BETTER THAN HE LOOKS - Why Danny Garcia is the 140lbs King

Danny Garcia vs Mauricio Herrera

Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Sat, Mar 15 at 7:00 PM on SHOWTIME

12 rounds for the WBC, WBA and The Ring light welterweight titles

PREDICTION: Danny Garcia stoppage / KO

“Never looking impressive but consistently winning” - Emanuel Steward.

This quote sums up Danny Garcia perfectly. Everything he does looks somewhat mediocre yet he keeps winning against world class opponents. How does he do it? While his fighting style doesn’t look spectacular he is great at things that are not so obvious. He is smart, very level headed, and has great timing and accuracy. His fight on March 15 against Mauricio Herrera is a significant step down in quality compared to previous opponents and a chance for Danny to cash in on his new found fame. Let’s then take a look at the things he did to beat the world class opponents he faced on his way to becoming the light welterweight king.

His great timing and accuracy showed up most clearly when he fought Amir Khan. Getting soundly beaten in the first 2 rounds, Garcia seemed completely unable to handle Amir’s quick hands. The counter punches he threw were far too late against Khan’s blistering speed. That is until round 3 when Amir came in with his by now predictable left hand right hand combo. In a great display of timing Danny stayed in the pocket against the left hand then straight away turned his head and body to the right causing Amir’s right hand to miss, while throwing a left hook over the top. Lucky punch right? Well maybe not as was seen when he fought Zab Judah.

                                                                                                                                                                   
At first Danny had trouble with Amir's speed, but he adapted and once used to it he counter punched with perfect timing and precision seriously hurting his opponent.
                                                                                                                                                                   

In Danny's fight against Zab Judah, Zab’s one two right jab left hand cross was effective in the early stages. Zab would clinch after these combo’s not allowing Danny the space to counter. In a clever adjustment later in the fight however Danny decided to take a step back when Zab launched his predictable attack. This created the space Danny needed to launch a perfectly timed right hook, landing with precision and hurting Zab. A knock down came later in the fight on another Zab right hand left hand combo. This time the left got through but Danny has a granite chin and took it well all the while maintaining his composure enabling him to fire back with a left right combo of his own.

Apart from these displays of timing, accuracy and composure there are examples of his smartness in the ring. Against Zab he constantly kept his lead left foot on the outside of Zab’s lead right. In this position he was able to pepper Zab with looping right hand leads so as to keep Zab from escaping to his left. If Zab tried to escape by moving away from Danny’s right hand he would run into a danger zone in the form of Danny’s left hook, not to mention there was not much space for an exit as Danny’s left leg was in the way. Due to Danny’s limited physical abilities this strategy did not overwhelm the more athletic Zab but he was able to narrow this disadvantage and eventually hurt Zab with what he is good at. Counter punching. Particularly impressive was when he did have Zab hurt he didn’t wildly chase him around the ring, but very calmly kept with the fight plan of keeping that left lead foot on the outside all the while pressuring the still recuperating Zab.

                                                                                                                                                                   
When Danny had Zab hurt he kept calm, staying to his fight plan of keeping his lead left foot on the outside of Zab's to line up his right hand lead.
                                                                                                                                                                   

By the time he came to fight Lucas Matthysse late in 2013, it seemed his physical and skill limitations would catch up with him. In his previous fights he looked like a poor mover who could only fight standing still. This could get him in trouble against the hard hitting Argentinian. But surprisingly from the first bell he came out moving quite well. Nothing impressive but well enough to win. Against Amir and Zab his advantage was in letting them come to him and countering or trying to restrict their movement. It would have been unwise to try and match their superior footwork. Against Matthysse however this style would have played into his opponents hands. Matthysse prefers a stationary opponent to unleash his power on, so Danny changed it up as he saw his advantage in his much improved footwork.

