By Cliff Rold
Boxing is back in full swing…and then some. January provided some serious top ten clashes at Welterweight and Jr. Welterweight. In February, the other sixteen divisions start getting into the game. Lightweight, Flyweight, Jr. Middleweight and Jr. Bantamweight all have sensational first-time matches in February between some of the best in their worlds.
The month just ended showed off why that matter. 147 lbs. gave us candidates for Fight and Upset of the Year. Jr. Welterweight gave us a bout between Juan Urango and Herman Ngoudjo which ran the gamut of possibility: knockdowns, a five minute round and some odd scoring.
Full swing? More like fully awesome start.
This is 2009’s first month in review.
Fighter of the Month: Shane Mosley
What more can be said about what Shane Mosley did on January 24th? He stepped in with the man recognized as the world’s best at Welterweight and drilled him. As a reader pointed out to me in the days after the fight, and as some quick research verifies, Mosley at 37 is the oldest man in history to capture a share of the 147 lb. crown. It wasn’t a bad statement from a fighter whose been written off more than once in the past. So grand was the performance, a ninth-round stoppage of Antonio Margarito, it changed the tenor of conversations leading to the bout. Questions had abounded in regards to Mosley’s use of performance enhancers for his second bout against Oscar De La Hoya in 2003. They were forgotten with each slamming right hand while new questions emerged about Margarito’s own credibility in light of being caught with something unnatural about his hand wraps before the opening bell. It’s tough to say how many similar performances Mosley has left like it, but the Margarito bout provides a career highlight unlikely to be topped and certainly makes Mosley the fighter of the month.
Fight of the Month: Andre Berto-Luis Collazo
On the road to the riches and fame they desire, boxing’s young blue chippers inevitably must pass tests of their chin, guts, and willingness to endure. WBC Welterweight titlist Andre Berto got his first chin test against Cosme Rivera a couple years ago. He got all of the above from the former WBA Welterweight titlist Collazo on January 17th. Over twelve rounds, both men tore into each other and provided the first memorable bout of this year.
As reported by Jake Donovan at: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=17937
A game of pity pat threatened to break out early in the fight. Collazo came through with the first meaningful punch of the fight, a straight left that rocked Berto and drew a rise out of the crowd. Berto wisely clinched to clear his head. The strategy paid off in dividends, as a counter right hand rung Collazo’s bell late in the round.
Both fighters went back to boxing in efforts to slow things down in round two, but the two-way contact would eventually resurface. Berto landed an effective right hand to the body, and was able to control the tempo with his superior hand speed.
Collazo came out strong early in the third, determined to prove that he was more than just the first big name on Berto’s resume. A straight left hand got things going early, but Berto came roaring back, hurting Collazo midway through the round before the momentum swung back in the Nuyorican’s favor.
With both fighters emptying their respective tanks in the prior round, action expected to slow down in the fourth. It did to a degree, but provided plenty of drama on the Berto side. A point was deducted for excessive holding, having twice been warned in the previous two rounds. Collazo turned up the heat soon thereafter, doubling up Berto’s punch count for the three-minute period.
For the first time in his career, Berto entered the middle rounds of a fight while facing a deficit on the scorecards. Worse, he was breathing heavy in between rounds, indicative that he wasn’t about to pick up steam any time soon.
To compensate, he stayed a little further than normal on the outside, neutralizing Collazo’s straight left while able to fire off his own jab and straight right hand. By round six, Berto was shooting his right without fear of being countered. Collazo adjusted by targeting the body. Berto struggled to respond, instead falling into the traps being set by Collazo along the ropes.
Berto’s corner went to work on a cut over his right eye caused by a headbutt at the end of round five, but it was his left eye that began to worsen after being repeatedly nailed by Collazo’s right jab throughout the fight and particularly in the seventh round. But it was Berto’s busier work rate that carried him through the round, as well as the eighth. A relentless body attack appeared to have sapped Collazo’s energy level, before taking it upstairs with a flush right hand to punctuate the round.
The Berto ship was righted as the bout headed into the final four rounds. Collazo attempted to pick up steam in the ninth, targeting the body, which proved to be more effective later in the round. Berto began the frame jabbing from the outside but suddenly found himself laying on Collazo’s chest, struggling to fend off the southpaw, who was suddenly reborn.
