This coming weekend young Mexican Leo Santa Cruz (20-0-1, 11) will make the first defense of IBF Bantamweight title as he faces Puerto Rican veteran Eric Morel (46-3, 23) in a bout that it is expected by many to help propel Santa Cruz to the next level.
The 24 year old Santa Cruz is tipped by many as one of the top young Mexican's in the sport and with huge potential to become a star, despite the fact he fights in the lower divisions. So far his rise has been genuinely swift and incredibly impressive.
Santa Cruz debuted in late 2006 aged just 18 and first started to make a name for himself in 2011 as he stopped tough Belgian Stephane Jamoye (KO6) with a devastating body shot. Since then Santa Cruz's rise to the top has been remarkable and thoroughly impressive with victories over former "interim" world champion Jose Lopez (not to be confused Josesito Lopez) and former title contenders Everth Briceno, Alejandro Hernandez and Vusi Malinga.
Despite being young and relatively inexperienced (certainly when compared to his challenger) Santa Cruz is a fighter who has been compared to Antonio Magarito with his superb work rate and relentless pressure as well as in your face mentality. Like Margarito, Santa Cruz isn't an out and out destructive puncher (though his body shots are devastating) but will grind opponents down and break them, both physically and mentally. Whilst he's certainly not a slickster his defense is under-rated and he appears to be very durable.
At 36 years old Eric Morel, the challenger, is a true veteran having fought professional since 1996 and as well as being experienced he's a born survivor in the ring having never been stopped and really even being hurt.
Morel first made his name in the sport in 2000 when he claimed the WBA Flyweight title by defeating Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym. He would keep this title for 3 years making 5 defenses against the likes of Alberto Ontiveros, Gilberto Keb Baas and Denkaosan Kaovichit before losing to Venezuelan Lorenzo Parra. A little over a year after suffering his first professional loss, Morel attempted to claim the WBA Super Flyweight title from Martin Castillo though was widely beaten by Castillo. Following this loss Morel's would spend much of the following 3 years out of the ring following a sexual assault of a 15 year girl.
Having returned to the ring in 2008 Morel would run off a number of wins over lower level opponents before controversially defeating Filipino legend Gerry Penalosa in a bout that most watching felt Penalosa clearly deserved. The win over Penalosa saw Morel claiming the interim WBO Bantamweight title, a title that Morel would never defend instead choosing to fight above the 118lb Bantamweight limit.
In his most recent bout to date Morel lost to the highly regarded Mexican Abner Mares. Despite dominating the bout Mares failed to score a stoppage against Morel who seemed determined to do little more than survive. Despite having an impressive looking record (46-3, 23) and never being stopped Morel has never been an exceptional fighter. He used to have good speed and respectable power however at Bantamweight he really doesn't hit hard and at 37 he's not as fleet on his feet as he once was.
Whilst Morel has never been stopped he did seem on the verge of being stopped by Mares and against Santa Cruz I imagine we could similar scene. Morel is an old man (especially at the lower weights) and with Santa Cruz's relentless offense and refusal to back away added to his lethal body shots, I actually see Santa Cruz becoming the first man to stop Morel. Whilst I do genuinely like Santa Cruz I don't want fans to get too excited by a performance over the old Morel, even if the Mexican does manage to force a late stoppage.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO10
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Antonio DeMarco v John Molina
Some fights just ooze excitement and the upcoming WBC Lightweight title bout between champion Antonio DeMarco (27-2-1, 20) and highly rated challenger John Molina (24-1, 19) looks like a real show stealer this coming weekend.
At 29 years old American challenger John Molina will know that this is likely to be his big chance at making a name for himself having spent much of his career fighting on things like ESPN Friday Night Fights and ShoBox: The New Generation. Winning a world title won't out and out make him a global boxing star but it will open doors to him and of course bring in much bigger pay days than he's ever likely to get otherwise.
Molina made his professional debut back in 2006 when he defeated Lester Balmores (KO2) and was kept active through out the early part of his career with 9 fights in his first 21 months as a professional. Whilst none of those 9 bouts were huge he did manage to stop the then 7-0 Eddie Brooks in a note-worthy victory.
It was in 2009 that Molina started to get the attention of the boxing world as he started to score a number of notable victories over more well known names including former Commonwealth title contender Joshua Allotey (KO3) and veterans Frankie Archuleta (TKO2) and Efren Hinojosa (KO1). Those wins saw Molina moving to 18-0 (14) and proving that he was a deadly body puncher with many of his stoppages coming after stunning body blows.
Having began to get on a roll Molina was unexpectedly beaten by veteran former title challenger Martin Honorio. Honorio managed to dominate Molina as he used his jab, movement and right hands to the body to upset Molina's momentum whilst Molina himself failed to really get going. Thankfully for Molina it took him little time to recover from his loss and less than 8 months later he scored a notable upset himself stopping the then unbeaten and highly regarded prospect Henry Lundy on ESPN Friday Night Fights. This victory earned Lundy the WBO NABO Lightweight title and solid world ranking. Following the victory over Lundy we've seen Molina score 3 more victories and move his professional record to 24-1 (19). Going into this bout he is the #15th ranked Lightweight according to the WBC (who oddly rank Lundy at #10).
In terms of his style Molina isn't the most skilled (far from it in all honesty) but he's incredibly tough, heavy handed and throws brilliant body shots. Despite being a rather rangy Lightweight (standing around 5'10" an with a 72" reach) Molina likes to fight up close with his fights often becoming a "you hit me, I hit you" affair with his his size and power generally winning. As well as not being the most skilled he's not particularly fast (with either his feet or hands) and he can be out boxed (as Honorio did and as Lundy was doing for a number of rounds) in fat he often looks lumbering when forced to chance opponents.
At 26 years old the Champion Antonio DeMarco is the younger man but he's also a fighter, like the challenger who gives a lot of excitement despite being rather technically limited and that's why some, myself included, are very excited by this bout.
Despite being younger than the challenger DeMarco has been around longer having made his debut back in 2004 when he was just 18. Despite his early start in the sport it wasn't until 2008 that DeMarco started to make a name for himself, helped in part to an appearance on ShoBox: The New Generation where DeMarco defeated the then unbeaten Juan Castaneda Jr. The victory over Castaneda was followed by a decision victory over the then highly ranked Jose Reyes on ESPN Friday Night Fights. Those two victories really started to put DeMarco into some limelight and started his run up the rankings.
Having made a name for himself in 2008 DeMarco continued his rise with televised victories over Almazbek Raiymkulov (better known as "Kid Diamond"), Anges Adjaho and Jose Alfaro with the victory over Alfaro actually earning DeMarco the WBC interim Lightweight title. DeMarco's winning ways however would come to an end in his next fight as he took a beating from the WBC's full champion Edwin Valero (in what would be Valero's final bout).
The loss to Valero would have finished lesser fighters however DeMarco bounced back from the loss just 5 months later as he defeated Daniel Attah (TKO2) and then followed it up with a victory over Reyes Sanchez (UD12). The victory over Sanchez saw DeMarco become the WBC #1 contender and after Humberto Soto moved up to Light Welterweight we saw DeMarco facing the ultra talented Jorge Linares in a bout for the vacant WBC Lightweight title. Against Linares, DeMarco was clearly out boxed for the 5 rounds however he fought his way back into the bout and eventually ground down a bloodied Linares in round 11 to claim the WBC title.
Since winning the title in October against Linares, DeMarco has defended his belt once viciously stopping Miguel Roman in eye catching fashion. He now looks to secure his second defense inside a year by facing Molina.
Like Molina, DeMarco isn't hugely skilled, he's not a particularly versatile fighter or a fast fighter but he's teak tough (as shown in his battle with Valero) and and happy to walk throw punches to grind down opponents (as shown against Linares). He hits incredibly hard, is accurate and is capable of wearing most opponents down. He's certainly there to be hit but would likely fancy his chances in a war with any top Lightweight as long as they will stand and trade with him.
On paper this looks like a thriller. We have two fighters with power who like to mix it up and depend on their chin and power to win bouts rather than out boxing opponents. This is guaranteed to be a tear up. With this in mind there is only 1 winner, DeMarco is just the more powerful and tougher man, however this will be hugely fun for as long as it lasts.
Prediction- DeMarco by TKO 6 in an all action bout between two guys who will trade off early before DaMarco grinds down the challenger.
At 29 years old American challenger John Molina will know that this is likely to be his big chance at making a name for himself having spent much of his career fighting on things like ESPN Friday Night Fights and ShoBox: The New Generation. Winning a world title won't out and out make him a global boxing star but it will open doors to him and of course bring in much bigger pay days than he's ever likely to get otherwise.
Molina made his professional debut back in 2006 when he defeated Lester Balmores (KO2) and was kept active through out the early part of his career with 9 fights in his first 21 months as a professional. Whilst none of those 9 bouts were huge he did manage to stop the then 7-0 Eddie Brooks in a note-worthy victory.
It was in 2009 that Molina started to get the attention of the boxing world as he started to score a number of notable victories over more well known names including former Commonwealth title contender Joshua Allotey (KO3) and veterans Frankie Archuleta (TKO2) and Efren Hinojosa (KO1). Those wins saw Molina moving to 18-0 (14) and proving that he was a deadly body puncher with many of his stoppages coming after stunning body blows.
Having began to get on a roll Molina was unexpectedly beaten by veteran former title challenger Martin Honorio. Honorio managed to dominate Molina as he used his jab, movement and right hands to the body to upset Molina's momentum whilst Molina himself failed to really get going. Thankfully for Molina it took him little time to recover from his loss and less than 8 months later he scored a notable upset himself stopping the then unbeaten and highly regarded prospect Henry Lundy on ESPN Friday Night Fights. This victory earned Lundy the WBO NABO Lightweight title and solid world ranking. Following the victory over Lundy we've seen Molina score 3 more victories and move his professional record to 24-1 (19). Going into this bout he is the #15th ranked Lightweight according to the WBC (who oddly rank Lundy at #10).
In terms of his style Molina isn't the most skilled (far from it in all honesty) but he's incredibly tough, heavy handed and throws brilliant body shots. Despite being a rather rangy Lightweight (standing around 5'10" an with a 72" reach) Molina likes to fight up close with his fights often becoming a "you hit me, I hit you" affair with his his size and power generally winning. As well as not being the most skilled he's not particularly fast (with either his feet or hands) and he can be out boxed (as Honorio did and as Lundy was doing for a number of rounds) in fat he often looks lumbering when forced to chance opponents.
At 26 years old the Champion Antonio DeMarco is the younger man but he's also a fighter, like the challenger who gives a lot of excitement despite being rather technically limited and that's why some, myself included, are very excited by this bout.
Despite being younger than the challenger DeMarco has been around longer having made his debut back in 2004 when he was just 18. Despite his early start in the sport it wasn't until 2008 that DeMarco started to make a name for himself, helped in part to an appearance on ShoBox: The New Generation where DeMarco defeated the then unbeaten Juan Castaneda Jr. The victory over Castaneda was followed by a decision victory over the then highly ranked Jose Reyes on ESPN Friday Night Fights. Those two victories really started to put DeMarco into some limelight and started his run up the rankings.
Having made a name for himself in 2008 DeMarco continued his rise with televised victories over Almazbek Raiymkulov (better known as "Kid Diamond"), Anges Adjaho and Jose Alfaro with the victory over Alfaro actually earning DeMarco the WBC interim Lightweight title. DeMarco's winning ways however would come to an end in his next fight as he took a beating from the WBC's full champion Edwin Valero (in what would be Valero's final bout).
The loss to Valero would have finished lesser fighters however DeMarco bounced back from the loss just 5 months later as he defeated Daniel Attah (TKO2) and then followed it up with a victory over Reyes Sanchez (UD12). The victory over Sanchez saw DeMarco become the WBC #1 contender and after Humberto Soto moved up to Light Welterweight we saw DeMarco facing the ultra talented Jorge Linares in a bout for the vacant WBC Lightweight title. Against Linares, DeMarco was clearly out boxed for the 5 rounds however he fought his way back into the bout and eventually ground down a bloodied Linares in round 11 to claim the WBC title.
Since winning the title in October against Linares, DeMarco has defended his belt once viciously stopping Miguel Roman in eye catching fashion. He now looks to secure his second defense inside a year by facing Molina.
Like Molina, DeMarco isn't hugely skilled, he's not a particularly versatile fighter or a fast fighter but he's teak tough (as shown in his battle with Valero) and and happy to walk throw punches to grind down opponents (as shown against Linares). He hits incredibly hard, is accurate and is capable of wearing most opponents down. He's certainly there to be hit but would likely fancy his chances in a war with any top Lightweight as long as they will stand and trade with him.
On paper this looks like a thriller. We have two fighters with power who like to mix it up and depend on their chin and power to win bouts rather than out boxing opponents. This is guaranteed to be a tear up. With this in mind there is only 1 winner, DeMarco is just the more powerful and tougher man, however this will be hugely fun for as long as it lasts.
Prediction- DeMarco by TKO 6 in an all action bout between two guys who will trade off early before DaMarco grinds down the challenger.
Friday, 7 September 2012
Lucas Martin Matthysse v Ajose Olusegun
Like everyone else who follows boxing I hate "interim" titles. Whilst I agree in principle with them, they have become incredible misused, especially in recent times where every division appears to have an "interim" by the WBA or the WBO as the organisations look to cash in on an extra stream of revenue. This weekend however we have an "interim" title bout that is hard to argue with, in fact it's slightly shocking that neither man is a world champion already.
In one corner we have the exciting and highly rated Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse (31-2-0-1, 29) and in the other we have the unbeaten Nigerian born British citizen Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14). Both men probably should already have had multiple opportunities at titles though, for one reason or another neither man has been crowned a "world champion" so far.
Firstly lets look at the Argentinian. The 29 year old from Buenos Aires is the younger of the two fighters but also the smaller, more powerful man, in fact one a pound-for-pound ranking Matthysse would ranking up amongst the best for his power. Unlike countryman Marcos Maidana, Matthysse isn't wild and reckless, instead he's a well schooled pressure fighter who uses some very under-rated defensive skills to get inside an opponent and hammer them with hard, thudding shots to both the head and body. Whilst the head shots are capable of shaking anyone at 140lbs the body shots are his trademark and the the blows that break fighters when they land.
Matthysse has been around for a while and was a well established amateur at the turn of the millennium having competed in a number of major international events. After missing out on the 2004 Olympics however Matthysse decided it was time to leave a trail of destruction in the professional ranks.
As a professional Matthysse's power and aggression spoke volumes and none of his first 23 fights went beyond 4 rounds as he ran up a record of 22-0-0-1 (21), his only none T/KO win during that streak was a 3rd round DQ victory over Bernardino Gonzalez. It wasn't until the tough Carlos Adan Jerez that Matthysse would find an opponent who could stand up to his power, however Matthysse scored a clear points win over Jerez (who incidentally had been stopped by Lucas' older brother Walter Dario Matthysse several years earlier).
Having created a bit of buzz back home in Argentina, Matthysse would get his first chance to make a name for himself in the USA as he traveled to face former multi-weight world champion Zab Judah. The bout, aired on HBO saw Matthysse suffering his first professional loss as he was on the receiving end of a highly controversial split decision which many felt should have gone the Argentinians way. Despite the loss to Judah many watching had suddenly become Matthysse fans and fallen in love with the exciting Argentinian who they wanted to see more of. Those fans got their wishes just 7 months later as Matthysse fought former world champion Devon Alexander (who faces Randall Bailey in an IBF Welterweight title bout on the same telecast). History would repeat it's self for Matthysse as, like in the Judah bout, he lost by a controversial split decision in a bout he seemed to clearly win.
It would have been understandable for Matthysse to say screw American after being denied twice by controversial scoring, but he returned to the US earlier this year and defeated former multi-weight champion Humberto Soto by TKO between rounds 5 and 6. It was the win over Soto that saw him earning this bout for the "interim" WBC Light Welterweight title.
