👑 Another Undisputed King

May 13, 2022

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one stop shop for all things combat sports related, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.

Teddy Atlas and co-host Ken Rideout breakdown the Canelo Alvarez vs Dmitry Bivol fight, and UFC 274 with Michael Chandler vs Tony Ferguson and Charles Oliveira vs Justin Gaethje.

Thanks for being with us. The best way to support is to subscribe, share the episode and check out our sponsors:

Wolaco…

Every Friday We Bring You:

  • A combat sports news digest with all the headlines you need to know from Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts.

  • Highlights from the podcast and across the fight world.

  • Fight times and information you need to know ahead of time.

  • How to’s and tips for Boxing from Teddy himself.

Fight News From Around The 🌍

Second Time Lucky?

When a fight ends in a draw in boxing, one side is usually a lot happier with the result than the other.

Which side that was between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castaño back in July 2021, is difficult to determine.

A lot of observers thought Castaño had done enough to win, with constant forward pressure and shots that seemed to hurt Charlo more than any other opponent in his pro career thus far. From that point of view, Charlo got away with retaining his titles at the minimum.

However, Castaño himself was hurt quite badly, especially in the 10th round, when it looked like Charlo would be able to stop him. It didn't come to pass and he managed to hang on, but in terms of who actually came closest to being stopped, it was definitely the Argentine.

What was so fascinating about the first fight, is that both men will think they successfully laid out the blueprints to finish the job the second time around.

Charlo believes in his power, having ended 5 of his 7 title fights within the distance, and he knows that Castaño will be susceptible to being timed as he charges in.

If he can time his entries more consistently than he did the first time around, there's a good chance that he can get the kind of stoppage that eluded him in the 10th round back in July.

Castaño won't go easy however, having showed incredible heart to come back from being hurt and dominating large parts of the fight with his relentless aggression and unorthodox angles.

If Tony Harrison showed how Jermell Charlo can be out-boxed, Brian Castaño showed how he can be out-hustled and out-fought, and he'll be looking to do much of the same this time around.

He'll have to deploy a slightly more patient approach however, biding his time in his offence and being cautious of his rhythm becoming too predictable.

He has the amateur pedigree and intelligence to be able to execute a more measured game plan, holding victories over technicians such as Errol Spence Jr and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

If he can do this, he has an excellent chance of handing Charlo a second career defeat on the scorecards.

Whichever fighter emerges victorious will see it as a delayed coronation of the undisputed crown, the first in the light middleweight division since Winky Wright in 2004, and the first of the 4 belt era.

It's a division that is deep with talent, and PBC holds the majority of the cards when it comes to top players in the division, from youg contenders like Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora, to former champs Tony Harrison and Julian Williams.

The winner on Saturday night will have no shortage of contenders who will come knocking for their chance at undisputed glory.

But first, it's time to finally crown an undisputed champion at the weight, after 10 months of waiting, the time has come.

Roll on Saturday night.

Top Of The 205 Tree

On Saturday night, former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz returns to the Octagon for the first time since losing his title when he takes on up and comer Aleksandar Rakic.

Blachowicz charged to the top of the light heavyweight pack when Jon Jones' planned move to heavyweight and vacating of the 205 lbs championship left the division without a top dog.

Blachowicz stepped into that role in style with a dominant finish of Dominick Reyes in 2020, following it up with an an impressive performance in fending off Israel Adesanya's attempt to become a two-division champion.

Coming off the back of a devastating KO win and an intelligent first defence, it seemed like Jan was primed for a long title reign at light heavyweight.

Enter Glover Teixeira.

The Brazilian became the oldest UFC champ in history by submitting Jan in the 2nd round, after having taken some good shots from him in the first round.

He was set for a fairly quick turnaround as he was scheduled to fight Rakic in January. Blachowicz subsequently suffered a neck injury that left him unable to feel or move the left side of his body, forcing the fight to be delayed several months.

Rakic is a dangerous opponent and a man who has quietly ticked along as one of the most consistent fighters in the division for years.

The lone loss the promotion came by split decision to former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir, a result that was quite controversial at the time. Without that loss, he probably would have already fought for the title.

Adding a win over a former champion in Blachowicz, after back-to-back victories against former title challengers Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos may make Rakic's case for a title shot simply undeniable.

Jan is a big step up however, and it'll be interesting if his performance against Glover was the result of a bad night at the office, or more indicative of an overall decline as he closes in on 40 years of age.

As the old saying goes, the last thing to go is the power, so Rakic will have to be cautious as he'll most likely look to keep the fight standing and engage Jan on the feet.

The 205 lbs division has come a long way from the Jon Jones dominance years, and it moves extremely fast these days. Losing fights towards the top of the division is simply not an option if you want to be in the title picture.

With the Teixeira vs Prochazka fight on the horizon at UFC 275, both men need the win here to be able to cement themselves as the number 1 contender to whoever the champion may be come June.

Fight ⏰ for this weekend

Boxing: Charlo vs Castañ0 (Saturday 14th/Sunday 15th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 8pm Eastern/ 5pm Pacific | Main Event: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 1am | Main Event: 3am

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 10am Eastern/ 8am Western | Main Event: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western

UFC: Blachowicz vs Rakic (Saturday 14th/Sunday 15th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 10pm Eastern/ 7pm Pacific | Main Event: 12am Eastern/ 9pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 3am | Main Event: 5am 

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 10am Western | Main Event: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western

Don't forget to tune in to the latest episode 🎧

Thanks for being with us and see you next week #BANG💥