SHOE-SHINE COMBO OF QUESTIONS

1)Terrance Crawford whooped up on Felix Diaz in only a way a sadist might enjoy. Still, Diaz had enough success when he got rough to get me thinking is Shawn Porter (5 years ago I would’ve said Tim Bradley) Bud’s kryptonite?

2) Has anyone won more fights on his back than Andre “You think soccer players flop, hold my beer bro” Dirrell?!

3) Dude! Salido won a title shot and his green card in one swift hook! Know of any other cool stories where a guy won more than just his fight?

4) You guys should offer a subscription where you write a SC Notebook once a month.

5) Mythical Matchups:

Crawford- Lloyd Honeyghan

Bradley-Porter (not my cup of tea but still)

Holyfield-Frazier

Thanks. – Jesse

Photo / @HBOBoxing

Terrance Crawford whooped up on Felix Diaz in only a way a sadist might enjoy. Well, I don’t consider myself a sadist but I’m card-carrying Blood-Thirsty Ghoul, so I enjoyed watching Crawford ply his brutally effective craft through seven rounds, but once Diaz’s Round 7 rally earned him a vicious body shot combo against the ropes I had seen enough. The plug should have been pulled after Round 8. Six minutes of torture is six minutes too much. ‘Nuff said.

Still, Diaz had enough success when he got rough to get me thinking is Shawn Porter (5 years ago I would’ve said Tim Bradley) Bud’s kryptonite? Porter’s rough-and-tumble style is a handful for any top welterweight. I can’t say it’s potentially “kryptonite” for Crawford because we’ve yet to see Bud fight at 147 pounds, but I think Porter would at least be competitive with the current RING mag 140-pound champ. However, just based on styles and Bud’s strong jab (from either stance) and ability to adapt, I would favor Crawford via decision if that fight every came to pass.

Has anyone won more fights on his back than Andre “You think soccer players flop, hold my beer bro” Dirrell?! Jeez, you’re not really being fair to Dirrell who was legitimately hurt by foul shots (although it can be debated if Uzcategui’s late hit was intentional – I don’t believe it was) in both of his DQ victories. But as it is, he’s at best tied with former junior middleweight fringe contender Luis Santana, who won the WBC 154-pound belt in Mexico City in 1994 after my favorite fighter of the early ‘90s, Terry Norris, clipped him with a shot to the back of the head, and then retained the belt in an immediate rematch in Las Vegas in ’95 when “Terrible Terry” felled him with a shot after the bell. The ultimate DQ champ is still Marcel Thil, a hall-of-fame enshrined French standout during the 1920s and ‘30s (and also a World War II hero). Thil, who won more than 110 pro bouts, earned recognition as the middleweight champ (although not by the New York State Athletic Commission) when fellow hall-of-famer Gorilla Jones was disqualified for landing low blows in their 1932 bout in Paris. Thil (who never was recognized by the powerful NYSAC) retained the middleweight title twice by DQ in back-to-back fights with fellow hall-of-famer Lou Brouillard in ’36 and ‘37 in Paris (the first bout due to headbutts and low blows, the second by “phantom foul blow” as he appeared to go down from a legal punch to the jaw but managed to convince the referee that he was hit low, which pissed off even his loyal French fans).

Dude! Salido won a title shot and his green card in one swift hook! Know of any other cool stories where a guy won more than just his fight? Salido!? What’re you tryin’ say, Jesse? That all Mexicans look alike? LOL. I think you’re talking about Ray Beltran. And when you’re talking about adult prize fighters with families, every victory in the ring is more than just the ‘W,’ it’s him (or her) being able to provide for their loved ones.

You guys should offer a subscription where you write a SC Notebook once a month. That, my friend, is in the works. We shall deliver.

Your mythical matchups:

Crawford- Lloyd Honeyghan – Crawford via close but unanimous decision

Bradley-Porter (not my cup of tea but still) – Bradley by close, maybe split decision

Holyfield-Frazier – Frazier by late TKO or close decision in an all-time great war. I think The Real Deal is a better overall boxer but my hunch is that he would be too willing to war with the hard-charging harder-punching Frazier and eat one too many whipping left hooks from Smokin’ Joe. But it would be brutal on both small heavyweights and Frazier would ultimately take more punishment.

