Monday, 30 June 2008
How To Avoid A Fight But Beat Somebody Up
Watching Manny Pacquiao go to work on David Diaz was pretty much déjà vu to anybody who’d seen Joe Calzaghe destroy Jeff Lacy except that Diaz, unlike Lacy, didn’t make it to the last bell.
Manny wasn’t perfect in this fight, because perfect isn’t possible, but he came close. It was a terrific performance. It was also a template for Amir Khan to study.
Against a strong, determined, and incredibly brave opponent who could have been dangerous, given the chance, Pacquiao didn’t allow that to happen. David needed Manny to lock horns and just trade away but the Filipino was much too cute to oblige him.
Whereas Amir Khan had let the machismo bug sucker his brain and have him go toe to toe with slugger Michael Gomez instead of looking to outbox him, Pacquiao demonstrated exactly how to deal with an aggressive, never-say-die fighter. Manny used speed and movement, not a mad tear up strategy, yet still handed out an incessant beating, and without having to take too much in return. Brilliant stuff.
Amir Khan is headstrong and desperately wants to please, so keeps giving into that impulse in the ring, but boxing clever is the way to thrive at top level. Khan’s camp should spend time drumming home the message because this is a boy with outstanding talent and it would be a hell of a shame if he falls short through lack of discipline.
Nothing would make the point better than to have Amir watch the Pacquiao-Diaz tape over and over.
Manny wasn’t perfect in this fight, because perfect isn’t possible, but he came close. It was a terrific performance. It was also a template for Amir Khan to study.
Against a strong, determined, and incredibly brave opponent who could have been dangerous, given the chance, Pacquiao didn’t allow that to happen. David needed Manny to lock horns and just trade away but the Filipino was much too cute to oblige him.
Whereas Amir Khan had let the machismo bug sucker his brain and have him go toe to toe with slugger Michael Gomez instead of looking to outbox him, Pacquiao demonstrated exactly how to deal with an aggressive, never-say-die fighter. Manny used speed and movement, not a mad tear up strategy, yet still handed out an incessant beating, and without having to take too much in return. Brilliant stuff.
Amir Khan is headstrong and desperately wants to please, so keeps giving into that impulse in the ring, but boxing clever is the way to thrive at top level. Khan’s camp should spend time drumming home the message because this is a boy with outstanding talent and it would be a hell of a shame if he falls short through lack of discipline.
Nothing would make the point better than to have Amir watch the Pacquiao-Diaz tape over and over.
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Not So Easy Does It
I knew last night’s Amir Khan fight was going to be exciting while it lasted but hadn’t allowed due credit to Michael Gomez’ ability to absorb punishment and keep pressing forward.
The Mancunian’s chin didn’t let him down, and nor did his heart. He just got worn out by a combination of his own frenzied efforts and the torrent of punches he had to take in every round before ref John Keane called it over in the fifth.
Khan didn’t learn anything new here as regards boxing. It was a fresh experience for him, though, to have to go through such a war, with its claustrophobic aspect, against a man who just wouldn’t leave him alone. If the fight had ended in the opening round, as seemed likely when Gomez went down, there would have been nothing to justify this match but Michael’s desire and determination gave us a battle to remember, and so made the exercise worthwhile.
Gomez really believed he could win, and fought like it, and he had the satisfaction of dropping Amir with a left hook in round two. It was fair reward for his unrelenting pursuit, and I suppose it squared things up at that point, arithmetically speaking, but Khan wasn’t in real trouble, got straight up, and reacted to the knockdown as he had in the Limond fight by going on the attack.
Amir’s worst moment came in the fourth when Gomez hit him with a perfect body punch round the side, below the right elbow. It was a full power shot, the kind that Ricky Hatton used to immobilize Castillo, and could easily have been a fight ender, but the badly hurt Khan somehow coped and stayed upright. Not many fighters could field pain like that without taking a knee at the very least, yet Khan not only kept on his feet but within seconds was driving Gomez across the ring. There’s still a question mark about Amir’s chin but the kid has terrific spirit to go with all that talent.
When Khan himself went to the body in round five, Gomez dropped for a count, and Amir’s follow up barrage was enough for ref Keane who timed his intervention just right.
Having watched Amir come through emphatically, but not without a problem or two, Frank Warren said Khan still needs a couple or three fights before making a world bid. With Khan only 21 and still short on experience, that seems the sensible way to go, depending of course on just who those fights are going to be against. Domestic opposition has to be ruled out from now on, surely, and European opposition too unless it’s Yuri Romanov.
All we know for sure is that Amir Khan is scheduled to box next on September 6th. If Frank Warren really is talking a continued learning process for the Commonwealth lightweight champ there has to be a transatlantic face in the other corner next time, doesn’t there. If that’s not the case, and it’s not Romanov either, we might start to wonder what exactly is going on.
The Mancunian’s chin didn’t let him down, and nor did his heart. He just got worn out by a combination of his own frenzied efforts and the torrent of punches he had to take in every round before ref John Keane called it over in the fifth.
