Pacquiao Regresses Against Bradley But Wins Bigger This Time

Published

9 years ago

April 14, 2014

This past weekend Manny Pacquiao 56-5-2 (38) beat Timothy Bradley 31-1 (12) for the second straight time in the ring and the first time on the officials’ scorecards. Pacquiao regained the WBO welterweight title via a 12-round unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112 & 118-110) and handed Bradley his first official loss.

I scored the fight 117-112 / 8-3-1 Pacquiao and only gave Bradley one round after the fifth, the 11th. It was an easy bout to score and can be said with impunity that Pacquiao won no less than eight of the 12 rounds the fight went. However, before the fight there were a few questions lingering over both Pacquiao and Bradley as fighters.

Those questions were answered definitively Saturday night. What did we glean from the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch?

Let’s start with Bradley. First of all, it was confirmed beyond all doubt that Bradley has a great chin and has suffered no telling physical effects from his war with Ruslan Provodikov a little over a year ago, unless stupidity counts.

Secondly, he should dump his father as a corner-man and adviser. What a monumental mistake it turned out to be having Bradley do all that weight lifting and in the process make Tim think he had linebacker strength and Thomas Hearns-like punching power. In case his father didn’t know, punchers are born and not manufactured or created by weight lifting. Bradley is not a puncher and never will be regardless of how big his muscles get.

Also, Team Bradley really rolled the dice with their game plan of trying to steamroll and knock Pacquiao out this time. Then Bradley really let the fight get away from him when after five rounds he realized that a) it wasn’t going to work and b) it was depleting his strength and taking a lot out of him physically. Before the fight Bradley’s trainer Joel Diaz said that Manny can be out-boxed, and he’s right. What he can’t be is repeatedly suckered into a counter right hand, which was basically all Bradley tried to do after the fifth round. Bradley changed his strategy for a reason after the fifth round, and it had nothing to do with his leg as he said after the fight. My guess is that he realized he was in harms way and very well might get knocked out going for the kill and trying to get Pacquiao out of there by being so aggressive.

I said before the fight the best thing for Manny heading into the rematch was the decision that went against him in their first meeting, and that he very well might lure Bradley into thinking he had to win some of the exchanges with an exclamation point, and that’s exactly how he fought through the first five rounds. The part I blatantly missed was how Bradley seeing Juan Manuel Marquez stretch Pacquiao out face-first with a counter right hand led him to think that Pacquiao was so easily susceptible to that punch. After round five all Bradley really did was try to bait Pacquiao into walking into a big right hand counter, which Manny picked up quickly and never fell into the trap. Shame on Bradley for getting away from who he really is as a fighter and thinking that Pacquiao could be so easily suckered by the same punch for seven straight rounds.

It’s obvious that all that was said and happened after their first fight really affected Bradley in a big way, and not for the better, at least this past Saturday night. Bradley better put down the weights and go back to being a boxer who utilizes the tools he was blessed with at birth. When all is said and done, he fought a stupid fight and Pacquiao by just sticking to who he is as a fighter played a huge role as to why he won the rematch so comfortably in the eyes of everyone.

In regards to Pacquiao, he was beautiful in the way he kept his cool and never once veered away from who he is and how he fights. Pacquiao showed superior ring savvy and the utmost professionalism. He even stepped back and waited for Bradley to get out of position and over-commit (something Bradley was trying to get him to do most of the fight) when Tim was trying to bring the heat and fight as the attacker. Then Manny countered and moved and easily won most of the exchanges with his straight lefts and hooks inside. Actually, Pacquiao didn’t make one stylistic adjustment in this fight because he didn’t have to, he just took advantage of Bradley being all over the place and losing site on what he needed to do to have his best shot to win the fight.

