Boxing Analysis: Rearranging The Middleweight Chess Board

Well, my fellow boxing enthusiasts, we’re off to another fine year of middleweight boxing in 2006. Things are going to get hot in the next two to three months as scores will be settled, hearts will be broken, records will be lost, and titles will be shuffled. The turmoil of another sleepless insomniac’s night has gotten the brain churning again and the fingers following slowly behind.

In the wake of Bernard Hopkins’ retirement from the middleweight division, by way of Jermain Taylor, this writer’s mind began stirring at around 11:05 p.m. and I sprang out of bed heading straight for the PC for what the wife calls another trip down obsession lane.

She’s dead on the money: the obsession never seems to pass and the wife never ceases to remind me of how my compu-chair is going to forever be grafted to my backside. I’m sure those with wives or lady friends know and share my plight. Every single member of the boxing community has suffered the same roll of the eyes, the same huffs and puffs, the same scorn that this writer/fan generally gets en route to the comforts of my keyboard and flat screen monitor.

Anyway, off of the wife and on to boxing.

Twice last year, rising young star Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor (25 & 0 with 21 KO’s) did what no man had done in over a decade: he won a 12 round unanimous decision over Bernard Hopkins, subsequently breaking the “king’s” clutch over the middleweight division ending Hopkins 12 year streak. Old news.

Be that as it may, the second victory over Hopkins should have cemented Taylor as the #1 middleweight in world, but the wins over Hopkins were questionable and lacklustre, leaving fans a bit befuddled and unsure of “the New Sheriff in Town”. The fight was so close that all three ringside judges leaned towards Taylor by a 115-113 margin, with “The Associated Press” ringside having Taylor winning 115-114. Then you had the punch stats in which Hopkins was clearly in the lead. At the end of both “battles” with Hopkins, the sheriff appeared to be more of a deputy and this just did not sit right with the fans or media.

In the end though, Jermain did indeed walk with the titles and the belts. To Taylor’s credit he did fight the best middleweight of our and of his time. To his credit again he was able to perform a bit better than in their first fight.

Although, he still seemed as apprehensive in the late rounds as Hopkins seemed tentative in the opening rounds. Taylor did come better prepared for Hopkins, but the fans just wanted more from their new champion than he was able to give and, as with the first fight, Hopkins came on at around the sixth round and took Taylor’s “Bad Intentions” with a grain of salt. Arguably from the middle rounds on, Hopkins was the man that everyone wanted Taylor to be.

But in the end, Jermain retained the throne that Hopkins had owned and commanded for 20 title runs, thus we go into the New Year with a new ruler…or do we?

As boxing fans we always question and condemn quite hastily. We always look for the next suitor, the next conqueror. Nothing is ever good enough for us. It’s a bit shameful, but it is indeed our right to be sceptical.

Sceptical is indeed this fan and writer’s attitude towards Jermain Taylor, our new Middleweight Champion. After Taylor’s “defeat” of Hopkins, he would then go on to spout out statements such as “I got hit a lot…he was tough, but I think I won the fight” and “I give myself a B on this performance; I’ve still got a lot to learn…” at the post fight press conferences, leaving many fans stuck in a perpetual state of doubt.

Forget about chessboards, the question with this kid is not a matter of knight takes pawn, but whether or not to place a bet, walk away, hold ’em or fold ’em.

Up to this moment, Jermain Taylor has to be one confused young man, but, as I said, we the fans are a fickle bunch and Taylor did not convincingly defeat our past King and there is where most of the animosity and uncertainty lies. All the promises of knocking the old man out left the building faster than a speeding bullet. But in Taylor’s defense, our previous King did not break out the big guns to defend his kingdom either.

While Hopkins and Taylor fans alike eagerly anticipated both fights, neither man truly dominated the other and neither man really exploited the other’s short comings. There were few advantages gained, less ground covered and even less explosions of raw power or aggression from previous respective performances. All in all, most casual fans considered the fights to be nothing more than a series of snore fests.

To say that both fighters gave the other too much respect is like flogging a dead horse, so let’s just leave Taylor and Hopkins both now for a moment and concentrate on some other players on the board. Professionally, from a writer’s standpoint, one cannot be biased, so for the sake of this article not becoming biased let’s just do our best to write Hopkins out of the equation right now, seeing that he is stepping up to 175lbs in hopes of beating Roy Jones Jr’s conqueror Antonio Tarver, in a last desperate move to solidify his legacy in history. Now that Bernard moves upwards, Taylor becomes the king of the board for the moment.

So folks, fair is fair, what is done is done, and we have our new Undisputed Middleweight Champion that maybe some of us are being a bit too critical towards.

But in the middleweight division, the move of one piece is naturally followed by another and in comes the next pawn, knight, or would be king trying to gain the commanding spot.
Enter Ronald “Winky” Wright, defensive master, technical tactician, humiliator of the great Tito Trinidad, two time dispatcher of the vastly skilled, highly regarded Sugar Shane Mosley, and conqueror of durable Sam “King” Soliman, who was just handily removed from a strong nineteen and running win streak.

Within a few weeks time of besting and retiring Felix “Tito” Trinidad, the very mention of Winky’s name began thickening the plot surrounding the Hopkins and Taylor rematch. Wisely, Taylor jumped in for the Hopkins rematch instead of allowing Hopkins the choice of opting out for Wright or Sturm. The money and history was made. Taylor defeated Hopkins again, keeping the titles that he had just recently won and now we have what we will have.

Wright, in the meantime, went on to face Sam Soliman and we all know how that ended. After the defeat of the IBF’s #1 man Sam Soliman, the fans have spoken. No, they have practically began screaming that Taylor must face Winky Wright and he must defeat him soundly to gain the honour and glory of the belts that he now wears around his waist. It almost seems unfair that Taylor should be lifted up and justly glorified, but at the moment he is not championship material in many analyst’s and commentator’s minds.

