Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Brian Vera 2... Repeat or Redemption.

By Peter Silkov

When Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (47-1-1, 32 koes) meets Brian Vera (23-7, 14 koes) for the second time this Saturday, he will be looking to put behind him the controversy of their first meeting, last September, when he and the three judges seemed to be just about the only people present at the Stubhub Centre that night, who believed that Chavez deserved to take the decision. To say that the verdict left a nasty smell in the air would be an understatement.   

Brian Vera was supposed to be a soft fight for Chavez Jr.; a simple warm up to shed some rust and look impressive in what was his first fight since losing to Sergio Martinez for the WBC World middleweight title in 2012.  However, things didn’t turn out that way. Far from being a soft target, Vera turned out to be a feisty opponent who took full advantage of an out of shape Chavez Jr. This was after the fight had gone from being a super-middleweight contest, to being a ’catchweight’ fight at 173 pounds, (just two pounds under the light-heavyweight limit) after it became clear that Chavez Jr. would not be able to make the super-middleweight limit. 

The results of Chavez’s lack of conditioning were plain for all to see against Vera.  Despite being a heavy underdog going into the fight, Vera out-hustled, out-boxed, and even out-slugged Junior.  Although Chavez Jr. seemed to land the heavier punches, they were few and far between, and when they did find their target, Vera simply shook them off and increased his own attack. Vera is not a big puncher, but he controlled the pace of the fight, and landed considerably more punches throughout the course of the contest. In addition to this, Vera was also the aggressor, while Chavez Jr. spent large portions of the fight on the retreat and covering up, while at the same time, offering little to counter Vera’s constant busyness. 

If the verdict in favour of Chavez Jr. came as a shock to observers, it shouldn’t have, after all, Chavez Jr.’s boxing career has been marked by the blatant favouritism and indulgence that he has received from the boxing authorities and the WBC in particular. Being the son of the legendary multi-weight world champion, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., has certainly turned out to have some perks for Junior, with the biggest perk of all is when the president of the WBC doubles as your Godfather. As can be expected under such circumstances, the late Jose Sulaiman was the perfect Godfather for Chavez Jr. The way Sergio Martinez’s WBC world middleweight title was levered from him during an injury-forced absence in 2011, and handed to Sulaiman’s favourite (God) son, was really something to behold, for its pure unashamed crassness.
For his part, Chavez Jr., having been born with a silver (or is it golden?) boxing glove in his mouth, rather than a silver spoon, has spent the best part of his career bewailing how tough life is when you’re the son of a legendary champion. 

Chavez’s tragedy is that he has inherited little of his famous father’s pugilistic gifts. Instead, he has built his career upon a wide variety of mediocre opposition, allied to an astonishing ability to downsize for weigh-in day, and then gain as much as 25 pounds by fight time. This difference in natural size from his opponents is the one thing, which has helped Chavez look like a genuine world-class fighter in the past, and has helped him compensate for his lack of talent in almost every other area.  It is true, that young Chavez is a tough boy, who can take a rap on the chin and keep coming forward, as he did in his fight with Martinez. Then again, when a fighter is well over 14lbs+ heavier than the man in front of you, it must be a little easier to take what they dish out. 

It is perhaps fitting, in the topsy-turvy world of Chavez Jr., that his most admirable night in many ways has been his defeat at the hands of Sergio Martinez. On that night, Chavez Jr. showed genuine heart to take a prolonged boxing lesson and pasting from Martinez, and then stage a last round rally that had some believing that he was about to pull off a famous victory. In the end, it was not enough and Chavez Jr. lost by a wide margin, but he had shown a toughness and heart that many thought he did not possess.  It was a defeat, but not a disgrace.

Ironically, after the positives that came out of his loss to Martinez, Chavez Jr. has seen his fortunes fall and his career tumble completely off the rails. In the wake of his first career defeat, Chavez Jr. was hit by a suspension for testing positive for marijuana in his post Martinez drugs test, forcing him into a year of inactivity, and recrimination with those around him.  Then came the ’comeback’ last September, and the controversy with Vera.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this for Junior. The Vera fight was supposed to be a prelude to Chavez Jr. ascending to a new throne at super-middleweight, (Middleweight being written off now, due to Jr’s ever expanding midriff) the WBC portion of which had been skilfully prised from an injured and inactive Andre Ward (rings a bell somehow?) and given on loan to battle worn veteran Sakio Bika.  Everything was set up for a Chavez Jr. to challenge Bika once he got past Vera, but Junior fluffed his lines, even if the judges tried to give him a pass anyway.     

Controversial decisions are nothing new for Chavez Jr. Previous opponents Matt Vanda, Sebastian Zbik, and Marco Antonio Rubio have all suffered from the curious judging that often seems to accompany a Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight. Maybe it is one of the few traits that he has inherited from his father, as Pernell Whitaker and Frankie Randall know only too well. It has never been that easy to get a point’s decision over a Chavez. 

The general indignation caused by the Vera decision couldn’t be simply ignored this time, even the Chavez Jr’s loyal Mexican fan base have grown increasingly disillusioned with their wayward hero. In the run up to this rematch, Chavez Jr. has been making all the right noises, saying that he owes the fans a great performance and that he has been training for 5 months, and certainly pictures seem to show Chavez Jr. in better condition than he has been in years. 

Chavez needs to do more than simply win this fight, he needs to win it in style in order to be convincing. Vera for all his toughness is in reality a middleweight, and with all due respect, a mediocre middleweight. Chavez is likely to be weighing in at cruiserweight levels by fight time. With such a natural size advantage, anything less than a clear-cut victory for Chavez Jr. on Saturday, will be a further blow to his crumbled credibility. For Vera, the question is can he really improve on his last performance against Chavez Jr. and how will he stand up to a supposedly fit and motivated Chavez Jr.

