World Series of Fighting’s Justin Gaethje believes he can join that group.
In his short and undefeated MMA career, Gaethje (10-0) has already put together an impressive resume that includes wins over veterans such as Drew Fickett, Gesias Cavalcante and most recently, Dan Lauzon. Gaethje earned a second-round knockout over Lauzon (17-5) at this past weekend’s WSOF 6 event in Florida, giving him nine knockout or submission finishes in 10 career victories.
Currently happy with his status under the WSOF banner, Gaethje hopes the promotion can continue to find tough opponents who will raise his credibility as a top-tier 155-pound fighter.
“I fight the way I do because I want it to be tough for people to say that I’m not right there with the best in the world,” Gaethje told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “That’s what my goal has been and my plan has been the whole time – just go out there and show people I’ve been working my whole life toward this, and this is what I do.”
At just 24, Gaethje has no intentions of trying to rush to the top of the ladder.
He’s happy to go through the developmental process, and with WSOF’s budding lightweight division in mind, the Arizonan wouldn’t mind competing for the division’s inaugural title against someone like Luiz Firmino or Nick Newell.
“A fight equals a paycheck, and that’s what I’m here for, and I don’t care if it’s for a belt or whatever,” Gaethje said. “I just want to fight.”
Gaethje is hopeful to get one more fight before 2013 comes to an end, but if it doesn’t happen, he’s eyeing a return to the cage early next year.
The fighter obviously wants to take on a respected opponent, but if he has to continue to build his resume against fighters with an unfamiliar names, that’s OK too.
At the end of day, Gaethje, like most fighters, has the goal to be considered the best in the world. And whether it’s with WSOF or elsewhere, Gaethje knows he has what it takes to not just hang, but to beat the elite of the sport.
“I’m quite convinced there is no one that’s going to make me quit in the world, so I would love to fight anybody,” Gaethje said. “I’m just going to keep fighting and making a mark on the sport. I think it will all come. I’m not going to rush it.”
For more on WSOF 6, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.
Boxer Mike Alvarado returns home to fight and takes on Russian Ruslan Provodnikov in a Saturday night title bout airing on HBO. Needing a place to train and prepare for the fight the Russian came to Grudge Training Center and worked with our elite boxers Manny “Manos” Perez and Giovanni “The Predator” Merceron. Follow the article below by Rocky Mountain Boxing’s Chris Morris.
Provodnikov Finishes Camp At Grudge In Denver By Chris Morris/Rocky Mountain Boxing Pictures by Michael V. Ornelas Ruslan ‘The Siberian Rocky’ Provodnikov …finished up his training camp in the Rockies at the Grudge Training Center in Denver, Colorado. He looked very explosive and sharp in his final sparring session with Giovanni Merceron on Saturday. Provodnikov sparred with Merceron and Manny Perez on Tuesday and then Merceron again on Thursday in addition to Saturday, getting acclimated to the elevation in the Mile High City. Merceron did well to hold his own but Provodnikov is relentless in his attack and he generates great power with his hooks and right cross. When asked about Provodnikov’s power Merceron replied, “Oh yeah, you can feel his power, even on shots you catch. He missed with a left hook and I felt the wind of the punch and was glad I had gotten out of the way. He can punch.” FightNews/Rocky Mountain Boxing was able to speak with Ruslan after his workout through his manager and interpreter Vadim Kornilov. How are you adjusting to the altitude? “I really like being here, Denver is a beautiful city and it reminds me of being in Russia. I have adjusted very well and I feel great.” How is the weight coming off as you go back down to 140 from 147? “No problems at all this time, I’m already very close to making weight right now and I haven’t started losing a lot of weight yet. I still have a week and I’m almost there so no problem.” How has camp gone for you? “It’s been an awesome training camp. Everything was exactly the way I needed it. I’m very glad, it’s been a very positive training camp. It’s been long, I’ve done a lot of work and I’m happy that it’s over and I’m ready for the fight.” Will Freddie Roach be in the corner next Saturday night? “Right now there is a possibility he will not be able to make it. He said he will do everything possible to be there on the night of the fight. We’ve done an eight week camp with Freddy; everything has been done the way it has to be done for a big fight. I’m ready 100%; I’m not really worried about that. My team is there for me and Freddy’s main assistant is here. (Marvin Somodio) I know what to do in the fight and I’m not worried about it if he can’t make it. I know he will do everything he can to be there.” What’s your prediction for the Alvarado fight? “I don’t make predictions for fights ever, especially for my own fights. All I can tell you is we will see on October 19th and I promise I will give everything I have on the night of the fight. I will give it all I have and do everything to win.” — with Ruslan Provodnikov and Giovanni Merceron.
