A Closer Look at Jack vs Makabu: A Very Modern Crossroads Fight

Published

1 year ago

February 20, 2023

A-Closer-Look-at-Jack-vs-Makabu-A-Very-Modern-Crossroads-Fight

Crossroads fights in the 1930s were about ranked contenders vying for a shot at one of only eight championships in all the world. In the 1980s, crossroads combat tended to consist of a past-prime former contender meeting with an up-and-comer in pursuit of one of three belts. Today, in 2023, a crossroads match in the cruiserweight division looks like Ilunga Junior Makabu (29-2) defending his dusty strap against a man that used to hold one of his own at 168 and 175lbs, Badou Jack (27-3-3) this weekend in Saudi Arabia.

Jack’s career has been a mess of confusion. From the moment he stepped into the ring to box for an alphabet title, his ground has been unsure. Jack met with Anthony Dirrell in 2015 at 168lbs for his first bauble, Dirrell sweeping in with single right hands, Jack returning the favour, each trying to counter the other’s jabs. At no time did either man establish dominance and at no time was a decision sure but Jack probably, barely, deserved the majority nod he received. In his first defence Jack met George Groves in a fight I scored a draw where Jack came away with a split. His second defence against Lucian Bute was scored a majority draw, later altered to a disqualification victory for Jack because of Bute’s use of Ostarine. Still with me?

Jack then boxed two more majority draws, this time with James De Gale, who lost a tooth during the fight but apparently managed to bank enough rounds to escape unbeaten (I thought Jack was a little unlucky), in defence of his 168lb strap; then against Adonis Stevenson (the luck here may have run for rather than against him), this time in defence of the 175lb strap he’d picked up against Nathan Cleverly. Three majority draws, a split decision win, a majority decision win and a disqualification win later, Jack finally dropped his title to Marcus Browne. After returning to form with a desperately close decision loss to Jean Pascal in 2019, Jack left 168 and 175 behind forever, departing for cruiserweight. He also began treading water, short of title-boxing and serious purses.

Confusion, too, has been the watchword of the world’s number four cruiserweight Ilunga Junior Makabu, but there was no uncertainty about his 2016 match with Tony Bellew where Makabu was butchered in three. It took him three years to return to the top-tier, against the Russian Aleksei Papin against whom he achieved a majority decision. In truth Makabu looked a winner in that fight, the drilled straight left Makabu seated Papin with in the twelfth seemingly the cherry on a cake made up predominantly of vicious body-punching. The judges though, saw that knockdown as all that separated the two men from a draw. Nevertheless, Makabu was able to return to the Congo for his shot at a belt, beating Michal Cieslak in a torrid affair that perhaps should not have been scored a split – Makabu took it clear. After one more defence in Congo, Makabu put his feet up. He did not box a single contest in the whole of 2021. In January of 2022 he travelled to America for the first time and under the auspices of Don King put his belt on the line against South African Thabiso Mchunu. The result was a fight so close that any narrow card is reasonable – Makabu got the split decision win.

Indeed, Makabu apparently found the decision so desperate that he rewarded himself with the rest of the year off. His story, for all that it is a tale of narrow margins, is somewhat redemptive, but in boxing just once in twenty-six months, he has rendered himself all-but irrelevant despite the strap he wears. He has clung on to his ranking by virtue of modern boxing’s tolerance for inactivity and a formerly thriving 200lb division bereft of intrigue in the wake of Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev but, in reality, should Makabu lose to Jack this weekend, he is 1-1 since 2020 and the single win is a questionable one. Makabu has been brought to the cusp of gatekeeper status by the most modern of fistic malaise, inactivity. He doesn’t fight so he can’t win – but he also can’t lose which means he has yet to be eliminated.

Explicitly, though, there is nowhere for the thirty-five-year-old Makabu to go should he lose to Jack. Jack, for his part, has been much more active but at a lower level. Out twice in 2022, he knocked out the hapless Hany Atiyo in a round before facing off against his first legitimate test since his loss to Jean Pascal, meeting the American prospect Richard Rivera on the undercard of the Usyk-Anthony Joshua rematch. Many considered Jack a little lucky to get the decision that night but I was not among them. I thought Jack made it close enough that the cards were reasonable and he landed some of the better punches in the fight, including a fizzing right hand at the beginning of the sixth. Jack was at his best throwing such sudden punches, all whip and torque, speedy and unexpected, but a lot of these gifts have departed him now. Jack is thirty-nine and the 168lb fighter that out-slicked Dirrell is gone. Jack cuts a ponderous figure in the ring, slow, fleshy, more than capable of the occasional flighted power-punch but probably no longer able to sustain such punches in bunches.

