State of boxing garners intriguing future following last week's fights

There was ALOT that went down this past week in the world of boxing. The incredible fight between Liam Wilson and Emmanuel Navarrate, Amanda Serrano becoming undisputed, Nico Ali Walsh and Richard Torrez Jr continuing to gradually ascend. With all this subject matter let's get into the specifics.

2/2/23- Eye of the Tiger Management Card

I believe this promotion is associated with Top Rank which is why I was even able to watch it when it popped up on ESPN+ this past Thursday. Regardless, I was exposed to some promising Canadian prospects whose ability far exceeded the amount of experience each fighter had and for that deserve recognition.

1. Wilkens Mathieu

This 18-year-old made his debut on the Eye of the Tiger card and looked as though he had been boxing since he could walk. The distance management was incredible along with his timing as well as his sharp punching technique. It was genuinely shocking to see an 18-year-old look so comfortable in his professional debut as he scored an easy first round TKO against an opponent who was also making his professional debut. He already appears to have a date set for his next fight which is March 23rd but no official opponent. Very promising future for this fighter.

2. Avery Martin-Duval

Another fighter who is younger than me and incredibly skilled but appears to be a very polished fighter. In his fight against Eduardo Mota Garcia, Martin-Duval was switching stances while remaining equally as effective from both sides and eventually knocked Mota Garcia out on his feet with a left hook in the third round to end the fight. Not sure when he will compete again, but his style is very smooth and fluid for a 21-year-old. Do not let the smooth style fool you because he is more than willing to stand his ground in the pocket if need be.

2/3/23- Top Rank Boxing on ESPN Navarrete vs Wilson

This card was an excellent display for the sport, young up and comers continuing to win and improve with each fight. A gritty display by veteran proving he is still more than capable of giving any surging contender a legit test. And the cherry on top was the excellent main event for the junior lightweight championship of the world.

1. Nico Ali Walsh

Nico Ali Walsh has notched eight fights under his belt since making his debut in August of 2021. His most recent win being against Eduardo Ayala in a fight where grandson of Muhammed Ali looked like an ever-evolving fighter compared to who we saw in his first professional bout. Ayala was unbeaten when facing undefeated fighters and had a solid 9-2 record, but Ali Walsh passed that test with flying colors and looks to be ever developing.

2. Richard Torrez Jr.

An Olympic silver medalist who is 5-0 as a professional, Torrez Jr opened up the main card with a first round TKO over James Bryant who did not look nearly as developed as Torrez. All things considered; Torrez has a berserker type of style along with blinding speed for a heavyweight. He has not faced the stiffest competition thus far in his career but is looking to continue up the rankings and already has another fight booked for March 25th. Considering how active he is looking to be this year I am intrigued to see the ceiling for a former Olmypic medalist.

3. Arnold Barboza Jr. vs Jose Pedraza

The co-main event was an incredible display from both fighters. Arnold Barboza Jr showed glimpses of brilliance despite Jose Pedraza not being even remotely deterred stealing a few late rounds and finding openings for his own punches. While it was clear that Pedraza needed a knockout by the time the final round began, he was consistently forcing Barboza to fight on the back foot and simply staying in his face which made the fight incredibly competitive. Pedraza deserves mass amounts of credit for this performance because he has only lost to the absolute best and is a former two division champion. Barboza on the flipside is now being mentioned in the same breath as Teófimo López which is honestly a very intriguing matchup given how Barboza looked against Pedraza and how López looked against Sandor Martin.

4. Emmanuel Navarrete

The main event was excellent given the circumstances surrounding it. Shakur Stevenson was stripped of the WBO junior lightweight/super featherweight title (same thing) after missing weight against Robson Conceição meaning the result of that fight no longer mattered. The opportunity was then presented to the WBO featherweight and junior featherweight title holder Emmanuel Navarrete to become a three-division champ. Navarrete's original opponent was meant to be Óscar Valdez, who had to withdraw with an injury in mid-December. Thus, Liam Wilson of Australia was presented with an opportunity to become a world champion on short notice. Wilson would come up short but make an incredible case for himself knocking Navarrete down in the fourth round before Navarrete came back in the ninth round and scored a TKO against a game opponent which now reestablishes the original matchup between Navarrete and Valdez. Something worth taking into consideration going into this fight is the difference in competition between Valdez and Navarrete. Valdez has already fought Shakur Stevenson and Robson Conceição and Navarrete's most notable win is against Isaac Dogboe. I am also interested to see where Wilson goes from here given the case, he made for himself on short notice in his first world title fight.

2/4/23- Amanda Serrano becomes undisputed at MSG

Amanda Serrano is undoubtedly the best pound for pound female boxer in the world after defeating Erika Cruz to retain her WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO & The Ring female featherweight titles along with winning the vacant WBA featherweight title in another incredible fight where almost 2,000 punches were thrown between the two women. Credit is deserved where credit is due, and Erika Cruz deserves all the credit in the world for how she brought the fight to Serrano. Cruz was making Serrano struggle early by just being incredibly active and ducking her head whilst simultaneously throwing a body shot before coming over the top with looping punches. Serrano did what champions do though and came on strong in the second half of the fight to win get the decision. In all honesty world championship women's boxing is incredibly exciting and competitive, and this win for Serrano sets up a massive rematch between her and Katie Taylor which is Serrano's only professional loss. The rematch is already booked for May 20th and will take place in Taylor's backyard of Dublin.