A critical look at the past week in boxing
BIGGEST WINNER
Frank Martin
Martin will be a better fighter thanks to the experience he gained against 135-pound opponent Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday in Las Vegas but the process has been painful for him. The combination of Martin’s relative inactivity for the first eight innings and his opponent’s impressive ability and work speed resulted in a close-quarterfight, one where Martin (18-0, 12 KOs). ) must rally to win by a close but unanimous decision. The winner wasn’t pleased at all, blaming his slow performance on poor timing that he couldn’t explain. His coach, Derrick James, offered a reason: James pushed Martin to let him go until he finally did so with a bit of consistency all the way. My theory is that Martin was too concerned with being precise with his punches when he should have been focusing on hitting his smart opponent as much as possible, as he did in the sixth inning was explosive and in the final rounds. I guess that will be the lesson Martin will learn from the hardest fight of his career. Is he still a threat to the top 135-pounders? I also believe so. All top warriors must endure such trials at some point in time to evolve into the stars. I don’t want to be Martin’s next opponent.
TRIAL DOLL
Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) impressed in the loss. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, who has never competed outside his native Germany, proved to a respected opponent that he has world-class talent. He is a talented, intelligent and persistent boxer. It looks like a serious eye injury caused him to collapse in the final round, when he fell to his knees. England lost 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113. If he had won the final round 10-9 (instead of losing 10-8), the match would have been a majority draw (114-114 on two cards). I hope the Armenians will have more big fights. He earned that Saturday night. … Elvis Rodríguez (15-1-1, 13 KOs) was arguably the strongest performance of his career on the Martin-Harutyunyan sub-card. The 140-pound competitor who patiently took down the veteran is still capable Viktor Postol (31-5, 12 KOs) before knocking him out late in Round 6 and then finishing the job in Round 7. The convincing win cemented Dominica’s position as the legitimate contender. Meanwhile, Postol, 39, may decide to give it up after three consecutive losses. He’s had an stellar career, peaking when he stopped Lucas Matthysse in 10 rounds to win the world championship in 2015. …
heavyweight outlook Freudis Rojas (11-0, 11 KOs) got lucky as Nonito Donaire-Alexandro Santiago was pushed back to July 29 and his fight with superior opponents Diego Santiago Sanchez (March 19, 16 KOs) ended on Showtime’s Martin-Harutyunyan TV show. And he took full advantage, overwhelming and then stopping Sanchez after seven innings. Rojas has a lot going for him. The 6-foot-2 male tennis player from Las Vegas used his length and heavy hand to knock his Mexican foe out of a safe distance, a formula that could make him a winner. formidable opponent for anyone. Rojas is definitely one to see. … Undisputed 130-pound champion Alycia Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KOs) exacted her revenge and maintained her momentum Saturday in Detroit, beating Christina Linardatou (14-3, 6 KOs) by a one-way decision. The official scores are 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92. Linardatou awarded Baumgarnder her only defeat, a split decision in 2018. Baumgarnder has won nine straight fights and won all four junior lightweight titles since her defeat, claiming I consider myself to be one of the best in the business.
