This past Saturday was one of the best days this year for boxing fans who really had a day to remember with some great fights, high octane action and real excitement. For us the most exciting bout came from the US and was the Yoshihiro Kamegai Vs Robert Guerrero bout, but that's mentioned on other parts of the site. That was a really amazing brawl between two men who seemed happy to put on a show and just unleash power shots on one another from close range. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic day. Prior to the Kamegai/Guerrero bout we had previously had two other televised bouts on the same show. The most notable of those was the WBO Featherweight title contest between former amateur standout Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1) and the previously unbeaten, and very highly regarded, Gary Russell Jr (24-1, 14). The bout was Lomachenko's second successive title bout, following a controversial loss to Orlando Salido, and he took the lessons from his loss last time out and looked an improved fighter. Sadly for Russell Jr his string of limited opponents prior to this bout did him no favours and he seemed to lack a plan B choosing to just throw a lot of flurries from out of range rather than work his way towards the Ukrainian. Although the scorecards were read out as a majority decision for Lomachenko it seemed a clear victory for the Ukrainian who made Russell Jr miss repeatedly. Despite the win, which sees Lomachenko tying the long standing record of Saensak Muangsurin, there were flaws in what he did and he seemed to only show flashes of his true talent, hopefully he'll manage to fight at a higher pace for longer in fights rather than just a few bursts. Also if Lomachenko can find a real killer instinct he will be genuinely phenomenal. The opening bout from the broadcast on Showtime was another excellent match up as former 2-weight world champion Devon Alexander (26-2, 14) beat up the brave but limited Jesus Soto Karass (28-9-3-1, 18) in what was a very entertaining contest. Soto Karass did as he usually does and brought the action though Alexander was equal to it using his boxing, movement and han speed to land near enough at will with power shots. To his credit Soto Karass never stopped trying but he was the clear loser in what was an entertaining show opener. Prior to the US action there was also a televised card from South Africa that was headlined by a contest between Middleweight contenders Martin Murray (28-1-1, 12) and Max Bursak (29-3-1, 12). The bout, for the WBC Silver Middleweight title wasn't particularly enjoyable to watch, in fact it was a gruelling hard bout to watch though one that was clearly won by Murray who will likely be hoping to set up a world title fight later this year. Unfortunately for him a bout with WBC champion Miguel Cotto seems very unlikely instead he'll likely have to chase after the IBF title currently held by Felix Sturm, though we'd love to see him share the ring with Gennady Golovkin. On the same card in South Africa fans also saw a Cruiserweight battle to remember as Youri Kayembre Kalenga (20-1, 13) took the fight to Poland's Mateusz Masternak (33-1, 23) from the off. After 6 rounds it appeared to be all Kalenga though he then started to slow and the final few rounds were certainly more competitive, however the fight should never have been a split decision as it was scored, thankfully however the judges gave the right man the win. Interestingly this was for the WBA interim Cruiserweight and in theory Kalenga should be fighting Denis Lebedev in an up coming fight that could well be an absolute thriller. Also on the South African card was the WBA Minimumweight title fight between Hekkie Budler and Pigmy Kokietgym. One other bout of note, which took place on a smaller American card the one we've already mentioned, was an IBF Light Heavyweight eliminator between Nadjib Mohammedi (35-3, 20) and Anatoliy Dudchenko (19-3, 13). We were expecting this to be a competitive contest but Mohammedi just dominated the contest and forced the referee to save Dudchenko in the 7th round. This result makes Mohammedi the #1 contender to Bernard Hopkins and we'll admit that could be an interesting contest, at least more so that some of Hopkins's other recent bouts. (Image courtesy of Shwotime)
0 Comments
