Beltless Campbell Shows Championship Stuff

by Lee Payton

The main event of a seemingly jinxed triple header had former lightweight champion, Nate Campbell, facing off against a 135 lb monster by the name of Ali Funeka. As if trying to chop down the imposing challenger wasn't enough, Campbell had to deal with the emotional baggage of leaving his title belts on the scale when he came in 3 lbs over the limit.

There were other problems, too. Like not having fought for nearly a year. But Nate Campbell has never had it easy, and fighting for his boxing life, he did what he had to do in order to remain relevant as he makes the trip North to 140 lbs. While no longer the carrying a horde or title belts, he used all of his championship mettle to pull out a victory when it mattered most.

Unimpressed by the South African's size and physique, Campbell started off fast, going right after his man with thudding right hands to the body and head. Funeka showed some professionalism in keeping a cool head, while the more experienced fighter banged him around the ring for the first 3 minutes.

In the 2nd, Nate came out hard again, blocking most of the challenger's work while continuing to slam him with his heavy right. One of those shots caught Funeka on the temple and sent him wobbling backward. Thinking he had his man ready to go, Campbell worked his right like a sledgehammer to the ribs, in hopes that he could create an opening up top. He found it with a sweeping overhand bomb that flattened Funeka. To his credit, the hurt fighter kept his composure and survived the round. It was a violent welcome to the big time.

Obviously fatigued, Nate had to take his foot off the gas, and as a result, the fight tightened up. He wasn't busy enough to take the 4th or 5th, and he also lost a scrappy 6th when Funeka found his way around the guard with snappy left hooks. After 10 rounds, the fight was up for grabs, with both men weary from the action.

The proud "Galaxxy Warrior" turned it up to start the 11th round, and it was that extra gear that proved to be the difference. After coming out with a new determination, he floored Funeka with another roundhouse right to the side of the head. The game challenger somehow rose to his feet once again, and was able to finish a disastrous round.

Funeka giving every ounce of himself in the final stanza. The whipping power in his punches and the zest in his legs were long gone by his point, but he never stopped trying to win. Campbell could do little more than smother, line up the odd power shot, and just pray for the fight to end. The crowd rose in the final seconds, recognizing that neither man left anything in the tank on this night.

In the end, the former champ earned a career saving majority decision win, and the courageous contender from South Africa put forth an inspiring effort, that fight fans will not forget. So while we lost an exciting lightweight to the scale, we may not have to look very far for his replacement.

It seems like Nate Campbell still has the fire, so who will get burned next? The jr. welterweight division is packed with solid fighters, all trying to land dates with the two biggest stars in boxing, Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton. At 36 (soon to be 37), you wonder how much time he has, but he does have the important advantage of being backed by HBO, so it's not out of the question that he could land a fight with either one.

On paper, Hatton-Campbell is a nasty war, while Pacquiao-Campbell is a battle of passionate bangers. Who wouldn't want to see those?

On the undercard, Sergio Martinez and Kermit Cintron tangled to a 12 round draw. It wasn't easy to watch. Cintron seems clueless against southpaws, and Martinez probably needs the perfect style in front of him to be entertaining, so there was more posturing and missing, than pain over 36 minutes.

While the fight was a bore, it was made slightly interesting when Cintron took a knee in the 7th, after what he thought was a head butt. It turned out to be a left hand that hurt him, so the ref started to count. Cintron, complaining the whole way, started to get up at about 9 and 7/8. The referee reached 10, but I guess because of some confusion, allowed the fight to continue anyway. Martinez' busier hands probably should have won him the fight, but he keeps his title belt, so no real damage was done.

Boxing needs instant replay. It just does. Surely it's brought up among officials, but I'd like to know why it hasn't been implemented. What possible reason is there not to put it into action? It's not realistic to expect a ref to catch everything, and there is far too much at stake not to get it right. Not to mention that it leaves all kinds of room for people to assume the worst about boxing. We don't need the headache.

Alfredo Angulo started things off by dismantling late sub, Cosme Rivera, in 5 rounds. It really wasn't a fair fight, as Angulo was just way bigger and stronger. I know the fight was thrown together last minute, but what was the point in finding an out-sized opponent, who never had a chance? Is making your guy look great on TV more important than giving him a legitimate test? Let's hope that he's fighting someone his own size next time.

- Lee Payton e-mail Read more!

HBO Triple-Header Predictions

Here are some predictions from The Boxing Bulletin regarding the triple-header this Saturday night. Despite all the troubles this card has seen, it looks like all three fights will go on as planned.

