On The Watch “It’s All About Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II”

IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Rematch Challenge

Tonight’s Heavyweight Championship rematch between Undefeated Unified IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 Kos) and former Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 Kos) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, definitely lived up to the hype.

This highly anticipated bout was a continuation from their last meeting but this time Joshua, with a new trainer by his side, performed exceptionally better then his last outing. This time around AJ had a much better “game plan” and proceeded to execute it well but Usyk with his country of Ukraine at war on his mind, fought with all his people on the back of his shoulders and performed remarkably well with the added pressure.

That being said, AJ’s “game plan” was the right way to go about it in this bout but as the rounds progressed AJ seemed to divert from the plan at hand at times as Usyk proved to be just as elusive with his boxing skill on full display figuring AJ out as the rounds advanced.

AJ had some moments where he had the upper hand but neglected to capitalize and finish the job as the bigger and stronger man inside that squared circle and those critical times were key to him having that window of success.

Usyk weathered the storm and fought through the adversity and like the great technical combatant that he is managed to turn things around while never losing focus or confidence inside that squared circle.

This bout was a much closer outing then their last encounter but the deciding factors to me were the championship rounds where Usyk separated himself from AJ by being the much busier combatant in the most important rounds.

Both combatants showed fatigue in the later rounds but Usyk closed it out with pure will and effort in my eyes. After 12 full rounds of none stop action, the Judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 for Usyk and 115-113 for Joshua giving the split decision win to Oleksandr Usyk.

With this second win over AJ under his belt, Usyk retained his IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Championship belts and picked up the prestigious Ring Magazine belt for good measure.

Had Anthony stuck to the original “game plan” and not gassed out, we definitely could have seen a different outcome but the superior warrior in Oleksandr Usyk prevailed and completed the task at hand.

Congratulations Oleksandr on your latest accomplishment, well done.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall”

IBF/WBC/WBA/WBO Undisputed Junior Welterweight Challenge

Tonight’s Undisputed Junior Welterweight Title defense between IBF/WBC/WBA/WBO and Ring Magazine Champion Josh Taylor (19-0, 13 Kos) and mandatory challenger Jack Catterall (26-1, 13 Kos) at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland was a straight up ROBBERY to the challenger hands down.

No disrespect to the Champion Josh Taylor who brought it tonight and fought a tough bout but truth be told, Jack came in and defeated the Champion convincingly after 12 full rounds of action but unfortunately got robbed by the Judges on his biggest night inside that squared circle.

Jack came out the gate with confidence and the right “game plan” which was executed perfectly. Standing his ground round after round boxing beautifully while asserting himself as the better man throughout the entire bout and dropping Josh in the 8th round clearly putting Josh in the deficit by then.

Personally, I thought Josh looked weight drained and struggled to assert himself throughout the bout and looked desperate as the rounds progressed. Although the referee deducted a point in round 10 from Catterall, Jack was still comfortably in the lead in my eyes with the higher work rate and punch connection going his way.

That being said, this bout was very entertaining and clearly surpassed the expectation that most people anticipated considering everybody thought this was going to be a cake walk for Taylor. After 12 full rounds of non-stop action the Judges scored it 113-112 for Catterall, 114-111 for Taylor, and 113-112 for Taylor giving him the spit decision win. Unbelievable!

I’m sorry, I’m a big fan of Josh Taylor but tonight homeboy clearly lost this bout hands down.
Jack put his paws all over him and fought a great fight and clearly deserved the win. This was another case of a straight up ROBBERY!! Real talk!

Jack did everything right and fought his heart out to secure the win but, in the end, got ROBBED by the Judges at hand. These three Judges should be barred from ever judging a sanction bout again. Real Talk!

Tonight, we should be celebrating the coronation of a new Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion in Jack Catterall but instead the home grown Champion Josh Taylor reaped the benefits and retained his controversial Undisputed Crown.

These are the types of outcomes that gives Boxing a bad reputation.

