Boxing Podcast With Eric Bottjer

My guest on this podcast is Matchroom Boxing matchmaker Eric Bottjer.  We talked about his journey in the sport and all of the promoters he's worked for including Johnny Bos, Dan Goossen, Cedric Kushner, Don King, Art Pellulo, Lou DiBella and Eddie Hearn.  We also talked about the art of matchmaking and his theory on how to develop fighters.  We also got into why there should be a boxing league and the PBC's missed opportunity with all that hedge fund money.  It was a great conversation - hope you enjoy!

To check out Eric's matchmaking (and fighting!) history in professional boxing go to this link at boxrec.com.

This podcast is distributed by the Leave It In The Ring network.  I'm honored to join the LIITR network that includes podcasts by founder David Duenez, Gabriel Montoya and Evan Rutkowski.

You can still find this podcast and older Boxing Esq. podcasts on this blog and on Soundcloud or subscribe to the Boxing Esq. Podcast on either iTunes or Stitcher.  If you enjoy the podcasts, please leave a comment or rating, that would be greatly appreciated.  The podcast will appear on both the LIITR network of podcasts as well as under the Boxing Esq. Podcast name.

Official Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings - May 2018

Presenting the May 2018 Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings:
Movements:

Heavys – Kubrat Pulev moves from 7 to out due to inactivity.  Jarrell Miller moves from 11 to 9 with win over top 25 fighter Johann Duhaupas.  David Haye drops from 15 to 18 due to crushing loss to Tony Bellew.  Artur Szpilka enters at 25.

Cruisers – Andrew Tabiti moves from 9 to 8 with win over Lateef Kayode.  

Light Heavys - Jean Pascal reenters from retired to 11 with announcement of comeback.  Lucien Bute moves from 17 to out due to inactivity.  Chad Dawson moves from 19 to out due to inactivity.  Thomas Oosthuizen moves from 22 to out due to inactivity.  Yunieski Gonzalez moves from 24 to out due to inactivity.  Callum Johnson, Felix Velera and Enrico Koelling enter at 23, 24 and 25 respectively.  

Super Middles - Jesse Hart moves from 12 to 10 with win over Demond Nicholson.  Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. moves from 18 to out due to inactivity.  Azizbek Abdugofurov enters at 23 with win over Dmitrii Chudinov.  Vincent Feigenbutz enters at 25.  J'Leon Love moves from 24 to out after struggling with Jaime Barboza.

Middles - Tommy Langford moves from 18 to out after dropping split decision to Jason Welborn.  Vanes Matirosyan moves from inactive to 19 after KO loss to GGG.  Jack Culcay enters at 20 after moving up from 154 division.  Curtis Stevens moves from 21 to out due to inactivity.

Jr. Middles - Sadam Ali drops from 6 to 13 after crushing TKO loss to Jaime Munguia.  Munguia enters at 7 with WBO title win.  Jack Culcay moves from 12 to out due to move up to 160.  Tony Harrison moves from 14 to 12 with win over Ishe Smith.  Smith drops from 13 to 17 with the loss.  Konstantin Ponomarev enters at 16 after moving up from 147 division.  Dennis Hogan moves to 25 with win over Jimmy Kilrain Kelly.  Terrell Gausha moves from 23 to out. Antonio Margarito moves from 25 to out.

Welters – Konstantin Ponomarev moves from 13 to out due to move to 154.  Bradley Skeete moves from 14 to 23 due to knockout loss to Kermin Lejarraga.  Lejarraga enters at 15.  Egidijus Kavaliauskas moves from 16 to 10 on reconsideration.  Carlos Adames moves from 22 to 19 with win over Alejandro Barrera.  Francisco Santana enters at 25 with upset win over Felix Diaz in WBC Welterweight Tournament.  Carlos Ocampo drops from 25 to out.

Jr. Welters – Mikey Garcia moves from 1 to out as he's decided to vacate his 140 lb. belt and move back down to 135.  Felix Diaz moves from 7 to out with his upset loss at 147 to Francisco Santana.  Argenis Mendez enters at 16 after moving up from 135 and convincingly beating prospect Eddie Ramirez.  Alex Saucedo enters at 25.

Lights – Vasyl Lomachenko enters at 1 with win brilliant TKO win over Jorge Linares.  Isa Chaniev enters at 15 with unanimous win over Ismael Barroso.  Barroso moves from 15 to out.  Francisco Rojo moves from 24 to out due to move up to 140.  Simpiwe Vetyeka enters at 23 after move up from 126.  Hank Lundy enters at 25.

