The Featherweight Puzzle

 

Over the last few weeks, the sport of Boxing at least in regard to the professional side of the sport has seen a focus of sorts on the 126lb. Featherweight division. Of course, readers here on The Boxing Truth®️ have seen the coverage that this observer has provided over the last two weeks of Matchroom Boxing’s second season of its Fight Camp series at the estate of promoter Eddie Hearn and the Hearn family known in Boxing circles as Matchroom Headquarters. Coincidentally, the first two weeks of the season have been headlined by two Featherweight bouts that may have an impact on the upper echelon of the division going forward. 

 

First, it was Leigh Wood, who scored a dominant twelfth round stoppage of top contender Xu Can on July 31^st that earned him an interim/regular championship designation in the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) Featherweight ratings. This was followed by longtime contender Kid Galahad, who scored an eleventh round stoppage this past weekend (August 7^th) in his rematch with James Dickens to win the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight world championship. On August 6^th however, an additional Featherweight bout took place at Falls Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where undefeated contender Michael Conlan met former IBF Jr. Featherweight world champion TJ Doheny in a twelve round bout. A fight that took place before a crowd of over six thousand spectators in a purpose filled setting.

 

While it was not long ago in the days predating the ongoing global COVID-19 epidemic to see a loud and enthusiastic crowd of spectators attending fights on a regular basis, especially in the Boxing hotbed of the United Kingdom and Ireland, perhaps it was the circumstance that this was the first Boxing event to take place in Ireland with spectators in attendance that made the atmosphere special, though perhaps also a bit uneasy depending on one’s perspective given the circumstances of the ongoing crisis. As for the fight itself, it was a largely tactical bout that was in many was dictated by Conlan’s ability to control distance, pick his shots, defense due to outstanding upper body movement, ability to give angles, and finally attack in spurts.

 

The highlights of the fight came first in the closing seconds of round four when Conlan connected with a flush right hook that stunned Doheny to form him backward, in round five, Conlan followed up with an attack to Doheny’s body, which would force him to take a knee. From that point on, Conlan continued to mix his attack well and, despite Doheny being able to have success sporadically throughout the bout, it would be Conlan who would box his way to a convincing twelve round unanimous decision victory. Although this was an extremely technical performance by Conlan and one might argue that the potential for a stoppage victory was there for him if he had opted to be more aggressive during those periods where he let his hands go, it was nevertheless, a dominant performance for a fighter that is also rated number one in the world by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) in the 122lb. Jr. Featherweight division.

 

The victory for Conlan however, also adds his name to what is becoming an increasingly complicated puzzle in the 126lb. Featherweight division. Now, the reader might be asking “Just what makes the situation in the Featherweight division a complicated puzzle Beau?” I will do my best to explain and hopefully, do so in such a way that it does not give the reader a migraine headache.

 

First, there are five recognized world sanctioning organizations that on their own can create confusion simply because of the number of organizations that regulate and sanction world championship bouts in Boxing’s seventeen weight classes. For the purposes of the current Featherweight landscape, the International Boxing Organization (IBO) does not currently have a world champion in the Featherweight division. There remains the World Boxing Council (WBC) as well as the previously three mentioned organizations, the WBA, WBO, and IBF.

 

In regard to the WBA, the structure of their rankings process is one that I have criticized frequently over the years simply because there is one world champion that is deemed “Super” champion, followed by two fighters that each hold an interim or regular designation in the WBA ratings in a given weight class. While frankly I could pen a column or perhaps several on the fallacies of such a structure, as I have also pointed out frequently over the years in discussing the WBA, it is something that on the surface is well-intentioned as a way of ensuring contenders get an opportunity to fight for a world championship if in the event that due to injuries or other circumstances the world champion does not fulfill their obligations to defend their championship against mandatory challengers, which are annually mandated.

 

The current picture of the WBA Featherweight ratings sees Leo Santa Cruz recognize as world champion, while Leigh Wood holds one Interim/Regular champion designation. Until their meeting on August 6^th, both Michael Conlan and TJ Doheny were rated number four and five respectively in the same ratings. Now, with Conlan earning the second Interim/Regular designation, the question becomes what’s next? In a perfect world, Leigh Wood would be next in line to challenge Leo Santa Cruz as the next mandatory challenger, which is essentially what an Interim/Regular championship designation is, is a mandatory challenger position.

 

For several reasons including, but not limited to different promoters having respective interests involved, competing television networks across both the traditional and streaming realms, the fact that those promoters and networks do not always see the benefit of working together both for their interests as well as the fighters involved, and finally the sanctioning organizations involved, the idea that a fighter that earns a mandatory title shot, getting that opportunity in a reasonable timeframe is never a certainty.

 

In this case, despite his status as the WBA world champion in the Featherweight division, Leo Santa Cruz has not defended the WBA Featherweight world championship in over two years. Instead, moving up to the 130lb. Jr. Lightweight division before meeting Gervonta Davis in October of last year in a fight where WBA designations in multiple weight classes, but only one world championship, Santa Cruz’ WBA Jr. Featherweight world championship was on the line, a championship he lost to Davis by knockout, was on the line.  As much as that is a reflection of the fallacy of the WBA’s ratings structure, and keeping in mind that a good portion of Santa Cruz’ inactivity at Featherweight may have been caused by the circumstances of COVID-19, the fact is, the WBA championship has been inactive at 126lbs. with the exception of of the top contenders that have been vying for interim/regular championship designations.

