AVANESYAN VS KELLY KING FURY Who wins this long-awaited grudge match? One year on from Wilder FEBRUARY 18 2021 THE WORLD’S BEST FIGHT MAGAZINE EST. 1909 TIME WWW.BOXINGNEWSONLINE.NET FOR REFORM Why the scoring system simply isn’t working JAW DROPPER Fierce Lara stuns and breaks Warrington in gargantuan upset SPARRING DIARIES What it’s like to get hit by Joshua every day £3.99 VOL. 77 NO. 07 CRAIG MCEWAN / BERCHELT VS VALDEZ / HUGH FORDE / OTTO WALLIN SUBSCRIBE TO BOXING NEWS PRESENTS Six brand new bi-monthly 100-page souvenir bookazines from the award-winning Boxing News team… The epic Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier rivalry… A complete chronology of Mike Tyson… Fighting Talk, which comprises of 27 exclusive interviews with the biggest names in the sport. free cult t-shirt worth £24.99! GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE Receive all six issues straight to your door PLUS your FREE Ali-Frazier cult t-shirt worth £24.99! Pay just £40.94 by annual DD – saving 15% on the cover price. ORDER TODAY Call 01959 543 747 & quote: BXPTM for size medium, BXPTL for large or BXPTXL for x-large. Visit: shop.kelsey.co.uk/BXPTM Alternatively, to only order the Ali-Frazier bookazine for £7.99, visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/BXP1 *UK Direct Debit offer only. No cancellations within the first 12 months. Gifts are subject to availability and if the product goes out of stock an alternative product will be offered at a similar value. Colour of t-shirt may differ from photograph. Discounts are calculated on the full cover price. For overseas and UK credit/debit card offers, visit our website at shop.kelsey.co.uk. For digital subscriptions, visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/boxingnews. Calls charged at your local network rate. Order lines open 8.30am-5.30pm, Monday-Friday. Full T&Cs can be found at shop.kelsey.co.uk/terms. Kelsey Publishing takes your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to administer your account and to provide the products and services you have requested from us. We will only contact you about our special offers via the preferences you will indicate when ordering and you can update these at any time by emailing us at [email protected] or by calling us on 01959 543 747. ContentsFebruary 18, 2021 SHOCKER! 12 All the reaction as Josh Warrington suffers a sensational stoppage defeat UNMISSABLE HIGHLIGHTS >> 14 ROBERT SMITH >> 4 EDITOR’S LETTER The BBBofC chief responds after a Reacting to the latest controversies controversial night for British boxing >> 8 STEVE BUNCE >> 22 AVANESYAN vs KELLY One year on from Tyson Fury in Vegas Previewing a fascinating encounter >> 10 MEDIA REVIEW >> 24 BERCHELT vs VALDEZ The Sky Sports team hit the right notes Mexican warriors get set for battle >> 16 DIAZ vs RAKHIMOV >> 26 SPARRING PARTNERS The super-feathers cannot be separated Investigating a complicated role >> 18 DAVID AVANESYAN >> 36 THE BEST OF THE 2000s 26 How the Russian ended up in Newark An all-action decade of fierce rivalries >> 32 CRAIG McEWAN SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE 37% Tales from the famous Wild Card Gym >> 40 HUGH FORDE PAY JUST £9.99 A MONTH. SEE PAGE 48 FOR FULL DETAILS Catching up with a forgotten champion Visit SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/BXN21 >> 42 AMATEURS Price and Fontijn continue their rivalry >> 46 OTTO WALLIN The man who gave Tyson Fury a scare www.boxingnewsonline.net FEBRUARY 18, 2021 l BOXING NEWS l 3 EDITOR’S LETTER PUZZLED: Neither Barrett nor Martinez can fathom the judges’ scores Photo: DAVE THOMPSON/MATCHROOM Here we go again Boxing returns to Britain and is swiftly followed by more officiating controversies OXING is back Spanish veteran Kiko Martinez cut a fighters to this country when they get and so is the forlorn figure as his tremendous effort zero credit for their performance?” unmistakeable against the favoured Zelfa Barrett was It’s true: Britain is not widely regarded stench of rewarded with a unanimous decision as an honest fight country. But is that B controversy. Inside defeat. The general consensus was that really fair? Contentious scorecards are Wembley Arena Martinez won the fight. Our on-site nothing new but, in the age of social on Saturday night, reporter liked Martinez by 115-113. One media and with our events being three judges scored can also argue that Barrett nicked it after broadcast all over the planet, the stink a bout differently to 12. A draw would have been fair enough from ‘bad’ decisions is far reaching. The everyone else, then, as well. But two scores of 118-111 in smell seems to be getting worse in the in the main