Shawn Porter Outworks Adrien Broner for Unanimous Decision Win

Published

9 years ago

June 21, 2015

Shawn Porter wants to be fighter. Anything he does beyond that seems to be of secondary concern to him. He’s a hard worker. He fights with urgency. He does everything he can do to win. Adrien Broner does not want to be a fighter. He wants to be famous. He’s gotten by on talent and athleticism alone, and any hard work he’s done to become an elite-level fighter seems to have taken place years ago.

Barring a significant gap in talent and skill, a guy that wants to be a fighter will almost always beat a fighter who just wants to be famous. Such was the case on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as Porter, the fighter, defeated Broner, the celebrity, by unanimous decision.

Judges at ringside score the bout 114-112, 115-111 and 118-108 for Porter.

“That’s how you beat a great fighter intelligently,” said Porter after the fight. He told NBC’s Kenny Rice he established his jab early and proved to be the better boxer. It was an outstanding effort from Porter. It was much less so from Broner as well as referee Tony Weeks, who allowed Broner to foul Porter with holds, forearms and general mauling tactics all throughout the bout until finally taking a point away in Round 11.

In fact, the entire fight might have been a microcosm for Broner’s whole career. Broner, the flashy and talented boxer, came into the fight dancing and smiling. Was he even taking things seriously? The bell rang, and he was mostly interested in posing and fouling. Does he want to be a fighter or just want to look like a fighter? There’s a huge difference.

The worst part wasn’t even Broner. It was Weeks. Here was the man who was supposed to have control of the action. Here was the man given authority to tell the 25-year-old Broner all the things he couldn’t and shouldn’t have been doing. I imagine Broner has lots people like Weeks in his life. Do his managers, his promoters, his family or his friends ever tell him when he’s acting like a buffoon? Or do they just let it slide like Weeks did? Evidence supports the latter.

No matter, Porter, age 27, capitalized on all of Broner’s mistakes and took home the win. Both fighters are from Ohio, Porter from Cleveland and Broner from Cincinnati. Cleveland prevailed.

Both fighters started slow and cautious in Round 1. Porter caught Broner with two left hooks as Broner was moving backwards, causing Broner to hold on for dear life. The two wrestled a bit at the end of the round, pushing and mauling back at each other to see who was the stronger and rougher man. It was Porter.

Broner’s plan from the start of Round 2 seemed to be landing his blazingly fast left hook as Porter advanced toward him. But Porter was patient in his approach and able to duck it or faint the punch out before rushing in to do work. Broner’s other plan was grabbing hold of Porter if he got passed the hook, holding his head down and not letting him get anything but wide and blind shots off. Broner’s faster, shorter punches gave him the edge in Round 2.

Porter was busier in Round 3. He concentrated his efforts on Broner’s body. Broner held anytime Porter got in close, pushing Porter’s head down to the ground or shoving his forearm into Porter’s throat. Weeks allowed it. But Porter used good head movement and fancy footwork to alternate his attack enough to do the meaningful work inside.

Broner slipped off his feet at the begging of Round 4. He wasn’t hurt, but Porter jumped on him anyway. Broner mostly held and mauled with his forearms. Weeks let him do it. But Porter bullied Broner around the ring and to the ropes and landed punches anywhere and everywhere he could.

Broner was the aggressor in Round 5. He showed his talent. He came out throwing sharp left hooks and was the fighter walking forward for the first two minutes of the round. This was how he should have fought the entire fight. But Porter weathered the flashy and clean blows to get back to jousting forward behind his telephone pole jab by the last minute of action. Still, it was Broner’s best round yet.

Porter reasserted himself in Round 6. He used swift head movement to dart his way into punching range. Once there, he let his hands goes. Broner landed single counters here and there, but Porter’s physical strength and assertiveness was clearly winning both the round and the fight.

Broner intentionally fouled Porter with backhands twice in Round 7 while Weeks was breaking the two men up from a hold that Broner initiated. But Weeks did not take a point away from Broner, only offering him a warning for the behavior. Otherwise the three minutes ticked away with Porter intelligently walking Broner down.

Round 8 was beautiful. Both fighters looked haggard, but both threw punches from decent enough space to land clean and often. Despite clearly being tired, both fought at a relatively torrid pace and there was nary a clinch in the three minutes, at least in comparison to the previous seven rounds.

