Last summer, Ivan Calderon suffered the first loss of his distinguished career as he was stopped under a torrent of leather that came from the raw-but-heavy-hitting Giovani Segura. Coming into their initial bout in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, conventional wisdom said that the classy southpaw would be too much for the rock-handed Mexican, who makes up for what he lacks in technique with sheer volume and velocity. Instead, for the first time, Calderon?s then-35-year-old legs faltered and he succumbed to the pressure and punching power of Segura.
As he recalls their first encounter, as they head into this weekend?s rematch in Mexicali, Mexico, there isn?t anything specific that stands out. In fact, it?s just the opposite.
“Everything,” said Calderon, back on February 19th in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay (the same night Nonito Donaire halted Fernando Montiel in two rounds), where a press conference was held for this match-up. “It was a hard fight; it was a fight that I didn?t use my skills like a lot of people like to see me do; box, don?t try to get hit. [Segura] did a good job. He came in; he did what a lot of boxers didn?t do- work my body. He hit me with a good shot.”
In round eight, Calderon took a knee after a hard shot to the body. It wasn?t just that one particular blow but really, the last of a multitude of punches that first weakened his legs, then his resolve. You knew this wasn?t his kind of fight, when it was an all-action affair. In short, the more back-and-forth exchanges there were, the better it served Segura, whose philosophy is: swing hard and often; you just might hit something. It was a victory for the uncluttered mind. While Calderon, in the past, has been able to slow the tempo and make fighters think almost too much, Segura just kept coming with his two-handed assault.
Eventually, Calderon had no choice but to get into an old-fashioned donnybrook. There was a train of thought that he had decided to fight Segura?s fight but that doesn?t seem logical; a guy with one of the lowest KO percentages in the sport doesn?t suddenly just get into a slugfest with a guy who brings a Louisville Slugger to the dance.
When he?s asked if he got sucked into the wrong fight, Calderon explained, “The thing is, in the first round, he hit me with a good body shot, then he caught me with a good body shot and then he caught me good in my legs and he stopped my movements and I couldn?t move and I had to stand and fight. I couldn?t do more than just stand there and go toe-to-toe.”
And what do they say about bringing a knife to a gunfight?
In prior outings, Calderon had begun to show some wear and tear on his wheels. There were some signs of vulnerability in bouts against Hugo Cazares, Rodel Mayol and Jesus Iribe. Segura is the type of prizefighter that can make you turn old with his style and temperament. Calderon says that wasn?t the case. “It had nothing to do with my age,” he insisted. “I still feel good. I?m a boxer that don?t smoke; I don?t do nothing. I just train. I just was not prepared like I was for that fight with Hugo Cazares.”
His promoter, Peter Rivera, says, “What I really believe is that- and that?s the specific fight when he lost against Segura, without taking any credit from him- Calderon was so dominating in that division, that a certain moment, I believe, he lost the love for boxing and he didn?t really prepare himself and be focused the way he supposed to be for that specific fight. But then when he lost the fight and he woke up about that, he saw how important it?s to train hard and focus, to love what you do. He?s hungry again to win back his title, to get that back to Puerto Rico and I believe that?s his motivation, right now. I believe that?s one of the facts that might really change this rematch.”
This time around, it is Segura who will enjoy the home canvas advantage at the Auditorio del Estado. It seems each side made a concession for this return bout. Calderon got to stay at 108 pounds; Segura got to fight on his turf. But it speaks volumes on the fighting character that Calderon possesses that he would so willingly go to Mexico to avenge his loss. To him, it was an easy decision.
“Because that?s what they wanted and that?s what they want to do and I said, ?Yeah, sure, no problem.? It?s an opportunity for me to show a lot of people that I don?t only fight in Puerto Rico. If I gotta go and fight in people?s houses, I?ll go and fight there,” said Calderon, whose record is 34-1-1 with six knockouts.
