Boxing Rostrum

The way Julio Cesar Chavez Jr struggled to get the better of Luciano Cuello for something called the Latino super welterweight title on Saturday night should encourage John Duddy to actively pursue a fight that’s already been mooted.

I was surprised that Sergio Mora got himself a crack at Kelly Pavlik’s middleweight crown when a challenge from Duddy would surely have brought Pavlik more money, yet it seems to me that missing out there is a good result for the Irishman, who would figure to have got battered, marked up and likely knocked out by Youngstown’s favourite baldy.

Despite Chavez operating in the lower division a fight with him wouldn’t necessarily depend on whether or not Duddy feels he could drop to 154 pounds and still be strong. The match could probably be made at 156 or 157 on account of its being a non-title affair. I mean, there’s no chance of a guy from Derry fighting for a Latino title, is there. Mind you, they could find a way around that little problem by creating a fresh category altogether and have John and Julio contest the vacant Celtic/Latino belt. Don't laugh too loud at that. In this business nothing is too ridiculous to be given serious consideration, label wise.

The Chavez camp has been making noises about De La Hoya and Pacquiao, as well as John Duddy, for its next step. While the Pacquiao notion is nonsense, a fight with Oscar could be a possible if the promotional brains feel they can con enough people into buying Chavez Jr as the avenger of his father, who, in his decaying years, was twice whipped by a prime De La Hoya.

I think, though, that Chavez Jr against Duddy is the fight that will be made. Making it happen might only require that Duddy takes care of Billy Lyell on 24th April. And that’s the expectation, with Lyell’s career showing him at 18-7, the stats of a typical Duddy opponent.

Ireland’s John has had a low risk ride to where he’s now at, but so has Julio. Time, then, for both to be in a fight where there’s a real chance they could get beaten, and where one of them will be. I think that makes this an easy sell, a guaranteed action fight where the winner isn't easy to forecast, but where the loser may well go home with his limitations fully exposed. The victor, on the other hand, would get to keep his own aspirations alive. If only for a little bit longer.

Chavez and Duddy might well put on a terrific scrap. I wouldn't expect anything less. But neither is destined to ascend a throne. Not a proper one anyway.

Wrong again. Juan Carlos Gomez gave it his best, threw and landed some solid shots, but ultimately didn’t have the power to deter Vitali Klitschko or put many doubts in the big man’s mind. And Klitschko’s own thudding blows were too much for the Cuban to keep absorbing.

All praise to Vitali. Licking Sam Peter had been a commendable effort because it followed a four year absence from the ring, but Peter hadn’t really put him to a test. This was a bit different. Gomez at least was properly motivated and came to try and win, but couldn’t dodge enough of Klitschko’s punches in the way I’d thought he might, and every question he asked of Vitali in there was emphatically answered. Klitschko was too big, too strong, too powerful and, yes, too good.

Never mind Wladimir. This Klitschko is the top dog for me. He’s more rugged than his brother, and takes a much better shot. He has also at times - when needed - shown a natural fighter’s instinct that I can’t say I’ve ever seen in Wlad. Or maybe I’m just blind. It has been suggested before.

Whether right or wrong above, I will say this. If David Haye does secure a crack at IBF/WBO recognition this summer, he’ll be going in with the right brother. Wladimir is technically as good as if not better than Vitali, and maybe hits as hard, and he’s an awesome on top fighter, but he doesn’t trust his own chin for good reason, given past experiences. One haymaker could wreck him, and he knows it.

I don’t think David Haye would beat Wladimir Klitschko, but I wouldn’t be amazed if he did. Amazement would kick in, though, were Haye to do the double by beating big brother too.

After all the quibbling about judges, referees and ring dimensions it looks like tonight’s WBC heavyweight championship fight is actually going to happen. That‘s a relief. Heavyweight boxing needs quality action at the top end and this just might provide it.

Vitali Klitschko is the hot choice to win but maybe he won’t have things all his own way this time, faced with a man who has genuine skills and, seemingly, genuine confidence too.

Vitali is a huge man. He holds natural physical advantages over one time cruiserweight champ Juan Carlos Gomez and we can be sure that Klitschko’s punches, in their singular dose, deliver a lot more hurt per square inch than the Cuban’s best offering. Even the hardest hitters can’t be effective, though, unless they can find the target and it’s Gomez’ job to ensure Vitali doesn’t get the chance to fire at anything that’s stationary.

