Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Alexander vs Maidana is Being Discussed For August

By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com was advised by both parties that a potential junior welterweight collision between WBC/IBF champion Devon Alexander and WBA-interm champion Marcos Maidana is being discussed for the month of August on HBO. Both Don King Productions and Golden Boy Promotions are interested in putting the fight together.

Alexander and manager/trainer Kevin Cunningham sat ringside last weekend in Las Vegas and watched Maidana's impressive six-round demolition of previously undefeated Victor Cayo. The performance gave Alexander a newfound respect for Maidana's in-ring abilities. Team Alexander immediately directed Don King to secure Maidana as their August opponent.

"He said he was impressed with Maidana's pressure and his power. His exact words were 'this guy is a beast but I want him next.' I think Devon and Maidana are the two most exciting junior welterweights in the division. The winner of this fight would be the true champion of the division. Neither of these guys are scared of any challenges. Amir Khan ducked Maidana and Tim Bradley ducked Devon. They are the two most feared guys in the division. We want to make the fights that fans want to see. Devon is a throwback fighter and he wants to fight the best guys out there," Cunningham told BoxingScene.com.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told BoxingScene he plans to discuss Alexander-Maidana this coming weekend with HBO. If the network presents an offer that makes financial sense for both sides, we could have ourselves a fight.

"I'm going to see [senior vice president of sports programming] Kery Davis from HBO, who will be in Las Vegas this weekend, and discuss what kind of an offer would be on table for a fight with Maidana and Alexander, and then communicate that information to our co-promoter, Universum, and Team Maidana, and see if its something they want to do," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

"Maidana is willing to fight anybody but a fight of this nature, you would want the fighters to be properly compensated, and they should be

 

[Johnny Truelove]

Valero enters rehab following arrest

CARACAS, Venezuela -- WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero entered a rehabilitation center Sunday for treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, according to one of the boxer's lawyers.

Milda Mora said Tuesday that Valero entered the rehab center in the Venezuelan city of Merida under court orders following his arrest on charges of harassing his wife, threatening medical personnel who treated her and resisting arrest.

The 28-year-old Valero must attend a series of anger management courses after he leaves the center.

Mora told The Associated Press that Valero tested positive for drug and alcohol use after he was arrested on Thursday. Mora did not provide details regarding Valero's addiction problems, but she said he's hyperactive and suffers from depression.

Police detained Valero following an argument he had with a doctor and nurse at a hospital in Merida, where his wife was being treated for a series of injuries, including a punctured lung and broken ribs.

Valero accused a police officer of pressuring his wife, Jennifer Carolina Viera, to tell authorities her injuries were the result of domestic violence, Mora said. Viera has not publicly commented on the incident.

"There was a verbal argument, but no blows," Mora said.

The boxer's attorney said Viera was injured when she fell down a flight of stairs at the couple's home while checking a water tank located on the roof.

Valero, Venezuela's top-rated boxer, retained his WBC lightweight belt last month by stopping Mexico's Antonio DeMarco, improving to 27-0. None of his bouts have gone the distance.

Jose Sulaiman, president of the World Boxing Council, said in a statement that the organization supports Valero's therapy and hopes he "becomes an example of determination and courage for the world's youth."

 

[heyzel]

Chavez Jr vs Duddy: Agreement Reached For June 26

By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that an agreement was reached on Wednesday to match Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30KOs) against John Duddy (29-1, 18KOs) in a middleweight contest on June 26 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Top Rank reviewed the terms with Duddy's manager Craig Hamilton on Wednesday afternoon and closed the deal. Chavez-Duddy will headline Top Rank's "Latin Fury 15" pay-per-view. The venue will be scaled for 20,000 seats, and ticket prices will range from $300 to $40 dollars in price. Chavez Jr. gets his biggest test as a pro. On paper it's a 50-50 fight.

One of the main supporting bouts would have WBO super flyweight champion Jorge Arce (53-6, 40KOs) move up to bantamweight to challenge interim-champion Eric Morel (42-2, 21KOs).

