Month: July 2014

Welcome Back Bam Bam

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“I fucking love this shit!!”, the classic response uttered by “Bam Bam” Brandon Rios after being chastised by trainer Robert Garcia for receiving what Garcia felt was unneeded punishment against Mike Alvarado. Yes, that is Bam Bam, the throwback, energetic, and charismatic brawler fighting out of Oxnard, California by way of Lubbock, Texas. He loves to fight. He doesn’t particularly care for opponents who wish to box, no, Rios 31-2-1 (23KO) wants to bang. He will get his chance once again this Saturday night in Las Vegas against another brawler in Argentine Diego Chaves 23-1 (19KO) in a ten round welterweight clash.

This will be Rios’s first fight after an eight month layoff which included a five month suspension for testing positive for a banned substance after his last fight against Manny Pacquiao. Rios will be entering this fight with two consecutive losses, the only losses of his career, one each to the aforementioned Pacquiao and Alvarado. Rios was actually winning the Alvarado rematch until Alvarado switched from brawler to boxer. It is at those moments, when Rios’s opponents wish to box him that the fight starts to slip away, Rios’s warrior spirit longs for the violent encounter not the sweetness of the game. You figured that his brawling style would have had a chance in the fight against Pacquiao but he was thoroughly out boxed. Back in the ring for the first time since being put to sleep by Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao chose to engage less and box more. The brawling type fight that Rios covets eluded him once again.

Enter Chaves, a hard punching brawler in his own right who has only let three out of his twenty-four fights go to the scorecards. Chaves, a solid amateur, has only lost once as a pro and that was to Keith Thurman. In the fight against Thurman, he gave a solid account of himself and has arguably given Thurman his toughest test to date even surprising him at times with his punching power. Although a brawler by nature, Chaves is fast and has shown excellent movement in recent fights, a combination that could once again spell trouble for Rios if Chaves opts for that approach.   Rios can box when he wants but can he tame the warrior spirit long enough to do so?

Rios is at a crossroads in his career; a third loss in a row would be a major setback. He needs this fight badly to resurrect his career. This time he will get to face an opponent that is less likely to box him and give him what he wants; a back alley brawl.This is when Rios is at his best, however; don’t be surprised if Rios uses his underrated speed and skills to box a little more in this one if needed. Get your mute button ready, when Rios returns to his corner Saturday night its NC-17.

Welcome back champ.

Snippets On Arguably The Hottest Topics In the Sweet Science (2 Week Edition)

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3G Network

So Gennady Golovkin did what most thought he would do….KO  Daniel Geale.  Interesting to note is that he took a solid punch from Geale just as he was throwing his fight ending bomb. He took Geale’s punch better than Geale took his, game, set, match. Golovkin accepted a few solid punches in this fight and if he’d been fighting a harder punching foe, the punch he took right before he ended the fight may have had a different outcome. He needs to shore up his defense as the opponents get better. He won’t be able to walk through some of the bigger punchers he will face. What I have noticed in Triple G’s fights is that although he has  a great jab, he doesn’t like to be jabbed. It seems to take him off of his game, if only for a moment as his competition thus far has not been able to sustain their effort against him.  Yes, he’s good but it’s time to step up the competition.

After the fight he said he’s ready for anyone and mentioned that he wants Miguel Cotto next. Cotto, rejuvenated under Freddy Roach would be interesting, he’s relatively fast, has good power, can box and move, has a decent chin, but may be too small for this matchup. Canelo Alvarez would be an epic encounter.  We would find out a lot about Golovkin in that one, Chavez Jr.? No thanks. Andre Ward??? Definitely, that’ the one I want to see. Ward has one of the best jabs in the game, can box for days, and has one of the highest IQ’s in the game. His quickness and underrated power would present challenges for Golovkin.

