Tag: Jermall Charlo next fight

Isaac Cruz outpoints Francisco Vargas in fight that turns ugly

Isaac Cruz outpointed Francisco Vargas in a fight that turned ugly Saturday in Houston.

This is Isaac Cruz’s time, not Francisco Vargas’.

Cruz, 23, landed the cleaner, harder punches en route to a wide unanimous-decision victory over his 36-year-old opponent in a fight that turned ugly on the Jermall Charlo-Juan Montiel card Saturday in Houston.

Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs) took the fight to Vargas from the outset, winging — and landing — hard punches to both the head and body, although he never hurt Vargas.

Vargas (27-3-2, 19 KOs) is known as one of the great brawlers of his generation but, perhaps wary of another brawl, held back against Cruz, boxing at times and engaging when he had openings.

That allowed him to survive but he didn’t do enough to win rounds. Cruz won 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92. Boxing Junkie scored it 98-91.

Cruz used his head a number of times when the fighters were entangled. That reached its ugly peak when one last butt caused a horrible gash above Vargas’ right eye with 30 seconds remaining in the fight.

The ring doctor allowed the fight to continue because it was almost over, after which a bloody Vargas went down as a result of wild flurry of punches.

With the victory, Cruz took another step toward his first title shot. Vargas, who has been in so many wars, will have to decide whether he wants to continue.

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Isaac Cruz outpoints Francisco Vargas in fight that turns ugly

Isaac Cruz outpointed Francisco Vargas in a fight that turned ugly Saturday in Houston.

This is Isaac Cruz’s time, not Francisco Vargas’.

Cruz, 23, landed the cleaner, harder punches en route to a wide unanimous-decision victory over his 36-year-old opponent in a fight that turned ugly on the Jermall Charlo-Juan Montiel card Saturday in Houston.

Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs) took the fight to Vargas from the outset, winging — and landing — hard punches to both the head and body, although he never hurt Vargas.

Vargas (27-3-2, 19 KOs) is known as one of the great brawlers of his generation but, perhaps wary of another brawl, held back against Cruz, boxing at times and engaging when he had openings.

That allowed him to survive but he didn’t do enough to win rounds. Cruz won 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92. Boxing Junkie scored it 98-91.

Cruz used his head a number of times when the fighters were entangled. That reached its ugly peak when one last butt caused a horrible gash above Vargas’ right eye with 30 seconds remaining in the fight.

The ring doctor allowed the fight to continue because it was almost over, after which a bloody Vargas went down as a result of wild flurry of punches.

With the victory, Cruz took another step toward his first title shot. Vargas, who has been in so many wars, will have to decide whether he wants to continue.

[lawrence-related id=21252]

Jermall Charlo not impressed with Juan Montiel’s knockout record

Jermall Charlo is not impressed with Juan Montiel’s knockout record going into their fight Saturday.

The most interesting thing about Juan Macias Montiel going into his title challenge of Jermall Charlo on Saturday might be a single statistic: All 22 of his victories have come by knockout.

Is the unbeaten middleweight champion concerned? Not for a second. He points to Montiel’s level of opposition and scoffs.

“Stop with the shenanigans,” Charlo said at the final news conference before the fight at Toyota Center in Houston, his hometown. “The 22 knockouts that he had, you have to go back and look at the resume. He knocked out James Kirkland. James Kirkland is done. What are you saying?

“The other knockouts he had, they were from Mexico somewhere. They never fought before. You have to think about what you’re saying.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AtDUU-du4A

Montiel (22-4-2, 22 KOs) stopped the 37-year-old James Kirkland less than two minutes into the first round in December, his most-recent fight. He drew with veteran Hugo Centeno Jr. in his previous outing.

And those were the Mexican’s only fights outside his native country.

Charlo is coming off a wide decision over the highly respected Sergiy Derevyanchenko in September, arguably the best victory of his career. And, in 2018, he stopped Centeno in two rounds.

“You’re only as good as your last fight,” Charlo said. “I fought Derevyanchenko in my last fight, he fought James Kirkland. There’s levels. And I get a chance to show the level I’m at on Saturday.”

All that said, Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) insists that he isn’t overlooking Montiel.

He acknowledged that Montiel is “strong.” And he recognizes that title challengers generally work harder than they ever have before. To wit, Montiel said he has never had a training camp like this one.

The last thing Charlo wants to do is slip up in front of his hometown fans.

“Ya’ll think I’m overlooked him?” he said. “… I put my life on the line every time I get in the ring. I didn’t overlook this dude.”

[lawrence-related id=21146,20982,20385,14165,16742]

Jermall Charlo not impressed with Juan Montiel’s knockout record

Jermall Charlo is not impressed with Juan Montiel’s knockout record going into their fight Saturday.

