Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Amir Khan will have been out of the ring for seven months by the time he fights again

By William Mackay: WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) won’t likely see action until December, which is seven months removed from his last fight, a one-sided 11th round TKO victory over Paulie Malignaggi on May 15th. Khan, 23, was supposed to be fighting on July 31st against 38-year-old Joel Casamayor, but Khan’s promotional team, Golden Boy Promotions, opted to have Khan skip this date and wait around until December to possibly fight the winner of the July 31st bout between lightweights Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz.


Like I said, the fight against Malignaggi was one-sided and it’s hard to see what Khan could have gotten out of that fight in terms of teaching him anything and improving him. It was basically a fight that they had a good idea that Khan could win and look good in. But in putting Khan in with the light punching Malignaggi, who had no chance because of his lack of offensive weaponry, it didn’t teach Khan how to deal with the big punchers in the light welterweight division.

That’s what Khan needs to learn, not how to beat fighters with zero power. Khan already knows how to do that, because most of his opponents while fighting at lightweight and light welterweight have had zero power. What Khan needs to learn is how to keep from getting knocked out again like he was in his one and only fight against a big puncher when he was stopped in the 1st round by Breidis Prescott in 2008. Putting Khan in with guys like Malignaggi is a waste of time.

And Khan’s fight before that was against Dmitri Salita, who Khan stopped in the 1st round. You can’t blame Khan for that one because Salita, for some reason, was ranked number #1 by the WBA, despite having no experience against top tier fighters. Khan’s last meaningful fight was against former WBA light welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik last year in June 2009. Kotelnik, like Malignaggi, is a light puncher and Khan was able to do well against him.

However, Kotelnik had enough power for Khan to improve as a fighter and I think he got something out of that fight. But by the time that Khan faces his next test, if they match him up with a good fighter in December, it will have been a year and a half between competitive fights for Khan, and that’s not a good thing for a fighter that you’re trying to turn into a mega star. If the idea is to build up Khan against lightweights like Casamayor, Diaz and Marquez, and then cash out with Khan facing a top fighter like Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao, then I suppose this is the way to go.

But I think Khan will get massacred when that time comes, not because he doesn’t have the basic skills, but rather because he hasn’t been brought along the right way. In the past year, Khan hasn’t had any competitive fights other than the Kotelnik bout, and if he’s going to now be matched up against lightweights, who will be forced to move up in weight if they want the privilege to fight with the inexperienced Khan, then I don’t see how this is preparing Khan to fight the best light welterweights or a great welterweight like Mayweather or maybe Pacquiao. That seems to be the wrong way of bringing Khan along if the idea is to improve him as a fighter and get him ready to fright the likes of Marcos Maidana, Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Mayweather and Pacquiao.

 

[heyzel]

Is Martirosyan a future champion or just a pretender?

By Chris Williams: Undefeated Top Rank junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan (28-0, 17 KO’s) stayed unbeaten with an unimpressive 10 round unanimous decision win over Joe Greene on the undercard of the Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto bout on June 5th at the Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, New York. The Martirosyan-Greene fight was the co-main event of what turned out to be a rather disappointing card, as the Martirosyan was incredibly boring and the main event between Cotto and Foreman, never a particularly interesting fight from the 1st round, was a huge letdown when Foreman injured his bad right knee in the 7th and eventually it led to him being stopped in the 9th.


Martirosyan, 24, is thought by some to be a future champion at junior middleweight or middleweight. He’s currently trained by Freddie Roach, and has seen his fighting style change dramatically in the past three years from that of a slugger to more of a Foreman type of fighter that bounces around on the outside and jumps in and out to land his shots and then scurry away.

Like Foreman, Martirosyan now clinches an awful lot. In his fights against Kassim Ouma and Greene, Martirosyan often tended to come at his opponents trying to land and would then, whether he landed or not, would grab his opponents in a clinch or a headlock to prevent them from throwing anything at him while he was in close.

It’s never interesting to see a fighter use this kind of style, but it seems even less interesting to see Martirosyan use it because he’s not particularly fast nor is he a huge puncher. He seems to be just doing enough to get his wins. He beat Ouma in his previous fight in January 2010, using the same punch and grab technique and it was just so awful to look at. Ouma was wise to Martirosyan’s tactics and was able to time him and light him when Martirosyan would come forward trying to land and then immediately clinch. I thought Martirosyan lost that fight by at least two rounds.

