Boxing News Thread
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Kirkland to fight on undercard of Khan-Judah on 7/23
By Dan Ambrose: James Kirkland (28-1, 25 KO’s) will be fighting on the undercard of the Amir Khan vs. Zab Judah bout on July 23 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kirkland is trying to get his career back together after being stopped in the 1st round last April by Nubuhiro Ishida.
Kirkland looked flabby and weak-chinned in that fight, and he looked a lot better in coming back to stop little known opponent Dennis Sharpe on June 24th in a 2nd round knockout victory. Kirkland looked better but was still wide open to getting hit. The difference between that fight and the Ishida loss was that Sharpe wasn’t as fast as Ishida and wasn’t unloading on Kirkland with a flurry of shots. Sharpe was still able to hit Kirkland with great frequency, and showed that Kirkland may still be the same fighter that Ishida so easily beat.
Kirkland still looks pretty mediocre. The problem with Kirkland is that he doesn’t have the chin to match his brawling style. With his weak chin, he needs to become more of a boxer/puncher instead of a just a pure puncher. He may not be getting the drift yet, but he will when he gets knocked out again. If Kirkland never figures it out that he needs to make wholesale changes to his fighting style then he’ll just wind up as a journeyman with a poor record against quality opposition.
There’s still no word who will go up against Kirkland on July 23, but after Kirkland’s performance against Ishida you can bet that Kirkland won’t be put in with anyone with a pulse in the near future. He has too much to work out with his defense and needs to show that he can defend himself properly before they start putting him in with better fighters again.
Kirkland would obviously like nothing better to get back in the ring with Ishida to try and avenge the loss, but I see the exact same thing happening to Kirkland if they were to throw him back in with the fast Japanese fighter
By Dan Ambrose: James Kirkland (28-1, 25 KO’s) will be fighting on the undercard of the Amir Khan vs. Zab Judah bout on July 23 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kirkland is trying to get his career back together after being stopped in the 1st round last April by Nubuhiro Ishida.
Kirkland looked flabby and weak-chinned in that fight, and he looked a lot better in coming back to stop little known opponent Dennis Sharpe on June 24th in a 2nd round knockout victory. Kirkland looked better but was still wide open to getting hit. The difference between that fight and the Ishida loss was that Sharpe wasn’t as fast as Ishida and wasn’t unloading on Kirkland with a flurry of shots. Sharpe was still able to hit Kirkland with great frequency, and showed that Kirkland may still be the same fighter that Ishida so easily beat.
Kirkland still looks pretty mediocre. The problem with Kirkland is that he doesn’t have the chin to match his brawling style. With his weak chin, he needs to become more of a boxer/puncher instead of a just a pure puncher. He may not be getting the drift yet, but he will when he gets knocked out again. If Kirkland never figures it out that he needs to make wholesale changes to his fighting style then he’ll just wind up as a journeyman with a poor record against quality opposition.
There’s still no word who will go up against Kirkland on July 23, but after Kirkland’s performance against Ishida you can bet that Kirkland won’t be put in with anyone with a pulse in the near future. He has too much to work out with his defense and needs to show that he can defend himself properly before they start putting him in with better fighters again.
Kirkland would obviously like nothing better to get back in the ring with Ishida to try and avenge the loss, but I see the exact same thing happening to Kirkland if they were to throw him back in with the fast Japanese fighter
Cotto will move up to middleweight after Margarito rematch
By Dan Ambrose: World Boxing Association (WBA) junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto is reportedly considering a move up to the middleweight division after his rematch with Antonio Margarito on December 3rd. If Cotto comes out of the Margarito fight in one piece his promoter Bob Arum will likely set him up with big money bout against unbeaten WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for a nice in house Top Rank fight.
Chavez Jr. recently beat Sebastian Zbik in a life and death fight to pick up the World Boxing Council paper title. The fight that is considered to be the best of the middleweights is Sergio Martinez, who was stripped recently by the WBC.
Neither Cotto or Chavez Jr. will likely be facing Martinez any time soon if ever. But it’s a big ask for the 5’7” Cotto to move up and face the 6-foot tall Chavez Jr, because of Cotto’s limited size and with all the punishment he’s absorbed in past fights.
Chavez Jr may not be one of the top three fighters in the middleweight division but he’s big enough to give Cotto a lot of problems with his size. Cotto is likely going to take a lot of punishment in his rematch with Margarito and it might not be a good move for Cotto to go into a fight with Chavez Jr immediately after. Cotto is better off sticking it out at junior middleweight and continuing to defend the title against the mostly mediocre opposition at that weight.
By Dan Ambrose: World Boxing Association (WBA) junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto is reportedly considering a move up to the middleweight division after his rematch with Antonio Margarito on December 3rd. If Cotto comes out of the Margarito fight in one piece his promoter Bob Arum will likely set him up with big money bout against unbeaten WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for a nice in house Top Rank fight.
Chavez Jr. recently beat Sebastian Zbik in a life and death fight to pick up the World Boxing Council paper title. The fight that is considered to be the best of the middleweights is Sergio Martinez, who was stripped recently by the WBC.
Neither Cotto or Chavez Jr. will likely be facing Martinez any time soon if ever. But it’s a big ask for the 5’7” Cotto to move up and face the 6-foot tall Chavez Jr, because of Cotto’s limited size and with all the punishment he’s absorbed in past fights.
Chavez Jr may not be one of the top three fighters in the middleweight division but he’s big enough to give Cotto a lot of problems with his size. Cotto is likely going to take a lot of punishment in his rematch with Margarito and it might not be a good move for Cotto to go into a fight with Chavez Jr immediately after. Cotto is better off sticking it out at junior middleweight and continuing to defend the title against the mostly mediocre opposition at that weight.
^^^ Will do. What the fuck is going on with Top Ranked, how you gonna make a junior welterweight become a middle wieght? Cotto is receiving very bad advice and needs to get the hell out of that promotion. I definitely agree with Margarito rematch though but watch that foo' still not be ready to fight.
Ortiz Says Was Offended By Mayweather At Press Conference; Was Going To slap him
By James Slater: Whether you are intrigued by it or not, and whether you think it’s a mismatch in the favour of Floyd Mayweather Junior or not, the upcoming clash between “Money” and Victor Ortiz is heating up. Tuesday’s press conference in New York saw a somewhat subdued Ortiz, with the WBC welterweight champ making nothing but respectful comments. Floyd stole the show in New York, mainly by making it clear he is up for a mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao.
But at yesterday’s L.A press conference, Ortiz, feeling slighted and unappreciated by all Mayweather’s Pac-Man talk, came close to boiling point. As reported by Ring.tv, Ortiz, pumped up by the largely pro crowd of around 500, got into Mayweather’s face a number of times. Ortiz later explained how he had had it in his mind to “smack” Mayweather for something he had said to him as they were face-to-face.
“I was going to smack him,” Ortiz said. “I was going to lay him out. He said something I didn’t like. He said something like, ‘you don’t got this.’ No, man, I DO got this! I’m not Juan Manuel Marquez or Shane Mosley, I’m the WBC champ and nobody’s going to take my title.”
Ortiz used his fair share of abusive language as he spoke at the podium, and he was really ticked off when “Money” began speaking about a future fight with Pacquiao. Ortiz is convinced it will be he who winds up facing Pac-Man, after he upsets the currently unbeaten superstar in September.
“It’s a slap in the face to talk about Pacquiao,” Ortiz said. “If he’s overlooking me he’s got a problem. He’s got to fight me first and I was born for this moment. Mayweather’s speed and his style do not worry me. Whatever style he wants to bring, I’ll be ready for it.”
Ortiz sure has the persona of a hugely live underdog. For his part, Mayweather said he wanted to fight an opponent younger than he is, so as to silence those critics who have accused him of facing “old men.”
“I wanted a young, strong fighter,” Mayweather explained. “When I beat Marquez and Mosley everybody said they were over the hill. Ok, so now I’m fighting someone younger than me. Now, if you give me a strong, young fighter who comes to fight and isn’t going to try to survive, like Ricky Hatton, I’ll give the fans a good fight and believe me, he’ll get knocked out like Ricky did.”
Can Floyd score his first KO victory since the December 2007 10th-round stoppage of “The Hitman?” For sure, I don’t see this particular Mayweather fight being in any way boring. Ortiz is for real, and Mayweather will be pushing 35 come fight night. I think this fight will be a lot rougher for Floyd than most people seem to think.
Ortiz has shocked the odds before, and as he says, he’s in no mood to give up that title!
By James Slater: Whether you are intrigued by it or not, and whether you think it’s a mismatch in the favour of Floyd Mayweather Junior or not, the upcoming clash between “Money” and Victor Ortiz is heating up. Tuesday’s press conference in New York saw a somewhat subdued Ortiz, with the WBC welterweight champ making nothing but respectful comments. Floyd stole the show in New York, mainly by making it clear he is up for a mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao.
But at yesterday’s L.A press conference, Ortiz, feeling slighted and unappreciated by all Mayweather’s Pac-Man talk, came close to boiling point. As reported by Ring.tv, Ortiz, pumped up by the largely pro crowd of around 500, got into Mayweather’s face a number of times. Ortiz later explained how he had had it in his mind to “smack” Mayweather for something he had said to him as they were face-to-face.
“I was going to smack him,” Ortiz said. “I was going to lay him out. He said something I didn’t like. He said something like, ‘you don’t got this.’ No, man, I DO got this! I’m not Juan Manuel Marquez or Shane Mosley, I’m the WBC champ and nobody’s going to take my title.”
Ortiz used his fair share of abusive language as he spoke at the podium, and he was really ticked off when “Money” began speaking about a future fight with Pacquiao. Ortiz is convinced it will be he who winds up facing Pac-Man, after he upsets the currently unbeaten superstar in September.
“It’s a slap in the face to talk about Pacquiao,” Ortiz said. “If he’s overlooking me he’s got a problem. He’s got to fight me first and I was born for this moment. Mayweather’s speed and his style do not worry me. Whatever style he wants to bring, I’ll be ready for it.”
Ortiz sure has the persona of a hugely live underdog. For his part, Mayweather said he wanted to fight an opponent younger than he is, so as to silence those critics who have accused him of facing “old men.”
“I wanted a young, strong fighter,” Mayweather explained. “When I beat Marquez and Mosley everybody said they were over the hill. Ok, so now I’m fighting someone younger than me. Now, if you give me a strong, young fighter who comes to fight and isn’t going to try to survive, like Ricky Hatton, I’ll give the fans a good fight and believe me, he’ll get knocked out like Ricky did.”
Can Floyd score his first KO victory since the December 2007 10th-round stoppage of “The Hitman?” For sure, I don’t see this particular Mayweather fight being in any way boring. Ortiz is for real, and Mayweather will be pushing 35 come fight night. I think this fight will be a lot rougher for Floyd than most people seem to think.
Ortiz has shocked the odds before, and as he says, he’s in no mood to give up that title!
Chris Byrd: “David Haye better come with something pretty special
Chris Byrd: “David Haye better come with something pretty special to try to upset Wladimir Klitschko!”
by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - This week’s 131st edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with former two time heavyweight champion of the world Chris Byrd (41-5-1, 22 KOs). Byrd spoke about a variety of different subjects, including the upcoming unification fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye, Bernard Hopkins becoming the oldest fighter to win a major world title, Mike Tyson’s Hall of Fame induction, the decline of Roy Jones Junior, the Super Six Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch, and whether or not he believes Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will ever square off. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
His views on the recent Hall of Fame induction weekend:
“Oh it was great. I had seen that, who was that, Mike Tyson, Kostya Tszyu, and Julio Cesar Chavez got in. I mean three great, some of the greatest fighters of all time. It’s just great looking at those guys and watching them throughout the years and their accomplishments. You know great for them. God bless all of them. They were great fighters who did a lot for the sport. I was happy for them just to hear the names. Time goes by so fast, you look at some of those names and think man, they had great careers and it’s over for them, but they’re in the Hall of Fame now, so well deserved.”
