5, 11,
14, 17, 17 and 18. Those are the punch totals (according to CompuBox) for Scott
Quigg in his first six rounds against Carl Frampton, abysmal numbers for any
fighter, let alone a world titleholder. As I opined following Klitschko-Fury,
absent a knockdown or an opponent getting seriously hurt, there is a minimum
punch threshold for a fighter to reach (I place that number at 20) to have even
a chance at winning a round; in the first half of Saturday's fight, Quigg
consistently fell below any reasonable standard. It didn't matter how well he
neutralized Frampton nor was it a factor that Frampton didn't seem to land
cleanly throughout most of the match (with the exception of an uppercut that
broke Quigg's jaw in the fourth round). Quigg just didn't do enough on offense
to justify winning rounds in the first half of the bout.
After
the seventh, Quigg's trainer, Joe Gallagher, told his fighter that the TV
broadcasters had him down big. At that point, Quigg started to let his hands go
and he won the next four rounds with relative ease. However, after the fight,
both Gallagher and Quigg believed that the early rounds were even. This was a
major miscalculation on their part and a clear failure to grasp modern boxing
judging (I know that sounds harsh but it's true). A fighter or a corner can't
expect to win a round throwing 11 punches if the other guy is throwing 40. With
that paltry output, there just isn't enough for the judges to look at. That
Quigg and Gallagher were satisfied by their performances in the first half of
the fight is an indictment of their game plan and symptomatic of a team whose
self-regard is too high. You have to earn rounds; they aren't given to you by
not getting hit hard. You must be offensive-minded.
Now,
let me throw out some percentages: 10.0%, 6.3%, 5.6%, 7.5%, 2.2%, 12.7% and
13.9%. Those are the connect rates in seven rounds of the fight for Frampton.
In a sport where champions are expected to land a minimum of 25% of their
shots (often they attain a much larger percentage), this showing was just as
abysmal as Quigg's punches-thrown numbers.
Essentially,
the majority of Frampton-Quigg boiled down to the ineffective aggressor against
the fighter who refused to engage. It was a battle of bad vs. awful and the bad
boxer did enough to secure eight or so rounds on the scorecards.
Yes,
Quigg came on strong in the back half of the fight and did real damage in the
11th, but he had already dug such an enormous hole. The final few rounds of the
bout made Quigg's inexplicable showing from rounds 1-7 all the stranger.
Clearly, once the fighters started exchanging, he was the sharper puncher and
threw the heavier blows. However, he was unwilling to take risks early in the
fight or open up. And it wasn't like Frampton did that much early in the bout
to dissuade Quigg. Frampton pawed with his jab and threw an occasional right
hand. Quigg could've done more; he just chose not to.
In
truth, neither fighter distinguished himself on Saturday. Frampton was also
overly cautious in the fight and displayed very little of his electrifying
arsenal. He was winning by doing the bare minimum early in the match. He wasn't
trying to impose himself on Quigg or attempt to stop him. Where was
Frampton's desire to be great? Why did he refuse to seize the moment? He
did have a good 12th, where he fought aggressively and stymied Quigg's momentum.
That round was the only glimpse of Frampton's complete package as a fighter:
his punch selection, athleticism, recuperative powers and creativity. The rest
of his performance was lackluster.
The
judges awarded Frampton a split decision victory with scores of 116-112,
116-112 and 113-115 (I had it 116-113 for Frampton) but it's safe to say that
neither fighter truly "won" on Saturday. If anything, both showed
that they weren't ready for the big stage.
What
made, for instance, Froch-Groves I so much fun is that both fighters rose to
the occasion. Groves charged at Froch from the opening bell and dropped
him in the first round. After taking massive amounts of punishment in the first
three rounds, Froch staged an impressive rally and scored a stoppage later in
the fight (it was a controversial knockout but it still counts). Both
boxers took risks and desired to be great. Groves seized his moment and Froch
wouldn't succumb to Groves' power and superior athleticism when many others
would've done so.
Perhaps
not all is lost for either Frampton or Quigg. Remember, in Groves' first big
opportunity as a professional, he escaped with a majority decision victory over
James DeGale in a dreadful fight. Instead of throwing meaningful punches,
both boxers tried to out-cute each other. By the time of Groves' fight with
Froch two-and-a-half years later, he was finally ready for the big stage. Hopefully
Frampton and Quigg make similar progressions in their careers.
Both
Frampton and Quigg have ability but there is a big difference between having a
title belt and being elite. What blocks them from reaching the next level is
more mental than physical. As of now, they both lack the desire to be great. An
elite fighter wants to dominate an opponent, put his stamp on a match and
announce to the world that he is a force to be reckoned with in the ring.