However, the judges somehow saw him winning by a fairly large decision. But it’s not a good sign that Martirosyan is struggling and not looking good against guys like Ouma and Greene. In the Green fight, Martirosyan looked tired by the 6th round, and lost what little power and speed he had on his punches. From the 6th round on, Martirosyan looked like a wet noodle as he would forward trying to land and then immediately drape himself on his opponent for the obligatory clinch.

Ranked #3 WBO, #6 WBC, #8 IBF and #8 WBA, Martirosyan is no doubt going to be getting a title shot against one of the champions in the near future. However, I just can’t see any of them that he could beat right now. The WBC title will be open because champion Sergio Martinez is vacating the title. But it’s unlikely that Martirosyan will be fighting for that title yet, because he’s ranked only #6.

However, I wouldn’t like his chances against the number #2 and #3 contenders, Antonio Margarito and Kermit Cintron. I think both of those fighters are level above him. And I think Paul Williams is a couple levels above Martirosyan. I do think that Martirosyan could possibly beat the number #1 ranked WBC contender Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but then again, I don’t think that Chavez Jr. should even be ranked in the top 15. He looks second tier to me.

Right now, I see Martirosyan at around number #14 or #15 in the light middleweight division. He needs a heck of a lot of improvement if he wants to win and hold a title. His trainer Roach needs to get Martirosyan to stop bouncing around all the time when he fights. It’s so annoying to watch and such a waste of energy. Also, all that clinching and low blows that Martirosyan was doing in the Greene fight, just awful. I don’t what Roach can do to improve Martirosyan’s hand speed and power.

I think he’s pretty much stuck being slow and an average puncher but he could at least fix the bouncing all that clinching. I’d like to see Roach teach Martirosyan to throw a jab with power. He just seems to flick his arm out like a wet noodle, as if gravity is forcing his hand down and preventing him from getting any power on his shots.

 

[heyzel]

What revenue split should Pacquiao get for the Mayweather fight?

By Chris Williams: The Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. mega fight is rumored to be stalled over the purse split between the two fighters, with Mayweather wanting a bigger share of the profits and Pacquiao wanting to get at least a 50-50 deal. But does Pacquiao deserve 50% based on his recent pay per view numbers? His last fight brought in only 700,000 compared to the 1.4 million that Mayweather came in with for his fight against Shane Mosley.


Mayweather’s fights against Oscar De La Hoya and Juan Manuel Marquez have also done a lot better than Pacquiao’s fights against the same two fighters. So, shouldn’t Mayweather then get a bigger purse split than Pacquiao and if so, how much more? I think 60-40 is pretty reasonable number because Mayweather has shown to be the bigger draw and there won’t be a huge fight without involved.

Pacquiao may want to get half of the revenue but he’s not the bigger PPV star and he’s also not unbeaten like Mayweather. Being unbeaten counts for a lot, especially when those victories have come against top opposition. There are some fighters that are unbeaten but their wins have come against 2nd tier opposition and their records are thus highly inflated.

Mayweather’s record isn’t like that. He’s fought nothing but the best and beaten them soundly ever time. Pacquiao has already been beaten several times in his career. He may be an exciting fighter but doesn’t have that zero in the loss column like Mayweather. And he hasn’t been bringing in the same PPV numbers as Mayweather. Should people ignore that and give Pacquiao and even split with Mayweather despite the fact that Mayweather is generating more buys than Pacquiao.

You can’t ignore that because boxing is a part of show business and Mayweather is doing a better job right now of putting backsides in the seats. That’s what counts the most. Pacquiao is a popular fighter, but he’s not getting the same numbers as Mayweather. Because of that, I think Pacquiao deserves no better than 40 percent of the revenue. He’s got to bring in the numbers and he’s just doing that to the same extent that Mayweather is right now. It’s not good enough that Pacquiao has a certain segment of society that follows his fights religiously; Pacquiao needs the big numbers that Mayweather is bringing in if he wants to get a 50-50 or better deal with Mayweather.

 

[heyzel]

Dawson vs. Pascal victor will be picked as light heavyweight champion by The Ring Mag

By Jason Kim: The Ring magazine will be picking the winner of the August 14th clash between WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal and Chad Dawson as their champion of the light heavyweight division. It’s hard to understand why Dawson, 27, hasn’t already been picked by The Ring as the champion years ago, because he’s clearly been the best fighter in the light heavyweight division for at least two, if not three years. While some would say that Bernard Hopkins deserved that title, I don’t agree with that.


