Another Hyped White Boy Bites the Dust?
Michael Katsidis can't fight much. He throws lots of punches without much power, leaving himself wide open when he does. If Joel Casamayor has anything left, Katsidis is exactly the kind of fighter he'll completely expose.
I hope that happens. The forty-plus year old Casamayor is a real fighter who got to the top (of the division, not to the upper echelon earning status) by beating tough opponents. The problem is that Casamayor has gotten old and maybe a bit lazy. That doesn't usually bode well for someone facing an active, energetic young opponent. Still, if Joel has trained for a vigorous fight, he'll do what HBO is hoping he can't do.
Katsidis is another over-hyped white kid, the third of a recent crop (along with Jason Litzau and Andy Lee) who've been pushed as "can't miss" future stars. The always over-zealous Emmanuel Steward actually had the temerity to suggest that Lee was a "future hall of famer." This was after the young fraud had had four pro fights. Steward, who has a side gig for HBO, knows what side the bread is buttered on, so he'll say anything.
Katsidis's own people are talking about how their boy's "heart" is the thing that makes him special. "Heart" is, of course, code for "my guy has no technique." Technique almost always trumps heart, luckily, so I think there's a good chance that Joel Casamayor will be able to show suits at HBO that they really do need to put storyline beneath talent and skill when it comes to choosing their poster boys.
posted by Charles Farrell @ 8:06 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
"Heart" is, of course, code for "my guy has no technique."
There's a book out there to be written on this by someone who writes much better than I can. Because it's so true. Nuts and Guts will take a fighter so far, but it's no where near enough to make it to the top. What happens when the fighter with toughness and heart meets a fighter with toughness, heart, technique and skill? What most miss is that skilled fighters are just as tough as the "Rocky Balboa" types, they just don't wear in on their shoulder. Because a truly world class fighter usually wins with his technique and skill. His toughness and heart is usually only challenged when he's confronted by a fighter as good as him, then it comes down to nuts & guts and stamina.
Ray Mancini's heart and toughness got him past Frias and Kim, but only held up for about 10 rounds versus Arguello and Bramble. I'll bet Ron Stander's toughness was something that accompanied him leading up to his title shot versus Joe Frazier. The difference in the fight was Joe was every bit as tough as Ron, only he could fight his ass off.
Is it possible to be tougher than George Chuvalo or Randall "Tex" Cobb? Yep. IF you're Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, and are also world class skilled and tough. Vito Antuofermo and Mustafa Hamsho were as tough as a fighter can be. However, they found while fighting Marvin Hagler, that he could really fight. Oh, he was also as tough as they were.
Toughness and heart is a foundation for all fighters. IF a fighter has neither, he'll never make it to his first fight in most cases.
When a fighters heart and toughness are his calling card as Charles says, that means there's not a whole lot else to say about him. What is also a red flag to me is, when how hard a fighter hits is his calling card. I know about this personally. I could hit as a fighter, but ya know what, all fighters can hit up to a certain level. The problem is the greatest punchers in boxing history never knocked out everyone they fought. Nobody who knows what they're talking about can question the authenticity of Mike Tyson's two handed power. What happened when he didn't score an early round KO? He either lost or struggled to win. When that big punch landed and his opponent said, "Now What?" Tyson was like, "Now What, What?"
Frank's post brings to mind something else that may be worth thinking about. All of the guys he listed (with the possible exception of Mustafa Hamsho, depending on how you look at race) were white. They all got title shots (and Mancini was given a title) and they were all taken very seriously, but none of them were particularly good. A black fighter who was the exact equal of anyone on this list would be seen as no more than a particularly tough opponent. That means that his career would follow two paths: he'd be avoided by managers trying to build up a less than secure fighter's record or he'd be beaten up by really good fighters.
I think it's foolish not to believe being white isn't an advantage in boxing. Why did Gerry Cooney split 20 million with Holmes having not defeated one viable ranked contender. Or Andrew Golota getting four title shots despite quitting in just about every big fight he participated in.
Charles, I'd never seen Michael Katsidis fight before last night. You couldn't have been more right about him. I couldn't believe how surprised Kellerman was when Casamayor said Katsidis wasn't a life-taker. I saw that before the end of the first round. Maybe against second & third tier fighters, but not at the world class championship level. Casamayor-Campbell will be fun to watch. Two slick and seasoned pros in the twilight of their careers if it happens. IF it does, I'd lean towards Casamayor because of styles.
Campbell-Casamayor--what a pro's pro fight. I too would love to see that. Casamayor mentioned beating Campbell the first time with only three weeks notice. Believe me, Nate didn't get even three weeks.
I lean more toward Campbell this time around. He can kick things into higher gear for longer, if he needs to. And he's the better puncher. Joel is very slick, but so is Nate. And Casamayor showed last night that he's getting too old to deal with constant pressure. If Katsidis could give him trouble, Campbell would be a big problem. I think Casamayor knows that this is a fight he shouldn't take if someone else will give him a bigger payday. Even if he wins it, it's going to take a lot out of him.
I agree Casamayor shouldn't fight Campbell. He should go for the biggest money fight he can get. I also agree Joel showed his age versus Katsidis. I just feel Campbell used Diaz's aggression against him. This helped him keep his legs and really whack Diaz without looking for him or working to get him in position. Joel will force Nate to stalk & chase. I think this favors Casamayor. That said, I wouldn't be firm in my picking him to win.
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