Eric Armit's World View by Eric Armit Oct 14th 2007

Back in my days with Boxing News I used to enjoy doing an annual review of fighters who I felt had the potential to make it big sometime in the future. Some of them failed miserably and some went all the way. One of my 1992 picks was a Mexican super-flyweight by the name of Marco Antonio Barrera and he certainly gave me a ride for my money. Now that Marco has announced his retirement it seems that an era when Mexican boxers kept the sport alive has finally passed. His classic battles with Erik Morales are part of boxing lore and came at a time when the sport badly needed the boost of two well-matched future “Hall of Famers” reminding us what a great sport it can be when the best do not fear to fight the best. A genuine world champion at three divisions Marco did great things for himself, for Mexico and for boxing. As one champion says goodbye another is crowned. Ghana's Joseph Agbeko sprang a big surprise with his stoppage win over Luis Perez for the IBF bantamweight title. We always knew that Agbeko could punch, but he seemed like a fighter who was his own worst enemy. I saw him win the Commonwealth bantamweight title in Accra back in October 2004 and he nearly threw it away. A clash of heads left him dazed and he definitely did not want to fight on. However the referee gave him a long break and his corner talked him into continuing and he went on to win. That was his last fight for 2 1/2 years. He continued to be his own worst enemy as he threw off managers and refused fights and when our patience was exhausted was stripped off his Commonwealth title for failing to make any attempt to defend. Now he is a world champion and they know how to treat them in Ghana. He will have a victory procession through the streets of Accra, a meeting with the President, a victory boat ride and a thanksgiving service. To show their support for Joseph before the fight the Ghana Boxing Association presented his family with a goat and three crates of food, how come the BBB of C never hand out goats? The WBO threw out Kendall Holt's attempt to get the decision of his losing challenge with Ricardo Torres changed to a no contest. Holt claimed that he had been hit with a can thrown from the crowd and had his leg tugged by one of Ricardo's corner men. The WBO saw no evidence in the video to back Holt's claim and stated that only the Colombian Commission could change the result. It is for the WBO title, the WBO appoint the officials and it is fought under WBO rules so where does the national commission come in-except as a shoulder sloping exercise - what a cop out. Big Canadian David Cadieux may have been good enough to win Commonwealth games silver medal, but he is just not going to cut it as a pro. In his hometown of Trois-Riveres on September 21 he dropped his national heavyweight title when being stopped in five rounds by novice Ray Olubowale. Cadieux's record dropped to 17-3 with one no contest and one those wins was a fifth round stoppage of Olubowale in 2005. The new champion is 37 years old, stands 6'7” tall and weighs 18 stones but only has a 5-1-1 record. Experience came out on top in a clash for the European Union and vacant WBC International titles in Livorno on September 21 as Giuseppe Lauri halted previously unbeaten Michele Di Rocco in seven rounds. Lauri has a 43-6 record but an aversion to British fighters having lost to Ted Bami twice and to Junior Witter and Ricky Hatton. Di Rocco, the EU champion, was 17-0-1going in. An Italian title fight on the show saw unbeaten Luca Tassi retain his super-middleweight title for a second time with a second round stoppage of mediocre challenger Antonio Di Feto. Tassi has eleven wins. Joey Gilbert is a university graduate, a law student and a former three-time Collegiate boxing champion, which is enough to put any promoter off. Who needs a fighter who can think for himself - and sue you himself? That's probably why Joey occasionally promotes his own fights. He was in action in Reno on September 21 where he halted Charles Howe in one round for something called the “WBC USNBC middleweight title”. I am probably wrong but to me it stands for Up yourS NoBody Cares. Anyway Joey is 16-1 with the loss coming against Peter Manfredo in the 2004 Contenders series. Chris Arreola is still rolling along and his third