On The Watch “It’s All About Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara”

WBA Super World Featherweight challenge

Tonight’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between WBA Super Featherweight Champion Leigh Wood (26-3, 16 Kos) and Mauricio Lara (26-2-1, 19 Kos) was an entertaining bout that had the fans in attendance on their feet at the Nottingham Arena, Nottingham.

The homegrown Nottingham warrior was well prepared for this bout and proceeded to execute their respective “game plan” as the rounds progressed. I was impressed by Leigh for boxing intelligently and not shying away from Lara who I thought started slower than expected but still kept applying nonstop pressure.

Both combatants stayed true to themselves by standing their ground and exchanging some serious leather back and forth making the bout that much more intriguing as the rounds progressed.

Although I personally felt like Leigh was winning the majority of the rounds, exchanging blow for blow with Lara may not have been the best way to tackle this particular opponent.

Mauricio is known to being a tough competitor with sneaky power that can be unleashed unexpectedly if not careful.

That being said, with a competitive seventh round nearing completion Lara was able to connect and drop Leigh with a devastating well placed left hook on the chin for a quick 8 count that saw Wood rise up on his shaky legs convincing the Referee that he was still able to continue. He visibly looked out on his feet which then hastily prompted Leigh’s trainer to throw in the towel to save his fighter from absorbing any further punishment.

As upset as Leigh was with his cornerman stopping the bout, the right decision was made, Leigh was in no condition to continue.

I tip my “B” hat to Leigh Wood for taking this bout as a voluntary defense. You stepped up and took on a tough contender in your first title defense but fell short – there is no shame in your game for trying to prove the naysayers wrong.

As for Mauricio Lara, congratulations are in order. You walked into enemy territory, and silenced the crowd and snatched the belt from the Champion and are now being crowned the new WBA Super World Featherweight Champion of the World.

Well done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Josh Warrington vs Luis Alberto Lopez”

IBF Featherweight Challenge

Tonight’s Matchroom/DZAN Main Event between IBF Featherweight Champion Josh Warrington (31-2-1, 8 Kos) and Luis Alberto Lopez (26-2, 15 Kos) was an action packed bout from start to finish in Josh’s own backyard at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England.

First off, the referee for this bout was horridness – hands down one of the worst officiating for a championship bout. That said, both combatants came out the gate going blow for blow in a very aggressive but competitive manner which resulted in some great action but as the rounds progressed, I personally felt that Josh was getting away with too much home cooking when the referee failed to call the constant fouling that Josh was getting away with the continuous back of the head, rabbit punches and head-butting happening in front of his capable eyes.

Although the no call was happening, Lopez kept his work on par and continued to press the action by not discouraging himself and sticking to the “game plan” at hand. Lopez did get an early cut from a Josh headbutt but did not let that deter him from staying in the pocket and hammering down his own heavy punches.

Aside from the constant fouling from Josh, he did let his hands go and fought back when things got heated between them two as the rounds progressed. Josh seemed to pick up the action in the later rounds making it really close to call. That said, the first half of the fight was clearer to call for Lopez who managed to secure the earlier round in my eyes.

This was a tough bout for both combatants but after 12 full rounds of non-stop action two of the Judges at hand called it 115-113 for Lopez while the third Judge called it a draw giving Lopez the unanimous decision.

This was a close bout from start to finish but truth be told I feel the right combatant won this battle inside that squared circle.

Congratulations Luis Alberto Lopez on your latest accomplishment. The odds were clearly stacked against you from the moment you stepped foot inside that squared circle but you fought through your toughest challenges and prevailed as the winner and now join the winner’s circle as the new IBF Featherweight Champion of the World.

Well done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Juan Francisco Estrada vs Roman Gonzalez 3”

Vacant WBC Super Flyweight Championship

Last night’s DAZN/Matchroom highly anticipated trilogy rematch between Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28 Kos) and Roman Gonzalez (51-4, 40 Kos) at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale Arizona, was a blazing hot bout from start to finish. Hands Down!

Both combatants picked up from where they left off from their last encounter and banged on one another with nonstop action from head to body. The saying is that styles make fights and them two warriors opposite of one another are a perfect example of when two styles mesh just right to give us fans a memorable performance. Real Talk!

They are two very competitive combatants that know each other very well and inside that squared circle it was very difficult to really see who had the edge round by round.

That being said I personally feel that Roman started to separate himself in the later rounds by applying even more pressure and letting his hands go with more authority, edging out the rounds in his favor.

However, Juan did have a better start and probably even stole the 12th round the way he finished stronger. Both combatants refused to succumb to one another and that gave us fans another great exciting outing for the ages.

After 12 full rounds of complete action, the Judges at hand scored it 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114 giving the edge to Juan Francisco Estrada.

Scorecard aside, this bout could have gone either way once again. Juan got the nod but a draw wouldn’t have been far-fetched as a proper outcome.

Nevertheless, with this win Juan has now regained the vacant WBC Super Flyweight Championship and retained his Ring Magazine Belt, finally putting the trilogy to bed.

