A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7hqu3ZbkDM
The “good” for Shakur Stevenson was that his unusual skill set was on full display against Jeremiah Nakathila on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Stevenson schooled his overmatched Namibian opponent from beginning to end, winning every round on all three scorecards and throwing in a knockdown to boot in the 12-round 130-pound bout. Nakathila could barely touch Stevenson, averaging 2.3 punches landed per round, according to CompuBox.
One could argue it was a masterful boxing exhibition by the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and former 126-pound titleholder.
The problem for Stevenson was that he also delivered plenty of “bad,” which was the talk of the ESPN-televised fight afterward.
Stevenson fancies himself a budding superstar, which makes sense given his ability. He didn’t perform like one against Nakathila, a far inferior boxer who didn’t have the tools to compete with an elite opponent.
Stevenson won every minute of every round but didn’t take the risks necessary to give himself a realistic chance of taking out Nakathila, which everyone watching was waiting for him to do. He took a safe approach because of Nakathila’s power.
Safe is boring, which is not what a superstar is.
Stevenson presumably will have learned a lesson in that fight. Yes, the main objective is to have your hand raised. However, the biggest stars in the sport are also entertainers. And he seems to understand that concept. He apologized for his performance on social media, which is a good sign.
He should take more risks, particularly against overmatched opponents. The rewards can be great.
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***
BAD
A referee is on the wrong path when he or she steals attention away from the fighters.
That happened during the main event on ESPN, when referee Celestino Ruiz was unnecessarily obsessed with the feet of the southpaw Stevenson and Nakathila, who fights from an orthodox stance.
Southpaws and orthodox boxers typically step on one another because their lead feet are on the same side. It simply can’t be avoided entirely.
Nevertheless, Ruiz constantly – and annoyingly – warned the fighters to avoid each other’s feet. He even threatened once to take a point away from the next one to step on a foot, which was surrealistic.
The fighters are concentrating on their game plans and protecting themselves. The last thing they need is a referee badgering them about where they place their feet.
I try to assume the best about refs. Ruiz obviously wanted to avoid potential foot-on-foot problems. That said, he was out of control. I’ve watched thousands of fights in my career and I can’t recall any referee doing what Ruiz did.
I hope he behaved in that manner on his own. It would be more disturbing if it turns out he was instructed to issue such warnings, which I doubt is the case given the reputation of Nevada officials.
I trust that the powers that be in that state will prevent such nonsense from happening again.
***
WORSE
How did Nakathila end up as the WBO’s No. 2-ranked 130-pounder?
An argument can be made that all regions in the world should have representation in the rankings. Nakathila is African. And, of course, one never knows how a relatively obscure fighter will do in his first major test until he gets an opportunity.
At the same time, no one should rise to No. 2 without beating a contender or someone close to that status. Nakathila, who has fought outside his continent only once, has no such victories.
Obviously, his handlers are well connected because merit doesn’t seem to have played a role in his ascent.
As a result, the fight on Saturday was garbage. Nakathila, who appears to have power but little else, was out of his depth. And that isn’t supposed to be the case when the Nos. 1- and 2-ranked fighters face off.
I can’t be too critical of Top Rank, ESPN or the Nevada State Athletic Commission, all of which approved the bout. They obviously saw No. 1 and No. 2 and ran with it. The problem was with the WBO, which demonstrated again why sanctioning bodies can’t be trusted to get it right.
The alphabet organizations rank fighters based primarily on how much money they can collect in sanctioning fees, not on resume. That’s obvious to anyone paying attention.
Is boxing ever going to emerge from this frustrating cycle?
***
RABBIT PUNCHES
Stevenson won the WBO “interim” title with his victory over Nakathila, meaning his next fight could be a title challenge of champion Jamel Herring. I have tremendous respect for the 35-year-old Herring, who is on an impressive run of victories over established opponents. That includes a knockout of former Fighter of the Year Carl Frampton in his most-recent bout. I just don’t believe he’s as talented as Stevenson, whose gifts are rare. I believe Stevenson would outbox him and win a major title in a second division even if he doesn’t dazzle us in the process. … Jose Pedraza looked sharp in his victory over previously unbeaten Julian Rodriguez in a scheduled 10-round 140-pound bout on the Stevenson-Nakathila card, which ended after eight rounds with a beaten Rodriguez sitting on his stool. Pedraza demonstrated once again that he’s one of better technicians in the world, schooling and ultimately breaking down his less-experienced opponent to remain in title contention at 32 years old. All three judges somehow had it 77-75 for Pedraza at the time of the stoppage, five rounds to three. I thought Pedraza won every round. …
The “good” in this column could’ve been the four featured fights – all involving heavyweights — on the July 24 Tyson Fury–Deontay Wilder III card: Fury vs Wilder, Robert Helenius vs. Adam Kownacki II, Frank Sanchez vs. Efe Ajagba and Jared Anderson vs. Vladimir Treshkin. That’s going to be entertaining as hell. And it’s further proof that competing entities – Top Rank and Premier Boxing Champions, in this case – can work together when they have to. Can we build on this? … Claressa Shields deserves credit for her victory in her MMA debut on Thursday. Things looked bleak for two rounds, during which jiu-jitsu expert Brittney Elkin controlled the battle on the ground. However, Shields, obviously determined, rallied to win when Elkin tried for a takedown but failed and was met with a flurry of hard punches. “I just had never-quit attitude every round,” Shields said. She should be proud of herself. …
Longtime heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin, 41, has announced his retirement. The Russian had a good career, which started with a super heavyweight gold medal in the 2004 Olympics. He never won a major professional title – losing badly to Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua in his only tries — but he was a contender for more than a decade. He defeated Larry Donald, Chris Byrd, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev, Marco Huck, Hasim Rahman and several other capable heavyweights. And he saved one of his best for second to last, a stunning one punch knockout of Dillian Whyte last August. Whyte stopped Povetkin in the rematch, prompting him to call it quits. Povetkin also will be remembered for his failed drug tests.
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