On The Watch “It’s All About Devin Haney vs Vasiliy Lomachenko”

Undisputed Lightweight Championship Showdown

Last night’s highly anticipated Top Rank/ESPN PPV Main Event between Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion Devin Haney (30-0, 15 Kos) and mandatory challenger Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11 Kos) definitely lived up to the hype at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Real Talk!

It was evident from round one that Devin quickly realized that he was in there with a hungry and motivated Loma who brought the heat and his extensive experience inside that squared circle.

Styles make fights and last night both combatant dug deep into their arsenal going toe to toe and blow for blow trying to get an advantage at any cost. Loma looked exceptionally strong and applied the most pressure in my eyes. Loma showed absolutely no fear and constantly initiated the offence not waiting for a counter from Devin.

Devin stood his ground and hit the body quite well but definitely looked surprised by how strong and witty Loma was inside that squared circle. At times Devin looked bewildered, not knowing how to deter Loma from applying such controlled aggression. Devin may have been the bigger and longer fighter on the night but Loma found a way in and neutralized Devin’s noticeable advantages.

Both combatants put in that work and it was a back-and-forth type battle round after round keeping it real tight to call but to me Loma asserted himself as the aggressor with the most controlled activity with punches landed round by round.

After 12 fully completed, exciting rounds of action the Judges at hand called it 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 unanimously for Devin Haney.

Judging by the scorecard handed in, it was evident that the work being done inside that squared circle by both combatants made it hard to call but truth be told, I can’t sit here and honestly say that Devin was the clear winner here and disregard the heavy work that Loma administered on the night. Loma turned back the clock on this one and stole the show if you ask me.

Just my thoughts.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Shakur Stevenson vs Shuichiro Yoshino”

Lightweight WBC Eliminator

Last night’s Top Rank/ESPN + Main Event between former Two-Division Champion Shakur Stevenson (20-0, 10 Kos) and Shuichiro Yoshino (16-1, 12 Kos) was quite an impressive introduction that Shakur needed to announce himself to the world in the 135-Pound Division in his own backyard at the Prudential Center in Newark Newark, N.J.

The hard-hitting Yoshino did not expect to deal with this version of Stevenson inside that squared circle. It didn’t take long to notice that Shakur was the stronger combatant of the night. This version of Shakur was fiercer and aggressive with a come forward style of offense that only comes out from time to time and last night, Stevenson was on full display from all angle.

I personally expected Shakur to deal with some type of resistance but every time Yoshino attempted to press the action, he was at the receiving end of Shakur’s able ready heavy shots that eventually dropped him in the second and fourth round for a quick 8 count.

Stevenson uncharacteristically stood his ground from the jump and bullied the supposedly stronger combatant round after round and eventually breaking him down to the point where the referee saw no other option but to halt the bout saving Yoshino from any further unnecessary abuse in the sixth round.

With this very convincing win now under his belt, Shakur has officially put the Lightweight Division on notice. He personally called out the Undefeated Undisputed Lightweight Champion Devin Haney, since this win was a WBC title eliminator placing him in route to an inevitable showdown with the Champ.

Shakur is looking for that smoke and will not be denied.

Until then, congratulations Shakur on a very impressive win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Michel Rivera vs Frank Martin”

Lightweight Showdown

Last night’s Showtime Main Event between undefeated Michel Rivera (24-1, 14 Kos) and undefeated Frank Martin (17-0, 12 Kos) unfolded in a very unpredictable fashion at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Both combatants came out the gate confident and attempting to work out their respective “game plans” but as the rounds progressed, Frank is the one who shined round by round by applying nonstop pressure with a set of heavy hands making it very hard for Rivera to establish any type of comfort inside that squared circle aside from his jab which was good, but lacked volume to deter Martin.

Both combatants showed exceptional skills but as the rounds’ progressed Frank was clearly ahead securing each and every one of them. Michel had met his match. Frank was simply too slick, stronger, faster and the one controlling the action inside that squared circle.

Desperation was mounting in Rivera’s corner and by round seven Frank took the lead and never looked back when he dropped Rivera to the floor for a quick 8 count. It was at that moment when Rivera looked defeated.

