Over the past 12 months boxing has seen some really strange decisions, in fact, up until tonight by robbery of the year was Moises Fuentes being denied a clear victory over Donnie Nietes in a bout for the WBO Light Flyweight title. There was no way in my mind that Fuentes failed to win that contest.
Unfortunately this evening boxing threw us another curve ball, this time in the UK as Scotland's Ricky Burns (36-2-1, 11) retained his title in one of the truly controversial bouts of the year.
Entering as a clear favourite against US based Mexican Raymundo Beltran (28-6-1, 17), Burns was supposed to dominate Beltran, a man viewed by many as a glorified journeyman and merely the "sparring partner" of Manny Pacquiao. It was as if many had looked past Beltran actually being a fine fighter in his own right, and being on an excellent run which included victories over Hank Lundy and Ji-Hoon Kim as well as "losses", take that term lightly, to Luis Ramos Jr and Sharif Bogere in the last 30 months.
It appeared that almost everyone, other than Beltran himself, thought he was there to lose as Burns took a step towards an American showdown with HBO's new star in the making Terrance Crawford. What transpired however was a robbery that even Ronnie Biggs would have been proud of.
The opening round was a good one for Burns, I can't possibly take that away from him as he landed crisp, clean shots time after time. If you merely saw the first round then turned it off, the pre-fight idea of Burns winning with ease would have been a fair conclusion. Then however things began to turn, the second round, another round Burns likely won, saw the Scot given his first taste of Beltran's power as he tagged him to the body and attempted to break down the home town fighter.
At the end of round 2 it appeared that Beltran had damaged the jaw of Burns, with later reports suggesting it had been dislocated. This injury clearly bothered Burns though as it appeared to come from clean punches there was little he could do other than put up with it and fight, especially following comments made from him, and more specifically his team, following his last defense where Jose Gonzalez was forced to pull out of the bout with an injury.
With the damage done in the second round Beltran was spurred on and he moved up a gear landing body shots and bullying Burns around the ring. It wasn't obvious what the injury was to fans but it was clear that Beltran could smell blood as he went on the hunt and applied intelligent pressure round after round, looking to land sweeping shots up top and hurtful blows down low.
Through several of the following rounds Beltran really did all he could to claim the rounds on the scorecards. Unfortunately, despite clearly winning a number of rounds, the judges seemed to be dead set against giving him all the credit he deserved. In fact by the mid way point it seemed difficult to even make a case that Burns was level, never mind actually leading the bout.
Although Burns had fallen behind on almost every neutral's scorecard he did come out firing very impressively in round 7, a round in which it appeared Beltran was starting to tire. The shots from Burns had again looked smooth, snappy and sharp, something that had been absent for several rounds and it appeared the turn around was on.
With Burns claiming round 7 it appeared the momentum shift was on, this was flipped completely in round 8 however as Burns was dropped in the clearest round of the fight. Beltran, who had dropped Burns with a single sweeping shot went for the finish though Burns managed to see out the round and get to his stool unscathed.
Unfortunately for the Scot it was was then difficult to make a case for him winning too much afterwards. He was on his bike for most of rounds 9 and 10 as Beltran tried to drop him again, and although he fought back well in round 11 it was too close to call a clear Burns round with the twelfth being similarly close.
With Beltran having clearly won at least 6 rounds, if not 7, 8 or even 9 and scoring a knockdown it appeared that we had had an upset. Unfortunately the judges failed to see what everyone else seemed to see and in fact they managed to come up with a split decision, leaving many with little more than questions.
What did Beltran need to do to win? What was Carlos Ortiz Jr (115-112 Burns) watching? Was this a second successive "off night" for Burns? Is Burns that good? Will Beltran get a rematch? And, maybe more worryingly, will another world level boxer return to fight in Britain again?
Feel free to come up with your own answers, but I know mine, and I know my stomach is turning with anger towards this sport, at least in Britain, more and more this past year.
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Ricky Burns v Jose A Gonzalez
In a surprisingly tougher than expected bout Scotland's Ricky Burns (36-2, 10) successfully defended his WBO Lightweight title as Puerto Rico's Jose A Gonzalez (22-1, 17) retired on his stool at the end of the 9th round.
The bout started badly for Burn's who genuinely struggled to hit his tricky opponent clean and although the opening round was close it was Gonzalez who looked like the man who had the skills edge as well as the power edge.
