Cinco De Mayo Weekend Boxing Marathon 2025 Thoughts

One of the biggest events on the Boxing calendar year to year is Cinco De Mayo weekend. Traditionally, this period is reserved for a marquee event in the sport as a launching point of sorts into the second half of a calendar year. 2025, however, saw three marquee events spread over three straight days as opposed to one major event that usually occurs over the weekend. 

The 2025 edition of Cinco De Mayo weekend in Boxing kicked off on Friday, May 2nd with a tripleheader featuring three of the sport’s biggest stars in New York City, NY. Normally when a marquee event takes place in New York City, it is a given that the venue will be the legendary Madison Square Garden. This time, however, the sport broke new ground as this event was held outdoors in the middle of Times Square, known worldwide as the epicenter of the city. As a born and bred New Yorker, this observer was looking forward to this event. Not only because of the history attached to it in being the first sporting event to ever be held in Times Square, not only because the event saw the long awaited return of Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Lampley after an eight year absence following HBO’s exit from the sport in 2018, but the fights themselves looked intriguing on paper.

With such a unique atmosphere in something that had never been attempted before in place and offering spectacular visuals, the first encounter of this tripleheader, which was seen globally on DAZN Pay-Per-View saw two-division world champion Teofimo Lopez defend his WBO Jr. Welterweight world championship against undefeated WBO number one rated contender Arnold Barboza. Despite looking as though it would be the most competitive and potentially entertaining fight of the entire card, Lopez showed his intelligence in Boxing his way to a wide twelve round unanimous decision to retain his world title in a fight that did not have much in the way of highlights.

In similar fashion, two-division world champion Devin Haney scored a forgettable twelve round unanimous decision over former unified Jr. Welterweight world champion Jose Ramirez in a Welterweight bout. This led to the main event of the first sporting event ever to be staged in Times Square as Ryan Garcia met Rolando Romero in a fight also scheduled for twelve rounds and also in the Welterweight division. 

This fight started out looking as though it would be competitive, but following the one highlight of the bout, Romero scoring a knockdown of Garcia with a counter double left hook to the head in the second round, the bout resembled the previous two bouts on the card. A formulaic type of experience void of highlights and competitive drama, as Garcia seemed unwilling to engage following getting up from the knockdown, as Romero outworked and out maneuvered him the rest of the way to an easy twelve round unanimous decision victory.

Ultimately, what looked as an intriguing set of bouts on paper, did not live up to the occasion and atmosphere of such a unique event. Whether it was a case of the atmosphere somehow getting to the fighters or not being used to competing outdoors in New York City,  the feeling coming out of this event was one that was underwhelming,  but having seen Boxing successfully staged in Times Square,  I openly wonder when the next event will be and who might participate next time around. 

The second event of the weekend brought the Boxing spotlight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 3rd where Super-Middleweight world champions Saul “Canelo“ Alvarez and William Scull met to determine the Undisputed Super-Middleweight championship of the world.  An attraction, which was also shown globally on DAZN Pay-Per-View, offered Alvarez, the division's previous undisputed champion an opportunity to reclaim that status following being stripped of the IBF world championship when a conflict saw Alvarez choose to face the WBO's number one contender Edgar Berlanga than the IBF's mandatory challenger Scull, which then saw the unbeaten Scull win the vacant IBF crown. 

While Scull's victory over Vladimir Shishkin in October of last year,  made this fight with Alvarez more interesting in the sense of reunifying the division than had Alvarez faced Scull as a mandatory challenger, it is a reflection of the flaws of the politics that be in the sport in full display in that Alvarez was not allowed to defend against Berlanga and Scull in succession without losing one of the championships that made up the undisputed championship.  Whether it was a case of bad timing or perhaps a more cynical approach by the IBF to build more interest in the fight between Alvarez and Scull is something the reader can decide for themselves. 

