Boxing Rostrum

David Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli are actually going to fight it out on March 8th in a triple belt world cruiserweight decider, so Britain is set for it’s most explosive and meaningful domestic battle in years.

Haye, who licked Jean Marc Mormeck for the WBC and WBA titles, says he’s been in the gym and deliberately kept his weight down with the possibility of this match in mind even though we all know he has heavyweight aspirations and had been expected to move in amongst the juggernauts straight away.

These two men were almost matched before but the deal fell through, with each side aiming blame at the other, and it looked like it would never happen. Now it’s on. A pleasant new year’s surprise and a terrific boost for boxing. The game needs titles to be settled this way, and the trend towards it seems to be growing. Fingers crossed for more of the same.

This shoot out will also help lift the cruiserweight division’s dowdy profile. Despite being what is these days a genuine and necessary weight class, the category hasn’t stirred much real interest since Evander Holyfield cleaned up in it’s pioneer period, has it. Most of the time since, it’s been dead dull.

Suddenly, there’s excitement about. Haye and WBO champ Maccarinelli have already raised the thrill levels in acquiring their respective honours, and both have expressed confidence in a knockout victory come March 8th. Should be a special night.

Waiting in the wings is IBF king, Steve Cunningham, who turned himself into a bit of a star last night in Germany by stopping heavily favoured challenger Marco Huck in the last round of a terrific scrap. And on the same bill, 23 year old Cuban, Yoan Pablo Hernandez scored a spectacular first round kayo of recent Maccarinelli victim, Mohamed Azzaoui, bringing his log to 14-0 and catching the eye as a threat to everyone. An entertaining threat at that.

Nigh on twenty years have passed since Holyfield became undisputed champion of a fledgling division. Evander was different class to everybody else at that time and his move up to heavy created a void that those left behind couldn’t fill. Lack of real quality boxers made for mundane competition, even at title level, and consequent public indifference, and it is perhaps only now - with the action hotting up - that the cruiserweight division is becoming truly accepted.

Nigeria’s Sam Peter got mobbed and feted in his homeland as an all conquering hero despite holding only an “interim” piece of one of four versions of the world heavyweight title.

Ruslan Chagaev enjoyed a similar reaction at home after slaying the giant Valuev for the WBA’s quarter of the cake.

The heavyweight championship of the world, even just a piece of that title, still has the power to rouse the people and remains the most coveted prize in sport. The even better news, though, is that the grand old title really does seem to be headed for unification. Nothing in boxing could be as welcome as that.

Chagaev was to have fought WBO rep Ibragimov, but got ill, and now Sultan faces IBF king Wladimir Klitschko instead. The ball is rolling. Chagaev has Matt Skelton to deal with in his first fight back and, if successful, I reckon he’ll be more than keen to meet the winner from the other two, or box whoever comes out on top when Peter and Maskaev eventually collide for WBC recognition.

A true championship fight could well take place sometime late next year, politics notwithstanding. That’s the fervent hope. As previously stated, I’m convinced that each of the claimants involved wants to prove himself the Man.

In the event of an undisputed champion emerging, it wouldn’t be long, of course, before the whole thing began to splinter again. But maybe that won’t hurt the sport quite so much the next time around. TV is now fully globalized, or near enough, so should the heavyweight eliminators proceed as suggested above, and come down to one fight for it all, the event would be witnessed by a worldwide audience that would get to recognize the true king of the ring.

Unless that true champ were to cause a void by retiring from the sport, popular recognition would be maintained until he got beat, so long as he accommodated the best contenders.

That desirable situation, should it occur, won’t satisfy all the sanctioning bodies, though, will it. Sooner or later, probably sooner, one of those bodies – fuelled by vested interest and feelings of self importance – will break ranks, strip the guy of recognition, and nominate two others to contest a vacancy that doesn’t exist.

Global watchers will hopefully treat that sort of injustice with the contempt it demands.

Titles get won in the ring and, in the normal run of things, that should be the only place where they can be taken away.

Amir Khan did just about the perfect job on Graham Earl last Saturday night and is pushing for a chance to become Britain’s youngest ever world champ. That means wearing a belt by July 25th next year.

It would be quite an achievement to get there by then and take the accolade away from Naseem Hamed, and Khan, with youthful fervour, obviously covets that place in history, but Frank Warren won’t be influenced by emotive targets if he feels the fighter needs a bit more development first.