Interview was completed by Mark Kilburn
Mk-Manny, let me say that this is a huge thrill for me to talk to you tonight, how are you feeling?
MP-I’m feeling great!
Mk-You look great Manny, you really do!
MP-I appreciate that, thank-you.
Mk-How old are you Manny?
MP-I’m 29 years old, sir.
Mk-How long have you been boxing?
MP-I started fighting when I was 11 to 12 years old and turned pro at 19.
Mk-How did you hook up with Grudge?
MP-Trevor, Jake and I go way, way, back. We got together after I fought Hector, Hector was one of Trevor’s fighters and he and I fought three times. We had some really tough and grueling matches and later became close friends, best friends. When I made the transition from amateur to pro at 19, I worked with Coach T. (Trevor Whitman) and later on (3-4 years) Jake Ramos and I began working together, we had a real good fit and I’ve been with Jake ever since.
Mk-Can you talk just a little bit about some of your championship belts?
MP-We won the Continental America’s title at 130lbs. the WBC Youth World title at 126lbs., the WBC Latin Title at 140lbs. and the biggest title we held was the NABA at 140lbs.
Mk-That is an impressive four belt collection, congratulations Champ. Manny we talked a little last week about how just like in the Vernon Paris fight you are always fighting up in weight or in plain English you always seem to fight guys bigger than yourself, and not just a couple of pounds. We are talking 10 -25 and maybe even 30 pounds bigger. Can you talk about the reasons for this discrepancy?
MP-Yes sir, it tends to be the ongoing situation with me fighting at 147lbs.you know, I am a sucker for a good fight and if it’s going to be a crowd pleaser I’m not going to pass on it solely because my opponents bigger than me. I want to be a courageous fighter who’s known for what he does inside and outside the ring, who goes down in the history books as the guy who put on as many memorable fights as I possibly could.
Mk-And if you have to chase these bigger guys around the ring, so be it.
MP-Yes, it doesn’t matter to me the weight class, I can make 135lbs. or 140lbs. fairly easy, going up to 147lbs. is a bit tougher and I will lose 3 or 4lbs. by the night of the fight, but I’ve never shied away from bigger fighters. I love this sport and I want to give back, this sport has done great things for me and my family. I think it would be shame on me if I didn’t give the fans and crowds the best and most memorable fight I possibly could.
Mk-What is your favorite weight to fight at?
MP-140lbs. I can fight and make 135lbs. but 140lbs. is my best weight for fighting. I feel I match up really well with other fighters at 140lbs.
Mk-I’d like to quickly ask you to comment on the Vernon Paris fight, can you share with us how it feels to know you won a fight only to have the judges, some of who may have never stepped foot inside a ring let alone worked out in a fight gym, yet are still somehow allowed to rule and judge some of boxing’s biggest fights take it all away from you and then add some salt in the wound by making it a unanimous decision and not even trying to make it less obvious.
MP-It was extremely difficult to deal with that loss, we felt strongly that we did everything we needed to do to win that fight! We felt here I was the smaller fighter going in there against a much bigger fighter and we felt I’d done enough to win. Everyone was talking about his power and how good he was but I’ve been in there with many great and tough fighters before. I’ve been in there with Brandon Rios twice, and with Diego Magdaleno, Mercito Gesta, Jose Miguel Cotto, Edgar Santana, and Matt Remillard, I am used to fighting great fighters.
