Tag: Vladimir Nikitin

Teofimo Lopez’s father: more prophet than fool, it turns out

Teofimo Lopez Sr. has long predicated that his son would quickly become one of the top boxers in the world.

This time last year Teofimo Lopez Sr. was the mad man in the attic. He was telling everyone within earshot that his son and trainee, Teofimo Lopez Jr., would blow out Vasiliy Lomachenko. No sweat. Lopez Jr. was then but a prospect coming off a vicious knockout of club-level Mason Menard. Lomachenko was a three-division titleholder with a sui generis skillset. Everyone scoffed, rolled their eyes, chalked it up to to Sr.’s usual tendency to gloat about his son.

It turns out he may not be so crazy.

On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, Lopez did away with Richard Commey, a hard-punching Ghanian lightweight titleholder, inside two rounds. Prior to the fight, Lopez’s father predicted an early knockout. Mad man? More like prophet.

“I had said that it wouldn’t go past the fifth or sixth round,” Lopez Sr. told Boxing Junkie. “I said it could be another Mason Menard fight. I knew once (my son) hurt him, he had to finish him. Commey’s a big puncher. He was on a string of like four knockouts. We had to take him out right away.”

The belt Teofimo Lopez won on Saturday night might be the first of many. He’s only 22. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

The pivotal punch was a booming overhand right that instantly crippled Commey, who was loading up on one of his own.

“We talked about it (that punch) during training camp,” Lopez Sr. said. “It’s a punch that we throw when somebody leans in. Commey leans in a lot with the right hand. We knew we were going to catch him. We just had to be a little bit faster than he was. and we caught him right on the chin, caught him in a good spot.”

Now father and son can focus on the man the elder Lopez has been calling out for more than a year.

“I’ve been saying that for a long time,” Lopez Sr. said. “My son will take all the belts from Lomachenko in 2020.”

And as if his son needed an additional boost against the No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound, Lopez Sr. says the knockout of Commey will play with Lomachenko’s mind. Lomachenko witnessed the devastation from ringside.

“That’s why we did it (knockout Commey),” Lopez Sr. said. “We gonna show everybody we got the biggest punch in boxing right now at his weight division. 135. Nobody cracking like him.”

Terence Crawford batters, stops Egidijus Kavaliauskas in Round 9

Terence Crawford stops Egidijus Kavaliauskas in 9th round to successfully defend his welterweight title at Madison Square Garden.

NEW YORK CITY – For a moment or two, panic took root Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

It started in Round 3, when a mean overhand right sent the sweat flying from Terence Crawford’s brow, causing the welterweight titleholder to hold onto the man who threw the punch, the challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas. An unfamiliar sight. A slew of combinations from the Lithuanian led to Crawford touching the canvas in what should have been ruled a knockdown – but referee Ricky Gonzalez saw otherwise, calling it a slip.

And it continued in the next round, with Kavaliauskas landing flush right-hand counters. The message was clear enough: Kavaliauskas, the fighter whose name did not even merit spelling or pronouncing leading up to the fight, did not make the trek to New York City to simply lie down.

And Crawford? The Omaha native simply smiled, bit down on his mouth piece and trawled forward in the direction of the gunfire.

In what played out to be his most challenging fight at welterweight, Crawford still found a way to break down Kavaliauskas, dropping him three times and stopping him 44 seconds into Round 9.

Terence Crawford’s performance wasn’t always a thing of beauty but the result was familiar. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

“I thought I had to entertain ya’ll for a little bit,” said Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs). “He’s a strong fighter, durable, and I thought I’d give the crowd something to cheer for.”

After Kavaliauskas (21-1-1, 17 KOs) connected on his blistering right in Round 3, Crawford gave up on finesse and adopted a far more dogged approach: high guard, plodding footwork and a mindset geared toward hurting his man. “Take two to land one,” as the dictum goes.

“I wasn’t hurt at all,” Crawford said, regarding Round 3. “I got up and went straight to him. I wasn’t hurt by no means. I walked through everything he threw all night.”

