June 3rd-June 4th 2016 Weekend Recap

The weekend of June 3rd saw two world championship fights take center stage in the sport of Boxing. The first of those bouts took place on June 3rd at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL as undefeated two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy made the first defense of his IBF Lightweight world championship against former IBF champion Mickey Bey.

The story of this fight was Barthelemy’s ability to box effectively behind a consistent jab and mix in combinations. The lone exception in what this observer believes was a near flawless performance by Barthelemy came in the second round when the former IBF Lightweight world champion Mickey Bey was credited for a knockdown by Referee Sam Burgos when the champion went to the canvas as a result of an accidental clash of heads.

What appeared to be a one-sided decision in favor of Barthelemy however, did have a slight element of controversy as one of three official judges scored the fight 117-110 or ten rounds the two in favor of Bey, while the two remaining judges gave the fight to the champion via split decision turning in scores of 116-111, and 117-110.

Although there really is not much to say about this fight, the curious scoring of one official judge should not damper what was an impressive performance by a fighter who’s star continues to rise. What will be interesting in this observer’s eyes coming out of this fight will be whether Barthelemy will continue in the 135lb. Lightweight division or if he will choose to move up in weight to the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division.

If Barthelemy remains at Lightweight, the next logical opponent would seem to be undefeated knockout artist Richard Commey, who is currently rated number three in the world by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) in the Lightweight division and is the sanctioning organization’s next mandatory challenger. A bout between the two would seem to be one that would not only provide action, but also provide the champion with a test as the boxer/puncher Barthelemy would face a challenger who has knocked out twenty-two of his twenty-four opponents as a professional and who has a career knockout percentage of 92%.

Although Barthelemy, who has knocked out thirteen of his twenty-five opponents as a professional, has also demonstrated the ability to get a fighter out of there if given an opportunity, he would likely be cast in the role of the boxer in a fight against Commey should it take place. It would nevertheless be an interesting fight if it is signed in the near future.

The second world championship fight to take place last weekend took place on June 4th at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA as undefeated WBC Jr. Lightweight world champion Francisco Vargas made the first defense of his world title against former two-division world champion Orlando Salido.

For the thirty-one-year old Vargas, it was his first fight since winning the title in November of last year with a knockout of former champion Takashi Miura in a bout that was a grueling give and take battle. It was clear almost from the outset that Vargas would have to go through a similar battle in the form of the thirty-five-year old Orlando Salido, who has faced a “Who’s Who” in the sport in a twenty-year career that had spanned fifty-nine professional fights prior to this encounter.

For twelve rounds the grizzled veteran Salido and the unbeaten world champion Vargas engaged in an all out toe to toe “War.” There was simply not much to separate the two fighters throughout the entire fight as both were able to have periods of effectiveness. It was a battle of Vargas’ greater activity in throwing punches nearly constantly versus Salido’s tactical pressure attack and seeming to land the cleaner punches of the two when he did let his hands go.

Although I felt that this was a close fight all the way through, as the fight progressed Salido’s ability to land punches in combination to the body and head of the champion as well as applying consistent pressure throughout gave him the slightest of edges in the eyes of this observer. It is indisputable that the champion was the more active of the two fighters and it can be a difficult task in a close fight to determine which fighter has an edge when both fighters are able to be effective and are throwing significant amounts of punches.

Graphic Courtesy of:ThrowDownScoring.com/CompuBox

A statistical breakdown as shown and provided by ThrowdownScoring.com/CompuBox shows that Vargas had a significant edge over Salido in terms of overall activity throwing an incredible total of 1184 punches throughout the twelve round bout. Even though Vargas was the busier of the two fighters, he seemed to have difficulty landing consistently on Salido and that can be attributed to both Salido being solid defensively as well as Salido’s ability to apply consistent pressure on him.

Although he was out thrown by the champion, Salido was the more accurate of the two as he landed 328 of 939 total punches for a connect percentage of nearly 35% to Vargas’386 of 1184 total punches with a connect percentage of nearly 33%. It was no surprise at the end of twelve rounds to see varying scorecards both from the three official judges as well as from Boxing experts and fans alike.

This was not an easy fight to score due in large part to both fighters being willing to engage from the opening bell and not really giving each other much room to pull ahead of the other. At the end of the twelve round bout, I had Salido winning the fight seven rounds to five or 115-113 in points as I felt his pressure attack was enough to win rounds three through six and I felt he won rounds eleven and twelve to give him the slightest of victories on my unofficial scorecard.

It was one of those fights however, where you could not only see an argument for both fighters having won the bout, but you could honestly say that a draw was probably the fairest decision possible. As it turned out, a draw would be the exact result of this fight as two judges turned in identical scores of 114-114, while the third judge scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Vargas.

