Belated Thoughts On Ortiz-Berto II

The first time Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto met in 2011 it was for Berto’s WBC Welterweight world championship. What resulted was a thrilling back and forth encounter where both fighters were knocked down and showed their mettle over the course of twelve grueling rounds. At the end of that encounter Ortiz emerged victorious earning a hard fought twelve round unanimous decision to take the championship away from Berto in a fight that received Fight of the Year honors by many publications including Ring Magazine.

In the years since that fight both fighters experienced the ups and downs that come in almost any Boxing career. Ortiz’ reign as world champion would come to an end as he suffered a fourth round knockout loss at the hands of Floyd Mayweather in September 2011. Ortiz would go on to lose fights to Josesito Lopez and Luis Collazo in 2012 and 2014.

Although Ortiz had gone on to establish an acting career outside of the ring, he was able to bounce back winning two fights over Manuel Perez and Gilberto Leon in December 2014 and December 2015. Berto meanwhile briefly regained a portion of the world Welterweight championship when he defeated Jan Zaveck for the IBF world championship in September 2011.

Berto however, would suffer losses to former three-division world champion Robert Guerrero, Jesus Soto Karass, and a loss in his most recent battle against Floyd Mayweather in September of last year. In a way given what each fighter had experienced since their battle in 2011, it could be described as both ironic and a natural option for both Ortiz and Berto that their paths would cross once again on April 30th at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA.

This time there was no world championship at stake, but one might argue that this was a crossroads fight for both fighters as each was looking to get back in the hunt for a potential title shot. Prior to this fight, I wondered what type fight the rematch between the two would be. Although it was unrealistic to expect the type of fierce battle the two engaged in back in 2011, I was nevertheless interested to see what either fighter have left in them as they would be going against an opponent that brought out the best in each other the first time around.

For the first three rounds of the rematch, I felt Ortiz dictated how the fight was fought both in terms of his lateral movement and ability to mix his offense to the body and head of Berto, despite suffering a cut in his hairline as a result of an accidental clash of heads in the first round. Ortiz was also able to drop Berto in the second round with a straight left hand. Even though I felt that Ortiz was perhaps having one of the better performances of his career after three rounds, it was in round four where Berto put Ortiz away in sudden and dramatic fashion.

Berto connected with a flush right uppercut to the head in a similar fashion to his knockout victory over Miguel Rodriguez in June 2008 where he won the WBC Welterweight world championship. As was the case in his fight against Rodriguez, the uppercut Berto was able to land on Ortiz sent him down to the canvas. Although Ortiz was able to beat the count, Berto sensing he had his opponent in trouble pounced on him and sent him down for a second time with a follow-up barrage of punches. Ortiz was able to get up at the count of nine, but clearly did not know where he was and could not respond to Referee Jack Reiss when asked if he wanted to continue forcing Reiss to stop the fight.

Even though the second encounter between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto did not equal the intense battle of the first fight in 2011, it was still a very competitive fight that produced excitement. Even though it is logical to assume that Andre Berto will find himself possibly in line for another world title shot in the future, this observer believes that an option that should be considered is a potential third fight between Berto and Ortiz.

Although Berto was able to stop Ortiz inside the distance in the second fight, both of the encounters between the two were entertaining and provided Boxing fans with much excitement. With each fighter having scored a victory over the other, it seems logical that a third battle between two would be welcomed by both Boxing fans and experts alike. Unlike some trilogies where questions of who won a close decision and/or controversy can motivate a second or third encounter, a third fight between Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz would simply look to determine who is the better fighter of the two. After two competitive and entertaining battles why not?

“And That’s the Boxing Truth.”

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Update

We would like to let our readers know that new material will be released on Thursday, May 5th. Stay tuned. “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

Ortiz-Berto II Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in for the next installment of the Premier Boxing Champions series headlined by the rematch between former Welterweight world champions Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto took place on Friday in Carson, CA. The official weights for the entire card are as follows.

Main Event: Welterweight – 12Rds.

Victor Ortiz 146lbs.           vs.                          Andre Berto 146lbs.

Cruiserweight – 10 Rds.

Edwin Rodriguez 177lbs.   vs.                        Thomas Williams Jr. 176lbs.

Featherweight – 10 Rds.

