Boxing - The Sweet Science

[nightstocker]

Tough Customer: The roughest fighter you probably have never seen remains Columbian IBF flyweight champion Irene Pacheco. At the very end of November at the El Paso Convention Center, Pacheco won a brutal 12 round unanimous decision over the number-four ranked Alejandro Montiel. The southpaw Pacheco rocked the Mexican challenger in the opening round with a savage left uppercut and then discreetly head butted Montiel at every opportunity. The result was a nasty gash over Montiel's right eye. During the course of the fight the bout was halted no less than six times as the ringside doctor kept looking at Montiel's bloody right eye. The challenger was forced to fight and he continued to pin the champion's back to the ropes as both men relentlessly fired away at each other often times below the belt. Several times they fought after the bell and Pacheco was penalized for holding and hitting. In the end it was the lefthander Pacheco's ability to land savage straight left hands to Montiel's crimson face that preserved his crown. Amazingly at the conclusion of the fight both men embraced and when the verdict was announced Montiel applauded the decision. The reason I point out this encounter is because of the less than stellar effort of two heavyweights Lawrence Clay-Bey and Charles Shufford that recently fought on ESPN2 Friday night fights. I guess both men gave their best effort but there was no sense of urgency that was in abundance when Pacheco squared off with Montiel. With so much to gain, especially in the lucrative heavyweight division you would think both men would throw caution to the wind and hammer away with everything he had. However, that was far from the case and both men fought sporadically and with caution. I am not opposed to tactical fights between boxers with skill and merit but when you get the feeling that guys are just going through the motions it kills the sport.