The first Saturday of every month can be a very busy one for boxing fans. Showtime broadcasts their main fights on the first Saturday of each month. HBO, like the jealous older brother, can’t let Showtime have the spotlight all to itself, so they usually counter-program with something just as interesting. Last Saturday was no different. While there may not have been something for everyone, there was plenty of action, knockouts, and controversy to satisfy those that stayed home on a Saturday night. I had more contact with the Last Channel button on my remote than I did with the ladies. What else was I supposed to do over the weekend, go to the Decatur Celebration? I don’t think so.
Vernon Forrest vs. Ike Quartey
This was an interesting matchup. Both men were welterweight champions of the world. Ike “Bazooka” Quartey held his title through the late 90’s until he was on the losing end of a controversial decision to Oscar De La Hoya in 1999. Vernon Forrest defeated Shane Mosley for his world title in 2002. Both Quartey and Forrest are coming off of long layoffs. Quartey was burned out from boxing and felt robbed in his losses. He returned to his home in Ghana and remained inactive for five years. Forrest has fought sporadically over the last three years but has been hampered by an often-injured left arm. The winner of this fight would certainly be thrust back into the boxing spotlight. Unless, of course, there was controversy over who the winner really was.
While the scorecards were being tallied, it was already clear who the winner was by looking at the fighters. Quartey was jovial and confident while Forrest seemed dismayed and forced a smile into the camera. The ageless Michael Buffer announced the scores as 96-93, 95-94, and 95-94 all to the winner by unanimous decision…Vernon Forrest. Hmmm?
Forrest celebrated as if he sucked out a river card to win the World Series of Poker. You could tell by his reaction that he wasn’t expecting the win. Quartey, on the other hand, was shocked. He paced around the ring looking for someone to explain to him what just happened. Good for us, HBO was showing the fight. That meant conspiracy-theorist Jim Lampley could chime in with his thoughts. According to Mr. Lampley, the judges may have been U.S. soccer fans and were getting even with Quartey for his home country of Ghana laying a beatdown on the United States in the World Cup. Part of me knows that Lampley was kidding with that statement, but the other part of me knows that he’s doing background checks on the judges right now.
Quartey looked like the better fighter in the ring. He landed better punches and wore down his opponent throughout the fight. By no means was Forrest dominated. He rocked Quartey with an uppercut in the third round but couldn’t finish him off. Forrest wasn’t in the best shape and Quartey took advantage of it. To make the final decision even more puzzling, Forrest was deducted a point in the ninth round for a low blow. The sense of urgency shown by Forrest in the final round was an indicator that he felt he was behind in the fight.
The future of these two fighters is uncertain, especially for Ike Quartey. Before the fight, Quartey spoke about how he regained his passion for the sport. He wasn’t fighting for the money, but because he loves to box. Losing like this certainly brings back the feelings he had when he quit six years ago. Forrest will fight again but there is no clear step for him to take after this fight. A rematch with Quartey would be the most fair thing to do but that is assuming Quartey is willing.
Kassim Ouma vs. Sechew Powell
In the Forrest/Quartey undercard, two light middleweight prospects battled in an action-packed fight. Kassim Ouma is a warrior still looking to rebound from his loss to Roman Karmazin in 2005. Ouma has won three straight and a win would put him back in the title hunt. His opponent is the undefeated Sechew Powell. Powell holds a victory over Archak TerMeliksetian as well as victories over current Contender hopefuls Grady Brewer and Cornelius Bundrage.
These two men have similar styles. They each like to be the aggressor and press the action. Anytime two fighters like that meet it will be a good show. Both men traded heavy punches early until Powell started to fade around the fourth round. Ouma would not stop his attack and Powell seemed discouraged. Powell allowed Ouma to impose his will. After Ouma took some of Powell’s best shots yet still came forward, Powell started to lose the fight mentally.
The official scores were 100-90, 97-93, and 96-94, a unanimous decision for Kassim Ouma. Powell suffered his first professional loss but there is no doubt he’ll be back in major fights. It was a learning experience for the hard-hitting prospect. The win puts Ouma back in the title picture. A fight with new light middleweight champion Cory Spinks would be interesting, but Ouma may just have to go through Roman Karmazin to get it.
A Family Affair
Showtime countered HBO with a double dose of the Marquez Brothers. Rafael Marquez defended his IBF and IBO Bantamweight titles in a rematch against Silence Mabuza. In the main event, older brother Juan Manuel Marquez competed for the vacant WBO Featherweight title against a man with a first name that would make anybody laugh, Terdsak Jandaeng.
I’ve spoke a few times about the career of Juan Manuel Marquez. I’ve even gone as far saying he should retire, not due to diminished skills, but due to his decision-making skills. Marquez claims to have his head on straight and is making his way back to the forefront of the featherweight division.
Juan Manuel Marquez dominated Jandaeng. Marquez put Jandaeng down in the second round and it didn’t look like Jandaeng would get up but he made the count. Jandaeng was put down again in the sixth round and the fight was stopped in the seventh when referee Jay Nady didn’t think Jandaeng had anything left. It was a good showing for Marquez, but the real improvement needs to be made by his management and it remains to be seen if that has gotten any better.
Rafael Marquez vs. Silence Mabuza
These two men fought last year and Marquez forced a stoppage in the fourth round due to a cut suffered by Mabuza. This is Rafael Marquez’s seventh defense of his IBF Bantamweight title and his last. Marquez plans to move up to super bantamweight after this fight.
The Marquez/Mabuza rematch was a lot better than their first fight. Sequels are notorious for being lesser versions of the first, and I’m looking right at you Caddyshack II. Then again, the first fight wasn’t all that great, so I’m not too sure why they even needed to do it again. Now I’m looking at you The Whole Ten Yards.
Rafael Marquez started out strong. His aggressiveness poured over into the second round where he landed a shot to Mabuza’s nads, a surefire way to bring your opponent to his knees. Probably pissed off, Mabuza came out more determined in the third round. He didn’t take over the fight, but Mabuza was far more competitive than he was in the first two rounds. In the seventh round, things started to change. Marquez landed a right that stunned Mabuza and killed his rhythm. Mabuza didn’t look the same and was out of gas. Marquez took advantage and bloodied Mabuza in a violent storm of punches to close out the ninth round. Mabuza’s corner called the fight off and would not let their fighter come out for the tenth round.
Results From Last Week
– Walter Wright easily dispatched Andre Eason on The Contender. Wright was arrogant after his unanimous decision over Eason, which seems to have struck a chord with Cornelius Bundrage.
– Jose Miguel Cotto, older brother of Miguel Cotto, defeated Ivan Hernandez by TKO in the tenth and final round.
– Super middleweight Anthony Hanshaw earned a unanimous decision over Esteban Camou.
– Lafarrell Bunteng won his bout with Jose Luis Herrera by 5th round TKO. Bunteng will now face Hanshaw in the second round of a super middleweight tournament shown on Showtime.
– Lightweight prospect Anthony Peterson scored a 2nd round knockout over Jose Soto.
– Edwin Valero won the WBA Super Featherweight title from Vicente Mosquera. Valero is currently banned from fighting in the United States due to a failed MRI in New York. It’s a shame because he seems to be fine and had an action-packed fight with Mosquera. Valero put Mosquera down twice in the first round but was knocked down by Mosquera in the third round. Valero finished the fight with a 10th round TKO.
– Joey Gilbert, from the first season of Contender, knocked Jason Aaker out in the first round.
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