Are Golovkin And Kovalev Leading Boxing’s Impending Resurgence?

Published

8 years ago

March 24, 2015

On February 21^st of this year WBA/IBO middleweight title holder Gennady Golovkin 32-0 (29) stopped former title holder Martin Murray 29-2-1 (12) in the 11th round. Prior to fighting Golovkin, Murray had never been off his feet or stopped. Over the course of the 11 rounds they fought, Golovkin managed to accomplish both against Murray. Twenty one days later WBA/IBF/WBO light heavyweight title holder Sergey Kovalev 27-0-1 (24) stopped former title holder Jean Pascal 29-3-1 (17) in the eighth round. And like Murray before fighting Golovkin, Pascal was never knocked down or stopped before touching gloves with Kovalev. After tangling with Sergey for almost eight full rounds, Pascal can no longer say he’s never been down or stopped as a professional fighter.

It’s been a reoccurring theme in the media that after Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight this coming May 2nd, boxing will again go back to being in the doldrums unless they fight a rematch. And to that I say: have the media been paying attention?

Actually, the faux super fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao has been overshadowing boxing and some of its emerging stars that have recently arrived or are on their way to arriving. MayPac has sucked so much air out of boxing’s atmosphere that some outstanding on their way to possibly be great fighters have gone virtually unnoticed or mentioned.

Yes, super middleweight Andre Ward 27-0 (14) and super bantamweight title holder Guillermo Rigondeaux 15-0 (10) are outstanding and two of the top p4p fighters in boxing today. But Ward hasn’t fought since November of 2013 and Rigondeaux is 34 and perhaps older. Ward is maybe in the cat-bird seat and could end up fighting both Golovkin and Kovalev down the road. However, Andre has been a pro for over a decade and isn’t new on the national/world scene.

When it comes to the fighters representing boxing’s future, is there a more complete destroyer than 27 year old WBC flyweight title holder Roman Gonzalez (42-0 (36))? Want to see a fighter who can blend both boxing and punching, then check him out when he next fights this coming May 16th.

How about 29 year old WBA featherweight title holder Nicholas Walters 25-0 (21)? He looked utterly dominant and powerful in stopping Philippine terror Nonito Donaire in his last fight.

WBO super featherweight title holder Mikey Garcia 34-0 (28) is a deliberate in his attack, a boxer-puncher who at age 28 is improving every time he fights.

And 27 year old WBO lightweight title holder Terence Crawford 25-0 (17) is probably the best natural boxer in the sport. And he’ll be tested a bit in his upcoming bout against Thomas Dulorme 22-1 (14) next month.

Yes, there are plenty of fighters under 30 years old who are on my radar whenever they fight. And the fighters mentioned above are tremendously skilled and seem ready and willing to fight the best their division has to offer. Which is all that hardcore boxing fans can ask of them. However, the outstanding fighters above have not captured the public’s interest or imagination to the degree that Golovkin and Kovalev have, and the interest in watching them fight is escalating with every bout.

I’m not sure most fans and writers fully grasp how lucky they are to be experiencing the Golovkin/Kovalev wave… In the last quarter century there have only been two great middleweight champs, Marvin Hagler and Bernard Hopkins. And the same applies to the light heavyweight division. You have to go back to Michael Spinks and Roy Jones to have last seen true greatness at 175. Yet, we’ve seen a plethora of outstanding/great featherweights and lightweights since 1980. More than this space allows to name.

It is way too premature to proclaim either Golovkin or Kovalev as being great fighters. Special, yes, but not great, at least not yet.

Regardless of how much fans say they appreciate watching technicians/boxers like Floyd Mayweather, the fact is fans only count down the days to see legitimate punchers. Muhammad Ali to this day is probably the only natural superstar in boxing history that wasn’t perceived as a catch n’ kill style fighter. Yes, Mayweather is a draw today, but he was barely a blip on the radar for the first 11 years of his career. It wasn’t until Floyd fought Oscar De La Hoya and became a heel in the WWE style that quasi boxing fans even knew who he was. By the time Ali was in his 11th year as a pro (1971) he was the most recognized face on the planet.

