Brief introduction By Beau Denison: It is time for this
observer to share his belated thoughts in the form of a feature column that was
originally scheduled to begin our 2022 schedule here on The Boxing Truth®
discussing two Boxing cards that closed out 2021 taking place on Christmas day
and New Year’s day respectively. As the bulk of this column was written in
advance of an unexpected delay in the column’s release to readers, what follows
is the column as it was written. Towards the end of this column both due to the
time between when the material was written as well as what has occurred in the
days since what was to be the original release date, the column will be updated
to hopefully provide as current information as possible. We thank readers for
your patience and hope you enjoy reading.
The year 2020 for several reasons, all of which are not
necessarily good, was a year that broke a lot of norms both in regard to
everyday life as well as in the world of sports. For the sport of Boxing, at
least as far as the United States was concerned, Boxing Day 2020 was one that
saw a televised Boxing card promoted by the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC)
group of promoters. In all the years, this observer has covered combat sports,
specifically Boxing, I could not recall a time previously where I saw a Boxing
card take place here in the United States on Boxing Day or in the days that
occur between Christmas and New Year’s Day. In fairness, I did look at the 2020
Boxing Day event that the PBC promoted as something that likely would not have
taken place if it were not for the impacts of the ongoing global COVID-19
epidemic in that almost half of a year was largely lost in Boxing due to the
almost universal shutdown of the sport that occurred during the first six
months of 2020, and on that basis it was understandable that promoters, and to
be specific those who had broadcast agreements with television networks across
traditional and streaming platforms would want to get as much content as
possible produced when the sport began resuming activity in the summer of 2020
largely in closed-door settings.
As 2021 drew to a close, I was surprised to see the PBC
and one of it’s television partners here in the United States Fox Sports opt to
produce cards on both Christmas night and New Year’s day, with the latter of
the two being a pay-per-view card. It
surprised me because I had always had the impression going back to long before
my journey in covering the sport began in the 1990's that the primary sports that would take
place over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are typically team sports that
occur during the time of year where the Christmas and New Year’s holidays take
place, namely National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL),
National Basketball Association (NBA), and College Football bowl games. It were
those reasons why I was not critical as much as I was curious as to why the PBC
and Fox Sports would choose to put on two cards, with one being a pay-per-view
event with frankly minimal promotion and questionable interest that would be
debatable as to whether it would appeal to casual observers as well as those
for whom Boxing is a lifelong passion.
While it is during this holiday period that more often
than not, I as a Boxing lifer and someone who covers the sport fulltime during
a calendar year, usually take a pause to enjoy the holidays and recharge my
batteries for the coming year, during this holiday break, I did make a point of
it to observe these two cards even though I would not be covering them as they
took place. What was of interest to me was not only how these two events would
fare both in terms of crowd attendance given that it took place over the
holidays as well as how it would fare in terms of ratings and buys for the New
Year’s day pay-per-view card, in addition to obviously what would occur inside
the ring.
First, it would be the Christmas night event that took
place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, that was broadcast on the
national Fox Network in here in the United States. Headlining this card was nineteen
year old Welterweight prospect Vito Mielnicki, who faced veteran Nicholas
DeLomba in a ten round bout. This bout showcased Mielnicki’s skillset as well
as his disciplined approach in gradually breaking down DeLomba over nine rounds
before finally breaking through with a barrage of punches highlighted by a
flush right hand to earn a stoppage in the tenth and final round. The thing that stood out to me was the
disciplined approach that Mielnicki used throughout this fight. In particular,
how well he was able to control the tempo of the combat with his jab, which is
something that you do not always see with regard to a young fighter. What was
also noticeable was how he simply bided his time and waited for the opportunity
to get the stoppage win rather than trying to force the issue too much, which
is something that even seasoned veterans do not always do when they are in
control of a bout to such degree that they could probably end things when they
choose to.
Although some might say that Mielnicki could have been a
bit more aggressive and if he were then he may have been able to get an earlier
stoppage, it is important to keep in mind that this was only the eleventh
professional bout for the nineteen year old native of Roseland, NJ. While it is
indeed true that a prospect that is able to score head turning knockouts more
often than not generates more attention, there is something to be said about
the development of a young fighter and the fact that Mielnicki was able to not
only go into the tenth round, but do so in a way where he pretty much
controlled the bout from the opening bell is something that will likely serve
him better than a quick knockout might have in terms of the long-term picture
as he progresses in his career. The only
loss for Mielnicki thus far in his career came in dropping an eight round
majority decision to James Martin in April 2021. With two victories since that
setback, each coming via stoppage, the future looks bright for Mielnicki going
into 2022 and the question that might be asked is whether or not he may be
ready for a bit of a test in his next fight to see where he fits in what is
usually a talent-deep 147lb. Welterweight division.