round kayo of Tommy Hayes in Bakersfield on September 21 took his score to 22 straight with 20 stoppages or kayos. At 6'4” and around 17 stones he is in line with the physical requirements today. He has done everything asked of him, but now they need to ask some more. As an amateur he was 2001 National Golden Gloves champion at light-heavyweight, a remarkable achievement as he had only been fighting as an amateur for three months at the time. On the same show Mexican super-middleweight Ricardo Cortes moved to 21-1-1 with a third round disqualification win over Ecuadorian Fernando Zuniga. Down in Tijuana, Mexico on September 22 one of the new generation, 19-year-old featherweight Juan Carlos Burgos, outpointed Lupe Hernandez over ten to register win No 16. Juan Carlos is the nephew of former IBF light-flyweight champion Victor Burgos. On the same show light-middleweight Humberto Gutierrez had his reputation dented as he was held to a draw by Rodrigo Juarez. Southpaw Gutierrez, whose Dad was Mexican welterweight champion, had won 21 in a row. Just when I was beginning to think that I was ancient the WBC came to my rescue. In Bytom, Poland , on September 22 Pawel Kolodziej retained their Youth cruiserweight title by halting Istvan Varga in four rounds, Pawel has 18 wins. Varga is 32 years old and if he is a “youth” then I am only just past middle age(plus a bit). These sanctioning bodies make a mockery of their titles and then wonder why people do not take them seriously. On the same Junior Witter victim Krzysztof Bienias decisioned Bela Sandor to go to 31-3. He has won nine in a row since Junior crushed him in 2004. Lanky southpaw Leon Moore is till too good for the bantamweights in his area and had little trouble in beating Linden Arthur on a fifth round stoppage for the WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation title in Bridgetown, Barbados on September 23. The Guyanan has a 19-2 record. Jamaican-born heavyweight Owen Beck returned to action in Guadalajara, Mexico, on September 28. In his first fight since an unsuccessful challenge to Nikolai Valuev for the WBA title in June last year Owen halted Ricardo Arce in three rounds and is now 26-3. There are still some good fights out there for him. The series of fights between Irvin Buhlalu and Ben Dlamini may still not be over. In East London on September 28 Buhlalu retained his South African lightweight title for the third time against Dlamini but all three fights have been close, two being split verdicts and even this unanimous decision was hotly disputed. Buhlalu, a former Olympian is 23-5-1. Dlamini is 20-5. Two former members of the Romanian amateur team scored wins in Valencia on September 28.  Big winner was bantamweight Eugen Sorin Tanasie who won the EU title with a points decision over champion Karim Quibir. Tanasie fought at light-flyweight as an amateur and won a European championships bronze. He is 14-0-1 as a pro and this win put him at No 2 in the EBU ratings. At super-featherweight Viorel Simion halted Colombian Euclides Espitia in four to go to seven wins. As an amateur Viorel was European Cadet and Junior champion and a quarter-finalist in the 2004 Olympics. A new Argentinian featherweight champion was crowned in Paysandu on September 29 as unbeaten Jonathan Barros beat experienced Pastor Maurin on a fourth round disqualification. The 23 year old Barros has 19 wins and a draw. Maurin, with 59 fights, lost here to Michael Brodie in 2002 for the WBF title. He has lost 8 of his last 11 so the path is downwards. Richel Hersisia won the WBF Intercontinental heavyweight title with a first round stoppage of Brazilian Marcos Celestino in Liege on September 29. Hersisia has 30 wins against two losses with one of those defeats being a fourth round stoppage by Audley Harrison. In a WBF International cruiserweight title fight Belgian Geoffrey Batello made it 12 wins by stopping Jean Claude Bikoi in one round. Hungarian Vilmos Balogh is one of those fighters who was a top amateur but has left it late to turn pro. A many-time national champion and World Championships and Olympics competitor he did not join the paid ranks until he was 30. In Berlin on October 2 he kayoed light-middleweight Vadim Lebedev in one round and now has 17 wins but at 32 is running out of time.

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