Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Would Calzaghe be tempted to fight the winner of Hopkins-Jones?

By Sean McDaniel: In looking at the old timer’s fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins that takes place on April 3rd, one wonders whether former super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe (46-0, 32 KO’s) might be tempted to come out of retirement to fight the winner of this fight. It’s unclear how Calzaghe’s finances are set up right now, but a fight against the winner of Jones vs. Hopkins certainly wouldn’t hurt matters all that much. Calzahge, 37, has wins against both fighters two years ago in 2008, and he probably would still have enough left to beat the winner if he was interested.


Calzaghe would get a big payday and then could fade away into the sunset with one more victory. This would be a relatively safe fight for Calzaghe to take. It wouldn’t like Calzaghe would have to fight the winner of the Super Six tournament. Although that would be a nice idea, it’s not a good option for him because Calzaghe will be 38-years-old by the time the Super Six tournament is over next year.

Calzaghe defeated Hopkins by a 12 round split decision in 2008. The fight was somewhat controversial in that Calzaghe was knocked down by Hopkins and was hit with harder shots from the American. However, in the 2nd half of the fight, Hopkins clinched constantly and went down a number of times with low blows that didn’t seem to connect or when they did, they didn’t seem to be that hard. Calzaghe looked like the better fighter from what I saw of the fight.

He’d be taking a chance if he fights the winner of the Jones-Hopkins fight, because it’s likely going to be Hopkins. But Calzaghe probably still has enough left in the tank to get a win against Hopkins unless Calzaghe has gone downhill all of a sudden. Of the opponents out there for Calzaghe to fight, Jones or Hopkins would seem like the best options for him.

Not only would Calzaghe get a better payday against them, but he also would have a better chance of winning. I don’t know if Calzaghe could beat a fighter like Andre Ward at this point in his career. If Ward ends up the winner of the Super Six tourney, it might be asking a lot of a 38-year-old Calzaghe to beat a young fighter like that. I doubt Calzaghe would want to even try, because it would a huge test for his aging body. However, both Hopkins and Jones are over 40, and very beatable as Calzaghe already proved.

 

[heyzel]

Ali Funeka vs. Joan Guzman II: An Early Birthday Present for Funeka

By John G. Thompson - The day before he turns thirty-two Ali Funeka 30-2-3 (25 KO’s) gets an early birthday present by way of a rematch with Joan Guzman 29-0-1 (17 KO’s) for the vacant IBF Lightweight Title this Saturday night. Judges Alan Davis and Benoit Roussell both scored the first bout 114-114 (resulting in a majority draw), while Judge Joseph Pasquale scored the bout a little more accurately at 116-112 for Funeka. However, while many (including this writer) felt that Funeka had done more than enough to earn the win, several rounds were close and tough to score.

Joan Guzman fought extremely well early in the bout, winning the first four or five rounds. He consistently threw the harder and cleaner punches, showed good aggression and ring generalship, despite suffering a cut over his right eye after an accidental head but in the second round. Guzman also countered well against Funeka, which became his primary tactic as the fight continued.

Ali Funeka came on stronger in round five and the momentum seemed to shift by the sixth.. In the eighth, Guzman had started to regain the momentum, moving well and countering effectively; however, Funeka may have stolen the round by landing some good blows in the final seconds and hurting Guzman with a right. Guzman was still shaking off the cobwebs in the ninth round and looked very tired in the tenth. Guzman seemed back to form in the eleventh round, relying heavily on counter punching, though Funeka probably still took the round by maintaining his distance and out-throwing his opponent. Guzman actually came out in the twelfth as the aggressor, perhaps acknowledging that he was behind in the fight, though Funeka got the better of Guzman in several exchanges.

Whether you believed Funeka won the fight or Guzman earned the draw probably comes down to a matter of taste. Guzman’s counter shots were cleaner and he often made Funeka miss with shoulder rolls and ring movement. On the other hand, Funeka pressed the action for most of the bout, threw far more punches, and appeared to hurt Guzman on at least one occasion.

For Joan Guzman to maintain his undefeated record, he will need to keep Ali Funeka from using his six inch (15cm) height and five inch (13cm) reach advantages, which means he needs to stay inside. This is something he failed to do enough of in the first fight, allowing Funeka to back him into the ropes and maintain distance. He also needs to stay active against the high volume puncher. With only seventeen of thirty fights won by knockout, Guzman does not appear to be a monstrous puncher, yet in the first fight he was able to land cleanly. If Funeka’s defense does not improve, Guzman may well be able to take a good enough lead early on, and Funeka will have problems trying to pin down the wily Guzman later in the fight.

For Ali Funeka to add a second “1” to the record of his opponent, this time in the loss category, he must begin as if he were already six rounds into the fight. He needs to swarm Guzman with punches and keep his distance so as not to get tagged with Guzman’s counters. Funeka does possess some power and clearly had Guzman hurt in the first match. If Funeka is able to push Guzman back into the ropes and unload as he did before, he may well become not just the first man to beat Guzman, but the first to stop him.

This may not be the most tantalizing fight of the weekend with Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell competing in the next stage of the Showtime Super Six Tournament. It may not even be the most anticipated fight of the HBO card, featuring the extremely rugged Marcos Rene Maidana facing the undefeated up and coming Victor Cayo in the main event. Regardless, when a world title and an undefeated record are both on the line in a rematch of a controversial decision, the fans generally win

 

[heyzel]

Paul Williams-Kermit Cintron Heads To Home Depot Center

By Mark Vester

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, a deal has been finalized with the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, to host the junior middleweight bout between former champions Paul Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) and Kermit Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs) on May 8. HBO will televise the fight with the replay of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shane Mosley; taking place on May 1

 

[heyzel]

Team Foreman: Steward Not Welcome, He Can Join Cotto

By Rick Reeno

The situation surrounding Emanuel Steward's involvement in the Miguel Cotto vs. Yuri Foreman fight is sorting itself out. As I previously reported on BoxingScene.com, there was a minor tug of war for the training services of Steward. Last month, Yuri Foreman's manager, Murray Wilson, reached a verbal agreement with Steward to join their camp as a training consultant for a two to three week period

In the last few days, rumors surfaced that Cotto's team made a strong financial offer to Steward, and the veteran trainer was close to joining the other side. Foreman defends his WBA junior middleweight title against Cotto on June 5 at New York's Yankee Stadium.

After hearing multiple stories about Steward possibly joining Cotto's corner, Wilson reached out to him on Thursday. The conversation left Wilson upset after Steward admitted there were ongoing conversations to train Cotto. Wilson was in a better mood on Friday, for the most part, because he officially withdrew his offer to Steward.

Foreman's team was only offering Steward a flat-fee for his services. There were no plans to have Steward involved beyond an advisory role. It's being rumored Cotto made a more lucrative presentation by offering Steward the role of head trainer, and a purse percentage.

Even on Friday, Wilson was very surprised with the turn of events. According to Wilson, it was Steward who approached them about the position.

"Manny Steward is uninvited. The offer to help Yuri is withdrawn because of his interest in Cotto. I hope that he gets his job with Cotto because he can't come with us. He was the one who originally called to do this. I thought fine, I would give it a shot. He's the one who wanted to help Yuri out. Maybe it was more of trying to help Manny out. If he does well with Cotto, good for him," Wilson told BoxingScene.com.

