Tag: Tony Weeks

Weekend Review: Rolando Romero escapes with belt on forgettable night

Weekend Review: Rolando Romero escaped with a belt on an otherwise forgettable night Saturday in Las Vegas.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER?
Rolando Romero

What a disaster. Romero gave a weak performance, hit the canvas, was awarded a dubious knockdown himself and then received the ultimate gift by the referee: a knockout of Ismael Barroso he didn’t deserve in the ninth to win a 140-pound title that is tainted from the beginning Saturday in Las Vegas. On top of that the fight was boring as hell. The boxers landed a combined total of 104 punches over eight-plus rounds, according to CompuBox. It wasn’t a good night for anyone involved. Romero was overly cautious because he didn’t want to get caught by a big shot, which allowed Barroso to lead on all three cards at the time of the stoppage. The 40-year-old slugger from Venezuela didn’t do much either but he put Romero down in Round 3 and pushed the action for most of the fight. He seemed to have victory within his grasp. That’s why the events of Round 9 were particularly galling. First a knockdown that was the result of a push, not a punch. Then a stoppage by referee Tony Weeks even though Barroso was on his feet and defending himself. Bad fight, bad performance by Romero, bad miscue by Weeks. Rarely has a fighter accomplished so little by winning a major belt.

 

BIGGEST LOSER
Ismael Barroso

Rolando Romero pushed Ismael Borroso down in Round 9.  Steve Marcus / Getty Images

You have to feel for Barroso. He did all he could in light of his advanced age to earn a 78-73, 77-74 and 76-75 on the cards after eight completed rounds, leaving him in a strong position to win his first world title late in the game. Then it was gone. The stoppage justifiably outraged many of those watching but that doesn’t do Barroso any good. He lost the fight as the result of a referee’s mistake and might never get another opportunity to challenge for a major championship, which makes Weeks’ actions all the more heartbreaking. Even Romero acknowledged afterward that the fight shouldn’t have been stopped. There’s only way Barroso can get a modicum of justice: a rematch. If anyone deserves it, it’s him after the debacle on Saturday night. Will Romero give him a second chance? He mentioned the names Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia afterward, not Barroso. Hopefully the new titleholder and his handlers will push higher-profile matchups up one fight and do the right thing. Barroso earned it.

 

BIGGEST LOSER II
Tony Weeks

Should Ismael Barroso (left) been allowed to continue?  Steve Marcus / Getty Images

Was the stoppage as bad as it looked? It’s tough to make a case for Weeks, who is a respected veteran referee who had an off night. Barroso might’ve been in a somewhat weakened state after Romero pushed him down and followed with a flurry of punches meant to end the fight. The problem is that few of those shots found the target. And Barroso never stopped fighting back, unloading — and landing — his own hard blows. That’s why Weeks’ ultimate decision was so shocking. The universal reaction surely was, “What?!” Weeks was physically closer to Barroso than anyone else – maybe he saw something we didn’t – but most will agree, based on what they could see, that Weeks blew it. And that was only Part II of this fiasco. The knockdown moments earlier shouldn’t have been a knockdown. Romero did land a left but Barroso took the punch. Replays made it clear that it was a push that sent him to the canvas. Of course, Weeks didn’t enjoy the benefit of a replay. And he would argue that Barroso wasn’t in condition to continue when he stopped the fight, according to his judgment. Still, it’s clear that it wasn’t Weeks’ best night in the ring.

 

WORST IDEA?
Romero vs. Davis or Garcia

Romero said he would like to defend his new title against Ryan Garcia, which makes sense on more than one level. Garcia’s fanbase would bring a great deal of attention to the fight. And Garcia is deemed beatable after his knockout loss to Gervonta Davis last month, although Romero also was stopped by Tank. My advice to Romero: Be careful what you wish for. Garcia would eat Romero alive. Garcia has the amateur foundation Romero lacks and is both quicker and more powerful than the titleholder. Romero wouldn’t last six rounds. Romero also said after his victory on Saturday that he wants a rematch with Davis, who stopped him in six. Forget it. He was competitive with Davis for five-plus rounds because Davis is a patient fighter who often eases his way into his fights, not because Romero has comparable abilities to that of Davis. Romero would be wise to give Barroso a rematch and continue to develop before tangling with Garcia or Davis a second time.