This coming Saturday is a big one for a number of Asian fighters such as Yoshihiro Kamegai, who battles Robert Guerrero in a huge bout Stateside, and Pigmy Kokietgym, who will be hoping to win the WBA Minimumweight title, but it's not just Asian's in big fights. The Kamegai/Guerrero bout is part of a high profile triple header in Carson, California. Whilst it's technically the main event more fans are interested in the shows sole title bout which will see former amateur sensation Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1) battle against the unbeaten Gary Russell Jr (24-0, 14) for the vacant WBO Featherweight title. Lomachenko lost in his first attempt at the title, losing to an over-weight Orlando Salido, though will feel confident that the experiences from that fight will help him here as he attempts to tie the long standing record of Saensak Muangsurin. For Russell Jr this is finally a chance to prove that he's as good as he, and the American media, proclaim him to be. We tend to feel Lomachenko is the more skilled, stronger, more physically imposing and, despite the records suggesting otherwise, the more experienced. Russell Jr is the faster of the two and is "the home fighter" but that is pretty much all of his advantages. The other part of the triple header will see former multi-weight title holder Devon Alexander (25-2, 14) battle against the brave but limited Jesus Soto Karass (28-9-3, 18). Karass is a genuine warrior but has a lot of limitations and we feel Alexander will make him pay for those limitations, however Alexander himself looked like a broken man last time out when he was bullied, battered and beaten by the rough house tactics of Shawn Porter and if Soto Karass saw that fight he will fancy his chances against the more skilled fighter. Although not part of the main broadcast this same American show will also include the return to the ring of former Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-3-0-2, 17) who will be fighting against the limited George Blades (23-5, 16). The 39 year old Blades has been hand selected as the fall guy for Dawson who comes into this bout on the back of back-to-back stoppage defeats, including an opening round blow out loss to Adonis Stevenson. Although Dawson is expected to win this bout, it's more about the performance than the result and anything but a shining performance will see Dawson cast aside as a "shot" fighter. Whilst not a major bout this show is also expected to feature the debut of Fabian Maidana (0-0), the younger brother of Macos Maidana. Maidana will be fighting against Alejandro Artiaga (3-8, 1) in a bout that is expected to make Fabian look like a star despite it only being his debut. We know it's early but we're going to be following this young man carefully over the coming years. Over on a card in Monaco, which includes the Pigmy Kokietgym fight, we again get several other notable bouts. Arguably the pick of those is a WBA interim Cruiserweight title fight between the once beaten Polish fighter Mateusz Masternak (32-1, 23) and the heavy handed French based Congolese fighter Youri Kayembre Kalenga (19-1, 13). Kalenga may have a loss on his record, a huge shock loss at that, but we've been very reliably informed that it was a home town robbery that could well have done more harm for Latvian boxing than good. Both guys here can punch, both can fight and both have plenty of question marks leading us to feeling that this could be the fight of the night. We know many fans are favouring Masternak but for us this is a 50-50 bout and we'd actually sway in favour of Kalenga. The other major bout on this Monaco show will see Britain's Martin Murray (27-1-1, 12) battling against Ukrainian Max Bursak (29-2-1, 12) in a very interesting bout for the WBC Silver Middleweight title. Some fans feel that Murray was hard done by when he fought Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez whilst other feel he was very fortunate to remain a contender after his contentious victory, late last year, over Sergey Khomitsky. Likewise many felt Bursak was unfortunate against Jarrod Fletcher, earlier this year, whilst people also though he was fortunate against Nick Blackwell. We don't mean to sound nasty but we'd suggest both of these fighters stay away from Gennady Golovkin if they wish to remain top contenders as their inconsistencies could really bite them. As for the fight with each other it should be an entertaining back and forth affair though we'd not be shocked by any result at all. A final bout of note, which will be in the US, will see Anatoliy Dudchenko (19-2, 13) battle against Nadjib Mohammedi (34-3, 20). We believe the winner of this contest will be a mandatory for American legend Bernard Hopkins though neither man would be likely to give "B Hop" a tough night at the office. (Image courtesy of WBANews) Lomachenko fails in record attempt, females all retain whilst a number of titles swap hands3/2/2014 This past Saturday was the first monster day of the boxing year. It may have taken some time coming but what a day it was and what a memorable day it was with fights taking place all over the globe, multiple titles changing hands, multiple champions in action and an amateur stand out attempting to create history. To say that Saturday March 1st was a bumper day in boxing is to merely state the obvious. The action began in Australia where WBC female Super Featherweight champion Diana Prazak (13-2, 9) retained her title by stopping compatriot Shannon O'Connell (8-3, 5) in round 5. Prazak's power presented O'Connell problems from the off and the challenger was dropped twice in round 2 before being saved by the referee in round 5. Prazak is amongst the most feared female fighters on the