The Finito Five 10/23/09

Carl Froch did a lot of chasing Andre Dirrell during the second fight of the Super Six tournament on Saturday. Although Froch got the nod, it started a debate between the boxing writers and public as to who won the fight.

More Super than the Six, it’s the Finito Five!

1. Abraham hits a three pointer to start the Super Six

Boxing fans, by and large, are used to hype surrounding fight promotions; they’re also used to the hype being greater the fight. Just about everyone, however, thought that the Super Six 168-pound tournament had a great chance of living up to the hype. Luckily for all fight fans, they turned out to be exactly right! Going into the Super Six, many figured both Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham were the two favorites. Abraham’s definitive twelfth KO of Jermain Taylor Saturday may just have moved him to the head of the Vegas board. If there’s another fighter with better late round power, he’s has yet to show himself. As a matter of fact, this fight almost mirrored Taylor’s fight with Carl Froch earlier this year; Taylor winning the early rounds, Abraham coming on late, and finally, Taylor tiring and not making it out of the last 30 seconds of the fight. Abraham connected with a crushing straight right that got through the gloves of Taylor, knocking the former middleweight champion more out than Elton John. The fact that referee Guadelupe Garcia counted at all was silly, unless the Mexican referee wanted to practice his English.

The result of all this is that with the Super Six point system, the Armenian Abraham takes a commanding lead, as he received two points for the win, and an additional point for the KO (great idea, by the way). Taylor, however, may have some hard decisions to make. This is his third brutal knockout loss is his last five fights (Froch and Kelly Pavlik), and he was found after the fight to have had a severe concussion and short-term memory loss. He was released from the hospital, but with tough fights against Andre Ward and Kessler left, it’s not like he can take a tune up fight beforehand. It’s tough to see another knockout not happening with at least one of those fights, so perhaps it’s time for Taylor to bow out, if not call it a career. It would sure be a shame to see another brutal knockout damaging permanently the only man to beat Bernard Hopkins twice.

2. Froch holds on, Dirrell holds Froch, fans & pundits hold an argument

The second Super Six fight of the night, while light on scintillating action, presented a fascinating situation the boxing universe doesn’t see that often: Boxing media and fans disagreeing. Many figured Andre Dirrell, who has been known to turn it on and off like the power company, might actually come out with a consistent effort against England’s Carl Froch, Dirrell’s biggest opponent to date. What they got was Dirrell showing flashes of brilliance, but also flashes of complete brain lock. While the Flint, Michigan native befuddled Froch with hand speed and movement, he also held the entire fight, and it was only a matter of time before referee Hector Afu deducted a point, which he eventually did. The amazing part however, was that it didn’t matter, as two judges had it 115-112 for Froch (Dirrell won the other card 114-113). Even stranger, almost all the media had Froch winning a fight in which he did almost nothing in the first eight rounds. Although punch stats were not kept, it was clear that Dirrell, although running and holding, was the only guy landing any shots. Froch did get to him later on, but it seems Dirrell was unfairly penalized for his fight strategy; boxing fans were incredulous, which led to several interesting chats and blogs arguing that Dirrell was the obvious victor despite press assertions to the contrary. Just watch the end of the fight; Froch didn’t look at all like he thought he’d won, and the hush over the pro-Froch Nottingham crowd was palpable. Many boxing writers say that crowds don’t score fights, but boxing fans know who won individual rounds. It has been written here before that Dirrell is a frustrating enigma, which he still is. But he still looked to be the better man this night, and got a big goose egg for it.

3. Ahh, but at least he’s more coherent than George Foreman

Showtime’s newly added third man on the announce team (along with “Captain Coronary” Gus Johnson and Steve Farhood), former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver, has impressed with his knowledge and ability to spot trends in fights. But like any rookie, you had to know there would be a few rookie moments. He may not have thrown five interceptions like first-year New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez last Sunday, but he did manage to combine Carl Froch’s name and call him “Crotch” live during the postfight analysis. Although he corrected himself a few seconds later, I’m sure this had to bring back painful memories for Froch of being teased at school; perhaps that’s why he became a boxer, huh? Give Tarver a mulligan, but be happy he didn’t have to pronounce the names of Frankie Tucker or Shawn Pitt, two boxers of the last twenty years. Then again, this is Showtime, home of the “L” Word and the Tudors, right? I guess we’re lucky Tarver didn’t try to get it on with the ring card girl! Ahh, premium cable – it’s not just for boxing.


