Trainer Greg Hackett says Bruce Carrington needs to move up to 130, super featherweight, after a disappointing ten-round majority decision win over Sulaiman Segawa last Friday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden 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 awarded the win because the bout was held in his backyard.
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 was lucky the judges scored the way he did. Segawa had boxed out and Carrington out, showing that he’s on another level talent wise.
Hackett thinks Carrington’s problems stemmed from his struggle to get down to 126, as he looked thin last Thursday on the scale. However, Carrington did not look his best during the war because he still looked thin and not fully hydrated.
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 going up against more skilled fighters.
The problem with that is that Carrington will be turning 28 soon, and fighters his age have to be at a high level, fighting high level competition. He can’t deal with smaller opponents for long before he wastes his energy.
“Not yet. Shu Shu is old, but inexperienced,” said trainer Greg Hackett to Fighthype when asked if Bruce Carrington should fight former United super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton next.
Carrington is ranked #1 WBA, #2 WBC, #2 WBO, and #8 IBF at featherweight. However, his best undisputed victory came against Jason Sanchez as well Brian De Gracia. Top Rank had never matched Carrington with a live team until last Friday when they paired him with Segawa, and he failed that test. Therefore, they can reschedule or reverse.
“When you become a champion, it’s a different ball game. “The tempo changes, the punches change, everything changes,” Hackett said. “The distance changes. No more helmets, and no more punches. He’s trying to hurt the boy really badly.”
Top Rank doesn’t really need to match Carrington with Fulton, Figueroa or Inoue yet, but they should schedule a rematch with Sulaiman Segawa to show the public that he can improve enough to defeat him without a controversy.
After his game last Friday, Carrington is seen by the public as having been given a gift decision based on his popularity, fun and his powerful promoters at Top Rank.
“Shu Shu is a student who has learned more than his job. I say stay away from the Cool Boys and stay away from the Figueroas and Inoues,” said Hackett. “Keep doing what you’re doing and work your way. People keep complaining about his age, but if I were him, I wouldn’t pay attention to that. I’ll just worry about what I’m working on and where I’m going.”
Carrington’s age is a problem that he and Top Rank have to worry about, because he will not be able to continue being compared to a weak team until he is in his 30s. If he still can’t hold his own against a top team at age 27, he’s got a problem.
“Also, 126 may be a bit of a drain on Shu Shu. He might be a 130-pounder. He might be killing himself to make 126, and it might not be necessary because it might take away his fist. So, I think he should go up to 130. About Fighting ‘Cool Boy’ [Stephen Fulton] and all that, leave them alone. It’s a different league. It’s a different tempo.”
I don’t think 126 is Carrington’s problem. He does not like to be beaten and robbed when he is faced with someone who knows how to take revenge. We’ve seen that in Carrington’s other fights, but it was more evident in Segawa.
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