Things I learned this weekend....

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Martinez vs Murray

Martinez isn't the same fighter, and that's before he broke his hand. He isn't as fast as he once was, and gets hit a lot. Father time has officially caught up with him and he will lose if he fights Jr again, I really believe that. I thought Murray won that fight, they were giving Martinez early rounds but it was similar to what Canelo vs Trout was in that Martinez was throwing but not landing much. Murray on the other hand, was landing at will and scored a second knockdown that wasn't counted because of home cooking.

Garcia vs Judah

Garcia is a good, strong fighter but Zab fights to scared. His corner should have told him to press more when he was landing in the later rounds but he didn't want to get KO'd. He should have gone for broke because he was landing big shots and finally utilizing the right hook in that fight. He's 35 and this was his last hurrah and he didn't fight that way. Garcia I think gets beat by the big punchers at 140. He has a good chin but fights with Mathysse or Peterson might be too much for him.

Khan vs Diaz

I knew this was going to be a tougher fight than some thought. Diaz is a solid fighter and is a tough SOB. I think Hunter is a good trainer but he can't do anything for Khan when it comes to his chin. You can't teach chin and Khan has none. He gets tapped there and he gets hurt, and he was hurt a few times in this fight. Diaz isn't that big of a puncher at that weight and I feel like Khan can avoid big shots in an 8 round fight maybe but to do it in a 12 rounder is too hard.

He get's KO'd by a lot in the 140 division, he's a great talent, great speed but he gets hits way too much with that fragile chin. Khan is not elite.

Arreola vs Stiverne

Chris Arreola is DONE. What a waste of talent and heart. He came in at 248 lbs again. He says he trains hard but I don't see it when he's coming in heavier than his last fight. I never question other trainers because I don't know what is going on in their camps, but I think for Arreola to go on in his career, he needs a change. Not because his trainer isn't a good one but because I think they are buddy, buddy and he needs someone to drop the hammer on him. He either comes in at 230 - 235 or he should quit boxing. 333 punches in an entire fight isn't going to get it done. As far as Stiverne, he did a great job of boxing and moving but I don't see him beating the Klitchkos.

[bojangles1987]

It was depressing to see Martinez look so faded. Yes, other fighters have had success doing the same thing Murray did, but Sergio ended up breaking them down eventually. Not this fight, his reflexes were just awful and he reacted badly to every clean shot he was hit with.

Judah's biggest problem was age, I think. He's reached the point where he can't pull the trigger the way he used to. It happens to them all. Garcia came in with a good gameplan and executed it well. Loved the focus on body shots, he knew Judah didn't like them and whenever things got rough he went back to them. He also showed a pretty good chin to eat Judah's shots like he did.

Khan's at a vulnerable point where every fight could potentially end in disaster for him. Until Hunter is finished molding him, he'd be best off fighting nothing but pillow punchers. Unfortunately, I can't see him actually improving where he needs to. He's not smart enough.If he were to get in the ring with any of the top 3 at 140 right now, it would crush his confidence. Khan still has talent, but we've seen his best.

[SnakeVen0m]

Martinez vs Murray

Martinez isn't the same fighter, and that's before he broke his hand. He isn't as fast as he once was, and gets hit a lot. Father time has officially caught up with him and he will lose if he fights Jr again, I really believe that. I thought Murray won that fight, they were giving Martinez early rounds but it was similar to what Canelo vs Trout was in that Martinez was throwing but not landing much. Murray on the other hand, was landing at will and scored a second knockdown that wasn't counted because of home cooking.

Garcia vs Judah

Garcia is a good, strong fighter but Zab fights to scared. His corner should have told him to press more when he was landing in the later rounds but he didn't want to get KO'd. He should have gone for broke because he was landing big shots and finally utilizing the right hook in that fight. He's 35 and this was his last hurrah and he didn't fight that way. Garcia I think gets beat by the big punchers at 140. He has a good chin but fights with Mathysse or Peterson might be too much for him.

Khan vs Diaz

I knew this was going to be a tougher fight than some thought. Diaz is a solid fighter and is a tough SOB. I think Hunter is a good trainer but he can't do anything for Khan when it comes to his chin. You can't teach chin and Khan has none. He gets tapped there and he gets hurt, and he was hurt a few times in this fight. Diaz isn't that big of a puncher at that weight and I feel like Khan can avoid big shots in an 8 round fight maybe but to do it in a 12 rounder is too hard.

He get's KO'd by a lot in the 140 division, he's a great talent, great speed but he gets hits way too much with that fragile chin. Khan is not elite.

Arreola vs Stiverne

Chris Arreola is DONE. What a waste of talent and heart. He came in at 248 lbs again. He says he trains hard but I don't see it when he's coming in heavier than his last fight. I never question other trainers because I don't know what is going on in their camps, but I think for Arreola to go on in his career, he needs a change. Not because his trainer isn't a good one but because I think they are buddy, buddy and he needs someone to drop the hammer on him. He either comes in at 230 - 235 or he should quit boxing. 333 punches in an entire fight isn't going to get it done. As far as Stiverne, he did a great job of boxing and moving but I don't see him beating the Klitchkos.

