A critical look at the past week in boxing
BIGGEST WINNER
Terence Crawford – Crawford didn’t dominate every moment of his fight against rugged David Avanesyan but he controlled the action throughout and delivered a spectacular sixth-round knockout Saturday in front of his hometown fans in Omaha, Nebraska. In the process, he bolstered his claim on the top pound-for-pound spot. The unflappable welterweight champion boxed patiently in the face of Avanesyan’s constant pressure, fighting behind his jab to gradually set up the brutal ending. The left-right combination to the head of Avanesyan (29-4-1, 17 KOs) put him down and out instantaneously, taking the breath away of fans packed into CHI Health Center and those watching on their devices. Could he have drawn it up any better? If Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) has slowed down at 35, it certainly hasn’t been evident in recent fights. He has stopped his last 10 opponents. Of course, we’ll see how he does when he faces a next-level foe as he approaches his 36th birthday.
MOST LIMITED
Time remaining in Crawford’s career – Crawford said recently that his legacy won’t be impacted if he never fights fellow titleholder Errol Spence Jr. Wrong. The frustrating, almost tragic aspect of Crawford’s career is that he has had one defining victory in his 14-plus-year career, his knockout of Shawn Porter in November of last year. And even that win arguably was flawed, as Porter seemed to have one foot out of boxing going into the fight. Crawford needs to fight Spence if he wants to prove he’s the best welterweight of the post-Mayweather-Pacquiao era, a distinction all 147-pounders would love to have. Could Crawford-Spence still happen? Crawford said after his victory on Saturday that he’s willing to get back to the negotiating table, which is a good sign. That’s the easy part, though. The sides need to find a way to get it done. If they can’t? We might look back on Crawford’s career, shake our heads and wonder how a truly great fighter managed to retire with so few legitimate tests.
MOST FORTUNATE
Teofimo Lopez – The 140-pound contender was correct when he said it’s difficult to look good against an opponent who runs, his interpretation of opponent Sandor Martin’s tactics on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. However, fighters who believe they’re among the best in the business – and Lopez does – find a way to cut off the ring and take control of a fight against a heavy underdog. Lopez never did. He did enough to win over two judges and have his hand raised but he reminded no one of the juggernaut who became undisputed lightweight champion and crashed the pound-for-pound rankings at 23 before losing to George Kambosos Jr. Was the perception we had of Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) an illusion? Was he never really as good as we thought? It looks that way at the moment. To be fair, he’s still only 25. A victory over the likes of Josh Taylor or Regis Prograis would make us forget all about his so-so performance on Saturday. I’m just not convinced he could pull that off.
WORST SCORECARD
Pasquale Procopio’s – Martin (40-3, 13 KOs) demonstrated against Lopez that his upset victory over Mikey Garcia last year was no fluke. The quick, athletic Spaniard can box. His strategy was to counter when Lopez attacked and not stay in one place long enough for his favored opponent land punches with any consistency. Neither man got much accomplished. Both of them averaged fewer than 10 punches landed per round, according to CompuBox. But limited success was divided evenly. That’s why judge Pasquale Procopio’s score of 97-92 – eight rounds to two for Lopez – seemed out of line. The same can be said of Max DeLuca’s tally of 96-93. I presume they rewarded Lopez for being the aggressor. The problem was that he didn’t demonstrate effective aggression, which is generally necessary to win rounds. He was frustrated from beginning to end. I thought the 95-94 card of Guido Cavalieri – five rounds apiece, taking into account the second-round knockdown of Lopez – best reflected what occurred in the ring.
MOST LIMITED
Josh Warrington – The now-two-time former 126-pound titleholder is a solid, rugged fighter, nothing more at this stage of the 32-year-old’s career. That was obvious again on Saturday in his hometown of Leeds, England, where Mexican Luis Alberto Lopez outworked him to win a majority decision and the IBF belt. Warrington is now 1-2-1 in his last four fights, the other loss and draw coming against Lopez’s countryman Mauricio Lara last year. That’s a terrible streak. On Saturday Warrington (31-2-1, 8 KOs) had neither the wherewithal nor the punching power to keep the aggressive Lopez (27-2, 15 KOs) off of him, although he performed well in the championship rounds to make it a close fight. His limitations couldn’t have been more obvious. Has Warrington slipped? Or has he always been limited? It’s probably more the former but also the latter. He deserves credit for winning the two belts and beating the likes of Kiko Martinez (MD), Lee Selby (SD), Carl Frampton (UD) and Kid Galahad (SD) but nothing ever came easy for him. Maybe that’s one reason he’s so appealing to his fans. He has had to work hard for everything he gets.
MOST RIDICULOUS?
Manny Pacquiao’s exhibition – If fans want to fork over the $29.99 pay-per-view fee to watch an aging legend take part in an exhibition, then God bless them. We all have our own tastes. Me? I didn’t see value. Pacquiao’s six-round bout with martial artist and social media star DK Yoo was borderline silly, two guys jumping around the ring, throwing punches here and there and generally having a grand time. Yes, Pacquiao landed a few punches. He had to give the fans some semblance of a genuine fight, right? And Yoo, who seemed to tire quickly, went down a few times. You had the feeling that Pacquiao could’ve ended the fight at any moment if he wanted to against an opponent with no experience but he didn’t want to hurt the guy, which is why the fight went the distance. When it ended, my first thought was, “Well, I’m never getting that 17 minutes back.” I honestly don’t get the appeal of these exhibitions.
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