Naoya Inoue Was Sensational; Crawford and Spence Have a Tough Act to Follow

Published

2 months ago

July 25, 2023

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Imagine, if you can, three modern-day art critics being transported back in time to the early 16^th century and being afforded the privilege of watching Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. That would be roughly the level of awe espoused by ESPN+’s blow-by-blow commentator Joe Tessitore and analysts Timothy Bradley Jr. and Mark Kriegel in unanimously critiquing the masterwork crafted by Japan’s miniature “Monster,” Naoya Inoue, who demolished previously undefeated WBC/WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton Tuesday in Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. From the opening bell for round one to his two-knockdown KO sequence of Fulton in the eighth stanza, Inoue treated the highly regarded, and naturally larger, Philadelphian almost as if he were some semi-anonymous sparring partner.

“We sometimes overuse the word `greatness’ in boxing, but not here, not now,” Tessitore said gushingly from Las Vegas, where he and his cohorts have a Top Rank show to cover on Friday on the eve of the welterweight unification megafight pitting unbeaten champions Errol Spence Jr. and Terence “Bud” Crawford at the T-Mobile Arena. “You are watching greatness (in the person of Inoue), in his absolute prime … That’s the best fighter in the world right now.”

Added Bradley: “I never thought that the boxing world would bring another Manny Pacquiao type of person. But when you look at Inoue, how he’s traveled up these distances (he’s now a four-division world champion, from 108 pounds to his current – for now — 122), I feel like he can travel up as many weight classes as he likes.”

And this, from Kriegel: “I don’t know what’s going to happen Saturday night, but I do know that right now there is a best fighter in the world, and it’s that man right there, Inoue. (Fulton was) an undefeated fighter, a master boxer, a versatile guy, and (Inoue) made him look ordinary.”

In an era where indisputably special matchups of elite fighters are all too rare, this was Christmas in July week for fight fans famished for the sort of pairings that brought, first, Inoue (now 25-0, 22 KOs) and Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs) together and, in a few days, IBF/WBA/WBC 147-pound champ Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) and WBO titlist Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs). But it is perhaps the bruised knuckle incurred by Inoue in training in May that not only made this diamond-tinged double-dip in the same five-day period possible, but considerably raised the stakes for the welterweight kingpins who now might feel obliged to try to match or even exceed the bravura performance turned in by the little Japanese dynamo. It can be argued that Inoue might already have vaulted past not only the winner of that fight, but fellow pound-for-pound aspirant Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs), who defends his IBF, WBA and WBO straps against Daniel Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) on Aug. 26 in Wroclas, Poland.

Had Inoue squared off against Fulton in May and done precisely what he did Tuesday morning (in the Eastern time zone in America) or Tuesday night (10 p.m. start time in Tokyo), the passage of time might have somewhat lessened the impact of that bout. But now, the manner in which he accomplished that triumph has been elevated to a “Can you top this?” gauntlet flung at the feet of Spence and Crawford, both of whom have insisted that the winner of their much-anticipated showdown almost certainly will have to be anointed as the fight’s game’s unrivaled No. 1 guy.

“It’s the furthest thing from what either guy can be thinking, but how can Spence and Crawford top that?” Kriegel asked, rhetorically.

Well, maybe it would be too much to ask of either superstar welterweight to be more dominant on Saturday night than was Inoue, but nobody will care much if each at least tries to score a comparable grade in an effort to look especially impressive. Of such give-and-take matchups are great fights made, and, let’s face it, some of those pairings in the past have been closer to exercises in tedium than rip-roaring action-fests.

“I have so much admiration for Bud Crawford and Errol Spence. I think the world of those two guys,” Tessitore confessed. “But when I think of the pound-for-pound list … What this guy (Inoue) does for his size, I don’t care. That’s the best fighter in the world right there.

“In a week that is a fight fan’s dream, this is how it starts, with `The Monster,’ Naoya Inoue, making it look easy. That’s what’s so mind-blowing. He goes up in weight against The Guy, the unified champion, and he made it look ridiculously easy.”