Jr. Lights - Vasyl Lomachenko moves from 1 to out due to move up to 135.  James Tenneson enters at 23 after come from behind TKO victory over Martin Joseph Ward.  Ward moves from 24 to out.  Christopher Diaz enters at 25.

Feathers - Josh Warrington moves from 8 to 6 with upset win over Lee Selby for the IBF crown.  Selby drops from 6 to 7.  Tugstsogt Nyambar enters at 12 with impressive TKO win over Oscar Escandon.  Escandon drops from 12 to 19.  Simpiwe Vetyeka moves from 14 to out due to move up to 135.  Takenori Ohashi moves from 19 to out after getting stopped by Taiki Minamoto.  Minamoto enters at 20.  Claudio Marrero moves from 22 to 18 with devastating 1st round KO of previously unbeaten Jorge Lara.  Lara moves from 24 to out.  Shun Kubo enters at 25.

Jr. Feathers – Isaac Dogboe moves from 7 to 2 with impressive stoppage of Jesse Magdaleno to capture the WBO title.  Magdaleno drops from 2 to 4.  Julio Ceja drops from 5 to 15 after upset stoppage loss to Franklin Manzanilla.  Manzanilla enters at 7.  Jonathan Guzman moves from 12 to out due to inactivity.  Evgeny Gradovich moves from 14 to out due to inactivity.  Shun Kubo moves from 19 to out due to move up to 126.  Edivaldo Ortega moves from 21 to out due to move up to 126.  TJ Doheny, Ryo Matsumoto, Albert Pagana and Thomas Patrick Ward enter at 22-25 respectively.

Bantams – Naoya Inoue moves from 5 to 2 after devastating blowout of Jamie McDonnell for the WBA Regular belt.  McDonnell drops from 2 to 6.  Emmanuel Rodriguez moves from 16 to 5 with dominating win over Paul Butler for the IBF belt.  Butler drops from 8 to 10.  Shohei Omori moves from 17 to out due to inactivity.  Jason Moloney moves from 25 to 17 with impressive stoppage of former world title holder Kohei Kono.  Aaron Alameda enters at 25.

Super Flys - Donnie Nietes enters at 6 after moving up from 112.  Miguel Gonzalez moves from 25 to out.

Flys – Donnie Nietes moves from 1 to out due to move up to 115.  Juan Hernandez Navarrete moves from 10 to out due to inactivity.  Froilan Saludar moves from 17 to out due to move up to 115.  Mirco Martin, Muhammed Waseem and Thomas Masson enter at 23-25 respectively.

Jr. Flys – Hekki Budler moves from 7 to 2 with upset win over unified WBA-IBF champion Ryoichi Taguchi.  Taguchi moves from 2 to 3.  Ganigan Lopez drops from 4 to 6 after 2nd round blowout loss to WBC Champ Ken Shiro.  Ryuji Hara moves from 14 to out due to move up to 112.  Alejandro Villasenor Hernandez enters at 24 after upset win over previously unbeaten Abraham Rodriguez.

Straws – Ryuji Hara moves from 17 to out due to move up to 112.  Osvaldo Novoa moves from 20 to out due to inactivity.  Reiya Konishi moves from 22 to out due to move up to 108.  Shin Ono, Toto Landero and Mark Barriga enter at 23-25 respectively.

Official Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings - April 2018

Presenting the April 2018 Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings:

Movements:

Heavys – Dillian White moved from 7 to 6 with crushing win over Lucas Browne.  Browne falls from 17 to 25.  Agit Kabayal moves from 19 to 17 with win over Miljan Rovcanin.

Cruisers – Mateusz Masternak moves from 19 to 14 with stoppage win over Youri Kalenga.  Kalenga moves from 25 to out.  Danny Green moves from 24 to out due to inactivity.  Arsen Goulamirian and Roman Golovashchenko move up to 24 and 25 respectively.

Light Heavys - Karo Murat moves up from 13 to 11 with win over Travis Reeves.  

Super Middles - James DeGale moves from 8 to 3 with win over Caleb Truax.  Truax falls from 7 to 8.  Tyron Zeuge moves from 16 to 14 with TKO win over Isaac Ekpo.

Middles - Canelo Alvarez drops from 2 to out due to suspension.  Avtandil Khurtsidze drops from 11 to out due to inactivity.   Walter Kautondokwa and Jason Quigley move up to 23 and 24 with wins.

Jr. Middles - Jarrett Hurd seizes the top spot and moves from 3 to 1 with great win over Erislandy Lara.  Lara falls from 1 to 3.  Michel Soro moves up from 11 to 10 with win over unbeaten John Vera.  Sam Eggington enters at 24 with win at 154.  Roberto Garcia drops from 25 to out.

