On The Watch “It’s All About Alexis Rocha vs Giovani Santillan”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Golden Boy/DAZN Main event Between Alexis Rocha (23-2, 15 Kos) and Giovani Santillan (32-0, 17 Kos) exceeded expectation in their Welterweight Showdown at the KIA Forum in Inglewood, California.

Alexis strutted his way down the walkway taking his sweet time but beaming with confidence and definitely pissing off his opponent who was already inside the ring irritated by how long Alexis was taking to get the bout started.

I could see the anger in Giovani’s eyes and pure destruction was written all over his face. I’m not sure if Alexis underestimated his opponent but judging from the first round it was clear that Alexis was not properly prepared for the heat that Giovani was coming at him with.

Giovani pressed the action from the jump and never let his foot of the gas. Giovani was putting his punches together with authority and precision. The power that Giovani was displaying round by round was overwhelming and clearly took Alexis by surprise.

Alexis looked out of place and not in the right mind to compete with Giovani on that night inside that squared circle. Alexis was being broken down round by round and in the fifth round succumbed to two vicious knockdowns that saw him beat the count but clearly wasn’t completely recovered from the bruising round.

The inevitable was around the corner and by the 6th round an onslaught of uncontested heavy punches connected and dropped a demoralized and depleted Rocha to the canvas for the third time prompting the referee to wave the bout at this point.

Although Alexis attempted to stand his ground throughout the bout, Giovani was clearly the better prepared warrior of the night and he did not disappoint by seizing the moment on his biggest night.

With this emphatic win now under his belt, Giovani has shot up the Welterweight Division and put the rest of his peers on notice, he is coming and taking all challenges ahead.

Well done, Giovani, now onto the next.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Blair Cobbs vs Alexis Rocha”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night the fast talking, trash talking Welterweight prospect Blair Cobbs (15-1-1, 10 Kos) got himself humbled when he took on Alexis Rocha (19-1, 13 Kos) inside that squared circle as the Main Event of the night at the USC Galen in Los Angeles, California on the Golden Boy/DAZN card.

Cobbs talked the talk but clearly underestimated his opponent when he first stepped foot inside that squared circle. Cobbs boxed and moved not looking too concerned about his opponent, right until he got caught and chin checked in the second round which opened up a clear flaw in Cobbs defense as the rounds progressed.

Alexis’ left hand was landing at will all night clearly rocking Cobbs who then started to move way too much to win any rounds. Cobbs was having some serious problems figuring out Alexis who was growing stronger as the rounds progressed.

Alexis’ “game plan” was simple but effective. His patience and steady aggressive approach troubled Cobbs enough to land another hard left chin checked and dropped Cobbs for a quick 8 count in the eighth round. Cobbs, who was clearly hurt struggled heavily to survive the end of the round.

The “End Game” was near and in the ninth round a visibly weakened Cobbs continued to absorb a burst of unanswered punches from body to head and again chin checked out on his feet prompting the referee to call an end to the bout.

Prior to the bout, Alexis had promised to hurt Blair inside that squared circle but went a step further and silenced the flamboyant one permanently.

This bout was a reality check for Cobbs who prior to the bout was calling out the top Welterweights in the Division. There are levels to this Boxing sh*t and this one showed you where you at, but it’s nothing you can’t bounce back from. Keep your head up Blair.

As for Alexis, congratulations on your convincing win keep up the momentum.

Blaze

On the Watch ” It’s All About Jaron Ennis vs Thomas Dulorme”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s SHOWTIME Co Main Event between Jaron Ennis (28-0, 26 Kos) and Thomas Dulorme (25-6-1, 16 Kos) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena was a highlight reel for the one they call “Boots” that only lasted one minute and 49 seconds. Real Talk!

For the boxing fans who haven’t yet noticed, Jaron is not to play with inside that squared circle.

It was a quick night at the office for Jaron when he walked inside that squared circle and completely annihilated his opponent by dropping him twice for the count inside the first round with a devastating right hook and straight left hand that stunned Thomas severely on his back which prompted the referee to stop the bout.

Thomas talked that talk and was supposedly the one to give Jaron that tough test he’s been looking for but judging from this outcome, your Boy Ennis had a completely different take on how he personally wanted things to unfold.

With 18 consecutive stoppages on deck, you Boy Ennis is still putting the 147-Pound Division on heavy notice. The Champions and the top 5 Welterweights in the Division can’t keep ignoring “Boots” cause your Boy is out here making steady statements every time inside that squared circle.

His time is definitely now. Who wants next?