There was no coming back for Rivera. As the rounds continued to pile up, Martin continued to dominate in a very convincing but impressive way. After 12 fully completed rounds, the Judges at hand scored it 120-107, 118-109 and 117-110 all in favour of Frank Martin.

It was a clear shutout by the rising contender Frank “The Ghost” Martin who has now put the 135-Pound Division on notice that he’s coming for all that smoke and looking for that work. Man Down!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Devin Haney vs George Kambosos Jr. II”

Undisputed Lightweight Championship Showdown

Last night’s Undisputed Lightweight Championship Top Rank/ESPN Main Event, was a continuation of sheer dominance by the King of the Lightweight Division Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/ Ring Magazine Champion Devin Haney (29-0, 15 Kos) when he successfully defended his belts against George Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 Kos) in a rematch at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

This was a necessary evil that needed to be put to bed due to a contractual obligation that bided Devin to revisit this unwarranted bout. That said, Devin proceeded to silence the Australian fans once again by outshining the once upon a time self-proclaimed Emperor, and causing him to bow down to the superior opponent inside that squared circle on that night.

This time around George came out with a different “game plan” geared at first sight to confuse the Champ. It didn’t take long for Devin to crack that code. There are levels to this boxing sh*t and Devin showed us that night that he is levels above Kambosos by easily dismantling his opponent from head to body.

There was absolutely nothing Kambosos could do to deter Devin from having his way inside that squared circle. Devin was sitting on his punches and walking through George like a punching bag. Devin’s work rate was efficient and dominant round by round.

It was too painfully obvious that Devin’s boxing IQ, speed and distance inside that squared circle were too much for George to overcome as the rounds progressed.

After 12 full rounds of nonstop one-sided punishment, the Judges at hand scored it 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110 unanimously for Devin Haney the Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/ Ring Magazine Champion of the World.

The “Dream” will once again continue to take on all comers waiting in line to dethrone Devin Haney, the Undisputed King of the Lightweight Division.

Who’s next?

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About George Kambosos Jr. vs Devin Haney”

Lightweight Unification Showdown

At last night’s Unification Lightweight Championship Top Rank/ESPN Main Event, we witness the dawn of a New King emerge when the self-proclaimed Emperor, Unified IBF/WBA/WBO/WBC “Franchise” Champion and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion George Kambosos Jr. (20-1, 10 Kos), got systematically broken down round by round by WBC Lightweight Champion Devin Haney (28-0, 15 Kos) at the Marvel Stadium in Australia. Hands Down!

Devin singlehandedly silenced the 41, 000 plus fans in attendance at the Marvel Stadium by simply executing a flawless “game plan” with an exceptional display of boxing skills round after round. Devin’s jab was laser sharp and very active from the jump. His perfectly timed movements were causing Kambosos’ fits all night.

Kambosos was getting tagged all night frustrated that he couldn’t pin down or deter Devin from having his way. Kambosos and his team really botched their “game plan” this time around as the rounds progressed it was painfully visible to watch Kambosos be neutralized so easily with absolutely no answer to the problem at hand.

All the odds were against Devin when he stepped foot inside that squared circle, that being said the kid remained mentally strong and unfazed at the challenges in front of him. Devin took it all in with his million dollars smile on his face and showed the world that “dreams do come true” when he levelled up “Game 7 Style” and handily schooled the Champion on his own turf.

The outcome was inescapable. After twelve fully completed rounds, the Judges scored it 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 all in favor of Devin Haney. This type of scoring does not do Devin justice but the right combatant definitely won this bout.

With this convincing win Devin now becomes the New Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/ Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion of the World.

Congratulations Devin on becoming the eight male combatants to ever capture this high-status
accomplishment of being Undisputed Champion. You and your dad had a “Dream” from day one and put into action and accomplished it, on the biggest stage of your career to date.

This was an historical victory well deserved. Well done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Gervonta Davis vs Rolando Romero”

WBA “Regular” Lightweight Showdown

Last night’s PBC/Showtime PPV Main Event between WBA “Regular” Lightweight Champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (27-0, 25 Kos) and challenger Rolando “Rolly” Romero (14-1, 12 Kos) packed the house at the Barclays Center with an attendance of 18,970 in the building.

