By Tom Donelson (photo by Richie Maldonado)

 

Two weeks ago, it was a young fighters’ night out at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.  Andre Berto began the show by fighting Norberto Bravo, the Contender graduate from the second season.  The last time we saw Bravo, he was getting knocked out by Cornelius Bundrage in the seventh round of the Contender's second season finale. Bravo viewed this as another chance at some big money, but the reality was shown very quickly. Berto sent Bravo down three times in a blink of an eye.   Berto’s jab made constant contact with Bravo’s face for the first minute and that set up the first left hook that sent Bravo sprawling on the ground. From there it was a matter of time before the end.  Bravo could not match Berto’s speed, skill or his power.  

Berto's dramatic beginning sent a buzz through the audience. Berto has power in both hands and accurate quick hands that end matches quickly and if power translates when he faces tougher competition; Berto could become an instant star.

The second bout brought together two junior middleweights looking for redemption.  Ishe Smith became the villain in the first Contender season and now he was trying to restart his career, riding a two fight win streak since his Contender days.  Sechew Powell lost his last fight with Kassim Ouma and now he was using Smith as a possible stepping stone to another title shot.

While Berto produced fireworks in one round, Powell and Smith played a game of cat and mouse throughout their ten round affair. Powell used his jab and an occasional straight left from his southpaw position to build up points where as Smith tried to counterpunch and force Powell to the ropes where he would land his best shot- his right hand. This pattern repeated itself throughout the fight as Powell threw and landed more punches, but Smith's right hand often made the rounds close. 

While the judges gave Powell the unanimous decision, the fight was closer than the official scorecards showed. The problem with both fighters is that neither wanted to take chances and preferred the safety route.  This benefited Powell, whose jab was more effective than Smith. Smith's best punch was his right, which he nailed Powell to both the body and head but throughout this fight, he was nothing more than a one handed fighter. His left was hardly effective and his lack of activity proved his undoing. 

As one HBO announcer noted, there were time that Smith acted more like a sparring partner preparing Powell for his next fight as opposed to a fighter with his career to reclaim. 

Sechew Powell did not look impressive in his bout and as Max Kellerman noted, Powell showed more passion after the fight when hearing the decision than he did during the actual contest.  Powell has talent but in this fight, he did not showcase all of his skills.  This was not a fight that would demand Powell a main event bout.  Interesting enough, this is the second time that Powell played second banana to Paul Malignaggi.  Nearly three years, Powell escaped with a decision over Grady Brewer in a ShoBox event that saw Paul Malignaggi as the main event.

In the tenth and final round, Malignaggi showed one feature that a champion fighter needs - a chin. Cherry, well behind on the cards and fighting in a desperation mode, nailed Malignaggi with two accurate left hooks, but the “Magic Man” took them without blinking. Cherry is not the hardest puncher at 140-pounds, but Malignaggi was able to withstand a twelve round assault from Miguel Cotto last June, one of the hardest punchers in the game, so there is no questioning Paulie's courage in the ring. 

The problem with Malignaggi is his lack of power. Against Cherry, he spent the first nine rounds jabbing and moving with ease while getting very little in return.  As Lennox Lewis observed, it was hard for Cherry to strike at Malignaggi because of the difference in speed.

The talk during, and after the match was a Malignaggi-Ricky Hatton bout.  The only one who seemed to understand that he is not ready for Hatton was Malignaggi himself. Malignaggi has yet to show that he has the power to hold off a tough slugging fighter who can keep coming forward. The Malignaggi who fought Cherry would be over matched against Hatton, who could simply walk through Malignaggi punches. 

Lack of power hurt Malignaggi against Cotto.  Malignaggi has the speed and great boxing skillsm but the real question is whether he has enough power to compete with the elite fighters of the division or can his superior boxing skills can overcome his lack of power. Malignaggi is not quite a Billy Conn. 

After the night was over, we learned the following.  Berto is a legitimate prospect and the time has come for him to take the next step against tougher opponents.  As for Malignaggi and Powell. They have the skills, but they are not quite championship level fighters, at least not yet. Some more seasoning and some key bouts may carve them into potential title threats.