Author: ringgngrdio2018

Posted on

Raymond Ford vs Otabek Kholmatov / Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe Fight Report by Patscorpio

My first fight card of the year. I drove four plus hours from my home in Massachusetts to Turning Stone Resort Casino in upstate NY to watch what I felt was a slept-on card:  A Featherweight doubleheader:  Luis Alberto Lopez defends his IBF Bantamweight Title against Reiya Abe and Raymond Ford battle for the vacant WBA Bantamweight Title. If there was one thing that I disagreed with is the fact it was only airing on ESPN+. This card definitely deserved a more widespread audience. Especially with how this card eventually played out. Oh, there was one minor disappointing thing related to my drive to Turning Stone. I like to make a rest area stop in Pattersonville, NY to indulge in some Roy Rogers. However, upon nearing the rest area where it was located, I saw that the whole rest area was going under renovation. The horror!!! Let me not digress from talking about this great offering from Top Rank.

The preliminary action was particularly good and entertaining. One thing I want to specifically mention is I got to meet the legendary Flavor Flav from Public Enemy. That was a huge highlight as I am a fan of the group. Flav was in the house to catch his godson fight. His godson is none other than Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali. Still grinding after being a couple fights removed from his first career loss, he took on Charles Stanford. Stanford would put on a very spirited performance against Nico, who still gets hit a little too much. The judges, however, thought Nico won that comfortably with a fairly wide UD. I did not agree with that one. Rohan Polanco impressed and showed why he is one of Top Rank’s brightest prospects winning a UD over fellow undefeated prospect Tarik Zaina. It was a good back and forth scrap punctuated by Polanco scoring two brutal knockdowns in the last couple rounds of the fight. Floyd Cashflow Diaz also had a very unexpected ebb and flow performance against Edwin Rodriguez. Diaz is a very physically talented fighter, but it looked like his man strength has not come in yet. The punches he was throwing did little to dissuade Rodriguez from moving forward. Wicked shots they threw at each other over the course of eight rounds. Diaz would win a hard-fought decision but the judge that scored the bout 80-72 should be suspended in my humble opinion.

Troy Isley, once seemingly on the outs with Top Rank, put on a career best performance by stopping notable tough guy Marcos Hernandez in seven rounds. Hernandez just could not keep up with the work rate or combination punching from Isley. It was very impressive. Rooting for Isley to keep proving everyone wrong. Local favorite Bryce Mills received quite a surprising reaction from the Verona crowd. He is really loved there. He won an all-out slugfest against Gerffred Ngayot. I am talking about little defense involved. Again, this was a card read with a score not based on reality. Enough to visibly anger Ngayot who was kind of pacing around the ring in disbelief. The last preliminary fight was between highly touted prospects in Brian Norman and Janelson Bocachica. Norman, since signing to Top Rank, has been underwhelming in his performances. This would not be any different. Bocachica dropped Norman hard with a counter in the opening round. Next round, a clash of heads opens a head cut on Bocachica. The ring doctor took a long time to inspect it. After another round of action, he would stop it. Unfortunately, due to the fight not going into round four, the fight was declared a no contest. I had Bocachica winning the fight and he was not happy about having it stopped. I do not blame him because he was robbed of possibly scoring an upset over the undefeated Norman. Norman acknowledged that he fought poorly and vowed to be better next time

Now it is time for the main event fights of the evening. The co-main has IBF Featherweight Champion, Luis Alberto Lopez, making a defense against mandatory challenger Reiya Abe. Lopez has been on a twelve fight win streak since his last loss to Ruben Villa. A streak that saw him scoring punishing wins over notable fighters such as Andy Vences, Gabriel Flores, Josh Warrington (which netted him the title), Michael Conlan, & Joet Gonzalez. Abe was coming off his career best win against former two division champion Kiko Martinez. I thought this fight would be competitive. Instead, Lopez and his unorthodox style co. ed with power showed he was on another level. Within the first three rounds, Lopez managed to nearly shut Abe’s eye with some brutal power shots. Abe had no choice but to get on his bike and then later stand his ground and fight. The ring doctor between every round had to take several prolonged looks at the eye. But the punishment from Lopez continued. A brutal combination in round eight forced the ref to step in and stop the fight. Abe was game but Lopez simply outgunned. A damned good win.

