THE thing that makes boxing such a compelling and unpredictable sport is also the very thing that makes it such a confusing and, at times, unnecessarily complicated sport. Every win ultimately carries the same value, yet there are so many ways for a boxer to win, and some wins, by their nature, feel more like wins than others. Some wins, in fact, feel more like losses than a feat to be celebrated.
Yesterday (July 6), for example, there were big wins for heavyweight Johnny Fisher, lightweight Shakur Stevenson, and super-featherweight Robson Conceicao, yet the feeling of triumph will have been different for each of them.
In the case of heavyweight Johnny Fisher, 12-0 (11), a one-round dismissal of Alen Babic at London’s Copper Box was about as good as it could get really. All over in 36 seconds, the “Romford Bull” barely broke a sweat, took no punishment whatsoever, and will now presumably be able to fight again very soon. Not just that, with each quick-fire stoppage Fisher produces there is an increasing sense that he is more than just the one-of-the-lads caricature he has been presented as since turning pro in 2021. Even if what he produces is not pretty, or technically refined, there can be no denying that four first-round stoppages in his last six fights is impressive and noteworthy. Moreover, it is the type of form that will have people excited to watch him fight, encouraged to know Fisher is someone who wastes no time in the ring and looks to land heavy shots as early as possible. This, for a certain type of crowd, is all they really want from a fighter and from a prizefight, which would explain why the 25-year-old has accrued such a large following in such a short space of time.
Fisher stops Babic (Henry Browne/Getty Images)
Elsewhere, in New Jersey, Shakur Stevenson, a man exponentially more gifted than Fisher, again went through the motions in beating Artem Harutyunyan over 12 rounds in defence of his WBC lightweight crown. In other words, it took Stevenson 36 minutes to achieve what Fisher, hours earlier, managed to achieve in just 36 seconds.
Both men won, of course, but at very different speeds and in very different ways. If Fisher was all intensity and urgency, Stevenson, as is his custom, was more about poise and patience – both displaying it and testing it. Not unlike England’s football team, in fact, the Newark native once again refused to take unnecessary risks in pursuit of a stoppage win, or even a bit of fun. This left each round following a similar pattern to the last and it left those watching the fight, whether in the arena or at home, fighting to stay awake as the bout drew to a close.
Alas, this is seemingly just how Shakur Stevenson currently operates and no amount of criticising it will change him. Besides, with his record now standing at 22-0 (10), who are we to argue?
And yet, be that as it may, the 27-year-old’s career has no doubt suffered as a result of this safety-first approach to winning fights. Top Rank, for instance, sound ready to wash their hands with him following this latest fight (their last with him on his current contract) and have told him to go out and “test the market”, clearly of the belief no other promoter will offer him what he wants.
Surely, given his talent, Stevenson won’t be without suitors, but it is true nonetheless that he is far from a guarantee in terms of his marketability and selling power, either at the gate or on pay-per-view. Indeed, maybe the only way to maximise both Stevenson’s potential and earning capability is to match him aggressively – against fighters with at least a 50/50 chance of beating him – and ensure that a Stevenson win, however it comes about, is considered something worthy of attention and praise.
For now, though, and for as long as Stevenson entertains opponents like Artem Harutyunyan, it is easy to see both his fights and his career drifting away, like fans in the arena, to a chorus of boos.
Stevenson outpoints Harutyunyan (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Speaking of boos, this is also the sound Robson Conceicao will hear when recalling his WBC super-featherweight title fight win against O’Shaquie Foster last night in Newark. “A win is a win,” he will try to tell and remind himself, yet still the sounds of booing, so commonplace following a controversial decision, will drown out any attempts to delude himself or rewrite history. Even when checking his record on BoxRec.com, and seeing a “W” alongside the name O’Shaquie Foster, Conceicao, 19-2-1 (9), will still have great difficulty silencing the boos and ignoring the feeling that ineffective aggression – so often seductive for uneducated judges – ultimately won him a fight he didn’t deserve to win.
One judge, Ron McNair, scored the fight 116-112 in favour of Foster, which was the view of most watching the fight live. However, this score was then trumped by the scores of Tony Lundy and Paul Wallace, who scored the fight 116-112 and 115-113 respectively, both preferring the front-foot work of Conceicao.
That they got it so wrong has not a thing to do with Conceicao, of course. He was just in there doing what he could and all he knows. Furthermore, one could argue that if anyone deserves a break when it comes to questionable scoring it’s probably someone like Conceicao, who has, let’s not forget, been on the receiving end of one or two contentious decisions in the past. More than anyone, the Brazilian knows what it means to lose a fight and feel like you won, and also now win a fight and feel like you lost. He has, in that respect, completed the game; experienced every emotion boxing, this abusive, duplicitous spouse, has to offer.
Conceicao attacks Foster (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)