 

[heyzel]

DiBella: Ward, Dirrell Have Turned Super Six Upside Down

By Mark Vester

Promoter Lou DiBella, during the New York City summit for the Super Six super middleweight tournament, said the upset wins by Andre Dirrell and Andre Ward have turned the entire tournament upside down. DiBella discussed the round-robin format of the tournament and explained how the format changes the way the boxing fans view the pecking order with each passing fight.

"When the tournament first started, Mikkel Kessler was the big favorite to win. When he got beat by Andre Ward, then Athur Abraham became the big favorite after knocking out Jermain. And now that Dirrell beat Abraham, Andre Ward is the favorite. But if Allan Green beats Ward on June 19, then it changes again," DiBella said.

DiBella likes Green's chances and his position in the tournament. Green replaced Jerman Taylor, who withdrew after being knocked out by Abraham in the first stage.

"Green took the fight in Ward's hometown [of Oakland] because he knows he can win. He knows he can exploit Ward's biggest flaw, his chin. If Green knocks him out, he gets three points and he's right up there with Abraham," DiBella said.

 

[heyzel]

Erik Morales Wants Marquez, Juan Manuel Says Maybe

By Mark Vester

Nothing new with Erik Morales calling out fellow countryman Juan Manuel Marquez to a fight. Except in March Morales finally returned from a layoff that lasted over two years, to defeat Jose Alfaro in Mexico. Morales returned two divisions higher, as a welterweight. The two opponents of choice, Miguel Cotto at 147 or Marquez at 144.

He might have to forget about Cotto. The Puerto Rican star is moving up to junior middleweight to fight WBA champion Yuri Foreman on June 5. Marquez is moving back down to 135 to defend his WBA/WBO lightweight titles against Juan Diaz on July 10.

"I would love to fight with Miguel Cotto at 147 pounds or at 144 with Juan Manuel Marquez," Morales said.

Marquez would consider the fight, but only if the money is right. Marquez did not give a clear answer on whether he would accept Morales' terms for the weight. The Mexican star claims to be walking around right now at 140-pounds. Making a return to 135 will be very easy for him.

"I want to go against great fighters, like a third fight with Manny Pacquiao, but he doens't want to do it. If the economics are right for a fight against Morales, then why not," Marquez said

 

[heyzel]

The Rise and Fall of Andre Dirrell

John "Hermit" Smith: On October 17, 2009 Andre Dirrell found himself in a fight he might not have been completely ready for. With only 18 professional bouts under his belt he was fighting for a world title in a foreign country against a proven opponent in the champs home town. He had clearly out boxed his opponent in several spots during the fight and even had the champ, Carl Froch, looking silly swinging at the air as “The Matrix” lived up to his handle. He complained to his corner that the champ was a dirty fighter, yet as he stood there, center ring, it was the young Dirrell that was having the point deducted to the delight of the partisan home town crowd. Then something happened. We have all seen fighters “grow old overnight”, but have we ever seen a fighter mature and grow up in the time it takes the referee to deduct a point before? We have now. Thus began the rise of Andre Dirrell. Many say that Dirrell deserved to lose that fight because he didn't fight like a champion. Well, he certainly did after the point deduction. He engaged, he hurt Froch, he was on fire. Many watching felt he had won the fight, but only one of the three judges agreed with that opinion.

His next fight would be even tougher. A 31-0 middle weight champion that had vacated his title to move up in weight to take part of the prestigious “Super 6 World Boxing Classic” Super Middle Weight Tournament. Arthur Abraham had positioned himself in the minds of many as the favorite to win the tournament with a KO so powerful that it ended up knocking former undisputed Middle Weight Champion Jermain Taylor completely out of the tournament and into retirement.. Many considered Abraham to have the pound for pound punching power title. Dirrell wasn't being given a chance by many observers or the odds makers either. They were expecting the less mature Dirrell to show up. They were wrong. Dirrell picked up where he left off in Nottingham and proceeded to put on a boxing clinic that battered the former champ like he had never been before. He suffered his first knockdown and his bruised, cut and bloodied face was an accurate account on who was winning the fight. Arthur must have been thinking at this point that he should have tried harder to make the weight and remained champ at a lower weight class. He was easily on route to his first loss. He knew he needed the knockout to win.

