Ward-Dawson Is Faceoff Between Young Guns..Why The Negativity?

Published

12 years ago

August 29, 2012

WardDawsonMediaEvent Hogan10 TSS Universe, how do you see Ward-Dawson playing out? Will this fight exceed expectations? Will both men see it as an opportunity to get to another level, and perform at peak form? Will it be a cautious chess-match, or will Ward and Dawson show their most aggressive sides, and shout down critics who say that this tussle couldn't excite them less?

So, let me get this straight. We got the best against the best on Sept. 8, we got the guy I see as No. 2 on the pound for pound list, Andre Ward, against a top-ten pound for pounder, one of the top handful of Americans currently gloving up, Chad Dawson, in their primes, not at a catchweight…and we got people grousing?

We keyboard tappers lobby for more “best fighting the best” bouts, evenly matched scraps pitting the best and the brightest against fellow aces, off pay-per-view…and we've been given that, in Ward-Dawson, and many folks are not down the event…because they don't think the styles will mesh?

My, aren't we picky?

Hey, listen, I'm not here to tell you that I think Ward-Dawson is a frontrunner for 2012 Fight of the Year. I'd bet Mike Bloomberg's change jar contents that it won't be, not unless each man suddenly decides to abandon what got them to this point, the notion that being a superior technician who understands that caution is a useful trait to have if one wants to one day exit the sport with most of your marbles intact.

But HBO and promoters Dan Goossen and Gary Shaw have put together something that we all regularly ask for, and in the Twittersphere I'm reading opinions from any number of “experts” that this one is a stinkbomb.

I won't say I'm surprised; social networks, the ease of transmission of opinions, has fostered an atmosphere where every armchair GM and matchmaker can advertise their acumen and build their follower fanbase. But I guess I am a bit surprised at this level of blowback to the Ward-Dawson tussle.

I reached out to HBO boxing boss Ken Hershman to see if the lack of full-on embrace from the fightwrite media mafia surprised him, or bothered him.

No, is the answer.

The ex Showtime exec isn't the sort to thunder or bluster or get into a defensive mode. Smart, I'd say, if one wants to maintain a healthy blood pressure, especially in an age where if one chooses one can become consumed with responding to a constant streams of 140 characters-or-less critiques.

Hershman told me that he thinks Ward-Dawson is an HBO fight, a Ken Hershman HBO fight, because “it is two top pound for pound fighters in the world, fighting at 168 pounds, where Dawson has said for years he could make, and I'm not sure who that favors.”

So, is it not frustrating to sample the response to the match being made, and learn that more than a couple of the experts have virtually dismissed the scrap the day it was announced?

No, the head of the division said. He told me this fight, as well as the Sergio-Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, are co-faves of the events he has spearheaded since he took over the reins at the beginning of the year, following Ross Greenburg's exit. He said he doesn't get caught up much in the negative nelly talk, and prefers to look towards the bounty of fights that can be made riffing off of this main event. If Ward wins, he said he a scrap against a Mikkel Kessler or a Kelly Pavlik would be intriguing. A Dawson win would mean the Connecticut fighter could stick at 168 after a signature win, and maybe do a rematch, or head back up to 175, where a Jean Pascal rematch, or a Tavoris Cloud bout beckons. Basically, Hershman wouldn't take my bait when I offered the “aren't know it alls on Twitter annoying” ball on a T. He preferred to point out that for those not as keen on the sweet science element of the sport, they should be satisfied with the Antonio DeMarco-John Molina lightweight title scrap, from the Ward undercard, which he thinks should have the “take one-to give one” feel to it. Also, Hershman noted that if anyone feels left out still, some action from the marquee division, the heavyweights, could cheer them up. Vitali Klitschko will meet unknown Manuel Charr, in what could be his final fight before he enters the political realm full-time. “So you have something for everyone,” Hershman said. Also, he pointed ahead, to the Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado tiff on Oct. 13, as a bone for those that point to Ward-Gatti I as their all-time fight of the year.

HBO does like to identify and spotlight the top-grade talents, and nurture them. Some opiners would rather they went for a more a la carte approach, snagging compelling fights, rather than snagging athletes, and then finding them foils. I see the validity of both avenues, as from a business perspective, one sees how it doesn't make sense to introduce an athlete to the public, build them up, and then hand that athlete to another broadcast entity, to reap the rewards of the buildup. And on the other side, us fans simply want to see the matches that make the most sense, and don't care as much about the longterm story arc of a boxer. I confess I am curious to see how the Ward arc plays out. Because he is something of a hard sell as a personality; the SOG brand isn't one that lends itself to be written about, because, frankly, there is a predictability to his message that while admirable, can be less than compelling. When he talks about his faith being important to him, and it being paramount that he represent his faith and God as he sees him, there is an absence of drama…and writers like and seek out drama. And if Ward were the sort who looks to remove heads from shoulders, purely predatory, then there would be a message dissonance that would demand attention. But he is smart tactician, who doesn't allow you to do what you do best, and then uses angles and intelligent combos to rack up points on you. All in all, I wonder, does Ward's solidity as a citizen, and the absence of drama he leaves in his wake, subconsciously cause some of us writers to bury his brilliance? For that matter, I wonder, if Dawson fought the same way, but helped us writers churn out copy with marvelously malevolent trash talk, and had a knack for incendiary Tweets, would he not be a more marketable draw? Would this match have drawn the early criticism it did if both men fought exactly the same way, but had personalities that made our jobs easier?

