A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Nonito Donaire is nearing the top of his game at 39. Harry How / Getty Images
In a sport best suited for youth, two veterans – Nonito Donaire and Vasiliy Lomachenko – proved on Saturday that 30-year-olds can still dominate.
Donaire, defending his bantamweight title, is almost 40 years old (39) end a competitive war against Reymart Gaballo with a classic left hook to the body that kept the Filipino man from continuing in Carson, California.
One of boxing’s true treasures is now stopping previously undefeated opponents in the fourth round in bouts, including defeating Nordine Oubaali to claim her title.
Donaire (42-6, 28 KOs) is following the lead of compatriot Manny Pacquiao, who overtook Keith Thurman to win the weight class title at age 40. It was Pacman’s last hurdle, however. . He lost to Yordenis Ugas in the next match and withdrew.
Donaire seems to be as good as ever, that sounds impossible. And he set his sights high: He talked about becoming the undisputed 118-pound champion.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) seems to be an afterthought after the rise of some talented young lightweight athletes following a loss to Teofimo Lopez. Then Lopez lost to George Kambosos, Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney failed to overwhelm recent rivals and Ryan Garcia moved away from the sport.
That gave the 33-year-old Ukrainian a chance to show he still belonged and he took it, for a clinic against superior Richard Commey in New York City. He looks a lot like the boxing wizard of the past, allowing Commey to land with only 12% of his punches, according to CompuBox.
That may not bode well for the other top 135-pound athlete as he pursues his own dream of becoming “undisputed.”
Of course, we shouldn’t go far. Donaire stops Gaballo, not Nayoa Inoue. Lomachenko beat Commey, not one of the young stars. Bigger challenges can prove to them many things. Then again, what we saw on Saturday makes us think anything is possible.
TERRIBLE
Could Vasiliy Lomachenko have his first trouble with George Kambosos? Sarah Stier / Getty Images
Now we wait.
The best lightweight teams have been talking about facing each other since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit two years ago but only one fight between the two sides – Lomachenko and Lopez – happened in part because Common culprits, competing loyalty.
So far Davis, Haney and Garcia have yet to face off against the heaviest 135-pound opponent, which is getting ridiculous.
Lopez has agreed to defend her undisputed championship against the Kambosos but the Australian is not among the group of young stars taking part in that fight. He is an honest member after amazed at Lopez on November 27th.
So is 2022 the year when the best of the best of what has been labeled by some of the most profound divisions in boxing? I’ll believe it when I see it.
Kambosos gives us hope. He has all the leverage because he holds all four major titles, assuming you consider him (not Haney) the WBC champion. The new king says Davis, Haney, Garcia and now Lomachenko will all become his next opponent, possibly in a return home under.
He also said that he doesn’t want to face an easy mark, which gives us more hope that we can get a game worth watching.
Of course, a shrewd business advisor would whisper in his ear that he should milk this champion for as long as possible, meaning a temporary war against a second-rate competitor could mean a lot. meaning from a financial point of view.
For example, Kambosos compared to a forced challenger can earn him good money with minimal risk.
But the bottom line is this: If Kambosos really wants to move directly into a superfight – and it sounds like he does – then it’s going to happen because everyone wants those belts, which is what This gives them the aforementioned leverage.
I can’t begin to speculate who might win the Kambosos lottery because a case could be made for all of his 135-pound competitors, who are almost equal threats. If it is on me? I can go with Garcia or Davis because they follow on social media. They will generate the biggest numbers.
However, I would be happy with any of them. And I know I’m not alone.
And what about those unlucky to face Kambosos? They will have to make a decision: Pass their time by going up against certain, but limited opponents in the hope of one day winning the undisputed championship or facing the odds. real threats – that is, each other – in the meantime.
It’s time for them to choose the latter. Suffice it to say.
WORSE
Let’s hope we see another Pernell Whitaker (right) in 2028. NETWORK TODAY USA
Olympics without boxing? It can.
