07.04.07 – By Ted Sares: First the good. Joshua Clottey vs. Diego Corrales fought ten full rounds of hard core, rock and roll. While we might well have seen the end of one great boxing career, we also may have witnessed the emergence of a new star in Clottey. The Ghanaian warrior showed that his great effort against Antonio Margarito was no fluke. With a 31-2 record “The Hitter” now has to be taken seriously as a top welterweight who is difficult to hurt and who punches with lightening quick combos. Watching Diego hit him with solid body shots that seemingly had no effect suggests that Ricky Hatton might be made to order. Time will tell. At any rate, this was an entertaining fight and was clearly “The Good” part of this piece’s title. By the way, the referee in this one was superb..
The bad was not Art Binkowski or George Garcia. It was their respective opponents. When is the last time you saw a fighter get knocked down three times in the first round only to come back and stop his opponent in the last round.
Archie Moore against Yvonne Durelle? Raphael Butler simply gave up once he saw that his Polish foe was not going anywhere…and that was that.
(Diego Corrales getting his nose attended to in between rounds)As for Travis Walker, he looked dreadful against an opponent whose reach was 68’ vs. Walker’s 82’. Good grief. Again, props to Art and George both of whom showed grit, determination and plenty of heart. Sure, squat George Garcia lost, but he won over the boxing fans. And oh yes, “Fast Eddie” Chambers would eat Walker’s lunch.
The ugly took place in Wales. Amir Kahn got to fight a live bag in Stefy Bull who quit at the first opportunity. A terrible mismatch that did nothing to enhance boxing’s reputation.
Then Joe Calzaghe made short work of Peter Manfredo in a bout that was stopped too soon. That was ugly enough, but what was was even worse was Manfredo’s sluggish hand speed and reluctance to throw any punches. He looked like he was in a trance. Speaking of hand speed, Joe did what he had to do; Peter did nothing. That was ugly. By the way, the referee in this one was not superb.
When you contrast the Clottey-Corralas battle with what took place in Cardiff, you don’t need me to spell it out.