Borges: Floyd Had To Work Hard On Saturday

Published

13 years ago

May 7, 2012

Ron Borges

MayweatherCotto Hoganphotos Smiles abound above, on Justin Bieber, L'il Wayne, Floyd, 50 Cent and Yuriorkis Gamboa, but Team Mayweather wore some worried looks before the decision was announced in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

LAS VEGAS – You wonder sometimes about those post-midnight training sessions and pre-dawn runs up Fifth Avenue or down the Las Vegas Strip but for once there was no doubting the efficacy of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s unique approach to preparing for a fight because it was during one of those post-midnight interludes that he found the punch that would save him against Miguel Cotto.

Mayweather fought his way to a surprisingly difficult unanimous decision over WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto at the jam-packed MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday night primarily on the strength of a punch seldom in use these days, one whose effectiveness against Cotto he discovered by watching a late-night replay of Cotto’s own difficult night with Shane Mosley several years ago.

“The right hook and the uppercut was working tonight,’’ a bloodied and bruised Mayweather said early Sunday morning, more than an hour after the decision had been rendered. “I don’t watch tape or any of that but the other night I was up watching television and I saw a few rounds of Mosley’s fight with Cotto. He was using the right hook and I said, ‘That’s the punch I’m going to use.

“I knew the right hook was going to be my money shot. A lot of times these days you don't see fighters using the right hook, only the left. But tonight I wanted to use the right hook and that is what I did. I remembered Zab Judah using the uppercut against him, too. So I knew I was going to use those shots tonight.’’

Mayweather (43-0, 26 KO) used both to maximum effect late in what was a far closer fight than the three judges at ringside seemed to see. One gave Mayweather 10 of the 12 rounds, a point of view so difficult to fathom it left newly crowned WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi, a long-time Mayweather advocate, bemused.

“What those scores said was beyond getting paid (an $8 million guarantee) Cotto wasted his time coming to Las Vegas,’’ Malignaggi said. “The scores tell you they weren’t going to let him win a decision.

“That’s the problem with this sport. You don’t get what you deserve. Floyd won but show me 10 rounds Cotto lost. Come on.’’

Opinion on the outcome was widely split, some at ringside believing Mayweather won easily while a few had Cotto winning and the majority sided with Mayweather but by a far closer margin than 118-110 or 117-111 ones the three Las Vegas officials saw.

Whatever end of that debate you might be on, Mayweather made clear that Cotto had been a far different experience from what he expected or from what his previous 42 ring encounters had offered him. By the fight’s midpoint his nose was bloodied and his mouth was sliced open, blood leaking onto his normally brilliant smile.

He was breathing heavily and his entourage wore the kind of worried expressions that come with the sight of a gravy train pulling out of the station without them on it.

“Normally I come up on this podium with no bumps, no bruises,’’ the undefeated but now dented Mayweather said. “Tonight I got a few bumps and bruises. This was a grueling fight.

“Cotto shocked me. He was slow but awkward. He won some rounds. He dished out some punishment but he took more punishment than he dished out. I could have stayed on the outside all night and won easy but I was going for the knockout.’’

By midway through the fight, Mayweather’s obsession with leaving Cotto broken and semi-conscious had left him sitting on his stool with his nose bleeding and his mouth cut. That image was shown on in-house Jumbotron screens and the sold out crowd of 16,047 that had paid $11,999,096 to witness just such a scrap as he was now enduring roared.

Earlier in the evening Mayweather had been smiling and shaking his head from side to side when hit solidly as if to imply those punches had been a mirage. But after he’d been mugged a few times by an opponent who refused to relent to Mayweather’s hard right hooks, left uppercuts and quick counter shots, the smile disappeared.

“I had to fight hard and suck it up,’’ Mayweather admitted. “Cotto is no push over. He’s a tough competitor. He came to fight. Not just to survive. He came to fight. I dug down and fought him back.’’

Mayweather certainly did that in the fight’s final rounds, coming out in round 11 and particularly Round 12 like a desperate man well aware that the night had not gone as planned.

As the final round began it appeared it might be either man’s fight and Mayweather came out intent on making clear which that was. He nailed Cotto with a quick combination and then a second and stunned him halfway through the round with a big left hand and a right behind it that stopped Cotto in his tracks.

Mayweather spun away and when Cotto came forward he nailed him twice more. Those final punches failed to dissuade Cotto however, who continued to bore in relentlessly, like a fist full of termites.

“The judges said I lost,’’ the normally gracious Cotto (37-3, 30 KO) said outside his locker room before refusing to attend the post-fight press conference for the first time in his career.

“I can’t do anything else. I have to take my defeat. I brought my best tonight. He knows the kind of fight Miguel Cotto brings and so do the fans. I’m happy with my performance and so is my family. I can’t ask for anything else.’’

Neither could Mayweather, whose claim of having avoided an easy victory in pursuit of a knockout seemed questionable. Much of his problem was caused by Cotto and very likely by the passage of time as well. He is nearly 36 years old now, a time when reflexes begin to argue when asked to respond too quickly and when the agility necessary to spin out of harm’s way a moment before being trapped in a corner or against the ropes begins to desert you.

When asked why he had not pursued Cotto more diligently after seeming to hurt him in that final round if a knockout was his goal, Mayweather’s response was both a wise and telling one.

