Cliff Rold

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3,425 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Cliff Rold byline.

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Articles by Cliff Rold: page 168

BoxingScene's Ratings Update: Cotto, Algieri, More

Cliff Rold

•Jul 11, 2014

Cruiserweight: Youri Kalenga, off the strength of his split decision win over previously Mateusz Masternak, enters the top ten. Middleweight: Miguel Cotto assumes the championship mantle while Sergio Martinez slips to the number three slot. It remains to be seen if Martinez will fight again. Jr. Middleweight: Miguel Cotto exits the top ten. In at the ten slot is James Kirkland though his struggle to stay active might make him a placeholder. Welterweight: Devon Alexander and Robert Guerrero switch places off their most recent performances on the same card.

Lara vs. Canelo and the World Around Them

Cliff Rold

•Jul 11, 2014

By Cliff Rold - It would be nice to think of it as just another night in the ring. The fight itself is well made. While not for any title, it features arguably the two best Jr. Middleweights in the world with lineal champion Floyd Mayweather perhaps unlikely to appear in the division again. That’s reason enough to tune in. The politics surrounding the fight add an extra layer of intrigue. In one corner, we’ll have former unified titlist Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO). Alvarez might be the most popular Mexican fighter in the sport. Only 23 and with but a single loss to Mayweather, Alvarez looks like he might be one of the sport’s economic bellwethers into the 2020s. He’s also, easily, the most important fighter currently under contract to Golden Boy Promotions. With battle lines drawn between founder Oscar De La Hoya and former CEO Richard Schaefer, De La Hoya needs Alvarez to win badly this weekend. His company, flush with TV dates and a still deep roster, will be okay if he doesn’t. It’s much stronger if he does.

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Cliff Rold

•Jul 8, 2014

With the glut of pay-per-view in recent months, it’s hard to say how big this Saturday’s big card will be. We know it’s good. Barring a return to the division by lineal king Floyd Mayweather, something that looks unlikely for the moment, this week we have a clash of the two best active Jr. Middleweights in the world. With that clash comes a healthy dose of political intrigue. Golden Boy Promotions has a lot at stake this weekend.

Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana II: The Right Choice

Cliff Rold

•Jul 2, 2014

By Cliff Rold - After (or maybe it was before) getting the TMZ chatter going with whatever who-the-hell-cares happened with TI’s girlfriend, lineal World Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight Champion Floyd Mayweather casually announced during a pre-BET Awards interview that September 13th will feature a rematch between himself and his near conqueror in May, Marcos Maidana. While the fight isn’t official just yet, it was the next best thing. If and when it is signed, it will also be the right thing. For Mayweather, there is no shortage of intriguing opponents. Excluding fighters associated with Top Rank because at this point that’s just the way it is, there are fresh talents from Jr. Welterweight to Jr. Middleweight who would make for good matches. Jr. Welterweight Champion Danny Garcia, even after the near miss against Mauricio Herrera, is one. Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman, both undefeated and holding belts Welterweight, are two more. While it wouldn’t be the most likely future option, if Erislandy Lara defeats Canelo Alvarez later this month he would be another. None of those men have faced Mayweather before. Porter, Thurman, and Lara might all be seen as live by the time they have the chance to hear their number called. They might give Mayweather a run for his money.

Terence Crawford-Yuriorkis Gamboa: Post Report Card

Cliff Rold

•Jul 1, 2014

It was a beautiful dissection. It’s been clear for quite some time that Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa is flawed. His frequent trips to the canvas and ability to make drama out of walkovers left all the clues. He kept escaping because the gifts he was blessed with, the power and speed, bailed him out. On Saturday, Terence Crawford put together a complete performance to solve the riddle. Gamboa brought a strong game. It took a special counter to top it. Was it indicative of a special fighter growing in our midst?

