Dougie’s Monday Mailbag (Gervonta Davis, Vasiliy Lomachenko)

LOMA AND TANK

Dougie,

What a great night of boxing. Loma is looking back to his usual self, and dammit if Tank isn’t always in tense and exciting fights. Kinda wish the ref would have let Barrios go out on his shield, but I know that’s not his job. What do you think Tank should do next? How do you see Tank vs. Josh Taylor playing out? Also, Loma loses to Lopez again (too much power), but I’d love to see it happen anyway. Maybe Loma pulls a Marquez (a la Baby Bull Diaz or Pacquiao IV) and just starches Lopez. I’d lose my mind if that happens, but in a good way. Loma is legit obsessed with Lopez right now.

Side note: I just graduated from Columbia (wassup fellow alumnus). Any advice for a recent grad? Got my masters in nutrition and exercise physiology, and honestly, if I could be Canelo’s strength coach and sports dietitian, life would be pretty sweet. I’d settle for being on AJ’s team though. All the best. – JC, Dallas

You gotta pay your dues, JC. That’s the best advice I can give anyone (Columbia grads included) and it’s true for every profession. So, if you want to get into boxing as a S&C coach, it’s best to start from the bottom up and work on your craft/profession as your teammates/clients learn their craft/profession. Work with promising amateurs and young prospects – or maybe even not-so-promising boxers who aren’t that young – (do it for free if necessary) and help them achieve their goals, thus growing with them in the sport. Every S&C coach you’ve heard of started out this way.

What a great night of boxing. It was a lot of fun, but I wish the DAZN, ESPN and Showtime PPV broadcasts didn’t overlap the way they did. I can’t fully concentrate on three screens (four if you count the Twitter page that I kept flipping back and forth with the ESPN+ player on my laptop), so I didn’t watch the main event on DAZN (I’ll catch up later this week) and didn’t fully watch certain undercard bouts on all three shows (I’ll have to watch a replay of the Brant-Alimkhanuly fight). However, I still had a good time.

Loma is looking back to his usual self, and dammit if Tank isn’t always in tense and exciting fights. I think both guys are must-see TV even though their styles and skillsets are different. Vasiliy Lomachenko’s the savvy ring general, while Gervonta Davis is the seek-and-destroyer. However, they have the same uncanny ability to pull the trigger with the right punch at the right time, and they both want to pressure their opposition until the opposition capitulates. Tank is more prone to bludgeon or whack out his opponents; Loma is more apt to grind his down or make them quit, but they’re both badasses. I’d love to see them tangle at 135 pounds.

Kinda wish the ref would have let Barrios go out on his shield, but I know that’s not his job. I thought Thomas Taylor – one of the best young referees from California – did a great job on Saturday, and while he was little hesitant at first, I believe his stoppage was at the perfect time. Barrios was given an opportunity to survive and fight back if able, but he was ultimately spared serious damage.

What do you think Tank should do next? Drop down to lightweight and challenge the Lopez-Kambosos winner, Ryan Garcia and/or Devin Haney.

How do you see Tank vs. Josh Taylor playing out? I would favor The Ring champ to win a decision, but I think it would be a hell of fight. I don’t think Davis can be in a bad fight.

Also, Loma loses to Lopez again (too much power), but I’d love to see it happen anyway. I would favor the young lion to beat the old lion again, but I wouldn’t totally count Loma out in a return bout, especially if the Ukrainian legend enters the ring 100% healthy and Lopez struggles to make 135.

Maybe Loma pulls a Marquez (a la Baby Bull Diaz or Pacquiao IV) and just starches Lopez. I don’t see that happening, even if Lopez is severely weight drained.

Loma is legit obsessed with Lopez right now. Of course, he is. He’s a real champion, a winner and an ultra-competitor.

 

WEEKEND RECAP

What’s up Doug, I hope all’s well. My last time writing in I asked how do you see Casimero vs Inoue going. I forgot that Casimero is now scheduled to face Donaire, who looked like a monster against Oubaali, so how do you see Donaire-Casimero going?

Tank seems to have that sickening fast twitch power to the head and body and he’ll take one to give one, so he’ll be in exciting fights but I do feel like he’s defensively getting better at slipping and riding shots. What did you make of his performance and how do you see him fare vs. each of the top lightweights who we all want to see him fight?

Loma looked sensational but can he make enough changes to beat Lopez in the rematch if it happens? Same for Lubin, can he do anything different vs Charlo if it were to happen?

Janibek Alimkhanuly looks like one to keep an eye on! Cheers. – David, Dublin

Alimkhanuly was already Ring-ranked (No. 9 at middleweight) when he faced Rob Brant (who is currently at No. 8 but might drop out of the rankings following this stoppage loss). I expect The Ring Ratings Panel to advance the 28-year-old native of Kazakhstan up the 160-pound rankings. I can’t give you an analysis of his performance vs. the more experienced Brant because I haven’t seen it yet (don’t blame me, blame boxing’s power brokers for counter-programming the s__t out of each other), but based on that result and on what I’ve seen of him I think the southpaw is ready for top-tier middleweights after just 10 pro bouts.

Alimkhanuly is currently rated No. 2 in the WBO’s middleweight rankings, just behind Jaime Munguia and the WBO titleholder Demetrius Andrade. If Munguia doesn’t want that Boo-Boo Smoke (oh my God, why did I write that? It sound like kindergarten slang for “fart”), I bet Qazaq Style would go for it.

(H)ow do you see Donaire-Casimero going? I think it will be a hell of fight in the early going – it has the potential to become a shootout – but I think Donaire will keep his composure and systematically break his fellow Pinoy down to a mid-to-late rounds stoppage. As big, powerful, gutsy and savvy as Casimero is, the Road Warrior is too wild and reckless at times. Donaire will clip him at some point.

Tank seems to have that sickening fast twitch power to the head and body and he’ll take one to give one, so he’ll be in exciting fights but I do feel like he’s defensively getting better at slipping and riding shots. He’s got the quick feet and reflexes to avoid punches when he sees them coming from a distance. I don’t know about his defensive prowess on the inside. It probably can be better than it is now if he works on it. I think he’s the total package as it. The main areas I’d like to see him improve in is his activity, his ring-cutting ability, and his combination punching.

What did you make of his performance and how do you see him fare vs. each of the top lightweights who we all want to see him fight? I thought it was a very good performance; although he was outworked and outboxed in the early going, his speed, power and take-no-prisoners mentality ultimately proved too much for Barrios, who showed a lot of skill and grit lasting into the 11^th round.

Loma looked sensational but can he make enough changes to beat Lopez in the rematch if it happens? Does he need to change that much? Maybe all he needs to do is show up healthy and start faster. There’s only one way we’ll find out.

Same for Lubin, can he do anything different vs Charlo if it were to happen? Yeah, tuck his chin and keep his gloves up. LOL. Seriously, he’s matured and developed a lot – technically and stylistically – since that first-round KO loss, and I think underrated trainer Kevin Cunningham deserves some kudos from the boxing community for The Hammer’s advancement.

 

THE MATRIX

Hey Dougie,

Hope you’re good. Keep it up with the mailbag, some of us ain’t got much else in life!

I’ve completely readdressed where I see Canelo in world boxing after what he’s done in recent times but my two faves still grab me. Inoue was monstrous the other week, then Loma came again this week.

He didn’t start slow like he did against Lopez (not saying that’s why he lost!) but also he didn’t start slow like he did against everyone else! That whole “Matrix” thing might work but when boxers know they can just throw leather in different looks and pick up rounds…. And I’m not saying that’s why he lost to Lopez. But, afterwards, I watched him fight at his natural weight against the Ring Magazine #1 ranked boxer at featherweight, Gary Russell Jnr. Loma really shouldn’t be fighting at lightweight. Full stop.

Where is he in your pantheon of greats at featherweight? – Thomas

Lomachenko? He’s not in my featherweight pantheon. He had six pro fights at featherweight and only fought two standouts – an overweight Orlando Salido, who narrowly outpointed him, and a 24-0 Russell, who he outclassed. I thought Loma was absolutely sensational in both fights, he exhibited uncommon resolve vs. Siri and he was masterful in dissecting the ultra-talented American, but those 24 rounds aren’t NEARLY enough to earn a place among the likes of Willie Pep, Sandy Saddler, Salvador Sanchez, Henry Armstrong, Eusebio Pedroza and Naseem Hamed.

No disrespect to Loma. He’s an amazing talent, but he didn’t reign long enough in any one division to be considered among the best of a particular weight class. He’s like Jeff Fenech, another super-talent who beat top fighters in multiple weight classes in just a few years (and within 20 bouts), he’s recognized for his body of work over three divisions.

Keep it up with the mailbag, some of us ain’t got much else in life! LOL. I’ll keep that in mind, Thomas. I’m on family vacation this week, but I’ll try to find a substitute for the Friday Mailbag and next week’s Monday Mailbag.

I’ve completely readdressed where I see Canelo in world boxing after what he’s done in recent times but my two faves still grab me. Inoue was monstrous the other week, then Loma came again this week. I thought Loma looked sharp and confident against Nakatani, who’s tall order (pun intended) for most lightweights.

He didn’t start slow like he did against Lopez (not saying that’s why he lost!) but also he didn’t start slow like he did against everyone else! It wasn’t just a slow start vs. Lopez; the young gun “handcuffed” Loma with his tactics and the threat of a knockout counterpunch.

(A)fterwards, I watched him fight at his natural weight against the Ring Magazine #1 ranked boxer at featherweight, Gary Russell Jnr. I think that STILL might be his most impressive pro performance.

Loma really shouldn’t be fighting at lightweight. He may not be a natural 135 pounder, but he’s Ring Magazine’s No. 1-rated lightweight, and he deserves to be. I can’t see him dropping back down all the way to 126 at this stage of his career but dipping down to junior lightweight might not be a bad idea if the right fight is available. Loma vs. Shakur Stevenson would be fascinating.

 

CRAWFORD AND THE P4P

Hi Dougie,

I’m just curious about your thoughts on Crawford potentially taking on Jose Zepeda next and more specifically, should Crawford’s lack of quality competition start to affect his P4P standing? Guys like Inoue, Canelo and Spence constantly take on the best in their divisions while Bud takes on mediocre comp on the regular. This isn’t a knock on Bud, who IS good but I think he should have to start facing the p4p consequences sooner rather than later. I know Arum hasn’t exactly helped Bud’s career path lately but Bud chose to re up with him as well.

MMs:

Bud vs Mosley @140

Kosta vs Bradley

Thanks. – Lance

I’ll go with Crawford by MD or SD in a great fight, and Tszyu by UD in a good fight.

Regarding Crawford’s place in the pound-for-pound rankings, I think he’s already dropped due to his relatively weak strength of schedule in comparison to Canelo’s and Inoue’s recent runs. Crawford was as high as No. 2 in The Ring’s rankings (behind Gennadiy Golovkin and later Lomachenko) through mid-2019. Canelo and Inoue were always outside of the top two, but they’ve had the better fight schedules from the second half of 2019 to the present and have advanced past the American, deservedly so in my opinion. Beating Zepeda at welterweight isn’t going to change my opinion. Crawford needs to face a P4P peer, such as Errol Spence or Josh Taylor, and beat him in order to advance past Inoue and Canelo. If he keeps fighting the Zepedas of the world, he’ll be in danger of slipping out of his current No. 3 spot.  

 

Email Fischer at dougie@boxingmailbag.com. Follow him on Twitter and IG at @dougiefischer, and join him, Tom Loeffler, Coach Schwartz and friends via Tom’s or Doug’s IG Live every Sunday.

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