Canada's Hottest DJ
IBF Lightweight Showdown
Last night’s MVP/ESPN Main Event between IBF Lightweight Champion Elif Nur Turhan (14-1, 8 Kos) and challenger Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner (19-1, 7 Kos) put up a showcase type of an event that favoured the challenger more than the champion at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. Real Talk!
Elif came in this bout as the “Bogeyman” of the Division who is very durable and has enough power to make most combatants rethink their approach inside that squared circle. Her track record speaks for itself; however, last night’s showdown was a reality check when former Undisputed Featherweight Champion Alycia, moved up in weight to the Lightweight Division and proceeded to show Elif what an A+ level fighter looks like.
Elif attempted to bully her way through this bout but quickly realized her bullyish ways were no match for Alycia’s high ring IQ and who jabbed and boxed circles around Elif.
Alycia’s defense and accurate punch output was on point all night. As hard as Elif attempted to press the action with some moments of her own, she was unable to land anything significant enough to deter Alycia from controlling the rounds.
After ten three-minute rounds of one-sided action, the Judges at hand scored it 100-90 across the board, unanimously for Alycia Baumgardner.
This was a statement type of a performance where Alycia announced herself in a “BOMB” way to the Lightweight Division and made a tough task look easy by snatching the IBF Lightweight Title from the previously undefeated Elif Nur Turhan.
Congratulations Alycia on your latest impressive accomplishment.
Blaze
WBC Super Middleweight Challenge
A refreshed looking challenger in Canelo Alvarez (64-3-2, 39 Kos) in the DAZN Main Event against WBC Super Middleweight Champion Christian “Solide” Mbilli (29-1-1, 24 Kos), silenced all the naysayers who doubted him inside that squared circle on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The “Canelo effect” was on full display once he stepped foot inside that squared circle opposite of Mbilli, who is usually a high-volume aggressive fighter but, on this night, became a shell of himself having to throw hands with a seasoned “Kingpin” who knew his way around that square circle.
Canelo’s “game plan” was simple, flawless and most effective just by the way he controlled the pace of the bout by preventing Mbilli from bullying him with a high-octane punch output due to Canelo’s precise counter punching, accurate jab and exceptional defensive tactics that had Mbilli second-guessing his approach all night.
Canelo established himself early by making his presence felt by landing the more accurate power punches clearly showing effect round by round. Mbilli had some moments but was never able to capitalize on them long enough to deter Canelo from having his way with him inside that squared circle.
The level of patience that Canelo displayed throughout this bout was very impressive. Canelo’s experience and superior ring IQ were simply too much for Mbilli to deal with on this level. Had Mbilli approached this challenge without being gun-shy and with a few more options to try, the outcome might have been different.
That being said, after 12 full rounds of action, the Judges at hand could only see it one way, 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112, unanimously for Canelo Alvarez.
With this very convincing win, the “Kingpin” is officially back at the top of the Super Middleweight Division and the New WBC Super Middleweight Champion of the World.
Well done, Champ!
Blaze
IBF/WBC/WBO Lightweight Unification Showdown
Last night’s Top Rank/DAZN Main Event between IBF/WBO Unified Lightweight Champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (40-3-1, 33 Kos) and WBC Lightweight Champion O’Shaquie “Ice Water” Foster (26-3, 12 Kos), surpassed my expectations when these two warriors touched gloves at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Real Talk!
“Ice Water” Foster stayed true to his moniker when he delivered an ice cold performance and executed a flawless “game plan” that saw him dominate Navarrete which is not an easy task to do considering his unorthodox style that is very hard to crack. Nevertheless, Foster boxed and moved and even stood his ground long enough at times in such a manner that could not be denied.
Foster understood the task at hand and delivered an exceptional performance that definitely showed his growth and skill set inside that squared circle. Navarrete was getting outworked round by round and could not establish himself in his usual effective and aggressive fashion. Although Navarrete had some moments, the night belonged to Foster who never broke character or his “Ice Water” level of concentration throughout the bout.
To seal the outcome, Foster even managed to drop Navarrete twice for standing 8 counts in the 12th round. Unbelievable!
After 12 rounds of one-sided action the Judges at hand scored it 118-108, 118-108 and 115-111 unanimously for O’Shaquie Foster.
With this impressive and dominant win, O’Shaquie is now the new Unified IBF/WBC/WBO Lightweight Champion of the Word placing him as the No. 1 fighter in the Lightweight Division. A position well deserved and rightfully earned. The road to Undisputed should be next!
Until then, congratulations O’Shaquie on another great performance.
Blaze