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Mikey Garcia vs Sandor Martin.”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event at the Chuckchansi Park, Fresno, CA, between former 4-Division World Champion Mikey Garcia (40-2, 30 Kos) and virtually unknown EBU European Super Lightweight Champion Sandor Martin (39-2, 13 Kos) was a perfect example of a cherry pick gone wrong. Real Talk!

A lot of people lost B.I.G. last night when they expected Mikey to have an easy stay-busy fight in front of his home crowd but then soon found out that Sandor wasn’t coming to lay down without a fight.

This was by far Sandor’s biggest moment of his career and he wasn’t about to drop the ball on the biggest stage with the lights and cameras all focussed on him. Sandor and his team came up with the perfect “game plan” which he executed to a “T”, offsetting the surprised Garcia round by round boxing and counterpunching, never letting Mikey get comfortable enough inside that squared circle.

Mikey’s usual punch output connection rate was non-existent at times and he was getting countered with some heavy, precise punch combinations that kept him from settling into any type of an offensive rhythm.

Mikey, the veteran boxer that he is, was shockingly getting outboxed by Sandor who was gaining more and more confidence as the rounds were piling up. Mikey had himself a few good looks at times but not enough momentum to disrupt Sandor’s aggressive approach.

After 10 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 95-95, 97-93, 97-93 all in favor of the underdog Sandor Martin.

The right combatant won this bout hands down. Mikey simply didn’t do enough in my eyes to secure the win. Maybe the long layoff played a part in his lackluster performance but my personal opinion is that Mikey simply overlooked his opponent and paid the price inside that squared circle.

That being said, I tip my “B” hat to Sandor for sticking with the “game plan’ and pulling off one the best wins of his career to date. You touched down in the United State for the first time in your career and left a lasting impression with a great victory.

Congratulations Sandor you truly earned this one, job well done.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Conor Benn vs Adrian Granados”

Welterweight Showdown

Conor Benn (19-0, 12 Kos) had himself another step-up bout tonight when he took on the tough and durable Adrian Granados (21-9-3, 15 Kos) on the Matchroom/DAZN card at the Headingley Stadium in Leeds, England.

There was a lot of trash talking coming from both sides but the one combatant who backed up the tough talks was Conor, hands down! Conor was clearly on a seek and destroy mission from rounds one to ten.

Conor came inside that squared circle to please the fans in attendance and to show the boxing world that he’s world class ready. Conor’s aggression was quite visible and affective at times administering some heavy power punches from head to body with seemingly no resistance coming from Granados.

Adrian showed toughness as usual absorbing the onslaught coming his way but his lack of commitment to go toe to toe with Conor made things quite easy to judge round by round. Granados had absolutely no power to his punches tonight and his constant movement did not add up to the right “game plan” to disrupt Conor’s nonstop aggressive punch output.

Although Adrian completed the full ten rounds, his performance tonight was very lackluster. Granados looked more like a fighter who wanted to survive then the always gamed warrior we were accustomed to seeing.

That being said, after 10 rounds of somewhat action the Judges scored it 100-90, 90-91 and 97-93 unanimously in favor of Conor Ben.

Conor may have been unable to stop Adrian within the 10 rounds tonight but he did get some much-needed rounds in that showed us how improved of a boxer he has become in a such a short professional career to date.

Keep the momentum going Conor, your time is coming. Until then congratulations on your latest win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Virgil Ortiz Jr. vs Egidijus Kavaliauskas”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Golden Boy/DAZN Main Event at The Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas, was well worth the wait. Real Talk! Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 Kos) and Egidijus Kavaliauskas (22-2-1, 18 Kos) showed us fans what two hungry fighters can produce when matched up properly.

The warrior that Egidijus is came out early and asserted himself quite well by pressuring Vergil in the first few rounds even catching him with a barrage of punches and a right uppercut on the chin that clearly dropped Ortiz but the referee called it a slip. That said, Ortiz survived the round and returned the favor in the third round when he also chinned Egidijus and dropped him for a quick 8 count right before the bell.

As the rounds were piling up so was the action inside that squared circle. Both combatants brought the “Heat”. Egidijus proved to be the test Virgil needed at this point but it was only a matter of time before he’d figured Kavaliauskas out.

As great as the back-and-forth action was inside that squared circle, Virgil’s power and precision shined bright in the eighth round when a well-placed left shot to the body dropped Egidijus for a quick eight count then a left hook to the chin for the second knockdown, another eight count then chinned checked again for a third knockdown, another eight count but then came the “End Game” a barrage of unanswered heavy punches dropped “Mean Machine” for the fourth and final time which then prompted the referee to officially stop the bout.

