Tag: Elwin Soto

Sandor Martin stuns boxing world by outpointing Mikey Garcia

Sandor Martin stunned the boxing world by outpointing Mikey Garcia on Saturday in Fresno.

Say hello to Sandor Martin. He might be around for a while.

The obscure Spaniard turned in the performance of his life Saturday in Fresno, Calif., outboxing and ultimately defeated former four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia by a majority decision in a 10-round welterweight fight.

And it wasn’t controversial. Martin won by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 95-95, the last of which is disputable. Boxing Junkie also has Martin winning 97-93, seven rounds to three.

Martin’s victory is one of the biggest upsets in recent years. And it was historic from the underdog’s perspective.

“I know myself, my capabilities. I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old,” Martin said through a translator. “I said I would go and out do this, go out and beat the best fighters in the world. And that’s what I’ve done.

“… I’m very happy for what I’ve done. I’ve done something nobody has ever done from my country, to defeat someone who was a four-division world champion like Mikey Garcia.”

Garcia (40-2, 30 KOs) hadn’t fought since he outpointed Jessie Vargas in February of last year, almost 20 months ago.

Still, one of most accomplished boxers in the world wasn’t expected to have a hard time against a relative unknown who had never faced anyone near Garcia’s ability and was fighting outside Europe for the first time.

Surprise, surprise.

Garcia stalked Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) from the beginning but was never able to land punches consistently, as his slick, athletic opponent spun out of dangerous situations or clinched when Garcia got too close. At the same time, Martin countered beautifully or caught Garcia coming in before slithering away.

The American had his moments, including a handful of flurries with Martin’s back against the ropes. However, it wasn’t enough to sway two of the three judges.

Garcia thought he, as the aggressor, did enough to earn the victory.

“I was looking for the fight,” he said. “He was running around a lot. He was able to counter a few times but I was the one actively looking for the fight. I thought I was ahead on the cards.

“It is what it is. That’s why they have judges. They decided he was the one winning the fight.”

The stunning victory was a gigantic step in the career of the 28-year-old from Barcelona, who presumably will get more important opportunities. Could the first be a rematch with Garcia?

Martin said he’s willing to give Garcia a second chance but expects to conduct business at a more natural 140 pounds, not 147, going forward. He and Garcia fought at a catch weight of 145 pounds.

“He gave me this opportunity,” Martin said. “Perhaps I can give him an opportunity. What I really want to do is go back down to 140 and fight the best fighters, fight for titles.”

Meanwhile, Garcia’s plans were blown up in central California. He had hoped to face Regis Prograis and then possibly challenge undisputed 140-pound champ Josh Taylor. Now, after Saturday night, he’ll have to take a step back.

He likes the idea of a second fight with Martin.

“I can definitely consider a rematch,” he said. “I think two more rounds would be beneficial. I thought I was coming on better in the later rounds. But no excuses. That’s the way it is.”

Also on the card, Jonathan Gonzalez (25-3-1, 14 KOs) defeated Elwin Soto (19-2, 13 KOs) by a split decision to take Soto’s WBO 108-pound title.

Sandor Martin stuns boxing world by outpointing Mikey Garcia

Sandor Martin stunned the boxing world by outpointing Mikey Garcia on Saturday in Fresno.

Say hello to Sandor Martin. He might be around for a while.

The obscure Spaniard turned in the performance of his life Saturday in Fresno, Calif., outboxing and ultimately defeated former four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia by a majority decision in a 10-round welterweight fight.

And it wasn’t controversial. Martin won by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 95-95, the last of which is disputable. Boxing Junkie also has Martin winning 97-93, seven rounds to three.

Martin’s victory is one of the biggest upsets in recent years. And it was historic from the underdog’s perspective.

“I know myself, my capabilities. I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old,” Martin said through a translator. “I said I would go and out do this, go out and beat the best fighters in the world. And that’s what I’ve done.

“… I’m very happy for what I’ve done. I’ve done something nobody has ever done from my country, to defeat someone who was a four-division world champion like Mikey Garcia.”