Defeating Wright would surely give Taylor’s status a “big UP” with the fans. Also, he would rightfully be recognized as the ruler of the throne that he so desperately desires to reign supreme over, but beating Wright may prove more like climbing a mountain than sitting in the big chair.

For years there has been no one out there to successfully break down Wright’s defense, nor have they been able to withstand his piston-like jab and amazing accuracy. More importantly, no one has been able to match his experience and craftiness within the square circle, let alone even chip his rock hard chin. To Taylor’s advantage, he has size and he most definitely has the power over Wright, but many men thought the same of Felix Trinidad. As proven on May 14th, 2005, power and size certainly aren’t the keys to unlock any of the mysteries surrounding Wright. Astoundingly, nothing at all seems to solve Wright’s game plan. No man is unbeatable, but one begins to wonder what it takes to get through the new and improved Ronald “Winky” Wright. Harry Simon and Julio Cesar Vasquez found a way to get to Wright, but that was then and this is not the Wright of then; this is the Wright of now.

This writer, refusing to factor in Fernando Vargas’ “win” over Wright, breaks the promise made above, regarding the ethics of a writer. But consider them broken, as that fight was a bit too close for the decision’s outcome and the liking of fans worldwide. Even the commentators were bothered by that decision. Anyway, a loss is a loss and in a 50 fight career, 3 losses is nothing to cry over.

Is the young upstart Jermian Taylor worthy of the mantle that he was bestowed or is Ronald “Winky” Wright the man to be the undisputed champion of 160lbs? In this writer’s heart, the answer is YES to both questions, but alas there can’t be two kings, no matter how badly the people want to keep their royalty. Only one man can sit on the throne.

With the fight looming on the horizon, contracts already inked, and Wright set in stone as Taylor’s mandate, we the fans will have our answer come June the 17th, 2006 in the form of one of the most anticipated middleweight showdowns of the past two years.

Now if that’s not enough to whet your appetite then all that need be is to factor in Germany’s Golden Boy Adnan Catic, better known as Felix Sturm. A compelling figure himself, Sturm has risen up through the middleweight division like a quiet storm for the past three to four years. A name that was rarely spoken over coastal waters, Sturm made a name for himself after controversially losing a 12 round decision to Oscar De La Hoya back in 2004. Points can be argued back and forth regarding Oscar being outclassed. The performance is more frowned upon regarding Oscar’s weight and lack of preparation instead of smiling on the achievement of Sturm.

Sturm, in this writer’s opinion, put on quite a show. He gave Oscar one of the toughest fights of his career and tactically matched him down the stretch in power and abilities. Hardly anyone credits Sturm’s “loss” over Oscar, but on the flip side many writer’s and fans did take notice and fell immediately in love with Sturm’s workrate, his jab, and his ability take and block the majority of De la Hoya’s assault. To stand toe to toe with and control such a worthy opponent as Oscar speaks volumes of one’s abilities.

Since the loss to Oscar, Sturm went on to win his next five fights in a row, two of those he won by KO before the 5th round. He defeated hard hitter Jorge Sendra over a twelve round stretch with an injured hand. After coming off of the injured list, Sturm conquered hard-hitting Samoan power puncher Maselino Masoe to become the WBA’s Middleweight Champion.

Sturm now has the prestige in his country of being a champion once again. Good for him.

Again, to be fair and open-minded though, saying that Sturm is going to dominate the division is as improbable as saying that Taylor will. But if anyone can, you would have to lean towards Felix, due his defence, power, and brilliant work rate.

Just as soon as one is set on the would-be kings, another pawn makes a move on the board. That pawn is Arthur Abraham, arguably considered a knight or possibly even King. Abraham is the fastest riser of the division and the most active. Like Sturm in the past, Abraham fights as often as possible. After his pro debut in 2003 he fought five times, in 2004 he fought nine times, in 2005 he fought five times, and only once thus far for 2006, each time stepping up the opposition. And out of the twenty men that he has fought, he has stopped seventeen of them. Not bad for a prospect that has begun fighting the toughest in the 160 division.

The greatest accomplishments so far have been his beating of Howard Eastman and his knockout of Kingsley Ikeke. He controls the WBA’s Inter-Continental title and he also holds the IBF’s strap. How long he can hold them fighting the line up that his team has arranged for him will remain the question. Next up the fighting Armanien sharpens another tooth in his mouth as he takes on heavy handed Kofi Jantuah this month. After that, provided that he wins against Jantuah, he will then match strength for strength against another prospect by the name of Edison Miranda. The kid is definitely going for the cream of the crop. Royalty awaits, but can he maintain the pace that he has been steadily pushing his body to keep.

Speaking of Edison Miranda, he has followed in the footsteps of Jermain Taylor, more or less, so to speak. He did what no other man had ever done in 40 fights: he not only defeated a durable veteran warhorse in Howard Eastman, he knocked him out! No small feat for a prospect. But as exciting as Miranda is, he’s got a lot of question marks hanging over his head, along with a very penetrable defense.

The fight against Abraham will answer most, if not all, questions of this future hopeful.

Other pieces of the board on the back burner are Kelly Pavlik, Chad Dawson, Sebastian Sylvester, Khoren Gevor, Sechew Powell, and Giovanni Lorenzo.

That’s one hell of an exciting set of pawns and knights just waiting to become king of the ring.

Knocking just one key piece off the board would push all of the pawns into place, thus ensuring better matchups and also enticing a large amount of fans back to the little square box that holds all of the magic of the squared circle.

It’ll be checkmate for boxing fans around the globe.