Caught last nite’s ShoBox
twin-bill from St. Paul Minnesota … main event had the touted featherweight
Ben Dunne facing Mexican southpaw Adrian Valdez - underneath jr. middle
10-rounder was hometown favorite Matt Vanda in with Armando Velardez.
And when the smoke cleared, and the bubble burst, it was Dunne remaining
undefeated, and Vanda on the canvas looking in search for a missing pacifier.
Have seen it before … kid from the sticks with hometown pals that fill the
small joints … local boy breast fed … and the resumé quickly sparkles to
numbers like 20-0, 25-0, 30-0 … and with Matt "The Predator" it went to 31
wins and 21 by knockout.
Didn’t much help Matty of painted body fame to have the media in his corner …
the accolades were more of an insult to anyone that seriously follows the game
of boxing.
Too many of the today fite media have a serious flaw … spent too much time
with the reading and writing … then graduated to schools of higher learning -
problem is, while doing fine with the resumé they never mastered the art of
reading between the lines to get the clearer picture.
Enter some Mexican fistic bandido from the left coast named Armando Velardez …
win-loss of 17- 3, 8 KO's … not a chance against ‘The Predator" right? Wrong!
Opening candle is an action stanza … Velardez the busier … Vanda seemingly
the bigger puncher. Maybe Vanda captures second round … but a hint of trouble
down the pike … problem is the Vanda power punches have no lasting impact, and
the Mexican swarmer answers with flurries to body and head.
The handwriting on the wall came during seven round action … Velardez had
quickened the earlier pace after feeling he could handle whatever Vanda laid
on him - a shaky Vanda rocked in stanza seven had a look of despair while
returning to his corner at end of round.
Sure enough, Velardez was quickly all over Vanda come number eight … two right
hands at close quarters saw Vanda dropped to the canvas … beats the count, but
had zero fight left in him, and a subsequent Velardez flurry saw Matty down
and finished at 45 seconds mark of numero eight.
Post Scripts: Matt Vanda ~ It was back in January of this year that Vanda gets
a gift wrapped split decision win over veteran Sam Garr. Saw enough negatives
to be convinced the first real test would be a bubble buster … and last nite
exposed much more. The media "throwback" guy seems in need of a heart
transplant for one thing, and regardless of who does the future tutoring,
unfortunately, Matty baby will remain a what you see is what you get club
fight entity.
Velardez ~ On the credit side of the ledger, it is clear that this 24 year-old
is your stereotype yesteryear Mexican battler. Not a heavy hitter but showed
himself to be a busy one … good chin, heart, and works body and head in
variety … sometimes it’s combinations and other times he flurries. Not title
timber, but every bit the crowd pleaser.
………………………………..........................................................................
And then the main event of the evening … from Dublin, Ireland it is Ben Dunne
… enters the fray undefeated with 13 wins, eight via the KO route … the
Valdez stat sheet went 14-2-3 with six short-circuits - so much for the resumé
department … facts are, tough kids or not, both checked the hardware at the
front desk when reporting to work.
Still, this one got the attention with both fighters giving their best … one
problem was the styles … orthodox vs. southpaw rarely entertains … exceptions
was that late career Leonard-Hagler meeting … but these two are not Leonard-Hagler.
Not surprising as early as round one that the inadvertent clash of heads
surfaced … victim Dunne, but come stanza three it is Valdez bleeding from the
accidental meeting of the minds.
Went the full distance in a difficult to score affair - Dunne awarded
unanimous decision 96-95, 96-94, 97-93 …. My unofficial had Dunne 96-94 on
points and 6-4 under the old round by round system of scoring.
Post Scripts: Ben Dunne ~ could say Ben was victim of poor selection in the
dance partner department. Especially against a disciplined counter puncher.
Compounding the problems not an iota of how a left-hook is thrown … and over
ten ugly rounds of grappling not a single combination in view. Would help if
new tutor Freddie Roach worked on combos in training before asking for some
between rounds.
Valdez ~ Had this kid been busier, he too may have
surprised the "experts" … but appears locked into a stick-pop and occasional
right hook mode. Plenty out there at ESPN level he beats but in similar
standings as Dunne. Maybe a return once the damaged foreheads heal.
