Notebook: Roach's homecoming defense fulfills 2017 promise
Edwards still has swagger as he mounts comeback; Martinez suspended for PEDs; Akhmadaliev seeks to block Inoue plan; Rocha returns; Quick hits; Show and tell
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The last time Lamont Roach Jr. boxed in his Washington, D.C., home region was in November 2017 when he was an unbeaten prospect headlining a Golden Boy card on ESPN2.
It was after that win that Roach vowed that he would one day fight at home again in a world title fight. It took seven years but Roach is about to fulfill that dream and promise.
In November, Roach claimed a split decision over Hector Luis Garcia to win the WBA junior lightweight title in Las Vegas on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade Showtime PPV undercard.
Now, for his first defense, Roach will face unbeaten Feargal McCrory on Friday (ProBox TV, 8 p.m. ET) at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington in the main event of a card promoted by his father and trainer Lamont Roach Sr.’s NoXcuse Promotions.
“It’s my first defense and I’m just glad that I could fulfill that promise,” Roach said on Wednesday. “These are the first people who believed in me. They’ve been seeing me since I was kid. They knew that ‘hey that’s the champ right there, he’s going do something, he’s going to go far.’”
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Roach has boxed all over the United States and even in Puerto Rico and Mexico, but there’s no place like home.
“These are my friends, my family, loved ones and it’s important to bring it back home because a lot of them couldn't come over to different states to see my fights,” Roach said.
He is well aware of the loads of boxing history associated with the Washington, D.C., region, which has produced numerous world champions, including the likes of Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard and Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson. He is anxious to put add to the lore.
“We have some of the greatest fighters in history in D.C. and arguably one of the greatest fighters ever in Sugar Ray Leonard, who came from (the suburb of) Palmer Park, Maryland,” Roach said. “And then you got all the pasts champions from D.C. This fight is monumental because the last homegrown champion that had a fight in D.C. was Lamont Peterson in 2011 when he fought Amir Kahn and won the (unified junior welterweight) championship.”
Roach (24-1-1, 9 KOs), 28, has won five fights in a row since he was the WBO mandatory challenger and faced then-titleholder Jamel Herring in 2019 in his first world title opportunity and dropped a unanimous decision.
He is confident that he will retain the title in front of the home crowd.
“It's go time,” he said. “I’m in tunnel vision. He’s an undefeated fighter and he’s obviously undefeated for a reason, but I’m going to show him that I’m the champ. His bread and butter is applying pressure and coming forward. He’s a hard nose guy that wants to apply pressure and try to bring the fight to me and that’s going to make the case for a wonderful fight. I’m not going to have to look for him. He’s going to be right there to get hit.”
McCrory (16-0, 8 KOs), 31, a southpaw from Ireland based in Brooklyn, New York, is stepping way up in class for his first shot at a world title.
“Expect to see someone give it his all,” McCrory said. “I’m coming to fight and perform and bring excitement to D.C. I feel this fight is coming at the right time for me. Everything is falling in to place as a fighter, as a person as a man I’ve matured a lot over these last 12 months. Everything has come together at the right time.
“I’ve had a very good hard, hard camp with tough work that should leave us with reassurance that when I have to go to the bottom of the well and dig deep I’m capable of doing it. I’m confident that if I perform that I can absolutely upset the altar here.”
Edwards brash, as always
Former flyweight titlist Sunny Edwards will look to shake off a knockout loss that cost him his world title last time out against an opponent looking to do the same in former junior flyweight titlist Adrian Curiel.
They meet on Saturday (DAZN, 9:30 p.m. ET) in the co-feature of lineal/WBC junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada’s defense against Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, who is moving back up in weight to challenge for his old WBC belt in the main event of the Matchroom Boxing card at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
It was Rodriguez who dominated and stopped Edwards (20-1, 4 KOs), 28, of England, in a ninth-round knockout in a flyweight unification fight in December.
Curiel (24-5-1, 5 KOs), 25, of Mexico, scored a huge second-round upset KO of Sivenathi Nontshinga to win the IBF junior flyweight title in November but lost the belt via 10th-round knockout in an immediate rematch in February.