Still, ponderous but far from unsure. Jack always had one of the better static defences in boxing, another modern manifestation and one that has come about due to changes in the rules. The removal of the thumb and the increased weight of boxing gloves has made defending against weaved punches, already less effective due to the reduce nimbleness in the glove, easier: stick the mitts to the face and tuck in those elbows. Jack was never difficult to hit, but he was always difficult to hit clean and this is an art he has perfected. The reason I thought Jack did better against Rivera than many is that many of Rivera’s punches slid off those gloves by my eye. Jack relies on clean-eyed judging now, but it is a valid form of defence. It has covered for his diminished mobility.

Only on defence though – Jack isn’t going to be able to cut off the ring on many younger cruiserweights. This is in interesting opposition to Makabu’s stylistic cornerstones though; Makabu isn’t going to be running. Makabu’s problems are as old as the sport in that he has to get closer to taller, rangier foes. This has seen him develop a fascinating offensive strategy built around a fine judge of the distance. Makabu “dashes” his offence, quick punches from many different angles, he loves bodyshots, but he uses them to buy headshots, he has a stiff jab, but it is short so he uses the full range of attacking planes to buy himself that punch. In short, he is one big cruiserweight feint, a trickster masquerading as a slugger, a veteran before his time and legitimately one now. He will be right in front of Jack, who will not have to look for him.

Ilunga Makabu

Makabu, though, has become skilled at distance and controlled punching specifically because of his stature relative to his division. He is usually the shorter man with the shorter reach. In his last fight though, he was neither and clearly this threw him stylistically. Thabiso Mchunu has in many ways demonstrated just how a naturally smaller man might handle Makabu. Jack is strategically adept and will be watching that fight. What he will see is that a general defence – his defence – is more efficient here than a punch-picking defence. He will also see that Makabu is there for the type of sudden, unexpected leads that he used to be known for. This is a tantalising combination in any circumstances, but at the crossroads, it will be all the more so. Jack’s shorter reach will likely be no handicap.

Makabu’s strategy will likely hang upon a body-attack that for Jack, soft at the weight, could prove to be a painful one. Could it be that this most cerebral of confrontations could come down to the oldest cliché of them all: who wants it most? It is not impossible. Certainly the equivalent fight fought between much younger, more active fighters in a bygone era could easily have fallen into that type of violence, here it is just one of many possibilities. Will Makabu be rusty, and if so for how long? If he is, can Jack shake off that usual slow start, and if he can, how will that sit with his thirty-nine-year-old frame in rounds ten and eleven? Can Makabu’s variety crystalise to the punches that pierce the Jack guard, and if they do, can Jack uncork enough of those lashing, uncovered right hands to compensate?

There is much to be seen here and it will be seen by millions as this strange contest appears on the undercard of one even stranger. In a final and most modern of twists, Jack and Makabu will box on the undercard of the Tommy Fury-Jake Paul event, subservient to two reality tv stars. Hardcore fight fans such as those that make up the Sweet Science readership will have to decide whether to put money in the pockets of these reality tv stars in order to see Jack-Makabu. It is harder to think of a more complete summary of the strange world of boxing in 2023.

I will be sitting this one out but equally I’ll be looking for news of this crossroads contest that will set the winner on the road to a potentially lucrative showdown with Lawrence Okolie who has the promotional clout to bring the belt to Britain, but sets the loser on the road to retirement. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to see a forty-year-old Badou Jack take another tilt at cruiserweight gold in 2024; should Makabu lose, late 2024 would be about when we could expect to see him again.

In the end, I expect the man to lose out will be Jack. It will be sad to see given his long, strange, storied career but I just don’t see him holding up against that body attack and I just don’t think he is mobile enough to escape it. It could be slow and painful and he could have his right-handed moments but I think it will be a question of whether or not Jack can see the bell rather than win the day.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 281: The Devin and Ryan Show

Published

3 hours ago

April 18, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-281-The-Devin-and-Ryan-Show

Over the years bouts between old foes such as Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia tend to be surprising.

Yes, both are only 25 but have known each other for many years.

When undisputed super lightweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) steps into the prize ring at Barclays Center to meet challenger Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday, April 20, fans will be witnessing the continuation of a feud that began more than a decade ago.

And though the champion is a heavy favorite, familiarity is Garcia’s best weapon heading into their fight on the Golden Boy Promotions card that will be shown on PPV.COM with Jim Lampley and friends. DAZN pay-per-view is also streaming the card.

In many ways Haney and Garcia have ventured down the same path. From amateur sensations to fighting in Mexico while teens to asking for the biggest challenges available.

