On The Watch “It’s All About Abdullah Mason vs Albert Bell”

WBO World Lightweight Challenge

Last night’s Top Rank/TNT/DAZN Main Event was an intriguing bout as it unraveled for the hometown WBO World Lightweight Champion Abdullah Mason (21-0, 18 Kos) who had to defend his title for the first time against late replacement undefeated challenger Albert Bell (28-1, 9 Kos) at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland.

Bell understood what was presented to him at the last minute and accepted the opportunity with open arms. He then proceeded to box beautifully in the first half of the bout where he visibly and effortlessly outworked the champion by being one step ahead of him in every department.

That being said, the youngin Mason never wavered. Mason stayed cool, disciplined and patiently waited for his opportunity to strike like the “Black Mamba’ and that he did when he drew first blood by damaging Bell’s nose in the eighth round.

With Bell’s nose hindering his breathing and clearly breaking his focus, the fatigue started to show as Mason starting to press the action and his punch output working over Bell as the rounds progressed.

By the championship rounds, Bell wasn’t looking himself inside that squared circle but still pushed to stand his ground while slowly being broken down. By the 12th round the fans in attendance became alive in the building and fuelled their champion who moved in on Bell and knocked him down with a barrage of punches and a well-placed body and chin shot that gave him a standing 8 count. Still visibly in pain, Bell continued only to be dropped again by another well-placed left hand to the dome. Although Bell did not show signs of quitting the referee at hand took the opportunity to wave the fight off. Unbelievable.

I understand that Bell looked deflated but stopping the bout with 45 seconds left in the round after the man fought his heart out is suspect in my eyes.

Nevertheless, Mason listened to his cornerman and proceeded to close the show and retain his WBO World Lightweight Championship Title.

Well done, Champ!

Blaze

On the Watch “It’s All About Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis”

WBA/WBO Unified Junior Middleweight Showdown

Last night’s Matchroom/Top Rank/DAZN Main Event between undefeated Unified WBA/WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Xander Zayas (23-1, 13 Kos) and former undefeated Unified Welterweight Champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (36-0, 32 Kos) was an entertaining showdown that brought the fans in attendance to their feet at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Jaron walked it like he talked it and stepped up to the bigger Champion and managed to drop Xander in the opening round establishing his power right from the jump. As big as Xander stood inside that squared circle, his body language was that of a man who might have been drained from a serious weight cut. His punch resistance looked compromised but nevertheless, Xander proved to be a worthy warrior by the way he stood his ground and fought fire with fire.

Xander thought he could bully Jaron with his size alone but soon found out that Jaron is the real deal inside that squared circle and his speed, power and boxing IQ are levels above him.  The “game plan” that Xander walked in with wasn’t the right one. However, he did have some moments yet fell short of capitalizing on them as he was looking weaker as the rounds progressed.

Once Jaron refocussed his energy the right way, he proceeded to put a beating on Xander by landing a hard left hand and right uppercut that dropped him to a standing 8 count in the fifth round.

The inevitable was near but Xander continued to stand his ground. He eventually succumbed to Jaron’s hands by being dropped and beaten down prompting Xander’s corner to stop the bout in the seventh round at the 1:49 mark.

This was an entertaining bout from start to finish, in which Jaron looked vulnerable at times but eventually worked his way to delivering another convincing ending. With this impressive win now under his belt, Jaron is now a two Division Champion and the new undefeated Unified WBA/WBO Junior Middleweight Champion of the world.

With Jaron now holding two of the major pieces in the Super Middleweight Division, Undisputed is his only mission. Jaron has made it clear to the other Champions in the Division that he wants them belts.

Now who’s next?

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani”

Undisputed Junior Featherweight Showdown

Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Featherweight Champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue (33-0, 27 Kos) continued his dominant performance in the Junior Featherweight Division when he took on another heavy fisted challenger coming up in weight in undefeated former IBF/WBC Bantamweight Champion Junto “Big Bang” Nakatani (32-1, 24 Kos) this morning at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan before 55,000 fans in attendance.

