In just his second fight as a commentator for Premier Boxing Champions on Bounce TV, Kevin Cunningham spit astute boxing knowledge and insight as super welterweight prospect Erik Lubin outboxed Jose Macias over ten rounds Sunday night. Flanked by veteran sports announcer Fran Charles and former WBA super welterweight champion Austin Trout, Cunningham appeared comfortable in front of the camera and behind the mic.
For Cunningham, a man never afraid to share exactly what is on his mind, the transition to television was a natural one. He helped steer Cory Spinks and Devon Alexander to several major world championships has played a huge role in keeping St. Louis and its rich boxing history on the map. Now he is able to share more than two decades of knowledge and insight in the sweet science.
“It’s something I thought would be a great opportunity,” Cunningham told The American. “I realized it’s something I really enjoy doing.”
It’s easy to assume that he should be a solid commentator considering his vast experience in the sport. However, the sports world is littered with athletes, coaches and trainers who fall flat on their faces while trying to transition into media. Luckily for Cunningham, he was paired with Charles, a St. Louis native who started his broadcasting career at KSDK.
“Fran is an awesome guy to work with,” Cunningham said. “He’s been doing this at a high level for years. He’s able to give me pointers and help me grow into this new career.”
Don’t make the mistake of thinking Cunningham’s new career will take the place of his ‘old’ ones. The trainer, manager and owner of Knockouts Bar and Grill enjoys wearing many hats and doesn’t plan to stop his other duties anytime soon. He is still training fighters and is currently in talks with a number of top-10 ranked fighters in hopes of expanding his list of clients.
Sunday night’s telecast was Cunningham’s second appearance on Bounce TV. He is appreciative that the start of his commentating career happened on the black-owned digital multicast network, which is now accessible in more homes than BET. His first telecast was an October heavyweight matchup between 35-year-old Malik Scott and 44-year-old former world title contender Tony Thompson. However, Sundays matchup between 20-year-old Lubin and 24-year-old Macias may have been more reflective of Cunningham’s foray into commentating.
Despite his vast experience as a trainer and manager, Cunningham could still be considered as a prospect in broadcasting. Like Lubin though, the ‘kid’ passed his test with flying colors. With an expected 8-10 PBC shows on Bounce TV in 2016 and the possibility of being used on other networks as well, the future is bright, and busy, for Cunningham.
“It’s always good to be involved with the sport of boxing,” Cunningham said. “I always want to do more. That’s my first love.”
Canelo to defend 160-pound title versus 147-pound Khan at 155 pounds
WBC Middleweight Champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has created his own new 155-pound weight division and it doesn’t appear he’ll be moving up or down anytime soon. Alvarez’s last four bouts have been at this oddball catchweight, including his last bout against Miguel Cotto, in which he won the WBC’s 160-pound strap.
As a champion, Alvarez should not be able to force challengers to make a catchweight. If the title is on the line, the weight limit should be 160-pounds. Period. Non-title catchweight fights are OK when they help enable desired matchups between fighters in different weight classes. However, absolutely nobody outside of Khan was clamoring for this bout between a dieting middleweight and a china-chinned welterweight.
I’m not hating on Khan. I’m glad he finally got the payday he was looking for after being left at the altar by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. He’s showing real guts by accepting the fight against a much bigger fighter. However, most boxing fans want to see Alvarez face off against a man his own size. A man known as “Triple G,” Gennady Golovkin. Hopefully the WBC will do the right thing and force Alvarez to face Golovkin at the actual middleweight limit after he knocks out Khan, but they probably won’t.
Krusher vs Superman not likely
In another episode of fights that should’ve happened by now, the prospects of seeing a superfight between light heavyweight champions Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Adonis “Superman” Stevenson dimming by the minute. Stevenson crashed Kovalev’s party after the Russian demolition man stopped Jean Pascal for the second time, calling for a fight. Kovalev’s camp responded that they sent an offer, which included a 50-50 purse split, to Stevenson and it sat for six weeks before being rejected.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Stevenson pivot out of the way of a showdown with Kovalev for “business reasons.” Now it appears that Kovalev has moved on and is targeting former super middleweight champion Andre Ward. In just his second light heavyweight fight,Ward is set to take on the undefeated Sullivan Barrera on March 26. Should Ward emerge victorious, the 38-year-old Superman might find himself on the outside looking in of landing a superfight.
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