On The Watch ”It’s All About The Ring Magazine Fatal Fury in Times Square”

Ring’s Fatal Fury “City of the Wolves”

Last night’s three-card Fatal Fury in Times Square Main Event brought to us by his Excellency Turki Alashikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment, sadly, did not live up to the “HYPE” created by the unknown and the expected excitement.

The closed-out location at Times Square, the production and the Ring, created a different scene and atmosphere that will forever be remembered but where things went left is with the performances that some of the chosen talent for the night who neglected to perform at their peak form on this historical night. Real talk!

First up on the Main Event night was WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 Kos) defending his Championship Belts against undefeated mandatory challenger Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-1, 11 Kos). Although Barboza earned his way to the mandatory position and talked a good game throughout the build-up, he quickly found out that there are levels to this boxing sh*t and on this night, Lopez produced a dominant performance that will forever haunt Barboza. Lopez outworked, outhustled, outboxed and outgunned Barboza who is a very good boxer but lacked the proper skill set and “game plan” to dethrone the Champ on the night. After 12 one-sided rounds of action, the Judges at hand scored it 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 unanimously for Teofimo Lopez. Well done!

Next up was Devin Haney (32-0, 15 Kos) and Jose Ramirez (29-3, 18 Kos) who met up at a catch weight of 144 Lbs. Haney, who talked a good game during the build-up of the bout failed miserably to capture the hearts of viewers at home and in attendance. Neither combatant pressed the action or threw enough leather to land anything significant. I expected Devin, who hadn’t fought in a year, to come out the gate pumped up and ready for some action but what we got was a shell-shocked safety-first reluctant fighter, who put the viewers and fans in attendance to sleep. Ramirez did himself no favours as well with his own lack of activity. It was a very disappointing performance by both combatants on such a big stage like this. Nevertheless, the Judges at hand called it 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110 unanimously for Devin Haney.

The final bout of the night belonged to Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 Kos) and Rolando “Rolly” Romero (17-2, 13 Kos) who met up at the Welterweight Division. With “Rolly” being counted out and labeled the underdog, he wasted no time asserting himself and pressed the action to score an impressive second-round knockdown over Garcia that changed the flow of the bout as it progressed. Garcia looked flat and disengaged, unable to pull the trigger on “Rolly” who was calm and disciplined out-boxing Garcia round by round. “Rolly” stuck with the “game plan” and executed it to a “T” and gained mad confidence round by round while Garcia neglected his corner’s instructions and urgency to let his hands go. Although neither combatant threw an abundance of leather, “Rolly” made his presence felt more than none by landing the more telling punches.

After 12 rounds of action, the Judges at hand scored it 118-109, 115-112 and 115-112 unanimously for Rolando “Rolly” Romero. You were counted out and you prevailed and silenced all the naysayers. With this impressive win under your belt, you are now the proud owner of the vacant WBA “Regular” Welterweight Championship Title. Well done Champ and enjoy this well-earned victory

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn”

Middleweight Showdown

Last night’s highly anticipated domestic grudge match between the sons of legends Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, IBO Middleweight Champion Chris Eubank Jr. (35-3, 25 Kos) and Conor Benn (23-1, 14 Kos) brought the house down at the sold out 65,000 plus fans who gathered in attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

These two warriors did not disappoint when they both stepped foot inside that squared circle. This was a shootout from start to finish where Conor held no punches and went in straight for the kill with his aggressive style looking to pressure Chris into early submission but to no avail. Chris withstood the early onslaught and kept his composure long enough to get his own “game plan” into action.

This was a tougher fight than expected as both combatants threw nuff leather at each other round by round but Chris’ experience prevailed and carried him through the tough challenges ahead.

Conor’s aggressive style was very impressive but could not be sustained for the entire bout as Chris was able to neutralize Conor with a hard and steady active jab. The action definitely picked up as both combatants fought toe-to-toe banging on one another making it that much more entertaining as the rounds progressed, but Chris’ experience with superior opposition showed up last night as he was able to control the later rounds.

Both combatants showed fatigue but fought through it as the adrenalin of being in a sold-out stadium carried them through. Chris’ style and strategy eventually overwhelmed Conor to the point where his own aggressive nonstop output visibly caught Conor off guard as fatigue was seriously settling in on both of them but was visibly more taxing on Conor.

