On The Watch “It’s All About Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn”

WBC Welterweight Showdown

Last night’s Zuffa Boxing/Paramount +/DAZN Main Event between WBC Welterweight Champion Ryan “King Ry” Garcia (26-2, 21 Kos) and mandatory challenger Conor “The Destroyer” Benn (25-2, 14 Kos), was a showcase type of an event where the Champion secured the first defense of his WBC Title in a very impressive fashion at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Many anticipated this bout to be a very competitive night of action but what transpired was the complete opposite. Ryan waked it like he talked it and took “The Destroyer” apart by negating Conor’s aggressive style of fighting with a stiff and fast jab landing at will.

Conor felt the power of that jab right away but refused to respect it and continued to press the action in an aggressive manner but paid dearly for it by his own lack of awareness when he got dropped by a heavy overhand right in the second round. Conor bounced back to his feet after the standing 8 count but was clearly not ready for the unanswered onslaught, some misses with some landed coming his way, which then prompted the referee to stop the bout saving Conor from further unnecessary punishment. 

Some will say this bout was stopped prematurely but truth be told, the inevitable was near. This version of Conor (possibly drained from a mean weight cut) was absolutely no match for “King Ry” who was stronger, faster and shooting from all cylinders on the night.

Conor talked a good game on the build-up to the fight but fell miserably short on the night it counted most. Real Talk! With this win Ryan successfully defended his WBC Welterweight Title and his now setting his eyes on a unification bout with newly crowned WBA Super Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez.

Until then, congratulations Ryan on a great win!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Jai Opetaia vs Noel Mikaelian”

Cruiserweight Showdown

Last night’s Zuffa Boxing/Paramount +/DAZN Co-Main Event between Ring Magazine/Zuffa Boxing Cruiserweight Champion Jai Opetaia (31-0, 24 Kos) and WBC Cruiserweight Champion Noel Mikaelian (28-4, 12 Kos) was quite interesting at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Noel, known for his durability and good boxing mind, came into this bout with the utmost confidence and stood his ground as best he could but quickly found out that there are levels to this boxing sh*t and when entering that squared circle opposite of Jai Opetaia, you are bound to find out the hard way.

Jai is rated as the best in the Cruiserweight Division. His skill set does the talking inside that squared circle. That being said, Jai boxed and broke down Noel round by round. Noel did his best to survive and fought back gracefully but eventually succumbed at the hands of the superior combatant. Jai was simply too good and too strong to deterred inside that squared circle.

The pace the combatants were fighting at was simply too much for Noel to keep up with. Noel’s defence was suffering for it and cost him dearly in the ninth round as he got pressed with a barrage of well-placed punches that dropped him into the ropes forcing a standing 8 count where the referee felt Noel hadn’t regained enough of his senses to continue and decided to waive the bout at the 1:30 mark of the round.

With this win, Jai administered Noel his first TKO of his career, retained his Ring Magazine/Zuffa Boxing Cruiserweight Championship Titles but was robbed of receiving Noel’s WBC Cruiserweight Title due to the politics of the sanctioning body. Unbelievable!

Only time will tell who will be the last man standing above the Cruiserweight Division when Jai Opetaia and David Benavidez finally collide, but until then, congratulations Jai on another impressive win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Edgar Berlanga vs Steven Butler”

Super Middleweight Showdown

last night’s Zuffa Boxing Main Event at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City, was an intriguing one where New York’s very own Edgar Berlanga (24-2, 19 Kos) had to step his game up in a serious manner when he took on our own Canadian Steven Butler (38-6-1, 32 Kos) inside that squared circle.

Edgar walked inside that squared circle thinking Steven was easy work but quickly found out after feeling Steven’s power and getting dropped in round two, that he needed to assert himself and not let Steven build some confidence after forcing him to the canvas.

That being said, Edgar strayed away from the original “game plan” and proceeded to “Bang” with the “Banger” and throw all caution out the ring as both combatants went at it throwing heavy leather at each other looking for that edge as the rounds progressed.

The action these two warriors fought with definitely brought the fans in attendance to their feet. This risk-taking style of fighting worked best for Edgar who rocked Steven so hard with a heavy left hook that had him moonwalking around the ring on weak legs, but the Kid showed heart by refusing to go down.

Steven surprisingly fought back and had some moments inside that squared circle but eventually succumbed to Edgar who let off a barrage of damaging left hooks that had Steven out on his feet in the seventh round which prompted the referee to aggressively jump in and stop the bout.

This was a much-needed victory for Berlanga. In order to show his value in the Super Middleweight Division, he needed to remind his peers and last night he did just that.

Well done!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki”

Cruiserweight Showdown

Today’s Zuffa Boxing Cruiserweight Main Event between Chris “The Gentleman” Bilam-Smith (22-2, 14 Kos) and our own Canadian Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (21-2-1, 20 Kos) was a very entertaining bout but did not have the outcome I expected at the Bournemouth International Centre. Real Talk!

Rozicki came out the gate with his usual aggressive self, looking to take out Billam-Smith with some very heavy shots but to my surprise, Billam-Smith stayed cool and calm and stood his ground quite impressively, never waving while hammering some very good precise shots of his own.

Rozicki showed his sturdiness but was met, surprisingly, with an opponent who was smart with his approach and just as sturdy. Both combatants banged heavy on one another and stunning each other back and forth turning this bout into a straight shootout. 

Both combatants fought in the pocket with Billam-Smith getting the better out of Rozicki who got touched up with some heavy head shots due to his lack of defense that costed him dearly as the rounds progressed.

I don’t think Rozicki was expecting Billam-Smith to withstand his onslaught but Billam-Smith came in this bout with the right frame of mind and the determination and strength needed to get through this battle.

By the seventh round, Billam-Smith stepped his game up and put up a series of damaging combination punches that had Rozicki staggering but still moving forward eating nothing but clean head shots. The inevitable was near.

Due to a tougher than expected seventh round Rozicki’s, corner decided to pull their fighter from taking any further punishment. It was a brutal bout for both combatants but the right decision was definitely made.

With this very impressive win now under his belt, Chris Billam-Smith is right back into the mix in the Cruiserweight Division positioning himself for another World Title opportunity.

Well done, Chris!

Blaze