On The Watch “It’s All About Gervonta Davis vs Hector Luis Garcia”

WBA “Regular” Lightweight Challenge

Last night’s Showtime PPV/PBC Main Event between WBA “Regular” Lightweight Champion Gervonta Davis (28-0, 26 Kos) and Super Featherweight Champion Hector Luis Garcia (16-1, 10 Kos) brought the heat to another sellout crowd of 19,731 at the Capital One Arena where “Tank” made sure the fans in attendance left the arena satisfied.

The bout started out as expected in a strategic fashion where both combatants were working on angling out their respective “game plans”. Garcia proved to be a worthy opponent that kept things very interesting as the rounds progressed.

Both combatants boxed well. Garcia kept his jab working keeping Davis at bay but a jab can only take you so far when you’ve got “Tank” opposite of you. “Tank” did what was expected of him and worked his way in touching Garcia with some heavy fast combinations clearly getting to Garcia as the rounds piled up.

Garcia showed some serious resilience going toe to toe with Davis but “Tank’s” power could only be avoided for so long. Although Garcia kept things exciting, Davis made sure he stayed one step ahead by countering Garcia’s attack with some serious leather with power behind every punch landed.

Gervonta had figured out Garcia by round 8 and in this round “Tank” put it all together and applied just the right amount of pressure with some serious accurate shots from head to body that clearly affected Garcia.

Before the start of round 9, Garcia complained about his vision being blurred and opted not to come off his stool for the beginning of the round and by doing so trusting Gervonta with a TKO.

This was a competitive bout from start to finish. Gervonta had to work for this one and prevailed like the superior boxer that he is and in doing so reattained his WBA “Regular” World Lightweight Title.

With this win now completed the next task at hand is a scheduled showdown encounter with Ryan Garcia in the upcoming months. Now that’s a very intriguing matchup that will surely have the attention of the boxing community at large.

Blaze

DJ Blaze’s Top 15 December 25, 2022

1-Diddy f/Bryson Tiller, Yung Miami, Ashanti-Gotta Move On (rmx)
2-Jim Jones & Hitmaka f/BEAM-Gunshot
3-Joe Moses f/Jeremih-Freak It
4-Diddy f/Rick Ross-Whatcha Gon’ Do
5-Mr. Lewis Aka Spliff Star f/Smoova-Live Life
6-Tyga & Chris Brown-Nasty
7-Kai Ca$h f/Capella-Round And Round
8-VRS-Wide Open
9-DJ Khaled f/Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy-God Did
10-Busta Rhymes f/Conway The Machine & Big Daddy Kane-Slap
11-Jim Jones & Maino f/Leash-Holy
12-A Boogie Wit Da Hoody f/Tory Lanez-Take Shots
13-Kaitlyn Morell-Dip
14-Ty Dolla Sign f/Lil Durk & Mustard -My Friends
15-GoGo Morrow f/Symba-With You

On The Watch “It’s All About Michel Rivera vs Frank Martin”

Lightweight Showdown

Last night’s Showtime Main Event between undefeated Michel Rivera (24-1, 14 Kos) and undefeated Frank Martin (17-0, 12 Kos) unfolded in a very unpredictable fashion at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Both combatants came out the gate confident and attempting to work out their respective “game plans” but as the rounds progressed, Frank is the one who shined round by round by applying nonstop pressure with a set of heavy hands making it very hard for Rivera to establish any type of comfort inside that squared circle aside from his jab which was good, but lacked volume to deter Martin.

Both combatants showed exceptional skills but as the rounds’ progressed Frank was clearly ahead securing each and every one of them. Michel had met his match. Frank was simply too slick, stronger, faster and the one controlling the action inside that squared circle.

Desperation was mounting in Rivera’s corner and by round seven Frank took the lead and never looked back when he dropped Rivera to the floor for a quick 8 count. It was at that moment when Rivera looked defeated.