Chants of “Luis” filled the crowd as the New Yorker went to town in the tenth. Collazo found his second wind in a big way, unloading to the body while Berto was looking for a single fight-altering bomb to land. The bout’s first trip to the canvas came late in the round, though it was clearly a push as Collazo’s momentum carried him forward before stumbling over Berto.
The championship rounds began with the crowd battled as hard as the two combatants in the ring. One side of the crowd began chanting “Berto”, which was immediately countered by “Luis”, with the two sides alternating in perfect sync.
As for the action in the ring – Collazo slowed down considerably after having thrown 106 punches in the previous round. Berto took advantage, throwing to the body then taking it upstairs. Oohs and ahhs came from the crowd in response to what appeared to be straight rights and left upstairs, though Collazo slipped most of them, with his chin tucked behind his shoulder to deflect the ones he couldn’t completely slip.
There might’ve only been a paper title at stake, but both fighters fought with championship heart in the twelfth and final round. Collazo kept it on the inside, unloading on the body, while Berto countered with repeated head shots. A crisp right hand to the body hurt Collazo late in the round, falling to the canvas seconds later from exhaustion. The referee opted to wave it off, instead ruling it a slip. Two more body shots trapped Collazo in a corner with ten seconds left, though Berto couldn’t find that one punch to finish him as the bell sounded, to which the crowd roared with delight.
Berto’s strong surge in the final two rounds proved to be the difference in the fight. Bill Clancy came in with a surprisingly wide 116-111, while Gary Ritter and Larry Ingle seemed closer to the truth with scores of 114-113 each. All were in favor of Berto, who improves to 24-0 (19KO).
Critical Results
Using a formula inspired by the college football BCS, quarterly divisional ratings have been compiled at Boxing Scene since the beginning of the year. These are the critical results from the month of January with the pending February schedule for contenders and champions schedule thrown in for good measure. Full ratings can be found at: https://www.boxingscene.com/forums/view.php?pg=boxing-ratings
Heavyweight (201 lbs. – Unlimited)
No BoxingScene rated fighters competed in January.
Scheduled for February
02/07: #3 Ruslan Chagaev (24-0-1, 17 KO, WBA) vs. Carl Drummond (26-0, 20 KO)
Cruiserweight (176-200 lbs.)
1/24: #5 Marco Huck (24-1, 19 KO) TKO3 Geoffrey Battelo (18-1, 15 KO)
Scheduled for February
02/27: World Champion Tomasz Adamek (36-1, 24 KO, Lineal/Ring/IBF) vs. Johnathon Banks (20-0, 14 KO)
Light Heavyweight (169-175 lbs.)
1/10: World Champion Zsolt Erdei (30-0, 17 KO, Lineal/WBO) UD10 Yuri Barashian (25-5, 17 KO)
Scheduled for February
02/06: #10 Chris Henry (23-1, 18 KO) vs. Yusuf Mack (26-2-2, 16 KO)
02/14: #9 Clinton Woods (41-4-1, 24 KO) vs. Elvir Muriqi (35-4, 22 KO)
02/27: #4 Glen Johnson (48-12-2, 33 KO) vs. Daniel Judah (23-3-3, 10 KO)
Super Middleweight (161-168 lbs.)
1/10: Karoly Balzsay (20-0, 14 KO) UD12 #5 Denis Inkin (34-1, 24 KO, WBO)
Scheduled for February
02/06: #10 Andre Ward (17-0, 12 KO) vs. Henry Buchanan (17-1, 12 KO)
02/11: #6 Anthony Mundine (34-3, 23 KO) vs. Shannan Taylor (48-6-3, 34 KO)
Middleweight (155-160 lbs.)
No BoxingScene rated fighters competed in January.
Scheduled for February
02/21: World Champion Kelly Pavlik (34-1, 30 KO, Lineal/Ring/WBC/WBO) vs. #4 Marco Antonio Rubio (43-4-1, 37 KO)
02/21: #9 John Duddy (25-0, 17 KO) vs. Matt Vanda (39-8, 22 KO)
Jr. Middleweight (148-154 lbs.)
