Yorgey Upsets Hearns, Dirrell Cruises

Michael Nelson recaps last night's Shobox card.

In a shocking upset, Harry Joe Yorgey rocked Ronald Hearns several times before putting him down the for 10 count in the final 10 seconds of the 9th round. The competitive undercard was the antithesis of the main event, in which Andre "The Matrix" Dirrell stopped the overmatched Derrick Findley after Findley's corner had seen enough at the end of the 6th.

Hearns controlled the first two rounds of the undercard bout with his jab, snapping it well to both the head and body of Yorgey. An indication of things to come was established in the 3rd, however, when Yorgey briefly stunned Hearns with a heavy blows to the chin.

In an action packed 4th round, Yorgey staggered and dropped Hearns with right hands. Hearns, inheriting his father's legendary heart, came back to rally and score a knock down of his own, although Yorgey claimed he'd gone down from a slip. Upon replay, it appeared he had a point.

Hearns continued to show heart throughout the remainder of the fight. Unfortunately for him, Yorgey continued to test his chin with left hooks and right hands. Hearns was dropped in the 5th round, wobbled in the 7th, and dropped again in the 9th after a vicious left hook was followed by a hard right cross. Hearns was able to make it to a knee, but the damage sustained was too much to rise for further punishment.

Harry Joe Yorgey undoubtedly made an ample impression by stopping the heavily favored son of an all-time great. To win a world title though, he needs to be less hesitant in letting his hands go.

Meanwhile, Ronald has some strong offensive tools, namely a sharp jab and a stinging right hand. But cumbersome footwork that allows him to get caught with looping blows, a lack of head movement, and less than sturdy whiskers will likely prevent him from reaching a world class level. Nevertheless, his willingness to exchange will make for exciting TV bouts, as long as they're against below championship caliber opponents.

I'm not sure I can say the same about Andre Dirrell. As far as television friendly fights, there appears to be a glitch in The Matrix.

Andre showed flashes of brilliance in the first round of his fight against Derrick Findley, a man he towered over, severely staggering him with a lightening quick left hook. But he didn't put together the necessary combinations to finish his wounded foe, instead choosing to potshot him with winding uppercuts and flashy rights between the guard.

The remaining five rounds saw Dirrell move, jab, and occasionally crack with a powerful blow onto an opponent who offered little resistance. At the end of the 6th, Findley's corner recognized that their man was taking unnecessary punishment and halted the bout. But a concerted body attack and string of combinations would have undoubtedly finished the placid Findley a lot sooner.

Make no mistake, Dirrell has a great deal of talent. I can't help but feel he's doing his career a grave disservice by potshotting overmatched opponents though, instead of impressively forcing a stoppage using the full array of physical tools he possesses.

Perhaps his cautious style will make for intriguing bouts against more sturdy, aggressive opposition. Regardless, I hope this is the final showcase for The Matrix. Unless he wants to continue swallowing the blue pill, he needs to step up to the big leagues.

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Bute Blasts Out Zuniga; A Look at the Super-Middleweight Picture

By Lee Payton

If there were any lingering effects from the from the 12th round of his last fight, Lucien Bute didn't let them show. He looked like his usual self in putting Fulencio Zuniga away in 4 rounds.

The Bell Centre was rocking for their super middleweight title holder as round one began. Things started out rather slowly, with Bute measuring his man and seeing what he brought to the dance.

Not too much happened over the next two rounds, but it was obvious that the home fighter was in command. Zuniga couldn't find the angle for his best punch, and was clearly the smaller man in the ring. I don't think he landed a single meaningful punch in the fight.

Round 4 was the end of things as Bute decided to come forward. He started to test a left to the body as a counter to the pawing right hands coming his way, and moments later he landed a smashing uppercut to the solar plexus of Zuniga.

The challenger was able to rise at the count of 9, partly because of his fighting heart, and partly because of a slow count issued by the referee, but he had nothing left. Bute went on the attack with flurries that overwhelmed his opponent, and the fight was called off at 2:25.

