On The Watch “It’s All About Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov”

WBA Junior Middleweight Challenge

His Excellency Turki Alashikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, will be bringing his Riyadh Season to its first overseas event in the United States on Saturday August 3, 2024, at the BMO Stadium, Los Angeles.

The Main Event of the night will consist of Pound-for-Pound former Undisputed Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 Kos) who will be moving up in weight to the Junior Middleweight Division in pursuit of another title in a fourth Division by challenging newly crowned WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Israil Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 Kos).

That being said, Madrimov is a serious step up and a worthy challenger who will not be easily taken down. The hunger for greatness that Madrimov has been displaying as of late goes hand in hand with his physical strength and boxing IQ that this warrior will be walking in with come fight night. Madrimov is a well-schooled technically sound combatant who will definitely bring the “Heat” inside that squared circle.

Although Terence will have been out of the ring for a full year by the time these two combatants square up, the task at hand still remains the same, to conquer another Division by any means necessary and become Undisputed Champion in a third weight Division.

Crawford has been the underdog before and has proven the naysayers wrong as well. That’s why on August 3, 2024, he will show the world once again, why he’s one of the greatest Pound-for-Pound fighters to ever lace on a pair of gloves in this era.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Richardson Hitchins vs Gustavo Lemos”

IBF Light Welterweight Title Eliminator

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between undefeated Richardson Hitchins (18-0, 7 kos) and undefeated Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 Kos) turned out to be quite interesting from start to finish but the outcome given at the end of the bout at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, was very disappointing to say the least. Real Talk!

Lemos put his best foot forward on the night and proceeded to rough house Richardson with his come forward heavy hands looking to take his head out at every opportunity. This bout was clearly a boxer-versus-puncher where the boxer Hitchins was dealing with some serious challenges inside that squared circle. The pressure Lemos was coming with was visibly working giving the edge in my eyes round by round.

Richardson had his moments at times but he could have made things a lot easier on himself if only he would have let his hands go a tab more in between rounds. Although he was being very allusive at times, I personally think his lack of activity cost him heavily as the rounds progressed.

Richardson’s constant holding and clinching did not help his case in trying to sway the rounds his way. Lemos was the one initiating the action and visibly hurting Hitchins with punches coming at him from all angles.

What did help Richardson was his accuracy when he did decide to let his hands go but that was just not enough in my eyes to win enough rounds. Although Richardson was the better skilled fighter on the night, he did not execute the right “game plan” to the show the right levels needed to separate himself from his opponent inside that squared circle.

After 12 completed rounds, the Judges at hand called it 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113 unanimously for Richardson Hitchins. Unbelievable. That Judge with that 117-111 was way out of pocket. Real talk!

Listen, although I was rooting for Richardson to win the fight, this one right here wasn’t it. Richardson started to put things together in the later rounds going toe-to-toe but his lack of activity throughout the duration of the bout sealed it for me.

I tip my “B” hat to Lemos who fought a good fight and brought the heat on the night. You have nothing to be ashamed of in my eyes. The Judges may have robbed you of your victory but you definitely gained a fan out of me.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Jesse Rodriguez vs Sunny Edwards”

IBF/WBO Flyweight Unification Championship

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between WBO Flyweight Champion Jesse Rodriguez (19-0, 12 Kos) and IBF Flyweight Champion Sunny Edwards (20-1, 4 Kos) definitely brought the house down at the Desert Diamond Arena. Real Talk!

Both undefeated Champions walked into that squared circle to determine who was the No. 1 Flyweight in the Division and what transpired subsequently was quite surprising. The usual untouchable slick-talking, slick-moving “Showtime” Sunny Edwards found out quite quickly that “Bam” Rodriguez was the real deal inside that squared circle.

The pressure and patience that Jesse was coming in with was serious and he walked it like he talked it when he was putting some heavy leather on Sunny right from the jump. Sunny wasn’t used to getting touched up like this and hurt at the same time and as the rounds progressed, you could visibly see the damage that Jesse was doing by the way Sunny’s face was being marked up.

Sunny had absolutely no answer or the right “game plan” to deter Jesse from having his way inside that squared circle. Round by round you could see Jesse gaining more and more confidence while not respecting his opponent by the way he was pressuring Sunny at every corner of the ring.

Truth be told, it was a one-sided beat down that nobody expected. The inevitable was nearby. The brash talking “showtime” Sunny’s light was looking dimmer and dimmer as the rounds progressed and he looked like a defeated man ready to be put down. Jesse obliged in the ninth round and dropped Sunny with a vicious knockdown in the closing round prompting a corner stoppage in between rounds 9 and 10.

With this emphatic win now under his belt, Jesse has now put to bed the debate on who is unquestionably the No. 1 Flyweight champion in the Division by picking up the IBF World Championship Belt and unifying it with his WBO World Championship Title.

Well done “Bam” you’ve earned all the respect the hard way. Congratulations on your latest conquest.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Alycia Baumgardner vs Christina Linardatou”

Undisputed Super Featherweight Challenge

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between Undisputed Super Featherweight Champion Alycia Baumgardner (15-1, 7 Kos) and challenger Christina Linardatou (14-3, 6 Kos), was the type of an event that was perfectly set for Alycia’s homecoming at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan.

