DAZN was “The Zone“ to be in Boston
Photo credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA
DAZN was “The Zone” to be in Boston as some of the hottest stars in boxing took center stage. The TD Garden Center hosted Eddie Hearn’s Match room Boxing US Promotion, only the second boxing event to feature on DAZN’s streaming service in the United States. It was a night to remember for 4 of Boxraw’s family members who put in great performances.
The night started with Olympic Medalist Daniyar Yeleussinov whose quick dagger resulted in a first-round TKO win over Matt Doherty. The Kazakh prospect, that is slowly being built up, is looking to return to the ring very soon. After the fight, I spoke to his trainer John David Jackson and asked what is next for Daniyar. John Jackson stated that Daniyar is gradually being developed into a top boxer and we will get to see him with a formidable opponent within 2 years. The plan for him is to continue progressing, getting experience in the welterweight division which is full of big-time fighters. If he continues racking up wins it is inevitable he will rise through the rankings and could be fighting in a title eliminator bout or for a championship in 3 years.
Next up was undefeated sensation Kid Galahad from the UK who had to manage to be a road warrior as the heavy home crowd favored their local Providence, Rhode Island’s own Toka Kahn Clary. Many locals expected Toka, who was being trained by renowned trainer Freddie Roach, to pull off an upset. Kid had other plans as he came away with a fascinating convincing victory over Toka with great combinations and footwork. He outpointed his opponent in most of the fight to leave with a UD by the judges. Next up for Galahad is a shot at the winner of Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton in a big fight to be decided December 22 in the U.K.
As the night was winding down and the crowd was at full house the main event kicked off. Philly’s finest IBF titleholder Tevin Farmer put on a dazzling display of slick body movement, boxing skills, ring leadership and great defense to stop James Tennyson with a wicked body shot in the 5th round. After this performance, Tevin is looking for a potential big match up with Gervonta “Tank “Davis and he went on to call out Tank after the fight. This is the fight that fight fans want to see with these two great fighters going at it. After the fight, I had the chance to ask Tevin what he would like to do next if he can’t fight Tank. He stated that he will discuss options with Eddie Hearn (promoter) but he would be willing to fight anyone. Eddie Hearn mentioned at the post press conference that we may get to see Tevin Farmer in the ring very soon on the Canelo vs Fielding undercard at Madison Square Garden in New York December 15th. As Tevin left the press conference he celebrated his win and said he was heading back to Philadelphia to start training soon.
The next round of fighting was for all the female fans especially the Irish fans that came out to see World Champ Katie Taylor. Before the fight, the full house at the TD Garden witnessed UFC's Connor McGregor make his way into the arena where the crowd erupted. Earlier he went into the locker room for a pre-fight rally with Katie. Katie Taylor went head to head with Brooklyn New York’s own Cindy Serrano who is the sister of Amanda Serrano. This fight was built to be a good one but in reality, it was a one team dominating performance by Katie Taylor as she was the aggressor throwing more punches. Cindy Serrano never let her hands go in the fight and was moving around the whole fight. Katie Taylor improved to 11-0 as she remained undefeated. At the post press conference, Katie Taylor did mention that she would love to get back in the ring very soon and there exists a possibility where she can tangle with Amanda Serrano soon.
Finally, the main event we were all waiting for after a one-year hiatus from the ring, Demetrius "Boo Boo” Andrade made his return to his local Bostonian supporters. Andrade a native Rhode Islander was anxious and excited to be back in the ring. It was an unfortunate scenario as his original opponent Billy Joe Saunders was suspended because of Vada Testing and did not receive a license to box by the Massachusetts boxing commission. His opponent was undefeated Walter Kautondokwa from Africa. Little was known about the opponent as Walter has only fought in Africa and reports were he did have pop in his punches. The fight began with a bang as Andrade showed off his boxing skills and slick defense and countering on his back foot. In the early rounds, Andrade knocked down Walter many times. Many of us thought this fight would not go the distance but it did. The fight was very one-sided as Demetrius Andrade became the new WBO Middleweight Champion with a UD over Kautondokwa. Andrade did look rusty at times as ring rust did show. After the fight at the post-conference, the question was asked why he did not finish his opponent early and if he was letting the fight go the distance to shake off the rust. To the surprise of many, he stated that he hurt his shoulder in training during fight week. I asked Andrade what fight he would like to do next. Andrade mentioned that he would like to fight Canelo and Eddie Hearn agreed since both fighters are under DAZN network. Eddie Hearn did state the way things are looking in the middleweight division the plan is to have Daniel Jacobs fight Canelo in May 2019 if both fighters win their bouts. Jacobs fights Sergiy Derevyanchenko next week for the vacant IBF belt that Golovkin vacated. It was a coming out performance for Andrade who won a well-deserved fight for his hometown. Time will tell who will hold the power in the middleweight division as it seems all the heavy hitters are on DAZN or Match room Boxing.
I also touched with Eddie Hearn on the possibilities of signing Jermall Charlo. He said to me that Jermall should consider signing and coming to fight in DAZN since all the belts are in this side of the street. It was a great night in Boston as boxing came back to an old stomping ground where we have not seen a major fight card in this beautiful city for a long time. We are on till the next one. Boxraw Salute!
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