Thursday, 31 January 2008
What's The Point Of This?
There’s a disturbing rumour going around that former undefeated IBF and WBA super middleweight champion Sven Ottke, who retired almost four years ago and is now 40, will box former long time WBO light heavyweight ruler Dariusz Michalczewski in May, with cruiserweight the guideline.
Dariusz will be 40 by then too, and hasn’t boxed since being battered in six by Fabrice Tiozzo in 2005. The Pole had lost the WBO crown to Julio Gonzalez and came apart completely in that Tiozzo fight, which was for Fabrice’s WBA belt. Michalczewski had absolutely nothing left.
What kind of people would want to watch Sven Ottke, who was never an entertainer even at his best, lumping an extra 30 pounds of weight around the ring against a fighter who was clearly finished the last time we saw him.
Whatever kind, it seems there’ll be more than enough of them because this is being talked about in Germany as a big money TV fight. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it.
There are pointless exercises and there are pointless exercises but, for me, Ottke against Michalczewski would be pretty much the piece de resistance.
Dariusz will be 40 by then too, and hasn’t boxed since being battered in six by Fabrice Tiozzo in 2005. The Pole had lost the WBO crown to Julio Gonzalez and came apart completely in that Tiozzo fight, which was for Fabrice’s WBA belt. Michalczewski had absolutely nothing left.
What kind of people would want to watch Sven Ottke, who was never an entertainer even at his best, lumping an extra 30 pounds of weight around the ring against a fighter who was clearly finished the last time we saw him.
Whatever kind, it seems there’ll be more than enough of them because this is being talked about in Germany as a big money TV fight. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it.
There are pointless exercises and there are pointless exercises but, for me, Ottke against Michalczewski would be pretty much the piece de resistance.
Looks Like More Of The Same
Kermit Cintron gets the chance to prove his only career defeat was just an aberration, the product of a below par effort, when he goes back in with Antonio Margarito on the Cotto v Gomez bill in Atlantic City in April.
Last time they did it, Margarito kept his WBO belt by stopping Cintron in the fifth round after decking Kermit four times. Renewal of hostilities now sees Margarito as challenger for the IBF title that Cintron has since won and twice defended. A switch of roles, then, but maybe not a change in fortunes.
In their first fight, the way it was fought, Antonio was just too much of a hard case for the Puerto Rican. Margarito could take Kermit’s punches but it turned out that Kermit couldn’t take his. In what figures to be a similar sort of fight I don’t see any reason to think we’ll see a different winner.
Kermit Cintron has the fast hands and punching power that could possibly win him this fight but he needs to adopt a plan and utilize his tools to best advantage, not just stand toe to toe with a guy who revels in that kind of stuff. Trouble is, when Mexican meets Puerto Rican, machismo often gets in the way of reason, doesn’t it.
Cintron would do well to take a lead from fellow countryman Miguel Cotto. Cotto embraces whatever strategy and tactical adjustments are needed to win and, even though he’s one of the most exciting, combative boxers in the world today, Miguel isn’t shy about backing off now and then, if that’s the right call at any given moment.
Whether Cintron can do the same without feeling that he’s somehow losing face is another matter, though. Seems he’s hellbent on knocking everybody out, which includes Margarito come April, especially as Kermit really does believe it wasn’t the best of him in there with the Mexican first time up.
Maybe that’s true. The important truth, though, is that what Kermit Cintron tried to do against Antonio Margarito back in 2005 didn’t work. If he tries to do the same again, and I reckon he will, it won’t work this time either. I’d say that’s a solid bottom line.
Last time they did it, Margarito kept his WBO belt by stopping Cintron in the fifth round after decking Kermit four times. Renewal of hostilities now sees Margarito as challenger for the IBF title that Cintron has since won and twice defended. A switch of roles, then, but maybe not a change in fortunes.
In their first fight, the way it was fought, Antonio was just too much of a hard case for the Puerto Rican. Margarito could take Kermit’s punches but it turned out that Kermit couldn’t take his. In what figures to be a similar sort of fight I don’t see any reason to think we’ll see a different winner.
Kermit Cintron has the fast hands and punching power that could possibly win him this fight but he needs to adopt a plan and utilize his tools to best advantage, not just stand toe to toe with a guy who revels in that kind of stuff. Trouble is, when Mexican meets Puerto Rican, machismo often gets in the way of reason, doesn’t it.
Cintron would do well to take a lead from fellow countryman Miguel Cotto. Cotto embraces whatever strategy and tactical adjustments are needed to win and, even though he’s one of the most exciting, combative boxers in the world today, Miguel isn’t shy about backing off now and then, if that’s the right call at any given moment.
Whether Cintron can do the same without feeling that he’s somehow losing face is another matter, though. Seems he’s hellbent on knocking everybody out, which includes Margarito come April, especially as Kermit really does believe it wasn’t the best of him in there with the Mexican first time up.
Maybe that’s true. The important truth, though, is that what Kermit Cintron tried to do against Antonio Margarito back in 2005 didn’t work. If he tries to do the same again, and I reckon he will, it won’t work this time either. I’d say that’s a solid bottom line.
Friday, 25 January 2008
Old Fashioned Boys
I was saying that Andrew Golota couldn’t be begrudged one last big payday after his gritty and entertaining victory over Mike Mollo in what Michael Buffer rightly called twelve rounds of “old fashioned heavyweight action,” and I stand by that. But a title fight might be too much of a bonus. Besides, the heavyweight championship is, hopefully, headed for unification and to accommodate a guy like Golota would only frustrate that process.
The same night Golota and Mollo slugged it out in the Garden, Matt Skelton was in Germany to challenge southpaw WBA champ Ruslan Chagaev and gave him a physically demanding go of it all the way. Chagaev won clearly enough. The difference in class showed in the second half of the fight. But it was nonetheless a great effort by Skelton, especially for someone who didn’t become a pro boxer till he was 35 and had no amateur experience at all. At the final bell, the lefty champ looked every bit as spent as the man he’d just beaten.
Golota, 40, and Skelton, 41, both know that time is short. They have to earn while they can and, with another title try unlikely to come the way of either man, a fight between the two of them would have quite strong appeal after the efforts they turned in last weekend. But could the fight be made.
Both boxers would want to be well paid but just how much would they demand to risk being involved in what would probably be a career ending defeat for the loser. Might not be the kind of numbers that anybody is prepared to accept. Boxing promoters are not philanthropists. They’re in the game to make their own pile and while they might sometimes be prepared to take a small loss or just break even, if it means they can then go on to earn well out of the winner in future fights, that doesn’t apply here. Neither Golota nor Skelton will be going much further down the serious money road, will they.
Which is to say that a Matt v Andy clash, while looking a natural sort of pairing from the armchair perspective, is probably a non starter. That’s a pity. There’d be no sublime skills on view but those two would surely have treated us to the sort of thrilling give-and-taker most fans can’t get enough of. Modern fans as well as old timers.
The same night Golota and Mollo slugged it out in the Garden, Matt Skelton was in Germany to challenge southpaw WBA champ Ruslan Chagaev and gave him a physically demanding go of it all the way. Chagaev won clearly enough. The difference in class showed in the second half of the fight. But it was nonetheless a great effort by Skelton, especially for someone who didn’t become a pro boxer till he was 35 and had no amateur experience at all. At the final bell, the lefty champ looked every bit as spent as the man he’d just beaten.
