The 2013 Boxinghead Battle

The Boxinghead Battle returns for 2013. The Battle is a weekly league where boxing experts and fans compete to see who is the best at making fight predictions. Only large mainstream fights that have international significance are included for the Battle. (Dan Rafael of ESPN won the 2012 Battle. The final standings from last year's edition can be found here.)  

The scoring for the 2013 Boxinghead Battle remains the same from last year and is as follows: For each fight, if a participant predicts the right winner, one point (+1) is received. If an incorrect prediction is made, one point (-1) is taken away. If a participant correctly predicts a draw, five points (+5) are received but only one point (-1) is taken away if a draw is not accurately predicted. If a participant correctly predicts a "no-contest" where the fight is stopped early because of an accidental head butt or unintentional foul (in some jurisdictions, this decision may be officially rendered as a "technical draw"), the participant receives ten points (+10). No points will be taken away in this scenario.

There are two ways to play the Boxinghead Battle. For experts from some of the largest boxing outlets, I will record their predictions for Battle fights that have been published on their affiliated websites or made on their official Twitter accounts.

For others, every week, via my Twitter handle (@snboxing), I will indicate which fights will be included for the Battle. (There may be some weeks that don't have any Boxinghead Battle fights.) The first round of the Battle (a round is essentially a weekend) will be Jan. 19 where the two fights included will be Salido-Garcia and Golovkin-Rosado. For this round and subsequent rounds of the Battle, tweet me your picks and they will be recorded. I will only accept picks starting the Monday before a Friday or Saturday fight. I only require the winning fighter. No need to include the type of victory. If picking a draw, list the two fighters and a draw (for example, Mayweather-Pacquiao, draw). If there are any mid-week fights as part of the Battle, I will alert via Twitter when predictions will be accepted.  

For 2013, the Boxinghead Battle will be split into two halves. January through June will be the first half of the year and July through November will constitute the second half. After each half of the season is completed, the top eight participants (including the potential for more with ties) will be eligible for the playoffs. Additional participants will not be selected to replace players that have qualified for the playoffs through both halves of the season. For instance, if a participant finishes first in the first half and fourth in the second half, the ninth-place finisher in the second half will not qualify for the playoffs absent of a tie.

The first four rounds of the Battle will consist of a season's "open enrollment," i.e. the period needed to officially qualify for the half of the season. A participant must submit (or for experts, post) a prediction within one of the first four rounds to qualify for the half of the season. In addition, once qualified, a participant who fails to submit (or post) a prediction for four consecutive rounds will be removed due to inactivity. A player that is removed from the first half of the season can still participate in the second half. Similarly, a participant need not play in the first half of the season to be eligible for the second half. A participant who qualifies for the playoffs via the first half of the season and doesn't play in the second half of the season (or has been removed due to inactivity) is still eligible for the playoffs.

The playoffs will end after the last round of the Boxinghead Battle has been completed for December of 2013. If there is an outright winner after December, the 2013 Boxinghead Battle winner will be crowned. If there is a tie for the top score at this point, those participants who finished with the highest playoff score will continue through 2014 until a winner is selected. If there is a tie at the end of December, a player may not subsequently win the Battle by default or inactivity. I will contact the tied participants directly to ensure that predictions are made in this scenario. If a participant fails to make a prediction for a round of the Battle in this tied situation, the participant loses a point (-1) for each fight of the round. Once there is a leader in this tied scenario, a winner is crowned.

With that, best of luck in the 2013 Boxinghead Battle. If you have any questions, contact me via Twitter (@snboxing) or email. I will provide weekly updates via Twitter regarding the leaders and trailers of the Battle. In addition, I will periodically publish the full standings on Saturday Night Boxing. Now let's have some fun and see who's the best Boxinghead out there.

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
@snboxing on twitter
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Grading the Top Fighters -- 2012

It's time for Saturday Night Boxing's annual evaluation of the best fighters in the sport. For this year, the fighters in the Saturday Night Boxing Top-20 will be reviewed. The boxers will appear in their Top-20 order, from 1 to 20. Each fighter will be assigned a letter grade with a brief synopsis of his year. Let's get to it.

1. Floyd Mayweather A- Mayweather only fought once in 2012 and won a comfortable decision against Miguel Cotto. I only had Mayweather losing two rounds but he certainly got hit some in the fight. It was not a truly dominant performance but he acquitted himself well.

