March 22, 2008

Morongo Resort & Casino-Cabazon, California

This is part 2 of a 2 part recap and will feature the 2 live matches from Saturday's HBO BAD event.

First a correction from the last article. The Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano match on May 24 in Manchester, England will take place at the City of Manchester Stadium that houses the Manchester City soccer team, not the MEN Arena. (Thanks to Chris Grieve.)

1. IBF Super Middleweight (168 pounds) 12-Round Championship Eliminator Match:

Librado Andrade (26-1, 20 KO's, 165.5 pounds) vs. Robert Stieglitz (31-1,19 KO's, 166.75 pounds)

Andrade is most well known for being the opponent that Mikkel Kessler used as a human punching en route to his shot at Joe Calzaghe on March 24, 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Kessler won that match on all of the judges' scorecards 120-108. Somewhat miraculously, Andrade finished the match with no visual marks and without being knockdown. The beating Kessler put on Andrade was so severe that the HBO analysts began talking of the need for the match to be stopped in round 5. In rounds 3 through 5, Kessler out-landed Andrade 94 to 19. Through the first 5 rounds, Andrade demonstrated a nearly iron chin to remain standing as Kessler was connecting on 47% of his power punches. In round 6, the situation got worse for Andrade. Kessler out-landed him in that round 27 to 5. After 8 rounds, Kessler had out-landed Andrade 222 to 63 on total connects, yet amazingly Andrade was still solidly standing. At the end of the match, Andrade had earned himself several big pay checks down the line by showing a potentially legendary ability to take a punch. Kessler hit Andrade 348 total times and 95 of those were power connects. The final numbers had Kessler with more then 250 total punches landed then Andrade and 1 more power punch landed for Kessler then total punches landed for Andrade (94).

The La Habra, California resident's last match was a technical knockout victory at 2:34 of round 7 over Yusaf Mack at the Mandalay Bay resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Andrade won the vacant USBA Championship at 168 pounds in that match. However that title is not at stake in this match, and it appears Andrade has vacated the title to go after the more important IBF Championship.

In the match with Mack, Andrade was knocked down for the first time in his career in round 1 on a punch he never saw. Andrade came back from the knockdown to score 3 knockdowns in round 7 that forced the referee to stop the match.

Andrade is currently ranked by The Ring magazine as the number 5 contender at 168 pounds to its champion in the weight class, Calzaghe.

Stieglitz' is a resident of Germany and this is only his third match outside of Germany as a pro. On October 10, 2006, Stieglitz defeated an American, Eric Howard, who was coming into the match with a record of 11-13-1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Stieglitz traveled to the neighboring country to knockout Howard at 2:50 of round 5 in an 8-round contest. Howard was coming in on a 6 match losing streak, where 5 of his last 6 opponents had knocked him out in 6 rounds or less. Since facing Stieglitz, Howard is 0-1 with the loss coming when Howard's corner decided the boxer's career was over after round 5.

The resident of Germany's other match outside his home country was on June 2, 2007 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. That night he won an 8-round unanimous decision over Marlon Hayes. The match appears to have been contracted for 175 pounds, but Hayes missed weight. Hayes missed the weight by 4 pounds, officially weighing 179 pounds for the match. The apparently out of shape Hayes was coming in to the match 2-6. Since facing Stieglitz, Hayes is 0-3.

Stieglitz' last match a 10-round unanimous decision victory over William Gare on October 13, 2007 in Germany. Gare continued Stieglitz' run of beating soft opponents. The South African's record entering the match was a respectable 22-13. However, Gare was 0-5 outside of Africa. Gare was an opponent designed to go rounds with Stieglitz. The South African had never been knocked out and was only down twice in his career. He also, had not knocked out anyone with a winning record since the 8-2-1, Pascal Mtungu, on April 2, 2000.

Stieglitz is unranked by The Ring, but the number 34 ranked boxer at 168 pounds by boxrec.com.

Stieglitz at 26-years-old is 3 years younger then the 29-year-old Andrade. Andrade has the height advantage standing 6' 2" tall, while Stieglitz is 5' 11" tall. The American boxer has the reach advantage with an arm length of 27" measured from the armpit to the end of the fist, compared to Stieglitz who has a 23" arm length. Stieglitz will have the weight advantage entering the ring. According to HBO's unofficial scales approaching match time he is up to 176 pounds, and Andrade has only rehydrated to 173 pounds following the official weigh-ins. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance.