You’d never know it from the way he dispatched Fulton, but not every fight involving Inoue has seen him win in a romp. One distinguishing characteristic of the best of the best is the capacity to dig deep and find something within yourself that can turn a potential defeat into a display of inner strength that separates the merely talented from those who have a champion’s dogged refusal to yield to adversity. Just such an acid test was required of Inoue on Nov. 17, 2019, when he took on future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire in the Fight of the Year, recognized as such by this publication, by The Ring magazine and by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Inoue won by unanimous decision, but in doing so he suffered a broken orbital bone and a broken nose.

It should be noted that in Inoue’s rematch with Donaire, on June 7, 2022, he had a much easier time of it in winning on a second-round stoppage, but “The Monster” having been pushed to the limit in their first fight caused Fulton’s fellow Philly fighter, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, to go with his homeboy on Tuesday because, hey, how impressive can it be for someone supposedly so dominant to squeak past a “45-year-old” guy, as Ennis said in disparaging Donaire, who was then 37.

The truest way of gauging ring greatness, Kriegel allowed, is when a great fighter meets and defeats another great fighter, and by most means of measurement inside the ropes Fulton belonged in that exclusive club. It certainly would seem that he is better than the WBA/IBF 122-pound titlist, Marlon Tapales of the Philippines, who appears to be next on Inoue’s dance card, possibly for the fully unified title, before the end of 2023. But Tapales (37-3, 19 KOs), who entered the ring to pose with Inoue for photos, not only has lost three times, but he has been knocked out twice. Figure him to be another way station on Inoue’s upward ascent to literally bigger and presumably better things.

Can the winner of Spence-Crawford do enough to supplant Inoue as boxing’s man of the moment, and of the foreseeable future? It’s entirely possible, but that fighter would have to be nearly flawless to make that deep of an impression. How could he be anything less to climb past someone whom Tessitore said has “a viper’s striking speed and nearly flawless punching technique,” someone hailed by Joe as “the most complete offensive fighter in the game today,” and mostly excellent on defense as well.

For what it’s worth, my personal scorecard had Inoue winning all seven completed rounds for a 70-63 edge going into the eighth, which he would have won by 10-7 had not referee Hector Afu stepped in after Fulton went down for the second time, after an elapsed time of just one minute and 14 seconds. So also check the box for finishing instincts as far as it applies to Inoue, who clearly knows what to do when he gets his man in trouble.

Like the ESPN+ broadcast crew said, it’s back to you, Errol and Bud. You have a tough act to follow.

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. His third boxing anthology, “Championship Rounds, Round 3,” is now out and available from Amazon and other book-selling outlets.

Photo credit: Naomi Fukuda

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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

Published

22 hours ago

September 24, 2023

David A. Avila

Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.

It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.

Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.

Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.

Bustillo Wins Rematch

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In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.

Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.

Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.

After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.

Other Bouts

In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.

A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Tedious Fights and a Controversial Draw Smudge the Matchroom Boxing Card in Orlando

Published

1 day ago

September 23, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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Matchroom Boxing was at the sprawling Royale Caribe Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida tonight with a card that aired on DAZN. The main event was a ho-hum affair between super lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.

SoCal’s Zepeda has been in some wars in the past, notably his savage tussle with Ivan Baranchyk, but tonight he brought little to the table and was outclassed by the lanky Hitchins who won all 12 rounds on two of the cards and 11 rounds on the other. There were no knockdowns, but Zepeda suffered a cut on his forehead in round seven that was deemed to be the product of an accidental head butt and another clash in round ten forced a respite in the action although Hitchins suffered no apparent damage.

It was the sort of fight where each round was pretty much a carbon of the round preceding it. Brooklyn’s Hitchins, who improved to 17-0 (7), was content to pepper Zepeda with his jab, and the 34-year-old SoCal southpaw, who brought a 37-3 record, was never able to penetrate his defense and land anything meaningful.

Hitchins signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotional outfit coming out of the amateur ranks and his style is reminiscent in ways of his former mentor. Like Mayweather, he loses very few rounds. In his precious engagement, he pitched a shutout over previously undefeated John Bauza.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, Conor Benn returned to the ring after an absence of 17 months and won a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco. It wasn’t a bad showing by Benn who showed decent boxing skills, but more was expected of him after his name had been bandied about so often in the media. Two of the judges had it 99-91 and the other 96-94.

Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) was a late addition to the card although one suspects that promoter Eddie Hearn purposely kept him under wraps until the week of the fight so as not to deflect the spotlight from the other matches on his show. Benn lost a lucrative date with Chris Eubank Jr when he was suspended by the BBBofC when evidence of a banned substance was found in his system and it’s understood that Hearn has designs on re-igniting the match-up with an eye on a date in December. For tonight’s fight, Benn carried a career-high 153 ½ pounds. Mexico’s Orozco, who was making his first appearance in a U.S. ring, declined to 32-4-3.

Other Bouts of Note

The welterweight title fight between WBA/WBC title-holder Jessica McCaskill (15-3-1) and WBO title-holder Sandy Ryan (6-1-1) ended in a draw and the ladies’ retain their respective titles. Ryan worked the body effectively and the general feeling was that she got a raw deal, a sentiment shared by the crowd which booed the decision. There was a switch of favorites in the betting with the late money seemingly all on the Englishwoman who at age 30 was the younger boxer by nine years.

The judges had it 96-94 Ryan, 96-95, and a vilified 97-93 for Chicago’s McCaskill.

In the opener of the main DAZN stream, Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, 27, improved to 15-0 (10) with a 10-round unanimous decision over 39-year-old Toronto veteran Steve Rolls (22-3). All three judges had it 97-93. Rolls has been stopped only once, that by Gennady Golovkin.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

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Zhilei Zhang KOs Joe Joyce; Calls Out Tyson Fury

Published

2 days ago

September 23, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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Joe Joyce activated his rematch clause after being stopped in the sixth frame by Zhilei Zhang in their first meeting. In hindsight, he may wish that he hadn’t. Tonight at London’s Wembley Stadium, Zhang stopped him again and far more conclusively than in their first encounter.

In the first meeting, Zhang, a southpaw, found a steady home for his stiff left jab. Targeting Joyce’s right eye, he eventually damaged the optic to where the ring doctor wouldn’t let Joyce continue. At the end, the fight was close on the cards and Joyce was confident that he would have pulled away if not for the issue with his eye.

In the rematch tonight, Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) closed the curtain with his right hand. A thunderous right hook on the heels of a straight left pitched Joyce to the canvas where he landed face first. He appeared to beat the count by a whisker, but was seriously dazed and referee Steve Gray properly waived it off. The official time was 3:07 of round three.

Zhang, who lived up to his nickname, “Big Bang,” was credited with landing 29 power punches compared with only six for Joyce (15-2) who came in 25 pounds heavier than in their first meeting while still looking properly conditioned. One would be inclined to say that age finally caught with the “Juggernaut” who turned 38 since their last encounter, but Zhang, 40, is actually the older man. In his post-fight interview in the ring, the New Jersey resident, a two-time Olympian for China, when asked who he wanted to fight next, turned to the audience and said, “Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?”

He meant it as a rhetorical question.

Semi-Windup

Light heavyweight Anthony Yarde was matched soft against late sub Jorge Silva, a 40-year-old Portuguese journeyman, and barely broke a sweat while scoring a second-round stoppage. Yarde backed Silva against a corner post and put him on the deck with a short right hand. Silva’s body language indicated that he had no interest in continuing and the referee accommodated him. The official time was 2:07 of round two.

A 30-year-old Londoner, Yarde (24-3, 23 KOs) was making his first start since being stopped in eight rounds by Artur Beterbiev in a bout that Yarde was winning on two of the scorecards. Silva, a late replacement for 19-3-1 Ricky Summers, falls to 22-9.

Also

Former leading super middleweight contender Zach Parker (23-1, 17 KOs) returned to the ring in a “shake-off-the-rust” fight against 40-year-old Frenchman Khalid Graidia and performed as expected. Graidia’s corner pulled him out after seven one-sided rounds.

In his previous fight, Parker was matched against John Ryder who he was favored to beat. The carrot for the winner was a lucrative date with Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately for Parker, he suffered a broken hand and was unable to continue after four frames. Tonight, he carried 174 pounds, a hint that he plans to compete as a light heavyweight going forward. Indeed, he has expressed an interest in fighting Anthony Yarde. Graidia declined to 10-13-4.

The Zhang-Joyce and Yarde-Silva fights were live-streamed in the U.S. on ESPN+.

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