So many fight cards this week. From big to small. From paywalls to free. These are thought on things such as production hopes for Prime Video’s debut into boxing, Top Rank’s great main card on Friday and other stuff.
Ray Muratalla's opponent pulled out and he fought a game Xolisani Ndongeni. At a catchweight. Ndongeni fought Tito Mercado at 142 lbs. Muratalla fights at 135 lbs.
Ndongeni I think owns a gym. He threw a lot, but not much landed. There's talk of Ndongeni winning or Muratalla looking bad.
Last minute opponent. A bigger opponent. And Muratalla hurt Ndongeni two or three times. It was a good fight for Muratalla.
----------
Lindolfo Delgado looks big at the weight. I'm guessing the weight cut limits Delgado's conditioning.
He put away Sanchez, which Steve Claggett wasn't able to do. Both Delgado and Claggett dropped Sanchez in round 5 of their respective fights. Now Claggett is fighting Teofimo Lopez. Does Delgado have any ranking points?
------
Torres Jr is a fun fighter. 24 years old. Look for Top Rank to move him slowly. Big Baby Anderson is first in line. I wonder if Top Rank will move Torres Jr similar to Xander Xayas.
------
Sergio Leon Rodriguez fought at a catchweight. Is he a middleweight? A super middleweight? 12 fights into his career, 28 years old, Rodriguez is still fighting 6 rounders. Is this a case of waiting his turn in Top Rank's system?
Liam Wilson ... just don't got it. Wilson, there's always something with him. Well, mentally he don't got it. There will always be something that stops him mentally.
vs Navarette, Wilson never accepted that he floored Navarrette with an illegal punch. In today's fight, Top Rank played the replay but cut away prior to Navarrette touching the canvas and Wilson throwing another punch. Wilson develops a psychological illness with physical symptoms.
vs Carlos Maria Alanis, Wilson recovers from his illness. Alanis ran the whole fight. Wilson wasn't able to cut off the ring and put Alanis away. After round 8 or round 9, his corner told him to just take the points win. That was the correct choice for that fight, but it was the wrong decision developmentally. How was Wilson supposed to develop if he needs to fear Carlos Maria Alanis.
I didn't see the Jackson Jon England fight, but England barely beat Nathaniel May. Some say May should have won the split decision. Wilson wasn't able to put England away.
I don't get Wilson's gameplan. The narrative is Wilson abandoned the game plan, which is true. But Wilson also "didn't trust the judges". He and his team didn't overcome that handicap. How much of the fight was Wilson trading inside because he didn't trust the judges? And if he didn't trust the scorecards, why implement a game plan that depends on a win by decision? Nonsense.
For Wilson to win, he needed to increase the intensity and output. He doesn't have that level of conditioning.
The other mental problem Wilson has is the finishing touch. Valdez said Wilson hurt him. Wilson said he say he hurt Valdez, but didn't know how badly Valdez was hurt. And Wilson wants to be champion? For someone who complains so much about the outcome of the Navarrette fight, Wilson didn't learn the most basic lesson. You need to finish your opponent when you have the chance. Wilson didn't finish Navarrette in round 6. He didn't finish Carlos Maria Alanis. And he didn't finish Valdez when he hurt him.
The other thing is that the broadcast said Wilson went back to his original coaching team. That was a mistake.
To be a champion, Wilson needs to leave his team and get "uncomfortable". Wilson needs to leave the Australian scene. I think the Australian scene is overrated. Opetaia is mixed race Pacific Islander. Tim Tsyzu and his brother are Russian. The Moloney twins might be long term Australia, but they're kind of second tier. ARen't at least one of them with Top Rank? No Limit Boxing doesn't have the sanctioning body relationships to gift Wilson a vacant shot. For Liam Wilson, the Navarrette and Valdez fights may prove to be too much too soon.
I have Wilson beating Joe Cordina amongst the champions, and Joe Cordina isn't going to take that fight.
Zerafa said Nonaire implemented a no camera policy for camp.
I'm wondering if Zerafa will have a good game plan versus Lara the way Mario Barrios had a good game plan vs Ugas last year.
Lara doesn't have the legs of his youth; likes to fight. Maybe Zerafa plays the ambush fighter and Lara is too old to keep up.
-----
Martinez is probably attached to Canelo; jumped to PBC. Sometimes promoters are the first to notice when fighters lose something (e.g. Michael Conlan; Regis Prograis; Ohara Davies). And why join the 2023 version of PBC? He might be open to lose from being outworked.
