Boxing Fulcrum

Teofimo Lopez ordered to fight IBF Mandatory George Kambosos Jr

The IBF recently ordered unified champion Teofimo Lopez to fight his mandatory Kambosos Jr or he would be stripped of his title. They have 30 days to negotiate before it goes to purse bids however I expect a deal will be made for the fight to take place in Australia as they can have crowds and Kambosos is from Australia.

I don’t think this fight will be all that competitive as Lopez seems to be a real force at Lightweight while Kambosos is around world level but is having 50/50 fights with people past their prime. He might just sneak into the top 10 in the world so its not a terrible fight and Lopez doesn’t have a choice as Kambosos Jr is mandatory.

Adrien Broner to fight Pedro Campa February 13th.

Broner is making his return to the ring after a two year inactive spell following his decision loss to Manny Pacquiao. In the years following that loss he lost focus and from his own admission was drinking heavily to the point it affected his health. It’s great too see hes back training and turning his life around. We have heard this sort of stuff from him before but hopefully this time he means it and can end his career with a few more big fights.

I don’t think this will be a hard fight for him however its understandable considering hes been out the ring for two years and hasn’t picked up a win since 2017. There’s a lot of match ups that I want too see him in as long as he takes care of business in February.

Thomas LaManna Interview

Thomas LaManna was nice enough to answer a few questions before his upcoming fight this weekend.

1.) Are you interested in a rematch with Brian Mendoza especially considering the fight was controversial and many thought you won.

Nah, no need. The world knows I won and he does too haha. I wish him the best though.

2.) Your next fight in Mexico is for the WBA Fedecentro super welter title, are you going to continue to climb the WBA rankings by defending it or would you prefer fights versus bigger names?

The goal is to fight the big names. PBC has treated me pretty good, and since they have pretty much all the top guys, i definitely want to be in the mix.

3.) how much do you know about your opponent Juan de Jesus Angulo Gonzalez?

Not much, he’s taller than me but doesn’t have any where near the experience as me but a fight is a fight.

4.) While you’ve managed to stay active during the pandemic, how did it effect your training?

Yea it definitely took a toll in the beginning and really for this fight, I caught Covid mid November so I screwed a lot up for me. I’ve had a good 5/6 week camp for this fight and I didn’t blow up crazy in weight, so I should be more than fine!

Just wanted to thank LaManna for taking the time to answer my questions.

Boxing cancelled in UK until at least February

This was announced last week by the British board of control. The reasoning they gave is that with Corona Virus cases accelerating in the UK they couldn’t guarantee that they could get the required medical staff for boxing events.

I think this is a good decision and is also well timed as the UK has now essentially gone into a second full lock down and our numbers are as high as they’ve ever been. The deaths are also starting to go up and it would have been a bit irresponsible to have sporting events going on while the country is in the midst of a crisis. Hopefully with the vaccine coming we can get back to normal by next year.

Amir Khan versus Kell Brook is past it’s sell by date

Khan versus Brook has been talked about for the best part of a decade but due to many reason’s it’s never came to fruition. In boxing we sometimes don’t get the fights that we want and while thats a major downside to the sport it’s inevitable when theres nothing forcing fighters to fight each other.

With saying all that you’d think I would be ecstatic that we are potentially going to get a fight we’ve all wanted for years however the opposite could not be more true. Khan and Brook are very much in the limelight of their careers and if compared to the life cycle of a milk bottle would be at the stage where it’s coagulated and the only acceptable thing to do with it is to throw it away and get a new one. This is where i’m at with Khan-Brook, they’re old, past their best and we now have new boxers who have taken their place in everything but name value. We don’t need to see whatever shambles of a fight takes place between these two broken and weary men but if you know even a little about boxing’s torrid history then like me you’ll bet on it taking place.

It’s not hard to work out what this fight is all about and no matter what promotional spin that Hearn comes out with it all comes down to rinsing the British public one last time which with the damage they’ve taken in their careers you can’t blame them too much for. We’ve seen this before with David Haye versus Tony Bellew where Haye knew he was done but needed a payday to see him into retirement and Bellew while having recently become a world champion was searching for a retirement check which he found in those two fights. Khan-Brook won’t do as well as the previously mentioned fight but with the right promotion it still makes sense money wise and that combined with neither of them having any good options anymore leads me to believe this fight will happen sometime this year on PPV.

I personally believe this fight was past its sell by date years ago and shouldn’t really be made as it encourages other fighters to not fight each other because they know once all other options are exhausted they can pull the “washed Brit v Brit” card and make enough to sail into the sunset. If Brook and Khan had fought in their primes they would have made much more money but unfortunately ego stopped them then and I would hope would stop them now.

If the fight happens the only reason to watch will be for comedic purposes as i’m sure the build up will be entertaining and with both Khan and Brook being washed it should be a calamity of a fight for however long it lasts. One day perhaps boxing will stop squeezing every drop of revenue they can from its fighters and their broken bodies but it certainly won’t be any time soon.

Thomas Lamanna versus Juan de Jesus Angulo Gonzalez breakdown

This should be an easy fight for Lamanna who is having his second comeback fight after taking back to back losses recently. Gonzalez is a journeyman at this point and while he won his last fight hes been getting KO’d by prospects that aren’t very good recently.

I think Thomas Lamanna should be able to win by knockout within three or four rounds due to being better technically and just being a level above in general.

