European Beat Report (10-31-09)

by Dafs117

In the first European Beat Report, we take a look at the upcoming fights around the continent.

Former cruiserweight champion David Haye (22-1, 21 KOs)’s heavily hyped quest for heavyweight supremacy heats up this month as he challenges Russia’s Nikolay Valuev (50-1, 34 KOs) on November 7. In a bout that’s on Pay Per View and named David vs. Goliath for obvious reasons, the Russian will defend his WBA crown for the second time in his second reign as champion. He returns to a venue where he outpointed former WBO titlist Sergei Lyakhovic (23-3, 14 KOs) in 2008 in a lethargic WBA Eliminator. The Nuernberg Arena should be full of 10,000 fight fanatics come November 7.

The Super 6 Boxing Classic Tournament kicked-off in Berlin last month with Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) knocking out Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs) to gain maximum points in the first stage. The unique tournament features WBC Champion Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) and speedy American switch-hitter Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) who split the judges at the Trent FM Arena. Luckily, with some home-cooking, Froch emerged the winner to give the Europeans a 2-0 lead over the Americans. Froch will face Calzaghe foe Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) in a possible unification bout if the Dane defeats unbeaten Olympian Andre Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) on November 21.

On the undercard, Serbian cruiserweight Enad Licina (17-2, 10 KOs) was upset by Yoan Pablo Hernandez (20-1, 11 KOs) and dropped a unanimous decision to the Cuban.

Undefeated Cameroon born French middleweight Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (21-0, 14 KOs) won every round in his 10 round contest against Brazilian Jeferson Luis Goncalo (19-6-3, 10 KOs). On the same date, undefeated heavyweight Yakup Saglam (22-0, 19 KOs) continued his slow rise through the heavyweight division with a fifth round stoppage victory over Ladislav Kovarik (8-4, 4 KOs).

Former IBF Cruiserweight Tomasz Adamek (39-1, 27 KOs) proved that he’s the new poster boy of Polish boxing by stopping Andrew Golota (41-8-1, 33 KOs) in the fifth round in front of 17,000 fans at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland. Light middleweight Damian Jonak (23-0-1, 17 KOs) fought for an eight round draw against Mariusz Cendrowski (17-2-2, 7 KOs) on the undercard.

Russia’s lightweight star Dmitry Ganiev (11-0-1, 5 KOs) was impressive in his disposal of Fashan 3K Battery (59-10-2, 35 KOs) with a spectacular 22 second knockout victory. As chief support, Denis Bakhtov (31-5, 20 KOs) continued his impressive form which includes an upset first round knockout win over German Steffen Kretschmann (14-1, 13 KOs) with a comprehensive fourth round stoppage of Sherzod Mamajanov (6-11, 2 KOs).

November is a busy month all round for boxing.

Paul McCloskey (19-0, 9 KOs) fights Soulymane M’Baye (38-3-1, 21 KOs) for the European light welterweight belt in Northern Ireland on November 6. On the undercard, Martin Lindsay (14-0, 6 KOs) will fight against an unknown opponent and Steve Williams (8-0, 3 KOs) and Michael Grant (12-0-1, 1 KO) will compete for the vacant English light welterweight title.

Yakup Saglam (22-0, 19 KOs) fights the dreaded TBA on November 7 in Bayern, Germany. On the undercard of Haye-Valuev, cruiserweight prospect Alexander Frenkel (20-0, 16 KOs) faces Kelvin Davis (24-10-3, 17 KOs). Taras Bidenko (26-3, 12 KOs) makes his comeback from his stoppage defeat to ‘friend’ Denis Boystov (26-0, 21 KOs) against prospect Robert Helenius (9-0, 5 KOs). Former titlist Sergei Lyakhovic (23-3, 14 KOs) makes his ring return against journeyman Jeremy Bates (22-16-1, 18 KOs).

Hopefully on a lucky Friday the 13^th, Matthew Hatton (37-4-1, 14 KOs) will challenge against Lovermore N’Dou (47-11-1, 31 KOs) for the IBO light welterweight belt. Robert Norton (31-4-1, 19 KOs) will also defend his Commonwealth cruiserweight title.

On the 20^th of November, middleweight prospect Andy Lee (19-1, 14 KOs) will make his homecoming against Affif Belghecham (19-3-1, 4 KOs). Andre Sarritzu (29-4-4, 11 KOs) will fight for the vacant European flyweight title against Christophe Rodrigues (15-15-3, 12 KOs) in front of his home crowd.

Ukranian middleweight Yuriy Nuzhenko (29-1-1, 14 KOs) will fight a 10 rounder in his native country on the 20^th of November.

Rendall Munroe (19-1, 8 KOs) will defend his European Super Bantamweight title for the fifth time against Simone Maludrottu (30-2, 11 KOs) in Nottingham on the 20^th. Olympian Tony Jeffries (4-0, 3 KOs) and heavyweight prospect Tom Dallas (7-0, 5 KOs) fight on the undercard.

WBC Cruiserweight titlist Giacobbe Fragomeni (26-1-1, 10 KOs) will defend against WBO light heavyweight title-holder Zsolt Erdei (30-0, 17 KOs) in Germany on November 21. On the same date, Malik Bouziane (12-1, 1 KO) will defend his European bantamweight title for the second time against Emiliano Salvini (13-8-1, 2 KOs).

Heavyweight WBO Inter-Continental belt-holder Alexander Dimitrenko (29-1, 19 KOs) will fight for the first time since his defeat to Eddie Chambers (33-1, 18 KOs) against Luan Krasniqi (30-4-1, 14 KOs) in a rematch of their very short bout last year. In a competitive cruiserweight fight, Alexander Alexeev (18-1, 16 KOs) brawls against Grigory Drozd (32-1, 24 KOs) for a shot at the winner of the WBO title fight between Marco Huck (26-1, 20 KOs) and Ola Afolabi (14-1-3, 6 KOs).

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Camacho Jr. Beats Campas

Yawn....

Hector Camacho Jr. (50-3-1, 27 KOs) beat Yory Boy Campas (92-15-1, 74 KOs) in a clinchy 10 round split decision...95-92, 96-91, 92-95.

Apparently, Fernando Vargas is next in line for Camacho Jr. Yippeee...

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Puerto Rico vs. Philippines Final Round: COTTO VS. PACQUIAO

by OneKrazyRican

A highly unusual string of three championship fights in a period of three months matching high caliber fighters from both nations started last September. After splitting victories with Sonsona over Lopez and Calderon over Mayol, Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao, the third and final round of this unofficial championship series ends up being the tie breaker. Not only that but a tie breaker decided between each nation’s top fighters.

When I first heard about the possibility of a match between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao being discussed I took it as just a rumor. A cloud of hot air being blown just to bring attention. “Roach knows better than that” were my thoughts back then. Nevertheless this next November 14th we get the chance to see the rumor become history. How was that possible? The answer is simple; That Roach is a wise cat!

The acclaimed trainer and architect of the masterpiece that has become the Filipino idol’s career scandalized the boxing world when he not only announced that his pupil would fight Oscar De La Hoya but that he would knock him out. There were many people boxing and non-boxing related including the very same Miguel Cotto who questioned the seriousness of the matchup. “Pacquiao is too small, that fight does no good to boxing” some said. “That fight is too dangerous for Manny” said others. The result is now well known and it was followed by another demolishing victory this time against Britain’s Ricky Hatton at 140 pounds. The next “victim” is Puerto Rican champion Miguel Cotto whom the vast majority of the boxing world has tagged as the underdog. Without any intentions of taking anything away from the 122 to 135 pounds Manny Pacquiao I invite you to take a look behind the smoke and mirrors so we can have a clearer idea of what we can expect come November 14.

There were many reasons why Roach decided it was a good idea to challenge De la Hoya. We will not entertain the details so we can stay on topic but it is known that the weight was a determining factor. Oscar probably thought that his physical advantages would be enough to get by the Pacman even knowing it would take a miracle for him to perform at 100% in at a weight he hadn’t visited in years. Pacquiao hit the Golden Boy with everything but the stool. The same Golden Boy who declared later that during the fight he got to a point where all he wanted was that Manny landed a finishing blow that could put him out of his misery. That blow never came and Oscar decided to quit on his stool. After the fight, Roach declared that they would campaign at Jr welter, he implied that the welterweight venture was a one night stand.

At Jr welter the Pacman knocked Ricky Hatton out in impressive fashion. It should be noted that Hatton had been knocked out impressively by Mayweather before. Not only that, he had been put on queer street by Juan Lazcano and Luis Collazo, whom with 15 ko's in 30 fights seems to go shopping for boxing gloves with Ivan Calderon. With two perfect wins above the lightweight division limit Manny established himself as the top Jr welterweight with no signs of a welterweight move. Until Roach found another window of opportunity.

Reports of the violent end of Cotto’s relationship with his uncle/trainer/manager go international. Same thing with Cotto’s love for Puerto Rico’s night life and to top all that off he looks vulnerable against Joshua Clottey in a fight that brought too many memories of Antonio Margarito. The prey looks wounded and its time to make the move. Recognizing 147 pounds is still a dangerous turf, Roach managed to make it a title fight while forcing the defending champ to stay bellow the welter limit. He has also started the psychological warfare trying to gain all the advantages he can.

