Notebook: Ortiz set to challenge Bohachuk for 154 interim belt
Martinez outslugs Ioka to unify junior bantamweight titles; Daniel Jacobs retires; Zepeda notches another KO; Quick hits; Show and tell
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In talks since late May, the fight between WBC interim junior middleweight titlist Serhii Bohachuk and Vergil Ortiz Jr. is now a done deal.
The fight, announced on Saturday night during Golden Boy’s DAZN card with more particulars on Monday, will take place on Aug. 10 (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
“Talk about bombs away. With 44 knockouts in 45 victories between Vergil and Bohachuk, there is almost no way this fight is going the distance,” Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya said. “Golden Boy doesn’t just build champions, we build stars — and when Vergil emerges victorious, he will be the next superstar of boxing.”
Ortiz was scheduled to fight Tim Tszyu for the vacant WBA interim title on Aug. 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on the first Riyadh Season-backed card outside of Saudi Arabia, which will be headlined by Terence Crawford challenging WBA junior middleweight titlist Israil Madrimov in the pay-per-view main event.
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However, in late May, Tszyu was ruled out of the bout when his doctor would not clear him to train because the terrible scalp laceration he suffered in a bloody March 30 decision loss to Sebastian Fundora that cost him the WBO title and a chance to win the vacant WBC belt had not yet healed enough.
Bohachuk was offered as a replacement but the Saudis decided against putting the fight on. But that didn’t keep Golden Boy and Bohachuk promoter Tom Loeffler of 360 Promotions from making the fight anyway to headline a Golden Boy event.
“This fight is the fight that solidifies me as a top 154 fighter,” Ortiz said. “This is also the fight that shows everyone that nothing has changed: I am still one of the best fighters in the world.”
After not fighting in 2023 due to health issues, Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs), 26, of Grand Prairie, Texas, will have his third fight of 2024, having already blown away Fredrick Lawson in January and Thomas Dulorme in April, both via first-round knockout.
Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs), 29, a Ukraine native based in Los Angeles, won the vacant WBC interim belt by lopsided decision in an action fight against Brian Mendoza on the Tszyu-Fundora undercard and will make his first defense against Ortiz.
“I fought hard to win the WBC interim world title and now I am looking to defend this title for my goal of becoming the ultimate world champion,” Bohachuk said. “I know Vergil Ortiz. He is a very tough competitor, but on Aug. 10 I will show that I am the best in the division.”
Said Loeffler: “Serhii has gone through so much, enduring the invasion of his country while waiting for his visa to come back to the United States. He received special permission as a professional athlete to continue his boxing career. He won the WBC interim world title and now looks forward to defending it while fighting for Ukraine in the ring.”
Martinez unifies vs. Ioka
IBF junior bantamweight titlist Fernando Martinez outpointed WBA counterpart Kazuto Ioka in a grueling, action-packed fight of the year contender to unify 115-pound belts on Sunday at Ryogoku Sumo Arena in Tokyo.
They combined to land nearly 650 punches of the more than 2,000 they combined to throw, but in the end if it was the younger, fresher Martinez who notched the big-time road victory — 117-111 and 116-112 and a wild outlier score of 120-108 from judge Edward Hernandez.
Ioka (31-3-1, 16 KOs), 36, a four-division titleholder from Japan, put forth a big effort but he could not keep pace with the more aggressive Martinez, who took control out of the gate and maintained his lead all the way with nonstop pressure.
Ioka, who was making his second title defense, pounded Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs), 32, of Argentina, to the body throughout the bout but the Marcos Maidana-promoted Martinez, who was making his third defense, shook them off, pressed forward and landed many clean punches, including regular success with his right hand.
“Puma” Martinez was the heavier hitter and threw and landed more punches. According to CompuBox statistics, he landed 369 of 1,099 punches (34 percent) and Ioka landed 279 of 921 (30 percent). He outlanded Ioka in 11 of the 12 rounds.
Perhaps the best round of the fight was the seventh, when Martinez hammered Ioka with a series of clean overhand rights and backed him up. He seemed to have him in trouble but Ioka turned it around and came back strong as he landed fierce punches, including several body shots, in the second half the round of the year candidate.
Martinez could eventually find himself in a three-belt unification fight against Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs). After knocking out Juan Francisco Estrada in the seventh round to win the lineal/WBC title on June 29, Rodriguez said he wanted to face the Ioka-Martinez winner next, although Estrada said he would invoke his right to an immediate rematch.
