Edwin Valero’s blessing and curse

(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on April 7, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

If there are still any doubts about Edwin Valero’s punching power and what he brings to the table in terms of fistic excitement, then perhaps his two-round demolition of Antonio Pitalua last Saturday night should erase all that.

Sure, Pitalua is not one of the top contenders in the stacked lightweight division. But he is by no means a slouch either. He has a decent professional record, he has been around the fight game for a while, and he is a knockout artist himself.

One would have expected Pitalua, a veteran, to have been more composed. One would have expected Pitalua to execute a game plan against the Venezuelan. Perhaps he could have jabbed more to keep Valero at bay? Maybe he could have used the ring to his advantage and boxed more?

Easy for us to say. We weren’t in the ring with someone whose single punch could send anyone to dreamland in an instant.

For most of the opening round, Pitalua’s body language said it all. He was somewhat tentative, and he seemed tense. He hardly threw a punch. And when Valero unloaded some of his wild swings, Pitalua could not capitalize on the counterpunch. Pitalua managed to connect a few of his shots before the bell sounded, but it hardly meant anything at all. Certainly not to Valero.

Especially since Valero already smelled and sensed fear.

In the second round it was just a matter of time – 49 seconds to be exact. Valero continued to pressure Pitalua, and El Inca hit pay dirt. A cracking right hook from Valero connected to Pitalua’s chin and the Colombian dropped like a sack of potatoes. Pitalua managed to get up but was smothered again by power punches from Valero. Pitalua went down for the second time, and again got up on wobbly legs. A third serving of punches from Valero put Pitalua down for good.

With the win, Valero claimed the WBC lightweight title vacated by pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao.

Valero wants to face more noteworthy opponents. Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton are just a few of the big names that are currently in Valero’s sights.

“If Manny Pacquiao or Hatton give me an opportunity, I would consider moving up and fighting them,” said Valero. “This is the beginning of big things. No man can take my punch.”

And of course, there’s reigning lineal lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

“Marquez is a little better than any of the others,” said Valero. “If it was up to me, I would want that fight [Marquez], but it is up to [promoters] Bob Arum and Golden Boy to make it happen.”

Bob Arum tends to agree, and is keen on making the fight happen.

“Well, the son of a bitch can really bang, we know,” said Arum just minutes after Valero’s destruction of Pitalua. “Now, I don’t want to give him a long layoff. I want him to get back in action real quick. Any lightweight in the world. I’d like him to fight Marquez, that would be great, anybody, Diaz, Linares. He’ll fight anybody. I think he’s really something special.”

Valero’s statement that no man can take his punch is pretty hard to debate. So far, all 25 of his opponents didn’t manage to hear the final bell. Heck, more than 90 percent of his victims didn’t even reach the third round.

However, Valero’s statement that it could be the start of “big things” for him could still be argued.

Winning a title does not instantly guarantee a big paycheck. To get a bigger purse, you have to dance with the big boys. And there are a couple of things that might hamper Valero’s chances of landing a fight with the bigger names in boxing.

First, Valero is still somewhat of an enigma. His smashing win notwithstanding, Valero’s name doesn’t exactly ring a bell to the casual boxing fan. His last fight in the US prior to last Saturday’s win in Texas was six years ago when he knocked out unheralded Tomas Zambrano in one round. A fractured skull and blood clot suffered due to a motorcycle accident in the amateur ranks and a subsequent failed MRI in 2004 have hampered Valero from fighting in the US. That’s why he has been forced to ply his trade outside the US, mostly in Japan, in Venezuela, and in other countries. Valero has only been recently cleared to box in the state of Texas, and so far other states have yet to follow suit. This has contributed much to Valero’s relative obscurity. Realistically speaking, big names sell lots of tickets. Practically speaking, big names want to fight other big names.

Second, believe it or not, is Valero’s punching power. He packs one-punch knockout power in both fists, a rarity in the lower weight classes. So it might be a bit difficult to find a big-named fighter out there who would be willing to step up to the plate against a murderous puncher with a lot of pop, especially someone who does not bring in as much money to the table.

There is no doubt that Edwin Valero brings heaps of excitement in every fight. There is no doubt that El Inca is supremely talented in terms of raw punching power.

It is just a shame that his talent, his blessing, might prove to be his curse as well.

Silva should move up to light heavyweight

(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on April 3, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

On April 18, Anderson Silva will be back in the Octagon to take on fellow Brazilian Thales Leites at UFC 97.

