It's been a very long time since we saw a proverbial "passing of the torch" in the Heavyweight division. This weekend however does give us a chance at doing just that as unbeaten Russian Alexander Povektin (26-0, 18) finally faces Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51) in a long awaited battle for the title of Heavyweight Kingpin.
The 34 year old Russian, a former amateur stand out who won both the World Amateur and Olympic Gold medals, is a man on a mission. A mission that he was set when he first turned professional just over 8 years ago. To become the world Heavyweight champion.
It was, in the eyes of many a goal Povetkin looked set to do with ease when he first burst on to the professional ranks with a difficult schedule of matches that he made look easy. Unfortunately in recent years however he has gone, at least in the eyes of the media, from future king the court jester as bouts have fallen through whilst other, less interesting, bouts have managed to materialise.
When Povetkin should have been fighting the likes of Klitschko and David Haye he has been busy fighting old men like Hasim Rahman and Cedric Boswell. This has seen many fans, as well as media, turn away from Povetkin though it has looked at times like he's been fighting within himself with only Marco Huck really pushing him so far and we all know that Huck gives anyone a good fight.
With solid skills, decent power, decent speed and toughness Povetkin does look like a challenger who has the abilities to trouble anyone in the division. As well as those skills however Povetkin appears to have had a few jokers up his sleeve for this bout. Firstly it's in Moscow, the Russian capital where Povetkin will be a bigger fan favourite than Klitschko. This is a huge change to Klitschko's usual fights where he is the home fighter and the man who the fans are behind.
The second joker has been the mind games played by the Povetkin camp who have asked Dereck Chisora to observe the hand wrapping of Klitschko. After Klitschko and Chisora have had several run in's together this is a clever strategy of trying to throw the usually calm Klitschko.
The final one has been that Povetkin has actually shown up to this fight. In two prior meetings scheduled between these two Povetkin has pulled out, this time however the Russian is here and here to fight. This alone could throw Klitschko who may have been expecting another pull out from Russian.
Although Povetkin has got those jokers in his pocket it's fair to say that he will still need to get in the ring and beat the 37 year old Ukrainian, a man many have viewed as the premier Heavyweight for the better part of a decade.
Although Klitschko has made a career out of the jab and grab technique he is a highly skilled and powerful fighter himself with surprising hand speed, educated control of distance and a potent right hand. If that right lands clean most fighters will fall.
It's actually the grab part of Klitschko's tactics that lead me to thinking Povetkin will win here. Povetkin isn't a former Cruiserweight, like Haye or Moremeck, he's a strong, powerful Heavyweight who will be able to hold his own in the clinches. Povetkin also isn't a lazy fighter, he's a fighter who has shown a willingness to go to the well to retain his unbeaten record, as he did against Ruslan Chagaev and Marco Huck. I can see him showing that same heart and mental fortitude to get inside and despite being grabbed he will still unload on the inside slowly but surely out-working and breaking down Klitschko.
I know it's an outside bet but I'll be backing Povetkin by stoppage here!
Prediction-Povetkin TKO8
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Friday, 4 October 2013
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk v Rakhim Chakhkiev
The boxing weekend kicks off a few hours early this week as Russia hosts a Cruiserweight world title bout between WBC champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (47-2-1, 33) and highly regarded Russian Rakhim Chakhkiev (16-0, 12).
Chakhkiev, stepping up to the world level for the first time as a professional had been tipped for professional stardom following an excellent amateur career that included an Olympic gold medal and an World Amateur Championship silver medal. Sadly his rise to the top of the paid ranks has been slower than expected due to issues with promotional outfit Universum.
Having effectively wasted a year or so of his career with poor match ups the 30 year old Chakhkiev is finally being let off the leash and being given a chance to impress fans in his native Russia (having been based in Germany for his career so far).
Hard hitting, aggressively minded and highly skilled Chakhkiev is very fun to watch and destructive to both the head and body. Defensively he's not great but with his style he rarely needs to show off great defense instead living by the adage of "his offense is his best defense" and in all honesty his body shots take that much out of opponents that they are often too busy protecting themselves than to strike back.
Although Chakhkiev has yet to go the 12 round distance he has has recorded 2 decision victories over 10 rounds and scored a 9th round stoppage testing out his stamina as much as anything else. It's his stamina over 12 rounds that is quite possible the only real question mark over the man dubbed "The Machine".
In Wlodarczyk we have a very competent champion but yet an unimpressive one. He's a fighter who at his best looks like a really good fighter but all too often looks lazy, uninterested and like he's turning up for a sparring session as opposed to a fight. Sure he wins most fights but that also has something to do with favourable judging and weak opponents.
The Polish champion has certainly faced some stiff competition in his 50 fight career including twice facing Steve Cunningham (winning a controversial one and losing one), twice defeating Francisco Palacios and twice facing Giacobbe Fragomeni (winning one and drawing one). Though those fights have been interspersed with opponents like Jason Robinson and Dominique Alexander who really do not deserve to be in the ring with a world level opponent.
