*As I sat in the press box in the arena at the fabulous Mandalay Bay Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, it was a a bit of a challenge to write this story due to the recent passing of my daughter Adrienne Quisenberry. She was killed in a hit and run accident a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles. I decided to go ahead and attend this huge fight between these two latin giants of boxing in an effort to kind of clear my head and just plain get away from everything temporarily. And folks I got to tell you something, it wasn’t easy so please keep me and my family in your prayers.
Now as for the fight, this one stands out because this is the first time a Mexican and a Puerto Rican have got in the ring to fight for the middleweight championship of the world.
First, you had so much drama leading up to this fight that for a minute it didn’t seem like they were even going to get on the scales for the weigh-in. There was a rumor going around that Jay Z’s company Roc Nation Sports hadn’t finalized an agreement with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions until the very last minute (or so they say).
You see, Jay Z promotes Miguel Cotto, and Oscar De La Hoya promotes Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (in case you didn’t know)
And on top of all that, Cotto decided he wasn’t interested in paying the sanctioning fees that the World Boxing Council was demanding (so much for that).
There was a tremendous promotional build up to this fight that included a national press tour from Los Angeles to New York, and on to Mexico and Puerto Rico. And people from far and wide converged to Las Vegas to see these two get it on.
In the opening bell it was clear to everyone that this was going to be an exciting night of boxing between two of boxing’s best in the middleweight division (don’t forget there’s a guy named Gennady Golovkin out there who they both have to get tested by).
Round one started with a sporadic exchange of fisticuffs in the middle of the ring as they were feeling each other out and as the fight progressed, it became clear that this one was about to turn into a real barn burner.
Cotto on one hand, was landing some wicked uppercuts and jabs while at the same time, he was also getting hit with some very solid hooks to the body and the head by “Canelo”. And after absorbing so much of this you could actually tell that these power shots were taking some toll on him.
“Canelo” Alvarez is not a very quick and fast fighter, but he has so much power that if he hits you with something, you are definitely going to feel it (trust me! James Kirkland can attest to that)
At the end of twelve rounds though, all three judges had it scored for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez thus declaring him the “new” WBC, and Ring Magazine middleweight champion. (I had it a lot closer, maybe even a draw but what can you do)
And now that he is the champ his mandatory challenge is to fight Gennady “GGG” Golovkin whom everybody believes is the real middleweight champion. As I always say, we’ll see what happens.
In other boxing news, Lucian Bute got beat up in Canada this past weekend by James DeGale in a very competitive match that was telecast live on Showtime Championship Boxing. De Gale showed everyone that he’s got the goods to be champion.
Also on that show was Amir Iman who came into this one against Adrian Granados. This was to be the crowning moment for Iman if he could get past Granados it would set him up for a match with Victor Postal who is the current champion. But unfortunately, he got stopped in the eighth round by TKO in a bout that was his for the taking. He just didn’t seem like the promising kid we saw in his last 17 fights where we saw him sail through all of his opponents utilizing his speed, lateral movement, and power. On the flip side of this is the fact that this is his first loss in 18 fights, so he does have a chance to redeem himself that’s if he works hard at it.
And in case you missed it, Tyson Fury is now the new WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO world heavyweight champion after shocking the world by beating Wladimir Klitscho this past Saturday night at the Espirit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany and this was all telecast live on HBO Championship Boxing. And now the question is he ready for the rest of the field of heavyweights out there that include WBC champion Deontay Wilder, and Bryant Jennings who’s set to go against Luis Ortiz in a about a week or two? Only God knows, and this one thing is for sure that the heavyweight division is wide open. As I always say, we’ll see what happens.
Mohammed Mubarak’s Ringside Update can also be read in the Inland Valley News, and the Pace News and he can be reached at [email protected] for your comments. He is an artist as well and you may feel free to go to his website mubarakart.com and view his works on instagram at mubarakart.
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