But Broner fouled Porter egregiously again in Round 9. He grappled both arms when Porter bullied him to the ropes, then stuck his open glove in Porter’s face to keep him away. Again, Weeks did not take away a point. Broner landed a few flashy counters in the round, but Porter threw and landed more.

Porter landed a hard overhand right in Round 10. Broner responded with a hook and an illegal forearm. Porter walked him down, though, and landed another vicious right hand again a few seconds afterward. By the end of the round, Porter had stunned him again with the same right hand in the corner. It was the most one-sided three minutes yet.

Broner surprisingly fought with no urgency in Round 11. He was content to hold and dance away from any and all action. Even Weeks, who to this point in the fight could have been mistaken for Broner’s biggest supporter, seemed to have enough of it. He finally took a point away from the hapless Broner much to the delight of the crowd who let out a sarcastic cheer. Broner is a very talented fighter. He could be great. Even if he just wanted to be very good, he could do that easier than most. He dropped Porter like a sack of bricks to start Round 12 with a sharp, hard left hook. But when Porter got up, Broner either didn’t know what to do or didn’t have the fortitude to do it.

Porter, the hurt fighter, bullied and pressured Broner, the famous talent, for the remainder of the round. Again, it was Broner initiating clinches. Again, it was Broner losing the fight. Again, it was Broner being Broner.

Final CompuBox stats showed Porter outlanded Broner 149-88 in the bout and 99-68 in power shots. That’s what a fighter does. He throws and lands punches.

Spence Stops Lo Greco in Three

One of boxing’s best young prospects, Errol Spence Jr., stopped Phil Lo Greco in just three rounds. Lo Greco, the self-proclaimed “Italian Sensation,” was offered the fight this week after Spence’s original opponent could not make weight.

Lo Greco gave it his all. He tried to force the young southpaw back in Round 1, but by Round 2 was taking heavy blows to the head and body. He came out of his corner in Round 3 looking like a beaten man, and Spence made him look it even more by knocking him down with a counter right hook. The brave Lo Greco rose to his feet but was staggered moments later by a straight left hand. Referee Robert Byrd stopped the bout with Lo Greco eating too punches on the ropes.

Spence, age 25, appears to have legitimate superstar potential. In fact, of all the fighters in Al Haymon’s impressive stable, he might just have the most upside.

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Kelsey McCarson

Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round

Published

1 day ago

April 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round

There were few surprises when co-promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren and their benefactor HE Turki Alalshikh held a press conference in London this past Monday to unveil the undercard for the Beterbiev-Bivol show at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 1. Most of the match-ups had already been leaked.

For die-hard boxing fans, Beterbiev-Bivol is such an enticing fight that it really doesn’t need an attractive undercard. Two undefeated light heavyweights will meet with all four relevant belts on the line in a contest where the oddsmakers straddled the fence. It’s a genuine “pick-‘em” fight based on the only barometer that matters, the prevailing odds.

But Beterbiev-Bivol has been noosed to a splendid undercard, a striking contrast to Saturday’s Haney-Garcia $69.99 (U.S.) pay-per-view in Brooklyn, an event where the undercard, in the words of pseudonymous boxing writer Chris Williams, is an absolute dumpster fire.

The two heavyweight fights that will bleed into Beterbiev-Bivol, Hrgovic vs. Dubois and Wilder vs. Zhang, would have been stand-alone main events before the incursion of Saudi money.

Hrgovic-Dubois

Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 13 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) fought on the same card in Riyadh this past December. Hrgovic, the Croatian, was fed a softie in the form of Australia’s Mark De Mori who he dismissed in the opening round. Dubois, a Londoner, rebounded from his loss to Oleksandr Usyk with a 10^th-round stoppage of corpulent Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller.

There’s an outside chance that Hrgovic vs. Dubois may be sanctioned by the IBF for the world heavyweight title.

The May 18 showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury has a rematch clause. The IBF is next in line in the rotation system for a unified heavyweight champion and the organization has made it plain that the winner of Usyk-Fury must fulfill his IBF mandatory before an intervening bout.

The best guess is that the Usyk-Fury winner will relinquish the IBF belt. If so, Hrgovic and Dubois may fight for the vacant title although a more likely scenario is that the organization will keep the title vacant so that the winner can fight Anthony Joshua.

