On The Watch “It’s All About Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford”

Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion

Last night’s Riyadh Season/Netflix Main Event between Undisputed Super Middleweight IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Champion Canelo Alvarez (63-3-2, 30 Kos) and Former two- Division Undisputed Champion and four-time Division Champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (42-0, 31 Kos), surpassed all my expectations by the way things unravelled at the Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas.

  This wasn’t a passing of the torch but rather a forceful “Takeover” at the hands of Crawford who systematically disarmed the “Kingpin” on Mexican Independence weekend, in front of

70, 000 fans, possibly the biggest stage he could have performed on in Las Vegas.

I personally anticipated a competitive bout from start to finish but what ‘Bud” brought inside that squared circle was very impressive. Real Talk! If Crawford was a Rubik’s Cube, Canelo had no clue or the proper “game plan” to solve the puzzle.

‘Bud” the smaller man who was moving up in weight, asserted himself quite well and stood his ground and fought the bully toe-to-toe while showing absolutely no fear as the rounds progressed. Crawford boxed and moved and kept his hands busy enough to stop Canelo from ever finding a good enough rhythm to mount a suitable attack.  

Crawford’s respectable power and punch output was key to carrying out their bullet proof “game plan” that had Canelo bewildered and confused round by round. Crawford had the look of a man on a mission and never folded at any time during the bout.  He stayed cool and under control at all times.

At the completion of the bout the Judges at hand scored it 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 unanimously for Terence “Bud” Crawford.

This was a career-defining historical moment where Terence Crawford became the first male combatant to be Undisputed Champion across three weight Divisions in the four-belt era. He slayed the reigning “Kingpin” and snatched away all the jewels of the IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Championships to now become the Undisputed King of the Super Middleweight Division.

Congratulations Terence, you have definitely placed your name and accomplishments in the GOAT debate, hands down!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Regis Prograis vs Joseph Diaz”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Golden Boy/DAZN Co-Main Event between former Junior Welterweight Champion Regis Prograis (30-3, 24 Kos) and former Featherweight Champion Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz (34-8-1, 15 Kos), was quite an entertaining bout that took place at a catchweight of 143 pounds at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Both combatants desperately needed a victory. That being said the action was on and popping right from the gate as Diaz pressed the action early and rocked Prograis with a deadly left hook that had him on shaky legs for the remainder of the first round. To my surprise, Prograis fought back instinctively in survivor mode preventing Diaz from stopping him in the first round.

Diaz proceeded to press the action in the second round and once again managed to rock Prograis putting him right back on shaky legs and Prograis still managed to complete the second round.   

By the third round, Prograis still looking a little shaky on them legs, started to put his punches together by being active enough to win rounds by matching fire with fire with Diaz round by round.

Both warriors brought the “HEAT” inside that squared circle hammering heavy shots after heavy shots looking to do some damage to each other. What surprised me the most is how a non-puncher like Diaz was able to hurt Prograis multiple times throughout the bout.

I’m starting to think that Prograis amour might be broken considering how his last few opponents have been against non-punchers like Devin Haney, Jack Catterall and now “Jo Jo” Diaz and they have all been able to look stronger and more durable than him inside that squared circle.

Nevertheless, after 10 rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 96-94, 96-94 and 98-92 (suspect) unanimously for Regis Prograis.

Prograis may have secured the win with his activity on the night but Diaz definitely put in that work to the point where Prograis, although the winner, should definitely re-evaluate his punch resistance problem at this point in his career if he plans on fully moving up to the Welterweight Division. Them Boys up there at the top, they do pack a punch and they don’t play with their food.  

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Claressa Shields vs Lani Daniels”

Undisputed Heavyweight Showdown

Last night’s Salita Promotions/DAZN Main Event was another showcase type of an event for the self-proclaimed “GWOAT” IBF/WBA/WBC/WBF/WBO Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Claressa Shields (17-0, 3 Kos) who defended her crown against IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Lani Daniels (11-3-2, 1 Ko) at the packed house at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

First off there are levels to this boxing sh*t and when all them ladies were stepping up to Claressa on the build-up to the fight, they got a lot of talk but very little action as they stepped foot inside that squared circle opposite of the “GWOAT”. Real Talk!

Lani used a lot of movement in the first few rounds as Claressa pressed the action in an aggressive fashion looking for that work. It was quite evident from the jump that Lani did not possess the required skill set to offset Claressa from having her way with her.

Lani couldn’t match the output of punches coming her way round by round but one thing she did show was durability by the way she was taking them punches coming in from all angles and remained standing. It was a dominant performance by Claressa who looked focused at the job at hand. She wanted to put on a show for her home crowd by looking to stop Lani but this girl was tough and did whatever it took not to get stopped.

