Boxing News Thread
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Dirrell wants Sergio Martinez or Lucian Bute next
By Scott Gilfoid: Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO’s) was forced to pull out of the Super Six tournament last year after being horribly fouled Arthur Abraham last March. Dirrell was on the brink of fame at the time he chose to pull out of the tournament.
But now after a little more than a year off Dirrell is eying fights against IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute and WBC Diamond middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. Dirrell is interested in fighting both, but will likely only get a crack at one of them. But that’s all it will take for him to show his stuff.
Dirrell said this to esnewsreporting.com: “I would love to fight Sergio Martinez, but not at 160. If he goes down, he can come up. He’s big. I was face to face with him one time. If people think I run, I’m going to show a good boxing stye. Let Sergio Martinez get in there with me and we can find out. Either way it goes, if it’s Bute or Sergio Martinez, whoever it is, I’m ready to get in there and get this row started. When I’m back you’ll know.”
I would favor Dirrell over both Bute and Martinez. Those guys are made for a blazing boxer-puncher like Dirrell, who would have them hitting air all night long. Martinez loads up too much with his shots and wouldn’t be able to land against Dirrell. And Bute, with his over-reliance on throwing telegraphed uppercuts, he’d be dominated by Dirrell and embarrassed.
Martinez would have to overcome his fear of fighting a super middleweight for a Dirrell-Martinez fight to take place. You can’t expect Dirrell to have to trim off 8 pounds to fight a fight happen against the smaller Martinez. It won’t go like that. If Martinez wants the fight, which I have my doubts, then let him put on a little extra weight to make the fight.
By Scott Gilfoid: Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO’s) was forced to pull out of the Super Six tournament last year after being horribly fouled Arthur Abraham last March. Dirrell was on the brink of fame at the time he chose to pull out of the tournament.
But now after a little more than a year off Dirrell is eying fights against IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute and WBC Diamond middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. Dirrell is interested in fighting both, but will likely only get a crack at one of them. But that’s all it will take for him to show his stuff.
Dirrell said this to esnewsreporting.com: “I would love to fight Sergio Martinez, but not at 160. If he goes down, he can come up. He’s big. I was face to face with him one time. If people think I run, I’m going to show a good boxing stye. Let Sergio Martinez get in there with me and we can find out. Either way it goes, if it’s Bute or Sergio Martinez, whoever it is, I’m ready to get in there and get this row started. When I’m back you’ll know.”
I would favor Dirrell over both Bute and Martinez. Those guys are made for a blazing boxer-puncher like Dirrell, who would have them hitting air all night long. Martinez loads up too much with his shots and wouldn’t be able to land against Dirrell. And Bute, with his over-reliance on throwing telegraphed uppercuts, he’d be dominated by Dirrell and embarrassed.
Martinez would have to overcome his fear of fighting a super middleweight for a Dirrell-Martinez fight to take place. You can’t expect Dirrell to have to trim off 8 pounds to fight a fight happen against the smaller Martinez. It won’t go like that. If Martinez wants the fight, which I have my doubts, then let him put on a little extra weight to make the fight.
Mayweather Junior’s style makes him the best welterweight of this era
By Babatis Banda: It is undisputed fact that Floyd’s defence is his main asset. It would be an understatement though, if anybody says Floyd is just a defensive fighter. Floyd’s incredible ‘shell-like’ defence system is key to his illustrious career. He is unbeaten in forty-two bouts, and still the freshest of all the competitive top boxers there are today because he is hardly hit his entire career.
Floyd is in his mid-thirties and has seemed to mature with age. He is getting stronger, and more aggressive. However, Floyd’s aggression is ‘controlled aggression’ rather than the usual uneducated, pure hustling or physical bullying reminiscent of Manny Pacquiao, the likes of Ricky Hatton and Victor Ortiz. In the Mosley fight, we saw Floyd stand right in front of Mosley and backed him off just as he promised he would. Against Ortiz, Floyd did exactly the same, took Victor out of his game by being the aggressor and cut the ring in an amazing manner.