Thinking about all the details, this fight reminds me a lot about Trinidad-Hopkins. The boxing world is still in awe with Pacquiao’s recent victories and he’s got a fan base that has elevated him to heroic proportions. Just like Trinidad fans did with Hopkins at the time Pacquiao fans seem to ignore that Miguel Cotto isn’t just any titlist. Tito’s train came to a sudden stop when it entered the domains of a great fighter. Reality struck in such a way that there are people who still haven’t dealt with it.

I understand Roach’s proceedings. The odds seem good for the opportunity and a victory would get him and Manny to historic boxing heights. Nevertheless while analyzing both fighters performances at or near the weight they will fight, I find no indicative that Manny Pacquiao is near Miguel Cotto’s level as a welter. The weight issue could once again be a factor in favor of the Pacman team but we understand team Cotto has taken the necessary measures to minimize its effect. Reports from the training camp in Tampa allude to the pleasant chemistry among the group members as opposed to previous camps. What most people had signaled as a flaw in the change of trainers might have actually turned into a strength.

Much like in 2001 a nation will understand that their hero is not invincible. This time it's not Puerto Rico’s turn. For our Filipino friends, the post-Manny’s loss era begins. A great little fighter whom I see being dominated by a great big fighter. Cotto wins before the sixth round but don’t tell anyone because even though I don’t gamble money, with Cotto as the underdog there’s a good chance of hitting a good prize.

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Maidana Homecoming, November 21

Marcos Rene Maidana will fight William Gonzalez in his homecoming fight on November 21. William Gonzalez is a Panamanian with 22 wins 5 defeats and 1 draw, 7 of those wins coming by knockout.

Gonzalez has lost to Ameth Diaz via KO 3 and more recently Andreas Kotelnik via TKO 8. Maidana has just beaten Victor Ortiz in a thriller via TKO 6 and will eventually get a shot at Amir Khan if he keeps winning.

The fight will be at Club Deportivo Libertad, Santa Fe in Argentina. Maidana will make the first defence of his worthless WBA interim belt. The undercard has not yet been named and the fight will not be televised by a major broadcasting team.

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THIS SUMMER...IN A WORLD...ONE MAN...Thinking about Kelly Pavlik's career as a movie.

by Charles R. Horgan

I come from a film background and am always bouncing ideas around in my head. Sometimes as an exercise, I think in screenwriting structure. I see stories and I break them down into acts, climaxes, points of no return and all of that good stuff. Kelly Pavlik’s story has been playing out every week in the Boxing Tribune’s message boards, and I end up breaking it down into Acts. But it’s hard to take a story like Pavlik’s and make it into a screenplay because we don’t know where he is in his career.

At the time of the Taylor fight, we would have made our movie a motivating boxing flick about a couple of regular guys who, through hard work and knuckle grease, rose to the top of the world.

But the story goes on, and we as viewers don’t want things to be too easy. Sure we could interject some drama into Pavlik’s personal life in order to make things interesting, but instead his career played out and provided the drama and the movie becomes more interesting.

In the Act 1 of the screenplay, we would have Pavlik as a young kid meeting Jack Loew and kicking off Pavlik’s amateur career. We could show Loew paving driveways and Pavlik working minimum wage jobs; at night they would get together and train. Loew would learn from watching fights and reading books on the subject, Pavlik would listen and take the hits in the ring. Act 1 could end when Pavlik goes pro. This is usually the point of no return in the script, the point where our heroes can’t go back to their regular lives.

So far so good, right? Act 2 kicks off with Pavlik working his way up the ranks. He fights here, he fights there, he’s a skinny, tall, white kid from Ohio and he gets slagged off in some bizarre reverse racism, but keeps on trucking right on through the opponents. People start to take notice and he gains momentum. All the while, he flips tires and bangs them with sledgehammers under the watchful eye of Loew.

Of course there’d be some drama with his personal life. He has a kid, and he’s not with her mother. That could come into play, no problem. His child can add that much more humanity to him as a character and our audience will love it.

Now things get complicated. If we erased the last year from the history books, we could have the movie culminate in the Taylor fight. Pavlik would climb off of the canvas and in an exciting climax, batter Taylor into the corner and make audiences happy. Act 3 would be him going back to his family, or hugging his kid and Loew and he’s lifted into the air and the frame freezes and we’re treated to some text about Pavlik.

That wouldn’t be very interesting, now would it? Instead, as the arc rises, Taylor would be moved to the middle of the second act. It would still be exciting but now it’s not the point of the movie. Pavlik beats Taylor, twice. That’s our apparent victory. This is where our hero thinks he’s got things figured out and that they can make it. We need these highs in order to contrast to the lows. We need to be taken on the rollercoaster ride.

Pavlik wins against Taylor, twice. Everything is great. He’s the champ. Everybody is buzzing. We need someone to root against, we need to surprise the audience. Hopkins comes off of a bad performance against Joe Calzaghe. Pavlik steps up two weight classes to fight Hopkins. We let the audience think that Hopkins is done. He was gassed at the end of the Calzaghe fight. Pavlik has so much momentum and has so much support that he can’t possibly lose. A few days before the fight, he gets a cold. He shrugs it out because he can’t possibly lose. This isn’t an excuse for losing, but a little hint to the audience that things might not be all hunky dory.

In an agonizing sequence, Pavlik loses, big time. The audience has a hard time. Now they suffer along with Pavlik. Those of us who watch movies a lot think that this is the lowest point of the story. Maybe Pavlik hits the booze a lot. He’s in a funk and takes it out in his attitude toward his trainer and family. He’s not abusive, but he’s taking the loss pretty hard. Eventually he works out of it and Pavlik goes on to beat Rubio in the rematch. The audience thinks that now the story will pick up again and Pavlik will prove to be a great champion. Pavlik schedules a fight…

Then Pavlik gets a staph infection. The fight is cancelled. He starts getting depressed. He can’t quite shake the beating he got from Hopkins. His technique was too one-dimensional and maybe needs someone besides Loew. His management team and the press are calling for a new trainer but Pavlik is loyal and he sticks with Loew.

A fight against Paul Williams is scheduled, and fans get excited, but Pavlik can’t shake the infection. There’s a threat that his hand will get cut off. The fight is on, the fight is off, the fight is on again. It’s stressful, it’s hard to stay focused. Pavlik’s team tries to stay positive. Things are looking good, they’re going into the fight against a respected fighter; we’re reaching the climax, perhaps… until Pavlik is hospitalized from an allergic reaction. Pavlik’s greatest enemy is not a fighter, but disease he can’t shake. He’s mind is willing but the body is weak.

I don’t know how it will end, though. Does he ever fight again? Does he lose respect from his fans because he’s unable to fight? Skeptical boxing fans never believe stories about disease, maybe Pavlik comes back and fights Williams. Maybe in the end it’s a triumph. Then again, maybe this movie is a tragedy. In the theater audience we’re wondering, “what else can go wrong?” What we thought was a low against Hopkins is dragged even lower, and we’re worried it’ll keep sinking and we start getting angry at our friends for dragging us to this movie to begin with.

Does it end well?

I don’t know, the story is not yet finished.

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Cory Spinks Ignored By Showtime

On the undercard of Agbeko-Perez, 31 year old IBF light middleweight champion Cory Spinks will defend his belt against Mexican Carlos Molina.

26 year old Molina (17-4-1, 5 KOs) is ranked 14 by the IBF and has notched up 9 straight victories since 2008. Molina has lost to Mike Alvardo by majority decision and remains the only guy that has drawn against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., before losing their rematch.

Spinks (37-5, 11 KOs) is hoping to use his ring experience against Molina on Saturday. Spinks has been in the ring with many big modern names such as Zab Judah, Ricardo Mayorga and Jermain Taylor.

The fight will not be televised by Showtime who have shown more interest in DaVarryl Williamson vs. Ray Austin and Antonio DeMarco vs. Jose Alfaro as their undercard broadcast.

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Antonio Diaz Calls Out Victor Ortiz

Last week, The Boxing Tribune announced that Victor Ortiz would be making a comeback on December 12 against an unknown opponent on the undercard of Timothy Bradley’s defence of Lamont Peterson and the sequel between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi. Junior welterweight Antonio Diaz has stepped forward and announced his interest in a bout with Ortiz.

Diaz was left out in the cold after Zab Judah rejected a fight against him on the undercard of Mayweather – Marquez on September 19. “A victory against Ortiz would be a lot better. Zab Judah is just a name fighter, but as you know, he’s already on the downside. He’s not what he used to be when he was younger. This guy is a young puppy, a young prospect coming up.”

Victor Ortiz was stopped in the sixth round by Marcos Rene Maidana in their fight of the year contender earlier this year. Some fight fans thought he just gave up against the Argentine. He missed out on a potential title shot against Amir Khan in 2010 by retiring in that fight.

