Rumor Mill

Errol Spence Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao is off – now Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas

Errol Spence Jr. might not be long in the sport of boxing as he had to withdrawal from more than likely his biggest professional payday as a boxer with a retinal tear. For those not a fan of big words like myself, that means damage to his eye, and that is something you need after boxing, which at the very least starts the clock towards retirement for the 2012 U.S. Olympian, and welterweight world champion.

An eye injury (in a different era of medicine) ended “Sugar” Ray Leonard’s career, and halted Abner Mares’ career, and I don’t think anyone ever feels comfortable one a generational-type talent, such as Spence is facing such a dramatic, and tough injury.

One can’t help, but look at his car accident after his DUI, after the Shawn Porter bout, and pre-pandemic, and wonder “what-if”….

Hopefully, Spence is healthy, as no return to the ring should be anytime soon. We wish Spence the best.

Filling in for Spence is, Cuban Yordenis Ugas, who lost his opponent on the same day, Fabian Maidana, on seemingly the same day, to a similar injury. Ugas spent some of his camp sparring Pacquiao in preparation for Errol Spence Jr.

Franco vs. Moloney III

ESPN for the main card starting at 7 PM PST, ESPN+ will show the undercard prior, start time 3:30 PM PST.

Joshua Franco will fight in the second trilogy of his career, the first against Oscar Negrete, as he faces Andrew Moloney in a bout that will be contested on ESPN for his WBA super flyweight title.

The result of this fight will more than likely define the legacy of both fighters, as the first bout was a jarring loss for Andrew Moloney, who was signed by Top Rank Inc, as a fighter with the potential to have international stardom, and bridge boxing into Australia in the near future. Franco won a close decision in a fight he pushed Moloney back in from start to finish.

Moloney recalled on my podcast that a moment from this fight stuck with him.

“After the fight, [Franco] said ‘easy work’, to me in the corner,” said Moloney who felt disrespected by this.

In the second bout, the hand speed and quickness was on full display as Franco looked to be in a bad way, but a clash of heads according to the judges, and a nearly 40-minute review of the outcome saw, Franco, keep the belt via a no-decision, as it was ruled Franco’s damage to his eye that didn’t allow him to continue occurred from a headbutt, not a punch.

The third bout will happen in the most unlikely of places, Tusla, Oklahoma, as the two who have put forth two great fights already in one year’s time will look to put a capstone on this series with one last masterpiece. This is a fight you don’t want to miss.

Undercard

South El Monte super lightweight Arnold Barboza Jr., will face former Devin Haney opponent, Antonio Moron, as Barboza Jr., should be getting to the point of getting a world title shot, soon. Barboza Jr. is a uber-talent who just needs a chance and is one of my favorite fighters that is going largely unnoticed by a lot of fans, and media. With a big performance and Josh Taylor maybe vacating all four 140 lbs world titles after his next fight, maybe Barboza Jr. can fight for one of the vacant titles in the future.

Jason Moloney, the brother of Andrew Moloney, will face Joshua Greer Jr., in a bantamweight bout, that will serve as a crossroads match. Jason Moloney was knocked out by “The Monster” Inoue on Halloween of last year, and Joshua Greer is coming off a loss to Mike Plania and a draw to Edwin Rodriguez. Both of these guys, who have been at the top of the card prior, need a win here.

A fight all hardcore boxing fans should watch is – Genesis Servania vs. Andres Cortes, in which Servania fought Oscar Valdez for a world title, even dropping the Mexican legend as well, and Andres Cortes, a former Mayweather Promotions fighter, is looking for a marquee win to get into the world title conversation. This is a sink-or-swim fight for both.

The grandson of Muhammad Ali, who trains with “Sugar” Hill, Nico Ali Walsh will make his pro debut, as well as the son of Tommy Morrison, Trey Lippe Morrison will be in heavyweight action.

2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas will make his Top Rank debut, this will be his first bout since his lone loss nearly two years ago.

Albert Bell will face San Jose, California’s Julio Cortez, who is from Ecuador and had a deep amateur career and Abraham Nova will be back in action as well.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas

Saturday, August 14th, 6:00 PM PST – DAZN

How good is Vergil Ortiz Jr.? Well, I think he is really good, but so is Egidijus Kavaliauskas, also known as “The Mean Machine”, and with Marco Contreras in the Kavaliauskas’ corner you know he will be well prepared as well. That being said, Vergil Ortiz Sr., and Robert Garcia are both very good boxing minds as well, as this is truly an exciting bout, worth making time for.

