On The Watch “It’s All About Eleider Alvarez vs Joe Smith Jr.”

WBO Light Heavyweight Title Eliminator

Last night’s Top Rank main event between Eleider Alvarez (25-2, 13 Kos) and Joe Smith Jr. (26-3, 21 Kos) at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, was well worth the wait. Real Talk!

This bout was non-stop action straight from the jump. Joe Smith who’s well known for having heavy hands held no punches throughout the night and displayed some great boxing improvement to go along with a flawless “game plan” that highlighted his strengths round by round.

Alvarez who was the more polished boxer of the two, played right into Joe Smith’s “game plan” and fell victim to his traps. The last thing you want to do when facing Jo Smith is to sit there and go toe to toe “phone booth” style with him. That is just what Alvarez did and he paid the price for it.

Personally, I was confused by Alvarez’s approach from the jump. Alvarez being the superior boxer of the two looked to bang it out with the wrong Dude on that night when he should have been boxing in and out, disrupting Smith’s come forward aggressive style.

Alvarez, not being able to do the proper adjustments inside that squared circle, caused him to get caught up in Joe’s physical roughness tactics. It was evident that Smith’s power was just too much for Alvarez to handle.

Joe’s pressure eventually overwhelmed Alvarez in the ninth round when Eleider succumbed to a hard right-left combination that dropped him down through the ropes for the count that prompted the referee to wave off the bout.

It was a very competitive bout and an impressive performance by Smith, who clearly showed vast improvement in his skill. With this strong win Joe advances to fight the winner of another WBO Light Heavyweight Elimination bout between contenders Umar Salamov (25-1, 19 Kos) and Maksim Vlasov (45-3, 26 Kos) for the vacant WBO Light Heavyweight Title.

Until then, congratulations on your amazing win Joe- job well done.

Blaze

On the Watch “It’s All About Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin”

WBC Diamond and Interim Heavyweight Challenge

In a surprising turn of events, the Heavyweight Division standing took another hit in tonight’s Heavyweight main event in the Matchroom Boxing Camp in Brentwood, Essex, UK, between Interim WBC Champion Dillian Whyte (27-2, 18 Kos) and Alexander Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 Kos).

What started out has a sure shot win for the “Body Snatcher” Dillian ended up in a possible knockout of the year for Povetkin. Dillian came out of the gate controlling the rounds and even dropping Povetkin twice in the fourth round for a standing eight count. Dillian got a little too comfortable by the fifth round and got caught with a mean left uppercut from Povetkin that created a crime scene type knockout that left us fans watching with our mouths wide open when the referee stopped the fight after Dillian was unresponsive on the floor. Real Talk! (my girl Ang called it when she said in the previous rounds to watch out for that uppercut from Povetkin).

The way the fight was going Povetkin was looking tired and slow in the previous rounds and Dillian was looking like he was getting ready to stop the older warrior in Povetkin but truth be told Povetkin still had an ace up his sleeves in the form of a well-timed destructive well-placed uppercut that secured the win in the fifth round. Real Talk!

This bout was a perfect example of what can happen on any given night in the Heavyweight Division. Most of them Boys in the Division carry power and can never be counted out regardless of their age. Dillian talked a good game and performed well throughout the contested bout but clearly underestimated the power the older veteran Povetkin still possessed and paid dearly for it.

Povetkin’s resilience and pedigree showed up tonight and silenced all the naysayers who counted him out. What was supposed to be a walk-in park for Dillian turned out to be a nightmare of a night in the form of a devastating loss that will haunt him for quite some time.

That being said, congratulations are in order for the New WBC Diamond and Interim Heavyweight Champion Alexander Povetkin.

Job well done Alexander; you defied all odds and came out an Interim Champion. I’m not sure how much juice you got left in you but tonight you were the conqueror who dethroned the Interim Champ. Enjoy your winnings, you deserve it.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About The NBA PLAYOFFS 2020”

NBA Playoffs 2020 (Sweet 16)

With the NBA-Restart successfully completed, we are now ready for phase two of inside the “Bubble” of The NBA Playoffs.