Hopkins hasn’t been fighting light heavyweights in the past three years, so I can’t see him as deserving the title. Since 2007, Hopkins has fought Winky Wright, Joe Calzaghe, Kelly Pavlik, Enrique Ornelas and Roy Jones Jr. of the that bunch, only Jones is a light heavyweight, and he’s clearly not the same fighter he once was. Dawson, though, has beaten light heavyweights Glen Johnson twice and Antonio Tarver twice.

Those wins have proven far and away that Dawson deserves to be the Ring champion. The only fighters that Dawson hasn’t fought during these years is Hopkins, who hasn’t shown any interest in fighting Dawson despite the fact that he’s been calling Hopkins out constantly, and Tavoris Cloud, a new comer. Dawson and Cloud will almost surely be fighting Cloud in the next year or so.

Pascal only moved to the light heavyweight division last year and has twice beaten Adrian Diaconu. Those were good wins, but I’m not sure why he’s being considered for the Ring 175 pound champion when Pascal hasn’t fought more than two fighters at light heavyweight. I would much prefer the title of champion to go in a fight between Cloud and Pascal, because Cloud is still unbeaten, whereas Pascal was soundly defeated in December 2008 by Carl Froch.

I find it hard to understand how Pascal could be seen as potential Ring Champion at this early stage and with his recent loss. He didn’t look great in his last fight against Diaconu, and I barely had Pascal winning that fight. It doesn’t matter that his shoulder was dislocated. He still didn’t look very impressive. And I expect Pascal to get totally blown out by Dawson. And I do think Dawson is the one that should get the title, but I think it’s not the right fight to determine who the Ring Champions should be. For me, it should be Dawson-Cloud, because I see Cloud as the 2nd best fighter in the division behind Dawson. I think Pascal is a good fighter, but I see him as a number #4 fighter behind Dawson, Cloud, and Johnson.

 

[heyzel]

Jeff Mayweather: If Pacquiao Gets Tested, He Gets KO'd

By Mark Vester

Trainer Jeff Mayweather, the uncle of Floyd Mayweather Jr., had a lot to say about a possible November fight between his nephew and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. Like his two brothers, Roger and Floyd Sr., Jeff is 100% behind his nephew's demand for a random drug testing protocol.

Based on some of his comments in a recent interview with the Fort Smith Boxing Examiner, Jeff is suspicious about Pacquiao possibly using performance enhancing drugs. If the fighters agree to random drug testing, Jeff predicts a knockout win for his nephew within five rounds.

"If Pacquiao agrees to the random testing, I think he will get knocked out. I would say, probably within five rounds, Pacquiao will get knocked out, because he can't get out of the way of anything," Jeff Mayweather said.

"One thing that Floyd has always shown; once they start saying that somone's going to beat him, Floyd don't just beat them, he dominates them. He shows that they don't even belong in the same ring with him. He did it with Mosley, he did it with Marquez, and everybody else they've said that about."

If a deal doesn't happen, Jeff doesn't want the boxing public to blame his nephew. He says the blame should be put on Pacquiao. Jeff blames the Filipino champion for the fight falling through earlier this year. The two fighters were unable to agree on the terms for the random drug testing protocol. Jeff thinks the issue of random drug testing will be the likely cause for the fight falling through in the second round of negotiations.

"I think that it's one of those situations, that when and if it doesn't happen, everyone's going to point the finger at Floyd, when the finger shouldn't be pointed at Floyd. It should be pointed at Pacquiao because Pacquiao is the reason why the fight didn't happen in the first place, and it'll be that same reason why the fight don't happen this time," Jeff Mayweather said.

"It has nothing to do with Floyd. I mean, this guy went into all these demands on Floyd, what he wanted. You know, [Pacquiao] said, 'Ok. Every pound you're over, that's going to cost you 10 million dollars'. Floyd said, 'Ok'. Then he said, 'I want to wear these kind of gloves'. Floyd said, 'Ok'."

[Floyd said], 'Now, I want you to take the drug tests, random drug testing.' See, Manny's still trying to get around that whole issue. Recently, now he's trying to say, 'Ok. Well, I'll do it up until 14 days'. But that's not random then, because you know when they're going to stop testing you."

 

[heyzel]

Bunce: Haye vs Harrison is Not Done, But it Can Happen

By Mark Vester

According to British boxing insider, Steve Bunce, reports of a deal being struck between WBA heavyweight champion David Haye and Audley Harrison are premature. Bunce spoke with Harrison's promoter Eddie Hearn, who denied reports that his fighter agreed to a £1million deal to fight Haye on November 13.

