Al Bernstein Becomes Al Burnstein For Teddy and Stephen (Social Media Spotlight)

ESPN's Teddy Atlas and Stephen A. Smith had another dramatic play, after ESPN nailed a mega p4p event in Vasyl Lomachenko VS Guillermo Rigondeaux. It was a play which I greatly enjoyed for its over-the-top absurdity. But the excellent Al Bernstein...not a fan of this style. At least, that is what I take away from his Twitter feed. 

Ya gotta love it.

(Al's Twitter post: https://twitter.com/AlBernstein/status/939986406981505025)



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Max Kellerman's Very Strange Quote

Maxie gets dully pounded by the jab

The Perpetually Poor Heavyweight Era: BGB Throwback Article Spotlight

 

Teddy Atlas On Antonio Tarver: Quote Spotlight

Teddy Atlas paid Antonio Tarver an enormous compliment after he dominated Johnathon Banks on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. While he wasn't particularly impressed with defeating Banks by itself, he said of Tarver's early pugilistic accomplishments:


"Tarver was one of the great amateur fighters in U. S. history."

The 46-year-old was a 1996 Light Heavyweight Olympian and continues to campaign for a world title at heavyweight. Stranger things have happened. Some of them to Roy Jones Junior.



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Quotes about power: Antonio Tarver
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Ahmed Elbiale VS Dustin Echard: A Mess of a Stoppage From Referee Bill Clancy

The Setup:

Two undefeated prospects with similarly and understandably soft opposition so far took to the stage as the opener for ESPN's Friday Night Fights. West Virginia's Dustin Craig Echard came in 10-0 with one No-Contest and all concentrated into West Virginia and the neighboring state Ohio. The hotter prospect, Ahmed Elbiale, from Egypt, having been on Friday Night Fights before and scoring a flashy KO at the time, came in 8-0 with all knockout victories. They meet just above the Light Heavyweight limit. It's technically at Cruiserweight but with a contracted catch-weight of 178 pounds. Echard reportedly had a little trouble making the weight and came in less than a pound over for this one and while Boxrec does not reflect it, he did hit the sauna and come in within the contracted limit, though Boxrec still currently lists the initial weigh-in. Echard contested his last couple fights at 10 and 14 pounds heavier than he was for tonight, and he looks to have a very top-heavy build. It might be significant. The bout is scheduled for six rounds and regardless of any issues with the weight, they both look in immaculate shape.

The Action:

With a likely-ill-fated nickname, Dustin "The Clean Coal Assassin" takes his first defeat via second-round TKO. He started well, and landed a handful of significant shots against Elbiale. The first round was highly competitive. It didn't begin with the appearance that they shouldn't be in the ring together. But Elbiale's killer instinct and power seem very considerable. It wasn't long before Elbiale put Echard down with a crushing overhand right to the jaw that initiated it and sent Echard sliding underneath the bottom rope and outside the ring.

This is where it gets dodgy. Echard looks confused and to be directed back into the ring by his corner, as Teddy Atlas points out. He doesn't look to have his feet or his wits. Upon replay, I think he seemed to think the fight was either over or they were on a break. Elbiale comes in with the anxiousness of a man who smells nothing but blood. He wades in behind a fury of punches and Echard is not able to defend himself. I think Echard even exclaimed "Hey!" as if to ask why he was getting attacked. Referee Bill Clancy steps in and I think it's over but then he lets it continue. I thought straight away that this would be a mistake. Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas had talked about seeing Bill Clancy officiate several times before and how good of a referee he was. But this was, as I said, where it got dodgy.  He can't move anywhere and can only offer a rudimentary guard. He's close to helpless at this point.

Elbiale comes in again, just as furious, and after eating some more shots, Echard, if I'm not mistaken, actually shouted "What are you doing?" I could be wrong, but if he did, he seems completely confused and unable to even know why the fight is continuing at this point. It's like he thinks they're on a break and Elbiale is attacking him for no reason. As he tries to ask what's going on, as best as I can here, Elbiale's assault is finally ended by Bill Clancy and the fight is called. This was probably about three spots too late to stop it. I was very puzzled by Clancy letting it continue where he did. Ahmed Elbiale wins, and by very messy TKO2, over a brave but confused Dustin Echard.


What it means to me:

For Echard, little can be said. He got his shot, started well, then got blown out. For Elbiale, some of the punches he was caught with, even with his big finish, were a concern. But with such little fight against such an unknown name, little can be said for him either. Only that he's a fun fighter with power and a genuine killer instinct. We have to wait to know anything more than that. I look forward to his next appearance. This was a good choice by ESPN, if not so much by Referee Bill Clancy.