2. Andre Ward A+ Because of injuries, Ward only fought once in 2012 as well. Nevertheless, his one performance was stunning. He defended his super middleweight crown against light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson and dropped him three times. Ward's lead left hook continually found its mark and the fight was stopped in the 10th. He has now strung together four consecutive truly dominant years.

3. Nonito Donaire A+ Fighting four times in 2012, Donaire staked his claim as the best in the junior featherweight division by defeating two former champions (Wifredo Vazquez Jr. and Jorge Arce), a current titleholder (Jeffrey Mathebula) and the number-one guy in the division (Toshiaki Nishioka). Better yet, Donaire showed improved discipline and focus throughout the year. He was the 2012 Saturday Night Boxing Fighter of the Year.
 

4. Juan Manuel Marquez A+ Marquez finally bested his archrival in 2012 with an electrifying sixth-round KO of Manny Pacquiao. Landing the best right hand of his career, Marquez raised his hands at the end of the fight having achieved his ultimate professional triumph. Earlier in the year, he had an easy marking-time victory against Serhiy Fedchenko in front of an adoring Mexico City crowd.

5. Sergio Martinez B+ Martinez had rough moments in both of his 2012 fights. Against Matthew Macklin, Martinez gave up a number of rounds as he waited to land with big counter shots. He was knocked down in the 7th (more of a balance issue) but finally landed his big left hands in the 11th to earn a stoppage. Against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Martinez boxed beautifully through 11 rounds before getting caught in the 12th. In the Round of the Year, Martinez had to use all of his heart, determination and guile to survive the round and win the fight. He made it to the final bell and secured the victory, but as a top fighter he had never before looked so vulnerable.

6. Manny Pacquiao C+ In his first fight of the year, Pacquiao was robbed of a comfortable decision against Timothy Bradley. To my eyes, Pacquiao won a minimum of eight rounds. Somehow, two incompetent judges saw the fight differently. In his next fight, Pacquiao had a number of sublime moments against Marquez. He knocked him down in the fifth round with a blazing left hand. His hand speed and combinations looked excellent throughout the fight. However, Pacquiao was knocked down with a looping right hand in the third round and was finished by a counter right in the sixth. He ended the year lying face up on the MGM Grand canvas. He no longer has a claim to the best fighter in the sport.

7. Wladimir Klitschko A He made three more defenses this year – all against rather pedestrian competition. He dominated Jean Marc Mormeck and Tony Thompson (a rematch) and perhaps put forth one of the most spirited efforts of his career against Mariusz Wach. Klitschko took some very big right hands from Wach, and instead of retreating from Wach's power, Wlad went on the offensive, showing a level of aggression that had often been lacking in his career.

8. Vitali Klitschko A- Vitali had to overcome an injured left hand to defeat Dereck Chisora. With just one hand, he won nine or ten rounds. He ended the year against an overmatched Manuel Charr, scoring an easy fourth-round knockout.

9. Timothy Bradley B Winning four rounds against Manny Pacquiao is no small feat. Although Bradley was awarded a bogus split decision over Pacquiao, he demonstrated that he had the talent to stay competitive with one of the top fighters in the sport. Unfortunately, Bradley remained on the shelf for the rest of the year. There were fights for him to take, but nothing that motivated him enough to step in the ring.

10. Brian Viloria A+ Viloria ascended the pound-for-pound rankings in 2012 with a 9th-round stoppage of his nemesis, Omar Nino Romero, and a thrilling 10th-round TKO of fellow flyweight titleholder Hernan Marquez. Viloria dropped Marquez three times in the fight and put together the defining performance of his professional career. He might be the best fighter of the smaller weight classes.

11. Abner Mares A- Mares moved up to the junior featherweight division and easily dispatched faded former junior bantamweight champion Eric Morel. Later in the year, Mares won a controversial match over top bantamweight fighter Anselmo Moreno. In that fight, Mares continued a pattern in his career of committing serious fouls – hitting low, behind the head and in the back. Nevertheless, he took the fight to the skilled counterpuncher and executed a brilliant game plan. In addition, when hurt later in the fight, Mares showed his versatility by countering well off of the ropes.

