Brooklyn Barwick Weighs In

Brooklyn "Big Deal" Barwick weighed in ahead of her fight tomorrow against Adis Camacho in Medellin, Colombia. She came in at 121.5 pounds. Camacho was 120.3.

Barwick, a 25 year old based in New York, has settled into the junior featherweight division her last several fights. She's 4-0 with 4 KOs. This will be her third fight in Medellin, all since late August.

Brooklyn flew down to Medellin early Wednesday and observed Yom Kippur at the local Chabad with Rabbi Levi. She brought kosher food down to Colombia for the rest of her stay. Barwick's father is Jewish, but she is currently in the process of converting to Orthodox Judaism. She'll be back at Chabad Medellin tonight for Shabbat services.

Camacho (0-6-1) has fought as a bantamweight and junior featherweight recently. She began boxing professionally in 2009, took twelve years off, and restarted her career in 2022. She fought twice last year and has been stopped five times. She went the full six round distance in her last fight back in December. Camacho was ranked 18th in the world at minimumweight in 2010.

This fight is scheduled for four two-minute rounds.

Odelia Ben Ephraim Drops High-Level Fight

Odelia Ben Ephraim lost a decision to up-and-comer Teresa Makinen tonight at Pabellon Lara Gonzalez in Santa Pola, Spain. It was an exciting, high-level fight between two talented fighters.

Makinen, a 21 year old Finnish fighter based in Spain, showed tremendous skill throughout the fight. She opened the bout with a hard counter right. Ben Ephraim, a 25 year old from France, pressed forward and landed a couple of eye-catching rights, but Makinen's movement and counters carried the first four rounds.

Ben Ephraim jabbed well in a close second, but Makinen finished the round with a three-punch combination, followed by a two-punch combo, snapping Ben Ephraim's head back and stealing the round. Makinen effectively countered Odelia's pressure in the third round. She threw intelligent combinations; a straight right to the body set up a left hook to the head. Ben Ephraim was competitive, but Makinen's activity, ring generalship, and power won her the rounds.

The young Fin carried the first half of the fourth round and looked dominant, but Ben Ephraim has a great chin, a ton of heart, and loads of ring IQ. She came back with a good left and finished the round with a 1-2 combination upstairs.

Makinen faded a bit in the second half of the eight-round fight. That slide started in the fifth. Ben Ephraim's body shots allowed her to grab her first round of the contest. Makinen came back in the sixth, starting with a variety of combos. She connected with a left, overhand right and a right, left hook. Both did damage. Odelia's right hand gained back some ground, but not enough to win the round.

Makinen somewhat took the seventh round off and Ben Ephraim's right hand wore down the Finnish boxer. Odelia scored with a left uppercut and a double jab. Makinen seemed a bit out of ideas, switching to southpaw at one point. She tried to steal the round at the end to no avail. But she came out firing in the eighth, as did Ben Ephraim. Teresa's body shots punctuated a highly-skilled, entertaining battle.

The judges scored the fight for the home fighter. The Jewish Boxing Blog gave Makinen six rounds to two, but all eight rounds were competitive. Ben Ephraim is now level at 5-5, but her record is nowhere near an indication of her talent, ability, and courage. She has been in tough, including in this fight. Makinen, who is now 4-0, looks like a future star.

Yan Zak Stops Fozilov in the Fourth

Cruiserweight prospect Yan Zak defeated Bakhromjon Fozilov by fourth round TKO at Sport Palace in Tbilisi, Georgia today. Zak dictated the action from the opening bell as Fozilov could not overcome the Israeli's size, skill, and speed advantages.

Zak, a 25 year old, immediately took control of center ring. Though he faced a southpaw, the resident of Ashdod used his jab often, primarily as a range finder. Fozilov's best defense in the first round was his feints.

After a relatively slow opening stanza, Zak ratcheted up his attack. He jabbed to the body and landed straight shots down the middle in the quiet moments. He added a sneaky right uppercut. Fozilov moved, occasionally throwing wild homerun shots. He caught Zak with a wide right hook, but Yan was able to walk through it. Zak effectively cut off the ring, which negated B.F.'s escape plan.

Fozilov, a 28 year old from Fergana, Uzbekistan, went down four times in the third round. The first two were called slips, but he couldn't deal with Zak's relentless body work or his quick combinations. Fozilov took a knee to assuage the beating. When he got up, Zak placed a combo to the body and Fozilov fell once again.

By the fourth round, Fozilov's punch resistance to the body had evaporated. Zak scored two more knockdowns with shots to the Uzbek's midsection. The referee mercifully stopped the fight.

Zak improves his record to 4-0 with 3 KOs. Fozilov is now 10-5-3 with 9 KOs. This is the second time he's been stopped.

Yan Zak and Bakhromjon Fozilov Weigh In

Yan Zak and Bakhromjon Fozilov weighed in ahead of their cruiserweight clash tomorrow at Sport Palace in Tbilisi, Georgia. Zak is taking a step-up fight while Fozilov is trying to redirect his career.

A 25 year old from Ashdod, Israel, Zak is 3-0 with 2 KOs. He weighed in at 199 pounds. The boxer-puncher's weight has been remarkably consistent, between 198.4 and 200.3 pounds during his pro career.

Fozilov is a 28 year old from Fergana, Uzbekistan. His record is 10-4-3 with 9 KOs. B.F. has mostly fought as a super middleweight, so his 190.7 pounds is over 25 heavier than his previous high. Fozilov weighed 165.5 pounds in his debut in 2020. His low is 154 pounds against Pavel Sosulin in 2023. He was 164 pounds in his last fight last year. Fozilov looked soft in the middle. He's only been stopped once, but we'll see if he can take the punch of a true cruiserweight.

Zak-Fozilov is scheduled for six rounds. Here's a preview of the fight.