In the first few rounds, Nakatani uncharacteristically fought with extreme caution by not letting his lethal hands go unlike Inoue who pressed the action by being the aggressor and letting his hands go, keeping the rounds interesting. That being said, Nakatani eventually started to let his hands go in stretches but still with much caution to match up with Inoue who kept a steady pace with accurate punch output.

As expected, both combatants were strategic in their approach but to me it was Inoue who looked more like the risk taker inside that squared circle. The action picked up as the rounds progressed when both warriors looked to do some damage to one another whenever the opportunity presented itself. As much as Inoue’s speed was a problem so was Nakatani’s jab whenever it landed but the real difference, was Inoue’s power punches which were visibly more effective then Nakatani’s.

Nevertheless, this was a highly executed bout where both combatants had their moments which made it that much more interesting. After 12 full rounds of action the Judges at hand scored it 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113 unanimously for Naoya Inoue.

This was a challenging bout for Inoue where he had to adjust on the fly as his opponent was quite skilled and evasive in his own way. Inoue still found a way to prevail and retain his Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Featherweight Championship crown.

Well done, Naoya. Who’s next?

Blaze

On the Watch “It’s All About Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis”

WBA/WBO Unified Junior Middleweight Showdown

A very intriguing Junior Middleweight Showdown has officially been announced where newly crowned undefeated Unified WBA/WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Xander Zayas (23-0, 13 Kos), who happens to be the youngest Unified Champion in the sport to date and the first Puerto Rican to unify at this Division, is willing to put it all on the line to challenge the former undefeated Unified Welterweight Champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis” (35-0, 31 Kos) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday night June 27, 2026, live and exclusive on DAZN PPV.

I’m surprised to see Top Rank match Zayas in so soon with Ennis after recently unifying the Division. This youngin in Zayas, is not moving like them other protected fighters on the way up. Zayas is showing signs of a different breed specifically looking for that smoke with nothing but the biggest challenges in the Division.

That being said, Ennis does not discriminate. He doesn’t care if you’re an old head or a youngin on the come up. Ennis has made it clear that he’s looking to become a Two-Weight Division Unified Champion by any means necessary. Judging by today’s press conference both combatants understand the task at hand. 

The trash talk was heavy from both sides as expected but I gotta say hearing that youngin talk that talk to Ennis made this upcoming bout that much more appealing. “Boots” is proclaiming loudly that it’s “time to collect them belts” but the newly crowned Unified Champion Zayas, is proclaiming as well that he’s ready to defend and retain both Titles. 

Skill for skill, these two warriors match up very well, but the odd makers will tell you that Ennis is the front runner right now. On fight night, all will be revealed so tune in Saturday night June 27, 2026, live and exclusively on DAZN PPV and see if the youngin can prove the naysayers wrong.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Nunez”

IBF/WBO Super Featherweight Unification Showdown

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event Between WBO Super Featherweight Champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 Kos) and IBF Super Featherweight Champion Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez (29-2, 27 Kos) was an impressive performance by the underdog Navarrete, who showed the fans in attendance at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, why he’s been a Champion for so long.

Many of boxing’s pundits favoured Nunez and anticipated Navarrete to have his toughest fight to date but what transpired was quite different. Navarrete came in this bout extremely focused and well-conditioned for the task at hand and proceeded to press the action with controlled aggressive boxing and moving from the first bell.

Nunez is a well-schooled tough combatant but, on this night, he was playing catch up with an assassin who was shooting on all cylinders. Nunez had some moments with the body shots but not enough to deter Navarrete from pressing him with some heavy shots.

As good as Nunez attempted to stand his ground and fight toe-to-toe, the consistent onslaught coming his way was severely taking a toll on him. After damaging his eye in the early rounds, the writing was on the wall. The ringside Doctor was on the lookout. 

