Caroline Dubois schools Terri Harper, unifying lightweight titles

/2 Comments/in , /by

Caroline Dubois didn’t deliver on her promise to knock out Terri Harper, but she outclassed her and took her WBO belt, unifying the lightweight division with the WBC strap.

 

Not much landed for either in the first round, despite Dubois trying to get on the inside of Harper’s lead foot. Dubois then raised the intensity, connecting on multiple jabs and a body shot with a straight left hand.

 

Her focus was breaking her down with body strikes and the pressure neutralized Harper’s attack. Dubois managed to slip out of big ones, and later dropped her with a head shot on the tail end of a  2-1 and 1-2 combinations.

 

The bell rang quickly after, giving Harper a reprieve, but she entered the seventh round not willing to engage and paid for the shots she landed. There was an accidental head clash in the next interval that drew blood from Harper’s left eyebrow, and she got battered heading into the closing rounds.

 

Yet the continuous punishment finally forced her to let her hands go, turning the ninth and 10th rounds into a brawl with both ladies landing heartless punches up and downstairs.  Harper dished seven more power punches between those two rounds, per CompuBox.

 

Dubois won unanimously on the cards 98-91, 97-92, 98-91. She said in her post-fight interview that, “I’m an entertainer and this is what I do,” and that she only wants big fights in the future, with two more coming in 2026. 

 

The rest of Most Valuable Promotions’ fight card included Ellie Scotney defeating Mayelli Flores to become England’s youngest undisputed champion (junior flyweight); Chantelle Cameron won the vacant WBO junior middleweight belt over Michaela Kotaskova; Irma Garcia retained her IBF junior bantamweight title against Emma Dolan.

 

On top of that, Mikaela Mayer, the WBO’s welterweight champ who is also a unified titlist at 154 pounds (WBA + WBC) wants to be undisputed. She was working as one of the analysts on the broadcast, and she faced off with Cameron in the ring, setting up a fight for later this year. Mayer also had the junior middleweight belt before vacating it in January.



Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat make easy work of the touring Wizards

/0 Comments/in , /by

Nothing like playing a team in the cellar to boost the numbers.

 

It was the first meeting since Bam Adebayo’s 83-point outburst on March 10, and the Heat’s bench crew got the extra time in the tune-up win. They scored 142.1 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 99th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.

 

Still, the Wizards pressured Adebayo early, not wanting to allow a repeat or close to it of his career high. He said, “They did their jobs. I got six shot attempts.”

 

Tyler Herro was absent for personal reasons, so Simone Fontecchio started in his place, scoring eight points in 19 minutes. 

 

Jaime Jaquez Jr. set a season high of 32 points, slicing and pivoting through the lane. His best stretch was in the second quarter, helping the team separate themselves from the Wizards, making five of his 12 baskets. 

 

On top of that, the Heat missed all four 3-point attempts in the period and still scored 41 points on 68.2% shooting.

 

Kel’el Ware also made 10 shots in the restricted are and behind the 3-point line, with 19 rebounds and seven blocks. Coach Erik Spoelstra said, “I would say, we’ve had three practices in the last few days, I would venture to say these are the three best practices he’s had this year and those are coming out of some tough games with tough competition.”

   

They started the fourth quarter ahead by 31 points, and none of the starters had to come in. The team had shut off the paint for most of the game up to that point, while getting what they wanted.

 

Rookie Kasparas Jakučionis, who hadn’t played the last two games because of a coach’s decision, was one of four players to log all of the fourth-quarter minutes. Nikola Jović likely would have been the fifth, but he was fouled, catching a lob in mid-air with 36 seconds and came down hard on his left ankle. Jamir Watkins was given a flagrant foul penalty two, and Spoelstra later said that Jović’s ankle was sprained. Keep in mind that Jović had missed the last six games.

 

The Heat won 152-136, setting a new season high in points and it was one point shy of their all-time single game scoring record. The previous high (150) this season also came against Washington on March 10. 