What cannot be debated, however,  is in a scenario quite similar to what had taken place on the other side of the world in New York City the previous evening,  the unification bout between Alvarez and Scull was one that was formulaic. It was also a contest that saw one consistent pattern from start to finish. Alvarez coming forward, trying to bring the fight to Scull, landing body punches, Scull a technical boxer constantly looking to evade Alvarez with his lateral movement and landing sporadic counter punches.

While Scull, a Germany-based boxer is originally from Cuba and was raised in the sport with the Cuban amateur style, which at times has more emphasis on technique and defense rather than consistent offense,  there are times where that style, as effective and dominant as it has proven to be in amateur competition, does not always translate to consistent success in the professional ranks, nor is it the most entertaining style to watch.

In this case, though he clearly succeeded in frustrating Alvarez and did manage to win rounds by limiting Alvarez’ activity,  he was not aggressive and that choice to not let his hands go ultimately proved to be his demise as Alvarez became a two-time Undisputed Super-Middleweight world champion by convincing twelve round unanimous decision. Although not the most exciting performance,  Alvarez simply did what he needed to do and this victory will ultimately lead to a much anticipated encounter between Alvarez and current WBO Jr. Middleweight world champion and a former two-division undisputed world champion Terence Crawford in September in Las Vegas. 

While much like the previous evening,  Alvarez-Scull left an underwhelming feeling for this observer, it would be the traditional Cinco De Mayo location of Las Vegas where the 2025 edition would come to a close with another undisputed world championship bout.  This observer is referring to the Undisputed Jr. Featherweight world championship bout between undefeated champion Naoya Inoue and WBA number one contender Ramon Cardenas, which took place on May 4th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

On the surface, this fight, which was broadcast by digital subscription sports streaming network ESPN+ here in the United States, represented little more than the Japanese superstar Inoue's return to the United States for the first time in nearly five years when the then unified Bantamweight world champion scored a seventh round knockout of Jason Moloney behind closed doors in the convention center of the MGM Grand during the global COVID-19 epidemic where fans were not permitted to attend. 

As the years have gone on Inoue has evolved into one of the biggest stars in the sport albeit away from the United States where his fights thanks to ESPN+ have been made accessible here stateside, but have taken place in the early morning hours as he has opted to compete in his native Japan, where he not only routinely draws massive crowds, but can also get top dollar whenever he competes. While this fight represented a return to America, few gave it more thought than an appearance by one of the biggest stars in the sport, who has consistently been at or near the top of Boxing's mythical pound for pound debates as he has continued going through divisions and becoming a multi-division undisputed world champion in the process. 

Despite entering the fight with a 26-1, with 14 Knockouts record and being ranked number one by the World Boxing Association, not much was known about Roman Cardenas and even though he had been unbeaten since 2017 as well as never being stopped his career, few regarded him as a legitimate threat to Inoue. This perception would prove to be an example of why an opponent should never be underestimated.  

In the second round, Cardenas made himself known by suddenly dropping the champion with a flush counter left hook to the jaw that sent Inoue down to the canvas for only the second time in his career. A scenario that looked eerily similar to the one Inoue found himself in against Luis Nery in May of last year where also in the second round,  he was dropped by a counter left hook after he had thrown a punch and dropped his arm leaving an opening for the left,  this time the fighter known as “The Monster” appeared legitimately stunned. 

To his credit, Cardenas proceeded with caution and did not recklessly approach Inoue, a fighter who had twenty-six knockouts in twenty-nine professional fights coming into this title defense, but nevertheless stood his ground by continuing to apply pressure, continuing to land hard shots when given the opportunity and appearing to hurt the champion whenever he landed punches to the body. Although after four rounds the momentum appeared to clearly be in favor of the challenger, Inoue would show once again why he is regarded as not only one of the best fighters in the entire sport, but a future Hall of Famer. 