This was probably more of a televised set-up for a rematch with Andrade, who will be facing Vitali Tsypko in Montreal on April 4th. To Bute's credit, he said he would give the hard-nosed challenger a rematch down the road, so now it is up to the rock jawed Mexican to beat Tsypko.

Just a few thoughts on the super middleweight division...

I think most recognize Mikkel Kessler of Denmark as the top man in the division, and rightly so. He was second best to Calzaghe before the Welshman moved up, and he gave a good show when the two met in 2007.

That said, Bute has to be #2 until someone actually beats him.

I love 168 right now. You can hardly make a bad fight out of any of the top 10 guys around.

Let me throw out some juicy match-ups for you to think about:

Bute vs. Kessler I don't know where this would take place, but it's the Dane's straight right hand vs. the Canadian's athleticism and speed. Kessler isn't at his most comfortable against lefties, but his laser right is about the perfect weapon to deal with them.

Andrade vs. Bika Someone tell me this wouldn't be fight of the year. Andrade pressing and shaking off Bika's wide bombs for 12 rounds. Who's gonna give?

Taylor vs. Froch This one's happening on April 25th at Foxwoods. Taylor is an offensive machine with a boxer's mentality. Froch is the perfect foe to bring out the fighter in Jermain, because he doesn't give his opponents a choice. You have to fight him. I can't wait for this one.

Miranda vs. Lacy Alright so neither guy can get over the hump. Who cares? Throw them in a ring together and it's bombs away!

Green vs. Ward vs. Dirrell I'm ready to see what these guys are really made of. Who's for real?

Pascal vs. Codrington Two hard-punching fighters with athleticism and fire. The winner is back in the picture.

There is a lot of fun to be had at 168. Hopefully these guys can get in there and mix it up.

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A Look Back at Bute vs Andrade

by Lee Payton

Lucien Bute will be returning to the ring tomorrow night for the first time since his controversial win over Librado Andrade back in October. Remember that fight? Of course you do. Nobody will soon forget the massive controversy that erupted after the high drama that took place over the bout's final moments.

I'll get to that fight in a second, but first let's touch briefly on tomorrow night's match-up.

Bute's opponent will be Colombian, Fulgencio Zuniga, who you might remember knocked Kelly Pavlik down with a left hook in the first round of their middleweight bout a few years ago. Zuniga went on to lose via a 9th round TKO, and I think that's about as long as he'll last against Bute. Zuniga's tough, and he'll keep coming, but he's not close to Bute's level.

Now on to the infamous Andrade battle, which had boxing fans in a mighty uproar last year...

Both men got screwed that night. The poor judgment of a few key individuals may have cost Andrade a knockout win and his first title belt, while it left Bute with an undeserved image as something of a front-running house fighter.

Most fans thought referee Marlon Wright had given his fellow Canadian a sneaky edge when he allowed him to clutch and grab so frequently. There were times I found the grappling annoying, but it's part of the game to some extent that it's the same for everyone. Bute realized that staying on the outside meant a less hazardous work environment, so he held on whenever things felt unsafe against a dangerous opponent. The rules were bent a little, but this was no Henry Akinwande impression.

It's a legit gripe. Holding is against the rules. However, I was more disappointed in Andrade's effort while being held. This is a fighter who relies on ruggedness and uppercuts, but he doesn't know how to get room on the inside? Too often he stopped fighting when the two came together. Why? He should have been the boss in there. That would have left little room for Wright to influence the action.

In fact, the official opinions may have been moot if one guy was getting pounded every time he tried to catch his breath.

As it happened, the hometown fighter used his decided edge in quickness to secure perhaps a 10-1 lead with 1 round to go. His southpaw stance created an awkward angle that kept the incoming relatively tame, while he swatted away at a dependable target.