No matter how one saw this fight, this was a great fight that in my eyes is the front-runner for 2016 fight of the year. It is definitely worthy of a sequel.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

Vargas-Salido stats and graphic provided by Throwdown Scoring.com/CompuBox. Used with permission.  For more information please visit:   www.ThrowdownScoring.com.or www.ThrowdownFantasy.com . You can score live fights by downloading the free Throwdown Scoring app on Google Play or on Apple ITunes.

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Schedule Update

We would like to let our readers know that a recap of some of this weekend’s Boxing action including June 3rd’s Premier Boxing Champions card is in the works and will be released on Wednesday, June 8th. On Thursday, June 9th a feature remembering the legendary Muhammad Ali will be released. We apologize for the delay. Stay tuned. “And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Barthelemy-Bey Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in for Friday night’s Premier Boxing Champions card headlined by the IBF Lightweight world championship fight between champion Rances Barthelemy and number eleven rated IBF Lightweight contender Mickey Bey took place on Thursday in Hollywood, FL. The official weights for the entire card are as follows.

Main Event: IBF Lightweight world championship – 12Rds.

Rances Barthelemy (Champion) 134lbs.     vs.     Mickey Bey (Challenger) 134lbs.

Super-Middleweight – 10Rds.

Caleb Plant 163lbs.        vs.     Carlos Galvan 162lbs.

Jr. Featherweight – 10 Rds.

Emmanuel Rodriguez 119lbs.  vs.     Alberto Guevara 119lbs.

Light-Heavyweight – 6Rds.

Dyah Davis 172lbs.        vs.     Leosvy Mayedo 175lbs.

Jr. Lightweight – 6Rds.

Dat Nguyen 128lbs.       vs.     Jesus Lule 130lbs.

Cruiserweight – 6Rds.

Samuel Miller  181lbs.   vs.     Steve Geffrard 177lbs.

Welterweight – 4Rds.

Courtney Jackson 141lbs.       vs.     Anthony Woods 142lbs.

Lightweight – 8 Rds.

Mario  Rorozco 132lbs,  vs,     Gervonta Davis 135lbs.

Jr. Lightweight – 4 Rds.

Antonio Williams 127lbs.         vs.     Hector Fernandez 128lbs.

Women’s Jr. Middleweight – 4Rds.

LaTondria Jones  155lbs.        vs.     Latoya Burton 151lbs.

PBC: Barthelemy vs. Bey takes place Tonight! (Friday, June 3rd) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL. The card will be broadcast in the United States by Spike TV at 9pm ET/6pm PT. Check your cable or satellite provider for time and channel in your area. Check your listings internationally.

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Update

We would like to let our readers know that new material will be released on Friday, June 3rd. Stay tuned. “And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Thoughts On Avanesyan-Mosley

The latest step in the comeback of former multi-division world champion and future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley took place on May 28th at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, AZ. Although Mosley was only entering the ring for the third time since returning from a retirement/hiatus in August 2015, the forty-four year old Mosley would opt to take on a difficult task in the form of WBA number one rated Welterweight contender David Avanesyan.

Prior to this fight, this observer stated that this seemed to be a classic matchup of youth versus experience. Mosley, a fighter with a stellar resume and significant skill being pitted against a fighter seventeen years his junior. Even though Avanesyan entered the fight having won twenty-one of twenty-three professional fights and having interim/regular champion status in the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) Welterweight ratings, he had not faced a fighter of Mosley’s caliber and some questioned just how good he was.

What would end up happening when the two fighters squared off was in essence, the definition of what is considered a close and competitive fight. As is often the case when it comes to close fights, there were many “Swing Rounds” where both fighters were able to have success. I felt the first half of the fight was dictated by Mosley by the use of his jab, effective body punching, and ability to control distance. Although Mosley was the fighter dictating the pace early on in my eyes, Avanesyan was able to have his share of moments, which ultimately resulted in my scoring the first six rounds three rounds to two with one round even in Mosley’s favor.

As the fight progressed however, Avanesyan gradually increased his pressure of Mosley and generally was able to land the cleaner, more effective punches particularly when he was able to land his straight right hand, while mixing in periodic hooks. By the middle and late rounds, it was clear that the momentum had shifted in Avanesyan’s favor. Although this was still a very close and competitive fight all the way through, I felt one thing that worked against Mosley as the fight progressed was he became inconsistent with his jab and also had periods where he would smother his offense rather than controlling distance.

It became a question of as I have often referred to over the years of wondering what the three official judges would base their scores on in their own criteria as the fight progressed. Would it be Mosley’s ability to be effective early and have his share of moments even in rounds where it appeared Avanesyan was more effective, or would it be Avanesyan’s cleaner offense that would be the deciding factor?

What some thought might be a deciding factor however, came in the tenth round when Mosley was penalized one point for a low blow. At that point in the  fight although I felt it was close, the point deduction against Mosley ultimately proved to be what would pull Avanesyan ahead on my unofficial scorecard as at the end of the twelve round bout I had Avanesyan winning the fight 115-112.