One thing in Vera’s favour is that out of the two men, it is he, rather than Chavez Jr. who is the natural fighter, with an indomitable heart. Whether it will be enough to defeat a fit Chavez Jr is an interesting question. 

Saturday should be redemption for Chavez Jr., otherwise, his credibility will be stretched to breaking point, and there’s a limit to how much even his homegrown   Mexican support will put up with, before they start to finally desert him. 

If the fight goes the distance again, it is hoped that the judges are watching the same fight as everyone else this time. 

Copyright © 2014 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com

Erik Morales… The Long Goodbye

By Peter Silkov

On March 22, Mexican ring legend, Erik Morales, will enter the ring again for the first time in almost 18 months, to once more ply the trade that has brought him fame and glory, but which his 37 year old body seems increasingly ill-suited to pursue.  When he steps through the ropes at the Monterrey Arena in Mexico, on March 22nd,  Morales will not simply be facing battle with fellow Mexican Jorge Paez Jr., he will be battling the debilitating effects of being a professional fighter for 21 years, and all the wars and punches, that those 21 years have entailed.  Unlike arch rival Marco Antonio Barrera, ‘El Terrible’ has never changed his style in order to adapt to the aging process, or prolong his career, instead, he has remained the aggressive boxer-puncher he has always been since the earliest stages of his career.  While this devotion to the warrior-way has cemented his popularity with the fans, it has also has caused a steady corrosion of Morales’ skills, a decline that can be seen reaching as far back as the past decade. 

Morales’ record of 5-8 in his last 13 fights, stretching back to 2004, exposes the length and depth of ‘El Terrible’s’ decline. True, some of these defeats have been to the best fighters in the world pound-for-pound; it could be seen as harsh to hold Morales defeats to the likes of  Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera, Marcos Maidana and Danny Garcia against him. It isn’t so much that he lost to these fighters, but how he lost to them that has been so revealing.  In each one of his defeats, Morales has looked a little more chipped and frayed, a little more removed from the sleek sharp-shooting, gunslinger of a fighter that he was at his peak. 

But… boxing is a hard place to leave.

The cracks could be first seen in the third fight of his bitter trilogy with Barrera on November 27, 2004.  Like their first two fights, it was a close battle, but it was the first of their three fights to have a clear winner, and Barrera won it with a freshness that a relatively lethargic Morales seemed to lack.  For the first time in his career, Morales seemed to be a little slower at pulling the trigger than in the past.
Any suspicion of decline would be dismissed as foolish when looking at Morales next fight. Four months after the Barrera defeat, he had his first encounter with Manny Pacquiao, and came away with a point’s victory, after yet another classic war. However, in retrospect, this was to be one of the final great bursts of the flame and Morales’ last great victory.     

In his very next fight, against awkward, but unheralded Zahir Raheem, Morales found himself out-paced and out-boxed, with his reflexes suddenly looking like those of a man who has been in a string of never ending ring wars. Suspicion became sad fact over the course of Morales’ next three fights, all of which he lost, as the roof of his boxing career fell in upon him. Two consecutive losses to Manny Pacquiao showed a quickening decline in Morales’ abilities. In what was their second encounter, on January 21, 2006, Morales was comprehensively beaten, and stopped in the 10th round, handing Morales the first stoppage defeat of his career. 10 months later, Pacquiao simply crushed Morales, knocking him out in the 3rd round.

When Morales fought David Diaz for the WBC World Lightweight championship, on August 4, 2007, it was supposed to be Morales’ farewell fight. Unfortunately, few sportsmen make longer farewells than boxers. Against Diaz, ‘El Terrible’ mustered some of his old magic and lost a close decision. Morales kept to his word and announced his retirement after the loss to Diaz. It would have been a fitting finale to Morales’ career, and it was for over two years. But then he came back.
The comeback in boxing is it seems to be as inevitable as rainy Sundays. Often the bigger a fighter’s legend, the harder it is for that fighter to stay away, and see himself become part of history and the past.   

Starting in March 2010, Morales’ comeback fulfilled all the usual clichés of the aging warrior stepping back into the ring after his time has past. Weighing in at welterweight, he was slow and flabby against Jose Alfaro and Willie Limond.
Then, like so many greats before him, Morales reached back into his past, got into better physical condition, and pulled out two performances that had strong echoes of the fighter he had once been. His fights with Marcos Maidana and Pablo Cesar Cano (when he won the vacant WBC world light-welterweight championship) showed that, while he was past his best, his heart was still that of a warrior.  While these were great performances by Morales, the knowing-eye would still see these performances as more the case of a warrior’s heart pushing a faded body to its limits and beyond, rather than a rediscovery of past youth.

Glory turned to farce and embarrassment when Morales lost his title on the scales in his next fight against Danny Garcia.  His technical loss outside the ring, was followed by a point’s loss in the ring.  Morales’ aging body will no longer shed the weight that he wants it to lose. 

However, the worse was to follow. In a rematch with Garcia on October 20, 2012, ’El Terrible’ was just terrible. He was plagued again by weight problems and looked to be a shell of the fighter he had been in their first fight, as he was knocked out in the 4th round. To add insult to injury, Morales failed the post-fight drug test, testing positive for a diuretic, and clearly exposed Morales’ ever-increasing inability to hone his body into fighting shape.

Now Morales is coming back again and the results are not likely to be pretty.  Time is not on the side of ring worn warriors over the age of 35, who comeback after almost 18 months of inactivity.  Morales has spoken of this latest ’comeback’ as being his ’farewell tour’, but boxing unlike tennis or golf, isn’t kind to farewells.

