James Kirkland, Alfredo Angulo, Lucian Bute and More: The Weekend Report Card
by Bad Left Hook on Nov 7, 2011 9:01 AM EST
in Boxing Commentary & Opinion
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Nick Foxx joins the Bad Left Hook staff today with what will become a regular feature here on the site, as he looks back at the weekend that was, breaking down and grading the performances of the top fighters in action.
James Kirkland: Kirkland emerged from Saturday's medieval slugfest as The Man at junior middleweight, title or no title. Canelo's handlers, for example, must know there is no way in hell their kid is ready for this kind of task. Erislandy Lara has already called out Kirkland, and that might be an interesting fight, but then again, Lara was robbed of a decision because of lack of workrate--the same thing against Kirkland would result in him getting blasted out in one. Grade: A+
Alfredo Angulo: The savage beatdown he administered to outclassed sap Harry Joe Yorgey revisited itself upon Angulo Saturday night. The exorbitant punishment he shipped was reminiscent of Margarito against Pacquiao, or maybe Shannon Briggs against Vitali, except that it was compressed into half the rounds. Angulo's conditioning must be questioned, as he punched himself out two minutes into a bout scheduled for thirty-six, and never seemed like he was close to catching a second wind. Grade: D
Peter Quillin: In his HBO debut, Quillin showed he is a serious player at middleweight, fighting in a patient, deliberate style that won him rounds even while he was looking for the finishing combination. From the third round on, Quillin probed and probed and finally delivered the four flush connects in the sixth that triggered the stoppage. I'd like to see the two McEwan conquerors--Quillin and Andy Lee--square off for a shot against Sergio. Grade: B+
Craig McEwan: McEwan is a decent fighter, but he was completely outclassed by Quillin and brutally KO'ed by Lee the time before, so he's had his chances and not been able to come through with the kind of victory that could have sustained a career. Instead, McEwan, who has already left the Wildcard gym to go back to Scotland to train, will most likely return to the UK to vie for domestic honors, where his experience at the world class level can only prove to his advantage. Grade: F
Lucian Bute: The fight against Johnson did nothing for Bute, as he went the conservative route against his former sparring partner, choosing to outpoint him every round rather than step out of his comfort zone to try for the remarkable. Bute has now fallen from #1 on most super middleweight rankings a couple years ago down to #3 despite not having lost--his competition has been so uninspiring, however, that until we see him against Ward or Froch or Kessler, it's hard to say how good he really is. Grade: B-
Glen Johnson: This may have been Johnson's last title shot--he's gotten two in his last two fights and lost both, without really threatening either Froch or Bute, so The Road Warrior, at forty-two, slides back down to the "contender-tester" level. If he does decide to call it a career, it wouldn't be the worse time. Grade: C-
Chris Arreola: The new "skinny" Arreola looked great bombing Raphael Butler out in three fun rounds. Of course, Butler has also been KO'ed by Tye Fields, so the victory itself isn't surprising, but Arreola is starting to look comfortable with the smaller body, and his movement and coordination and footspeed appear to have improved dramatically. It's time for him to fight Wladimir, I think. Grade: A-
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Sorry I can’t fathom giving Johnson a C- and Angulo a D. Angulo left it all on line in a losing effort, never giving despite being hammered for 5 rounds. He also nearly won the fight within the first 90 seconds, Johnson was never really in his fight whatsoever. Also, can Kirkland get an A+ for almost getting knocked out in the first minute of a fight?
Grades aside though, I agree with much of the analysis, McEwan espeicially. He should really head back to UK and get some exposure, as he could certainly pick up a few domestic titles.
Nobody will read this and care and why should they?
Johnson gets a D and Perro gets a C+ for guts and grit.
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry
C is being very kind to Johnson
He didn’t even try and do what he should of if he had any ambition of winning
by Sweet science on Nov 7, 2011 3:52 PM EST up reply actions
Me too
I really was not happy with Glen on Saturday night. Stayed up to watch that even though I had a soccer match early on Sunday morning :)
by Sweet science on Nov 7, 2011 5:14 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, my thoughts too despite my first post! Well done.
Nobody will read this and care and why should they?
+1
nice new feature
As a tall guy, you gotta make the shorter guy take risks to get to you. Go through a bad neighborhood to get you.
conditioning was the big issue for me
i almost gave el perro an F to be honest—i think it was fairly obvious he didn’t take kirkland seriously
definitely agree, however an F would be way, way out of line, the man fought his heart out and produced a fight to remember, even if it was through lack of conditioning.
