Tyson Cave robbed of clear victory!

By Peter Wells:

Scott Quigg’s WBA ‘regular’ Super Bantamweight title will be next on the radar for Oscar Escandon who won possibly the worst decision of the year when he somehow took a split decision after he was dominated over 12 rounds by Tyson Cave. 

Not only was it by far the worst decision of the year, but one would be hard pressed to find a worse decision in the last 20+ years.

Escandon, while the aggressor, and that term is used very lightly, was inactive throughout the contest, and outside a handful of right crosses that landed on the chin of Cave while he was wheeling away, it was a poor performance from the fighter considered the puncher.

Cave does display a far from pleasing style for most boxing observants, but that provides no excuse for the terrible scoring of a contest, that was fought on the outside throughout. Cave snapped out punches from all sorts of angles. On he other end Escandon remained confused as how to slow the Canadian down, and he never found a way on the inside on a consistent basis.

Escandon won maybe 2 or 3 rounds at the very most yet somehow two judges found the Colombian as the victor, 115-113 and 117-111, while the other judge only gave Cave the contest 115-113. 

If boxing has any justice then it will be Tyson Cave and not Escandon that will be stepping in the ring to challenge Quigg for his world crown next year. But as tonight showed, justice is very hard to find in this sport.  

Road Block: Erislandy Lara and Ishe Smith clash in their route back to the top

By Peter Wells:

It can be a strange transition for any Cuban boxer. Not only must they adapt to life in a new environment that brings along a whole host of temptations, they must also become accustomed to being shunned in some boxing fans views as elite fighters. Erislandy Lara couldn't have proved himself as a world class fighter any more than in his two previous outings, but despite utterly dominating Austin Trout and being edged out contentiously by Canelo Alvarez, the “American Dream” finds himself on a Friday night Showtime card, acting as a prelude to Amir Khan vs Devon Alexander tomorrow night.

Erislandy is not the only Cuban to be struggling to create the same buzz that his talents deserve. Guillermo Rigondeaux’s consistency as an utter boxing genius has led him to find it a difficult challenge securing television network interest. However, unlike Rigondeaux, Lara has been unable to find the consistency to make him a major player on the pound-for-pound scene.

Sadly Ishe Smith is unlikely to bring the excitement fans crave in an Erislandy Lara match. This contest has similar ingredients to that against Vanes Martirosyan, when Lara fought to a technical draw. Smith owns a similar technical style that can sometimes be set alight given the correct opponent. 

Smith 26-6(12) will see this as a final chance to contend for the world title that he lost so un-inspiringly last September against Carlos Molina. That IBF Light Middleweight belt now belongs to Cornelius Bundrage, and while this shall be for the WBA ‘regular’ Light Middleweight title, the winner may look at a Bundrage fight as a big possibility, even though the WBA 'Super' champion is Floyd Mayweather Jr., which will leave many to consider the winner tonight as the legit WBA titleholder, with Floyd now full commited at Welterweight. 

All while the WBA continue to alienate boxing fans, it's unlikely that Lara 19-2-2(12) will be paying too much attention to the silverware up for grabs. In his first contest since his defeat to Alvarez, a fight Lara insists he won, Lara will be looking at the bigger picture. 

2015 has the potential to be a huge year for the Cuban, but he must not look past the awkward Smith. Should Lara slump into a slow pace then he gives the Las Vegas fighter every chance of causing the upset tonight in Texas.

The pick is for Lara to use similar tactics to the one’s he applied against Trout, firing often and accurately from longe range, while using his superior movement to frustrate his 36 year old opponent. At 31 Lara doesn't have any time to waste, and while he won't make short work of Smith, I have an inclination that he can become the first man to stop Smith, although that all depends on how much Lara wishes to step it up in the latter stages.