Garcia (40-2, 30 KOs) hadn’t fought since he outpointed Jessie Vargas in February of last year, almost 20 months ago.

Still, one of most accomplished boxers in the world wasn’t expected to have a hard time against a relative unknown who had never faced anyone near Garcia’s ability and was fighting outside Europe for the first time.

Surprise, surprise.

Garcia stalked Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) from the beginning but was never able to land punches consistently, as his slick, athletic opponent spun out of dangerous situations or clinched when Garcia got too close. At the same time, Martin countered beautifully or caught Garcia coming in before slithering away.

The American had his moments, including a handful of flurries with Martin’s back against the ropes. However, it wasn’t enough to sway two of the three judges.

Garcia thought he, as the aggressor, did enough to earn the victory.

“I was looking for the fight,” he said. “He was running around a lot. He was able to counter a few times but I was the one actively looking for the fight. I thought I was ahead on the cards.

“It is what it is. That’s why they have judges. They decided he was the one winning the fight.”

The stunning victory was a gigantic step in the career of the 28-year-old from Barcelona, who presumably will get more important opportunities. Could the first be a rematch with Garcia?

Martin said he’s willing to give Garcia a second chance but expects to conduct business at a more natural 140 pounds, not 147, going forward. He and Garcia fought at a catch weight of 145 pounds.

“He gave me this opportunity,” Martin said. “Perhaps I can give him an opportunity. What I really want to do is go back down to 140 and fight the best fighters, fight for titles.”

Meanwhile, Garcia’s plans were blown up in central California. He had hoped to face Regis Prograis and then possibly challenge undisputed 140-pound champ Josh Taylor. Now, after Saturday night, he’ll have to take a step back.

He likes the idea of a second fight with Martin.

“I can definitely consider a rematch,” he said. “I think two more rounds would be beneficial. I thought I was coming on better in the later rounds. But no excuses. That’s the way it is.”

Also on the card, Jonathan Gonzalez (25-3-1, 14 KOs) defeated Elwin Soto (19-2, 13 KOs) by a split decision to take Soto’s WBO 108-pound title.

Good, bad, worse: Canelo Alvarez gets the job done once again

Good, bad, worse: Canelo Alvarez got the job done once again against Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsvPp0RahHA

We can be critical of Canelo Alvarez’s performance against Billy Joe Saunders before 73,126 Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Mexican star had his hand raised, as almost everyone expected, but Saunders’ pre-fight bravado wasn’t all talk. There was some substance to it. He trailed on the cards – 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75 – at the time the fight was stopped but he was competitive, which was surprising to many.

Alvarez actually seemed frustrated as late as the seventh round, when the British southpaw was at his most effective. The result was still up in the air at that point.

This was the great Canelo Alvarez? Struggling with a fighter who is capable but can’t punch with much authority?

I believe it’s legitimate to point out all of the above. This must be said too, though: Alvarez broke Saunders’ face with a single punch – a right uppercut to the right eye — and stopped him after eight rounds, the latter of which he predicted.

Alvarez said multiple times beforehand that he would have problems against Saunders in the early rounds but by the middle of the fight he would begin to take control.

That what’s he did. He brutally knocked out an experienced, world-class opponent to unify three of the four major super middleweight titles, which should lead to a showdown with Caleb Plant for the fourth belt around Mexican Independence Day in September.

“I said the fight was going to develop in the seventh, eighth round and that’s what happened,” Alvarez said through a translator. “It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. That’s because my preparation was good. And I improve every day.

“… I started getting adjusted real quick. I knew this was going to be the final outcome.”

All in all, he had a good night.

[lawrence-related id=20163,20159,20110]

***

BAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAFGSP1mvFw

You have to feel for Saunders.

The British champion gave Alvarez a tougher fight than almost anyone expected only to have his dream dashed as a result of an unfortunate eye-socket injury, which made it next-to-impossible to continue.

The judges had Alvarez ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage but Saunders was in the fight and seemed to be building momentum before the injury. He had a chance to win. Then it was over. He couldn’t continue fighting, he suffered the first loss of his career and his 168-pound title was gone.

