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THE BREAKDOWN: Abner Mares-Anselmo Moreno
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Readers, weigh in on Wylie's take, and add your own prediction in our Forum. Do you like Mares (left) against the underrated Moreno? (Hogan)
Along with Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux, Anselmo Moreno {33-1-1 with 12 Kos} and Abner Mares {24-0-1 with 13 Kos} are considered two of the best super bantamweights in the world. They will meet this Saturday at the Home Depot Centre in California, Los Angeles. Mares’ WBC title will be on the line.
Even though Moreno, 27 years-old, has never campaigned at 122 pounds before, the skilled southpaw technician shouldn’t be at a loss fighting at a slightly higher weight class. Having dominated at 118 pounds, Moreno hasn’t lost a fight in more than 10 years. His last defeat, a split decision to Ricardo Molina back in 2002, has since been twice avenged. Because of his 28 fight-winning streak in the bantamweight division, some consider Moreno to be one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. There were times during his last two fights against Vic Darchinyan and David De La Morra where Moreno looked every bit as good as those currently residing the pound for pound list.
Abner Mares, 26 years-old, is on a bit of a run himself at the moment. Going undefeated in boxing isn’t the be all and end all, but when you consider that he’s probably faced the sternest opposition available to him outside of Carl Froch, it’s quite the accomplishment. Being new to the division himself -having only fought at 122 pounds just the once when dominating veteran Eric Morel in his last outing- Mares will need to be at his absolute best if he’s to topple his Panamanian opponent. A win over Moreno would certainly be a career best win for the young Mexican.
The bout is intriguing in that both men will be presenting each other with severe stylistic equations; Moreno’s southpaw angles, defense and counterpunching ability and Mares’ well rounded attack, high volume and grit, will surely test one another to the full.
Using video clips along with analysis below, I’ll be highlighting some of the key elements in each fighter’s style and how they could affect the outcome of the fight.
Anselmo Moreno
Moving off at an angle
The staple of Anselmo Moreno’s game is his footwork. What makes Moreno’s movement so effective is how he nearly always manages to get himself on the blind side of an opponent so that they’re constantly being made to turn and never setting themselves.
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Within the first few minutes of his fight with Frederic Patrac, you’ll see Moreno demonstrate one of his signature moves multiple times. Notice how Moreno circles Patrac in a counter-clockwise motion {he’s a southpaw, remember} before sliding off Patrac’s left shoulder behind a double jab. By circling towards the left side of Patrac, who’s an orthodox fighter, and then moving off behind him, Moreno has done two things.Firstly, he’s taken away his opponent’s right hand threat. If Patrac is going to attempt to land or even throw his trailing hand, he’s going to have to punch across himself, which in turn hinders his power and technique while also making him more vulnerable to counters. And secondly, Moreno’s movement forces Patrac into squaring himself up. Notice Patrac’s alignment in relation to Moreno’s left shoulder. Moreno’s footwork always forces Patrac into lining himself up with Moreno’s left hand.
Also, if you skip to around the 5:40 mark of the video, you’ll see another of Anselmo Moreno’s common manoeuvres. Notice how Moreno baits Patrac into following him to the ropes. As Patrac closes the distance, Moreno moves to his left, before quickly reversing his movement and exiting to his right behind a right hook as Patrac is stepping in. This evasive technique was also a favourite of Pernell Whitaker, a fighter who Moreno has often been compared to such is the similarities between their styles.
Abner Mares is no crude slugger, but he can sometimes square himself up on the inside. Moreno’s ability to constantly be on the shoulder of an opponent could make Mares’ job of finding him frustrating.
Ducking under punches
Another of Moreno’s key defensive attributes is his ability to avoid and blunt an opponent’s attack by slipping and ducking under their punches. By standing side on, behind his right shoulder, Moreno is very tough to hit with single power shots from the trailing hand.