Great points here. Good unbiased view.

[Doctor_Tenma]

I agree that Chavez Jr beats Martinez this time around, I always liked Canelo's chances against him, I like them more so even now.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

It was depressing to see Martinez look so faded. Yes, other fighters have had success doing the same thing Murray did, but Sergio ended up breaking them down eventually. Not this fight, his reflexes were just awful and he reacted badly to every clean shot he was hit with.

Judah's biggest problem was age, I think. He's reached the point where he can't pull the trigger the way he used to. It happens to them all. Garcia came in with a good gameplan and executed it well. Loved the focus on body shots, he knew Judah didn't like them and whenever things got rough he went back to them. He also showed a pretty good chin to eat Judah's shots like he did.

Khan's at a vulnerable point where every fight could potentially end in disaster for him. Until Hunter is finished molding him, he'd be best off fighting nothing but pillow punchers. Unfortunately, I can't see him actually improving where he needs to. He's not smart enough.If he were to get in the ring with any of the top 3 at 140 right now, it would crush his confidence. Khan still has talent, but we've seen his best.

Hunter is a fantastic trainer and a defensive specialist but there's nothing he can do to help Khans chin. Eventually in a 12 round fight, he will be hit. You can't stick and move the entire way, just doesn't work that way in boxing.

I think Khan is an amazing talent, if he had a great chin he might be the best lb for lb fighter in the world, seriously. Khan is a KO waiting to happen, he can't avoid it and now that he's getting knocked down in every fight, you can see the lack of confidence in the way he's fighting. He used to be much more aggressive.

[4Corners]

Sergio isn't shot by any means, but he certainly didn't look as good as the Chavez fight. It was most likely a combination of age and surgery, now having to sit out another year probably at his age and with his style, I really don't see him fighting much longer. Maybe 1-2 more fights.

Danny Garcia does a lot of stuff pretty good, which results in him being a good fighter. Sure Judah had success late in the fight, but Danny controlled basically 3/4 of the fight and had Judah almost out of there several times. I think Garcia loses to Lucas based on styles because he doesn't look too great going backward. We'll see though.

Khan's chin is shaky still, yes. But his biggest problem is his leaky defense. Seriously, he's got have one of the worst defenses I've seen for a fighter that was supposed to be at his level. He's exciting to watch, but it's cringe worthy to hear him still talking about mega fights with the likes of Floyd, when he's struggling with Julio Diaz in 2013. But when you've been on the world level for 3-4 years and are in your mid 20's, there's only so much a new trainer is going to do for you. Khan will always be Khan, and he'll always have same instincts, as well as the same chin.

Arreola has always been crap, but hey that's just me. Seriously, I feel the guy would get murked in about any other heavyweight era.

[.:: JSFD26 ::.]

Things that I learned this weekend:
Fighters do turn old overnight.

And Martinez was a prime example. Fortunately for him, he wasn't seriously hurt or "iced" in the fight.

If you ask me that was the perfect fight to retire on. Made a ****load of money and won. Get out while you're on top is my philosophy.


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[~AK49~]

IMO, its way too early to close the book on Martinez. What we know is, Martinez' is fresh off of major reconstructive knee surgery, had many reported injuries before the fight, broke his hand early in the fight, was fighting on a wet spongy canvas, was trying to put on an entertaining show for his fellow countrymen (probably a big part in leaving himself defensively open, to try an force/open up the action), etc.

Way too many question marks around this fight to simply throe Martinez under the bus/close the book on him. At this point with his age, taking the extended period of time off well either be really good, or really bad. Time will tell.

[Brockton Lip]

IMO, its way too early to close the book on Martinez. What we know is, Martinez' is fresh off of major reconstructive knee surgery, had many reported injuries before the fight, broke his hand early in the fight, was fighting on a wet spongy canvas, was trying to put on an entertaining show for his fellow countrymen (probably a big part in leaving himself defensively open, to try an force/open up the action), etc.

Way too many question marks around this fight to simply throe Martinez under the bus/close the book on him. At this point with his age, taking the extended period of time off well either be really good, or really bad. Time will tell.

This guy knows what he's talking about. I am surprised at the amount of people thinking Martinez got old overnight. In addition to what AK said, Murray is a severely underrated fighter. I've been saying for awhile that it was going to be a competitive fight. People should not have expected any less.

[White_Knight]

Good post. I mostly agree.

The reason I'm quite certain that Martinez is succumbing to age is the amount of clean shots he took. An injury doesn't hamper your reflexes, but age does.

Garcia isn't the most polished fight in the world. He seems to have difficulty throwing that right hand straight. However, he more than makes up for it with his great chin and power.

Believe it or not, I still have a lot of optimism when it comes to Khan, but he must change a few things. Khan is one of those rare fights for whom combination punching should be discouraged. He gets wobbled whenever a punch lands. He should use his speed to pot shot from the outside. Whenever a fighter is bearing down on him he should put the earmuffs up. It might not be exciting, but winning is paramount.

I think if Arreola was going to lose weight he would have done it by now. As with Solis, I'm become less optimistic about him as time passes. Also, this attempted transformation of him from a swarmer to a boxer-puncher should be aborted.