Enigmatic, Polarizing Broner Should Stop Malignaggi

Published

11 years ago

June 19, 2013

I don’t like Adrien Broner, the person. I have no quarrel with brash, loud-mouthed, uber-confident guys who can back it up in the ring (see: I have no ill will towards Floyd Mayweather, Jr.). However, everything about Broner is annoying. His “hair brushing” gimmick? His ill-timed, poorly-delivered jokes and misconceived sense of humor? It’s all a hopeless charade in trying to emulate the aforementioned Mayweather. Broner just doesn’t get “it”.

While Floyd can be rightly criticized for not fighting the best available opponents over the last decade, his in-ring skills and out-of-the ring popularity are unquestionable. He’s the best in the business when considering the combination of fame, recognition, and skill.

While Twitter is not the ultimate measure of a man’s popularity, it’s certainly a good reference point. Floyd has over 4 million followers, but Broner has just 96,000. To be fair, Floyd has been at the top of the sport for a long time, and this is not an apples-apples comparison, but when you hear Broner referred to as “the future of boxing” or “the next big thing”, you would expect a bigger fan following. And as someone who openly doesn’t care for Broner, I am still accounted for as one of the 96,000.

What Adrien Broner does have is the single best weapon in all of boxing: His straight right hand. It’s a God-given missile, and it will carry him to great heights as a prizefighter. Make no mistake, Broner is neither flawless nor unbeatable. When he tries to imitate Floyd’s patented shoulder-roll defense, he gets tagged repeatedly for it. Fortunately for his handlers, he can take a punch just fine. His defensive liabilities will absolutely cost him as he continues stepping up in competition. In the meantime, Broner has the great equalizer in his right hand. It’s his trump card, and it’s his bailout. It’s truly amazing how he can generate such power without cocking back, loading up, etc. It’s like a supercharged jab, shot out like a pistol.

Broner constantly draws comparisons to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and some of the reasons are obvious. The pre-fight antics, the trash talk, and the lightning-fast hand speed in the ring are clear similarities. The most identifiable similarity in their respective fighting styles is their quick right hands. However, there are some clear differences between the two fighters:

Difference 1: The good news for Broner.

Floyd, for years, has won fights with his straight right alone. While inflicting minimal damage, it lands at will, keeps opponents off balance/out of sync, and racks up points. Earlier in Floyd’s career, he would land explosive combinations and land several meaningful punches while his opponent tried to land one. Now, as an aging fighter, Floyd uses his straight right as both a lead and a counter, and it’s nearly indefensible due to his accuracy, timing, and innate ability to know precisely when to throw it.

This is where the difference in their right hand lies. At 135 lbs, Broner’s straight right is “Nyquil”. It puts people to sleep (well aware that was a tacky reference) with concussive force, and at the very least snaps opponent’s heads back enough to make them think twice about engaging in exchanges. It’s as quick and fast as Floyd’s right hand with a lot more power. And he’s a finisher.

Difference 2: The bad news for Broner.

Adrien Broner doesn’t know how to use his feet (either that, or he is simply lazy/undisciplined). He’s extremely athletic, but he does not really outbox many opponents using his legs/movement. Floyd is the best I’ve ever seen in that regard. He can box circles around people, or lay on the ropes if he’s lazy because he’s that good. He’s never on the ropes because he was forced there. His cerebral approach to boxing makes sure the fight takes place exactly where he wants it to. No matter where the fight goes, Floyd doesn’t take much punishment. Sure, Floyd took shots from Cotto and had his nose bloodied, but he’s 36 and probably losing the world-class reflexes. Broner, who is in his athletic prime on the other hand, gets tagged by some limited offensive fighters since he stands right in front of them. Part of this problem, which can absolutely be corrected, is arrogance. Broner doesn’t think anyone he’s fought can hurt him. So far, he’s been correct. As he moves up in weight, that will undoubtedly change. His defensive complacency will be what separates him from being on top of the sport.

Directly related to lacking proper foot movement, Broner also doesn’t have a good sense of flow between offense and defense like Mayweather. Broner can counter well, but only because his hand speed is typically far superior to his opposition. Conversely, Mayweather lands counters at will because he instinctively transitions between defense and offense fluidly, slipping punches and firing back with his own. Broner simply waits until his opponent is done throwing, and then throws his own punches. It’s the reason Daniel Ponce De Leon was able to stifle Broner’s attack (in spurts) by implementing an awkward, varied fight pace to keep the youngster guessing.

Difference 3: The Moneymaker

While people often watch Floyd fight because they want to see him lose, it’s nothing compared to what Broner makes people feel. I watched his knockout of Gavin Rees with my girlfriend, who admittedly is not a boxing fan. As he made his entrance – er, train wreck—to the ring, she was so disgusted that all she wanted was “for that guy to smash his face in.” While it seems like an irrelevant point to the novice fan, that’s not the case. There’s plenty of outstanding boxers right now, and plenty of entertaining ones. But there’s VERY few that have mass appeal. Floyd, for better or worse, has that mass appeal. Broner is genuinely disliked, and that’s a really big deal.