Going into the 11th round the young Dirrell could probably already start to taste the biggest win of his young career. He was upsetting Abraham, figuratively and literally. He would stand center ring. He would have his hand raised. He would hear his name announced and his home town fans cheering. He would soak in the moment he had worked so hard for. He would shine. It was not to be. As he was slipping Abraham's punches he also slipped on water carelessly left in the ring by Abraham's corner. The fight had been stopped earlier to let the ref clean it up once. Once was not enough. Dirrell's foot slipped and went out from under him. As he was down in an awkward position, the man considered by many to hold the pound for pound 'punch power' title lowered the “Abrahammer” on Dirrell's exposed, unsuspecting chin. Out went the lights. Abraham turned to the ref and raised his hands in victory. He had the come from behind KO that he so desperately needed. Thus began the fall of Andre Dirrell.

You probably know by now there was a problem with Abraham's punch. While Arthur may have seen that Dirrell's right hand and knee were off the canvas, he failed to notice that his left hand and knee WERE on the canvas. The referee disqualified Abraham and called on the ring side physicians to attend to the downed warrior Dirrell.

The following ring interview turned the night into a bigger fiasco yet. I have watched the interview several times to make sure of the accuracy of what I was hearing. Abraham clearly states he thought it was a clean KO because he though Dirrell wasn't down, he was 'like this'. The ring announcer throws him a lifeline and suggests that maybe the blood from the cut on his battered face had impaired his vision. Finally they show Abraham the replay and he can see that Dirrell was clearly down. Stinging from his first defeat, in a foreign land and coping with a foreign language he desperately is still seeking a way to turn this around. Then came the line. That dreaded, awful line. “He is an actor. ” We don't see who says it first. Original reports were that it was maybe Wilfried Sauerland. I think after reviewing it the interpreter was just repeating what Abraham said in German and giving him the English words. Sauerland later issued a statement as reported here on ESB: ”After reviewing the tape, Sauerland stated that a clearly exhausted Dirrell seized his chance to sneak out of the fight when the chance presented itself, especially with Abraham upping pressure before the controversial ending. “The TV pictures indicate that Dirrell was down, but there is no way Arthur could have realized that in the heat of the moment. He was just trying to keep up the attack. However, Dirrell is a very good actor. We are glad that his check-up at the hospital turned out just fine but frankly we did not expect any other outcome since he was just acting. He deserves an Oscar for his performance.

There it is from Wilfried Sauerland himself. Andre is not the victim. It is his fighter, Arthur Abraham, who was robbed of certain victory. Dirrell's fall is now complete.

Or maybe you care to take a closer look at the record and make your own decision? Abraham himself clearly states in the post ring interview that he thought it was a legal KO before changing his tune. When did the “Abrahammer” become the “Abrafeather”? The referee stopped the fight and disqualified Abraham. There could be no 5 minute shake off period. The doctor's were concerned for his well being and feared serious damage. They would not have let the fight go on. The medical staff had objective criteria to use when assessing Dirrell's condition. Things like pupil dilation that simply cannot be faked by a human being. Little mannerisms that won't be recognized by people not trained to do so.

We can also postulate that if anybody was going to get stopped, it may have well been Abraham. He was in desperation mode and opening himself up to counters, something Dirrell was taking advantage of all fight long. Dirrell hurt Froch. He was capable of hurting Abraham. If you want to accuse one of the fighters of looking for a way out, why could it not be Abraham? Direll could have further opened the cut over Abraham's eye and gotten a referee stoppage. That point may ultimately cost Dirrell entry into the semi final round. Maybe it was Dirrell who was robbed most in the points department?

I have heard that Arthur Abraham has acknowledged the defeat and the knockout, but no one has been able to provide me with a link to this. In fairness, Abraham also said "I wish him all the best and hope he is fine”. But that is not quite enough. He needs to give Andre Dirrell his full props and disown the acting accusation. Many think that the line “He is an actor” sealed shut Abraham's dream of being a star in the US. Wrong. Dirrell did that in the ring with his boxing abilities. Abraham just added what well be the boat anchor if he doesn't do the right thing and he must do it soon

 

[heyzel]

Jones-Hopkins: How many PPV buys will this fight generate?

