Bring on Broner! —Beltran edges Lundy.

The Mouthpiece
Bring on Broner! —Beltran edges Lundy.

By: George Hanson Jr., Esq.

Date: Friday, June 27, 2012
Venue: Resorts Hotel Casino – Atlantic City, New Jersey
Promoters: Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc.
Ring Announcer:   Joe Antonacci
Referees:           Skarkle Lee, Steve Smoger & Samuel Viruet
Coverage:                 ESPN’s Friday Night Fights
Commentators:         Joe Tessitore and Zab “Super” Judah
Photos:                        www.christoneyphotography.com

I made it back from Atlantic City in the wee hours of the morning eager to watch the digital video record of the fight that I viewed ringside several hours earlier. Yes, Raymundo Beltran (25 wins – 6 losses – 0 draws – 17 kos) had bested Philly’s Hammerin’ Hank Lundy (22 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 11 kos) winning a majority 10-round decision prying his coveted NABF lightweight belt from his waist and inevitably plummeting him from his top-5 ranking in most of the major sanctioning bodies. I had Lundy ahead winning six rounds, as did many of my cohorts in press row. However, we were overruled by two judges who had the same score (96-94) but for Beltran with the third scoring it even (95-95) – a draw. I couldn’t wait to reach home and analyze the fight with three of my friends who despite the short notice had made it to my house and were sitting in my living room.  Boxing is oftentimes the theater of the absurd.  Thus, I see no reason why I cannot have a conversation with Jack Johnson, Sugar Ray Robinson and Hammerin’ Henry Armstrong. It doesn’t matter to me that all three are dead. Am I the only person who sees and talk to the dead who walk amongst us daily? Below is a synopsis of our discussion.

Me: Gentlemen, I just wanted you to know that I am cemented in my belief that you three are the greatest fighters to ever lace up a pair of boxing gloves!

Johnson: Thank you, I wouldn’t have made the journey without Sugar and Reverend Armstrong. We sat here for hours awaiting your arrival reminiscing about our fights and all that has changed in boxing.  It was good watching Hammerin’ Hank Lundy, I like the kid.

Robinson: It was good coming back to Philly. I remember the first time my manager, George Gainsford, brought me here to fight as an amateur. I love the place and would have gone out and gotten a Philly cheesesteak but we didn’t want to scare anyone. Imagine, three dead guys walking around South Philly.

{Laughter – with Johnson and Armstrong doubling over almost falling off the couch}

Armstrong: And, they would have to hide all the pretty white woman since you know Jack can’t help himself….. {Laughter}

Me: Lighten up Champ, I am sure death and time has changed Papa Jack’s penchant for his fair ladies?

Robinson: What! Nothing will ever change with Jack—that old geezer was seen just last week buzzing around Marilyn Monroe. DiMaggio was getting jealous but what’s he going to do against the Galveston Giant but get upset.

Me: Ok, ok let’s talk about the fight. Let me get your assessments and insights.

Johnson: I like the Lundy kid, he is fast—quick feet, quick hands and he put people in the seats. He boxed beautifully in the first two rounds using his speed to keep Beltran at a distance. I just didn’t understand why he backed into the ropes in the final minute of the third round. That is how he almost got knocked out by Beltran who looks like a modern version of Armstrong whacking away at the body trying to level Lundy. Had it been Henry, the fight would have been over! But, man Lundy never gave up as they both connected at the same time with hooks as the bell rang. Beltran’s hook buckled Lundy as his legs dipped. But Lundy’s hook sent Beltran two feet backwards as he looked like he had ran into a brick wall at top speed! You guys know that I am never going to give a guy a round just because he is coming forward. Beltran was the aggressor and brought the fight round after round. But, man there were times when Lundy stopped on a dime and whacked him with combinations. Overall it was a good fight and I gave Lundy the edge but he gave up his advantage by going to the ropes too many times. The kid is just too quick to get cornered. Hell, Jeffries tried but he couldn’t corner me. I kept the fight in the center of the ring and used my hand speed to murder him.

Armstrong: You know I love a pressure fighter and Beltran stuck to his game plan by sticking to Lundy like those old tights Jack use to wear in training camp. He knew he wasn’t going to outbox the kid so he just kept coming and attacking the body. It was the body shots that slowed Lundy down. I felt he retreated to the ropes to get a breather and regroup. But, it is just as easy to stay in the center of the ring, as it is to rest up in the corner. It was close and you all know that some judges love aggression. Yeah I would agree with Zab Judah that Lundy should have gotten the decision. But, there were close rounds and some judges are going to give it to the guy coming forward. Lundy could have had a draw had he just listened to Jimmy Burchfield, his promoter, who was yelling from ringside for him to close the show by throwing more punches in the final round. Had he taken that round he wouldn’t have left the arena without his belt.

