 The boxing world turns it's attention to London this weekend as Eddie Hearn puts on, arguably, the best British card in a decade. Whilst we are often critical of Hearn, who has put on some awful match ups this year, this card really is an intriguing one.
The supposed main event is probably the weak link of the card as IBF Welterweight champion Kell Brook (34-0, 23) defends his title against domestic foe Frankie Gavin (22-1, 13). Gavin, once an amateur standout, has failed to shine as a professional and it it would be a monster upset for the Brummie to over-come his more esteemed countryman. A much more interesting world title fight comes at Featherweight where unbeaten IBF champion Evgeny Gradovich (19-0-1, 9) takes on highly touted Welshman Lee Selby (20-1, 8). Many of our UK friends have suggested this is going to be an easy nights work for “The Welsh Mayweather” though Gradovich is never going to be an easy night for anyone and we suspect this could be very competitive. Alternatively our friends from the UK may be right and this could be Selby's coming out party. For Japanese fans this bout is notable as Hisashi Amagasa has stated he wants to face the winner. An even better looking world title bout will see Japanese based Venezuelan Jorge Linares (38-3, 25) defending his WBC Lightweight title against Englishman Kevin Mitchell (39-2, 29). This has all the ingredients of a enthralling bout. Both guys are very highly skilled though both are extremely flawed and all 5 of their combined losses have come by stoppage. This could be a case of who unfolds first as opposed to who is actually the better boxer. Also on this card is British Olympic gold medal winner Anthony Joshua (12-0, 12) who battles the always frustrating Kevin Johnson (29-6-1, 14). The talk going in to this is whether or not Joshua will become the first fighter to stop Johnson. If Joshua can't take Johnson out then we fear for the fans who will have to put up with Johnson show casing his survival skills more than his fighting skills. On paper it's a huge step up in class for Joshua though in reality Johnson scarcely comes to win fights any more.
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This past Saturday may not have has a big bout anywhere on the planet but it did still have plenty of entertaining contests around the scene on the fringes of world class, and we did also have a very forgettable world title bout.
We'll start with that world title bout which, on paper, was the most significant bout of the night but also one of the most disappointing bouts we've seen all year. The bout, an IBF Light Middleweight title bout, saw defending champion Carlos Molina (22-6-2, 6) look like a lost, unmotivated and confused man as he was widely out pointed by 41 year old American Cornelius Bundrage (34-5-0-1, 19). Molina, usually a nightmare opponent fighters such as Erislandy Lara, James Kirkland and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, looked very much like a man with other things on his mind and was dropped twice by Bundrage, who himself didn't look like a world class fighter. This bout has suggested that anyone at 154lbs could win a world title bout next year, it's just a case of who will make the best offer to Bundrage who is now a 2-time world champion. Whilst the world title bout was a stinker the card it's interesting for 2 other bouts. One of them saw Nicaragua's Rene Alvarado (21-3, 14) make a successful move to Super Featherweight as he over-came the gallant but out classed and out worked Juan Pablo Sanchez (29-12, 13). Alvarado, the brother of former Kazuto Ioka opponent Felix Alvarado, really appears like he could be a decent contender at 130lbs and whilst he does lack power at the weight he could still be a threat based on his work rate and heart. Our only complain about this was the judging which was truly awful and the judges weren't even ashamed by the opening scoring which appeared to force Alvarado into being ultra-aggressive in the later rounds. Thankfully opening scoring likely allowed Alvarado to be aware that he needed to win the last 4 rounds to win and he made sure he did just that. Talking about ultra-aggressive we became instant fans of Jorge Lara (26-0-1, 18) who took ultra-aggressive and turned the volume up to 11 as he battered the more experienced Jovanny Soto (38-17-1, 33) from the the opening round to the 4th round. Soto effectively became a human yo-yo and was done numerous times in the first 2 rounds before finally being seen off in round 4. Soto's heart is second to none but it was Lara who really impressed with his very fan-friendly style. He might not reach the top of the Super Bantamweight division but he's certainly going to add a lot of excitement to the division. In the UK we saw another notable bout as Lee Selby (20-1, 8) secured himself an IBF Featherweight world title bout with a 9th round stoppage of the previously undefeated Joel Brunker (27-1, 15). Selby started well with his boxing and moving though in all honesty Brunker looked poor, slow, one-dimensional and like a man who had been thrown into an eliminator that he was never going to be ready for. Selby pinged clean shots off the Australian's head as and when he wanted though it wasn't until round 9 that the British fighter put his foot on the gas and after hurting Brunker he closed the show in style. Although the win was a good one for the British fighter we do wonder whether he will be able to really put a dent on Evgeny Gradovich, the current IBF Featherweight champion. This coming weekend is a somewhat scarce one when it comes to interesting fights and unfortunately the biggest fight of the weekend, in regards to immediate significance is a probably stinker in Mexico. That's because the talented but frustrating Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6) will be defending his IBF Light Middleweight title against the likable but limited and undeserving Cornelius Bundrage (33-5-0-1, 19). For Molina this will allow him to end a roller-coaster year, probably on a high, though it leaves the IBF open to some very problematic questions. Such as how is a man with just 1 win in the last 2 years, and only 2 wins in the last 3 years, being given a world title shot. We honestly like Bundrage as a person but he shouldn't be in a world title fight given his disappointing level of activity.
Whilst the most important bout of the weekend does look a stink there is another notable bout as we get an IBF Featherweight title eliminator in the UK. This bout will see unbeaten Australian Joel Brunker (27-0, 15) battle against once beaten British fighter Lee Selby (19-1, 7). For us this is the bout of the night and promises everything you could wish for. It has two young and hungry fighters both fighting for their shot at the big time, it has solid looking records, good fighters and real intrigue on both sides of the planet, and of course it adds to the general sporting rivalry of the UK and Australia.  Courtesy of boxrec.com This biggest fights this past weekend, not involving Asians, took place Denmark and the UK and with out trying to sound harsh, most of the boxing world missed them due to the lack of wider coverage.
For us the biggest fight took place in Denmark as Female boxing queen Cecilia Braekhus (24-0, 7) continued to dominate. Braekhus, widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in female boxing, schooled French challenger Myriam Lamare (22-4, 10) as she retained her WBA, WBC and WBO Welterweight titles in impressive fashion. Unfortunately for Braekhus her victory will do little to get her competitive fights with the "First Lady" having seemingly beaten everyone in and around her weight. Whilst Braekhus was the stand out fighter there was some interesting action in the UK where we had two bouts of real note. The first of those two contests was a domestic title eliminator in the Lightweight division between former world title holder Gavin Rees (37-4-1, 18) and fellow Welshman Gary Buckland (28-3, 9). The fight was as pulsating a war as we've seen this year with both men giving their all in the first "Fight of the Year" contender. Unfortunately the decision went against the popular opinion and many, including ourselves, feel Buckland was very lucky to get the nod. The other bout saw world ranked Featherweight Lee Selby (18-1, 7), pictured, stopping former world title challenger Rendall Munroe (27-4-1, 11). Munroe, best known to us for his decision loss to Toshiaki Nishioka, wasn't at the races at all and although the stoppage was a poor one by referee Ian John-Lewis there only ever looked like one man was going to win this one. Interestingly Selby is ranked by all 4 world bodies and has his pick of choices as to which to pursue, unfortunately though none are going to be easy to win and it could be 12-18 months before he even gets a world title fight. |
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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