IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“Donaire-Darchinyan II was billed as a grudge match, a rematch the public was clamouring for, which, like most promotional ballyhoo, is at best a half truth. Any fight with Darchinyan, who generates disdain for his opponents like the sun makes heat, is a grudge match. Interest in this rematch, however, was lost to the hour glass. Until being served his comeuppance by Rigondeaux, Donaire, San Leandro, California, had looked mostly dominant. Darchinyan, on the other hand, had suffered four losses since Donaire dealt him a dose of temporary amnesia in 2007.”

Read REPEATER: Nonito Donaire TKO9 Vic Darchinyan on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

Brought in to sell tickets and test Golovkin’s chin, Stevens, Brooklyn, New York, held up his end of the bargain. Brooklyn was in the house, and the former “chin-checker” slugged his opponent with enough leather to confirm the frightening reality that Golovkin, perhaps boxing’s foremost giver, can take too. Unfortunately for Stevens, on this night, Golovkin was his typical generous self.

Read The Nature Of The Beast: Gennady Golovkin TKO8 Curtis Stevens on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

Forgive Ruslan Provodnikov for his clichés. Because he speaks through an interpreter, his words may lose a richer meaning in translation. Or he may deal in clichés because they are easy to pick up, especially in a sport where fists are the primary tools of discourse. Besides, in the right context, those commonplace phrases are perfectly accurate. “I knew what I had to do was break him,” Provodnikov told Max Kellerman in the afterglow of his victory over Mike Alvarado last night. A little trite, perhaps, but over ten grueling rounds at the 1stBank Center in Denver, Ruslan Provodnikov indeed broke Mike Alvarado, who did not answer the bell for the eleventh.

Read With Your Shield Or On Your Shield: Ruslan Provodnikov TKO10 Mike Alvarado on The Cruelest Sport.