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THE BREAKDOWN: Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

This ain't Zbik, Manfredo, or Lee. Chavez Jr. will discover that Martinez is a different animal entirely, the writer says. (Chris Farina-Top Rank)
Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Televised by HBO pay per view
12 rounds for Chavez's WBC middleweight title
Many are now of the opinion that Julio Cesar Chavez jr 46-0-1 {31} is on the edge of greatness. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I just don't see it. It's not that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. hasn't improved in any way because he has, albeit, ever so slightly, it's just that he doesn't have the tools that are required to beat a fighter like Sergio Martinez 49-2-2 {28}. Allow me to rephrase that slightly. Chavez Jr. does indeed have the tools –size and strength– to beat Martinez, it's just that he's not skilled enough to enforce them upon a fighter like Martinez. I've always felt that the cracking of Sergio Martinez's stylistic code would transpire as a result of intellect and patience from a defensive minded fighter, whose sole objective would be a far cry from embracing the defensive trap doors that Martinez likes to set, or by an elite swarmer who could barricade all exits before grinding Martinez down at a hair's distance. Chavez Jr. may like to swarm, but he's far from elite at it.
We shouldn't confuse a swarmer for something else, fighting in this way takes more than a sturdy chin and body mass. It also requires sophisticated levels of craft, which is something Chavez is lacking. When I look at Chavez, I see nothing but a fighter who is going to oblige Martinez and play directly into the Argentinean's mercurial hands.
When the fight was first spoken of, many were quick to dismiss it's authenticity, claiming that Chavez was living off his father's name and that he wasn't a “real” world champion. Even Chavez's promoter, Bob Arum, seemed reluctant to make the fight, probably out of fear that his Mexican starlet would be outclassed and embarrassed by a superior fighter. In the eyes of many, Sergio Martinez was considered far too dangerous at that particular time. Well pardon me for asking, but what earth shattering event has taken place between then and now that's caused the general public to think any different? There's no denying that Chavez has ironed out some of the technical flaws that were painstakingly obvious to all but the uneducated observer, but do wins over Sebastian Zbik {whom he barely scraped past} Peter Manfredo, Marco Antonio Rubio and Andy Lee, warrant him being thought of as the equal, or even the better of Sergio Martinez? Needless to say, everyone involved has done a magnificent job in the promotional work leading up to the fight, but I'm not buying into Chavez's apparent metamorphosis into this ultimate seek and destroy fighter who is now deemed “too big” and “far too strong” for Martinez. I think we're going to see plenty of seeking from Chavez alright, but any destruction will likely come via Argentina.
I'm not going to beat around the bush here. I could write from morning till night about what Chavez should or shouldn't do, but the reality is Chavez's tactics are blatantly obvious to even those who have only taken a remote interest in the fight and it seems pointless to talk of any other strategy concerning Chavez. He's not going to come out and attempt to draw the attack out of Martinez the way Matthew Macklin did, nor is he going to apply subtle, cautious pressure and try to get on top of Martinez the way Darren Barker did either. Needless to say, despite managing to get the cogs turning in his head for a while, Martinez didn't allow either man to hear the final bell.
No, there's no hiding Chavez's gameplan. He will be looking to close the distance at all costs by applying sustained pressure throughout the fight, looking to slow down and eventually break down his quicker and more elusive opponent by taking away his mobility with the left hook to the body and uppercuts in close. As is with the case Chavez, Sergio Martinez's style and strategy are no secret either. You seldom see Martinez taking a step forward {only when he's hurt his opponent); instead, he's constantly maneuvering side to side and away from his opponent. There probably isn't a fighter in professional boxing who's as cunning as Martinez is at drawing the lead out from an opponent. With his hands often below his waist and his constant rocking motion, fighters think it's safe to rush in and attack. Martinez's ability to land hard and unexpected shots as they are stepping in makes them soon see the light.
So what do you like: Chavez's size, strength and constant pressure? Or Martinez's speed, southpaw angles and elusive countering?
Usually, I'd lean towards the stronger and more physical pressure fighter as opposed to the more elusive boxer-mover. I believe this is what many are alluding to when they feel Chavez has a chance to pull off an upset. Just two weeks ago in the middleweight division, we saw a fighter who resembled Sergio Martinez who was easily hunted down and stopped within five, one-sided rounds. Food for thought? Possibly, but I have to digress. Yes, there are certain stylistic similarities between the fighters involved, but believe me when I say, Sergio Martinez is a lot quicker and hits way harder than Grzegorz Proksa and everyone knows that barring size, Gennady Golovkin is superior to Julio Cesar Chavez in every way imaginable.