Although Wlodarczyk, known as "Diablo", can be made to look lazy he is tough and does hit extremely hard. His shots seemed to hurt Cunningham and have stopped both Fragomeni and Danny Green. He's dangerous and his lethargic fighting style arguably makes him more dangerous as you never really know when he's going to put his weight behind a shot.
As well as Wlodarczyk's power he has a solid jab and can use it well to keep opponents at range. He'll need to be able to use it well to keep Chakhkiev away or else he'll be in a world of pain, especially from the devastating body attack of the Russian.
Going in to this bout Chakhkiev is a strong betting favourite. Yes he's the man stepping up but on perceived talent and a Russian crowd behind him it's hard to see him losing.
Prediction-UD12 Chakhkiev
Chakhkiev, stepping up to the world level for the first time as a professional had been tipped for professional stardom following an excellent amateur career that included an Olympic gold medal and an World Amateur Championship silver medal. Sadly his rise to the top of the paid ranks has been slower than expected due to issues with promotional outfit Universum.
Having effectively wasted a year or so of his career with poor match ups the 30 year old Chakhkiev is finally being let off the leash and being given a chance to impress fans in his native Russia (having been based in Germany for his career so far).
Hard hitting, aggressively minded and highly skilled Chakhkiev is very fun to watch and destructive to both the head and body. Defensively he's not great but with his style he rarely needs to show off great defense instead living by the adage of "his offense is his best defense" and in all honesty his body shots take that much out of opponents that they are often too busy protecting themselves than to strike back.
Although Chakhkiev has yet to go the 12 round distance he has has recorded 2 decision victories over 10 rounds and scored a 9th round stoppage testing out his stamina as much as anything else. It's his stamina over 12 rounds that is quite possible the only real question mark over the man dubbed "The Machine".
In Wlodarczyk we have a very competent champion but yet an unimpressive one. He's a fighter who at his best looks like a really good fighter but all too often looks lazy, uninterested and like he's turning up for a sparring session as opposed to a fight. Sure he wins most fights but that also has something to do with favourable judging and weak opponents.
The Polish champion has certainly faced some stiff competition in his 50 fight career including twice facing Steve Cunningham (winning a controversial one and losing one), twice defeating Francisco Palacios and twice facing Giacobbe Fragomeni (winning one and drawing one). Though those fights have been interspersed with opponents like Jason Robinson and Dominique Alexander who really do not deserve to be in the ring with a world level opponent.
Although Wlodarczyk, known as "Diablo", can be made to look lazy he is tough and does hit extremely hard. His shots seemed to hurt Cunningham and have stopped both Fragomeni and Danny Green. He's dangerous and his lethargic fighting style arguably makes him more dangerous as you never really know when he's going to put his weight behind a shot.
As well as Wlodarczyk's power he has a solid jab and can use it well to keep opponents at range. He'll need to be able to use it well to keep Chakhkiev away or else he'll be in a world of pain, especially from the devastating body attack of the Russian.
Going in to this bout Chakhkiev is a strong betting favourite. Yes he's the man stepping up but on perceived talent and a Russian crowd behind him it's hard to see him losing.
Prediction-UD12 Chakhkiev
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Denis Lebedev v Guillermo Jones
WBA Cruiserweight title action sees former champion Guillermo Jones (?-?) attempt to recapture his old belt from Russian Denis Lebedev (?-?) in a bout that has been made...and than cancelled more often than Floyd Mayweather Jr has "taken vacations".
Now aged 41 years old what Jones has left is a bit of a mystery. He's looked good in his most recent fights stopping Firat Arslan, Valery Brudov and Michael Marrone but those bouts span almost 5 years and it really is a mystery as to what he has left in him.
At his best Jones was a tricky customer. He was big, powerful, fast, slippery and managed to land an amazing number of sneaky shots. He could look lazy but yet effective, clumsy but yet intelligent and hurt yet teak tough. In fact Jones has one of those styles which never looks good but also never lets his opponents look much good either.
Although Jones is 3-1-2 in world title fights many feel that he should be 6-0, his draws with Jhonny Nelson and Laurent Boudouani (who he also lost to) were all highly controversial and all came away from home. Even though he has had bad fortune on the road he's proven he isn't adverse to fighting away and has won fights in Venezuela, the USA and most notably German (where he stopped Arslan).
At "just" 33 years old Lebedev, the home fighter for this bout is significantly younger than the challenger though is also less experienced in terms of both professional bouts and professional rounds. Despite his relative inexperience Lebedev has proven to be a world class fighter mixing it with Enzo Maccarinelli, Alexander Alekseev and Marco Huck amongst others, with only Huck managing to score a victory over him (albeit controversially).
