SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Once again, we find ourselves with a busy weekend in the world of boxing.
Several questions arise:
1) Is Bakhodir Jalolov another Artur Berterbiev?
2) Does Daniel Dubois have what it takes to be a champion?
3) Will Jaime Mungia keep his clean sheet?
4) Will Edgar Berlanga regain his magic touch?
At the Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, the first gala of the weekend will take place on Friday, June 10 as show time will feature heavyweights Bakhodir Jalolov (10-0, 10 KOs) v. Jack Mulowayi (11-2, 7 KOs) starting at 9 p.m.
So far, Jalolov has swept away everything in his path, mimicking the performance of Artur Beterbiev, but with lesser quality opponents.
For the moment, we know that he hits hard. After all, he had a great amateur career, including the 2016 Olympics where he made it to the quarter-finals.
Prediction : Jalolov by K.-O., his 11e in as many fights
Saturday June 11
At Casino Miami Jai-Aalai, this is the second foray of heavyweight Daniel Dubois (17-1, 16 KOs) on American soil. This time, he has the chance to cap the WBA world crown at the expense of Don King’s protege, Trevor Bryan (22-0, 15 KOs).
According Box RecDubois ranks 19th among the best heavyweights in the world while Bryan is installed in 39th place.
This is understandable, as Bryan has never beaten a worthy rival on his long road to a rather obscure Don King-esque championship.
Bryan was scheduled to fight Mahmoud Charr on January 29, 2021 for the interim WBA title, except Charr was denied entry to the United States, not having a valid visa. It was then that promoter Don King in a sleight of hand allowed another of his proteges, Bermane Stiverne, to fight for the championship against Bryan in place of Charr.
Imagine…before this cooked Don King match, Stiverne had lost three of his last four fights.
Stiverne’s record is edifying: in 2017, he lost (K.-O. in the 1st round) v. Deontay Wilder. As of 2018, he is inactive. In 2019, he lost TKO in the 6th round against Joe Joyce. 2020, he loses TKO in the 11th round against Trevor Bryan. 2021, it is inactive.
Stiverne lost the last encounter by TKO in the 11th round and Bryan successfully defended his crown against Jonathan Guidry, winning by split decision on January 29.
“Just in America…” King likes to shout, brandishing his two little Uncle Sam flags. And the worst part is that he’s right.
The game is shown on Fit from 9 p.m.
Prediction : Dubois by K.-O. before the 7th round
At the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Jaime Mungia (39-0, 31 KOs) will try to claim his fortieth career victory at the expense of Briton Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (26-2, 10 KOs). .).
This is a fitness game for Mungia who are ranked in all four major associations in the world.
This is the first time he will fight at super middleweight.
As for Kelly, he has won his last three fights, including his surprise victory over Kanat Islam (28-0) by majority decision. It was the first career loss for Islam who comes on 21e ranking of the best middleweights according to BoxRec.
The game is shown on DAZN from 9 p.m.
Prediction : Mungia by K.-O. before the 6th round
In Madison Square in New York, Edgar Berlanga (19-0.16 K.-O.) will try to find his magic touch at the expense of Roamer Alexis Angulo (27-2, 23 K.-O.), a veteran that only David Benavidez was able to win by takedown in his penultimate fight in August 2020.
After passing the K.-O. to his first 16 kills, Berlanga has had to settle for three decision triumphs in his last three outings.
In Angulo, Berlanga finds a seasoned veteran with a good strike force. This is where we will see if Berlanga is so talented or if he was just a flash in the pan.
The game is shown on ESPN from 10 p.m. and will be broadcast on RDS in the following weeks.
Prediction : Berlanga by K.-O. before the 9th round
Charlo is hurt
The championship match that Jermall Charlo was to deliver to Maciej Sulecki on June 18 has been canceled due to a back injury to the champion. For the moment, it is unknown when Charlo will be able to resume training. He has now been inactive for a year.
Vergil Ortiz too…
The solid puncher Vergil Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs) will not be able to count on David Avanesyan to fill his KO record.
The two were scheduled to face off on August 6, but Avanesyan had to pull out due to injury.
There is talk that Michael McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs) could take over, but it is not with similar opponents that we will know if Ortiz is so good or if he is just an ordinary boxer .
