A Few Thoughts on Victor Ortiz vs Andre Berto and Amir Khan vs Paul McCloskey By Steve Kim, MaxBoxing (April 18, 2011) Doghouse Boxing) - Tweet
A few thoughts on this past weekend’s split-site
doubleheader on HBO: The bout between Amir Khan and Paul “Dudey”
McCloskey pretty much the way everyone thought, with the elusive southpaw unable
to do much offensively versus Khan, who seemed to be too big and fast for him
-if not all that effective with his flurries. Here's the thing; while I do
think Khan was well on his way to winning (he had swept all the rounds on the
judges’ scorecards through six frames), I'm still wondering why that fight was
stopped so hastily by the ringside physician. Yeah, McCloskey was cut but he
certainly wasn't gashed all that badly. I'd be willing to bet that there have
been hundreds of cuts worse than that throughout the years in this sport.
Also, if you're not going to even let McCloskey's cutman
take a look at it and give him a chance to do his job- why even have those guys
in the corner? (Just wondering, if the roles were reversed- this being a show
promoted by Khan- do you get the suspicion that Khan would've been allowed to
fight on?)
Again, not saying the fight’s result would've been
altered (I'm betting it wouldn't have) but a guy like McCloskey knows the
inherent risks of this sport and he may never, ever get an opportunity like
this again. So why pull the plug so prematurely?
I wonder how Carmen Basilio would've reacted to
such a decision.
- As for the barnburner between WBC welterweight
champion Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz (pictured above), it was another in a strong series of
contests that will be nominated for “Fight of the Year” (for my money, it's
still “Tyson” Marquez-Luis Concepcion). I'm not completely sold that Ortiz has
completely exorcised all the demons of the Marcos Maidana meltdown but he
certainly gained a large measure of redemption by beating Berto the way he did,
coming off the canvas to score a pair of his own knockdowns.
Leading up to this fight, Ortiz seemed to be a
tougher, meaner guy or at least he tried to create that facade. To his credit,
he carried it over into the ring, while Berto, who has been fed a string of
no-hopers on HBO, early on, had a shell-shocked look that said, 'Oh, geez, Al
[Haymon], Lou [DiBella], what's going on here? You mean I'm in a real fight
now?' He just looked like a guy who hadn't been tested in a while (which he
hadn't) and was, in many respects, overwhelmed by the size, power and
surprising determination of Ortiz, who shook him early and often.
Berto, unfortunately, is the quintessential
fighter that is handled by Haymon. Yes, his fighters get on HBO earlier. Yes,
they make inordinate amounts of money compared to their actual market value but
unfortunately, the cost comes at the price of truly developing a finished
product. Since 2009, Berto has become that boxer who fights twice a year
against hand-picked foes and sits for long stretches while his representatives
beg and plead for the Bob Arums of the world to give them a shot against Manny
Pacquiao. In his mid-20s, Berto is now a part-time prizefighter. In
essentially two years (from the time he beat Juan Urango on May 30th of 2009), he had two fights where he got in nine rounds of action.
It'll be interesting to see how HBO handles his
return; after all, guys who lose on the network seem to be treated better than
the guys who defeat them. But will he be given a “Betty Ford Fight” (y' know,
the rehab bout against a soft touch) or will the network take the stand that
he's already been given a bevy of non-descript foes on its air? Or will he be
made to regroup like most other fighters on smaller platforms like ESPN?
HBO tried to make a star out of Berto in a classic
case of the cart being put in front of the horse. Instead, what they produced
was an incomplete fighter who has become the poster child for what is wrong
with this business in the States.
As for Ortiz, there’s lots of talk about where he
goes from here but make no doubt about it; this was a good win for the business
of boxing. While Berto is a guy that is placed in ballrooms, Ortiz is a West Coast
Mexican-American that can pull folks into the tent. There is the natural talk
of a rematch with Maidana and some folks are bringing up the name of Floyd
Mayweather Jr., who was in attendance at the Foxwoods this past weekend. Honestly,
down the line, I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch with Berto- this time in Los
Angeles- because both of these guys’ fundamental flaws play perfectly into each
other. They seem to be a duo that will always make for good scraps. The best
news is there is absolutely no rematch clause, unlike too many other fights we
see nowadays. The only reason a rematch will happen here is because of public
demand and interest, which is the way it should be.
- Speaking of fundamental flaws, in Ortiz, I've
never seen a southpaw who moved so much to his left against strong right-handed
punchers. It led to his demise versus Maidana and kept Berto in the fight on
Saturday night. He also seems to plant his feet in cement at times as he throws
his left, making him lunge and susceptible to counters. I've said it before;
Danny Garcia is the third best trainer in the family by a good margin. As for
Berto, you can't teach a good chin but he's a short welterweight, who has no
clue how to fight like a short guy on the inside. He is an incessant clincher
who should be penalized at least twice a fight for his strangleholds.
- One of the great NFL Films sound bites of
all-time was former Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy yelling out during a game, “YOU
OVEROFFICIOUS JERK!” I think that applied to referee Michael Ortega, don't you?
I thought he interjected himself way too much in that fight and let Berto
basically talk him into a few calls.
