Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) made their Amazon Prime Video debut Saturday night time and, it doesn’t matter what you considered the present, you must admit it’s a boxing-plus to see the corporate make headlines for precise fights fairly than outside-the-ring enterprise issues.
Listed below are this jaded unhealthy man’s ideas on the present:
– Would Sebastian Fundora have walked away with a win on Saturday if not for that freak accident on the finish of the second spherical which noticed Tim Tszyu basically headbutt Fundora’s pointy-ass elbow and crack open the highest of his personal head within the course of? I say– nope.
Tszyu was already discovering the reply to Fundora’s long-range recreation plan when the incident occurred. Hell, he had already damaged Fundora’s nostril. With out the accident, I believe this combat would possibly’ve gone into the eighth– perhaps—earlier than Tszyu laid him out for good.
After the blood began flowing and visibility turned severely restricted, although, the second-generation world champ started working at considerably lower than 100%. It might be argued that Tszyu ought to’ve labored previous that and put a quicker and larger squeeze on Fundora to get the combat over and completed with. Fundora appeared there for the taking. It is also argued that Tszyu and/or his group ought to’ve compelled the combat to be known as. Nonetheless, the larger argument might be that the Nevada State Athletic Fee, seeing Tszyu’s imaginative and prescient was significantly impaired, ought to’ve had the combat stopped, at the very least after giving his nook a spherical or two to cease the gushing. The end result of this combat was a technicality constructed round a freak accident.
– Tainted victory or not, Fundora did nothing flawed. He performed the playing cards dealt to him and walked away with Tszyu’s WBO belt in addition to the vacant WBC strap. However you realize that there’s now going to be a mad sprint to get first crack at a weak defending champ carrying round two world title belts. Errol Spence was at T-Cell Area for the present and was introduced into the ring, post-fight. Enterprise realities dictate that Spence may find yourself getting the primary shot at Fundora, even when there are at the very least three next-fight opponents I can see as instantly extra deserving– Tszyu, Terence Crawford, and Jermell Charlo.
In an ideal world, I’d prefer to see Fundora-Tszyu II and Spence-Erickson Lubin high a 154 lb. double-header with the winners going through each other. On this not-so-perfect world, we might even see Fundora-Spence on the high of a invoice with Tszyu headlining some exhibits again in Australia.
– PBC has now moved on to 154 like they did with 147 a number of years in the past. Lots of the high names at junior middleweight at the moment are both PBC or PBC-aligned fighters and three of the 4 present world titles belong to PBC fighters. Throw in Spence and even a cross-your-fingers, want on a capturing star probability at Keith Thurman really coming again and so they have some good depth within the division. It’s definitely sufficient to tie up the highest of the division.
However this isn’t essentially a nasty factor. Bear in mind, when the corporate just about owned 147, we noticed Thurman, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, and Spence just about all combat each other over a number of years’ span (besides Spence-Thurman). We even noticed them carry Manny Pacquiao, Yordenis Ugas, and finally Terence Crawford into the combo. We’ll have to attend and see how issues are pieced collectively within the coming months.
– Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz just about steamrolled Rolando “Rolly” Romero to take Romero’s WBA junior welterweight title by way of eighth spherical TKO. The dominant win makes you actually, actually remorse Subriel Matias’ determination to indicators with Matchroom. A Matias-Cruz unification would’ve been a real irresistible pressure vs. immovable object basic. As issues stand now, the largest fights for Cruz could be outdoors the PBC umbrella, though there’s at all times Ismael Barroso, who was screwed by way of fast stoppage in his bid for the vacant WBA belt towards Rolly Romero final Could. Cruz-Barroso could be stellar, though you must assume that Cruz will now be on the lookout for greater cash fights. Possibly a Tank Davis rematch additionally comes into play. It also needs to be famous that, as I perceive it, Cruz is free to compete anyplace, for anybody, and isn’t essentially tied to combating on PBC playing cards.
– Think about Rolly Romero a really lucky younger man who managed to parlay an enormous mouth and an enormous persona into a few big-money fights and a world title. This loss ought to be the tip of the road for him, at the very least in the case of “critical” fights. There was some hope that working with legendary Cuban coach Ismael Salas would assist him add some refinement to his recreation. It didn’t. It’s laborious to examine a state of affairs the place he does something in any way towards any of the highest canines at 140. Rolly will seemingly be cashed-out towards fighters on the rise (Gary Antuanne Russell?) for so long as he might be cashed out, however the dream of elite-level stardom might be over.
– Talking of Rolly…His dazed, concussed “like Jesus resurrected, I’ll be again” post-fight interview will go down because the weirdest since Mike Tyson’s “spinal.” Oscar De La Hoya’s laughing social media response video (with a laughing cameo by Bernard Hopkins), gloating about Rolly’s KO loss, was really classless, however by no means sudden from a man whose post-fighting conduct screams “raging sociopath.”
– Oh yeah, and the way the fuck did choose Chris Flores have Rolly forward on the scorecards on the time of the stoppage? Test that man for a mini-stroke.
– Erislandy Lara’s critics needed to wait for nearly a decade, however the object of their derision has lastly morphed into the fighter they at all times needed him to be. As soon as upon a time a slick stylist spoiler, the Cuban southpaw has change into a banger with one-punch fight-ending means. His second spherical KO of Michael Zerafa in protection of the WBA middleweight title was Lara’s fourth stoppage in his final 5 fights and his third in lower than two full rounds throughout that span. The lack of some reflexes and foot velocity have pushed the 40-year-old into utilizing his skillful positioning and timing to raised sit down on his photographs and work an influence recreation. With this shift in type and mindset, Lara nonetheless has an opportunity to make some waves on the elite degree of a reasonably shallow 160 lb. expertise pool. After all, he must be extra energetic to take action. This Zerafa win was his first combat in almost two full years.
– Julio Cesar Martinez-Angelino Cordova had an actual “cock combat” vibe to it. Martinez is a nasty little man, however he most undoubtedly must be off the once-a-year combat plan. He walked by means of one of the best of Cordova like somebody who had been simply itchin’ to fuck somebody up.
– Curmel Moton-Anthony Cuba and Serhii Bohachuk-Brian Mendoza the place good motion fights for the PBC on Prime free lead-up present. No complaints with these warm-ups in any respect. Bohachuk and Moton are bad-asses, however Mendoza and Cuba are additionally bad-asses in their very own proper and greater than welcome to make a reappearance someplace alongside the road.
– All in all, this debut PBC on Prime occasion was a fairly good present with well-made, high quality fights all through the cardboard and the form of high-end manufacturing values that popped into thoughts when the PBC-Prime alliance was first confirmed. Extra free, much less PPV could be good, although. I can’t assist however get the sensation that this top-to-bottom high quality card goes to fall squarely into an “if a tree falls within the forest and there’s no one round to listen to it…” actuality.
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