Golota, 40, and Skelton, 41, both know that time is short. They have to earn while they can and, with another title try unlikely to come the way of either man, a fight between the two of them would have quite strong appeal after the efforts they turned in last weekend. But could the fight be made.
Both boxers would want to be well paid but just how much would they demand to risk being involved in what would probably be a career ending defeat for the loser. Might not be the kind of numbers that anybody is prepared to accept. Boxing promoters are not philanthropists. They’re in the game to make their own pile and while they might sometimes be prepared to take a small loss or just break even, if it means they can then go on to earn well out of the winner in future fights, that doesn’t apply here. Neither Golota nor Skelton will be going much further down the serious money road, will they.
Which is to say that a Matt v Andy clash, while looking a natural sort of pairing from the armchair perspective, is probably a non starter. That’s a pity. There’d be no sublime skills on view but those two would surely have treated us to the sort of thrilling give-and-taker most fans can’t get enough of. Modern fans as well as old timers.
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Hopkins Ain't Lacy
Recent rumour had it that Jeff Lacy is stepping up to light heavyweight, with Antonio Tarver the target match.
A change of division could be beneficial if Lacy is having trouble making super middle, and it might freshen him up anyway given the jaded look he’s had since that Calzaghe beating, but aiming for Tarver wouldn’t appear to be the smartest of moves, would it.
When he came to England to confront the Welshman, Jeff lost every minute of every round, despite having started favourite. It was a massacre. Lacy showed huge heart but didn’t have a clue how to contain Joe, let alone do anything effective offensively, and I’d say the last thing he needs to come his way is another slick, punishing southpaw. Maybe Tarver wouldn’t hand Jeff Lacy the kind of sustained battering that Calzaghe did, but I reckon he’d beat him out of sight just the same.
Good news for Jeff, though, is that Tarver now looks set to box IBF light heavy champ Clinton Woods in April as half of a tasty double feature, with Chad Dawson going against Glen Johnson for the WBC version.
One week after that, Joe Calzaghe debuts in the States against Bernard Hopkins in a fight that many will regard as being for the real light heavyweight championship of the world.
Sportsbook and other firms on both sides of the pond have installed the all-winning Calzaghe, who was most impressive dealing with Mikkel Kessler last time out, as a hot pick to beat Hopkins too. But have the odds makers got it right.
For me, Antonio Tarver is a lot like Joe Calzaghe. There are differences – Joe is quicker and more intense, Antonio the harder single hitter in my opinion – but the style wise similarities could be relevant in determining what happens when the Executioner meets the Pride of Wales.
Bernard Hopkins was a 3-1 underdog against Tarver back in 2006. Antonio himself was so cocky beforehand he bet Bernard 250 grand that he’d get rid of him inside six rounds.
As usual, though, Hopkins paid the betting line and other people’s expectations no heed, but just went in and did the deed. And how. Even the minority who had thought Bernard might win must have had their eyes popping at the measure of his superiority. Tarver getting beaten was a surprise, but he wasn’t just beaten, he was outclassed virtually throughout, and all the more embarrassed because he couldn’t do a thing about it.
Joe Calzaghe had better come well prepared.
A change of division could be beneficial if Lacy is having trouble making super middle, and it might freshen him up anyway given the jaded look he’s had since that Calzaghe beating, but aiming for Tarver wouldn’t appear to be the smartest of moves, would it.
When he came to England to confront the Welshman, Jeff lost every minute of every round, despite having started favourite. It was a massacre. Lacy showed huge heart but didn’t have a clue how to contain Joe, let alone do anything effective offensively, and I’d say the last thing he needs to come his way is another slick, punishing southpaw. Maybe Tarver wouldn’t hand Jeff Lacy the kind of sustained battering that Calzaghe did, but I reckon he’d beat him out of sight just the same.
Good news for Jeff, though, is that Tarver now looks set to box IBF light heavy champ Clinton Woods in April as half of a tasty double feature, with Chad Dawson going against Glen Johnson for the WBC version.
One week after that, Joe Calzaghe debuts in the States against Bernard Hopkins in a fight that many will regard as being for the real light heavyweight championship of the world.
Sportsbook and other firms on both sides of the pond have installed the all-winning Calzaghe, who was most impressive dealing with Mikkel Kessler last time out, as a hot pick to beat Hopkins too. But have the odds makers got it right.
For me, Antonio Tarver is a lot like Joe Calzaghe. There are differences – Joe is quicker and more intense, Antonio the harder single hitter in my opinion – but the style wise similarities could be relevant in determining what happens when the Executioner meets the Pride of Wales.
Bernard Hopkins was a 3-1 underdog against Tarver back in 2006. Antonio himself was so cocky beforehand he bet Bernard 250 grand that he’d get rid of him inside six rounds.
As usual, though, Hopkins paid the betting line and other people’s expectations no heed, but just went in and did the deed. And how. Even the minority who had thought Bernard might win must have had their eyes popping at the measure of his superiority. Tarver getting beaten was a surprise, but he wasn’t just beaten, he was outclassed virtually throughout, and all the more embarrassed because he couldn’t do a thing about it.
Joe Calzaghe had better come well prepared.
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Oscar's Last Stand
Now we know who Oscar De La Hoya will box on May 3rd in the first leg of his farewell treble, and the news is worse than I’d feared. I mean, what is the point of Oscar against Steve Forbes.
Forbes is a handy fighter who, seven years ago, had a two fight reign as IBF super featherweight champion, beating someone called John Brown for the vacant title then defending successfully against the same guy, but Steve has never done anything to suggest he’s a worthy foe for De La Hoya who, as well as being different class, is three inches taller and will go to work with a five inch reach advantage.
The only way Steve Forbes can possibly win this fight is if Oscar does no training and just starves himself to make 150 pounds which, apparently, is the limit agreed.
After De La Hoya has beaten Forbes and again lost to Mayweather, I now dread to think who they’ll come up with for his career finale in December. Let’s hope Oscar’s personal pride comes to the fore in the making of that decision. His legacy is safe, no matter what, but it will be more than a little sad if our last memory of De La Hoya the boxer is of him in the ring with somebody who clearly doesn’t belong there.
Forbes is a handy fighter who, seven years ago, had a two fight reign as IBF super featherweight champion, beating someone called John Brown for the vacant title then defending successfully against the same guy, but Steve has never done anything to suggest he’s a worthy foe for De La Hoya who, as well as being different class, is three inches taller and will go to work with a five inch reach advantage.
The only way Steve Forbes can possibly win this fight is if Oscar does no training and just starves himself to make 150 pounds which, apparently, is the limit agreed.
After De La Hoya has beaten Forbes and again lost to Mayweather, I now dread to think who they’ll come up with for his career finale in December. Let’s hope Oscar’s personal pride comes to the fore in the making of that decision. His legacy is safe, no matter what, but it will be more than a little sad if our last memory of De La Hoya the boxer is of him in the ring with somebody who clearly doesn’t belong there.
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Three More And Out
Looks like I might have jumped the gun regarding the future boxing career of Oscar De La Hoya. I suggested, and believed, that Oscar is no longer interested in being an active pro boxer, only in showing himself once a year in fights not designed to excite or affect the championship picture but just to hoover up maximum dollars.