Danny also made a clever adjustment during the fight. When Matthysse attacked he would duck down under Danny’s counter leaving Danny swinging at air. Danny’s trainer Angel Garcia then implored his son to ‘hurt him to the body’ as an adjustment to Mattyse’s ducking head movement. Straight away he started countering Matthysse's attacks by landing to the body, eventually turning the fight in his favour.
                                                                                                                                                                   
Danny adjusts well during his fights. He started going to the body when he couldn't find Matthysse's head, in the process turning the fight in his favour.
                                                                                                                                                                   

As can be seen in the above video clips Danny Garcia does a lot of small unspectacular things to get spectacular results. Smart adjustments, composure, great timing, and accurate punches have enabled him to get the better of world class opponents all the while propelling himself to the top of the light welterweight mountain.

 

This leads us to his latest match up vs Mauricio Herrera. This is as they say in pro boxing a ‘stay busy fight’. A chance for Danny to cash in on his new found fame. Herrara has poor movement, defence, and power but he does posses an incredibly strong chin, though how long he will be able to last against Danny is the only point of interest in this fight. Chances are not for the whole 12 rounds so a Danny Garcia KO is likely. If not, it will be a dominating win with lots of action. Be sure to tune in March 15.

ROBBERY IN TEXAS---Lomachenko v Salido Review

Lomachenko v Salido Fight Review

Salido forfeited the WBO featherweight title on the scales. On fight night he came in at an ‘unofficial’ weight of 147 lbs while Lomachenko weighed 136 lbs. Lomachenko was fighting for the vacated title (and $230 000) while Salido for pride (and $235 000).

In the preview of this fight I said Salido has a habit of bending over in a lunging attempt to reach his more fleet-footed opponents. I didn’t think he would take it to this level. This move pretty much became the story of this messy fight. Take a look at the following collage of screenshots: 

Every photo shows Salido leading with the head. Effectively a head butt. These moves are against to rules of boxing. There are 30 photos and these are all taken AFTER the 8th round which was by the time I had lost all hope in the legitimacy of this fight.

There are many more examples of this from the previous seven rounds. Ironically Lomachenko was criticized by the referee and commentators for repeatedly holding. What do you expect him to do when his opponent is burying his head into his sternum? Anyone who has seen Lomachenko in the amateurs knows he hates holding and would not hold unless forced to.

This lunging, leading with the head, headbutt ‘manoeuvre’ pretty much killed the flow of the fight and hence Lomachenko was not able to use his skill with this blatant flaunting of the rules. However the few times the fight was able to flow we could see flashes of his brilliance.

Regardless, I had Lomachenko winning the fight 116-112. Not much different to the judge Levi Martinez (who had it 115-113).

Lomachenko landed more total punches (164 to 142) at a much higher percentage (37% to 22%). He landed less Power shots (105 to 137) but at a much better percentage (44% to 25%). Lomachenko had Salido hurt badly in the 12th while never being hurt himself. This while being outweighed by 10lbs. In other words if you like fighters who swing wildly with little thought you probably thought Salido won. On the other hand if you like fighters who use their superior footwork, balance and defence to get into position to land smart accurate shots you probably thought Lomachenko won. It’s up to you…... What’s that famous quote by Roger Mayweather again (reminder on left sidebar of this blog)?

THE MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR Chavez jr v Vera II

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr v Brian Vera  II

March 1
HBO Boxing

12 rounds 168lbs weight limit

PREDICTION: Chavez decision or KO (Vera’s granite chin permitting)

The notion of ‘controversial’ decisions has become all too commonplace in boxing. The first fight between Julio Cesar Chavez jr and Brian Vera ended in a 10 round decision win for Chavez. Many were ‘outraged’ by this result and felt the judges had ‘robbed’ Vera. However, Vera’s only claim to victory would be his much higher work rate and ability to absorb power shots with his granite chin. Chavez boxed with much more skill and intelligence.

A closer look at the first fight will reveal the subtle things Chavez did to outbox Vera.

Chavez came out moving quite well and Vera had trouble finding him. Though Vera kept firing away he only landed a low percentage of punches. With patience and intelligence Chavez picked his spots and was able to get through Vera’s guard repeatedly. He did this by disguising his punches.

