Even as the NHL’s Golden Knights, the NFL’s Raiders, the WNBA’s Aces and even Formula One have captured most of the attention in the local sporting scene this year, Las Vegas has quietly reasserted itself as the boxing capital of the world.
A year of major fights is to culminate tomorrow with two undefeated boxers — David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade — to meet for the interim WBC super middleweight championship.
“Vegas is the Mecca,” Andrade said. “It’s the marquee spot in the sport of boxing.”
Photo: AP
The year’s first major fight in Las Vegas took place in April when Gervonta Davis stopped Ryan Garcia in the seventh round in a bout between undefeated lightweight challengers. The division’s unified champion, Devin Haney, won a unanimous decision over Vasiliy Lomachenko a month later.
Terence Crawford became the unified welterweight title holder with a ninth-round technical knockout in July of Errol Spence Jr and in September, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defended his unified super middleweight championship with a one-sided unanimous decision over Jermell Charlo.
So Benavidez (27-0, 23 knockouts) and Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) have a lot to live up to. Benavidez is the WBC interim title holder and Andrade is a two-division champion.
“This is a great way to close out the year,” Benavidez said. “I feel like this is going to be the best card of the year, because everybody has so much to prove on this card. This is going to be an amazing card and we’re definitely not going to disappoint the fans.”
Benavidez’s brother, Jose Jr (28-2-1, 19 KOs), faces Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs), whose WBC middleweight belt is not on the line because it is a catchweight fight.
However, two other championships are on the line.
“Everybody on this card is going to make history someway, somehow,” Andrade said.
As for the top of the card, Benavidez, 26, is a minus-430 favorite over the 35-year-old Andrade, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
A victory for Benavidez, who was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and lives in Las Vegas, could set him up for a shot against Alvarez.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has declared Benavidez would indeed fight Alvarez, but Canelo has not committed to a bout.
If Alvarez turns down Benavidez, the WBC likely would vacate his championship.
When asked about the future after beating Jermell Charlo, Alvarez said: “Cinco de Mayo [May 5] against whoever. I don’t care.”
Benavidez has the more immediate concern of needing to take care of Andrade, a 2008 Olympian from Providence, Rhode Island.
“This is the best fight that can be made because he’s at the top of the division,” Benavidez said. “He showed the world that he’s a really good fighter. He’s an Olympian and a two-division world champion. It’s the only direction that I thought I could go to prove that I’m the best.”
“He’s not an easy opponent. He’s very technical. He has very good defense, but I always find a way to win and Saturday night [tomorrow] is not going to be any different. I’m going to find a way to beat him,” he said.
Andrade expressed similar respect for his opponent.
“David and I agreed to make this happen and now we’re here,” Andrade said. “At the end of the day, I have nowhere to go and he has nowhere to go. May the best fighters fight each other. That’s what we’re proving and that’s what we’re doing.”
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS