Opinions and Observations: Chisora-Wilder

In a welcome surprise, the Derek Chisora-Deontay Wilder fight turned out to be full of thrilling action. Although both fighters could qualify for the old-timers’ heavyweight circuit, Saturday's bout wasn't about going through the motions to pick up a payday; both were there to crack. The fight featured heavy artillery, massive momentum swings, knockdowns, and enough dubious calls by referee Mark Bates to supply content for an entire weekend training seminar.

Ultimately, Wilder, the former heavyweight champion who traveled from the U.S. to the U.K. for the fight, won by split decision, and he was the deserving victor. He did have to survive a couple of rocky moments, and he was certainly hit hard at points in the fight. But he consistently landed better shots throughout the bout and had Chisora seriously hurt during multiple occasions. He was also credited with two knockdowns (in the eighth and the eleventh). I thought that he had a good case for winning eight or nine rounds.  

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of the fight, I want to focus on that unforgettable eighth round, which is a clear candidate for round of the year. During the round, both fighters may have been hurt multiple times, Wilder in the opening and closing seconds and Chisora throughout the rest of the frame. Wilder scored his first knockdown during the round and perhaps had Chisora ready to go, but then somehow he lost a point and then got rocked. It was riveting action! 

Wilder thrilled after the win
Photo courtesy of MF Pro

When Chisora was successful throughout Saturday's fight, it was primarily with two punches: his signature overhand right from distance, and a left hook to the body when in close. But even when he landed his best overhand rights, Wilder took them well. 

Unfortunately, Chisora also smothered himself too much on the inside. He was determined to go-for-broke in terms of getting in close but didn't offer enough variation in his attack. Even when he would get in through the front door, he didn't throw enough punches or offer any tricky lateral movement or shifting. As a result, Wilder would be able to clinch or grapple with relative ease (and this was when Chisora wasn't clinching or grappling himself).

As a surprise, Wilder, known for his straight right, featured an assortment of punches throughout the fight. He had success at times at spinning out from an onrushing Chisora with a short left hook to the temple. He landed a couple of impressive right uppercuts. Later in the fight he connected with solid jabs. He even landed a double left hook combination to the body!

Now it's no secret that Wilder made his career with his straight right hand, but his offensive variety on Saturday illustrated that he contained more tools in his toolbox than he often displayed. That double left hook to the body on Saturday certainly didn't look like it was the first time he had experimented with that combination. It seemed fluid. That he hadn't always featured it or other secondary punches throughout his career is on him. 

At a minimum what it suggests is that Wilder must be an intriguing gym fighter. The punch variety is there. In some instances throughout his career he has flashed a solid jab or a left hook, but it didn't occur enough. In most of his fights, his right hand was good enough to get the job done, but maybe against Tyson Fury or Joe Parker, it's possible that an expanded punch arsenal would have done him a world of good. And as we were reminded of on Saturday, he didn't lack other punches, but why he so seldom turned to them is another question.    

Saturday's fight was marred by referee Mark Bates, who now rivals Phil Edwards (who turned in the lone card for Chisora among the judges) as being the most offensively biased British fight official working today. Bates somehow let a cornerman get into the ring during the first round to help separate the fighters. That itself could have been grounds for a disqualification, but Bates couldn't even be bothered to take a point. 

In the third round Chisora was hurt and froze in the corner. Yet Bates stopped an oncoming Wilder and allowed Chisora to have more time to recover. 

In the eighth, Chisora went through the ropes and not only did his team help him get back in the ring (also grounds for disqualification), but then Bates decided to take a point from Wilder, who didn't do anything particularly egregious during the sequence. It should be noted that Wilder had scored a knockdown earlier in the round, so Bates essentially negated the extra point that Chisora had lost. 

So yes, the fight did feature its fair share of sloppy moments, with wrestling, fighters falling to the canvas, punches missing by a few feet, and enough shenanigans to remind viewers that boxing remains a quasi-legitimate sport. 

But let's not lose the forest through the trees here. What we got on Sunday was two veterans who were giving it their all, firing whatever they could, and refusing to buckle after being hurt. It was great prizefighting. Both realized the importance of this moment in their career. They refused to yield and pushed forward. It wasn't about style points or looking pretty. They came to land big punches and did just that.    

Finally, there was far too much snootiness from certain corners on social media regarding the quality of the fight. The bout was ridiculed by some as a drunken bar fight, a train wreck, a horror show...whatever. 

Actually, it was anything but that. It was two guys giving what they had left. And they gave it. Yes, it was not a fight that personified the sweet science. But you know what it was: PRIZEFIGHTING! The fight delighted the crowd. It was exciting! There were big punches, peril, danger. And I'd take this a million times over two cuties refusing to hurt the other guy in the ring. 

I love a great technical fight, but I love danger as well. Chisora-Wilder was not a mere hug-a-thon or a fight that featured a silent agreement of non-aggression. Both were going for the win. Both envisioned a future of making one last big run in the heavyweight division. I think that they should be applauded for their efforts. I'd tune out those who are more interested in ice capades in a ring instead of menace. There's a reason why the big boys have always carried the sport and power punchers have captured imaginations and hard-earned cash over generations.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

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The Decline of the U.S. Heavyweight -- The Athletic

I was interviewed for a piece that ran today in the Athletic (subscription required) about the decline of the U.S. heavyweight. The article was written by Chris McKenna and Sarah Shephard. Others also quoted in the piece were Bruce Trampler and Teddy Atlas. Both writers are from England and the piece tries to get to the bottom of what happened to the prominence of the U.S. heavyweight from an outsider's perspective. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook 