12. Roman Gonzalez A In 2012, Gonzalez continued his reign of terror in the lighter weights, notching four more victories, three of them by early knockout. Two of his fights (Manuel Jimenez – KO 1 and Stiven Moterrosa – TKO 3) were marking-time bouts, but against more sterling opposition, he bested former light flyweight champion Ramon Hirales (KO 4) and Juan Estrada (comfortable decision). The fight against Estrada was a thrilling action fight.

13. Carl Froch A+ Rebounding wonderfully from his 2011 loss to Andre Ward in the Super Six finals, Froch scored a shocking upset win over Lucian Bute, scoring a fifth-round TKO in a fight that he dominated from the opening bell. Froch ended the year by dismantling the overmatched Yusaf Mack in three rounds.

14. Robert Guerrero A- Stepping up two weight classes, Guerrero established himself as one of the top welterweights in the sport by soundly defeating Selcuk Aydin, winning a wide decision, and besting Andre Berto in a brutal slugfest. Guerrero displayed a solid chin at the new weight and an aggressive attitude. He put Berto down on the canvas twice. His two wins were impressive although both opponents had their moments, even in defeat.

15. Anselmo Moreno B Moreno cruised to a dominant ninth-round TKO earlier in the year against David de la Mora and then moved up to junior featherweight to face Abner Mares. Moreno spent most of the early rounds against Mares in retreat, unable to consistently thwart Mares' aggression. In addition, Moreno tasted the canvas in the fifth round. Moreno did come on in the second half of the fight and the wide scores in Mares' favor failed to reflect how competitive Moreno was in the match. Nevertheless, Mares dictated the action and pace of the fight. Moreno admitted disappointment after the match at failing to execute his game plan.

16. Chris John B John continued his run of decisioning unheralded fighters in 2012. He beat Japan's Shoji Kimura and Thailand's Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo. John demonstrated his boxing prowess against these lesser foes but his overall slate of opponents was disappointing. Again.

17. Marco Huck B Huck had a truly odd 2012. Starting off on a high note, he fought top heavyweight Alexander Povetkin to fairly even terms although he lost a majority decision. Next, he dropped back down to cruiserweight and engaged in a thrilling rematch with Ola Afolabi (Huck won a tight decision over him in 2009). Featuring a 12th round that was a candidate for Round of the Year, both fighters went toe-to-toe with Huck getting the better of the action. The bout was correctly scored a draw, with Huck not starting early enough in the fight to earn the decision. In his final match of 2012, Huck struggled against 42-year-old, former cruiserweight titlist Firat Arslan. Arslan came forward with tons of pressure while Huck tried to pick Arslan off with hard counter shots. Huck wound up winning a disputed decision.

18. Yuriorkis Gamboa D+ Gamboa backed out of a potential Fight of the Year against Brandon Rios early in 2012. He then entered into a contract dispute with Top Rank. After many months on the sidelines, Gamboa settled with Top Rank and signed a contract with Curtis Jackson (50 Cent). In his only action inside of the ring in 2012, Gamboa wound up on a Top Rank card and defeated tough junior lightweight Michael Farenas. Gamboa sent Farenas to the canvas twice but in classic Gamboa fashion, he was also knocked down. He showed flashes of brilliance in the fight, as well as considerable sluggishness and ring rust. 2012 was pretty much a wasted year for him.

19. Chad Dawson C Dawson was able to solve the riddle of Bernard Hopkins early in 2012. He did a wonderful job of staying disciplined and winning rounds despite Hopkins' legendary gamesmanship and illegal ring tactics. Dawson won a majority decision but it was tough to see how he lost more than three rounds. After the fight, he challenged Andre Ward, and while the impulse to fight the best should be commended, he was out of his league in that match. He had no answer for Ward's left hook and was sent to the canvas three times before the fight was stopped.

20. Daniel Geale A Geale did the unthinkable in 2012 by somehow winning a second middleweight title on German soil. The Australian boxed wonderfully to win a split decision over favorite Felix Sturm. Earlier in the year, he was victorious in a marking-time defense against Osumanu Adama in Tasmania. 

