Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Khan to fight next in the UK, wants Garcia rematch
July 16th, 2012

By Sean McDaniel: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan is going to be putting off his move to the welterweight division in order to concentrate at succeeding at 140 and avenging his defeat to WBC light welterweight Danny Garcia. For his next bout, Khan will be fighting in the UK against an opponent still to be determined. It won’t be Garcia, but we could see Khan in with someone like Kell Brook possibly.

Khan said to Radio 5 Live “We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board, sit down with the team and see where we go from there. I’m going to give my body a little bit of a break now, spend time with my family…The next fight will be in England.”

It’s a good idea that Khan takes a break from boxing for a little while to let both his body and his brain heal up from the affects of him being knocked out in the 4th round by Garcia last Saturday. Khan took a lot of hard head shots in that fight in a short period of time. He needs to make sure he takes enough time off for his brain to recover from the trauma it suffered. The last thing that Khan needs is to jump back in the ring in three to four months and get knocked out again.

A Khan-Garcia rematch should really wait until late 2013 just to be safe for Khan. He needs to get in one or two easy fights, and work on his game so that he doesn’t make the same mistakes that he did last Saturday. Ideally, Khan needs to start listening to his trainer Freddie Roach and do what he tells him to do. Khan seems to only partially follow what Roach is telling him to do at times, and that’s not going to work well for Khan if he continues to do this in the future.

 

[heyzel]

Bayless: Khan wasn’t able to protect himself against Garcia
July 15th, 2012

By William Mackay: Referee Kenny Bayless observed that Amir Khan was really having a bad day at the office in his 4th round stoppage loss to WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia last night, and having serious problems trying to protect himself from Garcia’s blistering shots in the 4th.

Bayless said to RingTV “Between the first knockdown and to the point where I stopped it, defensively Amir just wasn’t doing enough to protect himself.”

Bayless noted that the punch that knocked Khan down for the third and final time wasn’t that big of a punch compared to the other shots he’d been beating in the 4th. The thing is Khan was so badly hurt by then after having been knocked down twice previously that he couldn’t stay on his feet.

After Khan got up from the third knockdown, Bayless looked him over and asked him if he was okay. Khan nodded that he was but he didn’t look good. Bayless said “He wasn’t showing me enough to protect himself.”

You can say that again. Khan was getting hit nearly at will, and was defenseless to do anything about it.

In hindsight, you got to wonder why Khan failed to do much clinching in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Compared to his last fight, Khan did almost no clinching, which was great for the boxing fans who saw the fight because they didn’t have to watch Khan draping himself all over an opponent. However, the unwritten rule in boxing is that when a fighter is as badly hurt as Khan it’s a good idea to grab their opponents to try and clinch long enough for their heads to clear. Khan failed to do that and it might have cost him the fight.

Bayless said he couldn’t see Khan making a comeback by the 4th, because he’d lost a good amount of his power and he couldn’t stop Garcia from pressuring him.

 

[heyzel]

Freddie Roach: It’s Time to Retire
July 15th, 2012

By Garett R. Nadrich: Freddie Roach, it’s over. Freddie Roach has a wonderful boxing legacy and if anyone has a tough chin in life, it’s him. However, the past year has proven that he’s become more a liability than an asset for his camp.

After Amir Khan’s cremation a la Danny Garcia on Saturday night, it is apparent that training camp for Freddie Roach’s fighters is more glitz and glamour than skill and implementation. Manny Pacquaio’s last two fights against Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley were extremely lackluster and both Amir Khan’s last two bouts resulted in losses.

The one thing in life that is worse than hype itself is believing your own hype. Unfortunately, Freddie Roach’s rise from the underground to celebrity status has left its negative effects. From starting as a gritty trainer to winding up a reality TV star on HBO’s “On Freddie Roach,” it seems that Roach is relying more on his legacy than intelligence when training.

Even though Manny Pacquaio is one of the best fighters in the world, he has no defensive skills. Neither did Amir Khan. Freddie’s fighters know how to outpunch, but are not great at defending themselves in the ring. If Manny Pacquaio had more of a Roger Mayweather-type of training, he would have easily won the Marquez and Bradley fights without any public doubt. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is never questioned about his wins because Roger Mayweather makes sure that Floyd’s main objective is not to get hit. This is more important than hitting.

I couldn’t help but feel pity as Freddie Roach got down on one knee and looked at Amir Khan helplessly in the end of the third round after his overrated fighter was floored by a devastating left hook. All Freddie Roach could say is, “You OK? You sure?”

A true, confident trainer will immediately start on readjusting a strategy that is obviously not working and work toward the win, not console his fighter like a worried grandmother.

Miguel Cotto has Pedro Diaz. Juan Manuel Marquez has Nacho Beristain. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has Roger Mayweather. These are men you fear, not pity. These are men you probably would not want to get into a fight with if you could avoid it. This is what fighters like Manny Pacquaio and Amir Khan need. Tough, confident, somewhat brutal men in their corner.