Lebedev is a small, powerful Cruiserweight who hits like a truck, uses very under-rated boxing skills and has an excellent killer instinct. He's shown a bit too much respect in some fights, notably his bout with Roy Jones, though when he lets his hands go he's a destructive force able to break bones and out man the tough men of the division.
Although Lebedev isn't one of the big names in world boxing he is one of the sports most genuinely exciting fighters. His power brings excitement, his toughness brings action and overall it's always a joy to watch him in a bout. This time around though he could be in for a tough night as he gives away an astonishing 5" in height.
The height difference between the two men will be drastic and a major disadvantage for Lebedev, who is a big betting favourite. In terms of skills it'd be fair to say that Jones is the more skilled man, Lebedev the more powerful, both are tough and both are proven and whilst the size is clearly an advantage for Jones the age is a clear disadvantage.
Prime for prime I'd have to go with Jones though now, with too many questions surrounding him I have to go with Lebedev who is fresher and won't have the ring rust or just general rust of Jones.
Prediction-Lebedev TKO10
Now aged 41 years old what Jones has left is a bit of a mystery. He's looked good in his most recent fights stopping Firat Arslan, Valery Brudov and Michael Marrone but those bouts span almost 5 years and it really is a mystery as to what he has left in him.
At his best Jones was a tricky customer. He was big, powerful, fast, slippery and managed to land an amazing number of sneaky shots. He could look lazy but yet effective, clumsy but yet intelligent and hurt yet teak tough. In fact Jones has one of those styles which never looks good but also never lets his opponents look much good either.
Although Jones is 3-1-2 in world title fights many feel that he should be 6-0, his draws with Jhonny Nelson and Laurent Boudouani (who he also lost to) were all highly controversial and all came away from home. Even though he has had bad fortune on the road he's proven he isn't adverse to fighting away and has won fights in Venezuela, the USA and most notably German (where he stopped Arslan).
At "just" 33 years old Lebedev, the home fighter for this bout is significantly younger than the challenger though is also less experienced in terms of both professional bouts and professional rounds. Despite his relative inexperience Lebedev has proven to be a world class fighter mixing it with Enzo Maccarinelli, Alexander Alekseev and Marco Huck amongst others, with only Huck managing to score a victory over him (albeit controversially).
Lebedev is a small, powerful Cruiserweight who hits like a truck, uses very under-rated boxing skills and has an excellent killer instinct. He's shown a bit too much respect in some fights, notably his bout with Roy Jones, though when he lets his hands go he's a destructive force able to break bones and out man the tough men of the division.
Although Lebedev isn't one of the big names in world boxing he is one of the sports most genuinely exciting fighters. His power brings excitement, his toughness brings action and overall it's always a joy to watch him in a bout. This time around though he could be in for a tough night as he gives away an astonishing 5" in height.
The height difference between the two men will be drastic and a major disadvantage for Lebedev, who is a big betting favourite. In terms of skills it'd be fair to say that Jones is the more skilled man, Lebedev the more powerful, both are tough and both are proven and whilst the size is clearly an advantage for Jones the age is a clear disadvantage.
Prime for prime I'd have to go with Jones though now, with too many questions surrounding him I have to go with Lebedev who is fresher and won't have the ring rust or just general rust of Jones.
Prediction-Lebedev TKO10
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Billy Dib v Evgeny Gradovich
Australian IBF Featherweight champion Billy Dib (35-1-0-1, 21) has become a bit of a forgotten man in the Featherweight division despite his world title. This weekend gives him a huge chance to make boxing fans remember his name as he travels to the US to face unbeaten US based Russian Evgeny Gradovich (15-0, 8) live on ESPN Friday Night Fights.
Going in to the fight Dib is the favourite, priced around 2/5, however for many this is based more on his experience than anything else. He's not shown himself to have world quality skills in fact in his only bout with a genuine world level fighter Dib was made to look genuinely poor as Steve Luevano literally abused him in the ring.
Whilst Dib does have a pretty looking record and a shiny title, his best victories haven't been great. In fact his best victory may well be his controversial decision victory over South African Zolani Marali back in 2008 or his stoppage over Mexican Eduardo Escobedo in 2012 (who retired after the 6th round). Not exactly the credentials of a top fighter in a division which has had real quality over the last few years.
To many Dib's most infamous bout was with Luevano back in 2008 for the WBO Featherweight title, in fact that was the last time Dib fought outside of his homeland. The performance of Dib against Luevano was poor and although the judges some how had the fight close he really showed little more than the ability to use his feet to get away from Luevano who rocked him numerous times. Saying that however Dib is an improved fighter and is now a fully fledged man at 27 years old. He still has the fast feet and has fast hands though his power is over-rated on his record and he's not a hugely strong fighter.
Whilst Dib may have the edge in professional experience the unbeaten Gradovich is certainly not a novice to the ring. As well as his 15 professional bouts (totaling 83 rounds) he also had a long amateur career (reportedly 160 fights) and has had quality sparring sessions at the Garcia gym with Robert Garcia.