Mk-(Let’s not forget Vernon Paris)
MP-I’ve been in there with great fighters from 126lbs. up to 147lbs. I felt that they took that fight from me, and it was a huge disappointment. I put a lot of work into that fight as well as my entire team, my family was a huge part of that as well. It was a huge setback for all of us, but I can’t let that poor decision define me or slow me down. There’s tons of good fight left in me so I won’t let it get me down and will continue to do what I love to do, I will continue to fight.
Mk-It seems to me this problem that continues to plague even the biggest fights has an easy fix. Simply follow what Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA have been doing for years and hold referees accountable. The big fights will have the best judges and judges who come in with negligent decisions don’t work and hence, don’t get paid. We just saw a negligent if not impossible decision in the Mayweather fight. What do you think of that decision Manny?
MP-Yes sir I agree, I believe judges should have to work and earn their way up the ladder, just like fighters have to, the ones who make unfair decisions should not be allowed to work. Any judge who makes an unfair decision affects the fighter’s standings and that is wrong and there should be consequences. I agree that the judge who ruled it a draw in the Mayweather fight was ridiculous and I’d have never bet against Mayweather, I knew he’d win that one but I am an Alvarez fan and he is a great fighter, just not quite there yet, and Mayweather, he’s in a league of his own, but unfair rulings by some of these judges can hurt a guy’s entire career as well as altering his standing. One fight can change his entire career!
Mk-Absolutely Manny, I’ve been hearing stories and examples of your legendary work ethic since my first day at Grudge. Are you still working two fulltime jobs as well as your fight training, and can you describe your typical work week.
MP-If I need to get up early to get my road work in then that’s what I do, I run at 5 A.M. running Sunday and Monday then on Tuesday through Saturday I work for 2 & 1/2 hrs. a night at the gym. I worked two fulltime jobs for 5&1/2 years, and I always had two jobs to provide for my family but was able to cut back to one job after I won NABA title. I work 10 to 101/2 hrs. a day 5 days a week and am also lucky to have my loving wife who is super supportive and gives her blessing so I can continue to do what I love to do. My wife is my backbone and without her I couldn’t do any of this. As busy as I am I make sure I’m always home to tuck my two boys in, read them a bedtime story and say goodnight. I have very busy weeks and I have to balance work family and boxing, thankfully my wife supports me and we make it happen. I do what I have to do at the gym.
Mk-I’ve had the privilege of seeing your two beautiful boys playing at the gym. Can you tell us about them please?
MP-Man, they are so awesome, they’ve all been in the gym since they were 3 days old. They know the sounds, the way it smells, we are a boxing family so they know all about the gym but I don’t want them to box because it can be so hard on the mind, soul and body, at the same time if they do choose to fight I will support them 110%.
Mk-Okay Manny, Thanks so much for the interview and good luck tonight.
MP-Thank-you and good night.
One final note on the Vernon Paris fiasco, if Vernon wants to look in the mirror and tell himself he won the Manny Perez fight he’d have to come to Denver for a rematch, because Manny whipped him in his hometown of Detroit and something like 95% of the fans who watched thought so. Turnaround is always fair play so come out to Denver for a rematch if you are going to convince yourself you won. You don’t even have to ask Manny if he’s game, simply knowing what kind of fighter Manny is will tell you he’d accept. What kind of fighter is Vernon Paris? Is he a fighter like Manny who looks for tough fights or does he run from tough fights?
As a footnote to Manny’s running, he runs as much as 5 miles on Sunday and on Monday he will run as far as 6-7 miles, so that’s what his roadwork consists of.
Quinn Mulhern (18-3) was hoping to rebound from a technical knockout loss in his UFC debut with a win at UFC Fight Night 32. The opportunity to capture his first UFC victory will have to wait for a later date.
Mulhern was scheduled to face Thiago Tavares at UFC Fight Night 32 on Nov. 9, but an injury has forced the lightweight off the card. Justin Salas has agreed to replace Mulhern against Tavares on short notice.
UFC officials confirmed the injury and opponent change on Friday.