Neither Frampton nor Quigg did that on Saturday. They still have a lot to learn
about prizefighting. Unfortunately, youth isn't on their side (Frampton is 29,
Quigg is 27), so if either one has grand designs on making a lasting name for
himself in the sport, he better start soon.
***
A pair
of headliners had impressive fifth-round stoppages on Saturday as Terence
Crawford and Leo Santa Cruz demonstrated their considerable talents against
lesser foes. Crawford's knockout of Hank Lundy was a perfect example of what
the Nebraskan native does so well in the ring. The fight was competitive during
the first four rounds but in the fifth Crawford noticed a Lundy flaw. Crawford
then exploited it and ended things quickly. In the fifth, Lundy fought
exclusively out of the southpaw stance after starting the early rounds in the
orthodox position. As a southpaw, Lundy kept his lead right hand dangerously
low. He was a sitting duck for Crawford's straight left hand. As the round
progressed, Crawford seized the opening and landed a blistering left that that
staggered Lundy and pushed him back to the ropes. Crawford followed up with a
few additional shots that sent Lundy to the canvas. Lundy beat the count but he
was still in bad shape. Crawford then jumped on his opponent, attacking him
with power punches. In short order, ref Steve Willis waved off the fight.
Santa
Cruz scored two knockdowns in the first round against hard-charging Kiko
Martinez. Throwing 140 punches in the opening frame, Santa Cruz unloaded his
entire offensive arsenal but he couldn't quite finish Martinez, who was also
landing his own bombs on the inside. Then the dynamics of the bout changed as
Santa Cruz decided to fight Martinez off the back foot, often switching up to
the southpaw position. Martinez had moments in the next few rounds but he was
getting outboxed and beaten on the inside. In the fifth, Santa Cruz rocked
Martinez, a former titleholder at 122 lbs., with a three-punch combination.
Santa Cruz then drove Martinez back to the ropes and unloaded more than 50
punches to earn the stoppage.
Santa
Cruz was once thought of as a smaller-version of Antonio Margarito, a
consummate pressure fighter who wore down opponents over the course of a fight.
However, on Saturday and in his previous fight against Abner Mares, Santa Cruz
demonstrated some excellent boxing skills to go along with his aggressive,
brawling attack. Santa Cruz can fight going forward or backward. He does an
excellent job mixing up the velocity and angles of his punches. In addition, Santa Cruz is a wonderful combination
puncher.
For me,
his money punch on Saturday was the right uppercut but he also threw quality
jabs, hooks and straight right hands. And when Santa Cruz turned southpaw, he
actually had a lot of success. The maneuver wasn't just for show;
he scored with a number of excellent right jabs and straight
left hands from that stance. Santa Cruz's finish was special
stuff; it also demonstrated his high ring IQ. Throwing a variety of
punches in blistering combinations, keeping his distance so he wouldn't smother
his attack and protecting himself to avoid any serious return fire, Santa Cruz
ended the fight like a seasoned pro.
In
short, Santa Cruz has exhibited additional dimensions over the last year. He
has done what all great fighters aspire to do: continue to get better.
Crawford
and Santa Cruz are excellent boxers who would be even more popular if they
had the right opponents. Crawford currently resides in a relatively weak junior
welterweight division. He's had trouble getting quality opposition. His most
compelling foe in the division is Viktor Postol, who, like Crawford, is
promoted by Top Rank. That potential fight has already been offered to and
turned down by Postol but it's still possible that it could occur later in
2016. For now, Crawford must continue to ply his trade and hope that a
suitable, big-time opponent agrees to fight him. Unfortunately, he's become a
victim of his own success. Very few fighters want to take on a tall, rangy,
switch-hitting, intelligent, powerful boxer. So he must wait a little longer.
Santa
Cruz doesn't lack potential top opponents but he needs his manager, Al Haymon,
to match him against them. The featherweight division is loaded with Haymon
fighters, from Gary Russell Jr. to Jesus Cuellar to Lee Selby. All would make
for very compelling fights against Santa Cruz. In addition, it's very possible
that Carl Frampton (another Haymon fighter) moves up to 126 by the end of the
year. Opportunities abound.
Santa
Cruz has been a headliner on various Haymon-affiliated networks for years but
he's been matched relatively softly. Now, Haymon has all of the fighters needed
to make a number of scintillating matchups for Santa Cruz; here's hoping that
they happen.
***
Also on
Saturday, Marco Huck stopped longtime cruiserweight rival Ola Afolabi, who
failed to answer the bell to start the 11th. It was a nice rebound win for
Huck after being knocked out in his previous fight by Krzysztof Glowacki.