Just my thoughts.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder”

WBC Championship Heavyweight Throwdown

Last night’s PBC/Top Rank Main Event Heavyweight Championship bout between WBC/Ring Magazine Champion Tyson Furry (31-0-1, 22 Kos) and Deontay Wilder (42-2-1, 41 Kos) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, was a proper showdown that will definitely last the test of time in the Heavyweight Division. Real Talk!

This trilogy bout lived up to the hype from start to finish. Tyson walked in as a “Spartan” and clearly silenced “The Bronze Bomber” without any dispute. Although Deontay was able detonate two heavy bombs on Tyson that dropped him in the fourth round, Deontay was not able to empty the artillery needed to keep Fury from coming forward with controlled aggression.

Deontay came out the gate with the right “game plan” but neglected to utilize it to its fullest and stick with the task at hand as the tiredness and the rounds became harder to endure as Fury maintained constant pressure on him.

I gotta tip my “B” hat to Deontay cause Dude was getting manhandled inside that squared circle but his strong heart and sheer will wouldn’t let him bow down without a fight. Deontay was on shaky legs early in the bout and took some heavy punishment while handing some of his own as well,  but the “Spartan” warrior that Tyson is proved to be the better prepared combatant on the night. Hands down!

Once again, the strongest puncher in the Heavyweight Division Deontay Wilder got broken down and dropped three times by the so called “pillow-fisted” Tyson Fury who dramatically put a stop to the bout with a devastating knockout in the 11th round. Unbelievable!

I gotta tip my “B” hat to the “Gypsy King”. This man walks it like he talks it inside that squared circle. With another convincing win over the “Bronze Bomber” Tyson successfully defended his WBC Heavyweight Championship and Ring Magazine Belt.

With Boxing Trainer SugarHill Steward in the Gypsy’s corner, it’s going to be hard pressed to remove the WBC Heavyweight Championship and Ring Magazine Belt from this man’s possession. Good luck to the competition.

Until then, congratulations Tyson on another historical type performance. You are truly the man to beat in the Heavyweight Division.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Josh Taylor vs Jose Ramirez”

Junior Welterweight Unification Championship

Last night’s Main Event at the Virgin Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada between Junior Welterweight IBF/WBA/Ring Magazine Champion Josh Taylor (18-0, 13 Kos) and Junior Welterweight WBC/WBO Champion Jose Ramirez (26-1, 17 Kos), lived up to the hype.

I gotta tip my “B” hat to Josh for walking it like he talked it. Dude is a bad man inside that squared circle. His confidence never waivers inside or outside the ring. He’s an exceptional boxer with a high boxing IQ that benefited him well in last night’s Unification clash with Jose.

Jose fought well and stood his ground and asserted himself when it got rough, aside from a few lapses that eventually cost him dearly. Both combatants went blow for blow dropping heavy bombs, at times making the rounds entertaining and hard to score.

As close as the rounds were, Josh separated himself when he scored a knockdown in the sixth round and the seventh round. Both knockdowns were sharp and right on the money and clearly hurt Jose, but Ramirez’s strong will to compete carried him to stay competitive throughout the later rounds.

After 12 full rounds of action all three Judges scored it unanimously 114-112 in Josh Taylor’s favor. Jose definitely had his moments but those two knockdowns had sealed his fate.

With this convincing win, Josh collected the WBC/WBO Belts and retained his IBF/WBA/Ring Magazine Championship Belts to now becoming the Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion of the World. Josh has officially cemented his name in the record books by joining such a prestigious man club that houses the names of Terence Crawford, Oeksandr Usyk, Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor and now Josh Taylor as the only five fully unified Champions in any Division during boxing’s four-belt era. Not bad company for the New Champ.

Further congratulations to Josh on also becoming the first Scottish fighter to don all 4 Major Sanctioning Belts in any Division. You deserve all accolades earned Champ. Job well done.

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 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