"He's a very nice guy and I liked him and I still like, but it's not too nice to have no balls. All he had to do is pick up the phone and tell me he wanted to train Cotto. I haven't spoke to him [on Friday] but I have no desire to speak to him because whatever he has to say means nothing. He was just going to advise Yuri because we have a better trainer than him [Joe Grier]."

Cotto is reportedly going to announce his new trainer in the next few days. Steward was unavailable for comment

 

[heyzel]

Abraham’s management to file a protest to have an immediate rematch

By Scott Gilfoid: Arthur Abraham’s German promotional company Sauerland plans on filing a protest over Abraham’s 11th round disqualification loss to Andre Dirrell in their stage 2 Super Six tournament bout last Saturday night at the Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit, Michigan. With Abraham well behind in the fight and need of a knockout to win in the 11th round, Abraham hit Dirrell with a right hand to the head after Dirrell had slipped on the canvas logo and was on one knee.


The punch hurt Dirrell, knocking him unconscious for a short period of time. Referee Lawrence Cole immediately disqualified Abraham, who instead of admitting that he had made a mistake by hitting Dirrell while he was down, called him an actor. Abraham said later that he couldn’t see that Dirrell was down on the canvas when he threw the punch and that he had already winded up to throw the shot and couldn’t stop. Abraham said “I was already in the middle of throwing it and could not stop.” Abraham’s promoter Wilfried Sauerland wasn’t happy that Dirrell was able to get away with throwing low blows.

It’s unfortunate that Abraham doesn’t understand why he should have been disqualified. That’s worrisome, because if he doesn’t see why he was disqualified it makes you wonder whether he has a clear idea about the rules in boxing. There’s certain things that just aren’t permitted and if you let a fighter get away with them and the make excuses later by saying the other fighter was faking that they were hurt, you could have that as being an excuse that other fighters use to get away with fouls.

What Abraham did in throwing a hard right hand with Dirrell on the canvas was inexcusable. Abraham should have immediately owned up to what he had done rather than saying that Dirrell was acting. It made himself look bad by doing that because not only did Abraham throw an illegal blow while his opponent was down, but also by making it seem like Dirrell was faking, Abraham comes across as a dirty fighter and a poor sport.

What he should have done was admit what he did was wrong, apologize and then let the boxing fans decide for themselves who was to blame in this case. It’s hard to blame Dirrell, even if you think he was faking being hurt. There’s no question he was hit while he was down. You can’t escape that. The question is whether Dirrell was truly hurt or not.

That’s something that won’t be reversed on appeal. I think Abraham’s promotional team is wasting their time with this. They should be apologizing, admitting wrong and the moving on from this. Abraham needs to learn that he’s going to have problems against some of the slicker fighters like Dirrell and Andre Ward in the Super Six tournament. Before last Saturday, Abraham was largely shielded from talented fighters like this by the fact that he’s fought most of his career in the middleweight division, which has been horribly poor for the past five years.

With the talent pool incredibly thin, Abraham has been able to beat the over-matched opposition that has been served up to him. Abraham has had things even easier, as his German management has often put him in with weaker opposition during his non-mandatory defenses. So after having things his way as a champion of a weak division for three years, Abraham is now having problems when put in with a good fighter like Dirrell.

You can expect Abraham to continue to struggle when and if he gets matched with Ward. The blue print was made last Saturday night by Dirrell in how to beat Abraham, and I’m not talking about being hit while on the canvas. Dirrell boxed circles around Abraham all night long, making him look limited. By the 11th round, Abraham had only one chance to win the fight and that was by knockout. Abraham will likely struggle just as bad, if not worse, against Ward when the time comes for them to fight in the future.

As for Abraham’s protest to have a rematch with Dirrell, I don’t see him having a chance of that occurring. Abraham had his chance and blew it by losing his cool and landing the shot when Dirrell was down. Abraham now has a loss to show for his loss of self control, and he’ll have more losses in the future if he doesn’t learn to manage his emotions

 

[heyzel]

Did Dirrell take a hint from Abraham to fake being hurt?

By Eric Thomas: In the fallout from last night’s 11th round disqualification loss for Arthur Abraham against Andre Dirrell at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, the American Dirrell is getting branded by many boxing fans as faker. This is after Dirrell was struck in the side of the head by Abraham in the 11th round, and then instead of collapsing immediately on the canvas, Dirrell reached for head, made a look of pain on his face and then fell over to his left side and then onto his back. It looked to some like Dirrell was faking.


The reason was because a lot of the times when a fighter is truly knocked out, they go down immediately and don’t have time to grab their head in pain. Whatever the case, in looking all the times in the fight that Abraham would show great pain when he would be hit with borderline low blows, and seem to act out as if he was hit low. It looked at times like Abraham was faking and playing to the referee to try and get an advantage by having points taken away from Dirrell.

This happened at least three times in last night’s fight and each case, the punches weren’t truly low at all but were right on the belt line. Having seen many of Abraham’s past fights, I’ve noticed that he often plays to the referee when he’s hit in the midsection. In one fight in particular, his first bout against Edison Miranda in 2006, Abraham’s pain reactions after getting hit in the midsection paid off with Miranda having point s deducted multiple times. On replay, the punches were on the beltline and not low.

However, Abraham showed very good acting skills to make it seem like the shots were low. And last night, Abraham was at it again, bending over in pain when hit in the midsection. The referee Lawrence Cole didn’t go for the apparent acting job on Abraham’s part and failed to take points away from Dirrell. However, my point is that this attempt at getting points taken away from Dirrell over and over again by Abraham with his acting may have put a thought in Dirrell’s head for him to play the same game and fake being hurt himself to get an advantage.

I don’t know if Dirrell was faking or not, because he seemed to be really out of it after getting tagged, even having one of his legs spasm while he was flat on his back on the canvas. But I can’t help wondering whether Dirrell took a clue from Abraham and decided to act out his own foul. Personally, I think Dirrell faked being hurt. He looked, at least to me, like someone who was faking and not doing a good acting job. Even when Jim Gray of Showtime tried to interview Dirrell, I thought Andre came across like he was acting.

I could be wrong, but that’s how it seemed to me. But I can see how Dirrell might have picked up on what Abraham was doing with his playing to the referee when hit low and decided to do the same thing. Abraham might not have liked being disqualified but he could have put the idea of faking in Dirrell’s head by constantly looking for the referee to help him out when he would get hit on the beltline or even above it

 

[heyzel]

Abraham: stupid Dirrell: a disgrace

By Matt Flanagan: The latest Super 6 bout ended in controversy last night when Arthur Abraham was disqualified for landing an illegal shot on Andre Dirrell. At the time the fight was on a knife-edge – Dirrell ahead on points with Abraham coming on strong looking for the knockout.

Going into the fight, I had contradicting thoughts about Dirrell. He is clearly talented, with his speed and his technical ability. The big question mark that hangs over him is his courage in the ring. Against Carl Froch – his lack of courage clearly cost him the fight. Had he gone to Nottingham to fight, then he most probably would have won. As it happened, he ran, clinched and faked slips every time Froch got near him and left the arena with his first defeat.


Last nights fight did nothing to change my thoughts as Dirrell showed himself at his best and worst.

Firstly let me say that Dirrell boxed very well, and was very effective at neutralizing the dangerous Abraham. He worked his jab, threw combinations and his movement prevented Abraham pinning him down and unloading.