Welters – Keith Thurman moves from 1 to out due to inactivity.  Amir Khan moves from inactive to 9 with comeback win over Phil LoGreco.  Luis Collazo and Andre Berto drop from 12 and 13 to out due to inactivity.  Sam Eggington goes from 17 to out due to move up to 154.  Victor Ortiz, Cesar Miguel Barrionuevo and Carlos Ocampo enters at 23, 24, and 25.

Jr. Welters – Ismael Barroso moves from 18 to out due to move back to 135.  Yves Ulysse, Jr. enters at 25.

Lights – Jose Pedraza enters at 13 after move up to 135 and win.  Aik Shakhnazaryan from 14 to out due to move to 140.  Ismael Barroso enters at 15 after move down from 140.  Lewis Ritson from 25 to 22 with win over Scott Cardle.  Daud Yordan enters at 25 with win over unbeaten Pavel Malikov.  Sharif Bogere and Hurricane Futa drop from 23 and 24 to out.

Jr. Lights - Jose Pedraza moves from 12 to out due to move up to 135.  Kenichi Ogawa moves from 13 to out due to suspension.  Jesus Cuellar moves from inactive to 13 though he was stopped by Gervonta Davis.  Evgeny Chuprakov enters at 25.

Feathers - No movements.

Jr. Feathers – Yusaku Kuga moves up from 21 to 17 with win over Ryo Kosaka.

Bantams – Omar Narvaez moves down two spots from 7 to 9 after non-effort against Zolani Tete.  Michael Dasmarinas enters at 12 with stoppage win over Karim Guerfi.  Guerfi drops from 16 to 20.  Suriyan Kaikanha drops from 21 to out for inactivity.

Super Flys -  Jose Martinez drops from 25 to out due to gift draw.  Miguel Gonzalez enters at 25.

Flys – Christopher Rosales moves from 12 to 2 with TKO win over Daigo Higa.  Higa drops from 2 to 4.  Francisco Rodriguez moves from 11 to out for move up to Super Fly.  Martin Tecuapetla drops from 22 to out as I missed his December loss to Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar.  Giemel Magramo enters at 25.

Jr. Flys – Japhet Uutoni drops from 21 to out due to inactivity.  Suryan Satorn goes from inactive to 21 with win over Siridech Deebook.

Straws – No movements.

Official Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings - March 2018

Presenting the March 2018 Boxing Esq. World Boxing Ratings.

Lots of activity around the world and in the top 25 of most divisions this month.  Only the Junior Middleweight ratings stayed static.

Movements:

Heavys – Andy Ruiz moved up from inactive to 13 with win over Devin Vargas.  Miljan Rovcanin moved out.

Cruisers – Kevin Lerena moves from 11 to 10 with win over Dmytro Kucher. Marco Huck moves down from 10 to 11.  Mike Perez moves from 18 to 15 with win.  Matty Askin moves from 24 to 22 with win.

Light Heavys - Dmitriy Bivol moves from 10 to 4 with impressive win over Sullivan Barrera.  Barrera moves down to 5.  Edwin Rodriguez moves up from 16 to 14 with win over tough Lionel Thompson.  Humberto Velazco Torres enters at 20 with KO of Thomas Williams.  Williams drops from 14 to out with his third consecutive loss.  Isaac Chilemba moves up from inactive to 21 with win over Blake Capparello.  Frank Buglioni drops from 25 to out.

Super Middles - Jose Uzcategui moves up from 7 to 3 with TKO over Andre Dirrell.  Dirrell drops from 4 to 11.  Chris Eubank drops from 3 to 9 after bad form loss to George Groves.  Juergen Braehmer drops from 8 to 10 for once again ducking out of a big fight.  Caleb Plant moves up to 25 with win over tough Porky Medina.  Renold Quinlan drops out.

Middles - Andy Lee drops from 10 to out due to retirement announcement.  Sam Soliman drops from 16 to 22 due to controversial draw with Wes Kapper.  Tommy Langford enters at 20 with impressive win over Jack Arnfield.  Arnfield drops from 22 to 25.

Jr. Middles - NO CHANGES.

Welters – Yordonis Ugas moves from 17 to 14 with impressive stoppage of Ray Robinson.  Robinson drops from 25 to out.  Brandon Rios drops from 20 to 23 after highlight reel KO loss to Danny Garcia.  Kudratillo Abdukakhorov moves from 23 to 22 with win over Laszlo Toth.  Carlos Adames enters at 25.

