On The Watch “It’s All About Raymond Muratalla vs Andy Cruz”

IBF Lightweight Challenge

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between IBF Lightweight Champion Raymond Muratalla (24-0, 17 Kos) and Olympic Gold medalist, undefeated Challenger Andy Cruz (6-1, 3 Kos) was a competitive bout that had the fans in attendance at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, quite entertained.

Raymond knew exactly what he was up against and wasted no time executing his “game plan” from the fist bell. Raymond pressed the action with calculated pressure throwing punches from head to body at a higher clip rate than expected but definitely efficient enough to keep Andy from settling down into his own groove.

Andy did his part to match Raymond punch for punch but it was clear as the rounds progressed that Raymond was the one outworking Andy when push came to shove. Andy had his moments in between rounds but never quite capitalized on them enough in my eyes.

Raymond showed up last night and brought his “A” game inside that squared circle and silenced all the naysayers who discredited him as a Champion.

That being said, this was a highly competitive and technical bout where both combatants had to be on point to outduel one and other. After 12 full rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 114-114, 116-112 and 118-110 giving the majority decision to Raymond Muratalla.

Although the score of 118-110 is suspect in my eyes, the right man definitely won this bout hands down.

Congratulations Raymond on retaining your IBF Lightweight Championship.

Well done, Champ!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About The NBA-Who’s On Top?

The NBA Who’s On Top?

We have officially passed the midpoint mark for the NBA Season with 42 plus games played to date and the Defending Champions Oklahoma City Thunder (36-8) have yet to relinquish their No. 1 Spot. They continue to oversee the entire league looking as focused as ever and determined to hold on to their crown by any means necessary.  Breathing closely down their necks are the San Antonio Spurs (30-13) steady pacing themselves and proving to be live contenders ready for the challenge when push comes to shove. The Denver Nuggets (29-14) are already a proven squad, so they are always in the mix regardless of their standing. The intriguing question in the Western Conference right now is who’s next on the come up between the Minnesota Timberwolves (27-16), the Houston Rockets (25-15), the Los Angeles Lakers (25-16), the Phoenix Suns (26-17) and the Golden State Warriors (25-19)?

On the Eastern Conference side, the Detroit Pistons (31-10) are passing the eye test by holding down their No. 1 Spot while still looking like the old school Pistons and steadily improving game by game. The Boston Celtics (26-16) have picked up some steam and put some games together to move up the standings while the New York Knicks (25-18) have had a harder time holding down their spot after winning the Emirates NBA Cup. Our own Canadian team the Toronto Raptors (25-19) have been impressively competitive night in and night out and could easily move up the standings if they could get a good run going. Vying to stay in the mix are the Philadelphia 76ers (23-18), the Orlando Magic (23-19), the Cleveland Cavaliers (24-20) and the Miami Heat (22-21) but things could look different as the season progresses.

That being said, stay locked in for a competitive second half of the season.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Subriel Matias vs Dalton Smith”

WBC Junior Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s Fresh Productions Main Event at the Barclays Center between the so-called boogeyman WBC Junior Welterweight Champion Subriel Matias (23-3, 22 Kos) and undefeated challenger Dalton Smith (19-0, 14 Kos) surpassed my expectations by the way Dalton announced himself to the Junior Welterweight Division. Real Talk!

Dalton, in his first world title opportunity, came in from the United Kingdom with a driven challenger’s mentality determined to get the job done by any means necessary. Dalton who is primely known as a boxer puncher, asserted himself from the jump and pressed the action with a very efficient jab showing Subriel that he carried power as well.

That approach prompted Subriel, who is usually a slow starter to press the action with his own seek and destroy tactics that made this bout that much more intriguing and crowd pleasing as it unfolded.

Personally, I thought this approach by Dalton to fight toe-to-toe with Subriel was the wrong way to go considering that style of fighting suited Subriel better but to my surprise Dalton stood his ground and dished out just as much abuse as he was taking in. Visibly, Subriel’s punches looked more damaging but his lack of defense cost him to take some heat as Dalton was able to land with power as well.

In round five, both combatants continued their toe-to-toe slugfest landing heavy shots after heavy shots but it was Dalton who pierced Subriel’s armour first with a deadly well-placed overhand right that dropped him for the count. Subriel quickly got up on weak legs looking badly hurt

which prompted the referee to stop the bout.

This was a very impressive showing by Dalton who walked in this bout as the underdog and is now crowned the new WBC Junior Welterweight Champion of the World. As of today, the United Kingdom now has five active male Champions.

Fabio Wardley -WBO Heavyweight Champion

Lewis Crocker -IBF Welterweight Champion

Dalton Smith -WBC Junior Welterweight Champion

Jazza Dickens -Junior Lightweight Champion

Nick Ball WBA -Featherweight Champion

Congratulations Dalton!  As Champion you are now the new kid on the block so make your presence felt.

Blaze