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Boxing Podcast: Will We Get Any Upsets This Weekend? · Big Dog Lukie Boxing Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Alright, what's good everybody?
0:02
SPEAKER_00: It's your boy Dave in the 702 Shoeshine Boxing here with my good pal Lucas Ketelle,
0:08
SPEAKER_00: both of us on YouTube.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: Guys, you guys can find us on YouTube as well here tonight on Substack, guys.
0:14
SPEAKER_00: Glad to have everybody here.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: We do have a really, really awesome fight and I love to watch Lukie's takes earlier in the week.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: But I thought I'd get my two cents in here and see where Lukie's sitting
0:26
SPEAKER_00: on this pretty fun fight developing here this weekend in Las Vegas.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: PBC brings us a card with Sebastian Fundora.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: He's back here in Las Vegas.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: This time they've moved him away from the MGM Grand, Lukie,
0:38
SPEAKER_00: down to a smaller venue,
0:40
SPEAKER_00: which I think the intimate venue there,
0:42
SPEAKER_00: the Cosmopolitan,
0:42
SPEAKER_00: which is one of my favorites,
0:43
SPEAKER_00: I think is a perfect fit for this fight and this opponent.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: There is an interesting co-main event that I kind of slept on,
0:53
SPEAKER_00: and I thought tonight we would talk about the likelihood of underdogs,
0:58
SPEAKER_00: because both the main event and the co-main, I think they're both...
1:03
SPEAKER_00: Lorenzo Parra, Venezuela, who trains here in Las Vegas and what
1:31
SPEAKER_00: You know,
1:32
SPEAKER_00: what would happen if he pulls off an upset on this big car in Saudi Arabia,
1:38
SPEAKER_00: upsetting the featherweight champion, El Divino.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: So with that being said,
1:42
SPEAKER_00: I thought maybe we'd start with the co-main event this Saturday night,
1:48
SPEAKER_00: Tomoki Ketelle.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: El Mexicanito Camita, former 118-pound champion.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: I think he's been championed twice,
1:57
SPEAKER_00: but going back to 2013 is the first time he became a world champion.
2:02
SPEAKER_00: And of course, he comes from one of the most famous boxing families in Japan.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: All of his brothers,
2:07
SPEAKER_00: world champions at one point,
2:09
SPEAKER_00: they became the first family of three to hold titles all at the same time.
2:15
SPEAKER_00: Can he repeat the magic now at 35 years old, Lukie?
2:21
SPEAKER_00: And also, I'm going to ask you.
2:25
SPEAKER_00: Have Mexican fans forgot that he was once embraced by them?
2:31
SPEAKER_00: Because I see him out here today in the press conferences doing his thing
2:35
SPEAKER_00: in Spanish, which he's learned to speak absolutely beautifully.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: And I'm wondering if maybe he could sway some fans this weekend to support him
2:44
SPEAKER_00: against Mexican-American Brandon Figueroa, the champion.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: So I'll let you start there, Lukie.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: I think that it's a tricky fight.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: If I'm not mistaken,
2:56
SPEAKER_01: Kameda's been sparring Emmanuel Navarrete,
2:59
SPEAKER_01: which is kind of the perfect recipe for an upset.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: I think the thing about Figueroa is he's what I call a high contact.
3:07
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to act like that's a real interesting term,
3:10
SPEAKER_01: but it's a really obvious term,
3:12
SPEAKER_01: but he's kind of like you and me watch football a lot.
3:15
SPEAKER_01: And I think of guys like,
3:17
SPEAKER_01: was it Lamont Jordan who played for the Raiders and kind
3:21
SPEAKER_01: of these big Derek Henry's this way,
3:23
SPEAKER_01: physical guys who no game is easy on them, right?
3:29
SPEAKER_01: They wear you out, they get two or three yards.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: And I think of Brandon Figueroa as...
3:34
SPEAKER_01: Someone where every fight, even if he wins every minute, is hard.
3:39
SPEAKER_01: Kameda, the one thing,
3:40
SPEAKER_01: though, that I'm worried about is he's never won a fight of this magnitude.
3:44
SPEAKER_01: He had an A-side fight 11 years ago against Jamie McDonald and lost that fight.
3:49
SPEAKER_01: He's probably had his best performance at this stage in his last fight against Angelo Leo.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: Leo beat him, but he performed.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: I think he overachieved in that fight.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: I have a sneaky feeling this is going to be a fight of the year type fight.
4:04
SPEAKER_01: Will he upset Figueroa?
4:07
SPEAKER_01: The only reason I think there's a chance is the poetic nature
4:11
SPEAKER_01: of wouldn't it be fitting if he fought Inouye in the Tokyo Dome next year
4:16
SPEAKER_01: for Inouye's featherweight.
4:18
SPEAKER_01: It's less logical.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: And it's more spiritual.
4:21
SPEAKER_01: But I will say for Kameda against Figueroa, the stars are aligning that he has the experience.
4:27
SPEAKER_01: He's been in this position.
4:28
SPEAKER_01: He's being underrated.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: And Figueroa is the exact style he's probably been in the gym with for the last 13 years.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: So I do anticipate a lot of local Las Vegas fight fans to show up to this fight.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: And I've seen the crowd swayed before that,
4:45
SPEAKER_00: you know, they might come in thinking, I'm going to root for Brandon Figueroa.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: He's naturally the Mexican-American world champion.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: And then they see the grit and determination and are reminded by the ring entrance.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: And maybe they've caught a few of the interviews and realized
4:59
SPEAKER_00: that Kamita virtually was raised from the age of a teenager in Mexico City
5:03
SPEAKER_00: and Guadalajara and spent extensive time with Canelo Alvarez
5:07
SPEAKER_00: in his teen years developing into the pro style fight.
5:10
SPEAKER_00: And next thing you know,
5:12
SPEAKER_00: Two or three rounds into it, they see that he's doing far better than expected.
5:16
SPEAKER_00: He's got a chance for an upset and you start the route for the underdog.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: I've seen it in person.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: All of a sudden, there's it could be screaming Camita, you know, well, Mexicanito.
5:27
SPEAKER_00: But I think you brought up a wonderful point in what's been a lackluster year for
5:31
SPEAKER_00: the sport of boxing is to write a whole new storyline.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think it's uphill battle for him at 35 years old.
5:37
SPEAKER_00: You mentioned that Jamie McDonald fight many moons ago,
5:41
SPEAKER_00: how he was the A-side and underperformed.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: But the new storyline that I think would be fantastic is winning
5:51
SPEAKER_00: the world championship again, a featherweight world title at 35.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: And now that Inoue has expressed in the past week,
5:59
SPEAKER_00: he's become tiresome of waiting around for Bam, Bam Martinez.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: To move up in weight.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Rodriguez.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me, I called him Martina.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me, yeah, I'm Rodriguez.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Inoue not seemingly wanting to wait any longer and move up to featherweight.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: You could have this amazing Japanese showdown in Japan between Kamida and Inoue
6:25
SPEAKER_00: at featherweight.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: A fight of that magnitude.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: What would a fight of that magnitude be like in Tokyo?
6:33
SPEAKER_01: Who knows?
6:34
SPEAKER_01: But this isn't pro wrestling.