The 60 second rest period between the 11th and 12th would prove to be just as crucial as the previous 33 minutes of fighting. While clearly ahead, but sucking wind, Bute was inexplicably instructed by his corner to go for it. Apparently they felt it was necessary for their fighter to put it all on the line in the last round if he was interested in keeping his title.

Eddie Futch might have offered some different advice.

Interestingly, the same ref who had demonstrated such a liberal attitude toward the stalling tactics throughout, was quick to break the fighters during any stalemate in the final stanza. When Andrade was pummeling the favourite in close with his free hand, Wright handled it in the correct way.

Lost in the excitement of the improbable comeback was Andrade's headbutting that played no small part in helping it along. At least a few times Bute took skull to the face or temple while already woozy. I know Andrade was desperate, but that doesn't sit right with me.

His legs and head burning, Bute wobbled around until a running right slammed him to the canvas with only a few seconds to go. He somehow rose before 10 seconds had elapsed, but it didn't matter because Wright was busy blowing another assignment. At about 7, he turned around to warn Andrade to get all the way back in the corner. Those extra seconds wasted by Wright only served to create more controversy as they left the impression that the hometown fighter had more time to recover. After finishing the mandatory count, the bell rang and the fight was declared over, which it would have been anyway, even if Wright had not warned Andrade.

A few key points of contention...

1. The count was too long.

It was, but I don't think it matters, since Bute was on his feet before 10 seconds had passed.

2. Some say it should have been scored as a KO anyway because he used the ropes to steady himself.

Is that even illegal?

3. Was Bute in any condition to continue?

Absolutely not. But does it matter if he beats the count in that situation? Seems like no one really knows for sure.

Look, I know that it's natural in boxing to get behind the traveling underdog, especially when it looks like there might have been some tampering with the results, but this is a clear case of a referee handling a fight poorly, not of corruption. Marlon Wright did not have a good night, and his poor performance as the third man screwed things up for both sides.

Anyway, even though Librado Andrade didn't get the W, he didn't lose much much, as fans will remember his heroics and claim he was robbed by evil Canadians. That's the kind of sympathy managers love.

On the other hand, Lucien Bute has some fighting to do. While I find most of the disrespect he receives to be rather unreasonable, the fact is many boxing fans now see him as something of a sheltered softy. A paper champ that folds under pressure. Forget the impressive athletic package. Never mind the quick, accurate stabs that had him way ahead against a tough nut. He got up at the end? So what? He's just a promoter's product until further notice.

Tomorrow night, he'll have chance to start proving that sentiment wrong, and hopefully we'll see an Andrade rematch in the near future. Andrade will be fighting Vitali Tsypko in Montreal on April 4. A win by Bute tomorrow night, and Andrade a few weeks from now would set up a rematch quite nicely.

Here's hoping it happens.

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Friday Recap: Adamek stops Banks, Johnson dominates Judah

Michael Nelson recaps the action from last night's Shobox and FNF cards.

Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com

Fans were treated to an eventful night of boxing on Friday, as ShoBox produced two scintillating knockouts, both of which will be among the candidates for knockout of the year.

IBF Cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek KO’d Johnathon Banks in brutal fashion in the 8th round of a competitive bout, and Giovanni Lorenzo put Dionisio Miranda down for the count with a perfectly timed right hand in the 2nd round of their co-feature.

Earlier, Glen Johnson chopped down Daniel Judah over 10 rounds in the Friday Night Fights main event.

Shobox...

Johnathon Banks looked comfortable in the opening stanza against Adamek, controlling the action with a sharp jab thrown from his waist. Adamek patiently stalked the bigger man, but got caught with a right hand that stunned him momentarily. While Banks did not press his advantage, the jolting right hand and the several up-jabs he landed were enough to win him the round.

After Adamek’s corner preached patience, Tomasz slightly increased his pressure by pumping his jab a bit more. Banks, still in his comfort zone, found success with his jab as well. Both men were reluctant to let their hands go in a tense chess match.