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
@snboxing on twitter
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The 2012 Saturday Night Boxing Awards

It's time to hand out the hardware. As an eventful 2012 comes to a close, one crucial piece of business remains before we can comfortably enter the new year: the Saturday Night Boxing Awards! Without further ado, here are your 2012 winners:

Fighter of the Year: Nonito Donaire

Moving up to the junior featherweight division, Donaire defeated a former titlist (Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.), a current beltholder (Jeffrey Mathebula), the number-one guy in the division (Toshiaki Nishioka) and another former 122-lb. champion (Jorge Arce). Of Donaire's 36 rounds this year, I had him winning 32 of them. He scored seven knockdowns and dominated top competition. At the age of 30, Donaire continues to improve and makes a strong case for being considered among the top fighters in the sport (I have him ranked at #3). His finishing left hook of Arce should make any year-end highlights package.

Fight of the Year: Pacquiao-Marquez IV

After a fascinating but rather tactical third installment of their series in 2011, both boxers made some key adjustments going into their fourth fight. Pacquiao decided to return to the more aggressive form that he exhibited in the first two fights while Marquez focused on gaining strength and power; he was going for the knockout. What followed was a scintillating battle fought on an incredibly high level with striking changes in momentum. The fight featured three knockdowns (Pacquiao down twice and Marquez once). The final Marquez right hand was literally a shot hurt around the sporting world. It was an unforgettable conclusion to a wildly entertaining fight.

Knockout of the Year: Juan Manuel Marquez KO6 Manny Pacquiao

After being knocked down in the fifth round and bloodied and badgered through most of the sixth, Marquez unloaded one of the most pulverizing punches in boxing history. At the end of the round, Pacquiao feinted with the jab and then rushed in with another jab. Marquez didn't go for the feint and timed Pacquiao perfectly with a devastating overhand right. Immediately, Pacquiao hit the canvas. Lying on his back, he was out cold. For Marquez, who hadn't been able to beat Pacquiao despite three close fights, his final right hand was career-defining, and one that will be talked about for generations.

Round of the Year: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Sergio Martinez 12

The first ten-and-a-half rounds of this fight were completely dominated by Martinez, who put forth a masterful performance, mixing in boxing, ring generalship, pot-shotting and beautiful power punch combinations. Chavez was a bloody mess as the fight progressed. In truth, if he would have called it a night earlier in the match, it would have been completely understandable; he just wasn't competitive.

Finally, towards the end of the 11th round, Chavez connected with a few right hands. In the 12th, Chavez landed a right hand that drove back Martinez to the ropes. Chavez then connected with left and right hooks on the ropes and Martinez went down. With over two minutes left in the round, Martinez was in bad shape. His legs, which had helped him all night, now betrayed him.

Chavez moved in for the kill and unloaded with power punches. Calling to mind his father's first fight against Meldrick Taylor, Chavez tried to erase a sure defeat with a final-round knockout. The crowd was in a frenzy; boxing fans around the world were on the edge of their seats, if they could sit at all. But Martinez found his bearings by the end of the round and fired back. When the final bell sounded, Martinez remained on his feet, if just barely. He had escaped.

This round featured an essential element to secure the award: I was jumping around my living room screaming like a lunatic. What more can be said? It was boxing at its finest.

Upset of the Year: Sonny Boy Jaro TKO6 Pongsaklek Wongjongkam

To call Sonny Boy Jaro a journeyman might be an overstatement. He entered his March fight against longtime flyweight titlist and future Hall of Famer Pongsaklek Wongjongkam with a record of 33-10-5. Prior to the fight, you would have been hard-pressed to find a distinguished win on Jaro's ledger. Anytime the Filipino had faced a good fighter (e.g. Giovani Segura, Edgar Sosa, Pornsawan Porpramook), he lost. In 2011, he had even been defeated by a 4-0 fighter. Conversely, Wongjongkam came into the fight with a sterling record of 83-3-2. The Thai boxing master hadn't lost since 2007 and was in the midst of a twenty-fight unbeaten streak.

Nevertheless, Jaro attacked Wongjongkam from the opening bell with a relentless body assault. He scored repeatedly with hard right hands and left hooks to the body – more than a few of them were low blows – and he earned knockdowns in the first and third rounds. Even though Wongjongkam worked his way back into the fight, Jaro's body shots took a huge toll on his legs. By the sixth round, Wongjongkam couldn't hold up to Jaro's body attack. With Jaro scoring two more knockdowns in the round, the fight was stopped. Instantly, Jaro became the year's most improbable champion. He would go on to lose later in the year in a hard-fought battle against Toshiyuki Igarashi, but for one night, he was a legend killer.

