SWC75
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This was the month the Goose Eggs were scrambled in the heavyweight division. At the beginning of the Month Deontay Wilder faced Luis Ortiz for his version of the heavyweight title and tonight Anthony Joshua faced Joseph Parker for their version of the title. Boxing titles these day are like bowl games in the pre-BCS era of college football: if you win them it makes you a contender for the real title rather than the universally recognized champion. These bouts were viewed as semi-finals in an unofficial tournament to unify the title. All four fighters had perfect records so two of them were going to lose the '0' at the end of their records. As expected, Ortiz and Parker got their eggs scrambled but it wasn't easy. Now boxing fans will look forward to a Wilder- Joshua match up to unify the title and establish the next great champion, the real heir to the Klitchko brothers, who dominated boxing for a decade. Neither Wilder or Joshua are all time greats. Both have capabilities but also vulnerabilities. Neither has had much competition simply because there are very few athletes of their size who take up boxing a profession. We- and they- are just finding out what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Wilder has a basketball player's body. He's 6-7 with an 83 inch reach . He weighed 215 for his last fight. He has broad shoulders but a 'V' shaped upper torso that tapers to a waist you could almost put your hands around. He's no youngster at 32. He wanted to play basketball or football at Alabama but got into boxing at age 19 instead to pay the medical bills for his daughter, who was born with Spina bifida . He had only 35 amateur fights and was beaten 5 times but won a Gold Glove title and went to the semi-finals of the 2008 Olympics in Peking. He then turned pro and in 10 years had gone 40-0 with 39 knockouts. But he didn't win the title until his 33rd fight in 2015 and that was the only fight he did not win with a knockout.
His virtues are an explosive right hand punch, excellent hand speed and that long reach. His weaknesses are that he's not a good technical boxer, his jab is soft and he needs space to throw his big punches. He uses his jab just to locate an opponent, rather than to put them on the defensive and set them up for his other punches. He thus has to resort to counter-punching while his opponent gets off first repeatedly. He can be out-boxed, as he was for four round against Gerald Washington a year ago for four rounds - until Wilder landed his big right hand in the 5th and ended the fight.
Against Ortiz, a shorter more muscular man and a big league puncher in his own right, Wilder again lost the early rounds. Again, the fifth, he hit the big right hand. It might have again ended the fight but he landed it just before the bell and Ortiz had time to recuperate. He recovered to win the 6th round and then knocked Wilder from ring post to ring post in the 7th. It reminded me of the first Leonard Hearns fight where the dangerous but skinny Hearns couldn't take a body punch and Leonard did everything but knock him down in a couple rounds in the middle of the fight and again at the end. Wilder, like Hearns, never went down but he was being mauled against the ropes and couldn't seem to do anything about it. But that may have taken something out of Ortiz, too and Wilder survived. he regained the room he needed to get his big shots off an rocked Ortiz late in the 9th. In the 10th they were exchanging shots when Ortiz went to a knee. It may have been a slip but it ignited a feeding frenzy for Wilder, who then over-whelmed Oritz with the sheer volume of punches from many directions. Some missed. Some were blocked but some got in and Ortiz had no opportunity to respond: he was just covering up. Eventually Ortiz sagged under the weight of the onslaught and the fight was over. Wilder won but Joshua must have been smiling.
Joshua is 28 years old and nearly as big as Wilder at 6-6 with an 82 inch reach. But he's much more muscular. He looked like the statue of David come to life. He typically weighs about 250 for his fights and is heavily muscled from his shoulders to his legs. he's also a fine athlete, having played soccer and run track. he had a 40-3 amateur record and won the 2012 Olympics in London. (Neither 35 or 43 amateur bouts is a lot:many fighters have well over 100 bouts.)
Joshua, unlike Wilder, is an excellent technical fighter. You could illustrate a book with his jab, his right cross, his left hook and his favorite weapon, his upper-cut. He can also put your lights out, although he's not as high on the Richter Scale as Wilder, who can be completely losing a fight and then suddenly win it. Joshua has to dominate a fight, which he did consistently on the way up. Still, there's something mechanical about his style. It's not natural and fluid. he clearly doesn't have the hand speed of Wilder. His footwork is plodding at best.
Parker, a smaller man, just as Ortiz was, didn't have Ortiz' strength or power so he resorted to a defensive posture, zig-zagging back and forth and sticking out a quick jab that prevented Joshua from going after him aggressively. Parker kept moving to his left and Joshua was unable to move to cut him off. He won the fight by sticking out his own straight jab and landing the occassional left hook or uppercut when they got in close. Parker eventually stopped jabbing and that ended his chance of winning. But he avoided most of Joshua's big punches, which were telegraphed and too slow. Even when they landed, Parker was leaning away. Parker landed a couple of right hands which stopped Joshua in his tracks. Joshua seemed to freeze up in these situations, which would have made him an easy target for Wilder's big shots. Joshua won, (he's now 21-0: it was the first opponent he didn't knock out), but this time Wilder was the one smiling.