Klitschko will tower over Gomez in that ring but, while the two men might be fighting at different altitudes, there’s no edge either way when it comes to the statistic that matters most. Juan Carlos Gomez has the same reach as Vitali Klitschko. It’s a fact that seems to have been overlooked but could be crucial and is, for sure, what makes tonight’s fight so interesting a prospect.

Gomez being a southpaw makes it still more interesting. The jab is always an important punch in boxing, the most important in my view, especially when you’ve got an orthodox guy against a lefty. When two orthodox boxers are in there together, or two southpaws for that matter, it’s possible that both men can be jabbing effectively throughout the fight. Such fights are decided by what other elements the boxers are able to bring into play. Where you have one of each stance, though, like tonight, the boxers’ lead hands are directly opposed. With both guys trying to do the same thing, at the same time, in the same space, you either end up watching a messy maul or one of the boxers gets to establish his jab and dictate the pattern.

Whenever he fights, Vitali Klitschko generally gets to be the dictator, but he may not necessarily grab that role tonight. Each having the same reach means that when one guy is in punching range so is the other, and if Gomez proves the quicker man there must be a fair chance that southpaw sniping with the jab can get him on the scoreboard straight away by taking the opening round. And if he does get away to a good start, who knows what might develop.

Vitali has a 97% knockout ratio and is probably less averse to risk taking than is brother Wladimir but he’s still a calculating fighter, with safety-first built into the battle plan, who likes to grab ring centre, apply controlled pressure, then gradually increase it.

If Gomez can annoy Klitschko early by matching him or better in a jabbing contest, it could conceivably panic the big guy into acting out of character. An angered Vitali might just overwhelm Gomez with an all out attack but Juan Carlos is absolutely no mug and if Klitschko were to abandon his mechanical, thoughtful approach for something more liberal - by going right hand crazy for instance - the challenger’s boxing skills would have a real chance to shine.

Sam Peter was a sitting duck for Klitschko and accepted his fate pretty much from the opening minute or so of their fight, even though he plodded on for eight rounds before hoisting the white flag. Could be that Gomez will be intimidated likewise by the first contact, but I’m hoping for an altogether different reaction from Juan Carlos. The betting line says Gomez gets murdered. I fancy otherwise. I say Gomez has the ability to trouble this guy.

The WBA, in its infinite wisdom, has nominated John Ruiz as mandatory challenger to the winner of Valuev vs. Chagaev. That organisation is of course master of its own policy, and you could say is entitled to be so, but the WBA’s priorities have nothing to do with giving boxing fans what they want, nor the game itself what it needs. That much is obvious.

The Valuev vs. Ruiz fight that saw the giant reclaim his WBA heavyweight crown, albeit on an interim basis pending the return of injured champ Chagaev, was better than I’d thought it would be. Ruiz gave it a go, as he’d promised, and Valuev was - as we’d been promised - an improved fighter from the one who’d boxed Ruiz the first time around. Not drastic improvement, admittedly, but Nikolay did show a jab that had been speeded up a bit, and he threw more of them than before. Credit where it’s due. But do we really want to watch those two box each other a third time.

If Chagaev were to repeat his previous win over Valuev, it would be him instead against Ruiz, something we’ve also witnessed before, and weren’t especially thrilled with. How would a repeat of that do boxing a favour or do justice to the heavyweight championship of the world.

The WBA, like the other sanctioning bodies, does not use meritocracy as the basis for compiling its ranking lists. That should be the case but never can be when petty politics rule all and WBA numbers have genuine top ten guys like Alexander Povetkin missing from the heavyweight list while the likes of Taras Bidenko and Davaryll Williamson are sitting there nice and cosy.

Bidenko is ridiculously rated number 2, with Williamson at 9, and Kali Meehan somehow holding down the top spot. Baffled? Me too.

Even more baffling is that the WBA should ignore its own stated hierarchy by installing Ruiz in the mandatory berth. Perhaps it would be embarrassed to make Meehan the mandatory, or maybe it’s just a big fan of déjà vu. Whatever, Valuev-Chagaev-Ruiz has the makings of an eternal triangle and I'm sure that you, like me, can think of better things to do with eternity. Like a nice long sleep.

They’re now talking Tomasz Adamek against Andrew Golota. It’s an economically viable proposition, potentially lucrative even, given what would be definite interest amongst Polish fans in the States. With Tua against Cameron set for New Zealand in June, though, and the fanfares down there already in full flow for that, can the global boxing community really cope with two Fights of the Century in just the one year!!

