Benavidez Puts On A Monstrous Performance Versus Andrade

This past Saturday from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, David “The Monster” Benavidez, stayed true to his name as he exhausted Demetrius Andrade who could no longer escape his relentless offensive attack, forcing Andrade to retire on his stool just before the 7th round.

It was supposed to be a clash between two fighters with very different styles, but similar stories. Benavidez, the determined two-fisted pressure fighter with abnormal size for a 168 pounder, had trouble securing fights with the high profile names of the middleweight and super middleweight divisions. He was expected to have trouble with the quirky, but effective, counter punching slickness of Andrade who has won interim titles at 154 and 160 pounds, but also has been unable to entice the bigger names to face him. 

And early on Andrade did have his moments, if only for the first two rounds. Andrade began the fight aggressively, pushing Benavidez back at times—a rare sight to behold—and landing overhand lefts and uppercuts.

But Benavidez did what he always does. He took the incoming, catching punches on his gloves and forearms, then absorbing the shots that managed to pass his guard and kept marching forward behind quick jabs and straight right hands. What was not expected, however, was that Andrade’s quick start seemed to slow him down by the end of the third round. This proved to be a very scary situation with Benavidez just getting warmed up.

Benavidez capitalized on Andrade’s fatigue, landing more and more clean punches as Andrade began to wilt under “The Monster’s” constant pressure. The tide officially turned when Benavidez feinted a right hand to the body then threw a looping right hand to the top of Andrade’s head, just above his guard, dropping him with two seconds left in the fourth. Andrade survived the round, but was visibly shaken as he walked back to his corner. It was the third time Andrade had been dropped in his career, but he had never been in this much trouble in a fight before.

Rounds 5 and 6 would be Benavidez’s most successful rounds as he raised his punch count, more than doubling the number of punches landed in round 4 (40 in round 5 & 38 in round 6). Andrade tried to avoid Benavidez, circling his opponent as much as his 35 year old legs would allow, but he could not sustain the pace being set by “El Monstruo.” Like a predator sensing a wounded animal, Benavidez turned up the aggression with more straight rights and vicious hooks to Andrade’s body.

With 50 seconds left to go in round 6, Andrade would give one last valiant effort throwing an 8 punch combination, landing a thudding left and right uppercut to the head of Benavidez, Benavidez, who appeared to be slightly stunned. Andrade would follow with a two punch combination to the body and another to the head, but could not follow it up with anything else. Benavidez continued to maul Andrade as the round closed, knocking his mouthpiece out for the second time in the fight. The end would come after the 6th round as the referee walked to Andrade’s corner in between rounds and was told to stop the fight.

The build up to this fight set Benavidez up as the only fighter willing to take on the risky challenge of the man known as “Boo Boo.” But what became apparent very early on was that Andrade waited too long to step up for what was in all fairness the first risky fight of his career. 

Andrade plans to fight on, saying after the fight that he will “work on his body” as he goes back to the drawing board. As for Benavidez, predictably, the topic of a fight with Canelo Alvarez was brought up and Benavidez left it to the crowd asking, “Do you guys want to see Benavidez versus Canelo?” An enthusiastic roar could be heard to which Benavidez responded with a smile, “That says enough on its own, right there.”

Spring Fever Brings Lots of Matchups

While warmer temperatures aren’t expected until the beginning of April (in New York anyway) boxing fans have seen things start to warm up recently and can expect more of the same for the next few months. Boxing had an excellent 2017 and in 2018 it looks like it's going to deliver more of the same.

Part of the WBSS, Gassieve vs Dorticos
was not televised in the U.S.

Some of the top fighters in boxing like Errol Spence Jr, Gilberto Ramirez and Oleksandr Usyk have already made appearances two months into 2018. Watchers of the sweet science have also been treated to good action fights like Gassieve-Dorticos (if you were lucky enough to catch a stream), Beltran-Moses (ESPN) and most recently Benavidez-Gavril (Showtime).  None of these fights screamed “must see TV,” but the holiday season is typically a time when boxing slows to a crawl. A look at the upcoming schedule reveals several high profile fights that will continue the thaw.

This Saturday’s “Superfly II” card being held at the legendary Forum in Los Angeles might have the best matchup of all of the ones mentioned here. Last year’s card was excellent and the sequel looks to deliver more of the same

as Mexico’s Francisco Estrada takes on current WBC 115 lbs Champion (and Chocolatito conqueror) Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Carlos Cuadras, who is becoming a must watch fighter in his own right, takes on the strong punching McWilliams Arroyo. Rounding out the card Donnie Nietes and Brian Viloria make appearances in separate bouts.

