All right off a weekend and has seen a surprising upset of England's Joe Joyce.
We are ready to recap back. We're ready to hear from the w
BA Light heavyweight champion and recent winner over Canelo Alvarez, Dmitri Beebol. You'll
hear from him on this podcast and much more. It is the Fight Freaks
Unite Recap. I am merely the somewhat capable host. He is our insider
from his Fight Freaks Unite substack and from Big Fight Weekend dot Com headed out
to Las Vegas. Is he packed yet? We're about to find out.
Hello, Dan Raphael off the weekend, how are feeling? I am not
packed yet. That will take place probably some time on Tuesday night before.
I'd agree with the Morning that, unlike our female better haves who plan this
stuff out and have a game plan and lay it out two days in advance,
are you like me? And I believe probably ninety eight percent of the
male population that if we're going out of town, even for multiple days,
we ain't packing to the very last minute, like the night before maybe even
and I've done this like ninety minutes before I'm flying, I'm still packing and
it drives my wife absolutely bonkers. Do you agree with me that most males
are with us that we don't yes out in advance. Now, I don't
do it that close. What I typically do as somebody that has spent the
better part of twenty plus years traveling on a regular basis to go cover fights,
is I have it like God forbid I the day comes where I get
a new suitcase because I'll be packing is I'm so used to packing it exactly
the same way every single time. I'm such a creature of tabot? Question
how long have we been going with the same suitcase? Because I don't know
the answer? Are we talking about five years? Are we talking about ten
years? Fifteen years with the same suitcase? Okay, I have to figure
this out. The luggage that I use was a gift from my mother.
I believe when my wife and I got engaged, so we got married in
two thousand and four, I believe that that was a gift in two thousand
and three. Are we talking about the same piece of luggage from like the
first George Bush administration? Is that what we're talking about? Like three two
thousand and two, something like, Yeah, Well, here's the thing.
Though that piece of luggage, besides one little issue with one zipper, is
actually an out I mean, amazing condition forteen twenty years old. There's literally
no need for me to get into a piece of luggage at this moment.
But that's my normal. That's my normal. Carry on the roller bag that
I've been This traveled the entire United States with me, It traveled internationally with
me, and God forbid the day comes where I have to get into one,
because I will be all confusing how to pack it. The socks go
on the same place, the toiletry bag goes in the same place to shoot,
you know, the pants, the church, the whole nine. Everything
is its own spot. So please when I if necessary, to fleece the
place if necessary. Yeah. So when I, as you mentioned, when
I pack, I won't do it like you and nineteen minutes before because I'll
be getting up super early when I go to bed on Tuesday night. The
last thing I will do after I like, you know, brush my teeth
and a wash up a little bit and I come back into my bedroom and
I get ready to actually lay down and go to sleep, is I will
finish packing everything I can and then save a couple of things that need to
go in the morning, and that's that. I got it pretty much down
to a science. Now. I'm not traveling as much anymore as I did
for a while, but it's not like I don't travel so I know what
I'm doing. I'm an expert. I'm a pro. I'm liking all of
this. Is this the stuff you get on the Fight Freaks to Unite recap
and part of the Big Fight Weekend podcast feed. Hopefully you're following subscribing.
We love all of this. Follow subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,
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in great conversation with Dan and Ryan Garcia. It is Davis Garcia week.
That's why Dan has hitded out the Vegas more coverage on that. We'll even
probably put the Ryan Garcia interview up as its own thing here in a day
or two. So again, if you're following or subscribing, you get that
without any other need for notification. One other note before we get into the
recaps. It was your son's birthday this weekend, on the anniversary of Hagler
and Hearns, which, by the way, for the record, we left
overnight Thursday to Friday with me saying that I'm going to watch the Hagler Hearns
fight or first round a couple of times. Can I confess to you this
is like confessional either one of us are Catholic. I think I've watched it
six or seven times. I've watched the first round three times, and I've
watched the full fight at least twice, since this is still the first round.
And I've watched even Al michaels and and Al Bernstein's call with Al saying
how long can they keep this up? Not very long? At this pace
in the opening round, it's it's incredible to go back. So what about
you? Did you rewatch it once twice? Seven? How many times I
watched? I rewatched it, like you know, in it's entire already one
full time. Then I went back and rewatched the first round. You're parts
of the first round a couple of times. A matter of fact, I
did watched not only the HBO version with Barry Tompkins, but I also rewatched
the close circuit and the one that was most people saw on the live call
with Al Bernstein and Al Michaels and listen they the thing about is there.
They both have famous attributes to them, and they both are excellent calls of
the fight. They're both and you can tell, why do you guys,
look who's doing them. You've got three of the best sportscasters you know it
ever called fights before doing them. So you know, here we are still
talking about it a thirty eight years later, a second podcast, they're all
talking about it. Yeah, no doubt. And it was your son's birthday.
You would like to report Dan is present here on the podcast. You
survived the birthday party where they're uh seven twenty seven fifty nine other young men
that were at your son's party. You you said to me, the organized
chaos mayhem. You survived. That's the good thing I did. I survived.
It was organized, k it was it was actually disorganized. Last cast
organized as best and been blessed my wife or handle in the details. She
did a great job, but it was it was chaotic. My son turned
ten years old, so he's got his friends from his different various groups,
whether it's the skating group he's with, or kids from school, our kids
from the neighborhood, whatever. I think it was a total of about twenty
eight kids and obviously many of their parents, many of their parents also And
we were at this and I don't even know how my wife found it because
it's not like in our neighborige. So it was a little ways away,
probably like a half an hour from our house. We had it at a
She told me, we're having a bowling party. All right, that sounds
cool, right, a bowling party ten years old? Okay, kids liked
the bowl. But it wasn't just a bowling on how much to my surprise,
it was like an entertainment center that was a part. Oh yeah,
so they had bowling alley. They had Now we didn't do all these things,
but you could have. There was goat carts, there was people line
dancing, there was a laser tag thing, there was a r so the
kids an hour party had we had a couple of bowling lanes and the kids
bowled and we had food and drinks and stuff. And then they also when
they were done bowling for the you know, hour and a half for whatever
it was. Uh, then everybody had cards to go play like X number
of time or money or whatever it was in the arcades. So it missus
Rayfield's party planning the next time and get in on some of these events.
I just want what I would saying, it was a little bit more Uh,
I would say fancy, because it was a freaking bowling alley. But
it was like a little bit more of a big deal this year for two
reasons. One figure ten is kind of like a big deal compared to nine
or eleven. And also because of COVID and other reasons, it was our
first time having an in person birthday party since twenty nineteen. Wow, so
it was time to get back to having like a real party with the real
people and all that. So, uh, those two things combined, you
know, it all worked out twenty eight. Good lord, that's like trying
to nake parents to a tree. As we say. All I know is
if you had gotten behind the wheel of a goal card, I would want
not just stills. I would want video of that, so I gotta I
gotta find that out down the road. If you ever get behind the wheel
of a goal cart. We didn't do go carts. It was it was
bowling, and it was really in the adults in bowl. The kids bowled,
and then the kids had their video games, and the and the parents
and we sat around and talked and had a few adult beverages. Fair enough,
and then we got to the fights, and why don't we get to
the fights, and then we'll get to Dmitri b Bowl the WBA lay by
the way, just in this I now have seen the entirety we're gonna talk
about the the zang Jo a big upset against Joey Joyce. But just to
let you know, and I think I think I told you this. I
saw the first two rounds live sitting in my office. But then we had
to go to the party. So I was like, okay, no problem.
So my wife was driving, I'm all right, I'll just pop on
my phone and i'll watch while we're driving and i'll catch the rest of it
on ESPM plus you know I'm on the smartphone. Well, it turned out
that for whatever reason, like there was like a dead zone. I couldn't
get any connectivity for a while. By the time I finally got connected,
they were like waving off the fight. So and then once you're in the
bowling alley, the reception was horrible. So I never got a chance to
actually watch the I knew what happened, and I saw the very end,
and i'd seen the first two rounds. I had to watch the remainder of
it, and then I wrote what I wrote from my substack newsletter when I
got home from the party that night, So I did see the full fight.