Fernando Montiel 125lbs.    vs.                    Jorge Lara 124lbs.

Heavyweight – 10 Rds.

Eddie Chambers 216lbs.      vs.                       Gerald Washington 239lbs.

Jr. Middleweight – 10 Rds.

Terrell Gausha 154lbs.        vs.                        Orlando Lora 154lbs.

Super-Middleweight – 8Rds.

David Benavidez 167lbs.   vs.                          Phillip Jackson 169lbs.

Jr. Lightweight – 6 Rds.

Manny Robles 127lbs.          vs.                          Rafael Reyes 130lbs.

Lightweight – 6Rds.

Adan Mares  134lbs.           vs.                          Jesus Aguinaga 133lbs.

Welterweight – 6Rds.

Anthony Flores 143lbs.      vs.                          Brian Jones 142lbs.

Jr. Welterweight – 6 Rds.

Luis Bello 139lbs.              vs.                          Darryol Humphrey 138lbs.

PBC: Ortiz-Berto II takes place tonight (Saturday, April 30th) at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA. The card will be televised in the United States by Fox at 8PM ET/5PM PT. Check your local listings for time and channel in your area. Check your listings internationally. For more information on the Premier Boxing Champions series please visit: www.premierboxingchampions.com.

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

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Brief Update

We would like to let our readers know that new material will be released on Saturday, April 30th. Stay tuned. "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

Why Golovkin Should Face Alvarez-Khan Winner

On April 23rd at The Forum in Inglewood, CA undefeated unified WBA/IBO/IBF Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin climbed into the ring to make the sixteenth defense of his world championship against undefeated IBF mandatory challenger Dominic Wade. The question going into this fight was the same as virtually every previous Golovkin title defense. Would Golovkin’s opposition be able to provide the world champion with a significant test?

What would happen in this fight would be almost a classic example of a fighter taking full advantage of an opening left for him by his opponent. Golovkin dropped Wade with a right hand at the end of the first round and subsequently scored two more knockdowns in the second round to earn his twenty-second consecutive knockout and successfully defended his championship over a “Game”, but over matched challenger.

Prior to this fight, this observer discussed Dominic Wade’s ability to box and use lateral movement in saying that it would be interesting to see whether Wade would be able to work behind a consistent jab and use his movement to offset Golovkin’s steady pressure. Although the challenger was more than willing to let his hands go in this fight, he opted to not use much lateral movement and allowed the champion to dictate how the fight was fought. What was more troublesome for the challenger was that he could not land anything to discourage Golovkin from coming forward.

As has been the case several times throughout Golovkin’s championship reign once he saw his opening the end came sudden and quick. Even though this was not a one punch knockout, once Golovkin scored the first knockdown of the fight it seemed as though it is only a matter of time as Wade really did not have an answer to first recover and second combat Golovkin, who sensed he had his challenger in trouble.

The first of the three knockdowns in this fight came as a result of a right hand that seemed to land behind the ear, but was ruled correctly a knockdown as Wade was turning away from the punch as Golovkin threw it. Wade appeared to go down awkwardly and never seemed to recover from the first right hand. In the second round Golovkin continued to apply pressure and landed some very effective punches the body of Wade, which set up the challenger to go down for the second time as a result of a right hand to the head and it was Golovkin’s right hand that would subsequently finish the fight moments later as he knocked Wade down for the count for a third and final time.

Although this fight ended up being a mismatch, it was another demonstration of not only Gennady Golovkin’s devastating punching power, but the systematic approach in how he executes his offense. Prior to this fight, this observer also discussed the potential of a lucrative fight that might be on the horizon for Golovkin against the winner of the upcoming WBC Middleweight world championship fight between champion Saul Alvarez and former Jr. Welterweight world champion Amir Khan.

As some Boxing fans might know in addition to holding three of five recognized world championships in the Middleweight division, Golovkin also holds interim championship status in the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) Middleweight ratings per his victory in a title defense over previous WBC number one contender Marco Antonio Rubio in October 2014. This theoretically should entitle him to a fight against the WBC world champion in what would be a unification bout.