The bigger they are.
Once the opening bell sounds, Martinez is going to be confronted by a fighter weighing somewhere in the region of 180-plus pounds. With that in mind then, should Chavez succeed in pinning Martinez up on the ropes for long periods, it could be a long, or even short night for Martinez, who may succumb to Chavez's superior physicality. However, in this instance, I believe that Chavez may end up paying the price for being overly reliant on his physicality, not to mention his chin, which he seemed all to eager to point out during the recent HBO face-off. If Chavez believes his chin will be his saving grace in this fight, forget about it. Chavez hasn't been cracked on the chin yet by anyone who's as precise as Martinez is. A lot of fighters lose some of their accuracy as they opt for more speed and power. Not Martinez, who remains deadly accurate without conceding any of his speed or power as he lands his straight lefts, right hooks or his signature right-left-right-left combination. It's fair to say that Chavez hasn't been in the ring with anyone who throws punches quite like Martinez does.
I could go on and mention all sorts of things like how despite being a southpaw, Martinez gravitates towards his opponent's right hand, looking to draw it out so that he can then shift his weight back across and land his straight left hand up the middle. Or how Martinez likes to throw jabs away from the target, so that his opponents are parrying his jab away from their chin, leaving an opening for a counter. I'm afraid, though, that science isn't going to play a big part in this fight. Martinez, probably the best conditioned athlete in boxing despite being 37 years-old, may not be blessed with solid fundamentals, but that won't hurt him here. His natural gifts of speed, power, athleticism and instinctiveness should be more than enough. I believe that there's quite a gulf in quality between the two fighters. Truth be told, Martinez has fought far better quality opposition than what Chavez has. Don't believe me? Reverse their opponents and tell me if Chavez remains unbeaten.
Speed kills.
Chavez is going to soon realize that he's in way over his head. Ask anyone why they think Chavez will win, and they'll all tell you the same thing– because of his size advantage. Well, Kelly Pavlik was alot bigger than Martinez and he got chopped up because of a deficit in speed. Antonio Margarito, way bigger than Manny Pacquiao, he got sliced up and busted up because of a deficit in speed. John Ruiz, a heavyweight, was dominated from start to finish by a natural super-middleweight…you know the rest.
Sergio Martinez's speed of hand and foot are going to trump any advantage Chavez has in size and strength. And besides, I don't think Martinez is all that small for a middleweight anyway. Chavez has fought and beat southpaws before, but he hasn't faced a southpaw like Martinez. Martinez has tremendous hand speed, footwork, power in either hand, can feint his opponents out of position and can adjust the angles of his punches and attacks throughout a fight. A brilliant athlete yes, but he's also a very smart fighter who knows exactly what he has in front of him. Chavez isn't a bad fighter by any means, but his style is is going to do nothing but complement that of Martinez's, which just so happens to thrive on aggression. Should Chavez try anything other than pressure Martinez, then he'll soon find himself beaten to the punch anyway –Chavez can only fight one way and that's straight ahead. Like I mentioned earlier, for Chavez to have success against Martinez implementing a pressure style, he would have to have far better boxing skills. His father, perhaps the greatest ever boxer from Mexico, wasn't just about unrelenting pressure and a granite chin. Chavez Sr. was one of the finest ring mechanics of his or any generation. He could slip, block, parry or weave his way inside, and he was also one of the best combination punchers you're ever likely to see. Junior has improved, but fortunately for Martinez, he can't replicate what Senior could do back in the late eighties/early nineties, otherwise this analysis would look a lot different.
Looking at his last few fights, Junior doesn't seem as lineal with his attack as he used to be, as he'll now look to come in from the sides. I've also noticed that he steps around his opponent more when he's got them up against the ropes, looking for openings as opposed to just throwing blind punches at arms and elbows. That's good. Here's what I think could be bad for Chavez though. He doesn't jab his way inside. In fact, he doesn't really throw punches at all until he gets there. Chavez is unusual for a pressure fighter in that his style doesn't translate well on the scorecards. Even though Chavez will be the aggressor, Martinez will still likely outwork him on the back foot, even though he isn't known as being high volume himself.
