No joke, boxing has been me quieter than a sleeping newborn recently. At least this month is giving us some long-awaited grudge matches as a consolation prize as the sport continues to hold down the backseat entering the fall. Outside the grudge matches of Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall and Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin 3, the boxing highway month of September looks to continue to bring the summer heat.
Is anyone fired up for that hypothetical banter of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury for that historic two millionth time? Yawn. Fury’s last “punch thrown” was at a wrasslin’ event he attended ringside. It sounds like that’s the last punch near a ring we’ll see from Fury in 2022 if anyone is upfront about what’s next for the retired revolving champ.
How about Andre Ward being on-site for a Top Rank broadcast for the first time during the pandemic? No, but even I’m getting off the couch for a chance to go to San Diego. I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity.
My Luis Ortiz-Andy Ruiz Takeaway
After this past weekend, I’m ending all Luis Ortiz’s age jokes. Is he 43 years old? That is what Brian Kenny beat into my head on the Fox pay-per-view broadcast, and yes, he’s 43 (Seriously, Kenny said this at least five times. He’s old, we get it). I’m putting an end to the jokes because, despite his age, he looked every second of it in his loss against Andy Ruiz Jr. Sunday night; he still proved to be a tough out for Ruiz. Despite being dropped three times, Ortiz was laborious and plodding enough to make Ruiz resilient to throw. So much to the point, it could’ve put anyone down watching in the middle rounds. If they were looking for action, they got two big guys moving around instead.
While I picked Ruiz to win last week for the site’s posse cut, I was shocked at the lack of output Ruiz had in this fight. Everything leading up to the opening was a slimmer, faster-handed Ruiz. That was on display in the three knockdowns, especially the 2nd one, as Ortiz is still looking for what happened with that one. This felt like what many saw from Ruiz in the Arreola fight. Differences brought Arreola to Ruiz early, and he had to rally back. Ruiz was in control but kept Ortiz hanging around in front of him, which caused problems.
The 114-113, 113-112 scorecards for Ruiz were the fitting nod here by the judges. The better question now is would you favor Ruiz in a potential matchup against Deontay Wilder? Who says 2019 dream matchups aren’t still in motion for the future? Not I, and the prospects of Ruiz-Wilder in 2023 are #1 on my fight list. Make it yours if Wilder is victorious against Robert Helenius in October.
Shields vs. Marshall: A Decade In The Making
I am pumped for a solid night of women’s fights this weekend. Lucky for us, the ones on this card have been talking this up. Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall for three presidents now and the co-main event between Mikaela Mayer and Alycia Baumgartner all summer long. I’m here for every vowel of it.
One of the few fight announcements this summer is taking center stage as Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall settle their differences this Saturday in London at The O2 Arena. Since May 14, 2012, we’ve had to wait for the grudge match, and we get it on September 10, 2022.
As of this writing, I’m more shocked that the unified champion Shields comes into this contest as the underdog but given this fight is on Marshall’s turf, it is the only plausible reason, as it was even at most sportsbooks. What won’t be is how the fight will play out, and I’m expecting the decade-long aggression here of Shields to outpoint Marshall. Many point to Marshall’s power, but her resume as a pro is her fighting the elderly circuit. Elderly abuse is a problem based on daytime commercials in nursing communities here in the United States, but it won’t be when Shields looks to avenge 2012 Saturday night.