In showing the ability to adapt under fire from his opposition, Inoue gradually worked his way back into the fight and by round six had started to turn the ebb and flow his way as his own power punches began to affect Cardenas. The accumulation of blows from Inoue eventually broke the challenger down in scoring a knockdown of Cardenas late in the round. While this knockdown was from the accumulation of punches Inoue was dishing out, the pace of the fight also seemed to show on the challenger, who despite getting up from the knockdown and surviving the round, looked utterly exhausted. 

Sensing that the tide had turned and his opponent was compromised, Inoue forced the issue in round eight pressing forward and unleashing a barrage of unanswered punches with Cardenas pressed up against the ropes to force the fight to be stopped. While the result was what many had expected in Inoue getting a victory to retain his undisputed crown in the 122lb. Jr. Featherweight division,  few expected this to be the thrilling back and forth battle that it turned out to be.  It turned out to not only be a great fight,  but from an entertainment standpoint,  it also turned out that the fight that was treated with little regard amongst all the marquee bouts that were staged over Cinco De Mayo weekend, ended up being both the most competitive and entertaining of them all and arguably turned what had been an underwhelming stretch of events to a memorable night that will be remembered along with many other great fights that have taken place during Cinco De Mayo throughout Boxing history. 

While the 2025 edition of Cinco De Mayo weekend in Boxing was a mixed variety,  overall it should be viewed as successful for all the promoters who took part in it and the two networks who broadcast all the events. With the possibility of more Boxing being staged in Times Square as well as continuing to be staged in Boxing hotbeds of Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas,  this observer openly wonders what's next?  It would not be a bad idea if a rematch between Naoya Inoue and Ramon Cardenas were part of those future plans.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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Follow-Up: DAZN's Three Upcoming Pay-Per-View Cards Now Available For Purchase

In a follow-up to the recent column discussing DAZN’s upcoming three pay-per-view Boxing cards, which will take place within a seven day period. All three events are now available to purchase on DAZN’s website. The first event, which will take place on Saturday, April 26th will be headlined by a long-awaited grudge match between sons of Hall of Fame rivals Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, Sr., two-division world champion Chris Eubank, Jr. and Conor Benn, which will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England is available here in the United States for $24.99. This will be followed by back-to-back events on May 2nd and 3rd. First on May 2nd a tripleheader will take place outdoors in Times Square in New York City, NY featuring Ryan Garcia facing Rolando Romero, former two-division world champion Devin Haney facing former Jr. Welterweight world champion Jose Ramirez, and current WBO Jr. Welterweight world champion Teofimo Lopez defending his title against number one WBO contender Arnold Barboza for $59.99. On May 3rd, Super-Middleweight world champions Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and William Scull will meet in Saudi Arabia for the Undisputed Super-Middleweight championship of the world, which is also priced at $59.99. DAZN, however, is offering an option for both the May 2nd and 3rd events by offering consumers the option to either purchase both events separately at the aforementioned $59.99 per event or as a bundle for $89.99. All three events are available for purchase at DAZN.com We will have coverage of all three events in the coming weeks here on Stay tuned.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, to subscribe, and for region-specific pricing for select pay-per-view events please visit: www.DAZN.com. 

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Gervonta Davis Reminds The Boxing World He Has One Punch Power

 

In December of last year, Gervonta Davis, the former Jr. Lightweight world champion, who had scored knockouts in every one, but one of his professional fights received an unexpected test in the form of Lightweight contender Isaac Cruz. Perhaps what made that unexpected was that Cruz stepped into the fight on short notice when original opponent Rolando Romero had to withdraw from the bout to deal with issues outside of the ring. Nevertheless, the pressure Cruz was able to put on Davis for twelve rounds created something that Davis had not experienced before, uncertainty. Although Davis was ultimately able to adapt and score a twelve round unanimous decision to remain unbeaten, the performance of Cruz provided an impression that perhaps a blueprint of sorts had been made for future opponents on how to fight Davis.  With the issues he was dealing with outside of the Boxing ring resolved, what became an anticipated encounter between Davis and Romero was finally able to take place. On May 28th, a record crowd of over 18,000 spectators crammed into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY to see Davis and Romero do battle. 