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Aguilero Out To Upset Maskaev

The ever aging former WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev is adamant that he isn't done yet. Though Russia's former champion is now 40-years-old, rumour has it that he’s only two wins away from challenging for his old belt. He returns to action on Friday December 11 at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, the night before Vitali Klitschko defends his WBC trinket against unbeaten American hopeful Kevin Johnson. Maskaev will face New York's 23-year-old Nagy Aguilera, in Maskaev’s third fight since his disappointing stoppage loss to Sam Peter back in March of 2008, where he lost his WBC belt.

If Maskaev can defeat the younger Aguilera, 14-2(9), and if Ray Austin is victorious against DaVarryl Williamson this Saturday night, the two will meet in a final eliminator for the WBC crown currently held by Vitali Klitschko. And though an appointment with Dr. Ironfist looks far more like a punishment as opposed to a prize for either Maskaev or Austin, both of the ageing warriors will have earned the fight according to the organization.

But is Maskaev, 36-6(27) taking a risky tune-up fight by going in against the never-stopped Aguilera? Aguilera has lost one by close split decision and one by disqualification. Maskaev is set to face the 23-year-old in Sacramento, Oleg’s hometown, the slow but hard-hitting Russian will be having just his second fight this year. He may well have trouble with the New Yorker's youth and speed. Aguilera has never fought the quality of Maskaev. A pro only since August of 2007, Aguilera will struggle under the pressure from Maskaev. Going up against a former world champion, even one as old and as rusty as Maskaev, is quite a big ask.

In truth, nobody really wants to see Maskaev get in there with Vitali Klitschko, even Vitali who had to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to stop Maskaev becoming his mandatory in July. If he beats Aguilera and then Ray Austin or DaVarryl Williamson, it could well happen.

Will Aguilera upset Maskaev? At this point in his career, and after all the injuries and layoffs he's had, defeat is always lurking for Maskaev, but he should have enough left to be able to see off relative novice Aguilera. The fight is pretty much a no-lose situation for Aguilera, who will make a real name for himself even if he comes up short but acquits himself well. Sure enough, all the pressure will be on Maskaev.

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Hasegama To Defend in December

It has been confirmed that WBC bantamweight world champion Hozumi Hasegawa will not be defending against former world champion Eric Morel, because of Morel’s major problems in obtaining a visa.

Hasegawa’s new challenger is WBC #12 rated Álvaro Pérez (18-1-1, 12 KOs) and the bout is planned for December 18 in Kobe, Japan. Hasegawa (27-2, 11 KOs) won the title in April 2005 against Thai legend Veeraphol Sahaprom and already has carried out nine defenses, the last four not going beyond two rounds.
Alvaro Perez is a member of the Nicaraguan Prodesa stable and is training in Managua, Nicaragua. The fight will be in front of Hasegawa’s hometown crowd for the third fight running.

This weekend, Joseph Agbeko will defend his IBF bantamweight title against another Perez, this one is an unbeaten challenger called Yhonny Perez, on Halloween. Agbeko recently defeated Armenian Vic Darchinyan in an explosive contest in July and is looking to successfully defend his belt for the third time this Saturday.
If Hasegawa and Agbeko successfully defend their belts, they could meet in a mouth watering clash in March 2010 to determine the real king of bantamweight.

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Where does Adamek go next?

by Dafs 117

Cruiserweight king Tomasz Adamek is coming off a crushing fifth round kayo victory over Polish icon Andrew Golota. In a new feature from the Boxing Tribune, we assess his current options and possible paths, judging fighters he should challenge, and the fighters he should definitely avoid.

Firstly, we estimate that Adamek’s long term goal is to eventually get a fight against a Klitschko. We then looked at who’s challenged Adamek, who’s in a position that Adamek would like to be and who Adamek needs to fight to kick off his heavyweight dream.

Headhunters:

Steve Cunningham: Leading the pack who has repeatedly voiced his cause for a rematch of their thriller last year, Steve Cunningham is the only real option at 200 pounds for Adamek. After knocking Cunningham down three times in their 12 round brawl, the Pole still only managed to scrape a split decision victory over the American. Cunningham out-boxed Adamek, similar to the way Chad Dawson did to claim the WBC light heavyweight title from Adamek, but the Pole convinced the judges that he was king at 200 pounds. If Adamek does decide to move down to cruiserweight, surely Cunningham is the only option. It’s a great bout with a lot of interest from fight fans. But if Adamek wants to enhance his reputation further, Steve Cunningham is not the guy to do it. Too much risk for so little award.

Steve Cunningham: AVOID

Eddie Chambers: After suffering a unanimous defeat to Alexander Povetkin over a year ago, Eddie Chambers has quickly regained his position as the top American heavyweight contender with stellar performances against Samuel Peter and Alexander Dimitrenko, both times winning decisions away from his hometown. As a boxer with a height advantage you would expect Eddie Chambers to outbox Tomasz Adamek early on but with Adamek’s pressure, Chambers will eventually lose the close rounds and surely it could make a compelling finish. With Chambers a name considered for a title shot by the WBO, he’s a name that Adamek should target soon if he wants the chance against a Klitschko.

Eddie Chambers: CHALLENGE

Alexander Povetkin: As he’s IBF’s top challenger, Tomasz Adamek would need to get past Alexander Povetkin to get his shot at Wladmir Klitschko in 2010. The Ukrainian throws about the same number of punches as Adamek over the course of the fight but Adamek is considered to be much quicker than Povetkin. Povetkin however will hold a slight advantage in the power stakes and with new trainer Teddy Atlas behind him, it will hard to see Adamek beating the Ukranian based on his recent performances. As Povetkin is considered to be the next best thing after the Klitschko’s, a victory would see Adamek probably be ranked as the third best heavyweight and set up a potential showdown with Wladmir Klitschko, the IBF heavyweight champion.

Alexander Povetkin: AVOID

Samuel Peter: Samuel Peter is trying to revitalize his career with Top Rank following a string of defeats that has seen him quickly fall down the pecking order with many leading organizations. The Nigerian Nightmare still possesses huge knockout power and will prove a stern test to Adamek’s discipline to not go and trade with the bulky Peter. I strongly feel that Adamek could easily tap dance around Sam Peter for 12 rounds and win a shutout decision. A big performance, with a stoppage victory, would probably see Adamek ranked in the top 10 at heavyweight. With Peter’s 30 pound weight advantage, Adamek would struggle to deal with Peter’s bombs if they can find their mark. Adamek would enhance his reputation with a victory over Peter, who is now surely past his monstrous prime.

Samuel Peter: CHALLENGE

Wladmir Klitschko: Don’t be stupid now Tomasz. Beating Andrew Golota hardly merits a title shot at Wladmir unless you’ve got the marketing brilliance and the mouth of David Haye. Adamek needs seasoning, experience and rounds at heavier weight against better class opponents before thinking about a Klitschko. However, the Klitschko’s aren’t stupid, and can see that Adamek is a long term threat. They’ll see that the sooner they face Adamek, the better and with the size advantage they will beat him so badly, we won’t see him at those heights again in the division. Why hasn’t Juan Carlos Gomez, another former Cruiserweight king, fought again after getting demolished by Vitali Klitschko? He hasn’t recovered, and frankly neither would Adamek.

Wladmir Klitschko: AVOID

The Boxing Tribune Pathway Too Success: You’ve got a year and a half to practice, probe and get yourself in the best possible mental condition for a battering against a Klitschko. We would start with a 10 round unanimous decision tap dance over Samuel Peter. Then move on to ranked contender Eddie Chambers and hopefully stun him into a close decision. By keeping busy in New Jersey against over the hill former contenders, Adamek would impress the bosses at K2 promotions and spot that Adamek is ready to get a beating. He gets his massive payday, gets pizza faced by jabs and notches a second defeat on his record.

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UK ALERT: Kell Brook vs. Michael Jennings is OFF

It has been confirmed today that the highly anticipated step-up in class for welterweight sensation Kell Brook against Michael Jennings is off due to Brook suffering from a virus infection. The intriguing contest was due to take place at The Echo Arena in Liverpool will now probably be re-scheduled.

It’s not yet known if Sky Sports has pulled the plug on broadcasting the undercard which featured arch-rivals Tony Quigley and former Contender star Paul Smith fighting for Quigley’s British Super Middleweight title. Also on the undercard, the three Olympians were to progress through another round of fights for James DeGale and Frankie Gavin. Also unbeaten prospect Jamie Cox was to be showed on Sky Sports 1 on Friday Fight Night.

This is a major blow for UK fans as this was meant to be the great follow up to the slugfest between Ryan Rhodes vs. Jamie Moore last week. We’ll have to wait a little while to see how Brook performs against a competitor the same level.

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Abraham vs. Dirrell, Jan 23

The dates for the next round of bouts in Showtime’s Super 6 Boxing Classic are going to be released after Mikkel Kessler defends his WBA super middleweight belt against unbeaten American Andre Ward next month.

With some inside news, The Boxing Tribune has found out that the fight between Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell will be on the 23rd of January, in an unnamed venue in the US.

In the first round fights, Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) scored a spectacular last round kayo over former middleweight Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs). Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) lost a controversial split decision to WBC champion Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) in a scrappy bout.

