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History repeats itself when it comes to the welterweights.
Every generation or so a crop of welterweights grabs the attention of not only boxing fans, but casual sports fans too.
Think late 1990s when Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Ike Quartey and Sugar Shane Mosley roamed the 147-pound landscape. Three of the four mentioned were voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
And before that, in the early 1980s, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy “Hit Man” Hearns, Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran and Wilfredo “Radar” Benitez captured interest of all sports fans. Every one of those fighters is in the Hall of Fame.
July has become the month of the welterweights with four young punishing welterweight contenders battling to see who fights the kings, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., who fight to claim undisputed status later this month.
It’s the month of all months.
Flaming hot Philadelphia welterweight Jaron Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) meets Venezuela’s brick busting Roiman Villa (26-1, 24 KOs) on Saturday, July 8, at The Ballroom in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  Showtime will televise the TGB Promotions event.
Saturday was also supposed to feature Vergil Ortiz Jr. but the Texas welterweight with all knockouts on his record was physically unable to fight Eimantas Stanionis. Medical issues forced Ortiz to withdraw.
But in Atlantic City, the highly-touted Ennis will exchange blows with once-beaten Villa to see who will get a crack at the future undisputed welterweight world champion.
Ennis has a complete set of tools to ascend to the very top.
“I’m ready for anybody. But right now, we have business to take care of. I’m focused on Roiman Villa and then we’ll worry about what’s next,” said Ennis.
Styles make fights and you never know what will happen. He does have a size advantage over Villa who is listed at 5’7”. Ennis is 5’10”.
“When you get an opportunity to fight a world class fighter like Ennis, you have to take that chance. It’s my duty to go after the toughest challenges and take advantage of opportunities like this. I’m not afraid of anybody,” said Villa.
These two know a victory catapults them to the forefront of the talented welterweight division where the two kingpins, Spence and Crawford, roam. And if Ortiz is able to overcome his medical issues, will he or Stanionis be part of the new quartet of welterweights to rival those of yesteryear?
Back in the late 1990s though Trinidad fought De La Hoya, he did not face Quartey or Mosley. I distinctly remember Mosley chasing down Trinidad in the lobby of Caesars Place in Las Vegas itching for a chance at the Puerto Rican bomber. It never happened.
In the late 70s and early 80s all the top welterweights fought each other. Leonard fought Duran three times, Hearns twice and Benitez once. Many regard that era as the best era for welterweights in the history of prizefighting.
Can that happen again with this generation of welterweights?
Vergil Ortiz Jr.
The sad news that Vergil Ortiz Jr. was forced to withdraw just days before the fight left fans torn.
It was the third time the likeable undefeated welterweight was scratched in the last days before a showdown.
I’m not a medical expert but Ortiz did have two bouts with Covid-19 and perhaps that had something to do with his health problems. Doctors have said after-effects of the coronavirus could remain forever in people afflicted.
Undefeated lightweight Floyd Schofield (14-0, 11 KOs) has been elevated to main event status as he faces Haskell Rhodes (28-4-1, 13 KOs) in defense of the WBA International title. The Golden Boy Promotions card will be streamed on DAZN.
Schofield hails from Austin, Texas and trains with Ronnie Shields. He made his pro debut during the pandemic and has already acquired 14 fights in a short time considering the circumstances.
“Thank you for not canceling this fight and my best wishes to Virgil Ortiz. Make sure you tune in on Saturday. It’s gonna be a good show,” said Schofield, 20.
Rhodes, 35, was equally grateful the card will proceed.
“I know he’s super talented, but I’ve seen a lot like him, and I’m used to styles like his, so I bring the experience and I’m ready,” said Rhodes who fights out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He’s faced world champions like Sergey Lipinets and contenders such as Edner Cherry.
The co-main event features WBA and WBC flyweight titlist Marlen Esparza (13-1, 1 KO) clashing with Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz (14-0, 6 KOs) the WBO flyweight titlist in a unification match set for 10 two-minute rounds.
It should be interesting. Alaniz can punch.
“I am ready to show everyone the kind of fighter I am. I am very excited to be able to defend my world title and be able to fight for two more world titles,” said Alaniz (14-0, 6 Kos) who fights out of Buenos Aires.
Esparza remains confident.
“My goal is to become undisputed and this is what I need to do to get there. I understand I’m also facing a world champion,” said Esparza who fights out of Houston, Texas. “So, we’re taking this very seriously.”
Friday Night Fights
Super middleweight hotshot Diego Pacheco (18-0, 15 KOs) gets a chance to unleash those hands against Mexico’s Manuel Gallegos (19-1-1, 16 KOs) on Friday July 7, at Monterrey, Mexico. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.