As previously mentioned Matthysse is a skilled pressure fighter with very under-rated defense and whilst he does get caught, most shots he gets hit with are glancing shots or taken well. It's his offense however that should be the worrying factor for Olusegun. Not only is Matthysse a hard hitter but he's accurate and can penetrate an opponents guard with alarming regularity. Even if he doesn't land clean his shots hurt and he can put on the pressure late as he showed against Judah. As well as his style he may mentally want this more as well, having twice felt robbed in America he'll likely seek the stoppage victory.
Whilst Nigerian Ajose Olusegun goes into this bout as the less well known fighter he will go into it with a lot of belief that his time has finally come having had a long and drawn out process to finally get his world title opportunity.
Despite being born in Lagos, Nigeria (and competing at the Olympics) it was in Britain that Olusegun earned his professional boxing stripes. He debuted back in 2001 and with in 18 months he had claimed his first professional title, the lightly regarded World Boxing Foundation Intercontinental Light Welterweight title. By the end of 2005 he added both the Nigerian and the African Boxing Union titles at Light Welterweight as he took fights in both Nigerian and Israel.
The first notable victory for Olusegun came in late 2004 as he stopped Welshman Bradley Pryce. Pryce, the nearly man of British boxing, had fought for the British title 19 months earlier and would later go on to claim the Commonwealth title at Light Middleweight. Olusegun would build on the victory over Pryce by knocking out the then promising Ali Nuumbembe in eye catching fashion. It seemed at this point as if Olusegun would be fast tracked to major international titles.
It took a year following Olusegun's victory over Nuumbembe for Olusegun to claim his next title, the Commonwealth Light Welterweight title as he dominated Gary Reid over 12 rounds. This should have been the platform of Olusegun's world title challenge but sadly, due to poor management Olusegun was stuck making defenses of the Commonwealth title and taking several stay busy fights as he patiently waited for an opportunity. After defending the Commonwealth title 4 times (defeating Nigel Wright twice, Scott Haywood and Colin Lynes) and claiming the British title it seemed almost inevitable that Olusegun would chase a world title fight having gotten sick of waiting in line.
In September 2011 Olusegun finally got his chance to make a mark on the world rankings as he made his US debut and faced Frenchman Ali Chebah in a WBC Eliminator. The winner was supposed to fight to winner of the Erik Morales v Pablo Cesar Cano bout, however, despite dominating Chebah the WBC failed to enforce the bout instead allowing the #2 ranked WBC fighter Danny Garcia to face Morales instead.
Olusegun is a hugely talented Southpaw. He may not pack the power of Matthysse but he has blinding hand speed, a huge variety of punches (many of which are thrown from bizarre angles), brilliant reactions, great footwork and beautiful combinations. Olusegun may have, at times shown a lack of interest in the ring (and often toyed with opponents out of boredom) but when he has his mind on the job he can look sensational both going forward and backwards.
What we have here is two very deserving fighters (a real rarity for an "interim" title bout) though two fighters with very, very different styles. Olusegun is the much faster, taller fighter who whilst not really tested at world level has looked sensational against British fights and his performance against Chebah proved that he was at least fringe world level. Matthysse, the smaller fighter (by around 3" in height and 2" in reach) will know that he will need to get inside Olusegun, he will probably also know that he will need to slow Olusegun with body shots if he is going to win this. It's also interesting to note that whilst Matthysse is tested at the higher level both of his losses have come to quick southpaws, something that Olusegun has in common with both Judah and Alexander.
To win this bout Matthysse will need to slow down Olusegun and body shots will be the key. The Argentinian will struggle to get over the notable size disadvantage but he will have to find a way, likely using his under-rated skills to cut off the ring and unleashing shots to the live when up close. He shouldn't be expecting Olusegun to trade with him (like Soto did) but if he can make things close he will have success. This won't be an easy fight for the Argentinian but it is one he will feel he can win, in fact he almost certainly feels he can beat anyone at 140lbs.
Olusegun's keys to victory will be based around his size, movement and speed. If he can keep Matthysse at range by boxing and moving he should be able to pick up the win. Olusegun however will need to keep his wits about him, he can't try to get cheeky or look for a fight with Matthyse as he would likely come off second best. As long as he can keep up a good work rate for the 12 rounds, keeping Matthyse from unloading up close he stands a solid chance. Olusegun cannot look at this bout as his chance to leave 3 years of anger in the ring but instead he need to think of it as his chance to vindicate himself after feeling like he's been avoided for he past few years.
My take on this fight is that Olusegun, with his speed and range will start the bout fast, he will likely reel off the first 3 or 4 rounds and bag them with his movement, work rate and hand speed. However Matthysse is excellent at cutting the ring off and expect him to catch Olusegun at least a couple of times to the body. In the middle rounds the body work will begin to build up from Matthyse and down the stretch the Argentinian will manage to just grind down the Nigerian in the last few rounds.
Matthyse is the favourite and is priced around 4/9 however I have this much closer to a 50-50 bout that could genuinely go either way and whilst I do favour the Argentinian I wouldn't be surprised if he did lose.
This bout has genuine potential to be really exciting (if Matthysse gets his way) or dull (if Olusegun manages to control the whole 12 rounds with his movement and reach) or some where between the two so is certainly worth tuning in for.
Prediction: Matthysse TKO 11
In one corner we have the exciting and highly rated Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse (31-2-0-1, 29) and in the other we have the unbeaten Nigerian born British citizen Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14). Both men probably should already have had multiple opportunities at titles though, for one reason or another neither man has been crowned a "world champion" so far.
Firstly lets look at the Argentinian. The 29 year old from Buenos Aires is the younger of the two fighters but also the smaller, more powerful man, in fact one a pound-for-pound ranking Matthysse would ranking up amongst the best for his power. Unlike countryman Marcos Maidana, Matthysse isn't wild and reckless, instead he's a well schooled pressure fighter who uses some very under-rated defensive skills to get inside an opponent and hammer them with hard, thudding shots to both the head and body. Whilst the head shots are capable of shaking anyone at 140lbs the body shots are his trademark and the the blows that break fighters when they land.
Matthysse has been around for a while and was a well established amateur at the turn of the millennium having competed in a number of major international events. After missing out on the 2004 Olympics however Matthysse decided it was time to leave a trail of destruction in the professional ranks.
As a professional Matthysse's power and aggression spoke volumes and none of his first 23 fights went beyond 4 rounds as he ran up a record of 22-0-0-1 (21), his only none T/KO win during that streak was a 3rd round DQ victory over Bernardino Gonzalez. It wasn't until the tough Carlos Adan Jerez that Matthysse would find an opponent who could stand up to his power, however Matthysse scored a clear points win over Jerez (who incidentally had been stopped by Lucas' older brother Walter Dario Matthysse several years earlier).
Having created a bit of buzz back home in Argentina, Matthysse would get his first chance to make a name for himself in the USA as he traveled to face former multi-weight world champion Zab Judah. The bout, aired on HBO saw Matthysse suffering his first professional loss as he was on the receiving end of a highly controversial split decision which many felt should have gone the Argentinians way. Despite the loss to Judah many watching had suddenly become Matthysse fans and fallen in love with the exciting Argentinian who they wanted to see more of. Those fans got their wishes just 7 months later as Matthysse fought former world champion Devon Alexander (who faces Randall Bailey in an IBF Welterweight title bout on the same telecast). History would repeat it's self for Matthysse as, like in the Judah bout, he lost by a controversial split decision in a bout he seemed to clearly win.
It would have been understandable for Matthysse to say screw American after being denied twice by controversial scoring, but he returned to the US earlier this year and defeated former multi-weight champion Humberto Soto by TKO between rounds 5 and 6. It was the win over Soto that saw him earning this bout for the "interim" WBC Light Welterweight title.