The future also looks bright for undefeated Middleweight
prospect Joey Spencer, who also appeared on this card in scoring a fifth round
stoppage of veteran Limberth Ponce. This
was a fight that could be described as a systematic breakdown of an opponent as
much like Mielnicki did in the main event of the card, the twenty-one year old
Spencer gradually wore Ponce down. Spencer did this by implementing a tactical
approach that had an emphasis on maintaining distance, but also allowed him to
pick his shots in spurts to the body and head, which kept Ponce off balance and
unable to do much beyond trying to defend against what Spencer was throwing.
The combination of well-timed and executed offense to the body and head eventually
created the opening where Spencer was able to stagger Ponce with a left hook to
the head and follow that with a right hand that sent Ponce down on his back
midway through the fifth round resulting in a stoppage of the fight without a
count from the referee.
Although Spencer was able to get to his opponent in a
quicker fashion than Mielnicki was able to in his bout, the approach both
fighters used was similar in it’s execution and both fighters were able to get
the impressive victories they needed heading into 2022. For Spencer, the
stoppage win over Limberth Ponce was his fourteenth professional victory and
his tenth knockout. The similarities between Spencer and Mielnicki will
continue going into this year as much like Mielnicki, the question for Spencer
will be whether or not he is ready for a test to see where he fits into the
160lb. Middleweight division and hopefully an attempt to move him into the top
thirty rankings of Boxing’s five recognized world sanctioning organizations the
World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA), the International
Boxing Federation (IBF), the World Boxing Organization (WBO), and finally, the
International Boxing Organization (IBO). While the PBC’s decision to broadcast a Boxing
card on Christmas night proved to be a surprising success with over two million
viewers tuning in to watch what was the highest rated Boxing card broadcast by
Fox in 2021, it led to the pay-per-view event that took place on New Year’s day
at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL.
A Heavyweight-themed event that featured five bouts with
the sales pitch being priced at a $39.99 price point, much lower than the
$60-$80 price points, which despite the consistently dwindling returns for
pay-per-view cards over the last several years, remains the norm. This PBC Fox
Sports Pay-Per-View card did however, feature an interesting main event that pitted
former IBF Heavyweight world champion Charles Martin against former two-time
world title challenger and longtime Heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz. A bout that was billed as an elimination bout in the International Boxing Federation (IBF)
Heavyweight ratings that perhaps because I was observing this card during some downtime
that I had an impression was a final eliminator to determine the next IBF
mandatory challenger that would theoretically face the winner of the presumed
rematch between undefeated IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr
Usyk and former two-time Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, which might
take place later this year. The elements of the business side of the sport as
it relates to the IBF aside for the time being, this was nevertheless a fight
between two fighters who have been at or near the top of the division for
several years.
Although the forty-two year old Ortiz is known for his
ability to score quick knockouts, I wondered how he would respond to a fighter
in Martin, whom like himself, is a crafty southpaw, who had not been known for
his punching power, but did have the ability to score knockouts should the
opportunity arise in scoring knockouts in twenty-five of his twenty-eight
career victories. Martin also came into the bout on a five fight winning streak
and one might argue that he had more momentum coming into the bout than Ortiz,
who was coming off of a victory in his last fight following his second stoppage
loss to then WBC Heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder in November 2019.
The thing that stood out to me when the fight began was
the measured approach in which Martin chose to pursue Ortiz. While Ortiz seemed
to be the busier of the two fighters, Martin chose a calculated approach
focusing on making the most of his openings rather than trying to outwork
Ortiz. It was this approach that resulted in an unexpected knockdown when
Martin connected with a short left hook that seemed to land behind Ortiz’ ear
that sent him down in the first round. Although this was what is often referred
to as a “Flash Knockdown” in that Ortiz was caught off balance and was
subsequently knocked down rather than it being a case where he was badly
stunned/hurt, Martin was able to show that he could exploit openings that Ortiz
would leave him and this in my view gave him what some might have viewed as an
unlikely advantage as the fight progressed. It also stood out to me that Ortiz’
apparent issues with his balance may not have been a case of an effective fight
plan by the former world champion Martin, but also perhaps an indication that
at Fort total years old that Ortiz may be at the point where he may not be able to maintain his balance as well as he has done previously throughout his
career and that in addition to elements such as age and TBE physical wear and
tear that comes with being a competitor in combat sports is something that
might become an increasing issue as Ortiz continues on in his career.
