Three Punch Combo: My Odd Choice for Upset of the Year and More

Published

5 years ago

December 11, 2018

THREE PUNCH COMBO: On Saturday night, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KO’s) makes his 168-pound debut when he faces Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KO’s) at Madison Square Garden in New York. Fielding is a substantial underdog and most experts would be surprised if Fielding was even remotely competitive.

Given that he is such a big underdog, Fielding would seemingly be a lock for Upset of the Year if he were to win. But a much bigger upset, albeit in not a high profile fight, occurred earlier this year.

Sam Eggington was added to the Amir Khan-Samuel Vargas card on September 8^th to simply get in some work. Two weeks later, he was slated to face Brandon Rios on a big stage on the Joshua-Povetkin undercard. The opponent chosen for Eggington’s tune-up was little known Hassan Mwakinyo of Tanzania.

Mwakinyo (pictured) entered the bout with a record of 11-2 with 7 knockouts. All but one of his fights had taken place in Africa and he hadn’t defeated anyone of note. He had one knockout loss to a 5-6-5 fighter and his other loss was by wide decision when he traveled to Moscow to face undefeated prospect Lendrush Akopian. Now, Mwakinyo was traveling on late notice to Eggington’s backyard in the UK to face a fighter who was 23-4, had won several regional belts, and had never been stopped.

Eggington was a lock-solid favorite. Some sportsbooks had Eggington at minus -10000 (100 to 1) at fight time while others had him a little lower. There are no sure things in boxing but this fight was as close to a sure thing as there was in the eyes of the sportsbooks.

Eggington got off to a good start in round one and seemed to be on his way to the expected dominant knockout win. But with ten seconds remaining in the round, Mwakinyo clipped him with a counter left hook. Eggington sagged back into the ropes and was visibly hurt. Mwakinyo teed off on Eggington for the final few seconds in the round before the bell rang.

Mwakinyo hurt Eggington with a counter right to open the second round and battered Eggington around the ring, landing countless clean punches to Eggington’s jaw. About a minute into the round, with Eggington eating so many clean punches, the referee was forced to jump in and stop the fight.

End of the year lists tend to focus on high profile fights and fighters, but that should not always be the case. As far as Upset of the Year in 2018, there was no bigger shocker in my opinion than when little known last minute opponent Hassan Mwakinyo defeated Sam Eggington.

IBHOF Voting Process – Transparency and Changes Are Needed

This past week, the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY released its 2019 class. Each year, three fighters are elected in the Modern category. This year’s honorees are Donald Curry, Julian Jackson and James “Buddy” McGirt.

The selections have sparked plenty of debate. And I think it is finally time for the IBHOF to not only become more transparent in the voting process but to also make some long needed changes.

Only the IBHOF views the final ballots and is aware of the final tallies. Right or wrong, this has led to rumors about what it really takes for someone to get elected in the IBHOF. I don’t buy into the rumors myself but I think it is time for them to get squashed once and for all.

My suggestion is simple. The IBHOF should have a livestream of them opening the ballots and tallying the votes. Read the name of the person who submitted the ballot and who they voted for. This is not meant to open the voter to any critique but to make sure their ballot is tallied correctly. And it also lets everyone know the exact results. That would put to an end any rumors about the voting process.

Also, changes are needed to the voting process. For one, why set the number at three for the Modern category every year? There needs to be a percentage threshold, say 65% of the vote, for someone to qualify for induction. Whoever hits that number each year is elected whether it is one, five, ten, etc.

Second, for whatever reason it seems voters tend to favor fighters in the Modern category who fought often on American television and somewhat ignore those whose careers were fought off US television. With streaming today, this issue could go away over time but right now needs to be addressed.

My suggestion would be to break up the fighters on the ballot by the decade they primarily fought and then to list certain statistics of each fighter as a side by side comparison. Stats would consist of some of the following: career record, world titles won, number of successful title defenses, number of champions defeated, number of Hall of Famers defeated and other relevant stats.

I’m certain that some voters already look at these stats, but I’m not sure this is always the case. By putting these measurable statistics on the ballot, it at least gives each voter something to think about (and maybe could cause them to do further research) before filling out the ballot. And that may give more consideration to fighters who weren’t seen as often on US television.

It is time for the IBHOF to make some badly needed changes to the voting process. Doing so will ensure the credibility of the IBHOF for years to come.

Under The Radar Fight

There will be plenty of live boxing on streaming services this coming week. ESPN+ has cards on Friday and Saturday. And, of course, there is the big card on Saturday evening on DAZN headlined by Canelo Alvarez. With so many fights on the docket, there is bound to be at least one solid fight slipping deep under the radar.

Stashed deep on the undercard of Alvarez-Fielding, Sadam Ali (26-2, 14 KO’s) returns to the welterweight division to face veteran Mauricio Herrera (24-7, 7 KO’s). Ali is only a year removed from his biggest win when he won a 154-pound title belt against the legendary Miguel Cotto. However, Ali is coming of a devastating knockout loss in his first defense against Jaime Munguia in May. In that fight, Ali showed a lot of courage but absorbed a tremendous beating before the fight was stopped in round four.

So how much did Munguia take out of Ali? And is going back to 147 going to provide resurgence in Ali’s career? We should know more after his contest with Herrera.

Herrera last fought in August of 2017 when he won a majority ten round decision over Jesus Soto Karass. That fight was a war and Herrera proved in winning that he still had something in the tank.

Ali is a boxer puncher who has a penchant to mix it up with his opposition. Herrera was once a technician but as he has gotten older has been more willing to exchange with his opponents. Given the styles, I see a very entertaining fight. Ali is more talented but, as I alluded to, there are questions as to exactly what he has left in his tank following the beating he suffered at the hands of Munguia.

This is an interesting, well matched welterweight crossroads fight and I am very intrigued to see how it plays out.

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Matt Andrzejewski

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Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Ramon-Cardenas-Channels-Micky-Ward-and-KOs-Eduardo-Ramirez-on-ProBox

The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonight’s episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to the liver from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasn’t able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.

The official time was 1:37 of round nine. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick “Wrecking” Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.

Co-Feature

In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.

The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10^th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.

The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.

Also

In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.

A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.

—

The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

5 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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