 

–

The Heat are the 10th seed, with four games are left in the regular season: the next two are in Toronto against the Raptors, then Washington on April 10 and the finale on April 12, hosting the Atlanta Hawks.  





Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Celtics outclassed the desperate Heat

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Celtics stained Pat Riley Court with an 18-point blowout. It was like watching a cyclist try to keep up with a Ferrari, only catching up within a mile when the driver pulled over for gas.

 

Jaylen Brown was unrestrainable as he sliced to the cup for layups and buried pull-up jumpers. The Celtics were shooting 75%, forcing coach Erik Spoelstra to call a timeout that did not help because the Heat kept bleeding, and surrendered 53 points before the first quarter ended. 

 

Spoelstra said, “This is going to sound crazy but this game was not like the other games. Our guys were locked in and competing. There was an exceptional level of shot-making from them to start the game.” 

 

It stayed ugly for the Heat as the Celtics kept pushing the pace, and they made nine shots in the lane. They had a 23-point lead at halftime with as many assists (18) as the Heat had field goals (18).

 

The Heat were powerless to stop Brown’s encore because he was too big, strong and fast for whoever challenged him. Still, they turned it around, subsequently draining 11 3-pointers, the most in any quarter of their season, in large part because the guests got comfortable, and cut the deficit to 10 points going into the fourth.  

 

They didn’t have much gas in the tank after that, and the Celtics pounced on them again. Jayson Tatum worked around screens for pull-up jumpers and dished to his cutting teammates, throwing cold water on the Heat’s comeback chances. He dissected the zone easily as well, while the Celtics kept separating themselves on the glass. 

 

The Heat lost 147-129.

 

Observations:

 

  • Norman Powell missed his third-straight game, yet the Heat’s offense scored in the 92nd percentile, so the problem is that they didn’t have the resources to hang with Boston’s attack or rebounding (48-37). There were moments the team overhelped, giving up treys, and no one was able to bother Brown and Tatum much on the dribble. Furthermore, the Heat only played six guys significant minutes because Spoelstra didn’t trust his reinforcements. Particularly, Kel’el Ware didn’t get much time because his screen-roll defense was weak and he bit on a fake.

 

  • Brown had 20 of his 43 points in the first quarter, the most by any Celtic player this season. Tatum also did some of the heavy lifting, setting up shooters and crashing the glass like a madman. He had a double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds) by halftime, then picked up his shot creation and finished with a triple-double (25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists) against two turnovers.

 

  • The Heat allowed the Celtics to shoot 29% higher than the league average in the paint non-restricted area. Notably, Brown didn’t miss in that spot, going 11-for-11, and Tatum made five of seven baskets.

 

  • Boston’s 53 points in the first quarter ties the most this season with the Heat ( against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 7). The Celtics made 11 3-pointers in that stretch, five of those belonging to Sam Hauser, who had 17 points in the period. Additionally, it was the third time the Celtics have scored at least 80 points in the first half.

 

  • Bam Adebayo, Jaime Jaquez and Pelle Larsson were the top options in the lane, combining for 14 of the team’s 19 field goals. The Heat also scored 45 points in the third quarter and it was their top shooting spurt of the season, yet they were outscored in every other period. 

 

  • The Heat are the 10th seed, being a half-game behind the Charlotte Hornets for the eighth seed, and 2.5 out of the sixth spot (Philadelphia 76ers). Regarding the Play-In Tournament, Adebayo said, “See if we can win all five and then figure out whatever happens after that. Take it one game at a time and whatever happens, happens, at this point.”



 

‘Vintage Sandy’ needed for Marlins to become playoff contenders

/0 Comments/in , /by

There were two signs over the offseason that proved the Miami Marlins front office believed in what they did in the first year of the latest rebuild and leaned into it going into 2026.

They signed a reliable closer in free agency and kept their ace.

