By now you've heard: After eleven grueling rounds, Terrance Crawford KO'd Jose Benvenitez in the closing minute of the twelvth with an upward rocket shot that almost lifted Benvenitez off his feet. It was a fitting end for months of hostility between the two boxers with over-the-top trash talk coming from Benvenitez.
I'm no purist when it comes to boxing and no stranger to trash talk. Lord knows I've heard enough of it. Up to here with it, actually. There was a time when it was fun and not so malicious as it has become. I remember being at ringside during Muhammad Ali's sparring matches and listening to him with amusement as he taunted his opponents to fight harder. "C'mon chump, shoot your load. Is that all you got?" And so forth, but aside from the violence, which was very real, Ali usually finished with a wink and a nod.
But with this match-up, it seemed Jose was drumming up pure hatred. Crawford did his usual job of tamping things down. He's seen enough of violence not to be impressed with it. I like Jose B, to tell the truth, and I understand he was trying to drum up the subterranean rivalry between Mexican and African-American street gangs. And I understand his purpose was to draw Crawford into a brawl where his (Jose's) power and size would be the determining factor. But there was no excuse for descending to the level that he did. So while I liked him as a fighter, I was glad Crawford knocked him down and finished him off. It wasn't easy -- Jose B fought a great fight in which he believed more in his power than in any kind of strategy.
Crawford pulled him out into the deep water, Jose tired, and those classy Sugar Ray (both) combinations kept raining down and around.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Errol Spence Jr. Does Dallas ; Boxing Blowout
Errol Spence Jr. can count me as one of his fans but I'm looking forward to bigger challenges than Ocampo provided Saturday Night in the new Dallas Cowboys' stadium.
Ocampo went down for the count in the first round from some well-placed body blows.
But unless you enjoyed the hoopla from Texas and the Dallas Cowboys, you might think the fight wasn't worth staying up for.
Spence Jr. was decked out in stunning Cowboys garb and they had superstar Cowboy players hugging it out in a big show of Texas' affection. The affable Jerry Jones put himself in the picture but I wonder if the stadium spectacle overshadowed the purpose of the main event. It was a bit much, even for me, and I'm usually okay with over-the-top.
In the later interview with Jimmy Lennon, Spence Jr. said he was looking forward to the outcome of Shawn Porter v. Danny Garcia. The down side of it was that Spence vs. the Victor in that fight is not likely to occur until 2019, a disappointment for people who want to see Spence right now at the top of his game.
The young man is ready, has been ready, and I'd bet on him to end up on top of the division. All of which brings us to Terrence Crawford and the possibility of a classic as Crawford moved up to the weight class. Unfortunately, that's not likely to occur until late 2019 at the earliest. Both Crawford and Spence Jr. are boxer-punchers, with Spence Jr. having the heavier hands (imho). If boxing fans should be so lucky as to see that fight materialize, we'd be back into the boxing time-machine to the era of Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler - Tommy Hearns. Or close to it.
The Errol Spence Jr.
fight wasn’t worth staying up late for, unless you enjoyed the hoopla from
Texas and the Dallas Cowboys. Ocampo went down for the count in the first
round. Errol Spence Jr was decked out in Cowboys garb and they had the Cowboy
players hugging it out with Spence. Jerry Jones put himself in the
picture. I don’t know if it was hilarious or pathetic.
Ocampo went down for the count in the first round from some well-placed body blows.
But unless you enjoyed the hoopla from Texas and the Dallas Cowboys, you might think the fight wasn't worth staying up for.
Spence Jr. was decked out in stunning Cowboys garb and they had superstar Cowboy players hugging it out in a big show of Texas' affection. The affable Jerry Jones put himself in the picture but I wonder if the stadium spectacle overshadowed the purpose of the main event. It was a bit much, even for me, and I'm usually okay with over-the-top.
In the later interview with Jimmy Lennon, Spence Jr. said he was looking forward to the outcome of Shawn Porter v. Danny Garcia. The down side of it was that Spence vs. the Victor in that fight is not likely to occur until 2019, a disappointment for people who want to see Spence right now at the top of his game.
