In boxing every great run comes to an end one way or another. Whilst we always hope that greats can bow out with their head held high, a title over their shoulder and and their dignity, it's very rare we actually get to see that done.
Last weekend saw Paul Spadafora coming undone as he dropped a decision to Johan Perez. Going in to that bout Spadafora had a remarkable unbeaten record that read 48-0-1, he was going for win #49. Today saw Chris John of Indonesia also going for win #49 as he attempted to extend his 48-0-3 record and also maintain his standing as the WBA Featherweight super champion. Like Spadafora however, John suffered a major set back and fell to 48-1-3 (22).
John was facing Simpiwe Vetyeka (26-2, 16), a South African better known in Asia than most places. Prior to this year Vetyeka was known as the man who gave Hozumi Hasegawa a really, really hard nights work. This year however he's become the "Indonesian Assassin" with back to back wins over top tier Indonesian fighters.
Earlier this year Vetyeka stopped the teak tough Daud Cino Yordan. That fight had lead to this one, dubbed "Revenge". What was supposed to be a case of Chris John sticking up for Indonesia became a night to forget for the Indonesian and his people.
The fight started in forgettable fashion with neither man really do a great deal. John appeared to land the better punches but the only real damage of the fight seemed to be a small cut around John's left eye. Presumably that was just the re-opening of scar tissue that had occured in his previous bout, a 3rd round technical draw with Japanese fighter Satoshi Hosono.
The scrappy and forgettable action continued through rounds 2, 3 and 4. In fact so forgettable was the actual action that the key things I noted happening were John falling to the canvas twice in the second round, John firing off a decent looking ineffective attack in round 3 and a completely uncalled for "Chris John" chant in round 4. Yeah it was one of those fights.
Everything one man tried seemed to be neutralised by the other, every time something promised to ignite a clinch killed off the action, every time it appeared we'd have a fight things just ended up not happening.
Things changed in round 5. This was a round where John went from "world champion boxer" to a man looking old, and beaten up. Out of nowhere his balance had gone, his stance had gone and most worrying he didn't seem to know where he was. Twice he was knocked to the canvas and twice the referee botched calls. Instead of giving Vetyeka the knockdowns it appeared the referee wanted to see John hurt. The first, at the end of round 5, should have been stopped. John was gone.
Unfortunately the referee's botched calls in round 5 lead us on to round 6. Vetyeka, sensing that John hadn't recovered, went on the offensive. John tried to fight back but was sent down again as he started to look messy and like a desperate but beaten man. The referee again botched the knock down though by now the referee was looking ridiculous. Thanfully he knew it as he ruled the next knockdown as a knockdown and rightfully gave the first count to John, he could, and probably should, have given him 3 previously.
With John just seeing out the round the Indonesian camp appeared to do the right thing and their man remained in his corner being retired between rounds 6 and 7.
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Friday, 6 December 2013
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Daniel Geale v Anthony Mundine II
After the frankly laughable co-main event between Kimbo Slice and Shane Tilyard (trust me, watch it just two laugh at the fight) Australian boxing fans finally got a real fight as IBF Middleweight champion Daniel "The Real Deal" Geale (29-1, 15) defended his world title with a dominant victory over compatriot Anthony "The Man" Mundine (44-5, 26) in a long awaited rematch.
The opening round started slowly with the first minute or so spent feeling each other out before Geale started to step on the gas and just do enough to out work and out land his challenger. The openin round was arguably the closest in the fight as Geale started to go through the gears and assert himself with his speed, work rate and skill making Mundine look like an old clumsy man. Geale was managing to get in and out with his blows whilst making Mundine miss time and time again. In fact for much of the fight Mundine's only successes came in single jabs that Geale walked through.
By the mid point of the fight it was easy to see how Geale could have been 6-0, he was just simply doing everything to win the rounds. If wasn't 6-0 to Geale it was certainly no worse than 5-1 to the champion.
Mundine managed to fight back well in the second half of the fight arguably claiming round 7 and 8 which were again closer rounds as Mundine was forced to change his game plan as desperation started to set in. Despite being competitive in those rounds it was merely that Mundine was competitive enough to make the rounds close enough to give him a share as opposed to winning the rounds.
Despite Mundine having a couple of competitive rounds Geale started to step up a gear in the later rounds as he thoroughly dominated the final rounds with Mundine needing a knockout. Whilst the champion twice slipped to the canvas he was never under any serious threat from Mundine who's shots looked weak and were walked through time and time again.
The fight, fought in a competitive spirit, did see a number of fouls, including elbows and use of the head by Mundine which he was warned for though sadly it was Mundines actions after the fight that really left a bad taste as Mundine celebrated as if he'd won. In fact Mundine seemed to suggest that a loss for him would have been a robbery when instead he'd been thoroughly out classed.
