Dorticos vs Gassiev - Saturday 3rd February

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Gassiev won?

Don't blast me for asking: but was it a legit win? Or was the deck stacked against Dorticos?

As legit as it gets since there was a clean finish. Three knockdowns in the last round with the last one sending Dorticos through the ropes. Here's the video clip.

 

[JayE]

I used to think that buddy but then I looked back into the guy Golovkin was as an amateur and left feeling saddened. He was a very fluid fighter, brilliant at scoring points. Now he's one dimensional. I can see why Mayweather describes him as 'straight up and down, no special effects'.

Abel converted him into a fighter who is not necessarily a master at pointscoring, but is a master at breaking an opponent down via accumulation and stopping them. The problem arises when a fighter is not being broken down effectively enough. There's no plan B.

Sure, Golovkin was a little crude when he turned pro, and he did well to prioritize power punching more as well as the jab, but there should have been a balance. This is just how I see it, anyway.

I don't even think it's a matter of point scoring. He was a more diverse boxer earlier in his career. and it benefited everything that he did. A younger Golovkin with more wrinkles in his game would have swept Canelo down the stretch.

 

[Jonny Ninja]

Watching this for free on ITV 4, hope it's a good fight.

Cheers dude, I’d have missed it without seeing this post

 

[AJBG]

I agree with Dr Will’s assestment regarding GG+Abel... For the same reason, I was expecting a totally different fight between Gasssiev vs Dorticos (i.e., Gassiev in pursue of and putting pressure on Dorticos, and the latter capitalizing on the first aggressiveness with effective counters and potshots - a la Cuban). But the opposite took place, The Cuban fighting a la Mexicana, and the Russian masterfully executing a tactical plan that the Cubans has perfected (and to which development the old Soviet block must have definitely contribute...).
Great fight! Gassiev’s boxing intelligence prevailed over the Cuban pugilist and his corner lack of...

 

[Hypetrainhipsta]

I'm not sure that Sanchez has added anything to Golovkin. He arguably showed more wrinkles early in his pro career before teaming up with Sanchez.

This, I don't rate Sanchez as a world class coach, he pushed him towards a more "Mexican" approach, if you wanna call it like that.
I still think that Usyk will win the whole thing, the thing is that he can be drawn into a slugfest.
That said, Briedis and Glowacki are really heavy handed, they are proven power punchers and if we look at the top HWs there are maybe 3 or 4 guys who hit harder than that (Wilder, AJ, Ortiz and maybe Povetikin, even If I don't know if he's still the same puncher after his ban).

 

[DaveDave]

His birth certificate says 24 but his face says "I served in the Soviet–Afghan War"

This post was so good it should be preserved for posterity.

On-topic: WHAT. A. FUCKING. FIGHT.

Awesome stuff. Can't wait for the final.

 

[ironfist05]

Gassiev has a lot in common with Beterbiev except he's bigger and hits harder, and Beterbiev gave Usyk plenty of issues in the amateurs.

I definitely see that. However, while I think Beterbiev is talented, I think Gassiev is better. He seems to have a better sense of mixing it up, and I think his footwork is overall better, as well as his defense.

 

[Hagler]

Gassiev is deceptive as fuck with his caveman looks and his short arms, but he does get the job done. Usyk is a slight favorite at best.

 

[ironfist05]

Yes but I think Gassiev doesn't land that right hook as much as he did on Dorticos. Just little things that Usyk does better that I think will overwhelm Gassiev.

I agree with this. I think Usyk's skillset is a little too diverse and unconventional for Gassiev. Both guys have great stamina too, late KOs are generally rare and Gassiev put it on against a pretty good opponent.

 

[ironfist05]

As legit as it gets since there was a clean finish. Three knockdowns in the last round with the last one sending Dorticos through the ropes. Here's the video clip.

wow the timing on that first left hook was sensational.

as for GGG, I have to agree with the consensus here. GGG's game has devolved to some degree under Sanchez. You can argue GGG has a better jab now, but he lost a lot of his defensive instincts and frankly I think he works the body even less now. Also his ring cutting got a bit worse IMO (not substantially).

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

wow the timing on that first left hook was sensational.

as for GGG, I have to agree with the consensus here. GGG's game has devolved to some degree under Sanchez. You can argue GGG has a better jab now, but he lost a lot of his defensive instincts and frankly I think he works the body even less now. Also his ring cutting got a bit worse IMO (not substantially).