In a rare feat of scheduling, the PBC also has a slew of fights set featuring many of their premier fighters. On March 3rd WBC Heavyweight kingpin Deontay Wilder takes on former Cuban amateur standout Luis Ortiz. That

following week Mikey Garcia seeks to become a four division champion as he takes on Sergey

Lipinets for Lipinets’ IBF 140 pound title in San Antonio, Tx. Then on April 7th, a 154 pound unification match takes place between WBA titleist Erislandy Lara and IBF champ Jarrett Hurd. Ending the month for the PBC is an interesting stay busy fight on April 21st between Carl Frampton and faded former champ Nonito Donaire. That same night Adrien Broner seeks to make a statement versus Weslaco, Tx native Omar Figueroa. Admittedly critical of the PBC’s ability to keep its fighters busy in meaningful fights, it looks like they are finally taking advantage of that deep roster of theirs. Now can they feed Errol Spence a big fight soon?

Two more fights with “heavy” divisional implications are the March 9th tilt with rising 140 pounder Regis Prograis taking on Julius Indongo and the March 31st Heavyweight unification fight between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker. Regis Prograis was originally scheduled to take on former champion Viktor Postol, but Postol pulled out with a hand injury. The young Prograis will now face former unified champion and recent Crawford victim Indongo. Yes, it is a bit of a let down considering Indongo was just stopped by “Bud” Crawford this past August, but this match could still serve as a barometer for the high streaking Prograis who many consider the class of the division now that Crawford, who fights on April 14th against WBO champ Jeff Horn, has moved up to welterweight.  The stakes will be much higher for the resurging heavyweight scene with the Joshua-Parker clash.  Two young, undefeated heavyweights seek to stake their claim as the top man of the division. The winner will hold three of the four major belts the IBF, WBO, and WBA (the IBO title is also on the line, but yeah….you know). By April the heavyweight picture will be much clearer, setting the stage for a huge showdown later this year.

Hear that? The ice is already cracking and their appears to be no dip in the boxing forecast from here on out. Set your DVRs accordingly because there is a lot of boxing on tap for the next few months. Cheers to that.

Not A Problem

Broner defeated Granados by split decision

This past Saturday night on Showtime, Adrien "The Problem" Broner defeated Chicago’s Adrian "El Tigre" Granados by split decision in Broner’s hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. All three judges scored the fight differently leading to a split decision victory for the Ohio native. Broner, who has struggled with some personal problems in the last year, claimed to be rededicating himself to the sport of boxing and insisted on facing Granados to prove it. That decision proved to be more than Broner bargained for as Granados had no intention of being a stepping stone. What took place instead was a hotly contested match that saw both fighters push one another to the full 10 round distance in a fight that was more competitive than it appeared to be on paper.

The fight consisted of many close rounds as Broner and Granados would go tit for tat, each imposing their own offense on the other. Broner with his usual, low output, high accurate counter punching style was often offset by Granados’s in and out aggressiveness. That combination led to quite a dilemma in scoring the fight. Which attack did you prefer? Was it Broner occasionally landing the cleaner, harder blows or Granados grinding away at the body while landing the occasional right hand?

Granados attacking Broner to the body

I scored the fight 6 rounds to 4 (or 96-94) for Granados. At Broner’s request, the fight was contracted for 10 rounds. With both fighters fading, but continuing to fight aggressively, it would have been interesting to see how it would have played out had it gone 12 rounds instead.

The victory keeps Broner on the cusp of a big fight, but a look to the future shows that Broner may not be such a big “problem” for the options that lay ahead. As entertaining as the fight was, I could not help but notice how Broner, who is known for having a big punch, never really buzzed Granados despite landing some significant blows. Granados had been dropped 4 times in his career, yet against Broner, he was never in danger of being sent to the canvas. It appears Broner, who was definitely a puncher in the 130, 135 and 140, pound divisions, is not taking his punch with him up to welterweight.

And that begs the question, if Broner, who relied on knocking out his opponents with hard counter punches, is not able to buzz heavier fighters with his counters, how will he contend with the elite fighters in the division? Throughout his 5 fights at welterweight, he has maintained his typical low volume offense. For all of his athletic ability, Broner can be touched and was hit a lot more in this fight than usual. Broner has talked of eventually moving up to 154 pounds, it would appear that 147 already seems to be a branch too high for him.

If in fact 147 is too big a jump for Broner, how would he fare at 140 pounds? At jr. welterweight, Broner has shown flashes of fight ending power. But can he safely make the weight? His fight versus Granados was supposed to take place at 142, but with a week still to go, he opted to move the contracted weight up to 147 pounds, a sign that he was struggling to make weight.