“Ivan is one of the most professional athletes that I?ve met in my life,” said Rivera, who has promoted him throughout his career. “He really understands the business of boxing; he understands everything around this business. So when he fought Segura and he saw that he went to Puerto Rico to fight him, he said, ?If I need to go to Mexico, I?ll go because he came to my country.? So after this loss to Segura, we made plans to make the rematch and they said to do it in Mexico. [Calderon] said, ?I don?t have any problems. If I need to beat a guy and I want to be world champion again, I need to beat him no matter where the fight is.?”
There was some speculation on the island that Calderon would call it a day after his lone loss but that was probably never truly the case.
“I still got unfinished business,” said Calderon, who for a better part of a decade went undefeated. “I was one of those people to have big fights. I don?t care where, Puerto Rico, Mexico; I just wanted the fight.”
So what changes on Saturday night?
“Everything,” he stated. “My kind of fight, do my fight that I know how to do and don?t get hit. And work and train hard for this fight, like I didn?t in my last fight.”
DONAIRE
This was from my friend and colleague Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports regarding the ongoing conflict between Nonito Donaire, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions:
http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=ki-iole_toprank_wins_round_in_donaire_case032911
Regardless of who ends up where, this has gotten ugly and I just wonder, is the relationship between Bob Arum and the Donaires irreparably damaged to a point where they can never again work together on a professional level (If there?s enough money involved, of course, they will grin and bear each other)? Even more importantly, by dragging the iconic Manny Pacquiao- and even his wife, Jinkee- in with their comments, can the Donaires ever recover the support of the Philippines and their people?
In Texas, you don?t slander Tom Landry. In Graceland, you don?t speak ill of Elvis Presley and in Brooklyn, nothing but respect better be paid to Biggie. In the Philippines, the ?Pac-Man,? no matter what, at any cost, had better not be dragged through the mud in any way, shape or form – whether it?s valid or not.
It?s this relationship with your countrymen that is much more vital to any Filipino fighter than anything else. You can squabble with Arum all you want; you can deal with that but being a pariah in your own land, well, that?s much tougher to overcome.
SUNNY FLURRIES
The ?La Revancha? pay-per-view card featuring the aforementioned rematch has an undercard of Jorge Lacierva-Fernando Beltran Jr., Ricardo Castillo-Joksan Hernandez and Roman Maas-Enrique Bernache. Time permitting, on this Integrated Sports Media production (which runs $39.95), prospect Jose Benavidez will also be featured…Just wondering, did Bernard Hopkins ever state that Manny Pacquiao should just take the blood test in regard to the Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight? If he did, there is a certain irony in that but of course, if Jean Pascal was soooo concerned about that issue, shouldn?t he have addressed that before signing on for the rematch on May 21st?…I?ve always said Juan Manuel Lopez had a Kool-Aid grin but have you seen him recently? He?s starting to flat-out look like he?s shaped like Kool-Aid himself (OHHHH, YEAAAHHHH, I said it). He still looks rather soft, don?t you think? I?ll say it right now; Orlando Salido gives him hell on April 16th…Arum told me that he plans on staging the rematch between ?JuanMa? and Rafael Marquez in September in Puerto Rico. Marquez is still slated to perform on the June 4th show in Los Angeles underneath Julio Cesar Chavez Jr…Also, newly-crowned WBA lightweight champion Brandon ?Bam Bam? Rios will headline a Showtime card on July 9th, according to the veteran promoter…Victor Cayo and Tim Coleman get it on April 29th as the headliners on ESPN2?s ?Friday Night Fights?…Martin Castillo suffered a left foot injury while jogging on Monday morning and he is scratched from his Friday appointment on ?Solo Boxeo? versus Eric Morel…Alright, who here isn?t in litigation with Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant or owed money by him? I guess this is what the young kids refer to as a ?hot mess,? right? We old guys don?t know the new lingo…Is anyone but Danny Ainge still justifying the Celtics trade of Kendrick Perkins? The C?s are now soft in the interior and can?t finish games defensively…Did the Cavs really beat the Heat?…And that was a must-win for the Knicks on Monday night against the Magic. Of course, when the last five games you play are labeled ?must-win,? you?re bound to come up victorious in one of them…I can be reached at [email protected] and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.