As well as the amateur pedigree of Gradovich he's also got home advantage with the fight taking place in the US. Admittedly it's not in his home town, but he's closer to home than Dib who has had to travel overseas for this bout. Gradovich has been fighting through out the US since turning professional back in 2010 and to some he's seen as a US fighter.
The biggest issue for Gradovich may be due to his competition so far. I know I said that Dib lacks the quality of wins expected of a title holder, he still has much better wins that Gradovich who has faced very limited opposition so far with former world title challenger Francisco Leal probably being the the best name on his record. Despite this Gradovich does go into the bout with the confidence of being unbeaten and with the knowledge that he's the under-dog and has little expectation on his shoulders.
In terms of his style Gradovich fights much more like a Mexican than a Russian, hence his playful nickname of "The Mexican Russian", he throws a lot of punches and tries to break fighters both mentally and physically. He'll have to show his ability to cut the ring off against Dib, though if he can and if he can hammer away at the body of Dib, slowing the champions wheels, he may well force a stoppage late.
For Dib this fight is a must win fight. A loss here will see him almost banned from fighting in the US and with out a title few will be eager to face him. He knows the pressure will be on him, especially when you consider that promoter 50 Cent is backing him hard, however it maybe his promotional ties that help here with 50 Cent arguably having some pull. Saying that though, I don't know if he has enough to discourage the aggressive and hard working Russian.
Prediction- Gradovich by TKO11.
Betting-Gradovich to win can be got around 11/4 whilst Dib is 2/5
Going in to the fight Dib is the favourite, priced around 2/5, however for many this is based more on his experience than anything else. He's not shown himself to have world quality skills in fact in his only bout with a genuine world level fighter Dib was made to look genuinely poor as Steve Luevano literally abused him in the ring.
Whilst Dib does have a pretty looking record and a shiny title, his best victories haven't been great. In fact his best victory may well be his controversial decision victory over South African Zolani Marali back in 2008 or his stoppage over Mexican Eduardo Escobedo in 2012 (who retired after the 6th round). Not exactly the credentials of a top fighter in a division which has had real quality over the last few years.
To many Dib's most infamous bout was with Luevano back in 2008 for the WBO Featherweight title, in fact that was the last time Dib fought outside of his homeland. The performance of Dib against Luevano was poor and although the judges some how had the fight close he really showed little more than the ability to use his feet to get away from Luevano who rocked him numerous times. Saying that however Dib is an improved fighter and is now a fully fledged man at 27 years old. He still has the fast feet and has fast hands though his power is over-rated on his record and he's not a hugely strong fighter.
Whilst Dib may have the edge in professional experience the unbeaten Gradovich is certainly not a novice to the ring. As well as his 15 professional bouts (totaling 83 rounds) he also had a long amateur career (reportedly 160 fights) and has had quality sparring sessions at the Garcia gym with Robert Garcia.
As well as the amateur pedigree of Gradovich he's also got home advantage with the fight taking place in the US. Admittedly it's not in his home town, but he's closer to home than Dib who has had to travel overseas for this bout. Gradovich has been fighting through out the US since turning professional back in 2010 and to some he's seen as a US fighter.
The biggest issue for Gradovich may be due to his competition so far. I know I said that Dib lacks the quality of wins expected of a title holder, he still has much better wins that Gradovich who has faced very limited opposition so far with former world title challenger Francisco Leal probably being the the best name on his record. Despite this Gradovich does go into the bout with the confidence of being unbeaten and with the knowledge that he's the under-dog and has little expectation on his shoulders.
In terms of his style Gradovich fights much more like a Mexican than a Russian, hence his playful nickname of "The Mexican Russian", he throws a lot of punches and tries to break fighters both mentally and physically. He'll have to show his ability to cut the ring off against Dib, though if he can and if he can hammer away at the body of Dib, slowing the champions wheels, he may well force a stoppage late.
For Dib this fight is a must win fight. A loss here will see him almost banned from fighting in the US and with out a title few will be eager to face him. He knows the pressure will be on him, especially when you consider that promoter 50 Cent is backing him hard, however it maybe his promotional ties that help here with 50 Cent arguably having some pull. Saying that though, I don't know if he has enough to discourage the aggressive and hard working Russian.
Prediction- Gradovich by TKO11.
Betting-Gradovich to win can be got around 11/4 whilst Dib is 2/5
Monday, 17 December 2012
Denis Lebedev v Santander Silgado
Exciting Russian Cruiserweight Denis Lebedev (24-1, 18) makes the first defense of his WBA title later today as he faced unbeaten power puncher Santander Silgado (23-0, 18) in a bout that promises fireworks. Despite this bout generally being one that has gone under-the-radar I'm certainly expecting a very fun to watch bout that really could be over if you blink.