His people are now saying that 2008 will see the Hall of Fame certainty box three times in what’s to be his final year in the ring. If that’s the case, fair enough. Depending, of course, on who Oscar is going to fight.
Seems a return bout with Floyd Mayweather is already pencilled in as the middle leg of that treble. If it happens, I’ll watch it because it’s there in front of me, but I’m not exactly tingling at the prospect, are you. Their first fight was something to savour in advance on account of being meaningful, a title match featuring high skills and big egos, with Floyd going for recognition as champ in a fifth weight class. Turned out to be less than a thriller, though, and while those skills and egos might still be in place the sense of anticipation is not there this time around.
Mayweather was quick to dump the belt he’d won from De La Hoya because he’s not a light middleweight and had no intention of boxing again in the 154 pounds division. Yet here he is, about to revisit that very ground. They’ll use the split decision in the first fight to sell the rematch as “Unfinished Business” or “Something to Prove,” but you and I know that this is about one thing only. Revenue. Even though anything can happen in the prize ring, I can’t see past a repeat of last time with Floyd safety-firsting his way to a points victory after twelve rounds of boxing that will again disappoint the masses. PPV buyers must surely suspect the same, but it won’t stop them spending their money, will it.
The only thing that really interests me in all this is who Oscar’s other two opponents will be. If they are fresh, ambitious fighters he hasn’t met before we’ll all have something to look forward to. But while it would be good to see De La Hoya bow out by taking on, and maybe defeating, some of today’s young blood I have bad vibes they’ll be digging out a couple of names from his back catalogue instead. Guys like Mosley and Trinidad, for instance. I just hope that’s another thing I’m wrong about.
His people are now saying that 2008 will see the Hall of Fame certainty box three times in what’s to be his final year in the ring. If that’s the case, fair enough. Depending, of course, on who Oscar is going to fight.
Seems a return bout with Floyd Mayweather is already pencilled in as the middle leg of that treble. If it happens, I’ll watch it because it’s there in front of me, but I’m not exactly tingling at the prospect, are you. Their first fight was something to savour in advance on account of being meaningful, a title match featuring high skills and big egos, with Floyd going for recognition as champ in a fifth weight class. Turned out to be less than a thriller, though, and while those skills and egos might still be in place the sense of anticipation is not there this time around.
Mayweather was quick to dump the belt he’d won from De La Hoya because he’s not a light middleweight and had no intention of boxing again in the 154 pounds division. Yet here he is, about to revisit that very ground. They’ll use the split decision in the first fight to sell the rematch as “Unfinished Business” or “Something to Prove,” but you and I know that this is about one thing only. Revenue. Even though anything can happen in the prize ring, I can’t see past a repeat of last time with Floyd safety-firsting his way to a points victory after twelve rounds of boxing that will again disappoint the masses. PPV buyers must surely suspect the same, but it won’t stop them spending their money, will it.
The only thing that really interests me in all this is who Oscar’s other two opponents will be. If they are fresh, ambitious fighters he hasn’t met before we’ll all have something to look forward to. But while it would be good to see De La Hoya bow out by taking on, and maybe defeating, some of today’s young blood I have bad vibes they’ll be digging out a couple of names from his back catalogue instead. Guys like Mosley and Trinidad, for instance. I just hope that’s another thing I’m wrong about.
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Got A Lotta Heart
Roy Jones enjoyed an easy win over Felix Trinidad last night but I wouldn’t get carried away or read too much into it regarding future ventures. Roy looked more than okay for a 39 year old but we all saw that Tito just can’t perform effectively, certainly not dynamically, at 170 pounds.
It was a close enough fight through six rounds but only because Trinidad was working hard while Jones coasted along, conserving energy and bursting into life now and then. It was quickly obvious there was just the one guy in there who could hurt the other. So even at halfway, when the boxers were tied on my card, there was already just the one guy who could go on and win. Barring accidents of course.
Highlight of the night, for spirit and endeavour anyway, was the Golota/Mollo heavyweight battle. Great stuff. Golota showed a bit of technical ability early on, until tiredness began to set in, but it was basically a tear up between men who were trying to overwhelm each other. In the end, size and strength made the difference.
Mike Mollo is one hell of a trier, isn’t he. His limitations were there to see in what was a big opportunity for him, but he never at any time got discouraged and was always looking for something to turn things his way even though the legs were gone for the last three or four rounds.
As for Golota, well, if there’s one thing you could always rely on him being, it’s unreliable. The big Pole can do the weirdest things. He inexplicably fouled out, not once but twice, against Riddick Bowe in fights he was winning, while other times Andrew has found himself in situations he didn’t like and just plain quit.
If Golota has proved mentally fragile in the past, though, there was nothing lacking in him last night. Not in the grit department. His left eye was shut tight through the second half of the fight, a wound that would have seen him anxious to bale out in bygone days, but there was no sign of that this time. Full credit to him. Full credit to both of them.
Andrew Golota is 40. Does he deserve yet another crack at the title? Probably not. But if he could replicate the commitment shown here I wouldn’t begrudge him one final big payday.
It was a close enough fight through six rounds but only because Trinidad was working hard while Jones coasted along, conserving energy and bursting into life now and then. It was quickly obvious there was just the one guy in there who could hurt the other. So even at halfway, when the boxers were tied on my card, there was already just the one guy who could go on and win. Barring accidents of course.
Highlight of the night, for spirit and endeavour anyway, was the Golota/Mollo heavyweight battle. Great stuff. Golota showed a bit of technical ability early on, until tiredness began to set in, but it was basically a tear up between men who were trying to overwhelm each other. In the end, size and strength made the difference.
Mike Mollo is one hell of a trier, isn’t he. His limitations were there to see in what was a big opportunity for him, but he never at any time got discouraged and was always looking for something to turn things his way even though the legs were gone for the last three or four rounds.
As for Golota, well, if there’s one thing you could always rely on him being, it’s unreliable. The big Pole can do the weirdest things. He inexplicably fouled out, not once but twice, against Riddick Bowe in fights he was winning, while other times Andrew has found himself in situations he didn’t like and just plain quit.
If Golota has proved mentally fragile in the past, though, there was nothing lacking in him last night. Not in the grit department. His left eye was shut tight through the second half of the fight, a wound that would have seen him anxious to bale out in bygone days, but there was no sign of that this time. Full credit to him. Full credit to both of them.
Andrew Golota is 40. Does he deserve yet another crack at the title? Probably not. But if he could replicate the commitment shown here I wouldn’t begrudge him one final big payday.
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Interim Strikes Again
Miguel Cotto had a terrific 2007. He defended his WBA welterweight title three times, all against proper fighters, and did that organization proud in the process.
He finally beat down Zab Judah in the 11th round of what had been a trademark Cotto thriller, while the bout with Shane Mosley, also in the Garden, was a box-fighting classic. The Puerto Rican just gets better and stronger with every outing.
Miguel is next scheduled to defend his title in Atlantic City in April against Alfonso Gomez. It’s a fight he’ll be expected to win but Gomez is a fast improving sort who brings Mexican grit to the fray and, as with every Cotto fight, those in attendance will get value for their ticket. And the WBA will again be seen in a good light on the strength of it.