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Vic Darchinyan is an overly aggressive fighter. When an opponent forces the action as hard as he does, it isn’t always wise to give them their desired momentum simply by moving away from their attack. A perfect example of Moreno’s effective slipping and ducking can be seen at the 21:15 mark of the video. As Darchinyan tries to land a right jab followed by a left cross, Moreno quickly steps back, ducks under the hook and into a clinch with Darchinyan, forcing a separation by the referee. This happened again and again throughout the fight –also check out 19:00 and 35:03 for further examples of Darchinyan missing with his left hand over the top as Moreno’s ducking under. Yes, Moreno uses a plenty of lateral movement in the ring at times, but it’s his superb upper body movement when slipping and countering that takes his defensive craft to another level, as evident in the video below.
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Notice at 3:36 how Moreno’s subtle upper body movement causes De La Morra to misjudge the distance and over extend with his jab. After slipping inside, Moreno counters De La Morra’s jab {as he’s bringing it back} with a right hook over the top followed by a left uppercut to the body. This is high level counterpunching.
Combination punching
Moreno’s combination punching is truly excellent. By looking at this brilliant highlight package below, you’ll see numerous examples of Moreno’s stellar combination punching which he also integrates into his counterpunching -Moreno prefers to counter using single shots, but he’s also very effective at stringing punches together in twos and threes after countering.
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As I’m sure you’ve noticed in the video above, one of Moreno’s favourite combinations is a double jab, left straight, right hook to the body or head. What makes this combination so effective is;
1. It’s unpredictable in that it involves doubling up with the same hand and uses multiple targets by mixing up a head and body attack.
2. By finishing the combination with his lead hand, Moreno is always in balance after he’s finished punching, leaving himself less vulnerable to counters and also in position to defend.
In the pocket
When we think of fighting in the pocket, we tend to think of Henry Armstrong overwhelming his opponents with wave after wave of unrelenting pressure. There’s more to being effective in the pocket than just applying pressure. Defensive mastery on the inside is equally important. Although he’s probably at his best when moving laterally and working behind his jab, Moreno is supremely adept working at close quarters, both offensively and defensively, as his 2008 fight with Rolly Matsushita shows.
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Take a look at 26:42. Notice how Moreno ducks a left uppercut before countering with a right hook to the body. Then at 26:47 as Matsushita presses the attack, Moreno again counters, this time by way of a left uppercut after blocking a Matushita left hook on his elbows. Moving on to the 26:52 point, Moreno forces Matsushita to miss with four consecutive blows – a left hook and right hand {slipped and elbow blocked by Moreno} followed by a right hook and a right straight {both missed their mark because of Moreno’s excellent upper body movement}. Notice how all of these exchanges took place at close quarters. Moreno is standing in range and avoiding everything his opponent is throwing at him without running.
Using the same video, starting at 30:50, there’s an excellent sequence highlighting many of Moreno’s key attributes.
30:50 Moreno evades a jab by sliding off to his orthodox opponent’s blind side by pivoting on his front foot in a counter clockwise motion while using his elbow to deflect the blow as he turns
30:58 Moreno lets his hands go by throwing a right jab followed by left uppercut, then a straight left, right uppercut, left straight.
31:10 again, Moreno turns his man as he slides off to Matsushita’s blindside. As Matsushita jabs, Moreno pivots while guarding his head with his elbow, before slipping a follow up right hand.
31:26 as Matsushita launches an attack, Moreno shows him the right shoulder in close and begins to slip and counter. During the exchange, nothing lands clean on Moreno, who conversely, pretty much lands with everything he throws -straight left hand, right hook and left uppercut.
Mares is excellent on the inside, particularly with his lead hand, but Moreno is a very intelligent fighter who can neutralize a certain weapon through positioning himself in a certain way. Moreno’s side on stance behind his right shoulder is designed to stymie and frustrate. Mares will have to be very creative if he’s to get beyond Moreno’s defensive construct.
Abner Mares
Doubling and tripling up with the lead hand
A common trait of Abner Mares is to confuse his opponent by throwing multiple punches using his lead/left hand.
