22.05.06 – By Chris Acosta: I sometimes wonder how difficult it would be to manage a fighter. On one hand, it seems like a rather prestigious job, after all, you are responsible for navigating a man’s livelihood through a treacherous sea of risk in search of the ultimate reward. Below are a few fighters who come to mind in terms of where they stand now in the fight game. I offer some suggestions for some and for the rest, just some random opinions.
Samuel Peter: Peter knocks out perennial loser Julius Long and his promotional team Main Events, calls for a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, the only man to beat him. The reasoning is that Peter made a better effort against Klitschko than the recently vanquished Chris Byrd. Wrong answer. Sam is a powerful man with the kind of physicality that will take him a long way but unless he can learn to avoid a jab, he will always be frustrated by a good boxer. If Main Events is serious about their charge, they’d be better off tackling a Larry Donald or Shannon Briggs to provide Peter with some experience before moving in against say, the winner of Calvin Brock-Timur Ibragimov.
Jeff Lacy: It’s incredible that the same experts who were recognizing Lacy’s improvement from fight to fight were just as quick to hop off the bandwagon after his punishing loss to Joe Calzaghe. Unlike fellow puncher Peter, Lacy really has developed a good jab and accurate arsenal of punches. Where was all this against Calzaghe? Who knows? Perhaps it was equal parts anxiety, intimidation and bad style match-up. Or maybe it was just a better fighter in front of him. Whatever the case, don’t be fooled into believing that Lacy was overrated as was proclaimed by the living way- in- the past Bert Sugar. If I managed “Left Hook” I would find a few bodies to use as confidence regaining tools and then take on either a still useful contender in Otis Grant or untested prospect with less experience in Chad Dawson.
Arthur Abraham: I just recently got to see video of this guy and the hype is justified: this guy can flat out fight. He is what every division needs; a tough, talented, undefeated contender with major confidence. Most fans want to see the tenacious Armenian against the winner of Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright and while he is a worthy opponent for either, I have a better idea. Why not an all- German (where Abraham fights out of) showdown against Felix Sturm? Sturm is a tall boxer with an excellent jab and purposeful movement and would provide the kind if stylistic preparation Abraham will eventually need anyway.
Ricky Hatton: Much has been made of whether the tough Brit should stay in the welter class or drop back down to his original weight. I have always felt that the biggest difference in weight classes was that Jr. Welter to Welterweight leap. Why? Most 140 lb fighters stand at around 5’7” (with the occasional exception) and many welters often reach about 6 feet. The only small men who seemed to move up and find success were those with excellent defenses or super speed, in other words, Pernell Whitaker, Buddy McGirt, Meldrick Taylor, Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather Jr. While Hatton certainly measures up to any one of those men in terms of stature and ability, his style doesn’t give him an advantage when he faces bigger men unlike those mentioned. Ricky, you are a great fighter – at 140 pounds.
O’Neill Bell: The cruiserweight king deserves his place among boxing’s linear titlists but look for that to come crashing down when he faces Steve Cunningham. Bell is a strong puncher who is mechanically balanced – unless he has to give chase. When confronted by aggressive fighters like Kelvin Davis and Jean- Marc Mormeck, Bell knows exactly how to use his size to lean on the shorter man and drain his strength. But as seen against the very average Sebastian Rothman, “Super Nova” seems puzzled by movement; his jab disappears, his isn’t able to set his feet quick enough to score and counterpunches find his face with frightening regularity. Cunningham is no monster of a puncher but that works to his advantage. He will outbox the slower Bell and unless Atlanta native can find that bomb that seems to have habit of running late, will win by decision.
Juan Diaz: The young Texan has so much youth on his side you have to wonder whether he is one of those early bloomers who will flame out by his mid twenties. The guess here is that he possesses that rare quality of having an unlimited future. Diaz is fast, aggressive, quick and very well- schooled. Above all, he never gets tired and emits an almost karate –like yell when he punches. Great! The only real knock is that Diaz lacks power so in many ways he reminds one of a slightly slower Meldrick Taylor but with a more disciplined defense. I won’t knock his soft looking physique since it doesn’t appear to affect his game. The tricky thing with Diaz is that he already holds the WBA title so he does not have that luxury to pick and choose on the way to the top and despite his talent, I worry that his lack of experience might cost him versus a Zahir Raheem, Acelino Freitas, Diego Corrales or Jose Luis Castillo.