Morales’ opponent on March 22nd, Jorge Paez Jr., is the son of the talented and flamboyant former World Featherweight champion, Jorge Paez Sr., who in his prime would have been a worthy opponent for Morales in his Featherweight days. Paez Jr. is a different proposition to his father; he is a good, but not exceptional fighter.  Paez Jr.’s best wins have been his two victories over Omar Chavez, one of the fighting son’s of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.  

Even the Morales of two or three years ago would have been a solid pick to beat Paez Jr., but in 2014, and with his last appearance in the ring being his flabby 4-round collapse to Danny Garcia, ’El Terrible’ has reached the point of his career where any punch coming his way is filled with danger, no matter whom is the thrower of that punch.  Fighting at welterweight Morales’ body is likely to be carrying the unsightly handlebars on his sides, which seem so sad and incongruous, on the man who was once rake thin in his warrior prime. How close to really being fighting-fit Morales can be at this stage of his career remains to be seen. On the plus side, Paez Jr. is not a noted puncher, however, he is known to be durable, and so this is unlikely to be a short night for Morales, but rather a long and gruelling fight that will test the conditioning of his aging body. 

The biggest worry is what will happen if ‘El Terrible’ does win and gains the misplaced confidence to go for one more big fight.  One more… yet again. 

After over 21 years of taking and giving punishment in the ring, the reality is that Morales’ body has already retired on him, even if he refuses to acknowledge it. 
All that is likely to be left now is the heart of the warrior he once was, and that is a dangerous thing for a 37 year old with over 21 years in the ring behind him.  Unfortunately, long goodbyes seldom have happy endings.


Copyright © 2014 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com
 

Bennie Briscoe…The Bad Man From Philadelphia

By Peter Silkov


Looking back from where we are today in boxing, with it’s multiple ‘world titles’ infecting every weight division, it is hard to imagine a time when there was just one world champion at each weight, and the contenders actually fought each other regularly, with the prize being a possible shot at the champion. This was the way it was for Bennie Briscoe, back in the 1960’s and 70’s, when he was one of the ‘baddest’ contenders for the World middleweight title, at a time when the 160 pound division was made up of a pretty ‘bad‘ bunch. 

Briscoe came out of Philadelphia, ‘the city of brotherly love,’ which is renowned for producing some of the toughest, most aggressive, and exciting fighters, ever seen within the square ring. Bennie was no exception, in fact, he was and is still seen by many as a prime example of what a Philadelphia fighter should be, tough and aggressive, relentless, with a good punch,  and not afraid to take some, in order to land some, but intent on landing more, far more. Bennie’s nickname was ’Bad’ and long before Mike Tyson, Bennie Briscoe fought every fight with bad intentions.  Bennie was no fancy-dan, but he had good technique, the kind of technique that many of today’s sluggers sadly lack. He had a hard, accurate jab that could shock and shake an opponent.  However, it was his body punches that really wrecked a man.  Briscoe’s body attack was one of the prime reasons why he was so ’Bad’. 

Briscoe turned professional in 1962, at the age of 19, after an amateur career, which saw him go 70-3.  Fighting in legendary Philadelphia halls and arenas such as the Blue Horizon, The Convention Centre, and the Philadelphia Arena, Briscoe soon built up a following with his exciting and aggressive style, and it wasn’t long before he was mixing it with some of Philadelphia’s finest and most dangerous; having started his career as a Welterweight. Briscoe soon matured into a middleweight and by the mid-1960’s ’Bad Bennie’ was fighting and beating fellow Philadelphia middleweight warriors, such as Charley Scott, Percy Manning, George Benton, and building a reputation that would become a legend.  In May 1967, Briscoe travelled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he faced another young contender, Carlos Monzon. The two men fought an evenly matched contest, which was judged a draw after 10 rounds. For Briscoe, the draw away from home, against such an opponent who was fighting in front of his own people, was as good as a win. Monzon would go on to win the World middleweight championship and become one of the greatest champions the division has ever seen. Indeed, Monzon’s record for the rest of his career, after his first fight with Briscoe, would be 49-0-3. 

Briscoe’s assault upon his fellow 160 pound contenders was relentless in the late 1960’s and early 70’s. He was like a rampaging freight train running through the division. There was seldom a soft touch handed to Bennie from his management, but he usually won, and those he lost, such as decisions to Vincent Rondon, Juarez De Lima, and Joe Shaw, were avenged in rematches. A fighter had to be something really special to beat Bennie twice in a row, and the only men to manage this with Briscoe throughout his career, were Luis Rodriguez and Rodrigo Valdes. Briscoe fought Rodriguez twice in the late 1960’s and found the brilliant Cuban (who sadly is seldom talked about today) simply too fast and slippery.

Despite his success, and his regularity in the Ring magazine’s top ten, (when that magazine’s ratings actually counted for something) it took Briscoe 10 years of fighting to get his first world title shot. On November 11, 1972, he went back to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to face Carlos Monzon again, this time with the World middleweight championship at stake, (Monzon took the title from Nino Benvenuti the previous year). Briscoe gave Monzon one of his toughest nights as champion, shaking him up in the 9th round, and always coming forward and trying to pressure the champion. After 15 rounds of intense action, Monzon retained his title on points. It was to be the theme of Briscoe’s career concerning world titles, being so near, yet so far of his goal of becoming a world champion.

