Usyk Turned Away Joshua Again When His Inner Taras Bulba Emerged in Round 10

Published

2 years ago

August 21, 2022

Usyk Turned Away Joshua Again When His Inner Taras Bulba Emerged in Round 10

Few people are apt to remember the 1962 film Taras Bulba, starring Yul Brynner in the title role as a fearless Cossack chieftain in war-torn 16^th-century Ukraine. Virtually no one these days, at least non-Ukrainians, has any knowledge of Nikolai Gogol’s 1835 introduction of the composite character in a collection of his short stories, or the fleshed-out 1842 novella that became the basis of the moviemakers’ decision 120 years later that the Ukrainian steppes would make a dandy setting for an epic adventure with the standard cast of thousands.

In the estimation of Victor Erlich, an early 20^th-century scholar of Russian literature, the first version of Taras Bulba was “distinctly Cossack jingoism” while the lengthier treatment presented Bulba as a “paragon of civic virtue and a force of patriotic edification.” Now it appears that Gogol’s unconquerable leader has been updated, in both forms, in the person of unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, 35, whose feats of derring-do in the ring and with padded gloves on his hands are in the finest tradition of past generations’ Cossack heroes who defeated their enemies while on horseback and clutching swords.

A strange but not entirely unexpected twist in Usyk’s closer-than-expected but hardly shocking split-decision victory over two-time former titlist Anthony Joshua came following the ninth round of the DAZN-televised rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in which the much larger Briton had seemingly seized control of a fight that could go either way. AJ, a slight underdog who at 6’6”, 244.5 pounds and with an 82-inch reach to Usyk’s 6’3”, 221.5 pounds and 78-inch reach, had returned to his corner no doubt feeling justifiably confident after he’d out-thrown and out-landed Usyk by a wide margin, connecting on 28 (twice his highest total of his best preceding round) of 67 shots, several of which clearly had a damaging effect on the champion.

“In the ninth round, I ran over,” said Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter. “I thought we had it. But the 10^th round was one of the best rounds I’ve seen. What Usyk did in the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th was incredible. That was the difference tonight. AJ hurt Usyk badly in the ninth and I felt he was going to come on strong, but Usyk came out like a (runaway) train and that 10^th round was the moment that he decided to regain the fight. He’s just too good. That 10^th round, 11^th round and 12^th round are why this guy is pound-for-pound No. 1.”

It would not be presumptuous to suggest that Usyk, when he needed it most, dug deep inside himself to summon his inner Taras Bulba, and so what if he is unaware or only vaguely so of the mostly fictional Cossack who never found himself in a tight spot on the battlefield that he couldn’t turn to his advantage if only by the dint of his indomitable will. Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) – whose preparation for this fight included wearing his hair in a Taras Bulba-like top-knot that was the height of Ukrainian fashion in the 16^th century, as well as being seen for all public events in Cossack-style clothing – closed with a proper flourish over the final three rounds, finding the range on 78 punches to just 29 for the gassed Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs).

It was almost as if Joshua’s own words in the lead-up to the fight were coming back to haunt him. “It’s a fight,” Joshua had offered. “Whoever throws the most punches and lands the most wins.”

In no small part because of his three-round late blitz, Usyk finished his night’s work by finding the mark on 170 of 712 (23.9%) to 124 of 492 (25.2%) for Joshua, demonstrating yet again that he is a larger and maybe even better prototype at this stage of their respective careers than former three-division world champion and fellow Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko. Both are proponents of the tried-and-true philosophy that hitting and not getting hit back much goes a long way toward securing victories, as well as being devotees of less-conventional training methods designed to take fighters to the outer limits of human endurance.

Joshua, 32, who likely is facing a significant career rebuild if he is to claw back to elite status, had bragged of subjecting himself to the toughest training camp of his career. It very well might be that he wanted to get sweet revenge that would presumably mollify Queen Elizabeth II and all Englishmen as well as himself for his titles-yielding, unanimous-decision loss to Usyk on Sept. 25, 2021, in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Fighters of all nationalities want to do well on fight night to stay on good terms with their countrymen, but current events and historical perspective heightened Usyk’s resolve to drive himself almost to the verge of death, if necessary, to give Ukraine a jolt of much-needed pride. His desert training regimen for the rematch with AJ included swimming 6.2 miles in an Olympic-sized pool in a five-hour session; bicycling 62.1 miles in 110-degree heat on a desert trek outside Dubai and holding his breath underwater for a personal-record 4 minutes, 40 seconds. How tough could Joshua be when measured against potential heat prostration and near-drowning?

