On the Watch ” It’s All About Jaron Ennis vs David Avanesyan”

IBF Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between IBF Welterweight Champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (32-0, 29 Kos) and David Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 Kos) (the one who replaced mandatory challenger Cody Crowley) at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, was more or less a showcase type of an event that saw his hometown fans in attendance looking quite satisfied by the performance of their Champion.

Jaron pressed the action from the first bell and never looked back while David embraced the pressure and dished out some of his own to show Jaron he wasn’t here to lay down as everyone expected.

David tried heavily to stand his ground in a bravado way but Jaron was simply too big, too strong and too skillful to be contained by him. No disrespect to David but Jaron pretty much toyed with him inside that squared circle. As tough and durable as David usually is, on this night he was severely outgunned and outmatched with simply no answer to the problems that Jaron was throwing his way.

There are levels to this boxing sh*t and on this night, David found out the hard way that he did not belong inside that squared circle with Jaron. When “Boots” decided to stop playing with his food in the fifth round he caught David with a hard overhand left and dropped him for a standing 8 count that saw him rise up to further punishment that lasted the entire remaining round.

Having assessed the situation after the fifth round, David’s corner and the ringside Doctor both agreed that any further assault at the hands of “Boots” would be futile and it was best to call an end to the bout.

With this very convincing stoppage win Jaron defended his IBF Welterweight Title and picked up another TKO to be added to his ever-growing knockout percentage to date.

Jaron is the total package. Skillful, powerful and blessed with levels above his opposition on the ring IQ inside that squared circle. Good luck to the competition trying to derail this Dude on their way up.

Who’s next?

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Juan Francisco Estrada vs Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez”

WBC Junior Bantamweight Challenge

Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event between WBC/Ring Magazine Junior Bantamweight Champion Juan Francisco Estrada (44-4, 28 Kos) and undefeated challenger Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20-0, 13 Kos) was a situation where the Champion did not want to relinquish the mantle but was forced into doing so at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

The legend that Estrada is, put everything on the line and stood his ground and banged toe to toe with a much younger Lion who brought the “heat” like no other inside that squared circle.

It was a beautiful display of tactical boxing from both combatants who tried strategically to outmaneuver each other round by round. As experienced as Estrada is inside that squared circle, he had yet to meet up with an exceptional slick and strong boxer like “Bam” who had the patience and the right skill set to deter the Champion from having his way.

“Bam” was making it look easy boxing circles around Estrada who had absolutely no answer, that is right until the sixth round when he connected with a flash knockdown that sat “BAM” down for the first time in his career but did not deter him from strongly finishing the round.

Tasting the floor for the first time was all the motivation “Bam” needed to further press the action his way. “Bam” regrouped and proceeded to put his punches together with a lot more authority and power behind every shot, eventually connecting with a powerful left hand to the body forcing Estrada to the canvas where he couldn’t beat the referee’s count in the seventh round.

It was a very dominant performance by “Bam” where we witnessed another living legend get taken down by the young lion looking to take over the Bantamweight Division. By becoming the New WBC/Ring Magazine Junior Bantamweight Champion, Jesse is definitely on the right path.

Congratulations Champ!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois”

IBF World Heavyweight Challenge

With Oleksandr Usyk recently announcing that he has vacated the IBF Heavyweight Title, Interim IBF Heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 Kos) has now been elevated to full IBF Heavyweight Champion of the World, clearing a perfect path to make the first defense of his Title against former Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 Kos) in an all-British Showdown on September 21, 2024, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, courtesy of Riyadh Season.

This is a very intriguing matchup where both combatants look the part and carry the power to end the night in a dramatic fashion. The youth that Dubois has over AJ could come into play and the momentum that Dubois is rocking after stoppage wins over Jarell Miller and Filip Hrgovic has him feeling unbeatable.

That being said, Anthony himself has been looking on point in his last few fights as well and very much focussed on the task at hand. Regardless of the opponent across from him, his sole purpose is to dominate the Heavyweight Division once again and regain the Championship Titles by any means necessary.

The experience AJ has on the biggest stage will definitely play a part but the young Lion in Dubois will bring a significant amount of a challenge on the night. Both combatants have shown much improvement as of late with the confidence beaming from both sides, but the million-dollar question in the room is who will prevail victorious.

