On The Watch “It’s All About Artur Beterbiev vs Marcus Browne”

IBF/WBC Light Heavyweight Championship Challenge

Last night’s GYM Promotion/Top Rank Main Event between IBF/WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 Kos) and Marcus Browne (24-2, 16 Kos) at the Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada was the only bout on a horrendous card that made any sense. Real Talk!

No disrespect but whoever put this card together did a horrible job. None of these matchups on the card were competitive, that is until the Main Event.

The tough and durable Artur Beterbiev suffered an early cut in the fourth round when an accidental clash of heads cut him and Marcus up but saw Artur suffer the worst of it. Blood was gushing nonstop from Artur’s forehead blinding him at times, but it did not deter him from proceeding with the task at hand.

Marcus, who had a very good “game plan” kept poking in and out with a good jab and constantly moving, frustrating Artur. It was the type of “game plan” that required 100 % of your concentration and stamina to maintain throughout the night.

That being said, Artur kept his composure and continued to administer enough pressure with his heavy punches coming from all angles to slowly wear Marcus down round after round. Once Marcus felt the thumping power of Artur’s punches the original “game plan” went out the window.

Artur’s head to body attack eventually dropped Marcus in the seventh round for a quick 8 count but judging from the body language Marcus was displaying, the inevitable was near and by the ninth round a series of unanswered body shots dropped Marcus again. This time Marcus did not respond to the count forcing the referee to stop the bout.

At first glance Marcus showed he could hang with Artur but as the rounds progressed and the action picked up, it became quite clear that Artur was simply too strong of a resilient opponent for Marcus to overcome inside that squared circle. Bloodied and all, nothing was going to dissuade this man from walking out the Champion.

With this convincing win, Artur retained his IBF/WBC Light Heavyweight Championship belts and the No. 1 Spot in the 175-Pound Division.

Dethroning this man from his position will not be easy but I am looking forward to see who will attempt to try.

Until then congratulations Artur on another conclusive win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Oscar Rivas vs Ryan Rozicki”

Vacant WBC Brigerweight Championship

Last nights’ WBC inaugural Brigerweight Championship bout Main Event between Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas (28-1, 19 Kos) and Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (13-1, 13 Kos) at the Olympia Theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada was nothing short of pure entertainment at its finest. Real Talk!

On this historical night both combatants put up one hell of a show from start to finish. Rozicki who was previously campaigning as a Cruserweight moved up in weight to challenge Rivas who moved down from Heavyweight to now campaigning in this New Division of the Brigerweight. The size difference was quite visible as Rozicki weighed in at 203 and Rivas a hulking 222 on fight night.

Judging by the size difference between the two warriors, I didn’t think this bout was about to go down as entertaining as it was at first site but boy was I wrong.

I gotta tip my “B” hat to Roziki cause this Boy came to fight and did not disappoint with his performance. Dude came in bangin on Rivas and going toe to toe “phone booth” style round after round.

Rivas clearly had the more telling punches whenever they were exchanging but you could clearly see that Rivas wasn’t expecting Roziki to be so strong and resilient inside that squared circle.

Both combatants made it a fight inside that squared circle. Whenever Roziki looked like he was about to fade he would find another boost of energy out of nowhere and answer Rivas right back.

Rivas, who looked quite gassed early in the bout, had to dig deep to maintain the slight edge he had at the midpoint of the bout. Roziki wouldn’t stop pressuring Rivas but Rivas’ strong jab was doing visible damage all night.

After 12 rounds of nonstop action the Judges scored it 116-111, 115-112 and 115-112 crowning Oscar Rivas as the first titlist in the WBC new Brigerweight 224-Pound Division Champion.

This Championship bout will go down in the record book with Rivas’ name attached to it as the first to don the Brigerweight Belt.

Congratulations Oscar, you earned that one hands down and stamped your name in this 18th new Division.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Billy Joe Saunders vs David Lemieux”

WBO Middleweight Title Challenge

It’s official. We Canadian Boxing fans will have the privilege of witnessing first hand two of the world’s top Middleweights in WBO World Middleweight Champion Billy Joe Saunders (25-0, 12 kos) and David Lemieux (38-3, 33 Kos) do battle Saturday December 16, 2017 at the Place Bell in Laval, Quebec.

I have to tip my “B” hat to Billy Joe Saunders for being real to his words and stepping his Game up with a serious competitor like David Lemieux. Agreeing to a title defense in an opponent’s backyard is proof enough for me to see that BJ is really about that life and is actually daring himself to be great.

A bout against the homegrown heavy fisted David Lemieux in Canada is a dangerous fight but one that can definitely create a certain amount of buzz within the Division. To go into someone else’s house and beat them speaks volume in this Game. REAL TALK!

Styles make fights and this one here has the potential of being a very interesting one. REAL TALK! We got BJ as the slick savvy boxer-puncher going toe-to-toe with Lemieux, a persistent banger who only knows how to move forward with hard blows and a dirty left that’s been known to cripple quite a few opponents.

There is a lot at stake here for both fighters. For BJ, a win against Lemieux would definitely make his stock rise and show the Middleweight Division that he’s not just all talk and should be taken as a major player from this point on. For Lemieux, a win against BJ would give him the status of a Two-Time World Champion, the WBO World Middleweight belt in hand and the main piece to lure a rematch against Gennady Golovkin or a title fight with Canelo Alvarez.

BJ is promising to do a lot of damage to Lemieux even to the point of beating him to a stoppage. Now I know that BJ has found himself being rejuvenated under the tutelage of trainer Dominic Ingle but damn his confidence is on 100 right now.

Listen all I know is that BJ better not underestimate Lemieux come fight night cause your Boy David is a proven warrior whose conquered some heavy hitters in the game and has the track record to prove it. Don’t be fooled by his three losses but do pay attention to his “33 Kos”. This Kat can seriously crack at any given time in that squared circle.

As the Middleweight Division is stacking up with new faces, this fight is a great opportunity for David and BJ to show the rest of the Division what level they’re on by giving us a hell of a showdown. May the best man win!

Your thoughts on this one?

Blaze