Tag: Amir Khan

Amir Khan To Face Chris Algieri

Amir Khan announced via a YouTube video that his next opponent would most likely be Chris Algieri in a bout on May 30th possibly at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn,  New York. All that’s needed is Al Haymon’s blessing which is expected.

Said Khan, ‘You can class him as an A-class opponent.’He has fought decent opponents, beaten decent opponents, and just fell short against Manny Pacquiao, which is an A star opponent.’He’s a decent boxer overall. He knows how to box and knows how to move well. He takes a decent amount of shots and he’s got a decent amount of power, so I think overall it’s going to be a good fight for me.”

It was probably too soon for a Kell Brook fight so hopefully that will be next for both later this summer or in the fall.

Algieri who has not fougt since his blowout loss to Manny Pacquiao last November recently began working with John David Jackson who has been busy with WBA, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight slugger Sergey Kovalev.  The addition of Jackson is interesting and after the Pacquiao fiasco, a needed one.

Brace yourself for the”uncaged” jokes commencing in 5, 4, 3,…….

Brook A Shining Light In First Defense Of Title

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Showtime Boxing International is a new series on Showtime promising to “Bring you fights’ from around the world, shining the spotlight on international fighters”

The spotlight couldn’t have shined any brighter on IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (34-0 23 KO) on Saturday from the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, England as the hometown hero didn’t disappoint making a successful first defense of his belt by stopping Jo Jo Dan (34-3 18 KO) by TKO at the end of round four.

Dan was the IBF #1 ranked mandatory challenger but from the opening bell, Brook made him look like a lesser opponent.

Brook dominated round one by establishing his straight right hand followed by left hooks. The straight right would bekey throughout the night. Dan, a southpaw, appeared a little off balance with his orthodox counterpart. He moved forward at times but Brook’s speed kept him honest.

Dan began round two by trying to close the distance but Brook landed a straight right which wobbled Dan.  Seeing that Dan was visibly shaken by the shot, Brook attacked and dropped Dan with a right uppercut. Dan was up and took a quick count. As the fight continued, Brook attacked again and dropped Dan again with a straight right. Dan is able to beat the count but is wobbly on his feet as he becomes target practice for the rest of the round but shows his mettle and makes it to the bell.

The third was a sloppy round as Dan lunged forward to try and smoother Brook, his legs visibly gone. Brook has another big round landing just about everything he throws.

Dan lands his best punch of the fight in the fourth round, a left hand, it has little effect causing Brook to unload a flurry of punches the last, a glancing blow off the top of Dan’s head which drops him again. Dan is up again and Brook attacks Dan to the bell and lands a huge left hook just as the bell sounds depositing Dan on the canvas.

Dan gets up, takes the mandatory eight count, and returns to his corner. In between rounds, Dan’s corner has seen enough and stops the fight.

A dominant performance for the new champion in his first title defense against a very tough opponent who had never been stopped.

“What a heart, I caught him with some good clean shots, he kept getting back up” said Brook

Continued Brook, “I’ve been out for a while with the leg,…… there’s much more to come from me, that was just to knock cobwebs off, I’m going to be back in June in a massive fight, I’m back.”

When asked who he would want to face next, Brook mentions “(Amir) Khan, (Juan Manuel) Marquez, and Brandon Rios” Promoter Eddie Hearn was then asked about future opponents, “There’s a little venue (Wembley Stadium) available on June 13, if Amir Khan’s watching, give everyone what they want. It’s for the biggest payday; it’s for a world title, who wants to see Brook vs. Khan?

Brook was asked if he had a message for Amir Khan, “If you’re watching, come on, get in here with me, I know you’re delicate around your whiskers, I’ll take you out”

Brook did what a champion is supposed to do to the number one threat to his title, dominate him decisively. Brook looked amazing considering he was lying in a hospital bed six months ago unsure of his future.

“I didn’t think I’d ever walk again, let alone box again, and here I am defending my world title in style, I’ve been given a second chance, the best is yet to come”

Brook’s “Special One” moniker has taken on a whole new meaning over the past seven months.

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

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It was a huge past Saturday in the sport. Here are a few hi-lights in no particular order.