 

BIGGEST WINNER II
Janibek Alimkhanuly

Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs) gave a so-so performance in a unanimous decision victory over Denzel Bentley in November, raising questions about the former amateur world champion’s ceiling. He answered those questions Saturday. The 160-pound titleholder put overmatched Steven Butler (32-4-1, 26 KOs) down three times and stopped him, all in a wild, dominating Round 2. OK, we shouldn’t get carried away with Alimkhanuly’s victory. Butler (32-4-1, 26 KOs) was grossly overmatched, which limits the significance of the winner’s accomplishment. At the same time, the 30-year-old Kazakhstani’s spectacular performance on national television in the U.S. will have boosted his profile and increased his chances of luring a top middleweight into the ring. He called out fellow 160-pound titleholder Jermall Charlo and 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez in the wake of his knockout. I doubt he did enough to land one of those opponents but he certainly took a step in that direction.

 

RABBIT PUNCHES

The best fight on the Romero-Barroso card was a brilliant, back-and-forth scrap between Kenneth Sims Jr. and Batyr Akhmedov that Sims won by a majority decision. Sims (20-2-1, 7 KOs) has long been considered an excellent technician with limited power who couldn’t quite reach elite status. He did that on Saturday, boxing well, withstanding Akhmedov’s relentless pressure and fighting hard until the end of the battle of 140-pound contenders. He is now a legitimate opponent for anyone. Akhmedov (9-3, 8 KOs)? I can’t blame him for feeling that the powers that be are working against him because he has now ended up on the wrong end of three close, disputable decisions. I hope he doesn’t give up. He’s obviously an excellent fighter. … Kudos to Jason Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs) on his perseverance. The Australian had failed in previous attempts to win major titles against Emmanul Rodriguez and then Naoya Inoue but finally got over the hump against Vincent Astrolabio (18-4, 13 KOs) on the Alimkhanuly-Butler card, winning a majority decision to claim the vacant WBO 118-pound belt.

[lawrence-related id=37341,37337,37333,37327,37317]

Weekend Review: Rolando Romero escapes with belt on forgettable night

Weekend Review: Rolando Romero escaped with a belt on an otherwise forgettable night Saturday in Las Vegas.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER?
Rolando Romero

What a disaster. Romero gave a weak performance, hit the canvas, was awarded a dubious knockdown himself and then received the ultimate gift by the referee: a knockout of Ismael Barroso he didn’t deserve in the ninth to win a 140-pound title that is tainted from the beginning Saturday in Las Vegas. On top of that the fight was boring as hell. The boxers landed a combined total of 104 punches over eight-plus rounds, according to CompuBox. It wasn’t a good night for anyone involved. Romero was overly cautious because he didn’t want to get caught by a big shot, which allowed Barroso to lead on all three cards at the time of the stoppage. The 40-year-old slugger from Venezuela didn’t do much either but he put Romero down in Round 3 and pushed the action for most of the fight. He seemed to have victory within his grasp. That’s why the events of Round 9 were particularly galling. First a knockdown that was the result of a push, not a punch. Then a stoppage by referee Tony Weeks even though Barroso was on his feet and defending himself. Bad fight, bad performance by Romero, bad miscue by Weeks. Rarely has a fighter accomplished so little by winning a major belt.

 

BIGGEST LOSER
Ismael Barroso

Rolando Romero pushed Ismael Borroso down in Round 9.  Steve Marcus / Getty Images

You have to feel for Barroso. He did all he could in light of his advanced age to earn a 78-73, 77-74 and 76-75 on the cards after eight completed rounds, leaving him in a strong position to win his first world title late in the game. Then it was gone. The stoppage justifiably outraged many of those watching but that doesn’t do Barroso any good. He lost the fight as the result of a referee’s mistake and might never get another opportunity to challenge for a major championship, which makes Weeks’ actions all the more heartbreaking. Even Romero acknowledged afterward that the fight shouldn’t have been stopped. There’s only way Barroso can get a modicum of justice: a rematch. If anyone deserves it, it’s him after the debacle on Saturday night. Will Romero give him a second chance? He mentioned the names Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia afterward, not Barroso. Hopefully the new titleholder and his handlers will push higher-profile matchups up one fight and do the right thing. Barroso earned it.

