TKO Radio

Wlad should box Fury now

Sun, 05 May 2013 04:38:09 -0400

Wladimir Klitschko took his professional record to 60-3 with a dominate sixth round stoppage of lightly regarded Francesco Pianeta. The sad thing is, few people are talking about an excellent heavyweight champion defending his title.

If Klitschko is going to box for a few more years it would be good to see him in high profile bouts, such as the David Haye fight. Although there isn’t a challenger at the same level as the younger of the two dominate heavyweight brothers, he deserves to have the world watching and applauding his mastery.

Which is why it would be a good idea for Big Wlad’s promoters to contact Tyson Fury’s camp and make an offer he cannot refuse.

Fury is a very colourful character and even though it is difficult to see him beating the champion, the two fighters would be the centre of the boxing world and it would do neither profile any harm.

Mayweather is the boss at 147. What next?

Sun, 05 May 2013 04:12:00 -0400

Floyd Mayweather Jr. comfortably outboxed Robert Guerrero, and without even a moment of bother. He looked right at home boxing at welterweight, his speed was there, and the power in his right hand took the fight out of the challenger.

Now that people seem satisfied that he’s definitely still got it, they want to know who his next opponent will be.

Mayweather calls the shots these days so only he knows, but he’ll most likely either choose to remain at 147, or move up to 154. He’s won fights at both weights.

Why is he even fighting at all? He’ll be voted into the the boxing hall of fame as soon as he’s eligible, and I wouldn’t have thought he needs the money; although if comes to him in $32,000,000 bundles for such easy work, why not carry on.

He’s fought at light-middleweight twice, competitive fights with Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto, but both were a lot harder work than his fights at welterweight. The biggest incentive to move back up to 154 would be for a big pay-per-view showdown with Saul Alvarez, but Mayweather didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the idea in his post-Guerrero fight interview.

Who can blame him though? There are more high profile names at light-welter and welterweight and many of them are associated with Golden Boy Promotions, who Mayweather does his business with.

Before the fight he weighed in at 146 pounds and looked in fantastic condition, so it makes sense to carry on boxing in the division he is most comfortable and effective in.

Besides that, who is realistically a big threat to him at welterweight? Juan Manuel Marquez? No. He may have Manny Pacquiao’s number, but also said he couldn’t handle Mayweather’s speed and counter-punching.

If Adrien Broner looks right at 147 and blitzes Paulie Malignaggi, matching him with the pound-for-pound king would spark enormous fascination, but neither have shown interest in fighting one another.

Dare I say it – the Pacquiao fight? The interest is still there but not at anything close to the level of two or three years ago, and Floyd would be a much bigger favourite now. Although it would still generate his biggest payday, the bad blood between promoters Bob Arum and GBP has gotten worse, so that fight is still unlikely.

What is upsetting is that you don’t really hear the supposed next generation speak of wanting to fight Mayweather, but at 147 who can blame them.

Have a look at the Golden Boy Promotions welterweight rankings and try to find a fight Mayweather shouldn’t comfortably win.

Maybe Floyd was right all along. They don’t come to win, they come to pick up their cheque and they go on with life.

Mayweather vs Guerrero Preview

Sat, 04 May 2013 03:56:44 -0400

Robert Guerrero said he is the man to take boxing’s most cherished ‘0’, and feels that undefeated pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather Jr., is there for the taking.

A lot of people would like to believe him, but why should we? Guerrero has fought twice at welterweight, only stopped two of his opponents since the start of 2009, and those two had a combined 36 losses heading into their respective fights.

This is before even mentioning that Mayweather is a huge step up from anybody Guerrero has been in with before.

Guerrero knocked Andre Berto down twice and looked good, but he couldn’t stop him. Can he win by outboxing Mayweather? Hitting him cleanly and often will be challenging, and Berto’s shoulder roll defence is nothing like what Floyd will showcase.

But winning is a habit for both men and Guerrero has only lost once, way back in 2005, so there is no reason why he shouldn’t enter the fight with a degree of confidence.

The two boxers are the same height and Mayweather has a slight reach advantage, but Guerrero is younger, a southpaw and many people believe he does have what it takes to make this a rough fight.

It was when Mayweather allowed himself to be dragged into a fight on the ropes during his last outing against Miguel Cotto, that his fans worried age had caught up with him. He was hit more regularly than ever and had several serious marks on his face as proof.