Prediction:
Sergio Martinez is uber confident for good reason. Plainly and simply, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr won't be able to prevent himself from walking onto straight left hands, right hooks and one-twos for however long it lasts. Martinez's superior footwork is going to keep him one step ahead of Chavez throughout. As Chavez steps in, Martinez will be simultaneously countering before sliding off at angles, where it will be a case of rinse and repeat. If Chavez's chin isn't as good as he says it is, then it could be over by the mid-way point of the fight. I'm going to give Junior the benefit of the doubt here, but I still don't think he makes it to the final bell. I don't think Martinez will render him unconscious, but I think the speed and accuracy of his punches could slice Chavez up and force a stoppage, or his corner may decide that enough is enough and not allow their man to partake in any further punishment.
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“Breadman” Edwards: An Unlikely Boxing Coach with a Panoramic View of the Sport

Stephen “Breadman” Edwards’ first fighter won a world title. That may be some sort of record.
It’s true. Edwards had never trained a fighter, amateur or pro, before taking on professional novice Julian “J Rock” Williams. On May 11, 2019, Williams wrested the IBF 154-pound world title from Jarrett Hurd. The bout, a lusty skirmish, was in Fairfax, Virginia, near Hurd’s hometown in Maryland, and the previously undefeated Hurd had the crowd in his corner.
In boxing, Stephen Edwards wears two hats. He has a growing reputation as a boxing coach, a hat he will wear on Saturday, May 31, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas when the two fighters that he currently trains, super middleweight Caleb Plant and middleweight Kyrone Davis, display their wares on a show that will air on Amazon Prime Video. Plant, who needs no introduction, figures to have little trouble with his foe in a match conceived as an appetizer to a showdown with Jermall Charlo. Davis, coming off his career-best win, an upset of previously undefeated Elijah Garcia, is in tough against fast-rising Cuban prospect Yoenli Hernandez, a former world amateur champion.
Edwards’ other hat is that of a journalist. His byline appears at “Boxing Scene” in a column where he answers questions from readers.
It’s an eclectic bag of questions that Breadman addresses, ranging from his thoughts on an upcoming fight to his thoughts on one of the legendary prizefighters of olden days. Boxing fans, more so than fans of any other sport, enjoy hashing over fantasy fights between great fighters of different eras. Breadman is very good at this, which isn’t to suggest that his opinions are gospel, merely that he always has something provocative to add to the discourse. Like all good historians, he recognizes that the best history is revisionist history.
“Fighters are constantly mislabled,” he says. “Everyone talks about Joe Louis’s right hand. But if you study him you see that his left hook is every bit as good as his right hand and it’s more sneaky in terms of shock value when it lands.”
Stephen “Breadman” Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. His father died when he was three. His maternal grandfather, a Korean War veteran, filled the void. The man was a big boxing fan and the two would watch the fights together on the family television.
Edwards’ nickname dates to his early teen years when he was one of the best basketball players in his neighborhood. The derivation is the 1975 movie “Cornbread, Earl and Me,” starring Laurence Fishburne in his big screen debut. Future NBA All-Star Jamaal Wilkes, fresh out of UCLA, plays Cornbread, a standout high school basketball player who is mistakenly murdered by the police.
Coming out of high school, Breadman had to choose between an academic scholarship at Temple or an athletic scholarship at nearby Lincoln University. He chose the former, intending to major in criminal justice, but didn’t stay in college long. What followed were a succession of jobs including a stint as a city bus driver. To stay fit, he took to working out at the James Shuler Memorial Gym where he sparred with some of the regulars, but he never boxed competitively.
Over the years, Philadelphia has harbored some great boxing coaches. Among those of recent vintage, the names George Benton, Bouie Fisher, Nazeem Richardson, and Bozy Ennis come quickly to mind. Breadman names Richardson and West Coast trainer Virgil Hunter as the men that have influenced him the most.
We are all a product of our times, so it’s no surprise that the best decade of boxing, in Breadman’s estimation, was the 1980s. This was the era of the “Four Kings” with Sugar Ray Leonard arguably standing tallest.
Breadman was a big fan of Leonard and of Leonard’s three-time rival Roberto Duran. “I once purchased a DVD that had all of Roberto Duran’s title defenses on it,” says Edwards. “This was a back before the days of YouTube.”
But Edwards’ interest in the sport goes back much deeper than the 1980s. He recently weighed in on the “Pittsburgh Windmill” Harry Greb whose legend has grown in recent years to the point that some have come to place him above Sugar Ray Robinson on the list of the greatest of all time.
“Greb was a great fighter with a terrific resume, of that there is no doubt,” says Breadman, “but there is no video of him and no one alive ever saw him fight, so where does this train of thought come from?”
Edwards notes that in Harry Greb’s heyday, he wasn’t talked about in the papers as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The boxing writers were partial to Benny Leonard who drew comparisons to the venerated Joe Gans.
