Cruiserweight and Heavyweight thread.

Finally, the Morrison legacy tour is over.

 

The hype has ended. But I'd be surprised if James McKenzie Morrison stops fighting after this loss. Not sure we'll ever see Trey Lippe Morrison return, though.

 

Some news regarding Stephan Shaw (17-0, 13 KOs). He will be co-featured on an upcoming Lou Di Bella Broadway Boxing card that is scheduled for November 22. They have not yet named an opponent. My best guesses would be Rydell Booker, Johnnie Rice, or Kingsley Ibeh.

There was some confusion as to whether Shaw was being promoted by Lou Di Bella or Bob Arum (Top Rank). He is actually being promoted by both.

Stephan Shaw is from St. Louis in the USA. Here's an interesting article about him written by a St. Louis-area newspaper a few days ago. If nothing else, it will give you an appreciation for how the BS of the boxing business wreaks havoc on a boxer. It's almost guaranteed to make you dislike Al Haymon a little bit more (assuming such a thing is even possible). Shaw is now managed by (who else?) David McWater - which (as I've noted above) means his manager dedicates about 15 minutes a week to advancing his career.

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/new...n-shaws-make-or-break-moment-is-here-38718129

 

ICYMI - here is a video of Johnson v Garcia As I said, I think Garcia edged it - though I wouldn't call the decision a robbery. Good action fight - though neither of these fighters will get near the top of the division.

This content is protected

 

He posted here once.

 

Looks like the forum won't show the link for the Shaw article. But if you Google "St. Louis Boxer Stephan Shaw's Make-or-Break Moment Is Here" - the article should pop up from the Riverside Times.

 

Interesting postscript for the Simms v. Morrison fight. I just read Eric Armit's brief account of the fight. As expected, Simms Jr was nowhere near the 235 lbs he pledged to be at. He was at 257 1/2 lbs (not quite a career-high, but close) for the fight. BUT, according to Armit, it was the 6 years younger, nearly 30 lbs lighter Morrison who began to tire as the rounds wore on. Morrison was clearly the A-side for this fight and I suspect it was his camp that pushed for it to be shortened from 10 rounds to 8 rounds.

Shame Simms Jr never got his weight under control. If he shed those extra 60 lbs - he might be contending at CW.

 

Cool. I remember he had a buzz going. Hopefully he can pick it up again.

 

Ryad Merhy has become the latest cruiserweight contender to give up trying to make a living in that division by choosing instead to move up to heavyweight. He scored a TKO 3 victory in his heavyweight debut in Belgium over the weekend to move to 31-1 overall. His opponent was little known journeyman Dusan Krstin (who drops to 8-13).

 

Unfortunately, my NYC source told me this morning that Di Bella & Top Rank are targeting Don Haynesworth as Shaw's opponent. Hope they are wrong and that the eventual opponent is better.

 

Mihai Nistor moves to 4:0 (4KOs) after yesterdays first round TKO against Fernando Rodrigo Simoes de Almeida. Mihai should be now TOP120 again.

 

Jeremiah Milton moved to 7-0 (6 KOs) with a 5th round TKO win over fellow USA prospect Quintin Sumpter on the undercard of Paul -v. Silva. Sumpter now drops to 5-1 (4 KOs).

Milton spent the first four rounds flummoxed by Sumpter's quick feet and approach/punch/retreat tactics...which were not popular with the crowd. But Milton finally broke through near the start of the 5th round with a strong right hand that had Sumpter's legs doing an involuntary chicken dance. Milton then rained some heavy shots on an out-of-it Sumpter who crumpled by the ropes. Sumpter beat the count but couldn't keep his balance.

This is the second straight problematic stoppage win for Milton. He couldn't do much against the sloppy but aggressive Nick Jones nor could he connect with hurtful shots against the quick-footed Sumpter. In fact, had Sumpter dialed down his showboating, it's possible Milton would not have caught up with him at all. Milton has power, yes, but he's struggling to be a truly effective fighter and his ceiling may not be very high.

 

Sonny Conto moved to 11-0 (9 KOs) with a second round TKO victory over James Bryant (now 6-2, 4 KOs).

Watching a brief highlights clip from YT, it appears that Bryant certainly passes an eye test (appearing very fit despite not boxing since before the pandemic started) and came to brawl Sonny. He looked a bit gassed by the time Sonny stopped him, though.

Not much else to say here, except that Sonny really needs a step-up fight.

 

Mateusz Masternak (47-5, 31 KOs) clinched the IBF mandatory cruiserweight spot with a wide UD win over challenger Jason Whateley (10-1, 9 KOs) in Poland. This was a huge step up in competition for Whateley and I figure he did well to overcome a knockdown to last the full 12 rounds.

 

I've read, btw, that Dajwejko was tiring over those last couple rounds with Woods gradually taking over. Dawejko was certainly overweight (256 lbs) and Woods has a long fuse.

A Philly showdown between Conto and Dawejko is long overdue.