Fisher, Stevenson and Conceicao prove that there are many ways to win a battle

WHAT makes boxing such a popular and unpredictable sport is that it is a confusing and sometimes unnecessarily complicated sport. Every win ends up having the same value, however there are many ways for a boxer to win, and some winners, by their very nature, feel more victorious than others. Some wins, in fact, feel more like losses than something to celebrate.

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 victory will be different for each of them.

In the case of heavyweight Johnny Fisher, 12-0 (11), the one-round dismissal of Alen Babic at London’s Copper Box was almost too good. 36 seconds have passed, the “Romford Bull” is sweating, he has not been punished, and now he may be able to fight again soon. Not only that, with each rapid-fire stoppage Fisher produces there is a growing sense that he is little more than a caricature of one of the guys he’s been portrayed as since becoming champion in 2021. Even if what it produces is not. good, or technically refined, there’s no denying that four first-round stoppages in his last six fights are impressive and noteworthy. Plus, it’s the kind of form that will make people excited to watch him fight, motivated to know that Fisher is someone who doesn’t waste time in the ring and looks to land as many hard shots as possible. This, for a certain type of crowd, is all they really want from a fighter and award winner, which would explain why the 25-year-old has amassed so many fans in such a short time.

Elsewhere, in New Jersey, Shakur Stevenson, a much more gifted man than Fisher, once again defeated Artem Harutyunyan in a 12-round defense of his WBC lightweight title. In other words, it took Stevenson 36 minutes to accomplish what Fisher, hours earlier, was able to accomplish in just 36 seconds.

Both men were successful, of course, but at very different speeds and in very different ways. If Fisher was forceful and urgent, Stevenson, as was his habit, spoke quietly and patiently – both to show it and to test it. Unlike the England football team, in fact, this Newark striker once again refused to take unnecessary risks in pursuit of a stoppage victory, or a little fun. This has left each round following the same pattern as the last and leaving those watching the fight, whether on the field or at home, struggling to stay awake as the heat heats up.

Alas, this seems to be what Shakur Stevenson is currently working on and no amount of criticism is going to change him. Besides, with his record standing at 22-0 (10), who should we be against?

However, be that as it may, the 27-year-old’s career has undoubtedly been hampered by this first safety method of winning battles. Top Rank, for example, seems ready to wash their hands of him following this latest fight (the last with him in his current contract) and tell him to go out and “test the market”, apparently in the belief that no other promoter will do it. give him what he wants.

Certainly, given his talent, Stevenson won’t be without buyers, but it’s still true that he’s far from guaranteed in terms of his marketability and sales potential, either at the gate or on pay-per-view. Indeed, perhaps the only way to maximize Stevenson’s power and earning potential is to match him aggressively – against fighters who have at least a 50/50 chance of beating him – and make sure that Stevenson’s victory, however, is considered the right one. of attention and praise.

For now, though, and as long as Stevenson entertains opponents like Artem Harutyunyan, it’s easy to see both his wrestling and his career drifting, like the fans on the field, into the chorus.

Stevenson portrays Harutyunyan (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Speaking of boos, this is the sound Robson Conceicao will hear when he remembers his WBC super-featherweight fight against O’Shaquie Foster last night in Newark. “A win is a win,” he will try to tell himself and remind himself, yet the sounds of booing, which is commonplace following a controversial decision, will block all attempts to deceive himself or rewrite history. Even when he checks his record on BoxRec.com, and sees a “W” next to the name O’Shaquie Foster, Conceicao, 19-2-1 (9), he’ll still have a hard time silencing the boos and ignoring the feeling that violence isn’t working. . – who often seduced uneducated judges – and ended up winning him a battle that was not worth winning.

One judge, Ron McNair, scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Foster, which is the opinion of many who watched the fight live. However, the score was then decided by the scores of Tony Lundy and Paul Wallace, who scored the fight 116-112 and 115-113 respectively, both preferring the work of Conceicao’s front foot.

That they found it so bad has nothing to do with Conceicao, of course. He was just there doing everything he knows and everything 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, made headlines with a controversial decision or two in the past. More than anyone, the Brazilian knows what it means to lose a battle and feel like you’ve won, and now you’re winning a battle and feel like you’ve lost. With that, it’s game over; faced all the emotional punches, this abusive, duplicitous partner, has to give up.

Conceicao attacks Foster (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)