Oscar Godoy vs the longer, bigger, stronger Cecil McCalla
On Friday night in upstate New York, Oscar Godoy (r) on TV’s ShoBox had his hands full when facing the elusive Cecil McCalla (l) at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino.
July 25, 2014
Friday evening, at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, it was Cecil McCalla of Baltimore, Maryland taking on Oscar Godoy from Watsonville, CA, in an East Coast versus West Coast scrap on Showtimes’ Show Box, which was celebrating their 200th boxing show.
In round one, McCalla established his dominance by using his powerful jab. By round two he was landing the big overhand rights. By round three he was doing pretty much whatever he wanted. By round four he started to sit down on his punches and land the three-punch combinations ending with a right to the head.
On Friday night, Oscar Godoy (r) soon found out that his opponent Cecil McCalla was not only bigger and stronger, he also had a sizable reach advantage.
Alejandro Burgos of Round by Round Boxing: “McCalla was smiling and having fun while the tough-as-nails Godoy played like a punching bag. Godoy began spending more and more time against the ropes and McCalla took advantage of his bigger frame, working Godoy over from corner to corner.”
By round five McCalla had Godoy backing up and holding on. Throughout, the courageous Godoy tried to trade shots with McCalla but it was useless.
In the 8th and final round, McCalla landed more sharp blows and had Godoy in trouble but he was still unable to put him away. When the announcer read the judges’ scores, we learned McCalla had won with scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73 to up his record to 19-0 while Godoy drops to 13-3.
“I fought a great fight. I dominated like I said so,” said McCalla later. “I had my way, but he is tough and he took a lot of shots. I know I have things to work on but I am ready to take over.”
Godoy’s only comment, “I couldn’t adjust to his jab but he won fair and square.”
Since both fighters were in excellent condition for this fight and could have easily gone another eight rounds, why was McCalla so dominant?
Simply put, it’s likely McCalla, the bigger man, outweighed Godoy by 15 pounds on fight night.
McCalla won the match, not only based on his boxing skills, but because he was stronger and more powerful. Even before the two stepped into the ring, Godoy’s chances of winning were slim to none.
Cecil McCalla of Baltimore, MD has his arm raised in victory by referee Dick Pakozdi after winning an unanimous decision victory over Oscar Godoy of Watsonville, CA.
In respect to today’s highly skilled fighters, these matches are now won or lost even before the boxer steps into the ring. It comes down to planning. Making certain that your fighter has had the proper rest, exercise, diet, sparring, mental preparation and finally when those differences become so minuscule, it boils down to which of the boxers is bigger and thus stronger so that his or her punches have more affect. McCalla and his management team had the foresight to hand pick Godoy and then make certain they had that one final hole card, an advantage that made a big difference in this fight.
Agree or disagree? Here is the video from the Friday, July 25, 2014 fight.
