THE FLURRY: After Saturday, I Feel Confident Manny Beats Floyd

Published

13 years ago

May 9, 2012

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, you’re looking at a draw potentially. That said, I definitely think Floyd earned the victory. I’m 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 it’s 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 Saturday’s 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 I’ve said before on this site, I’m a Cotto guy. He’s 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 ‘perfect fight’ 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 it’s 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 hasn’t learned to move his head well. It cost him dearly. That was the difference in the fight. Floyd’s sublime head movement allowed him to dodge more of Cotto’s punches than anyone has ever been able to do. Cotto’s lack of head movement allowed Floyd to rack up points by landing clean counter shots in most every exchange.

-Albeit slightly, I think it’s 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 Floyd’s 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 he’s not invincible. Seeing this fight just convinces me further that he would lose to Manny Pacquiao. Floyd can’t stay off the ropes (or doesn’t care to), and Manny is faster/more accurate than Cotto. I’m convinced it would be a similar fight, but that Manny would land more effectively, efficiently, and at a higher volume than Miguel did. Mayweather’s punch stats had to represent the lowest percentage of landing he’s ever had. There’s a direct correlation between that and Miguel’s commitment to defense/patience, but also due to slightly slower combinations than we’ve ever seen out of Floyd.

-I really feel we’ll find out a lot about their potential (fantasy) fight based on Manny’s 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 it’s 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 we’ll see Manny-Floyd eventually, but I sincerely hope it’s while they’re 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 couldn’t 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 couldn’t do a thing about it. While he was considerably more game than expected, it’s hard to watch a mere shell of “Sugar” 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 Mayweather’s 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 Floyd’s level (from what I’ve read they have). It would practically be an amateur vs. a novice. That’s more a testament to Floyd’s 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 didn’t so much as blink when cut, and he was totally stoic throughout, which is a great characteristic for a prize fighter. Big props to Canelo’s cut man…that 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 that’s 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 12^th 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 don’t know if he’s 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 doesn’t start moving his head (Cotto never really corrected this) he’s 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 didn’t look like the next big thing. I’d 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. He’s a very solid body puncher, and I don’t think it’s 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 don’t 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 couldn’t 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 he’ll make Devon prove he belongs in the upper echelon of the 147-lb division.

-Can we all agree that Jessie Vargas is just ‘OK’? Nothing wrong with him, and he’s 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 Floyd’s 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 Saturday’s 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 I’d love to know who’s really better.

-Yuriorkis Gamboa- Adrien Broner: Assuming Gamboa can figure out his legal mess, what are we waiting for here? This is can’t-miss action that will tell us if either one is a future heir to Mayweather’s PPV/P4P crown. Just make sure Gamboa is on board.

-Seth Mitchell- Tomasz Adamek: Adamek won’t prepare Seth for the Klitschkos, but he’d 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 Klitschko’s frame.

-Justin Bieber vs. Canelo Alvarez. Mexico’s biggest star vs America’s biggest star.

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Blake Hochberger

With Olympic Boxing on the Ropes, Three Elite U.S. Amateurs Shine in Colorado

Published

1 hour ago

November 5, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Three USA boxers won gold medals at the recently concluded World Boxing U19 tournament in Pueblo, Colorado. The tournament, restricted to boxers aged 17 and 18, attracted contestants from 30 nations and a contingent from French Polynesia.

The U.S. team, represented by eight male and six female boxers, secured 11 medals in all, an impressive haul.

The three U.S. gold medalists appear to have very bright futures if they choose to remain in the sport. They are:

Light heavyweight (80 kg) ELIJAH LUGO (Marrietta, GA)

Lugo has purportedly scored 42 stoppages in his amateur career, the most since USA Boxing began keeping track. The record was previously held by his older brother Nathan Lugo who is currently 2-0 (2 KOs) at the professional level. The Lugo brothers are represented by David McWater (Split-T Management). One of boxing’s most influential facilitators, McWater’s clients include Teofino Lopez.

Middleweight (75 kg) JOSEPH AWININGYA JR (Joliet, IL)

The son of a Ghanaian immigrant who had a brief career as a professional boxer, competing as a cruiserweight, the precocious Awiningya, mature for his age, is a college student majoring in marketing who once aspired to become a nurse like his mother.

Flyweight (50 kg) LORENZO PATRICIO (Waianae, Hawai)

One of eight children. Patricio (our poster boy for this story) comes from a boxing family. Two of his sisters are involved in the sport.

