Fredrick Lawson logró cuestionable triunfo en choque de estilos contra tosco Estevan Villalobos
Daniel Pi
@BastionBoxeo
College Park Center, Arlington, Estados Unidos. Peso superwélter.
Sobre el papel, la pugna entre el estadounidense Estevan “Manos de Oro” Villalobos 16(11KO)-2(1)-1 y el ghanés Fredrick Lawson 30(22KO)-3(3) era un encuentro entre dos boxeadores con grandes puntos débiles. Tanto era así que no estaba demasiado claro quién iba a ganar lidiando mejor con sus brechas. Sobre el ring, también hubo igualdad, y aunque perfectamente la pugna podría haber terminado en un empate o con una victoria de Villalobos, los jueces le dieron el cuestionable triunfo a Lawson con puntuaciones de 97-93, 96-94, 96-94.
El plan de Villalobos era encerrar a su contrincante y desgastarlo con sus curvos, y en el primer asalto ya llevó contra las cuerdas a Lawson, si bien este último aprovechó los constantes fallos en defensa de su contrincante para alcanzarlo también con golpes de poder claros en hook. Así, la pugna ofreció una considerable cantidad de buenos intercambios de golpes y en general un choque de estilos interesante. En él, en ocasiones se imponía la presión y el volumen de golpes de Villalobos, pero en otras los graves descuidos en defensa de éste y su simpleza boxística le permitieron a Lawson contragolpear con precisión y aprovechar los momentos con espacios para conectar su jab.
De todos modos, el combate era exigente desde el punto de vista físico, algo que perjudicaba al boxeador veterano, castigado y con problemas de encaje, es decir a Lawson. Éste a la larga pareció desgastarse, y aunque tuvo aciertos con su rápido jab (que Villalobos a veces no intentaba ni siquiera defender), se centró cada vez más en desplazarse intentando reducir la presión y el castigo. Así, si bien Lawson pudo dificultar algo el despliegue ofensivo del tosco Villalobos y utilizó sus limitaciones a su favor, no pudo evitar que el estadounidense eventualmente le encerrase y le conectase combinaciones de curvos. De hecho, si el combate hubiese durado un poco más el ghanés habría terminado noqueado, dado que Villalobos lo dejó muy dañado en el décimo asalto.
Aunque es posible cuestionar el veredicto final, cuesta alegar con fuerza a favor de Villalobos, que durante muchos momentos (sobre todo en la segunda mitad) pareció aceptar completamente pararse los golpes con la cara en su frontal avance, y tuvo suerte de que su veterano rival estuviese cansado y sólo pudiese usar el jab. Por otro lado, en cuanto a Lawson, aunque este éxito le dará aire, parece que el plan de Golden Boy Promotions es simplemente inflarlo antes de lanzárselo como víctima a Alexis Rocha, que está estancado a la espera de qué camino toma a continuación Terence Crawford.
Fredrick Lawson achieved questionable decision victory in clash of styles against crude Estevan Villalobos
Daniel Pi
@BastionBoxing
College Park Center, Arlington, United States. Super welterweight.
On paper, the fight between American Estevan “Manos de Oro” Villalobos 16(11KO)-2(1)-1 and Ghanaian Fredrick Lawson 30(22KO)-3(3) was a match between two boxers with big flaws. So much so that it wasn’t too clear who was going to win by dealing better with their weak points. On the ring, indeed it was a contested match, and although the fight could have ended in a draw or with a victory for Villalobos, the judges gave Lawson the questionable decision win with scores of 97-93, 96-94, 96-94.
Villalobos’ plan was to corner his opponent and wear him down with his hooks, and in the first round he already took Lawson against the ropes, although the latter took advantage of his opponent’s constant defensive mistakes to hit him with clear power shots in hook. Thus, the match featured a good number of exchanges and overall it was an interesting clash of styles. In it, at times the pressure and work rate from Villalobos prevailed, but in others his defensive carelessness and his boxing simplicity allowed Lawson to counterpunch with precision and take advantage of the moments with spaces to connect the jab.
In any case, the fight was demanding from a physical point of view, something that was negative for the interests of the veteran and punished boxer with chin issues, that is, Lawson. The Ghanian seemed worn down in the long run, and although he had success with his fast jab (which Villalobos sometimes did not even try to defend), he focused more and more on moving trying to reduce the pressure and punishment. So while Lawson was able to create some tactical difficulties for the crude Villalobos’ offensive display, and used his limitations to his advantage, he couldn’t stop the American from eventually pinning him against the ropes and landing hook combinations. In fact, if the bout had lasted a little longer, the visitor would have ended up knocked out, as Villalobos badly hurt him in the tenth round.
Although it is possible to question the final verdict, it is difficult to argue vehemently in favor of Villalobos, who for many moments (particularly in the second half) seemed to completely accept blocking the punches with his face in his frontal advance, and was lucky that his veteran opponent was tired and could only use the jab. On the other hand, as for Lawson, despite this success, it seems that Golden Boy Promotions’ plan is to simply hype him a bit before using him as a victim for Alexis Rocha, who is stalled waiting to see what path Terence Crawford follows next.