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Although he doesn’t connect, notice how at 02:51 Mares thinks nothing of throwing a lead left uppercut at the head of Yonnhy Perez followed by a left hook to the same target -a very unusual combination to be thrown from the lead hand. Because Mares has very good hand speed, he gets away with this type of attack. If you look at the 03:38 mark, you’ll see yet another example of Mares throwing consecutive punches using his lead hand, this time in the form of a double jab, left hook to the body followed by a left hook upstairs. Most fighters are trained to expect conventional punch patterns i.e. jab-jab-right or left-right-left-right. Despite often leaving himself open, Mares’ opponents can’t seem to fathom what punch is coming next from him because of his ability to throw multiple punches from unconventional angles using his lead hand.
Moreno is tough to hit with single shots because of his punch anticipation and elite level defense. Mares’ high volume, particularly with the lead hand, could have good results against a fighter who relies on countering single shots.
From the outside
Although Mares is probably at his best when he’s on the inside, firing off his short combinations, his boxing ability from the outside is much underrated as this clip of his fight with Yonnhy Perez shows.
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From the beginning of the video, notice how Mares is making full use of the ring by employing plenty of lateral movement. At 00:18 Mares begins to step in with combinations –jab, jab, right hand- before getting back out of range again. Notice at 00:24 how Mares uses his jab to separate himself from Perez, who is eager to close the distance. Look at 00:55 how Mares steps in with a one-two before rolling under Perez’s left hook and forcing his way inside where he lands two right hooks to the body during a clinch. These are excellent tactics from Mares.
Left hook to the body
As I mentioned earlier, Mares’ left hand is clearly his dominant hand. Although his jab is good and his uppercuts and left hook upstairs are excellent, one of his key weapons is his left hook to the body as evident in the clip below.
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At 01:59 Mares lands an excellent left hook into the side and underneath Perez’s right elbow, followed by a left hook up top. Again, Mares is brilliant at levering his lead hand up top and down below.
At 02:43 Mares is backing up. As Perez steps in with a right hand lead, Mares slips outside of it, lands a left hook to the body and then exits by rolling under a left hook and moving away. Again, brilliant boxing ability backed up by an excellent left hook to the body. At 03:01 we see almost a repeat of the exact same sequence –left hook to the body, then a roll under a left hook.
Because Moreno has excellent head movement, Mares’ body punching could be a key element for him against an elusive southpaw like Moreno.
Head Movement
Although he isn’t quite as gifted as Moreno when it comes to defense, Mares is very good at making an opponent miss with good head movement when he’s in punching range.
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At 05:34 Mares makes Perez miss four consecutive blows through head movement. As Perez fires three jabs followed by a right hand, Mares is pivoting clockwise on his front foot, weaving under the punches as he moves. At 05:41 Mares slips inside a left jab. Again, his head movement is solid. At 05:47 Mares rolls under a right hook, lands a left uppercut to the body, and then slips a left hook.
Overhand right
Another of Mares’ best shots is his overhand right.
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At 06:51 Mares bends at the waist, takes his head away from the centre and lands an overhand right as Perez is throwing his own right hand. Notice the difference in Perez’s heady and body position as opposed to Mares’ as they’re throwing their right hands. That’s why Mares was successful in connecting with his and Perez wasn’t.
Verdict
Although they hit hard enough to hurt each other, neither of these men are known for their ability to end a fight. Logic suggests that this fight is heading to the scorecards. For me, Moreno is better than Mares in just about every area, whether it be defense, intelligence, skill, you name it. And despite never fighting as a super bantamweight before, at 5’ 8’’ and with a 70’’ reach, he’ll have an advantage in height and length over Mares too. I get the feeling that Moreno will try and make this fight easy for him by keeping Mares, who will likely be the fighter in pursuit, on the end of the jab by attempting to keep the fight at a distance. As I’ve already stated, Mares is excellent at closing the distance by slipping punches before landing short combinations, uppercuts along with overhand rights and lefts. The problem he’ll be faced with, however, is that Moreno is equally as slick on the inside as he is from the outside. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the action did indeed take place at close quarters only for Mares to find it nigh on impossible to land anything worthwhile because of Moreno’s right shoulder posture defense. On the other hand, I can see Moreno’s straight left landing often, especially against a fighter like Mares who may hold his hands high, but is hittable because he often squares himself up to his opponent {remember, Mares was hit often by the straight left hand of Darchinyan often during their fight}. Ultimately, Moreno should have too much polish and skill for Mares. Yes, Mares is probably faster and possibly hits slightly harder, but Moreno is a technician of the highest order and his ring acumen and timing are good enough to nullify any rate of hand speed that Mares should bring. It’s quite possible that Moreno may find it tough to counter Mares’ combinations by waiting on him, but as he showed against David De La Morra, Moreno’s more than capable of forcing the action behind his own combinations and body attack which are reinforced by a superb defense. Moreno should be able to win a decision based on his superior craft and footwork. Along with Floyd Mayweather and Joan Guzman, I consider Anselmo Moreno to be one of the finest pure boxers/technicians on the planet. It’s going to be very difficult for Mares to impose himself on Moreno, who’s one of the best out there at making an opponent fight his fight.