Despite what appeared to be a 1-sided contest the score cards took a very long time to get tallied up before finally Geale was announced the winner by unanimous decision by scores of 116-112 (far too close and 117-111 (twice).
For Mundine this is probably the end of the line, though Geale will be waiting for the result of the upcoming Sturm v Soliman fight to find out about his next mandatory defence.
The opening round started slowly with the first minute or so spent feeling each other out before Geale started to step on the gas and just do enough to out work and out land his challenger. The openin round was arguably the closest in the fight as Geale started to go through the gears and assert himself with his speed, work rate and skill making Mundine look like an old clumsy man. Geale was managing to get in and out with his blows whilst making Mundine miss time and time again. In fact for much of the fight Mundine's only successes came in single jabs that Geale walked through.
By the mid point of the fight it was easy to see how Geale could have been 6-0, he was just simply doing everything to win the rounds. If wasn't 6-0 to Geale it was certainly no worse than 5-1 to the champion.
Mundine managed to fight back well in the second half of the fight arguably claiming round 7 and 8 which were again closer rounds as Mundine was forced to change his game plan as desperation started to set in. Despite being competitive in those rounds it was merely that Mundine was competitive enough to make the rounds close enough to give him a share as opposed to winning the rounds.
Despite Mundine having a couple of competitive rounds Geale started to step up a gear in the later rounds as he thoroughly dominated the final rounds with Mundine needing a knockout. Whilst the champion twice slipped to the canvas he was never under any serious threat from Mundine who's shots looked weak and were walked through time and time again.
The fight, fought in a competitive spirit, did see a number of fouls, including elbows and use of the head by Mundine which he was warned for though sadly it was Mundines actions after the fight that really left a bad taste as Mundine celebrated as if he'd won. In fact Mundine seemed to suggest that a loss for him would have been a robbery when instead he'd been thoroughly out classed.
Despite what appeared to be a 1-sided contest the score cards took a very long time to get tallied up before finally Geale was announced the winner by unanimous decision by scores of 116-112 (far too close and 117-111 (twice).
For Mundine this is probably the end of the line, though Geale will be waiting for the result of the upcoming Sturm v Soliman fight to find out about his next mandatory defence.
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Daniel Geale v Felix Sturm
Australian Daniel Geale (28-1,15) first made his name when he traveled to Germany last year and defeated the then IBF Middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester to claim his first world title as a professional boxer. Amazingly he repeated the act just hours ago as he once again traveled to Germany and dethroned a German champion to claim the WBA "super" title from Felix Sturm (37-3-2, 16).
The fight started excellently with both both men having a solid claim to the opening round as both fighter let their hands go and shared solid offense. It seemed as if Sturm's jab would be the most potent weapon but Geale often matched him solidly in a high octane jab off. The startling thing however was that Geale often found his way around the Sturm jab where he could unleash solid combinations to both the head and body of the champion.
Many of the opening rounds were close as both men took it almost in turns to come at the other. Despite the action being hotly contested the only early damage either man suffered was a small cut around the back of Geale's in ear from what appeared to have been from an accidental clash of heads late in the second round. It was however not the cut that played a big part on the fight but instead the body work of Geale who repeatedly dug into Sturm's body in the early portion of the fight, taking the wind out of the German's sails.
Despite starting well it seemed like the accumulation of the body shots took their toll on Sturm in the middle rounds as the Australian came on strong whilst Sturm seemed very subdued and tired. In many of the middle rounds Sturm looked like a man who was there for the taking and his usually reliable jab was rarely finding the target with any success as Geale managed to slip inside and unleash up close time and time again. By the end of the 7th round Sturm was looking worn out, he had taken barrages of shots from the dogged Aussie who was starting to storm away with the bout.
Having just falling behind Sturm then tried to fight back, his jab started to look busier and more efficient, his usual snap was back and he started to grind out several rounds as Geale himself started to slow due to the hectic pace he had set himself. Several of these rounds were almost impossible to score as each man gave as good as they got and were likely the reason for the varying score cards that we finally got.
Going into the championship rounds it was anyone's guess as to who was in the lead and the fighters knew it as they put it all on the line in both rounds 11 and 12. Whilst the 11th was close both men were starting to look tired, their work, whilst busy was starting to look sloppier and more desperate than it had earlier on and it was fair to say we didn't expect much going into the final round. Instead of the pace slowing even more in the 12th it seemed as if both men had a second wind as they unleashed on each other in a hectic round that saw both men putting it all on the line in arguably the most enjoyable round of the bout. As soon as one man finished his series of punches the other came back with more ferocity, then the first fighter came back as both men tried to stake a claim for the round.