Pacheco, 6’4” in height, was last seen destroying England’s Jack Cullen in four rounds. Mexico’s Gallegos is almost as tall as Pacheco. The Los Mochis fighter is 6’3”.
Nery is Back
Luis Nery returns after his blazing firefight earlier this year in Pomona with Azat Hovhannisyan.
Nery (34-1, 26 KOs) meets Filipino Froilan Saludar (33-6-1, 23 KOs) in the main event on Saturday July 8 at Metepec, Mexico. How much does he have left after that vicious encounter last February? ESPN Knockout will stream the fight card.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 5 p.m. Diego Pacheco (18-0) vs Manuel Gallegos (19-1-1).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (14-0) vs Haskell Rhodes (28-4-1), Marlen Esparza (13-1) vs Gabriela Alaniz (14-0).
Sat. ESPN+ 6 p.m. Luis Nery (34-1) vs Froilan Saludar (33-6-1).
Sat. Showtime 6:30 p.m. Jarron Ennis (30-0) vs Roiman Villa (26-1).
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Great Things Are Expected of Diego Pacheco, a Rising Star from South Central LA
The Business of Boots (Ennis That Is)
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A capacity crowd inside the ballroom of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City saw Jaron “Boots” Ennis (31-0, 28 KO’s) continue his quest to rise to the top of the welterweight division. Unfortunately for the tough-as-nails Roiman Villa (26-2, 24 KO’s), it was at his expense.
Villa, known as the pressure fighter coming in, found himself facing an opponent in the skilled Ennis who was more than happy to meet him at the center of the ring. By the end of the third round, both fighters were happy to stand in the pocket and try to establish their dominance.
Throughout the first five rounds, Ennis was able to control things, despite getting hit at times by the game Villa. Subtle inside movements by Ennis allowed him to roll away from incoming punches and counter effectively. After switching back and forth from an orthodox to a southpaw stance, Ennis landed a huge overhand right that buckled Villa. Luckily for Villa the bell sounded to end the sixth round, saving him as Ennis closed in to end the night.
Once the ringside doctor and Villa’s corner decided to let him continue, Ennis calmly continued to press forward, forcing Villa to fight off his back foot. This played right into Team Ennis’s strategy, since he was able to land huge power punches that almost forced the doctor to stop the fight in between rounds eight and nine. The ending would come at the 1:27 mark of the tenth round when Ennis was able to put together a sensational straight left hand and right hook combination that put Villa down, ending the fight.
“I want the winner of Errol Spence and Terence Crawford,” said Ennis in his post-fight interview. “Let’s make it happen. I’ll take on Eimantas Stanionis in a heartbeat. I want to get into the ring one more time before the end of the year to make it three fights. Stanionis, Keith Thurman, Yordenis Ugas, all the top guys out there. Let’s make these fights happen.”
Other Bouts
In middleweight action, Yoelvis Gomez (6-1, 5 KO’s) and Marquis Taylor (15-1-2, 1 KO) wasted no time exchanging power punches. Gomez seemed to be getting the better of the exchanges until Taylor landed an overhand right that dropped Gomez in the second round. Both fighters did good work on the inside and along the ropes. Once Gomez decided to march forward regardless of getting hit by Taylor, the action remained consistent with both fighters trying to establish control.
Round six was encouraging for Gomez after he landed some hard shots to the chest of Taylor, which slowed him down. After controlling the sixth, Gomez was caught on the chin by a counter right that momentarily stunned him as the bell rang. Both fighters settled into their approach of trying to take control of the fight, but it was Taylor who did enough to earn a ten round unanimous decision on scores of 99-90 and 96-93 twice.
Lightweights Joseph Adorno (17-3-2, 14 KO’s) and Edwin De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KO’s) got the action started on the live television portion of the night. Both fighters were hesitant to throw anything meaningful in the first two rounds but things heated up in the third and fourth with both fighters landing meaningful punches. De Los Santos started to settle in using his angles to control the range and land solid lefts as he took control of the fight at the halfway point.
Despite Adorno having some moments throughout the second half of the fight, it was De Los Santos’s constant movement and straight lefts that rendered any moments of success for Adorno ineffective in the grand scheme of things. De Los Santos was content with using a rinse-and-repeat approach throughout the rest of the fight much to the chagrin of the capacity crowd. Two judges had the fight 100-90, while the third scored it 99-91 in favor of De Los Santos.
Also….
Euri Cedeno (5-0, 5 KO’s), who worked with Jaron Ennis as one of his main sparring partners, had intense exchanges with William Townsel (5-1, 4 KO’s) until Cedeno landed a clean straight left that dropped Townsel. Townsel rose to his feet, but Cedeno was able to land a flurry that caused the referee to stop the fight at 1:41 in the first round.