Terence Crawford-Yuriorkis Gamboa: Pre-Report Card

Cliff Rold

•Jun 28, 2014

By Cliff Rold - For the second week, we have a pair of well-matched talents who enter the ring with plenty of questions left to answer. Making only his third start since 2011, the challenger Gamboa enters with two questions in particular. Will he ever live up to the initial excitement generated by his talents? Have we already seen his best stuff? Of the two, Gamboa is the more known commodity, for better and worse. Crawford is catching up as regards what is known and there hasn’t been any ‘for worse’ yet. Wins over Breidis Prescott in his development, and Ricky Burns for his first title, are highlights so far of what looks like a career with a high ceiling. While Gamboa may have an overall edge in experience, Crawford appears the more disciplined and is both taller physically bigger. This is the best opponent of each man’s career. It’s a coin flip fight. That’s a good thing. Gamboa, in his last two fights, hasn’t seemed as nasty fast as he was at Featherweight. Is that a product of added size, age, or a little bit of disinterest? From early on in his career, Gamboa has been a fighter with lapses in attention. He’s been down in several bouts, almost always for defensive breakdowns that seem to grow from a loss of focus in fights he’s otherwise winning easy. It’s enough to ask if he gets bored in the ring. When he’s shown up dialed in, with something to prove, Gamboa has been a force. When he had rugged guys like Rogers Mtagwa and Jorge Solis in front of him and the chance to measure his performance against Juan Manuel Lopez and Manny Pacquiao, he was breathtaking. No, the opponents weren’t top shelf, but Gamboa showed what he could do to competent pros when he was fully on.

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Cliff Rold

•Jun 26, 2014

For the second week in a row, talent with question marks means big intrigue. Boxing doesn’t have to provide a super event every week. It can provide a good fight anytime the premium networks are doling out. Last week, we got three good scraps (one borderline great) on just a single network. What gems could arise across the dial in the next few days? These are the picks of the week.

Gary Russell Jr.-Vasyl Lomachenko: Post-Report Card

Cliff Rold

•Jun 23, 2014

It looked like the speed of Gary Russell might be a problem for Vasyl Lomachenko. That look lasted about ninety seconds. That’s about how soon into the first round one could begin to see the former two-time Olympic Gold Medalist time the quicker man. In one of the better coin flip matches in some time, no one could be certain of what they were getting. As noted in the pre-fight report card, one guy hadn’t fought anybody and the other had only two fights.

Gary Russell Jr.-Vasyl Lomachenko: Pre-Report Card

Cliff Rold

•Jun 21, 2014

By Cliff Rold - One guy hasn’t fought anybody. The other has only two fights. Put them together and we’ve got one of the more intriguing fights of 2014 to date. While it won’t technically be the main event on Saturday’s Showtime card (10 PM EST/7 PM PST), Russell-Lomachenko is easily the most must-see fight of the weekend on paper. While this scrap for the vacant WBO Featherweight belt lacks in professional accomplishments, it makes up for it in terms of talent. Lomachenko and Russell are blue chip in that category. Russell has been a pro since 2009. Lomachenko, excepting how some might view his World Series of Fighting background, turned pro only last year. Both are former Olympians, Lomachenko winning Gold at Featherweight in 2008 and Lightweight in 2012. The Ukrainian has been as ambitious as Russell has been careful in their approach to the paid ranks. Which path pays off this weekend? Lomachenko made a big splash with an audacious challenge of Orlando Salido earlier this year. He fell short but came close to pulling out the fight late. It was easy to see where he might be a better fighter down the road. He wasn’t there yet. Too often, he seemed tentative as the veteran put in steady work and did what a quality veteran should against a fledgling pro. How much did that experience prepare Lomachenko for Russell? In physical terms, this is an entirely different fight so the question is more mental. Does Lomachenko rebound stronger from the loss, able to adapt his learning curve in time and get comfortable as a pro with already his second title shot?

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Cliff Rold

•Jun 20, 2014

Nothing like starting off the week with a bang. On Thursday night, McWilliams Arroyo put himself in serious contention in the deep Flyweight division with an explosive second round knockout of previously undefeated Froilan Saludar. Was it the beginning of an explosive weekend? The way some of the matches lay out on Saturday, it just might be. There is action all over the scale with a solid tripleheader on Showtime to lead the way. These are the picks of the week.

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Boxing News

Cliff Rold

About

Articles by Cliff Rold: page 168

BoxingScene's Ratings Update: Cotto, Algieri, More

Lara vs. Canelo and the World Around Them

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana II: The Right Choice

Terence Crawford-Yuriorkis Gamboa: Post Report Card

Terence Crawford-Yuriorkis Gamboa: Pre-Report Card

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Gary Russell Jr.-Vasyl Lomachenko: Post-Report Card

Gary Russell Jr.-Vasyl Lomachenko: Pre-Report Card

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Boxing News

Darius Fulghum springs the upset on Diego Pacheco

Anthony Olascuaga wins a 'war' against Yuberjen Martinez

Carlos Adames wins a dud against Gerome Warburton

Jose Nunez hammers out upset of Bryan Flores in El Paso

'Would you bet your mortgage against Floyd Mayweather beating Ryan Garcia'

