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Tyson Cave: Highly Disputed Defeat Cannot Stop Canadian Boxer from Chasing his Dream of a World Title

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Tyson CaveBy Lou Eisen

In a sport reeking of stale cigar smoke and alcoholic flatulence, Canadian super bantamweight fighter Tyson Cave is a breath of fresh air. His incomparable skill set, consisting of lightning-quick hands and educated feet often prompts his fans to yell out “Rewind!” as his hand and foot speed are often quicker than the human eye’s ability to comprehend what he just accomplished in the ring. Added in with his savvy ring generalship, Cave is on the fast track to a super bantamweight world title in 2015, which is why promoter Sampson Lewkowicz signed him to an exclusive promotional contract.

The great boxing trainer Angelo Dundee once said, “Champions always come back.” Tyson Cave is, by every definition of the word a champion. Born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Cave is acutely aware of the great boxing heritage that has been bequeathed to him through other Hall of Fame Nova Scotian boxing immortals, namely George Dixon, Sam Langford and the incredible “Toy Tiger,” Art Hafey. Hafey, the scourge of the featherweight division during the famed West Coast Featherweight Wars of the 1970’s is a particular hero of Cave’s.

2014 was a breakout year for Cave. His wise decision to sign with the powerful Lewkowicz has helped his career path immeasurably. There was never any doubt that Cave is an elite level super bantamweight. He is widely considered by the boxing cognoscenti to be among the top several super bantamweights in the world. Cave never lacked for talent or confidence. What he needed were connections that allowed him the chance to engage in important fights; and now that he has signed with Lewkowicz, that problem is solved.

Cave’s name is probably very familiar to boxing fans. Why? Well, in 2014 he participated in a bout that caught the world’s attention. Cave fought Colombian Oscar Escandon for the interim WBA super bantamweight world title at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Cal. The overwhelming media and fan consensus was that Cave pitched a shutout, winning all 12 rounds by a very wide margin. He schooled Escandon, making the Colombian fighter look like a rank novice. To be fair, some media members were generous and gave Escandon two or three rounds.

However, it was agreed by the media and fans that Cave was now the new interim WBA super bantamweight champion, and, more importantly, next in line for a shot at Guillermo Rigondeaux, the WBA super bantamweight world champion. Unfortunately, his reign lasted only a few moments as openly biased judges incredulously awarded the fight to Escandon by split decision. It was voted by the staff at Ringside Report as the consensus worst decision of 2014. There were many other boxing online boxing sites that agreed with this opinion.

As happens in boxing, in defeat, fortune sometimes shines its bright light upon the man who really won, which in this case was Cave. Escandon was roundly criticized for being given an outright gift and the beneficiary of a truly horrible decision. The fact is Escandon did not benefit from his gift. The bout with Escandon only served to boost Cave’s stock in the boxing world to new heights, while at the same time lowering Escandon’s already shaky credibility to practically nil. Even more surprising however, to this writer at least, was how incredibly upbeat and enthusiastic Cave was during our recent interview in light of that bad decision. He knows he won the fight. Cave remarked, “At the end of the day, I am just a kid from Halifax.” Of course, he is much more than that. He is the immensely proud father of two daughters who is on the verge of leaving his mark on the world of boxing.

Cave has always preferred to focus on the positive aspects of his life in the ring and out. He was the Canadian national amateur champion five times with a record of 160-16. As a pro Cave has captured the WBC Continental Americas Super Bantamweight crown as well as the CAM (Canadian American Mexican) Super Bantamweight title, plus the Canadian Super Bantamweight Championship.

Cave gives a lot of credit to his stability in and out of the ring to two men who have figured prominently in his life. His father Robert Cave left his regular job to promote his son’s boxing career when Cave was having difficulty finding regular fights. The bond between father and fighter remains close. The other prominent figure in his life is his longtime trainer Bunny Phillips. It was Phillips who Cave felt truly sorry for after the egregious decision in the Escandon fight was issued. Phillips has spent 42 of his 60 years in the sport of boxing. The day Cave walked into his gym, Phillips knew he had found the diamond, that one in a million fighter, which he could polish to a fine hue and take to a world title.

Cave understands implicitly that boxing is entertainment and that you must give the fans a great show in order to get the big money fights. Cave dazzled the audience at the Pechanga Resort and Casino and the home audience on ESPN 2 that night versus Escandon. The fans in attendance that night left the arena talking only about Cave. In other words, he did his job and he did it well. Cave signed with Lefkowicz because of his desire to compete on a world stage. He wants to fight all of the best fighters in the world at his weight class. All he wants is a chance and Lefkowicz will most certainly give him that chance.

Although Cave is very good friends with Leo Santa Cruz, he wants to get him in the ring as he has no doubt he can outbox him on his way to victory. Cruz is a very static fighter, albeit with a powerful two-fisted attack. Cave likes and respects Cruz. In facts he respects all of the champions in his weight division. He is confident though that he has the boxing skills to lift the crown from Cruz’s head. There are many people in the boxing world that agree with that sentiment. He would love to fight Carl Frampton. Cave matches up very well against Frampton, a face-first fighter who comes to his opponents in a straight line. Cave would eat him up and have fun doing it. As Cave is aligned with the WBA, he is likely to get a shot at Guillermo Rigondeaux first. This would be a dream fight for Cave. It would pit two highly skilled fighters capable of turning boxing into an art form against each other.

The best way to describe Cave stylistically is that to say that he is Willie Pep with a punch. Cave is a thinking man’s fighter. He is a smart man. He knows that the way to get these title fights is to make a lot of noise in order to create a media storm of interest for such a fight to come about. Cave is so confident that he can beat anyone that he is willing to travel anywhere to fight any of the super bantamweight champions, even on their home turfs. Cave reminds one of that famous comment by Jack Dempsey’s manager Jack “Doc” Kearns about boxing. “The great thing about boxing,” said Kearns, “is not that it gives a young man a chance to be as good as his opponent but rather, it gives him a chance to be better!” All Cave needs is that chance.

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