The TSS 2019 Fight of the Year: Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire

Published

1 year ago

December 26, 2019

The TSS 2019 Fight of the Year: Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire

It was the seventh round of “The Thrilla in Manila” and Muhammad Ali, who had made the mistake of thinking arch-rival Joe Frazier had gone into their climactic rubber match with his career running on fumes, was in another pitched battle, far more punishing than the GOAT had anticipated.

“They told me you were washed up,” a hurting Ali whispered into Smokin’ Joe’s ear as they whaled away at one another at close range.

“They told you wrong, pretty boy,” the old left hooker from Philadelphia responded.

Not that what happened Nov. 7 in Saitama, Japan, was an exact duplicate of what took place that sultry day in the Philippines, but the bantamweight unification finale of the World Boxing Super Series, between a downsized Godzilla, 26-year-old IBF bantamweight champion Naoya “The Monster” Inoue, and thought-to-be-past-his-prime WBA titlist Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, was an exhilarating, two-way clash that was at least somewhat reminiscent of Ali-Frazier III, and not just because of the Filipino heritage of Donaire, a Las Vegas resident who would turn 37 nine days later.

After 12 rounds that were far more competitive than most so-called experts expected, primarily because of the gritty Donaire’s demonstration that he had indeed retained much of what had made him 2012’s Fighter of the Year, Inoue was awarded a unanimous decision. The scorecards suggested that Inoue had had a relatively easy time of it, by margins of 117-109, 116-111 and 114-113, but that last tally seems closer to reality.

It was another building block in the rising legend of arguably the most heralded Japanese boxer since Hall of Famer Fighting Harada, but, like courageous loser Joe Frazier in Manila, Donaire had required his favored opponent to enter and survive a danger zone he’d seldom had to visit previously.

Two high-quality and near-equally matched fighters often make for an epic confrontation worthy of recognition as Fight of the Year, and Inoue-Donaire has been accorded that honor for 2019 by The Sweet Science. The feat is especially noteworthy, in light of other terrific fights meriting such consideration: Julian “J-Rock” Williams UD12 Jarrett Hurd, Josh Taylor MD12 Regis Prograis, Errol Spence Jr. SD12 Shawn Porter, Andy Ruiz Jr. TKO7 Anthony Joshua I and Gennadiy Golovkin UD12 Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

The most exciting three-minute chapter from the spellbinding book of Inoue-Donaire came in the 11^th round, which featured furious back-and-forth action. That round was marked by the fight’s only knockdown, when the Japanese superstar, who fought from the second round on with a cut over his right eye, landed a thudding left to the body that caused Donaire to go down on one knee. But Donaire beat the count, barely, and still was pitching leather at the final bell.

Considering the almost ridiculous ease with which Inoue had won three earlier bouts in the WBSS, by TKO1 over Jamie McConnell, KO1 over Juan Carlos Payano and KO2 over Emmanuel Rodriguez, it was almost refreshing to discover that even a monster, be it Inoue, Mike Tyson or whomever, has human vulnerabilities that might be probed and possibly exploited.

Not that Inoue has so many vulnerabilities that he figures to be in tough as much as he was against Nonaire. Before he was pushed as never before in a war that few had anticipated, TSS contributor Matt McGrain wrote that Inoue is “a wrecking machine capable of rendering destruction to a degree unseen anywhere in boxing currently.” Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum, who after the fight announced he has signed Inoue to a co-promotional agreement, seconded that assessment by calling his new addition “a generational talent, the sort of fighter who comes around once a decade.”

All of which stamps Donaire, who has done his share of wrecking with a left hook Joe Frazier would have endorsed, as a still-viable force as he enters the later stages of a storied career that began when he turned pro, at 19, in 2001. In no small part because of his gutty performance against Inoue, Donaire – a world titlist at flyweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight – is the new mandatory challenger to face WBC 118-pound ruler Nordine Oubaali.

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Bernard Fernandez

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Tyson Fury is the TSS 2019 Boxing Personality of the Year

Tyson Fury Roared and Deontay Wilder Remained Silent at their L.A. Presser

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2021

The Sweet Science

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TSS special correspondent LAUREN RODRIGUEZ was on the scene for the Top Rank Promotions press conference in downtown Los Angeles on June 15 at which the third meeting between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder was formally announced. Here is her report.

