Alvarez Will Not Suffer Any Ill Effects From The SetBack vs. Mayweather

Published

11 years ago

February 17, 2014

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 42-1-1 (30) is returning to the ring after being taken to boxing school last September by pound-for-pound champ Floyd Mayweather.

Alvarez, age 23, will meet the always aggressive but somewhat limited Alfredo Angulo 22-3 (18) on March 8th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada. In his last fight Angulo, age 31, was stopped by Cuban sensation Erislandy Lara in the 10th round. Lara is an outstanding fighter who’s only setback came against Paul Williams back in 2011 via a 12-round majority decision.

As most know the better fight on a technical level would be Alvarez vs. Lara. I’m not sure who I’d pick to win that one. What I do know is, Angulo fought well against Lara in a losing effort and unless he walks into something blindly, he should give Alvarez a good go in what should be a very fan friendly fight from start to finish. The biggest concern regarding Angulo when he’s fighting a good technician is he gets hit so cleanly and he wasn’t blessed with the most durable chin. Keeping that in mind, it’ll also probably be a pretty physical fight, and in that regard you have to lean toward Alvarez.

Granted, as we saw against Mayweather, Alvarez isn’t a life-taker when it comes to punching power. He did get through to Mayweather with some of his best left hooks and Floyd never even seemed bothered or changed his expression much. However, when Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto caught Mayweather with their Sunday best, Mosley almost put him to sleep and Cotto did force Floyd to at least break off the exchange and have to reset. However, what Alvarez may lack in being a devastating puncher, he possesses the one weapon that makes up for that, and that’s accuracy, good punch placement. If he can be first in initiating most of the exchanges, he will most likely control the fight and eventually set the always willing Angulo up for a possibly memorable finish.

I doubt that Canelo will suffer any ill effects from the Mayweather fight. Floyd isn’t the type of fighter who ruins you mentally or physically after you fight him. What he does best is convince you very succinctly over the course of 12-rounds that he’s better than you and there’s nothing that he did to you during the bout that happened by accident. But it’s not like he beats his opponents in a way that after touching hands with him they begin to question whether or not they want to fight again. In fact Alvarez barely seemed disturbed during the post fight interview in the ring. It was more or less an acknowledgement that Floyd is in a different league than he is as a fighter and he may never again confront another boxer like him again during his career.

What did bother me about Alvarez later after the fight is when he said, “I went into that fight with a strategy on how to win, and we all believed the game plan was solid. We thought he’d stand and fight more, like he did when he fought Miguel Cotto, but he didn’t do that. It surprised us. It was difficult to adjust.”

That is a little perplexing because he’s not being honest with himself. Perhaps that is his way of justifying why he was beaten so lopsidedly. But let’s be honest, Mayweather didn’t run from Alvarez, not at all. Actually, he fought him pretty similarly to the way he fought Cotto – basically he stood his ground a lot and out-boxed them both from the waist up. Mayweather no longer uses his legs as he once did. He’s grown into his body and is capable of standing his ground when he wants or needs to because he’s stronger than his opponents anticipate he is before they fight him. His accuracy, straight punching and speed enabled him to win a majority of the exchanges against Cotto and Alvarez without really moving all that much.

What’s also troubling is the idea that you can go into a fight with someone as good as Mayweather with only Plan A, based entirely on expecting Floyd to do just one thing in the fight. That’s completely idiotic. His trainer didn’t think that if something was working against Floyd, he wouldn’t just switch to something else? What if Angulo doesn’t come out and pursue Alvarez like a wounded lion? Will Alvarez be thrown completely out of whack by that and need half the fight to adjust? That may be an over statement, but the point is, Alvarez must be honest with himself from this point on. He’s being propped up and sold to the boxing public by Golden Boy Promotions as if he is the next big star in boxing. Adjusting is something that all great fighters can do on the fly. Mayweather didn’t change one bit from rounds one through twelve against Alvarez. The problem was Alvarez couldn’t change and had no answers or conception on how to make Floyd uncomfortable. Against Mayweather, he gets a pass because it was Mayweather and he’s done that to virtually everyone he’s faced. But that excuse won’t fly long because there are a plethora of skilled fighters out there. Like Erislandy Lara, for instance, who cannot wait to get in the ring with him and not cooperate with the hopes of making his night real unpleasant.

If Alvarez is all that, he should systematically break down Angulo after a few close calls during the first two rounds and stop him somewhere between the eight or ninth rounds. If he’s really learned from the Mayweather setback, he should be able to take care of his business on March 8th and set himself apart from Alfredo Angulo in much the same manner Erislandy Lara did.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Frank Lotierzo

Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

4 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Najee-Lopez-Steps-Up-in-Class-and-Wins-Impressively-at-Plant-City

Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his least three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, delivered the coup-de-gras, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

14 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Japanese-Superstar-Naoya-Inoue-is-Headed-to-Vegas-after-KOing-Y-Joon-Kim

Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is the winner of the Feb. 2 match between Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa/Fulton have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

Published

20 hours ago

January 24, 2025

David A. Avila

Eric-Priest-Wins-Handily-on-Thursday's-Golden-Boy-card-at-the-Commerce-Casino

Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!