5 fighters who Ryan Garcia could fight next

After Garcia’s recent fight I thought i’d have a look at who he can realistically fight next and how likely that any of the fights are made. Ryan Garcia can become a real star in boxing if he can keep winning and especially if he can keep winning impressively like he did versus Luke Campbell.

The first fighter he could realistically fight is Alberto Machado (22-2) who is a former WBA 130 pound champion. He’s recently moved up to Lightweight after losing twice to Andrew Cancio by knockout. While not a lot of people would have heard of him I think the fight makes a lot of sense as both Machado and Garcia are signed to Golden Boy promotions so the fight wouldn’t be hard to make. Machado is a big puncher who has proved to be vulnerable which would make the match up fun to watch and keep the hype that Garcia has going as he’ll likely get a knockout after an exciting back and forth fight. Machado is also Puerto Rican which in boxing means a lot as Puerto Rican fans are a large market in the sport and have proven time and time again they’ll come out for their fighters, at the age of 22 it would be good for Garcia to get their attention.

The second realistic fight is Rolando Romero who is currently 12-0. This fight has some background to it as they have sparred together and the footage is online. Romero is a big talker so the lead up would be entertaining and make it a big event. While Romero has a fight already scheduled this month it’s not one he should struggle or even lose in so I imagine he’d jump at the chance to fight Garcia later this year. I don’t think the fight will be all that competitive as Romero isn’t all that good compared to Garcia but it would be entertaining while it lasted.

The third realistic fight is Gervonta Davis (24-0). They’ve been going back and forth calling each other out for a while now and with how popular they both are this has become one of the biggest fights in the sport. Compared to other fights this one isn’t as realistic as its likely they’ll marinate the fight for another year or so while Garcia gets more experience and Gervonta fights people such as Gary Russell Jr. I’d back Gervonta Davis in this fight but everything could change in a year or two.

The fourth realistic fighter that Garcia could fight is Devin Haney (25-0). Both of these fighters are on the same network and Garcia just won a final eliminator for Haney’s WBC world title so the fight should be easy to make. I personally think its unlikely this fight happens next as Haney is a big risk without the massive reward that Gervonta is so I doubt Garcia just jumps into this fight immediately. Haney is in a bad situation right now where he can’t seem to get anyone to fight him as he’s not the biggest name and people can dismiss his title as being fake because of the franchise nonsense that has gone on recently.

The fifth fighter that Ryan Garcia could fight next is Jorge Linares (47-5). Linares is a great offensive fighter and some of his combinations are stunning however similar to a lot of past offensive minded fighters he is also very vulnerable as has been shown by all his losses being by knockout. I think this is almost a perfect fight for Garcia as Linares is vulnerable so won’t be hard to knock out but is also so gifted offensively that the fight should be a shootout until one of them is stretched out on the canvas. I think this will make the fight very entertaining and for Garcia this is all that matters if he wants to keep rising as a star. It’s a very winnable fight for him as well as I think he possesses the better chin and certainly has better recuperative abilities so in a four round shootout should be able to come out on top.

The lightweight division has a lot of talent and big names right now with the potential to become an era to remember. Hopefully we see Haney, Gervonta, Garcia and Teofimo Lopez mix it up like the four kings of old did.

Felix Alvarado versus DeeJay Kriel breakdown

This is another solid fight though its one where in my eyes Alvarado is a big favorite to win. Felix Alvarado is starting to put a run together as a world champion though has been out the ring for more than a year at this point. Deejay Kriel was a world champion at minimum weight but never defended his title.

I think Felix Alvarado’s come forward constant pressure style of fighting will lead to him stopping Kriel in the 9th or 10th round. He has massive power for the weight and doesn’t stop coming. Kriel never showed that much power at minimum weight and he won’t have the strength to hold Alvarado off for twelve rounds in my opinion.

Rene Alvarado versus Roger Gutierrez breakdown

This should be an exciting fight for however long it lasts as both are action fighters.

I think Rene Alvarado will repeat what he did in their first fight and win by knockout. He’s a good boxer with a relentless style and I think that will be enough to wear Gutierrez down who while being on a good run himself probably isn’t quite at world level yet. I do think the rematch is warranted as Gutierrez has put a good run together where he scored a big upset win and Alvarado has put in upset win after upset win himself in recent times.

Ryan Garcia versus Luke Campbell breakdown

This is a really good fight though still one with a clear favorite in my opinion. Ryan Garcia could potentially be the next big star in boxing and clearly has some talent. Luke Campbell is a seasoned campaigner at this point and if he wants another title shot he’ll likely have to win this fight or a world title dream will be over for him.

Ryan Garcia is very quick and decent technically, all his power comes from his speed though as he grows he does seem to be hitting harder. We haven’t seem him do a hard twelve rounds yet or really seen his chin tested. The biggest flaw with him in my opinion is he tends to keep his chin a bit to high when punching and also drops his other hand when throwing hooks which leaves him open to counters.

Luke Campbell is excellent technically with decent power and a solid defence though one that has been broken on multiple occasions. He doesn’t have a bad chin even though hes been dropped multiple times its just that its not that hard to put him down which is a detrimental thing at world level. He’s not a fast starter either which may be the biggest downsize for him in this fight.

I think Ryan Garcia will win by decision after twelve rounds due to his superior hand speed and Campbell being a slow starter. Garcia starts quick and will likely catch Campbell early and while he’ll come back later in the fight I think it will be to little to late a bit like his fight with Jorge Linares.