Boxing Junkie’s fantasy series “Who Wins?” revealed some interesting things about the fighters who were featured.
Boxing Junkie’s “Who Wins?” feature, in which we pitted each of our Top 15 pound-for-pound fighters against five potential opponents and had our three staffers predict winners, is completed.
What did it reveal? A number of things.
The top fighters on our pound-for-pound list are there for a reason.
Nos. 1-3 Vasiliy Lomachenko, Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez went a combined 43-1-1 in their fights (five fights with three predictions each). See below for the final standings.
The results depended heavily on the opposition.
Alvarez went 15-0 (6 KOs) in part because he’s a great fighter, as stated above, but also because the competition at super middleweight isn’t as deep as some other divisions.
Alvarez, who recently won a light heavyweight title was paired with 175-pounder Artur Beterbiev in one of the Russian’s five fights and all three Boxing Junkie staffers predicted Alvarez would lose.
One could argue that the records of Crawford (14-1, 3 KOs) and Errol Spence Jr. (13-2, 6 KOs) are as impressive as Alvarez’s given the inordinate number of quality welterweights compared to super middleweights.
Size matters.
The best example of this is Mikey Garcia, the four-division titleholder who now is a smallish welterweight. His ability stacks up against almost anyone’s but he is at a disadvantage against a full-sized, elite 147-pounder, as we saw when he was dominated by Spence. Garcia went 7-8 (0 KOs).
Age matters.
No one doubts the greatness of Manny Pacquiao, particularly after his victory over Keith Thurman. However, at 41, he can’t fight at the same pace he once did. Plus, he also is a small 147-pounder. Those are reasons the Boxing Junkie staffers gave the nod to Pacquiao’s opponents by a wide margin. Pacquiao went 3-12 (0 KOs), the worse record among the 15 fighters featured.
Gennadiy Golovkin, 37, suffered a similar fate. He’s a great fighter but also an aging one, which caught up with him in our feature. Triple-G went 9-6 (5 KOs).
Fury is clearly No. 1.
The heavyweight division isn’t deep but Fury’s opponents – Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Oleksandr Usyk, Dillian Whyte and Andy Ruiz Jr. – have had success. And Fury emerged with a record of 14-1 (8 KOs), losing only a close decision against Usyk in the opinion of staffer Sean Nam.
Even special fighters lose.
Two good examples are Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Josh Taylor, who had records of 8-7 (5 KOs) and 7-6-2 (2 KOs), respectively. That has less to do with their abilities than the fighters we had them face.
Sor Rungvisai, a junior bantamweight, had to contend with a gauntlet of superb opponents – Juan Francisco Estrada (in a third fight), Roman Gonzalez (also for the third time), Nayoa Inoue (a bantamweight), Kazuto Ioka and Kosei Tanaka. No one could emerge from those tests unscathed.
And Taylor, a junior welterweight, faced Jose Ramirez, Regis Prograis (in a rematch), Maurice Hooker, Terence Crawford (a welterweight) and Teofimo Lopez (a lightweight). Again, tough assignments.
Boxing Junkie staffers are trying to have some fun while the sport is on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the questions fans love to ask even amid a busy schedule is, “Who would win if …?” With that in mind, we decided to create …
Boxing Junkie staffers are trying to have some fun while the sport is on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the questions fans love to ask even amid a busy schedule is, “Who would win if …?” With that in mind, we decided to create our own “Who Wins?” feature, in which we pit a single fighter against each of five potential opponents and indicate who we believe would win the fights.
In this installment of Who Wins?, our staffers’ give their takes on how Sor Rungvisai would do against Juan Francisco Estrada (in a third fight), Roman Gonzalez (also for the third time), Nayoa Inoue, Kazuto Ioka and Kosei Tanaka. We then tally Sor Rungvisai’s record in those fights and present our standings.
Sor Rungvisai, a huge puncher, was already an accomplished champion when he first outpointed and then stopped the great Roman Gonzalez in back-to-back fights in 2017, making him a major player among little fighters worldwide.
