Blair Cobbs

Blair Cobbs
Born	(1989-12-30) December 30, 1989 (age 34) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other names	The Flair [1]
Statistics
Weight(s)	Welterweight
Height	5 ft 11+1⁄2 in (182 cm) [2]
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record [3]
Total fights	19
Wins	17
Wins by KO	10
Losses	1
Draws	1

Blair Romero Cobbs (born December 30, 1989 ^[1] ) is an American professional boxer who has held the WBC-NABF welterweight title since 2019.

Early life

Blair Romero Cobbs was born on December 30, 1989, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He moved with his mother from city to city until his mother died when he was eleven years old, at which time he moved in with his grandmother. Following his grandmother's death he lived with his father, ^[4] Eugene Cobbs, eventually relocating to Guadalajara, Mexico, after his father became a fugitive from the FBI. It was in Guadalajara where Cobbs found boxing. ^[5]

Professional career

Cobbs made his professional debut on June 28, 2013, scoring a first-round knockout (KO) victory over Martique Holland at Lera's Baile Mexicano in Ruffin, North Carolina. ^[6]

After compiling a record of 9–0–1 (6 KOs) he faced Ferdinand Kerobyan for the vacant WBC-NABF Junior welterweight title on March 21, 2019, at The Avalon in Los Angeles, California. Kerobyan suffered a cut in the first round from an accidental clash of heads, which Cobbs targeted with sharp jabs. With Cobbs' hand speed being the decisive factor, he went on to win by unanimous decision (UD) to capture his first professional title. One judge scored the bout 79–73 and the other two scored it 77–75. ^[7]

After a sixth-round knockout (KO) victory against Robert Redmond Jr. in a non-title bout in June, ^[8] Cobbs made the first defence of his title against Steve Villalobos on August 22 at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. After an even back-and-forth fight for the first five rounds, Cobbs suffered the first knockdown of his career in the sixth after being stunned by a right followed by a flurry of punches to send him to the canvas. After taking control in rounds seven and eight, Cobbs ended the fight in the ninth after landing a series of uppercuts followed by a right hand to send Villalobos stumbling into the ropes and onto the canvas, giving Cobbs the KO win. ^[9]

His next fight came against Carlos Cervantes for the vacant WBC-NABF welterweight title on November 2, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The bout served as part of the undercard for Canelo Álvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev. After suffering a knockdown in the first round – a punch from Villalobos grazed the back of Cobbs' head, causing him to stumble and touch the canvas with his left hand and knee – Cobbs scored a knockdown of his own in the sixth with a counter left hook. Cervantes made it to his feet to see out the remainder of the round, only for his corner to pull him out of the contest before the start of the seventh, handing Cobbs a stoppage win via seventh-round corner retirement (RTD).^{[ citation needed ]}

The first defense of his newly acquired title came on February 14, 2020, against Samuel Kotey Neequaye at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. In a fight which saw Cobbs stay behind the jab and box at range, he received a point deduction in round nine for punching below the belt en route to a split decision (SD) victory. Two judges scored the bout 96–93 in favour of Cobbs while the third scored it 95–94 to Neequaye. ^[10]

Professional boxing record

19 fights	17 wins	1 loss
By knockout	10	1
By decision	7	0
Draws	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
18	Win	17–1–1	Adrien Broner	UD	10	Jun 7, 2024	Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
17	Win	16–1–1	Maurice Hooker	UD	10	Aug 6, 2022	Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
17	Loss	15–1–1	Alexis Rocha	KO	9 (10), 0:44	Mar 19, 2022	Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
16	Win	15–0–1	Brad Solomon	TKO	5 (10), 2:57	Jun 19, 2021	Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
15	Win	14–0–1	Samuel Kotey Neequaye	SD	10	Feb 14, 2020	Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.	Retained WBC-NABF welterweight title
14	Win	13–0–1	Carlos Ortiz	RTD	6 (10), 3:00	Nov 2, 2019	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	Won vacant WBC-NABF welterweight title
13	Win	12–0–1	Steve Villalobos	KO	9 (10), 1:20	Aug 22, 2019	Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.	Retained WBC-NABF Junior welterweight title
12	Win	11–0–1	Robert Redmond Jr.	KO	6 (8), 1:52	Jun 21, 2019	Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
11	Win	10–0–1	Ferdinand Kerobyan	UD	8	Mar 21, 2019	The Avalon, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Won vacant WBC-NABF Junior welterweight title
10	Win	9–0–1	Emmanuel Valadez	TKO	2 (6), 1:52	Jul 21, 2018	Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
9	Win	8–0–1	Juan Rivera	UD	4	Jul 6, 2018	Belasco Theater, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
8	Draw	7–0–1	Mario Esparza	TD	4 (4), 0:19	Mar 16, 2018	Belasco Theater, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Fight stopped after Esparza was cut from accidental head clash
7	Win	7–0	Hugo Padilla	UD	6	Oct 14, 2017	Auditorio Miguel Ángel Barbarena Vega, Jesús María, Mexico
6	Win	6–0	Allan Moore	KO	2 (4), 0:54	Jun 24, 2017	Fitz Casino, Southaven, Mississippi, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Alejandro Martinez	TKO	2 (4), 1:45	May 18, 2017	Escape Bar, Tijuana, Mexico
4	Win	4–0	Julio Sanchez	UD	4	Nov 25, 2014	2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Tevin Reynolds	TKO	3 (4), 3:00	Nov 1, 2013	Lera's Baile Mexicano, Ruffin, North Carolina, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Tyshae Ferguson	TKO	1 (4), 2:35	Oct 12, 2013	The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Martique Holland	KO	1 (4), 0:34	Jun 28, 2013	Lera's Baile Mexicano, Ruffin, North Carolina, U.S.

References

1. "Prince Ranch Boxing – About". Prince Ranch Boxing. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
2. DAZN Tale of the Tape from Cobbs vs. Villalobos
3. "Boxing record for Blair Cobbs". BoxRec .
4. "Blair Cobbs". Golden Boy Promotions. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
5. L. John, Andrew (August 22, 2019). "As a kid, his family hid from the FBI in Mexico; how'd he stay sane? Blair Cobbs learned to box". Desert Sun. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
6. "BoxRec: Blair Cobbs vs. Martique Holland". boxrec.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
7. Serrano, Mario (March 22, 2019). "RESULTS: Blair Cobbs Defeats Ferdinand Kerobyan". Boxing News. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
8. "Andrew Cancio Repeats Upset Victory over Puerto Rico's Alberto Machado". The Sweet Science. June 22, 2019. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
9. Donovan, Jake (August 22, 2019). "Blair Cobbs Gets Off The Floor To Stop Steve Villalobos in Ninth". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
10. Baca II, Michael (February 14, 2020). "Blair Cobbs edges Samuel Kotey by split decision on Garcia-Fonseca undercard". The Ring. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.

External links

• BBC podcast Lives Less Ordinary 13 February 2023 part 1: 40 minutes
• Boxing record for Blair Cobbs from BoxRec (registration required)

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant Title last held by Marquis Taylor	WBC-NABF Junior welterweight champion March 21 – November 2, 2019 Won full title	Vacant Title next held by Jose Luis Sanchez
Vacant Title last held by Egidijus Kavaliauskas	WBC-NABF welterweight champion November 2, 2019 – present	Incumbent