By Jason Kim: At a price tag of $50 on Pay-Per-View, this Saturday’s match up between former champions Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins could make both fighters a little bit of money after the PPV receipts are tallied. How much money will depend on whether boxing fans are willing to scoop this fight up and order it in droves. I haven’t seen a lot of advertising for this fight on my local cable network, but maybe that’s just where I live.


I have a feeling, though, that this fight might not do very well in terms of generating a lot of PPV buys. Recently, Manny Pacquiao, perhaps the biggest PPV star in boxing at this time, was able to bring in over 700,000 PPV buys fighting an almost totally unknown opponent Joshua Clottey. That fight sold entirely from Pacquiao’s end without any assistance from Clottey. 700,000 are good numbers for a PPV attraction. However, I don’t see this Saturday’s fight between Jones and Hopkins coming anywhere near that total.

It doesn’t matter that the Jones-Hopkins fight on paper appears to be a much more competitive match up compared to the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, which was a horrible mismatch from the moment it was dreamed up by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum. Even if the Jones vs. Hopkins fight is more of a competitive fight on paper, the fans don’t appear to be connecting with this fight for some reason. It isn’t just that the marketing for the fight appears to be badly lacking. I think it’s just hard to identify with two fighters that are over the age 40.

This is perhaps why it’s generally better for a 40-year-old to be matched against a younger guy, because at least there’s some balance, and a reason for younger boxing fans to want to see the fight. You want to match a younger star, someone who the younger fans are looking up to, against an old lion like Hopkins or Jones. When you put too old fighters together like Hopkins and Jones, it’s got to be harder for fans to identify with them.

Older boxing fans might want to see a fight between Jones and Hopkins, but not the younger ones. Neither of these guys have been exactly lighting the world on fire in the past couple of years in taking on top level opponents. Jones, incredibly, has been fighting the better guys, which is kind of strange given that many people feel that Jones is way over the hill at this point.

Jones just hasn’t taken on the fighters that fans really care about like Chad Dawson and Tavoris Cloud. Jones, for good reason, hasn’t fought those two. They would probably decapitate him if given the opportunity. Hopkins has done zero since beating middleweight Kelly Pavlik two years ago. He’s fought once against Enrique Ornelas last December, and won a dull, one-sided fight.

As you can see, Hopkins and Jones haven’t fighting the kinds of opponents that would win over younger fans, and haven’t done much to maintain older fans. Because of that, Jones and Hopkins are rarely mentioned in boxing forums until recently with this fight. And it looks like the boxing public doesn’t really care too much about this fight. Jones has done a good job of giving good interviews in the lead up to the fight, but it’s just not enough to get fans really interested in this fight. My guess is this fight could wind up generating in the neighborhood of 100,000 to 200,000 PPV buys, but no more than that. There’s just no real interest for this fight.

Share and Enjoy:

 

[REdRUM]

Marquez @ 144 is stupid. If Morales wants him, he should stop eating carne asada and lay off the Tecate, and get down to 135-140.

 

[heyzel]

Ward vs Dirrell on September 25: Pact Won't Prevent War

By Mark Vester

The battle of close friends, Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell, has been given a tentative date of September 25, according to Michigan's Flint Journal. The two fighters were teammates on the 2004 Olympic team, where Ward won a gold medal. Ward even helped Dirrell prepare for last Saturday's DQ win over Arthur Abraham.

“He was getting me ready, helping me get my mind right,” said Dirrell. “He told me to just fight my fight, do what I do best, and don’t worry about what (Abraham) tries to do to get me off of my game.”

Dirrell said the two of them made an agreement. Once they step in the ring in the third stage of the Super Six tournament, their friendship will take a backseat because both of them will go for the win. Ward defends his WBA super middleweight title against Allan Green on June 19 in Oakland as part of the second stage in the Super Six.