As what often happens when it comes to close fights, there was a significant difference of opinion as to the scoring of the three official judges as well as fans and experts alike. The closest of the three official judges scorecards came from judge Raul Caiz Sr. who scored the fight for Avanesyan 114-113. Judges Sergio Caiz and Dennis O’Connell turned in identical scores of a significantly wider margin of 117-110 or ten rounds to two in favor of Avanesyan giving him a unanimous decision.

Following the fight, I commented on Twitter that although I felt it was a close fight where there would likely be a difference of opinion, I did not see a score of 117-110 in favor of either fighter, but would not call those scores controversial. It was simply one of those fights where two fighters were able to have periods of effectiveness, but as is the case when it comes to close fights it will boil down to what a judge prefers in their own individual criteria of how they score based on clean punching, effective aggressiveness, ring generalship, and defense.

David Avanesyan landed the cleaner more effective punches in this fight and was the effective aggressor particularly in the second half of the fight. Although the three judges are the only ones who can speak for themselves as to what they scored on, if one looks at the fight objectively, you can see various points of view of how some may feel a fight is close, while others may feel that fight is close, but one fighter was able to do a little bit more than the other in most rounds, which ultimately results in a wide scorecard.

With the victory, Avanesyan retains his number one ranking in the WBA’s Welterweight rankings and will be the mandatory challenger for the winner of the upcoming fight between undefeated WBA world champion Keith Thurman and former world champion Shawn Porter. Even though Avanesyan was somewhat of an unknown due to his not previously competing in the United States before this fight, he more than showed that he is a solid contender and it will be interesting to see how he will do against the winner of Thurman-Porter.

As for the forty-four year old Shane Mosley, readers may recall following his loss to Anthony Mundine in November 2013, this observer when discussing whether or not Mosley should retire following what was to date the only knockout loss of his career, I stated that his legacy would not be damaged by the loss and if it were the end for him as a fighter he would have nothing to be ashamed of and closed my coverage of that fight by saying simply “Shane, maybe it’s time…”

It is inevitable and logical that discussion will take place among both Boxing fans and experts alike as to whether or not Mosley will retire following this loss to David Avanesyan. After all, Mosley is forty-four years old and whenever a fighter of an advanced age loses a fight regardless of how the loss came, people will speculate as to whether or not the time has come for that fighter to hang up their gloves. Only Shane Mosley will be the one who will determine whether or not he has competed for the final time as a fighter.

In the eyes of this observer much as was the case after his loss to Anthony Mundine, his legacy will not be damaged and he has nothing to be ashamed of. It is important to remember that even the most legendary of fighters have lost fights from time to time. Mosley fought well in a fight that some criticized against a young, hungry number one contender, who is in his prime. Although some may have criticized Mosley for getting the chance to fight for a potential world championship opportunity, he more than made a good account of himself and was not disgraced in any way. It should also not be overlooked that Mosley handled the defeat to Avanesyan with the utmost class and professionalism. Something all fighters should learn from.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Avanesyan-Mosley Preview And Weigh-In Results

When a former world champion begins a comeback the obvious question that will be asked by fans and experts alike is when or if that fighter will choose to fight someone considered a top contender.  Sugar Ray Leonard, who made several comebacks throughout his career is noted for his historical victory over Marvelous Marvin Hagler in April 1987 to win the WBC Middleweight world championship. A fight Leonard took directly after nearly a three-year layoff without choosing to fight any would be “Tune ups.”

Others such as George Foreman chose the slow and steady approach of fighting relative unknown and undistinguished opposition for an extended period of time before testing the waters against a top ranked contender. Even though Foreman would suffer some setbacks along the way during his comeback in losing two world championship fights to Evander Holyfield and Tommy Morrison, his comeback would ultimately prove successful as he regained portions of the World Heavyweight championship by knocking out Michael Moorer in November 1994, twenty years after he had lost the Heavyweight championship to Muhammad Ali in October 1974. Ultimately, both Leonard and Foreman’s respective comebacks have to rank among the greatest in Boxing history.

In the case of former multi-division world champion Shane Mosley, a future Hall of Famer who shares the nickname “Sugar” along with Ray Leonard and Ray Robinson, another legendary figure, who made more than one comeback throughout his career, his comeback began last year following the lone stoppage loss of his career against Anthony Mundine in November 2013. After a near two-year hiatus, Mosley returned to the ring and scored his second knockout over a faded former multi-division world champion Ricardo Mayorga in their rematch in August of last year.

Mosley followed that victory with a tenth round stoppage over veteran Patrick Lopez in December of last year in a fight where he scored four knockdowns of his opponent prior to the bout being stopped. Following two victories thus far in his comeback, the forty-four year old Mosley will step into the ring for the third fight in his comeback as he will take on current WBA number one Welterweight contender David Avanesyan on Saturday night at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, AZ.