Floyd’s style stands out because he is simply hard to hit, and if he is not hit, he cannot get hurt. His posture allows him to do staff no other boxer does today. His power emanates deep from his hips and is transmitted through his torso to the hands in the same manner a vehicles will transmit power right from the pistons, through the gear system into the driving shaft. He is simply amazing. He gives an impression that he is firing a jab, but what comes out is a thunder-bolt of a power packed straight right, the main ingredient for destruction of any left handed fighter. He is agile, very calculating in everything he does. He does not get distracted while he is in the ring, his concentration is unmatched to say the least.
Floyd will roll with the punches and his ‘patented’ shoulder roll allows him to do several things. He removes the ‘sting’ in the punches using his shoulder while it allows him to have the leverage to set a surprise attack right from the defensive posture. While the shoulder protects his head, his left elbow and right arm are in position to thwart any body attack. Incredible…isn’t it? You can only be a hater not to notice and appreciate these skills. Floyd no longer uses his legs that much, at least as seen from the Mosley and Ortiz and even Marquez fights. He uses intellect and his upper body so well that he conserves energy and paces himself well for the latter and more energy demanding rounds.
Floyd’s ability to adjust to his opponent’s style is just another important aspect. He reads the situation and without waiting for the corner to do something, he adjusts. He is also sitting-in his shots more and more, delivering more and more power. If the situation gets tough, Floyd is capable of fighting from the ‘back-heel’. He is a superb counter puncher and takes advantage of his opponent’s mistakes and punishes them mercilessly. You will also notice that Floyd creates that extra reach through unmached posturing and can make it difficult for anybody to fight from the inside. He has of late developed into a superb in-fighter as well. Floyd can take a punch when hit flash, though rare, we now all know that he has a solid jaw.
There is no single welterweight with all these qualities and Floyd will destroy anybody who stands in his way.
By Babatis Banda: It is undisputed fact that Floyd’s defence is his main asset. It would be an understatement though, if anybody says Floyd is just a defensive fighter. Floyd’s incredible ‘shell-like’ defence system is key to his illustrious career. He is unbeaten in forty-two bouts, and still the freshest of all the competitive top boxers there are today because he is hardly hit his entire career.
Floyd is in his mid-thirties and has seemed to mature with age. He is getting stronger, and more aggressive. However, Floyd’s aggression is ‘controlled aggression’ rather than the usual uneducated, pure hustling or physical bullying reminiscent of Manny Pacquiao, the likes of Ricky Hatton and Victor Ortiz. In the Mosley fight, we saw Floyd stand right in front of Mosley and backed him off just as he promised he would. Against Ortiz, Floyd did exactly the same, took Victor out of his game by being the aggressor and cut the ring in an amazing manner.
Floyd’s style stands out because he is simply hard to hit, and if he is not hit, he cannot get hurt. His posture allows him to do staff no other boxer does today. His power emanates deep from his hips and is transmitted through his torso to the hands in the same manner a vehicles will transmit power right from the pistons, through the gear system into the driving shaft. He is simply amazing. He gives an impression that he is firing a jab, but what comes out is a thunder-bolt of a power packed straight right, the main ingredient for destruction of any left handed fighter. He is agile, very calculating in everything he does. He does not get distracted while he is in the ring, his concentration is unmatched to say the least.
Floyd will roll with the punches and his ‘patented’ shoulder roll allows him to do several things. He removes the ‘sting’ in the punches using his shoulder while it allows him to have the leverage to set a surprise attack right from the defensive posture. While the shoulder protects his head, his left elbow and right arm are in position to thwart any body attack. Incredible…isn’t it? You can only be a hater not to notice and appreciate these skills. Floyd no longer uses his legs that much, at least as seen from the Mosley and Ortiz and even Marquez fights. He uses intellect and his upper body so well that he conserves energy and paces himself well for the latter and more energy demanding rounds.