Salas (11-4) has won two of his three UFC fights. He won his debut, defeating Anton Kuivanen before losing his second UFC bout to Tim Means. He’s coming off a split decision win over mixed martial arts veteran Aaron Riley in his last outing
Tavares (17-5-1) is a 13-fight UFC veteran. He’s won Fight of the Night honors on three occasions and Submission of the Night once. He is coming off a knockout loss to rising lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov on Jan. 19. Following the fight, it was revealed that Tavares tested positive to the banned substance Drostanolone and was suspended for nine months.
The fight with Salas will be Tavares’ first fight back from suspension and hopes to erase the memory of the failed drug test with an impressive performance.
UFC Fight Night 32 takes place on Nov. 9 at the Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil.
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Pat Barry arrives in Colorado October 1st to begin training For UFC Fight Night 33. Pat Barry’s home is at the Grudge Training Center and Head Coach Trevor Wittman.
The UFC recently announced UFC Fight Night 33: Hunt vs. Bigfoot for Brisbane, Australia, on Dec. 7 – Dec. 6 in the U.S. – and the fight card is already beginning to come together.
UFC officials on Friday confirmed the bout first announced by WA News.
Born in Australia, Palelei (19-3) will be fighting on his home turf. He’ll also be fighting to get the bad taste of his UFC debut out of his mouth.
Palelei won his promotional debut, defeating Nikita Krylov by TKO stoppage at
UFC 164 last month. The fight extended his unbeaten streak to nine fights, but
it didn’t exactly impress his employer.
“That fight was embarrassing. That looked like a Toughman fight,” said UFC president Dana White after the fight.
Palelei explained that his performance was partially due to a rib injury, but still admitted publicly that he felt his performance was lacking. Now, he’ll get the opportunity to have the type of performance that he was hoping for in his debut.
Barry (8-6) isn’t on an impressive streak like Palelei, and doesn’t have the most impressive of records, but he has endeared himself to fans with a go-for-broke style that always entertains.
Barry enters the fight coming off of a loss to Shawn Jordan at UFC 161 in June, and has alternated between wins and losses throughout the majority of his 11-bout UFC tenure.
Another heavyweight bout, pitting Mark Hunt vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, headlines the UFC Fight Night event in Brisbane.
An intriguing contest between two of World Series of Fighting’s top lightweight talents has been scheduled for the promotion’s first event in Florida.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the fighters that Justin Gaethje (9-0) and Dan Lauzon have agreed to meet at World Series of Fighting 6, which takes place Oct. 26 at BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla. The evening’s main card, including a title fight between welterweight contenders Josh Burkman and Steve Carl, airs on NBC Sports Network.
World Series of Fighting officials have since confirmed the new booking, as well as the previously reported matchups of Burkman vs. Carl and Carson Beebe vs. Marlon Moraes.
Gaethje fights for the third time for World Series of Fighting after already registering TKO wins over Brian Cobb and Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante. Gaethje also boasts as 12-second win over Drew Fickett in a 2012 Rage in the Cage contest and is undefeated through the first nine fights of his career.
Meanwhile, Lauzon is perhaps best known for a two-fight stint in the UFC that saw him drop back-to-back fights to Efrain Escudero and Cole Miller. However, the 25-year-old has since rebounded for five straight wins, including a one-sided decision win over John Gunderson at June’s World Series of Fighting 2 event.
With the addition to the card, the World Series of Fighting 6 lineup now includes:
Josh Burkman vs. Steve Carl – for inaugural welterweight title
Carson Beebe vs. Marlon Moraes
Justin Gaethje vs. Dan Lauzon
For more on WSOF 6, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.
My name is Mark D. Kilburn and I will be writing some articles for Grudge Wear. I will be interviewing your favorite fighters and investigating some of the more serious issues concerning the fi
ght world. I will take you inside the gym as well as the ring and we will talk to fighters and coaches and trainers of all classifications from amateur to professional. I am a novice boxer who has had the luck in finding the Grudge gym and trainers and am beginning to learn just how special the Grudge way is. Grudge has saved many lives as well as turning so many people’s lives around just as they’ve done for me. I hope to talk to some of these miracle cases as well as the fight stars you already know and love. Please let me know what you like and dislike, as well as what you want and don’t want as we try to make this website the best in the fight world. Feel free to email me ringwrap56@gmail.com, I will try to personally answer all emails.