The venue is up in the air. As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, Dirrell's promoter Gary Shaw and Ward's promoter Dan Goossen are fighting over the venue. Goossen wants the fight in Ward's hometown of Oakland and Shaw wants the fight in Dirrell's hometown of Detroit, Michigan

 

[heyzel]

Froch: 'I Would Have Knocked Calzaghe Out, He Knows It'

By Mark Vester

WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch recently spoke with shortlist.com about his upcoming fight with Mikkel Kessler on April 24 in Denmark. Over the last two years, he waged a war of words with Joe Calzaghe. The fight never took place. Froch knew the fight was off the table when Calzaghe retired in early 2009. During the interview, Froch said he was quite confident Calzaghe would have been knocked out if the two of them met in the ring.

"Yeah, I’m gutted the fight never happened because I would definitely have knocked him out, and he knows it. He knows what I’m like with southpaws; they just walk straight on to my devastating right uppercut. He knew what was going to happen, so he opted not to fight me. He vacated the belt rather than defend it against me," Froch said.

Froch later told promoter Frank Warren to stay out of Ricky Hatton's business. Warren advised Hatton to retire from the ring.

"I don’t think Frank Warren has got the right to tell anybody to do anything, because he’s never boxed in his life. All he’s done is promote and he doesn’t understand the sport from the boxer’s eyes. I wouldn’t listen to anything Frank Warren says about boxing. Ricky Hatton has still got a few fights left in him. If he could get himself into shape he could still entertain people and compete – at a certain level," Froch said

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Williams vs Cintron presser (fight is on May 8th)

 

[heyzel]

bad matchup for cintron I think he will be eating williams jab the whole fight

 

[2-0-Sixx]

I'm actually pretty excited for williams-cintron, I think it's going to be a war while it lasts.

Cintron has a ton of power and he's going to catch williams every now and then. Eventually kermit will be broken down and hopefully has a temper tantrum.

 

[Joey]

Williams is one of my favorite figters right now....but Cintron is a fellow rican.....Im pulling for Williams but i think sergio martinez exposed his defensive weakness...

 

[408mobsta]

411mania » Boxing » News
Advertisement
Robert Guerrero Returns on April 30
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 04.02.2010

He'll headline the return of Solo Boxeo Tecate in Las Vegas.

A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow morning to announce the return of Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero as he'll take on Roberto Arrieta on April 30 at the Tropicana in Las Vegas
, Nevada.

The fight will serve as the main event for the return of Solo Boxeo Tecate, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

Guerrero recently relinquished is junior lightweight title to be by his wife Casey's side during her battle with leukemia. She is said to be doing very well and Guerrero is now anxious to return to the ring.

ghost should ko this dude its a tune up fight for a bigger fight this summer...either way i cant wait to see my lil cuzn back in the ring

 

[heyzel]

Arum expecting 20,000 fans for Duddy-Chavez Jr. bout on June 26th

Jim Dower: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is setting up the seating for 20,0000 fans at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, for the June 26th bout between John Duddy and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s). Incredibly, the Chavez Jr. vs. Duddy bout will be the main even in the Pay-per-View Latin Fury 16 card. It’s hard to imagine this fight as being a main event, and even harder to imagine having to pay to see it. To be sure, Duddy and Chavez Jr. are both entertaining fighters in their own way, showing some decent skills.


However, neither fighter is a champion and likely not going to be a champion any time soon. It’s a fight that seems a perfect match-up for the both of them, because each of them is hyped fighters who have never proven that they truly belong in the top 10. Duddy, 30, has been looking to get a title shot against WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik since 2008, has fought B level fighters during his career, beaten guys like Yory Boy Campas, Anthony Bonsante, Howard Eastman and Walid Smichet.

Duddy stepped up the level of his opposition a year ago against Billy Lyell and ended up losing a 10 round split decision. The one judge that scored the fight for Duddy was being incredibly generous to him, because I saw Duddy losing every round of the fight easily. Duddy and Chavez haven’t shown the kind of skills that would leave you to believe that they belong on the top of a PPV card.