event, Barrett’s favour from Steve Gray and Covid era, too. one of those judges Bob Williams alongside a third British For the sake of balance, it’s only right to Cover photography DAVE THOMPSON/MATCHROOM became the referee tally against the Spaniard, 116-113 by point out that these kind of decisions are who was accused Howard Foster, differed greatly from less common than justice being served. Matt of allowing a fight widespread opinion. Christie They do not occur in every fight, they do to continue for too “That was a very, very close fight. not occur at every event, as much as that @MattCBoxingNews long. I thought 118-111 was absolutely might appear to be the case. Editor So here we disgusting for Martinez,” show promoter Even so, they occur frequently enough go. Instead of Eddie Hearn said in the immediate to suggest the scoring system, and the championing the return of boxing to aftermath. “We have some fantastic perception of it, needs to be addressed. Britain – and that’s what I’d prefer to do, officials but 118-111 doesn’t do anyone Hearn promised to give Martinez a believe me – we yet again start Boxing any favours. After all that effort Martinez rematch. Likewise Barrett, who was News by highlighting what appears, on may as well have boxed on the backfoot classy in the extreme. Rematches are the surface, a problem with the standard and had an easy night. costly and long-winded solutions, of officiating in this country. “How are we going to bring in foreign however. 4 l BOXING NEWS l FEBRUARY 18, 2021 www.boxingnewsonline.net One problem has always been what level is frowned upon yet very often in appeared – from the vantage point of the a judge ‘likes’. Yet it’s grossly unfair on a tight fight, even when rounds are too vast majority – that the Leeds man was in Time to a boxer who is not rewarded for their close to call, the need to award them no position to do so. subscribe industry purely because their style of to Fighter A or Fighter B heightens the Smith admitted to BN (see pages 12 fighting, however effective it might be, potential for erroneous – or misleading and 13) that the referee gave Warrington l THERE are does not appeal to a certain official – totals at the end. That would appear to a chance to continue while knowing of numerous ways on a certain night. Perhaps we need to be the case here: Though many of us had Warrington’s reputation as a world class to subscribe, know exactly what the judges do ‘like’ Martinez ahead, it’s only fair to highlight fighter. “I’m okay, Howard,” Warrington is including beforehand or, better still, be more that many rounds we thought he won believed to have told the referee at the special offers. confident that all judges are following the were close rounds. point of the fight in question. Foster also same guidelines (interesting to note that Robert Smith of the British Boxing reported to Smith that the fighter’s eyes l YOU can get a in the Barrett-Martinez bout, the three Board of Control told Boxing News on were clear. Between rounds, as the referee print and online judges only agreed on five rounds). Tuesday morning (February 16) that all expressed concern about a potential injury subscription for But that’s only one point of view and three of the judges’ reports from the to Josh’s jaw, the fighter remained cogent £9.99 per month arguably an elitist one. There is always the Barrett-Martinez fight were similar: They at all times, answering any questions (or £19.99 every presumption that the fans – those who recognised the accurate work of Barrett, clearly and quickly. three months), watch at home – are in the right and the predominantly from punches through The referee will also know that in or digital only judges – those at ringside and trained the middle – straight shots and uppercuts Warrington’s corner was his father. A man for just £4.99 to judge a fight – are in the wrong. The – whereas not all of Martinez’s looping who knows his son better than anyone. per month. truth might be that everyone, the fans, hooks were scoring punches, though there Rightly or wrongly, Sean O’Hagan sent journalists, commentators and even the was an acknowledgement that plenty his boy out for the fifth round after being l FOR more officials, would benefit from a broader were thrown. Many of those punches, convinced that he could defend himself information understanding of how fights are scored the judges say, were hitting the arms of and fight back. If we’re to blame the on all the and, more pertinently, why. Is it time, Barrett. referee for allowing the fight to continue subscriptions given that this problem isn’t going to What we must also remember, we must also ask questions of the corner.