Well – I wrote yesterday that a couple of rounds of toe-to-toe action filled with drama would be better than 36 minutes of May-Pac and unless you are a total purist – I was proven correct. It was what we hoped for, albeit it for slightly longer maybe?
Though from the hurtful, venomous punches the Mexican star threw repeatedly how was Kirkland ever going to last? It looked like he was being used as a heavy bag by Alvarez whose mother, as always, cheered enthusiastically on from the sidelines.
Manny Pacquiao, outpointed by Mayweather on May 2nd, recently underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, the shoulder injury which he blamed for his defeat, infuriating Mayweather to say, “I’ve lost all respect for him”, and brand him a “coward”. “I’m not going to buy into the bulls***, and I don’t want the public to buy into the bulls***”.
“Nineteen years in the fight game and I’ve had one excuse: don’t have an excuse. Winners win and losers have excuses”, Mayweather recently stated on Instagram.
After last night’s contest in Texas- as part of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions brand – the history books will always say Ricky Burns (37-5, 11ko) lost 3 of his last 4 fights. Yet in my humble opinion, the former 2 weight world champion was extremely unlucky as the traveling fighter against Omar Figueroa (25-0-1, 18ko) – dropping the decision in a fight where he wasn’t just fighting his opponent but also the referee and the odds in general.
Some might say, in a different ring, with a different ref, had the action all been the same – Burns may well have walked out the victor. Or at least battled to a hard earned draw.
In front of more than 31,000 raucous fans Minute Maid Park in Houston, super welterweight … read more
Red-headed Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) got one of his better victories of his career tonight in defeating a guy that was totally made for him in 31-year-old James Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs) by a 3rd round stoppage on HBO World Championship Boxing at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
Kirkland, who was fighting for the first time in two years after dropping a lot of fat in training camp, was really no match for Canelo. Kirkland attempted to use his wide open fighting style by plodding straight at the 24-year-old Canelo in the brief three rounds of action and the results were predictable. Canelo dropped Kirkland three times in the fight.
In the end it was Enfield’s Buglioni and his fight with old amateur rival Lee Markham that stole the show in a hard fought, blood and guts domestic battle that going in was tipped to be the Fight Of The Night.
Omar “Panterita” Figueroa (25-0-1, 18 KOs) remained undefeated as he put on an exciting show in front of a raucous hometown crowd and earned a unanimous decision over Ricky Burns (37-5-1, 11 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions on CBS live from State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas.
Figueroa was the sharper fighter who landed harder punches and was able to dictate the pace of the fight. Burns was deducted a point in both the eighth and 11th rounds by the referee for excessive holding. “Panterita” won by scores of 116-110 twice and 117-109.
In the process of beating Sturm, Chudinov, 27, won the vacant WBA super middleweight title that was stripped from Carl Froch last Thursday.
The scores were 118-110 and 116-112 for Chudinov, and 116-112 for Sturm.
Ever since Anthony Joshua demolished Denis Bakhtov in two disturbing rounds back in October 2014, there have been calls for the so obviously blessed heavyweight to be matched tougher.
Unfortunately for South America’s heavyweight champion Raphael Zumbano Love (donning velour shorts on the night) these calls have been ignored. In two equally alarming rounds he, just like his 11 peers before him, found out just what the fuss is all about.
Amir Mansour continues his road to redemption with a hard-fought victory on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights”
By Justin Jones – Photos © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones
Philadelphia, PA —In an entertaining heavyweight tilt, which headlined ESPN 2’s Friday Night Fights card at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia, Amir “Hardcore” Mansour (22-1, 16 KOs) demonstrated true grit and determination last night in outworking Joey Dawejko (14-3-2, 7 KOs) to earn a unanimous decision victory. Official scorecards were 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94 all in favor of Mansour.