The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of November 27
Vasyl Lomachenko made Nicholas Walters quit after the seventh round Saturday night at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas to retain his WBO Super Featherweight Championship with another virtuoso performance.
Walters was never in the fight and committed the cardinal sin of boxing by refusing to answer the bell in a fight where he was being dominated but never once seemed hurt. The crowd booed both the decision and his non-effort.
We will take a look at what's next for Lomachenko, who, somehow, continues to get better and better.
Next we'll address the continued fallout from Andre Ward's razor-close decision over Sergey Kovalev from last Saturday night. Did the Russian get a fair shake?
All that, plus we'll look at the recently signed fight between David Haye and Tony Bellew, Billy Joe Saunders' next fight (postponed again to this weekend) and Lucas Browne's second failed drug test.
These are the hottest boxing storylines for the week!
What's Left for Lomachenko to Prove?
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Let's not understate what Lomachenko did Saturday night.
He took a good fighter, neutralized Walters completely and made him quit in a fight where many observers felt he would be challenged in a way not yet seen during his professional run. In eight pro fights, he owns two world championships and dominant wins over Gary Russell Jr., Roman Martinez and Walters.
That's as impressive a recent run as anyone's in the sport.
Enough words have been written and will be written about Lomachenko's dominance and Walters' decision to quit, so let's take a different angle here. What the heck is left for him to prove at this point?
Lomachenko said in his post-fight interview that he'd like a unification fight with WBC super featherweight champion Francisco Vargas next.
Vargas is an exciting fighter, but his raw, brawling style is tailor-made for Lomachenko to shred with his movement and precision combinations. If it happens, it's a blowout. That's no offense to Vargas, who is one of the sport's true warriors.
Ditto for basically anyone else at 130 pounds.
The only fight at that weight that carries any intrigue is a rematch with Orlando Salido, who, using every rough tactic in the book and never trying to make weight, upset Lomachenko in his second professional bout.
Otherwise, the only names who will really matter when talking about Lomachenko are the Manny Pacquiaos and Terence Crawfords of the world. Both of those fights will require moving up in weight and potentially some creative negotiations, but they might already be the only ones that matter.
Did Sergey Kovalev Get a Raw Deal?
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Sure, we're a week late on this one, but the controversy over Ward's razor-thin decision over Kovalev hasn't subsided in the least and doesn't figure to in the near future.
Ward took the unified light heavyweight title from Kovalev by three scores of 114-113 last weekend in Las Vegas. The verdict has been hotly debated ever since with plenty of noise coming from those who felt that the Russian didn't get a fair shake.
He didn't.
It wasn't quite a robbery, but it seems that every possible consideration was given to Ward, who won every single close round on all the scorecards. Somehow all three managed to give Round 10 to Ward despite it being one of Kovalev's best rounds in the fight.
That, to me at least, is inexplicable.
Even if you felt that Ward was the better fighter in the second half—he was better but didn't win all the rounds as the judges saw—it seems mathematically challenging to overcome what seemed an insurmountable early lead plus a knockdown for the Krusher.
Watching the fight live on fight night, this writer came to a 116-111 score for Kovalev. That's 8-4 in rounds and fell in line with the thinking of HBO's unofficial judge Harold Lederman, among others. On replay, and with the sound off, a slightly closer 115-112 or 7-5 in rounds was the verdict for the Russian.
Ward did a hell of a job rallying back from what looked to be headed toward an early ending. He showed guile and grit and made a ton of new fans by staying in the contest. He did well in that regard—just not enough to win.
Will Haye-Bellew Deliver?
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Reigning WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew is set to do battle at heavyweight with bitter domestic rival David Haye March 4 at the O2 Arena in London, per Sky Sports. The fight was announced Friday and will be broadcast by Sky Sports Box Office.
Bellew and Haye have been sniping at each other through the media for several months. The two had a heated confrontation in the aftermath of the former's thrashing of BJ Flores in a cruiserweight title fight back in October.
Haye is a former cruiserweight and heavyweight titlist.
He returned to the ring earlier this year after a three-plus year layoff and has scored two early knockouts over overmatched opponents. The time off did nothing to diminish his brash ways, and his dislike for his future opponent is clear.
Bellew has revitalized his career in recent years after a colossal knockout loss to Adonis Stevenson in 2013.
He's won eight straight fights and captured a 200-pound world title earlier this year.
This represents a significant domestic fight for those across the pond, but the war of words that's certain to ensue should be entertaining for all.
Whether it will be a good fight—highly suspect—remains to be seen, as a cursory look would seem to make Haye an overwhelming favorite.
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Can Saunders Stop Running His Mouth and Fight?
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We're beating a dead horse here, but Saunders just needs to stop talking and actually get into the ring. His title reign has lasted nearly a year, and in that time we've heard plenty of words but seen zero punches.
Zero.
His title defense with underwhelming Artur Akavov has been postponed multiple times—it was scheduled for Nov. 26 but postponed over issues with the Russian's paperwork—and will now take place Saturday night in Cardiff, Wales.
Given the way things have developed for the Brit of late, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see yet another delay or withdrawal followed by vague pronouncements about only wanting the best opponents.
According to Nick Parkinson (h/t Edward Chaykovsky of Boxing Scene), Saunders reportedly wants unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin next year based on comments from his promoter Frank Warren, but we've seen this song and dance before.
Forgive us for not believing it until we see the contract signed and the fight announced.
Until then, Saunders is better off just fighting and not talking.
Does Browne's Second Positive Test Mean the End?
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Browne has failed a second VADA-administered drug test, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. The test came about as a result of the fighter's enrollment in the WBC's mandatory Clean Boxing Program, which is intended to remove performance-enhancing drugs from boxing.
The result has forced into doubt a scheduled meeting with Shannon Briggs (why that ever was sanctioned is a whole different question) for the WBA's vacant "interim" heavyweight belt. It's also put Browne's career into jeopardy as this is his second failed test of 2016.
Browne rallied to win the WBA's interim belt from Ruslan Chagaev in Grozny, Russia, this past March.
Shortly after the bout, it was revealed that both his A and B samples had tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol. He was stripped of the belt and suspended six months for the infraction.
Browne maintained his innocence in the matter and blamed the failed test on intentional contamination while in Russia for the fight. The WBA accepted that explanation and ruled he didn't knowingly take a banned substance. That's why he was allowed to contest the title a second time.
And, now, here we are again.
The banned substance this time is ostarine, which has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of prohibited substances since 2008. While Browne is entitled to a full investigation and to have his secondary sample reviewed once again, this doesn't look good for him at the moment.
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