Last week, the International Olympic Committee gave amateur boxing officials 18 months to demonstrate that they had made adequate organizational and cultural changes before they could win approval to enter the World Cup. 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Amateur boxing has been plagued by allegations of corruption, which have placed it in this precarious position.
The sport was on the right track when the IOC stripped it of its right to oversee the boxing competition at the Tokyo Olympics. Instead there are organized fitness officials.
That led to the election of new AIBA president Umar Kremlev last December, kicking off the reform process in earnest.
Let’s hope Kremlev and his colleagues can convince IOC officials that a clean boxing competition is a boon to the Olympics, not a detriment, because it’s hard to imagine Olympic statue without sweet science.
It would be ironic for Americans if the sport’s Olympic run, which began in 1904, ended in Los Angeles. That’s where arguably the best U.S. team claimed its glory in 1984, even though Cuba and the countries of the Soviet Bloc did not compete in those games.
I want to see Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, Mark Breland and Evander Holyfield next in 2028. And I know all boxing fans feel the same way.
BAGS DOLL
Tyson Fury sang “Happy Birthday” to Bob Aurm. Sarah Stie r / Getty Images
Conor Benn (20-0, 13 KO) looks like a genuine heavyweight contender in knockout win than veterans Chris Algieri (25-4, 9 KOs) on Saturday in Liverpool, England. He fought with the maturity of a more experienced fighter, patiently taking down his opponent before stopping him with a brutal one-two in the fourth round. However, the people who handled him didn’t want to rush it. That’s smart. He is reported to have only 20 amateur fights, for a total of 40 he has. He is still developing. The last thing you want to do is throw him into the ring with a Errol Spence Jr. or Terence Crawford. His time on the biggest stage is coming soon. … Light heavyweight title Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) outstanding Umar Salamov (26-2, 19 KOs) on Saturday in Russia, that’s the course for him. What follows could be a reunification against either Artur Betterbiev (isn’t that something?) or Joe Smith Jr. And I still hope that Canelo Alvarez decided to fight Bivol or Beterbiev, not the cruiser weight class, if he wanted to fight the bigger men. … Undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor (20-0.6 KO) fought a mental test from Firuza Sharipova (14-2, 8 KOs) to get a unanimous decision and retained her titles on the Benn-Algieri card. Taylor’s Advertiser, Eddie Hearn, speak Amanda Serrano next if Serrano defeats Miriam Gutierrez next Saturday. Serrano, a featherweight who has successfully moved up and down the weight division, may have been the biggest challenge of Taylor’s career. The Puerto Rican native is a real threat to Taylor. …
The promoter of truth Bob Arum’s 90order The birthday celebration televised on ESPN is an unusual but somehow heartwarming thing, especially when the heavyweight champion Tyson Fury led a chorus of “Happy Birthday” at Madison Square Garden. And I love Arum tribute videos, including arch-rival videos King. Arum has been promoting for over half a century and is still going strong. God bless him. …Relatively unknown Cody Crowley (20-0.9 KO) turned into one of the biggest upsets of the year with the Donaire-Gaballo card, overtaking a knockdown to overtake a longtime opponent Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (18-1, 10 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight round. Crowley kept coming and coming…and coming. I don’t see the Canadian as a threat to the top 147-pounders but they will have to work hard to beat him. … Welding weight class candidate Brandun Lee (24-0, 22 KO) stopped Juan Heraldez (16-2-1, 10 KOs) in the seventh round on the Donaire-Gaballo card. It’s time for him to face the big guys. … Nico Ali Walsh (3-0, 2 KO), grandson of Muhammad Ali, lucky to raise his hand against the stubborn Reyes Sanchez (6-1, 2 KO) on the Lomachenko-Commey card. However, I have no problem with the majority decision. I have a problem with the judge card James Kinney of New Jersey, who gave Ali Walsh all four innings. Sanchez clearly won the third inning, which made me wonder what Kinney was watching.