California uses a modified version of the unified rules of boxing. The only difference is that both the doctor and referee can stop the match. Under the unified rules of boxing, only the referee can stop the match. These rules will be in effect for the entire event. Two of the judges are from the United States and the other is from Panama. The referee is Ray Corona. During the stare down in the center of the ring before the match it appears there may be a language issue in this match. Stieglitz did not understand the English command to "touch gloves". It will be important to watch in the match how much of the referee's instructions he understands or can follow. Keeping unofficial score for HBO for this event is Harold Lederman.

Andrade wins round 1 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. Before the match, Max Kellerman doing color commentary for HBO tried to justify HBO putting 2 boxers of this quality on their air. During round 1, which Andrade dominated, on play-by-play for HBO Bob Papa explained that Andrade never does a lot to impress anyone during a round, it is what he will do throughout the match. Close action packed round 2 that Andrade probably wins, 10-9. Kellerman explained during the round that Andrade's hands go numb when he blocks punches with his gloves. Therefore, he chooses to drop his hands and take the punches with his face and try to roll with them. That means Andrade is blocking the punches with his face and is going to lose a lot of extra rounds that way, when he may not be getting hit that hard. It will force the American to win by knockout or risk losing most decisions with that strategy. In round 2, Andrade found success with his right uppercut and has badly bloodied Stieglitz nose by throwing the punch repeatedly. Lederman scores round 2 for Andrade, 10-9. The boxers' feet tangle and Stieglitz goes down to the canvas with 6 seconds to go in round 3. The bell rings to end the round, while the referee is wiping off Stieglitz' gloves. A very close round that Stieglitz may have barely won, 10-9. After 3 rounds, Andrade leads on my scorecard, 29-28. Through 3 rounds, Stieglitz has landed 57 of the 196 total punches he has thrown, for a 29% total connect percentage. Through 3 rounds, Andrade has landed 70 of the 246 total punches he has thrown for a 28% total connect percentage. Lederman scores round 3 for Andrade, 10-9, and has Andrade winning the match after 3 rounds, 30-27.

Stieglitz wins round 4, 10-9. Stieglitz may be winning rounds, however he appears in far worse shape then Andrade. The native of Russia, also wins round 4 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. Andrade comes on strong at the end of round 5 to take round 5, 10-9. Stieglitz looks very tired at this point. According to CompuBox, Andrade landed 35 total punches in round 5, and 24 of those total connects came in the last minute of the round. Lederman scores round 5 or Andrade, 10-9. Andrade wins round 6, 10-9. The American had Stieglitz hurt badly and covering up at the end of round 6. The bell probably saved Stieglitz from a knockdown there. After 6 rounds, Andrade leads on my scorecard, 58-56. Lederman scores round 6 for Andrade and has him winning the match after 6 rounds, 59-55.

Stieglitz may have won a close round 7, 10-9. Lederman awards round 7 to Andrade, 10-9. Andrade has Stieglitz pinned up against the ropes and lands hard body shots on the Russian native, before landing a big left-right combo that send Stieglitz stumbling across the ring hurt badly with 1:17 to go in round 8. Andrade quickly follows up and forces the referee to step in to save the still standing Stieglitz with 1:09 to go in round 8.

The official outcome from the official voice of the UFC, Bruce Buffer is: at 1:53 of round the referee has called a stop to this contest making the winner by technical knockout, Librado Andrade. The win moves Andrade to 27-1 with 21 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

The final punchstat numbers have Andrade landing 216 of the 600 total punches he threw, for a 36% connect percentage. Andrade landed 184 of the 464 power punches he threw, for a 40% power connect percentage. Stieglitz landed 154 of the 527 total punches he threw, for a 29% total connect percentage. The resident of Germany landed 132 of the 349 power punches he threw, for a 38% power connect percentage.

With the win Andrade is now the mandatory challenger to the 168 pound title held by Lucian Bute. Andrade looked much better here, then in his loss to Kessler. However, there is still a Grand Canyon sized gap in skills between Andrade and the two elite boxers at 168 pounds, Kessler and Calzaghe. Andrade did not show anything in this match that would foster the belief he could ever beat Kessler or Calzaghe. However, Andrade has a phenomenal ability to take a punch and could potentially beat anyone else in the division if he continues to improve at this pace.

Stieglitz was dominated in this match, and does not appear to have elite talent. He is still very young, and could do with a lot of seasoning back in Europe. Stieglitz is years away from contending for a title not held by Calzaghe or Kessler.

