Tag Archives: kingdom

Posted on 01/09/2017

Selby Defends IBF Crown Against Jon Barros With One Eye on a Unification Fight
By: Phil Oscarson

Former WBA World featherweight champion Jonathon Victor Barros (http://boxrec.com/boxer/244423) fought his way to a split decision over Satoshi Hosono in early October. Barros` 41st professional victory laid the path for a mandatory title shot against Lee Selby (http://www.premierboxingchampions.com/lee-selby) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 28th.

This will only be the third fight in the last year and half for Selby since he took ownership of the IBF belt. Selby has made good on each of his two previous title defenses – both by unanimous decision – since he snatched the IBF World featherweight belt away from Evgeny Gradovich in May of 2015. Barros seems to be all that stands in Selby’s way of big payday unification battle at some point in 2017.

Appeal of a Selby-Gradovich Rematch TKO’d
Sports book review (http://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-sites/) was primed to set odds on a potential Selby – Gradovich rematch, but Mexico’s unbeaten Oscar Valdez erased that notion in April of last year. The undefeated Valdez hammered the Russian featherweight, winning by TKO at the 2:14 mark in the 4th round.

Boxing enthusiasts are salivating at the idea of a Valdez vs. Selby unifying title fight, but Selby must first handle the experienced Barros. The main event at the MGM in just over three weeks will throw a third belt holder in the unification conversation.

The Argentinian Has Experience
While Selby would appear to be the odds-on favorite to continue as the IBF titleholder, the Argentinean veteran has the ability to drag the fight out, maintaining a punchers chance at an upset. Selby’s only loss came nearly 8 years ago to Samir Mouneimne a high stamina fighter with a knack for taking fights the distance.

Barros built an esteemed record, undefeated with a single draw during the first 8 years of his career. With 28 victories on his card, Barros was given a shot at the WBA featherweight title in early 2010. Cuban Yuriokis Gamboa would hand Barros his first professional loss, but later that same year he would take advantage of another title opportunity, knocking out Panamanian Irving Berry in the 7th round.

Selby Criticized

Lee Selby has fought only twice in the last year and a half, albeit both were defenses of his IBF crown. Selby has weathered a barrage of criticism from the boxing world for stepping into the ring one single time in 2016.

All the critical comments from boxing experts aside, Selby might need to worry about shaking off a little rust against a seasoned fighter like Barros. While most predictions give little chance for an upset by the 32-year-old former champion, Barros has 46 fights to draw from, almost double the professional fight count of Selby.

Selby’s United Kingdom based promoter Eddie Hearn has even voiced his criticism of his fighter for only taking to the canvas twice since earning the IBF belt. Hearn’s in all honesty has a valid point since Selby has taken an extended vacation since the Welshman defended his title the second time against the Outlaw – American Eric Hunter.

Selby Eyes Frampton Unification Bout
Also looming on the featherweight horizon is another promising unification fight between the winner of January 28th main event Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz. Selby has already voiced an interest in stepping into the ring against Frampton, but the undefeated “Jackal” must first defeat Santa Cruz a second time in less than a year. Cruz will be looking to avenge his only professional loss courtesy of Frampton in their July title fight at the Barclays Center in New York.

All indications point to the question of how decisively Lee Selby can defeat Barros, not whether Barros has much of a chance to hoist another belt. Selby should be able to win by a wide decision, laying the groundwork for some intriguing future title matchups. But, he better keep both eyes on Barros and not one on a big payday future fight, or he might end up with the second blemish on his professional fighting record.

Posted on 12/29/2016

Why Carl Frampton Is Not My Fighter Of The Year
By: Sean Crose

Okay, first things first – there’s something a bit misleading about the title of this article. The truth is that I don’t have a FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, per se. Indeed, you won’t find me listing the greatest fights, fighters, knockouts, and whatever else here at Boxing Insider. Not that I mind writers bestowing such honors. To the contrary, I often find the whole exercise fascinating. Again, though, you won’t see me engaging in it here – at least not this year. Still, I don’t feel Carl Frampton is worthy of the honor anywhere – even though I like the guy.

There’s no doubt the Irishman has had a hell of a year for himself. First, he defeated Scott Quigg for various superbantmweight titles last winter. Then , in a terrific display, the 22-0 slugger went on to defeat fellow undefeated pugilist – and WBA super world featherweight champion – Leo Santa Cruz under the bright lights of Brooklyn. Furthermore, Frampton is now set to face off against Santa Cruz again, this time in Vegas, next month. And, as a cherry to place atop the sundae, Frampton also comes across as a polite and likeable guy. To be sure, there isn’t much not to like.

Still, I can’t think of Frampton without the name of one Guillermo Rigondeaux popping into my head. To be sure, Frampton and superbantamweight Rigondeaux now operate at different weight classes. That wasn’t always the case, though. Indeed, there has been interest in having the two men meet over the years. Sadly, however, team Frampton clearly wants nothing to do with the Cuban stylist. Indeed, Sky Sports quoted Frampton’s manager, Barry McGuigan, last March referring to Guillermo as “negative.” Uh-huh. “What do we gain by fighting him?” McGuigan asked.

Perhaps not much more than a loss, Barry. Rigondeaux is exceedingly skilled, after all. Still, ducking one of the world’s top talents shouldn’t be taken lightly. Yes, Rigondeaux can be boring and no he hasn’t endeared himself to a strong fan base. What’s more, Rigondeaux may cause Frampton to lose out on future pay days, should he make Frampton look bad. Make no mistake about it, avoiding Rigondeaux is understandable, especially when one is repeatedly willing to face the likes of Santa Cruz, as Frampton is. Yet there are consequences for such actions, as well. At least there should be.

There’s no doubt that Frampton is an impressive talent. It should not be forgotten, however, that he has avoided a perhaps even greater talent on his way to earning accolades.

Posted on 12/16/2016

Chisora vs Whyte – My Fight Of The Year
By: Oz Ozkaya

Well, well, well. It has been just over 5 months since I wrote a devastatingly harsh piece on the status quo of world level heavyweight boxing, and I am saddened to say that this notion was proven once again in Saturday’s underwhelming clash between IBF world champion Anthony Joshua and challenger Eric Molina. Prior to this, the recent fight between Luis Ortiz and Malik Scott in Monaco last month had a similar effect, in addition to the dire showing between Dereck Chisora and Kubrat Pulev that we witnessed back in May. Maybe I am being a little cynical with my criticism of Joshua, after all, it’s not his fault he’s easily able to knockout the mediocre opponents that are always put in front of him!

Yet, as you recall from my last heavyweight-boxing piece, I am here to say that there may yet be some brighter days ahead. Chisora and Dillian Whyte made me very aware of this during their undercard performance on the Joshua vs Molina show. They proved me and my anti-heavyweight division rhetoric wrong in such gladiatorial fashion that the main event that followed had a near impossible task of living up to it. I can’t remember the last time such a scenario occurred in boxing.

Chisora (26-7), a now 32-year-old veteran of the sport, behaved like a human rhino in the build up to the fight – puffing a lot of steam and making a lot of noises. One scene, in particular, resulted in a table being thrown in the middle of a press conference, this resulted in Chisora being slapped with a £30,000 fine and being handed a two-year ban (suspended) by the boxing authorities. Whyte, on the contrary, was in such a chipper mood during Chisora’s meltdown that he decided to goad and excite ‘Del Boy’ further, which accumulated in bottles being thrown from all corners and trainers and coaches alike looking for a piece of the action too.

Weeks before this, unsurprisingly, Chisora and Whyte had engaged in a near “fisty cuffs” affair at a Sky presser before being separated by a rather speedy army of security. Chisora, again, the culprit on that occasion that sparked the fire by exploding a bottle of water on Whyte (excuse the reverse pun) before motioning towards him in a “ready for battle” manner. This scene only fuelled public interest for the fight; I, however, still wasn’t convinced. After all, we have been here many times before with this overly scripted WWE styled melodrama, right?

