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Super middleweight Carl Froch landed a whole lot of these right hands in his fight with Jermain Taylor Saturday, eventually knocking "Bad Intentions" out with only 15 seconds left.
1. Carl tells Jermain Taylor to Froch off
When people ask us boxing aficionados why we are boxing fans, especially with numerous reports of its imminent demise, it can sometimes be difficult to put it exactly into words. Then again, sometimes a fight like the super middleweight tilt between England’s Carl Froch and Arkansas’ Jermain Taylor comes along and does the explaining for us. This fight had everything; two warriors with high skill, both fighters getting knocked down, a close, competitive fight with lots of action, and amazing high drama at the end. Taylor, who was trying to reestablish himself as a big-time player after two losses to Kelly Pavlik, was simply awesome in the first half of the fight, knocking down Froch in the third. He beat the Brit to the punch repeatedly, and took control of the fight on the scorecards. To his credit, Froch showed why he is incredibly tough to beat, taking control back in the latter half, spectacularly knocking out Taylor with only 15 seconds left in the fight. Taylor was hanging on for dear life by that time, and was out on his feet when referee Michael Ortega waved it off. Taylor would have won on the cards had he finished the round. Showtime’s Gus Johnson nearly needed a defibrillator by fight’s end.
Froch is definitely not as skilled as Taylor, but he knows his limitations and proved he knows how to win fights. If you don’t fight twelve full rounds against Froch, you will lose. The real story with this fight, though, was probably Taylor. Once again, he just couldn’t finish the deal, and he’s starting to get a rep for it. He was ahead in both Pavlik fights, losing much the same way (albeit the second time via decision). He’s had stamina issues in he past, and this fight won’t change that perception. But with the way he fought the first part of the fight, it’s easy to see how unstoppable he could become if he can somehow correct his late-rounds letdown. While we know what we’re getting from Froch, it will be interesting to see if Taylor can ever change that scenario. If so, a rematch just might go in the Razorback’s favor.
2. Jim Gray gains entrance in the D-bag & Stupid Question Hall Of Fame all at once
While HBO’s Real Sports show is one of the best on TV, there’s nothing that ruins one of its poignant stories more than uber-arrogant Bryant Gumbel and his post-story chat with the reporter on the piece. Nothing like bringing down the accomplishments of a mentally disabled marathoner by asking how his times would really stack up against non-disabled runners (jerk!). Showtime’s Jim Gray is the boxing equivalent of Gumbel. After watching an electric, drama-filled Froch-Taylor fight that was stopped absolutely at the right time, Gray had to start in with the, “What did you think of the stoppage?” line of questioning. Forget that no one was debating the stoppage at all, even Taylor’s camp and his fans. Inexplicably, he not only asked Froch that question, but also referee Ortega, and then Taylor. What, was Froch supposed to disagree with the stoppage or something? Ortega basically explained to Gray again what was perfectly obvious to everyone else, and Taylor, to his credit, took the high road and said he abided by Ortega’s decision. Gray said that Taylor’s was a classy answer, which is more than we can say for Gray. Way to make a controversy where there was none.
3. Juanma knocks out a Filipino slab of granite
Most boxing fans know that Puerto Rican jr. featherweight sensation Juan Manuel Lopez can hit hard and a lot. But no one expected just how much of that assault he would have to use on Filipino Gerry Penalosa during their fight in Bayamon, PR, Saturday. Penalosa, a two-time titleist who had never been knocked out, was blitzkrieged by Lopez with over – get this – 1,020 punches in nine rounds, with 444 of them landing. The sheer fact that that the Filipino made it that far, and was still punching back and hitting Lopez from time to time, makes his effort one of the toughest seen in recent boxing history. Most fighters can’t last two rounds with Juanma, and Penalosa moved up from 122 for the fight. Lopez didn’t say this, but I’m pretty sure he thought he was going to need the ring stool to get Penalosa out of there. Penalosa didn’t even stop it himself, his trainer Freddie Roach did. While Lopez has some great moments ahead of him, here’s thanking the 37-year old Penalosa for a great career, as this might be it for him. He’s one of those guys that always earned his paycheck.