We want to acknowledge that the choice of possible opponents is subjective. We’re looking for the best possible but also realistic foes for our featured boxers. One caveat: We won’t consider promotional and managerial rivalries that often stand in the way of the best matchups. And we’re operating under the assumption that none of our featured boxers will fight with ring rust as result of their forced coronavirus-related layoff.
The plan is to work our way down our pound-for-pound list each day. That means our featured fighter tomorrow will be No. 15 Leo Santa Cruz.
So here goes: Sor Rungvisai vs. his five potential opponents.
***
SOR RUNGVISAI (47-5-1, 41) VS. ESTRADA (40-3, 27 KOs)
Juan Francisco Estrada (left, against Victor Mendez) is 1-1 against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. John McCoy/Getty Images)
Rosenthal: A third fight between these two warriors is a no-brainer. Estrada rallied in the first fight to make it close but came up short. Sor Rungvisai, who inexplicably fought mostly from an orthodox stance, did the same in a losing cause in the rematch. Part III? Estrada, 29, has the more recent victory and momentum while Sor Rungvisai, 33, might have leveled off. Estrada by a close, but clear decision.
Frauenheim: Estrada lost a majority decision to Sor Rungvisai, then beat him by unanimous decision14 months later, both at 115. Estrada learned enough in the first fight to make the right adjustments. In the rematch, he figures to have learned even more. Estrada, unanimous decision.
Nam: Although Sor Rungivsai committed a grave tactical error in their rematch – the decision to go orthodox instead of his natural southpaw stance for more than three quarters of the bout – he ended up giving Estrada a run for his money the last few rounds. The third fight is closer if Sor Rungvisai relies on his natural instincts. Estrada will come out much the same, firing on all cylinders. But the Thai fighter has one of the better chins in the game and eventually he’ll wear out Estrada. Sor Rungvisai by close decision.
***
SOR RUNGVISAI VS. GONZALEZ (49-2, 41 KOs)
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (right) seems to have Roman Gonzalez’s number. Jeff Gross / Getty Images
Rosenthal: Gonzalez’s victory over Kal Yafai was impressive but let’s not get carried away. Yafai isn’t Sor Rungvisai. And Gonzalez isn’t quite the fighter he was. Sor Rungvisai knocked Gonzalez out cold the last time they met. Gonzalez will probably make adjustments and could be more competitive but it still won’t end well for him. Sor Rungvisai by late KO.
Frauenheim: All of the momentum is with Sor Rungvisai. He scored a majority decision over Gonzalez in March, 2017. He knocked him out six months later in Carson, California. Gonzalez was at his best at flyweight. The physical Sor Rungvisai is stronger at junior bantamweight. Sor Rungvisai, late-round stoppage.
Nam: If Gonzalez can steer clear of getting waylaid by Sor Rungvisai’s right hook, he has a decent chance of notching a decision. That doesn’t seem likely, though, given Sor Rungvisai’s superiority in size, power and perhaps most of all his chin. If Gonazlez can’t hurt Sor Rungvisai, he will be hardpressed to hear the final bell. Morever, Gonzalez’s pressure-fighting style does should create plenty of openings for Sor Rungvisai. Sor Rungvisai by late stoppage.
***
SOR RUNGVISAI VS. INOUE (19-0, 16 KOs)
Nonito Donaire (left) proved that Naoya Inoue is human. Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP via Getty Images
Rosenthal: Sor Rungvisai had one of the most impressive streaks in boxing in 2017 and 2018, stopping Roman Gonzalez twice and outpointing Juan Francisco Estrada in consecutive fights. He hasn’t done much since, beating two journeymen and then losing a decision to Estrada in their rematch. The ability and the power still lurk, though. If he could carry that power from 115 to 118, he’d have a chance against Inoue. In the end, though, Inoue’s szie and superior skill set wins the day. Inoue by clear decision.
