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As good as Jr.'s chin is, I think Golovkin could make him quit.
Please lock.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
As good as Jr.'s chin is, I think Golovkin could make him quit.
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I don't know man, his chin is crazy.
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I meant more so the non-stop pressure combined with bodywork could produce a no mas moment.
As good as Jr.'s chin is, his heart usually isn't in it. Just the difficulty of setting up a fight tests his heart enough.
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Really wanted to see GGG take him out of his misery
That fight would have gone 12. JR comes in at like 180+ and has a granite chin. GGG would get a UD in 12.
I'm just not sold on JCC and his commitment to the sport at this point
.. And like fam said that consistent pressure from GGG would've been too much for JCC.
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To be fair, isn't Top Rank purposefully screwing with JCC because he only has 1 fight left on his deal and they want him to extend his contract? I remember hearing that if he didn't agree to an extension, he was getting a TERRIBLE deal to fight GGG.
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If the preliminaries weren't so garbage I'd take you up on those
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Can you embed this link for me Pro .. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/why-bo...-handling-his-career-all-wrong-175036508.html
^Sure.
Why boxer Adonis Stevenson is handling his career all wrong.
Why boxer Adonis Stevenson is handling his career all wrong.
It was only 15 months ago that Adonis Stevenson obliterated Chad Dawson in Montreal in their fight for the WBC light heavyweight title, though it seems like 15 years.
Stevenson has blown any momentum he captured with his surprising performance against Dawson.
He's made a series of stupefying decisions and appears much more like Clark Kent rather than the “Superman” nickname he's most definitely not living up to.
With the official word coming last week that the only two other light heavyweights who matter, Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev, are going to fight Nov. 8 in Atlantic City, Stevenson essentially has been pushed out of the spotlight.
Fortunes change quickly in boxing and in a year's time, much of the negative talk surrounding Stevenson could be forgotten.
The key word here is much. Much of it will be forgotten. Not all of it will be.
Boxing fans and the media have long memories. And they'll remember a guy who blew a potential Fight of the Year with Kovalev. They'll remember a guy who jumped networks seemingly to get a fight with Hopkins, then not making that fight.
They'll remember a guy who seemed much more focused on safe title defenses rather than challenging himself against the best.
The only surprise about Stevenson's victory over Dawson on June 8, 2013, was how quickly it came. Dawson clearly looked like he was nearing the end of the line, and most of those in the know expected Stevenson to handle him.
But that victory, which came before a big audience on HBO, was a breakout performance for Stevenson. The thing to remember is that it came when he was 35 and definitely on the back nine of his career.
Guys in those situations, who haven't had big fights before, usually rush to take advantage of their newfound status. It would have made sense for Stevenson to demand a bout with Kovalev immediately after dispatching Dawson.
He took a bout against Tavoris Cloud, which was disappointing in one sense but understandable in another. Cloud has heavy hands and there was hope that a Stevenson-Cloud fight could become a closet classic, one of those low-profile matches that turns out to be outstanding.
Stevenson blew out Cloud, though, in a performance that was even better than his one-punch job against Dawson. And so, then it seemed we'd get the Kovalev bout.
Instead, he agreed to a mandatory defense with Tony Bellew. It was disappointing, but Kovalev was making a WBO title defense on the undercard, so a future matchup remained promising.
The belief among HBO executives, Main Events executives and Kovalev's team is that after the Stevenson-Bellow/Kovalev-Ismayl Sillakh doubleheader was that Stevenson and Kovalev would fight each other in one of the first big bouts of the new year.
Instead, Stevenson again demanded an interim bout, this time against Andrzej Fonfara.
Stevenson and his team made a number of miscalculations. When Stevenson jumped from HBO to Showtime, it was ostensibly to land a fight with Hopkins.
Hopkins, though, wasn't going to sit around idle. He's going to be 50 in January and doesn't have a lot of time to wait while the guy he wants to fight is taking on a series of inconsequential, low-profile matches.
Hopkins instead went after Kovalev.
While Hopkins and Kovalev fight for supremacy at light heavyweight, Stevenson is left to ponder what might have been. Though he could wind up fighting the winner at some point, his reputation and his bargaining power are vastly diminished. He looks like a guy who is ducking a challenge rather than seeking out the best.
