There have always been great pretenders in boxing, men who have won skeptical decisions and have even walked away with coveted championships?
LAS VEGAS, Nevada?There have always been great pretenders in boxing, men who have won skeptical decisions and have even walked away with coveted championships. Such decisions are not the fault of the winners and they should not be criticized.
One of the more ridiculous and obvious pretenders occurred through the bout between Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey in 1896 at Mechanic?s Pavilion in San Francisco. The fight featured one of boxing?s first phantom punches. The fight was to determine the legitimate heavyweight champion. Both sides accepted Wyatt Earp as the referee. Earp was friends with Sharkey?s manager and it was rumored that he was paid $10,000 to throw the fight. It was also rumored that Earp bet the money on Sharkey to win. All this is speculation and accounts vary.
Fitzsimmons beat Sharkey, who was suffering from syphilis, half to death. One newspaper of the day said ?Fitzsimmons had been robbed in the most cold-bloodied manner,? and that Fitzsimmons had clearly won by ?punching Tom Sharkey into insensibility.?
That is not how Earp found the bout. Fitzsimmons landed two vicious left hooks directly on the jaw of Sharkey and dropped him to the canvas where he was unable to rise. Fitzsimmons raised his arms in victory and pranced around the ring. Earp, seeing his investment slipping away, conferred with Sharkey?s manager. A minute later he declared Sharkey the winner claiming that he had been fouled. He said he was hit low. Then he said that he had been kneed. Earp quickly jumped through the ropes and disappeared with his winnings.
More recently, no one was more surprised over his win against Manny Pacquiao than Timothy Bradley. Algieri over Ruslan Provodnikov was closer. Algieri landed more punches although Provodnikov was more effective and more powerful. Algieri also went down twice. Future fights quickly exposed him as an imposter. Jeff Horn?s win over Pacquiao had many fans outraged. Several times during the bout, Horn was ready to quit. Yet, with great heart, he managed to fight on and earn a championship.
Horn is little more than a glorified club fighter. He would not be listed as a top 10 contender except that, given the deluge of organizations, there now exist about 100,000 top ten contenders in each weight class. To not be a top 10 contender in some organization means you never set foot in a gym or you have only one arm. (Mention the truth too often and one can end up like Teddy Atlas.)
Horn?s poor skills were clearly demonstrated in his first defense against Gary Corcoran. Horn struggled through the fight. Fortunately for him, Corcoran stood directly in front of him, suffered a bad cut, and the fight was stopped in the 11th round.
That brings us to Horn/Crawford at the MGM Grand. Horn came in overweight. Not much, just enough to be an embarrassment for any professional, especially a champion. Making weight is the one thing a professional boxer must do. Horn is limited to aggression and a great heart. That worked well for men like Marciano, LaMotta, and Gene Fulmer. He?s a come-ahead puncher. If Crawford gets distracted he could get caught. But that?s unlikely. He occasionally runs around with his tongue out, but only from a distance.
Crawford has it all, great footwork, slick body movement, hard puncher, fights equally well in either left or right handed positions, respectable chin, adaptable, smart, articulate, and a devastating smile.
The fight went as expected. Horn came out strong like a bull charging a matador. Of course the matador always wins. He tires out the bull, constantly sticks him, makes sure he never stands where the bull expects him, and finally cuts him down. The fight was stopped in the 9th round.
Although Horn was game he never found an answer for Crawford?s movement. All Horn could do was charge. Adaptability is the key to any prolonged success in life. Even Henry Ford realized he could not complete in the auto industry unless he painted some of his cars a color other than black.
It is unlikely that Horn can add any new skills to his game. No great pretender can.