Trainer of the Year: Rob McCracken

The single best corner job of the year was Rob McCracken's work with Carl Froch in his destruction of Lucian Bute. Coming off of a loss to Andre Ward in the finals of the Super Six, Froch was an underdog against super middleweight titlist Bute, who had finished up 2011 beating Glen Johnson far more convincingly than Froch did earlier in the year.

McCracken was a wise study of Bute. He observed that Bute was most successful as a pocket fighter. His shots worked best from medium range and he realized that Froch would probably be safe either completely in tight or on the outside. Secondly, Bute did not have quick counter shots. Instead, all of his counters – left uppercut, right hook and straight left hand – were long. Bute also needed his opponent right in front of him to score. McCracken, in sizing Bute up, determined that Froch shouldn't fight in the pocket whatsoever, a bold decision and it turned out to be a winning one.

Froch's performance in the ring was perfect. On the outside, he patiently waited to initiate offense and used lateral movement to keep Bute at bay. Froch would then rush in with a series of power shots, most often his slinging right hand and left hook. He would batter Bute with heavy punches and would then quickly get out of the pocket. As the fight progressed, he would continue this pattern of rushing in with power shots, eventually deciding to stay in close range, driving a retreating Bute back to the ropes, where Froch would continue to land with hard shots.

Bute couldn't defend himself from Froch's odd-angled punches and wasn't able to counter consistently enough to stop the onslaught. By the fifth round, he went down from an accumulation of power shots and the fight was over. Froch was masterful and McCracken's game plan was a big reason for his success.

In addition, McCracken's work with the British Olympic boxing team yielded five medals for the host country, a wonderfully impressive haul. McCracken wasn't just a mere advisor to the team; he was responsible for nurturing the squad, working with the coaching staff and preparing the fighters, mentally and physically, for the intricacies and pressures of Olympic boxing. The team's performance was a resounding success.

I know that many boxing observers have selected Robert Garcia as Trainer of the Year, and he certainly had a very good year. Ultimately, what convinced me regarding McCracken is that he took and underdog (Froch) and guided him to a truly dominant performance. Garcia's top fighters, from Donaire to Rios to Mikey Garcia, had very successful years, but I do have to take some points off for Rios' listless performance against Richard Abril and Hernan Marquez's knockout loss to Brian Viloria. All of Garcia's boxers did win the fights that they were supposed to win, but Brandon Rios' victory over Mike Alvarado was the only true 50/50 win for Garcia's stable of top fighters. Still, he had a very fine year, as did Nacho Beristain, who came up with some winning adjustments for Juan Manuel Marquez over Manny Pacquiao.

Promoter of the Year: Golden Boy Promotions

I certainly don't think that everything Golden Boy did this year was perfect. There were far too many events that featured embarrassingly tepid ticket sales. The company also has this bad habit of announcing future fights prematurely (Alvarez-Ortiz!). However, Golden Boy has bested all its rivals in expanding the possible for boxing in 2012. From creating an exciting new market in Brooklyn with its series at the Barclays Center to bringing boxing back to U.S. network television, Golden Boy has helped grow the sport in 2012 better than any other entity. Golden Boy also convinced Showtime to broadcast more undercard fights live. In addition, the company has announced a new series to start in South Florida for 2013. Although Golden Boy didn't have the biggest fights of the year, the company made many wonderful advances for the sport in 2012.

Network of the Year: BoxNation

Promoter Frank Warren undertook a big gamble in creating an all-boxing pay network in 2011. By the end of 2012, BoxNation has developed into one of the premier international destinations for boxing fans. Hardly a week goes by without a meaningful fight on the network, from Warren's own stable of British fighters to the station's numerous broadcasts of Sauerland's European fight cards as well as many of the premier American boxing contests. In addition, BoxNation's studio team of Steve Bunce and Steve Lillis should be a model for other networks. Both Bunce and Lillis are excellent conversationalists, well versed in the sport and pithy. They also remember that boxing can be fun. I hope that the network's good run continues in 2013. (Note: a number of the Sauerland cards from 2012 featured only one broadcaster calling the fight. Surely, a decent color analyst can be found.)

