Opening Bell: On Behalf of Slick Fighters
The girlfriend’s absence last week found me driving on a weeknight to Prince George’s County to visit the Hyattsville Outback Steakhouse, where I indulged my unhealthy obsession with the Bloomin’ Onion.
My neighbor, a middle-aged black gentleman at the bar noticed my April issue of The Ring featuring Vitali Klitschko on the cover and we soon fell into a conversation about the sweet science and the many former champions who live within a ten-minute drive of the restaurant.
While I’m always thrilled to meet a fellow fight fan, especially one as knowledgeable about the sport as this fellow, the best thing about the night was his professed love for slick fighters.
“It ain’t like it was. None of these guys know how to duck a punch,” he told me, bemoaning the lack of defensive technicians in the mold of Mayweather.
The sentiment warmed my heart; as a fan of the sport at both the amateur and professional levels I have always admired the skill of the pure boxers, even when they lack the power to close fights in sensational fashion.
But many boxing writers would have you believe that such folks don’t exist; that the only type of fight fans appreciate are those where both men trade in the center and one eventually ends up splayed on the canvas.
That thought occurred to me again as I reviewed the tape of Tim Bradley-Devon Alexander once again over the weekend. I confess the amount of invective directed at the contest since it ended had caused me to second-guess my initial impression from ringside, where I tabbed it an exciting contest with a disappointing end. The more common take has been that it was a poor matchup of styles ill-suited to an exciting clash.
But looking at the tape I am once again struck by the skill and athleticism of both men, as well as the rhythmic ebb and flow of the fight. It is true that the awkward ending deprived us of what could have been some compelling championships rounds. If anything, Bradley is not the most attractive stylist when it comes to applying pressure; Alexander played the role of the slickster well until after the eighth round.
Beyond that, it should be acknowledged that Alexander did have a nasty cut over his eye that was opened by a clash of heads. It may be fair to question how much he really wanted to keep fighting, but had the ref correctly ruled the cut as from a clash of heads early on then a no contest before the end of four rounds may have actually been the correct outcome.
With all that being said, I stand by my enjoyment of the fight. Had we seen even a decent final three rounds, I’m reasonably certain the savvy crowd would have been happy to witness a points win for Bradley and the whole thing would have gone down as a solid matchup of potential stars if not a world-changing event. But sadly that’s not what happened; Alexander appeared to show less than a full fighting spirit and we are left with only the condemnation of laptop tough guys.
I should, however, acknowledge that my view is far from popular and my neighbor on press row was complaining about the matchup before the end of the fifth round. Of course he seemed more concerned about commenting on the inferiority of all those involved in the business of the sport than witnessing and documenting the events taking place in front of him. Then again what do I know, I’m just a reporter.
In our last edition of Opening Bell we turned down a free hotel room and two tickets to Nonito Donaire-Fernando Montiel because of those pesky ethics that journalists are supposed to care about. But having since been turned down for membership by a certain writer’s organization that includes several people actively employed by sanctioning bodies, we’re seriously reconsidering the move.
Donaire looks like a mini Pacquiao, someone with the power and skill to create noise at the higher weights. We would have loved to have been ringside for his tremendous stoppage against the able Fernando Montiel.
Of course the story of the past weekend was undoubtedly the emergence of Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, who showed true star potential in systematically breaking down lightweight belt-holder Miguel Acosta. The savage smile Rios flashed after Acosta appeared to hurt him with several blows told us everything we need to know about the future superstar from Oxnard. We’d pay $30 to see Rios fight just about anyone near the top of the lightweight division.
It’s a busy week for fight fans, as we head up to New York to speak with Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin for The Sweet Science. Douglin is coming off his first professional loss, a shocker to rugged journeyman Doel Carrasquillo earlier this month in Salisbury, Md. ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights features an attractive matchup at light heavyweight between Cuban Yordanis Despaigne and Ismayl Sillakh. There may also be an unscheduled stop at a certain series of underground fights in Manhattan, stay tuned.
We’re also planning to checkout Friday night’s card in Woodhaven, though we were turned down for a spot ringside for Saturday night’s Zab Judah-Kaizer Mabuza show at the Prudential Center in Newark. Apparently we didn’t make the cut for limited media seating. In addition, Mexican sensation Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is taking on Ricky Hatton’s brother Matthew for an alphabet trinket while Humberto Soto will fight in Mexico.
I’m excited to confirm we’ll be sending our own Dr. Octagon, M.D. to cover Sergio Martinez v. Serhiy Dzinziruk on March 12 at Foxwoods. That same night I’ll be ringside for Jimmy Lange Boxing at the Patriot Center before rushing home to cover Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga. March is shaping up to be a very busy month for the sport on the East Coast, which is always welcome news around these parts.
One thing you’ll notice we’ve been trying to feature more of is the fantastic fight photography frequently shared on Tumblr. As the site evolves and we begin to take more advantage of our medium, we’ll be doing more to incorporate content from the Tumblsphere. We’re still working out the kinks so any feedback is welcome.
– Gautham Nagesh, editor. Email Gautham or follow him on Twitter.