Mayweather-Maidana II Lacks Intrigue of Other Famous Rematches

Published

10 years ago

September 11, 2014

This coming weekend we’ll see one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighters, Floyd Mayweather 46-0 (26) fight the aggressive and tough contender Marcos Maidana 35-4 (31) for the second time in four months.

Back in May, Floyd won a 12-round majority decision (which should’ve been unanimous) over Maidana in what turned out to be one of the toughest bouts of Mayweather’s career.

Over the last 40 plus years there have been some compelling rematches between boxing’s biggest stars and their career rivals. What makes those bouts different than Mayweather-Maidana II is the fact that the star fighter lost. And the whole intrigue regarding the rematch in the eyes of most boxing observers and fans was to see if the superstar fighter could come back after being decisively defeated.

However, that’s not the case going into Mayweather-Maidana II. Mayweather, who was an overwhelming favorite before the first fight, won cleanly. No, it wasn’t decisive in favor of Mayweather. But it was conclusive enough that it’s nearly impossible, at least for me, to give Maidana even a punchers’ chance to score the upset this time. And that’s because he can’t change his style or adjust better to Mayweather this time without sacrificing his aggression. If Maidana is not on the attack against Mayweather, he’ll be a fish out of water and will lose a very one sided decision.

Below are five rematches that were much more compelling going in than Mayweather-Maidana II. And that is because the loser in each of the first meetings had a legitimate and realistic chance to avenge the loss suffered the first time they met. In fact the loser was actually favored three times going into the second bout.

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II: What made the Ali-Frazier trilogy so great were the contrasting styles between Muhammad and Joe. One’s strength was the others’ weakness and vice-versa. Frazier won a 15-round unanimous decision over Ali on March 8th 1971, the first time they met, when both were undefeated. During their first bout Frazier cut the ring off on Ali beautifully. He forced Muhammad to fight with his back to the ropes and in the corners. And as long as Joe waged war with Ali on the inside, it was to his advantage. When Ali was able to keep Frazier at center ring and turning in the corners, he was fine. But Ali’s low right hand left him a sitting duck for Frazier’s faster than he thought left hook.

When they fought again almost three years later, Ali was in better shape and wasn’t coming off only two fights after 43 months of inactivity. He also learned from the first fight that he couldn’t fight Frazier off of him without occupying his big left-hook on the inside. So he tied Frazier up once Joe had him cornered and against the ropes. Once the referee broke them apart, Ali moved and pot-shotted Frazier from outside. Another adjustment he made was, he didn’t throw many hooks and uppercuts at Frazier, especially when they were fighting from a clinch. The net result was, Ali won a 12-round unanimous decision in a far less action packed bout and knotted their rivalry 1-1.

Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks II: When Ali fought Leon the first time; Spinks was only a veteran of seven professional bouts. Muhammad was 36 years old and fighting for the money at that time. He barely trained and had a hard time getting up for Spinks. Ali was certain that Leon, who never fought more than eight rounds as a pro, would fade and tire during the second half of the fight. Only it didn’t happen. Spinks threw punches nonstop at Ali’s arms, shoulders and head while he was resting against the ropes. Ali seldom fired back at Leon. During the last third of the fight Ali staged a huge rally and had Spinks on his heels more than a few times but Leon weathered the storm and hung on to win the heavyweight title via a 15-round split decision.

Six months later the rematch set an indoor attendance record and Ali showed up in better shape. Realizing that he couldn’t fight Spinks on the ropes for 15 rounds, Ali circled Leon and nailed him with quick lefts and rights from outside, thus impeding Spinks’ aggression. Whenever Leon tried to bull Ali to the ropes, Muhammad wrapped him up and pulled him in, then reset and pushed him off of him. This nullified Leon’s attack as the routine was repeated throughout the fight. Ali, despite not looking spectacular physically, went on to win a 15-round unanimous decision to regain the title and knotted their series 1-1.

Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran II: The Leonard-Duran trilogy had a lot in common with the Ali-Frazier trilogy. Duran, like Frazier, wanted to force the fight on the inside. Roberto taunted and mocked Leonard before their first fight. This did a number on Leonard psychologically and had him thinking that he wanted to take Duran’s head off. Since Duran was moving up from lightweight to welterweight, Leonard thought he could fight it out with Duran. For 15 rounds, Leonard fought Duran inside and tried to knock him out. Only that was Roberto’s fight. Duran got the better of Leonard by ultimately forcing Ray to trade punches with him. The fight was close, but Duran deserved the unanimous decision he was awarded after 15 fast paced rounds that saw back and forth action.

