Here’s a little bit of this and that from what got my attention in the boxing world this last week or so:
-- Well, so much for Caleb Plant vs. Jermall Charlo...or maybe not (more on that in a bit).
On Saturday, Plant was upset by the very game and very sharp Armando Resendiz at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on a PBC Amazon Prime “free” card. In a world of equals and opposites, though, the exhilaration of a shocking breakthrough was somewhat offset by the fact that one judge, David Sutherland, somehow gave the fight-- a fight pretty much dominated by the underdog throughout the second half-- to Plant by a score of 115-113.
But, BS score aside, this was a feel-good performance from the Mexican, even for those of us who’ve been unashamed Plant sympathizers.
After a close first handful of rounds, Resendiz hurt Plant on several occasions and there was no doubt that he had won that fight by the end of the twelfth. With the victory, the 26-year-old wins the WBA interim super middleweight title and a place in line for a shot at the Canelo Alvarez sweepstakes, whose next drawing may not happen when Terence Crawford beats him.
But I digress…
Plant is only 32, but he’s been looking like a very old 32. His reaction time seems off and, remember, his legs looked dead in the McCumby fight, too. Maybe that Benavidez beating took way too much out of him.
-- Jermall Charlo fought in the co-main event and looked very much the part of a boxer who hadn’t fought in a year-in-a-half facing an opponent he could’ve beaten stepping off a houseboat after a four-day bender.
The two-division former world champion looked stiff and a bit slow, especially early in the bout, against the very pedestrian Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna. But he didn’t have to be 100% to win this night. Even burdened by ring rust, Charlo was too much for the underdog, winning by sixth round TKO after knockdowns in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds.
-- With the Caleb Plant loss, the temptation is to now write off the proposed bout with Charlo, but I don’t see any reason the fight still can’t be made. Let’s be honest here, it wasn’t an intriguing matchup because both are king of the hill, pound-for-pound elites right now. It was intriguing because both guys are dinged up and working through their own paths to a comeback. Plus, there was Plant slapping Charlo at the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence show.
If anything, a humbled Plant and a Charlo in full emotional/psychological recovery makes for an even more compelling back story.
-- Speaking of psychological issues, Teofimo Lopez was in the news last week, acting like a jackass on social media (what’s new?) and throwing a tantrum that resulted in him calling Saudi sugar daddy Turki Alalshikh a “DICKtator.”
A few days later, though, Lopez issued a cringe public apology to Alalshikh that hit like he had clipped off his own balls and FedExed them to Riyadh:
“To His Excellency @Turki_alalshikh, I take full responsibility for my inappropriate words on the ‘X app.’
I publicly apologize to HE; I will conduct myself with greater respect, humility, and professionalism. Sending love and light to all. TY #Boxing #MakeBoxingGreatAgain.”
Lopez has been on quite a run of stupid behavior, racist trash talk, and just general dimwittery. But this tweet, which reads like one that would be sent by a literate, but utterly tamed, castrated poodle to its master after peeing on the carpet, was a real stick-to-your-permanent-record embarrassment.
The funny thing is that there’s really no point in licking boots and prostrating oneself at the feet of a guy like Alalshikh, who has people in his own country imprisoned for disagreeable tweets. Once you’ve run afoul of Turki, you may as well lean into what you’ve said and even build upon it. From first-hand anecdotes told to me, this guy does NOT forgive and forget. He may take you back into the fold, but you’re going to be marked for a public and embarrassing comeuppance at some later date.
Plus, that kind of simpering, bowing-and-scraping submissive behavior is very unbecoming of a fighter who is pretty much supposed to be the opposite of all of that.
I’m just wondering when boxing people will stop humiliating themselves for paydays from goofball tyrants.
-- The boxing media is always in a tough spot when it comes to doing anything above and beyond passing along promoter talking points. At some point, they feel the need to say SOMETHING meaningful, but their hands are also tied by being compromised and, well, by just lacking the guts/insight/creativity to actually open up about anything worth opening up about.
That’s why they grasp at safe targets for outrage like the sanctioning bodies, judges, commissions, and now Jake Paul. Nobody likes the alphabets or the regulatory bodies and poking at judges is like picking a fight with a coma patient who couldn’t fight back even if they wanted to. And Jake Paul, well, he’s an outsider with little interest in ever tossing them any money or gigs.
So, when media finds these targets who can’t affect their employment or all-important access, they grandstand like motherfuckers, letting loose with all the fire they can still muster from their testosterone-deprived bodies. That’s when they get to play real journalist/pundit and pat each other on the ass for being hardcore, no-nonsense “scribes.”
Why do I bring this up?
Because Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is coming up and these sad sacks are already starting to gear up for their spotlight solos of fake outrage. And while they’re wasting time on a fight that means nothing and takes away from nothing, they occupy space and hog platforms that could be used to actually talk about stuff that matters.
Boxing media, stop camping and either step up or go away.
Got something for Magno? Send it here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com