Case in point was the pivotal Round 7. Crawford, who by this time had switched from a southpaw to an orthodox stance, absorbed two point-blank left and right punches from Kavaliauskas. Crawford’s response? He simply stood in the pocket and responded with his own fierce combinations, before eventually landing two straight rights that dropped the Lithuanian for the first time in the fight.

From then on, Kavaliauskas was a marked man. Crawford opened up his arsenal, landing an array of straight lefts, uppercuts and sweeping right hooks that had Kavaliauskas teetering from pillar to post. Chants of “Crawford” filled the arena from a reported 10,101 in attendance.

Crawford’s demeanor after the fight said, “That’s how I planned it.” Mikey Williams / Top Rank

“The round before that, my coaches kept telling me [to] stop loading up,” Crawford said. “I was loading up a lot because the first couple clean shots I landed, I knew I hurt him. I wanted to give the crowd a knockout. When I started letting my hands go, I started landing more fatal shots.”

Crawford delivered the finishing touches in Round 9, dropping Kavaliauskas with a left hand, right uppercut. Referee Ricky Gonzalez allowed the fight to go on, but after Crawford downed the challenger again with a right hook, Fields waved off the fight.

The promotion had been clouded by talk of Crawford’s inability to lure into the ring other top 147-pounders, who are aligned with Premier Boxing Champions. Crawford, who fights for Top Rank, addressed those concerns by shifting the burden of responsibility to the likes of Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, Manny Pacquiao, et al.

“I’ll fight anybody,” Crawford said. “I’ve been saying that for I don’t know how long. I’m not ducking anyone on the PBC side or Top Rank platform.

“I want to fight all the top guys.”

Teofimo Lopez Richard Commey

Crown him. In a rousing, statement-making performance, Teofimo Lopez drubbed Richard Commey inside two rounds to become the newest IBF lightweight titleholder on the Terence Crawford-Egidijus Kavaliauskas card Saturday at Madison Square Garden in …

Crown him.

In a rousing, statement-making performance, Teofimo Lopez drubbed Richard Commey inside two rounds to become the newest IBF lightweight titleholder on the Terence Crawford-Egidijus Kavaliauskas card Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In the second and final round, the fighters traded vicious overhand rights but Lopez’s landed, causing Commey to take a knee and stumble over. He was able to get up but never regained his senses completely. Lopez proceeded to batter the Ghanian fighter on the ropes, prompting referee David Fields to stop the fight at 1:13.

“God, thank you,” Lopez (15-0, 12 knockouts) said afterward. “Thank you so much, man. I’m at a loss of words. But like the great ‘KG’ said, anything is possible. Anything is possible!”

In the toughest assignment of his career, Lopez displayed the fast-twitch reflexes, power, and poise that belies his 22 years. Lopez, to be sure, didn’t appear bothered by the familial issues that dogged him in his last bout against Masayoshi Nakatani earlier in the year.

Commey (29-3, 26 KOs), making the second defense of his title, acquitted himself well in the opening round, landing a hard right that got Lopez’s attention, as well as mixing in a few jabs. But that would be the extent of his success.

“That’s a bad guy (Commey), man,” Lopez said. “Any shot could have done the same thing. I think that’s why everybody was looking to the fight. It was going to be an explosive night.

“It’s a blessing, man. Dreams come true, man. You just gotta have faith in it.”

The win sets up a unification of three of the four lightweight belts for 2020. Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko holds the other two belts. Lomachenko, who was sitting ringside, confirmed that he wanted a unification fight next.

Also, Josue Vargas outlasted Noel Murphy in a hard-fought 10-round junior welterweight bout.

All three judges awarded the Bronx-based Vargas a 98-92 scorecard.

After a few early close rounds, Vargas (16-1, 9 KOs) began to pull away by repeatedly landing hard right hooks and straight lefts. Murphy (14-2-1, 2 KOs) got on his bicycle, having occasional success countering Vargas as he barreled his way inside, but he had few answers otherwise for Vargas’ overall aggression.