4. The “Hawaiian Punch” finally does just that
Brian Viloria, like so many fighters, has always been an enigma. He’s always had the talent to be a factor at 108 pounds, but every time he’s stepped up to the world title stage, he’s just not brought his A-game. His losses to Edgar Sosa and Omar Nino (he lost a second, too, but Nino failed a drug test, and the result was changed to a no-contest) both seemed like fights he should have won. Well, that all changed ten days ago, when he finally let his hands go and starched the excellent Ulises Solis in the eleventh round of their fight on the Nonito Donaire – Raul Martinez undercard. For many who have followed Viloria’s career, this was the performance that he was thought to be capable of. He showed consistent workrate, superior power, and the ability to finish late, all against a guy that had not lost in five years, and had only lost once. It’s a rare thing to have a legitimate American (Viloria’s of Filipino descent) flyweight presence, and this could help him get some serious mainstream exposure in the States. If he keeps performing like this, it will be hard not to keep watching him.
5. A whole big mess of stupid
Way to go, James Kirkland & Kendall Holt. Nothing like derailing your careers with degrees from the Plaxico Burress School Of Career Advancement! Apparently, Kirkland would rather spend this Saturday in jail then fighting Michael Walker on the Ricky Hatton-Manny Pacquiao undercard (he was arrested on felony possession of a firearm). Although everyone in Kirkland’s camp is saying he’s a victim of circumstance, he’s still a felon (a 2003 armed robbery conviction), and can’t be near guns of any kind. Regardless what those circumstances are, it’s still going to be hell to clear his name and get his freedom back. Even worse, Holt, who has a wife and kids, admitted he was taking drug money and transporting it to his then-manager, Henry Cortes, who is going to the Big House soon at a jail near you. Luckily, it looks like Holt had nothing to do with the drugs themselves, just transported the money for no fee, so he can complete a court program and not go to the klink, too. Still, he needed to be smarter than that. It’s one thing to make bad decisions in the ring, it will only lose you a fight; do the dumb stuff outside of it, you can lose everything. I like both guys; I hope to never hear anything like this from them ever again.
The thrilling twelve-round split decision against Ike Quartey in 1999 is one of many fights for which Oscar De La Hoya will be remembered. The final round of that fight is considered to be Oscar's guttiest performance. We may never see trunks this short again, either.
Well, since that happened, a couple of different camps have come out of the woodwork. There are those who were thrilled by De La Hoya’s exciting bouts, remembering the events his fights always were, and the anticipation they brought (I can remember having so many people over to my apartment for his fight with Felix Trinidad, we couldn’t fit anyone else in without a shoehorn and some Vaseline!). There are still others who have spent the last week trying to figure out where the Golden Boy fits in amongst the greats of the sport. C’mon now, boxing is over 100 years old, right? We surely have to have somewhere to put this man who transcended boxing in a way not seen since Mike Tyson!
The problem is, for the latter group, placing Oscar is going to be difficult. Prior to him, transcendent fighters of the last 50 years were a lock for the Hall Of Fame in Canestota, New York. No real thought was required. The only exception was Tyson, who was surely headed there (and might still be, depending to whom you talk to), but derailed himself with bizarre behavior both in and out of the ring. But list fighters such as Roy Jones, Jr., Muhammed Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard or Robinson, George Forman, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler and J.C. Superstar and there’s no question they belong. All were top draws garnering the biggest crowds and the greatest media attention, just like De La Hoya. Even non-boxing fans knew who they were.
Do you think of De La Hoya being as great as those fighters? Yes, he beat a faded Chavez (especially the second time), and has wins over inducted HOF’ers Pernell Whitaker and likely candidate Ike “Bazooka” Quartey. Many still believe he beat Trinidad, so that would count as another. However, all his actual career losses are to those headed for the Hall, as well: Trinidad, Shane Mosely (twice), Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Pacquiao. Although he sports numerous wins over other world-class competition just a notch below those fighters just mentioned, is that enough to be classified with the greats? Is there a Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, James Toney or Sonny Liston on that resume’?
This is the argument that has been raging all week, with arguments on both sides putting Oscar in or out of the proverbial Greatest Of All Time list. Does that matter, though? Is the Golden Boy’s impact measured only in his in-ring accomplishments? Use that argument all you want, but there can be no denying his impact throughout boxing and beyond. As Dan Rafael of ESPN.com said, what other boxer would have his farewell press conference televised live on ESPNews? The answer is no one. Who else could pack 100,000 in the Sun Bowl for a meaningless fight with Patrick Charpentier? Regardless of Oscar’s actual merit inside the ring (which, as pointed out above, is still incredibly substantial), his impact on the fight game may never be replaced. And in this day of the “dying” sport of boxing (someone eventually needs to explain to me at what point a sport enters the “dying” stage), there can never been too many Oscar De La Hoya’s.