“I sensed that sometimes Miguel was breaking down and then he would come back sharp,’’ Mayweather said with admiration. “Miguel Cotto is in shape. Anybody who wants to get in with Cotto better be ready. He deserved to fight me.’’

He also deserved better from those judges. He did not do quite enough to deserve to leave the MGM a winner but that’s the story of Las Vegas. Other than Floyd Mayweather, Jr., most people leave there a loser. But Mayweather conceded Saturday night was really not that kind of predictable night.

“He pushed me to the limits and that is what it's all about,’’ Mayweather said. “It's about winning and that's what I did. I'm not going to fold to pressure but Cotto can keep his head high. We were both winners tonight in our own way.”

As the sycophants who surround Floyd Mayweather, Jr., holding his coat and taking his money, might holler on command, “True that!’’

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Ron Borges

Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside

Published

8 hours ago

April 20, 2025

David A. Avila

Gabriela-Fundora-KOs-Marilyn-Badillo-and-Perez-Upsets-Conwell-in-Oceanside

It was just a numbers game for Gabriela Fundora and despite Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo’s elusive tactics it took the champion one punch to end the fight and retain her undisputed flyweight world title by knockout on Saturday.

Will it be her last flyweight defense?

Though Fundora (16-0, 8 KOs) fired dozens of misses, a single punch found Badillo (19-1-1, 3 KOs) and ended her undefeated career and first attempt at a world title at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.

Fundora, however, proves unbeatable at flyweight.

The champion entered the arena as the headliner for the Golden Boy Promotion show and stepped through the ropes with every physical advantage possible, including power.

Mexico’s Badillo was a midget compared to Fundora but proved to be as elusive as a butterfly in a menagerie for the first six rounds. As the six-inch taller Fundora connected on one punch for every dozen thrown, that single punch was a deadly reminder.

Badillo tried ducking low and slipping to the left while countering with slashing uppercuts, she found little success. She did find the body a solid target but the blows proved to be useless. And when Badillo clinched, that proved more erroneous as Fundora belted her rapidly during the tie-ups.

“She was kind of doing her ducking thing,” said Fundora describing Badillo’s defensive tactics. “I just put the pressure on. It was just like a train. We didn’t give her that break.”

The Mexican fighter tried valiantly with various maneuvers. None proved even slightly successful. Fundora remained poised and under control as she stalked the challenger.

In the seventh round Badillo seemed to take a stand and try to slug it out with Fundora. She quickly was lit up by rapid left crosses and down she went at 1:44 of the seventh round. The Mexican fighter’s corner wisely waved off the fight and referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight and held the dazed Badillo upright.

Once again Fundora remained champion by knockout. The only question now is will she move up to super flyweight or bantamweight to challenge the bigger girls.

Perez Beats Conwell.

Mexico’s Jorge “Chino” Perez (33-4, 26 KOs) upset Charles Conwell (21-1, 15 KOs) to win by split decision after 12 rounds in their super welterweight showdown.

It was a match that paired two hard-hitting fighters whose ledgers brimmed with knockouts, but neither was able to score a knockdown against each other.

Neither fighter moved backward. It was full steam ahead with Conwell proving successful to the body and head with left hooks and Perez connecting with rights to the head and body. It was difficult to differentiate the winner.

Though Conwell seemed to be the superior defensive fighter and more accurate, two judges preferred Perez’s busier style. They gave the fight to Perez by 115-113 scores with the dissenter favoring Conwell by the same margin.

It was Conwell’s first pro loss. Maybe it will open doors for more opportunities.

Other Bouts

Tristan Kalkreuth (15-1) managed to pass a serious heat check by unanimous decision against former contender Felix Valera (24-8) after a 10-round back-and-forth heavyweight fight.

It was very close.

Kalkreuth is one of those fighters that possess all the physical tools including youth and size but never seems to be able to show it. Once again he edged past another foe but at least this time he faced an experienced fighter in Valera.

Valera had his moments especially in the middle of the 10-round fight but slowed down during the last three rounds.

One major asset for Kalkreuth was his chin. He got caught but still motored past the clever Valera. After 10 rounds two judges saw it 99-91 and one other judge 97-93 all for Kalkreuth.

Highly-rated prospect Ruslan Abdullaev (2-0) blasted past dangerous Jino Rodrigo (13- 5-2) in an eight round super lightweight fight. He nearly stopped the very tough Rodrigo in the last two rounds and won by unanimous decision.

Abdullaev is trained by Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio.

Bakersfield prospect Joel Iriarte (7-0, 7 KOs) needed only 1:44 to knock out Puerto Rico’s Marcos Jimenez (25-12) in a welterweight bout.

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‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

Published

1 day ago

April 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Krusher-Kovalev-Exits-on-a-Winning-Note-TKOs-Artur-Mann-in-his-Farewell-Fight

At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.

Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.

Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.

The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.

Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.

Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11^th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.

That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.

Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.

In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.

Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30^th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.

Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.

The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-322-Super-Welterweight-Week-in-SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.

One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.

Take your pick.

The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.

Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.

Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.

If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.

He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.

During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.

Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.

Fundora

Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.

Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.

Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.

Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.

Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?

When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.

This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.

Commerce Casino

Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.

Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.

It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.

Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?

That’s a question for another day.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).

Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).

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