Last Saturday night was a memorable one for boxing fans. HBO showcased a scintillating tripleheader featuring Cintron vs. Matthysse, Gatti vs. Gomez, and Margarito vs. Williams. And every fight left a lasting imprint for different reasons.
- The beast from Puerto Rico
Kermit Cintron looked especially monstrous in his two round destruction of Walter Matthysse. While Cintron was the heavy favorite, he was expected to be tested in the same manner Walter tested Paul Williams. And since Kermit wilted under Margarito's onrush two years ago, there was some intrigue on how he was going to handle another aggressive, durable opponent.
The test was over before the first scantron bubble could be filled. Cintron looked nothing short of a PR incarnation of Tommy Hearns as he delivered an effortless, but vicious knockout in front of the shocked Atlantic City crowd. Has Kermit improved that much under the tutelage of Manny Steward, or did P-Will make Matthysse look stronger than he is? I doubt the other top names in the division are particularly eager to face him and find out.
There have been murmurings that he'll be on the September 8th Vargas/ Mayorga card. I'd like to see him against Luis Collazo or Carlos Quintana.
- The death of a legend... and a myth.
Alphonso Gomez dominated, knocked out, and ended the career of Arturo Gatti. He also most likely ended any serious consideration for a Gatti induction into the Hall of Fame. And, in my mind, that's a good thing.
To be sure, the man's a legend for the incredible action bouts he produced in the mid to late 90s. His fights against Wilson Rodriguez, Calvin Grove, Gabriel Ruelas, Angel Manfredy, and Ivan Robinson (twice), were instrumental in building HBO's Boxing After Dark series and the Atlantic City boxing demographic. And of course, you have his classic 2002 encounter with Micky Ward, which now seems to be the baseline when measuring how good a fight is (how many times have you heard "not every fight can be Ward-Gatti"?).
In making an honest assessment of these fights, however, you see that he lost four out of seven. He also lost virtually every minute of every round against the two A-list boxers he faced (Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather), and got demolished when he stepped up against recognizable competition at welterweight. While he does have a few good names on his record, certainly not enough to be considered an elite talent at any point in his career. Just because the IBHOF may already be watered-down, doesn't mean we have to tear down what's left of the flood gates. Moreover, the common argument that he should be inducted solely because of the excitement he brought to the sport is a stretch when equally exciting and considerably better fighters such as Ray Mancini, Cornelius Boza Edwards, and Nigel Benn have yet to sniff the Hall.
Nevertheless, I'm thankful for all the memories Gatti has provided us.
As far as Gomez, his increased stamina impressed me. I'm not sure he has the endurance to go hard for 10 or 12 full rounds, but it's clear he no longer fades after the fourth round like he has so many times in the past. A fight between him and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is a natural bout to make for the fall.
- The birth of a star?
Antonio Margarito was the favorite going into his bout with Paul Williams for obvious reasons. The tall southpaw from Georgia throws an unbelievable amount of punches, but very few men are built to withstand the whithering body attack, lethal uppercuts, and thudding right hands of the Tijuana Tornado.
P-Will displayed the chin and heart needed to reside within that rarefied air.
Margarito almost looked outclassed in the first four rounds. Williams' much faster, busier hands - along with his gameplan to grab and spin Antonio whenever he got inside - made Margarito look like he was moving in quicksand. In the middle rounds, however, Margarito's digging shots into Paul's sternum and rib cage started showing effect. In the late rounds, Margarito targeted Williams' chin with several short right hands. The torment he put his 6'1 foe through in the 11th virtually evened up the bout, and it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Margarito was going to own the final round, perhaps even finish Williams off.
But Paul showed the heart of a champion, shocking everyone by easily winning the 12th round - ensuring a unanimous decision.
The man is a nightmare for anyone in the division. He's several inches taller than Mosley, Cotto or Mayweather. His work rate would be too much for Joshua Clottey. Perhaps only Kermit Cintron has the size, strength, and technique to put The Punisher on his back.