The fight, which will be for interim/regular championship status in the WBA’s Welterweight ratings seems to be a classic matchup of youth versus experience. There is no disputing that Shane Mosley has a significant experience edge over Avanesyan, but an argument could be made that Mosley has been removed from success at the top level of the sport for several years and it will be interesting to see how he will compete against a fighter who is a number one contender and is in his prime.

By the same token, some may also argue that despite being a winner of twenty-one of twenty-three professional fights, Avaneseyan has yet to face someone who is considered a top contender even though he is ranked number one in the world in the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) Welterweight ratings. Avanesyan, however, has decent hand speed and is a good combination puncher. It will be interesting to see how Avaneseyan’s hand speed will compare with Mosley, who is known for a solid mix of hand speed and punching power.

The twenty-seven year old Avanesyan will enter into this fight having scored knockouts in his last two bouts in 2015 over Dean Byrne and Charlie Navarro. Although the Pyatigorsk, Russia native Avanesyan (21-1-1, with 11 Knockouts) has youth on his side, one might question how he will respond to going against a fighter with the experience and pedigree of Mosley (49-9-1, with 41 Knockouts). This will also be Avaneseyan’s first fight in the United States and that some may feel might factor into how he could approach this fight.  It will clearly be the biggest fight in David Avanesyan’s career thus far. One might say that a loss to Mosley, who has been ranked in the WBA’s Welterweight ratings will set him back for a period of time before being near contending for a world championship again.

On Friday, the two fighters weighed in for the bout and both came in at 146lbs. one pound under the 147lb. Welterweight weight limit.  The stakes are high for this fight as the winner will become the mandatory challenger for the winner of the upcoming WBA Welterweight world championship fight between undefeated world champion Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, which is scheduled to take place on June 25th in Brooklyn, NY.

As has been the case with most comebacks in Boxing as well as all of Combat Sports, a victory over Avaneseyan for Mosley will put him right back in line to fight for a world title against one of the best fighters the Welterweight division has to offer. A loss for the forty-four year old however, would likely put his career in question.  It is a scenario that one may well say Mosley has nothing to lose as no matter the outcome of this fight, he is a first-ballot future Hall of Famer. Whether the comeback of Shane Mosley will be noted among the greatest comebacks in Boxing history when all is said and done remains to be seen.  This fight should be viewed as the third chapter in Mosley’s comeback. We will see what happens in this chapter on Saturday night.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

Avanesyan vs. Mosley takes place Tonight (Saturday, May 28th) at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, AZ. The fight will be broadcast in the United States by CBS Sports Network at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT. Contact your cable or satellite provider for time and channel in your area. Check your listings internationally.

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

What’s Next For Erislandy Lara?

The rematch between unified WBA/IBO Jr. Middleweight world champion Erislandy Lara and top contender Vanes Martirosyan on May 21st was one that was quite frankly deserving of a sequel. The first encounter between the two after all back in November 2012 ended in “Inconclusive” fashion as the close and competitive contest was halted when Martirosyan suffered a cut over his left eye as a result of an accidental clash of heads, which caused the fight to be stopped resulting in a nine round technical draw.

Lara, now a unified Jr. Middleweight world champion after his interim/regular championship status in the WBA’s Jr. Middleweight ratings was upgraded to world champion following the retirement last year of Floyd Mayweather has openly sought a lucrative fight against Saul Alvarez, a man who earned an extremely close twelve round split decision against him in July 2014. Martirosyan meanwhile had suffered two losses to Demetrius Andrade and Jermell Charlo in the years since his first encounter with Lara and was eager to settle the score from the somewhat controversial outcome in their first fight.

Much as was the case in the first encounter, the rematch featured many “Swing Rounds” where both fighters had periods of effectiveness in a fight that was not easy to score. Lara was the considerably more active of the two fighters landing 162 of 424 total punches to Martirosyan’s 94 of 474. Despite statistics that would appear to give the impression of a one-sided fight, this fight appeared to be much closer as Martirosyan was able to do some effective work to the champion’s body throughout and I felt that it gave him a slight edge in some extremely close rounds even though Lara was extremely solid defensively.

Although there was not much action in what can ultimately be described as a tactical Boxing match, it was still a competitive fight and was one that some might argue impacted by a point deduction against Martirosyan in the eleventh round as a result of what was ruled a low blow. This resulted in the fight being won by a unanimous decision by Lara with scores of 116-111 on two scorecards, and 115-112 on the third. One may feel that the point deduction against Martirosyan may have ultimately cost him the fight in the eyes of some.