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 Basement Gym Boxing



Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:

Ahmed Elbiale VS Dwayne Williams: The Expected Kayo

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Francisco Santana VS Kendal Mena: The Meaningless Zero, + GIF Spotlight

The Setup:

Teddy Atlas began the ESPN Friday Night Fights broadcast without playing up the opening match at all, true to himself and true to the viewing audience. He said that Mena had only fought one fighter in his 20-0 career who had a winning record. This is true as far as I can tell from his Boxrec page. An undefeated, unprepared fighter stood on one side, was the point Teddy tried to make. He also came in on short notice after over a year of inactivity. Meanwhile, while Santana comes in with three losses, he has also shared a ring with such talents as Eddie Gomez, Karim Mayfield, Joachim Alcine, Freddy Hernandez, Julian Williams and Jermell Charlo. The difference in professional experience in this match is overwhelming and Santana comes in relatively fresh off of a match in August of 2014.

The Action:

The action was short enough to just say this: When Santana landed, from the beginning, I think he hurt Mena with everything that landed flush. I think Mena had jelly in his legs before the kayo punch and maybe before the first of two knockdowns occurred. It makes me strongly question his durability at this level, the way I saw him react to the punches. Anybody can get the lights turned out but again, I don't think he took any good punches well in this brief outing. Here was the big left hook finish, in GIF form, and it really is the story of the action in a nutshell:

Francisco Santana KO1 Kendal Mena. Mena seemed completely out of his depth and his head was frighteningly bounced off of the canvas, leading to a correct call by Referee Jack Reiss to get people in to check on him immediately. This was a bad one, folks.



What it means to me: For Santana, that he is in the same position, really. He is that guy who hovers just inside the group. You wouldn't bet on him picking up a world title. But you wouldn't bet against him either. He's a contender of some kind. For Mena? My guess is obscurity. He's just a guy with a good record on paper, constructed in Dominican Republic against non-names, and likely to return to the same. There's nothing to talk about for him except that if he should decide to take on another step up from his 20 previous opponents, he shouldn't do it on a long layoff; he shouldn't do it on short notice, and he shouldn't do it too soon because that was a vicious blow that put him down and a vicious blow to the back of his head from the canvas.

I'll throw in that I watched the fight with someone and when it ended I mentioned Mena's lack of meaningful competition, and the statistic he'd missed about his opponents only having one winning record, he said of Santana's win "That's like knocking out a baby." While that may be a bit unfair, I guess I can't say I don't know where he's coming from. On the one hand, it was a good job by Santana and as action-packed as you're likely going to have for a one-rounder, but on the other hand, it did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I wish Mena a nice recovery and congratulate Santana on a dramatic performance, regardless of my mixed feelings on the matchmaking. Sometimes boxing is like that. A guy trying to make his way in the world gets a meaningless zero ripped off of him and is left in a distasteful heap. It's not the good side of boxing but it's normal and never going away. I could do without it being televised, however, ESPN.




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Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:

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Mike Tyson Punches Bonecrusher After The Bell: GIF Spotlight 

A List Of Teddy Atlas' Unofficial Boxing Score Cards For ESPN

Teddy Atlas Shoves George Foreman: GIF Spotlight

In the above GIF, Teddy Atlas gets in George Foreman's face and shoves him, in the lead up to 1994's Michael Moorer VS George Foreman bout. George would take the heavyweight championship of the world from Teddy's fighter to become a two-time champion and the oldest heavyweight champion of all time. Michael comes in behind to try and calm Teddy down. George, cool as a cucumber, tells Teddy during this to "Go get me a sandwich and sit down." How long would Big George have remained cool if they hadn't calmed Teddy down? I do not know. I think Teddy was getting very close though.




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Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
The Great Exchange On "Foul Acting" - Quote Spotlight With George Foreman & Jim Lampley
George Foreman Shakes Hank Hill's Hand: GIF Spotlight
Reaction GIF Spotlight: George Foreman Enjoyed That

Teddy Atlas Quotes, With Predictions: BGB Selected Reference For What Teddy Said About it All

Unless otherwise listed, these are all quotes taken from Teddy acting as expert commentator for ESPN's Friday Night Fights and will be updated as new quotes are chosen and arranged in chronological order:


2015: 

May:

Teddy was asked by Todd Grisham to predict Gennady Golovkin VS FNF tournament winner Willie Monroe Junior on Friday Night Fights, the fifteenth of May.

Todd asks Teddy about Monroe's chances. Teddy says: 

"I don't wanna be sounding like I'm in any way not respecting the fighters that I respect in that ring. But the answer probably is slim or none."

Teddy says, that Monroe is a gentleman and he likes him. He says Monroe is accurate and a good boxer, but not a puncher and he needs another dimension to hold Golovkin off.

2014:

December: 

11th:

On Antonio Tarver: 

"Tarver was one of the great amateur fighters in U. S. history."

(quoted in the post-fight coverage of Tarver's match with Johnathon Banks)

August:

15th:

On Al Haymon:

". . . Al Haymon, who's a tremendous manager/advisor, you know, whatever you want to call him, he's got those fighters, those three fighters that fought last week, Garcia, Peterson and Jacobs, and he did his job. He got 'em the most money for the least amount of risk."

