Month: May 2022

Canelo Alvarez entered Saturday night 57-1-2 in his illustrious career, with his only career loss coming 17 fights ago to Floyd Mayweather. However, Canelo was stepping into just his second fight at 175 pounds against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, having previously knocked out an aging Sergey Kovalev in 2019 before returning to super middleweight for his next four fights, unifying the 168 pound belts. Even so, Canelo was a -600 favorite in the bout against the bigger Bivol, who had his eye on a stunning upset.

After coming out of the gates strong in the early rounds with some powerful uppercuts, it became apparent that the size differential was going to pose real problems for Canelo, who simply could not push Bivol back in the fight. Alvarez, used to being the aggressor, found himself stymied by Bivol’s strong guard and, as Canelo seemed to get tired, Bivol pressed forward with a consistent, strong jab and began to pepper Alvarez with shot after shot, battering Canelo’s face in the middle rounds.

The late charge fans in Las Vegas were hoping for from Canelo never arrived, as Bivol stayed the course and continued to lean on the smaller Alvarez, keeping a solid workrate but never providing the opening for a big counter to swing the fight back in Alvarez’s favor. The bout went all 12 rounds, with the two sharing a quick embrace and show of respect after the final bell.

All three judges ringside scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Bivol, which some felt was not as indicative of the dominance showed by the champion, but it was the correct decision, even if a bit narrower on the scoring than some had hoped for. With the win, Bivol cements his place atop the light heavyweight division and earned plenty of respect from around the boxing world with a truly impressive performance against the pound-for-pound king.

For Alvarez, one would think this will cap his pursuit of belts to the 160 and 168 pound divisions, as the size differential in this fight proved to be too much to overcome. His early uppercuts were the types of punches that would’ve rattled middleweights but Bivol was able to eat them and stay in against Alvarez, wearing him down with the jab and tight, surgical combinations to pile up round wins. Weight classes exist for a reason and while Canelo impressed in his 175 pound debut, taking on a light heavyweight in his prime proved to be too much for him. What comes next remains to be seen, but while disappointed, Alvarez still should be commended for chasing new challenges and Bivol should be applauded for a sensational performance.

After impressing in his UFC debut with a first-round knockout of Dan Hooker, Michael Chandler was in real danger of seeing his UFC career landslide into three-straight losses. Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, at UFC 274, Tony Ferguson had Chandler on the ropes in the first round, hunting him around the cage and peppering him and landing just about everything he threw.

But seconds into the second round, it was a perfectly-timed front kick that caught Ferguson underneath his chin and sent the lightweight contender to sleep.

Chandler entered UFC 274 following consecutive losses to Charles Oliveira by TKO and Justin Gaethje via decision in May and November last year, respectively. Ferguson is now winless in his last four fights, with losses to Gaethje, Oliveira, Beneil Dariush and now Chandler.

Following the victory, Chandler made it known he wants to run it back with Oliveira or Gaethje should he earn another shot at lightweight gold. If the title isn’t in his immediate future, Chandler welcomed Conor McGregor back into the Octagon, who has been out with a broken leg suffered in the first round of his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last July.

Entering the showdown Saturday night already at No. 7 in the lightweight division, Ferguson has a long ways to go to find his way back into title contention.

UPDATE: Ja Morant deleted his tweet shortly after it went up. Here it is via a screenshot:

EARLIER: The Memphis Grizzlies got thrashed by the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night during Game 3 of their second round series. While suffering a 142-112 loss is never a good thing, the much bigger concern facing the Grizzlies the health of All-Star guard Ja Morant, who left the game while things were essentially done and dusted in the fourth quarter.

Morant got trapped near midcourt, and it appeared that he got hurt because Warriors guard Jordan Poole made contact with his right knee. It appeared that Morant was in some pain after and made his way to the bench.

Right knee issues held Morant out for nine games in the lead-up to the postseason, so seeing this is especially concerning to Memphis. And after the game, Morant and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins expressed some frustrations about the whole thing, with Jenkins going as far as to say that the play was “curious” and that Poole “grabbed [Morant’s] knee and yanked it.”

Morant, meanwhile, took to Twitter after the game and tweeted out a video of the incident with the caption “broke the code.”

