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

On The Watch “It’s All About Jesse Rodriguez vs Sunny Edwards”

IBF/WBO Flyweight Unification Championship

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between WBO Flyweight Champion Jesse Rodriguez (19-0, 12 Kos) and IBF Flyweight Champion Sunny Edwards (20-1, 4 Kos) definitely brought the house down at the Desert Diamond Arena. Real Talk!

Both undefeated Champions walked into that squared circle to determine who was the No. 1 Flyweight in the Division and what transpired subsequently was quite surprising. The usual untouchable slick-talking, slick-moving “Showtime” Sunny Edwards found out quite quickly that “Bam” Rodriguez was the real deal inside that squared circle.

The pressure and patience that Jesse was coming in with was serious and he walked it like he talked it when he was putting some heavy leather on Sunny right from the jump. Sunny wasn’t used to getting touched up like this and hurt at the same time and as the rounds progressed, you could visibly see the damage that Jesse was doing by the way Sunny’s face was being marked up.

Sunny had absolutely no answer or the right “game plan” to deter Jesse from having his way inside that squared circle. Round by round you could see Jesse gaining more and more confidence while not respecting his opponent by the way he was pressuring Sunny at every corner of the ring.

Truth be told, it was a one-sided beat down that nobody expected. The inevitable was nearby. The brash talking “showtime” Sunny’s light was looking dimmer and dimmer as the rounds progressed and he looked like a defeated man ready to be put down. Jesse obliged in the ninth round and dropped Sunny with a vicious knockdown in the closing round prompting a corner stoppage in between rounds 9 and 10.

With this emphatic win now under his belt, Jesse has now put to bed the debate on who is unquestionably the No. 1 Flyweight champion in the Division by picking up the IBF World Championship Belt and unifying it with his WBO World Championship Title.

Well done “Bam” you’ve earned all the respect the hard way. Congratulations on your latest conquest.

Blaze

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

The NBA Who’s on Top?

We are officially at the Quarter mark of this year’s NBA Season and with the successful completion of the first NBA In-Season Tournament, the changing of the guards is looking quite optimistic within the early standings updates making some teams quite uncomfortable at the moment.

The NBA In-Season Tournament created some traction and some competitiveness that kept the players involved and motivated to reach the destination in Las Vegas and the two surprising teams to represent their respective coasts for this In-Season Tournament were none other than the two No. 5 Seeds in the Indiana Pacers (12-8) and the Los Angeles Lakers (14-9). Staged on a neutral floor both teams balled out like the NBA Finals and brought us a serious game this early into the season. LeBron James and Anthony Davis took it to the next level and raised the bar with LeBron closing out the game with 24 points and 11 boards while Davis finished off a run that secured him the first NBA Cup MVP Award with a performance of 41 points and 20 boards. Unbelievable! The Laker’s one-two-punch was simply too much for Indiana to contain. The Lakers were the In-Season Tournament’s best team from the jump and proved it by walking away with the Trophy of the NBA’s first In-Season Tournament. As the In-Season Tournament Champion all the players and coaches on the Lakers will receive $500.000 each and as runners-up, the Indiana Pacers will receive $200,000 each. Incentive well-earned.

In Season Tournament aside the championship game will not count for either team’s regular season record, unlike every other game played in the event.

Although the In-Season Tournament was interesting, the true and surprising team holding down the No. 1 Spot is none other then the Minnesota Timberwolves (17-4). Them Boys have been looking like true contenders game by game. The season is a long one but if they can maintain the right nucleus and keep growing as a unit, they could see themselves creating some serious havoc come Playoff time.

Another surprising team on the come up is the Oklahoma City Thunder (14-7). With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander increasingly improving year by year and leading this team to stardom, the Thunder seems to have the right attitude and competitiveness to maintain their position amongst the tough Western Conference.

The Dallas Mavericks (13-8) have been maintaining but have also been hit with the injury bug to key players like Kyrie Irving. Depending on how long Kyrie could be out they could find themselves in the hole quickly if Luka can’t hold down the fort for the time being.

The Defending Champs the Denver Nuggets (14-9) haven’t been themselves as of late but still maintain a certain presence in the league as Defending Champs. Health is key and when healthy they are damn near unstoppable. Nikola Jokic is still piling up the stats in an impressive fashion and has proven capable to carry the team when needed.

With new faces climbing up the standing in the Western Conference the Los Angeles Lakers (14-9) (In-Season Tournament Champion), Sacramento Kings (12-8) and the Phoenix Suns (12-10) could find themselves moving up in no time.

