Monthly Archives: March 2023

March 23rd’s Random Boxing Rants

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DK and AB — Only in America.

 

It’s weird to see Teddy Atlas pivot so strongly towards MMA, a sport he knows little to nothing about from a technical standpoint.

It would be like a top soccer manager suddenly fashioning himself into a tennis pundit.

 

I’m trying to to stay positive.

I think Fury-Usyk happens someday when they can schedule it in $audi, and Fulton-Inoue should be rescheduled without much fuss.

I’m also really excited with one month to go until Tank Davis-Ryan Garcia, a super fight I did not think would get made at this stage of their careers. I’m so glad to be proven wrong.

Interview with unbeaten Kerry light middleweight Liam Walsh

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I spoke again with 20 year old Kenmare boxer Liam Walsh (4-0-2 record) ahead of his fight on April 1st at the National Stadium. His will be a key undercard bout on a show headlined by the homecoming of former world title challenger Jason Quigley. 

Tickets remain available at: https://www.elitesportspromotions.co/

 

Q: We last spoke almost a year ago. I wanted to go back and cover the fights that you’ve had in that time where you gained a lot of experience and moved on to six round level. 

Last May, you fought an experienced journeyman, Vasif Mamedov, in Doncaster. What can you tell me about that fight? It was obviously the toughest of your career up to that point.

Liam Walsh: That was a tough fight I took. It was very good for learning because he came at me and gave me a good fight.

The first two rounds I thought I was comfortable, winning, and then at the end of the second he caught me with a very good body shot. I came back to the corner and I told Tony [Davitt] that it sunk in, and I’m finding it hard to breathe. He said just to work behind the jab, keep him away from you because obviously he was already coming forward. He could see that I was backing off and slowing down, and put more pressure on me. In a way it taught me how to look comfortable but survive in the ring for the last two rounds, which I had to do. That’s why it cost me a draw.

 

Q: From my perspective on the fight, you were controlling it with your boxing early on, very similar to the first few pro fights you had. He got buoyed by the body shot and got on top of you then. By getting into a much more physical fight like that, would I be right in thinking you picked up a lot of experience by facing that adversity for the first time?

LW: Yeah, definitely. Even going back sparring, it was with high level boxers and being toe to toe with them, taking away from that fight with the hands up and getting used to taking shots on the gloves…it was definitely a valuable experience and in a few years I’ll be looking back and saying ‘that fight turned my career’.

 

Q: You next fought a similar guy to Mamedov, Martin Shaw, another experienced journeyman, in Leicester last September. That was another physical fight.

LW: Same, it was another test. Like I’ve said before, I’m not afraid to take testing fights even though I’m so young. I got offered it and I said ‘yes, that’ll be no problem’. He came at me straight away. He said to me and Carl [Greaves] after that he wasn’t getting beat by a kid.

He came at me and we had a good war. It was four rounds of toe to toe action which was great for me to learn, again, fighting on the inside. When I want titles, I know that the opponents, 50-50, aren’t going to back off so it’s all experience is how I’m looking at it.

 

Q: It’s a good perspective to have. Then you had the first fight in Ireland, the first six rounder. What can you tell me about that whole experience? Had you had many fights at the National Stadium in your amateur career?

LW: Yeah, I had a good few fights in the amateurs there so I knew all about the Stadium. I knew the ring was a full sized ring. My opponent [Attila Dobolan], he kept running away.

What I brought away was how to cut him off because I had to keep chasing him which is wrong and I needed to cut him off more so we’ve been working on that straight after that fight. It’s good to be learning even though I put him away in the fourth. We can still take things away. I need to learn how to cut the ring off with my feet. It’s not all about the punching.

 

Q: I’ve seen all of your pro fights, it was the first one I saw in person but, to my eye, it looked like your best performance. You got the stoppage. You did manage to cut off the ring and corner him. Did you feel it was your best performance or how would you classify it?

LW: It was definitely up there for one of my best performances boxing-wise and it looked good to watch. I think my best performance so far would probably be against Seamus Devlin [a 40-36 win in November 2021]. I was a bit busier because I only had four rounds. I did enjoy that one with Seamus but for getting the stoppage, for looking comfortable and picking my moments when to throw punches, I did that correctly in this one.

You have to do that in six rounders, it can’t be all action. I have to pick when I’m going to throw six, seven punches. I just would have liked it to be a little bit more in the first two rounds. I think I was a little bit slow looking back and I think I could start a bit faster in the future.

 

Q: How much do you go back and look at footage of the old fights? Or do you prefer just to think about it and train based on that?

LW: I always go back and look. I’m quite hard on myself when I watch fights back. I like to pick out what I should’ve done better. I like to look at what I did right as well, but I like to correct things.

 

Q: Your dad, Barry, is involved in the promotion of the last show and the one coming up. Not a lot of fighters experience that.

What’s it like fighting on your dad’s shows? Is that extra pressure? Does it take pressure off that you have these guaranteed fights and you’re able to fight in Ireland in front of maybe more of your own fans too?