And for a guy who will be 37 when he next fights, he might have blown a significant payday. That's never good.
Had Stevenson taken on Kovalev last year, he would have gotten a big payday for that fight. With a victory he would have been in a strong position to challenge Hopkins in a second, this time even bigger payday.
It still could have worked that way for Stevenson when he jumped to Showtime. If he'd made himself available for Hopkins right away, he'd have gotten a solid check for that fight and been able to get another – with a victory – in a unification bout with Kovalev.
But if Kovalev beats Hopkins – I doubt that – the best that Stevenson will do is get the one payday.
No matter what happens, though, he left himself open for questions about his fighting spirit. That's never a good thing.
Just 15 months ago, he was sitting upon a gold mine. He hasn't lost and has scored two knockouts while winning all three fights since his win over Dawson, but he now needs help to get a mega-bout and his reputation has been diminished.
It's a case of out of sight, out of mind.
If Stevenson wants to proceed racking up wins over B- and C-level opposition, it's his right.
Just as it's our right not to care all that much.
Stevenson has blown any momentum he captured with his surprising performance against Dawson.
He's made a series of stupefying decisions and appears much more like Clark Kent rather than the “Superman” nickname he's most definitely not living up to.
With the official word coming last week that the only two other light heavyweights who matter, Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev, are going to fight Nov. 8 in Atlantic City, Stevenson essentially has been pushed out of the spotlight.
Fortunes change quickly in boxing and in a year's time, much of the negative talk surrounding Stevenson could be forgotten.
The key word here is much. Much of it will be forgotten. Not all of it will be.
Boxing fans and the media have long memories. And they'll remember a guy who blew a potential Fight of the Year with Kovalev. They'll remember a guy who jumped networks seemingly to get a fight with Hopkins, then not making that fight.
They'll remember a guy who seemed much more focused on safe title defenses rather than challenging himself against the best.
The only surprise about Stevenson's victory over Dawson on June 8, 2013, was how quickly it came. Dawson clearly looked like he was nearing the end of the line, and most of those in the know expected Stevenson to handle him.
But that victory, which came before a big audience on HBO, was a breakout performance for Stevenson. The thing to remember is that it came when he was 35 and definitely on the back nine of his career.
Guys in those situations, who haven't had big fights before, usually rush to take advantage of their newfound status. It would have made sense for Stevenson to demand a bout with Kovalev immediately after dispatching Dawson.
He took a bout against Tavoris Cloud, which was disappointing in one sense but understandable in another. Cloud has heavy hands and there was hope that a Stevenson-Cloud fight could become a closet classic, one of those low-profile matches that turns out to be outstanding.
Stevenson blew out Cloud, though, in a performance that was even better than his one-punch job against Dawson. And so, then it seemed we'd get the Kovalev bout.
Instead, he agreed to a mandatory defense with Tony Bellew. It was disappointing, but Kovalev was making a WBO title defense on the undercard, so a future matchup remained promising.
The belief among HBO executives, Main Events executives and Kovalev's team is that after the Stevenson-Bellow/Kovalev-Ismayl Sillakh doubleheader was that Stevenson and Kovalev would fight each other in one of the first big bouts of the new year.
Instead, Stevenson again demanded an interim bout, this time against Andrzej Fonfara.
Stevenson and his team made a number of miscalculations. When Stevenson jumped from HBO to Showtime, it was ostensibly to land a fight with Hopkins.
Hopkins, though, wasn't going to sit around idle. He's going to be 50 in January and doesn't have a lot of time to wait while the guy he wants to fight is taking on a series of inconsequential, low-profile matches.
Hopkins instead went after Kovalev.
While Hopkins and Kovalev fight for supremacy at light heavyweight, Stevenson is left to ponder what might have been. Though he could wind up fighting the winner at some point, his reputation and his bargaining power are vastly diminished. He looks like a guy who is ducking a challenge rather than seeking out the best.
And for a guy who will be 37 when he next fights, he might have blown a significant payday. That's never good.
Had Stevenson taken on Kovalev last year, he would have gotten a big payday for that fight. With a victory he would have been in a strong position to challenge Hopkins in a second, this time even bigger payday.
