TheLukieBaby
Pro
LukieBoxing blog
The hype was loud during a week of events involving fighters arriving at the hotels being met by a plethora of media. The gritty, plodding power puncher Chavez Jr was viewed by a lot of members in the media as the man to defeat Sergio Martinez because of the constant pressure he produces in the ring and Sergio had shown in previous fights a tendency to get tired in rounds 6-9 before getting a second wind. The talk was so loud about Chavez Jr. winning that I even questioned why I picked Martinez in the first place. What did all of these people know that I didn't? To sum it up, this fight was the Fight of the Year before one punch was thrown. People did not know whether the smaller Martinez could outbox the much larger Chavez Jr or if he would fall victim to the body punches, much like a very good and game Andy Lee.
What we learned after Saturday night's event was Martinez is able to outbox nearly any man in the world. For 11 rounds he out boxed and outclassed Chavez Jr, who looked dejected and utterly beaten mentally as much as physically. One of things that is often forgotten about Martinez is while his power would not translate against Chavez Jr, who rehydrated up to around 185 ish, his hands are like small razor blades that with speed pierce the skin and abuse the face of his foes. After 7 rounds, Chavez Jr, who usually is a boastful, arrogant and braggadocio in the ring, began to take deeper breaths with visible red marks on his face, as he appeared nothing more than a movable punching bag for Martinez who was clearly the faster of the two. To say that fight was lopsided for the first 11 rounds would be a lie. Although Martinez clearly won every round, Chavez stood a puncher's chance in nearly every round making fans of Martinez gasp with “Oh nos” when Chavez would back him into a corner. Martinez would stubbornly engage in a war with his back against the ropes and it was clear that we were viewing a classic example of a boxer vs. a puncher and the fans of both fighters passionately wanted their fighter to prevail.
Then it happened, what makes folklore or legends, what justified the $50 I spent on the PPV. In the 12th round, Chavez caught Martinez with a flurry of punches that floored Martinez and nearly knocked him out. The last minute of the fight was high drama; no one was seated, most everyone screaming at the top of their lungs, not one person watching the fight unmoved. The last minute of the fight was what boxing is about and in many ways it reminded me of the story of Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn. In that fight Conn had won all the rounds of the fight until he decided to slug with Louis instead of out box him which ultimately led to a KO for Louis. Then there is the comparison to his father's epic war in which he KOed a foe with 0:02 seconds left in the fight. With time ticking it was not in the cards for Chavez Jr to become a legend in his own right on this night. The one thing we can take away is that though Martinez was floored, he decided to fight; he refused to clinch and allowed viewers to experience the last minute of the fight in near slow motion.
Yet as I sat watching the fight the mood and vibe of the non-boxing fans around me was that the fight was fairly uncompetitive and that it was all hype. It was painful to see, because none of them invested in the 24:7 or the previous Chavez Jr fight where he looked unstoppable against a very game Andy Lee or how people had felt that Sergio Martinez was declining at the age of 37 after having fought a few less than spectacular fights. As if a narrative could be written of a back in forth brawl in the ring, as if the narrative of the naturally bigger man isn't compelling in its own right.
So know where do they go from here? Quite simply, it seems as though they are both headed to Cowboys stadium for a Cinco de Mayo rematch that will be much bigger. I truly believe that no matter what, a great boxer will always beat a great puncher. I think Sergio will once again out box Chavez Jr to become a much richer man as they would fill up all 100,000 seats surely and probably look to put a superstar on the undercard as well. The one thing I do think is for certain is Freddie Roach is more than likely going to be done with Chavez as he seemed disgusted with Chavez Jr, even saying that he thought about throwing in the towel as well as doubting if Chavez Jr could get the knockout.