As previously mentioned Matthysse is a skilled pressure fighter with very under-rated defense and whilst he does get caught, most shots he gets hit with are glancing shots or taken well. It's his offense however that should be the worrying factor for Olusegun. Not only is Matthysse a hard hitter but he's accurate and can penetrate an opponents guard with alarming regularity. Even if he doesn't land clean his shots hurt and he can put on the pressure late as he showed against Judah. As well as his style he may mentally want this more as well, having twice felt robbed in America he'll likely seek the stoppage victory.
Whilst Nigerian Ajose Olusegun goes into this bout as the less well known fighter he will go into it with a lot of belief that his time has finally come having had a long and drawn out process to finally get his world title opportunity.
Despite being born in Lagos, Nigeria (and competing at the Olympics) it was in Britain that Olusegun earned his professional boxing stripes. He debuted back in 2001 and with in 18 months he had claimed his first professional title, the lightly regarded World Boxing Foundation Intercontinental Light Welterweight title. By the end of 2005 he added both the Nigerian and the African Boxing Union titles at Light Welterweight as he took fights in both Nigerian and Israel.
The first notable victory for Olusegun came in late 2004 as he stopped Welshman Bradley Pryce. Pryce, the nearly man of British boxing, had fought for the British title 19 months earlier and would later go on to claim the Commonwealth title at Light Middleweight. Olusegun would build on the victory over Pryce by knocking out the then promising Ali Nuumbembe in eye catching fashion. It seemed at this point as if Olusegun would be fast tracked to major international titles.
It took a year following Olusegun's victory over Nuumbembe for Olusegun to claim his next title, the Commonwealth Light Welterweight title as he dominated Gary Reid over 12 rounds. This should have been the platform of Olusegun's world title challenge but sadly, due to poor management Olusegun was stuck making defenses of the Commonwealth title and taking several stay busy fights as he patiently waited for an opportunity. After defending the Commonwealth title 4 times (defeating Nigel Wright twice, Scott Haywood and Colin Lynes) and claiming the British title it seemed almost inevitable that Olusegun would chase a world title fight having gotten sick of waiting in line.
In September 2011 Olusegun finally got his chance to make a mark on the world rankings as he made his US debut and faced Frenchman Ali Chebah in a WBC Eliminator. The winner was supposed to fight to winner of the Erik Morales v Pablo Cesar Cano bout, however, despite dominating Chebah the WBC failed to enforce the bout instead allowing the #2 ranked WBC fighter Danny Garcia to face Morales instead.
Olusegun is a hugely talented Southpaw. He may not pack the power of Matthysse but he has blinding hand speed, a huge variety of punches (many of which are thrown from bizarre angles), brilliant reactions, great footwork and beautiful combinations. Olusegun may have, at times shown a lack of interest in the ring (and often toyed with opponents out of boredom) but when he has his mind on the job he can look sensational both going forward and backwards.
What we have here is two very deserving fighters (a real rarity for an "interim" title bout) though two fighters with very, very different styles. Olusegun is the much faster, taller fighter who whilst not really tested at world level has looked sensational against British fights and his performance against Chebah proved that he was at least fringe world level. Matthysse, the smaller fighter (by around 3" in height and 2" in reach) will know that he will need to get inside Olusegun, he will probably also know that he will need to slow Olusegun with body shots if he is going to win this. It's also interesting to note that whilst Matthysse is tested at the higher level both of his losses have come to quick southpaws, something that Olusegun has in common with both Judah and Alexander.
To win this bout Matthysse will need to slow down Olusegun and body shots will be the key. The Argentinian will struggle to get over the notable size disadvantage but he will have to find a way, likely using his under-rated skills to cut off the ring and unleashing shots to the live when up close. He shouldn't be expecting Olusegun to trade with him (like Soto did) but if he can make things close he will have success. This won't be an easy fight for the Argentinian but it is one he will feel he can win, in fact he almost certainly feels he can beat anyone at 140lbs.
Olusegun's keys to victory will be based around his size, movement and speed. If he can keep Matthysse at range by boxing and moving he should be able to pick up the win. Olusegun however will need to keep his wits about him, he can't try to get cheeky or look for a fight with Matthyse as he would likely come off second best. As long as he can keep up a good work rate for the 12 rounds, keeping Matthyse from unloading up close he stands a solid chance. Olusegun cannot look at this bout as his chance to leave 3 years of anger in the ring but instead he need to think of it as his chance to vindicate himself after feeling like he's been avoided for he past few years.
My take on this fight is that Olusegun, with his speed and range will start the bout fast, he will likely reel off the first 3 or 4 rounds and bag them with his movement, work rate and hand speed. However Matthysse is excellent at cutting the ring off and expect him to catch Olusegun at least a couple of times to the body. In the middle rounds the body work will begin to build up from Matthyse and down the stretch the Argentinian will manage to just grind down the Nigerian in the last few rounds.
Matthyse is the favourite and is priced around 4/9 however I have this much closer to a 50-50 bout that could genuinely go either way and whilst I do favour the Argentinian I wouldn't be surprised if he did lose.
This bout has genuine potential to be really exciting (if Matthysse gets his way) or dull (if Olusegun manages to control the whole 12 rounds with his movement and reach) or some where between the two so is certainly worth tuning in for.
Prediction: Matthysse TKO 11
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Andre Ward v Chad Dawson
Whilst many fights have excitement written all over them the upcoming Super Middleweight title bout between the WBC and WBA "super" champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13) and current WBC Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1-0-2, 17) really has "stinker" written all over it.
Despite being the current WBC Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson will be dropping 7lbs to challenge for the Super Middleweight titles, a decision that I personally feel he will regret, however it is an in-built excuse for a loss.
Dawson made his professional debut back in 2001 after having had a solid Amateur career which saw him defeating current WBA Light Heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov and claiming a number of amateur medals (notably a Bronze at the 2000 World Junior Championships). As a professional he showed a lot of early promise and quickly raced to the WBC Youth World Middleweight title in a little over 2 years.
Over the following years Dawson continued to rise through the rankings not only defending his WBC Youth title at Middleweight but also claiming the WBO NABO Super Middleweight title before finally moving to Light Heavyweight in 2006. It was at 175lbs that the athletically built Dawson really excelled and in early 2007 he claimed the first world title of his professional career as he out pointed the then unbeaten Tomaz Adamek for the WBC world title.
As the WBC champion Dawson made 3 title defenses with the highlight of them being a controversial decision win over veteran Glen Johnson. Instead of facing his mandatory challenger Dawson gave up his WBC title to instead face the IBF champion Antonio Tarver. Against Tarver we saw Dawson looking sensational as he claimed his second professional title and further secured his claim as one of the elite fighters at 175lbs. It seemed as if Dawson was on his way to becoming a major name in the sport but sadly he wasted the following year by rematching both Tarver and Johnson as his career started to stand still. What made those bouts worse for Dawson was that he merely looked to be going through the motions and doing just enough to bag enough rounds to win.
Things went from bad to worse for Dawson as he suffered his first (and so far only) professional loss just over 2 years ago losing to the Canadian based Haitian Jean Pascal. Sadly Dawson again attempted to do just enough to steal rounds, this time however it failed and after a clash of heads in round 11 left Dawson with a nasty gash the bout was taken to the cards early with the decision favouring Pascal. It was hoped by many that the loss to Pascal would ignite the fire under Dawson however just 9 months later on Dawson's return he again looked like a fighter who didn't really want to fight.
Dawson eventually re-claimed the WBC Light Heavyweight by defeating the legendary Bernard Hopkins (who had dethroned Pascal) on the second of trying after their first bout ended in a bizarre no contest.
In terms of style Dawson is a true frustration to watch. He's quick, he's powerful, he moves very well and throws some of the most wonderful combinations seen in the higher weights sadly however he's incredibly lazy in the ring and often fights down to his opponents level rather than attempting to impose himself on the fight and dominate his opponent with his strengths. If a trainer to could force Dawson to listen to him and follow instructions then Dawson has the potential to be something very special. As well a being naturally blessed with amazing speed Dawson is also blessed with a huge wingspan and a 76" reach, something that he can, when he's switched on, use amazingly well with his straight shots, though again it's a case of actually getting him to throw punches.
