fondly-remembered World Boxing Super Series.<\/a><\/p>\nHe was invited to the tournament the following year where he suffered his second defeat, out-pointed by Mairis Briedis in a competitive fight. Briedis was then recognized as the world\u2019s second-best cruiserweight, a slim notch behind Oleksandr Usyk who was poised to leave the division to compete as a heavyweight.<\/p>\n
In those days, Mikaelian was usually referenced as Noel Gevor, the ring name he wore at the behest of his first manager. The name \u201cGevor\u201d came from his stepfather, Khoren Gevor, one of the most well-known boxers in Germany, a former European middleweight champion and three-time world title challenger, active as recently as 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cI finally decided I wanted to go with my birth name,\u201d he says, \u201cto reflect my ethnic roots.\u201d Raised in Germany, Mikaelian was born in Armenia.<\/p>\n
Five years ago, Mikaelian settled in Miami where he trains under the watchful eye of Pedro Diaz, a former coach with the Cuban National Team who has worked with the likes of Miguel Cotto and recently took on Tim Tszyu.<\/p>\n
Mikaelian (27-3, 12 KOs) won four fights between his dates with Mairis Briedis and Badou Jack but that warrants an asterisk. Owing to injuries and managerial issues, he missed all of 2021 and 2024.<\/p>\n
Fluent in four languages (plus a smattering of Spanish), the well-spoken Mikaelian looks on his chosen profession with a jaundiced eye. \u201cBoxing is like a box of chocolates,\u201d he says Forrest Gump-ishly. \u201cYou never know what you are going to get.\u201d He takes his hat off to his brother, Abel Gevor Mikaelyan, who racked up a 13-0 pro record as a light heavyweight before abandoning the sport and is now a successful attorney specializing in labor disputes. \u201cHe did things the right way [while I stayed with this crazy sport],\u201d he says self-effacingly.<\/p>\n
Badou Jack, a world title-holder in three weight classes, is enjoying something of a late career surge, having won seven straight beginning in Los Angeles with an 8-round shutout over third-rater Blake McKernan. If the odds are any indication \u2014 Noel Mikaelian is a small favorite \u2013 Noel will end that skein in another competitive fight.<\/p>\n
Shane Mosley re Jake Paul<\/p>\n
Hall of Fame boxer Shane Mosley is very familiar with Jake Paul, having coached the \u201cProblem Child\u201d at various times in Big Bear, California, and again in Puerto Rico. When Jake was just getting started, Mosley was one of the very few people who saw potential in him, believing that Jake, if he stayed in the gym, could eventually hold his own with some of the best fighters in his weight class. However, Mosley concurs that Jake bit off more than he could chew when he chose to fight Anthony Joshua.<\/p>\n
Much has been made of a clause in the contract that requires AJ to weigh no more than 245 pounds. \u201cI don\u2019t understand the thinking here,\u201d Mosley told this reporter. \u201cYou want [Joshua] at 260 or heavier because he would be slower; he would be easier to move around the ring. Jake may have shot himself in the foot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mosley will be working in the corner of his son\u2019s bout with Jesus Ramos on Dec. 6 in San Antonio, assisting his son\u2019s head trainer Eric Belanger. A 12-round middleweight contest, Shane Mosley Jr vs. Jesus Ramos will air on Amazon Prime Video PPV. Other bouts on the card include Isaac \u201cPitbull\u201d Cruz vs. Lamont Roach and an interesting IBF\/WBO middleweight title fight between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Erislandy Lara.<\/p>\n
R.I.P. Janks Morton<\/p>\n
\u201cJanks Morton was the primary personality behind [Sugar Ray] Leonard\u2019s meteoric rise to boxing fame.\u201d So reads a blurb about Morton that celebrates his heroics in football at Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State).<\/p>\n
Morton passed away yesterday, Nov. 25, the latest ring personality to leave us from one of boxing\u2019s best eras. He was 85 years old.<\/p>\n
A Cincinnati native, Janks settled in Maryland after having a cup of coffee with the NFL\u2019s Cleveland Browns and opened an insurance agency that would become one of the largest independent agencies in the state. On the side, he helped out Dave Jacobs, the boxing coach at a recreational center in the D.C. suburb of Palmer Park. One day, a scrawny kid named Ray Charles Leonard walked through the door and the rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n
Boxing\u2019s second Sugar Ray looked upon Janks Morton as less a co-trainer than a friend and mentor. It was Morton who brought attorney Mike Trainer into the fold after Leonard won a gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Trainer assembled a group of investors to kick-start Sugar Ray\u2019s pro career and hired Angelo Dundee as Leonard\u2019s manager.<\/p>\n
Dundee would become the chief voice in Leonard\u2019s corner, but Janks was quite content to play a secondary role and, late in Sugar Ray Leonard\u2019s career, Morton supplanted Dundee in the corner when Leonard fought Donny LaLonde in a match billed for LaLonde\u2019s light heavyweight title and for the WBC 168-pound belt which was conveniently vacant.<\/p>\n
Regarding Sugar Ray Leonard\u2019s second fight with Roberto Duran, the infamous \u201cno mas\u201d fight, Morton said, \u201cI knew we were in good shape when I convinced Ray Charles to sing the national anthem. Duran was hurt when he turned away from Sugar Ray; hurt from body punches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morton said he told Sugar Ray to prioritize the body after watching Duran eat a steak with his fingers.<\/p>\n
Janks Morton didn\u2019t carry himself like a bully, but he was tough as nails. Besides running his insurance agency and coaching boxing, he was a catcher on a fast pitch pro softball team. He didn\u2019t wear a catcher\u2019s mask or any mask at all.<\/p>\n
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