Rounds 3-4 were more of the same, with Banks briefly buckling Adamek’s knees in the 3rd with a crushing counter left hook. But again, the cautious Banks, weary of Adamek’s powerful short right, never pressed his advantage.

Adamek upped his work rate in the 5th, landing several jabs. Banks still pumped his jab with regularity, with an occasional right to keep his increasingly more aggressive opponent honest. At this point, the stylistic similarities between Banks and Wladimir Klitschko (who Banks often spars with) were obvious: both try to dominate the action with a jab and a periodic big right hand or left hook, both ignore their opponent’s body, both select to hold on the inside instead of throw uppercuts, and both drape themselves onto an opponent’s back whenever their shorter foe bends forward, in an attempt to sap their stamina. While Emmanuel Steward was missing from Johnathon Banks’ corner, his imprint couldn’t have been clearer.

Adamek, now resolute in stepping up his pressure, gave Banks a quick 101 on the significance of a body attack in the 6th round and Banks was visibly bothered every time he got whacked with a left hook to the liver. In the 7th, Banks started turning his back to Adamek, a sign that he was beginning to wilt from Adamek’s body work and persistent jab to the mouth.

Banks landed hard right hand in the 8th that stunned Tomasz again, except this time, perhaps feeling it was his best shot at winning a fight that was slipping away from him, he attempted to follow up. His gas was nearing E though, and he was unable to land anything else significant.

Shortly after he recovered, Adamek landed a beautiful short right to Johnathon’s chin that put him on the canvas. Banks got up on rubbery legs, turned his back to referee Eddie Cotton and did all but say he he had no interest in further punishment, but Cotton wiped his gloves anyways and let Banks continue. Adamek trapped Banks in the corner and hit him with series of punches that rendered him nearly unconscious, slumped in a position eerily similar to how Kelly Pavlik left Jermain Taylor in 2007 (ironically, Taylor too was being trained by Emmanuel Steward at the time).

With the knockout victory, Adamek improved to 37-1 with 25 KOs. Johnathon Banks fell to 20-1 with 14 KOs.

In the IBF Middleweight title elimination that started the broadcast, Giovanni Lorenzo quickly imposed his superior pedigree and size over Dionisio Miranda. Miranda had one good moment in the bout; a long right hand in the 2nd round that snapped Lorenzo’s head back. His moment of glory was quickly truncated by a Lorenzo right that instantly transplanted Miranda on the canvas. Miranda struggled to his feet, but was unable to beat the referee’s count.

Giovanni Lorenzo, now facing a possible IBF title shot against Arthur Abraham, improved to 27-1 with 19 KOs. Dionisio Miranda dropped to 19-4-2 with 17 KOs.

Friday Night Fights...

Earlier in the night on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, Glen Johnson, now an ageless wonder at 40 years old, dropped Daniel Judah in the first round en route to a workmanlike domination over his younger foe.

While Judah put up a respectable effort in the early going, by the middle rounds he was reduced to showboating and making faces, his way of handling the fact he was in with a far superior fighter. Johnson hurt him several times to the body throughout the bout, but failed to put him away. If there is a criticism to be made of Johnson, it’s that he often lets his wounded prey limp away instead of clamping down on the jugular. Nevertheless, it was another impressive performance by the Road Warrior, securing a 99-89, 99-90, and 99-90 unanimous decision.

Here’s hoping that we see him in with another one of the elite Light Heavyweights – if not Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud or Adrian Diaconu – sooner than later.

Glen Johnson is now 49-12-2, with 33 knockouts, while Daniel Judah fell to 23-4-3 with 10 knockouts.

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Shobox Preview: Adamek vs Banks

Michael Nelson takes a look at the upcoming Shobox card.

***Check out The Boxing Bulletin's recap of the Shobox card, plus action from FNF as well: Shobox/FNF recap***

ShoBox comes back Friday night with a card that should produce some thrills. The main event features IBF and IBO Cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (36-1) taking on the undefeated Johnathon Banks (20-0). In the co-feature, Colombian knockout artist Dionisio Miranda (19-3) battles Giovanni Lorenzo (26-1) in an IBF Middleweight title eliminator.