The third fight between Tyson “Gypsy King” Fury (30-1, 21 KOs.) and Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) will go down July 24th in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. This continued mash-up between the two comes 16 months since their last bout. The first fight, in December 2018, ended in a draw and their second in February 2020, ended in a victory for Fury in the 7th round.

Fury carried the press conference while Wilder remained largely muted.

The WBC champion Fury remains undefeated, a status he is adamant in maintaining. The heavyweight boasted a white suit patterned with images of himself in a crown and wearing the belt he won off Wilder.

“This is a reminder of what happened to him last time, this is a remembrance suit of Deontay Wilder’s ass-kicking.”

The “Gypsy King,” an entertainer, left little words unsaid as he berated his silent opponent.

“It shows how weak a mental person is, it shows the emotional effect the last fight had on his life… I was worried about him after the defeat I gave him,” said Fury.

An Alabama native, Wilder has a 93% knockout rate, the highest rate for any heavyweight.

Wilder wanted no part in other questions from Q/A moderator Christina Poncher, or the media, as he remained silent with headphones and sunglasses to shield him from questions.

Wilder’s trainer, longtime friend and former heavyweight contender Malik Scott answered very few questions for the fighter as tensions rose.

“He’s very stubborn, like most legends and gifted people they have their things with them. As long as he gives me what I want in the gym, I don’t care about the stubbornness cause we’re going to get this done,” said Scott.

If it’s one thing Fury and team all agree on, it’s that history will repeat itself in this third fight come July.

When it comes to what we can expect this time, Fury’s trainer SugarHill Steward stated, “All I have to say is, over time, he [Fury] now has power to knock a man out with one punch. His boxing IQ is one-punch knockout power.”

In Gypsy King fashion, we will have an entertaining show come next month. Fury intends on moving his weight all the way to 300, so he can give Wilder a bigger knockout in the ring and fans a bigger show.

“This time I’m hoping to take him out early, one, two, three rounds max.”

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Tokyo-Bound Aussie Heavyweight Justis Huni Stops Rugged Paul Gallen in the 10th

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2021

Arne K. Lang

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Had Justis Huni fought Paul Gallen two months ago, the match would have been trashed as little more than exhibition. During his record-tying 19 years in rugby, Gallen evolved into one of Australia’s most well-known sporting personalities. When Gallen took up boxing in 2014, it was thought that he did it as a lark; as a way of cashing in on his name recognition. And his first 11 opponents were a motley bunch of former rugby players, MMA fighters, 40-somethings, and boxing novices.

Then came the night of April 21, 2021. In a shocker, Gallen demolished former WBA heavyweight titlist Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne in less than two minutes. “Gallen transformed from a rugby league player to a bona fide prize fighter before our very eyes,” said prominent Australian sports journalist Andrew McMurtry.

That knocked Lucas Browne out of a lucrative match with Justis Huni and vaulted Paul Gallen, who turns 40 in August, to the head of the queue. They met Wednesday night (Australia time) at a convention center in Sydney and Huni, five-and-a-half inches taller, 15 pounds heavier, and the younger man by nearly 18 years, saddled Gallen (11-1-1) with his first defeat.

Heading into the fight, Gallen conceded that the heavily favored Huni was faster. However, he thought that he could wear the bigger man down. “If I get through those first four to five rounds, I’ll be in his face the whole time and I think I can knock him out late,” he said.

It proved to be the other way around. Huni dominated the fight and when he knocked Gallen down in the 10^thwith a big right hook, the referee stepped in and stopped it. But Gallen, who had a bum shoulder from his rugby days and thought that he fought most of the fight with a broken rib, showed tremendous heart.

It was the fifth professional fight for Huni (5-0, 4 KOs) who won the Australian heavyweight title in his pro debut. Of Dutch, Swedish, Samoan, and Tongan heritage, he quit school at age 15 to give boxing his full attention and will represent Australia in the Tokyo Olympics which start next month.

Brisbane-born Huni is already being talked-about as the best-ever Australian-born heavyweight. The rap against him is a lack of one-punch knockout power which won’t be a detriment in Tokyo.

—

In undercard bouts of note, Brisbane middleweight Isaac Hardman (11-0, 9 KOs) scored a 4^th-round stoppage of Emmanuel Carlos (12-2) and middleweight Andrei Mikhailovich, a Russian residing in Auckland, New Zealand, advanced to 16-0 (9) with a second-round stoppage of previously undefeated Alex Hanan (13-1).

