Desert Stormed
Timothy Bradley (33-1-1 13 KO) wore down a poorly conditioned Brandon Rios (33-3-1 34 KO) and stopped him in the ninth on a series of body shots.
Bradley looked amazing, snapping straight right hands while exhibiting some of the best lateral movement he’s ever displayed. In addition, his defense was solid, hand speed elite and he utilized a side step-hook to the body combo beautifully on a few occasions.
Rios landed a few shots with more than one getting Bradley’s attention but did little else.
Bradley started to sit down on his punches in the seventh and in the ninth, buckled Rios to the canvas with a body shot. After Rios got up, Bradley attacked landing a hook to the body dropping Rios a second time. This time, Rios stayed down on a knee and waited to be counted out.
Bradley’s speed was way too much. Rios will always find difficulty with lighting quick opponents.
No surprise really. Yes Rios had looked good defeating Mike Alvarado in January but Alvarado by his own admission was grossly unprepared and shouldn’t have been in the ring.
Before that, Diego Chaves gave Rios a tough go and and Manny Pacquiao flat out dominated him. The signs of Rios’ decline have been present and the issues of his weight loss/gain only added to the problems.
Apparently, after barely not making weight then making it, Rios entered the ring on fight night in excess of 170. You could see the sluggishness impacting him each passing round as his rehydration plan backfired. After the fight Rios indicated he would retire.
Time for a public service announcement- alphabet soup, please get together and discuss the feasibility of same day weigh-ins or mandating limits for appropriate weight levels through rehydration.
Back to our regularly scheduled program-
Take nothing away from Bradley, he did what he was supposed to do. It was a very strong performance, just needs to be kept in perspective.
The partnership with Teddy Atlas is off to a rousing start.
The Return Of The King-Painting Masterpieces Fight After Fight
WBO Featherweight Champion Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1 3 KO) is six fights into his pro career and can already be included in the top pound for pound fighter discussions. Vasyl, meaning “king”, arguably the greatest amatuer ever is begining to breakthrough to another level in the pros.
On Saturday night in true “Hi-Tech” fashion, the Ukrainian dominated Romulo Koasicha (25-5 15 KO) before stopping him in the tenth on a flurry of punches culminating with a left to the midsection followed by a thunderous shot to the ribs. Game,Set, Match.
While Koasicha is not a championship caliber opponent, he is a solid pro and Loma made him look like a sparring partner.
Lomachenko’s footwork was sensational. He glides effortlessly to and from his opponent always in the position to counter or move out of harm’s way only slightly having to absorb anything in return. That’s not to say that he won’t be willing to take one to give one as he showed against Koasicha.
Lomachenko landed 64 % of his power punches according to Compubox.
“I was having fun in there if I wanted to knock him out earlier, I would have.” said Lomachenko
A matchup with Guillermo Rigondeaux would be amazing and we may see the best Lomachenko yet.
Lomachenko is a master technician in the ring and puts on a performances utilizing a skill set like no other fighter today. If you love the sweetness of the science, Lomachenko’s your man.
Monaco Masher
Ruslan Provodnikov (25-4 18 KO) stopped Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez (14-1 11 KO) in the fourth round in Monaco.
Who? Ya, I know, not really a household name facing the former WBO junior welterweight champion. Infact, out of fourteen fights, Alvarez-Rodriguez had only faced one fighter with a winning record.
In the fourth round, Provodnikov stunned Rodriguez with a big right. Sensing he was hurt, Provodnikov attacked with a barrage dropping Rodriguez. Provodnikov finished the job as Rodriguez got up, dazing him again with another right and then dropping him again with a left hook. The referee had seen enough.
This was Provodnikov’s first fight with ex-Bradley trainer, Joel Diaz since leaving Freddie Roach and we saw some glimpses of boxing from the slugger.
Ruslan turned boxer – puncher would be a scary thought, just sayin.
Ted Talk -Ideas Worth Screaming
“Are you ready for the fire? We are firemen. WE ARE FIREMEN! The heat doesn’t bother us. We live in the heat. We train in the heat. It tells us that we’re ready, we’re at home, we’re where we’re supposed to be. Flames don’t intimidate us. What do we do? We control the flame. We control them. We move the flames where we want to. And then we extinguish them.” -Teddy Atlas to Timothy Bradley
Christmas Early
Canelo v. Cotto under three weeks away, nuff said.
Standing-8 