Robinson: Lundy should have kept Beltran at the end of his jab fighting like Ray Leonard across a line- moving left to right not backing up but never allowing Beltran to cross that imaginary line and back him up. I never like when fighters stay on the ropes. He would just back into the ropes and allow Beltran to land some hard body shots. Those will have you pissing blood after the fight. He was catching Beltran with the jab and straight right whenever he threw it. The way I see it, had he doubled up and tripled up on the jab he would have busted up Beltran and closed his eyes by the sixth round. He had him bleeding after two!  I don’t take anything away from Beltran; he stayed close working his jab, invading Lundy’s timing and going to work on the ropes. For some reason, I felt they were going to give it to Beltran. It was an opportunity for Lundy to distinguish himself. He should have given Raymundo a boxing lesson instead of giving ground and making it close.

Me: What advice would each of you give to Lundy?

Johnson: Well, you know I won’t advise him to be modest and act how others want him to behave. I don’t prescribe to that theory.  Lundy should continue his quest to get a title fight or a major match on HBO. He should continue to chase Adrien Broner and call him all kinds of names until he gets in the ring. I had to globe trot following heavyweight champion Tommy Burns all the way to Australia to get my title shot. This loss to Beltran shouldn’t set him back but drive him even more to get Broner in the ring. And, he has the perfect style to beat Broner.

Robinson: My second loss came at the hands on Randy Turpin on July 10, 1951—I lost a 15-round decision and the world middleweight title.  I remember how it felt and I couldn’t wait to get back in the ring with Turpin. Two month later I got my opportunity and stopped him in the 10^th round. I hope Lundy can get a rematch with Beltran and prove that the close decision loss was an anomaly. However boxing has changed and everyone is trying to cash in. So, I doubt if Beltran would give Lundy the opportunity that he got. He would but I doubt if his advisers would agree to a rematch. So, I agree with Jack, bring on Broner, Gamboa or Rios. Lundy will be at his best for these three!

Armstrong: Well, he took my name – “Hammerin.” It doesn’t matter who he fights next. I would advise him to be busier in the ring by constantly punching. They use to call me perpetual motion because I never stopped punching. However, I would agree with Ray that he should learn how to fight behind a line using his speed to fight left to right but never crossing over the line and getting too close to his opponent. He has a terrific jab and the hand and foot speed to beat almost everyone to the punch. He was making Beltran miss by ducking and stepping to the side. But, it looked like he was running and he put himself out of range and unable to counter.  Lastly, he needs to stay off the ropes and keep his fight in the center of the ring. Bring on Broner. Broner is untested and he hasn’t been hit until he’s been hit by the Hammer.

Me: You know that nobody is going to believe me that you guys were here.

Johnson: What do you care? They didn’t believe that I was going to whup Jeffries. Hell, many still can’t believe that I was done in by a car crash and not a lynch mob!

{Laughter – with Johnson laughing the loudest}

Robinson: Ali was right, Jack you are crazy. Why someone didn’t blow your brains out while you were strolling around town with a white woman on each arm is hard to explain. Man we are talking about 1910 not 2010!!

Armstrong: It was good coming here. I just want to remind Ray that this time next month is the 69^th anniversary of our fight in Madison Square Garden. I was trying, but you just kept using your speed and movement.  I couldn’t catch and corner you for ten rounds.

Robinson: Henry, call it youth baby! However, you did mess my hair up!

Johnson: The younger man just out boxed the old fox Henry. Lundy should have watched that fight in preparation for Beltran.

Me: Thank you gents.

As the words left my mouth, the three apparitions went as the came vanishing into thin air.

Other Results: The show opened with undefeated junior-middleweight Ismael Garcia (3 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) of Millville, New Jersey making short work of the dreadlocked Kenneth Moody (2 wins – 3 losses – 2 draws – 1 ko) of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The bell rang and Garcia was relentless pursuing Moody like a bounty hunter on a bail jumper. Moody froze in his tracks probably due to a direct hit in the eye. Garcia blanketed him like a cheap overcoat and unloaded from his arsenal forcing Moody to turn his back to avoid further punishment. There was nowhere for the Virginian to escape, he was trapped in his corner and Garcia wasn’t going to stop punching. Referee Lee had no other choice but to save the defenseless fighter from further punishment. She jumped in with the alacrity and grace of a ballerina and called a halt to the action at 1:09 declaring Garcia a winner by technical knockout.

