Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Watch it: Anthony Joshua’s devastating one-punch knockout of Robert Helenius on Saturday in London.
Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua knocked out Robert Helenius with a single right hand in Round 7 of a scheduled 12-round bout Saturday at O2 Arena in London.
Check out the fight-ending shot below.
The ringside angle of THAT @anthonyjoshua finish and the celebration 👀#JoshuaHelenius pic.twitter.com/7qasKMjJmt
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 12, 2023
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Watch it: Anthony Joshua’s devastating one-punch knockout of Robert Helenius on Saturday in London.
Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua knocked out Robert Helenius with a single right hand in Round 7 of a scheduled 12-round bout Saturday at O2 Arena in London.
Check out the fight-ending shot below.
The ringside angle of THAT @anthonyjoshua finish and the celebration 👀#JoshuaHelenius pic.twitter.com/7qasKMjJmt
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 12, 2023
[lawrence-related id=38484]
Isaac Cruz survived a pesky Giovanni Cabrera and shaky scorecards to win a split decision Saturday in Las Vegas.
Isaac Cruz almost fell victim to a bad decision.
The 135-pound contender, who pushed Gervonta Davis to his limits a few years ago, seemed to control his fight against Giovanni Cabrera but had to settle for a split-decision victory on the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. card Saturday in Las Vegas.
Two judges had Cruz winning, 115-112 and 114-113. The third scored it for Cabrera, 114-113. Boxing Junkie scored it 116-111 for Cruz, nine rounds to three.
The slick Cabrera (21-1, 7 KOs) had some success keeping his strong, swarming opponent off of him in the first few rounds by sticking, moving and sometimes holding.
However, Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs) was able to close the distance by the third round and commence landing dozens of hard, eye-catching shots to both the body and head and taking little in return from the light-punching Cabrera.
Cabrera continued to pepper his shorter opponent with his jab and landed power shots here and there, enough evidently to win some rounds. He also proved to be resilient by taking everything a strong puncher threw at him.
However, Cruz won the fight because he landed many more power shots than Cabrera did.
Cruz lost a point in Round 8 for intentionally butting Cabrera. The result would’ve been a majority decision had he not been penalized.
He was baffled by the scoring.
“I don’t feel like he connected with any punches, but they are the judges, and they made the decision,” he said. “… I was superior tonight, but I do respect all of my opponents, and he was very good today.”
The 25-year-old Mexican is now 3-0 since he lost a close, but unanimous decision to Davis in December 2021, although Davis injured his hand early in the fight.
Cruz reiterated after his victory on Saturday that he wants a rematch with Davis.
[lawrence-related id=38280]
Isaac Cruz survived a pesky Giovanni Cabrera and shaky scorecards to win a split decision Saturday in Las Vegas.
Isaac Cruz almost fell victim to a bad decision.
The 135-pound contender, who pushed Gervonta Davis to his limits a few years ago, seemed to control his fight against Giovanni Cabrera but had to settle for a split-decision victory on the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. card Saturday in Las Vegas.
Two judges had Cruz winning, 115-112 and 114-113. The third scored it for Cabrera, 114-113. Boxing Junkie scored it 116-111 for Cruz, nine rounds to three.
The slick Cabrera (21-1, 7 KOs) had some success keeping his strong, swarming opponent off of him in the first few rounds by sticking, moving and sometimes holding.
However, Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs) was able to close the distance by the third round and commence landing dozens of hard, eye-catching shots to both the body and head and taking little in return from the light-punching Cabrera.
Cabrera continued to pepper his shorter opponent with his jab and landed power shots here and there, enough evidently to win some rounds. He also proved to be resilient by taking everything a strong puncher threw at him.
However, Cruz won the fight because he landed many more power shots than Cabrera did.
Cruz lost a point in Round 8 for intentionally butting Cabrera. The result would’ve been a majority decision had he not been penalized.
He was baffled by the scoring.
“I don’t feel like he connected with any punches, but they are the judges, and they made the decision,” he said. “… I was superior tonight, but I do respect all of my opponents, and he was very good today.”
The 25-year-old Mexican is now 3-0 since he lost a close, but unanimous decision to Davis in December 2021, although Davis injured his hand early in the fight.
Cruz reiterated after his victory on Saturday that he wants a rematch with Davis.
[lawrence-related id=38280]
Emmanuel Tagoe defeated Mason Menard by a majority decision on Friday in Hollywood, Fla.
Last week Javier Fortuna underscored his position as legitimate 135-pound contender by stopping Antonio Lozada. On Friday it was Emmanuel Tagoe’s turn.
The Ghanaian, ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, outboxed Mason Menard to win a majority decision in a 10-round bout on the Danny Jacobs-Gabriel Rosado card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) was hoping to make a strong impression in only his second fight in the U.S. and second outside Ghana. He succeeded.
The 31-year-old from the capital city of Accra used his long reach and awkward style to pick apart Menard (36-5, 25 KOs) from the outside for much of the fight.
Menard, who fought with a swollen left eye by the middle rounds, had his most success when he was able to bull inside and let his hands go. However, the quicker, slicker Tagoe generally beat him to the punch and landed cleaner shots.
In Round 8, which the broadcast team said went four minutes, Tagoe hurt Menard but was unable to finish the job.
The scoring wasn’t consistent. One judge had it a 95-95 draw. Another had 98-92 for Tagoe, eight rounds to two. The third also had it for the African, 96-94, accounting for the majority decision.
Tagoe was unable to stop Menard — as Ray Beltran, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez did — but he probably made the case that he’s a legitimate opponent for the best lightweights.