Even if he were able to make the weight, waiting for him would be the ultra talented Terrance “Bud” Crawford. There has also been talk of Broner possibly facing Mikey Garcia next, but nothing from Broner’s performance Saturday suggests he has a chance against either of those fighters.

It is commendable when a person who has faced difficulties in life acknowledges their past discretions and attempts to make changes for the better. I applaud Broner for that. But boxing is an unforgiving sport. The only problem now may be what move does Broner make next, because neither seem to be in his favor.

Frampton Moves Up, Santa Cruz Hopes to Keep Him Down

Frampton (left) and Santa Cruz (right) pose at press conference in NYC

This weekend, live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Premiere Boxing Champions and Showtime Sports present the 126 pound title bout between WBA titlist Leo Santa Cruz and IBF and WBA 122 pound titlist, Irishman Carl Frampton and also features the return of Mikey Garcia who faces Elio Rojas in a junior welterweight fight.

Frampton unified the IBF and WBA 122 lb titles

The main event is an important bout for the featherweight ranks. In his first fight at featherweight, Belfast’s Carl Frampton enters the division after beating former 122 pound Scott Quigg in a rather dull affair.  While their 122 pound unification bout generated a lot of buzz across the pond, the fight ended up being a dud as both fighters appeared tight and unwilling to exchange punches.

Frampton lands a rare right hand on Scott Quigg

It might have been considered a chess match, but honestly, even chess matches produce more action.

Looking to wash out the bad taste left from his fight with Quigg, Frampton moves up in weight to face three division champion, Leo Santa Cruz.  Santa Cruz, born in Michoacán, Mexico and currently living in California is no stranger to moving up in weight.
  
Santa Cruz captured his first world title at 118 pounds, and only five fights later would add the 122 pound title to his collection. In 2015, Santa Cruz moved up once again to fight WBA featherweight champion, Abner Mares.  In an exciting, action packed bout, Santa Cruz proved too much for the highly respected Mares and came away with a majority decision.

Santa Cruz (right) defeated Mares (left)
by majority decision

As a matchup, Santa Cruz versus Frampton will be anything but a chess match (no fight with Santa Cruz could ever be). Santa Cruz is a very aggressive, high output, stalker, while Frampton is more of a counter puncher who can also lead with his offense. These two styles should mesh very well as Santa Cruz will most likely attempt to walk Frampton down and produce plenty of opportunities for Frampton to counter.

What will be interesting to see is if Frampton will be able to overcome Santa Cruz’s advantages in height, reach and punch output. Frampton is very versatile in that he can fight well when moving away from his opponent or when backing his opponent up.  He uses a wide variety of punches and has quick hands to deliver them. Standing at 5’5”, Frampton has a short, but compact frame. He is also able to close the distance on taller opponents. Frampton’s fight versus Alejandro Gonzalez Jr comes to mind as Gonzalez is similar in stature and boxing style to Santa Cruz (both are listed at 5’7”). Gonzalez was tough, but lacked the activity level that Santa Cruz will bring. Outside of a disastrous opening round, Frampton dealt with his taller and longer opponent quite easily en route to a unanimous decision.

Santa Cruz’s success may come down to his ability to cut the ring off on Frampton and not allowing him to set the rhythm and pace of the fight. While Frampton is quick on the draw with his 1-2 combinations, he often admires his work and gets careless after he’s done punching. Santa Cruz has quick hands himself and will be willing to punch with Frampton when he decides to open up.  Santa Cruz also attacks the body consistently, and this will be key in the later rounds as it would hamper Frampton’s ability to use his legs to move in and out of his opponent’s punching range.

The main event is a solid matchup of styles and now that it appears promotional doorways are opening up between PBC and Top Rank fighters, the possibilities for exciting matchups in the featherweight division look very bright.

Garcia (left) drops Orlando Salido (right) 

On the undercard 28 year-old Mikey Garcia (34-0, 28 Kos) ends a two and half year hiatus from the ring to face Elio Rojas (24-2, 14 KOs). Now that Mikey has finally put his promotional issues behind him, he is ready to resume his boxing career and what at time it is to be back. This is unquestionably a showcase fight for Garcia as he looks to shake off any rust from the layoff. Rojas, a former WBC featherweight champion, is coming off a two year layoff of his own. In reality, though Rojas is a very capable boxer and former world champion, he is not expected to give Garcia too much trouble. This fight is more about Garcia getting settled back into the ring so he can begin a lightweight title run by the end of the year.