However, if boxing fans are willing to come see the fight take place at the Alamodome and pay for it on PPV, you can’t blame Arum for putting it on PPV for those boxing fans that are willing to watch it. Arum has reportedly wanted to put this fight together for a year now, Rafael says, and just now has finally out the thing together.

It’s good in that one of these two fighters, both with highly inflated records, will be finally tested and beaten. In the case of Duddy, he’s already been beaten as I’ve pointed out and perhaps should have been beaten another time in his fight against Walid Smichet in February 2008. The loser of the Chavez-Duddy fight may find himself dropped in the rankings, though I still imagine that both of them will still be ranked in the top 15 should they lose.

A loss for Chavez will be a huge blow to his career, because part of the interest that surrounds Chavez, besides being the son of the great Julio Cesar Chavez, is that he’s still unbeaten. If Duddy can take away Chavez’s perfect record, it could have an effect on his marketability. On the other hand, I can still see Chavez Jr. being trotted out by Arum on future Latin Fury cards because of Chavez’s name, but I think he’ll be seen differently if he gets beaten decisively by Duddy.

 

[heyzel]

Hopkins: “Roy Jones is a desperate man”

By Eric Thomas: Bernard Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KO) appears to be trying to pump up interest in his fight against 41-year-old Roy Jones Jr. (54-6, 40 KO) by making it seem as if Jones is still a dangerous fighter rather than someone who was destroyed in the 1st round in his last fight in December. Hopkins says “Roy Jones is a desperate man. A desperate man is a dangerous man.”


I would be more inclined to believe this if Jones wasn’t destroyed in his last fight, and if it wasn’t Hopkins who was pointing this out. He has something to gain by people seeing this fight as a competitive match-up instead of a gross mismatch, which is what it appears to be. In his prime, Jones was more than a match for Hopkins, beating him with only good hand 17-years-ago in 1993.

A lot of things have changed since that time as Jones has slowed down, become more susceptible to getting knocked out and has been beaten six times. When Jones fought Hopkins in the past, Jones was unbeaten, perhaps the best fighter in the world. You can’t say that anymore. This is why ticket sales for their April 3rd rematch haven’t sold as briskly as Hopkins and Jones would like.

It’s not that Hopkins and Jones weren’t great fighters in their primes; it’s just that neither of them is fighting at that level anymore. Jones would likely be destroyed by a handful of the top light heavyweights in the division, whereas Hopkins would have his hands full against guys like Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud and Jean Pascal. Don’t hold your breath waiting for Hopkins to fight those guys, because it probably won’t happen. Hopkins is being very selective nowadays with whom he picks for opponents.

Hopkins is saying he’s going to send Jones into retirement on Saturday night. Jones admits that if he gets knocked out by Hopkins, he opt to hang up his gloves for good. That might not be a bad idea. Jones has been knocked out three times in the past six years, with two of them being bad knockouts against Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson.

If Hopkins can take Jones out, it would be a good thing for Jones to save himself from taking any more punishment by hanging up his gloves. Although Jones could probably hang around and continue to fight old relics from boxing’s past and B level fighters, but what would be the point? Jones would just be taking risks with his health and possibly ending up sorry for it later on down the road.

Jones likes to point out that Hopkins couldn’t beat him in his prime, and believes that has been eating away at Hopkins all these years. Hopkins doesn’t care that Jones is seemingly over-the-hill. Hopkins just wants revenge any way he can get it.

It’s hard to tell if Hopkins really means what he’s saying about this or if he just wants the money that this fight will generate. Hopkins stands to make a minimum of $3.5 million for this fight, and it could end up being even more if the bout does well in Pay-Per-View sales. The cost to watch the fight is $49.95. Not cheap for a card that presents mainly mismatches

 

[heyzel]

Angelo Dundee: “Haye will knock out the younger Klitschko”

Stevenson – By William Mackay: Former Muhammad Ali trainer Angelo Dundee is really enthusiastic about WBA heavyweight champion David Haye’s chances of becoming the next big star in the heavyweight division. In an article at the Telegraph Sport, the 88-year-olds Dundee says “Haye could spark it up. Haye will knock out the younger Klitschko [Wladimir]. I’m sure he will knock him out, but the older Klitschko brother [Vitali] is harder to fight. He plods with his left hand and he is hard to get to. The younger Klitschko, Haye will have a great chance against. Every fighters his time, and it may just be David Haye’s time right now.”