It still could have worked that way for Stevenson when he jumped to Showtime. If he'd made himself available for Hopkins right away, he'd have gotten a solid check for that fight and been able to get another – with a victory – in a unification bout with Kovalev.
But if Kovalev beats Hopkins – I doubt that – the best that Stevenson will do is get the one payday.
No matter what happens, though, he left himself open for questions about his fighting spirit. That's never a good thing.
Just 15 months ago, he was sitting upon a gold mine. He hasn't lost and has scored two knockouts while winning all three fights since his win over Dawson, but he now needs help to get a mega-bout and his reputation has been diminished.
It's a case of out of sight, out of mind.
If Stevenson wants to proceed racking up wins over B- and C-level opposition, it's his right.
Just as it's our right not to care all that much.
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Good lookin fam 
Stevenson and his team really dropped the ball .. who's he going to fight next? What's up with Jean Pascal? I know him and his promoter had a falling out but they need to make that fight happen ASAP.
Stevenson and his team really dropped the ball
.. who's he going to fight next? What's up with Jean Pascal? I know him and his promoter had a falling out but they need to make that fight happen ASAP.
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"So if Jean Pascal won the WBC light heavyweight eliminator and eventually has a (supposedly) guaranteed shot at the titleholder, Adonis Stevenson, surely he is in a good career spot, right? Then why haven't we heard much from Pascal in the last eight months? Stevenson vs. Pascal would be a cinch to promote, since both men are Montreal guys and the fight would be another cross-town rivals match.
Enter Jean Pascal's falling out last month with Yvon Marcel, his promoter of ten years. Ostensibly Pascal and Michel were negotiating over a bout with ex-titlist Tavoris Cloud in September, but with Pascal's contract expiring and the two unable to reach terms, the failure to make Pascal vs. Cloud led to a parting of ways. Michel is also Stevenson's promoter, so now it will be "Superman" Stevenson who will fight in September. For the time being, Pascal is promoting himself.
Obviously if Pascal wanted to cement his place as Stevenson's next big fight, staying with Yvon Michel was the way to go. Pascal is now calling out Stevenson, but unless he can patch things up with Marcel to at least some degree, that fight may not happen, Pascal's status as WBC mandatory challenger or no."
I agree Pro, Jean definitely deserves 50/50. Hopefully they can find a way to make it happen, probably the best option for both fighters, especially from a financial standpoint.
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I gave Algieri a very good chance against Provodnikov, so much so that I put some money on him. In this case it's a bit harder since this is Pacquiao we're talking about but I will say it's an interesting style matchup being that we haven't seen him in there with a tall, rangy mover like Algieri and I think that style could possibly cause him issues.
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Apparently Jermain Taylor has been arrested for alledgedly shooting his cousin
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Yeah, from what I've read it looks like the cousin and his homie came to Taylor's house then an altercation occured. JT grabbed the ratchet and started firing shots, hitting his cousin multiple times. The other dude didn't get hit though. Police say JT was very cooperative throughout the investigation.
Didn't even know he had a TITLE FIGHT coming up vs Sam Soliman on 0ct. 8th
Didn't even know he had a TITLE FIGHT coming up vs Sam Soliman on 0ct. 8th
Mad late but here's the round up from this past weekend.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Tecate, Mexico
Antonio DeMarco W10 Lanardo Tyner
Welterweight
Scores: 98-92 (three times)
Records: DeMarco (31-3-1, 23 KOs); Tyner (31-11-2, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: DeMarco, 28, of Mexico, is a former lightweight titleholder who lost his belt by one-sided eighth-round knockout to the much-quicker Adrien Broner in November 2012. Now DeMarco, who has moved up in weight, has won three fights in a row since the defeat, but it was not nearly as easy as the scores made it look.
Tyner, 39, of Detroit, is an experienced veteran, who took the fight on just six days' notice when original opponent Orlen Padilla dropped out. Tyner certainly did not win the fight, but he made DeMarco work very hard for the victory and surprised him with a hard knockdown in the first round when he caught him with a clean-as-a-whistle right hand to the jaw in the first minute. DeMarco was in some trouble, but weathered the storm. He came back for an authoritative second round in which he nailed Tyner with several right hands and hard body punches. It was a physical and entertaining fight with DeMarco and Tyner working hard on the inside for much of the bout. One guy would get off some combinations and then the other guy would do the same in an entertaining back-and-forth affair.