For Chisora, many (myself included) had dubbed this fight as an almost ‘last chance saloon’ at the time of its announcement. Having previously fought and lost to Wladimir Klitschko, David Haye, Tyson Fury (twice) and Kubrat Pulev at world level, it would be easy to think that there aren’t many corners left for Chisora to turn to if he were to lose this one. But, lose he did. However, this is where the story gets interesting as I believe that Chisora did just about enough to take the victory on the night. Chisora was in the best shape and form of his career. It was a big change to the overweight and out of touch character that we had seen a few times in the past.

Dillian Whyte, on the other hand, will be overjoyed to have nicked the victory on Saturday. Only a year after his spectacular matchup with Anthony Joshua at the 02 Arena in London, Whyte looks more focused and better than ever. The one thing does remain from that loss to Joshua is that Whyte is still one hard-headed machine. A number of crushing haymakers and steely uppercuts Chisora landed on him were getting beyond countable towards the end. His resilience and determination were two factors that may have earned him the victory from those two judges. The split decision really did say a lot.

After the sluggish affair that followed this firework like frenzy, you may have wished that Joshua had been billed to fight one of these two instead. There was energy, determination, resilience and desire on both sides. And although it was originally only billed as a British title fight (which the boxing board subsequently aborted following the antics of Chisora) the fight actually lived up to world title level, which is fitting considering Whyte will now be one step closer in the eliminator contest for Deontay Wilder’s WBC crown.

On the night it was during the 5th round where I believe the show really took off between Chisora and Whyte. Chisora seemed more charged up at the start bell before he wobbled Whyte with a thunderous overhead right – a punch that may well have ended another opponent.

The following round it was clear to see that the adrenaline rush had slowed Del Boy down, and it was in this period where Whyte came back with some lethal combinations of his own.

In the 8th and 9th, both Men offered some sublime boxing virtuosity, Whyte, in particular, using some great jab for jab combinations and scoring intelligently against the now deflated Chisora. However, Chisora would go on to land another huge left hook that would have led you to believe it was the beginning of the end. Whyte was again resilient and somehow hung on in.

In the 10th Chisora excelled again by appearing to have landed the punches with greater effect, and I for one was stunned at how Whyte was able to sustain such power. At this point, I had a flashback to last year when Whyte so admirably gave Joshua his longest and most difficult fight.

As the 12th came around you wondered if either fighter had any energy left in the tank, but as their determination kicked in at the start of the bell you knew that it was going to end in an appropriate style. Both men extremely sluggish, but still had enough encouragement to try for the knockdown. It wasn’t to be, and Whyte nicked it 115-113. 115-114 to the one judge who scored it 115-114 to Chisora.

The aftermath reaction of the fight just goes to show the profound effect that this match has had, with many in the boxing business and outside calling for a second fight on its own headline. I don’t usually rant and rave about a heavyweight contest in the way that I am about this one, especially as I was adamant that it was going to be a lousy fight with two over deflated heavyweight’s looking for a fast payday, it just wasn’t to be.

I do feel slightly sorry for Chisora after this one though as his record now has another unnecessary blemish following his previous loss – another split decision to the fridge sized Bulgarian, Kubrat Pulev. Whyte should be in no rush for his heavyweight title chance if and when that comes against Wilder. He and his promoter should be thinking of getting in the ring with Chisora again, using the experience gained from the win and training that little bit harder to try and beat Chisora just that little bit more convincingly.

Hopefully, this match will invigorate the rest of the heavyweight division as more fights like this are most definitely needed to keep up public interest. Far too many pointless and unappetising showdowns have left many of us looking elsewhere for that quality boxing entertainment.

Dereck and Dillian, I tip my hat to you both!

Posted on 12/13/2016

Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko Set To Meet In Heavyweight Superbout
By: Sean Crose

This April, for the first time in what seems to be a long time, a truly big heavyweight title fight will be going down. For that’s when, on the 29th of that month, IBF champ Anthony Joshua will face off against the division’s former longtime kingpin, Wladimir Klitschko. Make no mistake about it, Klitschko was nothing if not a dominant force at heavyweight for years on end. Now, though, he’s in his forties. What’s more, he lost his last bout, as well as his heavyweight crown, to the bombastic yet under-rated Tyson Fury over a year ago. Is the Ukrainian still the fighter he was? That may well be the biggest question heading into this throwdown.

For Josuha is undefeated. And, as if that weren’t enough, the man’s won each of his eighteen fights by knockout. In short, the Englishman is seen as the future of the division. Not only does he appear to have an impressive skill set, he has a statuesque physique and carries himself like a gentleman. In other words, he presents himself as the nice guy who can lay the bad boy out cold. There’s a lot of green to be found at the end of that kind of rainbow.

Yet there’s questions regarding Joshua, as well…as is can he stand the pressure of a major bout, can he deal with Klitschko’s power, and can he overcome Klitschko’s vast ring experience? To be sure, it’s the questions involved with this bout that make it so intriguing. It might be easy to write Klitschko off at this point, but that might be a mistake. Sure, Fury made him look second rate, but Fury’s bullying also got in Kltischko’s head. Joshua, on the other hand, let’s his fists do the talking for him, so mind games shouldn’t be an issue.

Promoter Eddie Hearn knows what a big deal this fight is going to be. That’s why word is already out that the match is going to sell out Wembley Stadium in London. To be sure, it’s hard to imagine a crowd showing up in April of less than 80 thousand souls. On top of all that, Dan Rafael of ESPN has tweeted that HBO and Showtime might be in a bidding war for the American television rights to the bout. When’s the last time you heard of anything like that happening?

Although Joshua-Klitschko is a thoroughly European affair between two European fighters in one of the continent’s great cities, this is a fight that should resonate here in America. For here are two of the best men in boxing’s big division, battling for dominance. Sure, there may be other heavyweight champions now, but everyone knows that the winner of this one will reign supreme over the division. Speaking of which, the former premiere weight class of the sport is looking very exciting lately, thanks very much.

This weekend alone showed terrific bouts between the likes of Dillian White and Dereck Chisora, as well as the likes of Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz. It’s also good to keep in mind that American Deontay Wilder is swimming close to shore like a shark and that his countryman Shannon Briggs may be far from the joke some may wish he was. And then there’s Mr. Fury. Who knows what the former champ may bring to the table in the future, should he successfully slay his demons?

Things have gotten interesting.

Posted on 10/18/2016

David Haye vs Tony Bellew? There Is Only One Winner I’m Afraid
By: Oz Ozkaya

Hats off to Tony Bellew. No, really. His camp has been extremely smart and effective in the way that they’ve redefined him as a fighter, and then subsequently by moving him up to Cruiserweight after the humiliating defeat he suffered at the hands of Adonis Stevenson in Quebec, Canada, back in November 2013. Almost 3 years later, and after avenging his only other loss to Nathan Cleverly before going on to win the WBC Cruiserweight title (his first), Bellew is now in a position to make a serious name for himself, as well as some serious cash with a potential match up against David ‘Haymaker’ Haye now in the pipeline.

At present, Bellew is on an 8 fight undefeated streak where 6 of those victories have come by a way of knockout. Credit to Bellew, his career record at (28-2-1) and his recent stunning defence against BJ Flores make him look like an extremely solid bet going forward. At 33 though, he, like David Haye (36), is coming to the latter stages of his career. Still, that isn’t to say that neither of them could defy the laws of physics, reinvent their styles and become a Bernard Hopkins or an Evander Holyfield.