Floyd’s ability to adjust to his opponent’s style is just another important aspect. He reads the situation and without waiting for the corner to do something, he adjusts. He is also sitting-in his shots more and more, delivering more and more power. If the situation gets tough, Floyd is capable of fighting from the ‘back-heel’. He is a superb counter puncher and takes advantage of his opponent’s mistakes and punishes them mercilessly. You will also notice that Floyd creates that extra reach through unmached posturing and can make it difficult for anybody to fight from the inside. He has of late developed into a superb in-fighter as well. Floyd can take a punch when hit flash, though rare, we now all know that he has a solid jaw.
There is no single welterweight with all these qualities and Floyd will destroy anybody who stands in his way.
Agbeko vs. Mares II, Darchinyan vs. Mares on December 3rd
By Dan Ambrose: On December 3rd, Showtime will be televising a rematch between IBF and WBC Silver Bantamweight champion Abner Mares (22-0, 13 KO’s) vs. Joseph Agbeko (28-3, 22 KO’s) at the Honda center in Anaheim, California. Also on the card, WBA Super World bantamweight champion Anselmo Moreno (31-1-1, 11 KO’s) will be defending his title against former two division world champion Vic Darchinyan (31-3-1, 27 KO’s) in a fight that will be pure joy to watch.
Although the Agbeko-Mares II fight is slated to be the main event, I think Darchinyan vs. Moreno fight is the far better bout on the card. You can make a case that Mares shouldn’t even be a champion, as he fouled Darchinyan like mad in his controversial 12 round split decision win in December 2010.
Mares lost two points for low blows in that fight, but I saw at least five or six other occasions where he should have lost points as well. The guy was low blow happy in that fight. But it was Mares’ recent 12 round majority decision win over Agbeko last August where Mares really outdid himself with throwing low blows.
It was as if Agbeko had his trunks down below his knees because Mares was teeing off all night long with shots below the belt, and the referee Russell Mora seemed paralyzed with his inability to put a stop to it by taking away points. I thought Mares should have been disqualified by the 5th round, yet he continued to foul all night long.
It was pretty sad, but was worse was the decision that was given to Mares. I thought Agbeko had done more than enough to get the win, yet Mares’ hand was raised at the end showing how hard it is to beat this former Olympian. It might take something really special for Abgeko – or anyone for that matter – to get a decision against him because the judges seem to love him for some reason.
Like I said, I think Mares should already have two losses on his record, which makes it not interesting to me to see this fight other than to monitor how many low blows Mares can get away with before he’s finally has points taken away. I suspect he’ll lose points this time, because no one is crazy enough to just allow Mares to blast away at the front side of Agbeko. Mares will lose points, but I think he’ll also get away with a lot of low blows again before he’s finally docked a point. The guy is considered a future star, and those guys get away with a lot before they get penalized.
By Dan Ambrose: On December 3rd, Showtime will be televising a rematch between IBF and WBC Silver Bantamweight champion Abner Mares (22-0, 13 KO’s) vs. Joseph Agbeko (28-3, 22 KO’s) at the Honda center in Anaheim, California. Also on the card, WBA Super World bantamweight champion Anselmo Moreno (31-1-1, 11 KO’s) will be defending his title against former two division world champion Vic Darchinyan (31-3-1, 27 KO’s) in a fight that will be pure joy to watch.
Although the Agbeko-Mares II fight is slated to be the main event, I think Darchinyan vs. Moreno fight is the far better bout on the card. You can make a case that Mares shouldn’t even be a champion, as he fouled Darchinyan like mad in his controversial 12 round split decision win in December 2010.
Mares lost two points for low blows in that fight, but I saw at least five or six other occasions where he should have lost points as well. The guy was low blow happy in that fight. But it was Mares’ recent 12 round majority decision win over Agbeko last August where Mares really outdid himself with throwing low blows.
It was as if Agbeko had his trunks down below his knees because Mares was teeing off all night long with shots below the belt, and the referee Russell Mora seemed paralyzed with his inability to put a stop to it by taking away points. I thought Mares should have been disqualified by the 5th round, yet he continued to foul all night long.