Regarding whether Don King had ever brought up the possibility of a fight between him and Mike Tyson:
“Yeah, he kept bringing it up. Every time he brought it up I was excited about it. I’ve looked up to Mike Tyson for years, even when I was an amateur and I was a middleweight. I always loved Mike Tyson. He had a great work ethic for fights and a lot of intensity in the ring. Don would bring it up, and I would think okay, this is a time where I get the chance to fight one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and I get to put my skills against him. Somebody like Mike Tyson who had just massive power, skills, was an icon of the sport, but it never materialized. So I was a little disappointed with the fact I never got a chance to fight him, but at the same time I’m happy for him. He’s done well in his career.”
His views on the upcoming heavyweight unification fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye:
“Well my thoughts on that fight, I stopped picking a winner. I may have a favorite, but not picking a winner. Anything can happen in the ring. My thoughts, with Wladimir Klitschko fighting him twice, and being a smaller heavyweight like David Haye and a really skilled heavyweight like David Haye, but he’s small. It’s a hard task. Wladimir is bigger than you think. When you go the press conferences and the weigh-in, and you look at him and you think okay. He’s big and he’s tall but he’s not that big, until you get in the ring and you start feeling the power, and he’s keeping the range, and he’s hard to get to. It’s a difficult task to try to overcome, but with David Haye he’s a puncher. He has a great puncher’s chance. He has pretty fast hands and he has a chance in the fight, but it’s a good big man versus a good little man and David Haye’s got to be a great little man to pull this off which is really an upset. He better have studied a lot of his tapes and better take chances in the fight to where he’ll surprise Wladimir. If not I think Wladimir will slowly break him down over the fight, because he’s been fighting like that lately. He’s just being patient, taking his time, and not going for the knockout early. Even though he’s a little upset going into this fight, but he’s just patient and he’ll just break you down and make it frustrating for you round after round, where you don’t even get a chance to really hit him clean. I mean he systematically just breaks you down and wins the fight. David Haye better come with something pretty special to try to upset Wladimir Klitschko!”
On whether he sees any weaknesses in Wladimir Klitschko’s style which he believes can be exploited:
“Oh yeah, definitely! Weaknesses with Wladimir, everybody says his chin. Of course, this is heavyweight boxing. If you get hit in the chin, you’ll go, especially with two strong guys and especially when you’re fighting somebody that can punch. With Wladimir, his weakness I still think he can’t fight going backwards. If you could push him and make him constantly fight you tire him out. When he fights at a pace that he loves to fight at, which he’s been fighting since he’s beat me in every single fight. He fights at his own pace. No one has really pressed him, and then he’ll comfortably beat you. Emanuel Steward has been doing a great job with him to calm him down. Normally he was pursuing the knockout. When he got knocked out those three times, he was pursuing the knockout. Now, he’s letting you come to him. He’s patient. I just think in my opinion, skill-wise David Haye has a lot of skills and he can punch, but I think he has to take chances and with Wladimir, push him. Try and make him fight going backwards and make him think at all times before he throws. He always makes the smaller guys think, because once you throw he counters, he has a good jab, and once he gets going he thinks that he’s got you because he started landing his punches, especially his jab. Once his jab starts landing, everything else is connecting after that. He has very few weaknesses right now because he has so many advantages, with height, reach, weight, everything, and talent. He’s an Olympic Gold Medalist, he has a lot of amateur experience, and he has a lot of talent and he’s confident. So he’s a hard package to beat right now, but like I said it’s heavyweight boxing and one punch can change your mind in the ring about everything.”
His views on Bernard Hopkins’ victory against Jean Pascal when he became the oldest fighter at age 46 to win a major world championship:
“Oh man, it’s great. It’s really great for him and great for boxing. Bernard has had talent since I was an amateur watching him until now. He’s a talented guy. He’s smart and he knows how to box. I take nothing away from him. He was fighting a good champion that upset who I consider really still the best light heavyweight in the division, Chad Dawson. Bernard comes in and beats him at 46. It’s just a great feat that he could still dominate and beat younger opponents, and not only opponents but champions. It’s just a great feat in boxing.”
His views on the recent decline of Roy Jones Junior and whether he believes Jones is tarnishing his legacy with the knockout losses he has suffered:
“Yeah, in a way I can look at it like that. Knowing the career of Roy Jones, it stops at the great Roy Jones. Everybody remembers him as great, and it goes by what you’ve done in your prime. Everybody knows he’s way past his prime, he really shouldn’t be fighting, and he’s fighting out of his weight class really. I mean he fought at cruiserweight his last fight. I know he fought and won the heavyweight title, but it’s still not the same. He’s fighting out of his weight class and he’s kind of ruining his legacy still fighting, but to me Roy Jones is still one of the greatest fighters that I’ve ever seen that ever laced them up. I just hope for him that that was it, because it hurt me to see him lose in that fashion. Hopefully he’ll just hang them up and that will be it, and he will leave the sport.”
On whether or not he believes there was any realistic chance of a heavyweight unification fight between him and Roy Jones Junior when they both reigned as champions:
“I wanted that fight really bad, but I put the ball in Roy’s court if he wanted it. I wasn’t going to talk trash. I’m not a trash talker anyway, but I’m not going to say anything about him. If Roy wants the fight, it was a great moment for him, a great feat for him that he beat John Ruiz. I think for the fans, I think they would have enjoyed it. You got two smaller guys, naturally smaller guys, unifying two thirds of the heavyweight title. It would have been something special I thought, but it never happened. The ball was in Roy’s court. It just didn’t happen.”
On whether he has been following the Super Six tournament and what he thinks of the upcoming Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch:
“Oh, yeah I’ve been following the Super Six. It’s a great, great Final, I mean really, really great Final. It’s a really great matchup of two fighters. To me Carl Froch has just with confidence and his ability, has surprised a lot of people. He’s like I said, very confident in feeling that he is the best super middleweight in the world and I give him a lot of props, but Andre Ward at the same time is the same thing. This kid is amazing! He’s young, an Olympic Gold Medalist, and he was really coming into the tournament not favored. Maybe he was one of the guys that could beat some guys, but not favored and he upset some guys and really became the number one guy in the Super Six. He has a lot of talent, and there is a lot of talent in that weight class. It’s going to be a super fight and it all depends on who can execute the game plan. Can Carl Froch keep his distance and outbox him? I truly feel that Andre Ward is going to be bringing pressure, trying to get inside, rough him, and make him fight his fight. If that happens, Andre Ward wins, but if Carl Froch can keep him at bay, and he can punch pretty good, too. If he can keep him at bay, hit him with certain power shots, and make Andre Ward think, he has a chance to win. It’s a pick’em Final, which that’s how it should be. You got the two best super middleweights in the world fighting each other coming into a great Final. I think it’s going to be a great fight.”
Regarding his first professional loss against Ike Ibeabuchi and whether he believe Ibeabuchi could have become a great heavyweight champion:
“Well it’s funny with that fight and how good they say Ike would have been. My thought on the fight was I thought I would beat him. Watching him on tape, he’s big, he’s strong of course, but everybody was big and strong and he was slow. So I thought I would just use all my tricks and outbox him over ten rounds and win the fight fairly easy. When I got in the ring it was a little different. His coach was smart. He was telling him as I was watching it afterwards, ‘hit him anywhere’, because I was real slippery he thought I’d run into something. Ike did certain things in the ring, like bending his knees which really surprised me because I wasn’t used to other heavyweights being that smart in the ring. I always felt as a professional I was the smartest guy in the ring, and he was a big strong guy that was talented. To dominate the heavyweight division like everybody else though he would? Probably for that time, I personally think Ike would beat Lennox Lewis. He would put the pressure on him, he could take his punch, and really dominate him. Maybe Evander Holyfield also, that would have been a really good fight because Holyfield would have fought him in the trenches, and Tyson also because Ike could take a punch. To constantly reign after that would have been very hard with the Klitschko brothers, because it’s the height and range factor. Ike was my height. He was big, but he was my height. Maybe Wladimir, but Vitali I don’t know. He would have kept the height and range and it would have been a hard style for Ike Ibeacbuchi to reign as the supreme heavyweight champion like Tyson was in the 80s. So I don’t see him just taking over. I think Wladimir or Vitali would have still been the reigning heavyweight champion, in my opinion.”
On whether he could have imagined that Vitali Klitschko would still be a heavyweight champion more than ten years after he beat him:
“ Yeah. I mean I think personally, a lot of us could still be fighting, even myself. I mean it’s over for me, but I had injuries that retired me. I have nerve damage in my foot that truly retired me. I’m still in great shape and could still fight. Vitali took off almost four years, rested his body, and never really took too much damage in his fights. So he can still do it, and he’s taller and more skilled than most of the heavyweights out there so he’s not really getting challenged. He could probably fight until he’s 50. One thing about Vitali, I went and sparred with him, he’s a smart guy. He really learned from when he was younger fighting me until now. He really studied the game and knows how to box and use his height and reach really do his advantage, and calm down and just take it round by round to execute his game plan and win a fight easily without making it hard. He’s been doing that. I’m not really surprised because of the advantages he has. It’s a hard style matchup. When you see him, people talk about him on film, but when you get into the ring with him, and notice how big and strong and what kind of size advantage he has, it’s a totally different thing.”
On whether he believes he truly beat Vitali Klitschko or whether he believes he was fortunate that Vitali was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury:
“I look at it really like I beat him, because in boxing you don’t quit. You just don’t quit, especially when you’re champion and over a shoulder injury. That’s debatable. For me, I don’t quit. You literally, and I hate to say it after he killed me in the ring almost, and I’m a little guy. You fight. I just couldn’t believe that on the stool he stopped. I was like oh wow! I’m the new WBO heavyweight champion on eight days notice, I had diarrhea, I’m not truly a heavyweight, and this guy is 6’7”/6’8”, 249 pounds, 28-0 with 28 knockouts. The German crowd laughed at me when we got into the middle of the ring, but after four rounds they started cheering for me. So it was just a great thing and I truly felt that I beat this guy. I made him quit. I don’t care what people think or say. In my opinion you don’t quit, especially as champion.”
On whether he believes fans will finally get to see a long awaited showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior sometime early next year:
“Hopefully. It’s great for the sport. Even the hype of the two guys before they fight is great for the sport in my opinion, because it keeps everybody on the edge of their seats thinking okay it may happen or it may not. You got two guys where the average person, not even fan, just the average person if you bring up boxing, they will bring up either Pacquiao or Mayweather. So I think it’s great for the sport to keep people on the edge of their seats before they actually do it, because I think the fight is building into the biggest one that ever happened. I mean there is enough money to escalate through the roof. You got the number one and number two pound-for-pound boxers in the world that are going to go against each other and two great talents. So I think it will eventually happen, and it will be great for the sport when it does.”