The number of great matches in the welterweight division is staggering. And the summer sizzle continues to get louder.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Heat Check: Nonito Donaire and Joachim Alcine
The good, the bad, and the ugly about my predications of this past Saturday's doubleheader on Showtime (Travis Simms vs. Joachim Alcine and Vic Darchinyan vs. Nonito Donaire):
The Ugly - I was too high on Simms. The man still has plenty of natural talent, but he's not as well rounded as I thought he was. Against Alcine he only had one gear, he clinched more than Paulie Malignaggi, and he made no real adjustments throughout the fight. Not to mention his post-fight interview - in which he insisted that his conqueror was still only an amateur - was disgraceful.
The Bad - I picked the wrong fight to include in my The Summer's About To Get Hot piece. I thought Simms vs. Alcine had potential to be a great fight and it ended up being a fairly boring clinch-fest. I threw Darchinyan vs. Donaire in the honorable mentions and it ended up being the shocker of the year. I wanted to put the match up as one to look out for, but at the time I knew nothing about Donaire, and nothing I saw on his record jumped out at me. I did manage to get my hands on an early '06 ShoBox fight he was in and by the weekend I realized I made a mistake. This kid had some very nice tools. Which leads me to...
The Good - Money! Nonito Donaire was a +800 underdog the day of the fight (for those who aren't gambling degenerates, that means you get 8 times the amount of money you put up if you win - or in other words, $800 if you put up $100). It's extremely rare you see a betting line like that in a fight that isn't a complete mismatch. The odds makers apparently weren't aware that Nonito was no joke, and being the opportunist that I am, I took advantage to rake in $720. Then I quickly put a hundred on Alcine beating Simms by decision, which also had out of whack odds at +575. At the end of the night, I put in $90 and came out with $1,380.
Now that I'm done patting myself on the back, props must go to Mr. Donaire for an unbelievable performance and that grotesquely beautiful counter left hook that separated Vic from his senses. The young man has plenty of options at flyweight and super flyweight and I look forward to watching him in the future. Props also to Mr. Alcine, for doing what he could against the incessant clinching and spoiling tactics of Travis Simms to pull out a convincing decision. Although Jr. Middle is pretty much a wasteland, he's more than a formidable challenge to anyone willing to step up from welter, or to any of the big dogs at middleweight if he chooses to move up himself.
It's never felt so right to be so wrong.
The Ugly - I was too high on Simms. The man still has plenty of natural talent, but he's not as well rounded as I thought he was. Against Alcine he only had one gear, he clinched more than Paulie Malignaggi, and he made no real adjustments throughout the fight. Not to mention his post-fight interview - in which he insisted that his conqueror was still only an amateur - was disgraceful.
The Bad - I picked the wrong fight to include in my The Summer's About To Get Hot piece. I thought Simms vs. Alcine had potential to be a great fight and it ended up being a fairly boring clinch-fest. I threw Darchinyan vs. Donaire in the honorable mentions and it ended up being the shocker of the year. I wanted to put the match up as one to look out for, but at the time I knew nothing about Donaire, and nothing I saw on his record jumped out at me. I did manage to get my hands on an early '06 ShoBox fight he was in and by the weekend I realized I made a mistake. This kid had some very nice tools. Which leads me to...
The Good - Money! Nonito Donaire was a +800 underdog the day of the fight (for those who aren't gambling degenerates, that means you get 8 times the amount of money you put up if you win - or in other words, $800 if you put up $100). It's extremely rare you see a betting line like that in a fight that isn't a complete mismatch. The odds makers apparently weren't aware that Nonito was no joke, and being the opportunist that I am, I took advantage to rake in $720. Then I quickly put a hundred on Alcine beating Simms by decision, which also had out of whack odds at +575. At the end of the night, I put in $90 and came out with $1,380.
Now that I'm done patting myself on the back, props must go to Mr. Donaire for an unbelievable performance and that grotesquely beautiful counter left hook that separated Vic from his senses. The young man has plenty of options at flyweight and super flyweight and I look forward to watching him in the future. Props also to Mr. Alcine, for doing what he could against the incessant clinching and spoiling tactics of Travis Simms to pull out a convincing decision. Although Jr. Middle is pretty much a wasteland, he's more than a formidable challenge to anyone willing to step up from welter, or to any of the big dogs at middleweight if he chooses to move up himself.