That said, I gotta tip my “B” hat to Conor for bringing the “HEAT” to Chris. Conor came in this bout gunz blazing and went for the kill but after 12 full competitive rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 116-112 unanimously for Chris Eubank Jr.

Real Talk! Love him or hate him Chris Eubank Jr. was the superior combatant on the night hands down. This was a tough bout but truth be told Chris’ effective punch output in the championship rounds sealed the deal in his favor in my opinion.

This was a glorified street fight inside a squared circle that definitely lived up to the “HYPE”. Congratulations are in order to both combatants for giving us a possible fight of the year candidate. Real Talk!

Blaze

On the Watch “It’s All About Mikaela Mayer vs Sandy Ryan II”

WBO Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s Top Rank/ESPN + Rematch Main Event between WBO Welterweight Champion Mikaela Mayer (21-2, 5 Kos) and challenger Sandy Ryan (7-3-1, 3 Kos) was definitely entertaining with a more determined outcome than their previous clash at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

Them two warriors definitely picked up the action from where they left off from their last encounter but this time around Mayer’s “game plan” was just as good as the first time out. Mayer pressed the action right from the bell with both combatants trying to establish their effective jabs but Mayer’s activity was once again key by the number of punches she was putting together compared to Ryan.

As hard as Ryan was fighting back, Mayer’s bullyish way and aggression was definitely throwing Sandy off her “game plan” as she was not always able to match the energy coming her way. Ryan is usually known to put the pressure on her opposition but last night, she looked defeated at times and unable to deter Mayer from having success against her.

Ryan managed to put some good work together in the later rounds of the bout but to me it looked like she may have missed her opportunity by not being able to adjust her “game plan” in the first haft of the bout.

After 10 full rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 98-92, 97-93 and 97-93, unanimously for Mikaela Mayer.

Absolutely no controversy this time around. Mayer showed skill for skill that she was the better combatant on the night hands down.

With this convincing win, Mikaela Mayer retained her WBO Welterweight Title and is now looking to challenge the Queen of the Welterweight Division Unified IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC/Ring Magazine Champion Lauren Price (9-0, 2 Kos).

Now that is a very interesting matchup, but until then, congratulations Mikaela on another great win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Alexis Barriere vs Ubaldo Ilagor Resendiz”

Heavyweight Showdown

In last night’s Groupe Yvon Michel/Matchroom/DAZN co-feature Main Event at the Hilton Lac Leamy, Gatineau, Canada (our own backyard), our Canadian prospect undefeated Heavyweight Alexis Barriere (12-0, 10 Kos) continued his apprenticeship by dispatching of his opponent Ubaldo Ilagor Resendiz (13-2, 12 Kos) in an impressive fashion.

Alexis is a breath of fresh air to the Heavyweight Division. He looks the part, asserts himself quite well inside that squared circle and with the late addition of Sugar Hill as head trainer, last night’s performance was a perfect example of their pairing.

Ubaldo, who came in this bout quite game, was met with a driven warrior in Alexis who had destruction written all over his face. Alexis, under the tutelage of Sugar Hill, looks calmer, patient and more disciplined inside that squared circle.

Armed with heavy hands and a very good punch selection, Alexis efficiently broke down his heavyset 291-pound opponent round by round. It was a thing of beauty. Ubaldo, armed with heavy hands himself couldn’t dodge away from Alexis punches. The head to body shots were taking a toll on him and by the sixth round Alexis dropped Ubaldo with a left hand towards the ropes prompting the referee to rule it a knock down and a standing 8 count. Remarkably, Ubaldo came back for more abuse and got dropped again for another standing 8 count near the end of the round.

Ubaldo wasn’t looking good and was taking a lot of unnecessary punishment. With that said Ubaldo’s corner decided to pull their fighter preventing him from sustaining any further damage.

Win this convincing win, Alexis collected another knockout to add to his bright and flourishing Heavyweight career. I can’t wait to see what is next to come.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn”

Middleweight Showdown

The highly anticipated domestic grudge match between IBO Middleweight Champion Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 Kos) and Conor Benn (23-0, 14 Kos) has officially been announced and set to take place on Saturday night April 26, 2025, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Conor has agreed to move up to the middleweight Division where both combatants will meet up to settle their differences once and for all. However, judging by their two press conferences and with Chris cracking an egg on Conor’s face, it’s clear to say that this grudge match has just elevated to a 100% “heat check” at this point.