Fresh off an Opening Day pitching performance that prompted infielder Connor Norby to call him “Vintage Sandy” in his postgame interview with the Marlins Radio Network, Sandy Alcantara tossed the first complete game shutout of the season, allowing only three hits with seven strikeouts to lead the Marlins to a 10-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

“Sandy was really good,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “I thought we came in with a good game plan, guys were engaged and were competitive. We just got beat by a really good pitcher and I think it’s as simple as that.”

It was Alcantara’s 13th career complete game and first since 2023. A lost art in modern-day pitching, Alcantara won the 2022 National League Cy Young Award for throwing six complete games.

“It’s been a long time since throwing a complete game but this one is special for me,” Alcantara said.

In his first two starts of the season, Alcantara has gone 16 innings without giving up an earned run, nor has he hit the 100-pitch benchmark in each of his starts. He has 12 total strikeouts and two walks while averaging 10.4 pitches per inning.

“We just didn’t have an answer for him. He had really good stuff. He pounded the zone, made it really tough on us to do anything,” Venable said, “just never had a chance.”

Alcantara hasn’t looked as good since his Cy Young season. Unfortunately, that didn’t yield a winning season from the Marlins, and by the time Miami was good enough to reach the postseason a year later, he was declining to the point of requiring Tommy John surgery.

By the time he returned in 2025, it was a completely different team. He still had his affable apprentice in Eury Perez alongside him to form one of the more formidable 1-2 pitching duos in the NL East.

His return to form coincides with the team’s rebirth under a newer, younger flourish. As the Marlins started the previous season with a bunch of unknowns who arrived via waiver claims, mixed with some who came in high-profile trades. He had a pre-All-Star break ERA of 7.22 in 18 starts and the Marlins were as low as 25-41 on June 11, 2025.

A switch was flipped on June 13 and since then, only four division winners have won more games than the Marlins: Milwaukee (64),

Seattle (60), Toronto (60), and Philadelphia (59). Alcantara posted a 3.33 ERA in his final 13 starts of the season as a clear sign of his comeback.

“It’s been well-documented a ton how much of a struggle it was early for him last year and most of the year,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “So for him, he just never gives in. He just keeps competing.”

Marlins president of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix resisted the urge to trade Alcantara on the final year of a 5-year, $56M extension (with a 2027 team option) knowing what was coming. He predicted on Opening Day that this was going to be Alcantara’s best season and so far he may be right.

The Marlins (5-1) have won both of their home series to start the 2026 season. Miami will travel to New York to take on the Yankees on Easter weekend for their first road trip of the year. They are going to need vintage Sandy all year if their playoff aspirations are to be realistic, and they know that.

“Hopefully I gotta keep healthy all season long and keep winning to take this team into the playoffs,” Alcantara said.

Paddack’s first impression lines up with recent Marlins free agent pitching flops

/0 Comments/in , /by

Even as stopgaps, free agent starting pitchers have not bode well for the Miami Marlins in recent history.

Cal Quantrill posted a 5.50 ERA last year. The Marlins went to the playoffs in 2023 despite Johnny Queto’s 6.02 ERA. Wei-Yin Chen (2016-19) was the franchise’s biggest free agent signing as a starting pitcher and the worst, making Edinson Vólquez (4.19 ERA, 2017) look like an ace by comparison.

While not sky high, Chris Paddack was expected to be different. Nicknamed the “Sheriff”, Paddack arrived in Miami on a one-year, $4M deal after posting a 5.35 ERA with the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers.

The Chicago White Sox put him out to pasture with eight runs on eight hits in the first four innings to win 9-4 and spoil his Marlins debut. His eight earned runs allowed in a team debut set a Marlins franchise record.

Six of Paddack’s eight earned runs came off two home runs from the White Sox. Austin Hays took a 95 MPH fastball high in the strike zone for a two-run dinger in the third inning. Miguel Vargas changed the trajectory of an 85.3 MPH changeup that fell in the middle of the zone and turned into a grand slam. In between all of that are six strikeouts in an outing that started with two shutout innings.