As the fight wore on, Abraham came more into it and began to get to Dirrell, at which point we saw the worst of the American. Knowing he was ahead on points, and fearing he was going to get knocked out, he reverted back to the cowardly tactics that lost him the fight with Froch. Each time Abraham pinned him down and didn’t allow him to run, Dirrell would force the referee to intervene and protect him by pretending to slip over or clinching with Abraham. The sweet science, is all about hitting and not being hit, but Dirrell applies this in the most cowardly way possible.

The fight ended when Abraham was disqualified for an illegal shot on Dirrell. While there is no doubt that Abraham was wrong to throw the punch, Dirrell’s reaction proved one thing – that he has very little heart and will never be considered a truly great fighter because he consistently takes the easy way out.

After he was hit, Dirrell stayed still for a couple of seconds, touched his face a couple of times and then went down and pretended to be knocked out. If I had never seen someone get knocked out, I might have believed that it was genuine however that is not the case and it was obvious that Dirrell was acting. There were a number of factors that indicated that this was not a genuine KO:

Red flag #1: It wasn’t that big a punch from Abraham

Red flag #2: After the punch had landed, Dirrell sat still for a couple of seconds – not typically the reaction of a boxer who has just taken a knock out punch

Red flag #3: Dirrell touched his face with his gloves – not typically the reaction of a boxer who has just taken a knock out punch

Red flag #4: The rate at which Dirrell went from sitting down to laying ‘knocked out’ on the canvas was very slow. He went down slower than the titanic – not typically the reaction of a boxer who has just taken a knock out punch.

Nobody will ever know how the fight would have ended. A Dirrell UD or an Abraham KO were both distinct possibilities. Abraham had already knocked Dirrell down (regardless of the referee’s ruling) and there is no doubt that he was coming on strong. Dirrell was way ahead on points.

The only conclusion we can definitely come to is that future Oscar nominee Andre Dirrell faked it and chose to take the easy option. I think after his antics last night, he will have lost the respect of a lot of people – boxers and fans alike.

 

[heyzel]

Team Dirrell Hit Back at Sauerland Over "Sour Grapes"

DETROIT – Not satisfied with Arthur Abraham’s underhanded performance against Andre Dirrell on Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena, which would warrant his suspension by most members of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), Abraham’s promoter Wilfried Sauerland issued a release on Sunday accusing Dirrell of seizing “…his chance to sneak out of the fight when the chance presented itself…Dirrell is a very good actor.”

The “chance” Sauerland was referring to was when Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), of Flint, Mich., did the “splits” after slipping in Abraham’s (31-1, 25 KOs), of Germany, water-soaked corner, and while on one knee and defenseless got knocked out by a sweeping Abraham right. Referee Laurence Cole immediately stopped the fight at 1:13 of the 11th round, awarding the victory, via disqualification, to Dirrell, who was leading on all three judges’ scorecards by 98-91, 97-92 and 97-92. It was the opening bout of the Group Stage 2 of the Super Six World Boxing Classic

“Sauerland is a sourpuss. Is he Abraham’s promoter or minister of propaganda?” asked Gary Shaw, Dirrell’s promoter. “Maybe Abraham is used to having his partners fake it, but thanks to SHOWTIME, the world witnessed not just Abraham’s heinous act, but a multitude of replays from every angle showing that Abraham was looking at Andre while he was down on the canvas before deliberately unleashing his illegal blow. As far as I’m concerned, Abraham is a coward and his promoter is an enabler. It was a desperate act by a desperate man."

Promoted by Gary Shaw Productions and Sauerland Event, the Dirrell vs. Abraham battle will be replayed Tomorrow! Monday, March 29, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME 2.

“But rather than dwell on a pack of lies, let’s focus on Andre’s magnificent performance,” Shaw continued. “He tagged Abraham with his first knockdown and his first loss in a 31-bout professional career. Both are huge accomplishments. Plain and simple, Andre boxed Abraham’s ears off. He was faster, stronger and smarter. Andre painted a masterpiece on a 20-by-20 canvas. It was his Mona Lisa.

“Andre went straight to the hospital after the fight where he gave his post-fight urine test to the Commission and spent three hours getting examined before being released early this morning. I’m very proud of Andre Dirrell. When his back was against the wall he fired back and against the leader of the Super Six World Boxing Classic."

"I want to thank all my fans for their support and I especially want to thank everyone in Flint, Detroit and the surrounding areas as well as the entire Midwest for coming out on Saturday night," said Dirrell. "I'm excited to have the chance to rest and relax with my family at home in Flint."

 

[heyzel]

Andre Dirrell Undergoes Tests, Released From The Hospital

By Rick Reeno

Gary Shaw, promoter for super middleweight Andre Dirrell, informed BoxingScene.com that his fighter was released from a local hospital after undergoing several tests to rule out a possible concussion.

"Andre was just released from the hospital. He tested negative in the brain scans. We did the urine tests. The commission was there," Shaw told BoxingScene.com.

On Saturday night at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, Dirrell put on the best performance of his career as he outboxed undefeated Arthur Abraham for the majority of their eleven round fight. For most of the fight, Abraham had a hard time dealing with Dirrell's speed and movement.

At the end of the tenth round, Abraham's pressure was starting to break Dirrell down. By this point Abraham needed a knockout to win. During the eleventh round, there is no question Dirrell was in some trouble and was coasting to run out the clock. He was so far ahead with the judges that losing the last two rounds would not have made a difference. Abraham knew he needed a knockout. He was doing everything in his power to prevent the fight from reaching the scorecards.

Abraham was trying to trap the retreating Dirrell, and that's when it happened. While trying to fend off an incoming Abraham, Dirrell lost his balance and slipped to the mat. During the heat of the moment, and probably with some desperation mixed in, Abraham clocked Dirrell right on the chin while he was down. Dirrell fell flat on the mat, unconscious, and the referee had to immediately request the assistance of the ringside physicians - and he also disqualified Abraham. During the time of the stoppage, the scores were 97-92, 98-91 and 97-92 - all for Dirrell.

Shaw believes Abraham's final punch was intentional because he knew the only way he could win was by knockout and the clock was running out.

"He schooled Athur Abraham. He gave him a boxing lesson. Dirrell was bigger, faster, more skilled, got off with more punches, more combinations and Arthur Abraham looked like he was in a car accident at the post-fight press conference," Shaw said.

"The foul was intentional. It was a desperation move. He knew the only way he could win the fight was with a knockout. He knew Andre was on the ground and he lined him up."

Abraham's record fell to 31-1, 25KOs, while Dirrell's record was raised to 19-1, 13KOs

 

[heyzel]

Abraham embarrasses himself

By Eric Hernandez: The atmosphere was electric at Joe Louis Arena. It was the home coming out party for Andre Dirrell and he would not disappoint. It was a classic match up of boxer vs puncher, American vs European. From the very beginning Andre Dirrel 19-1 asserted himself and boxed masterfully while Aurthur Abraham played defense while waiting for his opportunity.


By the the fourth round it was obvious that this was going to be Dirrell night and when he manage to floor Abraham with about 30 seconds left in the fourth round it became more apparent that this was not going to be Abraham night. By the 7th round Dirrel had open a cut over the right eye and Abraham was a bloody mess and was growing more and more frustrated as he resulted in some rough tactics including a few rabbit punches.

In the 10th round it appeared that Abraham had floored Dirrel but it was ruled a slip by the referee but before the Abraham apologist begin to scream “foul” it appeared earlier in the fight that Abraham was saved by the ropes and that could have easily been ruled a knock down.

