Tag: Gary O’Sullivan

Good, bad, worse: Gervonta Davis must now face next-level opponents

Good, bad, worse: Gervonta Davis must now face next-level opponents.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

Are there any doubters still out there?

Gervonta Davis’ critics will point to his resume and say he still hasn’t taken down an elite fighter, at least not one his size. The fact is he has strong record, with victories over Jose Pedraza, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Leo Santa Cruz, Mario Barrios, Isaac Cruz and now Rolando Romero after his one-punch knockout Saturday night in Brookly, New York.

He stopped all but one of those fighters, Cruz.

They’ll say, “Hey, Tank was barely able to outpoint Cruz in his previous fight.” C’mon, the guy fought a young, relentless beast with one arm and still pulled out a victory. That’s what champions do.

And they’ll point out that Romero was a relatively inexperienced opponent with no experience fighting on a large stage or against anyone near Davis’ ability.

That’s true, Romero did take an enormous step up in opposition. Still, he gave a strong performance until one of the biggest punchers among active fighters landed the enormous left hand that stopped him and sent the pro-Davis crowd into a tizzy. That’s what Davis does; he knocks out good opponents.

Now he must do the same against next-level foes.

Yes, it’s time for Davis to take on the cream of the 135-pound crop no matter what that takes. The winner of the June 5 fight between unified champion George Kambosos and Devin Haney is Tank’s ideal test. And Ryan Garcia and Vasiliy Lomachenko would be viable options.

If Davis fights anyone inferior to those four potential opponents in his next fight, it will only provide fodder for critics who believe he has been protected Mayweather Promotions. In other words, it wouldn’t be a step forward for him. And that’s not beneficial to a hot young fighter who wants to continue to build on his momentum.

Davis is a special all-around fighter. He has to fight other special fighters to prove how great he truly is. And the time is now.

 

BAD

Rolando Romero looks as if he didn’t know what hit him on Saturday night.  Al Bello / Getty Images

No, it wasn’t a good night for Romero.

He was competitive against a heavy favorite for five-plus rounds, which is noteworthy. However, the unfortunate bottom line is that he was the victim of a brutal sixth-round knockout, which is bad any way you look at it.

He’s no longer unbeaten, which is never easy on a fighter. And, more important, he’ll have to put in some arduous work if he hopes to become an elite boxer and fight for a major 135-pound championship one day.

There is reason for optimism. He boxed well against his pound-for-pound opponent until his ignominious demise, as both he and his trainer pointed out after the fight.

Romero is known for his punching power but he demonstrated that he has an all-around skill set, which is how he was able to frustrate Davis for most of the short fight.

That’s remarkable given his relative lack of experience. He reportedly had a total of 49 amateur and professional fights under his belt when he stepped into the ring to face Davis. That’s a low number for a fighter taking part in a pay-per-view main event.

The fact he progressed so quickly speaks to both his God-given ability – he’s a natural – and his work ethic.

Sometimes it’s difficult to bounce back from such a devastating setback. However, if he can put the disappointment behind him and retain his confidence, Romero could still have a bright future.

 

WORSE

The new, more flat-footed version of Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) has defeated Ramon Alvarez, Greg Vendetti, Thomas LaManna and Gary O’Sullivan (31-5, 21 KOs) in his last four fights, the last victory coming by an eighth-round TKO on the Davis-Romero card.

Obviously, the Cuban master can still fight at 39 years old.

However, fighting second-tier opponents is the equivalent of spinning your wheels. At his age, Lara can’t afford to waste any more time.

And the thought of Lara failing to get another shot at a world title – this time at 160 pounds – is heartbreaking. If any fighter in the twilight of his career has earned that right, it’s the former 154-pound champion.

Remember, he has ended up frustrated by five disputed decisions. All three of his losses and two of his draws have come by split or majority decisions, including a controversial split-decision setback against Canelo Alvarez that could’ve (should’ve?) lifted him to true star status.

The point here is that we don’t want to see Lara finish his career without one more shot at glory, which wouldn’t be surprising given his bad luck.

