Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Wacko's thoughts on Ivan Calderon.
While boxing has proven to be the ever faithful war horse of days gone by, it does appear that the old horse is starting to wear from the struggle of late. In never ending skirmish for ratings, pugilism has been on the decline a bit amongst casual fans, the networks, and most recently sports scribes worldwide.
Many attribute this to the rise of Mixed Martial Arts, while others closer to the cause blame the fluctuation on poor matches and even worse…bad officiating and breakdowns of the inner workings of the game in general.
I’ve been a spectator for many, many years…and quite honestly as a fan…I feel that the decline is merely just a sign of the times. Boxing has persevered for more decades than can be counted on one’s fingers and toes. As a whole, the sport seems to fluctuate with each decade…the late sixties and early seventies were ripe with the fruits of Muhammed Ali and the 200 plus pound division, while the mid seventies and early eighties were punctuated by the personality and skills of talents such as Ray Leonard, Hagler, and Hearns.
After a bit of a dry spell, the heavyweights were brought back to form with the explosion of “Iron” Mike Tyson and later Lennox Lewis. Soon to follow the Klitschko brothers would turn heads and set off the European heavyweight run and the expulsion of America’s chance of relieving it’s glory days of said division.
With the game’s flagship division, once again side lined, boxing began taking hits within the sporting world. As numbers began to fall…so did the network sponsorships, along with the media’s attention…& so on & so on.
Oddly enough, boxing couldn’t be any stronger amongst it’s loyalists. While the heavyweight division is still in a bit of a flux, the middleweights and welterweights seem to have taken the place of the big men in the hearts of the fans.
For years, fighters below the level of 140lbs were written off as under card filler…or fodder…depending on the fan in question. The wide wild world of sports is a much different place in this decade and the lesser acknowledged weight classes are finally being shown some love and oddly enough…loyalty.
While the heavyweight division and the nineteen nineties were championed by “Iron Mike” & the big boys…general consensus among boxing loyalists & pundits has begun to shift. Many feel that boxing’s saviours now just come in smaller packages than the previous lot.
There is currently a new “iron man”, so to speak, that is slowly but surely taking the fans by surprise and straw weight boxing by storm.
That man is Ivan Calderon…and he’s not so much an “Iron Man”, but an “the Iron Boy”, as is his moniker.
Although, the 105lb division is still under the radar (actually it’s off the radar) a bit and currently incapable of stirring up the talk around the water cooler, that the big men did…the die hard fan has at least heard of Calderon. Although, the casual fans may not have seen him…they have heard of him or atleast seen that he has taken most of the rankings by storm. The point being…it doesn’t take a crystal ball to acknowledge that the future is beginning to look rather bright for the young Guaynabo, Puerto Rican native.
Since 2003, Calderon has been the “go to man” of the straw weight division, as he has held and defended the WBO Minimumweight title thirteen times. This past August Calderon will moved up to challenge the WBO light flyweight champion Hugo Cazares at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez de Bayamon in Puerto Rico with much success. Although Calderon was sent to the mat in the 8th round he would go on to comfortably outbox Cazares down the stretch. For those that don’t know…Cazares is a fairly tuff champion that could very well have been the foil to Calderon’s future. Since the year 2000, Cazares had held the WBO and the NABO light flyweight straps, pulled out a sixteen fight winning streak, and had stopped thirteen of those sixteen inside the distance.
Pretty impressive for an unknown champion labeled as an under card filler. That being said, Cazares had his hands full with Calderon as he moved up to his rightful place amongst the other Light Flyweight champions.
While the undefeated “Iron Ivan” has only stopped six of his twenty eight opponents that doesn’t make him any less dangerous than the heavy handed Cazares. The thirty two year old southpaw is an accomplished boxer who throws multiple and fluid combinations, couple that with the fact that he’s one hell of a counter puncher, couple that with the fact that he’s a tricky little southpaw & you’ve got yourself a shooting star that‘s not likely to see the ground soon.
The potential has always been there, just under the surface, for Calderon. Although the young Puerto Rican’s amateur career wasn’t spotless…it was impressive to say the least. On top of winning the New York Golden Gloves Calderon’s amateur record would go down as 110-20.
Of note, Ivan lost to the highly regarded Brian Viloria, but would right the wrong by defeating him multiple times in various international amateur tournaments prior to turning pro. Many fans still have high hopes of a professional bout between the two now that Calderon is making the jump into the uncharted waters that Viloria now navigates.
Past being the past…there is a matter that disturbs me a bit…that being the jump of course. This is the factor that often plagues me regarding the players that I favor of the sport. Even though Calderon did his best to represent his country of Puerto Rico as a light flyweight at the 2000 Syndey Olympic Games…he fell short.