The line is a clear shot at Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who said after Game 2 that Dillon Brooks “broke the code” that players are supposed to follow on the play that led to Gary Payton II suffering an elbow injury. Brooks was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and suspended from Game 3 as a result, while Payton is expected to be out for at least several weeks.

As for Poole, he stressed that he was going for the ball when asked about the incident after the game and told the press that “I’m not even that kind of player.”

The Golden State Warriors put forth quite the offensive display on Saturday night during Game 3 of their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite Memphis’ offense looking solid and yet another monster game for Ja Morant, the Warriors seemingly could not miss, with the original Splash Brothers being joined by some of their newer teammates en route to a 142-112 win to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Memphis started the game scorching hot from three. The team was able to race out to an early 12-point lead thanks to their shots from deep falling — the Grizzlies hit six of their first eight attempts from downtown, with Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and Ziaire Williams all getting in on the fun.

Despite the early onslaught, though, their lead was only two points after one, thanks in large part to a 9-3 run to close the quarter by the Dubs.

That torrid form continued into the second, as Golden State raced out to a 10-2 start to force a Grizzlies timeout.

Throughout the rest of the half, the 1-2 punch of Andrew Wiggins and Steph Curry helped keep Memphis at arm’s length. Wiggins ended the first half with 15 points, while Curry scored 10 of his 13 points in the second quarter.

The Grizzlies, unsurprisingly, got a big half out of Morant, whose 17 points led all scorers. It wasn’t enough, though, because despite the fact that Memphis had 11 first-half triples, the Warriors went 26-for-37 (a scorching 70.3 percent) from the field and held a 64-57 lead.

As they’ve done so many times over the years, Golden State emerged from the tunnel at halftime in front of their home crowd and landed the first haymaker of the second half. The Dubs opened up the period scoring the first 10 points — Klay Thompson hit a pair of triples during this stretch — and saw their lead balloon to as many as 23 in the third quarter.

There was also a classic Thompson heat check that went in, as he hoisted a three off of one foot while moving and knocked it down.

While Memphis was able to stop the bleeding a bit, the damage was done. Golden State’s torrid shooting meant they won the quarter, 37-23, and took a 101-80 lead into the fourth.

The fourth quarter followed the same script prior to the two teams emptying their benches. The Warrior offense just kept humming, and despite the best efforts of Morant — who eventually left the game with an apparent leg injury — Memphis just could not keep up with the onslaught. Things went so poorly for them that the usually mild-mannered Kyle Anderson picked up a pair of technical fouls and got ejected.

Curry’s 30 points and six assists were tops for the Dubs, while Jordan Poole gave them 27 off the bench and 21 with nine rebounds. Both Jonathan Kuminga (18 points) and Wiggins (17 points) joined them with double-figure scoring, and as a team, Golden State shot 53-for-84 (62.7 percent) from the field and 17-for-32 (51.6 percent) from three. Morant gave the Grizzlies 34 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and three steals.

Game 4 between the Warriors and Grizzlies will tip off on Monday night at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.

Ja Morant’s first two performances in his Western Conference Semifinal debut have been nothing short of spectacular. While the Memphis Grizzlies are tied at one game each against the Golden State Warriors, Morant has been a thorn in the Dubs’ side on in each game, going for 34 points the first time they went head-to-head and 47 in the Grizzlies’ Game 2 win.

It looks like Game 3 is going to follow that pattern, as Morant has 17 points, four assists, two rebounds, and two steals at the half. While the Grizzlies walked into the locker room at the Chase Center trailing 64-57, that deficit isn’t quite as bad thanks to a jumper Morant hit right before the halftime buzzer went off.

The catch: Morant didn’t just knock down a buzzer-beater, the dude pulled up from half court and got nothing but net despite a contest from Andrew Wiggins.

Here is an alternate angle of the shot, in which — you guessed it — this is still sick.

Morant got hot from deep in the first half of Game 3, going 4-for-6 from downtown despite playing in front of a hostile road crowd. Of course, while they all count the same, pulling up from half court with a hand in your face is easily the most impressive of the bunch.

