By Tom Donelson
Paul Malignaggi delivered a masterpiece as he pounded out an easy decision over Donald Camerena. Camerena, normally a counter puncher, played the aggressor but he became a mere target of Malignaggi's sharp shooting punches. Delivering combinations that appeared like blurs, Malignaggi consistently nailed Camerena as he moved in. When Camerena sat on the rope with the hope of luring Malignaggi into a slugging match, this didn’t work either. Malignaggi merely smothered Camerena while continuing to assault Camerena. Camerena had no answer for the “magic man” as Malignaggi moved in and out with impunity.
Malignaggi threw and connected nearly twice of many punches as Camerena and his speed reduced Camerena own punch output. Camerena never could get off as he found himself covering up as oppose to finding ways to penetrate Malignaggi defenses.
As a fighter, Malignaggi depends upon speed and foot movement. With only five knockouts in 20 straight wins, Malignaggi does not have the knock out power to dominate stronger punchers. As he moves up the ladder and start fighting the more elite fighters, Malignaggi’s speed will have to make up for the lack of power. As for Camerena, he is still a good fighter with potential but he lacks the speed of Malignaggi and he does not have the one punch power. Camerena has to depend upon guile and smarts. Against Malignaggi, his jab was ineffectual and his lack of foot speed prohibited him from cutting off the ring and punishing Malignaggi's body. He could never slow down the young Brooklyn fighter.
In the first fight, Emanuel Augustus found himself in one of those do or die battles. Forgoing his usual showboating, Augustus set out to show the boxing world that he is more than an entertaining fighter- he is serious boxer. Augustus hand speed found a worthy opponent in Jaime Rangel toughness. As a late replacement, Rangel showed up with the idea of imposing his will on Augustus and even punish him early.
Augustus' accurate punches found a home on Rangel face but Rangel's determination and heart gave the Columbian fighter an early lead. Going into the second half of the fight, Augustus needed to use his boxing skills to take command of the fight and hope that Rangel endurance would fail him. In the tenth round, Augustus finally stopped the game Rangel as he sent him down twice before the referee stopped the fight.
Augustus has got to be the best fighter with 25 losses and as I have mentioned before, how has this guy lost 25 fights? Augustus loves to entertain the crowd with unpredictable antics that woe the crowd but often irritates the judges. Augustus have lost many close fights but on this night, he decided that this fight either be his masterpiece or his last if he lost.
While this fight couldn’t be considered a masterpiece, it did show Augustus at his best. With boxing skills and quick hands, Augustus’ guile was on display as he survived against a tough opponent. Against Rangel, Augustus' toughness and boxing knowledge was on display as he mastered a difficult, tough southpaw. Augustus’ victory simply means that he will fight another day and continue to entertain boxing fans.
While the Manfredo-Pemberton fight was postponed till Monday, ESPN showed why the Contender series was one of boxing more successful promotion last year. ESPN showed the repeat of the Contender special last October as Sergio Mora and Peter Manfredo, Jr. filled up the LA staple arena. What made this series successful is that many boxing fans including the casual fans saw these boxers as more than just athletes. They became personality. When Mora beat Manfredo the first time around, one friend of mine mentioned that the fight enthralled her. She viewed Mora as an over achiever who faced all odds and preserve. The second match produced a buzz in the boxing usually reserved for championship fights. While Mora won a close and controversial decision, both fighters enhanced their own popularity.
The Contender series made many of these fighters’ popular figures in the boxing world and brought new fans into the world of boxing. The contender series was one of the more highly rated boxing programs. ESPN featured some of their past stars including Peter Manfredo, Jr. Manfredo challenged Scott Pemberton, who recently lost his championship bout to Jeff Lacy. For Manfredo, this was a step in both competition and weight as he moved up to the Super Middleweight division.
This fight featured Pemberton's power versus Manfredo's speed. In the opening stanza of the fight, Manfredo’s hand speed was the dominant factor in the fight. Manfredo landed combinations after combinations, fighting the perfect fight. For Pemberton, he waited for his opportunity to land his right.
In the third round, Manfredo landed a quick left hook that shook up Pemberton and Manfredo unleashed combinations that concluded with an uppercut that sent him down for the first time in the fight. Pemberton tried to strike back but the 39 year-old legs let him down. In the past, Pemberton found a way to win fights after tasting the canvas. Not on this night as Manfredo went right after Pemberton. A right hand drove Pemberton back to the ropes and down.
Pemberton struggled up but the end was near as Manfredo refused to allow Pemberton off the hook. A final combination sent Pemberton reeling to the ropes and helpless against the more aggressive Manfredo. The referee stopped the fight and the Rhode Island crowd went crazy. As Sergio Mora commented after the fight, the electricity in this audience matched many championship fights and beat others like the Hopkins-Taylor rematch.
For Manfredo, he showed that he just might be a true top ten fighter and with Sergio Mora in the audience, he may even have one more big fight against his contender rival. As for boxing fans, they saw a clinic from a coming star. And as Arturo Gatti has shown, you don’t have to be a champion to draw the crowd and Manfredo, along with Mora, may have the same gift.
As for ESPN, the upcoming The Contender series will create a new set of heroes for boxing fans to take under their wing.