On The Watch “It’s All About Terence Crawford vs Shawn Porter”

WBO Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s Top Rank Main Event between WBO Champion Terence Crawford (38-0, 29 Kos) and Shawn Porter (31-4-1, 17 Kos) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena, was a statement-type performance by the Champion that definitely lived up to the hype. Real Talk!

Everybody in the building knew what Porter was going to bring inside that squared circle but nobody knew how Crawford was going to deal with it. Porter brought the heat straight from round one and on and didn’t stop applying pressure making it a real fight. The “game plan” looked simple on Porter’s side but he wasn’t dealing with an average-type of fighter in Crawford.

The key for Crawford was to not get caught up in Porter’s “game plan” but to settle down and execute his own by being patient and sticking to his exceptional boxing skills. He could not get caught stuck exchanging leather for leather letting himself open at times giving unnecessary opportunities which he did, giving Porter successful rounds.

The back and forth both combatants were dishing out was exciting and definitely crowd pleasing to the fans in attendance.

That said, as the rounds were piling up, I could sense Crawford needed to do something spectacular to slow down the momentum Porter had going for himself at that point. Crawford needed to remind the Boxing World why he was on the Pound-for-Pound list.

In the 10th round, Crawford caught Porter with a well-placed short left to the dome that sat him down for a quick 8 count. Porter, who looked surprised, bounced right back up on his feet but the inevitable was looming over Porter’s head. Porter proceeded to go at Crawford with aggression only to be met with a heavy two-piece combo that severely rocked a still concussed and frustrated Porter to the floor for second time. Although Porter managed to beat the 10 count, Shawn’s Dad, Kenny Porter had seen enough and waved the referee to stop the bout. Just like that Crawford put an end to “Showtime” Shawn Porter by TKO in the 10th round.

This was the type of a performance that Terence needed to silence all the naysayers that doubted his greatness inside that squared circle. Porter brought the “heat” and asserted himself quite well but Terence showed to have the equalizer to shut the show down.

This was by far the most noteworthy and hardest combatant to date in Terence’s career and he prevailed in an impressive fashion.

Congratulations Terence on retaining your WBO Welterweight Championship. You truly are one of the Pound-for-Pound greats in the game today.

Blaze

On the Watch ” It’s All About Jaron Ennis vs Thomas Dulorme”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s SHOWTIME Co Main Event between Jaron Ennis (28-0, 26 Kos) and Thomas Dulorme (25-6-1, 16 Kos) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena was a highlight reel for the one they call “Boots” that only lasted one minute and 49 seconds. Real Talk!

For the boxing fans who haven’t yet noticed, Jaron is not to play with inside that squared circle.

It was a quick night at the office for Jaron when he walked inside that squared circle and completely annihilated his opponent by dropping him twice for the count inside the first round with a devastating right hook and straight left hand that stunned Thomas severely on his back which prompted the referee to stop the bout.

Thomas talked that talk and was supposedly the one to give Jaron that tough test he’s been looking for but judging from this outcome, your Boy Ennis had a completely different take on how he personally wanted things to unfold.

With 18 consecutive stoppages on deck, you Boy Ennis is still putting the 147-Pound Division on heavy notice. The Champions and the top 5 Welterweights in the Division can’t keep ignoring “Boots” cause your Boy is out here making steady statements every time inside that squared circle.

His time is definitely now. Who wants next?

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Mikey Garcia vs Sandor Martin.”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event at the Chuckchansi Park, Fresno, CA, between former 4-Division World Champion Mikey Garcia (40-2, 30 Kos) and virtually unknown EBU European Super Lightweight Champion Sandor Martin (39-2, 13 Kos) was a perfect example of a cherry pick gone wrong. Real Talk!

A lot of people lost B.I.G. last night when they expected Mikey to have an easy stay-busy fight in front of his home crowd but then soon found out that Sandor wasn’t coming to lay down without a fight.

This was by far Sandor’s biggest moment of his career and he wasn’t about to drop the ball on the biggest stage with the lights and cameras all focussed on him. Sandor and his team came up with the perfect “game plan” which he executed to a “T”, offsetting the surprised Garcia round by round boxing and counterpunching, never letting Mikey get comfortable enough inside that squared circle.

