Weekend boxing round-up: UFC madness steals the limelight

So after a big weekend of boxing to start off October, it was no doubt the MMA world took most of the limelight in the Khabib vs McGregor UFC lightweight championship fight. I’ll be giving my thoughts on the events of this fight at the bottom of the article, but first and foremost let’s give you the round up of the big boxing events from around the world this weekend.

Worlds Collide – Chicago, USA

This was the first boxing event Eddie Hearn has had with his new DAZN partnership with Matchroom Boxing and it was actually a pretty decent event and no doubt will continue to grow and get better with time. First up we had Gavin McDonnell vs Daniel Roman fighting for the WBA Super-Bantamweight belt which lasted 10 rounds. It was quite a tight fight in the opening rounds, but in the 10th a big right followed by a left uppercut shook up McDonnell enough to put him to ground with the referee calling a halt.

Next up we had Beterbiev vs Callum Johnson for the IBF light-heavyweight world title. Going into the fight I was really rooting for Johnson to shock the world, but within the first round Beterbiev had Callum down on the canvas after an awkward moment at the ropes saw his back turned to him. Johnson managed to come back in the second round with a heavy right hand that opened up Beterbiev’s defense which was led by a shuddering left hook from Johnson that sent him to the floor. At this point both seemed very aware of each others power, but Beterbiev still looked to be the heavier handed puncher. By the fourth round Johnson took a massive right hand from the Russian and there was no way he was going to get up.

In the next fight we saw Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller vs Tomasz Adamek a former two weight world title holder. Miller came into the fight weighing a ridiculous 317lbs and looked like none of the Pole’s punches were even affecting him throughout. By the second round a big right hook and uppercut from Miller put Adamek straight to the ground with no way of him getting back up – once again the ref putting the bout to a halt. Miller after the fight called out Joshua again and would not be surprised if this fight came about at one point, especially with both fighters coming under Hearn’s promotion.

To finish up the night we had a highly competitive welterweight match-up between Jessie Vargas vs Thomas Dulorme. Both fighters managed to put each other on the floor in the 12 round contest – Dulorme in the 10th and Vargas in the 12th. It was very close fight to throughout with both having their mark of success. The fight ended up a draw with one judge favouring Dulorme and the other two judges scoring the bout a draw. Fair result, but I feel Dulorme may have just edged it.

World Boxing Super Series – Yokohama, Japan

After a successful first season of the Super Series, the next chapter of the competition started in Japan at the weekend. The event kicked off with quarter-final action in the Bantamweight and Super-Lightweight competitions.

Everyone had a very keen eye on the Naoya Inoue vs Juan Payano, as the “Monster” from Japan was clearly going into the fight as a clear favourite. Inoue lived up to his name again as he destroyed Payano in first round with a very intelligent jab under Payano’s lead hand followed up with a powerful straight right which left him with no chance of getting up. (See below for yourself!) He definitely made a statement on Sunday, but we’ll need to see how he get’s on against a higher quality opponent to really see how good he is.  This will be Emmanuel Rodriguez or Jason Moloney in the next round.

? WHAT. A. MONSTER!!! ??? @naoyainoue_410

It’s over after 70s of the first round!! ?#InouePayano ?#AliTrophy #OnDAZN #WBSS2 #AndStill pic.twitter.com/3bkHdF7mMT

— World Boxing Super Series (@WBSuperSeries) October 7, 2018

We also had Kiryl Relikh vs Eduard Troyanovsky in a Super-lightweight fight for the WBA belt. It was quite a competitive bout which last 12 rounds, but Relikh looked the better fighter throughout and deservedly won unanimous points decision win from all three judges.

The Time is Now – Leicester, U.K.

A smaller scale show took place over in the Morningside Arena, in Leicester at the weekend, but was a disappointing watch I have to admit. Heavyweight prospect Daniel ‘DDD’ Dubois took on former American challenger Kevin Johnson, taking him the distance in a 10 rounder to win by unanimous victory. We also had a highly anticipated fight between Jack Catterall and Ohara Davies which ended up being a very disappointing even for the boxing purists it was tough one to watch – Catterall winning by UD. To end a disappointing night we had an absolute cracking fight between British prosepcts Archie Sharp and Lyon Woodstock, with both fighters going at each other non-stop for 10 rounds. Archie proved to be that little too ‘sharp’ over Woodstock in this brawl winning by UD. (excuse the pun)

UFC 229 – Las Vegas, USA

To start off, I know I focus primarily on boxing, but events like this in the fight world can’t be ignored! I have to admit I really enjoyed the whole build up, the fight itself and the aftermath. Obviously it doesn’t put MMA or the UFC in the best light from what happened, but I feel this whole situation was unique in itself with everything leading up to it.

After the events of Conor McGregor attacking the bus in New York, no one was sure if Conor would ever fight again for the UFC, it was absolute madness what he did and all over a slap on Conor’s training partner from Khabib. For McGregor to come back from all that and secure one of the biggest fights in UFC history with Kahbib was quite an incredible turn of events.

Fight night arrives – I have to admit, I was really excited for this one! I have watched Conor fight before many times and only seen Khabib highlight reels, but a lot of my MMA friends kept telling me how much of a beast Khabib is when it comes to wrestling. The fight eventually came and I felt Conor got absolutely destroyed by Khabib, especially as he wrestled him for most of the fight, McGregor just could not match him. When it came standing toe to toe in boxing/striking Conor got a few good hits, but nothing matched the Russian overhand right on Conor’s chin that left him stumbling – It was a long night for him in there and he got bad beating as the Irishman had to tap for submission from a choke hold.

Almost immediately after, the man from Dagestan let go of Conor and started shouting at McGregor’s team and jumped up on the cage and threw himself at McGregor’s jui-jitsu coach with two feet – just crazy! From there the situation really started to escalate, Conor tried to jump in himself but ended up getting punched by two of Khabib’s team – if you haven’t seen the madness already check it out below:

I wouldn’t be surprised if a second fight does happen now, there will be even more money in the next fight and Dana White will be licking his lips at bringing in more attention to the UFC franchise. This all adds to the story of this rivalry going forward and I’m sure Conor would like a chance to redeem himself after a very disappointing performance – let’s hope it happens.

Hope you enjoyed the weekend round-up! I’m planning on lot’s more reviews and fight previews in the coming weeks so make sure to keep an eye out give us a follow on social media.

Thanks for reading and have a good week!

J

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