Chris Strait
official blog

Last Saturday night marked the first boxing event at the brand new Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. In his first fight at 154 lbs, former two-time welterweight champ Paul “The Punisher” Williams (36-1, 26 KOs) scored an 8th round TKO over Verno Phillips (42-11-1, 21 KOs) for the vacant WBO interim 154 lb title. Williams was cut over the right eye by an unintentional head butt in round one, but the blood did not stop his forward momentum.

While Phillips was competitive, Williams won each round, and gradually by a wider and wider margin as the fight wore on. After eight round, Phillips eye still seemed clear, but he was absorbing tremendous punishment, and the bout was waved off. It was the former 3-time champ Phillips’ first stoppage loss since 1988. Phillips later said at the press conference that he would likely have two more fights before retiring.

In an IBF eliminator for the #2 position, undefeated heavyweight Cristobal Arreola (26-0, 23 KOs) scored a dramatic comeback third round TKO over Travis Walker (28-2-1, 22 KOs). Walker dominated round one, routinely connecting with jabs and straight rights as Arreola was uncharacteristically cautious, feeling out his opponent. Walker continued his offensive prowess in round two, and he dropped Arreola to a knee with a big right hand. However, as Walker attempted to follow up, he got into harm’s way, and Arreola floored Walker twice in the same round with brutal barrages.

While still wobbly, Walker survived the round, but was down again only 13 seconds into the 3rd from a huge Arreola left hook, and the fight was stopped. Walker, whose only other loss was by a quick and early stoppage, put up a slight protest, but the stoppage was the correct call. Arreola wins the first of two IBF eliminators with the victory. The bout was also for the NABF and WBC Continental Americas titles. Afterwards, Arreola spoke to Stick and Move, and said he does not plan on doing the “rope-a-dope” strategy again, but added that he still “loves to get hit!”

Making his pro debut, 2008 Olympian Shawn Estrada needed only a minute to defeat Lawrence Jones (2-2-1, 1 KO) in a junior middleweight fight. Estrada pinned Jones to the ropes early, and unloaded until Jones collapsed in the corner, at which point the fight was waved off.

Unbeaten Jr. Welterweight Michael Dallas Jr. (5-0-1, 1 KO) and Mexican toughman Jose Alfredo Lugo (10-5-1, 5 KOs) fought to a six round majority draw. One judge had Dallas up 58-56, as did “Stick And Move’, as it seemed Lugo, of Los Mochis, Mexico did not even start mounting an offense until round five. However, the other two judges each found another round to give him and handed in scores of 57-57. Dallas, of Bakersfield , is managed by Jackie Kallen.

Heavyweight Manuel Quezada, of Bakersfield, CA (25-4, 15 KOs) scored a ten round decision over Teke Oruh, of Las Vegas by way of Africa (14-2-1, 6 KOs). Scores were 98-92 across the board for Quezada. Stick And Move had it 97-93, in what was largely a glorified sparring session. Both men would hear boos from the crowd, and try to amp it up for a few seconds, before falling into a lull once again. Quezada’s work-rate was ultimately better, and he retained his WBC CABOFE belt (because when I think Carribean, I think freakin’ Bakersfield!).

Jr. Welterweight Josesito Lopez, of Riverside, CA (23-3,14 KOs) scored a 2nd round TKO over Alex “Cubanito” Perez, of Miami, FL (23-32-4, 18 KOs). The bout was waved off after Lopez floored Perez, and followed up with a 15-punch barrage.

I can’t help but notice that Manny is being advertised as the best fighter around now. Certainly, one can make a case for this. And a couple years ago, his case was better than Calzaghe. That is no longer the situation, and I present the following three points as to why I believe Calzaghe stands clearly alone.

1) Barrera and Morales were no less over the hill when they fought Pacquiao, than Hopkins and Jones were when they fought Calzaghe. Pacquiao’s wins against fellow stars are therefore no more impressive than Calzaghe’s.

2) Pacquiao has losses. Calzaghe doesn’t. Period. Not that Pacquiao’s losses don’t come with slight asterisks (low blow, drained from weight loss, close decision), but he does/can slip. Calzaghe always comes through, no matter what.

3) Calzaghe can say he beat top contemporaries like Lacy and Kessler, in dominating fashion. Pacquiao’s only contemporary championship level opponent was Marquez, and his record there is 1-0-1. Either fight could have gone to Marquez, also.

Bringing his power and skill from 112 to 135, is indeed impressive, and he is a deserving number 2.. but Joe Calzaghe is in a category of his own.

IN BERT SUGAR’S MOST RECENT BOOK…
GIMME A BREAK! BERT, I RESPECT YOU AS A GREAT BOXING MAN, BUT YOU’RE WRONG HERE. CHAVEZ ISN’T EVEN THE BEST MEXICAN FIGHTER. FINITO LOPEZ AND SALVADOR SANCHEZ WERE BETTER.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA DIDN’T EVEN MAKE THE LIST, AND HE WIPED THE CANVAS WITH CHAVEZ TWICE. DON’T TELL ME CHAVEZ WAS SHOT. HE WOULD’VE BEATEN HIM AT ANY TIME IN BOTH CAREERS.
CHAVEZ WAS A MUTLI-DIVISION WORLD CHAMPION, WHO BEAT MANY GOOD FIGHTERS, AND WAS EXCITING… BUT HE WAS ALSO A WELL-CONNECTED FIGHTER WHO WON A LOT OF CORRUPT DECISIONS, AND HE SHOULD BE REMEMBERED FOR THAT AS WELL.