Among active fighters, Breadman reserves his highest praise for Terence Crawford. “Body punching is a lost art,” he once wrote. “[Crawford] is a great body puncher who starts his knockouts with body punches, but those punches are so subtle they are not fully appreciated.”
If the opening line holds up, Crawford will enter the ring as the underdog when he opposes Canelo Alvarez in September. Crawford, who will enter the ring a few weeks shy of his 38th birthday, is actually the older fighter, older than Canelo by almost three full years (it doesn’t seem that way since the Mexican redhead has been in the public eye so much longer), and will theoretically be rusty as 13 months will have elapsed since his most recent fight.
Breadman discounts those variables. “Terence is older,” he says, “but has less wear and tear and never looks rusty after a long layoff.” That Crawford will win he has no doubt, an opinion he tweaked after Canelo’s performance against William Scull: “Canelo’s legs are not the same. Bud may even stop him now.”
Edwards has been with Caleb Plant for Plant’s last three fights. Their first collaboration produced a Knockout of the Year candidate. With one ferocious left hook, Plant sent Anthony Dirrell to dreamland. What followed were a 12-round setback to David Benavidez and a ninth-round stoppage of Trevor McCumby.
Breadman keeps a hectic schedule. From Monday through Friday, he’s at the DLX Gym in Las Vegas coaching Caleb Plant and Kyrone Davis. On weekends, he’s back in Philadelphia, checking in on his investment properties and, of greater importance, watching his kids play sports. His 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son are standout all-around athletes.
On those long flights, he has plenty of time to turn on his laptop and stream old fights or perhaps work on his next article. That’s assuming he can stay awake.
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Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More

Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More
It’s old news now, but on back-to-back nights on the first weekend of May, there were three fights that finished in the top six snoozefests ever as measured by punch activity. That’s according to CompuBox which has been around for 40 years.
In Times Square, the boxing match between Devin Haney and Jose Carlos Ramirez had the fifth-fewest number of punches thrown, but the main event, Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero, was even more of a snoozefest, landing in third place on this ignoble list.
Those standings would be revised the next night – knocked down a peg when Canelo Alvarez and William Scull combined to throw a historically low 445 punches in their match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 152 by the victorious Canelo who at least pressed the action, unlike Scull (pictured) whose effort reminded this reporter of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – no, not the movie starring Paul Newman, just the title.
CompuBox numbers, it says here, are best understood as approximations, but no amount of rejiggering can alter the fact that these three fights were stinkers. Making matters worse, these were pay-per-views. If one had bundled the two events, rather than buying each separately, one would have been out $90 bucks.
****
Thankfully, the Sunday card on ESPN from Las Vegas was redemptive. It was just what the sport needed at this moment – entertaining fights to expunge some of the bad odor. In the main go, Naoya Inoue showed why he trails only Shohei Ohtani as the most revered athlete in Japan.
Throughout history, the baby-faced assassin has been a boxing promoter’s dream. It’s no coincidence that down through the ages the most common nickname for a fighter – and by an overwhelming margin — is “Kid.”
And that partly explains Naoya Inoue’s charisma. The guy is 32 years old, but here in America he could pass for 17.
Joey Archer
Joey Archer, who passed away last week at age 87 in Rensselaer, New York, was one of the last links to an era of boxing identified with the nationally televised Friday Night Fights at Madison Square Garden.

Joey Archer
Archer made his debut as an MSG headliner on Feb. 4, 1961, and had 12 more fights at the iconic mid-Manhattan sock palace over the next six years. The final two were world title fights with defending middleweight champion Emile Griffith.
Archer etched his name in the history books in November of 1965 in Pittsburgh where he won a comfortable 10-round decision over Sugar Ray Robinson, sending the greatest fighter of all time into retirement. (At age 45, Robinson was then far past his peak.)
Born and raised in the Bronx, Joey Archer was a cutie; a clever counter-puncher recognized for his defense and ultimately for his granite chin. His style was embedded in his DNA and reinforced by his mentors.
Early in his career, Archer was domiciled in Houston where he was handled by veteran trainer Bill Gore who was then working with world lightweight champion Joe Brown. Gore would ride into the Hall of Fame on the coattails of his most famous fighter, “Will-o’-the Wisp” Willie Pep. If Joey Archer had any thoughts of becoming a banger, Bill Gore would have disabused him of that notion.