The most interesting thing about Juan Macias Montiel going into his title challenge of Jermall Charlo on Saturday might be a single statistic: All 22 of his victories have come by knockout.

Is the unbeaten middleweight champion concerned? Not for a second. He points to Montiel’s level of opposition and scoffs.

“Stop with the shenanigans,” Charlo said at the final news conference before the fight at Toyota Center in Houston, his hometown. “The 22 knockouts that he had, you have to go back and look at the resume. He knocked out James Kirkland. James Kirkland is done. What are you saying?

“The other knockouts he had, they were from Mexico somewhere. They never fought before. You have to think about what you’re saying.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AtDUU-du4A

Montiel (22-4-2, 22 KOs) stopped the 37-year-old James Kirkland less than two minutes into the first round in December, his most-recent fight. He drew with veteran Hugo Centeno Jr. in his previous outing.

And those were the Mexican’s only fights outside his native country.

Charlo is coming off a wide decision over the highly respected Sergiy Derevyanchenko in September, arguably the best victory of his career. And, in 2018, he stopped Centeno in two rounds.

“You’re only as good as your last fight,” Charlo said. “I fought Derevyanchenko in my last fight, he fought James Kirkland. There’s levels. And I get a chance to show the level I’m at on Saturday.”

All that said, Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) insists that he isn’t overlooking Montiel.

He acknowledged that Montiel is “strong.” And he recognizes that title challengers generally work harder than they ever have before. To wit, Montiel said he has never had a training camp like this one.

The last thing Charlo wants to do is slip up in front of his hometown fans.

“Ya’ll think I’m overlooked him?” he said. “… I put my life on the line every time I get in the ring. I didn’t overlook this dude.”

[lawrence-related id=21146,20982,20385,14165,16742]

Jermall Charlo in no-win situation against Juan Montiel

Jermall Charlo will be in no-win situation against Juan Montiel on June 19.

Jermall Charlo vs. Juan Montiel is what you get when the optimal matchups can’t be made.

Charlo, the WBC 160-pound titleholder, said as much on a Zoom call to promote his defense against Montiel on June 19 in Charlo’s hometown of Houston. The card will be televised on Showtime.

The champion was asked on the call whether he would move up to 168 if he can’t get fights against the top middleweights, including fellow titleholders Gennadiy Golovkin and Demetrius Andrade.

He responded that his immediate plan is to stay at 160 and then made it clear how he feels about the upcoming matchup, in which he’s a 22-1 favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC7bpAvp284

“I’ll continue fighting fights like these. Somebody’s got to try to get the WBC belt one day,” said Charlo, who insists he has tried but failed to make the big fights at 160 and 168. “… Of course, I would go up for a bigger fighter but the bigger fighter has to come to me.

“I can’t make them get into the ring with me.”

The implication of that statement is that Montiel is a nobody, which isn’t true. He’s simply not as good as Golovkin, Andrade or 168-pounders Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs, at least on paper.

Montiel (22-4-2, 22 KOs) has fallen short in two of his biggest fights – a second-round knockout at the hands of Jamie Munguia in 2017 and a draw with Hugo Centeno Jr. in 2019 – but he has world-class power, as his knockout record indicates.

The Mexican is coming off a first-round knockout of James Kirkland in December.

Still, Charlo is in a difficult position. If he wins, everyone will say, “so what.” And if he doesn’t win convincingly or loses, he’ll be criticized for underperforming.

Charlo is coming off a clear decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko this past September, which was a breakthrough victory for him given that he beat the Ukrainian more easily than Jacobs or Golovkin did.

He was asked whether he expects to get credit on June 19.

“No, because they put me back in the ring with a guy like Juan Montiel,” he said. “High risk, low reward. I won’t get credit if I knock Juan Montiel out. I just have to continue to be the best I can be.”

The “high risk” comment is an indication of Charlo’s respect for Montiel, who is ranked No. 4 by the WBC.

“He’s a pressure fighter,” Charlo said. “He fights from both stances, southpaw and orthodox. He’s strong in both hands. I’m going to have to fight fire with fire.”

“… Everybody wants to beat the world champion,” he added. “So it doesn’t matter who they put in front of you. Juan Montiel is in shape, he’s strong, he’s fast.

“I’m going to be just as fast, just as strong, just as sharp. The title is on the line. I have to defend it.”

And Charlo certainly isn’t afraid of Montiel’s power.

“Hey, bring on the power,” he said with Montiel also on the Zoom call. “I want the power. You better be as strong as you’re talking. I want to see you be strong, I want to feel the power.

“Bring it to me. I’ll show you what I’ll do with the power. Trust me.”

But will anyone care?

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