On whether he has ever considered returning to boxing in a trainer’s capacity:
“Yes. At first being champion was a lot of negotiating and I lost a lot of love for the sport. I don’t want to get into the who and why, but certain people will figure it out. At first I wanted to walk away from the sport 100%. I couldn’t stand it at the very end, just dealing with certain things because the business side is so bad. But now I’m coming back! I’m slowly but surely getting back into the sport and I just thank the Lord who laid on me all this talent and now it’s time to invest into some boxers. I live in San Diego now, and hopefully very soon I want to start my own camp here in San Diego, which is a hot bed of boxing to just train guys. Now I’m starting to watch a lot of boxing, and no disrespect, but there are not that many great trainers out there. I mean when I listen to corners I don’t think they truly know how to instruct guys. So I want to put together a group of former champions to start training and to start investing in these kids or young men that are already boxers. I just want to train guys, and teach them, and instruct them in the ring, and guide them to do great things in the sport. So I think I will be that, and get back in it on the training side.”
Chris Byrd: “David Haye better come with something pretty special to try to upset Wladimir Klitschko!”
by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - This week’s 131st edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with former two time heavyweight champion of the world Chris Byrd (41-5-1, 22 KOs). Byrd spoke about a variety of different subjects, including the upcoming unification fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye, Bernard Hopkins becoming the oldest fighter to win a major world title, Mike Tyson’s Hall of Fame induction, the decline of Roy Jones Junior, the Super Six Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch, and whether or not he believes Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will ever square off. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
His views on the recent Hall of Fame induction weekend:
“Oh it was great. I had seen that, who was that, Mike Tyson, Kostya Tszyu, and Julio Cesar Chavez got in. I mean three great, some of the greatest fighters of all time. It’s just great looking at those guys and watching them throughout the years and their accomplishments. You know great for them. God bless all of them. They were great fighters who did a lot for the sport. I was happy for them just to hear the names. Time goes by so fast, you look at some of those names and think man, they had great careers and it’s over for them, but they’re in the Hall of Fame now, so well deserved.”
Regarding whether Don King had ever brought up the possibility of a fight between him and Mike Tyson:
“Yeah, he kept bringing it up. Every time he brought it up I was excited about it. I’ve looked up to Mike Tyson for years, even when I was an amateur and I was a middleweight. I always loved Mike Tyson. He had a great work ethic for fights and a lot of intensity in the ring. Don would bring it up, and I would think okay, this is a time where I get the chance to fight one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and I get to put my skills against him. Somebody like Mike Tyson who had just massive power, skills, was an icon of the sport, but it never materialized. So I was a little disappointed with the fact I never got a chance to fight him, but at the same time I’m happy for him. He’s done well in his career.”
His views on the upcoming heavyweight unification fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye:
“Well my thoughts on that fight, I stopped picking a winner. I may have a favorite, but not picking a winner. Anything can happen in the ring. My thoughts, with Wladimir Klitschko fighting him twice, and being a smaller heavyweight like David Haye and a really skilled heavyweight like David Haye, but he’s small. It’s a hard task. Wladimir is bigger than you think. When you go the press conferences and the weigh-in, and you look at him and you think okay. He’s big and he’s tall but he’s not that big, until you get in the ring and you start feeling the power, and he’s keeping the range, and he’s hard to get to. It’s a difficult task to try to overcome, but with David Haye he’s a puncher. He has a great puncher’s chance. He has pretty fast hands and he has a chance in the fight, but it’s a good big man versus a good little man and David Haye’s got to be a great little man to pull this off which is really an upset. He better have studied a lot of his tapes and better take chances in the fight to where he’ll surprise Wladimir. If not I think Wladimir will slowly break him down over the fight, because he’s been fighting like that lately. He’s just being patient, taking his time, and not going for the knockout early. Even though he’s a little upset going into this fight, but he’s just patient and he’ll just break you down and make it frustrating for you round after round, where you don’t even get a chance to really hit him clean. I mean he systematically just breaks you down and wins the fight. David Haye better come with something pretty special to try to upset Wladimir Klitschko!”
On whether he sees any weaknesses in Wladimir Klitschko’s style which he believes can be exploited:
“Oh yeah, definitely! Weaknesses with Wladimir, everybody says his chin. Of course, this is heavyweight boxing. If you get hit in the chin, you’ll go, especially with two strong guys and especially when you’re fighting somebody that can punch. With Wladimir, his weakness I still think he can’t fight going backwards. If you could push him and make him constantly fight you tire him out. When he fights at a pace that he loves to fight at, which he’s been fighting since he’s beat me in every single fight. He fights at his own pace. No one has really pressed him, and then he’ll comfortably beat you. Emanuel Steward has been doing a great job with him to calm him down. Normally he was pursuing the knockout. When he got knocked out those three times, he was pursuing the knockout. Now, he’s letting you come to him. He’s patient. I just think in my opinion, skill-wise David Haye has a lot of skills and he can punch, but I think he has to take chances and with Wladimir, push him. Try and make him fight going backwards and make him think at all times before he throws. He always makes the smaller guys think, because once you throw he counters, he has a good jab, and once he gets going he thinks that he’s got you because he started landing his punches, especially his jab. Once his jab starts landing, everything else is connecting after that. He has very few weaknesses right now because he has so many advantages, with height, reach, weight, everything, and talent. He’s an Olympic Gold Medalist, he has a lot of amateur experience, and he has a lot of talent and he’s confident. So he’s a hard package to beat right now, but like I said it’s heavyweight boxing and one punch can change your mind in the ring about everything.”
His views on Bernard Hopkins’ victory against Jean Pascal when he became the oldest fighter at age 46 to win a major world championship:
“Oh man, it’s great. It’s really great for him and great for boxing. Bernard has had talent since I was an amateur watching him until now. He’s a talented guy. He’s smart and he knows how to box. I take nothing away from him. He was fighting a good champion that upset who I consider really still the best light heavyweight in the division, Chad Dawson. Bernard comes in and beats him at 46. It’s just a great feat that he could still dominate and beat younger opponents, and not only opponents but champions. It’s just a great feat in boxing.”
His views on the recent decline of Roy Jones Junior and whether he believes Jones is tarnishing his legacy with the knockout losses he has suffered:
“Yeah, in a way I can look at it like that. Knowing the career of Roy Jones, it stops at the great Roy Jones. Everybody remembers him as great, and it goes by what you’ve done in your prime. Everybody knows he’s way past his prime, he really shouldn’t be fighting, and he’s fighting out of his weight class really. I mean he fought at cruiserweight his last fight. I know he fought and won the heavyweight title, but it’s still not the same. He’s fighting out of his weight class and he’s kind of ruining his legacy still fighting, but to me Roy Jones is still one of the greatest fighters that I’ve ever seen that ever laced them up. I just hope for him that that was it, because it hurt me to see him lose in that fashion. Hopefully he’ll just hang them up and that will be it, and he will leave the sport.”
On whether or not he believes there was any realistic chance of a heavyweight unification fight between him and Roy Jones Junior when they both reigned as champions:
“I wanted that fight really bad, but I put the ball in Roy’s court if he wanted it. I wasn’t going to talk trash. I’m not a trash talker anyway, but I’m not going to say anything about him. If Roy wants the fight, it was a great moment for him, a great feat for him that he beat John Ruiz. I think for the fans, I think they would have enjoyed it. You got two smaller guys, naturally smaller guys, unifying two thirds of the heavyweight title. It would have been something special I thought, but it never happened. The ball was in Roy’s court. It just didn’t happen.”
On whether he has been following the Super Six tournament and what he thinks of the upcoming Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch:
“Oh, yeah I’ve been following the Super Six. It’s a great, great Final, I mean really, really great Final. It’s a really great matchup of two fighters. To me Carl Froch has just with confidence and his ability, has surprised a lot of people. He’s like I said, very confident in feeling that he is the best super middleweight in the world and I give him a lot of props, but Andre Ward at the same time is the same thing. This kid is amazing! He’s young, an Olympic Gold Medalist, and he was really coming into the tournament not favored. Maybe he was one of the guys that could beat some guys, but not favored and he upset some guys and really became the number one guy in the Super Six. He has a lot of talent, and there is a lot of talent in that weight class. It’s going to be a super fight and it all depends on who can execute the game plan. Can Carl Froch keep his distance and outbox him? I truly feel that Andre Ward is going to be bringing pressure, trying to get inside, rough him, and make him fight his fight. If that happens, Andre Ward wins, but if Carl Froch can keep him at bay, and he can punch pretty good, too. If he can keep him at bay, hit him with certain power shots, and make Andre Ward think, he has a chance to win. It’s a pick’em Final, which that’s how it should be. You got the two best super middleweights in the world fighting each other coming into a great Final. I think it’s going to be a great fight.”
Regarding his first professional loss against Ike Ibeabuchi and whether he believe Ibeabuchi could have become a great heavyweight champion:
“Well it’s funny with that fight and how good they say Ike would have been. My thought on the fight was I thought I would beat him. Watching him on tape, he’s big, he’s strong of course, but everybody was big and strong and he was slow. So I thought I would just use all my tricks and outbox him over ten rounds and win the fight fairly easy. When I got in the ring it was a little different. His coach was smart. He was telling him as I was watching it afterwards, ‘hit him anywhere’, because I was real slippery he thought I’d run into something. Ike did certain things in the ring, like bending his knees which really surprised me because I wasn’t used to other heavyweights being that smart in the ring. I always felt as a professional I was the smartest guy in the ring, and he was a big strong guy that was talented. To dominate the heavyweight division like everybody else though he would? Probably for that time, I personally think Ike would beat Lennox Lewis. He would put the pressure on him, he could take his punch, and really dominate him. Maybe Evander Holyfield also, that would have been a really good fight because Holyfield would have fought him in the trenches, and Tyson also because Ike could take a punch. To constantly reign after that would have been very hard with the Klitschko brothers, because it’s the height and range factor. Ike was my height. He was big, but he was my height. Maybe Wladimir, but Vitali I don’t know. He would have kept the height and range and it would have been a hard style for Ike Ibeacbuchi to reign as the supreme heavyweight champion like Tyson was in the 80s. So I don’t see him just taking over. I think Wladimir or Vitali would have still been the reigning heavyweight champion, in my opinion.”
On whether he could have imagined that Vitali Klitschko would still be a heavyweight champion more than ten years after he beat him:
“ Yeah. I mean I think personally, a lot of us could still be fighting, even myself. I mean it’s over for me, but I had injuries that retired me. I have nerve damage in my foot that truly retired me. I’m still in great shape and could still fight. Vitali took off almost four years, rested his body, and never really took too much damage in his fights. So he can still do it, and he’s taller and more skilled than most of the heavyweights out there so he’s not really getting challenged. He could probably fight until he’s 50. One thing about Vitali, I went and sparred with him, he’s a smart guy. He really learned from when he was younger fighting me until now. He really studied the game and knows how to box and use his height and reach really do his advantage, and calm down and just take it round by round to execute his game plan and win a fight easily without making it hard. He’s been doing that. I’m not really surprised because of the advantages he has. It’s a hard style matchup. When you see him, people talk about him on film, but when you get into the ring with him, and notice how big and strong and what kind of size advantage he has, it’s a totally different thing.”
On whether he believes he truly beat Vitali Klitschko or whether he believes he was fortunate that Vitali was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury:
“I look at it really like I beat him, because in boxing you don’t quit. You just don’t quit, especially when you’re champion and over a shoulder injury. That’s debatable. For me, I don’t quit. You literally, and I hate to say it after he killed me in the ring almost, and I’m a little guy. You fight. I just couldn’t believe that on the stool he stopped. I was like oh wow! I’m the new WBO heavyweight champion on eight days notice, I had diarrhea, I’m not truly a heavyweight, and this guy is 6’7”/6’8”, 249 pounds, 28-0 with 28 knockouts. The German crowd laughed at me when we got into the middle of the ring, but after four rounds they started cheering for me. So it was just a great thing and I truly felt that I beat this guy. I made him quit. I don’t care what people think or say. In my opinion you don’t quit, especially as champion.”