Predicting Kell Brook VS Shawn Porter: 

"I'm picking Porter in that fight, but, again, a fight that I'm looking forward to."

On Referee Jack Reiss, before the officiating of Rustam Nugaev VS Denis Shafikov:

"You've got the right-one of the right referees in there, Jack Reiss, who does a great job. He won't interrupt the action. He'll watch it. He'll control it, but he won't mess it up, like some referees nowadays will."

On Rustam Nugaev:

"Nugaev happens to be one of my favourite fighters on this air, because he brings it."

On toughness and Cus D'Amato:

"I'm going to tell you what the late, great Cus D'Amato said to me, my mentor, what he said about being tough. When both guys are tough, the guy who's smarter, he's tougher."

July:

25th:

During the ESPN2 broadcast of Roberto Garcia VS Breidis Prescott, round eight:

Teddy: "Trainers are liars. They lie to you and I'm not knocking 'em. It's a good way. . . to try to keep his confidence up.

Todd Grisham "So, you lied as a trainer, back in the day?"

Teddy: "I fibbed."

January:

31st:

On Gennady Golovkin, shortly before Golovkin's match with Osumanu Adama:

"I see what I always see, Todd, with Mikey Garcia. That he's a master. A master at controlling range, controlling distance. He knows exactly where he's got to be, to be out of range, and exactly where he's got to go to be in range. And, how does he do it? Well, simply put, it's all about the feet when it comes to Mike Garcia. He's got the best feet and the best judge of distance in the whole boxing world." 

On Mikey Garcia, after being asked about his match with Juan Carlos Burgos:

"I see what I always see, Todd, with Mikey Garcia. That he's a master. A master at controlling range, controlling distance. He knows exactly where he's got to be, to be out of range, and exactly where he's got to go to be in range. And, how does he do it? Well, simply put, it's all about the feet when it comes to Mike Garcia. He's got the best feet and the best judge of distance in the whole boxing world."
 

2013:

September:

On Floyd Mayweather VS Saul "Canelo" Alvarez decision and Judge C. J. Ross, ICE SPORTS:

"And Another dubious situation and another black eye for boxing and guess what? Boxing is like the cyclops. There's no more eyes left to blacken. This is really destroying the boxing industry and it takes us away from the marvelous performance of Floyd Mayweather. Look, we're in the betting capital of the world. They put a betting line on anything. You can bet on the coin toss in the super bowl. You can bet on the under/over for how long the national anthem's going to go in the super bowl. But I can guarantee you, one line that will not be up in this town tomorrow. And that will be the line of whether or not C. J. Ross, that criminal, that-that corrupt or incompetent, whatever you want to call her, I don't know what she is, but this is the second time she's done this just- as you just finished saying. There will be no line up tomorrow whether or not she will be reprimanded by this commission, or any commission. Because she won't be. Because it doesn't happen in boxing. Boxing is unregulated. It has no national commission like the other sports and it's destroying itself."



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Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:

A List Of Teddy Atlas' Unofficial Boxing Score Cards For ESPN

The Cringeworthy Commentating Exchange Following Lamon Brewster TKO5 Wladimir Klitschko: Quote Spotlight

Jim Lampley Quotes Page: The Notables Chosen By Basement Gym Boxing

Issouf Kinda VS Jeremy Bryan - Second Slagged Fight Of The Night

This is contested just breaking into the welterweight division, though they're both presumably light welterweights.They're only one pound over the light welterweight limit. Early in the fight it's obvious the skill level has had a big increase with these two by a significant margin from the opening match of newbies. There's a lot more veteran guile and authority on display from both fighters, though it quickly becomes evident that it's no more or less crowd-pleasing.

In round two, Kinda is warned for a low blow and Bryan takes a very short allowed break. There's a caution by the ref to watch their heads after a clash in round three. Teddy says Bryan was cut in a head clash two fights ago and that Kinda has both won and lost via technical decisions after head clashes stopped the fights early. Kinda is cut tonight after the head clash, it seems and the ref makes note to the commission that it wasn't via punch.

Joe Tessitore says there's a small cut above the left eye of Jeremy Bryan in the fourth round. Teddy narrates a replay of several head clashes and explains why their tendency to fall in with punches leads to it. Teddy says Bryan wants to be aggressive but he doesn't know how. It has been somewhat ugly. Mostly, I feel the fight reflects that these guys are on the same overall level. But I have no problem with the scores. Jeremy Bryan gets a close UD and it's clear it means a great deal to him. Congratulations to Bryan on the win. It was a tough night and it won't be nice to hear the commentary they received when they see it back, and they both got a little bit banged up and kept doing their best.

During the match Teddy Atlas makes a specific point of saying that the main event will be good in hopes that disgruntled fans will stay tuned. Not a good sign for these fighters. They're giving it their best. It's not a good clash of styles. They can only do what they can do. Joe Tessitore goes so far as to put down the co-feature as "under-delivering". That's too bad. Not really wrong but too bad. It seems like a big shame for the fact that all four fighters on the card so far seemed to have done the best with what they had. It's just one of those nights. But without better management and a bigger budget from ESPN, this is what we get. They just don't treat boxing with enough attention or financial support at ESPN. That's the bottom line there. There's a reason why we get this on ESPN2.