  That being said, Claressa was on point from all angles. Her speed, accuracy, punch output and her boxing IQ were all on full display last night. After 10 rounds of one-sided action, the Judges at hand scored it 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91 unanimously for Claressa Shields.

With this win, Claressa retained her IBF/WBA/WBC/WBF/WBO Undisputed Heavyweight Championship Titles with very little competition ahead to look forward too.

Claressa is simply too good for any of the three Undisputed Divisions she conquered. The “GWOAT” is definitely here to stay. Hands Down!

Good luck to the future competition.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Sebastian Fundora vs Tim Tszyu”

WBC Junior Middleweight Showdown

Last night’s PBC/Prime Video PPV Co-Main Event between WBC Junior Middleweight Champion Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 Kos) and former foe Tim Tszyu (25-3, 18 Kos), was a very impressive showing by the Champion at the Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Fundora came into this rematch locked and loaded and ready to put a beating on his opponent, who talked a good game all the way to the build up but fell short of delivering the goods by the way this bout unfolded.

I’m not sure what kind of “game plan” Tszyu and his team concocted but this version of Tszyu compared to the version that challenged him in their previous time stood absolutely no chance of dethroning the Champion inside that squared circle last night.

This version of Tszyu regressed dramatically while Fundora stood there teeing off on him at will manhandling him round by round detonating an active jab while keeping his height and reach to his advantage at all times.

From the time Tszyu got dropped in the first round to a standing 8 count the writing was already on the canvas. Tszyu looked defeated and disengaged, unable to press the action and lacked the motivation to be competitive with a strong towering competitor firing shot at a high clip.    

At the end of the seventh round, the referee at hand approached Tszyu’s corner asking if they wanted to continue and to my surprise Tszyu’s answer was no.

Forcing Tszyu to quit on his stool is not something that I expected to happen but I most definitely tip my “B” hat to Fundora for this very impressive win and retaining his WBC Junior Middleweight Championship.

Now onto the next, Champ.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs Phumelela Cafu”

WBC/WBO Junior Bantamweight Unification Showdown

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between WBC/Ring Magazine Junior Bantamweight Champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (22-0, 15 kos) and WBO World Junior Bantamweight Champion Phumelela Cafu (11-1-3, 8 Kos), was more of a showcase type bout where “Bam” got to put his exceptional skill set on display at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Cafu, a formidable Champion in his own right, came in with a good “game plan” for the night and proceeded to be competitive but as the rounds progressed, he soon found out that the young warrior “Bam” is ahead of his time with his skill set. The pressure and the activity being applied by “Bam” were making it difficult for Cafu to keep up.

Rodriguez’s arsenal was on full display. The footwork, punch placement, accuracy and activity were too much for Cafu to content with round by round. As competitive as Cafu attempted to be he simply couldn’t keep up with the clip that “Bam’ was coming in with. Rodriguez was putting in a systematic beating in a clinical fashion that had the crowd in attendance going crazy.

Cafu was taking in some serious leather from head to body so by the tenth round the beating was so one-sided that Cafu’s corner waved the white flag prompting the referee to stop the bout.

 With this convincing win now under his belt, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is now a two-Division, Unified WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Bantamweight Champion of the world, locked and loaded and ready to challenge WBA World Champion Fernando “Pumita” Martinez 18-0, 9 Kos), later this year.

Well done, Champ.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois II”

Unified Heavyweight Championship Showdown

Last night’s Heavyweight Championship Main Event was a clinical beatdown by Unified IBO/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 Kos) when he took down yet again, IBF World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 Kos) at the packed house of 90,000 plus fans at Wembley Stadium in London.

Dubois had previously worked his way back to Usyk by beating highly rated Filip Hrgovic, Jarrell Miller and former Unified Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua to capture the IBF World Heavyweight Title that Usyk had vacated. Beaming with confidence after destroying three top Heavyweights in the game back-to-back, Dubois felt the time was right to right the wrong he succumbed to at the hands of Usyk his fist time out and redeem himself.   

That being said, as confident as Dubois felt going inside that squared circle last night, school was in full session from round one by the way Usyk controlled the ring. Dubois’ bullyish ways were ineffective as Usyk was boxing circles around him clearly frustrating him round by round enabling Dubois to properly detonate one of his signature bombs on him.

Dubois had improved in many ways but for some reason when facing Usyk, he looked lost and not properly prepared to handled what was transpiring inside that squared circle. 

 There are levels to this boxing sh*t and anyone facing Usyk inside that squared circle ends up finding out quickly how ahead of the game this man truly is. Usyk may not be known for packing a punch but he definitely knows how to close a show when the opportunity presents itself. The fifth round saw both combatants exchange heavily at one another but it was Usyk who connected first by chinning Dubois and dropping him for a quick standing 8 count only to see Dubois get back on his feet and wrongfully looking to go toe-to-toe with the cerebral assassin Usyk, who was locked and loaded and once again connected with a well-placed left hook right back on the chin of Dubois, dramatically dropping him for the count prompting the referee at hand to call the fight.

