Tag Archives: bermaine

Posted on 02/23/2019

By: Ste Rowen

Chris Eubank Jr forced himself into the super-middleweight world scene tonight with a deserved unanimous decision victory over former world champion, James DeGale.

Now improving his record to 28-2 (21KOs), the victor spoke post-fight,

‘‘I knew he was gonna come in there and run and use his boxing skills. I’ve been working a lot on my jab…The game plan worked. Smart pressure. Not getting too ahead of myself.
I dominated pretty much every single round…A lot of people said I was gonna lose, and now I’m onto big and better things.’’

Photo Credit: Showtime Boxing Twitter Account

The defeated DeGale, now 25-3-1 (15KOs), sounding a little dazed also spoke, ‘‘I’ve left my mark in boxing…I didn’t do enough, but when you’re in there with someone like Chris on you; punches you don’t even see.

I’ve been to the heights of boxing. If I call it a day now…’’

It was cold in the O2 Arena, but not for long.

As James DeGale vs. Chris Eubank Jr drew nearer, the atmosphere felt more claustrophobic. As though the crowd was inching their seats forwards every time the stewards looked away. By the time the main-event fighters were in the ring, the audience was practically breathing down their necks.

From the 1st round it was setup perfectly, DeGale in all-black, Eubank in all-white but both decided to size each other up through the first. DeGale, in the southpaw stance, allowed himself to become a little too susceptible to Eubank’s right hand which forced a small cut to James’ left eye early on.

The first minute of round 2 is where the action came alive. Eubank Jr landed a sharp left hook that unsteadied DeGale and, through a flurry of punches, eventually forced the referee into recognising that James had been knocked down. DeGale’s experience was telling as he survived the rest of the round, but it was obvious that Chris was well on top.

In the corner, the former IBF champion was complaining about something in his eye – it was a bad sign for a man already behind. But Eubank, like his opponent, sustained a cut this time under his right eye, it didn’t stop the Brighton-man from ending the 4th the stronger. Through to the 7th, Eubank stalked the perceived boxer across the ring whilst the former gold medallist did very little to reply.

As round 7 ended, DeGale stuck his tongue out to his opponent, which was an odd move considering Chris seemingly bossed the end of the round. DeGale kept switching between southpaw and orthodox, but neither was breaking through.

As the fight headed into the 10th Eubank seemed well on top. DeGale hit the canvas for the second time as Eubank landed a beauty of a left hook that shook up the former world champion, forced James onto the ropes and eventually the ground. DeGale survived, but it was clear he needed the KO, but it was Eubank Jr that came out swinging. By the end of the 11th, career-southpaw DeGale was orthodox and everywhere.

Both fighters raised their arms as the final bell rang but it seemed cleared who’d won. DeGale, the legitimate former world title holder had fallen well short.

Of course it’s never a chore to hear Jimmy Lennon Jr and it wasn’t this time as he read out the judge’s cards of, 114-112, 115-112, 117-109 all for Eubank Jr.

Joe Joyce vs. Bermane Stiverne

Joe ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce took another step up in quality tonight as the British Olympian (2016 Silver) scored a 6th round stoppage of former world champion, Bermane Stiverne.
Dominant from beginning to end, the Commonwealth champion, now 8-0 (8KOs), spoke post-fight,

‘‘Big respect to Stiverne. He was very tough, still game, still tough. Only Wilder with that phenomenal power could take him out…My able condition in Big Bear.

Big things to come. Next one for the WBA ‘Regular’. Couple of weeks off and then back in the gym…I’ve barred all (The top heavyweights) bar Wilder, but I’m coming.’’

In a fight designated as a WBA eliminator Joyce had his chin checked at least twice in the 1st round but seemed unaffected and continued to pursue his prey. His shots may look slow, but Joe’s arms are long and thudding once landed and clearly leave an effect. Stiverne looked apprehensive as he stepped off his stool for the 2nd however he did begin to throw back, but only for a brief spell. The ‘Juggernaut’ fired clubbing shot after clubbing shot without reply for most of the round. Testament to the former world champion, Bermane for staying upright.

