Takeaways From Rios and Donaire Wins

Published

12 years ago

October 15, 2012

Lee Wylie

Rios Alvarado 121013 003a Rios tweaked his tactics and showed an edge in stamina on Saturday night against Alvarado. (Chris Farina-Top Rank)

Prior to his Saturday night fight against Brandon Rios, I felt that Mike Alvarado's edge in boxing ability would have been the deciding factor between the two “rough and ready” inside specialists. It almost was. After a closely contested first round at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, Alvarado began making things easier for himself by implementing his jab to keep Rios on the outside.Using his superior reach, Alvarado peppered the ever advancing Rios with crisp straight lefts and rights. Even at close quarters, as Rios managed to get himself in close, Alvarado seemed to be getting the better of the action there too by replicating the same defensive posture that Richard Abril had success with against Rios –chin tucked in behind a high left shoulder, with the right glove protecting the face from the left hook. Despite the oohs and aahs from the crowd as both were exchanging on the inside, it was Alvarado who was managing to tag Rios almost every time he threw, with his short hooks and uppercuts, whereas apart from the occasionally landed left hook up top and to the body, Rios was finding mostly elbows, shoulders and air. Approaching the midway point, Rios's money punch, his left hook, wasn't landing as much as he'd have liked and it was Alvarado, not Rios,that seemed to be on the verge of taking over the fight.

Then, two things happened that changed matters for good.

The first was Alvarado's early pace and high punch output took its toll. Because Alvarado lacked the foot speed to keep the fight at a distance, he had to rely on throwing punches, and lots of them, to keep Rios from getting in close.Undeterred by Alvarado's power, who himself was now throwing far less minus the earlier conviction, Rios's sustained pressure never wavered as he was now getting beyond the Alvarado jab every time he came forward. After five rounds, Rios was by far the fresher of the two fighters.

The second thing that changed the fight for Rios, and it's something I thought I'd never see from him, was a conscious tactical adjustment he made. With his left hook not landing as much as he'd have liked because of Alvarado's high right glove on the inside, Rios began throwing an overhand right from around the back of Alvarado's raised left shoulder. This is the difference between a fighter who's a natural at using a certain technique and a fighter who's adopted the technique for a certain opponent. When you look at Floyd Mayweather in the same defensive position, his hips are pushing into his opponent's abdomen, he's leaning back with his weight over on his back foot, his chin is tucked away behind his raised left shoulder, and he's constantly slipping, rolling and turning in conjunction with the punches that are being thrown. In this position, Mayweather's almost impossible to hit clean with overhand rights and left hooks. Mike Alvarado, in the same defensive position, had a deficiency to exploit. He did a decent job of protecting himself against the left hook {although Rios began landing it more too as Alvarado slowed down} but because he wasn't leaning back or rolling with the punches, Rios was able to find an opening for his overhand right, the shot that all but ended the fight. Alvarado was going through the defensive motions alright, but because of a flaw in his technique, Rios managed to penetrate his defensive shield.

Hurt by the right and with Alvarado up on the ropes taking too many unanswered blows, the fight was halted in the seventh round.

All in all, I thought it was a brilliant fight that fell just short of being a great. Many seem to think that the referee deprived us of something truly special but I disagree, wholeheartedly. Alvarado's arms weren't by his waist, but he was clearly defenseless against Rios's onslaught. The official, who's in there for safety precautions first and foremost, got it spot on in my mind.

I'm sure many out there would welcome a rematch between the two, but in all honesty, I see the same thing happening again. Alvarado is clearly the better boxer, but he lacks the power to keep Rios off of him, and the foot speed to outmaneuver him. At 140 pounds, Rios has a vibrancy and energy to him that was clearly wasn't there 135. Rios's physical strength at 140 was my biggest concern with him before the fight. Not any more.