It’s no wonder he looked devasted after the fight.

Saunders has reason to be proud, though. He was competitive against the fighter many believe is No. 1 pound-for-pound in the world, which few others have been able to do.

Floyd Mayweather is the only one to have beaten Alvarez while Gennadiy Golovkin (SD draw and MD), Erislandy Lara (SD), Daniel Jacobs (UD) and even Sergey Kovalev (KO 11) fought him on roughly even terms before coming up short in the end.

Saunders arguably joins that latter group. At the very least, he was far more competitive than the previous six British fighters who faced Alvarez. All of them were blown out in one way or another.

And, at 31, Saunders is still young. He might never again have the opportunity to face a pound-for-pounder in front of 70,000-plus screaming fans, as he did on Saturday, but he’s far from finished. He’ll be in more big fights in the near future, assuming that’s what he wants.

Saunders obviously is in pain right now, both physically and emotionally. The wounds will heal, though. And he’ll be a more-respected fighter as a result of his performance on Saturday night.

***

WORSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bWRuu3UNZ0

Katsunari Takayama gave an inspirational performance on the Alvarez-Saunders card. Veteran referee Laurence Cole, who worked Takayama’s fight against 108-pound titleholder Elwin Soto, was not at his best.

Takayama (32-9, 12 KOs) was a great story coming into the fight. The 37-year-old former three-time strawweight champ from Japan was fighting for the second time after a four-year hiatus from the sport and took the fight on short notice, which would’ve made a title-winning victory remarkable.

And he gave himself a chance to pull it off, fighting with unusual energy and spirit against a much stronger opponent. Soto (19-1, 13 KOs) landed many clean, hard punches but Takayama took them and was the much busier of the two. He clearly was in the fight until the moment it was stopped.

In the ninth and final round, with Soto winning on the cards, the champion continued to land damaging blows but Takayama continued to fight back. Still, out of nowhere, Cole jumped in and stopped the fight at 2:44 of the round, raising the ire of many in the process.

I don’t want to be overly critical of a referee who was looking out for the best interest of a fighter but, frankly, Cole blew it. Takayama hadn’t been down and was firing back at Soto when Cole stepped in.

Plus, Takayama was a proud former champion in possibly his final title fight. He deserved more of a chance than Cole gave him to work his way out of trouble, if that’s what that was.

Immediately after the fight was stopped, Takayama, who accepted his fate graciously, shadow boxed in the ring with great vitality as if to demonstrate that he had plenty left in the tank. I wondered whether Cole, who watched Takayama, was thinking at that moment: “Man, he’s making me look bad right now.”

Indeed, he was. Cole should’ve allowed the fight to continue.

[lawrence-related id=20099]

***

RABBIT PUNCHES

Saunders could’ve continued fighting. Countless others have fought through significant injuries, including those to the eye area. But we should use common sense here. Mark Tibbs, Saunders’ trainer, said his fighter’s face was “caved in” and that he couldn’t see. Would it really have been wise to continue exchanging punches with a beast like Alvarez? Saunders’ courage would’ve been applauded but he would’ve risked long term damage or possibly even his life – as Alvarez said – had he come out for the ninth round. That would be asking to much. … I had Alvarez leading Saunders 78-74 – six rounds to two – at the time of the stoppage. Some experts I respect had Saunders ahead, which has me scratching my head. Saunders was busier than Alvarez but half the punches he landed were jabs and his power punches had little effect, although he did better in that regard in the last few rounds. Alvarez obviously landed the cleaner, harder shots. I thought Alvarez clearly won Rounds 2, 3 and 8, which means Saunders would have to had to win the remaining rounds to lead on the cards. That doesn’t add up to me. … Alvarez was unusually animated when middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade showed up at the post-fight news conference to call him out, telling Andrade in English more than once to “get the f— out of here.” I appreciated Alvarez passion but I was disappointed at his repeated use of expletives. I thought he was classier than that.