Gennady Golovkin is rampaging through the glamor division in boxing, middleweight. Through 32 pro bouts he’s shown that he has a first rate chin and two handed power. Neither of those two assets can be learned or manufactured in the gym, through a needle or in a weight room. Golovkin is a swarmer and is adept at cutting the ring off and he appears to be physically strong. Add to that his confidence and willingness to test himself against the best fighters available, how can he not be must see? Fans know that when they watch Golovkin, they’re going to see a fight regardless of how long it lasts. And that’s because he’s a nightmare to try and hold off and box, and if you stand your ground and fight him, he’s more than happy to oblige. In summation, it’s his style and power that virtually guarantee that his fights will be exciting and end in a dramatic fashion. The only down-side to his dominance is the fact that the middleweight division is very pedestrian and devoid of challengers, including lineal champ Miguel Cotto, who are capable of testing him.

Sergey Kovalev owns three of the four relevant light heavyweight title belts. In his last two bouts he took apart two (Bernard Hopkins & Jean Pascal) of the three best and well-known fighters in the division. Hopkins is a master technician and is about as unbreakable mentally as any fighter in boxing. Yet, Sergey ran away with the fight, winning no less than 10/11 of the 12 rounds it went. By the sixth round Hopkins was reduced to looking for a lottery punch to save the fight. As for Pascal, who is an unorthodox herky-jerky puncher, Kovalev beat him at every turn. In fact Pascal forced Kovalev, because of his changing styles during the fight, to adapt and switch styles as well. Kovalev showed against Pascal that he is dangerous fighting at long range or in close. And if you try to rattle him with movement and unconventional combinations, he’ll just jab you to the stomach or chest and knock you out of range and render you out of position to attack him.

Golovkin and Kovalev are physically big and fight like big guys. Their power and eagerness to land it makes them fan friendly. Fans love to watch power punchers and prefer watching boxers who can end fights with one or two punches. Their style of fighting as the predator and forcing their opponents to have to fight as the prey has fans anticipating their next fight in a big way. Their last bouts on HBO drew tremendous numbers. The combination of them both being legitimate tough guys, who don’t brag about their abilities like an Adrien Broner, has fans rooting for them to win when they fight instead of the reverse. And it’s much more fun watching fighters who you’re rooting for than against.

Because of how formidable and dangerous he is, it looks as if Golovkin will own the pedestrian middleweight division for the foreseeable future. And you can count on fans tuning in to watch him every time he fights hoping to see another stoppage win over an opponent who entered the ring with a plan but was unable to execute it. Kovalev is fighting on a tougher block. There are more future opponents living on it who can test him. The biggest threat is WBC title holder Adonis Stevenson (25-1 (21)). The problem is, for reasons only known to Stevenson, Sergey can’t get him into the ring. But eventually they’ll fight. But until then, Kovalev will be an overwhelming favorite every time he fights.

Boxing may be on the upswing with fighters like Roman Gonzalez, Nichols Walters, Mikey Garcia and Terence Crawford emerging as must see. But it is Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev who really have fans on the edge of their seats anticipating their next fight. And that’s mainly because they can punch and always come to fight, and they’re willing to meet the baddest and most dangerous fighters in their division.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

The Follies of Gervonta Davis: They Gave Him the Key to the City and Now He’s in the Slammer

Published

2 days ago

June 4, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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One surmises that Baltimore City Circuit Court judge Althea Handy has a lot of guts. When the 65-year-old jurist rescinded her decision to allow Gervonta “Tank” Davis to serve his 90-day sentence at the home of his trainer Calvin Ford and remanded him to the jailhouse, that undoubtedly didn’t sit well with some of the poobahs in Maryland’s largest city. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Davis was presented with a key to the city and a parade was held in his honor.

