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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Now that, ladies and gentlemen, was what a fight of the year should look like.
In a perfect example of what happens when you step beyond robotic repetition and incorporate plot twists and drama, Terence Crawford and Yuriorkis Gamboa got together Saturday night for a match that’s sure to be fondly remembered when BWAA members mark their ballots come December.
The majority of the first four rounds were controlled – if not actually dominated – by the older, smaller challenger, who used a discernable speed advantage to land eye-catching, if not particularly concussive, pot shots to a younger, bigger adversary’s head and body.
The narrative was almost literally turned on its head in the fifth round, when the champion began connecting with the short, precise counterpunches he’d been barely missing on for the first 12 minutes, and nearly drove his foil into stiff-legged stupor with each successive blow.
Ultimately, as the battered visitor mounted a dramatic final valiant push before a suddenly hushed crowd in round nine, he was again caught by a laser-guided counter on the way in. And just that quickly, the hometown hero was lifted victoriously, to the approval of his 10,000-plus gathered followers.
The ninth alone was enough to guarantee the fight gets love during awards season, and when placed atop the masterpiece that had already been concocted through 24 minutes, it’s a winning combination.
Measured by the four criteria discussed in this space last week, it scores well, too.
Though a WBO title at 135 pounds these days isn’t exactly on the level of Roberto Duran or Henry Armstrong, it was still a legitimate enough matchup to warrant a middling score (6) on the 10-point significance system. That, coupled with higher marks for departure from pre-fight script (7), in-fight momentum shifts (10) and level of sustained action (8), calculates to a memorable 31 on my card. [Click Here To Read More]
In a perfect example of what happens when you step beyond robotic repetition and incorporate plot twists and drama, Terence Crawford and Yuriorkis Gamboa got together Saturday night for a match that’s sure to be fondly remembered when BWAA members mark their ballots come December.
The majority of the first four rounds were controlled – if not actually dominated – by the older, smaller challenger, who used a discernable speed advantage to land eye-catching, if not particularly concussive, pot shots to a younger, bigger adversary’s head and body.
The narrative was almost literally turned on its head in the fifth round, when the champion began connecting with the short, precise counterpunches he’d been barely missing on for the first 12 minutes, and nearly drove his foil into stiff-legged stupor with each successive blow.
Ultimately, as the battered visitor mounted a dramatic final valiant push before a suddenly hushed crowd in round nine, he was again caught by a laser-guided counter on the way in. And just that quickly, the hometown hero was lifted victoriously, to the approval of his 10,000-plus gathered followers.
The ninth alone was enough to guarantee the fight gets love during awards season, and when placed atop the masterpiece that had already been concocted through 24 minutes, it’s a winning combination.
Measured by the four criteria discussed in this space last week, it scores well, too.
Though a WBO title at 135 pounds these days isn’t exactly on the level of Roberto Duran or Henry Armstrong, it was still a legitimate enough matchup to warrant a middling score (6) on the 10-point significance system. That, coupled with higher marks for departure from pre-fight script (7), in-fight momentum shifts (10) and level of sustained action (8), calculates to a memorable 31 on my card. [Click Here To Read More]
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