I’m completely baffled by the scoring of the Souleymane Cissokho–Kieron Conway fight on the Alvarez-Saunders card. I thought the Cissokho (13-0, 8 KOs) thoroughly outboxed Conway (16-2-1, 3 KOs), with a ninth-round knockdown his only significant slip-up. Conway was the aggressor but he landed few punches. That’s why I scored it 98-91 (nine rounds to one) for the Frenchman. The judges? They gave Cissokho a split-decision victory, 96-93, 95-94 and 92-97. I guess Conway could’ve been given one or two more rounds because he pushed the action but 97-92? Judge Don Griffin’s score was outrageous. … Speaking of outrageous, Nagy Aguilera’s actions in his fight against heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) on the Alvarez-Saunders card were suspect. Sanchez, who was in control of the fight, threw a right hand that slid off of Aguilera’s left shoulder and grazed his head. After a few moments he suddenly grabbed his head, fell to the canvas, got up, fell again and then got to his feet once more in a circus-like series of events. He began to complain that the former Cuban amateur star had been punching him behind the head throughout the fight. It seemed to me that Aguilera (21-11, 14 KOs) was looking for a way out of the fight and found it. Sanchez won a shutout technical decision.

[lawrence-related id=20099,20102,20096]

Good, bad, worse: Canelo Alvarez gets the job done once again

Good, bad, worse: Canelo Alvarez got the job done once again against Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsvPp0RahHA

We can be critical of Canelo Alvarez’s performance against Billy Joe Saunders before 73,126 Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Mexican star had his hand raised, as almost everyone expected, but Saunders’ pre-fight bravado wasn’t all talk. There was some substance to it. He trailed on the cards – 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75 – at the time the fight was stopped but he was competitive, which was surprising to many.

Alvarez actually seemed frustrated as late as the seventh round, when the British southpaw was at his most effective. The result was still up in the air at that point.

This was the great Canelo Alvarez? Struggling with a fighter who is capable but can’t punch with much authority?

I believe it’s legitimate to point out all of the above. This must be said too, though: Alvarez broke Saunders’ face with a single punch – a right uppercut to the right eye — and stopped him after eight rounds, the latter of which he predicted.

Alvarez said multiple times beforehand that he would have problems against Saunders in the early rounds but by the middle of the fight he would begin to take control.

That what’s he did. He brutally knocked out an experienced, world-class opponent to unify three of the four major super middleweight titles, which should lead to a showdown with Caleb Plant for the fourth belt around Mexican Independence Day in September.

“I said the fight was going to develop in the seventh, eighth round and that’s what happened,” Alvarez said through a translator. “It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. That’s because my preparation was good. And I improve every day.

“… I started getting adjusted real quick. I knew this was going to be the final outcome.”

All in all, he had a good night.

[lawrence-related id=20163,20159,20110]

***

BAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAFGSP1mvFw

You have to feel for Saunders.

The British champion gave Alvarez a tougher fight than almost anyone expected only to have his dream dashed as a result of an unfortunate eye-socket injury, which made it next-to-impossible to continue.

The judges had Alvarez ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage but Saunders was in the fight and seemed to be building momentum before the injury. He had a chance to win. Then it was over. He couldn’t continue fighting, he suffered the first loss of his career and his 168-pound title was gone.

It’s no wonder he looked devasted after the fight.

Saunders has reason to be proud, though. He was competitive against the fighter many believe is No. 1 pound-for-pound in the world, which few others have been able to do.

Floyd Mayweather is the only one to have beaten Alvarez while Gennadiy Golovkin (SD draw and MD), Erislandy Lara (SD), Daniel Jacobs (UD) and even Sergey Kovalev (KO 11) fought him on roughly even terms before coming up short in the end.

Saunders arguably joins that latter group. At the very least, he was far more competitive than the previous six British fighters who faced Alvarez. All of them were blown out in one way or another.

And, at 31, Saunders is still young. He might never again have the opportunity to face a pound-for-pounder in front of 70,000-plus screaming fans, as he did on Saturday, but he’s far from finished. He’ll be in more big fights in the near future, assuming that’s what he wants.