On whether he believes fans will finally get to see a long awaited showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior sometime early next year:
“Hopefully. It’s great for the sport. Even the hype of the two guys before they fight is great for the sport in my opinion, because it keeps everybody on the edge of their seats thinking okay it may happen or it may not. You got two guys where the average person, not even fan, just the average person if you bring up boxing, they will bring up either Pacquiao or Mayweather. So I think it’s great for the sport to keep people on the edge of their seats before they actually do it, because I think the fight is building into the biggest one that ever happened. I mean there is enough money to escalate through the roof. You got the number one and number two pound-for-pound boxers in the world that are going to go against each other and two great talents. So I think it will eventually happen, and it will be great for the sport when it does.”
On whether he has ever considered returning to boxing in a trainer’s capacity:
“Yes. At first being champion was a lot of negotiating and I lost a lot of love for the sport. I don’t want to get into the who and why, but certain people will figure it out. At first I wanted to walk away from the sport 100%. I couldn’t stand it at the very end, just dealing with certain things because the business side is so bad. But now I’m coming back! I’m slowly but surely getting back into the sport and I just thank the Lord who laid on me all this talent and now it’s time to invest into some boxers. I live in San Diego now, and hopefully very soon I want to start my own camp here in San Diego, which is a hot bed of boxing to just train guys. Now I’m starting to watch a lot of boxing, and no disrespect, but there are not that many great trainers out there. I mean when I listen to corners I don’t think they truly know how to instruct guys. So I want to put together a group of former champions to start training and to start investing in these kids or young men that are already boxers. I just want to train guys, and teach them, and instruct them in the ring, and guide them to do great things in the sport. So I think I will be that, and get back in it on the training side.”
He hasn't been able to make 140 for a long time but I agree he belongs at 147. 154 is ok too but he's pushing it.
I believe it's his choice if he wants to go to 160 and I believe there is one reason only why he would and that reason is Chavez jr. Cotto believes he can beat him. And if he does he would become the first four weight division champion for a Puerto Rican, which is pretty historic. I heard a recent interview where he said that's pretty important to him.
I don't think he would fight anyone else at 160, it's chavez or he's staying at 154.
I believe it's his choice if he wants to go to 160 and I believe there is one reason only why he would and that reason is Chavez jr. Cotto believes he can beat him. And if he does he would become the first four weight division champion for a Puerto Rican, which is pretty historic. I heard a recent interview where he said that's pretty important to him.
I don't think he would fight anyone else at 160, it's chavez or he's staying at 154.
Emanuel Steward: "All of David Haye’s strategies are going to be declared null and vo
Emanuel Steward: "All of David Haye’s strategies are going to be declared null and void, except for if he can just land that one single punch"
0by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - With the highly anticipated heavyweight unification bout between IBF/WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs) and WBA title holder David Haye (25-1, 23 KOs) less than 48 hours awayOn the Ropes Boxing Radio was afforded the opportunity to speak with Klitschko’s trainer Emanuel Steward in a special exclusive interview. Steward gave his breakdown of the upcoming fight and shared his views on how he believes things will unfold once the opening bell rings. Here is a complete transcript of that interview:
JENNA J: Let’s go to our guest for this special edition of On the Ropes as we’re joined by Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward. Emanuel, the fight is getting really close. Can you feel it?
EMANUEL STEWARD: Well we’re already excited about the fight. I guess it’s probably the biggest fight going into it since Lennox and Mike Tyson probably, even though Vitali Klitschko and Lennox really turned out to be a dramatic fight in one that nobody promoted it and expected it to be that way. This is the first heavyweight fight that the fans have wanted and been excited about since Lennox and Mike.
JENNA: Emanuel, did you ever have any doubts that we would get to this point? The fight has been on and off so many times, and even when this fight was put on people doubted we would even get to fight day. Are you surprised that we’re here now?
STEWARD: Well yes and no. Still, it’s a little surprising but what the Klitschkos did was actually put David Haye in a corner where he had to fight one of them eventually or almost quit boxing or be ridiculed. The only other possible fight was maybe the Adamek fight, but they signed Adamek up very quickly to fight Vitali. After his last rehearsed fight or whatever it was with him and Audley Harrison. He couldn’t go back that way again and I think fans were not going to permit him to fight another Valuev or Ruiz. So he was pretty much backed into a corner without having a credible opponent and so eventually he had to take this fight here.
JENNA: Alright well Wladimir has seemingly gotten a little more annoyed with David in recent weeks and David has seemingly come out of his shell a little more after that British TV show. What do you take out of all that?
STEWARD: Well you know it’s down to the wire with both of these guys, but David is the one as the fight is drawing closer now who’s going back into his shell. I don’t know what you might be reading of him, but I’m right here and listening to him. Wladimir is feeling extremely comfortable about the fight and actually to the place where in some cases he’s almost intimidating David now that the fight is growing closer. I believe that reality is setting in and with all of the things that David has been doing, I guess cutting out his cartoons, and his shirts, and video games that he’s created. All of those gimmicks have pretty much run their course now and reality is setting in and he’s going to have to climb into the ring very shortly to face Wladimir, and they will take all of his scissors, and t-shirts, and video games away from him and he’ll be left alone to fight Wladimir Klitschko and that’s when the real drama will start and the emotional pressure will begin to come into play.
JENNA: Alright, well Emanuel as always I’m joined by my Co-Host Geoff.
GEOFFREY CIANI: Hi Emanuel. It’s a pleasure to have you back on the show.
STEWARD: Okay, it’s a pleasure being on the show too, Geoff.
CIANI: Emanuel I wanted to ask you, most of the people who are picking David Haye to win this fight seem to think he has this huge advantage in hand speed and quickness and I’m curious, do you think it’s going to play out that way in the fight?
STEWARD: Nope! Well you know in these cases, every fighter has one or two advantages he believes, and we specialize in taking that advantage away. In this case in all of the other areas Wladimir is superior, so they figure that can come in with speed. They are not going to be any faster than a Sultan Ibragimov, a Chris Byrd, Eliseo Castillo, or Eddie Chambers. In all of those cases Wladimir not only beat those guys, but afterwards they said they were just totally shocked at how fast he was and that he was faster than they were. The image that David Haye has of Wladimir is just of a slow moving stiff robot. It’s totally a joke and I think he believes that. He’s comparing Wladimir to Valuev and those type of guys.
But the one area where he feels he is superior in, and most of the fans are going to be surprised that Wladimir’s going to have faster speed than Haye. Once you take away a guy’s only asset where he thinks he has an advantage at, he has a problem and that’s what we’ve been preparing for much like we did for the fight with Ibragimov and the fight with Eddie Chambers. He will not have the advantage in speed, he definitely doesn’t have the advantage in size, he doesn’t have the advantage of experience in super fights, and as far as punching power! He punches yeah, but he punches good with Maccaranielli who was knocked out by Wladimir’s sparring partner Ola Afolabi. Nevertheless, that’s what the public sees but the punching power Wladimir has is the most devastating single punch punching power of any heavyweight that I’ve ever trained. He just doesn’t do it often enough. With five seconds left in the fight he knocked out Eddie Chambers. Then he had the short left hooks with Ray Austin. Once he realized he was cut he went out and knocked out Calvin Brock with one single right hand.
It’s very seldom you have a guy with that type of punching power. So I don’t think the punching power favors David Haye. This is something where they’re trying to find what are his best assets, but his best assets are not enough. So I think Wladimir’s overall experience in super fights being in filled 50,000-something seat stadiums, his all around boxing ability, the left jab which is not a simple jab that they seem to think. It’s a very, very educated complicated form of jabbing that he does that no one gets away from. So I just personally feel extremely, extremely comfortable going into this fight and Wladimir feels the same way.
CIANI: Now in recent fights, and Chris Byrd mentioned this when we had him on the show earlier and the week and he said ever since the rematch with him that Wladimir has been very patient and systematic in beating his opponents down. But you’ve mentioned on the show previously that you haven’t seen Wladimir this angry since the rematch with Chris Byrd. I’m wondering if you expect him to come out a bit more aggressive than we’re accustomed to seeing?
STEWARD: Yes, he’s going to be a little more aggressive but not to the point where he’ll be off his fight plan. He’s been through a lot of fights. The man has nearly 60 fights so he knows how to apply pressure in a systematic way without getting too careless or burning himself out and making mistakes. But there will be a lot more intensity in this fight then there has been in say the Sam Peter fight and up to the finish in the Eddie Chambers fight. He will be a much more intense fighter, with more of a direct attack and so lackadaisical where sometimes he gets very comfortable with controlling the fight with just his left jab. That will not be the case this time.
JENNA: Now Emanuel, one thing that both David and Wladimir have in common is that both men lasted tasted defeat in 2004 both in the fifth round. How do you think both men have changed since their last losses?
STEWARD: Well I think they both have improved. I think the difference is the caliber of opponents that Wladimir has been fighting has been different and also they have been heavyweights. David hasn’t fought that many quality heavyweights at all. If Monte Barrett can be sold as opponent, someone that Wladimir knocked out I think about nine years ago when he was a pretty decent upcoming fighter, and we could not even use him as a sparring partner three years ago because he was that inferior. After a few days in the gym we actually had to send him home because he couldn’t hold up, and still they sold that fight to the British public after all of that, and they bought that. With Valuev he had lost to Chagaev, and then Ruiz. I mean this is what he’s been fighting whereas Wladimir has fought Sam Peter, and at the time undefeated Sam Peter when they fought the first time, Calvin Brock who was undefeated when he fought him, Sultan Ibragimov was undefeated still when he fought him, and Eddie Chambers who is one of the best most talented young fighters I’ve seen still who may still end up being heavyweight champion in another year or so. Then Tony Thompson was definitely a big challenge, a big man who was left-handed. The caliber that he’s fought as compared to what David Haye has is like a joke. You can’t even compare them.
JENNA: When it comes down to the fight itself, and you mentioned this before during the press conferences that you’ve never seen Wladimir this emotionally charged up for a fight. Do you think that can at all lead to him making mistakes that could get him caught with a big punch, a punch that could give David Haye a chance in this fight?
STEWARD: You won’t see it happen. He’s very motivated but he knows how to plan an attack without getting careless. In fact in recent days he’s been actually laughing more at David and looking at David and looking at his friend/manager/trainer, but friend more so than the latter day. Him and Booth are like two kids who are excited about being in a big Broadway play or something. They got a lot of theatrical stuff that they do every time, but they’re not really tuned into reality. As far as we’re concerned they’re not even professionals, and as the fight gets closer Wladimir is actually laughing more at David Haye and his whole entourage and all the theatrics. Where before he was upset, he just realizes that David is definitely out of his league and he has created all of these theatrical antics, and thank God that he did. He’s created a great fight, but I think on the night of the fight you’re going to see an unbelievable big disparity in skills. You will see David Haye look very, very out of place.
CIANI: Emanuel, if Wladimir wins this fight how exactly do you think it impacts his legacy and do you think that this would be his career-defining win to this point?
STEWARD: This will definitely be his career-defining fight and he realizes that. All of these other fights he’s won, the Gold Medal which he won in ’96 and all of that will all be moot compared to this fight here. His whole career will pretty much hinge off of this fight here. This is the super fight that he’s always wanted, and that’s the way boxing is. When you think of Alexis Arguello, as soon as you think of Alexis you think of Aaron Pryor. He won 50 or 60 fights and was a great champion, but it’s always just one or two career-defining fights they remember when your career is over. In this case it’s going to be the David Haye fight. He started boxing when he was 14 and all of it is coming down to July 2 and everything will be on the line in terms of legacy based on what happens July 2, 2011.
