The Big Debate: Markus Beyer vs. Omar Sheika.

To describe a fighter with seven losses to his name as lucky might appear inappropriate to some, but Omar Sheika is as lucky as they come. As a mere boxing pup at the age of twenty-one with all the usual dreams of stardom and world title glory, Sheika wound up

in Sheffield, England. Then undefeated and touted to the nines as the most destructive thing on two legs since Mike Tyson burst out of the Catskills, Sheika was on a hiding to less than nothing against opponent Tony Booth. Taunts cruelly fell upon Sheika’s ears as he probed forward over eight torturous rounds, failing to put a dent in Booth. The unheralded Yorkshireman posted the unanimous decision win. Let me put this into context for you. At the time, Booth’s record read 28-44-7, and today it reads 45-84-8 with only nine knockouts scored in all; hardly a beacon of hope in the British boxing establishment. As much as Booth was a gauge for better fighters, so became Sheika in the years to come. The rest of his six losses to date include three legitimate world title shots: Joe Calzaghe (WBO), Eric Lucas (WBC), and Jeff Lacy (IBF). The quality gap from Booth to Lacy is too vast to reckon with, but nonetheless, Sheika gets another chance this weekend when he fights Markus Beyer for the WBC super middleweight championship. Here is why Sheika will not leave Germany with his first world title.

Yes, there is actually a super middleweight title fight happening this week, and SaddoBoxing felt it was fitting to give the Markus Beyer-Omar Sheika fight the big debate treatment. Read on.

That last sentence would often prove enough evidence for most boxing enthusiasts to concur with my sentiment that Sheika is doomed to failure. Death itself might not be enough to remove a fighter from his championship in Germany. What Sheika needs to do, is take a tip from the Corrie Sanders book of upsets and let his power go in the fight, pressure the thirty-four-year-old Beyer until the fight drains from his spirit. The problem for Sheika here is that while the champion does not trade implicitly on power, he has it to unload if necessary. Furthermore, Beyer is a southpaw with the greater boxing skills of the two. It is easy to imagine the basic, come-forward style of Sheika easily picked apart by the selective punching of the champion, and as a three-time WBC champion defending in the heart of his homeland, Beyer can do no wrong, and it is doubtful that he will fall apart against Sheika.

Sheika is a good TV fighter, an all-action brawler that can give and take punishment as required, but his limitations have granted him so many opportunities. You do not see truly dangerous fighters acquiring as many world title chances as Sheika, mainly because there are fewer champions today willing to risk themselves to the best available challenge. Sheika is tough but beatable, and Beyer’s people know that their man is more than capable of winning the fight while gathering a notable scalp for his record. Beyer by unanimous twelve round decision.

Sergio?

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, the Gent! You are always eloquent and methodical in writing and arguing your points. It is nice to know that you will always have a future in selling used cars. No more nonsense. Your points are well taken and you do make a lot of sense. Sheika is a very beatable foe that is still a decent enough name to add to one’s ledger. He is vulnerable and tends to be very one-dimensional. It is almost impossible to believe that, at one point, Omar was a great amateur fighter who possessed very solid boxing skills and strong fundamentals. As Arturo Gatti did midway through his career, Sheika forgot as much and learned that his best bet to make good money in this sport is to brawl. The thing to remember is that in his last world title attempt, which was against Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, Omar gave a very solid account for himself and actually looked better than he ever has in a world title fight. He boxed effectively and brawled at the right times to keep Lacy on his heels. Sheika is not a “show stopping” puncher, but very heavy handed and can seriously hurt any 168-pounder with either fist.

In Beyer, Omar has a technical boxer who also tends to forget that he has solid fundamentals and will trade carelessly at times. Omar, in the past, has shown a solid set of whiskers, so he should be able to wade in, attack, and keep the pressure on Markus all night. If Sheika can employ a boxer/puncher type of fight plan effectively, he will be able to keep the champion off balance, hurt him early, and stop him by no later than the eighth round. It is Omar’s only hope of coming home with the title because as Jim stated, it will be impossible to win a decision in Beyer’s home country. Knowing this, Sheika will sellout early, be aggressive, and will put Markus’ lights out.

Contact Jim Cawkwell at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk

Contact Sergio Martinez at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com