There was no coming back for Rivera. As the rounds continued to pile up, Martin continued to dominate in a very convincing but impressive way. After 12 fully completed rounds, the Judges at hand scored it 120-107, 118-109 and 117-110 all in favour of Frank Martin.

It was a clear shutout by the rising contender Frank “The Ghost” Martin who has now put the 135-Pound Division on notice that he’s coming for all that smoke and looking for that work. Man Down!

Blaze

DJ Blaze’s Top 15 December 18, 2022

1-Diddy f/Bryson Tiller, Yung Miami, Ashanti-Gotta Move On (rmx)
2-Jim Jones & Hitmaka f/BEAM-Gunshot
3-Joe Moses f/Jeremih-Freak It
4-Diddy f/Rick Ross-Whatcha Gon’ Do
5-Tyga & Chris Brown-Nasty
6-Kai Ca$h f/Capella-Round And Round
7-VRS-Wide Open
8-DJ Khaled f/Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy-God Did
9-Busta Rhymes f/Conway The Machine & Big Daddy Kane-Slap
10-Jim Jones & Maino f/Leash-Holy
11-A Boogie Wit Da Hoody f/Tory Lanez-Take Shots
12-Jim Jones & Maino f/Fabolous-No Bobby V
13-Kaitlyn Morell-Dip
14-Ty Dolla Sign f/Lil Durk & Mustard -My Friends
15-GoGo Morrow f/Symba-With You

On The Watch “It’s All About Naoya Inoue vs Paul Butler”

Undisputed Bantamweight Championship

The first-ever Undisputed Bantamweight Champion in the four-belt era was crowned last night when Undefeated Unified WBA/WBC/IBF and Ring Magazine Champion Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21 Kos) took on WBO Champion Paul Butler (34-3, 15 Kos) and completely outclassed him in front of his hometown at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

I expected to see two warrior Champions go blow for blow inside that squared circle vying for that Undisputed Crown but instead I witnessed the “Monster” Inoue establish immediate fear into his opponent causing him to retreat into survivor mode from round 1 and on.

For Butler to travel from the United Kingdom to Tokyo and not perform like the Champion that he is, was very disappointing. Butler talked a good game from the jump but failed miserably when faced head on with Inoue inside that squared circle.

There are levels to this boxing sh*t and clearly Inoue was 10 notches above Butler who had absolutely no answer and lacked a “game plan” to contain or deter the stronger, faster, smarter combatant from having his way with him inside that squared circle.

Inoue’s punches were thumping with accuracy round by round and even when Butler attempted to utilize the ring by moving away, he was met with an aggressive flurry of punches at every corner. Butler looked like a moving punching bag trying to survive a never-ending onslaught.

Entering the 11th round Inoue was ready to close the show and close the show he did when the crowd in attendance rallied behind their star, motivating him to punish his opponent with a flurry of body to head shots breaking Butler down who was unable to answer the count by the referee.

Although Butler did not behave like a Champion on this night, he did prove to be a tough Dude to withstand such a one-sided beatdown for eleven rounds at the hands of Naoya “Monster” Inoue – the New Undisputed WBA/WBC/WBO/IBF and Ring Magazine Bantamweight Champion of the world.

Congratulations Naoya on you latest history making accomplishment.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Terence Crawford vs David Avanesyan”

WBO Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s BLK Prime Main Event between WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 Kos) and challenger David Avanesyan (29-4-1, 17 Kos) was an event that Terence’s home-grown fans in attendance fairly enjoyed at the CHI Health Center.

The night in particular was an exciting event leading up to the showdown that Terence closed out in emphaptic fashion. I witnessed a man who hadn’t fought in over 13 months showing no rust whatsoever when he systematically broke down his opponent round by round, never looking rattled or bothered by Avanesyan’s aggression at times.

Terence was cool and calm and in control, patiently waiting for the right opportunity to close it out at his own will. As much as Avanesyan tried to deter Terence by landing a few good shots, none of them affected “Bud” inside that squared circle. No disrespect to Avanesyan who is a tough competitor and fresh off six straight knockout wins, but when faced with an elite combatant in Crawford, David was levels below the reach.

