On The Watch “It’s All About Roman Gonzalez vs Julio Cesar Martinez”

Vacant WBC Diamond Junior Bantamweight Title

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California was initially supposed to be a highly anticipated third rematch between WBA “Super” Junior Bantamweight Champion Juan Francisco Estrada (42-3, 28 Kos) and former Four Division World Champion Roman Gonzalez (51-3, 41 Kos), however due to Juan Francisco testing positive for Covid-19 back in January he had no choice but to withdraw. In order to save the card replacement combatant Flyweight WBC champion Julio Cesar Martinez (18-2, 14 Kos) moved up in weight on a six weeks’ notice to challenge “Chocolatito”.

While many boxing pundits envisioned that the younger and fresher Martinez would be too much for the aging warrior, fans in attendance received a hell of show when Gonzalez handed the Flyweight young gunner a clinical beating from rounds 1 to 12.

Experience, timing and controlled aggression with precise accurate punches were all on display when “Chocolatito” easily dismantled the overmatched but tough warrior Martinez.

Martinez stood his ground and fought well at times but lacked the right “game plan” or the experience to deter the crafty veteran from having his way with him inside that squared circle.

Gonzalez owned the ring last night and looked like a rejuvenated combatant who had found the fountain of youth by the way he fought and moved inside that squared circle.

Although Martinez came in well over the contractual Junior Bantamweight limit of 115 lbs, the added weight had absolutely no effect on Gonzalez who withstood the power punches coming his way with no real issues and simply outworked the bigger fighter.

After 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 118-110, 117-111, 116-112 all in favor of Roman Gonzalez.

This was an exceptional performance by the aging warrior who proved to still have the goods to the get the job done. I’m not sure how much “juice” Gonzalez has left at this point in his career but a rescheduled rematch with WBA “Super” Junior Bantamweight Champion Juan Francisco Estrada would definitely keep that fire blazing for one more unique show if a final curtain call was ever to be in his near future.

Until then congratulations Roman on another brilliant display of skills.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Devin Hayne vs JoJo Diaz Jr.”

WBC Lightweight Challenge

WBC Lightweight Champion Devin Haney (27-0, 15 Kos) kept his “Dream” of one day becoming Undisputed Lightweight Champion alive last night when he successfully defeated always tough and durable JoJo Diaz (32-2-1, 15 Kos) by unanimous decision on the Matchroom/DAZN Main Event card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

JoJo came out the gate attempting to establish himself early but it was Devin who responded with a very accurate and steady jab that kept JoJo from landing anything damaging enough to deter Devin’s steady offense round by round.

Devin boxed and moved beautifully with some very good combinations from head to body keeping JoJo in the high guard position trying to block most of the shots coming his way.

JoJo showed toughness and resilience but his punch output to connection ratio was a little off, giving Devin the edge due to his higher punch output and connection ratio being on point round by round.

That said JoJo still made it tough on Devin. This was not a clear-cut easy fight for Devin – it was a good solid test where Devin got tagged quite a few times and never wavered. Devin showed his own toughness as well especially in the Championship rounds when JoJo pressed the action.

After 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 117-111, 117-111, 116-112 unanimously for Devin Haney. No dispute there. JoJo made it a fight but fell short but should still keep his head up cause this Dude is no walk in the park inside that squared circle for anybody.

Job well done Devin – now on to Undisputed.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All about Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr.”

Unified Lightweight Championship

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater, in New York, NY, between Unified IBF/WBA/WBO/WBC “Franchise” Champion and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion Teofimo Lopez (16-1, 12 Kos) and mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10 Kos) was a surprising and shocking type of an event that was well worth the wait. Real Talk!

This bout was unexpectedly action packed from start to finish. Kambosos, the underdog, came in this bout with the mentality of a warrior with only one mission in mind: to succeed by any means necessary. There was evidence of that in the first round when Teofimo was in attack mode looking for a quick knockout landing heavy punches with Kambosos startlingly absorbing every shot quite well and dishing out his own and shockingly scoring the first knockdown of the night in doing so. Unbelievable!

The crowd in attendance went crazy. As the rounds progressed Teofimo was looking for that get back but was met with a hungry combatant who had a strict “game plan” and the right boxing tactics, keeping Teofimo at bay eating some very good shots round after round from Kambosos.

