by David P. Greisman
Roman Karmazin-Cory Spinks was close, but rarely contested in close, a fight full of buts and full of butts.
After the night was over and the majority decision for Spinks had been announced, Spinks had wailed, in part because Karmazin trailed and the referee failed.
Spinks’ tears of joy were understandable. Seventeen months prior, Zab Judah had sent him into a downward spiral, starting with the knockout loss in front of Spinks’ hometown crowd. Since then, he had gone through promotional upheaval, marital strife and a prolonged period of inactivity.
But he could still box.
Utilizing much of the skill and savvy he had needed to dethrone Ricardo Mayorga in 2003, Spinks’ hand speed and masterful footwork gave Karmazin fits. As a result, Karmazin kept attempting to establish momentum but unable to find his rhythm until the second half of the fight.
Karmazin, in a tentative role, would not take the lead on offense, stifled by Spinks’ jabs, feints and movement.
There was more, though, beyond Spinks’ efficiency and Karmazin’s impotency.
On the inside, Spinks had a habit of using his head in a way that would make Evander Holyfield and Zinedine Zidane proud. Referee Mark Nelson nearly never acknowledged the clashing of heads, nor did he appear too willing to allow much infighting.
Karmazin, the hunter, was deprived of many opportunities to shoot when Spinks was in close range. In his corner between the fifth and sixth rounds, Karmazin, frustrated, asked his trainer to tell Nelson “to let me work.”
For all the legitimacy of Karmazin’s complaints, he let the referee take him out of his game, just like a pugilist who ceases bodywork after multiple warnings about low blows.
Inside, Karmazin waited for Nelson to break them up, a mental clinch stepping in for the lack of physical tying up. He thought more about dealing with the referee than about handling Spinks, and the Karmazin that was calmly amused by Spinks’ pre-fight ring entrance became a man who was stressed and pressed.
By round ten, though, Karmazin had succeeded in closing the distance, landing power shots and inciting fervent advice to Spinks from trainer Kevin Cunningham. Yet with the early rounds Karmazin had dropped, and with only two rounds remaining before the fight went to a decision in Spinks’ hometown, Karmazin needed to capitalize quickly.
“No more Mickey Mouse,” said Karmazin’s trainer before the final round. “Beat him up. Beat him down.”
Behind on all three scorecards, Karmazin needed to win the twelfth round to retain his junior middleweight belt. He was behind six rounds to five by the tallies of judges Jerry Griffin and Manfred Kuchler, and down seven rounds to four in the opinion of Melvina Lathan.
Karmazin pressed forward and Spinks correspondingly went on his bicycle, choices that gave Karmazin the final stanza in the eyes of Griffin and Lathan. Kuchler, however, saw the action as favoring Spinks, thus preventing the majority draw and causing the majority decision.
It was close. And while it wasn’t exactly the Spinks Jinx, nor was it the masterpiece Spinks promised and insisted he delivered on, it also shouldn’t be the complete fall of Roman’s empire.
The 10 Count
1. Prior to Karmazin-Spinks, Jim Gray gave an excellent interview with Spinks in which he asked the important questions and challenged his subject’s answers. But any praise that should come Gray’s way must be accompanied by criticism for the mistake that was Don King’s post-fight microphone and camera time.
2. On the non-televised undercard of Karmazin-Spinks, William Joppy extended his career by knocking out Jonathan Corn, a journeyman who had lost 10 of his last 13 appearances. Since dropping two straight wide decisions to Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor, Joppy has won three fights against opposition with a combined record of 63-57-5, meanwhile jumping up two weight divisions with little of the fanfare or accomplishment that came with Hopkins’ own ascent to light heavyweight.
3. Raul Marquez completed the second fight in his comeback by knocking out Sergio Rios, who of late has become the designated victim for prospects and comebacking fighters. Since last year, Rios has been dealt kayo losses at the hands of Paul Williams and Vernon Forrest. I wonder if, when Rios began his boxing career, he imagined he’d someday become well known for not doing well.
4. If Danny Williams, at 270 pounds, was fat for his pummeling at the hands of Vitali Klitschko in 2004, what is he considered when he tips the scales at 288, 25 pounds higher than he had been on May 20 for a keeping-busy win over Adnan Serin. After dropping a unanimous decision this weekend in his rematch against Matt Skelton, Williams has qualified for the popular reality show The Biggest Loser.
5. After defeating Lamont Pearson on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, Joel Casamayor, through his translator, got into an interesting argument with guest studio commentator Diego Corrales. Whether Corrales-Casamayor III ever happens is momentarily secondary to my push for more televised confrontations that are so reminiscent of professional wrestling promos in their heyday.
6. The travesty that was the strawweight bout between Chantel Cordova and Unity Young on ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights was bad enough, although its being televised can only be blamed on the night’s featured bouts ending early. Young obviously had no reason to be in an amateur ring, much less on the professional stage, as she hopped about on two feet and threw slapping shots that were, well, slaps. But Young’s corner, which threw in the towel for their charge early in the first round, should have never let her go into the fight, especially considering it was only her second bout against an opponent that, while untested, is at least learning to box. Young’s first fight? Another first-round technical knockout to Cordova.
7. I read the press release earlier in the week that Zab Judah, who had recently been let go by Don King, signed with Prize Fight Promotions. Well, so much for Super Promotions, Judah’s short-lived proposal for his own promotional entity, an idea that had about as much solidity as Judah’s chin.
8. The July 29 fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Prince Badi Ajamu has sold less than 700 tickets, according to an article last week in The Idaho Statesman. Which begs the question: if Roy Jones gets knocked out in Idaho and no one’s there to see it, will he make a sound?
9. Your next three pay-per-view offerings? Shane Mosley-Fernando Vargas II this coming Saturday, the aforementioned Jones-Ajamu two weeks later and Hasim Rahman-Oleg Maskaev II in August. None of the shows contain overly exciting undercards for their costs, although the Mosley-Vargas and Rahman-Maskaev cards still have decent bouts. Save your money, though; buy the promoters and networks a clue.
10. Your next big day in televised boxing? August 5, when Showtime offers Rafael Marquez in a rematch against Silence Mabuza while Juan Manuel Marquez steps in with Terdsak Jandaeng. Meanwhile on HBO, Ike Quartey and Vernon Forrest will share a card with an intriguing bout between Kassim Ouma and Sechew Powell.