LW: Having my dad do the promoting is good for me because I get to fight in Ireland and I do like having my own crowd there. I have a big enough crowd. I really appreciate everyone who buys tickets and comes to support me. Having my dad bring it back to Ireland was great.

Having him a part of it was no different because of my amateur career. He’s been in my corner since I was eleven. It’s different to when I was going over to Carl Greaves’ shows. I have to perform a little bit better because I’m the promoter’s son. I have to have a little bit more pressure on my shoulders but pressure isn’t a big deal to me. I’m more focused on just my own fights.

 

Q: Speaking of trying to be focused on what you’re doing yourself, there’s now the added element of your brother Paddy turning pro on the upcoming show. What will that be like for you and, as far as you know, what are his boxing aspirations?

LW: He’s a very good boxer so having him in the camp with me, having someone to push me even harder…I’m standing next to him every day in the gym and it’s making me train harder because, it’s not rivalry, but I know he’s going to put on a great performance. In a way, I want to put on a better performance. I want to hold my name up there the same as it is already. It’s good because we’re training very, very hard. Having him at my side is very good for me.

 

Q: Currently you’re scheduled to box Michal Slavik. What do you know about him and how much do you pay attention to the opponents you’re fighting at this stage? Do you pay much attention to their record or find out what they do stylistically?

LW: I’ve seen a few videos of him. He likes to take centre of the ring. It’s going to be a strong opponent coming forward. I want a fella who’s going to stay and give me six rounds. If I get him out of there before, that would be great as well. It looks good and obviously everyone wants to see a stoppage. Let’s hope I can do that on 1st April but, if not, it’s going to be a great fight.

 

Q: Are you expecting a good crowd to come up again like the last time?

LW: I’ve sold all my ringside tickets and there’s only gallery left from mine. There’s not many left. I’d say definitely over 120 people already and we’ve still got three weeks to get tickets out.

I’m very excited. I feel like this will probably be my best performance yet. The training camp’s gone very good. We’ve done seven or eight weeks training flat. We’re doing really well. I can’t wait to get in the ring to be honest. We’re going to put on a great performance. Everyone that’s bought tickets already and will be going to support other people, we appreciate it a lot.

 

Q: Do you have a goal in mind for 2023? You’ve moved up to six rounders now as you’ve gained experience. Do you see eight rounds as something that’s there to accomplish soon? What’s the goal in terms of number of fights this year?

LW: I definitely want four fights this year. Last year I was very busy and got six fights. Hopefully, if we can keep them at six rounds, and gain the experience of that distance, it would be great.

We’ll see with eight rounds. I’m only young. I’m still only 20. If we go to next year, 21, I can look for the eight rounds even. I’ll see how I’m feeling in the fights, talk to my manager Carl, my dad and see how everything’s going. If we feel that I’m going well and Tony feels that I’m improving enough to step it up: it’s all down to them really.

I just let them decide because they know by looking in the ring how I’m feeling. I always tell them the truth. If I’m feeling ready for a step up and they feel I’m ready too, then I’ll take that no problem.

 

Q: Has anything changed in your training set up lately now that you’re doing six rounders or is it much the same as it was? The fact that they’re over in Ireland too when you would have previously both trained and fought in the UK. 

LW: Obviously I’m still training in Tony’s gym. The only difference is the rounds really. I’m sparring eight rounds. I’m going a few more rounds sparring, more rounds on the pads and bags. The training schedules that we had in the other camps are the exact same now. It’s the same type of training.

In boxing training there isn’t too much different in anything. It’s bags, pads, sparring, running, strength and conditioning. You don’t really do anything else. We go for swims and stuff, but it doesn’t change just because of the rounds.

 

Q: Have you done any sparring in other people’s camps or is it always the case of people coming to your gym to spar you?

LW: We travel as well. We were down with the Donovans [Paddy and Edward] in Andy Lee’s gym sparring them, which is great experience for me. They’re very good, high level amateurs and now they’re doing very good in the pros as well. For my brother as well to be sparring them straight off, before his debut, is a big thing. Everything’s going well.

 

Q: Are there any other notable names around Ireland or the UK that you would’ve sparred in the last couple of years?

LW: I sparred the likes of Stanley Stannard, Tom Cowling, and, last year, Gary Cully, Sean McComb, and I did a few rounds with Tommy McCarthy, who are big names in Ireland. It was good to get rounds with them. They’re huge names and a lot more experienced than me so getting in with them, learning things with them is huge. It brings it in to my game then.

 

Q: Sometimes there’s a difference between more full on sparring and technical sparring. What do you find more useful? When sparring the likes of Tommy McCarthy, would that have been open sparring given that he’s so big?

LW: No, in a way it was full on but he definitely wasn’t hitting full power because obviously he was a bit heavier than me. The likes of Gary Cully and Sean McComb would have been full power. They’re at a high, high level already in the pros so learning off them, it’s huge.

