The Beast Within: Two Warriors Face Must Win Situation

By Christian Giudice

christiangiudice@hotmail.com

The soft thudding sound of a glove on flesh – a punch which opens a fresh wound. The whip of an opponent’s head from a three-punch combination. The resilience of a battered, but not broken will, coming forward as an eggplant-sized boulder forms above his eye. An uppercut that lands perfectly; a hook that cracks a rib. The tearing of flesh; a trickle of blood which turns to a consistent flow, blinds the fighter.

While some fighters thrive on avoiding violence, others have no other recourse then to embrace it. Thus, violence is what defines them.

Every time Alfredo Angulo steps in the ring, violence is a guarantee. He calls for it. Often, Angulo is the one inflicting the damage as his record of 22 wins and three losses would attest.

Last June, Angulo knocked down light middleweight Erislandy Lara on two occasions before leaving the ring with an injury that many feared was a broken orbital bone. The lump was so grotesque that fans were forced to turn away. Eventually the fight was called at 1:50 of the tenth round, and Angulo and camp headed to Harbor-UCLA Hospital. Angulo, a fighter who has made his living proving his courage time and again, had nothing to be ashamed of. Those who knew him continued to marvel at his warrior mentality; others who carelessly brought up the “quitting” issue knew nothing about the fighter.

Three months later, Canelo Alvarez, a fighter also accustomed to violent confrontations of a different kind was facing the world’s best fighter in Floyd Mayweather Jr. Both Angulo and Alvarez employ contrasting styles. Angulo relies on plodding forward and pressing the action, and is comfortable switching from conventional to southpaw; on the contrary, Alvarez, at his best, is also always on the attack, but his power stems directly from his speed. Against Lara, Angulo often hibernated in his defensive posture and then unfurled in spurts, an approach which earned him one of the scorecards. Alvarez didn’t have as much success in his last bout.

When Alvarez stepped in against Mayweather last fall, he was unable to make it a competitive fight. Mayweather exposed the young fighter’s flaws, used movement and change of direction to confound him, and showcased his unparalleled defensive skills. Fighting Mayweather can drain and mentally extinguish a young fighter so thoroughly that he loses all focus. As he fought on into the late rounds, Alvarez kept moving forward, but with caution. By the middle rounds, the fight had lost its luster.

While Angulo was mired in a brawl in June, Canelo received an education from the most erudite of boxers. It only took six rounds to see what Mayweather could accomplish. Few fighters in the history of the sport can douse an opponent’s spirit so quickly and comprehensively.

Tonight, Canelo Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo will face off at 155 pounds, a weight that was designated at the weigh-in. Despite a weigh-in debacle that saw $100 thousand change hands, both fighters look mentally and physically prepared. Neither fighter can afford to lose after his previous performance. Canelo needs to shine, and he picked the ideal opponent in Angulo, who will be in front of him all night long. As tough as Angulo is, questions still linger about his health. Can he recover from such a devastating injury to immediately face a strong, young fighter? How is he handling the mental and physical side effects from that fight? Conversely, the only questions Canelo needs to answer are about his ability to regain his confidence, and redirect his career back to where it was prior to Mayweather. Canelo needs someone in front of him after a forgettable experience trying to time Mayweather’s constant changes of pace. Each time Canelo thought Mayweather was in range, the champ was brilliantly shifting out of harm’s way.

Few guarantees grace the sport of boxing; yet, this looks like a sure bet for an early Fight of the Year candidate. Canelo will start boxing early, and stay away from Angulo’s power. I will look for him to eventually give in to his instincts to trade with Angulo. A brawl will ensue in the middle rounds that will get people excited about the sport again after a lackluster start to 2014. Eventually, Canelo, in good shape, will be too much to handle, and will stop a defenseless Angulo against the ropes in the tenth.