So how does the WBA go about showing appreciation for its leading standard bearer, a man who continually gives its image such a boost. By insulting him, that’s how.
On the 8th of December, just thirty days after Miguel Cotto retained his WBA world welterweight title by defeating Shane Mosley in New York, a contest took place in France between Frenchman, Frederic Close, and Yuriy Nuzhnenko from Ukraine.
After twelve rounds of boxing Nuzhnenko got the decision but was announced as not just the winner but also “WBA interim welterweight champion of the world.” What the donald’s all that about?
There is, of course, no rational answer to the question. But there is an explanation. The WBA is run by lunatics. They should all be sectioned for their own good.
He finally beat down Zab Judah in the 11th round of what had been a trademark Cotto thriller, while the bout with Shane Mosley, also in the Garden, was a box-fighting classic. The Puerto Rican just gets better and stronger with every outing.
Miguel is next scheduled to defend his title in Atlantic City in April against Alfonso Gomez. It’s a fight he’ll be expected to win but Gomez is a fast improving sort who brings Mexican grit to the fray and, as with every Cotto fight, those in attendance will get value for their ticket. And the WBA will again be seen in a good light on the strength of it.
So how does the WBA go about showing appreciation for its leading standard bearer, a man who continually gives its image such a boost. By insulting him, that’s how.
On the 8th of December, just thirty days after Miguel Cotto retained his WBA world welterweight title by defeating Shane Mosley in New York, a contest took place in France between Frenchman, Frederic Close, and Yuriy Nuzhnenko from Ukraine.
After twelve rounds of boxing Nuzhnenko got the decision but was announced as not just the winner but also “WBA interim welterweight champion of the world.” What the donald’s all that about?
There is, of course, no rational answer to the question. But there is an explanation. The WBA is run by lunatics. They should all be sectioned for their own good.
Time For A Golden Goodbye
Oscar De La Hoya has been one of boxing’s great performers, and entertainers, of the last fifteen years. He fought them all, never ducked a soul, and was involved in some memorable battles. A real hero of the age. These days, though, it’s maybe time he stuck to Golden Boy Promotions and left the fighting to others.
Word is that Oscar will be doing a rematch with Floyd Mayweather in September. Their first fight was last May. It was De La Hoya’s only outing of 2007. He had just the one fight the previous year too, against Mayorga.
A trend has started, with money its sole motivator. There's an obvious danger that this could become the norm, each January bringing with it the question as to who will be Oscar’s opponent for the coming season, his annual appearance being not so much a fight, more a society event. Boxing’s contribution to the social calendar. No more, no less. No, thanks.
Word is that Oscar will be doing a rematch with Floyd Mayweather in September. Their first fight was last May. It was De La Hoya’s only outing of 2007. He had just the one fight the previous year too, against Mayorga.
A trend has started, with money its sole motivator. There's an obvious danger that this could become the norm, each January bringing with it the question as to who will be Oscar’s opponent for the coming season, his annual appearance being not so much a fight, more a society event. Boxing’s contribution to the social calendar. No more, no less. No, thanks.
Thursday, 17 January 2008
Backdated Champ To Be
Carl Froch and Denis Inkin are set to meet in a WBC final eliminator at super middle. Good to see two unbeaten fighters risking their unblemished records in a fight where the prize for the winner is, ostensibly, a mere crack at the world title and not the championship itself.
That could change, though, which is why this fight might actually happen and not be subject to a re-think and late withdrawal by one party or the other.
Seems unlikely that Joe Calzaghe will relinquish his super middleweight belts prior to meeting Bernard Hopkins. It figures Joe will want to carry those proud credentials into the ring with him on that night of nights, or at least be introduced as the champion of his own division. But once Calzaghe and Hopkins have done their business, I’d expect an abdication by the Welshman.
If Joe licks Bernard he’ll definitely dump his belts, won’t he. And even if Bernard beats Joe, I can’t see Calzaghe having enthusiasm enough for slipping back into the old super middle routine. All of which means that, when they meet on March 15th in Nottingham, Froch and Inkin are likely to be boxing for the WBC championship of the world after all, in reality if not by label. The winner will just have to wait a while for a retrospective crowning.
Denis Inkin stands at 32-0, with 24 stopped. That stacks up well compared to Froch’s 22-0, including 18 short jobs. On paper it has the makings of a gruelling match, and could turn out that way, but I strongly fancy Carl Froch to come out on top. Nottingham’s finest is a very heavy handed puncher, holds a good shot himself, has huge self belief, and you won’t see many more clinical finishers. And, yes, he has a touch of class too.
That could change, though, which is why this fight might actually happen and not be subject to a re-think and late withdrawal by one party or the other.
Seems unlikely that Joe Calzaghe will relinquish his super middleweight belts prior to meeting Bernard Hopkins. It figures Joe will want to carry those proud credentials into the ring with him on that night of nights, or at least be introduced as the champion of his own division. But once Calzaghe and Hopkins have done their business, I’d expect an abdication by the Welshman.
If Joe licks Bernard he’ll definitely dump his belts, won’t he. And even if Bernard beats Joe, I can’t see Calzaghe having enthusiasm enough for slipping back into the old super middle routine. All of which means that, when they meet on March 15th in Nottingham, Froch and Inkin are likely to be boxing for the WBC championship of the world after all, in reality if not by label. The winner will just have to wait a while for a retrospective crowning.
Denis Inkin stands at 32-0, with 24 stopped. That stacks up well compared to Froch’s 22-0, including 18 short jobs. On paper it has the makings of a gruelling match, and could turn out that way, but I strongly fancy Carl Froch to come out on top. Nottingham’s finest is a very heavy handed puncher, holds a good shot himself, has huge self belief, and you won’t see many more clinical finishers. And, yes, he has a touch of class too.
Precocious Khan Not Yet A Graduate
Promoter Frank Warren had asked the WBO to sanction Amir Khan against Martin Kristjansen as a world title eliminator, and it would have been a reasonable enough request given that Khan is currently at number six in their rankings while the Dane holds the two slot, but the fight is now off due to Kristjansen having flu.
Maybe it’s not such a bad thing. Before getting a title shot, Amir would benefit from getting to know what it’s like being in there with a world class pro, and he wasn’t going to experience that by sharing a ring with Martin Kristjansen.
Martin has been beaten only once but that’s not as impressive as it might sound. Last time out, he struggled to a split decision win in a six rounder against a guy with a 13-12-2 record. Prior to that Kristjansen managed only a draw over twelve rounds with Stefano Zoff, the forty year old shell of a once decent fighter who had briefly held the WBA title at the back end of last century.
Can you figure out how Martin Kristjansen has got himself so highly placed in a supposedly serious ranking list? Neither can I. I rather think that Khan, who doesn’t mess about, would have hammered him quickly.
Could be that Khan has reserved a similar fate for the Dane’s replacement, Gairy St Clair. But at least St Clair has solid credentials. He’s a former IBF super featherweight title holder and the five defeats he’s suffered in forty six bouts have all come against pretty good men.
Gairy boxed Diego Corrales, Vivian Harris and Leonard Dorin at a time when each of them was undefeated and heading for a world title, and they all had to settle for points. None of them could budge St Clair. Nor has anybody else.