Khan didn’t learn anything new here as regards boxing. It was a fresh experience for him, though, to have to go through such a war, with its claustrophobic aspect, against a man who just wouldn’t leave him alone. If the fight had ended in the opening round, as seemed likely when Gomez went down, there would have been nothing to justify this match but Michael’s desire and determination gave us a battle to remember, and so made the exercise worthwhile.
Gomez really believed he could win, and fought like it, and he had the satisfaction of dropping Amir with a left hook in round two. It was fair reward for his unrelenting pursuit, and I suppose it squared things up at that point, arithmetically speaking, but Khan wasn’t in real trouble, got straight up, and reacted to the knockdown as he had in the Limond fight by going on the attack.
Amir’s worst moment came in the fourth when Gomez hit him with a perfect body punch round the side, below the right elbow. It was a full power shot, the kind that Ricky Hatton used to immobilize Castillo, and could easily have been a fight ender, but the badly hurt Khan somehow coped and stayed upright. Not many fighters could field pain like that without taking a knee at the very least, yet Khan not only kept on his feet but within seconds was driving Gomez across the ring. There’s still a question mark about Amir’s chin but the kid has terrific spirit to go with all that talent.
When Khan himself went to the body in round five, Gomez dropped for a count, and Amir’s follow up barrage was enough for ref Keane who timed his intervention just right.
Having watched Amir come through emphatically, but not without a problem or two, Frank Warren said Khan still needs a couple or three fights before making a world bid. With Khan only 21 and still short on experience, that seems the sensible way to go, depending of course on just who those fights are going to be against. Domestic opposition has to be ruled out from now on, surely, and European opposition too unless it’s Yuri Romanov.
All we know for sure is that Amir Khan is scheduled to box next on September 6th. If Frank Warren really is talking a continued learning process for the Commonwealth lightweight champ there has to be a transatlantic face in the other corner next time, doesn’t there. If that’s not the case, and it’s not Romanov either, we might start to wonder what exactly is going on.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Get It On
Enzo Calzaghe has been keeping quiet this week. Hardly surprising. He had said that Kelly Pavlik’s people would wake up on Sunday morning and wonder where it all went wrong, but, as it turned out, things couldn’t have gone more right for the middleweight champion in his brief defence against Gary Lockett.
Promoter Frank Warren isn’t doing the silent bit, though. After watching Pavlik destroy the Welshman, Warren says – with regard to the possibility of a Pavlik v Joe Calzaghe match – that he’s not convinced Kelly is in the same class as Joe.
Frank also wonders what will happen with Pavlik when someone puts pressure on him.
Seems strange that a guy like Warren, who spent the second half of the weekend being inducted into Boxing’s Hall of Fame at Canastota, has so little knowledge of what’s been going on in the middleweight division these past couple of years. He can’t have been keeping much of an eye on it, can he. Kelly Pavlik was dropped early by Fulgencio Zuniga and Jermain Taylor in fights where he sampled real heat, but came on to secure knockouts in both, and who can say his winning battles against Jose Luis Zertuche and Edison Miranda weren’t brutally demanding. Pavlik has shown himself to thrive on pressure.
Kelly’s two wins over Jermain had great merit. The first Pavlik v Taylor bout was one of the great middleweight championship fights, and the catchweights rematch was top class boxing too. Frank Warren claims to be not particularly impressed, though, and says Taylor is not in Calzaghe’s league. I’m not so sure about that.
Taking Bernard Hopkins as a yardstick, there’s not a lot to choose between Jermain and Joe, is there. The way Warren talks, you’d think the Pride of Wales had hammered Hopkins out of sight in April when, in fact, he merely edged a decision over the veteran much as Jermain Taylor had done twice before him.
Calzaghe was certainly behind after six rounds in the Hopkins fight. Having more energy than Bernard in the second half was the only thing that brought him home a winner from what I saw.
Is Kelly Pavlik qualified to have a crack at Joe Calzaghe at super middle, or catchweights around 170? Of course he is. And if the fight wasn’t over quick, would 36 year old Calzaghe have the gas to outlast the 26 year old Pavlik the way he outlasted 43 year old Bernard Hopkins?
Promoter Frank Warren isn’t doing the silent bit, though. After watching Pavlik destroy the Welshman, Warren says – with regard to the possibility of a Pavlik v Joe Calzaghe match – that he’s not convinced Kelly is in the same class as Joe.
Frank also wonders what will happen with Pavlik when someone puts pressure on him.
Seems strange that a guy like Warren, who spent the second half of the weekend being inducted into Boxing’s Hall of Fame at Canastota, has so little knowledge of what’s been going on in the middleweight division these past couple of years. He can’t have been keeping much of an eye on it, can he. Kelly Pavlik was dropped early by Fulgencio Zuniga and Jermain Taylor in fights where he sampled real heat, but came on to secure knockouts in both, and who can say his winning battles against Jose Luis Zertuche and Edison Miranda weren’t brutally demanding. Pavlik has shown himself to thrive on pressure.