Boxing being what it is, the big fight may not come off immediately. There's talk that Wilder and Joshua might be fighting someone else before they fight each other. That could be dangerous because they are each vulnerable. If it does come off I could see either man beating the other by knockout, (I don't see it going the distance). Wilder's lack of a jab could put him in a defensive posture and allow Joshua to set up his power shots, particularly to Wilder's skinny body. Both men have had an advantage in physical size over their opponents which would disappear in this fight. Joshua could bully and muscle Wilder against the ropes and nail him with that big uppercut. But if Wilder hits him with the big right hand, Joshua is going down as he did against Klitchko but might not get up. if he does, Wilder would be able to follow up with one of his patented flurries. When Wilder gets going, he'll be going at 45 RPM to Joshua's 33 1/3.
Meanwhile the guy who really will be the next great heavyweight will be smiling. We just don't know who he is yet.
Wilder has a basketball player's body. He's 6-7 with an 83 inch reach . He weighed 215 for his last fight. He has broad shoulders but a 'V' shaped upper torso that tapers to a waist you could almost put your hands around. He's no youngster at 32. He wanted to play basketball or football at Alabama but got into boxing at age 19 instead to pay the medical bills for his daughter, who was born with Spina bifida . He had only 35 amateur fights and was beaten 5 times but won a Gold Glove title and went to the semi-finals of the 2008 Olympics in Peking. He then turned pro and in 10 years had gone 40-0 with 39 knockouts. But he didn't win the title until his 33rd fight in 2015 and that was the only fight he did not win with a knockout.
His virtues are an explosive right hand punch, excellent hand speed and that long reach. His weaknesses are that he's not a good technical boxer, his jab is soft and he needs space to throw his big punches. He uses his jab just to locate an opponent, rather than to put them on the defensive and set them up for his other punches. He thus has to resort to counter-punching while his opponent gets off first repeatedly. He can be out-boxed, as he was for four round against Gerald Washington a year ago for four rounds - until Wilder landed his big right hand in the 5th and ended the fight.
Against Ortiz, a shorter more muscular man and a big league puncher in his own right, Wilder again lost the early rounds. Again, the fifth, he hit the big right hand. It might have again ended the fight but he landed it just before the bell and Ortiz had time to recuperate. He recovered to win the 6th round and then knocked Wilder from ring post to ring post in the 7th. It reminded me of the first Leonard Hearns fight where the dangerous but skinny Hearns couldn't take a body punch and Leonard did everything but knock him down in a couple rounds in the middle of the fight and again at the end. Wilder, like Hearns, never went down but he was being mauled against the ropes and couldn't seem to do anything about it. But that may have taken something out of Ortiz, too and Wilder survived. he regained the room he needed to get his big shots off an rocked Ortiz late in the 9th. In the 10th they were exchanging shots when Ortiz went to a knee. It may have been a slip but it ignited a feeding frenzy for Wilder, who then over-whelmed Oritz with the sheer volume of punches from many directions. Some missed. Some were blocked but some got in and Ortiz had no opportunity to respond: he was just covering up. Eventually Ortiz sagged under the weight of the onslaught and the fight was over. Wilder won but Joshua must have been smiling.
Joshua is 28 years old and nearly as big as Wilder at 6-6 with an 82 inch reach. But he's much more muscular. He looked like the statue of David come to life. He typically weighs about 250 for his fights and is heavily muscled from his shoulders to his legs. he's also a fine athlete, having played soccer and run track. he had a 40-3 amateur record and won the 2012 Olympics in London. (Neither 35 or 43 amateur bouts is a lot:many fighters have well over 100 bouts.)
Joshua, unlike Wilder, is an excellent technical fighter. You could illustrate a book with his jab, his right cross, his left hook and his favorite weapon, his upper-cut. He can also put your lights out, although he's not as high on the Richter Scale as Wilder, who can be completely losing a fight and then suddenly win it. Joshua has to dominate a fight, which he did consistently on the way up. Still, there's something mechanical about his style. It's not natural and fluid. he clearly doesn't have the hand speed of Wilder. His footwork is plodding at best.
Parker, a smaller man, just as Ortiz was, didn't have Ortiz' strength or power so he resorted to a defensive posture, zig-zagging back and forth and sticking out a quick jab that prevented Joshua from going after him aggressively. Parker kept moving to his left and Joshua was unable to move to cut him off. He won the fight by sticking out his own straight jab and landing the occassional left hook or uppercut when they got in close. Parker eventually stopped jabbing and that ended his chance of winning. But he avoided most of Joshua's big punches, which were telegraphed and too slow. Even when they landed, Parker was leaning away. Parker landed a couple of right hands which stopped Joshua in his tracks. Joshua seemed to freeze up in these situations, which would have made him an easy target for Wilder's big shots. Joshua won, (he's now 21-0: it was the first opponent he didn't knock out), but this time Wilder was the one smiling.
Boxing being what it is, the big fight may not come off immediately. There's talk that Wilder and Joshua might be fighting someone else before they fight each other. That could be dangerous because they are each vulnerable. If it does come off I could see either man beating the other by knockout, (I don't see it going the distance). Wilder's lack of a jab could put him in a defensive posture and allow Joshua to set up his power shots, particularly to Wilder's skinny body. Both men have had an advantage in physical size over their opponents which would disappear in this fight. Joshua could bully and muscle Wilder against the ropes and nail him with that big uppercut. But if Wilder hits him with the big right hand, Joshua is going down as he did against Klitchko but might not get up. if he does, Wilder would be able to follow up with one of his patented flurries. When Wilder gets going, he'll be going at 45 RPM to Joshua's 33 1/3.
Meanwhile the guy who really will be the next great heavyweight will be smiling. We just don't know who he is yet.