One final thought. Although I’m picking Anselmo Moreno to win, it’s not inconceivable to think that Moreno could outbox Mares for 12 rounds and still wind up losing a decision. Moreno is a counterpuncher who may opt to fight off his back foot, whereas Mares is high volume and will likely be the one pressing the action. If the fight does indeed go the distance, then Mares could receive the benefit of the doubt in close rounds because of aggression, even though he may not be all that effective with it. Remember, judges don’t see every punch that lands but they do usually see every punch that’s thrown. If Mares is the one coming forward throwing twice as many punches as Moreno, then the judges may feel that he’s the one doing all the work in there and may award him the decision. Remember also, Abner Mares is the hometown fighter here.
Not that anything like that ever happens in boxing of course.
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Gene Hackman’s Involvement in Boxing Went Deeper than that of a Casual Fan
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Gene Hackman’s Involvement in Boxing Went Deeper than that of a Casual Fan
“Of all the celebrities I’ve met, he’s probably my favorite. He’s just an average guy.” So said Michael Nunn during his heyday as a world middleweight champion. It was an observation echoed by Nunn’s trainer Joe Goossen. “He’s not really what you would expect a superstar actor to be,” said Goossen. “He doesn’t think he’s a star. He thinks he’s just an actor.”
They were talking about Academy Award winning actor Gene Hackman who was found dead in his sprawling Santa Fe, New Mexico, home yesterday (Feb. 26) along with his wife of 34 years, the classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and one of their two German shepherds. Hackman was 95 years old. No foul play is suspected.
People forget how good Michael Nunn was in his prime. During his 27-month reign as the IBF world middleweight champion, which began in July of 1988 with a seventh-round stoppage of former Olympic gold medalist Frank Tate, Nunn defeated Juan Domingo Roldan, Sumbu Kalambay, Iran Barkley, Marlon Starling, and Donald Curry. His 88-second blast-out of Kalambay was named The Ring magazine’s Knockout of the Year and he was at or near the top of everyone’s Pound-for-Pound list.
Michael Nunn was the jewel of the Ten Goose stable until he pulled up stakes and left one day, returning to Davenport, Iowa, the blue-collar Mississippi River town where he was raised by a single mother in the city’s poorest neighborhood. The name Ten Goose referred to the siblings, the 10 children – eight boys and two girls — of Al and Anna May Goossen. A former Los Angeles police detective who found time to helm the Sherman Oaks (CA) Little League program, Al encouraged his sons to get involved in sports. They all excelled on local sandlots, and three found their way into boxing; Dan as a promoter, Joe as a trainer and a TV boxing pundit, and Patrick as a fighter – he lost to Hector Camacho and Roberto Duran when both were well past their primes and left the sport with a 19-3 record.
Gene Hackman, a regular at the monthly Ten Goose cards at the Reseda Country Club when he wasn’t off somewhere on a movie shoot, became something of a surrogate brother to the Goossen clan. When a Ten Goose fighter such as Michael Nunn or one of the Ruelas brothers was fighting out of town, Hackman would be there if he could fit it into his schedule.