Whilst Dawson has made his name at Light Heavyweight and will be coming down, Andre Ward has made his reputation in the Super Middleweight division where he stands as the divisions kingpin. Not only is Ward the WBA "super" and WBC champion at 168lbs but he was also the winner of the inaugural "Super 6 Boxing Classic", a competition that saw him defeating Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham and Mikkel Kessler.
Like Dawson, Ward first made his name in the amateur ranks, however as an Amateur Ward was much, much more decorated. Not only did he run up a record of 114-5, he was also undefeated in several years, a multi-time national champion and most notably an Olympic Gold Medal winner.
Having won Gold at the Athens Olympics Ward soon turned professional and debuted at the end of 2004 by fighting as a Middleweight. Over the first few years of his career Ward slowly climbed the rankings, often defeating more experienced professionals with out too much trouble, though he did struggle with journeyman Darnell Boone.
Since 2009 Ward has become a fixture at the top of the Super Middleweight division having scored notable wins over Edison Miranda, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham (who won the WBO Super Middleweight title just a few weeks ago) and Carl Froch. It was the win over Kessler, in November 2009 that really put Ward on the boxing map as he out fought, out slicked and thoroughly out-boxed the highly regarded Dane to claim the WBA "super" title. The win over Carl Froch in December 2011 saw Ward then adding the WBC title to his collection and further proving he was the top dog.
Ward is a very skilled operator who despite his poor KO record is incredibly strong, very quick (with his hands, feet and body movement), slippery both inside and outside and has an uncanny knack of rarely being caught clean. At distance his jab is excellent and disrupts the rhythm opponents whilst up close Ward works hard to both the body and head of opponents whilst neutralising opponents excellently. Whilst he's a hugely gifted boxer he can be rather dull to watch due to many of his bouts becoming mauls, however he does have the ability to dominate fights with ease.
Going into the fight the biggest question is how will the weight effect Dawson? He's looked massive at Light Heavyweight and many feel he has had to drain himself to make 175lbs the extra 7lbs may make a huge difference to Dawson's durability and stamina. If he can make the weight with out damaging himself he could be a serious threat with his speed and combinations. If he can't make the weight with out issues he could find himself in an incredibly difficult bout.
For Dawson to win he needs to hope that not only he can cope with the lower weight but that he get up for this fight and actually keep up a solid pace. His usual style of working in short bursts with his electric hand speed simply won't work here as Ward will be on him. Dawson will not only need to be busier than usual but will also have to use his reach advantage (around 5") to try and neutralise Ward's excellent jab and keep him at range. If (and that' a big "if") he can put his foot on the gas for more than 45 seconds a round and use his jab he could surprise Ward and make this a competitive bout. If however the weight issue effects Dawson's stamina negatively this could be a long and hard night for him.
For Ward the key is to get inside the reach of Dawson and whilst he may have a very good jab himself, Wards reach disadvantage will be very noticeable. Thankfully for Ward he often finds a way to slip punches as he tries to get inside an opponent and bully them up close where he is sensational. When he gets inside of Dawson the inside work will seriously pay dividends and I imagine Ward will work the body well up close which should not only test the stamina of Dawson but also help slow the fast hands of the taller man.
If Dawson can stay active with his jab and keep Ward at range this could be a very even bout, however I can't help but think that Ward, with his excellent defense and work up close will do enough secure a decision. This could be the toughest bout of Ward's career if (and only if) Dawson can actually let his hands go with some regularity, though it's much more likely that Dawson will do little more than flurry once or twice a round whilst Ward smothers and lands up close in an unexciting 12 maul.
Prediction-Ward by decision in a rather mundane affair that has promise but never really springs to life.
For gamblers-
Ward is the a favourite at around 4/11 whilst Dawson is priced as high as 3/1.
Despite being the current WBC Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson will be dropping 7lbs to challenge for the Super Middleweight titles, a decision that I personally feel he will regret, however it is an in-built excuse for a loss.
Dawson made his professional debut back in 2001 after having had a solid Amateur career which saw him defeating current WBA Light Heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov and claiming a number of amateur medals (notably a Bronze at the 2000 World Junior Championships). As a professional he showed a lot of early promise and quickly raced to the WBC Youth World Middleweight title in a little over 2 years.
Over the following years Dawson continued to rise through the rankings not only defending his WBC Youth title at Middleweight but also claiming the WBO NABO Super Middleweight title before finally moving to Light Heavyweight in 2006. It was at 175lbs that the athletically built Dawson really excelled and in early 2007 he claimed the first world title of his professional career as he out pointed the then unbeaten Tomaz Adamek for the WBC world title.
As the WBC champion Dawson made 3 title defenses with the highlight of them being a controversial decision win over veteran Glen Johnson. Instead of facing his mandatory challenger Dawson gave up his WBC title to instead face the IBF champion Antonio Tarver. Against Tarver we saw Dawson looking sensational as he claimed his second professional title and further secured his claim as one of the elite fighters at 175lbs. It seemed as if Dawson was on his way to becoming a major name in the sport but sadly he wasted the following year by rematching both Tarver and Johnson as his career started to stand still. What made those bouts worse for Dawson was that he merely looked to be going through the motions and doing just enough to bag enough rounds to win.
Things went from bad to worse for Dawson as he suffered his first (and so far only) professional loss just over 2 years ago losing to the Canadian based Haitian Jean Pascal. Sadly Dawson again attempted to do just enough to steal rounds, this time however it failed and after a clash of heads in round 11 left Dawson with a nasty gash the bout was taken to the cards early with the decision favouring Pascal. It was hoped by many that the loss to Pascal would ignite the fire under Dawson however just 9 months later on Dawson's return he again looked like a fighter who didn't really want to fight.
Dawson eventually re-claimed the WBC Light Heavyweight by defeating the legendary Bernard Hopkins (who had dethroned Pascal) on the second of trying after their first bout ended in a bizarre no contest.
In terms of style Dawson is a true frustration to watch. He's quick, he's powerful, he moves very well and throws some of the most wonderful combinations seen in the higher weights sadly however he's incredibly lazy in the ring and often fights down to his opponents level rather than attempting to impose himself on the fight and dominate his opponent with his strengths. If a trainer to could force Dawson to listen to him and follow instructions then Dawson has the potential to be something very special. As well a being naturally blessed with amazing speed Dawson is also blessed with a huge wingspan and a 76" reach, something that he can, when he's switched on, use amazingly well with his straight shots, though again it's a case of actually getting him to throw punches.
Whilst Dawson has made his name at Light Heavyweight and will be coming down, Andre Ward has made his reputation in the Super Middleweight division where he stands as the divisions kingpin. Not only is Ward the WBA "super" and WBC champion at 168lbs but he was also the winner of the inaugural "Super 6 Boxing Classic", a competition that saw him defeating Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham and Mikkel Kessler.
Like Dawson, Ward first made his name in the amateur ranks, however as an Amateur Ward was much, much more decorated. Not only did he run up a record of 114-5, he was also undefeated in several years, a multi-time national champion and most notably an Olympic Gold Medal winner.
Having won Gold at the Athens Olympics Ward soon turned professional and debuted at the end of 2004 by fighting as a Middleweight. Over the first few years of his career Ward slowly climbed the rankings, often defeating more experienced professionals with out too much trouble, though he did struggle with journeyman Darnell Boone.
Since 2009 Ward has become a fixture at the top of the Super Middleweight division having scored notable wins over Edison Miranda, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham (who won the WBO Super Middleweight title just a few weeks ago) and Carl Froch. It was the win over Kessler, in November 2009 that really put Ward on the boxing map as he out fought, out slicked and thoroughly out-boxed the highly regarded Dane to claim the WBA "super" title. The win over Carl Froch in December 2011 saw Ward then adding the WBC title to his collection and further proving he was the top dog.
Ward is a very skilled operator who despite his poor KO record is incredibly strong, very quick (with his hands, feet and body movement), slippery both inside and outside and has an uncanny knack of rarely being caught clean. At distance his jab is excellent and disrupts the rhythm opponents whilst up close Ward works hard to both the body and head of opponents whilst neutralising opponents excellently. Whilst he's a hugely gifted boxer he can be rather dull to watch due to many of his bouts becoming mauls, however he does have the ability to dominate fights with ease.
