Latest / Boxing B-Sides / Zuffa, Muratalla-Cruz, and the best of 2025

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Zuffa, Muratalla-Cruz, and the best of 2025 · Boxing B-Sides

0:00
The B -Side and Boxing. B -Side shit. B -Side.
0:04
B -Side. And the B -Side. You got a B -Side.
0:06
The B -Side. B -Side. B -Side. B -Side. The B
0:10
-Side thing. This is the B -Sides Boxing Podcast.
0:20
Oh shit. Here we go. Boxing fucking B -Sides.
0:26
We're back baby. Joined by the one and only Saul.
0:30
Welcome back, guys. Happy to be back. And Josh.
0:33
What up? Oh, shit. We're going to extend an olive
0:38
branch. It's been a minute since we've done this.
0:41
UFC 324. It's going to be on January 24th. The
0:45
shit is free on Paramount+. Well, free with a
0:48
subscription. So, if you want to see Justin Gaethje
0:54
vs. Patti Pimblitt, that's... Well, let me look
1:01
at the rest of this card really quick and see
1:02
what's up. Sean O'Malley versus Sonia Dong should
1:06
be fun. Arnold Allen finally coming back. Versus
1:11
John Silva. That's cool. Umar Nurmagomedov versus
1:18
Davison Figueredo. That should be a good one
1:20
too. But we'll be talking about that over on
1:23
Ultimate F and Casuals. Wherever you're listening
1:25
to this, you can find that as well. All right,
1:30
into some news. Tyson Fury is officially unretired.
1:36
He's targeting F .A. Ajagba, Tony Yoka, or Arslanbek
1:40
Makhmudov, the latter being the most likely opponent.
1:45
I don't know. Tony Yoka is the worst of the opponents.
1:49
Yeah, I would take F .A. Ajagba over Tony Yoka.
1:52
I never knew this was going to happen. Who could
1:55
have called this? Who could have seen this coming?
2:01
It's like when Floyd retired, guys. For the first
2:04
time. But it was already, like, in the cards.
2:10
Like, I think Turkey tipped it when he said he
2:13
was going to do Tyson Fury versus AJ. Yeah. With
2:18
having them fight one time before meeting each
2:21
other at the end of the year. Hey, get ready
2:25
for that doubleheader. Doubleheader where one
2:28
of them loses. Fucking Tyson Fury loses to Tony
2:32
Oka. Oh, my God. I would have to fly back to
2:37
England to fucking laugh. Go on, son. Go on,
2:42
my son. Go on, my son. AJ, we talked about the
2:49
really difficult circumstances he faced. Saul,
2:53
you and I did. His uncle says he's retired. Eddie
2:59
Hearn says, don't believe it if you don't hear
3:02
it from AJ himself. I'm not sure what to make
3:06
of this. Sounds like he's still holding out.
3:11
His uncle says a lot of things. All things considered,
3:17
AJ, dude, take as much time as you need. You
3:22
already got all the money in the world, man.
3:24
Just leave it behind if you can't do it. Yeah,
3:28
dude. That's a really horrific thing to experience.
3:33
Yeah, man. Do what you got to do. Daniel Dubois.
3:41
Yeah, of course. Daniel Dubois is trying to fight
3:44
Fabio Wardley. Yeah, that's a crazy fight. That's
3:48
going to be fun. I would love to watch that.
3:52
Shanada thinks Dubois has a good chance of winning.
3:55
I agree. Wardley's hella fragile. But he hits
4:00
the triple seven every time. Yes. That's why
4:05
we hate him. The house always wins. He's laying
4:10
up. The house always wins. Yeah, I think Fabio
4:14
Wardley, as much as I don't like it, I think
4:17
Fabio Wardley wins. I'll be on Team Dubois, but
4:21
I really think Fabio Wardley's going to take
4:24
it. The look of the draw? You never know with
4:26
three -time terms of charm. I don't know, man.
4:32
Fabio Wardley always gets it by the skin of his
4:35
teeth. Fuck. Someone's going to get knocked out
4:40
in that fight. It's not going to be a decision.
4:43
No, I don't think so. Wardley's fragile body.
4:51
I don't even think it goes five rounds. But that's
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going to be on pay -per -view. I'm going to call
4:57
that Ring 7. Oh, God. If they put that on pay
4:59
-per -view, I'll... They put Parker versus Wardley
5:02
on pay -per -view. This is a Queensborough...
5:05
You're right. You're absolutely right. With a
5:09
Tyson Fury co -main, maybe. I don't fucking know.
5:12
Nah, that would... Dubois -Wardley would be on
5:14
the undercard of Tyson Fury versus whoever the
5:17
fuck. Makhmudov or some shit. Yeah, Makhmudov,
5:20
probably. In big news for Central Asian boxing
5:28
fans, Shojahan Ergachev will be fighting Baturzan
5:33
Zhukambaev this May in Uzbekistan. I know the
5:40
world's been clamoring for it. Oh, I've been
5:44
clamoring for that. Me too. Dimitri Bivol. Is
5:50
looking to come back. He will be facing his IBF
5:53
mandatory Michael Eifert. I think of Riyadh season
5:58
is going to be putting this on. Well. Someone
6:03
else thought Eifert. I forgot who it was. It
6:04
wasn't. Better be. It wasn't. I'm pretty sure
6:08
it was. Townsmith. Anthony. Better be a bottom
6:17
once. When he came back from a knee injury. Let
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me see. I'm not seeing it. The better view of
6:30
not fighting? I don't think that's mandatory.
6:36
I don't remember. I swear. No, it was Adam Danes.
6:40
Never mind. John Pascal fought Eifert. Oh, Pascal.
6:49
In Canada? That might be right. I'm acting like
6:52
I remember that fight, which I don't even know.
6:54
Yeah, it's a tough shout. Yeah. Well, hey. I
6:59
for... You're going 12 rounds, buddy. Prepare
7:04
to get decisioned. Get your cardio up, buddy.
7:08
If you beat B -Bowl, you're great as of all time.