The bout is a must win for Dirrell if he wants to qualify for the tournament semi-finals. Abraham currently tops the round robin stage by gaining a bonus point with a stoppage of Taylor.

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Cintron Stops Ramos in Homecoming

Kermit Cintron RTD 5 Juliano Ramos

Former welterweight champion Kermit Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs) made his debut in Puerto Rico a spectacular one by stopping Juliano Ramos (15-3, 12 KOs) of Brazil by fifth round TKO on Saturday night at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The bout was the main event of a special edition by DiBella Entertainment’s “Broadway Boxing” series which was promoted by PR Best Boxing Promotions (Ivan & Peter Rivera) and DiBella Entertainment.

Cintron studied his Brazilian opponent Ramos for rounds one and two, cagily pawing and jabbing. He quickly opened up in rounds three and four throwing combinations and wide hooks that staggered his opponent. Ramos went down at the end of the fourth following a straight right from the Puerto Rican. Cintron had Ramos again reeling from his power right hook that had him in bad shape before his corner didn’t allow him to come out for round five.

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Rojas Decisions Mbamba in Veracruz

WBC Interim Super Flyweight champ, Tomas Rojas (32-11-, 22 KOs) successfully defended his title against South African, Evans Mbamba (16-1, 8 KOs) in Rojas' hometown of Veracruz.

Mbamba lit up pre-fight press conferences by deriding Rojas and insisting that the interim champ was "nothing." However, from the opening bell, Mbamba had difficulty closing the gap against the much taller, fellow southpaw, Rojas, and only managed to land a few meaningful punches through 12. He also suffered two knockdowns.

The judges scores unanimous: 117-109, 117-109, 119-108. The BTBC had it scored 116-110, also for Rojas.

The win sets up a December 12th date to fight Vic Darchinyan for the full 115 lb. title on the Timothy Bradley/Lamont Peterson Showtime card.

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Adamek Stops Golota in 5

In Poland's biggest boxing contest ever, former IBF Cruiserweight champ, Tomasz Adamek showed his class and stopped four-time Heavyweight world title challenger, Andrew Golota, in the 5th round of their scheduled 12.

From the very beginning, Adamek's advantage in hand speed was obvious as he often got off two or three shots while Golota was still reacting to the first.

Golota was dropped with 46 seconds left in the first round and, despite a brief positive run in the third, was never really in the fight.

After stunning and dropping Golota in the middle of the fifth, Adamek applied more pressure and unleashed a barrage of punches that sent his larger opponent stumbling into the ropes. The ref had seen enough and called an end to the contest.

Adamek picks up the IBF International Heavyweight Title and unofficially gets handed the torch of being Poland's favorite fighter.

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Gritty Rhodes Wins Dream Ticket

Ryan Rhodes TKO 7 Jamie Moore

In a British fight of the year contender, Ryan Rhodes threw of the veil of anonymity that had shrouded his career to date by stopping Salford star Jamie Moore in a war at Bolton Arena.

The winner is in line for a shot at WBC champion Sergio Gabirel Martinez in 2010, so there was a lot at stake for two boxers who have been more of problem children than cash cows for their promoters.

The fight started scrappy with Moore the aggressor edging out into an early lead. Moore began to walk through Rhodes and landed heavy punches that wobbled Rhodes in the fourth.

Rhodes began to find his range and frustrated Moore from the fifth round onwards by varying his range. Rhodes then had Moore hurt in the sixth, before a late comeback might have swayed the judges to score the round to Moore.

The seventh was probably THE best round of many from the domestic calendar in Britain, with Rhodes cranking up the pressure and sent the champion to the canvas with a short and sharp right hand. The champion looked all over the place as referee Howard John Foster reached the count of eight.

The Salford man showed true champion heart, by battling back to stun Rhodes and in the middle of the round they traded big shots to send the crowd into raptures. Rhodes landed another sweet right hand that hurt Moore and backed up with several unanswered punches that saw referee Howard John Foster step in at the 02:35 mark.

There’s a call for a rematch, but with limited career time remaining, Rhodes must press on in his quest to reach his holy grail and that could happen, especially if Martinez vacates his belt to fight Paul Williams. Credit for his hard work and discipline, Rhodes deserves a title tilt just on his professionalism in the sport.

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Amir Khan Ready To Please Home Crowd

WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan is confident of successfully defending his title and ending his Ukrainian challenger Dimitry Salita’s unbeaten record in their December contest at Newcastle.

The bout will be at Newcastle Arena on the 5th of December and is Khan’s first defence of the belt that he claimed against another Ukrianian, Andreas Kotelnik in Manchester in July.

“I’ve spotted a lot of things that I can work on to beat him, he’s undefeated, but he’s not faced Amir Khan yet. I know what to do.” Khan told BBC Newcastle ahead of his big fight.

“I’m even more serious now. Being the world champion I want to keep hold of the championship, I don’t want to be a one-fight world champion, I want to keep hold of the world title and go all the way.

“It’s going to be tough, but that’s boxing for you. You have to fight the best fighters out there and Salita is one of them who wants to fight for my title and win my world title, and I’m not going to let him do that.

“If I see a knockout, I’m going to go for it. If I know he’s hurt or he’s backing off I’m going to turn the heat on and I’m going to take him out.”

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Cleverly Plans Italian Job

Nathan Cleverly will have to travel to Italy to face Antonio Brancalion for the vacant European light heavyweight belt.

His promoter Frank Warren narrowly lost the purse bid to OPI 2000, Brancalion’s promoters. Brancalion is an ex-European title-holder will have until November the 3rd to tell Cleverly’s team the date and venue of the fight, which is likely to be on December the 5th, the same date as Amir Khan’s title defence.

Brancalion recently suffered a first round stoppage defeat to German Juergen Braehmer who will fight for the interim WBO light heavyweight title later this year.

Cleverly currently holds the British and Commonwealth light heavyweight belts, whilst studying a maths degree in Cardiff University. He’s quickly being considered in the top bracket at light-heavyweight and hopes to fight for a world title next year.

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Picking On Someone A Different Size

by Dafs117

If you’re an ant, you can’t tackle a mountain. Common sense points to the big man, and most of the time the big man prevails, but bigger isn’t always better. Perhaps you have already been reminded by an uncle who remembers when Bob Foster, the great light heavyweight, met the much heavier Joe Frazier and was nearly drilled into the canvas. But what’s forgotten is that the little guys win some of these matches.

For those historians, 160 pound Bob Fitzsimons regularly fought men much larger than him. He only needed two rounds to kayo 260 pound Ed Dunkhorst. When he eventually lost his heavyweight title to James Jeffries, many felt it was because he had a 40-pound disadvantage. Jeffries was incredibly resilient which allowed him to outlast the smaller guy.

Before I bore you to death with a history lesson, some names like Henry Armstrong and Joe Walcott spring to mind as a smaller guy achieving at a higher weight. The modern craze of lighter-weight fighters moving up to heavyweight was started by Michael Spinks when he became the first light heavyweight champion to successfully challenge for the heavyweight title, when he knocked out Gerry Cooney who out-weighted him by more than 37 pounds. His success at heavyweight prompted a lot of lighter-weight fighters to try to duplicate his feat, not always with the most aesthetically pleasing results, for example James Toney. One fight that will live in the memory of every boxing fan is Roy Jones Jr.’s piss-take over John Ruiz to become the first middleweight champion to win a heavyweight belt.

Tomasz Adamek is a two-weight world champion who was considered top of the tree at 200 pounds before announcing his move up to the big guys. That accolade, and his Polish background, has earned him a strong following in his adopted American state New Jersey.

He will face fellow countryman and four-time heavyweight title challenger Andrew Golota in Poland this Saturday. It’s got the same kind of feeling as Tua-Cameron, and is dubbed as Poland’s Fight Of The Century. It will by far be Adamek’s biggest payday and by giving away a 30 pound advantage to Golota, it has sparked another size debate.

It’s hard to predict big man vs. small man, but Adamek is tough and resilient and will be facing a post-prime 50 week lay-off Andrew Golota. If you’re not interested in the fight, you’ll still be curious to see if the ant can once again tackle a mountain.

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Arreola Comeback On Goossen Tutor Dec 5 Card

Following Kelly Pavlik’s withdrawal, Paul Williams has decided to go alone and fight on December 5 closer to home. An opponent for Williams is yet to be named but names are being branded about.

The red hot favourite is Argentine WBC light middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez who is looking for an opponent around the same date. Other candidates are Ukrainian WBO light middleweight title-holder Sergei Dzinzurik, IBF middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester and once-beaten Irishman John Duddy. An opponent is likely to be announced next month.

The card also included an intriguing 149 pound catchweight fight between two former welterweight champions, Carlos Quintana and Joshua Clottey. That fight has currently been cancelled but both camps are hoping it could be re-sheduled, and possibly placed on the same card as Williams.

On the up side, Chris Arreola who’s also promoted by Dan Goossen, is rumoured to be making his comeback following a devastating 10th round stoppage defeat to WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko in September. His opponent is not yet named.