The main event was for the vacant WBA Featherweight Title. Top contenders Otabek Kholmatov and Raymond Ford had the privilege of fighting for it. Ford got quite the crowd reaction like he was the hometown fighter. Having watched Ford before on Matchroom cards, I was expecting this fight to have a boxer vs puncher type of dynamic. Kholmatov is a heavy-handed puncher with all but one of his eleven wins coming by knockout. Instead, it turned into a war of attrition from round one onwards. Kholmatov applied heavy front foot pressure, throwing shots at Ford. Ford is usually very defensive, but he occasionally uses his legs while throwing big shots back in return. Ford’s face showed the results of Kholmatov’s early assault along with an inadvertent headbutt. I am thinking Ford needs to get some punching respect soon because Kholmatov did not seem affected by the shots. Round after round of punishment until Ford finally broke through near the end of the 10th round and badly hurt Kholmatov. Now starting to wane from the punishment from the bout, Kholmatov did nothing but stand toe to toe trying to put Ford down. From my seat in the media section, the sweat coming off both fighters as they were getting hit was reaching me. That was the only unpleasant part of watching this war. Going into the 12th round, the sense was Ford needed to drop Kholmatov in order to have a chance at a win on the cards. That KD occurred but the referee ruled that a slip. This would work in Ford’s favor. Kholmatov, now in trouble, was taking a beating from a Ford whose corner urged him to close the show. Closed the show he did, courtesy of a hook that had Kholmatov turning away and running into a corner almost face first. Ford followed a barrage of punches that forced the ref to stop the fight with 8 seconds left in the round. What an astonishing end to what is unquestionably the new Fight of The Year contender for 2024. Raymond Ford, the first fighter that Eddie Hearn signed from the jump and developed in America, to become a world champion. Ford collapsed in tears from sheer emotion as his corner and family entered to celebrate. The whole media section jumped up cheering and applauding while the whole arena went crazy over what they saw. It was by far one of the greatest fights that I have ever had the privilege of seeing live. Salute to Top Rank, ESPN, Turning Stone Resort Casino. I managed to interview the WBA Featherweight Champion of the World in his dressing room afterwards, who told me he would stick around for one more fight at 126 before moving up. Whatever he plans to do, I am sure it will be exciting. See you at my next live boxing adventure!!!

Posted on

O’Shaquie Foster vs Abraham Nova Fight Report

By King P

The year has just begun, but Ring Gang Radio is already making our presence known at boxing events. It was great to be back at The Hulu Theater in MSG. Nothing like fights in New York, I will always enjoy them being here. This was the first time I was able to cover a Top Rank event, and I was ready to see boxing by them live and in living color. There is always a different type of atmosphere with TR. 

Got into the building in time to catch Euri Cedeno face off against Antonio Todd. I was there for his fight last year in Florida, where he had a split decision draw against Dayan Depestre. No such issues this time around, as he put a hurting on Todd en route to a fifth round KO. Next up was Tiger Johnson facing off against Paulo Galdino. Tiger is a young fighter that many people are mixed on. Some are high on him; others are down on him. This definitely was the fight to get him back on track, as he hurt Galdino early and got rid of him in the first round. The next fight was a hometown one. The Bronx’s own Ofacio Falcon faced off against Edward Ceballos. Falcon did not have much issue with Ceballos, outboxing him and cruising to an easy UD (60-54 3x).

Next up was another NY fighter, as Long Island’s own Isaah Flaherty faced off against Julien Baptiste. Fight started off rocky, as a clash of heads left Flaherty with a sizable cut on the top of his head. Flaherty’s corner was able to keep it under control though, and he continued the fight without trouble. Flaherty outfought Baptiste, and in the end scored an easy UD (60-54 3x). For the last prelim fight, we had heavyweight action as Guido Vianello took on Moses Johnson. The action started early, as Vianello dropped Johnson with an overhand right. Moments later, Moses got dropped with another right hand. Vianello dropped Johnson 2 more times until the fight was finally stopped at the end of the first. 

The main card kicked off with Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington taking on Bernard Torres. The fight started off rough, and Torres definitely had Shu Shu confused with his Pacquiao imitation style. By the third round Bruce finally had Torres all figured out, ripping him with body shots. In the fourth round, Bruce landed a right hand on Torres that sent him down to the canvas face first. The crowd roared when he got the KO. The Brooklyn kid then channeled his inner Mike Tyson as he borrowed his “I’m the best ever speech” and the crowd loved it. The co-main event was Andres Cortes vs Bryan Chevalier. This was expected to be a competitive fight, but Cortes had other plans. He beat Chevalier from pillar to post. After 4 rounds, the corner finally stopped the fight. 

