Ivan Calderon was finally beaten. It came in the way I thought it would, albeit a bit sooner than I thought it would. While comparisons have been drawn to the career of Ricardo Lopez, it is only that of a long-dominant career in the lower weight classes where he failed to draw enough attention and/or top matchups until towards the end. Other than that, the two couldn't be more different.
Not that Giovanni Segura didn't develop the perfect action plan and execute it... but this was also a case of a man with every disadvantage in nature (except of course the talent). This is a fighter, in Calderon, who went unbeaten for 35 fights, and 19 title fights, before running into someone with so many more natural gifts, that he simply couldn't overcome them.
Calderon lacks height, power, reach, and doesn't even have an iron chin. He wins strictly with speed and skill. As much as we love brawls in this game, fighters like Calderon are what this sport is really all about. Hit, and not get hit. Giovanni Segura was bigger, stronger, younger, and relentless. Those characteristics have been attributed to failed Calderon opponents before. However, Segura's intelligence and talent combined to make him an insurmountable wall. Caldron's advancing age didn't make things any easier for him, either. So what is left for "Iron Boy"?
He could pull a 'Too-Sharp' (Mark Johnson) and move up a division to outbox someone hand-picked for another belt. That's also what Finito did after his toughest matchups. Not that Will Grigsby and Fernando Montiel weren't championship level opponents for those two, but they weren't denting any chins at that point. That move, should he take it, is a "cement your legacy" kind of thing that reminds people of your hall-of-fame career. It is certainly a better way to go out than a brutal 8 round KO loss.
The only other option should be retirement. Segura has only two blemishes on his record, and he avenged them both with knockout wins. Suffice to say this man who gets better in rematches would administer another beating to an even older and now battle-worn Calderon. Let Roman Gonzalez move up and face Segura. That fight, between two punchers, will likely garner more attention. That is unfair, since fighters like Calderon often have to retire before the fans appreciate them fully.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
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