RINGSIDE REPORT Mayweather Wins Foul Fest Against Maidana

Published

11 years ago

September 14, 2014

LAS VEGAS-It was supposed to be easier for Floyd Mayweather facing Marcos Maidana a second time but in reality it was a continuation of their first confrontation, with a big assist from referee Kenny Bayless on Saturday.

The social networks were ablaze with complaints about Bayless, who allowed Mayweather to hold, fire low blows and would break them up whenever Maidana had the advantage. But in reality, it’s a fight. Even if Maidana bit him, there were infractions aplenty.

Mayweather (47-0, 26 Kos) continued his stranglehold on boxing with another unanimous decision win over Maidana (35-5, 31 Kos) in their rematch at the MGM Grand. Altogether they fought 24 rounds but once again, it was no walk in the park before 16,144 fans.

Maidana came out smoking and did not allow Mayweather to set his usual rhythm. In reality, it was the resumption of their previous fight and basically you could call it round 13.

Round 2 was when Mayweather was able to control the flow with his side to side movement to create distance from Maidana. But it was something that at 37 he couldn’t do forever and Maidana stalked him waiting like a hungry lion.

Mayweather seemed to be confident he could knock out Maidana but after absorbing some big blows, especially in round three with the Argentine connecting flush with a counter right at the end of the bell. Even in the next round Mayweather seemed to be in a slight fog as Maidana continued the assault, blasting away like a psycho windmill.

Finally, Mayweather seemed to regain his senses and the jabs and counters to the head and body began to flow. For the next several rounds it was a Mayweather highlight show and infomercial on how to beat a brawler. But Maidana had some tricks in his bag too.

During one of Mayweather’s numerous clinches – that he was never warned for by the referee – Maidana was accused of biting Mayweather’s left glove. He ran around the ring complaining vigorously about the infraction and it took a while to resolve as fans and the media sat puzzled.

“He bit me,” said Mayweather. “We were tangled up and he bit me.”

Later, in round 10, another Mayweather clinch took place and Maidana pushed until his rival fell down. The referee took a point away from Maidana but never warned or took points away from Mayweather for elbows and repeated low blows. Maidana flung some elbows too.

Mayweather fired some more low blows in round 11 and time was taken to allow Maidana to recover. But despite more Mayweather low blows there were no points deducted. Maidana was the aggressor and landed more frequently with his wild rights and lefts.

The final round saw Mayweather dance and skim around the ring as Maidana chased him and cornered him on a few occasion. The Argentine landed a few blows as Mayweather was content with surviving the fight. No illegal blows were fired.

“I felt in great condition. I never felt tired,” Maidana said.

Three judges scored it for Mayweather 115-112, 116-111 twice. It was good scoring in a foul-infested fight. But Mayweather clearly was the victor.

Maidana felt otherwise.

“I think I was the aggressor and attacking all the time,” he said dejectedly. “There’s no reason for another fight.”

Mayweather said he’s open to a fight with Manny Pacquiao “if it presents itself.”

Other bouts

WBC junior featherweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz (28-0-1, 16 Kos) needed a round and 55 seconds to figure out his old sparring partner Manuel Roman (17-3-3, 6 Kos) and take him out with a counter right cross that sent him sprawling. Referee Robert Byrd counted out Roman who tried to get up, but could not.

“I did what I had to do to give the fans a great fight,” said Santa Cruz. “I did my job.”

Roman, who had sparred with Santa Cruz in the past, had no excuses.

“I got caught cold,” he said. “Nothing else to say.”

Santa Cruz has moved up to win world titles in two weight divisions and seeks another against feared Cuban champion Guillermo Rigondeaux who holds a featherweight world title.

“I’m coming for you Rigondeaux,” Santa Cruz said. “I’m not scared of any fighter.”

Soto vs. Molina

Former champion Humberto “Zorrita” Soto (65-8. 35 Kos) was not shy about laying some leather on the always dangerous John Molina (27-5, 22 Kos) in the first round. The first saw Soto score easily as Molina seemed to be measuring his power.