Round 11 began with Abraham knowing he needed a knock out and he began to put the pressure on Dirrell and it seemed that he had him cornered when Dirrell slipped on the wet logos on the floor, with one knee on the floor and obviously down Abraham frustration bubbled to the surface and he nailed Dirrell flush across the jaw. Dirrell went down after a delay reaction but it was obvious that he was hurt and not going to be able to continue.

For his actions Abraham was quickly disqualified and rightfully so. More appalling was his reaction after the fight as he showed no remorse for his actions, even claiming that Dirrell was a great actor. The real actor was Abraham who with a straight face told everyone that he had no idea that Andre Dirrel was on the canvas and defenseless even as he looked at the replay he was incredulous. By the time the DQ came Dirrel was comfortably ahead on all 3 scorecards. As for Abraham he lost his first fight and in the process he might have lost his credibility if not his invincibility.

 

[heyzel]

Allan Green: "Andre Dirrell Could Have Continued"

By Rick Reeno

The controversy continues over Saturday night's fight between super middleweights Andre Dirrell and Arthur Abraham. An electric crowd at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, saw Dirrell outbox Abraham for the first nine rounds of the fight. In the final minute of the tenth round, the tide began to change as Abraham applied extreme pressure and began to consistently find Dirrell with punches.

During the eleventh round, Dirrell was starting to fade and Abraham was rapidly coming on. To his credit, Dirrell, who was well ahead on the scorecards, executed a veteran move by coasting to kill the clock. While trying to fend off an incoming Abraham, Dirrell lost his balance and slipped to the mat. During the heat of the moment, and probably with some desperation mixed in, Abraham clocked Dirrell right on the chin while he was down. After the punch connected, Dirrell fell flat on the mat. He laid there unconscious, and then his body started shaking - and referee Laurence Cole had to immediately request the assistance of the ringside physicians.

Abraham suffered his first career loss when Cole disqualified him for the late hit. In his post fight interview, Abraham called Dirrell "an actor." He believes Dirrell oversold the punch. Abraham's promoter, Wilfried Sauerland, agreed with his fighter by saying "Dirrell is a very good actor. He deserves an Oscar for his performance."

Dirrell's promoter, Gary Shaw, praised the referee for making the right call.

"The foul was intentional. It was a desperation move. He knew the only way he could win the fight was with a knockout. He knew Andre was on the ground and he lined him up," Shaw said to BoxingScene.com.

To get a third-party opinion on the incident, BoxingScene spoke with another Super Six participant, Allan Green, who watched the fight live from a ringside position. Green believes Dirrell may have oversold the effect of Abraham's final punch and probably could have continued in the fight if the referee had given him a few minutes to recover. Green was very curious to find out if Dirrell was able to withstand Abraham's late rally for another four minutes.

"I really couldn't see some some of it. I saw the little punch. I did think he put on a bit of an act, and I like Dirrell. I think he could have continued the fight or he could have taken five minutes. At the time [of the incident] it wasn't looking good for him. The last four minutes would have been interesting to see. I thought Dirrell could have continued and kept fighting. He laid there for a second and everything was fine and then he started shaking. Then he got up and said he was knocked out and didn't know what happened. If you didn't know what happened, then how can you say you got knocked out," Green told BoxingScene.com. [ Editor's Note : Green wants to clarify that he does not believe Dirrell was faking the effects of Abraham's punch. Green believes Dirrell was realistically hurt from the punch, but he also believes Dirrell could have continued if he was given a five minute period to recover."

"If you get knocked down from a punch, and start shaking.....there is something really wrong. If you get hit like that, where you down and start shaking, you are going to be in the hospital for a few days and you are not fighting for a while. You are not going to get up and start walking around. I saw him get hit harder [than] that throughout the fight, but in his defense he was already hurt [at the time of the punch]. Dirrell was winning the fight and I wanted him to win. I just would have liked to see what would have happened in the last few rounds if he would have continued."

Green, like the Showtime announcers, disagreed with the referee's ruling on the tenth round knockdown. Late in the tenth, Abraham landed a very hard punch and Dirrell went down. The referee ruled it as a slip. Cole saw the punch land but felt Dirrell hit the deck after being off balance from a leg trip.

"If you go down after getting hit, it's a knockdown The punch was the cause. If he didn't take that punch, he probably wouldn't have gone down. He wasn't the same when he got up and he continued to get hit after that," Green said.

There are many people out there who agree, and disagree, with Green's opinions on the incident. One individual who disagrees is Green's own promoter, Lou DiBella.

DiBella is convinced Dirrell was genuinely knocked out by Abraham's shot, but he does agree with Green's opinion on the referee's mishap with the knockdown.

"I thought it was a terrible foul. He's supposed to be this tough guy but the guy [Abraham] is a constant whiner. He was whining the entire time about low blows and he causes them to be low and they aren't even low. Every time you hit him to the body he cries about a low blow. That being said, I did think he knocked Dirrell down in the tenth round of the fight and hurt him," DiBella told BoxingScene.com.

"He's just a dirty fighter. He's always been a dirty fighter. He's strong as an ox, but he's dirty. And I'll say this....if that was acting [by Dirrell], then it was one of the best performances that I've ever seen. He acted very much like a guy who fully didn't know where he was. If that was an acting job, he was sensational."

"He clearly hit him while he was down. That's a disqualification anywhere in the world, expect for Germany. If it happened in Germany, he would have got away with it and that's why the Germans [Sauerland Event] are so upset. [Abraham] also ignored the whoop-ass thrown on him for nine consecutive rounds. There was no way he could win that fight without a knockout. I'm not sure how hard he was concentrating to see if the guy was down, but he was doing everything in his power to knock the guy out and I think the outcome was the right decision. If Abraham wasn't so filthy, he had a chance to win the fight."

 

[heyzel]

Haye talks about Vitali Klitschko’s next opponent: “He (Klitschko) should beat Sosnow

By Peter Wells: With Vitali Klitschko set up to fight Polish/British Albert Sosnowski on May 29th, David Haye has already made his point clear about the poor opposition choice for the WBC champion. Albert Sosnowski isn’t in the world league and Vitali has pretty much picked an easy opposition.

In an interview with boxing magazine ‘Boxing monthly’, when David was talking about how he shouldn’t underestimate his opponent he said, “This is nothing like Vitali Klitschko facing Albert Sosnowski. That’s a fight Vitali should win with one hand tied behind his back. Hell, no, he should be able to beat Sosnowski with both hands tied behind his back. That’s not a fight. It’s an exhibition.” Haye has pretty much told Vitali this is an easy fight, if you don’t win with complete ease, then you’re not good enough to be a champion. It’s really adding more pressure onto Vitali’s shoulders.


Despite people believe when you fight an easier opponent its better. Well it’s not. There are more expectations and if you don’t perform it goes down as a huge minus on your status.

Let’s hope Haye puts on a performance as well, a stoppage over the ‘Quiet Man’ will be one way of keeping his status high.

 

[heyzel]

Kellerman: Roach wants Khan to avoid Maidana

By Eric Thomas: HBO analyst Max Kellerman gave a mini speech at the end of Saturday’s broadcast between WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KO’s) vs. Victor Cayo (24-1, 16 KO’s) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In that fight, Maidana walked through a storm of punches from Cayo in the first five rounds to end the fight suddenly in the 6th round with a powerful right hand to the body of Cayo that put him down for the count.