However, while Rios will likely always get the better of Mike Alvarado, or possibly anyone else who remains right in front of him, talks of him being competitive with Manny Pacquiao are ridiculous to say the least. There's a gulf in hand and foot speed that would be too vast for Rios to overcome. Rios, who is a lineal attacker, would not be able to handle Manny's style of fighting –moving in and out at different angles. Pacquiao becomes an apex predator against those who take the fight to him. Rios would end up looking like David Diaz and Antonio Margarito in that one I'm afraid as unlike Alvarado, Pacquiao packs the punch to hurt Rios.

For now though, a win over a very tough opponent in Mike Alvarado, in a candidate for fight of the year honours will suffice.

Nonito Donaire-Toshiaki Nishioka:

This fight was about as far away from the first fight as you could possibly get. From the opening bell, which saw very little thrown as both men were jockeying for position from the outside, the crowd immediately showed their disapproval, unfairly so in my book. Rios-Alvarado was far from an-all time classic, but it was always going to be very hard to top in terms of the ebb and flow of the action that took place earlier. A chess match was the last thing the blood hungry crowd wanted after what they had just witnessed.

It's what they got.

Nevertheless, I felt the fight was enjoyable from a technical perspective. Prior to the bout, the left hook of Nonito Donaire was well documented. From the opening bell, it was apparent that Nishioka had done his homework and believed its hype. The problem here though, was that he seemed to be thinking of nothing else BUT Donaire's left hook. By stepping to his left and away from Donaire's left hand, using a very unconventional guard which saw his lead hand higher than his rear {right glove up by his ear and his left under his chin} Nishioka actually did a good job of negating his opponent's best weapon. It was a very cerebral move from Nishioka, almost Bernard Hopkins-like in it's execution. However, unlike many of Hopkins's past opponents who only had a single weapon and were pretty much ineffective once it was taken away from them, Nishioka found himself in with an opponent in Donaire who's very versatile on offense. Because Donaire seemed to be too dependent on his left hook during his previous three outings, I feel Nishioka felt that if he could take it away, then everything else would fall into place for him –possibly by forcing Donaire into overloading with right hands as a substitute, which would allow for the Japanese southpaw to take a subtle step to his right and fire a straight left as just as Donaire's missing the target with his right. Unfortunately for him, this never happened. Instead, Donaire kept his composure, remained patient and stuck to boxing his man.

It must have been difficult for Donaire, who, with the crowd on his back demanding more action, and an opponent in front of him who was refusing to give him any, stayed focused and began to systematically break Nishioka down. Had Donaire began loading up with the left hook or any other punch for that matter, then he would have been playing directly into Nishioka's hands. Instead, Donaire attacked sporadically, throwing uppercuts, jabs and straight right hands, from different angles at different targets. With his thought process well and truly cemented on Donaire's left hook, Nishioka found himself losing every round because he wasn't doing anything BUT negate the left hook. I don't think, however, that Nishioka was set up to survive like Omar Narvaez was, as I believe there was always tactical intent behind Nishioka's negativity. As he fell further behind on the scorecards, Nishioka began to attack more, which, as has turned out to be the case with most of Donaire's opponents who opened up against him in the past, proved to be his undoing. Not long after being sent down by a lead hand uppercut,Nishioka uncharacteristically followed his man blind to the ropes where he lead off with a jab, only for Donaire to counter simultaneously and drop Nishioka again with a straight right hand. Not only is Donaire a superb athlete, he's also an astute tactician and knows how to set a trap in there. Moments later, Nishioka was saved from any further punishment when his corner intervened. With the ninth round TKO victory, Nonito Donaire became the new universally recognized super bantamweight champion of the world.

It's the same old scenario with Donaire. Against opponents who take chances on offense, he has the quick trigger punching ability to end a fight with a single punch. There aren't many true one punch knockout artists left in boxing. Nonito Donaire is among the last of a dying breed.

In terms of future opponents, Donaire has plenty of options. For the hardcore among us, two fighters come to mind. Guillermo Rigondeaux is an obvious choice, who, with his counterpunching ability and exquisite technique, wouldn't leave many openings for Donaire to expose, which could possibly lead to a fight with plenty of feinting and not enough punching. I'm not sure Donaire will want to go down that avenue again anytime soon. Likewise with Anselmo Moreno, a defensive specialist who I consider to be the best pure technician in boxing at the moment. That fight would surely please the aficionados, but I'm not sure it would quench the thirsts of those who prefer their action of the Mike Alvarado-Brandon Rios kind.

