Sharkie’s Week in Boxing: Eric Harding vs Khalid Jones / Kirkland vs Wiggins

By Frank Gonzalez

Eric Harding (20-1-1-6) Vs. George Khallid Jones (16-0-0-12)

15.12 - George Jones lost his status as an unbeaten fighter this Friday as Eric Harding beat him and improved his record to 21-1-1-7 KO’s. Early in this Light Heavyweight contest, it seemed an interesting match up of styles, especially with both fighters being southpaws.

Jones is reputed to be a slugger type, power puncher. His claim to fame was the unfortunate death of B. Scottland, who died a few days after fighting G. K. Jones at the Intrepid Museum on Manhattan’s West Side earlier this year. Like most young, up and coming fighters, his 16-0 record is deceiving since most of his past bouts were against low level competition. Much like the record of Panchito Bojado. But Jones was brave in making a fight with a highly ranked contender like Harding. It is a sign of bravery for George Jones.

Harding, a boxer-type who showed he was well rounded, basically had it all in this match up, speed, power, defense, and ring generalship. Harding is best known for the way he went 10 rounds against Roy Jones Jr. in September of 2000 where he lost by TKO due to a bicep tear and couldn’t continue. Many say Harding was possibly the toughest fight Roy ever had.

George Khallid Jones proved to be slow and vulnerable to Harding’s many slippery shots. Perhaps he’s not ready for Prime Time. Harding is a flashy fighter who uses speedy combinations to take away his opponent’s confidence. It worked like a charm against Jones. Jones seemed content not to use the jab to set anything up, while Harding jabbed all through the fight and controlled the tempo and Jones easily. After being rocked with a few good shots in the end of the sixth round, Harding came on strong in the seventh, looking to finish and did. He knocked Jones to the canvas in a manner that caused referee, Steve Smoger to halt the bout.

George Khallid Jones needs to work on his speed and reflexes and to come to his next fight with a game plan that includes using the jab to disrupt his opponent while setting himself up for power shots.

As for Harding, I would like to see him face Roy Jones Jr. again. Their styles are similar and with Harding having a little more experience now, it should prove to be a good match up.

Angel Rios (9-2-0-6) Vs. Carl Johannsen (8-0-0-4)

Usually, fighters with extensive amateur careers do very well in the pros. Carl Johannsen is proof of that. He was explosive in his attack against the game, yet gun shy Angel Rios, who must have forgotten it was only a six round fight and seemed to be pacing himself while Johannsen whaled away at his body and head. Rios had a respectable defense, but his offensive out-put was minimal and not sufficient to deal with the machine that was Carl Johannsen, who improved his record to 9-0 in this Lightweight contest.

Eric Kirkland (13-0-0-9) Vs. Robert Wiggins (12-0-1-6)

Robert Wiggins was scheduled to fight in Atlantic City Friday night, but re- routed himself to where the bigger money and better exposure was. Wiggins replaced Ron Guerrero as Eric Kirkland’s scheduled opponent. Last Thursday it had been determined by Mohegan Sun Gaming Commission that Guerrero had excessively high blood pressure would be unable to fight. Kirkland’s camp desperately sought an appropriate challenger and found Wiggins, who had only 24 hours notice before taking the fight.

I give credit to The Mohegan Sun Gaming Commission for having rules and enforcing them. No one wants to see another B. Scottland accidental death where a fighter who shouldn’t be fighting gets in the ring. Mohegan Sun Arena also employs the standing 8 count, which is instrumental in evaluating a potentially hurt fighter without stopping the fight prematurely. It would be great to have uniform rules that protect boxers wherever they fight in the world, as the sport is very international. It’s refreshing to see an organization that protects the fighters they exhibit.

Eric “Stone Kold” Kirkland looks to be a very self-assured serious fighter. If looks could kill, Wiggins would no longer be with us. But you need more than the looks of a confident, chiseled fighter to actually win fights. It also helps if you listen to your corner between rounds. Eric Kirkland looked impressive in the first round, and still seemed the better fighter in the second.

In the third round, Kirkland got careless with his guard and was hit by one of Wiggins’ winging overhand shots. He was staggered in a delayed reaction, grabbing the ropes to stay on his feet. Kirkland seemed to lose his confidence too easily and abandoned whatever fight plan he started out with. As the round progressed, Wiggins discovered that Kirkland not only doesn’t know how to spell ‘Cold’, but also didn’t know how to defend himself very well either. Kirkland was given an eight count after being wobbled early in the third. After he kept dropping his hands, he was clocked again by Wiggins and dropped to the canvas but got up and made it out of the round.

Kirkland’s corner people were yelling at him to keep his hands up and to jab. It seemed like Eric had his own agenda as he ignored the advice of his corner. Wiggins is not a very good fighter, he is awkward looking and wings his punches. He did listen to his corner and kept pressing the action as the rounds went back and forth until the 10th round, when he tagged Kirkland good and knocked him down. Kirkland got up quickly, but looked outside of the ring and then went down to one knee and watched the referee count to 10. The fight was over.

Although Kirkland certainly could have gotten up at the count of eight, he choose for whatever reason to take the full count. He seemed so stupid, I wondered if he thought he could continue after getting up after the count of 10? Maybe he didn’t want to get up? When it was over, his trainer was frustrated and yelled at him for listening to his friends at ringside--instead of his corner. While his trainer was removing his gloves, Kirkland attempted to get out of the ring, but his trainer yelled at him again saying, “What are you doing? You can’t leave the ring yet!” Obviously Kirkland, who last year claimed he would be ready for a championship fight by 2002 is very inexperienced, not only in Boxing, but in ring etiquette as well. As for Wiggins, congratulations on a convincing win. As for Kirkland, he has a lot to learn if he plans to have a successful career as a boxer. From what he showed Friday night, he may have a wonderful career as a Tomato Can.

Until next time, enjoy all your favorite sports.

Sharkie