Three Punch Combo: Beating the Drum for Vinny Paz and More

THREE PUNCH COMBO — It is officially election season and candidates for the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY are making their final cases for induction with ballots being due at the end of October. By far the most debated name amongst voters and fans for induction in the 2019 Hall of Fame class is Vinny Paz. I, for one, strongly support his candidacy.

By now, we all know his inspirational story. He came back from injuries sustained in a horrific car crash in 1991 after winning his second world title to not only beat the odds to fight again but have tremendous success inside the ring. But it is not that incredibly courageous story that gets him in the Hall of Fame. It is in fact his resume.

Paz — who legally changed his name in 2001 from Vinny Pazienza — finished with a career record of 50-10 with 30 knockouts. He was a multi-division world champion and defeated some of the best fighters of his era. Paz owns wins against former world champions Harry Arroyo, Greg Haugen (twice), Gilbert Dele, Lloyd Honeyghan, and Hall of Famer Roberto Duran (twice).

Paz’s Hall of Fame credentials are similar those of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini who was inducted into the Hall in 2015. As a matter of fact, Paz’s resume is actually stronger. Paz fought and defeated more former world champions than Mancini and faced much better competition throughout the course of his career.

But what makes the comparison to Mancini even more appropriate is the fact that both he and Paz were must-watch television during their era. Paz was one of the most entertaining fighters in boxing. And when he fought, people watched — and not just those hooked on boxing; Paz had crossover appeal. Boxing is a unique sport in that it is about skill and entertainment value. Paz brought both which certainly counts for something when considering his Hall of Fame credentials.

There is a sense of urgency to get Paz into the Hall of Fame in the 2019 class. It may be his last realistic opportunity. Only three fighters in the modern category are elected each year. Usually, the newly eligible fighters get precedence and eat up the majority of these slots. This makes it tougher for holdovers such as Paz to get elected.

However this year, the new fighters eligible are fairly weak when compared to many previous years. So there is an opportunity for a couple of holdovers to get elected. Looking ahead to future years, there are some big names that will be on the ballot for the first time. Unless the voting process is changed, future classes in the modern category will mostly be dominated by those first timers. This is why it is imperative that voters do the right thing this year and elect Paz in the International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2019.

Don’t Count On Canelo-Jacobs Happening Anytime Soon

This past Saturday, Daniel Jacobs (35-2, 19 KO’s) won a hard-fought split decision against Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KO’s) to win the vacant IBF middleweight title. After the win, talk immediately turned to a big fight with middleweight kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. And though such a fight would seem easy to make due to the promoters with whom they are aligned, don’t expect it to happen anytime in the near future.

Canelo just inked a 5-year, 11-fight deal reportedly worth $365 million with streaming service DAZN. It makes sense with such a large guarantee that DAZN takes things a little slow with Canelo. Why risk him losing right off the bat with so much invested in him?

The first fight for Canelo under this new deal with DAZN is against Rocky Fielding in the 168-pound division. Fielding was knocked out in the first round in his only loss. The term “safe” opponent seems very appropriate.

While the competition will certainly step up for Canelo in 2019 under the DAZN banner, he will still likely face opponents against whom he would be substantially favored. One likely name sometime in 2019 for Canelo is David Lemieux and given Golden Boy’s pact with DAZN this fight should be easy to put together. I would expect this fight in May of 2019. Given the history of when he fights, a return in September would then seem likely but I don’t think the opponent will be one that presents a ton of risk. Assuming all goes according to plan, the earliest I would expect Canelo-Jacobs to happen would be in May of 2020.

Under The Radar Fight

Next Saturday, most of the boxing world will be fixated on ESPN+ for the 130-pound title fight between Miguel Berchelt (34-1, 30 KO’s) and Miguel Roman (60-12, 47 KO’s), a potential Fight of the Year candidate. But this is not the only intriguing fight that is being streamed that night, so fire up those devices as there is a light heavyweight bout that should also provide some fireworks.

Facebook Watch will present the fight between Sullivan Barrera (21-2, 14 KO’s) and Sean Monaghan (29-1, 17 KO’s). With light heavyweight being so deep at the moment, this is a must-win bout for both as a win puts either right back in line for a significant fight.

Barrera is a former Cuban amateur standout and a boxer-puncher by nature. He is much more agile inside the ring than Monaghan and will look to use movement to keep Monaghan off-balance and to set up angles to unload combinations. Barrera has the quicker hands and is the much sharper puncher. However, one of Barrera’s weaknesses is that he tends to pose too much after unloading punches which may give Monaghan some opportunities.

Monaghan knows only one way to fight and that is by coming forward being the aggressor. He is going to look to apply constant pressure and look for opportunities to counter. Defense has never been a strong suit for him, but he is heavy handed and is the bigger puncher of the two. Monaghan’s chances boil down to either landing a big counter shot or hoping his heavy handed pressure wears down Barrera.

I like this fight a lot and will find a way to watch even if it is running simultaneous on another device of mine to Berchelt-Roman. The contrast of styles and defensive flaws of both Barrera and Monaghan should make for an entertaining fight. There has also been some serious bad blood between the two over the years on social media. Let’s add in the fact too that this is an absolute must-win for both and this has the makings of a potential war. As a matter of fact, it would not shock me one bit if Barrera-Monaghan brings more action than Berchelt-Roman.

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