Barboza-Catterall Thoughts

On February 15th a world title elimination bout took place in the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division to determine a number one contender in the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Jr. Welterweight world championship currently held by Teofimo Lopez. The bout, which took place in Manchester, England, pitted Arnold Barboza and Jack Catterall the WBO’s number one and two contenders respectively.

What was refreshing about this particular encounter beyond it being one between the legitimate top two contenders meeting to determine who will be next to challenge for a world title, but it was simply a bout between two of the top fighters in the Jr. Welterweight division, which did not see any grandstanding or pre-fight hype tactics that all too often crosses the line from simply trying to draw interest in a fight to legitimately personal attacks. This was simply two of the best fighters meeting to test their skills against each other.

What resulted was a tactical battle where both fighters seemed to struggle to establish the ebb and flow for several rounds. Perhaps this was due to a healthy respect between the two fighters and each fighter’s skillset in that neither was eager to take the initiative in being clearly aggressive. This presented a scenario where the two fighters, though willing to engage, did so with some distance between the two of them, likely trying to bait the other into making a mistake where the opposing fighter would have the opportunity to counter punch. 

While not the most exciting contest if one is looking for an all-action type of fight, seeing two world-class boxers demonstrating their skill level and trading rounds where each seemed to have their moments throughout was interesting to watch for those who enjoy Boxing in its purest, technical form. Although entertaining for those of us who appreciate tacticians plying their trade, it was no surprise at the conclusion of twelve rounds to see a split decision rendered with Barboza gett the nod of two of three official judges by a margin of seven rounds to five or 115-113 in points, while the third judge had the same score, but for Catterall.

Simply put, this was two world-class boxers putting forth their best. Although there was not much in the way of highlights, no controversial calls that would require more analysis from this observer, it was still two of the best Jr. Welterweights in the world showing why they are regarded as two of the best. For Barbosa, he has now earned his shot at Teofimo Lopez’ world championship, which according to the WBO, must take place within 180 days.

While this performance for Barboza was not the highlight reel type that one would expect in order to drum up interest in a potential world title challenge, he simply did what he had to do against a highly skilled opponent in Jack Catterall in a fight that could have gone either way. Sometimes two fighters' respective styles will not mesh in such a way that it will produce a knock down, drag out, Fight of the Year candidate. Given how close this fight was, however, it would not surprise me if Barboza and Catterall were to meet again down the line. This may also happen if Lopez, who recently signed a three-fight agreement with Riyadh Season, the Saudi Arabian entertainment group who has staged several major Boxing events both in Saudi Arabia as well as around the world, along with Lopez’ longtime promoter Bob Arum, chooses to go in a different direction and potentially vacate his title, which would make Barboza per winning this elimination bout, the new world champion per his now being the number one mandatory challenger. Were such a scenario to play itself out, it would make all the sense in the world for Barboza to face Catterall again. If that indeed happens, the question will be whether chapter two between Barboza and Catterall would be different in terms of how the fight is fought or if stylistically, it will always be a closely fought contest where it is not easy to determine a winner.

“And That's The Boxing Truth." 

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Smith And Maxwell Bring Spotlight To The British And Commonwealth Jr. Welterweight Championships

In the last several weeks, the spotlight of the sport of Boxing has been firmly focused on the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division with much of the attention on the two recent world championship fights that have taken place in the division. While those bouts for world titles and others that are referred to as being on the "World Level" internationally will always receive the majority of the attention in every division in Boxing, what sometimes gets overshadowed are those fighters around the world who are approaching that level, who are competing for championships on the regional level of the sport.

Two such fighters that are preparing to meet for two regional championships in the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division are  Dalton Smith and Sam Maxwell, who will meet on July 1st at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England for the British and Commonwealth Jr. Welterweight championships. A scheduled twelve round bout that can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN. While often fighters competing for the British and Commonwealth championships, much like other regional championships throughout the sport  those who are approaching entering the world rankings, in this case, we have one fighter in Smith who has already won an international championship in the World Boxing Council (WBC) rankings going against a fighter in Maxwell, who has already fought for a world championship in his career. This fight also represents a unification bout as Smith holds the British Jr. Welterweight championship and Maxwell holds the Commonwealth championship.

Smith, who is currently rated in the top twenty-five in the WBC's Jr. Welterweight ratings, is unbeaten in fourteen professional fights and won the British Jr. Welterweight championship in June of last year with a sixth round knockout of Sam O'Maison and has gone on to successfully defend his title twice. A boxer/puncher who has shown thus far that he can do a little of everything, Smith is still searching for the first significant test of his career as he looks to continue making strides in the world rankings. Smith has scored knockouts in ten of his fourteen wins and is capable of getting an opponent out of there if the opportunity presents itself.

