May 9, 2021
ARLINGTON, Texas In front of more than 73,000 fans at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, Saul “Canelo” Álvarez the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing and the sports’ biggest star moved one step closer to history, stopping Billy Joe Saunders to unify three pieces of the super middleweight crown. Let’s dive into the stoppage, my scorecard (hi, social media!) and what’s next for Canelo with three burning questions.
Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports
Did Billy Joe Saunders quit?
No
hell no. In the eighth round, Saunders absorbed a vicious uppercut to the right eye that immediately swelled and closed it. Saunders had boxed well to that point (more on that below) but when he went to the corner, it was clear the injury was significant. Trainer Mark Tibbs, who rejoined Saunders team before his last fight and has been close with Saunders for years, asked him how he was. When he didn’t get the answers he liked, Tibbs waved off the fight.
“To me, bottom line, Brandon Figueroa is a threat. He is a threat to my career. He is a threat to my future plans. I need to eliminate that threat,” – Nery WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Luis Nery Faces Undefeated Brandon Figueroa Saturday, May 15 Live On SHOWTIME® in a Premier Boxing Champio
CARSON, CALIF. (May 4, 2021) – Undefeated super bantamweight champions will meet for 122-pound supremacy when Luis Nery makes the first defense of his WBC world title against Brandon “Heartbreaker” Figueroa in the headline attraction of a three-fight card live on SHOWTIME Saturday, May 15 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and will see former unified super bantamweight champion Danny Roman take on hard-hitting Ricardo Espinoza Franco in the 10-round co-main event, plus in the telecast opener undefeated super featherweight contender Xavier Martinez squares off against former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos in a 12-round WBA Super Featherweight Title Eliminator.
Andy Ruiz outscores a past it Chris Arreola but there’s a lot more to be done, writes Thomas Hauser
THIRTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD Andy Ruiz labored in obscurity for most of his ring career, plagued by a poor work ethic and a prodigious appetite. Then lightning struck. On June 1, 2019, he scored a shocking knockout upset over Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden to claim the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles. But rather than build on his success, the 268-pound Ruiz ate more and trained less. Six months later in Saudia Arabia, weighing 283 pounds, he was outboxed by Joshua over 12 dreary rounds. In the ensuing weeks, he put on another 27 pounds to reach the 310 mark.
Posted on 05/03/2021
By: Hans Themistode
Erislandy Lara remembers the blood, sweat and tears that were shed training side by side with WBC middleweight titlist, Jermall Charlo. For a number of years both fighters trained closely under the tutelage of Ronnie Shields. However, in late 2019, the Cuban star replaced Shields with Ismael Salas. Although they no longer stablemates, Lara (28-3-3, 16 KOs) remains extremely close to the Houston native. With that said, their paths may ultimately collide.
“Jermall is like family, more Jermall than Jermell,” said Lara. “We did work for a lot of years but this is boxing. I’m pretty sure NBA players are good friends but they got to play so if we got to fight then we got to fight.”