Featured Articles
THE FLURRY: After Saturday, I Feel Confident Manny Beats Floyd
Think Bob Arum and Manny Pacquiao thought they saw some erosion, as Hochberger did, on Saturday against Cotto? (Chris Farina photo)
Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto Takeaways:
-First off, what an awesome fight! Nice to see Floyd actually be in a real fight. He definitely won, but I had it awfully close. I scored the fight 6-4-2 for Mayweather. If you score the two even rounds (3 and 9) for Cotto, youâre looking at a draw potentially. That said, I definitely think Floyd earned the victory. Iâm looking forward to re-watching and seeing if I stand by my scoring or not (Cinco De Mayo is always a tough night to score fights accurately as the tequila makes me fade in the championship rounds). I also tend to favor the aggressor (usually the guy coming forwards) in close rounds, so I gave Miguel the benefit of the doubt a few times.
SIDEBAR: Judges need to feel that itâs acceptable to score even rounds. (EDITOR NOTE: Smart fella, the Hochberger kid. I encourage even rounds, to encourage fighters to win rounds more conclusively. Coin-flip rounds should be scored even, period. I had three even rounds in Saturdayâs fight, FYI.) Sometimes, rounds are just that: Even. I think the lack of even rounds scored evenly leads to a lot of the questionable scorecards.
-As Iâve said before on this site, Iâm a Cotto guy. Heâs been my favorite fighter since 2002. I was so proud seeing him fight a way more competitive fight than he was expected to. In reality, he fought the âperfect fightâ to beat Floyd. Everyone knows that to beat him, you need to pressure him against the ropes, land combos/body shots, and hurt him. Oscar tried valiantly, but itâs simply not his game. This is a Cotto-style fight. The reason it was so much more competitive than what people thought is that Cotto was incredibly patient. He kept his guard high and tight until he exploded with combinations. His heavy left jab was probably the best punch of the fight, and had he thrown it more, the outcome could have been a bit different.
-Miguel Cotto has pretty decent footwork, but he simply hasnât learned to move his head well. It cost him dearly. That was the difference in the fight. Floydâs sublime head movement allowed him to dodge more of Cottoâs punches than anyone has ever been able to do. Cottoâs lack of head movement allowed Floyd to rack up points by landing clean counter shots in most every exchange.
-Albeit slightly, I think itâs fair to say Mayweather is regressing from his prime (which is fair after 43 fights and 15+ years). While this fight did more to strengthen Floydâs resume/credibility, his ever so slight decline in speed and reflexes should be noted. This fight showed he can still win a slugfest, can still take a punch, and is still the best defensive/tactical boxer in the game. But it also showed heâs not invincible. Seeing this fight just convinces me further that he would lose to Manny Pacquiao. Floyd canât stay off the ropes (or doesnât care to), and Manny is faster/more accurate than Cotto. Iâm convinced it would be a similar fight, but that Manny would land more effectively, efficiently, and at a higher volume than Miguel did. Mayweatherâs punch stats had to represent the lowest percentage of landing heâs ever had. Thereâs a direct correlation between that and Miguelâs commitment to defense/patience, but also due to slightly slower combinations than weâve ever seen out of Floyd.
-I really feel weâll find out a lot about their potential (fantasy) fight based on Mannyâs upcoming showdown with Tim Bradley. Bradley is very good, fast, and unbeaten. If Manny looks to be a class above him, then I feel confident he beats Floyd. If itâs as close as the Mayweather-Cotto fight, I start having my doubts because it means Manny has probably regressed a bit as well. I am pretty confident weâll see Manny-Floyd eventually, but I sincerely hope itâs while theyâre both still close to their athletic primes. That, conversely, looks unlikely.
Canelo-Mosley Takeaways:
-The good: Mosley showed a lot more fight than I expected. The bad: He has no zip on his punches anymore, and while he showed heart, he also showed that he couldnât beat anyone above average anymore (Can anyone name one fighter of significance that Shane would even be a 3-1 underdog against? And would anyone actually take that bet?). He is way too easy to hit, and no longer offers much offensively. Canelo stood right in front him and he couldnât do a thing about it. While he was considerably more game than expected, itâs hard to watch a mere shell of âSugarâ Shane. Nobody can really argue that.
-The fact that Canelo was in talks to face Mayweather next were ridiculous to begin with. No 22-year old is ready for Mayweatherâs experience and skill level. I hope that his handlers saw enough on Saturday night to understand that he is not even close to ready for a fighter at Floydâs level (from what Iâve read they have). It would practically be an amateur vs. a novice. Thatâs more a testament to Floydâs greatness than a knock on Canelo.
-Canelo got some solid experience (fought a crafty veteran, fought under the bright lights of stardom, and suffered a cut) and took it all very smoothly. He didnât so much as blink when cut, and he was totally stoic throughout, which is a great characteristic for a prize fighter. Big props to Caneloâs cut manâŠthat could have been something that affected the entire fight, but it was a total non-issue for the young star. From a technical standpoint, Canelo has some clear issues to work on. He does a decent job cutting off the ring, but he allowed Shane Mosley to walk him into the ropes quite a few times. Shane was doing nothing more than plodding forwards, so thatâs unacceptable for a fighter with young legs like Canelo.
