CRAWFORD WILL STOP HORN SAYS HALL OF FAME REFEREE CORTEZ
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 02 Mar 2018
Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez is not too overwhelmed with the victory of WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs) who won a controversial twelve round unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
"Take nothing away from Jeff Horn, he?s a good outstanding fighter, he?s faced a lot of talent, but that decision over Pacquiao was a controversial decision in the eyes of a lot fans out there. A lot of fans felt that Pacquiao won that fight, so Jeff Horn is a champion but he beat a guy when a lot of fans thought he lost," Cortez was interviewed over On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
After he won by stoppage over British challenger Gary Concoran, Horn is slated to make a mandatory title defense against one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, two division champion Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs). Crawford seized the world title at the lightweight class then unified the light welterweight division.
According to Cortez, the unbeaten challenger is heavily favored to beat Horn when they clash on April 14 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. "He beat a Manny Pacquiao who was past his prime and now we?re talking about him fighting Terence Crawford. Crawford is probably the best pound-for-pound fighter out there. This will be a very difficult fight for Jeff Horn when he fights Terence Crawford."
Cortez, an ESPN Deportes expert analyst, believes Crawford can win over Horn by a knockout in the later rounds. The veteran referee thinks Horn will have a hard time fighting with all the moves and skills Crawford has.
"I believe he can in the later rounds. It?s going to be a difficult fight but I believe he can stop him in the later rounds because Crawford reminds me a lot of Lomachenko, he?s very smart and I don?t think Jeff Horn can withstand the kind of pressure from a guy who has all the moves in the sweet science of boxing. Terence Crawford is a good switch hitter and he?s very smart. It?s going to be very difficult for Jeff Horn because of the skills that Crawford has," Cortez said.
* * *
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Osar De La Hoya, the promoter of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, sensed that his fighter will stop Gennady Golovkin during their scheduled rematch for the WBC, IBO, WBA, IBF middleweight titles on May 5 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KOs) and Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) fought to a split draw September of last year and both boxers think they won their first fight. Their first bout at the same venue at T-Mobile Arena sold more than 1 million pay-per-view buys, and that PPV record is only surpassed by Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya in the past 15 years.
Several enthusiasts believed that Golovkin won the first fight. The HBO's in-house judge gave eight rounds to Golovkin. In the actual scorecards, one judge scored it 115-113 for Golovkin, and another saw it a 114-114 draw. Controversial judge Adalaide Byrd had it 118-110 for Canelo, awarding only two rounds to Golovkin.
Canelo perceived himself as the winner in that bout by a 115-113 score. De La Hoya also evaluated Canelo as the winner 7-5 in rounds. The Golden Boy boss is elated to finalize the rematch, remembering how he failed to avenge his first career defeat to Felix Trinidad because he was not able to get a rematch.
"I would have really wished for a rematch against Felix Trinidad. I would have loved to have knocked him out in the last three rounds instead of boxing. We don't always get rematches of this magnitude, so that's why this fight is special. On May 5, we will get an explosive rematch, and I believe Canelo will knock him out," De La Hoya said.
Golovkin declares he did not fight at his best when he faced Canelo last year. The disputable draw did not discourage the Kazakh from accepting their rematch. Golovkin, the IBO/IBF/WBC/WBA middleweight champion said he needs to beat Alvarez more convincingly in their return bout, so that he won't regret another arguable decision at the end of the rematch on May 5.
?I will make it dominant and more obvious this time,? Golovkin told Boxing Scene. ?I?m not necessarily saying I?ll get a KO, but I would like one. I will do my job in the ring. I cannot control the evaluation of it [judging].?
Golovkin believes Alvarez is now getting ready to avenge the second defeat of his career. The unified champion feels he deserved to win in the first bout by 115-113, or even a 116-112 winning score.
According to CompuBox, Golovkin landed 49 more total punches than Canelo (218-of-703 to 169-of-505). However, more power punches were recorded for Alvarez (114-of-272 to 110-of-342) and more jabs for Golovkin (108-of-361 to 55-of-233).
?I?m not going in to prove anything,? Golovkin said. ?I have nothing to prove. I just wanna win. I wanna win. I wanna keep my belts. I wanna stay champion.?
Golovkin will be having his 36th birthday before their rematch. Alvarez will be turning 28 two months later, but Golovkin is unfazed by his advanced age.
?I feel good,? Golovkin said. ?I still have my power. I feel great. I have all the motivation in the world for this fight. This is the two best pound-for-pound fighters, fighting each other. The winner will be the pound-for-pound king.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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