By Jim Cawkwell

 

Bizarre. Santos Pakau sat on his ring stool, nodding to his corner man, aware that he’d lost, business as usual, while Antonio Mesquita, the winner, lay out on the canvas writhing in agony. Obviously, Mesquita was unaware that his greatest threat lay not in Pakau, but in the referee, whom upon steaming in to end the fight on Pakau’s behalf in the sixth, unwittingly made a jarring collision with Mesquita’s left leg and sent the Brazilian sprawling in such a fashion as to make Pakau envious.

 

Not to be unfair to Pakau, who looked quite lively throughout, despite multiple knockdowns, and managed to rattle Mesquita through the many openings that were available to him. Not only does Mesquita look like Ricardo Mayorga and have the same dubious haircut, but he also seems to have trained at the Mayorga School of Mauling. Also like Mayorga, Mesquita fights sans poker face as he greets each of his opponent’s successes with a taunting dance or some cocky gesture.

 

Some years ago, Mesquita was earmarked to take on Ricky “Hitman” Hatton in one of Hatton’s two-dozen tune-ups. Mesquita eventually declined the offer to become fodder for Hatton’s ambitions, and having now seen Mesquita fight, it’s easy to understand why. With his baby-step shuffle forward, hands high and slow hook in tow, Mesquita puts all his hopes into the right hand; the perfect foil for Hatton, though Pakau was not quite as fortunate.

 

From the second round onwards there were no shortages of open exchanges between the two fighters, and though Mesquita is touted as a puncher, it was perhaps significant that after particularly heavy looking knockdowns, Pakau was able to regain himself quickly, and after one such trip to the canvas in the fifth, Pakau stood immediately and walked halfway across the ring towards the referee, perfectly composed and ready to continue.

 

But by the sixth, the referee had seen enough, and proceeded to show Pakau how to put Mesquita down, albeit with a well-placed knee. To summarize: Mesquita looked aggressive and powerful with it, but don’t book any holidays to see him ascend to the throne in a welterweight division full of fighters with entirely more tools than he has amassed through what appears to be thirty-three uninterrupted yet insignificant wins.

 

Bits and bobs.

 

Before the Mesquita-Pakau main event aired, a replay of the Kermit Cintron-David Estrada fight aired, yet again. It was an entertaining fight, but it is a concern that Cintron is receiving such a publicity boost based on it. Stopping Estrada was a good result for Cintron, but his performance was not far removed from those he had given before his complete capitulation against Antonio Margarito. His footwork looked disjointed, he took far too many punches, and he shows no signs of relieving himself from that all-encompassing belief in that one redemptive strike that all big punchers have.

 

Furthermore, working with Manny Steward is no guarantor of success, as Steward’s world class roster is beginning to fill once again. Cintron may receive but patchwork tutorials from Steward whom is expected to prioritize heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and middleweight champion Jermain Taylor.

 

Also featured on the broadcast was a preview of Allan Green vs. Anthony Bonsante. Green is a talented prospect, but his breakout performance in destroying Jaidon Codrington has perhaps made him too much of a believer in his own power, so much so as to prompt a more aggressive tinge to his once more conservative approach. It seems that being a concussive puncher can be as much a curse as a blessing, especially when the gift is not utilized with maturity.

 

Green’s admission that he couldn’t get up for fighting journeyman Donnie McCrary was comical in that Green almost didn’t get up at all when McCrary revealed that he was not about to lay down for his former sparring partner. Green says that he learned from that fight to always take each opponent seriously, and in the next breath, he is quick to assert that Bonsante is not on his level. One hopes for his own sake that Green’s arrogance doesn’t make a comeback on Friday night.

 

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