The second round saw Molina open up the guns and his plan for the fight. A sort of counter-attack bomber style seemed to work effectively for Molina, whose punches resounded like gun shots throughout the arena.

From rounds three until the end was a mix of head shots, counters and low blows that seemed to go in Soto’s favor. During a furious exchange after the bell, Soto tumbled down from a Molina right hand missile. It was not ruled a knockdown.

After three low blows by Molina in different rounds, a pair of points were deducted from the Southern Californian in rounds six and seven. But the second low blow sent Soto to his knees for several minutes and looked to be a legal blow. Referee Jay Nady seemed to lose control of the fight after that as punches after the bell took place in numerous rounds. In two of the rounds Nady was hit in the back and in the front from blows by both fighters. Finally in the 10^th and final round, Nady deducted a point from Soto for a low blow.

Soto was ruled the winner by unanimous decision 96-91, 95-92 twice.

Perro vs. De La Rosa

It was supposed to be somewhat competitive but James De La Rosa (23-2, 13 Kos) jumped out in front immediately and sent Alfredo “Perro”Angulo (22-5, 18 Kos) tumbling along the ropes with two left hands in round two.

De La Rosa employed a hit and run style at times against a seemingly slower Angulo, whose punches and movement seemed listless. During the second half of the fight Angulo seemed to find more spark in his punches. Twice he hurt De La Rosa in round nine first with a left hook, then a rocking right hand in close. The Texas fighter held on and survived.

“I wanted to put on a good show in the end. That was my fault,” said De La Rosa, who is Mexican-American. “That’s the Mexican in me.”

It was Angulo’s third consecutive loss.

“It was a good show. I thought he would run more but I never under-estimated him,” said Angulo. “Two Mexicans always put on a good show.”

The scores were 98-90, 96-92, 99-89.

Titere vs. Bey

IBF lightweight titlist Miguel Vazquez (20-2-1, 10 Kos) survived the gauntlet set by Top Rank but not the Mayweather Promotions card and faced a hometown fighter in Mickey Bey Jr. (21-1-1, 10 Kos) in a battle of counter punchers. But Vazquez lost in a bizarre split-decision. One judge gave him one round.

Vazquez is a master of circling in an almost hypnotic motion then suddenly attacking. It led to several clashes of heads including a cut on the Mexican’s hairline. Midway through the fight Vazquez began charging. But in the end, despite one guy making the fight and Bey seldom attacking, two judges scored it in favor of the Las Vegas-based fighter 119-109, 115-113 for Bey and 115-113 for Vazquez. It was a weird ending especially with one judge giving only one round for Vazquez.

“It was a good fight, he is a dignified opponent,” said Vazquez. “I thought the fight was close and I thought I won.”

Bey seldom attacked and resorted to holding the entire fight.

“I am the number one lightweight now,” said Bey. “I beat him with one hand.”

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David A. Avila

“Breadman” Edwards: An Unlikely Boxing Coach with a Panoramic View of the Sport

Published

11 hours ago

May 8, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Stephen “Breadman” Edwards’ first fighter won a world title. That may be some sort of record.

It’s true. Edwards had never trained a fighter, amateur or pro, before taking on professional novice Julian “J Rock” Williams. On May 11, 2019, Williams wrested the IBF 154-pound world title from Jarrett Hurd. The bout, a lusty skirmish, was in Fairfax, Virginia, near Hurd’s hometown in Maryland, and the previously undefeated Hurd had the crowd in his corner.

In boxing, Stephen Edwards wears two hats. He has a growing reputation as a boxing coach, a hat he will wear on Saturday, May 31, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas when the two fighters that he currently trains, super middleweight Caleb Plant and middleweight Kyrone Davis, display their wares on a show that will air on Amazon Prime Video. Plant, who needs no introduction, figures to have little trouble with his foe in a match conceived as an appetizer to a showdown with Jermall Charlo. Davis, coming off his career-best win, an upset of previously undefeated Elijah Garcia, is in tough against fast-rising Cuban prospect Yoenli Hernandez, a former world amateur champion.