7:11
Why should B -Bowl just be completely washed
7:13
because of all the surgeries? That's true. Hey,
7:15
you know what? What the fuck am I saying? You're
7:16
100 % right. That's the question about this one
7:19
is how has he recovered from his back surgery
7:25
or whatever it was. Hey, he's Russian, man. What's
7:32
up? And last bit, we'll be talking more about
7:40
him in a moment, but... Dalton Smith, most likely
7:43
to be facing Alberto Puello next. Yes. So that's
7:50
fun. Oh boy. Into the recaps. Not a lot. Fucking
7:59
Queensberry in Oberhausen, Germany. The interim
8:07
WBC lightweight title, Hadier. Herrera beats
8:11
Ricardo Nunez in eight. Stops him in eight. And
8:17
Agit Caballel stops Damian Neba in three. Was
8:23
this... I felt this was a little bit early. Neba
8:27
was definitely on his way out the door. Oh, definitely
8:29
early. Like, Neba was going to lose. Like, let's
8:33
not... Let's not pretend otherwise. We're not
8:35
kidding ourselves here. I agree. We're not saying
8:38
robbery, but yeah. This might be what we talked
8:42
about last week with Jack Reese. Talking about
8:45
taking guys out if it's no longer competitive.
8:49
Yeah, but the thing is that Javier was getting
8:52
his ass rocked in that first round. What's the...
8:59
What's the harm in letting it continue? Just
9:02
for a little bit. Just for a little, just for
9:07
a little, little bit. Not like, not like, let's
9:13
see him die, but like, let's see if he has recovery
9:17
powers or if he's actually just gone. I don't,
9:26
I don't know if that, I'm struggling for words
9:30
here because, Like, on the one hand, Damien Neva,
9:34
like, come on. Who really cares? Oh, I know,
9:37
but the fight was just so fun. Yeah, Caballel
9:42
just whooping on him? No, the first round was
9:45
also fun as hell, too. I don't know. It's heavyweight.
9:51
Like, do you pull Fabio Wardley out in, like,
9:55
the third round? Fuck no. By German standards,
10:01
Fabio Wardley would have been stopped against
10:04
Parker. Exactly. That's why I'm like, we should...
10:10
It's heavyweight. These guys recover and as much
10:16
as we... Again, that's why it's hard to have
10:18
a consistent standard for what that can be. For
10:25
what counts as a rightful stoppage per se. Caballel's
10:31
the interim WBC champion. His only option really
10:36
is Usyk. Who I don't expect. I really don't think
10:42
Usyk takes it. Just because he doesn't have to.
10:46
He really doesn't have to. Also consider he might
10:49
fight Walder. Is that too? That goodbye fight?
10:54
I don't know. Cabello could probably fight someone
10:57
else in the Queensbury stable. Absolutely. If
11:01
you wanted to, you could fight fucking Dubois.
11:06
But that's risky. He could unify interim titles
11:10
with Fabio Wardley. Yeah. Well. Oh, my God. Wait,
11:17
doesn't Fabio have the full title? Yeah. Does
11:19
he? Yeah, he got upgraded. It happened like a
11:25
week after my article it happened. It was really
11:27
funny. Yeah, we're all saying that Josh is right.
11:31
He didn't do it. He did it. Oh shit, you're right.
11:37
You didn't know that? I forgot because I'm just
11:40
looking at BoxRec and Fabio Wardley still has
11:43
interim on his. That was the funniest shit. Literally
11:48
the day after it was actually horrifying. Joseph
11:54
Parker was so close. Not much else going on on
12:06
this German card. There were stoppages and stuff
12:10
if you want to go check them out. Fresh promotions
12:19
at the Barclays Center. in Brooklyn, New York.
12:27
Let's get some stuff out of the way. Keith Colon
12:31
stops Alberto Guevara in seven. Nestor Bravo,
12:36
big knockout over Pedro Campa in two. And Javier
12:43
Cintron, crazy, crazy. I don't keep track of
12:49
round of the year or whatever. I don't keep track
12:51
of it. But if I did, Javier Centro versus Victor
12:56
Sandoval is an early contender. That was a wild,
13:00
wild round. A lot of fun fights in this card.
13:05
Yes. A lot of fun. A lot of action. The crowd
13:09
was crazy. Shout out to the crowd. All fucking
13:12
ten of them. Imagine a sold out crowd. Fuck.
13:20
Emmanuel Rodriguez. Spoils the party. Gets a
13:24
UD over Fernando Diaz. Congrats. Now, Subril
13:32
Matias. Oh, fuck. This fight is AI. It didn't
13:38
happen. Dalton Smith stops Subril Matias. It
13:48
happened. To claim the WBC super lightweight
13:51
title. Britain gained another champion. Yeah,
13:55
Lin is somewhere. In hell. Celebrating. So, did
14:06
we witness the end of Subaru Matias? Yes. Yes,
14:10
we did. He's not coming back to top position.
14:13
Because he got chin -checked there and he got
14:16
up. Or he continued. But then he got just, oh,
14:21
he got clobbered after that. It's like we watched
14:24
the last of his chin reserve. Just disintegrate.
14:28
Yeah. It was. He fought like an idiot, too. Like,
14:32
it's not. Yeah. Well, he's never had the best
14:35
defense, but. That was just pathetic. That was
14:37
a pathetic display of defense. Yesterday was
14:40
horrible. That was Puerto Rico. He got caught
14:44
with three right hands, like, for the knockout.
14:47
That was three straight right hands. That was
14:51
crazy. I'm still speechless after last night,
14:55
honestly. I was surprised. That is an early contender
15:00
for an upset. Yeah, it would have been nice if
15:03
it happened the week prior so I could put it
15:05
on my list. Yeah. It would have been fucking
15:08
nice, but whatever. Don Smith, he put on a great
15:14
performance. Slugged. Yeah, he fucking out -aggroed
15:21
Subaru Matias and knocked him out. You know?
15:25
Did not see that. Of all the things that I expected
15:28
Dalton Smith to do, that was not one of them.
