Garcia and Peterson fight for undisputed championship . . . of modern boxing’s confusing title mess

CLARITY should finally be made in the light welterweight division this Saturday, as 140lb titleholders Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson meet in an eagerly anticipated clash at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Unbeaten WBA and WBC boss Garcia and IBF titlist Peterson have each held portions of the divisions crown for over three years now, with a unification bout between the two men an increasingly sought-after commodity. After all, in boxing’s convoluted river of politics these days, it’s often hard to tell who ‘the man’ is at any given weight.

But hold on to your horses sports fans. Hold on to your horses. A unification bout between Garcia and Peterson right now would just make too much sense, wouldn’t it? That’s why the powers that be have instead orchestrated a catchweight non-title bout between the pair at 143lbs. No titles on the line, no undisputed champion at 140. And rumour has it that Saturday’s fight will be contested over 10 rounds.

Titles in boxing are becoming increasingly devalued. Bad enough that there were often four recognised champions in each weight class, courtesy of the four major sanctioning bodies, we had grown used to that and could cope with it providing established beltholders sought to unify their titles against each other every once in a while. But now some sanctioning bodies – cough, WBA, cough – choose to recognise more than one champion in one weight class, there is the addition of ‘silver’ or ‘interim’ titles – WBC, WBO – and titleholders who do hold legitimate claims to being the real division ‘champion’, don’t actually defend their titles.

It can be maddening to be a boxing fan.

Garcia (29-0, 17 KO’s) falls into the latter bracket. Since his life-and-death struggle with Mauricio Herrera in Puerto Rico just over a year ago, the 27-year-old’s solitary outing is a 142lb non-title bout in which he demolished overmatched lightweight Rod Salka inside two rounds. Prior to the Herrera fight, the Philadelphia native had actually done a pretty good job of confirming his status as the world’s number one light welterweight. His twelve-round battle with Lucas Matthysse the previous September – which Garcia won by unanimous decision – determined 140lb supremacy at the time. His wins over Amir Khan, Zab Judah and Erik Morlaes (twice) added more weight to his standing.

There can be little doubt that Garcia still deserves to be the number one in the division, but Saturday’s fight with Peterson represents his second consecutive fight above the weight limit. It’s suggested that in the not too distant future, his goal is to move up and chase gargantuan paydays at welterweight. Which is fine, but if that’s the case then stop sitting on the title at light welter, if you’re never going to defend it.

Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KO’s) has made three successful defences of the IBF crown he lifted from Khan in December 2011, with wins over Kendall Holt, Dierry Jean and Edgar Santana. Whether or not you think he deserved the victory that won him the title (it was a close fight, not a robbery), at the time of the Khan win he was a legitimate titleholder with a victory against a man who had been looking the dominant fighter in the division. But it’s what’s happened during Peterson’s reign since that has clouded judgement of him as a ‘champion’.

Shortly before the scheduled rematch with Khan, the Washington man failed a pre-fight drug test for synthetic testosterone that caused the collapse of the bout and the WBA – who’s title he’d also won in beating Khan – to strip Peterson and reinstate the Brit as champion, before Khan subsequently lost it to Garcia. But the IBF allowed Peterson to keep his title, despite the failed drugs test and the fact it would be a year before he returned to make his first defence against Holt. Peterson looked impressive stopping the albeit shop-worn Holt in eight rounds and has done the business with unprovens Jean and Santana since, but against the one legitimate challenger he has faced in his reign, his title was not on the line.

Peterson was brutally knocked out in three rounds by Lucas Matthysse, but could not lose his crown in the non-title bout fought at a catchweight of 141lbs. Followers of the sport however will have a hard time accepting a fighter as a ‘champion’ when they’ve just been so convincingly beaten by someone still campaigning in their weight class, whether the title was officially on the line or not.

So Peterson remains a titleholder on a technicality, while Garcia doesn’t seem to want to defend the title he occupies at all. Shouldn’t both men be stripped of their respective belts? Either that or one of them should be forced to defend against the winner of the mouth-watering battle between Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov a week later. Given each man’s track record regarding recent tile defences however, that’s unlikely to happen.

Many see Saturday’s fight as a contest to effectively determine boxing’s lineal champion at 140lbs, but with all that’s going on it seems to be much more complicated than that. Clarity we don’t have unfortunately. In fact, they should probably create a new belt for Garcia and Peterson to fight over. The (super) confused championship of the world. For a fee, the WBA will probably sanction it.

