Monday 30 May 2011
Back to what we were made for...silly boxrec stuff
Wednesday 25 May 2011
More from Small Pith and some Prospects
My friend Small Pith returns with another one of his bizarre blogs. I love Small, honestly I do, but I think the guy has...problems. He was hugely behind Jean Pascal this past weekend, he said he had a £500 bet on Pascal by stoppage, though I've yet to see his betting slip. Now he's unleashed a fury at Hopkins, claiming Joe Bugner is the real record holder for oldest champion. Whilst I do write for and administer the site the writers have been given free reign to literally write anything they want, I don't censor what they write on the site so take his views...as those of a crazyman.
What I do have complete control over is this site, and a prospect site. It's the prospect site that actually has taken my attention this past week. It's one of the more interesting sides of the sport though one a lot of people don't really pay attention to until prospects become contenders and it's a real shame. This past week I've looked at 3 different prospects already and they are all really exciting youngsters:
Firstly one Daniel “Bad Boy” Rosas, a fighter who seem destined for greatness and has had a tough start to his career. The piece on Rosas can be read here:
Secondly was the youngest prospect I could find. 16 year old Robert Manzanarez, a fighter who made his debut at just 15 years old and is now unbeaten in 10 fights. The piece on Manzanarez is here.
Most recently was a piece on a Nicaraguan some are already declaring a future world champion. Carlos Buitrago, a 19 year old who is well on his way forward. The piece on Buitrago can be read here
There will be more fighters going on that site over the coming weeks, so stay tuned there.
What I do have complete control over is this site, and a prospect site. It's the prospect site that actually has taken my attention this past week. It's one of the more interesting sides of the sport though one a lot of people don't really pay attention to until prospects become contenders and it's a real shame. This past week I've looked at 3 different prospects already and they are all really exciting youngsters:
Firstly one Daniel “Bad Boy” Rosas, a fighter who seem destined for greatness and has had a tough start to his career. The piece on Rosas can be read here:
Secondly was the youngest prospect I could find. 16 year old Robert Manzanarez, a fighter who made his debut at just 15 years old and is now unbeaten in 10 fights. The piece on Manzanarez is here.
Most recently was a piece on a Nicaraguan some are already declaring a future world champion. Carlos Buitrago, a 19 year old who is well on his way forward. The piece on Buitrago can be read here
There will be more fighters going on that site over the coming weeks, so stay tuned there.
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Hopkins and Jones old men on a different spectrum
Legendary fighters fighting well beyond their “prime” is something that has always happened. We all remember Muhammad Ali taking those unnecessary fights with the likes of Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick, Mike Tyson taking fights with Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. The most recent example of a great fighter with a legendary name being beaten up by a younger fighter is Roy Jones Jr who was almost killed in a Russian ring this past weekend when he faced Denis Lebedev.
Although fighters fighting on well beyond their primes is nothing new fighters like Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield need to be taken away from the boxing ring. Despite them both having serious issues regarding finance they need to find some other way to make money. Roy Jones Jr has got other avenues, at the moment he's a promoter and he does work for HBO. Although he apparently owes a large sum to the IRS having his brains splattered across a Russian ring won't help anyone at all.
Rather amazingly on the same day the Roy Jones Jr was knocked senseless and left face first in a ring in Moscow Bernard Hopkins became the oldest professional champion (regarded by the WBA/WBC/WBO/IBF). Hopkins shows what a fighter can do with just the old skool tricks, he wasn't the biggest, the strongest or the fastest, though he was a fighter who could out think his opponents. Unlike Jones who had all the natural talent a fighter could wish for, Hopkins has had to do things the hard-way and as a result time hasn't take the toll it has on Jones. The once lightning reflexes of Jones have evaporated whilst Hopkins, who never relied on natural gifts has seen his experience and skills come from hard graft and have seen him secure his name in the record books for another great achievement.
How long can Bernard Hopkins go on for? I'm not sure, but I'll be tuning in to see just how long Bernard can remain at the top.
