A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
It was the day of the underdog.
Jack Catterall, Fernando Martinez and Hector Luis Garcia surprised everyone but themselves and those close to them by giving inspired performances Saturday, whether they were victorious or not.
Catterall lost to Josh Taylor while Martinez and Garcia beat Jerwin Ancajas and Chris Colbert, respectively, but all three earned respect.
Many believe that Catterall did enough to earn the nod over undisputed junior welterweight titleholder Josh Taylor in Glasgow, Scotland, Taylor’s home country, but the Englishman lost a split decision.
One thing is certain: The challenger used underappreciated ability and grit to give the champion at least as much trouble as Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez did, which is saying a lot given the status of those fighters.
Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs) shook his head in disgust when the decision was read. So did a lot of other people. But we all know what we saw.
Martinez (14-0, 8 KOs) is managed by fellow Argentine Marcos Maidana, which is appropriate. He attacked long-reigning champion Ancajas with the ferocity for which his handler became known. That made for a wild toe-to-toe brawl with the rugged Filipino, which Martinez won by a wide decision.
Who wouldn’t want to watch Martinez fight again after that performance? Fans dream of warriors like him.
And Garcia (15-0, 10 KOs) might’ve given the most eye-opening performance of the day given the reputation of Colbert, who was seen as a rising star. The Dominican, strong, fit and confident even though he was a late replacement, imposed his will on his overmatched foe to a point where Colbert refused to even fight back in the last few rounds.
Garcia, who won by a lopsided decision, went from relative unknown to fearsome contender in one night. He’s likely to be favored over titleholder Roger Gutierrez, assuming they meet.
All three men – Catterall, Martinez and Garcia – have a lot of which to be proud.
BAD
Taylor, Ancajas and Colbert gave performances they’d like to forget.
Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) held onto his undisputed 140-pound championship but his reputation took a hit. He said the pressure of defending his belts at home got to him. Makes sense. He apparently has had difficulty making 140. Believable.
At the same time, pound-for-pound fighters are supposed to handle opponents like Catterall, tough, but supposedly limited boxers. He didn’t. He struggled from beginning to end – even going down in the eighth round – and was lucky to leave the ring with his belts.
I would’ve favored the top 147-pounders – including Terence Crawford – to beat Taylor in competitive fights before Saturday. Now I wonder whether he’d be outclassed.
I’m not writing Taylor off based on one sub-par performance but he might’ve hit his ceiling.
Ancajas (33-2-2, 22 KOs) was simply outslugged by Martinez. What I don’t understand is why he didn’t try a different approach given the trajectory of the fight. He has some skills. He could’ve tried boxing more to change things up but didn’t.
Instead, the Filipino bet the house on his ability to outlast his opponent in a fire fight. He’s an ex-champion as a result, the loser of a unanimous decision.
And there isn’t much to say about Colbert’s performance. The Brooklyn fighter didn’t have the tools to keep a better, stronger opponent off of him. I think his relative lack of punching power haunted him in this fight. You have to keep a fighter like Garcia honest or he’s going continue to charge you like a rhinoceros.
A light-punching fighter must be a superb boxer to survive against a beast like Garcia, someone like Pernell Whitaker. Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs) evidently isn’t as good as I and many others thought he is, although he’s still young. He can bounce back if he has it in him.
We’ll learn a lot about Taylor, Ancajas and Colbert in their next fights.
WORSE
I’ve witnessed the fighting spirit of Ukrainian boxers up close for many years. Thus, it makes sense to me that they and their countrymen are digging in against a seemingly unbeatable enemy in the Russian military.
For example, former heavyweight champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko have said they will take up arms if necessary. I had tremendous respect for them before this senseless war. Now I see them as heroes.
I also fear for their lives, particularly Vitali, who is mayor of the country’s capital of Kyiv. He’s in the line of fire, as the Russians have the city surrounded as I’m writing this. And if Russian President Vladimir Putin has a hit list of Ukrainian leaders who he feels might stand in his way, Vitali must be on it.
The thought of this great Hall of Fame boxer, who’s only 50, dying under these circumstances is sickening.
Viktor Postol demonstrated his mental toughness on the Colbert-Garcia card Saturday night, giving a solid performance before losing to Gary Antuanne Russell even though the lives of family members and friends are imperiled.
Imagine how difficult that must have been, trying focus on your preparation for an important fight while you’re relatively small country is at war with a superpower. He showed fighting spirit just making it into the ring. And even though he was stopped in the 10th and final round, he fought his heart out.
No surprise there. This obviously is what Ukrainians do.
Wladimir Klitschko captured that spirit in an Instagram post, in which he also appealed for help. It read in part: “Here, we will defend ourselves with all our might and fight for freedom and democracy. You can also act. Let not fear seize us; let’s not remain frozen. Putin shoots at Ukrainian cities, but he aims at our hearts and, more importantly, at our minds. He wants to create doubt and confusion and thus inaction.
“You can do something by mobilizing and organizing huge demonstrations. Make your voice heard. Make the voice of democracy heard. Say it loud and clear that international law and democracy are under attack, that war is the greatest evil and that life is sacred. Also say that while solidarity is good, support is better. Say that the march of imperialism must be stopped now. After all, whose turn will it be after Ukraine?”
RABBIT PUNCHES
Russell (15-0, 15 KOs) passed an important test against Postol, who was his most-accomplished opponent so far. The junior welterweight prospect outboxed and outworked Postol (31-4, 12 KOs) for most of the fight and then became the first to stop the former titleholder. I think referee Mike Ortega made a poor decision when he stopped the fight with 29 seconds remaining but that shouldn’t obscure the fact that Russell did what he came to do, which was to make a strong statement against a proven foe. … A colleague who follows British boxing closely provided one stark reason Catterall was livid after he ended up on the wrong end of what might’ve been a bad decision. Had he won, had he become undisputed champion, he could’ve earned in the neighborhood of $1 million next time out. As it is, he’ll be lucky to make $100,000 for his next fight. And he’ll probably never get another shot at becoming an undisputed champion. … WBO cruiserweight titleholder Lawrence Okolie (18-0, 14 KOs) outpointed Michal Cieslak (21-2, 15 KOs) in an ugly fight to retain his belt on Sunday in London. That could set up a title-unification bout with either Mairis Briedis or Ilunga Makabu. The 6-foot-5 Briton also could decide to move up to the heavyweight division.