By Cliff Rold
The Super Six Super Middleweight tournament only needs to go right two more times. One semi-final remains, and then we get the conclusion.
Right?
Fans can only hope.
For now it is enough to know who one half of the final will be. 2004 U.S. Olympic Light Heavyweight Gold Medalist Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KO) made his third defense of his WBA 168 lb. belt. Not only is he guaranteed a crack at the tournament title but the winner of June’s other semi, Carl Froch-Glen Johnson, will meet him with a WBC belt in tow.
Ward entered the field an as yet untested young professional. He will exit, win or lose, having had his first unification bout and facing his third still dangerous current or former titlist in five fights in the final.
Not bad.
Let’s go to the report card.
Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Ward A; Abraham B/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Power – Ward B; Abraham A+/Post: B; A
Pre-Fight: Defense – Ward A; Abraham B/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Ward A; Abraham C+/Post: Same
The fight played out largely as expected in most corners. Ward won going away on the cards, but the Armenian former Middleweight titlist made him work early. Abraham (32-3, 26 KO) was given a better chance at victory here than most places, but that was based on what had been. Ward won his first three fights largely by winning the battle inside. The idea of daring Abraham at too close quarters all night left the possibility of an upset.
Accordingly, the highly intelligent Ward didn’t stay too close. Showing off a stiff, quick, and most importantly long, jab, Ward gave a master class in proper distance. He also took some real shots. An Abraham jab, fired like a cannon shot, unsettled Ward in the first and Abraham pressured better in the first third of the fight than he had throughout any other early rounds of the Super Six.
It all fell apart for Abraham around the fifth, though he never just plum gave up like he appeared to do versus Froch last year. Abraham even managed to land a pair of stiff left hooks in the final round to capture Ward’s attention. He didn’t quit.
And in not quitting, Abraham gave some new insight on Ward. Bing caught with a stiff jab while cold is one thing; eating some left hooks from a puncher in the twelfth and keeping composure is impressive. The young Ward who errantly dried out early in his career to make Middleweight has his legs fully beneath him and is proving to have the whiskers once wondered about.
Should he win the tournament from here, as he is favored to do, Ward will find only one man remaining of note at Super Middleweight: IBF titlist Lucian Bute. A cleaning out of a deep, rugged weight class is possible for Ward right now. He may not have a style everyone loves, but he’s proving a winner of quality. We’ll see how it plays out.
For Abraham, this need not be an end. He’s found out, as has the boxing audience, what his ceiling is as a professional. It’s worth a tip of the cap to him that he gambled to find out. He’s still worthwhile, and dangerous, against the right foes. WBO titlist Robert Stieglitz, for instance, could give Abraham a chance to win a belt and make some money before he’s done.
For now though, the attention is where it should be. Ward vs. ? We’ll know in mere weeks. Whether it is Froch or Johnson, Super Middleweight has a gem coming up in the Fall.
Will Welterweight have a gem of its own? It didn’t one week ago.
Pacquiao-Mosley…A Week Late
Skipping backwards to last week, as the broadcast of Ward-Abraham did on Saturday night with a replay, here are some overdue thoughts on the biggest financial fight of the year so far.
Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Pacquiao A+; Mosley B/Post: A; B
Pre-Fight: Power – Pacquiao A-; Mosley A/Post: A-; B
Pre-Fight: Defense – Pacquiao B; Mosley C+/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Pacquiao A; Mosley B/Post: B+; C
Manny Pacquiao versus Shane Mosley sucked.
Not as bad as Jimi Jamison singing “Eye of the Tiger” during the Pacquiao ring walk.
Nothing could suck as bad as that.
That’s not saying much.
No one can say they weren’t warned. Last September, when Mosley looked tepid and ancient against Sergio Mora, without even seeing the fight, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum stated to Mike Marley at BoxingScene that:
What I've read is not very supportive to make any Mosley-Pacquiao bout. Look, he's going to be 40 and he's in the lighter weights where speed is so important. He's on a show with guys old enough to be his son. I guess Shane needs the money due to his matrimonial situation…I've always considered Shane to be a nice guy but this is what happens to fighters when they age.
His tune changed when the fight became available to be made under the complete control of Arum’s outfit. For anyone bitching about having ‘wasted’ money on Saturday’s pay-per-view or a ticket to the arena, point them to the fable of the scorpion and the frog.
The scorpion was telling the truth before he was lying.
Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO) gets some credit for being only the second man to drop Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KO). Mosley gets credit, and a severance check, for years of quality service. He fought Vernon Forrest, Winky Wright, and Miguel Cotto when other stars would not. He blazed at Lightweight and left fans breathless in the win that defined his career, the first bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
The credit ends there.
Pacquiao fought respectfully of Mosley for much of the early going, so much so that it looked like Mosley was in his head a little as far as the whole ‘single punch’ miracle thing goes. Later, probably after they lovingly touched gloves for what felt like the 8,475,927th time…
…we interrupt this griping to offer a needed statement: Floyd Mayweather was missed last night. In May 2010, when Mosley wanted to spend parts of the evening shaking hands and giving daps, Mayweather busted him right in the chops. He did it more than once. There are lots of real criticisms of Mayweather, but no one can ever say he wastes time on fake sportsmanship. The ref asks fighters to touch gloves before the first and final rounds. After the occasional foul is fine too. Everything else is just hokey. It’s supposed to be a fight in there. And we return…
…Mosley managed a knockdown call off a push. Pacquiao jumped up and damn near had Shane out of there in the 10th. That’s how easy it was for Pacquiao on Saturday, how brutal he could have made it. One wonders if Pacquiao realized what so many did when the fight was signed, that he knew he had a shell in front of him and didn’t want to hurt him.
In the days when fighters fought four-six times a year, that sort of mercy and willingness to grant a parting check to an old warhorse was easier to abide. Now, it means half the schedule for 2011 is likely closed for the sport’s top draw. That makes Pacquiao-Mosley, after the final bell, worse than the mismatch it appeared to be going in.
It makes it a waste of time.
Ignore arguments about how much money was made. Pacquiao fights are cash cows no matter who he fights. Who else could have done 40,000-plus in the seats and 700,000 plus on pay-per-view with Joshua Clottey? No one. Pacquiao can get paid against anyone. That makes wasting time, when at 32 he doesn’t likely have a ton of quality time left, tragic.
The most accomplished fighter, and most watchable, of the modern era might next see a Juan Manuel Marquez who has twice given him hell. That’s not a terrible choice. Marquez can still fight. Whether he can fight at Welterweight, when their first two battles were at Featherweight and Jr. Lightweight, remains to be seen. Marquez’s lethargic outing versus Floyd Mayweather doesn’t indicate Marquez belongs at 147 lbs. A slowed, by then 38-year old Marquez, viewed in that light, is an iffy proposition.
Guess who does belong at 147?
Welterweights who are already there is the correct answer. WBC titlist Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KO) for instance, fresh off his thrilling win versus Andre Berto, possessing youth, size, and, most importantly, the sort of hand speed Pacquiao has been nowhere near at Welterweight so far, could be the correct answer. Making a fight that can be guaranteed to be a fight, for as long as it lasts, in the division Pacquiao is close to cleaning out, is the correct answer.
Pacquiao will be favored over just about anyone right now. Younger, hungry fighters are typically where the element of surprise lies. If anyone doesn’t believe it, ask Marco Antonio Barrera how much being a strong favorite over Manny Pacquiao meant once upon a time.
Maybe Ortiz can’t do anything like that. Watching him try would be more entertaining to watch than anything else in the division. It would damn sure be better than what we saw on Saturday.
Report Card Picks 2011: 14-4
Ratings Update
Super Middleweight: Ward maintains the top slot while Abraham exits the top ten after his third loss in four fights. The announcement of his return bout keeps Mikkel Kessler in the ratings and his return from injury will be one to keep an eye on. Librado Andrade’s awkward loss to Aaron Pryor Jr. sees him exit while Kelly Pavlik makes his debut at 168.
Middleweight: Pavlik finally exits the 160 lb. ratings, a long expected development. Daniel Geale stays put but picks up a belt on the road. Geale, of Australia, is coming into his own and could beat anyone at 160…except one World Champion Sergio Martinez. On merit, he has earned the right to ask for a shot anyways.
Welterweight: Thought was given to removing Mosley altogether. He looked that bad and has looked that bad since round three of the Mayweather fight. The ugly exhibition on Saturday caused a reevaluation of Andre Berto’s loss to Victor Ortiz and Berto gets a bump. He was overly penalized for losing.
Jr. Featherweight: Didn’t see it coming, but welcome to the top ten Jorge Arce. There is magic at the center of those lollipops.
Jr. Flyweight: Having made two straight starts at Flyweight and none at 108 in about a year, former titlist Rodel Mayol exits the ratings. Florante Condes enters at the bottom.
To see how all the last two weeks results shook out…
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com