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By Lee Bellfield August 19th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
72 years ago this month, the world championship career of arguably the greatest heavyweight in history began.
The "Brown Bomber", Joe Louis, aged 23, had just defeated James J Braddock and had become the first black man since Jack Johnson thirty years previously to win the richest prize in sport.
Joe's first defence would come just two months after his title win when he would face a gritty British challenger in Tommy Farr.
Farr from Tonypandy, Wales, was one year younger than Louis and had been a pro since 1926. Initially a light heavyweight, Farr would go on and challenge for domestic honours in his native Wales, winning the Welsh Title in 1933. He would also repeat this feat in the heavyweight division, winning both the Welsh and British titles.
At the start of 1937, the World Heavyweight Champion was James J Braddock. As an underdog in 1935, "The Cinderella Man" had outsmarted the heavy betting favourite Max Baer over 15 rounds to become the surprise champion. That same Baer later in 1935 would also be dismantled in four rounds by an up and coming Joe Louis.
Baer in 1937 was still anxious to get another shot at the World title held by Braddock and in April that year, agreed to fight Farr. Baer, like he did against Braddock, took this chance lightly and slipped to a points defeat.
Louis in 1937 had suffered just the one defeat to German Max Schmeling and many thought Braddock would defend the title against Schmeling. However, in the tense political climate Braddock would sidestep Schmeling to a bigger money matchup against Louis. More...
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By Al Bernstein August 18th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
 This weekend, I hosted a pay per view telecast headlined by the WBA Interim Super Flyweight title match, featuring Nonito Donaire vs. Rafael Concepcion.
Everything that happened in the days before the match and in the first round suggested that Donaire, a rising star and potential superstar, was going to provide a dominant win that would further market himself.
Concepcion was rumored to be having terrible making weight, and, in fact came in a whopping 4 ½ pounds over the 115 pound limit. That did not bode well for his conditioning for the fight and it made an already motivated Donaire more angry and he vowed to beat Concepcion no matter what his weight.
Concepcion was fined part of his purse and Donaire received half that fine—but the Donaire camp did not demand that Concepcion try hard to make the 115 pounds. They were worried about a replay of the Joan Guzman-Nate Campbell fight of last year, when Guzman came in over the weight and tried to lose the weight, but was too weak to fight.
This pay per view had been set up a star vehicle for Donaire and Nonito and his management did not want his fight canceled.
The fight went on and true to his word, Donaire came out smoking. He was so dominant in the first two minutes that it looked like a monstrous mismatch. Conception had lost the year before to Jorge Arce in a war and Arce at that point had somewhat diminished skills.
If Donaire fought Arce he would be a prohibitive favorite. So, common sense told us that Concepcion was not in Donaire’s league—and round one was proving the point. More...
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By Nick Chamberlain August 12th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
Heavyweight prospect Tyson Fury and his management team have secured a shot at the English title against ‘Big Bad’ John McDermott on September 15.
Fury, standing 6ft 9, has been making quite the name for himself since stepping out into the pro scene in December, namely by stopping all of his opponents thus far, and he seems very accustomed to ‘talking the talk’.
Of course, being unbeaten and touted by many, Fury is a cocky guy but the kind of heavyweight that we all love; He’s big, brash, loud, has a load of charisma, solid boxing skills, and can certainly bang.
He does command a good turn out when he fights and has been trying to secure any kind of title shot he could get his hands on since his pro debut; such is his level of confidence.
Fury’s record stands at 7-0 with 7 KO’s, with some good domestic names on his resume such as Lee Swaby, Scott Belshaw and Matthew Ellis, with Swaby taking the longest to hold off the attack before succumbing in the fourth, and Ellis being beaten in 48 seconds of the first round.
With such a young career, some might deem this too big a mountain for Fury to climb, as his opponent McDermott goes into the fight with a record of 25-5 with 16 of those wins by way of KO. More...
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By Nick Chamberlain August 6th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
On Saturday, July 18, Amir Khan fulfilled a promise he made to himself and the nation when he beat Andreas Kotelnik over 12 rounds to become WBA Light Welterweight Champion. The journey to get there was not easy; by the same token it was not that hard either.
With his record now standing at 21-1 (15), Khan has some notable scalps on his record as Kotelnik joins the list along with Marco Antonio Barrera, Oisin Fagan, and Michael Gomez. The latter two are not exactly world class, but both hard veterans of the ring, they know their crafts very well and are good on a domestic and inter-continental level.