6:36
SPEAKER_01: It's boxing and it's achievement oriented.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of times in boxing,
6:41
SPEAKER_01: you get some people that are fans of pro wrestling and there's nothing wrong with
6:45
SPEAKER_01: that.
6:45
SPEAKER_01: But we have to remember this is a results driven sport.
6:48
SPEAKER_01: This is about the hard work, determination and the craft you bring into the ring.
6:53
SPEAKER_01: I think Kameda versus Figueroa could be simply who takes a better punch.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: The big thing that...
7:01
SPEAKER_01: People underestimate, and I heard Figueroa say this today at the press conference.
7:05
SPEAKER_01: He sets a pace.
7:06
SPEAKER_01: He sets a tone.
7:07
SPEAKER_01: There's a cadence with his volume.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: It looks simple, but it's a lot different when you're in there.
7:13
SPEAKER_01: So I think the first couple of rounds are going to tell us how live Kameda is
7:18
SPEAKER_01: because Figueroa does set a hell of a pace.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: The thing about Figueroa is...
7:24
SPEAKER_01: Throughout his career, he's never really been consistent.
7:27
SPEAKER_01: So he's coming off one of his biggest wins, a career redefining win.
7:33
SPEAKER_01: But I always feel like these are the hardest fights where you come in after a win,
7:39
SPEAKER_01: And now you have to kind of look good.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: And Kameda, if we're being honest, why is he in this fight?
7:45
SPEAKER_01: Like he's coming off a loss to Angelo Leo.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: I get it's a split decision.
7:49
SPEAKER_01: But like this kind of signals the frustration I have with featherweight
7:52
SPEAKER_01: where you have a title fight.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: And the first fight is against a guy who just lost in a title fight.
7:57
SPEAKER_01: Like why not, you know, an up and coming challenger or unification.
8:01
SPEAKER_01: It just kind of speaks to the year that has been boxing.
8:05
SPEAKER_01: But I think that if there were there are a few possible upsets on this card,
8:10
SPEAKER_01: if we're being honest,
8:11
SPEAKER_01: but this is the one that I think most smart people are sitting there and going,
8:15
SPEAKER_01: you know, I wouldn't be shocked if Kameda landed a Cinderella punch.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: OK, I agree with you wholeheartedly that,
8:23
SPEAKER_00: you know,
8:24
SPEAKER_00: Brandon Figueroa's pace is one of the most difficult bases in that weight division
8:28
SPEAKER_00: to keep up with.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: And Father Time always seems to be victorious.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't know how Kameda is going to deal with that pressure.
8:35
SPEAKER_00: You have to use And
8:40
SPEAKER_00: I also
8:44
SPEAKER_00: agree with you about people coming off a loss like that,
8:47
SPEAKER_00: getting another world title opportunity.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: But I think,
8:50
SPEAKER_00: you know,
8:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm happy that you seem to think it could be a potential fight of the year contender
8:55
SPEAKER_00: between two featherweights,
8:56
SPEAKER_00: one potentially at the end of his ropes and one that's still got a lot of gas left
9:00
SPEAKER_00: in his tank.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: That is the fight I am most looking forward to.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: I would have to say I favor Figueroa by points, points decision.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: I just think that volume is going to be far too much for Kamita to overcome,
9:12
SPEAKER_00: but I expect Kamita to have some really, really great moments.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Just like the fight we had last week,
9:19
SPEAKER_00: and I didn't get to talk to you about that,
9:20
SPEAKER_00: but last weekend's championship fight between Floyd Schofield and Lucas Boddy.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: Lucas Boddy certainly had his moments, and...
9:29
SPEAKER_00: You know, held his own in a world title fight.
9:32
SPEAKER_01: I want to add one little thing is I think that I'm optimistic.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: Omar Figueroa was in a fight of the year fight against a Japanese fighter.
9:40
SPEAKER_01: I forget his name,
9:41
SPEAKER_01: but it was maybe about,
9:43
SPEAKER_01: oh God, maybe 14 or 13 years ago at this point, but it feels not that long ago.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: And...
9:51
SPEAKER_01: I hold out hopes that maybe this is going to be that type of fight.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: Two guys running into each other and punching and we just get
9:58
SPEAKER_01: a crazy high volume fight that's chaotic.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that would be great,
10:03
SPEAKER_00: especially since I think a lot of fans were originally expecting to see Charlo on
10:08
SPEAKER_00: that card as well.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: They've kind of put together a last minute card that should be entertaining.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: By the way, guys,
10:15
SPEAKER_00: if you're coming to Las Vegas and you're hearing the podcast,
10:18
SPEAKER_00: even if you're staying on the strip,
10:20
SPEAKER_00: I just wanted to remind everybody that Formula One is being set up in Las Vegas now.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: And, Lukie,
10:27
SPEAKER_00: I personally have an experience where I think I went to go watch
10:33
SPEAKER_00: the Cruiserweight Championship fight one time,
10:35
SPEAKER_00: and it was Formula One,
10:36
SPEAKER_00: maybe it was not last year, the year before, with Zurdo Ramirez.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: And I took an Uber with my wife, thinking I had plenty of time.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden,
10:46
SPEAKER_00: we got stuck on Saturday afternoon F1 construction traffic,
10:51
SPEAKER_00: and my Uber driver was screaming his head off.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: In front of me is... Who was it, man?
10:59
SPEAKER_00: In front of me was a pro boxer...
11:04
SPEAKER_00: Who's a boxer that was fighting for the legislation change?
11:06
SPEAKER_00: I forget his name.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: Grandson of... Walsh.
11:09
SPEAKER_01: Nico Ali Walsh.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Nico Ali Walsh is in front of me in his car screaming his head off, too.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: We're all just frustrated trying to get into the Cosmopolitan.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: And consequently, I missed everything but the main event.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: And I thought I was going to see the whole car, bro.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: I must have sat in traffic for over an hour.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: So do take your time, guys, to arrive early.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: You don't want to miss any of these fights.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: You could end up missing the Comedio fight if you...
11:32
SPEAKER_00: You know, take your sweet time to arrive to the event.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: It's a pain in the butt.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: But that brings us to this main event.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: Lukie, a lot of people feel, I have watched the fight that earned him the opportunity.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: And I don't want to butcher his name, but is it Ermal Hadribyash or Hadribyash?
11:52
SPEAKER_00: How do I say his name?
11:55
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm not a broadcaster.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: That sounds about right.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: I'm not exactly sure.
12:03
SPEAKER_01: But I mean, this,
12:04
SPEAKER_01: the fun thing about this fight is I think it's going to go one of two ways, right?
12:09
SPEAKER_01: It's either Fundora is going to blast him out of there in three or four rounds,
12:14
SPEAKER_01: or it's going to be a really,
12:15
SPEAKER_01: really awkward fight where people say Fundora is having an awkward fight
12:19
SPEAKER_01: with this guy.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: What do you see?
12:23
SPEAKER_00: I think the most interesting is that Ermal is one of these guys,
12:27
SPEAKER_00: European fighters that converted from being also has extensive martial arts.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: He's a former MMA fighter as well.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: And some of these guys have recently had a crossover success, right?
12:37
SPEAKER_00: Like the Van Heerden fighter.
12:40
SPEAKER_00: What's his name?
