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This Saturday night,
Showtime gets back into the business of broadcasting boxing from the StubHub
Center in Carson, California, a noted fight venue where fistic magic seems
to happen consistently. There seems to be a certain mystique to this place and
fights break out on a regular basis (in and out of the ring). This structure is
really a tennis stadium but the most notable volleys have come from pugilists.
This upcoming weekend there is a tripleheader scheduled devoid of anything particularly
high-profile but figures to be a fun night of action.
The main event is a contest
for the vacant WBO featherweight title between Gary Russell Jr. and Vasyl
Lomachenko. The question is: Which fighter is actually more battle-tested
coming in? While Russell has the glossy record of 24-0 (14), it's come
against a collection of no-hopers and cannon fodder. On the flipside,
Lomachenko has perhaps the most deceiving 1-1 record in all of boxing. Back in
March, he and his management showed plenty of hubris in challenging the man who
last held this title, Orlando Salido, who promptly lost it as he came in a
couple of pounds north of 126 at their weigh-in.
This turn at gamesmanship (a
kind way of putting it since “Siri” didn't seem to have any real intention of
dropping those last few pesky pounds) and his overall professional savvy were
enough for Salido to build an early lead on Lomachenko, who found out that
despite his prodigious amateur accolades, professional boxing is a whole ‘nother
ballgame. But give the Ukrainian southpaw this: he adapted, adjusted and almost
caught up to the Mexican veteran in the late stages.
Lomachenko lost but he
gained valuable experience, perhaps more in those 36 minutes than Russell has
during his five-year run as a pro in which he was the newest poster child for
Al Haymon's school of soft match-making. You always got the sense that Russell
- perhaps the most talented boxer from D.C. since the great Mark “Too Sharp”
Johnson - was the real thing. He has all the necessary attributes: speed,
quickness, power and a solid fundamental grounding but there had always been
whispers that while he had all the tangibles, he lacked the intangibles. There had to be reason why,
despite having major league talent, he was still being fed double-A pitching
the last year or so.
Russell-Lomachenko is a
fascinating fight because of the unknown. Both are extremely talented fighters
yet while one has taken the fast track to get here, the other has been more
than willing to bide his time. Was Lomachenko's approach reckless and foolhardy?
Was there a reason Russell's approach was so cautious? Plenty of questions will
be answered when they square up on Saturday night.
Robert Guerrero makes his
return to the ring versus Yoshihiro Kamegai after disappearing like his
moniker (“The Ghost”) after facing Floyd Mayweather in essentially a non-outing
that saw him blanked over 12 monotonous rounds last year. And what better way
to capitalize on such a tepid performance than by effectively sidelining
yourself and trying to get out of your contract with the very company (Golden
Boy Promotions) that gave you that career-high payday. Today's boxers seem to
fight harder to get out of their contracts with their promoters than they do
inside the ring. It's a strange phenomenon that has infected the sport. Now
Guerrero returns as part of Haymon's ever-expanding stable and he is matched
against Kamegai, a tough and rugged Japanese boxer who won’t go down without a
fight.
Guerrero is back. The
question is: Does anybody give a damn?
Rounding out this threesome
of bouts is a crossroads match between Devon Alexander and Jesus Soto Karass,
the always entertaining Mexican who has gone through a lucrative late-career
renaissance. He was last seen getting stopped by the streaking Keith
Thurman back in December. After buzzing “One Time” early on, Karass was then
systematically picked apart and then halted by the heavy-handed native of
Tampa. Karass, one of the truly likeable characters in the sport, has been on a
recent gauntlet that has seen him face the likes of Marcos Maidana, Selcuk
Aydin, Andre Berto and then Thurman. He looked pretty shopworn by the time Jon
Schorle rescued him from Thurman.
As for Alexander, was it
really that long ago when this lefty from St. Louis was thought of as one of
the bright young stars of the sport and paired with Timothy Bradley at the
decrepit Silverdome (in what was thought to be a star-making match-up that
ended up being a big bust)? He has seemingly never regained the momentum he
once had - despite victories over the Argentine duo of Lucas Matthysse and
Marcos Maidana - and has become that twice-a-year boxer that has stopped developing
as a fighter in his mid-20s. Alexander lost his IBF welterweight belt to
upstart Shawn Porter in December. Common sense tells you that Karass has too
much wear-and-tear to deal with the skilled Alexander, who finds himself
in a bit of a vacuum. While his career is still ongoing and of the stature to
land premium cable dates, Alexander doesn't find himself particularly relevant
at this stage either.
They call these types of shows
“fight fans’ fight cards.” They won't get any particular attention from the casual
observers of the sport and won't register particularly well with the Nielsens.
This tripleheader caters to the hardcore loyalists who want nothing more than
an evening of boxing programming on a Saturday night as they head into the
thick of summer. For every big pay-per-view (and there have been plenty of
those in 2014 with much more to come), broadcasts like this that are the
heartbeat of this sport and keep it moving along.
And it's at the StubHub
Center. Hey, something notable is bound to happen.
HBO
After taking two knockdowns
in the first round, the prospects of Chris Algieri lifting the WBO junior
welterweight title from the heavy-hitting Ruslan Provodnikov didn't look
promising. But to the surprise of just about everyone, Algieri dusted himself
off and began to box Provodnikov. Round after round, he utilized a
disciplined game plan - one predicated on being active with his jab and continuously
turning Provodnikov - to shockingly outpoint the “Siberian Rocky” via split
decision.
Algieri did most of his work
while being a boxing Cyclops as his right eye was swollen shut, thanks to the
early left hooks of Provodnikov. It was a solid display of boxing and ring
generalship in which the new champion had to use every inch of the
canvas at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. He wasn't just skilled; he also
displayed a certain amount of toughness in withstanding the steady assault of
Provodnikov.
As for Provodnikov, who had
shown great improvement under the tutelage of trainer Freddie Roach, on this
night, the lack of a jab was very apparent and exploited by Algieri. Too many
times, he chased and stalked his foe but without even a token jab thrown out,
Provodnikov was easily touched by Algieri, who outworked him. Also, on the
inside, Provodnikov wasn't nearly as diligent in going to the body as he has
been in the past and he there were times when his feet were parallel, making
him squared up and unable to really put leverage on his punches. Provodnikov
will always have problems with movers and this fight was another example of
that. Regardless, he will always provide a good night’s entertainment.
Demetrius Andrade dominated
Brian Rose over seven heats in the first defense of his WBO 154-pound title,
sending Rose to the canvas in the first and third innings. We know that
Andrade, 26, can handily defeat the likes of Rose. That much is clear; what
will be interesting to see is how the lanky and fluid southpaw deals with more
potent offensive threats and how he catches on the whiskers. Just how high is
his ceiling?
FINAL FLURRIES
An announced crowd of 6,218
was on hand at the Barclays Center...Blake Caparello was officially announced
as the opponent for WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev on August 2nd at the Revel Resort in Atlantic City...Bruce Binkow has resigned as the COO of
Golden Boy Promotions. So yeah, that company is going through some changes (with
more coming)...Glen Tapia scored a first round stoppage of Keenan Collins this
weekend in Atlantic City...How bout dem Kings!...OK, are you already going
through “Game of Thrones” withdrawal?...
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