Golovkin’s Fear Realized as Canelo Escapes With a Draw

Published

7 years ago

September 17, 2017

Fight fans waited two years to find out who was the better fighter between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 49-1-2 (34) and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin 37-0-1 (33) and, at least officially, they’ll have to wait a little longer. This past weekend, with the bragging rights and titles on the line in the middleweight division, Canelo and GGG fought to a disputed draw. The judges submitted scores of 118-110 Canelo, 115-113 Golovkin and 114-114.

I scored the fight 116-112 Golovkin and can live with 115-113 at the worst. However, I don’t see any case for the fight being scored a draw, and for veteran judge Adalaide Byrd to score it inexplicably 118-110 or 10-2 in rounds for Canelo is a complete outrage! It was a highly anticipated and dramatic bout, but unfortunately it will forever be remembered for one of the most atrocious scores submitted by a judge in a big fight in a long time. It’s not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last and I have no doubt the rematch will do even bigger numbers because of the controversy.

As for the fight….two things stand out. Canelo, 27, fought better on the move than I thought he could, and Golovkin, 35, has eroded more physically than I had thought. He had a hard time pulling the trigger even when Canelo was standing right there flat-footed in front of him. In spite of seeing Golovkin as the clear winner, I was less impressed with his showing than many others. Canelo was more effective moving and countering than I thought he’d be; it’s just that he didn’t do enough of it. He basically just pot-shotted and countered in patches just enough to survive and keep Golovkin from totally seizing the fight. Gennady fought mostly as the aggressor and he was effective but it’s not like he beat Canelo up. I’ve never seen his offense less imaginative.

Time after time he’d manage to get Canelo against the ropes when Canelo was visibly tired and looking for a breather, yet he would stand there without letting his hands go other than with a few pecking left jabs. Then with a few feints he’d try to cut loose with a wide hook to the head or a sneaky right hand, which Canelo sensed, making Golovkin miss. And perhaps the most perplexing thing about GGG’s limited offense was his lack of body punching. Why Abel Sanchez didn’t implore Gennady to go to the body is totally mystifying. Canelo tired as the fight progressed without GGG landing a single notable body punch. Golovkin did so much head hunting that it didn’t take Canelo long to figure that he only needed to cover up and protect his head because there’s nothing coming downstairs. That aided Canelo in leaps and bounds because without the body work he wasn’t worn down as much and without any trace of deception it was easier to defend and predict where Golovkin was going.

It’s no coincidence both Danny Jacobs and Canelo went the distance with Golovkin, because each has a terrific chin and GGG is stymied by fighters who can be effective on the move. Golovkin, as it’s been said here before, is one-dimensional. His inability to shine against fighters who don’t stand in front him cannot be blamed on his age; it’s always been there. The thing that can be blamed on age is his ability to get off during the bout when Canelo was planted there right in front of him. Many times they were in that position with Canelo not doing a single thing to prevent Golovkin from getting off. He wasn’t punching, nor even feigning to, and GGG couldn’t pull the trigger other than to poke him with his jab hoping to create the perfect opening. And when he took too long to get off, Canelo either moved or threw a desperate right hand to the head or body which was nothing more than a throw- away punch meant to give him some space to get off the ropes.

Golovkin’s jab was a better weapon for him than I anticipated it would be — the problem was that’s what his offense was reduced to. Canelo, who never fought the way he did before, regarding his lateral movement, did so because Golovkin was too strong for him to fight and he had to pick his spots to get off. Had I been told before the fight that Canelo could neutralize Golovkin’s offense to just a jab with his movement I would’ve never believed it.

What stands out most about Canelo’s performance is that he didn’t allow GGG to beat him up or really work him over. The downside to that — and why I, like so many others, believe he lost the fight — was that he didn’t come close to beating up Golovkin or making him do anything he didn’t want to. There was one fighter in the ring who was having success offensively, and that was Golovkin jabbing effectively. Canelo had some nice counters and nailed GGG pretty good after a big miss but those occasions were too sporadic for him to bank rounds and Golovkin out-worked him throughout the fight.

I don’t think it was a necessarily a great fight and, quite frankly, I was a little underwhelmed by both fighters. One basically looked to avoid fighting and engaging and the other offered nothing in return but a consistent left jab. The decision isn’t the worst we’ve seen aside from the 118-110 score. There was possibly one swing round (two swing rounds would be stretch as it wasn’t a difficult fight to score), but Golovkin should have had his hand raised when it was over.

Moreover, everyone knew that Canelo was the star and that if the fight went the distance Golovkin would get no favors from the judges in any of the close rounds. Team Canelo agreed to fight Golovkin at the ideal time. Oscar De La Hoya and his brain trust sensed Golovkin had slipped just enough to narrow the gap between the two. They garnered GGG was vulnerable to fighters who just don’t stand there and freeze when they get hit, and Canelo showed more diversity than anyone believed he possessed or had seen from him before. And once again smart management and fighting dangerous opponents at the right time played a major role at boxing’s highest level as to who wins.