 

The Rightful Winner

It was refreshing to see the rightful winner get the decision in this weekend’s Heavyweight Eliminator. Bryant Jennings defeated Mike Perez by split decision. There was a controversial point deduction in the last round against Perez that if not called would have meant the fight was a draw. Think what you want about the point deduction, the cards shouldn’t have been that close.

 

Krusher Is Back

Hard hitting Sergey Kovalev is back in the ring this Saturday night from the Boardwalk in Atlantic City against Blake Caparello. Kovalev and his 88% knockout rate will look to get Caparello out of there as he does with all of his opponents. Caparello brings a few interesting dynamics to the fight such as a southpaw stance, a height and reach advantage, and more ring experience but Kovalev is on a different level right now. I don’t see the title changing hands.

 

A Fork In The Road

Bam Bam Brandon Rios is at a crossroads in his career. Loser of his last two fights, one against Manny Pacquiao and in a rematch against Mike Alvarado.  Rios was out boxed in both losses.  This Saturday night, he faces Diego Gabriel Chaves, assuming of course that Chaves’s visa issues get worked out. Chaves will come to bang as evident by his 19 KO’s in 24 fights. His only loss was to Keith “One Time” Thurman. We all know that Rios loves to scrap so this fight is right down his alley. Even after the long layoff and suspension, look for Rios to be energized by a facing a brawler and not a boxer and subsequently get back to his winning ways.

 

Remember The Name

Two weeks ago, Super Middleweight Gilberto Sanchez improved to 29-0 with a spectacular KO performance against Junior Talipeau. The right uppercut that caused the first knockdown was textbook and from long range. It was nice to see such a young fighter using old school technique. It was one of the best punches I have seen thrown in some time. This kid is ready for the next level.

 

Need A Little D

Two weeks ago, Zou Shiming 33, trained by Freddy Roach, beat a very game Luis De La Rosa. Good scrap. Shiming has a good jab, is long and lanky, quick, throws punches from sneaky angles, and has a decent chin but he’d better shore up that defense. Shiming got hit flush several times mostly because he keeps his hands so low, this will get him into trouble against better opponents. In addition, he barely went to the body. This guy has the goods so he better listen to Freddy so that he can tighten up those weaknesses.

 

Well At Least It Wasn’t Boring

The knock on Guillermo Rigondeaux over the past several years is that he’s not exciting. It is because he has dominated and outpointed his opponents so easily recently that he has encountered this unjust criticism. Two weeks ago, Rigondeaux knocked out Sod Looknongyantoy. Well, not without a little controversy.  After a stoppage of the action due to an accidental head-butt, the referee motioned for the fight to commence, as it appeared there would be a good will touch of gloves, Rigondeaux hit Sod with a right that ended the fight.   Recently, Leo Santa Cruz responded to Rigondeaux calling him out by saying, “We train 100 percent in the gym to give the fans great fights. We are ready to fight @RigoElChacal305 any time any place” Amazing fight if it is made.

 

 

 

A Friday Night Treat In The Windy City

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ESPN Friday Night Fights has a special treat in store for us this week in the Welterweight Division from Chicago, Illinois. In the main event, Columbian Breidis “Khanqueror” Prescott 27-5 (20KO) will battle Mexican Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia 35-3 (23KO). This fight may enter the discussion for fight of the year when the final bell rings…..if it lasts that long.

Garcia enters this bout on the strength of a seven fight win streak. Earlier this year in February, he jumped at a chance to take a fight on short notice and fill in on Friday Night Fights against Noberto Gonzalez and ended up winning a split decision. What made this victory more impressive was the fact that Garcia had to lose over ten pounds the week of the fight to make weight due to being a late replacement. Garcia followed that performance up on a special Thursday edition of Friday Night Fights in May by stopping Victor Cayo by technical knockout in the sixth round. Garcia’s last loss was in 2010 at the hands of Antonio Margarito by unanimous decision losing out on a chance to claim the WBC International Light Middleweight Title.

