"Explosive" is a word we love to hear in boxing. "Explosive fight" or "explosive puncher" are two of the greatest terms to a boxing fans ears. This Saturday night in Quebec, Canada we have a fight that promises to be "explosive" with one big time explosive puncher against a tough fighter who himself contains a bit of TNT in his gloves.
Haitian born Canadian Adonis "Superman" Stevenson (21-1, 18) lived up to his "Superman" moniker earlier this year when he upset, in spectacular fashion, Chad Dawson to claim the WBC Light Heavyweight title. Entering that bout as the under-dog Stevenson needed just 76 seconds to stop Dawson and claim the title in an impressive performance that put him on the boxing map.
Whilst Stevenson scored his highest profile victory in his most recent contest, his opponent here, Tavoris Cloud (24-1, 19) suffered his first loss, being out pointed by Bernard Hopkins. Going into his bout with Hopkins, Cloud was the IBF champion and was actually defending that belt for the fifth time before being given a bit of a schooling by Hopkins.
For Cloud this is a bout that gives him a chance at rebuilding his reputation. In all honesty he should have lost his last two bouts, though both of those came against "boxers". Cloud isn't made to beat boxers. He's a guy with a high work rate and hard punches though very slow feet that need to be set before he punches. He wants an opponent to trade with him and if he's forced to box with an opponent on their toes he's always going to struggle due to his feet and style.
In Stevenson, Cloud has an stylistically opponent made for him. Stevenson isn't going to run from a fight and will instead try to prove that he's more of a man than the guy he's sharing the ring with. This can cost him, as it did in his sole loss to Darnell, though it tends to favour Stevenson who's punch is thunderous.
Sadly for Cloud, Stevenson's punch is destructive. If Cloud wants to trade with him there is every chance that Stevenson will connect with his murderous straight left which could see the usually tough Cloud buzzed, big time. If Cloud is buzzed at any point expect Stevenson to jump on him and unload.
Whilst Cloud could win if it's a close brawl he cannot afford to let Stevenson have full extension on his straight punches. If he does then he'll be, well, in the clouds.
Another problem for Cloud however is the fact Stevenson can actually box a bit. He's not master boxer like Hopkins or Campillo but he can boxing, use his reach and move. If he does that in the early rounds and lets Cloud chase him we could end up being fooled into thinking that Stevenson has become a boxer. Cloud would make Stevenson look a better boxer than he is, though it would allow Stevenson a chance to pick a hole and find a place for his left. Just because he bombed out Dawson with a perfect counter doesn't mean he'll be looking to do the same here, this time the pressure is on him, whilst last time he was the under-dog.
Yes Cloud "could" win, but personally I just don't see it.
Prediction-Stevenson TKO6
Showing posts with label Canadian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadian. Show all posts
Saturday, 28 September 2013
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Argenis Mendez v Arash Usmanee
After a few weak years the Super Featherweight division really does seem like it's picking up. Not only does the division have Takashi Uchiyama as the stand out guy and the WBA champion but below him are some very exciting fighters such as the former Featherweight champion Mikey Garcia and Roman Martinez, as limited as he is, is always in good fights.
When you get good fighters in a division it's impossible for their not to be some great match ups that do get made and that's what we have as the headliner for this weeks "Friday Night Fights" as IBF champion Argenis Mendez (21-2, 11) takes on Afghan born Canadian Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10). It's a fight that may not grab the attention of many but should still be a genuinely good match up.
Dominican Mendez is with out a doubt one of the most gifted fighters in the Super Featherweight division. He's got delightful technical skills, beautiful speed and although he's not a banger he can hit hard enough to take fighters out when he decides to hold his feet and let loose. In fact it's his combination of speed and power that can make him such a devastating fighter with his punches coming quicker than many fighters can react to.
Unfortunately for all the talent Mendez has he can blow hot and cold. At his best he's the division's best fighter behind the destructive Uchiyama. At his worst however he can really under-perform as he did against Martin Honorio in their first fight and Juan Carlos Salgado in their first fight, however he looked a much improved fighter in rematches with both men.