“Whichever version of Ryan shows up on April 20, I will be ready for him. Ryan Garcia is just another opponent to me,” said Haney who holds the WBC super lightweight title after his win over Regis Prograis.

The first time I saw Haney as a pro he battled the dangerous Mexican contender Juan Carlos Burgos at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. It was an impressive performance against a fighter who fought three times for a world title.

Haney was 19 at the time.

My first look at Garcia as a pro was in his first bout in the U.S. when he met Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Cruz at the Exchange in downtown Los Angeles. The Boricua looked at Garcia and tried intimidating him with stares, taunts and the usual patter. During the fight both swung and missed until the second round when Garcia zeroed in and took him out.

Garcia had just turned 18, the legal age to fight in California.

Both fighters did not have the Olympics credentials that lead to fame. But their talent has allowed them to fight through the dense smoke that is professional boxing.

Haney has defeated numerous world champions such as Prograis, Vasyl Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr., while Garcia has stopped champions Javier Fortuna and Luke Campbell.

As amateurs, Garcia and Haney battled six times with each winning three.

“They know each other very well,” said Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. “Ryan is going to beat Devin Haney.”

Haney has a buttery-smooth style with one of the best jabs in boxing. He’s very adept at keeping distance and not allowing anyone to fight him inside. His reflexes are outstanding, yet he seldom fights inside. That’s his weakness.

Garcia fights tall and has superb hand speed and a lightning quick left hook. Though his defense lacks tightness his ability to rip off three-punch combinations in a blink of an eye pauses opponents from bullying their way inside.

“These guys always just look at me and look at me like I don’t know how to box,” said Garcia on social media. “Why was I one of the best fighters in the amateurs. Why was I a 15-time National champion…why did I beat everyone I came across.”

Haney is a strong favorite by oddsmakers to defeat Garcia. But you can never tell when it comes to fighters that know each other well and are athletically gifted.

When Sergio Mora challenged Vernon Forrest he was a big underdog. When Tim Bradley fought Manny Pacquiao the first time, he was also the underdog. And when Andy Ruiz met Anthony Joshua few gave him a chance.

Haney and Garcia have history in the ring. It should be an interesting battle.

PPV.COM

Jim Lampley will be leading the broadcast on PPV.COM for the Haney-Garcia card at Barclays and texting with fans on the card live. He will be accompanied by journalists Lance Pugmire, Dan Conobbio and former champion Chris Algieri.

The PPV.COM broadcast begins at 5 p.m. PT. and is available in Canada and the USA.

Other News

MMA stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will be holding a media day event on Friday, April 19, at NOVO at L.A. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Diaz and Masvidal will be boxing against each other in a grudge match on June 1 at the KIA Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The two MMA stars met five years at UFC 244 with Masvidal winning by TKO over Diaz due to cuts.

This is a grudge match, but under boxing rules.

Fight card in Commerce, Calif.

360 Promotions returns to Commerce Casino on Saturday April 20 with undefeated super lightweight Cain Sandoval leading the charge.

Sandoval (12-0) faces Angel Rebollar (8-3) in the main event that will be shown live on UFC Fight Pass. Also on the card are two female events including hot prospect Lupe Medina (5-0) versus Sabrina Persona (3-1) in a minimumweight clash.

Doors open at 4 p.m.

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Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round

Published

2 days ago

April 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round

There were few surprises when co-promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren and their benefactor HE Turki Alalshikh held a press conference in London this past Monday to unveil the undercard for the Beterbiev-Bivol show at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 1. Most of the match-ups had already been leaked.

For die-hard boxing fans, Beterbiev-Bivol is such an enticing fight that it really doesn’t need an attractive undercard. Two undefeated light heavyweights will meet with all four relevant belts on the line in a contest where the oddsmakers straddled the fence. It’s a genuine “pick-‘em” fight based on the only barometer that matters, the prevailing odds.

But Beterbiev-Bivol has been noosed to a splendid undercard, a striking contrast to Saturday’s Haney-Garcia $69.99 (U.S.) pay-per-view in Brooklyn, an event where the undercard, in the words of pseudonymous boxing writer Chris Williams, is an absolute dumpster fire.

The two heavyweight fights that will bleed into Beterbiev-Bivol, Hrgovic vs. Dubois and Wilder vs. Zhang, would have been stand-alone main events before the incursion of Saudi money.

Hrgovic-Dubois

Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 13 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) fought on the same card in Riyadh this past December. Hrgovic, the Croatian, was fed a softie in the form of Australia’s Mark De Mori who he dismissed in the opening round. Dubois, a Londoner, rebounded from his loss to Oleksandr Usyk with a 10^th-round stoppage of corpulent Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller.