----------
So the undercard of Wardley - Clarke has Vidal Riley fighting Mikael Lawal.
Vidal Riley is a youtuber. And he was KSI's boxing coach for two years.
But Riley was also a successful amateur. He resigned as KSI's coach to come back to boxing himself.
He's a bit of a blur between the youtube world and the boxing world.
Jake Paul is a youtuber moving into boxing.
Ryan Garcia is a boxer using social media strategies to sell his fights.
Vidal Riley had a start in both worlds; fought as an amateur in boxing, and developed his own social media following.
What you guys need to consider, is what type of Olympian is Frazer Clarke? Is he more like Joshua, Zhang, Joyce? Or Audley Harrison and Tony Yoka?
Clarke had 12 years in team GB, and was the captain of the boxers. Who was part of team GB under clarke? Cyrus Pattinson, knocked out by regional fighter in his 7th fight. Pat McCormack, who ducked Pete Dobson. Callum French, who was knocked out by Jeff Ofori, a tough regional gatekeeper for British prospects.
Galal Yafai was on team GB. He didn't show much power in his last fight vs Rocco Santumuro. Peter McGrail did knock down Ja'Rico O'Quinn, before O'Quinn KTFO of McGrail. Ben Whittake is a clown, or acrobat depending on how you look at it. Clarke's class of team GB has struggled transitioning to the pros. (The women have been doing okay, with Caroline Dubois and Lauren Price. Maybe Frazer would have more success putting on a dress)
And why didn't Clarke go pro earlier? Who was the American lightweight who didn't get into team usa, tried to represent honduras (?), and then turned pro when the honduran team didn't go through. That might have been a better model to follow.
Clarke lost the 2012 spot to Joshua, and the 2016 spot to Joe Joyce. He was 29 at the Tokyo games.
In an interview, Clarke literally hyped up the fact that "I got the shit beat out of me by Joshua and Joyce". There's a video of Joe Joyce manhandling Clarke at the ABA finals. In Tokyo, Clarke didn't find that higher gear vs Jalolov when Clarke was behind.
As an amateur, Clarke fought at around 240 lbs. That's when you see him moving and boxing. As a pro, Clarke debut around 246 lbs, but was at least 270 lbs in the rest of his fights. Slow. Pitter patter punches like Michael Conlan, Galal Yafai, and Robson Conceicao. I don't see the purpose of Clarke punching like an amateur, as a super heavyweight, while simultaneously fighting at 270 lbs. Joshua fights between 240 and 250 lbs, and he used to share a coach and spar with Clarke.
As a pro, Clarke has 8 fights. If you look closer, in at least 4 fights, the opponents ran away. Some of his opponents might have been picked from the crowd.
Clarke's only real fight might be the eastern european who took him 6 rounds, and a 300+ age 40+ Mariusz Wach who took Clarke 10 rounds.
Boxxer tried to apply the PBC model of complete mismatches to Sky Sports. Since Buatsi-Azeez was cancelled the first time, it feels like Boxxer has been under pressure to put on better shows. Boxxer has really brought out their big ticket sellers in this card and the last card with Adam Azim.
Bohachuk has 23 wins, 23 by KO. Aside from Brandon Adams, who knocked Bohachuk out, has he fought any contenders? His opponents list looks carefully curated.
What are the chances Bohachuk was a curated choice for a clear Fundora victory?
In the press conference, Angelino Cordova said he thought it was weird Martinez wasn't at December's press conference. His team was acting funny. Cordova said his team told him they didn't want to upset him. Martinez pulled out on the day of the press conference and Cordova found out that night from the internet.
Ohara Davies had visa issues when he pulled out of the initial date vs Barrosso. But that was with a week's notice.
Mikael Lawal pulled out of the initial date with Isaac Chamberlain because of a tooth injury.
Is this a case of Martinez avoiding the Cordova fight? Claiming visa issues on the day of the press conference screams ... something.
Beterbiev postponed the Callum Smith fight. But his camp said he had a hand injury.
It's pretty weird. Martinez is talking about unifying. Is this sincere? Martinez was a matchroom fighter. Sunny Edwards was another Matchroom champion Martinez never fought. So how did Martinez-Cordova fight get onto PBC and not matchroom?