“I might have more of a chip on my shoulder,” said Edwards, who recently signed a new contract with Matchroom Boxing. “I think I’ve lost a bit of complacency that I was getting. The main difference of my mindset into the fight, since I was a world champion, is I lost the fear and gained an ego. Going away for a training camp, taking two or three sparring partners, taking my coach and another coach, a nutritionist; yes, there’s X, Y, Z of cost for that, but it will always be worth it.”
He is very confident he will handle Curiel.
“I genuinely think I could beat Curiel and Nontshinga on the same night,” Edwards said. “Is he dangerous? Of course. Everyone is. I feel like I’ve been in the ring with far better and I’ve beaten far better. So, it’s a great opportunity for me to put on an impressive performance.”
If you missed my interview with two-division titleholder Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez on our recent full podcast episode we have broken it out as a stand-alone segment you can listen to right here ahead of his challenge of lineal/WBC junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada on Saturday in the Matchroom Boxing main event on DAZN. Give it a listen, a review, and also subscribe to get an alert when the next episode is available. New shows every Thursday and Sunday night.
Martinez suspended for PEDs
Julio Cesar Martinez, who recently relinquished the WBC flyweight title after making seven defenses and announced he was moving up in weight, had a temporary suspension issued earlier in June set at nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after he reached an agreement with the commission on the penalty and avoided a hearing at the monthly NSAC meeting on Tuesday.
Martinez, 29, of Mexico, was punished by the commission for testing positive for banned diuretics and masking agents in a pre-fight urine test related to his majority decision win in a title defense against Angelino Cordova on March 30 on the PBC card topped by Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The commission also overturned his win to a no contest, reverting Martinez’s record to 20-3 with 15 KOs. The change restores the record of Cordova, 28, of Venezuela, to undefeated at 18-0-1 with 12 KOs.
Diuretics are typically used to assist in making weight. Martinez’s ban is backdated to March 30. He is ineligible box in the United States until Dec. 29 as long as he completes a drug-testing program.
Also, the commission fined Martinez $11,250 (15 percent of his $75,000 purse) and held him responsible for $157.04 in fees.
In 2019, Martinez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol but was not punished as the WBC ruled that like many Mexican athletes his failed test was the result of eating contaminated beef, which has been an issue for years in Mexico.
‘MJ’ pushes back on Inoue
Former unified junior featherweight titlist Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev, the WBA mandatory challenger, is pushing back against a request from undisputed champion Naoya Inoue’s team to bypass him as Inoue’s next opponent in order to secure an exception for an optional defense against former titlist TJ Doheny.
On Wednesday, Akhmadaliev attorney Patrick English sent a letter to the WBA citing details from a 1982 lawsuit against the WBA for the same situation that the WBA lost and asked that the Inoue request for an exception be denied.
After Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), 31, of Japan, knocked out WBC mandatory challenger Luis Nery in the sixth round on May 6 at the Tokyo Dome he was ordered earlier this month to make his due WBA mandatory against Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs), 29, a southpaw from Uzbekistan.
The WBA gave them 30 days to make a deal or it would order a purse bid. The organization further ordered that the bout must take place no later than Sept. 25.
However, Inoue is seeking the exception to fight Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs), 37, an Irish southpaw fighting out of Australia, who scored a fourth-round knockout of Bryl Bayogos on the Inoue-Nery undercard for his third win in a row.
The letter from English, a copy of which was obtained by Fight Freaks Unite, noted that Akhmadaliev won a WBA eliminator by knockout against Kevin Gonzales in December with the promise that he would have the next opportunity to fight Inoue after Inoue had an interim bout, which he did against Nery.
“Let me point out something else,” English wrote. “Inoue is a unified champion. That means he has a series of mandatories. It is the turn of the WBA right now. Has Inoue or the WBA received the consent of the other organizations that the WBA will have two consecutive turns in the rotation? This is rhetorical because I know it has not. If they have not, granting a special exception will lead to a mess down the road and the strong likelihood of Mr. Akhmadaliev losing the benefits of being the WBA mandatory. We cannot conceive that the WBA wants such an unjust, but foreseeable, result.”
Rocha back in action
Welterweight contender Alexis Rocha (24-2, 16 KOs), 26, of Santa Ana, California, will fight Santiago Dominguez (27-0, 20 KOs), 32, of Mexico, in a 12-rounder that will headline a “Golden Boy Fight Night” card on July 19 (DAZN) at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Golden Boy announced on Wednesday.
