Notebook: Estrada-Gonzalez II judge suspended for unrealistic 117-111 scorecard

WBA to investigate Carlos Sucre's 'misguided' decision

Rarely is a judge held accountable for a questionable scorecard but the WBA on Sunday announced that it has suspended judge Carlos Sucre while it investigates the extremely controversial 117-111 scorecard he had in favor of Juan Francisco Estrada against Roman Gonzalez in their junior bantamweight title unification rematch on Saturday night in Dallas.

Estrada won a heavily disputed split decision with the other two judges scoring the bout 115-113 for each man, but the card from Sucre seemed to defy reality as most had Gonzalez the clear winner.

The WBA said it will “evaluate” Sucre’s performance and that the “evaluation will be done thoroughly and Sucre will be given the opportunity to explain the situation in order to make a definitive decision on this case.”

“I asked the (WBA) officials committee to evaluate the fight although I think it is not necessary. It was a great fight, very close,” WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza said. “We have to respect ‘Gallo’ Estrada, who made a great effort. In this case the judges favored him. However, I sent a temporary suspension while Sucre is heard, because big shows and fights like this one do not deserve the kind of score he gave. His decision was misguided.”

Fury-Joshua update

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum chalked up heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s recent comments that downplayed there being a deal agreed to for an undisputed title fight with unified titlist Anthony Joshua as being due to his frustration.

Arum said Fury was “impatient” and that the sides are in agreement but that they are unable to finish off the deal because the coronavirus pandemic has prevented them from locking in a site and date. He said the fight would happen no earlier than late June or July.

“I think that everybody is proceeding the way they should be proceeding,” Arum said. “When the fight will take place, where it will take place -- that will work itself out. But right now we’ve got a mother f------ pandemic. You can’t look at this like it’s (2019).”

Arum was responding to comments made on Friday by Fury, who attended the MTK Global card in Bolton, England, and did an interview with the broadcasters during the ESPN+ stream of the event.

Fury said as far as he was concerned the fight was not a done deal and he threw cold water on it being announced any time soon.

“Everyone in this building knows more about this fight than I do,” Fury said. “Apparently, it’s done, it’s signed. We got a date, a venue. News to me. I don't know jack. I don't know anything. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not even training anymore. I've stopped training.”

I wrote a story covering all the details for BoxingScene, which you can read here: https://www.boxingscene.com/arum-angry-fans-demanding-fury-joshua-deal-go-f-yourself-find-life--156133

Andrade-Williams official

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn made official what had already been widely reported — that middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade will make his mandatory defense against Liam Williams on April 17 (DAZN) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. No spectators will be permitted.

“This is a really good fight,” Hearn said. “In America, people don’t realize it’s as good a fight as it is. Liam is a big step up from Demetrius’ recent opposition, and I think this is the fight ‘Boo Boo’ needs. I like Liam. He’s going to come in with real confidence and swagger and he’ll put it on Demetrius in the build-up. He’s a tough man and he will not take a backwards step against Demetrius.”

Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs), 32, of Providence, Rhode Island, will be making his fourth defense and first since knocking out Luke Keeler in the ninth round of a one-sided fight in January 2020.

“Liam Williams, you got what you wanted,” Andrade said. “You ran your mouth, got your rating up and here we go. April 17 your career ends. Or maybe you go back to headlining small club shows in the U.K. I don’t know. What I do know is that you’re getting beaten badly and then I’m on to much bigger fights and bigger nights in my career.

“It’s no secret, this isn’t the fight I wanted, but now it’s here and I will be taking care of business, taking care of Liam Williams in spectacular fashion. Then it’s whoever wants it: Canelo (Alvarez), GGG (Gennadiy Golovkin), (Billy Joe) Saunders, (Jermall) Charlo, (Caleb) Plant. I’m here. Undefeated, two-division world champion. Current middleweight champion of the world. I dare one of you to say my name.”

Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs), 28, of Wales, who has relentlessly trash talked Andrade, has won seven fights in a row since consecutive defeats at junior middleweight to former titlist Liam Smith in 2017.

“I’ve been quite vocal saying I’ll smash him, and I actually am going to,” Williams said. “I’ve waited for this for too long now, I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers, I’ll grab the opportunity with both hands.

“I just think he’s a complete weirdo, a very strange man. I’ve watched him for some time. I used to be a bit of a fan of him back then, now I get the chance to share a ring with him and punch his face in and I can’t wait to do it. I’m going to punch lumps out of him, nonstop. The first couple of rounds could be tricky, but I believe that I will get on top of him and start beating him up.”

