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Breaking It Down With Al Bernstein! By Will "The Thrill" Trillo |
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Having only been up for a month and a half now, calling any
acquaintance we have made a good friend may be a bit of a
stretch, but in the case of Showtime's Al Bernstein, I feel very
secure in saying that with Al, Boxing2004.com has made a truly
great friend. Last month boxing's premier analyst gave us a very
accurate breakdown of the Tszyu/Mitchell fight, days before it
took place, and now we turn to our friend to not only get a
breakdown of this weekends fights at Mandalay Bay, but we also
were privy to Bernstein's thoughts on this past weekends Barrera
vs. Morales war.
So let's jump right into this and wrap up the past
weekend, can I get your thoughts on the outcome?
Yeah! To me the most extraordinary thing is when you watch those guys fight, it's very interesting because collectively, between the 2 of them, they have about every skill you could want! They each do different things slightly better than they do other things, and in Morales case, he diminishes his skills because he is so angry all the time at Barrera. But ultimately, to my way of thinking, that ends up being the difference in all this, he ended up losing 2 of the 3 fights, although I am not sure they ever got it right! Me personally, I am in the minority, but I kind of thought Morales won by a point or 2! If he stays on the outside, throws straight hands and shows just an ounce of movement, he wins almost every round but he doesn't do that all the time because he wants to get in and wail away, and he throws wider punches, Barrera is more compact and on the inside, Barrera has his way! Morales didn't move quite as much as he should have! He did move some, but it's not even just about moving, it's about fighting tall and giving himself room to punch instead of bending in and getting on the inside and laying there, it almost seems like a matter of conditioning!
It's a push between them and it's great fighting, they make great fights. I don't think you could ever put those guys in the ring together where they wouldn't make great fights! I love the fact that they both throw combinations, it's never just one punch at a time.
Yeah! To me the most extraordinary thing is when you watch those guys fight, it's very interesting because collectively, between the 2 of them, they have about every skill you could want! They each do different things slightly better than they do other things, and in Morales case, he diminishes his skills because he is so angry all the time at Barrera. But ultimately, to my way of thinking, that ends up being the difference in all this, he ended up losing 2 of the 3 fights, although I am not sure they ever got it right! Me personally, I am in the minority, but I kind of thought Morales won by a point or 2! If he stays on the outside, throws straight hands and shows just an ounce of movement, he wins almost every round but he doesn't do that all the time because he wants to get in and wail away, and he throws wider punches, Barrera is more compact and on the inside, Barrera has his way! Morales didn't move quite as much as he should have! He did move some, but it's not even just about moving, it's about fighting tall and giving himself room to punch instead of bending in and getting on the inside and laying there, it almost seems like a matter of conditioning!
It's a push between them and it's great fighting, they make great fights. I don't think you could ever put those guys in the ring together where they wouldn't make great fights! I love the fact that they both throw combinations, it's never just one punch at a time.
So they called this fight, "Once And For All," do you
really think that's it?
Well, now there is such an animosity there, not just between the 2 of them, but also now, of course, Arum and Oscar! So more than the 2 fighters, you have to get the business people to agree, and that was easier before when De La Hoya was part of the Arum family. But Arum despises De La Hoya right now for the way he left. I think Oscar got to dislike Arum before he left the last time, and even when he came back, he did it purely for business because he realized it wasn't working without Arum.
Well, now there is such an animosity there, not just between the 2 of them, but also now, of course, Arum and Oscar! So more than the 2 fighters, you have to get the business people to agree, and that was easier before when De La Hoya was part of the Arum family. But Arum despises De La Hoya right now for the way he left. I think Oscar got to dislike Arum before he left the last time, and even when he came back, he did it purely for business because he realized it wasn't working without Arum.
Well, I think that puts that in a nice tidy package,
let's look at this coming weekend, you got a pretty good looking
card of your own on Saturday night!
I am really looking forward to the Castillo/Casamayor fight! That is a perfect match up, you got Castillo, who is really powerful and very aggressive with dogged determination, and Casamayor a boxer, but these days he has shown us that he is not just a boxer, he punches too! So to me it's an intriguing match up, I think it's going to be great! I think it could be very much like the Corrales/Casamayor fight! Castillo is not quite as tall, but he has a lot of the same tools, he'll be coming forward although Corrales boxed a bit more in the 2nd fight. Casamayor can be hit with a left hook and Castillo has one, and Casamayor has power, but I don't know if he can knock down or knock out Castillo, so we may have to see more of the Casamayor the boxer in this fight! He is going to have to box more, but you got to be able to punch some to win!
I am really looking forward to the Castillo/Casamayor fight! That is a perfect match up, you got Castillo, who is really powerful and very aggressive with dogged determination, and Casamayor a boxer, but these days he has shown us that he is not just a boxer, he punches too! So to me it's an intriguing match up, I think it's going to be great! I think it could be very much like the Corrales/Casamayor fight! Castillo is not quite as tall, but he has a lot of the same tools, he'll be coming forward although Corrales boxed a bit more in the 2nd fight. Casamayor can be hit with a left hook and Castillo has one, and Casamayor has power, but I don't know if he can knock down or knock out Castillo, so we may have to see more of the Casamayor the boxer in this fight! He is going to have to box more, but you got to be able to punch some to win!
And what about the Semi-Main, Lacy vs. Sheika, what do
you see here?
It should be exciting while it's there! Sheika will be aggressive at first, and Lacy is not a quick starter, normally! And up to his last fight I think everyone had questions about Jeff Lacy, he has skills and has power, but honestly, I think everyone was thinking, I am not sure if he is going to be a terrific fighter or not, and to me he answered all those questions against Syd Vanderpool, who is a really good fighter! Did Hopkins knock him out? Did Glen Johnson knock him out? NO! And I think that is the equalizer, Jeff Lacy is so powerful, all you have to do is get him to do those things that will allow him to win 12 round decisions, because somebody is not going to go down from his power! It's kind of coincidental because he is fighting on the same night, Jermain Taylor that is. To my thinking that would be a fantastic match up if they ever get in the same weight class!
It should be exciting while it's there! Sheika will be aggressive at first, and Lacy is not a quick starter, normally! And up to his last fight I think everyone had questions about Jeff Lacy, he has skills and has power, but honestly, I think everyone was thinking, I am not sure if he is going to be a terrific fighter or not, and to me he answered all those questions against Syd Vanderpool, who is a really good fighter! Did Hopkins knock him out? Did Glen Johnson knock him out? NO! And I think that is the equalizer, Jeff Lacy is so powerful, all you have to do is get him to do those things that will allow him to win 12 round decisions, because somebody is not going to go down from his power! It's kind of coincidental because he is fighting on the same night, Jermain Taylor that is. To my thinking that would be a fantastic match up if they ever get in the same weight class!
Couldn't agree with you anymore Al, that would be sweet! Thanks
for giving us some time on what is surely a busy week for you!
Questions or Comments? Please Email Will "The Thrill" Trillo
Questions or Comments? Please Email Will "The Thrill" Trillo