Two Fascinating Tussles Gird Saturday’s Lomachenko-Haney Showdown

Published

2 years ago

May 15, 2023

Two Fascinating Tussles Gird Saturday’s Lomachenko-Haney Showdown

For all that the big fights are the ones that anchor the sport, for me it is a good undercard that makes it breathe.

It is possible to spend the early hours of the morning here in the UK waiting for Tank Davis and Ryan Garcia to appear in the ring with only a series of mismatches and minor attractions for company. Not so this weekend when two genuinely attractive undercard matches will play out while we wait for Vasyl Lomachenko and Devin Haney to reach the squared circle.

First among these is the Andrew Moloney-Junto Nakatani match at 115lbs, a contest that infers bravery in the fighters who made it happen, a genuinely fascinating fight that will be sure to tug at the thinking of Sweet Science readers. Moloney’s twin brother Jason won himself a strap in a close, strange fight this past weekend against Vincent Astrolabio, an awkward puncher from the Philippines and a difficult assignment for anyone up at bantamweight. At superfly, Andrew (25-2), out of Australia, seems to have hunted down a similarly awkward opponent in the form of a tall, Japanese southpaw puncher with a 24-0 record, for his own pursuit of alphabet riches.

Nakatani has been a joy to behold as he’s moved into the 115lb top ten (currently ranked number nine to Moloney’s eight). Boxing out of a deep stance he forgoes what is generally a height advantage at five feet seven inches and instead positions himself for maximum return on his power-punches. That aggressive gamble has bought him a knockout in 75% of his fights, including a six-fight streak that stretched from 2022 back into the last decade.

Selecting a favourite from among these is difficult, but his stoppage of Filipino tough Giemel Magramo in 2020 was perhaps the most impressive. Magramo (now 28-3) has been beaten before and since, but never has he been stopped; Nakatani lashed him apart with long straights in eight rounds. Magramo crowded him until almost the last though and Nakatani, who is perhaps hampered a little by an absence of elite handspeed, used footwork to make room for himself and balance to take advantage of punching opportunities, hitting round the corner to the body and with uppercuts to Magramo’s dipping head. Not a technician in the most meaningful sense of the word, Nakatani is technically sure and can improvise.

He impressed, too, in what was his only fight outside Japan to this date, stopping Angel Costa, once a beltholder down at 108lbs, in four rounds at the Casino Del Sol, Tucson. After that victory in defence of the 112lbs strap he won against Magramo, Nakatani boxed once more at 112lbs then left for 115lbs, running into the first man to go the distance with him in years: teak tough Mexican Francisco Rodriguez Jr. Amongst the most durable fighters on earth, Rodriguez provided for Nakatani something of a final engine check. The Japanese stood toe-to-toe with his opponent in the tenth and final round, all but outfighting the Mexican on the inside where Rodriguez was meant to dominate. He won every other round on my card.

There is absolutely no shame in failing to break a chin or will like that of Rodriguez, but it does bring us to the edge of Nakatani’s limitations. Rodriguez is not big at 115lbs and has a lot of wear on him and a fighter of Nakatani’s freshness and offensive capabilities may have been expected to make a dent – now we know where the outer limit lies.

What this means for Andrew Moloney is now the question to hand. Andrew is durable, without question, but has been dropped several times in his career, most notably against another tough Filipino, Richard Claveras. Claveras bothered Andrew with a volume of long uppercuts and improvised punches from that family and although Andrew won the fight clean, Nakatani is a different machine – but one who can improvise with the same sort of punch to fine effect. It was improvised straight left hands, too, that saw Andrew decked by Joshua Franco in their June 2020 contest. This was also something of a flash knockdown, but it cost Andrew a majority draw. These small vulnerabilities matter and it seems that sudden, runaway attacks might be the key to getting Andrew off his feet.

That single point difference on two scorecards earned him a rematch with Franco, resulting in 2020s most controversial result. The woeful Russell Mora decreed a phantom “accidental headbutt” early in the fight as the cause of swelling to Franco’s right eye when repeated viewings of the fight film reveal no such thing. What should have been ruled a technical knockout victory was instead rendered a No Contest despite the use of replays to aid in these decisions being in play in Nevada at the time. Andrew, rightly, was furious and the irony could not have been lost upon him when an instant replay in the third fight of this unexpected trilogy corrected a badly called knockdown in his favour. He dropped a unanimous decision.