15:30
Yeah, Matias getting iced was not one. Yeah,
15:34
that was crazy. I maybe expected a fucking decision
15:39
win, maybe. You know, I raised that, but there
15:43
was no way that... I was thinking Don Smith was
15:48
going to knock out Matias. Did not see that.
15:50
Holy shit. Holy shit. And again, Don Smith put
15:55
on a great performance. Honestly, I'm not going
15:59
to say he's fucking offensively the greatest
16:03
in the division, but he showed me talent. A little
16:05
bit of talent. You know? A decent amount of it.
16:11
Enough. Enough. Yeah, enough. To where I think
16:15
he'll beat someone like Oscar Duarte. He might
16:21
beat someone like... Yeah. If they put him against
16:25
Pitbull, maybe. Do I think he beats Teal? No.
16:30
Do I think he beats GAR? No. Hitchens? Not at
16:33
all. That's the easiest 10 -2 from Hitchens I've
16:37
seen in my life. Yeah, but that would be pretty
16:40
funny though, huh? If there was another of the
16:44
three other champions, if there was one that
16:47
I would want Dalton Smith to beat, it would be
16:49
Hitchens. But, yeah, I don't see that happening.
16:55
I mean, that's an easy unification fight for
16:56
that, for matchroom. Yes. No, because Hitchens
17:00
is having that whole drama about being a free
17:02
agent, and the zone executives are not having
17:06
it. Well. There's like a whole thing. That's
17:13
some bullshit because Hitchens is not fucking
17:14
popular enough to be a free agent. Oh, dude.
17:18
Not even his whole family shows up to his fights,
17:21
dude. Yeah. He's got a lot of moxie to be acting
17:25
like he can wave his dick around. Like, dude,
17:29
you stopped George Cambozos in front of 15 people
17:32
in the UK. Like, grow up. Yeah. Well, he's got
17:38
the mindset of Magnum Conum. But you don't got
17:41
the capability to wear a Magnum collar. Interesting
17:46
way to put it, but yeah. Very interesting. So
17:52
like we said, like I mentioned, Alberto Pueos
17:56
probably next, more likely than not. But looking
18:01
down his list of opponents or in the rankings.
18:09
Sandor Martin. Jesus. Arthur B. Yarslanov. Whoever
18:15
the fuck that is. Lindofo Delgado. Fuck no. Pierce
18:21
O 'Leary. I heard a bit about Pierce. Already
18:29
he's tough. Where is he from? He's Irish. So
18:34
that would be a good little scrap. UK versus
18:38
Ireland. Yeah. I mean, Donald can go back to
18:44
the country now and fucking sell it on Arena.
18:47
Yeah. That's for sure. He's from Sheffield. Sheffield
18:52
has, they put on good shows there. Yeah. I'm
18:59
thinking Adam Azeem is going to come calling.
19:05
I mean, that would be a great domestic fight.
19:08
Probably sell a whole bunch of tickets, but...
19:09
I don't know. I can't definitely say if Dolan
19:13
wins. I can't say if Adam Z wins. I mean, to
19:17
knock out Super Showman Matias, that's a statement.
19:20
Yes. As pathetic as it ended up being, yes. I
19:25
mean, come on. No, I know. It's definitely a
19:28
statement. I'm just like, oh, my God. You fought
19:30
like an idiot, dude. Yeah. No, he fought... He
19:35
was like what Muhammad Ali said, what George
19:37
Foreman was. Fucking like the mummy. Yeah, literally.
19:43
Fucking kept walking forward. Kept taking punishment
19:46
for no reason. And that's funny. Like right before
19:49
Donald Smith got knocked out, my dad was saying,
19:51
man, this white boy don't got no power. If he
19:53
had power, he would have had him out by now.
19:55
And then he rocked Matias. And my dad was going
19:58
nuts. It was funny. Just give him a little time.
20:01
Yeah, no, yeah. I mean, even I was surprised.
20:04
I mean, from the opening bell, I was like, damn,
20:07
Matias. It looked like Matias didn't really care.
20:10
You know, like he was just going to, like, walk
20:12
through Donald Smith just because. Honestly,
20:14
give it three more rounds if he doesn't, like,
20:16
fight that stupidly, and it does. I mean, yeah,
20:21
I mean, he could have. He was also hurting Donald
20:24
Smith. Yeah, he was landing really well. Yeah,
20:27
he was landing really well, and he was hurting
20:28
Don Smith. Yeah, you're 100 % right. You maybe
20:30
give it a couple rounds, he might have Don Smith
20:31
out. But holy shit, the way Don Smith got him
20:35
out first, he beat him to the punch. Simple as
20:36
that. You know, he beat him at his own game.
20:39
I gotta give him props for that. Does he beat
20:42
the other champions? I don't think so. No, not
20:46
even 140. He beats, I think he beats a good amount
20:51
of contenders at 140, though. Does he beat Puello?
20:56
Because Pueo is like the textbook outboxer. Yeah.
21:02
Depends on whose card it's under. If it's under
21:04
a PBC card, yeah, Pueo's going to get it. But
21:07
if it's under a bathroom card, yeah, they're
21:09
going to give it to Don Smith. You think it's
21:14
that close? Like that it comes down to judging?
21:18
Yeah, I don't think it's going to end my knockout.
21:21
I think Pueo's a little more... defensively minded.
21:26
And Donald Smith's never really been 100 % a
21:31
pressure fighter. I think he was just forced
21:33
to fight fire with fire with Matias. Yeah, Pueo's
21:36
not going to be a fucking moron and just leave
21:39
his chin hanging out there. Yeah, that's the
21:40
big one. Yeah, like Pueo was forced to be a pressure
21:43
fighter with Matias. Same thing with Donald Smith.
21:47
Except Donald Smith just did it better. You know,
21:50
so we'll see. If he's going to outbox Donald
21:54
Smith, he's going to win pretty easily. He'll
21:55
get that title back. He'll go back to the PPC
21:57
with that belt. And they might do unification.