There’s a reason Gennady Golovkin can’t land a Sergio Martinez fight, but Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. did. It’s the same reason Andre Ward isn’t known by the masses (despite being the best prizefighter on the planet by my estimation). You have to be popular, and you have to appeal to the casual fan/non-fan to sell fights. If a fighter is not marketed well (and in Floyd’s case he largely marketed himself well), they will never reach the pinnacle of the sport. If anything has been made clear over the years, it’s that boxing is a business first and foremost, and if you can’t draw big $$, you can’t draw the exposure/fights needed to become a superstar. I just don’t see Broner doing enough in the ring to overcome his behavior until he matures. Adrien Broner simply cannot carry a network/PPV franchise at this point. What he has working for him is that he’s a pretty exciting fighter to watch (due to his knack for the finish, and suspect defense) and time is on his side.

As far as Broner’s behavior, I know it’s a charade. I do. I also know he’s a kid in a young adult’s body, but that doesn’t excuse his complete lack of class. I hope he has a long, successful career, but I hope he learns some lessons that only can be learned out of the ring.

In the meantime, he’ll be stepping up in weight (two classes to welterweight) to challenge Paulie Malignaggi on Saturday, a move signaling his desire to get involved with the biggest $$ fights in the most competitive division in boxing (and also lay the foundation for a potential “passing of the torch” fight vs. Mayweather in a few years).The biggest question when guys move up in weight is how they’ll deal with bigger power/punchers, but Malignaggi poses no real threat with his power. What Malignaggi brings to the table is heart, determination, slick boxing knowhow, and experience.

(Revisit his loss to Miguel Cotto here where he battled through extreme punishment and adversity to make it a close fight against an elite fighter)

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The only ways for Paulie to win this fight are:

1)Literally box circles around Broner. Broner tends to get a bit flat-footed in the center of the ring, so if Paulie can stick a few quick shots and circle away from the retuning punches from Broner, he could frustrate Broner into getting wild. To do this for 12 rounds, he’ll need to mix it up by circling both right and also left into Broner’s dangerous right hand.

2)Make this a Bernard Hopkins-style fight. Paulie will need to get dirty in this one. He needs to get off first, then hold, headbutt, and just generally muddy this fight up. Fighting on an even playing field puts him at a disadvantage since Broner is faster, younger, and has more pop. Let’s not forget that Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan both outboxed and really dominated Paulie, so he needs to dig into his whole bag of tricks to keep his belt.

3)Land a hard, stiff jab all night long. If Paulie uses his jab as a range-finder, it will be counter-productive and lead to a short night of work for Broner. Conversely, if Paulie can use his jab as an effective punch to keep Broner off balance, he can dictate the pace of the fight and at least partially offset Broner’s power.

4)Land a haymaker and knock the over-confident Broner out. Yeah, you’re right, not going to happen.

At the end of the day, Paulie Malignaggi from 2008 gives Broner fits and probably ekes out a close decision. However, he’s really slowed down the last year or two (I mean, Pablo Cesar Cano gave him a real struggle), and I just don’t see him beating Broner. Broner should win this with a TKO in round 9 when Malignaggi’s corner stops the violence. Make no mistake, I’m rooting hard for Paulie. I just don’t see it ending well for him.

Assuming he’s victorious, what would a win over a slightly faded Malignaggi prove about Broner? Not much. My biggest question on Broner is how he responds to adversity, when he really gets tagged on the chin. Paulie Malignaggi is a very skilled, slick boxer, but he’d never be confused with a chin-checker. Here’s the fights I’m hoping to see in Broner’s immediate future as we see what type of fighter he really is:

Vs. Matthysse- This has absolute fireworks written all over it. I mean a war. Matthyse is one of those guys you can’t just take shots from. Broner is susceptible to eating clean shots, and he wouldn’t get away with that against the Argentine. I would take Matthysse by KO early.

Vs. Brandon Rios- While Rios doesn’t have the power of Matthysse, he has the style to give Broner hell. I would take Broner via a late TKO, but I sure wouldn’t bet on it.

Vs. Canelo- Canelo may just be too large to ever fight Broner, but as two of the brightest young stars in boxing, they may be on a collision course if Golden Boy has anything to say about it. Canelo would overwhelm Broner with power punches, forcing a late stoppage.

Vs. Marquez- This is something of a dream fight for me… I see a grueling battle, with Marquez losing a very close decision. But this would be a wild encounter with multiple knockdowns for both fighters.

Vs. Amir Khan- What Amir Khan lacks in ability to take a punch, he largely makes up for it with some of the best offense in the sport today. He would undoubtedly connect with some serious punches on Broner. However, if Broner can withstand the shots, like Danny Garcia did, he’d likely turn Khan’s lights out like Garcia did, too.

Vs. Robert Guerrero- Before the Mayweather fight, I would have said that Robert bullies him to a UD. After seeing how easily Floyd shut him down with right hands, I see the same outcome against Broner. Wouldn’t be surprised if this was actually the next fight for Broner after he dispatches Malignaggi.

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Blake Hochberger

Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Ramon-Cardenas-Channels-Micky-Ward-and-KOs-Eduardo-Ramirez-on-ProBox

The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonight’s episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to the liver from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasn’t able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.

The official time was 1:37 of round nine. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick “Wrecking” Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.

Co-Feature

In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.

The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10^th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.

The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.

Also

In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.

A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.

—

The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

5 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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