Daniel Jacobs retires
Daniel Jacobs, who was paralyzed and nearly died from a rare form of bone cancer to not only survive but return to boxing and win versions of the middleweight title twice and have mega title fights with Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin in an inspiring story that touched millions, announced his retirement from boxing.
Jacobs (37-5, 30 KOs), 37, made the announcement on his Facebook page on Sunday, the day after he returned to the ring following a nearly 2½ year layoff and was outclassed in a near-shut out decision loss to Shane Mosley Jr. in a super middleweight bout in the co-feature of the Fanmio PPV event headlined by the Nate Diaz-Jorge Masvidal fight at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, where a crowd of 18,040 turned out.
Jacobs, who missed the 168-pound limit by 1.2 pounds, lost to the quicker, fresher Mosley — the son of Hall of Fame three-division champion Shane Mosley — 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91.
“Mentally I’ve been tapped out of boxing for some time now,” Jacobs wrote. “2 years ago I was in a motorcycle accident and it forced me to be off my feet for a year and a half. I came back to finish my career with a bang. Unfortunately my body and timing was not in the position to bounce back as fast as I would have liked so my performance was lackluster. I’m extremely proud of the fact that I even dared to step in the ring again with my circumstances.
“This is the hardest sport in the world and I dared to be great as I always do. I’m grateful for all the lessons boxing has instilled in me and I’m happy I’m able to say I’ve made a success out my life. I’ve never given up on myself no matter what. My son is proud of his dad. I’m content with that! I’ve made millions of dollars, I became 2x world champion, I’ve inspired millions of people worldwide!!! And my legacy will forever be in the history books. I’ve remained humbled through the entire process. A true champion inside and outside the ring. My story will be told for so many more years to come.
“I finally can say it’s time to call it quits and take my talents elsewhere. I’m excited to see where this journey will lead me. … I’m retiring with all my faculties in check! No brain damage and I’m still able to be here for my son, which I’m most excited about. Cheers to an amazing career. To my family and friends and my borough of Brooklyn I hope I’ve made you guys proud! I’m off into the sunset and now I could truly be free!!! Love and thanks for the year’s worth of support!!!!”
Mosley (22-4, 12 KOs), 33, of Las Vegas, won his fifth fight in a row against Jacobs, whom he accepted a fight against instead of a shot at WBC middleweight titlist Carlos Adames because Jacobs had a much bigger name.
With Mosley clearly way ahead, Jacobs suffered a nasty cut over his left eye from an accidental head butt in the eighth round.
“The plan was to pick him apart because we knew he’d get tired,” Mosley said. “I was trying to press him in the middle rounds, but he's a veteran and he knows how to get through it. I’m proud of myself. Danny has bricks in his hands, but I just stuck to the game plan and got the job done.”
While Jacobs has ended his 17-year career, Mosley positioned himself for a possible title shot.
“I want Erislandy Lara,” Mosley said about the WBA titleholder. “If you’re listening, I want you. Let's go baby.”
In the action-packed main event, Diaz won a majority decision over UFC rival Masvidal in a light heavyweight boxing match after having lost to him via third-round stoppage due to cuts in the main event of UFC 244 in 2019. Diaz (1-1, 0 KOs), 39, of Stockton, California, defeated Masvidal (1-1, 0 KOs), 39, of Miami, 98-92, 97-93 and 95-95.
“Mission accomplished,” Diaz said. “I feel the love here in Cali every time. He showed up and came to fight and so did I.”
Said Masvidal: “I thought I won. I landed the harder shots. Win or lose, we're gonna do it again. We're 1-1, so we'll run it back.”
Zepeda crumples Cabrera
Power-punching lightweight contender William Zepeda, who occupies the rare position of being ranked No. 1 at 135 pounds by all four major sanctioning bodies, maintained his status with a third-round knockout of Giovanni Cabrera in the Golden Boy main event on DAZN on Saturday night at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs), 28, a southpaw from Mexico, had no trouble with Cabrera (22-2, 7 KOs), 29, of Chicago, whose only other loss was two fights ago by split decision to Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, who went on to win the WBA junior welterweight title.
Cabrera won the first round on all three scorecards, Zepeda, who was in the first fight of a contract extension with Golden Boy, won the second round on the three cards and then got rid of him in the third round.
Zepeda unleashed a body attack, including a left hook to the liver, that crumpled Cabrera to the canvas and referee Thomas Taylor counted him out at 1 minute, 58 seconds.
“I knew my preparation was going to push me forward,” Zepeda said through an interpreter. “I know I’ve been working. My discipline will always overcome anything. I was concentrated throughout the fight. People say that I just throw punches and that's all but once they get in the ring with me it’s a different story.