Tune in and be part of this mega British Heavyweight Showdown on September 21, 2024, at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Gervonta Davis vs Frank Martin”

WBA Lightweight Showdown

Over the past weekend, Undefeated WBA Lightweight Champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0, 28 Kos) continued on his destructive path when he snatched the soul out of the “Ghost” Frank Martin (18-1, 12 Kos) on Amazon Prime at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For someone who hadn’t graced the ring in 14 months “Tank” wasted no time acclimating himself inside that squared circle. Gervonta looked cool and calm and downloading data while Frank was doing his best work trying to be active with his hands while avoiding Gervonta’s punches.

Frank looked sharp and full of confidence as the rounds progressed but soon found that when touched by Gervonta’s power, his demeanor changed as well. Martin, the visibly bigger combatant was very cautious of “Tank’s” left hand and in doing so he neglected to listen to his trainer at times who could see the foreseeable outcome.

Once “Tank” started walking Martin down leading him into traps on the ropes the takeover was inevitable. In the eighth round, Gervonta connected with a devastating well-placed uppercut followed by a straight left hand that put Frank out for the count. It was a beautiful display by a cerebral assassin.

With this win ‘Tank” retained his WBA Lightweight Title and informed the 135-Pound Division that he is back in full affect. Statement made.

Well done, Champ!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About 2024 NBA FINALS CHAMPIONS”

2024 NBA Champions

The Boston Celtics continued to stay true to their character and their No. 1 Seed by closing out the NBA Finals 4-1 with a dominant performance win over the Dallas Mavericks. The Celtics just added to their history by collecting their 18th Championship for their franchise and their first since 2008.

The Celtics, led by Jason Tatum and series MVP Jaylen Brown, were simply too much to overcome. Them two young and gifted athletes carried their tough squad to the promised land and delivered on their biggest night and did not drop the ball. Real Talk!

It was close out time and they did the job. The Boston squad knew what was at the end of the tunnel and as a unit wanted it more than the Mavericks who failed to keep up and never able to get back into the game when the Celtics came out the gate.

Simply put, it the Mavericks got outplayed, outgunned and out hustled by the better team.
The Celtics owned the NBA regular season and maintained the momentum to a dominant Playoff run all the way to conquering the NBA Finals to now being crowned the NBA Champion of the NBA Season 2024.

Congratulations to the Boston Celtics for completing a very convincing season from start to finish. You Boys earned this one Hands down!

Well Done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Adrien Broner vs Blair Cobbs”

Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Don King promoted Main Event between former Four-Time Division World Champion Adrien Broner (35-5-1, 24 Kos) and Blair Cobbs (17-1-1, 10 Kos) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, was another clear illustration of how bad things have gotten for AB inside that squared circle. Real Talk!

The once upon a time “Can Man” failed again to pull the trigger when he was hesitant to let his gloves go against Cobbs who had his “game plan” on point letting his own gloves do the talking all night. Blair was very active throwing punches in bunches from all angles and even clipping AB early with a swift left hand that knocked him down for a standing 8 count in the second round.

Although AB recovered quickly from the knockdown, he showed no life or urgency into getting his get back or any attempt of a man on mission inside that squared circle.

Cobbs wasn’t able to stop AB but he did keep his foot on the gas by being active with his gloves round by round. While AB looked like a shell of himself inside that squared circle his power was still quite alive whenever he managed to connect anything significant enough and having some effect on Cobbs just not enough to deter him.

As usual, Broner talked a good game to the lead up of the bout but neglected to follow through with the tough talk inside that squared circle. What Broner was known for in the past seemed to have disappeared, his cat like speed and reflexes were a no show and he paid the price by being tagged all night by Blair who looked focused, sharp and hungry at getting the job done by any means necessary.

After 10 completed rounds the Judges at hand scored it 97-91, 96-93, 96-93 unanimously for Blair Cobbs.

This was a solid win for Cobbs but if he has any plans on challenging the upper echelon of the Welterweight Division he needs to get back in the lab and continue to perfect his craft cause them Dudes up there don’t play with their food.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About The NBA FINALS 2024”

The NBA Finals 2024

With the completion of the NBA’s version of the Final 4 now officially over, the two remaining teams representing their respective coasts are the No. 1 Seeded Boston Celtics for the EASTSIDE and the No. 5 Seeded Dallas Mavericks for the WESTSIDE.

Boston stayed true to their character and their No. 1 Seed by staying focussed and driven throughout the Playoffs and demolishing every team that dared to challenge their right to grace the NBA Finals.

The Celtics are coming into these Finals as the favourites by the way they’ve looked so strong in these Playoff runs. This well-balanced Boston squad armed with Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and company, have all the right ingredients needed to capture another Championship for the city.