Garcia is historically a slow starter who can be hit due to a porous defense but he counters both by applying ruthless pressure throughout the fight while scoring with effective combination punching and landing power shots when needed as evident by his 58% knockout rate. Garcia can be effective in this fight if he can set the tone early by starting out quicker than usual and letting his hands go more than he has in previous fights.

Prescott comes in with a 3-3 record in his last six fights with two of those losses at the hands of rising star Terrence Crawford by UD in 2013 and Mike Alvarado by TKO in one of 2011’s best fights. Prescott is a dangerous puncher and likes to get in there and bang as he did when he stunned Amir Khan back in 2008 by first round knockout and like he was doing with Alvarado before being stopped late in a fight he was most likely winning.

Where Garcia starts slow, Prescott is known to be a relatively fast starter in his fights. He has a history of imposing his will early in fights and should utilize that strategy in this one. If he can jump on Garcia early, he could prevent Garcia from getting into his comfort zone while looking to exploit an opening in Garcia’s defense to land his big right hand. If Garcia is uncharacteristically able to match Prescott’s intensity in the first few rounds, Prescott will need to look for opportunities to land power shots by countering Garcia’s combination punching.

Both men are orthodox fighters who virtually mirror each other on the “Tale of The Tape”. This will be an intriguing fight and not to be missed, both men rarely take a step back and come to fight, don’t blink.

Officer, I’d Like To Report A Robbery……Weighing In On The Lara/Alvarez Debacle

 

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Better late than never….I was finally able to see the replay of the Canelo Alvarez v. Erislandy Lara bout last night. I had planned on watching it live last Saturday; however, in route home from vacation, my flight was delayed and I exited the airport for home as the fight started. I was fortunate enough to not be tasked with the driving responsibilities and was able to follow the fight on social media, Twitter more specifically. I follow many tweeters who are directly involved in the sport and continually refreshed my phone to keep the updates coming. This would be interesting, watching the fight through the eyes of the social media world before watching it myself. See what others are seeing as detailed in their tweets and what feelings they are having about the fight in the exact moments it is occurring; some at the fight, some watching on PPV, some past/current fighters, some boxing experts, and some the casual fan. I wanted to see if the majority opinion would match the judges at ringside.

As I watched each update it was evident early on by the accounts of others that Lara was winning this fight. Other than tweets about Canelo’s body work, all indications in the early and mid rounds were that Lara was clearly out boxing Alvarez. This was the overall and dominant consensus of the round by round updates. The tweets then took a slight turn and favored Canelo’s more aggressive attack for a round or two but again returned in favor of Lara. After reading tweets that said the fight had ended and that it would go to the scorecards, it seemed clear that Lara was the winner, according to overall opinion of those I was tracking.

As it turns out, that is not what happened and again a scoring controversy reared its ugly head in a big fight, complete with another “what fight were you watching?” scorecard submitted by Levi Martinez, 117-111 Alvarez.

It was evident that this was a close fight. All of the tweets would suggest as much but I now had my chance to watch the replay and see if the “world” had lied to me or if the judges had gotten it right.
As I watched the reply, as each round started, I played my own “game within the game”, give Canelo 10 points and make it Lara’s job to change my mind. Lara did a pretty good job of convincing me as I had him winning 8 of the 12 rounds, 116-112 Lara. Actually it was pretty simple to score. Lara’s lateral movement and ring generalship were the difference in my review. I don’t ever remember seeing Canelo swing at air so many times. Lara’s movement made Canelo reset over and over. Canelo stalked Lara but did a poor job cutting off the ring. Canelo’s best work was done to Lara’s body, he threw damaging punches when he was able to corner Lara but his inability to land punches to the head was due to Lara’s excellent movement. Lara scored beautifully with sneaky straight rights and lefts, solid jabs, and timely power shots.

