April 16 - Post-fight report

Victor Ortiz - I said a week ago that he may have one performance in him that where he will show his heart and spririt to win and last night he mustered every once of strength and will to bully the bully out of his throne. He fought an explosive and thrilling fight and showed why he was banded around as the next big thing. His lack of a jab and also way he leaves himself wide open to counters will be his undoing at elite level but he's still young and exciting to watch and i can't complain at the action he delievers. I think they will feed him a soft defence or two before looking to make huge bouts with the upper eschalance of Boxing's 147 brigade.

Andre Berto - Looks can be deceiving and with Berto he looks the total package. Fast and toned with speed and power but when you look past the outside and look within you find a guy who's lacks the star material to live up to the billing HBO have gave him over past 2 & half years. He lacks defence and the skills to be a top player and could not handle the will of Ortiz. His corner man Tony Morgan was awful and had no control of his emotions nor Berto's Brother? or associate.

Berto talks a good game but when push comes to shove he's a flat track bully. I commend him on a brave showing although his antics to get Ortiz deducted a point re-affirm why i didn't like him much before last night. He can win another version of a title but he will never be the man HBO want to carry the next generation of Boxing over this decade. A new trainer would come in handy if he has any want or desire to push on.

Amir Khan - Just like the build up extremely sloppy and unprofressional display. Tinged with schoolboy errors i find it hard to see where all the talk of stardom and fights with PBF and co come from when he can't even hold down the basics of fighting a southpaw. For such a esteemed amateur his lack of basic boxing knowledge last night was astounding at times. He rarely harmed McCloskey and i didn't see anything to suggest that Khan's developed any further since the Maidana fight nor showed any new skills to the toolbox. He still runs when pressed and still defends with pillows covering face.

I think his mental state is a major worry as i see a young fighter not in reality with his performances or deficiencies.


Paul McCloskey -I was impressed with the way he adapted and handle the speed of Khan. He treated Khan's speed and power with contempt. I felt he let himself down when it come to getting his own ammo off. That's what wins you fights and he found it difficult to catch Khan with anything of note. I could see what he was looking for and it wasn't a points win but he should of done more in the 6 rounds then what he did.

There was more then enough opportunities to land on Khan who fell in but he seemed to be in thought process of landing that one big punch. He may never get chance again at this level and i think in his heart he knows he should of done a bit more in fight before cut but i felt he wasn't doing to bad up and till then. Just think his lack of accuracy is his down fall at world class level and that was shown up last night.


Juanma Lopez - Like Kirkland no great shock and i'm kinda glad because Arum tried milk him and Gamboa rather then doing what was right. Lopez is hurt in every single bout now and shown no improvement like many young fighters who get away with it. Salido gave him more then a slap on wrist he's given him the wake up call...if he doesn't accept he needs to improve he will be beaten soon enough and won't last much longer. He's exciting like Ortiz but i think Lopez mentality is pigheaded when in ring.

Orlando Salido - Take a bow son! he came forward and obviously felt watching Rafa hurt Juanma he could at some point land and he sure did. He took risk and his brave and bold gamble paid off!


Jason Booth - Booth was just far to light in punching and size to deal with Kiko. He knew right away and could see visbily that he was trying to get to final bell like a warrior that he is. He tried all the time but he knew this was to big a task and in end it sadly was taken away from him. Not nice to see a legend like Jason stopped but it may be the best thing for him to accept enoughs enough. I've noticed since the Marsh fight that Jason's skills and craft has been on wane and it's totally understandable given his life. He's done really well and it's time now to go spend time with his children and wife and enjoy his successes. He's a hero to many and i hope he stays in sport.

Kiko Martinez - Very impressive. Cut ring off well and looked very strong and i think it will take world class fighters to beat him or a very strong fighter with decent ability at the least. He's a good European champion and will no doubt get a world title shot soon. He dominated a still game and crafty Booth and showed more then bully boy tactics. I never rated him till Friday night but major props on a classy finish.

Craig Watson- Was performing well showing some skill but the more he pitter patted his way through and the more Purdy brought it to him the more you saw it developing into a hard fight. Then wham! all over. I think Craig will regret not sitting on his shots. It was like Cotto-Margorito in the way one was pressuring behind full guard and looking to just land accumulative shots for later in fight while the other fought off back foot with skill but lack of power as every punch lacked the mustard to gain respect of Purdy and break his will to march forward. I think he got up far to early because maybe embarrassment and shock. He should of stayed down till 7 or 8 then rose.

Lee Purdy-Brilliant effort and a steady game plan that worked to perfection. The ending was top class and he deserved it he wanted it really bad.

 

Nice post and some good thoughts. Too many to comment on individually really but I agree with most.

Here's mine:

Watson v Purdy
Right from the start with Lee Purdy landing that beautiful one-two against the odds to stop Craig Watson we were on for a great night. I feel for Watson. He hasn't always had the luck and just when he starts to get more active, he gets stopped like that. He's not finished yet though and can come back hopefully.

Fair play to Lee Purdy. Still only 23 and who knows what could be in the future for him if he keeps his head down and continues to improve. One thing for sure is a rematch with Denton Vassell would be great!

Rendall Munroe
I didn't see the full Rendall Munroe fight but it's good to hear he's back to winning ways and hopefully he can get another title alphabelt shot later this year.