It was a beautiful display of boxing by Virgil who encountered some solid resistance but prevailed big time when it was all said and done.

That being said, Virgil wants next with WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 Kos) or any other Champions in the Division. Your Boy is out here looking for all that smoke.

Who really want it with the Kid Virgil Ortiz Jr. cause he got next!

Blaze

On the Watch ” It’s All About Jaron Ennis vs Sergey Lipinets”

Welterweight Showdown

Jaron Ennis (27-0, 25 Kos) walked it like he talked when he completely destroyed tough and durable adversary Sergey Lipinets (16-2-1, 12 Kos) at last night’s Showtime Main Event card from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

It was business as usual for Jaron when he stepped inside that squared circle with absolutely no sign of fear. Once the bell rang in the first round Jaron established himself as the more physical combatant with his size and strength while boxing and moving effectively preventing Sergey from ever setting up his own offence.

Sergey usually gets around to imposing himself but last night he clearly lacked the proper “game plan” to counter Jaron’s steady calculated offence.

Jaron’s ring generalship and perfectly timed switch-hitting style was visibly confusing Sergey inside that squared circle.  The number of heavy shots that Sergey was absorbing was quite worrisome outside looking in. I personally expected Sergey to be more competitive with his work rate but the punishment that he was enduring by the sixth-round cost him heavily when he got caught cold with a right-left devastating combination that flatted him out to the canvas and prompted the referee to instantly call an end to the bout at 2:11 of the sixth-round.

This was a very impressive performance by Jaron considering Sergey had never been stopped before or punished in such a dominant fashion.

Jaron is making it be known that he’s coming for that Number 1 Spot in the Welterweight Division. My only question is who will volunteer to derail the young lion?

Congratulations Jaron on another great performance. Goodluck to the competition!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Adrien Broner vs Jovanie Santiago”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Showtime Main Event between Adrien Broner (34-4-1, 24 Kos) and Jovanie Santiago (14-1-1, 10 Kos) from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut wasn’t as eventful as I expected. Real Talk!

Broner, who hadn’t graced the inside of a squared circle in more than two years, may have looked the part last night but definitely didn’t look like the AB that I grew to appreciate throughout his career. AB still got “problems” letting his hands go.

It’s clear that things haven’t been the same for AB since his loss to Marcos Maidana which to me was a respectable loss cause AB fought his heart out that night and simply got beaten by the better man. That’s the version of AB that could still be a “Problem” to anybody stepping inside that squared circle with him.

That being said, the AB who showed up last night was a shell of the Broner I grew accustomed to seeing. Real talk! Although AB was awarded the win last night, I personally think he failed to show us the work rate that would have sealed the deal convincingly.

Broner clearly landed the harder shots throughout the bout but Santiago was visibly the more consistent with his work rate round by round. The Judges clearly didn’t appreciate Jovanie’s activity and determined aggression when they scored it 117-110, 116-111, 115-112 all in favor of Broner.

Let’s keep it real, that’s some serious suspect scoring and I’m an AB fan from time. A draw in my eyes would have been more acceptable.

Activity is key for you AB so make it happen for yourself Money! You are way too skilled to be having questionable fights like this one.

Just my thoughts.

Blaze

On the Watch ” It’s All About Jaron Ennis vs Juan Carlos Abreu”

Welterweight Showdown

The coming of age of the Welterweight contender Jaron “Boots” Ennis (26-0, 24 Kos) was on full display on last night Premier Boxing Champions Showtime Boxing card at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut when he stopped Juan Carlos Abreu (23-6-1, 21 Kos) in the sixth round.

Jaron, who was up against a tough and sturdy veteran in Juan made it look really easy. To me it felt like I was watching a glorified sparring session. Jaron controlled every round from the jump. Jaron showed good patience throughout the rounds and displayed some impressive power along with a crisp jab from both hands.

Overall, Juan was simply out gunned and out classed by a superior boxer that had his number from the time the bell rung. It was only a matter of time before Jaron pulled the plug and ended the show in the sixth round by dropping Juan twice in the round with some heavy combination shots to call it a night. Real Talk!

Jaron has been putting the Welterweight Division on notice for a minute now and his time is here. Jaron is the full package. The kid got the goods and deserves a shot at any one of the Champions in the 147-Pound Division.

The Welterweight Division is blazing as of late with some serious talent and your boy “Boots” Ennis wants next.

Who will be the first Champion to oblige the young hungry lion?

Blaze