This past weekend in boxing was highlighted by three big cards -- Friday in New York's Times Square; Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Sunday in Las Vegas. There were six title fights and two for undisputed championships. However, not all fighters performed as expected.
Ryan Garcia (24-2-1 NC, 20 KOs), fighting for the first time since his yearlong suspension for testing positive for a banned substance last April, lost a unanimous decision to Rolando "Rolly" Romero in Friday's main event. Garcia landed 66 punches, failing to connect on more than nine attempts in all 12 rounds. The contest was for the vacant WBA "regular" welterweight title.
Earlier that night, Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) defended his WBO junior welterweight title with a dominant performance against Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-1, 11 KOs). Lopez looked like his old self in New York, and his speed and excellent footwork were too much for Barboza to overcome.
Former undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney (32-0-1 NC, 15 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over former junior welterweight titleholder Jose Ramirez (29-3, 18 KOs). Haney landed only 70 punches in 12 rounds, but Ramirez was worse, landing 40. In six of the rounds, Ramirez landed just two punches.
On Saturday, Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) defeated William Scull (23-1, 9 KOs) by unanimous decision to regain the undisputed super middleweight championship. Both fighters combined to land 111 punches (56 for Canelo, 55 for Scull). The two also combined to throw 445 punches, which is the fewest attempted in a 12-round fight since CompuBox began tracking the stat 40 years ago.
On Sunday, things got better. Undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs) and challenger Ramon Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) put on one of the best fights of the year. Inoue went down in Round 2, but recovered to stop Cardenas in the eighth round. Inoue landed 176 punches in the fight. To compare, Canelo, Garcia and Haney landed 182 punches combined.
In the co-main event, Rafael Espinoza (27-0, 23 KOs) defended his WBO featherweight title with a seventh-round stoppage of Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs). It was another flawless performance by the tallest featherweight champion in boxing history (6-foot-1).
Andreas Hale looks at the top fighters to compete this weekend and grades their performances.
Friday report card
Teofimo Lopez: B
The first of the Times Square tripleheader fights saw a switched-on Lopez thoroughly outclass the previously unbeaten Barboza. "The Takeover" was better than Barboza in every facet of the game and was the only fighter in New York who understood the assignment of being entertaining while working toward the win. He didn't come close to finishing Barboza but tried his best to make it a show. When he's dialed in, Lopez is easily one of the most complete fighters in the world. Could he have taken more chances against the light-punching Barboza? Sure. But he got the job done against a top rival, and notching wins matters the most.
Devin Haney: D+
Haney won the fight against Ramirez but did little to erase the memories of fans who remember him being ransacked by Garcia's left hooks last year. He fought like he had lingering effects from the beating Garcia gave him by constantly circling the ring and throwing an underwhelming 229 total punches. As talented as Haney is, this was a performance he should want to forget sooner rather than later. Physically, he's too good for this. But if he doesn't believe in himself, his performances will continue to suffer and be subject to public scrutiny.
Rolando "Rolly" Romero: C
The fight that appeared certain not to need the judges' involvement ended up going the distance. But Romero, who has never been known for his defensive prowess, deserves credit for completely neutralizing Garcia's left hook. He also altered the course of the fight by putting Garcia down with a double left hook in the second round. It wasn't an exciting fight by any stretch of the imagination, but Rolly pulled off a major upset, disrupted plans for a Garcia-Haney rematch and set himself up for a major fight in his next outing.
Ryan Garcia: F
Ryan Garcia is easily beaten by Rolando Romero to leave hopes of a Devin Haney rematch in tatters.
Simply put, Garcia blew it. With so many questions after his failed drug test turned a brilliant decision win against Haney into a no-contest, Garcia had a chance to redeem himself and prove that PEDs didn't help him last year. Instead, he was flat and lethargic and allowed a brawler to put him onto the canvas and outbox him. No disrespect to Romero, but Garcia had the perfect opponent with which to deliver fireworks. Instead, he fizzled out when the lights were the brightest. He did nothing to prove he should face Haney in a rematch. His future as a star is in jeopardy if he doesn't find a way to turn it around.
Saturday report card
Canelo Alvarez: D
Canelo didn't get an F because his opponent had zero interest in trying to win. Still, throwing an abysmal 152 punches in a 12-round fight as Canelo did is inexcusable. He can rightfully blame Scull for not engaging, but he must accept responsibility for doing very little with his opportunities -- especially when it was clear that Scull couldn't hurt him. We haven't seen a vintage Canelo performance in quite some time. Hopefully, that ends with his September fight against Terence Crawford.
William Scull: F-
This was an abhorrent performance by Scull in the biggest fight of his career. Few knew who he was heading into the fight with Canelo, and now everyone will want to forget his name after a performance that saw him unwilling to engage. Between his 12 rounds of dancing and the occasional complaint that Canelo's punches were low -- even though they were clearly above the belt line -- Scull made a negative account of himself. If we're lucky, we won't have to see him again.
Sunday report card
Rafael Espinoza: B+
Espinoza did everything in his power to prove that Sunday in Las Vegas would be a different experience from what happened Friday in Times Square and Saturday in Saudi Arabia. He set a frantic pace against the resilient Vazquez, piling up points by using his significant height and reach advantage. By the third round, he had already thrown more punches than Canelo, Haney and Garcia combined for in their 12-round fights. Espinoza negates his physical advantages by fighting on the inside, but he is undoubtedly an exciting fighter to watch.
Naoya Inoue: A
Inoue saved boxing from having a dreadfully disappointing weekend by delivering a memorable fight filled with drama and excitement against Ramon Cardenas. Inoue had just enough vulnerability to create tension when he was dropped in the second round and subsequently cranked up the pressure to deliver a ferocious finish in the eighth round. Inoue isn't only one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing, he's one of the most exciting.
Ramon Cardenas: B
It's often cliché to say that a fighter can win even when he loses, but that's exactly what Cardenas did in his thrilling showdown with Inoue. Unlike most of the other B-sides this weekend, Cardenas came to win. Although he would be eventually overwhelmed by Inoue's power and combination punching, he became the second fighter to put the Japanese superstar on the canvas and, for a moment, had the world questioning if he would be able to pull off a massive upset. Even when it seemed like he would fold, Cardenas refused to back down and came out swinging. Nobody gained more new fans in boxing than Cardenas did this weekend.