“It was off to a really good start, but as you reflect on the outing, a couple snowball innings there, a couple crooked numbers there in the third and the fourth, not how I envisioned my Marlins debut by any means,” Paddack said. “It’s not an ideal situation to be in to start the year. Especially coming off a really good spring, having some confidence going into the season.”

Nobody envisioned the result, but it was a debut 11 years in the making. Paddack was drafted in the eighth round by the Marlins in 2015 out of high school in Texas. He was dominating Single-A with a 0.95 ERA and 48 strikeouts in six starts before being traded to the San Diego Padres for All-Star closer Fernando Rodney in 2016. At the time of the trade, then-Marlins assistant general manager Mike Berger defined Paddack as “A guy that definitely plugs in as a, worst case, mid-rotation starter,” in an interview with MLB.com.

Paddack broke out as a rookie in 2019 with a 3.33 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 140.2 innings with a Padres team on the verge of becoming perennial contenders. He hasn’t matched those numbers since but has reached his perceived floor when healthy with the Padres and Twins.

After his fraught first impression, Paddack said Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara reassured him inside the dugout, saying, “You’re here for a reason. We believe in you. I believe in you.”

“He has my back, and it was cool to hear that from our ace,” Paddack said. “He noticed some things that were a little different there in the third and fourth than there was in the first and second. So I noted that.”

Alcantara is not alone in that opinion. Paddack was not brought to Miami to be a budding ace, but as a veteran presence meant to be productive in the bottom of the rotation.

“Results aside, we’ll get a lot better days out of Chris than today,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “He’s a pro. He’ll flip the page.”

Paddack is expected to pitch again in New York on Sunday against the Yankees.

“If I get the opportunity, I’m going to have 31 more starts,” Paddack said, “and that’s a long journey ahead.”

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Herro of the fourth quarter delivered the win

/0 Comments/in , /by

There wasn’t much separation through three quarters, and the teams were desperate to climb out of Play-In Tournament territory. Aside from some relief minutes given to Kel’el Ware, the team was playing six guys while their 3-point shooting was not a factor. 

 

Then Tyler Herro was the best player on the floor in the fourth. He had 18 points before it started, and played the rest of the minutes, making pull-up jumpers and dive-bys. He finished with 30 points, but no baskets were bigger than the consecutive 3-pointers that gave the Heat the late lead. It was his highest-scoring fourth period of the season, and he also had two critical blocks in crunch time. 

 

He said, “I mean I was open, both were great looks. I was able to knock them down, rely on my work. I shoot those same shots every day multiple times a day.”

 

It also helped the Heat that the other five players scored in the lane in the fourth, they were the nastier team on the boards, and they had their sharpest defensive spurt late. Bam Adebayo said, “You saw how we guarded, we’re capable of that. We can do that every night.”

 

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid carried the visitors down the stretch, scoring 10 points on 50% shooting, but the effects were diluted as the Heat keyed in on everyone else. 

 

The Heat won 119-109 after three ties and 14 lead changes. 

 

Coach Erik Spoelstra said , “There were several moments where we were putting pedal to the metal, and it started defensively.” 

 

The team slowed the 76ers offense to 110.1 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 33rd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. 

 

Additionally, the Heat are three games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the sixth seed, and would need to be almost perfect while their division rivals come apart the rest of the way. Keep in mind that the Orlando Magic and the 76ers want that spot just as badly as the Heat. 


Observations:

 

  • Embiid is not the same rebounder he used to be, perhaps to preserve the spring in his legs. Nonetheless, he is still a powerhouse inside the arc because of his brutish strength and soft tough. Tyrese Maxey is the perfect complimentary star next to him since he is so fast as a three-level scorer. Yet, Herro and Adebayo outplayed them by combining for more points and rebounds. To boot, Adebayo made 12 of 13 freebies, and it was his ninth time this year taking double-figure free throws.

 

  • It was the Heat’s worst 3-point shooting night of the season, making 27.5% of attempts. The previous worst was set in Friday’s loss in Cleveland, after logging only 32.6%.

