Standing-8

While eating my breakfast this morning,  I looked up and saw super middleweight champ Andre Ward looking me right in the eyes. “Missing” read the milk carton as the word disappointingly rang true. It’s been eleven months since we last saw this pound for pound great in the office and I couldn’t help but wonder if we will ever again see this amazing talent.

The Bay Area’s Ward  (27-0 14 KO), epitomizes what the sweet science is all about. He’s a masterful technician who uses effortless footwork to switch angles while landing some of the most graceful combinations and counters you will ever see, a mostly impenetrable defense to defuse the threat, and when needed, underrated punching power to keep opponents honest.

You’d be hard pressed to find a fight out of his twenty-seven victories that was even close, but could probably make a case for the Carl Froch fight and even that is reaching. Pure dominance every time out. When the Super Six tournament was announced, Ward wasn’t in most conversations when the opening predictions were being discussed, but there was Ward, showcasing his skills and beating each fighter put in front of him like a video game player defeating a boss at each level while conquering the game.

Some called him boring? If you were one of (use airquotes here) “those people” you’re in need of remedial trainng STAT! Get your eyes checked, and go back to boxing school because if you think what Ward does is boring, you are missing every aspect of “sweet” and “science”.

So, where does this leave us at this point in our story?  Ward last fought eleven months ago thoroughly dominating Edwin Rodriguez, and this after a 14 month layoff from shoulder surgery. Historically he doesn’t seem to be affected by layoffs but the clock is ticking here. For the purposes of this article,  I’m not going to delve into the promotional squabbles affecting Ward even though it would be the elephant in the room as it relates to the recent inactivity.  Appropriately enough though, I will take a moment here to say a prayer for the Goossen family and say rest in peace Dan, you will be missed.

A religious man as his nickname Son Of God (SOG) will attest to, Ward lets the Lord guide his journey so he is, without a doubt, exactly where he needs to be. It’s a shame that he has not been active and we need to see him back soon or we could be watching one of the most tragic wastes of talent that the sport has ever seen. Boxing is going to need a new breed of champion to take the torch in the next year and move the sport forward. Who better to do that than a fighter who has perfected his craft and has a different type of core values that leads his path?

As my eyes refocus, I realize that I was imagining things if only for a moment. My eyes move from the milk carton to the sport’s page which reads, ” And Still!!! Andre Ward returns to the ring with another dominating performance”

Welcome back champ, we’ve missed you.

Long time boxing promoter Dan Goossen past away today due to complications with liver cancer, he was 65.  Influential in the careers of so many like the Ruelas brothers, Gabriel and Rafael, Terry Norris, and most recently with Chris Arreola, and Andre Ward, he left his mark on the sport and will be missed. Thoughts and prayers to the family at this difficult time.

It was fitting that Terdsak Kokietgym (53-5-1 33KO) was wearing red and Orlando Salido (42-12-2 29KO) blue in their brawl for the interim WBO super featherweight title from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Appropriate because those are the same colors worn by the robots in the game Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots, as a real life version of the game broke out in this championship bout.

From the opening bell, which saw Salido dropped by a left hook and Kokietgym dropped by a low blow (which was called a knock down), you knew it was on.

Round two would be no different for Salido as he would hit the deck again courtesy of a chopping left to the chin by Kokietgym. Salido was up at the count of eight with the round ending a few seconds later.

Salido would return the favor in round four when he floored Kokietgym with a straight right to the body, this time legal. Kokietgym was up quickly and both fighters slugged their way to the bell. Salido came out with a rush in round five but didn’t guard his grill and tasted the canvas for a third time when Kokietgym landed a solid left cross. Salido was more surprised by the shot than hurt and was up quickly as he moved the remaining seconds of the round to get back to the corner at the bell.

Salido started the sixth round with a flurry and continued to dominate the round by landing body shots and combinations to the head. Towards the end of the round, Salido unleashed an assault that had Kokietgym in trouble. It appeared that the referee was jumping in to stop the fight as Kokietgym didn’t appear to be protecting himself amid the onslaught but that wasn’t the case. Both fighters were sent to their neutral corners and then the referee signaled for the fight to continue. Salido’s corner had actually climbed into the ring thinking their fighter had won and had to exit. The bell rang a few moments later ending the round. Hey, maybe the ref should have utilized a Standing-8. (Enter shameless website plug comment here).

Kokietgym begins the seventh a little wobbled and is trying to stay away but Salido cuts off the ring and traps him on the ropes. Salido lands a few clubbing shots and buckles Kokietgym who falls to his knees into the ropes. Another knockdown but Kokietgym is up quick and both fighters resume fighting in a phone booth for the remainder of the round.

The next few rounds are fought at close range with Salido landing the more effective combinations.  Signs that Kokietgym is wearing down are begining to show.

A slugfest starts the 11^th, but ends quickly when Salido lands a textbook left hook, right hook, left uppercut combination which knocks out Kokietgym and ends the fight.

Although Kokietgym had his moments, Salido was the more accurate puncher, and worked the body early and often which no doubt set him up for the success in the eleventh.

As the referee was waving off the fight, you could hear a voice faintly in the distance….”Hey!  You knocked my block off!”

Pound For Pound Lists Better Recognize
When you look at most boxing pound for pound lists, you are hard pressed to find a fighter in the less glamorous flyweight division anywhere near the top 10; however, that is all about to change. It’s not that there hasn’t been a little guy worthy of cracking the top 10, he’s been here all along and goes by the nickname of “Chocolatoto”.

Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez (40-0 34 KO) defeated Japan’s Akira Yaegashi (20-4 10 KO) in Yaegashi’s backyard to take his WBA Light Flyweight title. With the win, Gonzalez captured his third world title in as many weight classes, shades of Alexis Arguello.

In the third round, Roman landed an uppercut that dazed Yaegashi but he was able to remain coherent enough to exchange with the Nicaraguan who obliged by landing a left hook dropping the champion. He was able to beat the count and survive the round.

Over the next five rounds there were some good exchanges but Gonzalez was the superior fighter boxing effortlessly while landing solid body shots, jabs, and left hooks. In the ninth round with his eye swelling, Yaegashi was again deposited on the canvas courtesy of a five punch combination from the challenger. This time he would not be able to get up causing referee Michael Griffen to stop the contest. At the time of the ninth round TKO, Gonzalez was leading on all three scorecards, 79-72 X2 and 80-71.

So what’s next for the new champion? Maybe he gets the winner of Giovanni Segura vs. Juan Francisco to unify the belts. No matter who his opponents are, they better be ready to face one of the top P4P fighters in the world.

Gonzalez had been on the Standing-8’s P4P list at eight since the inception of the site, he now moves to six.

(Portions of this snippet used in an article written for and contributed to Behind The Gloves.)

A No-Nonsense Problem
Adrien Broner (29-1 22KO) was uncharacteristically civil in defeating Emmanuel Taylor (18-3 12KO) by unanimous decision with scores of 116-111 on two cards and 115-112 on the third. Broner knocked down Taylor with a swift counter uppercut in the final round. Taylor wasn’t really hurt, but rather more surprised by the shot.

The fight was twelve rounds of some of the highest technical skill you will see in a fight by two fighters. Each combatant landed body shots by way of hooks or jabs, straight rights/lefts and hooks to the head, and moved and countered beautifully. No slight on Taylor, Broner was just a little bit quicker and slicker which allowed him to steal several close rounds.

After the fight, Broner stated he wanted Lucas Matthysse next. So, about Matthysse…..

A Well Oiled Machine?
Matthysse (36-3 34KO) had been a bit vulnerable in his last two fights, losing and hitting the deck against Danny Garcia and winning and again hitting the deck against John Molina Jr. On Saturday night, Matthysse was supposed to get a “test” from power punching Roberto Ortiz (31-1-1 24KO) but it was Ortiz who failed his own test.

Matthysse knocked out Ortiz with a wicked left hook to the body in the second round. Ortiz looked like he was going to be able to continue as he rested on one knee and listened to referee Benjy Esteves give the customary ten count. Concurrent with Esteves saying”ten”, Ortiz rose to his feet. Esteves then waived off the fight in a somewhat controversial stoppage. Not really a lot of answers here other than Oritz doesn’t take a great body shot.

So, like Broner, Matthysse also was thinking the same as he reciprocally stated that he wanted to face Broner next. In the words of legendary referee Mills Lane, “Let’s Get It On!!!”

The Other AB Also Wins In His Return Bout
Andre Berto (29-3 22KO) looked strong in winning a unanimous decision against a game Steve Upsher (24-4-1 6KO). Berto’s surgically repaired right shoulder was a non-issue. Berto landed power shots and looked as quick as he always has. One area of concern is that Upsher landed numerous power shots of his own. As Berto’s competition rises, he will not be able to withstand continued power shots from bigger punchers like the one’s he took form Upsher.

The Day Of The Jackal
Carl Frampton defeated Kiko Martinez in their rematch on Saturday. See story in preceeding article.

Back in early 2013, I stumbled upon an announcement for an event in Las Vegas called the Box Fan Expo. I was energized by the concept of the event, a chance to meet and greet with the biggest names in the sport, past and present. Unfortunately, the event never took place in 2013 but was rescheduled for 2014 and will occur in just over a week on Saturday September 13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center from 10-6.

Billed as the ultimate fan experience, all under one roof, the first ever event of its kind has confirmations from past greats like Mike Tyson, Leon Spinks, Roy Jones Jr., Riddick Bowe, James Toney, and current fighters, Juan Manuel Marquez, Sergio Martinez, Amir Khan, Robert Guerrero, Zab Judah, Mikey Garcia, and Shawn Porter just to name a few.

But it’s not just fighters that will be in attendance; there will be promotion companies like Dibella Entertainment, Iron Mike Productions, and Mayweather Promotions among others as well as gyms, Robert Garcia Boxing, Kronk Gym, and even announcers like Al Bernstein.

If there was a championship belt for event organizers, then Alonzo Benezra is the undisputed champ. Benezra is the brains behind the Expo and the person to thank for the opportunity to meet these icons of the sport and spend a day in the world of the sweet science. “There are few opportunities like this that allow the boxing fan to come face to face with their favorite boxers and other celebrities, which make the Box Fan Expo a truly unique and must see experience” said Benezra.

Yes, this event is going to be epic. I have my tickets, do you????

For more information contact the Box Fan Expo at: (514) 572-7222 or (702) 997-2099 or by Email:  info@boxfanexpo.com