Although readers have heard me state in the past that Golovkin’s interim status does not mean much as he is already a unified world champion, I believe it is time for the World Boxing Council to step in and ensure that Golovkin gets the opportunity to face the winner of Alvarez-Khan after not getting the opportunity to face Alvarez following his world championship victory over Miguel Cotto in November of last year. Even though there has been some discussion among both Boxing fans and experts alike as to whether or not a potential fight between Golovkin and Alvarez would indeed take place at the 160lb. Middleweight limit or if a fight between the two would take place at a “Catchweight”, this observer believes as an old school Boxing historian and enthusiast that if a fight between two were to occur it should be at the official Middleweight limit.

It is no secret to longtime readers or those that I have the pleasure of talking Boxing with on a regular basis that I am not a fan of “Catchweight” fights where more often than not fighters who compete at a lower weight class will fight against a fighter who has competed in a higher weight class, but will force that fighter to come down in weight in order for the fight to take place. I am one who believes that if a fighter who has fought in lower weight classes wants to compete against those who have fought in a higher weight class they should do so at that higher weight. The bottom line is it does nothing for a fighter who has fought in a lower weight division by fighting someone who traditionally fights in a higher weight class at a weight lower than where that fighter usually competes. Even if the fighter who has fought in a lower weight class wins the “Catchweight” fight it does nothing as theoretically the naturally bigger fighter will have fought at a weight where they are not as strong and are thus compromised.

After all, many of the legendary fights involving fighters who were moving up in weight to face a world champion at a higher weight division did not involve “Catchweights” and if the fighter who was moving up in weight emerged victorious they were often given more credit for their accomplishment than has been the case in recent times with “Catchweight” bouts. A more cynical point of view just might be that financial figures are often considered the more important factor as to where a fight takes place in terms of the weight scale.

Although of course, we do not know who will be victorious between Saul Alvarez and Amir Khan as of this writing, if either of them want to be taken seriously as not only a “Middleweight World Champion”, but also as a fighter recognized as a star of the sport, the winner that fight should face the fighter who has more than earned his chance to show what he can do on Boxing’s biggest stage. Simply put, after sixteen successful title defenses and now twenty-two consecutive knockouts it’s time for Gennady Golovkin to get the “Marquee” or “Super Fight” that is reserved for Boxing’s biggest stars. It is a fight that he has not only earned, but should not have to go down in weight to “Catch.”

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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Golovkin-Wade Preview

In October of last year undefeated unified WBA/IBO Middleweight world champion successfully made the fifteenth defense of his world championship by continuing his quest to fully unify the Middleweight division by stopping IBF world champion David Lemieux in eight rounds and in doing so added the IBF world championship to his unified crown. It was not only Golovkin’s fifteenth successful title defense in a reign that began in 2010, but also the champion’s twenty-first consecutive knockout.

Readers may recall following Golovkin’s dominating win over Lemieux last October this observer stated much as I have after several of Golovkin’s world title defenses that it is time for Golovkin to face a fighter who is considered a marquee star in the sport. I also stated after his victory over Lemieux that even though there were two other world champions in the division besides him that it is hard to argue against Golovkin’s statistics as being the number one fighter in the Middleweight division.

Golovkin’s victory over Lemieux also put him five successful title defenses away from tying the all-time record for most successful Middleweight championship defenses set by Bernard Hopkins from 1995-2005 of twenty successful defenses. Despite my opinion that Golovkin has more than earned his chance to show what he can do against a fighter considered to be a star in the sport, he has not yet secured that chance as the next chapter in Golovkin’s reign as unified Middleweight world champion will take place on Saturday night at The Forum in Inglewood, CA against undefeated contender Dominic Wade, who is currently rated number three in the world by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and number eight by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Although Wade will enter into this fight unbeaten with a record of 18-0, with 12 Knockouts, he will likely be considered a significant underdog against the champion, who enters with a record of 34-0, with 31 Knockouts and has a career knockout percentage of 91%. The challenger Wade will however, enter coming off of his most significant victory, a ten round split decision in June of last year over longtime division cornerstone and former world champion Sam Soliman.

Even though some might say that this fight will do little in terms of getting Golovkin in position for a marquee fight perhaps later this year, the danger in any fight regardless of the opposition is the potential of a world champion taking his opponent likely. As Golovkin has continued to carve out what this observer has called a path of destruction through the Middleweight division he has never shown any sign of treating an opponent as a mere afterthought, but after twenty-one consecutive knockouts and virtually dominating all opposition placed before him one might wonder if the struggle in securing a lucrative fight against a marquee star has taken a toll on him.