On a bad day Mendez would only be competitive with any of the top 10 in the division, though on his best days he's genuinely sensational.
In the opposite corner to Mendez will be the once beaten Usmanee, a man many including believes should be unbeaten. Unfortunately for Usmanee his most recent bout, a controversial decision loss to Rances Barthelemy, is probably his highest profile, thankfully however that bout was on ESPN's Friday Night Fights meaning that most who will be tuning in will now about the loss.
Usmanee is a talented and hard working fighter. He's not the slickest or the biggest hitting but he's a very determined fighter who has a tremendous engine, an engine that saw him throwing over 1000 punches against Barthelmy. In fact had he had some real power he'd likely have stopped Barthelmy thanks to his 34% connect rate in power shots.
As talented and hard working as Usmanee is it's likely he will need to hope that Mendez is having an off night if he's to win. Of course that's not out of the question with Mendez having his hot and cold reputation though if Mendez is on form this could be a very harsh bout for Usmanee who is talented but not in the same league as on fire Mendez.
Prediction-Mendez UD12
When you get good fighters in a division it's impossible for their not to be some great match ups that do get made and that's what we have as the headliner for this weeks "Friday Night Fights" as IBF champion Argenis Mendez (21-2, 11) takes on Afghan born Canadian Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10). It's a fight that may not grab the attention of many but should still be a genuinely good match up.
Dominican Mendez is with out a doubt one of the most gifted fighters in the Super Featherweight division. He's got delightful technical skills, beautiful speed and although he's not a banger he can hit hard enough to take fighters out when he decides to hold his feet and let loose. In fact it's his combination of speed and power that can make him such a devastating fighter with his punches coming quicker than many fighters can react to.
Unfortunately for all the talent Mendez has he can blow hot and cold. At his best he's the division's best fighter behind the destructive Uchiyama. At his worst however he can really under-perform as he did against Martin Honorio in their first fight and Juan Carlos Salgado in their first fight, however he looked a much improved fighter in rematches with both men.
On a bad day Mendez would only be competitive with any of the top 10 in the division, though on his best days he's genuinely sensational.
In the opposite corner to Mendez will be the once beaten Usmanee, a man many including believes should be unbeaten. Unfortunately for Usmanee his most recent bout, a controversial decision loss to Rances Barthelemy, is probably his highest profile, thankfully however that bout was on ESPN's Friday Night Fights meaning that most who will be tuning in will now about the loss.
Usmanee is a talented and hard working fighter. He's not the slickest or the biggest hitting but he's a very determined fighter who has a tremendous engine, an engine that saw him throwing over 1000 punches against Barthelmy. In fact had he had some real power he'd likely have stopped Barthelmy thanks to his 34% connect rate in power shots.
As talented and hard working as Usmanee is it's likely he will need to hope that Mendez is having an off night if he's to win. Of course that's not out of the question with Mendez having his hot and cold reputation though if Mendez is on form this could be a very harsh bout for Usmanee who is talented but not in the same league as on fire Mendez.
Prediction-Mendez UD12
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Chad Dawson v Adonis Stevenson
American Light Heavyweight Chad Dawson (31-2-0-1, 17) is a fighter who forever splits opinion. The current WBC Light Heavyweight champion is an amazing talent with hurtful power, amazing hand speed, fantastic size and all the physical traits a fighter could ever wish to have. Sadly he's also a fight who appears to be lazy, unable to draw flies and a complete frustration to watch. This weekend he travels to Canada to defend his belt against the hard hitting Adonis Stevenson (20-1, 17) in what looks to be a very interesting match up.
Dawson, still the champion despite his loss last time out to Andre Ward (which was fought at 168lbs), is a fighter who at his best is genuinely brilliant. His resume reads very impressively with victories over Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, Adrian Diaconu and Tomasz Adamek though each victory holds it's own story. The likes of Hopkins, Tarver and Johnson were all old men, Adamek was killing himself at 175lbs and Diaconu bout was simply dreadful.
