Sunday Puncher Newsletter
January release
You could’ve gotten this in your hands three months ago, but you stay goofing. So how about you quit messing around and get subscribed so you can get it? It’s interesting how the timing of this worked out: I sent it out and by the time it started landing, Khan-Brook was already over. So you basically got to read a message in a bottle from the past that was completely incorrect. Not quite predicting the future, but you sure could have a laugh at me in Discord if you were so inclined.
February 1st, 2022
January Recap
Guess who’s back in the MF’n house? January most certainly did not wait around to be done. Absolutely zoomed, I tell ya hwut (I do, in fact, sell boxing and boxing accessories). The year kicked off straight away but the month was rather sparse, all things considered. Perhaps we’ll have a chance to do some look-aheads in this month’s to-do. As always, big ups to our Patrons. Without you I wouldn’t even have taken a corporeal form in this plane of existence. I hope the goodies I packed are enjoyable and add value to the sub tier you’re in. I can say for the top flight that they’ve got something rather redonk coming up. Let the FOMO move your twitchy clicker finger to the subscription bump button for next time (June-ish). And for those who are set to receive the bountiful post, relish in the exhilaration of the delightful unknown and the schadenfreude of lording your gifts over the others in Discord. For a small segment of you, the QR code on the outside of the envelope has the link you need to join the general chat (although the exclusive section limited to Patrons only is much more intelligent and topical boxing conversation than the open rooms). If you have any issues, you can reach me here: sp@bxng.co
Saturday, January 1st (Fox PPV)
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Hollywood, Florida
Luis Ortiz TKO6 Charles Martin (Heavyweight)
Fun card to start the new year off, kudos to Fox for that. One always has to question Ortiz’s age when he comes out, since he’s been 42 for the last like 8 years or something. The rocky start he had in the fight didn’t help matters, taking downs in the first and fourth. Seems, however, that Martin scoring those KDs lit a fire under Ortiz because he started fighting with a stronger sense of urgency. No disrespect intended to Charles Martin, but if Ortiz had taken a loss (stoppage loss, at that) it would have been disastrous for his already limited prospects ahead. Martin, on the other hand, turned in a decent performance when you consider how shifty his game has been the last few years. Alas, it was not meant to be for Martin, as Ortiz detached his sentience from his body to finish the fight. No, seriously, go back and watch it again. Yeah.
Frank Sanchez UD Christian Hammer (Heavyweight)
Ever the rollercoaster with Sanchez. We’re coming off of that delightful Ajagba win and then we get this. Yes, he swept the cards. Yes, he got a KD. Still, the performance was rather uninspiring. That is not at all to say Sanchez isn’t good nor to say Sanchez can’t hang at the upper levels of the division. Frank Sanchez is absolutely skilled. It just seems his technique lacks esprit de guerrier. One could argue that his outing against Hammer wasn’t all that different from his work against Ajagba, but I think the imminent threat Ajagba posed made Sanchez’s statement of work all the better. Hammer lacked the kit in almost every aspect of the game to really give Sanchez anything to worry about and Sanchez still didn’t push the tempo. If one is able to comfortably hand their opponent a donut, they probably could’ve stopped him. Rigo of the heavyweights?
Jonathan Rice UD Michael Coffie (Heavyweight)
It is my sworn obligation to tell you that Coffie was robbed. The disgraceful scores turned in by the clearly bribed judges are a plain-as-day indication of corruption at the most basal levels of the sport. If you know, you know; Moving right along. Unfortunately for me and Jamel Herring, we had to watch big bro Coffie wear himself out early and struggle to keep himself in the fight as it carried on longer. Rice wasn’t faring much better, but it was enough to keep a step ahead of Coffie. As far as skills go, he’s of the ilk of a Whyte, Chisora (some of you won’t see that as a compliment, which is fair). If he can button up his stamina issues, he isn’t so unremarkable that he can’t grind his way up the ladder, he’s just been set back a bit with the losses to Rice.
