827 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Lyle Fitzsimmons byline.
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With each round that passed, the star shined brighter. Its name? Subriel Matías. Though Showtime’s pay-per-view finale was built to promote the brands of David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo, there was no more compelling luminary in the Las Vegas sky by Sunday’s dawn than the 31-year-old Puerto Rican who had been flying well under most 140-pound radar.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Welcome to the good old days. Sort of. As they prep for this weekend’s Showtime PPV finale headlined by hopeful Canelo dance partners David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade, fans of a certain vintage will recall the loaded Don King cards of the early 1980s, when a high-profile main event was routinely supported by a handful of equally attractive supporting bouts.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Before you say it, don’t. We’re well aware that Jose Valenzuela is not Shakur Stevenson. He’s won eight fewer fights. He’s been beaten twice. And chances are he’ll never be a champion. But it wasn’t that long ago that people were pretty high on him. Just 14 months ago, in fact, he was an unbeaten PBC prospect entering a scheduled 10-rounder in Los Angeles with a short-notice longshot named Edwin De Los Santos.
Yeah, we know. Jake Paul. So there’s a segment of people already holding their nose. In fact, it’s probably a big segment of people holding their nose. But there’s also a pretty big segment of people – whether they’re traditional boxing fans or not – at least mildly interested in what Jake Paul is planning to do next as it relates to the ring.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Buckle up, folks. It’s time for a post-weekend game of two truths and a lie. 1) Francis Ngannou was better in the ring than we thought he’d be. 2) Francis Ngannou will get a big audience for his next boxing match. 3) Francis Ngannou defeated Tyson Fury. Spoiler alert, everyone. The third one is the lie. Though the ex-UFC strongman far..
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a heavyweight fight. Once we’ve dispensed with the “it’s a real fight, not an exhibition” silliness in Saudi Arabia this weekend, it seems that rival title claimants Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will finally put their respective baubles on the line in a long-awaited unification on December 23 or early next year.
Jake Paul is not a dumb guy. Say what you will about the influencer boxing circuit he helped create and whether you’d part with hard-earned cash to watch it, but the guy’s got loads of business sense.
We can probably all agree that the pandemic was a drag. But when it comes to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, we didn’t know how good we had it. The COVID-prompted triple induction ceremony in 2022 yielded an historic collection of fighters who’d been no-brainers from the moment they appeared on the ballot. In fact, it’s no stretch to suggest the nine modern male inductees across those three years were as good a run as the Hall has ever had.
Bill Clinton was president. Patrick Mahomes was in pull-ups. And at two sites set about 3,000 miles apart in boxing’s backwoods, Chevelle Hallback and Layla McCarter began blazing the trails that’ll take them to a shared spotlight in Las Vegas.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - There are always outliers. No matter the topic, it’s never impossible to find those who insist smart money is wrong. The Earth is flat. Elvis is alive. Elections are rigged. Unless, on that last one anyway, your candidate wins.