Martin would follow the knockdown he was able to score in
round one with a second knockdown of Ortiz in the closing seconds of round four.
Much like the first knockdown in round one, Ortiz was caught off balance, but
this time, it was a jab that knocked Ortiz off his feet. While some may not
think much of knockdown a that occur in this way due simply to more often than
not, the fighter being knocked down not being hurt, the fact that knockdowns
are scored can have a crucial role in how a fight is scored. In this case,
particularly because this was a bout between two southpaws that were able to counter each other's offense
effectively in spots as this fight progressed.
In this observer's view, the two knockdowns Martin was
able to score as well as the general measured approach he implemented for a
large portion of the bout was enough to give him the advantage. Despite my
view, when Ortiz was able to connect with his offense, he did seem to have more
power behind his punches compared to Martin. This kept Ortiz not just in the
fight, but also extremely dangerous. The question that developed in my mind was
whether or not Ortiz would be able to catch Martin, who had proved to be
elusive and almost sniper like with his tactics in setting up his punches.
As can sometimes happen in Boxing and in particular the
Heavyweight division, fights can change in the blink of an eye. This is
essentially what would happen in this fight. As Martin appeared at least in my
eyes to be building a lead on the scorecards based largely on the strength of
the two knockdowns he had scored, Ortiz would turn things in his favor in
sudden and dramatic fashion. In round six, Ortiz would connect with a flush overhand left that landed on Martin's temple that more or less froze the former
world champion on his feet. This set off a brutal barrage of punches that
ultimately sent Martin down. Some might say that at this point, Martin was able
to benefit from a break of sorts in that because one of his gloves got tied in
the first and second ropes as he went down, the referee Frank Santore Jr. opted
to stop the count at around the count of seven to unhook Martin's glove.
Despite momentarily getting crucial seconds to try and clear his head once the
count was stopped, Ortiz sensing he had his opponent in serious trouble,
pressed forward with a near relentless assault of punches resulting in Martin
being dropped for a second time. This time even though Martin was able beat the
count, Santore did not like what he saw in Martin's eye and body language and
stopped the fight.
Although this was as impressive a come from behind
victory for Luis Ortiz as one could draw up, more questions emerged from this
fight regarding Ortiz than there were questions answered. To be specific, given
both his age as well as the balance problems that were clearly evident in this fight,
just how much longer will he continue on with his career? Despite emerging
victorious in what was billed as an IBF elimination bout, an indication that
perhaps Ortiz may not have been100% going into the fight with Martin became
known in the days that followed the fight as Ortiz withdrew from an ordered IBF
elimination bout against undefeated top contender Filip
Hrgovic citing an undisclosed injury that would prevent a bout, which would
determine a new mandatory challenger in the IBF Heavyweight ratings to face the
winner of the upcoming rematch later this year between undefeated unified
IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk and former two-time
Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua. Taking Ortiz' place in the planned
IBF elimination bout will be top contender Tony Yoka of France, who had a
scheduled bout this month cancelled due to the French government imposing
restrictions in regard to the ongoing global COVID-19 epidemic. As has been the
case for many things over the last two years regarding COVID-19 virus, it may
be best to wait and see what happens regarding the ongoing crisis before
discussing when those two bouts, the Usyk-Joshua rematch as well as this
planned IBF elimination bout will take place beyond saying hopefully, they will
both occur during the course of 2022.
There were also four other Heavyweight
bouts that occurred on the undercard of Luis Ortiz’ stoppage of Charles Martin
that will be touched upon here before sharing some closing thoughts. Unbeaten
Heavyweight prospect Frank Sanchez had to overcome circumstances, which
unfortunately because of the ongoing global COVID-19 epidemic have become an issue
throughout the entire sport. A change of opponent due to an originally scheduled
opponent due to contracting COVID-19. In this case, Sanchez’ original opponent
was to be Carlos Negron, who was forced to withdraw from the bout in the days
prior to the card due to contracting the COVID-19 virus. Longtime Heavyweight
contender Christian Hammer stepped in on limited notice and was able to last the
full ten round distance against Sanchez in losing a unanimous decision.