Wilder-Zhang

The match between Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) and Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) is a true crossroads fight as both Wilder, 38, and Zhang, who turns 41 in May, are nearing the end of the road and the loser (unless it’s a close and entertaining fight) will be relegated to the rank of a has-been. In fact, Wilder has hinted that this may be his final rodeo.

Both are coming off a loss to Joseph Parker.

Wilder last fought on the card that included Hrgovic and Dubois and was roundly out-pointed by a man he was expected to beat. It’s a quick turnaround for Zhang who opposed Parker on March 8 and lost a majority decision.

Other Fights

Either of two other fights may steal the show on the June 1 event.

Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) meets Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) in a 12-round featherweight contest. New Jersey’s Ford will be defending the WBA world title he won with a come-from-behind, 12th-round stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov in an early contender for Fight of the Year. Liverpool’s “Wrecking” Ball, a relentless five-foot-two sparkplug, had to settle for a draw in his title fight with Rey Vargas despite winning the late rounds and scoring two knockdowns.

Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KOs) meets fellow unbeaten Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-0, 11 KOs) in a 12-round middleweight match. East London’s Sheeraz, the son of a former professional cricket player, is unknown in the U.S. although he trained for his recent fights at the Ten Goose Boxing Gym in California. Riding a skein of 13 straight knockouts, he has a date with WBO title-holder Janibek Alimkhanuly if he can get over this hurdle.

The Forgotten Heavyweight

“Unbeaten for seven years, the man nobody wants to fight,” intoned ring announcer Michael Buffer by way of introduction. Buffer was referencing Michael Hunter who stood across the ring from his opponent Artem Suslenkov.

This scene played out this past Saturday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was Hunter’s second fight in three weeks. On March 23, he scored a fifth-round stoppage of a 46-year-old meatball at a show in Zapopan, Mexico.

The second-generation “Bounty Hunter,” whose only defeat prior to last weekend came in a 12-rounder with Oleksandr Usyk, has been spinning his wheels since TKOing the otherwise undefeated Martin Bakole on the road in London in 2018. Two fights against hapless opponents on low-budget cards in Mexico and a couple of one-round bouts for the Las Vegas Hustle, an entry in the fledgling and largely invisible Professional Combat League, are the sum total of his activity, aside from sparring, in the last two-and-a-half years.

Hunter’s chances of getting another big-money fight took a tumble in Tashkent where he lost a unanimous decision in a dull affair to the unexceptional Suslenkov who was appearing in his first 10-round fight. The scores of the judges were not announced.

You won’t find this fight listed on boxrec. As Jake Donovan notes, the popular website will not recognize a fight conducted under the auspices of a rogue commission. (Another fight you won’t find on boxrec for the same reason is Nico Ali Walsh’s 6-round split decision over the 9-2-1 Frenchman, Noel Lafargue, in the African nation of Guinea on Dec. 16, 2023. You can find it on YouTube, but according to boxrec, boxing’s official record-keeper, it never happened.)

Anderson-Merhy Redux

The only thing missing from this past Saturday’s match in Corpus Christi, Texas, between Jared Anderson and Ryad Merhy was the ghost of Robert Valsberg.

Valsberg, aka Roger Vaisburg, was the French referee who disqualified Ingemar Johansson for not trying in his match with LA’s Ed Sanders in the finals of the heavyweight competition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Valsberg tossed Johansson out of the ring after two rounds and Johansson was denied the silver medal. The Swede redeemed himself after turning pro, needless to say, when he demolished Floyd Patterson in the first of their three meetings.

Merhy was credited with throwing only 144 punches, landing 34, over the course of the 10 rounds. Those dismal figures yet struck many onlookers as too high. (This reporter has always insisted that the widely-quoted CompuBox numbers should be considered approximations.)

Whatever the true number, it was a disgraceful performance by Merhy who actually showed himself to have very fast hands on the few occasions when he did throw a punch. With apologies to Delfine Persoon, a spunky lightweight, U.S. boxing promoters should think twice before inviting another Belgian boxer to our shores.