Mikey’s usual punch output connection rate was non-existent at times and he was getting countered with some heavy, precise punch combinations that kept him from settling into any type of an offensive rhythm.

Mikey, the veteran boxer that he is, was shockingly getting outboxed by Sandor who was gaining more and more confidence as the rounds were piling up. Mikey had himself a few good looks at times but not enough momentum to disrupt Sandor’s aggressive approach.

After 10 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 95-95, 97-93, 97-93 all in favor of the underdog Sandor Martin.

The right combatant won this bout hands down. Mikey simply didn’t do enough in my eyes to secure the win. Maybe the long layoff played a part in his lackluster performance but my personal opinion is that Mikey simply overlooked his opponent and paid the price inside that squared circle.

That being said, I tip my “B” hat to Sandor for sticking with the “game plan’ and pulling off one the best wins of his career to date. You touched down in the United State for the first time in your career and left a lasting impression with a great victory.

Congratulations Sandor you truly earned this one, job well done.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Conor Benn vs Adrian Granados”

Welterweight Showdown

Conor Benn (19-0, 12 Kos) had himself another step-up bout tonight when he took on the tough and durable Adrian Granados (21-9-3, 15 Kos) on the Matchroom/DAZN card at the Headingley Stadium in Leeds, England.

There was a lot of trash talking coming from both sides but the one combatant who backed up the tough talks was Conor, hands down! Conor was clearly on a seek and destroy mission from rounds one to ten.

Conor came inside that squared circle to please the fans in attendance and to show the boxing world that he’s world class ready. Conor’s aggression was quite visible and affective at times administering some heavy power punches from head to body with seemingly no resistance coming from Granados.

Adrian showed toughness as usual absorbing the onslaught coming his way but his lack of commitment to go toe to toe with Conor made things quite easy to judge round by round. Granados had absolutely no power to his punches tonight and his constant movement did not add up to the right “game plan” to disrupt Conor’s nonstop aggressive punch output.

Although Adrian completed the full ten rounds, his performance tonight was very lackluster. Granados looked more like a fighter who wanted to survive then the always gamed warrior we were accustomed to seeing.

That being said, after 10 rounds of somewhat action the Judges scored it 100-90, 90-91 and 97-93 unanimously in favor of Conor Ben.

Conor may have been unable to stop Adrian within the 10 rounds tonight but he did get some much-needed rounds in that showed us how improved of a boxer he has become in a such a short professional career to date.

Keep the momentum going Conor, your time is coming. Until then congratulations on your latest win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas”

WBA “Super” welterweight Challenge

Last night’s PBC/FOX Sport Pay-Per-View Main Event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas between Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 Kos) and WBA “Super” Champion Yordenis Ugas (27-4, 12 Kos) was a shocking type of an event that saw the underdog Yordenis silence all the critics when he handily defeated the Legendary “Pacman” by unanimous decision.

It was a beautiful display of boxing by Ugas who stuck to the “game plan” from the jump and executed it perfectly. Ugas’ strong and steady jab was key all night in preventing Manny from rushing him with his flurry of punches. Ugas asserted himself and imposed and utilized his size and reach the right way.

Pacquiao looked surprisingly confused at times, not able to get into a proper offensive flow to offset Ugas, who kept it really simple but effective enough to trouble Pacquiao round by round.

I was very impressed by Ugas’ patience inside that squared circle, never letting the moment of fighting a legend deter him or distract him off his mission at hand.

Watching the way this bout unfolded it was evident to me that Pacquiao underestimated Ugas’ ability to box the way that he did. I tip my “B” hat to Ugas for showing us that he can still elevate his game as the competition steps up. Ugas came into this bout as the underdog but walked out earning Pacquiao’s respect the hard way, inside that squared circle.

After 12 full rounds of non-stop action, all three Judges scored it 116-112, 116-112, 115-113 in favor of Yordenis Ugas. By far the best win of his career to date.