Let’s put it this way, 90% of junior middleweights would not have lasted half a round with Kirkland even if they had been impeccably prepared. Angulo managed 6 rounds of action, we can’t give him an F.
people keep saying how most junior middleweights wouldn’t have lasted, but name another top junior middleweight outside of Angulo who would try to go blow for blow with Kirkland. Besides Angulo I wouldn’t have advised this strategy for any fighter. If Beristan thought Angulo could fight a different style I don’t think he would have advise it for him either.
I don't even think Lara is that good
obviously he looked great against Paul Williams who clearly has his own issues with seeing a certain punch coming and getting out of the way, but prior to that I thought he was really lucky with Carlos Molina. I would maybe throw Austin Trout in there, I’ve liked him for a while.
As a tall guy, you gotta make the shorter guy take risks to get to you. Go through a bad neighborhood to get you.
Probably pretty poorly, IMO. And I like Lara.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I’m actually kind of torn.
In terms of fighting an intelligent fight (which I grade on the basis of ‘What would Floyd do’), Angulo may well deserve a D or worse. I’m not sure that it was so much bad conditioning, as any fighter putting that much effort into a round would get punched out, its just that most of them don’t have James Kirkland punching them when they are trying to recover.
In terms of guts, toughness and all out insanity (graded on ‘What would Wolak do’), he deserves at least an A-.
Nobody will read this and care and why should they?
by Eoin_not_ian on Nov 7, 2011 12:52 PM EST up reply actions
These two guys made me forget the Hopkins-Dawson disgrace. For that, they both get passing grades.
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry
agree
And did boxing a great service. I have people who know how big a boxing fan I am coming up to me at work asking me did I see the fight.
similar story
invited a bunch of non-boxing fans over to watch the fight and let’s just say they’re a lot more interested in the sport now than they were a few days ago… and three of them were women believe it or not! (one last hopkins-dawson reference)
I wouldn't go too overboard on Kirkland
He still has chin issues and major defensive holes, and he seems to only know how to fight one way. This was a great win, and he howed a ton of resiliency, but there are still a lot of guys who could take him out by fighting smartly.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Nov 7, 2011 12:47 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Yeah, I’m not sold on him as an unstoppable monster either. He has been dropped 4 times this year. It was an awesome performance but I wouldn’t really favour him to necessarily walk through Lara, Molina, Trout or Alvarez.
I would really love to see him fight Mundine though…
Nobody will read this and care and why should they?
by Eoin_not_ian on Nov 7, 2011 12:56 PM EST up reply actions
I must have watched a different Bute
than the writer as he looked awful good against Johnson to me—
a lot better than Froch did—and he put himself out there as the fight went on looking to do some damage.
Completely agree.
I also felt that maybe Bute “carried” Johnson a little bit. Either way, he won 12 rounds to 0 on 2/3 judge’s scorecards and 11-1 on another. I’m not sure how that is a B- effort?
I’d have given Bute a B myself — not because he looked poor, but because the specific performance was underwhelming. He let him off the hook! Glen Johnson is who his birth certificate thought he was!
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
He did let him off the hook,
which doesn’t bother me at all. Maybe makes Bute the better man, iand he did win every round.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
I would give an A for footwork and a C for boxing. He had Johnson in trouble every time he threw a flurry of punches and it didn’t seem like Johnson’s punches bothered him at all. However, his footwork was fantastic. Bute always kept his foot outside of Johnson’s, and it made Johnson’s right hand totally ineffective. Johnson even stumbled a couple times because he essentially had to cross his body to throw a punch. Great footwork!
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
and a B for that right hook which adds to his arsenal
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry
Yes and no. Its good that Bute has more weapons, but I don’t know if that punch can be effective against better competition if he keeps his right hand low. Too much time to get that hand up and then complete the hooking motion. That punch will open him up to solid counters by the likes of Kessler, Ward, or Froch. If he can consistently throw the right hook when his hands are up, then it could a serious weapon. However if he throws it from that lower position, he is just going to leave himself open to counters.
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
Against sub par competition
And a G Johnson that lacked any kind of effort to win the fight
I do think he is top two in the division however. Maybe top one, depending on how Ward fares with Froch
by Sweet science on Nov 7, 2011 4:04 PM EST up reply actions
I get the competition thing, I guess, but it does bug me when people harp on it. He’s had some shitty fights (Mendy, notaly) but those were mandatories foisted upon him, and he took them and did his business. He cares about his belt. Magee is top 10 IMO, Johnson was top 10, Bika is top 10 still. The Super Six left him without many big fights to take. But I think his talent is very obvious, and some guys can get away with holding hands low, another thing I think is given too much discussion.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
All he does is win. That's what he does. He wins.