When the fifth round ended in frenzy of punching, they continued to fight after the bell, which got the crowd even more into the fight. Tyner had his moments but, ultimately, it was DeMarco's activity level and cleaner shots that carried the day, although the scores should have been a tad closer. That said, it's hard to understand the 98-92 scores when there was such a clean knockdown in the opening round. Tyner lost his third decision in a row.
Saturday at Panama City, Panama
Luis Concepcion TKO7 Duvan Hernandez
Junior bantamweight
Records: Concepcion (32-3, 23 KOs); Hernandez (12-2-1, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Former flyweight titlist Concepcion, 28, fighting at home in Panama, won his ninth fight in a row since suffering a first-round knockout loss in a world title fight to Hernan "Tyson" Marquez in 2011. He dominated Colombia's Hernandez, who lost for the first time since dropping a four-round decision in his 2009 professional debut.
Concepcion was moving up to the junior bantamweight division and had little issue with the less experienced Hernandez in what was an action fight.
In the final seconds of the second round, Concepcion and Hernandez both launched right hands, but it was Concepcion's that reached the target first, crashing into Hernandez's chin and dropping him against the ropes. He rose quickly and the round ended before Concepcion could get off another punch. From there, Concepcion wore Hernandez down until stopping him in the seventh round. A left hand to the body doubled Hernandez over and that was the beginning of the end. Concepcion landed a left hand and a right to the head to stagger Hernandez and send him sagging into the ropes, and referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia called it off at 2 minutes, 28 seconds. Even more impressive than the win were Concepcion's multiple back flips off the top of the ring post after he was announced as the winner. Concepcion could well be on his way to a junior bantamweight world title shot.
Saturday at Atlantic City, N.J.
Jaime Herrera TKO7 Mike Jones
Welterweight
Records: Herrera (12-2, 7 KOs); Jones (26-2, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: A few years ago, Jones, 31, of Philadelphia, was a highly touted prospect whom many thought would win a welterweight world title and become a major player in boxing. He had a lanky, powerful build, an interesting story -- a single father with a day job, not the most common thing in boxing -- a growing fan base in his hometown and backing from co-promoter Top Rank (which had partnered on his contract with Russell Peltz).
But Jones' fights were getting less and less entertaining until he hit bottom with an absolutely horrific fight in June 2012 on the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Jr. undercard as Jones faced former junior welterweight titlist (and noted knockout artist) Randall Bailey for a vacant world title. As bad as the fight was, Jones was ahead by wide margins on all three scorecards going to the 11th round, which is when Bailey, who had dropped Jones in the 10th round, waxed him with his vaunted right hand. Then Jones, who never had a very good attitude, basically disappeared as he beefed with his managers and promoters and changed trainers several times.
Making a return after 26 months out of action, Jones was matched with the 25-year-old Herrera, of Franklin Park, Illinois, whose resume was nothing special, although he was coming off an upset fifth-round knockout of unbeaten prospect Michael Finney in March. However, this was not supposed to be hard fight for Jones. But instead of easing back into action with a victory, it turned out to be a nightmare for Jones, who got knocked out and probably saw what was left of his career go down the drain.
Jones began well, dropping Herrera twice, first with a powerful left hook late in the second round and again early in the third round, a round during which Jones suffered a cut over his right eye from an accidental head butt. Herrera, who barely survived the knockdowns, began to close Jones' left eye in the fourth round as he began to dish out punishment. Herrera's surprising onslaught continued as he was delivering a beating to Jones until referee Earl Brown stopped the fight at the end of the seventh round on advice of the ringside doctor. Based on the two knockdowns, Jones was ahead 66-65 on three official scorecards at the time of the stoppage, but obviously the tide had turned.
Friday at Temecula, Calif.