Maidana is someone that World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan was supposed to fight. However, both Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach and his promoters Golden Boy Promotions, didn’t want Khan to face the hard-hitting Maidana for a number of reasons. One of the reasons is because they say that Maidana isn’t well known enough for Khan to fight him at this time.

The idea here is for Maidana to fight more on HBO, and then provided that Maidana keeps winning, he’ll get a shot against Khan sometime in 2011. In the meantime, Khan will stay busy himself against opponents selected by Roach and Golden Boy Promotions. Khan fights next against the light-hitting Paulie Malignaggi on May 15th.

After Maidana finished putting Cayo away on Saturday night, Kellerman, turning the cameras, had this to say about Khan and Maidana: “Amir Khan is a very talented fighter, a super talented fighter, and has a great trainer in Freddie Roach. Khan could be the most talented 140 pound fighter in the world, but he’s been knocked out in one round by a fair to midland prospect contender [Breidis Prescott]. And Maidana is a tremendous puncher, and as we saw tonight, a pure puncher. Freddie Roach is a great trainer…He is also a good matchmaker, knowing who to take on and who to avoid with his fighters. It’s not a coincidence; it’s not an accident that Freddie Roach wanted Amir Khan to avoid this guy [Maidana] tonight, and instead fight Paulie Malignaggi, a fantastic boxer, but not a puncher at all. If Maidana keeps punching like this, eventually the top guys are going to have to fight him.”

Maidana will continue to be matched tough in the future. He could be facing IBF/WBC light welterweight champion Devon Alexander next. If Maidana loses that fight, the chances of a Khan-Maidana fight are down the drain. This is unfortunate because Maidana should have been able to fight Khan ages ago given that he’s the interim WBA champion and shouldn’t have to fight for a year on HBO against an assortment of tough opponents before he gets a shot against Khan

 

[heyzel]

Malignaggi: "Golden Boy Made a Mistake Giving Me Khan

By Ryan Burton

Junior welterweight Paulie Malignaggi talks to BoxingScene.com about his upcoming WBA title fight with Amir Khan. Malignaggi talks about the keys to the fight and says why Golden Boy is making a mistake in pitting one of their fighters against him again. The Brooklynite looks forward to fighting in New York for the first time in three years. Malignaggi feels that he is in his prime and at the top of his game and is ready to capture another world title on May 15th.

BoxingScene.com: How is training coming along for the Amir Khan fight?

Paulie Malignaggi: It is going good. We are putting in some good work man. I am feeling good and we are picking up the tempo little by little. I think we are going to peak at the right time.

BoxingScene.com: What do you think is going to be the key to the fight?

Paulie Malignaggi: Well obviously we are both speed guys. Amir seems to think that his power will be the difference. He is going to learn that on this level guys just don't go to sleep when you punch them. The one guy that he fought on this level was Andriy Kotelnik and he didn't go anywhere near going to sleep but unfortunately Kotelnik is a one dimensional type of fighter and he really only knew how to do one or two things so Khan neutralized him. He (Khan) is fighting a fighter like Kotelnik who isn't going anywhere but I know how to make adjustments to him so it is going to be interesting to see what he brings to the table. I know I got a lot for him.

BoxingScene.com: You have fought heavy punchers in the past like Cotto and Hatton. Does Khan's power concern you at all?

Paulie Malignaggi: The trick to Khan's power is that he hits you with shots you don't see. Any time a grown man hits another grown man he can always go down. If he gets hit with my power, okay maybe I am not as strong a puncher as some other fighters but I wobbled Juan Diaz in my last fight with basically an arm punch. I didn't even turn into the punch if you watch the replay. Anytime a grown man hits another grown man there is a chance they will get hurt. It shouldn't surprise anyone if he does get hurt. On the same token I can't just have the mentality oh I got a good chin and I have faced bigger punchers so I don't have to worry about the power. Any punch could be the one to get you out of there and having said that I don't go in there reckless but at the same time I come in with my game plan and I know if my chin does get touched that I will be able to stand it. Juan Diaz has a better chin than Amir Khan and I wobbled him with an arm punch like I said. All I am saying is don't be surprised if Amir Khan gets tested to his chin. I am not saying I am going to knock him out. Everyone knows Khan doesn't have an iron chin. The number two thing is that I played around after I wobbled Juan. If Amir gets wobbled or gets hurt like Juan then I am going to go for it and I will leave it at that. Anybody could go.

BoxingScene.com: You have a lot more experience than Khan in big fights. I mentioned the Cotto and Hatton fights plus you throw in the Diaz fights and the N'dou fights. How big a factor do you think your experience will play in this fight?

Paulie Malignaggi: It will only play as much of a factor as Amir wants it to play. I don't think it should effect Amir mentally at all. He has to come and fight his fight. For me I know I have been in there. I know I have been in the trenches. I know I have been in tough fights that I have won and tough fights that I have lost. I know how to go in the trenches and dig deep if I have to. On top of being battle tested and having a good chin I am also not scared to go in there and get my hands dirty if I have to.

BoxingScene.com: How does it feel to be fighting back in New York?

Paulie Malignaggi: It is exciting. It is always a good thing you know. The New York fans love me and I haven't fought in New York in three years so it is a great opportunity. Obviously fighting in Madison Square Garden in either the big arena or the small arena is an exciting time.

BoxingScene.com: Khan has a decorated amateur career but on his professional resume he doesn't have a real big name except a faded Barrera. Do you think he is overrated?

Paulie Malignaggi: I wouldn't say he is overrated. I don't even think the Barrera fight was the best name on his record. I would say Kotelnik is the best name on his record because he is a battle tested guy at 140 pounds. He had a solid amateur record himself and more than anything he was young. Barrera's best weight was at junior featherweight and he was about 100 years old when they fought. He was pretty much washed up when Amir fought him and he was out of his weight class no less. When you fight a washed up old guy who is no where near a weight class that was his best weight there really is no reason why you shouldn't take care of him. I am not going to say he is over rated because he has shown some good strength but there are definitely some chinks in the armor that are going to be there to be exposed on May 15th. Amir had a solid amateur career and I didn't have a terrible amateur career myself. I was on the U.S. National team and I won a U.S. amateur title. Your amateur career can only take you so far. You have to build your professional career and I think Amir has done that but everything happens in due time.

Amir is stepping up and I just think they are stepping up a little too far out of their element with me. I think its a little too soon for him and I think that will be bad news for him. Really I think its the mistake Golden Boy made with Juan Diaz. They thought I was shot and like I had said before I just needed a trainer (Sherif Younan is his current trainer) who knew what he was doing. I needed a trainer who understood me at all levels of my game. Once I got that I was a top fighter again like I was before Buddy (McGirt) and even where I was when I first started with Buddy. Obviously Golden Boy didn't recognize that and they put Juan Diaz in there with me. They almost messed up his career. I guess they still don't get it because now they are trying it with Amir Khan. It is what it is but on May 15th they will be disappointed once again.

BoxingScene.com: That was going to be my next question. Why do they keep picking you? Khan's mandatory is Maidana and evidently they don't want him fighting Maidana. Do you think they view you as an easier fight than Maidana?