So anyway, I wondered, is Ward an athlete born at a bad time, a good guy campaigning in an era where bad boys draw the most press, and loot? “I don't think so,” Hershman said. “Andre Ward is a family man, a devoted athlete, and I think he and Dawson appreciate that this is an opportunity to make their stamp,” said Hershamn, who clearly hasn't given in to the pop culture tendency to be magnetized to the hot mess, the TMZ perennial. Hershman said he won't press to fill a moral vacuum, try to shove Ward down peoples' throats as a role model for the youth. “I will leave those decisions to parents and others,” he said.

I suspect that Ward-Dawson could surprise to the upside, that one or both men could shift tactics away from being a skilled neutralizer, and that the low or moderate expectations of many could be bettered. I asked Hershman if in this atmosphere where fight buyers and promoters are looking for more aggressive combatants, and aren't as likely to utilize a patient counterpuncher type, especially one who has below average power, he doesn't consider approaching fighters, a la UFC's Dana White, and recommending that they take things out of the hand of the judges. (Who, must I remind you, have a recent track record that is somewhere between mercurial and disgraceful.) Again, showing a temperance which indicates that the man simply stays in his lane, and doesn't try to over-reach and over-leverage himself, Hershman said no, that is not his way. He appreciates the technical wizardry that a Ward and Dawson bring to the table, and wouldn't think to try and diminish that. (Good news, I'd say, if you rising talent who doesn't own bricks for hands, and wants a coveted HBO slot.)

Hey, I love the Twitter, I appreciate writers who aren't afraid to make their opinion known, ruffle some feathers. Indeed, if Ward and Dawson light up a stinkbomb on Sept. 8, I will be out and about, critiquing myself. And, if the fight bombs, you are welcome to hammer me with “I told ya sos.”

But, I say, let's see how the fight plays out, and moving forward, perhaps we should consider less “contempt prior to investigation” and embrace more of a “let's wait and see how it plays out” stance.

Comment on this article

Post Views: 682

Michael Woods

In a Massive Upset, Dakota Linger TKOs Kurt Scoby on a Friday Night in Atlanta

Published

4 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Arne K. Lang

In-a-Massive-Upset-Dakota-Linger-TKOs-Kurt-Scoby-on-a-Friday-Night-in-Atlanta

Although it was an 8-rounder on a show with two “tens,” Kurt Scoby’s match with Dakota Linger was accorded main event status on tonight’s card at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. This had everything to do with Scoby (pronounced Scooby), a former record-setting college running back who was considered one of the brightest prospects in the 140-pound weight class. “[Scoby] works harder than almost anyone I’ve ever seen,” said veteran New York promoter Lou DIBella in a conversation with Keith Idec. “But he’s literally getting better after every fight and he’s got the hammer of Thor, man. He can punch through walls.”

The Duarte, California product who has relocated to Brooklyn and trains at Gleason’s Gym, was undefeated (13-0) heading in and was expected to make Linger his ninth straight knockout victim. But Linger, a 29-year-old Buckhannon, West Virginia policemen whose first ring engagements were in Toughman competitions, wasn’t intimidated by Scoby’s press clippings or by Scoby’s bodybuilder physique.

Linger, who improved to 14-6-3 with his tenth win inside the distance, took the fight right to Scoby and repeatedly found a home for his overhand right. In the sixth round, after Linger strafed the ever-retreating Scoby with a barrage of punches, referee Malik Walid determined that he had seen enough and waived it off. The decision seemed a tad premature, but neither Scoby nor his cornermen offered anything in the way of a protest.

Tournament results

In the first installment of an 8-man super welterweight tournament, Brandon Adams returned to boxing after his second three-year layoff and showed no ring rust whatsoever. Adams, a 34-year-old family-man who grew up in the Watts district of LA, dismissed Ismael Villareal with a wicked punch to the liver in the waning seconds of round three. The official time was 2:59.

A former wold title challenger, Adams who improved to 23-3 (16 KOs), has become the king of boxing tournaments. He first attracted notice in 2018 when he won the fifth edition of “The Contender” series, scoring a wide 10-round decision over Shane Mosley Jr in the championship round.

