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Freitas-Raheem: Meeting at the Crossroads
Freitas-Raheem: Meeting at the Crossroads
By Ryan ********, Photo courtesy *********.com
5-1-2006
TEAM PINOY
[img]http://www.*********.com/freitaswins2.jpg[/img]
Saturday night was supposed to clear up alot of questions in the lightweight division. It pitted two contenders looking to be champions in a crossroads fight. Zahir Raheem, fresh off his domination of Erik Morales, and Acelino Freitas were set to give the public an exhibition worthy of making them the must see lightweights in the world. Instead, we wound up with another stinker and another close, controversial decision.
In the first round, an accidental headbutt caused a laceration above Raheem's left eye, a portent of things to come. The early rounds were controlled by Freitas, who seemed more comfortable with the roughness of the bout. Both men tended to lunge in with their shots, and this contributed to the ridiculous amount of clinching that took place. Raheem would go to the canvas a number of times as a result of the clinching and bad balance, which would mar the fight.
Raheem became more active in the middle rounds, as Freitas tired down the stretch. His lead right hand became more accurate as Freitas was standing around and not jabbing enough. Raheem clearly won rounds 6-10, but was outhustled in the 11th and twelfth round.
When the scorecards read a split decision victory for Freitas, "Popo" reacted similarly to the way he did when he beat Casamayor, with jubilation and uncontrolled emotion. Raheem had a serious look of disappointment in himself, although his body language before the decision was announced did not suggest a deep belief in his dominance. Max Kellerman, working in his first assignment as commentator for Boxing After Dark, had Raheem winning 115-113. Many ringside also had Raheem ahead.
The WBO lightweight title is good enough to hold up Freitas' pants, but little else. It was vacated by Diego Corrales when he opted to face Jose Luis Castillo again instead of a rematch with Freitas. Given that Freitas had a rematch clause with Corrales that he chose to exercise, the title was declared vacant. The winner of Castillo-Corrales is the only champion of significance at 135 lbs.
Neither fighter performed well enough to create public demand for them to be in another high profile bout, yet both displayed vulnerabilities that would make them attractive to other fighters.
Freitas showed that he is still a one dimensional fighter. He had no defense for anything Raheem was doing, other than becoming aggressive. He jabbed infrequently and didn't set up his offense effectively. His whole game plan was to step in and catch Raheem sleeping with big right hands. He did not throw to the body enough to offset Raheem's awkward movement.
He also failed to capitalize on Raheem's habit of lunging with his punches and counter punching. Freitas' punches were too wide and against the stronger lighyweights, he would have been sent home packing with another embarrassing knockout loss.
For his part, he followed his role somewhat effectively. He knew his game plan was to be aggressive, and he was. He bullied the smaller Raheem around and tried to impose his will on him. That will get you to the gate, but he failed to enter the door.
Raheem may surplant Corey Spinks as the biggest stinker in boxing. His style just
seems to make for ugly fights. His wide stance and tendency to squat down when in a defensive posture makes for a lot of clinching and slips. The styles of these fighters made this a big issue.
Raheem was not closing the distance with the jab, instead preferring to lunge in with single shots from a distance. He abandoned the jab and was not being terribly accurate with the jab when he decided to throw it. He was getting caught down the middle early in the fight with the right hand because he keeps his gloves too wide. His looping, lunging shots were a counter punchers dream, yet Freitas was unable to take advantage.
Raheem did however have success when he got off first and threw combinations. He stunned Freitas in the middle of the fight with a stiff combination, then proceeded to throw Popo to the ground in frustration as Freitas was holding. He was very accurate when he threw straight punches, but was missing terribly when he looped them off balance. He displayed a good chin, but a lack of initiative.
Freitas has a world of options available to him now that he holds a silly alphabet belt. Juan Diaz, who holds the WBA belt, would be an attractive bout for the Brazilian native. Diaz is a volume puncher with lack luster defense and little punching power. This could be an explosive bout.
Jesus Chavez, the holder of the IBF belt, would be a very interesting bout as well. Freitas may have an advantage in punching power, but Chavez' pressure and strength may wear Freitas down in the later rounds.
If Freitas truly wants to legitimize what he calls his "world championship", he would have to face who Ring Magazine considers the world champion, Diego "Chico" Corrales. In their first encounter in 2004, Freitas was winning the fight on all the judges' scorecards, but knockdowns in the 8th, 9th, and 10th rounds prompted "Popo" to call it an early night following the third knockdown. A victory over Corrales would make him a legitimate world champion and would help to clear his reputation as a quitter.
Corrales, however, first has to get by Jose Luis Castillo in June before committing to any other engagements.
It is interesting to see where these 2 fighters go from here. Raheem has to rebuild, and with his awkward style and lack of marketability, it will be very difficult for him to regain prominence in the sport. For Freitas, he will get the opportunity to face alot of big name opponents for big money. Two fighters met at the crossroads, and only one made it across the street.
