A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi0LwjB6hU8
Demetrius Andrade doesn’t necessarily look great when he fights but he couldn’t be much more effective.
That was the case once again on Saturday night, when he received spirited resistance from tough, determined Liam Williams yet won 10 of 12 rounds on two cards and eight on the third to retain his middleweight title in Hollywood, Fla.
Andrade put Williams down in the second round and looked as if he might win by knockout early — which would’ve been a strong statement for someone itching to lure another 160-pound champion into the ring — but he couldn’t finish the job.
Instead, Andrade merely boxed brilliantly most of the fight, moving laterally, stopping to fire off hard, accurate shots when the time was right and then quickly moving away. Williams tried to disrupt that pattern but largely failed.
The Welshman gave Andrade a compliment when he said afterward, “He was slipperier than he appears to be on TV.”
Andrade might not have been dazzling but, as he does, he won convincingly in his fourth title defense. That should keep him on track to face fellow titleholders and prime targets Jermall Charlo or Gennadiy Golovkin, assuming they’re willing.
And I’m not sure either is in love with the idea of facing Andrade, whose style and ability probably would make the life of even the best 160-pounders miserable.
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BAD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAuF610gwDQ
Tony Harrison should be excused for a flat performance against Bryant Perrella on Saturday in Los Angeles.
The former junior middleweight titleholder hadn’t fought since December 2019, when he was stopped by Jermell Charlo. He probably was rusty. He lost his father/trainer Ali Salaam not long afterward. His brother worked his corner. And Perrella is a crafty boxer.
Harrison had a lot to overcome. The fact he emerged with a draw isn’t the end of the world for him, although it certainly was a small step backward.
It appeared to me as if he had one foot in the ring and one foot out of it, as he was strangely inactive much of the fight. He threw only 453 punches overall, 282 of which were jabs, according to CompuBox. And he landed only 60 of the jabs.
I had the feeling that Harrison was as much an onlooker as a participant in the fight.
Of course, Perrella, trained by Roy Jones Jr., had something to do with that. He boxed well and worked hard, throwing 692 punches. And he’s a southpaw, which Harrison had said before the fight would be a challenge for him.
As many as 10 of the 12 rounds were difficult to score, which explains the contrasting cards: 116-112 for Harrison, 117-111 for Perrella and 114-114. Boxing Junkie scored it 115-113 for Perrella.
In the end, neither fighter was cheated. But where does it leave them?
Harrison, who had hoped to jump right back into the title picture, can still get there but he can’t afford even one more slip-up. He better show up at his best next time out. Meanwhile, Perrella took a step forward. He demonstrated that he could compete with an elite 154-pounder.
That’s about all we can glean from an unsatisfying draw.
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***
WORSE
The ringside view of Jake Paul's TKO. @ESPNRingside pic.twitter.com/YgasSH1Br4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 18, 2021
Jake Paul deserves credit.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer trained hard, said he was going to knock out Ben Askren and then he did it in less than one full round Saturday night in Atlanta. He proved a lot of people wrong, including me.
And Paul’s emotional reaction afterward is evidence that he takes his boxing career seriously. To him, this isn’t a game.
The knockout punch itself was impressive. It finished Askren’s night and probably would’ve gotten the attention of most cruiserweights, although he couldn’t land a punch as easily against a legitimate boxer.
Indeed, another winner on Saturday was whomever chose Askren as Paul’s opponent. The former MMA champ has a big name and small ability, at least in terms of boxing. Perfect matchmaking for a novice like Paul.
The problem for Paul will come if he decides to face a genuine boxer one day, not the Nate Robinsons and Ben Askrens of the world.
And my gut tells me he’ll take that step if he continues to beat non-boxers because of how he sees himself. He has said that he doesn’t want to be perceived as a side show. He fancies himself the real deal, a hot, young prospect.
Sadly for him, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll amount to much. The minute he finds himself face to face with an opponent who makes his living the boxing ring, he will be exposed for what he is: a late starter with crude skills.
Paul, 24, had no amateur career and has three pro fights. You can learn basics of the sport in a short time but the seasoning required to compete at a high level takes a number of years. Let’s compare it to baseball. You can’t take a few hitting lessons and then jump to the Major Leagues. Michael Jordan demonstrated that.
Again, Paul deserves props. He has some natural ability and is willing to put in the time to hone it, which has allowed him to enjoy success against fellow newbies. Let’s just not get carried away.
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RABBIT PUNCHES
I won’t question referee Brian Stutts, whose stoppage of the Paul-Askren fight was somewhat controversial. Askren was hurt and Stutts was looking him directly in the eyes when he made the decision to end matters. Paul was probably correct when he said Askren was fortunate that the fight was stopped when it was. … The ending of the Regis Prograis–Ivan Redkach welterweight fight on the Paul-Askren card was about as strange as it gets. In Round 6, Prograis landed a punch to Redkach’s ribs yet Redkach fell to the canvas and grabbed his groin, claiming a low blow. The referee missed it. The fight was stopped and the punch reportedly was ruled a foul. Still, it somehow went to the scorecards and Prograis won a technical decision. It appeared to me that Redkach wanted out of a fight he was losing badly. He quit.