“I’m not going to go back down to a less-glamorous division than the one I’m in now for a loud-mouthed guy like him,” said Haye when asked about the possibility of fighting Bellew in the future. However, Bellew would much rather face Haye at cruiserweight, despite his promoter Eddie Hearn believing that if the right money is on the table then Bellew would step up no doubt. It doesn’t surprise me to here Hearn talk in such a way, particularly as both of these men have been longing for a big pay day for quite some time. Bellew did, however, manage to sell out Goodison Park in Liverpool earlier on this year when he emphatically knocked out Illungu Makabu after 3 rounds for his current WBC world title.

Regardless of the weight issue, the fight is still undoubtedly going to happen. Firstly, Haye is yet to name an opponent for his next match and with Shannon Briggs chasing him halfway across the country, to no great avail it must be said, it would appear obvious that he has been waiting for an opportunity like Bellew to come along. After his last two mediocre showdowns, where he fought opponents that nobody had ever even heard of, it would be fair to assume Haye’s loyal fans are long overdue a decent fight with a credible opponent. “A proper David Haye comeback,” some would be quick to add.

Secondly, can either of them realistically make better money anywhere else at this current moment in time? For David Haye, possibly. For Tony Bellew, no. In short, neither Cruiserweight champions Lebedev (WBA & IBF champion) and Usyk (WBO champion) hold big a enough name to be thrown into a paper view fight with Bellew. Well, maybe to a certain extent they do but not quite to the numbers that a fight with Haye would garner. We love an all-British affair over here!

For Haye, there are evidently bigger fights out there, but it seems apparent that he doesn’t believe he is ready for them just quite yet. In Haye’s mind, he knows that one more loss to a good opponent is going to be curtains for him. If he fights and beats Bellew, that sustains his career for another 6 months and keeps people guessing about his ability. This may not do him much in the divisional rankings, but in terms of stock, absolutely. Haye could have fought Wilder, Joshua, Ortiz, Browne or even the up and coming undefeated New Zealander, Joseph Parker by now if he had sought after those opportunities. However, he has been very steady. Maybe he shouldn’t be fighting, after all, he did say the Dr’s told him his shoulder was too bad to fight with after he bailed on, what were, two eagerly anticipated Tyson Fury fights.

Thirdly, and most crucially, the panache and intuition of Match Room promoter Eddie Hearn mean that he especially is definitely not going to be the one to pass up on such an opportunity. So much so, in fact, that he has already “opportunistically” booked March 4th, 2017 as a Sky Box Office date and claims Bellew-Haye would be a huge fight. Talking to the mirror.co.uk Hearn said: “Haye will be driving home [after the Bellew fight]maybe thinking ‘that’s a big fight’ as he looks on Twitter after what happened tonight, but he may want a belt instead. It would do monster business on pay-per-view. I think Tony would do it at heavyweight. I think he would look at fighting Haye rather than ‘I’ll move up and be a two-weight world champion’.” From this perspective it looks like Eddie has got all his angles covered, it will just be down to Haye’s team getting together, agreeing on figures and signing the deal that’s put in front of them.

The one thing that does throw the potential fight into doubt though is the discarded Tyson Fury’s belts after he was taken ill last week, and subsequently suspended following his cocaine shame. With Haye ranking rather highly on one of those divisional charts, there is a likelihood he may be placed in an eliminator for a future match up regarding one of the world title belts.

Back to last Saturday night, just before he got slightly over-excited in his victorious mode and started haranguing Haye who was stood at Ringside, Bellew actually produced a pretty good performance that many thought he wasn’t actually capable of. He wanted to make sure that a lot of critics and myself alike knew that he meant business. With almost a stone the difference between himself and Haye, the onus is going to be on Bellew to get into the better physical shape, as Haye will undoubtedly be the heaviest and hardest opponent he has ever before thought. With Bellew undeniably being slower and slightly less powerful than Haye, it may be up to him to find a way of bulking efficiently. Haye has much more class, experience and technique so will easily pick him off for 12 rounds if needs be.

The best way for Bellew to approach the fight with Haye will most likely have to start on the investment in camp and sparring partners. It’s an old cliché that ‘figths are won and lost in camps’ so on that advice if Bellew can get the right men in, then this will most definitely play to his advantage come that assumed fight night which is now well and truly looking likely. “I could probably beat Bellew with one punch,” said Haye, who had at first praised Bellew’s performance in the post-fight Sky interview. “I’m a heavyweight and when I hit him he will stay hit. He has no idea and he thinks that being a proper heavyweight is just about putting on a few pounds.” Haye would not be able to safely lose enough weight to fight for his old title at under 200 pounds, and that would mean Bellew coming up in weight, which only adds to Haye’s natural advantages. Only time will tell of course.

So, until that date, we shall have to wait to see what the stipulations are, where the fight is going to be and in what kind of shape they are both in come fight night. I think Haye would most likely punish him in the middle to later rounds, before going on to claim a TKO or Knockout in the closing rounds. Bellew will be most dangerous early on, as he has proved in his last two fights. It won’t be a repeat of the Chisora fight for Haye, though, and that is because largely Bellew is much more defiant, has similar height and a similar reach to that of Haye. He should be able to jab effectively and make Haye work for the victory. Nevertheless, with Haye not having really fought a “competitive” fight for (what will be) over 4 years at the time of this assumed fight, I think it is safe to say Bellew has at least some chance.

Posted on 09/26/2016

Fury Withdraws, but What Next?
By: Eric Lunger

Last year in late November, Tyson Fury shocked the boxing world by out pointing the long-reigning heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany. It was a strange fight, with Fury taunting the champion, bobbing and jerking with his giant 6’ 9’’ frame, dropping his left had to his waist, doing everything he could to baffle Klitschko. And he did. It was a bizarre fight, not exactly a pretty one, but in its own strange way, a brilliant performance. I don’t think anyone doubted that Tyson had won.

Saturday, Tyson Fury shocked the boxing world again, this time by withdrawing from the rematch against Klitschko for a second time. In a press release, notable for its vagueness and passive voice, his camp stated that Fury “has been declared medically unfit to fight” and that unspecified “medical specialists advised that the condition is too severe to allow him to participate in the rematch.” There is no mention of what “the condition” might be. Some British media outlets began at once to speculate that the condition was a mental health issue, more specifically depression. Some have, without attribution, already alleged that Fury checked himself into a clinic, despite the fact that Fury was ringside for the Crolla vs. Linares fight on Saturday evening.

Fury has been a bizarre champion and is difficult to like. He presents an odd combination of bluster and confidence mixed with self-pity and resentment. He wears his Irish Traveller heritage with pride, but also as a source of perceived hatred and persecution. He has embarrassed himself with some homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic comments. But most baffling for American boxing fans is the Traveller aspect of Fury’s identity. Travellers are “gypsies,” or more properly Roma. The Roma originate from continental Europe while Irish Travellers arose as a separate community in Ireland. Roma and Travellers face widespread and pervasive discrimination in most of Europe, where they are stereotyped as thieves and petty criminals. Added to this mix in the person of Tyson Fury is a Pentecostal Christianity which fuels some of his more reactionary statements, about the place of women in society, for example.