No BoxingScene rated fighters competed in January.
Scheduled for February
02/14: #6 Sergio Martinez (44-1-1, 24 KO, WBC interim) vs. #9 Welterweight Kermit Cintron (30-2, 27 KO)
02/14: #10 Alfredo Angulo (14-0, 11 KO) vs. Ricardo Mayorga (28-7-1, 22 KO)
Welterweight (141-147 lbs.)
1/17: #4 Andre Berto (24-0, 19 KO, WBC) UD12 #8 Luis Collazo (29-4, 14 KO)
1/24: #5 Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KO) TKO9 #1 Antonio Margarito (37-6, 27 KO, WBA)
Scheduled for February
02/21: #2 Miguel Cotto (32-1, 26 KO) vs. Michael Jennings (34-1, 16 KO); vacant WBO title
Jr. Welterweight (136-140 lbs.)
1/30: #10 Juan Urango (21-1-1, 16 KO) UD12 #7 Herman Ngoudjo (17-3, 9 KO); vacant IBF belt
Scheduled for February
02/07: #3 Andriy Kotelnik (30-2-1, 13 KO, WBA) vs. #8 Marcos Maidana (25-0, 24 KO)
Lightweight (131-135 lbs.)
1/3: Paulus Moses (24-0, 17 KO) UD12 Yusuke Kobori (23-3-1, 12 KO, WBA)
Scheduled for February
02/14: #2 Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KO, WBA/IBF/WBO) vs. #8 Ali Funeka (30-1-2, 25 KO)
02/21: #9 Anthony Peterson (28-0, 9 KO) vs. Edner Cherry (24-6-2, 12 KO)
Jr. Lightweight (127-130 lbs.)
01/24: #10 Robert Guerrero (23-1-1, 16 KO) TKO1 Edel Ruiz (31-22-4, 22 KO)
Scheduled for February
No BoxingScene rated fighters currently scheduled to compete in February,
Featherweight (123-126 lbs.)
1/9: #6 Yuriorkis Gamboa (13-0, 11 KO) TKO10 Roger Gonzalez (27-3, 18 KO)
1/31: #8 Jorge Solis (37-1-2, 27 KO) TKO5 #10 Monty Meza-Clay (28-2, 19 KO)
Scheduled for February
02/14: #3 Cristobal Cruz (37-11-1, 23 KO) vs. Cyril Thomas (33-2-4, 10 KO)
02/28: #1 Chris John (42-0, 22 KO) vs. #5 Jr. Lightweight Rocky Juarez (28-4, 20 KO)
Jr. Featherweight (119-122 lbs.)
1/3: Toshiaki Nishioka (33-4-3, 20 KO, WBC) TKO12 Genaro Garcia (36-7, 20 KO)
Scheduled for February
02/21: #10 Rendall Munroe (17-1, 8 KO) vs. Kiko Martinez (20-1, 15 KO)
Bantamweight (116-118 lbs.)
No BoxingScene rated fighters competed in January or are currently scheduled to compete in February
Jr. Bantamweight (113-115 lbs.)
No BoxingScene rated fighters competed in January.
Scheduled for February
02/07: #1 Vic Darchinyan (31-1-1, 25 KO, WBC/WBA/IBF) vs. #6 Jorge Arce (51-4-1, 39 KO)
Flyweight (109-112 lbs.)
No BoxingScene rated fighters competed in January.
Scheduled for February
02/07: #3 Omar Narvaez (28-0-2, 17 KO, WBO) vs. #9 Rayonta Whitfield (22-0, 11 KO)
Jr. Flyweight (106-108 lbs.)
No BoxingScene rated fighters competed in January.
Scheduled for February
02/28: #3 Cesar Canchila (27-1, 21 KO, WBA interim) vs. #7 Giovanni Segura (19-1-1, 15 KO)
Strawweight (105 lbs.)
No BoxingScene rated fighters competed in January.
Scheduled for February
02/28: #1 Roman Gonzalez (22-0, 20 KO, WBA) vs. Francisco Rosas (20-5-2, 12 KO)
02/28: #4 Donnie Nietes (23-1-3, 14 KO, WBO) vs. Erik Ramirez (25-5-1, 19 KO)
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com