Benavidez dominates Ellis

Between the untimely death of Marvelous Marvin Hagler and the excitement for the rematch between Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada on Saturday night, Showtime’s tripleheader at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, was a bit lost in the shuffle.

But two-time super middleweight world titlist David Benavidez handled his business with ease as he stopped the overmatched and outgunned Ronald Ellis in the 11th round of a one-sided WBC semifinal title eliminator in the main event.

Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs), 24, of Phoenix, did as he pleased against the very game Ellis (18-2-2, 12 KOs), 32, of Lynn, Massachusetts, until referee Johnny Callas finally waved it off at 2:03 of the 11th round. Benavidez was up 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92 at the time of the stoppage.

“I rate my performance pretty good but I know I could have done better,” Benavidez said. “Ronald Ellis is a tough competitor. I just hope the fans like what they saw. I threw a lot of combinations, punches in bunches. There were a lot of times I thought Ellis was going to quit but he didn’t. Hats off to him, he’s a tough guy. It was a little later than I wanted but a stoppage is still a stoppage.”

Benavidez reiterated what he said during the lead up to the fight — that he wants to top opponents.

“I want all the big guys,” Benavidez said. “Speaking for the fans too, they would love to see me against all the big guys because as you can see, I love throwing punches. I love stopping people so me versus any big name would be an amazing fight. I want (Jermall) Charlo, Canelo Alvarez, Caleb Plant, all of them.”

In the co-feature, Mexico’s Isaac Cruz (21-1-1, 15 KOs), 22, went 12 rounds for the first time as he outpointed Argentina’s Matias Romero (24-1, 8 KOs), 24, in a lightweight title eliminator. Romero made it a bad fight as he spent long stretches of the fight clinching. The scores were 118-109, 115-112 and 114-113.

“I’m not happy about the style of the fight but I am satisfied I took the victory home and we’ve come to the No. 1 spot in the WBA,” Cruz said. “We forced the fight at all times and it would have been very impossible for the judges to do something to me when I was the one pushing the fight.”

In the opener, Cleveland junior middleweight Terrell Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs), 33, a former world title challenger, knocked out southpaw Jamontay Clark (15-2-1, 7 KOs), 26, of Cincinnati, at 2:44 of the second round.

Chavez family show

Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and sons Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Omar Chavez will all box on the same card June 19 (PPV) at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Chavez Sr., the Mexican legend and three-division world champion, retired with a record of 107-6-2 (85 KOs) in 2005 but has done a few exhibitions since. He will engage in another in the main event when he takes on Hector Camacho Jr. (59-7-1, 33 KOs), the son of the late Hall of Famer Hector Camacho Sr., who lost a one-sided decision challenging Chavez for his junior welterweight world title in a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico mega fight in 1992.

“It is an honor to render a tribute to Hector Camacho, but I know his son wants to get at me and get revenge from the fight I had with his father,” Chavez Sr. said.

Said Camacho: “Instead of six rounds with papa bear, I'll fight two rounds with Omar, two more with Junior, and then finish with the good ass whooping of the old man.”

Also on the card, former middleweight titlist Chavez Jr. (52-5-1, 34 KOs), who is 2-3 in his last five bouts since 2017, will face an opponent to be named in a 10-round light heavyweight fight and younger brother Omar (38-6-1, 25 KOs) will face Ramon Alvarez (28-8-3, 16 KOs) — the older brother of Canelo Alvarez — in a 10-round middleweight fight that will serve as their rubber match after splitting two previous bouts.

In 2014, Alvarez won a 10-round unanimous decision over Chavez, who turned the tables with a second-round knockout win in 2017.

Show and tell

After Timothy Bradley Jr. claimed a welterweight world title by split decision against Manny Pacquiao in June 2012 in what remains one of the worst, most controversial decisions in boxing history, Bradley received massive criticism for the boring style he employed as well as death threats — even though he had nothing to do with the scoring. But the incredible blowback still admittedly got to Bradley in a big way. He vowed to give to give the fans something memorable in his next fight when he defended the belt he took off Pacquiao against brawler Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16, 2013 — eight years ago on Tuesday — at what was then known as Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Bradley threw caution to the wind and slugged it out with Provodnikov toe-to-toe from start to finish in a thrilling and dramatic battle. Bradley, who was nearly knocked out in the first and second rounds and dropped in the final 15 seconds of the fight, hung on to win a close decision (115-112, 114-113, 114-113) in an unforgettable fight. It stood up as the fight of the year and was one of the fights of the decade. Here’s a poster from the fight in my collection.

Gonzalez-Estrada photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing; Benavidez photo: Amanda Westcott/Showtime