Sergio Martinez is a bit one-dimensional, (he doesn't seem to have much else than a jab and a straight left hand), and he would likely get roughed up by a solid pressure fighter. I just don't think Kermit Cintron is the man to exploit Martinez' limitations. I look for Martinez to survive some rough patches and use a busy jab along with swift foot work to win a 116-112 type decision. Cosme Rivera is a normally durable fighter who, in my opinion, deserved a decision over Joel Julio. He further proved his status as a potential spoiler against prospects when he dropped and badly hurt Andre Berto in the following bout, so I'd be excited about this fight if he had a full camp geared towards Alfredo Angulo. Unfortunately, he had just five days worth of prep, and as it is, we have a career jr. welterweight/ welterweight being thrown in at the last minute against a strong, jr. middleweight knockout artist. I'm not sure of the particulars of what he was doing before he got the call to face Angulo, so he could be more prepared than I anticipate. But all signs point to Cosme being knocked out between rounds six and ten. Most of us haven't seen any footage of Ali Funeka beyond the Zahir Raheem fight. That fight alone, however, told us that Ali is a bad man. Showing considerable power in knocking down Raheem almost at will, he certainly has a chance at upsetting the lightweight champion Nate Campbell. A point of concern is that, at least on record, he has struggled every time he was involved in a fight that went 12 rounds. I expect Nate Campbell to thrash Funeka's body almost exclusively in the early rounds before moving up to the head. Funeka will keep it competitive in the first half of the bout, but I see Campbell sweeping the second half to win by scores of 117-111. -Michael Nelson

Cosme Rivera is a very tough gate keeper that usually falls a division down from where he is fighting Angulo, and we haven’t seen him step up since the Berto fight. Rivera will give Alfred some good rounds but the size, skill and power will be too much. Angulo TKO6 For my money, Sergio Martinez & Kermit Cintron is the most interesting fight on the card. I think people may be getting a bit caught up in a win over Bunema and Sergio is a new prospect, not a young one. I think the style aspect favors Cintron and I doubt the rise in weight will hurt him at all. It may help him. Expect Martinez to box well and Kermit to press the fight. It may be more tactical than people expect and I see Cintron pulling out a very close decision. Funeka can bang, but he hasn’t faced a chin like Nate’s. Look for the South African to come out early and set the pace behind his length and using his powerful right hand. It seems like Nate hasn’t had a fight in a decade, so some ring rust is to be expected. I wouldn’t be at all surprised with an upset here, but I’m guessing that lanky frame leaves too many openings for Campbell’s body attack, and as a result he stops Funeka in ten. - Mark Lyons

Nate's got to be hungry to get back in the ring. I don't expect him to be very polite to this guy, but I think he might be in trouble, here. Funeka is a very tall fighter, who looks to be educated and strong. And unlike Diaz, he's not just going to walk right to the older man all night. It should be a close fight, either way. I think I'll go with the underdog in this one. The style match here, is a terrific one. Cosme has been off since Summer, so you have to question his fitness going into this one such short notice. That will probably cause him to be stopped in about 10 rounds, but he'll land his share before he fizzles out. Angulo is very hittable. This fight is better than the one that was originally scheduled. Not really sure what's gonna happen here. Martinez should get off first all night. Cintron could catch him along the way and end things. I think that if Kerm wins, he does it while behind on the cards. I guess I'll go with Martinez by decision. He may have to get off the canvas. -Lee Payton

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HBO Triple-Header Preview

by Michael Nelson

This Saturday night from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, HBO will broadcast a very interesting triple-header, pitting 3 known commodities against dangerous opponents.

Lightweight champ, Nate Campbell takes on South African, Ali Funeka. Alfredo Angulo goes head to head with late sub, Danny Perez. And heavy handed welterweight, Kermit Cintron challenges Sergio Martinez. This fight card was patched together rather quickly, and that could make for some surprising results in the ring.

In an intriguing contrast of styles, Kermit Cintron moves up from welterweight to face jr. middleweight upstart Sergio Martinez. It may not be a fight that will produce fireworks, but we should see an intense chess match that can turn in the blink of an eye.

Martinez put forth a dazzling exhibition of foot and hand speed against journeyman, Alex Bunema in his last bout, stopping him in 8 rounds. The dominating performance may not have raised many eyebrows a year earlier when Bunema was considered fodder material for showcases. But in his two fights prior, however, he knocked out Roman Karmazin in a shocking upset, and obliterated Walter Matthysee (who, coincidentally, Cintron also obliterated). By the time he entered the ring to face Sergio, he was thought of as a solid test for the 33 year old southpaw from Argentina.

