Boxing Review (4-16)

[H2O Man]

April 16
At Mashantucket, Conn. (HBO): Andre Berto vs. Victor Ortiz, 12 rounds, for Berto's WBC welterweight title.

At Manchester, England (HBO, same-day tape): Amir Khan vs. Paul McCloskey, 12 rounds, for Khan's WBA junior welterweight title

At Bayamon, Puerto Rico (Showtime): Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Orlando Salido, 12 rounds, for Lopez's WBO featherweight title

There were three important bouts – all televised – over the weekend. I had hoped for an opportunity to post a “pre-fight” article here; however, the two more important bouts ended as I expected, and I think that sports forum readers might enjoy this review.

The first fight was between WBA title-holder Amir Khan and undefeated Northern Ireland challenger Paul McCloskey. Khan, 24, entered the ring with a 24-1 record. He had 17 wins by knockout, and his lone defeat – in September of '08 – was in a stunning one round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott. Since the loss, Khan relocated to the US, and has been trained by Freddie Roach. His career has been on track, with victories over fighters including Paulie Malignagi and Marcos Maidana.

McClosky, 31, was undefeated in 22 bouts, with 12 knockout victories. While he was the best in the European rankings, this would be his first time on the big stage. Because he was older, shorter, had a shorter reach, and had been cut and floored in the past, I expected him to be stopped within about four rounds.

A funny thing happened in the ring. McCloskey displayed utter contempt for Khan's punching power, and literally stalked Amir with his hands at his sides. Khan appeared frustrated, and although he was winning each round, was missing a high percentage of his punches – and hence, getting tired.

When an opponent's head is hard to locate, one should always attack the body. It really isn't an elusive target. Yet Khan was almost entirely focused on the head. McCloskey recognized his best chance was to bring the fight into the late rounds, and then try to stop Khan. But it was not to be. An unintentional butt in round six opened a cut on McCloskey's forehead, and the referee stopped the fight, despite the fact the cut was neither that serious or hard to treat. The fight went to the scorecards, and Khan won.

It's expected that Khan will face the undefeated junior welterweight champion, Timothy Bradley, late this summer. I agree with Manny Steward that Bradley is the definite favorite.

The Berto vs Ortiz fight was, on paper, a great match-up. The undefeated WBC welterweight titleholder had a 27-0 record, with 21 knockouts. Andre has victories over Luis Collazo, Juan Urango, Carlos Quintana, and most recently, a devastating one round knockout over top contender Freddy Hernandez. A defense against Ortiz on HBO could help him secure a fight with either Pacquiao or Mayweather.

Ortiz had a 28-2-2 record, with 22 knockout wins. His highest profile fight was his lone knockout loss, in June of '09, to Marcos Maidana. Although Ortiz decked Maidana three times, he would go down twice, and was incorrectly dismissed by some boxing writers for “quitting.” In fact, he was seriously hurt, and made the correct decision that neither the referee or his cornermen definitely should have.

Since then, Ortiz defeated veterans Nate Campbell and Vivian Harris, and had a draw Lamont Peterson (who Ortiz decked twice in the ten round fight). A number of boxing writers noted that Ortiz was moving up a weight class to battle a bigger Berto. In fact, because of the 30 hours between a weigh-in and fight, Ortiz had actually been entering the ring as a middleweight in the past year. He would definitely be the bigger man in the ring. While I knew why Berto was favored, I thought that Ortiz would pull off the upset.

In the first round, Victor decked Andre twice; the referee incorrectly ruled the first one was the result of their feet being tangled (Berto complained that it was from a punch behind the head, until he saw the ref's ruling). Later in the round, Ortiz hurt Berto badly, and Berto opted to go down rather than take more punches.

For most of round two, Ortiz was beating Berto up. Andre repeatedly attempted to roll his shoulders, and counter with a right cross. Late in the round, he landed the right, and Ortiz stumbled backwards, touching the canvas with his right hand. That is, of course, and official knockdown. However, the punch did not land squarely, and I noticed that seconds later, Berto shook the hand; I told the others here watching that I suspected he hurt the hand. After the fight, Berto said he injured his right thumb in that round.