Hopefully, Dundee saw Haye’s recent fight with WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev before he made these comments, because Haye showed nothing in that fight that would give me any belief that he could he even land more than a few harmless punches against Wladimir Klitschko, much less actually beating him. I see a potential Wladimir Klitschko vs. Haye fight as a one-sided slaughter, even worse than Wladimir’s recent 12th round knockout over Eddie Chambers.

Dundee has it right about Vitali Klitschko and Haye. Vitali would be tough, much too tough for Haye to deal with. Haye’s only real chance in that fight is if he stalls three to five years before making the fight with Vitali. By that time, Vitali will be in his 40s, slower and perhaps old enough for Haye to beat by decision. But if Haye takes Vitali any time soon, I see Haye getting destroyed in a one-sided loss.

Dundee says “He [Haye] is an exciting guy. He’s a breath of fresh air, and has lit up the world heavyweight division.” Thus far, Haye really hasn’t done much other than beating three heavyweights – Tomasz Bonin, Monte Barrett and Valuev. Those fighters aren’t exactly the murderer’s row of the heavyweight division. We have to 2nd tier heavyweights and an aging paper champion without any hand speed, foot speed, technique or power.

It’s hard to see how Haye has “lit up the world heavyweight division” as Dundee says when those are the only fighters that Haye has fought at heavyweight. If Haye had beaten some quality fighters like Alexander Povetkin, Odlanier Solis, Samuel Peter, Denis Boystsov and Eddie Chambers, I could see the excitement. But Bonin, Barrett and Valuev aren’t good enough for me to drop for the 10 count and start praising Haye as the next exciting heavyweight. Haye didn’t even look good in beating Valuev. I thought it was a horrible fight from both Haye and Valuev. That certainly wasn’t a Muhammad Ali-esque performance from Haye in that fight. Can you imagine what a 29-year-old Ali would have done with Valuev? It wouldn’t have been a massacre.

“Haye is a new beacon in the heavyweight division…I’m happy he’s there, and has overcome his first obstacle in the division. We need him. What I like about him is that he is full of confidence, and when fighters are like that, as Ali was, they create excitement.” Yes, confidence is nice, but it’s got to be backed up with actual ability and not just a bunch of bluster. Heavyweights that talk with a great deal of confidence are a dime a dozen. This is nothing new.

Haye is going to have to show that he can back it up in the ring, starting with his fight this Saturday night against two-time heavyweight champion John Ruiz at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester. It might not take even a Klitschko brother to burst Dundee’s bubble if Haye doesn’t turn out to be as good as Dundee has imagined him to be.

Ruiz is a good heavyweight, though probably not as good as other contenders that Haye may find himself facing the future like Soils, Povetkin, Boytsov, Peter and Chambers. If Haye isn’t good enough to beat Ruiz, then Dundee is going to have to re-think his estimation of Haye’s qualities. Haye can still be a good talker if he loses, but without the skills to back it up, I don’t see anyone listening to him much longer

 

[heyzel]

Froch sees Ward as his biggest challenge in the Super Six tourney

By Scott Gilfoid: Having struggled badly with Andre Dirrell and still a fight ahead against former WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler on April 24th, World Boxing Council super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-0, 21 KO’s) says that he sees Andre Ward as hei biggest challenge in the Super Six tournament. In an article at Sport.co, Froch, when asked who his biggest challenger is in the Super Six tournament, says “I’ve got to say Ward. He beat Mikkel Kessler and he’s now the WBA champion.”


It’s interesting how Froch seems to be overlooking Kessler, as if it’s a forgone conclusion that Froch is going to be able to get past him on April 24th. I see that as a very tough fight for Froch, one that I don’t know that he has enough talent to win. In addition to that, Froch still has a fight coming up against Arthur Abraham in their stage 3 Super Six tournament fight later in 2010. That’s a huge obstacle for Froch because of Abraham’s big power. Froch likes to go directly at his opponents, which would probably be the wrong thing to do against a big puncher like Abraham.