Alycia had her fans in attendance cheering her name from start to finish and she did not disappoint them. Although Christina did put up a good fight and definitely had some moments throughout the bout, it was Alycia who controlled the rounds and prevented Christina’s pressure style of fighting from ever deterring Alycia from her “game plan” at hand.

Alycia showed patience round by round and boxed beautifully, administering some vicious blows visibly stunting Christina as the rounds progressed. Alycia looked strong and focussed and always in control of her emotions.

Alycia definitely showed growth and maturity from her last encounter with Christina who gave her the first loss of her professional career back in 2018. This version of Alycia was the Undisputed Super Featherweight Champion of the World and possessed the higher ring IQ of the night.

Alycia desperately needed and wanted that revenge bout to be dealt with and deal with it she did in a very convincing manner. Alycia dominated Christina who was very active with her hands but this time lacked the power to deter the Champ from having her way.

That being said, after 10 rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92 all in favour of Alycia Baumgardner.

With this convincing win, Alycia retained her Undisputed Super Featherweight status and can now set her eyes on bigger challenges ahead in the likes of Undisputed Lightweight Champion Katie Taylor, Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion Chantelle Cameron or even Undisputed Featherweight Champion Amanda Serrano.

Alycia is clearly seeking the biggest fights available regardless of the Champion. I can’t wait to see who will sign up for the challenge.

Until then, congratulations on your latest win Alycia.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Amanda Serrano vs Erika Cruz”

Undisputed Featherweight Champion

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event showdown between Unified IBF/IBO/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Featherweight Champion Amanda Serrano (44-2-1, 30 Kos) and WBA Super Featherweight Champion Erika Cruz (15-2, 3 Kos) brought the building down at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater with an electrifying performance by both combatants. Real Talk!

These two warriors made the Main Event worth every penny earned that night. Them two Champions knew exactly what was at stake and wasted no time asserting themselves right from the first bell.

Heavy bombs were being dropped from both combatants standing toe to toe and tightly knit with neither opponent showing signs of backing off. However, Amanda was slicker with her movements – boxing and dodging avoiding the onslaught coming her way.

With both combatants exchanging leather in the phone booth style a clash of heads occurred in the third round causing a deep cut on the forehead of Erika but still did not deter her from continuing to drop bombs at every opportunity

Amanda looked good and strong as the rounds progressed. She boxed and moved beautifully while keeping busy with her hands and landing some serious leather. That said Erika’s own shots did get through and eventually cut Amanda on the forehead making the bout that more interesting.

In the championship rounds Amanda showed her superiority and special skill set by out landing and outworking Erika to the punch. Erika showed crazy toughness, refusing to let the blood dripping in her eyes deter her from the task at hand.

After 10 fully contested rounds of action, the Judges at hand scored it 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93 unanimously for Amanda Serrano.

With this win Amanda collected the WBA Super Featherweight Belt from Erika and retained her IBF/IBO/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Featherweight Championship Titles to now being crowned the first man or woman from Puerto Rico to become Undisputed IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Featherweight Champion of the World. Now that’s “The Real Deal”.

Congratulations Amanda on this historical achievement – well-deserved.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Alycia Baumgardner vs Elhem Mekhaled”

Undisputed Super Featherweight Champion

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Co Main Event between Unified IBF/IBO/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Super Featherweight Champion Alycia Baumgardner (14-1, 7 Kos) and challenger Elhem Mekhaled (15-2, 3 Kos) at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater was a very entertaining bout from start to finish. Real Talk!

Alycia came out the gate by pressing the action looking to overwhelm Elhem with her controlled aggression which kept a high pace in the early rounds. Alycia used her physical strength to her advantage and eventually dropped Elhem twice for two standing 8 counts in the third round but was unable to put Mekhaled away.

Sensing things were going bad for her, Elhem didn’t submit and continued to press the action. She continued to absorb a lot of punishment but definitely showed her durability as the rounds progressed and Alycia slowed her pace down to conserve some energy.

Sensing Alycia looked a little breathless Elhem pressed the action well into the championship rounds making this a tougher bout then expected but Alycia showed determination and bit down on her gum shield and mustered the right amount of energy and shots needed to edge the rounds in my eyes. Her punches were simply more telling.

After 10 full rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 99-89, 99-89 and 98-90 unanimously for Alycia Baumgardner.

With this win Alycia picked up the vacant WBA Super Featherweight Title while retaining her IBF/IBO/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Super Featherweight Titles, now crowning her the New Undisputed Super Featherweight Champion of the World.

Congratulations Alycia on your latest astonishing accomplishment.

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 Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs Srisaket Sor Rungvisai”

WBC Junior Bantamweight Challenge

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between WBC Junior Bantamweight Champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (16-0 11 Kos) and former two-time WBC Junior Bantamweight Champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (50-6-1 43 Kos) definitely lived up to the top billing at the Tech Port Arena, San Antonio.