It’s safe to say we’ll see Canelo-Golovkin II. I believe with Golovkin getting older and Canelo getting better, the window has closed for Golovkin to ever gain a victory over Canelo. Prior to the bout I said if Golovkin was ever going to beat Canelo it was on September 16th. An overwhelming majority of astute boxing observers believe GGG did beat Canelo, but in the eyes of those who matter it was a dead heat.

Canelo’s great chin, ability to box on the move and having just enough power to prevent GGG from walking through him, enabled him to survive and stem the tide enough to demand a rematch. When they meet again Canelo will be more confident and Golovkin will probably be less than he was this past weekend. If Golovkin couldn’t get the decision this time, it will be that much harder in a rematch. To win he’d have to stop Canelo and I don’t think that’s plausible.

Canelo vs Triple G / Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel.

Photo credit: Tom Hogan / Golden Boy Promotions

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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GGG-Canelo: In the Court of Public Opinion the Hung Jury Smacks of Injustice

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Canelo vs Triple G Results – They Duel To A Draw

Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

David A. Avila

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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

LAS VEGAS-Shades of Henry Armstrong and Baby Arizmendi. If you don’t know those names, look them up.

Floyd Schofield battled his way past Mexico’s super tough Rene Tellez Giron who walked through every blow the Texan could fire but lost by decision on Saturday.

It was a severe test and perfect matchmaking for Schofield who yearns for the big bouts against the lightweight giants roaming the world.

Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) remains undefeated and won the war over thick-necked Mexican Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) who has never been knocked out and proved to be immune to big punches.

In the opening rounds, the Texas fighter came out firing rapid combinations from the southpaw and orthodox stances. Meanwhile the shorter Tellez Giron studied and fired back an occasional counter for two rounds.

Tellez Giron had seen enough and took his stand in the third stanza. Both unleashed blazing bombs with Schofield turning his back to the Mexican. At that moment referee Tom Taylor could have waved the fight over.

You never turn your back.

The fight resumed and Schofield was damaged. He tried to open up with even more deadly fire but was rebuked by the strong chin of Tellez Giron who fired back in the mad frenzy.

For the remainder of the fight Schofield tried every trick in his arsenal to inflict damage on the thick-necked Mexican. He could not be wobbled. In the 11^th round both opened up with serious swing-from-the-heels combinations and suddenly Schofield was looking up. He beat the count easily and the two remained slugging it out.

“He hit me with a good shot,” Schofield said of the knockdown. “I just had to get up. I’m not going to quit.”

In the final round Schofield moved around looking for the proper moment to engage. The Mexican looked like a cat ready to pounce and the two fired furious blows. Neither was hit with the big bombs in the last seconds.

There was Tellez Giron standing defiantly like Baby Arizmendi must have stood in those five ferocious meetings against the incomparable Henry Armstrong. Three of their wars took place in Los Angeles, two at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 1930s as the U.S. was emerging from the Great Depression.

In this fight, Schofield took the win by unanimous decision by scores 118-109 twice and 116-111. It was well-deserved.

“I tried to bang it out,” said Schofield. “Today I learned you can’t always get the knockout.”

Fundora

IBF flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora needed seven rounds to figure out the darting style of Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz before firing a laser left cross down the middle to end the battle and become the undisputed flyweight world champion.

Fundora now holds all four titles including the WBO, WBA and WBC titles that Alaniz brought in the ring.

Fundora knocked down Alaniz midway through the seventh round. She complained it was due to a tangle of the legs. Several seconds later Fundora blasted the Argentine to the floor again with a single left blast. This time there was no doubt. Her corner wisely waved a white towel to stop the fight at 1:40 of the seventh round.

No one argued the stoppage.

Other Bouts

Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) didn’t make weight in a title bout but managed to out-fight David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) in a super middleweight fight held at 12 rounds.

Melikuziev used his movement and southpaw stance to keep Pennsylvania’s Stevens from being able to connect with combinations. But Stevens did show he could handle “The Bully’s” punching power over the 12-round fight.

After 12 rounds one judge favored Stevens 116-112, while two others saw Melikuziev the winner by split decision 118-110 and 117-111.

Super middleweight WBA titlist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) pummeled his way to a technical knockout win over southpaw veteran Chris Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs) who attempted the rope-a-dope strategy to no avail.

Fulghum floored Pearson in the first round with a four-punch combination and after that just belted Pearson who covered up and fired an occasional blow. Referee Mike Perez stopped the fight at 1:02 of the third round when Pearson did not fire back after a blazing combination.