Most notable for me in that fight was Andrew’s late collapse. While his brother Jason demonstrates elite conditioning in every fight, Andrew dropped five of the six rounds in the second half of the third Franco fight by my card and the last four rounds all went to Franco on the official scorecards. Essentially, Franco outwaited him with a compact, economic style while Andrew burned through energy moving and hitting. More recently in dominating Norbelto Jimenez, Andrew boxed in a compact, jab-heavy, aggressive style possibly designed to address these shortcomings, but such a style will also have risks against Nakatani. Likely though it is a better bet than trying to outfight the version of Nakatani that turned up in the ninth and tenth rounds of his fight with Rodriguez.

Still, I favour Nakatani. Andrew Moloney will be the best technician the Japanese has faced, but he did wreck Milan Melindo back in 2019; even a past-prime Melindo presents some of the technical challenges Moloney will muster. I look for Nakatani to take over late after a rough start and win a decision in a more violent re-run of the third Franco fight.

Of secondary interest is the rematch between the world’s number two at 130lbs, Mexican Oscar Valdez (30-1), and unranked American featherweight Adam Lopez (16-4). Normally this is not a confrontation to whet the appetite but the circumstances surrounding the first fight fascinates. Originally scheduled to fight different opponents on the 2019 undercard for the Carlos Adames-Patrick Teixeira match, both seemed to have lost out on paydays when their respective fights fell through the day before the contest – boxing’s chaotic organisation for once paid off as the two were matched against one another instead and produced fireworks.

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In a chance of a lifetime, Lopez found himself unexpectedly fighting in an alphabet eliminator and he came within seconds of winning. In the second, a technically loose Valdez put his head where it probably should not have been, and Lopez chased him with a right then lashed against his movement with a hook going the other way. Valdez was down and this was not a flash; he seemed tangled in his own limbs as he fought his way to his feet. Lopez went after his man but in a controlled fashion that I suspect he may now regret, and Valdez boxed his way steadily back into the contest over the following two rounds, before our friend Russell Mora stepped in for yet another inappropriate intervention in stopping the fight with seconds remaining in the seventh.

Lopez deserves his rematch and although Valdez will be a favourite almost as prohibitive as he was in their first fight, I will be glued to this one. Valdez hasn’t boxed a round since his April 2022 thrashing at the hands of Shakur Stevenson and hasn’t won a fight since September of 2021. If winning is a habit, Valdez is not in it, and while he has boxed with mixed fortunes, Valdez has contested eighteen rounds in that time.

These two fascinating tussles will precede the Haney-Lomachenko showdown on a night of boxing which is not to be missed.

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Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2024

Phil Woolever

Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix

PHOENIX – Saturday was a busy night on the global boxing scene, and it’s quite likely that the howling attendees in Phoenix’s Footprint Center witnessed the finest overall card of the international schedule. The many Mexican flags on display in the packed, scaled down arena signaled the event’s theme.

Co-main events featured rematches that arose from a pair of prior crowd-pleasing slugfests. Each of tonight’s headlining bouts ended at the halfway point, but that was their only similarity.

Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, now 39-2-1 (32), defended his WBO Junior Lightweight belt with a dramatic stoppage of more-than-willing Oscar Valdez, 32-3 (24). The 29-year-old champion spoke of retirement wishes, but after dominating a blazing battle in which he scored three knockdowns, his only focus was relaxing during the holidays then getting back to what sounded like long-term business.

“Valdez was extremely tough in this fight,” said Navarrete. “I knew I had to push him back and I did. You are now witnessing the second phase of my career and you can expect great things from me in 2025.”

“I don’t really know about the future,” said the crestfallen, 33-year-old Valdez. “No excuses. He did what he wanted to and I couldn’t.”

Navarrete, a three-division titlist, came up one scorecard short of a fourth belt in his previous fight last May, a split decision loss to Denys Berinchyk. This was Navarrete’s fourth Arizona appearance so he was cheered like a homeboy, but Valdez was definitely the crowd favorite, evident from the cheers that erupted as both fighters were shown arriving in glistening, low rider automobiles.

Both men came out throwing huge shots, but it was Navarrete who scored a flash knockdown in the first round, setting the tone for the rest of the fight. There was fierce action in every frame, with Navarrete getting the best of most of it, but even when he was in trouble Valdez roared back and brought the crowd to their feet. He got dropped again at the very end of round four, and Navarrete sent his mouthpiece into orbit the round after that.

When Navarrette drove Valdez into the ropes during round six it looked like referee Raul Caiz, Jr was about to intervene, but before he could decide, Navarrete finished matters himself with a perfect left to the ribs that crumpled Valdez into a KO at 2:42.

