Martinez Wins But Weakens His Case As Top Three PFP

Published

12 years ago

March 19, 2012

His name is Sergio Martinez and he boasts a stellar career record of 49-2-2 (28). He’s clearly at the top of the food chain in the middleweight division and is the universally recognized champion amongst his 160 pound counterparts. This past weekend he was tested against the UK’s Matthew Macklin 28-4 (19) for eight rounds before making a few adjustments against his tiring opponent and ultimately prevailed when Macklin’s trainer Buddy McGirt wisely didn’t allow his fighter to come out for the 12th and final round.

Martinez is a natural fighter and he’s one of the best conditioned boxers in the world. However, there seems to be a love fest going on between him and the boxing media that can’t be explained. In order to plaster-saint him many things have been said about his style and skill level that just aren’t there. But since he’s been widely accepted as being so terrific it goes unquestioned.

Another thing that is never pointed out is how thin the middleweight division of today really is. Everyone kills the Klitschkos and the heavyweights, but exactly who in the middleweight division today looks like a current or future world beater? If you follow boxing you know the names and in-abilities of the other middleweight contenders which don’t need to be rehashed here.

HBO did their best to build up a one dimensional fighter in order for Martinez to look great after he beat him. He should have completely dominated every minute of the fight against Macklin who is somewhat technically sound but neither fast nor much of a puncher. With all due respect to Matthew Macklin who fought to win until he had nothing left, he is a limited fighter at the world class level. He was no doubt greatly aided by the training and wisdom of his trainer Buddy McGirt.

The fact is, if Martinez lost to any of the highest ranked contenders in line to face him it would be a monumental upset. Yet at 154 I’d pick Floyd Mayweather to beat him. It’s a shame that Floyd is so insecure and lacks gumption because he could really get over on the public by fighting and defeating Martinez. But instead we know in order to make the fight Floyd will make ridiculous demands like forcing Sergio to come down to 150 so the fight never happens.

It’ll never change with Mayweather. He’ll continue for the rest of what’s left of his career to fight set-ups where he has every advantage so he can retire undefeated. Sure, he’s fighting a declining Miguel Cotto at 154 this coming May, but the fight could’ve been made six plus years when beating Cotto was considered quite a feat.

In regards to Martinez, what makes him so tough to fight is his southpaw style along with his hand and foot speed. He’s certainly no ring genius or technician, although he showed something against Macklin that was impressive and of course will be under-reported which I’ll touch on later. Sergio’s bread and butter punch is his left lead, a rarity for southpaws. An overwhelming majority of left handed fighters use their right jab to set up their finishing left cross. However, Martinez can instinctively throw his left as a lead set-up or finishing punch.

Throughout the entire careers of Muhammad Ali, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, we saw them consistently disrupt and blunt the aggression of left handed fighters with right leads. Which of course everyone knows if you’re good enough to throw it without leaving yourself wide open, it’s money against a southpaw. But, how many times did Ali, Hopkins or Jones encounter a lefty that was adept at throwing left leads back at them like Martinez can?

Another thing that Martinez does is give his opponents a lot of herky jerky movement as he draws them to follow and reach for him. When they over-commit and reach to touch them, he counters back, and like Hector Camacho used to do, slides around to their blind side. And this past weekend Matthew Macklin nullified that by just throwing one-twos at Martinez’ chest and chin. When Macklin only cut loose with his jab and cross, he froze Martinez, whose instinct was to counter a flurry, only to have Macklin step off after the right landed. This worked beautifully for Mackin and by not fully engaging Martinez he prevented Sergio from really getting some free and open shots at him.

The only problem was Macklin was tiring because the mental pressure of him concentrating on staying with what was working took a lot out of him as a desperate Martinez was looking to raise the rent and turn up the heat. After seven rounds Macklin not only was winning the fight strategically, he was winning it on points as well. Then Martinez’s greater experience and natural physical ability kicked in. Sergio, realizing that Macklin wasn’t going to chase him all over and miss and allow himself to be countered, began to push the fight by throwing single right jabs at a time that forced Macklin back and caused him to eventually have to open up and try to stabilize the fight. Only he was tiring and easier to hit because once Martinez fought as the attacker, Macklin’s instinct to fight back eventually became his undoing. Once Macklin was slowed and incapable of implementing a plan B, Martinez unloaded with everything he had.