Barrera was well past his best when they fought in March of this year and the fight was stopped, quite controversially, after Barrera was cut in the first, which effectively blinded him in one eye.
The controversy happened when the doctor stopped it in the fifth and it went to the scorecards. Had he stopped it in any point through rounds 1-4, then it would have been deemed a No-Contest. Khan looked to be in control of this fight, but if the Barrera is saying he couldn't see, then surely it's an unfair contest.
Andreas Kotelnik was a tough, well-schooled, technical and precise counter puncher. Khan did not give him the opportunity to get his own punches off though and did a great job of covering up or using his nifty movement to skip out of the way, he did this impressively for the full 12 rounds, even when Kotelnik pushed him in the 11th and 12th rounds as he knew he had to secure the knockout.
Khan has always had his doubters and fair share of critics, who were rather pleased with themselves after a young undefeated Colombian came along by the name of Breidis Prescott, and knocked Khan out in 54 seconds of the first round at the MEN Arena in September, 2008.
After that defeat and the change of trainer and camp, Khan says it was the best thing that could have happened to him as a boxer, and you have to agree as a day before Khan took the world title belt off Kotelnik, Prescott suffered his first loss to Miguel Vazquez. More...
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By Al Bernstein August 5th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
The relationship between mixed martial arts and boxing has had an intriguing evolution in the past decade.
The boxing establishment has viewed MMA with equal parts ambivalence, hostility, envy and sometimes grudging respect. The MMA world has sometimes seen boxing as a kindly old uncle that you respect for its past, but snicker a bit at its present state.
From time to time there has been open hostility and ridicule of boxing by MMA moguls, but that has abated in the last several years.
For many of the “old guard” in boxing, MMA is scoffed at and treated like a barbaric undertaking that is without skill. The members of this old guard passes judgment on the sport of MMA without ever really bothering to learn more about it.
To suggest that there is not skill in mixed martial arts is as absurd as suggesting that courage is not an integral ingredient in both sports. While it is edgy and violent, MMA is also filled with nuances.
I have hosted MMA shows on television, one on Showtime and several others on pay per view or regional cable. To prepare for the first MMA show I ever did, I watched hours and hours of video and was able to pick the brain of one of the best analysts in the sport, Stephen Quadros.
Stephen baby-sat me through my Showtime MMA experience. What I learned from that experience was that MMA is a sport that demands that it’s athletes have at least some level of skill at many disciplines, if they are to reach the upper echelon of fighters.
I’ve enjoyed every one of my MMA announcing experiences and found that the fighters and fans will welcome someone associated with boxing as long as they are not guilty of either of these two things: a.) Pretending they are MMA experts, or b.) Pretending they like MMA, when they really don’t. More...
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By Al Bernstein July 30th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
What took David Haye and his braintrust so long to figure out that he was a lot better off fighting Nikolai Valuev for a world title than he was fighting a Klitschko?
If David had come to this realization earlier he would have spared us the charade of pulling out of the Wladimir fight and then the phony negotiations to fight Vitali.
Haye is obviously able to fight at heavyweight and will beat many heavyweights, but he won’t beat the ones who are tall, can “fight tall”, and have pop in their punch.
David was hurt by Jean Mormeck in the cruiserweight division. If and when he is hit by a really good right hand by either Klitschko, the heavyweight dream will be ended. His chances against Wladimir are remotely better because he might hurt Wladimir with one of his own punches - but that’s a longshot.
All that having been said, there will be more money for him to make off this unfortunate episode with the Klitschko if he brings a heavyweight title into the match. That was always the case and it is astonishing to me that the Haye camp didn’t get that and insisted on trying for the Klitschkos first.
I think Haye is the favorite to beat Valuev. He is much quicker than Valuev, (everyone is much quicker than Valuev), will throw enough combinations to keep the giant off balance, and he may be able to take even the best shot of the light punching Valuev.
Valuev is capable of performances that define dreadful in a new way, as evidenced by his “win” over an ancient Evander Holyfield. That version of Valuev would be raked over the coals by Haye.
If Haye can wrest the title from Valuev, I would actually suggest a defense against someone before he tackles a Klitschko, and I suggest Wladimir as his choice. In that case, Haye’s trash talking and fight promotion will seem more credible. More...