Kambosos showed Teofimo that he was way tougher than he expected absorbing and defending most if not all of what Teofimo was dishing out. Kambosos made this bout a war and as the rounds were piling up, Kambosos was the one winning the rounds in my eyes.

The visibly smaller man inside that squared circle was putting in that work on Teofimo bodying him up with some very good shots. Teofimo clearly misjudged his opponent’s skill and durability when pushed inside that squared circle. As the bout went on you could plainly see that although Teofimo was the bigger and stronger combatant, he was the one showing fatigue and taking the most punishment from Kambosos.

That being said, in the 10th round Teofimo finally got his get back by dropping Kambosos with a hard right hand for a quick 8 count. Even after being dropped, Kambosos showed some serious determination and survived the round and continued on in the championship rounds by going toe to toe and standing his ground in a convincing manner.

I gotta tip my “B” hat to Kambosos’ performance last night, Dude came inside that squared circle and fought his heart out and showed up B.I.G. on the biggest stage of his career to date.

After 12 full rounds of none stop action, the Judges scored it 115-111 for Kambosos, 114-113 for Teofimo and 115-112 for Kambosos who is now the New Unified IBF/WBA/WBO/WBC “Franchise” Champion and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion of the World.

Teofimo seriously dropped the ball on this one and is now paying a hefty price. Maybe the inactivity over the year or the weight cut to 135 pounds was an issue. One thing is for sure: Teofimo did not prepare himself properly for this title defense.

Congratulations George! You walked it like you talked it and backed every word with the performance of your life on the biggest night of your career. You earned this one Hands Down!

Can’t no one take this victory away from you. You silenced all the naysayers who doubted you and now sit atop like an Emperor of the 135-Pound Division. Well done.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Devin Haney vs Jorge Linares”

WBC Lightweight Title Defense

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, between WBC Lightweight Champion Devin Haney (26-0, 15 Kos) and Jorge Linares (47-6, 29 Kos) was an intriguing bout that definitely lived up to the hype. Real Talk!

Straight from the jump Devin knew he had himself a real test inside that squared circle and did not wait for his opponent to warm up. Devin applied some serious pressure with a stiff jab that had Linares puzzled at first unable to counter Devin’s steady offence.

Devin surprisingly went blow for blow with the savvy veteran which was quite entertaining. As the rounds progressed Linares started to loosen up and performed exceptionally well, turning this bout into a serious scrap withstanding and administering heavy shots of his own. Linares looked good last night and showed that he still got the goods to go rounds with the best of them in the Division.

That being said, Devin got a little careless exchanging blows with the veteran and got caught with a heavy clean shot in the 10th round that had him on shaky legs near the end of the round.
Although Devin survived the round, Linares was picking up momentum in the 11th round but was unable to finish off Devin who was holding on for the most part of the round clearly still on shaky legs.

In the 12th and final round, Devin still looked a little shook from the two previous rounds but proceeded to box and move for the remainder of the round instead of staying in the pocket with the still fresh and aggressive looking Linares.

Devin needed a bout like this where he had to dig deep when adversity presented itself inside that squared circle. After 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it unanimously 116-112, 116-112, 115-113 for Devin Haney who successfully retained his WBC Lightweight Title.

Great performance Champ now on to the next.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Demetrius Andrade vs Liam Williams”

WBO Middleweight Title Defence

Tonight’s DAZN/Matchroom Main Event between WBO Middleweight Champion Demetrius Andrade (30-0, 18 Kos) and mandatory challenger Liam Williams (23-3-1, 18 Kos) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, was tougher than expected for the Middleweight Champion.

I gotta tip my “B” hat to Liam who proved to be tough and competitive as expected on his first title opportunity. Liam stood his ground, got dropped early in the second round for a quick 8 count but bounced right back up and continued to apply non-stop pressure throughout the rest of the rounds.

That being said, Andrade defended off the pressure coming his way by boxing and administering some serious power punches that were visibly landing at will. Surprisingly Andrade stayed in the pocket a lot longer than expected but definitely got the better of Liam as the rounds were piling up.

Liam definitely stepped-up big time tonight and tried to go toe to toe with the Champ by roughing him up but Andrade proved to be too allusive at times and made it extremely hard for Liam to land anything significant to slow Andrade down.

Liam made the Champ work tonight but after 12 rounds of action all three Judges saw it 118-109, 118-109 and 116-111 all in favor of Demetrius Andrade. Hands Down!