In the undercard affairs of Chavez Jr/Martinez, Guillermo Rigondeaux looked human finally after getting wobbled, but don't let that take away from the fact that he won 10 out of the 12 rounds with Robert Marroquin easily. Matthew Macklin made quick work of Joachim Alcine after knocking him down two times in the 1st round. The ref finally stepped in and stopped it after he was not responding to punches towards the tail end of the 1st round. Needless to say, an impressive win for Mack The Knife though it appeared that Alcine never really showed signs of wanting Rocky Martinez to win a fight against Miguel Beltran Jr. For the vacant WBO Super featherweight title by split decision. I must note I had Beltran Jr. winning the fight by one round, it was a very close fight and at times a very messy and sloppy affair. I can honestly say I am not sure how I feel about. I truly wanted to enjoy this fight, but somehow never quite got into it. I could tell that it was a war and a show of heart from both fighters
As for the fight at the MGM Grand that took place at the same time, Canelo Alvarez battered a much smaller Josesito Lopez into submission knocking him down three times before having the fight stopped in the 5th. The one thing that might get forgotten as the year passes is that when Canelo started hitting Josesito, Josesito was landing good punches and making it a compelling fight. The problem is truly the fight should never have been made; Josesito Lopez came up from 140 lbs to 160 lbs to take a fight with one of the best Mexican prospects in years and paid for it. The way of talking about the fight to someone who did not see it would be like explaining how a bully takes a smaller student’s lunch money. Sadly, the majority of fans did not know this going in and just saw Canelo as a true monster who can defeat anyone, which may or may not be true.
Though I would like to point out that while people are rallying for Canelo to fight Mayweather, I do not think Canelo is ready yet. His hand speed is not at the level of Mayweather and Canelo has yet to fight a true defensive fighter that is in his weight class. He also has issues with stamina that have occurred in the past. All in all, Canelo still needs to take a few fights with fighters like Carlos Molina to show to the fans that he truly is the man at his division to create a demand for that fight. Now I am very pro-Canelo, I think he is truly legit and that this fight, which was a true mismatch, was more the match makers being stuck between a rock and a hard place, but a true Canelo hater can point to the fact that he is essentially beating the ghost of ex's fighters and guys looking to get a paycheck. We have yet to see Canelo in the ring with a true fighter in his division that we know about or have followed for a good period of time and considered a prospect . With all of this said, if he could fight Carlos Molina by the end of the year, he not only would potentially set up a FOTY type match, but would earn over more "hardcore" fan respect.
As for the loser, Josesito Lopez has had a hell of year who will be a "name fighter" for the next 2-3 years because of it. Though he lost the fight - he won in the sense that his heart and courage can never be questioned. For those who do not know, Josesito came back to defeat Victor Ortiz in the summer by breaking Ortiz's jaw and forcing Ortiz to quit on the stool. He then moved up drastically in weight to fight Canelo only to find out that size does matter, as he was over powered by the much bigger Canelo. As the year comes to an end, Josesito will probably be looking at either a Victor Ortiz re-match or a Jessie Vargas re-match, both of which could headline a card and the fight with Ortiz might fill up an arena. Either way, Josesito, though beaten and battered, is now much richer and eying much bigger fights with potentially more fans than ever; in a weird way it was as if neither fighter lost.
In the undercard of Canelo/Lopez, we saw action head to toe - as one of my favorite fighters Jhonny Gonzalez lost to Daniel Ponce De Leon. The fight was stopped due to an accidently clash of heads in the 10th round forcing the fight to be stopped because of a cut over Gonzalez’s eye. Though the fight was close, Ponce De Leon won on the cards and is now the WBC featherweight champion, though if ever you could ask for a rematch this would be the case. Marcos Maidana showed improved boxing skills under the tutelage of famed boxing trainer, Robert Garcia, as he TKO Jesus Soto Karass in the 8th round. On behalf of fight fans everywhere, can we please get the Lucas Matthysse vs. Marcos Maidana fight already? In the opening bout and potential best fight of the night, Leo Santa Cruz who looks to be a star on the rise, used vivacious body punches to force Eric Morel to quit after 8 rounds of fighting. Santa Cruz used a non-stop body attack that made even my ribs sore as each punch eked through.
All in all, what this weekend showed was whether you watched boxing on PPV or on Showtime, maybe even on one of those dreaded and dastardly streams, boxing was at the forefront of the sports world for one night and that can do only one thing , help the sport.
I missed all of these fights
fukk dailymotion my nikka. That site looks plentiful 