The question is, which Anderson Silva will show up?

Will it be the lethal, cold-blooded, and efficient fighting machine that destroyed the likes of Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, and Dan Henderson? Or will it be the mercurial, seemingly-bored and uninspired fighter that toyed with Patrick Cote five months ago?

In a previous article (Another year for Pacquiao, Silva to prove doubters wrong), I mentioned that Silva did what he did in his last fight because I believed he felt that Cote wasn’t a worthy enough opponent: ”I attribute Silva’s less-than-stellar showing in his last outing to boredom. He has fought every possible contender in his weight class, annihilated every one of them, and he needs to step it up. Maybe Dana White should consider putting Chuck Liddell in the Octagon opposite Silva? Or how about the winner of the upcoming George St.-Pierre – BJ Penn fight? The point is, as good a fighter as Silva is, he needs to be fighting top contenders instead of tomato cans for him to be challenged. Give him an opponent who he knows could hurt him and even take him out, and Silva wouldn’t even think of toying with the other guy. I guarantee you’ll see the old Silva back in action.

I said it then, I say it now. Silva’s performance will depend on whether he thinks Leites will be an opponent of caliber worth taking seriously. That said, fight fans, and even Dana White should keep their fingers crossed. I, for one, am keeping my fingers crossed as well. I want to see the old Silva back in action; I want to enjoy an exciting fight. Who doesn’t?

In any case, I think Silva had better take Leites seriously.

Fifteen fights, 14 wins, one lone loss. Nine wins by submission, two by knockout. Five straight wins in a row. Yes, Leites’s record speaks for itself. He isn’t a fighter Silva can just brush off or dismiss; he’s a

legitimate livewire opponent. So I have a feeling that Silva will indeed bring his “A” game come fight night.

I also believe that depending on the outcome of the fight, it’s time for Silva to move up permanently to the light heavyweight division. Silva once tested the division’s waters a year ago and knocked out James Irvin in the first round.

Maybe a move up to light heavyweight will keep Anderson Silva hungry, and, more importantly the fight fans happy.

Liddell’s last stand

Speaking about hunger, in a previous article (Last Stand for the Iceman), I wrote about Chuck Liddell’s losses of late and speculated that it might have something to do with his diminishing hunger for the game: “Many people will point to Liddell’s age as one of the factors that has contributed to his slump as of late. His last two losses have been dealt by Evans and Jardine, fighters much younger and fresher than him. But I suspect that it is more than age that has resulted in Liddell’s recent losses. I see a fighter that has reached the pinnacle of success and has become complacent, a fighter that has lost his hunger and drive as a result. In order to be on top again, Liddell has to go back to the basics and find the hunger to do what he does best, and that is to fight.”

A reader was gracious enough to comment on my write up: “I think Chuck is one of the greats for sure, but I think his days on top are over, along with many of the greats. I think it’s a combination of age and not having the hunger to fight anymore but I think the world of MMA has also hit a new level. Some of the new guns on the show are just flat out better, faster, and stronger. With MMA growing so fast and becoming so popular we are seeing a lot more faces in the ring, most of them with a huge background of talent that is soon going to outshine all of our old favorites. Like I said I’m not trying to bash Chuck, he’s one of my favorites but we are seeing the out with the old and in with the new stage of MMA, time to see new Joes become greats.”

Liddell vs. Mauricio Rua will be UFC 97’s co-main event. And in my opinion, this will be Liddell’s last chance to show if he still has what it takes to be an elite, top caliber fighter, his age notwithstanding. Who knows? Perhaps Liddell can turn back time and pull off one impressive win just for old times’ sake.

Perhaps the Iceman might just give one more vintage performance to make a believer once again out of our dear reader?

If not, then maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Liddell to finally hang up the MMA gloves, enjoy his retirement, and look back on a storied, successful career.

Kimbo Slice: A Product of Sheer Marketing and Hype?

(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on March 16th, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

I’ve been in marketing for almost five years now and as an advertising copywriter it’s my job to write copy that helps sell products. Now it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that in my profession, you need to know how to hype up your product so that customers wouldn’t think twice about digging into their pockets and shelling out their hard-earned cash to make that all-important purchase.

In the fight game, marketing is an important tool to get fans into the stadiums, arenas, and closed circuits. Also to get them to purchase the pay-per-views. If you don’t promote the fighters, if you don’t endorse the fights and events, people won’t buy tickets and nobody gets paid.