 

BIGGEST LOSER II
Tony Weeks

Should Ismael Barroso (left) been allowed to continue?  Steve Marcus / Getty Images

Was the stoppage as bad as it looked? It’s tough to make a case for Weeks, who is a respected veteran referee who had an off night. Barroso might’ve been in a somewhat weakened state after Romero pushed him down and followed with a flurry of punches meant to end the fight. The problem is that few of those shots found the target. And Barroso never stopped fighting back, unloading — and landing — his own hard blows. That’s why Weeks’ ultimate decision was so shocking. The universal reaction surely was, “What?!” Weeks was physically closer to Barroso than anyone else – maybe he saw something we didn’t – but most will agree, based on what they could see, that Weeks blew it. And that was only Part II of this fiasco. The knockdown moments earlier shouldn’t have been a knockdown. Romero did land a left but Barroso took the punch. Replays made it clear that it was a push that sent him to the canvas. Of course, Weeks didn’t enjoy the benefit of a replay. And he would argue that Barroso wasn’t in condition to continue when he stopped the fight, according to his judgment. Still, it’s clear that it wasn’t Weeks’ best night in the ring.

 

WORST IDEA?
Romero vs. Davis or Garcia

Romero said he would like to defend his new title against Ryan Garcia, which makes sense on more than one level. Garcia’s fanbase would bring a great deal of attention to the fight. And Garcia is deemed beatable after his knockout loss to Gervonta Davis last month, although Romero also was stopped by Tank. My advice to Romero: Be careful what you wish for. Garcia would eat Romero alive. Garcia has the amateur foundation Romero lacks and is both quicker and more powerful than the titleholder. Romero wouldn’t last six rounds. Romero also said after his victory on Saturday that he wants a rematch with Davis, who stopped him in six. Forget it. He was competitive with Davis for five-plus rounds because Davis is a patient fighter who often eases his way into his fights, not because Romero has comparable abilities to that of Davis. Romero would be wise to give Barroso a rematch and continue to develop before tangling with Garcia or Davis a second time.

 

BIGGEST WINNER II
Janibek Alimkhanuly

Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs) gave a so-so performance in a unanimous decision victory over Denzel Bentley in November, raising questions about the former amateur world champion’s ceiling. He answered those questions Saturday. The 160-pound titleholder put overmatched Steven Butler (32-4-1, 26 KOs) down three times and stopped him, all in a wild, dominating Round 2. OK, we shouldn’t get carried away with Alimkhanuly’s victory. Butler (32-4-1, 26 KOs) was grossly overmatched, which limits the significance of the winner’s accomplishment. At the same time, the 30-year-old Kazakhstani’s spectacular performance on national television in the U.S. will have boosted his profile and increased his chances of luring a top middleweight into the ring. He called out fellow 160-pound titleholder Jermall Charlo and 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez in the wake of his knockout. I doubt he did enough to land one of those opponents but he certainly took a step in that direction.

 

RABBIT PUNCHES

The best fight on the Romero-Barroso card was a brilliant, back-and-forth scrap between Kenneth Sims Jr. and Batyr Akhmedov that Sims won by a majority decision. Sims (20-2-1, 7 KOs) has long been considered an excellent technician with limited power who couldn’t quite reach elite status. He did that on Saturday, boxing well, withstanding Akhmedov’s relentless pressure and fighting hard until the end of the battle of 140-pound contenders. He is now a legitimate opponent for anyone. Akhmedov (9-3, 8 KOs)? I can’t blame him for feeling that the powers that be are working against him because he has now ended up on the wrong end of three close, disputable decisions. I hope he doesn’t give up. He’s obviously an excellent fighter. … Kudos to Jason Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs) on his perseverance. The Australian had failed in previous attempts to win major titles against Emmanul Rodriguez and then Naoya Inoue but finally got over the hump against Vincent Astrolabio (18-4, 13 KOs) on the Alimkhanuly-Butler card, winning a majority decision to claim the vacant WBO 118-pound belt.