Although fighters fighting on well beyond their primes is nothing new fighters like Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield need to be taken away from the boxing ring. Despite them both having serious issues regarding finance they need to find some other way to make money. Roy Jones Jr has got other avenues, at the moment he's a promoter and he does work for HBO. Although he apparently owes a large sum to the IRS having his brains splattered across a Russian ring won't help anyone at all.
Rather amazingly on the same day the Roy Jones Jr was knocked senseless and left face first in a ring in Moscow Bernard Hopkins became the oldest professional champion (regarded by the WBA/WBC/WBO/IBF). Hopkins shows what a fighter can do with just the old skool tricks, he wasn't the biggest, the strongest or the fastest, though he was a fighter who could out think his opponents. Unlike Jones who had all the natural talent a fighter could wish for, Hopkins has had to do things the hard-way and as a result time hasn't take the toll it has on Jones. The once lightning reflexes of Jones have evaporated whilst Hopkins, who never relied on natural gifts has seen his experience and skills come from hard graft and have seen him secure his name in the record books for another great achievement.
How long can Bernard Hopkins go on for? I'm not sure, but I'll be tuning in to see just how long Bernard can remain at the top.
Saturday 21 May 2011
Lights out and A challenger becomes the champion
This blog was set up to be a bit odd, whether it was the oddities in the ring, out of the ring or just odd things to do in boxing. Well tonight we had the perfect example of something odd happening in the arena. As Sadam Ali and John Revish were coming out to begin round 5 of their bout which was televised on ESPN Friday Night Fights the lights cut out. For 16 minutes the fighters and the audience were left in near darkness. The fight did continue, eventually, when the lights were fixed. It wasn't quite what people were expecting when they thinking of “Lights out” though it was a talking point and an oddity that brought back memories of similar sorts of breaks.
It wasn't the only oddity of the week though the other oddity was the strange case of Nathan Cleverly's opponents. Firstly it was Juergen Braehmer, who until mid-week seemed to be coming over to London to fight Cleverly, then he failed to get on the plain. Did Braehmer bottle it? Was he, as one rumour stated, arrested, again? Was he cut as the official line said? Whatever it was Braehmer had given just a few days noticed that he wouldn't be making the date. This is the second time THIS YEAR that Braehmer has pulled out of a fight with less than a weeks notice (the previous time was against Beibut Shumenov).
After Braehmer's pull out Englishman Tony “Bomber” Bellew seemed to be stepping into the breach to save the show. Bellew had done the press conference along with Cleverly though late on Thursday was forced out of the bout having been unable to make a check weight. Aleksy Kuziemski a Polish 35 year old would step in to replace Bellew and this will be the fight we will be seeing live on Sky Box Office. The title, that had been Braehmer's at the start of the week has been passed onto Cleverly, who has now found himself going from a challenger and slight under-dog to champion and heavy favourite. That's rather odd.
A preview of the Kuziemski v Cleverly fight can be found here
It wasn't the only oddity of the week though the other oddity was the strange case of Nathan Cleverly's opponents. Firstly it was Juergen Braehmer, who until mid-week seemed to be coming over to London to fight Cleverly, then he failed to get on the plain. Did Braehmer bottle it? Was he, as one rumour stated, arrested, again? Was he cut as the official line said? Whatever it was Braehmer had given just a few days noticed that he wouldn't be making the date. This is the second time THIS YEAR that Braehmer has pulled out of a fight with less than a weeks notice (the previous time was against Beibut Shumenov).
After Braehmer's pull out Englishman Tony “Bomber” Bellew seemed to be stepping into the breach to save the show. Bellew had done the press conference along with Cleverly though late on Thursday was forced out of the bout having been unable to make a check weight. Aleksy Kuziemski a Polish 35 year old would step in to replace Bellew and this will be the fight we will be seeing live on Sky Box Office. The title, that had been Braehmer's at the start of the week has been passed onto Cleverly, who has now found himself going from a challenger and slight under-dog to champion and heavy favourite. That's rather odd.