To Wacko’s knowledge, Calderon would fight the majority of his career as a minimum weight, oddly enough…he would move up to compete in the games as a light flyweight and then lose to Indonesian Masara La Paene. Many wrote it off as Calderon losing to the better man…but in Wacko’s opinion…I honestly felt that it was more of a factor of him being the smaller man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now…while 103lbs and 108lbs doesn’t sound like much of a discrepancy…the man in the ring would argue different.
Whether or not history will repeat itself for Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon as he moves up from minimum weight to light flyweight to take on it’s champions remains to be seen…but one thing is certain…win, lose, or draw it should bring a handful of compelling matches for boxing fans around the globe to salivate over.
Many fans have been waiting on Calderon to move up to what they feel is his rightful place as a champion of the Light Fly’s. Personally…the thoughts of seeing Calderon in the ring with Edgar Sosa, Ulises Solis, & Brian Viloria’s conqueror Omar Nino Romero are mouth watering.
As overly excited as I do get over this little firecracker…the main question on my mind in regards to Calderon is quite simple…is it too much to ask of this little man that he reignites the passion of many thrice multiplied times two removed boxing fans far and wide?
Probably so…but this is one fan that’s going to go above and beyond the weekend warrior’s call of duty to catch his matches one way or the other and if one cloaks himself in the cloth of a “true boxing fan” you‘ll be sorry if you miss this up & coming star in the making.
For those of you who are interested…Calderon will be facing Manuel Vargas in December on Top Ranks “Latin Fury” card that features Jorge Arce, Chavez jr., Mike Alvarado, Henry Bruseles, & many more. Should be a smoker.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
I would like to see Calderon face Ulises Solis. I look at Solis as the best Junior Flyweight out there.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Nice article Wacko, although I haven't seen Calderon fight I'll keep an eye out for him and hopefully see some sometime soon. I agree with you that the lighter weights are taking the main stage, but probably not this light.
I think the one issue that does seem to discredit the very light divisions is that because of the scarcity of fighters and that it does get harder to matchmake, it does end up that many fighters with records not befitting world title challengers do get to fight for titles. I'm sure that it does go down to the scarcity of fighters, and the fragility of the super-light fighters that these records do appear, but it still doesn't reflect too well.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Nice article Wacko cc, I think Ivan's future belongs at junior flyweight now, no point moving back down to a division with so little money and publicity.
His presence amongst the junor flyweights certainly makes them more interesting and who knows in the future he may even be able to move up again.
He is tiny, but in the UK we have an equally tiny fighter called Ian Napa who at only 5ft has to compete at junior bantamweight/super flyweight as there is obviously no smaller fighters for him to face in Europe.
He's now the British junior bantamweight champ although like Calderon his lack of power has hurt him in fights.
I certainly think junior flyweight HAS to be the division for Ivan right now, and I think he's capable of unifying that division.
I think if/when that happens a move up to flyweight for a lucrative shot against one of the bigger guys. He may lose but his legacy will already have been assured by then so he could afford to do so for the chance of a big payday.
If guys like Darchinyan and Donaire are still in the flyweight division then he could have the chance for a big money payday, although super flyweights like Arce, Mijares etc are obviously out of reach.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
No question Ivan Calderon has boxing skills. In fact, I would consider him the Willie Pep of his generation. I just saw his fight with Cazares and you could see Cazares was very frustrated especially with the crowd cheering everytime he missed. But to say that Cazares had his hands full with Calderon is not reporting it acurately. Cazares could not lay a hand on Calderon for the first 7 rounds and when Cazares finally did, he sent Calderon to the mat. What was disturbing was the last round when the corner of Calderon delayed the fight to the consternation of Cazares and his men. Clearly Calderon was hurt and he was the only fighter hurt in that fight.
Was it an exciting fight to watch? To me, and I am being subjective, it was not, because I saw one man continuously chasing the other, missing and missing and missing. Yes, Calderon picked his shots and layed a number of great counters which just proves he is a great boxer. But to pose a question if Calderon can strengthen Boxing's weakest link will deserve an answer like this: Its like saying band aid can cure cancer. In my opinion, Calderon and similar fighters who box the same way are boxing's weakest link. Why do you think everyone gets excited about an obscure boxer named Valero. Why is MMA such a popular sport?