Manny Pacquaio is still a legend and I think it’d be best for him to rethink his future with Freddie Roach. There is no such thing as a match made in heaven in sports. Even Ray Allen has moved on to the Miami Heat. Sometimes what is best for the fighter is not what is best for the trainer.

Freddie Roach has gone soft and is becoming known for being upset rather than being victorious. Hopefully, Freddie hangs up his gloves and lets Manny free to fight with a corner that can truly prepare for a possible bout with Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

“You OK?” is not going to cut it in professional boxing.

 

[heyzel]

Maidana-Soto Karass on 8/15 on Canelo-Lopez undercard
July 15th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: A fight between Marcos Maidana (31-3, 28 KO’s) and former welterweight contender Jesus-Soto Karass (26-7-3, 17 KO’s has been added to the Golden Boy Promotions undercard of the September 15th fight headlined by WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez vs. light welterweight Josesito Lopez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The addition of Soto-Karass, a Mexican American, to the card is clearly to take advantage of the Mexican Independence holiday which will be celebrated during the weekend of the fight. Apart from that, it’s hard to see the point in Maidana facing a 2nd tier fighter like Soto-Karass. This is a backwards move for 28-year-old Maidana, who lost his last fight against Devn Alexander last February. Maidana was supposed to be facing unbeaten welterweight prospect Keith Thurman (17-0, 16 KO’s) on the undercard of Adrien Broner vs. Vincente Escobedo on July 21st, but Maidana decided not to take that fight.

It was hoped that Maidana would turn around and fight a quality light welterweight contender. However, instead he’s going to the 29-year-old light middleweight Soto-Karass, who has lost four out of his last seven fights. This fight would have been a good one had it taken place in early 2009 before Soto-Karass was getting beaten left and right, but now it’s not really an appealing other than the all-action nature that the fight offers.

With Maidana you can’t be sure that he’ll beat anyone because he’s been beaten or nearly beaten by a number of fighters in the past few years. He lost to Andriy Kotelnik, Amir Khan and Alexander. Maidana almost lost to Erik Morales and DeMarcus Corley.

Soto-Karass has defeats against Alfonso Gomez, Michel Jones and Gabriel Rosado.

 

[CZAR]

lol froch & khan have had beef for like 3-4 years now. Not sure why exactly.

I wouldn't retire if I were khan. Wlad klitschko was KO'd three times badly and even his brother Vitali was telling him to retire. That was 7 years ago and he hasn't lost since. Like Khan, Wlad would foolishly trade shots with his opponents. Khan needs to just accept the fact his chin is week and mimic wlad - use his long jab, stay on the outside and TIE UP when the opponent gets to close. Rinse and repeat. Sure, he'll probably become a boring fighter, but fuck it, gotta do what you gotta do.

Lol at Froch saying he lost a "close" points decision to Ward! That fight was far from close and Ward basically won every round haha. Got Em!!

 

[2-0-Sixx]

I don't like when people blame the trainer for a guys loss, especially if we're talking about Amir khan. u can't fix a broke chin, everyone knew he'd get ko'd again eventually. and I know Roach didn't tell khan to fight toe to toe and get wild in exchanges, hell no that's all khan. he came out angry and emotional and it showed.

now roach is slowing down no doubt but he's still capable. no one was telling emmanuel Stewart to retire when jermaine Taylor, Kermit Cintron and and lee were losing badly. at some point u have to blame the fighter for their mistakes and also consider the fighters weaknesses, lack of ring iq, or maybe they just aren't that good to begin with.

 

[Lamberto Quintero]

If a fighter isn't getting any better, the trainer obviously isn't helping him out.

 

[IronLungs420]

why do roach fighters seem to lack defense?

 

[CZAR]

I don't like when people blame the trainer for a guys loss, especially if we're talking about Amir khan. u can't fix a broke chin, everyone knew he'd get ko'd again eventually. and I know Roach didn't tell khan to fight toe to toe and get wild in exchanges, hell no that's all khan. he came out angry and emotional and it showed.

now roach is slowing down no doubt but he's still capable. no one was telling emmanuel Stewart to retire when jermaine Taylor, Kermit Cintron and and lee were losing badly. at some point u have to blame the fighter for their mistakes and also consider the fighters weaknesses, lack of ring iq, or maybe they just aren't that good to begin with.

The difference with Steward is his fighters are usually the underdog so when they lose its expected. However Roach's fighters are usually the favorite so when they lose its a big deal and obviously shows he is declining as a trainer. Give Steward a stud to train like Manny and dude would be a savage. I would really have liked Cotto to have stayed with Steward as Steward brought him back after the Manny loss and then he cut ties with him. Got Em!!

