Weekend boxing takeaways: Shakur Stevenson, Joe Joyce, Floyd, more

Another week of boxing is in the books, and we had a lot going on, even if there was no Super Mega Fight.

We saw Shakur Stevenson lose weight and win. We saw Joe Joyce establish himself as one of the top contenders. We saw Maxi Hughes do it again. We saw the Floyd Mayweather exhibit. And much more!

I’ll do this on Sundays from now on, or on Mondays on the rare occasion that there is a notable Sunday fight. Basically just a little recap and “next day” talking point.

Now, it’s true that starting this a week before there’s nothing on the schedule means I risk forgetting to do it ever again, but I went ahead and set a reminder for October 9th. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, man.

The Basics: Stevenson earned a well-deserved, clear victory over Conceicao, but much of the shine was taken from Thursday’s fight, when Stevenson dropped the weight and made no effort to get back on the scale with the two-hour window to close. . 1.6 pounds Stevenson’s WBC and WBO titles were vacated Thursday and will remain vacant as Conceicao did not win them, and Shakur moved down to the lightweight division.

Thoughts: Fighters grow out of divisions, I’m not as outraged as some people about this sort of thing, but Stevenson will have to take the criticism on the chin and move on. People are going to be upset about that. In the ring, it was business as usual, but Stevenson is starting to pick up more negative reviews: that he gets hit more than his so-called “unparalleled defensive forcefield” would suggest, that he just doesn’t have a lot of power, which he doesn’t. it is likely to improve with weight gain, etc. Some of it is natural and more “personal,” people get tired of the hype, and ESPN and Top Rank have taken Shakur seriously, and some of it is perfectly valid criticism.

Next up for Stevenson: As things stand now, the lightweight division actually offers Stevenson two big potential fights: Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko. They both return in October. If both win as expected, Haney vs. Lomachenko is believed to follow. If Haney won that fight, there’s a good chance he’ll go up to 140, he’s a great lightweight and he’ll probably move past weight sooner rather than later. Anyone with PBC (so Tank Davis and Isaac Cruz, most notably) are not at the table to face Top Rank fighters. I think there’s a better chance Stevenson will fight someone for a vacant WBO belt next year than he will fight Haney, but things could change.

For Conceicao: You may not be that interested, but Conceicao should get a shot at one of those vacant belts, whether it’s the WBC or the WBO. He didn’t have to go through with that fight on Friday, but he did. He could have said no, taken his entire paycheck and hoped for a more winnable fight, because he would have gotten an order. And I think I should still get one.

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Keyshawn Davis: The 23-year-old looks like the real deal to me at 135, and even says he might be interested in dropping down to 130 and looking for one of those vacant Shakur belts. It would probably be a big jump up in class, but Davis (6-0, 5 KOs) isn’t lacking in confidence, and he has said repeatedly that he wants to move fast. He looked good against Omar Tienda, which everyone expected. Henry Lebron: Solidly beating Andy Vences in eight rounds is the best win yet for Lebron (17-0, 10 KOs), and the 25-year-old Puerto Rican junior lightweight should probably start moving forward in 10-round fights now. . When he’s on his game, he’s slick and sharp, quick and can hit hard enough to keep opponents honest. It is a division that has just opened up in a big way. He’s not ready for a world title fight, but he could be within the next year if they start pushing a little higher up the ladder. They’ve been a bit cautious so far, but I thought it looked good here. Misael Lopez: To me, Lopez (14-1, 5 KOs) certainly doesn’t look like a super dumb future contender or big star, but if you missed his prelims win over Orlando Gonzalez, he’s worth watching. Good fight, one of the best of the weekend, and easily the best of this show.

The Basics: Joyce stopped Parker in the 11th round of a very good fight between heavyweight contenders, Joyce did everything in her power to take down Parker and finally got it, but Parker gave everything he had and left nothing in the ring .

Thoughts: Parker (30-3, 21 KO) fought well, probably the best I’ve seen him do in a long time. Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) was simply better, and once again lived up to his “Juggernaut” moniker. In fact, I thought the fight was very competitive from a round-by-round scoring standpoint; I had Joyce up 96-94 at the time of the stoppage, but it always felt like his fight, and you could have dialed him up a little more. For me, I usually can’t score a round on someone just because he doesn’t seem to get hurt while he’s getting hit in the head, and his opponent does the better job overall.

Next up for Joyce: Joyce is 37, but he’s a young 37. And the man may have one of the best chins of all time, as if nothing seems to bother him at all. Parker can punch, he doesn’t have feather fists, and he landed a few punches that, at the very least, would have basically stopped anyone in his tricks for a moment, maybe even turned the tide of the fight in a crucial way. But Joyce just walked right through them. What are you doing with that? Aside from Tyson Fury, I think Joe Joyce is absolutely a handful, one hell of a night for any other heavyweight on the planet right now.