It was pretty sad, but was worse was the decision that was given to Mares. I thought Agbeko had done more than enough to get the win, yet Mares’ hand was raised at the end showing how hard it is to beat this former Olympian. It might take something really special for Abgeko – or anyone for that matter – to get a decision against him because the judges seem to love him for some reason.
Like I said, I think Mares should already have two losses on his record, which makes it not interesting to me to see this fight other than to monitor how many low blows Mares can get away with before he’s finally has points taken away. I suspect he’ll lose points this time, because no one is crazy enough to just allow Mares to blast away at the front side of Agbeko. Mares will lose points, but I think he’ll also get away with a lot of low blows again before he’s finally docked a point. The guy is considered a future star, and those guys get away with a lot before they get penalized.
Khan: Mayweather would have been disqualified if he were someone less popular
By Sean McDaniel: Although Amir Khan originally backed Floyd Mayweather Jr. for hitting former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz with a two punch combo when Ortiz had his hands down by his sides and wasn’t in the position to defend himself, it looks as if Khan has hand a change of heart.
Khan now believes that if Mayweather wasn’t who he is – an incredibly popular fighter – he would have been disqualified for laying into the defenseless Ortiz, who merely trying to apologize to Mayweather for headbutting him moments earlier.
“They let him [Mayweather] off the hook because he is Floyd Mayweather,” Khan said to the BBC Sport. “If that was anyone else you would been disqualified but because it was Mayweather they can’t disqualify him. Mayweather is a fighter off the streets and he thought ‘forget this, I’m going to get this kid back’ and as soon as the ref wasn’t looking, bang, he hit him [Ortiz] with a left hook. If that happened without Victor hitting him in the head, I think Floyd would have been disqualified.”
Sadly, I’m in full agreement with Khan. I think Mayweather got away with hitting Ortiz with two shots that would have possibly gotten a less popular fighter thrown out of the fight. But we’re talking Mayweather here, arguably the number #1 or number #2 fighter in boxing in terms of pay per view money.
You’re not going to throw Mayweather out of there like you would some average Joe that no one has ever heard of. Popular fighters like Mayweather are like royalty in a way. It’s hard to beat them by decision and they tend to be called less for fouls it seems, not that Mayweather is really big on fouling. Other his his using of his elbows at times, he’s not really one to foul in his fights. Hopefully this was just an aberration.
By Sean McDaniel: Although Amir Khan originally backed Floyd Mayweather Jr. for hitting former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz with a two punch combo when Ortiz had his hands down by his sides and wasn’t in the position to defend himself, it looks as if Khan has hand a change of heart.
Khan now believes that if Mayweather wasn’t who he is – an incredibly popular fighter – he would have been disqualified for laying into the defenseless Ortiz, who merely trying to apologize to Mayweather for headbutting him moments earlier.
“They let him [Mayweather] off the hook because he is Floyd Mayweather,” Khan said to the BBC Sport. “If that was anyone else you would been disqualified but because it was Mayweather they can’t disqualify him. Mayweather is a fighter off the streets and he thought ‘forget this, I’m going to get this kid back’ and as soon as the ref wasn’t looking, bang, he hit him [Ortiz] with a left hook. If that happened without Victor hitting him in the head, I think Floyd would have been disqualified.”
Sadly, I’m in full agreement with Khan. I think Mayweather got away with hitting Ortiz with two shots that would have possibly gotten a less popular fighter thrown out of the fight. But we’re talking Mayweather here, arguably the number #1 or number #2 fighter in boxing in terms of pay per view money.
You’re not going to throw Mayweather out of there like you would some average Joe that no one has ever heard of. Popular fighters like Mayweather are like royalty in a way. It’s hard to beat them by decision and they tend to be called less for fouls it seems, not that Mayweather is really big on fouling. Other his his using of his elbows at times, he’s not really one to foul in his fights. Hopefully this was just an aberration.