A preview of the Kuziemski v Cleverly fight can be found here
Saturday 14 May 2011
This weekends title fights
Later today the world of boxing has 3 “world” title bouts. The big name bout is of course the Super 6 Semi Final bout between Andre “Son Of God” Ward and “King” Arthur Abraham in a bout that will decide half of the Super 6 final and the WBA “super” champion at Super Middleweight. The bout is an interesting one and although I favour Ward to take the decision plenty of folks do seem to feel that Abraham’s power could trouble the American. The bout will be shown on Showtime and ARD amongst other channels around the world and the winner will face the winner of Carl Froch and Glen Johnson who fighter in a few weeks time.
My Preview for Rings news 24 can be found here
World Boxing Title Preview take on the fight can be read here
Abraham Profile can be read here
Ward Profile can be read here
The most interesting title bout of the night however sees 22 year old Mexican puncher Hugo Ruiz, who enters with a record of 27-1 (25) facing off against veteran Francisco Arce (the younger brother of WBO Super Bantamweight champion Jorge Arce). Arce will be attempting to join his brother as champion whilst Ruiz will be looking for his biggest win as he defends his WBA “interim” Bantamweight title. Ruiz will be trying to prove that he’s the star some have started to claim he is whilst Arce will be trying to upset the apple cart in what is genuinely and intriguing match up.
World Boxing Title Preview take on the fight can be read here
Hugo Ruiz Profile can be read here
Francisco Arce Profile can be read here
The final title fight of the weekend is probably the least interesting to be frankly honest. It sees the once highly rated Cristian Mijares defending his IBF Super Flyweight title against Nicaraguan Carlos Rueda an almost unknown in the boxing world. Mijares had seen a bout with Raul Martinez cancelled a week or so before the bout and so Mijares found a replacement opponent. Mijares was once a pound-for-pound top 10 fighter though has been showing signs of being on the slide for the past few years and although it would be an upset to see Reuda win it’d say more about how far gone Mijares is rather than how good Rueda is.
World Boxing Title Preview take on the fight can be read here
Cristian Mijares Profile
Carlos Rueda Profile
My Preview for Rings news 24 can be found here
World Boxing Title Preview take on the fight can be read here
Abraham Profile can be read here
Ward Profile can be read here
The most interesting title bout of the night however sees 22 year old Mexican puncher Hugo Ruiz, who enters with a record of 27-1 (25) facing off against veteran Francisco Arce (the younger brother of WBO Super Bantamweight champion Jorge Arce). Arce will be attempting to join his brother as champion whilst Ruiz will be looking for his biggest win as he defends his WBA “interim” Bantamweight title. Ruiz will be trying to prove that he’s the star some have started to claim he is whilst Arce will be trying to upset the apple cart in what is genuinely and intriguing match up.
World Boxing Title Preview take on the fight can be read here
Hugo Ruiz Profile can be read here
Francisco Arce Profile can be read here
The final title fight of the weekend is probably the least interesting to be frankly honest. It sees the once highly rated Cristian Mijares defending his IBF Super Flyweight title against Nicaraguan Carlos Rueda an almost unknown in the boxing world. Mijares had seen a bout with Raul Martinez cancelled a week or so before the bout and so Mijares found a replacement opponent. Mijares was once a pound-for-pound top 10 fighter though has been showing signs of being on the slide for the past few years and although it would be an upset to see Reuda win it’d say more about how far gone Mijares is rather than how good Rueda is.
World Boxing Title Preview take on the fight can be read here
Cristian Mijares Profile
Carlos Rueda Profile
Wednesday 11 May 2011
Brotherly love
Last weekend we saw Jorge Arce become the first man from Mexico to win “world titles” in 4 separate weight divisions when he upset the odds and stopped Wilfredo Vazquez Jr in the 12th round of a pulsating bout. This coming could see the Arce family celebrating once again as Jorge's younger brother Francisco Arce attempts to gain the interim WBA Bantamweight title from Hugo Ruiz. Could this month really be the month for the Arce family?
Jorge was a heavy betting outsider, in fact you could back him as highly as 9/1 whilst Vazquez had gotten as low as 1/12. The fight was one of the best fights of 2011 as the offensive minded Arce just refused to give up, he had looked tired in a number of rounds then mounted a surge in the final 2 rounds to grind down the younger and bigger champion.