In Sam Maxwell, Smith will face a slightly more experienced opponent who has had a taste of what it is like to fight for a world championship in his career. Maxwell's challenge of then IBO Jr. Welterweight world champion Alejandro Meneses in April of last year did not go well for him as he was stopped in nine rounds in what was to date the lone loss of Maxwell's career.Maxwell, who was the Commonwealth Jr. Welterweight champion going into that fight, now prepares to resume defending his title after successfully getting back in the ring in February of this year in scoring a six round decision over Shaun Cooper. When Maxwell won the Commonwealth championship, it was in a fight similar to this where the British championship was also on the line. So, he is no stranger to the atmosphere in which this fight will be fought and, despite the loss to Meneses, Maxwell can use those experiences to his benefit as he prepares for this fight. 

Similar to his opponent, Sam Maxwell is a boxer/puncher, having scored knockouts in eleven of his seventeen career wins. Although the two fighters are similar in style, there may be some who might feel that Smith has the more punching power of the two. Maxwell does however, have more experience and that could be the one attribute people could point to as an advantage for him.

What this fight will likely come down to in this observer's eyes is who will be able to control the tempo of the combat. When two fighters who face each other are similar in both fighting style, skillset, and can do a lot of the same things inside the ring, who can control the tempo and do so for the majority of the fight is crucial because the possibility exists of potentially a close fight that might prove difficult to score if both fighters are able to have success throughout.

While many fighters out of the United Kingdom have held the British and Commonwealth championships throughout the sport and have gone on to challenge for and win world titles in their careers, the storyline of this fight is not so much about the unification of two prestigious championships in British Boxing, but rather of two fighters in Dalton Smith and Sam Maxwell who are looking to move forward in their careers and have crossed paths as a result. The winner will obviously move forward towards contending for a world championship down the line. A loss for either fighter should not be an indicator that they may have to rethink their career, but a loss will be a step back and it will likely take some time to get back to this threshold. With much on the line for both fighters, it will be interesting to see who will come out on top.

"And That's The Boxing Truth." 

Smith vs. Maxwell takes place on Saturday, July 1st at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England. The fight as well as its full undercard can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN beginning at 12PM ET/9AM PT with Before The Bell, which will feature preliminary bouts. This will be followed by the main card, which will begin at 2PM ET/11AM PT. (U.S. Times Only.)

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe please visit: www.DAZN.com. 

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Prograis Retains Title, But Was Zorrilla Victimized By Scoring?

With the landscape of the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division in the process of transition as well as recently crowned WBO Jr. Welterweight world champion Teofimo Lopez inexplicably retiring in the days following his championship winning victory over longtime champion Josh Taylor, subsequently relinquishing the title, the storyline for Regis Prograis' defense of the WBC world championship on June 17th at the Smoothie King Center in his native New Orleans, LA against  Danielito Zorrilla represented not only a homecoming for the two-time world champion, but in light of the recent events in the division, a chance for Prograis to make a case for himself as being the top Jr. Welterweight in the world.  If the opening of this column seems like a long-winded run-on, it is, but in fairness, it may be the best way to describe the current state of the Jr. Welterweight division that frankly has seemed like a ride on a rollercoaster in recent weeks.

The tongue and cheek attempt at humor of this observer aside, the recent events, did nevertheless make a title defense for Prograis, the first defense of his second reign as a world champion, more interesting. One could surmise that if Teofimo Lopez had not retired, something which will probably be debated as to whether it is legitimate, the storyline of this defense for Prograis might have been whether he could be headed towards a unification bout with Lopez, and as a result, this fight likely would have been viewed at least by some as an afterthought. Although this appeared to be an ideal scenario for a homecoming title defense for Programs, the actual fight itself turned out to be both competitive and anything but an ideal scenario or afterthought.

Zorrilla was able to establish himself earlier in appearing to drop the champion with a right hand in the first round where Prograis grabbed on to Zorrilla as he was falling in an attempt to hold on. Despite the appearance of a clear knockdown, confirmed via video replays, this would be incorrectly ruled a slip by Referee Ray Corona. While some cynics might try to argue that the missed call of a knockdown against Prograis was in some way influenced by where the fight was talking place, I believe Corona, who has officiated over 733 bouts as a referee and nearly 400 as a judge, many of which were world championship bouts in both capacities, simply missed the call. It does happen and it is important to keep in mind that referees and judges, like the rest of us, are all human and are as prone to human error as anyone.