The hard hitting Lebedev got upgraded from the interim champion just a few months ago after Panamanian Guillermo Jones was eventually stripped by the WBA who had seemingly gotten bored of his antics (including pulling out of fights on a regular basis).
For many fans of the sport the Cruiserweight division has slowly become one of the top divisions in the sport thanks to the combination of exciting fights and fun to watch fighters such as Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Marco Huck and Lebedev. In fact many fan of the sport consider Lebedev to be the best of the bunch with his only loss being a very highly debated decision loss to Huck in a bout that most felt the Russian has won.
Lebedev combines genuine toughness with both power and skill. He's not the quickest guy in the division or even the biggest but his all round ability and genuinely hurtful shots have made him his name. What has also helped has been his notable scalps including former WBO champion Enzo Maccarinelli, once top amateur Alexander Alekseev and American legends Roy Jones Jr and James Toney (both admittedly well beyond their sell by date).
Despite being 33 years old Lebedev is a young 33 with just 132 rounds under his belt though a lot of this has to do with his power which is genuinely devastating. He can score stoppages both with stunning 1-punch KO power or by grinding opponents down which helps make him a dangerous fighter, every punch he lands hurts.
With plenty known about how good Lebedev is, the real question about this fight is just how good is Santander Silgado? The American based Colombian has a very similar looking record to Lebedev with a actually a higher KO% though though sadly these have been coming at a much lower level, with Silgado actually struggling when he has stepped up to face some more established fighters. Interestingly the Colombian has had to go the distance in his last 3 fights, all in the US against limited opponents.
Sadly, as we all know with Colombians it's hard to really judge just how powerful they actually are due to inflated records from fighting at home. Oddly with Silgado we've actually seen him fighting around the world (having fought in Colombia, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Germany and the USA) however he does have a 10-0 (10) record in Colombia, as opposed to the 13-0 (8) away from the land of his birth.
If Silgado goes in to this thinking he's the puncher he'll be wrong, if he thinks he's the boxer I'd again guess that he'd be wrong. Lebedev is just better in every which way and I'd be shocked if Silgado manages to do much other than get sparked out with a KO of the year contender.
Prediction-Lebedev KO5
The hard hitting Lebedev got upgraded from the interim champion just a few months ago after Panamanian Guillermo Jones was eventually stripped by the WBA who had seemingly gotten bored of his antics (including pulling out of fights on a regular basis).
For many fans of the sport the Cruiserweight division has slowly become one of the top divisions in the sport thanks to the combination of exciting fights and fun to watch fighters such as Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Marco Huck and Lebedev. In fact many fan of the sport consider Lebedev to be the best of the bunch with his only loss being a very highly debated decision loss to Huck in a bout that most felt the Russian has won.
Lebedev combines genuine toughness with both power and skill. He's not the quickest guy in the division or even the biggest but his all round ability and genuinely hurtful shots have made him his name. What has also helped has been his notable scalps including former WBO champion Enzo Maccarinelli, once top amateur Alexander Alekseev and American legends Roy Jones Jr and James Toney (both admittedly well beyond their sell by date).
Despite being 33 years old Lebedev is a young 33 with just 132 rounds under his belt though a lot of this has to do with his power which is genuinely devastating. He can score stoppages both with stunning 1-punch KO power or by grinding opponents down which helps make him a dangerous fighter, every punch he lands hurts.
With plenty known about how good Lebedev is, the real question about this fight is just how good is Santander Silgado? The American based Colombian has a very similar looking record to Lebedev with a actually a higher KO% though though sadly these have been coming at a much lower level, with Silgado actually struggling when he has stepped up to face some more established fighters. Interestingly the Colombian has had to go the distance in his last 3 fights, all in the US against limited opponents.
Sadly, as we all know with Colombians it's hard to really judge just how powerful they actually are due to inflated records from fighting at home. Oddly with Silgado we've actually seen him fighting around the world (having fought in Colombia, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Germany and the USA) however he does have a 10-0 (10) record in Colombia, as opposed to the 13-0 (8) away from the land of his birth.
If Silgado goes in to this thinking he's the puncher he'll be wrong, if he thinks he's the boxer I'd again guess that he'd be wrong. Lebedev is just better in every which way and I'd be shocked if Silgado manages to do much other than get sparked out with a KO of the year contender.
Prediction-Lebedev KO5
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Zaurbek Baysangurov v Lukas Konecny
Despite the fact that 3 of this weekends world title bouts take place in the lower weight divisions, arguably the most exciting takes place in the Light Middleweight division as WBO Light Middleweight champion Zaurbek Baysangurov (27-1, 20) faces the always fun to watch Lukas Konecny (48-3, 23).
The 27 year old Baysangurov will be seeking his second successful title defense since being seeing his interim status upgraded to full champion earlier this year. In his first defense he was less than convincing against the unheralded Frenchman Michel Soro, however he showed his experience late in the bout to take a close but clear decision.