 

Of course, the WBA could mandate Santa Cruz to defend his Featherweight championship against Leigh Wood. The problem will then become whether or not the respective promoters involved, the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) group of promoters, where Santa Cruz has primarily fought and Matchroom Boxing, Woods’ promoter will be willing to sit down and make the fight. While this does not factor in the competing networks involved Showtime/Fox Sports, who primarily carry PBC events and DAZN, who is firmly alight with Matchroom Boxing , but has also shown a willingness to work with all promoters, that would likely each make offers for the potential fight to air on their respective platforms, the fact that rival promoters rarely see beyond their own interests often in of itself, leads to an impasse, which unfortunately means bouts of significant interest do not get made.

 

The other possibility is the WBA may strip Santa Cruz of their Featherweight world championship and then elevate Wood from holding an interim/regular champion designation to full WBA champion, thus eliminating the need to sanction a fight for a vacant world championship, if that were to happen, which in theory is why interim/regular designations exists beyond ensuring top contenders get their opportunity to fight for a world championship, the question will be whether the organization will then mandate Wood to face Michael Conlan in his first title defense.

 

Although the same conundrum exists in that scenario with Matchroom/DAZN on one end of the table, but different with promoter Bob Arum, his promotional entity Top Rank, Inc, and ESPN on the other side of the negotiating table representing Conlan, the good news is Matchroom and Top Rank have worked together in the past to make fights and the broadcasters involved here also showed a willingness to work together so there at least is a possibility of a Wood-Conlan bout for the WBA championship coming to fruition. Out of respect for the reader, I will not dwell into this possible unification scenarios that would involve the WBC, IBF, and WBO in addition to the WBA. 

 

The scenarios this observer has laid out though I have done my best to explain it simply, can be confusing enough in the context of one column. Although this “Featherweight Puzzle “ will not be solved in short order, The first step towards solving the puzzle and hopefully unification of the Featherweight division in the process will depend largely on whether there can be clarity in regard to the WBA’s end in the equation. I think yours truly is safe in saying the Boxing world hopes clarity comes sooner than later. At least we can hope.

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

 

The Boxing Truth®️ is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

 

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

 

 

 

 

Wood Stops Can In 12 At Matchroom Fight Camp

 

In an upset,British Featherweight champion Leigh Wood scored a twelfth round stoppage of top Featherweight contender Xu Can in the main event of week 1 of Season 2 of Matchroom Fight Camp on Saturday night at Matchroom Headquarters in Brentwood, England. From the opening bell, Wood used angles and his reach to keep the normal volume puncher Can on the defensive and only getting his punches off sporadically. This along with consistent combination punching firmly established the momentum in Wood’s favor. As the fight progressed, Can, who entered the fight holding interim/regular champion status in the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) Featherweight ratings, started to pick up his pace, but was unable to turn the ebb and flow of the combat in his favor, perhaps affected by ring rust after being inactive for nearly twenty-two months due largely to the ongoing COVID-19 global epidemic. 

 

The story of the fight became Wood’s ability to remain disciplined. With momentum seemingly on his side, Wood made a statement in the late stages of the twelfth and final round by dropping Can with a perfectly timed counter right hook to the head. Can was able to get to his feet, but Wood sensing his opponent was in trouble was not content to box the remaining seconds to what appeared to be a clear decision victory. He proceeded to press forward and with a follow-up barrage was able to get a stoppage with fifteen seconds remaining in the fight. Leigh Wood advances to 25-2, with 14 Knockouts. Xu Can falls to 18-3, with 3 Knockouts.

 

Also on this card:

 

Commonwealth Cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith scored a hard fought twelve round split decision over European Cruiserweight champion Tommy McCarthy to win the European Cruiserweight championship and vacant British Cruiserweight championship. An extremely difficult fight to score and at times ugly to watch due to the fighters grappling on the inside, Smith was stunned by an overhand right to the head in the first round. He was able to recoup and managed to hold his own against the awkwardness of McCarthy. As the two fighters traded the ebb and flow in seemingly every round, McCarthy suffered a bad cut over the right eye in the sixth round as a result of an accidental clash of heads. McCarthy continued however, to hold his own and staggered Smith with another overhand right in the eleventh round. An extremely close fight with neither fighter standing out definitively was illustrated as two of three official judges scored the fight 115-114, but were split between the two fighters. The third and deciding judge however, turned in a score of 116-112 in favor of Smith giving him the victory and the trifecta of British, Commonwealth, and European Cruiserweight championships. Chris Billam-Smith advances to 13-1, with 10 Knockouts. Tommy McCarthy falls to 18-3, with 9 Knockouts.