Going into the fight the biggest question is how will the weight effect Dawson? He's looked massive at Light Heavyweight and many feel he has had to drain himself to make 175lbs the extra 7lbs may make a huge difference to Dawson's durability and stamina. If he can make the weight with out damaging himself he could be a serious threat with his speed and combinations. If he can't make the weight with out issues he could find himself in an incredibly difficult bout.
For Dawson to win he needs to hope that not only he can cope with the lower weight but that he get up for this fight and actually keep up a solid pace. His usual style of working in short bursts with his electric hand speed simply won't work here as Ward will be on him. Dawson will not only need to be busier than usual but will also have to use his reach advantage (around 5") to try and neutralise Ward's excellent jab and keep him at range. If (and that' a big "if") he can put his foot on the gas for more than 45 seconds a round and use his jab he could surprise Ward and make this a competitive bout. If however the weight issue effects Dawson's stamina negatively this could be a long and hard night for him.
For Ward the key is to get inside the reach of Dawson and whilst he may have a very good jab himself, Wards reach disadvantage will be very noticeable. Thankfully for Ward he often finds a way to slip punches as he tries to get inside an opponent and bully them up close where he is sensational. When he gets inside of Dawson the inside work will seriously pay dividends and I imagine Ward will work the body well up close which should not only test the stamina of Dawson but also help slow the fast hands of the taller man.
If Dawson can stay active with his jab and keep Ward at range this could be a very even bout, however I can't help but think that Ward, with his excellent defense and work up close will do enough secure a decision. This could be the toughest bout of Ward's career if (and only if) Dawson can actually let his hands go with some regularity, though it's much more likely that Dawson will do little more than flurry once or twice a round whilst Ward smothers and lands up close in an unexciting 12 maul.
Prediction-Ward by decision in a rather mundane affair that has promise but never really springs to life.
For gamblers-
Ward is the a favourite at around 4/11 whilst Dawson is priced as high as 3/1.
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)
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Felix Sturm v Daniel Geale
Unification fights seem to becoming rarer and rarer in today's boxing world and when they happen they genuinely deserve to have some attention. With that in mind I'm personally very excited about the up coming Middleweight unification bout between long term WBA "Super" champion Felix Sturm (37-2-2, 16) and the IBF champion, Australian Daniel Geale (27-1, 15).
Firstly we'll look at Sturm who at 33 years old is the older fighter though is far from a shot fighter going on the evidence of his last bout, a TKO9 over Sebastian Zbik. Sturm started his professional career back in 2001 and with in 3 years he had claimed the WBO Middleweight title thanks to a controversial victory over Argentinian Hector Javier Velazco. Sturn had been a very late replacement for former champion Bert Schenk (who was forced to pull out due to illness) taking the fight with just a couple of days notice though was impressive on in his first major professional bout.
After scoring a clear points victory over Ruben Varon in his only defense, Sturm lost his title, controversially, to American superstar Oscar De La Hoya just 9 months after winning it. Despite this loss Sturm had proven he could hang with top level fighters and he took little time climbing his way back to the top of the rankings, this time viewing the WBA title as the one he wanted. A little over a year after losing to De La Hoya, Sturm had claimed the mandatory position for the WBA Middleweight title.
With William Joppy (the WBA "regular" champion) losing against Bernard Hopkins (the WBA "Super" champion) the WBA vacated their regular title which was later won by Maselino Masoe who surprisingly stopped Evans Ashira (who would later go on to take Joe Calzaghe the distance). Masoe's reign was very short lived with Sturm defeating him in his only defence to become a 2-time world champion.
Sturm would surprisingly lose in his first defense of his WBA title as he was stopped in round 10 against Spanish veteran Javier Castillejo, a former WBC Light Middleweight champion. In a rematch just 9 months later Sturm would avenge his defeat and reclaim the WBA title by out pointing Castillejo in a hugely disputed bout that Spaniard's team were very unhappy about.
Since reclaiming the title from Castillejo back in April 2007 Sturm has amassed an incredible 12 title defenses (including 10 wins and draws). Included in those defences were Noe Gonzalez Alcoba (UD12), Randy Griffin (D12 and UD12), Jamie Pittman (TKO7), Sebastian Sylvester (UD12), Koji Sato (TKO7), Khoren Gevor (UD12), Giovanni Lorenzo (UD12), Ronald Hearns (TKO7), Matthew Macklin (SD12-in a hugely controversial bout), Martin Murray (D12) and Sebastian Zbik (TKO7), with the title being upgraded to the "Super" title after the victory over Gevor.
As well as being a long reigning champion of over 5 years Sturm is best known in the ring for his hard, accurate and razor sharp jab, a punch that he often dominates opponents with. Whilst not being a hugely powerful fighter Sturm's jab is hurtful and can bust up fighters with it's alarming cleanness. Outside of the jab however Sturm is very average with solid but unspectacular uppercuts and appears to like to work at his own pace preferring quality of work rather than quantity.
Unlike Sturm, Australian Geale, aged 31, is a relatively new champion having claimed the IBF title just last year as he out pointed former Sturm opponent Sebastian Sylvester by split decision to end Sylvester's controversial 18 month reign. This was a solid rise to the top for Geale who only started his own professional career in 2004.
Geale, who debuted in October 2004 started his career with 21 straight wins, including impressive victories over fellow Australian Daniel Dawson and the teak tough Serbian Geard Ajetovic, suffered his first (and only) professional loss in 2009 against Anthony Mundine. Mudine, a former 2-time world champion at Super Middleweight, controversially out pointed Geale by split decision in one of the most controversial bouts in Australian boxing in modern times.
Since controversially losing to Mundine in 2009 Geale has been on an excellent run of results with 6 straight victories including 3 in world title bouts. Before claiming the IBF world title Geale had to earn his mandatory position, to do this he would have to get past the experienced Russian Roman Karmazin. Karmazin, a former IBF Light Middleweight champion had taken the then reigning IBF Middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester to a controversial draw (with many feeling Karmazin was robbed). Geale was hugely impressive in not only beating Karmazin but becoming just the second man to stop the Russian in 47 bouts.
Having earned his shot at the title Geale traveled to Germany to face Sylvester as the slight under-dog despite many expecting Geale to need to score a KO to win. Geale set off at a lightning quick pace completely outworking the then champion to take a narrow split decision. Whilst Sylvester's shots seemed to be the much harder, cleaner blows he was just simply out worked in too many rounds to deny the Australian.
Since winning the title Geale has made two defences out pointing the thoroughly outclassing both Nigerian Eromosele Albert and Ghanian Osumanu Adama to take unanimous decision wins in both defenses.
So now to this fight. On paper the bout appears to be a lot like Geale's first foray to Germany (where he beat Sylvester) in that he will go in as the under-dog with many people suspecting that he will be beaten if it goes to the cards, as he faces an accurate puncher who whilst not particularly active is very accurate. Also, like his first foray into the country Geale's opponent comes into the bout on the back of a clear victory following a draw (Sylvester drew with Karmazin before widely out pointing Mahir Oral whilst Sturm draw with Martin Murray before stopping Sebastian Zbik). However we also have plenty of differences, this time Geale isn't the taller man (having had a 2.5" height advantage over Sylvester he is now the smaller man by 1.5") and he's also not having a new experience of having to travel to a foreign country for the first time in his career.
From what we've seen of Sturm in recent years, most notably the Macklin fight, Sturm can easily be outworked especially at close range and whilst he's not so easy to hurt attacking his body will slow him down noticeably. However if you allow him to get into a rhythm with his jab, as he did against Zbik you can be in for a long painful night at a distance he controls. Geale will need to find a way to stay away from the jab whilst getting inside and working the body of the German, if he can do this then he'll have a lot of success.
