A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Roman Gonzalez told me ahead of his unanimous decision win over Julio Cesar Martinez on Saturday that conditioning was key to his success.
Undoubtedly, his unusual physicality played a major role in his ability to take this elite opponent after elite opponent for more than a decade, a period of time during which he dominated. four tournaments. His motives have become legendary. For example, according to CompuBox, he threw 129 punches culminating in 12 punches.order and the final round against Martinez (18-2, 14 KOs).
However, it is much more than that. His ability to consistently deliver precise, difficult punches at high speed while dodging them himself – even against his best opponents – has amazed observers since the first. He attracted the attention of the world.
Gonzalez (51-3, 41 KOs) hit his 50.7 power shots on Saturday, which is impressive. And get this: 244 of his last 249 punches landed were power shots.
The only flaw in his performance – if it could be called that – was that he was unable to knock out Martinez, a current flyweight champion athlete who put on weight for the match. However, it was more a product of Mexican stability and toughness than any shortage on Gonzalez’s part.
And remember: “Chocolatito” continued to fight at the pound-for-pound level at 34, the age at which most fighters his size retire.
Is he the boxer who crushed everyone in his way at 105, 108, and 112 pounds between 2008 and 2016? At the same time, his experience and that incredible condition have allowed him to become one of the best boxers in the world.
Could that be clearer on Saturday? Let’s enjoy him while we can.
BAD
Julio Cesar Martinez is rated higher than Roman Gonzalez. Ed Mulholland / Matchmaking Room
You have to feel Martinez.
The WBC flyweight boxer, who agreed to take on Gonzalez six weeks before the bout after Juan Francisco Estrada withdrew, entered the ring at Pechanga Arena San Diego designed to be an equal force.
Canelo Alvarez’s bodyguard, who had been so self-absorbed, left the ring wondering what kind of superhuman being superhuman had so grossly falsified his grand plan.
Of course, there’s no shame in losing to one of the greatest little boxers of all time. Chocolate is like that. And Martinez can boast of his ability to go all 12 rounds with him, even though he has suffered plenty of penalties in the process.
He also deserves credit for never giving up. He continued to throw dangerous combinations until the last bell. He landed 21 of 56 punches in the final round, his highest in both categories.
Martinez’s problem is the same as most Gonzalez’s opponents have: As good as he is, he’s just not good enough to compete with a truly great boxer.
I imagine Martinez will drop to 112 pounds and successfully defend his title one or two more times. He will then step back to 115 and will most likely collect a belt or two at that weight, as long as he doesn’t cross the line with Gonzalez again or fight Estrada or Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
That trio fought at a level that Martinez could hardly reach.
WORSE
Tyson Fury will face Dillian Whyte on April 23. Mikey Williams / Top Rank Inc via Getty Images
The heavyweight division started working not long ago. Now it is in standby and watch mode.
Last spring, it looked like Tyson Fury would finally meet fellow countryman Anthony Joshua in arguably the biggest heavyweight bout that has made the boxing world covet. Then a series of events changed everything.
A referee has ruled that Fury must abide by the rematch clause in his second bout with Deontay Wilder instead of going head to head with Joshua, which created a classic Fury-Wilder bout in February 2020 There were no major heavyweight fights between then and September of last year.
That’s when former cruiser champion Oleksandr Usyk upset Joshua to win three of the four main belts and put the Fury-Joshua showdown on the ice once again.
So what now?
Fury is set to defend his title against mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London, which is a big bout in the UK rather than anywhere else. Whyte, a decent heavyweight, didn’t resonate in the US
Joshua has planned a rematch with Usyk but that won’t happen anytime soon as Usyk is engaged in a larger war, against Russian invaders intent on ravaging his European neighbour.
Joshua is now fight-free at work and has only recently settled into working with trainer Angel Fernandez, although we’ll see if that’s permanent. Wilder, arguably the world’s number 3 heavyweight, also has no plans at the moment.
So heavyweight fans will have to be content with the Fury-Whyte fight and then be patient.
BAGS DOLL
Jose Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs) on Friday recovered well from the previous loss Josh Tayloreasily point out the veteran Jose Pedraza (April 29, 14 KOs) in Fresno, California. Ramirez took a bet by agreeing to play against Pedraza, one of the better batting technicians in the sport. However, he fought well over the long haul to win the one-way decision and re-establish himself as one of the 140-pound heavyweights. His next bout could be a belt if Taylor moves to 147 pounds, as he clearly plans. I doubt that Ramirez will hit the weight balance but he is a good boxer who will almost certainly win another title or two. Pedraza? I still believe in his abilities. However, he struggled against his best opponents. His four defeats were against Gervonta Davis, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Jose Zepeda and now Ramirez. And none of those fights are particularly close. He may have hit the ceiling. … Richard Torrez, the 2020 Olympic heavyweight silver medalist, made his professional debut with the Ramirez-Pedraza tag. Californians stop Allen Melson (6-4.3 KO) in two rounds in a fight proved nothing because Melson was large (5 foot-10, 201.75 pounds) and lacked ability. One goal of debut, however, is to surpass it. Complete mission. It will be interesting to see how Torrez evolves. He himself is relatively small, 6-2, about 230 pounds. That could be a problem for some of the giants currently roaming the division. However, Torrez has unsophisticated abilities, punching power and a good chin. Keep stable.