With pedigree largely developed in the legendary Kronk gym in Detroit, Michigan, under the tutelage of Emmanuel Steward, the heavy-handed Johnathon Banks has knocked out fourteen of his opponents, all within five rounds.

Boxing fans may remember him for his scintillating 2006 bout with Eliseo Castillo on Wednesday Night Fights, in which Banks found himself on the canvas twice in the first round. Banks showed tremendous heart by coming back to put Castillo down for the count three rounds later. Castillo hasn’t stepped inside the ring since.

In his last fight, he traveled to Germany to face Vincenzo Rossito on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko’s bout with Tony Thompson. It was his biggest test since Castillo, a measuring stick to see how he compares with the likes of former Cruiserweight star David Haye and former contender Alexander Gurov, both of whom knocked out Rossito in two rounds.

Banks won a majority decision, but failed to impress. Not only was he out of gas by the 6th round, but it looked as if he didn’t know how to handle the fatigue, often turning his back to his opponent with body language that loudly expressed his desire for the fight to end. To his credit, he badly staggered Rossito with a right hand in the final round, which ultimately won him the fight.

Hopefully, it was a learning experience for Banks, because Tomasz Adamek’s short right is a punishing tutor. Adamek made the boxing world take notice with his two spectacular wars against Paul Briggs, earning a majority decision victory in both. After a lopsided loss to rising phenom Chad Dawson in early 2007, Adamek stepped up to the Cruiserweight division and regained his stature as one of the more dangerous fighters in boxing by beating O’Neil Bell into submission in 2008.

Then, last December in a fight of the year candidate, he dropped the favored Steve Cunningham three times to win a split decision.

To those keeping count at home, he has been in three fight of the year candidates: in 2005 (Paul Briggs), 2006 (Paul Briggs), and 2008 (Steve Cunningham). It’s difficult for this man not to be in a good fight.

Johnathon Banks may be able to hang his hat on the fact that Steve Cunningham rocked Adamek in the third round of their classic. But with a distinct disadvantage in speed, technique, and stamina, he has little more than a puncher’s chance. I expect Adamek to take Banks out in the middle rounds as Banks begins to tire.

On the undercard, Giovanni Lorenzo looks to bounce back from his loss to Raul Marquez eight months ago against hard-hitting Dionisio Miranda. Lorenzo’s speed of foot and hand may carry the day, but if he didn’t like the pressure that Raul Marquez brought to him, I imagine he won’t enjoy the duress Miranda will bring. Both men can pop and neither man has a great chin, so look for a knockout here as well.

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FNF, Shobox and the Return of Chagaev

It's been a fairly busy weekend so far. Even with the highly anticipated main event between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce still to come, we've already had plenty of fights worth touching on.

Last night, Yusaf Mack and Chris Henry battled it out on a FNF card that also featured middlewight propsect and crowd favourite Fernando Guerrero (photo © Cheryl Nemazie). 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward was in action on Shobox, while in Germany, Ruslan Chagaev made his return after more than a year on the shelf on a show highlighted by 140 pound belt holder Andriy Kotelnik and challenger Marcos Rene Maidana.


Yusaf Mack - Chris Henry

It was a solid, albeit a bit frustrating, Friday Night Fight headliner. Yusaf Mack showed that he carried his power up to light heavyweight, rocking Chris Henry multiple times with right hands en route to a split decision victory. He refused to put together combinations, however, and if he followed those right hands up with left hooks, he almost certainly would have knocked Henry out. Henry, for his part, actually appeared to out jab his quicker opponent. His wide right hands were the problem, as they continued to miss their mark throughout. Poor foot work and balance were also issues. Henry wasn't able to keep a proper distance on the inside, instead falling into clinches and smothering his own punches. Yusaf was badly gassed late in the fight; more body work with some uppercuts mixed in could have finished him off. Both men showed limitations that makes it difficult for me to place them among the elite at 175, although they would give most of the top 10 a rough outing. Mack's stamina issues will likely always be a problem, as will Henry's lack of accuracy and balance. - Michael Nelson

Mack has the skill to be a serious player. He's pretty good defensively, has quick hands, and can bang a little bit. The problem is in his stamina and focus. He had Henry wobbling around in the 6th round, but instead of taking advantage, he showed a lack of composure and started chucking wildly. He gassed himself in the process, and had little left in the tank for the final six rounds.