America treats boxing like number two, compared to the way it used to. Some say it's a result of all the talent from other countries taking away public interest in the money country. With Floyd Mayweather Junior, Andre Ward and Tim Bradley out there, I think that's pure bunk. It's promoted badly and regulated horribly. And treated like it's managed-just as badly. We can get better cards on ESPN(2), guys. Come on. Your own commentators know you're not getting the best, even by your own minor league standards. You don't have to be HBO or Showtime to do better than this. And you don't have to have super stars to pick more entertaining or higher level matches either.


Teddy Atlas' unofficial scorecard:

Total score: 77-75, for Bryan

Bryan Rounds: 1, 2, 4, 7 & 8
Kinda Rounds: 3, 5 &6




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Kamil Laszczyk VS Daniel Diaz: A Productive Night's Work For Laszczyk

Kamil Laszczyk took on a tough, experienced professional in Daniel Diaz and put away 8 solid, satisfying experience rounds for ESPN's Friday Night Fights card. Kamil had an advantage in speed and coordination in his slightly slick, busy style. But most would agree that he took a step up and there was some pressure from inside and outside of the ring to contend with because of it. Not only did he get the win but got it by near shutout. You can't say he didn't have a productive match or that he didn't do himself proud.

Laszczyk is at least a solid prospect at featherweight. That said, despite his dominating the action, I couldn't say he looked to be spectacular. He looked good. He did get caught with a couple bombs from Diaz but he didn't seem hurt. He didn't seem like he needed to change his game plan and he didn't. He was, as I said, just slightly slick at this level and he did score a knock down, so he has a little pop in his punches. He had a good offensive diversity and took full advantage of firing faster than Diaz could hope to. He moved very well. He had class temperament and no one should put that down. He dominated a good class of opponent when he got a good TV date and he put in the work so that not only did he clearly win but he didn't let the crowd get away from him either. There's nothing to knock.

But he did not leave me with an overall big impression for a championship future. What I took away from the performance is that he's as likely as not to find a shot at a world title somewhere, whether he's successful or not. That, in and of itself, is an impressive thing for an athlete and I don't seek to diminish that. But in the grand scheme of things, I don't think he looked good enough to earmark him as a star. We'll see. I'd like to see him get another TV date soon. He's certainly not a bad watch and I'd consider his inclusion in another ESPN card to be welcomed, speaking as a fan.


Congratulations to him on a dominant performance. As for Diaz, when he landed, he did tend to land well-placed, flush, hard shots. The main difference is that he just did not have the speed of hand or foot to put the punches together like Laszczyk did. Because when he landed hard, his man was either answering back faster than he could successfully react to, offensively or defensively, or he was just out of reach. Diaz had a hard night and he hung tough, taking a lot of shots. He was a tough, determined guy in there but he was operating at too much of an athletic disadvantage to overcome. His effort did lend itself to a productive experience for Laszczyk only, which I'm sure was not his goal but that's the way it works out sometimes for a fellow like Diaz. There's no shame in it.



Notable Damage: Diaz suffered a cut over the left eye and Laszczyk over the right, I believe. Sometimes it's hard to tell when the cuts aren't dramatic as these weren't.


Teddy Atlas' unofficial scorecard:

Total Score: 79-72, for Laszczyk

Laszczyk Rounds: 1-3 & 5-10 (Round 1 scored 10-8 for a KD)
Diaz Rounds: 4




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Update: The commonly expected spelling of Kamil's name has been altered and we've changed the page accordingly. 

Roberto Garcia VS Norberto Gonzalez: ESPN Makes Good Pick, Judges Make Good Scores

If we're being realistic, what we had for a main event was two men who are definitely not likely picks for future world titlists at any of the weights they are accustomed to fighting in. I get that. That said, this seems to be a talking point amongst fans and their judgment of how good a main event this made for ESPN. I say we got a very good main event and that it was predictably good. It's true, these are not likely future world titlist level boxers, but they are more than good enough to make an excellent fight and they were clearly well-matched like you could have predicted. These men have exactly what you need for a good main event. Boxing fans are often the hardest to please of all sports. That is not ESPN's fault here. While they may have not done themselves any favors in allowing Roberto Acevedo onto their broadcast, they made a good value pick on Garcia/Gonzalez.


