Hits and Misses from Another Weekend in Boxing

The boxing scene this past weekend lacked the international superstar flavor of previous weeks when Naoya Inoue and Canelo Alvarez did their things on grand stages but, in fact, there was a vast slate of important matchups all over the world and by the time all the punches had been thrown and landed, there was a strong list of qualified candidates for this week’s TSS Hits and Misses feature.

Here are the most important takeaways from another busy weekend in boxing.

HIT: Lee McGregor and Kash Farooq’s Brilliant British Bantamweight Battle 

There was no reason for undefeated bantamweights Lee McGregor and Kash Farooq to fight each other this early in their careers. Sure, each man boasted one of the most prized domestic titles in the sport, McGregor the Commonwealth title and Farooq the British version. But those belts are usually won by fighters making their way up the rankings, especially in cases where the belt holders so aptly appear capable of someday competing at the world level, so it didn’t make much sense for either man to take the unnecessary risk.

But McGregor, 22, and Farooq, 23, fought each other anyway, with McGregor (pictured on the right) edging out the split decision by scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 112-115 in what turned out to be just as terrific a fight as envisioned.

It was a close contest that could have gone the other way. Regardless, the fans in attendance at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena were treated to a riveting battle between two of Scotland’s best young fighters.

That one had to lose for the other to accomplish the life-changing unification win was less important than the grander scheme view of the sport that is always this: the best versus the best at any level benefits both the winner and the loser for whatever comes next.

MISS: Bill Wanger’s Troubling Revelations on Chris Mannix’s SI Boxing Podcast

Bill Wanger, EVP, Head of Programming and Scheduling over at Fox, revealed to Chris Mannix on the S.I. Boxing Podcast some troubling details about how he, one of the most powerful figures in boxing today, views the current state of the sport.

Among the most unreasonable claims by Wanger were that to alleviate the title belt confusion in boxing the PBC might be on their way toward creating their own belts, the idea that the PBC already possesses 99% of the top overall talent in boxing and that the WBO title Terence Crawford wears is somehow less important than those worn by PBC welterweight titleholders Errol Spence and Manny Pacquiao.

All three of those viewpoints show one of two possibilities. Either Wanger doesn’t know anything about boxing at all or he’s willing to obscure the truth for his own agenda. The latter is most likely the case and it’s not something all that new to the sport. Promoters and TV executives probably lie more than anyone else in boxing.

But haven’t we had enough of that already? Boxing has been shooting itself in the foot for decades now because it seems to constantly attract the same kinds of people with the same kinds of agendas.

It would be nice to see someone try something different.

HIT: Pablo Cesar Cano’s Surprising Resurgence at Junior Welterweight

Mexico’s Pablo Cesar Cano suddenly looks like a legit contender again. Cano is just 30 years old, but just two years ago he appeared to be on his way out of the sport after losing three out of four bouts.

But in the latest edition of Golden Boy Fight Night on Facebook Watch, the 30-year-old junior welterweight rallied from a first-round knockdown to stop Roberto Ortiz in the very next round. It was Cano’s third straight win, and his last two were stunning knockout victories.

In January, Cano was a huge underdog when he scored an impressive first-round stoppage over former lightweight titleholder Jorge Linares. Now Cano has done something similar with his quick stoppage of the hard-punching Ortiz at the Plaza De Toros in San Miguel de Allende.

Cano is a solid professional, the kind of hardworking fighter that makes boxing better. It takes courage and tenacity to get through the tough times in a hard sport, but Cano stayed resilient, and now he’s set up for more big fights.

MISS: Boxing’s Continued Inability to Create Competent Judges 

Showtime’s “Shobox: The Next Generation” series is one of the better programs in the sport because it offers talented up-and-comers a chance to showcase their abilities to a larger audience.

But these smaller shows, such as the one that took place in Sloan, Iowa on Saturday night, can often lead to some wacky scores being turned in from judges who just don’t seem to know what they’re doing.

Such was the case when unbeaten light heavyweight Joseph George was awarded a split-decision victory over Marcos Escudero on Saturday night. Judges Bob LaFratte (97-93) and Carlos Sucre (97-94) somehow saw things go the Houston-based fighter’s way when almost everyone else who watched the fight on TV and in the arena, including judge Gloria Martinez, scored the fight for Escudero.

Boxing needs better judges. Everybody knows that. But whatever the solution ultimately turns out to be, the sport needs to do something proactive to keep bad judges out of those seats in the first place.

HIT: Rocky Fielding’s Return to Win Column After Devastating KO Loss 

Rocky Fielding was trounced by Canelo Alvarez in just three rounds last December.

Some fighters never recover from getting worked over like that, and the more times it happens, the less likely the fighter can muster the will to move forward.

On one hand, the 32-year-old’s only two losses came against Alvarez, who has since gone on to stop Sergey Kovalev for the WBO light heavyweight title, and Callum Smith, the undefeated WBA champion whose World Boxing Super Series tournament performance showcased him as the best 168-pounder in boxing.

On the other, though, Fielding was completely outclassed in both cases, and as fast as Alvarez beat him, Smith did it even faster by stopping Fielding in just one round back in 2015.

So, there was no telling if Fielding could take a step toward becoming a relevant contender again. But the former 168-pound secondary titleholder rebounded nicely by dispatching the heavyhanded Abdallah Paziwapazi in two rounds on Friday night during his hometown return at the Olympia in Liverpool.

Fielding might not ever be able to seriously compete against the very best fighters in the sport, but he’s proven to be a hard out for just about everyone else. He’s the type of fighter who adds depth to a division and maybe someday he can be something more.

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