Davis appeared before Judge Handy on May 5. He had already pleaded guilty to each of four counts stemming from a hit-and-run accident that happened shortly before 2 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 5, 2020. After running a red light, Davis crashed his Lamborghini into another vehicle before crashing into the fence of a 7-eleven. The four occupants of the other vehicle, including a pregnant woman, required medical attention. Gervonta and his two passengers fled the scene in another car.

The four charges to which he pled guilty, eschewing a jury trial, included driving on a revoked license. Had Judge Handy thrown the book at him, she could have packed him off to prison for a term of four years and two months. Instead, she sentenced him to 90 days home detention, three years’ probation, and 200 hours of community service.

Davis owns a home in tony Broward County in South Florida. If it had been his decision, that’s where he would have served his 90 days. But Handy had visions of the boxer lounging by the pool and wouldn’t allow it. She insisted that he serve out his sentence in his native Baltimore.

Althea Handy (2002 photo)

It was agreed that Davis would be confined to the home of his longtime coach Calvin Ford for the duration of his sentence. The head trainer at the Upton Boxing Center in impoverished West Baltimore and the inspiration for the Dennis “Cutty” Wise character in the HBO series “The Wire,” Coach Calvin, as he is called, has been a father figure to Gervonta Davis and countless other boys. Gervonta was living with his grandmother after bouncing around between foster homes when he wandered into Upton at the age of seven. The boxer credits his coach with instilling within him the discipline needed to stay off the streets.

There was one small problem. Calvin Ford’s home had only one bedroom. It was far too small for the boxer and his entourage.

Davis needed to find a new crash pad. Being the resourceful type, he moved his tack to Baltimore’s luxurious Four Seasons Hotel before plunking down a reported $3.4 million on a 5,000-square-foot high-rise penthouse. When informed that the boxer had taken it upon himself to recalibrate his “punishment,” Judge Handy said, “not on my watch” or words to this effect, and had the boxer hauled off to the slammer.

—

Gervonta Davis was boxing’s youngest American-born world champion when he won his first title in 2017. On July 24, 2019, three days before his homecoming fight with Ricardo Nunez – his fifth 130-pound world title defense – he was presented the keys to the city by then mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young in a ceremony at City Hall. “Welcome Home….We’re so proud of you!”, read the proclamation. Later that year, on Oct. 26, the boxer was feted with a parade in his old neighborhood.

In his most recent bout, a non-title affair contested at the catch-weight of 136 pounds, Davis stopped Ryan Garcia in the seventh round to advance his record to 29-0. The fight played out before an SRO crowd of 20,000-plus at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In his four fights prior to that, Davis drew capacity or near-capacity crowds to NBA arenas in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Washington, DC. When it comes to putting asses in seats, no other American boxer can match him.

—-

Davis turned pro under Floyd Mayweather Jr’s “Money Team” banner. As recounted in a previous story, Mayweather’s influence was pervasive. Gervonta came to mimicking Floyd’s lifestyle, reflected in what normal people would see as reckless spending, manifested in bling and in his growing collection of rare and expensive automobiles. The parallels are striking and to that list we can now add one more. When Gervonta emerges from his current abode he will have spent almost exactly as many days behind bars as his former promoter. Mayweather was sentenced to 90 days for domestic battery in 2012 and with time off for good behavior was out of jail in two months.

When Davis gets out, will his boxing tools be as sharp as ever? Based on Mayweather’s experience, his fans have nothing to worry about.

During Mayweather’s incarceration, his lawyer and personal physician submitted a document to the court in hopes of securing an early release. “Jail food and water,” it said, “didn’t meet Mayweather’s dietary needs and lack of exercise space in a cramped cell of fewer than 98 square feet threatened his health and fitness.”

Not to worry. Floyd had some of his best moments after he was set free, although it may be worth noting that he stopped knocking people out.