In all honesty, Archer’s style would have been box office poison if he had been black. It helped immensely that he was a native New Yorker of Irish stock, albeit the Irish angle didn’t have as much pull as it had several decades earlier. But that observation may not be fair to Archer who was bypassed twice for world title fights after upsetting Hurricane Carter and Dick Tiger.
When he finally caught up with Emile Griffith, the former hat maker wasn’t quite the fighter he had been a few years earlier but Griffith, a two-time Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the BWAA and a future first ballot Hall of Famer, was still a hard nut to crack.
Archer went 30 rounds with Griffith, losing two relatively tight decisions and then, although not quite 30 years old, called it quits. He finished 45-4 with 8 KOs and was reportedly never knocked down, yet alone stopped, while answering the bell for 365 rounds. In retirement, he ran two popular taverns with his older brother Jimmy Archer, a former boxer who was Joey’s trainer and manager late in Joey’s career.
May he rest in peace.
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Bombs Away in Las Vegas where Inoue and Espinoza Scored Smashing Triumphs

Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue banged it out with Mexico’s Ramon Cardenas, survived an early knockdown and pounded out a stoppage win to retain the undisputed super bantamweight world championship on Sunday.
Japan and Mexico delivered for boxing fans again after American stars failed in back-to-back days.
“By watching tonight’s fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,” Inoue said.
Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), and Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) and his wicked left hook, showed the world and 8,474 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that prizefighting is about punching, not running.
After massive exposure for three days of fights that began in New York City, then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Nevada, it was the casino capital of the world that delivered what most boxing fans appreciate- pure unadulterated action fights.
Monster Inoue immediately went to work as soon as the opening bell rang with a consistent attack on Cardenas, who very few people knew anything about.
One thing promised by Cardenas’ trainer Joel Diaz was that his fighter “can crack.”
Cardenas proved his trainer’s words truthful when he caught Inoue after a short violent exchange with a short left hook and down went the Japanese champion on his back. The crowd was shocked to its toes.
“I was very surprised,” said Inoue about getting dropped. ““In the first round, I felt I had good distance. It got loose in the second round. From then on, I made sure to not take that punch again.”
Inoue had no trouble getting up, but he did have trouble avoiding some of Cardenas massive blows delivered with evil intentions. Though Inoue did not go down again, a look of total astonishment blanketed his face.
A real fight was happening.
Cardenas, who resembles actor Andy Garcia, was never overly aggressive but kept that left hook of his cocked and ready to launch whenever he saw the moment. There were many moments against the hyper-aggressive Inoue.
Both fighters pack power and both looked to find the right moment. But after Inoue was knocked down by the left hook counter, he discovered a way to eliminate that weapon from Cardenas. Still, the Texas-based fighter had a strong right too.
In the sixth round Inoue opened up with one of his lightning combinations responsible for 10 consecutive knockout wins. Cardenas backed against the ropes and Inoue blasted away with blow after blow. Then suddenly, Cardenas turned Inoue around and had him on the ropes as the Mexican fighter unloaded nasty combinations to the body and head. Fans roared their approval.
“I dreamed about fighting in front of thousands of people in Las Vegas,” said Cardenas. “So, I came to give everything.”
Inoue looked a little surprised and had a slight Mona Lisa grin across his face. In the seventh round, the Japanese four-division world champion seemed ready to attack again full force and launched into the round guns blazing. Cardenas tried to catch Inoue again with counter left hooks but Inoue’s combos rained like deadly hail. Four consecutive rights by Inoue blasted Cardenas almost through the ropes. The referee Tom Taylor ruled it a knockdown. Cardenas beat the count and survived the round.
In the eighth round Inoue looked eager to attack and at the bell launched across the ring and unloaded more blows on Cardenas. A barrage of 14 unanswered blows forced the referee to stop the fight at 45 seconds of round eight for a technical knockout win.
“I knew he was tough,” said Inoue. “Boxing is not that easy.”
Espinoza Wins
WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinosa (27-0, 23 KOs) uppercut his way to a knockout win over Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) in the seventh round.
“I wanted to fight a game fighter to show what I am capable,” said Espinoza.
Espinosa used the leverage of his six-foot, one-inch height to slice uppercuts under the guard of Vazquez. And when the tall Mexican from Guadalajara targeted the body, it was then that the Texas fighter began to wilt. But he never surrendered.
Though he connected against Espinoza in every round, he was not able to slow down the taller fighter and that allowed the Mexican fighter to unleash a 10-punch barrage including four consecutive uppercuts. The referee stopped the fight at 1:47 of the seventh round.
It was Espinoza’s third title defense.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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