Philadelphia super-middleweight Farah “The Quiet Storm” Ennis (19 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 12 kos) made it three consecutive victories since his lone loss back in April 2011 by boxing circles around Richard Pierson (11 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 8 kos) of Paterson, New Jersey for ten rounds. Pierson was facing his third Philly fighter having scored technical knockout victories over Jamaal “Da Truth” Davis and Charles “The Cobra” Heyward. However, he was tentative, hands high inching forward like a six-foot praying mantis absorbing punches unwilling to return fire. Ennis worked his jab top and bottom, intermittently going downstairs to the body landing hooks to Pierson’s ribcage. I am sure the heavy bag at Bozy’s Dungeon, Ennis’ home gym, would have been more competitive with the Philly super-middleweight. By the third round, Pierson’s left eye was swollen and as the fight progressed the space between his eyebrows above his nose had grown substantially larger. Pierson resembled a Klingon from the hit series Star Trek. Besides the fifth round in which Pierson caught Ennis with a blistering right, every round was fought at the same pace and one would be hard-pressed not to score them for the Philadelphia. No surprise that Ennis won a unanimous decision—one judge had it 99-91 with the other two being generous scoring it 98-92.
Atlantic City welterweight Anthony “Juice” Young (4 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) entered the ring with much fanfare as his supporters wearing T-shirts bearing his name were raucous from the time he emerged from the dressing rooms. There is a wide disparity between his pugilistic prowess and fan adulation. Richie “The Rock” Andrews (3 wins – 1 loss – 3 draws – 1 ko) of Stuart Draft, Virginia made Young look pedestrian as he jumped on him from the opening bell forcing him to fight like a drowning man trying to clutch a floating log.  For four rounds Andrews stayed close pressing the action and I had the fight even at the conclusion of the fourth and final round.  One judge agreed with my score of 38-38, while the final two had it 39-37 for Young— the winner by majority decision.

Junior-welterweight Josh Mercado (5 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 2 kos) of Millville, New Jersey won a unanimous four-round decision by scores of 39-37 and 39-36 over Philadelphia’s Korey “Lightening Rod” Sloane (2 wins – 4 losses – 1 draw – 0 kos). Sloane dominated the opening stanza working behind the jab landing his long straight right at will. He continued his dominance in round two when he was wobbled in the last minute by a Mercado combination. He would recover and win the third round on my scorecard and was winning the final round but got hurt in the final minute. I thought Sloane deserved a draw. But, what do I know about boxing? I thought Juan Manuel Marquez beat Pacquiao in their last fight!

The final bout was scheduled for six rounds and was reduced to a four-rounder due to time. With undefeated bantamweight Miguel Cartagena (5 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) of Philadelphia waiting in the ring, Jose Rivera (1 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 1 ko) of Florence, South Carolina and his corner men made a brief appearance. An argument ensued between the two corners because Rivera’s handlers did not agree to the reduction in rounds. They exited as quickly as they had entered and Cartagena was left without an opponent as the ring announcer wished all a good night and the audience poured out onto the casino floor.

It was another wonderful night of the sweet science. Enjoying the action were former world champions Dwight Muhammad Quawi and Buster “The Demon” Drayton; junior-welterweight champion Danny “Swift” Garcia fresh off his devastation of Amir Khan, Garrett “The Ultimate Warrior” Wilson, Vladine Biosse, Antowyan “The Iceman” Aikens, Isiah Seldon, Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna, Qa’id “Kid Dynamite” Muhammad, Ivan “Mighty” Robinson,  amateur Raul “The Sniper” Serrano and promoter J. Russell Pelz.

Lundy has been clamoring to get former WBO junior-lightweight champion Adrien Broner in the ring.  Broner has been critical of Lundy’s continued appearance on ESPN while lauding his own ascension to HBO. Not to be lost for words Lundy tweeted a dissertation on the quality of Broner’s opponent. And most would tend to agree that Broner is supremely gifted, however he is untested remaining undefeated while disposing of blown-up featherweights. Broner vacated his title and will be campaigning as a lightweight in his upcoming HBO bout in October. Who is a better opponent than Lundy? As Armstrong said, “Broner hasn’t been hit until he’s been hit by the Hammer!”

Continued to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!

ghanson3@hotmail.com



One Response to “Bring on Broner! —Beltran edges Lundy.”

1. Derrick El says:

   August 11, 2012 at 4:22 PM

   Great,great article George.No idea you would be holding court with such boxing royalty!!!Wish I could’ve partaken in that setting…lol…keep up the great work!!!