12:40
SPEAKER_00: I always butcher the guy's names.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: The guy that just fought Usyk.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: Van Hoeven, Rico Van Hoeven.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: Another crossover, right?
12:49
SPEAKER_00: A former kickboxer.
12:50
SPEAKER_01: Van Hoeven.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: Who had success.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: And while I wasn't too impressed with his highlight reel of boxing,
12:58
SPEAKER_00: there is a blueprint for surprising and knocking out Sebastian Fundoro.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: But I think that since that knockout loss he had to Brian Mendoza, I think he's...
13:11
SPEAKER_00: Much, much more improved.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: He's not the same fighter that was knocked out.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: I don't anticipate this guy landing that lucky shot or even setting it up.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: But because of,
13:21
SPEAKER_00: like you said,
13:22
SPEAKER_00: the nature of him having his,
13:23
SPEAKER_00: like I was saying,
13:24
SPEAKER_00: he's been an MMA fighter and He is kind of an awkward European-style fighter
13:29
SPEAKER_00: who fancies himself like a Lomachenko-type fighter.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: There could be some moments where he surprises us,
13:37
SPEAKER_00: but I would say I expect him to not get past six or seven rounds past
13:42
SPEAKER_00: the towering Inferno.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: What about you?
13:47
SPEAKER_01: Well, I kind of gave it away, but I think that there's two worlds, right?
13:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: World Uno is that world that you just described.
13:57
SPEAKER_01: Another world is Has Fundora kind of fought the right guys?
14:03
SPEAKER_01: You know, he snuck up on Cordell Booker.
14:05
SPEAKER_01: Booker, I think,
14:05
SPEAKER_01: is a very good fighter,
14:07
SPEAKER_01: but, like, Booker didn't expect Fundora to be able to box and use distance.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: Tim Zhu is kind of an in-your-face guy in the first fight.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: Fundora, if we're being honest, didn't look very good, if we're being real.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: The adjustment he made was basically a cut that occurred to Tim Zhu,
14:26
SPEAKER_01: and that was the adjustment.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: And then...
14:29
SPEAKER_01: Keith Thurman's an older fighter.
14:31
SPEAKER_01: So I mean,
14:32
SPEAKER_01: I think for me,
14:34
SPEAKER_01: I think Fendor is a very good fighter,
14:36
SPEAKER_01: but there is some reasonable debate that I have within myself to say,
14:42
SPEAKER_01: you know, it's not unheard of because Ermal's thing is he's going to be avoidant.
14:48
SPEAKER_01: And the fight I don't want,
14:49
SPEAKER_01: and I was talking to my guy Tokers earlier this week, and it's on the podcast.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to fight like Tokers,
14:55
SPEAKER_01: like my guy Tokers,
14:57
SPEAKER_01: where we see Fundora walking towards him and he can't cut the ring off.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: And this guy's exiting out and he's headbutting.
15:03
SPEAKER_01: And they're holding.
15:06
SPEAKER_01: And we just have a weird, slow, bad fight.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like there's a very good possibility that Ermal comes to spoil.
15:15
SPEAKER_01: That he's, like Toker said, a professional spoiler.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: That he's coming there to make him look bad.
15:21
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like...
15:23
SPEAKER_01: Eight times out of 10.
15:25
SPEAKER_01: So if Indora wins this fight dominantly, he's really a guy.
15:29
SPEAKER_01: Because I think more than likely when you fight a guy
15:32
SPEAKER_01: where no one can pronounce his name, everyone's giggling at the matchup.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: The guy seems irrationally confident with the face.
15:40
SPEAKER_01: Typically, these guys overachieve on fight night.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: So this is really a test of Fendora on like you're fighting someone where it's
15:48
SPEAKER_01: the biggest moment of his life and it's just a tune up fight for you,
15:51
SPEAKER_01: but you have a belt.
15:53
SPEAKER_01: How do you perform in that stage?
15:54
SPEAKER_01: So I'd say that this is more so like a professional examination of Fendora,
15:59
SPEAKER_01: how he does in a in a high risk, low reward type matchup.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think the most recent fight I can remember,
16:07
SPEAKER_00: somebody coming to play spoiler and just survive was Canelo Alvarez's fight against
16:12
SPEAKER_00: the Cuban champion.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: But then even last weekend,
16:16
SPEAKER_00: we saw that,
16:16
SPEAKER_00: you know,
16:17
SPEAKER_00: Lucas Barri, he had some difficulty cutting off the ring against Floyd Schofield.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: And it worked for Floyd Schofield to outbox Lucas Barri in the championship rounds.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: Well,
16:28
SPEAKER_00: that brings up an interesting point that he could play spoiler and just come there
16:32
SPEAKER_00: to survive.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: And then we're all wondering what happened to Sebastian Fundora.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: He's got all these natural gifts.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: He should be able to cut off the ring very easily.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: That could be a very interesting thing.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: Also, it would give the fans their money's worth, though, because it could end rather quickly.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: That's how I see it.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: I think it's going to be difficult for him to get past six or seven
16:52
SPEAKER_00: if he actually is showing up to fight.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Devante and Bob Treat.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: I want to add to that.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Please.
17:01
SPEAKER_01: I want to add to that is I think that Ermal is showing up to fight,
17:06
SPEAKER_01: but he's showing up to fight his fight.
17:10
SPEAKER_01: And I think he fights like Sam Solomon.
17:13
SPEAKER_01: So it's like he fights like an octopus and watching the film study on him, he's all the way out.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: And then he ambush rushes you.
17:20
SPEAKER_01: And if Fandora, Fandora is going to have to really show us that he has distance on lock.
17:26
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
17:27
SPEAKER_01: And I think that what he's going to do is,
17:29
SPEAKER_01: Fundora has a lot of power in his left hand, that southpaw left.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: And my guess is when spoilers fight,
17:35
SPEAKER_01: because Jamonte Clark kind of did this too,
17:37
SPEAKER_01: and that's what it might,
17:38
SPEAKER_01: if this goes bad, it's going to look like Jamonte Clark who had a draw with Fundora.
17:41
SPEAKER_01: So I think he's going to attack the jab hand angle and force Fundora
17:46
SPEAKER_01: to find his range at distance and then kind of ambush.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: And I see head clashes and clinches and an ugly, ugly fight is the fight I'm seeing.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: I'd like to get your opinion on this too, Lukie.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: We talked recently on our former podcast that we've done about the Hall
18:05
SPEAKER_00: of Fame fighters and criteria for Hall of Fame fighters.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: And Sebastian Fundora, he seems to get a lot of pressure now.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: I think the pressure is mounting from social media and boxing fans for him to move up.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: And he's got this great opportunity,
18:22
SPEAKER_00: should he win this,
18:22
SPEAKER_00: to finally unify the missing puzzles and fighting Boots Ennis
18:27
SPEAKER_00: and potentially become undisputed,
18:29
SPEAKER_00: which I think, hey, that should be top of his goals, to become undisputed.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: But do you subscribe to what other fans are saying,
18:36
SPEAKER_00: that he's a weight bully and it's time for him to move up in weight?
18:41
SPEAKER_00: Or do you think, looking at his frame, that this guy is just meant to be that skinny?
18:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:49
SPEAKER_01: Tag me in, Coach.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: I don't believe weight bullies exist because as someone that wasn't all
18:54
SPEAKER_01: that talented at boxing and I had to work my butt off,
18:57
SPEAKER_01: basically that's a term used to punish hardworking good fighters
19:02
SPEAKER_01: who work extremely hard.
19:04
SPEAKER_01: And to shame them for working really hard and making a weight and doing things
19:09
SPEAKER_01: the right way and getting down in weight and not making excuses
19:12
SPEAKER_01: and making those sacrifices in the gym.
19:14
SPEAKER_01: So I'm sick of this term weight bully because all it is doing is just shaming people
19:19
SPEAKER_01: that Shouldn't be shamed.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: Everything about making Fendora is what we want in the sport.
19:23
SPEAKER_01: Yes, he's a little awkward at times.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: But guess what?
19:25
SPEAKER_01: He's a fighter.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: That's probably why he fights is he's awkward.
19:29
SPEAKER_01: He seems extremely sincere.
19:30
SPEAKER_01: And he really, like, you never have seen him come in out of shape.
19:35
SPEAKER_01: He always shows up to the press events.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: He tries his hardest to do the press events.
19:39
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes he's weird at the press events, but he's a boxer.
19:43
SPEAKER_01: And I just don't like this notion that Of, okay,
19:46
SPEAKER_01: he's 6'6",
19:48
SPEAKER_01: so he should fight at other weight classes that make more interesting fights.
19:52
SPEAKER_01: If he's fully capable of making this weight class and he's going in the ring
19:56
SPEAKER_01: for our entertainment while endangering his life,
19:59
SPEAKER_01: I'm completely fine with whatever weight class he deems.
20:03
SPEAKER_01: And it's up to his opponents to make him wonder, should I move up in weight?
20:08
SPEAKER_00: That's my opinion.
20:11
SPEAKER_00: So if you guys did miss that episode,
20:13
SPEAKER_00: Lukie and I did on 2027 Hall of Fame nominees, I think it's here on Substack.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: And my opinion was that absolutely you can be a Hall of Fame fighter
20:25
SPEAKER_00: if you even just stayed at one weight division and dominated.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: We talked about fighters like Sergio María Martinez, who's up for ballot next year.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Gennady Golovkin is a great example of a fighter who stayed in
20:36
SPEAKER_00: the same weight division and dominated for many, many consecutive fights.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: So I do think it's fully possible maybe he just stays at this weight class forever.
20:45
SPEAKER_00: Although I personally would love to see him move up if he does become undisputed,
20:50
SPEAKER_00: at least move up to middleweight and see how he can fare there.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: But it just seems like,
20:54
SPEAKER_00: you know,
20:55
SPEAKER_00: I will agree with some people here in the chat that it just seems like he's one
20:58
SPEAKER_00: of those guys who's going to forever perpetually be thin.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: And have a difficult time actually putting on muscle mass.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: And he has been knocked out at this weight class.
21:09
SPEAKER_00: So as guilty pleasure of it would be for me to say he should jump all the way up
21:13
SPEAKER_00: to super middleweight with all these great crop of fighters,
21:17
SPEAKER_00: you know, it could be a very dangerous move for him too.
21:24
SPEAKER_01: Devontae in the chat said, I think it's wild that he goes to Harvard.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: I also love that I brought that up in the media press conference
21:31
SPEAKER_01: because it seems like Fundora always is kind of bored.
21:35
SPEAKER_01: And he basically shut down my question by saying, hey,
21:37
SPEAKER_01: if I don't bring it up,
21:39
SPEAKER_01: just don't acknowledge it, which I kind of don't love, right?
21:43
SPEAKER_01: Because it's like, well, first off, everyone that goes to Harvard always brings up Harvard.
21:47
SPEAKER_01: But it's like when you're in the public eye and you show that you're going
21:52
SPEAKER_01: to Harvard, that's really fascinating.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: And it's like a movie.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: It's like making this.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: We're in the trailer to like, what's a movie that we like?
21:59
SPEAKER_01: Like, let's say that there's like Rocky six coming out and we're like,
22:02
SPEAKER_01: oh, Rocky six is coming out and there's a trailer.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: And then we asked the director and he's like,
22:06
SPEAKER_01: hey man, when I, when I'm ready to show you the movie, I'll show you the movie.
22:12
SPEAKER_01: And then to basically say I'm the owner and author of my story when I release
22:14
SPEAKER_01: the information to the journal.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: And I think that in my opinion,
22:29
SPEAKER_01: Fundora is someone that's kind of struggled to get people behind him
22:33
SPEAKER_01: because he's very private and very kind of introverted and he lets his actions do
22:37
SPEAKER_01: the talking.
22:38
SPEAKER_01: It kind of summed up the awkwardness of the Fundora fight week to me was
22:43
SPEAKER_01: that little interaction because it's like he's a superstar boxer,
22:48
SPEAKER_01: but there's like...
22:50
SPEAKER_01: It's just a secretive superstar.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: There's no embrace of the spotlight.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: It's like I'm with my family.
22:57
SPEAKER_01: We're away from everyone.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: We're not going to fully tell you who we spar.
23:00
SPEAKER_01: We're not going to talk about it.
23:02
SPEAKER_01: It's very secretive.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: And then I'm
23:06
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
23:06
SPEAKER_01: I feel like that makes it so Fundora always has to win.
23:11
SPEAKER_01: And if he were to lose,
23:13
SPEAKER_01: I feel like the connection with the fans won't be the same as,
23:16
SPEAKER_01: say, maybe, I don't know, Virgil Ortiz, who's like a little bit more open bookish.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
23:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I agree.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: Devontae says exactly.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: And he has a superstar sister.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: That one time I met Sebastian was the first fight with...
23:33
SPEAKER_00: Tim Zhu.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: And prior to the fight, I got to talk with him.
23:36
SPEAKER_00: And what struck me was how incredibly bright and articulate he is as a person.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: And I think he did predict that him
23:43
SPEAKER_00: and his sister would be world champions simultaneously, which came to fruition.
23:49
SPEAKER_00: Also on this card is that,
23:50
SPEAKER_00: you know, I mentioned Charlo earlier that Charlo was supposed to be on this card.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: And now he has a pattern that we've seen of getting injured before fights.
23:57
SPEAKER_01: Dakota went viral for this too,
23:59
SPEAKER_01: by the way, because he did the whole, they're unreliable people.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: Oh, for Dakota.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Dakota just going like, no, why did they get a million chances?
24:09
SPEAKER_01: Like, are they going to show up on time?
24:12
SPEAKER_01: That was a big moment in Dakota's life going viral.
24:14
SPEAKER_01: I think even like some supporter of the Charlos shared it and said that he sucked.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: So big, big Dakota week.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome for him.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: Well, speaking about upsets, I got to watch Armando Resendiz win that fight against Caleb Plant.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: And that was one of those fights where I went in wanting
24:33
SPEAKER_00: to see Caleb Plant look great and beat this fighter that I had never heard of,
24:38
SPEAKER_00: Armando Resendiz.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: And then halfway through the fight,
24:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm sitting there with our group of friends and I'm going,
24:42
SPEAKER_00: this guy's really going to pull off an upset.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden, I'm rooting for Armando Resendiz.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: He's on the card.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: He's a last minute replacement.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: 16-3, 11 KOs against Cohen Masudir.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: So when Lukie comes back, I'm going to ask him.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: He said he thinks there's some other highly likely chances of an upset.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: Being that Armando Resendiz is the last minute replacement,
25:05
SPEAKER_00: maybe he wasn't preparing, although he was staying busy.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: As some of these fighters that take these last minute fights are always in camp.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: They stay busy so they can pick up the phone.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: Lukie, is Armando Resendiz versus Coen Mazudier, is that an upset?
