On February 17, 2012 at Madison Square Garden?s WaMu Theater, middleweight champion Sergio (Maravilla) Martinez , one of boxing?s elite, played buzz kill to the large contingency of St. Patrick?s Day revelers in attendance by dropping the bomb on Irish-born Briton Matthew (Mack the Knife) Macklin at the end of the 11th round of an excellent bout. With the explosive win, Martinez maintained his position at the top of the sport, but it was not without a little controversy. In round seven, Martinez was the victim of a questionable, but ultimately valid, knockdown call by referee Eddie Cotton. The seventh round knockdown assisted Macklin in taking a lead on the scorecards, but it was not to last. Nonetheless, it should have boxing cognoscenti renewing the cry for instant replay, as a champion like Martinez should have the opportunity to challenge calls that may prove pivotal to whether or not he retains his title. Martinez-Macklin was not the only bout on the card that put on display boxing?s many legal, contractual, and regulatory issues that night. A brief recap of the undercard and the issues it raised follows.
Hardwick One Football Player Who Continues to Score Knockouts After the Lockout
Remember this time last year when the American sports public was wondering if there would be an NFL season and several professional football players, including Baltimore Ravens safety Tom (Tommy Z) Zbikowski, dabbled in boxing to stay occupied while the NFL brass ironed things out? Well, one football player, albeit of a different kind, has thus far shown that he may never go back to his original sport. In the opening bout of the evening, Irish-born heavyweight prospect Thomas Hardwick, 5-0 (2 KOs), scored a four round unanimous decision over journeyman T.J. Gibson. Before Hardwick won the New York State Golden Gloves and turned pro in 2011, he was a Gaelic football player in his native Ireland, where he achieved notoriety as a member of St. Vincent?s, a storied team that is the winner of 25 Dublin Senior Football Championships. Prospective promoters beware: you may wish to include language in your agreement with Hardwick that would restrict him from dabbling in his old pastime. No need to risk a sidelined fighter if he is ever inclined to partake in his old sport between fights. For more on the interplay between football and boxing, please see ?Why Tommy Z Can Go For The Knockout If There?s a Lockout? at http://www.8countnews.com/news/125/ARTICLE/3413/2011-03-08.html.
McNickles Earns Some Cents and Perhaps the Attention of Matchmakers
In the second bout of the evening, two journeyman junior welterweight contenders came together for an action fight that resulted in an upset victory for Chicago native Carl McNickles, 8-3 (6 KOs), over Jersey City?s Danny McDermott, 9-4-2 (4 KOs). McNickles came away with a six round majority decision despite being dropped at the end of the first round. With the exciting win, McNickles probably made some new friends in the boxing public and will likely come to be regarded as a reliable test of the hearts of fellow junior welterweight campaigners nationwide. McNickles is best advised that if his management begins receiving all types of offers based upon his spirited win over McDermott, he should encourage them to be smart with their picks so that he can both build his record and earn some money at the same time.
Rooney Generates His Own Publicity with First Round KO
Super middleweight prospect Kevin Rooney, Jr., 4-1 (2 KOs), son of notable New York-area trainer Kevin Rooney and publicist for DiBella Entertainment, generated some of his own publicity in the third bout of the evening with a pummeling of hapless Anthony Shuff, gaining a first round TKO in the process. In the ever growing world of social media, it is good to see a major boxing promoter exercise some measure of control over its press by having someone like Rooney in the shop. On the opposite end of the press spectrum are the ?Losers by Tweet KO? that were recently discussed on this site. For more on the use and abuse of social media by boxers and other professional athletes, and how to avoid legal, contractual, and regulatory problems resulting from same, please see ?@LosersbyTweetKO? at http://www.8countnews.com/news/125/ARTICLE/4619/2011-10-09.html.
Rainmakers Among Haymakers Alert at WaMu
Japanese junior middleweight Charlie Ota, 20-1-1 (14 KOs), made his U.S. debut in entertaining fashion, stopping Alabaman Gundrick King, 16-8 (11 KOs), in the seventh round of an all-action bout. Standing 8 Court cannot recall the last Asian/ Pacific boxer marketed to fight audiences on the East Coast, but Ota, who is now making New York his home, could prove to be a rainmaker among haymakers if he is properly marketed in New York?s Japanese community. Ota is an all action fighter, as is the more established New York rainmaker among haymakers, light heavyweight Seanie Monaghan, 13-0 (8 KOs), who himself scored an exciting, albeit lopsided, six-round decision win against West Virginia native Eric Watkins. Between his Irish heritage and loyal local fan base, Monaghan had the Garden riled up during his all-action battle. If both Ota and Monaghan keep fighting the way they do, and keep drawing crowds of local fans and countrymen, one could expect that they will be a welcome addition to virtually any New York fight card for the next several years. For more on boxing?s ?rainmakers among haymakers? please see: http://www.8countnews.com/news/138/ARTICLE/1689/2009-06-22.html.
?Body by Arreola? Revisited
In the last undercard bout before HBO?s televised coverage began, big punching, but undersized heavyweight prospect Magomed (Mago) Abdusalamov, 14-0 (14 KOs), blew away fellow previously undefeated prospect Jason Pettaway, now 11-1 (8 KOs), in the fourth round of their bout for a meaningless title. As impressive as he looked against Pettaway, one cannot help but think that Abdusalamov, who weighed in at 221 ? pounds, may ultimately be better served with his already explosive punching power in the cruiserweight division, provided he is physically capable of taking off the weight. While not addressed in Standing 8 Court?s column ?Body by Arreola? back in June, it could be a good idea for managers and promoters who have smaller, talented heavyweights like Abdusalamov to include weight loss incentives in their agreements if they feel their charges may be better served a few pounds south at cruiserweight rather than in the Klitschko-dominated heavyweight division at the present time. While Marco (Captain) Huck recently reminded everyone that there are talented cruiserweights out there would can make a serious run for the heavyweight title if they are not utterly outsized, Tomasz Adamek, David Haye, and Jean-Marc Mormeck have all shown in recent times that even the most capable cruiserweights cannot hang with the biggest of the big in the modern heavyweight division. For more on the use of weight loss incentives in boxing contracts, please see ?Body by Arreola? at http://www.8countnews.com/news/125/ARTICLE/3812/2011-06-02.html.
?Da Bomb? and ?La Bomba? an Example of the Type of Bout That Boxing Needs More of
While it did not wind up being as explosive as their respective nicknames suggest, the HBO opener between big punching super middleweight contenders Donovan (Da Bomb) George, 22-2-1 (19 KOs) and Edwin (La Bomba) Rodriguez, 21-0 (14 KOs), is the type of bout that boxers should been given contractual incentives to enter into more often. Two big punching, world rated prospects putting it on the line to come a step closer to a world title opportunity. Unfortunately for many boxers, it is not unusual for a promotional agreement to include language reserving the promoter?s right to terminate the agreement in the event that a boxer is not declared the winner of a bout or two during the agreement?s term. Why then would two explosive, world level boxers put it all on the line before they absolutely had to? Why indeed, which why Standing 8 Court takes its hat off to George and Rodriguez, who won by unanimous decision, for daring to do so against one another.
