The Boxing Truth®

On February 21st, the Boxing world will converge on the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV for a truly interesting and some might argue curious world title bout in the 147lb. Welterweight division. WBC World Welterweight champion Mario Barrios will defend his title against top contender Ryan Garcia in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds that can be seen globally as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription or as a standalone pay-per-view option for non-ultimate DAZN subscribers. What makes this both an interesting and curious affair between two fighters is both have arguably not been at their best in recent outings. The champion Mario Barrios will be making the third defense of his WBC crown and has not heard his name announced as the winner in his previous title defenses up to this point as his previous two defenses each ended in hotly contested draws. The most recent of those defenses came in July of last year when forty-six year old recent International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee and le...

The storyline going into the encounter between undefeated former unified Welterweight world champion Jaron Ennis and IBO Jr. Middleweight world champion Uisma Lima on October 11th was that it represented the next chapter in the thus far unbeaten career of Ennis in his debut in the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division. Before a hometown crowd at the recently renamed Xfinity Mobile Arena (Formerly the Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia, PA, Ennis would make a statement. Despite going against a world champion, whose title was not on the line, little was known about Uisma Lima. In previewing this fight , this observer stated that Lima was, much like Ennis, a come forward fighter that applies pressure boxing out of the southpaw stance . Although Lima, who was fighting for the first time in the United States, began this fight coming forward behind a consistent jab and attempted to put Ennis on the defensive by backing him up, he was unable to control the distance as he had shown in previou...

It goes almost without saying nowadays that unless a fighter is a natural Heavyweight, most fighters that make it to the world championship level and achieve that goal, tend to set their sights on multiple weight classes in search of more world championship gold as well as and perhaps more specifically, bigger paydays. In the case of Jaron Ennis , an undefeated World Welterweight champion , who seemed poised to take over the 147lb. Welterweight division in the era immediately following the exit of Terence Crawford , the division’s last undisputed world champion, he has made the decision to move up in weight rather than trying to complete the unification process at Welterweight after successfully unifying the IBF and WBA world titles with a sixth round stoppage of previously unbeaten WBA world champion Eimantas Stanionis in April of this year. Despite the potential to add his name next to Crawford and other notable legends like Sugar Ray Leonard and Donald Curry as fighters who went...

All too often, the phrase “The Biggest Fight of the Year" is an overused cliche. It is a good sales hook and a way to draw interest in a Boxing match, but also in other combat disciplines as well including the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). As effective as the phrase is as a promotional tool, whether the fight in question deserves such a label attached to it or not, if the fight doesn't deliver when all the promotion, hype, press obligations, and weigh-ins have run their course, once two fighters get into the ring, it can and often does leave a feeling of dissatisfaction and a bad taste in the mouths of Boxing fans, even when such an occasion has been made consumer-friendly by removing the expensive price tag that often accompanies such events. There are times, however, when the aforementioned hype tactics, promotion,and general anticipation results in a great fight that serves as a way to elevate Boxing as a whole. The once fantasy matchup,turned legitimate “SuperFight...

On September 13th the Boxing world will converge on Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas,NV for the biggest event in the sport of Boxing in 2025 as two-time Undisputed Super-Middleweight world champion Saul “Canelo" Alvarez will make the first defense of his crown since regaining undisputed champion status in May of this year against undefeated multi-division world champion Terence Crawford. An encounter eagerly anticipated and in some ways mythical in the sense of it being a mythical fantasy fight in the minds of fans and experts alike not long ago. The reason for that is largely rooted in the fact that Crawford, a former four-division world champion, who became undisputed world champion in both the Jr. Welterweight and Welterweight divisions, has only competed as high as the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division. While he most recently won the WBO Jr. Middleweight world championship in August of last year with a twelve round decision over previously unbeaten Israel Madrimov, Crawford is at...

The month of May 2025 began with Saul “Canelo" Alvarez reclaiming the IBF Super-Middleweight crown and in doing so, also reclaimed his status as the undisputed king of the Super-Middleweight division by scoring a twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten IBF world champion William Scull in Saudi Arabia. While that fight ultimately proved to be formulaic for Alvarez and serve as a set up for a highly anticipated encounter between the champion and the undefeated multi-division world champion Terence Crawford in September, an obvious question that will be asked is what will be in store for the winner of that fight down the line?  On May 31st a doubleheader will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV featuring two former world champions, who are being positioned to potentially face off later this year, with that winner then potentially in line to possibly face the winner of Alvarez-Crawford. The two bouts, which will co-headline a Boxing card pro...