Mack will get more spots on TV because he tends to make exciting fights, but even at 30 years old, he has plenty of maturing to do if he is to fulfill his potential.

Even though Chris Henry lost, I was impressed with the way he kept plugging away. You had to admire the way he pushed the action, even while utterly exhausted. He carries certain useful tools, like above average punching power, a strong beard and all the inside stuff you want in a fighter and with work on a few technical elements he could take his game up a half a level or so.

I'd like to see simple head movement. The man is so wide open on his left side, it gave me flashbacks of Cliff Ettienne. That's a shame, because he is better than that. If Henry committed to the body with those booming rights, he would be a monster. Follow that up with a left hook and you've got yourself a dangerous man.

While dropping this fight is a definite setback, I believe this fighter has the guts and power to get back into contention.

I wouldn't mind seeing one of these guys fight Tavoris Cloud next.

Fernando Guerrero - Gabriel Rosado

The Co-feature pitted the extremely popular local prospect, Fernando Guerrero, against Gabriel Rosado. The kid from Salisbury, Maryland made sure the home crowd was not disappointed, as he pounded out a competitive unanimous decision win. This was a significant step up for the undefeated young fighter and he handled himself well, despite a flash knockdown.

We still don't know how he takes one on the chin or to the ribs, but he's an interesting personality with a devoted audience, so I look forward to checking him out again.

Andriy Kotelnik - Marcos Rene Maidana

In Germany, Andriy Kotelnik successfully defended his 140 title belt in a busted face effort against relatively unknown Argentinian banger, Marcos Rene Maidana.

The challenger came out fast, slamming several right hands around the guard while also splitting the gloves with lead left uppercuts that snapped Kotelnik's head back. He never stopped banging away for the first 3 rounds, while his opponent showed great resolve in standing up to the abuse and coming back to make it a very tight contest down the stretch.

It was Maidana's big swings and activity against Kotelnik's sharper blows and crowd reaction. In the end, the decision was a fair one. I thought the fight was 7-5 either way and the judges agreed.

Ruslan Chagaev - Carl Davis Drummond

The less said about Ruslan Chagaev's return, the better. It was one of the most timid performances I have ever seen. The opponent, Carlos David Drummond, was just as careful and it made for a yawn. It was one of those fights that make you angry. Neither guy wanted to lead at all so there were a lot of ugly collisions between the painfully few clean punches.

An accidental headbutt opened a cut over Chagaev's left eye brought an early end to things after the 6th round. He won the dreadfully boring decision that has pretty much forced me to avoid his fights for awhile.

The cut turned out to be the best thing about that "fight". It saved me from being bored for another 6 rounds.

-Lee Payton

Ward-Buchanen In his showcase on ShoBox, Andre Ward whitewashed Henry 'Sugar Poo' Buchanan, but his performance left plenty to be desired. Sugar Poo, more saccharin than pure cane, didn't put up much of a fight. His offensive output comprised mainly of 'don't touch me' jabs, and I feel when faced against a relatively harmless combatant, a prospect like Ward should do his best to take him out. Instead, he was content to potshot from the outside, never taking it to the next level. Getting inside and shredding Poo's midsection is something I would have liked to see him do. Nevertheless, Ward is obviously talented. But how sturdy his chin is and how he'd fare in a long, grueling fight remain the questions that Buchanan didn't have the capability or willingness to ask. -Michael Nelson

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