The Boston Celtics (16-5) are holding the No. 2 Spot in the league and are in a very competitive Eastern Conference where the new players on the squad have been gelling just right. Them Boys are proving to be legit and can ball with the best of them from either coast. Definitely early contenders on the watch.

The Orlando Magic (15-7) have showed mass improvement and seem to be getting it together. They have been competitive night in and night out but still have lots to prove but are definitely willing to put in that work.

The Milwaukee Bucks (15-7) have proven to have the fire power on the offensive end to hold onto their standing for now but where they fall is at the defensive end. With the loss of Jrue Holiday, the defense has taken a major hit that needs to be addressed if they are to compete towards a Championship.

The Philadelphia 76ers (14-7) have been competitive for the time being but do also suffer from weak defense that needs to be addressed as well. Two-way player MVP Joel Embiid is playing at an all-time high but can’t cover every part of floor at the same time.

The Indiana Pacers (12-8) (In-Season Tournament runners-up), the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-9), the New York Knicks (12-9), the Brooklyn Nets (12-9) and the Miami Heat (12-10) all have the talent but lack consistency but with the right momentum going their way could find themselves bumping the higher ups down from their pedestals.

So much can change from game to game so stay locked in as the season progresses.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Regis Prograis vs Devin Haney”

WBC Junior Welterweight Champion

Last night’s DAZN/Matchroom PPV Main Event between Junior Welterweight Champion Regis Prograis (29-2, 24 Kos) and challenger former Undisputed Lightweight Champion Devin Haney (31-0, 15 Kos), was the type of homecoming any young champion moving up in weight would love to have in front of their fans at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Real Talk!

The undefeated former Undisputed Lightweight Champion Devin Haney ascended into the 140-Pound Division with a “BANG” and completely dominated the Champion Regis on the biggest stage. Devin walked it like he talked and tamed, boxed, dropped, embarrassed, and utterly disarmed the “Rougarou” inside that squared circle.

Devin showed growth last night and had himself a flawless performance where he made the Champion look like an amateur who did not belong in the ring with him. Regis talked a lot of sh*t in the build-up to the fight but had absolutely no answer or the right “game plan” to keep up with Devin on the night. Regis looked out of place and uncomfortable after being dropped in the third round and rocked multiple times throughout the bout. It was clear that his confidence was nowhere to be found.


After 12 one-sided rounds of domination, the Judges at hand unanimously called it a shutout 120-107 for the New WBC Junior Welterweight Champion Devin Haney.

With this compelling performance Devin now becomes a two-weight Division Champion and should be worthy of a spot on everybody’s Pound for Pound list hands down.

Congratulations Devin on another great win. I can’t wait to see what your next challenge will be.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About David Benavidez vs Demetrius Andrade”

WBC Interim Super Middleweight Challenge

Last night’s final Showtime PPV Main event ended with a “BANG” when undefeated Interim WBC Super Middleweight Champion David Benavidez (28-0, 24 Kos) completely annihilated former two Division World Champion Demetrius Andrade (32-1, 19 Kos) at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Andrade came out the gate with the right “Game Plan” boxing and moving letting his hands go and trying to assert himself as a formidable opponent but “The Mexican Monster” stayed true to his moniker and turned the pressure on once he felt no effect from Demetrius’ power and it was straight downhill from that point on.

Simply put, Benavidez was too big and too strong for Andrade to deter and he paid a hefty price in attempting to go blow for blow in the fourth round by getting clipped for a standing 8 count near the end of the round.

Benavidez is a stone-cold punisher inside that squared circle and Demetrius found out the hard way just how dominant “The Mexican Monster” is once that nonstop pressure with them heavy hands keep landing at a ridiculous clip with nowhere to run.

Andrade’s “game plan” went straight out the ring once he realized he had nothing going for him inside that squared circle. Demetrius became a walking punching bag for the next few rounds. I was totally shocked to see Demetrius get broken down so easily. I expected to see Andrade’s skill set to flourish on the night but it was David who blossomed and proved to be the superior combatant inside that squared circle.

At the end of the sixth round Andrade’s corner had seen enough and instructed the referee to pull the plug giving David a technical knockout conquest for the night.

This beatdown on an elite boxer like Demetrius Andrade is proof enough to me that Benavidez is well deserving of an opportunity at a chance at a showdown with Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 Kos).

Until then, congratulations David on another destructive performance.

Blaze