Although the first three Huck-Afolabi bouts were crowd-pleasing and close
affairs (two razor-thin Huck victories and a draw), their fourth meeting wasn't
competitive whatsoever. On Saturday, Afolabi looked to be an old 35. He barely
let his hands go and seemed cautious throughout most of the fight. In part, his
hesitancy could be attributed to the condition of his left eye, which by the
fourth round was partially closed from several Huck right hands. However,
Afolabi's corner was disappointed with his performance throughout the match,
especially his effort level and punch selection.
Mark
this fight down in the "You Never Know" category. Huck had fired his
new trainer just two weeks before Saturday's bout. From a distance, the move
wasn't a sign of a fighter who was in a good place with his career.
Huck had already parted ways with trainer Don House after his loss to Glowacki
and now he had fired his replacement. On paper, this series of events
didn't augur a positive result for Huck on Saturday.
However,
Huck performed at a high level throughout the fight, as if none of these
incidents over the past year had occurred. He maintained a relatively high
work rate and landed his power shots consistently (specifically his
right hand and left hook). Also, he didn't receive much punishment.
Defense hadn't previously been a strong suit for him throughout his
career but he was very responsible on Saturday; I imagine that getting
beaten to a pulp by Glowacki might have had something to do with this
adjustment. On Saturday, he relied far less on machismo. He kept his hands high
and used hit feet more to evade shots. In the past, he would stand in front of
an opponent and let his chin take the brunt of the damage, defense be
damned, but his emphasis on avoiding punches made Saturday his cleanest victory
in years.
Huck
now needs to make some crucial decisions about the next phase of his career. In
2012, he had a great showing at heavyweight against Alexander Povetkin. (He
dropped a close decision but many felt that he had done enough to win.) After
that fight, he dropped back down to cruiserweight where he could only muster a
draw against Afolabi – certainly not a recipe for building career
momentum. Huck and his former promoter, Sauerland Event, had frequent
disagreements about the best course of action for his future. Huck had talked
about going to America and staying at heavyweight while Sauerland wanted to
keep him in Germany as a cruiserweight, a division where the company had
several top fighters under contract. Huck eventually parted ways with
Sauerland in early 2015 and with that he lost his longtime trainer Ulli Wegner,
who worked exclusively with Sauerland fighters.
Huck is
only 31 and remains a star in Germany. He now has a level a freedom that
he didn't have when he was with Sauerland but he also has the added
responsibility of capitalizing on the remaining years of his
career. He needs to answer several questions: In what division does he
want to fight? How can he maximize his moneymaking
opportunities? Where does he want to fight? And finally, who will
train him? Stay tuned.
***
Puerto
Rican lightweight prospect Felix Verdejo opened up the Crawford-Lundy card on
Saturday against Willian Silva, an unknown, undefeated prospect from
Brazil. In truth, Silva didn't offer that much but he had two virtues: he knew
how to handle himself in the ring and he wasn't intimidated. On offense, Silva
settled for little more than landing a few crafty overhand rights. As the fight
progressed, it became clear that Verdejo was several levels above his opponent.
However, as Verdejo cruised to a lopsided decision victory, his performance was
far from captivating.
Verdejo,
like many young prospects, is a work in progress. On Saturday, his
punches were mostly ones and twos instead of his usual assortment of
free-flowing combinations. He had trouble setting up his shots. After realizing
that Silva would stick around, he seemed to run out of ideas. Yes, he was
throwing punches and winning rounds (occasionally he would slip in a punishing right hand) but he didn't impress.
Verdejo
has a plethora of raw skills that could, and I repeat, could make him an outstanding professional,
but he's still far from that level. I wonder if he's a real student of the
sport. He doesn't seem to understand angles or feints. For as many types of
punches that he throws, he doesn't always know when to throw them or how
to set them up.
At 22,
Verdejo still has plenty of time to progress in the sport. There's no question
that he's an exceptional athlete and possesses solid hand speed and power.
But questions still remain about his aptitude for the sport: Is he actually
improving from fight-to-fight? Can he think his way through a match? Is he
receiving the right instruction and can he incorporate that instruction in the
ring?
In the past, I've been sanguine on Verdejo's prospects but I think that Saturday was a small step back. It's time for Verdejo to go to school and learn. But will he be the star pupil or the gifted student who fails to reach his potential?
In the past, I've been sanguine on Verdejo's prospects but I think that Saturday was a small step back. It's time for Verdejo to go to school and learn. But will he be the star pupil or the gifted student who fails to reach his potential?
Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
@snboxing on twitter, SN Boxing on Facebook
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
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