4 Takeaways from High Atrocious Boxing on ESPN Card
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Julie Jacobson/Associated Press
Straight away following the savage bloodbath that used to be Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker in basically the most essential occasion of the UFC card on ESPN on Saturday night used to be yet one more High Atrocious on ESPN boxing occasion televised stay from Mexico.
Arguably the pinnacle boxing promotional firm within the arena, High Atrocious pulled almost the same transfer the outdated weekend—and it be no longer a heinous thought assuming one has a huge enough roster of bolt warring parties to pull it off.
Miguel Berchelt absolutely fits the bill. He’s held the WBC gargantuan featherweight title since September 2017, and he had successfully defended it six times sooner than Saturday. More essential to the duty of maintaining fight sports activities fans engaged after Poirier vs. Hooker used to be over, Berchelt is one in all basically the most attention-grabbing offensive warring parties in boxing.
Berchelt used to be skipping his subsequent 130-pound title protection to make his 135-pound gentle-weight debut against compatriot Eleazar Valenzuela, and there used to be diminutive doubt coming into the struggle that he’s the fashion of fighter a boxing fan would must illustrate to a newcomer to highlight what makes the sweet science so special.
The WBC gargantuan featherweight champion blasted out Valenzuela in accurate six rounds. It used to be his 17th straight snatch, and 16 of those came by stoppage. Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s bolt.
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We need Miguel Berchelt in title unification bouts.Ethan Miller/Getty Photos
Boxing would possibly possibly well squawk extra title unification fights. That, and even there mustn’t be so many sanctioning our bodies.
But since the latter appears cherish a lengthy-settled enlighten, Berchelt’s lengthy reign as WBC gargantuan featherweight champion is a big instance of why it be so essential for boxing promoters to work collectively to earn basically the most attention-grabbing warring parties to face one yet one more.
The world champions within the division embrace Berchelt (WBC), Jamel Herring (WBO), Joseph Diaz (IBF) and Leo Santa Cruz (WBA). Berchelt has basically the most complete title defenses out of the four champs, nonetheless he hasn’t yet faced any of his fellow titleholders to search out out who’s easiest.
The most maddening section is that each Berchelt and Herring are promoted by High Atrocious. A title unification would be a huge step for every fighter, nonetheless it absolutely consistently appears to be thought to be secondary to the firm’s plans.
To illustrate? Berchelt appears headed toward a struggle against primitive featherweight champion Oscar Valdez. That is no longer a heinous contest, nonetheless it absolutely’s no longer the roughly ingredient that will attend solidify him as basically the most attention-grabbing 130-pounder within the sport.
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Miguel Berchelt is willing for the big names within the division.Associated Press
Berchelt has big plans for his future. Per Ben Cramped one in all ESPN, he badly desires to be ready to face the winner of the upcoming gentle-weight unification bout between Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez.
That is one in all the greatest fights that would possibly possibly well also be made, a contest that will crown the first undisputed gentle-weight champ within the sport since Pernell Whitaker done the feat 30 years ago. Berchelt desires to struggle the winner over all other potentialities, despite the fact that meaning skipping out on High Atrocious’s plot for him to face Valdez subsequent.
Review, Berchelt-Valdez is a solid scrap, and it be probably to be the subsequent struggle. But Berchelt’s big plans for big fights against high stars can commence with Valdez and plug on from there.
He’s lengthy been one in all basically the most attention-grabbing titleholders in boxing. It is time to save him loose against basically the most attention-grabbing competitors spherical.
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Pause-busy fights don’t seem to be doing the sport any favors.Jam Media/Getty Photos
In his preview of the struggle, ESPN’s Steve Kim called Berchelt-Valenzuela a “classic protect-busy struggle.”
Heck, accurate about each person on Twitter talked about the same ingredient. Even the ESPN crew calling the fights Saturday night (Joe Tessitore, Andre Ward and Tim Bradley) talked about it too.
But that’s accurate code for a struggle that each person knows will most certainly be a one-sided beatdown.
Whereas the Berchelt-Valenzuela fundamental occasion would be excused due to the the global pandemic, the fact of the topic is that such fights happen the total time attributable to that’s accurate how boxing works.
Or maybe it be higher to sing it be an instance of how boxing would no longer work.
Attributable to protect-busy fights cherish Berchelt-Valenzuela look ridiculous when equipped up accurate a rapid time after five solid hours of UFC programming.
That firm accurate gave the MMA world arguably the struggle of the three hundred and sixty five days in Poirier vs. Hooker.
High Atrocious confirmed us an global champion against a guy who had no chance of winning the struggle.
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Boxing needs extra judges for all fights.Handout/Getty Photos
End to the discontinue of the hole bout, ESPN’s Joe Tessitore casually talked about that there would be six legitimate judges for the evening, three scoring in-person from ringside cherish normal and three extra scoring the fights from tv displays offsite.
Tessitore did no longer plug into the precise limited print about why that used to be going on, nonetheless Warfare News suggested it used to be attributable to health authorities in Mexico had been in quest of to limit the assortment of of us at the occasion. No topic the reason, it equipped a possibility to ascertain up on how scoring fights remotely works out sooner than appealing to that mannequin for the foreseeable future accurate throughout the pandemic.
But right here’s some meals for thought: Why no longer accurate add extra judges remotely anyway?
If there would possibly be one ingredient that plagues boxing over every little thing else it does corrupt, it be that judges accurate can’t seem to tab the winner most regularly enough. Including extra judges would possibly possibly well most efficient attend. That would possibly possibly well imply there would possibly be a bigger chance, statistically speaking, that they’d approach up with the precise winner.
And since we’re altering the foundations to suit boxing’s easiest pursuits, let’s accurate make it seven judges so we are able to limit the assortment of attracts too.