Both combatants, known for having power, started the first round with caution reading each other’s movements while setting up their “game plan” into motion.

While the fans in attendance were expecting bombs to be flying left and right from the jump, I knew to expect the opposite considering the last thing you want to do is rush Davis inside that squared circle. There are levels to this boxing sh*t and last night Davis proved just that.

While the bout seemed close round by round it was Davis who seemed to be sticking to the “game plan”, patiently waiting for the opportunity to strike with purpose.

“Rolly” started the bout with a good stiff jab but got away from it as the rounds progressed trying to land something hard with every punch thrown. “Rolly” is a big kid with size and power but lacked the discipline and the right fundamentals to compete with an “A” level type of combatant like “Tank”.

That being said, “Tank” fought a smart fight relying on his boxing IQ to dictate the action inside the squared circle. By the way “Rolly” was throwing reckless wide haymakers, it was only a matter of time before “Tank” landed something significant enough to do damage and in round six, the inevitable happened when Gervonta landed a blast of a counter left hand straight to the dome sending Rolando down into the ropes struggling to get back up during the 8 count prompting the referee to have a real good look at him. Since Rolando was visibly hurt and still on shaky legs, the bout was instantly stopped for not being able to respond to the referee’s command in a convincing manner.

“Rolly” talked a good game and pressed the action at times but it was “Tank” who walked it like he talked it and closed the show in an emphatic fashion. With this definite win, Gervonta retained his WBA “Regular” Lightweight Title.

Congratulations Gervonta on another great win. I can’t wait to see who signs up to be the next contestant to grace that ring opposite of you.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About George Kambosos Jr. vs Devin Haney”

Lightweight Unification Championship

It has now officially been announced. Unified IBF/WBA/WBO/WBC “Franchise” Champion and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion George Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10 Kos) will be putting all off his hardware on the line in a unification bout against WBC Lightweight Champion Devin Haney (27-0, 15 Kos). Both are levelling to be the first Undisputed Lightweight Champion in the four-belt era, set for Saturday night Live on ESPN June 4, 2022 in the United States and Sunday June 5, 2022 at the Marvel Stadium in Australia.

This will be the biggest bout staged on Australian soil since Jeff Horn upset Manny Pacquiao in 2017. Kambosos has been the road warrior working his way up from day one to now being at the top of the 135-Pound Division with the one missing hardware: the WBC Lightweight Championship held by Haney keeping him from being this Division’s Undisputed Champion.

Kambosos is on a natural high right now after dethroning the previously undefeated Teofimo Lopez to become the Lightweight Division Unified Champion of the World, and rightfully so, he should still be enjoying the fruits of his hard labor. Kambosos defied all odds that night when he walked away will all the hardware.

That being said we gotta keep it real here. Styles make fights and the undefeated WBC Champion Devin Haney has all the right tools and attributes needed to remove the IBF/WBA/WBO and Ring Magazine Championship Belts from George Kambosos Jr. Real Talk!

Kambosos may have choked the Boxing World back on November 27, 2021 but in order to become the new Undisputed Lightweight Champion of the World he will have to crush “The Dream” Devin Haney convincingly on his biggest stage of his career, a task at hand that will not be easy considering his highly motivated opponent Devin also has his own agenda at hand with the right “game plan” in mind to walk out of Australia and back into the United States the New Undisputed Lightweight Champion of the World.

Kambosos has already proven to us and the boxing critics not to be taken lightly inside that squared circle. Now it’s time for Devin to show the World and Kambosos that he’s the real deal inside that squared circle, come Saturday night on ESPN June 4, 2022 in the United State and Sunday June 5, 2022 at the Marvel Stadium in Australia.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Miguel Berchelt vs Jeremiah Nakathila”

Lightweight Showdown

Last night’s Top Rank/ESPN Main Event at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas was supposed to be somewhat of a comeback bout for Miguel Berchelt (38-3, 34 Kos) since his demoralizing knockout defeat to WBO Super Featherweight Champion Oscar Valdez 13 Months ago. To avoid the same outcome Miguel decided to move up in weight from the Super Featherweight Division to the Lightweight Division and selected Jeremiah Nakathila (23-2, 19 Kos). Wrong move!