Austin Trout W10 Daniel Dawson
Junior middleweight
Scores: 97-90 (three times)
Records: Trout (27-2, 14 KOs); Dawson (40-4-1, 26 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Trout, 28, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, won a junior middleweight world title in 2011 and made four successful defenses, including a huge upset win against the great Miguel Cotto, winning a clear decision against him in December 2012. Then came Trout's lost 2013 as the southpaw with good all-around skills lost both of his fights. First Canelo Alvarez dropped him and won a close decision to unify 154-pound belts in April and then Erislandy Lara dropped him in an interim title bout and won a dominant decision in December. Trout also went through a messy legal battle with his former promoter and mourned the death of his grandmother. Although Trout also got married, it was a difficult year.
With a new sense of desire and a good mental outlook, Trout made his return to headline the season finale of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" against Dawson, 36, of Australia, a former world title challenger, who was fighting in the United States for the second time. In his first fight on these shores, also in California, Dawson was knocked out in the 10th round challenging then-titleholder Sergey Dzinziruk in 2010.
Although Dawson was a heavy underdog against Trout, they put on a helluva fight. It was a terrific way to close out the FNF season. Dawson came close to the upset as he nearly knocked Trout out in the third round, during which he scored two knockdowns and had Trout's legs betraying him.
Inside the first minute of the round, Trout walked into a hard right hand he never saw for the first knockdown. He was buzzed but got to his feet quickly. Then, with about 25 seconds left in the round, Dawson nailed Trout again with a right hand he went down to his rear end. Again, Trout was up quickly and able to make it out of the disastrous round.
Trout was able to get himself together and although he engaged plenty with Dawson through the fight, he was able to stay away from clean right hands. Trout really sucked it up and outboxed and outpunched him for most of the rest of the fight, even though Dawson had his moments, including in the seventh round when he landed several hard shots. But Dawson also suffered a right-calf injury in the seventh that had him hopping around and trying to shake it out.
In the eighth round, Trout was firmly in command when he floored Dawson with a left and a right hand, the first time Dawson had ever knocked down in his 12-year, 45-fight professional career. Dawson tried to find a home for his right hand in the late rounds, but Trout was able to stay away from it and ride home to the decision win in a good fight that saved Trout's career in terms of having a chance for another world title opportunity.
Erick Bone W10 Mahonri Montes
Welterweight
Scores: 100-90, 97-93 (twice)
Records: Bone (15-1, 8 KOs); Montes (28-3-1, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Bone, 25, of Ecuador, now based in New York and fighting for the second time in a row in the United States, had few problems as he easily outpointed Montes, 24, of Mexico, who dropped to 2-3 in his past five bouts. Bone, who recently signed with adviser Al Haymon, won his third fight in a row since a split decision loss in Ecuador last year.
It was not much of a fight as Bone beat the slower Montes to the punch repeatedly while Montes followed him around and fought only in brief spurts. He could not do much against Bone, who was content to outbox him while sometimes landing solid left hooks.
By the later rounds, Bone was more or less doing as he pleased and you got the feeling that if he had really wanted to step on the gas and go for it that he could have gotten Montes out of there. Alas, he was content to take the easy points win.
Friday at Fairfield, California
Manuel "Tino" Avila KO8 Sergio Frias
Lightweight
Records: Avila (16-0, 7 KOs); Frias (15-4-2, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Avila, 22, of Vacaville, California, lives minutes from Fairfield and was fighting at home for the first time in two years. He gave the hometown crowd exactly what it wanted, an exciting and dominating performance in the main event of a nationally televised "Golden Boy Live" card.
Avila dominated from the outset against the unknown Frias, 23, of Mexico, dropping him twice in the opening round. Midway through the round, Avila connected with a clean left hook that dropped Frias to his knees. He easily beat the count but Avila was all over him and landed clean punch after clean punch. He rocked Frias repeatedly until he finally went down again under intense pressure. Surprisingly, Frias survived the final few seconds of the round as he took even more punishment. That was the story of the fight as Avila dished out an enormous beating against the brave Frias, who was way out of the fight but never stopped trying.
Avila shellacked Frias throughout the fight until he finally ended it in the eighth round. He had spent most of the round abusing Frias before he landed a left hook to his gut, which sent Frias to his knees. With his head bowed, Frias spit out his mouthpiece, his corner threw in the towel (what took so long?) and referee Edward Collantes counted him out at 2 minutes, 27 seconds. It was an overwhelming and impressive showing for Avila, who should be considered a prospect.
