FROCH VS GROVES PERFORMED IN FRONT OF PACKED WEMBLEY STADIUM
Las Vegas, NV– American promoters can learn something from their European counterparts when it comes to staging not just a boxing program, but an event. The fighter introductions for 168lb titleholder Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) vs George Groves (19-2, 15 KOs) featured the challenger coming to the arena on top of a double decker bus, and various pyrotechnics for both fighters as they walked toward the ring.
Froch fought in front of 80,000 on Saturday.
80,000 exuberant fans were in attendance in what can be characterized as one of the most important fights in British boxing history. With Froch’s WBA(regular title) and IBF super middleweight(168lb) titles at stake, and having to prove that their last bout, a controversial stoppage win, wasn’t a fluke, the native of Nottingham, England delivered one straight right hand that ended matters in the eighth stanza. Fighting cautiously in the early rounds, thus clearly giving them away to the challenger, you still got the sense that at some point Carl would amp up the pressure, and Groves, from London, would fall apart. Thats exactly what occurred Saturday.
WARD IRONICALLY FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
While lineal 168lb champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) dismissed this fight as just a domestic fight, it’s obvious that drama sells fights, and unfortunately drama is something the dominant Bay Area native Ward’s fights lack. He also lacks the persona or the “IT” factor that Froch possesses. Fans appear to appreciate a more limited fighter such as Froch who is able to just throw all of his eggs in one basket and go for the victory. Ward who defeated Froch in a dominant points verdict in 2011, hasn’t been able to resonate with the fans the way the Englishman has, and when you consider Froch has fought five times since then, all victories, while Ward who has had a string of injuries and problems with his promoter has only fought twice(albeit successfully), you can see that the Bay Area native needs to be more active within the ring, and less with his mouth.
DONAIRE GETS REFEREE AIDED VICTORY
In what was an odd scene in Macau, China, Filipino star Nonito Donaire (33-2, 21 KOs) won the WBA featherweight(126lb) crown by technical decision over Simpiwe Vetyeka (26-3, 16 KOs) who had the deck stacked against him from the start. Vetyeka is a South African, but faced the Filipino in Asia, essentially his own backyard. It appeared that the stage was being set for Donaire, a former multi division world champion to win a title in another weight class.
At the end of the first round, Donaire went down from what appeared to be a clash of heads. Here began a start of some odd events. Throughout the following rounds, 2, 3, and 4 there were more clashes of heads. At various and random times throughout the rounds the referee had the ringside doctor observe the severity of the cut. Donaire overall appeared to be in distress throughout each round. The cut, right above the left eye was severe enough initially to stop the bout. However, they observed the cut three to four times throughout, including between rounds and let the fight proceed. It was obvious that Donaire, who scored a knockdown in round four, was looking for a way out of the fight, instead of fighting on, by what appeared an effort to lobby the referee to stop the fight after the fourth round was complete. He was aware that the bout would go to the scorecards and obviously felt he was ahead on points after the completion of four rounds. He was rewarded a technical decision victory after scores were tallied, 49-46 for all three judges. As per WBA rules, a fight that ends because of a cut from an accidental foul goes to the scorecards after four completed rounds. What was unfair here was that the fight was allowed to continue for three more rounds, yet the cut, while a bad one didn’t appear to get any worse. The only thing that got worse was Donaire’s sense of discomfort from the cut. Donaire may very well have gone on to a victory anyway, however this rule many times aids a fighter, mainly the house fighter to lobby the referee to bow out of a fight when he knows he’s ahead. The general belief is that if a fighter says he cannot continue but the referee and ringside doctor say otherwise, he or she loses by TKO. Hopefully there is a rematch because the outcome was inconclusive and anti-climatic.
DONAIRE LOOKED ORDINARY, SHOULD STAY AWAY FORM WALTERS
The effort from the Filipino was methodical and somewhat lackadaisical. WBA “regular” featherweight beltholder Nicholas Walters (24-0, 20 KOs) looked spectacular stopping Vic Darchinyan (39-7-1, 28 KOs) on the undercard. Donaire struggled with the Armenian in his last bout and was behind on the scorecards when he pulled off a come from behind knockout victory. Walters appears to have advantages in not only size and speed but also power.While the Jamaicans technique needs improvement, Donaire has turned into somewhat of a one-trick pony, relying merely on the left hook. Walters appeared to be solid defensively and would give the Filipino star a world of problems.
-Kevin Perry