이 에피소드에 관해
This weekend we were starved for action, but in a week with mild anticipation, as the NFL takes over the American airwaves for the second week in a row, "King" Ryan Garcia is the story.
After Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz knocked out Nestor Bravo, he called out Garcia. What are the guys' thoughts on this?
Mainly, WBO super middleweight world champion Hamzah Sheeraz, who won his title against largely unknown Alem Begic and made a lackluster July title defense against Simon Zachenhuber, vacated his belt. Not to mention, Zachenhuber had lost to Pawel Augustynik in April.
Sheeraz has opted to not proceed with the purse bid proceedings to face Zhanibek (Janibek) Alimkhanuly. This marks the first major champion to give up a title since Peter Quillin did so in 2014, and was shunned. That decision for Quillin was one he never truly recovered from. For Sheeraz, it seems it could have deeper implications. The reason seems to be that the pay is not worth the risk. Sheeraz has been a favorite of Riyadh Season, and with UBOs potentially going into place, could fighters now begin to question the point and purpose of sanctioning bodies? Promoters and sanctioning bodies used to have to work together, and the titles symbolized larger purses and legacy. Could fighters who, if nothing else, feel sympathetic to Zuffa Boxing potentially vacate belts? So what is next for the WBO super middleweight title? More than likely a vacant title fight between Janibek vs. Jacob Bank.
The co-feature saw super middleweight Daniel Blancas defeat Sergio Jimenez, but this came after Jesus Ramos Jr fell ill the day before the weigh-in as his fight with Meiirim Nursultanov was off.
The undercard was showcase fights for middleweight Olympian Eumir Marcial, who stopped Omar Ulises Huerta, and Mexican Olympic silver medalist Marco Verde, who stopped Guillermo Hernandez, but had to get off the canvas.
In the U.K., cruiserweight Pat Brown won a wildly fun bout against John Hedges. Brown was losing the fight, only to rally on to stop Hedges. Also, shout-out to Mark Jeffers for getting a win over Kieron Conway and having a member of his team hook me up with his walkout song. Shabazz Masoud also won his debut at featherweight.
Looking ahead to next week….
The biggest card is in Japan on Sunday and broadcast on DAZN. Takuma Inoue will put his WBC bantamweight title on the line against Tenshin Nasukawa in a rematch, while fast-track Japanese star Tomoya Tsuboi will face Ricardo Malajika for the vacant WBC junior bantamweight title, and former champ Ryosuke Nishida will take on Sam Goodman for the vacant IBF interim junior featherweight title.
What is most scary is how under-the-radar this card is, and how the demise of Top Rank on ESPN has seen interest in Japanese boxing dim.
Zuffa Boxing returns in the U.K.
Heavyweight Johnny Fisher will face Michael Pirotton in the main event. Other notable undercard bouts include light heavyweight Craig Richards vs. Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic, and a sneaky great fight between Cesar Mateo Tapia vs. Leo Ruiz.
On a regional level, Rising Star Promotions is putting on a great event including the following fights: Kyrone Davis vs. Jeison Rosario, former champ Emmanuel Rodriguez in action, and Tyreem Haywood vs. Abram Martinez.
Timestamps
0:00 Isaac Pitbull Cruz vs. Ryan Garcia
18:00 Hamza Sheeraz
24:43 Pat Brown
28:30 Japan
35:00 Takuma Inoue v. Tenshin
39:00 Zuffa Boxing card
46:25 Crawford Thoughts
56:30 Rising Stars Promotions