Referee of the Year: Eddie Claudio

Claudio played a vital role in one of the most intriguing fights of the year, Peter Quillin's unanimous decision over Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (henceforth, N'Dam). Quillin scored six knockdowns (6!) but still the fight was competitive, with all three judges giving Quillin only seven rounds in the contest. Quillin notched two knockdowns in each of the 4th, 6th and 12th rounds. After each knockdown, Claudio studied N'Dam and correctly determined that the fighter could continue. Too often, referees reflexively stop a fight after a third knockdown, but Claudio observed that N'Dam still had his legs and remained competitive throughout the match. Claudio ignored the pro-Quillin crowd and didn't succumb to giving an early stoppage to the hometown fighter. It was a wonderful performance from a relatively obscure referee. Here's hoping for more big-time assignments for Claudio in 2013.

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
@snboxing on twitter
Follow Saturday Night Boxing on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/SaturdayNightBoxing

Boxinghead Battle 2012 Final Standings

Here are the final standings for the 2012 Boxinghead Battle prediction game. Congratulations to Dan Rafael of ESPN, who won the Battle with a +12 score. Ryan Maquinana of boxingscene.com finished in second place with +11.

Stay tuned for a new Boxinghead Battle in 2013. There will be a format change and some small rule tweaks. If you would like to enter the 2013 Battle, contact me at @snboxing on Twitter.

Final Standings:

Abramowitz, Adam (saturday night boxing) +9
Andrzejewski, Matt -1
Anjuum, Mohammad 3
Barry, Alex (boxing seed) +10
Boxing 101 +1
Boxing Advocate +1
Boxing Mouth +2
Bivins, Ryan (sweetboxing) +2

Burton, Ryan (boxing lab) +1

Campbell, Brian (espn) +5
Carp, Steve (las vegas review journal) +3
Casillas, J. +1

Christ, Scott (bad left hook) +3

Conner, Patrick (tqbr) +8
Conye, Danny +6

Coppinger, Mike (ring) +4
David, Jose -1

Donovan, Jake (boxing scene) +3
Erdman, Corey (ring) +5

Ferguson, Billy (fighthype) +7

Fischer, Douglass (ring) +8

Fitzsimmons, Lyle (boxing scene) -1

Foley, James (Bad Left Hook) +5
Frauenheim, Norm (15 rounds) +6
Freeburn, Shannon +3
Haro, Frank +1
Harrison, Andrew (tqbr) -1
Hernadez, Jorge +1
Hussein, Imran +1

Idec, Keith (boxing scene) +9

Iole, Kevin (yahoo) +1
Junior Uzzy +1

Kitchen, Kory (bad left hook) +3
Mannix, Chris (sports illustrated) +1

Maquinana, Ryan (boxing scene) +11

McCarson, Kelsey (the sweet science) -3
Mojica, Matthew -2

Montoya, Gabe (maxboxing) 0
Morilla, Diego +2

Mulcahey, Marty (maxboxing) +9
Mulvaney, Kieran (espn) + 2
Olson, Hans (boxing insider) +5

Ortega, Mark (tqbr) +10
Pawel +6
Poplawski, Ray +5

Punch to the Face +1

Rafael, Dan (espn) +12

Raskin, Eric (grantland) +1
Robinson, Chris (boxing scene) +4

Rodriguez, Alex +2

Rold, Cliff (boxing scene) +9
Rosenthal, Michael (ring) +10
Salazar, Victor (boxing voice Vic) +3

Sandoval, Luis (boxing lab) +2

Santoloquito, Joe (ring) +4
Shields, Patrick +2
Simon +1
Sledskillz +3
Songalia, Ryan (ring) +5

Starks, Tim (tqbr) +5
Street Fighter 2 0
Tippy +1

Two Piece Boxing +7
Turcios, Frank +2

Velin, Bob (USA Today) +10

Warren, Glen +1
Weiler, Matt 0

Wylie, Lee (the sweet science) +6
Zemach, Steve (tqbr) +2

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
@snboxing on twitter
Follow Saturday Night Boxing on Facebook:

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Opinions and Observations: Adamek-Cunningham II

"This is how I feed my family. I can't just go out there and get another big fight. And he gets to fight Klitschko.”