4. The future of the heavyweight division…

In the heavyweight era of the Klitschko’s, both of whom are in their late 30’s, the fight game has been starving for young challengers. Lately, however, most of these Next Generation of boxing big boys has turned out to be more talk than talent. Does anyone really think that Kevin Johnson, Alex Povetkin or Tony Thompson are boxing’s next wave? Ruslan Chagaev, Alexander Dimitrenko and Sam Peter had that designation at one point, as well. Yawn. Thankfully, there may be some hope on the horizon. October 10th showcased both Cuban Odlanier Solis obliterating division gatekeeper Monte Barrett on the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rogers Mtagwa undercard, plus exciting Russian puncher Denis Boytsov knocking down overmatched Jason Gavern six times in Mecklenberg, Germany. While it’s too early to tell whether these two will go the way of any of the fighters mentioned above, both have excellent power, and created exciting knockouts of their opponents. Both have hand speed and accuracy rare in a heavyweight. While Solis came in too heavy at 271 and Boytsov’s biggest opponent to date is Taras Bidenko, both these deficiencies can be rectified. And the best part? The both look to have that something special others only wish for. Now that Cris Arreola has lost his Klitschko bid, maybe one of these two will challenge down the road.

5. …and the heavyweight past that should stay that way

All right, you knew it would happen, didn’t you? Just when it was safe to talk about Solis and Boytsov and the future of the heavyweight division, boxing fans are treated to Shannon Briggs’ comeback the same weekend. Really? You mean the Shannon Briggs that couldn’t hang with Sultan “What, me, hepatitis?” Ibragimov? Since his loss to Jameel McCline back in 2002, Briggs has racked up victories against the likes of Jeff Pegues, Wade Lewis, John Sargent, Luciano Zolyone and Chris Koval. Those names might be the lineup of the next season of VH1’s Tool Academy for all most boxing fans have heard of them. Yeah, Briggs did beat Sergey Lyakhovich, who might be working in a Russian Waffle House because no one has heard from him since. Now at 37, what is Briggs going to accomplish at this point? All comebacks must be measured against beating the Klitschko’s, and if Ibragimov couldn’t come close, what makes Briggs think he would be any different? His new manager, Ivaylo Gotzev, said, “We want to see how Vitali (Klitschko) feels when he's looking at an opponent, eye to eye, who can punch harder and faster than he can." Yes, Ivaylo, so do we; that guy sure as hell isn’t Briggs, though. The only chance Briggs has of knocking either Klitschko out is if he puts some of Antonio Margarito’s plaster of Paris in his dreadlocks!

The Finito Q & A – October edition

While Juan Manuel Lopez may look confidently victorious here, he was anything but in the final round of his fight Saturday with Rogers Mtagwa. Whether the aura of invincibility will be gone from Juanma remains to be seen.

This month’s bevy of burning fistic questions, from Juanma’s weekend walk on Queer Street to a UFC-boxing dinner date:

Q: Wow, now that was some high drama at the end of the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rogers Mtagwa fight! Did you see this one coming?

A: No way, and neither did anyone else, for that matter. Juanma was absolutely a punch or two away from losing the fight in round twelve, but Mtagwa, who had been throwing bombs all fight, finally ran out of steam. If the fight had gone 30 seconds longer, it’s likely the Ghanaian would have won. Lopez got absolutely rocked about ten times between round seven and the final bell, and it was a testament to his fighter’s heart that he gutted out the fight until the end. All credit to him.

Q: OK, so is Mtagwa that good, or are there now some chinks in Juanma the Terminator’s armor?

A: This one is really hard to tell. Mtagwa had 13 losses coming into the fight, but most were a result of early mismanagement. You have to believe that living and fighting out of Philly has made him the real deal, and that he’d be a handful for anyone at 122 pounds. However, I’m not sure if this was Juanma just taking Mtagwa too lightly, or if this is a roadmap to beating Lopez. I’ll tell you this: Lopez got hit with a ton of wide, looping shots that someone on the P4P list has no business getting hit with. If he can’t get avoid those shots from Mtagwa, imagine what Celestino Caballero or Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym would do to him.

Q: After the fight, Top Rank chief Bob Arum spewed forth his usual invectives, saying how bad referee Eddie Cotton was, as well as the judges. Any credence to his complaints?

A: A little, but Arum is so full of crap most of the time, I can’t believe he doesn’t attract flies. First off, Cotton wasn’t very good as usual, and looked like he did miss a couple of possible knockdowns that were ruled slips. He also allowed Mtagwa punches after the bell repeatedly, and a few headbutts. However, he gave Juanma TONS of leeway when it appeared he was out on his feet at the end of the fight, so I don’t know how Arum could be too upset. As far as the scores go, he was way off base. I keep reading about how Lopez’ early lead carried him to the decision; sorry, but if your “early lead” is only six rounds, and the other guy beats your rear end for the other six, that’s a draw. Yeah, Lopez had a knockdown, but the last round could easily be scored 10-8 for Mtagwa. I have no real issue with the scoring (116-111, 115-111, 114-113), but the idea that 114-113 is a bad score is totally ridiculous.

