By Gav Duthie: Some weekends I wait in anticipation for the next big fight, scrolling the news for fights that took place between over the hill Mexicans, regional titles, small hall shows, and some weekends have too much action to watch all in one night. Last weekend was one of those. The UK had boxing shows on Sky and Channel 5 whilst later in the evening across the pond the Stats had shows on Showtime and HBO. All events were significant, even the undercards so rather than write about them individually we will look at 6 things that we learned from the boxing last Saturday.
Josh Taylor will be a world champion
There was a small break between Omar Figueroa pulling out of his fight with Adrien Broner and Jessie Vargas stepping in. During that time Josh Taylor offered to step in after destroying an overmatched late substitute Campos over 3 rounds. Social media reaction to Taylor offering to fight Broner suggested many felt Taylor would win. In reality, Broner may not have even heard of Taylor but the fact that fans feel he could beat a 4-weight world champion speaks volumes. The 140lb division is up for grabs now with Terence Crawford moving up. I would be surprised if Taylor doesn’t win a world title. He is the most talented Scot since Ken Buchanan.
Kell Brook has still got it
How would he take the punches? Was he mentally fragile? No and no. He was as good as he always was. Kell Brook has lost to 2x P4P fighters. That’s what it takes to beat him. He was fighting a good opponent in Sergey Rabchenko, known to be tough and at a new weight. It had the concern it could be another Hatton v Senchenko but Brook obliterated him in 2 rounds. Amir Khan was mentioned again post fight and tentatively Jermell Charlo, who fights in June but has no opponent. That notion was dismissed with promoter Eddie Hearn saying he will step up again before Khan or a 154-world title shot. The main guys in the mix would hopefully be the likes of Charles Hatley, Julian Williams, Austin Trout or Jack Culcay. I believe Brook will be a world champ at 154lbs, but time will tell.
Andre Dirrell is finished
Andre Dirrell despite his talent will always be an underachiever and he has run out of chances. Andre is usually quite slick and hard to catch but he was getting hit hard and often. Opponent Jose Uzcategui to his credit is a great pressure fighter with good punch variety. He came to prominence destroying Julian Jackson’s son Julius in 2 rounds and he looks the part. Dirrell reminded me on Nathan Cleverly’s last performance against Badou Jack. Cleverly was moving his head but his timing was awful and constantly moving into punches. Dirrell similarly just couldn’t seem to get out of the way. Cleverly retired straight after his loss and Andre Dirrell should do the same.
Bivol is the real deal
Everyone ignored Sullivan Barrera when he lost to Andre Ward. Like most Cuban’s, he wasn’t deemed marketable but after 4 straight wins including over Joe Smith Jnr, he must get a title shot. With his amateur background and experience surely, he would be a test for Dmitry Bivol, he really wasn’t. The Russian constantly beat him to the punch and blocked whatever was coming back. Any mistake Barrera made was punished and as usual Bivol got the stoppage. It’s no wonder Ward retired, and Badou Jack vacated when Bivol became mandatory. I think Ward might come back to fight him later, but it will have to be worth the risk financially because Bivol could be a pound-for-pound fighter.
Wilder has a chin and heart
Anyone who didn’t know that Luis Ortiz was a good boxer and challenge for the WBC champion was very misinformed. For a 38-year-old (probably older), he has great footwork and timing to go with his power. What we didn’t know was how might Wilder stand up to adversity. Just like Anthony Joshua against Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay had to go through the ringer. In round 7, he was almost out on his feet. Like Wladimir, Luis Ortiz age was a factor in that he didn’t have the stamina to finish Wilder off. Make no mistake, Deontay Wilder beat a very good boxer that most champions wouldn’t touch. Ortiz was no David Tua; he was a powerful fighter with great fundamentals. Wilder isn’t polished. He probably never will be, but it doesn’t mean he can’t dominate based on his heart, will and that amazing straight right hand.
Kovalev is number 1 again until proven otherwise
Adonis Stevenson is still great, Artur Beterbiev is relentless, Bivol looks world class but until proven otherwise, Sergey Kovalev is still number one since Ward’s retirement. Since his back to back defeats he has swept aside solid contenders most recently slick southpaw Igor Mikhalkin. I don’t think Kovalev has improved since those defeats, but he is just simply better than these guys. He has a rebuilding job to get his belts back and they are all tough. My money says Bivol will be the best, but Kovalev is still at the top until one of these guys prove us wrong.