Although Berchelt looked the part physically, he definitely did not act accordingly inside that squared circle. From round one on Nakathila showed Miguel absolutely no respect by moving forward and jabbing him at will all over his face and eventually sitting Berchelt down for a quick 8 count that visibly hurt him until the end of the third round.

Having been dropped from the third round it was quite noticeable that Miguel’s legs were gone. His defence was non-existent leaving himself uncharacteristically open to some heavy uncontested shots. Miguel looked a shell of himself and continued to take unnecessary punishment round after round.

This was a one-sided beating that did not need to go any further. By the end of the sixth round the referee on hand called an end to the bout. Definitely the right call. Miguel will need to re-evaluate his performance tonight and contemplate the inevitable outcome.

That said, Nakathila came in this bout with the right “game plan” and executed it to a “T” and for that, recorded his best win of his career to date.

Congratulations Jeremiah – you earned this convincing win hands down.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Richard Commey”

Vacant WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Title

Vasiliy Lomachenko (16-2, 11 Kos) had himself another dominating performance last night on the Top Rank Main Event card at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, when he completely dismantled Richard Commey (30-4, 27 Kos) with ease.

Loma looked as sharp as ever and laser focussed from rounds one to twelve. His foot work from side to side with speed caused mad confusion to Richard who clearly had a hard time judging his distance, at times missing widely in the air.

Loma wasted absolutely no punches and his punch output was ridiculously troubling Commey who was getting lumped up from head to body at will.

As the rounds progressed, it became painfully clear that Commey did not belong with Loma inside that squared circle. By round seven, Loma applied some serious aggressive pressure with power behind every shot that dropped Commey cold for a quick 8 count. The resilient Commey survived the troubling round and actually proceeded to stay somewhat competitive enough to make it through the full 12 rounds of action.

All three Judges scored it 119-108, 119-108 and 117-110 unanimously for Lomachenko.

This hungry version of Lomachenko will definitely be a problem to the 135-Pound Division. Loma is not holding back and is looking for all the smoke with the top Lightweights in the Division hands down.

With this convincing win Loma picked up the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Title possibly giving him a clearer path at the new Unified IBF/WBA/WBO/WBC “Franchise” Champion and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion George Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10 Kos).

A very intriguing matchup if it ever comes to fruition in the near future.

Until then, congratulation Vasiliy on another overwhelming performance.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Gervonta Davis vs Isaac Cruz”

WBA “Regular” Lightweight challenge

Sunday night’s Showtime PPV Main Event between WBA “Regular” Lightweight Champion Gervonta Davis (26-0, 24 Kos) and Isaac Cruz (22-2-1, 15 Kos) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA was an exciting bout that had Tank reaching into his toolbox to pull of the win after injuring his left hand at the midpoint of the bout. Real Talk!

Isaac came out the gate like a hungry “Pitbull” ready to take out his prey. His steady aggressive style was key to applying pressure on Tank who did a lot of movement, slipping and dipping, countering Cruz with some well-timed combinations preventing Cruz from having an easy stationary target.

Cruz’s style forced Tank to stay light on his feet and use more of his boxing skills adjusting on the fly and countering Cruz’s nonstop pressure. Cruz made this bout a lot tougher than I expected it to be for Davis. The Kid is tough as nails and took some heavy shots from Tank but never looked deterred as the rounds were piling up.

Cruz’s resilience inside that squared circle made this bout intriguing since Tank had to work to secure this bout. Cruz put it all on the line and fought a hell of a fight going toe to toe with a known heavy banger like Tank.

That being said, there are levels to this boxing sh*t and Tank kept his composure, flipped the script on Cruz and boxed his way with an injured left hand (his money shot) all the way to the 12th round. The Judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 unanimously for Gervonta Davis.

I tip my “B” hat to Isaac for giving us such a great performance. The Kid is tough, durable and a serious problem to any Lightweight in the Division. This was a competitive bout from start to finish with leather being thrown from both sides but the more accurate and effective work came from the Champ. Hands Down.

Congratulations Gervonta, this was a tougher win then expected but you prevailed – now on to the next one.

Blaze