JENNA: Alright now Emanuel if David Haye loses this fight which a lot of people believe that he will, do you think he will in fact retire right after it?
STEWARD: I do not believe that David Haye is going to retire after this fight. He will have enough money without really fighting himself into a great position. He’s talked and done enough gimmicks to get himself into this situation because of the big hunger of the public for a competitive heavyweight fight. So he created it without actually doing anything in the ring. With all of these other publicity gimmicks and he’s created it where he will might make somewhere maybe in terms of American money like $26 or $27 or $30 million. So he’ll be set for life, but I think David Haye will not want to finish his career on the embarrassing note of being a knockout victim so he will fight again.
JENNA: Now you already mentioned before how Wladimir is very focused for the fight and you don’t see him making any mistakes, but in a scenario that he does make mistakes, what can you see him doing that could lead him to losing?
STEWARD: I’ll be very honest with you, I don’t see any way I can see Wladimir losing this fight. I mean anybody in the heavyweight division or any fighter can land a punch. I mean you got small gloves on, you got powerful guys, and David Haye is a good puncher and he does have speed. Overall, we’ve been analyzing this fight and we’ve been going over it step-by-step covering each possible scenario, outside of just a one punch situation, I can’t see David winning. In that type of a situation it can happen to anybody that can land that one punch as we saw with Hasim Rahman and Lennox Lewis in the first fight. Beyond that, whether it was just a pressure style, or counterpunching, or outboxing him, or trying to come in to go toe-to-toe. All of David Haye’s strategies are going to be declared null and void, except for if he can just land that one single punch.
JENNA: How do you this fight playing out from start to finish. Right now what’s your official prediction? How’s it going to end?
STEWARD: I think Wladimir is going to come out and apply tremendous foot pressure, not just walking in like a robot, but fast foot pressure with cutting off the ring. He will be creating anxiety and making David Haye, when he does throw punches, fall off balance because he fights with his legs really far apart and he can never throw a few punches usually with that balance. With the mental anxiety that he’s going to experience, he’ll start folding because of the pressure that’s going to be applied and I see Wladimir knocking him out within four rounds.
JENNA: Alright, well my final question revolves around what the fans will be seeing. This fight will be on HBO. It will be Wladimir’s first fight on HBO since his fight with Hasim Rahman. Do you think this fight with David Haye will be the start of something to come where the heavyweight division gets rejuvenated from it and that people will want to see more of Wladimir Klitschko?
STEWARD: I believe that this fight will create a lot of excitement and renew interest and focus on the heavyweight division, because the interest that is being generated just by the announcement of the fight, and David’s tactics, and Wladimir wants to badly fight back in America. To be honest there are not too many American contenders except Arreola who is I guess having his regular three wins or four. We have to fight him if we’re going to try and make a fight with him before he loses again, because that’s what he seems to do. With his renewed weight he seems more disciplined. That would be an ideal situation for me, is to come back to America for his next fight maybe against an Arreola, but the fight’s got a lot of interest. When I was at home last week in St. Louis with K9 for Sechew Powell, I was surprised at just the amount of interest that is phenomenal in this fight, because people are waiting for a good heavyweight fight.
JENNA: Alright well Emanuel, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the show so close to such a big fight. I want to wish you all the best of luck on Saturday night with both you and Wladimir, and I just can’t wait to see it!
STEWARD: Thank you for having me on the show.
CIANI: Thanks Emanuel, best of luck, Saturday.
STEWARD: Okay, you’re welcome Geoff.
Emanuel Steward: "All of David Haye’s strategies are going to be declared null and void, except for if he can just land that one single punch"
0by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - With the highly anticipated heavyweight unification bout between IBF/WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs) and WBA title holder David Haye (25-1, 23 KOs) less than 48 hours awayOn the Ropes Boxing Radio was afforded the opportunity to speak with Klitschko’s trainer Emanuel Steward in a special exclusive interview. Steward gave his breakdown of the upcoming fight and shared his views on how he believes things will unfold once the opening bell rings. Here is a complete transcript of that interview:
JENNA J: Let’s go to our guest for this special edition of On the Ropes as we’re joined by Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward. Emanuel, the fight is getting really close. Can you feel it?
EMANUEL STEWARD: Well we’re already excited about the fight. I guess it’s probably the biggest fight going into it since Lennox and Mike Tyson probably, even though Vitali Klitschko and Lennox really turned out to be a dramatic fight in one that nobody promoted it and expected it to be that way. This is the first heavyweight fight that the fans have wanted and been excited about since Lennox and Mike.
JENNA: Emanuel, did you ever have any doubts that we would get to this point? The fight has been on and off so many times, and even when this fight was put on people doubted we would even get to fight day. Are you surprised that we’re here now?
STEWARD: Well yes and no. Still, it’s a little surprising but what the Klitschkos did was actually put David Haye in a corner where he had to fight one of them eventually or almost quit boxing or be ridiculed. The only other possible fight was maybe the Adamek fight, but they signed Adamek up very quickly to fight Vitali. After his last rehearsed fight or whatever it was with him and Audley Harrison. He couldn’t go back that way again and I think fans were not going to permit him to fight another Valuev or Ruiz. So he was pretty much backed into a corner without having a credible opponent and so eventually he had to take this fight here.
JENNA: Alright well Wladimir has seemingly gotten a little more annoyed with David in recent weeks and David has seemingly come out of his shell a little more after that British TV show. What do you take out of all that?
STEWARD: Well you know it’s down to the wire with both of these guys, but David is the one as the fight is drawing closer now who’s going back into his shell. I don’t know what you might be reading of him, but I’m right here and listening to him. Wladimir is feeling extremely comfortable about the fight and actually to the place where in some cases he’s almost intimidating David now that the fight is growing closer. I believe that reality is setting in and with all of the things that David has been doing, I guess cutting out his cartoons, and his shirts, and video games that he’s created. All of those gimmicks have pretty much run their course now and reality is setting in and he’s going to have to climb into the ring very shortly to face Wladimir, and they will take all of his scissors, and t-shirts, and video games away from him and he’ll be left alone to fight Wladimir Klitschko and that’s when the real drama will start and the emotional pressure will begin to come into play.
JENNA: Alright, well Emanuel as always I’m joined by my Co-Host Geoff.
GEOFFREY CIANI: Hi Emanuel. It’s a pleasure to have you back on the show.
STEWARD: Okay, it’s a pleasure being on the show too, Geoff.
CIANI: Emanuel I wanted to ask you, most of the people who are picking David Haye to win this fight seem to think he has this huge advantage in hand speed and quickness and I’m curious, do you think it’s going to play out that way in the fight?
STEWARD: Nope! Well you know in these cases, every fighter has one or two advantages he believes, and we specialize in taking that advantage away. In this case in all of the other areas Wladimir is superior, so they figure that can come in with speed. They are not going to be any faster than a Sultan Ibragimov, a Chris Byrd, Eliseo Castillo, or Eddie Chambers. In all of those cases Wladimir not only beat those guys, but afterwards they said they were just totally shocked at how fast he was and that he was faster than they were. The image that David Haye has of Wladimir is just of a slow moving stiff robot. It’s totally a joke and I think he believes that. He’s comparing Wladimir to Valuev and those type of guys.
But the one area where he feels he is superior in, and most of the fans are going to be surprised that Wladimir’s going to have faster speed than Haye. Once you take away a guy’s only asset where he thinks he has an advantage at, he has a problem and that’s what we’ve been preparing for much like we did for the fight with Ibragimov and the fight with Eddie Chambers. He will not have the advantage in speed, he definitely doesn’t have the advantage in size, he doesn’t have the advantage of experience in super fights, and as far as punching power! He punches yeah, but he punches good with Maccaranielli who was knocked out by Wladimir’s sparring partner Ola Afolabi. Nevertheless, that’s what the public sees but the punching power Wladimir has is the most devastating single punch punching power of any heavyweight that I’ve ever trained. He just doesn’t do it often enough. With five seconds left in the fight he knocked out Eddie Chambers. Then he had the short left hooks with Ray Austin. Once he realized he was cut he went out and knocked out Calvin Brock with one single right hand.
It’s very seldom you have a guy with that type of punching power. So I don’t think the punching power favors David Haye. This is something where they’re trying to find what are his best assets, but his best assets are not enough. So I think Wladimir’s overall experience in super fights being in filled 50,000-something seat stadiums, his all around boxing ability, the left jab which is not a simple jab that they seem to think. It’s a very, very educated complicated form of jabbing that he does that no one gets away from. So I just personally feel extremely, extremely comfortable going into this fight and Wladimir feels the same way.
CIANI: Now in recent fights, and Chris Byrd mentioned this when we had him on the show earlier and the week and he said ever since the rematch with him that Wladimir has been very patient and systematic in beating his opponents down. But you’ve mentioned on the show previously that you haven’t seen Wladimir this angry since the rematch with Chris Byrd. I’m wondering if you expect him to come out a bit more aggressive than we’re accustomed to seeing?
STEWARD: Yes, he’s going to be a little more aggressive but not to the point where he’ll be off his fight plan. He’s been through a lot of fights. The man has nearly 60 fights so he knows how to apply pressure in a systematic way without getting too careless or burning himself out and making mistakes. But there will be a lot more intensity in this fight then there has been in say the Sam Peter fight and up to the finish in the Eddie Chambers fight. He will be a much more intense fighter, with more of a direct attack and so lackadaisical where sometimes he gets very comfortable with controlling the fight with just his left jab. That will not be the case this time.
JENNA: Now Emanuel, one thing that both David and Wladimir have in common is that both men lasted tasted defeat in 2004 both in the fifth round. How do you think both men have changed since their last losses?
STEWARD: Well I think they both have improved. I think the difference is the caliber of opponents that Wladimir has been fighting has been different and also they have been heavyweights. David hasn’t fought that many quality heavyweights at all. If Monte Barrett can be sold as opponent, someone that Wladimir knocked out I think about nine years ago when he was a pretty decent upcoming fighter, and we could not even use him as a sparring partner three years ago because he was that inferior. After a few days in the gym we actually had to send him home because he couldn’t hold up, and still they sold that fight to the British public after all of that, and they bought that. With Valuev he had lost to Chagaev, and then Ruiz. I mean this is what he’s been fighting whereas Wladimir has fought Sam Peter, and at the time undefeated Sam Peter when they fought the first time, Calvin Brock who was undefeated when he fought him, Sultan Ibragimov was undefeated still when he fought him, and Eddie Chambers who is one of the best most talented young fighters I’ve seen still who may still end up being heavyweight champion in another year or so. Then Tony Thompson was definitely a big challenge, a big man who was left-handed. The caliber that he’s fought as compared to what David Haye has is like a joke. You can’t even compare them.
JENNA: When it comes down to the fight itself, and you mentioned this before during the press conferences that you’ve never seen Wladimir this emotionally charged up for a fight. Do you think that can at all lead to him making mistakes that could get him caught with a big punch, a punch that could give David Haye a chance in this fight?