It was not to be. Martinez snapped his head back at will with a sharp right jab. He shot a straight left hand with surgical precision, placing it to the solar plexus as well as to the head with regularity. No longer an unknown, Sergio Martinez' effort made him a respected fighter at 154 lbs.

Kermit Cintron has been there before. It wasn't too long ago when his star was shining bright, using the explosive power in his right hand to go on a stunning knockout streak. He seemed to have improved under the tutelage of Manny Steward, perhaps on his way to the top spot in the hottest division in boxing.

But in 2008, he hit a ceiling made in Tijuana that abruptly stopped his ascent; the same ceiling he hit three years earlier, and the same ceiling Sergio Martinez himself hit eight years ago - Antonio Margarito. Margarito serves as the only blemish on both men's records - knocking out Cintron twice and Martinez once - as well as a gauge in understanding how this fight may go. Through Antonio, we know that neither Cintron or Martinez is particularly comfortable fighting on the inside. We know that the durability of both men may be in question, which favors Cintron, since he has the significant edge in power. And we also know that Cintron has some difficulty with adjusting in a tough situation.

Thus, whether or not Cintron can adjust to a slick southpaw with quick hands, or if Martinez can eat a flush right hand from Kermit without wavering, are questions that should make for a fascinating opening bout to Saturday's fight card.

In the evening's second bout, hard hitting Alfredo Angulo will take on rugged veteran Danny Perez. Perhaps having second thoughts about the prospect of facing the fourth knockout defeat in six fights, Ricardo Mayorga pulled out a week ago, putting Angulo's appearance on the card in jeopardy. After some shuffling, Danny Perez stepped up like the gladiator he is, in hopes of using the 26 year old opponent as a rudder to getting his career back on track.

The 14-0 Angulo is on a 10 fight KO steak, 9 of them within 5 rounds. He finally got taken into the 10th round by Andrey Tsurkan in his last bout, before Tsurkan started succumbing to his relentless body attack, which prompted the referee to rescue him with less than a minute to go in the fight. It's always promising to see a prospect look to wrap things up in memorable fashion and not be content with lopsided decisions against over-matched foes.

Danny Perez, for his part, is notoriously hard to hurt. While the men in the opening bout were stopped by Margarito, Perez went through two bouts with the Mexican star without ever being in any real trouble. Since then, Perez' career has been up and down, beating recognizable opponents in Julio Cesar Garcia, Jose Luis Zertuche, and Grady Brewer, but struggling with non-descript guys like Marcos Primera and David Lopez.

Whether Perez can be considered a serious threat to Alfredo Angulo is unknown, but he will most certainly give him rounds. It'll be interesting to see if Angulo can take him out. I do hope that Perez' corner has the insight and compassion to wave the fight off if it gets too ugly.

Finally, in the main event, Nate Campbell puts his IBF and WBO lightweight titles on the line against Ali Funeka, an astonishingly tall 135 pounder from South Africa.

In Funeka, Campbell will not only have to deal with a five inch height differential, but a man with considerable power. 25 of Funeka's 30 victories have come by the way of knockout, and if knocking out a host of obscure characters from South Africa doesn't impress you, his performance against American spoiler Zahir Raheem should have. Raheem met the canvas nearly every time he got touched by Funeka's short right hand. Controversially, he got nailed flush with it after the bell sounded to mark the end of round 4, and fell flat on his face. As a result, a seemingly confused referee halted the fight in Funeka's favor. Whether you agreed with the ref's call or not, Funeka showed a dangerous set of offensive tools: a stiff jab, accurate right hand, punishing uppercut, and keen sense of distance. He caught Raheem both as he was pulling out and leaping in.

We don't know a ton about this fighter, but I think we can make some assumptions looking at his record. He has gone 12 rounds three times in his career, and all three times he struggled: dropping a unaminous decision against Mzonke Fana, and squeeking by Gabriel Phakula and Yakubu Amidu with a split decision and a majority decision respectively. His strife in long bouts may suggest he has stamina or focus issues against opponents he can't overpower.

A tendency to fade in tough matches is not a weakness you want to have when in with the likes of Nate Campbell. Cementing his reputation as a torturous body puncher in his title winning effort against Juan Diaz last year, look for Campbell to dig malicious right hands and left hooks into Funeka's long midsection from the opening bell. If Funeka is made of anything short of stone, he will start to weaken as the bout progresses. The danger zone for Campbell is the first six rounds. If he gets too reckless, his time in the spotlight may end before it began.

Kudos to HBO for putting together what should be an entertaining night of boxing.

e-mail Michael Nelson Read more!