So while the debate rages on about where the Golden Boy ranks all time, I think I’ll prefer to remember his impact, which is Canestota-worthy. There were so many thrilling fights with top-level opposition that he never ducked. He never gave us less than a 100-percent effort, even when he was making millions. The sport was important to him, and still is, as evidenced by his promotional company that gives us fans quality fights. Hey, De La Hoya will never be confused with perfection, but he was sure perfect for boxing. Happy retirement, Oscar.
Paul Williams searches for the head of Winky Wright during their middleweight clash on Saturday. Rumor has it that due to Winky's massive gloves, Williams didn't discover his opponent actually had a head until midway through the second round.
1. Paul brings the punishment
For the longest time, the debate raged on between fight fans: Who was the most avoided fighter, Antonio Margarito or Paul Williams? Consider that question finally answered, and it has nothing to do with any art-school materials finding their way into Margarito’s gloves. Williams outworked, outhit, and generally out-everythinged former pound-for-pound entrant Winky Wright during their middleweight clash last Saturday. Although Wright was coming off a nearly two-year layoff, he certainly had never been beaten up like this before. Williams threw an astounding 1,086 punches (yes, you read that right), and given the odds of even just a few of them landing, he was going to hit Winky a lot before the fight was over. And even though Wright did land some good punches also, the fight was never in doubt past the fifth round or so.
Now, as good as Williams is, I can’t imagine who’d ever want to fight him. See, the problem is not only that Williams is 6’3” and awesome, it’s also that he’s not much of a draw. Word is that only about 2,000 tickets were sold for the fight, and that Mandalay Bay was practically giving them away before fight time. Williams is great, but he has the personality of a bowl of cold tomato soup. Even the pre-fight story aired on HBO tried to choke some charisma out of Williams and failed miserably, even though his back story was quite interesting. Couple that together with Wright, who never has exactly carried a promotion, and you have a bunch of people disguised as empty seats. Paul “The Punisher” may have to hook up with a Ricardo Mayorga or Edison Mirando to get Williams riled up enough to be interesting.
2. Bag gloves become legal in Vegas
Man, since when did 10-ounce gloves become so damn big? The most amazing thing about the Williams-Wright fight was that Williams could penetrate Winky’s Grant gloves, which looked like he was carrying volleyballs on his hands. I know that glove manufacturers like Winning (out of Japan) have larger, more padded gloves, but I didn’t think Grant, of all people, made a pillow-puncher model. I have 16-ounce bag gloves in my basement smaller than those things! Next thing we’ll hear from Jim Lampley is, “He connects with a straight right hand… at least, I think he did. With his defense up, I haven’t been able to actually see his head since round four!”
3. Holt on just a minute…
It is becoming increasingly obvious these days that one thing you can depend on with Jr. welterweight Kendall Holt is that you can’t depend on him. Seemingly with all the tools needed to become great, Holt showed in last week’s title fight against Timothy Bradley that he might just not have it mentally to get there. For a guy who talks all the trash possible to get a mental edge on his opponent, once in the ring, that seems to go south on him. After mouthing off during the prefight instructions (tacky, to say the least), Holt then decked Bradley with a superb left hook in the first round, putting Bradley immediately into survival mode. Despite having all this momentum, Holt then basically quit pressing his advantage and let Bradley outwork him the rest of the fight. Holt knocked down Bradley twice and still lost 115-111 on two cards, which should tell you how many rounds the judges though Holt lost. While Holt is a likeable guy and has the personality Paul Williams doesn’t, it was clear that Bradley had the clearer focus (Holt repeatedly refused to do anything his corner told him the entire fight). If Holt doesn’t get it together, his will be a lot of talent wasted.
4. Looking into the Cristobal
Yes, heavyweight Cristobal Arreola is too heavy at 255 pounds. Yes, he’s very sloppy at times. Yes, he swears too much during the post-fight interview. But despite all these drawbacks, there’s something about Arreola that makes for compelling TV. That’s due to the fact that no matter what, he gives it his all, and Saturday, his all was way too much for Jameel McCline, who’s probably seen his last fight on the big stage. Arreola loves to throw big punches, which is a prerequisite for a successful heavyweight. Those punches had McCline out the door by round four. The question everybody wants answered, of course, is can he knock the Klitschko’s out with those punches? Eventually, we should get our answer, but likely not just yet. Arreola against another top heavy, such as Alexander Povetkin, should tell us more about whether Arreola’s ready or not.