There’s an outside chance that Hrgovic vs. Dubois may be sanctioned by the IBF for the world heavyweight title.

The May 18 showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury has a rematch clause. The IBF is next in line in the rotation system for a unified heavyweight champion and the organization has made it plain that the winner of Usyk-Fury must fulfill his IBF mandatory before an intervening bout.

The best guess is that the Usyk-Fury winner will relinquish the IBF belt. If so, Hrgovic and Dubois may fight for the vacant title although a more likely scenario is that the organization will keep the title vacant so that the winner can fight Anthony Joshua.

Wilder-Zhang

The match between Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) and Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) is a true crossroads fight as both Wilder, 38, and Zhang, who turns 41 in May, are nearing the end of the road and the loser (unless it’s a close and entertaining fight) will be relegated to the rank of a has-been. In fact, Wilder has hinted that this may be his final rodeo.

Both are coming off a loss to Joseph Parker.

Wilder last fought on the card that included Hrgovic and Dubois and was roundly out-pointed by a man he was expected to beat. It’s a quick turnaround for Zhang who opposed Parker on March 8 and lost a majority decision.

Other Fights

Either of two other fights may steal the show on the June 1 event.

Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) meets Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) in a 12-round featherweight contest. New Jersey’s Ford will be defending the WBA world title he won with a come-from-behind, 12th-round stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov in an early contender for Fight of the Year. Liverpool’s “Wrecking” Ball, a relentless five-foot-two sparkplug, had to settle for a draw in his title fight with Rey Vargas despite winning the late rounds and scoring two knockdowns.

Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KOs) meets fellow unbeaten Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-0, 11 KOs) in a 12-round middleweight match. East London’s Sheeraz, the son of a former professional cricket player, is unknown in the U.S. although he trained for his recent fights at the Ten Goose Boxing Gym in California. Riding a skein of 13 straight knockouts, he has a date with WBO title-holder Janibek Alimkhanuly if he can get over this hurdle.

The Forgotten Heavyweight

“Unbeaten for seven years, the man nobody wants to fight,” intoned ring announcer Michael Buffer by way of introduction. Buffer was referencing Michael Hunter who stood across the ring from his opponent Artem Suslenkov.

This scene played out this past Saturday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was Hunter’s second fight in three weeks. On March 23, he scored a fifth-round stoppage of a 46-year-old meatball at a show in Zapopan, Mexico.

The second-generation “Bounty Hunter,” whose only defeat prior to last weekend came in a 12-rounder with Oleksandr Usyk, has been spinning his wheels since TKOing the otherwise undefeated Martin Bakole on the road in London in 2018. Two fights against hapless opponents on low-budget cards in Mexico and a couple of one-round bouts for the Las Vegas Hustle, an entry in the fledgling and largely invisible Professional Combat League, are the sum total of his activity, aside from sparring, in the last two-and-a-half years.

Hunter’s chances of getting another big-money fight took a tumble in Tashkent where he lost a unanimous decision in a dull affair to the unexceptional Suslenkov who was appearing in his first 10-round fight. The scores of the judges were not announced.

You won’t find this fight listed on boxrec. As Jake Donovan notes, the popular website will not recognize a fight conducted under the auspices of a rogue commission. (Another fight you won’t find on boxrec for the same reason is Nico Ali Walsh’s 6-round split decision over the 9-2-1 Frenchman, Noel Lafargue, in the African nation of Guinea on Dec. 16, 2023. You can find it on YouTube, but according to boxrec, boxing’s official record-keeper, it never happened.)

Anderson-Merhy Redux

The only thing missing from this past Saturday’s match in Corpus Christi, Texas, between Jared Anderson and Ryad Merhy was the ghost of Robert Valsberg.

Valsberg, aka Roger Vaisburg, was the French referee who disqualified Ingemar Johansson for not trying in his match with LA’s Ed Sanders in the finals of the heavyweight competition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Valsberg tossed Johansson out of the ring after two rounds and Johansson was denied the silver medal. The Swede redeemed himself after turning pro, needless to say, when he demolished Floyd Patterson in the first of their three meetings.

Merhy was credited with throwing only 144 punches, landing 34, over the course of the 10 rounds. Those dismal figures yet struck many onlookers as too high. (This reporter has always insisted that the widely-quoted CompuBox numbers should be considered approximations.)

Whatever the true number, it was a disgraceful performance by Merhy who actually showed himself to have very fast hands on the few occasions when he did throw a punch. With apologies to Delfine Persoon, a spunky lightweight, U.S. boxing promoters should think twice before inviting another Belgian boxer to our shores.