From Sturm's point of view he'll be wanting to watch Geale's fight with Sylvester as well as his own bout with Macklin as they were surprisingly similar in that the challenger attacked, relentlessly through out the bout. Whilst Macklin hits harder than Geale it's fair to say the Aussie is slightly cleverer with his work and takes careful breathers outside of range. Whilst Sturm could look to strike when Geale is at range he may have better success striking as Geale comes in and out of range. Sylvester had his best successes when he nailed Geale up close with shots as Geale was letting his hands go and with Sturm being a much better boxer than Sylvester it's fair to say he could have similar successes.
Whilst I think Sturm could certainly hurt Geale, especially late when Geale will be tired from his high out put, I do, just, favour Sturm by decision. The fact Sturm is fighting at home in Germany is the deciding factor for me. Whilst Geale could certainly outwork Sturm, if he can avoid Sturm's jab and build on Macklin's game plan I just don't see him getting the decision even if he deserves it. Despite clearly defeating Sylvester last year one judge somehow saw the bout 118-110 to Sylvester.
Prediction-Sturm by decision.
Firstly we'll look at Sturm who at 33 years old is the older fighter though is far from a shot fighter going on the evidence of his last bout, a TKO9 over Sebastian Zbik. Sturm started his professional career back in 2001 and with in 3 years he had claimed the WBO Middleweight title thanks to a controversial victory over Argentinian Hector Javier Velazco. Sturn had been a very late replacement for former champion Bert Schenk (who was forced to pull out due to illness) taking the fight with just a couple of days notice though was impressive on in his first major professional bout.
After scoring a clear points victory over Ruben Varon in his only defense, Sturm lost his title, controversially, to American superstar Oscar De La Hoya just 9 months after winning it. Despite this loss Sturm had proven he could hang with top level fighters and he took little time climbing his way back to the top of the rankings, this time viewing the WBA title as the one he wanted. A little over a year after losing to De La Hoya, Sturm had claimed the mandatory position for the WBA Middleweight title.
With William Joppy (the WBA "regular" champion) losing against Bernard Hopkins (the WBA "Super" champion) the WBA vacated their regular title which was later won by Maselino Masoe who surprisingly stopped Evans Ashira (who would later go on to take Joe Calzaghe the distance). Masoe's reign was very short lived with Sturm defeating him in his only defence to become a 2-time world champion.
Sturm would surprisingly lose in his first defense of his WBA title as he was stopped in round 10 against Spanish veteran Javier Castillejo, a former WBC Light Middleweight champion. In a rematch just 9 months later Sturm would avenge his defeat and reclaim the WBA title by out pointing Castillejo in a hugely disputed bout that Spaniard's team were very unhappy about.
Since reclaiming the title from Castillejo back in April 2007 Sturm has amassed an incredible 12 title defenses (including 10 wins and draws). Included in those defences were Noe Gonzalez Alcoba (UD12), Randy Griffin (D12 and UD12), Jamie Pittman (TKO7), Sebastian Sylvester (UD12), Koji Sato (TKO7), Khoren Gevor (UD12), Giovanni Lorenzo (UD12), Ronald Hearns (TKO7), Matthew Macklin (SD12-in a hugely controversial bout), Martin Murray (D12) and Sebastian Zbik (TKO7), with the title being upgraded to the "Super" title after the victory over Gevor.
As well as being a long reigning champion of over 5 years Sturm is best known in the ring for his hard, accurate and razor sharp jab, a punch that he often dominates opponents with. Whilst not being a hugely powerful fighter Sturm's jab is hurtful and can bust up fighters with it's alarming cleanness. Outside of the jab however Sturm is very average with solid but unspectacular uppercuts and appears to like to work at his own pace preferring quality of work rather than quantity.
Unlike Sturm, Australian Geale, aged 31, is a relatively new champion having claimed the IBF title just last year as he out pointed former Sturm opponent Sebastian Sylvester by split decision to end Sylvester's controversial 18 month reign. This was a solid rise to the top for Geale who only started his own professional career in 2004.
Geale, who debuted in October 2004 started his career with 21 straight wins, including impressive victories over fellow Australian Daniel Dawson and the teak tough Serbian Geard Ajetovic, suffered his first (and only) professional loss in 2009 against Anthony Mundine. Mudine, a former 2-time world champion at Super Middleweight, controversially out pointed Geale by split decision in one of the most controversial bouts in Australian boxing in modern times.
Since controversially losing to Mundine in 2009 Geale has been on an excellent run of results with 6 straight victories including 3 in world title bouts. Before claiming the IBF world title Geale had to earn his mandatory position, to do this he would have to get past the experienced Russian Roman Karmazin. Karmazin, a former IBF Light Middleweight champion had taken the then reigning IBF Middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester to a controversial draw (with many feeling Karmazin was robbed). Geale was hugely impressive in not only beating Karmazin but becoming just the second man to stop the Russian in 47 bouts.
Having earned his shot at the title Geale traveled to Germany to face Sylvester as the slight under-dog despite many expecting Geale to need to score a KO to win. Geale set off at a lightning quick pace completely outworking the then champion to take a narrow split decision. Whilst Sylvester's shots seemed to be the much harder, cleaner blows he was just simply out worked in too many rounds to deny the Australian.
Since winning the title Geale has made two defences out pointing the thoroughly outclassing both Nigerian Eromosele Albert and Ghanian Osumanu Adama to take unanimous decision wins in both defenses.
So now to this fight. On paper the bout appears to be a lot like Geale's first foray to Germany (where he beat Sylvester) in that he will go in as the under-dog with many people suspecting that he will be beaten if it goes to the cards, as he faces an accurate puncher who whilst not particularly active is very accurate. Also, like his first foray into the country Geale's opponent comes into the bout on the back of a clear victory following a draw (Sylvester drew with Karmazin before widely out pointing Mahir Oral whilst Sturm draw with Martin Murray before stopping Sebastian Zbik). However we also have plenty of differences, this time Geale isn't the taller man (having had a 2.5" height advantage over Sylvester he is now the smaller man by 1.5") and he's also not having a new experience of having to travel to a foreign country for the first time in his career.
From what we've seen of Sturm in recent years, most notably the Macklin fight, Sturm can easily be outworked especially at close range and whilst he's not so easy to hurt attacking his body will slow him down noticeably. However if you allow him to get into a rhythm with his jab, as he did against Zbik you can be in for a long painful night at a distance he controls. Geale will need to find a way to stay away from the jab whilst getting inside and working the body of the German, if he can do this then he'll have a lot of success.
From Sturm's point of view he'll be wanting to watch Geale's fight with Sylvester as well as his own bout with Macklin as they were surprisingly similar in that the challenger attacked, relentlessly through out the bout. Whilst Macklin hits harder than Geale it's fair to say the Aussie is slightly cleverer with his work and takes careful breathers outside of range. Whilst Sturm could look to strike when Geale is at range he may have better success striking as Geale comes in and out of range. Sylvester had his best successes when he nailed Geale up close with shots as Geale was letting his hands go and with Sturm being a much better boxer than Sylvester it's fair to say he could have similar successes.
Whilst I think Sturm could certainly hurt Geale, especially late when Geale will be tired from his high out put, I do, just, favour Sturm by decision. The fact Sturm is fighting at home in Germany is the deciding factor for me. Whilst Geale could certainly outwork Sturm, if he can avoid Sturm's jab and build on Macklin's game plan I just don't see him getting the decision even if he deserves it. Despite clearly defeating Sylvester last year one judge somehow saw the bout 118-110 to Sylvester.
Prediction-Sturm by decision.
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Nkosinathi Joyi v Mario Rodriguez
In a hugely busy weekend it may be easy to over look some notable fights, including the IBF Minimumweight title fight which sees the champion, South African Nkosinathi Joyi (22-0-0-1, 15) making the 3rd defence of his title as he travels to Mexico to face Mario Rodriguez (14-6-4, 10).
Despite being one of the best fighters in the lower weights over the past few years Joyi has been criminally over looked by the boxing world. Whilst it's partly down to fans perceptions of lower weight boxers it's also down to the fact he's a bit of a star in South Africa and has had no real need to go to Mexico or Japan where he would have been able to get the exposure he so deserves. All that changes on Saturday when, for the first time in a career dating back to 2002, Joyi fights outside of his homeland, traveling to Sinaloa, Mexico to defend his title.