planet right now and this result showed why. She's got dynamite in her hands and stopping O'Connell, who lost a close decision to Hyun-Mi Choi last year, was nothing short of impressive. Although Prazak retained her title several fighters in Europe didn't. One of those was Britain's Ricky Burns (36-3-1, 11) whose luck finally ran out as he faced unbeaten American Terence Crawford (23-0, 16). Crawford, who appeared to fight well within himself, controlled the fight from round 4 onwards with his speed and combinations. Unfortunately British commentary team Jim Watt and Nick Halling seemed to do all they could to downplay Crawford's victory though it was obvious that Burns was well beaten. This victory saw Crawford claiming the WBO Lightweight title and put himself amongst the elite at 135lbs. Another WBO title changed hands in Germany where Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28) reclaimed the WBO Super Middleweight title with a narrow points victory over rival Robert Stieglitz (46-4, 26). This result was a genuine shock to us as we viewed Abraham as washed up though the "King" had reclaimed his crown and taken a 2-1 lead from a trilogy with Stieglitz. The bout was an interesting one though a 12th round knock down by Abraham did effectively seal the fight for him. On the same card in Germany WBO female Middleweight champion Christina Hammer (17-0, 8) put on a clinic to out point Jessica Balogun (23-3, 11). Balogun was game through out though her technical limitations cost her any chance at a victory as Hammer won every round with her skills and movement. Although Hammer's shots never hurt Balogun they were so technically sound they they prevented the challenger from getting much going offensively herself. In South Africa was saw another champion retain their title with Hekkie Budler (25-1, 8) defended his WBA interim Minimumweight title for the first time. Budler, a genuine non-puncher, needed just a round to see off the very limited Karluis Diaz (21-5, 14). We're now hoping to see Budler fight IBF champion Katsunari Takayama in a unification bout though their appears to be work to be done if this fight is to be made. Across the Atlantic the action continued with even more major bouts. The most notable bout on the American continent happened in the US as Ukrainian amateur great Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1) attempted to secure his place in professional boxing history. Lomachenko, fighting for the WBO Featherweight title in just his second bout unfortunately came up short against grizzled veteran Orlando Salido (41-12-2-1, 28). Although Lomachenko lost a split decision to Salido plenty felt he took more from the loss than many prospects take from 25 wins and with Salido failing to make the weight and being stripped of the title we'd not be shocked if Lomachenko fights for the vacant title next time out. If Lomachenko had won he'd have broken the almost 40 year record of Saensak Muangsurin who won a world title in just his third pro bout. As well as the Lomachenko bout there was also a major rematch on the same card as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-1-1-1, 32) managed to take a clear, but hard fought, victory over the game Brian Vera (23-8, 14). The two men had fought last year with many feeling Vera was robbed this time however Chavez took a genuine victory even if he did do some things that were very annoying, especially in round 12 where he ran and danced. After the fight their murmurs of a bout between Chavez Jr and Gennady Golovkin, though presumably Golovkin would have to make the move to Super Middleweight for the bout to make sense. Staying with rematches Mexico saw a major rematch as female star Zulina Munoz (41-1-2, 26) managed to defend her WBC Super Flyweight title and avenge her sole defeat as she claimed a technical decision over Alesia Graf (26-4, 11). Graf, who beat Munoz back in 2007, traded shots with Munoz willingly in one of the nights best fights but unfortunately a clash of heads in round 6 forced the bout to the scorecards which all favoured Munoz. This wasn't a pretty fight in terms of boxing but it was highly entertaining stuff with both freely swinging at the other. Great action for as long as it lasted. Going further down the America's there was also a world title fight in Argentina where the ultra-talented Erica Anabella Farias (19-0, 9) successfully retained her WBC female Lightweight title with a victory over compatriot Maria Eugenia Lopez (8-8-2). The bout was a mismatch with Farias just being too good at everything for Lopez though the key thing about the bout was that it was a tune up for Farias who will be fighting in a much more meaningful contest next time out against Delfine Persoon, her mandatory challenger. (Picture courtesy of http://www.thesweetscience.com/) One of the big complaints we've made this year is that there was a real lack of big time action. We're two months in to the year and we could count the number of significant fights on one hand, we could then