Hearn did confirm the two sides are speaking. Bunce also spoke with Haye's manager, Adam Booth, who also confirmed the talks but said they are speaking with several other fighters as well.

"What Adam Booth said on behalf of David Haye, 'yes, we are still talking.' But he also said they are speaking with five other people," Bunce said.

"It's a possible fight. I think it can happen because it makes cash common sense."

Harrison is a very big fight in England and he presents the least amount of risk when you size him up to some of the other options out there, like Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko.

"David Haye, he's the boss here. He wants to make the most amount of money for the least amount of risk. It's that simple. And Audley Harrison I'll tell you what, from where David Haye is sitting and Adam Booth is sitting - that is the most amount of money for the least amount of risk, trust me," Bunce said.

 

[heyzel]

Pacquiao Vows To Not Budge Further To Mayweather

By Mark Vester

According to a report in ABS-CBN News, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will not budge any further to any demands made by Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao spoke with the paper upon his arrival to Manila and said negotiations for a Mayweather fight are ongoing, but he is unsure as to the status until he speak with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.

Pacquiao recently agreed to Mayweather's previous demand for a random drug testing protocol. The Filipino champ is willing to get tested up until 14-days before the fight date; a Mayweather demand that he previously turned down earlier this year. Pacquiao told the paper that his decision on the issue of random drug testing would be the "last wish from the Mayweather camp that he would grant."

Pacquiao is also sticking to his guns on the previously agreed terms for a 50/50 split on the money. There has been talk that Mayweather wants a bigger split of the money. Rumors suggest Mayweather wants a 60-40 split. Pacquiao has said in several recent interviews that he won't go forward with the fight if Mayweather continues to demand a bigger piece of the money. Mayweather believes he deserves more money because of the 1.4 million pay-per-view buys that were generated from his fight against Shane Mosley on May 1.

 

[heyzel]

James Kirkland Could Be Returning Without Ann Wolfe?

By Lem Satterfield

There seems to be some trouble in paradise between junior middleweight contender James Kirkland and his trainer Ann Wolfe, a former female world champion who finished her career with a record of 24-1, 16KOs. Kirkland has been sitting in prison since April 2009 after pleading guilty to a charge of gun possession by a convicted felon. He is scheduled for release to a halfway house on October 2 and ring return is expected before the end of the year.

The pairing with Wolfe attracted a lot of media attention because Kirkland was one of the few fighters, in his position, being trained by a female. BoxingScene.com spoke with Kirkland's co-manager, Cameron Dunkin, who doesn't know the exact details of the internal dispute, but hopes everything can be worked out.

"Ann Wolfe called me and was upset. I don't know what's going on with her and James right now. They're having some problems that we have to work out. There's some bitterness," said Dunkin.

Dunkin would like to get Kirkland away from his hometown of Austin, Texas. During last year's trial for the firearm charge, the 26-year-old fighter informed the court that he was carrying a weapon because an unknown party had recently robbed him at gunpoint. If Kirkland and Wolfe can work out their issue, Dunkin believes she would relocate to continue training Kirkland.

"I have an obligation to the fighter to get him the bet training that I can," said Dunkin. "I don't want to have him there in Austin, where they grew up. I think that Ann would relocate. Ann's done an unbelievable job and I think hat she's terrific and we're all great friends."

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer expects big things from Kirkland once he gets out. Dunkin says the month of November is a realistic time period for Kirkland's return.

"This is a great weight class, and I think that there are some great fights there, and I think they can certainly use somebody in the weight class who brings excitement and danger in the ring like James does as a fighter," said Schaefer. "I think that the proper thing to do is to have an assessment fight where he can assess his stance right now, and together, with his management team, we can all, as a team, assess where he stands as a team."

 

[heyzel]

Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora in Talks For September 18

By Rick Reeno

Sources close to the situation have advised BoxingScene.com that ongoing discussions are taking place to match former champions Shane Mosley (46-6, 39KOs) and Sergio Mora (22-1-1, 6KOs) on September 18, with Staples Center in Los Angeles as the likely venue. Mora has a fight scheduled on July 23 against JC Candelo.

If an agreement can be reached, I've heard the fight would take place at a catch-weight of 154-pounds, where both fighters are former champions. Mosley's last couple of fights have been at welterweight, and Mora moved back to the middleweight division. I've heard some talk about unbeaten prospect Saul "Canelo" Alvarez making a possible appearance in the co-feature.