All of this is not to disparage Tyson Fury or to claim to know what is going on in his mind. But it does illustrate the fact that he is not a marketable kind of champion, certainly not for the jewel of the boxing crown, the heavyweight division, and certainly not for the current climate where boxing struggles to compete with other combat sports. This brings us back to the withdrawal from the Klitschko rematch. If the fight is truly off, the next question is this: will Fury be stripped of the two belts he still holds? Then things get interesting. Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sports (who promotes Anthony Joshua, the IBF champion) told SkySports on Saturday that his team wanted the winner of the rematch, and more specifically wanted to fight Tyson Fury. Why? Pretty obvious that a unification bout between two British fighters — the odd and controversial Fury from Manchester vs. the charismatic and popular Anthony Joshua — would be a incredible fight, especially in the UK and especially for British fans.
But Hearn also tweeted on Saturday that he had already contacted the Klitschko camp on the possibility of a Klitschko vs. Joshua fight on Joshua’s open November 26th date. Wouldn’t that be interesting? Complicating matters further is that fact that the IBF mandatory opponent for Joshua is Joseph Parker (20-0, 17 KO’s) from New Zealand. Would Eddie Hearn really want to put Joshua in the ring against Klitschko, at this point in AJ’s career? He is only 26 years old, and his last two fights against an unimpressive Charles Martin (1st round TKO) and an overmatched Dominic Breazeale (7th round TKO) were certainly not world-class level.

Other questions abound. Where is Luis Ortiz? The slick and powerful Cuban southpaw may lack the visibility of the British heavyweights, but he is a dangerous opponent with 22 KO’s in 25 professional fights, has a brilliant skill set, and is fun to watch. Though Ortiz is 37 years old, he currently sits 4th on The Ring Magazine’s heavyweight ratings, one ahead of Anthony Joshua, for what that’s worth. He dismantled Bryant Jennings (19-1) in December of last year, but has had nothing but a stay-busy fight since then.

And finally, what about Deontay Wilder (37-0, 36 KO’s) who currently holds the WBC belt? The Bronze Bomber, an Olympic Bronze medalist from 2008, has only boxed twelve rounds once in his professional career, beating Bermane Stiverne in a unanimous decision in January of 2015. Wilder is powerful and athletic, but one wonders what kind of defense he has. Has he really been tested? Hailing from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Deontay would be a favorite with American fans, and his backstory is as inspirational (and genuine) as they come.

But if the center of gravity of the heavyweight division remains in the UK, American fight fans, as well as Luis Ortiz supporters, may be facing a long wait to see their men in the mix. But one thing is for sure, Tyson Fury has roiled the boxing waters once again.

Posted on 09/22/2016

Anthony Crolla vs. Jorge Linares Lightweight Title Fight Preview
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night, Anthony “Million Dollar” Crolla will face Jorge “El Nino de Oro” Linares at the Manchester Arena live at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. This bout will be televised live on AWE, A Wealth of Entertainment, and will also be shown live on the internet at www.klowedtv.com.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Matchroom Boxing

This bout will be a unification bout in the lightweight division and will be for the WBA, WBC Diamond, and the vacant Ring Magazine Lightweight Championship.

The light heavyweight commonwealth title will be on the line on the undercard and will be between Callum Johnson and Willbeforce Shihepo. Additionally, Isaac Lowe will defend his commonwealth featherweight title against Tshifhiwa Munyai.

The following is a preview of the main event of the night.

Anthony Crolla (31-4-3) vs. Jorge Linares (40-3); WBA Lightweight Title

This is a matchup between the two top rated boxers in the lightweight division, a division that is quite frankly lacking in big time names.

Linares was once considered a future pound for pound star, but three losses by stoppage have since hurt his value. However, he’s still considered to be the best boxer by many in the lightweight division and is a three division champion.

Linares is thirty one years old and is two years older than Crolla. Linares will be giving up a half inch in height to Crolla, but has a two inch reach advantage. Linares has traveled the world to fight and has fought in locations such as Japan, Venezuela, Mexico, the United States, and England. Crolla has only fought once in the United States and has spent most of his career fighting in England.

Crolla will be fighting in front of a friendly crowd in Manchester, and this is a fact that does not escape Linares.

“I love fighting in my opponent’s back yard with all the noise that comes with it from their fans,” said Linares. “The supporters cannot get in the ring with their fighter, it’s just me and him.”

Linares won several tournaments as an amateur on the national level in Venezuela, but did not win any medals in any major international tournaments such as the world amateur championships or the Olympics. Crolla doesn’t have the amateur success of Linares, and he seems to recognize the technical prowess of Linares.

Crolla stated, “I rate Linares very highly, he’s technically brilliant. Everyone in the gym loves to watch him fight, and he’s the kind of fighter young kids should watch.” He went on further to state, “He likes to fight at his pace and I can’t allow that. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ve got to take advantage of some weaknesses that I think I’ve seen there. I’m confident I can do that.”

Linares’ one glaring weakness is his chin. He has three losses and they have all come by KO or TKO. His losses were to Sergio Thompson, Antonio DeMarco, and an upset of the year loss to Juan Carlos Salgado. He has notable victories over the likes of Kevin Mitchell, Nihito Arakawa, Francisco Contreras, and Rocky Juarez. However, Linares has won six fights in a row and four of his past five victories have come by way of stoppage.

Crolla has four losses on his record but only one knockout loss. His losses were to Gary Sykes (twice), Derry Matthews, and Youssef Al Hamidi. He holds victories over Ismael Barroso, Darleys Perez, John Murray, and Gavin Rees.

Crolla doesn’t have the stoppage power that Linares has. Linares has stopped twenty seven of his opponents while Crolla has only stopped thirteen. Both boxers have been very active recently. Crolla fought three times in 2014, twice in 2015, and once in 2016. Linares fought twice in 2015 and three times in 2014.

If Crolla was known for his power he’d have a good chance at pulling off the upset victory. However, he is not known for stopping his opponents and he will be in the ring with a very skilled, technical boxer. If Linares’ chin can hold up, he should win a wide decision victory. But he may want to go for the stoppage since he’s fighting in Crolla’s backyard.

Posted on 09/18/2016

HBO PPV Round by Round Results: Canelo Wipes Out Liam Smith
By: William Holmes

Canelo Alvarez (47-1-1) faced off against Liam Smith (23-0-1) in the main event of the night in the latest Pay Per View offering by Golden Boy Promotions and HBO.

AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas was the host site for tonight’s bout and was filled with mainly pro Canelo fans. Even though Canelo held a middleweight title, this bout was for Liam Smith’s WBO Junior Middleweight Title.

HBO hyped up their next Pay Per View offering by interviewing both Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward before the singing of the national anthems.

The national anthem of the United Kingdom was sung first by Danny Walten. The national anthem of Mexico was sung second and was performed by Leonardo Aguilar. The national anthem of the United States was performed by Paula Deanda.

Liam Smith entered the ring to a mainly muted reaction from the crowd, and Canelo entered second to a loud ovation.

The announced attendance for tonight’s fight was 51,240.

The following is a round by round recap of tonight’s bout.

Canelo Alvarez (47-1-1) vs. Liam Smith (23-0-1); WBO Junior Middleweight Title

Round 1:
Canelo and Smith come out to the center of the ring and Smith immediately throws a jab to the body of Canelo. Canelo throws a jab to the body and head of Smith. Canelo with a jab and follows it with a left hook. Canelo with a good right to the body and follows it with a jab. Canelo lands a double jab. Both boxers land a jab at the same time. Canelo lands a good counter right uppercut and follows it with a left hook. Canelo with a jab to the body and head again. Canelo lands a jab to the nose of Smith. Canelo lands another jab to the face of Smith. Smith lands a short jab of his own. Canelo lands three jabs in a row. Smith misses with a wild right hook, and Canelo answers with a two punch combination that forces Smith to stumble backwards. Canelo digs a good body shot into the ribs of Smith. Canelo connects with two more hard hooks to the body. Canelo is throwing a high volume of punches already.

10-9 Canelo

Round 2:
Canelo goes right back to his jab, and then lands several hard combinations to the body and head. Smith not really throwing much at Canelo. Canelo lands another hook to the ribs of Smith. Smith lands a right hook upstairs but misses with his follow up punches. Canelo lands a double jab, and Smith sticks a jab in the face of Canelo. Canelo blocks a hook from Smith, but Smith lands a right hand over the top afterwards. The crowd is loudly chanting for Canelo. Canelo is really putting his combinations together well off of his jab. Canelo with another hard right hand to the body of Smith. Smith connects with two hooks to the body when Canelo’s back was to the ropes, but Canelo quickly backs out. Canelo has a small cut near his left eye. Smith lands a right hand to the cut of Canelo. Smith barely misses with a three punch combination.