Frauenheim: Other than his Fight of the Year battle with Nonito Donaire, Inoue’s toughest fight could be Sor Rungvisai. He’s strong. Physicality isn’t exactly a word, but Sor Rungvisai defines it. He could hurt Inoue, who has the skill to elude him. He’s athletic enough to move and smart enough to adjust, all enough for Inoue to win a split decision.
Nam: If Sor Rungvisai demonstrates that his cast iron chin can hold up at 118 pounds, he will give Inoue some trouble. He’ll push the pace and throw left hand haymakers as Inoue tries to maneuver around the ring and land his potshots. Without the skillset to match Inoue’s, Sor Rungvisai will end up taking a lot of punishment. Inoue by decision.
***
SOR RUNGVISAI VS. IOKA (25-2, 14 KOs)
Kazuto Ioka has the all-around skills and heart to give Sor Rungvisai trouble. Bherouz Mehri / AFP via Getty Images
Rosenthal: Ioka is a well-schooled, fleet boxer-puncher who can compete with anyone at his weight. Sor Rungvisai is no exception. Ioka will do well early, sticking, moving, perhaps building up a lead on the cards. But the stronger Sor Rungvisai will wear him down and ultimately pull away to win a close decision.
Frauenheim: Ioka has power along with foot and hand speed. He’s resilient. He’s 2-0 since losing a debatable split decision to Donnie Nietes. But resilience might not be enough against Sor Rungvisai’s overall strength. Sor Rungvisai, late-round stoppage.
Nam: Ioka has been able to carve up mid-level fighters by working behind his jab and mixing in hard body shots. He’s a solid technician. Alas, that won’t be enough against the Sor Rungvisai, who is is bound to find a home for his hard left and rights. Sor Rungivisai by late stoppage.
***
SOR RUNGVISAI VS. TANAKA (15-0, 9 KOs)
Japan’s Kosei Tanaka (left against Jonathan Gonzalez) is one of the most gifted young fighters in the world. Jiji Press / AFP via Getty Images
Rosenthal: Tanka, 24, has accomplished so much in a short time for a reason: He’s one of the most talented young fighters in the world. He has good fundamentals, a high boxing IQ and unusual dynamism. Sor Rungvisai has edges in experience and punching power but very often the more-gifted fighter emerges victorious. And that’s Tanaka, who wins by a close decision.
Frauenheim: Tanaka is an emerging star. He’s 24, nine years younger than Sor Rungvisai. He has nine KOs on his 15-0 resume. He faces a mandatory challenge for a 112-pound belt from Ioka. He has all of the momentum, enough leverage to keep a bout vs. Sor Rungvisai in Japan. Tanaka, unanimous decision.
Nam: Tanaka’s mobility and boxing ability is going to win him some of the early rounds, but the young Japanese titleholder propensity for trading will undo him in the end. Recall that Sho Kimura, a hardscrabble but unremarkable fighter, was able to land plenty of leather on Tanaka in their 2018 barnburner. Tanaka is going to be swallowing a lot of flush left hands. Sor Rungivsai by decision.
Roman Gonzalez reached into his glorious past to break down and then knock out unbeaten Kal Yafai on Saturday in Frisco, Texas.
GOOD
Never underestimate a great fighter.
Roman Gonzalez seemed to be finished as top-tier star when he lost back to back fights to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2017, including a brutal fourth-round knockout in the second meeting. The death of his longtime trainer and a knee injury that required surgery seemed to seal his fate as a has-been.
“Chocolatito’s” career had run its course. Too old (32), particularly for such a small fighter. Too shop worn, the result of many wars. And too small. He seemed to hit a weight ceiling.
Yes, it was a tall order to think such a little, worn out man could take down unbeaten and rising junior bantamweight titleholder Kal Yafai on the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card Saturday in Frisco, Texas.
Turned out there were two more factors not everyone took into account: ability and determination.