STEWARD: You won’t see it happen. He’s very motivated but he knows how to plan an attack without getting careless. In fact in recent days he’s been actually laughing more at David and looking at David and looking at his friend/manager/trainer, but friend more so than the latter day. Him and Booth are like two kids who are excited about being in a big Broadway play or something. They got a lot of theatrical stuff that they do every time, but they’re not really tuned into reality. As far as we’re concerned they’re not even professionals, and as the fight gets closer Wladimir is actually laughing more at David Haye and his whole entourage and all the theatrics. Where before he was upset, he just realizes that David is definitely out of his league and he has created all of these theatrical antics, and thank God that he did. He’s created a great fight, but I think on the night of the fight you’re going to see an unbelievable big disparity in skills. You will see David Haye look very, very out of place.
CIANI: Emanuel, if Wladimir wins this fight how exactly do you think it impacts his legacy and do you think that this would be his career-defining win to this point?
STEWARD: This will definitely be his career-defining fight and he realizes that. All of these other fights he’s won, the Gold Medal which he won in ’96 and all of that will all be moot compared to this fight here. His whole career will pretty much hinge off of this fight here. This is the super fight that he’s always wanted, and that’s the way boxing is. When you think of Alexis Arguello, as soon as you think of Alexis you think of Aaron Pryor. He won 50 or 60 fights and was a great champion, but it’s always just one or two career-defining fights they remember when your career is over. In this case it’s going to be the David Haye fight. He started boxing when he was 14 and all of it is coming down to July 2 and everything will be on the line in terms of legacy based on what happens July 2, 2011.
JENNA: Alright now Emanuel if David Haye loses this fight which a lot of people believe that he will, do you think he will in fact retire right after it?
STEWARD: I do not believe that David Haye is going to retire after this fight. He will have enough money without really fighting himself into a great position. He’s talked and done enough gimmicks to get himself into this situation because of the big hunger of the public for a competitive heavyweight fight. So he created it without actually doing anything in the ring. With all of these other publicity gimmicks and he’s created it where he will might make somewhere maybe in terms of American money like $26 or $27 or $30 million. So he’ll be set for life, but I think David Haye will not want to finish his career on the embarrassing note of being a knockout victim so he will fight again.
JENNA: Now you already mentioned before how Wladimir is very focused for the fight and you don’t see him making any mistakes, but in a scenario that he does make mistakes, what can you see him doing that could lead him to losing?
STEWARD: I’ll be very honest with you, I don’t see any way I can see Wladimir losing this fight. I mean anybody in the heavyweight division or any fighter can land a punch. I mean you got small gloves on, you got powerful guys, and David Haye is a good puncher and he does have speed. Overall, we’ve been analyzing this fight and we’ve been going over it step-by-step covering each possible scenario, outside of just a one punch situation, I can’t see David winning. In that type of a situation it can happen to anybody that can land that one punch as we saw with Hasim Rahman and Lennox Lewis in the first fight. Beyond that, whether it was just a pressure style, or counterpunching, or outboxing him, or trying to come in to go toe-to-toe. All of David Haye’s strategies are going to be declared null and void, except for if he can just land that one single punch.
JENNA: How do you this fight playing out from start to finish. Right now what’s your official prediction? How’s it going to end?
STEWARD: I think Wladimir is going to come out and apply tremendous foot pressure, not just walking in like a robot, but fast foot pressure with cutting off the ring. He will be creating anxiety and making David Haye, when he does throw punches, fall off balance because he fights with his legs really far apart and he can never throw a few punches usually with that balance. With the mental anxiety that he’s going to experience, he’ll start folding because of the pressure that’s going to be applied and I see Wladimir knocking him out within four rounds.
JENNA: Alright, well my final question revolves around what the fans will be seeing. This fight will be on HBO. It will be Wladimir’s first fight on HBO since his fight with Hasim Rahman. Do you think this fight with David Haye will be the start of something to come where the heavyweight division gets rejuvenated from it and that people will want to see more of Wladimir Klitschko?
STEWARD: I believe that this fight will create a lot of excitement and renew interest and focus on the heavyweight division, because the interest that is being generated just by the announcement of the fight, and David’s tactics, and Wladimir wants to badly fight back in America. To be honest there are not too many American contenders except Arreola who is I guess having his regular three wins or four. We have to fight him if we’re going to try and make a fight with him before he loses again, because that’s what he seems to do. With his renewed weight he seems more disciplined. That would be an ideal situation for me, is to come back to America for his next fight maybe against an Arreola, but the fight’s got a lot of interest. When I was at home last week in St. Louis with K9 for Sechew Powell, I was surprised at just the amount of interest that is phenomenal in this fight, because people are waiting for a good heavyweight fight.
JENNA: Alright well Emanuel, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the show so close to such a big fight. I want to wish you all the best of luck on Saturday night with both you and Wladimir, and I just can’t wait to see it!
STEWARD: Thank you for having me on the show.
CIANI: Thanks Emanuel, best of luck, Saturday.
STEWARD: Okay, you’re welcome Geoff.
Jean Pascal: “Lucian Bute needs to get more balls
by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - This week’s 131st edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (26-2-1, 16 KOs). Pascal shared his views on a variety of topics including his recent fights with Bernard Hopkins, his future plans in the sport, the Super Six Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior’s upcoming fights, Tavoris Cloud’s knockout victory against Yusaf Mack, and more! Here is what he had to say:
His views on Tavoris Cloud’s recent knockout victory against Yusaf Mack:
“Honestly, he fought good. That was a close fight before the knockdown. That was a really close fight because I think Yusaf Mack was doing good. On the judges’ cards he was by up one, and down by one point with two judges. So that was a really close, close fight, but Tavoris Cloud did his thing. We all know that he has great power and he used his power and his stamina to break him down.”
Regarding rumors that he will face Tavoris Cloud in October:
“Honestly I really don’t know. That’s not on my mind right now. Right now I’m just trying to relax because I had three fights in nine months. You know, who does that? Pacquiao doesn’t do that. Mayweather doesn’t do that. It’s only me in the boxing world who fights three fights in nine months. I think that’s a lot, and I deserve the rest. I need a break. I know fans want me to be back in the ring ASAP, but I really need a break. They want me to fight Tavoris Cloud on October 15 and I really think that’s too close for me. I would like to fight probably this November, so right now I’m just trying to enjoy my time, enjoy myself, and then get back in the ring really, really soon.”
On whether this means he would pass up on the opportunity to face Cloud on the Bernard Hopkins versus Chad Dawson under card:
“If the fight is October 15, I think I’m going to pass on the opportunity because my body needs rest. I can’t make four fights in twelve months. That’s a lot for a boxer of my caliber. A boxer of my caliber fights once or twice a year. So for me to fight four times, that would be a lot. Like I said I don’t say no, but I don’t know yet because I have to think about it. I have to talk to my team because any fighter that I’m going to fight for my next fight is going to be for a world championship fight. So that’s going to be a big task. That’s going to be a tough challenge. Plus in my next fight, I not only need to win, I need to win with passion! I need to show my talent because in my last two fights I had a good show, but I didn’t show my talents. So for my next fight I really know that I need to win, but win in great fashion.”
His views on his rematch with Bernard Hopkins and the way the fight was scored by the judges:
“You know the score with one judge, I think he had Bernard by eight rounds. I think that was way too much because the fight was much closer than that. You know Bernard is a smart boxer and a smart guy. He went into that fight like he was the champion because he was complaining that much, he was whining that much that people started to believe that he should have won the first fight. So with me, I went into this fight in the judges’ minds like I was the challenger, so any close rounds went to Bernard Hopkins. Any close rounds went to the legend for the history instead of going to the hometown champion. I really think that’s why he won the fight. Like I said, that was a really close fight. I don’t take anything away from Bernard. He’s a great fighter, but I know for a fact that I can beat this man. So if he gives me a rematch like I did for him, I really think I’m going to pull out the victory next time.”
On what he has learned from his two fights against Bernard Hopkins:
“Well I can say it’s really hard to tell, but I gained a lot of experience. I learned old tricks, I know what to do, and in case something like that again happens I’m going to be able to deal with it because I would have been there already. Like Bernard in the sixth round, he put his thumb in my eye so rounds six to ten I was seeing doubles. It was like I was seeing Bernard and I was seeing Hopkins at the same time. That was really crazy in the fight. So he has a lot of tricks like that, and I think that through me off a little bit from rounds six through ten. But like I said, this is boxing. That’s part of boxing. He’s an old fox. He won the fight. I can’t say nothing about it. I’m not going to say that I got robbed. He won a close decision and let’s do it again for a third time.”
His views on the upcoming fight between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson:
“Honestly, that’s hard to tell because Dawson has been saying that I’m an amateur boxer, but the thing is he got beat up by an amateur boxer. Even though he was saying that, I have respect for Chad Dawson. He has good technique, he has great skills, and he’s doing everything right. He’s not doing anything great like when Roy Jones had great speed and great combinations. Chad Dawson is doing everything good. Like I said, he has a good technique and he has a good everything. Bernard is an old fox. He’s smart. He knows how to use his experience, so you know that’s going to be a boring fight I guess, but it’s going to be experience versus technique. So that’s really hard to tell who’s going to win.”
His views on the Super Six Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch:
“Come on guys! Don’t do that to me, because those two guys are my friends so you know that’s really hard to tell. They are two great warriors, two great boxers, and I think they really deserve to be in the Finals. Honestly Carl Froch has great power, but a lot of people underestimate him. Andre Ward won a Gold Medal at the Olympics so what more can I say. He’s a good boxer. He’s very mature. So that’s going to be a good fight, and may the best guy win.”
On whether he would be interested in moving back down to 168 if he had the chance to fight the winner of the Super Six:
“I would like to move down to 168 pounds, but my body doesn’t allow me to do that. I walk around at like 187-189, but I only have a small percentage of body fat, so it would be impossible for me to go down to 168. After my fight against Bernard Hopkins we offered Lucian Bute to fight me next this fall, and he said no. So I was really disappointed because I think Lucian Bute’s fans deserve more than that. Lucian Bute is a great fighter but he’s always fighting boxers below his level, and he needs to step up his game and fight boxers of his caliber. Like he wants to fight Kelly Pavlik! Kelly Pavlik was a great boxer, but I don’t think he’s at Lucian Bute’s level right now. I don’t want to take anything away from Kelly Pavlik, but Bute is way bigger and he is more on his fight right now. So you know we offered him to fight me for the fourth time, and he said no. So I was really disappointed by him. Lucian Bute needs to get more balls, to risk himself a little bit, to try to roll the dice because one day it’s going to catch him.”
On whether he believes Bute is biding his time so he can be well rested to face the winner of the Super Six who will have had five difficult fights in a row:
“Yes, but that’s going to trick him because he’s going to be fresh, but fresh without really valuable experience. You know me, I fought Carl Froch and I gained experience. I fought Bernard Hopkins twice and that brought me a lot of experience. In boxing, you see you can be good but you need adversity to see what you can do in front of adversity. Anyone can be the pound-for-pound boxer when they seek out boxers. Anyone can be like that. Once when he’s in a fight with a real boxer, he’s going to see adversity and he’s not going to be able to do anything because it’s going to be his first time facing adversity. He might be fresh, but he won’t have the experience to win those kind of fights, because at that level, talent sometimes is not enough.”
His views on whether Roy Jones Junior should retire because of the recent knockout losses he has suffered:
“Who am I to tell Roy Jones to hang up the gloves. This man is probably one of the best fighters ever, I’m talking about prime time. He must be in the top three in the world ever, so who am I to judge this man. He’s been boxing for at least two decades, so you know it’s hard to tell someone to stop when he’s been doing that his whole life. I think that this is a really tough decision for Roy to make, but I can’t judge people on that. I can’t judge Roy on that, and he can do whatever he wants to do. To me, I know prime time wise he’s one of the best in the world.”