5. Stupid interview question Hall Of Fame inductee
One of my personal favorite stupid questions was once again thrown back out there like a new Extenze commercial after the Arreola-McCline fight. Anytime a younger, ranked fighter beats an older trial horse who has fought many of the big names, interviewers seem obligated to ask the old guy if the young stud can beat any of the big names out there. So what the hell is the old guy, in this case McCline, supposed to say? If he says no, it means that Arreola is good enough to beat him, but not anyone that really has some talent. What self-respecting fighter is going to say that? If you don’t answer yes, you’re basically admitting you stink! Never mind that he just got his butt kicked in the fight, he’s probably smarting, ticked off he lost in the first place, and now he supposed to say how great his conqueror is? That question is as pointless as another Saw sequel.
Edwin Valero raises his hands high after defeating Antonio Pitalua Saturday. No one was really sure whether he raised his hands because of the win or if he'd just been told that one of his fights was actually broadcast on American TV for the first time since 2003.
Lightweight Edwin Valero falls into just such a category. Headlining the “Lightweight Lightening” PPV card last Saturday, Valero, who hadn’t been seen on U.S. TV since 2003 as a prospect, ripped apart tough Columbian Antonio Pitalua in less than two rounds. Not only is Valero 25-0, but all of his wins have come by KO; only Vincente Mosquera, Nobuhito Honda and Takehiro Shimada have made it past round two against him. As a matter of fact, Valero reeled off 17 straight first round knockouts to start his career, a feat not seen in the last hundred years. Valero, then, ought to be must-see TV, right?
So why the six years in between major TV appearances? Well, it seems Valero got KO’d by a motorcycle back in 2001, when he wiped out, broke his skull, and then had to have a blood clot removed surgically. While a Venezuelan doctor cleared him to fight (he turned pro the next year), a failed MRI in 2004 in New York caused him to be denied a license to fight. As in the case with heavyweight Joe Mesi, it can be difficult to find another place to fight in North America, as almost all commissions there will honor the New York Commission’s findings.
Due to that circumstance, the Edwin Valero show went on the road, fighting in Panama, Argentina, France and his home away from home, Japan. He fought five fights there, becoming something of a cult hero to Japanese fight fans (turns out the Japanese like their devastating knockouts, too!). From there, and especially due to the KO streak, Valero would be come an Internet sensation. There was some less-than-great footage of his fistic work spread here and there, but since he was beating fighters in Japan that most North Americans had never seen fight before, either, it was hard to gauge exactly how good the Venezuelan was. But by this point, the buzz was in full gear, and the boxing community seemed ready to anoint Valero as the “Next Big Thing”. He was licensed by Texas for the PPV, and now many fans could see what the fuss was all about.
The reason for this buzz has likely to do with the ascension of a fighter who just recently fought at Valero’s weight, that being one Manny Pacquiao. As big as “Pac Man” is at the moment, he was once a jr. featherweight curiosity. The Filipino was known for winning a flyweight title at 112 pounds (knocking out Chatchai Sasukul impressively), then jumping up a full ten pounds in three months between fights with Medgoen 3K-Battery and Reynante Jamili back in ’99, after losing the title via KO to the former. Another win against Nedal Hussein ten months later started to make people talk. When everyone finally saw Pacquiao overwhelm skilled South African Lehlo Ledwaba on a PPV undercard in 2001, it looked like there could be a star on the rise.
But that’s really where we’re at with Valero. In Pacquiao’s case, it took two more years before his KO of Marco Antonio Barrera put him on the map to stay, even with a loss to Erik Morales in 2005. There is seemingly a rush to judgment on Valero, who is at the same point in his career that Pacquiao was after the Ledwaba fight. I don’t know why this is; I suppose it makes good talk and print fodder to guess how great Valero already is. Anyone who looked at the Pitalua fight objectively can see that while Valero obviously has TNT in his fists, his defense doesn’t look great, and he sticks his chin out too much. He will have to fight the Joel Casamayor’s & Ali Funeka’s of the world before we have some idea if he belongs in with the top five of the lightweight division.
The Pitalua win was a good start, and while his demolishing of opponents is fun to watch, all we can say right now is that he’s a star on the rise. Future fights against better opposition will tell us more. Remember middleweight Olympian David Reid? A few good wins early in your career will not guarantee greatness. Only time will solve the riddle as to whether Valero will ascend to that vaunted boxing elite status.
Will the son of JC Superstar ever fight a dangerous opponent, or is it just going to be Butterbean-level of opposition forever?
1. Getting plastered with Capetillo & Margarito
For those who have continued to make excuses for the actions of welterweight Antonio Margarito & his trainer Javier Capetillo, you can feel free to cease and desist anytime. News reports coming out of California last week have said that the California Department of Justice has examined Margarito’s hand wraps from prior to January’s fight with Shane Mosley, and guess what? Looks like there was plaster of Paris in there! Well, actually, they described it as having sulfur & calcium in the wraps (these two when mixed with water or sweat form plaster of Paris), so unless Margarito was helping his son with a chemistry experiment just prior fight time, someone was Marga-cheat-ing!