He sits below only champion Gennadiy Golovkin in the WBA rankings, which means he’s first in line to challenge Triple-G. The problem is that Golovkin is expected to fight Alvarez a third time in September, which leaves an aging Lara out of the picture for now.

Lara could challenge WBC titleholder Jermall Charlo, with whom he shares a manager. And Demetrius Andrade, the WBO beltholder, is always looking for a big-name challenger.

Let’s just hope Lara gets his shot before it’s too late.

 

RABBIT PUNCHES

Davis said at the post-fight news conference that he didn’t suffer another injury to his left hand, as it appeared he might’ve in Round 5. … Junior middleweight contender Jesus Ramos (19-0, 15 KOs) complained after his unanimous-decision victory over Luke Santamaria (13-3-1, 7 KOs) on the Davis-Romero card that he couldn’t give his best performance because Santamaria didn’t want to fight. Ramos’ job is to make him fight, which he largely failed to do. Santamaria is a slick boxer who is naturally smaller than Ramos, who is a big puncher. Of course, Santamaria’s strategy was to stick and move. And he had some success in the first half of the fight. Ramos did well to control the second half and pull away to a unanimous-decision victory. However, he was wrong to criticize Santamaria for not cooperating as much as he would’ve liked him to. Santamaria is a good boxer. He could have success when he moves back down to 147 pounds. … So long to Gary Russell Sr., the trainer and patriarch of one of the sport’s first families who died at 63 on May 23. Russell guided four sons to Golden Gloves titles and three have had successful professional careers. Gary Russell Jr. is one of the best in the game while Gary Antuanne Russell and Gary Antonio Russell are rising contenders. The eldest Russell deserves a lot of credit for his sons’ success. RIP.

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Good, bad, worse: Gervonta Davis must now face next-level opponents

Good, bad, worse: Gervonta Davis must now face next-level opponents.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

Are there any doubters still out there?

Gervonta Davis’ critics will point to his resume and say he still hasn’t taken down an elite fighter, at least not one his size. The fact is he has strong record, with victories over Jose Pedraza, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Leo Santa Cruz, Mario Barrios, Isaac Cruz and now Rolando Romero after his one-punch knockout Saturday night in Brookly, New York.

He stopped all but one of those fighters, Cruz.

They’ll say, “Hey, Tank was barely able to outpoint Cruz in his previous fight.” C’mon, the guy fought a young, relentless beast with one arm and still pulled out a victory. That’s what champions do.

And they’ll point out that Romero was a relatively inexperienced opponent with no experience fighting on a large stage or against anyone near Davis’ ability.

That’s true, Romero did take an enormous step up in opposition. Still, he gave a strong performance until one of the biggest punchers among active fighters landed the enormous left hand that stopped him and sent the pro-Davis crowd into a tizzy. That’s what Davis does; he knocks out good opponents.

Now he must do the same against next-level foes.

Yes, it’s time for Davis to take on the cream of the 135-pound crop no matter what that takes. The winner of the June 5 fight between unified champion George Kambosos and Devin Haney is Tank’s ideal test. And Ryan Garcia and Vasiliy Lomachenko would be viable options.

If Davis fights anyone inferior to those four potential opponents in his next fight, it will only provide fodder for critics who believe he has been protected Mayweather Promotions. In other words, it wouldn’t be a step forward for him. And that’s not beneficial to a hot young fighter who wants to continue to build on his momentum.

Davis is a special all-around fighter. He has to fight other special fighters to prove how great he truly is. And the time is now.

 

BAD

Rolando Romero looks as if he didn’t know what hit him on Saturday night.  Al Bello / Getty Images

No, it wasn’t a good night for Romero.

He was competitive against a heavy favorite for five-plus rounds, which is noteworthy. However, the unfortunate bottom line is that he was the victim of a brutal sixth-round knockout, which is bad any way you look at it.

He’s no longer unbeaten, which is never easy on a fighter. And, more important, he’ll have to put in some arduous work if he hopes to become an elite boxer and fight for a major 135-pound championship one day.