Following his unsuccessful world title bid, in 1973, ‘Bad Bennie’ went back to doing what he did best, beating up on the rest of the middleweight contenders. On March 26, 1973, Briscoe stopped Art Hernandez in 3 rounds, to win the NABF middleweight title. After successfully defending his title against Billy Douglas three months later, with an 8th round stoppage, Briscoe lost the title on September 1st, when he was out- pointed by the hugely talented Columbian, Rodrigo Valdes. It was the first of three fights that Briscoe and Valdes would engage in together, each one of them fast-paced duels.

Eight months after their first meeting, Briscoe and Valdes fought again, this time for the WBC world middleweight title at stake. The WBC chose to strip Monzon of recognition as world champion, due to him declining to fight Valdes when they ordered him to fight. This second meeting would be the best fight between Briscoe and Valdes. It was a skilful slugfest, as both men went after each other with everything they had, each man taking turns in hurting the other, as the battle ebbed and flowed at a blistering pace. However, Valdes’ counterpunching and flashy combinations seemed to be edging things, as Briscoe took heavy punishment during his continual march forward.  In the 7th round, Valdes seemed to have tired and Briscoe went after him as he lay on the ropes, only to be caught by a tremendous left hook from Valdes, and then a follow up combination that sent ‘Bad Bennie’ crashing down to the canvas. Although Briscoe beat the count, he was out on his feet, and the referee waved off the action, giving Briscoe the first and only inside the distance defeat of his career.

At this defeat by Valdes, Bennie did what a Philadelphia warrior would be expected to do, shrugged his shoulders, and carried on pushing forward. Over the next three years ‘Bad Bennie’ continued to take on anyone who would face him, which wasn’t always easy and meant that Briscoe often had to take the short end of purses in order to entice opponents to face him. Amongst Briscoe’s victories at this time were wins over Stanley ’Kitten’ Hayward, Eugene Hart, and future World light-heavyweight champion, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.  Briscoe also fought draws during this time with Vinnie Curto, Willie Warren and Emile Griffith. Through it all, Briscoe stayed at or around the top of the world rankings.  But, despite retaining his status as one of the premier contenders for the world title, Briscoe had to wait until the 1977 retirement of world champion Carlos Monzon (who had regained the WBC portion of the title with two victories over Rodrigo Valdes) before he got another chance of becoming world champion.  On November 5, 1977 ’Bad Bennie’ met Valdes for the 3rd time, in order to decide the winner of the now vacant WBA and WBC world middleweight titles. It was another classic contest between the two, but without quite the fire of their first two bouts. This time Valdes boxed and counter-punched his way to a 15 rounds point’s victory. His movement and slick combinations kept him a slight step ahead of Bennie, and allowing him once more to deny the Philadelphian the world championship. After this third, and final shot, defeat for a world’s championship, something seems to have gone out of Briscoe. This should not be surprising, as Briscoe had been campaigning for over 15 years, most of it in the front-line against the very best. He was now past 34 years of age and perhaps resigned to the fact that he would never reach the pinnacle of his profession…the world championship. In the remaining five years of his career, Briscoe went 8-9.  He was still fighting the best, but the losses were coming more often.  His defeats included losses to future World middleweight champions Vito Antuofermo and Marvin Hagler, two fights in which Briscoe gave, as good as he got at times, but was unable to sustain any advantage long enough to claim victory. Then there were close, and debatable, losses to David Love, Richie Bennett, Clement Tshinza, and Vinnie Curto.

However, even taking into account the level of his competition, and the narrowness of some of his defeats, there was no denying that by 1980 ’Bad Bennie’ had slowed down. While still formidable, he was like a once smooth-running machine, now, sluggish, and prone to misfires.  The familiar march forward had become a slow trudge. 

There were still some sparks of brilliance from the fading Briscoe. These included his 1979 point’s win over the young, rugged prospect, Teddy Mann, a 1980 revenge point’s win over Richie Bennett, (after losing to Bennett some months earlier), and on March 23, 1982, an upset 5th round stoppage victory, over another prospect looking to use him as a stepping stone, Norbeto Sabater. The Sabater victory was Bennie’s last.  Three months later, he dropped a close split-decision to Ralph Hollett, in Nova Scotia Canada. Six months later, on December 15, 1982, Bennie fought Jimmy Sykes at the Blue Horizon, Philadelphia. ’Bad Bennie’ started fast, but then seemed to tail off, and be happy just to jab with Sykes. After 10 rounds, Sykes was the winner on points, having been adjudged to have outworked Briscoe. This defeat seemed to convince Briscoe that at almost 40 years of age, and after over 20 years as a professional, his fighting spark was finally gone.  He never fought again.  Briscoe’s final record was (66-24-5, 53kos).

Unfortunately, even after all the years, and all the fights, and his star status as a top contender and favourite performer, Briscoe was not set up for life when he retired. The last years of his career were overshadowed by Briscoe falling out with his long time promoter J. Russell Peltz and manager Arnold Weiss (who was Peltz’s brother in law) after Briscoe declined to renew their contract. Although Briscoe earned an estimated 1.5 million dollars, when he looked at his bank accounts near the end of his career, he had just 30,000 dollars spread over three accounts. 
In his retirement, Briscoe worked as a garbage collector and generally kept a low profile.  ’Bad Bennie’ Died in 2010, at the age of 67.   

It’s almost a cliché today to pick out certain fighters of the past, and say how if they had been boxing today, then they almost certainly would be world champions.  With Briscoe, however this is no empty cliché, but a stark fact. Briscoe fought at a time where a fighter had to be special just to get himself into contendership. It’s hard to see Briscoe fighting in today’s climate of more ‘world champions’ than genuine contenders, and not picking up a big handful of titles for himself. Although he never won a world title, Briscoe will always be remembered as one of the best middleweights in the world, during a time when the middleweights (and boxing in general) was steaming with talent; when the middleweights were ’bad’ and Briscoe, one of the baddest of them all. 

