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Middleweight Warzone Part 2: The Old Guard
By Luke Chance
Now we have seen the young guns, its prudent to turn our attention to the more
seasoned veterans of the division. The men to beat, as it were:
Felix Trinidad 41(34)-1-0 –The Puerto Rican favorite is on the comeback trail
after his shocking loss to Bernard Hopkins. Who knows if Trinidad can make an
impact? He's playing it fairly safe with his comeback fight. Mayorga is a
respectable opponent, but has never fought at middleweight before, and isn’t a
good enough boxer to give him too many problems. If he is even a shadow of his
former self he should probably end it comfortably within the distance. Once
considered by some as the best pound for pound fighter on the planet, Tito’s
card has quite a list of good names and when settling into the division and
assuming he beats Mayorga, he could opt for a return against Vargas. Past that
he should look at taking a fight against a respected and bona fide middleweight
like Allen, Eastman or Taylor before looking for the sought after retirement
payday rematch against Hopkins. Out of all of the men besides Hopkins mentioned
here, Trinidad probably has the best pedigree. Assuming all goes according to
plan there is still no reason to believe that a second meeting with Hopkins
would be any different than the first.
It will be intriguing to see how he matches up with Mayorga. He could become
a dominant force in the division, unless Mayorga can exploit his ring rust
and/or he takes a Hopkins rematch too soon. After all, Hopkins may be old, but
he is very wise to Felix Trinidad’s technical strategy. He would likely have to
revamp his entire style to change the outcome of that potential rematch, and
that will have to be changed over more time than just one fight versus Mayorga.
Evans Oure Ashira 23(13)-1-0 - With wins over veteran journeymen Jerry Elliot,
Francisco Antonio Mora, and Fredrik Alvarez the future looked bright for Evans
Oure Ashira. He is a skilled boxer and appeared to be able to take a punch until
he met the giant punching Maselino Masoe. On paper Masoe appeared to be an
afterthought with Ashira the more capable fighter, however Masoe’s power proved
to be the difference in that bout. Now Ashira will have to claw his way back in
order to garner credible opponents considering he has never really beaten anyone
of worth so a rematch could be a shortcut to that end. It may be that Masoe just
did his homework and got lucky, but if Ashira can be put down like that; he may
do well to avoid the likes of Hopkins and Eastman. They will likely take Ashira
apart like Masoe did or perhaps even worse.
However, if he can beat Masoe in a rematch and then secure a fight (and win)
with a name middleweight newcomer like Karmazin or Vargas, that may prove
profitable in maneuvering himself into a position for a shot. The jury really
is out on Ashira now, but if he can't stand up to legitimate middleweight power
shots; he may as well forget about challenging for a title in the future. If he
can beat Masoe and defeat another puncher like Vargas, he can get back in the
fray. He may need to get his confidence back first, and at 34 he doesn't have
all the time that some of the other guys do.
Robert Allen 36(27)-5-0 - Beaten decisively by Hopkins twice, it seems clear
that 'The Executioner' has Robert Allen’s number. Because of that, he may have
to wait until Hopkins retires if he wants to have a chance at winning a title.
He gave an uninspiring performance in his last fight versus Hopkins, and at 35
may well be over the hill. With Tito Mendoza as the only recognizable name on
his card in a fight that was won by a technical decision, its seems unclear how
Robert Allen has managed to get three shots at the evasive Hopkins.
Certainly I would argue that Kevin Hall (18-6-1), Jesse Aquino (16-3-1), and
Steve Walker (13-7-1) should not have been enough to keep him in a position
mandatory challenger for a major title. Compare these three to Eastman’s last
three opponents: Scott Dann (15-1-0), Hassine Cherifi (34-7-1) and Sergey
Tatevosyan (21-3-0)
And Jermain Taylor’s: Alex Rios (23-4-1), Alex Bunema (24-3-2) and Raul Marquez
(35-2-0)
Honestly, any impartial observer would say that Allen didn’t deserve the fight
versus Hopkins.
The future is unclear for Allen now and I can't see him being a real force in
the middleweight division again. (Not that he ever really has been…) I’d take
Eastman, Trinidad, and Taylor to destroy him right now. I think perhaps Ashira
could beat him and soon Vargas and Karmazin will be in a position to beat him
too.
Howard Eastman 39(34)-1-0 - 'The Battersea Bomber' is probably the most avoided
middleweight in the world. He has all the attributes that make him a potential
champion. Raw irresistible power, boxing ability, a granite chin, and great
stamina are some attributes that Eastman certainly possesses. In his last
outing, he managed a flat points decision against the tough and serviceable
Sergey Tatevosyan. It is entirely plausible that he was using the Russian for a
12 round workout and could have stopped him whenever he chose to do so. He
looked good in stopping a shopworn Hassine Cherifi in 9 rounds, but now has to
step up to the plate and find a suitable opponent. His controversial loss to
William Joppy is the only blemish on a record that contains few names. Simply
put; no one wants to fight Howard Eastman. Why would they? Every decent
middleweight in the world can either get a shot at 3 titles and a big payday to
get beaten up by Bernard Hopkins, or they can get peanuts and get battered from
pillar to post by Howard Eastman. Which would you choose?
Longtime WBC mandatory contender Eastman will always struggle to land the big
fights unless of course he somehow gets his hands on a major title or three.
That of course may not happen until the departure of Hopkins from the ranks of
the middleweights. But now that there is some fresh meat on the scene, Eastman
may finally be able to get some defining fights. And with every quality opponent
he can defeat, the chance of a showdown with Hopkins becomes more and more
likely (although not probable). It may just fall on his promoters to now
further Howard’s progression in the division. He has the skills; it’s just a
matter of whether he can get the fights. Being a mandatory contender has not
been enough, and he will have to bring a couple of impressive performances as
well as a payload of cash to the table if he wants to sometime meet Hopkins. To
me he is the most natural contender to Hopkins, and anyone else either doesn't
have the experience or just isn't good enough. I have a feeling that he may
just get upstaged once again by the re-entry of Felix Trinidad into the
equation.
Bernard Hopkins 44(31)-2-1 - Nothing really needs to be said except that at the
moment he is at the top of tree. His only legitimate career defeat has come at
the hands of a peak Roy Jones Jr., and no one has come close to beating him
since then and its debatable whether there is a middleweight about of the
calibre required to beat him now.
But now at 39 Hopkins is in need of more career defining fights and the big
paydays that go along with them. The current consensus world p4p champ, assuming
he is successful versus DLH, will look for his twentieth IBF title defense as
well as his 7th undisputed championship defense. In my opinion this will be
against Trinidad for a monster payday. This means the likes of the men
mentioned above will be left to fight it out after his retirement. Of course
this is boxing, and nothing is guaranteed while everything is subject to change.
With 4 world class fighters coming into the division, it has become an
interesting place to be. With Shane Mosley and Winky Wright likely to graduate
here as well in the wake of Hopkins departure, I think there is a lot of very
good fights to be made. Eastman, Taylor, Karmazin, DeLaHoya, Vargas, Trinidad,
Mayorga, Ashira, Masoe, Joval, Allen, and perhaps even Mosley and Wright promise
increased wide open action to come. It seems to be a veritable tapestry of
talent and styles that boxing fans can look forward to in the form of some great
fights in the near future.
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Copyright © 2003 Hard Core Boxing
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