Saturday, January 15th (ESPN)
Turning Stone Resort & Casino; Verona, New York
Joe Smith, Jr. KO9 Steve Geffrard
WBO Light Heavyweight Title
Remember last time when I said Marcus Browne looked like he just did not g.a.f.? Amplify that seven-fold and you got Geffrard. Eight days notice, though. Yikes. When considering that stupidly short notice, I suppose you couldn’t have expected too much from him. And given that Smith is the biggest puncher in the division (Smith has bigger one-punch power than Beterbiev, I don’t care what Tim Bradley said), what else can you really do? Shell up and try to ride it out. I can’t say there was ever a point where Geffrard did anything meaningful, but it’s hard to hold it against him given the circumstances. Now, what is next for Smith? What appears to be next is Yarde, since he’s worked up the WBO ladder to challenge for a belt again. There was talk of trying to pay him off to allow Beterbiev and Smith to unify, my assumption being that Yarde will be given first shot at the winner. Bivol may or may not be available in the immediate future, so I expect he would come next to crown undisputed if he passes his next test (rumors say it’s Canelo, but Reynoso disputes it). Let’s say that Smith doesn’t get Yarde, Beterbiev, or Bivol next. He did express interest in fighting Canelo, but that isn’t likely to happen this go-round. The options at Light Heavy are pretty thin, with only Ramirez having any sort of legitimacy.
Saturday, January 22nd (Showtime)
Borgata Hotel Casino; Atlantic City, New Jersey
Mark Magsayo MD Gary Russell, Jr.
WBC Featherweight Title
Keeping the same energy from the Lopez-Kambosos anonymous submission: if Russell had an injury that he knew was going to affect his performance, he should have done what was necessary to ensure he would perform at the levels expected of a world champion. A lingering injury doesn’t excuse a loss. With that said, it is pretty nuts that even fighting a one-armed opponent, Magsayo could only pull out 115–113 x2 and 114–114. Congrats to Magsayo, of course. He got the dub and that’s what ultimately matters. It does, however, speak volumes that his best night was still only marginally better than a depleted Gary Russell Jr. With Russell medically unable to take the immediate rematch, I expect the rest of the division is salivating at the prospect of taking on Magsayo for a title.
Subriel Matias RTD Petros Ananyan (Junior Welterweight)
This was just as entertaining as the first. I rewatched the first fight in the lead-up to this, coming out with a score of 96–93 in the end. I remember from the first how badly Matias faded at the end, pretty much costing him the whole thing. The conversation I was having with someone just before the fight was that general reasoning would lead you to think that whoever won the first will win the rematch. How I see it though, is that whoever won will think “I did it right the first time, so just do that again.” while the guy who lost will make adjustments. And boy did Matias adjust. His shot placement and selection was much better (a few did go a touch too far south), a good mix of up and downstairs. Ananyan seemingly tried to apply the same gameplan and it cost him down the stretch. Matias didn’t fade like before, so that sustained precision paid off in larger dividends.
Tugstsogt Nyambayar D Sakaria Lukas (Super Featherweight)
You already know what we’re going to talk about, so let’s get the obligatory out of the way. And this time, despite having a comparable connection to Lukas, it’s not just me fooling around. Lukas was robbed of victory by the referee’s poor performance. I’m sure Eddie Claudio has been just fine in every other outing. This time, when presented with clear proof of his mistake, he couldn’t see (or refused to admit) what he had missed. If he missed it in the heat of the moment from being out of position, that could at least be understood if not condoned. This is just another mark in the boxing-needs-replay-everywhere column. It takes just one “oh shit” to wipe away one thousand “attaboys”. I hope they do it again because the fight was pretty entertaining and I bet the brass at Walvis Bay will give Lukas the prep time needed to get the dub.
Saturday, January 29th (ESPN)
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Tulsa, Oklahoma
Robson Conceicao UD Xavier Martinez (Super Featherweight)
Interesting choice for the headline of the ticket, but whaddya gonna do? Conceicao came out sharp in the opening rounds changing elevations with a sharp jab. He kept mobile, keeping Martinez at the end of the jab for the most part, but Martinez was able to find success here and there when he got into range. Robson is a sharpshooter, but I gotta be honest I’m leaning Team Colbert here. Colbert vs Conceicao would be a nice chess match, though. I’d like to see Robson get another name that’s above him on the rankings to test his mettle. He dropped the fight against Valdez, but was it that bad of a loss? Unfortunately, a lot of the guys in his neighborhood are with other groups: Lamont Roach is with Golden Boy (DAZN), Zelfa Barrett is with Matchroom (DAZN), Kid Galahad — who is ripe for the picking — is also with Matchroom. Joe Noynay isn’t aligned with a major promoter or network, while Eduardo Ramirez’s last outing was handled by the combined powers of Mayweather Promotions, Sampson Boxing, and TGB Promotions (commonality: under the PBC banner). That really only leaves him with the Valdez rematch or Shakur Stevenson, and I honestly don’t fancy Conceicao’s odds against the winner or loser of that unification bout. Valdez is a better chance than Stevenson, but still.