2. Ring/Interim WBO Lightweight (135 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Joel Casamayor (35-3-1, 21 KO's, 134.25 pounds) (Ring Champion) vs. Michael Katsidis (23-0, 20 KO's, 133.75 pounds) (Interim WBO Champion)

Casamayor won his Ring Championship by defeating the late Diego Corrales via split decision on October 7, 2006 at the Mandalay Bay. This is Casamayor's second defense of this title.

Katsidis won his championship when it was vacant by defeating Graham Earl on February 17, 2007 at The Arena in London, England. Katsidis came back from being knocked, when he got distracted and dropped his guard, to force Earl's corner to stop the match following round 5. This is Katsidis' second defense of this title.

Casamayor was an outstanding amateur boxer. He won the gold medal in boxing at 119 pounds for Cuba at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympiad. The Cuban government rewarded Casamayor with a bicycle (not motorcycle) for winning the gold medal upon his return. Casamayor traded the bike for a pig to feed his family. He continued his stellar amateur career in Cuba at 125 pounds and qualified at that weight for the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996. Casamayor was one of the favorites to take the gold medal at the games. However, he defected to the United States right before the start of the Atlanta Olympiad.

He began his pro career a little more then 2 months after defecting with a knockout win 1:34 into round 1 over David Chamendis at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. However, according to one boxing promoter, Casamayor did not make the mistake of many Cuban boxers who defect and continue to live in Miami. He moved out west to train and isolate himself somewhat from the vibrant Cuban community in south Florida. The promoter speculated that when the boxers come to the United States after having had almost no freedom at all for years under the Cuban boxing training system, and are thrown into the excitement that is Miami it can be too much for them to handle.

Casamayor's last match was a controversial split decision victory over Jose Armando Santa Cruz on November 10, 2007 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Casamayor was knocked down in round 1, but came from behind to win on the judges' scorecards, 114-113, 114-113, 113-114. Most people who watched the match believe Casamayor lost soundly. A rematch was ordered by the WBC who's Interim Lightweight Championship was at stake in the match, but Casamayor passed it up to take this match. No major television network wanted to carry the match. Therefore, Casamayor took this match for the better pay check. As a consequence Casamayor has been stripped of the title.

Casamayor is The Ring Magazine Champion at 135 pounds.

Katsidis was a stellar amateur boxer. He was able to represent the host nation of Australia in boxing at 132 pounds during the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games.

If Katsidis wins, he would become the first Australian boxer in history to defeat a Cuban born boxer. That includes both Cuban amateurs and pros.

The Australian's last match was a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Czar Amonsot on July 21, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay. Prior to going the distance with Amonsot, Katsidis had knocked out his last 13 opponents, all in 9 rounds or less. Against Amonsot, Katsidis showed problems with cuts. He was opened up in 3 different places on his face. Katsidis was cut badly above his left and above and below his right eye. All 3 of the cuts were severe cuts and could re-open in this match giving him problems. However, Katsidis scored 2 knockdowns in the match, and delivered so much head trauma to Amonsot that he suffered bleeding on the brain and will hopefully never box again.

Katsidis is The Ring's number 6 contender at 135 pounds.

At 27-years-old, Katsidis is 9 years younger then the 36-year-old Casamayor. Katsidis holds a slight height advantage standing 5' 7.5" tall, while Casamayor is 5' 7" tall. The Australian has the reach advantage with a 23" arm length, compared to Casamayor's 22.5" arm length. Both boxers weighed 140 pounds on HBO's unofficial scales approaching match time. Casamayor will box out of the southpaw stance and Katsidis will box out of the orthodox stance.

Two of the judges are from California and the other is from New Jersey. The referee is Jon Schorle.

A left hook from Casamayor sends Katsidis to the canvas only 22 seconds into round 1. Casamayor also caught Katsidis with a left uppercut when the Australian was on his knees on the ground. Katsidis popped right back up and wanted to continue immediately to even things up, before the referee even had a chance to count to 1. However, the referee did not allow Katsidis to go chasing after Casamayor as he wanted, and forced the Australian to take the 8-count. Katsidis legs do not look solid when he is allowed to charge back into action with 2:24 to go in the round. Another left hand from Casamayor puts Katsidis down with 2:09 to go in round 1. That second time knockdown was more damaging. Casamayor connected solidly with the chin of Katsidis and the Australian's eyes do not look 100% clear getting up from this knockdown. However, Katsidis takes the referees count and is ready to charge back into action with 1:58 to go in round 1. There is no 3 knockdown rule in California. With 24 seconds to go in round 1, Katsidis throws a right elbow from the clinch, that luckily does not land clean on Casamayor or it would have cut him. Katsidis is every bit the awful defensive, brawling boxer HBO promised. On everyone's scorecard Casamayor wins round 1, 10-7. Katsidis is bleeding from his nose after round 1, and it looks broken. Katsidis is ducking into Casamayor's left hand in his attempt to dodge punches. It appears Katsidis did not spar with southpaws, because that is the first thing he would have learned in sparring.