In the eyes of this observer, I felt despite the appearance of the final statistics, Martirosyan did enough to win by a single point 114-113. As tends to be the case in fights where there are many “Swing Rounds” where both fighters are able to be effective in spurts, this was not an easy fight to score. Although Lara was clearly the more active of the two, I felt Martirosyan’s attack to Lara’s body was effective and gave him the benefit of the doubt on my scorecard even though I can certainly see the argument of those who felt that Lara won this fight convincingly. It was simply one of those fights that round by round was competitive and at times ugly due to fouls over the course of the fight.

This was simply a case of a champion doing what he had to do in order to get the victory and retain his unified world championship. The question coming out of this fight is what’s next for Erislandy Lara?

Although this fight was competitive and close round by round in the eyes of this observer, I do not believe that there will be a third encounter between Lara and Martirosyan in the near future. It seems more likely in my eyes that Lara, who is a difficult opponent for anyone due to his solid defense, combination punching, and elusiveness will try to secure a lucrative fight perhaps against the winner of a potential fight between unified Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin and former two-division world champion Saul Alvarez.

As most Boxing fans know Alvarez, the recent holder of the WBC world championship in the Middleweight division recently chose to vacate his world title to Golovkin, the unified WBA/IBO champion, who also held interim championship status in the WBC’s Middleweight ratings saying that he would not be forced into a fight by ” artificial deadlines” after the WBC stated that they would mandate Alvarez to fight Golovkin, who gained interim championship status in their ratings per his victory over previous WBC number one contender Marco Antonio Rubio in October 2014. Alvarez however, stated that he would still negotiate with Golovkin for a potential fight.

Although the situation regarding Alvarez and his decision to relinquish the WBC world championship in the Middleweight division is a subject that has been one of much criticism and even ridicule by some Boxing fans and experts alike, if the ongoing negotiation between Alvarez and Golovkin does not result in a fight being signed, it could well have a benefit for a fighter in Erislandy Lara’s position of seeking a lucrative fight and potentially being willing to step in to fight either Alvarez or Golovkin should a fight between the two not materialize.

Frankly, Erislandy Lara is as skilled a fighter as they come and deserves an opportunity against a star of the sport, in a similar fashion as Gennady Golovkin has also been seeking an opportunity against a fighter considered to be a star. Whether or not that could and will result in a potential Golovkin-Lara encounter remains to be seen. The inability of a would be “Super Fight” between Golovkin and Alvarez being signed however, may very well be the perfect opportunity for Lara to use that inability to his advantage if Golovkin and Alvarez cannot come to terms. We will have to wait and see.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Update

  We would like to let our readers know that new material will be released on Thursday, May 26th. Stay turned. “And That’s The Boxing Truth”

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Lara-Martirosyan II Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in for the rematch between unified WBA/IBO Jr. Middleweight champion Erislandy Lara and top contender Vanes Martirosyan took place on Friday in Las Vegas, NV. The official weights for the entire card are as follows.

Main Event: WBA/IBO Jr. Middleweight world championship – 12Rds.

Erislandy Lara (Champion) 153lbs.             vs.          Vanes Martirosyan  153lbs.

IBF Jr. Middleweight world championship – 12 Rds.

Jermall Charlo (Champion)  153lbs.           vs.          Austin Trout  154lbs.

WBC Jr. Middleweight world championship – 12 Rds.

Jermell Charlo (Champion)  153lbs.          vs.          John Jackson 153lbs.

Cruiserweight – 12 Rds.*

Beibut Shumenov 199lbs.             vs.          Junior Wright 199lbs.

(* Fight is for interim/regular champion status in the WBA’s Cruiserweight ratings)

Heavyweight – 8 Rds.

BJ Flores 224lbs.               vs.          Roberto Santos  217lbs.

Super-Middleweight – 8Rds.*

Lanell Bellows  169lbs.    vs.          Scott Sigmon 169lbs.

(* Both fighters weighed in a pound over the 168lb. Super-Middleweight limit, Fight still scheduled to take place as of this writing.)

Jr. Welterweight – 6 Rds.

Trakwon Pettis 136lbs.   vs.          Carlos Rodriguez 137lbs.

Lara vs. Martirosyan II takes place Tonight (Saturday, May 21st) at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The fight card will be televised in the United States by Showtime Sports on cable/satellite providers as well as the Showtime and Showtime Anytime apps at 9PMET/6PMPT. Check your local cable/satellite provider for time and channel in your area or visit www.Sho.com for more information regarding the Showtime and Showtime Anytime apps.  In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the fight card will be televised by BoxNation at 2am (Sunday, May 22nd Local UK Time.) For more information visit www.BoxNation.com. Check your listings internationally.

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Hernandez-Harrison-Dallas Jr.: Should There Be A Rematch?

The recent battle between undefeated prospect Dusty Hernandez-Harrison and veteran contender Mike Dallas Jr. was a fight that could best be described as both a development fight as well as a crossroads fight. For Hernandez-Harrison, it was another test in a thus far unbeaten career as he has previously held the WBC Continental Americas Welterweight championship in his career, but has yet to get an opportunity against opposition that could lead to a world title shot if he were successful.

