About That 143 Pounds or Less Garcia-Peterson “Catchweight”

Published

9 years ago

February 12, 2015

Boxing is back, baby.

Wishful thinking when I say that, when I write that?

Excessively optimistic? Blinders on, because I seek the resurgence of the entity I’ve tethered myself and my professional success to?

Or a viable storyline buffeted by ample evidence? I think the jury’s still out…But certainly the re-introduction to boxing on primetime network TV, which comes on March 7, can’t be a bad thing in the big picture. I mean, it could be, if indeed Al Haymon’s grand plan results in a monopoly which crowds out the little guys, and the mid tier guys, and after a couple years, his sharp elbows and stellar big-picture thinking acumen have resulted in his gaining the majority of market share. But so far, I’m liking much of what I’m seeing. There seems to be a re-branding going on, or an attempt at it, anyway. Part of that will occur when we all remember, or learn for the first time, that storylines and marketing campaigns can be built around the best traits and attributes of these marvelous physical specimens, who can inspire and lead the way to masses who seek role models to look up to, physically, morally, spiritually.

However…I do worry when I see some “business as usual” issues pop up, that in fact the re-brand will fail, because we don’t scrub out some of the unnecessary foolishness which has plagued our sport in the last 25 years or so. I think we can all agree that the excess of titles, and weight classes, falls under the heading of “foolish,” because it dilutes the import of the titles, it confuses casual fans we need to lure to our milieu to grow. So when I see that two 140 pound champions will be fighting in Brooklyn on April 11, on NBC prime time, and that they won’t be fighting with their titles on the line, and they will be fighting at a “catchweight” limit of 143 pounds or less, I confess, my optimism in sharing the “boxing is back” narrative wanes slightly.

The wise guy in me wants to suggest that we should just say hell with it, and have a title belt for every single poundage then. If Danny Garcia (age 26; 29-0 with 17 KOs) and Lamont Peterson are fighting a ten rounder on April 11 with their titles not on the line, why don’t we just tweak the rules, give in to the continuing dilution of the product, and commission a 143 pound title?

I checked in with Peterson, the 31-year-old DC native with a 33-2-1 (17 Kos) record, to get his take on the catchweight aspect of his clash with the Philly-based boxer Garcia. He came off as resigned to the 143 or less, non-title status of the clash.

“People can’t always make weight, and if Danny can’t make the weight, I don’t want to not fight because of that. The fans want to see this fight,” he said in a Wednesday evening phoner.

Agreed…they do. But can’t we all agree that they will want to see it more if Garcia’s WBA and WBC crowns and Peterson’s IBF crown are up for grabs? With this lone chance to make this first impression on potential boat-loads of new converts, shouldn’t all involved push themselves to be the best version of themselves, so we do the most we can to insure success? Rhetorical question, my friends…

“I wanted to make sure it happens, regardless of the weights,” said Peterson, who said he’s craved a Garcia clash for a year and a half. He told me he likes Garcia, but to him, “If I fight at a weight class, that’s the weight I make. It comes down to being a professional, doing your job.”

Word is Garcia has had a hard time making 140 for a spell, but thus far, he’s resisted doing the logical thing, and jumping to 147. I have called his dad a couple times to ask him about the subject but haven’t heard back as yet.

“If you’re the junior welterweight champion, the very first part of your job is to make weight,” said Peterson, who went 2-for-2 last year, beating Dierry Jean and Edgar Santana, the Jean fight coming after being stopped out by Lucas Matthysse in 2013.

He admitted he wanted bolder faced names than Santana, but that bout was part of the purgatorial nature of the sport from the Haymon side, as he plotted out his takeover in 2015. “I want big names, of course, that’s why I’m in the sport,” he said. “I don’t want to feel like a champion, I want to BE a champion, really feel it.” Peterson is one of the crew who jetted from Golden Boy, and is working without a promoter, but just with advisor Haymon. He’s been asking for a clash with Garcia for a long spell, and is happy to be granted the opp. He’d like to fight at least three times this year, and would prefer four, he said.

And how does he beat Garcia, who owns a crackerjack left hook, and is one of those sorts who just wins, baby, even if he doesn’t do any one thing in truly majestic fashion. “I think skills wise, technically, I have everything it takes to win. I can fight in different ways. I see myself playing at the beginning, and then doing whatever works best to win.”