Young welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) blasted away at the three-inch shorter Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs) who hung tough for as long as possible. At 2:50 of the first round a one-two delivered Madrid to the floor and referee Thomas Taylor called off the beating.

Iriarte, from Bakersfield, Calif., could not miss with left uppercuts and short rights as New Mexico’s Madrid absorbed every blow but would not quit. It was just too much firepower from Iriarte that forced the stoppage.

Photos credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Results and Recaps from Turning Stone where O’Shaquie Foster Nipped Robson Conceicao

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Top Rank was at the Turning Stone casino-resort in Verona, New York, tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster with the victor retaining or recapturing his IBF world junior lightweight title. When the smoke cleared, the operative word was “recapturing” as Foster became a two-time title-holder, avenging his controversial setback to the Brazilian in Newark on July 6.

This was a somewhat better fight than their initial encounter and once again the verdict was split. Foster prevailed by 115-113 on two of the cards with the dissenting judge favoring Conceicao by the same margin. Conceicao seemingly had the edge after nine frames, but Foster, a 4/1 favorite, landed the harder shots in the championship rounds.

It was the thirteenth victory in the last 14 starts for Foster who fights out of Houston. A two-time Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, the 36-year-old Conceicao is 19-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in world title fights.

Semi-wind-up

SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) made a big jump in public esteem and moved one step closer to a world title fight with a second-round blast-out of Jose Antonio Perez who was on the canvas twice but on his feet when the fight was stopped at the 1:24 mark of round two. Muratalla, a product of Robert Garcia’s boxing academy, is ranked #2 by the WBC and WBO. A Tijuana native, Perez (25-6) earned this assignment with an upset of former Olympian and former 130-pound world titlist Jojo Diaz,

Other Bouts

Syracuse junior welterweight Bryce Mills, a high-pressure fighter with a strong local following, stopped scrawny Mike O’Han Jr whose trainer Mark DeLuca pulled him out after five one-sided rounds. Mills improved to 17-1 (6 KOs). It was another rough day at the office for Massachusetts house painting contractor O’’Han (19-4) who had the misfortune of meeting Abdullah Mason in his previous bout.

In a junior lightweight fight that didn’t heat up until late in the final round, Albany’s Abraham Nova (23-3-1) and Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (14-3-3) fought to a 10-round draw. It was another close-but-no- cigar for the likeable Nova who at least stemmed a two-fight losing streak. The judges had it 97-93 (Galindo), 96-94 (Nova) and 95-95.

Twenty-one-year-old Long Island middleweight Jahi Tucker advanced to 13-1-1 (6 KOs) with an eighth-round stoppage of Stockton’s teak-tough but outclassed Quilisto Madera (14-6). Madera was on a short leash after five rounds, but almost took it to the final bell with the referee intervening with barely a minute remaining in the contest. Madera was on his feet when the match was halted. Earlier in the round, Tucker had a point deducted for hitting on the break.

Danbury, Connecticut heavyweight Ali Feliz, one of two fighting sons of journeyman heavyweight Fernely Feliz, improved to 4-0 (3) with a second-round stoppage of beefy Rashad Coulter (5-5). Feliz had Coulter pinned against the ropes and was flailing away when the bout was halted at the 1:34 mark. The 42-year-old Coulter, a competitor in all manner of combat sports, hadn’t previously been stopped when competing as a boxer.

Featherweight Yan Santana dominated and stopped Mexico’s Eduardo Baez who was rescued by referee Charlie Fitch at the 1:57 mark of round four. It was the 12^th knockout in 13 starts for Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican father of three A former world title challenger, Mexicali’s Baez declines to 23-7-2 but has lost six of his last eight.

In his most impressive showing to date, Damian Knyba, a six-foot-seven Pole, knocked out paunchy Richard Lartey at the 2:10 mark of round three. A right-left combination knocked Lartey into dreamland, but it was the right did the damage and this was of the nature of a one-punch knockout. Referee Ricky Gonzalez waived the fight off without starting a count.

Knyba, 28, improved to 14-0 (8 KOs). A native of Ghana coming off his career-best win, a fourth-round stoppage of Polish veteran Andrzej Wawrzyk, Lartey declined to 16-7 with his sixth loss inside the distance.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More

Published

3 days ago

November 1, 2024

David A. Avila

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Those lightweights.

Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.

Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.

Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.

“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.

Even in Las Vegas.

Verona, New York

Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.

Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.

“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.

Foster disagrees.

“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.

Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).

Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.

“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.

Muratalla likes challenges too.

“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.

Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship

WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.

Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.

But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.

“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.

In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.

Bad choice for Mucino.

Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.

Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.

Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.

Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.

“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.

It should be exciting.

Fights to Watch

Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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