Heavyweight Steven Torres (6-0-1, 6 KO’s) got a bit of revenge against James Evans (6-1-1, 6 KO’s) by winning via stoppage in the third round. Torres and Evans had previously fought to a draw and were in another exciting back-and-forth battle until Torres landed some heavy shots. With nothing coming back at him, the referee was forced to step in and stop the fight. The end came at 1:08 of the third.
Dwyke Flemmings Jr. (4-0, 4 KO’s) dominated and stopped Henry Rivera (2-1, 1 KO) at 1:57 of the third round, The bout was halted on the advice of the ringside doctor due to a cut Flemmings caused.
Ismail Muhammad, who fights under the Boots Promotions banner, improved to 2-0 (2 KO’s) after stopping Parker Bruno (0-2) in the third round. Muhammad dropped Bruno twice with straight lefts and the action was halted after Muhammad staggered him with a combination at the 1:45 mark of the third round.
Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME
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Fate stepped in and Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield took advantage in displaying speed, power and patience in dominating rugged Haskell Rhodes by unanimous decision on Saturday in his main event debut.
Despite suffering a gruesome cut to the cheek, Schofield was flawless.
“I did what I had to do,” Schofield said.
Texas lightweight Schofield (15-0, 11 KOs) found out just days ago that he was bumped up to the main event and showed Rhodes (28-5-1, 13 KOs) and the boxing world his sterling talent at San Antonio, Texas.
He’s only 20 years old.
When scheduled welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz was forced out of the main event due to medical complications, Golden Boy Promotions confidently inserted the young Texas lightweight prospect. Schofield eagerly accepted the challenge.
Rhodes, a veteran from Las Vegas who fought a former world champion, proved to be the perfect partner with only one knockout loss in 35 fights.
Schofield used a strong left jab to keep Rhodes from attacking inside. For the first half of the fight Rhodes kept setting traps to unload overhand rights. But the young Texas fighter never allowed many openings.
Schofield used stiff jabs and feints to keep Rhodes from rushing in. And at times he blasted the body to keep his shorter foe at a distance.
In the seventh round Rhodes decided to use his background in MMA and tackled Schofield twice to bring the younger fighter down. It seemed to ignite the Texan and he got up in total attack mode. A volley of blows capped by a left uppercut floored Rhodes who got up at the count of nine. The fight continued and Schofield blasted away with another volley and down went Rhodes again for a count of nine.
“I seen he was dipping down on the same side,” Schofield said.
Rhodes survived.
“He can take a hell of a punch,” Schofield said.
Schofield opened the eighth frame hungry for a knockout and chased Rhodes around the ring. When the two fought inside Schofield connected with a sneak left hook to the liver and after a few seconds Rhodes sunk to his knee. He beat the count again.
In the ninth round Schofield stepped up his attack looking to end the fight. Rhodes butted Schofield and followed with a right that missed. But his head connected and down went Schofield with a nasty gash on his left cheek. The ringside physician was called and he allowed the fight to continue. Schofield celebrated.
“He did that on purpose,” said Schofield about the head butt by Rhodes. “I kind of felt it when I got up.”
In the final round the undefeated Texan used his jabs and left hooks to keep Rhodes at a distance. In the final 10 seconds he vaulted to attack mode and exchanged with the rough Rhodes until the final bell.
After 10 rounds all three judges scored it 100-87 for Schofield.
Marlen Esparza Unifies
Once again Marlen Esparza benefitted somewhat from home state judging and defeated rival champion Gabriela Alaniz to unify the flyweight titles by majority decision.
Esparza is living a charmed life.
Esparza (14-1, 1 KO) banked on accuracy to out-duel Argentina’s Alaniz (14-1, 6 KOs) in front of a large Texas crowd.
One thing is certain, Esparza can take a punch.
Though Alaniz fired countless blows like a buzzsaw it was Esparza who was far more accurate. In the opening round Esparza ran across and connected with a lead right.
The Argentine fighter was known for aggressive volume punching and after a couple of rounds began to adapt to Esparza’s style.
Esparza could not miss with the right cross and every time Alaniz tried to counter the Olympian slipped and moved out of danger.
Around the fourth round Alaniz began to find the range for her battery of blows. And though Esparza was connecting with single punches the sheer volume of blows from the Argentine fighter could not be ignored.
Combinations began to connect for Alaniz and Esparza seemed willing to trade blows. But it also allowed the fighter known as “la Chucky” to gain confidence.