During the last two rounds Martinez was hurting Macklin with lead left hands despite his shoulders not being lined up with his fist, hips, legs and feet. In fact, the way Martinez was launching some of those left leads and hurting Macklin is something that you’d admonish an amateur fighting novice for doing. Yet Sergio is such a natural fighter he can even excel when he’s technically wrong or out of position. And as everyone reading this knows that cannot be taught or learned.

The most impressive thing Martinez did this past weekend was adjust and become more aggressive behind his right hand when the bout was slipping away. Usually fighters are embarrassed when they get hit by the opponents power hand when thrown as a lead. What that often does is make the fighter being hit with it (Macklin) fight with more urgency as if to say you can’t do that with me. Only Macklin didn’t fall for it and that caused Martinez to resort to something else. Remember, fighters are not watching the fight as it’s happening through a camera from ringside. Things look a lot different to the fighter that the opponent is or isn’t doing when he’s in front of him. In that regard Martinez gets all the props in the world by changing up and taking the fight to Macklin.

Sure, it can be said that he had to pick it up in a fight he was losing, but how many fighters actually do that? Also, the left leads stopped and the right jab became the dominant punch. The left was basically only used as a finishing punch and as we saw it was the follow up lefts that dropped Macklin twice in the 11th round.

Is Sergio Martinez a great fighter and technician? Not in my eyes. Is he a hall of famer if he were to never fight again, not to me. What he is is a natural fighter who’s always in great condition who is stronger and more mentally tough than he gets credit for being. I say he’s more difficult to fight because of his instincts and style than he is a spectacular fighter. He’s gifted and in great condition which happen to go a long way today.

And no way is he the third best pound for pound fighter in professional boxing. That is as long as Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Andre Ward, Nonito Donaire and Juan Manuel Marquez are still active.

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Frank Lotierzo

Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

David A. Avila

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

East Los Angeles has long been a haven for some of the best fighters around if you can keep them out of trouble. For every Oscar De La Hoya or Seniesa Estrada there are thousands derailed by crime, drugs or drinking.

Boxing has always been a favorite sport of East L.A. Every family has an uncle or two who boxes.

On Friday, 360 Promotions’ Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) fights Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1) in the main event at Commerce Casino, in Commerce, CA. UFC Fight Pass will stream the fight card.

The City of Commerce used to be part of East L.A. until 1960 when it incorporated. It’s still considered to be part of East Los Angeles, but informally.

Plenty of fighters come out of East L.A. but few make it all the way like De La Hoya and Estrada. Will Trinidad be the one?

The first world champion from East L.A. or “East Los” as some call it, was Solly Garcia Smith back in the late 1800s. Others were Richie Lemos, Art Frias and Joey Olivo. There is also 1984 Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzalez.

Once again 360 Promotions brings its popular brand of fights to the area. On this fight card includes two female bouts. One features Roxy Verduzco (1-0) the former amateur star fighting Colleen Davis (3-1-1) in a featherweight fight.

All that action takes place on Friday.

Elite Boxing

The next day, also in East L.A., Elite Boxing stages another boxing card at Salesian High School located at 960 S. Soto Street in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles.

Elite Boxing has promoted several successful boxing cards at the Catholic high school grounds. The area is saturated by many of the best eateries in Los Angeles. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourself and grab some of that delicious food.

Boxing has long been a favorite sport of anyone who lives in East L.A. It’s a fight town equal to Philadelphia, Brooklyn or Detroit. There’s something different about the area. For more than 100 years some of the best fighters continue to come out of its boxing gyms. Some will be performing on these club shows.

For tickets or information go to www.eliteboxingusa.com

Claressa Shields in Detroit

Speaking of fight towns, pound-for-pound best Claressa Shields who won two Olympic Gold Medals in boxing, moves up another weight division to tackle the WBC heavyweight world champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday, July 27, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

DAZN will stream the heavy-duty fight card.

Shields (14-0) cleaned out the super welterweight, middleweight and super middleweight divisions and now wants to add the big girls to her conquests. She will be facing Canada’s Lepage-Joanisse (7-1) who holds the WBC belt.

The last time Shields gloved up was more than a year ago when she fought Maricela Cornejo. Don’t blame Shields. She loves to fight. She loves to win. The last time Shields lost a fight was in the amateurs and that was three presidential administrations ago.

Shields doesn’t lose.

I wonder if Las Vegas even takes bets on her fights?