The most crowd pleasing fight for Donaire right now would be the high volume and exciting Abner Mares. But as we know, there are ongoing promotional issues that exist which could prevent it from taking place, as well as Mares's tough November date with Anselmo Moreno himself.

Whomever Nonito Donaire decides to fight next, I'll be watching.

Out of all the upper echelon fighters in boxing, you could say that Donaire is the most complete, who at the same time, doesn't jeopardize his offense to aid his defense or vice versa. Mayweather and Ward are tough to hit and are expert tacticians, but you're not going to see many knockouts from them. Pacquiao and Martinez are sensational on offense, but if they were to be marked on defense alone, they'd be nowhere near the top of the mythical pound for pound rankings.

That's why I like Donaire. He's got good defense, great offense, speed, power, ring intelligence and he can press the attack or can lay back and counter –he's the complete fighter. If Donaire managed to not only secure fights with the likes of Mares, Moreno and Rigondeaux, but actually beat them too, then Mayweather, Ward, Pacquiao and co. would have some serious competition on their hands.

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Lee Wylie

Canelo vs Berlanga Battles the UFC: Hopefully No Repeat of the 2019 Fiasco

Published

2 days ago

September 9, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Canelo-vs-Berlanga-Battles-the-UFC-Hopefully-No-Repeat-of-the-2019-Fiasco

If one happens to be fan of both traditional boxing and MMA, then one has a choice to make this Saturday. Canelo Alvarez will be in action at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas defending his lineal 168-pound world title against Edgar Berlanga and two miles away in a competing Pay-Per-View card, the first-ever sporting event will be staged inside The Sphere, a UFC card bearing the title Riyadh Season Noche 306.

This won’t be the first time that a boxing card featuring the red-headed Mexican superstar went head-to-head with a UFC event. On Nov. 2, 2019, Canelo Alvarez fought Sergey Kovalev at the T-Mobile and 2,500 miles away, MMA stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal locked horns at Madison Square Garden. Both cards were PPV. Alvarez vs Kovalev was live-streamed on DAZN; Diaz vs Masvidal on ESPN+.

We don’t know which event generated the most profit, but the way things played out, this was a symbolic win for the UFC. On this night, the venerable sport of boxing and its adherents were reduced to a second-class citizen.

The fault lay with the nitwits at DAZN. They thought it prudent to postpone the start of Alvarez-Kovalev until the Diaz-Masdival fight was finished. What resulted was an interlude that dragged on for a good 90 minutes after Ryan Garcia knocked out Romero Duno in 98 seconds in the semi-wind-up. Then came the ring walks, the National Anthems (there were three), and the long-winded introduction of the combatants. When the bell finally sounded to signify the start of the bout, it was 10:18 inside the arena and 1:18 am for the bleary-eyed folks tuning in back in the Eastern Time Zone. The backlash was fierce.

The competing shows this coming Saturday coincide with Mexican Independence Day Weekend. One might assume that this will give the PBC promotion at the T-Mobile a leg up as Canelo Alvarez is a must-see attraction within the Mexican and Mexican-American communities. However, the UFC card has something going for it that T-Mobile lacks. The venue is itself an allurement. The newest addition to the Las Vegas skyline, The Sphere has the WOW factor. Even long-time Las Vegas locals, supposedly jaded by a surfeit of architectural wonders, are mesmerized by the constantly changing light show on the exterior of the big globe. Inside, visitors will find the world’s highest resolution LED display.

Customizing the interior for UFC 306 was an expensive proposition. UFC honcho Dana White has pegged the cost at $20 million and concedes that without Saudi money it would not have been feasible. He says that Saturday’s show will be “one-off,” not merely the first combat sports event at The Sphere, but also the last because it would be too expensive to replicate. If that be true, attendees are advised to keep their ticket stubs. Years from now, they might command a nice price in the sports memorabilia marketplace.