—

In addition to the three gold medalists, the U.S. men’s team garnered two silver and three bronze. The U.S. women managed only three bronze, somewhat of a disappointment. Lightweight Shamiracle Hardaway (Lagrange, GA), considered one of the favorites, fell to England’s Ella Lonsdale in the semifinals. Ms. Lonsdale has a wonderful surname for a British boxer.

—

The best showing was by fast-rising India which had 17 medal winners including three golds. Although boxer Mery Kom (aka Mary Kom) is one of the most popular sports personalities in India, the South Asian nation, the world’s most populous country, has never had a large presence in boxing, amateur or pro. Ten of the 17 Indian medalists, including two of three gold medal winners, were female.

—

Tournament organizers noted that the Pueblo event was the first major tournament in the next Olympic cycle. Left unsaid was that boxing as an Olympic sport is on the ropes (pardon the pun). As it now stands, boxing, one of the original Olympic sports, is not on the docket for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The International Olympic Committee de-frocked the International Boxing Association, the governing body of amateur boxing, in 2023. The decision was upheld in April by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an agency headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.

A new body, World Boxing, emerged from the fallout. The Pueblo tournament bore the imprint of the new organization.

The chairman of World Boxing’s “Olympic Commission” is Gennadiy Golovkin who is also the president of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee. A former Olympic silver medalist whose primary residence is in the Los Angeles area, “GGG” is reportedly fluent in four languages. He is tasked with repairing the rent between boxing and the International Olympic Committee so that boxing can continue to be an Olympic sport. A decision is expected next year.

If successful, it is possible that things may revert to the days when professional boxers were ineligible to compete for Olympic medals.

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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

Published

3 days ago

November 3, 2024

David A. Avila

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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

LAS VEGAS-Shades of Henry Armstrong and Baby Arizmendi. If you don’t know those names, look them up.

Floyd Schofield battled his way past Mexico’s super tough Rene Tellez Giron who walked through every blow the Texan could fire but lost by decision on Saturday.

It was a severe test and perfect matchmaking for Schofield who yearns for the big bouts against the lightweight giants roaming the world.

Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) remains undefeated and won the war over thick-necked Mexican Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) who has never been knocked out and proved to be immune to big punches.

In the opening rounds, the Texas fighter came out firing rapid combinations from the southpaw and orthodox stances. Meanwhile the shorter Tellez Giron studied and fired back an occasional counter for two rounds.

Tellez Giron had seen enough and took his stand in the third stanza. Both unleashed blazing bombs with Schofield turning his back to the Mexican. At that moment referee Tom Taylor could have waved the fight over.

You never turn your back.

The fight resumed and Schofield was damaged. He tried to open up with even more deadly fire but was rebuked by the strong chin of Tellez Giron who fired back in the mad frenzy.

For the remainder of the fight Schofield tried every trick in his arsenal to inflict damage on the thick-necked Mexican. He could not be wobbled. In the 11^th round both opened up with serious swing-from-the-heels combinations and suddenly Schofield was looking up. He beat the count easily and the two remained slugging it out.

“He hit me with a good shot,” Schofield said of the knockdown. “I just had to get up. I’m not going to quit.”

In the final round Schofield moved around looking for the proper moment to engage. The Mexican looked like a cat ready to pounce and the two fired furious blows. Neither was hit with the big bombs in the last seconds.

There was Tellez Giron standing defiantly like Baby Arizmendi must have stood in those five ferocious meetings against the incomparable Henry Armstrong. Three of their wars took place in Los Angeles, two at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 1930s as the U.S. was emerging from the Great Depression.

In this fight, Schofield took the win by unanimous decision by scores 118-109 twice and 116-111. It was well-deserved.

“I tried to bang it out,” said Schofield. “Today I learned you can’t always get the knockout.”

Fundora

IBF flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora needed seven rounds to figure out the darting style of Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz before firing a laser left cross down the middle to end the battle and become the undisputed flyweight world champion.

Fundora now holds all four titles including the WBO, WBA and WBC titles that Alaniz brought in the ring.

Fundora knocked down Alaniz midway through the seventh round. She complained it was due to a tangle of the legs. Several seconds later Fundora blasted the Argentine to the floor again with a single left blast. This time there was no doubt. Her corner wisely waved a white towel to stop the fight at 1:40 of the seventh round.

No one argued the stoppage.

Other Bouts

Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) didn’t make weight in a title bout but managed to out-fight David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) in a super middleweight fight held at 12 rounds.

Melikuziev used his movement and southpaw stance to keep Pennsylvania’s Stevens from being able to connect with combinations. But Stevens did show he could handle “The Bully’s” punching power over the 12-round fight.

After 12 rounds one judge favored Stevens 116-112, while two others saw Melikuziev the winner by split decision 118-110 and 117-111.