It’s called the sweet science for a reason, hit and don’t get hit. Lara did just that. For those proponents who felt that Lara “ran” would probably find it interesting to know that Lara landed more punches. Pretty hard to outland your opponent if you run. Another favorite of the proponents is that Lara would not engage toe-to-toe with Canelo, so in their logic Lara should play to his opponent’s strengths putting him at a disadvantage. Good thing they don’t manage fighters for a living.

The bottom line is Lara won this fight and it’s a shame that the scores didn’t reflect that. It’s ok if the rightful winner is awarded the victory, that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

Snippets On Arguably The Hottest Topics In The Sweet Science This Week

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1. Omaha…Omaha… There’s A New Sheriff In Town

No, I’m not talking about “The Sheriff” Peyton Manning barking out audibles, I’m talking about a star in the making….Terence Crawford. Omaha’s Crawford put on a dazzling display last Saturday night in front of his hometown fans in stopping Yuriokis Gamboa, KO 9. Crawford knocked Gamboa down once in the 5th, twice in the 8th and a final time to end it in the 9th. Gamboa had his moments early, mostly due to his speed and may have won several of the early rounds but The Champ was simply better in every aspect as the fight moved on. Crawford will find himself on P4P lists soon and maybe we will see a matchup against Mikey Garcia, wouldn’t that be something?

2. Say It Isn’t So

The P4P King may have his next opponent, and it’s…….Marcos Maidana? No champ, you beat that cat already, you only have a few fights remaining, forget those damn critics who will never be satisfied with your performances and shouted for a rematch…… Maybe I should write an “open letter” to the Champ?

3. Speaking of Announcements…

Mayweather stated that there will be a “surprise opponent” for May of 2015. All indications are that it would be Manny Pacquiao. Probably so and I’m guessing it would be in Macau. Money wins this fight and puts another notch in his résumé for T.B.E.

4. Take The Test, Take The Test

Paulie Malignaggi criticized Pacquiao this week via Twitter rants about the Pac Man never taking random drug tests while he was on a run of “destroying” people. The Magic Man tweeted “I don’t give credit to guys who hide and duck from random drug testing while accomplishing things that seem pretty amazing, Paq should have been the first to volunteer for those random tests when he was destroying people while constantly jumping weight classes”

 

An Open Letter To Mr. Mayweather

MOney

Floyd,

I know that you feel you must answer these so called “critics” by fighting Marcos Maidana again in September but to hell with them, you defeated the man fair and square this past May 3rd. Did Maidana give you a competitive fight? Yes, but so what, your opponents are world class fighters just because it was out of the norm for a Mayweather fight, that it might actually be close, these so called “boxing aficionados” figured you lost and screamed “fix” and “rematch” almost immediately. I guess that’s what happens when you are a legend and moving towards G.O.A.T., or T.B.E status as you will. To hell with what the masses want, I’m going to be in the minority here, I don’t want a Maidana rematch. Surely not because I think he can beat you the second time around, but because as I understand, your legendary run will be coming to a close in late 2015. (However, maybe extended just one fight more to get that coveted 50th win?) I don’t want to see you fight a guy you just beat; I want to see a new opponent. For one, after you have had 4 months to study the tapes from the first fight, the rematch will not be close or competitive. One does not get into T.B.E. conversation without having one, if not the highest; ring IQ in the game. Secondly, the “experts” will never be happy with who you fight anyway so I get it. After you dominate Maidana in the rematch, they’ll say that you ducked another top contender by taking the rematch and if you fight another top contender instead of Maidana, they’ll say you ducked Maidana. So I guess it doesn’t matter. In closing………Wait, am I done with this letter? Did I actually almost complete it without mentioning the “Pride of The Philippines”. Blah… Blah… Blah… Ah yes, another favorite of the critics. I almost forgot to mention this possibility because to me it doesn’t matter. I just want this fight to happen so they will shut up about it and you put another W on the dossier.

They’ll miss you when you’re gone and it’s sad that it will take your retirement to bring this group around. Keep doing your thing Money, damn the majority.

Signed,
A Fan