He’s proven in recent outings against Egidijus Kavaliauskas (8th-round TKO) and Maurice Hooker (7th-round KO) that he’s among the best at welterweight, but McKinson doesn’t seem the same caliber than its last two rivals.
Over a million for Haney v. Kambosos
According to the polling firm Nielsenthe championship match between Devin Haney and George Kambosos drew 1,322,000 viewers and peaked at 1,351,000.
The match was presented on Sunday afternoon in Japan, but it was at the end of the day, Saturday evening June 4, that it was seen on American soil.
These numbers do not include viewers who watched the game on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
The rest is over
After 18 months out of action since his decision loss to Erroll Spence Jr., Danny “Swift” Garcia is on his way back to super welterweight.
As for Jose Benavidez (27-1-1, 18 K.-O.), he has not won a fight since 2018, when he had passed the K.-O. from the first round to Frank Rojas (22-0).
In 2018, he lost by TKO in the 12th round v. Terence Crawford and after three years out of the ring, he returned in November 2021, but had to settle for a draw against Francisco Emanuel Torres (17-3-0).
Our officials are popular
To give you an idea of how popular our officials are around the world, last Saturday Benoit Roussell was a judge where Devin Haney won Four Crown honors at lightweight against George Kambosdos in Melbourne, Australia.
Pascal Procopio was a judge during this time in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where David Morell eclipsed Kalvin Henderson in two rounds.
Last Tuesday in Japan, Michael Griffin was the referee for the championship match between Nayoa Inoue and Nonito Donaire.
Mario Latraverse and Michel Hamelin can puff out their chests, because they are the ones who chose these officials.
Davis in 4th place
Review The Ring just announced his ranking at lightweight and it’s surprising to find Gervonta Davis in fourth place. It seems to me that he deserves better than that.
Here is their ranking:
Champion Devin Haney
1 – George Kambosos
2 – Teofifmo Lopez
3 -Vasiliy Lomachenko
4-Gervonta Davis
5-Ryan Garcia
6- Isaac “Pittbull” Cruz
7- Joseph “jojo” Diaz
8 – Richard Mccommey
9 – Javier Fortuna
10 – William Zepeda
Spencer c. Crawford in Vegas
Everything indicates that the long-awaited match between Erroll Spence and Terence Crawford will be played in Las Vegas. For the moment, the date has not yet been set.
What future for Donaire?
At 39, Nonito Donaire must think about his future now that he was totally eclipsed by Nayoa Inoue in two rounds. He delivered 49 fights among the pros and 76 among the amateurs. It kicks the ass.
Benavidez wants Morell
Jose Benavidez challenged Cuban David Morell (7-0, 6 KOs) on behalf of his son David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) and on the other side, Morell says he is ready to compete against Benavidez.
In short, all that is missing is the promoter.
The two pugilists still hope to face Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, but it is unlikely that the wealthy Mexican adheres to their request, at least in the short term.
“Canelo” will face Gennadiy Golovkin for the trilogy next September and then he is supposed to demand his revenge against Dmitry Bivol.
22 years ago
22 years ago on Saturday, Mike Tyson lost by TKO in the 6th round to Kevin McBride. This was the last career fight for Iron Mike. Sometime after his loss, Tyson announced his retirement from boxing. McBride received $150,000 for his attendance while Tyson received $5.5 million. Most of Tyson’s purse had been seized for the tax department. In sum, he received only $250,000.
Haney v. Lomachenko
Top Rank boss Bob Arum would like to see Devin Haney defend his four crowns against Vasiliy Lomachenko before taking on George Kambosos again.
It is said that Lomachenko is currently training in Ukraine and that he would be ready to return to competition in September. Story. To be continued…
Less fortunate than his brother
Biaggio Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s grandson and Nico’s brother, failed to enter the amateur world of mixed martial arts last weekend.
Cordina wants Stevenson
Now that he has stolen the IBF super feather crown from Kenichi Ogawa, Joe Cordina would like to take on Shakur Stevenson, the monarch of the WBC and WBO.
Cardina has every right to dream, as Stevenson has his eyes on a possible matchup between him and Gervonta Davis at lightweight.
Happy boxing!
