DON’T WRITE OFF GARCIA
ONE of the great narratives in boxing is when the underdog fighter digs deep, laughs in the face of the odds and gets a deserved win he was never scripted to achieve.
That fascinating narrative unfolded in the Mikey Garcia vs Sandor Martin bout.
As well as enjoying seeing the upset it also reminded me of another loss back in the ‘80s. It too was considered an “easy win,” a non-title fight for an exceptional fighter in Roberto Duran, who was shocked and beaten on points by “The Gifted One” Kirkland Laing.
Many aspects of the fight made me feel like I was watching a modern day remake of that bout. It also reminded me how quick critics were to write Duran off after his loss to Laing but look at what he went on to achieve. So I would say let history teach us to not write Garcia off just yet. Paul Thorpe
LOOKING AT JOSHUA’S DEFEAT
NOW that the dust has settled and the world embraces Oleksandr Usyk as a major player on the world heavyweight scene, the inevitable autopsy into AJ’S defeat is well underway. Was Usyk underrated/overlooked by the media? Most likely, he was, and for good reason. He hardly set the world alight with his wins over Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora, but Usyk is a guy who raises his game as the quality of opposition increases. Is Anthony Joshua overrated? Absolutely not. He has earned his stripes. He’s beaten some quality fighters and survived a war with a legendary (if a tad faded) champion in Wladimir Klitchsko. Impressive wins over the likes of Dillian Whyte, Dominic Breazeale, Alexander Povetkin and Kubrat Pulev coupled with workmanlike victories over Jospeh Parker and Andy Ruiz solidified his status. Were the tactics to blame? 100%. What AJ needed to do was take a leaf out of Riddick Bowe’s book in the first Holyfield fight. Bowe used his size and strength and he won.
Also, the few times that AJ led with the straight right – a perfect punch for a southpaw – he had success.
Would AJ win the rematch? I don’t know. Usyk seems to be the perfect foil for AJ and he himself says he can do better. I think Usyk would find a way to win the rematch even if AJ fought a better fight. Paul Wickes
WE NEED TO SEE SHAKUR AT LIGHTWEIGHT
SHAKUR STEVENSON could do really well at 135lbs. When he goes up to lightweight and fights Vasiliy Lomachenko, “Tank” Davis or Devin Haney we’ll see how good he really is. But at 130lbs I think he’s better than other champions. Enyinna Nwaka