Seems most likely that Amir will box Yuri Romanov next for the European lightweight title, or look to add Jonathan Thaxton’s British title to his own Commonwealth crown. Either would present a fair test at this stage but, beyond that, Khan would surely benefit from meeting at least one rated transatlantic foe before plunging into a world challenge. We’re talking about different levels of competition.

If any one fighter could be picked to give Amir the perfect intro to world class, match making complications aside, I’d say Julio Diaz is the man. The former IBF champ has probably had his ambitions dulled after being worn down and stopped by Juan Diaz in their triple belt decider two months ago, but he’s only 28 years old, or will be on Christmas Eve, and is still a cagey, proud performer who would show us where Khan is at in global terms.

Going back to Saturday’s events, Amir Khan did to Graham Earl what I’d half expected him to do to Willie Limond a couple of fights ago. Willie wasn’t having any of that and turned in a very professional, disciplined performance, with terrific spirit and an all round game I never knew he had. Amir Khan, the boy, became a man that night, and had to just to get the better of the fired up Scot.

Earl's approach was disappointing, to say the least. He figured to go in with Amir and at least match up to Limond’s display, or maybe improve on it, but all he offered was a couple of wild right hand swipes that missed by miles. Khan, with proper high speed, high quality boxing, took Graham apart. It didn’t last long enough to prove much but you couldn’t fault anything Amir did and, when Earl got up after the knockdown, the finishing barrage was something else. Nothing missed. To throw punches that fast, with power and perfect accuracy, requires an awesome talent.

I trust Frank Warren to do what’s best for Amir Khan, whether that features a world tilt in 2008 or not, but sometime in the next eighteen months I reckon Khan against Baby Bull Diaz for the undisputed lightweight championship of the world will be a huge attraction. Better still, it’ll be a hell of a fight.

Ricky Hatton says he won’t quit in the wake of his loss to Mayweather, that he’ll fight on. And why not. He gave it a great try against Floyd, who is extra special, and for six rounds was in with a chance of winning even though it turns out the judges’ cards didn’t go along with that view.

Hatton can still perform at the top level. There’s no doubt about that. But, as trainer Billy Graham says, a continued career must surely take place in the light welter division where Ricky properly belongs.

Hatton, though, says his motivation in boxing is glory, not money, and that would present a problem because there’s not much glory to be had for him back mixing it with the 140 pounders, is there.

Junior Witter is the one stand out match but Ricky might consider it a climb down to accommodate Junior now after denying him that opportunity for so long. Witter has spent the last few years calling Hatton out but getting no joy because Ricky said nobody wanted to watch Witter box, that he was just not an attractive enough opponent.

The avoidance has nothing to do with fear. We all know Ricky Hatton would fight anybody, anywhere, any time. And he did have a point regarding the Yorkshireman. But things have suddenly changed, haven’t they.

Witter’s devastating knockout of Vivian Harris in his last WBC title defence was broadcast in the States and who could have failed to be impressed by it, excited even. If Ricky is serious about fighting on, and complies with his trainer’s wish that it’s as a light welter, it would be ironic indeed if the TV people were to consider Junior Witter the most attractive or, still more ironic, the only acceptable opponent for his comeback.

Oscar De La Hoya has picked Ricky Hatton to beat Floyd Mayweather tomorrow night. Bernard Hopkins is leaning that way too. So, it seems, is Shane Mosley. And Kostya Tszyu says Mayweather, for all his defensive genius, won’t be able to cope for twelve rounds if Ricky brings the same intensity to the MGM Grand as he did in Manchester when taking Tszyu’s IBF light welter crown over two years ago.

That’s a powerful body of support for the Brit, and it certainly makes you think, but I still say the betting line is right in favouring Floyd to emerge the winner.

I don’t doubt that Mayweather is underestimating Hatton’s all round skills, and is likely to be shocked at just how quickly Ricky closes the range, and I reckon Floyd may well be hustled out of his normal stride right from the first bell. Class is class, though, and as the fight develops I expect that Mayweather’s speed and adaptability will prove the decisive factors.

Comparisons are being made between this fight and Curry v Honeyghan from 21 years ago. Valid to a point. Donald Curry was being talked about in pound-for-pound debates and was poised to make the quantum leap from welter to middle and challenge Marvin Hagler. A huge task, but there were those at the time who thought Curry was actually good enough to move up and defeat the great Hagler.

