July 11th-Thurman Vs Collazo in the US and Flanagan Vs Zepeda in the UK provide title action!7/11/2015 Although for us the highlight on July 11th was the Philippines it's not the only place where their is notable fights with a trio of noteworthy contests stateside as well as a world title fight in Europe.
The US highlight of the night will see the charismatic Keith “One Time” Thurman (25-0-0-1, 21) defending his WBA Welterweight title against veteran Luis Collazo (36-6, 19). The bout is a disappointing match up considering the hype and talk that we hear about Thurman and we;d be very surprised if this was even competitive, especially considering the manner in which Amir Khan dominated Collazo just last year. Although the main event of the show is disappointing we do like the co-feature on this show which will see the unbeaten Tony Harrison (21-0, 18) taking on Willie Nelson (23-2-1, 13) in what looks to be a great test for the unbeaten Harrison. This is a real fight and one that will tell us a lot about both guys. A really good looking match up. A second US card will see a really intriguing bout between two fringe contenders each looking to put themselves immediately back into the mix at 140lbs. One of those fighters is the really unlucky Mauricio Herrera (21-5, 7), who really has been unlucky in his last two bouts, whilst the other is the confident and brash Henry Lundy (25-4-1, 12). Given that both men are now in their 30's this really is a must win bout for both men. Arguably the most interesting bout of the even is a WBO Lightweight title fight in the UK between Britain's very own Terry Flanagan (27-0, 10) and Puerto Rican slugger Jose Zepeda (23-0, 20). Although both men are unbeaten coming into this one neither is really “known” above their regional level and this will tell us a lot about men, both of who will be hoping to open the door to big fights in the division. Of the two Zepada is the more notable puncher but Flanagan is certainly a busy and energetic fighter who could be a real handful for many of the top guys in the division.
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This coming Saturday is a great day for American fans who get a wonderful choice of events with two exciting looking cards going head to head. On Showtime we get a really interesting triple header headlined by a WBC Silver Welterweight title fight between Britain's Amir Khan (29-3, 19), the defending champion, and Devon Alexander (26-2, 14). Both men are former world champions and both know that a win here could well help them move towards a massive payday against Floyd Mayweather. Khan is the betting favourite but to us this is as close to a 50-50 match up as you'll find and it's great to see the two finally getting it on, several years after they should have fought. In one of the support bouts on this card fans will see the much touted and heavy handed Keith Thurman (23-0-0-1, 21) defending the WBA interim Welterweight title against Leonard Bundu (31-0-2, 11). Like the main event this appears to be a great bout though Thurman is the clear favourite given his edge in youth and power. The third part of this card will see Jermell Charlo (19-0, 15) fighting against Lenny Bottai (22-2, 9) in an IBF Light Middleweight title eliminator, with the winner moving towards a shot with Cornelius Bundrage. Sadly this is much weaker than the other two bouts and Bottai really should be brushed aside with ease by the talented Charlo. The other show is headlined by a non-title bout between former 2-weight world champion Timothy Bradley (31-1-0-1, 12) and Argentinian brawler Diego Gabriel Chavez (23-2, 19). This is expected to be a thrilling contest and a real brawl which could potentially be a FOTY contender though could well be a disappointing bout if Bradley ends up relying solely on his superior skills. Another great bout on this card will see WBA interim Light Welterweight champion Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7) defending his belt against the unbeaten and much touted Jose Benavidez (21-0, 15). This is a real test for Benavidez who was tipped as a future star though has yet to show those magical touches against a decent level of foe. Sadly with the two shows clashing fans will need to make a choice one way or another, though both do look like great cards. (Image courtesy of http://roundbyroundboxing.com) This past Saturday was an amazing day for boxing fans with a fantastic show in the US. The show, one of the best of the year, at least on paper, was thoroughly interesting but sadly not always the most entertaining. The show, at least the televised portion of it, kicked off with an enthralling WBO Bantamweight title fight that saw Tomoki Kameda successfully defending his title and leaving an excellent impression on US fans. The fight, which ended when Tomoki landed a brutal body shot to Pungluang Sor Singyu, should have been impressive enough to impress US audiences in to wanting to see more of Tomoki. Following the all-Asian show starter we then had the fight of the night as Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7) took a majority decision over Johan Perez (19-2-1, 13) and claimed the WBA interim Light Welterweight title. The fight, which was action packed through out, swung several times as the two men unloaded shots on each other in a high paced and highly skilled contest that was genuinely enjoyable. The action from the Herrera/Perez was great to watch but neither guy had the power to really hurt the other and as a result it never looked like we were going to get a stoppage, though Perez was rocked very late in the fight. In the contest that followed however there was no chance the contest was going to go the distance as all action Francisco Vargas (20-0-1, 14) stopped the hard hitting but very shop worn Juan Manuel Lopez (34-4, 31). Lopez was rocked hard in the second round before being dismantled in round 3 by a very sharp Vargas who seemed to announce himself on the world stage. Sadly for Lopez this was another painful loss and it seems time that he called quits on his career before he ends up with serious long term health issues. Sadly the excitement all vanished in the very next fight as Abner Mares (27-1-1, 14) put on a controlled but dull performance to over-come Jonathan Oquendo (24-4, 16). This was Mares first bout since being blasted out in a round by Jhonny Gonzalez and although that set back was a bad one the tactics Mares used in this fight really were disappointing for the most part. In the main event of the show fans saw the hugely popular though very divisive Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (44-1-1, 31) take a highly disputed split decision over Cuba's Erislandy Lara (19-2-2, 12). The