Gonzalez managed to quickly grow in to the bout and appeared to clearly take rounds 2 and 3 with his superior work both offensively and defensively. Not only was Gonzalez slipping almost everything Burns was throwing at him but he was also landing his own heavy shots from either hand with genuine ease. It was looking like Gonzalez wasn't the challenger stepping up a level but was the champion proving his status as one of the best.
It wasn't until round 4 that Burns managed to have any sort of sustained offense as he managed to land some of his own firepower, though the challenger once again seemed to claim the round whilst looking supremely relaxed and incredibly confident. Burns built on his success of round 4 and seemed to just eek out round 5 as he finally managed to have some continued success, despite a spirited assault by Gonzalez late that may have stole him the round on the score cards.
Burns' momentum was short lived as Gonzalez stormed round 6 and seemed to rock Burns as the Scottish fighter continued to struggle with the Puerto Rican who had been able to out jab Burns at a distance and out slug with him up close. In all honesty it appeared as if Gonzalez could win the bout by either boxing with his sharp jab or by stopping Burns with his devastating uppercuts up close.
By the start of round 7 things were looking awful for Burns but the Scot refused to quit and really took the fight to Gonzalez as the two men traded major shots throughout the round. It seemed there were several times in which Burns was about to go down but he just refused and fired back in what was one of the round's of the year. Neither man seemed willing to give up the round as Burns finally started to have some major success (though was forced to eat heavy shots in return).
Although both men had survived round 7 it appeared to be the start of the end and Gonzalez looked notably slower and less active in round 8. Originally it seemed as if he had needed a breather and took the round off though with round 9 going the same way it was obvious that there was something wrong with Gonzalez. it later turned out that Gonzalez had a suspected broken wrist which sadly forced him to retire in prior to the start of round 10.
Although some have said that Gonzalez "quit" (comments which have been made by British fighters Paul Smith and Tony Bellew amongst others) the injury seems to have been legit and I'm sorry to say those questioning Gonzalez really should hang their heads in shame. The guy had made Burns look like an amateur for the better part of 7 rounds and will certainly come again. For Ricky Burns this was certainly a lucky escape.
The bout started badly for Burn's who genuinely struggled to hit his tricky opponent clean and although the opening round was close it was Gonzalez who looked like the man who had the skills edge as well as the power edge.
Gonzalez managed to quickly grow in to the bout and appeared to clearly take rounds 2 and 3 with his superior work both offensively and defensively. Not only was Gonzalez slipping almost everything Burns was throwing at him but he was also landing his own heavy shots from either hand with genuine ease. It was looking like Gonzalez wasn't the challenger stepping up a level but was the champion proving his status as one of the best.
It wasn't until round 4 that Burns managed to have any sort of sustained offense as he managed to land some of his own firepower, though the challenger once again seemed to claim the round whilst looking supremely relaxed and incredibly confident. Burns built on his success of round 4 and seemed to just eek out round 5 as he finally managed to have some continued success, despite a spirited assault by Gonzalez late that may have stole him the round on the score cards.
Burns' momentum was short lived as Gonzalez stormed round 6 and seemed to rock Burns as the Scottish fighter continued to struggle with the Puerto Rican who had been able to out jab Burns at a distance and out slug with him up close. In all honesty it appeared as if Gonzalez could win the bout by either boxing with his sharp jab or by stopping Burns with his devastating uppercuts up close.
By the start of round 7 things were looking awful for Burns but the Scot refused to quit and really took the fight to Gonzalez as the two men traded major shots throughout the round. It seemed there were several times in which Burns was about to go down but he just refused and fired back in what was one of the round's of the year. Neither man seemed willing to give up the round as Burns finally started to have some major success (though was forced to eat heavy shots in return).
Although both men had survived round 7 it appeared to be the start of the end and Gonzalez looked notably slower and less active in round 8. Originally it seemed as if he had needed a breather and took the round off though with round 9 going the same way it was obvious that there was something wrong with Gonzalez. it later turned out that Gonzalez had a suspected broken wrist which sadly forced him to retire in prior to the start of round 10.
Although some have said that Gonzalez "quit" (comments which have been made by British fighters Paul Smith and Tony Bellew amongst others) the injury seems to have been legit and I'm sorry to say those questioning Gonzalez really should hang their heads in shame. The guy had made Burns look like an amateur for the better part of 7 rounds and will certainly come again. For Ricky Burns this was certainly a lucky escape.