Is Guerrero strong enough to bully Mayweather in the same way? He’s seen by many as a blown up lightweight, but both boxers started off several divisions below the welterweight limit.

Several respected pundits have said that to beat Mayweather it isn’t necessarily about just trying to hit him cleanly, it’s really more about throwing a large volume of punches and mixing up angles to prevent him from finding a rhythm to dictate from.

Although it appeared against Cotto that Floyd’s legs didn’t have the same spring in them anymore, he still had more than enough left during the final four rounds to dominate and provide breathing space on the judges scorecards.

Perhaps it will take somebody with one punch knockout power to beat Floyd, somebody like Shane Mosley of 10 years ago. But Mayweather, like most great champions, also has a good chin, as proved against Mosley three years ago.

Mayweather is an unbelievable talent, but he is also human, so age could catch up with him overnight like it has with so many other legendary boxers. However, you can’t help feeling that Guerrero will need the all of the stars aligned if he is to shock the world.

All Access: Mayweather vs Guerrero.

Sat, 04 May 2013 03:50:30 -0400

All Access: Mayweather vs Guerrero.

"He’s a young chap who, of course, doesn’t know his limits. They have to be shown to him..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 02:04:17 -0400

“He’s a young chap who, of course, doesn’t know his limits. They have to be shown to him in the ring.”

- Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko expects to give challenger Francesco Pianeta a boxing lesson when they meet on May 4.

10-8’s, Paranoia, and More Paranoia.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:31:00 -0400

Since the Tim Bradley v Ruslan Provodnikov fight in March there has been a lot of discussion about when to give a 10-8 round. During the Amir Khan, Juilo Diaz fight this past Saturday, BoxNation pundit Paul Smith said that he would not give a 10-8 round without a knockdown. Is there a right or wrong? No. It’s open to interpretation. This is boxing. Let’s keep it vague.

Is Khan putting too much thought into his style transformation at the expense of his raw talents? His speed seemed underused and power insignificant against Diaz. The crowd reaction of pure panic when their man was hit probably didn’t settle Khan or his corner either. Until he and his team relax about the consequences of mixing it up, he won’t be the top man at 140 pounds.

The main positive for many watching was Khan tying Diaz up to buy time when he was hurt rather than try to punch his way out of the problem and make a bad situation worse.

Was Martin Murray robbed? Not in my opinion. He fought a great fight in really difficult circumstances, and showed great patience sticking to his game plan. He frustrated a great champion in Argentina, and put him down twice in the process. The first three rounds, rather than the final two seemed the difference on the cards.

Talk of Sergio Martinez on the slide seem unnecessary though. He has fought undefeated boxers in four of his past five fights, with Paul Williams and Kelly Pavlik prior to that. Against the best, why wouldn’t he have tricky moments? He dominated Chavez for 11 rounds, won by knockout in his four previous fights, and is the best in a deep division.

Maybe the knee operation has taken some of his power, but Martinez has been in with very strong competition and deserves credit for refusing to take soft options.

Finally, Eric Raskin summed up the Danny Garcia, Zab Judah fight nicely, “Just enough good Judah moments last night to keep the Judah believers believing and the Garcia doubters doubting.”

"I have respect for Martin, but there is no doubt in my mind that this fight is going to end by..."

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:15:22 -0400

“I have respect for Martin, but there is no doubt in my mind that this fight is going to end by knockout.”

- Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is so happy with the way his camp has gone that he sees no need to play his cards close to his chest ahead of tomorrow nights title fight with Martin Murray in Buenos Aries.

Photo

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:13:42 -0400

Murray Trainer Talks About Martinez Fight

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:11:37 -0400

Personal trainer Martin Cullen has been working with Martin Murray since he was an amateur seven years ago, and says his man is in top condition for middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

“Everything has been perfect. He gets fitter, stronger and faster every camp. It’s all progress, and he’s getting better and better every fight.”

The occasion could not be any bigger for the undefeated Englishman fighting in front of 50,000 fans in Buenos Aries for a world title, and Cullen confirmed that Murray has put himself through a longer camp than usual.

“We might have 8 weeks sometimes, but I think this has been 16 weeks. You’ve got to consider not overtraining him as it’s such a long camp, so we slacken off a little bit and then build it back up again.”

Cullen has previously worked with former Thai boxing champion Kevin Harper, and now with recently turned professional boxer Thomas Stalker, but isn’t involved in the boxing and tactics side of camp. His priorities are his own specialities – nutrition and strength, with a focus on increasing speed, body movement, and power.