I don't think it's about the weight I think it's more to do with the fact arum knows what he has in chavez (he's been on record saying he's not elite) and realized they should make the fight now while their both undefeated before chavez gets beat. I mean it's this, or fight sergio martinez for half the amount of money and get destroyed.
Canelo is better then Martinez for Jr.. Canelo is going to knock him out don't get me wrong, but it will be a good fight, because Chavez is so big he will take a beating for a while until the KO. Plus that Mexican pride will make it a war.. Martinez would put Jr in the ICU.. Plus Top Rank is in trouble as a company if the shit about Manny and his money is true. Top Rank is cashing in on all the hot fights to me. Which is good for the fan because we will get all the good fights now.. Gamboa vs Doniare, Lopez vs Gamboa, Bradley vs Manny, Bradley vs Khan.. Maybe even Floyd vs Manny..
Arum not pleased that Mares-Agbeko II scheduled opposite Cotto-Margarito II
By Chris Williams: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum reportedly wasn’t pleased with learning the news that the rematch between Joseph Agbeko vs. Abner Mares II fight on Showtime will run opposite of Arum’s pay per view card featuring WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito on December 3rd on HBO.
The one hand the Mares-Agbeko fight will be shown on regular Showtime cable, while the Cotto-Margarito fight will go for a cool $54.95 on PPV on HBO. Do the math and you can guess which fight a lot of boxing fans will prefer watching on that night.
Given the choice of seeing two aging fighters in Cotto and Margarito who probably have seen their best days several years ago for $55 or a free fight between two energetic fighters Agbeko and Mares, my guess is a lot of boxing fans will opt to take the free Mares vs. Agebko fight.
Arum reportedly isn’t happy with Golden Boy Promotions for scheduling the Mares-Agbeko fight opposite his PPV card, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. Arum said “There will be retaliation.”
In other words, Arum will likely put on one of his fights on the same night as one of Golden Boy’s PPV cards. It won’t work unless Arum’s fight is on regular cable and not PPV. Unfortunately, a lot of Top Rank’s fights are on PPV nowadays, so it’s going to be interesting to see what Arum can put on the same night as a Golden Boy card that won’t end up hurting him as well with viewers having to decide upon his fight card or the Golden Boy card.
Personally, I don’t see the Cotto-Margarito fight as being PPV worthy, and that’s problem number 1. You got Margarito who is coming off of a loss and who has only won one fight in the past two years fighting Cotto, who’s recent wins have come against a 38-year-old Ricardo Mayorga and another Top Rank fighter Yuri Foreman, a fighter with a bad leg and no power.
Cotto hasn’t beaten what I consider a good opponent since he squeaked by Joshua Clottey two years ago in a controversial 12 round split decision. So you got Cotto and Margarito coming into a fight with less than impressive statistics in the past two years, and you’re going to make it a PPV bout. That’s just asking for trouble.
I think Margarito needs at least two or three good tune-ups to see where his recently operated eye is at. He just had two surgeries on his right eye after taking a beating against Manny Pacquiao in his last fight last year in December, and now he’s going from that fight and the surgery that followed it into a PPV bout against Cotto.
Does this feel a little rushed to you? Usually, Arum is real good at letting things marinate to build them up properly but this feels like a rush job, as if he wants to peddle this fight before either of these guys fade anymore than they already have. I think it’s a mistake to make this a PPV card, and the undercard fights between Pawel Wolak vs. TBA, Mike vs. TBA, and Rico Ramos vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux aren’t enough for me to want to pay $55 to see this. I don’t see those guys as PPV fighers.
By Chris Williams: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum reportedly wasn’t pleased with learning the news that the rematch between Joseph Agbeko vs. Abner Mares II fight on Showtime will run opposite of Arum’s pay per view card featuring WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito on December 3rd on HBO.
The one hand the Mares-Agbeko fight will be shown on regular Showtime cable, while the Cotto-Margarito fight will go for a cool $54.95 on PPV on HBO. Do the math and you can guess which fight a lot of boxing fans will prefer watching on that night.