It was a workmanlike
performance by Sanchez who simply did what he needed to do over the ten rounds
to earn the victory. While there was not much in the way of highlights to speak
of regarding this bout, the reality is under the current circumstances the
world is in because of the COVID-19 crisis, fights like this are as much an
adjustment for the fighter who had to have a change in opponent as much as it
is for the fighter stepping into the bout on what is often times limited
notice. While as of this writing there is no word as to whether there will be
an attempt to reschedule Sanchez to face Negron down the line, but it was as
good a performance as one could expect under such a scenario against a durable
opponent in Christian Hammer that was able to hang in there and did his best.
Ali Demirezen also saw action
on this card in scoring the most notable win in his career thus far in stopping
former world title challenger Gerald Washington in eight rounds. The veteran
Washington was able to have some sporadic success early on in this fight, but
Demirezen gradually was able to take control and midway through the eighth
round with their fighter seeming badly fatigued and suffering significant
punishment, Washington’s corner stopped the fight. Although Washington had some
success throughout particularly when he was able to work behind his jab, he simply
did not let his hands go with consistency to be effective for a sustainable
period of time. Whether or not this was due to the pressure Demirezen was able
to put on him, the effect of Demirezen’s power, or the fact that Washington is thirty-nine
years old and has suffered some punishment throughout his twenty-six bout
career is only something that he can answer, but for Demirezen, who entered the
bout with a record of 14-1, with 11 Knockouts, these are the type of tests that
a prospect is often faced with as they look to progress towards an eventual
challenge of a world championship. This observer is not quite ready to say that
Demirezen is ready for the upper class of the Heavyweight division, but the
fact that he was able to stop a former world title challenger is something that
should be viewed as a positive as he looks to progress forward in the new year.
This card also featured a
rematch as veteran Johnnie Rice scored a lopsided and uneventful ten round
unanimous decision over Michael Coffee. Similar to Frank Sanchez’ victory over
Christian Hammer, there is simply not much to say about this fight beyond the
simple description of one fighter besting the other. Unlike their first
encounter in July of last year where Rice entered as an unknown opponent for
the then unbeaten Coffee and was not thought to be much of a test for him in
entering with a record of 14-6-1, with 9 Knockouts compared to Coffee’s 12-0,
with 9 Knockouts, a fight where Rice surprised many in stopping Coffee in five
rounds, the rematch was a slow methodical bout that Rice was able to control
from the outset to earn a convincing victory on the scorecards. While it is
hard to say that Rice is a potential contender at this stage, two consecutive
victories over a previously unbeaten prospect is definitely something to take
notice of and at minimum Rice has earned status as a potential spoiler for
prospects on the rise and fringe contenders for now. As for Michael Coffee, a
problem many prospects throughout the entire sport face as they move up towards
world contender status, particular those who are able to score several
knockouts on their rise up is the issue of what happens when they are tested by
fighters that may not be household names, but are capable of giving a prospect
a tough fight and possibly a surprise. Two losses to one fighter is certainly
not an indication that a fighter does not have potential to be a contender or even
a world champion at some point in their career, but for Michael Coffee, it will
be a question of whether these two losses were a case of a fighter in Johnnie
Rice being under the radar and being a more dangerous opponent than his record
may have suggested, or if it was simply a bad clash of styles for Coffee. For
now, the two losses should be viewed as something that Coffee should take time
to digest, learn from, and see what adjustments can be made in the gym before
he attempts to resume his career.
Perhaps the most entertaining
bout on this pay-per-view card was it’s opening bout between unbeaten
Heavyweight Viktor Faust who scored an exciting and somewhat controversial
second round stoppage of veteran Iago Kiladze. A bout that can be best described
as “Rock Em’, Sock Em’ the two fighters exchanged multiple knockdowns in the round
and a half that they were in the ring together and this can be attributed to
both fighters willingness to stand and trade punches with little regard for
defense. For Faust, who came into the fight having scored knockouts of six of
his previous eight opponents and was heavily favored over Kiladze, this proved
to be a significant test that was not anticipated. Faust quickly dropped
Kiladze with a short left hook in the opening seconds of round one. Kiladze
responded just as quickly as Faust pressed forward following the knockdown and
dropped Faust with a counter right hand to the jaw moments later. Not to be
outdone, Faust would score a second knockdown of Kiladze later in the first
round with another left hook to the head.
