For a couple of years, Alex Saucedo had been bumming around on Top
Rank undercards. He was not regarded as one of the golden jewels of the
company's prospect stable, but still, the talent scouts at Top Rank
thought that he had some potential. He could punch and he certainly was a
fighter at heart. In short, Saucedo was the type of B-prospect that was worth a
flyer. If he turned out to be something, great. If not, on to the next one.
Last year after a third-round destruction of Gustavo Vittori, I asked a Top
Rank executive when Saucedo would be getting a push from the company. The
response I received was that the company wanted to give Saucedo a few more
fights to gel with trainer Abel Sanchez and that big things were expected for
him in 2018.
Prior to Saturday, Saucedo had mostly fought in front of sparse
crowds and the die hards who stream the preliminaries. He was a virtual unknown
to all but the hardest of hardcore boxing fans. Yet there he was on Saturday,
ready to enter the ring in front of a raucous crowd in his hometown of Oklahoma
City under the bright lights of ESPN; this was his push.
Fighting Lenny Zappavigna (known as Lenny Z in boxing circles),
Saucedo may have started off the evening as an afterthought in the larger
boxing landscape, but by the end of the night, no longer would he have
to worry about anonymity in the sport; he engaged in one of the fiercest
battles of attrition in recent times. Overcoming tremendous adversity, he
stopped Lenny Z in one of the best fights of the year, announcing his presence
on the big stage with a thunderbolt.
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| Photo courtesy of Top Rank |
Saucedo, 24, is a hybrid-style fighter. Originally from Mexico
before moving to Oklahoma, Saucedo definitely employs the "take two to
land one" ethos of many Latin American fighters. However, he has
attributes that come from other parts of the boxing world. He throws a left
uppercut that he starts away from his body, chest-high, and moves up almost in
a perfectly straight line. Gennady Golovkin, who also trains with Abel Sanchez,
has a similar shot in his arsenal. In addition, Saucedo is best at mid-range.
Throwing a variety of right hands, many of them looped or overhand, his shots
detonate much better from distance. In close, he can smother his shots. Furthermore,
he doesn't go to the body much.
Defensively, Saucedo is a work in progress. He has confidence in
his chin, which can be a double-edged sword. He can evade punches when he wants
to, but often he'll eat a shot or two because he'd rather stay in range to
throw counters. Of course, the art of blocking and
parrying shots could help him significantly. In the fourth round, Saucedo tried to
eat a right hand and it didn't go well. Lenny Z then exploded with a half-dozen
right hands, all hard and landing on the chin. Saucedo was dazed and hurt, but
miraculously he didn't go down. Perhaps a number of refs would have stopped the
fight at that point since Saucedo was seemingly target practice, but Gerald
Ritter gave Saucedo the opportunity to fight on.
Despite getting battered from pillar to post in the fourth, that
was the last round that Saucedo would lose on my card. In a Herculean display
of recuperative powers, he won the fifth, using his legs to create distance for
optimum punching range. He proceeded to carve up Lenny Z's eyes throughout the
remainder of the fight, creating a splatterpaint of blood on canvas that would
make Jackson Pollock blush.
Let's also not forget Saucedo's knockdown. In the third, he used
some footwork and subtle defensive skill to land a free shot. He detonated a
short, overhand right on the point of the chin and Lenny Z hit the canvas.
Somehow, that was the only knockdown in the fight.
By the end of the seventh, Lenny Z's corner had seen enough. Lenny's
eyes were barely functional and he looked like a horror movie ghoul, more a conceit
of the makeup department than an actual human being in the flesh. It was
a wise decision to call the fight, and afterwards, Lenny Z, 30 and a veteran of
a number of ring wars, decided to announce his retirement. Although the Australian had
never won a world title, he had always been competitive with top opponents at
135 and 140.
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| Photo courtesy of Top Rank |
As for Saucedo, he's now in position to fight for Maurice Hooker's
140-lb. belt and he has already provided some choice words for Top Rank's
other champion at junior welterweight, Jose Ramirez.
Saucedo's at a pivotal point in his development. He's good
enough to bang with top guys at 140, but that's not the same thing as saying
that he would beat them. There are still moments where Saucedo catches himself
in the ring, going through the gears to remember to take a step back so he
doesn't smother his work. Other times he will gingerly leave the pocket, reminding himself that
it's OK to stop and reset. He has decent legs, an excellent chin, great conditioning
and the heart of a champion. But will that be enough?
If Saucedo understands that there are additional facets that can
be added to his repertoire then he could be a real threat to anyone in the
division. If not, he'll still be a lot of fun and make for great TV. But without
more improvement, opposing fighters will consider him a tough day at the
office, but perhaps nothing more.
***
In another intriguing 140-lb. matchup on Saturday, English
prospect Jack Catterall eked out a tight unanimous decision win over previously
undefeated Tyrone McKenna of Belfast, Northern Ireland (which is where the
fight took place). That the fight even made it to the scorecards was an
indictment of Catterall laissez-faire ring demeanor and a testament to McKenna's
internal fortitude.
McKenna, sent down to the canvas three times in the fight (only
two of them were ruled official knockdowns), somehow survived Catterall's early
onslaught and was actually the one winning rounds in the back half of the
match. Only a rousing final round saved Catterall on the cards, which in truth
were a touch too generous to the hometown fighter – but hey, these things are
common in boxing, and Catterall should have been aware of that reality.
Catterall consistently was the bigger puncher and displayed
superior boxing skills but at many points of the match he couldn't be bothered
to let his hands go. He allowed McKenna to steal a number of rounds by sheer
output. Overall, Catterall's performance smacked of self-satisfaction and far
too much ego. In the third and fifth rounds, Catterall looked like he had
McKenna ready to go, but Catterall took his foot off the gas and let McKenna
recuperate.
Now 22-0 and a dark horse candidate to fill out the World Boxing
Super Series tournament at 140 lbs., Catterall is on the verge of getting a
title shot. Although he certainly knows how to fight and has considerable
boxing skills, there's a big hole in his boxing game; it's where his motor
should be.
Catterall has already defeated capable fighters such as McKenna,
Tyrone Nurse and Joe Hughes, but his paltry offensive output won't be enough at
the next level. It's almost as if he has the reverse of Saucedo's issues.
Catterall has an abundance of offensive skills and nifty defensive maneuvers,
but there are questions about his desire. In many ways Catterall reminds me of
another English southpaw with excellent skills and a blasé attitude – Frankie Gavin,
a fighter who was never able to get to the top level.
Catterall has sparred with Floyd Mayweather, Canelo Alvarez and
Kell Brook, and I'm sure he feels that he can handle himself in the ring
against the best fighters in his weight class. However, there's a
difference between competing and winning. It's
not enough for Catterall to hold his own, or it's not enough if Catterall wants
more for himself and his career.
Hopefully Catterall's trainer, Jamie Moore, conveyed some uncomfortable
truths after the fight. Catterall's effort wasn't enough to beat the best at
140. Sure, Catterall has talent, lots of it, but all elite fighters have
talent. Those pesky positive intangibles – for example: desire, resilience, a killer
instinct – are what Catterall needs, and they don't often suddenly
appear for a 25 year-old fighter. If Catterall was scared straight by his
performance on Saturday, then he has a real shot. But if not, disappointment looms.
Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
