Saturday, 28 April 2007
Haye Could Go The Way Of Jones
David Haye wasted no time in annihilating Tomasz Bonin last night and the manner of his first round win suggests he can do big things in the heavyweight division. Bonin is strong and solid but never had a chance once Haye went to work.
Use of the jab and the straight right did the damage. The old one-two. Bonin had a good record on paper, winning 37 of 38, but he’s been beating low grade opponents and that sole previous loss came when he stepped out of his mediocrity zone to take on Audley Harrison and got stopped in nine rounds. David Haye was much more emphatic than Harrison had been. The Pole came to fight, and didn’t quit when he felt the power, but after touching down three times he needed to be rescued.
So now we know that Haye can cause serious hurt to genuine heavyweights. He could make a habit of that, and should surely use this as a starting point, but next up for him is a dip back into the cruiser division to challenge Jean Marc Mormeck for the WBC and WBA titles. That is his right as mandatory challenger, and he obviously feels he can make the weight adjustment and be strong enough to do the business. It has to be a risk, though.
Roy Jones went up to heavyweight from light heavy and did a teaching job on John Ruiz to capture the WBA crown. That was a great achievement. At the time, some were even wondering if Jones was the sport’s best ever performer. When he dropped back to light heavy, though, it was a different story. Roy eked out a dodgy majority points win over Antonio Tarver and then got flattened by Tarver and Glen Johnson in successive fights.
Getting rid of the extra pounds he’d put on for the Ruiz adventure left Jones a drained version of what we’d known before. He just wasn’t the same. And it should be remembered that Jones suffered in that way despite the fact he was dropping down to compete at what, for him, was a more natural weight. He may have thought that the muscular addition he acquired for the challenge to Ruiz could be dumped easily, or at least without consequences. If so, Roy Jones was mistaken.
David Haye won’t be dropping back to compete at a more natural weight. He wasn’t just a heavyweight for this Bonin fight. He IS a heavyweight. Haye has been busting a gut to make the cruiser limit for ages and going there again could be one trip too many. Sharing the ring with Tomasz Bonin for less than two minutes hardly constitutes a fight, but it was obvious that Haye felt great in himself hitting the scales at 217, and that’s a feeling he won’t have going in against Mormeck at 200. It’s true that Mormeck is a much smaller man than Bonin, but Mormeck, unlike the Polish brawler, is a quality pug.
Some would be concerned about Haye’s stamina in his title attempt if he and Mormeck fight at high tempo and the fight goes to the later rounds. Could be a factor, but I’d be more worried by how much another thinning down campaign might affect David’s punch resistance. You can’t blame him for wanting the Frenchman’s crown so badly, because he would be winning a true world title, or certainly widespread acceptance as the true champ, but Mother Nature will not be on his side and David Haye could well pay a big penalty for pursuing that ambition.
Use of the jab and the straight right did the damage. The old one-two. Bonin had a good record on paper, winning 37 of 38, but he’s been beating low grade opponents and that sole previous loss came when he stepped out of his mediocrity zone to take on Audley Harrison and got stopped in nine rounds. David Haye was much more emphatic than Harrison had been. The Pole came to fight, and didn’t quit when he felt the power, but after touching down three times he needed to be rescued.
So now we know that Haye can cause serious hurt to genuine heavyweights. He could make a habit of that, and should surely use this as a starting point, but next up for him is a dip back into the cruiser division to challenge Jean Marc Mormeck for the WBC and WBA titles. That is his right as mandatory challenger, and he obviously feels he can make the weight adjustment and be strong enough to do the business. It has to be a risk, though.
Roy Jones went up to heavyweight from light heavy and did a teaching job on John Ruiz to capture the WBA crown. That was a great achievement. At the time, some were even wondering if Jones was the sport’s best ever performer. When he dropped back to light heavy, though, it was a different story. Roy eked out a dodgy majority points win over Antonio Tarver and then got flattened by Tarver and Glen Johnson in successive fights.
Getting rid of the extra pounds he’d put on for the Ruiz adventure left Jones a drained version of what we’d known before. He just wasn’t the same. And it should be remembered that Jones suffered in that way despite the fact he was dropping down to compete at what, for him, was a more natural weight. He may have thought that the muscular addition he acquired for the challenge to Ruiz could be dumped easily, or at least without consequences. If so, Roy Jones was mistaken.
David Haye won’t be dropping back to compete at a more natural weight. He wasn’t just a heavyweight for this Bonin fight. He IS a heavyweight. Haye has been busting a gut to make the cruiser limit for ages and going there again could be one trip too many. Sharing the ring with Tomasz Bonin for less than two minutes hardly constitutes a fight, but it was obvious that Haye felt great in himself hitting the scales at 217, and that’s a feeling he won’t have going in against Mormeck at 200. It’s true that Mormeck is a much smaller man than Bonin, but Mormeck, unlike the Polish brawler, is a quality pug.
Some would be concerned about Haye’s stamina in his title attempt if he and Mormeck fight at high tempo and the fight goes to the later rounds. Could be a factor, but I’d be more worried by how much another thinning down campaign might affect David’s punch resistance. You can’t blame him for wanting the Frenchman’s crown so badly, because he would be winning a true world title, or certainly widespread acceptance as the true champ, but Mother Nature will not be on his side and David Haye could well pay a big penalty for pursuing that ambition.
