Al Bernstein On Boxing: Right Place At The Right Time

Sometimes in life you end up viewing something extraordinary—something you might have missed. That happened for me and all the fans that filled up the Mardi Gras Ballroom at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas this past Friday. We saw a fight of the year candidate. We were in the right place at the right time.

The match between former cruiserweight champion Arthur Williams and Victor Barragan was expected to be an entertaining and competitive fight.

The 44 year old Williams had been somewhat inactive in the last two years and wanted to show that he still had the skills to fight at a high level. The 28 year old Barragan came in with a decent 10-4 record and he needed a win over a cruiserweight of note to move up the ladder. Both men were successful, even though one lost.

Crown Boxing matchmaker Frank Luca provided a classic match of styles. Williams was the taller fighter who used his length and reach to land from the outside—working in a dash of lateral movement. Barragan is a classic attacker, using jabs to work his way inside for a volley of body shots, and finally a left hook or two to the head.

This style dynamic and both fighter’s desire to win created something more than just an entertaining match-up—it was a wildly exciting and well fought match—one of the best I’ve seen this year.

The early rounds were fought at a very quick pace with Williams landing big shots from the outside and then Barragan working his way inside to blast the body and head. Both men used a wide array of punches that included uppercuts, hooks, jabs and even overhand rights. The pace was brutal and seemed to favor the younger man, but Williams gave as much as he took.

The pace and Barragan’s body shots had their effect on the 44 year old Williams. By the 7th King Arthur had slowed a bit. In that round the Oxnard, California resident came up with some big hooks and straight right hands to stop Williams in his tracks and force the fight to be stopped.

It’s safe to say that Williams is the best 44 year old fighter this side of Bernard Hopkins. His punches were crisp and well delivered, and it was not fatigue, but Barragan’s punches that slowed him down. For Barragan it is hard to fathom, how he managed to have a three fight losing streak before his current winning streak of the same duration. He is a relentless attacker who understands the style he fights.

This fight takes it’s place in a long line of great cruiserweight fights in the last decade. Cruiserweight is one of boxing’s most exciting divisions. I seldom, see a boring cruiserweight match. This was one of a number of exciting fights on this Crown boxing card, which is the norm for this series. When fight of the year voting comes around, this one should get consideration.

* * *
Hopefully it’s not too self serving to use this space to thank the World Boxing Hall of Fame for inducting me this past weekend. It was a great honor and the evening could not have been more delightful.

One of the things that made it special was seeing so many great champions from the past. Great names like Danny “Little Red” Lopez, Gato Gonzales, Michael Carbajal, George Chuvalo, Emile Griffith, Yacqui Lopez and many others made an appearance and rubbed elbows with the fans who attended.

Then there were the fighters who were inducted into the hall, Raphael Herrera, Orlando Canizales, Brian Mitchell and the first woman ever honored, Lucia Ryker.

I said in my acceptance speech that for all of us associated with boxing the essential truth about the sport is that the boxers are most important. Without their courage and skill, there is nothing. So, we need to remind ourselves always that they are a special group of people. They deserve fair and respectful commentary from people in my business, they deserve respect from managers and promoters, and they deserve the support that the fans almost always give them.

The honor I received on Saturday night only empowers me to continue to try and do the best job I can to enhance boxing for all the fans in my commentating role.