Ortiz continued to dominate during the next few rounds, with Berto opting to stand against the ropes. He called Ortiz in several times, but the bluff did not work: Ortiz landed hard shots to both the head and body. However, in the sixth round, Berto made his move. He landed a number of hard punches. Most were single shots, though, and Ortize stood up well, until another shoulder roll/right cross knocked him flat. Ortiz regained his feet surprisingly fast, and attempted to move to clear his head and survive the round. Berto tends to be a good finisher, and began to land a number of very clean punches. At the end of the round, however, Ortiz countered with a double-hook, sending Berto to the canvas. This was surely the “Round of the Year” thus far for 2011.

Ortiz was able to control the second half of the bout. He consistently got into a lower crouch than Andre, and his head was a weapon. Also, Berto took numerous punches to the back of the head. Ortiz was docked a point in one round, but this angered him, and he responded by nailing an already hurt Berto with at least a dozen very hard body punches.

Without question, this was the most exciting fight so far this year. Ortiz won a convincing decision, and put to rest the foolish “questions” that some of the HBO crew and other journalists have been stuck on since the Maidana loss. The two warriors will almost certainly fight a return match later this year. Though Ortiz will be favored, Berto certainly has the ability to learn from his errors, and take back his title.

Berto needs to keep his father and brother way, way away from his corner. I can appreciate that they are his family, and provide support in some circumstances. Both were terrible distractions. He also needs to reassess his game plan. Little things, such as using his jab correctly, rather than extended as a measuring stick; making better use of the geography inside the ring; and throwing the correct combinations, then moving off to the sides, can make the difference between winning or losing a tough fight.

Switching from HBO to Showtime, it was just in time for their card's main event, featuring Juan Manuel Lopez defending his WBO featherweight title against journeyman Orlando Salido. Sports forum readers may recall my March 27 article on Yuriokis Gamboa, in which I discussed the frustrations the boxing community had with promoter Bob Arum's unwillingness to match Lopez against Gamboa, although he had both under contract.

Arum was actually in charge of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's Department of Justice's investigations into the influence of organized crime on the sport of boxing. In my opinion, Arum learned very well. His investment in Lopez kept him from matching him versus Gamboa, in what would be the second biggest fight possible in the sport, only after Lopez vs Gamboa. Arum kept saying he wanted to create a bigger build-up. It couldn't happen – featherweights, for a variety of reasons, do not generate the same level of interest among “general sports fans” as fighters in the larger divisions, especially the great heavyweight champions. That fight would appeal primarily to boxing fans, especially in terms of PPV sales.

Arum announced before the fight that Lopez's next fight would be a rematch with Rafael Marquez. While Marquez was once a great boxer, he is far past his prime. Last November, Lopez dominated him before winning by TKO. A rematch would not help Lopez in his development; it would have simply padded his record, and Arum's bank account. Also, in interviews the week of the fight, Lopez was quoted as saying he had surpassed all other Puerto Rican boxers in popularity. I think that these two things suggest a disconnect that would become evident in Saturday's bout.

In his last fight, Salido had gone the distance in a tough fight with Gamboa; he told reporters that he expected Lopez to be much easier to find. And although Lopez was able to out-box him in the first two rounds, Salido appeared comfortable in measuring the large ring's geography, and finding the range for his overhand rights. By the fourth round, it was evident that Salido was hurting Lopez: inside, with hard body punches; and at a distance, with his longer reach.

In the fifth round, Salido landed a solid combination that knocked Lopez flat. Lopez is a tough man, and was able to get up and attempt to fight back. But Salido stayed calm, and continued to punish his wounded opponent. Eventually, the referee stopped the fight in round eight.

Salido appears willing to give Lopez a return match, but is clearly more focused on getting back in the ring with Gamboa. Lopez said he wants a return bout, but I suspect that he will reconsider that, and opt to move up a weight class.

On April 23, Showtime will feature the final two bouts of the bantamweight tournament. I will post a pre-fight article on that card later this week.