Paulie Malignaggi: You know any time you got a guy at a world class level who doesn't have the biggest punch but comes with the reputation I come with I think it makes sense to want to test your guy out because you feel like maybe if he loses he loses a decision but he won't get smoked. If it goes the distance and even if he loses maybe he doesn't lose like Juan Diaz in the first fight with me. There is less chances to be taken when a guy isn't a puncher but I honestly feel that Amir Khan would handle Maidana because Khan is a much better fighter than Maidana unless he got clipped in the chin. All facets of Khan's game are superior to Maidana but people love punchers. It is not a bad thing. Punchers make things exciting but when you are rating a fighter for skill and at what level he belongs on you can't just go by punching power. You have to go by a lot of things. Punchers are definitely entertaining but not necessarily the best fighters.

BoxingScene.com: What are the fans going to see on May 15th?

Paulie Malignaggi: I am going to be a world champion on May 15th and I look forward to it. I can't wait till that date. Like I said people really thought I was shot. People continue to think that I talk out of my ass when I say that I just needed a trainer who knew what I was doing. At least who knew what he was doing with me. I am not saying Buddy didn't know what he was doing. He just didn't know what he was doing with me at all. I think we were polar opposites as far was what kind of style I fight and what kind of style he teaches. After two years with him unfortunately my career really took a big down fall. A lot of people will really never let go of those performances. They will say those performances with Buddy were the real Paulie Malignaggi. If they continue to think like that and obviously Golden Boy and Khan's people are thinking like that, then you are going to continue to be disappointed like Team Diaz when they fought me. Luckily for Juan he has a great fight coming up with (Juan Manuel) Marquez so he has a chance to rebound and I think he matches up much better with Marquez than he did with me. It is the same mistake that Amir Khan's team is doing. You are not fighting the same guy that fought Ricky Hatton, the same guy that fought Lovemore N'dou in the rematch or the guy who fought Herman Ngoudjo. You are fighting a Paulie Malignaggi who is at the top of his game right now. He has experience and he is still in his prime and he comes in very well equipped to take you out and if he doesn't take you out he comes very well equipped to teach you a lesson. That basically is what they are in for

 

[heyzel]

We could be seeing Dirrell-Abraham in the future

March 30th, 2010
By Jim Dower: If Andre Dirrell and Arthur Abraham both keep winning in the Super Six tournament, we could see those two fighting against in the semi finals or perhaps the finals of the Super Six tournament. That would be an interesting fight if it comes down. Abraham would have the revenge factor going into the fight, and one would hope he had learned to control his fouling ways. It might not matter, though, if the fight takes place in Abraham’s adopted country of Germany.


If the fight happens there, you can’t really say what would happen if Abraham started fouling. He might be penalized, but then again he might not. Hopefully, Abraham will have learned his lesson to control his emotions and focus on fighting hard earlier in the fight instead of waiting so long to get started. If Abraham thought he was good enough to wait until the last three rounds against Dirrell to try and score a knockout, I think he’s overestimated his own talent.

The Super Six tournament has too many good fighters for Abraham to slack off for nine rounds and hide behind his guard. If he fights like that against his next opponent Carl Froch, Abraham will get outworked and beaten. As of now, Abraham is still in the lead in the Super Six tournament with 3 points, ahead of Dirrell, Andre Ward and Froch, who all have two points apiece.

Abraham will likely lose his lead by the end of the stage 2 bouts, because Ward looks in good shape to pick up his second win of the tourney over Allan Green. That would give Ward four points. Froch has a tough match ahead of him against Mikkel Kessler on April 24th. If Froch can somehow fight well enough to get a win against Kessler in Denmark, then Froch could end up being tied for 1st place.

Abraham has to be busier than he was in his first two fights of the Super Six tourney. He can’t just wait until the later rounds and hope he can get his opponent. Abraham did the exact same thing in his fight with Jermain Taylor in his stage 1 fight. Taylor was much busier than Abraham in rounds one through eight. I had Taylor with a commanding lead going into the 9th round of that fight.

However, the judges were piling up rounds for Abraham, giving him credit for winning rounds based on landing some very low punch numbers. I didn’t see Abraham landing more than five or six punches per round until the 9th. But it shows how some judges’ care more about heavy shots compared to a fighter that is landing in high numbers. Abraham controlled rounds nine through eleven with Taylor, and took him out in the twelfth round. Abraham lives and dies by his knockouts, which is a bad thing.

You’ve got to have balance if you want to win the Super Six tournament. Abraham isn’t a big enough puncher to stop everyone in the tournament, so he’s going to work on his game or else he’s going to get beaten again next time he fights Dirrell.

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[heyzel]

Shaw: Dirrell proved that Abraham’s style could never beat a pure boxer

By William Mackay: Gary Shaw, the promoter for Andre Dirrell, was very impressed with the performance Andre put in last Saturday night against previously unbeaten Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KO’s). In an interview by Greg Leon at Boxing Talk, Shaw says “He [Dirrell] proved that that style Abraham used in the ring can never win against a pure boxer and Andre proved he was a better boxer that night.” It looked like Abraham was having major problems with the speed and movement that Dirrell was showing in the fight.


It wasn’t just a case of Abraham waiting until late in the fight to let his hands go. He was trying in the earlier rounds, but Dirrell was too fast during the first 9 rounds for Abraham to connect with anything more than one punch at a time. In the 10th round, Abraham dropped Dirrell with a right hand, but he knockdown wasn’t counted by referee Lawrence Cole.

Abraham went after Dirrell for the remainder of the round, but still ended up missing most of his punches. The 11th round was more of the same with Abraham chasing Dirrell around the ring until Dirrell slipped on the wet canvas. Abraham then took that opportunity to hit Dirrell while he was down. This led to Abraham being disqualified. Speaking about the disqualification, Shaw says “I feel it was intentional and desperate people do desperate things. And Arthur Abraham with 1:17 left in the eleventh was very desperate. He was behind on every card and his corner knew it. He looked down there and he saw the opportunity. I don’t think he was looking to knock him cold at that moment, but he certainly wanted to do some damage for the rest of the fight.”

I agree with what Shaw says. I think Abraham knew that Dirrell was down, and wanted to stun him with a hard shot while he had the chance. If nothing much was said about the shot, Dirrell would have been in a bad way for the remainder of the round and Abraham would have had a better opportunity of taking him out. Some referees don’t penalize fighters for hitting an opponent while they’re on the canvas.

I actually see it all the time where a referee will let it go and not take points off or disqualify a fighter. In fact, it’s rare that I’ve seen a fighter disqualified for hitting an opponent while they’re down. Most of the time, in the fights that I’ve seen where this kind of thing has occurred, the fighter gets away with it. If the referees were better at enforcing this rule, I think there would be less of it going on.

Abraham is a special case, because he’s fought almost his entire career in Germany, where he’s a huge star. Abraham can get away a lot of things while fighting in front of a home crowd, and he perhaps has become too accustomed to having that luxury. It’s a great advantage fighting front of your home crowd, to be sure, but it has a downside to it when a fighter gets used to having certain things ignored by the referee.

I’ve never seen Abraham hit a fighter while he was down before, but I’ve seen him commit a lot of other fouls before and I’ve never seen him once get penalized for any of them. I’ve seen his opponents get penalized, though. I have a feeling that if Saturday’s fight had taken place in Germany rather than in the United States, Dirrell would have been penalized multiple times for hitting on the beltline.

Every time that Abraham played to the referee in the Dirrell bout, I think Abraham would have benefited by having points taken from Dirrell. I also feel that Abraham wouldn’t have been disqualified. Instead, I think Dirrell would have been revived and given five minutes to recover from the blow and if he hadn’t it would have been a stoppage win for Abraham. That’s how I think it would have gone.