Although most top boxers fight only two or three times each year, Murray is never far from the gym, and his personal trainer feels this is a big advantage.

“He never stops seeing me. As soon as he’s had a fight he’ll only take a week off. He might leave the boxing training for a few weeks but he only takes a week’s rest off from me and we start on the strength side of it, building up again for his next one.”

They’ve been getting the challenger as sharp as possible with various sessions of jump training, and some plyometric and strength work.

“We do specific leg movements to increase his speed and agility. All that gets progressed every fight so he’s faster than he’s ever been.”

He added, “It’s getting popular now where lot’s of boxers are doing strength work, but a lot of them are doing it incorrect. If a boxer a does the training incorrectly they actually become slower and have less power. They’ve got to be careful.”

Having maximum speed to keep pace with Martinez will be vital, but does Murray have to knock the champion out to get the win in Argentina? Not necessarily, and Cullen feels the time is right for his big middleweight.

“If you look at all of his other fights, Barker and Macklin, none of them had the power to hurt him. Chavez was bigger but he didn’t have the speed. Martin’s got everything. He’s quite a lot more powerful than anybody Martinez has ever fought before. I think it’s going to be a close interesting fight.”

He also believes Martinez may be too fired up for his homecoming, “He’s under a lot of pressure in front of his home crowd in that stadium. He’s under a lot of pressure.”

Maybe there is a tactical clue hidden in that statement.

A tough one to score

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 05:26:00 -0400

Saul Alvarez won a unanimous decision over Austin Trout, and not everybody was happy with the scoring. I thought the result was the right one, but would understand a lot of the reasoning from those who’d scored the fight for Trout. Some fights are just very tough to call.

There were similarities to last weekends Rigondeaux v Donaire fight, and it started with Trout playing the role of the Cuban and Canelo in the Donaire role.

While last weekends fight held it’s pattern for most of the 12 rounds, Alvarez looked calm and relaxed against Trout, compared to the tense stalking from Donaire.

How do two people score the same fight so differently though?

On my twitter feed several people were live scoring and after four rounds one had Trout up 4-0, while another had Alvarez up by the same score.

The final scores read 115-112, 116-111 and 118-109.

Canelo scored the only knockdown of the fight, but the irony is that Trout’s camp were concerned that there wasn’t enough WBA representation on the judges panel. Stanley Christodoulou was their man and he was the one who scored it the widest.

What makes one person score a fight 10-2 for Sugar Ray Leonard and another 7-5 for Marvelous Marvin Hagler? Who thought Lennox Lewis v Evander Holyfield I was a draw? Oscar De La Hoya’s win against Felix Sturm kept his big money fight with Bernard Hopkins alive, but was the dictionary definition of dubious.

When does patriotism become part of the scoring? If a fighter from your country is boxing a rival from abroad in a big fight, are you able to realise when you’re giving the tight rounds to your countryman, and making excuses for why you’re doing it?

Skeptics may say it’s a corrupt sport and the promoter has given instructions as to where the close rounds will go, but some fights are just really tough to call.

Rather than just feel rely on plodding forward and chasing Trout, Alvarez boxed from the fourth round onwards, being selective with the heavy punches he wanted to throw.

The work of Alvarez felt more influential. He didn’t just come forward, he had composure and his shots were the only ones doing damage.

Trout did well to comeback from the knockdown in the seventh and did start to pour it on a bit in the closing stages, but that was probably due to the open scoring system in Texas being used.

He knew he was down on the cards and needed knockdowns or a knockout.

Open scoring doesn’t appeal to me. It just seems like a knockout incentive rather than keeping the judges honest, and it changes the natural progression of a fight.

Has anybody mentioned a man in a hat lurking about ringside?

A look at the first Lennox Lewis fight against Evander Holyfield...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 05:24:38 -0400

A look at the first Lennox Lewis fight against Evander Holyfield in March 1999.

Trout v Alvarez is a genuine pick’em and no result should surprise.

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:17:41 -0400

Certain boxers are so technically sound that they become too dangerous for their own good and don’t get the fights they deserve. Austin Trout was looking like this type of fighter until he was given his chance against Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto last year.

Golden Boy Promotions had grand plans to make an easy to promote fight between Cotto and their new sensation, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. This went up in smoke when Trout won a unanimous decision against the Puerto Rican.

Considering rumours were strong for Canelo to meet Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year in a mega money-spinner, GBP should be applauded for allowing this high quality fight to happen.