A lot of Pacquiao fans aren’t gonna like this, but Pacquiao wasn’t as good physically in this fight as he was the first time. Yet because he fought smartly and Bradley made more mistakes, Pacquiao won the rematch by a wider margin. Lucky for Bradley that Manny has slipped noticeably as a fighter and can no longer pull the trigger instinctively like he once could. Had that not been the case he might have stopped Bradley this time. At this stage of his career, Pacquiao needs to think about pulling the trigger and it was impossible not to see that against Bradley this past weekend. Don’t get me wrong, Pacquiao is still very dangerous and would be a solid favorite over anyone else at 147 except Mayweather. The problem is Manny has to work to get himself in that frame of mind. You no longer see that joy of fighting that was so natural to him when he was younger. And his merciless killer instinct is gone and never coming back. That beautiful flow that was part of his style is gone too. Against Bradley Saturday night, a lot of the time you could see that he was telling himself there were things he should be doing, rather than just doing them. He beat a real good fighter without too much trouble, but he would’ve taken Bradley apart five years ago. Did Pacquiao look like a physically shot fighter with nothing left on April 12th, no, absolutely not. Put those rumors to rest for the time being. Is he still one of the two best fighters in the welterweight division and top pound-for-pound fighters in boxing, yes! But he is clearly on the decline and isn’t the supernova he once was when we picture him in our mind. Luckily for him he didn’t need to be that great in order to defeat Bradley either time. Sure, he can fight Juan Manuel Marquez again and it would be huge, because it always is. But they’re both eroding, yet still capable of hurting each other. In all honesty I’d rather not see them fight again.

In the rematch with Bradley, Pacquiao didn’t turn the clock back or re-invent himself stylistically. What he did was fight smartly and in a measured fashion against an opponent who had no idea what would work but felt desperate to make a statement and earn the decision he was given the last time they fought. What Pacquiao showed mostly is how confident he is in himself and how he doesn’t fold under pressure. Like he’s often said, “if you don’t wanna lose, then don’t fight.” I am in no way writing Manny Pacquiao off as a great fighter. What I am saying is, he’s not the super fighter he once was circa 2008/2009 and has even regressed some since the first Bradley fight two years ago despite beating him more convincingly this time.

Sure, Pacquiao can beat Bradley and probably every other welterweight in the world seven days a week. But at 35 with a lot of wear and tear on his body from almost 20 years fighting as a pro, he can’t blow through ’em like he used to. Before the fight Saturday night I said emphatically, with no wiggle room, “Floyd Mayweather will lose the first round looking Pacquiao over, then proceed to out-box and out-fight him on his way to winning a lopsided unanimous decision, if they ever fight.” Well, I’ve revised that. I still think Mayweather loses the first round, but I think there’s a 50-50 chance that Mayweather wins by stoppage. Manny is not the instinctive catch n’ kill terror he was when the talk of them fighting first began roughly six years ago, and that will aide Floyd to the point of no return…..Floyd is simply too physically big, long, strong, quick and fundamentally proficient for Pacquiao now and will dominate him when they fight.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

Published

2 days ago

September 24, 2023

David A. Avila

Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.

It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.

Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.

Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.

Bustillo Wins Rematch

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In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.

Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.

Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.

After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.

Other Bouts

In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.

A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Tedious Fights and a Controversial Draw Smudge the Matchroom Boxing Card in Orlando

Published

2 days ago

September 23, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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Matchroom Boxing was at the sprawling Royale Caribe Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida tonight with a card that aired on DAZN. The main event was a ho-hum affair between super lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.

SoCal’s Zepeda has been in some wars in the past, notably his savage tussle with Ivan Baranchyk, but tonight he brought little to the table and was outclassed by the lanky Hitchins who won all 12 rounds on two of the cards and 11 rounds on the other. There were no knockdowns, but Zepeda suffered a cut on his forehead in round seven that was deemed to be the product of an accidental head butt and another clash in round ten forced a respite in the action although Hitchins suffered no apparent damage.

It was the sort of fight where each round was pretty much a carbon of the round preceding it. Brooklyn’s Hitchins, who improved to 17-0 (7), was content to pepper Zepeda with his jab, and the 34-year-old SoCal southpaw, who brought a 37-3 record, was never able to penetrate his defense and land anything meaningful.

Hitchins signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotional outfit coming out of the amateur ranks and his style is reminiscent in ways of his former mentor. Like Mayweather, he loses very few rounds. In his precious engagement, he pitched a shutout over previously undefeated John Bauza.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, Conor Benn returned to the ring after an absence of 17 months and won a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco. It wasn’t a bad showing by Benn who showed decent boxing skills, but more was expected of him after his name had been bandied about so often in the media. Two of the judges had it 99-91 and the other 96-94.

Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) was a late addition to the card although one suspects that promoter Eddie Hearn purposely kept him under wraps until the week of the fight so as not to deflect the spotlight from the other matches on his show. Benn lost a lucrative date with Chris Eubank Jr when he was suspended by the BBBofC when evidence of a banned substance was found in his system and it’s understood that Hearn has designs on re-igniting the match-up with an eye on a date in December. For tonight’s fight, Benn carried a career-high 153 ½ pounds. Mexico’s Orozco, who was making his first appearance in a U.S. ring, declined to 32-4-3.

Other Bouts of Note

The welterweight title fight between WBA/WBC title-holder Jessica McCaskill (15-3-1) and WBO title-holder Sandy Ryan (6-1-1) ended in a draw and the ladies’ retain their respective titles. Ryan worked the body effectively and the general feeling was that she got a raw deal, a sentiment shared by the crowd which booed the decision. There was a switch of favorites in the betting with the late money seemingly all on the Englishwoman who at age 30 was the younger boxer by nine years.

The judges had it 96-94 Ryan, 96-95, and a vilified 97-93 for Chicago’s McCaskill.

In the opener of the main DAZN stream, Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, 27, improved to 15-0 (10) with a 10-round unanimous decision over 39-year-old Toronto veteran Steve Rolls (22-3). All three judges had it 97-93. Rolls has been stopped only once, that by Gennady Golovkin.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

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Zhilei Zhang KOs Joe Joyce; Calls Out Tyson Fury

Published

2 days ago

September 23, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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Joe Joyce activated his rematch clause after being stopped in the sixth frame by Zhilei Zhang in their first meeting. In hindsight, he may wish that he hadn’t. Tonight at London’s Wembley Stadium, Zhang stopped him again and far more conclusively than in their first encounter.

In the first meeting, Zhang, a southpaw, found a steady home for his stiff left jab. Targeting Joyce’s right eye, he eventually damaged the optic to where the ring doctor wouldn’t let Joyce continue. At the end, the fight was close on the cards and Joyce was confident that he would have pulled away if not for the issue with his eye.

In the rematch tonight, Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) closed the curtain with his right hand. A thunderous right hook on the heels of a straight left pitched Joyce to the canvas where he landed face first. He appeared to beat the count by a whisker, but was seriously dazed and referee Steve Gray properly waived it off. The official time was 3:07 of round three.

Zhang, who lived up to his nickname, “Big Bang,” was credited with landing 29 power punches compared with only six for Joyce (15-2) who came in 25 pounds heavier than in their first meeting while still looking properly conditioned. One would be inclined to say that age finally caught with the “Juggernaut” who turned 38 since their last encounter, but Zhang, 40, is actually the older man. In his post-fight interview in the ring, the New Jersey resident, a two-time Olympian for China, when asked who he wanted to fight next, turned to the audience and said, “Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?”

He meant it as a rhetorical question.

Semi-Windup

Light heavyweight Anthony Yarde was matched soft against late sub Jorge Silva, a 40-year-old Portuguese journeyman, and barely broke a sweat while scoring a second-round stoppage. Yarde backed Silva against a corner post and put him on the deck with a short right hand. Silva’s body language indicated that he had no interest in continuing and the referee accommodated him. The official time was 2:07 of round two.

A 30-year-old Londoner, Yarde (24-3, 23 KOs) was making his first start since being stopped in eight rounds by Artur Beterbiev in a bout that Yarde was winning on two of the scorecards. Silva, a late replacement for 19-3-1 Ricky Summers, falls to 22-9.

Also

Former leading super middleweight contender Zach Parker (23-1, 17 KOs) returned to the ring in a “shake-off-the-rust” fight against 40-year-old Frenchman Khalid Graidia and performed as expected. Graidia’s corner pulled him out after seven one-sided rounds.

In his previous fight, Parker was matched against John Ryder who he was favored to beat. The carrot for the winner was a lucrative date with Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately for Parker, he suffered a broken hand and was unable to continue after four frames. Tonight, he carried 174 pounds, a hint that he plans to compete as a light heavyweight going forward. Indeed, he has expressed an interest in fighting Anthony Yarde. Graidia declined to 10-13-4.

The Zhang-Joyce and Yarde-Silva fights were live-streamed in the U.S. on ESPN+.

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