Three Punch Combo: Spence-Porter Notes, Under the Radar Fights and More

Published

5 years ago

September 23, 2019

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THREE PUNCH COMBO — This coming week the eyes of the boxing world are on the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the big welterweight title fight between Errol Spence Jr. (25-0, 21 KO’s) and Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KO’s). In analyzing the fight, two subtle factors jumped out at me.

Porter’s Size

Porter weighed in for his pro debut in 2008 at 165 ½ pounds. He fought most of the early part of his career in the 154-pound weight division. It wasn’t until his 16^th pro fight that he dropped down to welterweight. Porter is a big welterweight and someone we have seen physically maul many of his former opponents.

Keep in mind that while Porter has come down in weight, Spence has fought his entire career as a welterweight. Yes, Spence is a strong welterweight but I think Porter, although smaller in stature, has more physicality.

In my opinion, Porter is by far the physically strongest opponent that Spence has ever faced. This fact cannot be underestimated. How will Spence handle Porter’s strength? That answer may be the biggest factor in determining the winner and loser of this bout.

Spence’s Body Punching

Spence is one of the most lethal body punchers in boxing today. He is also very consistent, attacking his opponent’s ribcage from the first round until the fight concludes. This prolonged body attack will often zap his opponents’ strength as a fight progresses and make them less likely to throw their own punches in fear of being countered to the body in return.

So, the first question is, if Spence can rev up the body attack against Porter, then how will Porter respond as the fight enters the middle and late rounds? I think if Spence gets the body attack going, then Porter may go into more of a shell as the fight progresses, leading to potentially a wide decision in favor of Spence.

However, there is another factor to keep in mind. Porter is a short stocky welterweight with a smaller zone to attack his body. And he frequently keeps his elbows tucked in. So, when someone fires off a body shot, Porter often picks it off. Looking back at past Porter fights, opponents often do not attack his body as, frankly, it is not easy to do.

What if Porter is able to take away Spence’s body punching ability? It is not out of the question and could force Spence to make some major adjustments for the first time in his professional career.

Under The Radar Fight

There is a fight taking place on the undercard of Spence-Porter that I circled on the boxing calendar when it was announced several weeks ago.

In a battle of undefeated young pros, Mario Barrios (24-0, 16 KO’s) takes on Batyr Akhmedov (7-0, 6 KO’s) in a battle for a vacant 140-pound world title belt. Talent wise, there is not much that separates these two. The way I see it, this is a true 50/50 fight that could turn into a real barnburner.

Barrios, 24, is a natural boxer-puncher who likes to work behind the left jab to set up his best punch which is a left hook to the body. He also has sneaky quick hands and moves his head well, making him an evasive target who is hard to catch clean. He comes in riding an eight-fight knockout streak. Of note, several of those knockouts have come from body shots.

Though he is an excellent body puncher, Barrios does have a tendency to attempt to go to the body from too far of a distance, leaning forward, which can leave his chin exposed. Against an aggressive power puncher like Akhmedov, Barrios could pay for this flaw.

A 2016 Olympian, Akhmedov, 28, has strung together some impressive performances early in his pro career to rise up quickly in the rankings. A southpaw, he is an aggressive high-pressure fighter who possesses heavy handed power in both hands. He not only possesses power but quick hands and, similar to Barrios, is an excellent body puncher.

Akhmedov does have issues defensively. He does not move his head at all and when he throws, he tends to sit in the pocket too long, exposing himself to counters. In his fight against Ismael Barroso a year ago, Akhmedov was dropped and hurt badly with a counter left hook early in the fight. Though Akhmedov later came back to stop Barroso, his defensive issues were apparent and his performance raised some questions about his chin.

Barrios-Akhmedov is one of those fights that, given the talents of the two fighters along with their respective styles, can’t be anything but a solid entertaining professional fight. It could also turn into quite a shootout between two young fighters with a lot to prove and with a lot on the line.

This PPV undercard fight could very well steal the show.

Under The Radar Fight, Part Two

There is more boxing on tap this week than just the Spence-Porter event. Of note, ESPN+ will broadcast a card from the UK on Friday that will be headlined by a battle of undefeated heavyweights.

Coming off a big win in July against the previously undefeated Nathan Gorman, Daniel Dubois (12-0, 11 KO’s) makes a quick return to the ring to face Ebenezer Tetteh (19-0, 16 KO’s) in a bout scheduled for 12 rounds.