But it's the first time I've missed that kind of fight, lie in
a long, long long it's a good reason. It was the tenth birthday
party. And it's not as if this was the world heavyweight title. It
was a secondary version of it. And I was giving you a couple of
updates, and when you finally got self service, you're like, Okay,
you told me what happened. I found out what happened, and so let's
get into it. The main event of the Queensberry Promotions show saw Jang pull
the win, and you and I didn't see it coming. We thought this
was gonna be Joe Joyce. You know who I'm gonna credit. You know
who I'm gonna prop right here on the Big Fight Weekend podcast because he was
on it. Even if we were not on it. Tim Bradley did not
say outright win, but he talked and they and Dan they had to fill
TV term and fill and fill sitting on the studio in Las Vegas. And
you saw some of this on the Vegas Strip. The ESPN announcers Bernardo Azuna,
Mark Kriegel, Tim Bradley were sitting in that studio and there were so
there was so much downtime that had to fill. And I don't know if
you saw the segment and they maybe showed it a couple times because they had
so much time where Tim Bradley was showing Joe Joyce and said, here's what
concerns me. The head is right down the middle in the slot. Every
time he throws a punch, particularly a jab with the left hand, he's
right there to be hit. And he said, for Xiang with that straight
left, the right jab or the straight left, he's gonna walk right into
those punches. And he said it more than once, and he even said
it at the beginning of the fight and he was dead on and that was
the biggest difference maker coming in. Go ahead, But Joyce always gets caught
coming in. It just so happened that he was getting caught from an angle
he wasn't used to because he you know, he does have a good chin,
and you know, it wasn't his chin and gave out. He took
the shots with no Problemits that to one of them or two of them,
or then a bunch after that kept landing on his eye and it you know,
the straight left hand hitting him on the right eye, and the eye
was damage. Wasn't that he got a bad chin and got knocked down or
got knocked out. And you know, I see all these wacky people.
It was shook a couple of times early in the fight. It was I
didn't get knocked out, but yeah, by the way, Zang was shook
a couple of times. Also, these are big men's thrown big punches.
But the fact that I saw people on social media suggesting that, you know,
Joe Joyce has finished, Joe Joyce should retire, Joe Joyce was exposed.
Joe Joyce is nothing. I mean, I don't know what people want.
I mean, he didn't have to take a fight like this. We
knew it was a tough fight. He even if we thought he would win
the fight. People are telling me it wasn't upset. Yes, it wasn't
upset because the betting line was dramatic. Yeah, and lay, I mean,
say whatever you wanted about his abilities. He's a silver medal winner.
He was a two time Olympian. Joe Joyce was a silver medal winner in
the Olypics after Zale was. But here's the thing. His entire professional career,
and he's been a pro for like ten years, he spought garbage except
for two fights until he fought Joyce. He stepped up against Jerry Forrest,
which if that's your step up, you know you're not taking that big of
a step up, and he was life in death. He ended up in
the hospital. He you know, he barely got a draw in that fight.
That was a terrible performance and he knows it. And then in his
most recent fight, prior to the Joyce fight, he did fight Philip Hergovic.
Last in his previous fight, which was an IBF pightlet eliminator, great
fight, close fight. A lot of people thought that John won the fight.
I was like a lot of people also, I thought that are going
to cheeked it out. But it was close. However you had it,
I mean, no quarrel if you had it one way or the other.
And those are his two fights, so there was nothing in his background.
And and I know his people purposely undermatched him for a long time because they
were so concerned about some of his ability to take a shot or his mobility
or whatever. So okay, he proved us wrong because now he has a
real win under his belt because previous you know, I'm always skeptical when a
guy makes his reputation when he's one and one against the two guys t fights.
I mean I kind of used the Razor Ruddick example. I mean,
this is a guy who was in his in his big fights, was oh
in three, but made the rep off those three losses to Lennox Lewis by
crushing knockout and then once by you know, somewhat controversial but a knock got
none less against Tyson and then losing a decision to Mike in the rematch.
So when when when your rep is built on those results, it's hard to
see you moving beyond that. Now in the case of his ZISLA. Good
for him. He got a big win over Joe Joyce. Not bigof Joe
Joyce was somehow exposed. He had a better a better fight. I mean
Joyce did what he always does. He threw a ton of punches. You
look at the copy box, he threw like four times as many. He
actually landed more punches, but the last punches were obviously heavier, and he
did a huge amount of damage to that eye and did the doctor had to
stop the fight. But it was it wasn't like it was a non competitive
fight. I mean John was winning the fight obviously, but it was a
good fight. And uh, it's a huge win for him. He gets
the w BO interim title. It puts him in the mandatory position with that
organization. For it was sick, but anybody that follows the way that the
rotation is going to go in these mandatories knows that he's and this would have
been the same case even if Joyce was the maintain the position. Neither guy.
They're not getting that title shot probably for at least a year, maybe
longer. And I say that because next up is Duba the WBA mandatory.
Hopefully that fight takes place sometime in the late summer. Maybe. I don't
even know if Fusik will fight more than once this year. He may just
do the Duba fight and that's that. But whether he fights once or twice
after that is then the IBF mandatory, which is hergatch, and then only
then would become the mandatory against the WBO mandatory, which is a zongs Will
Lay. So he's not gonna lay off for a year. He's gonna have
to go out there and his team take a rest and they'll look for some
other big fight for him or whatever whatever they can drum up. By the
way, the same way that Joyce did instead of waiting for Usik, decided
to fight zongs Will Lay on Saturday. And I wrote about this, by
the way on Sunday on the Big five weekend website, Little Plug, Little
Cross promotion. That good on Joyce, that he took the risk and not
unlike as we come off the weekend last weekend where we saw Sebastian Fondora take
the risk. We didn't know how much of a risk, but it turns
out it was a risk and Brian Mendoza knocked him out. And my point
simply is that I would much rather see guys not only be active but take
fights where they're taking a risk. And I have more respect for them,
even in a loss, for having done that than some of these guys.
And I see you nodding with me. So these guys that want to fight
one time a year and have it be against a fighter that doesn't really threaten
them or anybody else. So I give more respect to Joyce because you're right
now. I think I think we can agree on the fact that the risk
that Joe Joyce took was a far greater risk on paper than Fundora. I
mean gay, you know, but it was still I mean, Fundora could
have sat back, though, and waited for the result of Charlo and Zoo.
I know you know this, but he took a risk with a guy
that had knocked out Jason Rozario, and you know, maybe it's gonna happen,
maybe not, But I agree with you, and I thought one other
point, what about this? And uh he had told ESPN this, Zang
told them this that Hey, people can talk about going against me, but
who else are you going to find its six foot seven and a South Paul
to be able to replicate what I can do in sparring and training and until
you get in there with me. Like you said, the angles, the
angles from which the punches are coming. I thought that was a very interesting
point, and man didn't turn out to be correct. Yeah, no,
he definitely And you know, I mean, it's an upset that he won,
but the fact that it was competitive and that they were both landing,
I'm not surprised by that part of it. I did think that Joyce wouldin
the fight, but the fact that he hung in there and did what he
did is not a total shock. I mean, they stood in close quarters
for most of that fight. They exchanged punches on a regular basis. It's
just that Joyce could not get away from the left hand, and it made
me think to myself, by the way, when I was thinking about how
badly he was unable to deal with the left I look back at my advanced
story that I wrote on the fight, and he spoke at the news conference
about Zang being a left handed fighter and him having not fought a south pass
since his fourth professional fight against a fighter named Lenroy Thomas, when he,
I believe won the Commonwealth title. So I know based on that that it
was definitely on his mind that fighting a lefty was a little bit of a
different scenario. Now, some guys they deal with it just fine. Some
guys they have a little bit more of a problem handling it. It surprises
me that Joyce would have had that much difficulty because a man like him who
had so much amateur background, even if he only has now what fifteen or
sixteen professional fights fifteen yea, this was a sixteen pro fight. As an
amateur, you see styles like that all the time. In a matter of
fact, I was thinking, I don't know every single one of Joe Joyce's
amateur fights, but he also has I know at least one amateur loss to
Use who was a south pot. So clearly that's not his best kind of
opponents. So when it came to taking this fight, it is now that
in retrospect, not Monday morning quarterbacking. But because I hadn't really thought about
it until this now that he and his team decided to fight Zaying in this
position as a left ender, because they could have had another fighter of that
level that was somebody different that would have probably accepted the fight. But look,
like you said, credit to him, he took to gamble, and
I thought he handled it well. In his interview, he was humble.
It's like, you know, he got me. You know he's a good
fighter. He does have as I confirmed with the people at Queensberry Promotion,
Joe Joyce has the right to a rematch, and Queensberry not only does he
have the right to a rematch, but Queensbury also now have options on the
next three fights of jan Zala. So there's now a promotional entanglement there,
which means if there's some other Queen's very heavyweight that they wanted to try to
negotiate a fight weight, it would certainly make it easier. I'm not saying
it's easy, but the point is it more possibly opens a door for like
a Fury fight, perhaps a Dubua fight if it doesn't come off with us
or something like that. Those are two other heavyweights obviously that Queensberry works with.
So Queensberry is loaded down right now. They got the most of the
better guys and bigger names in the heavyweights. If they are the promoter of
Fury, they are now a co promoter of Zanga. They still promote D'Angel
Dua, and they are still the promoter of Joe Joyce's four pretty good names
in the heavyweight division. All right, Two other quick points that I want
to move on to Michael A. Mayer and her win over a last minute
opponent, which again when we left on this podcast overnight Thursday to Friday,
we didn't know there was going to be a last minute opponent, but it
turns out that there was. And then we're gonna hear from Dmitri b.