The referees during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics came under fire from people on both teams. Celtics coach Ime Udoka, upset about the officiating after losing 103-101, claimed that he is going to teach his players how to flop more effectively so they can be on the receiving end of charge calls.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was likewise not particularly happy with the whistle from the officials, either, only he was not as eager to express his frustration as Udoka. After the game, Antetokounmpo made clear that he wanted to critique the officiating in the game, but ultimately decided to bite his tongue because he didn’t want to get fined.

Despite the fact that he felt this way, Antetokounmpo still managed to have an excellent game in Milwaukee’s win go up in the series, 2-1. The reigning NBA Finals MVP scored 42 points with 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and two blocks while shooting 12 of the 17 free throws that the Bucks attempted. Perhaps he won’t be in as good of a mood after Game 4 if the Bucks lose and the officiating continues to rub him the wrong way and he’ll be a little more willing to speak out, although diapers will still cost far too much money if that happens, so we expect him to bite his tongue no matter what.

Earlier this week, 42 Dugg was arrested by federal agents at a Detroit airport after he failed to turn himself in for a sixth-month sentence for firearm possession. The charge comes after Dugg, who is a convicted felon, was seen firing a weapon at an Atlanta gun range back in 2019. As a result, he was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $90,000 fine. However, Dugg repeatedly violated the terms of his probation after he allegedly tested positive for drugs on multiple occasions and was arrested in Las Vegas. As a result, a judge sentenced him to six months at a federal prison camp in West Virginia.

According to Detroit News, prosecutors shared that they had been looking for Dugg since April when he was scheduled to turn himself in to the prison camp. Eventually, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives secured a search warrant to track the location of the rapper’s phone, which led to them finding him at the Detroit airport around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. The next day, prosecutors explained why they believe Dugg is a flight risk during a court hearing about the arrest.

“When he was arrested he had $25,000 in cash and more than $100,000 in jewelry,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Lanning said during the hearing. “He’s claimed more than $11 million worth of assets. He has access to a private plane with a pilot willing to fly an unnumbered flight where Mr. Hayes is not included on the flight’s manifest.” Lanning concluded, “That’s not an accident. That’s not a happenstance.”

In response to the charges, Dugg’s lawyer told the Detroit News that his client did not turn himself in because they were appealing the six-month sentence. He adds that they mistakenly believed that Dugg did not need to surrender as the appeal was pending. Despite this, prosecutors said Dugg and his teamed filed paperwork in late April that claimed the rapper was a sovereign citizen that was exempt from federal laws. On Thursday, Dugg’s court-appointed lawyer, Casey Swanson, said Dugg did not file the paperwork. “Mr. Hayes did not flee,” she said. “He did not intentionally avoid a sentence in this case.”

42 Dugg is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The 2022 Kentucky Derby featured a number of horses that were considered reasonable winners, led by Epicenter (4-1) and followed by the likes of Zandon (6-1), Messier (6-1), and others. Without a prohibitive favorite, there was some expectation of chaos, as some thought the 1 post might produce the first winner in history in Mo Donegal (10-1).

As they came out of the final turn, it was shaping up to be a battle between favorites, as Epicenter jumped to the lead and Zandon was trying to close hard on his outside. While everyone was focused on those two, out of nowhere, the horse with the longest odds in the field, Rich Strike (80-1), made an unbelievable charge up the inside and overtook the two favorites by nearly a full length at the wire to become the biggest upset winner of the Derby since 1913.

The horse was as fired up as anyone else, as it kept nipping at the pony as they tried to direct him off the track — and was later biting at the guys putting the roses on him in the winner’s circle.

As they noted on the broadcast, Rich Strike was purchased a year ago for $30,000 and earned a $1.8 million payday. For any bettor willing to throw out some wild bets with the longshot winning, there were some huge paydays out there. A $1 superfecta with Rich Strike, Epicenter, Zandon, and Simplification paid $321,500 — with a $0.50 trifecta paying $7,435.

The Boston Celtics tried to mount a late charge in Game 3 against the Milwaukee Bucks, but ultimately, they came up just a little short. Despite trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half, Boston was able to chip away at Milwaukee’s lead and pull ahead in the waning moments before the Bucks narrowly secured a 103-101 victory to go up in the series, 2-1.