Edwards’ other hat is that of a journalist. His byline appears at “Boxing Scene” in a column where he answers questions from readers.

It’s an eclectic bag of questions that Breadman addresses, ranging from his thoughts on an upcoming fight to his thoughts on one of the legendary prizefighters of olden days. Boxing fans, more so than fans of any other sport, enjoy hashing over fantasy fights between great fighters of different eras. Breadman is very good at this, which isn’t to suggest that his opinions are gospel, merely that he always has something provocative to add to the discourse. Like all good historians, he recognizes that the best history is revisionist history.

“Fighters are constantly mislabled,” he says. “Everyone talks about Joe Louis’s right hand. But if you study him you see that his left hook is every bit as good as his right hand and it’s more sneaky in terms of shock value when it lands.”

Stephen “Breadman” Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. His father died when he was three. His maternal grandfather, a Korean War veteran, filled the void. The man was a big boxing fan and the two would watch the fights together on the family television.

Edwards’ nickname dates to his early teen years when he was one of the best basketball players in his neighborhood. The derivation is the 1975 movie “Cornbread, Earl and Me,” starring Laurence Fishburne in his big screen debut. Future NBA All-Star Jamaal Wilkes, fresh out of UCLA, plays Cornbread, a standout high school basketball player who is mistakenly murdered by the police.

Coming out of high school, Breadman had to choose between an academic scholarship at Temple or an athletic scholarship at nearby Lincoln University. He chose the former, intending to major in criminal justice, but didn’t stay in college long. What followed were a succession of jobs including a stint as a city bus driver. To stay fit, he took to working out at the James Shuler Memorial Gym where he sparred with some of the regulars, but he never boxed competitively.

Over the years, Philadelphia has harbored some great boxing coaches. Among those of recent vintage, the names George Benton, Bouie Fisher, Nazeem Richardson, and Bozy Ennis come quickly to mind. Breadman names Richardson and West Coast trainer Virgil Hunter as the men that have influenced him the most.

We are all a product of our times, so it’s no surprise that the best decade of boxing, in Breadman’s estimation, was the 1980s. This was the era of the “Four Kings” with Sugar Ray Leonard arguably standing tallest.

Breadman was a big fan of Leonard and of Leonard’s three-time rival Roberto Duran. “I once purchased a DVD that had all of Roberto Duran’s title defenses on it,” says Edwards. “This was a back before the days of YouTube.”

But Edwards’ interest in the sport goes back much deeper than the 1980s. He recently weighed in on the “Pittsburgh Windmill” Harry Greb whose legend has grown in recent years to the point that some have come to place him above Sugar Ray Robinson on the list of the greatest of all time.

“Greb was a great fighter with a terrific resume, of that there is no doubt,” says Breadman, “but there is no video of him and no one alive ever saw him fight, so where does this train of thought come from?”

Edwards notes that in Harry Greb’s heyday, he wasn’t talked about in the papers as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The boxing writers were partial to Benny Leonard who drew comparisons to the venerated Joe Gans.

Among active fighters, Breadman reserves his highest praise for Terence Crawford. “Body punching is a lost art,” he once wrote. “[Crawford] is a great body puncher who starts his knockouts with body punches, but those punches are so subtle they are not fully appreciated.”

If the opening line holds up, Crawford will enter the ring as the underdog when he opposes Canelo Alvarez in September. Crawford, who will enter the ring a few weeks shy of his 38^th birthday, is actually the older fighter, older than Canelo by almost three full years (it doesn’t seem that way since the Mexican redhead has been in the public eye so much longer), and will theoretically be rusty as 13 months will have elapsed since his most recent fight.

Breadman discounts those variables. “Terence is older,” he says, “but has less wear and tear and never looks rusty after a long layoff.” That Crawford will win he has no doubt, an opinion he tweaked after Canelo’s performance against William Scull: “Canelo’s legs are not the same. Bud may even stop him now.”

Edwards has been with Caleb Plant for Plant’s last three fights. Their first collaboration produced a Knockout of the Year candidate. With one ferocious left hook, Plant sent Anthony Dirrell to dreamland. What followed were a 12-round setback to David Benavidez and a ninth-round stoppage of Trevor McCumby.