For Dallas, this was the third fight in his comeback after suffering a first round knockout loss at the hands of Lucas Matthysse in January 2013. With two victories under his belt since returning to the ring in November of last year, this was a bout that could reestablish Dallas as a contender against an undefeated prospect in Dusty Hernandez-Harrison. While a loss one might argue could have put his career in jeopardy.

The compelling battle between the two took place on May 13th at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. Although Dallas had been successful in his previous two fights in his comeback against Alejandro Alonso and Odilon Rivera, this was clearly a step up in the class of opposition for Dallas as both fighters had a combined record of 7-38-6. Even though it is not unusual for fighters who are attempting a comeback to be matched against relatively unknown and/or undistinguished opposition early on in their comeback, one may well have been justified to wonder if Dallas, who entered the fight with a record of 21-3-1, with 10 Knockouts was ready to step up against a fighter like Dusty Hernandez-Harrison, who entered with a record of 29-0, with 16 Knockouts after suffering the knockout loss at the hands of Matthysse, who was Dallas’ toughest test to date.

It interested this observer to see whether or not Hernandez-Harrison will attempt to put pressure on Dallas Jr. from the outset. Even though it may have been logical to assume based on what happened to Dallas against Matthysse to expect Hernandez-Harrison to look for an opening and test Dallas’ ability to take a punch, the opposite happened as Dallas established a well-balanced attack to the body and head of Hernandez-Harrison in the opening round.

Although Dallas had difficulty landing cleanly on Hernandez-Harrison due to Hernandez-Harrison’s solid defense, it was the volume of his offense and ability to use angles that dictated how the fight was fought. It was Dallas’ hand speed, angles, and ability to control distance and make Hernandez-Harrison miss that I felt carried the fight for the first five rounds including Dallas scoring a knockdown of Hernandez-Harrison with a flush left hook in the closing seconds of round five.

This clearly turned out to be the toughest test in the career of Dusty Hernandez-Harrison thus far. What also impressed me about Dallas’ performance was not just his ability to throw punches in combination and keep Hernandez-Harrison largely on the defensive, but also the way he managed the clock in each round and did not waste much energy even though he was the aggressor.

As the ten round bout entered its second half I felt that Hernandez-Harrison may well have lost every round on the official scorecards as I had given Dallas every round entering round six on my unofficial scorecard. An element of controversy would surface in the eighth round when Dallas would go down seemingly from being hit below the belt, but it was ruled a knockdown by Referee Malik Waleed. This followed an incident in the seventh round where Waleed had called for the fighters to break only to have Hernandez-Harrison hit Dallas after Waleed had called for the fighters to separate.

The controversy notwithstanding it was clear in my eyes that Hernandez-Harrison was behind as this fight entered the late rounds. Although Dallas appeared to be suffering from the effects of fatigue in rounds eight through ten and thus Hernandez-Harrison was able to step up his pace and win those rounds including the questionable knockdown in the eighth round, I felt Dallas did enough to win as I had it scored 7-3 in rounds or 97-93 in points in his favor.

Even though I felt that this was a clear win for Mike Dallas Jr. based largely how effective he was with his combination punching and lateral movement, it did not surprise me to see differing official scorecards. Judge Paul Wallace scored the fight 96-92 in favor of Dallas, Judge Tammye Jenkins scored the fight 95-94 in favor of Hernandez-Harrison, and Judge Wayne Smith scored the fight even 94-94 resulting in the fight being declared a split decision draw.

Although this fight took place in Hernandez-Harrison’s hometown of Washington, D.C., and that alone may tempt some Boxing fans to call this decision a “Hometown decision”, this observer will not make that statement. Even though I thought Mike Dallas Jr. won this fight convincingly, it is important to remember that sometimes there will be differing opinions as to how a fight is scored among fans, experts, and most importantly the three official judges who are tasked with scoring a fight.

As longtime readers know it is not uncommon to hear this observer go through an explanation of the criteria in which Professional Boxing is scored and will state that often when it comes to close fights it will boil down to what a judge prefers in their own individual criteria in how they score based on clean punching, effective aggressiveness, ring generalship, and defense. Although I do not feel that this was a close fight, it is important to remember that not all of Mike Dallas’ offense connected cleanly on Hernandez-Harrison throughout much of the fight due to Hernandez-Harrison’s solid defense.

Even though I scored based on Dallas’ aggression, combination punching, and ability to keep Hernandez-Harrison on the defensive and thus not being able to be as frequent with his offense, it is not out of the realm of possibility that perhaps two of three official judges in this fight scored not only based on Hernandez-Harrison’s defense, but also the sporadic success he was able to have offensively, which did land cleanly when he was able to let his hands go. As someone who has seen and covered thousands of fights and who has seen more than his share of questionable decisions over the years, the decision of a draw in this fight was not the worst decision that I have ever seen.