This year “King of The Court” and No. 1 Seed for the shortened season are The Milwaukee Bucks (56-17). Them Boys came out the gate strong the entire season and established their dominance night in and night out. They have literally picked up where they left off last year but are definitely determined to write the wrong of not getting to the NBA Finals. They want that “Ring” by any means necessary.

That being said, our own Canadian team the Defending Champions the Toronto Raptors No. 2 Seeded (53-19) are still ballin like the Champs that they are. Real Talk! For those who thought that the Raptors would have fallen off due to Kawhi Leonard leaving, have unquestionably misjudged this team. The Raptors have acquired the experience needed to get to the promise land. They are battle-tested and have the right squad to compete with anybody on any given day. They will be defending their crown.

The Eastern Conference teams that have all made it to the “Bubble” will all have a jab at whom will represent the Eastside but I’m most intrigued by the 3rd Seeded Celtics (48-24), 4th Seeded Pacers (45-28), the 5th Seeded Heat (44-29) and the 6th Seeded 76ers (43-30) because they are all making the Eastern Conference run real attention-grabbing outside looking in.

Representing the Western Conference with the No. 1 Seed is the LeBron James- and Anthony Davis- driven Los Angeles Lakers (52-19) and breathing down their necks are the Kawhi Leonard- and Paul George- driven No. 2 Seeded Los Angeles Clippers (49-23). The word on the street is one of these LA teams will be taking it all the way to the finish line. Personally I think it would be foolish to think that the remaining participants in the 3rd Seeded Nuggets (46-27), the 4th Seeded Rockets (44-28), the 5th Seeded Thunder (44-28), the 6th Seeded Jazz (44-28), the 7th Seeded Mavericks (43-32) and even the Cinderella team in the 8th Seeded Blazers (35-39) couldn’t throw a twist to any possible outcome in these Western Playoffs. Records aside, these Western teams competing in the “Bubble” are way too competitive to being overlooked by any one of them.

Don’t sleep on this year’s 2020 “Sweet 16” Playoff run and tune in this Monday night August 17, 2020. Check up!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About The NBA – The Restart “

Due to the Covid-19 epidemic that’s been affecting the World as of late, the NBA was forced to lean back for a few months to now finally being able to get the green light as per the NBA’s Board of Governors, to officially resume play this Thursday July 30, 2020 and conclude August 14, 2020.

A lot has changed since the last NBA Game in March 2020. To stop the spread of Covid-19, games will be played inside a quarantine-safe site without fans at Orlando, Florida’s Walt Disney World aka “the Bubble”.

A total of 22 teams will be in Orlando Florida. The 16 teams currently in the Playoff position and six teams within six games of the No. 8 seed, in either conference.

Eastern Conference

1-Milwaukee Bucks (53-12)
2-Toronto Raptors (46-18)
3-Boston Celtics (43-21)
4-Miami Heat (41-24)
5-Indiana Pacers (39-26)
6-Philadelphia 76ers (39-26)
7-Brooklyn Nets (30-34)
8-Orlando Magic (30-35)
9-Washington Wizards (24-40)

Western Conference

1-Los Angeles Lakers (49-14)
2-Los Angeles Clippers (44-20)
3-Denver Nuggets (43-22)
4-Utah Jazz (41-23)
5-Oklahoma City Thunder (40-24)
6-Houston Rockets (40-24)
7-Dallas Mavericks (40-27)
8-Memphis Grizzlies (32-33)
9-Portland Trail Blazers (29-37)
10-New Orleans Pelicans (28-36)
11-Sacramento Kings (28-36)
12-San Antonio Spurs (27-36)
13-Phoenix Suns (26-39)

The eight seeding games will continue each day through August 14, 2020 to determine Playoff positioning. The postseason will follow the traditional format with the best-of-seven-game series all the way through the NBA Finals.

The stakes have gone up for the remainder of the 2019/2020 NBA Season. The challenges of having to deal with the high risk of Covid-19 and staying and playing out the rest of the NBA Season in one location is going to be quite the experiment to say the least but one I am very curious to see the outcome of.