‘Bad Bennie’s’ legend lives on, John DiSanto, who runs the Philadelphia Boxing History website, came up a few years ago, with the idea of awarding ’Bennies’ which are small bronze statues of Briscoe, that are awarded to Philadelphia fighters, for fights of the year, and fighter of the year. Over 30 years since his last professional contest, and despite his not being talked about today as much as he should be, Bennie Briscoe remains a legend in Philadelphia.       


Copyright © 2014 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com
 

Curtis Stevens Aiming to Break the Machine

By Peter Silkov

The last time we saw Curtis ‘Kryptonite’ Stevens (25-4, 18kos) he was taking a harsh lesson from the dynamic Gennady Golovkin, in his unsuccessful challenge for Golovkin’s WBA world middleweight title.  On that night, last November, Stevens found himself powerless to disarm the marauding champion, and after 8 rounds of receiving clinical and often brutal, punishment, he was wisely rescued between rounds by his corner.


After finding Golovkin a step too far, Stevens returns to the ring, on Friday night, at the Resorts International, Atlantic City, New Jersey, against the tough Patrick ‘The Machine’ Majewski (21-2, 13kos). 

When he was beaten in 2010 by Jesse Brinkley, on points, Stevens responded to that upset defeat by staying out of the ring for over 2 years.  This time he seems to have taken his setback much better, and is returning just 2 months after the Golovkin fight.  Stevens is looking to bounce back quickly, and get his name right back into the mix of the top fighters in the 160-pound division.  His opponent on Friday is a tough Polish native, who has based himself in Atlantic City, and fought almost exclusively in America.  There is nothing flash about Majewski, and at first glance, he can seem like just an ordinary fighter, with no exceptional skills.  However as his fights proceed he often seems to get stronger and stronger.  With just two defeats in his 23 contests, Majewski’s greatest asset is his fitness and heart, and a relentless fighting style, which has worn down the majority of his opponents.  Like Stevens, Majewski is coming off a defeat, having been beaten on points last September, by the unbeaten Dane, Patrick Nielson.

With each boxer entering this fight with a loss in their last contest, it becomes even more imperative for both men to score a victory on Friday night. The middleweight division is currently one of the most competitive and popular divisions in boxing at the moment, and the winner of Friday’s fight would put themselves in position for a number of possible lucrative matches. 

Stevens enters this fight with the more to lose, despite his defeat to Golovkin, he was not embarrassed or disgraced, and so his viability for some big fights in the near future has not been damaged. Defeat against Majewski however, would be a big setback for ’Kryptonite’ and would end thoughts of another world title opportunity, against one of the other 160-pound ‘world’ champions, for the foreseeable future.  
Majewski on the other hand goes into Friday’s showdown with less to lose. He is the underdog, who, despite his popularity, has a much lower profile than Stevens.  Friday’s fight offers Majewski the chance to score the biggest victory of his career so far, and break through into a whole new level if he wins.

On paper, this looks like a good fight for Stevens to use as a comeback vehicle.  Majewski is tough, but not exceptional enough it would seem, to really have a chance of pulling off an upset.  Other than his point’s defeat to Patrick Nielson in his last fight, Majewski’s only other career blemish is a 6th round knockout defeat to Jose Miguel Torres, in late 2011. Torres is an aggressive big-punching Columbian, who is physically and stylistically of a similar mould to Curtis Stevens.
The Torres result might well be a good guide as to how Majewski will fare against Stevens.    

The key for ’Kryptonite’ in this fight seems to be to get on the inside of the long armed Majewski, and try to overwhelm him before he has got going.  Despite the Polish fighter’s well-earned reputation as a solid chinned warrior, it wouldn’t be so much of a surprise to see this fight end early.  However, things could get interesting if ‘The Machine’ can ride the likely early storm from ‘Kryptonite’ and take the contest into the later rounds, then we may see Stevens having to answer some questions about his stamina and his ability to cope when he is unable to get rid of his opponent early. 

Stevens himself will almost certainly be trying for an impressive early victory here, to show that he is still very much in the top of the middleweight mix, and that ‘Kryptonite’ is a dangerous substance to any middleweight in the world.  Unless that is, your name happens to be, Gennady Golovkin. 

Copyright © 2014 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com
 

Guillermo Rigondeaux Fighting For Respect

By Peter Silkov

When Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0(8kos) steps through the ropes at the Broadwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey this weekend, to defend his WBO and WBA world super-bantamweight titles against Joseph ’King Kong’ Agbeko (29-0(22kos)-4), it will be his first competitive appearance in a boxing ring since his emphatic victory over Nonito Donaire last April. After such a victory over a boxer of Donaire’s stature, a fighter rated as one of boxing’s top pound-for-pound practitioners, it would be expected that Rigondeaux would be feted and praised, and given his just due, as having proved himself one of the sport’s elite.  Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth, which is part of the reason why ‘Rigo’ has not fought since the Donaire bout, and has struggled to gain this last month of the year outing. Immediately following ’Rigo’s triumph over Donaire, in their highly anticipated unification fight, there began an orchestrated smear campaign to devalue ‘Rigo’s victory, and minimize Donaire’s defeat. Astonishingly, this campaign originated from Rigondeaux’s own promoter, Bob Arum, and was supported and encouraged by HBO. Rigondeaux had won the fight, but he was boring, was the general opinion from Bob Arum, in fact he had made both fighters look boring it seems. Arum went on to say that promoting Rigondeaux in the future would be no easy task, and that the very mention of his name to members of HBO ’made them vomit’.

