Carlos Takam Doesn't Have to Win to Win

By Cliff Rold

He wasn’t even the replacement opponent.

When Bert Cooper challenged Evander Holyfield for the heavyweight championship of the world in 1991, he was the replacement for the replacement. The world eagerly anticipated the November 1991 showdown between Holyfield and former champion Mike Tyson only for Tyson to pull out.

Enter one Francesco Damiani. The 1984 Olympic Silver Medalist and former WBO heavyweight beltholder, back when that heavyweight belt had far less regard than is the case today, got the call. Holyfield, not wanting to waste a camp, used the cancellation of the Tyson fight to move the action from Las Vegas into an Atlanta homecoming.

Then Damiani got injured too, one week before fight time. Cooper got the call and little was expected of the endeavor. Cooper made it memorable, scoring the first professional knockdown of Holyfield in what would be a minor classic. Cooper was ultimately stopped in the ring but he’d won in two other ways.

He got a shot at the heavyweight title.

He got himself in line for some paydays with the most esteem of his career. Two fights later, Cooper would headline a pay-per-view card against Michael Moorer, again losing but in arguably the greatest heavyweight brawl of its generation.

See, sometimes winning can take place even with a loss on one’s record.

That might be the position 36-year old Carlos Takam (35-3-1, 27 KO) finds himself in this weekend. On roughly two weeks notice, he gets the chance at a title shot an injured Kubrat Pulev couldn’t make. Sure, anything can happen in a boxing ring. Takam could upset the apple cart and derail the man who looks like the biggest money heavyweight since the roaring 90s.

The smart money says 28-year old WBA/IBF/IBO titlist Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KO) maintains the momentum from his classic win over Wladimir Klitschko earlier this year.

As far as late replacement foes go, Takam is a good one. He fought as recently as June, typically keeps in great shape, and has yet to be an easy night for anyone. When Mike Perez was a hot hopeful at heavyweight, Takam earned a draw that could easily have been win. He had a hard scrap with Alexander Povetkin, the only stoppage loss of his career. While he fell short on the cards, Takam also gave then-rising future WBO titlist Joseph Parker a very tough night in 2016.

At the very least, Joshua’s performance this weekend will be something to be gauged against the results of his peers. Takam has won twice since the Parker fight and can be more than a litmus test. This is a chance for him, even in defeat, to create more demand to see him in the future.

It doesn’t even have to be a late replacement. Sometimes a single night of over performing expectations can change a career. In 1979, Larry Holmes defended the WBC title against a Mike Weaver whose record sat at 19-8. The fight was so lightly regarded network television wasn’t interested. With Roberto Duran-Carlos Palomino on the undercard, the show wound up on a nascent HBO and the relative handful of premium cable subscribers around back then got a hell of a show.

Weaver gave Holmes everything he had in a fantastic battle. Holmes won with a highlight reel uppercut but Weaver had opened new doors. The Holmes fight paved the way for his WBA title opportunity, and win, against John Tate in 1980 and memorable battles over the years with guys like Gerrie Coetzee and Pinklon Thomas.

Unlike Weaver or Cooper, Takam has less time on his side. He’s closer to 40 than 30 and so any value he can gain from this weekend, win or lose, will probably have to be of the more immediate variety. If he can push Joshua, give a strong account, who knows what that could mean for him.

Maybe he gets another shot at a beltholder. Maybe other British heavyweights give him a ring so they can be measured against Joshua and start dreaming about future paydays. Regardless, one of the most important victories one can achieve in the squared circle is to be in line to keep earning.

It’s easy to write off even a proven solid heavyweight like Takam under these conditions. Late replacements aren’t supposed to win, normally don’t, and often aren’t prepared enough to cash in the lottery ticket in their lap.

The fighters who show up and do more than just take their check under such circumstances earn any rewards that follow.

Sunday morning, we might be calling Carlos Takam the new heavyweight champion.

If not, the next best thing would be if fans were saying, “I hope to see him again soon.”

Cliff’s Notes…

Stranger Things Season Two is almost here. When the fights over, there is no place else to be…The jaw jacking between Joshua and Deontay Wilder is probably going to be a lot better than the fight. That’s not the worst thing…Anyone think Jim Lampley just isn’t a fan of Floyd Mayweather? Hmmm…Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. having camp issues? Wow…Real shame the Miguel Berchelt-Orlando Salido fight was cancelled due to a Berchelt injury. It was a nice contrast with the more cerebral Lomachenko-Rigondeaux fight scheduled for the same day…The latest trailer for Black Panther is one of the best for any movie in a long time.      

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com