The only fight she may have been an underdog was against Savannah Marshall who was the last opponent to defeat her. And that was in 2012 in China. When they met as pros two years ago, Shields avenged her loss with a blistering attack.

Don’t get Shields mad.

Perhaps her toughest foe as a pro was in her pro debut when she clashed with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in Las Vegas. It was four rounds of fists and fury as the two pounded each other on the undercard of Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev in November 2016.

That was a ferocious debut for both female pugilists.

Assisting Shields on this fight card will be several intriguing male bouts. One guy you should pay special attention is Tito Mercado (15-0, 14 KOs) a super lightweight prospect from Pomona, California.

Many excellent fighters have come out of Pomona including Sugar Shane Mosley, Shane Mosley Jr., Alberto Davila and Richie Sandoval who just passed away this week.

Sandoval was best known for his 15-round war with Philadelphia’s Jeff Chandler for the bantamweight world title in 1984. Read the story by Arne K. Lang on this link: https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/81467-former-world-bantamweight-champion-richie-sandoval-passes-away-at-age-63 .

Fights to Watch

Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) vs Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1).

Sat. ESPN+ 12:30 p.m. Joe Joyce (16-2) vs Derek Chisora (34-13).

Sat. DAZN 3 p.m. Claressa Shields (14-0) vs Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1), Michel Rivera (25-1) vs Hugo Roldan (22-2-1); Tito Mercado (15-0) vs Hector Sarmiento (21-2).

Omar Trinidad photo by Lina Baker

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Arne’s Almanac: Jake Paul and Women’s Boxing, a Curmudgeon’s Take

Published

2 days ago

July 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Jake Paul can fight more than a little. The view from here is that he would make it interesting against any fringe contender in the cruiserweight division. However, Jake’s boxing acumen pales when paired against his skill as a flim-flam artist.

Jake brought a 9-1 record into last weekend’s bout with Mike Perry. As noted by boxing writer Paul Magno, Jake’s previous opponents consisted of “a You Tuber, a retired NBA star, five retired MMA stars, a part-time boxer/reality TV star, and two undersized and inactive fall-guy boxers.”

Mike Perry, a 32-year-old Floridian, was undefeated (6-0, 3 KOs) as a bare-knuckle boxer after forging a 14-8 record in UFC bouts. In pre-fight blurbs, Perry was billed as the baddest bare knuckle boxer of all time, but against Jake Paul he proved to have very unrefined skills as a conventional boxer which Team Paul undoubtedly knew all along. Perry lasted into the eighth round in a one-sided fight that could have been stopped a lot sooner.

Jake Paul is both a boxer and a promoter. As a promoter, he handles Amanda Serrano, one of the greatest female boxers in history. That makes him the person most responsible (because the buck stops with him) for the wretched mismatch in last Saturday’s co-feature, the bout between Serrano and Stevie Morgan.

Morgan, who took up boxing two years ago at age 33, brought a 14-1 record. Nicknamed the Sledgehammer, she had won 13 of her 14 wins by knockout, eight in the opening round. However, although she resides in Florida, all but one of those 13 knockouts happened in Colombia.

“We found that in Colombia there were just more opportunities for women’s boxing than in the United States,” she told a prominent boxing writer whose name we won’t mention.

The truth is that, for some folks, Colombia is the boxing equivalent of a feeder lot for livestock, a place where a boxer can go to fatten their record. The opportunities there were no greater than in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1995. It was there that Peter McNeeley prepped for his match with Mike Tyson with a 6-second knockout of professional punching bag Frankie Hines. (Six seconds? So it would be written although no one seems to have been there to witness it.)

Serrano vs Morgan was understood to be a stay-busy fight for Amanda whose rematch with Katie Taylor was postponed until November. Stevie Morgan, to her credit, answered the bell for the second round whereas others in her situation would have remained on the stool and invented an injury to rationalize it. Thirty-eight seconds later it was all over and Ms. Morgan was free to go home and use her sledgehammer to do some light dusting.

The Paul-Perry and Serrano-Morgan fights played out in a sold-out arena in Tampa before an estimated 17,000. Those without a DAZN subscription paid $64.95 for the livestream. Paul’s next promotion, where he will touch gloves with 58-year-old Mike Tyson (unless Iron Mike pulls a Joe Biden and pulls out; a capital idea) with Serrano-Taylor II the semi-main, will almost certainly rake in more money than any other boxing promotion this year.