Round 3 brought the first knockdown as Joyce landed a lengthy right hook that sent the American into the ropes and forced the knockdown. Bermane continued but it felt pointless. Stiverne looked drunk as he tried to evade Joyce’s heavy combinations but survived into the 6th.

Joe dominated behind the left-hand jab until he seemed to switch flavour and fired hook and power shot continuously, forcing referee Howard Foster into stopping the fight midway through round six. There were no complaints from the away fighter.

Lee Selby vs. Omar Douglas

Fighting in his first lightweight bout, and for a minor title at 135lb, Lee ‘Lightning’ Selby bounced back from his May 2018 defeat to Josh Warrington to rough it out in a twelve round unanimous decision victory over American, Omar Douglas.

‘‘That was one of the toughest.’’ Selby said. ‘‘In the fight I kept on undoing their (His cut-men’s) good work.

Douglas was supposed to be a big puncher and I held his shots well…If my management says I’m fighting Anthony Joshua tomorrow, I wouldn’t turn it down.’’

In his signature white and gold shorts, Selby of Wales, forced an energetic start onto the American. Lee clearly wanted to make an early impression in what was a new division for him. Douglas’ dreads (white at the start but red by the end) were wrapped up much like his hands, so every time Selby landed a clean jab, Omar’s head fired back and made him look like Ridley Scott’s Alien.
But towards the end of round two a bloody cut on the eye of Lee Selby opened up, much like in his fight vs. Warrington. It didn’t stutter his performance for that round, but it did create a new element to the fight. The Welshman continued to fire off well, despite the cut, but it was clear Lee wasn’t as urgent in his offence as before the cut.

Omar has spent his career bouncing between 130-135 and as the rounds drew on he was giving Lee, who’d jumped 9lb in weight, a rough entry into the lightweight division. By the time of the final bell it was close as well as clear that ‘Lightning’ had taken the rough alleyway to enter 135lb.

Final scorecards were 116-112, 116-112, 115-114 all in favour of Lee Selby.

Posted on 11/03/2017

By: Eric Lunger

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) makes his sixth title defense this Saturday night against former champ Bermane Stiverne (25-2, 21 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NYC. Wilder won the belt in January of 2015, defeating Stiverne in a 12 round unanimous decision, so what relevance does a second go-round have, especially when the first fight was not very competitive?

The answer to that question lies partially in what happened last weekend in Cardiff, Wales. Anthony Joshua, who dramatically dethroned the great Wladimir Klitschko last April, looked less than spectacular against the crafty and difficult-to-hit Carlos Takam. With a potential showdown with Joshua in the near future on the line, what questions can the Bronze Bomber answer this Saturday night which might help seal the deal?

We know that Wilder has KO power, but can he box? He’ll need more than power to hang with AJ. The Alabama native has a classic (and devastating) one-two, but has Wilder become a more multi-dimensional fighter? It would be great to see some variety from Deontay, some inside game, for example, or some new use of footwork and angles. The knock on Wilder has been that, while he has plenty of power, a technically proficient fighter would exploit those wide and wild punches that Wilder has thrown in the past. A tighter, more controlled performance from Wilder might silence that type of criticism.

Where is Wilder in terms of conditioning? The Bomber is known for staying in fighting trim, whereas at times Joshua looked tired, and seemed to be carrying too much weight for his frame. A lean and efficient Wilder might pose some real trouble for AJ, especially if he can take the British star into the late rounds.

Does Wilder need to score a dramatic knockout in order to stoke interest in a Joshua match-up? English promoter Eddie Hearn will not want to risk his star’s “zero” until conditions are optimal. There is already a high level of interest in the fight among boxing fans on both sides of the Atlantic — an exclamation point by Wilder would only add fuel to the fire. And a dominant win would make it harder for Joshua’s team to justify an interim opponent, especially after taking Takam deep into the fight and winning on a questionable stoppage.