 

[heyzel]

Why doesn’t Pacquiao take the smaller cut to make the Mayweather fight?

By Chris Williams: I don’t understand why Manny Pacquiao is so concerned about wanting to get a 50-50 deal with Floyd Mayweather Jr. He is boxing for the people and not for money, right? Well then it stands to reason that Pacquiao should be more than happy to take the 40% or whatever cut that Mayweather is offering him with reason so that the blockbuster Mayweather-Pacquiao fight can be made.


After all, it’s for his fans and he does want them to be happy. I’m one of Pacquiao’s biggest fans and I’m not happy. Why is Pacquiao worried about getting an even deal. Even if Pacquiao does wind up getting 40% or 45%, that’s still way more than Pacquiao ever got before in the past.

By taking the money, Pacquiao would be making the mega fight happen and would also be getting the biggest payday of his career. I think anything in the neigborhood of 40% upwards is a very generous offer to Pacquiao and I can’t see why he would turn it down in order to fight a needless rematch with Miguel Cotto or take on Antonio Margarito.

I’m pretty sure that both of those fights would do way worse than the Mayweather fight in generating PPV buys. I would be perfectly okay with Pacquiao getting an even deal with Mayweather if Pacquiao was getting the same or very similar PPV numbers, but unfortunately he’s not. Pacquiao’s numbers are less than Mayweather, and so it stands to reason that Pacquiao should make less.

That’s how things go in the world of business. If you consistently out perform your co-worker, then you’re supposed to get more money. That’s the way things are done in the United States. If Pacquiao was making the huge money in his PPV bouts and doubling Mayweather’s numbers, then I would say that Pacquiao deserves the bigger share of the pie.

But the fact is Pacquiao isn’t generating the better PPV buys compared to Mayweather. And if Mayweather was to give Pacquiao the same amount he’s getting in terms of a split of the revenue then Mayweather would be giving away what should be his own money because he’s the better PPV draw in this fight.

For whatever reason, Pacquiao just hasn’t been getting the same amount of PPV buys as Mayweather. Who knows what the disconnect is. It could be something as simple as bad match-making for Pacquiao by his promoter or it could be that some boxing fans don’t see Pacquiao as interesting to watch compared to Mayweather.

It could be that Mayweather is better at marketing his fights because of his gift for speaking. I don’t know that Mayweather should ignore his better numbers and just give Pacquiao the same exact cut that he’s getting when he’s doing the better numbers. Pacquiao had a chance last time to fight Mayweather at 50%, but instead Pacquiao chose to fight one of his promoter Bob Arum’s fighters with Joshua Clottey. In my views, that closed the chance of a 50-50 deal when Pacquiao’s PPV numbers against Clottey

 

[heyzel]

Kessler vs. Green, Dirrell vs. Ward doubleheader on September 25th – News

By William Mackay: According to Boxing Talk, unbeaten Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO’s) will be facing Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO’s) and Mikkel Kessler (43-2, 32 KO’s) will be fighting Allan Green (29-2, 20 KO’s) on September 25th in a Super Six tournament doubleheader with both fights occurring in different venues.


As of now, it’s unknown where the fights will be taking place. Ward, 26, defeated Green by lopsided 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night in Oakland, California. Dirrell, 26, is coming off an 11 round disqualification win over Arthur Abraham on March 27th, in a fight that Dirrell was well ahead of at the time Abraham was disqualified for hammering Dirrell with a right hand after he slipped on the canvas.

Kessler, 31, was totally dominated by Ward in an 11 round technical decision loss in November of last year in his stage 1 Super Six tournament bout. Ward made Kessler looked slow, old and amateurish in the fight. However, Kessler came back in stage 2 bout to get the better of previously unbeaten Carl Froch, defeating him by a 12 round unanimous decision on April 24th to capture Froch’s WBC super-middleweight title.

Froch felt that he should have won the fight, but few boxing fans or writers agree with him. Green will have to fight a lot better than he did against Ward if he wants to beat Kessler. It takes good hand speed and a high work rate to beat Kessler.

Green may have excellent hand speed, but he’s never been known for having a good work rate. He could find himself getting dominated again and thus won’t be able to make it to the semifinals of the Super Six tournament. Most people would likely agree that Kessler is the one to pick in a bout between him and Green. Allan looked almost amateurish in losing to Ward, and didn’t show the type of skills needed to beat a quality fighter like Kessler.

