By CASSANDRA COUSINEAU
LVSportsBiz.com
It’s been an action-filled 72 hours in the world of combat sports. Champions in both boxing and MMA were crowned in multiple venues around the world. Not to be outdone, Las Vegas’ own Floyd Mayweather wants you to know he’s still the “A Side” of any event bearing his name. So here we go…
Floyd Mayweather gets in verbal spat with local Las Vegas TV sports reporter in lead-up to New Year’s Eve exhibition with kickboxer in Japan
It’s hard to keep up with retired boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. Since hanging up the gloves, he’s been linked to a handful of MMA related opponents. Most recently, Mayweather made it official, then called off, then made it official again that he’ll be participating in a three-round exhibition against Japanese kickboxing sensation, Tenshin Nasukawa. The event will take place New Year’s Eve, in Japan under in partnership with the Rizin Fighting Federation, a Japanese promotional company.
During a media open workout at Mayweather Boxing Club, the 50-0 champ had a verbal spar with KSNV’s sports reporter, Amber Dixon. Dixon asked Mayweather, “Why not allow him (Nasukawa) to kickbox?” To which an agitated Mayweather abruptly responded, “Sweetheart, please, please, am I boxer or a kickboxer?” Check out the video here of Mayweather and Nasukawa, with the local TV sports broadcaster asking the questions around minute 23.
Floyd Mayweather is indeed a boxer. A very successful one who has negotiated a lucrative exhibition, with a 127-pound kickboxer, in 8-oz gloves. In fact, his last two appearances in the ring haven’t been against boxers. It’s easy to get confused.
The fight will take place at a contract weight of 147 pounds, the welterweight division limit, with boxing-standard three-minute rounds. Because the fight is an exhibition, whatever happens will not count on either fighter’s official record. No judges will participate, meaning scorecards won’t be recorded. The 41-year-old Mayweather maintains this will be the “highest-paid exhibition ever.”
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Vasyl Lomachenko stays on top of pound-for pound list with unanimous decision over Jose Pedraza
Vasyl Lomachenko (12-1) picked up his second lightweight title by completely outclassing mandatory challenger Jose Pedraza (25-2). The man they call Hi-Tech won the unanimous decision on one card by a 119-107 rout, while two judges scored it 117-109.
In his first fight since right shoulder surgery, Lomachenko knocked down Pedraza twice in the 11th round and though he didn’t earn the finish, won easily to pick up the WBA strap.
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The 30-year-old Lomachenko is now halfway to owning all four major belts at 135 pounds. One of them is vacant and the other is owned by unbeaten Mikey Garcia who has some business to take care of when he moves up to challenge welterweight champion Errol Spence in March of 2019.
Either way, Vasyl Lomachenko has tremendous accuracy and continues to get better. Alongside his terrific ring IQ, Loma could very well add the Pound-for-Pound title to his growing list of titles.
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HBO Boxing officially signs off its storied history with low-profile swansong
For 45 years, HBO’s boxing coverage has provided some of the most compelling footage in the sport. Much of which served to distinguish Las Vegas as a Mecca for big event boxing. Names like Tyson, De La Hoya, Mayweather, Pacquiao, Hagler, Hearns, Cesar Chavez, Holyfield and just about any pugilist champion ever has been showcased on the network-and in Vegas.
That all came to an end in a relatively subdued way given the network’s track record of historical events.
Undisputed women’s welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus defended her five belts against Aleksandra Magdziak-Lopes in the main event, junior bantamweight Juan Francisco Estrada stopped Victor Mendez in the co-feature, and double Olympic gold medalist and unified women’s middleweight titlist Claressa Shields had easily defeated Femke Hermans in the opener.
HBO has televised 1,119 fights but for the first time ever, a woman headlined the night for the premium cable giant.
Over the past five years contenders have been eating at HBO’s boxing elephant. Middleweight superstar Canelo Alvarez recently signed an enormous $365 million-dollar agreement with streaming outlet DAZN, UFC’s $750 million 15 five-year deal with ESPN along with Showtime and even PBC on Fox have served to force HBO boxing into retirement.
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UFC’s Amanda Nunes and Chris “Cyborg” Justino Prep for UFC 232 clash at T-Mobile Arena in biggest fight in female combat sports history
The UFC returns to T-Mobile in Las Vegas and Pay-Per-View for its closing event of the year on December 29th with UFC 232. It’s massive. The card features the return of Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson in a light heavyweight title fight. This will be Jones’ first fight since his 2017 KO of Daniel Cormier, where Jones was subsequently popped by USADA for a second failed drug test.
Even bigger news is the match-up between women’s featherweight champ Cris “Cyborg” Justino (20-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and fellow Brazilian, bantamweight champ Nunes (16-4 MMA, 9-1 UFC).
The 33-year-old Cyborg, whose only loss came in her 2005 professional debut, will be making her third UFC title defense. Nunes, 30, could become the first women’s two-division championship holder in UFC history. She’s currently on a seven-fight winning streak that dates back to March 2015.
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