Gonzalez looked a lot like the pre-Sor Rungvisai Gonzalez against Yafai, who learned the hard way how good one of his boxing idols could be in the flesh. Gonzalez outworked Yafai (landing twice as many power punches as the Englishman), broke him down in brutal fashion and ultimately knocked him out in the ninth round.
The moment Gonzalez’s big right hand put a beaten Yafai down and out in the ninth round was a flash back to a time when the Nicaraguan was considered an absolute marvel. Vintage “Chocolatito.”
Is it time to put him back onto our pound-for-pound lists? No, not yet. Probably not ever again. But he gave us at least one last demonstration of why he has been one of the greatest fighters – in any division – of his generation.
And who knows? He might have more such performances in him. Fighters like Sor Rungvisai and Juan Francisco Estrada await. I wouldn’t put anything past “Chocolatito.”
BAD
Mikey Garcia (right) was able to handle Jessie Vargas but how would he fare against the likes of Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia? Tom Pennington / Getty Images
There was nothing “bad” about Mikey Garcia’s performance against Jessie Vargas on Saturday. He should be applauded for a solid comeback victory.
The “bad” could describe what might follow.
I believe Garcia proved against a solid opponent that he remains an elite fighter, one who arguably deserves to be on pound-for-pound lists. He fought patiently early in the fight, had his best moments in the middle rounds – including a fifth-round knockdown – and was strong at the finish.
The result: scores of 114-113, 116-111 and 116-111 in his favor. Well deserved.
The problem is that Vargas, as big as he was compared to Garcia, isn’t equal to the likes of Errol Spence Jr., Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman. They are true 147-pounders but also better than Vargas, which is where Mikey Garcia ran into trouble in his previous fight.
Spence dominated him en route to a shutout decision in March of last year, which raised questions about the ability of a natural 140-pounder – if that – to compete against an elite welterweight. He got past Vargas. But how would Mikey Garcia do against Porter, Danny Garcia or Thurman?
It might not turn out pretty. Yes, the big, lucrative fights are at 147 but there also is money to be made at 140. That’s where he belongs.
That said, there is one welterweight who wouldn’t have a natural size advantage over Mikey Garcia: the 41-year-old Manny Pacquiao, who also is not a natural 147-pounder. That fight would come down to ability, not any physical advantages.
And Garcia might just have enough of it to give Pacquiao trouble if he gets that fight. He could become a titleholder in a fifth division yet.
WORSE
It will be difficult for Deontay Wilder to bounce back from the beating he took from Tyson Fury on Feb. 22. Al Bello / Getty Images
Deontay Wilder formally exercised the clause in his rematch contract with Tyson Fury that provides for a third fight between them.
That makes sense from a business standpoint, at least in the short term. If he doesn’t take it now, there are no guarantees he’ll ever get a crack at Fury again. And, of course, he’ll make more money in Fury-Wilder III than any other fight.
The decision makes less sense from a boxing standpoint. How could he possibly turn the tables on Fury after what we saw on Feb. 22?
He’s in a similar position to Anthony Joshua after he was stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr. I thought it was a mistake for Joshua to take an immedaiate rematch because of the conclusive nature of the first fight. I thought it would be smarter to rebuild his confidence in one or two less-challenging fights and then face Ruiz again.
Well, we know what happened. Joshua didn’t give an inspiring performance but he thoroughly outboxed a sadly out of shape Ruiz in the rematch to regain the titles and clout he lost in the first fight.
The Wilder-Fury situation is different. Most important, Ruiz is no Fury. No one could outbox the “Gypsy King.” And, at least in terms of boxing ability, Wilder is no Joshua. I’m not sure he can make adjustments necessary to make a third fight with Fury more competitive then their second other than wear a lighter costume into the ring.
I think Fury would have to pull a Ruiz for Wilder to beat him, meaning he would have to enter the ring utterly unprepared for a fight. Fury has a history of volatility but, when it comes to boxing, I don’t see him entering the ring at that sort of disadvantage.