Congratulations Juan on another great win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Dmitry Bivol vs Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez”

WBA Light Heavyweight Challenge

I had expectations regarding tonight’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates between WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 Kos) and Mandatory Challenger Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-1, 30 kos) but instead witnessed a very convincing and dominating performance by Bivol.

To be clear, I wasn’t disappointed with Bivol’s performance, it was “Zurdo’s” lack of a proper “game plan” and gun-shy approach that took me by surprise. “Zurdo” is usually the seek and destroy type combatant that puts just the right amount of pressure on his opponents demoralizing them into submission but tonight that effort from “Zurdo” was missing in action. Real Talk!

Tonight “Zurdo” had met his match in the form of Bivol the fundamentally sound assassin who broke him down round by round. Bivol showed levels to his boxing skills inside that squared circle. There was absoletely nothing that Gilberto could do to deter Bivol from having his way inside that squared circle. Bivol, the visibly smaller fighter bullied and walked down the much bigger combatant with utterly no fear.

Bivol was focussed from round 1 to 12 and never wavered at any time. His range and steady combination punches kept Gilberto honest and unable to settle down with his own offensive approach.

Gilberto failed to use his height or his range properly. His regular punch output and his usual body attack was nonexistent. I expected Gilberto to bring the “Heat” tonight but instead Gilberto’s gun-shy lack of approach cost him the biggest fight of his career to date.

That said, there wasn’t much Gilberto could do, Bivol had him on lock right from the Jump. Bivol proved once again why he is one of the most complete fighters in the game today.

This bout was out of reach from time and after 12 fully completed rounds, the Judges at hand made it an easy outcome of 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111 in favor of Dmitry Bivol.

Gilberto Ramirez is a very worthy opponent for anybody in the Light Heavyweight Division but tonight Bivol made him look like a pedestrian who did not belong with him inside that squared circle.

Congratulations Dmitry on successfully defending your WBA Light Heavyweight World Championship for the 10th time.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica McCaskill”

Undisputed Junior Welterweight Championship

A new Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion was crowned tonight at the Matchroom/DAZN Co-Main Event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates between WBC/IBF
Junior Welterweight Champion Chantelle Cameron (17-0 8 Kos) and Undisputed Welterweight Champion Jessica McCaskill (12-3 5 Kos) who moved down in weight to accept the challenge.

The move down in weight wasn’t as eventful as Jessica expected as she was met with a formidable Champion in Chantelle who boxed and moved circles around Jessica while still maintaining a level of discipline and patience inside that squared circle.

Jessica did not make it easy with her rough house tactics but Chantelle’s superior boxing IQ soundly carried her round by round. I’m not sure what type of “game plan” Jessica’s corner constructed for this bout but truth be told, Jessica looked amateurish the way she was swinging wildly left and right with no real destination at hand. Jessica did not look like an Undisputed Welterweight Champion but rather like a fighter getting caught up in a street fight. Real Talk!

This version of Jessica made it really easy for Chantelle to collect the vacant WBA and WBO titles missing to complete the puzzle of Undisputed. Chantelle literally schooled the aggression out of Jessica and made it embarrassingly easy while doing so. After 10 rounds of action the Judges at hand called it 97-93, 96-94 and 96-94 all in favor of Chantelle Cameron.

With this convincing win over a Pound-for-Pound combatant in Jessica McCaskill, Chantelle retained her WBC/IBF Championship titles and collected the vacant WBA and WBO Titles, crowning her Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion of the world.

Congratulations Chantelle on becoming the 5th female Boxer to presently claim Undisputed Champion in the 4 Belt era. Well done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Dmitry Bivol vs Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez”

WBA Light Heavyweight Challenge

A very intriguing matchup in the Light Heavyweight Division has officially been announced. WBA Light-Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 Kos) has now been ordered to defend his Championship Belt against undefeated Mandatory Challenger Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-0, 30 Kos) at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates on Saturday November 5, 2022.

This is a bout Ramirez has been looking forward to ever since he moved up to the Light Heavyweight Division in 2019. “Zurdo” is quite big for the Division and packs a mean punch in both hands whenever they detonate on one of his opponents. That said “Zurdo” has never faced such a cerebral opponent of the likes of Bivol with a high boxing IQ inside that squared circle. Dmitry is fresh off a win over the previous Pound-for Pound King Canelo Alvarez. On that night Dmitry showed the world and Canelo just how dominant he can be when faced with the best of the best of adversaries.

Looking at both combatants face to face, the size difference is quite noticeable. “Zurdo” looks like a full-blown Cruiserweight campaigning in the Light Heavyweight Division. Real Talk! Nevertheless, Bivol relishes his odds and can’t wait to go toe to toe with Ramirez, who also feels very confident that he has what it takes to finally dethrone the Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol. Gilberto is adamant that his physical attributes, his experience and his own boxing IQ will be enough to do the job on Bivol come Saturday night November 5, 2022, inside that squared circle at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates.

The date is set, and the talking is done. It’s time to show up and put out and see who can back it up inside that squared circle.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II”

IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Rematch Challenge

Tonight’s Heavyweight Championship rematch between Undefeated Unified IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 Kos) and former Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 Kos) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, definitely lived up to the hype.

