SONAHR: April 19, 2015 – At any other time, this weekend would have been a blockbuster for boxing, with three bouts featuring rising stars and established contenders such as Terence Crawford, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and Ruslan Provodnikov. But with the long-anticipated Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout only two weeks away, less attention was paid to Saturday night?s fights. That?s too bad, because those three contests featured enough action to satisfy even the most jaded of fight fans.
Chavez, a former 160-pound title-holder who had always been considered to be too big for that weight, was trying his luck as a light-heavy. His opponent, Andrzej Fonfara of Poland, was hardly a pushover. Last year, challenger Fonfara dropped WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, but ultimately lost by decision. A win over the Pole, even at a catchweight of 172 lb, would have put Chavez right in the thick of light-heavy title contention.
As it turned out, though, Chavez wasn?t big enough to withstand Fonfara?s heavy artillery. Clearly the harder hitter, Fonfara blasted away until Chavez finally went down in the ninth round. Although Chavez got up and made it to the final bell, he indicated that he couldn?t go on, giving Fonfara the win by TKO.
So now, Fonfara?s the one who?s in a position to earn a big payday in either a rematch with Stevenson or a challenge to the unbeaten Sergey Kovalev, who holds the WBO, IBF and WBA ?super? 175-lb titles. As for Chavez, he seems to have gone as far as he can in a sport his father, Julio Sr., once dominated. He could always drop back down to super-middleweight, but that?s where the likes of Andre Ward and Carl Froch live. He wouldn?t stand a chance against either of those two. Sad as it is to say, Chavez Jr. is just a name now ? nothing more.
When junior-welterweight contenders Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov agreed to meet, mavens of mayhem salivated while fans of finesse cringed. These two are warriors pure and simple, and their fight promised to be an encounter between a pair of rock ?em-sock ?em robots. The contest fulfilled those expectations. For twelve grueling rounds, the Argentine and the Russian took turns hammering away at each other. When the dust cleared, Matthysse was declared the winner by a paper-thin majority decision. Provodnikov?s bad luck continues ? last year he lost a controversial verdict to Chris Algieri. But he?s still a hard nut for anyone in his division to crack ? as is Matthysse.
The star of the night, Terence Crawford, also toils in the junior-welterweight division. Leaving the WBO lightweight championship behind, Crawford moved up in weight to face Thomas Dulorme for the vacant WBO 140-pound crown. Dulorme was considered to be a promising prospect, but yet in Crawford?s class. Crawford proved that point in convincing style as he walked right through Dulorme before depositing him on the canvas three times in the sixth round for an emphatic knockout victory. Crawford now joins Danny Garcia at the top of a talent-laden division. A Crawford-Garcia unification showdown would be a box-office dream, especially in Garcia?s hometown of Philadelphia.
This weekend?s wars provide proof positive that boxing will have plenty of thrills to offer once the dust settles from the Mayweather-Pacquiao superfight.