–Steve Cunningham after his loss to Adamek

After Tomasz Adamek's undeserved victory over Steve Cunningham on Saturday, I lacked the vitriol that many were expressing; for I had seen this fight quite often. Here are a few examples: Pacquiao-Marquez III, Taylor-Wright, Hopkins-Taylor I and II and Williams-Martinez I. In these fights, the judges went with or were overly generous to the "aggressor," who in almost all cases happened to have the advantage in crowd support. Of the various types of bad scoring decisions in boxing, this one – the crowd favorite who is the aggressor– is most common. It doesn't make the final result more palatable for the loser and it still feels unjust, but this scenario is fairly routine.

Saturday's decision is why promoters and boxers demand home-field advantage, knowing that in close rounds many judges side with the fighter who gets the loudest reaction from the crowd. (Main Events promoted both fighters for Saturday's contest but Adamek was the crowd favorite.) It's human nature to be affected by the audience to some degree and many judges lack the experience to block out the extraneous elements of the crowd to focus on the task at hand.

I'm not saying it's easy. I was sitting in a heavily Polish section of the crowd, where people in the neighboring rows legitimately thought that Adamek won nine or ten rounds; he didn't. They stood and cheered during the last 10 seconds of the early rounds as Adamek flurried. They were loud and boisterous throughout the entire fight. Give Adamek's fans credit; their enthusiasm clearly had an effect on the proceedings.

"I did what I wanted to do in the ring. I boxed smart. It was a good fight but I controlled the action"

–Cunningham

In 2008, Adamek and Cunningham waged a thrilling war. Cunningham won a number of rounds on clean punching but he hit the canvas three times. His split decision loss was an accurate reflection of a close and fierce battle. Cunningham landed with jabs, solid straight right hands and left hooks. Adamek had most of his success in exchanges, dropping Cunningham with counter right hands. In a just world, there would have been an immediate rematch, but without adequate network support, both fighters went in different directions.

During Saturday's rematch, Cunningham wisely stuck to boxing. He established his jab from the opening bell and used it expertly to Adamek's head and body. Adamek came forward but in the early rounds, he typified "ineffective aggression." He flung right hands, most of which didn't land or were blocked. He tried to cut off the ring but Cunningham often escaped along the ropes. Adamek at times seemed hesitant letting his hands go.

In the early rounds of the fight, Adamek established a pattern where once the ten-second warning sounded, he flurried with abandon, often catching Cunningham with right hands and left hooks, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. These were the best moments that Adamek had during the first four frames. He was clearly trying to steal rounds, and obviously, it paid off.

"We worked on keeping the right hand up in the gym. He hits hard. But I won the fight. No doubt in my mind."

–Cunningham

The conventional wisdom going into the fight was that if Adamek could knock down Cunningham multiple times at cruiserweight, he should have similar success at heavyweight. Adamek had a sizable weight advantage and an older and perhaps fading Cunningham.

In Cunningham's last two fights at cruiserweight against Yoan Pablo Hernandez in late 2011 and early 2012, he hit the canvas three more times. Cunningham lost both fights, which were very close. His legs didn't look good during the rematch, potentially suggesting an end to his days as a top fighter.

After the second Hernandez bout, Cunningham made a fairly shocking decision: he would move to heavyweight. Because of problems in making weight, the ability to get  meaningful fights on American soil or a last-ditch effort to remain relevant in the sport, Cunningham felt that his best play in boxing was to square off against the big boys. That Cunningham came into Saturday's rematch at a light 203 was extremely telling. Refusing to blow up in weight, Cunningham ignored Adamek's bigger size for a similar cruiserweight physique. (Adamek entered the fight at 223.)   

Once the action started, Cunningham and his trainer, Naazim Richardson, rendered the pre-fight narrative meaningless. Richardson, who is one of the best in boxing at breaking down videotape and establishing a winning game plan, made several key changes from the first Adamek-Cunningham fight. (Anthony Chase trained Cunningham for that match.) Cunningham's right hand was a lot higher on Saturday, which took away Adamek's lead and counter left hook. Cunningham worked off of the jab and didn't lead with power shots. In addition, Cunningham used his advantage in athleticism throughout the fight. He moved well in the ring and picked his spots to engage. He also limited exchanges, which still favored Adamek. Cunningham's legs looked fine throughout the fight. He spoke afterwards about a focus on incline work during training; clearly that proved to be effective.