Regarding Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior’s respective upcoming fights against Juan Manuel Marquez and Victory Ortiz, and who he thinks faces the tougher challenge:
“Floyd should be a little bit more active. Floyd has a tough fight and I think Pacquiao this time is really, really going to beat Marquez because of the way Pacquiao evolved is not the way Marquez evolved. Pacquiao got bigger, he’s faster, he’s stronger, so I think that’s going to be a really easy fight for Pacquiao this time.”
Regarding whether he would be ready to take Tavoris Cloud on in Novermber or December:
“Yeah, of course! If the fight is in November or December, I’m in! I’m in with anyone!”
Regarding what strategy he would use if he is to face Tavoris Cloud in his next fight:
“Honestly, I would love to tell you that Jenna, but I can’t in case I’m fighting Cloud. You know what I mean? I saw great things about Cloud, but I saw some weaknesses, also. So I’m going to try to expose those weaknesses to win the fight.”
On what it would mean for him to regain a portion of the light heavyweight championship:
“That would mean a lot to me because it’s easier to become champion than to re-become champion. So you know once you win it once it’s good, but to be able to be champion twice is a great thing. That will mean a lot to me and if I win the IBF title or another world title, I will be ready for anyone after that.”
***
by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - This week’s 131st edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (26-2-1, 16 KOs). Pascal shared his views on a variety of topics including his recent fights with Bernard Hopkins, his future plans in the sport, the Super Six Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior’s upcoming fights, Tavoris Cloud’s knockout victory against Yusaf Mack, and more! Here is what he had to say:
His views on Tavoris Cloud’s recent knockout victory against Yusaf Mack:
“Honestly, he fought good. That was a close fight before the knockdown. That was a really close fight because I think Yusaf Mack was doing good. On the judges’ cards he was by up one, and down by one point with two judges. So that was a really close, close fight, but Tavoris Cloud did his thing. We all know that he has great power and he used his power and his stamina to break him down.”
Regarding rumors that he will face Tavoris Cloud in October:
“Honestly I really don’t know. That’s not on my mind right now. Right now I’m just trying to relax because I had three fights in nine months. You know, who does that? Pacquiao doesn’t do that. Mayweather doesn’t do that. It’s only me in the boxing world who fights three fights in nine months. I think that’s a lot, and I deserve the rest. I need a break. I know fans want me to be back in the ring ASAP, but I really need a break. They want me to fight Tavoris Cloud on October 15 and I really think that’s too close for me. I would like to fight probably this November, so right now I’m just trying to enjoy my time, enjoy myself, and then get back in the ring really, really soon.”
On whether this means he would pass up on the opportunity to face Cloud on the Bernard Hopkins versus Chad Dawson under card:
“If the fight is October 15, I think I’m going to pass on the opportunity because my body needs rest. I can’t make four fights in twelve months. That’s a lot for a boxer of my caliber. A boxer of my caliber fights once or twice a year. So for me to fight four times, that would be a lot. Like I said I don’t say no, but I don’t know yet because I have to think about it. I have to talk to my team because any fighter that I’m going to fight for my next fight is going to be for a world championship fight. So that’s going to be a big task. That’s going to be a tough challenge. Plus in my next fight, I not only need to win, I need to win with passion! I need to show my talent because in my last two fights I had a good show, but I didn’t show my talents. So for my next fight I really know that I need to win, but win in great fashion.”
His views on his rematch with Bernard Hopkins and the way the fight was scored by the judges:
“You know the score with one judge, I think he had Bernard by eight rounds. I think that was way too much because the fight was much closer than that. You know Bernard is a smart boxer and a smart guy. He went into that fight like he was the champion because he was complaining that much, he was whining that much that people started to believe that he should have won the first fight. So with me, I went into this fight in the judges’ minds like I was the challenger, so any close rounds went to Bernard Hopkins. Any close rounds went to the legend for the history instead of going to the hometown champion. I really think that’s why he won the fight. Like I said, that was a really close fight. I don’t take anything away from Bernard. He’s a great fighter, but I know for a fact that I can beat this man. So if he gives me a rematch like I did for him, I really think I’m going to pull out the victory next time.”
On what he has learned from his two fights against Bernard Hopkins:
“Well I can say it’s really hard to tell, but I gained a lot of experience. I learned old tricks, I know what to do, and in case something like that again happens I’m going to be able to deal with it because I would have been there already. Like Bernard in the sixth round, he put his thumb in my eye so rounds six to ten I was seeing doubles. It was like I was seeing Bernard and I was seeing Hopkins at the same time. That was really crazy in the fight. So he has a lot of tricks like that, and I think that through me off a little bit from rounds six through ten. But like I said, this is boxing. That’s part of boxing. He’s an old fox. He won the fight. I can’t say nothing about it. I’m not going to say that I got robbed. He won a close decision and let’s do it again for a third time.”
His views on the upcoming fight between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson:
“Honestly, that’s hard to tell because Dawson has been saying that I’m an amateur boxer, but the thing is he got beat up by an amateur boxer. Even though he was saying that, I have respect for Chad Dawson. He has good technique, he has great skills, and he’s doing everything right. He’s not doing anything great like when Roy Jones had great speed and great combinations. Chad Dawson is doing everything good. Like I said, he has a good technique and he has a good everything. Bernard is an old fox. He’s smart. He knows how to use his experience, so you know that’s going to be a boring fight I guess, but it’s going to be experience versus technique. So that’s really hard to tell who’s going to win.”
His views on the Super Six Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch:
“Come on guys! Don’t do that to me, because those two guys are my friends so you know that’s really hard to tell. They are two great warriors, two great boxers, and I think they really deserve to be in the Finals. Honestly Carl Froch has great power, but a lot of people underestimate him. Andre Ward won a Gold Medal at the Olympics so what more can I say. He’s a good boxer. He’s very mature. So that’s going to be a good fight, and may the best guy win.”
On whether he would be interested in moving back down to 168 if he had the chance to fight the winner of the Super Six:
“I would like to move down to 168 pounds, but my body doesn’t allow me to do that. I walk around at like 187-189, but I only have a small percentage of body fat, so it would be impossible for me to go down to 168. After my fight against Bernard Hopkins we offered Lucian Bute to fight me next this fall, and he said no. So I was really disappointed because I think Lucian Bute’s fans deserve more than that. Lucian Bute is a great fighter but he’s always fighting boxers below his level, and he needs to step up his game and fight boxers of his caliber. Like he wants to fight Kelly Pavlik! Kelly Pavlik was a great boxer, but I don’t think he’s at Lucian Bute’s level right now. I don’t want to take anything away from Kelly Pavlik, but Bute is way bigger and he is more on his fight right now. So you know we offered him to fight me for the fourth time, and he said no. So I was really disappointed by him. Lucian Bute needs to get more balls, to risk himself a little bit, to try to roll the dice because one day it’s going to catch him.”
On whether he believes Bute is biding his time so he can be well rested to face the winner of the Super Six who will have had five difficult fights in a row:
“Yes, but that’s going to trick him because he’s going to be fresh, but fresh without really valuable experience. You know me, I fought Carl Froch and I gained experience. I fought Bernard Hopkins twice and that brought me a lot of experience. In boxing, you see you can be good but you need adversity to see what you can do in front of adversity. Anyone can be the pound-for-pound boxer when they seek out boxers. Anyone can be like that. Once when he’s in a fight with a real boxer, he’s going to see adversity and he’s not going to be able to do anything because it’s going to be his first time facing adversity. He might be fresh, but he won’t have the experience to win those kind of fights, because at that level, talent sometimes is not enough.”
His views on whether Roy Jones Junior should retire because of the recent knockout losses he has suffered:
“Who am I to tell Roy Jones to hang up the gloves. This man is probably one of the best fighters ever, I’m talking about prime time. He must be in the top three in the world ever, so who am I to judge this man. He’s been boxing for at least two decades, so you know it’s hard to tell someone to stop when he’s been doing that his whole life. I think that this is a really tough decision for Roy to make, but I can’t judge people on that. I can’t judge Roy on that, and he can do whatever he wants to do. To me, I know prime time wise he’s one of the best in the world.”
Regarding Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior’s respective upcoming fights against Juan Manuel Marquez and Victory Ortiz, and who he thinks faces the tougher challenge:
“Floyd should be a little bit more active. Floyd has a tough fight and I think Pacquiao this time is really, really going to beat Marquez because of the way Pacquiao evolved is not the way Marquez evolved. Pacquiao got bigger, he’s faster, he’s stronger, so I think that’s going to be a really easy fight for Pacquiao this time.”
Regarding whether he would be ready to take Tavoris Cloud on in Novermber or December:
“Yeah, of course! If the fight is in November or December, I’m in! I’m in with anyone!”
Regarding what strategy he would use if he is to face Tavoris Cloud in his next fight:
“Honestly, I would love to tell you that Jenna, but I can’t in case I’m fighting Cloud. You know what I mean? I saw great things about Cloud, but I saw some weaknesses, also. So I’m going to try to expose those weaknesses to win the fight.”
On what it would mean for him to regain a portion of the light heavyweight championship:
“That would mean a lot to me because it’s easier to become champion than to re-become champion. So you know once you win it once it’s good, but to be able to be champion twice is a great thing. That will mean a lot to me and if I win the IBF title or another world title, I will be ready for anyone after that.”
***
Khan: I’m going to prove that I’m not chinny against Judah; watch me
By William Mackay: WBA Super World light welterweight champion Amir Khan (25-1, 17 KO’s) has a reputation for having a weak chin after being flattened in the first round by Breidis Prescott in 2008 and then failing to try and avenge the loss to him. Khan will be fighting IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KO’s) in a unification bout on July 23 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Khan wants to show the world that he doesn’t have a glass jaw and that he’s someone that deserves to be in the same ring with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., who Khan badly wants to fight in 2012.
“People calling me out, calling me chinny. They said I was treated like the golden child, but people can say what they want. I’ll just go out there and prove them wrong. watch me.”
Judah can punch really hard and has good hand speed. Khan is saying he’s not going to run from Judah, but if he does right at him we may be seeing another Prescott-style knockout of Khan. Khan showed in the Marcos Maidana fight that his chin isn’t up to the task of being hit without him being wobbled. In the Maidana fight, Khan literally ran and held for nine rounds without stop and when he did slow down finally in the 10th round, Khan got badly staggered and almost knocked out. Had the referee not opted to break up a lot of the inside action while Maidana was pounding Khan in the last three rounds, it’s very likely that we’d be talking about Maidana vs. Judah and not Khan-Judah.
Khan says “The winner of Mayweather and Victor Ortiz would be ideal for me. I think I have the style for Mayweather. I don’t think he has fought anyone with the speed and angles I can create.”
It sounds like Khan is deluded. Mayweather would destroy him, as would Ortiz. It would be interesting to see Khan run around the ring against those two but as soon as they land, it’s over with. Khan simply isn’t in their league and really needs to stay at 140 to avoid getting blasted out again. If Khan wants to fight someone he should try and prove he can beat Prescott.
By William Mackay: WBA Super World light welterweight champion Amir Khan (25-1, 17 KO’s) has a reputation for having a weak chin after being flattened in the first round by Breidis Prescott in 2008 and then failing to try and avenge the loss to him. Khan will be fighting IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KO’s) in a unification bout on July 23 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Khan wants to show the world that he doesn’t have a glass jaw and that he’s someone that deserves to be in the same ring with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., who Khan badly wants to fight in 2012.
“People calling me out, calling me chinny. They said I was treated like the golden child, but people can say what they want. I’ll just go out there and prove them wrong. watch me.”