 

  • Notably, the rookie Kasparas Jakučionis did not play because of the coach’s decision. It was the first game he missed since the Feb. 6 loss in Boston. Additionally, Philly’s V.J. Edgecombe has been one of the top rookies this year, and he was held to two points in the second half in almost 15 minutes.

 

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Heat hit a roadblock in Indiana as desperation rises

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Heat folded in Indiana, where the Pacers were on an 11-game home losing streak stretching back to Feb. 2. There was no bigger issue than the defense, which allowed the Pacers to score in the 88th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.

 

Keep in mind that they struggled against the team trying to lose, again. It was discouraging for anyone affiliated with them or supporting their cause as it was no different than watching someone who is supposed to be a decent level fighter go the distance and lost a split decision against someone who was supposed to be a tuneup.

 

They were barely up two after the first quarter thanks to Micah Potter getting payback for getting waived by the Heat nearly five years ago, by making four 3-pointers and T.J. McConnell adding four baskets at short and long range.

 

If it wasn’t for Tyler Herro going beast mode in the first half, they would have been embarrassed sooner. Yet the Pacers’ ball movement around the arc and penetration through the middle exposed the visitors, putting them down four at intermission.

 

It was subsequently a shootout and a track meet. Herro’s flurry continued, nailing two extra treys and scoring at close range, and the rest of the starters each made multiple shots in the third quarter. Subsequently, the zone was prominent in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t as disruptive as they needed while the offense fell apart. 

 

The Heat lost 135-118 after 10 ties and 16 lead changes, the last one coming in the last nine minutes.

 

Coach Erik Spoelstra said, “We just haven’t been able to do it in these last several losses, but I know our guys want this. So we are going to take this L, take that last L against Cleveland. They are two disappointing losses, and we are going to back to Miami and figure out how to get this one tomorrow.”

 

Takeaways:

 

  • The Heat have the bad habit of not paying enough attention to detail on defense in games they need. Spoelstra even said that they cycled through all of their coverages, but that the team “needs to show that toughness right now.” Still, the Pacers have good pieces that helped them get to the 2025 Finals, yet they are without their star point guard Tyrese Haliburton while he recovers from torn achilles tendon that he suffered in Game 7 of that series. Even without him, the Pacers are the second-best passing team in the league behind the Golden State Warriors. Furthermore, the Heat’s 3-point protection was lacking as they permitted 13 in the first half (five in the second), six coming from the corner. The pace hurt them by tiring their legs by the time the fourth quarter started. 

 

  • The Heat’s schemes prioritize protecting the paint at all costs, but the Pacers shot 7.1% above the league average at 0-3 feet and 13.8 above it in the non restricted area (3-10 feet). The Pacers scored 54 points in the lane, most of it coming from Siakam (12) and Quenton Jackson (10).

 

  • The first game of the back-to-back set, which concludes against Philadelphia on Monday, was a disaster because the Heat are desperate to avoid the Play-In Tournament. The loss drops them three games out of the sixth seed, making their fourth-straight trip into the Play-In inevitable, with seven games remaining. 

 

  • Herro played poorly in the second half of the miniseries in Cleveland, so it was no surprise that he came out blazing. He was shooting 63.2% through three quarters before going cold in the final stretch.

 

  • Pascal Siakam is a matchup problem for everyone on the Heat not named Bam Adebayo. He’s smooth on the dribble plus can pull-up from distance. His scoring, Andrew Nembhard’s steady shot creation, and the 39 combined points from Potter plus T.J. McConnell did too much damage. Additionally, the Pacers had three players log multiple baskets in the fourth quarter.

 

  • The Pacers broadcast highlighted C.J. Miles, who works as a photographer for the digital marketing team. He was a guard for them from 2014-17.

 

Marlins OF Owen Caissie living up to the promise

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Miami Marlins were promised a star in the making in Owen Caissie and so far it appears that promise is being kept.

Very few Marlins players have made the introduction Caissie has. Every hit he knocks carries significance. None more so than when he entered Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies late and won it on a two-run walk-off homer to put the Marlins on top 4-3.