It will be interesting to see what physical condition Arreola will enter the ring on December 5. If he stays true to his word, which many boxers don’t, he will enter the ring a slimmer, hungrier, technically better fighter in much better condition. Or he’ll get bigger, even heavier, like many heavyweight have in the past following a heavy defeat. His physical condition will depend on his mental condition and how much he wants that respect from his critics.

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UK Alert: Froch – Dirrell to be replayed on ITV

WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl “The Cobra” Froch will be back on British TV screens this Saturday night on ITV1. Viewers will get a chance to see last weekend’s Super Six World Boxing Classic bout with previously undefeated American prospect Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell.

The fight will be replayed on ITV1 at 11:15pm on Saturday night with the fight rounding off an action packed night for boxing fans with ITV4 kicking off a night of boxing coverage at 9pm. ITV4’s coverage will start with Showtime’s answer to HBO 24/7, FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic, a compelling new reality series that gives viewers unprecedented access into the lives and training regimes of the Super Six tournament participants. FIGHT CAMP 360° also covers the promoters that are not shy of voicing their opinions in the meeting rooms, discussing how the tournament came together and their views on the one off event.

The night will start off overseas to the O2 World Arena in Berlin, for a replay of the other Super Six tournament bout between two former World Middleweight Champs, Arthur Abraham and Jermain Taylor which also took place last weekend. Shortly after the fight, ITV4 will broadcast the English Welterweight title bout from the Froch – Dirrell undercard at Trent FM Arena between Adnan Amar and Tom Glover. The action then switches to ITV1 to cover Froch – Dirrell.

Froch handed the heavily-hyped Dirrell his first ever defeat in front of a sold out Trent FM Arena in Nottingham last Saturday. Froch successfully defended his title and his undefeated record intact via split decision with the Italian Massimo Barrovecchio and Belgium judge Daniel Van de Wiele awarding Froch the bout 115-112, while Mexican official Alejandro Rochin Mapula scored it 114-113 for Dirrell.

The win caps an outstanding hat-trick of victories for Froch who won the WBC title courtesy of a thriller with previously undefeated Canadian Jean Pascal, who is currently the WBC Light heavyweight Champion, before making a successful first defence Stateside with a sensational last round stoppage of former undisputed Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor. Now “The Cobra” has ended Dirrell’s unbeaten run, he’ll face the current WBA Champ Mikkel Kessler in the next round of match-ups.

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Mundine and Geale Victories Secures Re-Match

Anthony Mundine UD 10 Alejandro Gustavo Fallinga

Daniel Geale UD 12 Samir Dos Santos Barbosa

In two tune-up fights, both Australian middleweights won comfortable shutout decisions against over-matched South Americans in a jam-packed Silverdome in Tasmania in front of Daniel Geale’s home support.

After the weigh-in, the press conference got heated. Mundine tried to wind up his rival Geale, by declaring he wanted the fight at a different weight. After Geale laughed in his face and complained, Mundine reacted by ripping his shirt off and flaunting his lack of preparation. “I haven’t been training hard and been eating too much chocolates and cakes so I said to my management team that I wanted the fight at 76 kg. This is my show and if he wants to get paid he’s got to agree.”

In his fight, IBO middleweight champion, Mundine, 167.5, chased Fallinga around the ring for 10 rounds, who was trying to survive more than fight while local favourite Geale, 159.75, started tentatively before picking up the pace in the middle rounds. Barbosa went toe to toe with Geale in the 11th and 12th to give the fans some competitive action before the final bell. All three judges scored the bout 120-108 to Geale. He picked up the worthless IBF Pan Pacific Middleweight Title.

Throughout his fight, Mundine was booed by the pro-Geale supporters for the lack of action. Mundine was quick to remind the supporters of his victory over Geale earlier in the year “To all the haters in the building, it’s OK, I am The Man. I definitely won last time, but next time, I will win defiantly.” The judges scored the fight 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91.

In the post-fight press conference, Mundine expressed a very similar opinion to WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch, after his split decision victory against Andre Dirrell at the weekend. “He came in to survive not to fight and it didn’t make it entertaining for the fans. I just had to deal with what was in front of me. I caught him and he was on his bike and I couldn’t pin him. I caught him again and he reversed behind the referee. Pure negativity.”

Mundine went on about how Paul Williams and Kelly Pavlik opted out against him “I’ll take the winner, I want the best but the best don’t want me.” Geale also revealed his plan on the world stage “Mundine is going to be next, but hopefully I’ll challenge for the IBF middleweight title in 2010.”

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Pavlik vs. Williams: TKO'd By "Staph Infection"

The oft-postponed Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams Middleweight title bout on December 5th is now officially off...probably for good.

The official story is that Pavlik's staph infection in a finger on his left hand continues to be an issue and is stopping him from being able to train properly.

With Pavlik out, Top Rank is also likely to pull Joshua Clottey from the HBO undercard bout where he was set to face Carlos Quintana.

Unless an unlikely Williams-Clottey bout can be pieced together on short notice, HBO will have to scramble for a suitable opponent for Williams and a solid preliminary bout.

When Pavlik finally does return, he will find himself with literally nobody to fight in his division and will be treated as a toxic property by most management teams for his recent problems.

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Adamek Ditches IBF Cruierweight Title

IBF Cruiserweight Champ, Tomasz Adamek has officially vacated his title ahead of this Saturday's bout with fellow Polish star, Andrew Golota in Lodz, Poland.

Billed as The Polish Fight of the Century, Poland's biggest stars will now be fighting for the IBF International Heavyweight crown in a true crossroads bout for both fighters. Golota desperately needs a win to stay somewhat relevant while Adamek has burned his Cruiserweight bridges and must impress at Heavyweight.

This will probably lead to #1 ranked Steve Cunningham taking on #3 ranked Matt Godfrey for the vacant Cruiserweight title at some point in 2010 (The #2 spot is empty).

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Good Grief, Jermain Taylor...

by Charles R. Horgan

Alright Jermain, you got me. Good one. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me three times, shame on me twice. I have to admit when I’ve been had, and I have to appreciate such an elaborate joke. I mean, to get Bernard Hopkins and even Winky Wright to play along, man, that was good thinking.

For the past 5 years I thought that you were something really special. You came out of nowhere with a sweet record. You were like twenty-three and oh, with something like seventeen knockouts. That’s pretty good. Then there was that jab; Fools were getting dropped by it, boy it was sweet. Then you came right on in and beat unbeatable Bernard Hopkins, twice. I know it was close, but you didn’t want it to look easy, you just wanted to give us a taste.

Now look at us, four years later and I just can’t get my head around it. That Pavlik fight was kind of a fluke, right? That’s what you wanted us to think. He caught you and that was it. The second fight and it was one of those things, like Pavlik just had your number. It happens to the best, Winky had Mosley’s number, you had B-Hop’s, it can happen to anybody. Anyway, you went right in and rocked Lacy, and then you were going to take that title from that 168 lb Vic Darchinyan named Carl Froch.

That jab was right there all night long. Froch tried, but he couldn’t get in there. You kept snapping his head back with those smart, straight shots, and then you dropped the hook on him… Damn, it was nice. Now we know you get tired going into those later rounds, but it would be okay, just coast for a few minutes since you already took the damn fight. I was already leaning back in my chair, ready to celebrate, a smile on my face, counting down the last round.

You got me though. Spit take, double take, yell at the television. It was a doozy. Bravo my friend. You let Froch storm right across the ring and shellac you. You got knocked down, remember that? You pretend like you can’t hold on so that we start yelling in our living rooms and the bars. You got up, and you still had a chance, man just ten more seconds. We’re at home jumping up and down, making fools out of ourselves and you get knocked out.

Come on, man. What the hell was that all about? You beat B-Hop, homie. What are you doing to me?

Anyway, you still got that solid base of knowledge and experience. You get gassed at the end, but now you know that. If you didn’t know it after Pavlik, you sure as hell knew it now, and you’d fix it.

Man, you even said that in one of those Ring articles. You said that you were training different; you said that you could last. I’m such a dummy. I couldn’t hear all the snickers at your training camp. I couldn’t hear you guys trying to hide your laughter when I was sitting down in front of my computer, getting ready to watch you beat Abraham.

I said on the message boards that I was still angry at you for throwing it away against Froch, so I predicted against you, but there I was, talking to Paul Magno and I admitted to secretly rooting for you. I’m sorry, I’m sentimental. Besides, you’re the best guy Abraham’s faced. The guy just covers up and then steals rounds. That’s no way to fight.

And you, you beat B-Hop. Abraham was coming up in weight, you’ve already done fought at Super Middle. It would be a little tough, but you know your limits, you wouldn’t get caught this time. Right?

Fool me twice, Jermain…fool me twice.

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Magno vs. The Machine (Results After Stage 1)

Stage 1: The Results

The boxing related battle of Man vs. Machine heated up this week with Stage 1: The Super Middleweights. After very similar predictions, our editor-in-chief (Paul) Magno and (Title Bout Boxing) Machine are level going into a hectic November schedule.

In the first fight, both experts picked the right winner, so they earn a win on their record. As they didn’t predict the correct method or time of stoppage, they don’t get a knockout on their resume. If Taylor had avoided that right hand that landed 14 seconds from the end, Magno would hold a slight edge with a kayo on his record.

Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor

Magno: Arthur Abraham UD 12 Jermain Taylor
Machine: Arthur Abraham TKO 2 Jermain Taylor

Result: Arthur Abraham KO 12 Jermain Taylor

Scores: Magno (1-0, 0 KO), Machine (1-0, 0 KO)

In the second bout of the night, both experts predicted the same identical outcome. As they had the right idea, but the wrong winner, both lose that precious ‘0’ at the end of their records.

Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell

Magno: Andre Dirrell SD 12 Carl Froch
Machine: Andre Dirrell SD 12 Carl Froch

Result: Carl Froch SD 12 Andre Dirrell

Scores: Magno (1-1, 0 KO), Machine (1-1, 0 KO)

The next Magno vs. Machine debate will be another doubleheader on November 7, Nikolay Valuev vs. David Haye and the rematch between Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson.

Scores: Magno (1-1, 0 KO), Machine (1-1, 0 KO)

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Bayless Will Ref Pacquiao-Cotto

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has chosen Kenny Bayless as referee for the upcoming November 14th battle between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao.

Bayless is a well-regarded official who is no stranger to mega-fights. His resume includes: Pacquiao-Hatton, Hatton-Malignaggi, Cotto-Margarito, Pacquiao-Marquez II and Mayweather-De la Hoya.

The judges assigned to the bout are veteran names: Adalaide Byrd, Duane Ford and Dave Moretti.

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Gritty Froch Solves Matrix Dirrell

Carl Froch SD 12 Andre Dirrell

UK fans may have built former WBC Champion Carl Froch 26-0 (20 KOs) up to be the next 168 lbs king after Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Joe Calzaghe dominated the decision for years, but Dirrell wasn’t buying it. And after a little more than 12 rounds of action at the Trent FM Arena, neither is anybody else.

Due to Showtime’s lack of preparation, the fight was delayed for half an hour. The Nottingham faithful patiently sang along to Johnny Cash and The Beatles at 02:30 am. They weren’t treated to a slug-fest, but more of a clash of styles and negativity on Dirrell’s part.

The hard-punching Brit Froch, 167.5, barely kept WBC super middleweight belt as he attacked heavily hyped Andre Dirrell, 167.5 at the second attempt, in the middle rounds and withstood the challenger’s furious retaliation down the stretch to win a close split decision over 12 heats. Afterward, the 26 year-old Dirrell, 18-1 (13 KOs), displayed his disgust about a point deduction in the 10th round in the post-fight interview. He’ll face Arthur Abraham next.

Pre-fight favourite Froch, 32, didn’t look as strong as usual and was slow and sluggish to begin with. He often lost his balance when missing punches and was countered by the much quicker Dirrell. This was Froch’s second defence of his WBC belt, and certainly not his best. But despite the belt-holder’s poor tactics, Dirrell could do no better than lose narrowly.

Dirrell didn’t stamp enough authority in the cagey rounds to win them against the defending champion as Froch struggled to find rhythm. The American did well to avert Froch’s vaunted opening attacks but it came to no avail as they jabbed for the opening two rounds. Dirrell turned loose in the 4th, switch-hitting and using his footwork to dance around Froch. It became a see-saw battle in the fifth on, as Froch and Dirrell mixed it up, but they missed the target on most occasions. Dirrell repeatedly hit Froch’s gloves with full force, his lack of precision costing him some points. With more composure and coolness, Dirrell could have caught the frustrated Froch, whose punches were a little more free-swinging than the challenger.

There were some very difficult rounds to score, but Froch certainly held the lead through 7 rounds, so Dirrell became more aggressive in the final half of the fight. Unfortunately, his constant clinching lost him a point, which made Dirrell fight a bit more front-foot. The final rounds were even, one for Dirrell and one for Froch. His negativity cost him some crucial rounds at the core stages of the fight. Froch pulled out a split decision, 115-112 (X2) to the champion and 114-113 to Dirrell.

Dirrell should have won the bout, but he didn’t sustain a consistent offence and lost the close rounds to the Englishman. Dirrell didn’t throw combinations. He just threw occasional jabs that were absorbed on Froch’s gloves. He came to Nottimgham to steal a decision, not to fight. He ran and hugged and didn’t do enough to beat the champion. Sometimes it takes more than that to beat a champion. That’s why Dirrell will need a massive performance to beat Arthur Abraham in stage 2. Carl Froch will fight Mikkel Kessler in a mouth-watering contest between two of the division’s finest.

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Deja Vu for Taylor as King Arthur Lays Down Marker

Arthur Abraham KO 12 Jermain Taylor

Too skilled, too accurate and too good of a puncher, Abraham, 168, Berlin, Germany, via Yerevan, Armenia, outclassed, wore-down and ultimately stopped the brave Taylor, 166.5, Little Rock, Arkansas, in the closing seconds of the final round to take the maximum 3 points in the opening group stage of the Super 6 Boxing Classic. The two former middleweight champions battled in front of a packed crowd of 15,000 at the O2 Arena, Berlin.

Taylor started lively, outpunching Abraham to take an early lead in the first round. Abraham looked a bit tentative in the opening exchanges and kept a very high guard throughout the first two rounds. In the second round, Taylor was warned countless times for low blows and Abraham took a 30 second break for a punch that landed south of the border.

Abraham, 31-0 (25 KOs), had the edge in power, and while Taylor, 28-4-1 (17 KOs) utilized his jab in rounds three and four, the American got caught by wild left hooks in close that immediately got his attention. Neither blows took any discernible toll on “Bad Intentions”, and he exchanged combinations to the head and body with Abraham as the action warmed up in the fifth round.

As the rounds wore on, Abraham began to settle into the kind of rhythm on which he has forged his reputation. His right hand collided with Taylor’s chin several times, with increased authority, and the American’s punch output decreased significantly. Taylor’s punches lacked the kind of power that Abraham was able to demonstrate.

Taylor’s chin absorbed some more left hands and right hands in the seventh round before Abraham unleashed ominous series of left hooks to his rival’s body. With his confidence sky high, Abraham began to showboat, playing with Taylor and dropping his gloves. Taylor began to retaliate with a right uppercut that landed on the inside. This level of resistance by the former Olympian was not anticipated by Abraham or his team. Their expectation was that Taylor would crumble not long past the halfway point, but the American held his ground and was still in contention after round 8.

Taylor may have outworked Abraham in previous rounds, but the quality of punches were being thrown by the German based Armenian, who landed a hard right that wobbled his opponent in the ninth round. Remarkably, Taylor finished the round on his feet, but Abraham was confident that the win was already in the bag. “King Arthur”’s strength showed in rounds ten and eleven as he landed solid combinations of punches to the head and body of Taylor who was tiring rapidly, but he withstood a sustained assault over the final couple of rounds and stayed on his feet until 15 seconds from the end, Abraham landed a crunching straight and short right hand down the pipe which completely knocked Taylor out senseless. Taylor was counted out on 2:54.

The scores at time of stoppage were 107-102, 106-102, 105-103.

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Super Middleweights Make Weight

WBC Super middleweight beltholder Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch and his American challenger Andre ‘The Matrix’ Dirrell both weighed in at 167½ pounds yesterday in front of a massive crowd of 3,500 people at the famed Market Square in Nottingham, England. Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) made weight on his second attempt, having weighed in earlier in the evening at 168.4 lbs. He had up to two hours to make the official weight for the title fight, but only took 50 minutes to return to the scales at 167½.

Former IBF 160-pound titlist Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs) weighed in bang on the super middleweight division limit of 168 pounds, while his opponent, another former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) tipped the scales at 166¼ pounds.

Froch (25-0, 20 KOs), a Nottingham native, will attempt to defend his title on home turf at the Trent FM Arena, where a sell-out crowd of about 8,000 fans is expected. The other two super middleweights will fight in front of another sell-out crowd of more than 14,000 fans at the O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany, Abraham's adopted hometown, on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The 12-round bout is one half of the first stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, and will be broadcasted live on Showtime.

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Former Champ Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham’s ‘Fighting Obesity In Children’ Camp This Saturday

Press Release:

Former IBF Cruiserweight World Champion, and current #1 ranked IBF contender, Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham is keeping himself busy as he waits to reclaim the coveted Cruiserweight crown by hosting a free camp for the children of Philadelphia at Rock Ministry in Philadelphia on Saturday 17th October 2009.

‘USS’ Cunningham, who lost the IBF Cruiserweight title by a close split decision, after the magnificent December ‘08 ‘Fight Of The Year’ nominated battle with Tomasz ‘Goral’ Adamek, created the camp to teach children the value of physical fitness and healthy nutrition, as well as provide them with the confidence and tools to achieve their health and fitness goals.

Taking a break from training, at the James Shuler Memorial Gym in West Philadelphia, father of two, ‘USS’ Cunningham spoke briefly about obesity in children and the camp. "Back when I was young, we did not have all the technology and distractions available today, we played outside way more than kids do now and I believe that is one of the reason's childhood obesity is such a huge problem. It is estimated that there are roughly 9 million obese children in the US, all of which face obesity health related issues and complications, and that is really scary. I want to give the kids at my camp tips on how to balance their lives and live more healthy and hopefully avoid the health complications that come with being overweight from such a young age."