This first article will cover the Vernon Paris-Manny Perez fiasco last May. Although Vernon Paris won, (thanks to inept judging) Manny Perez outfought him in nearly every round. I thought we’d break this fight down assuming as I studied each round through slow and super slow-motion that I’d see what the judges saw, I did not however, and here is my round by round breakdown of the fight.
The only way to prove or disprove the results of Manny’s fight is to go through it frame by frame and count the punches. My counts will differ from TV’s count because I only count the punches that land. Blows to the arms, shoulders, backs, or gloves don’t count, neither do glancing blows, pushes nor taps. I give a star for any punch that knocks down or out an opponent or for any body punch that causes any opponent to be rocked or stopped or head shots that violently turn or jerk the head. Whenever I review a fight and want to see an actual punch count I slow it down to four speed or sometimes to fifteen speed to see all the action and the result of only the punches that are landed. I’ve done the Perez-Paris fight this way.
Here are the results. Round one: Manny clearly dominated this round from bell to bell. The totals confirm it, Manny landed 23 body punches and 6 head shots while Paris landed 5 body shots and nearly matched Manny with 5 head shots. Statistically Manny won this round without question and was also the aggressor from bell to bell. Round one must go to Manny regardless of the judges.
Round 2:-Manny lands 32 body shots, obviously sticking with his game plan of working the body. Round 2 is a better statistical round for Vernon but he gives up too many good punches to carry the round. Manny starts to go after Vernon’s head and lands 14 head shots picking up 2 stars, one at 2:21 and the other at 1:45, both shots are vicious right hands and both punches snap Vernon’s head around. Paris’s punch count was better than round 1 but there is no possible way to give him credit for the round. Paris lands only 6 shots to the body and a pattern seems to be developing of Paris ignoring Manny’s torso, he tacks on 17 hits to the head. Vernon scores his first star at 1:30, landing a right uppercut. Manny is the superior boxer so far both offensively and defensively. Both rounds go to Manny and neither one is close.
Round 3: Paris’s best round by far but not enough to best Manny. Statistically this round was the closest round yet with Manny landing 23 blows to Vernon’s midsection and having success hitting the bigger man’s head 16 times. 2 of Manny’s headshots came around the 1:08 minute mark and both blows snapped his opponents head around; when I watched the fight live I thought I smelled at least a knockdown coming but it was not to be. Still, Manny landed a couple of the best blows of the fight, both were right hands and any reasonable mind, fan, trainer, or coach, had to give this round to Manny on those two star punches alone, even though statistically this would be Vernon’s best round so far. Paris landed only 9 body shots perhaps pointing a finger towards a hotdog who by trying to knock Manny out and not working the body more, missed the golden opportunity just like Manny was doing to him! In concentrating on Manny’s head Paris landed 26 head shots but only hits Manny with 9 body shots. Many of these were jabs that were slowed by Manny’s gloves and although I don’t count glancing punches some of these moved Manny’s head a little so I counted them. I am trying to be objective because I am a huge Manny Perez fan so I will give Vernon some leeway so my prejudices don’t come through. I can still count punches fairly with the overall point being that I am giving Vernon the benefit of doubt. Once again Manny is the obvious aggressor as well as statistical winner and leader. 3-0 Manny-
Round 4 : This is by far Vernon’s worst round, both offensively and defensively as well as statistically. Manny gets 3 stars making this his best round of the fight. Manny lands few head shots but the few he landed looked like knockdown punches to me. Manny hit Vernon in the head 16 times in round 4 and 3 of them were stars! He earned stars at 2:38, 1:24 with 2 right hands and a left hook at 18 seconds remaining to dominate the round. He did not forget Paris’s body even when it appeared Paris was in trouble landing 15 torso shots and nearly earned another star for a body shot that drove Vernon backwards just before the 2 minute mark. Vernon again ignored Manny’s body and landed only 7 punches to Perez’s torso for zero stars but nearly matched Manny with 13 head shots. For the fourth time in four rounds Manny was the aggressor from bell to bell and won what otherwise would have been a neck and neck round by landing those 4 special blows. Again Manny is the clear cut winner, so far so good. Manny has clearly won the first four rounds and appears to be cruising. Only the 4th round has proved to be close.