“I kind of blacked out,” Caissie said. “It was awesome to get the W and to get the sweep was great.”

Caissie wasn’t in the starting lineup entering the game due to the Marlins playing the matchups against Rockies left-handed starting pitcher Jose Quintana. He entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and delivered when the Marlins were down to their last out.

“You kind of wish for those moments like this,” Caissie said. “I just want to keep putting good swings on the ball. I know that it’s not always going to be like this, but if I can continue to stick with my plan, I know good things are going to happen.”

While the first series of the season is a microscopic sample size, one has to also include his initial introduction to the Marlins organization, which was to play for Team Canada at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Caissie collected seven hits, led the team with five RBI, and helped propel Canada to its first quarterfinal round in the tournament’s 20-year history.

“He started off spring training a little slow. I think he was putting a little pressure on himself, obviously trying to make a good impression for the new organization. Then WBC he really kind of got those ABs every day,” said Marlins catcher Liam Hicks, who was also Caissie’s teammate with Canada. “It’s awesome to finally see him get the opportunity.“

Now compound that to his first three games where every time he reaches base, it leads to the Marlins scoring a run that proved to be the difference between 3-0 and 0-3. Similar numbers, as he went 5-for-10 with a home run, four RBI and a stolen base. 

“He’s been unbelievable for us,” Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards said of Caissie, “swinging a really hot bat.”

With a left-handed stroke that generates swift bat speed and power, Caissie’s stated approach of hitting the ball down the middle has paid off early on. Especially Saturday when he hit for two doubles and a go-ahead RBI single.

“I’m gonna make mistakes, but today I felt like I did a good job at swinging at good pitches,” Caissie said after Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.

The price for him was seemingly high. The Marlins had to send Edward Cabrera away after completing the best season of his young career (3.53 ERA, 150 SO, 137.2 IP). He is signed for $4.45M this year and is bound to be far pricier as he goes through more years of arbitration, so it was time for the Marlins to restart the clock on a player with just as much potential.

It wasn’t the first time Caissie was traded for a potent pitcher. After the San Diego Padres made Caissie the highest-drafted Canadian outfielder ever (45th overall) in 2020, he became the prized prospect in a seven-player trade for Yu Darvish that December.

Through one year in Double-A and two in Triple-A, Caissie averaged 21 home runs per season in his aged 20-22 seasons. His 22 homers last year with Triple-A Iowa came in 99 games, his lowest since 2021, and it came with a career high .937 OPS, which was third in the International League. That propelled him to the big leagues with the Cubs in mid-August, where he collected five hits in 12 games.

It’s evident early on that Caissie fits with this young Marlins team far more than with a Cubs squad filled with established veterans and deep postseason expectations. Who knows, maybe they’ll meet again in October.

”We have a lot of fun and we play loose and relaxed,” Caissie said. “We’re never out of the game so we really play with that intensity.”

Around the Diamond: Jake McCarthy relishing veteran role with young Rockies

/0 Comments/in , /by

After five seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jake McCarthy enters the 2026 season with a new team, a new shade of purple, and a new role.

The veteran outfielder for a young Colorado Rockies squad that is looking to build upward from a 43-119 2025 season.

“It reminds me a lot of when I got called up in 2021 and the young team I played on in 2022,” McCarthy said. “I think it’s fun to be a part of something ascending and I think we’re going in the right direction here.”

The 2021 Diamondbacks finished 52-110 but demonstrated the building blocks of what would be their run to the World Series two years later. Through the rubble of the previous season, Colorado saw Hunter Goodman emerge as a franchise cornerstone at catcher (31 HR, 91 RBI), Mickey Moniak (24 HR, .270 BA) finally emerge in his first season on his third team. McCarthy joins an outfield core that includes Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck, both solid hitters and elite defenders.