 

The thing that stood out to me almost immediately upon the bout starting was the stance of Rolando Romero. While not always an indicator of what may or may not happen in a fight, if one watches the sport of Boxing enough whether you are a fan of any interest or someone who covers the sport like yours truly, little things can stand out. In this case, I noticed that Romero’s stance was particularly wide in that he would need to lunge forward to throw his offense because his legs were far apart. My first thought was that he would be at risk of potentially getting caught with counter punches and because of his stance would likely be off balance when it occurred. I also felt based on the styles of both fighters that if Romero were to become over aggressive, there was also a possibility of him walking into a punch that he would not see coming and due to the aforementioned issue with his stance, would not be able to defend himself. 

 

While this was something I noticed almost immediately and is something that has come with a lifetime of experience in both watching Boxing on every level imaginable as well as writing about and covering the sport most of my life, the question that formed in my mind was a simple one, but was a question in two parts. Would Romero be able to recognize the issue with his stance and if not, would his corner recognize the issue and advise him of it as the fight progressed. I also wondered aloud as to whether or not Davis and his corner would recognize the issue of Romero’s stance and subsequently look for opportunities to try and take advantage of it. 

 

In previewing this fight, I stated that I thought the possibility existed for this encounter to be similar to the one Davis had against Isaac Cruz in the sense that one way Romero could have consistent success would be to apply steady pressure on Davis in a similar way as Cruz was able to. To be more specific, Cruz’ ability to back Davis up and make him feel uncomfortable as the bout progressed. 

 

Although Romero was able to pressure Davis in spots, this was more of an encounter where each fighter looked to counter the other. What was noticeable was that unlike his bout with Cruz where he seemed to have trouble for a lengthy period controlling the tempo of the combat and getting into a rhythm, Davis was able to let his hands go more regularly in this fight and was able to move more freely than had been the case against Cruz. 

 

The question of whether Davis would recognize the flaw in Romero’s stance did not take long to answer as he approved to look for opportunities to land his left hand whenever Romero would lean and lunge forward and began landing it regularly. As the fight progressed, it appeared as though Davis may have injured his left shoulder or hand as he seemed to let out a yell indicating he was in pain. While I did not happen to see if Davis may have either been hit by a punch from Romero or an instance where he may have hurt himself in the process of throwing a punch, I do recall hearing a short pop when this occurred in I believe the fourth round, but I cannot pinpoint exactly where this occurred. 

 

For his part, after this appeared to take place Davis did not seem to favor either his hand or shoulder in such a way as to indicate that he was hurt and because of that I began to wonder if the yell was a veteran tactic to try and bait Romero into making a mistake. It does need to be pointed out that, despite the success Davis was able to have in landing the left hand, particularly as a counter punch, Romero did take the punches well and did not seem to be hurt by what Davis was able to land. Romero was also able to land some good hooks of his own to the head pf Davis throughout. I did not feel however, that he was in a position where he was able to dictate how the fight was being fought and I felt that at minimum Davis was getting the upper hand by being the more active of the two fighters and seeming to land the more effective punches of the two. 

 

Just as it appeared as though this bout would settle into a tactical Boxing match, despite the styles of the two fighters, Davis would bring the fight to a sudden conclusion in round six. In a sequence where Davis was backing up slightly towards the ropes, he caught a lunging Romero as he leaned forward with a left hook to the head that sent Romero down on the canvas. Although Romero showed his mettle vy trying to get to his feet, he was on very unsteady legs and the bout was stopped 

 

Although Davis had caught Romero with similar punches throughout the fight, the difference here and what made this one punch knockout spectacular boils down to both how Davis was able to perfectly time his shot and the follow through in terms of the execution of the punch. While this proved to be Davis’ twenty-third knockout in twenty-five professional fights and keeping in mind his reputation as a “Knockout Artist” because of that record, there is something to be said about the way this knockout occurred from the standpoint that Davis bided his time, tactically set his opponents up and once the opportunity presented itself, executed brilliantly in such a way that even though it was a devastating one punch knockout, he did not rely solely on his punching power to get it done though the power was certainly there for Davis when needed. 

