On The Watch “It’s All About Canelo Alvarez vs Jermell Charlo”

Undisputed vs Undisputed

Last night’s PBC/Showtime PPV Main Event between Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 Kos) and Undisputed IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Middleweight Champion Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 Kos), who had moved up two Divisions to the 168-Pound Division to challenge the reigning “Kingpin” on the biggest stage of his career to date, did not perform as expected at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Real Talk!

Although Jermell showed up on fight night fit and ready to conquer a new Division, he quickly found out what weight Division he truly belongs in when all was said and done.

At the first bell Canelo wasted no time introducing Jermell to the Super Middleweight Division. Canelo showed dominance early and never let Charlo breathe long enough to gain any confidence inside that squared circle.

Canelo looked like his old self again, stalking and pressuring his opponent and walking him down with heavy shots coming from all angles making Charlo real uncomfortable inside that squared circle. I was surprised by Charlo’s lack of action. He talked all that bravado about what he was going to do to Canelo inside that squared circle but what really transpired on the night is how the “Lion” got subdued into submission by the superior warrior.

No disrespect to Charlo who stood his ground and took a knee in the 7th round to regroup and continued all the way to the finish line but truth be told this was a very uncharacteristic version of Charlo we saw inside that squared circle. Charlo has always been the aggressor but last night he was retreating in fear and uncertainty proving the naysayers right: that he did not belong in that ring opposite of Canelo.

There are levels to this boxing sh*t and last night Canelo proved once again why he is the ‘Kingpin” of the Super Middleweight Division by the way he dominated Charlo with absolutely no resistance coming his way.

After 12 full rounds of one-sided action, the Judges at hand called it 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109 unanimously for Canelo Alvarez.

With this convincing win, Canelo became the first man in this boxing era to record a third defense of his Undisputed Championship.

Well done Champ – now on to the next.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Chris Colbert vs Hector Luis Garcia”

WBA Super Featherweight Title Eliminator

Last night’s Showtime/PBC/TGB Promotions Main Event between highly favourite and undefeated Chris Colbert (16-1, 6 Kos) and undefeated Hector Luis Garcia (15-0, 10 Kos, 3 NC)
brought quite the show to the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hector Luis Garcia who came in as a late replacement due to the original opponent WBA Super Featherweight Champion Roger Gutierrez forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19, stepped up to the plate and embraced this opportunity with open arms and the right “game plan” at hand.

Hector came out the gate with aggressive but controlled pressure, landing some heavy gloves from head to body that clearly caught Chris off guard right from the jump. Hector boxed with a sense of confidence round after round showing absolutely no fear to his opponent. As a late replacement, Hector looked quite prepared for everything Chris had to offer inside that squared circle.


That said, it was clear to me as the rounds progressed that Chris noticeably underestimated his opponent and although he talked a good game prior to the bout, his performance last night lacked that quick twitch and high-rated type action that Colbert is known for.

Chris’ usual tight defence was a no-show last night by the way he was getting touched up and due to him being overzealous at times, Chris succumbed to his fist knockdown by a clean left hand that landed flush on his chin, down for a quick 8 count.

Chris was outgunned and overmatched by Hector who simply outworked the No. 1 ranked WBA Super Featherweight on his biggest night of his career to date.

After 12 full completed rounds, the Judges scored it 118-109, 118-109 and 119-108 all in favor of Hector Luis Garcia.

Congratulations on your latest and highly convincing win Hector, you have now earned the right to challenge WBA Super Featherweight Champion Roger Gutierrez (23-3, 20 Kos).

Can’t wait to see the outcome of that particular bout.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Josh Taylor vs Jose Ramirez”

Junior Welterweight Unification Championship

Last night’s Main Event at the Virgin Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada between Junior Welterweight IBF/WBA/Ring Magazine Champion Josh Taylor (18-0, 13 Kos) and Junior Welterweight WBC/WBO Champion Jose Ramirez (26-1, 17 Kos), lived up to the hype.