bout saw Lara boxing and moving for vast parts of the fight whilst Alvarez stalked with mixed results. The men both felt their tactics had seen them controlling the bout though in all honesty no one truly "controlled" it with plenty of rounds that could be debated. Sadly one judge managed to see the fight 117-111 to Alvarez, a result that simply didn't make sense, despite the numerous close rounds. Each man seemed to clearly win 4 rounds with their tactics whilst the remaining 4 were up for debate. The only thing that the fight really told us is that whilst both men were evenly matched Canelo struggles with movers and Lara struggles with body shots. Sadly the 117-111 card in the Alvarez/Lara fight as well as the draw card in the Herrera/Perez fight and a card of 58-56 to Pungluang, prior to the stoppage, all leave major question marks about judges and we wonder if they were watching the same fights as our selves Prior to the American card fans also had the chance to watch some fights from the UK. These including a bout with Super Featherweight contender Stephen Smith (20-1, 12) who looked terrible against journeyman Pedro Navarrete (28-19-3, 17). Navarrete is better than his record indicated but Smith really was awful and if he's thinking about fighting Takashi Miura he probably needs to think again or he'll end up badly beaten. On the same British card we had a trio of Olympic medal winners including Super Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (7-0, 7), who stopped veteran Matt Skelton (28-9, 23) in a bout that saw Skelton looking his 47 years of age, and Luke Campbell (6-0, 4) who sadly looked lacking in his decision victory over the brave Craig Woodruff (5-4, 2). The main action on the British show was in the Cruiserweight as we had two bouts of note. The first saw former WBO Light Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (28-1, 14) make light work of the limited but fun Alejandro Emilio Valori (15-5, 11) whilst the second saw the big mouthed Tony Bellew (22-2-1, 14) stopping Brazil's Julio Cesar Dos Santos (26-3, 23). Both the visitors came with the intention of scoring a KO but neither had the ability against the more well known British fighters who are now set to face each other, in fact they almost had an impromptu fight last night, suggesting that neither man had had to work hard enough to score their wins. (Image courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions) One thing boxing is lacking right now is a number of real stars in the sport. Sure we have some international names such as Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao but it's hard to argue that there is a lack of them. On man who is hoping to become the next megastar of the sport is Mexico's Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (43-1-1, 31) who looks to re-establish his claim as one of the most exciting men in boxing this weekend when he takes on WBA Light Middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12) in a non-title fight. Alvarez is a Mexican icon but one who seems to really split the general fan base of the sport with many feeling he has been given opportunities based on his marketability as opposed to his actual talent. This bout however could prove he is as talented as he is marketable and could convince many that he is as good as people say. A win for Lara however will see the "American Dream" likely becoming the man fans will be demanding to see fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. For a non-title fight this is a major contest for both men involved in the bout. On the same card as the Alvarez/Lara bout we find several other interesting contests. One of those is the WBO Bantamweight title bout between Tomoki Kameda and Pungluang Sor Singyu whilst another is a WBA interim Light Welterweight bout between Johan Perez (19-1-1, 13) and Mauricio Herrera (20-4, 7). Perez, a skilful Venezuelan, was the first man to defeat Japanese slugger Yoshihiro Kamegai whilst Herrera, a skilled American, recently schooled Danny Garcia in one of the most controversial bouts of the year and holds a win over Ruslan Provodnikov. Although the bout is likely to be a very technical affair both guys can be fun to watch and do throw plenty meaning this could be an entertaining high speed chess match between two practitioners of boxing and moving. Whilst the Perez/Herrera bout will be technical the same cannot be said for the bout between former 2-weight world champion Juan Manuel Lopez (34-3, 31) and Francisco Vargas (19-0-1, 13). Puerto Rico's "Juanma" is a crude, hard hitting and exciting fighter but is also a man on a serious downslide in regards to his ability to take a shot. Vargas, an unbeaten Mexican, is stepping up in class for this fight but has looked excellent in recent contests and will be viewed by many, including ourselves, as a very live under-dog. One more bout on this card features former 3-weight world champion Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14). Mares, who was linked to Takashi Miura earlier this year, will be facing Puerto Rico's Jonathan Oquendo (24-3, 16) in what should be a comfortable return to action after a notable lay off following his first career defeat, an opening round stoppage to Mexican puncher Jhonny Gonzalez. Whilst the card of the day is in the US there is also a show in the UK that is being viewed as a "set up" card as opposed to one with any sort of competitive match up. The idea seems to be to match former WBO Light Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (27-1, 13) and Tony Bellew (21-2-1, 13) up against each other, as long as they both get past their tests here. For Cleverly his test comes in the form of Argentina's Alejandro Emilio Valori (15-4, 11) and from what we understand Valori isn't a tough guy and even the light hitting Cleverly should be able to see off his challenge inside the distance. For Bellew the challenger is 36 year old Brazilian Julio Cesar Dos Santos (26-2, 23) who, unsurprisingly, has been beaten by his only "name" opponent. (Image courtesy of http://www.goodrichqualitytheaters.com and Golden Boy Promotions) When boxing is at it's best it's one of the greatest and most honest sports the world has. It's one of the only sports that pits man against man in a true battle of skill, wits, strength and technique. Unfortunately at it's worst our sport leaves us with a bitter taste, a feeling of corruption and more anger than any other sport. It's one of the few sports where the "rightful winner" can be denied their day in the sun by officiating that leaves us with more questions than any sport really should. Sadly boxing, at it's worst looks like the only sport where the winner can lose and the loser can win.