With this win Andrade successfully defended his WBO Middleweight Title for the fourth time. There are levels to this boxing sh*t and Andrade clearly showed tonight that he still got plenty of levels to go when tested as the competition improves.

Congratulations Demetrius on another great win. Hopefully a Unification bout is on the horizon.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Juan Francisco Estrada vs Roman Gonzalez 2”

WBA/WBC Super Flyweight Unification

Last night’s highly anticipated rematch between Juan Francisco Estrada (42-3, 28 Kos) and Roman Gonzalez (50-3, 41 Kos) at the American Airlines Arena was well worth the “Hype”. Real Talk!

This DAZN/Matchroom Main Event was blazing from start to finish. These two warriors picked up right where they left off back in November 2012. Both threw non-stop leather with controlled aggression coming from both sides.

Neither warrior backed down, however, as the rounds wore on Roman, seemed to be landing the more telling punches. It was a tight bout to call with enough action that had the fans in attendance standing and screaming on their feet. The combination punches were coming in abundance from Roman while Juan attempted to control the distance and returning heat with similar aggression.

There was so much leather being thrown inside that squared circle from both combatants that they had a combined record of 2,529 total punches thrown in a Super Flyweight Division bout to date. The bar was seriously raised in this Super Flyweight bout last night.

That being said, two Judges on the night scored it 117-111, 115-113 for Juan Francisco while one Judge had it 115-113 for Roman. I’m perplexed by the 117-111 score of that particular Judge cause truth be told, neither one of the combatants deserved a ridiculous score like this. Real talk!!

Score card aside, this bout could have gone either way. Juan won his revenge match and in doing so retained his WBC Belt collected Roman’s WBA Super Belt and picked up the prestigious Ring Magazine Belt for good measure. Not bad for a revenge match.

Congratulations Juan on your great win, you worked extremely hard for this one. Enjoy the fruits of your labour, you deserve it.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Jessica McCaskill vs Cecilia Braekhus”

Undisputed Welterweight Championship

Last night’s DAZN/Matchroom co-Main Event Undisputed Welterweight Championship rematch showdown at the American Airlines Arena between Jessica McCaskill (10-2, 3 Kos) and Cecilia Braekhus (36-2, 9 Kos) was a dominant performance by the Champion. Real Talk!

Jessica, who was the first to dethrone the “First Lady” back in August 2020, in what many have called a controversy win, proved last night that her previous victory over Cecilia was justified when she convincingly sealed the deal the second time around.

Jessica asserted herself from round one and never took her foot off the gas pedal and stayed in attack mode dropping heavy leather from all angles. This surprising fast pace that had Cecilia confused, off balance and unable to settle into her own offence all night.

I’m not sure what the “game plan” was for Cecilia but it was very unexpected to see someone with such a high boxing IQ struggle the way she did inside that squared circle. Cecilia did manage to apply some pressure in the later rounds but the damage was already sealed.
The Judges had seen enough and scored it 100-89, 99-90, 98-91 in favor of Jessica.

With this unanimous decision Jessica silenced all the naysayers and retained her WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, IBO and collected the prestigious Ring Magazine Championship Belt and still Undisputed Welterweight Champion of the World.

Congratulations Jessica on such a great victory.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Canelo Alvarez vs Avni Yildirim”

WBA/WBC Super Middleweight World Challenge

Last night’s DAZN/Matchroom Main Event between Pound-for-Pound “KingPin” Unified WBA Super/WBC and Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 Kos) and Avni Yildirim (21-3, 12 Kos) at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, was a necessary mandated WBC title defense that could not be avoided.

That being said, it was clear from round one that Avni had absolutely no business inside that squared circle opposite of Canelo. For someone who had the privilege of being in camp with Canelo in the past and shared quite a few rounds with the “Champ” you would think that the fear factor would be nonexistent but that was not the case last night.

Avni, who was visibly the bigger fighter got bullied and abused straight from jump with little to no resistance which made it painful to watch. Avni stood there like a punching bag while Canelo battered him on all angles from the head to the body.

The onslaught by Canelo continued in the third round where Alvarez dropped Avni with a devastating right hand to the dome for an 8 count that saw him survive the round. However, Joel Diaz, Avni’s trainer had seen enough in his non-responsive fighter and pulled the plug before the 4th round even started.