22:03
Never know. They could do unification with Hitchens.
22:07
Who knows? Eddie Ayer knows. That's it. Hitchens
22:11
has... He has a mandatory due. Right now in the
22:19
rankings, it's Delgado. But... He's trying to
22:23
get him to step aside to fight someone else.
22:27
I think Oscar Duarte? I don't know. Am I misremembering?
22:34
I think you're right. I know Hitchens is having
22:38
some shit trying to get his mandatory to step
22:40
aside. One thing I do know is that he's not going
22:45
to fight fucking Keyshawn. Who, Dalton? Or Hitchens.
22:50
No, Hitchens. Dawn won't either. I don't think.
22:59
I don't see Keyshawn in there. Oh, yeah, he's
23:03
not in the rankings yet. Yeah. No, but I gotta
23:09
give Dawn my flowers. Yeah, no, that was... What
23:14
a way to win your world title, at least. Yeah.
23:18
Spoil the... Even his promoters. All 25 people
23:23
that were there? No, the promoter. I grayscaled
23:28
the promoter. Oh, yeah. He blew, like, many,
23:33
many millions on the vast card that I don't think
23:40
it's ever bombed. I think both ticket sales and
23:45
pay -per -view sales. Although, it's going to
23:49
be like, this guy's done. His career is over.
23:53
Fresh Promotions is done. It's going to be rotten.
23:59
It's gone. It's gone. It's never been more over.
24:04
I'm sorry, man. I understand how it feels. Isaac
24:10
Cruz is the interim champ. Dalton Smith versus
24:13
Cruz. I mean, Is that really going to be the
24:18
WBC interim? It's not happening, dude. Dalton
24:21
beats Cruz. Most people beat Cruz. Yeah, I would
24:25
agree. Yeah. Would be a high profile for Dalton,
24:29
though. I think what people could be is. Well,
24:39
anything more for fresh promotions? I'm sorry,
24:43
Josh. You had to go through my film. I like Matias,
24:48
but also I can now say he was never good. Something
24:54
funny that Isaac said was never send a Puerto
24:57
Rican to do a Mexican's job. That's true, actually.
25:01
That was pretty funny. Alright. Let me put in
25:08
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slash flakes. Into the previews. Drumroll, please.
27:44
Friday, January 23rd, the premiere of Zufa Boxing
27:49
on Paramount+. At the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
27:56
Who the fuck is Zufa? Yeah. As of right now,
28:03
the card has not been announced. The only fight
28:07
I know of is Callum Walsh versus Carlos Ocampo.
28:12
Which, decent fight for a guy like Callum Walsh.
28:15
But, like, who really gives a shit about Callum
28:19
Walsh? Callum Walsh's family? Yeah, I guess.
28:24
Nah, not really. Does he even have a family?
28:28
I don't know. Hey, go white boy, go white boy,
28:32
go. That's more time than Zufa deserves. We're
28:41
not protesting it, but we are protesting it at
28:43
the same time. Saturday, January 24th. Matchroom
28:50
at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. Who is on
28:56
this? Omari Jones. So that's cool. He's facing
29:00
Jerome Baxter. Interesting. I like the Khalil
29:12
Coe fight in the co -main. Israel Madrimov is
29:16
back versus Luis Salazar. It's a fight. Yeah.
29:23
Finally, he's fighting. He's got a lot of...
29:27
He's talented, so he should be... A little bit
29:30
more busy. And yeah, Khalil Cobb versus Jesse
29:34
Hart. That's one I'm actually happy to see. IBF
29:43
lightweight champion Ray Morataya versus Andy
29:47
Cruz. Does Ray have any hope here? No, I'm going
29:55
to give him some hope. I'm going to give him
29:57
some hope. Because you know what? I was thinking
29:59
about it. If someone like Antonio Moran had,
30:04
not Cruz on skates, but he hit him a couple times.
30:08
He was landing on him. Huh? He was landing on
30:11
him. Yeah, he was landing on him. And one thing
30:15
about Morita is, I mean, he's got decent speed.
30:18
He just doesn't throw much. But you never know.
30:21
With Cruz, he might have to. He might show up.
30:26
You never know. He's a champion now. You know
30:28
how it changes after someone becomes a champion.
30:31
But if it goes to decision, you guys already
30:32
know what's going to happen. You know? Oh, yeah.
30:36
Moritaya's a top -ranked guy. Yeah. Andy Cruz
30:40
is the house fighter. House fighter. Cuban. Fucking
30:44
amateur darling. You know? I don't think they're
30:50
going to fucking give a decision to Moritaya.
30:52
Well, come on. Let's go. Let's go. Let's... I'm
30:55
going to hope that Moritaya wins because you
30:57
know what? Andy Cruz, he's a cool guy, but...
31:02
I want Andy Cruz to do good. It makes me feel...
31:06
It's good. It's good when a guy like Andy Cruz
31:09
does good. As much... I got to root for him.
31:13
I think Andy Cruz is going to win, obviously.
31:17
But that's why I'm rooting for Moritaya because
31:19
to me, he's the underdog. He's a champion, but
31:22
he is the underdog. He's also a Robert Garcia
31:24
guy. Yeah, I mean, he's a Robert Garcia guy,
31:27
so you never know. I mean, he might show out.
31:29
I doubt it. But, I mean, you never know when
31:34
strange things happen. Donald Smith could knock
31:36
out Matias. You know? And then flex his EBU title
31:41
afterwards. I mean, come on. I will be riding
31:45
with Ray. I'm going to ride with Ray as well.
31:48
I don't have a lot of hope, but I'm riding with
31:51
him anyway. Exactly. Like I said last time we
31:54
talked about this fight, Cruz is going to win,
31:59
and if he doesn't win, he's a fraud. Simple as
32:04
that. Yeah, I guess. Yeah, that's it for that
32:14
card. Anything more for our previews? Not really.
32:23
That's what I thought. What if Khalil loses?
