FORUM FLURRIES Superior Posts From the Forum All-Stars

One and all seemed to dig the Showtime card which unfolded Saturday night, from the Stub Hub Center in Carson, a joint which seems to encourage above-average prizefighting.

I’ve collected some of the most salient, insightful and amusing comments from our Forum crew, something I haven’t done in awhile, and I think is ripe for a return, being that our Forum contest has been a marked success, and has bred a consistent delivery of superior analysis from the superlative group of regulars.

To kick things off, Dave B wasn’t sold on the Ukrainian who won a world title in his THIRD PRO FIGHT! Tough sell, that Dave B! “I’m still not impressed with Lomachenko,” he wrote. “I don’t see anything really special about this kid. Yes, he is technically sound and I like the way he goes to the body but I place him among what I call the mediocre elite as I do Alexander, Lamont Peterson, Robert Guerrero. He will have a good pro career but I don’t seem him doing more than mediocre against top notch competition.” I like that, “the mediocre elite.” Anyone else got anyone to add to fit that bill?

It’s fun, and often illuminating, to check back on pre-fight threads, and see who nailed it, who made the right call before the first bell rang. In this case, our man OuBobcat was spot on with his take on the Lomachenko-Russell Jr bout. “The sport is littered with examples though of boxers who have much better hand speed than their opponents getting beaten by opponents who are technically better in some other areas (remember Mosley-Forrest and Mosley-Wright),” OuBobcat wrote. “I think despite the blinding speed Russell gets handled by Lomachenko.” He thought right, didn’t he?

As did Brown Sugar, who saw something early in Russell’s career, and didn’t let it go, smartly. “Russell was about 3 or 4 fights into his pro career when he was nearly obliterated in a showcase bout designed to display his vast skills,” he wrote. “Russell opened up early and nearly paid the ultimate price for letting his hands with utter abandon. Since that fight his braintrust placed him on a secure(safe) path… One less risksy to help him to improve his defense. It has been proven by W. Klitscho that while a chin can’t necessarily be inhanced. It can be educated. Klitschko learned how to relax and recover when he gets hit now as well as how to minimize the chance of getting solidly at all. Russell’s dad discussed the gradual progression of Russell Jr’s defense at several points over the years.. But its my opinion as well as 99% of the boxing community that protecting Russell hasn’t been that great of a benefit.” Amen, sir. And as I Tweeted out on Sunday, the Most Thanked Man in the Business, one Al Haymon, deserves, I dare say, some flak for not matching Russell Jr. smarter before throwing him in that proverbial deep water with the lead swimmies….

Fight game lifer The Commish aka Randy Gordon, who was kind enough to have me in studio last Friday for his Sirius show with Gentleman Gerry Cooney, offered his take on Nadjib Mohammedis’ takedown of Anatoliy Dudchenko, who messed the bed in a big way on Saturday, on that NBC cable show put together by Main Events. “I can’t figure what happened to Anatoliy Dudchenko,” The Commish wrote. “His veteran traiiner, Jesse Reid, had told me on Friday that, “Dudchenko is ready to win this fight and then make a move towards some bigger names” in the light heavyweight division. From the opening bell, Dudchenko seemed to have nothing. He looked tired, listless and had little snap. I thought maybe he was just off to a slow start, but, by the third round, you could see this was not going to be his night. He made Najdib Mohammedi look like the next superstar in the LH division.”

Note: I dare say me and most of you missed the sharp coverage that we usually get from ace vet David A. Avila, who is resting at home and regaining strength after a medical issue arose. He certainly would have been able to convey the meaning of the Robert Guerrero and Devon Alexander wins, along with Loma’s triumph. Looking forward to his comeback fight, hopefully coming soon!

If you haven’t been to our Forum yet, please do check in. I can pretty much guarantee you will get hooked.

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