Man, Valdez was lunging in too. Wilson ain't got the boxing IQ to time Valdez and KHTFO
Ray Muratalla's opponent pulled out and he fought a game Xolisani Ndongeni. At a catchweight. Ndongeni fought Tito Mercado at 142 lbs. Muratalla fights at 135 lbs.
Ndongeni I think owns a gym. He threw a lot, but not much landed. There's talk of Ndongeni winning or Muratalla looking bad.
Last minute opponent. A bigger opponent. And Muratalla hurt Ndongeni two or three times. It was a good fight for Muratalla.
----------
Lindolfo Delgado looks big at the weight. I'm guessing the weight cut limits Delgado's conditioning.
He put away Sanchez, which Steve Claggett wasn't able to do. Both Delgado and Claggett dropped Sanchez in round 5 of their respective fights. Now Claggett is fighting Teofimo Lopez. Does Delgado have any ranking points?
------
Torres Jr is a fun fighter. 24 years old. Look for Top Rank to move him slowly. Big Baby Anderson is first in line. I wonder if Top Rank will move Torres Jr similar to Xander Xayas.
------
Sergio Leon Rodriguez fought at a catchweight. Is he a middleweight? A super middleweight? 12 fights into his career, 28 years old, Rodriguez is still fighting 6 rounders. Is this a case of waiting his turn in Top Rank's system?
The Spanish broadcast had him 3-3 vs Duversonne
Liam Wilson ... just don't got it. Wilson, there's always something with him. Well, mentally he don't got it. There will always be something that stops him mentally.
vs Navarette, Wilson never accepted that he floored Navarrette with an illegal punch. In today's fight, Top Rank played the replay but cut away prior to Navarrette touching the canvas and Wilson throwing another punch. Wilson develops a psychological illness with physical symptoms.
vs Carlos Maria Alanis, Wilson recovers from his illness. Alanis ran the whole fight. Wilson wasn't able to cut off the ring and put Alanis away. After round 8 or round 9, his corner told him to just take the points win. That was the correct choice for that fight, but it was the wrong decision developmentally. How was Wilson supposed to develop if he needs to fear Carlos Maria Alanis.
I didn't see the Jackson Jon England fight, but England barely beat Nathaniel May. Some say May should have won the split decision. Wilson wasn't able to put England away.
I don't get Wilson's gameplan. The narrative is Wilson abandoned the game plan, which is true. But Wilson also "didn't trust the judges". He and his team didn't overcome that handicap. How much of the fight was Wilson trading inside because he didn't trust the judges? And if he didn't trust the scorecards, why implement a game plan that depends on a win by decision? Nonsense.
For Wilson to win, he needed to increase the intensity and output. He doesn't have that level of conditioning.
The other mental problem Wilson has is the finishing touch. Valdez said Wilson hurt him. Wilson said he say he hurt Valdez, but didn't know how badly Valdez was hurt. And Wilson wants to be champion? For someone who complains so much about the outcome of the Navarrette fight, Wilson didn't learn the most basic lesson. You need to finish your opponent when you have the chance. Wilson didn't finish Navarrette in round 6. He didn't finish Carlos Maria Alanis. And he didn't finish Valdez when he hurt him.
The other thing is that the broadcast said Wilson went back to his original coaching team. That was a mistake.
To be a champion, Wilson needs to leave his team and get "uncomfortable". Wilson needs to leave the Australian scene. I think the Australian scene is overrated. Opetaia is mixed race Pacific Islander. Tim Tsyzu and his brother are Russian. The Moloney twins might be long term Australia, but they're kind of second tier. ARen't at least one of them with Top Rank? No Limit Boxing doesn't have the sanctioning body relationships to gift Wilson a vacant shot. For Liam Wilson, the Navarrette and Valdez fights may prove to be too much too soon.
I have Wilson beating Joe Cordina amongst the champions, and Joe Cordina isn't going to take that fight.
Zerafa said Nonaire implemented a no camera policy for camp.
I'm wondering if Zerafa will have a good game plan versus Lara the way Mario Barrios had a good game plan vs Ugas last year.
Lara doesn't have the legs of his youth; likes to fight. Maybe Zerafa plays the ambush fighter and Lara is too old to keep up.
-----
Martinez is probably attached to Canelo; jumped to PBC. Sometimes promoters are the first to notice when fighters lose something (e.g. Michael Conlan; Regis Prograis; Ohara Davies). And why join the 2023 version of PBC? He might be open to lose from being outworked.
----------
So the undercard of Wardley - Clarke has Vidal Riley fighting Mikael Lawal.