“We made a game plan that worked for me. I can’t compare myself to other fighters. ‘Pitbull’ can’t say that he’s better than me and I can’t say I’m better than ‘Pitbull’. The only way we can determine that is when we’re in the ring. I’ve fought some great opposition and I feel I’m one the top of the division. We’re going to look for the opportunity to become world champion.”
Cabrera gave it up to Zepeda.
“I felt awesome in the first round. I thought I was stronger than him and I did feel stronger than him,” Cabrera said. “I thought I was hurting him with the punches I was landing but then I started to be a little too selective. Then he got me right in the liver. Then after a few seconds I thought I was going to get up for sure then it was ‘ten’ and I was like, ‘Oh, man!’ I lost track of the count.”
Quick hits
Riyadh Season has added another platform to carry its first event in the United States, a pay-per-view Aug. 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Besides DAZN, which will produce the broadcast, and PPV.com, Top Rank announced it has made a deal that will also see the event available via ESPN+ PPV. The card is topped by Terence Crawford’s rise to junior middleweight to challenge WBA titlist Israil Madrimov. Top Rank’s involvement is because heavyweight Jared Anderson is on the card in a major step up against Martin Bakole. Also: WBA junior welterweight titlist Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz defends against Jose Valenzuela; former unified heavyweight titlist Andy Ruiz Jr. meets Jarrell Miller; David Morrell rises to light heavyweight to face “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic for the vacant WBA “regular” light heavyweight title; and Cuban Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz fights Antonio Moran in a lightweight bout.
Junior lightweight Haven Brady Jr. (12-0, 5 KOs), 22, of Albany, Georgia, will face Jesus Vasquez Jr. (11-2, 3 KOs), 33, of Englewood, Colorado, in an eight-rounder that will headline OTX’s “Summer Bash” card on Friday (DAZN) at OTE Arena in Atlanta. Also on the card, lightweight Kurt Scoby (13-1, 11 KOs), 28, of New York, face Filipino Daniel Lim (11-1, 3 KOs), 24, in a six-rounder as he attempts to bounce back from an upset sixth-round knockout loss to Dakota Linger in April.
Show and tell
Eight months after two-time welterweight titlist Paul Williams suffered one of the most monstrous knockouts I have ever witnessed at ringside, a brutal second-round KO at the hands of then-middleweight champion Sergio Martinez in their rematch, many questioned whether Williams would ever be the same. Sadly, the answer was no. In his next fight, Williams faced Erislandy Lara, the onetime Cuban amateur standout who was coming off a draw with Carlos Molina, in a junior middleweight bout. I was ringside covering Williams-Lara at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom, the smaller upstairs arena at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where Williams had beaten Martinez in their first epic fight, and what I saw would go down in the pantheon of the most horrendous decisions I have covered.
Williams, a once-dynamic fighter on everyone’s pound-for-pound list, looked dreadful as Lara landed straight left hands almost at will and busted Williams up in a pretty one-sided fight, or so most of us thought. The late HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman had it 117-111 for Lara. I scored it 116-112 for Lara and was unable to find a single ringside media member who didn’t also have Lara winning. However, our scores don’t count, so it was bad enough judge Al Bennett scored it 114-114. But judges Hilton Whitaker (115-114) and Don Givens (116-114) absurdly both had it for Williams. The pro-Williams crowd booed the scores, which were all terrible. It was as egregious a decision as I have seen and so bad that New Jersey State Athletic Control Board suspended the three judges indefinitely in a virtually unprecedented move and launched an investigation (though they found nothing untoward). Williams would fight just once more, a win, before he was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident soon after he had landed a fight with the then up-and-coming Canelo Alvarez. Lara, of course, would win a world title, spend the next decade as one of the top junior middleweights in the world and later claim a middleweight belt. Williams-Lara was on July 9, 2011 — 13 years ago on Tuesday. Here is a very limited HBO poster in my collection.
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Photos: Martinez-Ioka: Naoki Fukuda; Jacobs-Mosley: Esther Lin/Fanmio; Zepeda-Cabrera: Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy
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Dan, I was wondering where your comments on the Martinez-Ioka unification fight were. A FOTY candidate for sure. I can’t wait for Bam-Martinez.
As is customary during the lull of no NFL or NBA the boxing action is hot and that Aug 3rd card is straight 🔥 then the next week the can’t miss Ortiz-Bohachuk the following week. Good times for Freaks and good info from the King!! Hope both Martinez and Williams are well and Danny Jacobs enjoys his well earned retirement, all three provided some memorable fights! Cheers!!