Judah can punch really hard and has good hand speed. Khan is saying he’s not going to run from Judah, but if he does right at him we may be seeing another Prescott-style knockout of Khan. Khan showed in the Marcos Maidana fight that his chin isn’t up to the task of being hit without him being wobbled. In the Maidana fight, Khan literally ran and held for nine rounds without stop and when he did slow down finally in the 10th round, Khan got badly staggered and almost knocked out. Had the referee not opted to break up a lot of the inside action while Maidana was pounding Khan in the last three rounds, it’s very likely that we’d be talking about Maidana vs. Judah and not Khan-Judah.
Khan says “The winner of Mayweather and Victor Ortiz would be ideal for me. I think I have the style for Mayweather. I don’t think he has fought anyone with the speed and angles I can create.”
It sounds like Khan is deluded. Mayweather would destroy him, as would Ortiz. It would be interesting to see Khan run around the ring against those two but as soon as they land, it’s over with. Khan simply isn’t in their league and really needs to stay at 140 to avoid getting blasted out again. If Khan wants to fight someone he should try and prove he can beat Prescott.
Haye Wants Rematch With Wladimir, But Does He Deserve One
By James Slater - As fans know, David Haye is at least partially blaming last night’s heavy points defeat at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko on a busted toe on his right foot. Unable, Haye says, to fire his hayemakers due to not being able to fire his full weight off the right foot, the ex-WBA champ is hoping for a rematch. Claiming he will be able to do much better when 100-percent healthy, the 30-year-old hopes he can get a quick return before October 13th (thus being able to keep his word and retire on his 31st birthday).
Klitschko says he is not yet ready to decide whether or not he’ll give Haye a return chance, but due to how sparse the heavyweight division is, and of how few worthy challengers there are, “Dr. Steel Hammer” may look again Haye’s way.. But as soon as October, a mere three months from now? Not likely. Then there’s the question of whether or not Klitschko will want to reward Haye with another chance in light of all the nasty trash-talking he had to listen to for weeks and weeks and weeks in the lead-up to last night’s ultimately disappointing fight. Will proud gentleman Wladimir want to go through all that nonsense for a second time?
Traditionally, a return fight only happens because, A: the initial fight ended controversially (last night’s never), or, B: the first fight was great (last night’s wasn’t). Taking this on board, would a Klitschko-Haye II sell? With the intrigue gone (can Wladimir take Haye’s power shots and vice versa, will Haye be able to make Klitschko fight harder than he’s accustomed?), a rematch would not capture a half of the fan attention last night’s meeting did. Having said that, who else is there for the seemingly unbeatable 35-year-old to fight?
Maybe Haye would be able to fight a little more effectively with all five digits on his right foot unhurt, and maybe he would go for broke in a return. But will the fans trust in Haye anymore? In light of how negative he was for long spells last night it seems unlikely. The ball is in Wladimir’s court, as Haye himself concedes. The champ owes the former cruiserweight king nothing, and he will fit in a voluntary defence only if he sees fit. Mandatory-wise, Klitschko will next have to defend his IBF belt against an Eddie Chambers or a Tony Thompson. Wlad has beaten both guys already, though, and neither man gave him as decent a challenge as Haye did.
For my money, Haye will wind up being disappointed, as Klitschko will decide to move on. Haye will then stick to his October retirement plan, while both Wladimir and Vitali will themselves retire some time neat year; their work done. Last night’s fight was supposed to be a classic. Instead, due to how head and shoulders above every other heavyweight he is, Wladimir made easy work of yet another challenger. How will Klitschko manage to keep himself motivated now that he and his brother have cleaned up the entire weight class?
The heavyweight division will be a pretty barren place when the Klitschkos call it quits. Some fans have labelled them both boring. These same fans will miss them when they are gone.
By James Slater - As fans know, David Haye is at least partially blaming last night’s heavy points defeat at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko on a busted toe on his right foot. Unable, Haye says, to fire his hayemakers due to not being able to fire his full weight off the right foot, the ex-WBA champ is hoping for a rematch. Claiming he will be able to do much better when 100-percent healthy, the 30-year-old hopes he can get a quick return before October 13th (thus being able to keep his word and retire on his 31st birthday).
Klitschko says he is not yet ready to decide whether or not he’ll give Haye a return chance, but due to how sparse the heavyweight division is, and of how few worthy challengers there are, “Dr. Steel Hammer” may look again Haye’s way.. But as soon as October, a mere three months from now? Not likely. Then there’s the question of whether or not Klitschko will want to reward Haye with another chance in light of all the nasty trash-talking he had to listen to for weeks and weeks and weeks in the lead-up to last night’s ultimately disappointing fight. Will proud gentleman Wladimir want to go through all that nonsense for a second time?
Traditionally, a return fight only happens because, A: the initial fight ended controversially (last night’s never), or, B: the first fight was great (last night’s wasn’t). Taking this on board, would a Klitschko-Haye II sell? With the intrigue gone (can Wladimir take Haye’s power shots and vice versa, will Haye be able to make Klitschko fight harder than he’s accustomed?), a rematch would not capture a half of the fan attention last night’s meeting did. Having said that, who else is there for the seemingly unbeatable 35-year-old to fight?
Maybe Haye would be able to fight a little more effectively with all five digits on his right foot unhurt, and maybe he would go for broke in a return. But will the fans trust in Haye anymore? In light of how negative he was for long spells last night it seems unlikely. The ball is in Wladimir’s court, as Haye himself concedes. The champ owes the former cruiserweight king nothing, and he will fit in a voluntary defence only if he sees fit. Mandatory-wise, Klitschko will next have to defend his IBF belt against an Eddie Chambers or a Tony Thompson. Wlad has beaten both guys already, though, and neither man gave him as decent a challenge as Haye did.
For my money, Haye will wind up being disappointed, as Klitschko will decide to move on. Haye will then stick to his October retirement plan, while both Wladimir and Vitali will themselves retire some time neat year; their work done. Last night’s fight was supposed to be a classic. Instead, due to how head and shoulders above every other heavyweight he is, Wladimir made easy work of yet another challenger. How will Klitschko manage to keep himself motivated now that he and his brother have cleaned up the entire weight class?
The heavyweight division will be a pretty barren place when the Klitschkos call it quits. Some fans have labelled them both boring. These same fans will miss them when they are gone.
Haye Considers Future, Blames Toe Injury For Last Night’s Loss
By James Slater: David Haye, who last night failed to back up his monstrously offensive pre-fight boasts, is considering his boxing future right now. The 30-year-old, who went down a heavy points loser to Wladimir Klitschko in a fight that disappointed many, is also putting his poor showing down, at least in large part, to a toe injury he suffered in training.
Haye said post-fight that he was even considering pulling out with the busted toe - on his right foot - but that he thought adrenaline and the sheer buzz of the crowd and of the occasion would get him through the pain. As we know, he was wrong. But will the toe excuse possibly be accepted by the fans? BBC Sport briefly interviewed some British fans who had paid good money to be at ringside last night, and one fan was especially aggrieved, stating how he and his mates “believed in Haye” but were “conned” by a Haye who “never gave it a go.” Perhaps this is being overly harsh on Haye, but when one considers all the talk he gave before the fight (starting way, way back in 2008), it’s easy to understand the massive feeling of being let down many fans have.
Just like all the other Klitschko victims, Haye was simply unable to find a way to deal with “Dr. Steel Hammer’s” superb left jab and ability to control the distance in the ring. Haye gave it a go, in the last round especially, but he never went for broke. Had he done so, he may well have wound up in a position similar to that of Eddie Chambers or Tony Thompson. However, Wladimir never shone like a million dollars either, it must be said. Boxing conservatively and with his usual safety-first approach, Klitschko never came close to punishing Haye for all his pre-fight taunting. Klitschko did silence Haye though - perhaps even ending the Londoner’s career.
Haye fell over a number of times during last night’s fight (perhaps the toe injury had something to do with this?), and he looked despondent and even bemused on occasion. Klitschko, sporting a slight swelling underneath his left eye, was the boss throughout the 12-rounds, and it was apparent quite early that this was not going to be the “destruction” Haye had promised it would be. No classic by any means, last night’s fight will most likely be forgotten, with Klitschko moving on to his next defence and Haye most likely into retirement.
But who can Wladimir fight next? Last night’s fight was being referred to as his defining fight, and Wladimir may now take a look around and decide there is no-one worth fighting. Certainly no-one will ever anger and inspire him the way Haye did. Older brother Vitali faces Tomasz Adamek in September (another sure win for “Dr. Iron Fist,” at least on paper), and it might well be that after he takes care of the Polish hero, both brothers will decide to walk away, their legacy secure.
For so long now, the two siblings have dominated the heavyweight landscape. David Haye insisted he would change things, yet he failed as miserably as all the other Klitschko challengers from 2004 onwards have. The only satisfaction Haye took from last night’s loss is the fact that he never became Wladimir’s 50th KO victim. But Haye promised us so much more than that.
By James Slater: David Haye, who last night failed to back up his monstrously offensive pre-fight boasts, is considering his boxing future right now. The 30-year-old, who went down a heavy points loser to Wladimir Klitschko in a fight that disappointed many, is also putting his poor showing down, at least in large part, to a toe injury he suffered in training.
Haye said post-fight that he was even considering pulling out with the busted toe - on his right foot - but that he thought adrenaline and the sheer buzz of the crowd and of the occasion would get him through the pain. As we know, he was wrong. But will the toe excuse possibly be accepted by the fans? BBC Sport briefly interviewed some British fans who had paid good money to be at ringside last night, and one fan was especially aggrieved, stating how he and his mates “believed in Haye” but were “conned” by a Haye who “never gave it a go.” Perhaps this is being overly harsh on Haye, but when one considers all the talk he gave before the fight (starting way, way back in 2008), it’s easy to understand the massive feeling of being let down many fans have.
Just like all the other Klitschko victims, Haye was simply unable to find a way to deal with “Dr. Steel Hammer’s” superb left jab and ability to control the distance in the ring. Haye gave it a go, in the last round especially, but he never went for broke. Had he done so, he may well have wound up in a position similar to that of Eddie Chambers or Tony Thompson. However, Wladimir never shone like a million dollars either, it must be said. Boxing conservatively and with his usual safety-first approach, Klitschko never came close to punishing Haye for all his pre-fight taunting. Klitschko did silence Haye though - perhaps even ending the Londoner’s career.
Haye fell over a number of times during last night’s fight (perhaps the toe injury had something to do with this?), and he looked despondent and even bemused on occasion. Klitschko, sporting a slight swelling underneath his left eye, was the boss throughout the 12-rounds, and it was apparent quite early that this was not going to be the “destruction” Haye had promised it would be. No classic by any means, last night’s fight will most likely be forgotten, with Klitschko moving on to his next defence and Haye most likely into retirement.
But who can Wladimir fight next? Last night’s fight was being referred to as his defining fight, and Wladimir may now take a look around and decide there is no-one worth fighting. Certainly no-one will ever anger and inspire him the way Haye did. Older brother Vitali faces Tomasz Adamek in September (another sure win for “Dr. Iron Fist,” at least on paper), and it might well be that after he takes care of the Polish hero, both brothers will decide to walk away, their legacy secure.
For so long now, the two siblings have dominated the heavyweight landscape. David Haye insisted he would change things, yet he failed as miserably as all the other Klitschko challengers from 2004 onwards have. The only satisfaction Haye took from last night’s loss is the fact that he never became Wladimir’s 50th KO victim. But Haye promised us so much more than that.