Who will win? This is a difficult one to call, and the pundits seem evenly split regarding the outcome.

Trout is slightly taller, with a one inch reach advantage, and with both in their 20’s they’ll be physically fresh, although Alvarez is five years younger.

Trout comfortably beat Cotto, so surely he’ll outbox the pampered Alvarez? If only it was that simple. Yes, Trout was slick against Cotto and rough when he had to be, but wasn’t the Puerto Rican on the slide and there for the taking?

Has Alvarez been too protected? Don’t kid yourself. Sure he’s been brought through at a sensible pace, but he’s only 22 years old! Put his resume next to Trout’s, and it is Canelo who has been in with better fighters, dominating his opponents and never looking troubled.

Alvarez will be faster, fresher and busier than Cotto, so what happens if this goes to the cards? Does Trout need to stop GBP’s new Golden Boy to get the win? His last stoppage win was in November 2011 against Frank LoPorto, and he’s only stopped 6 of his last 18.

Without getting too carried away with what might happen in the future, Golden Boy Promotions will be pleased because fight fans are very excited to see this fight. It is a really good one.

If either look extremely dominate, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will have no problem making 147 pounds for the remainder of his career as a professional boxer.

Bad luck for Kell Brook, but good business for Matchroom?

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:49:10 -0400

Not too long ago Eddie Hearn was the new kid on the block in the boxing game, and regardless of how you feel about his stable of boxers taking over the Sky Sports boxing budget, he is doing some great business for Matchroom Boxing.

Once it was confirmed that Kell Brook had pulled out of his world title shot against Devon Alexander, Hearn smoothly arranged for one of his less glamourous fighters to step in and take a shot at glory.

Lee Purdy is now in the man in the spotlight.

He hasn’t fought anybody close to Alexander’s level, and is considered a huge underdog, but with nothing to lose he would have been a fool not to take this chance.

Purdy has put together a nice run of four stoppage wins, so his confidence should be as high as it’s ever been. It’s only unfortunate that he doesn’t have 12 weeks to get mentally prepared, study his opponent and time his conditioning perfectly.

Eddie Hearn says Purdy is already in really good shape, and as Alexander’s head was clearly turned by the thought (cha-ching) of facing Floyd Mayweather Jr., he may not be 100% focussed.

Alexander didn’t like it when Timothy Bradley got rough with him, and Purdy can do exactly that; be physical, go for it and maybe catch the champion cold.

Win or lose Purdy will have increased his exposure, and he’ll have other big nights off the back of being a world title challenger. Or champion.

Does Kell Brook keep his mandatory status? This will concern Eddie Hearn a lot more then it will Lee Purdy.

A poem by Muhammad Ali ahead of the Sonny Liston fight

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:45:00 -0400

“Clay comes out to meet Liston,

Liston starts to retreat.

If Liston goes back an inch further

He’ll end up in a ring side seat.

Clay swings with his left,

Clay swings with his right.

Look like young Cassius will carry the fight.

Liston keeps backing up but there’s not enough room,

It’s a matter of time till Clay lowers the boom.

Now Liston disappears from view.

The crowd is getting frantic,

But our radar stations have picked him up,

He is somewhere over the Atlantic.

Liston is still rising and the ref has found

He can’t start counting till Sonny comes down.

Who would have thought when they came to the fight

They’d witness the launching of a human satellite.

Yes the crowd didn’t dream

When they put down their money

That they would see a full eclipse of the Sonny.”

TIME TO ADMIRE RIGONDEAUX

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:46:10 -0400

Guillermo Rigondeaux boxed beautifully and won his super-bantamweight unification fight against Nonito Donaire simply because he forced the Filipino to fight his fight.

It was tense, it was tactical, but Rigondeaux landed more punches, seriously worried Donaire in the final round and was a worthy winner Saturday night in New York.

The fight was a clash of styles, and largely difficult to score, but the Cuban used his experience and savvy to control the pace of the fight. His movement was simply outstanding and Donaire never really figured him out.

In the build up to the fight pundits were split fairly evenly when trying to predict a winner, but most of the boxing community are now applauding Rigondeaux for how comfortably he handled Donaire, the reigning boxer of the year.

Donaire spent most of the fight stalking forward patiently, but he finally realised a sense of urgency in the 10th round, moving with more intent and scoring the fights only knockdown.

However, although this was only Rigondeaux’s 12th professional fight he has bags of experience and used it to recover comfortably against the most feared puncher in the division.