Whilst Joyi's talents have been hidden from the wider boxing public he has proven he's a very high caliber fighter having been incredibly impressive in defeating a number of well regarded fighters in the 105lb division. Amongst those that Joyi has faced, and defeated are Sammy Gutierrez (who would later claim the WBA interim title), former IBF champion Florante Condes, the then IBF champion Raul Garcia and former WBC and WBA interim champion Katsunari Takayama. Amazingly 3 of those men are still in Ring Magazine's top 10 at the weight, showing just how high of a stand Joyi has been fighting, with only Gutierrez dropping out of the rankings.
Having been a professional since 2002 it maybe surprising to read that Joyi has only fought 23 times, though sadly, for the talented South African, he has had a number of issues in recent years which saw him fighting just once in each of the last 3 years. It seems however that those issues have been sorted and Joyi intends to try and make his mark on the boxing world, rather than just becoming a footnote in sports encyclopedias.
With power in both hands, Joyi is an exceptional boxer puncher who, at 5'6" is very tall for a Minimumweight though has no issues makes the weight limit. He's powerful, strong, quick and technically sound with a solid guard, accurate hard jab and very hurtful straight left, in fact he has every punch in the book. There is very little negative to say about Joyi in the ring, though if pushed to note negatives Joyi has been dropped (by Sammy Gutierrez) and did suffer a broken hand last time out against Takayama. To fair Joyi's biggest issue has been his recent inactivity, aside from that there is little to complain about.
Despite being a massive under dog the challenger, Mexico's Mario Rodriguez will know he has nothing to lose and everything to gain and will be cheered on by a home crowd as the bout takes place in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. Despite having a pretty sketchy record with just 14 wins from his 24 fights he has started to come good with a 5 fight unbeaten run, including a draw with recent title contender Pedro Guevara (who's fight with John Riel Casimero was covered here) which many felt Rodriguez deserved to win and wins over recent title challenger Karluis Diaz (who's fight with Alberto Rossel was covered here) and former champion Gilberto Keb Baas. This victories have helped move Rodriguez up to #5 on Boxrec.com's Minimuweight rankings.
Rodriguez's record was bad from the off. He lost his debut (in 2005) by TKO to Geovanny Lopez (Rodriguez's only TKO loss to date) before losing his 3rd fight on points to David Marquez. He later suffered losses to Julio Cesar Felix (who fought for a world title just a few months ago), Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (a recent WBA interim Champion at 108lbs, who lost his title to Alberto Rossel), Raul Castaneda (avenged 7 months later) and current world champion Donnie Nietes. The loss to Nietes, in a WBO Minimumweight title bout has been Rodriguez's only previous world title bout and whilst he clearly lose he was still hanging in at the final bell.
It's fair to say Rodriguez is a fighter who is better than his record shows. He's tough and he hits hard (having taken out Karluis Diaz in just 128 seconds) however he's not a a world level boxer. He is however a hell of a fighter who comes to go to war and always looks to get inside his opponent to fight up close. Despite apparently being 5'7" (according to Televisa) Rodriguez does give away his height fighting out of a crouch though really knows how to bring the action.
Whilst on paper this looks like a mismatch, it's almost certainly going to be a fun mismatch. Joyi should have too much for Rodriguez in almost every way imaginable but the heart and style of the challenger means that it will be fun to watch, even if it does end up being a bit of a beat down in the end. Rodriguez may be too tough and too brave for his own good here and may take a bit of a hiding if the referee and his corner allow it, which would be a shame, though he will, almost certainly, try his heart out.
Prediction-Joyi TKO8
This bout will be televised in Mexico on Televisa, if you have a chance try to catch the full card which not only features this world title bout but also the next bout in the career of the exciting young prospect Julio Ceja (20-0, 19)
Despite being one of the best fighters in the lower weights over the past few years Joyi has been criminally over looked by the boxing world. Whilst it's partly down to fans perceptions of lower weight boxers it's also down to the fact he's a bit of a star in South Africa and has had no real need to go to Mexico or Japan where he would have been able to get the exposure he so deserves. All that changes on Saturday when, for the first time in a career dating back to 2002, Joyi fights outside of his homeland, traveling to Sinaloa, Mexico to defend his title.
Whilst Joyi's talents have been hidden from the wider boxing public he has proven he's a very high caliber fighter having been incredibly impressive in defeating a number of well regarded fighters in the 105lb division. Amongst those that Joyi has faced, and defeated are Sammy Gutierrez (who would later claim the WBA interim title), former IBF champion Florante Condes, the then IBF champion Raul Garcia and former WBC and WBA interim champion Katsunari Takayama. Amazingly 3 of those men are still in Ring Magazine's top 10 at the weight, showing just how high of a stand Joyi has been fighting, with only Gutierrez dropping out of the rankings.
Having been a professional since 2002 it maybe surprising to read that Joyi has only fought 23 times, though sadly, for the talented South African, he has had a number of issues in recent years which saw him fighting just once in each of the last 3 years. It seems however that those issues have been sorted and Joyi intends to try and make his mark on the boxing world, rather than just becoming a footnote in sports encyclopedias.
With power in both hands, Joyi is an exceptional boxer puncher who, at 5'6" is very tall for a Minimumweight though has no issues makes the weight limit. He's powerful, strong, quick and technically sound with a solid guard, accurate hard jab and very hurtful straight left, in fact he has every punch in the book. There is very little negative to say about Joyi in the ring, though if pushed to note negatives Joyi has been dropped (by Sammy Gutierrez) and did suffer a broken hand last time out against Takayama. To fair Joyi's biggest issue has been his recent inactivity, aside from that there is little to complain about.
Despite being a massive under dog the challenger, Mexico's Mario Rodriguez will know he has nothing to lose and everything to gain and will be cheered on by a home crowd as the bout takes place in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. Despite having a pretty sketchy record with just 14 wins from his 24 fights he has started to come good with a 5 fight unbeaten run, including a draw with recent title contender Pedro Guevara (who's fight with John Riel Casimero was covered here) which many felt Rodriguez deserved to win and wins over recent title challenger Karluis Diaz (who's fight with Alberto Rossel was covered here) and former champion Gilberto Keb Baas. This victories have helped move Rodriguez up to #5 on Boxrec.com's Minimuweight rankings.
Rodriguez's record was bad from the off. He lost his debut (in 2005) by TKO to Geovanny Lopez (Rodriguez's only TKO loss to date) before losing his 3rd fight on points to David Marquez. He later suffered losses to Julio Cesar Felix (who fought for a world title just a few months ago), Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (a recent WBA interim Champion at 108lbs, who lost his title to Alberto Rossel), Raul Castaneda (avenged 7 months later) and current world champion Donnie Nietes. The loss to Nietes, in a WBO Minimumweight title bout has been Rodriguez's only previous world title bout and whilst he clearly lose he was still hanging in at the final bell.
It's fair to say Rodriguez is a fighter who is better than his record shows. He's tough and he hits hard (having taken out Karluis Diaz in just 128 seconds) however he's not a a world level boxer. He is however a hell of a fighter who comes to go to war and always looks to get inside his opponent to fight up close. Despite apparently being 5'7" (according to Televisa) Rodriguez does give away his height fighting out of a crouch though really knows how to bring the action.
Whilst on paper this looks like a mismatch, it's almost certainly going to be a fun mismatch. Joyi should have too much for Rodriguez in almost every way imaginable but the heart and style of the challenger means that it will be fun to watch, even if it does end up being a bit of a beat down in the end. Rodriguez may be too tough and too brave for his own good here and may take a bit of a hiding if the referee and his corner allow it, which would be a shame, though he will, almost certainly, try his heart out.
Prediction-Joyi TKO8
This bout will be televised in Mexico on Televisa, if you have a chance try to catch the full card which not only features this world title bout but also the next bout in the career of the exciting young prospect Julio Ceja (20-0, 19)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)