Alaniz scored heavily in the seventh and eighth rounds with volume punches as Esparza seemed to tire. In the ninth round Esparza opened with a lead right and seemed to regain control. It kept Alaniz slightly off her rhythm. Esparza connected with right after right again and combination punching.
Entering the final round Esparza seemed eager to run across the ring but was stopped by the referee and told to touch gloves. It seemed to catch Esparza off guard and allowed Alaniz to regain momentum. The Argentine fighter out-punched Esparza until the final bell.
One judge scored it even 95-95 but two others scored in favor of Esparza 97-93 and a ridiculous 99-91. The Olympian now holds the WBO, WBA, WBC and ring titles. Only the IBF title remains and Arely Mucino holds that title. Mucino also fights under the Golden Boy banner.
Jojo wins
Needing a win, Jojo Diaz arrived overweight but managed to out-fight the younger power punching Jerry Perez and win by unanimous decision in a super lightweight match.
Diaz was more than five pounds overweight.
After losing three consecutive fights, Diaz performed.
Behind a concentrated body attack Diaz was able to control the younger and taller Perez. And when attacked his ability to stand in the pocket and deflect and counter was never better.
Punishing blows to the body opened up avenues for Diaz to attack and he took full advantage. Though no knockdowns were scored Diaz was the decisive winner by unanimous decision 97-93 twice and 98-92.
Tudor survives
Middleweight prospect Eric Tudor knocked down Reggie Harris early in the fight and was able to hang on against the eight-pounds heavier fighter from Michigan.
Tudor floored Harris with a roundhouse right in the first round and then wobbled him in the second round. But Harris weighed eight pounds heavier and that extra weight proved to add strength to him and he rallied furiously in the middle rounds.
With only two rounds remaining Tudor put on the after-burners and hurt Harris with a counter left hook. That ignited more speedy combinations and he was able to regain control in the last two rounds. All three judges scored in favor of Florida’s Tudor 77-74, 78-73 twice.
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Powerful British promoter Eddie Hearn calls Diego Pacheco the future of the super middleweight division. Based on Pacheco’s showing last night in Monterrey, Mexico, Hearn isn’t blowing smoke.
Pacheco (19-0, 16 KOs) broke down and stopped Manuel Gallegos in the fourth frame. The future looks very rosy for the 22-year-old, six-foot-four power puncher who is a stablemate and sparring partner of David Benavidez and who represents gritty South Central Los Angeles where he was born and bred.
Gallegos, who like Pacheco is tall for the weight class, was 19-1-1 (16) heading in and had never been stopped. He pressed the action, but was out-gunned. In the fourth round, Pacheco put him down with a right hook to the body. And then, when Gallegos arose, Pacheco went for the kill, pinning him against the ropes and strafing him with a barrage of punches thar forced the referee to waive it off.
Hearn brought Pacheco out of the amateur ranks. As he’s moved him up, he’s also moved him around. Pacheco has fought in New York, in Liverpool, England, and in Dariyah, Saudi Arabia. Last night’s fight was his seventh in Mexico, the land of his forefathers.
Hearn says that Pacheco’s next fight will be in Los Angeles and that young Diego will be the headliner. He has fought only once in the City of Angels, in 2019, and that was a 4-rounder buried deep on a show topped by a 115-pound title fight between Juan Francisco Estrada and Wisaksil Wangek (aka Srisaket Sor Rungvisai).
Hearn also promotes New York super middleweight Edgar Berlanga who was let go by Top Rank. A match between Pacheco and the undefeated Berlanga would be easy to make, but Hearn undoubtedly wants to let that marinate. If they were to fight anytime soon, Pacheco would be favored, no matter the locale.
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In the semi-windup, Mexico’s Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez (34-1-1, 31 KOs) moved one step closer to a match with WBC 130-pound title-holder O’Shaquie Foster with a third-round stoppage of late sub Hector Jesus Garcia. Hernandez had Garcia in dire straits in the waning seconds of round two and finished the job in the next stanza. Garcia was slumping to the canvas in a neutral corner when the referee intervened.
This was the sixth straight win for the 30-year-old Hernandez following an unexpected defeat to future world super featherweight titlist Roger Gutierrez who de-railed him with a one-punch, first-round KO. Although Garcia (20-8-4) took the fight on very short notice, he was a (relatively) credible opponent. He was training for a fight in Tijuana in two weeks and In previous bouts had taken Devin Haney the distance in an 8-rounder, and held Joseph Adorno to a draw in Atlantic City.
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Diego Pacheco got to the arena early to see his younger brother compete. Federico Pacheco, 19, a beefy heavyweight, advanced to 4-0 with a second-round stoppage of sacrificial lamb Oscar Heredia Arias.
Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom
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