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Anderson Cruises by Vapid Merhy and Ajagba edges Vianello in Texas

Published

4 days ago

April 14, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Anderson-Cruises-by-Vapid-Merhy-and-Ajagba-Edges-Vianello-in-Texas

Jared Anderson returned to the ring tonight on a Top Rank card in Corpus Christi, Texas. Touted as the next big thing in the heavyweight division, Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) hardly broke a sweat while cruising past Ryad Merhy in a bout with very little action, much to the disgruntlement of the crowd which started booing as early as the second round. The fault was all Merhy as he was reluctant to let his hands go. Somehow, he won a round on the scorecard of judge David Sutherland who likely fell asleep for a round for which he could be forgiven.

Merhy, born in the Ivory Coast but a resident of Brussels, Belgium, was 32-2 (26 KOs) heading in after fighting most of his career as a cruiserweight. He gave up six inches in height to Anderson who was content to peck away when it became obvious to him that little would be coming back his way.

Anderson may face a more daunting adversary on Monday when he has a court date in Romulus, Michigan, to answer charges related to an incident in February where he drove his Dodge Challenger at a high rate speed, baiting the police into a merry chase. (Weirdly, Anderson entered the ring tonight wearing the sort of helmet that one associates with a race car driver.)

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, a battle between six-foot-six former Olympians, Italy’s Guido Vianello started and finished strong, but Efe Ajagba had the best of it in the middle rounds and prevailed on a split decision. Two of the judges favored Ajagba by 96-94 scores with the dissenter favoring the Italian from Rome by the same margin.

Vianello had the best round of the fight. He staggered Ajagba with a combination in round two. At the end of the round, a befuddled Ajagba returned to the wrong corner and it appeared that an upset was brewing. But the Nigerian, who trains in Las Vegas under Kay Koroma, got back into the fight with a more varied offensive attack and better head movement. In winning, he improved his ledger to 20-1 (14). Vianello, who sparred extensively with Daniel Dubois in London in preparation for this fight, declined to 12-2-1 in what was likely his final outing under the Top Rank banner.

Other Bouts of Note

In the opening bout on the main ESPN platform, 35-year-old super featherweight Robson Conceicao, a gold medalist for Brazil in the 2016 Rio Olympics, stepped down in class after fighting Emanuel Navarrete tooth-and-nail to a draw in his previous bout and scored a seventh-round stoppage of Jose Ivan Guardado who was a cooked goose after slumping to the canvas after taking a wicked shot to the liver. Guardado made it to his feet, but the end was imminent and the referee waived it off at the 2:27 mark.

Conceicao improved to 18-1 (9 KOs). It was the U.S. debut for Guardado (15-2-1), a boxer from Ensenada, Mexico who had done most of his fighting up the road in Tijuana.

Ruben Villa, the pride of Salinas, California, improved to 22-1 (7) and moved one step closer to a match with WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas with a unanimous 10-round decision over Tijuana’s Cristian Cruz (22-7-1). The judges had it 97-93 and 98-92 twice.

Cruz, the son of former IBF world featherweight title-holder Cristobal Cruz, was better than his record. He entered the bout on a 21-1-1 run after losing five of his first seven pro fights.

Cleveland southpaw Abdullah Mason, who turned 20 earlier this month, continued his fast ascent up the lightweight ladder with a fourth-round stoppage of Ronal Ron.

Mason (13-0, 11 KOs) put Ron on the canvas in the opening round with a short left hook. He scored a second knockdown with a shot to the liver. A flurry of punches, a diverse array, forced the stoppage at the 1:02 mark of round four. A 25-year-old SoCal-based Venezuelan, the spunky but out-gunned Ron declined to 14-6.

Charly Suarez, a 35-year-old former Olympian from the Philippines, ranked #5 at junior lightweight by the IBF, advanced to 17-0 (9) with a unanimous 8-round decision over SoCal’s Louie Coria (5-7).

This was a tactical fight. In the final round, Coria, subbing for 19-0 Henry Lebron, caught the Filipino off-balance and knocked him into the ropes which held him up. It was scored a knockdown, but came too little, too late for Coria who lost by scores of 76-75 and 77-74 twice.

Suarez, whose signature win was a 12^th-round stoppage of the previously undefeated Aussie Paul Fleming in Sydney, may be headed to a rematch with Robson Conceicao. They fought as amateurs in 2016 in Kazakhstan and Suarez lost a narrow 6-round decision.