Dubois, 22, is considered one of the top young heavyweights in the world. Tetteh, 31, is totally unknown. But he is an undefeated heavyweight and this is a division that seems to produce more surprises from unknowns than any other division in the sport.

Here is what we know about Dubois: He is a former decorated amateur and as a pro has put on a string of impressive performances displaying devastating knockout power in both fists. The only fighter to take him the distance so far has been the seemingly always durable and defensive-minded Kevin Johnson.

When Dubois stepped in the ring with Gorman in July, he was a short favorite, yet many considered it a 50/50 fight. But Dubois, displaying superior skill, speed and power, overwhelmed Gorman from the opening bell, dropping him once in the third and stopping him in the fifth. It was an eye-opening performance that essentially vaulted him from a prospect into a contender.

Here is what we know about Tetteh: He has fought most of his career at either light heavyweight or cruiserweight while just recently jumping north to the heavyweight division. All his fights have taken place is his native Ghana and there are no even remotely recognizable names on his resume.

There is actually some YouTube footage of Tetteh. His style seems to be that of a free-swinger who will pick his spots to flurry and go for broke. Against the low-level opponents he has faced, this crude, unpolished style has worked, in large part because Tetteh has some pop in his punches.

I could probably write thousands of words on Tetteh’s defensive flaws but let’s just say he is easy to hit. Nevertheless, I see some risk here for Dubois. Tetteh is going to wing punches and throw from unorthodox angles. Something conceivably could clip the Londoner

Yes, given the telegraphed nature of the punches that Tetteh will deliver, along with his severe lack of regard for defense, there’s a very high probability that Dubois will land something big to end matters early. But I am always down for a heavyweight slugfest, even if it is brief.

This could be a fun little shootout assuming Tetteh wings away like we have seen in those YouTube clips.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

David A. Avila

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

East Los Angeles has long been a haven for some of the best fighters around if you can keep them out of trouble. For every Oscar De La Hoya or Seniesa Estrada there are thousands derailed by crime, drugs or drinking.

Boxing has always been a favorite sport of East L.A. Every family has an uncle or two who boxes.

On Friday, 360 Promotions’ Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) fights Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1) in the main event at Commerce Casino, in Commerce, CA. UFC Fight Pass will stream the fight card.

The City of Commerce used to be part of East L.A. until 1960 when it incorporated. It’s still considered to be part of East Los Angeles, but informally.

Plenty of fighters come out of East L.A. but few make it all the way like De La Hoya and Estrada. Will Trinidad be the one?

The first world champion from East L.A. or “East Los” as some call it, was Solly Garcia Smith back in the late 1800s. Others were Richie Lemos, Art Frias and Joey Olivo. There is also 1984 Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzalez.

Once again 360 Promotions brings its popular brand of fights to the area. On this fight card includes two female bouts. One features Roxy Verduzco (1-0) the former amateur star fighting Colleen Davis (3-1-1) in a featherweight fight.

All that action takes place on Friday.

Elite Boxing

The next day, also in East L.A., Elite Boxing stages another boxing card at Salesian High School located at 960 S. Soto Street in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles.

Elite Boxing has promoted several successful boxing cards at the Catholic high school grounds. The area is saturated by many of the best eateries in Los Angeles. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourself and grab some of that delicious food.

Boxing has long been a favorite sport of anyone who lives in East L.A. It’s a fight town equal to Philadelphia, Brooklyn or Detroit. There’s something different about the area. For more than 100 years some of the best fighters continue to come out of its boxing gyms. Some will be performing on these club shows.

For tickets or information go to www.eliteboxingusa.com

Claressa Shields in Detroit

Speaking of fight towns, pound-for-pound best Claressa Shields who won two Olympic Gold Medals in boxing, moves up another weight division to tackle the WBC heavyweight world champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday, July 27, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

DAZN will stream the heavy-duty fight card.

Shields (14-0) cleaned out the super welterweight, middleweight and super middleweight divisions and now wants to add the big girls to her conquests. She will be facing Canada’s Lepage-Joanisse (7-1) who holds the WBC belt.

The last time Shields gloved up was more than a year ago when she fought Maricela Cornejo. Don’t blame Shields. She loves to fight. She loves to win. The last time Shields lost a fight was in the amateurs and that was three presidential administrations ago.

Shields doesn’t lose.