“He talked about getting ready to retire soon so I told him we had to fight again right now,” said Valdez prior to the rematch. There were numerous “be careful what you wish for” type predictions of doom and he entered the ring at around a two to one underdog, understanding the contest’s make or break stakes. “Boxing penalizes you if you have a lot of losses,” observed Valdez. “It’s not like other sports where you can lose and do better next season. In boxing, most people don’t want to see you again after a couple of losses.”

What Valdez might decide remains to be seen, but even in defeat he proved to be a warrior worth watching.

Co-Feature

After their epic, razor-close encounter almost exactly a year ago, it was obvious Rafael Espinoza, and fellow 30-year-old Robeisy Ramirez should meet again for the WBO featherweight title belt Espinoza earned by an upset majority decision. Espinoza turned the trick again this time around, inside the distance, but it was more anti-climactic than anything like toe-to-toe.

The 6’1” Espinoza, now 26-0 (22), was the aggressor from the opening frame, but 5’6” Ramirez, 14-3 (9) employed his short stature well to stay out of immediate danger and countered to the body for a slight edge. The Cuban challenger avoided much of their previous firefight and initially controlled the tempo. The crowd jeered him for staying away but it was an effective strategy, at least at first.

Espinoza connected much better in the fifth round and looked fresher as Ramirez’s face rapidly reddened. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere in round six, Ramirez took a punch then raised a glove in surrender. Whatever the reason, even looking at Ramirez’s swollen right eye, it looked like a “No Mas” moment. Replays showed a straight right to the eye socket, but that didn’t stop the crowd from hooting their disgust after ref Chris Flores signaled the end at 0:12.

***

Richard Torrez, Jr, now 12-0 (11), displayed his Olympic silver medal pedigree in a heavyweight bout against Issac Munoz, 18-2-1 (15). Torrez, 236.6, found his punching range quickly with southpaw leads as Munoz, 252, tried to stand his ground but looked hurt by early body work that forced him into the ropes. He was gasping for breath as Torrez peppered him in the second, and Munoz went back to his corner on unsteady legs.

Munoz’s team should have thought about saving him for another day in the third as he ate big shots. Luckily, referee Raul Caiz, Jr. was wiser and had seen enough, waving it off for a TKO at 0:59.

“I don’t train for the opponent,” reflected Torrez, who isn’t far from true contender status. “Every time I train, I train for a world championship fight.”

***

Super-lightweight Lindolfo Delgado, 139.9, improved to 22-0 (16), and took another step into the world title picture against Jackson Marinez, now 22-4 (10), 139.2.

On paper this junior welterweight matchup appeared fairly even, and Marinez managed to keep it that way for almost half the scheduled ten rounds against a solid prospect but Delgado kept upping the ante until Marinez was out of chips. The assembled swarm was whistling for more action after three tentative opening frames, as Delgado loaded up but couldn’t put much offense together.

That changed in the 4th when Delgado connected with solid crosses. In the fifth, a fine combination dropped Marinez into a delayed knockdown and a wicked follow-up right to the guts finished the wobbly Marinez, who had nothing to be ashamed of, off in the arms of ref Wes Melton. Official TKO time was 2:13.

In a matter of concurrent programming, Saturday also held a lot of highly publicized college football and basketball games which likely detracted from the larger mainstream audience and media coverage this fight card deserved. That’s a shame but you can’t fault boxing, Top Rank, or any of the fighters for that because, once again, they all came through big time in Phoenix.

Photos credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Brooklyn’s Richardson Hitchins Wins IBF 140-Pound Title in Puerto Rico

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1 day ago

December 7, 2024

David A. Avila

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A change of champions took place as Richardson Hitchins rallied from a lethargic start to wrest the IBF super lightweight title from Australia’s Liam Paro by split decision on Saturday in Puerto Rico at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan.

Brooklyn has another world champion.

“I’m just happy to be a world champion,” Hitchins said.

Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) proved that his style of fighting could prevail over Paro (25-1, 15 KOs) who had previously knocked off another Puerto Rican champion, Subriel Matias.

Both fighters expected a different kind of encounter as Paro immediately started the fight with constant pressure and short, precise combinations. Hitchins had expected a different attack and seemed hesitant to pull the trigger.

“I couldn’t get my timing,” said Hitchins. “I thought he was going to put the pressure on me.”

Soon Hitchins ramped up his attack.