Yeah, it was very well timed when he saw that opening and pounced. I also agree with the consensus. The observations you've made I've also noted. GGG is a head hunter with his jab. He always lands it consistently on his opponents, which is great, but he should also go downstairs with it from time to time. Against Canelo I don't think I remember him even trying that long hook to the body against the ropes because he was concerned with being countered. He does follow more than cut the ring off in his last few fights. His defense used to be tighter for sure. Even though he was fighting lesser competition at the time it stood out. Connor Ruebusch wrote a very detailed piece on GGG back in 2014 essentially proving that GGG had regressed as far as being as complete as he used to be. It pissed a lot of people off. GGG was transformed into an action fighter under Sanchez for marketability. His own brother has to constantly remind him now of what he's forgotten. This is what I believe, anyway.

 

[ArtemV]

Gassiev gave Dorticos his belt, good champion!

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Gassiev gave Dorticos his belt, good champion!

Nice. I timestamped it starting with Dorticos feeling down to Gassiev giving him back his (already earned) WBA world championship title. Dorticos is allowed to keep the belt anyway and it has his name on it. Gassiev will get his own from the WBA now. Still, it was a classy move by Gassiev. They got a picture together with the Cuban flag and one guy goes "That's how boxing should be". Damn near brought me to tears. Who's cutting the onions? Brb...

 

[Shoemaker]

Wow, classy move by Gassiev. Good sportsmanship. I don’t expect it from a brutal sport but it’s always cool to see.

 

[Seano]

Gassiev won?

Don't blast me for asking: but was it a legit win? Or was the deck stacked against Dorticos?

Doritcos lost in typical Cuban fashion, by doing jack shit after the halfway point. I joined the fight late and didn't see him win a single round that I watched.

 

[ironfist05]

Doritcos lost in typical Cuban fashion, by doing jack shit after the halfway point. I joined the fight late and didn't see him win a single round that I watched.

I don't agree at all. I think he lost because of his inability to adjust and change his gameplan beyond a one two and maybe the occasional hook. He was throwing punches back till the last round and maintained a decent activity rate. Say what you want about Dorticos, but he went down fighting, he didn't pull any of that bullshit Lara pulls.

I was really impressed by Gassiev honestly. He reminded me of Canelo in a lot of ways. We saw a lot to him: hand parrying, some slick upper body movement, combination punching, mixing up the targets by switching between head shots and body shots, good conditioning, pull counters, chin, timing, and of course power and stamina. I'd like to see a more active jab and I feel he's a little slow on his feet, but otherwise, Gassiev is going to be a serious threat at 200 and even at HW.

 

[Shoemaker]

Gassiev won?

Don't blast me for asking: but was it a legit win? Or was the deck stacked against Dorticos?

I thought he did it pretty clearly myself. Dorticos was busy but he wasn't effective. Meanwhile Gassiev's left hook kept finding a home. Respect to Dorticos though, he's tough shit. He had nothing the last 4 rounds and manage to take the punishment until the last round.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

I don't agree at all. I think he lost because of his inability to adjust and change his gameplan beyond a one two and maybe the occasional hook. He was throwing punches back till the last round and maintained a decent activity rate. Say what you want about Dorticos, but he went down fighting, he didn't pull any of that bullshit Lara pulls.

I was really impressed by Gassiev honestly. He reminded me of Canelo in a lot of ways. We saw a lot to him: hand parrying, some slick upper body movement, combination punching, mixing up the targets by switching between head shots and body shots, good conditioning, pull counters, chin, timing, and of course power and stamina. I'd like to see a more active jab and I feel he's a little slow on his feet, but otherwise, Gassiev is going to be a serious threat at 200 and even at HW.

I was entertained by both. Dorticos wouldn't go away until Gassiev forced him to and that wasn't until the last minute and a half of the final round. He stayed in his face the whole fight and as you said stayed busy throughout. Had he been able to hang on for 8 seconds longer he would've gone the distance. I'm excited that we'll have yet another lineal & four belt undisputed champion crowned in May.

 

[CatchnShoot]

Great fight, it went the exact opposite way that I thought it would though.

 

[PHATV]

Is this one on youtube at this point?