What I like about what happened is that Gonzalez is very similar, although probably not quite on the level of super middleweight contender Marco Antonio Periban, who I feel is a bit more likely to pick up some major title somewhere. He moves and fires quick, educated combinations with great discipline, great consistency, regardless of the difficulty in doing so. He can do it while hurt, he can do it while exhausted. He's a pro. The fact that he just didn't seem to have the pop in his punches to deter a tough guy like Garcia didn't stop him from doing what worked from the standpoint of scoring. From Garcia's end, he is disciplined as a patient, confident stalker. He's underrated in what he does. While he was at a disparity in speed and maneuverability, he didn't let it bother him. He knew he could take Gonzalez's shots, he knew he could hurt Gonzalez when he got off flush and he never seemed to waver from that understanding. It takes a strong mind to keep up the fight he needed on Friday night and he had it.

This was a very interesting match of men and even though Gonzalez seemed to genuinely and strongly disagree with the decision (as opposed to putting on for show), I felt it was on the money and that Garcia had just pulled away down the stretch. I didn't have him ahead by much because it was only ten rounds but I did have him ahead and I strongly believe if it were scheduled for championship rounds he'd have broken Gonzalez down, for as little as that might mean now. They were in the same neighborhood on skills but Garcia was simply built tougher and it made the difference, it looked to me, narrow as it was over ten. Sometimes all it comes down to is taking it a little better and giving it a little harder.

As with close fights, there were plenty of fans calling "robbery" no matter how ridiculous that is. I don't feel Garcia got enough credit for shots that were bouncing off his guard. He took plenty of shots but he wasn't careless in there. It was still very, very close and I can see it scored other ways, especially with the point deduction, which was valid enough. Garcia was pretty roughhouse but it wasn't anything to get up in arms about. The referee kept it from getting to that point. A split decision is about what I had expected and that's just fine with me. Good judging.

Congratulations to Garcia for staying in the fringe, to Gonzalez for raising his stock when television gave him the opportunity, as I see it, and ESPN for seeing a small diamond in the rough-the rough being what you have when your budget doesn't allow the star roster available to the likes of HBO and Showtime. This match may not have been a classic but it was damned good. I'm up for seeing both of these fellows again.

Please note: Boxrec currently has an error, saying that Gonzalez is the one who had a point deduction. It was Garcia, for a shove with the left elbow after largely a night where Garcia did a lot of bumping and shoving off to create space. Like I said, he was fighting roughhouse but it was kept in check.


Teddy Atlas' unofficial scorecard:

Total Score: 96-93

Garcia Rounds: 3-6, 9 & 10
Gonzalez Rounds: 1, 2 & 7
Draw Rounds: 8


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Erickson Lubin VS Roberto Acevedo: RTD1, A Black Mark On The ESPN Card To Open

ESPN's card started out predictably poor for anyone who had access to boxrec.com beforehand. A 6'0 young gun prospect in the welterweight division, Erickson Lubin, had what can only be described as a waste of time for all involved, in the respect of honest competitive experience. It was no fault of his either. His opponent? Roberto Acevedo-a man who has been disqualified three different times as a professional. Including twice in a row for fouling and holding. "Obviously, Acevedo, I'm going to guess, never intended to find a way here tonight." Teddy Atlas said. While I don't know what happened, my suspicion is that Teddy is right. It was a sour opener to the show and one which was almost expected. I like that they give very young prospects a spot as they're building their careers with lower level opponents for experience. That's fine. Being able to see a potential future star as he's developing is part of what makes watching ESPN worthwhile, because it takes up so much of their coverage. But when you've got a guy with the background Acevedo has, I don't know why you'd televise him.


ESPN begged to get burned here and they did. There is certainly a reason why you do not see a lot of "RTD1" outcomes. Someone retiring immediately after the first round in their corner is a sad, sad thing. I've either forgotten about or have never seen Roberto Acevedo. I don't know which, if I'm honest. Now, I am usually the last person to jump in and criticize a fighter for anything "heart'' related. Not because I believe the cliche about all men stepping into the ring having to be brave (I don't), but more that I think it's most common when a fighter doesn't continue in a match that he usually has a perfectly fair reason, even if it isn't readily apparent. Because of that, because sometimes you will not have a clue what they're going through (and never find out, often enough), I rarely think to criticize "heart". For all I know someone is severely impaired and understandably knows there's little point in continuing. But no matter what really happened last night on the overall decent ESPN boxing card, Acevedo left the impression that he never intended on honestly competing at all.

Again, that's not a judgment on him. I don't know what really happened and do not claim to. His hand could have broken in that very first round against a man he'd have gone from underdog against to punching bag against. I don't know. I'm sure the rare first-round penalty inflicted by the referee did not help if he had gone in with honest intentions. But the impression I got, and a lot of fans watching, Acevedo's history helping the case, makes me think we had a guy who showed up for a paycheck he never intended to earn. It was assumed to be a "prospect vs opponent" match but that doesn't mean the opponent is expected to give a no-try-effort. Which is what it looked to be. It came off as the opposite of what makes boxing great. After this very poor show, I watched Norberto Gonzalez and Roberto Garcia give each other their best stuff for ten hard rounds. This made Acevedo's one-round performance, where he was penalized for holding, that much worse by contrast.