Tune in on TNT Thursday night July 30, 2020 and be part of the “Restart” of the second half of the NBA Season 2019/2020.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Regis Prograis vs Maurice Hooker”

Back With A Vengeance

An interesting match-up between two highly-rated former Junior Welterweight Champions Regis Prograis (24-1 20 Kos) and Maurice Hooker (27-1-3 18 Kos) has been set to take place at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland on Friday April 17,2020.

This bout right here is gonna be fire! Real Talk! Both combatants are attempting to skip the traditional line back to a championship bout by challenging each other rather than taking on an easy mark to boost their ego.

Both have suffered a recent and acceptable loss but have maintained their respectable rankings within the different sectioning bodies due to still being the best at the 140-Pound Division.

Styles make fights and these two combatants have the right skills and attributes to cancel each other out at any time. They both want that heat and know what’s at stake for the winner down the line. Their crowd-pleasing styles are a shot recipe for a good night of boxing full of action whenever you can get two former Champions to share the same squared circle.

To keep things fair and interesting both warriors have agreed to a catchweight of 143 pounds, in order to keep their options open to move up or down a Division if need be to chase the next big challenge ahead.

This is a long-time coming type bout with some high-risk implications added to it so don’t miss the live action on DAZN Friday night April 17, 2020 at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury”

WBC Heavyweight Title Challenge II

Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 Kos) delivered on his promise and bullied the WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41 Kos) on his own soil. Last night’s Main Event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada was nothing short of an exciting showdown between two of the biggest Heavyweight Boxers in the game today.

The “Gypsy King” came into this bout with a new trainer and a flawless “game plan” that Tyson executed to a “T”. I gotta tip my “B” hat to Fury for delivering such a one-sided beat down on one of the most heavy-fisted Boxers in the game today. Tyson’s approach this time around took Wilder by surprise. Tyson stood his ground early and physically asserted himself to the point of doing the impossible and actually dropping Wilder in the third round for a quick standing 8 count from which Wilder never fully recovered. Wilder looked tired and was on shaky legs from that point on. Definitely unusual territory for the Champ.

Tyson was putting his hands all over Wilder and all over that squared circle with no real resistance from the Champ. The power puncher last night was Furry who literally manhandled and dominated Wilder to a second knock down in the 5th round. The pressure was looking like it was too much for Wilder who looked gassed as the rounds wore on and truth be told, to everybody’s surprise, Wilder’s corner threw in the towel to stop the unanswered onslaught in the 7th round. Unbelievable! Deontay got hella heart and clearly wanted to go out on his shield but pulling him out in that 7th round was the right move to do to save him from any further injuries.

I never expected to see the so-called “pillow-fisted” Fury stopping the Champ in such a convincing fashion. With this win, the “Gypsy King” dethroned the “Bronze Bomber” and picked up the WBC Heavyweight Championship Title along with the Ring Magazine Belt and now becomes a two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Congratulations on your latest accomplishment Tyson. This rematch will unquestionably go down in Boxing History as one of the greatest battles. You walked in on a throne and left that squared circle the “Gypsy King” of the Ring.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Caleb Plant vs Vincent Feigenbutz”

IBF Super Middleweight Challenge

Last night’s homecoming bout at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee between Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (20-0, 12 Kos) and Vincent Feigenbutz (31-3, 28 Kos) was a beautiful display of boxing skills by the homegrown fighter.

Caleb handed his mandatory challenger Vincent a one-on-one schooling session at its highest level. No disrespect to Vincent who was a tough and heavy fisted opponent who was simply short of being ready for an A+ fighter of Caleb’s caliber.

As big and strong as Vincent was inside that squared circle, it was clear from the jump that he did not possess the right attributes to hang with the Champ. Caleb systematically dismantled and abused Vincent from top to bottom with some well-placed combination punches that had Vincent confused and beaten at every corner of every round.

By the 10th round, it was clearly a no-win situation for Vincent who was a walking heavy bag for Caleb. The referee had seen enough and pulled the plug at 2:23 of the remaining round.

With this win Caleb successfully retained his IBF Super Middleweight Title and is now welcoming all other Super Middleweight Champions to the round table. Caleb is looking for that smoke and that unification bout.