That being said, standing in their way looking to spoil the plans of yet another team are the Dallas Mavericks who are cocked and loaded with two very talented offensive assassins in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving ready to cause enough havoc while leading their squad through the last obstacle standing in their way of an NBA Finals Championship. The Mavericks have quietly silenced all their nonbelievers game by game throughout the Playoffs to the point that now they can no longer be avoided or disrespected. The Mavericks are the real deal and a serious threat to the Celtics.

That said, Boston will have to be on point on both sides of the court and continue their dominating performance and not let the hyped-up Mavericks get any type of momentum going their way. Both teams know of the opposition’s strength and weaknesses but which side will have the right “game plan” to capitalized on it in their favor.

The stakes are high but there can only be one Champion when it’s all said and done so tune in this Thursday night June 6, 2024 live on ABC for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Who you got?

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Queensberry vs Matchroom 5 vs 5”

Queensberry vs Matchroom 5 vs 5

Thank you to his Excellency Turki Alashikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority for hosting another great show at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. By facilitating two of the biggest promoters in boxing in Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn to go head-to-head, Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom Boxing came up with an intriguing and competitive “5 vs 5” that definitely brought the “HEAT” inside that squared circle.Although the outcome of it all was surprisingly one-sided, the anticipation brought forward was well worth it.

First up on the night representing Queensberry was Light Heavyweight Willy Hutchinson (18-1, 13 Kos) who took on Matchroom representative Light Heavyweight Craig Richards (18-4-1, 11 Kos). Hutchinson, who was the underdog on paper talked the most sh*t on the build-up to the fight undermining the more proven fighter, Richards. This was a good domestic dust up to start the night where both combatants had their moments but Hutchinson, the younger warrior seemed to be one step ahead all night making it look easy outmanoeuvring his opponent at will inside that squared circle. Richards, although he tried, did not have the right “game plan” on the night to sway the Judges. After 12 rounds of one-sided action the Judges at hand called it 119-109, 117-111, 116-112 unanimously for Willy Hutchinson. With this win under his belt Willy is now the proud owner of the vacant WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Championship. Well done.

Next up was WBA Featherweight Champion Raymond Ford (15-1-1, 8 Kos) representing Matchroom defending his recently earned title against the always ready Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 Kos) representing Queensberry who himself recently had to settle for a draw against WBC Featherweight Champion Rey Vargas in his prior attempt at obtaining a Championship Title. On this night, knowing you don’t always get a second chance that quick at a title opportunity, Nick wasted no time at pressing the action right from the jump. Nick’s style is simple but effective if you can’t deter him from coming forward. Nick throws punches in bunches with some pop behind every punch. Although Nick is short in stature, his presence inside that squared circle seems to always be too much for his opponents to handle. Although Raymond did do his best at standing his ground going toe-to-toe with Nick and having some moments, it was visibly Nick having the more telling effects as the rounds progressed. Nick made it very uncomfortable for Raymond to maintain any type of consistent momentum round after round. After 12 rounds of action one Judge called it 115-113 for Raymond while the other two Judges called it 115-113, 115-113 for Nick giving him the split decision win and the New WBA Featherweight Champion of the world. Well done, Champ!

Next up in a WBC Middleweight Title Eliminator we had Hamzah Sheeraz (20-0, 16 Kos) representing Queensberry taking on Austin Williams (16-1, 11 Kos) representing Matchroom in what was a very entertaining bout where both combatants had their moments. Austin pressed the action early with his aggressive style while Sheeraz remained patient throughout the bout and controlled his distance with a stiff but heavy jab. The action was nonstop round after round but nearing the end of the tenth round, Sheeraz caught Austin with a quick right hand that dropped him for a standing 8 count at the sound of the bell. At the beginning of the eleventh round the inevitable was around the corner. Seeing that Austin hadn’t clearly recovered from being dropped in the previous round Sheeraz wasted no time and went in for the kill and detonated heavy unanswered shots to the head of Austin who was about to get dropped prompting the referee at hand to step in and halt the bout at the 45 second mark of the opening round. This was a competitive bout from start to finish but Sheeraz clearly showed his superiority with his power to close the show. Well done.

