By John Wight: On the undercard of the Martinez v Dzinziruk main event at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucke, Connecticut on Saturday night, Scotland’s Craig McEwan fought a heroic fight against Ireland’s Andy Lee. In fact it was one of the best displays of combination punching and movement seen in the ring for a long time, with the only thing lacking was the power to close the show. However on that let’s not take anything away from Andy Lee, who demonstrated the tenacity, determination and resolve required of any potential world champion.
This contest was boxing at its very best, with two men in their primes bringing everything to the table and giving of their best in an attempt to take their careers to the next level. Notable also was the fact that prior to the fight there was none of the trash talking or histrionics that have come to be associated with the sport and in this writer’s opinion has been to its detriment for far too long. The respect which both these Celts had for one another was evident in every interview or press call they participated in beforehand, and one must assume now after such a titanic battle those feelings of mutual respect have been enhanced. The sport owes them a debt of gratitude for conducting themselves like gentlemen outside the ring and true warriors inside. Indeed, this was one of those all too rare fights out of which both men emerged victorious in their own right.
For Andy Lee a shot at a world title now beckons in the short term. If as talked up before Saturday night he is looking at this shot seeing him challenge Sergio Martinez, the Irishman will have his work cut out. As brave and tenacious as he proved against McEwan, based on this performance he would struggle to last four rounds against the Argentinean. Lee’s defence on Saturday night consisted for long stretches of him standing ramrod straight going back in a straight line with his chin hanging out like his mother’s washing. He needs as a matter of urgency to work on head movement, angles and lateral movement, remaining inside the pocket to conserve energy while circling his opponent. He does have power, but for my money threw way too many single shots. Ultimately, against McEwan his heart and a granite chin were his main attributes. They would not be enough against a fighter of Martinez’s quality and class.
For Craig, he should as mentioned take a lot of heart from his performance. Ahead on all three judges’ scorecards going into the eighth round, he’d fought a near perfect fight, utilising superb movement and fluid combinations to keep the Irishmen pegged back for most of the night. But with such a high work rate it was inevitable that he would tire, and when he did his concentration lapsed and he got tagged. It has happened to all the great fighters and he can come back stronger. I would like to see him alternating between punching on the move while on his toes with setting his feet to fire off more power shots during fights. He also looked to lose power by getting in too close before letting loose much of the time, with the result that too many of his shots landed without full impact. I happen to know Craig personally, being like him from Edinburgh in Scotland, and I’ve seen him over at Wildcard as well. He’s a truly respectful and humble man and perhaps in time he will look back at this defeat as a positive in his overall career. Maintaining a perfect record for a pro boxer can become an albatross and so now he can forget it and get back to basics. He needs to spend time doing fast twitch work in the gym, combining high velocity resistance type movements with plyos. Even if it added ten percent more power to the punch it would have been the ten percent required to put his opponent away on Saturday.
Whatever he decides, and wherever he goes from here, Craig McEwan is a credit to himself, his family, his country, and to the sport of boxing. The way he fought was redolent of some of the greats of the past, such as fellow Scotsman Ken Buchanan, and he more than deserves another shot.
Life for a pro fighter at Craig’s level isn’t easy. Not for those guys the big paydays and big sponsorships. Instead they often have to struggle to pay the bills and keep food on the table between fights; and for Craig with a young family living so far from home I know he’s had to dig deep both inside and outside the gym at times. But after being exposed to the wider boxing public via HBO on Saturday night he should now be in the reckoning for more big fights, decent paydays and the financial security he deserves.