Bold coming up here in a few minutes with Dan in the conversation. Those
two quick points would be would be a criticism easy from the armchair. But
did Joyce's corner do a good enough job of stopping the swelling on that eye,
especially when it started up in like the third round? I think that's
valid on helping him, and then as a piggyback, did they do enough?
I don't think they did. We didn't hear all of it in between
rounds. On giving him the urgency of the doctor could stop this fight.
You've got to step on the gas and try to take him out, because
I didn't really sense that from the corner. What's your reaction to both of
those things before we move on, Well, in terms of the second point
you made about not conveying urgency in the moment, I agree with that there
was no urgency, which is actually it was kind of surprising. And and
there's plenty of pressing at where you know a guy is in a bad situation
and they need to be told, listen, you better go out there and
get this guy. And I always think about, you know, there's two
great moments, and they both happened to be uh James Tony fights. The
fight he had the one that stands out the most to me, Well,
there's the one where he was on Oscar's undercard. He was badly, badly
cut, and his trainer told him go out there, you gotta you gotta
get him out here. They were gonna stop that fight. And he went
out there and and I forget the name of the opponent escapes me. At
the moment, Tim was a Tim Littles maybe, and he went out there
and he literally knocked him out like because he knew how bad the cut was,
and he got rid of him. But the one that's the famous one,
and the audio was phenomenal. That the that the production folks at HBO
picked up is now it turned out he didn't need this, but everybody else
thought it was a super close fight when James fought the absolutely Jura that ended
up winning the cruiserweight title in a fight that I was ringside for in Foxwoods.
You have the famous audio on the HBO where Freddie Roach, who was
training James at the times, got down in front of him and said,
you gotta put this guy in his ass. And James Tony went out there
in the twelfth runt and he put this jarp on his ass and he ended
up winning the decision. Now it turned out he didn't need the knockdown to
get the decision. But the only ones that didn't think that were the judges,
I guess because pretty much everybody else that was watching that fight. How
did they super close fight? But the point is that the corner of Joe
Joyce did not convey the urgency. Your other point about the quarter not being
able to control the swelling. I don't really give them a lot of grief
on that because if the orbit bone was broken, and I'm not aware if
it is or it wasn't, but I do know from talking to the Queensbury
people that Joe was going to the hospital after the fight Saturday to get it
checked out and make sure things were okay, but whatever the case is,
sometimes you just can't control the swelling. I was watching they were putting the
ends of this was not a Mike Tyson where they got up and filled up
water, you know, glow filled up the cold water. They had the
right equipment in there, and they were trying to do their job. But
uh, you know, they're not a miracle workers. So I don't I
don't think there was an issue there, but I do think not conveying urgency
surprised me. There's two other instances too, and obviously you know this the
famous one with Diego Corrals where he had been knocked down. He's got the
swollen eye and goose and is telling in you better go get into you better
f and go get inside right now, want to knock him out. That
was just in that momentary break up. They're gonna stop this fight unless you
get inside and go knock him out. And he did. And then Ray
Leonard, It's interesting it wasn't in the corner though. That was on the
corner, true, but I mean still he gave him the urgency here,
I mean, you gotta And so the other one is the famous Ray Leonard
Thomas Hearns with the nine minutes left, you're blowing its son. So that's
interesting because that was before obviously the thirteenth round, but before the fourteenth round
he's admonishing him again with the eye swelling. He's like, Ray, you've
got to get him out of there. There's another there's another exchange in the
corner. You gotta go get him, you gotta go get him out of
there. And he did. But then examples, just example, and those
are those are great examples. The thing about Angelo Dundee and working with Ray
Leonard is if you know Angelo, if you if you knew Angelo Dundee,
who, by the way, one of the greatest people I ever met in
boxing. Absolutely love that man, adore him. I got to know him
pretty well the first few years of my career before he passed. Um.
He was not a guy that did a lot of talking in the corner.
It was again the cool consum speaks soft and carry big sticks. So when
he said, you know he now I'm not, I'm not. Every trainer
has their own style. Teddy Alice gets all fiery. Some guys, you
know, like Freddie will get right down and getting your face and tell you
exactly what to do. You know, everybody's got their own little different ways
than doing it. Uh. Like you men mentioned about the way that Joe
Goosen handled the Karrelis situation. Angelo was a man of very few words.
So if he said something like and Ray Leonard will attest this. I think
he's spoken about this before. I don't remember if he spoke to me about
her. I heard it in a documentary or whatever. But when he says
to him, you're blowing it, so you're blowing it, like that's the
code for you better go get this dude, Like that's about is hyped and
as as as jacked up as you'll see Angelo Dundee in a corner telling his
guy to go get the man um and Joge Joyce's corner, I feel like
probably should have had and said, Joe, the eye is you know,
we were in trouble here. You're it's not that you're you can't this fight,
but they're gonna stop this fight because the eye is gonna be so blown
up. You got to go out there and just you know he's got the
power. This is. They're not talking to a a boxer who is going
to rely on scoring a twelve round. This decision and Uh, you know,
Joe was not made aware of that. I don't think maybe Joe didn't
know how bad it was. Obviously he can't see. The conversation continues in
a moment. But first let's tell you about our friends at ppv dot com
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com. And look and look, it's easy for us because we're sitting back.
He's got to go take the punches. His eye obviously hurts, its
swollen shut. What is he capable of still doing? All of those are
variables and the bottom line has gives Jang the credit he got. He gets
the win, a well deserved win, and the upset and a good fight.
Yes, can't argue with that. And they were stunned, largely stunned
crowd in England that was ready to roar for anything Joyce was doing. And
he was getting peppered from about the second round on in that fight. Okay,
real quick on MICHAELA. Mayer before we get to the Dmitri b Bol
conversation that you had with him recently. MICHAELA was to have fought Christine Lynn
Dartu when we again put this podcast to bed overnight Thursday and into Friday.
Turns out lend Dhartu could not get licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control
that had concerns about her vision with the lens in her eye. All right,
so they find a last minute a replacement and so she steps in Mayer
one impressively that I mean, what else comes of this because it was really
a stay busy situation at that point. Find an emergency opponent, stay busy,
keep your name out there. And they followed through with that fight.
Well, one thing about Lucy Wildhard, who was the replacement. It wasn't
like it just went and found some nobody a type of fighter. I mean,
she's a quality female box It wasn't like she's a bomb or anything like
that. She's a you know, a very solid opponent for a short notice.
That's a very impressive. Say. Now, if you backtrack a little
bit, Top rank didn't know what the Lendartu problem was, but they knew
that there was an issue with the medical of some kind. And because their
professionals and because they've been in this business for over fifty years, and because
they've been around the block a thousand times, you know what better to go
out and let's say, if you get somebody on standby just in case something
happens. And my understanding is that's exactly what happened. So it was even
though she didn't officially take the fight to a Friday, when Lendartu was ruled
out, they again, it's not like they had weeks and weeks and I
notice, but it was more than twenty four hours, so you knew about
it for at least a few days would be fighting. You're saying, you're
the premise was you could be fighting wild hard if something happens, so yes,
or to get wild heart and say we may need you for Saturday,
so let's be aware. So they had her on standby, and she obviously
was in shape because she was able to go ten tough rounds. She didn't
have a problem making the one hundred and thirty five pound wait lined she was
I believe she was a rated fighter in some of the organizations. So they
got a good opponent. And it wasn't, by the way, just to
back up on Lendarto. My understanding, it wasn't that the board was concerned
about her vision. They were. Their problem was that they don't allow ow
I guess if you have an artificial lens to box in a professional boxing match,
And the problem with that is two things. One, my understanding from
sources is that Lendarto has had the lenses or lens for many years, basically
her whole career. But what makes matters even more bizarre is that in twenty
nineteen she fought and lost her junior walterway bell to Katie Taylor in a fight
that was regulated by the British Boxing Board, and so she was able to
be medically cleared and fight that fight with the same lens that she was disqualified
from fighting in on this past Saturday. So that tells me that they just
didn't do their job I guess the first time around, and either didn't find
it or didn't know it and uh she So which is it? You can
fight like she did in twenty nineteen, or you can't like they didn't allow
her in twenty twenty three. In any event, they got Lucy Wildhart Mikaela,
who was moving up to one hundred and thirty five pounds after losing her
belts in a three belt unification to Alicia bomb Gardner in her most recent fight.