This attitude from Arum has set the general tone for most of the summer; Rigondeaux had become little more than a pariah to his own promoter, his crime… winning a fight, he shouldn’t have won. Rigondeaux, with his magnificent amateur record, but limited professional career, had been brought along as impressive fodder for Arum’s favourite, Donaire. After all, how could a 33 year-old, with just 11 pro fights, beat a boxer of Donaire’s standing and experience? Unfortunately, for Arum, he didn’t share his vision of the script with Rigondeaux. Worse of all, not only did Rigondeaux win, he performed a good old-fashioned schooling of the ’Filipino Flash’.  Furthermore, Donaire did not go down fighting, but rather wincing, and on the retreat, after being caught on the eye in the last round.

If you listen to Bob Arum, and HBO, the reason that Donaire’s only notable success throughout the fight, came with a flash knockdown in the 10th round, was all part of Rigondeaux’s negative and boring tactics. Seldom has a winner of a major fight been so maligned and by the very people who are supposed to be supporting and representing him.  It has been a bitter pill for the Cuban refugee to swallow.  Rigondeaux’s success has been gained with many years of hard work and painful sacrifice. Though he has had only twelve professional contests, it would be a mistake to think of his rise as meteoric, and gained with ease. His is a success borne from many years of toil as an amateur for Cuba, and then the huge sacrifice he made when he left his wife and family behind when he left Cuba for America, in order to follow his dream of professional career, and world titles.  ’Rigo’ has now won the titles he once dreamed about, with phenomenal success for such a short pro career, but only he knows how bittersweet his triumphs have become for him. Certainly, the Donaire fight has shown him that the American dream can be a complex thing, and that the bottom line in boxing is not what you do, but how many people are willing to watch you doing it.  

Part of the problem is that there is a strong antipathy in modern boxing to almost everything that constitutes ‘the sweet science’. Any boxer who employs a jab, some movement, and semblance of a defence, is labelled as ‘boring’ and a ‘runner’ .
Floyd Mayweather, the sport’s master craftsman, has built his career and following upon his larger than life character, rather than people’s enthusiasm for his use of boxing skills that seem otherwise almost extinct. Bernard Hopkins, a self-taught craftsman and defensive genius, has had to wait until his late 40’s to get most of the credit that was due to him at least a decade earlier. In comparison to Mayweather and Hopkins, ‘Rigo’s situation is bleak, he is an outsider, both in boxing style and by birth; no matter that his defensive and technical mastery rivals that of both Mayweather, and Hopkins.

This is a sport in which a boxer like Hopkins, despite all his age defying achievements, is still the brunt of jokes about him being a cure for insomnia. It seems some boxing fans believe that the sweet science is drinking a large coke, while watching two men go toe-to-toe, with not a jab in sight.

After months of stewing about his treatment by Arum and HBO, when he has had little to do, but occasionally issue indignant arguments in his own defence, Rigo finally returns to the ring on Saturday. He must be hoping that this is the first step to moving on from the post-Donaire victory witch-hunt, he has had to endure for the past eight months.

Rigo takes on a tough opponent in former IBF World Bantamweight champion Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko.  Although he has fought just once in the past two years, the Ghanaian is a clever and dangerous opponent, who can both box, slug it out, and has a decent dig. Agbeko knows the bittersweet highs and lows of the boxing game, having been a victim of some scandalous refereeing, when he lost his Bantamweight championship to Mexican Abner Mares in August 2011. In that fight, Mares hit Agbeko low more than twenty times, yet never had any points deducted by a referee, who could at best, be described as inept, at worse, perhaps something a whole lot darker. Certainly, the fight was officiated as if it were the Abner Mares’ show, from start to finish. The referee saved his best work for late in the fight, when he watched Agbeko go down in the 11th round after being hit low yet again, and promptly scored it a knockdown. The subsequent point’s verdict for Mares, was controversial, as many felt Agbeko had done enough to retain his title, especially when he was literally fighting two men in the ring that night, Mares and the referee. Had the referee not ruled a knockdown in the 11th round, Agbeko would have retained his title on points.    Although, in their rematch four months later, Mares clearly out-boxed Agbeko, but their first match still leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Since the second Mares’ fight in late 2011, Agbeko has fought just once; a point’s win in which be beat Luis Melendez for the IBO world bantamweight title.  But despite his inactivity Agbeko is no easy fight for Rigondeaux; ’King Kong’ is a battle-hardened warrior who will be looking at this as his last chance to regain world championship status. There is little doubt that Agbeko will come to fight, and he is unlikely to go into a defensive shell, as Nonito Donaire did against the slick Cuban champion. However, against the skills and strength of Rigondeaux, ‘King Kong’ is likely to be found wanting.
This is an important fight to Rigondeaux, as he is a clear favourite, and will want to produce a good performance against a former champion, who though still dangerous, is considered past his prime.  If Agbeko tries to box with Rigondeaux, he will find himself unable to compete with the champion’s razor sharp reflexes and timing. If on the other hand, he takes the aggressive route against the champion, he will found himself picked off clinically by one the best counterpunchers pound-for-pound today.

Despite being knocked down a few times in his career, Agbeko has never been stopped, so an inside the distance win would be an impressive statement from ‘Rigo’.  With Donaire having already returned to the ring, with a rather unimpressive come- from-behind victory against Vic Darchinyan last month, there has already been talk about a Rigondeaux vs. Donaire rematch.  It is a fight that is unlikely to happen, unless Rigondeaux agrees to move up to Featherweight to accommodate the Filipino favourite. Even if Rigondeaux agrees to this, it is highly unlikely that Bob Arum will ever risk putting Donaire in the same ring with him again, after seeing one of his major cash cows so badly exposed the first time round. Talk of a second fight looks like it is just that, talk, aimed at easing Donaire’s way back, by making promises of redemption, which they will never try to fulfill. It seems more that likely that Rigondeaux will have to go a different route to find big fights in the future, and that will probably mean finding a new promoter, once his contract with Arum and HBO reaches its conclusion, after one more fight.  First, ‘Rigo’ must get past ‘King Kong’ and hope perhaps that victory this time will not be tarnished by his own promoter. 

Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com
 

The Light Heavyweight Explosion

By Peter Silkov

Last night, the Colisee de Quebec, Qubec City, Canada, played host to two explosive performances by the two premier light-heavyweights in the world, Adonis ‘Superman’ Stevenson and Sergey ‘The Krusher’ Kovalev. Both men held on to their respective portions of the world light-heavyweight championship with spectacularly explosive performances. ‘The Krusher’ lived up to his name against Ismayl Sillakh, in what was the first defence of his WBO world light-heavyweight title. After Sillakh had made a good start in the first round by using his movement, ‘The Krusher’ found his range in the second round, and tagged his challenger with a right hand that sent him sprawling to the canvas. Sillakh beat the count, but was dazed, and bleeding from the nose. Kovalev didn’t waste any time catching up with his wounded prey, rushing across the ring with an almost indecent haste. Swift and accurate, left and right hands to the head sent Sillakh down again, this time falling into the ropes, and ending up tangled up and hanging half way out of the ring. There was no point in the referee counting him out, but he did anyway. It was a chilling exhibition of power punching once more from Kovalev, who may well be the hardest puncher pound-for-pound in the world today. In fact ‘The Krusher’ could be the hardest puncher seen at any weight for some years.

Adonis ‘Superman’ Stevenson had to wait a little longer before he caught up with England’s Tony Bellew, but along the way he displayed speed and boxing skills, which would make a possible showdown with Kovalev all the more fascinating. Bellew tried to frustrate Stevenson with movement, and looked to counter with shots of his own, but Stevenson showed good stalking skills and good reflexes, to keep the pressure on, and slip Bellews occasional counters. By the 3rd round, Stevenson was landing with some good shots, and the writing was on the wall despite a gritty show by the challenger. In the 6th round, Stevenson finally cornered Bellew, and sent him down with a terrific left hand. Bellew stubbornly got up, but was groggy, and Stevenson drove him into a corner with a vicious assault; a big left hand snapping Bellew’s head back on his neck, at which point the referee jumped in with a well timed stoppage.

For Stevenson it was the second defence of his WBC world light-heavyweight championship and further evidence that he can back up his punching power with an impressive mix of speed, and boxing skills.

Everything now seems to be set for a light-heavyweight explosion, if and when, Kovalev and Stevenson meet in the ring sometime next year. Kovalev seems all for a showdown with his WBC counterpart, while Stevenson was a little more circumspect, mentioning Carl Froch and IBF light-heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins, as possible future opponents, before he takes on ‘The Krusher’. However, it is unlikely that either Froch or Hopkins would be too eager to tackle Stevenson or Kovalev. IBF champion Hopkins, at 48 years of age, is a ring marvel and still a great boxer, but he also has enough self awareness to know that a fight with either ‘Superman’ or ‘The Krusher’ would not be the wisest of moves at this point in his career. As for Carl Froch, he has enough problems at home, without having to venture to Canada, and take on Adonis Stevenson. In fact the biggest problem facing both Kovalev and Stevenson at the moment is that the big name opponents will be looking elsewhere for opponents, such is the notoriety of their respective punching-power already. The good news is that this joint problem may end up being the crucial decider in bringing both champions together in an explosive unification battle. In the end, Kovalev and Stevenson may find that they are left with each other in their joint search for a big money ‘super-fight’.

How such a clash would go is fascinating. Both men have terrific power, and good all round boxing skills. Stevenson looks to have the edge in speed and boxing technique, despite Kovalev being underrated in this area. However, Kovalev has the edge in punching power. Although Stevenson is a fearsome hitter himself, ‘The Krusher’s punch seems to be on a level of its own. It may well come down to which man can take the better punch. What is for certain is that ‘Superman‘vs. ‘The Krusher’ could be one of the most anticipated fights of 2014, and perhaps one of the most exciting too, while it lasts. It would also see a genuine ‘super fight’ taking place in the often maligned light-heavyweight division.


Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com

Carl Froch at the Crossroads

 

 By Peter Silkov

Boxing is a savage and fickle sport, and a fighter’s career can change dramatically in a matter of minutes between those four ropes. It can change with a single punch, or a hastily taken decision. Although, officially Carl Froch retained his WBA and IBF world super-middleweight title belts last Saturday night (Nov 23rd) with a brave come from behind 9th round stoppage of challenger George Groves, he emerged from his victory battered and shaken, both physically and psychologically. In the days since, what was a marvellous shootout, the general consensus has been that the stoppage was woefully premature, and robbed Groves of a possible chance of victory. It is a view, which the 20,000 crowd in attendance voiced in no uncertain terms.  The crowd let its feelings be known very clearly in the moments after Howard Foster’s brutal interruption of what had been a classic contest. His actions provoked loud protests and derision, which at one point, threatened to spill over out of control. Froch also heard the protests and the anger, and as he raised his arms in victory as he heard the boos. It was a sound that must have hurt him more deeply than any Groves’ punch he took during the fight. Even the right hand, which laid him out on his back in the first round.  The aftermath of the fight has been almost as brutal for Froch as the fight itself. The clamour has grown for him to grant an immediate rematch to his young tormentor, while the protests and anger at the stoppage (and the scoring of the fight) itself, have grown and grown. None more so than from Groves himself, who has left no doubt bout his feelings that Froch was favoured by both the referee and the judges on the night, and his defeat was nothing short of a robbery to save a high profile champion, who had big fights awaiting him in the future. 