Emmanuel Tagoe defeated Mason Menard by a majority decision on Friday in Hollywood, Fla.
Last week Javier Fortuna underscored his position as legitimate 135-pound contender by stopping Antonio Lozada. On Friday it was Emmanuel Tagoe’s turn.
The Ghanaian, ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, outboxed Mason Menard to win a majority decision in a 10-round bout on the Danny Jacobs-Gabriel Rosado card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) was hoping to make a strong impression in only his second fight in the U.S. and second outside Ghana. He succeeded.
The 31-year-old from the capital city of Accra used his long reach and awkward style to pick apart Menard (36-5, 25 KOs) from the outside for much of the fight.
Menard, who fought with a swollen left eye by the middle rounds, had his most success when he was able to bull inside and let his hands go. However, the quicker, slicker Tagoe generally beat him to the punch and landed cleaner shots.
In Round 8, which the broadcast team said went four minutes, Tagoe hurt Menard but was unable to finish the job.
The scoring wasn’t consistent. One judge had it a 95-95 draw. Another had 98-92 for Tagoe, eight rounds to two. The third also had it for the African, 96-94, accounting for the majority decision.
Tagoe was unable to stop Menard — as Ray Beltran, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez did — but he probably made the case that he’s a legitimate opponent for the best lightweights.
We all should feel for boxing mothers, whose sons and daughters risk their well being to follow their dreams. Ask any of the moms: It’s difficult. And we should have an abundance of sympathy for one mother in particular in Liverpool, England: She …
We all should feel for boxing mothers, whose sons and daughters risk their well being to follow their dreams. Ask any of the moms: It’s difficult.
And we should have an abundance of sympathy for one mother in particular in Liverpool, England: She has FOUR … yes, four … sons who box professionally.
Of course, we’re talking about the Smith brothers, Callum, Liam, Stephen and Paul, all of whom have enjoyed success. They have an impressive combined record of 122-13-1.
In this episode of Boxing with Chris Mannix, the DAZN commentator interviews the youngest and best of the lot — Callum Smith — about what it’s like being part of a boxing family and how mom copes.
Here’s what he had to say.
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Henry Cejudo wants to fight undefeated lightweight Ryan Garcia and says Saudi Arabia is interested in hosting the event.
Editors’s note: This article originally appeared on mmajunkie.usatoday.com.
***
Former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo apparently doesn’t plan on staying retired from all active competition.
Cejudo, the former flyweight and bantamweight champion, announced his retirement from MMA last month following his second-round stoppage win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. Cejudo relinquished the 135-pound title and has been removed from the UFC rankings, but the Olympic wrestling gold medalist is now looking to conquer another sport.
“Triple C” wants undefeated lightweight Ryan Garcia and says Saudi Arabia, which held the heavyweight championship rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua, is interested in hosting the event.
“I think I’ve done everything in MMA, Olympic champ, flyweight champ, bantamweight champ, I’ve defended both of my titles,” Cejudo told TMZ. “I think the only one I want to do it is to make Ryan Garcia bend the knee.
“I really don’t think he’s that good. I really don’t. I think with a proper team, the right game plan, I believe I could make him bend the knee in front of Oscar De La Hoya. I feel like I have the tools, the power, the strength, the experience, and we wanna make this happen, potentially in Saudi Arabia so we got the money guy. We got the money guy that’s willing to pay both of us. It’s just up to ‘Randy Candy’ Garcia to sign that contract.”
The 21-year-old Garcia (20-0, 17 KOS) has scored knockouts in his past four fights, including back-to-back first-round KOs in his two most recent bouts.
Cejudo, 33, recently made an appearance at All Elite Wrestling’s “Dynamite” show, alongside boxing legend Mike Tyson and former UFC champs Vitor Belfort and Rashad Evans, as he continues to dabble in other forms of sports and entertainment.
In this installment of DAZN’s “Saturday Fight Live,” Hopkins and De La Hoya watch their 2004 fight on video and provide commentary.
Bernard Hopkins was 39 but he was well preserved and also naturally much bigger and stronger than Oscar De La Hoya when they met on Sept. 18, 20014.
Thus, De La Hoya, 31, gambled when he took the fight. And he lost the gamble.
The fight was largely tactical through eight-plus rounds, although Hopkins led on two of the three cards and seemed to be picking up momentum. Then, midway through Round 9, Hopkins landed a left hook to De La Hoya’s liver and he went down.
That was that. The “Golden Boy,” in obvious pain, couldn’t get to his feet and Hopkins was the winner.
“He hit me right on the button. Believe me, I tried to get up,” De La Hoya said.
In this installment of DAZN’s “Saturday Fight Live,” Hopkins and De La Hoya, now partners with Golden Boy Promotions, watch the fight on video and provide their commentary.
Here’s what they had to say.
[jwplayer OCnm03Nq]
This video, “DAZN’s Top 10 post-fight moments,” captures some of the most-memorable moments after some of the biggest recent fights.
Some of the best moments in boxing occur immediately after the final bell.
The end of battle is typically emotional, as the intensity of exchanging ill-intended punches gives way to camaraderie between the combatants and the result of the fight sinks in.
A victory — particularly if it’s in a major title fight — elicits a joyful reaction, perhaps a wild celebration, teary-eyed introspection or something in between. A loss, of course, has the opposite effect, disappointment, frustration, sadness.
This video, “DAZN’s Top 10 post-fight moments,” captures some of the most-memorable moments after some of the biggest recent fights.
Enjoy the ride.
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