She wanted to fight with dark To because that was the only woman that
ever beat bomb Garner. So if he can't get the rematch, do the
next best thing is to go fight the woman that beat that woman. Uh,
it didn't work out the way Block she fought wild Art. She gave
a good account of herself. Wild Art did, but with Kayla, uh
did a very good job. Short, her jab was solid, she was
a little bit bigger, she was faster, and the biggest thing and you
don't really see this a lot in women's boxing. She really battered that body
of Lucy wild Heart. She really went at her in a vicious way to
the to the flanks and to the gut and all that and and really beat
her down to the body. And Uh. Even though wild Art again she
was game, and she made some of the rounds awfully competitive. You know,
in the end, not a hard fight to score. I think as
a look into the score as one was a one hundred ninety shot out ninety
ninety two. It was a one sided route. But the scorers are obviously
much wider than if you watched and saw the competition that happened in each round.
But Michaela wins. She's now got the WBC Interim lightweight belt. It
puts her at least in some kind of position to be a mandatory for Katie
Taylor, who was undisputed, but as MICHAELI spoke about in her post fight
comments, she knows that's not next. Obviously, Katie Taylor has the date
with Shantell Cameron on May twentieth for the undisputed Junior beltiweight title, because Katie's
going up one weight class to try to take all the belts off Cameron.
Whatever happens in that, the expectation is that she will return to the lightweight
division and reschedule the fight with a man in the Serranto, which was supposed
to be in May twentieth, but Serranto postponed because of her own injury,
and then that would take Serrano and Katie through the end of this year and
then maybe sometime in the in the first part of next year, michaela can
get a shot at Katie Taylor. And by the way, if you're Katie
Taylor, once you've fought Shantel amon for on discrete at one forty and you've
dealt out the rematch against Amanda Toronto, if you come through those fights MICHAELA.
Mayre is the next probably best name you could face. I mean,
other than maybe if Felicia bomb Garner wanted to come up, but she's not
going to be an inventory and Katie, we'll have the mandatory against MICHAELA.
So the point here is that in the women's lightweight boxing division, in and
around that weight class, there are several attractive fights for those women, and
one of them I think absolutely would be Katie Taylor against Michael Lamare. And
she put herself in that position by doing a very good job in this fight
against Lucy Wildhurd and again adversity coming her way with who the opponent would be,
and she handled it. Well. That's the name of that game.
Okay, without further delay on the fight, Freach to Night recap is why
you want to be with us because Dan gets some of the biggest names in
boxing to come on board on the podcast. W BA light heavyweight champion Dmitri
b Bull which way is he headed undisputed title shot? Maybe to fight Canelo
Alvarez all of those different things. Yes, and also not only do we
have an extended conversation with Dmitri on things related to his desire and folks will
hear about him wanting to fight Arthur better Bif, about how he wants to
handle the prospect if there's a Cano Alvarez rematch near the end of the year,
what weight class does he want to fight Canelo end if they go at
it again. We also hear in the same interview because he was there just
because Bieble speaks excellent English, but just in case there's a little glitch where
he needs to clarify something for him, is always at his side as his
manager. Dem Dmitri's manager of Dadian Kornilov, So you will hear most of
this interview takes place of me and Dmitri having our conversation, and we were
on zoom so I could see both of them. Dimitri Dmitri, you know,
I had the conversation went around I want to say, maybe roughly around
the half waymark. You will then hear from Vadim Kornilov, who gives his
perspective on a few different things, mainly in terms of business side of things
that we discussed. Of the fact that they've been talking about a fight between
Dmitri Biebo and Heimi Mongia, a fight that you'll hear Dmitri, even though
it was something that's been on the table that he really doesn't want and I
don't blame him because it's really not much of a fight, but anyway,
we'll let the folks here, But it was it was a good chance to
have a nice extended interview with one of the best fighters in boxing at a
time where he's not just trying to promote an upcoming fight, so there was
really some time to get into things in a little bit more of a detailed
fashion than when guys are sort of in that robotic mode as they promote a
fight without further delay. Let's get to that conversation and talk more about it
afterwards here on the Fight Freaks un i'd recap. Well, it's my privilege
to bring into the podcast today for an interview. It is none other than
the WBA Light Heavyweight Champion, the twenty twenty two Fighter of the Year,
Demetri Bevil Dmitri. Welcome and thank you very much for doing this. How
are you hello, Thank you, I'm good. I'm glad to hear that
well. As I just mentioned Demitri in my introduction, you are the twenty
twenty two fighter. There, the reigning fighter there. It was a heck
of a year for you. Two huge wins, obviously Canello that was the
first one, and May and then you've rounded out your year in November with
a very big victory against the undefeated Gilberto Zero Ramirez. M Can you tell
me just your thoughts about achieving the Fighter of the Year award. It's sort
of like being the most valuable player in a sports league. It's a big
deal. It seems to me to be the Fighter of the Year. Yeah,
of course it's a big deal and I'm so happy. But before or
fight, I didn't think about it that I will get this award. But
after I started reading about this award and I realized that I could got Oscar
in the books, and I got it. I marked my name in the
history, and of course I'm so much gold. It's like a bonus in
the end of the year for me. But I still that Dmitary which has
a goal which one I realized his potential and get mobiles and enjoyed the walking
life. Just as it relates to the Fighter of the Year ward. I
mean, all the true greats have pretty much won it, you know,
from Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather and Manny pac Yaw and Mike Tyson and you
know the fighters that you think about when you think about boxing. Uh did
you did you ever just sort of like take a minute and think about how
you stacked up in that great list of the guys that had become the fighter
of the year. Of course, when I got the work, I thought
about, Wow, um, I got on the same step, like I
am the same and in the same place with the greatest fighters with the sugar
and during around regions Ali and yeah, I mean, but yeah, but
I thought about it, and then I forget about it because if I think
about I will just leave boxing. So you wanted you Yeah, you wanted
the awards based on those two victories against the You know, at the time,
Canello was the pound for pound number one. He's still the undisputed champion
at super middleway where he went to challenge you for your title. Ramirez was
undefeated. He was the number one contender. Uh, you know, easily
the best opponent in the weight class other than yourself and maybe the other champion
better BF. So you made both fights look pretty easy. I mean,
the scores were pretty wide. There was no dispute, there was no controversy
about either of those. So let me ask you, did it? Did
they? Did it go as? Did it look as? Uh? Was
it as easy for you inside the ring as it may have looked to us
outside the ring of watching? Of course too, it wasn't easy. It
wasn't easy, of course, But um, I just couldn't think to myself
that I'm good to broad. You know. It's like if you go to
the car wash, or if you just invite some guys who will repair your
tubes at home in over electricity. They do everything easy, you know,
and you see on this they they're doing easy. But if you try it,
it's hard. It takes it takes a long time to them to learn
it and to make it. And me it's like this, okay, sorry,
I learned, And of course it wasn't easy. I was all fight
and focus. I felt hurt. I felt hurt hits from our mirrors.
I got some punches on my body from a mirrors and for Cannella too.
But I tried to follow my plan and it was good because I want it.
Sure worked. So the fight with Ramirez was in November. We are
now here as we record this, it is mid April and the Fighter of
the Year award and all that, And I think a lot of people wonder
when are we going to see Dmitri Bibo back in the ring? Uh?
At least from what I understand, it doesn't seem like there's anything imminent,
nothing specific planned. What's going on with your two thousand and twenty three schedule?
Uh? You know, I thought I will get the fight in June
or May, but things change the lake, I will not get this some
fights in in this uh date, But I'm fine. I will wait another
fight, maybe maybe in September. Maybe. So are you disappointed that you
won't be back till the fall? I mean, I would think that coming
off those two big wins, you're you know, you're in your best days
right now. You're in your prime, uh, to make the biggest fights,
to to make the most money. Uh. You know you don't want
to layoff or too long. Are you disappointed that it's going to be a
little more laughing? Why? Why is the layoffs that way? I mean,
I know you'd like to fight, but it's I'm assuming your promoters are
the other business interests that are making this delay necessary. You know, I'm
not disappointed because I was a little bit busy with my family stuff with my
you know, I was I was training, I got training camps. I
need a little bit calm down, and I got some this. I heard
some discusses about about my fight. But and understand that there is not too
much fighters in my weight class right who I can't fight, you know,
because I want many fighters in my weight class. Now it's just who Cannella
again again, Cannela or or maybe Bitter Bief of course, oh and a
couple of English guys. So I want to ask you about that. So
I had an interview with Canello recently. He's preparing for his fight on May
sixth against John Ryder, and I asked him about his plans because there was
a lot of talk about him maybe fighting you again, which he's been saying
he wanted ever since your first fight. Talk about maybe him fighting David Benavitis,
who had just defeated Caleb Plant in their fight. So when I spoke
to him, he said without question that what he would like to do is
that come September, if everything is good for him in May, that he
wants to have a rematch with Dmitri Beevo. I assume that you're open to
that and you'd love to fight him again. Correct, of course, I'm
open for fighting to him again. And I told it before, let's let's
talk, let's talk about it, let's move for to fight. But we
didn't had some efforts since he decided to fight against the Golofkin. Then he
just decided to fight against against right. Yes, right, So they The
interesting thing to me about that, though, Dmitri is when I asked him
about the prospect of having a rematch with you, I asked him, I
said, well, if you have a rematch with Dmitri Bival, is it
the kind of fight where you would want to have him come down to super
middleweight, which you had mentioned might interest you because you could become the undisputed
champion in that weight class. Or would you go back to light heavyweight and
challenge Dmitri for his title once again? So he answered me, and he
was very clear. He said absolutely, I want to go back to one
seventy five, back to light heavyweight and challenge him for his title. What
are your thoughts about if you fight again, which weight division you'd want to
fight him in? Of course, I prefer to fight in his weight class.