Baysangurov really made his name as an amateur where he excelled in the cadets and juniors winning various national and international titles including the 2001 European Cadet Championships and the 2003 European Junior Championships, before turning professional in 2004. As a young professional he rose through the ranks quickly and claimed various titles including the IBF Youth Middleweight title (in his 11th bout), the WBC International Light Middleweight title (in his 15th fight) and the European Light Middleweight title (in his 16th bout) before suffering a notable upset loss to Cornelius Bundrage in 2008.
Since suffering the sole loss of his professional career Baysangurov has rebuilt well. He has strung together 8 wins (6 by T/KO) however the quality of the opponents is questionable with Soro being the stand out amongst them. Despite the quality (or rather lack of) of Baysangurov's opponents in recent times he has claimed both the WBA Inter-Continental Light Middleweight title and of course, more notably, the WBO world title.
In terms of talent, Baysangurov is a very talented fighter, but I'm not sure I'd describe him as being genuine "world class". He has shown his vulnerabilities in the past, not only suffering the stoppage to Bundrage but also being dropped by Soro and Marco Antonio Rubio (and possibly others) which is quite worrying and probably explains the weak recent opposition he's been facing. Despite this he does hit very hard himself and can hurt almost any fighter if he lands clean.
The challenger, Czech Lukas Konecny has been one of boxing's most over-looked fighters over the last decade and despite not being a really well known name has scored notable victories. Despite being around since 2001 Konecny hasn't really had a defining win, however he does have a number of credible wins including victories over the likes of Siarhei Khomitski, Matthew Hall, Khoren Gevor (twice) and Roman Dzhuman.
Despite having several good wins on his record, Konecny has had 2 issues with his career. The first of those is that he's had to travel to get his most notable bouts. So far in his career he has fought in Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Russia and the United Kingdom. Sadly this leads to the other issue, when your forced to fight away from home you often suffer some unfortunate losses and that's what happened to Konecny. So far all of his losses have come away from home.With losses coming in Spain (to Ruben Varon, by Split decision), Italy (to Michele Piccirillo by unanimous decision) and in Germany (to Serhiy Dzinziruk by majority decision, with judge Clark Sammartino having a ridiculous card of 118-110).
Whilst Konecny may be described as a journeyman due to his need to travel to the opponents backyard, he is anything but a journeyman in fighting style. He's a very intelligent pressure fighter who throws a lot and generally lands a lot grinding opponents down with a very solid work rate and a determined mindset. Whilst he's not a massive puncher, he is an exciting fighter who has hurtful stinging power on his punches and often refuses to take a backwards step.
So now on to this fight, I really like Konecny and to see him with a world title would genuinely be nice after the career he's had and I'll be honest I think he may just nick this on work rate in a genuinely enthralling fight that ebbs and flows. Baysangurov certainly has the ability to to make life difficult for pretty much anyone at Light Middleweight however I don't think he has that "world class" ability needed to do more than just make life difficult. At 34 years old however Konecny may well just have a slid a bit too much and his work may just lack the snap that it once had.
The 27 year old Baysangurov will be seeking his second successful title defense since being seeing his interim status upgraded to full champion earlier this year. In his first defense he was less than convincing against the unheralded Frenchman Michel Soro, however he showed his experience late in the bout to take a close but clear decision.
Baysangurov really made his name as an amateur where he excelled in the cadets and juniors winning various national and international titles including the 2001 European Cadet Championships and the 2003 European Junior Championships, before turning professional in 2004. As a young professional he rose through the ranks quickly and claimed various titles including the IBF Youth Middleweight title (in his 11th bout), the WBC International Light Middleweight title (in his 15th fight) and the European Light Middleweight title (in his 16th bout) before suffering a notable upset loss to Cornelius Bundrage in 2008.
Since suffering the sole loss of his professional career Baysangurov has rebuilt well. He has strung together 8 wins (6 by T/KO) however the quality of the opponents is questionable with Soro being the stand out amongst them. Despite the quality (or rather lack of) of Baysangurov's opponents in recent times he has claimed both the WBA Inter-Continental Light Middleweight title and of course, more notably, the WBO world title.
In terms of talent, Baysangurov is a very talented fighter, but I'm not sure I'd describe him as being genuine "world class". He has shown his vulnerabilities in the past, not only suffering the stoppage to Bundrage but also being dropped by Soro and Marco Antonio Rubio (and possibly others) which is quite worrying and probably explains the weak recent opposition he's been facing. Despite this he does hit very hard himself and can hurt almost any fighter if he lands clean.
The challenger, Czech Lukas Konecny has been one of boxing's most over-looked fighters over the last decade and despite not being a really well known name has scored notable victories. Despite being around since 2001 Konecny hasn't really had a defining win, however he does have a number of credible wins including victories over the likes of Siarhei Khomitski, Matthew Hall, Khoren Gevor (twice) and Roman Dzhuman.
