Evans ‘Mamba’ Mbamba has had a 10-month lay-off from competitive boxing but ring-rust won’t be a factor when he headlines the ‘Chesanyama Bill’ against Mario ‘Maca’ Briones for the vacant WBF junior-featherweight title at Graceland Casino, in Mpumalanga on Saturday, June 29.
No Surprise – Adrien Broner the Farce Wins over Paulie Malignaggi
About the only thing(s) close to being a surprise was that Paulie Malignaggi went the distance and one judge thought he won the fight? Not much doubt who won. Paulie Malignaggi displayed even less “pop” than usual on his punches. In a way, you have to admire Paulie. it’s must take a lot of courage for Paulie to enter the ring unarmed, knowing that he can’t hurt his opponent. It’s a shame, because “The Magic Man” could be one helluva fighter if he had a punch.
The fight itself was predictable and silly at times. Adrien Broner was the farce, jester or wag. He has no class. He acts the fool, or maybe he’s not acting. One wonders if there’s a worthwhile thought that passes through his brain? If there is, it departs faster than his lead right. He always seems to get away with questionable tactics, not unlike someone else fans know without naming names. He uses his forearm and left elbow as weapons, and on one occasion actually kneed Paulie.
Plenty To Talk About After Broner-Malignaggi Scrap
Last night’s split decision, which came as quite a shock, especially to those “experts” who “knew” Broner would KO Malignaggi, has also caused some talk. Broner deserved the win, but what would have happened if referee Benjy Esteves had taken a point or two away from Broner for his many infringements? Can Malignaggi, who said he felt the fight was close and could have gone either way, be justified in complaining over how the split decision handed in by the three judges didn’t wind up being a draw or even a win for him? (had a point been taken away from Broner for his classless kicking stunt, Malignaggi would have got a draw on two cards, thus retaining his belt and scoring a major upset to the Broner applecart.)
Broner wins the fight, but Malignaggi wins the event
We saw that unless Broner moves back down to the lightweight division, he could end up as little more than just a contender in the future. We learned that Broner’s power isn’t as lethal at welterweight compared to when he was fighting at lightweight.
Malignaggi exposed Broner’s flat-footed fighting style and was able to easily outmaneuver him in the ring for much of the fight. It often took Broner too long to get his shots off because he often waited too long before he’d let his hands go.
Broner decisions Malignaggi; Bika tops Periban; Mitchell defeats Banks
Adrien Broner (27-0, 22 KO’s) defeated WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-5, 7 KO’s) by a 12 round split decision at the on Saturday night to win his WBA title at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, USA. The judges had it 115-113, 117-111 for Broner, and 115-113 for Malignaggi.
You can make an argument that the fight should have been scored a draw, as Broner did little in the first 5 rounds of the fight other than covering up in the turtle shell defense.
Broner failed to set himself apart from Malignaggi in terms of talent in this fight because he just didn’t work hard enough.
Caleb Truax Stops “Da Bomb” in the Sixth Round
Caleb managed to get Don “Da Bomb” George 24-3-2 (21KOs) in trouble right away in the first round. Caleb quickly figured out George was not a counter puncher, and didn’t use his legs much for anything other than moving straight ahead. Consequently, Caleb started teeing off. He was using a hard jab to set things up and then pounded in with good three punch combinations. George’s idea of a guard was easily exploited by Caleb. The 29 yr old kid from Osseo, MN didn’t have to rely on his college degree to realise he could slam shots right into George’s guard without retaliation.
ESPN2 Friday Night Fights Recap from Minneapolis
In what was a shorter than expected main event IBF Title Eliminator from the Minneapolis Convention Center which was broadcasted by Espn2 and Espn Deportes. Rances Barthelemy scored a 2nd round knockout with shots the body that put Fahsai Sakkreerin on the floor for the full 10 count. Fortunately Sakkreerin was able to get up after a being tended to by the ringside doctor.
Rances controlled the 1st round with lead left hooks and counter right uppercuts on the inside. Fahsai landed his left early in the round but Barthelemy’s ability to roll his punches enabled him to land anything clean.
In the second round Barthelemy stuck his long jab in Fahsai’s face than followed it up with solid shots to the body and head. The fighters exchange body shots a few times in a row but it was Rances bigger, more accurate shots that ended the night. The win moves Barthelemy’s record to a perfect 19-0(12Ko) and puts him in prime position in the IBF rankings.
Broner vs. Malignaggi: Does Adrien believe in Magic?
I can’t recall another fight in recent years that had so much 2 way trash talk leading up to the event. If the fight lives up to even 50% of the hype that got very personal at times, we could see both men fighting with some extra emotion in the ring this Saturday from Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. This fight isn’t a PPV but you would never guess from the buzz that it has created even with Adrien Broner being a huge favorite at the sportsbooks.
Will Paulie be able push Broner the way Ponce De Leon and Fernando Quintero did? Or will the pre fight presser’s be the only thing we remember about this fight that could be downright boring?
Weigh-in: Broner vs. Malignaggi
Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO’s) and WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) both successfully weighed in on Friday for their fight on Showtime Boxing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Broner weighed in at 146.8 lbs, and Malignaggi weighed in at 146.4.
Not much happened in the stare down, as both fighters jawed back and forth with another. Malignaggi wanted Broner to stare him in the eyes because he kept pointing to his eyes to get Broner to continue staring at him after he turned his head.
Broner looked good at the weight, and he claimed afterwards that he didn’t have to drain himself to make the 147 lb. limit. He said he ate as he always does and he still made the weight. Broner is probably being honest about it because when he was fighting at lightweight, he would rehydrate to close to 147 for his fights, so it makes sense that for him to easily make the 147 lb. limit.
Ricky Burns to defend against Raymundo Beltran on September 7th in Glasgow, Scotland
WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns (36-2, 11 KO’s) got his difficult title defense against Jose Gonzalez out of the way in beating him by a 9th round TKO last May, and now Burns will be making what should be a lot easier title defense against #8 WBO 8 Raymundo Beltran (28-6, 17 KO’s) on September 7th in Glasgow, Scotland.
If Burns beats Beltran, he will likely face the winner of the Gavin Rees vs. Anthony Crolla fight next. That’ll give Burns two relatively easy fights back to back before he has to take on someone dangerous like Sergio Thompson, Omar Figueroa or Terrence Crawford. That’s where Burns will really be tested.
Beltran is a good fighter, but he’s already lost at the top rungs of the division recently in defeats against Luis Ramos Jr. and Sharif Bogere. Beltran did defeat Hank Lundy and Ji-Hoon Kim recently, but those guys aren’t in the same class as Burns and it’s not the same thing.