The Ward-Dirrell fight could end up being the best fight of the night by far. Ward and Dirrell are both pretty evenly matched in terms of boxing skills. All the things that Ward has going for him, such as hand speed, defense and ring movement are cancelled out by Dirrell, who may be even better than Ward in each of these departments. However, Ward is mentally tough and hard to beat. Dirrell will have to use a perfect plan if he wants to beat Ward

 

[heyzel]

Dirrell: “I knew it [Ward’s win over Green] was going to be a clinic”

By Scott Gilfoid: Super Six contestant Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO’s) was impressed with WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward’s win over Super Six replacement opponent Allan Green (29-2, 20 KO’s) last Saturday night in Oakland, saying “I knew it was going to be a clinic. If Green didn’t bring damage to Ward early then he wasn’t going to do it at all. After the fourth round, I knew it was going to be a wrap.” Dirrell was so right. Green didn’t do the things he needed to do to win this fight, like stay off the ropes for one.


Green, 30, made it easy for Ward by letting him bull him to the ropes in many of the rounds and punish him on the inside. There was some things that Green could have done in that fight to have a better chance of winning, but he just failed to execute. Green didn’t let his hands go, wasted time trying to fight Ward on the inside and didn’t use his jab. Anytime you’re fighting a tough inside fighter like Ward, you have to move your wheels and throw a lot of jabs.

Green did neither. He fought like he was in quicksand most of the fight and let Ward do pretty much anything he wanted to in the fight. Green said after the fight that his legs weren’t there because he had over-trained, but he still should have been able to throw some punches. Even if Green’s legs weren’t there for the fight, he still should have opened up more with his offense, because he just made it too easy for Ward in this fight.

The judges gave Ward all 12 rounds, with each of them scoring the fight 120-108. That shows you have dominant Ward was in that fight. Right now, I can only see one fighter that has any chance of beating Ward and that’s the 26-year-old Dirrell. He’s faster, taller and better defensively and a better mover than Ward. Dirrell will not waste valuable time trying to fight on the inside like Green did. And he won’t be mauled in the same way that both the slower Green and Mikkel Kessler were in their fights with Ward. Dirrell will use his legs to move, and throw jabs to keep Ward off of him.

When Ward does come charging forward, Dirrell will light him up with punches, and then move away laterally to the left or the right to get out of the way of Ward. There’s really nothing Ward can show that Dirrell hasn’t seen before. Ward is very much like some of the pressure fighters that Dirrell easily beat early in his career like Mike Paschall, Victor Oganov and Curtis Stevens. Dirrell knows how to beat these kinds of fighters, so Ward is going to have to come up with another plan other just trying to mug Dirrell if he plans on beating him. What worked for Ward in his fights against Kessler and Green will not work against a talented fighter like Dirrell.

 

[heyzel]

Chavez Jr. vs. Duddy this Saturday

By Jim Dower: Unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) will be making his first appearance with new trainer Freddie Roach this Saturday night against middleweight fringe contender John Duddy (29-1, 18 KO’s) at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas. Chavez and Duddy will be fighting for the vacant WBC Silver belt, one of the newer titles that have been put together not too long again.

Chavez, 24, has some big money fights ahead of him if he can beat Duddy on Saturday, as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has talked about possibly matching Chavez Jr. up against WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in a big money fight. According to writer Doug Fischer from Ringtv.com, Chavez Jr. looked so-so in a recent sparring session that he watched of him this past week. It was only sparring, of course, but Chavez Jr. had some problems against Michael Medina and Rashad Holloway, and failed to dominate to dominate either of them during the sparring sessions.


It probably doesn’t matter, though, because Duddy, a decent fighter, likely would have problems against those guys too. This is the beauty of matching Chavez Jr. against Duddy rather than say an arguably more dangerous middleweight contender like Gennady Golovkin, Paul Williams, Matthew Macklin or Daniel Jacobs. Chavez Jr. at least has a chance to beat Duddy, because we’ve already seen Duddy beaten last year by another fringe contender Billy Lyell.

If Chavez Jr. has any ability, he should be able to beat Duddy. However, Chavez Jr. apparently is having problems applying the things that Roach is trying to teach him, specifically in using his jab more. Fisher says that Chavez Jr. opted to fight on the inside in his sparring sessions rather than stay on the outside and utilize his reach to control the action. One of the problems with Chavez is that despite his long 6’0” frame, he has a tendency to try and fight on the inside much of the time like his famous 5’7” father Julio Cesar Chavez.