This observer also stated following the Lemieux fight that the most logical option was for Golovkin to face the winner of last November’s WBC world championship fight between Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez. Following Saul Alvarez’ victory over Miguel Cotto last November, I stated it would be logical to assume that a battle between he and Golovkin might be in the near future especially given that Golovkin also holds interim championship status in the WBC’s Middleweight ratings and said whether or not the WBC would in fact mandate a fight between the two to take place sometime this year remains to be seen.

As most Boxing fans know, Alvarez will make the first defense of his WBC world championship on May 7th against former Jr. Welterweight world champion Amir Khan at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV in a fight that will be broadcast by HBO Pay-Per-View in the United States. It will be interesting to see should Golovkin successfully defend his title on Saturday against Dominic Wade whether or not the WBC will announce that it will mandate the winner of Alvarez-Khan to face him.

As for Dominic Wade he does not have the possibility of a fight against the winner of Alvarez-Khan to worry about. Wade is a fighter with good lateral movement and hand speed. The question for Wade is essentially the same that has been asked of every previous Golovkin opponent. Can Wade provide a significant test for the champion?

As virtually every previous opponent of Gennady Golovkin has found out, it is not an easy task to deal with a fighter who is not only a “Knockout Artist”, but is one that executes his fight plan in such a tactical measured way that few fighters have been able to go the distance against. It will be interesting to see if Wade, who can box and has the ability to throw many punches per round will be able to work behind a consistent jab and use his lateral movement to offset Golovkin’s steady pressure.

Fighters such as Willie Monroe and former Middleweight world champion Daniel Geale each had the movement that some felt would give Golovkin problems, but were ultimately unable to land anything to discourage Golovkin from coming forward. The key to this fight in my eyes will be if Wade can find a way to offset the champion from the outset and nullify Golovkin’s pressure. It is important that Wade continue to box even if he is able to win a couple of rounds against Golovkin. He must be an elusive target and not allow the champion to cut the ring off and trap him where Wade’s lateral movement might be nullified.

As for Golovkin is logical to assume that he will look to apply pressure from the outset and back Wade up. Golovkin is a fighter who can knockout opponents with either hand and has also shown the ability to take a punch as was the case against Daniel Geale when he absorbed a flush right hand to the head while throwing his own right hand, which would not only land flush, but knocked Geale down and subsequently ended the fight.

Whether or not Dominic Wade will be able to put together a fight plan that will have success against a fighter who has continued to compile a lengthy list of knockout victims and pull off what most would consider a significant upset remains to be seen. As for the champion this title defense of his WBA/IBO/IBF Middleweight world championship is another chapter in what could be a historical reign when all is said and done.  Gennady Golovkin should remember however, that even though a lucrative fight may be on the horizon for him against a marquee star of the sport, his focus should squarely be on the fighter standing across the ring from him on Saturday night.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

Golovkin vs. Wade takes place Tonight, (Saturday, April 23rd) at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. In the United States the fight will be televised by HBO Sports at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. Check your local cable/satellite provider for time and channel in your area. In the United Kingdom and Ireland the fight can be seen on BoxNation at 2 AM (Sunday April 24 Local UK Time) for more information please visit www.HBO.com/boxing or www.BoxNation.com. Check your listings internationally.

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

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Thoughts On 4/15/2016 ShoBox Card

Showtime Sports’ popular ShoBox series has carved out a reputation as a proving ground for prospects in the sport of Boxing as they look to advance from prospect, to contender, to world champion. It is always interesting with each ShoBox card to see which fighters may stand out as a potential contender down the road. The series’ most recent edition took place on April 15th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY.

This card featured a tripleheader in Boxing’s Bantamweight, Lightweight, and Cruiserweight divisions. The card kicked off with an eight round Cruiserweight bout between unbeaten prospects Alexey Zubov and Constantin Bejenaru. Although historically the Cruiserweight division is seemingly always lacking mainstream attention in the sport particularly here in the United States, this was an interesting fight between two fighters at similar stages in their development as each fighter entered the bout unbeaten in ten professional fights.