Q: Was it as ridiculous as play-by-play man Al Bernstein calling Juanma Juan “Manual” Lopez the whole fight?

A: Not quite, but it’s up there. You’d think a guy who’s covered boxing since the ‘70s would know how to pronounce a Latino name or two. I can’t believe color man Raul Marquez didn’t correct him at some point; it was getting annoying. I like Bernstein a lot, but he really needs to consult his Spanish pronunciation “Manuel”!

Q: In other news of the shocking sort, Jorge Linares got knocked out this weekend by unheralded Juan Carlos Salgado. Does this mean Linares was just a bunch of hype?

A: First off, it’s amazing how everyone has flown into full panic now that boxing’s Next Great Thing has a stunning loss. Yes, it was a shocking result, but for anyone who watched the fight, this was not Marcos Maidana beating down Victor Ortiz for three rounds en route to a stoppage. Basically, Linares got caught with a flush left he never saw coming, and couldn’t recover quickly enough. Salgado never beat him up, nor really did anything but land that one punch. Things like this happen to the best of fighters (remember Wladamir Klitschko losing in two rounds to Corrie Sanders?), so it’s better to wait and see how Linares does in a rematch. We’ll know more then.

Q: Speaking of rematches, are we going to see Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez 4, or is Izzy a spent fighter at this point?

A: Judging from Vazquez’ comeback fight against Angel Priolo Saturday, it doesn’t look good right now. Although Vazquez finally got the KO in the ninth round, he took far too many punches, got cut and generally looked very rusty. Priolo had lost six fights in a row (yes, you read that right), and the Vazquez that beat Marquez and Jhonny Gonzalez would have wiped the mat with this guy. It may just be ring rust which will improve with time, but if he can’t avoid any punches, he should call it a career. Izzy is too good of a guy and respected ring warrior to sound like Meldrick Taylor in ten years.

Q: All right, on to the event everyone’s talking about: the Super Six kicks off this weekend. Who ya got?

A: Regardless which fighter I pick, the fun part of this is that anyone could win any of these fights; it’s really difficult to pick a winner. But since you put my feet to the fire, I like Arthur Abraham over Jermain Taylor by KO, Carl Froch to knockout Andre Dirrell, and in November, Andre Ward over Mikkel Kessler via upset decision. Honestly, I think Ward will be the best of the lot in five years. One thing is for certain: Whoever wins this tournament is going to end up on the P4P list, with a whole lot of cash in his pocket.

Q: What about Allan Green’s constant assertion that he belongs in the Super Six? Should he be in?

A: Well, Green had a chance to make a statement against Tarvis Simms 10 days or so ago on Shobox, and the only statement he made was that he complains a lot. To make his case, he should have steamrolled Simms, but instead, he ended up getting hit a lot en route to a lackluster victory. And for those Green supporters who say he nearly shut out Simms, ask yourself this: Could you see Abraham or Froch letting Simms hang around for ten rounds? Besides, with that performance, here’s betting that Lucien Bute’ just got a bit more interested in defending his title against Green. Green should just be happy if he gets that fight.

Q: Is there really going to be anyone paying actual money for a Hector Camacho, Jr. – Yori Boy Campas PPV?

A: Maybe the same people who bought Camacho’s old man fighting Campas earlier this year, or members of their families. Campas is so over the hill, he gets calls from Evander Holyfield telling him to hang up the gloves. Really, who in their right mind would pay for this? They should give us money to sit through this crap. What’s the venue? Camacho’s back yard? The best part of the promotion though, was Junior saying emphatically that Campas is not on his level. Hey, guess what? I’ll go on the record right now as saying that Campas is nowhere near as good at the biathlon as I am! Yeesh.

Q: Apparently Floyd Mayweather has offered the olive branch to UFC head Dana White, inviting him to dinner to bury the hatchet after their harsh words regarding each other’s sports recently. Good idea?

A. I don’t even know where to start with this one. I guess it would be amazing on some level to see two of the biggest horse’s rear ends in all of sports at one table, but that’s about it. Actually, the person I would feel sorry for the most is the waiter at the restaurant. Not only do you have to decipher what White ordered in between his constant f-words, then you have to put up with “Money” Mayweather’s tip being taken back by the IRS before you can even get your hands on it!

Time for British boxing to climb out of the Stone Age

British heavweight John McDermott tries in vain to explain how referee Terry O'Conner awarded the decision to Tyson Fury in their September fight. His promoter Frank Maloney (left) probably thinks explaining quantum physics would be easier.