“What a blessing to fight in front of my home fans and put on a show for them,” said Vargas, who picked up an interim title. “The belt means the world to me. I know this isn’t a world title, but I am on my way. To be 21 years old and fight at The Garden is truly special.”

Edgar Berlanga will need another occasion to go past the opening round for the first time in his career. The hard-hitting prospect knocked down Cesar Nunez (16-2-1, 8 KOs) thrice in the first round, before the referee waved off the bout at 2-45.

This was Berlanga’s 13th first-round knockout win in as many fights. According to the young fighter, he wanted to continue the streak in honor of his late cousin who was murdered during training camp.

“Next fight I want to go more rounds, but I wanted the first-round knockout for my cousin,” Berlanga (13-13, 13 KOs) said. “I want to be the one to carry the Puerto Rican flag and represent the island in New York.”

Julian Rodriguez is figuring out what happens when his opponents don’t keel over from one punch.

The hard-hitting Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey native went the distance against an unusually durable Manuel Mendez in an 8-round junior welterweight bout.

Two judges scored it 80-71 and one had it 79-72, all for the undefeated Rodriguez.

Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) started off hot, dropping Mendez with a hard left hook early in Round 1. Rodriguez followed up with a fusillade of punches, including another whiplashing left hook.

But instead of wilting, Mendez (16-7-3, 11 KOs) put his head down and continued to come forward, absorbing shot after shot. By Round 3, Rodriguez appeared to be tiring, even though Mendez was landing nothing much of consequence. By the mid rounds, it was Mendez who was stalking Rodriguez. In the final round, Rodriguez was able to pull away, landing multiple combinations.

Undefeated Australian George Kambosos Jr. edged Cleveland’s Mickey Bey by split decision in a closely contested 10-round lightweight bout.

Two judges had it 97-92 and 96-93 in favor of the Aussie. One gave it to Bey, 97-94.

Kambosos (18-0, 10 KOs) was a tad quicker during the exchanges, which proved to be critical. After nine back-and-forth rounds, Kambosos turned it up in Round 10, knocking down Bey (23-3-1, 11 KOs) with a hard counter right uppercut. Kambosos followed up with a slew of punches, including a hard left as Bey survived on the ropes.

Michael Conlan dominates Vladimir Nikitin, gets his redemption

Michael Conlan dominated Vladimir Nikitin in almost every conceivable way to win a 10-round featherweight bout Saturday in New York City.

It’s not an Olympic medal but Michael Conlan will take it.

Three years ago, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Irishman was eliminated by Vladimir Nikitin of Russia in the quarterfinals by a decision that didn’t reflect what happened in the ring. The Irishman famously let the judges know how he felt by showing them his middle finger.

This evening, on the Terence Crawford-Egidijus Kavaliauskas card, Conlan got the only redemption available to him.

Conlan dominated Nikitin in almost every conceivable way in a 10-round featherweight bout, outboxing him, outslugging him and ultimately outpointing him by a wide margin in front of his adopted fans at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

This time the scores were spot on: 98-92, 99-91 and 100-90, all for Conlan.

“I always said I had no ill feelings toward Vladimir, nothing personal. I just had to get that one back,” Conlan said in the ring afterward.

Conlan (13-0, 7 KOs) controlled the fight from the opening bell. In the early rounds, he was content to keep his distance from the aggressive Nikitin and outbox him, jabbing, pounding his body with consistency, landing shots to the head and moving when trouble approached.

Then, in the second half of the contest, Conlan decided to fight Nikitin’s fight by standing toe to toe with him at times. However, even then, even though he stepped bravely into a danger zone, he still got the better of the exchanges.

The only thing Conlan couldn’t do was knock out Nikitin (3-1, 0 KOs), although his body work and hard shots to the head late in the fight certainly got his opponent’s attention.

Conlan seemed to enjoy the inside exchanges, which pumped life into what became an entertaining fight, but he said afterward that it probably wasn’t a good idea when he could’ve cruised to victory from the outside.

“You could see, when I wanted to trade, I could do it better than him,” he said, “but this game is about longevity.”

Conlan didn’t want to discuss his future after the fight, saying his immediate goal is to enjoy his Christmas dinner. He did say that he expects to fight for a world title within a year, which is another dream of his.