The first two weeks of August in Professional Boxing have seen a focus on the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division. First, it was Terence Crawford becoming a four-division world champion by scoring a close twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten WBA world champion Israil Madrimov at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. A fight where for the first time in Crawford's career, he seemed to be pushed in what was a competitive bout from start to finish where there also seemed to be a little doubt under a scenario where Crawford was forced to go the twelve round world championship distance for the first time in eight years. While this observer feels Israil Madrimov did enough to at least warrant a rematch with Crawford based on how competitive that fight was, the spotlight remained on the division on August 10th when another fight that could well have ramifications for Crawford's future took place. Yours truly is referring to the battle between top contenders Serhii Bohachuk a...

The story going into undefeated three-division world champion Terence Crawford's challenge of undefeated WBA Jr. Middleweight world champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, CA largely centered on the dominant career Crawford had up to the point of this encounter and his attempt to join a select list of fighters, many of whom are Hall of Famers to have won world titles in four separate divisions. While that storyline was simple, perhaps what should have been discussed more was whether or not Crawford, who came into the fight having stopped his last eleven opponents inside the distance, would finally come across an opponent that would produce something we have not seen before in a Terence Crawford fight. An element of doubt.  Despite coming into the fight as the defending WBA world champion in the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division, and having an extensive amateur background in which he scored three hundred-fifty wins, Israil Madrimov was seen as a signific...

It may seem like a cliche in present times because there are many talented fighters throughout the entire sport of Boxing that one might argue could have this label bestowed upon them, but there are few fighters that can legitimately lay claim to being a true “Generational Talent." One such fight that this observer has used the term in describing is undefeated multi-division world champion Terrence Crawford.  If one were to ask me to sum up Crawford’s career up to this point in a single word, it would be “Dominant" Crawford has simply dominated every weight division he has been in from the 130lb. Jr. Lightweight division, to the 147lb. Welterweight division, becoming an undisputed world champion in both the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight and Welterweight divisions. As his dominance has continued, the question that has begun to be asked is when and where will Crawford reach his ceiling in terms of the weight scale. With a Hall of Fame career already cemented, having fully unified his...

The bout between undefeated IBF World Welterweight champion Jaron Ennis and former European Welterweight champion and former world title challenger David Avanesyan was one that, though it came about on short notice, presented an interesting test for the unbeaten world champion. When one also factors into the equation that Ennis, known to his fans simply as “Boots," was beginning a new chapter in his career, now aligned with promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and the fact that this fight was in his hometown of Philadelphia, PA, the circumstances were not ideal. Despite the change in opponent, Ennis met the veteran and durable Avanesyan before a crowd of over 10,000 at the Wells Fargo Center on July 13th. When it comes to fights that are labeled as a “Homecoming" for a fighter touted as one of the rising stars in the sport, or one that is considered a star, the danger is the potential for distractions that could affect the fighter’s focus. In this case, not only was the ...

The fight between undefeated Welterweight world champions Errol Spence and Terence Crawford for the Undisputed Welterweight championship of the world on July 29th in Las Vegas, NV was in some ways a throwback moment to when the best fighters fought the best where the politics that be in the sport rarely stood in the way of what could be viewed as progress. While such a return to the era where the best fought the best has become an elusive concept as decades have gone on due to a variety of issues related to the business of the sport of Boxing, Spence-Crawford served as an example of what the sport could be providing fans on a regular basis. It is after all where two fighters who understand their respective positions in the sport opt to in large part make a fight that they want to have, happen between themselves and not be restrained by promoters or television/streaming network's own respective interests and agendas. In that aspect, both Spence and Crawford showed fellow boxers that...

Boxing's 147lb. Welterweight division has historically been one of the sport's most glamorous divisions full of historic battles featuring some of its biggest stars. Sometimes the term "SuperFight," which this observer only uses when he feels it is truly warranted and not as a mere term for the sole purpose of hype, not only features the top stars in the sport, but also has the rare distinction of bringing resolution to a division such as determining an undisputed world champion. Such a fight will take place on Saturday, July 29th as the two undefeated world champions of the division Errol Spence and Terence Crawford will finally meet to determine the first Undisputed Welterweight champion of the world since 1985 and the first since the inception of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) in 1989. A fight that can be seen on Showtime Pay-Per-View here in the United States Quite frankly, one could write a column discussing why it has taken thirty-eight years for the Welte...