FRIDAY NIGHT BOXING PROVES TO BE ENTERTAINING

Last night ESPN aired it's Top Rank boxing, which they have been for some time now.  The event was held in Temecula California.

The main event was for the IBF lightweight tittle between Champion Richard Commey and Ray Beltran.  A fight that promised to be action packed did not disappoint.

Before the fight even began we had plenty to talk about.  20 year veteran Ray Beltran, who makes his home in Avondale Arizona, came in nearly 2 pounds overweight.

On Thursday Beltran weighed in at 136.8 pounds.  By rule he was given an hour to cut weight.  He did not return to the scale.  In an interview with ESPN before the fight he said he just could not make it and he will fight at 140 from here on out.

Beltran was weighed again the morning of the fight and by rule had to be less then 145 pounds or the fight would be canceled.  He made the weight and the fight went on.

Because Beltran did not make weight two things happened, even though the fight would still go as scheduled.

Beltran would not be able to take Commey's tittle, even if he won.  Also Beltran would have to pay 10% of his purse to the IBF and another 10% to Commey.  His 1.8 pounds over weight ended up costing him $40,000.

Beltran had a huge battle just to get in the ring, once he got in the ring he showed how tough he really is.

Beltran was knocked down twice in the first round.  That did not phase him because he got up both times and put up a good fight.  The fight was entertaining and both fighters were throwing plenty of power punches.  Beltran had a cut over his left eye, the 15th of his career, and Commey's eye was swollen and nearly shut going in to the eight round.

Commey hit Beltran with a left that sent Beltran to the canvas.  Beltran got up after the fourth time being knocked down.  that wasn't enough, the ref looked in to his eyes and stopped the fight.

Commey improves to 29-2 and now has 26 knockouts and now may face off against Teofimo Lopez, if he wins his fight scheduled for July 19.

As for Beltran he did not say what was next for him in the post fight interview.  Hopefully he continues to fight and entertain his fans like he has since 1999.

THE CURSE OF ARIZONA SPORTS

The NBA season just ended and football doesn't start for a couple more months.  Baseball isn't exciting until after the All-Star break and the NHL just completed it's draft for next season.

So that means there isn't much to watch in the sports world right now.  But here in Arizona maybe that's a good thing.

The major sports teams here in Arizona are the Cardinals, Dbacks, Sun's and Coyotes.  Including our 3 major colleges, Arizona, Arizona State and Northern Arizona, Arizona is in a major drought when it comes to winning titles.


If you really think about it the state of Arizona has not won very much in the last 20 years!

The Arizona Cardinals have never won a Superbowl.  They have been a apart of the NFL since the merger with the AFL and have only been to the playoffs ten times.  Although the team was competitive from 2009-2015, they have been historically bad.  The Cardinals are coming off a very forgettable 3-13 season.

In the NBA Arizona is represented by the Phoenix Suns.  The Suns, at one point, was a team every fan respected and feared.  Players wanted to come here to play.  That all ended when the team was purchased by Robert Sarver.  Sarver has not allowed the coaches and front office to handle the basketball side of things.  This has caused the team to become one of the worst franchises in the NBA.  The Suns have not been in the playoffs since the 2009-2010 season.  The franchise has never won an NBA title, in fact, they only made it to the Finals twice and have been in the league since 1968.

The Arizona Diamondbacks has the states only title.  They won the World Series in 2001, their third year as a franchise.  Fans like to think the team is good but in reality they are mediocre at best.  The team usually starts the season off good but does not do enough to make the playoffs.  They have had successful seasons but don't seem to be nowhere near contending for a World Series.

The last Arizona team is the Arizona Coyotes.  I do not know a lot about hockey, and I won't pretend to.  But as a sports fan from Arizona I know the team has been near the bottom every year since they came to Arizona.  They have had a few good seasons but nothing established or for fans to get excited about.

So what is the problem in Arizona?  Is it our owners?  Coaches?  Fans?

What ever the problem is the Arizona teams better figure it out fast.  Arizona is a Sports state and deserves a winning team.

DID KAWHI LEONARD JUST CHANGE THE NBA?

On Thursday the Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors 114-110 to win their first ever NBA Tittle.  They won the series 4-2.

Toronto was led by Kawhi Leonard, who is in his first season with the Raptors.  Leonard came over from the San Antonio Spurs after he refused to play for them last year, saying he was ready to return after an injury.

Toronto took a huge chance on Leonard not k owing if they would have him after this season.  The chance paid off when Leonard and the rest of the Raptors took down a dynasty to win the NBA Tittle.

The question now is what will happen with Leonard?  Will he stay in Toronto? And did he just change the NBA as we know it?

If Leonard does decide to stay in Toronto he has a chance to start his own dynasty in Canada.  Leonard also has a chance to change the NBA.

If Leonard stays with Toronto he may start a trend of NBA players wanting to stay where they are at and win a championship.  The era of the "super team" may be over.

Leonard went to a team that had one all -star, and where he was the only superstar.  He carried his team to an NBA Tittle without another superstar and only having role players.

Leonard could change the NBA, unless he decides to jump ship.

ANDY RUIZ JR. BECOMES FIRST MEXICAN-AMERICAN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP

Three knockdowns in the third round and two more in the seventh round highlighted an action packed heavyweight bout between the Champion Anthony Joshua and the challenger Andy Ruiz Jr., a replacement fighter just added because Jarrell Miller tested positive on 3 different drug tests.

Joshua was making his debut in the United States and what he heard from the ringside announcer after the fight was not what or anyone from his camp expected.

"And New" heavyweight champ!  That's right not only was Joshua beaten but he was totally dominated and the referee eventually had to stop the fight in round 7.  Joshua was dazed and confused and unable to respond to the referee asking if he wanted to continue.

Andy Ruiz Jr. and his camp were not surprised.  He didn't have much time to train but it was enough. He boxed a smart fight and stayed to his game plan.

Ruiz is now 33-1 and is the first ever Mexican-American heavyweight champ.  You can also argue that he pulled off the biggest upset in boxing history.

But as the announcer said he is "one bad vato loco."

ARCADIA FIRES COACH AFTER SUCCESSFUL FIRST SEASON

The Arcadia Titans football team was getting ready to start practice yesterday at 3:30 p.m.  Then at 3:00 p.m. they received an email saying practice was cancelled.  The team was confused and some had already showed up for practice.

The team would later find out why practice was cancelled.  Their second year head coach Kerry Taylor had been fired.

Taylor was told by administration that he was not "a good fit" at Arcadia.  The team was shocked.

The Taylor led Titans went 6-4 in Kerry Taylor's only season as head football coach.  This is a six win improvement from 2017 when the team went 0-10. The team was definitely on the rise.

Earlier in the week the Arcadia football program was given a warning for recruiting and making practices mandatory.  Kerry denied the allegations.

The school conducted it's own investigation and although it's unclear what they found, they decided to part ways with Taylor.