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Sunday 23 June 2013

Broner v Malignaggi, good, bad and very ugly

Last night we finally got a conclusion to the war of words between Adrien Broner 27-0 and Paulie Malignaggi 32-5 after weeks of both men exchanging words it was time for them to exchange punches. It was a much anticipated showdown partially due to boths fighters ability to verbally promote this match up, but also fans were intrested to see if Malignaggi could be the man that stops Broners unbeaten streak. From the opening bell it was Malignaggi that proved to be the busier man with Broner standing his ground and aiming to cut off Malignaggis every move, but even though the older man was busiest he was also the weakest, and every punch thrown was just shrugged off by Broner.

Broner remained strong throughout the fight and knew that Malignaggi wouldnt be able to maintain his work rate through 12 rounds, he simply rolled his shoulder and picked off Malignaggi with the stronger shots. It was a technique and performance like that of his good friend Floyd Mayweather, who himself watched on and at times shouted encouraging words for his younger prodigy which seemed to do nothing but anger the defending champion Malignaggi. It was just a further exchange of words which seemed to be the theme of the whole fight.

Once the final bell rang it was clear that Broner had won but it was still close, with judges scoring it 115-113 Broner, 115-113 Malignaggi and 117-111 giving Broner the win and the WBA Welterweight crown. Broner after the fight not only confirmed his greatness and denied any concern he ever had of losing to Malignaggi, but also continue his verbal onslaught of Malignaggi, stating that he had taken Paulies belt and his girl. It did nothing but incite the man from Brooklyn, leading him to give his views on why the belt should of remained with him in his home town. Away from all the trash talk Malignaggi did actually have a valid case, after receiving a low blow and an elbow to the face after the bell the tables could have easily been turned, unfortunately it all went in Broners favour. Although Broner won the fight, silenced the crowed and became a 3 weight champion, he still didnt offer a performance that gives him the right to call himself Boxings next superstar.

Thursday 20 June 2013

Banks v Mitchell, doors could open for both fighters

All the talk this weekend is directed towards Broner v Malignaggi, but whilst everyone's focus remains on this showdown, Boxing fans will be keeping a close eye on the rematch between Johnathon Banks 29-1 and Seth Mitchell 25-1. Going into the last fight many fight fans had Mitchell their favorite to pick up the win, but this was soon blown out the water after Banks showed an incredible performance to stop Mitchell in two rounds. Mitchell, like many other young Heavyweights, shows much promise and is doing everything he can to provide America with the long awaited champion they have been searching for.

Mitchell will of course still be going into this fight with much backing but i think fight fans will take a step back after his last performance at Boardwalk Hall, Banks showed that he has much more to offer in regards to ability, picking off Mitchell and when he had the 31 year old stunned he went after him. A very respected Boxer, Banks currently works with in the Klitschko camp as Wladimir's trainer, and I'm sure both brothers will be enjoying this fight on Saturday night. Both of these men aspire to be the Heavyweight champion and will be using this fight as a next step, Banks who currently sits number 2 on the WBC and WBO rankings is with in touching distance to a shot in the spotlight. Mitchell falls shorter and has a longer journey if he is to reach these heights, but a win on Saturday it will push him into a great position.

Saturday 15 June 2013

Maidana overcomes Lopez to look towards Cotto showdown

Just had a chance to watch back Marcos Maidana v Josesito Lopez from this past Saturday, it was a fight that Maidana went to the favorite, but Boxing fans knew that Lopez was able to match Maidana aslong as he avoided the power and strength the Argentinian poses. Lopez opened up the fight with great promise, showing that he was able to go toe to toe with Maidana and at certain points early on looked the better man. But this fight was never going to let us down and it didnt, with both men trading punches round by round this fight was perfectly balenced for wither man to take the lead to the 12th round.

But it was Maidana who overcame Lopez in round 6 in what looked to be an early stoppage, this came after the recent pressure on referres to step in when they feel either fighter is in danger of being hurt. When watching the reply back of Maidanas 6th round punching flurry i dont think that Lopez will have issues with why the fight was stopped as his guard was high and he return no punches that came his way.

This was also a match that Miguel Cotto would have undoubtedly been watching as talks that the winner of this would go on to meet the Puerto Rican in November. Cotto who now looks to be nearing the end of his incredible career would still offer more than both of these men in my opinion, but Maidana would certainly take him the 12 rounds and he would need more than ice to fix the swelling if Maidana caught him like he did Lopez.

Friday 14 June 2013

Riddick Bowe makes ring return, but in MMA

Great article on Espn on Riddick Bowe's return to the ring, only this time he swapped the Boxing ring for a MMA ring. The 45 year old stated that he needed the money and earned a huge $150, 000 for his apperance, it didnt last long though as the fight was stopped in the 2nd round after Bowe it the canvas 5 times in total.

The man that famously beat Heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield left the Boxing ring in 2008, and after missing the sport so much obviously had the urge to have another shot in the spotlight. With rumours circulating over the last few years that he may make a return to the ring, he must have realised that getting in amoungst the current Heavyweight Boxing division wasnt the wisest choice, not sure what made him think MMA would be any easier.

Thursday 13 June 2013

Broner v Malignaggi, a war inside and outside the ring

Styles make fights, any Boxing fan knows that, but what happens when both men have a flash, fast, no will to back down attitude? well on the 22nd June we will have the answer to that exact question when 32-4 Paulie Malignaggi takes on unbeaten 26-0 Adrien Broner. Already this is shaping up to be a great fight but much of that is partially due to the war of words being exchanged out the ring.

