On The Watch “It’s All About Keith Thurman vs Mario Barrios”

Welterweight Throwdown

Last night’s Premier Boxing Champion/Fox Pay-Per View Main Event between Keith Thurman (30-1, 22 Kos) and Mario Barrios (26-2, 17 Kos) at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas was a very crowd-pleasing entertaining bout.

Keith, who hasn’t graced the squared circle in nearly two years, appeared in tip top shape and ready to rumble right from the first bell. Keith looked sharp, strong and very accurate with his punch selection. Going toe to toe with a big first timer in the Welterweight Division in Mario Barrios is not an easy task. Barrios looked strong and big as well at the weight and very rangy with his reach and height creating a stiff challenge to Keith.

That said Keith, boxed with confidence and clearly displayed a higher boxing IQ round by round. I gotta tip my “B” hat to Barrios for stepping into the lion’s den and taking on such a proven competitor as his first fight into the Division. As good of a boxer Mario is he was levels below the highly experience Thurman inside that squared circle. Barrios held his ground, fought well and proved that he will be a problem to the rest of the Welterweight Division.

Keith was on point last night, firing heavy shots from all angles and moved beautifully from round 1 to 12 without displaying any fatigue or ring rust. Quite impressive.

After 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 118-110, 118-110 and 117-111 all in favor of Keith Thurman.

Thurman needed to prove to the 147-Pound Division that he was back and last night’s performance was adequate enough but the question still remains: will he still have what it takes to dethrone the current Champions in IBF/WBC Errol Spence Jr. (27-0, 21 Kos), WBO Terence Crawford (38-0 29 Kos) and WBA Super Yordenis Ugas (27-4, 12 Kos) holding the belts?

Until then, congratulations Keith on your comeback win. I can’t wait to see who your next challenger will be.

Blaze

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6-Mary J. Blige f/Dave East-Rent Money
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15-Tony Sunshine f/Dre-Wandas Son

On The Watch “It’s All About Chris Eubank Jr. vs Liam Williams”

Middleweight Throwdown

Tonight’s grudge match between Chris Eubanks Jr. (32-2, 23 Kos) and Liam Williams (23-4-1, 18 Kos) at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff Wales got put to bed indefinitely.

Eubank Jr. got himself into a proper dust up with Liam and handled him accordingly. There was a lot of animosity going back and forth prior to the bout but things got settled fittingly inside that squared circle.

Chris came out the gate quite composed and proceeded with a proper “game plan” that saw the aggressive Williams get dropped in round 1, 2, 4 and 11. That said, Liam put up a good fight and stayed competitive but clearly underestimated Chris’ boxing abilities inside that squared circle.

Chris walked it like he talked it and proceeded to give Liam a proper beating for the trash talking he gave up prior to the bout. It was clear to me that Chris wanted to punish Liam round after round instead of knocking him out when it presented itself and in doing so gave Liam hope as the rounds progressed.

That being said, after 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 116-109, 116108 and 117109 all in favor of Chris Eubank Jr.

Haters will talk their talk as usual but truth be told Junior has showed mass improvement under the guidance of Roy Jones Jr. hands down.

With this convincing win Eubanks edges one step closer to a title shot either with the WBA where he is ranked No. 1 or with the WBC where he is ranked No. 3. with the governing bodies.

Until then, keep working on perfecting your craft, Chris.  Your time will come – just stay ready for that call.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Gary Russell Jr. vs Mark Magsayo”

WBC Featherweight Challenge

Last night’s Showtime Main Event between WBC Featherweight Champion Gary Russell Jr. (32-2, 18 Kos) and mandatory challenger (24-0, 16 Kos) at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, wasn’t as eventful as we anticipated the bout to be but we did witness the longest reigning active run by a male Champion in boxing come to an end.

It was evident by the low punch output by Gary in the first few rounds that there was something wrong with his shoulder. Gary who is known for throwing multiple punches in bunches was relegated to pot shotting with only his left hand. Although he connected at will whenever he threw it, the overall output just wasn’t there.

Magsayo did what every fighter should do when an opponent is clearly fighting with a visible injury and that is to capitalize on it. Magsayo applied pressure early with power punches coming from all angle.


Gary did a great job at being elusive throughout the bout making it hard on Magsayo to maintain his aggressive approach but the early rounds that Magsayo had already banked in cost him dearly down the line.

Magsayo was visibly the more aggressive fighter with clearly the punch output and connection on his side. Although Gary attempted to sway the Judges with his punch and move “game plan”, after 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 114-114, 115-113 and 115-113 for Mark Magsayo.

With this win Mark Magsayo now becomes the new WBC Featherweight Champion of the World.

Congratulations Magsayo on your latest achievement.

Blaze