Now we have reached the main event: WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster defends his title against Abraham Nova. The fight started off on even terms, with both fighters getting off punches. Foster looked a little sluggish, have to wonder how much the weight cut affected him in this fight. In the fifth round Foster’s bicep was hit by Nova’s elbow, and it definitely affected Shaq. But he weathered through, and actually took over the fight as Nova started to fatigue. By the eighth round Nova was completely gassed. Foster wobbled Nova in the ninth round with his right hand and came close to getting the stoppage. In the 12th round Foster dropped Nova with a counter hook. Nova disputed it saying it was a slip, but the call stood. At the end of twelve rounds, Foster was declared the winner by split decision (115-112, 116-111, 113-114). In the post-fight press conference, Foster admitted the weight affected him and it was not his best performance. He said he will be hiring a nutritionist and staying at 130 for a couple more fights. Foster has another mandatory coming soon, and he said he will take the fight if it is ordered. As for who he wants to fight? A unification with Lamont Roach and the winner of Oscar Valdez vs Liam Wilson. Overall, it was a particularly good night for boxing. Salute to Top Rank for giving us a fun and entertaining card. Looking forward to the next card they bring to NYC.

Posted on

Conor Benn vs Peter Dobson in Vegas at the Cosmopolitan

By Conscious Pilot

It was a nice Saturday on the strip. As I entered the Cosmopolitan, security definitely did their job all night long. I was able to find the fight pretty quickly. Got my media pass armband early and the fights were on!

The first fight featured Khalil Coe, an up and coming light heavyweight prospect who’s been showcased numerous times on Golden Boy broadcasts. He faced an undefeated Mexican fighter with 20 wins 18 of them by KO, by the name of Juan Osuna. I won’t lie, I expected a little bit of resistance from Osuna, but this was easy work for the talented and Power Coe. After some feeling out in the first round, Coe dominated him in the 2nd dropping him 3 times and the ref eventually waved it off. It was the best I’ve seen Coe look and I can’t wait to see him again.

Next fight was a heavyweight bout with a fan favorite in Johnny Fisher. This was my moment of realization that UK fans do travel because as that fight was starting between Fisher and Bezus, the crowd was getting hyped for Fisher. And for good reason! This easy work for Johnny Fisher, stopping Dmytro Bezus in the first round. I’m not entirely on Fisher’s upside but he’s a fan favorite and will get his chances to step up the heavyweight ranks. I’m sure of it.

In the Co-Main, we had Austin Ammo Williams against an undefeated fighter by the name of Armel Mbumba-Yassa. To the crowd, there were some moments of lulls. Not really boos, but you could tell they wanted more action as there is a lot of feeling out here. I appreciated the way Ammo took his time though because Mbumba-Yasa was there to win as a late replacement. Ultimately, Ammo Williams was able to find his openings. Dropping him in the 6th round and getting the stoppage in the 7th with a picture-perfect straight left. Ammo has continued to improve, showing his in-ring IQ. Was able to fight on the back foot, pressing the issue, fighting in mid-range, and mixing it up on the inside. It’s time for Ammo Williams to take a huge leap, he’s one of the best American middleweights we have, and it’s title time sooner than later!

The main event between Conor Benn and Peter Dobson was probably better in person than it was on TV. Benn looked crisp and athletic in the early rounds, with Dobson doing a pretty decent Philly shell shoulder roll defense. I would say Benn built up a 3-0 lead. However, Dobson started to find that overhand that just couldn’t miss. Dobson fought this fight in a lot of ways like friend of Ring Gang, Jonnie Rice, did Guido Vianello. Well minus the power. That overhand in mid rounds kept landing and landing. If Dobson had power, he may have dropped or hurt Benn badly. But he didn’t, and nor did Benn. The power Benn once possessed isn’t there and also that right hand can be so easily telegraphed. I will say Benn has solid fundamentals and knows how to use his athleticism. Also, he’s tough and that left hook and body jab is nice. I was actually very impressed with that left. Benn deserved the win, obviously it was a little wide but I’m not complaining. I do want to see Benn again, as well as Dobson.

All in all, it was a great day of boxing, a fun crowd, nice presentation, and some knockouts with a fun main event Matchroom and DAZN did a job with this!