However, marketing can only do so much. If a product does not live up to its standards, no amount of publicity will be enough to sell it.

The same can be said for fighters, especially in Mixed Martial Arts. Take Kevin Ferguson, or more popularly known as Kimbo Slice, for instance.

Kimbo earned his notoriety as an Internet underground street fighter a few years ago. By sheer word-of-mouth, he became an Internet sensation. Kimbo eventually worked his way into Mixed Martial Arts, and was even trained by retired MMA fighter Bas Rutten. In Kimbo’s street fight videos, he relied primarily on his fists, knocking out, bloodying, and bludgeoning his opponents into submission, thereby building up his fearsome reputation.

In Kimbo’s first legitimate MMA fight, he went up against retired boxer Ray Mercer in Cage Fury Fighting Championship 5. Kimbo submitted Mercer in the first round via Guillotine Choke, displaying a versatility

nobody thought he had. In his next three fights (all for the defunct Elite XC) he won by submission, knockout, and TKO against Bo Cantrell, Tank Abbott, and James Thompson respectively.

By then, Kimbo was already earning several thousands of dollars per fight as Elite XC’s poster boy. His fan base was also starting to grow. But so were his critics.

Not a few MMA experts pointed out that Kimbo has been fed a steady diet of tomato cans inside the cage. In other words, Kimbo slice was still largely an unproven Internet star, his victories notwithstanding: Rey Mercer looked shot, Tank Abbott was old and out of shape, and Kimbo’s TKO victory over James Thompson can be legitimately argued as a premature stoppage. Still, the Kimbo hype machine was in full swing, and a lot of people were buying it.

Kimbo’s last fight in Elite XC (and his last fight so far in his MMA career) was against Seth Petruzelli. The fight happened in October of last year. Kimbo was originally slated to face Ken Shamrock but the latter pulled out of the fight when he was cut above the left eye during warm-up. Petruzelli took the fight one hour before the event began. Kimbo only agreed to fight Petruzelli after receiving a raise in pay.

Despite being outweighed by almost 30 pounds, Petruzelli defeated Kimbo via TKO 14 seconds into the fight. Petruzelli caught Kimbo with a short jab to the face and Kimbo dropped to the floor and got pounded out. The visibly disoriented Kimbo held on to the referee’s legs, trying to take him down while Petruzelli ran around the cage in celebration.

By the end of October 2008, EliteXC was forced to file for bankruptcy. Many in the mixed martial arts community attribute EliteXC’s failure due to Kimbo’s loss to Petruzelli.

In an interview a couple of days after the fight, Petruzelli admitted that the Elite XC promoters offered him cash incentives to dissuade him from using certain fighting techniques against Kimbo: “The promoters kinda hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and throw with him, they didn’t want me to take him down. Let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try and stand up (and) punch him.”

It remains to be seen whether Kimbo Slice can pick up the pieces of his MMA career, a career that was prematurely cut short by a last-second replacement that he outweighed by 30 pounds. It remains to be seen whether another promotional MMA outfit will express interest in him and pick him up. Perhaps the Kimbo Slice and Elite XC debacle should be a lesson to everyone in the MMA scene.

It’s safe to say, however, that in the fight game, in the hurt business, a fighter is only as good as his last fight. And no amount of marketing will change that; no amount of hype will prove otherwise.

Last Stand for “Iceman” Chuck Liddell

(This piece appeared in Bleacher Report on Feb 16, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

It is often said that in sports, especially those that require physical exertion, success usually depends on whether or not the participant is stronger, quicker, and can execute better than his opponent.

For instance, tennis players need to possess a combination of stamina, speed, and power to succeed. A player needs stamina to last the entire match, speed to be able to chase the ball around the court, and power to smash the ball during volleys and serves.

Of course, tennis is an individual sport, but the same holds true in team sports such as basketball and football. NBA teams are always scrambling to find younger, more athletic players to add to their rosters since an aging team is prone to injury.

In theory, the same should hold true for combat sports like boxing and Mixed Martial Arts. As a fighter ages, he or she begins to lose his or her reflexes and speed.

Still, older fighters may retain some abilities. The last thing to go is power, and if a fighter has taken good care of his or her body, stamina may never be an issue.