 

The question now is what is next for Gervonta Davis, well, he did maintain his status as holding the number one ranking in the WBA’s Lightweight ratings per his holding an interim/regular championship designation. While as most longtime readers know, this observer has pointed out the flaw of such designations regularly though they are well intended as a means of trying to ensure that fighters who earn title shots get their opportunity one way or another, in this case, Davis held that designation in both the 135lb. Lightweight division as well as the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division. The reason why this could prove to be a benefit is, the upcoming Undisputed Lightweight world championship fight between undefeated champion George Kambosos and undefeated WBC number one contender Devin Haney has the potential to be a two-fight series at minimum should Haney defeat Kambosos per the terms of the contract for that fight. 

 

What that could mean for Davis is a real possibility of being frozen out of the equation in what could develop into a trilogy between Kambosos and Haney should two fights indeed take place between the two and, each fighter emerges with one victory, which would obviously lay the groundwork for a third bout. So, this creates a scenario where Gervonta Davis has two options. Option one could be to continue fighting top contenders in the Lightweight division and continue to try to drum up support for him to fight whomever emerges out of the Kambosos-Haney situation with the Undisputed Lightweight crown, or he could try to secure a fight in the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division where he could try to secure a fight with current undisputed world champion Josh Taylor. The decision of who Davis fights next will likely be influenced by whomever his promoter might be going forward as he is likely to become a promotional free agent after fighting many of his bouts over the last several years under Floyd Mayweather’s Mayweather Promotions promotional banner, which is aligned with the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) group of promoters.  

 

If Davis does not resign with Mayweather, but chooses to remain under the PBC umbrella with a different promoter, the potential of a fight against Taylor or other fighters in either the Lightweight or Jr. Welterweight divisions that are not under the PBC umbrella might be difficult to make. One fight that I personally would like to see would be a fight between Davis and undefeated top contender Ryan Garcia, who is promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. While Garcia will be facing Javier Fortuna in his next bout in July, another issue that could prevent that fight from happening assuming Garcia defeats Fortuna is that Davis’ bouts in recent years have been broadcast by Showtime here in the United States, whereas Golden Boy and Garcia have a broadcast agreement with digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN.  

 

Although DAZN somewhat reluctantly recently ventured into the pay-per-view model after marketing itself as a viable pay-per-view alternative, and keeping in mind that the model remains largely in decline for a variety of reasons, the possibility exists of maybe a joint pay-per-view between the two networks, despite the fact that they have failed to work together in the past, if Davis does choose to remain with the PBC and Showtime as the network that broadcast his bouts both through their main cable network as well as through pay-per-view. One potential possibility that might be unlikely is a rematch with Rolando Romero, who did say at the post-fight press conference that he does want a rematch and insisted that he was caught by “A Good Shot,” which resulted in a loss for him. 

 

Even though Romero was ahead on one of three official judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage, it is hard to see interest in a rematch at least in terms of immediately simply because this fight ended with one punch and, despite the scorecard of one official judge, the tempo of the fight was largely controlled by Davis prior to the stoppage. It may be more likely both due to Davis’ seemingly upcoming promotional free agency as well as the Kambosos-Haney bout, which will take place on June 5th in Melbourne, Australia, (June 4th in the United States) that he will wait for a time before deciding his next move. 

 

Nevertheless, Gervonta Davis succeeded not only in remaining undefeated with his victory over Rolando Romero, but also in reminding the public that he does have the ability to end a fight with one punch. If there were thoughts that perhaps Isaac Cruz potentially exposed a blueprint on how to fight him, it might be wise to rethink that at least for now. 

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.” 

 

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

 

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