What we need is another Tyson who can dominate other boxers. For the boxing purists, Ali can be a shining example of a boxer that dominates. It is not enough for a boxer not to get hit. The goal is to dominate. That means avoiding being hit, taking risks and pounding the living daylights of the other fighter. That is what was so great with Ali. Remember he knocked out Big George Foreman, Frazier and many more, yet he claimed to have the prettiest face in boxing (he probably does) because he can avoid the heavy punches of his opponents. Does he dominate? Hell yea! Does Calderon dominate? You may want to ask Cazares for his opinion.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Quote:
Originally Posted by halo
No question Ivan Calderon has boxing skills. In fact, I would consider him the Willie Pep of his generation. I just saw his fight with Cazares and you could see Cazares was very frustrated especially with the crowd cheering everytime he missed. But to say that Cazares had his hands full with Calderon is not reporting it acurately. Cazares could not lay a hand on Calderon for the first 7 rounds and when Cazares finally did, he sent Calderon to the mat. What was disturbing was the last round when the corner of Calderon delayed the fight to the consternation of Cazares and his men. Clearly Calderon was hurt and he was the only fighter hurt in that fight.
Was it an exciting fight to watch? To me, and I am being subjective, it was not, because I saw one man continuously chasing the other, missing and missing and missing. Yes, Calderon picked his shots and layed a number of great counters which just proves he is a great boxer. But to pose a question if Calderon can strengthen Boxing's weakest link will deserve an answer like this: Its like saying band aid can cure cancer. In my opinion, Calderon and similar fighters who box the same way are boxing's weakest link. Why do you think everyone gets excited about an obscure boxer named Valero. Why is MMA such a popular sport?
What we need is another Tyson who can dominate other boxers. For the boxing purists, Ali can be a shining example of a boxer that dominates. It is not enough for a boxer not to get hit. The goal is to dominate. That means avoiding being hit, taking risks and pounding the living daylights of the other fighter. That is what was so great with Ali. Remember he knocked out Big George Foreman, Frazier and many more, yet he claimed to have the prettiest face in boxing (he probably does) because he can avoid the heavy punches of his opponents. Does he dominate? Hell yea! Does Calderon dominate? You may want to ask Cazares for his opinion.
:coolclick: for an interesting opinion. Personally I really enjoyed the Cazares Calderon fight but then I am a hardcore boxing fan who can even gain pleasure out of watching the likes of Junior Witter and Cory Spinks.
But I think you are right when you say that casual sport's fans won't be drawn to Ivan Calderon in any shape or form.
Being realistic he will never be a big name in boxing and will always be talked about only amongst dedicated boxing fans, but then that has always been the way for any fighters under 115 lbs.
I also tned to agree with you regarding Calderon's technical defensive style not being able to strengthen boxings weakest link. Although I wouldn't go so far to say as that they are the weakest link in the chain, I do definitely understand what you are saying.
For the majority of casual sports fans who enjoy watching boxing now and again they are just not interested in a brilliant technical fighter unless as you stated, they are someone like Ali who can also dominate fights and cause excitement.
Fighters like Calderon, Spinks, Witter and even Floyd Mayweather (who I think is an absolute virtuoso in the ring) just don't excite the casual sports fan.
This isn't peculiar to boxing though, now with MMA gaining more and more popularity you can hear the crowds booing and showing their displeasure whenever a fight gets too technical. Ground fighting with wrestling and Ju Jitsu skills in particular whilst forming the bulk of the MMA skillset and (usually seperating the great and the merely exciting fighters) rarely gets any appreciation from the casual MMA crowd.
IT's probably the same in most sports, like fickle action movie fans, most sports fans want to see only the highlight reel, the actual plot, dialogue and backstory are irrelevent to them, they just want guns and car chases and naked chicks.
As Hollywood films are directed the studios can give the masses exactly what they want but with sports the action isn't staged, and you get what you get.
Personally as an MMA and boxing fan I LOVE the technical fighters, I love to see a fight developing, and to continue my film analogy I love the dialogue, the backstory and the plot twists. I don't want to see endless car chases and big guns but sadly the world at large is a place of quick fixes, instant gratification, and endless consumption. Real art rarely goes appreciated these days and certainly Ivan Calderon's own brand of art, great though it is is doomed to never be seen by more than a handful of dedicated boxing fans. :-\
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violent Demise
I would like to see Calderon face Ulises Solis. I look at Solis as the best Junior Flyweight out there.
Agreed. I've been chomping at the bit for that to materialize.
I dig the shit outta Calderon...but he'll have his hands full with Solis. Should be a competitive match though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbo
Quote:
Originally Posted by halo
No question Ivan Calderon has boxing skills. In fact, I would consider him the Willie Pep of his generation. I just saw his fight with Cazares and you could see Cazares was very frustrated especially with the crowd cheering everytime he missed. But to say that Cazares had his hands full with Calderon is not reporting it acurately. Cazares could not lay a hand on Calderon for the first 7 rounds and when Cazares finally did, he sent Calderon to the mat. What was disturbing was the last round when the corner of Calderon delayed the fight to the consternation of Cazares and his men. Clearly Calderon was hurt and he was the only fighter hurt in that fight.