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Three Pros are Joining the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, Ruffling Some Feathers

Published

3 days ago

June 14, 2021

Arne K. Lang

Three-Pros-Are-Joining-the-U.S.-Olympic-Boxing-Team-Ruffling-Some-Feathers

USA Boxing, the agency that controls amateur boxing in the United States, has a rule that prohibits professional boxers from competing in their tournaments. That rule remains in effect, but yet three pro boxers – middleweight Troy Isley, lightweight Keyshawn Davis, and featherweight Duke Ragan – will suit up for the United States in the forthcoming Tokyo Games. The announcement, which fell largely under the radar, came on June 7.

USA Boxing is subservient to AIBA, the sport’s international governing body, and to the International Olympic Committee. The Boxing Task Force of the IOC changed the rules to allow Isley, Davis and Ragan to compete and the honchos at USA Boxing are none too happy about it.

Blame the Covid-19 pandemic which forced the postponement and ultimately the cancellation of several qualifying tournaments including the “Americas” tournament in Buenos Aires at which boxers from 42 national federations – including the United States — would be competing for the Olympic slots allocated to this region. A total of 286 boxers from around the world will compete in Tokyo in the eight men’s and five women’s weight divisions with the coveted slots dispersed among four Continental Regional Divisions.

With no tournament, the Task Force redesigned the quota allocation process using world rankings to determine the national squads. The rankings were formulated using a point system from events held between January 2017 and October 2019.

The re-jiggering opened the door for Isley, Davis, and Ragan to rejoin the team. Isley and Davis had their first pro fight in February of this year. Ragan turned pro in August of 2020.

Team USA protested that the BTF allocation was unfair to the boxers that finished first in the final domestic qualifying tournament (December 2019 in Lake Charles, Louisiana), but their claim was denied. Isley and Ragan were knocked out of that tournament before reaching the finals; Davis finished first when his opponent in the finals took ill and had to pull out, but he was subsequently booted off the team, reputedly for missing too many practices which he attributed to a family health emergency. That unfrocking has been rescinded.

Before he left the team, Keyshawn Davis was considered the U.S. boxer with the best chance of winning a gold medal in Tokyo. A southpaw, he earned his spurs at the Alexandria Boxing Club in North Alexandria, Virginia, which was also the home gym of Troy Isley who lived right down the street.

The common thread between all three of the returnees is Kay Koroma who coached Davis and Isley at the Alexandria club where he was the top lieutenant to the club’s patriarch Dennis Porter and at the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where he served as an assistant to Billy Walsh. Duke Ragan, who hails from Cincinnati, is Koroma’s nephew.

Koroma came to the fore in 2016 when he earned raves for his work with Olympians Claressa Shields. Shakur Stevenson, Charles Conwell and others. But Koroma, one of the hottest young trainers in the sport, won’t be available to work with the 2020/21 team before it heads off to Tokyo. “My plate is too full,” he told The Sweet Science.

Koroma, like many of his former pupils, turned pro himself. He continues to work with Shakur Stevenson, whom he has known since Shakur was 13 years old, he assists veteran coach Al Mitchell with Mikaela Mayer and he recently replaced Ronnie Shields as the head trainer of rising heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba.

Isley, Davis, and Ragan comprise three-fifths of the men’s Olympic team. Super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr and welterweight Delante “Tiger” Johnson flesh out the quintet.

USA Boxing released a letter to its membership expressing frustration over the decision of the IOC Task Force which killed the dreams of seven boxers who hoped to snare an Olympic berth at the Buenos Aires tournament or, barring that, the Last Chance tournament in Paris which was also a casualty of the pandemic. The letter can be read at the USA Boxing web site.

The seven boxers who were fenced out are:

Darius Fulgham (heavyweight, Houston, TX)

Rahim Gonzalez (light heavyweight, Las Vegas, NV)

Joseph Hicks (middleweight, Lansing, MI)

Charlie Sheehy (lightweight, Brisbane, CA)

Bruce Carrington (featherweight, Brooklyn, NY)

Anthony Herrera (flyweight, East Los Angeles, CA)

and

women’s flyweight Andrea Medina (San Diego, CA).

USA Boxing insists there are no plans to allow professionals to compete for the United States in the 2024 Olympiad and beyond. This is a one-shot exception forced by a unique circumstance. But, needless to say, when it comes to amateur boxing, nothing is etched in stone.

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