Joining ‘USS’ Cunningham, at the AngerWear and CurvSports sponsored camp, will be #1 ranked Heavyweight contender ‘Fast’ Eddie Chambers, former Philadelphia Eagle and radio personality Garry Cobb, Philadelphia Flyers’ Riley Cote, and President of TS Training and certified personal trainer Tanya Stroh.

Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham’s ‘Fighting Obesity In Children’ camp, for 13-18 year olds, will be on Saturday 17th October 2009 at Rock Ministry, 2755 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, from 10:00AM - 3:00PM (Registration and breakfast 9:00AM).

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Versus to Broadcast Hopkins Tune-up; Undercard Discovered

As previously announced, Bernard Hopkins will fight his December 2nd tune-up bout against Mexican Middleweight, Enrique Ornelas, at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.

What we didn't know was that the bout will be aired live on Versus and that at least some of the proceeds from the card will be going to charity.

This is a "keep busy" fight for Hopkins in anticipation of his scheduled 2010 rematch with Roy Jones (who will be fighting Danny Green in Australia on that same day).

On the undercard of Hopkins-Ornelas will be three well-regarded Philly fighters: Welterweights Rock Allen and Danny Garcia as well as Jr. Welterweight, Karl Dargan.

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Danny Williams Keeps British Title

Despite his humiliating points defeat to Carl Baker, the British Boxing Board of Control met today to discuss if heavyweight Danny Williams should keep his belt despite his disappointing defeat in Prizefighter. And in a debatable decision, they decided against stripping him of his British Heavyweight Title.

As a result of this, Williams, 36, will not retire from the sport. His manager Mickey Helliet said “This is such good news. Danny was going to carry on anyway and this news has put a spring in his step. I didn’t think it would be right to strip Danny of the title because he lost a three-round fight. He has been a great ambassador for British boxing and deserved better than that.”

Danny Williams is rumoured to be lining up the winner of Rogan-Sexton. Their rematch will take place on November 6 in Belfast. Famous for his knockout against the shadow of Mike Tyson, Williams needs to desperately up his game if he wants compete with Rogan and Sexton. A third fight with Prizefighter winner and Olympic Gold medallist Audley Harrison has been discussed, but is judged as a step back for both fighters at this current stage in their careers.

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The UK Beat Report (10/14/09)

by Dafs117

Welcome to the second UK Beat Report, a monthly wrap-up of the fight scene in the United Kingdom.

The month was marred by the death of Darren Sutherland (4-0, 4 KOs). The Irish bronze medallist was found dead by his promoter Frank Maloney in the boxer’s flat. Sutherland was a talented fighter and definitely one for the future.

September started off with a bang as a featherweight duel took place in the north-east. There was a decent crowd at Middlesbrough watching the highly anticipated featherweight rematch between John Simpson (20-6, 8 KOs) and Paul Truscott (13-2, 1 KO). Simpson stopped Truscott early on in the 10th on cuts.

Tyson Fury (9-0, 7 KOs) scored a controversial points victory over John McDermott (25-6, 16 KO) at Brentwood Centre, Essex. The contest was for ‘Big Bad’ John’s English Heavyweight Title. Terry O’Connor scored the fight 98-92 to Fury, while others at ringside had it 4 rounds to McDermott. The BBBofC have announced that they want the rematch to take place in the next 90 days. Another lanky heavyweight, Tom Dallas (7-0, 5 KOs) stopped Hungarian journeyman Mihaly Nemet (12-16-1, 4 KOs) in superb style in the first round. Dallas, who’s 6’6’’ and weighed only 229 lbs, knocked Nemet down 3 times and the bout was stopped 01:14 in Dallas’ quickest stoppage yet. Ashley Sexton (8-0, 4 KOs) also continued his rise with a first round technical knockout victory over Darli Gonvalves Pires (17-8-1, 8 KOs).

Clinton Woods has announced his retirement from the sport. He recently dropped a unanimous decision to Tavoris Cloud (20-0, 18 KOs) for the vacant IBF light-heavyweight title. Junior Witter (37-3-2, 22 KOs) will carry on despite calls for him to retire. He will move up to challenge at welterweight.

Ricky Hatton’s first promotion night couldn’t have gone any better with Matthew Macklin (25-2, 18 KOs) scored a stunning first round knockout over world level Finnish fighter Amin Asikainen (26-3, 17 KOs). Featherweight prospect Joe Murray (4-0, 1 KO) continued his rise through the domestic scene with a first round stoppage victory over Delroy Spencer (11-88-3, 1 KO).

Bernard Dunne’s (28-2, 15 KOs) reign of the WBA title in a very deep junior featherweight division and his first defence didn’t last more than three rounds against Thai Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (39-1, 28 KOs). He was in line for a major pay-day against Celestino Caballero (33-2, 23 KOs). Tyson Fury (9-0, 7 KOs) fought to a points victory on the undercard.

David Haye (22-1, 21 KOs) was ringside at McDermott-Fury and said that his preparation for his upcoming title tilt against Nikolay Valuev (50-1, 34 KOs) is going according to plan. Adam Booth, Haye’s trainer, said it was likely that Haye would weigh around 230 lbs in the Valuev fight on the 7th of November in Germany. Haye is looking to spar with Tyson Fury ahead of his fight at Nurenburg. The long-awaited rematch between Sam Sexton (12-1, 5 KOs) and Martin Rogan (12-1, 6 KOs) has been postponed due to a back injury suffered by challenger Rogan. Their first bout got stopped by a mouse under Rogan’s left eye when it appeared that Sexton was out on his feet. The bout will take place at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast on the 6th of November.

Nathan Cleverly (18-0, 8 KOs) headlined at York Hall against lanky Englishman Courtney Fry (13-3, 5 KOs) on October the 9th. He won by 8th round stoppage over former Commenwealth Games champion Fry. Cleverly has been nominated to fight for the vacant European light heavyweight title against Antonio Brancalion and the fight could take place on December the 5th. On the undercard, Derek Chisora (11-0, 6 KOs) fought for the first time since his biting ban last March and won by thir round stoppage. The Heavyweight Prizefighter III draw was made by a certain ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. Mike Holden (10-9-1, 6 KOs) was pulled out of the competition as he was floored by Tomas Mzarek (4-22-5, 3 KOs) in the third round of their scheduled four round bout. Michael Sprott (31-14, 16 KOs) also pulled out after the tragic death of his sister.

Audley Harrison (26-4, 19 KOs) won the tournament with a stoppage victory over Irish outsider Coleman Barrett (10-1, 2 KOs). Harrison still believes he could get a world title-shot next year with the help of Barry Hearn. Danny Williams (41-8, 31 KOs) was stunned by Carl Baker (9-4, 6 KOs) and will probably retire by the time of the next beat report.

The dream domestic lightweight contenst between John Murray (28-0, 16 KOs) and Jon Thaxton (34-11, 19 KOs) took place at Altincham, Chester on October 3. The bout was for the vacant British lightweight strap after Murray failed to make the weight by 1.5 oz in his previous bout against Scott Lawton (26-5-1, 5 KOs). John Murray won by fourth round stoppage and after the fight, Jon Thaxton retired from the sport.

Esham Pickering (34-9, 13 KOs) was defeated in an European featherweight title bout against Oleg Yefimovych (17-1, 11 KOs) by third round knockout. He has admitted that he will not hang up his gloves yet.

Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) will begin his quest for super middleweight domination with a fight against Andre Dirrell (19-0, 12 KOs) in a battle of skill versus will at Nottingham. The fight is on the 17th of October for Froch’s WBC super middleweight title.

Jason Booth (33-5, 13 KOs) will fight at Sunderland on October 16 against Michael Hunter (29-1-1, 13 KOs) and is hoping for an impressive performance to land a title shot at 122 lbs. A bout with Bernard Dunne (28-2, 15 KOs) or Rendall Munroe (19-1, 8 KOs) could be next.

If Jamie Moore, (32-3, 23 KOs) beats Ryan Rhodes (42-4, 28 KOs) in an all British light-middleweight contest, he would get a shot at either Sergio Gabriel Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KOs) or Cory Spinks (37-5, 11 KOs). Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (40-0-1, 30 KOs) is also a name branded about. Gary Davis (9-2-1, 7 KOs) will defend his Lonsdale belt against slickster Ian Napa (18-7, 1 KO).

The next report will be at the end of October and will concentrate on David Haye’s heavyweight challenge against giant Nikolay Valuev. The Hayemaker could be set to take the British heavyweight lead from Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs) the only modern day heavyweight champion to have beaten every opponent he has ever faced.

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Will Team Taylor's Paranoia Pay Off?

by Paul Magno

"Taylor's people sent an advance man to Germany to look for bugs and cameras in the gym where Taylor will prepare for his Oct. 17 super middleweight fight with unbeaten Arthur Abraham. Taylor, the former middleweight champion from Arkansas, will not eat in the restaurant at his hotel; he'll dine out, unannounced, or his chef will fix something."