10-9 Canelo; 20-18 Canelo.

Round 3:
Canelo opens up the third round with a good left hook to the body, but Smith is starting to open up more and threw several punches in response. Smith lands a good jab on Canelo. Canelo briefly had Smith with his back to the ropes but didn’t land anything of note. Canelo connects with a good left uppercut to the chin and follows it with a right to the body. Good right hook to the body right uppercut to the chin combination by Canelo. Canelo lands a jab, and follows it with a hard right hook to the head. Canelo opening up with some good combinations. A left uppercut may have stunned Smith. Smith lands a hard left hook right hook combination. Canelo does not seem to be concerned about the power of Smith. Smith lands two good jabs on Canelo. Smith lands a good counter uppercut on Canelo after Canelo misses with a wild shot. Closer round for Smith.

10-9 Canelo; 30-27 Canelo.

Round 4:
Canelo is showing good head movement at the start of the fourth round. Canelo digs in a hard body shot to the body of Smith. Good crisp jab by Canelo. Smith lands a good body shot, but Canelo answers with four hard punches. Smith lands a right cross. Canelo is warned to keep his punches up. Canelo with a quick two punch combination. Canelo jabs to the body and head of Smith. Canelo again with a good right hook to the body. Smith has a small cut above his left eye. Canelo lands a jab in the middle of Smith’s face. Smith lands a hard right hook when in tight. Canelo’s back is against the ropes and he backs into a corner. Smith with a body head combination, and Canelo answers with a combination of his own. Smith lands two hard hooks on Canelo.

10-9 Canelo; 40-36 Canelo.

Round 5:
Canelo with a quick double jab. Canelo takes a jab to the body. Smith showing his jab more often. Canelo lands a good right hook upstairs and follows it with a hard right uppercut. Canelo with a three punch combination to the body and head of Smith. Smith lands a right to the body and head of Canelo. Smith with a right hook to the body and right to the head of Canelo. Canelo lands a lead left hook and then a lead right uppercut. Smith looks like he has a little more pep in his step than Canelo. Canelo lands a right cross to the chin of Smith. Good body shot by Canelo. Two jabs in a row for Canelo. Smith backs Canelo up to the ropes and digs in several hooks to the body and several shots to the head of Canelo. Close round.

10-9 Smith; 49-46 Canelo

Round 6:
Canelo is in a more aggressive stance. Smith lands two quick jabs. Canelo misses with a wild right uppercut. Smith lands a good left hook to the head of Canelo. Smith lands a four punch combination on Canelo. Smith lands a hard left hook on Canelo. Canelo answers with a right uppercut and right hook. Smith is covering up though on those punches. Smith lands two jabs to the head of Canelo. Smith takes a right hook from Canelo. Smith lands a right uppercut and Canelo answers with one of his own. Smith sticks a jab in the face of Canelo. Smith has Canelo’s back against the ropes and lands some soft short jabs. Smith sticks another jab in the face of Canelo. Canelo is short with his jab. Smith has blood coming from his eye and gets warned for landing a punch during an attempted break. Canelo lands a good body shot. This round could have been scored for either boxer.

10-9 Canelo; 59-55 Canelo

Round 7:
Canelo is pressing the pace and lands a hard right hook to the side of Smith’s head. Smith sneaks in a right uppercut that partially connects. Canelo whizzes a right hook past the head of Smith. Smith has Canelo’s back against the ropes, but Canelo lands several short uppercuts. Canelo lands a four punch combination and sends Smith to the mat. Smith gets back before the count of ten. Canelo lands a right uppercut on Smith. Canelo lands a jumping left hook and is stalking Smith around the ring. Smith ties up with Canelo briefly. Canelo backs Smith up to the ropes and Smith holds on again. Smith eats a hard left hook from Canelo. Smith lands a good right cross. Canelo with two hard right hooks and a right uppercut to the chin of Smith. Smith was firing off combinations in Canelo’s direction at the end of the round.

10-8 Canelo; 69-63 Canelo

Round 8:
Canelo lands an early jab on Smith. Canelo connects with another jab and follows it with a lead left hook. Canelo lands a clean right cross on Smith. Canelo stabs two jabs in the body of Smith. Canelo barely misses with an uppercut, but lands two consecutive hooks to the head. Jab to the body by Canelo. Smith backs Canelo up to the ropes and throws some uppercuts and body shots in tight. Canelo jabs to the body and lands a right uppercut. Canelo is very effective with the jab to the body. Smith lands a short right hook and uppercut. Canelo lands two straight jabs to the head and two uppercuts. Canelo rips a hook to the body of Smith and Smith goes to the canvas grimacing in pain. Canelo lands another shot to the body and Smith is on his bike for the remainder of the round.

10-8 Canelo; 79-71 Canelo

Round 9:
Canelo starts of the ninth round as the more aggressive boxer. Smith lands two quick jabs. Canelo digs another hard right hook to the body and later a left hook. Smith barely misses with a right hook. Smith lands a body shot on Canelo and a left hook. Smith lands a quick jab on Canelo’s head, and Canelo answers with a hook to the body. Canelo traps Smith by the ropes and unleashes a combination on him. Smith misses with several shots when Canelo’s back is against the ropes. Canelo lands another vicious hook to the body of Smith and he goes down grimacing in pain.
The referee doesn’t bother to count and waives off the fight.

Canelo Alvarez wins by TKO at 2:28 of the ninth round.

Canelo was asked about Gennady Golovkin afterwards and he stated, ” I fear no one. I was born for this. And even though many people may not like it, I am the best fighter right now. About a month ago, we offered him twice or three times as much to make the fight, I didn’t want to say anything, because I respect all my rivals, but about a month ago we offered him twice or three times and he didn’t want to accept.”

Posted on 09/16/2016

Liam Smith Aims To Be “Elite Fighter,” Like Canelo
By: Sean Crose

The final press conference for Liam Smith’s defense of his WBO super welterweight title against Saul Canelo Alvarez on Saturday night in Texas didn’t deliver controversy. Indeed, there were no insults thrown, no slaps, no grandstanding. Sure enough, it was a professional affair, replete with the expected grandiosity and hyperbole. Still, there were some telling things that were mentioned, statements which may offer insight into the minds of the participants involved with this weekend’s pay per view event. “He fights in the style of a Mexican,” British promoter Frank Warren said of Smith. “I believe you’re going to become great fans of him.”

Here was an old boxing hand looking to expand his fighter’s fan base to a vast new market. “Mexican style,” has become code of sorts for an exciting and honorable fighter. Warren then went on to laud AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, where the match will be held. “Without a doubt,” he said, “this is the best stadium I’ve ever been to.” Some people know just the right things to say. Canelo’s trainer, Chepo Reynoso, joined football bigwig Jerry Jones in hyping the possibility that a record crowd would gather for Saturday’s matchup.

Smith’s trainer, Joe Gallagher, expressed excitement at the likeliness that the fight would indeed be something to remember. “The underlying currents for the fight are really good,” he claimed. As for Smith, he made it clear that he understands where he is in the minds of most fight fans – at least for the moment. “Now,” he claimed, “there’s world champions and there’s elite fighters.” Sure enough, the undefeated Englishman indicated he has ambition. “This,” he stated, “is a chance to see if I can step on that ladder.” He certainly will be well regarded should he pull off the upset this weekend.