Okay, I could put my belt too, you know, but but
I want to I want to fight for belts, for more belts, of
course, and it's not the more excuses boy for him if I win.
Yeah, I prefer to fight one six one sixth state, of course.
It's if you ask me without doubts, I doubt I will say one sixth
state. Well, you made the perfect point there. I mean, if
you in fact did do that, it could be for his belts as well
as for your belt. But so it sounds if you're not going to come
back into the ring until the fall September ish, let's say, is it
fair to say that that's sort of the target? That's your likely next fight?
Uh is would would be a rematch with Canelo if he beats Writer.
You know, it depends on him if he wants, if he wants.
H really this very much. We could talk, and we even didn't talk
about when how which way classes? We didn't talk. We are we are
open. Let's talk. He decided to fight or either, no problem,
we will fight against someone else. But now I don't have some fighters against
who I will fight. But I will be patient like I was before,
and I will fans again, you're your patient, patient in the ring and
patient out of the ring when it comes to your fighting situation. I should
be patient and all in all extreme situations. So you also mentioned better b
of now as all due respect to Canello who obviously that's a big fight for
you and for the sport, and uh, you know, kind of it's
a pretty big deal. But I think, honestly, if you asked boxing
fans, if you ask a lot of boxing media, which would you rather
see a rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Dmitri Beevil or a fight between Demetri Beevile
and Arthur better Ba for the undisputed light heavyweight championship. I'm pretty sure that
most people would say they'd prefer to see the better be a fight, and
I would. I understand that from a financial point of view that certainly a
Canelo fight is probably a bigger deal. Uh, but which one would you
prefer the most? And I know you want to fight both guys, but
which is the one that gets you more excited, more motivated that all the
belts are light anyweight or a rematch against a guy that you've defeated. Ah,
of course I wanna I wanna togetherest I wanna stay in my weight class
and fight for belts. If I don't have this function, I could go
down for another built, and it's better for me to stay in the in
this weight class and fight for three full builds. Now after better b Of
won his fight a couple of months ago against Anthony Yard, which is one
of his mandatories, which was a terrific fight. You know, he once
again he and it's not the first time he also, you know, professed
interest in having a fight with you for all the titles. Um. To
me, it always seems the biggest hurdle in boxing to make a big,
big fight is are the two athletes interested to make the match. And it
seems very clear to me your track record says you're not looking at get away
from anybody. You want to do that fight. Same thing with better BF.
Take a look at the guys he's faced so far in his career.
So can we can you make that fight next? I mean, if you're
not obligated to a rematch with Canelo Alvarez and that fight is there, can't
you and your team just sort of approach his team and say, hey,
let's try to make the match I always time tells my team, uh,
let's make this fight. Let's make this fight. They were disgusting discussing for
their team how I know. But finally they told me there's nothing interesting for
for all of us and for business. It's it's nothing for for this time.
Next fight we could we could talk because there are there are smith fights
soon and there is not good offer offer for for this fight. I said,
So you're saying, you're saying there's not a great offer for you to
fight Better BF. Yeah, there's discussions for June July. Then there's discussions
for June July. But the bottom line is it was just, you know,
what was being discussed was not serious enough to make the fight happen.
At that point, well, I let them. I'll let our listeners know,
because a new voice just popped in everybody. This is Vadim Cornelov,
who was the manager for Dmitri Bevo. And so I'll ask you of Vadim,
when you say discussions for June July, discussions for June July for a
fight between Dmitri and for Better BF, you're talking about exactly, yeah,
exactly. There were some there were some discussions about making the fight. About
a month ago. We were talking about trying to make the fight in June
July, whether it was going to be in the UAE or in the US.
But the numbers that were brought up, and you know what we were
trying to you know what we were trying to materialize, it was just not
materializing because there's still two sides to that fight. They're both pound for pound
fighters, you know, they're both top ten pound for pound fighters, and
they both want to make money, and they both want this fight to be
worth their while. Sure, and I'm talking for a better be it right
now not knowing I mean, this is not I'm just saying this subjectively,
but I believe that they feel the same way we feel. And what was
what was being talked about in June July was just not at the level of
the fight. So that's why it didn't materialize. And so now Dmitri just
lays off possibly tall Canello remapped in September. Now that's not specifically the case
yet. It's just you know, there's there's still those Mongias negotiations. But
when I mentioned Mungia to you, if you remember, what did you say
to me? I laughed exactly so um. You know, there's a lot
of people that are kind of like, Okay, it's a good fight.
Mungia is a name, you know, but at the end of the days,
that's not our choice. It's not like we said we want to fight
Mungia. That's just that's just another name on the Zone that we can try
to make the fight with. I'll just let me ask you this because I
know that the I know that boxing fans are interested in how these things work
and how it gets put together. If you said to a normal boxing fan
who follows this, who knows about Dmitri Beeble, who knows about Arthur better
Bee, who subscribes to the Zone, or watches ESPN fights or Showtime,
and you said, you know, there's the possibility that Demetri Beeble is going
to fight a rematch with Kennelo Alvarez, you know, after he beat him,
because Kennello would like a rematch. I think people would say, Okay,
that's that's interesting. Sure, I'm down for that. If you said
to those type of boxing fans, well, we're also talking about a summer
fight between Demetri Bieble and Arthur better Beer for the undisputed light heavyweight championship.
I think most of those fans would say, oh, bring it on,
I love it, I can't wait, let's make it happen. And then
if you gave them the third thing and said, well, you know,
there's also this possibility that Demetri Bieble might fight the former junior middleweight title holder,
who's never fought anybody of a remote note at middleweight and who has never
even fought as a super middleweight. We might fight Heimi Mungia next. I
think that they would laugh at you, guys, what do you think about
that? Exactly right? But no, but let's ask Dmitri right now,
what does he think about fighting Mungia. I mean he just told you.
He just said, listen, I'd rather deal with my life and go on
and fight in September because it does the fight excite him? I don't think
so, you know, what does he needs to stay active? You know
that you've got a lot of people in the press and saying, well,
why is Dmitri not active? I mean he's the best fighter, you know,
one of the best in the world, you know, one of the
pound for pound fighters. Why isn't he fighting? Well, here's your answer.
You know that's the answer like, Doesnitri really really want to fight Mungia
not really. Do the fans want to see Munghia evil? Maybe some do,
not everybody, you know, not all the press want to see that.
So it all kind of just comes down to business in a way,
right, And then to what Dmitri wants, what better be if wants And
then you got Knello saying, you know, he only lost by a couple
of rounds, he needs the rematch at one seventy five. It's like everybody
has their own plate in front of them and everybody wants to fill that plate.
But how do you know, how do we make it work? That's
the issue. So at the bottom line, to answer your question, to
answer your question of regarding the fans and for them to understand I mean the
Munghia think. I mean, Matrium's working really hard, Eddie Frank, everybody
right now is working really hard to try to make this work. I mean
we're in touch every day. We're meeting today actually in La to discuss this
further. And no, Golden Boy and Matrium are talking about people Mungia as
we speak. Is it a don't fight? No? I mean, is
it going to materialize? I don't know. Do we want to keep Dmitri
active? Of course, I mean Dmitri needs to stay active. He doesn't
need to sit out more than six months. It doesn't help him. But
at the same time, if it doesn't work out, we just go to
September. Whether it's a better Bea or Canelo. You know, I know
Dmitri wants better be I mean, there's no reasons for Mitri you really fight
Canelo at once. I've any fight for a rematch, because then you got
the judges issue. You know, you got Canello thinking that he won by
a couple of rounds, but it's really the judges making him think that it's
not. I don't think it's the truth. I don't think I don't think
he lost by a couple of rounds. You know, he lost more than
a couple of rounds. I think he most he lost most of those rounds.