Breadman keeps a hectic schedule. From Monday through Friday, he’s at the DLX Gym in Las Vegas coaching Caleb Plant and Kyrone Davis. On weekends, he’s back in Philadelphia, checking in on his investment properties and, of greater importance, watching his kids play sports. His 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son are standout all-around athletes.

On those long flights, he has plenty of time to turn on his laptop and stream old fights or perhaps work on his next article. That’s assuming he can stay awake.

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Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More

Published

3 days ago

May 6, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Arne's-Almanac-The-Good-the-Bad-and-the-(mostly)-Ugly-A-Weeend-Boxing-Recap-and-More

Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More

It’s old news now, but on back-to-back nights on the first weekend of May, there were three fights that finished in the top six snoozefests ever as measured by punch activity. That’s according to CompuBox which has been around for 40 years.

In Times Square, the boxing match between Devin Haney and Jose Carlos Ramirez had the fifth-fewest number of punches thrown, but the main event, Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero, was even more of a snoozefest, landing in third place on this ignoble list.

Those standings would be revised the next night – knocked down a peg when Canelo Alvarez and William Scull combined to throw a historically low 445 punches in their match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 152 by the victorious Canelo who at least pressed the action, unlike Scull (pictured) whose effort reminded this reporter of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – no, not the movie starring Paul Newman, just the title.

CompuBox numbers, it says here, are best understood as approximations, but no amount of rejiggering can alter the fact that these three fights were stinkers. Making matters worse, these were pay-per-views. If one had bundled the two events, rather than buying each separately, one would have been out $90 bucks.

****

Thankfully, the Sunday card on ESPN from Las Vegas was redemptive. It was just what the sport needed at this moment – entertaining fights to expunge some of the bad odor. In the main go, Naoya Inoue showed why he trails only Shohei Ohtani as the most revered athlete in Japan.

Throughout history, the baby-faced assassin has been a boxing promoter’s dream. It’s no coincidence that down through the ages the most common nickname for a fighter – and by an overwhelming margin — is “Kid.”

And that partly explains Naoya Inoue’s charisma. The guy is 32 years old, but here in America he could pass for 17.

Joey Archer

Joey Archer, who passed away last week at age 87 in Rensselaer, New York, was one of the last links to an era of boxing identified with the nationally televised Friday Night Fights at Madison Square Garden.

Joey Archer

Archer made his debut as an MSG headliner on Feb. 4, 1961, and had 12 more fights at the iconic mid-Manhattan sock palace over the next six years. The final two were world title fights with defending middleweight champion Emile Griffith.

Archer etched his name in the history books in November of 1965 in Pittsburgh where he won a comfortable 10-round decision over Sugar Ray Robinson, sending the greatest fighter of all time into retirement. (At age 45, Robinson was then far past his peak.)

Born and raised in the Bronx, Joey Archer was a cutie; a clever counter-puncher recognized for his defense and ultimately for his granite chin. His style was embedded in his DNA and reinforced by his mentors.

Early in his career, Archer was domiciled in Houston where he was handled by veteran trainer Bill Gore who was then working with world lightweight champion Joe Brown. Gore would ride into the Hall of Fame on the coattails of his most famous fighter, “Will-o’-the Wisp” Willie Pep. If Joey Archer had any thoughts of becoming a banger, Bill Gore would have disabused him of that notion.

In all honesty, Archer’s style would have been box office poison if he had been black. It helped immensely that he was a native New Yorker of Irish stock, albeit the Irish angle didn’t have as much pull as it had several decades earlier. But that observation may not be fair to Archer who was bypassed twice for world title fights after upsetting Hurricane Carter and Dick Tiger.

When he finally caught up with Emile Griffith, the former hat maker wasn’t quite the fighter he had been a few years earlier but Griffith, a two-time Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the BWAA and a future first ballot Hall of Famer, was still a hard nut to crack.