“It was like a sparring session.”

–Adamek in his post-fight news conference

If I told you prior to the fight that it would be a sparring session, would you say that the match went more Adamek or Cunningham's way? It's clear that Adamek wanted to impose his will and dominate with power shots. Ultimately, the fight wasn't a sparring session; it was quite good actually, but Adamek never could figure out a formula to consistently assert himself. I found his comment to be revealing.

In truth, after facing heavy hitters like Vitali Klitschko and Chris Arreola, Adamek probably felt much more comfortable in the ring against Cunningham. Although Cunningham landed with flush shots throughout the fight, Adamek was never in danger of going down, like he did earlier this year against Travis Walker. Adamek knew that he had the power advantage and he fought accordingly. In the few instances when they traded shots, Adamek's punches were significantly harder. Actually, I expected Cunningham to go down from a counter right hand at various points in the fight.

After a solid tenth round that may have included some of his best moments of the fight, Cunningham stood his ground and traded in the 11th and 12th rounds, in hopes of winning these frames convincingly. Understandably, he was reticent to coast on a presumed lead. However, this decision would greatly benefit Adamek. Letting his power shots go with frequency, Adamek had his most sustained success in the fight. During the final two rounds, he finally imposed his will and connected with several thudding right hands that hurt Cunningham. 

After the final bell, both fighters stood on the ropes, believing that they had won the fight. Initially, the result was announced as a draw, but quickly it was changed to an Adamek split decision victory. Scores were 116-112 (Dave Greer), 115-113 (Debra Barnes) and 113-115 (Tom Miller). The majority of the crowd applauded the decision.

On press row, I couldn't find one person who had Adamek winning the fight, or even earning a draw. I scored it 116-112 for Cunningham and the final tallies among the media ranged from 115-113 to 118-110, all for Cunningham. There was a lot of talk about a "robbery."

“Now what?”

–Cunningham

After the match, I had a chance to see both fighters. Outside the press conference, Adamek waited with his team while Cunningham was speaking at the podium. Adamek looked good for having gone 12 tough rounds. His face was a little marked up but nothing serious. He hugged his wife and took pictures with supporters and fans. In fact, there seemed to be nothing out-of-the-ordinary. He was very relaxed.

By the time I talked to Cunningham, after he had spoken at the post-fight press conference, he was still coming to grips with the decision. This wasn't the first time that he had received a questionable loss in boxing, but this one, with his advanced age and with his family and friends there to support him, really affected him. He was hurt by the decision, and that pain took a far greater toll on him than any of Adamek's right hands. What would he do now? At 36, what was left for him in boxing? As he spoke, there was anguish and some disgust; there was no doubt in his mind who had won the fight.

"It was bullshit."

–B.J. Flores, boxer and NBC commentator, on the decision

My final piece of business from the weekend was to learn more about the offending judges. Here are some interesting findings: Dave Greer has been judging fights consistently for 14 years and yet this bout was the biggest assignment of his career. Greer's professional tenure has mostly consisted of trolling around small-town Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland judging six and eight-round fights. It's telling that in his 14 years he has been mostly deprived of plum fight assignments. Good judges get high-profile fights. It's usually that simple.

Debra Barnes worked often in the '90s and judged some big fights, including bouts with Duran, Camacho, Mercer, Mosley and Vargas. In the last 13 years, she has worked a lot less. There are significant gaps in her record. According to boxrec.com, these are the number of days in which Barnes worked as a fight judge for the following years: 2000-1, 2001-1, 2002-2, 2003-4, 2004-1, 2005-2, 2006-2, 2007-3, 2008-3 2009-1, 2010-3, 2011-6, 2012-4. In short, Barnes is at best a part-time judge and during the last five years, her biggest fights have been Guerrero-Escobedo and Saturday's bout. Her card on Saturday should not be shocking given her inactivity and lack of recent high-profile events.

Ultimately, good people like Steve Cunningham will continue to lose decisions because of bad decisions by state commissions. Appointing multiple weak judges for the same fight is unconscionable. Even well regarded and experienced judges can fall prey to the roar of the crowd and respond Pavlovian-style to the "aggressor."

What happened to Cunningham wasn't just, but to pretend that this type of result is shocking would be disingenuous. Sadly, it occurs far too often in the sport.

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
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