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By Richard Eberline July 26th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
The boxing community is in mourning yet again today as reports surface that former two-weight world champion Vernon Forrest was gunned down last night in Atlanta, GA.
Forrest reportedly was involved in a firefight with two men who had attempted to carjack his Jaguar while he was filling up the car's tires at a gas station in the southwestern section of Atlanta.
The former amateur and professional star was defending more than his vehicle as the 11 year old son of Forrest's girlfriend was with him at the time.
The 38 year old achieved a 41-3 (29) record over the course of a career that began in 1992 and held the IBF, WBC and NABF titles at welterweight as well as the WBC light middleweight title.
Forrest was also actively involved in charitable causes.
SaddoBoxing expresses its deepest sympathies to the family of Vernon Forrest.
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By Aaron King July 23rd, 2009 All Boxing Articles
Last week, I previewed Showtime’s "Super Six World Boxing Classic" and gave my predictions for the first round of fights. When I sat down to write that article, I still felt as though this whole thing wasn’t real.
In the back of my mind, I thought that Ken Hershman of Showtime was just playing a cruel practical joke on the boxing public.
And then I saw the pictures of the six of them: Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Jermain Taylor and Andre Ward with cocked fists and a mix of scowls and smiles. And then I pinched myself to make sure it was real.
That aside, let’s move on to the next set of predictions. Here is the rough schedule for the second and third rounds of the tournament, followed by my predictions.
January 2010: Abraham vs. Dirrell (U.S.)
March 2010: Froch vs. Kessler (Europe)
Spring 2010: Taylor vs. Ward (U.S.)
Summer 2010: Abraham vs. Froch (Europe); Dirrell vs. Ward (U.S.)
Fall 2010: Kessler vs. Taylor (U.S.)
January 2011: Semi-finals
May/June 2011: Final More...
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By Nick Chamberlain July 22nd, 2009 All Boxing Articles
Recently, it was announced by Showtime that they were putting a super six tournament together, comprising of the six top super middleweights, bar one, a certain Lucian Bute, to face off against each other in order to ascertain the new king of the division.
As the WBC and WBA titles are on the line, this looks set to be a very exciting event indeed. As most, including myself, were relatively confused as to how this would take place, allow me to simplify...
The tournament participants are, in alphabetical order, as follows:
Arthur Abraham, Berlin, Germany: 30-0 (24), IBF Middleweight Champion
Andre Dirrell, Flint, MI: 18-0 (13), 2004 Olympic Medallist
Carl Froch, Nottingham, England: 25-0 (20), WBC Super Middle Champion
Mikkel Kessler, Copenhagen, Denmark: 41-1 (31), WBA Super Middle Champion
Jermain Taylor, Little Rock, AR: 28-3-1 (17), former Unified Middleweight Champion
Andre Ward, Oakland, CA: 19-0 (12), 2004 Olympic Gold Medallist
Rules
Each boxer will fight three bouts against different opponents in a round-robin, points based competition. Points will be awarded after each bout.
Scoring is as follows:
2 points for a win, with a 1 point stoppage bonus
1 point for a draw
0 points for a loss More...
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By Jim Everett July 18th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing
Upon hearing the tragic news about Arturo Gatti’s death, like many, I was devastated. As the details began to unravel in the days that followed, disbelief was replaced with reality in what a senseless death it was.
Unlike many fans of the sport, I became a Gatti fan later in his career. I didn’t jump on the bandwagon per se, I was just not aware of him until becoming a more avid boxing fan.
I have been a casual fan of boxing for as long as I can remember. I would watch what people consider the “big fights” and knew most of the mainstream fighters. 2003 is when I truly became a serious fan, courtesy of Arturo Gatti. More...
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By Al Bernstein July 17th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
OK, this is a little awkward. When the news broke this week that Showtime has created a six man tournament in the super middleweight division I was, well, ecstatic.
I love the talent in super middleweight division, and I think boxing needs something fresh and daring like this tourney. Now those are my honest, gut level reactions to this news.
Here’s the awkward part. Since I’m employed as the lead boxing analyst for Showtime Championship Boxing, it’s just barely possible that some might think that kind of enthusiasm is not arrived at objectively.
They might reasonably assume that I have a more subjective agenda in praising this new venture…like keeping my job. Well, I won’t deny that my 10 year old son’s penchant for purchasing every Star Wars item ever made means I can hardly afford a loss in income.
