By Jake Donovan
Once upon a time, pay-per-view undercards were put together to help prime the crowd well before the main event players would take center stage. It was reason enough for boxing fans, hardcore and casual alike, to file into the arena early enough to catch the potential stars of tomorrow rather than just await the announcement the stars of tonight.
It’s the latter that serves as the mindset for today’s pay-per-view market. Shows now carry two or three preliminary bouts more as a formality than as a conscientious effort to give the fans their money’s worth. Yesterday’s supporting role is today’s wallpaper – applied because the game says it has to be there.
Instead of three or four fights that could serve as main events on any given telecast, we get unimaginative matchups, often fought in arenas that remain empty until fans get word that the headlining act is ready to go on.
As a result, the fighters forced to come up under such a circuit remain anonymous, which helps explain the continued waning interest in the game today. Yesterday’s stars are forced to stick around longer than expected because those who should be stars today are poorly marketed and showcased, therefore not ready for prime time until at least tomorrow.
The media doesn’t help much; their focus remains on the main attraction, as has been the case with this weekend’s highly anticipated Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito showdown (Saturday, 9PM ET/6PM PT, Las Vegas, Nevada).
Then again, if little effort is put into piecing together the under card, then why should any extra keystrokes be wasted in presenting a story on such fighters?
Because justice has to begin somewhere.
You can consider it an injustice if you’ve yet to see Giovanni Segura in action. The power punching junior flyweight has literally been a knockout almost every time out. A pro since 2003, Segura has 20 pro fights under his belt, but has only fought a total of 70 rounds heading into this weekend’s match with Cesar Canchilla (26-1, 21KO).
A big part of his averaging just over three rounds per fight is his affinity for ending things as early as possible. Of his 20 fights, nine have ended in the opening round, with his last two fights (both of which aired on Telefutura, as have several others in his young career) lasting a combined total of four minutes.
Quick endings have their drawbacks, however. Gio’s 1st round blitzing of former world title challenger Wilfrido Valdez was the last action he’s seen in nine months. His time has otherwise been spent working in a restaurant in his native California.
That’s the bad news. The good news is, a portion of his inactive period was spent ironing out details for what he thought would be his first world title shot. He was already set to fight on July 26, just on another continent, as he was supposed to travel to France to take on 2000 Olympic gold medalist Brahim Asloum.
That fight fell through once the money became funny in Asloum’s eyes, pulling out of the fight and leaving Segura without a dance partner.
The sanctioning body which claims Asloum as their champion decided that such actions warranted staging an interim title fight. Most shudder at the thought, but in this case it’s the right thing to do.
Whether or not Segura has the right opponent in front of him remains to be seen. Canchilla is a virtual unknown outside of his native Colombia. His record suggests one of two things: he’s a lights out puncher that’s a threat to any junior flyweight; or just another opponent with a padded record and gets blasted out in a round or two the moment he steps up.
A fight against a one-hitter quitter like Segura is a hell of an introduction to the big time, perhaps not the best way to find out whether or not you can fight or take a punch. Though in fairness to Canchilla, the same can be said of just about anyone standing in the opposite corner of one of the sport’s biggest hitters, pound for pound.
Mike Alvarado (21-0, 14KO) never has to worry about sharing a ring with Segura, though the two have made a habit of sharing a fight card. Saturday night will be the fifth time the two fighters appear on the same show, though the first time away from the Telefutura circuit, where Alvarado has already headlined two cards in 2008 alone.
A highly touted amateur growing up in Colorado, Alvarado had the good fortune of coming up in the pro ranks under the best possible tutelage, with two of the biggest names in the sport guiding his career: Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum and noted manager Shelly Finkel (who shares managerial duties with Henry Delgado and Frank Acosta).
It’s the combinations of such connections and Alvarado’s growing reputation as a fearsome boxer-puncher that has kept him in regular rotation on Telefutura. The former high school wrestler has made a smooth transition to the sweet science, both as amateur and pro.
All that was missing was the proper opposition to truly showcase his skills – and perhaps expose whatever flaws he may possess. A step in the right direction came last December, only to deliver inconclusive results. Michael Clark was brought in to test Alvarado, but was forced to quit after suffering an injury moments into their December ’07 bout, which opened an independent Top Rank PPV.
A stiffer test was provided two months later, when Alvarado was forced to dig a little deeper than expected, eventually settling for a grind-‘em-out decision win over Jesus “Chuy” Rodriguez in his first appearance of 2008. The follow up effort was one for the time capsule, outbrawling and eventually overwhelming credible Michel Rosales in seven rounds in serving confirmation that the transition from prospect to contender was under way.
Some have suggested that he’s ready for a title shot right now, which speaks volumes considering the depth in the junior welterweight division. For those who believe the jury is still out, or aren’t even yet familiar with his career, this won’t be the fight to advance his career.
In Cesar Bazan, Alvarado gets a former champion on his resume, albeit a badly faded one. Bazan’s biggest win was his first fight against Stevie Johnston ten years ago. Nothing’s come close since then as he’s regressed from ex-champion to divisional trialhorse to opponent on the decline.
Heading in the opposite direction is improving super bantamweight Bernabe Concepcion (25-1-1, 14KO). The always exciting Filipino has graced the undercard of several Top Rank PPV events in the past couple of years, though only recently while the cameras were rolling.
Concepcion boasts two wins in 2008, both of which came in supporting bouts to Latin Fury pay-per-view cards in Mexico that were headlined by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. His second round knockout of Torrance Daniels this past April advanced his winning streak to 14 in a row. He is now 17-0-1 since suffering the lone loss of career three years ago.
This weekend, Concepcion fights in the United States for just the fifth time in a career mostly spent in his native Philippines. Three of his four previous stateside appearances have come in supporting bout on shows headlined by countryman Manny Pacquiao. On Saturday, he serves as the lone Pinoy pugilist on a show filled with Mexicans and Boricuas.
The 18-fight unbeaten streak doesn’t figure to be in jeopardy, at least on paper. Adam Carerra (19-3, 8KO), once upon a time a respected amateur according to former world title challenger and current trainer and ESPN Classic color commentator John “Iceman” Scully, is the type of pro who carries a pretty enough record, but often falls short once he steps up.
For Bernabe Concepcion, Giovanni Segura and Mike Alvarado, the stage on which they perform this weekend is a huge step up, though also befitting of the talent and potential each possess.
Here’s to hoping that someone, anyone takes notice – not just this weekend, but in months and years to come. After all, it’s the only way today’s anonymous fighters can become tomorrow’s stars.