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Judging the Judges
Fans of boxing erupted over the scorecards of two similar fights this past weekend: one in Temecula and another in Las Vegas.
Max DeLuca, perhaps the best judge of boxing in the world, participated in both controversial fights. In a bout between winner Oscar Escandon of Colombia and Canada’s Tyson Cave he favored the loser with his crazy unorthodox slapping style over the winner who landed solid blows.
In the fight that saw Jose Benavidez win by leaning on the ropes most of the fight, he favored that style over Mauricio Herrera, who pummeled the body most of the 12 rounds. Despite Herrera carrying the fight, he was penalized for attacking the body.
Does it make DeLuca a bad judge? Not at all. But it does bring to light that judges need to have a more uniform and consistent form of scoring a fight. They’re too often all over the place.
When Herrera’s work to the body was largely ignored it highlighted the fact that working off the ropes or lying on the ropes is not necessarily penalized. Throughout the fight Top Rank members and Benavidez’s own team were shouting for him to get off the ropes. Usually, this spells doom. But not in televised fights.
One matchmaker at the fight said he saw Herrera as the winner. It was almost unanimously agreed that the Riverside junior welterweight was the winner. Not on Saturday. Herrera was robbed for the second time in a year. Last March Danny Garcia was judged the winner though the world felt he lost. But sometimes the harder worker is rewarded with a decision.
Other questionable decisions
Who can forget Paul Williams versus Erislandy Lara?
Williams out-worked Lara, who did the same thing on the ropes and when the judgment was rendered, people screamed bloody murder. It was the reverse of Benavidez-Herrera.
On the flip side, you have a fight like Lara versus Saul “Canelo” Alvarez where the Cuban coasted around the ring flipping jabs occasionally. Alvarez fired the harder shots but rarely landed. He made the fight so the judges rewarded him the win.
In my opinion a marquee fight that millions are watching on television should reward the boxer that is providing action. Shoulder rolls and occasional counters that couldn’t break an egg should not be rewarded. But a boxer who continually punches without getting hurt should be rewarded. Last Saturday Herrera was not rewarded for his abundance of work.
Don’t bring up Compubox figures. They’re only on one side of the ring and can’t see the punches landed. They provide fans with some kind of reference but they are not the word of God.
Busier fighter
If a prizefighter has many more punches landed he should win the fight, clear and simple. Herrera did that. Benavidez did land an occasional long counter but the force of the punch was not set to stun. If it were, he would have marked up Herrera’s face. Usually Herrera leaves a fight with tremendous cuts, swelling and bruises. Not after the Benavidez fight.
Judges should really be certain that a guy lying on the ropes is not rewarded for lack of effort. Unless counters are very telling blows that stun, wobble or knock down the other fighter. This simple rule was not followed. Simple touch counters that lacked force but were clearly seen were given too much credit.
“My plan all along was to work the body,” Herrera said after the fight. “I guess they don’t count body shots.”
Another mistake was giving Benavidez too much credit for stealing rounds in the last 30 seconds. Yes, he did score some blows late in the rounds, but he absorbed two dozen punches or more during the entire round. And he wasn’t blocking the body shots.
If Benavidez does that against a heavy puncher like Lucas Matthysse or Danny Garcia, it will be lights out. The Arizona youngster has abundance of talent. What he learned last weekend may come back to bite him.
—- Photo Credit : Chris Farina – Top Rank
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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.
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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim
Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th 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.
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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
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