Steve Cunningham, Who Almost Kayoed Tyson Fury, Believes Wilder Will Do It

Published

6 years ago

September 27, 2018

If you want to call Tyson Fury’s style “Greco-Roman boxing,” that’s probably as good a description as any. Like most exceptionally large heavyweights who dwarf smaller opponents with significant advantages in height, weight and reach, an important element in Fury’s standard fight plan is to initiate multiple clinches, to lean on those figurative Lilliputians until their strength saps and, gasping, they become increasingly vulnerable to standard boxing tactics in the later rounds.

Hey, if it worked for the even more gigantic but far clumsier Nikolai Valuev (50-2, 34 KOs), a two-time WBA heavyweight champion, why shouldn’t it work for the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) when the former unified titlist challenges WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) on Dec. 1 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles? At 6’7” Wilder is almost tall enough to look Fury straight in the eye, and his impressive 83-inch reach is nearly a match for Fury’s 85-inch tentacles. But Wilder, who was comparatively lean even at his heaviest-ever official ring weight of 229 pounds, came in at an almost-skinny 214¾ for his most recent defense, in which he had to fight through several scary moments before stopping Luis “King Kong” Ortiz, who outweighed him by 26½ pounds, in the 10^th round on March 3 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The differential in heft will be even more pronounced should the free-swinging Wilder find himself wrapped up time and again in Fury’s tactical bear hugs.

But two-time former cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, maybe more than anyone, understands that Fury’s strengths can be at least somewhat negated by the sort of advantages Wilder, an opening-line minus-160 favorite, holds over his hulking rival. Some of Wilder’s attributes are reasonably similar to those of Cunningham, who dropped and hurt Fury in the second round (that’s Fury on the seat of his pants) before being stopped himself in the seventh round of their April 20, 2013, bout at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. But Wilder hits a hell of a lot harder than Cunningham, which is the main reason why Cunningham is picking the Alabamian to finish the demolition job he might have shockingly pulled off 5½ years earlier had he been able to connect with just the right follow-up shot to a clearly buzzed Fury.

“In my fight with Fury, he totally underestimated me and we capitalized on that,” said the 42-year-old Cunningham, who has since dropped back down to cruiserweight and is still presumably active, although he has not fought since losing a 10-round unanimous decision to Andrew Tabiti on Aug. 26, 2017. “I was able to catch him when he was goofing off and playing. Even after he got up and got serious, I was still able to catch him coming in. I’d maneuver to put myself in a better spot to do that.

“So we know Fury can get knocked down with a big shot. I’ve done it.”

He did it despite not being known as a big hitter, but massive power is and has always has been Wilder’s calling card. With a knockout percentage of 97.5 that almost looks like a typographical error, Wilder, the super heavyweight bronze medalist for the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, never goes into any bout expecting it to go the distance. If he hits Fury with the same sort of shot that Cunningham did, it’s a good bet that the big, burly Briton won’t beat the count, and even if he does he might not be able to recover from it as quickly as he did against Cunningham.

“With Fury fighting Wilder, I can’t go against Wilder,” Cunningham said. “I can’t really go against Wilder against any of the top heavyweights, including Anthony Joshua. Why? Because Wilder has that great equalizer, a sledgehammer of a right hand. We all know that once that right hand lands – and it’s going to land at some point in a 12-round fight – the outcome is pretty much a done deal.”

But what about Fury’s frequent clinches, which not only can fatigue the other guy, but frustrate him as well?

“I don’t see Fury’s weight being an issue because Wilder has good movement and he can box better than a lot of people think,” Cunningham continued. “Yeah, I know Deontay can look a little goofy and undisciplined at times, but he hasn’t been made to look like the boxer he’s capable of being. We’ve seen glimpses of it here and there, but he’d probably have to show more of that against Fury until the opening comes to him to deliver that great equalizer. No matter how I size it up, I see Wilder stopping Fury with that right hand. He keeps launching it and launching it and launching it until the big one connects.”

Fury has a back story – uh, make that stories – that has probably made him more recognizable and marketable than his relatively unexciting, albeit victorious, performances merit. He was a preemie as an infant, coming into this world at a little over a pound, making for exceedingly long odds of his even making it to childhood, much less filling out to his current gargantuan dimensions. There is the burden of his being an Irish Traveller, a group that is widely reviled in the United Kingdom but nonetheless holds a certain fascination to the public. And if all that weren’t enough, there is the epic cocaine-and-eating binges that he went on, and now has come back from, after he stunned the boxing world by outpointing long-reigning and lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko on Nov. 28, 2015, in Dusseldorf, Germany. A serial utterer of coarse and controversial quotes who fancies himself a better singer than fighter, Fury is a media darling right up to the time the bell rings and his crackling pre-fight wattage generates less electricity inside the ropes.

But it is a mistake to lump Fury, whose dad named him after Mike Tyson, with the robotic, lumbering and monosyllabic Valuev. He does have a skill set, and one that extends beyond his array of wrestling moves.

“Size doesn’t equate to boxing ability,” said Cunningham, who was up 57-55 on two of the official scorecards and even 56-56 on the other at the time he was knocked out by Fury. “It also doesn’t equate to punching power, not really. To Fury’s credit, he’s pretty athletic for such a big guy and he comes in shape, or at least he did when I was in camp with him (as a sparring partner) and fought him later on. He had a rowing machine and he rowed on it like a maniac. He did other things that were kind of unique. I remember thinking, `Wow, this guy does have a good engine in him,’ so he was capable of going a lot of rounds. If you don’t get him out of there early, he will use that size to wear you down. Because of that, the only two current heavyweights I see who are capable of knocking him out are Wilder and Joshua.

“Him being so much bigger than most of the guys he fights, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t take a toll on you. Guys who fight Fury now, or who fought Valuev then, would train to be able to better cope with the wrestling and the holding. They’d train to not get in those type situations as often. Before I fought him, I knew Fury liked to lay on opponents. I sparred with big guys in camp for four or five weeks, but they weren’t that big and I just wasn’t able get anybody to really replicate him.

“My plan was to use my legs as much as possible to stay away from him, but I was coming off my second fight with Tomasz Adamek in which I felt I had done enough to easily win on points (Cunningham lost a disputed split decision). So you get it in your mind that, hey, maybe I should just try to knock (Fury) out instead.

“I had my chance. Wilder, I believe, will get his chance as well. Will he put the giant down and out? That’s my pick. But we won’t find out until fight night, will we?”

Bernard Fernandez is the retired boxing writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. He is a five-term former president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, an inductee into the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Atlantic City Boxing Halls of Fame and the recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism and the Barney Nagler Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Boxing.

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

5 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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