Was it an exciting fight to watch? To me, and I am being subjective, it was not, because I saw one man continuously chasing the other, missing and missing and missing. Yes, Calderon picked his shots and layed a number of great counters which just proves he is a great boxer. But to pose a question if Calderon can strengthen Boxing's weakest link will deserve an answer like this: Its like saying band aid can cure cancer. In my opinion, Calderon and similar fighters who box the same way are boxing's weakest link. Why do you think everyone gets excited about an obscure boxer named Valero. Why is MMA such a popular sport?
What we need is another Tyson who can dominate other boxers. For the boxing purists, Ali can be a shining example of a boxer that dominates. It is not enough for a boxer not to get hit. The goal is to dominate. That means avoiding being hit, taking risks and pounding the living daylights of the other fighter. That is what was so great with Ali. Remember he knocked out Big George Foreman, Frazier and many more, yet he claimed to have the prettiest face in boxing (he probably does) because he can avoid the heavy punches of his opponents. Does he dominate? Hell yea! Does Calderon dominate? You may want to ask Cazares for his opinion.
:coolclick: for an interesting opinion. Personally I really enjoyed the Cazares Calderon fight but then I am a hardcore boxing fan who can even gain pleasure out of watching the likes of Junior Witter and Cory Spinks.
But I think you are right when you say that casual sport's fans won't be drawn to Ivan Calderon in any shape or form.
Being realistic he will never be a big name in boxing and will always be talked about only amongst dedicated boxing fans, but then that has always been the way for any fighters under 115 lbs.
I liked the Calderon Cazares bout...but like bilbo...I consider meself to be a die hard fan...so if it's a fairly good match up...I generally turn it into more than it is...in other words...I aint that hard to please...especially when it comes to the Iron Boy.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
CC to both of you - bilbo and Wacko. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate technical fighters but admittedly I may not be as hard core a boxing fan the both of you. What you say Bilbo rings true and I appreciate your insight and opinion as well. Excitement is truly subjective. And I do admit being a casual fan. :)
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
I think Solis beats Calderon. I had Cazares-Calderon scored for Cazares.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violent Demise
I think Solis beats Calderon. I had Cazares-Calderon scored for Cazares.
Because you re a Cazares fan and Mexican. The Neutral boxing fans had Calderon wining
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Quote:
Originally Posted by superheavyrhun
Nice article Wacko, although I haven't seen Calderon fight I'll keep an eye out for him and hopefully see some sometime soon. I agree with you that the lighter weights are taking the main stage, but probably not this light.
I think the one issue that does seem to discredit the very light divisions is that because of the scarcity of fighters and that it does get harder to matchmake, it does end up that many fighters with records not befitting world title challengers do get to fight for titles. I'm sure that it does go down to the scarcity of fighters, and the fragility of the super-light fighters that these records do appear, but it still doesn't reflect too well.
Here watch it and tell me what you think.
http://stage6.divx.com/user/korben_d...ron-vs-Cazares
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Puya
ANd Good Read Wacko ;D
:coolclick: #279. Glad you liked it. Honestly...I feel like the entire boxing public needs a wakey-wakey call when it comes to Calderon. He's the shit.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Puya
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violent Demise
I think Solis beats Calderon. I had Cazares-Calderon scored for Cazares.
Because you re a Cazares fan and Mexican. The Neutral boxing fans had Calderon wining
It's got nothing to do with Cazares being Mexican. Watch the fight again. I had it 115-113 for Cazares. He landed the harder punches and came forward all night. I also think round 8 should of been scored 10-7. Since I think the knock down that was ruled a slip was legit.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violent Demise
Quote:
Originally Posted by Puya
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violent Demise
I think Solis beats Calderon. I had Cazares-Calderon scored for Cazares.
Because you re a Cazares fan and Mexican. The Neutral boxing fans had Calderon wining
It's got nothing to do with Cazares being Mexican. Watch the fight again. I had it 115-113 for Cazares. He landed the harder punches and came forward all night. I also think round 8 should of been scored 10-7. Since I think the knock down that was ruled a slip was legit.
Watch the fight like 20 times Calderon did a beautiful won on the Bigger Cazares.
Re: Can “the Iron Boy” Strengthen Boxing’s Weakest Link?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Puya
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violent Demise
Quote:
Originally Posted by Puya
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violent Demise
I think Solis beats Calderon. I had Cazares-Calderon scored for Cazares.
Because you re a Cazares fan and Mexican. The Neutral boxing fans had Calderon wining
It's got nothing to do with Cazares being Mexican. Watch the fight again. I had it 115-113 for Cazares. He landed the harder punches and came forward all night. I also think round 8 should of been scored 10-7. Since I think the knock down that was ruled a slip was legit.
Watch the fight like 20 times Calderon did a beautiful won on the Bigger Cazares.
Agreed...but I think Calderon Solis will be the tuffest test.