No matter what happened or what the cause of this outcome was, there is no reason for ESPN or anyone else to touch this guy, even if it is only as "the opponent". Even if he is misrepresented by the general impression we're left with (entirely possible), a 3 DQ and 1 RTD1 history makes an untouchable fighter for television, I would think. Lubin did his job, looked pretty good for what little he had the chance to do and I'd like to see him back soon. I feel sorry for him, in a way, because sometimes, in this sport, an easy night can actually be worse for you than a tough one. In some ways.




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Basement Gym Boxing

Quote Spotlight: Teddy Atlas Gives Gennady Golovkin & Mikey Garcia Big Respect On Friday Night Fights

When Teddy Atlas praises a fighter as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, I never do think he's only blowing smoke or jumping on the hype trains that come rolling through every channel that covers boxing. I always think he's giving it to us as he sees it, whether we like it or not. This week, he was very glowing in his praise of two fighters who are well regarded but maybe not yet big stars in his country, nor men who can be claimed by his employing channel, that I know, and I thought I'd spotlight what he had to say.



"I love him. I love Triple G. Because you love him. Because these people love him. Because he makes exciting fights. He doesn't just win. But he does it in a fan-friendly, TV-friendly-... a friendly way that we all enjoy. He goes to the body well. He's aggressive. He's a good puncher. And, you know what? He's more than all that. The reason he's undefeated, he's a world champion and he's one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world? He had 400-so amateur fights. He won a silver medal. He's got the confidence, the calmness, that comes with all that experience, with all that success. But also he's the boss without just walking in and sticking his chin out and getting hit with punches. He doesn't walk into punches. He arranges distance pretty well. He's more than just a wrecking ball. He's a wrecking ball that doesn't get wrecked."


After being asked about the recent Garcia/Burgos match:

"I see what I always see, Todd, with Mikey Garcia. That he's a master. A master at controlling range, controlling distance. He knows exactly where he's got to be, to be out of range, and exactly where he's got to go to be in range. And, how does he do it? Well, simply put, it's all about the feet when it comes to Mike Garcia. He's got the best feet and the best judge of distance in the whole boxing world."

~Teddy Atlas, while working as expert commentator for ESPN's Friday Night Fights broadcast, the 31st of January, 2014.



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Basement Gym Boxing



Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:

A List Of Teddy Atlas' Unofficial Boxing Score Cards For ESPN
Who Were Their Sparring Partners? A Boxing Reference List For Research Purposes
Who Was There? A List Of Celebrities In Attendance At The Fights, For Your Reference

A List Of Teddy Atlas' Unofficial Boxing Score Cards For ESPN

2015:

May:


Reynaldo Ojeda VS Monty Meza-Clay Card:
Total Score: 99-91, for Ojeda

Ojeda Rounds: 1-9
Meza-Clay Rounds: 10

Amir Mansour VS Joey Dawejko:
Total Score: 97-93, for Mansour

Mansour Rounds:  1 & 5-10
Dawejko Rounds: 2,3 & 4


(On Friday Night Fights' Facebook page, fans saw it 9 rounds to 1 for Mansour)


David Gonzalez VS Ryan Belasco:
Total Score: 59-55, for Gonzalez

Gonzalez Rounds: 1-5
Belasco Rounds: 6

(On Friday Night Fights' Facebook page, fans saw this 6 rounds to 0, for Gonzalez, but it was actually scored a majority draw, Steve Weisfeld scoring it 58-56, for Gonzalez)
 
Decarlo Perez VS Jessie Nicklow:
Total Score: 70-73, for Perez

Perez Rounds: 2-8
Nicklow Rounds: 1

(On Friday Night Fights' Facebook page, fans also saw it seven rounds to one)

April: 

Emmanuel Robles VS Wilberth Lopez: 
Total Scores: 59-55, for Robles

Robles Rounds: 1, 3-6
Lopez Rounds: 2

(On Friday Night Fights' Facebook page, fans saw it 4 rounds to 2 for Robles)

Taras Shelestyuk VS Juan Rodriguez Junior:
Total Score, 79-73, for Shelestyuk

Shelestyuk Rounds: 1-5, 7 & 8
Rodriguez Rounds: 6

(On Friday Night Fights' Facebook page, fans saw it 7 rounds to 1 for Shelestyuk)


Petr Petrov VS Gamaliel Diaz: 
Total Score: 100-88, for Petrov

Petrov Rounds:  1-10 (7th round a 10-7)
Diaz Rounds: None

(On Friday Night Fights' Facebook page, fans also saw it nine rounds to one)


March:

Ahmed Elbiali VS Mike Stafford:  6 Rounds
Total Score: 59-56, for Elbiali

Elbiali Rounds: 2-5
Stafford Rounds: 6
Draw Rounds: 1 (1st round)
Special note: Friday Night Fights' Facebook page had it 6 rounds to 0 for Elbiali.

