By Eric Armit
July 15: Rosettes and Red Cards
Rosette: Nice to see Matchroom getting Ennis back fighting in his home city for the first time since 2018.
Red Card: To the referee of the Gonzalez vs. Barrera fight. Barrera was finished after being floored in the eighth and knew it. When the referee indicated to him to lift his gloves, he left them hanging at his side, so the referee grabbed them and swiped them against his shirt. So much for protecting the fighter.
Any low blow goes?
After the Usyk vs. Dubois controversy, I thought it was clear that anything on or below the belt line was a foul, but even after dropping Avanesyan with a very low punch in the first, Ennis continually landed on and below Avanesyan’s belt line, so now I have no idea of what constitutes a low blow. Perhaps they will adopt a knee line for future Ennis fights.
Modern day tape is too loose
Someone is making a fortune out of supplying rubbish glove wrappings. At the weekend, the fights involving Roman Gonzalez, Albert Batyrgaziev, Ruben Villa, and others saw the action stopped for the loose tape to be cut off and more tape added. I thought this had been solved, but if it is even happening in Nevada, then obviously not.
David Benavidez tapes his hands before working out with his brother Jose Benavidez Jr. (not pictured) during a media training session on November 9, 2023 in Burien, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Close shave for suspended contestant Ritter
Beards seem to be the in thing in sport these days but there are limits. Light-heavyweight Kwame Ritter, who lost to Khalil Cole at the weekend, has a very substantial chin adornment. So much so, that against his record of Commission suspensions is a note from the Californian Commission on Contest appearance stating: “All contestants shall be clean and tidy. Contestant’s facial [hair] is deemed an interference to the conduct of the bout. Contestant needs to trim or secure facial hair before next bout”. A Samson and Delilah for the 21st century!
July 22: Rosettes and Red Cards
Rosette: To promoters Jorge Fernandez and Williams Perez for their big show in Caracas. The biggest in many years in Venezuela. Even an honorary mention here goes to the Frank Warren show in Birmingham that had so many good matches on it.
Red Card: To Jonathan Rodriguez, a real party pooper. The three-title fight show in Tokyo was a huge event, but Rodriguez came in 6.4lbs overweight for his challenge for the WBO super fly title against Kosei Tanaka, so there were only two title fights.
Female game improving, slowly
Male boxing has taken over 100 years to get where it is today so it is unreasonable to expect female boxing to be to the same overall standard. The WBA light-heavyweight title fight in Queensland saw the former Australian heavyweight champion Che Kenneally ( she weighed 163 ¾ lbs when winning that heavyweight title) facing a Colombian who started her career weighing around 136lbs but was 174 ¼ for the fight at the weekend.
Going in, Kenneally’s four victims had combined records of 2-7. No criticism is intended; this is just an illustration of how different things still are regarding the depth and level of competition that exists between male and female boxing today. Female boxing gets stronger every year, and the Olympics could provide more role models for aspiring female boxers.
Jake Paul’s twisted values
What a twisted set of values in our sport. Jake Paul, a 9-0 novice with some moderate skills, fights a guy who has had only one previous fight and lost it. But Paul is a celebrity on social media. Hence, he gets loads more publicity and loads more money than a 46-2-1, extremely accomplished pro with multiple title belts, such as Amanda Serrano.
And we have the exciting prospect of a now 10-1-0 Paul fighting a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, recovering from ulcers, who has not fought since 2005 and has not won a fight since 2003. It is a twisted sport, indeed.
It’s getting real: Jake Paul and Mike Tyson