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Anderson Cruises by Vapid Merhy and Ajagba edges Vianello in Texas

Published

5 days ago

April 14, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Anderson-Cruises-by-Vapid-Merhy-and-Ajagba-Edges-Vianello-in-Texas

Jared Anderson returned to the ring tonight on a Top Rank card in Corpus Christi, Texas. Touted as the next big thing in the heavyweight division, Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) hardly broke a sweat while cruising past Ryad Merhy in a bout with very little action, much to the disgruntlement of the crowd which started booing as early as the second round. The fault was all Merhy as he was reluctant to let his hands go. Somehow, he won a round on the scorecard of judge David Sutherland who likely fell asleep for a round for which he could be forgiven.

Merhy, born in the Ivory Coast but a resident of Brussels, Belgium, was 32-2 (26 KOs) heading in after fighting most of his career as a cruiserweight. He gave up six inches in height to Anderson who was content to peck away when it became obvious to him that little would be coming back his way.

Anderson may face a more daunting adversary on Monday when he has a court date in Romulus, Michigan, to answer charges related to an incident in February where he drove his Dodge Challenger at a high rate speed, baiting the police into a merry chase. (Weirdly, Anderson entered the ring tonight wearing the sort of helmet that one associates with a race car driver.)

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, a battle between six-foot-six former Olympians, Italy’s Guido Vianello started and finished strong, but Efe Ajagba had the best of it in the middle rounds and prevailed on a split decision. Two of the judges favored Ajagba by 96-94 scores with the dissenter favoring the Italian from Rome by the same margin.

Vianello had the best round of the fight. He staggered Ajagba with a combination in round two. At the end of the round, a befuddled Ajagba returned to the wrong corner and it appeared that an upset was brewing. But the Nigerian, who trains in Las Vegas under Kay Koroma, got back into the fight with a more varied offensive attack and better head movement. In winning, he improved his ledger to 20-1 (14). Vianello, who sparred extensively with Daniel Dubois in London in preparation for this fight, declined to 12-2-1 in what was likely his final outing under the Top Rank banner.

Other Bouts of Note

In the opening bout on the main ESPN platform, 35-year-old super featherweight Robson Conceicao, a gold medalist for Brazil in the 2016 Rio Olympics, stepped down in class after fighting Emanuel Navarrete tooth-and-nail to a draw in his previous bout and scored a seventh-round stoppage of Jose Ivan Guardado who was a cooked goose after slumping to the canvas after taking a wicked shot to the liver. Guardado made it to his feet, but the end was imminent and the referee waived it off at the 2:27 mark.

Conceicao improved to 18-1 (9 KOs). It was the U.S. debut for Guardado (15-2-1), a boxer from Ensenada, Mexico who had done most of his fighting up the road in Tijuana.

Ruben Villa, the pride of Salinas, California, improved to 22-1 (7) and moved one step closer to a match with WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas with a unanimous 10-round decision over Tijuana’s Cristian Cruz (22-7-1). The judges had it 97-93 and 98-92 twice.

Cruz, the son of former IBF world featherweight title-holder Cristobal Cruz, was better than his record. He entered the bout on a 21-1-1 run after losing five of his first seven pro fights.

Cleveland southpaw Abdullah Mason, who turned 20 earlier this month, continued his fast ascent up the lightweight ladder with a fourth-round stoppage of Ronal Ron.

Mason (13-0, 11 KOs) put Ron on the canvas in the opening round with a short left hook. He scored a second knockdown with a shot to the liver. A flurry of punches, a diverse array, forced the stoppage at the 1:02 mark of round four. A 25-year-old SoCal-based Venezuelan, the spunky but out-gunned Ron declined to 14-6.

Charly Suarez, a 35-year-old former Olympian from the Philippines, ranked #5 at junior lightweight by the IBF, advanced to 17-0 (9) with a unanimous 8-round decision over SoCal’s Louie Coria (5-7).

This was a tactical fight. In the final round, Coria, subbing for 19-0 Henry Lebron, caught the Filipino off-balance and knocked him into the ropes which held him up. It was scored a knockdown, but came too little, too late for Coria who lost by scores of 76-75 and 77-74 twice.

Suarez, whose signature win was a 12^th-round stoppage of the previously undefeated Aussie Paul Fleming in Sydney, may be headed to a rematch with Robson Conceicao. They fought as amateurs in 2016 in Kazakhstan and Suarez lost a narrow 6-round decision.

Photo credit: Mikey Willams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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