Floyd was 35 years old when he regained his freedom. Gervonta Davis will be 28. There’s no reason to think that he won’t be as good as ever, but that’s assuming that he keeps his nose clean. He doesn’t need any more of these kinds of distractions.

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Claressa Shields Defeats Maricela Cornejo in Detroit

Published

2 days ago

June 3, 2023

David A. Avila

Claressa-Shields-Defeats-Maricela-Cornejo-in-Detroit

In front of a Detroit crowd familiar with boxing legends, Claressa Shields demonstrated her place among the legends with a start-to-finish win over number one contender Maricela Cornejo to retain her middleweight world championship on Saturday.

“Maricela is just super tough. She was just in shape and knew how to get away from shots,” said Shields

More than 10,000 fans entered Little Caesars Arena and witnessed the fight.

Despite last-minute changes in opposition, Shields (14-0, 2 KOs) accepted always strong Cornejo (16-6, 6 KOs) and proved that former Detroit boxing legends such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis and Tommy Hearns need to move over.

The champion wasted little time in opening-up with looping overhand rights that barely missed the mark. Cornejo was careful to avoid the bombs. Though few punches landed it was clear that Shields was on the attack.

Cornejo was scheduled to fight another foe and had been preparing in Las Vegas with famed trainer Ismael Salas. She was fully prepared to face anyone, but Shields is not anyone. Her defense was on point but the speed ratio of Shields punches is almost impossible to practice.

Still, Cornejo did enough by connecting with a strong right cross that kept Shields from overwhelming her.

“Just stay smart and not get hit with her big right hand,” said Shields about her battle plan against Cornejo who replaced Hanna Gabriels who failed a PED test.

Though Cornejo had two inches height advantage, Shields had faced others that were taller before such as Christina Hammer and Savannah Marshall. Shields adjusted well.

“Height don’t matter, power don’t matter,” Shields said. “It’s all about skills and wills and I always have more.”

Over the years Shields has carefully added more ammunition to her offensive arsenal and fighting a taller opponent with power has become second nature. Shields kept a perfect distance at all times and made it difficult for Cornejo to time her attacks with a big right cross.

Cornejo jabbed her way trying to close the distance, but Shields agility and reflexes kept the taller fighter from her goal. Shields snapped Cornejo’s head back numerous times during the fight, but the Mexican-American fighter from the state of Washington has always shown to have one of the best chins in women’s boxing. No one has ever knocked her down.

Shields came close, especially in the seventh round. Cornejo opened the frame with a strong right lead that seemed to awaken the gates. Shields unleashed the blinding combinations that have bewildered every foe she’s ever faced since childhood. The speed and fury of the blows forced Cornejo to hold and maneuver out of range. She survived the onslaught but if it had been a three-minute round the fight might have been over. Instead, after the two-minute round expired, Cornejo had survived.

Shields had expended a lot of energy attempting the knockout. It takes a lot of to fire off dozens of blows with blinding speed and accuracy. Most of the eighth round was fought by both at a much slower tempo, until the last 20 seconds when Shields and Cornejo opened up the guns.

After saving energy in the prior round, Shields stunned Cornejo with a strong one-two that snapped the head of the challenger. Shields kept on the attack but in measured tones. Though she won every round it was evident that Cornejo was looking for one big counter shot that could turn the momentum.

It did not happen. Shields kept control of the fight until the very end. After 10 rounds both hugged each other in respect and the judges gave their verdict 100-89, 100-90 twice for Shields who keeps the middleweight world championship.

“I felt great. I won every round like I knew I could,” said Shields. “I tried for the KO, but Maricela was tough, had a strong right hand.”

For Shields it was her sixth defense of the middleweight championship.

“I thought I looked really, really good,” said a very content Shields. “Thank you for coming out.”

Other Bouts

Local fighter Ardreal Holmes (14-0) defeated Haiti’s Wendy Toussaint (14-2) by technical split decision after the fight was stopped early due to a bad cut following a clash of heads in the super welterweight match.