Froch has gone through three consecutive grueling 12 round fights, but instead of seeing this as something that could be taking something out of him. Froch sees it as a good thing, saying “It’s good for your fitness. It only takes it out of your career if you’re getting banjoed with big shots on the chin and you’re wobbled, cut or your nose broken.” Froch may not remember this, but he was stunned by Dirrell in their last October, badly staggered by a straight left hand from him.

Froch may have forgot that big shot that Dirrell landed. That couldn’t have helped Froch any, could it? Froch hasn’t fought since that time and we won’t know whether his chin was effected or not by Dirrell’s shot until the punches start flying against Kessler on April 24th. Frankly, I wouldn’t be the least surprised if Froch goes down hard against Kessler early on as soon as he catches his first big shot in the fight. Froch is going to have to hope that his chin wasn’t compromised from the big power shots that Dirrell was landing in the past three rounds of their fight, because I don’t think it’s a good thing to running into those kinds of massive punches. It can’t be good. Dirrell hits too hard.

Froch was also put down by a huge right hand in the third round in his fight last year against Jermain Taylor. Froch looked hurt that shot. Froch says “The Dirrell fight was an easy night’s work to be honest. I went running the next day to get rid of some energy, because it was just too easy.” Too easy, eh? Dirrell staggers Froch, beats him in the minds of many people, and Froch is calling it an easy night. How can it be easy when Froch isn’t landing his punches and getting tagged all night long?

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Froch thinks American public hasn’t taken to Dirrell because of his fighting style

By Scott Gilfoid: WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KO’s) believes that fellow Super Six tournament contestant Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO’s) hasn’t picked up a lot of boxing fans in the United States. In an article at Sport.co, Froch went over his narrow, controversial 12 round split decision win against Dirrell last October, saying “Listen, a win’s a win. One of the judges saw it fit to score Dirrell a one point winner. It’s all about politics and who’s scoring and from where they see it. But let’s be honest, that performance he brought to the table that night, all that jabbing, running and holding. When it was time to stand in front of each other and fight, he tried to flee, run left or fight, or duck away and then when I closed the gap, he couldn’t run any more, he held on. That’s why American television hasn’t taken to him, because they don’t like people who fight like cowards.”


Froch sounds bitter about his questionable win, doesn’t? I don’t know what the big deal is. Dirrell fought the perfect fight, making Froch look like a slow plodder and even staggering him late in the fight. Froch failed to mention that part of that, I noticed. Like I’ve said before, the fight wasn’t even close. I had Dirrell winning by eight rounds to three with one even. And I’m not the only one that thought Dirrell won the fight by a wide margin.

A lot of other boxing fans felt that Dirrell easily won the fight. I thought the best punches that Froch landed were ones in which he was holding onto Dirrell and clubbing him in the back of the head round after round. Granted, I thought Dirrell clinched a bit much, but he was eventually penalized for that in the 10th, so it evened out. But Froch’s holding and hitting, rabbit punches, his body slam of Dirrell in the 5th and his constant shoving on Dirrell’s head were never penalized. I’ve never seen a fight where a fighter was able to get away with the things that Froch got away with without being penalized first and then eventually disqualified if they didn’t respond to the previous penalizations.

I think Froch should have been disqualified for the numerous fouls that I saw from him in that fight. But he’s wrong about the American fans not taking to Dirrell. I think of all the Super Six contestants, Dirrell has emerged as the most popular of the fighters in the United States. This is just a guess on my part; I think Dirrell is easily the most talked about fighter in the American press of the Super Six tournament contestants. The reason for that is likely because of Dirrell’s amazing boxing skills. He’s got the attributes of a number of top fighters from the past and present, such as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Roy Jones Jr., and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Dirrell does it all and has the lightning quick reflexes and hand speed to match all those fighters.

American boxing fans really take to fighters like Dirrell with his amazing skills, and I think he’s probably number #1 fighter among the Super Six tournament fighters in terms of popularity right now. Dirrell came out of the Froch fight looking like a winner instead of a loser