This is a blurb from an otherwise forgettable fluff piece in an Arkansas newspaper by writer Harry King, but this does touch on an on-going theme in German fight history.

There is a long line of gossip and innuendo regarding some pretty shady goings-on when it comes to American boxers fighting in Germany.

Strange things often seem to happen to foreign fighters there. The stories usually involve sharp, aggressive challengers arriving in the country, looking like killers in the pre-fight publicity and then showing up to the fight with glassy eyes and a lethargic workrate. After the inevitable loss, they wander the ring like zombies with absolutely no idea why they simply could not throw punches.

The stories of German foul play go back to the first Joe Louis-Max Schmelling fight at Yankee Stadium in 1936 (Schmelling's people were accused of drugging Louis' water before the fight) up to current walking dead performances by Sam Peter vs. Vitali Klitschko and Eddie Chambers vs. Alexander Povetkin.

The theories run the gamut from laced food and water to tainted air supply from hotel air conditioning vents. Of course, none of the theories or cases are provable, but that never stopped trainers and managers, conspiracy theorists by nature, from acting on the stories.

A famous case is when Sam Simon, The Simpson's producer and former manager of Lamon Brewster, kept the reigning WBO Heavyweight Champion out of Germany for as long as possible before his defense in Hamburg with German contender Luan Krasniqi. Simon would go on to sequester his fighter under tight security for whatever time spent in his opponent's home country. No food or water was accepted, no casual walks in the park permitted, no air conditioning was turned on; Everything necessary was brought in by Team Brewster from the UK.

Brewster would go on to flatten Krasniqi via ninth round TKO in a bout littered with injustices ranging from questionable scoring to a 17-second count that allowed Krasniqi to get up following a knockdown in the eighth round. Eventually, it was Krasniqi himself who called an end to the bout after he was knocked down again in the ninth...Krasniqi was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

Who knows if the tight pre-fight guard on Brewster stopped any potential sabotage from the German promoters or if just the idea of being protected made Brewster feel more confident. The fact is that Brewster and, four years later, Eddie Chambers (who was also allegedly shielded under tight security by his team) in his bout with Alexander Dimitrenko were the last two American fighters in recent memory to actually look good fighting in Germany.

Now, it appears that Team Taylor has stepped up their game in trying to shield Jermain from any questionable tactics. But who will shield Taylor from the questionable practices that often take place within a German boxing ring?

And, then, of course, he also has to deal with Arthur Abraham, one of the top fighters in the world today.

In other words, while Team Taylor is in Germany on their hands and knees, inspecting gyms and hotel rooms, they should also be using that time to pray for a miracle...Taylor's going to need one.

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Magno vs. The Machine (Stage 1): The Super Middleweights

by Dafs117 / Paul Magno


John Henry was a Steel Drivin’ Man

John Henry is a figure from American folklore, a symbolic representation of the modern man vs. machine debate.

According to the story, John Henry was a famously strong “steel-driver” erecting railroads with his co-workers across the mountains to the West.

When the greedy railroad boss purchased a steam-powered hammer to replace the railroad crew, John Henry issued a challenge: him vs. the machine for the jobs of his crew.

Henry ended up beating the machine, but he paid the ultimate price; His heart exploded afterwards and he collapsed on the same railroad tracks that he had just put down.

Now, Boxing Tribune editor-in-chief, Paul Magno takes up the battle as he goes toe to toe with Title Bout Championship Boxing in a 21st century boxing-related battle of man vs. machine.

In this series, both Magno and the Machine will make predictions for all the upcoming major bouts and records will be kept to see whether a modern day John Henry stands a chance against a multi-functional, mega-powered computerized opponent.

And where better to start than a double-header from the revolutionary Showtime Super 6 Boxing Classic.

Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor

Magno: Both fighters made a name for themselves eight pounds lighter in the Middleweight division and, now, both are trying to establish themselves as top dog at 168.

Despite the odds being stacked against Taylor, he still represents the best and most accomplished fighter, by far, that Abraham has ever faced.

In a lot of ways, Taylor and Abraham are similar in style and ability. Both are multi-talented boxer-punchers who are separated from 98% of the pack based solely on pure athleticism.

Taylor’s major defects have been focus and stamina, with both becoming legit liabilities as a fight progresses. Recent losses against Carl Froch and Kelly Pavlik were testaments to Taylor’s flaws as a fighter. In both fights, Taylor was solidly ahead and ended up suffering TKO losses.

But the question is whether Abraham’s defects as a fighter negate Taylor’s biggest flaws. Abraham, as talented as he is, couldn’t be described as a pressure fighter by any stretch of the imagination. He mostly fights in flurries, content to let loose for brief periods of time and steal rounds with his flashes of ability.
The questions in this fight will be whether Abraham can significantly pressure Taylor so that stamina becomes an issue later in the fight and whether Taylor’s natural ability can negate Abraham’s natural ability.

This is an evenly-matched fight that will come down to Abraham’s hometown advantage.
Taylor will make the final bell, but he’ll lose a unanimous decision: 116-112, 115-113 and 118-110.

Machine: As a bigger middleweight, Arthur Abraham should hold a slight advantage over Jermain Taylor, with a perfect physical condition in a much more favourable weight.

Fighting in his adopted country Germany, Abraham will be at an immeasurable advantage as the officiating is one of the most biased on the planet. Any close fight on the scorecards, will go Abraham’s way. Tough luck. That’s why you need to do more than just win a fight in Germany.

Abraham is seen as a pressure fighter. Not so. Just because he’s the aggressor against mediocre opposition, he rarely sustains an attack throughout the round to be styled as a pressure fighter.

The magnitude of his punches should be enough to trouble a post-prime Taylor, who still has the ghost of Kelly Pavlik tap-dancing in his mind under any kind of pressure.

Abraham has been described as one of the best finishers pound-4-pound in the sport today, in the same category as his super middleweight rival Carl Froch, for his outstanding punch accuracy and output when an opponent is hurt.

In front of the richest people in Berlin, Arthur Abraham will send a statement to the rest of the Super Middleweight fighters, with a quick stoppage victory over former Olympian Jermain Taylor.

Abraham hurts Taylor with a straight right in the early exchanges of the first round, and Taylor struggles to make it through the opening round on his feet. Abraham moves in for the stoppage in the second round, and punishes a negative Taylor who falls to the canvas under the heavy pressure from the Armenian. Taylor survives another minute, but it counts for nothing, as the referee judges that Taylor has received too much punishment and waves away the contest. Abraham is the winner by TKO in the second round.

Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell

Magno: This will be a fun match as two unorthodox talents with complete opposite skill sets and fighting philosophies do battle in a screamingly pro-Froch Trent FM Arena in Froch’s hometown of Nottingham, England.

Froch, the defending WBC Super Middleweight champ can be seen as a slow-footed pasty version of Tommy Hearns with arms down low and a desire to mix it up.

By far the more accomplished of the the two, Froch has already earned his place with wins over athletically gifted fighters Jean Pascal and Jermain Taylor.

Froch’s success depends on his ability to lure Dirrell into a fight and not engage in a boxing match. He was able to do that with quick-fisted fighters like Pascal and Taylor, but Dirrell could be another story.

Andre Dirrell can be seen as the junior entrant of the Super 6 Tournament. He’s perhaps the most athletically gifted of the six, but also the least experienced.
Patterned after Roy Jones Jr., Dirrell is a speedster who, only recently, has started adding some power to his game. The question will be whether he can handle the pressure of fighting a guy like Froch in a place like Nottingham.

If the flat-footed Froch can’t lure Dirrell into a battle, he will be chasing the American all day and catching enough counters to lose rounds. Dirrell’s history suggests that, when pressed, he gets on his bike so that could mean big problems for Froch.

Despite the massive hometown advantage, Dirrell will prove to be too fast and too athletic for Froch. Dirrell wins this via split decision, 116-112, 115-113, 112-116.

Machine: The two unbeaten fighters should put on a show as their different styles will surely make a gripping fight at the Trent FM Arena. Could hometown scoring be a factor?

Froch will be defending his WBC super middleweight belt for the second time, against a switch-hitting speedster that has far superior footwork and a considerable hand speed advantage over the champion. The champion might be judged as flat footed, but makes up for it in the power stakes, as he will possess a serious threat to the untroubled Dirrell.

Dirrell is expected to be on his bike for most of the fight and his punch output should be greater than Froch, so if it goes to the scorecard, Dirrell will hold a major advantage.

Dirrell’s more eye-catching flurries are enough to win him the opening rounds on the judges’ scorecards, as he silences the Nottingham crowd. Froch takes the closer and gritty middle rounds to even it out on the scorecards. The champion edges ahead in a close 9th round, the best of the fight. Dirrell surprisingly thrives under the relentless pressure of Froch, and wins the final rounds to split the Showtime team... and the judges.

Both fighters think they have done enough to win it. Press row are all split with different opinions as the scorecards are announced. Dirrell wins a thrilling opening to the Showtime Super 6 Boxing Classic, with an extremely debatable split decision, 116-112, 115-114 to the American and 115-113 to Froch.

Current Scores: Magno 0-0 (0 KOs), Machine 0-0 (0 KOs)

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