That doesn’t mean he’ll survive against Amir Khan, though. Gairy St Clair is a tough and able veteran, and we know he’s game, but he’s much shorter than Amir and will be alarmingly outreached. St Clair has the ring nous to at least try a few things, if he’s allowed to get into the contest at all, but Khan is surely too fresh, too big, too strong, and too powerful. And too good.
Amir is a hell of a talent. Striking silver at the Athens Olympics as a seventeen year old was some achievement, and it would have turned to gold had he not had to face Mario Kindelan in the final. The great Cuban was likely the best pound for pound boxer in the whole tourney, and certainly one of the most experienced and celebrated. Khan lost that battle fair and square, but was coming to terms with things towards the end and finished strong, and when the pair met again in a special event at Bolton, Amir’s home town, it proved a different story. The fast improving youngster took a comfortable decision.
Khan hasn’t stopped improving since and is now a fully adapted, fiercely ambitious pro. A man in a hurry, who wants it all, and wants it pronto.
Looks like Frank Warren is giving in to that ambition. Warren wouldn’t, as a rule, want his fighters going from the shallow to the deep end without feeling the water in between, but maybe appropriate matches can’t be made. Maybe seasoned world class operators like Julio Diaz or Zaheer Rahim, either of whom would be an ideal next step, want too much money, or maybe those kind of guys just aren’t prepared to jeopardize their own positions by getting in the ring with Amir Khan. Maybe Khan has scared them all off.
In boxing, preparation is just about everything. The least way, it’s extremely important. Get your prep wrong and, more often than not, there’s trouble in store, no matter how much ability you might possess. Amir Khan has the tools, the power, and the heart to win a global title. That’s for sure. In my book anyway. It can’t be denied, though, that the quality of opponent Khan has faced thus far, with Gairy St Clair and possibly British champ Jonathan Thaxton yet to come, does not constitute a full and proper preparation for a fight against the lightweight champion of the world.
Maybe it’s not such a bad thing. Before getting a title shot, Amir would benefit from getting to know what it’s like being in there with a world class pro, and he wasn’t going to experience that by sharing a ring with Martin Kristjansen.
Martin has been beaten only once but that’s not as impressive as it might sound. Last time out, he struggled to a split decision win in a six rounder against a guy with a 13-12-2 record. Prior to that Kristjansen managed only a draw over twelve rounds with Stefano Zoff, the forty year old shell of a once decent fighter who had briefly held the WBA title at the back end of last century.
Can you figure out how Martin Kristjansen has got himself so highly placed in a supposedly serious ranking list? Neither can I. I rather think that Khan, who doesn’t mess about, would have hammered him quickly.
Could be that Khan has reserved a similar fate for the Dane’s replacement, Gairy St Clair. But at least St Clair has solid credentials. He’s a former IBF super featherweight title holder and the five defeats he’s suffered in forty six bouts have all come against pretty good men.
Gairy boxed Diego Corrales, Vivian Harris and Leonard Dorin at a time when each of them was undefeated and heading for a world title, and they all had to settle for points. None of them could budge St Clair. Nor has anybody else.
That doesn’t mean he’ll survive against Amir Khan, though. Gairy St Clair is a tough and able veteran, and we know he’s game, but he’s much shorter than Amir and will be alarmingly outreached. St Clair has the ring nous to at least try a few things, if he’s allowed to get into the contest at all, but Khan is surely too fresh, too big, too strong, and too powerful. And too good.
Amir is a hell of a talent. Striking silver at the Athens Olympics as a seventeen year old was some achievement, and it would have turned to gold had he not had to face Mario Kindelan in the final. The great Cuban was likely the best pound for pound boxer in the whole tourney, and certainly one of the most experienced and celebrated. Khan lost that battle fair and square, but was coming to terms with things towards the end and finished strong, and when the pair met again in a special event at Bolton, Amir’s home town, it proved a different story. The fast improving youngster took a comfortable decision.
Khan hasn’t stopped improving since and is now a fully adapted, fiercely ambitious pro. A man in a hurry, who wants it all, and wants it pronto.
Looks like Frank Warren is giving in to that ambition. Warren wouldn’t, as a rule, want his fighters going from the shallow to the deep end without feeling the water in between, but maybe appropriate matches can’t be made. Maybe seasoned world class operators like Julio Diaz or Zaheer Rahim, either of whom would be an ideal next step, want too much money, or maybe those kind of guys just aren’t prepared to jeopardize their own positions by getting in the ring with Amir Khan. Maybe Khan has scared them all off.
In boxing, preparation is just about everything. The least way, it’s extremely important. Get your prep wrong and, more often than not, there’s trouble in store, no matter how much ability you might possess. Amir Khan has the tools, the power, and the heart to win a global title. That’s for sure. In my book anyway. It can’t be denied, though, that the quality of opponent Khan has faced thus far, with Gairy St Clair and possibly British champ Jonathan Thaxton yet to come, does not constitute a full and proper preparation for a fight against the lightweight champion of the world.
Friday, 11 January 2008
Anthony Mundine - Champion Dreamer
Anthony Mundine, according to himself, is going to be a boxing superstar. Vivid imagination at work there. Mundine is a decent box-fighter sure enough, but celestial status is not something he’s destined for unless he gets a ride on a rocket.
Six years ago, Mundine went to Germany to challenge Sven Ottke for the IBF super middleweight title. Ottke was a stay at home champ who never performed outside of Germany in a title match and didn’t have the style to excite, and those two things will probably ensure that he’s not fondly remembered except in his homeland despite bowing out of the game with a 100% winning record.
There’s no doubt that Sven was a slick, slippery boxer. You have to give him credit for that. He fiddled his way through fight after fight, boring the neutrals rigid in the doing but getting the right result every time. Ottke was no kind of puncher, though; a mere six stoppage wins included in his total of thirty four. Even Tocker Pudwill, a guy with no pretensions to world class who shouldn’t have been in a championship ring at all, had little trouble in taking Ottke the full dozen.
Not so Anthony Mundine. In the tenth round of his title try the Aussie got stretched out on the floor like a Persian masterpiece and had to be taken to hospital amidst much concern. Thankfully, Anthony was okay, but the defeat couldn’t have been more conclusive.
After Sven Ottke had gone on to take a decision over WBA champ Byron Mitchell and unify the IBF and WBA titles, the WBA wasn’t long in stripping Ottke of his new crown, or rather promoting him to the mantle of “super champion,” which amounted to the same thing because that action enabled them to declare their “world” title vacant.
Anthony Mundine and Antwun Echols were nominated to dispute the vacancy. Mundine won, and so became recognized by the WBA as super middleweight champion of the world even though he’d been poleaxed by Sven Ottke who had properly won that same title himself and hadn’t relinquished it. For want of a better word, because there isn’t one, Anthony’s coronation in those circumstances could only be described as ludicrous.
Having beaten Echols in a so called title fight, and then been floored before defeating the not-very-good Japanese, Yoshinori Nishizawa, in a so called title defence, Mundine did then find himself in what was a genuine WBA championship match, however, because his clash with Manny Siaca took place a short time after Sven Ottke retired from boxing.
