It was a night of upsets, sweat, and tears split across two cards and several very entertaining fights last night. I strongly considered skipping the live watch for both broadcasts, even though I’d already invested 20 dollars in the bait-and-switch DAZN service for the month (and, gee, it’s only another 60 for the pay-per-view that you assured us would be included with the subscription, what a deal!). It had been a while since I had a double-header to watch, though, and last night turned out to be ideal for losing myself in multiple screens, thoroughly enjoying the only semi-frantic process of tracking multiple fights’ start times, arranging dinner and figuring out my predictions. As it turns out, I was extremely fortunate to be fully tuned in for the Big Drama Show (as Genndy Golovkin would put it) that transpired before me.
It’s not often you can say with any certainty that a pulse-pounding battle you’ve just watched play out inside the ring is actually as great as it feels in that moment when the decision is announced and the triumphant victor is crowned. It’s even more rare that a fan can say with certainty, “that was fight of the year.” In this case, being mid-December, last night’s epic clash between overwhelming favorite Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba and Mexico’s six-foot-one featherweight Rafael Espinoza is a lock.
On the DAZN card, the first fight was between probably my favorite active female fighter, Ebanie Bridges (ahem), and relative unknown Miyo Yoshida. Bridges is the naturally bigger fighter, but came into the ring looking somewhat uncoordinated and sluggish. She was a 7-1 favorite, but her condition only degenerated as the fight progressed, and as Yoshida piled up points with non-stop offense that knocked Bridges’ head back in almost every exchange. By the end of the fight, Bridges was slumped forward, throwing nothing but wild arm punches that looked decidedly un-champion-like. The superhuman effort paid off, with all three judges awarding the fight to Yoshida, a single mother whose young daughter was in the front row rooting for her mom as she waged war against a champion. The display of genuine joy and affection between the two was enough to have the announcing team commenting on being choked up for several minutes (and the scene likely affected many viewers the same way).
The cards progressed, DAZN showcasing young gun Bruce Carrington Jr., whose apparently impressive amateur resume belies the abrupt violence of his shocking destruction of Jason Sanchez. Given his frame and explosive punching, he’s likely to move up a class before settling, and likely with a few belts to show for it. ESPN’s showcase was for Xander Zayas, the much heralded Puerto Rican fighter who, at junior middleweight, is positioned in one of the most competitive and exciting divisions in the sport. He’s smooth, long and powerful, with the kind of hyper-coordinated frenetic style that fans fell in love with while watching Teofimo Lopez.
It all built to the two main events of the evening. I started with the DAZN card because I had paid so much for it, and the main event was starting a few minutes earlier than the ESPN headliner. I had a sinking feeling about the result of Haney-Prograis (especially when I saw Haney’s 5 inch reach advantage), and that began to play out promptly at the beginning of round two, when Haney took full control of the fight and Prograis started to look grateful to be on his feet. There was a knockdown in there somewhere, off of a glancing shot. The Crescent City native took the punch well and recovered quickly, even pushing his opponent back almost immediately, but with swarming, inaccurate punches. I had hoped that Prograis’ recently lackluster performances were more the result of ring rust than the progression of his technique, but for me, this is the suddenly clear signal that Prograis will never reach the elite level. He’s still completely flat-footed, he squares up too much, and last night he leaned for all of his biggest punches (understandable with such a reach discrepancy).
Regis Prograis’ impressively sturdy chin does nothing to compensate for his total inability to adjust throughout the fight. By the end of round five or six, it seemed that the fight was lost and I opted to switch over to Ramirez and Espinoza rather than witness the New Orleanian’s gradual deterioration. Given the underdog’s absurd physique for the weight class (6’1″, 126 lbs), I was expecting the young, energetic favorite to win by early knockout. Ramirez was choosing his shots carefully and throwing far fewer punches than Espinoza, but he was moving closer to turning out Espinoza’s lights. He flipped the switch in round 5, catching Espinoza with several devastating hooks and winging haymakers seemingly at will. Espinoza got up and only survived the round because of the knockdowns proximity to the bell.
Ramirez tired after failing to keep his opponent down and the momentum shifted for a few rounds before the tide returned to its original level in round 8. For the last three rounds, however, Espinoza’s incredible volume punching, which seemed only to increase with successive rounds, gradually overwhelmed the much shorter fighter. An absolutely epic, blockbuster-climax worthy final round saw Espinoza throw an incredible 120 punches, putting his total right around 1000 for the 12-round fight. Espinoza’s face was badly bruised as he threw these last, frantic shots, but his accuracy stayed consistent and Ramirez finally began to wilt. His guard widened just a little, his stance shifted. He stepped back more frequently and began to hunch over, back to the ropes. Suddenly, just at the conclusion of the match, Espinoza’s punches finally took their toll and crumpled Ramirez. He rose from the count in time, but was on wobbly legs and never regained his composure, much less posed a threat in the remaining seconds.
The decision went the right way, though it was closer than I had expected with both men earning knockdowns. Ramirez will be a crowd pleaser for years to come if things go as they should. He ought to move up at least one weight class, and, hopefully, will continue to develop his arsenal. “Styles make fights,” indeed.
Back on DAZN, Prograis had taken his beating but kept it interesting all the way through the final bell, with Haney, content to circle and potshot, no closer to another knockdown than he’d been in the middle rounds. He was badly bruised and looked spiritually defeated in the aftermath. I wouldn’t argue against it if his team suggested consideration of retirement. Given that he’s established his own promotional banner, though, it’s unlikely that Rougarou will make such a measured decision. Brought back a lot of memories watching that young New Orleans fighter with short arms get beaten all over the ring.
GentlemanJeff
Thoughts on Boxing 