The Hauser Report: Is the Clock Winding Down for Vasiliy Lomachenko?

Published

1 year ago

October 30, 2022

The-Hauser-Report-Is-the-Clock-Winding-Down-for-Vasiliy-Lomachenko ?

Vasiliy Lomachenko continued his sojourn through boxing with a unanimous-decision victory over Jamaine Ortiz at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater on Saturday night. But there were signs that his magic wand might be less magical than before.

Lomachenko, now 34 years old, has piercing blue eyes and a well-groomed beard. Regardless of what his body might say, his age shows in his face. Throughout his career, he has combined captivating ring skills with a willingness to go in tough. But as Vasiliy went up to 135 pounds in search of greater challenges and more lucrative paydays, he lost some of the competitive edge that he enjoyed over smaller fighters. Two years ago, Teofimo Lopez brought him down to earth with a 119-109, 117-111, 116-112 performance.

Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs) was considered a safe opponent. Jamaine had decisioned Jamel Herring in his last fight. But nothing on his resume suggested that he’d pose any problems that Lomachenko couldn’t solve. Vasiliy was a 20-to-1 betting favorite.

“I’m not his promoter,” Lomachenko said when asked about the apparent disparity in skills between the two fighters. “I’m not his trainer. I’m not thinking about if this step up is too much for him or not.”

Lomachenko, who is a Ukrainian national and member of his country’s territorial defense battalion, was also reluctant to comment on a range of issues relating to the war in Ukraine. “I am a bad judge of politics,” he noted. When asked specifically about the propriety of Russian athletes such as Dmitry Bivol and Alex Ovechkin being allowed to compete in the United States, he answered, “I’d have to know more about their personal circumstances to comment on those situations.”

The October 29 fight card was constructed around Lomachenko, with Top Rank using his presence to fulfill contractual obligations to seven other fighters who are at various stages of development in their respective ring careers and to build them for the future. All seven emerged victorious. None of their opponents came to lie down. But when two men fight and one is better than the other, the better fighter usually wins. And when one fighter is much better than the other, “usually” changes to “almost always.”

Junior-welterweight Abdullah Mason (now 5-0, 4 KOs) looked good in knocking out Angel Barrera in four rounds. Olympic silver medalist Duke Ragan (8-0, 1 KO) disappointed. Ragin won a 79-73, 78-74, 77-75 decision over Luis Lebron that elicited cries of “Bull****! Bull****!” from the crowd. Heavyweight Richard Torrez stopped Ahmed Hefny in an inartful beatdown that was more evocative of “the culture of bruising” than “the sweet science.” In other bouts, Robeisy Ramirez, Delante Johnson, Troy Isley, and Haven Brady prevailed.

Nico Ali Walsh (Muhammad Ali’s grandson) was also on the card.

When Nico (now 7-0, 5 KOs) turned pro in August 2021, Top Rank was told that he wasn’t focused on belts nor did he expect to become a great fighter. Rather, he was boxing because he wanted to challenge himself and experience the core of what his grandfather experienced in the ring.

In line with that thinking, the original plan was for Nico to have a handful of fights leading to a big payday somewhere in the Middle East and then get out of boxing. Now, Bob Walsh (Nico’s father) acknowledges, “Nico has the bug.” And Nico says, “When I was little, I said I wanted to be a world champion like my grandfather. But it was like saying I wanted to be a comic book superhero. Now it’s attainable. It’s real.”

Nico entered the ring at the Hulu Theater wearing a vampire cape in honor of Halloween and evoking memories of Leon Spinks (who Muhammad Ali nicknamed “Dracula” because Spinks was missing numerous front teeth – a condition that gave Leon the appearance of having fangs). Billy Wagner (Nico’s carefully chosen opponent from Montana) had toughman skills.

Nico staggered Wagner with a jab in round one that, judging by the blood, broke Billy’s nose. Thereafter, he controlled the fight with his jab en route to a unanimous-decision triumph.

But Nico got hit with punches that he shouldn’t have been hit with. And I’ll repeat what I’ve written before.

Nico is an exceptionally gifted young man. He’s not an exceptionally gifted fighter. I’d rather that he not get hit with more blows to the head in sparring and in fights. And I’d rather that he not inflict punishment like that on other young men either

As for the main event . . .

Lomachenko has never been a fighter who strikes fear into the hearts of opponents by blasting them out with overwhelming power. He relies on speed, reflexes, conditioning, and a keen boxing mind to outbox them.

