With over
half the year gone, there’s been some very intriguing storylines in the
world of boxing. Fighters that showed
glimpses of greatness were brought down to earth while a young crop of boxers
emerge. It’s boxing, every man for
himself and the elite fighters always rise to the top. While 2014 has been a let-down thus far, the
year definitely hasn’t lacked any substance.
Take a look as I breakdown the second quarter of the year:
Let’s Dig Deep!
Floyd Mayweather Jr. may still be boxing’s king, but his reign will not last much longer. His bout with Maidana showed a vulnerability in the fighter’s abilities I haven’t seen in the past. While Floyd’s obviously still one of the best fighters in the world, I do believe Maidana laid out a blueprint on how to give the pound-for-pound king some problems. A true depiction of Floyd’s regressing skills will be on display in the rematch with Maidana September 13th. If he dominates and proves that the first fight was intended to be competitive, then my claim is refuted… but if we see a replay of the first bout, then the end is near.
Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter are the future of the welterweight division… and maybe the sport. Both fighters have an enticing personality and both possess a fan friendly style with commercial appeal. On top of that, both fighters are American and could be the type of boxers that increase public perception. Porter’s annihilation of Paulie Malignaggi catapulted him to the doorstep of stardom. Thurman has yet to be truly tested.
Felix Verdejo and Errol Spence Jr. expound upon our hope for boxing’s future. These two fighters have shown an immense amount of promise in their young careers. Verdejo’s explosive power remind us of another “Felix” born and bred on the little island better known as Puerto Rico . Errol Spence possesses the type of relentless pressure and accurate punching that would suggest he was from a small town in Mexico … but this future star is American born from Dallas , TX
Canelo Alvarez is going through an identity crisis. He doesn’t know what he wants to be as a fighter. Is he a boxer?… or a brawler? He tried to box with Floyd and got outclassed. He outgunned a stationary target in Angulo only to follow up with a confusing performance against a slick boxer in Lara. The first three rounds he tried to box Lara and was outclassed… then he attempted to brawl, but didn’t show the ability to cut-off the ring. When he did have Lara pinned in the corner or stationary, he let him off the hook way too many times. It’s obvious that Canelo has issues with boxers who move. Canelo needs to look himself in the mirror and realize that he is not a great boxer. In order for Canelo to win, he must adapt his style to his strengths which are body work and hooks. He must fight inside. Someone enroll him in the “Julio Cesar Chavez School of Being Relentless”.
Quick Jabs
o Nobody REALLY wants to fight Gennady Golovkin…. ya, fighters talk about it… but they don’t really wanna go there.
o Oh what a difference a year makes… 2013 was spectacular! The best year of boxing in over a decade!!... followed up by one of the worst.
o Just think… in theory, we could have seen Kovalev vs. Stevenson, Garcia vs. Gamboa and Chavez Jr. vs. GGG. Ugh, sometimes the sport I love can be cruel.
o 24/7 and All-Access are losing their luster. We need something fresh… new… a twist of some sorts.
o I really hope Erislandy Lara gets another shot at a big fight. Too much skill to be overlooked.
o Terence Crawford became a “Must See Fighter” with one quick right hook counter. Beautiful stuff!
o Algieri’s prize for scoring the biggest upset of the year?! An invitation for a beat-down by one of boxing’s best ever.
o Zou Shiming should be Top Rank’s quintessential undercard fighter.
o Mayweather’s “BIG SURPRISE” = fighting Amir Khan in Brooklyn at the Barclay’s Center. Mark it.
o Round 5 & 11’s version of Vasyl “V-LO” Lomachenko is ridiculous.
o I wanna see Stiverne-Wilder….NOW!
o Danny Garcia vs. Rod Salka… not even worth the additional keystrokes.
o If they fought today.. Bernard Hopkins beats Adonis Stevenson.
o Miguel Cotto is a new fighter… and I’d favor him over every 154 or 160 pound fighter not named Golovkin / Mayweather Jr.
Theater
Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs)
defeats Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KOs ) –
the aging wonder continues to defy the odds and logic. After a few close rounds, Hopkins dominated the rest of the night
putting Shumenov on the canvas in the 11th round in route to a
split-decision. A possible bout with
Adonis Stevenson or Sergai Kovalev linger.
Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KOs)
destroys Alex Leapai (30-5-3, 24 KOs ) –
Wladimir continued his 8-year reign as Heavyweight Champion of the World by
making easy work of Alex Leapai. In
front of a sold out crowd at Koenig Pilsener Arena in Germany , the
champion battered Leapai with his left jab and patented sledge-hammer right
hand knocking him down three times before referee Eddie Cotton called a halt to
the bout. The king of the heavyweight
division awaits a possible challenge from the Bermane Stiverne – Deontay Wilder
winner (If it happens….).
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (46-0, 26 KOs)
outpoints Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs ) –
in what most thought would be a landslide of a fight, couldn’t be further from
the truth. Marcos Maidana made the fight
ugly and on most cards took an early lead, only to be outpointed by the
pound-for-pound champ. I had Maidana
winning 115-113, but it was a very close fight.
Floyd made the proper adjustments and controlled the second half of the
fight.
Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs)
too much for Mike Alvarado (34-3, 23 KOs ) –
Alvarado walked into the ring with a clear cut strategy… make Marquez the
aggressor and don’t give him opportunities to counter. Didn’t matter. Marquez did what he wanted in
this fight, landing crisp accurate combinations with not much in return from
Alvarado. He dropped the Denver native in the 8th
round only to be dropped himself in the ninth, providing the night’s most
dramatic moment. At the end of the
night, Marquez would stand victorious with a convincing unanimous decision
victory.
Adonis Stevenson (24-1, 20 KOs)
escapes with a victory over Andrzej Fonfara (25-3, 15 KOs )
– after the controversial move from HBO to Showtime, this was supposed
to be a showcase fight for Stevenson and it looked like it early. Fonfara was dropped twice and looked on the
verge of being knocked out. As the
rounds went on, Stevenson began to tire and Fonfara took full advantage by
winning the late rounds and putting Stevenson on the canvas in round nine. The early lead appeared to be enough as
Adonis Stevenson escaped with a unanimous decision that was much closer than
the scorecards indicated.
Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) wins the
rematch over George Groves (19-2, 15 KOs )
– in front of 80,000 ballistic fans at Wembley Stadium, Froch-Groves II was
set-up to be an epic battle. It had
everything a boxing fan fantasizes about in a rematch; controversial ending,
bad blood and competiveness. The fight
started off with both fighters tentative but Groves winning the early exchanges. Once Froch began to impose his will, it
became obvious to me that it was only a matter of time…. and then it
happened. Froch landed a highlight-reel
right hand in the 8th round and Groves collapsed!
Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) dominates
Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KOs ) –
the lead up was simple… two fighters on the precipice of hall of fame status
looking for that signature victory to cap off an already great career. A obviously rejuvenated Miguel Cotto proved
to be too much for Sergio Martinez.
While we may never know the truth about Sergio’s health, one thing’s for
sure, that wasn’t Martinez
at his best. Regardless, Cotto changed
the landscape of boxing by beating Martinez
and scoring the biggest win of his career.
Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) upsets
Ruslan Provodnikov (23-3, 16 KOs ) – little known Algieri tasted the
canvas twice in the first round and looked completely overwhelmed early. The kid showed guts and some impressive boxing
that surprised everyone. Ruslan showed
no ability to adjust to the superior boxer.
Algieri moved and boxed all night while Ruslan loaded up with one
thunderous punch at a time. Algieri
definitely looked like the loser at the end of the fight, but proved to be the
winner on the scorecards. It’s the fight
that may go down as the biggest in his career, simply by propelling himself to
a clash with mega-star Manny Pacquiao this November.
Terence Crawford (24-0, 17 KOs) punishes
Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-1, 16 KOs ) –
what began as the resurgence of Gamboa, ended as the arrival of Terence
Crawford. In front of his hometown of Omaha , Nebraska
Canelo Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) defeats
Erislandy Lara (19-2-2, 12 KOs) – in what proved to be a very controversial
decision that sparked debate across the country, Canelo Alvarez walked out the
MGM Grand ring a victor. Canelo
supporters claim Lara ran all night while supporters of the Cuban star suggest
he boxed circles around Alvarez. Either
way you look at it, the fight was close enough to argue each side. The fight itself failed to live up to
expectations so in the end we all lose.
Follow me on Twitter: @RLMalpica
Link to 1st Quarter boxing
report - http://rlmalpica.blogspot.com/2014/04/rls-quarterly-boxing-report-2014.html
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