Pure boxers, who are also defensive specialists, are able to prolong their careers because they tend to absorb less punishment. Examples of technically sound fighters include Pernell Whitaker, James Toney, Ivan Calderon, Floyd Mayweather, and Gerry Penalosa.

Pure sluggers such as Arturo Gatti, Ricardo Mayorga, and Edwin Valero are more offensive-minded and tend to rely on their power and one-punch knockout. Due to this style, they absorb more punches and their careers are shortened.

One fighter that has been in the fight game for quite some time is Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell. At age 39, he is one of the elder statesmen in the MMA scene. In his storied career, he has compiled an impressive record of 21 wins and six losses. Since the start of his career, he has been known as a devastating striker—14 of his victories came by way of knockout.

Mostly a stand-up fighter, he relies primarily on his background in Kempo and Koei-Kan karate and his unorthodox striking. Many unsuspecting opponents have fallen victim to his lethal right hand, which he throws at odd angles. Due to his wrestling background, he also has a superb takedown defense.

His exciting style and brutal finishes have endeared him to countless fans, and he has helped bring MMA into the mainstream.

The road to success was not an easy one for Liddell. After coming to the UFC in 1998, he established himself as a fearsome fighter with victories over Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, and Renato Sobral. These early wins solidified Liddell as one of the rising contenders in the UFC, and, by 2002, he was considered the No. 1 contender for Tito Ortiz’s light heavyweight title.

However, Ortiz did not want to fight Liddell. To force Ortiz’s hand, the UFC created an interim light heavyweight championship between Liddell and Randy Couture. Liddell lost by TKO in the final round.

Liddell then moved on to the now defunct Pride Championships and won his first match against Alistair Overeem by knockout, but lost in the next round to Quinton Jackson by TKO.

Tito Ortiz finally agreed to fight Liddell in UFC 47. Liddell knocked out Ortiz in the second round.

Then, after a first round knockout of Vernon White in his next fight, Liddell met Randy Couture in a rematch for Couture’s UFC light heavyweight title.

In UFC 52, Liddell finally won the seemingly elusive light heavyweight title after knocking out Couture in the opening round.

Liddell then successfully defended his title four times: first by TKO against Jeremy Horn in their rematch, then by knockout against Couture in their third fight, and by TKO against Sobral and Ortiz, both rematches.

Liddell’s fight with Ortiz would be the last time he would win by stoppage. In his rematch with Jackson at UFC 71, Liddell would lose his light heavyweight title via TKO in the first round.

A subsequent lost by decision to Keith Jardine started some rumors that Liddell might hang up his gloves.

However, a fight with dangerous veteran Wanderlei Silva was scheduled, and Liddell did not disappoint. In a grueling bout, Liddell prevailed via unanimous decision. Both Silva and Liddell received Fight of the Night honors. Their contest was also named 2007’s Fight of the Year at the First Annual World Mixed Martial Arts Awards.

After the fight, many fans believed that Liddell would eventually reclaim his title.

After almost a year of inactivity, Liddell faced rising star Rashad Evans at UFC 88. Evans ended Liddell’s comeback with a second-round knockout.

Chuck Liddell has now lost three of his last four fights. In two of those losses, Liddell could not make it the full three rounds. He will also be turning 40 next year.

Liddell has a scheduled fight against Mauricio Rua in April, and it may be his last chance to prove that he is a contender.

Many people will point to Liddell’s age as one of the factors that has contributed to his slump of late. Based on his recent fights, there may be truth to that claim. His last two losses have been dealt by Evans and Jardine, fighters much younger and fresher than he.

However, age is not the only factor in Liddell’s recent decline. He reached the pinnacle of success, and he became complacent. As a result, he lost his hunger and drive. He needs to regain that hunger if he wants to be champion again.

Recently, in boxing, the older guys have been taking the young guns to school. Bernard Hopkins just gave Kelly Pavlik a boxing lesson he will not soon forget, and Sugar Shane Mosley destroyed the seemingly invincible Antonio Margarito.

Age is not everything.

There are always a few good fights left in older fighters.

Does Chuck Liddell have a few good fights left in him? Let us just hope that for the sake of his countless fans, the answer is yes.

Mosley Strips off Margarito’s Air of Invincibility

(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on January 27, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

It’s already been a few days since Shane Mosley’s one-sided beat down of the supposedly resilient, durable, and granite-chinned Antonio Margarito but the aftermath has left boxing fans and pundits alike abuzz and asking the same question: What happened?