32:31
I don't know. He might. He's already lost once,
32:36
I think. Yeah, he lost to Gallegos. He's fun
32:39
to watch, but he's not special. Yeah. If that
32:46
makes sense. 100%. It's weird, because as you
32:50
guys were saying that, I'm thinking, Jesse Hart
32:52
is a banana peel. Or he can be. He has been before.
32:57
And Jesse Hart is pretty well past his best days.
33:03
What was his best by Jesse Hart? Probably when
33:07
he scored zero. Yes. I was there when that happened.
33:13
It was pretty cool. Jesse Hart. It was Joe Smith
33:22
that had a close one. And I was thinking Michael
33:30
Seals was the guy who got destroyed by Leader
33:33
Alvarez. Well, are you guys ready to do best
33:37
of 2025? Yes, sir. All right. Let me do this.
33:44
Let's fucking do it. Best of 2025. Where is my
33:50
thing? Here we go. Okay. Starting off. Stoppage
33:56
of the year. Saul, hit us with what you got here.
34:01
I got two. I got two. I got Ryan Norman Jr. versus
34:07
Sasaki. And then I got Justice Hooney versus
34:12
Fabio Wardman. What? Oh, yeah, yeah, Fabio Wardley
34:19
and Justice, I'm sorry. Yeah, I just said it
34:21
the opposite way. Fabio Wardley. Yeah, I was
34:23
going to say, like, when did Wardley get stopped?
34:25
I would have been so happy. No, yeah. Add a teaser
34:28
there. No, no, Fabio Wardley versus Justice Hooney.
34:30
Just... Brian Norman Jr. had the better knockout,
34:34
but Wardley versus Hooney set up him getting
34:37
a title shot. And honestly, I thought it was
34:39
funnier than fucking Wardley knocking out Parker.
34:43
Did he actually knock that one out? Yeah, he
34:45
actually knocked it the fuck out. Oh, shit. Mine,
34:53
I had... For the first half of the year, I had
34:55
Norman Sasaki as well. The second half of the
34:59
year, I was stuck between two. Boots Ennis knocking
35:05
out Uisma Lima and Usyk knocking out Dubois.
35:10
My final pick... of the year for 2025 is Usyk
35:16
knocking out Dubois. My pick... Actually, Usyk
35:21
-Dubois was such a good one. That was just an
35:23
ass -kicking. That one brought me joy. I had
35:29
Norman Sasaki for most of the year. And then
35:33
Frank Martin KO4 Rancis Barthelony ended up being
35:40
my pick. That's up there. That's just so clean.
35:45
Is that your overall? That was my final choice.
35:49
It was so clean. Oh, my God. Seeing Rance's Barthelome
35:57
get lain out like that. That was my favorite
36:04
knockout of the year. Norman Sasaki is probably
36:06
still the best. Favorite? Favorite's different.
36:13
I gotta respect it. Josh, carry us into Masterclass.
36:19
Masterclass of the year. Terrence Bud Crawford,
36:23
UD12, Canelo. Just a very beautiful, well -fought
36:32
fight against probably the best possible opponent
36:36
in boxing today. Very, very easy pick on my end.
36:42
What about you guys? Saul, where are you at?
36:45
I got the same one. Exact same one for the exact
36:48
same reason. Probably one of the most beautiful
36:50
displays of skill in boxing history. Wasn't boring
36:54
either. He put it on him. Oh, yeah. He beat Canelo
36:57
at his own game. Fought him in the pocket. Beat
37:00
the fuck out of him. Fought him at range. Beat
37:03
the fuck out of him. For the first half of the
37:07
year, I had Benavidez over Morel. Second half
37:12
of the year, Bud over Canelo. And that's my final
37:14
pick as well. Can't not be that. Yeah. Villain
37:22
of the year. I'll start us off here. This non
37:24
-fighting stuff. First half of the year, Tank.
37:29
Second half is Howard Foster. That's a good one.
37:35
But overall, my pick is Tank. I guess after reading
37:41
the shit from the National Summit, I guess it's
37:45
not that villainous. But still took a knee. He
37:51
didn't know that shit. Yeah, I didn't know it
37:53
at the time. I was saying Tank probably didn't
37:56
know it either. Hell no, he didn't. Yeah. Josh,
38:00
carry us here. Villain of the Year is Dana White
38:03
for how he continues to attempt to destroy our
38:07
sport for literally no reason. Yep. Like, the
38:15
Ali Act, sorry, the Ali Reform Act and shit is
38:20
just abhorrent and he should die. Saul, what
38:26
do you have? Well, I got something similar. I
38:30
was going to say Dana White's mom's uterus. Dana
38:35
White's mom. My other one was California State
38:38
Athletic Commission. Why? Why? It's because they
38:43
legitimized the fucking... Oh, the Ali Act reform
38:47
act. Yeah. That's right. That is... I mean, you
38:52
could bring up the most bullshit stuff and they
38:57
could just say no to it, but... Obviously, they
39:00
see the money. They don't see what's going to
39:03
happen to the fighters. They don't care about
39:05
what's going to happen to the fighters. I take
39:06
that back. They know what's going to happen to
39:07
the fighters, but they don't care. Yeah, so fuck
39:11
the California State Athletic Commission. Saul,
39:14
carry us on. New face. Who do you got? I got
39:18
Abdullah Mason. Still? He's been a face for a
39:22
long time, but he's a champion now. He took up
39:26
the mantle. for the WBO champion when Keyshawn
39:29
lost that title. And I think he's carried himself
39:33
well. He's made a lot of buzz. He's now the youngest
39:37
champion in the sport, I believe, right now.
39:40
Yes. So I think that he has a bright future ahead
39:43
of him. And I think his fight with Noakes, fantastic.
39:48
It was a, we're going to talk about it right
39:51
now, but it is a contender for fight of the year.