Before making his mark on the big screen, Hackman, a former U.S. Marine, appeared in numerous TV series and on Broadway. Nominated for five Academy Awards, he won Best Actor as “Popeye” Doyle in the “French Connection” (1971) and Best Supporting Actor for his role as the evil Sheriff in the Clint Eastwood Western “Unforgiven.”
“The French Connection,” which also won Best Picture, has the most spectacular chase scene in any movie, a chase between a car, commandeered by “Popeye,” and an elevated subway train in Brooklyn. Hackman’s other credits are too numerous to list, but a personal favorite is “Scarecrow” (1972) where Hackman plays a vagabond recently released from prison, opposite Al Pacino.
Both the late Dan Goossen and Joe Goossen served as technical consultants for several of Gene Hackman’s movies, notably “Split Decisions” (1988). One of Hackman’s lesser films, “Split Decisions,” co-starring Jennifer Beals, is part sports film and part crime drama. Hackman plays a boxing trainer named Danny McGuin.
Another Goossen brother, the late Greg Goossen, served as a stunt double on several of Hackman’s movies and had small speaking roles in 15 Hackman movies. Greg made it to the Major Leagues as a catcher, appearing in 193 games across parts of six seasons, mostly as a back-up with the sorry New York Mets.
Postscript:
Michael Nunn’s title reign ended with a thud on May 10, 1991, when he was stopped in the 11th-round by James Toney. Nunn’s corner, which included Angelo Dundee, threw in the towel after Nunn pulled himself upright on shaky legs after being decked with a thunderous left hook. Nunn, 36-0 heading in, was ahead on the scorecards by margins of 8, 6, and 4 points before the roof fell in on him. Although the 22-year-old Toney also came in undefeated and would go on to carve out a Hall of Fame career, this was a huge upset.
Nunn went on to capture the lineal super middleweight title before leaving the sport with a record of 58-4 (33 KOs). In his final stab at a world title, he lost a split decision to Graciano Rocchigiani in Berlin in a bout for the vacant WBA light heavyweight title, a fight that would be shrouded in controversy, not because it was a terrible decision but because Rocchigiani’s corner was allegedly informed of the score after each round. By then, Michael and Joe Goossen were back together.
The streets from which Michael Nunn escaped eventually reeled him back in. On August 6, 2002, eight months after his final fight, Nunn was arrested by an undercover FBI agent at a Davenport motel. Charged with purchasing cocaine with intent to distribute, he was sentenced to 24 ½ years. The sentence was longer than what prosecutors had recommended. Witnesses testified that Nunn was involved in the drug trade as far back as 1993 and it mattered that Nunn had previous arrests in Davenport for battery on police officers.
Nunn was released in 2019.
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Greg Haugen (1960-2025) was Tougher than the Toughest Tijuana Taxi Driver
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Many years ago, this reporter overhead ring announcer Chuck Hull gushing over a young boxer who was fairly new to the professional game. “This kid,” he said, referencing Greg Haugen, “is another Gene Fullmer.”
Hull, who would be inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, was very familiar with Fullmer, a boxer he greatly admired. The ring announcer had worked two of Fullmer’s title fights, Gene’s 15-round decision over Sugar Ray Robinson in March of 1961 and his 10th-round stoppage of Benny “Kid” Paret later that year.
There was a stylistic similarity between Haugen and Fullmer, but the comparison went beyond that. When the cognoscenti in New York got their first look at Gene Fullmer, they dismissed him as just another good club fighter. It was preposterous to think that one day he would defeat the great Sugar Ray Robinson, and never mind that Sugar Ray’s best days were behind him. (Fullmer and Robinson fought three times. The middle fight was a 15-round draw. Robinson won the first encounter with a vicious one-punch knockout.)
Likewise, even after recording three consecutive upsets in 10-rounders at the Showboat in Las Vegas, Greg Haugen was considered nothing more than a good club fighter. He had a wealth of grit, one could see, but in the eyes of the so-called experts, he was too one-dimensional. It was far-fetched to think that one day he would defeat an opponent as slick as Hector Camacho, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Greg Haugen, who passed away last Saturday (Feb. 22) at age 64 in a Seattle-area hospice after a three-year battle with renal cancer, entered the pro ranks after winning Tough Man competitions in Alaska. A native of Auburn, Washington, his first documented fight was in Anchorage. Each of his first five fights was slated for 10 rounds.