Round 5: this was one of Manny’s most difficult rounds of the night. Statistically he is the winner landing 16 head shots and 20 body blows while Vernon again forgot about the body and only landed 4 there. He landed some of his best shots of the night to Manny’s head and matched Manny with 16 hits. Now if we went on head shots alone Vernon would win his first round but we judge on the entirety of the round including factors like body shots and who the aggressor was. With a 20 to 4 advantage in body shots and the fact that although Manny wasn’t the aggressor from bell to bell like the first four rounds he still out-aggressed Vernon. We can concede this as a draw doing Paris a huge favor or we can give the round to Manny for earning another star with a solid right hand at 1:03. We will call this round closer than any before and perhaps Paris is waking up. Go ahead and count it a tie and Manny is 4-0-1 on rounds won.
Round 6: Statistically Manny wins yet another round and in my opinion the fight. Unless Vernon really turns it on or manages to knock Manny out, (Can anyone knock Manny Perez out?) he will lose this fight. These last rounds will prove to be better rounds for Paris but Manny is still sticking with his attack-the-body game plan and it appears to be working perfectly. Manny hits his adversary in the head 18 times as well as earning a star punch with perhaps 6 sec left. I almost gave Manny another star for a good left hand a few seconds before his star so another good round for Manny. Never forgetting to attack the body Manny lands 18 body shots while his opponent lands 18 head shots yet only hits Manny’s body seven times. Vernon’s best round yet and I’d call it even, how’d you call it? As far as I could see there were no star punches for Vernon, making me feel even stronger that this round is dead even and a draw however we will give it to Vernon just because. Paris landed 18 head shots but only 6 body shots. So it’s one very close round for Paris, 4 obvious rounds for Manny plus 2 close rounds, makes the score 4-1-1 Manny, and the one round won by Paris is pretty much a gift.
Round 7: Although Paris appears to be doing better as the fight goes longer; statistically speaking Manny wins yet another crucial round. He is sure winning a lot of rounds to still be declared the loser. In round 7 Manny lands14 hits to the head while Vernon totals one less and scores 13, Manny continues to work his game plan and lands 26 body shots to Vernon’s paltry 5. Manny also picks up another star at 2:21 with yet another head shaking right hand. I think of all the factors working in this and all fights, the fact that Vernon never goes to the body with Manny has hurt him the worst. Perhaps working the body may have slowed Manny’s determined aggression down some. Either way Manny is still charging hard and is always the more aggressive fighter. Round 7 must go to Manny! 5-1-1
Round 8: At 1:19 seconds Vernon Paris finally gets his 3rd star punch with a right to the head and has his best round so far, however; Manny also scores in this round, he earns two more stars with only 5 seconds to go, one for a right to the head and one for a left to the head back to back. Statistics give Manny the two stars plus 14 more head shots for a total of 16 to counter Vernon’s 23 head scores plus his star punch at 1:19 for a total of 24. Paris completely ignored Manny’s torso landing a non-noticeable total of just 2 body shots! Manny countered with 26 body shots and it is clear to see that both are well trained fighters, both deserve our respect. Vernon has taken blow after blow to his body and it doesn’t seem to have slowed down. Manny has had his face reddened but has not either slowed or hurt him likely due to his excellent defense that turns Vernon’s punches into deflections that are more like slaps than blows, or absolute whiffs and misses. Statistically you have to give this round to Manny but a case can be made that Vernon had one of his best rounds of the fight so we will be gentlemen and give round 8 to Vern. Only his second round won so far and it has to be ruled whoever won it was a ‘very close’ win. It is 5-2-1 in Manny’s favor so far and in reality Vernon has no chance to win this fight without a knockout, like that’s going to happen.