In round 2, Katsidis has been cut below his left eye. That was one place on his face not cut during his last match. Casamayor wins round 2, 10-9. The veteran is now picking his spots to set up the seemingly inevitable knockout. Lederman scores round 2 for Casamayor, 10-9. Casamayor easily wins round 3, 10-9. After 3 rounds, Casamayor is ahead on my scorecard, 30-25. Lederman scored round 3 for Katsidis, 10-9, but has Casamayor winning the match after 3 rounds, 29-26. In round 3, Kellerman noted that Katsidis did not look like he was going after a decision win and is now committed to only brawling for a knockout. After round 3, Katsidis has swelling around both eyes, a cut has opened up under his right eye, and he is laboring to breath. Conversely, after round 3 Casamayor is unmarked, breathing at a relaxed pace, and perfectly calm.

A right-left combination from Katsidis has Casamayor hurt and in trouble with 1:38 to go in round 4. Great round 4 that saw Casamayor use every trick he had in his bag to stay standing. A notoriously dirty boxer, Casamayor used the intentional low blow to buy himself some time. However, Casamayor did not land the punch cleanly and was only able to earn a momentary break to receive a severe warning. Casamayor was looking to force Katsidis to take an injury time out, which would allow him time to recover, as well. The Cuban Olympian did still hold on and throw powerful counter punches to try to get Katsidis to slow down. Katsidis seemed to will himself through Casamayor's power punches in attempt to score the knockout creating great exchanges. Katsidis wins round 4, 10-9. Lederman scores round 4 for Katsidis, 10-9. Katsidis wins round 5, 10-9. Lederman scores round 5 for Katsidis, 10-9. A Katsidis right hand sends Casamayor down and through the ropes with 32 seconds to go in round 6. Boxing uses PWG's 20 count rule if a competitor goes to the floor, but the standard 10 count rule is in effect if a boxer is knocked down and lands on the apron. Casamayor only landed on the apron and was standing on the apron at 7. The referee counted to 8 and paused for Casamayor to come in the ring to continue. Casamayor may not have been in the ring by 10 if the referee had not halted his count momentarily. This appears to be a case of the referee using his discretion and it could become controversial, later. The action is resumed with 18 seconds to go in the round and Casamayor is still in trouble. Casamayor ends the round standing, but receives a late punch to the face from Katsidis after the bell sounds. Katsidis wins round 6 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-8. After 6 rounds, Casamayor leads on my scorecard, 56-55. On Lederman's scorecard, after 6 rounds Katsidis is ahead, 56-55.

Katsidis wins a close round 7, 10-9. Lederman scores round 7 for Katsidis, 10-9. Very close round 8, but Katsidis probably wins it by going forward the entire round, 10-9. With 2:35 to go in round 9, Casamayor throws a left hand that hits Katsidis low. It does not hurt Katsidis, but after the apparently intentional low blow earlier and the fact this match has seen numerous fouls the referee takes a point from Casamayor. That low blow was not intentional, but Casamayor has been warned numerous times and the deduction seems fair for a match with this many fouls. A deduction to Katsidis to even things up should be coming shortly. Katsidis wins a close round 9, 10-8. After 9 rounds, Katsidis leads on my scorecard, 85-82.

A left hook from Casamayor sends Katsidis grabbing for the ropes and to the canvas 10 seconds into round 10. Katsidis looks nearly completely out of it when the referee allows him to continue with 2:39 to go in round 10. The referee hesitated a lot before letting Katsidis continue, and he might have been right to stop the match right there. Katsidis does not look good. The Australian starts getting the worse of an exchange against the ropes and the referee wisely steps in to save a still standing Katsidis with 2:32 to go in round 10. This match has been insane. The crowd at the arena is screaming itself hoarse following that incredible finish.