Saturday, 22 September 2012
Ricky Burns v Kevin Mitchell
Ricky Burns (35-2, 10) successfully defended his WBO Lightweight title for a second time with arguably his most impressive victory to date by stopping Englishman Kevin Mitchell in the 4th round. Not only was Burns marvelous in victory but he proved that he hit far harder than fans around the world thought.
The opening round was close with both men having their successes though it seemed as if Mitchell may have done just enough to take it with what appeared to be excellent boxing and fantastic movement. The Englishman appeared to neutralise the fantastic burns jab which wasn't landing with the usual success that Burns often has with it. Sadly however this was to be the only round that Mitchell could even claim to have been close to winning.
In the second round Burns really put his foot on the gas and thoroughly dominated Mitchell, landing time and time again with his right hand. Whilst the right hand was a major weapon Burns was also willing to trade an appeared to be be the stronger man when the two fighters did go toe-to-toe. The fact Burns was winning when the two men were brawling was really a major point and seemed to almost deflate Mitchell who was being out-boxed and out-fought.
Burns' domination continued in the third round where he just looked a class better than Mitchell and much, much stronger. It seemed like everything Burns landed got to the challenger, whilst Mitchell's own shots had little to no effect on the champion who was in complete control by the end of the round.
In the fourth round Burns' dominance showed as he wobbled Mitchell with a hard, hurtful shot, just seconds later Mitchell was dropped. Despite taking his time to get to his feet Mitchell never really recovered and was dropped again soon afterwards. With the clock ticking down, Burns went in for the kill and wailed away on Mitchell forcing the referee to step in and wave the bout off with just seconds remaining in the round.
For Burns this is really the fight that puts him head and shoulders ahead of everyone else in Britain, and concretes his standing as one of the very best in the world. Whilst the likes of Richard Abril, Antonio DeMarco and Miguel Vazquez may all claim to be the best, Burns would give any of them a 50-50 fight and seems to be growing into a fighter who knows he can throw hurtful shots. A very impressive performance.
For Mitchell, I think we are done with thinking he's a "world level" fighter, however he's in an awkward position as he's certainly better than many of the top European Lightweights. I can't help but think that he's simply too small for Lightweight and will be over-powered by any genuine Lightweight. If he can make Super Featherweight the best idea would be to drop down, if he can't then he's in a very, very tough position.
The opening round was close with both men having their successes though it seemed as if Mitchell may have done just enough to take it with what appeared to be excellent boxing and fantastic movement. The Englishman appeared to neutralise the fantastic burns jab which wasn't landing with the usual success that Burns often has with it. Sadly however this was to be the only round that Mitchell could even claim to have been close to winning.
In the second round Burns really put his foot on the gas and thoroughly dominated Mitchell, landing time and time again with his right hand. Whilst the right hand was a major weapon Burns was also willing to trade an appeared to be be the stronger man when the two fighters did go toe-to-toe. The fact Burns was winning when the two men were brawling was really a major point and seemed to almost deflate Mitchell who was being out-boxed and out-fought.
Burns' domination continued in the third round where he just looked a class better than Mitchell and much, much stronger. It seemed like everything Burns landed got to the challenger, whilst Mitchell's own shots had little to no effect on the champion who was in complete control by the end of the round.
In the fourth round Burns' dominance showed as he wobbled Mitchell with a hard, hurtful shot, just seconds later Mitchell was dropped. Despite taking his time to get to his feet Mitchell never really recovered and was dropped again soon afterwards. With the clock ticking down, Burns went in for the kill and wailed away on Mitchell forcing the referee to step in and wave the bout off with just seconds remaining in the round.
For Burns this is really the fight that puts him head and shoulders ahead of everyone else in Britain, and concretes his standing as one of the very best in the world. Whilst the likes of Richard Abril, Antonio DeMarco and Miguel Vazquez may all claim to be the best, Burns would give any of them a 50-50 fight and seems to be growing into a fighter who knows he can throw hurtful shots. A very impressive performance.
For Mitchell, I think we are done with thinking he's a "world level" fighter, however he's in an awkward position as he's certainly better than many of the top European Lightweights. I can't help but think that he's simply too small for Lightweight and will be over-powered by any genuine Lightweight. If he can make Super Featherweight the best idea would be to drop down, if he can't then he's in a very, very tough position.
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