Tuesday, 24 April 2007
Is Sprott Electric?
Michael Sprott goes in for his revenge bid against Matt Skelton next month with the kind of confidence he’s never had in the past. Knocking out Audley Harrison has to have given him a lift, of course, but this new self belief doesn’t come from that stunning win itself – rather from what caused him to produce the pay off shot.
Seems that Michael, in the act of renovating a property, had come into contact with a dodgy electrical socket and got himself a shock. It could have killed him. It could certainly have harmed him. Instead, though, Sprott not only survived intact but is convinced that absorbing that voltage has doubled his punching power and that what he did to Harrison is proof.
Faith is a powerful weapon. It’s crazy to think an electric shock could throw such a bonus his way but if Michael Sprott really does believe it, and fights with that in mind, he’s sure to give the Bedford grizzly more trouble than he did the last time.
Sprott said the right things before that fight but his body language was riddled with doubt. He obviously wanted to win, and went in hoping to do just that, and the effort he turned in was a decent one. Of the two, though, it was Skelton who looked like he expected to come out on top. And so he did. Albeit late.
One thing’s for sure. If Mike Sprott sets himself to throw heavy shots, and not just look to contain big Matt while nicking points on the retreat, their second meeting has to be a thriller. Anything less would leave us all shocked.
Seems that Michael, in the act of renovating a property, had come into contact with a dodgy electrical socket and got himself a shock. It could have killed him. It could certainly have harmed him. Instead, though, Sprott not only survived intact but is convinced that absorbing that voltage has doubled his punching power and that what he did to Harrison is proof.
Faith is a powerful weapon. It’s crazy to think an electric shock could throw such a bonus his way but if Michael Sprott really does believe it, and fights with that in mind, he’s sure to give the Bedford grizzly more trouble than he did the last time.
Sprott said the right things before that fight but his body language was riddled with doubt. He obviously wanted to win, and went in hoping to do just that, and the effort he turned in was a decent one. Of the two, though, it was Skelton who looked like he expected to come out on top. And so he did. Albeit late.
One thing’s for sure. If Mike Sprott sets himself to throw heavy shots, and not just look to contain big Matt while nicking points on the retreat, their second meeting has to be a thriller. Anything less would leave us all shocked.
Sunday, 15 April 2007
So, Size Still Doesn't Matter
Ruslan Chagaev beat Nikolay Valuev by majority decision to win the WBA heavyweight crown and it’s as well for the Uzbek that he won big enough to force the judges’ hands. Despite the challenger having a clear edge on the night, judge Stanley Christodoulou called it a draw 114-114. Another judge carded 115-113, probably indicating that Chagaev had only nicked it in the championship rounds. Those views suggest there was precious little between the fighters but the last score of 117-111 was more in tune with reality.
Valuev pressed the action, or most of it, but couldn’t impose his jab. That failure put him in trouble and, coupled with Chagaev’s ability to land straight lefts throughout, was the defining factor in this fight.
Nikolay is a classy guy. He knew he’d lost and said as much afterwards. There were no excuses and he congratulated the new champ on finding a winning plan. Valuev will take a rest and then try to come again, and he’ll give it his all, but he’s not going to get any better, is he. Not technically. What we’ve seen is all he’s got.
Could just be that Ruslan Chagaev is an accomplished fighter who hasn’t hitherto had the credit he deserves. His career seemed to be treading water a bit, with performances less than spectacular, but he did go in here undefeated as a pro and had been a highly destructive world amateur champ. The pedigree is there. That showed against Valuev, and being a southpaw may also have helped to the point of being vital, given the success he had in driving that powerful left through the giant’s guard.
Ruslan Chagaev’s next move will likely be a voluntary defence against somebody unworthy, and all that will do is detract from the impact he has just made. Fight fans want excitement and that means the top men getting together, not routinely bumping off inferior opposition. Chagaev against Wladimir Klitschko? That would be a fight to savour, would it not. The sort of collision that would tell us a whole lot about the real merits of both men. Which, of course, is reason enough to suggest it won’t happen.
Valuev pressed the action, or most of it, but couldn’t impose his jab. That failure put him in trouble and, coupled with Chagaev’s ability to land straight lefts throughout, was the defining factor in this fight.
Nikolay is a classy guy. He knew he’d lost and said as much afterwards. There were no excuses and he congratulated the new champ on finding a winning plan. Valuev will take a rest and then try to come again, and he’ll give it his all, but he’s not going to get any better, is he. Not technically. What we’ve seen is all he’s got.
Could just be that Ruslan Chagaev is an accomplished fighter who hasn’t hitherto had the credit he deserves. His career seemed to be treading water a bit, with performances less than spectacular, but he did go in here undefeated as a pro and had been a highly destructive world amateur champ. The pedigree is there. That showed against Valuev, and being a southpaw may also have helped to the point of being vital, given the success he had in driving that powerful left through the giant’s guard.