This highly anticipated bout was a continuation from their last meeting but this time Joshua, with a new trainer by his side, performed exceptionally better then his last outing. This time around AJ had a much better “game plan” and proceeded to execute it well but Usyk with his country of Ukraine at war on his mind, fought with all his people on the back of his shoulders and performed remarkably well with the added pressure.

That being said, AJ’s “game plan” was the right way to go about it in this bout but as the rounds progressed AJ seemed to divert from the plan at hand at times as Usyk proved to be just as elusive with his boxing skill on full display figuring AJ out as the rounds advanced.

AJ had some moments where he had the upper hand but neglected to capitalize and finish the job as the bigger and stronger man inside that squared circle and those critical times were key to him having that window of success.

Usyk weathered the storm and fought through the adversity and like the great technical combatant that he is managed to turn things around while never losing focus or confidence inside that squared circle.

This bout was a much closer outing then their last encounter but the deciding factors to me were the championship rounds where Usyk separated himself from AJ by being the much busier combatant in the most important rounds.

Both combatants showed fatigue in the later rounds but Usyk closed it out with pure will and effort in my eyes. After 12 full rounds of none stop action, the Judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 for Usyk and 115-113 for Joshua giving the split decision win to Oleksandr Usyk.

With this second win over AJ under his belt, Usyk retained his IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Championship belts and picked up the prestigious Ring Magazine belt for good measure.

Had Anthony stuck to the original “game plan” and not gassed out, we definitely could have seen a different outcome but the superior warrior in Oleksandr Usyk prevailed and completed the task at hand.

Congratulations Oleksandr on your latest accomplishment, well done.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Ryan Garcia vs Javier Fortuna”

Junior Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Golden Boy/DAZN Main Event between Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 Kos) and Javier Fortuna (37-4-1, 26 Kos) was a showcase type of an event by Ryan that satisfied all his home fans who came out and represented in his honor at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

This bout was supposed to be a proper test to gauge where Ryan was at this point in his career considering Fortuna was a well-seasoned opponent who had the experience and the skills to give Ryan that much needed work.

That being said, Ryan came out the gate with a hard stiff jab that couldn’t miss. Ryan controlled every round with ease and absolutely no resistance coming from Fortuna. Ryan handled the vet like a sparring match rather than a legit bout.

Fortuna looked unprepared and out of place inside that squared circle. Ryan’s power was too much for Fortuna to handle and surprising to watch considering Fortuna had already been in there with some very good talent with exceptional power of their own in the past and prevailed.

Simply, Ryan was too big, too strong and agile for Fortuna to deter inside that square circle. The way Ryan was having his way inside that squared circle it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened. In the fourth round a well-placed left body shot dropped Fortuna for a quick 8 count that saw him survive the round only to get dropped again in the fifth round by another left hand to the dome for another 8 count.

Fortuna was getting dismantled piece by piece and round by round. By the sixth round another head shot to the dome and down goes Fortuna and out comes the mouth guard. The referee had seen enough and stopped the bout by knockout.

Ryan talked a lot of sh*t all the way to the bout but backed every single word inside that squared circle. I tip my “B” hat to Ryan for an exceptional performance because he made Fortuna looked average knowing that Javier is a respectable Dude in the Boxing Game and never an easy out.

With two back-to-back wins and his focus back on boxing, Ryan is feeling like targeting Gervonta Davis (27-0, 25 Kos) as his next opponent. Now that’s a very interesting bout I would enjoy watching from the build-up to the night of but calling out “Tank” could be a risky move.

Can’t wait to see if this future bout can actually come to fruition.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua”

IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Rematch Challenge

It has officially been announced, the highly anticipated Heavyweight rematch between newly crowned undefeated unified IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 Kos) and former Heavyweight Champion and challenger Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 Kos), has now been set for August 20th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

This bout is a very important bout for both combatants but more so for the Heavyweight Division in general as the winner of this bout will most likely be looking to unify the Division with WBC/Ring Magazine Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 Kos).

That said, looking ahead is irrelevant at this point without first seeing the outcome of this rematch. Usyk has proven to all the naysayers that he is a legit Heavyweight worthy of the Heavyweight Crown by the way he systematically broke down Anthony round by round in their previous outing. Usyk is a very skillful combatant with the attributes to adapt to any scenario. A focussed Usyk is a difficult man to beat inside that squared circle.

That said, AJ will need to produce the right “game plan” in order to beat this version of the “War Machine” dedicated to representing his country by all means necessary. With a new trainer, Robert Garcia now running the camp, I anticipate a more aggressive, active, focussed and better prepared AJ to be ready to do whatever it takes to be victorious on August 20th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

We already know what Usyk will be bringing into that squared circle and judging by the odds makers favoring Usyk, they too are assuming a second victory over Anthony is inevitable. It will be up to AJ to defy all odds and execute the right plan at hand to avenge his loss and recapture the missing belts from his previous conqueror.

So much at stake and so many questions, tune in on DAZN Saturday August 20th from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to see who will reign supreme when the “Rage of the Red Sea” settles.

Blaze