Gerald Washington W8 Nagy Aguilera
Heavyweight
Scores: 78-74 (twice), 77-75
Records: Washington (14-0, 10 KOs); Aguilera (19-9, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The 6-foot-6, 246-pound Washington, a former member of the U.S. Navy and football player at the University of Southern California, was a late starter in boxing. The Vallejo, California, native is already 32, so he is going to be pushed by adviser Al Haymon to see what he's got. Based on this performance against the experienced Aguilera, 28, he needs a lot more work but there is potential.
The 6-3, 244-pound Aguilera, a native of the Dominican Republic who fights out of New York, was the first decent test for Washington, who turned pro in 2012. Aguilera has faced a who's who of heavyweights, including former titlist Oleg Maskaev (and scored the upset first-round knockout), former titlist Samuel Peter, Antonio Tarver, Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek. Although Washington got the decision, he struggled. He spent too much time languishing on the ropes as Aguilera jabbed away and occasionally got inside, although he could land his best overhand right. The expectation was that Washington would be the aggressor but it was instead Aguilera who spent much of the fight taking the initiative by marching forward. He seemed to hurt Washington, who needs to keep his hands up more, from time to time, including in the first round. Washington seemed to be a bit gassed by the end of the fight, although he had enough left to briefly stun Aguilera with in the final round of a decent fight.
Saturday at Tecate, Mexico
Antonio DeMarco W10 Lanardo Tyner
Welterweight
Scores: 98-92 (three times)
Records: DeMarco (31-3-1, 23 KOs); Tyner (31-11-2, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: DeMarco, 28, of Mexico, is a former lightweight titleholder who lost his belt by one-sided eighth-round knockout to the much-quicker Adrien Broner in November 2012. Now DeMarco, who has moved up in weight, has won three fights in a row since the defeat, but it was not nearly as easy as the scores made it look.
Tyner, 39, of Detroit, is an experienced veteran, who took the fight on just six days' notice when original opponent Orlen Padilla dropped out. Tyner certainly did not win the fight, but he made DeMarco work very hard for the victory and surprised him with a hard knockdown in the first round when he caught him with a clean-as-a-whistle right hand to the jaw in the first minute. DeMarco was in some trouble, but weathered the storm. He came back for an authoritative second round in which he nailed Tyner with several right hands and hard body punches. It was a physical and entertaining fight with DeMarco and Tyner working hard on the inside for much of the bout. One guy would get off some combinations and then the other guy would do the same in an entertaining back-and-forth affair.
When the fifth round ended in frenzy of punching, they continued to fight after the bell, which got the crowd even more into the fight. Tyner had his moments but, ultimately, it was DeMarco's activity level and cleaner shots that carried the day, although the scores should have been a tad closer. That said, it's hard to understand the 98-92 scores when there was such a clean knockdown in the opening round. Tyner lost his third decision in a row.
Saturday at Panama City, Panama
Luis Concepcion TKO7 Duvan Hernandez
Junior bantamweight
Records: Concepcion (32-3, 23 KOs); Hernandez (12-2-1, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Former flyweight titlist Concepcion, 28, fighting at home in Panama, won his ninth fight in a row since suffering a first-round knockout loss in a world title fight to Hernan "Tyson" Marquez in 2011. He dominated Colombia's Hernandez, who lost for the first time since dropping a four-round decision in his 2009 professional debut.
Concepcion was moving up to the junior bantamweight division and had little issue with the less experienced Hernandez in what was an action fight.
In the final seconds of the second round, Concepcion and Hernandez both launched right hands, but it was Concepcion's that reached the target first, crashing into Hernandez's chin and dropping him against the ropes. He rose quickly and the round ended before Concepcion could get off another punch. From there, Concepcion wore Hernandez down until stopping him in the seventh round. A left hand to the body doubled Hernandez over and that was the beginning of the end. Concepcion landed a left hand and a right to the head to stagger Hernandez and send him sagging into the ropes, and referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia called it off at 2 minutes, 28 seconds. Even more impressive than the win were Concepcion's multiple back flips off the top of the ring post after he was announced as the winner. Concepcion could well be on his way to a junior bantamweight world title shot.