I wonder if Las Vegas even takes bets on her fights?

The only fight she may have been an underdog was against Savannah Marshall who was the last opponent to defeat her. And that was in 2012 in China. When they met as pros two years ago, Shields avenged her loss with a blistering attack.

Don’t get Shields mad.

Perhaps her toughest foe as a pro was in her pro debut when she clashed with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in Las Vegas. It was four rounds of fists and fury as the two pounded each other on the undercard of Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev in November 2016.

That was a ferocious debut for both female pugilists.

Assisting Shields on this fight card will be several intriguing male bouts. One guy you should pay special attention is Tito Mercado (15-0, 14 KOs) a super lightweight prospect from Pomona, California.

Many excellent fighters have come out of Pomona including Sugar Shane Mosley, Shane Mosley Jr., Alberto Davila and Richie Sandoval who just passed away this week.

Sandoval was best known for his 15-round war with Philadelphia’s Jeff Chandler for the bantamweight world title in 1984. Read the story by Arne K. Lang on this link: https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/81467-former-world-bantamweight-champion-richie-sandoval-passes-away-at-age-63 .

Fights to Watch

Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) vs Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1).

Sat. ESPN+ 12:30 p.m. Joe Joyce (16-2) vs Derek Chisora (34-13).

Sat. DAZN 3 p.m. Claressa Shields (14-0) vs Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1), Michel Rivera (25-1) vs Hugo Roldan (22-2-1); Tito Mercado (15-0) vs Hector Sarmiento (21-2).

Omar Trinidad photo by Lina Baker

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Arne’s Almanac: Jake Paul and Women’s Boxing, a Curmudgeon’s Take

Published

2 days ago

July 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Jake Paul can fight more than a little. The view from here is that he would make it interesting against any fringe contender in the cruiserweight division. However, Jake’s boxing acumen pales when paired against his skill as a flim-flam artist.

Jake brought a 9-1 record into last weekend’s bout with Mike Perry. As noted by boxing writer Paul Magno, Jake’s previous opponents consisted of “a You Tuber, a retired NBA star, five retired MMA stars, a part-time boxer/reality TV star, and two undersized and inactive fall-guy boxers.”

Mike Perry, a 32-year-old Floridian, was undefeated (6-0, 3 KOs) as a bare-knuckle boxer after forging a 14-8 record in UFC bouts. In pre-fight blurbs, Perry was billed as the baddest bare knuckle boxer of all time, but against Jake Paul he proved to have very unrefined skills as a conventional boxer which Team Paul undoubtedly knew all along. Perry lasted into the eighth round in a one-sided fight that could have been stopped a lot sooner.

Jake Paul is both a boxer and a promoter. As a promoter, he handles Amanda Serrano, one of the greatest female boxers in history. That makes him the person most responsible (because the buck stops with him) for the wretched mismatch in last Saturday’s co-feature, the bout between Serrano and Stevie Morgan.

Morgan, who took up boxing two years ago at age 33, brought a 14-1 record. Nicknamed the Sledgehammer, she had won 13 of her 14 wins by knockout, eight in the opening round. However, although she resides in Florida, all but one of those 13 knockouts happened in Colombia.

“We found that in Colombia there were just more opportunities for women’s boxing than in the United States,” she told a prominent boxing writer whose name we won’t mention.

The truth is that, for some folks, Colombia is the boxing equivalent of a feeder lot for livestock, a place where a boxer can go to fatten their record. The opportunities there were no greater than in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1995. It was there that Peter McNeeley prepped for his match with Mike Tyson with a 6-second knockout of professional punching bag Frankie Hines. (Six seconds? So it would be written although no one seems to have been there to witness it.)

Serrano vs Morgan was understood to be a stay-busy fight for Amanda whose rematch with Katie Taylor was postponed until November. Stevie Morgan, to her credit, answered the bell for the second round whereas others in her situation would have remained on the stool and invented an injury to rationalize it. Thirty-eight seconds later it was all over and Ms. Morgan was free to go home and use her sledgehammer to do some light dusting.

The Paul-Perry and Serrano-Morgan fights played out in a sold-out arena in Tampa before an estimated 17,000. Those without a DAZN subscription paid $64.95 for the livestream. Paul’s next promotion, where he will touch gloves with 58-year-old Mike Tyson (unless Iron Mike pulls a Joe Biden and pulls out; a capital idea) with Serrano-Taylor II the semi-main, will almost certainly rake in more money than any other boxing promotion this year.

