Forgot About Dre
They forgot about Dre in the past. It was the Super 6 tourney, names like Froch, Abraham, and Kessler were the buzz. When the dust settled, Andre Ward (30-0 15 KO) stood alone. On Saturday night, Ward faces Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1 26 KO) in one of the most highly anticipated fights in many years. It is not often you get two top ten, check that, top five (arguably) pound for pound fighters getting after it.
The call here is Ward. He has more tools in his tool belt, and is quicker with a better ring IQ. He should be able to frustrate Kovalev with his movement and will surprise the Russian with his strength. Don’t sleep on Ward’s 15 KO’s, he’ll sting you if you don’t respect his underrated power. The only achillies heel for Ward is that, at times, he likes to stay in the pocket and try and give better than he is getting…..if he does that with Kovalev…….
Nowadays everybody wanna talk like they got something to say
But nothing comes out when they move their lips
Just a bunch of gibberish
And motherf@*&%$s act like they forgot about Dre
King Kong, Box Office Flop in Monaco
For the man being touted as the next big thing in the heavies, Luis Ortiz (26-0 22 KO) was dreadful in Monaco. Granted, Malik Scott (38-3-1 13 KO) was an opponent who didn’t engage much, but come on man!!! If you’re suppose to be the new destroyer in the division, your job is to stop opponents like Scott, not carry them.
Ortiz won….wait for it….by unanimous decision and had Scott down several times, once on a body shot, once on a shot to the temple, and for good measure, a few flash knockdowns which were not counted. Scott was never in serious trouble, a bit wobbly at times but he is the Odd Guy after all. Scott apparently averaged 13 punches a round. Yes, you read that correctly. Scott’s a cool cat but even by his own admission on social media, he wasn’t good in this one.
This performance should get Ortiz a few willing dance partners but…..was it a fluke performance against an unwilling foe, ring rust, or was the hype unjustified? Only time will tell.
Philadelphia Freedom
Danny Garcia (33-0 19 KO) TKO 7 over Samuel Vargas (25-3-1 13 KO) on Saturday night. Ok, unlike Ortiz, Swift did what he was supposed to do to a foe not on his level. From the opening bell, Garcia used very short quick compact punches along with his trademark left hook to dominate Vargas.
In the 2nd, Garcia landed a monstrous counter right and dropped Vargas towards the end of the round. Vargas was able to beat the count with the bell ending the round a few moments later; however, in the 7th, Vargas wasn’t as fortunate. Garcia unloaded a barrage of punches causing the referee to jump in and stop the contest.
Garcia looked quick and disciplined in his approach. Although he did throw and miss some wild punches from the heavens, he was mostly economical and compact in his delivery. His opponent may have had something to do with it but he looked good nonetheless.
Cherry Picking
After successfully defeating Vargas, Garcia was in a war of words with his next opponent, Keith “One-Time” Thurman, who was a guest commentator for the PBC specifically for the Garcia fight. They jawed at each other with Thurman telling Garcia “I ain’t no cherry” referring to Garcia’s past opponents. Garcia spun it on him saying, “Yes you are, that’s why I picked you next” Ouch, shots fired. In any event, it should be good next March 4.
I Hurd About A Guy Named Jo Jo
Jarrett Hurd is a top prospect at 154 and as expected he defeated Jo Jo Dan, but what heart by the Romainian. Taking the fight on short notice, Dan showed incredible fortitue and was having moments at times through the first five rounds before the stoppage in the sixth.
Down But Not Out
Javier Fortuna (31-1-1 22 KO) survived a first round knockdown at the hands of Omar Douglas (17-1 12 KO) in route to a unanimous decision. Both of these guys are entertaining for diffrent reasons, Fortuna for the high skill set of a boxer/puncher, and Douglas for his relentless non-stop style. Both are worth the price of admission.
“Ain’t Gonna Be No Rematch”….”Don’t Want One”….
Make the bad man stop. All the May-Pac rematch talk has got to end. What does the sport or the fans gain by this? Nothing. It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting a different result. Keep watching Mayweather and expect a different result….you’re going to go insane….
Standing-8 