Lloyd Honeyghan ruined those plans by beating up Curry and making him quit in six rounds. Lloyd had said he’d smash him and he did. Now Ricky Hatton is talking the same way.

While the similarities may be plain to see, however, there’s one big difference. Turned out that Curry, who was used to bossing the show, couldn’t fight too well on the back foot. Honeyghan kept the pressure on him and he broke. Floyd Mayweather can perform on the back foot, though, and Hatton’s job stands to be all the more demanding because of it.

We all know Ricky is going to come out and force the pace. It’s not just a tactical necessity but after all the mouthing he’s been doing - including a cry of “let’s effing have him” at today’s weigh in - he can hardly do anything else, can he. That said, Hatton’s assault will need to show quality, and variety. Straight punches will surely be needed along with his usual output because, as Sam Goldwyn might have said, if Ricky were to opt for just throwing a stream of Hail Mary hooks at a guy with Mayweather’s footwork and reflexes he won’t have a prayer.

Oscar De La Hoya says jabbing your way in is the key to beating Floyd, that Pretty Boy can’t defend against that shot. Hatton is more than a brawler. He’s smart and can box a lot better than most seem willing to acknowledge but, when he fought Luis Collazo and barely scraped home on points after finishing exhausted, compubox showed him to have landed only five jabs in the entire fight. I suggest he’s going to have to improve on those numbers here.

If Ricky doesn’t vary his work, Floyd Mayweather will read him and surely punish him with blinding counters. Hatton fought magnificently in the two biggest fights of his career to date, against Tszyu and Castillo, but the approach which worked so well for him in those matches might not be enough in this biggest of all tests.

I see Mayweather, unlike Castillo and Tszyu, using lateral movement against a charging, charged up, Hatton. I see Floyd doing a zig or a zag, and spinning to hit Ricky sideways with slashing shots across the brows. I see blood. Hatton’s blood. And if Ricky’s eyes do spring a leak, Mayweather’s blazing fists are more than capable of turning it into a fountain.

I think we’re going to get a great fight, but more Robinson-La Motta than Curry-Honeyghan. Ricky Hatton is guaranteed to chase this guy with all he’s got, and maybe he will prove a nightmare to Mayweather for much of the evening, but I see Ricky tiring, as Jake did in the title match with Ray, and getting picked apart late in the piece and stopped on cuts, or dropping a unanimous decision.

The international phase of Amir Khan’s career will begin in earnest if he gets past Graham Earl on Saturday night. I say “if” because Earl, a decent scrapper, knows that emphatic defeat will spell the end of his own time in boxing - or at least any pretensions to the real big time - and will fight accordingly, giving it everything.

Trouble is, Graham’s determination is likely to turn into desperation once he feels the skills and stinging power of Amir Khan. I’m quite sure that Amir could outbox Earl from range and capture a comfortable decision but Bolton’s pride isn’t the sort to settle for the comfort zone, is he. Khan wants to be a champion, but spectacular with it, not a safety first practitioner.

Amir likes to thrill the crowd, and nobody’s complaining about that, but there’s a risk with that approach and Graham Earl must be hoping he can catch Khan with the same sort of counter that made Michael Katsidis dip to the floor, then take a standing count, in the second round of their fabulous tear up at Wembley.

Although that bout was stopped at the end of five mad rounds, with Katsidis a worthy winner, Earl had fought with credit and some success after getting overwhelmed and twice decked in the opener. Beaten fair and square, yes, but Graham wasn’t that much inferior to the Aussie.

Katsidis is due to box Juan Diaz for the world title and you could say he deserves the shot, which would put Graham Earl in a reasonable light, but that’s just a superficial view. Katsidis might merit that title crack but I expect him to get gored and gory when he does face “Baby Bull” and, besides, I reckon Amir Khan is already better than the Australian, and improving rapidly.

Black and white comparisons don’t mean much, if anything at all. Khan might beat Graham Earl quicker than Katsidis did, and he might not. Doesn’t matter, does it. What matters is the manner of the win, not the brevity of the action.

I like Graham Earl. He’s a heart and soul fighter. And he’s a good one too. Khan, though, could be a great one, and that represents a huge difference which is likely to be emphasized in the ring come Saturday as a prelude to much bigger things.