Froch has been left a man in turmoil. ’The Cobra’ finds himself at a crucial crossroads in his career. Always a proud man, who relishes his image as a warrior that has ducked no one during his career, Froch finds himself suddenly accused of doing just that, after his failure to follow up on his post-fight offer of a rematch to Groves.  Although Froch publicly offered his brave challenger another shot at his title, in the heated moments following the match, when both men were being interviewed at ringside, in the days since, Froch has sought to distance himself from such a promise, and asked for time to reflect. The champion knows that the path he chooses from here will decide not only the conclusion of a career, which now seems destined to end sooner rather than later, but it will also have a massive impact upon his legacy as a fighter and a champion. 

During the tense run up to their confrontation, Froch made it clear that to lose his world titles to a domestic opponent would represent the ultimate failure for him, and in his eyes at least, severely damage his legacy. Therefore, Saturday’s fight and its controversy and repercussions, must be no less than the ultimate nightmare for ’The Cobra’.  Indeed, if anything could be worse than defeat for a fighter of Froch’s mentality, it would be to hold on to his titles with an ill-gotten, controversial victory.

With talk already from some sides about a possible Froch vs. Groves rematch taking place next summer at an open air venue such as Wembley Stadium, it would seem that the call of a second fight with Groves would be both too loud and too profitable for ’The Cobra’ to ignore. However, he has other options, which may pull him in a different direction than a Groves rematch.


Before the Groves fight, Froch was talking about a rematch with American Andre Ward, in order to reverse the defeat that Ward inflicted upon him in their super six-tournament final in late 2011. Ironically, since Saturdays fight, Ward seems more agreeable to meeting Froch in the ring again. Perhaps partly due to ’The Cobra’ now being open to travelling to Las Vegas, rather than holding out for Ward to come to England. In recent days, Froch has stated a preference to facing Ward in a rematch in Las Vegas, in what would be his finale. It seems that Froch is now looking at having one more fight and calling it a career, and that George Groves may not fit into this plan. 

This option is not so clear-cut for Froch. With the inconclusiveness of Saturday’s fight still ringing in his ears, there are those who would accuse him of ducking Groves, if he were to opt for a swan song fight in Las Vegas against Ward. Though Ward is hardly an easier fight for Froch, the fact is that in fighting the American, Froch would have less to lose than if he were to grant Groves a rematch. If he lose’s to Ward again, it would be a loss to a man who is considered one of the best boxers in the world pound-for-pound. On the other hand, Groves is still a young fighter making his reputation, and a loss to Groves, a domestic rival, would be far more damaging. This is something that Froch dreads, to end his career losing his crown to Groves, would not carry the prestige of losing to a man already rated amongst the best of the world pound-for-pound.

Another option, which has been mooted these past few days, is a Froch vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight. This would be an even harder sell with the public for Froch. Other than his huge Mexican fan-base, Chavez brings little to the table, having failed to score a meaningful win at 168, and looked very poor in his last fight against Brian Vera.  However, a Froch vs. Chavez Jr. bout would most likely still sell well in America, but there is little doubt that Froch’s British fans would be far from satisfied if he decided to go down the Chavez Jr. route.  Indeed, it would look like a case of ’The Cobra’ taking the easiest option on his way out of the hardest game. 

Perhaps one question should be whether Froch cares, as much now about how he is perceived by the fans, and the legacy that he leaves behind when he chooses to retire.  It is possible that Saturday’s experience, and hearing himself booed by 20,000 people after he had just spent the best part of forty minutes fighting for his life, may well have changed the champion’s outlook. Could Froch really be blamed if he now took the easiest route available for him to have one more big payday and then get out while he is still in one piece?  Especially when a second fight with Groves looks to be so potentially risky and damaging. 

Froch has always had a rather fraught relationship with Britain’s boxing fans. Early on in his career ’The Cobra’ was largely ignored, despite winning the domestic championships, and steadily propelling himself up into the world rankings. When he did get attention, he was usually faulted for his low held left hand, lack of defence, and slow, rather clumsy style. It was only after Froch won the World super-middleweight title in 2008, after an epic fight with Jean Pascal, in what turned out to be the first of a five-year run of exciting world championship fights, that Froch began to gain the affection and recognition which he craved. In the five years since the Pascal fight, ‘The Cobra’ has taken part in a string of high quality world championship contests, which mark him out as one of Britain’s most exciting fighters of modern times. It is a reputation that Froch has coveted up until now.

Then came last Saturday, and the phrase ‘hero to zero’ may well have run through Froch’s head at some point in the past few days. While there is little doubt that the fight was stopped prematurely by referee Howard Foster, and that the judge’s score cards have poured fuel on the simmering sense of injustice, it is also true that the treatment of Carl Froch by the 20,000 spectators post fight, and by many in the days since, has been cruel and unfair. 

While a win for Froch in a rematch against Groves would be a great asset for Froch, a loss to Groves would be potentially career ending and scupper ‘The Cobra’s’ ambitions of an Andre Ward rematch. ‘The Cobra’ must balance the risks of taking on Groves, against the long term risks of avoiding a rematch, and always having to live with that factor in his legacy.  It depends what does Froch view as the worst scenario, a Groves’ win or Froch being accused of ducking him. 

So now ‘The Cobra’ finds himself at the crossroads, as he seeks to end his career on his own terms.  Should we blame him if he perhaps decides not to give the public what they want this time, but instead to do what is best for him?  It is a puzzle to which only he will be able to find the true answer.

Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com