39:54
So I got to give it to Mason. He was also very
39:58
active, so I think he's going to be headlining
40:02
from now on. Josh, what do you got? Mason isn't
40:07
a new face to me, I guess, but that's because
40:10
I'm a hardcore. But I did pick Lester Martinez
40:14
as my new, new face of the year. Broke onto the
40:18
scene. Literally, he was supposed to get ran
40:23
over by... By Mbili? Yeah, by Mbili, and just
40:30
completely turned it around. And he's, like,
40:35
he went from, ah, he's that guy off ProBox, to
40:39
this is a serious guy. Very serious contender
40:44
at 168. And that's, I think that lands him as
40:49
the new face. Wait, was new face regarding, like...
40:54
Someone with new popularity or like a new champion.
40:57
Can be either. I presumed. Yeah, it could be
41:02
a prospect. It could be somebody breaking out.
41:05
Breaking out of the mold. If Norman won, I would
41:10
have put Norman. But I can't ride that long.
41:13
The first half of the year, I had Terra Moana.
41:16
Yeah. Second half, I had Tomoya Tsuboi. I love
41:21
that name. And I ended up the final pick being
41:25
Terra Moana. Another year with four knockouts.
41:30
He's doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing.
41:35
Fighter of the year, I'll start. In the first
41:39
half, I had Brian Norman and Abdullah Mason.
41:44
Brian Norman aged like milk. And in the second
41:49
half, I had Naoya Inoue and Bam. And my final
41:53
pick is Bam Rodriguez. Saul, who do you got?
41:59
I got Terrence Crawford. Yep. That's what I was
42:04
going to say. He's a fighter of the past five
42:08
years, maybe. I didn't pick him because he only
42:13
fought once in the year. Yeah, but the one win
42:16
is so... It's a generational win, I fear. Yeah,
42:20
you're probably right. Like, I had Crawford,
42:24
and it's just so, like, the win itself, just
42:27
on paper, not, like, coping or making excuses
42:30
or whatever. It's just, that is the monumental
42:34
win over the face of the sport. I have, I know,
42:39
in a way, as an honorable mention, just because
42:41
he beat Larry Holmes' record, or he may not be,
42:45
but he matched it for defending his Ring Magazine
42:47
title. Yeah, I don't believe in the Ring Magazine
42:50
titles. I don't either. Especially not since
42:54
fucking the Saudis bought it. I don't know when
42:57
it was less legitimate, when Oscar owned it or
43:00
when Turkey owned it. I still consider him defending,
43:06
not just his Ring Magazine title, but his Undisputed
43:08
titles four times. That's fair. I just fear it's
43:11
woke nonsense. I just wanted to say Ring Magazine
43:14
titles. I just fear the Ring Magazine is woke
43:17
nonsense. Next category, ass -whooping of the
43:23
year. Saul, start us off. Ass -whooping, a .k
43:26
.a. beatdown, right? Yes. Beatdown to Pabamba
43:30
versus Puma. Good one. One was a champion. One
43:33
is a fucking generational talent. That was...
43:38
It wasn't just a... He got him knocked out. He
43:42
tore him apart in that fight. Bit by bit. So,
43:47
yeah, I mean... These other guys have had better
43:50
knockouts. Others, like Terrence Crawford, had
43:53
a better masterclass, but this was a better beatdown,
43:56
in my opinion. Also, it was more satisfying to
43:59
see since, I mean, Puma was literally fucking
44:02
acting up a bam. Who does that, you know? So
44:07
it was pretty satisfying to see as well. Josh,
44:11
who do you got? I had Boots, Danny Onus. That
44:15
was like... That was, like, the big, like, I've
44:18
been vindicated about boots. Like, making him
44:25
quit in six rounds after just, like, pillar to
44:27
post, that was the one for me. In the first half,
44:35
I had boots standing on us as well. For the second
44:39
half of the year, I landed on Usyk Dubois and
44:42
also Bampuma. But my overall pick for the year
44:46
is Usyk Dubois. I'm going to be honest. I forgot
44:51
Boots Daniels was last year. Yeah, I had to check
44:54
when I was making my list. It feels so long ago.
44:57
No, it was April. But damn, that fight was the
45:01
moment for Boots fans. Yeah. Your guy has finally
45:09
come to fruition, and he's won a world title
45:11
before Virgil Ortiz, which is a rite of passage
45:16
for any good fighter. We're not talking about
45:19
that. Literally stole Virgil's chain after Virgil
45:23
couldn't make weight for Stanionis. No, no, no.
45:27
We ain't talking about that right now. Comeback
45:30
of the year. This could be career comeback or,
45:34
like, in -fight comeback. Sol, start us off.
45:40
As much as it pains me to say this, career comeback
45:45
of the year has got to be Devin Haney. Yeah.
45:47
Oh, fuck. We have the same picks, dude. Should
45:49
not have picked that one, too. We all know why.
45:52
Yeah, of course. I'm pretty sure, Leo, what's
45:55
yours? I have a few. You have a few? Yeah. I'll
46:02
tell you this about Devin. Devin Haney, that.
46:04
He fought Jose Ramirez. Looked to be that he
46:08
was coming out worse. I think most people saw
46:09
that he had something missing, you know? Brian
46:14
Norman Jr. was arguably his toughest fight of
46:17
his career on paper. Makes it look fucking easy.
46:22
Turns out Brian Norman Jr. wasn't good, but that's
46:26
my joke take. That's my joke take. Either way,
46:29
either way. People thought, including myself,
46:32
that Haney was going to... Fucking get knocked
46:34
out. He was fried. Yeah. And you know what? I
46:37
got to give to Devin Haney. I got to give him
46:39
his flowers. He made it look easy. He knocked.
46:41
Not only did he beat Brian Norman Jr., he knocked
46:43
him down on the ground. Big time. And then hugged
46:46
him for the rest of the fight. But at the end
46:49
of the day, that don't matter. That was a career
46:52
-defining win for Devin Haney. And I got to give
46:56
it to him. So there you go. All I'm going to
46:59
say about that. All right. My first half of the
47:02
year, I had Jesus Ramos. In the first half, he
47:06
had two big knockouts after coming off of the
47:08
Erickson -Lubin robbery. For the second half
47:12
of the year, I picked Jack Catterall. True, Jaron
47:16
Catterall. Yeah, Bozy really did some magic with
47:21
Catterall. So that was good to see. My final
47:26
pick, I stuck with Jesus Ramos. Comeback of the
47:31
in -fight comeback was Wardley knocking out Justice
47:34
Huni. Because he was getting his ass pieced apart
47:37
for 11 rounds. Oh yeah, that was crazy. We were
47:43
almost rid of Wardley, dude. Twice. Don't remind
47:48
me of the second time. Josh, you had Devin Haney?