Still, the skilled and popular Canelo will be quite a test. Not that Canelo is taking the fight lightly. “Many of you might not know Liam Smith,” Canelo told the crowd, “but the important thing is we know Liam Smith.” It was a keen distinction that made it clear team Canelo isn’t taking this widely unknown opponent lightly. For Smith is an aggressive fighter who isn’t lacking in talent. Those who argue Smith has a real, though perhaps limited, chance to win on Saturday are, in the opinion of this author at least, offering more than empty words. Perhaps Smith will indeed stun a lot of people this weekend.

Then again….

Posted on 09/16/2016

HBO PPV World Championship Boxing Preview: Canelo vs. Smith, Monroe vs. Rosado
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas will be the host site for HBO’s next pay per view offering.

Golden Boy Promotions will pit their superstar, Canelo Alvarez, against British boxer and WBO Junior middleweight champion Liam “Beefy” Smith. Most fight fans were hoping that Canelo would face Gennady Golovkin instead of Liam Smith, and view this fight as mismatch for Canelo.

Two former opponents for Gennady Golovkin, Gabriel Rosado and Willie Monroe Jr., will be fighting in the co-main event of the night. Highly rated prospects Joseph Diaz and Diego De La Hoya will fight on the televised portion of the undercard in matchups that they should win.

Photo Credit: Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

The following is a preview of the main event and co-main event of the night.

Gabriel Rosado (23-9) vs. Willie Monroe Jr. (20-2); Middleweights

The co-main event of the night will be between two boxers that were stopped by Gennady Golovkin, but remain top contenders in the middleweight division.

Monroe is twenty nine years old and Rosado is thirty, so both boxers are in the middle of their prime years. Rosado will be about an inch and half taller than Monroe, but he will be giving up about two and a half inches in reach.

Rosado has the clear edge in power. Rosado has stopped thirteen of his opponents while Monroe has only stopped six. Monroe has the edge in amateur experience as he won the New York Golden Gloves and reached the finals in the Golden Gloves in 2007. Monroe is also the son of Willie Monroe and the great nephew of Willie the Worm Monroe. Rosado does not have any notable accolades as an amateur to mention.

Monroe has been slightly more active than Rosado in recent years. Monroe fought once in 2016, twice in 2015, and three times in 2014. Rosado has fought once in 2016, once in 2015, and two times in 2014.

Rosado’s record can be deceiving. He does have nine losses on his record and has only gone 2-3 in his past five fights, but his losses have come against some of the biggest names in boxing. He has defeated the likes of Joshua Clottey, Antonio Guiterrez, Charles Whittaker, Sechew Powell, Jesus Soto Karass, Ayi Bruce, and saul Roman. His losses have come to Gennady Golovkin, Peter Quillin, Jermell Charlo, David Lemieux, Alfredo Angulo, Fernando Guerrero, and Derek Ennis.

Rosado is a warrior, but he has been stopped four times in his career. He was able to capture the middleweight crown in Big Knockout Boxing (BKB) outside of his normal career of boxing.

Monroe has defeated the likes John Thompson, Brian Vera, Brandon Adams, Vitaliy Kopylenko, Donatas Bondorovas, and won the Boxcino tournament in 2014. His losses were to Darnell Boone and Gennady Golovkin.

Rosado is a live dog in every fight he enters into, and this Saturday is no different. He would be a bigger underdog if Willie Monroe was known for his power, but he’s not and Rosado can box. This should be a very competitive fight, but this writer sees Monroe winning a decision victory.

Liam Smith (23-0-1) vs. Canelo Alvarez (47-1-1); WBO Junior Middleweight Title

Canelo Alvarez holds the WBC World Middleweight Title but will bumping down to the junior middleweight division to face Liam Smith for his WBO Junior Middleweight Title. An argument could be made that even though Canelo holds a legitimate middleweight title, he has never faced an actual true middleweight, and has only faced blown up junior middleweights and welterweights.

Liam Smith has already gone on the record to state that there will be no fight if Canelo cannot make the 154 pound weight limit. However, there is little reason to believe that Canelo won’t make weight.

Saturday will be Canelo’s 50th fight as a professional, and that’s an impressive feat for someone who is only twenty six years old. Smith is two years older than Canelo, and will have a slight height advantage.

Even though Canelo has nearly double the number of fights of Smith and is two years younger, Smith has been more active than Canelo in the past two years. Smith fought four times in 2015 and twice in 2014, while Canelo has averaged two fights a year since 2012. It should also be noted that Smith has never fought outside of the United Kingdom.

Neither boxer has an overly impressive amateur background. Smith was a two time winner of the ABA Championships as an amateur and Canelo won the Junior Mexican National Boxing Championships as a young teenager, but neither competed in the Olympics or won any medals at an amateur world championship.

Canelo’s only loss in his career was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. His list of defeated opponents is impressive, and he has defeated the likes of Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, James Kirkland, Erislandy Lara, Alfredo Angulo, Austin Trout, Shane Mosley, and Alfonso Gomez.

Smith has never been in the ring with someone of Canelo’s talent. Smith has defeated the likes of Pregrad Radosevic, Jimmy Kelly, John Thompson, and Zoltan Zera.

The one major positive that jumps out at you when looking at Smith’s resume is that he has stopped his past eight opponents. Canelo has stop three of his past five opponents. However, Smith only has thirteen knockouts on his record while Canelo has thirty three.

Again, this will be the first time that Smith has fought outside of the United Kingdom and this fight will be held in Texas which has a large population of Mexican boxing fans. The fans will be hostile towards Smith, which is something he is not used to, and Canelo is the type of high quality opponent that Smith has never seen before.

The stars are aligned for an easy Canelo victory.

Posted on 09/08/2016

HBO World Championship Boxing Preview: Chocolatito vs. Cuadras, Golovkin vs. Brook
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night HBO will broadcast two world championship fights from two different venues. Pound for pound king Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez will be bumping up to the junior bantamweight division to chase after another world title when he faces off against Carlos Cuadras. If he is successful he will have won titles in four different weight classes. Earlier in the day knockout artist Gennady Golovkin will be defending his middleweight titles when he faces welterweight world champion Kell Brook.

The Gonzalez vs. Cuadras bout will take place at the Forum in Inglewood, California and the Golovkin vs. Brook bout will take place at the O2 Arena in London, England on Brook’s home turf. HBO will also be televising a rematch between Yoshihiro Kamegai and Jesus Soto-Karass in the junior middleweight division. Their previous fight was considered by many to be a fight of the year candidate.

The following is a preview of both world title fights.

Carlos Cuadras (35-0-1) vs. Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (45-0); WBC Junior Bantamweight Title

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez is a three division world champion and considered by many to be the best pound for pound boxer in the world today. However, there are limits to how many weight classes an individual can be a champion in and he’s facing a legitimate junior bantamweight world champion.

Gonzalez will be giving up five inches in height and two inches in reach to Cuadras. Cuadras is also one year younger than Gonzalez, but both are in their physical primes.

They both have been fairly active in the past two years. Cuadras fought three times in 2014 and in 2015, and already fought once in 2016. Gonzalez fought four times in 2014, three times in 2015, and once so far in 2016.

They both had experienced success as an amateur. Cuadras is a Pan American gold medalist and a gold medalist in the International Junior Olympics. Chocolatito has an alleged record of 88-0 as an amateur, but does not have any notable international amateur tournament victories.

Chocolatito has beaten the likes of Yutaka Niida, Juan Francisco Estrada, Rocky Fuentes, Akiri Yaegashi, Edgar Sosa, Brian Viloria, and McWilliams Arroyo. Cuadras has defeated the likes of Marvin Mabait, Luis Concepcion, Dixon Flores, Koki Eto, and Richie Mepranum.

Gonzalez has more world title fight experience and has a record of 14-0 in world title fights. Cuadras has a record of 6-0 in world title fights.