[lawrence-related id=37341,37337,37333,37327,37317]

Jamel Herring survives Jonathan Oquendo in ‘ugly’ fight

Jamel Herring defeated Jonathan Oquendo by disqualification Saturday in Las Vegas.

Jamel Herring’s journey to his title defense against Jonathan Oquendo on Saturday was filled with uncommon challenges. The fight was no different.

The junior lightweight champion, who had to overcome the coronavirus to step through the ropes, found himself fact to face with a human battering ram and he never really figured out how to cope with it in a fight everyone will want to forget.

Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) emerged victorious but only because of Oquendo’s head-first tactics, which ultimately led to his disqualification after Round 8.

“It just got ugly,” Herring said.

The fight was postponed after each of the two times Herring tested positive for COVID-19 but the virus couldn’t keep him down. He battled through the symptoms and, by fight time on Saturday in the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas, he said he felt 100 percent.

And he looked reasonably sharp beginning in the second round, when he adjusted somewhat to Oquendo’s bull rushes by timing him with punches, side-stepping him or holding when necessary.

Herring seemed to be taking control in the third round, when a left uppercut put Oquendo (31-7, 19 KOs) on his pants. The fourth was largely the same, with Herring getting the better of exchanges. Then, in the fifth, a clash of heads caused a deep cut over Herring’s right eye and changed everything.

Referee Tony Weeks ruled it an intentional foul, which would play a role in the conclusion of the fight.

From that point on, Herring struggled. Oquendo continued to push his way inside, to fight as roughly as he knew how, and a bloody-faced Herring was beyond frustrated. He had trouble seeing, he had no space to throw punches and the Puerto Rican challenger just never let up.

Finally, after Round 8, Herring’s trainer Brian McIntyre told Weeks that Herring’s vision was obstructed because of the damage above his eye. A doctor stepped in and asked Herring whether he could see. He replied, “no.”

And after a few minutes of discussion, Weeks had no choice but to stop the fight. Oquendo was disqualified because the fight ended as a result of his foul.

“We knew coming in he was going to be aggressive, with his head first,” Herring said. “He kept repeating it. Tony caught on. I didn’t want it to go on like that. … My team felt it was too much and they had to stop it. Whatever.”

Did Herring quit? After all, his eye wasn’t swollen shut. He merely had blood dripping into it, which boxers fight through all the time. Fans and pundits undoubtedly will debate Herring’s actions over the next several days.

The fact is he emerged with his title belt and he remains on track to face former two-division beltholder Carl Frampton, a fight Herring covets. Then he will be able to look forward instead of back at 20 horrible weeks of ups and downs and a horrible fight.

“I wasn’t too satisfied with my performance,” he said. “… I had never been in a situation where we had to stop a fight. It’s not always about getting a win; it’s how you look. It is what it is. [Promoter] Bob [Arum] told me to rest. It was a 20-week training camp. I still want Frampton next, in December or November.

“Physically, I was good. … I was never huffing and puffing. It just got too ugly. Over the second half of the fight, I just felt it was bad.”

Jamel Herring survives Jonathan Oquendo in ‘ugly’ fight

Jamel Herring defeated Jonathan Oquendo by disqualification Saturday in Las Vegas.

Jamel Herring’s journey to his title defense against Jonathan Oquendo on Saturday was filled with uncommon challenges. The fight was no different.

The junior lightweight champion, who had to overcome the coronavirus to step through the ropes, found himself fact to face with a human battering ram and he never really figured out how to cope with it in a fight everyone will want to forget.

Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) emerged victorious but only because of Oquendo’s head-first tactics, which ultimately led to his disqualification after Round 8.

“It just got ugly,” Herring said.

The fight was postponed after each of the two times Herring tested positive for COVID-19 but the virus couldn’t keep him down. He battled through the symptoms and, by fight time on Saturday in the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas, he said he felt 100 percent.