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[heyzel]

Q&A with Nate Campbell

arlynda Millerick - On May 15, 2010 Former World Lightweight Champion Nate Campbell will be facing top contender Victor Ortiz in a Jr. Welterweight bout at Madison Square Garden as part of the Paulie Malignaggi/Amir Khan show being featured on HBO's Boxing After Dark. I recently had the chance to talk with The Galaxxy Warrior to discuss his upcoming fight and more.

MM: Nate, first and foremost, thank you for taking the time to talk with me. It's been a long hard road for you, especially in the last two years, but you have proven time and time again just how resilient you can be. Obviously, you have a lot to gain in this upcoming fight, as a win could set you up for a title shot by the end of the year. What do you consider to be your biggest advantage over Victor Ortiz, and how will you utilize it on May 15th?

NC: I have more experience, have been in bigger fights, fought better fighters. I'm a three-time World Champion, I'm fearless. He's never been in with a guy like me..

MM: There is such a mixed reaction amongst fans when discussing this match-up. Some think that the youth and strength of Ortiz will prove too much for you, while others question his heart and predict that he will be broken down and schooled by the tough slick vet. How hard do you feel this fight will be, and do you think you can apply enough pressure to possibly make him quit?

NC: I'm the type of guy that will make you doubt yourself. You know what, everyone said the same thing about Juan Diaz, he's too young, too strong, etc.. And look what I did to him. Who cares if he quits or not, I don't. I will beat him for 12 rounds.

MM: A great tool in preparing for a fight is watching footage so that you can pick up on habits or holes in your opponent's performance. If you watched Ortiz vs. Maidana you could pick up on his tendency to leave himself open for that straight right. Assuming you watched his recent not-so-competitive tune-up with Hector Alatorre, what if anything did you pick up on about your opponent? And more importantly, do you think he could have learned anything valuable from that display to prepare himself for you?

NC: What has he shown? Flaws! I will exploit his flaws. I have been in this game a long time, I am prepared mentally. Ortiz is kind of a bully, but he can't bully me.

MM: You're known for being pretty outspoken when it comes to what you feel is right from wrong. After dealing with that controversial TKO decision in your fight with Tim Bradley last August (which was rightfully overturned to a no-contest by the CSAC), and some harsh criticism for using the rules of the game to your advantage.. How do you feel today about the outcome, and about Bradley?

NC: Yeah, people said I quit. Listen, I won't speak ill without cause, will never speak a lie. Bradley tried to bilk the situation.

MM: What is the one thing that keeps you grounded and focused, particularly during times of adversity?

NC: I was an ordained Minister at the age of 23 and i did what they call "backsled" out of church. I love boxing, but with it comes vices, and I've done a lot of toxic stuff. So, on this past birthday (03/07) I reaffirmed my relationship with God and the Ministry. I've also had to reaffirm my lifestyle. Just yesterday I became real angry about something and had to realize that God is still working on me. I enjoy listening to the words of Marvin Sapp, the greatest evangelist/singer. I'm a radical when it comes to belief and faith, that's how I stay grounded. I've made money and lost money. I've been successful, I've been a champion, and I've had bad times. But I'm still here because God has blessed me. People have wanted me to fade away, but I'm still here.

MM: I recently learned a little fun fact about you, I heard that you have a love for collecting/restoring old cars. Is that a big passion of yours?

NC: Oh, I just love old cars! The 71 Chevelle, the El Camino, old VW Bugs, etc.. God Bless Ford, God Bless Chevy. The 426 is the greatest engine ever made. I like the small block Chevy Chevelle, the 302 Ford, etc.. I just love cars. I'm just as passionate about cars as I am boxing. Above all though, I am most passionate about God.

MM: I know you're busy, so one last question. We've got Mayweather/Mosley on the horizon, care to make a prediction?

NC: Shane is a close personal friend, I love Shane. I think he has all the right tools to win, and that's all I can say about it.

MM: Nate, it's been a pleasure. Thank you for taking the time out to do this short Q&A with me. I wish you the best of luck on May 15th, and in all your future goals.

NC: I thank you. God Bless

 

[heyzel]

Boxings Random Ramblings

by Robert Jackson - Arthur Abraham says he wants to be an "American Boxing Star", it'll take a while longer and maybe NEVER happen, since he paused before decking the downed Andre Dirrell in Detroit's Joe Louis Arena this past Saturday. Any fan could see the frustration building in the Armenian who fights out of Germany as the rounds wore on. To his credit he was coming on in the late rounds of that fight but was way behind on the score cards I'm sure. The State Athletic Commissions should see to it that those painted on advertisements in the ring, which are smooth should be on the outside of ring ropes because those slippery things are a catastrophe waiting to happen..

Next up Hopkins/Jones, don't see Roy doing much to 'right his ship' he hasn't added any NEW wrinkles to his game since Jawny Ruiz. Hopkins has added Nazim Richardson in the place of Bouie Fisher and has also gone to some hi-tech training routines to keep his game fresh. Roy will probably end the night on his back. Roy believing that he can beat Hopkins again just because he beat him the first time is ludicrous.

2 weekends ago Wladdy Klitschko ended Fast Eddie Chambers hope for a heavyweight title with a 12th round KO. The Klitschko's, Shannon Briggs, Tony Thompson, Valuev and any heavyweight 6'5" 240lbs and up are SUPER HEAVYWEIGHTS!! The same people who would say that Floyd Mayweather only beat Juan Manuel Marquez because of his size should REALLY apply this same logic to the Klitschko's!!

What's up with Joan Guzman?? At the end of his rematch Saturday night against Ali Funeka, he celebrated in the RING like he had won the lottery. He should have been MORE humble considering he was overweight again (9 lbs) and STILL Funeka decided to fight him. I think Guzman is a very talented guy but his lack of discipline stinks!!

While waiting for the for the Abraham/Dirrell fight to come on at 9:00pm central time my son and I tuned into the UFC 111 preliminary fights and got a chance to see IMO one of the best MMAers out there Nick Diaz, what a fight this kid put on and up until the point that he locked the choke onto his opponents neck he BOXED primarily

 

[heyzel]

Heavyweight Roundup: What To Expect From The Best Of The Big Boys In The Near Future

by Paul McCreath - Wlad Klitschko - Now that Wlad has finished off Eddie Chambers with a devastating last round KO his next match should be against his"other" mandatory, the Russian Alex Povetkin. But will Alex take the fight? His new trainer Teddy Atlas did not sound too positive on Friday night. Meanwhile the only fight that might prove very risky for Wlad and of great interest to the general public would be against David Haye. Will we see it? Who knows? Between Wlad and brother Vitali they have pretty much cleaned out the division of any true threats. The brothers have decided that if either one meets Haye it will be Wlad. Barring an upset by Haye it looks like Wlad can rule the division for a long time yet. He just turned 34 but is showing no signs of deterioration. We may have to settle for a series of low risk fights like the past few defenses..

Vitali Klitschko is now 38 years old and probably winding down his career as a champion. His next fight is a voluntary against Albert Sosnowski on May 29. Few expect Vitali to have many problems in that one. After that the pickings are slim. Odlanier Solis will be meeting 39 year old Ray Austin in an eliminator to determine the next mandatory for Vitali so the winner of that one could well be Vitali's last fight especially if it is Solis. I expect that we will see Vitali one or two more times in all and then he will retire.

