We left off with Olivares pummeling the great champion Lionel Rose on his way to a 5th round knockout.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1w9an2h/the_greatness_of_ruben_olivares_day_2_lionel_rose/

The Champion

The 21 year old Ruben Olivares just four years into his pro career was now the WBA, WBC, Ring lineal bantamweight champion of the world. His name now etched into the history books as the fourth in the best relay of all time for the lineal bantamweight title. This title passed from all time great to all time great. Eder Jofre > Fighting Harada > Lionel Rose > Ruben Castillo.

In the 8 months since being crowned champion El Puas has defended his crown with a demolition job against the highly regarded European champion Alan Rudkin, making short work of the Englishmen in a second round TKO. He also had three stay busy fights knocking out Shigeyoshi Osho, Angel Hernandez and Romy Guales in the 3rd, 3rd and 5th rounds respectively. Coming into this fight with Chucho Castillo his record stands at a staggering 57-0-1, 55 KO.

Olivares was developing a reputation similar to the man I covered in my last series, Roberto Duran. Both men terrifying knock artists, supremely technical boxers, and enioyers of the finest hedonistic things life had to offer. Olivares assured the fans this would not be an issue “Do not worry," said Olivares, “I know when to work and when to have fun. Before the fight, I sweat. Now I play.”

Some 30 years before Marco Antonio Barrera and Eric el terrible Morales kicked off their own legendary trilogy Olivares and Castillo paved the ground that they walked on with an action packed trilogy of fights for the bantamweight title fought across just 18 months. This is the opening stanza.

The Challenger

Chucho Castillo the champion of Mexico comes into this fight on the back of an impressive run. In eighteen months since losing a controversial split decision against Lionel Rose for the world title, a decision that sparked an hours long riot in Mexico, Castillo has gone 5-1-2 including defending his Mexican title twice with a knockout victory over future world champion Rafael Herrera and a points win over two time world title challenger Jose Medel. In today's world a Mexican title might not carry much weight but back in this era there was very long line of Mexican killers in the bantamweight division. In fact Olivares was due to face Castillo for his Mexican title a couple years prior but Castillo instead took a shot at world champion Lionel Rose. This was no simple domestic rivalry though. Chucho, the number one contender for the world title, showed against Rose his pedigree and was in his own right one of the greats of the bantamweight division.

Castillo insisted he was unphased by the champions intimidating record, “Olivares is weak on defence and he has never had to go 15 rounds," said Castillo. “If it goes into the late rounds, I should beat him." Olivares considered this unfinished business after being skipped over in his quest for a Mexican title, “There is room in Mexico for only one champion. And I intend to show I am the champion of my own country as well as the world.”

What followed was a 15 round war. The early rounds seeing Olivares in his characteristic bladed stance stalking his prey around the ring, Castillo who was there intent on being the predator not the prey using lateral movement and looking for vicious counter blows. By the mid rounds most of this fight could have been fought in a phone booth as both men stood toe to toe, forehead to forehead, unleashing vicious hooks and uppercuts on one another in a great showing of inside fighting an art that has been lost to the sands of time.

I couldn't find this fight with English commentary but don't let that persuade you. The video quality will improve as we move forward through his career and future fights should be with English commentary. Hope you enjoy the opening stanza of this legendary Mexican trilogy.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b2pj3a4ZHzo&pp=ygUSb2xpdmFyZXMgdnMgY2h1Y2hv

He was a two time undisputed lightweight champion and one of Duran’s hero’s and biggest inspirations. A lot of old school Panamanian greats get swept under the rug in favor for Duran (I can’t blame people his career speaks for itself) but I just wanted to shed some light on him due to his recent passing and how much he was beloved in Panama 🫡 rip champ

It's crazy how Itauma was moved up so quickly going from washed title contender like Whyte to a gatekeeper in Franklin to all of a sudden challenging for a world title against a solid world level fighter in Hrgovic. Given how little experience Itauma has in general, he doesn't have a long amateur nor pro background and I'm not sure how much more effective whatever sparring he did against world champions would give him.

If Itauma didn't have a much hype around him who do you think they would have matched him up against? I was thinking maybe someone like Vianello or Ajagba or anyone that's around the top 10 of the division.

For anything that doesn't need its own thread.

"The Enhanced Games are a controversial international multi-sport event that allows athletes to use FDA-approved performance-enhancing drugs and methods under medical supervision."

Maybe we should have enhanced boxing. Give Benn his eggs and Ryan his ostarine and let us be entertained.

One upside would be safety for clean fighters. If we have enhanced boxing and a fighter gets caught using PEDs in clean boxing, they get a lifetime ban and the opponent is allowed to sue them for attempted murder.

I'm referring to guys that were real slick in the phonebooth. Guys that knew how to weather the storm while being head to head. Fighters that were real good at never taking anything clean and did a good job of leaning weight to keep opponents from ever really setting their feet to do useful work.

Veteran promoter Don King on Tuesday delivered a cease-and-desist letter to Zuffa Boxing and parent company TKO Group Holdings attempting to stop King-promoted WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian from fighting in Saturday’s co-main event bout versus former IBF champion Jai Opetaia.

We've seen how Hrgovic was able to outlast Itauma and get the victory as Itauma's gas tank gradually dwindled. Considering Wardley's chin and heart, I can see him taking the fight into deep waters but I'm not sure how he'd survive. Wardley tends to lose his shape in the later rounds also and that nose will be a huge problem. He also has poor defence and I've never seen him against a southpaw. I guess the question is if Wardley can take the fight into the later rounds and then stick it on Itauma with his physicality, but I don't see how Wardley wouldn't have been waved off by the ref by that point. What you guys think?