Demetrius Andrade VS Brian Rose: A cringeworthy mismatch but a sensational performance

During this completely uncompetitive HBO opening bout, with a major world title on the line, I found myself bouncing back and forth between a negative and a positive. On one hand, I found it hard to watch how painfully unable to compete it was for the United Kingdom's former British Light Middleweight Champion Brian Rose and how much damage he was taking. On the other hand, I had to appreciate how sensational Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade looked.

There were times when Andrade was coming up on ESPN where I watched him and thought that his style was just not built for the professional ranks (he has a huge amateur background) and that he would likely fail if he fought at the world level, due to being so deeply stuck in an amateur style mindset. But, tonight, he seemed to be a fully matured, masterclass professional boxer. It may have been, of course, Brian Rose's level that flattered Andrade but even skeptics of Andrade should admit that everything was firing on all cylinders. He was actually a joy to watch. As much of a joy to watch as Rose was a sad spectacle. One side, all sharpness and polish and the other side almost all hesitance and akin to a fish flopping around out of water and getting batted across the floor by a playfully mean feline.

Some fighters that use a lot defensive angles, the slick, fast fighters, fighters with the speed and maneuverability of an Andrade, are so satisfied with their superiority that they spend all night potshotting and then hanging back to admire their work and never feel the need to press the issue and try and get a stoppage. That's fine with me. Not as a viewer-because it's rarely fun to watch-but on the terms of what's acceptable in an athletic competition, I understand that judgment call. It's a strategy. And with some fighters, it's even the only strategy that makes sense for them. But, what Andrade did tonight, taking full advantage of his speed and skill superiority to puncuate his prowess and go for a stoppage, that's what made it a performance, as opposed to a pointless mismatch. Rose had no business with Andrade and Andrade wouldn't let him get away with challenging him without, well, actually giving him a challenge. Andrade took it upon himself to turn pointless mismatch into a showcase with a point. The point being that he's the goods. He's the goods and he needs the chance to prove that he's not just a man with a major world title. He deserves the opportunity to prove that he's the best Light Middleweight on the planet.

Summary: Andrade used all his ability to put combinations together and did not play it safe tonight. The fans and HBO should be happy with this. Not because it was a good fight but because one guy put on a great performance. I don't want to kick Brian Rose when he's down. Some may say he didn't try hard enough. I think he was just in too far over his head to know what to do or how to try and win. I can't blame a guy for that. But I can say that for his own health, he shouldn't be fighting at this level. He could've been ruined by this match for good. Thankfully, he had a referee in Michael Griffin who recognised it was time to step in before a medical emergency. HBO would do well to stick with Andrade and try to get him in with someone who can push him further next. Floyd Mayweather's age and being simultaneously the real number one Welterweight and Light Middleweight champion means it's unlikely he'll be offering a shot to Demetrius Andrade, but Andrade's hat is at least in the ring, whether anyone likes it or not. 







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Judge Javier Alvarez VS HBO: Spotlight On Commentators VS Judges

Judge Javier Alvarez somehow found a scorecard with 115-112 for Vanes Martirosyan when Martirosyan and Demetrius Andrade squared off for a chance to win a vacant major world title on HBO live boxing, back in November. I don't know how, but now that some time has passed from this match, I thought I would spotlight this in case of future matches with Javier Alvarez judging. Cheers to HBO for deriding his card. Anybody can see a fight differently, but not that differently. I saw no valid total that can be turned in for a Martirosyan win and do fully support HBO's team in this one.

Perhaps Martirosyan was more in the fight than given credit for. If you said that, I wouldn't argue. If you said it was closer than HBO's commentators made out to be? Fine. Not an invalid statement, to me, considering that Kellerman didn't even seem to like Steve Weisfeld giving Martirosyan three rounds. Vanes hung tough and made it awkward as he normally does. Maybe some of the rounds were close enough that you couldn't argue much Martirosyan edging them when HBO's commentators didn't see it that way. Fine. Maybe some. But to see a card turned in where Martirosyan actually won? A card reflecting that he somehow got the better of this fight by any scoring method? I really hate to pick on judges and they have to turn in a highly contentious card that I can't see a competent, uncorrupted judge turn in for me to draw attention to it. But here is one.

I have recently reviewed the fight from my DVR and it was just as bad a scorecard in my mind as I found it that night, late last year. Some folks looking this one up on boxrec may see the scores and that Andrade was knocked down in the first and assume it was one of those matches where a knockdown can make all the scoring difference, like a Cotto/Clottey type score. It wasn't that. I would never write off a judge completely after even a card I find this bad. Not for one night of bad judging. But it's a red flag and I want to spotlight this because if it becomes a pattern, we, to protect our sport, need to take action and tell the boxing establishment that we will not stand for a judge that develops such a pattern (C. J. Ross) and take action like turning our backs on watching these matches live and hit channels in the pocket by lowering the ratings we give them if they air fights with judges we know have a pattern of bad cards, be those cards bad via corruption or ineptitude or severe bias of some kind.

So, IN CASE Javier Alvarez develops into a judge with a pattern of this, let's draw attention to it. If you spot a fight that he's judging that I haven't seen or taken notice of, where he has turned in another score like this, please, by all means, comment on this page and tell me what to look for and I'll try to locate it and view for myself to see if I agree it needs attention. Here is the talk of the scores as the HBO crew goes off on Judge Javier Alvarez:


Max Kellerman: "What a stinking score card, that fifteen/twelve for Martirosyan-and that better be a m- that better be a misprint-a misread."
(Kellerman seems fairly flustered)

Jim Lampley: "Otherwise you'd have to wonder what fight that judge was watching."

Kellerman: "What's the name of that judge who gave the fifteen/twelve scorecard?

Steve Weisfeld: "Javier Alvarez."

Kellerman: "And what did you say about him, Steve?"

Weisfeld: "I said he doesn't have tremendous judging experience."

Kellerman: "Yeah, or eye sight, apparently."

Lampley: "Javier Alvarez, in scoring the fight 115-112 for Martirosyan, scored the first five rounds of the fight, all for Vanes Martirosyan. I mean, that's-that's pure blindness. I'm sorry. It's embarrassing to us and to the sport when a score card like that turns up in a situation like this. . . Final Compubox numbers for the benefit of the blind judge who scored this for Vanes Martirosyan. . ."

Lampley: "Mondo Bizarro. A very, very strange score card."



Also of note: Please notice that Javier Alvarez was assigned the Keith Thurman VS Jesus Soto Karass match the following month! Awful! So, we have one black mark/red flag for Javier Alvarez. Let's hope that this is an anomaly and he turns out to be a better judge than this would indicate.



Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing



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Jermall Charlo VS Joseph De los Santos: Charlo's Jab Unstoppable

Claiming in the lead-up that he really wasn't "impressed or threatened by him at all" and that his training camp was "great"/"the hardest camp I ever had" to Fight Hype, you got pretty much what he seemed to expect against Joseph De los Santos. DLS, a fighter with quite a few notables on his list of opponents, including Glen Tapia and Eddie Gomez (in losses), still comes with a double digit win and loss column and is on the south side of his thirties. It's no wonder Charlo didn't feel threatened, despite the experience quality gap.

He came in and used his significant height advantage and beautiful jab to control his opponent and hammered him with his powerful right hand until he got a stoppage. It was a jabbing clinic for the most part. Body jab? Double jab? Triple jab? Whatever you want. Charlo is a jab artist. Nothing DLS did could stop it from finding the mark. Charlo KO5 De los Santos on one of several massive overhand right deliveries and the last of three knockdowns. Charlo can hit, he has speed, accuracy and patience. I would really like to see what would happen between him and Demetrius Andrade for Boo Boo's title. . .

Notes:

*The fight aired on FS1 (with commentators Mario Solis and Rich Marotta)
*A Golden Boy Promotions card
*The commentators point out that the ref will have to pick up De los Santos' slipping trunks to prevent an X-rated show. Shortly thereafter, referee Raul Caiz Junior obliges.




Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing