A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Boxing fans aren’t likely to see another era like that of the Four Kings, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. But we could be witnessing the reign of the Four Princes.
Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Cuadras have given us a series of high-level, action-packed classics over the past eight years that have brought unusual focus to the littlest fighters and rolls on.
That includes Friday night in Mexico City, where Estrada and Cuadras engaged in a brutal back-and-forth brawl in their rematch that ended when Estrada scored an 11th-round knockout.
The Four Princes have fought one another in a total of nine fights that couldn’t have been much more dramatic. And, with the exception of the second fight between Sor Rungvisai and Gonzalez (a brutal fourth-round knockout), they have generally been highly competitive.
The standings in the nine fights reflect how well matched they are: Sor Rungvisai and Estrada are 3-2, Gonzalez is 2-2 and Cuadras is 1-3. Each of the bouts seemed more entertaining than the last.
The latest installment, on Friday, was an example of that. Estrada and Cuadras gave us an engaging fight in 2017, which Estrada won by a narrow decision, but their brawl at Gimnasio TV Azteca was better. Estrada went down in Round 3 but survived that and a determined effort by Cuadras to put his rival down twice and stop him in Round 11 to retain his 115-pound title.
Estrada, No. 10 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list, proved his superiority over Cuadras but the loser was a worthy challenger and underscored his place among these great little men.
And it appears we’re not finished. Estrada and Gonzalez, who outpointed Estrada in 2012, have agreed to meet for a second time next year in a title-unification bout. And Rungvisai, waiting in the wings, wants the winner of that fight.
The Four Princes know what it takes to keep us entertained.
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BAD
This item is “bad” only for those who were hoping that Israel Gonzalez could give Roman Gonzalez significant resistance on the Estrada-Cuadras card. He couldn’t.
“Chocolatito,” thought by some to be finished after his losses to Sor Rungvisai only to bounce back and regain a title, looked like a vintage version of himself against his taller, quicker, but overmatched opponent.
The Nicaraguan icon applied relentless, machine-like pressure from the opening that seemed to belie his age – 33 – given the stamina required to fight in that fashion. The winner threw 1,241 punches, an average of more than 100 per round, according to CompuBox. That’s the third highest total in his career.
Israel Gonzalez, a good fighter who gave a solid account of himself in a loss to then-titleholder Khalid Yafai in 2018, gave a spirited effort and had some good moments but couldn’t get anything going consistently in the face of his opponent’s pressure.
“Chocolatito” is no the fighter who climbed to the top of the pound-for-pound lists. How could be at an age when most fighters his size are in obvious decline or well into second careers? He’s been a pro for more than 15 years, after all.
That said, he obviously has rebounded from his setbacks against Sor Rungvisai and the devastating loss of his trainer and father figure Arnulfo Obando. He remains a threat to beat anybody.
Estrada, a bit younger and fresher at 30, probably will be favored to beat Gonzalez when they meet in their rematch. I think the Mexican will win. But we’d be foolish to underestimate Gonzalez. The old fighter who annihilated Yafai to regain a title and dominated Israel Gonzalez in Mexico City remains one of the best fighters in the world.
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WORSE
Commentators stunned as boxer fights five rounds with ‘horrific’ broken jaw
Benjamin Hussain reveals the severity of his broken jaw after facing Ben Mahoney.#boxing pic.twitter.com/lNtjU7OoQ1
— The Last Round (@thelastround12) October 22, 2020
Injuries are commonplace in boxing but this one was particularly gruesome.
Twenty-one-year-old Benjamin Hussain was fighting Ben Mahoney on Thursday in Brisbane, Australia, when a left hook from Mahoney dislodged Hussain’s mouth piece. Soon blood began streaming from his mouth.
The broadcasters speculated that he had cut his tongue. Nope. Turns out he broke his jaw yet continued to fight for several more rounds.
Finally, after Round 6, the ring doctor decided that it was too dangerous for Hussain to continue and the fight was stopped. Hussain complained but the doctor made the right decision.
“Your jaw is broken, mate. I mean it’s badly broken. We’ve got to stop it,” the doctor told Hussain.
No one can question Hussain’s toughness. How he managed to carry on fighting with his jaw as damaged as it was is anyone’s guess. We can question why the fight was allowed to continue into the sixth round in light of the injury.
That wasn’t the only notable event on the card. Heavyweight Justis Huni made history by becoming the first male fighter to win the Australian title in his pro debut, as he stopped Faiga Opelu in seven rounds in the main event.
Huni had been a top amateur. He won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships. And now he’s one to watch in the professional ranks.
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