By round 10, the blood continued to pour out of Nunez’s shut right eye as he was brutally taking in some serious abuse. This prompted the ringside Doctor to inspect Nunez’s right eye once again at the beginning of round 11 and advised the referee to stop the bout.

This was a bout where the betting world projected Navarrete to fail but this Champion proved the naysayers wrong by outclassing a formidable Champion Eduardo Nunez on the biggest fight of his career, to now being crowned Unified IBF/WBO Super Featherweight Champion of the World.

Well done, Champ!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Brian Norman Jr. vs Devin Haney”

WBO Welterweight Showdown

The Co Main Event on “The Ring IV: Night of the Champions” between undefeated WBO World Champion Brian Norman Jr. (28-1, 22 Kos) and undefeated former two Division Champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (33-0, 15 Kos) was an intriguing bout at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the challenger silenced all the naysayers who doubted.

Both camps talked a good game towards the build-up of this bout but it was the Haney camp who had the last word by the way Devin proceeded to disarm Brian from all angles inside that squared circle.

I anticipated that Brian would bring the “HEAT” to Devin in a bullyish way inside that squared circle but to my surprise Devin was well prepared and focussed for that action and neutralized Brian from ever getting any type of traction at any time throughout the duration of the bout.

It was a one-sided boxing clinic by Devin who made the Champion look amateurish and dropped Brian early in the second round to earn his respect. That was the moment when Brian’s “game plan” went out the window.

Brian talked a good game and made some tough claims he couldn’t deliver on but Devin stayed true to his word and talked it like he walked it. Devin showed levels above his competition and delivered on the night and for that I gotta tip my “B” had to “The Dream”.

After 12 rounds of one-sided action, the Judges at hand called it 117-110, 116-111 and 114-113 unanimously for Devin Haney.

With this convincing win Devin has now claimed a Championship in three different continents, the new WBO Welterweight Champion and became a three-Division Champion. Well done!

Congratulations Devin on another great accomplishment.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes”

Vacant WBO World Lightweight Challenge

First up in last night’s “The Ring IV: Night of the Champions” were two undefeated warriors in Abdullah Mason (20-0, 17 Kos) and Sam Noakes (17-1, 15 Kos) vying for the Vacant WBO World Lightweight Title at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and boy did these two combatants put on a hell of a show. Real Talk!

Mason, who was the favourite on the night, walked in this bout full of confidence thinking this was going to be easy work but soon found out from the jump that Noakes wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

Noakes proved to be a tougher combatant than his previous challengers because on this night Noakes brought the “HEAT” and forced Mason into a toe-to-toe type fight that his father/coach did not want for his son. Mason literally threw away the “game plan” and slugged it out with Noakes and brought the house up to their feet with the way these two tough warriors exchanged gloves from round to round.

A determined Mason dug deep and withstood all that was coming at him but gave out more of his own by pressing the action further in the championship rounds with some serious body and head shots clearly breaking the resilient Noakes down who refused to quit.

After 12 full rounds of nonstop action, the Judges at hand scored it 117-111, 115-111 and 115-111 unanimously for Abdullah Mason.

With this convincing win Mason picked up the Vacant WBO World Lightweight Title crowning him the youngest current male World Champion at 21 years old.

Congratulations Champ. Well done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All about Mary Spencer vs Mikaela Mayer”

WBA Super Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Top Rank Main Event between our own Canadian WBA Super Welterweight Champion Mary Spencer (10-3, 6 Kos) and challenger WBO Welterweight Champion Mikaela Mayer (22-2, 5 Kos) who moved up in weight for this bout, turned out to be a hell of a one-sided performance that silenced the Montreal Casino crowd in attendance. Real Talk!

Mikaela, who was clearly the smaller combatant, brought in that heat with that nonstop aggression that had Mary bewildered and bothered all night. Mikaela held no punches on the night. She let her hands go from head to body making sure her presence inside that squared circle was felt in every round.

As the away fighter, Mikaela was determined not to let this opportunity get taken away from her. Mikaela bullied the bigger Champion in her own house and showed Mary the many levels above that she has on her inside that squared circle. It was a dominant and impressive one-sided beatdown by Mikaela that could not be denied.

