Last Night's Fights
Each of last night’s fights seemed instructive, and each either furthered or effectively ended the prime-time careers of most of the guys involved.
Juan Manual Lopez, by knocking out dangerous champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in the first round, showed that he’s someone we’ll be talking about as a pound for pound guy in the near future. Boxing politics being what it is, it’s unlikely that a Lopez-Steve Molitor matchup will take place, but, aside from Israel Vazquez-Jorge Linares, it’s the fight I’d most want to see these days.
Paul Williams, by destroying Carlos Quintana, who’d taken his welterweight title a months ago, showed that he wants to be taken seriously. He avenged his defeat by an emphatic first round knockout. Williams had Quintana down twice, placing his punches well and showing the rare ability among big, long-armed guys to fight effectively on the inside. Significant fights are out there of him.
Vernon Forrest quietly left the near top echelon of the sport by coming into his fight with veteran actor Sergio Mora in dreadful condition, and giving away his 154 pound title. That’s it for him. Mora isn’t going anywhere either. His win said more about Forrest than it did about Mora’s skills.
Kelly Pavlik was impressive in doing what he was supposed to do: he knocked out Gary Lockett with a solid arsenal of consistently hard punches. Pavlik is just coming into his own, I think. He’s an awfully big middleweight who’s a genuine banger. He’ll be tough to beat. Lockett, meanwhile, showed that he knows how to count to eight.
posted by Charles Farrell @ 6:56 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Great summation of the night, Charles.
Williams showed he can get up for a big fight. After being owned by Quintana last time, Williams summoned all his physical and mental self, and put it all together. Based on his devastation of Quintana, I think it's safe to say the loss to him last time was a blessing.
Pavlik showed again that it'll take a fighter who's gifted to beat him. And one who has an overload of something, Speed or power, in order to present him with something to concern him, so he can't just break them down round by round.
I think Paul Williams benefited the most of the four victors in the main televised fights. By quickly knocking out an aggressive Carlos Quintana, who masterfully outboxed him in February, he refuted the knock on him that he is just a big, lanky slap-boxer. Now, with Mayweather’s retirement or hiatus or whatever it is, it throws him back into the mix of the top welterweights, with matches with the Cotto-Margarito winner, or even Mosley or the now-stood up De La Hoya, within the realm of possibility.
Pavlik looked good, but against a stationary target whose only movement seemed to be down to his knee. Remember, it’s HBO, where some of the best fighters in the world fight, but mainly in mismatches.
Juan Manuel Lopez also looked impressive. We saw so little of him here, however, that it is hard to judge just how devastating he will be. Still, his quickie fight was a delight.
Vernon Forrest is 37, shit-talked before the fight that Mora would leave on a stretcher and was a “pretender” and not a “contender”, and then admittedly was flat – about as flat as a pancake in Amarillo, Texas, I do believe. While Mora admitted that he didn’t really deserve a title shot and is hardly a world-beater – look for him to lose any major belt rather quickly – you have to give him some credit for getting on the inside and fighting his fight, and outlasting Vernon. Forrest looked the worst he has been since returning to action in 2005 following a two-year layoff from shoulder surgery. He offered no excuses for his loss, told Mora that the trash talk was just “business” and not personal, and now has the double embarrassment of a defeat to a huge underdog whom he had totally dismissed in the prefight propaganda.
Boy, I’m glad I didn’t go to either of these shows. Roller derby was fun, and I got to see all the main fights on tape while fast forwarding through Kellerman and Lampley.
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