Archer went 30 rounds with Griffith, losing two relatively tight decisions and then, although not quite 30 years old, called it quits. He finished 45-4 with 8 KOs and was reportedly never knocked down, yet alone stopped, while answering the bell for 365 rounds. In retirement, he ran two popular taverns with his older brother Jimmy Archer, a former boxer who was Joey’s trainer and manager late in Joey’s career.

May he rest in peace.

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Bombs Away in Las Vegas where Inoue and Espinoza Scored Smashing Triumphs

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2025

David A. Avila

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Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue banged it out with Mexico’s Ramon Cardenas, survived an early knockdown and pounded out a stoppage win to retain the undisputed super bantamweight world championship on Sunday.

Japan and Mexico delivered for boxing fans again after American stars failed in back-to-back days.

“By watching tonight’s fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,” Inoue said.

Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), and Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) and his wicked left hook, showed the world and 8,474 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that prizefighting is about punching, not running.

After massive exposure for three days of fights that began in New York City, then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Nevada, it was the casino capital of the world that delivered what most boxing fans appreciate- pure unadulterated action fights.

Monster Inoue immediately went to work as soon as the opening bell rang with a consistent attack on Cardenas, who very few people knew anything about.

One thing promised by Cardenas’ trainer Joel Diaz was that his fighter “can crack.”

Cardenas proved his trainer’s words truthful when he caught Inoue after a short violent exchange with a short left hook and down went the Japanese champion on his back. The crowd was shocked to its toes.

“I was very surprised,” said Inoue about getting dropped. ““In the first round, I felt I had good distance. It got loose in the second round. From then on, I made sure to not take that punch again.”

Inoue had no trouble getting up, but he did have trouble avoiding some of Cardenas massive blows delivered with evil intentions. Though Inoue did not go down again, a look of total astonishment blanketed his face.

A real fight was happening.

Cardenas, who resembles actor Andy Garcia, was never overly aggressive but kept that left hook of his cocked and ready to launch whenever he saw the moment. There were many moments against the hyper-aggressive Inoue.

Both fighters pack power and both looked to find the right moment. But after Inoue was knocked down by the left hook counter, he discovered a way to eliminate that weapon from Cardenas. Still, the Texas-based fighter had a strong right too.

In the sixth round Inoue opened up with one of his lightning combinations responsible for 10 consecutive knockout wins. Cardenas backed against the ropes and Inoue blasted away with blow after blow. Then suddenly, Cardenas turned Inoue around and had him on the ropes as the Mexican fighter unloaded nasty combinations to the body and head. Fans roared their approval.

“I dreamed about fighting in front of thousands of people in Las Vegas,” said Cardenas. “So, I came to give everything.”

Inoue looked a little surprised and had a slight Mona Lisa grin across his face. In the seventh round, the Japanese four-division world champion seemed ready to attack again full force and launched into the round guns blazing. Cardenas tried to catch Inoue again with counter left hooks but Inoue’s combos rained like deadly hail. Four consecutive rights by Inoue blasted Cardenas almost through the ropes. The referee Tom Taylor ruled it a knockdown. Cardenas beat the count and survived the round.

In the eighth round Inoue looked eager to attack and at the bell launched across the ring and unloaded more blows on Cardenas. A barrage of 14 unanswered blows forced the referee to stop the fight at 45 seconds of round eight for a technical knockout win.

“I knew he was tough,” said Inoue. “Boxing is not that easy.”

Espinoza Wins

WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinosa (27-0, 23 KOs) uppercut his way to a knockout win over Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) in the seventh round.

“I wanted to fight a game fighter to show what I am capable,” said Espinoza.

Espinosa used the leverage of his six-foot, one-inch height to slice uppercuts under the guard of Vazquez. And when the tall Mexican from Guadalajara targeted the body, it was then that the Texas fighter began to wilt. But he never surrendered.

Though he connected against Espinoza in every round, he was not able to slow down the taller fighter and that allowed the Mexican fighter to unleash a 10-punch barrage including four consecutive uppercuts. The referee stopped the fight at 1:47 of the seventh round.

It was Espinoza’s third title defense.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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