Nico Ali-Walsh TKO2 Jeremiah Yeager (Super Middleweight)
One guess what I’m going to say here…Did you know that Nico’s grand… Ha, just kidding. I really didn’t need to include this fight, but I wanted to say a bit about him. It’s pretty enjoyable watching him come along, truthfully. Not because he’s Muhammad Ali’s grandson or because Top Rank and ESPN say I should, rather it’s that Nico seems like a good guy. He is still growing, still learning. His new coach gave him some new tools and it showed, so that’s kinda fun. He doesn’t seem to bring up his grandfather unless the questions pertain to him, which is really great given how often it comes up (if anything, he seems really patient to keep answering the same. f*kng. questions. over. and over). If I could be so bold as to suggest something to the Top Rank brass: at this moment in time, Nico Ali-Walsh is like “fetch”. Stop trying to make it happen, it’s not going to happen. To use another pop culture reference, the more you tighten your grip [squeezing every drop out of his name this early], the more fans will slip through your fingers. Build him up on his own as his own person. When he’s got himself a good bit of experience and is making waves, you can start peppering the Ali stuff on. I never expected an attempt to make a big deal out of a person seeing a scale would be made in my lifetime. I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but the majority of boxing-aware people I do chat with are sick of the Ali angle being the focal point ad infinitum.
UwU What’s this?
A preview?
Saturday, February 19th (ESPN)
Manchester Arena; Manchester, Lancashire
Amir Khan vs Kell Brook (Welterweight)
Better late than never, they’re saying. Is it really so? On one hand, yes: The two better welters coming out of the UK in recent years are finally going to do the thing. On the other hand, also yes: These guys are at such a level of decline that a KO either way isn’t outside the realm of possibility and that adds a bit of intrigue for a bloodthirsty spectator. Along that line, these guys are both washed so it’s not like one is taking advantage of the other; they’re meeting at relatively the same level, albeit not a good one. On the other side, these guys are past it to the point that they may just look absolutely terrible. I guess it’ll be like watching them fighting in slow motion. We’ve definitely seen worse matchups, so enjoy it for what it is: a spectacle/farce (farcetacle?), not a true measurement of which boxer is better.
Prediction: Kell Brook lands a devastating chokeslam on Khan, rendering him immobile. Brook climbs the corner to the top rope, puts on Macho Man glasses, and leaps for the flying elbow. Brook pins Khan for the three-count and the crowd explodes as he’s crowned the British Welterweight Super-Gold-Franchise Champion of the World Continental Commonwealth. That is the level of seriousness with which you should take this fight.
Did I include a preview for the sole purpose of making a joke? Damn right I did. If you didn’t read last week, you missed me including a small segment on Bradley Skeete entirely to make an inside joke from our Discord chat known to the wider world. I hope you all enjoyed your inserts. Next month is unfortunately kinda sparse. Thurman on the 5th, Danny Jacobs on the 12th, Khan-Brook and Munguia on the 19th, Taylor and Colbert on the 26th to bring February home. The A-sides are great, but the matchups do leave a little bit to be desired. BrooKhan, I already said my piece. If you have a prospect you want to see mentioned, feel free to reach out: sp@bxng.co. Also, https://bxng.co/survey if you could be so kind. I may send you a dollar, I may send you two.
ILYBB,
Leo
There you have it, the January release. It seems this will be my regular schedule, release it digitally 3 months later. I suppose it’s a nice retrospective to look back a the landscape 3 months ago with the lens being the relatively immediate aftermath. Could be good reading material for if/when their next fights are announced. Or if you want to read it right away, maybe you go on over to https://bxng.co/SPsub, throw a little something sweet our way and maybe the publication you may or may not have finished reading may or may not be delivered to you at what may or may not be your residence.