But, my giddy reaction to the super six tourney is as genuine as could be. You can suggest it’s misguided or even wrong, but you can’t get me for being a total company man.
I could trot out the argument that my track record as a broadcaster suggests fairness, and I could point to the countless times I have praised the product of other networks in columns like this or on my boxing channel.
But I have a better and less narcissistic argument to use—my reaction must be an honest one because it’s the same as everyone else’s. Virtually every boxing writer, broadcaster or fan I have talked to or listened to has said the same thing—this is great.
Perhaps there are a few complete misanthropes intent on concentrating on the potential pitfalls like injuries, mid-tourney retirements, or old fashioned contract breaking. Finding those people is about as hard as finding Miguel Cotto fans in the Phillipines. More...
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By Ginamarie Russo July 17th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
© Ginamarie Russo / Saddo Boxing
Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment made a recent trip to Puerto Rico to finalize signing of junior welterweight prospect, Joel "Joelo" Torres.
DiBella comments, “I have no doubt in my mind that Joelo has the qualities to become a big star in Puerto Rico.
"From now on, we will be helping him in everything that we can so he can reach his potential.”
Torres' manager, Ricardo Figueroa of Real Fighters, was also on hand. His efforts have helped Torres succeed and has been supporting "Joelo" since the early days of the junior welter's career. More...
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By Aaron King July 16th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
© Winfried Mausolf
First off, the boxing community is eternally indebted to Ken Hershman, Showtime’s boxing chief. Consider, for a moment, what he has actually managed to do: six fighters with five different promoters across two continents have agree to a 12-fight, round robin tournament over the course of about two years.
It sounds like a cross between message board fantasy and drug-induced delusion. But Hershman and Showtime really did it. They actually got all of the necessary parties—fighters, promoters, managers—to sign on to this thing.
Of course, that does not preclude the possibility that problems will arise. They most certainly will. However, there is great reason to expect that something unprecedented and spectacular will come as a result of Hershman’s inconceivable brilliance.
So, without further ado, let the banter begin. Here is the tentative schedule and point system for the tournament, followed by my predictions on how the first round will turn out. More...
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By Nick Chamberlain July 15th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
There has been plenty of speculation as to where Ricky Hatton can go following his recent destruction at the hands of Manny Pacquiao.
There was a huge amount of press and fans alike that were immediately of the opinion that Hatton should retire, hang up the gloves and bow out as a former two-weight world champion and the case being that he only ever lost to the two top fighters on the planet.
The world was shocked when Hatton was floored twice in the first round by Pacquiao and put to sleep in the second, well everyone except Freddie Roach.
Most experts agreed that whilst Pacquiao would win, it would be a hard, drawn out battle of will against skill, but what we all saw was something completely different.
As Pacquiao now emerges as arguably one of the greatest fighters the Philippines have ever produced, Hatton's career seems to be in disarray.
However, there are options out there for Hatton. If he were to retire, he would be remembered for some very special nights, i.e. Kostya Tszyu, or his thrilling stoppage of Jose Luis Castillo and some incredibly gutsy performances on a domestic level like when he out-boxed Jon Thaxton.
These were the sort of nights that secured Ricky his huge crowds, for he was never a brash, loud and arrogant fighter like Floyd Mayweather Jr, nor was he the go in, get the job done Terminator-esque typle like Miguel Cotto.
Here was a man who fought with his heart on his sleeve and a nation behind him. Moreover, the best part of all is that when the night was through, you could find the bar he was in and actually ask him how he felt the fight went over a beer! More...
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By Daxx Kahn July 14th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing
As fans of boxing, we all gravitate towards certain fighters for different reasons. Some like a fighter because of their resume of talent faced, others like the knockout artist, while perhaps it's the fast pace a particular boxer keeps or maybe it's just because there is a fighter who is so technically gifted that every fight is like a clinic in motion.
The reason why you follow your favorite ring warrior really doesn't matter because, when it comes time for the bout to begin, there is nothing anyone can say to sway your emotions. You will cheer for them until the end and at the final bell, you will either celebrate their victory or wallow in their defeat.
Boxing unlike most sports, allows you to become emotionally involved in the fighter. There is only one man you are rooting for, one man who's actions draw you toward them and in time, if you follow that fighter close enough, they become part of you for that 36 minutes they are between the ropes. More...
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By Danny Wilson July 12th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
In a year wracked by countless deaths of public figures, boxing has tragically lost one of it's all-time warriors as former two-weight world champion Arturo Gatti has died in Brazil.
