A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
One positive thing I’ll remember about 2020 was the success of so many good young fighters.
I can start with the gifted Teofimo Lopez, who, at 23 years old, dethroned pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko by a convincing decision on Oct. 17 in Las Vegas. It hardly ends with Lopez, though.
We saw two more young fighters with great promise on Saturday, David Morrell and Jesus Ramos.
Morrell, a 22-year-old former Cuban amateur star, destroyed overmatched Mike Gavronski en route to a third-round knockout in Los Angeles. His combination of ability and maturity beyond his years is representative of many young fighters today.
The same can be said for Jesus Ramos, who, at only 19, methodically annihilated Naim Nelson in four rounds on the same card. He has champion written over him.
And the encouraging list goes on in a sport bursting with prodigies destined to be the stars of the next generation. Among others 24 or younger to make statements this year:
- Ryan Garcia (22), a knockout artist and social media star who is on the verge of becoming a major star.
- Devin Haney (22), a gifted all-around fighter who already has won a title and appears to be on Lopez’s heals.
- Shakur Stevenson (23), the former Olympian who gave up a 126-pound title and began his pursuit of another at 130.
- David Benavidez (24), who already is a two-time 168-pound titleholder and potential foe of Canelo Alvarez.
- Vergil Ortiz (22), who has stopped all 16 of his opponents and is poised to challenge the best 147-pounders.
- Jaron Ennis (23), arguably the most-gifted – in terms of both ability and power – of the bunch.
- Chris Colbert (24), a superb boxer-athlete who is on the cusp of a break-through victory.
- Jaime Munguia (24), a bruising middleweight who won a title at 154 pounds and is getting better.
- Edgar Berlanga (23), a super middleweight who has stopped all 16 of his opponents in the first round. Yes, you read that correctly.
This list isn’t meant to be complete. I could go on and on … and on. The intention was to demonstrate that boxing continues to produce superb all-around fighters, fighters who could’ve been successful in any era.
Anyone who thinks otherwise isn’t paying attention.
***
BAD
James Kirkland had a good career. The “Mandingo Warrior” wasn’t a great fighter but, because of his fiercely aggressive style, he was one of the more entertaining boxers of his era. Arturo Gatti became a legend because of that quality.
And Kirkland was able to do it in spite of several interruptions, namely stints in jail for a variety of offenses. He won the first 27 fights of his career, 24 by knockout, to generate excitement.
Then, back in 2011, he ran into a relatively unknown Japanese fighter named Nobuhiro Ishida, who stopped Kirkland less than two minutes into the fight. Kirkland fought without trainer and motivator Ann Wolfe in that bout, which seemed to indicate that he wasn’t the same without her.
That might be true but, more important, Ishida simply exposed Kirkland’s limitations.
Six fights later he received the opportunity of his career, a date with Canelo Alvarez in Houston. Things didn’t go well for the Texan. The Mexican star put him down three times before stopping him in Round 3. It was arguably the most-spectacular knockout of Alvarez’s career.
Kirkland, determined to get his life in order, left boxing for four years after that setback. He returned last year, beat two journeymen and then agreed to fight Juan Macias Montiel on the Morrell-Gavronski card on Saturday.
It was Nobuhiro Ishida all over again. Kirkland, 36, went down three times and didn’t survive a full two minutes. The ability to take a punch is gone. So are the reflexes. It’s time to call it quits.
Kirkland (34-3, 30 KOs) didn’t have a extraordinary career. He never won a major title. In fact, he never beat an elite opponent, except perhaps a young Alfredo Angulo. He’s best known for being on the wrong end of a brutal knockout.
He entertained a lot folks, though. And isn’t that the most important thing to fans? Enjoy your retirement, warrior.
***
WORSE
Frankie Randall represented the best and the worst of boxing.
Randall, who died at 59 on Wednesday, is a testament to perseverance. He received his first title shot in 1994, at 32 years old and 11 years into his career. And he won the fight by decision to capture the first of his three 140-pound titles.
His opponent that night in Las Vegas? Julio Cesar Chavez.
Randall became both the first to defeat the future Hall of Famer – who was 89-0-1 going into the fight — and the first to put him down, giving the talented, durable boxer-puncher an indelible place in boxing lore.
Three-time champion, conqueror of Chavez and victories over other top fighters of the day. Randall had a lot of which to be proud.
The problem is he fought too long. He went 3-13 in his last 16 fights, the last one when he was 43 years old. In all, he fought professionally for 22 years. That might’ve contributed to his condition later in life: His son said he died after a battle with dementia and Parkinson’s.
Perhaps the two primary lessons he will have taught fighters who followed him are these: never give up when you can still fight and walk away when you can’t.
RIP, champ.
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