Alvarado vs Provodnikov: War

Fight fans have enjoyed some brutal and thrilling battles in 2013, with the current list of ‘Fight of the Year’ candidates already the length of Wladimir Klitschko’s right arm. Incidentally, the Ukrainian giant certainly doesn’t feature in that list, but it’s expected that we’ll see another worthy nomination added this weekend, when Mike ‘Mile High’ Alvarado defends his WBO light welterweight title on home soil against the ‘Russian Rocky’, Ruslan Provodnikov.

The all-action, big-punching duo meet at the 1ST Bank Arena in Denver, Colorado, as the local hero makes the first defence of the interim title he won in his epic rematch with Brandon Rios in March. That encounter, along with Provodnikov’s battle with Timothy Bradley two weeks earlier, are strong indicators that this Saturday, we’re in for a guaranteed riot in the Rocky Mountains.

As we recently saw in the hotly anticipated clash between Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse however, this sport doesn’t always deliver the expected. That fight promised a war and an early finish, but what materialised was a distance fight dominated by the superior boxer of the two, an outcome that isn’t out of the realms of possibility this Saturday.

After suffering a seventh-round stoppage defeat at the hands of Rios in their first meeting last October, Alvarado (34-1, 23 KO’s) used his underrated ring smarts and boxing skills as well as digging deep in the trenches to avenge the loss by claiming a unanimous decision in their return bout. The 33-year-old was able to mix up boxing on the back-foot with a potent offense when he chose to exchange with the Texan slugger and although he was hurt a number of times, also managed to hurt the iron-chinned Rios, testament to the power that has seen him deliver a career knockout percentage of almost 66%.

Provodnikov (22-2, 15 KO’s) hurt Bradley a number of times in his last ring outing and dropped the welterweight titleholder in a frantic final round, boosting his stock with a gallant, crowd-pleasing performance despite ultimately suffering a defeat on the cards. It was a deserved victory for Bradley however, as Provodnikov struggled to compete whenever the champion elected to box and move, something that Alvarado will no doubt be aware of and look to use to his advantage come Saturday.

That’s not to say that Alvarado won’t be willing to go to war if he has too and not to say he could not win a battle of wills. Provodnikov has made no secret of the fact that he’s looking for a tear-up and given that Alvarado’s last four fights have been FOTY contenders, who are we kidding if we don’t think we have the recipe here for another one?

Matchmaking: Timothy Bradley’s next fight

Timothy Bradley returned to the ring in thrilling fashion on March 16th, surviving a colossal gut-check against Ruslan Provodnikov to win a close, yet deserved, decision. ‘Desert Storm’ was badly hurt on several occasions and was dropped in the closing seconds of the final round, but climbed off the canvas to see out the onslaught as victory hung tentatively above the jaws of defeat.

In waging war with a fearless contender he could not match for punching power, Bradley proved two things to the hoards of critics that had undermined the last nine months of his career. Not only did the early candidate for fight of the year showcase Bradley’s heart to be proportionate to a dry expanse of sand, it also demonstrated breathtaking entertainment that had infamously been lacking from the Palm Springs native’s fights.

After the ridicule, contempt and even death threats that followed his controversial victory of Manny Pacquiao last June, the win over Provodnikov put Bradley back near the top of the pecking order in an exciting welterweight division. Difficulty in finding a viable, or willing opponent had been a major factor in the WBO champion’s inactivity since claiming the title from Pacquiao. But with plenty of potential fights now on the horizon for the remainder of 2013, here’s a shortlist of opponents for Bradley’s next encounter, with a look at the pros and cons of each match-up.

Manny Pacquiao

Where else to start, than with a rematch of one of the most disputed decisions in boxing history. Before last June, had you imagined the impact a win over eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao would have on Bradley’s career, you’ll have no doubt computed that a victory of any sort would catapult the 29-year-old to boxing mega-stardom.

But no sooner had the scorecards Jerry Roth, Duane Ford and C.J Ross been announced was Bradley made the scapegoat for his split-decision victory over the popular Filipino, with the overwhelming consensus of unofficial scorers giving the fight to Pacquiao by a wide margin. The impact of the ‘victory’ was entirely negative and Bradley was pretty much ostracized from the sport.

Pros

Fighting Pacquiao for a second time gives Bradley the opportunity to erase the only black mark against his record, even though it wasn’t an official loss. If he were to beat Pacquiao convincingly it would likely overshadow the outcome of the first fight, as rematches often do, and even if he were victorious by a tight margin in a close battle, as long as the majority of onlookers felt he deserved the verdict it would effectively cancel out the perceived robbery that took place last year.

It could also prove to be a shrewd piece of matchmaking in Bradley’s favour. With Pacquiao increasingly involved in a political career and the nosedive his form inside the ring has taken – his last three encounters have been the brutal knockout defeat to Juan Manuel Marquez and a close majority decision win over his great rival either side of his defeat to Bradley – he appears to be a waning force in the twilight of a long, hard career. Both fighters are of course promoted by Top Rank, so the fight is easy to make.

