On The Watch “It’s All About Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol II”

Undisputed Light Heavyweight Showdown

In tonight’s Main Event at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Dmitry Bivol (24-1, 12 Kos) avenged his previous defeat by dethroning our own Russian/Canadian representative Undisputed IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev (21-1, 20 Kos).

It was a continuation of their previous encounter where both combatants picked up where they left off but this time around Bivol made sure to be as active with his hands and feet more than before.

Beterbiev pressed the action as expected, stalking Bivol at every corner and landing the more telling punches but Bivol’s punch output and random combinations may have played a factor as the rounds progressed. Although Bivol’s punches weren’t visibly hurting Beterbiev the fact that he was more active did play a pivotal part.

Bivol used calculated movement to offset Beterbiev from landing his usual damaging blows but that did not deter Beterbiev from applying pressure. It was a close bout very much like their previous encounter where both combatants had their moments round by round.

After 12 full competitive rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 114-114, 116-112 and 115-113, giving the majority decision to Dmitry Bivol the new Undisputed IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Personally, I think Beterbiev did enough to retain his Undisputed status but fair play to Bivol, this time around the Judges felt he had done enough and for that congratulations are in order. Well done!

A rubber match is definitely warranted.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Joseph Parker vs Martin Bakole”

WBO Interim Heavyweight Challenge

Tonight’s Co-Main Event at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between WBO Interim Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 Kos) and late replacement “Boogeyman” Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 Kos), surpassed my expectations. Real talk!

I expected this bout to be highly competitive but what transpired shook the Heavyweight Division hands down. Parker faced the so called “Boogeyman” headstrong with absolutely no fear and handed Bakole his second defeat by dropping him with a heavy right hand in the second round that rattled him so hard that when he got to his feet his legs were out of it prompting his corner to waive the fight off.

Truth be told, Bakole took a risk by accepting this bout within 48 hours’ notice, but the reward would have all been worth it if things had gone his way. However, Parker was riding a five fight win streak and did not lose focus at the task at hand, handled business in a professional manner and dispatched of his opponent a very convincing fashion.

With this devastating win now under his belt, Parker has put the Heavyweight Division on notice and maintained his status as a sure shot challenger to either IBF Heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois or Unified Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk. One of them must answer that call.

Until then, congratulations Joseph on another very resounding win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel”

Heavyweight Showdown

Agit Kabayel (26-0, 18 Kos) has been defying the odds and silencing the naysayers with another great performance at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as he once again put a stop to
Zhilei ”Big Bang” Zhang (27-3-1, 22 Kos).

Zhang, standing like a giant at 6ft 6in tall and at 287 lbs, tried to bully his way inside that squared circle and had some success and even managed to drop Kabayel in the fifth round to a standing 8 count but lacked the punch output and the stamina to finish Kabayel off.

That being said, that one moment was all Zhang had as Kabayel pretty much dominated every other round chopping the giant down with big heavy body shots clearly bothering Zhang whose punch output was going down.

The pressure that Kabayel was coming with was impressive. His relentless body attack paid dividends when he dropped Zhang in the sixth round and was unable to answer the count prompting the referee to halt the bout.

Peeps keep underestimating Agit Kabayel who’s been hovering under the radar but as of late his actions have been making all the noise in the Heavyweight Division. This real life “body snatcher” has been taking on all challengers with no hesitation and has cemented himself as a key player in the Heavyweight Division.

That being said, with this destructive win under his belt he has now captured the WBC Interim Heavyweight Title positioning himself in the queue at possibly challenging the Unified Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Until then, congratulations Agit. Well done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith”

WBO Interim Light Heavyweight Challenge

Today’s British domestic dust up between undefeated WBO Interim Light Heavyweight Champion Joshua Buatsi (19-1, 13 Kos) and challenger Callum Smith (31-2, 22 Kos), got the night started on the right foot when these two warriors stepped foot inside that squared circle at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Both combatants wasted no time at getting busy right from the jump. Both combatants exchanged leather for leather letting their hands go from head to body round by round with a hefty pace that neither fighter could maintain throughout the progressing rounds.

Both combatants had their moments throwing and landing some serious shots at one another which made the bout that much more interesting to call but to me one of the defining factors was the body work being administered by both fighters.

Both combatants clearly hurt one another inside that squared circle but the more visible damage may have been administered by Callum who although looked very tired, he did land the noticeable stronger punches with further lasting effects on Joshua who himself looked quite tired as well.

After 12 full competitive rounds the Judges at hand scored it 119-110, 116-112 and 115-113 unanimously for Callum Smith.

The Judge scoring it 119-110 is a little too wide in my opinion considering this was a very tight bout but nevertheless, Callum handed Joshua his first lost and picked up the WBO Interim Light Heavyweight Championship belt in the process, now positioning him for a potential bout against the winner of the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship showdown between Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Until then, congratulations Callum. Well done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Jared Anderson vs Martin Bakole”

Heavyweight Showdown

His Excellency Turki Alashikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of General Entertainment Authority did it again but this time he brought his first overseas Riyadh Season to the United State and blessed us boxing fans with an incredible competitive undercard at the sold-out BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

First up on the night and probably the most intriguing bout in my opinion was Heavyweight “The Real Big Baby” Jared Anderson (17-1, 15 Kos) taking on the hard-hitting Heavyweight Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 Kos).

This was a case of greatly underestimating your 284-pound monster standing across from you. At the first bell Jared started off well with a stiff jab changing levels head to body with good movement while Martin stayed surprisingly very stationary with a bait of a right hand looking to detonate which he eventually landed with a vicious uppercut and a three-punch combo that dropped Jared for the first time and a quick standing 8 count.

This was the beginning of the end for Jared who proceeded to ignored his coach’s instructions and decided to get his “get back” by going toe-to-toe with the Big Boy. Jared had his moments landing some big shots but Martin took them clean and brushed them off while landing his own hard hitting and destructive shots

As the rounds progressed the action started to look one sided for Bakole who was having his way with Jared busting him up from all angles. Jared refused to bow down and showed some serious toughness but going toe-to-toe with Bakole was not the right plan.

By the fifth round the inevitable was nearby. Bakole landed a well-placed left uppercut
That dropped Jared for the second time. A shaky looking Jared beat the count and was willing to continue only to be met with a barrage of unanswered punches dropping him again for the third time.

Jared once again beat the count to continue but the onslaught of heavy damaging punches coming his way forced the referee to step in and put a stop to the bout.

This was a very entertaining bout from start to finish but truth be told Bakole was simply too much too soon for Jared to handle.

A statement was made on the night that Bakole is a serious threat to anyone in the Heavyweight Division.

Blaze