The problem with Dawson is that for all his talent (and trust me, he is talented) he never wants to show it for more than a few seconds at a time. His first loss, a technical decision to Jean Pascal saw Dawson do almost nothing until the final few rounds when he actually let his hands go and looked like a possible modern great. His second loss, a stoppage to Andre Ward started with Dawson looking decent then mentally he crumbled when he started to struggle to land on Ward.
If a fighter can force Dawson in to a fight we can some interesting action, though all too often Dawson is too negative to really engage in a battle, this weekend however may be different.
Adonis Stevenson isn't the talented boxer that Dawson is, no one would say that Stevenson is a boxer in all honesty. He's an aggressive, hard hitting and hungry fighter looking for his chance to finally make a name for himself.
Although Stevenson is coming up from Super Middleweight for this opportunity he's the home fighter and has a solid fan base in Canada. His fan base is built on the fact he's very fun to watch, very hard hitting and very determined to stop his opponents. His intention to force stoppages has seen him scoring 6 straight T/KO victories (and stopping 9 of his last 10 bouts early). Sure he did suffer a surprise stoppage loss to Darnell Boone in 2010 but has already put that loss behind him and avenged it.
The big question here, is "Can Stevenson draw Dawson into a fight?" If he can he stands an excellent chance at stopping Dawson who could well be coming in to the bout mentally questioning himself following the Ward loss. If Dawson can box on the move (which he can do, but can also be too lazy to do) then he can out box Stevenson with ease, as long as he can avoid the Canadian's straight left hand.
Prediction-I think Dawson knows his career is on the line and he'll go up a gear, show more of those flashes he is capable of and take a very solid decision over Stevenson. If not his career is as good as over. UD12 Dawson.
Dawson, still the champion despite his loss last time out to Andre Ward (which was fought at 168lbs), is a fighter who at his best is genuinely brilliant. His resume reads very impressively with victories over Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, Adrian Diaconu and Tomasz Adamek though each victory holds it's own story. The likes of Hopkins, Tarver and Johnson were all old men, Adamek was killing himself at 175lbs and Diaconu bout was simply dreadful.
The problem with Dawson is that for all his talent (and trust me, he is talented) he never wants to show it for more than a few seconds at a time. His first loss, a technical decision to Jean Pascal saw Dawson do almost nothing until the final few rounds when he actually let his hands go and looked like a possible modern great. His second loss, a stoppage to Andre Ward started with Dawson looking decent then mentally he crumbled when he started to struggle to land on Ward.
If a fighter can force Dawson in to a fight we can some interesting action, though all too often Dawson is too negative to really engage in a battle, this weekend however may be different.
Adonis Stevenson isn't the talented boxer that Dawson is, no one would say that Stevenson is a boxer in all honesty. He's an aggressive, hard hitting and hungry fighter looking for his chance to finally make a name for himself.
Although Stevenson is coming up from Super Middleweight for this opportunity he's the home fighter and has a solid fan base in Canada. His fan base is built on the fact he's very fun to watch, very hard hitting and very determined to stop his opponents. His intention to force stoppages has seen him scoring 6 straight T/KO victories (and stopping 9 of his last 10 bouts early). Sure he did suffer a surprise stoppage loss to Darnell Boone in 2010 but has already put that loss behind him and avenged it.
The big question here, is "Can Stevenson draw Dawson into a fight?" If he can he stands an excellent chance at stopping Dawson who could well be coming in to the bout mentally questioning himself following the Ward loss. If Dawson can box on the move (which he can do, but can also be too lazy to do) then he can out box Stevenson with ease, as long as he can avoid the Canadian's straight left hand.
Prediction-I think Dawson knows his career is on the line and he'll go up a gear, show more of those flashes he is capable of and take a very solid decision over Stevenson. If not his career is as good as over. UD12 Dawson.
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