Ryan ******** is a syndicated columnist. If you would like to reach him, his email is mc_rson@yahoo.com .
By Ryan ********, Photo courtesy *********.com
5-1-2006
TEAM PINOY
[img]http://www.*********.com/freitaswins2.jpg[/img]
Saturday night was supposed to clear up alot of questions in the lightweight division. It pitted two contenders looking to be champions in a crossroads fight. Zahir Raheem, fresh off his domination of Erik Morales, and Acelino Freitas were set to give the public an exhibition worthy of making them the must see lightweights in the world. Instead, we wound up with another stinker and another close, controversial decision.
In the first round, an accidental headbutt caused a laceration above Raheem's left eye, a portent of things to come. The early rounds were controlled by Freitas, who seemed more comfortable with the roughness of the bout. Both men tended to lunge in with their shots, and this contributed to the ridiculous amount of clinching that took place. Raheem would go to the canvas a number of times as a result of the clinching and bad balance, which would mar the fight.
Raheem became more active in the middle rounds, as Freitas tired down the stretch. His lead right hand became more accurate as Freitas was standing around and not jabbing enough. Raheem clearly won rounds 6-10, but was outhustled in the 11th and twelfth round.
When the scorecards read a split decision victory for Freitas, "Popo" reacted similarly to the way he did when he beat Casamayor, with jubilation and uncontrolled emotion. Raheem had a serious look of disappointment in himself, although his body language before the decision was announced did not suggest a deep belief in his dominance. Max Kellerman, working in his first assignment as commentator for Boxing After Dark, had Raheem winning 115-113. Many ringside also had Raheem ahead.
The WBO lightweight title is good enough to hold up Freitas' pants, but little else. It was vacated by Diego Corrales when he opted to face Jose Luis Castillo again instead of a rematch with Freitas. Given that Freitas had a rematch clause with Corrales that he chose to exercise, the title was declared vacant. The winner of Castillo-Corrales is the only champion of significance at 135 lbs.
Neither fighter performed well enough to create public demand for them to be in another high profile bout, yet both displayed vulnerabilities that would make them attractive to other fighters.
Freitas showed that he is still a one dimensional fighter. He had no defense for anything Raheem was doing, other than becoming aggressive. He jabbed infrequently and didn't set up his offense effectively. His whole game plan was to step in and catch Raheem sleeping with big right hands. He did not throw to the body enough to offset Raheem's awkward movement.
He also failed to capitalize on Raheem's habit of lunging with his punches and counter punching. Freitas' punches were too wide and against the stronger lighyweights, he would have been sent home packing with another embarrassing knockout loss.
For his part, he followed his role somewhat effectively. He knew his game plan was to be aggressive, and he was. He bullied the smaller Raheem around and tried to impose his will on him. That will get you to the gate, but he failed to enter the door.
Raheem may surplant Corey Spinks as the biggest stinker in boxing. His style just
seems to make for ugly fights. His wide stance and tendency to squat down when in a defensive posture makes for a lot of clinching and slips. The styles of these fighters made this a big issue.
Raheem was not closing the distance with the jab, instead preferring to lunge in with single shots from a distance. He abandoned the jab and was not being terribly accurate with the jab when he decided to throw it. He was getting caught down the middle early in the fight with the right hand because he keeps his gloves too wide. His looping, lunging shots were a counter punchers dream, yet Freitas was unable to take advantage.
Raheem did however have success when he got off first and threw combinations. He stunned Freitas in the middle of the fight with a stiff combination, then proceeded to throw Popo to the ground in frustration as Freitas was holding. He was very accurate when he threw straight punches, but was missing terribly when he looped them off balance. He displayed a good chin, but a lack of initiative.
Freitas has a world of options available to him now that he holds a silly alphabet belt. Juan Diaz, who holds the WBA belt, would be an attractive bout for the Brazilian native. Diaz is a volume puncher with lack luster defense and little punching power. This could be an explosive bout.
Jesus Chavez, the holder of the IBF belt, would be a very interesting bout as well. Freitas may have an advantage in punching power, but Chavez' pressure and strength may wear Freitas down in the later rounds.
If Freitas truly wants to legitimize what he calls his "world championship", he would have to face who Ring Magazine considers the world champion, Diego "Chico" Corrales. In their first encounter in 2004, Freitas was winning the fight on all the judges' scorecards, but knockdowns in the 8th, 9th, and 10th rounds prompted "Popo" to call it an early night following the third knockdown. A victory over Corrales would make him a legitimate world champion and would help to clear his reputation as a quitter.
Corrales, however, first has to get by Jose Luis Castillo in June before committing to any other engagements.
It is interesting to see where these 2 fighters go from here. Raheem has to rebuild, and with his awkward style and lack of marketability, it will be very difficult for him to regain prominence in the sport. For Freitas, he will get the opportunity to face alot of big name opponents for big money. Two fighters met at the crossroads, and only one made it across the street.
Ryan ******** is a syndicated columnist. If you would like to reach him, his email is mc_rson@yahoo.com .
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