So there's all these issues, but I think the bottom line is if
you don't get a fight right now, and if there's no better opponent than
Mungia that comes up, which you let me know if you know anybody,
we just go to September and we play a better BeO or Canello whoever's going
to be the right deal, whoever's going to be the right motivation for Dmitri,
and I think it's going to be better be it. It's going to
be the priority, you know, for September October, and then Canelo if
he wants to fight at one sixty eight, because for Dmitri, that's a
challenge. That's interesting. He has to make the weight and all the titles
are on the line. I think that's the bottom line thing. Let me
ask you this that team, are there any contractual obligations after the first Canelo
fight that that that he could say, you have to fight me in a
rematch or you just be negotiating the deal. No, that's all passed behind
us. Okay, That's what I wanted to clear he took too many other
fights. I mean, I mean, that's you can't have a rematch clause.
That's uh, you know, out right usually. I mean, I
know there's been plenty of times where there's a rematch clause that may allow an
interim fight, but as you mentioned, he's now taking a second interim fight.
So that's I just wanted to clarify that so everybody understands that there's you
know that the option now belongs to your team and the Dmitri where if you
choose to pursue a Canelo fight because he wants that, you can do so,
but you also can pursue a better b A fight. So yeah,
we're going to pursue the legacy. We're going to pursue what Dmitri wants,
and Dmitri wants to get more titles, go fun disputed, and that's the
bottom line, and wherever we can get that, that's where we're going to
go. So it sounds me though that that making a better b A fight
from a financial point of view might be more advantageous in the fall than it
would have been in the summer. Is that Am I on the right track
there? Just like making it in June July was a lot more advantageous than
it was last year. Yes, I do believe. I mean, and
again, we don't know, because we don't know what's going to be in
September or like we're gonna be talking about the fight. We don't know how
the Smith Better be A thing is going to work out. That's something they
have to also deal with, right, I mean, that's another issue.
But the bottom line, I do believe that right now, with every year
or every you know, quarter, the fight is only building up and more
and more people you want to see it. And even in June July there
were you know, there were some conversations. UAE was interested, and you
know they were there were already some good grounds for the fight. But I
think it's only cooking up and it's only getting better and better. Well,
let me turn back to Demitria real quick and I'll wrap it up. Dmitri.
You heard what Vadim had to say about uh, your situation, the
schedule. What do you think about that Mungia fight, which I know is
being discussed, as he said, between the two sides, or does that
interest you at all? I mean, I know you're motivated by bigger fights.
Do you view Monge as a big fight for you? Of course,
it's not a big fight for me. Of course I don't want to fight
to him, to be honest, because it's not my weight class. But
if I have a choice not fight at all and fight mung Uh and not
fight, not fight at all, I mean, yeah, yeah, of
course I would choose. I will choose to fight, and I will believe
that he's a very good fighter, and he's but the student weight plus and
well, I think most people would look at and say he just simply hasn't
done anything to warrant a light heavyweight championship fight. Your thoughts about that,
Um, you know, I think he he's just different weight class. And
he who fought he who he fought against, He fought against Rossada, I
know who who was better? Yeah, I mean it just it's been a
pretty lean resume, I guess, is the thing. Um, it struck
me much. Of course, he's a good fighter. He's a good fighter,
But I wanna people see my fights against light heavy weight or weight down
against super plus super middleweight maximal. You know, and I understand, So
tell me if I'm wrong here, and then I'll wrap it up. If
you had your magic wand and could say here's my schedule, you'd want to
fight Arthur better BF to become undisputed as your number one choice. And you'd
also would be perfectly open to a rematch against Canelo, but like to do
it in the hundred sixty eight weight class? Is that an accurate portrayal to
two Yeah, to two options, Bitter Bief and Canelle sixty eight, it's
it's it both both fight. It's very good. Of course with Canela it's
more money, but the more efforts I have to put to move move down
by weight class bitter if it's we took it easier with with the weight with
my weight, but it's a less for money and it's h it's hard fight.
I understand you know. It's some some points better, some points worth
and which which is faster I can Which fight I can get faster? I
would choose that fight. Well, they're both good fights obviously, personally speaking,
I would love to see the better BF fight. I wish you the
best of luck and getting something big going. And I want to thank you
very much of your time. Congratulations on your twenty and twenty two Fighter of
the Year award, Vadie. Thank you very much for your time, and
I wish you guys the best of look, thank you, thank you all
right. Fascinating what do you make you were sitting there talking about what do
you make of him even being willing to come to one hundred and sixty eight
pounds and fight Canello? Because I've got a thought on that you asked him
about it. He seems he seems serious that he'd be willing to do that.
What do you make of that? Well, a couple of things about
that, TJ. Even before he fought Canello, when they've had their match
last year, when he was trying to get the fight, he and Vadie
said for many many times to me, to others, to anybody that would
listen, that we want a big fight, and if it means coming down
to fight in that one sixty eight or wasn't even so much specifically about Canello
Albres. They wanted a big fight. So their point was, if we
can get a big fight, we will definitely come to one sixty eight and
drop the weight. You know, Dmitri is not a big light heavyweight.
He can make one sixty it I believe, and do so in a healthy
manner, so that was not an issue for him. So they were willing
to do that then and they are willing to do that now. And the
thing that is interesting in that, as you heard, if he does have
a rematch with Canello, he wants it to be for the one hundred and
sixty eight pound titles because for his poor purposes, I already beat Cannello,
I already have my title light heavyweight. So if I fight him again,
there's nothing new for me, I don't. I mean, I'm gonna make
money, yes, but he's gonna make money whoever he fights. So he
wants something that's going to motivate him, and what would motivate the meet your
people all based on what he has said to me and others, and certainly
in this interview, as did Vaden, the opportunity to go and fight Cannello
again would be a much bigger deal for him if he could do so four
Canello's titles, because then he would have given an opportunity to have his light
heavyweight title, but then to also potentially be become the undisputed champion in the
super middleweight division. Now, Canello is of the other opinion he wants to
fight him at one seventy five and go for the belts. There in my
mind, I'm thinking, okay, maybe they do the rematch at one hundred
and sixty eight pounds. Should Canello be the winner and pull the you know,
retain you know what do you call retained his titles and and avenge the
loss, and now that they're one and one, then if you have to
do a third fight eventually whenever, either next or down the road, then
you split it in the middle and you do it in the You can do
it for both titles, you know, at the one hundred and seven,
while he can't do it at the sixty eight. But you could meet in
the middle and do it for the light heavyweight title, but not at the
full weight. I mean, whatever the point is, Dmitri is motivated to
fight for titles in a different weight class, not so much just to fight
Canello again. He wants better Be, as they heard. But I think
it's hall of fame resume building stuff. If you can say, and you
know this, but if you can say I beat him at one sixty eight
for all of his belts, and then I turned around in my next fight
or within like a year, I beat better BF for all of the light
heavyweight belts, you have basically not a one thousand percent guarantee, but you
basically guaranteed the hall of fame resume. And he's already beaten Cannello, he's
already beaten. But if he steps back to one sixty eight and beats him,
and then turns around and beats better Be by moving back up, it
builds the resume. Oh yeah, no, no, doubt about that.
I mean, he's not there yet in the Hall of Fame, but right
you know he's got I mean, one of the things we spoke about that
folks start at the beginning interview, was a very important line item, if
you will, for any Hall of Fame resumes he is the reigning twenty twenty
two Fighter of the Year. It's only unfortunate that here we are, you
know, midway through April, with fights being already scheduled for May and June,
and he unfortunately does not have anything scheduled. You know, you heard
him talk about the issues there. Hopefully he'll be back in the ring in
the not through distant future because he's a perfect fighter, one of the best
fighters in boxing pound for pound, and there are big fights for him if
they could get made, being against Cannello and earing that tour against better BF.
And as we do move along, all right, we have a change
in the co feature fight. You're head of the Vegas. You're not involved
in the go feature fight. We can confirm that neither will you be on
a go cart being videotaped. David Morrel has a new opponent in the co
feature fight. Prior to Javante Davis and Ryan Garcia tell me more about the
new opponent and why real quick. Well later on Friday, early early Friday
evening actually, um sort of like after I was like six o'clock to nine,
I think, so clearly they were getting this out there as soon as
they had it. He was supposed to fight Senator Agdecco in the CO feature.
Not a particularly overwhelmingly like big time fight against a big name opponent by
any strategy imagination, but nonetheless, he was supposed to fight Agbecco, and
for reasons that we're not disclosed. I'm obviously it's most likely medical related,
but the Nevada State Athletic Commission declined to give Agbeco a license, and so
when that happened, they replaced them with a fighter named Yamaguchi Ko, who
is the brother of the top ranked FALCO Middleway contender on the defeated who's in
a mandatory position like Yamagucci is is the two thousand twelve Brazilian Olympic bronze medal
winner, a salt Bot twenty four one and one, A slick boxer.
I've seen him fight several times. I mean, being honest, somewhat sleep
inducing for most of the time, you know as Skeiga Falco his brother.
Not to say he's like Arto Gaddy or anything like that, but seems to
be a little bit more interested in actually fighting than you know, moving around.