In the following video Chavez lands repeatedly with his left hook. He initially mixes up his punches with shots to the body, the head and the occasional jab. Vera doesn’t know what’s coming next. Chavez disguises his punches by starting his swing low and ending high. Watch as Vera moves his right glove away from his chin to block what looks like a body shot or jab only to take a clean left hook to the chin. This happens 7 times in the first 5 rounds.

Vera in contrast was a whirlwind of activity. However he never disguised his punches so Chavez was able to see them coming. In the following video Vera throws a lot of hard shots but they are very predictable. Chavez can see where they are going to land and blocks pretty much all of them by keeping a tight guard. Also notice Vera putting full effort into every shot while Chavez only throws light punches most of the time. 

 The reason for the light punches of Chavez is that when he does throw a bomb Vera is not ready because he is not expecting the change of pace and power. An example can be seen in the following video where Chavez throws a very light right hand lead followed by a gentle jab distracting Vera who drops his guard in response. When Chavez sees the opening he all of a sudden changes pace and unloads a brutal right hand to Vera’s chin which would have dropped all but the toughest of opponents.

                      

By cleverly disguising his punches and patiently picking his spots, Chavez can easily outbox Vera. He just needs to keep it up for the full 12 rounds. In the first fight Chavez was gassed towards the end and so stopped moving, allowing Vera to steal the last 3 rounds by fighting hard to the end. This is what caused the controversy, as up to that point Chavez was in control. If fit on the 1st of March, Chavez should win with the same clever boxing described above. Combined with Vera’s incredible toughness and aggression the rematch should make for another great fight.

For a behind the scenes look at the build up to this fight watch Road To Chavez vs Vera II

THE RISE OF A STAR?--------- Lomachenko v Salido

Vasyl Lomachenko vs Orlando Salido

Scheduled for : March 1
HBO Boxing

Chavez v Vera 2 undercard
For WBO World Featherweight (126lbs) title

PREDICTION : Lomachenko by TKO

After dominating amatuer boxing for over 7 years Vasyl Lomachenko is trying to build a reputation in pro boxing as fast as possible. In his second pro fight, Orlando Salido provides him a great opportunity to prove his greatness against a tough opponent and get the respect he deserves.

Lomachenko is a complete fighter. Normally if fighters are elusive they can be a little over defensive (think Rigondeaux or Bradley) or if they are aggressive they often get careless on defense (think Hatton or Pacquiao). Lomachenko is a very rare species of boxer who is both impossibly elusive and can apply constant intelligent pressure.

KEYS TO THE FIGHT

Lomachenko will use his superior footwork to maintain distance, not letting Salido get close. Mikey Garcia did this to great effect on his way to beating Salido in an 8 round decision early in 2013. Salido is really only effective at close range and struggled against the constantly moving Garcia as his footwork is not a strong point. He consequently ends up lunging and bending forward while chasing his more fleet footed opponent around the ring. In the following video this bending forward exposes his chin and Garcia takes advantage with an uppercut knockdown.

Even if he does get in close range against Lomachenko he will often be swinging at air. Take a look at the highlights in the following video of Lomachenko’s impressive pro debut win over Ramirez. He uses perfect head movement to have his opponent constantly miss. Ramirez misses on 11 of 13 punches. His ability to see all these punches coming is amazing.

When Salido misses he will be left off balance and his defence will be compromised. His tendency to bend forward will leave his chin open to body shot punches and uppercuts. In the following video Lomachenko shows the skills required to execute this strategy. He opens up Ramirez by making him miss and then delivers a very accurate and powerful body shot on both knockdowns.

Not only is Lomachenko a great technical fighter with brilliant defensive skills, he is also not afraid to come forward and attack. Vasyl Lomachenko vs Orlando Salido is a not to be missed fight if you want to see boxing at its best. It will be a Lomachenko masterpiece and Salido will provide a great canvass.