There is reason for optimism. He boxed well against his pound-for-pound opponent until his ignominious demise, as both he and his trainer pointed out after the fight.

Romero is known for his punching power but he demonstrated that he has an all-around skill set, which is how he was able to frustrate Davis for most of the short fight.

That’s remarkable given his relative lack of experience. He reportedly had a total of 49 amateur and professional fights under his belt when he stepped into the ring to face Davis. That’s a low number for a fighter taking part in a pay-per-view main event.

The fact he progressed so quickly speaks to both his God-given ability – he’s a natural – and his work ethic.

Sometimes it’s difficult to bounce back from such a devastating setback. However, if he can put the disappointment behind him and retain his confidence, Romero could still have a bright future.

 

WORSE

The new, more flat-footed version of Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) has defeated Ramon Alvarez, Greg Vendetti, Thomas LaManna and Gary O’Sullivan (31-5, 21 KOs) in his last four fights, the last victory coming by an eighth-round TKO on the Davis-Romero card.

Obviously, the Cuban master can still fight at 39 years old.

However, fighting second-tier opponents is the equivalent of spinning your wheels. At his age, Lara can’t afford to waste any more time.

And the thought of Lara failing to get another shot at a world title – this time at 160 pounds – is heartbreaking. If any fighter in the twilight of his career has earned that right, it’s the former 154-pound champion.

Remember, he has ended up frustrated by five disputed decisions. All three of his losses and two of his draws have come by split or majority decisions, including a controversial split-decision setback against Canelo Alvarez that could’ve (should’ve?) lifted him to true star status.

The point here is that we don’t want to see Lara finish his career without one more shot at glory, which wouldn’t be surprising given his bad luck.

He sits below only champion Gennadiy Golovkin in the WBA rankings, which means he’s first in line to challenge Triple-G. The problem is that Golovkin is expected to fight Alvarez a third time in September, which leaves an aging Lara out of the picture for now.

Lara could challenge WBC titleholder Jermall Charlo, with whom he shares a manager. And Demetrius Andrade, the WBO beltholder, is always looking for a big-name challenger.

Let’s just hope Lara gets his shot before it’s too late.

 

RABBIT PUNCHES

Davis said at the post-fight news conference that he didn’t suffer another injury to his left hand, as it appeared he might’ve in Round 5. … Junior middleweight contender Jesus Ramos (19-0, 15 KOs) complained after his unanimous-decision victory over Luke Santamaria (13-3-1, 7 KOs) on the Davis-Romero card that he couldn’t give his best performance because Santamaria didn’t want to fight. Ramos’ job is to make him fight, which he largely failed to do. Santamaria is a slick boxer who is naturally smaller than Ramos, who is a big puncher. Of course, Santamaria’s strategy was to stick and move. And he had some success in the first half of the fight. Ramos did well to control the second half and pull away to a unanimous-decision victory. However, he was wrong to criticize Santamaria for not cooperating as much as he would’ve liked him to. Santamaria is a good boxer. He could have success when he moves back down to 147 pounds. … So long to Gary Russell Sr., the trainer and patriarch of one of the sport’s first families who died at 63 on May 23. Russell guided four sons to Golden Gloves titles and three have had successful professional careers. Gary Russell Jr. is one of the best in the game while Gary Antuanne Russell and Gary Antonio Russell are rising contenders. The eldest Russell deserves a lot of credit for his sons’ success. RIP.

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Erislandy Lara beats up, stops Gary O’Sullivan in eighth round

Erislandy Lara beat up and then stopped Gary O’Sullivan in the eighth round Saturday in Brooklyn.

Erislandy Lara demonstrated again that he can still fight as he approaches 40.

The former 154-pound titleholder battered a game, but overmatched Gary O’Sullivan before stopping the Irishman in the eighth round of a scheduled 12-round 160-pound bout on the Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero card Saturday in Brooklyn.

Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) fights more flatfooted at 39 than he did in his prime but can still outbox his opponents, as he did against O’Sullivan (31-5, 21 KOs).

He counterpunched brilliantly, threw and landed more punches than O’Sullivan and hurt his opponent on several occasions.

Lara put O’Sullivan down in Round 4, stunning him with a straight left to the head and then sending him to the canvas with a follow-up left. Another left hurt O’Sullivan in the final seconds of Round 7, which led to his demise.

Only about 20 seconds into Round 8, one more left to the head sent a beaten O’Sullivan reeling. That prompted referee Benjy Esteves to stop fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 23 seconds into Round 8.

Lara, hoping to make a run at a middleweight title, has now won four consecutive fights since losing to Jarrett Hurd in 2018 and drawing with Brian Castano the following year.

However, none of those four opponents was elite. Lara’s mission now is to lure a top 160-pounder into the ring.

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Erislandy Lara beats up, stops Gary O’Sullivan in eighth round

Erislandy Lara beat up and then stopped Gary O’Sullivan in the eighth round Saturday in Brooklyn.

Erislandy Lara demonstrated again that he can still fight as he approaches 40.

The former 154-pound titleholder battered a game, but overmatched Gary O’Sullivan before stopping the Irishman in the eighth round of a scheduled 12-round 160-pound bout on the Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero card Saturday in Brooklyn.

Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) fights more flatfooted at 39 than he did in his prime but can still outbox his opponents, as he did against O’Sullivan (31-5, 21 KOs).

He counterpunched brilliantly, threw and landed more punches than O’Sullivan and hurt his opponent on several occasions.

Lara put O’Sullivan down in Round 4, stunning him with a straight left to the head and then sending him to the canvas with a follow-up left. Another left hurt O’Sullivan in the final seconds of Round 7, which led to his demise.

Only about 20 seconds into Round 8, one more left to the head sent a beaten O’Sullivan reeling. That prompted referee Benjy Esteves to stop fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 23 seconds into Round 8.

Lara, hoping to make a run at a middleweight title, has now won four consecutive fights since losing to Jarrett Hurd in 2018 and drawing with Brian Castano the following year.

However, none of those four opponents was elite. Lara’s mission now is to lure a top 160-pounder into the ring.

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Erislandy Lara, 39 and still punching, wants to face the best at middleweight

Erislandy Lara, 39, said he wants to face the best at middleweight.

Erislandy Lara isn’t quite finished at 39.

The former 154-pound beltholder and longtime boogeyman in and around his weight is making another title run, this time at 160. He moved up to middleweight for his last fight – a first round knockout of Thomas LaManna in May of last year – after fighting his entire pro career at junior middleweight.

Lara (28-3-3, 16 KOs) faces veteran Gary O’Sullivan in his second fight at 160 on the Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero pay-per-view card Saturday at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.

“I feel strong at 160 pounds,” he said. “I showed that in my last fight and I’ll show it again in this fight. I’m ready to display all of my skills once again.”

The gifted Cuban southpaw has many important victories in his career but also a number of losses or draws that ended in controversy, as he seemed to end up on the wrong end of disputed decisions too often.

That includes fights in 2018 and 2019, when he lost his 154-pound title to Jarrett Hurd by a split decision and drew with Brian Castano in his subsequent fight.

Lara has won three in a row since then, stopping Ramon Alvarez, outpointing Greg Vendetti and then moving up in weight to KO LaManna.

He hopes a victory over O’Sullivan will lead to matchups with the biggest names in the division, Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade and perhaps the winner of the projected fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.

Lara lost a disputed split decision to Alvarez back in 2014.

“Come May 28, when I come out victorious, I’m ready to fight the best in the division,” he said. “I’m not even going to mention their names, because I’m tired of doing that. I’m just focused on getting in the ring with all the best fighters.”

Of course, the top 154-pounders were never in a hurry to face him for an obvious reason. Will anything change at the higher weight class?

“People are avoiding me at 160 pounds just like they did at 154,” he said. “I’m a tough matchup for anyone out there. That’s why they don’t want to fight me.”