Manny, in my mind’s eye has a little bit of Smokin Joe Frazier in him and we can hear Manny’s corner telling him to keep up the attack and true to form Manny will bring it from bell to bell and in all fairness his opponent does too. Both fighters have certainly earned adulations for being in absolutely great shape. In all likelihood this round was probably a draw but we’ll take a 5-2-1 or 5-1-2 lead with just 2 rounds to go.
Round 9: Both fighters are aggressive this round. Manny lands 16 body shots while Paris lands 7, advantage Manny! Mr. Perez also lands 25 head shots, unleashing a beautiful three punch combo with 33 seconds left in the round. He had several nearly star punches that again I do not want to let my emotions give Manny something he didn’t earn. I give Manny one star for a right hand with 1:33 sec. left and nearly gave him another for a solid right with 35 sec. left. Had Vernon thrown these I would have probably given him two stars but I only gave Manny one. Manny is still is coming forward like Joe Frazier used to do, attacking and continually throwing combinations. It’s late in the fight now and if you want to give Paris this fight then he needs to out-aggress Manny and he does not do it. Manny scores 25 headshots to go with 16 more body blasts while Paris lands 20 headshots and only 7 torso hits so Manny wins the statistic battle and Paris knows he needs to score more so he throws more. That doesn’t mean he lands more! When I slow the fight down to 4 or 15 speed I can clearly see (so can you) how many of Vernon’s punches were missing or only partially landing, or glancing blows that do no damage to Manny. Because it was one of Paris’s top three or four rounds we would be lenient to call it a draw but I will play it super conservative and give it to Vern as another close or very close round. 5-3-1 or 5-2-2 Manny!
Round 10: This is it, Manny has this fight in the bag and could play it safe but that’s not Manny. I think he could taste the victory but instead of playing it conservatively Manny was nearly sprinting towards Paris when the bell rang. Paris could only take three steps before Manny was knock-knocking at his door. That was the tone of the entire fight, Manny charging and pushing the much larger man backwards. Vernon back-pedaled most of the fight, while Manny kept on charging like an angry bull. How could the judges overlook this fact? Statistics show that Manny was once again the statistical winner, throwing and landing 24 to the head and a whopping 34 blows to the body while Paris stayed true to form landing a fight high 34 headshots but again nearly ignoring Manny’s torso and landing only seven to the body. So once again Mr. Perez who doubled as Mr. Relentless wins the statistical battle and perhaps a fan of Vernon’s will say that Paris’s huge weight advantage means his punches are harder and hurt more-Well okay then, are they so much harder they make up for a nearly 20 punch advantage to Manny in that last round?
I believe the final round of a fight is the most important round. Amazingly, Paris did not wilt, he stood toe to toe with Manny and gave nearly as well as he got. This last round was what all fans hope for in all fights, two fighters giving their all, it was a beautiful thing to watch and even if you give this round to Paris, (Statistically Manny won yet another round) Manny still wins the fight and wins it by a unanimous decision. I will give Paris this round for landing some nice head shots and getting another star punch at 2:20 with a left and a second star with a left uppercut at 1:36. Manny also got two stars for a right at 2:33 and a left just before at 2:28. I give Vernon yet another round but once again very close. Final score is either Manny at 5-4-1 or Manny at 5-3-2. Yes the last round is the most important but it could have gone either way and Manny did nothing to lose what he spent all night building. At the very least you can call this fight a draw and I would have to say Manny did more to win than his opponent but a draw would have been the worst Manny could have fared, but to give Paris a unanimous decision win is ludicrous.
Ponder on this, using my punches landed type of statistics we see Manny landing 165 headshots and 15 of them rated stars. Vernon landed more, 202 but only earned 5 star punches, and it’s the bodywork that illustrates exactly how bad the judges’ decisions were. Manny lands 229 body punches while Vernon throws and lands a miniscule 58. For this fight to be even a close fight Vernon would have had to hit Manny four times as hard with his body punching as Manny was hitting him. If you watched the fight you already have a feel for how dishonest this decision was but if you slow it down and then watch again you will be even more shocked. Manny out starred Vernon 15-5 and was awarded the punch of the night for that right hand smash they kept showing us. Please tell me how it’s possible to award Paris as the winner.
