Monday, April 17, 2006

Guinn Wins!

Audley "A-Force" Harrison has to be one of the biggest disappointments in the heavyweight division. For the second fight in a row, the former Olympic Gold-Medalist lost an embarassing decision to a less-talented, but more active fighter. Dominick Guinn came out strong, and showed the closest thing to aggression in their Friday night bout. Guinn has also been an under-achiever, but it looks as he may have finally gotten his stuff together, or, at least, together enough to beat the uncertainty-plagued Harrison.

Guinn deserves credit for his win, though it was all but handed to him by his opponent. Harrison had a huge reach advantage, as well as greater power and skill. Instead of using his reach, establishing his jab, and picking Guinn apart, Harrison let Guinn close and punch at will. As I wrote last week, Harrison has attempted to model himself on Lennox Lewis, but he just doesn't have it, and it doesn't look like he's gonna get it. Guinn may have preserved his status as a "fringe contender" for now, but I don't expect that he'll ever again be taken seriously. His once-rising star has been dimmed with recent losses, but I wish him all the best.

In another fight on ESPN2's Friday Night Fight undercard, Andre Berto outclassed and stopped Horatio Garcia, a grizzled veteran who took the fight on very short notice. Berto's defense is suspect, but in his battery of Garcia his offense looked spectacular. Berto looks to have speed, power, and technique, all combined with a million-dollar smile. He throws a lot of different punches from a lot of different angles. He could be making a huge splash in the near future light middleweight division, and has the frame to move up to the talent-heavy middleweights at some point. This was my third time to see Berto fight, and each time he's looked impressive, though this time his competition too weak to be challenging.

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