It's never felt so right to be so wrong.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Abstract Becomes Reality: Leroy Murphy vs. Chisanda Muti (1985)
Let's face it, in many ways the fight scenes in the Rocky series were corny beyond belief. Much of real boxing revolves around figuring out how to land the cleanest blows possible - reflexes, timing, strategy, footwork, head movement, feints, angles, subtle adjustments, ect. are required to set the stage for the perfect punch. This was all completely ignored in the Rocky movies because every punch was the perfect punch and anything that even threatened to resemble defense was etched out the script. No need to show glimpses of the actual science behind the sport, as they'd only get in the way of the blood, guts, and Addrriiaaaaan plot points we were battery-rammed with.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the original movie; it was great for what it was. I always did believe that the shark was jumped at the end of Rocky II though. The ring action went from corny to cartooney with that ridiculous double-knockdown sequence.
At least that's what I figured until I saw Leroy Murphy vs. Chisanda Muti.
The beauty of the innanets summed up in one fight. If it wasn't for a gracious soul uploading this gem - someone who apparently got a hold of the tape from a promoter - I would have more than likely lived the rest of my life as a boxing fan without knowledge of the events that took place on October 19th, 1985. And that's unacceptable. Had this aired on network television, it would be widely known as one of the most bizarre finishes in American sports history.
The fight, scheduled for 15 rounds, began normal enough; one man - Chisanda Muti - used his height and reach to control his opponent - Leroy Murphy - with jabs and long right hands. Leroy proved himself to be game and tough, but as the rounds went by, Muti found it increasingly easy to penetrate his leaky defense. Leroy started taking a bad beating that was only getting progressively worse.
The beatdown reached a brutal apex in the 9th, when Leroy finally went down to his hands and knees after getting battered on the ropes. A weary Muti was seen in the neutral corner stretching his back as the ref began his count on Murphy. The intense effort to finish his wounded prey had clearly taken something out of him. Yet when Leroy bravely beat the count, Muti continued the ruthless onslaught, because surely the ref was close to stopping the fight. Instead, the referee watched idly as Leroy took blow after head-snapping blow, and Murphy somehow managed to survive the round.
Muti came out in the 10th as if he was trudging through mud. He was exhausted; he had punched himself out trying to end the fight in the previous round and now fatigue had an uncompromising grip on him. Leroy used the first half of the round to get his wits back under him. When he finally opened up, he found he was able to hit Muti almost at will. The tables had turned - Chisanda Muti was in dire straits. When the 11th stanza began, Muti's demeanor was was zombie-esque and Leroy didn't hesitate to take advantage. He pummeled Chisanda with crushing blows.
Muti gathered the heart and strength for a second wind and returned fire. The two traded until Leroy landed a searing left hook that dropped Muti hard on his pants. Muti climbed off the canvas and Leroy jumped back on him, raining down a firestorm of punches that, once again, would have prompted most refs to stop the fight. Muti withstood the punishment to see the end of the round and slowly walked back to his corner.
Vultures surely circled the small venue as both combatants walked out on dead legs to begin the 12th. Muti was now getting wobbled by jabs while Leroy seemed to no longer have the capacity block any incoming punches. It was clear that this would be the final round.
Words alone don't suffice to explain what happened after they found themselves entrenched in the corner.
They land hard right hands simultaneously. Muti stumbles back and the only thing that holds Leroy up is the corner post. Both men are badly hurt.
Muti staggers forward and falls on top of a dazed Leroy.
They collapse on the canvas.
The referee does one count for both fighters. Chisanda never sees that Leroy is still on the canvas being counted out as well.
Leroy struggles back to his feet at the count of 8 while Muti remains on the floor. Leroy Murphy is declared the winner by knockout.
To put this into prospective, in all my years of watching boxing, I've only seen one other double knockdown - between Sechew Powell and Cornelius Bundrage in 2005 - and both men immediately jumped back to their feet. The end of this classic 80's slugfest is probably the closest we will ever see to a double knockout.