Given that opportunity, Mundine still didn’t get to prove himself a champ, although he did come fairly close. He was again decked early before going on to lose a points decision in a fight that saw the two men operating on pretty much the same level, something that was put in perspective when Manny Siaca lost his title first time up. Faced by a real top class pug in Mikkel Kessler, Manny took a beating and stayed glued to his stool at the bell for round eight.
Not surprising then that, when he travelled down under to make his own first defence against none other than Anthony Mundine, Kessler helped himself to a wide margin win. Anthony did his best but his best couldn’t cope with the Dane. There was a gulf in class.
Just sixteen months later, though, Kessler inadvertently put Mundine back in business by knocking out Markus Beyer in a unification bout, thereby adding the WBC belt to his WBA version. Déjà vu. As had been the case with Sven Ottke, the WBA played the super champ card, giving Mikkel that silly label so as to free up space below, space it agreed should be filled by a face off between Anthony Mundine and another Aussie, Sam Soliman.
Mundine beat Soliman and so, yet again, became WBA super middle champ despite having been outclassed by Mikkel Kessler, that organisation’s true champion who had not given up their title and who continued to defend it until defeated by Joe Calzaghe in what was universally recognized as a triple title unifier.
Boxing being what it is, none of that seems a bother to Anthony Mundine, nor to the WBA which has clearly taken a shine to the man from Oz. Since stopping Soliman, Anthony has accommodated two nondescript Argentinians and next month reverts to his own kind when making the third defence of his current “reign” against compatriot, Nader Hamdan, a guy that most fight fans have probably never heard of. Mundine could defend what he’s got as many times as he likes against that kind of lower grade opponent and still not be a real champion. Period.
Anthony will become a world champ, however, if Joe Calzaghe dumps his three belts in advance of the Hopkins fight. In that event, different pairings would no doubt fight it out for the WBC and WBO titles but the WBA, given how it now functions, would certainly give Mundine the full nod straight away, albeit a legitimacy bestowed on him without his having had to beat a top class opponent to merit it. A gift, in fact.
Position earned or not, should Anthony Mundine suddenly find himself to be the WBA’s sole acknowledged super middleweight champion of the world, chances are he’ll then have to mix again in the kind of hot company that was too much for him in the past.
It would mean possible unification business with unbeaten IBF king, Lucian Bute, or whoever ends up wearing the WBC and WBO crowns. Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, Jurgen Brahmer. That kind of guy.
My expectation is that Mundine would fail again. He’s not untalented but there’s a brittleness there and it’s hard to see him coming out on top if pitted against any of the named gentlemen.
That said, if Anthony did go into the ring as WBA champion and lost to a rival standard bearer from one of those other bodies, it wouldn’t be a terminal blow to his career. We now know that, in such a circumstance, victory would see that rival acclaimed as a super champ, which would of course leave the mere world title itself, WBA style, once more up for grabs.
Two boxers would be nominated by the WBA to contest that dubious honour. One can only speculate as to who the second of the two might be.
Six years ago, Mundine went to Germany to challenge Sven Ottke for the IBF super middleweight title. Ottke was a stay at home champ who never performed outside of Germany in a title match and didn’t have the style to excite, and those two things will probably ensure that he’s not fondly remembered except in his homeland despite bowing out of the game with a 100% winning record.
There’s no doubt that Sven was a slick, slippery boxer. You have to give him credit for that. He fiddled his way through fight after fight, boring the neutrals rigid in the doing but getting the right result every time. Ottke was no kind of puncher, though; a mere six stoppage wins included in his total of thirty four. Even Tocker Pudwill, a guy with no pretensions to world class who shouldn’t have been in a championship ring at all, had little trouble in taking Ottke the full dozen.
Not so Anthony Mundine. In the tenth round of his title try the Aussie got stretched out on the floor like a Persian masterpiece and had to be taken to hospital amidst much concern. Thankfully, Anthony was okay, but the defeat couldn’t have been more conclusive.
After Sven Ottke had gone on to take a decision over WBA champ Byron Mitchell and unify the IBF and WBA titles, the WBA wasn’t long in stripping Ottke of his new crown, or rather promoting him to the mantle of “super champion,” which amounted to the same thing because that action enabled them to declare their “world” title vacant.
Anthony Mundine and Antwun Echols were nominated to dispute the vacancy. Mundine won, and so became recognized by the WBA as super middleweight champion of the world even though he’d been poleaxed by Sven Ottke who had properly won that same title himself and hadn’t relinquished it. For want of a better word, because there isn’t one, Anthony’s coronation in those circumstances could only be described as ludicrous.
Having beaten Echols in a so called title fight, and then been floored before defeating the not-very-good Japanese, Yoshinori Nishizawa, in a so called title defence, Mundine did then find himself in what was a genuine WBA championship match, however, because his clash with Manny Siaca took place a short time after Sven Ottke retired from boxing.
Given that opportunity, Mundine still didn’t get to prove himself a champ, although he did come fairly close. He was again decked early before going on to lose a points decision in a fight that saw the two men operating on pretty much the same level, something that was put in perspective when Manny Siaca lost his title first time up. Faced by a real top class pug in Mikkel Kessler, Manny took a beating and stayed glued to his stool at the bell for round eight.
Not surprising then that, when he travelled down under to make his own first defence against none other than Anthony Mundine, Kessler helped himself to a wide margin win. Anthony did his best but his best couldn’t cope with the Dane. There was a gulf in class.
Just sixteen months later, though, Kessler inadvertently put Mundine back in business by knocking out Markus Beyer in a unification bout, thereby adding the WBC belt to his WBA version. Déjà vu. As had been the case with Sven Ottke, the WBA played the super champ card, giving Mikkel that silly label so as to free up space below, space it agreed should be filled by a face off between Anthony Mundine and another Aussie, Sam Soliman.
Mundine beat Soliman and so, yet again, became WBA super middle champ despite having been outclassed by Mikkel Kessler, that organisation’s true champion who had not given up their title and who continued to defend it until defeated by Joe Calzaghe in what was universally recognized as a triple title unifier.
Boxing being what it is, none of that seems a bother to Anthony Mundine, nor to the WBA which has clearly taken a shine to the man from Oz. Since stopping Soliman, Anthony has accommodated two nondescript Argentinians and next month reverts to his own kind when making the third defence of his current “reign” against compatriot, Nader Hamdan, a guy that most fight fans have probably never heard of. Mundine could defend what he’s got as many times as he likes against that kind of lower grade opponent and still not be a real champion. Period.
Anthony will become a world champ, however, if Joe Calzaghe dumps his three belts in advance of the Hopkins fight. In that event, different pairings would no doubt fight it out for the WBC and WBO titles but the WBA, given how it now functions, would certainly give Mundine the full nod straight away, albeit a legitimacy bestowed on him without his having had to beat a top class opponent to merit it. A gift, in fact.
Position earned or not, should Anthony Mundine suddenly find himself to be the WBA’s sole acknowledged super middleweight champion of the world, chances are he’ll then have to mix again in the kind of hot company that was too much for him in the past.
It would mean possible unification business with unbeaten IBF king, Lucian Bute, or whoever ends up wearing the WBC and WBO crowns. Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, Jurgen Brahmer. That kind of guy.
