The shambolic WBA has just built itself another heavyweight champion. Manuel Charr has outpointed Alexander Ustinov to take out the Regular title. Anthony Joseph holds the Super version. According to the WBA, Charr now has to defend his belt against Fres Oquendo. Again according to the WBA, the winner has to fight AJ before the end of 2018.
And Charr is a punch bag. Too tough and brave for his own good. The only chance he would have against AJ is if AJ punched himself out and got caught
I'm looking forward to seeing the wonderful Miguel Cotto in action again this weekend at the Garden in NY. As his career has already reached it's twilight years, we probably won't be seeing too much more of the multiple weight, world champion from Puerto Rico. He'll start a long odds on favourite against the American Sadam Ali aka the World Kid. At the opposite end of the scale is the clash between heavyweights David Price and Kamil Sokolowski. I don't know how many more chances Price has in him, but they're making sure his return to the ring will be as easy as possible. Sokolowski will have to spot Price seven inches in height and maybe somewhere around four stone in weight. And to protect what looks to be a very fragile Price chin, the promoter has done his brilliant best in selecting an opponent who seems to have feather fists. Sokolowski has had 17 fights and won just 4. And only one by ko. Bookies must be wary though. Sokolowski is as short as 5-1. Those shocking Price losses to Hammer, Teper, and Thompson (twice) must be weighting heavily in bookies minds.
Lee McGregor v Kamil Jaworek. The young man is full of talent, but I wouldn't mind him cleaning up his act a bit.
Earlier today, Miguel Cotto climbed into the ring for the final time in his career. On the line was his WBO Super Welterweight Title. His opponent at the Garden, Sadam Ali, was 8 years younger than the great man.
Every now and then, a fight looms on the horizon that promises be more than just a memorable affair. This weekend at Madison Square Garden, two of the best technical fighters in the game today will clash for the WBO Super Featherweight Title. The champ Vasyl Lomachenko will pit his considerable wares against the brilliant Cuban and WBA Super Bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. For all his brilliance, Rigo has a massive task on his hands. He has to jump two divisions and take on a massively talented man who'll re-hydrate to a point that sort of feels a little unfair. If there's one man on the planet who has the skills to match Lomachenko, it's Rigondeaux. The latter though is well into his late 30s, while Loma is 29. For all of his expertise though, it's hard to see how the counter punching Cuban can match it with the Ukraine dynamo, but you can bet here will be a lot of hearts in his corner. If he pulls this off, it'll be one for the ages. Betting. 2-9 Lomachenko. 4-1 Rigondeaux.
Brilliant fight, think Lomachenko will prove too good and I’d say he’ll win on points. He’s 2/1 to do so and I might very well bet that.
Luis "King Kong" Ortiz returned to the ring today after getting an almost free pass after his positive tests. A massive mistake was made in having Deontay Wilder as a guest commentator. All he wanted to do was talk about himself.
And the former WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Jean Pascal climbed through the ropes today for his last time.
Just a little more on the Lomachenko - Rigodeaux bout. It's a fight that the media at large are really not all that interested in. Maybe it's not their fault as these tow champions come from the wrong side of the weight classes. The average guy in the streets is only interested in the big punchers, not the little men, even if they possess a brilliance seldom seen. Lomachenko is much better received than Rigodeaux because the latter is a craftsman who works with great stealth from the outside, while Lomachenko is more of an attacking beast. Loma. "I don’t think it’s going to be the kind of fight everyone is waiting for. You know his style. I need to chase him. I need to do this and not forget my defence because he will wait, wait, wait and wait. Rigo. "I went up to 130 because it was the only way I could get this fight made. I would rather it have been at a lower weight, but I want to show the world that I can do it by moving up two weight classes.” One of the sad, if not unjust things about this fight, is the WBAs insistence that if Rigo should lose this Super Featherweight Title bout, he'll be stripped of his Super Bantamweight Belt. Loma can't win that Super Bantamweight Title as he's fighting two weights above that division, so why strip Rigo? Rigodeaux is the man taking most of the risks. He's jumping two weights, is much shorter and can blow his title, even if it's not being fought for. And all this when other champions seem to spend most of the time keeping out of each other's way. I think Loma will probably win, but my heart will be with the little guy from Cuba.
