April 2, 2023 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Jacob Dietrich
oh. oh. oh. Gamebred Boxing was really great. It reminded me why I fell in love with the sport in the first place. Jorge Masvidal had a flair for matchmaking and landed perfectly. On a night when the PFL and Anthony Joshua were fighting, this was the most interesting thing to see all night. The live crowd was honestly not as big as most people would have liked, but I think part of that was due to the arena they chose.Fiserve, home of the Milwaukee Bucks The forum can host concerts for up to 18,000 people. For some people, this might sound terrible. But in the grand scheme of things, they’ve partnered this with UFC Fight Pass to get Jorge a great TV deal, so what they really need is more fans willing to travel for the event. It’s a rated standout city, but it’s not at the top of people’s lists to visit in early April. A more realistic arena for the promotion is a location like Nowhis arena in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, which hosts United States Gymnastics and his NBA G League events. Nonetheless, the Milwaukee crowd roared and entertained all night long as the promotion invited the most enthusiastic sports fans in the world. Masvidal and his partner, Dean Toole, charmed fans all night long, making sure he had local talent on the card, even if it was the obvious outside of Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and did a great job of keeping them separate to keep fans in attendance as loud as possible and buzzing the promotion on social media. I think one thing that is out of Jorge Masvidal’s control is the lack of odds in many books, while being affected by the inability to bet on sports.Unfortunately in Wisconsin right now Sports gambling is not legal.
Phil Lambert/Gamebread Boxing
I could have written an entire article about these six rounds, but Gina Mazany and Pearl Gonzalez, both in their mid-thirties, truly proved that there is still a future in this beautiful sport. Two fighters. Mazany may have won the match, but the stock prices of both players have risen. If I were Jorge Masvidal, I would rebook these ladies for a match at Gamebred Boxing 5 and continue to reward the fighters who bring the most buzz to the promotion. In this match, I felt that rounds 1, 3 and 4 could go to either fighter, but I gave round 2 to Mazany and rounds 5 and 6 to Gonzalez. While grounded in that logic, I can’t dispute the decision.The draw was the most logical of the three decisions, but I think it leaned towards Pearl Gonzales. Even if you want to win the belt and fight for the championship in Gamebred Boxing, I don’t think anyone watching this match would say they don’t want it to come back.
An MMA legend and one of the greatest fighters ever to wear a 5 oz glove stepped into the ring tonight. Jose Aldo faced off against Jeremy Stevens in a very entertaining back and forth battle. Stevens put up a much better fight than most people expected. Aldo and Stephens went through all six of his scheduled rounds, 58-56 in favor of Aldo and a majority tie at 57-57, 57-57. No one wants to see a draw, neither as a fan nor as a fighter, but unfortunately that’s part of our sport. Jeremy Stephens is coming to the mic and asking them to reopen in Iowa, promising to sell out the arena. If Jorge is interested in Iowa, our crew will be happy to attend.
Phil Lambert/Gamebread Boxing
Roy Jones Jr. and Anthony Pettis were what to expect when the active 36-year-old faces off against the retired 54-year-old. Anthony Pettis was too fast, and even though Jones Jr. landed some big shots, he couldn’t put together a cardio workout in a spurt long enough to pull off the fight. It was fun for the city of Milwaukee to see their favorite fighter show off his batting skills against the greatest player of all time. Maybe, but in some strange way it was also one of the best fights of the night. Pettis and Masvidal ultimately provided the city with a night to be remembered for a long time, so nothing is taken away from Pettis and Masvidal.Opportunities for Milwaukee to host more events at open venues in the future I think for Pettis, if he wants to continue boxing in the future, I think he’s more likely to stay at this promotion, but someone younger with an explosive style like Eddie Alvarez Anthony Pettis made his boxing debut with scores of 76-76, 77-75, and 78-74. For a full review, head over to Twitch tonight and stream the podcast on Monday to review the entire event.
Phil Lambert/Gamebread Boxing
