Robert Guerrero, Alfredo Angulo and Boxing's Rolling Stone
Robert Guerrero, Alfredo Angulo and Boxing's Rolling Stone
Alfredo Angulo and Robert Guerrero, once promising boxing stars, have begun the long descent to the bottom of the sport.
The career of a world class boxer, at first glance, can appear to be linear. There's the initial rise through the rankings, when promise trumps all, a peak, and then, inevitably, a decline. The length of and height of the peak, and the speed at which the decline occurs, are the defining aspects of a boxer's legacy. Some spend years perched at precarious heights. Others reach the top only to immediately plummet to their doom
In most cases, once the decline begins, it is irreversible and only accelerates with time, a rolling stone gathering speed for a final, disastrous collision with some young fighter's fists. Spike TV's Premier Boxing Champions card last week showed just how quickly that decline can occur as two once rising stars both suffered tough decision losses at a stage of their careers where they could ill afford one.
First, and perhaps most depressingly, came Alfredo Angulo (24-6). The former light middleweight contender was a beloved action fighter on HBO, given multiple opportunities to shine against lower level opposition. Though his limitations shone brightly, even in an early career loss to Kermit Cintron, the purity of his fighting spirit was also never far from the surface. He ran hard into his ceiling, losing three in a row at the height of his career before beginning the fade into memory.
Freddy Hernandez (34-8) was not afforded many of Angulo's paydays nor the luxury of high profile tuneups. His most significant wins happened in front of smaller crowds and under lights not nearly as bright. Like Angulo, his overall peak was in the distance, a dimly recalled run early in the decade against the likes of DeMarcus Corley.
Hernandez was brought in as an opponent for Angulo, but not as a fall guy. As predicted here. he offered the potential for a challenge. He did one better--Hernandez not only challenged Angulo, but dominated him. Angulo won no more than three rounds on official or unofficial TV score cards due to his slow and plodding attack. Hernandez, never a master boxer, put on a clinic for most of the fight providing angles and preventing Angulo from managing to chain together any serious offense.
In the main event, an even more abrupt fall saw Robert Guerrero (33-5-1), who climbed all the way to a pay-per-view main event with Floyd Mayweather just a couple of years ago, lose to a man brought in expressly to bolster his case for yet another high profile fight.
Ever since Greg Haugen referred to Julio Cesar Chavez's opposition as "Tijuana taxi drivers," the noble profession of cabbie has been treated with disdain in boxing circles. To lose to an actual cab driver named David Peralta (26-2-1), a man who had not fought for 15 months and looked like a man who had not fought for 15 months, should end Guerrero's career as a contender. Worse, Guerrero looked bad in a losing effort.
During the 9th round, Peralta landed a combination that sent Guerrero staggering into the corner. The referee didn't call what seemed to be a clear knockdown, but it managed not to matter when the final cards were read. Peralta clearly controlled the tempo of the fight and managed to outland and outbox the former title holder.
Alas, Guerrero's loud whinging may bolster his case for another fight with some lucky contender. in search of an easy mark. Let's hope Peralta, the derailer of dreams, gets another chance as well, despite spoiling the night and Al Haymon's master plan.
Notes
-At least one A-side fighter on the PBC broadcast managed to live up to his end of the bargain as Terrell Gausha (18-0) got a clean unanimous decision win over Steven Martinez (16-3) to start the broadcast. Martinez had a size advantage and chose to walk down Gausha, hitting the former OIympian solidly throughout the fight and forcing him to work exceedingly hard on the back foot. But his solid counter punching worked well enough to obtain a close majority decision.
-Miguel Marriaga (24-1, 20 KO) likely earned a spot on the Pacquiao/Vargas undercard with his 6th round stoppage of Guy Robb. This is Marriaga's second significant win--the first was a 6th round stoppage victory over Chris Martin in 2014. The victory will probably result in a fight with Oscar Valdez this November.
In most cases, once the decline begins, it is irreversible and only accelerates with time, a rolling stone gathering speed for a final, disastrous collision with some young fighter's fists. Spike TV's Premier Boxing Champions card last week showed just how quickly that decline can occur as two once rising stars both suffered tough decision losses at a stage of their careers where they could ill afford one.
First, and perhaps most depressingly, came Alfredo Angulo (24-6). The former light middleweight contender was a beloved action fighter on HBO, given multiple opportunities to shine against lower level opposition. Though his limitations shone brightly, even in an early career loss to Kermit Cintron, the purity of his fighting spirit was also never far from the surface. He ran hard into his ceiling, losing three in a row at the height of his career before beginning the fade into memory.
Freddy Hernandez (34-8) was not afforded many of Angulo's paydays nor the luxury of high profile tuneups. His most significant wins happened in front of smaller crowds and under lights not nearly as bright. Like Angulo, his overall peak was in the distance, a dimly recalled run early in the decade against the likes of DeMarcus Corley.
Hernandez was brought in as an opponent for Angulo, but not as a fall guy. As predicted here. he offered the potential for a challenge. He did one better--Hernandez not only challenged Angulo, but dominated him. Angulo won no more than three rounds on official or unofficial TV score cards due to his slow and plodding attack. Hernandez, never a master boxer, put on a clinic for most of the fight providing angles and preventing Angulo from managing to chain together any serious offense.
In the main event, an even more abrupt fall saw Robert Guerrero (33-5-1), who climbed all the way to a pay-per-view main event with Floyd Mayweather just a couple of years ago, lose to a man brought in expressly to bolster his case for yet another high profile fight.
Ever since Greg Haugen referred to Julio Cesar Chavez's opposition as "Tijuana taxi drivers," the noble profession of cabbie has been treated with disdain in boxing circles. To lose to an actual cab driver named David Peralta (26-2-1), a man who had not fought for 15 months and looked like a man who had not fought for 15 months, should end Guerrero's career as a contender. Worse, Guerrero looked bad in a losing effort.
During the 9th round, Peralta landed a combination that sent Guerrero staggering into the corner. The referee didn't call what seemed to be a clear knockdown, but it managed not to matter when the final cards were read. Peralta clearly controlled the tempo of the fight and managed to outland and outbox the former title holder.
Alas, Guerrero's loud whinging may bolster his case for another fight with some lucky contender. in search of an easy mark. Let's hope Peralta, the derailer of dreams, gets another chance as well, despite spoiling the night and Al Haymon's master plan.
Notes
-At least one A-side fighter on the PBC broadcast managed to live up to his end of the bargain as Terrell Gausha (18-0) got a clean unanimous decision win over Steven Martinez (16-3) to start the broadcast. Martinez had a size advantage and chose to walk down Gausha, hitting the former OIympian solidly throughout the fight and forcing him to work exceedingly hard on the back foot. But his solid counter punching worked well enough to obtain a close majority decision.
-Miguel Marriaga (24-1, 20 KO) likely earned a spot on the Pacquiao/Vargas undercard with his 6th round stoppage of Guy Robb. This is Marriaga's second significant win--the first was a 6th round stoppage victory over Chris Martin in 2014. The victory will probably result in a fight with Oscar Valdez this November.