Cons

The biggest obstacle for Bradley-Pacquiao II is whether or not fans, Top Rank, or even Pacquiao would want to make the fight. Last June’s date at the MGM Grand Garden Arena fared so poorly at the box office there would likely be little faith in the success of a sequel and in boxing ‘what makes money, makes sense’.

Ruslan Provodnikov

Pros

After the drama that their battle produced and given how close the ‘Siberian Rocky’ came to stopping Bradley in the final round, who wouldn’t want to see a repeat of what at this early stage is the frontrunner for fight of the year? It was like a real life Rocky v Apollo Creed, a thrilling toe-to-toe battle that ebbed and flowed and was far closer than it should have been.  A tick in the box for marketability.

From Bradley’s point of view also, beating Provodnikov more comfortably without having to absorb as much punishment along the way would again put to bed controversy that some felt over the scoring of the first fight. If he listened to Joel Diaz and elected to box and move more, which is when he was succesful against Provodnikov, he would likely have a much easier night and would coast to a wider points win. He should have learnt his lesson by now not to trade with this guy.

Cons

On the other hand, what else does Bradley really have to gain by beating Provodnikov a second time? The war may have expanded Ruslan’s audience but he’s still not a top name. Ultimately, it would hardly progress Bradley’s career.

Juan Manuel Marquez

The two previous candidates are, like Bradley, promoted by Top Rank and given Bob Arum’s propensity for making in-house fights to line his own pockets you would consider either a likely option. But there’s another welterweight star fighting under the Top Rank banner who’s yet to schedule a date for 2013 and Juan Manuel Marquez is also an attainable opponent for Bradley.

Pros

With the short counter right hand that rendered Manny Pacquiao unconscious, Marquez achieved by far the biggest win of his accomplished career and in the process became one of the most marketable names in the sport, let alone the division. Bradley-Marquez would do big numbers – great news for both men’s bank balance as well as Bob Arum’s – and the Mexican would be a huge scalp for Bradley at this stage given his current standing in the sport. In terms of a carrot for Marquez look no further that the belt around Bradley’s waist, as the 39-year-old believes he should be the rightful owner of the WBO title after knocking out the man who unofficially beat Bradley.

Cons

Perhaps the only drawback to fighting Marquez, from Bradley’s point of view, would be a stylistic issue. Juan Manuel is a master boxer, accurate and a great counter-puncher and in his last fight displayed the power he’s been cultivating since bulking up to be a legitimate welterweight. Given the war Bradley came through with Provodnikov and where he had success in that fight, he wouldn’t have Marquez stalking flat-footed like the Russian and if he instead tried to press the action with such an open guard would likely wind up receiving another heavy dose of punishment. He may have proven his heart, but his punch resistance doesn’t need to go through that again anytime soon.

Keith Thurman

Pros

When he defeated Jan Zaveck on March 9th, Keith Thurman became the number one contender for Bradley’s WBO welterweight title. Naturally, Thurman’s eyes now rest firmly on that world title shot after reaching the mandatory position and ‘One Time’ is one of the rising young stars of the sport, unbeaten with 18 knockouts from 20 wins and a growing following.

Cons

But although he might be growing into a star he isn’t quite there yet and may be required to face another stiff test before earning a world title shot. Simply being the mandatory challenger isn’t enough in boxing these days as other factors take a higher precedence, speaking of which, Thurman’s biggest problem is that he is promoted by Golden Boy. Bob Arum doesn’t like doing business with Golden Boy. . .

The winner of Rios-Alvarado II

So back to Arum’s Top Rank stable and this weekend which sees the rematch between Brandon ‘Bam Bam’ Rios and Mike Alvarado. Their first meeting in October was arguably the fight of 2012 and the second could well usurp Bradley-Provodnikov for the same pugilistic honour this year.

Pros

Rios-Alvarado II has been eagerly anticipated from the moment Rios stopped ‘Mile High’ Mike on the ropes in round 7 and the winner of the rematch will boost their marketability dramatically, plus each man is a Top Rank fighter, giving a potential fight with Bradley a good chance of happening. Rios is favoured to come out on top again particularly if the action follows form where it left off last time and in a battle between Bam Bam and Bradley somebody’s ‘O’ would have to go.

Cons

Both men currently fight at light welterweight, though neither would have much of an issue moving up to 147 and Bradley long campaigned at 140 himself. For the winner of this fight to meet Bradley next though it may have to be Rios who has his hand raised again, as an Alvarado victory could set-up a third encounter.

 

 

 

 

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