25:21
SPEAKER_00: Is that the upset you were talking about,
25:22
SPEAKER_00: a likely upset on this card,
25:25
SPEAKER_00: that Coen Mazudier could upset the former world champion Armando Resendiz?
25:32
SPEAKER_01: Let your boy Lukie
25:33
SPEAKER_00: cook right here.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: Go for it.
25:34
SPEAKER_01: And I'm looking like Emperor Palpatine right here with a super light beer
25:39
SPEAKER_01: that has 3% alcohol in it at all.
25:43
SPEAKER_01: Look, everything about this fight is weird.
25:46
SPEAKER_01: And now fight week's become weird.
25:50
SPEAKER_01: Keon or Quinn didn't show up to the press conference today, which that's weird.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: It's like you're not at the press event, so that's strange.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: You look like you're homeless.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
26:06
SPEAKER_01: Let me go back to a balding man, so I look like a football coach now.
26:12
SPEAKER_01: Let me also put on my big ring.
26:16
SPEAKER_01: Look at that big ring.
26:19
SPEAKER_01: Why was Resendez not the original opponent?
26:22
SPEAKER_01: He's like a top rated fighter who just suffered a loss to Munguia earlier this year.
26:29
SPEAKER_01: Why was Charlo the opponent?
26:31
SPEAKER_01: And by the way, I get Charlo fighting him in Australia.
26:35
SPEAKER_01: But why?
26:36
SPEAKER_01: Like this matchup wasn't compelling.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't exciting.
26:39
SPEAKER_01: Why was this matchup moved differently?
26:42
SPEAKER_01: And then,
26:43
SPEAKER_01: of course,
26:43
SPEAKER_01: Charlo's going to get injured
26:45
SPEAKER_01: because it's like both Charlo brothers have been inactive.
26:48
SPEAKER_01: His other brother, Jermell Charlo, hasn't fought since he fought Canelo.
26:54
SPEAKER_01: Who knows if he ever returns.
26:55
SPEAKER_01: In the chat,
26:56
SPEAKER_01: my guy Fan,
26:57
SPEAKER_01: who I absolutely love Fan, he gives me all, keeps me sharp on film study.
27:01
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, because Charlo needs an easy touch.
27:03
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the sentiment, right?
27:05
SPEAKER_01: Is like...
27:06
SPEAKER_01: Why does Jermall Charlo get an easy touch at this point?
27:10
SPEAKER_01: Like, what about what he's contributed to boxing does that?
27:13
SPEAKER_01: Does he have enough fans to merit an easy touch?
27:16
SPEAKER_01: Like, what is the reasoning for that?
27:21
SPEAKER_01: And then the fact that his replacement is Resendez,
27:25
SPEAKER_01: a former world champion who just lost to Munguia, who's ranked...
27:29
SPEAKER_01: That's actually a better fight.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: And the fact that the replacement is actually a better fight,
27:34
SPEAKER_01: and it kind of speaks to the problem with boxing too,
27:37
SPEAKER_01: is we're getting into people enjoy people's personalities.
27:41
SPEAKER_01: And guys that just kind of say stuff and do IRLs.
27:46
SPEAKER_01: I know we're doing a stream, but we're doing a stream for boxing people.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: But it seems like a lot of people enjoy...
27:51
SPEAKER_01: Just jumping on a stream,
27:53
SPEAKER_01: guys that do things,
27:55
SPEAKER_01: kind of chaotic life that they wouldn't really want, but they do crazy stuff.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: They wouldn't want their kids to do it, but they're fascinated by it.
28:04
SPEAKER_01: And I mean, I don't think Mazzoutier...
28:10
SPEAKER_01: He's all that good.
28:11
SPEAKER_01: I think he's pretty limited.
28:13
SPEAKER_01: But like Resendez up until he beat Caleb Plant was viewed as a gatekeeper.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: He came in as a prospect and then he lost to Elijah Garcia and he had struggled
28:22
SPEAKER_01: with Marky Hernandez and Kilo the Kid.
28:24
SPEAKER_01: I mean, to me, this is just like...
28:28
SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm kind of worried Mazzoutier beats him.
28:31
SPEAKER_01: And then we get the mega main event fight next year between Jamal Charlo and Mazzoutier.
28:36
SPEAKER_01: And we're told that it's actually a fight that we've been wanting to see.
28:40
SPEAKER_01: But I mean, this is just the strangest fight I've ever seen.
28:44
SPEAKER_01: You have to wonder how prepared Resendez is.
28:47
SPEAKER_01: Maybe he doesn't need to be prepared,
28:49
SPEAKER_01: but I'm a little nervous for this fight because Mazzoutier isn't that great.
28:54
SPEAKER_01: But he's had two full training camps.
28:57
SPEAKER_01: And Resendez took the fight on two, three weeks notice.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: He probably was training to be on an undercard or something.
29:03
SPEAKER_01: But wouldn't you say that's a little concerning?
29:06
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's definitely concerning in that fight where Tim Zhu and Sebastian Fundora,
29:12
SPEAKER_00: their very first fight.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: I remember speaking to Brian Mendoza, who found himself in these shoes.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: Brian Mendoza, a local Las Vegas fighter, who famously knocked out Sebastian Fundora.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: He stays ready.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: He stays fit.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: He's always working out with that great Cuban coach.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: He came in as a last-minute guy,
29:29
SPEAKER_00: but he was in deep waters with Sergei Bohecek,
29:33
SPEAKER_00: which I would not compare Sergei Bohecek Two years ago version
29:37
SPEAKER_00: against this Cohen Mazudir.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: But, you know,
29:40
SPEAKER_00: these are those type of fights where you jump in and maybe you're not expecting
29:44
SPEAKER_00: to see some.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: Most definitely that fight.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: Brian Mendoza took a took a pretty good beating in that fight against Serhii Bogacek.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: Maybe things don't go as expected,
29:56
SPEAKER_00: even if you think you're ready to fight as a replacement fighter.
29:59
SPEAKER_00: Right.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: I don't see it.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: I don't see that guy.
30:03
SPEAKER_00: You said he didn't even show up to the press conference today.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: That's very weird.
30:07
SPEAKER_01: I think this is a levels fight, right?
30:10
SPEAKER_01: Everything about this just says there's two different levels.
30:12
SPEAKER_01: It's a domestic level fighter who wasn't even that great of
30:15
SPEAKER_01: a domestic level fighter, in my opinion, not throwing shade at Mizzou Diar.
30:19
SPEAKER_01: And then you got Resendez, who's probably like a mid-level elite level fighter.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: He's truly an elite fighter,
30:27
SPEAKER_01: but he's going to struggle with those top,
30:29
SPEAKER_01: top guys that maybe have a game plan and stuff.