Like Jorge, Francisco is going in to the bout as the under-dog (although no betting lines seem to be available), he's fighting a man who is 27-1 (25) and younger than himself as well as being bigger than himself. Francisco has never won a world title before and has always been in the shadows of his older brother, now is his time to shine and stand, for a little while, on a similar footing.
Jorge's place in Mexican boxing history is secured, he'll almost certainly be in the Hall of Fame despite not being the most talented fighter in recent years. Francisco will want to try and win and help forge his own legacy, the big question is can the Arce's join the Klitschko's (Vitali and Wladimir) and the Garcia twins (Raul and Ramon) in holding world titles at the same time as each other? Also can anyone remember a time when so many brothers held titles? It's not a new thing of course, we've seen the Galaxy twins, the Marquez brothers and numerous others do it, but 3 at once? That can't have been a common thing.
Jorge was a heavy betting outsider, in fact you could back him as highly as 9/1 whilst Vazquez had gotten as low as 1/12. The fight was one of the best fights of 2011 as the offensive minded Arce just refused to give up, he had looked tired in a number of rounds then mounted a surge in the final 2 rounds to grind down the younger and bigger champion.
Like Jorge, Francisco is going in to the bout as the under-dog (although no betting lines seem to be available), he's fighting a man who is 27-1 (25) and younger than himself as well as being bigger than himself. Francisco has never won a world title before and has always been in the shadows of his older brother, now is his time to shine and stand, for a little while, on a similar footing.
Jorge's place in Mexican boxing history is secured, he'll almost certainly be in the Hall of Fame despite not being the most talented fighter in recent years. Francisco will want to try and win and help forge his own legacy, the big question is can the Arce's join the Klitschko's (Vitali and Wladimir) and the Garcia twins (Raul and Ramon) in holding world titles at the same time as each other? Also can anyone remember a time when so many brothers held titles? It's not a new thing of course, we've seen the Galaxy twins, the Marquez brothers and numerous others do it, but 3 at once? That can't have been a common thing.
Friday 6 May 2011
May 7th what a busy day
This coming month promises to be one of the most interesting months in boxing this year. We have number of high quality match-ups, we have title fights around the world and we have a number of very interesting none title fights. We started the month with a relative upset, with Drian Francisco losing in Thailand to Tepparith Singwancha in an “Interim” WBA Super Flyweight title bout. Less than a week later the sport explodes all over the globe.
In Japan we get a 3-fight card that features unbeaten rising prospects Tomoki Kameda and Masao Nakamura and WBA Bantamweight champion Koki Kameda defending against Nicaraguan challenger Daniel Diaz. This is an incredibly under-rated card that will be shown some of the best young talent in East and hopefully some Western fight fans will get the chance to watch it. An interesting fact about Koki Kameda, he is Japan's first ever 3-weight world champion.
In Denmark we see the return to the ring of future Hall of Famer Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield when he takes on Danish fighter Brian Nielsen. This bout isn't worth staying in for though some of the under-card bouts are interesting enough to watch the event. We get female star Cecilia Braekhus defending her Welterweight titles against the experienced Chevelle Hallback, we get to see rising heavyweight Kubrat Pulev facing American Derrick Rossy and also a match with Dustin Dirks, the rising German star. The card seems to be PPV only so it's not the best choice for the night. Interesting fact from the card the combined age of the heavyweights in the main event is 94 and their combined record stands at 107-12-0 (71).
In the UK we have the very, very intriguing “International Prizefighter Heavyweights” in which 8 men will complete in a straight knock with 3 round bouts leading to a final. The competitors have changed a bit over this past week but look to be the following:
Konstantin Airich (Germany)
Lucian Bot (Romania)
Tye Fields (USA)
Kertson Manswell (Trinidad and Tobago)
Evgeny Orlov (Russia)
Mike Perez (Cuba)
Michael Sprott (UK)
Gregory Tony (France)
This will be televised on Sky Sports 1 in the UK and promises to have some great moments. Sprott has to be seen as a live under-dog having experienced the tournament before. Interesting fact Evgeny Orlov (6'9”) is the tallest man in the competition, slight taller than Tye Fields (6'8”) whilst Mike Perez is dwarfed and the shortest man involved (6'0”).