The final round was worrying as Rigondeaux connected with a hard left, and Donaire backed off to protect his swollen eye for the entire round, bar the final 15 seconds when he took a vicious swing at his opponent, largely out of frustration and anger.

When the final bell rang, Rigondeaux confidently raised his arms and climbed the ropes. He had stuck to his plan, never lost his concentration, and he knew he’d done enough.

Not everybody will want to see a rematch, but I don’t see why. These are two of the truly elite, and getting this much quality together doesn’t happen often.

Just because it’s not a brawl, doesn’t mean it cannot be fascinating. This was one for the purists though.

Also, do not accept the idea that Rigondeaux is not exciting. He won’t morph into Arturo Gatti, but he is lightening quick and has stopped 8 of his 12 opponents. Brawling with Donaire didn’t make sense, and the Cuban showed he is so much more than a one-trick pony.

The result may not have been Top Rank Promotions first choice, and a handful of pundits are trying to write the great Cuban off as dull. What rubbish. If they want only brawls, there are plenty of boxers capable of standing and slugging. There are only a handful who can do what Rigondeaux can do. We should admire him while he’s active.

Donaire must be respected though for fighting four times in 2012 — top fighters rarely do this these days — and mainly for the fact that he wants to fight the best of his era. He lost his first fight in twelve years, but he will still be in high demand when he’s ready to return.

Not every fight is a classic, but when the best box the best there are no losers.

PLAY BALL

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:35:00 -0400

This excerpt is taken from Kevin Mitchell’s book, Jacob’s Beach: The Mob, The Garden, and The Golden Age of Boxing.

It touches on matchmaking and the control that a handful of people, the International Boxing Managers’ Guild, had over boxers and the sport itself mainly during the 1950’s. Sound familiar?

‘If you did not agree to the terms of the guild, if you did not sign with a manager from the guild, if your manager did not agree to parcel off bits of you to unseen, unlisted shadow investors, if you did not agree to fight when, where and how was convenient for others, you did not appear on television. If you did not make it on to TV, you were consigned to the outer limits, boxing in front of dwindling audiences in small venues.’

A short video about Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:58:53 -0400

A short video about Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York

"Would you want to see Rios Alvarado III?"

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 13:01:09 -0400

“Would you want to see Rios Alvarado III?”

- HBO show their sense of humour by politely asking the question after Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios produced another classic.

Bellew, Chilemba And Their Missed Opportunity.

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:58:10 -0400

Tony Bellew seemed to spend a lot of energy the past few days putting the eyes on Issac Chilemba, but in his post-fight interview the look of disappointment and a blown opportunity was written all over his face.

Although their WBC light-heavyweight eliminator fight was scored a draw, both fighters felt they’d done enough to get the decision. They will be kicking themselves, but neither really stood out as world champion material and a draw seemed a fair result.

The Sky television commentators implied that Bellew had been robbed, but that is nonsense. The feeling amongst people commenting online was that it was nearly impossible to agree on the scoring in what was a tactical fight rather than a bad one.

Very few have said that either boxer looked particularly good, and neither was in trouble at any point. Some liked Bellew as the early aggressor, while others preferred Chilemba who set the pace for the majority of the fight.

The biased commentary team regularly mentioned Chilemba’s lack of activity and urgency, but from the fourth round the South African had weathered the early pressure, taken the centre of the ring and silenced the crowd.

Bellew seemed to get rattled and lost his focus early on. He missed with most of his punches in the second half of the fight, although he did have Chilemba on the back foot and quiet during the first few rounds when he was working at a higher pace.

The Liverpudlian has had home advantage for the two biggest fights of his career. Will he have that luxury again if the rematch with Chilemba is made? Probably, as they’re unlikely to have that many in attendance elsewhere.

The good news for both fighters is that the light-heavyweight division is not as talent rich as the some of the others, so a good performance in the rematch should see the winner get their title shot at some point in the next 12 months.

Chad Dawson, the man they were fighting to face, will most likely be busy in Montreal for the remainder of this year anyway with Adonis Stevenson, Lucian Bute and Jean Pascal set up nicely to keep the WBC belt between themselves for the time being.

"I’m going to hurt him, it’s as simple as that - I’m bringing him pain."

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 04:52:52 -0400

“I’m going to hurt him, it’s as simple as that - I’m bringing him pain.”

- Tony Bellew ahead of his WBC light-heavyweight title eliminator fight against Issac Chilemba.