Rather than focusing on what some may call controversy, the most interesting question coming out of this fight in my mind is whether or not we will see a rematch between Dusty Hernandez-Harrison and Mike Dallas Jr.? In the long run the outcome in this fight may serve Hernandez-Harrison well in his continuing development as he looks to progress his career as a potential world title challenger down the line. For Mike Dallas Jr., who has suffered some notable setbacks in his career his performance against Hernandez-Harrison should be viewed as a positive even though he did not walk away from this fight with a victory.

What Dallas does walk away with however, is a legitimate argument for a rematch after providing a young unbeaten prospect with his most significant test to date. This observer believes a rematch between the two would be the best option for both fighters. Whether or not a rematch between the two takes place in the near future remains to be seen.

“And That’s the Boxing Truth.”

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Brief Update

We would like to let our readers know that two pieces of material are currently in the works regarding some of May 13th’s Boxing action. The first of the two pieces will be released on Tuesday, May 17th. Stay tuned. “And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Alvarez-Khan: Thoughts And Analysis

On May 7th the Boxing world focused it’s attention on the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV to see the battle between WBC Middleweight world champion Saul “Canelo”  Alvarez and former Jr. Welterweight world champion Amir Khan. A fight that had two questions surrounding it. The first question was whether or not Khan, who had never previously fought above the 147lb. Welterweight limit would be able to compete effectively at a higher weight against Alvarez, a fighter who has fought at the Jr. Middleweight limit of 154lbs. for the majority of his career and held a world championship in the 160lb. Middleweight division going into the fight.

Although the bout took place at a catch weight of 155lbs., it was nevertheless an interesting matchup between a fighter known for his quick hands and lateral movement in Khan and a compact boxer/puncher in Alvarez, who much like Khan can box, but is also known for his punching power having scored knockouts in thirty-two of his forty-six career victories prior to this fight. It was crucial in my eyes that Khan implement a tactical strategy with an emphasis on attempting to use his lateral movement and hand speed to out box Alvarez over the course of twelve rounds.

It was not surprising based not only on the danger Alvarez posed as a power puncher, but more importantly the skill he also possesses as a precision counter puncher to see Khan begin this fight looking to establish himself as an elusive target. The challenger was able to immediately show that the move up in weight would have no effect on his hand speed as the first significant punch landed in the fight was a hard right hand flush on the jaw of Alvarez by Khan. It was clear that Khan had an advantage in terms of speed over the champion.

What impressed me in particular was Khan’s ability to execute his offense in spurts while being elusive and making Alvarez, a fighter who likes to play the role of counter puncher come forward and attempt to land offense while trying to cut the ring off from Khan. The second round in particular may well have been Khan’s best round in terms of being able to make Alvarez come forward and more importantly miss the target as Khan was able to use his hand speed to land his offense, but also use his lateral movement to offset Alvarez as he attempted to return offense.

Khan was also able to show that he could withstand the punch of a Jr. Middleweight/Middleweight as he took a couple of solid left hooks on the chin from the champion in the early rounds. Khan’s ability to execute his offense in spurts of small combinations I felt dictated the first four rounds of this fight and it appeared to me that Alvarez was having some difficulty landing on an elusive target. Alvarez however, was able to have sporadic success in landing some of his offense. In the first four rounds, I simply felt that Khan was able to execute his offense more effectively than the champion.

As the fight progressed Alvarez was able to find some success in landing offense to the challenger’s body. Although I felt that Khan had won the first four rounds of this fight convincingly based on his ability to effectively box Alvarez, the champion’s gradual work to Khan’s body seemed to have some effect in rounds four and five. It was in the fifth round that I felt Alvarez was able to be the more effective of the two fighters as he landed effectively to the body and head of Khan. For Alvarez, it was his best round of the fight up to that point in the eyes of this observer.

It was in round six however, that the fight would be brought to a sudden and dramatic conclusion. Alvarez continued to step up his offense and close distance between himself and Khan landing punches to the body and head as well as cutting the ring off and thus limiting Khan from being able to effectively move from danger. Although Alvarez was starting to dictate how the fight was being fought in my eyes, the end of this fight came so suddenly as a perfectly timed counter overhand right over a jab from the challenger landed flush on the jaw of Khan knocking him out cold.

Clearly Saul Alvarez’ knockout of Amir Khan was devastating, brutal, and will surely be under consideration as the knockout of 2016 by numerous outlets who cover the sport, (including this one) once the year concludes. The sudden nature of the knockout however, should not overshadow the fact that this was a considerably more competitive fight than some had anticipated and in my eyes Amir Khan showed that he belonged in the ring with a fighter who was not only a significant star of the sport in Saul Alvarez, but also a fighter who had competed at a higher weight than Khan had previously in his career. Amir Khan has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of as the type of punch  that resulted in the knockout at the hands of Alvarez in this fight was one that probably would have ended the night for most fighters regardless of whether they were moving up in weight or not. It was simply another example of what this observer has often said over the years of the fact “That anything can happen at any given time in the sport of Boxing and that is what makes the sport so great.”