It’s a sad coincidence that within days of Olympic middleweight champion James DeGale making his pro debut, Chris Finnegan, who took that same middleweight gold for the UK at Mexico City back in 1968, was dead from pneumonia.

As an amateur Chris was more or less a pure boxer, but he was an astute guy who realised that if he were to achieve success in the pro ring too he would have to adapt and turn himself into a box-fighter. Which is what he did. Finnegan wasn’t much of a single puncher but picked his shots and kept them coming, was fearless, durable, and lionhearted in the trenches.

You wouldn’t say southpaw Chris was one of Britain’s greatest fighters but he was good, and always good value. In his time he won the British, European and Commonwealth titles, was a genuine top ten fighter, and fought the best around, including a prime John Conteh. Finnegan lost both meetings with the smooth Liverpudlian but in their first match gave Conteh all he could handle and was still going strong at the end of fifteen rounds.

Fistic highlight of Chris’ career came in another losing effort, his challenge to Bob Foster for the light heavyweight championship of the world. Finnegan was knocked out in the fourteenth round, slumped on the floor, back against the ropes, but only after forcing Foster to pull out one of his own career best performances in what was later recognised as Ring Magazine’s 1972 Fight of the Year.

Five star ref Roland Dakin was the third man in the ring that night. When asked in retirement what was his stand-out refereeing memory, Dakin cited Finnegan’s do-or-die challenge to the great champion, saying, “I felt so proud of him. He couldn’t possibly have given any more.”

That was Chris Finnegan alright. Mr 100%.

The penultimate fight of Chris’ career saw him lose a controversial nod, and with it the British light heavyweight crown, to Gypsy Johnny Frankham. That was June 1975. The very next day, despite heated debate the previous evening over the justice or otherwise of that fight decision, Finnegan and Frankham were together at the Derby on Epsom Downs along with another half million or so race goers. Aches and bruises notwithstanding, they spent much of their day with arms around each other, laughing and drinking. The camaraderie of fighters, eh.

Four months after that, on 14th October 1975, Chris Finnegan won back the domestic title from Frankham and called it a career. Appropriate that Chris the boxer should finish as a winner, because that’s what he also was as a man.

Although Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz were boxing for the lightweight championship of the world in Houston on Saturday night there was nothing lightweight about the ferocity they showed us. It was the sort of fight that emphasized what a special sport this is.

Marquez is one of the all time Mexican greats in my book. I thought he edged Manny Pacquiao in each of their classic bouts, despite a disastrous start both times, and this kayo of the Baby Bull, who himself turned in a career best, just adds to what is already a standout legacy.

Once Marquez induced a stagger from Diaz in round eight he knew it was time and really went to work, didn’t he. The contest itself was finished when Juan went down the first time under a ninth round barrage, but Juan is a champion too and champions battle on, or try to, which is what got him back on his feet. The great ones rarely let anyone off the hook, though, and that end burst applied by Marquez’ was just chilling. There’s always a terrible anxiety when a fighter gets knocked flat and that’s how it was here for a while, with Diaz on his back, but all was well, with only hurt pride as a lingering effect.

Juan Diaz has nothing to be ashamed of, though. He came out aggressively and in the first couple of rounds especially put together blazing attacks that Marquez had trouble coping with. Juan sustained the aggressive effort, had a good deal of success, and was still in with a winning chance right through to the moment he got visibly rocked in that eighth round. It wasn’t Diaz’ own failings that brought about his downfall in this fight but, rather, the ring mastery of Juan Manuel Marquez. Diaz is young enough and good enough to come again. And to stay at or near the top for years to come.

Before that drama unfolded in Texas, similar excitement was had in Birmingham where the British Commonwealth heavyweight title was contested by Bedford Bear Matt Skelton and Belfast cab driver Martin Rogan. But it was chalk and cheese with Houston in terms of the skill on show at the National Indoor Arena. Skelton brings little technical ability to the ring, while Rogan brings none at all, but these two men nevertheless wanted to win real bad and gave every last ounce of effort to the cause.

They both went at it from the start. No waltzing, no fancy danning, just an old fashioned punch up. Limited, but hugely compelling.

I thought Skelton would prove too strong, would lean his bulk on to Rogan inside and eventually wear him down. Didn’t work that way. The Irishman willingly matched strength with big Matt and was just as eager to exchange punches. Rogan was really loving it in there and gave Skelton the message by letting out a loud, grinning roar at him as the bell ended round two.