Authorities found the body of 37 year old New Jersey resident Gatti in a vacation apartment he shared with his 23 year old wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and the couple's one year old son.
Gatti and Rodrigues had reportedly gone to the northeastern Brazilian resort of Porto de Galinhas to enjoy a second honeymoon.
Brazilian authorities have announced that Gatti may have been strangled with the strap of a handbag and are questioning Rodrigues, who has denied any involvement in harming Gatti, on the matter.
SaddoBoxing joins the boxing world in mourning the passing of Arturo Gatti and wishes to extend their deepest sympathies to his family.
A tribute article is forthcoming.
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By Aaron King July 10th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
“Renaissance” would be the wrong term to describe what’s happening in the super middleweight division right now. That implies a “rebirth,” but never before has the division seen this depth of talent, and more importantly, a group of talent who actually show interest in fighting one another.
Remember the Roy Jones Jr./Frankie Liles/Steve Little days?
When Joe Calzaghe left the division in late 2007, he left a gaping void at the top. In retrospect, this was something of a blessing—the absence of a champion created a carrot for the line of highly-capable contenders in tow.
What’s beginning to transpire is a novelty at 168. From the amorphous jumble of challengers, some clarity has been gained, namely because they’re starting to get in the ring together.
Showtime is looking to settle the fascinating ambiguities that remain in the super middleweight ranks—more on that later. Let’s take a look at where the division stands at present and where it might be headed. First, a look at the top fighters:
1. Mikkel Kessler (41-1, 31 KO) – “The Viking Warrior” has been out of action for about nine months now and has only taken on two fairly pedestrian foes since losing to Calzaghe in November, 2007. Nonetheless, he still has a belt, is the most accomplished, and his set of skills is the most complete of anyone campaigning at 168.
2. Lucian Bute (24-0, 19 KO) – Title-holder Bute was lucky to get out of the 12th round against Librado Andrade in October, but was in control through most of the fight. Lucky for the rest of us, Andrade and Bute will go at it again sometime this fall. More...
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By Daxx Kahn July 9th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
18 months ago, Floyd Mayweather Jr announced his retirement, stating “I don’t have the desire I once did”. Now, from the sound of that statement, one is led to believe that the motivation that once existed is gone, the desire to train and compete is not what it was so there is no desire to continue.
Bravo! After all, Floyd sat upon the pound for pound list, claimed world titles in five weight classes, made a fortune of money and is leaving the sport with all his bearings intact.
Mayweather Jr accomplished what every fighter sets out to achieve perfectly and most rational people could agree with this decision. After all, why continue in a dangerous sport you have no wish to compete in anymore and take the chance of getting hurt?
Retire on top and wait for your day to be inducted into boxing’s Hall of Fame, something very few have managed to do.
But few outside of the Mayweather camp believed this retirement would last.
A vast majority of observers believed Floyd was using his retirement speech as a ploy, after all, he was the top ranked fighter in boxing and opportunity was wide open.
After a big payday like that of his bout with Oscar De La Hoya, perhaps he was waiting for the right moment to make a huge welterweight showdown with who ever was left after Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey had all faced each other and cleared up the chaos. More...
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By Al Bernstein July 8th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
A week and a half ago, I finally got a chance to see "King" Arthur Abraham fight in front of his loyal subjects in Germany.
It was a fun and exhilarating experience, but I realized while watching King Arthur beat a better than advertised Mahir Oral that the venue is not the deciding factor in Abraham’s success.
He might be unbeatable at this point in his career, and it’s not because of the “friendly” officiating by both judges and referees when working an Abraham fight in Germany.
Now, I fully understand that friendly officiating may have had a lot to do with his win over Edison Miranda a few years back in Germany. But, really, he fashioned that win because of his iron chin and iron will. Abraham’s jaw was broken early in the fight and round after round, the power punching Miranda was teeing off on Abraham’s jaw.
It was a grotesque sight. Somehow Abraham survived and won a decision primarily because a bucket of points were deducted from Miranda for low blows. Some deductions were warranted some not.
But, I also saw Abraham come to Florida to fight Miranda in Edison's home arena at the Hard Rock Casino, and watched him dismantle Miranda. He did it the same way he beat Oral a week and a half ago.
And this unique game plan he has is what makes him a potentially impossible opponent for…well, for everybody. More...
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