For Parker: At 30, Parker still has a future, but it’s kind of a limited future. It has felt like this for the last two years. He is not going to beat Fury, Usyk, Wilder, AJ or Joyce. He had chances with AJ and Joyce and lost clean and clear. Boxxer has now signed him up to fight on Sky Sports after a loss before he actually hit that network. Maybe we’ve seen the best that Joe Parker can do, but at the same time, I think he’s going to be a relevant fighter for a while. At worst, a very high level goalkeeper. If you can beat Parker, you’re in the high-end mix. If you can’t, you’re not.

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Amanda Serrano: Serrano (43-2-1, 30 KO) didn’t have near her best night against Sarah Mahfoud (11-1, 3 KO), but it was still enough to win a well-deserved decision and add the featherweight title from the IBF to the WBC and WBO belts he brought to the fight. Serrano will likely face WBA titleholder Erika Cruz next for the undisputed crown. Anthony Cacace: “Anto,” 33, will call himself a world champion after lifting the IBO junior lightweight title from Michael Magnesi. Few will really recognize him as such, and he’s sure to want bigger belts — at the very least, it’s bigger fights and bigger paydays — but it’s hard not to feel good about Cacace (20-1, 7 KOs), a 33-year-old fighter. years that he was distraught when he lost a spot on the Fury vs. Whyte undercard in April. Coming back with this kind of victory on a big card must have been a great feeling, and it was also a very good fight with the Italian Magnesi (21-1, 13 KO).

The Basics: Hughes continued his surprising run into the lightweight top 10 with a majority decision win over former featherweight champion Galahad (28-3, 17 KO). The scores were 114-114 on one card, then 114-113 and 116-111 for Hughes on the other two, meaning a 10th-round deduction against Galahad for using his head prevented this from being a split draw. .

Thoughts: Hughes, 32 (26-5-2, 5 KOs) really doesn’t have to be where he is in his career, or at least that’s what you’d think when you look back at where he was after a 2019 loss. before Liam Walsh. Starting with an upset victory over Jono Carroll in 2020, Hughes has been on a roll and has also become a legitimately better fighter, gaining confidence through seven straight wins now. Is he a serious threat to top boxers at 135? No I dont think so. But he has earned his place in the discussion by doing all he can.

Next up for Hughes: Hughes has the IBO belt, which again, no offense, but means little to most in the boxing world. But Matchroom doesn’t have much available at 135 either. Zaur Abdullaev could be an interesting matchup, as could Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos, but will he have a Tank Davis fight or the winner of Haney vs Kambosos? Probably not, no, and promoter Eddie Hearn’s idea to get him a fight with Ryan Garcia this past summer came and went with Garcia moving to 140. We’ll see, but even with the race he’s in, the political landscape does. hard. for a real “big fight”. Honestly, it could be a rematch with Galahad.

For Galahad: Same with Hughes, rematch is possible. This jump of two divisions was a calculated risk for Galahad, and it didn’t pay off, resulting in a second straight loss for him. He is now 32 years old and in a difficult situation. You could rehab him with fine-tuned opponents, but what is that worth at his age and what kind of future does anyone really see for him?

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Terri Harper: Speaking of division jumps, Harper (13-1-1, 6 KOs) basically went from 130 to 154 to take the WBA title from Hannah Rankin. I said before the fight that I hoped this was worth it, because frankly speaking, the level of talent above 140 in women’s boxing isn’t very good, and we’ve recently seen Harper’s ex-enemy Tasha Jonas do exactly the same weight jump and win two world titles. I know Amanda Serrano probably doesn’t want to, but she could win world titles at 147, especially if Jessica McCaskill gives up those belts, and 154 and add more divisions to her record if she wanted to. A Harper vs. Jonas rematch for three belts at 154 sounds almost silly, but that’s where we’re at as something that could be possible. Solomon Dacres: Dacres (5-0, 1 KO) put on the most uninspiring prospect performance you’ll see, hitting a total of 10 with Ariel Esteban Bracamonte. Listen, Bracamonte is a tough guy and will fight anyone, I know he’s 300 pounds and never looks good in jeans, but even more than going the distance, Dacres just didn’t look like a serious heavyweight prospect in this fight. It’s worth noting that Frazer Clarke also stopped Bracamonte inside two rounds on July 30. Dacres is not in league with Clarke.

The basics: Mayweather, 45, put on another one of his displays, this one of the “green light” variety and not the kind where you hold Logan Paul after touching him too hard, or play pat-a-cake with your friend Don. Asakura, just like Tenshin Nasukawa in 2018, came to fight. When Mayweather decided he had seen enough effort, he finished it off in two.

Thoughts: It was quite a fun broadcast, because the RIZIN are, whatever you may say about them, professionals at hosting Japanese MMA shows, and Japanese MMA shows can be a lot of fun. It was a nice full crowd in Saitama, and Asakura did the best he could. I learned a new song that I enjoy.

Next up for Mayweather: Another showing, probably in November or December, in the Middle East, possibly in Abu Dhabi.

For Asakura: MMA.

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