Asked his opinion of so-called crossover boxing by a reporter for a college newspaper, the venerable boxing promoter Bob Arum said, “It’s not my bag but folks who don’t like it shouldn’t get too worked up over it because no one is stealing from anybody.” True enough, but for some of us, the phenomenon is distressing.

—

The next big women’s fight happens Saturday in Detroit where Claressa Shields seeks a world title in a third weight class against WBC heavyweight belt-holder Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, undefeated in 14 fights as a pro, Shields is very good, arguably the best female boxer of her generation which makes her, arguably, the best female boxer of all time. But turning away Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) won’t elevate her stature in our eyes.

Purportedly 17-4 as an amateur, the Canadian won her title in her second crack at it. Back in August of 2017, she challenged Cancun’s Alejandra Jimenez in Cancun and was stopped in the third round. Entering the bout, Lepage-Joanisse was 3-0 as a pro and had never fought a match slated for more than four rounds.

Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

True, on the women’s side, the heavyweight bracket is a very small pod. A sanctioning body has to make concessions to harness a sanctioning fee. Nonetheless, how absurd that a woman who had answered the bell for only 11 rounds would be deemed qualified to compete for a world title. (FYI: Alejandra Jimenez was purportedly born a man. She left the sport with a 12-0-1 record after her win over Franchon Crews Dazurn was changed to a no-contest when she tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol.)

Following her defeat to Jimenez, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, now 29 years old, was out of action for six-and-a-half years. When she returned, she was still a heavyweight, but a much slender heavyweight. She carried 231 pounds for Jimenez. In her most recent bout where she captured the vacant WBC title with a split decision over Argentina’s Abril Argentina Vidal, she clocked in at 173 ¼. (On the distaff side, there’s no uniformity among the various sanctioning bodies as to what constitutes a heavyweight.)

Claressa Shields doesn’t need Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to reinforce her credentials as a future Hall of Famer. She made the cut a long time ago.

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Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63

Published

4 days ago

July 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Richie Sandoval, who won the WBA and lineal bantamweight title in one of the biggest upsets of the 1980s and then, not quite two years later, suffered near-fatal injuries in a title defense, has passed away at the age of 63.

News circulated fast in the Las Vegas boxing community on Monday, July 22, the grapevine actuated by a tweet from Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler: “Boxing and the Top Rank family lost one of our own last night in the passing of former WBA bantamweight champion Richie Sandoval. It hurts personally and professionally to know that Richie is gone at age 63. RIP campeon.”

Details are vague but the cause of death was apparently a sudden heart attack that Sandoval experienced while visiting the Southern California home of his son of the same name.

Richie Sandoval put the LA County community of Pomona, California, on the boxing map before Shane Mosley came along and gave the town a more frequently-cited mention in the sports section of the papers. He came from a fighting family. An older brother, Albert “Superfly” Sandoval, became a big draw at LA’s fabled Olympic Auditorium while building a 35-2-1 record that included a failed bid to capture Lupe Pintor’s world bantamweight title.

Richie was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team that was stranded when U.S. President Jimmy Carter (and many other world leaders) boycotted the event as a protest against Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.

As a pro, Sandoval’s signature win was a 15^th-round stoppage of Jeff Chandler. They fought on April 7, 1984 in Atlantic City. Chandler was making the tenth defense of his world bantamweight title.

Despite being a heavy underdog, Sandoval dominated the fight, winning almost every round until the referee stepped in and waived it off. Chandler, who was 33-1-2 heading in and had avenged his lone defeat, never fought again.

Sandoval made two successful defenses before risking his title against Gaby Canizales on the undercard of Hagler-Mugabi in the outdoor stadium at Caesars Palace. In round seven, Sandoval, who had a hellish time making the weight, was knocked down three times and suffered a seizure as he collapsed from the third knockdown. Stretchered out of the ring, he was rushed to the hospital where doctors reduced the swelling in his brain and beat the odds to save his life. This would be Richie’s lone defeat. He finished his pro career with a record of 29-1 (17 KOs).

Bob Arum cushioned some of the pain by giving Richie a $25,000 bonus and offering him a lifetime job at Top Rank which Richie accepted. And let the record show that Arum was good to his word.

A more elaborate portrait of Richie Sandoval was published in these pages in 2017. You can check it out HERE. May he rest in peace.

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