Toussaint was the aggressor through most of the fight but when a savage cut opened up above his forehead the referee stopped the fight though the ringside physician had given approval to continue.

The fight was stopped at 1:54 of the eighth round and Holmes won 76-75, 77-74, 74-77. The Detroit crowd booed the decision loudly.

A middleweight contest saw Michigan’s Joseph Hicks (7-0, 5 KOs) use his height and reach to dominate Atlanta’s Antonio Todd (14-8) from the outside. All three judges scored it 80-72 for Hicks.

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Adelaida Ruiz and Fernando Vargas Jr Score KO Wins at Pechanga

Published

3 days ago

June 3, 2023

David A. Avila

Adelaida-Ruiz-and-Fernando-Vargas-Jr-Score-KOs-at-Pechanga

Adelaida Ruiz and Fernando Vargas Jr Score KO Wins at Pechanga

TEMECULA, Ca.-After a long period of fighting out of the country, Adelaida Ruiz returned to Southern California and with her came hundreds of her ardent followers as she won by knockout over Mexico’s Maria Cecilia Roman on Friday.

Ruiz (14-0-1, 8 KOs) looked sharp and stepped in with a disciplined attack against Roman (17-8) who fought behind a peek-a-boo style throughout the fight. Ruiz fired away at openings with a measured attack in front of several thousand fans at Pechanga Arena on the MarvNation Promotions card.

Midway through the eight-round match Ruiz increased the tempo of the attack with blistering combinations to the body and head. During one of the combinations Ruiz connected with a left hook to Roman’s temple and down she went.

Roman beat the count, but Ruiz never slowed her attack and each round her blows seemed to increase with power, the impact of the punches resonating in the arena. The interim WBC super flyweight titlist, whose title was not at stake, seemed determined to win by knockout.

In the eighth and final round Ruiz staggered Roman with another left hook to the temple and that only sparked more punches from the Southern California fighter. She unloaded her bullet chambers and the referee decided to stop the action at 1:19 of the eighth round.

Other Bouts

Fernando Vargas Jr. (9-0) won the super middleweight contest by knockout when Heber Rondon (20-5) was unable to continue due to a shoulder injury at the end of the second round. Fans were displeased but it was not up to the fans.

Vargas showed patience against the veteran southpaw Rondon who showed some tricks in his bag. But after some exchanges in the second round it was a surprise to everyone in the arena when the referee signaled the fight was over at the end of the second round.

Undefeated Jonathan Lopez (11-0, 7 KOs) of Florida remained unblemished with a unanimous decision win over Mexico’s Eduardo Baez (21-5-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight fight.

San Bernardino’s Lawrence King (13-1,11 KOs) faced veteran Mexican fighter Marco Reyes (37-10) and was able to use his speed and southpaw stance to win almost every round. But he had to work for it.

Reyes was able to avoid most of King’s attacks but in the sixth round after absorbing some heavy blows the Mexican fighter was unable to continue and the fight was stopped at the end of the sixth round for a knockout win by King.

In a super welterweight fight, Mario Ramos (11-0, 9 KOs) wore down Jesus Cruz (6-3) for three rounds with his left-handed assault and then lowered the boom with a non-stop barrage of lefts and rights. After nearly two-dozen nearly unanswered blows the referee stopped the battering at 2:09 of the fourth round.

Orlando Salgado (3-2) slugged it out with Squire Redfern (0-1) to win a super welterweight fight by decision after four back and forth rounds. Salgado connected with the bigger blows but never could stop Redfern from rallying round after round. All three judges scored in favor of Salgado.

A heavyweight battle saw Mike Diorio (1-5-1) win his first pro fight in out-punching debuting heavyweight Ian Morgan (0-1) after four rounds. Both fighters tired a bit but Diorio had a better idea of how to score and won by decision.

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