By Cliff Rold
Tommy Ryan…Mickey Walker…Sugar Ray Robinson...Carmen Basilio…Emile Griffith…Sugar Ray Leonard…Cory Spinks. One of these names seems out of place. In one important way it shouldn’t. The first six are the names of the men who legitimately won the World welterweight and World middleweight crowns in their careers. Last Saturday in Memphis, Cory Spinks (36-4, 11 KO) of St. Louis, Missouri was robbed of an earned victory that would have made him the seventh.
The support for Spinks cause has largely been a gulf of silence.
Judges Gale Van Hoy and Michael Pernick decided Saturday night that Jermain Taylor (27-0-1, 17 KO) of Little Rock, Arkansas has done enough to keep his World Middleweight title. They were wrong. Harold Lederman of HBO scored the fight 8 rounds to 4 for the champion, a scorecard only marginally better than his nod for Muhammad Ali over Ken Norton in their third go around. The only judge who got it right, Dick Flaherty (117-11 for Spinks) received a Jim Lampley pom-pom special calling for his banishment from the kingdom.
My score matched Flaherty’s to the number (if not the round) and, having subjected myself to this bout twice more on tape since, I’m still at a loss to see how one comes up with a Taylor win. I’m sure Cory Spinks has watched the tape more times than that and I can’t imagine how he feels today. This was one of the worst scored fights in recent memory, but because a guy without much fan appeal got the shaft it’s being easily dismissed. Cory earned better than that.
He earned himself a championship, was denied it, and few seem to care.
I’m not the only one who scored the fight for Spinks. The live scoring here at Boxingscene, as well as at Maxboxing, favored Spinks. Not by a small margin either. Similar scores could be found from other journalists, pundits and amongst the multitude of diehard boxing fans in boxing’s internet communities. Yet in the days after the fight, all attention turned to the future and failings of Taylor. The story of the fight was what Taylor was not.
It’s time to give some credit for what Spinks was last weekend. From the first round forward, Spinks fought a Cory Spinks fight. It wasn’t scintillating, but it was extremely effective. Referred to on-air as a ‘hit-and-run’ style, Spinks effort was anything but. He circled Taylor at center ring all night long, popping his jab for range and to open up left hands to the head and body in simple one-twos. It worked like a charm.
There was no running at all and insinuations that Taylor was ‘making the fight’ are utterly ridiculous. Spinks was credited by Compubox with having thrown some 230 or so more punches in the fight (not that Compubox is 100%; if Taylor landed 14 shots clean in the fifth round, I’ll eat this column). He threw more power punches and two-to-one more jabs. Their total landed shots were virtually even (101-85). On top of that, fans at home listened to Taylor’s trainer, Emanuel Steward, beg him for most of the second half of the fight to, well, fight. They also saw Spinks promoter Don King ringside with a big grin for most of the fight while Taylor promoter Lou DiBella, seated next to King, leapt from his seat repeatedly, seemingly apoplectic in rooting his man on.
Let’s be clear on two things: rounds last three minutes and it was not Cory Spinks' obligation to stand there and let Taylor hit him. In rounds presumed close, Taylor would land one or two punches while Spinks would control the other two minutes and thirty seconds with movement and higher activity. To have Taylor winning, those thirty winning seconds would have to be overwhelming. Few, if any, were.
The other thing that needs to be clear: there is no such thing as ‘taking a title from a champion’ beyond winning more rounds. There is no rule in boxing that says ‘if the round is in any way close, score for the champ.’ Cory should have been awarded more rounds because he earned more rounds, close or not.
Taylor, even in the few rounds he legitimately won (on my card, the 3rd, 9th and 12th), failed to cut off the ring and rarely double jabbed. Without the double jab Spinks couldn’t be forced to the ropes where Taylor might impose his size. There were few times in the fight when Spinks was on the ropes and that was by design.
In what category of the four scoring criteria did Taylor best Spinks? As we’ve reviewed, effective punching was all but even. Effective aggression was as well. Cory threw much more and landed about equal; this category becomes a win for him when the other two criterion factor in. The first, defense, was clearly to Spinks advantage. Taylor blocked a number of Spinks shots well, but Spinks blocked and made Taylor miss. By miss, I don’t mean James Toney defense, where punches slide away by inches. Spinks regularly made Taylor miss by feet standing right in front of him.
The last category, ring generalship, doesn’t need much consideration. Spinks controlled the space, the pace and the geography all night long. He deserves maximum credit here because it wasn’t a boxers ring. It was a punchers ring, at best twenty feet. The more physical fighter should have had the advantage but Taylor’s general lack of athleticism and coordination made it easy for Spinks to control all the style elements of the fight.