Imagine this scenario: It’s a prime-time matchup in the NBA, with a Los Angeles Lakers-Cleveland Cavaliers tilt in Staples Center (the Lakers’ home arena) that has everyone buzzing. It’s a nip-and-tuck affair with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James trading highlight reel moves. At the buzzer, Daniel Gibson of the Cavs hits a 3-pointer, tying the score at 103-103 at the end of regulation. Time to go to the judges to render a decision on which team has won the game. With a groan from the crowd, the head referee raises James’ hand, signifying a Cavaliers’ victory.

Later, all three officials are talking about the game. “Well, I hope I got that one right,” says the head referee. “I seemed to be working baseline most of the night, so I didn’t see how the guards played all that much.” The second referee chimes in. “Wow, that’s what surprised me, then, because Derek Fisher was excellent. He must have had 20 tonight.”

“Really?” the head referee says. “I was too busy looking at Shaq dominating the paint to notice all that, I guess.”

“Yes, and did you see Kobe hit a bunch of shots over Lebron James, too?” says the third official. “I was totally surprised it was so one-sided.”

The head referee looks at the other two. “Boy, I wish all three of us could have had votes. Looks like the Lakers would have won the game otherwise. I don’t know how I’m supposed to pay attention to everything on the court when my job requires me to officiate only certain pieces of it. This is ridiculous.”

Sound silly? Well, in Britain, this scenario plays itself out in hundreds of fights every year. In the case of September 11th’s John McDermott fight with rising British heavyweight Tyson Fury, it’s clear to see why that needs to change.

As nearest that can be determined, the British Boxing Board Of Control (BBBofC) is the only commission in the world that allows referees to be the sole arbiters of fights (if the fight is governed by another sanctioning body, however, the traditional three-judge system is used). This has been going on since the formation of the BBBofC in 1919, and with it has come numerous controversies and questionable decisions.

In the case of the McDermott-Fury fight, the veteran McDermott battered the much-hyped Fury around the ring for ten rounds, out landing the young heavyweight 114-104. McDermott’s 34% connect rate overshadowed the mere 18% displayed by Fury. The majority of Fury’s connects, however, were in the first four rounds, when the bout was much more competitive. From round five on, McDermott was landing the far more telling blows, and Fury’s face looked like it had been blown up with helium by fight’s end. Nearly everyone in Essex’ Brentwood Centre figured that McDermott finally got the big victory he had been starving for in his somewhat underachieving career.

Then, only a second after the final bell rang, referee Terry O’Connor raised Fury’s hand, as if it had been obvious all along who the winner was. Furthermore, O’Conner had inexplicably turned in a 98-92 scorecard for Fury, when the closest press row score had been a draw. Expectedly, McDermott’s camp went nuts, with his promoter Frank Maloney calling for an investigation (he even had a heart attack during the fight!). As of this writing, the BBBofC has granted McDermott a rematch due to the controversy.

The problem with all this is that if there had been three judges, the result likely wouldn’t have happened. The reason the three-judge system evolved in the first place was in case there was a hometown judge or a bad scorecard was submitted. The two judges would overrule the third. To further the objectivity, the judges were then seated on different sides of the ring. Although bad decisions happen in boxing all the time, it’s much harder to have two or three judges screw it all up than a single referee.

The logic of having a referee score a fight is spurious at best, anyway. There are many referees who also judge in the United States, but they either do one or the other. This is ostensibly because it’s too difficult to do both at the same time. As in the NBA scenario, think of the numerous things a referee has to think about during a fight; health of the fighter, low blows, holding, cuts, equipment and canvas conditions, etc. All this, and the referee is supposed to keep track of landed punches? How many times has a referee missed a knockdown call or low blow because he or she was out of position? Extrapolating that out, how many punches might a referee miss? A boxing referee has too much to worry about without having that extra duty.

One must also take into account if a corner or referee has a grudge or is angered by a fighter during a fight, such as when a corner argues with a referee. In this case, O’Conner had lost to McDermott’s dad as a professional. While no one thinks there was any impropriety for that reason, if O’Conner had decided to stick it to his conqueror’s son, there would be no other judges to overrule that decision. If O’Conner had given Fury those rounds because he didn’t particularly like the color of McDermott’s trunks, there would be nothing to stop him.

Let’s put it this way: The reason wooden tennis racquets are no longer used is because they’re obsolete; composite racquets are much better now. The BBBofC needs get with the times and start using a three-judge system like everyone else; it may not be a perfect system, but it’s the best there is right now. Bad decisions are too frequent in the fight game already; there’s no reason to heighten that chance by having a single referee with tons of other duties also determine the winner.