SOME INTERESTING WEEKEND RESULTS

Dear Mr Fischer,

Hassan N’Dam may have the worst balance and footwork of any fringe contender/ veteran gatekeeper, but he can ride a bicycle for eight to 10 rounds and not look abjectly terrible.

How big was the ring for his fight against Ryota Murata? Maybe it was just the amount N’Dam shuffled around the edges, or how inexpert Murata seemed at cutting off the ring, but it looked to be about 25 feet to a side. I thought Murata would have been better served going more to the body, but I still scored the fight as a convincing win for the Japanese fighter.

I would appreciate your opinion as to how two judges could have possibly scored the last five rounds for N’Dam. The WBA made a joke of an otherwise entertaining fight. N’Dam seemed to know he’d been beat, and his immediate reaction to the decision was even more telling than Andre Ward’s.

Gervonta Davis looked impressive and seems to carry more power every time he gets in the ring, but the 130-pound division is stacked, and he’s yet to step in with a top dog. Do you think he’s ready to jump into the mix with the dyed-in-the-wool savages of the divison? I’d like to see him against any of them, but I don’t know if he’s ready to face that kind of pressure (and I don’t know if their schedules have the openings). As for the rung above the savage scientists, I think it likely that Vasyl Lomachenko would make Davis look foolish (especially with where he holds his right hand and the way that he relies so much on his left), but I’d want to see that fight as well. Any notion of what’s next for him?

Terence Crawford continues to look great. I can’t say how hard a fight it was for Crawford, but he sure made it look easy as the rounds wore on. The more I watch, the more I think he’s as deserving of (admittedly arbitrary) number one pound for pound status as my other two favorite fighters (and the best bang for my boxing dollars): Gennady Golovkin and Roman Gonzalez. Like GGG and Chocolatito, it’s exceedingly difficult for me to find fights where Crawford seems in jeopardy of losing (at least on well-scored cards). I don’t mean to say that Bud didn’t eat a few good (or at least wild) hooks, or that Diaz wasn’t game, just that after they had the measure of each other, the outcome seemed certain.

I haven’t seen the Andre Dirrell, Jose Uzcategui fight, but I’m very interested in your take. I find it compelling that the RingTV.com report mentioned that Anthony Dirrell motioned for his brother to stay down after the hook landed at the bell. I’m less interested in the post-disqualification nonsense.

Finally (again, my apologies for the length), I sincerely hope that Raymundo Beltran gets his permanent residency. He’s worked hard at a very high level for so long (back to his days primarily working as a sparring partner for bigger names), that he deserves to raise his family where he wants. If he needed a win, as RingTV reported his lawyers told him (I didn’t even know he’d applied), he made quite the statement in an otherwise hotly contested fight, at least to that point.

I hope this finds you well, and that the full slate of fights saw you with time enough to enjoy all the good ones and still spend quality hours with your family. I look forward to Monday’s mailbag and send the best in the meanwhile. Very respectfully. – John

Thanks for sharing your many thoughts on the weekend’s action (I guess the David Benavidez-Porky Medina shootout got lost in the shuffle – LOL), John. I managed to not only watch all of the major fights that took place on Saturday, but also write up quick RingTV reports on half of them (while unsung Ring mag managing editor Brian Harty grabbed the other instant results) and edit/post the many ringside writers’ stories (with Harty’s help), which sadly prohibited me from spending much time with family (and wouldn’t ya know it? My sister happened to be in town that night). However, I did spend some nice quality time with the wife and kids on Friday and Sunday, so it’s all good. I still love my job.