My expectation is that Mundine would fail again. He’s not untalented but there’s a brittleness there and it’s hard to see him coming out on top if pitted against any of the named gentlemen.
That said, if Anthony did go into the ring as WBA champion and lost to a rival standard bearer from one of those other bodies, it wouldn’t be a terminal blow to his career. We now know that, in such a circumstance, victory would see that rival acclaimed as a super champ, which would of course leave the mere world title itself, WBA style, once more up for grabs.
Two boxers would be nominated by the WBA to contest that dubious honour. One can only speculate as to who the second of the two might be.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
No Oscar For Cotto, Please
Talk has been rife that Miguel Cotto wants to fight Oscar De La Hoya. Understandable. There’s big money in that direction. But I, for one, hope the talk comes to nothing and we get to see Cotto in the ring with Paul Williams instead.
Floyd Mayweather has best claim to the welterweight title. I’d argue loudly with anyone who says otherwise. Cotto, though, has been making a pretty good case for himself all the same, and he certainly deserves an opportunity to face the Pretty Boy for the top spot, but it’s just not going to happen, is it. Not in the foreseeable. Floyd is set on taking a break and while I don’t doubt he’ll box again it could be a whole year, maybe more, before the next time.
That’s no good for the sport. To thrive, boxing needs continuity, and if Floyd Mayweather is long term inactive – but not officially retired – and Cotto opts to wait for what would surely be a summer or late summer fight with Oscar, who we can be sure won’t boil down to 147 pounds, the welterweight division will be in a state of stagnation.
Paul Williams did a job on Antonio Margarito for the WBO crown and has the tools and the awkwardness to give anybody problems, and I fancy that he and Cotto would be a terrific fight. And, with Mayweather dormant, any fair minded watcher would consider Cotto against Williams to be a bona fide championship bout.
Regarding the Williams v Margarito battle, what I couldn’t figure was the number of scribes who saw it as a win for the Mexican. Still can’t figure it. I admire Margarito. I love his spirit and grind ‘em down attitude, that willingness to walk through fire and not get discouraged, but I couldn’t make a case for him in that contest.
I thought it was an easy enough fight to score. Judging it strictly by the book, on the number of rounds won by each boxer, it was Paul’s fight. He won more sessions than Antonio did. That simple. Marking them all 10-9, standard procedure in a fight with no knockdowns, had it plainly in Williams’ favour for me, but I saw his victory as more emphatic than was indicated by the bare arithmetic because Paul had overwhelming superiority in several of those early rounds while Margarito, when he finally got competitive, only edged the ones that went his way. And Williams, fresher and stronger at the death, finished with a bit of a flourish to take the last.
Paul Williams boxes on Miguel Cotto’s home turf in Puerto Rico next month. Even though he’ll be defending his WBO title against local, Carlos Quintana, Williams’ presence there is a way of getting in Cotto’s face, figuratively speaking, and hopefully that might incline Miguel towards fighting Paul rather than Oscar.
Wishful thinking? Maybe, but if Williams does a spectacular job on Quintana, whose only career loss was a five rounds stoppage to Cotto himself, the Puerto Ricans en masse might well start a clamour for Miguel to sort him out. That could be enough to seal it. You get the feeling that Miguel Cotto would do anything to make his people happy.
Floyd Mayweather has best claim to the welterweight title. I’d argue loudly with anyone who says otherwise. Cotto, though, has been making a pretty good case for himself all the same, and he certainly deserves an opportunity to face the Pretty Boy for the top spot, but it’s just not going to happen, is it. Not in the foreseeable. Floyd is set on taking a break and while I don’t doubt he’ll box again it could be a whole year, maybe more, before the next time.
That’s no good for the sport. To thrive, boxing needs continuity, and if Floyd Mayweather is long term inactive – but not officially retired – and Cotto opts to wait for what would surely be a summer or late summer fight with Oscar, who we can be sure won’t boil down to 147 pounds, the welterweight division will be in a state of stagnation.
Paul Williams did a job on Antonio Margarito for the WBO crown and has the tools and the awkwardness to give anybody problems, and I fancy that he and Cotto would be a terrific fight. And, with Mayweather dormant, any fair minded watcher would consider Cotto against Williams to be a bona fide championship bout.
Regarding the Williams v Margarito battle, what I couldn’t figure was the number of scribes who saw it as a win for the Mexican. Still can’t figure it. I admire Margarito. I love his spirit and grind ‘em down attitude, that willingness to walk through fire and not get discouraged, but I couldn’t make a case for him in that contest.
I thought it was an easy enough fight to score. Judging it strictly by the book, on the number of rounds won by each boxer, it was Paul’s fight. He won more sessions than Antonio did. That simple. Marking them all 10-9, standard procedure in a fight with no knockdowns, had it plainly in Williams’ favour for me, but I saw his victory as more emphatic than was indicated by the bare arithmetic because Paul had overwhelming superiority in several of those early rounds while Margarito, when he finally got competitive, only edged the ones that went his way. And Williams, fresher and stronger at the death, finished with a bit of a flourish to take the last.
Paul Williams boxes on Miguel Cotto’s home turf in Puerto Rico next month. Even though he’ll be defending his WBO title against local, Carlos Quintana, Williams’ presence there is a way of getting in Cotto’s face, figuratively speaking, and hopefully that might incline Miguel towards fighting Paul rather than Oscar.
Wishful thinking? Maybe, but if Williams does a spectacular job on Quintana, whose only career loss was a five rounds stoppage to Cotto himself, the Puerto Ricans en masse might well start a clamour for Miguel to sort him out. That could be enough to seal it. You get the feeling that Miguel Cotto would do anything to make his people happy.
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
Fighting Irish
Fair play to John Duddy for getting the nod over Howard Eastman last time out. It’s the first time in 23 unbeaten fights that he’s been asked to face somebody who used to have real ability and still retains some semblance of it.
I haven’t seen the fight so can’t comment on the action but with a packed King’s Hall in Belfast roaring him on and Irish ref Sean Russell, as sole arbiter, giving him just a two rounds edge, 96-94, I have the feeling that that’s the best he was worth. Which is to say Duddy has now shown himself capable of battling on even terms, or little more, with a guy who was 37 years old on the night and had previously lost his British middleweight crown to so-so Wayne Elcock, the Brummie who subsequently got butchered in five rounds of a try for Arthur Abraham’s IBF crown.
John Duddy is a decent fighter, and a 100% trier, but surely a true world aspirant should have demonstrated emphatic supremacy over what Howard Eastman now is. All considered, it seems John barely got the better of him.
Maybe that’s why they haven’t gone for anyone too taxing next time up but chosen, in Matt Vanda, the same calibre of fighter Duddy has got accustomed to facing. That’s for the Garden in February and, on the face of it, is a marking time fight while they wait for that big money crack at Kelly Pavlik which is supposed to be in the bag.
Someone who doesn’t see it that way, apparently, is Manny Steward. Steward has mischievously wondered aloud whether Team Duddy are really prepared to risk their man in top company, notwithstanding the Pavlik talk, while at the same time stating that his own boxer, Andy Lee, will take on any middleweight in the world.
Lee, Ireland’s 2004 Olympian, has scorched his way to 14-0 as a pro and comparisons with Duddy can’t be avoided, can they. Maybe Steward’s words don’t amount to an immediate challenge but he’s clearly laying the groundwork for a Lee v Duddy clash further down the line, preferably while both men are still undefeated.
