Sharkie’s Week In Boxing - Angel Manfredy Vs. Paul Spadafora

By Frank Gonzalez

Angel Manfredy Vs. Paul Spadafora
(39-5-1-29 KO’s) (34-0-0-14 KO’s)

10.03 - This Saturday night, at the A.J. Polombo Center in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, hometown favorite and IBF Lightweight Champion Paul Spadafora, affectionately known as ‘Spaddy’ took on his first test as a professional boxer, facing #1 ranked contender Angel Manfredy.

Critics say Spadafora built his record fighting easy opponents in his hometown. Manfredy is considered the most dangerous opponent he’s faced in building his 34-0 record. Spadafora is regarded as a light puncher but also as a slick boxer, similar in style to a Pernell Whitaker or Chris Byrd who use angles and movement to control the tempo of their fights. At 26 years old, he’s been weaned long enough and it’s time to take on the better fighters in the division.

Manfredy is a ‘blue collar’ fighter who gained his fame by beating Arturo Gatti a few years ago. He is a technical fighter who has good defensive skills and a strong will. Inconsistency has been his enemy. He lost in a hurry to Mayweather and in four rounds to Corrales, both of whom overwhelmed him with punches. He also lost a 12 round decision to Stevie Johnston. Manfredy’s body is a gallery of tattoos. Angel has donned two personalities in recent years, that of the devil and an angel. As of late, he touts himself as a religious man. In the past, I’ve seen him enter the ring in red devil masked attire. His personality has been as inconsistent as his win percentage. Probably one of the best average caliber lightweights, many think Angel is coming ‘into his own,’ and is ready to shine. He is only 27 years old. But with all the ring wars he’s been in, he could easily be considered an old fighter.

Manfredy entered the ring with some religious sounding music, causing a collective yawn from the crowd accompanied by a few boos. Spadafora entered to Elvis Presley’s “You Ain’t Nothin’ But A Hound Dog,” to the delight of the crowd, who cheered him energetically.

At the sound of the bell, both fighters measured each other and cautiously tested the waters. Manfredy was more aggressive and caught Paul good a few times. By the end of the first, Spadafora had a golf ball size swelling on his forehead. Paul looked to be outclassed in the first and second rounds although he looked slightly better in the second.

In the third, Manfredy’s intensity waned as Spadafora started to gain his rhythm. Angel’s punches lost their steam as the fight progressed. Spadafora’s awkward style made him hard to hit and Angel stopped committing power to his punches, resorting to ‘pity-pat’ punching.

The fourth, fifth and sixth rounds were hard to score with both blocking well and occasionally scoring shots. As the rounds wore on, the swelling on Spadafora’s head took the shape of a pork chop, covering a larger area of his head. It looked bad, but had no effect on the fight. Manfredy looked tired in the seventh, but scored the better shots.

Rounds eight and nine belonged to Spadafora, who took over the tempo of the action using slick moves and scoring with combinations. For having a reputation of a soft puncher, he was landing the harder, cleaner shots.

From the 10th to the 12th rounds Manfredy came on with a renewed sense of urgency, but looked weak power wise. He did force the action and possibly won those rounds on effort. In the 12th, confident about the judge’s scorecards, Spadafora coasted on his bicycle, doing his best to avoid Manfredy’s desperate attempts to score.

When the final bell rang, both fighters embraced in the center of the ring then went off to opposite sides of the ring and jumped up on the ropes with arms raised, victoriously addressing the crowd. Spadafora could be heard saying, “What’s he celebrating for, he didn’t win the fight?”

The judge’s scores were as follows:

Don Akerman- 115-113 Dave Hess- 115-113 George Kachulis- 115-113

All in favor of the winner, Paul Spadafora.

Manfredy protested the loss to the cameras saying that he beat Spadafora at his own game and the hometown crowd gave him the win. He looked up and said the Lord knows and he knows he won. The heavens never opened to agree with him. His stature is now diminished.

Spadafora fought a smart fight, showed good stamina and Boxing skills and has elevated his standing among his peers in the Lightweight division, which is rich in talent. Asked who he wants to fight next, he wasn’t shy about saying he was offended by things said about him by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and wants to fight him as soon as possible. When asked by Larry Merchant if Paul thought he’d be as well received outside his hometown of Pittsburgh he said, “Why not? I’m a good fighter and I’m a good guy. Why wouldn’t they want to see me fight?” Good answer.

The Lightweight division has some tough customers in Jose Luis Castillo, Mayweather, Balbi, Dorin, Stevie Johnston, Julio Diaz and Juan Lazcano. How Spadafora will fare against some of these names remains to be seen, but for now, this victory over Angel Manfredy has to feel good for Spaddy, who admits he’s not a big puncher, but says he is strong in other ways and can hold his own with anyone mentioned above. Time will tell.

* * *

Robbie Peden Vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
(20-1-0-10 KO’s) (37-2-0-29 KO’s)

Juan Marquez proved too much for Robbie Peden, who although was the aggressor throughout the fight, was out worked and out punched by the technically sound Marquez who won every round save the sixth, where he was knocked down by a Peden punch that was called a slip by referee Rick Steigerwald, who otherwise refereed the fight beautifully.

Marquez was well balanced, aggressive, smart and consistent as he looked to be in top form. He fought a near perfect fight with the exception of the sixth round knockdown from a Peden punch.

Peden let bad habits get in his way of his figuring out Marquez as he often kept his left hand low, leaving him open to attacks. Robbie feinted more than he threw punches and although he showed a great chin in taking much punishment from Marquez, he never could solve the puzzle of how to beat Marquez. Peden’s mouth was bleeding for a few rounds and at the end of the 10th; he was nauseous and threw up in his corner prompting all parties to halt the bout.

This win places Juan Manuel Marquez, the NABF and USBA champion as the mandatory challenger for the IBF Featherweight champ Manuel Medina. The other top Featherweights include Barrera, Morales, Hamed, Gainer and Ayala. The way Juan Marquez looked Saturday night; he could be big trouble for any of these guys.

Agree or disagree? Send comments to dshark87@hotmail.com