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry
Ok maybe sub par was a little harsh
But he still won’t get a test untill he faces a super 6 fighter.
But I think his talent is very obvious, and some guys can get away with holding hands low
I think he is a fighter who absoloutley can get away with it. His balance is superb, always in position to throw, no matter what body position he is in. And Wlado makes a good point. His footwork is top notch.
by Sweet science on Nov 7, 2011 5:20 PM EST up reply actions
Waldo even
Or Waldo Rastel to give him his full title
by Sweet science on Nov 7, 2011 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
P.S. Max Kellerman
became a little out of control (concerning Kirkland/Angulo)
trying to make it sound like a fight we’d all be talking about for years: I think not.
Max sucks to th base. I'm getting mighty fed up with these kids like Max and Rafael who don't know
squat about history though Max is light years better than Rafael. I’m about to blow a gasket. I just read some drivel about how Rafeal, since he is a member of the BWAA, takes his Hall votes “seriously.” Really, doe that mean that others don’t? I’m sick of this shit. are you feeling me on this? Well are you? I mean seriously!!!!!!! :twisted:
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry
by Boss Man on Nov 7, 2011 2:07 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
What I really meant here is instead of hyping ths as the greates fight since
Dvaid vs. Goliath, Max could hvae mentioned the fantastic fight last week in Japan between Akira Yaegashi and Pornsawan "Terminator" Porpramook and then said something to the effect: “Wow, now how do we rate Round of the Year?”My guess is that he didn’t even know about that incredible fight—or if he did, he likely did not review the footage. And you can bet Lampley didn’t. Harold did because I wrote an article about it and sent it to him.
That’s waht burns me. Put these exclamations of eye-popping hype in their proper context. But then, if they did, they really wouldn’t be hype.
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry
jim lampley isn't totally ignorant about japanese fighters
i remember when he was hyping hiroyuki enoki on hbo a few years back
actually made me do some youtube research
I think you have exegerated the grades, both high and low somewhat
Sure Kirkland was very impressive, but he also could have been taken out had Angulo fought smarter. B+ or A- would be more appropiate IMO
Pretty much agree with Bute. Won almost every round, boxed beautifully, but never upped the pace and what with Johnson fighting so negatvely, should have attempted stopping him. Johnson gets a D – at best for his non performance. Probably should be deducted a mark too for his whining after too.
I have not seen Arreola, but I would be hesitant to give any fighter anything above a B – when fighting that level of competition. Tye Fields has KO’d him, and novice David Price demolished Butler in a round.
Anyhow I like the format of this and am looking forward to future instalments.
hear hear
Probably should be deducted a mark too for his whining after too.
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry
I think people are misinterpreting the “grades” here as some sort of overall measure of the fighter versus the performance. Kirkland surviving a situation against the rather vicious Angulo after not being able to against the not so vicious Ishida. That he not only survived but then dominated the rest of the fight en route to a stoppage over a fairly heavily favored opponent is where he got the A+, it’s not saying he’s an A+ fighter.
Woulda liked to have seen Pier-Olivier Cote get a little love though.
Managing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 7, 2011 5:09 PM EST reply actions
That he not only survived but then dominated the rest of the fight en route to a stoppage over a fairly heavily favored opponent is where he got the A+, it’s not saying he’s an A+ fighter.
Against a gassed opponent too. Apart from the first two minutes, Angulo showed me nothing.
Don’t get me wrong, once Kirkland got the upper hand, he kept his foot at Angulo’s throat untill the life was choked out of him, but how much life was in their after that first two minutes
by Sweet science on Nov 7, 2011 5:16 PM EST up reply actions
Woulda liked to have seen Pier-Olivier Cote get a little love though.
+1
Also, Burns – Katsidis – although I understand that if Nickfoxx is not a resident of Britain, he would have had to watch the fight through illegal means :)
by Sweet science on Nov 7, 2011 5:36 PM EST up reply actions
for what it's worth
I’d go A- for Burns and B for Katsidis.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
happy with that
Burns will lose when he faces a fighter who can fight on the backfoot with good handspeed IMO. Someone where he will have to open up and who can them hit him with counterpunches. Also, he leaves himself wide open when he throws his wide left hook to the body. I think a better fighter will capatilize on that. Still, he is one of my favouroute fighters now, and I doubt anyone would have thought he would have made it this far two years ago.
by Sweet science on Nov 7, 2011 6:21 PM EST up reply actions
He continues to impress me with his craftiness. As others have said, he does nothing extremely well, but he does a lot of things well.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
should have been a reply
But my Zelda fire stands.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
it looks like you're roasting him on a spit like a pig
Managing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 7, 2011 5:27 PM EST up reply actions
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