This was a beautiful display of greatness at its best. Usyk proved to the world and his peers why he is the true King of the Heavyweight Division, hands down! This win solidified Usyk as a two-time IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the world.

Well done, Champ!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Edgar Berlanga vs Hamzah Sheeraz”

Super Middleweight Showdown

Last night’s Ring III Main Event between Edgar Berlanga (23-2, 18 Kos) and British contender Hamzah Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 Kos), surpassed all expectations and surprised quite a few people by the performance delivered at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York City.

After watching this bout unfold, it was clear from the jump that Edgar “The Chosen one” Berlanga had clearly underestimated his opponent and came in with the wrong “game plan” and did not adjust appropriately to content at any time throughout the duration of the bout.  

The brash talking self-proclaimed “King of New York” got found out last night when he attempted to go toe-to-toe with Sheeraz and felt the power coming his way was real and heavy. Berlanga, with his flawed “game plan”, found himself getting bullied inside that squared circle.

Sheeraz was putting gloves on Berlanga at will controlling every angle and abusing him from head to body with crazy combinations clearly stopping Berlanga from having any type of success. Sheeraz’s jab was key as he was able to control the distance and kept it busy enough to set up that three-piece combination with that hook that dropped Berlanga to a standing 8 count in the fourth round. As quickly as Berlanga rose to his feet is as quickly as he got clipped again with another left and dropped to a standing 8 count.

Berlanga managed to survive the fourth round but entering the fifth round it was clear that Berlanga was there for the taking. A keen looking Sheeraz obliged with open arms and detonated on Berlanga, viciously droppING him again prompting the referee to stop the bout and save Berlanga from sustaining any further unnecessary abuse.

This was a very impressive win for Sheeraz who proclaimed his entrance to the competitive 168-Pound Division.

Well done, Hamzah Sheeraz.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda”

WBC Lightweight Showdown

In the Co-Main Event on last night’s Ring III card, WBC Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 Kos) silenced all the naysayers and detractors with an impressive performance when he took on heavy-headed, undefeated William Zepeda (33-1, 27 Kos) and challenged him at his own game at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York City.

Everyone in the building expected Shakur, primarily known as a defensive fighter to play spoiler against an offensive machine-like Zepeda but what transpired was the complete opposite as Shakur came in this bout guns blazing. Shakur stood his ground and fought toe-to-toe with the pressure fighter and proved to be quite formidable banging back and forth with the known bully Zepeda.

Zepeda was his usual self and throwing punches in bunches but to his disbelief Shakur was right there pinpointing accurate shots right back at him at a higher-than-normal clip. It was a very competitive and entertaining bout despite what the critics in attendance were proclaiming.

Shakur was in a serious fight where the pressure was real and coming at him in an abundance of speed and pace. Shakur weathered the storm and asserted himself quite well under the nonstop pressure to the point where it was Zepeda who had to slow down his own punch output in the later rounds because Shakur showed levels above Zepeda in the later rounds of the bout.

Although Shakur is not known for having heavy hands, Zepeda had no choice but to respect what was coming at him. Shakur’s punches were precise, affective and consistent round after round.

After 12 rounds of engaging action, the Judges at hand scored it 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110 unanimously for Shakur Stevenson. Personally, I think this score card does not do William Zepeda any justice but I have no problem with Shakur walking away the winner and retaining his    WBC Lightweight Championship Title.

Well done, Champ, point taken!

Blaze

On the Watch “It’s All About Floyd Schofield vs Tevin Farmer”

Lightweight Showdown

Last night, Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield (19-0, 13 Kos) set the town for the opening night of the MVP/DAZN Jake Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Pay-Per-View main card, with a total annihilation of the former IBF Super featherweight World Champion Tevin Farmer (33-9-1, 8 Kos) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Farmer talked a good game on route to this bout and felt very confident that he could derail the kid from competing with him at this level. That being said, Schofield accepted the challenge and silenced all the naysayers when he caught Farmer dead cold and chin checked him early in the first round with a heavy right hand that dropped him to a standing 8 count. He then followed up with another right hand straight to the dome and dropped Farmer again to another standing 8 count. Farmer looked shaky on them legs this time around and prime for the taking as Schofield unleashed an unanswered three punch combination that quickly prompted the referee to stop the bout.  

Farmer has always been known to give his opponents problems whether he won or loss but, on this night, he badly underestimated his opponent and paid a hefty price that got him blitzed in one round by a young and hungry combatant looking to make a name for himself.

This was a statement bout heard around the entire lightweight Division.  Your Boy Floyd Schofield is the house and on the come up looking for all the smoke.

Who’s next?

Blaze