At around the same time is a card in Germany that also has real international appeal featuring some Brits, some Germans and an Aussie. The main event sees IBF Middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester face off against Australian Daniel Geale in what should, on paper, be a very even bout. That card also features a European Light Heavyweight title defence by Danny McIntosh against former world title challenger Eduard Gutknecht in what should be an excellent bout. Rising German heavyweight Edmund Gerber faces British heavyweight Carl “The Fridge” Baker in what should be decent test for Gerber over the opening round or two. The card also has Karo Murat on it and young Swede Marcos Nader. Interesting fact here, Geale follows in the footsteps of fellow Aussies Anthony Mundine and Danny Green challenging for a title in Germany, they both failed, will it be 3rd time lucky?
Of course the nights biggest even is in the US and will be shown on Showtime and Sky Sports with the main event being Manny Pacquiao v Shane Mosley for the WBO Welterweight title. That card also features WBO Super Bantamweight action as champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr defends against Mexican star Jorge Arce. The card also features an incredibly deep undercard that features unbeaten prospects including Mike Alvarado, Jose Benavidez, Pier Olivier Cote and Carl Dargan, with former world champions Kelly Pavlik and Rodel Mayol also competing. It will be Pavlik's first bout since he went into rehab for his alcohol problems. Interesting fact here, Arce is attempting to become the first ever Mexican fighter to become a 4-weight world champion.
In Japan we get a 3-fight card that features unbeaten rising prospects Tomoki Kameda and Masao Nakamura and WBA Bantamweight champion Koki Kameda defending against Nicaraguan challenger Daniel Diaz. This is an incredibly under-rated card that will be shown some of the best young talent in East and hopefully some Western fight fans will get the chance to watch it. An interesting fact about Koki Kameda, he is Japan's first ever 3-weight world champion.
In Denmark we see the return to the ring of future Hall of Famer Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield when he takes on Danish fighter Brian Nielsen. This bout isn't worth staying in for though some of the under-card bouts are interesting enough to watch the event. We get female star Cecilia Braekhus defending her Welterweight titles against the experienced Chevelle Hallback, we get to see rising heavyweight Kubrat Pulev facing American Derrick Rossy and also a match with Dustin Dirks, the rising German star. The card seems to be PPV only so it's not the best choice for the night. Interesting fact from the card the combined age of the heavyweights in the main event is 94 and their combined record stands at 107-12-0 (71).
In the UK we have the very, very intriguing “International Prizefighter Heavyweights” in which 8 men will complete in a straight knock with 3 round bouts leading to a final. The competitors have changed a bit over this past week but look to be the following:
Konstantin Airich (Germany)
Lucian Bot (Romania)
Tye Fields (USA)
Kertson Manswell (Trinidad and Tobago)
Evgeny Orlov (Russia)
Mike Perez (Cuba)
Michael Sprott (UK)
Gregory Tony (France)
This will be televised on Sky Sports 1 in the UK and promises to have some great moments. Sprott has to be seen as a live under-dog having experienced the tournament before. Interesting fact Evgeny Orlov (6'9”) is the tallest man in the competition, slight taller than Tye Fields (6'8”) whilst Mike Perez is dwarfed and the shortest man involved (6'0”).
At around the same time is a card in Germany that also has real international appeal featuring some Brits, some Germans and an Aussie. The main event sees IBF Middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester face off against Australian Daniel Geale in what should, on paper, be a very even bout. That card also features a European Light Heavyweight title defence by Danny McIntosh against former world title challenger Eduard Gutknecht in what should be an excellent bout. Rising German heavyweight Edmund Gerber faces British heavyweight Carl “The Fridge” Baker in what should be decent test for Gerber over the opening round or two. The card also has Karo Murat on it and young Swede Marcos Nader. Interesting fact here, Geale follows in the footsteps of fellow Aussies Anthony Mundine and Danny Green challenging for a title in Germany, they both failed, will it be 3rd time lucky?