David Haye has a bout this weekend against the veteran ex-champ John Ruiz. Providing he wins that one he has a contractual obligation to give the Russian giant Nicolay Valuev a rematch. After that would come the winner of the May 22 eliminator between Ruslan Chagaev and Kali Meehan. For a fighter who only fights about once a year that schedule is going to keep David busy for awhile. He would probably be favored to win all three matches but Chagaev could be a very tough one to overcome. Then there is the question of the unification match with Wlad. Does Haye really want this fight? He talks like he does but as we all know what David says he is going to do and what he does are frequently two different things. One obstacle to be overcome would be the alphabet boys and all those mandatories. It will be difficult to fit in the fight everyone wants and if it happens I doubt it will be until near year's end or early 2011.

Alex Povetkin won 2 eliminators over two years ago to earn a title shot and we are still waiting. Wlad is willing but first Alex got injured and then he began to realise, wisely I think, that he just wasn't ready to meet Wlad. Now he is healthy, more experienced and he has a new trainer. Will he finally take the fight? The thing is that while he would have a better chance now than he would have had two years ago he will still be a big underdog. He does have other alternatives. If he truly wants to win a title belt would he not have a better chance by waiting for a shot at David Haye or better still waiting for Vitali to retire (probably a shorter wait) so he can join the rush for his vacated title? It is not like he is going to starve if he decides to wait for a better opportunity. There is plenty of money for top 10 heavyweights in Europe.

Eddie Chambers is far from done after his loss to Wlad. While he is unlikely to ever overthrow either of the giant Klitschko brothers they will not be around for ever, especially Vitali. Eddie is not a true heavyweight but he can handle most of them anyway. He is only 27. He can hang around until he gets another title shot against someone more his own size. As long as he keeps busy the chances will come again perhaps in a return with Povetkin for Vitali's old belt when he retires. Eddie could even drop down to cruiser and maybe win a belt there but he would have to settle for less money. I doubt if we will see that.

John Ruiz goes into his April 3 fight with David Haye as a live underdog but I think that at 38 years of age this will finally be his last kick at the can. We have of course written him off many times before and he keeps coming back but it can't last forever.

Ruslan Chagaev will be a heavy favorite to defeat Kali Meehan which will then put him either into a title bout with David Haye or in a very good position to fight for the alphabet belt that Vitali will eventually vacate. We are going to hear more from Ruslan for sure. His only loss was to Wlad Klitschko and that is not such a bad thing.

Chris Arreola has a big bout coming up on April 24 against Tomasz Adamek. This is bound to lead to a title match for the winner. If it is Chris it might be more likely to be Wlad Klitschko or David Haye although there is a long line-up there. If Tomasz wins Vitali would maybe be the more likely opponent. This is a fight that could go either way and should be a good one.

Denis Boytsov at 24 is the youngest of the contenders and appears to be in no hurry. He is fast and hits hard. If advanced intelligently he has a very bright future. He will likely continue to gain experience for a year or two yet before he tries for a world title. A match for the Euro belt against the Harrison-Sprott winner would be a good next step for this young Russian.

Nicolay Valuev will probably get one last payday late this year against David Haye and that will be it. He is slipping and no longer as popular as earlier even in Europe. He missed his chance in turning down the fight with Vitali Klitschko. He would not likely have won but it would have paid very well.

Alex Dimitrenko has been out of action with an injury and needs to regroup after the bad loss to Eddie Chambers. A couple of tune-ups and then a challenge for the Euro belt would make sense. How about Dimitrenko vs Boytsov in a few months?

Tony Thompson is now 38 and time is running out. He will meet Jason Estrada on April 16 and that could lead to more paydays. He must stay busy and hope that one of the champions will be looking for a voluntary opponent sometime soon. Don't hold your breath.

Tomasz Adamek is a former champion at two weights who hopes to add the heavyweight crown as well. His April 24 bout with Chris Arreola will tell us if this is a realistic goal. I don't see him defeating either of the Klitschkos but once Vitali retires anything could happen. Give him a good chance against Chris.

Sam Peter is back in the mix after his recent KO win over Nagy Aguilera. He has lost a lot of weight and is probably as good as he ever was but still slow and limited technically. His power is his strength and his name is still well recognized so count him in somewhere. Wouldn't you love to see him fight either Chris Arreola or David Tua?

Ray Austin is a 39 year old retread who is just hanging on. He could upset an ill-conditioned Solis and that would get him another title bout but yikes ! Who would buy that. It is more likely that this will be his last good payday.

Odlanier Solis may have the best set of tools among all the challengers but he remains unproven and much too heavy. An impressive win over Austin could be a good move to change all that. We can only hope. He may get by Austin but I have my doubts that the weight will ever come off.

Juan Carlos Gomez, the former cruiser champ has become active again and he is still a pretty good fighter. He just won a bout last weekend and has two more tune-ups scheduled soon while he awaits a more meaningful match. At age 36 don't expect too much but he will be a useful gatekeeper for awhile yet.

David Tua would best be forgotten. He hasn't had a meaningful fight in over 5 years and is now 37 years old. His heart is not in it anymore. David will continue to meet modest opposition once or twice a year but will take no big fights. He meets Friday Ahunanya on March 31.

Former big names like James Toney, Hasim Rahman, Evander Holyfield, Shannon Briggs and others are still around with their delusions of reclaiming their one time prominence but their time is past. Evander is the best of the lot even at 46+ years mainly due to his dedication to training so he could get one more good payday but the rest are pretty much limited to the bush leagues of the sport now.

Albert Sosnowski will get his 15 minutes of fame and then revert to the Euro level competition again. He is a willing well conditioned fighter but not championship material. He meets Vitali on May 29.

That's about it unless Kevin Johnson decides to stop talking and start fighting. I doubt if we will see that either. At least we have some promising action coming up among the others in the division.

Article posted on 30.03.2010

 

[heyzel]

Andre Ward vs Andre Dirrell Early Drama Begins

By Rick Reeno

The fight won't take place until the final quarter of 2010, but the early drama has already started for Andre Ward vs. Andre Dirrell, which takes place in the third stage of fights in Showtime's Super Six tournament.

Ward (21-0, 13KOs) defends his WBA title against Allan Green, in the second stage of the Super Six, on June 19 in Oakland. Win or lose, the round-robin format of the Super Six directs Ward and Dirrell (19-1, 13KOs) to fight in the third stage.

A meeting was held on Tuesday morning between Showtime and all of the Super Six promoters, including Kalle Sauerland/Chris Meyer of Sauerland Event, Dan Goossen, Lou DiBella, Gary Shaw and Mick Hennessy.

During the meeting, a dispute broke out between Shaw [for Dirrell] and Goossen [for Ward] regarding the venue. Goossen wants the fight to take place in Ward's hometown of Oakland, and Shaw wants the fight to take place in Dirrell's hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

Shaw will not agree to have the fight in Oakland because he doesn't think it's fair for Ward to have all three of his Super Six fights take place in his hometown, while every other fighter involved has had to travel to hostile territory, and almost all of them have had to travel to other countries.

"He said he wanted the fight to happen in Oakland and I said I want the fight to take place in Michigan. He said 'let's flip a coin' and I said 'that won't happen, you better start thinking about Madison Square Garden.' And I was being serious," Shaw told BoxingScene.com. "I won't agree to Oakland."

Pursuant to the contract terms of the Super Six, a fighter has the right turn down a venue located in his opponent's home state and/or country