Rungvisai came into this bout over confident thinking his superior boxing experience and his well-known power were going to be enough to snatch back the WBC Junior Bantamweight Title from the kid “Bam”, but found out quite early that he heavily miscalculated his approach by getting dominated from the jump.

“Bam” came into this bout with a flawless “game plan” and executed it to a “T”. “Bam” boxed and moved beautifully and made the seasoned veteran look pedestrian inside that squared circle. Rungvisai’s lack of a proper “game plan” was quite evident with him being a step behind every time he attempted to land anything at all.


“Bam” was too quick and alert inside that squared circle landing heavy shots from head to body from every corner at will round by round. The Kid showed Rungvisai he had some pop in them hands when he dropped him in round seven for a quick 8 count.

“Bam” was systematically breaking Rungvisai down as the rounds progressed. It was only a matter time before the inevitable happened and by the eighth round Rungvisai got trapped in the ropes at the receiving end of an onslaught of unanswered punches coming from head to body forcing the referee to jump in to wave off the bout. Unbelievable.

If this kid decides to stay in the 115-Pound Division he will definitely be a problem.
After taking out two well-seasoned veterans back-to-back with such ease and retaining his newly acquired WBC Junior Bantamweight Belt, ‘Bam” has unquestionably put the Bantamweight Division on notice. Good luck to the competition because this Kid is ready for all the smoke!

Congratulations on your win Jesse you’re definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Canelo Alvarez vs Gennadiy Golovkin III”

Undisputed Super Middleweight Challenge

It has officially been announced, the trilogy bout between Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 Kos) who will be looking to get back on a winning streak when he faces Middleweight WBA/WBC Champion Gennadiy Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 Kos) who will be moving up to Super Middleweight to get his get back from his only defeat at the hands of Canelo Alvarez 4 years ago.

Quite a few fans in the boxing industry have mixed feelings regarding this trilogy match up but truth be told them two combatants have a serious dislike for one another that can only be settled inside that squared circle. Real Talk!

Golovkin never accepted his loss to Canelo and campaigned heavily for a do over that has now been accepted by Canelo. Alvarez has heard the plea and the trash talking from team “GGG”, enough that he now wants to put an end to it once and for all by administering a convincing beating that will end all talk on Saturday September 17, 2022 on DAZN Pay-Per-View from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

This trilogy bout has a lot at stake for Canelo considering he is coming from a loss after moving up to the Light Heavyweight Division at a failed attempt to dethroning WBA “Super” Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol. Dmitry made Canelo look bad in his defeat and that is not something Canelo is accustomed to. Therefore, Canelo must win and win in a conclusive fashion to silence the skeptics who think Canelo has lost a step since his previous defeat.

That said, Golovkin clearly doesn’t care at what weight this bout will be at, he just wants another opportunity to rectify his previous outing against his nemesis Canelo. With Canelo coming to this bout after a loss and “GGG’ from a win, this trilogy has now become must see tv.

Tune in Saturday night September 17, 2022 on DAZN Pay-Per-View from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and witness the outcome of this intriguing matchup.

Blaze

On the Watch “It’s All About Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano”

Undisputed Lightweight Championship Challenge

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between Undisputed Lightweight IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/ Ring Magazine Champion Katie Taylor (21-0, 6 Kos) and highly decorated Champion Amanda Serrano (42-2-1, 30 Kos), outdid themselves when they battled it out at Madison Square Garden in New York.

This was women’s Boxing at its highest level and both combatants showed the World and the fans in attendance a boxing match that will last the test of time. Real Talk! Amanda, who moved up in weight from the 126-Pound Division to the 135-Pound Division, did not look out of place exchanging leather for leather against the visibly bigger Champion in Katie Taylor.

Them two warriors gave it to each other right from the jump with neither combatant letting one another get the edge as the rounds progressed. Both had moments throughout the bout and both managed to impress me with the way they executed their respectable “game plan”.

Amanda, being the smaller opponent, performed exceptionally well and even had the Champ hurt a few times and could have put the Champ out if it wasn’t for the round being over at the right time giving Katie that out long enough to recover. Amanda’s power was real and looked quite effective and definitely bothered Katie whenever she got tagged hard enough.

That said, Katie is one resilient combatant who wasn’t about to be outdone on the biggest night of her career to date. Katie’s hand speed and punch output was quite efficient and definitely made it difficult for Amanda to match her punch for punch. Her foot work and conditioning were key points that carried her throughout the bout.

This was a tight bout to call from start to finish and both combatants had their respectable moments throughout the bout, but after 10 full rounds of nonstop action the Judges at hand scored it 96-93, 97-93 for Taylor and 96-94 for Serrano, giving the edge and the win to Katie Taylor.

Listen, I’m a big fan of Katie but I personally think that Amanda edged this one, hands down!
Again, this was a tight bout from start to finish but Amanda did the better work round by round and clearly had Katie hurt numerous times and landed the more visible telling punches. Katie’s punch output was very good but Amanda stood her ground and showed her strength and power with clean punches that were too clean to be ignored by these two Judges’ score cards.

Just my thoughts.

Blaze