It seems like most of the world’s boxing community is rooting for Beltran to get his green card and remain in the U.S. for the betterment of his family and career. I’d call you all bunch of bleeding heart liberals, but I keep my BHL card right next to my BTG (Blood-Thirsty Ghoul) card in my wallet, so it’s all good. It’s hard not to have a soft spot for Beltran, who is genuinely humble and friendly outside of the ring and stone-cold professional inside of it. His up-and-down journey from boxing nobody to Pacquiao’s chief sparring partner to grizzled gatekeeper to legit contender/hard-luck title challenger to obscurity to title contention once again makes for easy feel-good fodder for the media. Add in his quest for a green card and you have the perfect crossover story.

Boxing writers (even general sports media) are so enamored with Beltran they barely ever bring up that failed PED test of his after he blasted poor Takahiro Ao in a vacant WBO lightweight title bout in Las Vegas two years ago. They wouldn’t suffer that kind of amnesia if Beltran were an unlikable sort. (Just keepin’ it real, folks. I know how choosy y’all are.) Anyway, I forgive Beltran for that transgression like Dirrell forgave Uzcategui (sorry, couldn’t resist). Seriously, I hope the 35-year-old gets his papers in order, remains in the U.S., and is able to challenge for the IBF title by the end of the year.

Photo / Naoki Fukuda

Hassan N’Dam may have the worst balance and footwork of any fringe contender/ veteran gatekeeper, but he can ride a bicycle for eight to 10 rounds and not look abjectly terrible. N’Dam moves about the ring very well for someone with terrible foot placement. The veteran constantly crosses over with his feet and lines them up (both parallel and horizontally) as he moves laterally and when he darts forward on the attack. I’ve stated numerous times in this column and on social media that the France-based Cameroonian does not have a poor chin. He’s got excellent whiskers and near-inhuman recuperation ability. It’s just poor balance and footwork that results in his gutsy ass getting dropped so often against heavy hitters.

How big was the ring for his fight against Ryota Murata? Maybe it was just the amount N’Dam shuffled around the edges, or how inexpert Murata seemed at cutting off the ring, but it looked to be about 25 feet to a side. It was a regulation-sized ring. Murata’s slow stalking and N’Dam’s swift “keep-away” game made it seem bigger than it was.

I thought Murata would have been better served going more to the body, but I still scored the fight as a convincing win for the Japanese fighter. It wasn’t a hard fight to score if your head isn’t shoved

Photo / Naoki Fukuda

up your ass. I had Murata winning nine rounds or 117-110 with the Round-4 knockdown. He wasn’t active enough for my liking and I thought he needed more punch variation (jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and yes, more body shots – although he landed some choice punches to the midsection in the final three rounds), but he managed to easily block what looked like 80% of N’Dam’s punches and he landed the cleaner, harder, more effective blows (and by that I mean the kind of punches that repeatedly snapped N’Dam’s head or knocked the 33-year-old vet off balance, into the ropes or forced him to grab and hold).

I would appreciate your opinion as to how two judges could have possibly scored the last five rounds for N’Dam. Gladly. They suck. Gustavo Padilla and Hubert Earle are sh__ty boxing judges. They don’t know how to score a professional boxing match and they shouldn’t be allowed to score a preliminary four-rounder let alone a world title bout until they undergo a series of intensive educational seminars. I think veteran judge (and ref) Raul Caiz Sr., who scored the bout correctly, should volunteer to act as their instructor (and he should be authorized to whack their wrists with a ruler whenever it looks like they aren’t paying attention).

The WBA made a joke of an otherwise entertaining fight. If they had anything to do with assigning Padilla and Earle, I’m sure they are embarrassed. But I agree that the 12-round middleweight bout was entertaining. N’Dam and Murata have the kind of styles and fighter mentalities that would make for fun scraps against any of the world’s top 160 pounders.

N’Dam seemed to know he’d been beat, and his immediate reaction to the decision was even more telling than Andre Ward’s. Bro, I’m already worked up over the dookie-ass scoring of N’Dam-Murata and Barthelemy-Relikh, don’t get me started on Ward-Kovalev…

Do you think (Gervonta Davis is) ready to jump into the mix with the dyed-in-the-wool savages of the division? No. He’s still learning and still gaining valuable experience against tough-but-outclassed veterans like Jose Pedraza and Walsh. Tank needs to at least go a hard 10 rounds with a credible opponent before TMT turns him loose against the best of the deep junior lightweight division. Personally, I’d like to see how Davis fares against a tough, talented and experienced lower-top-10 contender like Tevin Farmer.