Vidal Riley is a youtuber. And he was KSI's boxing coach for two years.
But Riley was also a successful amateur. He resigned as KSI's coach to come back to boxing himself.
He's a bit of a blur between the youtube world and the boxing world.
Jake Paul is a youtuber moving into boxing.
Ryan Garcia is a boxer using social media strategies to sell his fights.
Vidal Riley had a start in both worlds; fought as an amateur in boxing, and developed his own social media following.
Goulamarian looks good at weigh in. He looks better than Zurdo
Garcia pulled out from the flu.
What you guys need to consider, is what type of Olympian is Frazer Clarke? Is he more like Joshua, Zhang, Joyce? Or Audley Harrison and Tony Yoka?
Clarke had 12 years in team GB, and was the captain of the boxers. Who was part of team GB under clarke? Cyrus Pattinson, knocked out by regional fighter in his 7th fight. Pat McCormack, who ducked Pete Dobson. Callum French, who was knocked out by Jeff Ofori, a tough regional gatekeeper for British prospects.
Galal Yafai was on team GB. He didn't show much power in his last fight vs Rocco Santumuro. Peter McGrail did knock down Ja'Rico O'Quinn, before O'Quinn KTFO of McGrail. Ben Whittake is a clown, or acrobat depending on how you look at it. Clarke's class of team GB has struggled transitioning to the pros. (The women have been doing okay, with Caroline Dubois and Lauren Price. Maybe Frazer would have more success putting on a dress)
And why didn't Clarke go pro earlier? Who was the American lightweight who didn't get into team usa, tried to represent honduras (?), and then turned pro when the honduran team didn't go through. That might have been a better model to follow.
Clarke lost the 2012 spot to Joshua, and the 2016 spot to Joe Joyce. He was 29 at the Tokyo games.
In an interview, Clarke literally hyped up the fact that "I got the shit beat out of me by Joshua and Joyce". There's a video of Joe Joyce manhandling Clarke at the ABA finals. In Tokyo, Clarke didn't find that higher gear vs Jalolov when Clarke was behind.
As an amateur, Clarke fought at around 240 lbs. That's when you see him moving and boxing. As a pro, Clarke debut around 246 lbs, but was at least 270 lbs in the rest of his fights. Slow. Pitter patter punches like Michael Conlan, Galal Yafai, and Robson Conceicao. I don't see the purpose of Clarke punching like an amateur, as a super heavyweight, while simultaneously fighting at 270 lbs. Joshua fights between 240 and 250 lbs, and he used to share a coach and spar with Clarke.
As a pro, Clarke has 8 fights. If you look closer, in at least 4 fights, the opponents ran away. Some of his opponents might have been picked from the crowd.
Clarke's only real fight might be the eastern european who took him 6 rounds, and a 300+ age 40+ Mariusz Wach who took Clarke 10 rounds.
Boxxer tried to apply the PBC model of complete mismatches to Sky Sports. Since Buatsi-Azeez was cancelled the first time, it feels like Boxxer has been under pressure to put on better shows. Boxxer has really brought out their big ticket sellers in this card and the last card with Adam Azim.
Bohachuk has 23 wins, 23 by KO. Aside from Brandon Adams, who knocked Bohachuk out, has he fought any contenders? His opponents list looks carefully curated.
What are the chances Bohachuk was a curated choice for a clear Fundora victory?
In the press conference, Angelino Cordova said he thought it was weird Martinez wasn't at December's press conference. His team was acting funny. Cordova said his team told him they didn't want to upset him. Martinez pulled out on the day of the press conference and Cordova found out that night from the internet.
Ohara Davies had visa issues when he pulled out of the initial date vs Barrosso. But that was with a week's notice.
Mikael Lawal pulled out of the initial date with Isaac Chamberlain because of a tooth injury.
Is this a case of Martinez avoiding the Cordova fight? Claiming visa issues on the day of the press conference screams ... something.
Beterbiev postponed the Callum Smith fight. But his camp said he had a hand injury.
It's pretty weird. Martinez is talking about unifying. Is this sincere? Martinez was a matchroom fighter. Sunny Edwards was another Matchroom champion Martinez never fought. So how did Martinez-Cordova fight get onto PBC and not matchroom?
You guys forgot about the Japan card.
Yudei Shigeoka, Ginjiro Shigeoka, Kameda, and Matchroom cancelling the middleweight tournament
Adorno put up a stinker