Those three upsets were forged against Freddie Roach, Chris Calvin, and Charlie “White Lightning” Brown. Two more fights at the Showboat would follow preceding a date with IBF 135-pound champion Jimmy Paul at the Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion. A protégé of Emanuel Steward, Paul was a product of Detroit’s fabled Kronk Gym.
Haugen was one of the first boxers to cultivate a cult following on ESPN. This owed partly to his attractive young wife and their two daughters, adorable little girls, who appeared on camera a lot as they cheered him on from their ringside seats. That marriage was crumbling when Haugen caught up with Jimmy Paul, but Greg overcame the distraction and captured the title with a hard-earned, 15-round majority decision. According to an Associated Press report, Haugen supplemented his $50,000 purse by getting a $2,000 advance and betting on himself at 4/1 odds.
Haugen lost the title and suffered his first defeat in his first title defense, a 15-rounder with Vinny Pazienza before a rabid pro-Pazienza crowd in Providence, Rhode Island. The “Pazmanian Devil” won five of the last six rounds on all three scorecards to win a unanimous decision, but ended the battle with his face all marked-up. “Many ringside observers, including the majority of out-of-town press, had Haugen the winner,” wrote Boston Globe boxing columnist Ron Borges.
They fought twice more. Haugen recaptured the belt with a wide 15-round decision in the rematch in Atlantic City and Pazienza emerged victorious in the rubber match, winning a 10-round decision. It was a great rivalry. Aggregating the scorecards after 40 bruising rounds, Haugen nipped it 1141-1136.
Between his second and third meetings with Pazienza, Haugen was outclassed by defensive wizard Pernell Whitaker on Whitaker’s turf in Virginia, but Greg’s days as a world title-holder were not over yet.
On Feb. 23, 1991, fighting at 140 pounds, his more natural weight, Haugen became the first man to defeat Hector Camacho, scoring a split decision over the 38-0 Bronx Puerto Rican who was defending his WBO belt. The match at Caesars Palace would have ended in a draw if not for the fact that referee Carlos Padilla docked Camacho a point for refusing to touch gloves at the start of the final round.
For Haugen, a noted spoiler, it was the biggest upset of his career. In the sports books around town, Camacho was as high as a 10-1 favorite.
The rematch in Reno followed a similar tack; it was a very close fight, but Camacho won a split decision and Haugen’s third world title reign, like his first, ended in his first defense.
Haugen returned to Reno the next year where he ended the career of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, stopping the former lightweight title-holder and future Hall of Famer in the seventh frame. And then, after defeating two fourth-rate opponents, he was thrust into the fight for which he is best remembered.
Greg Haugen vs. Julio Cesar Chavez at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium wasn’t a great fight, but it was a great spectacle. The announced attendance, 132,247, broke the record set in 1926 when 120,557 jammed Philadelphia’s Sesquicentennial Stadium for the first meeting between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney.
Those that were there will never forget it. Ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr recalled that there were little fires up in the far reaches of the mammoth stadium where people were cooking the food they had brought. “I remember thinking that this was more of a mass celebration than just a sporting event,” reminisced Lennon Jr who compared the event to Woodstock in a conversation with Bernard Fernandez for a story that ran on these pages.
Haugen goosed the gate by saying that Chavez had built his record, reportedly 84-0, on the backs of “Tijuana taxi drivers that my mom could whip.” Chavez took it personally and, to the great jubilation of the great multitude, he punished the American before taking him out in the fifth round.
Other boxers since then, lacking Haugen’s originality, have also demeaned their opponent’s conglomeration of former opponents as a bunch of Tijuana taxi drivers. The term seems to have supplanted “tomato cans” as a term of derision. So, Greg Haugen’s legacy extends beyond what he accomplished in the ring. He left an acorn in the storehouse of American slang.