IF HE DIDN’T HAVE THE WBC AND DON KING, HE WOULD’VE BEEN 77-4 WHEN RANDALL BEAT HIM, NOT 81-0, AND HE EVEN TRIED TO STEAL THAT DECISION, AND GOT MAD WHEN THEY COULDN’T. LET’S NOT FORGET THE QUESTIONABLE QUALITY OF MUCH OF CHAVEZ’S OPPOSITION.
I FEEL THAT MUCH OF CHAVEZ’S FAME COMES FROM THE FIERCE LOYALTY OF MEXICAN FANS, WHOSE LOVE FOR CHAVEZ OFTEN BLURS THE TRUTH… OR AS I CALL IT: BROWN GOGGLES.

IF YOU RE-ADJUST THE RECORD FOR WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE READ, HE MAY STILL MAKE THE TOP 100, BUT WAY AT THE BOTTOM, AND DE LA HOYA SHOULD BE MUCH HIGHER. JUST BECAUSE HE IS AN OFTEN PHONY PRETTY BOY WHO SINGS AND CHANGES TRAINERS EVERY OTHER WEEK, DOESN’T MEAN HE ISN’T ONE OF THE GREATEST FIGHTERS OF ALL TIME.
NAME ANOTHER FIGHTER, EVEN AN OLD-TIME FIGHTER, THAT SPENT 15 YEARS TAKING ON ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL FIGHTERS, AND NEVER ONCE WAS DOMINATED… ONLY EVEN LOSING LEGITIMATELY 3 TIMES? THINK ABOUT IT.
ONLY SUGAR RAY ROBINSON COMES TO MIND, BESIDES OSCAR. TIME TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT.

Is it me, or are the German-based fighters getting weaker and weaker with their excuses for pulling out of fights? Chagaev got sick, then had an injury. Abraham had a tummy ache, now Povetkin tripped in the woods?! What’s next? I have caca in my panties?!
There is one way Germany will apparently never supplant the U.S.A. And that is being a man, and toughing it out! This is the country where men fight with broken hands, ribs, etc. I’m not saying this is the right way, certainly it is the other extreme, but can we find a happy medium, here?
Do they really think we are buying this nonsense? Povetkin is probably waiting out his promotional contract. Abraham is having difficulty making weight. Chagaev? Who the hell knows what his issue is, but I hear he is not drawing enough attention. Maybe avoiding opponents like Matt Skelton might limit that issue. I know mandatories can be annoying, and but I find it ironic that none of these injuries occur when bigger paydays loom.

Stripping, forcing to give up, and charging ridiculous fees? You name it, the IBF is doing it. The once indicted, obviously corrupt sanctioning body does not allow anyone who wins their titles to keep them for very long.
Verno Phillips is the latest to suffer because he decided to fight a real opponent. Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton twice have both had to relinquish the 140lb title three times in the last two years! Same with Antonio Margarito at 147.
It seems the minute one of their champions decided to face a live body, or god forbid, a unification match, they cannot wait to strip them, or force their hand to extort ridiculous step-aside fees (which incidentally do not guarantee exemption, and are non-refundable). Don’t expect the winner of Caballero vs. Molitor to be able to keep the IBF strap for long after that fight happens.
Same with Joshua Clottey, should he fight Margarito. Same with Chad Dawson should choose to fight anyone other than mandatory Tavoris Cloud. Cloud is a great prospect, but as of now, he is high-risk, low reward, and needs another win or two to justify tangling with perhaps the number 2 light heavyweight in the world.
It is hard enough to get these top guys to fight each other, without complicating things by routinely stripping them of their belts, and handing sadi belts to lesser fighters. Like it or not, these belts mean something to fighters, and confuse the fans. But maybe you can do a little something for the people whose loyalty pays your salary, and take your foot off the monetary burn-throttle long enough to let your sport thrive. Trust me, IBF, you can be de-legitimized easier than you think. There are better run organizations waiting to take your place.

I have had this continuing blog of fighters who should quit, but I want to make an entry or three in the positive side… fighters who should not quit. These names have been either hinting at retirement, or had others hinting at it for them… and I’d like to make the rare plea for them to stay: Read the rest of this entry »

And I mean that in both the good and bad ways. He is an explosive puncher with poise, and skill. We have not really seen him get hit yet. He overtook an impressive, but overrated champion (Ponce DeLeon, a bit like Maurice Blocker at that time in his career), and is getting rid of substandard challengers easily. Read the rest of this entry »

WARNER CENTER WAR 2
Welterweight prospect Vardan Gasparyan got back to action after an eight month layoff, as he stopped limited knockout artist Anthony Charnell in the first round Friday Night at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, CA.

The bout headlined a seven-bout “Warner Center War II” card, presented by Kahren Harutunyan’s Art of Boxing Promotions. It was a packed house, featuring Armenian singer Lucy Hart and several local rap artists. Read the rest of this entry »

Can someone explain to me why ESPN (AKA - Your Boxing Authority) has a season?!  Isn’t one of the pluses of our great sport the fact that it can spruce things up when other sports are slow?  Isn’t this why they schedule most big fights for February, May, September, and November? When not much else is happening?  And this is the thanks we get?  Being shuffled off for four months? Read the rest of this entry »

Trying to make the Olympics. This may sound pessimistic, but as Raushee Warren in 2008 reminded us, and Eric Griffin in 1992 originally showed us…Olympic judges are some evil bastards.
A young kid can work very hard for 4 years, and have it stolen by a dick-less empty suit trying to make a point about someone’s government, or whatever. Read the rest of this entry »