Of course the nights biggest even is in the US and will be shown on Showtime and Sky Sports with the main event being Manny Pacquiao v Shane Mosley for the WBO Welterweight title. That card also features WBO Super Bantamweight action as champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr defends against Mexican star Jorge Arce. The card also features an incredibly deep undercard that features unbeaten prospects including Mike Alvarado, Jose Benavidez, Pier Olivier Cote and Carl Dargan, with former world champions Kelly Pavlik and Rodel Mayol also competing. It will be Pavlik's first bout since he went into rehab for his alcohol problems. Interesting fact here, Arce is attempting to become the first ever Mexican fighter to become a 4-weight world champion.
Sunday 1 May 2011
The night the Light Flyweight division changed
In a bizarre night of boxing in which 3 rematches took place for titles in the Light Flyweight division and a WBO minimumweight title bout we crowned 3 NEW world champions.
Firstly in Mexico the WBC Light Flyweight title changed hands as Adrian "El Confessor" Hernandez stopped Gilberto Keb Baas. These two met a few years ago with Hernandez doing the job in 4 rounds. The bout was an enthralling bout through out with the 25 year old Hernandez rising to the task and Keb Baas' corner stopping the bout between the 10th and 11th round. Hernandez does look like one who could be very exciting in the future.
Also in Mexico the WBO Light Flyweight title changed hands as Jesus Geles was stopped in 4 rounds by Ramon Hirales Garcia. These two had fought in February in a "WBO Interim unification" bout (I kid you not) with Geles taking a decision in his native Mexico. On that card we also had WBO Minimumweight champion Raul Garcia stopping Filipino challenger Rommel Asenjo in 3 rounds to stop the rise of the man known as "My little assassin".
In an horrifically scored and horrifically refereed bout in Argentina we saw 40 year old Luis Alberto Lazarte lose his IBF Light Flyweight title to Ulises Solis. These two men had met in December of last year and Lazarte, with 2 point deductions had managed to score a draw in a bout he could have been disqualified in a number of times. This time it was Solis who was deducted a point in a bout he seemed to win by a wide margin though the judges cards read 116-112 to Solis
114-113 to Lazarte 115-112 to Solis. How Lazarte wasn't deducted points or kicked out was mystery, his most potent blows were low or behind the head.
The night has seen a total shift in the Light Flyweight division with 3 new title holders, with Mexicans taking titles away from an Argentinian and a Colombian. The current list of all the world champions in the sport can be found here
Firstly in Mexico the WBC Light Flyweight title changed hands as Adrian "El Confessor" Hernandez stopped Gilberto Keb Baas. These two met a few years ago with Hernandez doing the job in 4 rounds. The bout was an enthralling bout through out with the 25 year old Hernandez rising to the task and Keb Baas' corner stopping the bout between the 10th and 11th round. Hernandez does look like one who could be very exciting in the future.
Also in Mexico the WBO Light Flyweight title changed hands as Jesus Geles was stopped in 4 rounds by Ramon Hirales Garcia. These two had fought in February in a "WBO Interim unification" bout (I kid you not) with Geles taking a decision in his native Mexico. On that card we also had WBO Minimumweight champion Raul Garcia stopping Filipino challenger Rommel Asenjo in 3 rounds to stop the rise of the man known as "My little assassin".
In an horrifically scored and horrifically refereed bout in Argentina we saw 40 year old Luis Alberto Lazarte lose his IBF Light Flyweight title to Ulises Solis. These two men had met in December of last year and Lazarte, with 2 point deductions had managed to score a draw in a bout he could have been disqualified in a number of times. This time it was Solis who was deducted a point in a bout he seemed to win by a wide margin though the judges cards read 116-112 to Solis
114-113 to Lazarte 115-112 to Solis. How Lazarte wasn't deducted points or kicked out was mystery, his most potent blows were low or behind the head.
The night has seen a total shift in the Light Flyweight division with 3 new title holders, with Mexicans taking titles away from an Argentinian and a Colombian. The current list of all the world champions in the sport can be found here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)