Month: October 2014

The Lion King

Scott Leapai

Malik “King”Scott 37-2-1 13KO, defeated Alex “The Lionheart” Leapai 30-6-3 24 KO  over in Queensland, Australia on Friday evening.

From the onset, Scott’s speed dominated the fight, along with some timely uppercuts. He turned Leapai into a one dimensional fighter who continued to look for one shot, mostly the overhand right.

Scott won a lopsided points decision with scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

Great win for Scott coming off of the Deontay Wilder fight. I’d like to see Scott get a rematch with Dereck Chisora so he can avenge that loss which was an injustice.

Scott had vowed to retire had he lost. Glad he didn’t, we need entertaining cats like this in the game.

Welcome back Mr. Scott

4 Knockouts On Golden Boy’s Monster Brawl Card

monster brawl

This evening from Plymouth Memorial Hall in Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  Fox Sports 1 televised Golden Boy Promotion’s and Murphys’ Boxing  “Monster Brawl”  card. While there were brawls at times in each of the four televised fights, they were mostly one sided with a knockout ending each one.

In the main event,  Massachusetts’ Danny O’Conner 24-2 8KO, dominated  Virginia’s Andrew Farmer 18-3 7KO in route to a fourth round stoppage in this welterweight clash.   O’Conner dominated from the opening bell by utilizing his quickness and excellent movement to counter the tall and lanky Farmer. In the second round,  O’Conner stunned Farmer with a left causing him to take a knee.  Farmer was back on his feet halfway through the count and finished the round.  Farmer had his best round in the third but still was out worked.  The fourth round started with both men landing which caused a cut on the right eye of O’Conner. Both men clashed heads which stunned Farmer more but the referee didnt see it. Seeing his opponent was dazed,  O’Conner took this opportunity to jump on Farmer like shark who smells blood. O’Conner landed a huge shot to the body to drop Farmer who had had enough and sat on the canvas watching the referee count him out.

In the co-feature,  Ugandan Sarif Bogere 26-1 scored a KO at 2:10 of the fifth round stopping Fernando Garcia who drops to 30-7-2 with the loss. Borege was simply too much landing body shots early and often to soften up Garcia while landing power shots to the head. Bogere dropped Garcia in the second round on a crisp left hook but Garcia was able to recover and actually land some decent shots to end the round but couldn’t sustain his effort.

Other results:

Jason Quigley knocked out Greg McCoy with a big left hook and right cross to end the fight at 2:39 of round 1.

Mark DeLuca stopped Ryan Davis by TKO when Davis didn’t come out for the fifth. DeLuca had dropped Davis in the first and third and destroyed his body throughout the four rounds which all took their toll on Davis..

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

gossip

Thanks For Winning, Your Parting Gift Is Labeled GGG…..

This past weekend, the WBC’s #1 rated middleweight, Martin Murray, defeated Domenico Spada by seventh round technical decision. Spada’s right eye had been cut early in the fight by a Murray head butt and while the fight had been relatively close at the time of the stoppage, Murray was winning the fight.

So, what does Murray get for his troubles? A February 2015 date with Gennady Golovkin.

In Murray’s only loss, he did take Sergio Martinez the distance in a closer fight than most expected and even floored Martinez in his backyard of Argentina but Martinez was clearly not physically sound in that bout.

Oddly, Murray used tactics against Spada that would serve him well against Golovkin, like tying Spada up when he tried to get his power shots off and throwing a lot of jabs, problem is Murray doesn’t have power enough to keep Golovkin honest.

Heavy’s Are Heating Up

Finally we are going to get some answers about the future of the heavyweight division.  It was announced that a fight between Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne was near and may happen as early as January. What will happen when Wilder gets hit because he will get hit? How will Stiverne overcome the height and reach of Wilder to land his power shots and in doing so will he leave himself open for a counter? Yes, we are going to learn a lot in the near future.

Keep Telling Yourself  And You May Just Believe It

First, Freddy Roach said that Chris Algieri is not in Manny Pacquiao’s class and that he has jumped too soon.  Now, Roach claims that Pacman’s sparring partner Viktor Postol and others in the camp would be tougher fights than Algieri.  Yes, I know, just Freddy being Freddy, but honestly, I expected more out of a Hall of Fame trainer. He should know talent when he sees it. Ironically, he probably does see it which is why he feels the need to play the mind games. He must see something in both camps that has him concerned. Seems like he is trying to convince his camp more than Algieri’s? Truth is, Algieri is a new breed of fighter, 2.0 as you will. A different approach to training, nutrition, and strategic thinking. Be careful Freddy…

It Could Happen

So, Algieri wasn’t supposed to beat Ruslan Provodnikov, now he’s not supposed to beat Pacquiao. What if? What if he beats Pacquiao and it is him not the Pacman who is rewarded with a Floyd Mayweather fight? Of course, he will not be expected to win that fight either, but what if……….. What an epic run that would be.

Old Man Strong-The Case For Bernard Hopkins

Just less than two weeks away before the Alien meets the Krusher. Look for Standing-8’s article on BHop posted later this week.