For those who didn’t give the 4-1 underdog Mosley a sliver of a chance against Margarito, the result still seems to be a paradox. And for good reason. At the very least– in Mosley’s last fight prior to Margarito – although he gamely dispatched perennial cannon fodder Ricardo Mayorga with one second left in the final round, it wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for Sugar. The hittable and predictable Mayorga, a self-confessed cigarette smoker even while on training, gave Mosley all he could handle in the course of the fight. In fact, entering the 12th round, Mayorga had a one-point lead in one of the judges’ scorecards.

At the very most, Margarito looked absolutely stellar, nay, invincible, when he demolished Miguel Cotto last July 2008. Cotto fought an almost perfect fight– using combinations in the early rounds and frequently landing, while utilizing superb footwork to avoid danger. But Margarito seemed to shrug off Cotto’s best shots– add to this the Tijuana Tornado’s constant offensive pressure—and the onslaught proved too much to handle for Cotto. The end came in the eleventh round as Cotto wilted under a barrage of punches.

So, based on the aforementioned instances, to say that it was a surprise that Mosley dismantled Margarito the way he did, is a severe understatement.

Since the beginning of the first round, it was clear that Margarito wouldn’t be able to smother Mosley with his relentless pressure. True, Margarito is a slow starter and he picks up his game in the middle rounds. But in this fight, Mosley’s hand speed showed from the outset and Margarito seemed flustered, getting trapped a few times against the ropes without any answer for Mosley’s attacks.

From the second round until the middle rounds, it was clear that Margarito had bitten off more than he could chew. Mosley kept pumping the jab, throwing lightning combinations, and kept hitting Margarito with his overhand right. Sure, it was Margarito who kept on pressing forward to take the fight to Mosley. Sure it was Margarito who was the aggressor. But it was also Margarito who frequently got tagged with shots to the face. And body. One could also notice that Margarito’s timing was off, and he was just a few punches too late; he couldn’t retaliate and he was being overwhelmed by the human dynamo that was Shane Mosley.

By the later rounds, the severe beating that Mosley dished off took its toll on Margarito. The fighter that had once shrugged off Miguel Cotto’s best shots had visibly slowed down, and his punches didn’t have enough sting anymore to hurt Mosley. Margarito didn’t seem to have his legs anymore. In the eighth round, a Mosley left hook staggered Margarito and drove him to the ropes. Mosley followed up with a barrage of punches and dropped Margarito. Margarito managed to get up at the count of nine and staggered toward his corner. The temporary respite came to an end for Margarito 43 seconds into the ninth round, after a blitzkrieg courtesy of Mosley prompted the referee to stop the fight. Margarito’s corner threw in the towel almost simultaneous with the stoppage.

So what happened?

First off, before trying to answer that question, let’s try to get a couple of issues out of the way. Before the fight, it was reported that Margarito had to re-wrap his hands several times because Mosley’s camp found out that Margarito had tried to wrap his hands illegally. There is also some talk that Margarito had

some weight problems prior to the fight and might have drained himself making weight. Did Antonio Margarito’s camp try to gain undue advantage by using illegal hand wraps on purpose? Is there any truth to the unverified reports that Margarito was weight-drained, thus affecting his stamina and performance? The first question can only be answered by a proper investigation and in the case of the second, we could only speculate; best to take in all the talks with a grain of salt.

The point is, trying to pass off the hand-wrap fiasco as something that might have affected Margarito’s concentration and trying to use the weight-drain issue as an excuse is just plainly taking away all the hard work that Mosley put in. It is plainly taking away a legendary and dazzling performance showcased by the brilliant Sugar Shane Mosley.

But to go back. What really happened?

What happened — as thousands of spectators at the Staples Center and millions of viewers around the world witnessed – was Margarito getting schooled by the savvy veteran. What happened was Mosley’s team formulating a game plan and their fighter following it to the hilt. What happened was Margarito painfully learning the old boxing adage that speed kills. What happened was Mosley turning back Father Time and giving a performance for the ages, something that will be talked about for years to come.

To put it simply, Sugar Shane Mosley effectively stripped off Antonio Margarito’s air of invincibility. And he did that by chipping away at Margarito’s granite chin one punch at a time, one round at a time for nine agonizing (for Margarito) and spectacular (for Mosley) rounds.

Nothing could be more convincing than that.