Amir Khan v Paul McCloskey
Khan/McCloskey was a poor fight, mainly due to a poor performance from Khan coupled with a style that frustrated the fans as much as his opponent from Paul McCloskey. The stoppage was poor and even though you never know what might have happened after, Khan clearly won all 6 rounds and I think you have to say he would have got a shutout or late stoppage. Hopefully Khan v Bradley doesn't end with a head clash but it wouldn't surprise any of us if that happens.

Khan still needs to improve a lot. He has speed, footwork and that tall, awkward hunchback style but his accuracy and punch range left a lot to be desired last night. He needs to sit down on his shots way more. I think he should beat Bradley but it's still way too easy to back Khan up and someone with the skill and determination of Tim Bradley could cause him serious problems.

Juanma
Right from the start it didn't look like Juan Manuel Lopez was there. Even though he won the first 3 rounds comfortably, Salido was growing in confidence and landed some terrific hooks and wild, looping swings. The stoppage was a bit premature but Juanma put himself in the position to be stopped and you can't criticise the referee too much in my opinion. Full credit to Salido though for a really determined and great performance.

Berto/Ortiz
Finally, fight of the night, Andre Berto v Victor Ortiz. Wow. Both have had their share of critics for different reasons but fair play to both last night. Ortiz was awesome. Reminded me of Ricky Hatton at times with the determination and grit he showed. Never let Berto relax once and payed for this aggresive style a couple of times by taking big punches.

I think Berto can come back but he's got to improve and has had things far too easy so far in his career. It's a shame the fight with Mosley never came off last year because I think the timing might have been right for Andre to get a big win to his name.

 

Good thread I like this idea at first i thought it was a bit like score maestro but this is a good assessment of the weekends events.

It just seems like the shocks have carried over from last weekend

Really liked how much it meant to Purdy winning the strap thats what I love to see at Brit level you can see how much more it meant to him than winning the WBC did to Alvarez last month. It shows the value of the British belt

 

Victor Ortiz- Still pretty much the same fighter he was before moving up, except more comfortable and, more importantly, much more determined. We saw his strenghts and weaknesses, he's got an excellent right uppercut on the inside, hits like a mule in both hands and has great technique. Counteracted by the fact that he's far too static, is way too open when throwing and doesn't use his jab enough. If he threw a jab even to disguise the assault that follows it would highly benefit him.

Andre Berto- Showed how truely one-dimensional he is. He's got a decent jab and a dangerous right hand, thrown straight and as an uppercut, and that's it really. He's horribly predictable and inaccurate, telegraphs his punches, if he has success with a certain blow he'll constantly look to replicate it(and he isn't very subtle in how he goes about it). His stamina is poor also which leads to his constant clinching, which he really should be penalised for more often. The advice from his corner was poor, a change in trainer may be necessary.

Amir Khan- Like Berto, showed he's only really effective fighting one way, staying on the outside and pumping out straight punches. He's terrible at throwing hooks and just looks ragged when trying to do so. Needs to take his time more as his aimless flurries wont help him when he steps up in competition. Was winning easily, should've won easier.

Paul McCloskey- His level is definitely below world-class based on that showing. Came in with the most negative gameplan he could have and it got him nowhere. He wasn't coming on strong, if anything he was getting dominated more at the time of stoppage than earlier on in the fight. Cant afford to come back in 8-rounders, needs to fight decent competiton and rebuild quickly if he still has asperations of reaching the highest level.

Juanma Lopez- Slow, lethargic, fought a stupid fight. As a fan of his, I'm tired of him thinking he can just show up and blow the other guy out. Even after he had been badly rocked, he went back to trying to blast Salido out. He's actually a decent boxer when he wants to be, and if he did that I have no doubt he could've beat Salido.

Orlando Salido- An extremely tough man. Fought a much more intelligent than he's being given credit for, he applied pressure relentlessly, but smartly at the same time. He knew how vulnerable Lopez was to the right over the top, and kept it in his face all night. His will to win was extraordinary, even after Juanma came storming back at him he kept his cool and got back to work.

Chris John- Great fight, but he's on the slide, and I fear his 0 may go when he fights another fighter adversary ranked at the top of the division. Be that against Gamboa, Gonzalez or even Lopez. He kept getting dragged into a brawl and looked just plain uncomfortable throughout, he couldn't keep Yordan off him for long at all. I think he could beat Salido, as he is smart enough and puts punches together well, that'd be a good fight before he takes on(and loses to IMO) the likes of Gamboa.

Daud Yordan- He's tough and can give the best a decent fight, but he'll always come up short against the fighters at the pinnacle of the division. Gatekeeper status looms I fear, though if he gets the fights expect him to pull of a lot of upsets in the coming years. His style guarantees entertainment and difficulty for his opponent.

 

This is a good thread, Wallet.

 

good thread this, i think the assessments so far have been fair

 

Thanks man.:good

One thing I forgot to mention about Lopez that did(and always has) impress me was that, Lopez may have iffy whiskers, but he's clearly a difficult man to knock out. It's relatively easy for good punchers to hurt him, but taking him from hurt to unconscious is another feat altogether. He's definitely very resilient, that's for sure.

 

Great post Jpab :good

On Munroe, he never got his body assault going. I didn't feel he'd emphatically won the fight to be honest, I'm sad to say it was a poor showing.

 

I didn't get to see Munroe, is it up on YouTube?