Fredrick Lawson VS Breidis Prescott: 10 Rounds
Total Score: 96-93, for Lawson

Lawson Rounds: 1, 2, 3 (10-8), 8, 9 & 10
Prescott Rounds: 4-7
Special note: Facebook fans for FNF had it scored 6 rounds to 4 for Prescott.
Teddy Atlas also did not agree with the single knockdown call by Referee Samuel Burgos.

February:

Daniel Gonzalez VS Ken Alvarez:



Total Score: 60-53, for Gonzalez

Gonzalez:  1, 2, 4(10-8), 5, 6 (10-8)
Alvarez: N/A
Even: 3

(Facebook Viewers scored this 3 rounds to 3 (minding the KD's)

Raymond Serrano VS Jeremy Bryan:
Total Score: 97-93, for Serrano

Serrano Rounds:  2, 5(10-8), 6, 7, 8 &10
Bryan Rounds: 3 (10-8) & 4
Even Rounds: 1 & 9

(Facebook viewers voted 8 rounds to 2 for Serrano)


John Thompson VS Ricardo Pinell:
Total Score: 59-55, for Thompson


Thompson Rounds: 2-6 
Pinell Rounds: 1

Sergio Mora VS Abraham Han:

Total Score: 117-112, for Mora

Mora: 1-6, 8 & 9
Han: 10-12
Draw: 7

January:


Tony Luis VS Karl Dargan:
Total Score: 99-90, for Luis

Dargan Rounds: 1
Luis Rounds: 2-10, with one 10-8 round, the tenth

Willie Monroe Junior VS Brian Vera:
Total Score: 100-90, for Monroe Junior

Monroe Rounds: 1, 2 & 4-10. The fifth round was scored 10-8.
Vera Rounds: None
Draw Rounds: 3/scored a 10-10

Jarrell Miller VS Aaron Kinch:
Total Score: 60-54, for Miller.
Miller Rounds: 1-6, all 10-9
Kinch Rounds: N/A

Darleys Perez VS Jonathan Macielo:
Total Score: 116-110, for Perez.

Perez Rounds: 1, 5-9, 11 & 12 (two 10-8 rounds, 11 & 12)
Macielo Rounds:  2-4 & 10

2014:

October:

Jermain Taylor VS Sam Soliman:
Total Score: 116-109, for Taylor

Taylor Rounds: 6-12, with rounds 7, 8, 9 and 11 all being 10-8.
Soliman Rounds: 2-5
Draw Rounds: 1

August:

Erick Bone VS Mahonri Montes
Total Score: 100-90, for Bone.

Bone:1-10
Montes: Not applicable

July:


Caleb Truax VS Derek Ennis: 
Total Score: 98-92, for Truax

Truax Rounds: 1-5, 7, 9 & 10
Ennis Rounds: 6 & 8


Mike Lee VS Paul Gonsalves:
Total Score: 58-56, for Lee

Lee Rounds: 1, 2, 4 & 5
Gonsalves Rounds: 3 & 6

Anthony Karperis VS  Ariel Duran:
Total Score: 39-37, for Karperis.

Karperis Rounds: 1, 3 & 4
Duran Rounds: 2


Billy Dib VS Alberto Garza
Total Score: 96-93

Dib Rounds: 2-4, 7, 8 & 10
Alberto Garza:  1, 5 & 9
Even Rounds: 6

June:

Yudel Jhonson VS Norberto Gonzalez
Total Score: 98-90, for Jhonson

Jhonson Rounds: 1, 2 & 4-9 (5 & 9 scored 10-8)
Gonzalez Rounds: 3 & 10

May:

Amir Imam VS Yordenis Ugas
Total Score: 77-75, for Imam

Imam Rounds: 4-8
Ugas Rounds: 1-3

Willie Monroe Junior VS Brandon Adams
Total Score: 98-92

Monroe Rounds: 1, 2, 4-7, 9 & 10
Adams Rounds:  3 & 8

April:

Willie Monroe Junior VS Vitaliy Kopylenko
Total Score: 79-73, for Monroe

Monroe Rounds: 1-4 & 6-8
Kopylenko Rounds: 5

March:

Fernando Carcamo VS Miguel Angel Gonzalez
Total Score: 78-73, for Carcamo

Carcamo Rounds: 1 (10-8), 3-6 & 8
Gonzalez Rounds: 2 &7

"Do me a favour. Somebody grab that judge that had it a draw and, really, suspend his license. Suspend his license. Bring him into the office and find out what on Earth was going on in his mind when he was watching the fight. Because he was watching a different fight than we were."

He was talking about Judge Tocker Pudwill.

February:

Kamil Laszczyk VS Daniel Diaz
Total Score: 79-72, for Laszczyk

Laszczyk Rounds: 1-3 & 5-10 (Round 1 scored 10-8 for a KD)
Diaz Rounds: 4

Roberto Garcia VS Norberto Gonzalez
Total Score: 96-93

Garcia Rounds: 3-6, 9 & 10
Gonzalez Rounds: 1, 2 & 7
Draw Rounds: 8

Wendy Toussaint VS Anthony Gangemi
Total score: 39-37, for Toussaint

Toussaint Rounds: 2-4
Gangemi: 1


Issouf Kinda VS Jeremy Bryan

Total score: 77-75, for Bryan

Bryan Rounds: 1, 2, 4, 7 & 8
Kinda Rounds: 3, 5 & 6


Chris Algieri VS Emmanuel Taylor

Total score: 97-93, for Algieri

Algieri Rounds: 1-3 & 7-10
Taylor Rounds: 4, 5 & 6



January:


Dusty Hernandez Harrison VS Tim Witherspoon Junior
Total Score: 79-73, for Hernandez Harrison

Hernandez Harrison Rounds: 2-8
Witherspoon Junior Rounds: 1

(Hernandez Harrison did officially win by unanimous decision)

Luis Rosa VS Jorge Diaz:
Total Score: 78-72, for Rosa

Rosa Rounds: 2-5, 7 & 8
Diaz Rounds: 1 & 6


Blake Caparello VS Elvir Muriqi
Total Score: 99-91, for Caparello

Caparello Rounds: 1-4, 6-10
Muriqui Rounds:  5


Caleb Truax VS Ossie Duran

Total Score: 96-94, Caleb Truax

Truax Rounds: 1, 5 & 8-10
Duran Rounds: 2-4 & 6
Even Rounds: 7



Juan Antonio Rodriguez VS Yenifel Vicente
Total Score: 78-74, for Rodriguez

Rodriguez Rounds: 2-7
Vicente: 1 & 8


This page is dedicated to cataloging ESPN's long-time unofficial scorer's cards throughout the many years he has had the gig as a reference for anyone researching the matches or Atlas' scores in particular. Bookmark for future reference as I'll continue to add as many as I can.




Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing


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Seahawks Dominate Boxing On ESPN: Referee Bobby Howard & Audience Have Their Priorities!

In an amusing aside to the boxing news this Friday night on ESPN, in Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, USA, the Seattle Seahawks were more on the minds of the crowd than the boxing! Former major world titlist Rico Ramos was fighting and the audience only had eyes for American football. The referee helped. Bobby Howard gave his pre-fight referee spiel with the added flare: "You talk about honour, fight that way. Shake 'em up and get it on. Go hawks." and a big cheer erupts from the audience. This amuses and animates Joe Tessitore. Teddy Atlas seems to write it off as an attention hound moment, unimpressed. The announcer behind Howard had a very large smile on his face. During the fight, the audience's enthusiasm did not die down as they chanted "Sea-hawks! Sea-hawks! Sea-hawks!" to the California native fighters in the ring.

Quote From Teddy Atlas Regarding Boxing Corruption, Absence of A National Boxing Commission & Judge C. J. Ross On ICE SPORTS

I simply wish to spotlight this quote regarding Saturday's showdown for the lineal light middleweight title between Canelo Alvarez and Floyd Mayweather Junior. I plan to post my own thoughts on the fight at some point but for right now, here is the transcript of the televised exchange about this issue, verbatim, or as high an accuracy as I am capable in this post. It's my understanding that it aired on something called ICE SPORTS, of which I am not familiar and can find nothing, but it seems to be connected to ESPN's Sports Center, from the clip I viewed on Youtube.


Robert Flores:

"It was a decided pro-Canelo Alvarez crowd Saturday night in Las Vegas but Floyd "Money" Mayweather silenced them and his opponent to run his record to a perfect 45-0. Welcome inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Robert Flores, joined alongside Teddy Atlas. For Floyd Mayweather, Teddy, it was a dominant-it was a surgical performance over Canelo Alvarez. But not a unanimous decision. C. J. Ross, the lone judge to have it a draw, and another dubious decision for this judge, the same judge that scored Timothy Bradley a win over Manny Pacquiao last June. Your thoughts on the draw by C. J. Ross?"

Teddy Atlas:

"And Another dubious situation and another black eye for boxing and guess what? Boxing is like the cyclops. There's no more eyes left to blacken. This is really destroying the boxing industry and it takes us away from the marvelous performance of Floyd Mayweather. Look, we're in the betting capital of the world. They put a betting line on anything. You can bet on the coin toss in the super bowl. You can bet on the under/over for how long the national anthem's going to go in the super bowl. But I can guarantee you, one line that will not be up in this town tomorrow. And that will be the line of whether or not C. J. Ross, that criminal, that-that corrupt or incompetent, whatever you want to call her, I don't know what she is, but this is the second time she's done this just- as you just finished saying. There will be no line up tomorrow whether or not she will be reprimanded by this commission, or any commission. Because she won't be. Because it doesn't happen in boxing. Boxing is unregulated. It has no national commission like the other sports and it's destroying itself."


Robert Flores:


"Well, that's a subplot of this Saturday, that this magnificent night for Floyd Mayweather-But the headline is "Money" Mayweather stays undefeated, stays dominant."



A currently active available Youtube clip of the exchange:

Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing



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