As soon as the fight was announced both men have done nothing but have a verbal onslaught at each other, and neither man looks like they are going to back down. Malignaggi comes into this fight after a great win against Senchenko using his speed and jab to out work his opponent and give him the 9th round stoppage and a 12 round split win over Cano. Broner on the other hand gave Welshman Rees a beating and barely broke a sweat.

Broner of course goes into this fight the favorite and for me the man who will pick up the win, if he fights at his best I can see a late stoppage, one thing is for sure its going to take everything in Broners locker to stop Malignaggi especially if he can reproduce the incredible heart he showed against Cotto. It should be an entertaining fight, hopefully even more entertaining than the antics outside the ring, but I can see Broner proving to everyone again why he is Boxings next superstar.

'Rip his heart out and feed it to him' Fury v Haye update

Further progression has been made in the David Haye v Tyson Fury showdown as Eddie Hearn has now confirmed that the fight deal is near completion. Hearn confirms that it will be an Autumn clash with both fighters expecting to earn up to £5miliion each. There was even talk of putting the press conferences on box office, as no doubt this would be as entertaining as the fight itself.

Hearn has given nothing away at this point, but offers a little more than Furys promotor Mick Hennessey who still is refusing to comment on whether either camps have traded words yet. It would seem the rumours are way to strong here and we could be looking at one of the biggest all British heavyweight clashes in many years, as Hearn rightfully stated, a previous world champion versus a young up coming prospect.

Fury has confirmed that he would like to forget about the Klitschko brothers for now, calling them 'robots' and wants to turn his attention to everyone else in the division. Unfortunately if he plans on beating Haye or 'ripping his heart out ans feeding it to him' as stated on IFilm London, he will be in a posirion where he will have no choice than to step up to the best in the division. Fury shows no remorse here though and is already tempting the fans to their seats, with comments towards Haye that will leave a very sour taste in the 'Hayemakers' mouth.

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Stevenson shocks the Boxing world.

This past weekend saw an early contender for KO of the year, Adonis Stevenson took out Chad Dawson in just over 70 seconds. It was a match up that showed great promise, with the experience and all round in  ring ability from Dawson, and the incredible knockout power of Stevenson. From the opening bell Stevenson looked the more confident fighter, Dawson hadn't even had a chance to find his range before he was caught with a left hook that sent him crashing to the canvas in a daze.

It was a punch that shook the Boxing world and put Stevenson into a position where he is now a man to be very much avoided. With that being said it was Tony Bellew who was able to offer his opinion first, stated that he never backs down from any fight and would happily face Stevenson for the WBC crown. He did however say that he would give Stevenson the respect he deserves, in other words, he knows what damage Stevenson could cause should he land one of those big shots.

Stevenson on the other hand is making his own path to build his legacy, now looking for shots against the likes of Bernard Hopkins, but he knows that Tony Bellew has landed himself a mandatory challengers shot at  his title. Dawson now has to rebuild his career after this devastating loss, which also comes of the back of being outclassed by Andre Ward. For now the spotlight sits on Adonis Stevenson, a man with a punch that even 'Superman' would be proud of.

Saturday 8 June 2013

James Degale, impressive, but not ready for Froch.

Great night for James degale after an impressive display against Croation Stejpan Bozic. It took just 4 rounds of great speed, footwork and combinations from degale, which led to Bozic calling it a day on his stool. The Croat looked to be soaking up all of the local mans punches but a 10 second flurry of incredible combinations seemed a step to far for the challenger. Its the first time in a while I have seen degale look so strong and worthy of being amoungst the other domestic names in British Supermiddleweight Boxing.

Degale said this was him at his best and he felt he could have stepped up another couple of gears, he also feels he is now in a great position to take on British p4p champion Carl Froch. For me he needs to aim towards clearing his loss against George Groves before he takes on the worlds best. After tonights performance he has shown that yet again he is clearly a big name in British Boxing, butmhe still has much to learn before he progresses. Acknowledging Degales WBC silver title, he should continue on the WBC route and firmly plant his place as a world title contender, this way Froch might start listening to offers from Mick Hennessey. Right now Froch has no need to step down to face Degale, Froch has earned his spot in the limelight, its like Joe Calzaghe v Carl Froch all over again.

Monday 3 June 2013

03/06/2013 Tyson Fury v David Haye

Tyson Fury who boasts a 21-0 record is continuing to create havoc on the Heavyweight division, after a recent win in fashionable style over American Steve Cunningham, he now looks for his next step to a world title. The problem with Tyson Fury is that he does not want to play by the rules, and he wants to create his own destiny whilst climbing to the top. The nailed on match-up would have put him against fellow British Heavyweight David Price, but after Price's loss to Tony Thompson, he has his own problems to deal with for the time being. Fury on the other hand remains unbeaten, and feels that he is now a prime position to take on one of the top 5 Heavyweights.

Recent comments though haven't gone down particularly great with the powers that be, talks of Fury moving over to take on UFC's finest if he doesn't get the matches he wants. The problem i have with Fury is his loud mouth nature has worked up to this point as he has managed to back it up, but this will come to an abrupt end if he steps in the ring with a Klitschko brother or David Haye (who is set to complete a deal for later this year).

Sources state that talks have opened up and may have even neared completion, after Fury's promoter Mick Hennessey failed to turn up to a press conference with the Pulev camp. On the flip side, it may be Fury's nature to not follow the norm, that leaves the British public with a mouth watering prospect of an all British Heavyweight showdown, something we haven't had since Haye v Chisora.