Despite having several good wins on his record, Konecny has had 2 issues with his career. The first of those is that he's had to travel to get his most notable bouts. So far in his career he has fought in Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Russia and the United Kingdom. Sadly this leads to the other issue, when your forced to fight away from home you often suffer some unfortunate losses and that's what happened to Konecny. So far all of his losses have come away from home.With losses coming in Spain (to Ruben Varon, by Split decision), Italy (to Michele Piccirillo by unanimous decision) and in Germany (to Serhiy Dzinziruk by majority decision, with judge Clark Sammartino having a ridiculous card of 118-110).
Whilst Konecny may be described as a journeyman due to his need to travel to the opponents backyard, he is anything but a journeyman in fighting style. He's a very intelligent pressure fighter who throws a lot and generally lands a lot grinding opponents down with a very solid work rate and a determined mindset. Whilst he's not a massive puncher, he is an exciting fighter who has hurtful stinging power on his punches and often refuses to take a backwards step.
So now on to this fight, I really like Konecny and to see him with a world title would genuinely be nice after the career he's had and I'll be honest I think he may just nick this on work rate in a genuinely enthralling fight that ebbs and flows. Baysangurov certainly has the ability to to make life difficult for pretty much anyone at Light Middleweight however I don't think he has that "world class" ability needed to do more than just make life difficult. At 34 years old however Konecny may well just have a slid a bit too much and his work may just lack the snap that it once had.
Monday, 3 September 2012
Vitali Klitschko v Manuel Charr
Despite the Heavyweight division being much maligned by both the fans of the actual sport and those that still think Mike Tyson is the champion (trust me there is some of those folk still out there) it's genuinely accepted that the Ukrainian Klitschko Brothers are the #1 and #2 at the weight. This weekend sees the older of the Klitschko's, Vitali (44-2, 40) defending his WBC Heavyweight title against unbeaten challenger Manuel Charr (21-0, 11) in Moscow.
The challenger, significantly the younger man at "just" 27 years old, is widely seen to be a sacrificial lamb as the 41 year old Vitali looks to top off his long and illustrious career with yet another win, however does the man known as "The Diamond Boy" have a chance of a giant upset as age catches up with the champion?
Born in Syria though now based in Germany Charr has been quietly making his name since turning professional in 2005. Though without any spectacular wins to date he has been scoring what could be described "decent" wins over the likes of Gbenga Oloukun (at the time 16-0, 10), Owen Beck (a former world title challenger), Danny Williams (another former title challenger) and Taras Bidenko (who gave the gigantic Nikolay Valuev a competitive bout). Though admittedly the likes of Williams and Beck were several years removed from their best.
Although Charr is unbeaten he hasn't had been fighting against any fellow contenders instead picking off fighters who are either journeymen or noticeably beyond their best years. One of those journeymen, American Zack Page, gave Charr all he could handle at the end of 2010 and Charr should feel fortunate to have come away from that bout with a majority decision as he was pushed close to his first professional loss. Whilst the stoppage of British veteran Danny Williams was questionable at best.
At around 6'3" Charr will be dwarfed in the ring and at around 240-250lbs he's not a fighter in great shape often looking rather doughy. His work rate is far from spectacular and his defense is sloppy at best with a lot of his own attacking work looking more like slaps than real punches however he's a fighter who appears to be confident having already said he will "destroy" Vitali Klitschko and David Haye. In fact Charr has to take credit for having serious balls having walked up to David Haye and challenged him at the press conference after Haye had defeated Dereck Chisora. Testicular fortitude aside Charr appears to have little else going for him.
At 41 years old Vitali Klitschko is significantly older than his challenger and with 46 professional bouts on his record he also has much more experience. However this experience has come at a price and through his illustrious career he has picked up various injuries including a torn rotator cuff, torn ligaments and a badly damaged knee (which forced an early retirement from the sport in 2005 before making a comeback several years later).
Klitschko's professional career started way back in 1996 and has seen him becoming a 3-time champion at Heavyweight having held the WBO title (1999-2000) and the WBC title (2004-2005, 2008-) and scoring notable victories over Herbie Hide, Larry Donald, Corrie Sanders, Samuel Peter, Juan Carlos Gomez, Shannon Briggs, Odlanier Solis, Chris Arreola, T omasz Adamek and most recently Dereck Chisora. However he has had set backs including not only his short lived retirement but also losses to Chris Byrd (due to the aforementioned torn rotator cuff) and Lennox Lewis (due to serious cuts). As well as the set backs he hasn't really been accepted by certain quarters of the boxing community who have failed to accept him as a high quality operator in the ring.
Standing at a lofty 6'7" and coming in to the ring in the region of 240-250 Klitschko has an excellent build which is athletic and rangy. It's the range and size of Klitschko that has caused so many opponents real issues in the past with his busy and heavy jab controlling the range and pace of a fight. Not only is Klitschko awkward due to his reach but also his unorthodox style which sees him throwing punches from unusual angles whilst avoid shots with upper body movements.