That said, when “Bud” was done toying with Avanesyan he shut the whole show down in a dramatic fashion with a well-placed left uppercut-right hook combination that sat Avanesyan down for the count in the 6th round forcing the referee to call an end to the bout.

With this resounding win Terence has now defended his WBO Welterweight Championship Belt for the sixth time and recorded his 10th straight knockout. Pound-for-Pound one of the best to ever do it inside that squared circle, Hands Down!

Congratulations Terence, you did your city proud on this one.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Teofimo Lopez vs Sandor Martin”

WBC Junior Lightweight Eliminator

Last night’s Top Rank/ESPN Main Event between Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 Kos) and Sandor Martin (40-3, 13 Kos) at Madison Square Garden, New York wasn’t quite the “TAKEOVER” by Teofimo that the fans in attendance expected.

Teofimo was inside that squared circle with a slick defensive southpaw in Sandor who was able to defuse and frustrate Lopez all night long. What Teofimo had in mind did not unfold as planned. The “game plan” constructed by Teofimo’s corner never really got a chance to see the light of day.

Sandor hadn’t come to New York just to lay down for Teofimo, as a matter of fact it was Sandor who actually dropped Teofimo for a quick 8 count in the second round forcing Lopez to step his game up from that point on.

Lopez tried round by round but it was painfully obvious that frustration was getting the best of him as Sandor boxed and moved disabling Lopez from ever catching a proper flow throughout the bout.

Although Teofimo was the aggressor of the two combatants inside that squared circle, Lopez’s body language showed me he was the defeated fighter, irritated that he wasn’t able to get Sandor out of there.

After 10 fully completed rounds, the Judges at hand scored it 97-92 and 96-93 for Lopez and the third Judge 95-94 for Martin, giving the split decision to Teofimo Lopez.

Although Teofimo won the bout, the lack of focus and confidence displayed by Lopez last night lets me know that he’s going to have to step his game up in a major way if he still has aspirations of ever being a full fledged Champion in the Junior Lightweight Division because them “Boys” at the top of the food chain do not play with their food and this version of Teofimo is looking like food ready to be taken.

Just my thoughts.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Josh Warrington vs Luis Alberto Lopez”

IBF Featherweight Challenge

Tonight’s Matchroom/DZAN Main Event between IBF Featherweight Champion Josh Warrington (31-2-1, 8 Kos) and Luis Alberto Lopez (26-2, 15 Kos) was an action packed bout from start to finish in Josh’s own backyard at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England.

First off, the referee for this bout was horridness – hands down one of the worst officiating for a championship bout. That said, both combatants came out the gate going blow for blow in a very aggressive but competitive manner which resulted in some great action but as the rounds progressed, I personally felt that Josh was getting away with too much home cooking when the referee failed to call the constant fouling that Josh was getting away with the continuous back of the head, rabbit punches and head-butting happening in front of his capable eyes.

Although the no call was happening, Lopez kept his work on par and continued to press the action by not discouraging himself and sticking to the “game plan” at hand. Lopez did get an early cut from a Josh headbutt but did not let that deter him from staying in the pocket and hammering down his own heavy punches.

Aside from the constant fouling from Josh, he did let his hands go and fought back when things got heated between them two as the rounds progressed. Josh seemed to pick up the action in the later rounds making it really close to call. That said, the first half of the fight was clearer to call for Lopez who managed to secure the earlier round in my eyes.

This was a tough bout for both combatants but after 12 full rounds of non-stop action two of the Judges at hand called it 115-113 for Lopez while the third Judge called it a draw giving Lopez the unanimous decision.

This was a close bout from start to finish but truth be told I feel the right combatant won this battle inside that squared circle.

Congratulations Luis Alberto Lopez on your latest accomplishment. The odds were clearly stacked against you from the moment you stepped foot inside that squared circle but you fought through your toughest challenges and prevailed as the winner and now join the winner’s circle as the new IBF Featherweight Champion of the World.

Well done!

Blaze