Alexander, Darchinyan Shine: Post-Weekend Report Card

By Cliff Rold

There is a difference in boxing between a titlist and a genuine World Champion.  There are plenty of the former, only a handful of the latter in the game right now.

Saturday presented the latest outing for one of the handful, but the star of the night was a young man adding title number two to his waist.

He had the look of genuine World Champion’s timber.

On separate networks, World Jr. Bantamweight Champion Vic Darchinyan (34-2-1, 27 KO) and WBC/IBF Jr. Welterweight titlist Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KO) won big.  They were both favorites going in but if one had bet on which man would end his night early, Alexander would have been a prohibitive underdog.

When leather fists rip into flesh and bone, there is always room for surprise.

Let’s go to the report cards, starting with the Alexander contest. 

Grades

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Alexander B+; Urango B+/Post: Alexander A; Urango B+

If it’s true the unseen punch harms most, Alexander’s eighth round stoppage of Urango (22-2-1, 17 KO) exemplifies the notion.  The wicked uppercut inside which dropped Urango for only the second time in his career was the sort of blind blast sure to follow the Alexander highlight reel for years.  The second knockdown and stoppage didn’t result in a ten count, but they were checkmate.  Alexander stopped a man Ricky Hatton and Andre Berto couldn’t hurt.

What led there was more important is assessing the feature.  When he won the WBC belt from Junior Witter last year, Alexander showed that he could handle an awkward veteran.  As noted in the pre-fight report card, Saturday was about whether he had enough beard to get truly excited about the long term chances his physical talent indicated.

The answer came up yes against Urango.

He didn’t get caught a ton but Alexander took his share of the hammering right hook Urango has used to great effect in winning a pair of IBF titles at 140 lbs.  He took them and took them just fine.  After the fight, Alexander even stated he didn’t think Urango was that big a puncher.  Did the rhetoric imply perhaps he managed to avoid the biggest of bombs?  Probably.  He was touched enough to get an idea that the chin is there too.

With only twenty contests, Alexander will want to work to be hit with less of them over time and still has some amateur tendencies, grunting his offense out in a way that could be used against him.  Those are items which can be improved.  At only 23 years of age, time is on his side.

As to Urango, the 29-year old isn’t done just yet.  He’s hit the deck now two fights in a row but the first time was against a great puncher in Randall Bailey, this time against a strong talent.  In a division which features a banger like Marcos Maidana, hard but exciting work wouldn’t be too hard to come by.  His lack of a jab and one dimensional offense are unlikely to be ironed out, but Urango was up before the count both times on Saturday and consistently gives his all.

Where Urango failed, another noted puncher succeeded at another arena, but he needed a long night to do it.

More Grades

Pre-Fight: Intangibles - Darchinyan A; Guerrero ?/Post: A; A

In the pre-fight report card, the question was “Who is Rodrigo Guerrero?”  It wasn’t some existential mumbo jumbo.  It was an honest ask.  There wasn’t any footage to be found; an accurate age couldn’t be located either.

It turned out Mexico’s Guerrero (13-2-1, 9 KO) was a 22-year old kid with the sort of guts, the sort of desire, which not enough challengers bring into the ring.  He was outgunned.  He didn’t have the experience to deal with a potential Hall of Famer.  But he took shots from Darchinyan that have sent other men to sleep for years…and then he took some more.

And Guerrero kept coming.  In the early rounds he even held his own, backing the champion up, making Darchinyan work that much harder.  It’s hard to say what Guerrero’s future is, but that one can hope he has one, that someone with his sack could improve and be back, is not too much to ask for.

Darchinyan, who was likely as surprised as the audience at the endurance of his foe, showed off all of the quality which made him the king at 115 lbs. after a devastating knockout loss at 112 lbs. in 2007.  His left hand was blistering and accurate, and his short right uppercut showed off its usual fury.  Darchinyan also showed patience and pacing in the late rounds, not trying to force the stop and ensuring he boxed clean to the limit.  He won and was supposed to and at 34 should be appreciated before he finally slips beyond the peaks.

Looking Ahead

Before he slips, the obvious for Darchinyan is a rematch with the first man to defeat him, Nonito Donaire.  It’s a must fight for so long as both remain at 115 lbs.  If Donaire isn’t interested in winning the championship in the weight class he competes in, why is he there?  The answer may end up being he won’t be, that Bantamweight is calling his larger frame.  If so, there are great possibilities there and could be for Darchinyan as well.  The rematch is less likely, less palpable for now at least, in that higher domain considering the strength of the titlists there.

For Alexander, options abound.  Jr. Welterweight is arguably (and arguments against are weak) the deepest division in boxing.  The chatter after Saturday was a showdown with WBO titlist Timothy Bradley (25-0, 11 KO), whose vacated WBC belt Alexander picked up while remaining the consensus choice for best active fighter in class.  Many Pacquiao remains the lineal champion at 140 for now, but that is likely to become clearly no longer the case very soon and Bradley-Alexander looks like the fight to fill the slot.

It should happen…but probably not right away.  Both those two young Americans have the look of something special.  They may just have the talent to be tomorrow’s pound for pound rivalry.  A couple more fights for both could add the refinement they need, and audience growth they deserve, to make a fight between them of the best possible stakes both fistic and financial.  

Report Card Picks 2010: 4-1

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com