The young man is ready, has been ready, and I'd bet on him to end up on top of the division. All of which brings us to Terrence Crawford and the possibility of a classic as Crawford moved up to the weight class. Unfortunately, that's not likely to occur until late 2019 at the earliest. Both Crawford and Spence Jr. are boxer-punchers, with Spence Jr. having the heavier hands (imho). If boxing fans should be so lucky as to see that fight materialize, we'd be back into the boxing time-machine to the era of Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler - Tommy Hearns. Or close to it.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Boxing Around the World - Anthony Joshua is the European Champion
I'm no longer personally involved in boxing and this leaves me at something of a disadvantage. I never let it go, however, and it never let go of me. Unfortunately, I'm in no better a position than the average fan to handicap the sport. So here I am, a fan, looking for a niche.
There's been a regular bloom of boxing sites, here and abroad, and it's an everyday occurrence for me to use the hashtag #boxing to see what's going on.
After the Anthony Joshua vs, Joseph Parker fight, and even before it, I had the feeling that Joshua's next victim would be Tyson Fury. Should that fight actually be set, I'd be very disappointed. It would be an entertaining fight, largely because of the clownish element attached to it.
Tyson Fury seems happy enough to have the media spotlight focused on him without actually fighting. I suppose that's better than lying on your back with the ring lights spotlighted on you after Anthony Joshua gets an early knockout. Joshua is a good boxer against the kind of talent he's faced so far. He's very strong, has boxing skills, but his style is very conventional, and with the exception of his TKO of an aging Wladimir Klitchko, he's fought only to his own level and not a cut above. A little heavyweight like Evander Holyfield would get to him easy. Of course there are no Holyfields around that I can see.
Anthony Joshua s just yesterday told Tyson Fury to either get busy or shut up. I don't condemn Eddie Hearn for ka-ching- ka-ching but I do condemn him for his faked-assed deflections of Deontay Wilder's continuous unanswered challenges of the British champion. A Twitter boxing analyst with the handle of Boxing Kingdom says that shyster Eddie offered disrespectful chump change to Wilder, not because he expected to get it, but because he needed to look like he was actually willing to risk his fake champion's belt when, in fact, he's scared to death of fighting Deontay Wilder. Here's the tweet I'm talking about: https://twitter.com/BoxingKingdom14 It quotes Adam Abramovitz of @SNboxing this way:
Anthony Joshua is only the reigning European champion -- even if he has three belts. I'm not buying he's the heavyweight champion of the world until he fights someone who's not clowning, dog. And that would be Deontay Wilder.Deontay Wilder.Deontay Wilder.Deontay Wilder.Deontay Wilder. I'd even be happy if he took on 38 year old Luis Ortiz who almost KO'd Wilder in their recent bout.
There's been a regular bloom of boxing sites, here and abroad, and it's an everyday occurrence for me to use the hashtag #boxing to see what's going on.
After the Anthony Joshua vs, Joseph Parker fight, and even before it, I had the feeling that Joshua's next victim would be Tyson Fury. Should that fight actually be set, I'd be very disappointed. It would be an entertaining fight, largely because of the clownish element attached to it.
Tyson Fury seems happy enough to have the media spotlight focused on him without actually fighting. I suppose that's better than lying on your back with the ring lights spotlighted on you after Anthony Joshua gets an early knockout. Joshua is a good boxer against the kind of talent he's faced so far. He's very strong, has boxing skills, but his style is very conventional, and with the exception of his TKO of an aging Wladimir Klitchko, he's fought only to his own level and not a cut above. A little heavyweight like Evander Holyfield would get to him easy. Of course there are no Holyfields around that I can see.
Anthony Joshua s just yesterday told Tyson Fury to either get busy or shut up. I don't condemn Eddie Hearn for ka-ching- ka-ching but I do condemn him for his faked-assed deflections of Deontay Wilder's continuous unanswered challenges of the British champion. A Twitter boxing analyst with the handle of Boxing Kingdom says that shyster Eddie offered disrespectful chump change to Wilder, not because he expected to get it, but because he needed to look like he was actually willing to risk his fake champion's belt when, in fact, he's scared to death of fighting Deontay Wilder. Here's the tweet I'm talking about: https://twitter.com/BoxingKingdom14 It quotes Adam Abramovitz of @SNboxing this way:
Anthony Joshua is only the reigning European champion -- even if he has three belts. I'm not buying he's the heavyweight champion of the world until he fights someone who's not clowning, dog. And that would be Deontay Wilder.Deontay Wilder.Deontay Wilder.Deontay Wilder.Deontay Wilder. I'd even be happy if he took on 38 year old Luis Ortiz who almost KO'd Wilder in their recent bout.
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