 

[2-0-Sixx]

khan did get better though. he was kod brutally under 60 seconds. hooked up with roach and had some great performance against kotelink, judah, Paulie, Salita, almost perfect against maidana till he got caught late. so he was improving. I will say against peterson he could have used more of an inside game and that's something roach probably doesn't teach well, but that's not what cost him against garcia.

we can also look at a limited fighter like Chavez jr who before roach, lets be honest he looked like trash at times. since then he's definitely evolved and has become a solid fighter. he'll lose to Sergio but no trainer can help him there. At some point there is simply a difference in class and the trainer can only do so much if your fighter is out-classed.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

The difference with Steward is his fighters are usually the underdog so when they lose its expected. However Roach's fighters are usually the favorite so when they lose its a big deal and obviously shows he is declining as a trainer. Give Steward a stud to train like Manny and dude would be a savage. I would really have liked Cotto to have stayed with Steward as Steward brought him back after the Manny loss and then he cut ties with him. Got Em!!

well there must be a reason both Cotto & Gamboa left Stewart.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

why do roach fighters seem to lack defense?

cause he teaches mostly aggressive style fighters. Not always though like Khan, if you watch most all of his fights he boxes from the outside and uses his jab. He isn't always smart and sometimes ends up banging with guys but that's not really what he's supposed to be doing, as shown against Garcia. And that's the thing with Khan dude can be having a great performance, near perfection, then boom, one shot can change it all. That's why I say you can't change a glass chin. I mean he was beating Maidana bad and all it took was one shot in the 10th and he nearly lost that fight as a result.

All trainers have certain things they are really good at teaching and maybe lack in other areas. Staying with Emmenaul Steward for example all his guys he wants to have a strong jab, stay on the outside, etc. But quite obviously that doesn't always work. Again some of that is the fighters fault whether they don't stick to the game plan (Jermain Taylor), or maybe they just aren't all that good (Andy Lee) or are head cases (kermit cintron).

All I'm saying is Khan getting KO'd isn't the fault of Roach. Certianly Pac getting robbed isn't the fault of Roach.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

speaking of trainers I guess Victor Ortiz & Garcia split. As the story goes Ortiz is upset with Garcia because he told him in the 4th or 5th round his jaw was broken and wanted the fight stopped. Garcia wouldn't have it said let's try a few more rounds. Victor is blaming him for now having a steal plate and screw in his jaw.

Personally, I think Ortiz needs to go to St. Loius and hook up with Kevin Cunningham, who trains other southpaws like Devon Alexander, Cory Spinks, etc. Great fit imo.

 

[HERESY]

speaking of trainers I guess Victor Ortiz & Garcia split. As the story goes Ortiz is upset with Garcia because he told him in the 4th or 5th round his jaw was broken and wanted the fight stopped. Garcia wouldn't have it said let's try a few more rounds. Victor is blaming him for now having a steal plate and screw in his jaw.

Personally, I think Ortiz needs to go to St. Loius and hook up with Kevin Cunningham, who trains other southpaws like Devon Alexander, Cory Spinks, etc. Great fit imo.

He should blame himself.

 

[HERESY]

I don't like when people blame the trainer for a guys loss,

I don't either but in many cases the corner doesn't tell the fighter that he is down or the cutman doesn't do his job. At the end of the day, it's on the fighter to get in there and make it happen, but if your corner is weak you're pretty much doomed.

As for Khan, I think he should fight a couple of more times and if he doesn't improve he needs to hang it up. I also think Roach needs to retire.

 

[ArGenTin3]

speaking of trainers I guess Victor Ortiz & Garcia split. As the story goes Ortiz is upset with Garcia because he told him in the 4th or 5th round his jaw was broken and wanted the fight stopped. Garcia wouldn't have it said let's try a few more rounds. Victor is blaming him for now having a steal plate and screw in his jaw.

Personally, I think Ortiz needs to go to St. Loius and hook up with Kevin Cunningham, who trains other southpaws like Devon Alexander, Cory Spinks, etc. Great fit imo.

Thank HAD if that is true. He has so much talent its not even funny. Tighten up that shaky defense and fine tune that lethal jab he's capable of throwing with such ease and the sky's the limit with that kid imo.

 

[HERESY]

Thank HAD if that is true. He has so much talent its not even funny. Tighten up that shaky defense and fine tune that lethal jab he's capable of throwing with such ease and the sky's the limit with that kid imo.

Fam, you can have all the talent in the world but if you're mentally fucked...well..you're fucked.

 

[ArGenTin3]

He should blame himself.

can't really argue that. garcia isn't right for him either though.

 

[ArGenTin3]

Fam, you can have all the talent in the world but if you're mentally fucked...well..you're fucked.

that mental problem can be a thing of the past if he can get someone to teach him quality defense.

 

[HERESY]

that mental problem can be a thing of the past if he can get someone to teach him quality defense.

Victor Ortiz has reached his peak. He can have God train him and he'll still get knocked out or collapse mentally. Now granted he's only 25 or 26 years old, but he already has over 30 fights on his sheet at this point and I don't think a guy coming in and trying to teach him anything new is going to do much good at this point.