In the season finale of ESPNs Friday Night Fights, two emerging stars made their statements at the expense of two proven warriors. Undefeated Tavoris Cloud steamrolled past a game, yet over-matched Clinton Woods for his first title, and Juan Urango went through the fire and proved his grit in beating Randall Bailey. Cards like the ones last Friday leaves hope for fans of the sport that more great fights will make it to the mainstream.
Tavoris Cloud UD12 Clinton Woods Analysis
Even after a one year layoff and facing off against a taller and more experienced former champion, Cloud (20-0 18 KOs, IBF Champion) overpowered Woods (42-5-1 24 KOs) leaving little doubt as to if he is ready for bigger things at Light Heavyweight. From the start, Cloud was the stronger and faster man in the ring attack Woods with hard hitting combinations and landing frequently with left hooks and straight right hands. Woods showed tremendous heart and performed better than in his last loss against Antonio Tarver, but with the increasing amount of young fighters making their presence known in Light Heavyweight it just might be time for Woods to retire.
Now the IBF champion, the fight many would like to see Cloud make is against the top man in the division Chad Dawson. The fight may or may not happen right away considering that Dawson is still on his senior tour, he faces off against Glen Johnson this November and is hoping to land a fight against Bernard Hopkins or Roy Jones Jr. and promoter Gary Shaw has shown no interest in the past matching Dawson against Cloud. Regardless of who he faces next, Cloud has all the making of being a long reigning champion considering his effort against Woods.
Juan Urango KO11 Randall Bailey Analysis
Everybody knew coming into this fight that fireworks were expected when the best punchers in the Junior Welterweight division came to town, so it was no surprise that’s what everybody got. Urango (22-2 17KOs IBF Champion) was able to batter the fight out of former champion Bailey (39-7 35 KOs) but having to survive a sixth round knockdown in order to do so. Urango’s tireless assault on Bailey was remarkable, knocking Bailey down twice in the ninth round and continuing to force the assault until Bailey’s corner stopped the fight, it was as brutal as it was incredible. Hats off to Bailey, who did everything he could to take the belt away but nothing would have stopped Urango that night.
Despite the gutsy affair, Urango remains the least skilled of the titlists at 140 lbs but he makes it up with his bulldog-like fighting style. Even being knocked down, Urango kept coming forward and was still hitting hard even late into the fight forcing a corner stoppage. Although Paulie Malignaggi was ringside for the fight, the best fight to make in any division will be Urango against WBA mandatory challenger Marcos Maidana and it is a fight that should be made right away.
Bottom line is this: In lieu of UFC having televised cards after cards, boxing needs outlets like Friday Night Fights to stay in the eyes of the media. Should ESPN (or even Versus network) put more money in their budget for the sport on its network, we can get a great mix of prospects and contenders as well as championship level fights that bring boxing to the non-premium cable crowd. Kudos to ESPN for making a great card and even more thanks to the fighters that made it great.
Written by Danny Howard
Tags: Boxing, friday night fights