Crazy things happen in boxing, though. And the thought of Wilder beating Fury in their third fight is crazy.
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is coming back from a one-year layoff on April 4 against former flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng in Bangkok.
Roman Gonzalez is back. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is about to follow him.
Rungvisai (47-5-1, 41 KOs) is coming back from a one-year layoff on April 4 against former flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng (20-3, 6 KOs) in Bangkok, WP Boxing announced this weekend.
It’ll be Sor Rungvisai’s first bout since he lost his junior bantamweight title in a narrow decision to Juan Fransciso Estrada last April 26 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
The comeback sets up a potential third fight between Sor Rungvisai (47-5-1, 41 KOs) and Estrada (40-3, 27 KOs). Sor Rungvisai won a majority decision over Estrada in February 2018.
It also creates another potential trilogy at 115 pounds. Gonzalez put himself back into mix with a victory over Kal Yafai for a junior bantamweight title on the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card Saturday in Frisco, Texas.
Gonzalez, once atop pound-for-pound lists, lost back to back fights against Sor Rungvisai in 2017.
Kal Yafai will defends his junior bantamweight title against future Hall of Famer Roman Gonzalez on the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card.
Is this Roman Gonzalez’s last stand?
“Chocolotito” is scheduled to challenge unbeaten junior bantamweight titleholder Kal Yafai on the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card Saturday night in Frisco, Texas on DAZN.
Not long ago, Gonzalez would’ve been the favorite in such a fight … in any fight. After all, the Nicaraguan dynamo was No. 1 on most credible pound-for-pound lists and considered a surefire first-ballot inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
That was then.
Gonzalez crashed down from his perch in two fights with Thai rival Wisaksil Wangek (Srisaket Sor Rungvisai) in 2017, a major decision in March that laid bare his vulnerability and then a brutal fourth-round knockout in September that turned his career upside down.
He has never the same. Conventional wisdom was that his climb in weight – from as light as 104¼ pounds to 114½ against Wangek – as well as father time (he’s 32 now) had caught up with him. Another factor might’ve been the death of longtime trainer Arnulfo Obando in November 2016, which plunged Gonzalez’s into mourning.
Bottom line: The unstoppable little monster from Central America was gone.
“The knockout to Rungvisai was rock bottom,” Carlos Blandon, Gonzalez’s longtime advisor, told ESPN.com. “Roman had lost his trainer and then he lost the title to Rungvisai in the first fight and then the knockout loss in the second fight. Everything was disintegrating.
“We had to start all over. Now we have a really solid team and we are a couple of days from being champion again and everybody feels very excited.”
Gonzalez (48-2, 40 KOs) also had to deal with bad luck.
He took a year off after the second fight with Wangek to pull himself together and rest. That seemed to rejuvenate him. In his first fight back, in September 2018, he stopped former strawweight titleholder Moise Fuentes in five rounds in a scheduled eight-round junior bantamweight fight.
That was a strong statement by Gonzalez, who hadn’t won a fight in two years. Then, after the Fuentes victory, he was struck by the misfortune: He tore cartilage in his right knee while jogging and required surgery, which kept him out of the ring for another 15 months.
Finally, this past Dec. 23, he returned once again and stopped relative unknown Diomel Diocos in two rounds. The victory didn’t prove much other than to announce he was back but it set up the fight with Yafai, who will be making the sixth defense of his 115-pound title.
The 2008 Olympic from England is only two years younger than Gonzalez but he’s had less wear and tear. And, having never fought below the junior bantamweight division, he’s the naturally bigger man.
Yafai (26-0, 15 KOs) is only a slight favorite but that might be because of Gonzalez’s name more than anything else.
“I’m in the best condition for this fight,” Gonzalez said. “I will take advantage of this opportunity. There’s not a small person in this fight, everyone is very good. I come with a blessing that I will win. Thank you and hope this sport of boxing will be a spectacle for everyone.”
We’ll see whether this a new beginning for Gonzalez or the end.
