DJ Blaze’s Top 15 November 24, 2024

1-Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre f/ALUS-Outta Da Blue
2-DJ Frass & Chip-Gyalis Pree
3-Dej Loaf f/2 Chainz-Faded
4-Ella Mai-One Of These
5-Capella Grey f/French Montana & Fivio Foreign-Strings
6-Snoop Dogg, Dave East & Whoistevenyoung-Love You More
7-Capella Grey-One More Chance
8-Mary J. Blige f/Fabolous-Breathing
9-Kyle Banks & Eric Bellinger-Fantasies
10-Kehlani f/Lil Mo & Vince Staples-Know Better
11-J-Doe f/G-Eazy-Let Me See It
12-Lola Brook f/Jeremih-No One Else
13-Chris Brown-Press Me
14-Dave East & Scram Jones f/Trini-Secrets
15-Lucky Banks f/Capella Grey-Shawty A Vibe

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

Light Heavyweight Showdown

A very interesting match up has officially been announced. WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Champion David Benavidez (29-0, 24 Kos) will be putting his undefeated record on the line once again by challenging the strong and powerful undefeated WBA “Regular” Light Heavyweight Champion David Morrell (11-0, 9 Kos) on February 1, 2025, in a PPV on PBC/Prime Video Main Event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Although Morrell has only been in the professional ranks for a short period of time, he has been yearning for a chance to take down Benavidez and prove to the world that although Benavidez is one of the “top dogs” in the Division, he is not the “Mexican Monster” or the “Boogieman” that some in the boxing community perceive him to be.

That being said, Benavidez is a proven warrior who has been taking out the willing contenders brave enough to challenge him one by one. Benavidez is a big Dude who puts his punches together in such a fashion that usually overwhelms his opponents into submission.

Benavidez’s style is what makes this bout interesting to me because Morrell is also big and strong at the weight and has exceptional boxing skills to go along with his own power that could give Benavidez some serious problem on the night.

The trash talking was heavy at the press conference, but one thing was clear to me is that both combatants seemed confident and showed no fear of backing down from one another.

A lot of questions will be answered at the conclusion of this bout. Is this fight too soon for Morrell? Has Benavidez truly met his match by facing Morrell? Who will prevail the No. 1 challenger to the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev?

Tune in on PBC PPV Prime Video Saturday night February 1, 2025, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and witness this very intriguing showdown unfold.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Gilberto Ramirez vs Chris Billam-Smith”

WBA/WBO Cruiserweight Unification

Last night’s Golden Boy/DAZN Latino Night Main Event between WBA Cruiserweight Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 Kos) and WBO Cruiserweight Champion Chris Billam-Smith (20-2, 13 Kos) was a very competitive throwdown at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Judging by how this bout unraveled, it was clear to me that Chris’ team underestimated what “Zurdo” brought inside that squared circle. Chris’ team assumed that Gilberto wouldn’t be able to stand toe-to-toe with a true Cruiserweight since “Zurdo” was coming from the lower Division of Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight to now Cruiserweight but failed to understand that “Zurdo” was always big and strong at those weights and damn near a weight bully who truly belonged in the Cruiserweight Division.

Prior to this bout, Gilberto defeated Arsen Goulamirian and relieved him from his WBA Cruiserweight Title which brought us to this Unification bout where Gilberto, a seasoned warrior did not back down from the challenge, but did step towards it with his gloves up.

Both combatants had their moments but it was Gilberto who boxed and moved and pressed the action going toe-to-toe outworking Chris, proving himself to be worthy of the Division.

Both warriors banged hard, throwing heavy punches at one another but as the rounds progressed it was Chris who started fading in the later rounds giving the edge to “Zurdo”. That being said I tip my “B” hat to Chris for never succumbing to the pressure when things looked bleak and ending the tough fight on his feet.

After 12 full rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 116-112, 116-112 and 116-113 unanimously for Gilberto Ramirez.

This was a tough and taxing bout for Gilberto but the reward at the end of it was well worth the challenge. With this win “Zurdo” is now a Unified WBA/WBO Cruiserweight Champion and looking to contest the No.1 Dude in the Division, IBF/Ring Magazine Champion Jai Opetaia (26-0, 20 Kos).

Until then, congratulations Gilberto on a very impressive win.

Blaze

On the Watch “It’s All About Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano II”

Undisputed Junior Welterweight Challenge

The highly anticipated and rescheduled rematch unraveled last Friday night to a packed house at the AT & T Stadium when Undisputed Junior Welterweight IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Champion Katie Taylor (24-1, 6 Kos) and highly decorated Champion Amanda Serrano (47-3-1, 30 Kos) picked up the “HEAT” right where they left off from their last encounter two years ago at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

This Co-Main Event should have been the original Netflix Main Event of the night by the way these two warriors rigorously fought toe-to toe from start to finish entertaining all who took the time to enjoy this great battle.

Both combatants came into this challenge with an extra sense of confidence and familiarity of one another but it was Serrano, coming up three Divisions and the smaller fighter, who actually had more pop at the weight. Serrano’s punches stunned Katie early and set the stage for the night.

A relentless Katie refused to backdown and stood her ground and exchanged leather going back and forth. However, a severe clash of heads opened up a cut over Serrano’s right eye that threatened the continuation of the bout but a persistent Serrano refused to bow out this way and insisted on going on with the fight.

The cut eventually opened up some more due to further clashes of heads by Taylor that looked deliberate at times but nevertheless did not deter Serrano from imposing her will. Both combatants threw a combined 1,263 punches between the two but it was Serrano who outpunched Taylor 324 to 217 and handed out the more telling damage.

After 10 very competitive rounds of nonstop action, the Judges at hand all scored it 95-94 in favor of Katie Taylor, once again giving us a controversial ending to another great bout.

With this win, Katie Taylor retained her Undisputed Junior Welterweight IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Championship Titles but in my opinion, I feel that Amanda did enough to dethrone Taylor on the night due to her higher work rate and her stronger finish in the championship rounds.

Just my thoughts.

Blaze