Trainer Greg Hackett says Bruce Carrington needs to move up to 130, super featherweight, after a disappointing ten-round majority decision victory over Sulaiman Segawa last Friday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York .
Many fans felt that Brooklyn native Carrington (13-0, 8 KOs) should have lost the fight to Segawa (17-5-1, 6 KOs) and was only given one win because the contest was held in the his yard
The judges gave the 27-year-old Carrington the win with scores of 95-95, 97-93 and 97-93. He looked like a loser and had a great chance for the judges to score the way they did. Segawa had outboxed and outslugged Carrington, showing that he was on another level of talent.
Hackett thinks Carrington’s problems were due to his struggles going down to 126, as he looked very thin last Thursday at the weigh-in. However, Carrington didn’t look much better during the fight as he still looked thin and not fully rehydrated.
Hackett suggests that if Carrington is going to stay at featherweight, he should forget about fighting Stephen Fulton, Brandon Figueroa, or Naoya Inoue. He would like to see him develop more to gain experience before fighting talented fighters.
The problem with this is that Carrington will soon be 28 years old, and fighters of his age are supposed to be at their best, top competition fighters. It cannot afford to face lesser opponents for much longer before losing its potential.
“Not yet. Shu Shu is big, but he has no experience,” said trainer Greg Hackett Fighthype when asked if Bruce Carrington should fight former unified super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton next.
Carrington is ranked #1 WBA, #2 WBC, #2 WBO, and #8 IBF at featherweight. However, his best non-controversial wins came against Jason Sanchez and Brian De Gracia. Top Rank had not matched Carrington against a live body until last Friday when they put him in with Segawa, and he failed that test. Therefore, they can set up a rematch or retreat.
“When you turn pro, it’s a different ball game. Time changes, punches change, everything changes,” Hackett said. “The distance changes. You don’t have hats anymore, and you’re not punching anymore. You’re trying to hurt the guy really bad.
Top Rank doesn’t necessarily need to match Carrington against Fulton, Figueroa or Inoue, but they should set up a rematch with Sulaiman Segawa so he can show the public that he can improve enough to defeat him without controversy.
After his performance last Friday, Carrington is seen by the public as having been given a gift decision based on his popularity, hype and his powerful promoters at Top Rank.
“Shu Shu is more of an accomplished amateur than a professional. I say, stay away from the Cool Boys and stay away from the Figueroas and the Inoues,” Hackett said. “Just keep doing what you’re doing and do it your way. People keep badgering me about my age, but if I were him, I wouldn’t pay for it. I’d just worry about what I’m working on and where I’m going.”
Carrington’s age is a problem that he and Top Rank should worry about, because he cannot continue to face weak opposition in his 30s. If he is still unable to clash with top-level opposition at 27, he has a problem.
“Also, 126 could be a bit draining for Shu Shu. He can be a 130 pounder. He could kill himself to make 126, and it could be unnecessary because he could be away from his punch. So, I think he should go up to 130. In as for the ‘Cool Boy’ (Stephen Fulton) fight and all that, leave the guys alone. It’s a different league.”
I don’t think 126 is the problem for Carrington. He doesn’t like to be caught and breaks down when he faces someone who can get back at him. We saw that in some of Carrington’s other fights, but it was more evident against Segawa.