As we came to the final bell, the scores were anyone's guess. There had been enough close rounds to score it any which way, in fact you wouldn't have been shocked had the scored included as many as 3 or 4 tied rounds due to the give and take nature of the bout. Rather ominously however the German's looked worried whilst the Aussie's corner looked optimistic, as if they could feel something in the air as they did when Geale beat Sylvester...
Michael Buffer announced the first card, 116-112-Sturm, we then though Sturm would become the unified Middleweight champion...the the second card came 116-112-Geale, it suddenly dawned on us that we might not actually end up with a unified champion after all. Everyone watching waited with baited breath almost preempting a 114-114 scorecard, then Buffer announced the third scorecard 116-112...he paused...before confirming that it was for Daniel Geale who had managed to claim another Split Decision victory in Germany!
For a non-German based fighter to have won 2 close bouts in Germany in world title fights in the opponents home state is almost unheard of, so for Geale to have managed that in just the last 18 months or so is simply incredible. The doors have really opened for the Aussie who will certainly be watching tonight's bout between Gennady Golovkin and Grzegorz Proksa very closely as well as awaiting the out come of a number of other major Middleweight bouts. For Sturm however the end is nigh, if not already here.
The fight started excellently with both both men having a solid claim to the opening round as both fighter let their hands go and shared solid offense. It seemed as if Sturm's jab would be the most potent weapon but Geale often matched him solidly in a high octane jab off. The startling thing however was that Geale often found his way around the Sturm jab where he could unleash solid combinations to both the head and body of the champion.
Many of the opening rounds were close as both men took it almost in turns to come at the other. Despite the action being hotly contested the only early damage either man suffered was a small cut around the back of Geale's in ear from what appeared to have been from an accidental clash of heads late in the second round. It was however not the cut that played a big part on the fight but instead the body work of Geale who repeatedly dug into Sturm's body in the early portion of the fight, taking the wind out of the German's sails.
Despite starting well it seemed like the accumulation of the body shots took their toll on Sturm in the middle rounds as the Australian came on strong whilst Sturm seemed very subdued and tired. In many of the middle rounds Sturm looked like a man who was there for the taking and his usually reliable jab was rarely finding the target with any success as Geale managed to slip inside and unleash up close time and time again. By the end of the 7th round Sturm was looking worn out, he had taken barrages of shots from the dogged Aussie who was starting to storm away with the bout.
Having just falling behind Sturm then tried to fight back, his jab started to look busier and more efficient, his usual snap was back and he started to grind out several rounds as Geale himself started to slow due to the hectic pace he had set himself. Several of these rounds were almost impossible to score as each man gave as good as they got and were likely the reason for the varying score cards that we finally got.
Going into the championship rounds it was anyone's guess as to who was in the lead and the fighters knew it as they put it all on the line in both rounds 11 and 12. Whilst the 11th was close both men were starting to look tired, their work, whilst busy was starting to look sloppier and more desperate than it had earlier on and it was fair to say we didn't expect much going into the final round. Instead of the pace slowing even more in the 12th it seemed as if both men had a second wind as they unleashed on each other in a hectic round that saw both men putting it all on the line in arguably the most enjoyable round of the bout. As soon as one man finished his series of punches the other came back with more ferocity, then the first fighter came back as both men tried to stake a claim for the round.
As we came to the final bell, the scores were anyone's guess. There had been enough close rounds to score it any which way, in fact you wouldn't have been shocked had the scored included as many as 3 or 4 tied rounds due to the give and take nature of the bout. Rather ominously however the German's looked worried whilst the Aussie's corner looked optimistic, as if they could feel something in the air as they did when Geale beat Sylvester...
Michael Buffer announced the first card, 116-112-Sturm, we then though Sturm would become the unified Middleweight champion...the the second card came 116-112-Geale, it suddenly dawned on us that we might not actually end up with a unified champion after all. Everyone watching waited with baited breath almost preempting a 114-114 scorecard, then Buffer announced the third scorecard 116-112...he paused...before confirming that it was for Daniel Geale who had managed to claim another Split Decision victory in Germany!
For a non-German based fighter to have won 2 close bouts in Germany in world title fights in the opponents home state is almost unheard of, so for Geale to have managed that in just the last 18 months or so is simply incredible. The doors have really opened for the Aussie who will certainly be watching tonight's bout between Gennady Golovkin and Grzegorz Proksa very closely as well as awaiting the out come of a number of other major Middleweight bouts. For Sturm however the end is nigh, if not already here.
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