A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Canelo Alvarez is a free agent. That’s good for everyone involved, most importantly the fans.
Mikey Garcia was idle for 2½ years because of promotional issues. Andre Ward missed more than a year and a half for the same reason. And Alvarez, who hasn’t fought since November of last year, was mired in a similar situation after suing Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN for damages and his freedom.
The last thing we, as fans, want to see is our biggest stars spending extended time in court when they should be in the ring. They never get the lost time back.
Well, Alvarez is the beneficiary of a happy ending. We learned last week that he and his legal adversaries agreed to end their relationship, which frees him up to resume what he does best: box.
For Alvarez, who almost certainly will be his own promoter from now on, that means he can decide who, when and where he fights. He reportedly plans to return to the ring on Dec. 19, possibly against super middleweight titleholder Caleb Plant, although nothing has been announced.
If I were Alvarez, the only contracts I would sign going forward would be those for individual fights and lucrative sponsorships.
For those at Golden Boy, the separation ends a relationship that was damaged beyond repair – Alvarez had outgrown the company — and allows them to focus on building the careers of their young stars, Ryan Garcia, Vergil Ortiz, Jaime Munguia, et al.
Golden Boy and DAZN will continue to work together.
And it allows those at the streaming service to get out of what clearly was a bad deal for them. They simply couldn’t get the return on an overly ambitious investment, which left them in an impossible situation.
Now they can use the experience they gained from an unfortunate marriage and enter agreements that make more sense.
And, again, the fans are the real winners. They get to see Alvarez fight again soon.
***
BAD
Devin Haney had tough acts to follow. Teofimo Lopez and Gervonta Davis recently turned in two of the most-sensational performances of the year, Lopez outpointing the great Vasiliy Lomachenko to become undisputed lightweight champion and Davis knocking Leo Santa Cruz out cold.
Did Haney keep pace with his rivals on Saturday? No.
Haney’s victory over Yuriorkis Gamboa was thorough. The secondary titleholder gave the faded former Olympic champion and featherweight titleholder a boxing lesson, winning by a near-shutout on the cards. His skill set was on full display.
The problem was that he couldn’t take out his 38-year-old opponent, as he had hoped to do.
Of course, Gamboa played a role in that. He wasn’t good enough to compete with Haney but he had the wherewithal to survive. When a seasoned veteran wants to survive, it’s difficult to get him out of there.
That said, Haney DID land some big shots and it seemed none of them hurt Gamboa. That raises questions about the punching power of the winner, especially when you consider that Gamboa had gone down 11 times in his previous 10 fights.
Great fighters find ways to hurt opponents who aren’t in their class. Gamboa was an elite fighter once upon a time but those days are long behind him.
Haney looked good. He probably should’ve looked better in light of his opposition.
***
WORSE
Gervonta Davis has a decision to make. He can follow the dark path of gifted athletes’ whose poor decisions destroyed their careers and lives or he can use his head and distance himself from the forces that will take him down if they have the opportunity.
Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) was only days removed from his sensational knockout of Leo Santa Cruz on Halloween – a breakthrough victory for him – when he was involved in a hit-and-run crash in his native Baltimore, according to police.
Police say a Lamborghini SUV in which Davis was riding ran a red light and hit another vehicle — causing injuries – and then left the scene. It was clear whether he was the driver or the passenger. Surveillance video showed that the vehicle later crashed into a fence, after which the occupants walked away.
If ever there was a red flag in the life of Davis, that was it.
Of course, we must wait to see how this plays out. He might’ve been the passenger, which would limit his responsibility. He might be cleared entirely. We’ll see. However, if Davis is ultimately convicted on hit-and-run charges, all the talk of his maturation will have been hogwash and his life will have changed for the worse.
Regardless of his fate, let’s hope the incident was a wake-up call for the 26-year-old.
His future seems to be as bright as any young star. He has the ability, the punching power, the dynamism and the backing to achieve great things in the sport. It would be a shame to throw it all away because of missteps out of the ring.
That’s what those close to him will tell him in the wake of the hit-and-run. We’ll find out whether he listened.
[lawrence-related id=15315,15197,15339,15373]