5 Thoughts on last nights boxing: 1. Why was that fight card in Corpus Christi, TX? That was the question that many on press row were asking last night. Corpus Christi is not a boxing hotbed in the state of Texas like San Antonio, and it doesnt have a history of grooming great fighters like Houston. The headliners of the card were Nonito Donaire and Mikey Garcia, neither of which are from the state of Texas. In fact, the only fighter on the entire card that was a native of Corpus Christi was Oscar Cantu, a young featherweight prospect with fewer that ten fights, hardly the guy you would depend on to sell tickets. Considering the fighters that were being showcased, San Antonio or Houston wouldve made a lot more sense, and southern California would have been ideal for this group of fighters. Surely there are certainly reasons for it, just not any that most could figure out. 2. We all got to see WBA featherweight champ live, many of us for the first time, and he did not disappoint with a fourth round KO of Alberto Garza. Its clear to see that Walters has good hand speed, and good power as well. He actually dropped Garza with a tremendous body shot before the actual KO, but the ref mistakenly ruled it a low blow. The ruling by the referee was inconsequential however, as Walters clearly realized that Garza was hurt and quickly attacked, connecting with a hard right to the jaw that put Garza on his back and out for the count. This was clearly a showcase fight for Walters, a chance to familiarize U.S. audiences with his skill set and abilities, so that he can be matched with a big name fighter already on Top Ranks roster. Someone with a name that has recently moved up in weight, and is looking to add a world title in his new weight class. 3. Which brings us to Nonito Donaire. In what was clearly the most exciting and suspenseful bout of the night, Nonito Donaire was able to come from behind to stop a very game, and very focused Vic Darchinyan, beginning with a knockdown that was very similar in fashion to the knockdown in their first meeting 6 years ago. From the opening bell, it was clear that Darchinyan would be more disciplined and cautious than he had been in their first encounter, he showed great patience in waiting for the right time to go on the attack. Whenever Donaire would land one punch, Darchinyan would respond with two of his own. In almost all of the close exchanges, Darchinyan was getting the best of Donaire, and on a few occasions backing him up with the harder shots. Darchinyan seemed to be on his way to a victory when, in the 9th round, it happened again. Donaire caught him with a hard shot that seemed almost identical to the punch that KOed Darchinyan six years ago, and Vic was down! Unlike their fight in 2007, this time he made it to his feet and was able to continue, but a barrage of punches from Donaire in the corner went unanswered and the ref was forced to step in and stop the action. Donaire by 9th round TKO! The judges cards afterwards showed that Donaire was down by four points on two of the three judges cards and was tied on the other score card. He was clearly on his way to losing before he bailed himself out with a tremendous power shot. However, stopping Vic Darchinyan, a great fighter whose best days were not at the 126lb weight limit where this fight was held but at 115 and 118, is perhaps much easier than doing the same thing to men who are naturally bigger and have spent most of their careers at 126. If the plan is, as rumor suggests, for Donaire to face Nicholas Walters next, a 9th round rally may not be enough to pull Donaire out of a hole. Walters is a legit featherweight, and Donaire is not. There are a lot of questions concerning whether or not Donaire can take the punch of a hard punching, naturally bigger man as Walters would surely be if they fought. Many of the shots that the smaller Darchinyan landed that bruised up and backed up Nonito Donaire could be far more damaging from a guy like the WBA champ Walters, a man with 19KOs in his 23 victories. Donaire will probably be the favorite if this fight takes place, but based on what weve seen from him as a featherweight, that would only be because he has the greater name recognition. This version of Donaire is not the same guy that we all saw destroy Fernando Montiel. He may not have the same power at featherweight that we saw at jr. bantamweight. To expect him to dominate men in the same fashion at 126lbs that he did at 115 and 118lbs is probably unrealistic at this point. 4. Demetrius Andrade was impressive in his split decision victory over Vanes Martirosyan for the vacant WBO 154lb title, and once again poor judging was a factor, although it did not ultimately change the outcome. Anyone and everyone who saw that fight, could clearly tell that Andrade out boxed Martirosyan, controlling the action with his jab (he landed more jabs that Vanes landed total punches) and landing clean, effective power shots. The difference in hand and foot speed was substantial, and may have been the biggest factor in Andrade having a relatively easy time landing punches throughout. However, in what has seemingly become a weekly event, one judge got the fight scoring COMPLETELY wrong and gave the fight to Martirosyan. Yes, the correct fighter was given the victory, but a judge that is either this incompetent or this corrupt, needs to be called into someones office and made to answer some serious quesitons about how he reached his decision. Just because the other two got it right doesnt mean the one who got it wrong should be let off the hook. Even though this was the first title fight for both fighters, it also felt like somewhat of a crossroads fight. For Martirosyan, a guy who has waited such a long time to get a meaningful title shot, where does he go next? He was clearly beaten, and its evident that hes not a match for a guy with the superior hand speed like Andrade. Martirosyan actually looked slow and plodding. In retrospect, its difficult to understand how Erislandy Lara had such a boring, uneventful fight with him before the unfortunate head clash brought an end to the fight. Andrade seems highly skilled, but you can also see how his style, if not matched with the proper opponents, could be considered boring. Its not exactly a cautious style, but it is pure boxing with a lot of jabs followed up by carefully placed power shots and combinations. It can be exciting in spots, but unless hes in with a come forward type of fighter, the majority of fans who only appreciate a brawling style, will not care for him. A potential fight with Erislandy Lara would be a style nightmare, and would probably go unappreciated by a lot of the boxing public. Chances are, he will need to be in a couple of exciting bouts with lesser named opponents before hes seriously considered for a big fight with the divisions bigger names, but being signed to Star Boxing instead of Top Rank will give him an opportunity at least to seek out fights with any of the top guys at 154lbs. 5. Unless Top Rank Boxing has plans to match Mikey Garcia with Takashi Uchiyama of Japan in the near future (look him up on Youtube if you havent seen him), theres no one at 130 who will even be competitive in the ring with him. Mikey is too strong and too skilled for all of the other guys at 130, and he just completely dismantled Rocky Martinez to take Martinezs WBO world title. He hit Martinez when he wanted to, with whatever he wanted to (primarily a straight right hand), and seemed unfazed by anything thrown back at him. He claims he can still make 126, and its hard to imagine anyone beating him at featherweight either. However, if he can still make featherweight, and Nonito Donaire plans to stay at that weight instead of moving back down, Top Rank would have a big fight that would be an easy sell to HBO. It would also undoubtedly be a one sided win for Mikey Garcia. Nonito is skilled, but Mikey is skilled and bigger, and we all know the old saying, A good big man beats a good little man. And at 126 or 130 Mikey Garcia is a very good big man.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 10:49:25 +0000
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