The second question that surrounded this fight was whether or not the winner would agree to face undefeated unified WBA/IBO/IBF Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin in their next fight. It is no secret to regular readers of The Boxing Truth ® that this observer has been loudly calling for Golovkin, a fighter with sixteen successful title defenses and twenty-two consecutive knockouts to get an opportunity to face a fighter who is considered a marquee star of the sport. Readers may recall following Golovkin’s title defense over Dominic Wade last month, I stated that although we did not know at that time who would emerge victorious between Alvarez and Khan that if the winner wanted to be taken seriously as not only a “Middleweight World Champion”, but also as a fighter recognized as a star of the sport that the winner should face Golovkin, who has more than earned the chance to show what he can do on Boxing’s biggest stage.

Readers may also recall following Golovkin’s second round knockout over Wade that I reinforced my stance regarding the concept of “Catchweight” fights and it was and is time for Golovkin to get the “Marquee” or “Super Fight” normally reserved for the sport’s biggest stars saying in closing of my coverage of Golovkin-Wade it is a fight that Golovkin has not only earned, but should not have to go down in weight to “Catch.” Simply put, when you have two fighters each holding portions of a world championship in the same weight class, those two fighters should meet at the weight class’s designated weight limit if they are going to face each other to determine who is the number one fighter in that division.

Even though Saul Alvarez has fought twice in bouts for the WBC Middleweight world championship, he has fought both of those fights at a “Catchweight” of 155lbs. This could lead some to question whether or not Alvarez would be willing to face a fighter without the “Catchweight” stipulation at the Middleweight limit of 160lbs.

Although there is no word as of this writing as to whether or not a battle between the WBC world champion Alvarez and the unified WBA/IBO/IBF world champion Golovkin could become a reality perhaps as soon as later this year, it interests me to see what role the World Boxing Council (WBC) will play if any in bringing this fight to fruition. After all, Gennady Golovkin in addition to holding three of five recognized world championships in the Middleweight division also holds interim championship status in the WBC’s Middleweight ratings per his victory in a title defense in October 2014 over previous WBC number one contender Marco Antonio Rubio.

Even though this observer has stated more than once that Golovkin’s designation of holding interim status in the WBC’s ratings does not mean much in the overall picture because Golovkin was a unified world champion prior to his victory over Rubio, I also stated following Golovkin’s recent victory over Dominic Wade that I believed it was time WBC to step in and ensure that Golovkin get the opportunity to face the winner of Alvarez-Khan. Although it has been stated that the WBC will strip Alvarez of its Middleweight world championship if a fight between the two is not made in the near future, we will simply have to wait and see how the WBC and/or the respective promoters sort everything out.

It should not be overlooked however, that early estimates for the Alvarez-Khan pay-per-view card, which featured four fights, with three of those fights ending in knockouts did reportedly around 600,000 total buys. Although that figure would differ significantly from some estimates that were given before the fight of potentially a million to two million buys, it is important to remember that most of Boxing’s marquee pay-per-view events over the last decade have underperformed expectations.

Whether or not it is due to the ever-increasing price tag for these cards or as I have said in the past a perceived lack of quality of those cards by Boxing fans is a question that cannot really be answered. This observer believes even in an era where Boxing has returned to over the air (OTA) Broadcast television and where consumers have gradually been making the transition away from the cable/satellite medium to over-the-top (OTT) digital distribution over internet platforms that if the right fight is put together at the right time it will succeed no matter how it is distributed.

Although the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in May of  last year broke all existing pay-per-view records generating more than 4.4 million pay-per-view buys, Boxing fans were asked to wait nearly a decade for that fight to come to fruition. Even though there is no doubt that Mayweather-Pacquiao was a significant success, there was also significant backlash after the fight as many fans felt the action in the ring did not live up to expectations and felt they did not get their money’s worth.

Whether Alvarez-Khan was merely affected by fans still feeling dissatisfied after paying $100 to see Mayweather-Pacquiao is a matter of opinion. It is clear however, that the biggest fight that can be made in the sport as of May 2016 would be a battle to further unify the Middleweight division between Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. As the sport as well as the methods of television consumption appear to be in transition, this would be a fight that would be universally welcomed by Boxing fans and experts alike.

It is a fight that should be made as soon as possible while interest, anticipation, and discussion regarding a potential Golovkin-Alvarez showdown is high. We have seen at times in the past when Boxing fans are asked to wait a significant period of time for anticipated showdown between two stars to materialize that when  the actual fight takes place it can ultimately leave the Boxing fan/consumer disappointed. It is my hope that there will not be a significant period of time for Golovkin-Alvarez to become a reality.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison