The last noche ESPN FNF Craig McEwen showcase, went as
planned, with the undefeated Scot using the height-reach, along with the
southpaw advantage, for a walk in the park unanimous decision win over game
but limited Brian Vera.
The official numbers went McEwen 97-93 0n all three scoring
judges cards - my unofficial agreed with the 97-93 in points and 7-3 using the
round by round method.
This pairing didn’t take long for the neutral viewer to
dissect - the hype clearly slanted towards the recent newcomer from across the
pond - enters undefeated at 14 wins with nine via stoppage - toss in 6’2 vs.
Vera at 5’11 that arrived on TKO loss to James Kirkland.
Early on, Vera gave it his best … problem was he had no
clue on how to solve the tall southpaw with the quicker hands and better
movement - and so it went McEwen repeatedly finding the mark off the jab and
straight left hands.
Neither fighter appeared in trouble from start to finish -
Vera had himself a couple stanzas when McEwen took a breather in rounds five,
seven, ten on my sheet.
Rest of the story:
-
McEwen (15-0, 9 KOs) ~ age 27 - considering Vera was to
be the Scots’ biggest test to date, what we witnessed was a club fight level
performer still in need of serious tutoring. Unorthodox in style - and with
Vera no big punching threat, the Scot took on the look of a cutey. Once
stepping up a notch to the middleweight top ten level, McEwen will surely
need more than he showed with Vera. Roach may be able to upgrade the power
department if the problem is more about technique than short changed at
birth.
-
era (16-3, 10 KOs) ~ age 27- the rap sheet reflects
punching power - could be the Kirkland TKO loss carried fall out. Vera
showed zero fire in the belly but for a brief opening seconds of
stanza nine when he let both hands go. Never followed the flurry with an
offense, and finished the final stanza on the quiet side.
Post Scripts: Studio guest Bernard Hopkins a good listen -
covered Pacquiao-Hatton to the letter. Feels Hatton wise to call it a career -
villain, the one dimensional banzai that no longer works as it once did. Brian
“NC” Kenny much too high on Pacquiao.
Mayweather fight ( post Marquez) would bring mucho dinero
but PacMan not in same league. Teddy tutor Atlas at ringside seems to have
embraced the “Kenny” gatlin’-gun “MO” - but enjoyed his taking Bob Arum to
task when the promoter went overboard on Pacquiao. Teddy and Hopkins both
laughed off the comparisons of Manny to prime Ali in both speed and one-punch
power.
