Who Won the Weekend? “Truth” Takes It

Errol Spence knew going in, didn’t he, that he would have his way with Mikey Garcia.

I believe so…and that explains why he had that lil extra edge to him fight week…and how he took to social media and threw out a couple zingers post-fight, reminding those that opined that the coming-up-in-weight Garcia would have his hand raised at AT&T in Arlington.

So, I’d be thinking that “The Truth” would snag #WWTW honors here at NYF…but let’s make it official…NYF Squad, who won the weekend?

ABE GONZALEZ: Boxing won the weekend! We had a Friday DAZN show in Philly which saw Gabe Rosado almost pull off a big upset towards the end of the fight as one of the many highlights that evening. We then moved to Facebook FightNight Live in Boston which seemed like an arena sized Irish bar (which was awesome to see by the way) with super enthusiastic boxing fans watching while 47k screamed loudly in Dallas at Jerry’s World for the FOX PPV. To cap it all off, another solid 3k plus went to the Top Rank Show at the Garden Theater to see their guy Mick Conlan… but an old crafty veteran by the last name Collazo…

Luis Collazo loves the warrior life; bleeding doesn’t bother him much.

…stole the show. Boxing won the weekend and so did the fans that love to watch it.

KELSEY McCARSON: Spence won the weekend. Heading into his fight against Garcia, there seemed to be a sudden groundswell in support of the idea that Garcia was so much better as a boxer than Spence that the fight might actually turn out to be competitive. But from the opening bell, it was clear that Spence was not only the bigger man but maybe even the better one, too. Spence’s performance over a fighter as accomplished and talented as Garcia–even with the weight difference–was a huge boon for his boxing career. The southpaw is clearly one of boxing’s brightest superstars and one of the truly elite pound-for-pounders.

DAVID PHILLIPS: This weekend is easy for me. It’s Errol Spence Jr. I know Mikey Garcia was on the small side to be fighting at welterweight, but did anyone else completely dominate an undefeated guy whose often made the pound for pound list? Nah, only Errol Spence Jr. Really, after this performance, the question has to be: Can anyone beat Spence? The only guy I can think of is Terrence Crawford. And who would not LOVE to see that scrap?

JOE “JAB HOOK” HEALY:  “The Truth” be told, Errol Spence Jr won the weekend. He took control of the ring in round 1 and kept his authority throughout the fight. In a dominating, shut out performance Spence Jr took the drama from the bout, and the hopes from Mikey Garcia. The single most important factor in Errol’s sovereignty was the predominance of his right jab in every round across the contest. There it was, there again, then the double jab. With that sweet southpaw punch Spence Jr determined the position of the bout in the ring, controlled his distance from Garcia, shut down Mikey’s offense and ruined his rhythm. The consequences of which were reflected in the judges’ final scorecards.Quo vadis, Errol? Unification is the holy grail, and the black knight from the land of cowboys has some tasty rivals to choose from as he paints the town square with their blood (kinda gruesome, huh?). Jab Hook is convinced that “The Truth” could handle almost any of the top-ranked welterweights today. Why almost is answered by the name “Bud”, the Crawford’s son of Omaha. An “Anti-Truth” with a street attitude, the stance-switching natural who really makes his opponents’ heads spin. We can hope, we wish upon a Texas star.”

MARK FRATTO: This weekend, Irish Eyes were Smiling on Ken Casey, Dropkick Murphys frontman and Murphys Boxing Promoter. Ken and the band wrapped up a month-long tour that culminates each year with four jam-packed, not-even-standing room left, 3,000-fan sold-out shows at the Boston House of Blues on St. Patrick’s Day Weekend. Amidst all that, his Murphys Boxing group went undefeated on its big homecoming weekend, with wins for defending NABA champs Mark DeLuca and undefeated Charles Foster, Niall Kennedy, Noel Murphy, rookie James Perella and others. Comeback-trail Celtic Warrior and Murphys/Golden Boy’s mustachioed former world middleweight contender Spike O’Sullivan earned a comfortable 154-lbs stoppage over accomplished New Englander Khiary Gray. Bonus: on Friday night Ken encountered an unruly concert-goer, earning himself a gash on his forehead while personally dealing the hooligan an early-exit. Casey got bandaged up and was back out on stage to close out the encore set with the band’s signature, “Shippin Up To Boston.” FIGHTNIGHT LIVE covered Saturday’s fights and Dropkick Murphys acoustic performance, adding 240,000 more households (and counting) to the sold-out show!

Ken Casey won the weekend on the Michael Woods who won the weekend scorecard.

VLADIMIR LIK: Errol Spence won the weekend because he became a bonafide pound for pound star. His resume has eclipsed Crawford’s and Spence has positioned himself for a collision course with Manny Pacquiao which would make for a second consecutive PPV appearance.

His win against Mikey Garcia was impressive because of the way he dominated from start to finish. Pre fight the story was about the size differential but post fight all the talk was about Spence’s boxing ability. Very few are saying Spence only won because of his size.

HAMZA AHMED: Before I go in, I just want to say mucho gracias to Linacre Media for the Facebook Fight Night Live series. Small packed shows with a very tight atmosphere, raucous crowds and by having name guys like Spike O’Sullivan occasionally drop in, gives it continuing solidity. Plus it’s free! Keep up the good work fellas and Woodsy, I envy you every time you’re on the show, looking handsome and dapper as always.

The obvious winner of the weekend is Errol Spence Jr but personally, that’s not my pick. I’m picking the guy who won my heart and that’s Gabriel Rosado.

Gabe Rosado’s heart convinced Ahmed to give him WWTW honors.

Just a mere 2.2 miles away from the steps Sly Stallone made famous, fellow Philadelphian native Rosado squared off against top contender Maciej Sulecki in a pivotal crossroads bout with championship ramifications hanging finely in the balance. The winner was designed to box Demetrius Andrade in June with the remaining middleweight title (of the WBO variety) on the line.

My Who Won the Weekend vote goes to (sorta fighter) Ken Casey, the front-man for the Dropkick Murphys punk-rock band, and lead dog of Murphy’s Boxing, which put together the card which ran at House of Blues in Boston, Ma. Mark DeLuca, a 154 pounder, won the main event. 175 Charles Foster really, truly impressed me during the Facebook Fightnight Live streamed event…but Casey won the weekend. Why, you ask?  Because he took matters into his own hands when an over-enthused knucklehead threw beer. at Ken on the stage. Casey waded into the crowd and settled it with the schmuck…and then climbed back on stage and finished his song. Champion mind-set! Love it…Ken Casey, you won the weekend, sir!