Saunders obviously is in pain right now, both physically and emotionally. The wounds will heal, though. And he’ll be a more-respected fighter as a result of his performance on Saturday night.

***

WORSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bWRuu3UNZ0

Katsunari Takayama gave an inspirational performance on the Alvarez-Saunders card. Veteran referee Laurence Cole, who worked Takayama’s fight against 108-pound titleholder Elwin Soto, was not at his best.

Takayama (32-9, 12 KOs) was a great story coming into the fight. The 37-year-old former three-time strawweight champ from Japan was fighting for the second time after a four-year hiatus from the sport and took the fight on short notice, which would’ve made a title-winning victory remarkable.

And he gave himself a chance to pull it off, fighting with unusual energy and spirit against a much stronger opponent. Soto (19-1, 13 KOs) landed many clean, hard punches but Takayama took them and was the much busier of the two. He clearly was in the fight until the moment it was stopped.

In the ninth and final round, with Soto winning on the cards, the champion continued to land damaging blows but Takayama continued to fight back. Still, out of nowhere, Cole jumped in and stopped the fight at 2:44 of the round, raising the ire of many in the process.

I don’t want to be overly critical of a referee who was looking out for the best interest of a fighter but, frankly, Cole blew it. Takayama hadn’t been down and was firing back at Soto when Cole stepped in.

Plus, Takayama was a proud former champion in possibly his final title fight. He deserved more of a chance than Cole gave him to work his way out of trouble, if that’s what that was.

Immediately after the fight was stopped, Takayama, who accepted his fate graciously, shadow boxed in the ring with great vitality as if to demonstrate that he had plenty left in the tank. I wondered whether Cole, who watched Takayama, was thinking at that moment: “Man, he’s making me look bad right now.”

Indeed, he was. Cole should’ve allowed the fight to continue.

[lawrence-related id=20099]

***

RABBIT PUNCHES

Saunders could’ve continued fighting. Countless others have fought through significant injuries, including those to the eye area. But we should use common sense here. Mark Tibbs, Saunders’ trainer, said his fighter’s face was “caved in” and that he couldn’t see. Would it really have been wise to continue exchanging punches with a beast like Alvarez? Saunders’ courage would’ve been applauded but he would’ve risked long term damage or possibly even his life – as Alvarez said – had he come out for the ninth round. That would be asking to much. … I had Alvarez leading Saunders 78-74 – six rounds to two – at the time of the stoppage. Some experts I respect had Saunders ahead, which has me scratching my head. Saunders was busier than Alvarez but half the punches he landed were jabs and his power punches had little effect, although he did better in that regard in the last few rounds. Alvarez obviously landed the cleaner, harder shots. I thought Alvarez clearly won Rounds 2, 3 and 8, which means Saunders would have to had to win the remaining rounds to lead on the cards. That doesn’t add up to me. … Alvarez was unusually animated when middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade showed up at the post-fight news conference to call him out, telling Andrade in English more than once to “get the f— out of here.” I appreciated Alvarez passion but I was disappointed at his repeated use of expletives. I thought he was classier than that.

I’m completely baffled by the scoring of the Souleymane Cissokho–Kieron Conway fight on the Alvarez-Saunders card. I thought the Cissokho (13-0, 8 KOs) thoroughly outboxed Conway (16-2-1, 3 KOs), with a ninth-round knockdown his only significant slip-up. Conway was the aggressor but he landed few punches. That’s why I scored it 98-91 (nine rounds to one) for the Frenchman. The judges? They gave Cissokho a split-decision victory, 96-93, 95-94 and 92-97. I guess Conway could’ve been given one or two more rounds because he pushed the action but 97-92? Judge Don Griffin’s score was outrageous. … Speaking of outrageous, Nagy Aguilera’s actions in his fight against heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) on the Alvarez-Saunders card were suspect. Sanchez, who was in control of the fight, threw a right hand that slid off of Aguilera’s left shoulder and grazed his head. After a few moments he suddenly grabbed his head, fell to the canvas, got up, fell again and then got to his feet once more in a circus-like series of events. He began to complain that the former Cuban amateur star had been punching him behind the head throughout the fight. It seemed to me that Aguilera (21-11, 14 KOs) was looking for a way out of the fight and found it. Sanchez won a shutout technical decision.

