22.08.07 – By Joseph Gonzaga: So I was chilling in my Beamer,listening to a song by Beyonce, when I realized that I can`t live by Beyonce alone. Sometimes I need to see some fights with lots of action and explosive knockouts. You got a problem with that? And that made me wonder what boxer`s stock is up and is consistently giving fans good returns in the ring and who`s stock is down and under performing. No hype, just the facts by Nasdaq Gonzaga. Be forewarned, as with any analysis of boxers, be prepared for twists and turns, because you will be surprised when I reveal the boxers who`s stock is down.
Boxing’s Stock Watch
Darnell Wilson (22-5-3, 19 KOs): From along the endless highways of boxing`s vast outback came a loner, a cruiserweight named Darnell “The Ding-a-Ling Man”Wilson. Simply put, he is the hottest fighter in boxing. In his last four fights, he has recorded a human highlight tape of spectacular knockouts.
He’s possessed with a granite chin and a nasty combination of incredible punching power and explosive handspeed, which makes him part-bouncer and part Roy Jones Jr. We haven`t seen this kind of brutal inhuman punching power that`s capable of maiming a man,since the early days of a young Mike Tyson.
Want proof? This past June on ESPN2, he fractured the left eye socket of tough-as-nails opponent Emmanuel Nwodo in the process of stopping him in the 11th round. Ouch! His brutal fight with Nwodo had more action and suspense in it than Hatton-Castillo and Maywaether-De la Hoya combined and brought respectability back to boxing. In the final analysis, the secret is out! The Ding-a -Man is for real. His stock is skyrocketing through the roof and he is now the legitimate favorite to beat any of the current cruiserweight titleholders. STOCK UP
Oscar De la Hoya (38-5, 30 KOs): Do I have something against Oscar? I hope not. I try to keep a open mind and approach his fights with high hopes. It would give me enormous satisfaction and (relief) if he would actually win one of his career defining legacy fights. It was the media`s publicity machine that turned Oscar into a star. It certainly could not have been based on his performance in the ring. He is now 0-5 against top-notch competition since 1999, losing to Mayweather, Hopkins, Trinidad, and to Moseley twice. De la Hoya doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Leonard, Hagler, and Hearns. Whenever his will and heart was tested against top-notch boxers, he never dug down deep like Leonard did against Hearns and mustered up the courage to come back and win. INSTEAD, HE FADES.
This is what is killing boxing and Oscar is the one that is killing it from my perspective. I can find better ways to pass my time than watch Oscar fade in another fight. I would rather watch a movie with furry little hand puppets in it than watch another boring De la Hoya fight. I don`t know how much he wants for his next fight but the price is worth it, if it keeps him out of the ring and stops him from robbing the fans with another disappointing performance in a PPV fight. His stock in the ring is plummeting like Enron. STOCK DOWN
Arthur Abraham (24-0, 19 KOs): This is a boxer with issues. His training regimen focuses on strength. As a result, Abraham misleadingly thinks he is Superman. It has given him a delusional cockiness and overconfidence. Boxing isn’t about strength, it`s about technique and skill. Watching tape of King Arthur against the spindly legged Kingsley Ikeke, whom he fought in December 2005, I get the impression that if you were to ask him about defense, he would respond by saying, “Defense? is that thing still around?” Because at one point, he disregards his defense and holds his arms out and invites Ikeke to punch him again. He brought that cocky attitude that he was strong enough like Superman to not have to keep his hands up into the Miranda fight, and he made the biggest mistake of his life.
In the early rounds of the Miranda fight in September 2006, each time Arthur advanced and threw punches, he was slow to bring his hands back to a defensive position and was leaving himself as wide open as Interstate 10. This was inviting disaster and in the fifth round, Pantera landed a scalding right hand that brutally broke Arthur`s jaw in two places. Humbled and embarrassed, Arthur kept his hands up for the rest of the fight and ran. More than that, he ran away from a Miranda rematch and decided to fight less threatening boxers like Khoren Gevor. This fundamental flaw has caused his stock to drop in the eyes of many. STOCK DOWN
Ricky Hatton (43-0, 31 KOs): A legendary boxing trainer named Whitey Bimstein, once said, “Show me a fighter who`s undefeated and I`ll show you a fighter who hasn’t fought anybody.” The prevailing thought is that Hatton is one of boxing`s best P4P fighters. Truth is, the press has taught us to think that Ricky is a great fighter but boxing records don`t lie. If you take away the politics and hype and go over the Hitman`s caliber of opposition with a fine tooth comb, his record is not impressive. The best opponents that he has fought in 41 total fights, have been a 33-year-old Jose Luis Castillo, who after the wear and tear of a 16-year career and 64 total fights, he was in reality a washed up boxer when he faced Ricky. Then there is Kosta Tszyu who was in his mid-thirties and at the end of his 13-year career, just a shell of his former self when he fought Hatton.
Hatton fought an overrated and limited Juan Urango, and the level of weak competition that Urango fought in his native Columbia is highly suspicious. And remember Luis Collazo? Who was TKO`ed by Edwin Cassasini in 2002. Collazo is a good but not a great fighter, but he did, however, expose Hatton as a fighter who can`t deal with boxers that move. Collazo-Hatton gave us a snapshot of the future outcome of the Mayweather-Hatton fight. The reality is, it is going to be a match-up nightmare for Hatton. Currently, his stock is steady but after examining his caliber of competition,it is starting to tank. STOCK DOWN