Large swaths of Ukraine have been decimated since Russia invaded its neighboring and former Soviet satellite country on Feb. 24 of this year, which prompted Usyk, a married father of three, to risk much, maybe even his own life, to return to his homeland from London and join his local militia. He only returned to boxing after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky persuaded him he could do more good as a world champion whose successes inside the ropes are a point of pride for modern-day Cossacks who took up arms and have continued to do so as their cultural predecessors often did centuries ago.

“It was extremely important for my country, for my team, and personally for me because I did box for my whole country, and half the world,” Usyk said at the postfight press conference.

And at no point in a tight fight he believed he had to win for a cause bigger than himself or even his family was the necessity for total commitment more obvious than after Joshua had seemingly gained the upper hand with that dominant ninth round.

“I’m not sure whether I’m right or not, but I saw in round nine in AJ’s eyes that he was feeling victorious already,” Usyk said. “I kept telling myself, `I cannot stop.’ Some big things were at stake. Thank God, the (WBA, IBF and WBO) belts are coming back to Ukraine. The victory is with us. Ukraine won … Now the whole world knows Ukraine as the country that is defending itself from the second-biggest army in the world. We stand strong.”

A former undisputed cruiserweight champion, all that remains for Usyk is to duplicate full unification as a heavyweight. To do that, he will have to meet and defeat WBC champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs), who at 6’9” and 270 or so pounds makes even Joshua seem relatively small. But if you are in the business of slaying giants, maybe it is best to believe that the old adage that the bigger they are, the harder they’ll fall can come true. In the ring after announcer Michael Buffer revealed him as the winner, by scores of 115-113 and 116-112, on the scorecards submitted respectively by judges Steve Gray and Victor Fesechko (Glenn Feldman was the contrarian, seeing Joshua as the winner by 115-113), Usyk said he didn’t believe Fury’s latest declaration that he was retired and would stay that way.

“I’m sure that Tyson Fury is not retired yet,” Usyk said. “I’m convinced he wants to fight me. I want to fight him. And if I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, I’m not fighting at all.”

For his part, Fury’s recent pledge to quit the ring forever appears to have been written in wet sand on a beach just as the tide is rolling in. In an Instagram video released shortly after Usyk had reprised his earlier conquest of Joshua, Fury vowed that “I will annihilate both of them (Usyk and Joshua) on the same night. Get your f—— checkbook out because `The Gypsy King’ is here to stay forever!’”

But as boxing history has so frequently demonstrated, megafights that everyone wants to see can be lost in the haze of protracted contract negotiations. Fury’s promoter, Bob Arum, optimistically told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel that a Fury-Usyk pairing “won’t be a hard fight to make,” if both sides are amenable to a 50-50 purse split. To some, such an agreement might seem little more than a speed bump, but to fighters whose opinions of themselves owes in large part to their snagging a larger share of the take, settling on the way the financial pie is sliced can be treacherous as an attempted scaling of Mount Everest.

Perhaps it all will come down to just how badly Oleksandr Usyk wishes to test himself against the Himalayan likes of Fury. Hey, Taras Bulba didn’t back away from a conflict with numerically superior forces because that was not the Cossack way in the 1500s. Some traditions might go underground for a time, but they tend to come back around again if circumstances are just right.

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Bernard Fernandez, named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Observer category with the Class of 2020, was the recipient of numerous awards for writing excellence during his 28-year career as a sports writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. Fernandez’s first book, “Championship Rounds,” a compendium of previously published material, was released in May of last year. The sequel, “Championship Rounds, Round 2,” with a foreword by Jim Lampley, is currently out. The anthology can be ordered through Amazon.com and other book-selling websites and outlets.

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

Published

2 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

4 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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