47:53
I had Devin Haney. That was just like, he went
47:55
literally from like... this guy is on his way
47:58
out to like, oh, oh, he's still around. Yeah,
48:04
it was mostly disappointment, but respect to
48:06
A &E for just turning it all the way around.
48:12
Upset of the year, I'll start. For the first
48:15
half of the year, I had Roach beating Tank. I
48:18
don't give a shit what the hell, that they didn't
48:21
count the knee. I refuse to accept that as not
48:24
being a knockdown. Roach won the fight. Second
48:30
half. Abbas Baru beating Yohannes Taez. He went
48:35
into MVP territory and he beat their fighter
48:40
to claim a title. But I'm landing on Roach beating
48:46
Tank. That's my... I will stand by that. That's
48:51
the hill I'm going to die on. Josh, who do you
48:54
got? I have Roley Romero, UD12, Ryan Garcia.
49:00
For obvious reasons. Jesus Christ. While it was
49:05
a huge choke by Ryan, like, Roley's actually
49:08
terrible. So, that was an upset that upset me
49:14
as well. Oh, yeah. Like, Ryan's off, like, literally
49:20
beating Devin Haney pillar to post for 12 rounds
49:23
and generally looking pretty competent. And,
49:26
like, Roley just got stopped by Isak Cruz, got
49:30
put on his ass, basically, by Barroso and bailed
49:33
out. Tank annihilated him. And he comes in and,
49:39
oh, my God, why did he look competent with Ryan?
49:47
It was an upsetting upset. I think Roach Tank
49:53
also qualifies as me being upset. Yes. Different
49:57
reasons. And wrapping up upset, Saul, who do
50:03
you got? I got Wardley versus Parker as my...
50:10
Entire honorable mention being Roley Romero versus
50:13
Ryan Garcia. Joseph Parker versus Fabio Wardley.
50:17
That should not have happened. I think Joseph
50:21
Parker, if he won that fight, he would be champion.
50:25
That made me kind of sad, but at the end of the
50:27
day, that sadness only lasted for a second because
50:30
I was filled with laughter. Because how the fuck
50:34
is Wardley champion again? Well, not again. How
50:37
the fuck is Wardley champion? That's crazy. So
50:41
I got to give it to Joseph Parker versus Valkyrie.
50:46
Hero of the year. Josh, kick us off. Hero of
50:52
the year. What did I put in? Pro box. Just generally
50:54
pro box. High quality fight programming year
51:00
in, year out. Never, never a bad pro box card.
51:04
And it's free. And they still equitably pay their
51:07
fighters too. Nothing bad to say about them.
51:15
Saul, who do you got? I got Oscar Lila Hoya for
51:20
Clapback Thursday. That's crazy. I got Anthony
51:27
Joshua. We're not going to pick Paul. That's
51:29
in -fight, though. Yeah. Did you read the prompt?
51:34
It said non -fight stuff. Non -fighting behaviors
51:37
or actions. Yeah, you're right, huh? This fucking
51:43
guy, dude. Embarrassing. I made this like immediately
51:49
after that fight, though. I'm just like, you
51:51
know. So I ignored that part. Clapback Thursday
51:54
is not a bad pick. Clapback Thursday is a good
51:56
one. No, here's going to be Terrence Carver for
51:59
letting free the slavery that was 168 pounds.
52:04
That's true. Well, that's still in fight for
52:07
beating well no because the alcoholic yeah true
52:12
by retiring yeah you could just held on to those
52:16
titles you didn't so that's that's pretty fucking
52:20
awesome yeah that was my pick too for the exact
52:23
same reason he could have just sat on it and
52:25
i don't know what i want to do maybe i'll fight
52:27
again who knows i don't know who are the who
52:29
are the contenders right now but nope he just
52:32
said i i beat canelo i did it i'm done You guys
52:37
have fun. Peace. Yeah. Fair enough. My first
52:44
half of the year, I had Al Heyman for taking
52:46
care of Pritchard Colon and his family. That's
52:50
a good show. Yeah. That broke at the end of 2024.
52:55
When I looked into it, it happened just at the
52:59
end of the year. We found out about it. Okay.
53:03
I guess you could say... Since he's continuing
53:06
to take care of them. But, yeah. Fight of the
53:14
year. I'll start. First half, I had Bivel better
53:17
be of two. For the second half, I had... I was
53:23
torn between Lester Martinez versus Christian
53:26
Mbili. And Subrail Matias versus Alberto Pueyo.
53:33
My final pick. Overall for the year, Bevo better
53:38
be of two. Bigger stage, more at stake, more
53:47
gravity to the situation. Fair. Saul, who do
53:52
you got? I got Will Matias, and then I got Morel
53:58
Katiev, and then I got Mason Noakes. Mason Noakes
54:04
is a great shout. I sounded for a while, I was
54:11
like, you know what, that is fighter leader worthy.
54:12
At the start of the year, I had Benavidez Morel.
54:18
But I ended up settling with Lester Martinez,
54:22
Christian Beely. Is that your overall pick for
54:26
the year? That was my overall. Like, all you
54:28
guys had, like, Noakes, Mason was a good shout,
54:30
too. But just, like, I had fun during Mbili Martinez
54:37
for the full, full 12 rounds. It was an excellent
54:41
fight. Like, just, like, there wasn't, like,
54:45
ebbs and flows that fights usually come with.