30:33
SPEAKER_01: Um...
30:35
SPEAKER_01: Resendez did show up to the public workouts and he's in shape.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: So the fight's over, right?
30:40
SPEAKER_01: If Resendez is in shape and Resendez is focused,
30:43
SPEAKER_01: I think the fight is as simple as the two different levels of guys, right?
30:50
SPEAKER_01: So there it is.
30:51
SPEAKER_01: Fight's over.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: We've already found out the result.
30:54
SPEAKER_01: Can we talk about my guy, Marco Romero, that is on the undercard opening up the TV.
31:00
SPEAKER_01: The good fight, I'm going to have a story.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: Bob Triger is in the chat.
31:05
SPEAKER_01: PR specialist for Marco Romero.
31:08
SPEAKER_01: And once again, like, okay, we've got the Charlo brother.
31:11
SPEAKER_01: The Charlo that pulls out and he does all this stuff.
31:13
SPEAKER_01: Here's Marco Romero.
31:14
SPEAKER_01: Doesn't get signed by a major promoter until recently.
31:17
SPEAKER_01: And then what does he do?
31:19
SPEAKER_01: He gets, I don't know, 13, 14 fights over two years.
31:24
SPEAKER_01: Does it on his own, essentially.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: Well, you never do it on your own.
31:27
SPEAKER_01: You have backing of your family and those that support and believe.
31:30
SPEAKER_01: There's never truly a loan.
31:32
SPEAKER_01: But he goes and makes something happen.
31:34
SPEAKER_01: And now he's 15-0, 13 knockouts.
31:37
SPEAKER_01: And most of his knockouts,
31:38
SPEAKER_01: I think all of his knockouts are in the first two rounds, split some ratio.
31:43
SPEAKER_01: I haven't done the math.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: And he's just an interesting fighter, right?
31:46
SPEAKER_01: But we're in this era where we don't love prospects the same way.
31:52
SPEAKER_01: Yes, we love my guy, Jamal Harvey.
31:54
SPEAKER_01: We love Omari Jones.
31:56
SPEAKER_01: We love Omari Jones.
31:57
SPEAKER_01: We love certain guys that are coming up.
32:00
SPEAKER_01: But it doesn't seem like we have the same love affair
32:03
SPEAKER_01: of watching young fighters rise as in years past.
32:07
SPEAKER_01: Especially with the Saudi money,
32:08
SPEAKER_01: it feels like people have really become obsessed with,
32:16
SPEAKER_01: hey man, is Devin fighting Shakur?
32:19
SPEAKER_01: Oh man, better be versus Bivel.
32:21
SPEAKER_01: And it feels like people have slowly stopped watching those young up and comers.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: And I'm really excited to see a 20 year old Marco Romero who's invested
32:30
SPEAKER_01: in his career, built a team around himself.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: He's training in Kansas.
32:33
SPEAKER_01: He wants to be there.
32:34
SPEAKER_01: He's a Kansas boxer.
32:36
SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to see how he handles opening up a card on TNT Sports.
32:41
SPEAKER_01: It's a big opportunity for him.
32:43
SPEAKER_01: And he's someone that I think people should have an impression of,
32:47
SPEAKER_01: but he's flown under the radar because of this three-year window he turned pro in.
32:52
SPEAKER_01: Has been one of the weirdest windows for young fighters to get exposed
32:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Let me just give up some quick notes on him.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: Marco Romero,
33:03
SPEAKER_00: nickname El Tiburón,
33:05
SPEAKER_00: which reminds me of Andy El Tiburón Vences, just to share the same nickname.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: It's been a while since we've had it.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: El Tiburón, who's been active.
33:13
SPEAKER_00: 15-0 with 13 knockouts.
33:15
SPEAKER_00: Actually, my good friend, my co-host, alerted me to this fighter and his team.
33:21
SPEAKER_00: 23 national titles.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: Very impressive.
33:24
SPEAKER_01: And Christian Billy's sparring partner, too.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: That's impressive, too.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: That's really impressive.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: 23 national titles.
33:32
SPEAKER_00: Also, there was a great moment in boxing history when we had those two Kansas fighters.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: We had Vicious Victor Ortiz and the other kid that grew up with Brandon Rios.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: So it's been a while since we've had a Mexican-American fighter coming out of
33:49
SPEAKER_00: that region of Kansas.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: So I'm ready to watch him.
33:52
SPEAKER_00: You're very high on him.
33:57
SPEAKER_01: Look, nobody knows what they're doing in life at 20 years old,
34:01
SPEAKER_01: but he's built up a good record and he looks like the goods
34:04
SPEAKER_01: and it's obvious he's going to have,
34:06
SPEAKER_01: like every one of us,
34:08
SPEAKER_01: but especially fighters, you have setbacks, you have set forwards, etc.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: But I think that it's promising to see a young fighter in
34:16
SPEAKER_01: the middleweight division emerge and I think we're missing exciting up-and-comers,
34:22
SPEAKER_01: to be perfectly honest.
34:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, actually, I feel like the middleweight division is greatly improved right now.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: The landscape is looking good.
34:29
SPEAKER_00: You've got Melnecki, Ramos Jr. with PBC, Tim Zhu with PBC, Lara with PBC.
34:37
SPEAKER_00: It's a very exciting division.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: Hernandez.
34:42
SPEAKER_00: Yuenle Hernandez,
34:42
SPEAKER_00: just a lot of great opportunities in this weight division to watch a prospect turn
34:47
SPEAKER_00: into a contender.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: So I'm excited about that too.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Marco Romero and his team if they're watching this.
34:55
SPEAKER_00: Really quickly before we get off the air, Lukie,
34:58
SPEAKER_00: hopefully we get to do a show next week,
35:00
SPEAKER_00: but Halloween is quickly going to fall upon us and there's supposed to be
35:04
SPEAKER_00: a massive card called Mexico vs. the World, headlined by Canelo Alvarez and Canelo.
35:09
SPEAKER_00: Versus Christian and Billy, who you just said Marco Romero is one of his sparring partners.
35:13
SPEAKER_00: The fight's supposed to take place in Riyadh,
35:15
SPEAKER_00: and unfortunately, Riyadh has been under attack lately.
35:20
SPEAKER_01: In the past few weeks,
35:22
SPEAKER_01: which isn't good,
35:22
SPEAKER_01: by the way,
35:23
SPEAKER_01: no matter where you stand on it,
35:25
SPEAKER_01: we want people there's civilians everywhere and we don't want anyone dealing with
35:32
SPEAKER_01: with the horrors of war, no matter what you think anywhere in the world.
35:37
SPEAKER_01: We don't want we don't endorse anything.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: That's absolutely right.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: Today, I wasn't surprised by the video that Oscar De La Jolla put out
35:46
SPEAKER_00: on his clap hack Thursday,
35:48
SPEAKER_00: but I touched on it personally, my feelings on it on my podcast on Monday.
35:53
SPEAKER_00: And I spoke about that,
35:55
SPEAKER_00: you know, most likely Canelo Alvarez is going to fly into a private airplane.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: Private airport for Saudi government that,
36:02
SPEAKER_00: you know,
36:03
SPEAKER_00: he wouldn't have to go the normal route where tourists are being advised by the U.S.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: government.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: Even the Mexico government is advising people to do not fly to Riyadh.
