Written by Sean Malone
| 14 April 2008
My compadre Tim did a most excellent job
summarizing the tantalizing fights of this past weekend so I will spare you a complete rehashing of the results. That is not to say that I don't have a thought or two regarding the entertaining scraps and thanks to the incredibly low standards of MVN I have a forum to share them! (Just kidding on that dig at MVN, I love this place.)
Edgar Santana - Josesito Lopez To put it mildly I love Showtime's long running Shobox series. While the fights at times create the cure for insomnia the fact remains that no other outlet matches hot prospects quite like they do. Friday night's card was no different and featured New York's Santana fighting SoCal's own Josesito Lopez in the always fun West Coast-East Coast showdown. I was never really that high on Lopez despite the fan fare he routinely receives out West from his work in the uber competitive LA gym scene. On the other hand I was less hesitant to drink the Kool-Aid of Santana who many considered to one day be a force at junior welterweight (140 lbs). With that in mind I firmly believed that Lopez would out point Santana over the course of the fight. What I did not count on was the relative lack of action over the opening stanzas but I cannot fully fault the fighters as this is what typically happens when you have two highly touted prospects fighting each other, after all no one want's to lose before they make the big stage. Now the second half of the fight was pretty entertaining especially the eighth round as Santana tasted the canvas twice on some very nice body shots. What's impressive is that Lopez was coming up in weight from the lightweight limit of 135 lbs. Kudos to Santana for dusting himself off and going on to gut out a majority decision. In contrast I am going to have to say that Lopez has the higher ceiling but Santana will make for a nice addition to the tepid junior welterweight waters.
Carlos De Leon Jr. - James McGirt Jr. As a rule of thumb I am extremely leery of the children of accomplished boxers fighting. Too often the posses less than a fraction of the talent of their fathers and only serve to take the spotlight and lucrative tv money away from more deserving fighters who lack a famous last name. After all most offspring of famous fighters lack that hunger and desire their parents possessed (Cory Spinks is the exception that proves the rule). McGirt (son of Buddy McGirt) and De Leon (son of former cruiserweight titlist Carlos De Leon) are no exception to this. Though it should be noted that McGirt has some legitimate talent just not top tier talent. So what happens when you pair two sons of famous fighters square off? Not much usually - see McGirt's win over Stephan Pryor (son of Aaron Pryor) - over the first few stanzas this fight seemed to be going that way until we were treated to an eventful sixth round. At the end of the sixth McGirt dropped De Leon which seemed to spark a fire in De Leon. Showing some poise and aggression De Leon came out throwing flooring McGirt with a wicked hook and again with an uppercut forcing the referee to step in a waive a halt to the fight. McGirt is young enough to continue on the journey but you have to wonder what will happen when he and De Leon step up the competition.
Antonio Tarver - Clinton Woods I, like many people, picked Woods to retain his title by a narrow points victory over the "Mouth from the South" Tarver. What I failed to take into consideration was the fact that Woods is a limited fighter who has overachieved more than anything else. Second, I failed to realize that Tarver's flat performances in his last two outings were the perfect opportunity to shed his accumulated ring rust. Third, I failed to realize just how pumped Tarver would be fighting in front of his hometown crowd. In fact Woods was noticeably in awe of Tarver and the magnitude of this fight which should not have been a factor given the big fights he has participated in back in his native U.K.. Woods mirrored the look of a deer caught in the headlights of an 18-wheeler. But give credit to Tarver for coming into the fight in tip-top shape and his timing was excellent, bludgeoning Woods with his straight left hand almost at will. I have never really been a fan of Tarver's in ring style, his personality makes the buildup to fights a bit more exciting though. I am also glad to hear him actually mention fighting Chad Dawson after routinely treating the young titlist as
persona non grata. With this being boxing I will not believe a showdown between Tarver and Dawson a reality until the contracts are signed. Here is to hoping that Tarver does not delude himself with his self-worth, pricing himself out of any meaningful fights. This being the light heavyweight division there are not really a plethora of name opponents for him to fall back on.
Chad Dawson - Glen Johnson Wow, talk about an action fight. Johnson gave Dawson the fight of his life and I dare say if Johnson were perhaps two years younger he would have pulled off the upset. Unfortunately Johnson ran out of gas when Dawson was wobbling on legs as sturdy as cooked spaghetti. Dawson looked marvelous at first, landing some beautiful combinations and digging to the body but Johnson never stopped coming forward. In a way I am sad to see Johnson lose so competitively as now he will find it even more difficult to land some money fights as no one wants any part of the "Road Warrior" if they can avoid him. But kudos to Dawson for weathering the storm to gut out a victory. For the record I had him winning seven rounds to five. I have to admit that the prospect of a Dawson-Tarver fight leaves me giddy.
Miguel Cotto - Alfonso Gomez We knew going into this fight that Gomez had about as much chance of victory as George Bush launching a gangsta rap career. Cotto deserved the "soft touch" after his back-to-back wars with Zab Judah and Shane Mosley but we at least though Gomez would have his moments. Shows how much we know as I have not seen a one sided performance like this since I played blackjack with my three year old daughter. The whole fight resembled a light sparring session with no headgear and only Gomez being battered. I mean Cotto could have stopped and and broken out into a break-dancing routine and still won ever round. You know it's a no win situation when a jab floors you. Also did anyone notice how Cotto was trying out new techniques like rolling his shoulder and keeping his hands low in complete defiance of Gomez's abilities. I tend to think that Cotto carried the "Contender" star until he got bored and then finished the job in the fifth. The only good to come out of this was the fact that Gomez received a decent paycheck for his efforts.
Antonio Margarito - Kermit Cintron Unlike Tim I have always been high on Margarito. I love his "no nonsense" approach to fighting and his calm demenour. I mean this guy is a FIGHTER and has the miles to prove it in his 15 year career. In Cintron he was fighting a man who was looking to exorcise the demons of their first fight when Margarito reduced Cintron to a scarred child. Despite Cintron's new found attitude under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer Manny Stewart I still favored Margarito to win though not in such a brutal fashion. Let's face it, Margarito is a freak of nature when it comes to his heart and chin. The Tijuana Tornado tasted some of Cintron's hardest bombs and simply smiled which right there had to have given Cintron you classic "oh crap" moments. It's funny how things turned out for Margarito who was chastised by everyone including his promoter for passing on a fight with Cotto in order to defend his WBO title against Paul Williams. Though he lost Margarito made a career high payday and a year later is right back to being in line to face Cotto. You have to admit that a Cotto-Margarito fight has the ingredients to be special. Again, giddiness is the emotion I feel. Cintron will be back. He's young enough and still has the powerful right hand. Also I believe this fight was cathartic in a way to Cintron, like a demon that had to be faced in order for him to move forward. By all accounts Margarito is going to dump the IBF welterweight strap in favor of fighting Cotto leaving the possibility for an entertaining Joshua Clottey- Cintron battle for the vacant title. Oh, and mad props to Margarito for sporting that faux "mexi-mullet". Good stuff, I was mesmerized.