With this convincing win, Yordenis retained his WBA “Super” Welterweight Title and reinforced his position in 147-Pound Division. With the momentum on his side, Ugas is now looking forward to a unification bout with WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 Kos) or an encounter with Unified IBF/WBC Welterweight Champion Errol Spence Jr. (27-0, 21 Kos).

Regardless of the opponent, both combatants would have the making of an exciting bout.

Until then Yordenis congratulations on your latest triumph.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Virgil Ortiz Jr. vs Egidijus Kavaliauskas”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Golden Boy/DAZN Main Event at The Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas, was well worth the wait. Real Talk! Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 Kos) and Egidijus Kavaliauskas (22-2-1, 18 Kos) showed us fans what two hungry fighters can produce when matched up properly.

The warrior that Egidijus is came out early and asserted himself quite well by pressuring Vergil in the first few rounds even catching him with a barrage of punches and a right uppercut on the chin that clearly dropped Ortiz but the referee called it a slip. That said, Ortiz survived the round and returned the favor in the third round when he also chinned Egidijus and dropped him for a quick 8 count right before the bell.

As the rounds were piling up so was the action inside that squared circle. Both combatants brought the “Heat”. Egidijus proved to be the test Virgil needed at this point but it was only a matter of time before he’d figured Kavaliauskas out.

As great as the back-and-forth action was inside that squared circle, Virgil’s power and precision shined bright in the eighth round when a well-placed left shot to the body dropped Egidijus for a quick eight count then a left hook to the chin for the second knockdown, another eight count then chinned checked again for a third knockdown, another eight count but then came the “End Game” a barrage of unanswered heavy punches dropped “Mean Machine” for the fourth and final time which then prompted the referee to officially stop the bout.

It was a beautiful display of boxing by Virgil who encountered some solid resistance but prevailed big time when it was all said and done.

That being said, Virgil wants next with WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 Kos) or any other Champions in the Division. Your Boy is out here looking for all that smoke.

Who really want it with the Kid Virgil Ortiz Jr. cause he got next!

Blaze

On the Watch ” It’s All About Jaron Ennis vs Sergey Lipinets”

Welterweight Showdown

Jaron Ennis (27-0, 25 Kos) walked it like he talked when he completely destroyed tough and durable adversary Sergey Lipinets (16-2-1, 12 Kos) at last night’s Showtime Main Event card from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

It was business as usual for Jaron when he stepped inside that squared circle with absolutely no sign of fear. Once the bell rang in the first round Jaron established himself as the more physical combatant with his size and strength while boxing and moving effectively preventing Sergey from ever setting up his own offence.

Sergey usually gets around to imposing himself but last night he clearly lacked the proper “game plan” to counter Jaron’s steady calculated offence.

Jaron’s ring generalship and perfectly timed switch-hitting style was visibly confusing Sergey inside that squared circle.  The number of heavy shots that Sergey was absorbing was quite worrisome outside looking in. I personally expected Sergey to be more competitive with his work rate but the punishment that he was enduring by the sixth-round cost him heavily when he got caught cold with a right-left devastating combination that flatted him out to the canvas and prompted the referee to instantly call an end to the bout at 2:11 of the sixth-round.

This was a very impressive performance by Jaron considering Sergey had never been stopped before or punished in such a dominant fashion.

Jaron is making it be known that he’s coming for that Number 1 Spot in the Welterweight Division. My only question is who will volunteer to derail the young lion?

Congratulations Jaron on another great performance. Goodluck to the competition!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Adrien Broner vs Jovanie Santiago”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Showtime Main Event between Adrien Broner (34-4-1, 24 Kos) and Jovanie Santiago (14-1-1, 10 Kos) from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut wasn’t as eventful as I expected. Real Talk!

Broner, who hadn’t graced the inside of a squared circle in more than two years, may have looked the part last night but definitely didn’t look like the AB that I grew to appreciate throughout his career. AB still got “problems” letting his hands go.