I have to say I’m surprised that Manny is willing for Lee to be matched high right now because he hasn’t been tested at all in his paid career to date, but I do know Steward was taken with Andy’s potential from the start and is really sweet on his chances of becoming a champ. If the trainer is ready to turn him loose against the top brass, at this early career stage, Lee must have shown Manny things in the gym that he hasn’t had the chance to show us in public, most of his outings having been so brief and, or, one sided.
Despite Manny Steward’s endorsement, though, I still wouldn’t put my faith in Andy Lee until he’s been in at least one proper fight, but even now I can visualize the possibility of this 23 year old going on to great things. He’s tall, skilled, and a sharp, stinging puncher who has the scope to become very good indeed.
Far greater scope than John Duddy possesses. That’s my view anyway. From this, and things I’ve said in the past, it might look to some that I have a permanent downer on the man from Derry, but that’s not the case. Duddy can fight. Of course he can. He could probably beat most middleweights, and probably believes he can beat them all, but by my reckoning he’s just too pedestrian to bother boxers of the highest class. If events prove me wrong, then so be it. I’ve been wrong before. A few hundred times and counting.
As things stand, though, the only way I can see John becoming world champ is if Kelly Pavlik goes up to super middle after his catch weights rematch with Jermain Taylor. It would leave the WBC and WBO titles vacant and the WBO bauble would then be within Duddy’s reach because that sad organization, in its wisdom, has somehow got Gary Lockett of Wales ranked number one contender with John right behind him in second slot.
In the event of Pavlik’s defection, Lockett and Duddy would no doubt be glad to box each other for WBO recognition as his successor, but it would be a fake title, wouldn’t it. I mean, anybody who’d accept the winner of that pairing as true middleweight champion of the world really ought to consult a head doctor.
Might be best for John Duddy if things do work out that way, though. I reckon Pavlik will pulverize him if Duddy gets to go for the real prize, and John would meet a similar fate, in my opinion, were he to tangle with Arthur Abraham. So, while winning a WBO vacancy by the means mentioned wouldn’t prove much, it would nevertheless be a bargaining tool and Duddy could cash in on it without having to go near people like Pavlik and Abraham, not for a while anyway. And the prospect of a fight with Andy Lee under that banner would still be huge for Irish boxing.
Nobody loves a fight more than the Irish and the Emerald Isle probably hasn’t had a real top fight between two of its own since fierce bantam rivals Freddie Gilroy and Johnny Caldwell got together 45 years ago. It’s about time they had another, isn’t it.
Lee against Duddy would have Belfast’s King’s Hall or the National Stadium in Dublin rocking, and a fight between them would attract international interest too, even without a "championship" label, given Duddy’s high ranking and Lee’s growing reputation. As a fight it would be one to savour. Maybe late summer will see it happen.
I haven’t seen the fight so can’t comment on the action but with a packed King’s Hall in Belfast roaring him on and Irish ref Sean Russell, as sole arbiter, giving him just a two rounds edge, 96-94, I have the feeling that that’s the best he was worth. Which is to say Duddy has now shown himself capable of battling on even terms, or little more, with a guy who was 37 years old on the night and had previously lost his British middleweight crown to so-so Wayne Elcock, the Brummie who subsequently got butchered in five rounds of a try for Arthur Abraham’s IBF crown.
John Duddy is a decent fighter, and a 100% trier, but surely a true world aspirant should have demonstrated emphatic supremacy over what Howard Eastman now is. All considered, it seems John barely got the better of him.
Maybe that’s why they haven’t gone for anyone too taxing next time up but chosen, in Matt Vanda, the same calibre of fighter Duddy has got accustomed to facing. That’s for the Garden in February and, on the face of it, is a marking time fight while they wait for that big money crack at Kelly Pavlik which is supposed to be in the bag.
Someone who doesn’t see it that way, apparently, is Manny Steward. Steward has mischievously wondered aloud whether Team Duddy are really prepared to risk their man in top company, notwithstanding the Pavlik talk, while at the same time stating that his own boxer, Andy Lee, will take on any middleweight in the world.
Lee, Ireland’s 2004 Olympian, has scorched his way to 14-0 as a pro and comparisons with Duddy can’t be avoided, can they. Maybe Steward’s words don’t amount to an immediate challenge but he’s clearly laying the groundwork for a Lee v Duddy clash further down the line, preferably while both men are still undefeated.
I have to say I’m surprised that Manny is willing for Lee to be matched high right now because he hasn’t been tested at all in his paid career to date, but I do know Steward was taken with Andy’s potential from the start and is really sweet on his chances of becoming a champ. If the trainer is ready to turn him loose against the top brass, at this early career stage, Lee must have shown Manny things in the gym that he hasn’t had the chance to show us in public, most of his outings having been so brief and, or, one sided.
Despite Manny Steward’s endorsement, though, I still wouldn’t put my faith in Andy Lee until he’s been in at least one proper fight, but even now I can visualize the possibility of this 23 year old going on to great things. He’s tall, skilled, and a sharp, stinging puncher who has the scope to become very good indeed.
Far greater scope than John Duddy possesses. That’s my view anyway. From this, and things I’ve said in the past, it might look to some that I have a permanent downer on the man from Derry, but that’s not the case. Duddy can fight. Of course he can. He could probably beat most middleweights, and probably believes he can beat them all, but by my reckoning he’s just too pedestrian to bother boxers of the highest class. If events prove me wrong, then so be it. I’ve been wrong before. A few hundred times and counting.
As things stand, though, the only way I can see John becoming world champ is if Kelly Pavlik goes up to super middle after his catch weights rematch with Jermain Taylor. It would leave the WBC and WBO titles vacant and the WBO bauble would then be within Duddy’s reach because that sad organization, in its wisdom, has somehow got Gary Lockett of Wales ranked number one contender with John right behind him in second slot.
In the event of Pavlik’s defection, Lockett and Duddy would no doubt be glad to box each other for WBO recognition as his successor, but it would be a fake title, wouldn’t it. I mean, anybody who’d accept the winner of that pairing as true middleweight champion of the world really ought to consult a head doctor.
Might be best for John Duddy if things do work out that way, though. I reckon Pavlik will pulverize him if Duddy gets to go for the real prize, and John would meet a similar fate, in my opinion, were he to tangle with Arthur Abraham. So, while winning a WBO vacancy by the means mentioned wouldn’t prove much, it would nevertheless be a bargaining tool and Duddy could cash in on it without having to go near people like Pavlik and Abraham, not for a while anyway. And the prospect of a fight with Andy Lee under that banner would still be huge for Irish boxing.
Nobody loves a fight more than the Irish and the Emerald Isle probably hasn’t had a real top fight between two of its own since fierce bantam rivals Freddie Gilroy and Johnny Caldwell got together 45 years ago. It’s about time they had another, isn’t it.
Lee against Duddy would have Belfast’s King’s Hall or the National Stadium in Dublin rocking, and a fight between them would attract international interest too, even without a "championship" label, given Duddy’s high ranking and Lee’s growing reputation. As a fight it would be one to savour. Maybe late summer will see it happen.
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