Fighters who rely on preternatural reflexes and speed get old at a younger age than their brethren. Vasiliy’s age is now showing.

The 26-year-old Ortiz fought aggressively in the early going and, at times, appeared to be the quicker of the two fighters. After six rounds, he was even on two of the judges’ scorecards and leading 58-56 on the third. Then Lomachenko’s craftsmanship and conditioning turned the tide.

It was a good, spirited, action fight. Referee Charlie Fitch did an excellent job, letting the fighters fight out of clinches and only inserting himself in the proceedings when necessary. The 117-111, 116-112, 115-113 decision in Lomachenko’s favor was a good one.

One might also note that Lomachenko is no longer the amateur standout who had trouble dealing with roughhouse tactics in his ambitious early days as a pro. He now knows, and is willing to employ, some of those tactics himself.

The victory brought Lomachenko’s record to 17-2, with 11 KOs. As for what comes next; Devin Haney holds the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO 135-pound belts by virtue of two victories over George Kambosos. Haney is the opponent that Lomachenko and Top Rank say they want next. But Devin has only one fight left on his contract with Top Rank which might complicate matters.

“Hopefully, we can get it on,” Haney said after Lomachenko-Ortiz. “We’ll see when we go to negotiate.”

Those negotiations might be further complicated by unrealistic financial demands fueled by the infusion of “crazy money” in boxing (e.g. see BLK Prime’s apparent willingness to pay $10 million to Terence Crawford to fight David Avanesyan in December).

Also, while Lomachenko is a small 135-pound fighter, Haney is now a big one. Haney-Lomachenko presupposes that Devin (who has been struggling a bit to make weight) doesn’t move up to 140 pounds.

Meanwhile, Lomachenko is no longer “The Man” at 135 pounds. He’s part of a group that includes Haney, Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia, and (soon to be added) Shakur Stevenson. How Vasiliy would fare against these fighters today is an open issue. In his mind, he knows what he has to do to beat them. But his body might no longer be able to do it.

* * *

Last week, I posted an article on The Sweet Science about the decision by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to allow slap fighting to move forward as a sanctioned “sport.” [https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/74363-the-hauser-report-slap-fighting-a-bad-idea-whose-time-shouldnt-come].

There has been a lot of commentary about slap fighting since then with some people not grasping what’s at stake. Coincidentally, neuro-scientist Christopher Nowinski (a former college football player who wrestled under the WWE banner and is now CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation) spoke out recently about the National Football League’s concussion protocol. Here’s what Nowinski said:

“I hate that I have to remind you of this. But these are human beings with futures, that will someday be husbands and fathers. And we need to protect their brains the best we can while they’re out there helping you make money. How are we so stupid in 2022?”

Pay attention, Nevada.

* * *

The November/December issue of “The Ring (which was mailed to subscribers in October) came with the advisory that, after one hundred years, “The Ring” will no longer publish a print edition.

The inaugural issue of “The Ring” appeared in February 1922. To put that date in perspective, Calvin Coolidge was president of the United States. John F. Kennedy was four years old. For the first time in his illustrious career, Babe Ruth no longer took the mound as a pitcher. Rocky Marciano had yet to be born. There were no fights on radio or television because there was little radio and no television.

In the century that followed, “The Ring” chronicled boxing history, sometimes better than anyone else. But without an inspirational change in vision, the print edition was no longer economically viable.

“The Ring” says that it will maintain an online presence. But there’s a special feel to paper. It’s sad that “The Ring” as boxing fans knew it for a century is no more.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – In the Inner Sanctum: Behind the Scenes at Big Fights – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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Thomas Hauser

Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 282: Ryan’s Song, Golden Boy in Fresno and More

Published

8 hours ago

April 26, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-282-Ryan's-Song-Golden-Boy-in-Fresno-and-More

Don’t call it an upset.

Days after Ryan Garcia proved the experts wrong, those same experts are re-tooling their evaluation processes.

It’s mind-boggling to me that 95 percent thought Garcia had no chance. Hear me out.

First, Garcia and Haney fought six times as amateurs with each winning three. But this time with no head gear and smaller gloves, Garcia had to have at least a 50/50 chance of winning. He is faster and a more powerful puncher.

Facts.

Haney is a wonderful boxer with smooth, almost artistic movements. But history has taught us power and speed like Garcia’s can’t be discounted. Think way back to legendary fighters like Willie Pep and Sandy Sadler. All that excellent defensive skill could not prevent Sadler from beating Pep in three of their four meetings.

Power has always been an equalizer against boxing skill.