-One thing I loved about Canelo is that even though he was winning a near shutout, he was still trying to close the show in the 12th round. Most fighters would have kept their distance, played it safe, and cruised to a decision. Canelo was still throwing bombs with bad intentions to the final bell. Much respect.
-Canelo reminds me a lot of a young Miguel Cotto the way he fights. I donât know if heâs a natural lefty like Miguel, but he definitely likes his lead left hook a LOT. Canelo hits hard and is an accurate puncher (like young Cotto) with very strong body punching (like young Cotto), but if he doesnât start moving his head (Cotto never really corrected this) heâs going to be outboxed and beaten by a decent veteran like Carlos Quintana before long. Frankly, although Canelo showed some flashes of brilliance, he certainly didnât look like the next big thing. Iâd go so far as to say Cotto looked better and scarier at the same point in his respective career while taking on more dangerous opposition. Canelo also needs to have a more sustained body attack in his fights. Heâs a very solid body puncher, and I donât think itâs a stretch to say that a stronger conviction to body work could have actually led to a stoppage against Mosley. The more I think about it, Canelo vs. Cotto actually makes a lot of sense. I donât think Canelo is quite ready, but I can see him hurting Cotto.
-Have you ever seen a more nervous person in your life than Oscar De La Hoya during the post-fight interview for Canelo? Oscar looked calm and collected watching his prized possession take punches without once moving his head, but couldnât have looked more uncomfortable hearing the kid answer questions.
Random Weekend Topics:
-When did Bernard Hopkins start shopping at the Gap? How many 47-year old former inmates from Philly that have a profession in combat sports dress like hipsters? Nobody fights quite like him, and nobody dresses quite like him. And he certainly did not look like he was in a title fight just a week ago.
-Speaking of not looking like he was in a title fight last weekend⊠always nice to see Paulie Malignaggi in the house #TK. Sounds like he is likely to meet Devon Alexander for his next fight. Good fight. I would think Alexander takes that one with a clear UD, but Paulie always brings it, and heâll make Devon prove he belongs in the upper echelon of the 147-lb division.
-Can we all agree that Jessie Vargas is just âOKâ? Nothing wrong with him, and heâs a good boxer with good skills. But without Mayweather behind him⊠probably nothing there.
Fights I want to see made:
-Mayweather v Sergio Martinez: This would be a huge notch in Floydâs belt to beat the lineal Middleweight Champion. It would be the ultimate boxing chess match (how do you counter a counter-punchers counter?), and although it may lack Saturdayâs action, it would be artistry.
-Lucian Bute- Andre Ward: I also think these two would put on a clinic in Boxing 101. They are both phenomenal technical boxers, and Iâd love to know whoâs really better.
-Yuriorkis Gamboa- Adrien Broner: Assuming Gamboa can figure out his legal mess, what are we waiting for here? This is canât-miss action that will tell us if either one is a future heir to Mayweatherâs PPV/P4P crown. Just make sure Gamboa is on board.
-Seth Mitchell- Tomasz Adamek: Adamek wonât prepare Seth for the Klitschkos, but heâd provide without question the toughest fight to date for the former MSU Spartan. I like Mitchell a lot, but need to see him against a good boxer before putting too much faith in him. Defeating Adamek would prove a lot more than beating someone like Robert Helenius who happens to share the Klitschkoâs frame.
-Justin Bieber vs. Canelo Alvarez. Mexicoâs biggest star vs Americaâs biggest star.
Featured Articles
Avila Perspective, Chap. 282: Ryanâs Song, Golden Boy in Fresno and More
Donât call it an upset.
Days after Ryan Garcia proved the experts wrong, those same experts are re-tooling their evaluation processes.
Itâs mind-boggling to me that 95 percent thought Garcia had no chance. Hear me out.
First, Garcia and Haney fought six times as amateurs with each winning three. But this time with no head gear and smaller gloves, Garcia had to have at least a 50/50 chance of winning. He is faster and a more powerful puncher.
Facts.
Haney is a wonderful boxer with smooth, almost artistic movements. But history has taught us power and speed like Garciaâs canât be discounted. Think way back to legendary fighters like Willie Pep and Sandy Sadler. All that excellent defensive skill could not prevent Sadler from beating Pep in three of their four meetings.
Power has always been an equalizer against boxing skill.
Ben Lira, one of the wisest and most experienced trainers in Southern California, always professed knockout power was the greatest equalizer in a fight. âYou can be behind for nine rounds and one punch can change the outcome,â he said.
Another weird theory spreading before the fight was that Garcia would quit in the fight. That was a puzzling one. Getting stopped by a perfect body shot is not quitting. And that punch came from Gervonta âTankâ Davis who can really crack.
So how did Garcia do it?
In the opening round Ryan Garcia timed Devin Haneyâs jab and countered with a snapping left hook that rattled and wobbled the super lightweight champion. After that, Garcia forced Haney to find another game plan.
Garcia and trainer Derrick James must have worked hours on that move.