Like A Fine Wine

Amir Khan was masterful in his defeat of Devon Alexander on Saturday night.  Khan looked better than he has in the past few years. Using his long reach, excellent lateral movement, and blistering speed he absolutely dominated Alexander. Early in the first round,  Khan connected with a few solid power shots which in my observation, set the tone for the rest of the fight. Alexander was just not active enough and I think those early power shots and the speed in which they were delivered really put him on the defensive.  I don’t ever remember Alexander in a fight in which he was so inactive and tentative. Khan’s height and reach advantage were too much for Alexander.  Also impressive was that Khan appeared to be just as fast in the last round as he was in the first round.  It was all Khan with a  unanimous decision win and scores of  119-109, 118-110, and 120-108.

After the fight, Khan was pleased with his performance “I think this is one of my best performances.  I was under my feet,  I’m the best boxer with the quickest hands in the world.  Virgil Hunter has been teaching me what positions to be in.  I’m getting better as I’m getting older I just turned 28”

Yes, he appears to be a better version of the old Khan.  Even his beard held up well as Alexander landed some telling shots in the bout and Khan withstood them better than we have seen him do in the past.  Future opponents beware, at 28 and with Hunter guiding him, he may be just now reaching his peak and settling in for a sustained run. There’s talk of a Floyd Mayweather fight if the mega bout with Manny Pacquiao isn’t made but I’d love to see a match up with Kell Brook.

The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nothing But The Truth

Remember the name folks, Errol Spence Jr. If you follow the fight game, you are already aware of this up and coming prospect, if not, you will be in 2015. From the Lone Star State, D-Town more specifically, he appears to have the goods.

A fast, accurate, and powerful southpaw, he delivers snapping jabs, straight rights/lefts, commits to the body, has excellent footwork, a tight guard, and can fight from the outside or inside.

On Saturday night, he defeated Javier Castro by fifth round TKO and landed an amazing 71% of his power shots while exhibiting all of the aforementioned skills. His competition has not been a who’s who of the sport thus far but the talent is evident and this kid is a rising star.

Don’t mess with Tex…Uh, Errol

Always A Groomsman Never A Groom

Mauricio Herrera can’t catch a break. In a fight against Danny Garcia in March, he appeared to do better than two of the judges gave him credit for if not squeak out a victory but there he was a majority decision loser.

This past Saturday, he controlled the fight against Jose Benavidez and once again appeared to have done enough only to have the following scores tallied against him: 116-112 X2 and 117-111.

Benavidez is an up and coming prospect with a solid pedigree but school was in session as “El Maestro” controlled the majority of the rounds with excellent head movement,  constantly working Benavidez to the ropes working his body and landing power shots at opportunistic times.

This is not to suggest that the student didn’t have a few moments. It’s just that his performance didn’t justify the scores he received.

Herrera is what is right about the sport and he is wronged repeatedly.

A hard working blue collar fighter who gets better every outing. He defended his title, the kid surely didn’t beat the champ and take the title.

Desert Stormed

Timothy Bradley knows now how Manny Pacquiao felt after their first fight. Control a fight with speed and movement, land power shots, and do enough to win only to find out that you did not win. In this case, Bradley didn’t lose either but a draw after his performance against Diego Chaves was just like a loss.

Bradley won this fight. Chaves simply didn’t do enough and did a poor job cutting off the ring and allowed Bradley to move and score points all night. Chaves did do well early landing combinations behind an active jab but he stopped jabbing and was looking for one shot at a time for the majority of the fight.

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Bro

The twin Charlo brothers were both in action this past weekend. Jermall knocked out Lenny Bottai in the third round while Jermell won by unanimous decision over Mario Lozano.

He’s Not Just An Actor, He’s Not Just A Dancer, He’s Also A Fighter 

Victor Ortiz returned to the ring with a 3rd round TKO win over Manuel Perez. Ortiz has apparently rededicated himself to the sport and has a new trainer, Joel Diaz. So far, so good. For some reason, I can never get the image out of my head of Ortiz saying “I’m young but I don’t deserve to get beat up like this” after his loss at the hands of Marcos Maidana.

A Blessing From Above   

Andy Lee vowed to win a title to honor his trainer, the late great Emanuel Steward. On Saturday night, he did just that stopping Matt Korobov in the sixth round. Lee landed a picture perfect right hook which rocked Korobov. Lee then jumped all over Korobov causing Kenny Bayless to stop the fight. Great win for Lee, one of the good guys in the game.

Even in heaven, Steward continues to be the trainer of champions.

Ooooh That Smell, Can’t You Smell That Smell?

When scorecards like the ones in the Tyson Cave fight, and the aforementioned Herrera and Bradley fights rear their ugly head, the stench in the sweet science is overbearing.

“The Smell Of Death Surrounds You.”

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

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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.