A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
I don’t usually look ahead in Good, Bad, Worse but I couldn’t resist this week.
Last month, the talented Charlo brothers gave us high-level performances to remember on a pay-per-view doubleheader. This coming Saturday, we have another mouth-watering main event to savor. And you don’t have to pay for it if you get ESPN.
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez is about as good as it gets, a matchup of a seasoned boxing magician from Ukraine against a fiery young American with his own gifts who believes his time is now.
Lomachenko, No. 1 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list, fought for a world title in his second pro fight (losing to Orlando Salido) and hasn’t slowed down. Every one of his 13 subsequent fights has been for one world title or another.
Yes, you read that correctly: 14 of Lomachenko’s 15 outings have been title fights. He said when he turned pro that he wanted to take part only in meaningful fights and he meant it.
Some believe that the 32-year-old has shown signs of vulnerability over the past few years, specifically in victories over Jorge Linares and Luke Campbell at lightweight that might’ve been more difficult than expected.
If he has slipped, age could be a factor. So could size. Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) progressed rapidly from 126 to 130 to 135. He’s arguably a small lightweight, which Lopez believes will work in his favor when they’re face to face inside the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas.
Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) has the same number of pro fights as Lomachenko but hasn’t faced the same level of opposition, although he’s coming off a second-round knockout of Richard Commey to win one of the 135-pound titles. And while Lopez had a good amateur career, Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic champion, is considered one of the best amateurs ever.
Lopez, 23, has youth and a combination of other attributes – skill, speed, punching power, hunger – working in his favor. Many believe he has what it takes to beat this, perhaps slightly less formidable version of Lomachenko.
I, for one, can’t wait to see how it all plays out.
***
BAD
I wouldn’t say that Emanuel Navarrete’s performance against Ruben Villa on Friday was bad. It just wasn’t what we’ve come to expect from him. And he might never be the fighter at 126 pounds that he was at 122.
Navarrete (32-1, 27 KOs) got off to a strong start at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, putting Villa (18-1, 5 KOs) down twice in the first four rounds but then did just enough to hold onto his lead and win a vacant featherweight title. Two judges scored it 114-112, six rounds a piece. The third scored it 115-111.
Villa arguably outboxed in the majority of rounds in which he wasn’t knocked down, demonstrating that a good, experienced technician with some resilience can give Navarrete trouble.
The Mexican stalked his opponent from beginning to end but, aside from the knockdowns, didn’t do much damage. Had Villa countered more often when Navarrete missed the mark – and he missed a lot – he might’ve earned a draw or victory.
Can you imagine what fellow 126-pound titleholder Gary Russell Jr. would’ve done to the version of Navarrete we saw on Friday?
To be fair to Navarrete, he beat a good fighter to win a major title in a second division. That’s a laudable accomplishment.
And it was only his second fight as a full-fledged featherweight, at which Villa has fought his entire career. Navarrete could still grow into the division and become more dominating as he moves forward.
***
WORSE
I wasn’t a fan of the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s decision to lower the induction threshold from five to three years, which I believe can create a glut of candidates. Hopefully, another change will save the day in voting for the Class of 2021.
Only the top three vote getters are guaranteed induction. The additional change, made the same time the threshold was altered, allows anyone else receiving votes on 80 percent of ballots to also get in.
This year, in my opinion, five first-time candidates are no-brainer first-ballot Hall of Famers: Floyd Mayweather, James Toney, Wladimir Klitschko, Miguel Cotto and Andre Ward, all of whom happened to retire in 2017. There are other worthy names on the list – Rafael Marquez, Diego Corrales and Tim Bradley, for example – but they are a notch below the Top 5.
My hope is that 8 of 10 voters – who are limited to voting for five candidates — will agree with me and place check marks next the names of Mayweather, Toney, Klitschko, Cotto and Ward.
We don’t have to go into Floyd Mayweather’s credentials. He’ll be on the ballot of every responsible voter. Toney, a gifted boxer with a great chin, was a force between middleweight and heavyweight. Cotto, a four-division titleholder, was at the pinnacle of the sport for around 15 years. And Ward, my No. 1 fighter of the 2010s, faced a long list of elite opponents yet retired undefeated.
Of course, any of my five who fail to appear on 80 percent of the ballots this year could still be elected next year or beyond. However, that could create the glut mentioned earlier, where so many deserving candidates are on a single ballot that one or two are left out in the cold.
Vote Mayweather, Toney, Klitschko, Cotto and Ward!
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