On The Watch “It’s All About Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales”
Undisputed Junior Featherweight Champion
Unified WBC/WBO Junior Featherweight Champion Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23 Kos) continued his dominant performance when he took on Unified IBF/WBA Junior Featherweight Champion Marlon Tapales (37-4, 19 Kos) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
It was an exciting bout from start to finish where both combatants brought their “A” game inside that squared circle and performed for their respective fans by going toe to toe earning each other’s respect.
Marlon stood his ground and fought fire with fire at times but quickly found out that Naoya was an exceptional opponent that required a different type of approach considering how skilled and allusive he is inside that squared circle.
There are levels to this boxing sh*t and this morning Inoue outworked and out skilled a very worthy champion in Marlon. Naoya’s controlled aggression was key as he was able to chin check Marlon and dropped him for a quick 8 count late in the fourth round.
Although Marlon recovered and continued to have some sporadic moments inside the squared circle, the heavy pressure that Naoya was applying with his accurate punch selection was visibly getting to Marlon.
Naoya’s power is real and was on full display as he was able to drop Marlon for the second time with further impact that kept him down for the count in the 10th round. Marlon did good and fought well throughout the bout but was simply met with a superior combatant on the night.
With this convincing win Inoue has now in his possession the IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO and the vacant Ring Magazine Belt crowning him the New Undisputed Junior Featherweight Champion of the World.
This is an unbelievable achievement to be added to his ever-growing accolades of winning Titles in four different Divisions and back-to-back Undisputed recognition keeping a stronger hold on lock on everybody’s Pound for Pound list.
Well done, Naoya, Fighter of The Year is a must.
Blaze
On The Watch “Anthony Joshua vs Otto Wallin”
Heavyweight Showdown
Tonight’s final PPV Showdown Main Event at the “Day of Reckoning” between former Two-Time Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 Kos) and Otto Wallin (26-2, 14 Kos) did not disappoint at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With the pressure of success weighing heavily on his back, AJ made sure to bring his “A” game on the night and proceeded to bring the “Heat” to Otto straight from the jump. AJ knew the importance of this bout and stayed locked in with an accurate heavy jab that did the damage very early into the bout.
AJ looked sharp with calculated aggression that took Otto by surprise. Although Otto tried his best to stand his ground, AJ’s offensive approach prevented him from being able to assert himself in a competitive manner. AJ boxed beautifully and administered a one-sided beatdown round by round that was very impressive to watch.
AJ was systematically breaking his opponent down visibly having his way with him inside that squared circle. It was painfully obvious that the usually tough and durable Otto Wallin had absolutely no answer to derail Anthony inside that squared circle.
The inevitable was closing in and by the end of the fifth round, Otto’s corner had seen enough and prevented him from coming out in the sixth round giving AJ the win by technical knockout.
This was the type of performance that AJ’s fans were craving for. A strong and aggressive AJ that beats his opponents down in a convincing fashion. Just the type of performance needed to close out an amazing historical great night of boxing.
Well done Anthony, you played your position right and delivered on the biggest night of Boxing.
Blaze
On The Watch “It’s All About Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker”
Heavyweight Showdown
Tonight’s Co-Main Event at the Day of Reckoning between former WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 Kos) and former WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker (34-3, 23 Kos) shook the Heavyweight Division up with the surprising outcome of this bout. Real Talk!
The “Bronze Bomber” seemed to have run out of detonating ammunition with the inferior performance he brought in on the night. Wilder talked hella sh*t to the buildup of the bout but dropped blanks inside that squared circle.
The fans in attendance couldn’t believe what was happening. Parker was surprisingly the aggressor, controlling every inch of the ring annd applying controlled pressure backing up the heaviest puncher in the Heavyweight Division with absolutely no resistance coming his way.
I’m not sure if the lack of inactivity had finally caught up with Wilder but this version of him looked shot and not well prepared for an active and determined warrior of the likes of Parker.
Parker followed the “game plan” to a “T” and put a good beating on Deontay backing everything he said he would do. Aside from not dropping Deontay inside the allocated 36 minutes, this one-sided beatdown made it easy for the three Judges who scored it 120-107, 118-111, 118-110 unanimously for Parker. Impressive!
While everyone labeled Parker an easy mark for Deontay, Joseph went out there and proved all the naysayers wrong by disabling the “Bronze Bomber” of his well-known ammunition.
This was by far the best win of your career to date. Well done, Joseph, you are steadily climbing your way back to the mountain top of the Heavyweight Division.
Blaze
On The Watch “It’s All About Daniel Dubois vs Jarrell Miller”
Heavyweight Showdown
With his back to the wall Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 Kos) found some kind of redemption by stopping the trash talking Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (26-1-1, 22 Kos) on his time slot on the card of the “Day of Reckoning” at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dubois set the stage early by letting his hands go and never looking back. I had anticipated Jarrell would be the one applying the pressure but for some reason Jarrell was looking to tire Dubois out by letting him use up his energy in the earlier rounds but as the rounds started to pile up it was Dubois who was the one banking up the rounds by being the more active fighter with his punches.
Both combatants looked tired at times, but it was Daniel who weathered the storm and continued to go blow for blow as the rounds progressed. Daniel had to dig deep for this bout, but he stood his ground and put a beating on “Big Baby” that had him looking depleted.
Jarrell looked desperate in the final round and lacked the energy or the power to deter Daniel from having his way while continuing to receive an onslaught of unanswered punches prompting the referee at hand to stop the fight.
Miller talked that talk but failed to back it up when the going got tough. Props to Dubois for proving the naysayers wrong. You still have that fire left in you.
Well done, Daniel.
Blaze
On The Watch ”It’s All About Arslanbek Makhmudov vs Agit Kabayel”
Heavyweight Showdown
One of the unexpected early shockers of the night at the “Day of Reckoning” happened when our own Canadian/Russian representative Arslanbek Makhmudov (18-1, 17 Kos) succumbed at the hands of Agit Kabayel (24-0, 16 Kos). Unbelievable!
Kabayel stood his ground with absolutely no fear of the monster in Arslanbek standing across from him. Kabayel boxed and moved beautifully with a punch and accurate output that visibly bothered Arslanbek. Although Agit was the smaller combatant, his speed and calculated movements were apparently troubling Arslanbek.
Makhmudov never looked comfortable whenever Agit landed heavy body shots on him and in the fourth round Arslanbek was eventually dropped from a well-placed body shot for a standing 8 count but visibly looking worked.
Kabayel continued putting his punches together from head to body and dropped Makhmudov for the second time. A frustrated Arslanbek refused to stay down and rose back to his feet but the onslaught coming his way was simply too much to handle and he eventually succumbed for the third time to the floor prompting the referee to stop the bout.
There are levels to this boxing sh*t and tonight, Makhmudov found out the hard way to never underestimate your opponent.
I tip my “B” hat to Agit Kabayel. This was an impressive performance and by taking out our own Canadian/Russian representative the way you just did has surely moved you up the Heavyweight Division.
Well done!
Blaze