I gotta tip my “B” hat to Josh for walking it like he talked it. Dude is a bad man inside that squared circle. His confidence never waivers inside or outside the ring. He’s an exceptional boxer with a high boxing IQ that benefited him well in last night’s Unification clash with Jose.

Jose fought well and stood his ground and asserted himself when it got rough, aside from a few lapses that eventually cost him dearly. Both combatants went blow for blow dropping heavy bombs, at times making the rounds entertaining and hard to score.

As close as the rounds were, Josh separated himself when he scored a knockdown in the sixth round and the seventh round. Both knockdowns were sharp and right on the money and clearly hurt Jose, but Ramirez’s strong will to compete carried him to stay competitive throughout the later rounds.

After 12 full rounds of action all three Judges scored it unanimously 114-112 in Josh Taylor’s favor. Jose definitely had his moments but those two knockdowns had sealed his fate.

With this convincing win, Josh collected the WBC/WBO Belts and retained his IBF/WBA/Ring Magazine Championship Belts to now becoming the Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion of the World. Josh has officially cemented his name in the record books by joining such a prestigious man club that houses the names of Terence Crawford, Oeksandr Usyk, Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor and now Josh Taylor as the only five fully unified Champions in any Division during boxing’s four-belt era. Not bad company for the New Champ.

Further congratulations to Josh on also becoming the first Scottish fighter to don all 4 Major Sanctioning Belts in any Division. You deserve all accolades earned Champ. Job well done.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Jose Ramirez vs Viktor Postol”

WBC/WBO Light Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s Top Rank main event at the MGM Grand conference room in Las Vegas, Nevada, between WBC/WBO Light Welterweight Champion Jose Ramirez (26-0, 17 Kos) and Viktor Postol (31-3, 12 Kos) was a solid outing by the two combatants.

Postol, the older mandatory challenger, came out and performed exceptionally well and kept it quite interesting with his stiff jab connecting all night but Ramirez’s controlled aggression and power shot kept things honest between the two.

Ramirez quickly found out that Postol was the real deal as the rounds wore on. Postol may be older in age but his Ring IQ is quite unique and can be quite puzzling if you don’t possess the right tools to offset his approach.

That being said, Ramirez did struggle at times but eventually worked his inside game to the body and landed the more damaging shots that may have swayed the Judges in his favor. After 12 rounds of action the Judges scored it 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112 for Jose Ramirez.

I tip my “B” hat to Postol who came out and gave the Champion a good run for his money and nearly pulled it off. Personally, with a performance like this one I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch to clear the air.

Unfortunately for Postol, Ramirez has a Unification bout in mind with IBF/WBA Light Welterweight Champion Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 Kos), that is if Josh gets past his IBF mandatory Apinum Khongsong (16-0, 13 Kos) due next month on September 26, 2020.

Until then Jose, congratulations on retaining your WBC/WBO Light Welterweight Championship Belts! You could be one fight away from Undisputed.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Ward vs Kovalev Take 2”

Last November 2016, the two Pound-For-Pound undefeated fighters took centre stage and battled it out for the full 12 rounds. On the line were the WBO, WBA and IBF Titles. The winner by unanimous decision and New Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, Andre S.O.G. Ward. All three Judges scored the fight 114-113 for Andre Ward. This was a 50/50 fight right off the jump. The “Hype” behind the first fight was must see TV. Real Talk!

The haters can say whatever they want but real is real. Ward came from behind a knockdown in the second round and fought his way back into the game in a strategic way. Since the previous fight was such a close one a rematch is the only way to appease the naysayers and truly find out who the true Light Heavyweight Pound-For-Pound Man in the Game is without any more uncertainty in any bodies mind out there. For Kovalev this rematch is more of a “revenge” fight for him. An opportunity to destroy Ward and recapture the Belts that he believes were stolen from him.

As for Ward he deems the right Man won that night and in this rematch he plans on completing the task at hand in a far more convincing fashion and retaining the WBO, WBA and IBF Titles with the rightful owner. Tune in this Saturday night June 17, 2017, HBO Boxing pay-per view live from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ward vs Kovalev Take 2, who will triumph has the No. 1 Light Heavyweight Champ of the Division?

Blaze