36:14
SPEAKER_00: There was a tragedy the past weekend.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: I think over 13 lives were lost.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: I personally have our we have a good coach friend,
36:20
SPEAKER_00: Jason Gallegos of Las Vegas Flight Club here, who is training Lorenzo Parra.
36:25
SPEAKER_00: Lorenzo Parra had this unbelievable knockout win that earned him an opportunity
36:30
SPEAKER_00: against,
36:30
SPEAKER_00: was it Elijah Pierce,
36:32
SPEAKER_00: just a few months back,
36:34
SPEAKER_00: put himself in position and the sanctioning bodies did the right thing,
36:36
SPEAKER_00: said, you're next.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: And we were ecstatic to find out he's going to fight Rafael El Divino Espinosa.
36:43
SPEAKER_00: But under these circumstances, you can't help but
36:45
SPEAKER_01: worry about...
36:47
SPEAKER_00: You know, you have a whole team of hardworking people right here.
36:52
SPEAKER_00: He's, you know, coaches, cut man, a whole team risking.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know what's going to happen with that fight, Lukie.
36:59
SPEAKER_00: I know that the zone.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: Can you snitch?
37:02
SPEAKER_01: Can you tell on your buddy?
37:04
SPEAKER_01: What's the sentiment from them in the gym?
37:07
SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm curious about the coaches and the undercard fighters.
37:10
SPEAKER_01: What are they thinking of the situation?
37:13
SPEAKER_00: My only knowledge is from close friends to him that they're preparing to fight.
37:18
SPEAKER_00: You know, like this is a world.
37:19
SPEAKER_00: This is obviously I'm just speculating that everybody's concerned.
37:24
SPEAKER_00: Obviously,
37:25
SPEAKER_00: even the zone staff is saying,
37:27
SPEAKER_00: are we really flying out there for this with just two weeks left to go?
37:31
SPEAKER_00: They've already made the Saudi people have already made a commitment
37:35
SPEAKER_00: to postpone some other events.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: So I'm just waiting to hear if they will postpone this event
37:41
SPEAKER_00: or possibly consider moving it to somewhere like Las Vegas in November,
37:45
SPEAKER_00: which I think ultimately would be the wisest thing to do.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: What insight do you want the brilliant Lukie to try to provide?
37:56
SPEAKER_00: The insight is,
38:00
SPEAKER_00: Canelo Harvays is making over $50 million per fight like this,
38:03
SPEAKER_00: but everybody else is working day to day,
38:06
SPEAKER_00: hard to provide for their families, and it's not worth risking your life.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it might be a great payday,
38:13
SPEAKER_00: but your life and your family,
38:16
SPEAKER_00: you can't put a value on that if it's a dangerous situation right now.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: My feeling is there's no sum of money that's worth your life being in danger,
38:28
SPEAKER_01: and that's not even $50 million.
38:31
SPEAKER_01: My irresponsible conspiracy, Lukie,
38:34
SPEAKER_01: and everyone knows sometimes conspiracy,
38:36
SPEAKER_01: Lukie, pops up from time to time on the podcast.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: My wonder is this.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: Do you think that this is a game of chicken between the promotion or the Saudis
38:52
SPEAKER_01: and Canelo around who's on the hook for maybe the money?
38:57
SPEAKER_01: Because it just doesn't seem... That's like the only logical thing, right?
39:04
SPEAKER_01: Because everything else points to, at this present time...
39:10
SPEAKER_01: This shouldn't happen.
39:12
SPEAKER_01: And I believe this card got pushed back once.
39:16
SPEAKER_01: Was it because of an injury or just because of Ryan Garcia?
39:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're right.
39:20
SPEAKER_00: It was originally scheduled to be Mexican Independence Day.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: And then the preferred fighter for that was the Ryan Garcia Showdown.
39:28
SPEAKER_00: And here in Las Vegas.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: So it was pushed once.
39:32
SPEAKER_01: So my cynical, lukie perspective is...
39:39
SPEAKER_01: It feels like this is about people not wanting to get paid or people wanting to get paid.
39:45
SPEAKER_01: And with Canelo and Canelo's fights,
39:48
SPEAKER_01: when he makes so much money, he's sucking the air out of the room.
39:52
SPEAKER_01: So everybody gets to breathe about 10% of oxygen because Canelo's breathing 90% of it.
39:58
SPEAKER_01: So the rest of the people are just sitting there wondering what's going to happen
40:01
SPEAKER_01: because to me, the decision comes down to Canelo.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: And the Saudis.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: And it comes down to is Canelo getting paid or is he not getting paid?
40:10
SPEAKER_01: Are people OK postponing?
40:13
SPEAKER_01: It comes down to the things that we're not privy to, which are contracts.
40:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I hope to hear something,
40:21
SPEAKER_00: whether or not they'll be moving forward in the next week or so, as you know.
40:27
SPEAKER_00: Dave, let me interrupt you.
40:42
SPEAKER_01: You tell me why this would why this is still ongoing, given like the airports shut down.
40:50
SPEAKER_01: It seems like a crazy situation.
40:52
SPEAKER_01: At the very least, it seems like, you know, there's unrest.
40:57
SPEAKER_01: What's the rational explanation you can come up with why there's no no announcement of anything?
41:05
SPEAKER_00: It's just speculation, Lukie, but perhaps there's some financial troubles.
41:12
SPEAKER_00: There's some financial troubles.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: You look at what happened with the golf,
41:16
SPEAKER_00: with the live investment, and there's that game of chicken you're talking about.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: Well, maybe Canelo will breach his contract and say, I'm not fighting.
41:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going there.
41:30
SPEAKER_00: And he breaches the contract.
41:31
SPEAKER_00: And then they're not obligated to pay him his $50 million.
41:34
SPEAKER_00: And everybody suffers.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: Everybody that's been announced to fight on that card suffers.
41:39
SPEAKER_00: That's the only thing I could legitimately think.
41:41
SPEAKER_00: Like you said, you bring up a great point.
41:43
SPEAKER_00: Are they playing chicken with this?
41:44
SPEAKER_01: I want to say one other thing, too.
41:48
SPEAKER_01: In the chat, my guy fan said, is Charles Lolo Harris going to win easy?
41:52
SPEAKER_01: And I don't think he's going to win easy because he's taken on Misael Cabrera.
41:59
SPEAKER_01: And...
42:01
SPEAKER_01: He's a pretty darn good fighter, and he fought in that WBC Grand Prix.
42:06
SPEAKER_01: You look at his losses,
42:07
SPEAKER_01: and it's like to Luis Torres Valenzuela,
42:14
SPEAKER_01: he lost to, I believe, an eye of the Tiger fighter.
42:17
SPEAKER_01: You know,
42:17
SPEAKER_01: this is going to be a real exam for Lolo Harris because Lolo Harris,
42:22
SPEAKER_01: to me, coming out of the amateurs, we all know the story.
42:25
SPEAKER_01: There was the rumors that he sparred Gervonta Davis really well,
42:28
SPEAKER_01: went pro at like 15 or 16, has an amazing jab, amazing distance.