Super middleweight WBA titlist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) pummeled his way to a technical knockout win over southpaw veteran Chris Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs) who attempted the rope-a-dope strategy to no avail.

Fulghum floored Pearson in the first round with a four-punch combination and after that just belted Pearson who covered up and fired an occasional blow. Referee Mike Perez stopped the fight at 1:02 of the third round when Pearson did not fire back after a blazing combination.

Young welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) blasted away at the three-inch shorter Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs) who hung tough for as long as possible. At 2:50 of the first round a one-two delivered Madrid to the floor and referee Thomas Taylor called off the beating.

Iriarte, from Bakersfield, Calif., could not miss with left uppercuts and short rights as New Mexico’s Madrid absorbed every blow but would not quit. It was just too much firepower from Iriarte that forced the stoppage.

Photos credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Results and Recaps from Turning Stone where O’Shaquie Foster Nipped Robson Conceicao

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Top Rank was at the Turning Stone casino-resort in Verona, New York, tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster with the victor retaining or recapturing his IBF world junior lightweight title. When the smoke cleared, the operative word was “recapturing” as Foster became a two-time title-holder, avenging his controversial setback to the Brazilian in Newark on July 6.

This was a somewhat better fight than their initial encounter and once again the verdict was split. Foster prevailed by 115-113 on two of the cards with the dissenting judge favoring Conceicao by the same margin. Conceicao seemingly had the edge after nine frames, but Foster, a 4/1 favorite, landed the harder shots in the championship rounds.

It was the thirteenth victory in the last 14 starts for Foster who fights out of Houston. A two-time Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, the 36-year-old Conceicao is 19-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in world title fights.

Semi-wind-up

SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) made a big jump in public esteem and moved one step closer to a world title fight with a second-round blast-out of Jose Antonio Perez who was on the canvas twice but on his feet when the fight was stopped at the 1:24 mark of round two. Muratalla, a product of Robert Garcia’s boxing academy, is ranked #2 by the WBC and WBO. A Tijuana native, Perez (25-6) earned this assignment with an upset of former Olympian and former 130-pound world titlist Jojo Diaz,

Other Bouts

Syracuse junior welterweight Bryce Mills, a high-pressure fighter with a strong local following, stopped scrawny Mike O’Han Jr whose trainer Mark DeLuca pulled him out after five one-sided rounds. Mills improved to 17-1 (6 KOs). It was another rough day at the office for Massachusetts house painting contractor O’’Han (19-4) who had the misfortune of meeting Abdullah Mason in his previous bout.

In a junior lightweight fight that didn’t heat up until late in the final round, Albany’s Abraham Nova (23-3-1) and Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (14-3-3) fought to a 10-round draw. It was another close-but-no- cigar for the likeable Nova who at least stemmed a two-fight losing streak. The judges had it 97-93 (Galindo), 96-94 (Nova) and 95-95.

Twenty-one-year-old Long Island middleweight Jahi Tucker advanced to 13-1-1 (6 KOs) with an eighth-round stoppage of Stockton’s teak-tough but outclassed Quilisto Madera (14-6). Madera was on a short leash after five rounds, but almost took it to the final bell with the referee intervening with barely a minute remaining in the contest. Madera was on his feet when the match was halted. Earlier in the round, Tucker had a point deducted for hitting on the break.

Danbury, Connecticut heavyweight Ali Feliz, one of two fighting sons of journeyman heavyweight Fernely Feliz, improved to 4-0 (3) with a second-round stoppage of beefy Rashad Coulter (5-5). Feliz had Coulter pinned against the ropes and was flailing away when the bout was halted at the 1:34 mark. The 42-year-old Coulter, a competitor in all manner of combat sports, hadn’t previously been stopped when competing as a boxer.

Featherweight Yan Santana dominated and stopped Mexico’s Eduardo Baez who was rescued by referee Charlie Fitch at the 1:57 mark of round four. It was the 12^th knockout in 13 starts for Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican father of three A former world title challenger, Mexicali’s Baez declines to 23-7-2 but has lost six of his last eight.

In his most impressive showing to date, Damian Knyba, a six-foot-seven Pole, knocked out paunchy Richard Lartey at the 2:10 mark of round three. A right-left combination knocked Lartey into dreamland, but it was the right did the damage and this was of the nature of a one-punch knockout. Referee Ricky Gonzalez waived the fight off without starting a count.

Knyba, 28, improved to 14-0 (8 KOs). A native of Ghana coming off his career-best win, a fourth-round stoppage of Polish veteran Andrzej Wawrzyk, Lartey declined to 16-7 with his sixth loss inside the distance.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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