The action will be live this Saturday night on Showtime (9 PM ET/6 PM PT)

Posted on 10/28/2017

By: Sean Crose

“That’s the thing about it,” WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder said on a recent conference call to promote his upcoming rematch with Bermane Stiverne. “You take it in the first place, and you make up excuses, and then the blame is pointed at me. It’s starting to sicken me.” The 38-0 Alabama native was referring to the failed drug tests which have ruined numerous planned matches for him. For both Alexander Povetkin and Luis Ortiz, two high level opponents, have tested dirty and ruined their chances to lift Wilder’s title. Infuriating as it may be, accusations that he hasn’t fought top level opposition have clearly taken their toll on Wilder, as well.

“I don’t want to feel this way about boxing,” Wilder claimed, “because I was once in love with it and it’s starting to make me rethink my career.” Wilder went on to present some of the questions that have been running through his mind. “Am I better out of this sport than in this sport because of this stuff that’s going on?” he asked. “Am I that dangerous to other fighters’ careers that they feel they have to do certain things when it comes to Deontay Wilder?”

The 25-2-1 Stiverne, on the other hand, made it clear he’s simply eager to rematch the man who won the title from him back in 2015, via unanimous decision. “I always thought that the fight was never going to happen with Deontay and Ortiz,” he said. “If you asked me from the moment they announced the fight. The first thing I said is, ‘This fight is not going to happen. And I’ve got to get ready for Deontay.’” Stiverne, who has only fought once since losing to Wilder, presented himself as the picture of confidence. “I’m 110% ready mentally and physically,” he stated. “I’m really happy that it happened the way it happened. There was just something there that I knew this was going to happen.”

Whereas Stiverne now has a prime chance at redemption, Wilder has to deal with the fact that the types of new, highly ranked opponents fans have longed to see him face have repeatedly kept themselves from fighting him due to failed drug tests. “This is just another obstacle that I had to deal with,” he said, “that I had to face. I put so much into it. Ortiz had been wanting it; he wanted this fight to happen. I never thought in a million years that he would do what he did.” The 32 year old Wilder showed little patience for those who make excuses for his would-be foes.

“No matter what they say,” Wilder stated, “it was done; it was a banned substance. You can’t get around that. You all make mistakes in there because they tried to get their leverage.” Wilder went on to claim “there are a lot of guys that are doing it though. I know each and every last one of them. There’s a lot of them doing it.” If Wilder is telling the truth, it’s nothing but bad news for the sport of boxing. Regardless, the titlist made it clear that he’s looking forward. “The ultimate goal is to get (Anthony) Joshua,” he said, referring to the reigning heavyweight king. “We’re not just going to be sitting up here and doing this and doing that. I don’t see what’s the difference between me and any other guy.”

“Joshua say he need more time,” Wilder continued, “he ain’t ready. He wants to put himself in a better position. But you already fought a guy that got way more experience than I.” Once again, Wilder’s frustration became clear. “I don’t understand this sport when it comes to me. It feels like I’m better off not being in this sport than being in it. I don’t understand it.”

As for Stiverne, the Wilder rematch, which will go down at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn (and aired on Showtime) on November 4th, represents nothing but good news. “I feel better,” the Vegas (by way of Haiti) fighter said when comparing this training camp to the one before his first fight with Wilder. “Just the workouts and the people we decided to deal with. Everything is so different, man. I feel better. Obviously there’s a couple of mistakes that we made for the first fight. One thing I’m good at man, is not to repeat my mistakes.”

“This is a different Bermane Stiverne,” he claimed.

Of course, if Stiverne is right, if he’s a new man who somehow beats Wilder, the world will clearly be shocked. Wilder himself went so far as to say an upset would lead to him stepping out of the ring entirely. “The way I’m feeling about boxing right now,” he said, “if Bermane Stiverne beats me, I will retire. You can put that down. I will be out of the way.”