Rocha was the WBO mandatory challenger when he was shockingly knocked out by Giovani Santillan in the sixth round of a one-sided fight in October. He is aiming for a second win since that stunner after having stopped Fredrick Lawson in the seventh round on March 30.
“I’ve already proven that I was able to come back after a loss,” Rocha said. “My losses don’t define me. What defines me is the way I respond to the losses. This next fight is another test in me realizing my ultimate dream of becoming world champion.”
Santiago will be facing his first notable opponent.
“Alexis Rocha is a great fighter. I have followed his career and he is well respected,” Dominguez said. “On the fight night though, Alexis Rocha will find a fighter that is coming to win. It will be a great fight, our styles will really collide. This fight will end in a knockout.”
Quick hits
Los Angeles super middleweight Diego Pacheco (21-0, 17 KOs), 23, the 2023 Fight Freaks Unite Prospect of the year, is penciled in to return Sept. 7 (DAZN) in a Matchroom Boxing main event at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, a source with knowledge of the plans told FFU, confirming a BoxingScene report. There is no opponent yet but the source said the leading candidate is Kevin Lele Sadjo (23-0, 20 KOs), 34, of France, who won a 12-round decision over Durval Palacio on June 13. Pacheco, who is the WBO’s No.1 contender at 168 pounds, is coming off a 10-round decision over Shawn McCalman on April 6.
Super middleweight prospect Darius Fulghum (11-0 10 KOs), 27, of Katy, Texas, will face replacement opponent Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1, 11 KOs), 38, of St. Louis, in what will be Fulghum’s first main event, a 10-rounder on the “Golden Boy Fight Night” card on Thursday (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET) at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, Golden Boy announced. Fulghum was scheduled to fight Ronald Ellis (18-4-2, 12 KOs), who dropped out. Alexander has lost four fights in a row but went the 10-round distance with Sergiy Derevyanchenko in his last fight on April 20.
Weights from Indio, California, for the Golden Boy “Fight Night” card Thursday (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET): Darius Fulghum 167.8 pound, Vaughn Alexander 171.4; Eric Priest 161.8, Janer Gonzalez 158.4; Tristan Kalkreuth 199.8, Anthony Hollaway 190.8; Grant Flores 153.8, Josias Gonzalez 150.4; Leonardo Sanchez 131.4, Jenel Lausa 135; Cayden Griffiths 140, Juan Romero 139.4; Brandon Sanchez 124.4, MJ Bo 125.6.
Show and tell
The prime Mike Tyson had crushed one opponent after another with a series of devastating knockouts, made six heavyweight title defenses and unified the three major belts to become the undisputed champion. But Michael Spinks, the former light heavyweight champion, was still the lineal champion, having taken the status in his first win over Larry Holmes but later being stripped of the IBF belt for fighting a lucrative bout against Gerry Cooney rather than a far less attractive mandatory defense against Tony Tucker, who Tyson eventually beat to become undisputed champion. Finally, the Tyson-Spinks showdown was made as the undefeated fighters, both with a claim to the title, met in the richest fight in boxing history at the time.
It is also the fight in which Tyson, whose life and career were in turmoil, famously punched a hole in the wall in his dressing room before walking to the ring. Despite all the problems, Tyson, who was just 21, reached the apex of his legendary career as the “Baddest Man on the Planet.” That version of Tyson, who was 34-0 with 30 KOs going into the fight, may well have beaten any fighter who ever lived. He authored a ruthless 91-second demolition of Spinks, who entered the historic bout 31-0 with 21 KOs but looked petrified on his way to the ring. Tyson pulverized him. He dropped Spinks twice, first with a right to the body and then with a monstrous left-right combination that nailed Spinks’ jaw and ended one of the fastest heavyweight title fights in history. It also ended any debate as to which of the two was the real champion. The mega fight took place on June 27, 1988 — 36 years ago on Thursday. Here are two posters from the fight in my collection.
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Photos: Roach: Esther Lin/Showtime; Edwards: Matchroom Boxing; Martinez: Esther Lin/PBC; Akhmadaliev: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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Inoue will ko TJ Doheny in rd1
Good to see someone attempt to revive the "War Grounds" in Carson. After the PBC nearly papered the place to death. Not one bad seat and a tremendous history.