The wild encounter would
continue in the second round with Kiladze dropping Faust for the second time
with a flush counter right hook to the jaw. Faust was able to get up and later
in the round he would respond by dropping Kiladze with a right hand that seemed
to land behind the ear. After what was the fifth knockdown of the fight between
the two in a little over four minutes of action, Kiladze got up once more. This
time on unsteady legs when asked by Referee Sam Burgos whether he wanted to
continue Kiladze did not appear to give a clear response prompting Burgos to
stop the fight. An enraged Kiladze responded by throwing a right hand that landed
on the arm of Burgos. Burgos understandably angry, responded with some explicit
language that in essence he asked Kiladze “What is wrong with you?!” before
saying the fight is over and pointing Kiladze to his corner. Kiladze was clearly
irate at the stoppage and threw his gloves out to the spectators in attendance
before leaving the ring in utter disgust.
It is not often that one can
say on any level of the sport of Boxing that you see a total of five knockdowns
exchanged between two fighters in such a short period of time. Although some
may criticize Referee Sam Burgos for stopping this fight and see it as a
controversial move, it is important to remember that Burgos was the third man
in the ring in September of last year when the ill advised bout between Hall of
Famer Evander Holyfield and former UFC world champion Vitor Belfort took place
in the same venue. Burgos should be credited as this observer said in covering
that sad moment in the sport, for saving the fifty-nine year old Holyfield from
himself and quickly stopping the fight following a knockdown and a follow up
barrage in which it was clear that Holyfield no longer belonged in the ring as
a fighter. That sad night in the sport’s history aside, which this observer simply
asked in the days following the event in his coverage “What’s
Wrong With Boxing?,” the fact was that Sam Burgos did what the Florida
State Athletic Commission refused to do in protecting a man from himself in
allowing the event to take place when the state of California, which was originally
slated to host the event, refused to license Holyfield citing his age as well
as the punishment he had taken throughout his career as well as being many
years removed from active competition. In this case, Burgos again proved to be
a competent referee and once he did not get a clear response to the question of
can you continue from Kiladze, he promptly stopped the fight.
If there is a controversy to
point to however, it is in how Kiladze responded to the stoppage. A referee’s
primarily responsibility is to ensure the safety of the fighters that compete
in addition to ensuring rules and regulations are followed. While it is
certainly understandable Kiladze’s anger at the stoppage in what was an
exciting fight, putting his hands on the referee crossed the line, and no matter
what one thinks of the stoppage should be viewed as unacceptable.
While it is unclear as of this
writing as to whether or not Kiladze will face action from the Florida State Athletic
Commission (FSAC) for his actions following the stoppage, the bout between him
and Viktor Faust was exciting and definitely deserves a rematch just based on
the action that took place. Whether or not a rematch will take place will
probably come down to whatever repercussions Kiladze faces for assaulting Burgos
after the fight was stopped.
As for whether this Heavyweight
pay-per-view was successful, yours truly has heard estimates citing by others
within the sport claiming that the event drew under 25,000 buys. While I will
not speculate on the claims as they are not numbers that have been released by
the PBC or Fox Sports, if the numbers were in that range, perhaps it is an
indication that doing a pay-per-view card on New Year’s day against a wide
range of college football games was maybe not the best idea though if the PBC
continues to insist on using the pay-per-view model as they will be in a
scheduled February 5th Fox Sports Pay-Per-View card headlined by a twelve
round Welterweight bout between former WBA Welterweight world champion Keith
Thurman and Mario Barrios, perhaps they should keep the price point at a
reasonable range as this card was.
Was the decision to stage
Boxing cards on Christmas night and New Year’s day by the PBC and Fox Sports a wise
decision? This observer believes, despite the high ratings that the Christmas
night card was able to generate on the national Fox network, probably not. It
is a fact that was even pointed out by Fox Sports during the Christmas night broadcast
that the last Boxing card to have taken place on Christmas in the United States
before Christmas 2021 was in the 1960’s. While I could not personally verify
when the last card to have taken place on New Year’s day here in the United
States was before 2022 began, I would feel safe in suggesting that there have not
been too many. While it is important to keep in mind the uncertainty created by
the COVID-19 global crisis and that the main priority for all promoters in the
sport including the PBC is to try to be as active as possible and to try to
keep their fighters that they promote as active as they can in such circumstances,
maybe by the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in 2022 roll around, we might
see a more strategic approach in scheduling Boxing cards around the holidays.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
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