Photo credit: Mikey Willams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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Ellie Scotney and Rhiannon Dixon Win World Title Fights in Manchester

Published

4 days ago

April 13, 2024

David A. Avila

Ellie-Scotney-and-Rhiannon-Dixon-Win-World-Title-Fights-in-Manchester

England’s Ellie Scotney started slowly against the long reach of France’s Segolene Lefebvre but used rough tactics and a full-steam ahead approach to unify the super bantamweight division by unanimous decision on Saturday.

“There’s a lot more I didn’t show,” said an excited Scotney (pictured on the left).

IBF titlist Scotney (9-0) added the WBO title by nullifying Lefebvre’s (18-1) reach and dominating the inside with a two-fisted attack in front of an excited crowd in Manchester, England.

For the first two rounds Lefebvre used her long reach and smooth fluid attack to keep Scotney at the end of her punches. Then the fight turned when the British fighter bulled her way inside with body shots and forced the French fighter into the ropes.

Aggressiveness by Scotney turned the fight in her favor. But Lefebvre remained active and countered with overhand rights throughout the match.

Body shots by Scotney continued to pummel the French champion’s abdomen but she remained steadfast in her counter-attacks. Combinations landed for Lefebvre and a counter overhand right scored to keep her in the contest in the fifth round.

Scotney increased the intensity of her attack in the sixth and seventh rounds. In perhaps her best round Scotney was almost perfect in scoring while not getting hit with anything from the French fighter.

Maybe the success of the previous round caused Scotney to pause. It allowed Lefebvre to rally behind some solid shots in a slow round and gave the French fighter an opening. Maybe.

The British fighter opened up more savagely after taking two Lefevbre rights to open the ninth. Scotney attacked with bruising more emphatic blows despite getting hit. Though both fired blows Scotney’s were more powerful.

Both champions opened-up the 10^th and final round with punches flying. Once again Scotney’s blows had more power behind them though the French fighter scored too, and though her face looked less bruised than Scotney’s the pure force of Scotney’s attacks was more impressive.

All three judges saw Scotney the winner 97-93, 96-94 and a ridiculous 99-91. The London-based fighter now has the IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles.

Promoter Eddie Hearn said a possible showdown with WBC titlist Erika Cruz looms large possibly in the summer.

“Great performance. Great punch output,” said Hearn of Scotney’s performance.

Dixon Wins WBO Title

British southpaw Rhiannon Dixon (10-0) out-fought Argentina’s Karen Carabajal (22-2) over 10 rounds and won a very competitive unanimous decision to win the vacant WBO lightweight title. It was one of the titles vacated by Katie Taylor who is now the undisputed super lightweight world champion.

An aggressive Dixon dominated the first three rounds including a knockdown in the third round with a perfect left-hand counter that dropped Carabajal. The Argentine got up and rallied in the round.

Carabajal, whose only loss was against Katie Taylor, slowly began figuring out Dixon’s attacks and each round got more competitive. The Argentine fighter used counter rights to find a hole in Dixon’s defense to probably win the round in the sixth.

The final three rounds saw both fighters engage evenly with Carabajal scoring on counters and Dixon attacking the body successfully.

After 10 rounds all three judges saw it in Dixon’s favor 98-91, 97-92, 96-93 who now wields the WBO lightweight world title.

“It’s difficult to find words,” said Dixon after winning the title.

–Hometown Fighter Wins

Manchester’s Zelfa Barrett (31-2, 17 KOs) battled back and forth with Jordan Gill (28-3-1, 9 KO-s) and finally ended the super featherweight fight with two knockdowns via lefts to the body in the 10^th round of a scheduled 12-round match for a regional title.

The smooth moving Barrett found the busier Gill more complex than expected and for the first nine rounds was fighting a 50/50 fight against the fellow British fighter from the small town of Chatteris north of London.

In the 10^th round after multiple shots on the body of Gill, a left hook to the ribs collapsed the Chatteris fighter to the floor. He willed himself up and soon after was floored again but this time by a left to the solar plexus. Again he continued but was belted around until the referee stopped the onslaught by Barrett at 2:44 of the 10^th.

“A tough, tough fighter,” said Barrett about Gill. “I had to work hard.”

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