But desperate times call for desperate measures, and he is you know,
he's a talented boxer and he did win the Olympic medal at ten years ago
eleven years ago. Anyway, he is now the replacement opponent that will challenge
Morrell for his secondary WBA one sixty eight title in that co feature. To
me, it's sort of like six to one half a dozen of the other
if you told me they you know, that Falco had dropped out and they
got senag Becco, would be sort of been having the same exact conversation except
changing the name. So that's just one point of note about Saturday's big card.
Again. Dan will be out there more with the Preview Mode podcast here,
and of course we'll have more on the side on Big Fight Weekend dot
Com as he heads to Vegas for Javonte Davis and Ryan Garcia and the pay
perview showdown coming up. There is another news item filling out speaking of Canelo
Alvarez, we were talking a little bit ago that Julio says Are Martinez will
be part of the Canelo Alvarez undercard from Mexico coming in a couple of weeks.
Tell us more about that, if you would, right, that's no
surprise. I mean, he is part of that Canello Promotions in any Reinoso
stable. And Julio sees a Martinez, like you said, he's a WBC
flyweight title holder. He will be making a sixth defense. He's fighting a
fighter from Panama named Ron al Batista, and that will be the co feature
on that May sixth pay per view, or at least pay per view in
the United States anyway, it's on Regular Zone and many other territories around the
world. And sez a Julio SE's a Martinez. Always makes a good fight.
He's exciting to watch. You know. He didn't do so well when
he went up to junior band away and he got spanked by chacol Tito Gonzalez.
But he has been uh fighting, showing well in the flyweight division and
the bottom line is he's got to get the job done here. And you
know, because he's co promoted by natchroom boxing, and as we have talked
about previously, matchroom boxing still as Jesse Bam Driguez, who just want to
fly white belt, even if he's gonna be out till the end of the
year because of the broken shaw. They also just recently signed in the last
couple of weeks Sonny Edwards, who's got the IBF title in the flyweight division.
It seems to me that Bam winning that title a couple weeks ago,
Julio Cesar Martinez defending the title on this card, and Sonny Edwards probably getting
back out into the ring sometime in the in the early summer, that that
these three guys are set up in the in the next fight or the next
couple of fights, to begin the process of unifying these titles and to make
some matches that the public would be interested in the flyweight division. Because nothing
against run out Batista, but that's just a guy like that we don't really
know much about. He just doesn't bring anything, as Zaz wise to the
table. I'm not saying he's not a good fighter, I just not that
familiar with him. But if you want to see the best of those weight
classes fight, you'd want to see Julio Seesar Martinez taken on Pam, were
taken on Sonny Edwards, or mix and match any of those guys. So
Julio Ceesar Martinez, hopefully he can go, you know, go in there.
If he wins the fight, makes makes it a good performance. If
if Batista pulls the upset, good for But the point is, if so
Julio sees are coming through this fight, hopefully we'll get a chance to watch
him get some bigger matches in that weight class. And the great thing about
the flyweight division is the best fighters in those divisions, in the flyweights,
in and around those weight classes, they can fight each other and it doesn't
cost an arm and a leg. They still make their biggest purses, which
is good for the boxers, but it doesn't cost so much that the networks
and the promoters, you know, don't want to do it. So if
I said, Julio sees our Martinez takes care of business. May six,
hopefully it leads to the unification of at least two of the belts in the
next fight later this year. All right, we'll see if that is the
case. A couple of nostalgia items and then we are done. It is
the twelve anniversary of Victor Ortiz winning a wild slug fest over Andre Berto in
the WBC Welterweight Showdown that was at fox Words in Connecticut twelve years ago Sunday.
Then on Monday, Sergio Martinez won another wild fight with Kelly Pablick to
win two of the middleweight titles as well as the lineal championship in Atlantic City.
I might understand you were at one or but you were at both of
these time. I book you read both of these, So give me a
little more on nostalgia on both the Ortiz and Martinez wins. Well, the
Burgo Ortis fight was a wildly exciting fight, and I think when when when
that fight was being made, these were the two young two of the younger
stars of that of that group of young welterweights. They were being featured on
HBO, and everybody expected it to be a very exciting, a very good
fight, and by the way, it turned out to be at least the
I mean, it was a great fight overall, but it was really like
the first say six or seven rounds that were the balls of the wall,
total action, you know, just incredibly entertaining and exciting types of fights.
Now, Burto had held that title for a little while, he had already
made five defenses. He hadn't really fought a lot of top guys, and
Ortiz was viewed as like a serious competitor for him, and they just put
on a great fight and you know, in the end it was it was
Victor Ortiz that gets to win by a twelve round decision in a very close
fight. Um there were knockdowns and it was just it was great. But
my lasting memory in Fox was where they had the fight was in at the
time was their newer sort of arena, but not they used to have the
fights. They would convert to Bingle Hall for the night into a boxing venue
and that covered a bunch of fights there and sometimes some of the other fights
that would have they did in the Fox Theater, which is a very small
place, which is where the four mentioned James Tony That's Silly Jura fight took
place on the stage of the theater, and that on the stage it was
sort of in front, it was sort of light in front of it.
That that room might have hold like two thousand people, But they constructed a
separate facility that was just a short walk like from the main building that was
like a real place that held quite a bit more people. I forget the
attendance, but the point was it was it was one of the early fights
that they had in that facility, and it was just a great fight.
But my lasting memory is that after they put on this, you know,
incredibly exciting fight of the air candidate, going back to my room, after
everything was all done in the hoopla and the press comment and and everything,
and finally going back and in the common area in the tower that we were
the writers and the and the fighters in the media were staying, and you
couldn't you couldn't just walk in there. You'd have like a special key card
you get into that area. So because I had a room there, I
had the key card. So you go in in the door closes, and
there was all these couches and everbody was sort of hanging out, and there's
Victor Ortiz dressed in street clothes like in a in a like a like a
I think a tie in a suit having you know, come from the press
comforts, and he's wearing the belt. And we discussed this when I went
to the airport that one time with Jared Hurd when he won the title,
you know, six o'clock in the morning in the in the shuttle from the
hotel to go to the airport in Birmingh, Alabama, and the guy's wearing
the belt in the van. And you know, we taught him on the
podcast and I asked Hi about it. I always found that to be,
you know, an endearing thing, and so it was very similar to see
these young fighter in Victor Ortiz, who obviously, you know, went on
to have a career that was somewhat star crossed. But at that moment in
time when he won that title, lot you remember he was he was exciting.
Everybody thought he was, you know, a very electrifying fighter. He
had a great personality. He wins this title, he knocks off Berto who
had been undefeated, and I walked back and there he is sitting with a
handful of his people and you know, not any wild parties, and they're
talking about the fight and he's sitting on the couch and he's wearing the belt
over his street clothes. It thought that was the greatest thing. I love
that shit. So I have a lasting memory of that. And then on
the other fight, Pablck and surgeon Martinez. Look, this was now the
welterweight fight we just talked that wasn't for like the title, but it was
a great matchup between young, exciting, you know, emerging stars Pablick and
Martinez. That was like the real the middleweight Championship of the world. Two
of the sancting body titles, the WBO and the WBC, but the lineal
title, it was like a big freaking deal. Sergio Martinez, you know,
was making his name and Kelly Pavlock had become the real champion by defeating
Jeremaine Taylor by a sensational, you know, on a knockout performance getting off
the deck and you know, becoming a you know, a pretty big star
at that time, beating him again in a rematch at a non title rematch
up at a you know, a catchweight over one sixty one sixty four.
But Sergio Martinez had earned this shot. And the mistake we talked about in
Joe Joyce fight, did the corner do a good job controlling the swelling of
his injury with the eye, and I think they did the best that they
could. The opposite is true in the case of Kellyie pad Like Sergio Martinez
cut him so badly over the eye. If they had had a decent cut
man, I believe that they would have been able to control the bleeding in
a serious professional manner. But because they cheaped out and they hired like a
family friend that was like a quasi doctor or whatever who didn't know what the
hell he was doing. I think he was using paper towels in the corner.
It costs him in the middle of Oh, I'm dead serious. I
believe that that cost him the championship. Now, Sergio fought a hell of
a fight that night and deserves the win. But if that was not such
a cut, you can't do anything about. But what you can do is
have the best guys in the corner. You're dealing with a multimillion dollar fighter
here. Yeah. So I remember the Great Lion from Larry Merchant. I
remember a lot of great lanching Larry Merchant. He would talk about, you
know, if you're gonna have secretariat, you don't get just any old jockey
off the street to ride his back. You get the best jockey in the
world. And if you got the middleweight champ of the world, don't get
go get some schlub that you don't know anything about because you're gonna pay him
twenty five grand for the night instead of paying like the seventy five thousand that
Miguel Diaz wanted. I believe it was the number something like that, Miguel
Diaz being one of the very best cut man in the entire sport for decades.