I still thought Skelton the likely winner at that stage but Rogan clearly believed otherwise and even though he began to tire by halfway, so did Matt. Come round eight and most of us thought we were watching the definitive session. Skelton got wobbled against the ropes and an excited Rogan let him have everything. Martin should have taken half a step back and looked to maximise his shots but common sense can get drowned by adrenalin in such moments, can’t it, and Rogan was just desperate to seize the chance of forcing a stoppage.

Skelton survived that assault and through the next two rounds got on his bike, back pedalling slowly and pushing out a limp jab plus the occasional right to have the better of those sessions because Rogan, shattered by his failed attempt to finish it, could barely raise the energy to throw any punches. It really looked like the Irishman's bolt was shot, and if anybody foresaw what would happen next, I wasn't one of them.

Round eleven, with all yet to play for, saw the exhausted Rogan somehow rouse himself enough to nail Skelton and then find the extra juice to drop him with a bunch of head shots. When Matt got up, a few more of those prompted the ref to act.

It was a terrific win for Martin Rogan. Going into April last year he was a near-37 year old guy with just seven pro fights under his belt who got himself, along with seven other heavyweights, into Barry Hearn’s first “Prizefighter” tournament at London’s York Hall.

Rogan bashed his way to success in that and showed himself to be a bit of a character in the process. But he didn’t look anything more than a bruiser. Still doesn’t. Has to be given respect, though, for going from there to a clash with Audley Harrison in which he out-gritted the reluctant Olympian to capture a points decision against most expectations, including mine.

Now he’s stopped Matt Skelton. That’s a real achievement. Unlike the timid Harrison, Skelton is a bona fide hard case who went the full dozen with Ruslan Chagaev for the WBA heavyweight title without ever looking in any kind of real trouble. Nobody has ever knocked him down before, let alone stopped him.

Rogan deserves one big earner for his pains. He’s not a world class boxer but he is a world class trier who gives fight fans what they want - guaranteed action. Maybe a return with Skelton could be made. Those who saw this one would certainly buy a second helping. Or maybe a Commonwealth defence against Tua or Cameron would be the one to fill his coffers, given the interest in those two Down Under. Whatever, I hope Rogan makes a pile from his next go. He deserves some riches.

Olympic middleweight champion, James DeGale made his pro debut on the Birmingham bill and duly won his four rounder by decision. Sky TV studio pundits, Nicky Piper and Johnny Nelson, were enthused by what they saw. Piper said he thought DeGale had been brilliant. Nelson gave similar plaudits and added that he saw ‘longevity in his style.’

Well, now, I’m not disposed towards calling anybody ‘brilliant’ on the strength of a four rounds tutorial against someone who had been brought in, understandably, as a nominal opponent and no more.

Sure DeGale has skills, some of them admirable. He also has amateur traits that need dispensing with, like flicking out backhanded shots, for which ref Howard Foster was brave enough to warn him. Yes, I know it’s the ref’s job to do exactly that when warranted but in this modern celebrity culture there are referees who might allow an Olympic gold medallist or other high profile boxer to get away with certain things. (As has been mentioned here before, Vic Darchinyan sometimes commits that same indiscretion but never gets pulled for it.) Anyway, full marks to Foster for being right on the ball.

Seems to me that James DeGale has a persecution complex. He thinks there’s some sort of witch hunt going on where he’s concerned, that people like Chris Eubank are getting on his back for no good reason, even though it is he himself who says he’s “like marmite - you either love me or you hate me.”

I’ve nothing against DeGale. He’s a fellow Brit, and fellow Londoner, and I wish him all the best. I look at him, however, and wonder if the pro game’s demands might find him out, not for style but for substance. To me, he has a vulnerability about him that sort of parallels Amir Khan, even if he’s not as chinny, but Khan has always been a much more forceful and aggressive fighter than James is. Khan has the tools to beat people up, destroy them. Can Degale do that. I don’t think so.

Jim McDonnell is training DeGale and says James is a phenomenal talent, as good as any he’s worked with, maybe better. That’s high recommendation. McDonnell is a fitness fanatic who was himself a decent boxer, and a very brave one, and Jim certainly knows the game so if he’s talking like that I have to expect Degale’s skills to shine brightly, at least for a while.

A year from now, though, when proper tests come his way, James DeGale will need more than sharp reflexes and a quirky style if he's to control and conquer.