This Bud's Not For Me

Crawford defeated Postol by unanimous decision

Terence Crawford dominated Viktor Postol this past Saturday night dropping Postol twice to earn a unanimous decision. Crawford (29-0, 20 KOs) handed Postol (28-1, 12 KOs) his first loss and thus has put himself at the top of the 140 pound hill with the win. But was this truly Crawford’s coming out party or did his latest victory do more harm than good?

Saturday’s pay-per-view event took a chance on buy in from hardcore followers of boxing. Outside of names like Pacquiao, Mayweather, or even Adrien Broner, casual fans would be hard pressed to tell you who Terence Crawford was or what division he fought in, much less anything about his opponent Viktor Postol. It was Crawford’s stage and his opportunity to enter the murky and unpredictable pay-per-view market.

Ever since “The Fight of The Century” between Mayweather and Pacquiao (and its abysmal undercard) set records for the most pay-per-view buys, many fight fans, both casual and hardcore alike, felt cheated. Pay-per-view buys for every event since have sharply declined, even for fighters with huge followings like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto.

In dominating Postol, Crawford implemented a strategy that took what could be considered a very “Mayweather-esque” approach; move around and away from your opponent and pot shot your way to a decision win.  While one could appreciate how easily Crawford beat Postol (and switching to a southpaw stance for the entirety of the fight), after some tense moments early, it was not exciting to watch.

Crawford lands a counter left hand
dropping Postol in the 5th round

The timing could not have been worse for such a performance. Had the fight been on regular HBO, criticism of the fight might not be as harsh. After all, there is an old saying in boxing, “win this fight, and look good in the next.” But those who watched the fight were a paying audience. It is highly unlikely he secured any future pay-per-view buys from those who forked out the $49.99/$59.99 HD to watch.

Even the aforementioned Mayweather, who only late in his career took on a very cautious defensive approach, made a splash upon entering the pay-per-view market. His fight against Arturo Gatti was an out right demolition. Mayweather attacked Gatti from round one and once he knew Gatti had nothing to offer in return, he never let up. In doing so, Mayweather created demand to see him again (and some fans paid to see him lose).

In fairness, Postol was not only a much more skilled fighter than Gatti, he was widely considered the #1 fighter in his division. The first 4 rounds were closely contested. but by the 5th round Crawford found his groove and was able to counter Postol at will. He showed that he was a level above Postol and yet he still chose to play it safe for the rest of the fight. 

There's no doubt Crawford is a star in the making. But this fighting style will not make him a star. He did not make a strong case to be a must see fighter, nor one that should be Manny Pacquiao's next opponent, if rumors of Pacquiao's return are true. We already saw what that fight would look like and no one wants to pay to see that again.

Valdez drops Ruedas with a left hook to the body

One fighter that did use his moment in the spotlight to shine was Mexico’s latest addition to the country’s long line of featherweight fighters, Oscar Valdez. Valdez absolutely blitzed Argentinian fighter Matias Rueda who looked completely out of his depth. From the first round, Valdez established his superiority, with amazing quickness, landing lead right hands and counter left hooks at will. Valdez would stop Ruedas after dropping him twice in the 2nd round.

If there was one fighter that proved he was worth watching again, it was Oscar Valdez.

Also on the undercard, Jose Benavidez turned back the challenge of Francisco “Chia” Santana winning a unanimous decision after twelve heated rounds in their welterweight bout. Benavidez, who once again looked gassed early in a fight, gutted out the win using accurate power punches and superior footwork to overcome Santana’s pressuring and smothering tactics. With the win, Benavidez improves to 25-0, 16 KOs.

Valdez & Benavidez Look To Bigger and Better Things on Crawford-Postol Undercard

From left to right: Francisco "Chia" Santana, Oscar Valdez, Matias Rueda, and Jose Benavidez

This Saturday’s pay-per-view will not only spotlight the main event featuring Terrance “Bud” Crawford and Viktor Postol, but also two young up and coming fighters from the stable of promotional powerhouse, Top Rank. In separate undercard bouts, welterweight Jose Benavidez and featherweight Oscar Valdez look to secure victories that will true contenders in their respective divisions.

 I remember seeing Jose Benavidez first fight back in 2010, on the undercard of Pacquiao versus Margarito. Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Benavidez, 8-0 at the time, was a tall, lanky kid and showed a fiery spirit in that bout against Winston Mathis.  Though Benavidez would stop Mathis in the 3rd round of an entertaining affair, you got the sense that he made the fight tougher than it needed to be and that’s pretty much how his career can be summed up until this point.

Benavidez earned a questionable
decision against Herrera

Hampered by promotional issues and injuries, Benavidez found his big moment on HBO versus the always tough Mauricio Herrera in 2014. Benavidez would look sharp early in the fight, landing his offense at will, but Herrera would weather the storm and take Benavidez deep into the later rounds forcing a close, but questionably scored unanimous decision. The former amateur standout would get the nod versus Herrera and fight two more times with uninspiring performances.