 

Unbeaten Jr. Welterweight  Campbell Hatton, the son of former two-division world champion Ricky Hatton, improved to 3-0 in his young career by scoring a four round decision over Jakub Laskowski. Hatton forced the action from the outset and, despite a consistent attack to Laskowski’s body Laskowski did manage to make it to the final bell. As all non-title bouts held in the United Kingdom and Ireland that do not have an impact on regional or world rankings are scored solely by the referee officiating a fight, Referee Mark Bates scored the fight 40-36 in favor of Hatton. Campbell Hatton advances to 3-0, with 0 Knockouts. Jakub Laskowski falls to 4-5-1, with 2 Knockouts.

 

Jr. Middleweight contender Anthony Fowler scored an impressive eighth round stoppage of late substitute Rico Mueller. Fowler was able to keep Mueller, who took the fight on short notice when original opponent Roberto Garcia withdrew with an injury suffered in training, on the end of his punches with his longer reach from the opening bell. This resulted in Mueller having to fight behind a high defensive guard where he simply was not able to get his punches off consistently. As Fowler gradually kept his offense coming and started breaking through Mueller’s guard, the punishment gradually accumulated. In round eight, Fowler connected with a solid one, two to the head that staggered Mueller. Fowler responded with a near non-stop barrage of punches that was broken briefly when Mueller landed a single hook to the head, but that punch was not enough to keep Fowler off of him and with the assault continuing, the fight was mercifully stopped. Official time of the stoppage was 2:12 of round eight. Anthony Fowler advances to 16-1, with 12 Knockouts. Rico Mueller falls to 28-4-1, with 19 Knockouts.

 

 

Super-Middleweight Jack Cullen scored the biggest win of his career by scoring a dominant ten round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Avni Yildirim. Cullen used his longer reach to keep Yildirim at distance. Working behind a consistent jab and using lateral movement, Cullen was able to out box and withstand Yildirim’s pressure as the fight progressed to earn a convincing unanimous decision victory. Official scores were: 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93 all in favor of Cullen. Jack Cullen advances to 20-2-1, with 9 Knockouts. Avni Yildirim falls to 21-4, with 12 Knockouts.

 

In the opening bout of the evening Women’s Jr. Welterweight Sandy Ryan began her professional career by scoring a six round decision over Kirstie Bavington.  Bavington began this fight by trying to impose her will on the debuting Ryan by trying to be aggressive and push her back against the ropes. Despite her aggression, Ryan landed the cleaner punches of the two fighters and by the middle rounds was using her lateral movement and timing to more or less pick her shots as Bavington came forward. It appeared in the latter stages of the fight that Ryan’s combination punching and ability to time Bavington almost at will may have been enough to get a late stoppage, but Bavington remained very “Game” and made it to the final bell. Referee Mark Bates scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Ryan.  Sandy Ryan advances to 1-0, with 0 Knockouts. Kirstie Bavington falls to 3-2-2, with 2 Knockouts.

 

Originally, this card was to be headlined by undefeated Welterweight contender Conor Benn facing Adrian Granados in a scheduled ten round bout. The fight however, was postponed two days before the card due to Benn contracting the COVID-19 virus. As of this writing, no rescheduled date has been announced. We will keep readers updated on any developments as they become available.

 

The theme of Matchroom Fight Camp is a simple sales pitch “No Easy Fights.” While that is a simple sales hook, the first season in 2020 occurred under circumstances of the ongoing global COVID-19 epidemic and the concept was born basically out of necessity as promoters attempted to resume activity under very trying circumstances. As we saw last year, the bouts being promoted by Matchroom Boxing and the chairman of Matchroom Sport Eddie Hearn are not throwaways. The type of fights where there is a consensus amongst both fans and experts as to the outcomes. Instead, the fights during the first season were very competitive and produced more than a few unexpected results.

 

This time around with the addition of nearly three-hundred spectators as well as Matchroom deepening its relationship with global digital sports streaming network DAZN to cover the United Kingdom and Ireland market as well as its existing deal to broadcast Matchroom events around the world, the first week of season two saw a somewhat unexpected result in Leigh Wood catapulting himself from British Featherweight champion to being one step away from a world championship bout with a knockout of Xu Can, a fighter known for the ability to produce extremely high punch outputs and one that had never been stopped before.

 

As I said in previewing this card, while the Matchroom Fight Camp concept was one born out of necessity due to an ongoing global crisis, a crisis that reared itself a mere forty-eight hours before this card took place necessitating the postponement of the originally advertised main event, Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sport have stumbled upon something that is likely to now become an annual part of the Matchroom promotional calendar every year. If the bouts can remain well-matched, fans can remain attending these cards, and if it also serves to strengthen the relationship between Matchroom and DAZN as both continue to expand globally and continue to show the Boxing world the benefits of a subscription-based model as compared to the pay-per-view model, and in doing so convince both promoters and networks that have resisted adapting to a more sensible and consumer-friendly model, it should be a win for the sport on a true global scale.

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

 

We will have a preview of Matchroom Fight Camp Season 2 week 2 here on The Boxing Truth®️ on Thursday, August 5^th. Stay tuned.

 

The Boxing Truth®️ is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

 

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter:www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison