Saturday, what a Saturday in the Euros, Switzerland played Poland in the Round of 16 and it did not disappoint as they played to a 1-1 draw after extra time, Poland wins on penalties 5-4. College baseball did not disappoint either as darlings of the diamond, Coastal Carolina beats TCU 7-5 and booked its place in to the College World Series finals against Arizona starting Monday. Can't wait to watch.
At the same time as the baseball game, Showtime showed the live boxing fights of middleweight contender Chris Eubank, Jr. and IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. I have seen both of these fighters a few times. Eubank, son of legendary two division world champion Chris Eubank, showed the same swagger and arrogance that his father showed as he made short work of his opponent, previously unbeaten fellow contender Tom Doran winning by 4th round TKO. After the fight, Eubank made his intentions known by saying hes ready for the big time and calling out Genady Golovkin, saying,"Everyone is afraid of you, I'm not afraid of you. I'm calling you out." Ask and you shall recieve?
As for Anthony Joshua, who's last fight out he decimated previous titleholder Charles Martin by knockout. He did much of the same for this fight against American Dominic Breazeale, showing his complete skill and superior speed winning by 7th round TKO. For Joshua, it was the 17th consecutive knockout in as many fights. A lot of pundits are predicting a December or January unification with WBC champion Deontay Wilder, should Wilder get past his assignment against Chris Arreola July 21. Stay tuned....
I started watching the US-Columbia 3rd place match and I really wasnt feeling it because I was so turned up from watching the Anthony Joshua and Chris Eubank Jr fights, so I watched COPS. YES, I still watch COPS. Don't hate...
It was such a privilege to be a boxing fan and if you are just a casual boxing fan, you would have enjoyed the match Saturday night between Shawn "Showtime" Porter and Keith "One Time" Thurman on CBS for Thurman's WBA Welterweight title. Billed as "Showtime vs One Time in Primetime", lived up to it and then some with nonstop action, drama and showed why boxing is called "The Sweet Science". This fight is exactly what boxing needs, two of the world's best fighters who are in the prime of their careers and in a weight class where there have been some storied rivalries and fights. This fight was the fight of wills, the fight of heart and attrition, and the fight that may have spawned this generation's multi-fight rivalries. For 57 minutes, my eyes were glued to my TV as round after round went by the drama and intrigue built. There were ebbs and flows, momentum shifts and moments of brilliance. While Keith Thurman may have won the fight, the sport of boxing and combat sports as a whole won as well, generating new fans and reinvigorating others.
As for who's next for Thurman and Porter, I can definately see an immediate rematch and quite frankly, I would welcome it. For each fighter individually, Thurman could possibly go after some unification bouts, would love to see a Thurman fight with WBC kingpin Danny Garcia, whom Thurman called out in his post-fight interview. For Porter, even in a losing effort, I can see him in a bout with Amir Khan, a rematch with IBF champion Kell Brook, who gave him his first loss, or recently crowned WBO champion Jesse Vargas. Even though the latter two seem unlikely being that Vargas and Brook are possibly fighting each other in September. This is a deep division with a lot of potential blockbuster matchups and looming in the afterglow, the ghosts of Mayweather, Bradley and Pacquiao.
This weekend on the Tailgate Crew, I will have Michael Ervin, new director of Football operations for Fort Valley State University, and also the Alabama Knights travel basketball team director. We will talk Free Agency in the NBA and best college football atmospheres. Call in and talk sports with me 646.378.0298 press 1. As always lets go tailgatin'!!!
Jermaine Houston, Host of the Tailgate Crew Show
No comments:
Post a Comment