"Chia" Santana beat previously undefeated
Eddie Gomez by UD

This Saturday he fights a highly motivated Franciso “Chia” Santana (24-4-1, 11 KOs), a former sparring partner for Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who appears to be rejuvenated and is looking to capitalize on this huge opportunity with a win of his own.  If the past is any indication, Benavidez is in for a long night as he has a reputation for not taking his career very seriously. Benavidez has a very serious opponent in front of him and if he is able to tap into any of the promise he showed early on in his career, it should be a seriously entertaining fight.

In his last bout Valdez stopped Gradovich in the 4th round

In the co-featured bout of the night, another young fighter will showcase his skills and attempt to put himself in the featherweight title picture.  Also a former amateur standout, the two-time Olympian, Oscar Valdez (19-0, 17 KOs) will face undefeated Argentinian knockout artist Matias Rueda (26-0, 23 KOs). Valdez has all of the makings of a future star in the sport. With blazing speed and a willingness to engage with his opponents, Valdez not only tantalizes with his skill set, he also has a crowd pleasing style.

Born in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, Valdez took a rare path to start his boxing career. While most Mexican fighters immediately turn pro at the age of 16 in order to earn money as soon as possible, Valdez competed in Mexico’s amateur ranks and represented Mexico in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games.  Valdez has the pedigree and talent to go far, but he faces his toughest test in Rueda.

Rueda has never fought outside of Argentina

Although Saturday will be the first time both Valdez and Rueda have faced an undefeated fighter, Valdez appears to have faced the higher quality competition. Rueda has never fought outside of his native Argentina, which is usually a bad sign (try telling that to Marcos Maidana or Lucas Matthysse, but I digress).  It is not uncommon for foreign fighters that have “built up” their records fighting in their hometowns to have faced very limited opposition.  Seeing some tape on Rueda, he looks to have genuine power in both hands, particularly the left hook to the body, but whether he has the ability to land that power on Valdez is another story. 

Yes, Terrance Crawford and Viktor Postol have a very important fight of their own tomorrow night, but they aren’t alone. The stakes are high for the fighters on the undercard as well, which should make for an interesting night of boxing all around.  Now the only question might be, will it be worth the $49.99 price tag?  My money is on "yes."

Prediction:
Postol wins via close UD
Valdez off the canvas to win via UD
Benavidez wins via late round stoppage

Is Brook Up For This Special Task?

A few months ago, if you had asked who the best welterweight was, the general consensus among boxing fans would be that Kell Brook was the cream of the welterweight division’s deeply talented crop. A big welterweight for the division, Brook has all of the tools, a good defense, speed, a varied attack, counter punching ability and punching power. Having bested Shawn Porter by majority decision (in what seemed to be much easier fashion than Keith Thurman did this past June) Brook was considered by many the favorite to beat the top fighters in his division.

So it is with some surprise that Brook, who goes by the nickname “Special K,” was almost immediately written off when his fight with current middleweight kingpin, Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin was announced to take place at the O2 Arena in London. Make no mistake, for any fighter at 160 pounds, let alone below, fighting Golovkin would prove to be a daunting task. Heralded for his knockout power and technical prowess, Golovkin is currently riding a 22 fight knockout streak, has yet to be defeated and has the most middleweight title defenses since Bernard Hopkins’ legendary reign from 1995 to 2002. Given all of that, you might ask, why would anyone find it surprising that Brook is a decidedly heavy underdog? That’s because what Brook is attempting to do is not without precedent.

Throughout boxing history many fighters have jumped up multiple weight divisions to conquer champions who were thought to be too big and too good. Fighters like Bob Fitzsimmons, Henry Armstrong, Barney Ross, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Shane Mosely, Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones Jr., Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao plastered their names on the walls of boxing history with career defining victories in weight classes far from the weights where they began their careers.  It is true, some of these fighters were more methodical with their rise in weight (Mayweather and De La Hoya come to mind) while others skipped whole weight classes altogether. 

There are of course many more fighters that have tried to accomplish this same feat and failed. What separated those that were successful from those that were not was plain and simple; those fighters were special.  And that is all that Kell Brook is basically saying. He believes he is a special fighter. His belief is so strong that he aims to prove this versus the best middleweight we have seen in over a decade. Is Brook as special as he thinks he is? Can he beat the odds and do what only a select group of fighters have been able to accomplish?  No one will know for sure until September 10th, but what we do know is that it has been done before. And that is why they fight the fights.