Eddie Hearn makes pitch to Shakur Stevenson over boxing future

Anthony Joshua's destiny against Tyson Fury is in his hands, not Ben Davison's

Eddie Hearn reveals Naoya Inoue demands regarding Bam Rodriguez showdown

Chantelle Cameron-Mikaela Mayer rematch set for Christmas Eve in Dubai

Gerome Warburton will make history against Carlos Adames – regardless of the result

Naoya Inoue-Bam Rodriguez talks underway, says Eddie Hearn

Diego Pacheco may be only a step away from Lester Martinez

Floyd Schofield Jnr-Jose 'Rayo' Valenzuela ordered by WBA

WBA orders Teofimo Lopez vs Jack Catterall amid Ryan Garcia talks

Jaron Ennis-Josh Kelly three-belt unification confirmed for February 27 in Atlanta

Chris Eubank Jnr-Kell Brook close to agreement for 2027, says Ben Shalom

Martin Bakole returns on Fury-Joshua undercard alongside rising Da’Mazion Vanhouter

Manny Pacquiao definitely off the Joshua-Fury Netflix card

Arnold Barboza Jnr-Oscar Duarte official for January 23 in Anaheim

Lester Martinez latest at risk to be sidestepped by Canelo Alvarez

Diego Pacheco chases his destiny in down-and-dirty L.A.

Jarrell Miller-Tony Yoka to headline December 20 show in Ghana

Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua 1am start hinges on Cardiff Council decision

Ryan Garcia vows to hospitalize Floyd Mayweather as he 'announces' February 6 showdown

Jaron Ennis-Josh Kelly unification nearing completion for February 27

Willy Hutchinson reveals Canelo Alvarez contact and vows to 'box his head off'

Larry Goossen, influential trainer and Big Bear pioneer, dies at 75

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have unfinished business beyond December 11

Willy Hutchinson being 'analysed' as potential next fight for Canelo Alvarez

Denzel Bentley willing to travel to Ireland for Aaron McKenna title shot

Dana White holds court at White House but tells Donald Trump: 'I do not want to be in politics'

Darius Fulghum sees second chance, and pressure on Diego Pacheco

Six fights, six knockouts: Albina Moldazhanova signs with MVP

Brock Jarvis hopes third time's the charm against Jermell Charlo

Caroline Dubois warns Alycia Baumgardner against stopping short of undisputed

Dana White job offer was a joke, claims Donald Trump

Floyd Mayweather eyes ‘big fight’ in 2027, names four potential opponents

Alycia Baumgardner dominates Elif Nur Turhan; Ramla Ali, Skye Nicolson also victorious

Donald Trump wants Dana White as his new press secretary

Is 'Rocky' a boxing movie? Furthermore, is 'I Play Rocky' a Rocky movie?

Abraham Perez defends flyweight title against Yankiel Rivera

Willy Hutchinson earns revenge, a world title in rematch win over Joshua Buatsi

Cheavon Clarke stuns Chris Billam-Smith with sensational seventh-round stoppage

Denzel Bentley drops Shane Mosley Jnr en route to unanimous decision victory

Caroline Dubois and Stephanie Han to unify Feb. 20 in Texas

Joshua Buatsi, Willy Hutchinson make weight for WBC title rematch

Chris Billam-Smith, Chev Clarke make weight; Shane Mosley Jnr needs second attempt

Tyson Fury fears for Deontay Wilder, says he is 'shot to bits' ahead of Jai Opetaia fight

Conor Benn reveals Manny Pacquiao offer, fight targeted for 2027

Fast and furious: PBC keeping talent busy in new DAZN union

Cliff Rold

About

Articles by Cliff Rold: page 168

BoxingScene's Ratings Update: Cotto, Algieri, More

Lara vs. Canelo and the World Around Them

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana II: The Right Choice

Terence Crawford-Yuriorkis Gamboa: Post Report Card

Terence Crawford-Yuriorkis Gamboa: Pre-Report Card

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Gary Russell Jr.-Vasyl Lomachenko: Post-Report Card

Gary Russell Jr.-Vasyl Lomachenko: Pre-Report Card

BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week

Darius Fulghum springs the upset on Diego Pacheco

Anthony Olascuaga wins a 'war' against Yuberjen Martinez