This Monday, let’s take another quick-hit look at the biggest and most interesting (at least to me) stories of the last week or so.
– Frank Martin made a statement on Saturday night, even if he won’t be making Sportscenter for his performance. “The Ghost” dominated fellow unbeaten 20-something lightweight prospect Michel Rivera en route to a solid, decisive, and earnest 12-round unanimous decision. The 27-year-old Martin is not headline-capturing flashy, but he’s very good and very mature. In Saturday’s win, he’s earned his place among the top 135-pounders in the world and, at the very least, belongs in the same tier as Isaac Cruz and William Zepeda (honestly, I have him probably beating both).
If beating Rivera was not a breakthrough win for Martin, it should be. And that leads me to a bigger-picture issue related to Martin-Rivera.
TV ratings will tell the tale of just how much a fight like this, pitting young and hungry rising prospects against one another, resonates with fans. I know that the fans always SAY they want risky, evenly-matched bouts like Saturday’s, but there’s often a big difference between what fans say they want and what they actually respond to. There’s little doubt that the sport is healthier for having these kinds of match-ups on the way up the ladder of stardom. It’s just that, I feel, present tense fans probably respond better to showcase squashes between a prospect and a faded former star brought to the ring as chum. I hope I’m wrong. I hope there is, indeed, a case to be made for young fighters embracing risk.
– Ryan Garcia has pulled out of his January interim fight with Mercito Gesta and is aiming to go straight into April’s big bout with Gervonta Davis.
“I refuse to do another tune up,” Garcia said via social media. “I’m ready for this moment. In my heart I didn’t want to do that to you guys! We are coming straight for Tank! I apologize to any that wanted to see me in Jan but this fight is everything let’s get. You guys seen me from the garage training and now to the biggest stage #April #2rounds.”
Garcia pulling out of fights has become frustratingly predictable. Some have attributed nefarious reasons to Garcia’s decision not to fight next month. Some, meanwhile, have just chalked it up to the 24-year-old being flitty, mercurial, and a bit goofy.
Whatever the case, I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it-- It’ll be a miracle if we actually get Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia in April.
– The team representing David Avanesyan has filed a formal protest with the Nebraska Athletic Commission (NAC) over the December 10 glove controversy in their fighter’s sixth-round KO loss to Terence Crawford in Omaha, Nebraska.
For those two of you who came out of a coma recently and missed the brouhaha, here’s the skinny (as I reported for another site):
“At the beginning of the sixth round in Saturday’s WBO welterweight title fight, referee Sparkle Lee called a time out to have a look at Crawford’s gloves, which appeared to be splitting at the seams and from which padding was clearly visible. After consulting with NAC officials and a WBO representative, the decision was made to continue the fight with the worn-through gloves and switch them out following the round.
That decision became a moot point moments later when Crawford knocked Avanesyan cold with a fierce combination.
All three commentators from broadcaster BLK Prime—Antonio Tarver, Paulie Malignaggi, and Todd Grisham– expressed concern over the torn gloves and the potential threat to Avanesyan when they first became aware of the equipment failure.”
The representatives for the Russia-born Armenian, Avanesyan, are seeking answers as to why the bout was allowed to continue with gloves clearly not in fight-worthy shape. They also have questions regarding the gloves’ chain of possession and whether any tampering could’ve taken place.
Everlast, the glove manufacturer, attributed the defect in their product to a “batch of defective leather” used in production and says that “no foul play was at hand, nor was there any tampering of the product on behalf of Terence Crawford and his camp.”
As I also wrote elsewhere:
“The timing of the glove review, shortly before the brutal knockout, however, creates bad optics for all parties involved. It could very well create ample opportunity for Team Avanesyan to file a successful lawsuit for damages—against both the commission and Everlast– and, maybe, in a best-case scenario, even have the KO loss officially changed to a No Decision.”
I doubt the No Decision happens, but it’s clear that Avanesyan should be due for some sort of out-of-ring win after the defeat.
– Teofimo Lopez is like the guy who’s digging a hole, falls in the hole, and then tries to get out of that hole by digging deeper.
In his recent shaky performance versus Sandor Martin, the former 3-belt lightweight champ looked frustrated and forlorn after the bout. He was even caught on an ESPN camera, clearly befuddled, asking his team, “Bro, do I still have it, man?..Do I still got it?”
Well, now Lopez says that his live moment of on-air doubt was actually a “strategic” move to intentionally swerve fans and media and keep his name in the public light.
In an interview on the ESPN+ State of Boxing show, the 25-year-old Brooklynite answered the question of “what was going through his mind” with the following cringe response:
“I know what a red dot looks like, guys. It’s just a strategic move. I know I got everything inside me to always win. That’s why we call it The Takeover...It was just a strategic move, so people will keep talking about Teofimo Lopez, which they’re still doing.”
Ummm...okay.
The Takeover was fun. The Collapse will totally NOT be fun.
Got something for Magno? Send it here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com