In his following fight, Chisanda Muti got knocked out in three rounds by an 8-0 prospect named Evander Holyfield. He lost half of his next six fights and retired in 1989. Leroy Murphy saved himself a beating from Evander by losing his IBF Cruiserweight title to Ricky Parkey (who also got KO'd in 3 by Holyfield). He went on to fight until 1991, took seven years off, and finally retired in '98 after two comeback bouts.
Neither man turned out to be a great fighter, but their role in producing a fight that makes boxing fantasy a little more believable will never again be forgotten.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the original movie; it was great for what it was. I always did believe that the shark was jumped at the end of Rocky II though. The ring action went from corny to cartooney with that ridiculous double-knockdown sequence.
At least that's what I figured until I saw Leroy Murphy vs. Chisanda Muti.
The beauty of the innanets summed up in one fight. If it wasn't for a gracious soul uploading this gem - someone who apparently got a hold of the tape from a promoter - I would have more than likely lived the rest of my life as a boxing fan without knowledge of the events that took place on October 19th, 1985. And that's unacceptable. Had this aired on network television, it would be widely known as one of the most bizarre finishes in American sports history.
The fight, scheduled for 15 rounds, began normal enough; one man - Chisanda Muti - used his height and reach to control his opponent - Leroy Murphy - with jabs and long right hands. Leroy proved himself to be game and tough, but as the rounds went by, Muti found it increasingly easy to penetrate his leaky defense. Leroy started taking a bad beating that was only getting progressively worse.
The beatdown reached a brutal apex in the 9th, when Leroy finally went down to his hands and knees after getting battered on the ropes. A weary Muti was seen in the neutral corner stretching his back as the ref began his count on Murphy. The intense effort to finish his wounded prey had clearly taken something out of him. Yet when Leroy bravely beat the count, Muti continued the ruthless onslaught, because surely the ref was close to stopping the fight. Instead, the referee watched idly as Leroy took blow after head-snapping blow, and Murphy somehow managed to survive the round.
Muti came out in the 10th as if he was trudging through mud. He was exhausted; he had punched himself out trying to end the fight in the previous round and now fatigue had an uncompromising grip on him. Leroy used the first half of the round to get his wits back under him. When he finally opened up, he found he was able to hit Muti almost at will. The tables had turned - Chisanda Muti was in dire straits. When the 11th stanza began, Muti's demeanor was was zombie-esque and Leroy didn't hesitate to take advantage. He pummeled Chisanda with crushing blows.
Muti gathered the heart and strength for a second wind and returned fire. The two traded until Leroy landed a searing left hook that dropped Muti hard on his pants. Muti climbed off the canvas and Leroy jumped back on him, raining down a firestorm of punches that, once again, would have prompted most refs to stop the fight. Muti withstood the punishment to see the end of the round and slowly walked back to his corner.
Vultures surely circled the small venue as both combatants walked out on dead legs to begin the 12th. Muti was now getting wobbled by jabs while Leroy seemed to no longer have the capacity block any incoming punches. It was clear that this would be the final round.
Words alone don't suffice to explain what happened after they found themselves entrenched in the corner.
They land hard right hands simultaneously. Muti stumbles back and the only thing that holds Leroy up is the corner post. Both men are badly hurt.
Muti staggers forward and falls on top of a dazed Leroy.
They collapse on the canvas.
The referee does one count for both fighters. Chisanda never sees that Leroy is still on the canvas being counted out as well.
Leroy struggles back to his feet at the count of 8 while Muti remains on the floor. Leroy Murphy is declared the winner by knockout.
To put this into prospective, in all my years of watching boxing, I've only seen one other double knockdown - between Sechew Powell and Cornelius Bundrage in 2005 - and both men immediately jumped back to their feet. The end of this classic 80's slugfest is probably the closest we will ever see to a double knockout.
