Nut shot or intestine shot? A 23-year-old continues his retirement tour. HOF silliness. PEDs dopiness. Right here’s my imply, nasty, unfit for well mannered boxing firm tackle final week’s goings on.
– The one questions when it got here to Saturday’s Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois heavyweight title struggle was how would we get to that time the place Dubois folded and the way quickly would it not occur.
As I identified previous to the title bout from Wroclaw, Poland, I’ve by no means been excessive on Dubois as a top-level contender. The man at all times has that look, like a temp on the workplace on his first day who simply is aware of he is gonna fuck up big-time. You’ll be able to see it in his eyes that he’s in search of a method out, even earlier than he’s all the way in which in. That’s at all times been my take, anyway.
As issues turned out, the street to Dubois’ collapse was a extra fascinating and controversy-fertile one than anybody may’ve imagined when the struggle was oh-well-I-guess-we-gotta-have-thised into existence after Tyson Fury handed on a Usyk unification (yeah, he handed on Usyk).
After 4 simple Usyk rounds, Dubois landed a intestine shot that despatched the defending champ to the canvas. Referee Luis Pabon, who has a protracted historical past of sucking as a referee, dominated the punch an unintentional low blow and gave Usyk the customary 5 minutes to get well.
Subsequent replays confirmed the punch to be proper on the belt line and, subsequently, completely on the discretion of Pabon– who, I have to repeat, sucks as a ref– to rule a foul or not. Whereas it was most undoubtedly not a nut shot, it was nonetheless, technically, inside the realm of being a low blow. Comparable pictures in different bouts have been dominated truthful play, others have been referred to as fouls. This one was deemed a foul.
The net Universo Pugilistico, after all, would go apeshit about whether or not this was a low blow or not and whether or not Dubois was cheated out of his likelihood to develop into the three-belt heavyweight champ. The social media masturdebaters would amp issues up even additional after Dubois did his Dubois factor and stayed down for the depend after being dropped by a stiff jab within the ninth spherical. Later, in an interview with BBC Sport, the London native would blame being “disheartened” on his collapse.
Arguments would rage all through the weekend, accompanied by still-shots and video clips of the identical punch that, I assume, proved that the punch was low and never low, relying on who did the sharing.
Misplaced within the mess was the truth that, whether or not it was a low blow or not, a man who would get stiff-jabbed into submission might be unfit to be a three-belt world champion.
Anyway, every part finally performed out true to kind on this bout. Usyk, as expert as he’s and as superior as he was at cruiserweight, is a bodily frail heavyweight who appears legitimately affected each time he’s severely touched. Dubois, in the meantime, is mentally fragile and, almost certainly, has gone as excessive as he’ll go at simply 25 years of age.
– In a while Saturday, 23-year-old Jared Anderson continued on his retirement tour, starching the 39-year-old Andriy Rudenko (whose title feels like a made-up 80s professional wrestling title for a Russian heel) within the fifth spherical, aided by a brutal physique assault that pounded the borscht out of the Ukranian’s intestine.
The one actual takeaway from this stay-busy struggle from Tulsa was that it’s in all probability not the best of promotional methods from Prime Rank/ESPN to push an “I gained’t be preventing for much longer” angle with a younger fighter they’re hyping as the subsequent large factor. I imply, severely, I’ve been on the Anderson bandwagon since he turned professional, however consistently listening to about how he desires to get out of boxing makes me need to hop off that bandwagon. Why would I make investments my time into following a fighter who desires to get out as quickly as he presumably can?
Dressing as Batman for the ring stroll was additionally a little bit of an eyeroll second for “The Actual Large Child.” It was a throwback to the promotional doldrums of 5 – 6 years in the past when a fighter sporting a masks to the ring was proof constructive of his large charisma. The Caped Crusader motif moved Twitterer extraordinaire Fred Garvin to remark, “Wow. That Batman theme actually obtained the group going. I feel I may hear a man within the viewers texting.” So, yeah.
Anderson did what he was alleged to do in opposition to an opponent whose solely promoting level was that he didn’t get knocked out by most of those that beat the crap out of him.
I nonetheless consider within the high-end potential of Anderson and he nonetheless has loads of time for extra developmental fights to get nearly as good as he might be. However, once more, that “I would like out” discuss makes me doubt whether or not he’s on this for the lengthy haul.
– Is Vasiliy Lomachenko “Corridor of Fame” worthy? The query popped up on social media earlier final week and it generated some debate and dialogue. I’ll preface my reply by saying that the Corridor of Fame has little relevance for me and is tainted by a number of the nitwits allowed to vote on induction. If I had been in command of the HOF, although, it might be a considerably extra unique and requirements could be larger to get in. In lots of circumstances, particularly in latest instances, induction is extra about drawing audiences on the induction ceremonies and getting press.
However I digress…
Lomachenko, by trendy requirements, undoubtedly deserves to be within the Corridor of Fame. Whereas he’s “solely” 17-3, he’s been preventing high-end opposition since professional struggle no. 1 and his three losses have had various levels of doubtful to them. The one factor lacking from Lomachenko’s physique of labor are the 20 or so gimmes most fighters have to start with of their careers after they’re matched in opposition to membership fighters, journeymen, and gatekeepers.
– Robert Helenius examined constructive for a banned substance in a VADA check performed previous to his August 12 bout with Anthony Joshua. Helenius, sarcastically sufficient, was a late alternative for Dillian Whyte, who had additionally examined constructive for a banned substance. Helenius has since gone on social media to insist that he’s not a “cheat” and that the constructive check outcome was for a “non-steroid substance.”
So, once more, we discover out– like within the latest Alycia Baumgardner case– a few detrimental doping check outcome AFTER the precise struggle. Severely, it’s all relatively pointless, isn’t it? Please refer again to my PEDs Column in final week’s Notes from the Boxing Underground for why I keep away from the entire challenge. No person’s critical about coping with it, so why waste my breath?
Congrats, nevertheless, to all of boxing’s greatest stars, who by no means appear to pop soiled for PEDs…Apparently, solely the second tier points of interest are soiled! (That’s sarcasm, people).
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