Bombs Away

Tommy Coyle knocked out Michael Katsidis on Saturday with a wicked left hook counter in the second round. Katsidis, always a warrior, tried gallantly to get to his feet but was visibly too hurt to continue casing the ref to wave off the fight.  The win by Coyle will reportedly set up a fight against Luke Campbell, who also was victorious on an undercard bout.

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

gossip

Step It Up GGG

So Gennady Golovkin did what we expected him to do, knock out Marco Antonio Rubio. Take nothing away from GGG but let’s face it, Rubio didn’t want to be here. He told us that when he stepped on the scale the day before the bout. He wasn’t even disciplined enough to make weight for the biggest fight of his career and at least give the impression he wanted to win a title? Hey, Golovkin is a beast but I have to see him do the same against a few legitimate threats before I start putting him in the same aura and rarefied air of Iron Mike like some others have been doing.

Flashes In The Pan

This past Saturday against the undefeated Nicholas Walters, Nonito Donaire showed us the old “Flash”, for the first two rounds; however, in the third round, he took a big uppercut and was visibly hurt.  Although he had a few moments over the next few rounds, Donaire never seemed to fully recover. Cuts bleeding and his eyes swelling, Donaire took a solid shot to the temple toward the end of the sixth round that ended the fight. Donaire is a class act and always gracious in defeat but he hasn’t been the same since the Guillermo Rigondeaux fight. Yes, he had won two fights since the loss, one against an aging Vic Darchinyan and one that went to the scorecards after five rounds due to a Donaire cut but even in victory, he had not been the same. It was evident again that he was missing something against Walters. He’s been a gallant warrior but his best days may be in the past.

All Heart

Steve Cunningham fights with the weight of the world on his shoulders as he waits for the news that his daughter Kennedy will receive a heart transplant to fix a congenital heart defect. If you’ve ever been a parent, you know exactly how this would pull at your heartstrings and literally mess with your psyche. Steve carries on day by day and finds his refuge in the ring as he did this past Saturday when he took on a challenger that outweighed him by over 70 pounds, Natu Visina. Cunningham was able to use his speed and movement to outland the lumbering Visina in route to a seventh round stoppage. Steve may be the forgotten heavyweight in the division but his speed and movement may make for some interesting fights with the bigger names. Continued prayers that the Cunningham family phone rings immediately.

King Khan vs. Alexander The Great

It was announced that Amir Khan will face Devon Alexander on December 13 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. This is going to be a great fight folks. Physically both men are just about equal, one a southpaw one orthodox, both have speed, can box and have sneaky power. Most may make Khan the early favorite but I am not among that group.

SOG MIA, No Worries, The Lord Guides His Journey

While eating my breakfast this morning,  I looked up and saw super middleweight champ Andre Ward looking me right in the eyes. “Missing” read the milk carton as the word disappointingly rang true. It’s been eleven months since we last saw this pound for pound great in the office and I couldn’t help but wonder if we will ever again see this amazing talent.

The Bay Area’s Ward  (27-0 14 KO), epitomizes what the sweet science is all about. He’s a masterful technician who uses effortless footwork to switch angles while landing some of the most graceful combinations and counters you will ever see, a mostly impenetrable defense to defuse the threat, and when needed, underrated punching power to keep opponents honest.

You’d be hard pressed to find a fight out of his twenty-seven victories that was even close, but could probably make a case for the Carl Froch fight and even that is reaching. Pure dominance every time out. When the Super Six tournament was announced, Ward wasn’t in most conversations when the opening predictions were being discussed, but there was Ward, showcasing his skills and beating each fighter put in front of him like a video game player defeating a boss at each level while conquering the game.

Some called him boring? If you were one of (use airquotes here) “those people” you’re in need of remedial trainng STAT! Get your eyes checked, and go back to boxing school because if you think what Ward does is boring, you are missing every aspect of “sweet” and “science”.

So, where does this leave us at this point in our story?  Ward last fought eleven months ago thoroughly dominating Edwin Rodriguez, and this after a 14 month layoff from shoulder surgery. Historically he doesn’t seem to be affected by layoffs but the clock is ticking here. For the purposes of this article,  I’m not going to delve into the promotional squabbles affecting Ward even though it would be the elephant in the room as it relates to the recent inactivity.  Appropriately enough though, I will take a moment here to say a prayer for the Goossen family and say rest in peace Dan, you will be missed.

A religious man as his nickname Son Of God (SOG) will attest to, Ward lets the Lord guide his journey so he is, without a doubt, exactly where he needs to be. It’s a shame that he has not been active and we need to see him back soon or we could be watching one of the most tragic wastes of talent that the sport has ever seen. Boxing is going to need a new breed of champion to take the torch in the next year and move the sport forward. Who better to do that than a fighter who has perfected his craft and has a different type of core values that leads his path?

As my eyes refocus, I realize that I was imagining things if only for a moment. My eyes move from the milk carton to the sport’s page which reads, ” And Still!!! Andre Ward returns to the ring with another dominating performance”

Welcome back champ, we’ve missed you.