The nearly 6’2 Zubov had a significant height and reach advantage over the 5’10 Bejenaru, but the story of the fight was how well Bejenaru was able to pick his spots by using lateral movement to quickly get on the inside Zubov’s reach, throw punches in short spurts of combinations, and then get out at a safe distance where Zubov was not able to be effective. Zubov simply could not find a way to get the ebb and flow of the fight to move in his favor as Bejenaru was able to dictate how the fight was fought.

Zubov was able to score a knockdown of Bejenaru with a short right hand early in the seventh round, but simply was not able to sustain much of an offensive rhythm throughout the fight as Bejenaru went on to earn a convincing eight round unanimous decision. Although one should remember that these were two fighters who were competing in the eleventh professional fight, this should be viewed as a development fight for both fighters.

Even though Bejenaru won this fight convincingly and dominated the action in this observer’s eyes, he will likely look at his performance and look for ways to improve as most fighters do. As for Alexey Zubov, this loss could be a temporary setback for him and perhaps he will be able to improve on being able to be more offensive against an elusive target as Bejenaru was in this fight.

The second fight on this card took place in the Lightweight division between unbeaten prospect Eudy Bernardo and veteran Mason Menard. Bernardo, who entered the fight with a record of 21-0, with 15 Knockouts was stepping up in the level of his opposition against Menard, a fighter who had only lost one of thirty-one previous professional fights and who was ranked in the top fifteen in the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) Lightweight ratings.

A question that might be asked of an unbeaten prospect who has amassed an impressive record against limited opposition is how that fighter will perform as they step up in caliber of opposition. The story of this fight however, would not be about how a fighter would do against a different caliber of opponent than he had previously faced, but rather the condition of one of the combatants.

Much as was the case in the first fight of this tripleheader this was a case of a shorter fighter in Menard dictating how the fight was fought and bringing the fight to the taller Bernardo. Menard was able to apply pressure on Bernardo and drop him in the second round with a right hand to the head. Although Bernardo was able to get up from the knockdown, it would be what happened in the third round that would cause concern.

Menard connected with another flush right hand to the head of Bernardo sending him down to the canvas out cold as the fight was immediately waved off by Referee Benjy Esteves. Bernardo was taken from the ring on a stretcher and taken to a nearby medical facility as a precaution, but was reportedly awake and responsive.

Although Menard’s performance was extremely impressive and will likely earn him an opportunity against someone who is rated in the top ten in either the WBA or another sanctioning organization’s respective Lightweight ratings, the brutal knockout that took place in this fight is a reminder of the dangers associated with combat sports and it should not be overlooked how quickly precautions were taken and for Eudy Bernardo to be attended to by medical personnel at the venue where this card took place. We have seen far too many tragedies in the sport of Boxing and thankfully this fight did not have a tragic outcome.

The main event of this card was a battle for the vacant North American Boxing Association (NABA) Bantamweight title between undefeated prospects Nickolay Potapov and Stephon Young. This was a highly competitive battle where both fighters had periods of effectiveness. In many ways, this was the definition of what a close fight should be. Potapov was often the more busy of the two fighters, while Young was most effective landing one punch at a time, but those punches were often the harder and cleaner punches thrown by either fighter.

When it comes to close fights where there are many “Swing Rounds” it is intriguing to see how the three official judges will score a fight. Although as I have often said over the years that when it comes to close fights it will often boil down to what a judge prefers in their own criteria based on clean punching, effective aggressiveness, ring generalship, and defense, there really was not much to separate Potapov and Young in this fight as after ten rounds two of three official judges scored the fight a draw.

When all was said and done this card did provide a look at some potential prospects and also some fighters who suffered career setbacks and perhaps setbacks that were possibly career ending. It would not surprise this observer to see any of the fighters featured on this card taking part in a future ShoBox card in the future. Although much of the focus coming out of this card is obviously centered on the condition of Eudy Bernardo and naturally questions will be asked as to whether he will be able to resume his career after suffering a knockout loss in such brutal fashion, it will be interesting to see what the other fighters who were on this card can do going forward.

Whether or not fighters such as Potapov, Young, Menard, Bejenaru, and Zubov will be able to make the transition from prospect, to contender, to world champion remains to be seen. It will nevertheless be interesting to see how each fighter progresses as they attempt to advance in their careers.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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

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