Kelly’s two wins over Jermain had great merit. The first Pavlik v Taylor bout was one of the great middleweight championship fights, and the catchweights rematch was top class boxing too. Frank Warren claims to be not particularly impressed, though, and says Taylor is not in Calzaghe’s league. I’m not so sure about that.
Taking Bernard Hopkins as a yardstick, there’s not a lot to choose between Jermain and Joe, is there. The way Warren talks, you’d think the Pride of Wales had hammered Hopkins out of sight in April when, in fact, he merely edged a decision over the veteran much as Jermain Taylor had done twice before him.
Calzaghe was certainly behind after six rounds in the Hopkins fight. Having more energy than Bernard in the second half was the only thing that brought him home a winner from what I saw.
Is Kelly Pavlik qualified to have a crack at Joe Calzaghe at super middle, or catchweights around 170? Of course he is. And if the fight wasn’t over quick, would 36 year old Calzaghe have the gas to outlast the 26 year old Pavlik the way he outlasted 43 year old Bernard Hopkins?
Monday, 2 June 2008
Graham's Law Unsafe?
Billy Graham, trainer of Ricky Hatton, says devastating punching power is not the preserve of a chosen few natural bangers but just a matter of ‘mechanics’ – something that can be generally taught and learned.
Strange then that he hasn’t been able to turn Ricky into a knockout hitter. Hatton is a great fighter, vicious too, but it’s unrelenting attacks that grind down his opponents, not single shot potency. Even when the Hitman was in his WBU phase, defending that Z-list belt against people too old, too small, or plain not good enough to pose him much threat, he still had to land lots and lots of leather before claiming victory, most times anyway.
And how would Graham’s beliefs stand up if he were given the task of turning Ricky Hatton’s probable next opponent, Paulie Malignaggi, from a powder puff puncher into a lights-out guy?
Not everybody can throw a javelin long distances or fly a cricket ball all the way from deep boundary to wicket keeper. The best trainers in any field of endeavour will improve performance to a degree but it’s my contention that you can’t coach an explosive arm into someone who doesn’t possess one already, and while throwing a javelin or a cricket ball is technically different to throwing a punch, I say the principle is the same.
Nikolay Valuev is about to try and regain the WBA heavyweight title from Ruslan Chagaev. Valuev has managed to stop plenty of opponents so far, 34 kayos from 48 wins, but it’s been a struggle for him to get people out of there early since he moved into what might be called world class.
Majority decisions over Larry Donald and John Ruiz hardly marked him down as Mr Murder, and since losing to Chagaev on points his two rehab fights have gone all the way without anybody touching down.
In boxing a fighter is usually up against somebody near enough his own size, and the sport’s most celebrated punchers have - in the main - done their stuff on those terms. Nikolay Valuev, however, weighs 70 pounds or more heavier than just about any opponent he has to face in the ring. If Billy Graham is correct in what he says, then, adding tutelage in ‘mechanics’ to Valuev’s already massive advantages would see him exterminate everything he touches, right? Not in my book. I just don’t think big Nik’s got it in him to be that kind of destroyer, no matter what anybody tries to teach him, and no matter who's doing the teaching.
Strange then that he hasn’t been able to turn Ricky into a knockout hitter. Hatton is a great fighter, vicious too, but it’s unrelenting attacks that grind down his opponents, not single shot potency. Even when the Hitman was in his WBU phase, defending that Z-list belt against people too old, too small, or plain not good enough to pose him much threat, he still had to land lots and lots of leather before claiming victory, most times anyway.
And how would Graham’s beliefs stand up if he were given the task of turning Ricky Hatton’s probable next opponent, Paulie Malignaggi, from a powder puff puncher into a lights-out guy?
Not everybody can throw a javelin long distances or fly a cricket ball all the way from deep boundary to wicket keeper. The best trainers in any field of endeavour will improve performance to a degree but it’s my contention that you can’t coach an explosive arm into someone who doesn’t possess one already, and while throwing a javelin or a cricket ball is technically different to throwing a punch, I say the principle is the same.
Nikolay Valuev is about to try and regain the WBA heavyweight title from Ruslan Chagaev. Valuev has managed to stop plenty of opponents so far, 34 kayos from 48 wins, but it’s been a struggle for him to get people out of there early since he moved into what might be called world class.
Majority decisions over Larry Donald and John Ruiz hardly marked him down as Mr Murder, and since losing to Chagaev on points his two rehab fights have gone all the way without anybody touching down.
In boxing a fighter is usually up against somebody near enough his own size, and the sport’s most celebrated punchers have - in the main - done their stuff on those terms. Nikolay Valuev, however, weighs 70 pounds or more heavier than just about any opponent he has to face in the ring. If Billy Graham is correct in what he says, then, adding tutelage in ‘mechanics’ to Valuev’s already massive advantages would see him exterminate everything he touches, right? Not in my book. I just don’t think big Nik’s got it in him to be that kind of destroyer, no matter what anybody tries to teach him, and no matter who's doing the teaching.
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