Next up in an Interim IBF Heavyweight Championship we had Filip Hrgovic (17-1, 14 Kos) representing Matchroom going at it with Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 Kos) representing Queensberry. Many thought that Dubois would be outclassed by the former 2016 Olympian Hrgovic but what transpired on the night was quite the opposite. Although both combatants did come out the gate throwing heavy leather at each other looking to do harm, it was Dubois who administered the most visible damage having Hrgovic bleeding from both eyes. Personally, I think Hrgovic didn’t look battle ready to handle Dubois. Hrgovic in the later rounds looked battered and exhausted unable to deter Dubois who was coming in stronger as the rounds progressed. Hrgovic was looking so weather-beaten by the eighth round that the referee had the ringside doctor examine his cuts who then recommended that the bout be halted. I expected Hrgovic to bring the “HEAT” on the night but this version of Hrgovic was not it. Dubois impressed me some more on the night and fought fearlessly against a very worthy opponent. Dubois kept his foot on Hrgovic’s neck and delivered a very good win which turned him into an Interim IBF Heavyweight Champion. Well done. Who’s next?

The Main Event and the final showdown of the “5 vs 5” came down to former Interim WBO Heavyweight Champion Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 Kos) representing Queensberry going up against former WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 kos) representing Matchroom. Two very hard-hitting punchers looking to keep their careers alive. A lot was said about this matchup on whether retirement might be nearing considering their age but the outcome of this bout proved once again that “Big Bang” Zhang is still very relevant in today’s Heavyweight contention. The action was slow out the gate as both combatants were very aware of the power they both possess but it was only a matter of time before one of them connected with anything to garner the right attention. Wilder looked timid, disengaged and gun-shy every time he even attempted to throw anything solid, unlike Zhang who threw his punches with the purpose of doing bodily harm with every punch thrown. Wilder came to life in the fifth round attempting to let his hands go and getting the crowd involved only to be brought right back to reality by a heavy right hook by Zhang causing Deontay to contemplate life while spinning around lost in space defenseless and open for a detonating right hand that knocked him down flat on his back like a crime scene. Although a shaky looking Wilder made it back to his feet the referee pulled the plug preventing Deontay from absorbing any further damage. Wilder’s power has always been the key to his victories but last night Wilder was severely outsized and outgunned by Zhang who was determined to close the show the “Big Bang” way. Well done.

With this win now secured, Frank Warren and his Queensberry Promotions team had themselves a clean sweep of the first of many “5 vs 5” event with Matchroom Boxing.

Great night of Boxing!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall 2”

Junior Welterweight Showdown

The highly awaited rematch between Former Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion Josh Taylor (19-2, 13 Kos) and Jack Catterall (29-1, 13 Kos) took a couple of years to get here but with tonight’s final result at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, it was well worth it.

Although no titles were on the line this time around, Jack treated this revenge match like his life depended on it. This bout was personal for both warriors considering their previous encounter was highly controversial.

The built-up anger that Jack retained from their previous showdown was quite evident by the way he pressed the action from round to round. Jack basically picked up the action from their last meeting and kept that intolerable feeling at Josh’s neck keeping him from getting into any type of a flow inside that squared circle.

Throughout the many struggles that Josh was dealing with inside that squared circle he still managed to stand his ground and bang toe-to-toe with Catterall. Both combatants had their moments exchanging heavy leather with serious battle wounds to show for it but this time around, Jack made sure he was the one with the eye-catching shots to help sway the Judges.

After 12 full completed rounds of action, the Judges at hand called it 117-111, 117-111, 116-113 unanimously for Jack Catterall. Although this bout was a lot closer than the score card suggest, I personally agree with the overall outcome.

With this credible win now under his belt, Jack believes that a title opportunity against the WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 Kos) is warranted but after Josh Taylor’s promoter Bob Arum’s outburst of disappointment after the scorecards were revealed, I can’t see Bob gifting Jack that much meriting opportunity any time soon.

I’m not sure what is to come next for Jack but until then, congratulations on a very good win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About 2024 NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS”

2024 NBA Eastern Conference Finals

The mission remains the same. The well-rested No. 1 Seed Boston Celtics have kept true to their strong standing throughout the first and second round of the Playoffs by dismantling the likes of the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers to convincingly securing their rightful position for their next challenge in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Next in line at attempting to derail the Celtics are the pesky No. 6 Seed Indiana Pacers fresh off a game 7 series win over the No. 2 Seed New York Knicks on enemy territory to secure their opportunity at shocking the world in their first Conference Finals since 2014.

The Pacers keep proving their resiliency when counted out and always bringing their best foot forward under the brightest of lights. Having never been in this position in quite some time, these fearless Pacers will be looking yet again at to defy the odds to their favor as their confidence keeps growing series by series. The Celtics, with their experience alone, are favored to prevail but these valiant Pacers have defied the odds twice already and have plans at continuing the trend in this upcoming series.

Tune in the night of Tuesday May 21, 2024, for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. When the dust settles, who will emerge victorious and have the right of passage to the NBA Finals?

Who you got?

Blaze