World Title via a unanimous decision to make it 20 wins from 20 fights.   The 31-year-old handed Alvarez only the second loss of his career, nine years on from his first at the hands of modern great Floyd Mayweather, and in doing so further cemented himself as one of the very best Light-Heavyweights on the planet.   Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs) is a former WBO Super-Middleweight World Champion who has won all five of his fights at Light-Heavyweight inside the...

 As the world nears the Christmas holidays, the Boxing world will not be taking much of a hiatus as was the case in previous years. With the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) group of promoters staging two cards on Christmas night and New Year’s Day on Fox and Fox Sports Pay-Per-View here in the United States and will be largely alone in doing so, the weekend of December 17 th and 18 th of 2021 saw a focus on the Light-Heavyweight division, a world title elimination bout, and two rematches that depending on one’s perspective were anticipated for different reasons. While one of those rematches as well as it’s full undercard have already been covered by this observer here on The Boxing Truth®, the final weekend before Christmas saw other action throughout the sport that also deserves attention.   The first of these bouts took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where an elimination bout took place to determine the next mandatory challenger in the World Boxing Association (WBA) Jr....

By now, readers have had an opportunity to read and digest this observer's coverage of both Conor Benn's knockout of former world champion Chris Algieri and the continuing evolving story of Boxing's Lightweight division, which coincidentally took place on December 11th. It goes without saying however, that Boxing is one of the most global sports in existence and as such, it can be a challenge for one to adequately keep an eye on all the action that can and often does occur throughout the sport when so many cards and world championship bouts are scheduled for one day around the world.    Even those of us who cover the sport and are used to what yours truly often refers to as marathons of Boxing cards that take place over anywhere from a one to three day period can still find it difficult to keep an eye on and subsequently cover everything that goes on, despite significant advances in technology that frankly makes our jobs easier.   While December 11, 2021 was notable for t...