He can focus 100 percent on that now. The Olympic thing has been settled.

 

 

Terence Crawford, Egidjius Kavaliasukas make weight

Terence Crawford and Egidjius Kavaliasukas both made weight for their main event welterweight clash on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Terence Crawford and Egidjius Kavaliasukas both made weight for their welterweight clash on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City on ESPN. At stake is Crawford’s welterweight title.

Omaha’s Crawford (30-5, 26 KOs) weighed in at the 147-pound limit. Lithuania’s Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17 KOs) weighed 146½.

For the undercard, titleholder Richard Commey (29-2, 26 KOs) and challenger Teofimo Lopez (14-0, 11 KOs) both stepped on the scales at 134¼ pounds for their 12-round lightweight fight.

Also, Mick Conlan (12-0, 7 KOs) weighed in at 125½, while Vladimir Nikitin (3-0) weighed the limit of 126 for their 10-round featherweight bout, a rematch of their meeting in the 2016 Olympics, in which Nikitin won a controversial decision.

Michael Conlan finally has chance to finish story that started in Rio

Michael Conlan is best known for being cheated at the 2016 Olympics. Now he has the chance to beat the fighter who had his hand raised.

Michael Conlan, a promising young featherweight, is still known more for what he did than what he is expected to do. Two upraised fingers, one on each upraised hand, were his way of saying goodbye to the amateurs three years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

It was profane. Popular, too.

Conlan expressed what many have thought about Olympic boxing and the lousy decisions that have left a stench ever since the Roy Jones Jr. heist at the 1988 Seoul Games.

Conlan’s gesture said it all then.

He intends to say some more Saturday night.

But this time he promises his only gesture will be a beating of Russian Vladimir Nikitin on the Terence Crawford-Egidijus Kavaliauskas undercard at New York’s Madison Square Garden on ESPN+.

“A demolition job,’’ Conlan said at a media workout Tuesday.

A demolition of the past, perhaps, with what Conlan hopes is a comprehensive beating that will leave little doubt about how bad the judging was in Rio.

“I want to right the wrong of what happened in Rio,” he said.

Ireland’s Michael Conlan (right, punching Mexico’s Ruben Garcia Hernandez) is 12-0 as a pro but hasn’t forgotten his Olympic disappointment. AP Photo / Frank Franklin II

Nikitin, badly bloodied, got a decision that kept Conlan, a 2012 bronze medalist, from moving on to a chance at the gold medal he had always wanted. Nikitin withdrew from his next bout, which would have been against eventual silver-medalist Shakur Stevenson. The Russian Federation said Nikitin suffered unspecified injuries against Conlan. Nikitin wound up with a bronze medal anyway.

Meanwhile, Conlan left Rio without a medal, yet with rock-and-roll-like notoriety. He also gained a reputation for defiance, always a good thing to have in the pro ranks.

He even tweeted to Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking him how much it cost to pay off the judges. No word on whether Putin saw the tweet. He might have been too busy reading Donald Trump’s twitter account

Anyway, Conway went home to Belfast beloved. At a corner in his Catholic neighborhood, there’s a mural of him, spread across one wall. He was celebrated for his honesty in Rio. Yet there was always a lingering desire to finish the story. Now he has the chance to deliver the final punctuation point and move on.

“This fight is a long time coming,’’ Conlan (12-0, 7 KOs) said. ‘We were supposed to fight in August, but Vladimir got injured. I’m excited. We’re ready to rock, and the fans in New York can expect a big performance.

“Listen, regardless of what I think about the (amateur) judges, I have never officially beaten him. I need to go out there and get my hand raised.’’

Conlan also said he bears no personal animus for Nikitin, who resides in Oxnard, Calif. At 29, Nikitin, is getting a late start in the pros. He’s 3-0, all by decision and all three in the U.S.

“We fought twice, and I won both times,’’ said Nikitin, who also beat Conlan in 2013. “I know this is the professional game, and I am happy that I have to chance to prove that I am once again the better fighter.”