This year’s Rockies also feature the corner infield duo of TJ Rumfield, who homered off Marlins starting pitcher Eury Perez in Saturday’s 4-3 loss, and Kyle Karros, the son of Ex-big leaguer Eric Karros. There is also the potential of Ezequiel Tovar rebounding to his 2024 form, where he hit 26 home runs and earned a gold glove at shortstop. He hit a two-run home run off Perez in the fourth inning.

“I think there are a lot of young, really talented players here who are eager to prove themselves,” McCarthy said. “I think the more experience they get, the better overall club we’ll get.”

An athletic outfielder, McCarthy was no stranger to altitude prior to joining the Rockies. Aside from playing in Denver during his time as a division rival, he also spent his Triple-A years in Reno, NV, which has an elevation of 4,498 ft.

“You’ve got to just get more reps under your belt there,” McCarthy said. “I do think I have at least some experience in playing in elevations and sort of the bigger outfields with the ball carrying a little bit.”

At his best, McCarthy is a speed demon on the base paths. He averaged 24 stolen bases from 2022 to 2024. Coors Field is a ballpark that rewards speed on offense but requires it on defense.

“We want to use that park to our advantage,” McCarthy said.

Sebastian Fundora stops Keith Thurman in round six, retaining his WBC junior middleweight title

/1 Comment/in , /by

Sebastian Fundora’s advantages in height (nine inches) and reach (11 inches) over Keith Thurman were too difficult a code to crack. The latter couldn’t get close enough, and referee Thomas Tyler stopped it before his face turned from bruised and cut to disfigured.

 

The challenger ate a straight left hand in the opening 10 seconds of the fight and that was a microcosm of how it would go. All he could do was try to tire out Fundora by moving around him, and then he suffered another left-handed laser that buckled his knees, almost causing a knockdown in round two.

 

The champion opened up his attack as the fight continued and his left uppercut landed to the head and body. Thurman subsequently connected on a combination up and downstairs to start the fifth round, but his slender and taller opponent remained disciplined, frustrating him further with pressure. 

 

According to CompuBox, Fundora landed 36 of 80 punches in round five, which is the most Thurman has been tagged in a three-minute burst in his career. A ringside doctor quickly inspected him at the start of the sixth and allowed the fight to continue, but he had no answers anyway. 

 

A right hook opened a cut on his left cheek, and then Taylor stepped in between them after getting sick of watching one man retreat while getting stung with cleaving shots from both sides. Thurman protested the stoppage, and left the ring while Fundora was giving a post-fight interview, but made sure to embrace him first. The former later said at the press conference not to hire Taylor for main events again. “He just jumped in like a white rabbit, man.” The only other loss Thurman had on his résumé was a split decision to Manny Pacquiao in July of 2019. 

 

Fundora said that he had watched tape on Thurman, and knew the overhand left would be a weapon. Additionally, when asked about unifying, he said, “I’m the best. They all have to come to me.”

 

The other champions at 154 pounds are Xander Zayas (WBO, WBA) and Josh Kelly (IBF).

 

Former undisputed junior middleweight champ Jermell Charlo attended the fight and after, said in an interview that he wanted to fight Fundora. 

 

Stock rises for junior middleweight contender

 

Yoenis Tellez had to take minutes of rest in the third round because of a nasty head butt that broke his nose, leaking a lake of blood on the canvas. He said the pain was a 10 out of 10, but that he is a warrior, and proceeded to take control with his jab, combinations and power shots. 

 

He couldn’t breathe through his nose, yet he recovered his confidence with the big straight right hands in the fourth round. 

 

Brian Mendoza was the bigger man, and he kept many rounds close, yet Tellez was more active and effective with his aggression. The former was also cut next to the left eye by a head clash, affecting his vision in round eight. 

 

The judges scored the co-main event 98-92, 97-93 and 97-93 after 10 rounds. 

 

The first thing Tellez did in the post-fight interview was give his support to his country (Cuba), which is facing tough times because of an oil blockade, and that has worsened the energy problems, and he thanked his team. He was asked how he survived the head butt and credited his team for that, too.