You know, they got a shlub to try to stop the cuts.
And if he got a real pro in there, and I could cite you
chapter and verse on an owner, I think they would have been able to
control the bleeding. And I'm not saying Pablic would have won, but he
sure would have had a lot better chances than what they left him with.
And as it was, it was a closed fight and that cost him the
fight. He was cut severely. You know, I believe it was the
left eyebrow, left over the left eye. And listen, I mean,
Pavili, you didn't score a knockdown on that fight. He didn't have him
hurt badly, Martinez, he had him on the deck and he still didn't
win, and I believe strongly was because of the cut. But again,
uh, that's what happens, and it was it was a glorious victory for
Surgeon Martinez. I believe Surgeon Martinez for that win and several other excellent victories
in his in his time, that champion belongs in the Hall of Fame.
He's still active, amazingly, he had been retired for a few years.
They actually put him on the ballot, and then when he came back,
he dropped off the ballot because now he's once again active and he didn't get
elected that year, so he's still doing his thing. But uh, that
was a time where you had the top middleweights fighting each other, Paul Williams,
Kelly Pablock, Jermaine Taylor, Surgeon Martinez. Uh, I mean there
were some great matchups in the in that group of guys, and uh,
you know, I'm thrilled that I was able to be president. That was
I'll never forget. Uh seeing the blood and seeing this dude, try to
stop that fucking cut with some napkins. Dude getting end swell, get some
grease with you. We're talking. Yeah, we're talking about your livel was
cut on the other Also, by the way, Paboc was cut on both
that's how bad it was. Gotta have a cut, man, gotta have
a cutman on that all right, with that great nostalgia and again that anniversary
of Sergio Martinez and Kelly pablic is Monday, as we release the podcast thirteen
years ago twenty ten, go back and relive that one and the Ortiz Burdo
fight was Sunday, Sunday the sixteenth of twenty eleven. So there you go.
On the nostalgia, We've learned a lot here on the recap. We
have learned that Rayphael packs in the same luggage he's been packing in for going
on twenty years. I'm impressed by that. We have learned that, z
Elijang. I'm gonna ask you a question. Yeah, why would you be
impressed by that when I've been wearing my fleece for almost as long? I
understand, But I'm just saying I have a couple of different bags because I
travel frequently as well while we go down this road again, and I've had
to replace a couple of them in the last few years because eventually they just
wear out with the zippers like you're talking about, are overpacking them. I
am impressed with the durability of whatever bag this is, whatever make that is,
It's done well it serves you well, and it's going to serve you
well as you head out to Vegas this week. So again Jan gets the
big win. Now we're onto Davis Garcia fight week. You're going to be
out there in Vegas. We're looking forward to that. We'll have a preview
pod coming up. We'll have coverage all over your substag Big Fight Weekend dot
Com, as well anything else enclosing before you head off to the desert.
I'm just looking forward to a big time fight week. You know, there
are there are big fights, and then there are really big fights. And
the thing that's I don't know what it's gonna be like because I'm not there
yet, but I suspect that this is gonna qualify as one of those really
big fights. And I and I well, I love the matchup, and
if you're a boxing fan, I don't see how you're not intrigued and interested
in seeing Ryan Garcia and Javanti Davis fight each other. But I'm struggling to
understand why it's such a big fight. And I say that not in any
way negative about the match or about the fighters or anything like that, but
a couple of reasons. Not a world title fight, not that that's the
end all be all, but it just shows you that they are not considered
the best in their weight class. It's at an unusual catchwait, one hundred
and thirty six pounds, so it's basically a lightweight fight, but like a
smidgeover, so it's not like a true junior wealthweight fight. Durvante has been
on pay per view several times at this point, about five times, but
hasn't done like big, big numbers, done very good numbers relative to whatever
other folks are doing. I mean, once you get past at least in
the United States, you get past like a Kennelo Alvarez, maybe in Errol
Spence, like he's in that like two hundred ish type number on pay per
view. Ryan Garcia not only is never headline a pay per view, but
most of his most all of his recent fights have been on the Zone.
And while de Zone, obviously if you're a die hard boxing fan you're probably
watching it, doesn't permutate to the mainstream at this point. Right now,
he does have his nine million Instagram followers, and Durvante he does have his
you know whatever, four or five million Instagram followers, but typically when you
have a big, mega pay per view. It's between fighters who have have
a track record of fights either on pay per view or at least on an
outlet where it's seen by the masses like an HBO or a showtime or whatever.
And for whatever reason, this is a case where that's not the case.
Davis his paper view numbers are good but not spectacular, and Ryan hasn't
been kind of hidden away on the zone. But yet they come together in
a fight where if you just look at the ticket availability and the buzz and
the attention and the excitement, it's like a big, big fight. I'm
happy that's the case, but I don't quite understand it all right, you'll
investigate more to that later in a week. I think one just one final
quick argument and point to that is it's the biggest fight we know this that
either one of them have had. They're both young, and here we go
back to what I was saying at the beginning of the podcast. They're both
willing to take the risk. They're taking the risk by fighting each other young
in their careers without having one a bunch of titles and made tens of millions
of dollars. Because neither one of them have made tens of millions. I
have to say the one thing about that, I don't consider that to be
a quote unquote risk, because when you get to the level and you're making
that kind of money, what else are you going to do? It's not
a risk. You better to fight the big fight for the big money and
take the quote unquote risk than to keep fighting the secondary type opponent and make
much less money. When the risk, it's definitely a risk on your unbeaten
record. We agree on that this is this is the first loss for one
of them, borrying Shenanigans with the decision. But I've also you know,
I've never been one, whether it was currently as a journalist, when I
was first starting out as a boxing reporter, when I was just a guy
watching fights on television, and you know, as a fan, like I
never understood like why a guy had to be undefeated. I mean, as
long as he put up an effort and competed, if he lost, someone's
gonna win. Someone's gonna lose, unless it's a draw, which the lore
of nobody could ever beat me as something. But you're right, I Lead
lost, Sugarwaye Leonard lost, Mike Tyson avenge. It didn't become a thing
until May. Whether it made it. Like I have to keep my perfect
record, I'm not not con floyed. He was a brilliant fighter. I
disagree with you, and see I was. I was more into it,
I think than you were. In the early to mid nineties. It was
a big thing. When Larry Holmes was about the tie Rocky Marciano. It
was a really big thing. At Holmes was still right there on the verge.
So you're right, but that was not that was as he approached it
a couple of fights before that. It wasn't his entire career. Yea.
He was twenty zero and third, you know, and when he got to
like, you know what, forty seven and become a thing until then.
But with some of these younger fighters, it's from it's that mentality from day
one. And there's lots of tremendous fighters out there that have losses. I
mean, let me ask you this, and I know we're getting off the
beat and travel a little bit here. Canello Alvarez I think we can all
acknowledge is the biggest, if not you know, one of the biggest,
I not the biggest star in boxing. He has a loss against Lloyd Mayweather
when he was twenty two years old. Has that in any way hurt his
career, his popularity, his earning power, his Hall of Fame qualifications,
anything like that quick right, of course not. And that's that's an extreme
example. But there's plenty of guys like that. I mean, like you
said, Manny Pachy, when go on and on down the list that lost
multiple times, I agree exactly. I mean, we've talked about this also
when we were discussing Ropeacy Ramier is acquiring the w BO featherweight title, who
had lost his professional day, and we discussed fighters like Bernard Hopkins and the
great Henry Armstrong and Benny Leonard and Rafael and one Daniel Mark has all four
Hall of Fame greats, all one titles, and you know, and we're
in big time fights. They all lost their professional debuts. It doesn't matter.
They're Hall of Fame greats. So the whole I gotta keep my undefeated
record is bullshit. If Canelo Alvarez can lose to Meyweather and you mentioned that
other greats, you know, whoever loses the fight next Saturday between Davis and
Garcia, to me, you know. I mean you gotta see how the
fight unfolds, obviously, but in no way, shape or form would I
say that the loser of that fight, oh they were a fraud or they
should never fight it again. Tied. I mean it's someone's gonna win,
someone's gonna lose, you know what, because they have rematch clauses. We'll
probably see a second fight, probably will, and you will be out there
among them, brother Rayphael, have a good week. Go get that suitcase
packed at some point Tuesday, Tuesday night, Wednesday morning. Get out to
the desert safely. We've been talking to you later in the week on the
Big Fight Weekly in preview on this year podcast feed. Thank you sir,
you beat TJ. Thank you sir. There is Dan Raphael. I am
merely TJ Reeves again. Follow, Subscribe Apple podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify.
You get the Fight Freaks Unite recap coming off the weekend, usually out
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Weekend preview comes overnight Thursday into Friday. We will have Ryan garcia Q and
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For now, we are good on the fight freaks. You unite reekcap five