By Frank Lotierzo - GlovedFist@Juno.com
He's five inches taller, has an eight inch advantage in reach, and out weighs his opponent by at least sixty pounds. The fighter just described is heavyweight contender Jameel McCline 31-3-3 (19) who is fighting IBF heavyweight Champ Chris Byrd 37-2-1 (20) this Saturday night. Byrd has been the IBF champ for just under two years. In December of 2002 he fought former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield in Atlantic City for the vacant IBF title. Byrd out boxed Holyfield over 12 rounds and won a unanimous decision to claim the title.
Since winning the title he has successfully defended it twice. In his first defense he won a unanimous decision over Fres Oquendo. The fight with Oquendo was very close. And it's not a reach saying judges Don Ackerman, Steve Epstein, and John Lawson are the only three people in the world who saw it one sided in favor of Byrd. In his last defense this past April, Byrd retained the title when his fight with Andrew Golota was declared a draw after twelve rounds.
In both fights Byrd stood his ground and fought more aggressively than he has in other big fights in his career. Which is probably the reason why more than a few consider him lucky to still be in possession of the title.
One week before Byrd defeated Holyfield, McCline lost to WBO heavyweight Champ Wladimir Klitschko. At that time Wladimir was still thought to be an emerging force in the heavyweight division. McCline was glove shy and tentative against Klitschko, who wasn't all that daring himself. McCline went down in the 10th round and his corner stopped the fight at the end of the round. Since losing to Wladimir, McCline has fought three times and has won all three by knockout.
Byrd will be looking to make his third successful title defense versus McCline, and his second this year. I respect Chris Byrd as much, and probably more than any other top heavyweight in the world. During the last five years Byrd has been more than willing to fight the best of the best that the heavyweight division has had to offer. Despite barely standing over six feet and weighing only 210 pounds. Not to mention the fact that he knows most of his fights will go the distance because he doesn't possess a big punch.
Chris Byrd is a boxing junkie and a real student of the sweet science. He makes most of his opponents fight him in a manner in which their size and power are usually nullified. Instead of confronting his opponents size and power head on, he forces them to change for him. The fact that he is so loose and relaxed in the ring enables him to roll with the bombs his opponents do land on him. And too go along with his physical ability, he has the heart of a champion and there isn't a morsel of quit in him.
However, I noticed that Byrd fought differently in his last two fights against Oquendo and Golota. I think against Oquendo it was because Fres moved away and drew Byrd into going to him. But against Golota, I think it was his choice to remain stationary and fight and trade with him. Either Byrd is trying to make his bouts a little more exciting, or father time has started to call for him and his body is starting to betray him. No doubt being hit and mauled by fighters who are significantly bigger than him has taken a toll on him physically. I don't think he has the same legs and sharp instincts he once had. In my opinion he is definitely not the same fighter who gave Tua a fit and made Holyfield look even older than he is.
Against Byrd, McCline, even if he's only average at best should be able to win the fight with his left hand alone. Because of his significant advantage in reach, McCline should be able to dictate the tempo of the fight with his jab. There is no excuse for him if he fails to do so. Jameel doesn't even have to land it clean to be effective. Just by shooting it at Byrd's chest will keep him on his heels and out of position to counter. If McCline applies subtle pressure on Byrd, most likely one of two scenarios will unfold, and they are both good for him.
By McCline applying steady pressure in a measured fashion using his jab, he will not be left exposed to Byrd countering and scoring if he does miss with some of his finishing punches and power shots. Not to mention Byrd will not be able to mount any kind of a sustained offense because of McCline's jab keeping him outside. Since Byrd obviously cannot be effective against McCline on the outside, he'll have to change his tactics if he wants to hold onto his title. That is he has to become Joe Frazier in the fight, like he was forced to do against Oquendo. In other words, Byrd will to go to McCline and become the aggressor. If you're McCline, that's to your advantage.
With Byrd coming to McCline, Jameel will have a better chance of landing clean punches with even more impact. On top of that, a fighter can only be effective pushing the fight if he can punch. Byrd is not a puncher and him being forced to fight like he is doesn't bode well for him holding onto his title.
It all comes down to whether or not McCline was instructed on how to neutralize Byrd's style, and he also has to be good enough to execute physically. It's a lot easier said then done. Byrd has frustrated many outstanding fighters over the years and took them completely out of their fight. He's more than capable of getting into McClines head and breaking his will and concentration.
McCline has some physical advantages over Byrd that cannot be changed. It's just a matter of him using them to their maximum ability. If McCline is going to live up to his moniker "Big Time", he has everything a fighter needs physically to be successful versus Chris Byrd. Especially the latest version of Byrd that's been on display in his two title defenses. That's not quite the same fighter who took the bullets out of David Tua's gun and handed them back at the end of each round, only to take them out again.
I'm not taking a shot in the least at Byrd. But the fact is McCline has too many things in his favor not to win the fight, and I would be saying the same thing if he was fighting James Toney. As cunning and calculating as Byrd is, I'd rather be McCline and be faced with the task of trying to neutralize Byrd, than I would be Byrd trying to neutralize McCline. Especially if Jameel knows what he needs to do against him. No way should McCline leave the ring without the IBF title.