The official result as read by the official voice of the octagon, Bruce Buffer is: at 30 seconds of round number 10 the referee has called a stop to this contest making the winner by technical knockout, and now the new WBO Interim Lightweight Champion of the World and still The Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion of the World, Joel "El Cepillo" Casamayor. The win moves Casamayor to 36-3-1, with 22 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

The final punchstat numbers have Casamayor landing 163 of the 515 total punches he threw, for a 32% total connect percentage. Casamayor landed 102 of the 275 power punches he threw, for a 37% power connect percentage. Katsidis landed 144 of the 468 total punches he threw, for a 31% total connect percentage. The Australian landed 122 of the 391 power punches he threw, for a 31% power connect percentage.

Casamayor said in his post match interview that Katsidis was not a good puncher and that he actually went down largely due to a slip. That answer appeared to shock Kellerman, who was doing the interview, and seems shocking having watched the match and numerous replays of the knockdown. Casamayor said he did not want to face Nate Campbell who holds 3 of the official titles at 135 pounds. Instead Casamayor wants big money matches against Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao. To add some excitement to the event, Campbell is in attendance and trying to get into the ring where the interviews are being conducted to say he wants Casamayor.

Katsidis correctly said in his post match interview that he lost this match, because of his inexperience. The Australian did not question the stoppage and gave a very classy interview.

Casamayor looked exciting in this match. He already has a victory over Campbell, and another match with Campbell would be a high risk-low reward match for Casamayor. If Casamayor wins it is something he has already done and is expected to do. If Casamayor loses, that could be read as the sign he has gotten too old and his career as a top boxer is over. Casamayor may never get another big match were he to lose to Campbell. Barrera was retired by defeats from Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao, and would be unlikely to return for a match with Casamayor, because it is unlikely to generate enough money. The Pacquiao match has a chance to happen, though and could be very interesting.

Katsidis has a lot of potential. With more experience Katsidis could be an elite boxer. Katsidis was going to face Juan Diaz in what would have been an exciting match between two offensively boxers focused mainly on offense, however Don King decided to block the match. That match appears to be back up for consideration. The winner of a match between Katsidis and Diaz would deserve an immediate shot at one of the titles.

This show was a lot of fun to watch in its entirety. However, the first match belonged as the main event of a ShoBox event and was not the usual caliber of an HBO boxing match. It is worth making an effort to see at least the main event and Pacquiao-Marquez replay.

News and Notes: As part of the February 5, 2008 primary, California voters approved a ballot measure that will give the Morongo Resort & Casino that hosted this event and 3 other casinos several thousand additional slot machines in exchange for a larger share of their gaming revenue. That should mean many more events from the expanded casino in the future.

To reinforce the Cuban government's fear of athletes defecting, they had 7 of their men's under-23 national soccer team defect following their 1-1 draw against the United States in Tampa, Florida on March 11 in a qualifying match for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Due to a red card suspension to one of the players who did not defect, Cuba was left with only 10 players for their next match. (A starting soccer team needs 11.) Reportedly the NFL's Dallas Cowboys are expressing interest in acquiring Adam "Pacman" Jones from the Tennessee Titans. This may be a terrible idea, because there are over 60 strip clubs in the greater Dallas metropolitan area. However, for the Cowboys to acquire to acquire Jones he must first be reinstated from his more then year long suspension under the league's conduct policy. Jones attempted to be reinstated during the NFL season, in part citing the fact he gave tickets to the TNA Bound for Glory PPV to local children's charities in Atlanta as community service. However, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did not feel that offset the fact Jones continues to frequent strip clubs, as he had promised to stop doing.

Golden Boy Promotions is trying to put together a deal where Jose Armando Santa Cruz would face Antonio Pitalua with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger to the winner of the Pacquiao-David Diaz match. The match between Santa Cruz and Pitalua would happen sometime in the very near future, with the first serious potential date being on the undercard of the May 3 de la Hoya match.

Juan Diaz has finished his promotional contract with Don King and appears headed to Golden Boy Promotions. That should make a lot more interesting matches available at 135 pound. That is because Golden Boy Promotions likes to build its matches around The Ring Magazine Championships, and not the watered down sanctioned titles. (That may be in part due to the fact that Oscar de la Hoya owns The Ring, but the promotional focus on Ring Championships came before he bought the magazine.)

The next recap will come out on April 13 and feature the previous night's HBO event. That event is highlighted by Miguel Cotto vs. Alfonso Gomez.

Sincerely,

Jereme Warneck

Boxing and Video Game Correspondent for wrestlingobserver.com and f4wonline.com

Hidden Valley Lake, CA

I can be reached for feedback and comments at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or as JeremeW on XBOX Live. I read everything.

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