The problem with Chavez Jr. is that he doesn’t have the same kind of heavy hands and power that his father once had in his prime. This results in Chavez Jr. taking a lot of punishment in his fights because he can’t just get his opponents out of there or punish them in the same way that his father Chavez Sr. was able to do in his career. It’s pretty telling that Chavez Jr. has been struggling to beat B level fighters in the past two years.

This says that Chavez Jr. isn’t doing something right or he doesn’t have the physical skills and expertise to compete at the upper level of the light middleweight and middleweight divisions. Surprisingly, the fight against Duddy will mark the first time in Chavez’s seven year pro career that he’ll have faced an A level fighter, if you want to call Duddy that. Chavez Jr. is ranked number #1 by the WBC, yet he hasn’t fought one top tier opponent up until now. That makes you wonder a little about the rankings.

Ideally, a number #1 ranked fighter should at least have fought and beaten a top tier opponent for them to receive that kind of ranking. In Chavez’s case, he’s fought strictly B level fighters and there are a couple of fights – against Matt Vanda and Carlos Molina – where Chavez Jr. appeared to lose but was given a draw and a split decision.

Never the less, Chavez Jr. will likely get a big money fight against Cotto next if he can get by Duddy this Saturday night. I can see this fight as being controversial, with a lot of close rounds going to Chavez instead of Duddy.

 

[heyzel]

Tarver moving up to heavyweight, wants Haye and the Klitschkos

Antonio Tarver (27-6, 19 KO’s) announced last Saturday night that he plans on moving up from the light heavyweight division and skipping the cruiserweight division entirely in going after WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, WBC champion Vitali Klitschko and IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in the heavyweight division. For Tarver, now 41, this is a risky move that has little chance of success.


At 6’2”, Tarver, with a thin, wiry frame, doesn’t appear have the build to compete with powerful heavyweights like Haye and the Klitschko brothers nor does Tarver have the huge power. Tarver has good – but not great – power at the 175 pound light heavyweight level, but he’s going to need a lot more power to make him competitive with fighters like the Klitschkos.

Tarver doesn’t have a lot of time, unlike the 33-year-old Tomasz Adamek, a former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, who moved up to heavyweight division recently and has found success. Tarver will be turning 42 in November and that is pretty old to be fighting at heavyweight without a lot of power to fall back on.

Tarver, to have any real chance at fighting for a title, will have to move quickly by fighting often against two or three top contenders in the next six months to have much of a chance at getting title shot. Last Saturday night, Tarver looked fat, like he’s carrying around a lot of extra pounds on his frame and it’s going to be tough for him to trim that blubber off and get in condition anytime soon to fight at heavyweight.

There is a chance that Tarver could get a title shot just by having a recognizable name, but you have to assume that Tarver would at least have to beat a couple of B level heavyweights before he’s given a title shot on a silver platter like Haye was given when WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev elected to fight Haye last year after Haye had only beaten Monte Barrett at heavyweight.

This is what Tarver had to say last Saturday night: “I definitely wanted to move up to cruiserweight. There was one guy [Danny Green] in particular that I wanted to fight. But unfortunately, he’s interested in unburying dead men. So I feel that if I’m going to stay in the game of boxing and give it my all, I’ve got to set big goals for myself. And as you can see, I’m looking a little full right now. So I’m going to put on some muscle and the champ is going heavyweight. So, the Klitschkos and David Haye, be on the lookout, because I’m coming.”

I could give Tarver a slight chance of getting a shot at Haye and knocking him out if he were five or six years younger, but it’s difficult to imagine that a 42-year-old Tarver will be able to beat Haye. As for the Klitschko brothers, I don’t think they’ll even bother fighting Tarver unless he actually faces and beats a top contender, and I don’t think that will even happen. As such, Tarver’s best and perhaps only chance of getting a title shot will be against Haye, if the British heavyweight can hold onto his title for much longer.

 

[heyzel]

Froch vs. Pavlik a possibility in the future?

By Marc Gliddon: For years I have thought Kelly Pavlik (36,2 32KOs), and Carl Froch (26,1 20KOs) have many things in common. Both men have won world titles at a time of weak competition and against questionable opposition, both men favour conventional straight power shots over boxing skills and both men come from traditional white working class areas. But now they share another similarity and that is they both might have nowhere to go – except a possible match up with each other.