54:48
Like, no. These guys just went balls to the wall
54:51
for 12 rounds. Mbili was himself, and Martinez
54:56
showed everyone why he's a serious player. Yeah,
55:01
so I'm happy with that. Oh, man. That's all we
55:05
got, though. One thing about learning about Lester
55:08
Martinez, of course he's Guatemalan. Of course
55:10
he's going to have Guatemalan fans. But I learned
55:13
that that fight was really popular in Guatemala.
55:18
More popular than Kendall LaCroft. I don't know
55:23
why. I obviously don't know why. It's because
55:26
he's Guatemalan. Obviously, Kendall is a worldwide
55:28
name. That fight was more known in Guatemala
55:31
than Canelo Crawford. Yeah. At least from the
55:36
people I talked to. I was at a card here in Phoenix,
55:42
and it was a matchroom card, and they had this
55:44
Somali chick, something Ali. I didn't realize
55:53
that there was such a large contingent of Somalians
55:56
here in Phoenix, but they all came out for her
55:59
fight. They were all waving flags and cheering
56:02
and everything, and then once her fight ended,
56:04
they pretty much left. I don't know. It might
56:08
be a national identity thing. Hmm? I don't know.
56:17
Thinking on it, I don't keep track of it, but...
56:20
Do you have any events that stood out? Yeah,
56:24
I actually included this in my picks. I just
56:27
didn't. I was going to ask if you wanted to include
56:29
this. I have Benavidez Morel. And then I have
56:33
Benavidez Yard, that ring four. And then I got
56:35
ring three. That's Edgar Berlanga versus Hamza
56:42
Shabazz. Shakur versus Cepeda as well. I know
56:45
it's not last year. I was so impressed by the
56:48
crowd at the Caballel event this past weekend.
56:52
Oh, yeah. Jesus Christ. Like, the crowd was basically,
56:58
like, the noise was basically pouring out through
57:00
my speakers. I love that. That was a crazy crowd.
57:05
I hope, like, as much as I hate the German commission
57:08
because the judges are terrible, the refs are
57:11
terrible, the fighters are usually not great.
57:14
fuck they come out like the presentation is always
57:17
great and the fight and the fights are fun and
57:20
the fans are just fantastic yeah similar situation
57:24
to why lester martinez was was a bigger deal
57:28
in guatemala than the main event my event the
57:36
the event that stood out to me was eubank ben
57:38
too just because i was there but it was really
57:41
cool seeing like the The sound, the volume that
57:47
the fans put up is, it's, I don't know, it's
57:51
electrifying. Doing Sweet Caroline and hearing,
57:55
there's only one such a soldier. It's fucking
58:01
excellent. It was so much fun. There's only one
58:02
Dave Allen, bro. It was so much fun. If you ever
58:08
get the chance to go to a fight in the UK, I
58:10
recommend it. Oh, shit. That's all the categories,
58:17
though. Do we want to keep track of Round of
58:21
the Year for 2026? Oh. Like, adding another category?
58:27
Yeah, maybe, maybe. I'll keep track. Yeah, I
58:30
might. What was I going to say? Actually, my
58:33
2025 Round of the Year is that Lawrence Cole
58:37
classic. The Disaster Class. Oh, that MVP one,
58:41
yeah. That was good. One round, like, knock down,
58:45
knock call, but then there were point deductions,
58:48
and then he stopped the guy anyways. Just crazy.
58:53
Yeah, that was madness. It was funny, though.
58:57
Alright, so, wrapping up our 2025 picks, parting
59:02
words, if you got any. Robots good. Pro box is
59:12
always good. I hope this year turns out to be
59:16
great. I hope it's better than last year. Last
59:18
year seemed like it was going to be the best
59:21
year of boxing we've had in obviously decades.
59:26
I think it was pretty good. I think it was decent,
59:29
but I think it was kind of a letdown in a sense.
59:34
Is there anything specific that made you feel
59:38
like it was a letdown? no not really honestly
59:41
it was mainly because at the beginning of the
59:43
year in from january to february it was that
59:46
string that long string of fights that we had
59:48
which it was you remember it was uh ray it went
59:52
from pacheco versus uh fucking nelson and then
59:57
benavides morel and then uh kishan the valentine's
1:00:02
day massacre with kishan where he got his title
1:00:03
and then um they had a fucking uh Cattrall versus
1:00:09
Barboza. Better BB Bowl rematch. And then it
1:00:14
ends in March with Tank versus Roach. You know?
1:00:19
That was a long stream of fights that was like,
1:00:22
damn. Good ass fucking months of boxing. And
1:00:26
then for like the next, what, until July, June,
1:00:30
July, it was dead. I mean, yeah, we had, you
1:00:34
know, ring. Yeah, we had Eubank Ben, but, you
1:00:39
know, it was more of a British, you know, more
1:00:46
of a British fight in the middle of April. We
1:00:48
had Boots Danny on us in April. That's it. Then
1:00:51
in March or May, we had fucking the biggest letdown
1:00:56
and one of the biggest letdowns in Cinco de Mayo
1:00:59
history. And then, yeah, July was when it kind
1:01:04
of started picking up again. Do you think DB3
1:01:10
qualifies as a villain for beating up Nahir Albright?
1:01:16
Yeah. Or trying to jump Nahir Albright? Yeah.
1:01:21
Keyshawn definitely, yeah. But that's to involve
1:01:27
in -fight stuff because that happened because
1:01:29
of the fight. Yeah. I think what Dana White's
1:01:32
doing to the sport is still more disruptive in
1:01:34
regards to my pick. Yeah. I think it's more destructive
1:01:38
on an individual level, but on a fucking systematic
1:01:42
level, Dana White's fucking creaming on the sport.
1:01:48
Yep. All right, well, there you go. That's 2025.
1:01:54
We're all wrapped up. Nice and neat. We'll fucking
1:01:59
see you on the other side of this, the premiere
1:02:02
of Zufa Boxing. Nah, really. Raymour's high versus
1:02:09
Andy Cruz. That's the real one. We'll see who
1:02:13
takes that. Alright, that's it for this edition
1:02:15
of Boxing B -Sides. See you on the other side.
1:02:19
See you on the other side.