Asked his opinion of so-called crossover boxing by a reporter for a college newspaper, the venerable boxing promoter Bob Arum said, “It’s not my bag but folks who don’t like it shouldn’t get too worked up over it because no one is stealing from anybody.” True enough, but for some of us, the phenomenon is distressing.

—

The next big women’s fight happens Saturday in Detroit where Claressa Shields seeks a world title in a third weight class against WBC heavyweight belt-holder Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, undefeated in 14 fights as a pro, Shields is very good, arguably the best female boxer of her generation which makes her, arguably, the best female boxer of all time. But turning away Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) won’t elevate her stature in our eyes.

Purportedly 17-4 as an amateur, the Canadian won her title in her second crack at it. Back in August of 2017, she challenged Cancun’s Alejandra Jimenez in Cancun and was stopped in the third round. Entering the bout, Lepage-Joanisse was 3-0 as a pro and had never fought a match slated for more than four rounds.

Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

True, on the women’s side, the heavyweight bracket is a very small pod. A sanctioning body has to make concessions to harness a sanctioning fee. Nonetheless, how absurd that a woman who had answered the bell for only 11 rounds would be deemed qualified to compete for a world title. (FYI: Alejandra Jimenez was purportedly born a man. She left the sport with a 12-0-1 record after her win over Franchon Crews Dazurn was changed to a no-contest when she tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol.)

Following her defeat to Jimenez, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, now 29 years old, was out of action for six-and-a-half years. When she returned, she was still a heavyweight, but a much slender heavyweight. She carried 231 pounds for Jimenez. In her most recent bout where she captured the vacant WBC title with a split decision over Argentina’s Abril Argentina Vidal, she clocked in at 173 ¼. (On the distaff side, there’s no uniformity among the various sanctioning bodies as to what constitutes a heavyweight.)

Claressa Shields doesn’t need Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to reinforce her credentials as a future Hall of Famer. She made the cut a long time ago.

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Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63

Published

4 days ago

July 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Richie Sandoval, who won the WBA and lineal bantamweight title in one of the biggest upsets of the 1980s and then, not quite two years later, suffered near-fatal injuries in a title defense, has passed away at the age of 63.

News circulated fast in the Las Vegas boxing community on Monday, July 22, the grapevine actuated by a tweet from Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler: “Boxing and the Top Rank family lost one of our own last night in the passing of former WBA bantamweight champion Richie Sandoval. It hurts personally and professionally to know that Richie is gone at age 63. RIP campeon.”

Details are vague but the cause of death was apparently a sudden heart attack that Sandoval experienced while visiting the Southern California home of his son of the same name.

Richie Sandoval put the LA County community of Pomona, California, on the boxing map before Shane Mosley came along and gave the town a more frequently-cited mention in the sports section of the papers. He came from a fighting family. An older brother, Albert “Superfly” Sandoval, became a big draw at LA’s fabled Olympic Auditorium while building a 35-2-1 record that included a failed bid to capture Lupe Pintor’s world bantamweight title.

Richie was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team that was stranded when U.S. President Jimmy Carter (and many other world leaders) boycotted the event as a protest against Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.

As a pro, Sandoval’s signature win was a 15^th-round stoppage of Jeff Chandler. They fought on April 7, 1984 in Atlantic City. Chandler was making the tenth defense of his world bantamweight title.

Despite being a heavy underdog, Sandoval dominated the fight, winning almost every round until the referee stepped in and waived it off. Chandler, who was 33-1-2 heading in and had avenged his lone defeat, never fought again.

Sandoval made two successful defenses before risking his title against Gaby Canizales on the undercard of Hagler-Mugabi in the outdoor stadium at Caesars Palace. In round seven, Sandoval, who had a hellish time making the weight, was knocked down three times and suffered a seizure as he collapsed from the third knockdown. Stretchered out of the ring, he was rushed to the hospital where doctors reduced the swelling in his brain and beat the odds to save his life. This would be Richie’s lone defeat. He finished his pro career with a record of 29-1 (17 KOs).

Bob Arum cushioned some of the pain by giving Richie a $25,000 bonus and offering him a lifetime job at Top Rank which Richie accepted. And let the record show that Arum was good to his word.

A more elaborate portrait of Richie Sandoval was published in these pages in 2017. You can check it out HERE. May he rest in peace.

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