But technical sparring, I do a bit of that with my brother, Paddy. We don’t go full out or we’d end up killing each other. The technical side is very good because you’re practicing things slowly and when you see it in an open spar, you throw the shots naturally.

March 17th’s Paddy’s Day Edition of Random Boxing Rants

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So soon to be 41 year old Gennady Golovkin has vacated both of his middleweight titles, making the almost 40 year old Erislandy Lara a full beltholder. 

Lara probably will have to defend first against his mandatory, former stripper and Kell Brook victim from 2018, “Pretty Boy” Michael Zerafa, but the rumoured fight which is targeted by PBC is Lara versus former 140lb. champion and 147lb. titlist Danny Garcia. 

Garcia hasn’t had a high level win in 7 years and has boxed above welterweight just once. The notion of him boxing for a middleweight title in 2023 makes me laugh but I’m rather perversely interested. 

 

Another rumour, KSI vs. Joe Fournier on DAZN PPV, is peak boxing in 2023.

 

Tyson Fury’s travel ban from the USA due to his links with narco-terrorist Daniel Kinahan is conspicuously never mentioned these days, when the USA not being an option as a site for Fury-Usyk is a big part of the bout not yet being made. 

 

Happy Paddy’s Day to all the readers and boxing fans out there.

Today marks a century since Clare’s Mike McTigue beat Battling Siki (real name Louis Mbarick Fall) to win the world light heavyweight title in Dublin.

Named and Shamed: Judging the Judges (February 2023)

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February 2nd – Erik Bazinyan won a close fight against Alantez Fox by majority decision, not reflected by the 98-92 cards of Guy Girard and Marie Josee Guerin. 

 

February 3rd – Emanuel Navarrete moved up in weight to claim a title in dramatic fashion over the visiting Liam Wilson.

There had been controversy pre-fight with allegations from the Wilson side of tampering with the scales to allow Navarrete to make 130lbs. Regardless, the bout went ahead. 

The fourth round was a mess with referee Chris Flores losing all control.

Wilson dropped Navarette and Flores allowed him to land the most damaging shot of the exchange while Navarette had two gloves on the canvas, which went unacknowledged. 27 seconds then elapsed from the time Navarrete went down until the action resumed. Navarrete spitting out his mouthpiece accounted for some of that extra time, but there was no hint of a point deduction for this delay tactic.

Eventually the thriller ended in round nine but we’ll never know what might have happened had round four been handled correctly. 

 

February 4th – In a classic German robbery that brought to mind the nation’s boxing glory days, Timo Schwarzkopf scored a knockdown in round eight but was largely outboxed by the perennially unlucky veteran Miguel Vazquez. 

Schwarzkopf got the decision unanimously from Goran Filipovic (95-94), Adrian Laschescu (95-94) and Rustam Rahimov (an outrageous 98-92).

 

At MSG, Alycia Baumgardner scored a pair of knockdowns on the way to a wide decision over Elhem Mekhaled to win the undisputed super featherweight title.

Ref Eric Dali missed a clean uppercut knockdown in round ten that should have been her third. 

In the main event, Amanda Serrano took the decision in a close fight versus Erika Cruz for all of the 126 lb. gold.

Cruz’s efforts in this war were not rewarded by the judges, particularly the insulting 98-92 totals of Frank Lombardi and Steve Weisfeld.

The cherry on the shit sundae was having to watch three NYSAC officials peering over the ropes at Cruz’s hairline cut on several occasions.

 

February 17th – Ardreal Holmes took a split decision over Ismael Villarreal in their Shobox battle of unbeatens.

Karen Holderfield’s 94-96 card was way off.

 

February 18th – I found the criticism of Ben Davison for saving Leigh Wood from further punishment versus Mauricio Lara strange. 

There were ten seconds remaining in round seven when referee Michael Alexander motioned for the fight to go on. That’s plenty of time for Lara to land a few more concussive shots, and if Lara had been the one dropped so heavily, you can bet Alexander wouldn’t have let it continue (nor should he have).

 

February 25th – Elvis Rodriguez edged Joseph Adorno over ten rounds, aided by a blown call by Jon Schorle with 20 seconds left in the fight.

Adorno went down from a slip on the wet canvas in one of the corners and it was ruled a knockdown.

 

February 26th – Perhaps it’s only right that the new spiritual home of boxing seems to be Saudi Arabia…sorry, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

What better main event to top their latest sportswashing extravaganza than Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury?

Ref Hector Afu seemed to want to make the most of his moment in the sun, deducting points with little to no warning from Paul and then Fury in rounds five and six for phantom fouls. This brought to mind Jack Reiss’ typically stupid handling of the Logan Paul-KSI influencer fight in 2019. 

A dark (but funny) day for boxing was only made worse by the eventual outcome of a Tommy Fury split decision win, which only accomplishes the goal of Fury piggybacking off Paul for his own undeserved notoriety. They’re multiplying like Gremlins. 

God help us all. I love you too man.