That being said, Caleb is shaping up to be a real threat of a Champion in the Super Middleweight Division. He’s got that “it” factor with that determination and hunger to run the 168-pound Division as the No. 1 guy.

Caleb is looking like a complete fighter right now. It’s gonna take a special fighter to derail this confident Champion from his seat at the round table.

WBC Super Middleweight Champion David Benavidez is looking forward to oblige Caleb’s request of a future bout and I can’t wait to see what comes of it.

Until then, congratulations on your convincing win Caleb.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About The 69th 2020 NBA All-Star Game”

This Year the 69th annual NBA All-Star Game will be hosted in the iconic city of Chicago at the United Center, on Sunday February 16, 2020.
In an effort to keep things fresh and exciting, the league is maintaining the Draft-Style format once again. As usual the starters were chosen by the fans and the media and the players also had a say to the votes. Returning Captains Giannis Antetokounpo and LeBron James were able to draft from the pool of players voted as Starters and Reserves.

Representing the Eastern Conference Starters this year are

-Giannis Antetokounpo (Milwaukee Bucks) Team Captain
-Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
-Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors)
-Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics)
-Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)

Reserves

-Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks)
-Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
-Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz)
-Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat)
-Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors)
-Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans)
-Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz)

Coach Nick Nurse (Toronto Raptors)

Representing the Western Conference Starters this year are

-LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) Team Captain
-Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)
-Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers)
-Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
-James Harden (Houston Rockets)

Reserves

-Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
-Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers)
-Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
-Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
-Chris Paul (Oklahoma City Thunder)
-Russell Westbrook (Houston Rockets)
-Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers)

Coach Frank Vogel (Los Angeles Lakers)

“King of The Court” will be up for grabs come Sunday night February 16, 2020. Which team will talk that sh*t and claim “GAME” when it’s all said and done?

Tune In!

Blaze

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

The NBA-Who’s On Top?

We are well passed the midpoint mark for the season with 51 plus Games played to date and leading the entire league again this year is the Milwaukee Bucks (43-7). Them boys are on a redemption tour playing hard night in and night out from offence to defence. The Bucks are locked in and driven to get to the NBA Finals and the way they have been ballin all season it could very well be theirs for the taking. Our own Canadian team, the Defending Champions the Toronto Raptors (36-14) are surprisingly keeping it interesting considering the loss of their MVP Kawhi Lenard to the Clippers. The Raptors still have a solid squad that can definitely upset any team thinking that they are a walk over. The Boston Celtics (34-15) and the Miami Heat (34-15) are presently tied for third but either team could easily grab the No. 2 Seed with the way both teams have been playing as of late. They are both well- balanced teams who play hard ball from start to finish. The Indiana Pacers (31-19) and the Philadelphia 76ers (31-20) are both trying to hold down their respective spots for a Playoff seed but truth be told I personally expected Philly to be fighting for the 1 to 3 spot and not the lower seeds. That being said, there is still lots of ball to be played and the brackets could change come April.

With the Golden State Warriors forced to take a back seat this year, the Western Conference has a new face leading the pack with the Los Angeles Lakers (38-11). They started the season with the No. 1 spot and are still holding onto it thanks to the play of their two All Stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis helping to lead the way. That being said, holding onto the No. 1 spot won’t be that easy with The Los Angeles Clippers (35-15) chasing that No. 1 Seed and gunning for “king of the Los Angeles Court” with their two All Star players, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George getting it going come crunch time. The Denver Nuggets (35-16) are right there as expected and ready to take the No. 1 or the No 2 Seed if either Los Angeles team falter. The Nuggets may be overlooked here but they are definitely ballin the right way this season. The Utah Jazz (32-17) are bubbling at the right time securing their Playoff spot in the competitive Western Conference but holding onto their spot is a challenge within itself considering how tough the conference is. I expect a musical chair type seeding to happen within the remaining teams vying for a potential Playoff spot. The Houston Rockets (32-18), the Dallas Mavericks (31-19), the Oklahoma City Thunder (30-20) and the Portland Trail Blazers (23-28) all have a chance at a final run.

Just my thoughts.

Blaze