This bout is interesting as they are mirror images of each other, as four years ago, in boxing circles people had the faith in Kavaliauskas’ becoming a star, but he never truly translated to the world level as some would’ve hoped. Ortiz has won all of his seventeen of his bout by knockout and is looking to be one of the rising faces of the sport of boxing as he is willing to fight the best in the division, and a win here would mandate him for the WBO welterweight world champion, Terence Crawford.

Roger Gutierrez vs. Rene Alvarado III

A rather sleepy trilogy between two tough L.A.-based fighters, who are crowd-pleasers, but very limited on the world level, that should see a bunch of punches landed on each other. Each fighter holds a win over the other one, and this bout should see the winner fighting Lamont Roach Jr. Gutierrez’s form of the WBA super featherweight world title will be on the line.

Good action fight, but just know both fighters have a major ceiling.

Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Danielito Zorrilla

The most interesting bout outside of the main event on the Golden Boy Promotions card is Pablo Cesar Cano, who I suppose this bout is his reward for beating Jorge Linares in one round, facing Miguel Cotto Promotions’ Danielito Zorrilla. The bout will show where both guys are at as Cano has been fighting for a long time with a style that doesn’t age-well (all-action, defense every-now-and-then), and Zorrilla, who was badly hurt in his last bout on Ring City USA.

For Zorrilla to answer some doubts about his chin, and durability he needs a statement win against one of the toughest gatekeepers in the sport, Cano.

John Riel Casimero vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux, 12 rounds, for Casimero’s WBO bantamweight title, Showtime – Saturday, August 14th – 6 PM PST

Youth vs. experience.

Casimero hits really hard but is not as talented as Rigondeaux.

The issue is age. Has Rigondeaux’s best attribute his feet and movement reach a point in which the crude, but powerful Filipino fighter, Casimero can catch him.

I know one thing – Sean Gibbons is in Casimero’s corner, and that is someone who is an elite-level matchmaker.

The bout is also interesting as Nonito Donaire and John Riel Casimero were set to fight in an all-Filipino clash after Rigondeaux allowed that fight to happen instead of his, but the bout didn’t occur as the two sides couldn’t come to terms on drug testing.

Antonio Russell vs. Emmanuel Rodriguez, 12 rounds, for vacant WBA interim bantamweight title

Gary Antonio Russell will fight for his first world title against a former world champion in Emmanuel Rodriguez. Russell has all the skills in the world, and this should be a great introduction to him on the world stage, that propels him into interesting bouts, one which might be – Rau’shee Warren.

Rau’shee Warren vs. Damien Vazquez, 10 rounds, bantamweights

A bout that could create a title contender. Warren, who probably left his best years in the sport in amateur boxing as he was a 3x U.S. Men’s Olympian, will face Vazquez a very respectable pro in his own right.

Off-TV Showtime Undercard

Emerging Cameron Dunkin fighter Brandun Lee, who fights at super lightweight will be in-action, and hopefully he is on some form of streaming for this telecast, as well as Juan Carlos Payano, a good solid veteran.

Matchroom Card

Saturday, August 14th, 11:00 AM PST – DAZN

Joshua Buatsi vs. Richard Bolotniks, 12 rounds, light heavyweights

Buatsi was the star of Great Brittan’s 2016 Rio Olympic run looking like a superstar, but the problem is he hasn’t really gotten the momentum going as a pro. Fight fans are eager to see him do one of two things 1) fight more often as this is his third fight in two years time, or 2) stop up in competition, a tall ask as this will be is fifteenth pro fight. Buatsi, an Olympic silver medalist, looks to be a dynamic fighter, but it is now getting to the point in which, if we wait much longer, a some might stop caring.

Richard Bolotniks recently won “The Golden Contract”, and is on a seven-fight win streak.

Savannah Marshall vs. TBA, 10 rounds, for Marshall’s WBO women’s middleweight title

Marshall is a generational talent, and now the only issue is getting her dancing partners that get us excited as fans, and not just tuning in to see her fight. The big fear amongst many is we will wait years upon years, just to see Marshall in a bout with her equal since she is that good. Marshall is the only woman to beat Claressa Shields.