Ruslan Chagaev’s next move will likely be a voluntary defence against somebody unworthy, and all that will do is detract from the impact he has just made. Fight fans want excitement and that means the top men getting together, not routinely bumping off inferior opposition. Chagaev against Wladimir Klitschko? That would be a fight to savour, would it not. The sort of collision that would tell us a whole lot about the real merits of both men. Which, of course, is reason enough to suggest it won’t happen.
Sunday, 8 April 2007
Two Easy For Welsh At Cardiff
Joe Calzaghe did the expected by comfortably taking care of challenger Peter Manfredo Jnr before a big crowd in Cardiff but, as sharp as Joe looked, the fight had a premature end. Manfredo hadn’t been down and wasn’t in distress and, this being a championship bout, the ref’s job should surely have been to stand back and let it roll until at least one of those conditions had been met. But, that said, I don’t see how Peter can complain too loud. When you’re in a boxing ring, you have to be seen to be competing. We all know that. Under sustained fire, a boxer has to aim something back or risk the rescue act, and Peter Manfredo was offering no reply to Calzaghe’s onslaught.
The gulf in class between the two was plain from the off. And Joe’s speed was way beyond what Manfredo could cope with. It was a mismatch. Peter’s only hope was to land the perfect haymaker but even the chance of that was taken away when Calzaghe opted for a pure boxing approach. Joe is a proud, feisty character who can allow himself to be drawn into a tear up – and he still comes out on top even then – but when he sticks to the science of the game he’s a special performer.
The Welshman outboxed Manfredo for two rounds and then, after seeming to bother his challenger with a couple of shots in the third, drove him to the ropes and poured it on. Perfect, really.
Enzo Maccarinelli bashed up game but hopelessly outclassed Bobby Gunn in less than a round to retain his WBO cruiserweight title. Maccarinelli needs better opposition than this to give him any sort of test, and the WBO shouldn’t be giving the okay to a guy like Gunn as a challenger for their title. That’s not a dig at Bobby Gunn. He’s a tough and brave trier and did the best he could, which was very little against a fighter as good and as ferocious as Enzo, but Bobby came in having won the vacant IBA cruiserweight crown on his last outing and that should have left us in no doubt as to what level of fighter he would show himself to be.
As for Maccarinelli, the sky’s the limit. He stands six feet and four inches tall and carries murder in both mitts. Too bad the match with David Haye never came off. Would have been a thriller, but a clash with Jean Marc Mormeck would do just as well. That would be a unification job with the winner having genuine status as champ, and although Mormeck has been around a long time and is a real mechanic I believe that Enzo’s power would likely bring him down at some stage. Maybe David Haye will be matched with Mormeck first, though. Haye is the top contender and says he wants the chance, but after dipping his toe into heavyweight waters against the Pole Tomasz Bonin on the 27th of this month he may decide to stay with the big boys rather than grind back down to cruiser. Time will tell.
Haye has always planned to take on the heavyweights eventually and I’d guess that Maccarinelli will one day do the same. They would both pose big threats on the British scene, and maybe beyond, and of the two I’d probably expect more from Enzo if only because David might be more fragile than the Welshman.
The gulf in class between the two was plain from the off. And Joe’s speed was way beyond what Manfredo could cope with. It was a mismatch. Peter’s only hope was to land the perfect haymaker but even the chance of that was taken away when Calzaghe opted for a pure boxing approach. Joe is a proud, feisty character who can allow himself to be drawn into a tear up – and he still comes out on top even then – but when he sticks to the science of the game he’s a special performer.
The Welshman outboxed Manfredo for two rounds and then, after seeming to bother his challenger with a couple of shots in the third, drove him to the ropes and poured it on. Perfect, really.
Enzo Maccarinelli bashed up game but hopelessly outclassed Bobby Gunn in less than a round to retain his WBO cruiserweight title. Maccarinelli needs better opposition than this to give him any sort of test, and the WBO shouldn’t be giving the okay to a guy like Gunn as a challenger for their title. That’s not a dig at Bobby Gunn. He’s a tough and brave trier and did the best he could, which was very little against a fighter as good and as ferocious as Enzo, but Bobby came in having won the vacant IBA cruiserweight crown on his last outing and that should have left us in no doubt as to what level of fighter he would show himself to be.
As for Maccarinelli, the sky’s the limit. He stands six feet and four inches tall and carries murder in both mitts. Too bad the match with David Haye never came off. Would have been a thriller, but a clash with Jean Marc Mormeck would do just as well. That would be a unification job with the winner having genuine status as champ, and although Mormeck has been around a long time and is a real mechanic I believe that Enzo’s power would likely bring him down at some stage. Maybe David Haye will be matched with Mormeck first, though. Haye is the top contender and says he wants the chance, but after dipping his toe into heavyweight waters against the Pole Tomasz Bonin on the 27th of this month he may decide to stay with the big boys rather than grind back down to cruiser. Time will tell.
Haye has always planned to take on the heavyweights eventually and I’d guess that Maccarinelli will one day do the same. They would both pose big threats on the British scene, and maybe beyond, and of the two I’d probably expect more from Enzo if only because David might be more fragile than the Welshman.
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