And what about that Garcia left hook? “I won’t be doing too much thinking about it,” he said, with a rare chuckle. “I’m pretty sure I will see it coming. Garcia is a solid fighter, nothing he does stands out. He’s not weak. His best thing is maybe he takes a good punch. And he has good timing.”

Peterson tells me he’s still reaching his athletic prime, and has been training like a beast. He did 20 round of sparring with trainer Barry Hunter on Wednesday, with seven sparring partners, guys ranging from 147 up to 175 pounds. “With no breaks, it was like 22 rounds. On Monday, I did 19 rounds. I’m in excellent shape.” That extra three pounds, he says, could actually aid him more than Garcia, as he thinks he’s added muscle which will come in handy April 11.

Hunter too is jazzed about the NBC angle. He doesn’t love the catchweight element, not at all. I read in between the lines that the 143 catch was the only way Team Garcia was going to do the bout…

“Why 143? I can’t speak for them. Lamont has always been able to make 140. If three pounds is what makes the fight makable, then whatever it takes to make the fight,” the trainer, age 52, a boxing lifer, told me.

Hunter cracked up when I suggested, sort of mockingly, that a “Junior Welterweight Plus A Little” belt be made for the April 11 clash. But probably rightly, he understands that rigidity is a prescription for pain in this sport, and that if Team Peterson didn’t give on this issue, then the fight they wanted would be exploded.

Peterson ended with a sensible take on the April 11 clash, and bolsters my “boxing is back” push. “I think being on NBC will bring a bigger fan base. There will be a lot of older people, people who don’t watch HBO or Showtime. Hopefully, they will fall in love with us.” Amen, son…

May I close with a polite but firm note that the love could shower down more freely if the right thing were done, and this fight was re-set to what it should be, a showdown between two junior lightweight titlists. There is still time to right the wrongs in the sport as a whole, and rectify some of the ills we’ve brought upon ourselves for the last 25 years. And there’s still time to admit that this catchweight bout is a throwback to the things that occur in the sport which benefit a select few, but at a cost more considerable than some might think.

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Michael Woods

Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

4 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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Haney and Garcia: Bipolar Opposites

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

TSS Press

Haney and Garcia: Bipolar Opposites

One young man flew halfway around the world to take on a world champion in his own living room; not once, but twice. The other young man quit prior to one fight, and then again during another one.

The first guy mentioned is an obedient son of an ultra-streetwise father. The type of parent where, if he doesn’t know the answer (and more times than not he most likely does), he will know where to find it. The second guy doesn’t appear to have that quality guidance scenario going on for him, which is probably for the best, because he believes he has all the answers.

The first guy is on record as saying he wants to go down in boxing history as an all-time great. The other guy? He decided not to continue in a fight while he was still sporting an undefeated record. You may think to yourself if there was ever a time to soldier through, right?

Then yesterday, that same guy missed making weight by 3.2 pounds, and seemed to be more than fine with it, to the point where he actually appeared to be quite pleased with himself.

If you haven’t heard, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are going to share a boxing ring in a twelve round go for God knows what will be at stake by the time they actually punch off. The fact that no one from Garcia’s team has stepped in and rescued him from these unfolding events, his own personal well-being, and/or not to mention Devin Haney is, well, troubling in and of itself.

Back in the amateur days, the record shows they split six fights. They were boys back then, so it means zero. If anything, you’d want to be the older of the two, and Ryan had over a three-month age advantage. If you’ve only been on the planet for a total of 120 months or so, every extra month could be a big enough difference in strength and development. Now as world class professionals in their prime? That’s different. Younger is always better. Devin is that guy.

Haney and Garcia fought six times for free but will fight only once as professionals. Then one of them will continue with their march for historic greatness, while the other will head back to Kamp Krazy, where he’s the current Mayor.

It’s never smart to lay 8-1, 9-1 in boxing. And if you see taking Garcia as a value bet with +500 to +600 and beyond, you don’t understand value and you evidently don’t like money.

There is, however, a wagering opportunity here.

Total Rounds: Fight doesn’t go 10.5 rounds.

Take anything over +125. It’s worth a unit on a scale of 5. Logically, there are a lot of ways to cash this ticket: legitimate victory, meltdown, catching lightning in a bottle, etc. Or simply the exiting stage left of a guy who may be already plotting his next career move.

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