After Paro had jumped ahead with a constant strategic attack, Hitchins slipped into second gear behind a sharp right counter that found the target repeatedly.

Things began to swing in the Brooklyn fighter’s favor.

Those long arms came in handy for Hitchins who snapped off deadeye rights through Paro’s guard repeatedly. Soon the southpaw Aussie’s eye began to show signs of damage.

But Paro never quit.

Aside from using quick counters, Paro began firing lead lefts and the occasional right hook and uppercut. But seldom did he target the body. Slowly, the rounds began mounting in favor of the Brooklyn fighter.

Perhaps the best blow of the fight took place in the ninth round as Hitchins connected flush with a one-two combination. Though stunned, Paro trudged forward looking to immediately counter.

He mostly failed.

Still, Paro knew the rounds were not one-sided and he could close the distance. The Aussie fighter did well in the 11^th and 12^th round but could not land a significant blow. After 12 rounds one judge saw Paro the winner 117-11, while two others saw Hitchins the winner 116-112 for the new IBF titlist.

“He’s a hell of a boxer,” said Paro who loses the title in his first defense. “It’s not a loss, it’s a lesson.”

Other Bouts

A battle between Puerto Rican featherweights saw Henry Lebron (20-0) out-battle Christopher Diaz-Velez by decision after 10 action-packed rounds.

In a lightweight fight Agustin Quintana (21-2-1) gave Marc Castro (13-1) his first loss to win by split decision after 10 rounds.

Welterweight Jose Roman Vazquez (14-1) defeated Jalil Hackett (9-1) by split decision after 10 rounds.

Photo credit: Melina Pizano / Matchroom

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A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2024

Arne K. Lang

A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix

Top Rank promoted a 10-fight card tonight at the NBA arena in Phoenix. The undercard included welterweight standout Giovani Santillan and a bevy of young prospects.

Based on his showing tonight, Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez is a prospect on the cusp of being a contender. A high-octane fighter with ring smarts that bely his tender age, the 22-year-old Gonzalez pitched a near 8-round shutout over Argentina’s Gerardo Antonio Perez, advancing his record to 12-0 (7). Although Gonzalez was forced to go the distance after five straight wins by stoppage, Perez, an Argentine who had never been stopped and was better than his 12-6-1 record, had a granite chin.

LA junior bantamweight Steven Navarro improved to 5-0 (4 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Gabriel Bernardi (7-2). Navarro had Bernardi, a Puerto Rican, on the canvas twice before referee Raul Caiz Jr waived it off.

In a welterweight contest slated for “10,” Giovani Santillan improved to 33-1 (18 KOs) at the expense of Fredrick Lawson who retired on his stool after only one round. It was a nice confidence-booster for Santillan who took a lot of punishment in his last fight vs. Brian Norman Jr, a fight that Santillan was expected to win. However, tonight’s win should come with an asterisk as Lawson, a Chicago-based Ghanaian, is damaged goods and ought not be permitted to fight again, notwithstanding his 30-6 record. (All six of his losses, including the last three, came inside the distance.)

In a welterweight contest slated for six rounds, 19-year-old SoCal prospect Art Berrera Jr advanced to 7-0 (5 KOs) with a second-round TKO over Juan Carlos Campos (4-2) who fights out of Sioux City, Iowa. Referee Wes Melton lost his balance as he stepped in to stop the one-sided affair with a nano-second remaining in round two and went flying into the ropes, but was seemingly unhurt.

In a major surprise, Cesar Morales, a former Mexican national amateur champion, lost his pro debut to unheralded Kevin Mosquera, a 23-year-old Ecuadorian. A flash knockdown in the opening minute of final round factored into the result. The judges had it 39-36 and 38-37 for Mosquera (3-0-1) and 38-38.

The night did not start well for Morales’ trainer Robert Garcia who had five fighters in action tonight.

In the lid-lifter, 21-year-old Las Vegas lightweight DJ Zamora, a protege of the late Roger Mayweather, improved to 15-0 (10 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Argentine import Roman Ruben Reynoso (22-6-2). Zamora put Reynoso on the canvas in the opening round with a left to the solar plexus and knocked him down in the second round with a counter left to the chin. Reynoso made it to his feet, but had no beef when the fight was waived off. The official time was 1:56 of round two.

Bouts involving former Olympians Lindolfo Delgado and Richard Torres Jr plus two compelling world title rematches round out the 10-fight card. TSS correspondent Phil Woolever is ringside. Check back later for his post-fight reports.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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