I’d like to see him against any of them, but I don’t know if he’s ready to face that kind of pressure (and I don’t know if their schedules have the openings). Davis is 22 and he’s yet to fight his 20^th pro bout or fight past nine rounds, so I don’t see any reason for him to take on the likes of Jezreel Corrales or the Berchelt-Miura winner just yet, but if he and his team feel that he’s ready for the top dogs of the division I wouldn’t mind seeing those matchups at all. I won’t complain if the kid wants to challenge himself.

As for the rung above the savage scientists, I think it likely that Vasyl Lomachenko would make Davis look foolish (especially with where he holds his right hand and the way that he relies so much on his left), but I’d want to see that fight as well. I think Loma would do more than make David look foolish. I think the No. 1 junior lightweight and pound-for-pound player would beat the unholy hell out of the kid. If that fight were to happen any time over the next year, it would be UGLY.

Any notion of what’s next for him? Nope. Me Floyd Mayweather Jr. don’t chat much. But my guess is that now that Davis has his IBF mandatory out of the way, his next opponent will come from the Al Haymon/Showtime/PBC roster: perhaps perennial contender Edner Cherry or former beltholder Javier Fortuna. I’d be cool with either fight.

Terence Crawford continues to look great. I can’t say how hard a fight it was for Crawford, but he sure made it look easy as the rounds wore on. I agree, and that’s saying something given that Diaz is an Olympic gold medalist with an awkwardly athletic southpaw style.

The more I watch, the more I think he’s as deserving of (admittedly arbitrary) number one pound for pound status as my other two favorite fighters (and the best bang for my boxing dollars): Gennady Golovkin and Roman Gonzalez. My brotha, Chocolatito deserves to be No. 1 Pound for Pound, or that mythical rankings top spot should be vacant – end of discussion.

Like GGG and Chocolatito, it’s exceedingly difficult for me to find fights where Crawford seems in jeopardy of losing (at least on well-scored cards). It hasn’t happened yet.

I haven’t seen the Andre Dirrell, Jose Uzcategui fight, but I’m very interested in your take. I didn’t think the late hit from Uzcategui was intentional or blatant. He was in the process of backing Dirrell to the ropes/corner in the final seconds of Round 8 (and, yes, referee Bill Clancy did bark that “five seconds” were left in the round, but when a fighter is in the heat of battle – or in hot pursuit as the Venezuelan was – they don’t hear too clearly and they’re not focusing on a ref that’s trailing behind them, out of sight), he unleashed a three-punch combo right before the bell rang. The first punch (the primary hook that separated Dirrell from his senses) landed a split second before the bell, the second punch (a short right) landed at the bell, and the third punch (a short follow-up hook) landed a split second after the bell. It all happened too fast for Uzcategui to pull back on his punches. I thought Clancy overacted to an unintentional foul and ruled the bout a DQ before he gave Dirrell the opportunity to prove whether or not he was able to continue.

Photo / Tom Casino-SHOWTIME

I find it compelling that the RingTV.com report mentioned that Anthony Dirrell motioned for his brother to stay down after the hook landed at the bell. I don’t find that nearly as compelling as the referee (Bill Clancy) determining that Dirrell was unfit to continue before giving the fallen fighter a chance to get up and before the ringside doctors (that he called into the ring) were able to make a diagnosis and then  telling the physicians (in front of the still-down Dirrell) that he was going to disqualify Uzcategui.

I’m less interested in the post-disqualification nonsense. Well, in that case, I advise you to stay away from Twitter and YouTube for a few days.

BUD CRAWFORD’S ARC

Happy birthday Doug.

I saw on Twitter it is your name day and hope you enjoyed it. I’ll keep it short and sweet in hopes of you not working too hard today.

Crawford vs the 147-pound beltholders, Errol Spence Jr. and Danny Garcia for good measure in a MM or possibly a peek at the future.