The respect is clearly out the window for this one. The trash talking between the two combatants has been going on for quite some time and the time is now here for them two warriors to end all talks inside that squared circle.

Chris has a lot at stake for this bout aside from a great payout. At 35 years old, a loss here could see the end of his career in a detrimental way unlike Chris, at 28 years old, and fighting out of his usual welterweight Division, who could always bounce back from a loss and rebuild his career at his natural weight.

That being said, Conor is very strong minded and determined to upset Chris for the sake of his family where his father, Nigel Benn fought Chris Eubank Sr. twice in memorable bouts but failed to secure a victory.

All falls on Conor’s shoulders now and standing in his way is Chris Eubank Jr. who is naturally bigger and in his natural weight Division, will fight his heart out to maintain superiority over the Eubank/Benn saga.

Conor is labelling Chris as a shot fighter at this point in his career while Chris will be out to prove Conor and the naysayers wrong by showing the British fans in attendance and around the world that he’s still got enough in the tank to give Conor his first loss.

This will be very intriguing bout where these two born enemies are guaranteed to shake up that squared circle so tune in live on DAZN Saturday night April 26, 2025, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Blaze

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 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 Jack Catterall vs Arnold Barboza Jr.”

Junior Welterweight Challenge

Tonight’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between WBO International Junior Welterweight Champion Jack “El Gato” Catterall (30-2, 13 Kos) and WBO Intercontinental Junior Welterweight Champion Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 Kos), was an interesting bout where both combatants had to get creative with their approach inside that squared circle at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.

This was a chess like match where both combatants had their moments as the rounds progressed. Being the away fighter, Barboza had no choice but to stay active with his hands but Catterall stood his ground and exchanged leather for leather as best he could.

You could see both combatants struggling to get an edge on one another as each looked equally matched inside that squared circle making it harder to call round by round. It was a very calculative type bout where every mistake made cost the opponent dearly.

Both combatants had their share of telling punches being thrown but as the championship rounds rolled out it was becoming clearer to the eye that Barboza was the one putting in that extra push to secure the defining rounds.

That being said, after 12 full rounds of action one Judge scored it 115-113 for Catterall while the other two Judges scored it 115-113 for Barboza giving him the split decision win and the right to claim the vacant WBO Interim Junior Welterweight Title.

It was a tight competitive bout from start to finish but I personally think the right man won on the night. With this win now secured by Barboza an official mandatory position has now been set to challenge for the full WBO World Junior Welterweight Title held by Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 Kos).

That said, will Teofimo accept the challenge? Only time will tell.

Until then, congratulations Arnold on another great win.

Blaze

On The Watch ”It’s All About Diego Pacheco vs Steven Nelson”

Super Middleweight Showdown

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between undefeated Super Middleweight Contender Diego Pacheco (23-0, 18 Kos) and undefeated Steven Nelson (20-1, 16 Kos) was a very interesting bout that tested the young contender at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The undefeated challenger Nelson who was much older than Pacheco at 36, came out with a very good “game plan” right off the bell that had Pacheco hesitant in the first few rounds. The pressure that Nelson was applying was troubling Pacheco forcing him to be in retreat mode unable to let his hands go in their usual fashion.

That being said things changed in the fourth round when Pacheco finally caught Nelson with a strong right hand that cut him on the outside of his left eye. It was the type of cut that impaired Nelson’s vision due to the constant blood flowing into his eye. It was a game changer from this point on where Pacheco now saw a wounded warrior ready to be taken out.

Pacheco reclaimed control of the bout from that point on and started going to work in his usual fashion by landing hard right hands and uppercuts at will round by round. I gotta tip my “B” hat to Nelson who stood his ground while being impaired with that eye. Most combatants would have folded a long time ago but Nelson did his best to stay in the fight and push the young warrior to show him what’s up.

Nelson looked alive in the championship rounds and gave it his best shot by bringing that pressure from the early rounds and letting his hands go clearly showing us that if he would have kept that same energy and consistency throughout the entire fight things could have been different.

After 12 rounds of action all three Judges scored it 117-111 for Diego Pacheco.
This was a very good learning experience type fight for Pacheco where he had himself a tough competitor that forced him to dig deep to secure the win.

Well done, Pacheco, now who’s next?

Blaze