The Boxing Tribune

Boxing's Independent Media

  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Best Of
  • Staff
  • Advertise With Us
  • Write for Us

The Decline of Ivan Calderon

November 2, 2009 by Paul Magno Leave a Comment

0
SHARES
ShareTweet

by Dafs117

Over two years ago, when it came to junior flyweight icon Ivan Calderon’s fights, the details were not a necessity. The 5 foot southpaw jabbed, moved, boxed, barely got hit and won decisions. Often, those decisions were of the near shutout variety and against respected ex-titlists such as Nelson Dieppa and Alex Sanchez, there was nothing ‘near’ about it.

As the “Iron Boy” gained popularity and pound-4-pound recognition, TV networks kept rejecting him. In their opinion his manner of his victories was not in their interest.

In August 2008, the much owed rematch between the Puerto Rican and Hugo Cazares took place in front of his home crowd. With the pressure of a big performance needed and a TV contract possibly on the line, Calderon carelessly tried to put on a show, humiliating Cazares on some occasions with his slippery defence quickly turned into offence. Cazares as the bigger guy, walked through Calderon’s punches and in the 7th round of their WBO light flyweight title fight, an accidental head-butt severely lacerated Calderon’s forehead forcing the ringside doctor to immediately stop the fight. Calderon won the decision, but the severity of the cut forced him out of action for 10 months.

His comeback fight was against Phillipino Rodel Mayol, on the undercard of Cotto-Clottey. The undercard was unaired and Calderon missed out once again on a chance to earn a bigger payday. On the night however, he was frustrated by the reach advantage of Mayol and he was cut again by another accidental head-butt. Calderon’s spotless record had a minor tweak, as the fight was awarded a technical draw.

In their rematch the unthinkable happened, another cut caused by an accidental head-butt. Calderon did win a split technical decision in the 7th round but his performance wasn’t of the usual ease and grace that we were used to see from the ‘Iron Boy.’

Is it his style that causes the frequent clash of heads? It must have something to do with it. Three technical decisions in a row don’t happen often. What’s caused the recent dip in his high standards? Could it be a lack of confidence after being slashed across his forehead? He’s getting older and his reflexes have been slowing down recently. Will Calderon ever get a chance to show his flair on HBO? Probably not. But the Puerto Rican star has added a much needed kick up the backside to Strawweight and the Junior Flyweight divisions. Not since the departure of Ricardo Lopez have we ever taken an interest in these quiet divisions, but with names like Calderon, Roman Gonzalez and Brian Viloria attempting to take the mini guys to the mainstream, we could be taking even more of an interest than the Lopez days.

Discuss this topic on our brand new board!

Paul Magno on Email
Paul Magno
Paul Magno
Paul Magno has over thirty-five years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything, from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared in Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Inside Fights, The Boxing Tribune, Fight Hype, Man Cave Magazine, Bleacher Report, and The Queensberry Rules.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: The Boxing Tribune

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Best of The Boxing Tribune

Donald Trump was awful at boxing, too

Donald Trump was awful at boxing, too

What Can Save HBO Boxing Now?

What Can Save HBO Boxing Now?

Revisiting The Ring Magazine Scandal

Revisiting The Ring Magazine Scandal

Being Gale Van Hoy; Magno’s Monday Rant

Being Gale Van Hoy; Magno’s Monday Rant

Mayweather vs. McGregor and the snobbery of “real” boxing fans

Mayweather vs. McGregor and the snobbery of “real” boxing fans

More of The Boxing Tribune's Best

Follow Us

Facebooktwitteryoutube

Alexa Traffic Rank

Sportsbook odds for all Boxing matches

Search

Recent

  • Tyson returns with impressive display as odds available for potential future opponents
  • Crawford maintains unbeaten record following landing short odds in victory over Kell Brook
  • Kell Brook Loses In the Fourth Round To P4P King Terence Crawford
  • Boxing To Look Forward To This Weekend
  • How to Make Money From Your Boxing Passion