Saturday at Atlantic City, N.J.
Jaime Herrera TKO7 Mike Jones
Welterweight
Records: Herrera (12-2, 7 KOs); Jones (26-2, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: A few years ago, Jones, 31, of Philadelphia, was a highly touted prospect whom many thought would win a welterweight world title and become a major player in boxing. He had a lanky, powerful build, an interesting story -- a single father with a day job, not the most common thing in boxing -- a growing fan base in his hometown and backing from co-promoter Top Rank (which had partnered on his contract with Russell Peltz).
But Jones' fights were getting less and less entertaining until he hit bottom with an absolutely horrific fight in June 2012 on the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Jr. undercard as Jones faced former junior welterweight titlist (and noted knockout artist) Randall Bailey for a vacant world title. As bad as the fight was, Jones was ahead by wide margins on all three scorecards going to the 11th round, which is when Bailey, who had dropped Jones in the 10th round, waxed him with his vaunted right hand. Then Jones, who never had a very good attitude, basically disappeared as he beefed with his managers and promoters and changed trainers several times.
Making a return after 26 months out of action, Jones was matched with the 25-year-old Herrera, of Franklin Park, Illinois, whose resume was nothing special, although he was coming off an upset fifth-round knockout of unbeaten prospect Michael Finney in March. However, this was not supposed to be hard fight for Jones. But instead of easing back into action with a victory, it turned out to be a nightmare for Jones, who got knocked out and probably saw what was left of his career go down the drain.
Jones began well, dropping Herrera twice, first with a powerful left hook late in the second round and again early in the third round, a round during which Jones suffered a cut over his right eye from an accidental head butt. Herrera, who barely survived the knockdowns, began to close Jones' left eye in the fourth round as he began to dish out punishment. Herrera's surprising onslaught continued as he was delivering a beating to Jones until referee Earl Brown stopped the fight at the end of the seventh round on advice of the ringside doctor. Based on the two knockdowns, Jones was ahead 66-65 on three official scorecards at the time of the stoppage, but obviously the tide had turned.
Friday at Temecula, Calif.
Austin Trout W10 Daniel Dawson
Junior middleweight
Scores: 97-90 (three times)
Records: Trout (27-2, 14 KOs); Dawson (40-4-1, 26 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Trout, 28, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, won a junior middleweight world title in 2011 and made four successful defenses, including a huge upset win against the great Miguel Cotto, winning a clear decision against him in December 2012. Then came Trout's lost 2013 as the southpaw with good all-around skills lost both of his fights. First Canelo Alvarez dropped him and won a close decision to unify 154-pound belts in April and then Erislandy Lara dropped him in an interim title bout and won a dominant decision in December. Trout also went through a messy legal battle with his former promoter and mourned the death of his grandmother. Although Trout also got married, it was a difficult year.
With a new sense of desire and a good mental outlook, Trout made his return to headline the season finale of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" against Dawson, 36, of Australia, a former world title challenger, who was fighting in the United States for the second time. In his first fight on these shores, also in California, Dawson was knocked out in the 10th round challenging then-titleholder Sergey Dzinziruk in 2010.
Although Dawson was a heavy underdog against Trout, they put on a helluva fight. It was a terrific way to close out the FNF season. Dawson came close to the upset as he nearly knocked Trout out in the third round, during which he scored two knockdowns and had Trout's legs betraying him.
Inside the first minute of the round, Trout walked into a hard right hand he never saw for the first knockdown. He was buzzed but got to his feet quickly. Then, with about 25 seconds left in the round, Dawson nailed Trout again with a right hand he went down to his rear end. Again, Trout was up quickly and able to make it out of the disastrous round.
Trout was able to get himself together and although he engaged plenty with Dawson through the fight, he was able to stay away from clean right hands. Trout really sucked it up and outboxed and outpunched him for most of the rest of the fight, even though Dawson had his moments, including in the seventh round when he landed several hard shots. But Dawson also suffered a right-calf injury in the seventh that had him hopping around and trying to shake it out.