After being manhandled by Julio Cesar Chavez, Haugen sheepishly said, “They must have been very tough taxi drivers.” He would have 15 more fights before leaving the sport in 1999 with a record of 39-10-2 with 19 KOs. In retirement, he trained a few boxers but couldn’t keep at it after suffering nerve damage in his left arm working the pads with a heavyweight.
There were undoubtedly some very tough guys in the ranks of Tijuana taxi drivers, but in a conventional boxing match, Greg Haugen would have likely whipped them all. He was nowhere as great as the stupefyingly sappy post-mortem tribute that ran in a small Washington paper, but he was tough as nails.
Greg Haugen is survived by four children – two daughters and two sons — and five grandchildren. Speaking to Kevin Iole, his daughter Cassandra Haugen said, “He was a good man with a huge heart. He came from nowhere and made himself into a champion, but he was always a kind-hearted man and just the best Dad.”
We here at TSS send our condolences to his loved ones. May he rest in peace.
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Nakatani, Japan’s Other Superstar, Blows Away Cuellar in the Third Frame
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WBO world bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani continued his steady advance toward a mega-fight with countryman Naoya Inoue at Ariake Arena in Tokyo tonight with a third-round stoppage of David Cuellar.
After two nondescript rounds, the 27-year-old, five-foot-eight southpaw stepped on the gas and scored two knockdowns before Canadian referee Michael Griffin waived it off. The first knockdown was the result of combination of body punches. As soon as Cuellar got to his feet, Nakatani was all over him. Another combination, this time upstairs, knocked Cuellar on his rump. Looking very discouraged, he made a half-hearted attempt to beat the count and almost made it, not that it would have mattered as he was a cooked goose. The official time was 3:04 of round three.
Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs) was making his third title defense. He trains in LA with TSS 2024 Trainer of the Year Rudy Hernandez. It was the first pro loss for Cuellar (28-1) who hails from the Mexican city of Queretaro and was making his first start outside his native country.
Nakatani has indicated an interest in unifying the belt which potentially portends three more domestic fights as all four pieces of the 118-pound title are currently in the hands of Japanese boxers. “Bam” Rodriguez and former pound-for-pound star “Chocolatito” Gonzalez sit a division below him and may also be in his future, but the big money is in a showdown with Inoue, the undisputed 122-pound champion. That match-up, when it transpires, will be the first all-Japanese fight to arouse the interest of casual boxing fans around the world.
Other Bouts of Note
Super bantamweight Tenshin Nasukawa took a massive step up in class and was successful, scoring a unanimous 10-round decision over Jason Moloney. The scores were 98-92 and 97-93 twice.
The 26-year-old southpaw has made great gains since his embarrassing loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr on New Year’s Eve of 2018. In that match, the baby-faced Nasukawa failed to survive the opening round and left the ring crying. Heading in to that match, framed as a 3-round exhibition, Tenshin was reportedly 46-0 as a kickboxer and rated in some quarters as the best kickboxer of all time.
After only five pro fights compressed into 30 rounds, the WBA saw fit to rank Nasukawa at #2. He could have embarrassed the organization (check that; the WBA has no shame) by getting his butt kicked by Moloney, a former world title-holder, but Nasakawa (6-0, 2 KOs) rose to the occasion and scored his best win to date. A 34-year-old Aussie, Moloney declined to 27-4.
The 12-round contest between bantamweights Seiya Tsutsumi and Daigo Higa was a spirited contest that ended in a draw. The scores were 114-114 across the board.
The 29-year-old Tsutsumi (12-0-3) was making the first defense of the WBA title he won with a 12-round decision over Takuma Inoue (Naoya’s brother). Higa, also 29 and now 21-3-2, was a former WBC flyweight titlist.
Tsutsumi had an uphill battle after suffering a bad gash on his forehead from an accidental clash of heads in the fourth round. The hill got steeper after Higa put him on the canvas with a left hook in round nine. But Tsutsumi responded with a knockdown of his own in that same round and finished strong, seemingly doing enough to retain his title.
This was their second meeting. Their first encounter in October of 2020, a 10-rounder on a club show at historic Korakuen Hall, also ended in a draw.
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