The idea of a winner losing and a loser winner was shown perfectly on Saturday night in Puerto Rico where the unbeaten Danny Garcia (28-0, 16) was hugely fortunate to retain his WBC and WBA "super" titles in a Light Welterweight clash with Mauricio Herrera (20-4, 7). Garcia, a highly touted fighter who has been on a great run recently, was heavily favoured to beat Herrera with many asking why Herrera was picked as an opponent. The challenger, a relative unknown to many boxing fans, was written off before the first bell though proved that those who write fighters off do so at their peril. Herrera started well and found a home for his jab from the opening round. Garcia, well known for his timing, simply couldn't cope with the jab, movement and angles Herrera was giving him and it seemed like Garcia was amateur fighting a skilled professional. Herrera kept landing clean blows whilst Garcia looked lost trying to load up on his famed left hook and missing wildly as if he was doing something for the first time. Unfortunately the judges did what they could to keep the title in the hands of unbeaten man though many know that there was no way Garcia won the bout and the rightful winner, whilst dignified after the fight, has every right to question why he is in this sport. Whilst the controversy of the Garcia/Herrera fight was the big talking point of this past Saturday in Puerto Rico it was far from the only talking point. Another was the opening round "KO" scored by Deontay Wilder (31-0, 31) over close friend and seemingly happy victim Malik Scott (36-2-1, 13). Scott seemed to be caught by a slapping left hand and then a blocked right hand though was unable to beat the count in a fight many in the online community are calling suspect. It did seem like a very poor effort on Scott's part of trying to beat the count and it certainly didn't seem like Scott tried to win despite the fact he knew there was a big fight around the corner if he had won. A third controversy on the card was the stoppage in a bout between Puerto Rico's very own Juan Manuel Lopez (34-3, 31) and Mexico's Daniel Ponce De Leon (45-6, 35). The bout, a rematch of the contest that put Lopez on the map a few years back, saw both men knocked down in a thrilling second round though the referee did seem to jump in too early to "save" Ponce De Leon. The trio of questionable results in Puerto Rico certainly hasn't helped anyone to believe that Golden Boy Promotions are "the good guys" in the boxing world and instead has amped up conspiracy theorists who believe that the promotional outfit are hosting fixed fights. We'd not suggest that fights are fixed but the judging in the main event really was disgusting and it's little wonder fight fans are turning away from our sport. Thankfully not everything was questionable and in Nicaragua we saw former world champion Jose Alfaro (27-8-1, 23) completely dominate compatriot Marcos Mojica (13-2-2, 9) en route to a 7th round KO. Alfaro is best known to Asian fans due to his split decision victory over Thailand's Prawet Singwancha and his loss to Japanese pair Yusuke Kobori and Yoshiro Kamegai. Although unlikely to ever compete at the world level again we still felt this was a notable result. Another fight that saw little doubt over the winner was a contest between unbeaten Ukrainian Heavyweight Vyacheslav Glazkov (17-0-1, 11) and Polish veteran Tomasz Adamek (49-3, 29). Adamek, a great warrior and genuine tough guy, saw his face looking very swollen in a losing effort that could well be his swansong at the top level. It was a brave effort from Adamek but his age and natural size was clearly against him with Glazkov being a clear victor. In the UK we again saw some clear victors with the unbeaten Kell Brook (32-0, 22) dominating and later stopping Mexico's Alvaro Robles (17-3, 15). Whilst this was supposed to be a tune up for a world title fight for Brook we've unfortunately heard "Brook" and "Tune up" put in the same sentence too many times to know quite what to expect from Brook's next fight. On the same show in the UK Kevin Mitchell (37-2, 27) made light work of Mikheil Avakyan (21-12-4, 8) scoring a second round TKO. This bout, like Brooks, was supposed to be a prelude for a world title fight though it's hard to imagine Mitchell beating any of the current Lightweight champions. Although not a big bout we'd suggest that the best bout of the night was actually the British Light Heavyweight title fight between Bob Ajisafe (12-2, 3) and Dean Francis (34-5-1, 26). We hadn't expected much from this contest due to various issues, instead however the bout turned out to be genuinely brilliant and is well worth a watch. (Picture courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions) |
InternationalWe know that not every fight involves an Asian fighter but a lot of fights do affect Asian fighter. As a result we've decided to add this new section to Asian boxing where we look at selected International bouts. Archives
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