A critical look at the past week in boxing
BIGGEST WINNERS
Leigh Wood, Alexis Rocha, Luis Alberto Lopez
Wood, Rocha and Lopez gave impressive performances Saturday in separate locations. Wood (27-3, 16 KOs) stood out. First, he made a bold move by facing Maurcio Lara (26-3-1, 19 KOs) in an immediate rematch after Lara knocked him out in February. And, second, he agreed to go through with the fight even though Lara came in three-plus pounds overweight. The British star’s confidence paid off in a big way. He dropped and outclassed his Mexican counterpart to win a wide decision, regain the 126-pound title he lost in the first fight and reestablish himself as one of the best in his division in Manchester, England. Rocha (23-1, 15 KOs) bolstered his position as a legitimate 147-pound contender by methodically beating up and stopping capable Anthony Young (24-3, 8 KOs) in five rounds in Indio, California. He wants the winner of Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. in his next fight. Could Rocha compete against such superstars? Well, he has earned the right to try. And 126-pound titleholder Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) looked like a beast against Michael Conlan (18-2, 9 KOs), stopping the two-time Irish Olympian with a single blow in the fifth round in Conlan’s hometown of Belfast. Lopez, an awkward, but efficient offensive fighter, is a threat to anyone in the featherweight division.
RABBIT PUNCHES
The showdown between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. is finally set for July 29 in Las Vegas. I wish the 30-somethings had fought a few years ago but I don’t want to dwell on the negative. They remain two of the best in the business. We should be celebrating. … Some might argue that Lara got what he deserved after missing weight by so much. No excuse is good enough. If you can’t make weight in one division, move up. He’s a dangerous fighter because of his power. He should do well at 130. … Lopez called out his fellow 126-pound champions (Wood, Rey Vargas and Robeisy Ramirez) after his victory. I think he could be a problem for anyone because of his style. … Conlan has been stopped in two of his last four fights. He might be finished as an elite fighter. …
Wood said after his victory that he’d like to face former titleholder Josh Warrington or one of the featherweight champions mentioned above. I would normally push for a title-unification bout but Wood vs. Warrington would be a massive event in the U.K. Remember, Warrington was stopped by Lara in 2021 and lost his belt to Lopez by a majority decision in December. I can see Wood taking that fight and then moving on to a unification bout. … Lawrence Okolie (19-1, 14 KOs) fell hard from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday in England, losing a majority decision and his 200-pound title to countryman Chris Billam-Smith (18-1, 12 KOs) in a crazy fight. Okolie went down three times and lost two points for holding, which gave him no chance to win the fight. Judge Benjamin Rodriguez somehow scored it 112-112 in spite of the five points Okolie lost. Some have called Rodriguez’s scorecard “the worst of all time.” The other scores were more appropriate, 116-107 and 115-108.
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