This idea is not as far fetched as it may first appear. Pavlik has had massive problems with making weight for fights even before winning his world titles against Jermain Taylor, often not eating anything for days before a fight. So a move up to the super middle weight division would seem practical. Also, with the current politics and bureaucracy surrounding his former straps now held by Martinez, means that a rematch could take a while to sort out, even if there is a rematch clause in the initial contract. There is a lot of debate if Pavlik would be able to win a rematch as well after being completely out fought by the quicker more skilful Martinez. So Pavlik has two options, give up (retire), or step up (move up to super-middle weight). But, if he moves up he isn’t going to be able to get into the super six tournament, so what options does he have? Enter Carl Froch.

Carl Froch seems increasingly disillusioned with the super six tournament after being beaten by Kessler in Denmark. He blames unfair scoring due to kessler’s home town advantage for losing (most of us disagree though), and is insisting on Nottingham, England being the venue for the next stage in the competition. Already the rumours and speculation have suggested that if he doesn’t get this he will pull out of the tournament. In which case, with the exception of Lucian Bute, what other world class fighters are there outside the super six are there in the super middle weight division. This may be a little premature as he hasn’t pulled out of the tournament yet, but Froch has the type of temperament to through his toys out of the pram until he gets what he wants. I can’t see Froch having the influence to say where he wants future fights as there are plenty of successful promoters who can afford big purse bids and dictate where the fight may happen in the Super Six.

With all this in mind the similarities start showing themselves again, both men would only fight big names, both have been exposed at the highest stature of world level boxing and both men desperately need to win to regain their careers.

I can’t see any reason why they shouldn’t fight. Imagine it: it would be a good matchup, with an exciting clash of styles. Neither men are too fussy about defence, either covering up or foot movement, and both men will take shots to land their impressive power shots.

I predict cuts, knockdowns, hard fought rounds difficult to score, and the fight ultimately being decided on heart and a good chin. So who wins? I think it all comes down to who wants it more, my prediction: the Cobra to TKO Pavlik after gradually wearing him down: Carl Froch to extend his winning record by late stoppage. Who do you think will have the edge Pavlik or Froch? Please comment.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

2-0-Sixx cliff notes from this week:

-Top Rank and HBO PPV are looking at Dec. 4 as the date for a possible Antonio Margarito-Miguel Cotto rematch

-It was revealed on Monday that Shane Mosley & Sergio MORA have been in talks for a battle in Sept at the Staples Center at 154 pounds, which would also co-feature Saul Alvarez who is rumored to be fighting Matthiew Hatton.

-Sergio Martinez has submitted a fight request with Golden Boy recently to fight Shane Mosley at a catchweight of no less than 155 pounds. Martinez is also willing to take the smaller purse cut. Although this might be a bigger fight for Mosley, Mora maybe a better opponent for him at this point in his career, also Mora did beat Vernon Forrest who holds two victories over Shane.

-James Kirkland is getting out of prison in a matter of weeks (he's been in since April 2009) and apparently he may come back WITHOUT his longtime trainer Ann Wolf. Apparently she may still be bitter about his mistakes, further Golden Boy wants to move Kirkland out of Austin, TX so that he can be removed from bad influences. Ann Wolfs gym is in Austin and it's unclear if she is also willing to relocate as she trains multiple fights not just Kirkland.

-Eddie Chambers is considering a drop to Cruiserweight.

-Cuban sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa (18-0) could face Elio Rojas (22-1) on July 24th instead of Salido (34-10), who he was originally scheduled to fight. Salido suffered a bad cut in training and apparently will not be ready to fight until Sept. HBO already has the date for Gamboa in July and may not want a Sept bout. Further, HBO would much rather have a Gamboa-Rojas clash as it appears to be the better match-up.

 

[WYNO707X4]

margarito vs cotto rematch.come on cotto going down again

 

[2-0-Sixx]

It would be a dope fight but I kinda agree Margarito would beat Cotto again. His size and and style are simply a bad matchup for Cotto.

 

[MR. CLEEN]

Margarito was gettin out boxed in the first half of that fight though so it depends on how much pressure he could take from Margarito. Since we know his hands were loaded most likely, he might have a better chance of lasting this time around.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

margarito was puttin in work though in those early rounds so even though he was losing the rounds on points he was putting money in the bank by investing in those body shots and uppercuts to the face which eventually broke cotto down over time.