[lawrence-related id=20099,20102,20096]

Elwin Soto stops Katsunari Takayama in ninth round

Elwin Soto stopped Katsunari Takayama in the ninth round on the Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders card Saturday.

An entertaining back-and-forth fight between Elwin Soto and Katsunari Takayama on Saturday might be remembered for a questionable stoppage.

Soto, the WBO junior flyweight titleholder, stopped the former three-time strawweight champion at 2:44 of the ninth round on the Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders card at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

However, many of those who watched undoubtedly were surprised when referee Laurence Cole stepped in to stop it.

Soto (19-1, 13 KOs) landed the bigger punches throughout the fight, including in the moments before the stoppage. But his 37-year-old Japanese opponent, who hadn’t been stopped since 2003, had not been down in the bout and was fighting back when Cole ended it.

Takayama (32-9, 12 KOs) was fighting for the second time after a four-year hiatus from the sport and took the fight on short notice, which would’ve made a title-winning victory remarkable.

And he certainly fought as if he desperately wanted to become a two-division titleholder, outworking Soto from beginning to end. His problem was that his punches were much lighter than those of Soto, who stunned Takayama with many powershots.

The Mexican, making his third defense, might’ve been able to take out Takayama without the help of Cole. We’ll never know.

[lawrence-related id=20102,20096]

 

Elwin Soto stops Katsunari Takayama in ninth round

Elwin Soto stopped Katsunari Takayama in the ninth round on the Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders card Saturday.

An entertaining back-and-forth fight between Elwin Soto and Katsunari Takayama on Saturday might be remembered for a questionable stoppage.

Soto, the WBO junior flyweight titleholder, stopped the former three-time strawweight champion at 2:44 of the ninth round on the Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders card at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

However, many of those who watched undoubtedly were surprised when referee Laurence Cole stepped in to stop it.

Soto (19-1, 13 KOs) landed the bigger punches throughout the fight, including in the moments before the stoppage. But his 37-year-old Japanese opponent, who hadn’t been stopped since 2003, had not been down in the bout and was fighting back when Cole ended it.

Takayama (32-9, 12 KOs) was fighting for the second time after a four-year hiatus from the sport and took the fight on short notice, which would’ve made a title-winning victory remarkable.

And he certainly fought as if he desperately wanted to become a two-division titleholder, outworking Soto from beginning to end. His problem was that his punches were much lighter than those of Soto, who stunned Takayama with many powershots.

The Mexican, making his third defense, might’ve been able to take out Takayama without the help of Cole. We’ll never know.

[lawrence-related id=20102,20096]

 

Four boxing cards planned for Mexico next month

Zanfer Promotions is planning to stage four boxing cards in Mexico next month, ESPN reported.

Zanfer Promotions is planning to stage four boxing cards in Mexico next month, ESPN reported.

Titleholders Miguel Berchelt, Emanuel Navarrete and Elwin Soto, as well as Luis Nery, are among those expected to get back in the ring. No spectators will attend the events and other precautions will be taken because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We plan on doing it in June,” said Fernando Beltran of Zanfer. “We’ll have a really active schedule behind closed doors. We’re working on final details so that we can make a formal announcement.”

No opponents have been selected for the titleholders, who aren’t expected to defend their belts, according to ESPN. However, Zanfer has assigned fighters to particular dates. June 6, Navarrete and Pedro Campa; June 13, Omar Aguilar and Jackie Nava; June 20, Nery and Alan David Picasso; June 27, Berchelt and Soto.

A studio set of the Mexican TV network Azteca is one site being considered, ESPN reported.

“I think we’re all thirsty for Mexican talent and live fights,” Beltran said. “We’re going through with live fights, and I think we have the opportunity to do something huge. I will tell our fans that I’m a man dedicated to this sport I so love and more than anything dedicated to our fans who have provided us with so many moments of glory.”