There was no 'Tom and Jerry'ing' on Saturday night at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York where 'Ring III' took place. Yeah, you could make an argument (a strong one, at that) that this card shouldn't have been on pay-per-view but that's another column for another day.
Nonetheless, it was a very solid and entertaining card that I enjoyed this past weekend. Some random thoughts on what I saw...
- Before we get to the main event, I wanted to focus in on the WBC lightweight title bout between the slick boxing Shakur Stevenson, and the hyper-aggressive William Zepeda. Coming into this bout, there was some pressure on Stevenson to not just win -- but to provide some post-4th of July fireworks.
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
Well, mission accomplished
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHOTo2Hh-T4
Stevenson certainly didn't stink out the joint, and he was more than willing to plant his feet, and/or back up along the ropes, and invited the oncoming leather that at times seemed to be coming in waves. But for the most part, Stevenson kept his composure and was able to not only evade most of the punches (or deflect them off his guard), he was more than willing to shoot sharp and accurate counter punches on Zepeda. Through it all, his hands held up.
If this is the Stevenson that we see moving forward, there shouldn't be many complaints from the viewing public -- or Turki Alalshikh, for that matter. There is a chance that with Zepeda's high output style, Stevenson may have faced his toughest stylistic match-up inside the lightweight division. I know some will say Gervonta Davis, can we ever really count on that fight ever coming to fruition?
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
As for Zepeda, he acquitted himself very well in losing. He's the type of guy that I'll watch, win, lose or draw. He's a very good fighter. But as we saw, it's going to take a special one to defeat Stevenson.
- In the night's main event, Hamzah Sheeraz obliterated Edgar Berlanga in five rounds. Coming into this contest, during their face-to-face interactions, Berlanga kept mimicking pointing a gun at Sheeraz. The message being that he was a shooter. Well, he ended up being a target as he brought a butter knife to a gun fight.
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
The self-styled 'King of New York' was beheaded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxVe80jw4Xk
Here's the reality, Berlanga and his management gamed the system masterfully. They racked up some early first round KO's and created some early buzz. Then leveraging his Puerto Rican heritage, got a payday versus the games cash cow, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez that nobody yearned for. Where he proceeded to go into the 'four corners' defense, lost every round -- and still went on a victory lap that was as long as the Boston Marathon.
Well, all that came crashing to an end as he was sent to the canvas twice near the end of the fourth round, and then finished at the beginning of the fifth. It will be hard to imagine the public taking the brash Berlanga all that seriously again. But the bottom line is that they already got their score. Sheeraz-Berlanga is a fight that should've been a proving ground for a fighter to get a shot at Canelo. What we saw unfortunately, was why Berlanga shouldn't have.
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
As for Sheeraz, there are two thoughts I have now looking back at his disputed draw against Carlos Adames back in February. First, there's no doubt in my view that the strain of making 160 took its toll on him. Also, Adames is a legitimate world-class fighter and his surprising elusiveness troubled Sheeraz. Both can be true.
Sheeraz is a real threat at super middleweight. Something that Berlanga never was.
- On this undercard, there were a pair of close (some would say controversial) decisions. David Morrell, coming off his loss to David Benavidez, was fortunate to get a split decision over the rugged Imam Khataev. Personally, while I think Morrell may have won four or five rounds, I can't see him winning six (or more). And keep in mind that he was sent down in round five.
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
Later on Subriel Matias won a razor thin split decision against Alberto Puello for the WBC 140-pound belt. This fight could've gone either way, I have no real issues with this decision.
- In talking with a few people that went to the event, they gave 'the Looie' rave reviews. While it's not in the heart of New York City like the Madison Square Garden, all you really had to do was take a train and it left you right at the door step of the venue. The set-up for the fights looked cozy and there seemed to be a good energy there once most of the fans arrived. Here's hoping more fight cards are staged there in the future.
Ring Magazine
- As for the pacing off the show, unfortunately it didn't move any quicker than most. For the most part there was a gap of about 35-40 minutes between each of the fights. The UFC generally has a hiatus that lasts no more than 20 minutes generally. Seriously, do you really need 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 long of a delay before getting to the next fight?