42:33
SPEAKER_01: But then he got knocked out in Mexico, I want to say, in like very, very early in his career.
42:39
SPEAKER_01: Let me look and see when it was.
42:42
SPEAKER_01: It was his one.
42:45
SPEAKER_01: It was he was his fifth pro fight.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: He gets knocked out by a fighter two and three in Mexico.
42:50
SPEAKER_01: And without knowing anything about the information,
42:52
SPEAKER_01: I would assume when a fighter as talented as him has that,
42:56
SPEAKER_01: that would be a combination of age and a bad weight cut.
43:00
SPEAKER_01: Right.
43:00
SPEAKER_01: More than likely, without knowing anything, that would be my guess.
43:04
SPEAKER_01: Looking at that from that perspective.
43:07
SPEAKER_01: Um, and obviously Lolo trains with Bo Mack and Bo Mack's a really good trainer and all that.
43:12
SPEAKER_01: But I think this is like, we've all seen the potential and the talent with Lolo, right?
43:18
SPEAKER_01: And when he got knocked out in 2021,
43:22
SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of us like boxing nerds,
43:25
SPEAKER_01: because I did an interview with Lolo right after he turned pro during the pandemic.
43:30
SPEAKER_01: And I I think this is going to be the first fight where we see where does Lolo sit
43:38
SPEAKER_01: in the sport.
43:39
SPEAKER_01: I would favor him to win it.
43:40
SPEAKER_01: I think he's an elite talent.
43:42
SPEAKER_01: But this is the type of guy that's going to start to ask questions
43:46
SPEAKER_01: that might be uncomfortable, right?
43:48
SPEAKER_01: This is the first guy that I think is coming into the fight and saying, hey, I'm going to win.
43:54
SPEAKER_01: And when he says...
43:57
SPEAKER_01: Is he going to win easy?
43:59
SPEAKER_01: I think he could win easy if he uses a jab,
44:02
SPEAKER_01: but I think what's interesting about the fight is,
44:04
SPEAKER_01: will a jab be enough to keep someone off at that next level?
44:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it looks like he's fighting.
44:10
SPEAKER_00: Is he fighting Misa El Cabrera?
44:13
SPEAKER_00: El Pichon?
44:16
SPEAKER_01: Tomorrow on ProBox TV, get the membership, $5.
44:20
SPEAKER_01: It's going to be a good night of fights,
44:22
SPEAKER_01: but he's going to be fighting on that telecast yesterday.
44:26
SPEAKER_00: Who's on that Pro Box card?
44:28
SPEAKER_00: I think I saw the main event, but who's the main event on that tomorrow?
44:32
SPEAKER_01: It's going to be Freddy Rojas against Kevin Anton.
44:36
SPEAKER_01: Kevin Anton is kind of like the new Sebastian Vendora.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: He trains with Sam Contreras.
44:42
SPEAKER_01: Justin Paldo versus Rene Telly's getter on.
44:46
SPEAKER_01: We got Brian Acosta.
44:48
SPEAKER_01: It's just a solid fight.
44:50
SPEAKER_01: Like the thing about Pro Box is for $5,
44:52
SPEAKER_01: you get good fights and it's more of like a hardcore boxing enthusiast card.
44:57
SPEAKER_01: So if you want to see good matchups, good fighters, blue collar fighters that'll risk it.
45:03
SPEAKER_01: More than likely,
45:04
SPEAKER_01: it'll probably be better than the Daniel Dubois-Wardley card and the PBC card,
45:09
SPEAKER_01: but you don't get the pageantry.
45:12
SPEAKER_01: You don't get the quote-unquote names and all that stuff,
45:15
SPEAKER_01: so you have to just be willing to want to watch good fights,
45:17
SPEAKER_01: and that's kind of the thing,
45:19
SPEAKER_01: but I think Paldo would be an interesting opponent for him.
45:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I got a chance to watch Freud's Rojas fight sometime back here in Las Vegas.
45:31
SPEAKER_00: What do you make of his development so far?
45:36
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think he's a stop start guy.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: And what I mean by that is like,
45:41
SPEAKER_01: you know,
45:41
SPEAKER_01: he was a good amateur,
45:43
SPEAKER_01: but he had the great misfortune of being right behind Tiger Johnson,
45:48
SPEAKER_01: who was just a tad bit better than him.
45:51
SPEAKER_01: So probably in any other era, he would have been a little bit higher rated.
45:56
SPEAKER_01: And then he started to establish himself.
45:59
SPEAKER_01: I feel like he had moments where he found himself on television undercards at
46:03
SPEAKER_01: the end of Showtime.
46:05
SPEAKER_01: And he tried to make the leap, but he never quite fought that next level guy.
46:10
SPEAKER_01: He fought guys like Saul Bostos and Maurice Lee.
46:14
SPEAKER_01: But his first real step up is Damien Samurai Sosa, who's promoted by Toscano Boxing Promotions.
46:22
SPEAKER_01: George Toscano,
46:23
SPEAKER_01: who's actually running a show at the Chicken Ranch Casino this weekend in Jamestown,
46:28
SPEAKER_01: California.
46:29
SPEAKER_01: So if anyone wants to go see boxing, go out there to the...
46:32
SPEAKER_01: To that show,
46:33
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to be running two different podcasts after each one for the good fight,
46:38
SPEAKER_01: so I will not be able to attend.
46:40
SPEAKER_01: But look,
46:40
SPEAKER_01: if we're going to be honest, Sosa,
46:42
SPEAKER_01: Samurai Sosa beat Marquez Valle, who was a pretty good prospect with Pro Box TV.
46:49
SPEAKER_01: But he's kind of a what-you-see-is-what-you-get guy.
46:51
SPEAKER_01: And Xander Zay has handled him pretty well.
46:54
SPEAKER_01: And for Freddy Rojas to get beat the way he lost and get dropped by Samurai Sosa,
47:01
SPEAKER_01: I felt as though that kind of showed like a ceiling.
47:05
SPEAKER_01: And now you're getting in with Kevin Anton,
47:07
SPEAKER_01: who's A very similar tall pressure fighter like a Fundora.
47:14
SPEAKER_01: And he's taking it on short notice.
47:16
SPEAKER_01: He came in as a late sub.
47:18
SPEAKER_01: I think that we've kind of seen this movie.
47:20
SPEAKER_01: This is the guy that, what was it in Camp Crystal Lake in Friday the 13th?
47:24
SPEAKER_01: The guy saying, go, run away, run away.
47:27
SPEAKER_01: I feel like we're getting those signs and Freddy Rojas is saying, no, I'm okay.
47:31
SPEAKER_01: I'm okay.
47:32
SPEAKER_01: I can do this.
47:33
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, maybe he can.
47:37
SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
47:38
SPEAKER_00: We got some good fights this weekend, man.
47:39
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate you inviting me to do the show tonight.
47:42
SPEAKER_00: And I definitely want to do a show next weekend with you as we lead up
47:45
SPEAKER_00: into whatever happens with this October 31 Mexico versus the world.
47:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm Dave in the 702.
47:52
SPEAKER_00: You guys can also find me on Shoeshine Boxing at YouTube.
47:55
SPEAKER_00: Lukie, I really appreciate you inviting me on and we'll do it again next week.