We fans of boxing are paying a whole lot of honest and hard earned money to attend these events or the exorbitant rates of pay-per-view to watch in our homes. We pay top dollar and with top dollars, come the expectations of an honest production that is a properly scored, handled, and managed, contest. This particular fight has been judged in such a negligent manner it points to a real and growing problem that needs to be corrected yesterday.
How many times, after watching a fight that is decided in a purely negligent manner, have you said to yourself, ‘Just another fight decided by judges who surely were watching anything but that fight?!’ If you are like me you’ve said it over and over and over…
We fans get pissed off, we switch channels or turn it off, curse, swear and go grumpy for awhile but then it’s back to our work-week hoping someday there will be accountability. What about the fighter, this is their life-This is their entire career, their extremely short window of opportunity to earn some money by putting themselves into extreme danger each time they step into the ring and they do it for our entertainment. Can we fans tolerate such negligence outside the ring while admiring such professionalism inside it? It is worse than unfair, it is criminal!
We owe it to the professional fighters as well as ourselves to start insisting that fight judges be held accountable. They are held accountable in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and all the other professional sports. Why not in boxing as well? The best refs rise to the top and get the highest paydays while the ones who make the most mistakes are regulated to the minor leagues. This is a fairly simple measure that would get immediate result. All fighters should be able to appeal decisions like this one. If the board finds the judges erred then they can be barred from judging any more of the lucrative pro fights and be forced to work non-paying novice fights until they learn how to judge fairly.
Judges should be older and with some sort of ring experience either from actual fights or as trainers and coaches. Judges first and foremost should have to know how hard these fighters work and what it’s like to fight and train from close experiences and from hours spent at the gym. That’s my take on this fixed fiasco, thanks for reading and until next time, stay fit, stay strong. mk
All Content with is article is associated with MMA Weekly June 13, 2013 by Mick Hammond
Upon making his major promotion debut at the World Series of Fighting 2 event in March, Colorado lightweight up-and-comer Justin Gaethje may have been the underdog to Dream and Strikeforce veteran Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, but he didn’t perform like it.
Over the course of two and a half minutes, Gaethje did exactly what he set out to do and finished Cavalcante, putting himself on the map in the process.
“I was excited for the opportunity to be on national television and fight a guy who was well-known and show the people that I really do belong with everybody else and that I can hold my own and that I’ve been working on my skills,” said Gaethje.
“That was the game plan going in was to pressure him and make him feel uncomfortable, and that’s what I did.”
While Gaethje made Cavalcante uncomfortable in their fight, he told MMAWeekly.com that he was very at ease at the event thanks to the way the WSOF treated him.
“It’s an awesome company,” said Gaethje. “It’s obviously the biggest platform I’ve been on. They’re trying to do a big thing and they’re taking care of the fighters and that’s the most important part.”
Gaethje’s return to the WSOF on Friday looks to be a match-up of fighters with equal skillsets as he is slated to take on former UFC fighter Brian “Bandit” Cobb. According to Gaethje, though, the fight might not play out like most people think. “I know he’s a really good wrestler and has been wrestling a long time like myself and he’s going to try to take me down, so I want to keep it standing and maybe get a couple takedowns myself,” said Gaethje of Cobb. “I know he’s a grinder, so I want to grind him out and beat him at his own game and grind out a win.
“I’m going to stand there, try to knock him out, and if he shoots, try to catch him with a knee. It’s definitely not going to be a wrestling match because I’m going to try to get the knockout.”
As the WSOF continues to expand its lightweight division, Gaethje feels he can make his way to the top of the weight class, as long as he takes his time and methodically works his way up the rankings in the coming years.
“I know they’ve got a lot of big names, so I’m looking forward to fighting as many of them as possible,” said Gaethje.
“The WSOF 155-pound division is full of a lot of young stars or guys who come from big promotions, but I’m not in a rush to fight for a title. I want it to mean something, so I want take it one step at a time, one fight at a time, and leave it up to the promotion who I fight next.”