The T-Mobile has Canelo, but The Sphere has Alexa Grasso who, akin to Canelo, hails from Guadalajara. Ms. Grasso, 31, just may be the second-most-well-known fighter in Mexico. In addition to holding the UFC flyweight title, she is an analyst for the UFC’s Spanish-language broadcasts.

Grasso will be defending her belts against Russia’s Valentina Shevshenko in the co-main. In the featured bout, bantamweight belt-holder Sean O’Malley will defend his title against Merab Dvalishvili.

The T-Mobile card on Prime Video comes with a suggested list price of $89.99 for U.S. buyers without a Prime Video account. That tab has been widely assailed as a rip-off. “It’s gouging fight fans, plain and simple,” says Kevin Iole who covered both boxing and MMA for Yahoo. (For the record, the UFC show on ESPN+ comes with a list price of $79.99, $10 cheaper if bundled with an ESPN+ subscription. The UFC folks are holding their breath that the event can be translated to the small screen without compromising the clarity of the picture. The logistics are daunting.)

The main bouts on the UFC card will be far more competitive based on the prevailing odds, but when it comes to combat sports, this reporter is a traditionalist. Agreed, that can be interpreted as an old fuddy-duddy stuck in his ways, but in my eyes boxing, a sport that rests on a far more arresting historic foundation, trumps the Johnny-come-lately that is the UFC.

Check back later this week as TSS West Coast Bureau Chief David A. Avila offers up a closer look at Alvarez vs Berlanga and some of the supporting bouts.

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Niyomtrong Proves a Bridge Too Far for Alex Winwood in Australia

Published

5 days ago

September 7, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Niyomtrong-Proves-a-Bridge-Too-Far-for-Alex-Winwood-in-Australia

Today in Perth, Australia, Alex Winwood stepped up in class in his fifth pro fight with the aim of becoming the fastest world title-holder in Australian boxing history. But Winwood (4-0, 2 KOs heading in) wasn’t ready for WBA strawweight champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong, aka Knockout CP Freshmart, who by some accounts is the longest reigning champion in the sport.

Niyomtrong (25-0, 9 KOs) prevailed by a slim margin to retain his title. “At least the right guy won,” said prominent Australian boxing writer Anthony Cocks who thought the scores (114-112, 114-112, 113-113) gave the hometown fighter all the best of it.

Winwood, who represented Australia in the Tokyo Olympics, trained for the match in Thailand (as do many foreign boxers in his weight class). He is trained by Angelo Hyder who also worked with Danny Green and the Moloney twins. Had he prevailed, he would have broken the record of Australian boxing icon Jeff Fenech who won a world title in his seventh pro fight. A member of the Noongar tribe, Winwood, 27, also hoped to etch on his name on the list of notable Australian aboriginal boxers alongside Dave Sands, Lionel Rose and the Mundines, Tony and Anthony, father and son.

What Winwood, 27, hoped to capitalize on was Niyomtrong’s theoretical ring rust. The Thai was making his first start since July 20 of 2022 when he won a comfortable decision over Wanheng Menayothin in one of the most ballyhooed domestic showdowns in Thai boxing history. But the Noongar needed more edges than that to overcome the Thai who won his first major title in his ninth pro fight with a hard-fought decision over Nicaragua’s Carlos Buitrago who was 27-0-1 heading in.

A former Muai Thai champion, Niyomtrong/Freshmart turns 34 later this month, an advanced age for a boxer in the sport’s smallest weight class. Although he remains undefeated, he may have passed his prime. How good was he in his heyday? Prominent boxing historian Matt McGrain has written that he was the most accomplished strawweight in the world in the decade 2010-2019: “It is not close, it is not debatable, there is no argument.”

Against the intrepid Winwood, Niyomtrong started slowly. In round seven, he cranked up the juice, putting the local fighter down hard with a left hook. He added another knockdown in round nine. The game Winwood stayed the course, but was well-beaten at the finish, no matter that the scorecards suggested otherwise, creating the impression of a very close fight.

