On The Watch “It’s All About Keith Thurman vs Mario Barrios”

Welterweight Throwdown

Last night’s Premier Boxing Champion/Fox Pay-Per View Main Event between Keith Thurman (30-1, 22 Kos) and Mario Barrios (26-2, 17 Kos) at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas was a very crowd-pleasing entertaining bout.

Keith, who hasn’t graced the squared circle in nearly two years, appeared in tip top shape and ready to rumble right from the first bell. Keith looked sharp, strong and very accurate with his punch selection. Going toe to toe with a big first timer in the Welterweight Division in Mario Barrios is not an easy task. Barrios looked strong and big as well at the weight and very rangy with his reach and height creating a stiff challenge to Keith.

That said Keith, boxed with confidence and clearly displayed a higher boxing IQ round by round. I gotta tip my “B” hat to Barrios for stepping into the lion’s den and taking on such a proven competitor as his first fight into the Division. As good of a boxer Mario is he was levels below the highly experience Thurman inside that squared circle. Barrios held his ground, fought well and proved that he will be a problem to the rest of the Welterweight Division.

Keith was on point last night, firing heavy shots from all angles and moved beautifully from round 1 to 12 without displaying any fatigue or ring rust. Quite impressive.

After 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 118-110, 118-110 and 117-111 all in favor of Keith Thurman.

Thurman needed to prove to the 147-Pound Division that he was back and last night’s performance was adequate enough but the question still remains: will he still have what it takes to dethrone the current Champions in IBF/WBC Errol Spence Jr. (27-0, 21 Kos), WBO Terence Crawford (38-0 29 Kos) and WBA Super Yordenis Ugas (27-4, 12 Kos) holding the belts?

Until then, congratulations Keith on your comeback win. I can’t wait to see who your next challenger will be.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Gervonta Davis vs Mario Barrios”

WBA Super Lightweight Championship

Last night’s PPV PBC/Showtime Main Event matchup between Gervonta Davis (25-0, 24 Kos) and WBA “Regular” Super Lightweight Champion Mario Barrios (26-1, 17 Kos) at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, definitely lived up to the hype. Real talk!

Davis, who last fought in the 130-pound Division, moved up two weight Divisions to challenge tough and powerful Barrios for his WBA “Regular” Super Lightweight Title. As expected, this bout wasn’t no cakewalk for Davis. Barrios the much taller and rangier fighter of the two, kept things quite interesting and competitive for as long as he could inside that squared circle.

Barrios came to fight and stood his ground like the Champion that he was. Barrios boxed and moved and made things challenging for the shorter Davis. Although Barrios stayed disciplined throughout the rounds you could sense Davis getting comfortable and adjusting his “game plan” as the rounds progressed.

Once Davis’ range and power punches started connecting, you could visibly see Barrios feel the power “Tank” was landing from head to body. It was only a matter of time before Barrios slipped and in the 8th round, a two-piece combo from “Tank” straight to Barrios’ dome dropped him for a quick 8 count.

Impressively, Barrios survived the round and continued to stand his ground in a competitive fashion all the way to the 10th round like a warrior on a mission to live. That being said, by the 11th round the “End Game” was inevitable. Davis’ pressure and heavy onslaught was too much for Barrios to endure. A well-placed vicious uppercut to the solar plexus dropped Barrios hard to the ground but still Barrios rose up after the 8 count only to be dropped again by a series of heavy unanswered punches which then prompted the referee to stop the fight at the 2:13 mark of the 11th round.

I gotta tip my “B” hat to Barrios, Dude came in a Champion and fought like a Champion. This was by far Davis’ biggest test to date which he passed with flying colors. The naysayers will try to discredit Gervonta’s latest accomplishment but this was not an easy task. “Tank” showed up last night and proved to be levels above his competition. With this convincing win “Tank” becomes the new WBA “Regular” Super Lightweight Champion of the world and a three-Division World Champion.

Peeps need to stop hating on the young man and appreciate the talent this Kat brings inside that squared circle time and time again. Real talk!

Congratulations “Tank” on another impressive victory, now on to the next.

Blaze