I must confess that I first saw Garciaâs ability many years ago when he was around 11 or 12. So I do have an advantage regarding his talent. A few things I noticed even back then were his speed and power. Also, that others resented his talent but respected him. He was the guy with everything: talent and looks.
And that brings resentment.
Recently I saw him and his crew rapping a song on social media. Now heâs got a song. Next thing you know Hollywood will be calling and heâll be in the movies. Itâs happened before with fighters such as Art Aragon, the first Golden Boy in the 50s. He was dating movie stars and getting involved with starlets all over Hollywood.
Is history repeating itself or is Garcia creating a new era for boxing?
Since 2016 people claimed he was just a social media creation. Now, after his win over Devin Haney a former undisputed lightweight champion and the WBC super lightweight titleholder, the boxer from the high desert area of Victorville has become one of the highest paid fighters in the world.
Ryan Garcia has entered a new dimension.
Golden Boy Season
After several down years the Los Angeles-based company Golden Boy Promotions suddenly is cracking the whip in 2024.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) returns to the ring and faces Puerto Ricoâs Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1, 17 KOs) a welterweight gatekeeper who lost to Jaron âBootsâ Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis. They meet as super welterweights in the co-main event at Save Mart Arena in Fresno, Calif. on Saturday, April 27. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card live.
Itâs a quick return to action for Ortiz who is still adjusting to the new weight division. His last fight three months ago ended in less than one round in Las Vegas. It was cut short by an antsy referee and left Ortiz wanting more after more than a year of inactivity in the prize ring.
Ortiz has all the weapons.
Also, Northern Californiaâs Jose Carlos Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs) meets Cubaâs Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1, 15 KOs) in a welterweight affair set for 12 rounds.
Itâs difficult to believe that former super lightweight titlist Ramirez has been written off by fans after only one loss. That was several years ago against Scotlandâs Josh Taylor. One loss does not mean the end of a career.
âMy goal is to get back on top and to get all those belts back. I still feel like I am one of the best 140-pounders in the division,â said Ramirez who lives in nearby Avenal, Calif.
An added major attraction features Marlen Esparza in a unification rematch against Gabriela âLa Chuckyâ Alaniz for the WBA, WBC, WBO flyweight titles. Their first fight was
a controversial win by Esparza that saw one judge give her nine of 10 rounds in a very close fight. Those Texas judges.
In a match that could steal the show, Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) faces former world champion Jojo Diaz (33-5-1, 15 KOs) in a lightweight match.
Munguia and Canelo
Donât sleep on this match.
Its current Golden Boy fighter Jaime Munguia facing former Golden Boy fighter Saul âCaneloâ Alvarez in a battle between Mexicoâs greatest sluggers next week at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 4.
âI think Jaime Munguia is going to do something special in the ring,â said Oscar De La Hoya, the CEO for Golden Boy.
Tijuanaâs Munguia showed up at the Wild Card Boxing gym in Hollywood where a throng of media from Mexico and the US met him.
Munguia looked confident and happy about his opportunity to fight great Canelo.
âItâs a hard fight,â said Munguia. âTruth is, its big for Mexico and not only for Mexicans but for boxing.â
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 6 p.m. Yoeniz Tellez (7-0) vs Joseph Jackson (19-0).
Sat. DAZN 9:30 a.m. Peter McGrail (8-1) vs Marc Leach (18-3-1); Beatriz Ferreira (4-0) vs Yanina Del Carmen 14-3).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Vergil Ortiz (20-0) vs Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1); Jose Carlos Ramirez (28-1) vs Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1); Marlen Esparza (14-1) vs Gabriela Alaniz (14-1).
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy Promotions
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
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! Tonightâs episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonioâs 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 wasnât 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 âWreckingâ 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 10th 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, Liverpoolâs Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock
Saturdayâs 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 â the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort â 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 hadnât previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haneyâs second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter â watching at home â 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. âAt the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,â said Garcia. âHe could have stopped that fight.â
Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the âunder,â undoubtedly felt the same way.
The internet lit up with comments assailing Dockâs 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 Americaâs highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: âThis referee is absolutely terribleâŠ.Unreal! Horrible officiating,â 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 Jerseyâs 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 Dockâs 364th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they werenât 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 âpremature stoppagesâ 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 Dockâs 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 wasnât Harvey Dockâs best hour, Iâll 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 âXâ 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 âBlazing Saddles,â 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, Mauricioâs late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.
Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaimanâs rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.
Haneyâs 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.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum, CLICK HERE
Â
-
Featured Articles1 week ago
In a Massive Upset, Dakota Linger TKOs Kurt Scoby on a Friday Night in Atlanta
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Hitchins Controversially Upends Lemos on a Matchroom Card at the Fontainebleau
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Undercard Results from Arizona where Richard Torrez Jr Scored Another Fast KO
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 278: Clashes of Spring in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and LA
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Zurdo Ramirez Accomplishes Another First; Unseats Cruiser Titlist Goulamirian
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 280: Oscar Valdez, One of Boxingâs Good Guys, and More
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
The Hauser Report: Â Literary Notes and More
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
The Sky is the Limit for Globetrotting Aussie Featherweight Skye Nicolson