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By Cliff Rold - Boxing followers can only respond to what’s on paper. Sometimes, the conventional thinking that forms around certain fights is wrong.
Jack Johnson-James Jeffries and Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao are examples of battles hyped in their time as the “Fight of the Century” that turned out to be duds of the day. Donald Curry-Lloyd Honeyghan and Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas were just stops along the way to the possibilities of Curry-Marvin Hagler and Tyson-Evander Holyfield until they weren’t.
Not every great match made turns out to be.
Not every perceived mismatch really is.
This Saturday, we have two perceived mismatches on tap. At Heavyweight (NBC, 8:30 PM EST/5:30 PM PST), Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KO) will defend his WBC belt for the second time against Johann Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KO). At Flyweight (BeIn Espanol, 11 PM EST/8 PM PST), WBA/WBO titlist Juan Francisco Estrada (32-2, 23 KO) will attempt his fifth title defense against former WBA titlist Hernan “Tyson” Marquez (39-5-1, 28 KO).
On paper, these look ugly.
Even hardcore boxing people scratched their heads wondering who Duhaupas was when the fight was announced. Somehow, the WBC rates Duhaupas eleventh. It’s remarkable considering there doesn’t appear to be anyone in the current top-forty he’s beaten. If a name was overlooked, they are well down the list.
The high WBC rating of Duhaupas should shock no one. Prior to his title win over Bermane Stiverne, this author noted:
Deontay Wilder has risen through the ratings of the WBC by sheer numbers. A check of the most current WBC ratings at Heavyweight show that Wilder is undefeated against their top forty Heavyweights. [Click Here To Read More]
Jack Johnson-James Jeffries and Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao are examples of battles hyped in their time as the “Fight of the Century” that turned out to be duds of the day. Donald Curry-Lloyd Honeyghan and Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas were just stops along the way to the possibilities of Curry-Marvin Hagler and Tyson-Evander Holyfield until they weren’t.
Not every great match made turns out to be.
Not every perceived mismatch really is.
This Saturday, we have two perceived mismatches on tap. At Heavyweight (NBC, 8:30 PM EST/5:30 PM PST), Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KO) will defend his WBC belt for the second time against Johann Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KO). At Flyweight (BeIn Espanol, 11 PM EST/8 PM PST), WBA/WBO titlist Juan Francisco Estrada (32-2, 23 KO) will attempt his fifth title defense against former WBA titlist Hernan “Tyson” Marquez (39-5-1, 28 KO).
On paper, these look ugly.
Even hardcore boxing people scratched their heads wondering who Duhaupas was when the fight was announced. Somehow, the WBC rates Duhaupas eleventh. It’s remarkable considering there doesn’t appear to be anyone in the current top-forty he’s beaten. If a name was overlooked, they are well down the list.
The high WBC rating of Duhaupas should shock no one. Prior to his title win over Bermane Stiverne, this author noted:
Deontay Wilder has risen through the ratings of the WBC by sheer numbers. A check of the most current WBC ratings at Heavyweight show that Wilder is undefeated against their top forty Heavyweights. [Click Here To Read More]
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