Five months later Leonard moved and boxed this time and mocked Duran, who couldn’t really get going or find his rhythm. For the first six rounds Leonard boxed and kept Duran from bulling him to the ropes the way he did in their first bout. After seven rounds Leonard held the edge but the fight was a long way from being settled. In the closing seconds of the eighth round Duran turned his back and quit waving his glove in a sign of surrender and said “No Mas” to the referee. Roberto said he had stomach cramps and couldn’t continue and Leonard knotted their series at 1-1.

Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Arguello II: Pryor and Arguello staged one of the greatest title fights in the history of the junior welterweight division. Arguello was a great boxer-puncher who had dynamite in his right hand. Pryor was a whirlwind fighter who not only could punch with both hands, but he was unpredictable and attacked in spurts. Sometimes he would circle and then come in recklessly throwing bombs. His unconventional style perplexed the orthodox and by the book Arguello. These two traded bombs for 14 straight rounds. At times it looked as if Arguello’s right to Pryor’s chin would ultimately be the difference. And then in the next round Pryor would rock and befuddle Arguello with his over hand rights and looping hooks. In the 13th round Arguello hit Pryor with a right hand that should’ve taken his head off. In the 14th round, Pryor trapped Arguello against the ropes and unloaded a barrage of rights and lefts from every imaginable angle and stopped Arguello.

When they fought 10 months later, Arguello, who could only fight one way, thought if he brought a little more of what he did last time, he’d knock Pryor out this time. And that was plausible. However, Pryor again had an extra gear to answer Alexis every time it seemed that he was on the verge of seizing the fight. In what was a virtual repeat of the first fight, Arguello was stopped in the 10th round. Arguello sat on the ring canvas and looked the referee in the eye as he was counted out realizing that Pryor had his number and there was nothing he could do to beat him.

Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II: Going into their first meeting Holyfield really looked terrible in his last two bouts, going 1-1. It’s easy to see that Tyson probably took him lightly. Evander came right out in the first round and showed Mike he wasn’t the least bit awed by him. Holyfield out thought, out fought and out muscled Tyson from the onset. In the sixth round he dropped Mike with a left hook to the chest. Tyson got up but the fight began slipping away from him as Holyfield was bettering him at every turn. At the end of the 10th round Tyson was out on his feet. In the eleventh round Holyfield picked up where he left off in the tenth and started battering Tyson again, which led to referee Mitch Halpern stopping the fight less than a minute into the 11th round.

In the rematch Holyfield came out strong again and backed Tyson up and was handling Mike when he was at his most dangerous. Tyson complained about Holyfield head butting him, but it looked as if he was losing his confidence with each passing minute. Tyson came out of his corner for the third round without his mouthpiece and was forced to put it in by referee Mills Lane. Tyson began the round in a fury, but Holyfield was no worse for it. With forty seconds left in the round, Tyson bit Holyfield on his right ear and Holyfield jumped up and down in pain. Lane deducted two points from Tyson and after restoring order the fight resumed. Then in the next clinch Tyson bit Holyfield’s other ear and was immediately disqualified. Holyfield retained the title via a third round DQ victory.

That is a quick recap of five of the more anticipated rematches over the last 45 years. Going into Ali-Frazier II and Leonard-Duran II, Ali and Leonard, who both lost the first fight, were slight betting favorites. And the reason for that is because it was perceived that they were versatile enough to change their style and reverse the result of the first fight against the attacker who overwhelmed them the first time. Ali was also favored over Leon Spinks before their rematch. And that was because he was viewed as the more adaptable fighter who could correct the mistakes he made the first time. And the odds makers were right again.

In the case of Pryor-Arguello II, Pryor was the slight favorite the second time. And that was because he was the younger fighter and his victory was so decisive. However, there were plenty among the experts who thought that Pryor could never be that great again and therefore Arguello would win the rematch. So even with Pryor being favored, it was almost split as to who would win because Alexis was so great and respected. As for Holyfield-Tyson II, Tyson was a 2-1 favorite because most thought Holyfield got lucky and Tyson wasn’t ready for him the first time. The thought was Tyson will be in great shape for the rematch and go through Evander like he should’ve the first time. As it turned out, both Arguello and Tyson, who had to force the fight, couldn’t adapt and ultimately lost to a great fighter who owned them stylistically.

Which leads us back to Mayweather-Maidana II. Mayweather is a monumental favorite again over Maidana because there was nothing that happened in the last fight to give anyone confidence that Maidana can beat a more focused Mayweather this time. The fight will do big numbers because Floyd is a big draw along with the fact that Maidana was in the last fight for eight rounds. But unlike some of the rematches above, the loser, Maidana, can’t change or be better than he was the first time.

More on Maidana’s style conundrum later this week.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

2 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

4 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

5 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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