After 10 rounds of one-sided action, the Judges at hand scored it 100-90, 98-92 and 98-92 unanimously for Mikaela Mayer.

With this convincing win, Mikaela snatched away the WBA Super Welterweight Championship Title from Mary and picked up the vacant WBA Super and the WBC Super Welterweight Titles now crowning her the New Unified Super Welterweight Champion of the Division and still WBO Welterweight Champion.

Well done, Mikaela, you are now in the position of power with options in two different Divisions. This is your time, and you’ve earned it the hard way.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Brian Norman Jr. vs Jin Sasaki”

WBO Welterweight Showdown

Thursday morning’s Top Rank/ESPN + Main Even between WBO Welterweight Champion Brian Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 Kos) and challenger (19-2, 17 Kos) was a statement bout heard all around the world when Norman Jr. laced up his gloves and performed to the best of his abilities at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

Although Sasaki was a good, strong and tough competitor, on this night (or morning for us) Sasaki was clearly outmatch. Norman Jr. proved from the first round on who was the dominant combatant between the two when he easily dropped Sasaki within the first 30 seconds of round one and again a minute later proving his power was legit and nothing to play with inside that squared circle.

Sasaki proceeded to withstand the one-sided onslaught for a few more rounds and attempted to stand his ground but it was clear by the way he was being bounced around from left to right around the ring that this bout wasn’t going to last the distance.

Norman Jr. was simply too big, too strong and levels above Sasaki, who had absolutely nothing to deter Norman Jr. from having his way with him inside that squared circle. The inevitable was basically unavoidable and by the fifth round Norman Jr. landed a viscous left hook to the dome heard around the World that dropped Sasaki straight down. No count was needed due to the severity of the knockout but a stretcher was a must to transport him out for safety.

Norman Jr. announced himself to the World on foreign soil with this devastating and possible knockout of the year. The welterweight Division has a serious Champion to content with Brian Norman Jr. holding that WBO Belt. Goodluck to the competition attempting to dethrone this kid.

Well Done, Champ.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Naoya Inoue vs Ramon Cardenas”

Undisputed Junior Featherweight Showdown

Last night’s Top Rank/ESPN+ Main Event between Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Featherweight Champion Naoya Inoue (30-0, 27 Kos) and challenger Ramon Cardenas (26-2, 14 Kos), single handedly saved the entire heavy weekend of boxing by giving us fans the excitement that was missing throughout the weekend when these two warriors graced the inside of that squared circle at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

This bout was action packed from start to finish. Both combatants were very sharp and brought the “HEAT” while exchanging some serious leather with “BOMBS” coming from both sides. Inoue’s aggressive style is very crowd pleasing but can sometimes leave openings when not careful and that is exactly what transpired when he got caught late in the second round with a counter left hook and tasted the canvas for a quick standing 8 count. He brushed himself off though while the fans in attendance erupted with “HYPE” as the action was about to blow up!

From round three, the action picked up from both combatants. I was impressed by Cardenas who stood his ground and fought toe-to-toe and asserted himself quite well and made it an entertaining bout as the rounds progressed.

That being said, a highly motivated Inoue stepped his game up and his pressure as he started to walk down his opponent while administering some heavy shots loaded with combinations. The inevitable was near as Inoue’s onslaught was becoming painfully hard for Cardenas to avoid and he eventually folded in the corner to a standing 8 count in the seventh round. The crowd once again erupted to their feet as Cardenas survived the round.

By the start of round eight the unanswered onslaught came in hot and Cardenas was pinned on the ropes absorbing some serious leather which then prompted the referee to halt the bout. Some will say that the stoppage was premature but truth be told, the end was truly inevitable as the punches were coming in at a higher clip with some serious power behind them.

With this convincing win now under his belt, Naoya Inoue retained his Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Featherweight Championship Titles and continues to reign supreme.

Well done, Champ.

Blaze