Villareal, a second-generation prizefighter from the Bronx whose dad fought the likes of Hector Camacho, declined to 13-3.

Adams next opponent will be Francisco Veron who will bring a record of 14-0-1 (10).

In an energetic 10-rounder, Veron, a Florida-based Argentine with a strong amateur pedigree, scored a unanimous decision over Mexico-born, LA southpaw Angel Ruiz (18-3-1). The judges had it 100-90, 99-91, and 96-94.

Ruiz certainly had his moments, but Veron launched and landed many more punches despite fighting the last six rounds with a damaged eye.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 201

Avila Perspective, Chap. 281: The Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia Show

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-281-The-Devin-Haney-and-Ryan-Garcia-Show

Over the years bouts between old foes such as Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia tend to be surprising.

Yes, both are only 25 but have known each other for many years.

When undisputed super lightweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) steps into the prize ring at Barclays Center to meet challenger Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday, April 20, fans will be witnessing the continuation of a feud that began more than a decade ago.

And though the champion is a heavy favorite, familiarity is Garcia’s best weapon heading into their fight on the Golden Boy Promotions card that will be shown on PPV.COM with Jim Lampley and friends. DAZN pay-per-view is also streaming the card.

In many ways Haney and Garcia have ventured down the same path. From amateur sensations to fighting in Mexico while teens to asking for the biggest challenges available.

“Whichever version of Ryan shows up on April 20, I will be ready for him. Ryan Garcia is just another opponent to me,” said Haney who holds the WBC super lightweight title after his win over Regis Prograis.

The first time I saw Haney as a pro he battled the dangerous Mexican contender Juan Carlos Burgos at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. It was an impressive performance against a fighter who fought three times for a world title.

Haney was 19 at the time.

My first look at Garcia as a pro was in his first bout in the U.S. when he met Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Cruz at the Exchange in downtown Los Angeles. The Boricua looked at Garcia and tried intimidating him with stares, taunts and the usual patter. During the fight both swung and missed until the second round when Garcia zeroed in and took him out.

Garcia had just turned 18, the legal age to fight in California.

Both fighters did not have the Olympics credentials that lead to fame. But their talent has allowed them to fight through the dense smoke that is professional boxing.

Haney has defeated numerous world champions such as Prograis, Vasyl Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr., while Garcia has stopped champions Javier Fortuna and Luke Campbell.

As amateurs, Garcia and Haney battled six times with each winning three.

“They know each other very well,” said Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. “Ryan is going to beat Devin Haney.”

Haney has a buttery-smooth style with one of the best jabs in boxing. He’s very adept at keeping distance and not allowing anyone to fight him inside. His reflexes are outstanding, yet he seldom fights inside. That’s his weakness.

Garcia fights tall and has superb hand speed and a lightning quick left hook. Though his defense lacks tightness his ability to rip off three-punch combinations in a blink of an eye pauses opponents from bullying their way inside.

“These guys always just look at me and look at me like I don’t know how to box,” said Garcia on social media. “Why was I one of the best fighters in the amateurs. Why was I a 15-time National champion…why did I beat everyone I came across.”

Haney is a strong favorite by oddsmakers to defeat Garcia. But you can never tell when it comes to fighters that know each other well and are athletically gifted.

When Sergio Mora challenged Vernon Forrest he was a big underdog. When Tim Bradley fought Manny Pacquiao the first time, he was also the underdog. And when Andy Ruiz met Anthony Joshua few gave him a chance.

Haney and Garcia have history in the ring. It should be an interesting battle.

PPV.COM

Jim Lampley will be leading the broadcast on PPV.COM for the Haney-Garcia card at Barclays and texting with fans on the card live. He will be accompanied by journalists Lance Pugmire, Dan Conobbio and former champion Chris Algieri.

The PPV.COM broadcast begins at 5 p.m. PT. and is available in Canada and the USA.

Other News

MMA stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will be holding a media day event on Friday, April 19, at NOVO at L.A. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Diaz and Masvidal will be boxing against each other in a grudge match on June 1 at the KIA Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The two MMA stars met five years at UFC 244 with Masvidal winning by TKO over Diaz due to cuts.

This is a grudge match, but under boxing rules.

Fight card in Commerce, Calif.

360 Promotions returns to Commerce Casino on Saturday April 20 with undefeated super lightweight Cain Sandoval leading the charge.

Sandoval (12-0) faces Angel Rebollar (8-3) in the main event that will be shown live on UFC Fight Pass. Also on the card are two female events including hot prospect Lupe Medina (5-0) versus Sabrina Persona (3-1) in a minimumweight clash.

Doors open at 4 p.m.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 641

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

Published

3 days 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.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 827