The loss came in one of the more physical games of the 2022 playoffs. While the two teams combined to shoot 51 free throws — 34 of which went to Boston — the referees still let quite a bit go, particularly when it came to Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose lowered his shoulder on numerous occasions and was able to create space en route to his 42-point performance.

The lack of charge calls miffed Celtics coach Ime Udoka, who claims he spoke to the officials during the game and was told that charges wouldn’t get called unless his players hit the deck. As a result, Udoka said after the game that he might instruct his players to flop more so they can get calls.

We will actually see if Boston takes their coach’s advice and flops more when Game 3 tips off on Monday evening.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Milwaukee Bucks have a 2-1 series lead on the Boston Celtics. Despite leading by as many as 14 points, the Bucks needed to hold on until the very end to pick up a 103-101 win in their first home game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

As he’s done so many times over the years, Giannis Antetokounmpo came out and set the tone for Milwaukee during the first half of play. Whether he was using his length and athleticism to pester the Celtic offense or using his strength and physicality to attack the rim on the other end of the floor, the reigning NBA Finals MVP had 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting with nine rebounds in the first half.

Boston’s defense, however, was able to contain everyone else. The Celtics shot 15-for-45 (31.8 percent) from the field and 4-for-18 (17.6 percent) from three, but managed to hold their opponents other than Antetokounmpo to just over 29 percent shooting from the field. Beyond a strong half by Brook Lopez (11 points, seven rebounds) and nine points on 4-for-12 shooting for Jrue Holiday, the rest of the Bucks only scored six points.

As for Boston, five players scored at least seven points — Jaylen Brown’s 10 led the way, while Jayson Tatum only had six on 2-for-10 shooting — and as a result, the Celtics took a 50-46 lead into the road locker room thanks in part to a 7-0 run to end the half.

The start of the third quarter continued the trend of chippy play, with the difference being that one side had Giannis Antetokounmpo. The sheer physicality that he brought to the floor helped Milwaukee open the half on a 20-6 run to wrest the lead away and find themselves up by double-digits. The Bucks’ 10-point lead as a result of the stretch was the largest deficit Boston faced all postseason up to that point.

The biggest moment of the quarter, though, came with 3:26 remaining, when Mike Budenholzer opted to rest Antetokounmpo for the remainder of the period. Instead of the Celtics being able to cut into the 10-point deficit at that time, Milwaukee actually managed to extend its lead to 13, putting themselves up 80-67 entering the fourth.

Boston came out for the start of the final frame in a precarious place, as Antetokounmpo returned to the game and the crowd at Fiserv Forum was ready to watch the home team pull away. That didn’t happen, as the Celtics stayed in it and eventually went on a 9-2 run to cut things to five.

Boston kept chipping away over the course of the fourth, getting it down to one point on multiple occasions. But each time, they couldn’t quite get over the hump … until Brown went up for a layup with 1:49 left, got fouled by Holiday, and knocked down a pair of free throws to go up, 100-99.

After back-to-back possessions where neither team scored, Milwaukee came down the floor, got the ball to Antetokounmpo, and let him go to work for a go-ahead basket. A layup attempt by Brown through contact was no good, and on the ensuing Bucks possession, the dagger came when Holiday composed himself after a collision with Tatum and made a runner.

The door was opened for the Celtics when Marcus Smart got fouled with 4.6 seconds left. After making the first, Smart purposely missed the second and all hell broke loose. The league’s Defensive Player of the Year got the rebound, threw up an off-balance attempt, and while it did not go in, Robert Williams got a chance for a putback. That didn’t go in, either, but Al Horford got a chance, and while he made his tip-in, it was determined this came after the buzzer.

Antetokounmpo had a monster night, going for 42 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, and two steals, while Holiday gave them 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Lopez registered a double-double, going for 13 points and 10 boards. Brown’s 27 points and 12 rebounds led the way for Boston, with Horford pitching in 22 points, 16 rebounds, five dimes, and two blocks. Tatum had a game to forget, scoring 10 points on 4-for-19 shooting.

Game 4 between the Bucks and Celtics will take place on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.