In his following fight, Chisanda Muti got knocked out in three rounds by an 8-0 prospect named Evander Holyfield. He lost half of his next six fights and retired in 1989. Leroy Murphy saved himself a beating from Evander by losing his IBF Cruiserweight title to Ricky Parkey (who also got KO'd in 3 by Holyfield). He went on to fight until 1991, took seven years off, and finally retired in '98 after two comeback bouts.
Neither man turned out to be a great fighter, but their role in producing a fight that makes boxing fantasy a little more believable will never again be forgotten.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Heat Check: Alexander Povetkin vs. Larry Donald
The kid passed his first test.
Promising heavyweight prospect Alexander Povetkin was matched against the wily, 40-year-old Larry Donald, to see how he does against a live opponent. Mind you, not live enough to check his chin or heart, but live enough for us to make an accurate assessment on where the young man's skill level resides.
In winning a virtual shutout, he showed us plenty. I like what I see.
Pros:
- Good defense. He rarely got hit with consecutive jabs, and showed a nice ability to slip a jab and counter with a hook or right hand.
- Nice body work. One thing that annoys me about a lot of European fighters (super middleweight titan Mikkel Kessler, the Klits bros, ect.) is that they act like body shots are illegal blows. This dude goes up and down well.
- Quick hands. His hands are easily some of the fastest in the division.
- Varied attack. Quick lead left hooks, double hooks to body and head, hook-uppercut combinations - variety that's rarely seen from the heavies.
- Decent stamina. Not great by any means, but above average for a heavy and especially good for one in his 13th pro fight.
Cons:
- Power? He hit Donald with several flush blows and never had him visibly hurt. This doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't have power, as Donald has a very solid chin. But it does mean the book is still out on how hard he can crack.
- Not enough inside work. While it's true that Donald was initiating the vast majority of the clinches, Povetkin needs to work a lot more on the inside. He was more than happy to oblige whenever Larry held him since it gave him time to rest. That's all good and well against a 40 year old that hasn't fought in two years; it could be a fatal flaw against a fresher opponent who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in close quarters.
What I'd like to see in his next few fights:
- A chin test. He needs to fight someone with a little lead in their gloves.
- A heart test. He needs to fight a durable opponent that's willing to let their hands go (Donald didn't have much other than a jab).
Suggested opponents: Lamon Brewster (if he loses to Wladimir), Calvin Brock, Matt Skelton, Chris Arreola.
Promising heavyweight prospect Alexander Povetkin was matched against the wily, 40-year-old Larry Donald, to see how he does against a live opponent. Mind you, not live enough to check his chin or heart, but live enough for us to make an accurate assessment on where the young man's skill level resides.
In winning a virtual shutout, he showed us plenty. I like what I see.
Pros:
- Good defense. He rarely got hit with consecutive jabs, and showed a nice ability to slip a jab and counter with a hook or right hand.
- Nice body work. One thing that annoys me about a lot of European fighters (super middleweight titan Mikkel Kessler, the Klits bros, ect.) is that they act like body shots are illegal blows. This dude goes up and down well.
- Quick hands. His hands are easily some of the fastest in the division.
- Varied attack. Quick lead left hooks, double hooks to body and head, hook-uppercut combinations - variety that's rarely seen from the heavies.
- Decent stamina. Not great by any means, but above average for a heavy and especially good for one in his 13th pro fight.
Cons:
- Power? He hit Donald with several flush blows and never had him visibly hurt. This doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't have power, as Donald has a very solid chin. But it does mean the book is still out on how hard he can crack.
- Not enough inside work. While it's true that Donald was initiating the vast majority of the clinches, Povetkin needs to work a lot more on the inside. He was more than happy to oblige whenever Larry held him since it gave him time to rest. That's all good and well against a 40 year old that hasn't fought in two years; it could be a fatal flaw against a fresher opponent who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in close quarters.
What I'd like to see in his next few fights:
- A chin test. He needs to fight someone with a little lead in their gloves.
- A heart test. He needs to fight a durable opponent that's willing to let their hands go (Donald didn't have much other than a jab).
Suggested opponents: Lamon Brewster (if he loses to Wladimir), Calvin Brock, Matt Skelton, Chris Arreola.
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