Eric Armit's World View by Eric Armit Sep 29th 2006

BritishBoxing.net are proud to welcome respected - and dare we say - veteran boxing scribe Eric Armit to our ever growing team.  If you don't know the name, we envy your youth!  Check out Eric's profile at www.britishboxing.net/team-members_76-Eric-Armit.html September was a bad month for American born heavyweights. Hasim Rahman proved as ordinary as he appeared to be, just an average boxer with a good punch, as he lost his title to a Russian-born fighter and James Toney lost out to Nigerian Simon Peter. What a blow for American prestiege. There are four versions of the heavyweight title and as I write the Americans don't even hold the WBO version. Hell they would even probably welcome Lennox Lewis back, at least he was not a product of the inferior Soviet system, but Canadian-oh sorry British, after all he only learned how to fight in Canada, was only Canadian amateur champion and he only won gold medal for Canada in the Olympics, how more British do you want it? What makes it even worse for Americans is that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. In fact it looks more like a black hole for their heavyweights. Something seems to have swallowed up whatever hope they had. It is not impossible for Toney to come again as James has always been a heavyweight at heart. Even in his post-champion days as a middleweight he fought like a heavyweight, hugely talented, but economic to a point of pacifism. It is embarrassing to find a 38-year-old fat middleweight as arguably the best heavyweight America has. I guess it also a bit early to dismiss Lamon Brewster, but he has had his limitations shown up. Calvin Brock is probably the “official “ prospect for the future but he has not impressed. I don't believe that Joe Mesi will ever regain the “prospect” tag he once had and others such as Dominick Guinn, DaVarryl Williamson, Jameel McCline and Lance Whitaker have huffed and puffed but proved little. On the other hand there are more “Beasts from the East” on the horizon such as Dimitrenko and Povetkin and if you really want to depress the Yanks just mention that when Fidel Castro is gone there is a good chance that Cuba will eventually embrace professional boxing and there will be even more good non-American heavyweights out there. At least we have Matt Skelton, Danny Williams and Audley Harrison, now doesn't that make you feel better! Actually, on the subject of Audley and Simon Peter, back in 2000 they met in a tournament and Audley won. Oh dear where did you go wrong? I bet the BBC wish they had signed up Peter. On the subject of feeling, nothing makes you feel your age more than sons of the fathers. When you can remember guys such as Julio Cesar Chavez, Alfredo Escalera and Antonio Cervantes turning pro it really makes the knees (and a few other bits) sag to realise that now their sons are making waves. Julio Cesar Jr. is a big draw and young Escalera, a cruiserweight, and Cervantes, a super-middleweight, will also feel the pressure of their father's fame. When you add Jorge Paez Jr, Buddy McGirt Jr., Pipino Cuevas Jr. Martin Coggi Jr, Hector Camacho Jr. Anthony Mundine and Ross Minter it just makes me feel that much more senior, a bit like when I tried to pay for the groceries in Tesco's with my bus pass However, you could think you were stuck in a time warp when you sit discussing these names and find yourself wondering when the next Mike Barrett show will be on at the Albert Hall, whether there will 20 or 22 British players on the field when Chelsea play Arsenal, and when the next Abba single is coming out. Oh happy days! Just some totally random reflections on bouts earlier in September: On September 8 in Dallas American light-welterweight prospect Victor Ortiz made it 15 wins against a lone disqualification loss as he decisioned 38-year-old former WBO bantamweight champion Alfred Kotey from Ghana. Alfred won his WBO title here in July 1994 by beating Puerto Rican Rafael Del Valle and made his three title defences here, losing the title in his third defence to Daniel Jimenez. Here he is still fighting 11 years later and over two stones heavier. Either of those circumstances would be bad news but both together is more than I like to think about. Nice to see southpaw Ortiz considered a prospect as some guy named Amir Khan halted him in two rounds in a Junior International Tournament in 2003. Lanky super-middleweight Allan Green moved to 22 wins when he outpointed Emmett Linton on September 1 in Tulsa. I am not sure if Joe Calzaghe will stick around long enough for Green to be a viable opponent. Green is one of those fighters who look sensational sometimes and ordinary others. The WBO have him at No 6 challenger to Joe (although none of the other bodies rate him in their top 15 - situation normal!). Two members of the Malinga clan met with mixed fortunes on a show in Gauteng, South African on September 6. Lightweight Pat halted Khululekile Sibeko in four rounds but Peter was knocked out in two rounds by welterweight Phumlani Menziwa. Pat, who was stopped in six rounds by Alex Arthur in 2003, had a long break after testing positive for steroids. Peter won the vacant IBO welterweight title here by beating Spencer McCracken in 1999, but has slipped quite a way since then. Still in South Africa, the quality control WBF fights was clearly shown as local Zolani Marali beat Frenchman Jean-Marie Codet out of sight in their September 8 bout in Durban. Codet, who could not even make the EBU top 12, lost on points. Doesn't sound too bad does it? Then you look at the scorecards where one official gave it to Marali by 119-103. If you take it that Codet shared a round (119) then consider that if he lost the other 11 rounds 10-9 he would have scored 109. The 103 score indicates six 10-8 rounds. Where was the referee when this one-sided beating was going on and who approved the match? Two former world title holders moved in different directions in shows on September 9. Miguel Angel Gonzalez, the former WBC lightweight champion won the vacant WBC Fedcarbox light-middleweight title by beating Alejandro Garcia (not Terra) on points in Acapulco on September 2. On the same night in Managua, Nicaragua local unbeaten lightweight champion Santos Benavides beat Antonio Cermeno on a fifth round retirement. MAGO as Gonzalez is known is 36 going on 37. He was undefeated as WBC lightweight champion making 10 defences, and has had shots at versions of the world title at light-welterweight and welterweight so don't count him out of the light-middleweight picture. Cermeno, former undefeated WBA super-bantamweight champion and also champion at featherweight is 37. A name (or names) to watch (this time in Argentina): Light-welterweight Lucas Matthysse who moved to 15-0, 14 inside the distance, with a second round kayo of Justo Martinez in Buenos Aires on September 1 and light-middleweight Roberto Reuque decisioned Gustavo Ibanez in Santa Cruz and has 25 wins and 2 no decisions. Ratings watch: How about the WBO? At No 2 middleweight Gary Lockett and at No 4 middleweight some guy called Winky Wright! If you think that is bad the WBA can't even find a place in their top 15 for Winky. Gary is WBU champion and on a good run, but above Winky!!! Situation normal.

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