Ben Lira, one of the wisest and most experienced trainers in Southern California, always professed knockout power was the greatest equalizer in a fight. “You can be behind for nine rounds and one punch can change the outcome,” he said.

Another weird theory spreading before the fight was that Garcia would quit in the fight. That was a puzzling one. Getting stopped by a perfect body shot is not quitting. And that punch came from Gervonta “Tank” Davis who can really crack.

So how did Garcia do it?

In the opening round Ryan Garcia timed Devin Haney’s jab and countered with a snapping left hook that rattled and wobbled the super lightweight champion. After that, Garcia forced Haney to find another game plan.

Garcia and trainer Derrick James must have worked hours on that move.

I must confess that I first saw Garcia’s ability many years ago when he was around 11 or 12. So I do have an advantage regarding his talent. A few things I noticed even back then were his speed and power. Also, that others resented his talent but respected him. He was the guy with everything: talent and looks.

And that brings resentment.

Recently I saw him and his crew rapping a song on social media. Now he’s got a song. Next thing you know Hollywood will be calling and he’ll be in the movies. It’s happened before with fighters such as Art Aragon, the first Golden Boy in the 50s. He was dating movie stars and getting involved with starlets all over Hollywood.

Is history repeating itself or is Garcia creating a new era for boxing?

Since 2016 people claimed he was just a social media creation. Now, after his win over Devin Haney a former undisputed lightweight champion and the WBC super lightweight titleholder, the boxer from the high desert area of Victorville has become one of the highest paid fighters in the world.

Ryan Garcia has entered a new dimension.

Golden Boy Season

After several down years the Los Angeles-based company Golden Boy Promotions suddenly is cracking the whip in 2024.

Avila

Vergil Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) returns to the ring and faces Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1, 17 KOs) a welterweight gatekeeper who lost to Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis. They meet as super welterweights in the co-main event at Save Mart Arena in Fresno, Calif. on Saturday, April 27. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card live.

It’s a quick return to action for Ortiz who is still adjusting to the new weight division. His last fight three months ago ended in less than one round in Las Vegas. It was cut short by an antsy referee and left Ortiz wanting more after more than a year of inactivity in the prize ring.

Ortiz has all the weapons.

Also, Northern California’s Jose Carlos Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs) meets Cuba’s Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1, 15 KOs) in a welterweight affair set for 12 rounds.

It’s difficult to believe that former super lightweight titlist Ramirez has been written off by fans after only one loss. That was several years ago against Scotland’s Josh Taylor. One loss does not mean the end of a career.

“My goal is to get back on top and to get all those belts back. I still feel like I am one of the best 140-pounders in the division,” said Ramirez who lives in nearby Avenal, Calif.

An added major attraction features Marlen Esparza in a unification rematch against Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz for the WBA, WBC, WBO flyweight titles. Their first fight was

a controversial win by Esparza that saw one judge give her nine of 10 rounds in a very close fight. Those Texas judges.

In a match that could steal the show, Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) faces former world champion Jojo Diaz (33-5-1, 15 KOs) in a lightweight match.

Munguia and Canelo

Don’t sleep on this match.

Its current Golden Boy fighter Jaime Munguia facing former Golden Boy fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a battle between Mexico’s greatest sluggers next week at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 4.

“I think Jaime Munguia is going to do something special in the ring,” said Oscar De La Hoya, the CEO for Golden Boy.

Tijuana’s Munguia showed up at the Wild Card Boxing gym in Hollywood where a throng of media from Mexico and the US met him.

Munguia looked confident and happy about his opportunity to fight great Canelo.

“It’s a hard fight,” said Munguia. “Truth is, its big for Mexico and not only for Mexicans but for boxing.”

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 6 p.m. Yoeniz Tellez (7-0) vs Joseph Jackson (19-0).

Sat. DAZN 9:30 a.m. Peter McGrail (8-1) vs Marc Leach (18-3-1); Beatriz Ferreira (4-0) vs Yanina Del Carmen 14-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Vergil Ortiz (20-0) vs Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1); Jose Carlos Ramirez (28-1) vs Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1); Marlen Esparza (14-1) vs Gabriela Alaniz (14-1).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy Promotions

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Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Ramon-Cardenas-Channels-Micky-Ward-and-KOs-Eduardo-Ramirez-on-ProBox

The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonight’s episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to the liver from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasn’t able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.

The official time was 1:37 of round nine. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick “Wrecking” Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.

Co-Feature

In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.

The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10^th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.

The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.

Also

In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.

A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.

—

The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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