Inoue-Nakatani Head-to-Head in Ring Magazine

I have a new piece in the April edition of Ring Magazine on the Naoya Inoue-Junto Nakatani superfight where I break down the matchup comparing each fighter's skills, advantages and disadvantages. This much-anticipated fight will take place on May 2nd at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The magazine will hit bookshelves later this month and will also available via digital subscription.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook 

Promoter Snapshot -- Salita Promotions in Ring Magazine

For the next entry in my Promoter Snapshot series for Ring Magazine, I highlighted Salita Promotions. In the piece I talked with Founder and CEO Dmitriy Salita, who articulates his company's values and vision for success. Salita has been very active in both Michigan and Puerto Rico, and their events are streamed by DAZN. You can find the article in the March edition of the magazine, available on news stands now and via digital subscription. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook 

Opinions and Observations: Barrios-Garcia

In the opening seconds of Saturday's Mario Barrios-Ryan Garcia welterweight title fight, Garcia, the noted left-hooker, uncorked two menacing lead right hands to drop Barrios. Throughout his career, Garcia had often been so left-hand dominant that he had fights where his right hand was just an unnecessary appendage to his body. But there he was on Saturday, not just throwing rights, but delivering them with spite and confidence. 

While many of us might have been shocked by how Garcia started the fight, Barrios’ trainer, Joe Goossen, who used to work with Garcia, wasn't one of them. During the DAZN broadcast, Chris Mannix asked Goossen about Garcia's lead rights and Goossen said that he had expected Garcia to come out leading with them, that Garcia would think that he was springing the element of surprise. Furthermore, Goossen stated that he had prepared Barrios for such a scenario. 

As for further confirmation, when Mannix asked Barrios after the fight, which Garcia won by a wide decision, if Garcia's right hands surprised him, Barrios reiterated that he had prepared for those shots in camp. 

Garcia (left) in a dominant position
Photo courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions

These telling exchanges illustrate Garcia's skillset. Despite an opponent preparing for what's coming, Garcia could still land, and with devastating consequences. 

A similar scenario occurred during Garcia's win over Devin Haney, which was changed to a no-contest after Garcia failed a post-fight drug test. In that fight, Haney was well-aware of Garcia's prowess with his left hook. Just like the Barrios bout, within the first round Haney was hurt badly by the punch; he was subsequently dropped by left hooks several times in the fight. 

Garcia has demonstrated throughout his career that when he's on, it may not matter what an opponent can do defensively; Garcia's speed, power and delivery system can be that impressive. 

But there is also another factor in play. An early knockdown can spook an opponent, leading to inaction or forcing him to make subsequent mistakes. This same dynamic played out in Garcia's previous fight, a loss against Rolly Romero. In that bout, Garcia was dropped early by a left hook and for the rest of the fight he was unable to let his hands go. He was so bothered by Rolly's left hook that he kept his best weapon, his own left hook, holstered. 

On Saturday, Garcia's knockdown led to a deer-in-the-headlights performance from Barrios. Instead of being aggressive or using angles to attack, he stood, compliantly, at mid-range, waiting for Garcia to do something. Barrios isn't a natural counterpuncher and yet he was so concerned with what might come back at him that he was reluctant to initiate. 

There were other issues with Barrios as well. A telling sequence during the ninth round highlighted a major weakness in his game. At that point in the fight, Barrios already needed a knockout to win, and this had been explicitly relayed to him by Goossen in his corner. During the round, Barrios had one of his rare successful forays on the inside, where he landed several body shots. But instead of staying in close and continuing to fire off power punches, he decided to leave the pocket, go back to mid-range, and reset. 

That sequence would have been perfectly acceptable in the first round of a fight, where he got some work done and then got out of range to take a breather. But in the ninth round, after being way down on the cards, this is where he needed to pounce on Garcia. But Barrios refused to engage in that type of fight. 

Even when the mid-range wasn't working, Barrios still retreated to that distance. Essentially, he didn't have enough in his toolbox to try to win a fight another way. The situation called for Barrios to rough Garcia up, to riddle his body, to try to make it a dogfight. That would have been his only chance at that point of the fight, but Barrios couldn't or wouldn't do it. 

Garcia celebrates the victory
Photo courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions

With the win, Garcia earned his first world title. And it's worth noting that this performance was far more than just an early-round surprise: it was a comprehensive victory. He looked as good as he ever has at the world-level, with significant improvements in punch variety, defense and conditioning. 

Garcia's career has been anything but a linear progression. Despite a 25-2 record as a pro, he's had several poor performances, a knockout loss, fights where he was left hook-or-bust, bouts where his work rate was abominable, instances where his defensive mistakes and poor footwork would make even novices cringe. So often his occasional flashes of power and hand speed have saved him in fights. But Saturday was something different; he had almost everything working. 

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Garcia unleashed his full punch arsenal, which included lead right hands, right uppercuts, hooks to the head and body, and jabs. Garcia's defense was also not a liability. He didn't get hit with too many naked shots and one would have to strain very hard to think of a signature punch that Barrios landed in the fight. 

For this fight Ryan reunited with his father, Henry, to be his lead trainer. And Henry made a lasting impact. He had Ryan working throughout the match. Garcia contested every round and didn't take any of those prolonged breaks that have plagued him in the past. He was switched on all fight and wasn't lazy with his offense. 

Although it's true that Barrios didn't offer much on Saturday, it's also true that Garcia demonstrated that he was levels above a reigning beltholder. There will be tougher matches to come for Garcia, but for now he has reminded the boxing world, and himself, that when he's right, both physically and mentally, he's a real threat in the upper reaches of the sport. Saturday was a great step forward for Garcia's career and earned him millions more for his upcoming fights against his pick of opponents. A comprehensive victory indeed!  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

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