In the eighth round, Trout was firmly in command when he floored Dawson with a left and a right hand, the first time Dawson had ever knocked down in his 12-year, 45-fight professional career. Dawson tried to find a home for his right hand in the late rounds, but Trout was able to stay away from it and ride home to the decision win in a good fight that saved Trout's career in terms of having a chance for another world title opportunity.
Erick Bone W10 Mahonri Montes
Welterweight
Scores: 100-90, 97-93 (twice)
Records: Bone (15-1, 8 KOs); Montes (28-3-1, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Bone, 25, of Ecuador, now based in New York and fighting for the second time in a row in the United States, had few problems as he easily outpointed Montes, 24, of Mexico, who dropped to 2-3 in his past five bouts. Bone, who recently signed with adviser Al Haymon, won his third fight in a row since a split decision loss in Ecuador last year.
It was not much of a fight as Bone beat the slower Montes to the punch repeatedly while Montes followed him around and fought only in brief spurts. He could not do much against Bone, who was content to outbox him while sometimes landing solid left hooks.
By the later rounds, Bone was more or less doing as he pleased and you got the feeling that if he had really wanted to step on the gas and go for it that he could have gotten Montes out of there. Alas, he was content to take the easy points win.
Friday at Fairfield, California
Manuel "Tino" Avila KO8 Sergio Frias
Lightweight
Records: Avila (16-0, 7 KOs); Frias (15-4-2, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Avila, 22, of Vacaville, California, lives minutes from Fairfield and was fighting at home for the first time in two years. He gave the hometown crowd exactly what it wanted, an exciting and dominating performance in the main event of a nationally televised "Golden Boy Live" card.
Avila dominated from the outset against the unknown Frias, 23, of Mexico, dropping him twice in the opening round. Midway through the round, Avila connected with a clean left hook that dropped Frias to his knees. He easily beat the count but Avila was all over him and landed clean punch after clean punch. He rocked Frias repeatedly until he finally went down again under intense pressure. Surprisingly, Frias survived the final few seconds of the round as he took even more punishment. That was the story of the fight as Avila dished out an enormous beating against the brave Frias, who was way out of the fight but never stopped trying.
Avila shellacked Frias throughout the fight until he finally ended it in the eighth round. He had spent most of the round abusing Frias before he landed a left hook to his gut, which sent Frias to his knees. With his head bowed, Frias spit out his mouthpiece, his corner threw in the towel (what took so long?) and referee Edward Collantes counted him out at 2 minutes, 27 seconds. It was an overwhelming and impressive showing for Avila, who should be considered a prospect.
Gerald Washington W8 Nagy Aguilera
Heavyweight
Scores: 78-74 (twice), 77-75
Records: Washington (14-0, 10 KOs); Aguilera (19-9, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The 6-foot-6, 246-pound Washington, a former member of the U.S. Navy and football player at the University of Southern California, was a late starter in boxing. The Vallejo, California, native is already 32, so he is going to be pushed by adviser Al Haymon to see what he's got. Based on this performance against the experienced Aguilera, 28, he needs a lot more work but there is potential.
The 6-3, 244-pound Aguilera, a native of the Dominican Republic who fights out of New York, was the first decent test for Washington, who turned pro in 2012. Aguilera has faced a who's who of heavyweights, including former titlist Oleg Maskaev (and scored the upset first-round knockout), former titlist Samuel Peter, Antonio Tarver, Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek. Although Washington got the decision, he struggled. He spent too much time languishing on the ropes as Aguilera jabbed away and occasionally got inside, although he could land his best overhand right. The expectation was that Washington would be the aggressor but it was instead Aguilera who spent much of the fight taking the initiative by marching forward. He seemed to hurt Washington, who needs to keep his hands up more, from time to time, including in the first round. Washington seemed to be a bit gassed by the end of the fight, although he had enough left to briefly stun Aguilera with in the final round of a decent fight.
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Wbc WBA and that one other acronym will now use instant replay.
Hopefully this cracks down on elbows and other more discreet forms of illegal blows
Hopefully this cracks down on elbows and other more discreet forms of illegal blows
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So Floyd has ushered in the services of Alex Ariza during training camp. That's interesting.
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Congrats to KC and his wife Allison on having their baby.
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Gotta be in Brooklyn. Let's get it, Pete.
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Pro, we out?