Both boxers have considerable power. Cuadras has twenty seven stoppage victories, and three of his past five fights were by stoppage victory. Gonzalez has thirty eight stoppage victories.

It will be interesting to see how Gonzalez handles the length and reach of Cuadras. Gonzalez, who was a world champion in the minimumweight division, will likely be unable to jump additional weight classes if he’s victorious on Saturday and he has a very tough test ahead of him. This should be an entertaining and technical bout, but Gonzalez should be able to pull off the decision victory, but may have his chin tested in the process.

Gennady Golovkin (35-0) vs. Kell Brook (36-0); WBA/WBC/IBF Middleweight Titles

Don’t let the fact that Kell Brook is jumping up two weight classes to fight Gennady Golovkin fool you. Brook is a large welterweight and Golovkin is a smaller middleweight. In fact, Brook has been weighing in heavier than Golovkin in the weeks leading up to the fight.

One of the biggest question marks about Golovkin is his age. He’s thirty four years old and doesn’t have many years left in his prime. His opponent is four years younger than him. Golovkin, however, will have a slight one and a half inch height advantage and a one inch reach advantage.

Despite the fact he’s a major star in boxing, Golovkin has kept a fairly active schedule. He has fought once in 2016, three times in 2015, and three times in 2014. Brook has been having trouble finding a big fight in the welterweight division and fought twice in 2014 and in 2015, and once in 2016.

Golovkin’s power is well known and can be considered legendary. He has thirty two knockouts on his resume and is in the midst of an incredible streak that consists of twenty two wins by knockout in a row. Brook’s power can’t be overlooked, he has stopped twenty five opponents and has one four of his past five fights by stoppage.

Brook will be fighting in front of his home crowd at the O2 arena and that will be a big advantage for him. He has defeated the likes of Kevin Bizier, Frankie Gavin, Ionut Dan Ion, Shawn Porter, Vyacheslav Senchenko, Matthew Hatton, and Luis Galarza.

The last person to go the distance against Golovkin was Amar Amari in 2008. He has steamrolled every boxer he’s faced since then. He has defead the likes of Dominic Wade, David Lemieux, Willie Monroe Jr., Martin Murray, Marco Antonio Rubio, Daniel Geale, Curtis Stevens, Matthew Macklin, Nobuhiro Ishida, Gabriel Rosado, Kassim Ouma, and Grzegorz Proksa.

Golovkin has to be very careful to not overlook Kell Brook. Brook is a very good, technical boxer and is considered by many to be a top 10 pound for pound fighter. Golovkin’s power should be able to lead him to victory, but don’t be surprised if he knockout streak ends on Saturday night.

Posted on 09/01/2016

Why GGG-Brook Is Worth Looking Forward To
By: Sean Crose

There’s a lot of dissention out there lately among boxing’s fan base. Some say it’s an impossible base to please. More on that later. For the moment, let’s focus on the complaints fans are lobbing at present, such as how the best aren’t fighting the best as much as they should, and how known fighters now appear to be disinterested in true competition. These, my friends, are very legitimate gripes. Sorry, but while the UFC gives fans what they want over, and over, and over, it’s hard to be satisfied when Saul Canelo Alvarez – rightly or wrongly – tells fans how it’s going to be.

Still, fans – or at least some fans – can take things a bit too far. Sure enough, some among our number tend to run over the line a bit. Sneering at the fact that Errol Spence Junior’s last fight was a ratings bonanza, for instance, strikes me as a particularly odd thing. As does aligning oneself with a particular network or promotional entity. Why not just be as objective as possible and call things as and like we see them? No one should really want a promoter, advisor or network to fail. What people should want is for these entities/ individuals to clean up their freakin’ acts when need be.

One of the strangest gripes I’ve encountered lately is aimed at the upcoming Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook middleweight title matchup. People say that Golovkin is cherry picking and that far more challenging fights can be found for the man out there. Forgive me for scratching my head, but it’s not like welterweight titlist Brook is moving up to face Adonis Stevenson here. He’s simply moving up two weight classes. It’s a challenge, sure, but isn’t that what all of us want to see more of?

Of course, some will argue that they want “legitimate” challenges, rather than insane ones. That’s understandable in a world where Rod Salka got his brains jiggled around the inside of his skull by Danny Garcia in a mismatch of almost immoral proportions a few years back. Brook, however, isn’t Salka. He’s a talented, accomplished and very skilled professional athlete. What’s more, he’s doing what tons of welterweights – great welterweights, mind you – have done before him by taking a crack at middleweight glory. Sugar Ray Robinson. Sugar Ray Leonard. Thomas Hearns. Roberto Duran. Marlon Starling. These are all greats who essentially made the challenge Brook is making for himself in the here and now.

It should also be noted that name middleweights aren’t exactly clamoring to face GGG. Canelo, for instance, gave up his WBC middleweight title rather than face the man. Whether or not they battle eventually or not, Canelo stepped away from a chance to face Golovkin this year and that’s a fact that can’t be effectively argued against. By the way, I’ve always felt a bit bad for Canelo in this, since it seems his main reason to challenge for the middleweight title to begin with was solely to fight Miguel Cotto. Still, he knew what he was getting into when he allowed himself to win the title as well as a decision over Cotto last year.

Needless to say Canelo is simply one of numerous known entities who are arguably hesitant at best when it comes to the possibility of battling Golovkin in the ring rather than in the press. Truth be told, GGG can’t find a marquee opponent to defend his title against. That may be a sad commentary on the state of contemporary boxing – and that it most certainly is – but there’s nothing that can be done about it. No one, for instance, can force Billy Joe Saunders, Chris Eubanks Jr and Daniel Jacobs into the ring with GGG. If they’re willing to suffer the bad publicity for maintaining the status quo then that’s pretty much all there is to it.

Which, of course, leads to another point. Why is it that some fans, rather than sympathizing with Golovkin, are criticizing him for not “moving up” to fight someone else? This whole line of thinking is somewhat puzzling to me as the guy simply wants to stay at middleweight for now. What exactly is wrong with wanting to remain in one’s own weight division? At what point did that become such a terrible thing? The argument that someone has to move on to greater and greater challenges in order not to be accused of cherry picking simply doesn’t have the ring of authenticity to it.

Remember that the only reason Golovkin is facing Brook is because no name middleweight really wants to face the guy. You know it and so do I. Truth be told, Brook is the biggest money fight there is for the man right now. And yeah, he deserves a big money bout…so long as that bout is legitimate, which, let’s face it, the fight with Brook is. For, although there’s a real chance Brook may get his figurative clock cleaned in England within the next few weeks, there are those who feel the man has a chance, a legitimate chance, of winning. And with good reason.

Brook, after all, is a man with a true skill set. He’s big and strong for a welterweight and his straight, powerful punches are quite impressive. What’s more, Brook knows how to fight defensively and understands the importance of getting and maintaining a mental edge over one’s foe. Suffice to say, no man is invincible and if a paid professional like Brook wants to actually aspire to greatness, who can fault Golovkin for being willing to oblige?

Apparently, a lot of people can. It’s worth keeping in mind, however, that such people are probably in the minority when it comes to boxing’s fan base. The internet is a truly wonderful thing, but it’s allowed chronic naysayers to spread pessimism with impunity, both in and out of the boxing world. That’s something all of us should keep in mind, for pessimism can be as contagious as optimism. Ultimately, it’s objectivity that’s needed.

Perhaps there’s an argument to be made that Golovkin should be looking to move up in weight himself in order to attain true greatness, but those who make that argument should ask whether or not they hold themselves to such high standards in their own lives. Achieving greatness sometimes requires defying reason – but that’s certainly not always the case. Nor should it always have to be.