In all seriousness, though, this is an absolutely unforgivable breach of conduct by Capetillo, at the very least. One only needs to remember Panama Lewis taking padding out of Luis Resto’s gloves when he fought Billy Collins, Jr. back in the 80’s to see what something like this can do. For however long he loaded Margarito’s gloves, Capetillo must have known the risk he was putting Margarito’s opponents in, and it looks like he just didn’t give a crap. That is the most horrifying aspect of all this, and Capetillo should [I]never[/I] work in a ring ever again. As for Margarito, maybe he didn’t know what specifically was in the wraps, but he had to know it was something other fighters didn’t use. If he was truly unaware of exactly what Capetillo was doing, he ought to be furious with his ex-trainer and come clean. At the very least, Margarito now needs to serve whatever length the suspension will be. No Tijuana fights, no appeals, nothing. Show some contrition knowing you’re lucky not to have permanently injured any of your past opponents.
2. We’ll always have Paris
Speaking of which, why does Paris get to name plaster? I know it was invented there, but doesn’t that seem kind of arrogant (insert French joke here)? I mean, what else is named this way? Cement was first made in Britain, but they didn’t call it cement of Liverpool or concrete of Cardiff! And if that is the case, why are they French fries and not fries of French? As I was doing some research, the word plaster is generally meant as plaster of Paris, so I have no idea why they even call it that. Besides, it’s kind of a wimpy name for Mexican fighter to use anyway; plaster of Chiapas sounds like something a true Mexican would use!
3. JC Jr. takes the Butterbean route
While this is likely to tick off half of Mexico, this Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. barnstorming tour really needs to end, soon. While his decision win over Luciano Cuello Saturday in their junior middleweight clash was impressive enough, how long will it be before Bob Arum puts him in there with someone dangerous enough to beat him? And don’t give me the “Matt Vanda almost beat him” argument, Vanda’s performance against John Duddy a month ago should have put that to rest. Sure, he can headline Top Rank PPV cards against middling opposition until the end of the Mayan calendar, but this is starting to smack of when Arum was putting Butterbean on every other card in the 90’s. He knew Butterbean couldn’t beat a real heavyweight, so he just fed him club fighters knowing the fans would like eventual KO. No one took the ‘Bean seriously, either. For JC Jr., this will be his fate unless he decides to step it up and not play it so safe. Making money is great and all, but eventually you have to take a risk to make some impact.
4. Is Andre Dirrell a vampire?
That may be a question to which we may never know the answer, but Dirrell, a super middleweight prospect from Flint, Michigan, can sure suck the life out of a room. What an enigma he is. He shows flashes of completely awesome brilliance in the first round against overmatched Derrick Findley last Friday, then absolutely coasts for five more rounds until Findley’s corner stopped the fight. Mind you, Findley was throwing almost no punches back the whole time. I would like to think that Findley’s people were just protecting their fighter, but half of me believes they stopped it because they were as bored as the rest of us watching were. Why Dirrell would throw so few meaningful punches after demonstrating he could land them at will in the first round is beyond me. He’s done this before, though. The funniest part was listening to the energy just draining from Showtime’s Nick Charles as the rounds wore on. By the end of the fight, Slick Nick sounded like he needed a nap. Dirrell needs to face someone that’s going to make him fight all ten rounds or he runs the risk of entering John Ruiz territory.
5. Another Olympic hopeful
I finally got around to watching that bloodfest known as the Joey Gilbert-Jesse Brinkley super middleweight fight from six weeks ago. The post fight press said that Gilbert ran most of the fight. Let me tell you, I haven’t seen running like that since Usain Bolt was scorching the field in Beijing in the 200 meters. Gilbert literally galloped around the ring for five rounds until Brinkley cracked him with such a good right hand it turned his face into Carmen Basillio instantaneously. It was only after Gilbert’s nose was broken and he was bleeding on his trunks, on Brinkley and everyone in the first three rows that he actually started to stand and fight (mental note: if Dirrell is actually a vampire, he should probably never fight Gilbert). Maybe if boxing doesn’t work out, Gilbert could run the 800 meters in London by 2012?
Super middleweight Carl Froch landed a whole lot of these right hands in his fight with Jermain Taylor Saturday, eventually knocking "Bad Intentions" out with only 15 seconds left. 