Preston. – Minneapolis, MN

Hopefully, it’s a peek at the future, Preston. Thanks for the birthday well wishes and for keeping it brief.

Crawford vs. Keith Thurman – Crawford by close, perhaps split or majority decision (though not in the eyes of the media/public)

Vs. Manny Pacquiao – Crawford by close but unanimous decision

Vs. Kell Brook – Crawford by close, maybe majority decision

Vs. Spence – Crawford by late TKO

Vs. Garcia – Crawford by clear unanimous decision

I guess it’s safe to say that I’m “high on Bud.”

VERY CLOSE CALL

Hey Dougie,

Man, it was getting interesting between Uzcategui and Dirrell until that unfortunate combo hit Dirrell just a tad after the bell had rung. I thought that since the combination started before the bell rang and the referee was nowhere near to prevent it you had to give the benefit of the doubt to Uzcategui. I thought the first punch that he landed really hurt Direll and the following two were icing on the cake. It so happens that the last one connected half a second after the bell.

In this case the referee should always be close enough to prevent this from happening as fighters are not time keepers and it’s difficult to judge time while being in an intense battle. The worst part happened after the fight ended with Dirrell’s uncle/trainer hitting Uzcategui flush in a cheap shot that should bring criminal charges.

I think this is proof that there are way too many people allowed inside the ring after a fight ends. I’ve seen all kind of stuff happen after a fight by people who have nothing to do there. I’ve seen guys go and act as doctors trying to wake up a KO’ed boxer by moving his head or trying to lift him. I’ve also seen guys hit fighters with their cell phones and others just start riots. Something needs to be done. It was a disgrace what happened to this poor guy. Hopefully justice is served.

Thanks Doug, sorry for the rant but I’m pissed. – Juan Valverde, San Diego

I don’t blame you for being upset by what happened after the Dirrell-Uzcategui fight ended. Even though I understand and empathize with the concern that Dirrell’s family/corner had for Andre when he was hurt and when he hit the deck at the end of Round 8, their outrage and actions both outside and inside the ring (especially Leon Lawson Jr.’s despicable sucker punch to Uzcategui) were totally unnecessary. Dirrell was up and on his feet, coherent and composed, not long after the fight was officially stopped and after he had been examined by two ringside doctors, and he was downright magnanimous toward Uzcategui, who he hugged and said he forgave, as soon as he got up off the canvas and stool. Andre’s compassion should have squashed any beef between the corners.

Photo / Tom Casino-SHOWTIME

The worse thing about the melee that occurred after the fight ended (apart from Uzcategui eating a two-piece from an a__hole) was that it made everyone immediately forget about what a quality boxing match Dirrell-Uzcategui had been. The Venezuelan looked like a real 168-pound contender against the two-time title challenger. He flashed a solid jab and exhibited good head-and-upper-body movement, counter-punching/punch variation and ring-cutting ability. And Dirrell was exceptional in overcoming a rocky start and boxing his way back into the fight in Rounds 4, 5 and 6. The Dirrell-Uzcategui post-fight drama also took away from Gary Russell Jr.’s excellent performance against Oscar Escandon in the main event.  

I think this is proof that there are way too many people allowed inside the ring after a fight ends. I agree. And I think there are way too many people allowed in the ring before the fight begins. It should just be the fighters, their corners, the ring announcer and MAYBE the promoters and sanctioning body reps.

I’ve seen all kind of stuff happen after a fight by people who have nothing to do there. We definitely need more beefed-up security at prize fights, maybe equip them with tasers. (And maybe members of press row should be given tasers for good measure.)

I’ve seen guys go and act as doctors trying to wake up a KO’ed boxer by moving his head or trying to lift him. These are the trifling mother f__kers that need to be tased.

I’ve also seen guys hit fighters with their cell phones and others just start riots. Ahhhh… Riddick Bowe’s old squad. I wonder where they are now?

Something needs to be done. Agreed.

It was a disgrace what happened to this poor guy. Agreed.

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @dougiefischer and on @Periscope.