Yarde Stops Reeves in Five, But Doubters Remain
Reeves out on his feet: Krusher is next for Anthony Yarde? #YardeReeves #boxing pic.twitter.com/08b9IdnDYX
— przemek garczarczyk (@garnekmedia) March 8, 2019
Against inferior competition, Anthony Yarde once again got the easy knockout. This time, it was Travis Reeves that was the victim of Yarde’s power, as he was stopped in the fifth round when Yarde landed a few shots and he appeared out on his feet. With the win, Yarde moved to 18-0 with 17 knockouts and may be next for a shot at WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev.
Whether or not Yarde can handle Kovalev may be unclear, but the hope is that we get to see it. If not, Yarde would do well to look at someone like Joe Smith Jr. rather than face another of what one fan on twitter referred to as the “Latvian Taxi drivers” who make up his current win ledger.
Shawn Porter Beats Yordenis Ugas by Thinnest Margin Possible
Shawn Porter vs Yordenis Ugas!
— Boxing World 365 (@BoxingWorld365) March 10, 2019
Was it a knockdown?#boxingworld365 #boxing #PorterUgas pic.twitter.com/Cn3TPaCH6Z
That was almost disastrous for Shawn Porter. After being forced to cut his hair in order to make the 147 pound weight limit, Porter would go on to win a split decision against a more than game Yordenis Ugas by the thinnest margin possible, with a late slip that could very well have been called a knockdown ruled in his favor.
One judge scored the fight 117-111 for Ugas, while the other two scored the fight 116-112, and 115-113 for Porter, who retained the WBC welterweight title. While people may not have liked the decision, it was close enough that nobody should be screaming “robbery,” and the lesser-known Cuban challenger should have known he would have to win by a larger margin to take the decision off of the well-known and well-liked champion.
Because the fight was so close, many fans would expect a rematch, but for Porter that would be a bad move. He barely squeaked past Ugas in this fight, and no matter what excuse he could come up with from a bad weight cut to the weird nature of fighting outdoors on such a cool night -- Lennox Lewis was wearing a blanket ringside -- the bottom line is Ugas is a problem he doesn’t need when he could make far more money unifying his title or fighting Manny Pacquiao.
Abel Ramos Rallies in Second Half of Fight to Beat Francisco Santana by Unanimous Decision
Santana with a knockdown at the end of the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/shTuoE8H6g
— FOX Sports: PBC (@PBConFOX) March 10, 2019
Thinks weren’t looking good for Abel Ramos early against Francisco Santana. Ramos was dropped in the second round by a Santana left hook, but would go on to dominate the fight with his more effective, boxing on way to a unanimous 95-94, 97-92, and 98-92 decision victory, With his slick boxing and his ability to remain smooth under pressure, Ramos moved his record to 24-3.
Dmitry Bivol Easily Outboxes Joe Smith Jr.; Browne or Kovalev Next?
Dmitry Bivol boxed circles around Joe Smith Jr. on Saturday night, ultimately winning a unanimous 118-110, 119-109, 119-109 decision, but the fight was not without its interesting moments. In the ninth round, Smith Jr. picked up and dumped Bivol on the ground when Bivol was trying to grab him to clinch, and a few good shots in the fourth and 10th rounds had Bivol hurt, but not close to being stopped. Instead, Bivol outboxed Smith, who looked for the big shot that never came.
For WBA champion Bivol, there are many options. Sergey Kovalev would like to fight him and called him out after the bout on Instagram, but with Kovalev on DAZN and Bivol on ESPN, that would be unlikely. He could fight Marcus Browne in June, which is what Eddie Hearn says is going to happen, or he could move down a weight class and test his skills against smaller fighters, as he is not very big for the light heavyweight class.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Sergey KRUSHER Kovalev (@sergeykrusherkovalev) on
For Joe Smith Jr., options are bleaker. Smith beat Bernard Hopkins back in December of 2016, but that seems like decades ago. Whoever he faces next (fans badly want it to be Callum Johnson), he needs to make sure he wins before people officially stop caring.
Maurice Hooker Struggles on Scales, Cruises in Fight
It would appear that on Monday morning Maurice Hooker will be planning that big title defense in his hometown of Denver, while Mikkel LesPierre will be going back to his day job at Mount Sinai Hospital. That’s what happens when you lose a unanimous 120-107, 119-108, 118-109 decision to a guy who took four tries to make weight for the fight.
Yes, Hooker struggled on the scales but dominated the fight, consistently beating LesPierre to the punch and almost finishing him in the ninth round with LesPierre just beating the count. It wasn’t an especially competitive fight, and after Hooker called out the mandatory challenger for his WBO title, saying “Where's Jack Catterall? He came all the way over here to watch me fight. Just wait, young grasshopper, you will get your turn.” More “Kung Fu” references in boxing please.
Robert Guerrero Wins in Front of Nobody
the remaining crowd left to watch Robert Guerrero.... #boxing pic.twitter.com/MkRCNpgKfO
— Steve Kim (@StevESPNKim) March 10, 2019
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero won this weekend on the Porter-Ugas undercard, but the fight was far sadder than it was inspiring. Guerrero beat Hevinson Herrera when Herrera quit on his stool going into the sixth round, but ESPN’s Steve Kim tweeted out a picture of the crowd that was on hand to witness the fight and it was….sparse. Guerrero fought Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and was on every sports channel you could tune to, but six years later he’s fighting in front of what looks like fewer than fifty people. That is a shame.
Aaron Herrera Stops Raul Hinojosa without Landing a Punch
Aaron Herrera secures a TKO without landing a punch on Raul Hinojosa. pic.twitter.com/yQR6fUWQXY
— EditinKing Boxing (@EditinKing) March 9, 2019
Willie Pep is famously said to have won a round with out landing a punch, but Aaron Herrera one-upped “Will o’ the Wisp” this weekend, by stopping Raul Hinojosa without landing a punch. There’s not much to say other than to note that this is the new gold standard in terrible refereeing. Nothing can top it.