P.S. – Because boxrec refused to name this a title fight, it fell under the radar screen until the result was made known. In case you hadn’t noticed, boxrec is at loggerheads with the World Boxing Association and has decided to “de-certify” the oldest of the world sanctioning bodies. While this reporter would be happy to see the WBA disappear – it is clearly the most corrupt of the four major organizations – the view from here is that boxrec is being petty. Moreover, if this practice continues, it will be much harder for boxing historians of future generations to sort through the rubble.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 295: Callum Walsh, Pechanga Casino Fights and More

Published

5 days ago

September 6, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-295-Callum-Walsh-Pechanga-Casino-Fights-and-More

Super welterweight contender Callum Walsh worked out for reporters and videographers at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. on Thursday,

The native of Ireland Walsh (11-0, 9 KOs) has a fight date against Poland’s Przemyslaw Runowski (22-2-1, 6 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 20 at the city of Dublin. It’s a homecoming for the undefeated southpaw from Cork. UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card.

Mark down the date.

Walsh is the latest prodigy of promoter Tom Loeffler who has a history of developing European boxers in America and propelling them forward on the global boxing scene. Think Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin and you know what I mean.

Golovkin was a middleweight monster for years.

From Kevin Kelley to Oba Carr to Vitaly Klitschko to Serhii Bohachuk and many more in-between, the trail of elite boxers promoted by Loeffler continues to grow. Will Walsh be the newest success?

Add to the mix Dana White, the maestro of UFC, who is also involved with Walsh and you get a clearer picture of what the Irish lad brings to the table.

Walsh has speed, power and a glint of meanness that champions need to navigate the prizefighting world. He also has one of the best trainers in the world in Freddie Roach who needs no further introduction.

Perhaps the final measure of Walsh will be when he’s been tested with the most important challenge of all:

Can he take a punch from a big hitter?

That’s the final challenge

It always comes down to the chin. It’s what separates the Golovkins from the rest of the pack. At the top of the food chain they all can hit, have incredible speed and skill, but the fighters with the rock hard chins are those that prevail.

So far, the chin test is the only examination remaining for Walsh.

“King’ Callum Walsh is ready for his Irish homecoming and promises some fireworks for the Irish fans. This will be an entertaining show for the fans and we are excited to bring world class boxing back to the 3Arena in Dublin,” said Loeffler.

Pechanga Fights

MarvNation Promotions presents a battle between welterweight contenders Jose “Chon” Zepeda (37-5, 28 KOs) and Ivan Redkach (24-7-1, 19 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 6, at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. DAZN will stream the fight card.

Both have fought many of the best welterweights in the world and now face each other. It should be an interesting clash between the veterans.

Also on the card, featherweights Nathan Rodriguez (15-0) and Bryan Mercado (11-5-1) meet in an eight-round fight.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. First bout at 7 p.m.

Monster Inoue

Once again Japan’s Naoya Inoue dispatched another super bantamweight contender with ease as TJ Doheny was unable to continue in the seventh round after battered by a combination on Tuesday in Tokyo.

Inoue continues to brush away whoever is placed in front of him like a glint of dust.

Is the “Monster” the best fighter pound-for-pound on the planet or is it Terence Crawford? Both are dynamic punchers with skill, speed, power and great chins.

Munguia in Big Bear

Super middleweight contender Jaime Munguia is two weeks away from his match with Erik Bazinyan at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. ESPN will show the Top Rank card.

“Erik Bazinyan is a good fighter. He’s undefeated. He switches stances. We need to be careful with that. He’s taller and has a longer reach than me. He has a good jab. He can punch well on the inside. He’s a fighter who comes with all the desire to excel,” said Munguia.

Bazinyan has victories over Ronald Ellis and Alantez Fox.

In case you didn’t know, Munguia moved over to Top Rank but still has ties with Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Promotions. Bazinyan is promoted by Eye of the Tiger.

This is the Tijuana fighter’s first match with Top Rank since losing to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last May in Las Vegas. He is back with trainer Erik Morales.

Callum Walsh photo credit: Lina Baker

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