The fight itself was less exciting than watching mowed grass try to grow back and no one should ever want to see it again. These two didn’t mix well for those who expect to see action when two men don gloves, nor were they expected to. That doesn’t mean Cory Spinks doesn’t deserve another crack at the World title. Whether it is against Taylor, or the man who eventually defeats him, Spinks walks the Earth today as the uncrowned champion at 160 lbs. As he stated at the post-fight press conference, “I knew I won it. I did my job.”
Yes he did.
On “The Champ”: Now that Spinks has been given his just due, we turn to the official victor. As noted above, the press in the days after Taylor’s fourth title defense has been focused on what lies in his future and what he’s doing wrong. Let’s start with the latter.
I am not going to lay the blame for Taylor’s technical deficiencies solely at his feet. Taylor was, at one time, a blue chip prospect. He hasn’t looked great as a champion and for that we must look to his management and promotion. At 28 years of age, he has fought only three times in the last eighteen months. That’s a par for the course schedule for most elite level fighters, but Taylor isn’t most elite level fighters. When he was given the first decision against Bernard Hopkins to win the crown, Taylor was presumed to be a fighter that would improve as champion. He has not, indicating that he needs more fights. Gym work doesn’t iron out wrinkles the same way live fire does and Taylor needs to be in the ring more often for that reason, economics be damned.
As for his future, the options are many with many a land mine. Columbus, Ohio’s Kelly Pavlik (31-0, 28 KO) is the WBC mandatory and Ring Magazine #3 contender. After the wonderful war he won against Colombia’s Edison Miranda (28-2, 24 KO, #4) on Saturday’s undercard, he’s also the man most hardcore fans want to see get his deserved title shot. That doesn’t mean he’s next. Taylor’s people have shown a noticeable avoidance of puncher’s throughout the champion’s career, and Pavlik might be the best puncher within ten pounds either way.
If it’s not Pavlik, then whom can fans expect? Three names have risen to the surface and two of them would be favorable for Taylor. The first is Roy Jones. Jones has gone on record prior to the fight stating that he has a deal in principle for a fight with Taylor, perhaps at a catchweight, in the fall. Given Jones’ shaky chin and age, Taylor might be favored to win in a fight that would likely be as entertaining as last weekend’s was. That wouldn’t necessarily stop it given the money Jones might draw.
The final option has to be considered a joke at this point unless Taylor’s handlers decide it’s time to cash out on this venture. World super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KO) of Wales has been all but begging for a Taylor fight in recent weeks. Taylor’s performances against Spinks, and before that Kasim Ouma, are all the evidence as to why. Taylor is good money for Calzaghe and it doesn’t look like it would be tough money to come by either. Calzaghe is faster, a better athlete, and more experienced. Until Taylor proves otherwise, a Calzaghe fight is nothing short of disaster.
Add all the options up and you’ve got the most vulnerable lineal champion in the sport. The most winnable, and best paying, fights lack credibility; the toughest fights don’t look winnable at this point. Taylor may have thought he’d faced the worst when his two victories over Bernard Hopkins and draw with Winky Wright were largely disputed and held against him. He may look back at those as the best of times.
It’s too bad really. Taylor is an individual with great class, professionalism and back story. He’s everything boxing could ask for outside the ring. In the ring, boxing demands that he be the world’s best middleweight. He doesn’t appear up to the task.
The Ten-Second Bell: The silver lining in the sleep induced by Taylor-Spinks might be that it has forced the best fight in the sport back to the table. Joe Calzaghe’s pleadings for a Taylor fight are not missed by those who want to see him face his number one contender, Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KO) of Denmark. Rumor has it that Calzaghe’s promoter, Frank Warren, is feeling pressure from British TV to make some better quality fights. If Taylor isn’t available (and he shouldn’t be), Kessler is all that’s left if Calzaghe is to have a big fight in the fall. Negotiations have not ended for Kessler-Calzaghe and all real fight fans should have their fingers crossed. That is unless Warren decides to dig up Roy Jones before anyone else does…
It will be interesting this Saturday to see if #2 middleweight Arthur Abraham (22-0, 17 KO) is back to form. The German-based Armenian went through hell to edge out Edison Miranda last September, incurring a shattered jaw in the process. Prior to that bout, he’d begun to look like a future threat to be king with wins over Howard Eastman, Kingsley Ikeke and Kofi Jantuah. His opponent, Sebastian Demers (20-0, 9 KO) hasn’t faced near the same level of foe but hasn’t been propped up against cake either. This should be an excellent test and an excellent contest…
Finally, allow me to thank Kelly Pavlik and Edison Miranda as a fight fan. Their fight was everything it was billed to be and more. If we’re all lucky, it was the beginning of a career rivalry. For those who didn’t see it and have access to HBO OnDemand, watch this fight. I convinced a crew of casual fight fans to check this one out live and every one of them will be back the next time either man is on the air.
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