Posted on 08/14/2016

Get a Grip, Billy Joe Saunders
By: Brandon Bernica

​Billy Joe Saunders reminds me of Gollum from The Hobbit. Just as with Saunders’ belt, Gollum’s ring infatuates him with illusions of grandeur. Both are so committed to their prized possessions that their sanities hinge on protecting their gold at all times.

​Truthfully, Saunders rejecting big-name fights is indicative of this nature. In fact, it isn’t lofty to suggest that he masquerades as a false champion with delusional sensibilities.

​First, Gennady Golovkin offered him a lucrative deal to unify titles – even ceding home turf advantage to Saunders for the fight. That wasn’t enough money for Billy Joe. Soon after, Golden Boy presented him with contracts to fight Golovkin victims Curtis Stevens and Willie Monroe. Both were turned down for unknown reasons.

​At this point, you’d probably assert that nothing could top these levels of avoidance from a “champion”. Think again. After reviewing terms to fight middleweight journeyman Gabe Rosado on the Canelo vs. Smith undercard, Saunders passed on the bout because Rosado is not a strong enough name to add to his resumé. While shocking, Saunders’ decisions signal bad news for the outlook on the rest of his career.

​Saunders’ career can fall into one of two directions from this point. One outcome of his stingy micromanagement could be a refusal of any big names to fight with him. While Saunders appears content to guard his belt against heavily outmatched opponents, he’ll eventually need a star fighter to bring him money and public respect. As they say, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

​But what if an inverse scenario is true? What if big names prey on him, sensing the fear underlying his steady diet of match rejections? At some point, either public pressure or a sanctioning organization will force him into one of these fights, which could leave him exposed and stripped of marketability. By then, it will be too late to return to the negotiating table with the big boys with his career heading towards a sharp descent, leaving him little more than a cautionary tale.

​Sadly, Saunders’ unwillingness to fight only points to a common trend in today’s boxing world: fighters search for the highest reward while incurring the lowest risk. Floyd Mayweather made a career off of maximizing his earning potential without consistently challenging himself against the best. Mayweather utilized a bevy of excuses in rationalizing his behavior, and now other fighters are following suit. Note to the boxing world: you are not entitled. You made your name off of cutting your teeth and dedication; to give up this edge is a lead-in to disaster.

Saunders didn’t start out the tepid fighter he is now. His road to notoriety crossed through fellow up-and-comer Chris Eubank Jr and former world champion Andy Lee, winning both of his fights impressively en route to prominence. But the road to respect in boxing doesn’t end overnight. It endures night after night of painstaking work. Saunders will never win the adulation of boxing fans until he embraces this grind. Here’s hoping that that happens soon.
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Posted on 08/03/2016

After A Brilliant Victory, Frampton Publicly Declares He’ll Keep Avoiding Rigondeaux
By: Sean Crose

Why, Carl Frampton, why?

You looked so good on Saturday night against Leo Santa Cruz! Indeed, you looked brilliant. Sure enough, I said aloud that I thought you might be able to actually beat Guillermo Rigondeaux if you two should some way, somehow, get around to actually fighting. You made it clear after beating Santa Cruz convincingly that you still wouldn’t be facing Rigo, however…you just wouldn’t. Fair enough, but make no mistake about it, this avoidance of a gifted foe will follow you around. Count on it.

For while the internet makes life easier for people, it also makes for longer memories. There will always be a tweet or post out there to remind people that you avoided the best competition available. In short, people won’t forget. Perhaps you don’t care. You indicated after the Santa Cruz fight that you’ve got a family to support, after all, and that you need to focus on money. Again, fair enough, but just remember that you’re making a lot more than the average boxing fan right now. A lot more. You’ve also got the looks and personality to have a successful career around the fight game after you retire – so long, of course, as you keep your brains about you.

Oh, and claiming you don’t want to fight Rigo because the match will be boring is lame. Honestly, it sounds like a cop out. Saying, as you did, that you “would fight anyone,” except that you “want to be involved in exciting fights,” smells, frankly, like a duck. Sure, Rigo can be boring. Really boring. Every honest person can admit as much – but he’s in your general weight realm and most think he’s better than you. Although that puts you in a sticky position, it is what it is.

Look, there’s a lot to like about you, Carl Frampton. You’re a gentleman and you’re a hell of a fighter – two things boxing always needs. There’s no doubt you’re physically brave, but it looks like you’ve got a world class case of career fear, even now, during what may well be your crowning ring achievement. And while it’s true there’s good reason for you to have that uneasiness, you’re a professional boxer and professional boxers don’t look good when they obviously avoid tough competition. That’s even true in this day and age.

Again, it’s easy to sympathize with you on this, Carl. For Rigo is indeed the ultimate high risk, low reward opponent. You’re an athlete, however, and an athlete who avoids a legitimate challenge tarnishes his legacy. And that’s something to think about.

Posted on 07/15/2016

Guillermo Rigondeaux To Defend WBA World Super-Bantamweight Title In Wales
By: Oz Ozkaya

The mysterious nature of Guillermo Rigondeaux (16-0) would intrigue even Sherlock Holmes, but Saturday night will be the 17th professional fight he would have competed in after boasting an unrivalled record of 475 victories in 487 contests as an amateur. Some would argue that he is one of the greatest boxers of all time. Others would say that he has been ruined by leeches and ghouls that have previously run his brand.

Unfortunately, in recent years, Rigo (as he is better known) has not had the greatest of luck when it has come down to agents, managers and promoters. The fight he participates in on Saturday was originally scheduled to have taken place back on March 12th, however, due to Visa complications that couldn’t be resolved the fight was cancelled and nobody knew what was to happen next.

Thankfully, Frank Warren, the promoter of Queensberry Promotions, has been able to rearrange the showdown at another venue and the now world title fight should go ahead tomorrow night instead. His opponent, a completely inexperienced one when it comes to the world level, is up-and-coming British fighter Jamie ‘Jazza’ Dickens. Dickens has never fought an opponent anywhere near the rank of Rigondeaux, but with the utmost of confidence, and with an impressive professional record (22-1), Dickens will be heading into this fight knowing that it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. He knows he will have to give absolutely everything if he is to come anywhere near defeating Rigondeaux.

For the original bout, the world title wasn’t contractually agreed to have been on the line, and this was mainly because Rigondeaux had been stripped of it for failing to make a defence through a certain period of time. Since then, the WBA have recently reinstated him as their champion and so the fight now has a been given world title glorification, but having said this it is beyond doubt that Rigondeaux will be envisaging the next step ahead after this bout. Carl Frampton and Moses Flores two of the undefeated names in the division that the world would love to see try and outbox Rigondeaux.

During the final press conference in Cardiff, Rigondeaux stated: “I would like to show my respect and gratitude to Dickens for having the courage to take this fight. Dickens is the only [junior featherweight] in the world that has the guts to step in the ring with me. All of the others like to talk and talk but they don’t have the courage to actually fight. They know where to find me. I’m here and I’m ready to face anyone in the world. I’m quicker than FedEx and better than UPS.”

Dickens on the contrary, with that ever so familiar cheeky but confident Liverpudlian charm that’s very reminiscent of fellow Merseyside boys Tony Bellew and Liam Smith, presented the cameras of Boxing Nation TV with some startling confidence of his own. He went on to say: “I’ll listen to my coaches and get my hand raised at the end of the night. I’m going to box out of my skin, I know there’s more in me—that’s why I took this fight. If there’s anyone to bring it out of me I know it’s him.”

Realistically, if Dickens can manage to withstand the speed and skill of Rigondeaux for twelve rounds then that in itself should be a realistic aim for Saturday night. With Rigondeaux looking in fine fettle during public pre-fight pad and sparring sessions, it’s exciting to know that he will be bringing his A-game along with him come Saturday at Cardiff’s Ice Arena.