Charr is the clear under-dog (priced as high as 24/1 by one Sportsbook) and with good reason. Not only is he taking a massive step up to face Klitschko but he has shown nothing that Klitschko will fear. He's not shown to be capable of doing anything outstanding and he's looked to just be very average in an era of poor Heavyweight challengers. For Charr to win he would quite frankly need a miracle.
For Klitschko (best priced at 1/33) this looks like a routine title defense against a poor challenger. In fact without being facetious I honestly feel Klitschko could win this with an arm tied behind his back. Expect to see the Ukrainian's jab breaking not only the defense of the challenger (with an alarming regularity) but also his will before Charr gets stopped in the latter half of the bout (if he makes it that far). Don't be surprised however to see Charr starting very brightly....until he gets hit and goes progressively into his shell before taking a beating and wilting.
Prediction: Klitschko by T/KO 8 (priced at around 9/1)
The challenger, significantly the younger man at "just" 27 years old, is widely seen to be a sacrificial lamb as the 41 year old Vitali looks to top off his long and illustrious career with yet another win, however does the man known as "The Diamond Boy" have a chance of a giant upset as age catches up with the champion?
Born in Syria though now based in Germany Charr has been quietly making his name since turning professional in 2005. Though without any spectacular wins to date he has been scoring what could be described "decent" wins over the likes of Gbenga Oloukun (at the time 16-0, 10), Owen Beck (a former world title challenger), Danny Williams (another former title challenger) and Taras Bidenko (who gave the gigantic Nikolay Valuev a competitive bout). Though admittedly the likes of Williams and Beck were several years removed from their best.
Although Charr is unbeaten he hasn't had been fighting against any fellow contenders instead picking off fighters who are either journeymen or noticeably beyond their best years. One of those journeymen, American Zack Page, gave Charr all he could handle at the end of 2010 and Charr should feel fortunate to have come away from that bout with a majority decision as he was pushed close to his first professional loss. Whilst the stoppage of British veteran Danny Williams was questionable at best.
At around 6'3" Charr will be dwarfed in the ring and at around 240-250lbs he's not a fighter in great shape often looking rather doughy. His work rate is far from spectacular and his defense is sloppy at best with a lot of his own attacking work looking more like slaps than real punches however he's a fighter who appears to be confident having already said he will "destroy" Vitali Klitschko and David Haye. In fact Charr has to take credit for having serious balls having walked up to David Haye and challenged him at the press conference after Haye had defeated Dereck Chisora. Testicular fortitude aside Charr appears to have little else going for him.
At 41 years old Vitali Klitschko is significantly older than his challenger and with 46 professional bouts on his record he also has much more experience. However this experience has come at a price and through his illustrious career he has picked up various injuries including a torn rotator cuff, torn ligaments and a badly damaged knee (which forced an early retirement from the sport in 2005 before making a comeback several years later).
Klitschko's professional career started way back in 1996 and has seen him becoming a 3-time champion at Heavyweight having held the WBO title (1999-2000) and the WBC title (2004-2005, 2008-) and scoring notable victories over Herbie Hide, Larry Donald, Corrie Sanders, Samuel Peter, Juan Carlos Gomez, Shannon Briggs, Odlanier Solis, Chris Arreola, T omasz Adamek and most recently Dereck Chisora. However he has had set backs including not only his short lived retirement but also losses to Chris Byrd (due to the aforementioned torn rotator cuff) and Lennox Lewis (due to serious cuts). As well as the set backs he hasn't really been accepted by certain quarters of the boxing community who have failed to accept him as a high quality operator in the ring.
Standing at a lofty 6'7" and coming in to the ring in the region of 240-250 Klitschko has an excellent build which is athletic and rangy. It's the range and size of Klitschko that has caused so many opponents real issues in the past with his busy and heavy jab controlling the range and pace of a fight. Not only is Klitschko awkward due to his reach but also his unorthodox style which sees him throwing punches from unusual angles whilst avoid shots with upper body movements.
Charr is the clear under-dog (priced as high as 24/1 by one Sportsbook) and with good reason. Not only is he taking a massive step up to face Klitschko but he has shown nothing that Klitschko will fear. He's not shown to be capable of doing anything outstanding and he's looked to just be very average in an era of poor Heavyweight challengers. For Charr to win he would quite frankly need a miracle.
For Klitschko (best priced at 1/33) this looks like a routine title defense against a poor challenger. In fact without being facetious I honestly feel Klitschko could win this with an arm tied behind his back. Expect to see the Ukrainian's jab breaking not only the defense of the challenger (with an alarming regularity) but also his will before Charr gets stopped in the latter half of the bout (if he makes it that far). Don't be surprised however to see Charr starting very brightly....until he gets hit and goes progressively into his shell before taking a beating and wilting.
Prediction: Klitschko by T/KO 8 (priced at around 9/1)
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