The call of a slip in the first round notwithstanding, Zorrilla was nevertheless able to show that he was there to fight and not to partake in what may have been intended to be a showcase for the champion. In round three however, Prograis would respond by dropping the challenger with a flush overhand left that nearly resulted in Zorrilla flipping backward as he went down to the canvas. This was a hard knockdown that this observer briefly wondered whether Zorrilla would be able to continue upon getting to his feet. To the challenger's credit, he was able to get himself together and the fight went on.

It was from round four on where frankly the pace of the fight while still competitive slowed and neither fighter seemed able to clearly take the initiative or land many punches. This can be attributed to Zorrilla being more tactical than had been the case in some of his previous fights and looking to play the role of a strict counter puncher and Prograis not being able to land consistently. When such a scenario occurs it does not produce the most entertaining of fights from a fan's perspective, but more importantly, creates what more often than not can prove to be a conundrum for judges in terms of scoring because it will often be based on particular moments during a particular round as opposed to which fighter is able to dictate how the fight is fought. Without the benefit of potential knockdowns during rounds that are fought in this way, it can indeed be difficult to determine who is ahead.

An illustration of this from this observer's point of view was that after ten rounds, I had the champion Prograis only slightly ahead on my unofficial scorecard due largely to the official knockdown in round three. If it had not been for that knockdown, my scorecard likely would have been even. It was simply the kind of fight where plenty of punches were thrown between two fighters, but not many landed. 

At the conclusion of the twelve round world championship bout, I felt it could go either way based on what I observed and it was certainly no surprise to hear a split decision rendered. What was surprising however, was to hear the disparity in the scoring. Judge Craig Metcalf turned in the closest score of the three official judges in having Zorrilla up by a single point 114-113. This is what I felt was an accurate scorecard simply based on how close the fight appeared to be. The difference in my unofficial scorecard and that of Metcalf's is I had the same one point difference, but I ended up with Prograis as the victor on my card. Despite Craig Metcalf and I appearing to see a similar fight, though ending up split in the outcome, judges Robert Tapper and Josef Mason turned in significantly wider scorecards of ten rounds to two (118-110) and nine rounds to three (117-110) in favor of Prograis giving him the split decision victory to retain his title. Before diving into a possible explanation of why the two deciding scorecards were wide, I will point out for clarification purposes for readers who might be curious that the scorecard of judge Josef Mason 117-110, is one point wider than a standard nine rounds to three scorecard of 117-111. Mason's score being slightly wider is a direct result of the knockdown against Zorrilla in round three, which was scored 10-8 in points on all three official scorecards.

As for why the scores were wider than what appeared to be the consensus of a close fight that could go either way, only the judges themselves can say what they saw and what they based their scoring on. Although not many punches were landed between the two fighters throughout the twelve round bout, which turned out to be just 84 between Prograis and Zorrilla, setting the record for the fewest punches landed in the historical of CompuBpx, which has tracked punching statistics for thousands of fights on every level of the sport since the 1980's, an educated guess from yours truly would be that Prograis was the fighter generally coming forward and trying to force the action throughout much of the fight. While both fighters obviously did a great job in making each other miss with the vast majority of their offense, Prograis appearing to press the action more than Zorrilla could perhaps be the basis of what judges Tapper and Mason based their scoring on, but this is only an observation on my part based on decades of experience covering the sport and scoring countless fights unofficially as well as one that has a clear understanding of how Boxing on all levels of the sport, amateur, professional, and professional Bareknuckle is scored based on clean punching, effective aggressiveness, ring generalship, and defense. Though clearly the element of defense proved to be a focal point in this fight, evidently Zorrilla did not do enough in the eyes of Tapper and Mason.

Ultimately, this proved not to be the type of homecoming that Regis Prograis or his supporters were likely looking for, nor was he able to produce the type of performance in this fight that will likely put him as the top fighter in the Jr. Welterweight division. Sometimes however, styles do make fights and a win is a win. Even though I felt that Prograis did just enough to retain his title here, I do feel that Danielito Zorrilla fought well and that it was a closer fight than two official judges saw it. While this does not mean that Zorrilla was in some way victimized by how this fight was scored, nor does it means that a possible corruption took place, though some fans may point in that direction given the circumstances of the fight being held in Prograis' hometown. Perhaps Zorrilla upon getting the chance to watch the fight will be able to see what he may have been able to do more of, which may have turned many of those close rounds his way. If nothing else, Danielito Zorrilla has established himself as a player in the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division. A division that as we near the end of June 2023 remains one in transition with no clear consensus as to who is the top Jr. Welterweight in the world.

"And That's The Boxing Truth."

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