It’s clear that things haven’t been the same for AB since his loss to Marcos Maidana which to me was a respectable loss cause AB fought his heart out that night and simply got beaten by the better man. That’s the version of AB that could still be a “Problem” to anybody stepping inside that squared circle with him.

That being said, the AB who showed up last night was a shell of the Broner I grew accustomed to seeing. Real talk! Although AB was awarded the win last night, I personally think he failed to show us the work rate that would have sealed the deal convincingly.

Broner clearly landed the harder shots throughout the bout but Santiago was visibly the more consistent with his work rate round by round. The Judges clearly didn’t appreciate Jovanie’s activity and determined aggression when they scored it 117-110, 116-111, 115-112 all in favor of Broner.

Let’s keep it real, that’s some serious suspect scoring and I’m an AB fan from time. A draw in my eyes would have been more acceptable.

Activity is key for you AB so make it happen for yourself Money! You are way too skilled to be having questionable fights like this one.

Just my thoughts.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Errol Spence Jr. vs Danny Garcia”

IBF/WBC Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s Main Event between Errol Spence Jr. (27-0, 21 Kos) and Danny Garcia (36-3, 21 Kos) at Arlington Texas inside the AT&T Stadium, answered a lot of questions that we the fans had when it came to EJ. After 12 rounds of action all was revealed to the boxing world.

EJ dusted off his shoulders last night inside that squared circle and showed all the doubters and his supporters that your Boy was back 100%. Spence’s car accident in October 2019 left a lot of us fans wondering if Errol could ever get back to his championship form, he once held before the car crash and, with last night’s dominant performance against Danny, your Boy EJ defied all odds.

EJ is “The Truth” inside that squared circle hands down. Errol made Danny, who is one of the top strong Welterweights, in the Division, looked like a pedestrian inside that squared circle. Spence kept that pressure on Danny all night with a stiff effective jab that prevented Danny from applying any type of successful offence.

Whatever “game plan” Danny’s corner constructed for the night became obsolete the minute EJ’s jab started touching Danny at will. EJ’s jab was key last night and clearly marked Danny up from all angles. Danny showed some grit and a strong will to compete but just didn’t have the right output to keep up with EJ. Had Danny applied more pressure the outcome could have definitely been different.

That being said, EJ showed us once again that he’s levels above all competitors who dare to challenge him for that No. 1 Spot inside that squared circle. The Judges were all in agreeance tonight with the score of 116-112, 116-112 and 117-111 for Errol Spence Jr.

With this dominant performance by Spence, he now retains his IBF and WBC Titles while putting the 147-Pound Division back on notice that “The Truth” is back like he never left.

Congratulations Errol on another great performance.

Who’s next?

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook”

WBO Welterweight Title Defense

Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 Kos) silenced all the naysayers once again at last nights Main Event inside the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas when he annihilated the tough and worthy former IBF titleholder Kell Brook (39-3, 27 Kos).

It took Crawford a few rounds to get going while Kell was looking good in the early rounds with a stiff jab causing Crawford to rethink his approach. By round three Crawford had switched stance to southpaw and started moving in on Kell like he had figured out the right angles to press the action. The bout started to heat up and was looking really competitive. Kell was holding his own, moving and boxing well until the fourth round started when Crawford caught Brook slippin and connected with a powerful right hand that staggered Kell all the way to the ropes. Crawford continued administering further unanswered assault before the referee intervened to rule a knockdown on Brook and separated them for the standing 8 count.

Seeing that Brook was clearly hurt, Bud wasted no time in finishing his wounded opponent with a flurry of heavy punches that forced the referee to halt the bout at 1:14 in the round.

As good and strong as Brook was last night, Crawford made sure his own power was felt when he stopped Brook dead on his feet. With this destructive win, Terence retained his WBO Welterweight Title that he effectively defended for the fourth time.

Since entering the 147-Pound Division, Crawford has knocked out or stopped all of his opponents in convincing fashion. That being said your Boy Bud is the silent killer in the Welterweight Division. Your Boy got pop in them hands and is nothing to play with. Real Talk!

Peeps can talk all they want about who Bud fought or hasn’t fought to date, but all I want to know is Who’s next?

Blaze