use the other hand to count how many genuinely good fighter we've had. Honestly it's been an awful start to the boxing year. Thankfully March seems to kick off the boxing for 2014. It may be late but it is much, much better than never. Unfortunately however the sheer number of high quality fights make it almost a given that you will be missing something this weekend. The first notable fight, and the one featured in the small image, is one of several female contests of interest and takes place in Australia as the hard hitting Diana Prazak (12-2, 8) attempts to make the first defense of her WBC female Super Featherweight title. Prazak will be fighting fellow compatriot Shannon O'Connell (8-2, 5) in a bout that has all the ingredients to be a fire cracked. O'Connell is best known to use for her close fight with Korea's Hyun-Mi Choi last year whilst Prazak announced herself last year by stopping Frida Wallberg and unfortunately ending Wallberg's career in the process. Although it's a female fight it could be the best of the day. The O'Connell/Prazak bout isn't the only major female bout of the day and in Germany we get another as the highly popular Chrstina Hammer (16-0, 8) defends her WBO female Middleweight title against fellow German Jessica Balogun (23-2, 11). Whilst the Prazak/O'Connell bout looks like a fantastic match up, this one is unfortunately a huge mismatch and it's hard to see anything other than an easy defense for the talented Hammer. On the same card in Germany their is a WBO Super Middleweight title fight as Robert Steiglitz (46-3, 26) battles Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28) for the third time in less than 18 months. Although the men are 1-1 it seems that Abraham's career is in free fall and we'd be shocked if Steiglitz doesn't retain his title again here. The Stieglitz/Abraham trilogy isn't the only world title fight in Europe as Scotland's Ricky Burns (36-2-1, 11) tries to put poor back-to-back performance behind him and defend his WBO Lightweight title against America's unbeaten Terence Crawford (22-0, 16) in what looks like one of the nights most interesting match ups. We'd favour Crawford here though it's certainly his toughest bout to date and Burns, for the faults he has shown in recent bouts, has shown that he's not got any quit in him. Unfortunately we have the feeling this could end up being either a total dud or controversial with fans on both sides of the Atlantic being unsatisfied by either the action or the result. Staying in Britain there is another major contest involving a Brit as James DeGale (17-1, 11) battles the unbeaten Gevorg Khatchikian (20-0, 8) in what looks to be a semi-final eliminator to fight Sakio Bika for the WBC Super Middleweight title. The winner of DeGale/Khatchikian is likely to need to beat another top contender to get a world title fight but this is a big step towards one. Across the Atlantic the action comes just as thick and fast. The highlight bout state side sees Vasyl Lomachenko (1-0, 1) fighting grizzled Mexican veteran Orlando Salido (40-12-2-1, 28) for the WBO Featherweight title. A victory for Lomachenko gets him into the record books for fewest professional bouts before winning a world title (in regards to men, the actual record is held by the aforementioned Choi who won a WBA title on her debut) though this is far from a foregone conclusion and it should prove to be one of the most enthralling and anticipated bouts of the year. On the same card as Lomachenko/Salido we get a major non-title fight as former WBC Middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (47-1-1-1, 32) takes on the under-rated Brian Vera (23-7, 14) for the second time. The two men fought last year with Chavez being given a highly debatable victory over Vera. Although Chavez had his excuses for his performances it does sound like he means business this time and is expected to "show up" this time around. Going south, down the American continent, we get another major female bout in Mexico. Strangely this is another major rematch as Zulina Munoz (40-1-2, 26) attempts to avenge her sole defeat. Munoz, the current WBC female Super Flyweight champion, is unbeaten in over 6 years, since she dropped a decision to Alesia Graf (26-3, 11) this time Munoz is more experienced, wiser and more mature as well as the home fighter. The Mexican champion has ti be favoured here. Finally, in Argentina, we get one more female world title fight. Like the Hammer/Balogun fight this one is also a mismatch as WBC Lightweight champion Erica Anabella Farias (18-0, 9), one of the premier pound-for-pound female fighters on the planet, defends her title against Maria Eugenia Lopez (8-7-2). To call this a mismatch is little more than stating the obvious, unfortunately however we do sometimes need to state the obvious. A win for Farias however sets up a fight with Belgium's excellent Delfine Persoon in what should be considered a female super-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
December 2015
Categories
All
|