Jr. Welters – Regis Prograis moves from 14 to 3 with impressive blowout of former unified champ Julius Indongo.  Indongo moves down from 3 to 12 after second consecutive blowout loss.  Rances Barthelemy drops from 4 to 10 with near shutout loss to Kiryl Relikh.  Relikh enters at 6.  Juan Carlos Ramirez moves up from 15 to 5 with impressive win over Amir Imam.  Imam drops from 21 to 24.  Sergey Lipinets moves from 10 to 9 after impressive showing in loss Mikey Garcia.  Ivan Baranchyk entered at 22 with win over tough Petr Petrov.  Steve Claggett drops from 23 to out after loss to Danny O'Connor.  Yves Ulysse, Jr. drops from 25 to out.

Lights – Bryan Vasquez moves from 12 to out due to switching divisions.  Felix Verdejo drops from 14 to out after upset loss to Antonio Lozada, Jr.  Lozada enters at 21.  Peter Petrov drops from 15 to 18 after short-notice loss at 140 to Baranchyk.  Lewis Ritson enters at 25.

Jr. Lights - Bryan Vasquez enters at 15 with win over Miguel Angel Gonzalez for regional 130 belt.  Martin Joseph Ward enters at 25.  Jonathan Oquendo and Evgeny Chuprakov, 24 and 25 respectively, drop out.

Feathers - Oscar Valdez moves up from 5 to 4 with gritty win over Scott Quigg.  Quigg drops from 7 to 9 for missing weight and still losing.  Jesus Cuellar drops from 8 to Inactive due to inactivity.  Cuellar is scheduled to face Gervonta Davis at 130 for a belt soon.  Takenori Ohashi enters at 19 with win over Kosuke Saka.  Saka drops from 20 to out.  Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda enters at 25.

Jr. Feathers – Hidenori Otake moves up from 18 to 16 for defense of OPBF belt.  Gavin McDonnell moves up from 23 to 19 for impressive win over unbeaten Gamal Yafai.  Azat Hovannisyan enters at 22 after impressive stoppage win over Ronny Rios.  Rios drops from 21 to out.

Bantams – Shinkue Yamanaka drops from 2 to out due to retirement.  Naoya Inoue enters at 5 due to scheduled fight with Jamie McDonnell.  Jason Maloney enters at 25.  (I erroneously had Jamie McDonnell in two spots last month - thus added Maloney to fill out top 25.)

Super Flys - Naoya Inoue moves from 2 to out as he's moved up in weight.  Juan Francisco Estrada moves from 4 to 2 based on strong performance in loss to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.  McWilliams Arroyo moves from Inactive to 7 after impressive win over Carlos Cuadras.  Cuadras drops from 5 to 8.  Andrew Maloney moves up to 18 from 25 with impressive win over Rene Dacquel.  Dacquel drops from 24 to out.  Jose Martinez enters at 25.

Flys – Artem Dalakian moves up from 17 to 3 with impressive win over Brian Villoria.  Villoria drops from 5 to 8.  Juan Carlos Reveco drops from 3 to 7 after one-sided loss to Donnie Nietes.  

Jr. Flys – Saul Juarez enters at 15 with win over Gilberto Parra Medina.  (Funky Cold) Medina drops from 18 to 24.  Alexis Diaz drops from 25 to out.

Straws – Saul Juarez drops from 17 to out as he moved up in weight.  Julio Mendoza enters at 25.

Odds and Ends Post-Mayweather vs. McGregor

• Erik Magraken, at the excellent Combat Sports Law blog, made an interesting find on Floyd Mayweather's pre-fight medical questionnaire. Floyd apparently admitted using injections of Kenalog (an anti-inflammatory) in his hands at 5 a.m. on the day of the fight.  Magraken noted that although Kenalog is a banned in-competition substance according to WADA's prohibited list - the WADA (and USADA, the testing entity) definition of "in-competition" only prohibits ingestion within 12 hours of competition.  Thus, with the fight happening around 9 p.m. PST, Floyd was within the rules to have the injection (depending on how the injection was administered - read the post).

• Zach Arnold, at another great MMA site Fight Opinion, believes that "it is blatantly clear that Conor McGregor will continue fighting in both boxing and MMA."  Arnold also reported that Dana White was "non-committal" about whether WME-IMG may be willing to give McGregor a percentage interest in the UFC in order to keep him in the fold.  Arnold also quoted MMA legend Randy Couture as saying that this fight highlighted the financial issues MMA fighters face vis-a-vis boxing. Couture predicted that more MMA fighters will crossover to boxing in order to reap the sponsorship and PPV upside opportunities that are currently not present in the UFC.

• Though Dana White was initially spewing about the number of PPV buys being above 6.5 million, according to ESPN, it appears the more realistic number is likely to land between 4 and 5 million buys.  Thus, it may not even break the previous PPV buy record set by Mayweather-Pacquiao at 4.6 million buys.