And he looked reasonably sharp beginning in the second round, when he adjusted somewhat to Oquendo’s bull rushes by timing him with punches, side-stepping him or holding when necessary.

Herring seemed to be taking control in the third round, when a left uppercut put Oquendo (31-7, 19 KOs) on his pants. The fourth was largely the same, with Herring getting the better of exchanges. Then, in the fifth, a clash of heads caused a deep cut over Herring’s right eye and changed everything.

Referee Tony Weeks ruled it an intentional foul, which would play a role in the conclusion of the fight.

From that point on, Herring struggled. Oquendo continued to push his way inside, to fight as roughly as he knew how, and a bloody-faced Herring was beyond frustrated. He had trouble seeing, he had no space to throw punches and the Puerto Rican challenger just never let up.

Finally, after Round 8, Herring’s trainer Brian McIntyre told Weeks that Herring’s vision was obstructed because of the damage above his eye. A doctor stepped in and asked Herring whether he could see. He replied, “no.”

And after a few minutes of discussion, Weeks had no choice but to stop the fight. Oquendo was disqualified because the fight ended as a result of his foul.

“We knew coming in he was going to be aggressive, with his head first,” Herring said. “He kept repeating it. Tony caught on. I didn’t want it to go on like that. … My team felt it was too much and they had to stop it. Whatever.”

Did Herring quit? After all, his eye wasn’t swollen shut. He merely had blood dripping into it, which boxers fight through all the time. Fans and pundits undoubtedly will debate Herring’s actions over the next several days.

The fact is he emerged with his title belt and he remains on track to face former two-division beltholder Carl Frampton, a fight Herring covets. Then he will be able to look forward instead of back at 20 horrible weeks of ups and downs and a horrible fight.

“I wasn’t too satisfied with my performance,” he said. “… I had never been in a situation where we had to stop a fight. It’s not always about getting a win; it’s how you look. It is what it is. [Promoter] Bob [Arum] told me to rest. It was a 20-week training camp. I still want Frampton next, in December or November.

“Physically, I was good. … I was never huffing and puffing. It just got too ugly. Over the second half of the fight, I just felt it was bad.”

Showtime Boxing Classics: Tony Weeks, Joe Goossen discuss Corrales-Castillo I

Two of those with the best view of the classic first fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo recently discussed it.

Two of those with the best view of the classic first fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo recently spoke with Brian Campbell of the “Morning Kombat” show.

Referee Tony Weeks worked the 2000s’ Fight of the Decade and Joe Goossen was in Corrales’ corner.

The epic 10th round saw Corrales go down twice only to get up each time and ultimately stop Castillo on May 7, 2005 in Las Vegas.

Showtime is replaying that fight and the Corrales-Castillo rematch as part of its “Showtime Boxing Classics” series at 10 p.m. ET / PT tonight (Friday).

“Never did I dream the fight would elevate to the level that it did,” Weeks said.

The veteran ref added: “Fifteen years later, I still think about this fight every day. What an honor to be a part of history. The two fighters put in all the work, and I just did what I was trained to do. …

“It really hit me when I went home and I’m getting all these phone calls for interviews, or people congratulating me on a great job. It was like, ‘What happened?’ When I had the chance to really sit down and look at it and see it, it was like, ‘Wow! What a fight.’”

Goossen said: “When [Corrales] got the point taken away from him on the second knockdown [for spitting out his mouthpiece], he was arguing with Tony Weeks. In my mind, that was a good thing because that showed presence of mind that he didn’t like the fact that he was getting a point taken away from him. …

“Now, I will tell you there were some people very close to Diego that were sitting a couple feet from me that were yelling at me to stop the fight. That I heard. And I responded with a quick ‘no’ because they deserved my response. … I knew what I was looking at. They may have thought differently. From their viewpoint, it may have looked a lot worse than I thought it looked.”

Castillo stopped Corrales in four rounds five months later. Less than two years after that, Corrales was killed in a motorcycle accident.

Campbell and partner Luke Thomas will host a live episode of “Morning Kombat” on the “Morning Kombat YouTube Channel” during the “Showtime Boxing Classics” telecast tonight. They will react to the fights in real time and take questions from fans.