Even at 39.

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Erislandy Lara, 39 and still punching, wants to face the best at middleweight

Erislandy Lara, 39, said he wants to face the best at middleweight.

Erislandy Lara isn’t quite finished at 39.

The former 154-pound beltholder and longtime boogeyman in and around his weight is making another title run, this time at 160. He moved up to middleweight for his last fight – a first round knockout of Thomas LaManna in May of last year – after fighting his entire pro career at junior middleweight.

Lara (28-3-3, 16 KOs) faces veteran Gary O’Sullivan in his second fight at 160 on the Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero pay-per-view card Saturday at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.

“I feel strong at 160 pounds,” he said. “I showed that in my last fight and I’ll show it again in this fight. I’m ready to display all of my skills once again.”

The gifted Cuban southpaw has many important victories in his career but also a number of losses or draws that ended in controversy, as he seemed to end up on the wrong end of disputed decisions too often.

That includes fights in 2018 and 2019, when he lost his 154-pound title to Jarrett Hurd by a split decision and drew with Brian Castano in his subsequent fight.

Lara has won three in a row since then, stopping Ramon Alvarez, outpointing Greg Vendetti and then moving up in weight to KO LaManna.

He hopes a victory over O’Sullivan will lead to matchups with the biggest names in the division, Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade and perhaps the winner of the projected fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.

Lara lost a disputed split decision to Alvarez back in 2014.

“Come May 28, when I come out victorious, I’m ready to fight the best in the division,” he said. “I’m not even going to mention their names, because I’m tired of doing that. I’m just focused on getting in the ring with all the best fighters.”

Of course, the top 154-pounders were never in a hurry to face him for an obvious reason. Will anything change at the higher weight class?

“People are avoiding me at 160 pounds just like they did at 154,” he said. “I’m a tough matchup for anyone out there. That’s why they don’t want to fight me.”

Even at 39.

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Jaime Munguia vs. Gary O’Sullivan set for Jan. 11 in San Antonio

Jaime Munguia will move up a division to face middleweight Gary O’Sullivan in a 12-round bout at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Jan. 11.

After five successful defenses of his junior middleweight title, Mexican slugger Jaime Munguia is moving up a division.

The 23-year-old makes his middleweight debut against Irish veteran Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan in a 12-rounder on Jan. 11 at the Alamodome in San Antonio on DAZN, Golden Boy Promotions has announced.

“I feel very happy to be starting the year 2020 with a great fight at a great place like San Antonio, Texas,” Munguia said.”I have fought in Houston, Texas before, where the people there treated me very well. I think that San Antonio won’t be any different.”

Munguia burst onto the scene last year when he appeared from nowhere to poleaxe Sadam Ali to win the WBO junior middleweight belt. He went on to defend it successfully against Liam Smith, Brandon Cook, Takeshi Inoue, Dennis Hogan and most recently Patrick Allotey. With each subsequent fight, however, Munguia, who sports a hulkish build, found it increasingly onerous to make the 154-pound limit.

“We’re going to deliver a great fight against a tough fighter in Gary O’Sullivan,” Munguia said. “He’s great and he’s strong, but we’re going to come very well prepared. We plan to do an excellent job and make it very clear who is the best in the ring.”

Munguia (34-0, 27 knockouts) joins a packed middleweight crew, which includes stablemate and countryman Canelo Alvarez (who may or may not return to that division after moving up to light heavyweight recently), as well as titleholders Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, and Demetrius Andrade.

The 35-year-old O’Sullivan ( 30-3, 21 KOs) reeled off consecutive wins since getting starched by David Lemieux last year. O’Sullivan made a name for himself when he wiped out once highly regarded prospect Antoine Douglas back in 2017.

“For me it’s a dream come true to fight the undefeated champion of the world and the No. 1-ranked fighter in the world,” O’Sullivan said. “It makes it even better that he’s Mexican. I grew up watching the great Mexican champions, and to get the opportunity to fight Jaime is an honor.”

The undercard bouts have not been announced.