Shannon Courtenay vs. Jamie Mitchell, 10 rounds, for Courtenay’s WBA women’s bantamweight title

Shannon Courtenay is the current WBA women’s bantamweight champion, and a solid fighter, but will face Beautiful Brawlers’ alum, and a fighter who has spent a lot of time at the Mayweather Boxing Gym, Jamie Mitchell. Mitchell is a very live-dog in this fight, as she had a deep amateur career, and could upset Courtenay.

Club Shows

Thompson Boxing Returns, YouTube – Saturday, August 14th

The likable Southern California-based promoter, Thompson Boxing, returns this Saturday, August 14th, as they have now done away with the 3.2.1 Boxing series, and brought back the shows that they’re known for pre-COVID-19.

The main event will see Thompson Boxing’s exciting and emerging contender at the lightweight division, Ruben “Ace” Torres take on Richard Zamora in an eight-round bout. Torres is trained and managed by one of boxing’s most underrated trainers in the game, Danny Zamora.

A notable undercard bout on this card is Humberto Rubalcava vs. 2012 U.S. Olympian Eros Correa in an eight-round junior bantamweight bout. Correa, a true talent, has not been able to fully secure a promoter as of yet, and with a win, should get more chances to shine on these types of platforms. Correa has an all-action style.

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Fite.TV – Friday, August 13th, 11 AM PST

Former world champion Austin Trout will be in action in Dubai against Alejandro Davila, in a junior middleweight bout. Trout has stated that he wants to fight at welterweight at some point, but this was probably too good of a chance to pass up.

On the undercard will be cruiserweight, “Irish” Mike Perez taking on Tony Salam in a 12-round cruiserweight bout, Christian Thun, who has been training in Las Vegas prior faces world-level heavyweight Lucas Browne in a ten-round bout, and the return of Anthony Sims Jr., who was part of the prospects brought on at the launch of the DAZN/Matchroom partnership.

Ahmed Elbiali will fight Florida against a veteran opponent, as well as the return of one of my favorite flyweights at the 2019 Olympic Trials Anthony Olascuaga on this same card. Telemundo is said to show some of these bouts on Friday.

DHP Promotions’ fighter Amari Jones will be back in action this Saturday in Decatur, GA. The decorated amateur has won every fight by knockout, also on the card Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson, and Darren Cunningham III.

That same night in Atlanta, GA, Brian Norman Jr. will return to action, along with Anthony Peterson.

On Saturday in Orlando, Florida, recent podcast guest Jeovanny Estela, will return to the ring.

Jessica McCaskill’s teammate, Summer Lynn, will fight for the UBO female welterweight title in Iowa, middleweight Antonio Woods will also be on this card.

Cassius Chaney, who at one time was with Main Events, but I am not sure his current relationship to that promoter, and working with media personality and boxing trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards, will look to make a decoloration to the heavyweight division, as he is 20-0 currently.

Light heavyweight Charles Foster will be in action in Maine on UFC Fight Pass as well. This will be his twentieth fight, and he is undefeated.

MMA In 500 Words Or Less

PFL Playoffs 1 – Friday, August 13th, ESPN2 – 6 PM PST

The PFL is an interesting competitor to the UFC as has a clear system to what is next for each fighter. The organization puts a points-value you to each win, and loss, and the top fighters meet at the end of the season in a playoff system.

The card is headlined by former UFC star Rory MacDonald taking on Ray Cooper III in a welterweight semi-final bout. Also featured on this card is, Clay Collard, the 2020 feel-good story of the year.

Bellator – Mousasi vs Salter – Friday, August 13th, Showtime – 6 PM PST

Friday might as well be the day of MMA for those that love it as Bellator world champion Gegard Mousasi will face John Salter in a tough wrestler in the main event. Mousasi has been around for a while now, but many might remember him as being billed on M-1 Global card next to MMA legend, Fedor Emelianenko. Mousasi’s calm and stoic demeanor has always been seen as his drawback as despite being a Dream, M-1 Global, Strikeforce, and Bellator world champion, as Mousasi in some bout has seemingly lacked urgency when a fight isn’t going his way. Mousasi is the last of the Pride-era guys, is a very respectable fighter to watch.

In 2008, Mousasi was named the Fighter of the Year, by Bleacher Report.

ONE Championship: Battleground II – Friday, August 13th, B/R Live – 5:30 AM PST

The Asian-based ONE FC that is focused more on the martial arts aspect of fighting and less on the marketing, will return Friday, August 13th on B/R Live.