Given the choice of seeing two aging fighters in Cotto and Margarito who probably have seen their best days several years ago for $55 or a free fight between two energetic fighters Agbeko and Mares, my guess is a lot of boxing fans will opt to take the free Mares vs. Agebko fight.
Arum reportedly isn’t happy with Golden Boy Promotions for scheduling the Mares-Agbeko fight opposite his PPV card, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. Arum said “There will be retaliation.”
In other words, Arum will likely put on one of his fights on the same night as one of Golden Boy’s PPV cards. It won’t work unless Arum’s fight is on regular cable and not PPV. Unfortunately, a lot of Top Rank’s fights are on PPV nowadays, so it’s going to be interesting to see what Arum can put on the same night as a Golden Boy card that won’t end up hurting him as well with viewers having to decide upon his fight card or the Golden Boy card.
Personally, I don’t see the Cotto-Margarito fight as being PPV worthy, and that’s problem number 1. You got Margarito who is coming off of a loss and who has only won one fight in the past two years fighting Cotto, who’s recent wins have come against a 38-year-old Ricardo Mayorga and another Top Rank fighter Yuri Foreman, a fighter with a bad leg and no power.
Cotto hasn’t beaten what I consider a good opponent since he squeaked by Joshua Clottey two years ago in a controversial 12 round split decision. So you got Cotto and Margarito coming into a fight with less than impressive statistics in the past two years, and you’re going to make it a PPV bout. That’s just asking for trouble.
I think Margarito needs at least two or three good tune-ups to see where his recently operated eye is at. He just had two surgeries on his right eye after taking a beating against Manny Pacquiao in his last fight last year in December, and now he’s going from that fight and the surgery that followed it into a PPV bout against Cotto.
Does this feel a little rushed to you? Usually, Arum is real good at letting things marinate to build them up properly but this feels like a rush job, as if he wants to peddle this fight before either of these guys fade anymore than they already have. I think it’s a mistake to make this a PPV card, and the undercard fights between Pawel Wolak vs. TBA, Mike vs. TBA, and Rico Ramos vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux aren’t enough for me to want to pay $55 to see this. I don’t see those guys as PPV fighers.
Enhanced Performance: The NATURAL progression of Manny Pacquiao from Light Flyweight to Welterweight
Let me start out by saying that I have no problem with Floyd Mayweather Jr. insisting Manny Pacquiao be tested for performance enhancing drugs if they are to meet in a super fight in the near future. While I don’t like the way he originally went about it insisting (with no evidence to support his claim) that Pacquiao has used or is currently using PEDs, he is entitled to his opinion and he’s free to think whatever he wants. What I do have a problem with is some of the skewed and false logic he’s been using lately every time the topic is brought up. Most specifically, his repeated notion that Manny Pacquiao is a 105 pound fighter who suddenly grew into a welterweight with Incredible Hulk like punching power. It is my contention that Mayweather and Pacquiao are and always have been (relatively speaking) the same size.
View attachment 103842
Click on the link for the complete article including pics.
http://fightfan.com/2011/09/enhance...acquiao-from-light-flyweight-to-welterweight/
Let me start out by saying that I have no problem with Floyd Mayweather Jr. insisting Manny Pacquiao be tested for performance enhancing drugs if they are to meet in a super fight in the near future. While I don’t like the way he originally went about it insisting (with no evidence to support his claim) that Pacquiao has used or is currently using PEDs, he is entitled to his opinion and he’s free to think whatever he wants. What I do have a problem with is some of the skewed and false logic he’s been using lately every time the topic is brought up. Most specifically, his repeated notion that Manny Pacquiao is a 105 pound fighter who suddenly grew into a welterweight with Incredible Hulk like punching power. It is my contention that Mayweather and Pacquiao are and always have been (relatively speaking) the same size.
View attachment 103842
Click on the link for the complete article including pics.
http://fightfan.com/2011/09/enhance...acquiao-from-light-flyweight-to-welterweight/
