Boxing fans were treated to a superb weekend of fight action and, of course, I was right there with them, feeding my addiction and jotting down notes. Here are a few observations from this weekend’s action:
-- I went out on a limb awhile back and picked Brandon Rios over Danny Garcia and then doubled down on that prediction a few days before the fight. And I was wrong. I mean, of course I knew that Garcia was SUPPOSED to win. He was the fresher and better fighter overall. Rios, though, presented the potential to upset a Garcia who has very much not been focused on living up to his potential as a fighter.
But, for Rios to win, it had to be a “right moment, right night” kind of thing and it just wasn’t the right moment or right night on Saturday. I'm fine with being wrong on a big gamble. I'd rather be that guy who goes out on limbs than the one who only presides as an expert over the past tense.
Highlight reel KO or not, though, Garcia is someone who continues to underwhelm and do just enough to keep a steady paycheck coming in. As always, we saw glimpses of what he COULD do, but there was no consistency to his effort. There just hasn’t been much fire in his belly or even a will to impress since he beat Lucas Matthysse way back in 2013.
Garcia, for the rest of his prime boxing days, is going to be a talented guy who does just enough to stay relevant, hovering right underneath the true elite and right above the second tier gatekeepers.
-- The post-Garcia-Rios theatrics were entertaining and pretty damn revealing. Garcia and Shawn Porter squared off in a shouting match during the post-fight interview and then Porter and Keith Thurman got into it later. Apparently, everyone wants to fight everyone else, but nobody seems too eager to call out Errol Spence. I don’t think I recall ever seeing three of the top four fighters in a division so aggressively side-step the division top dog like this.
-- David Benavidez, who beat Ronald Gavril via one-sided unanimous decision on the Garcia-Rios undercard, continues to impress me. Here’s a bit of an odd comparison, but he kind of reminds me of Sergey Kovalev in that he's long and has a very smooth, effortless style for an offense-minded fighter. He may not be as heavy-handed as Kovalev, but he's more fluid...and, he's still a work in progress. We’ll see how long he can stay at 168 before his body demands 175 or higher.
-- Devon Alexander vs. Victor Ortiz was a good, solid fight. Despite the burning desire to turn these guys into punch lines, both are talented athletes with underrated skills. Their penchant for self-destruction is what kept them from living up to their full potential, but that doesn’t mean that we still can’t get years of quality contests from both. I had Alexander winning 115-113, btw, but the draw was fine. Don’t pay attention to the post-fight whiners and conspiracy theorists.
-- I get what Caleb Plant was trying to do by picking and poking at “Porky” Medina on the Alexander-Ortiz undercard. Plant took the tough out of the tough guy by fighting on roller skates and using his superior athleticism to befuddle the one-dimensional Mexican battler. But, here’s the thing-- if you’re given a relatively high-profile showcase spot, you better step on the gas and do some showcasing of skills beyond amateur point-gathering. Yeah, the “W” is important, but if Plant was my fighter, I’d be more than a little upset that he didn’t take this opportunity to make for a buzz-worthy coming out party on national TV. He has the skill set to stay safe while lighting things up, but he was content with only fighting to not lose. Kids, boxing is entertainment.
-- George Groves vs. Chris Eubank Jr. was very entertaining and had me glued to the wavering internet stream on a Saturday afternoon where I should’ve been doing something more productive. What I don’t get, though, is the effort to sell this like it was some sort of one-sided blow-out for Groves. It just wasn’t. It was actually a pretty close fight all the way through, with Groves pulling ahead with the cleaner, classier work. The UK broadcast team and their Grove bias was disgusting.
-- Ray Beltran-Paulus Moses on ESPN Friday night was a better fight than I had anticipated. Congrats to Beltran on a well-deserved win and long-deserved world title. Hopefully, now we can do away with that fake “Beltran needs to win to get his green card” angle. Immigration law doesn’t work like an 80‘s break dance movie: “Win the dance contest and we save the community center!” Ray was getting his papers long before he was signed to fight for the vacant title.
-- BTW, Vasyl Lomachenko is going to absolutely shred Beltran to pieces when they fight on May 12 (and was there ever any doubt that Lomachenko would be fighting the winner of Beltran-Moses-- not Jorge Linares?)
-- I have to admit that I’m happy with the look and feel of the Top Rank on ESPN shows so far. As I wrote before, I’d make some tweaks to the format-- like putting the main event on first, to give the mainstream lead-in audience a better chance at seeing the star(s) of the show-- but, overall, it’s a good show. I’m just hoping that ESPN is willing to tolerate the comparably weak ratings while a stronger following can be built. I’m also hoping that Bob Arum doesn’t pull back on the quality of the shows while that slow build is happening.
-- Isn’t it funny how nobody in the media is talking up the Top Rank on ESPN ratings like they did with the PBC on ESPN ratings? Hmmmm....I wonder why. With the exception of the Pacquiao-Horn debut for the Top Rank show, both companies produced similar ratings.
Got something for Magno? Send him a message here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com