With this successful defense of the WBA “Super”/WBC and Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Championships, Canelo now has a clear path to a unification bout against WBO slick Champion Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 Kos) which has already been set for May 8, 2021 Cinco De Mayo weekend.

Billy Joe is no cakewalk when focussed inside that squared circle. I’m anticipating a calculated and exciting bout between them two come fight night.

Congratulations Canelo. The road to “Undisputed” is that much closer. Now on to the next.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Ryan Garcia vs Luke Campbell”

Interim WBC Lightweight Championship

Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 Kos) is no longer a contender. Tonight’s Main Event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas between Ryan Garcia and Luke Campbell (20-4, 16 Kos) lived up to the hype as expected.

The unbeaten young warrior “King Ryan” had himself a true test inside that squared circle tonight when he exchanged leather with a formidable opponent in the two-time title contender Campbell.

Straight from the jump, Ryan thought sh*t was going to be nice and easy until he found himself in uncharted territory when he got dropped early in the 2nd round for a quick 8 count. Being that this was the first time Garcia had ever tasted the canvas, Ryan bounced right back up and shook it off.

Luke’s confidence was up from dropping Garcia in the second round but it wasn’t enough to deter Ryan from moving forward on him like a lion on a hunt for his kill. Luke had the right “game plan” throughout the rounds and fought exceptionally well, while still holding his ground efficiently.

However, I was impressed by Garcia throughout the rounds. Garcia kept it cool and worked his way back on the cards with a steady jab along with some very good power shots while still maintaining his height and reach advantages. It was only a matter of time before Ryan caught up with Campbell.

That being said, Garcia’s non-stop pressure eventually overwhelmed Luke in the 7th round to where Ryan was able to pick up a spectacular left body knockdown that had Luke gasping in pain for air which then prompted the referee to stop the bout since Luke was unable to beat the count.

It was an intriguing bout from start to finish. Both combatants showed up and performed exceptionally well. This was an important fight for Ryan, one that he needed to win in a convincing fashion to show his worth in the Lightweight Division.

With this imposing victory, Ryan now possesses the Interim WBC Lightweight Championship giving him a guaranteed mandatory shot at the WBC Lightweight Champion Devin Haney (25-0, 15 Kos).

Although the mandatory position is his for the taking, Ryan seems adamant on calling out and facing WBA “Regular” Lightweight Champion Gervonta Davis (24-0, 23 Kos). Whichever opponent accepts the challenge, Ryan will have his hands full.

Until an official opponent is confirmed, congratulations Ryan on your latest accomplishment.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Canelo Alvarez vs Callum Smith”

Super Middleweight Supremacy

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas between Canelo Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 Kos) and Callum Smith (27-1, 19 Kos) was the perfect way to end the Year 2020.

Canelo, who was clearly the shorter fighter standing at 5 foot 8 to the towering Callum at 6 foot 3, displayed some serious Boxing IQ that had Callum confused all night inside that squared circle. It was a thing of beauty to watch the smaller man walk down his opponent the way he did considering Callum had all the physical advantages coming into this bout.

I was surprised by the fact that Canelo showed absolutely no fear at all throughout the rounds. Canelo’s jab and body attack were so vicious and precise that Callum stayed on his back foot trying to avoid the heavy pounding he was receiving all night.

I expected Callum to be Canelo’s toughest challenge to date but judging on how Canelo dominated and dismantled Callum from round one to twelve, Canelo proved once again why he is the Pound-for-Pound best in the World today. Real Talk!

There are levels to this Boxing sh*t and Canelo’s masterclass performance last night showed us just how superior he can get when faced with so many drawbacks.

Callum, who was rated as the No. 1 Super Middleweight in the Division, took the worst beating I’ve ever seen him take in his career to date. The “game plan” that his corner drew up had absolutely no effect on Canelo whatsoever. Dude got heart though and he withheld the onslaught coming his way like the fighting man that he is.

That said, after 12 rounds of one-sided action, the Judges scored it 117-111, 119-109 and 119-109 in favor of Canelo. With this convincing win, Canelo is now the New WBC/WBA “Super” and Ring Magazine Champion of the World and now the No.1 168-Pounder in the Division.

With a new Division to dominate, Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion is the latest task at hand for the No. 1 Pound-for-Pound King they call Canelo Alvarez.

Congratulations Canelo on your latest accomplishment.

Blaze