We all look a good rivalry in sport and some of the best ever rivalries have come from boxing. Ali-Frazier, Gatti-Ward, Corrales-Castillo, Graziano-Zale and Robinson-Lamotta just to name a few. Unfortunately one that isn't likely to ever make it to that list is Wlodarczyk-Fragomeni, despite the fact the two men have now fought three times for the WBC Cruiserweight title.
The men, who first fought to a draw in 2009 before Wlodarczyk won a rematch in 2010 and not names that will get your average boxing fan excited, them men, whilst entertaining aren't the most watchable and with them being European Cruiserweights most of the boxing world simply doesn't care.
As with their second meeting it was Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (49-2-1, 35) who came out on top stopping Italian veteran Giacobbe Fragomeni (31-4-2, 12). Although the result was the same as their second meeting there was something different about this fight, it was stateside.
The two men took the Cruiserweight division from Europe to Chicago, Illinois and gave the local Polish population a chance a chance to see their only reigning world champion. He didn't disappoint.
Using his his long arms, solid movement and speed Wlodarczyk slowly beat up the short but game Fragomeni. On the front foot Wlodarczyk was controlling with the jab, on the back foot he was pot shotting and landing as Fragomeni came forward.
The power of Wlodarczyk was telling and although he scored a controversial knockdown in round 4, punching Fragomeni whilst the two men were seemingly being broken up from a clinch. It was a mistake from Fragomeni to allow the the shot but it was still cheeky of Wlodarczyk to throw up. It was this shot that seemingly opened up a nasty cut on Fragomeni's cheek. The cut was a bulls-eye for Fragomeni's jab and it was obvious that the Pole was going to peck away at it.
Unfortunately after round 6 it was that cut that saw the doctor stepping in and calling a really anti-climatic ending to the contest.
Sadly the poor ending and the style of the two men would have done little to make the American's want to see more of the Cruiserweight division. It's a shame as the division is one of the best in the sport, but of course not every fight is great.
I hoping that Wlodarczyk will return to Chicago in 2014 against a more testing opponent and we can have one of those memorable Cruiserweight fights that Europeans have been raving about in recent years. For now though, it is nothing more than hope.
Showing posts with label Cruiserweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cruiserweight. Show all posts
Friday, 6 December 2013
Sunday, 24 November 2013
Yoan Pablo Hernandez v Alexander Alekseev
Top former amateurs are expected to make it in the professional ranks. We see it so often than we almost take it for granted that World Amateur Champions and Olympic champions will, one day, win professional world titles.
Of course things don't always go the way we expect. Audley Harrison is a great example of a former amateur who failed to reach the expected heights as a professional, Yan Barthelemi is another and this weekend we saw Alexander Alekseev (24-3-1, 20) joining that list of high profile "flops".
Alekseev, a Russian who was a repeated medal winner in the unpaid ranks, took on Cuba's enigmatic Yoan Pablo Hernandez (28-1, 14) for the IBF Cruiserweight title that Hernandez was defending for the third time. Funnily despite Hernandez not looking like a champion at times he was in total control of Alekseev who looked out of his depth and fragile through out.
The fight started with Alekseev using his jab well, unfortunately that was all he seemed to have, a sharp jab. Hernandez walked through them whilst landing his own much more eye catching shots to both head and body. Despite Alekseev throwing a lot, it took just one punch, late in the round, to decide the rounds winner as Alekseev was sent to the canvas for the first time in the bout.
Although Alekseev was able to get up from the knockdown it was obvious that he wasn't able to take the full blooded shots that Hernandez was able to land. Hernandez, whilst not having the record of a puncher, does hit hard and Alekseev found that out the hard way.
Through rounds 2,3 and 4 the power of Hernandez wasn't landing cleanly enough to send Alekseev over again though in round 5 the champion managed to connect again with a bomb which really seemed to not just Alekseev but really shake him. Hernandez did go for the finish but his lack of finishing skills were shown up as Alekseev saw out the bell.
Having gotten himself well in to the lead Hernandez then began to fall asleep at times. The Cuban, whose talent is obvious, seemed happy to know that he could land a bomb at any time and relied on this mentally as he took rounds off, fought in very short bursts and relaxed.
By round 10 to appeared that Hernandez had began to be clawed back. He was still in the lead but Alekseev was beginning to make things interesting just due to the fact Hernandez was being that lazy. Suddenly however things were over, a single right hand sent Alekseev down for the third time in the bout and this time the referee stopped the fight, a right decision looking at Alekseev who was in no fit state to continue even if he had gotten back to his feet.
Hernandez, who is regarded by some as the top Cruiserweight in the world, won here comfortably in all honesty but again left me feeling like he's not that good. Physically he has it all, speed, timing, power, size but mentally there is something not there and his finishing seems awful. He has the power to put people away with single shots but if he's forced to take it to a standing opponent out he seems to lack the ability to connect cleanly. A big issue if he faces someone like Lebedev, Huck, Jones, Afolabi or even Drozd.
For Alekseev this is probably the end of his world title dreams. He's been shown, once again, to lack a world class chin and he's also shown that he lacks the skills needed to avoid being tagged on the chin. A shame given his amateur credentials but at the end of the day it is a flaw that he's failed to find a way to defend.
Of course things don't always go the way we expect. Audley Harrison is a great example of a former amateur who failed to reach the expected heights as a professional, Yan Barthelemi is another and this weekend we saw Alexander Alekseev (24-3-1, 20) joining that list of high profile "flops".
Alekseev, a Russian who was a repeated medal winner in the unpaid ranks, took on Cuba's enigmatic Yoan Pablo Hernandez (28-1, 14) for the IBF Cruiserweight title that Hernandez was defending for the third time. Funnily despite Hernandez not looking like a champion at times he was in total control of Alekseev who looked out of his depth and fragile through out.
The fight started with Alekseev using his jab well, unfortunately that was all he seemed to have, a sharp jab. Hernandez walked through them whilst landing his own much more eye catching shots to both head and body. Despite Alekseev throwing a lot, it took just one punch, late in the round, to decide the rounds winner as Alekseev was sent to the canvas for the first time in the bout.
Although Alekseev was able to get up from the knockdown it was obvious that he wasn't able to take the full blooded shots that Hernandez was able to land. Hernandez, whilst not having the record of a puncher, does hit hard and Alekseev found that out the hard way.
Through rounds 2,3 and 4 the power of Hernandez wasn't landing cleanly enough to send Alekseev over again though in round 5 the champion managed to connect again with a bomb which really seemed to not just Alekseev but really shake him. Hernandez did go for the finish but his lack of finishing skills were shown up as Alekseev saw out the bell.
Having gotten himself well in to the lead Hernandez then began to fall asleep at times. The Cuban, whose talent is obvious, seemed happy to know that he could land a bomb at any time and relied on this mentally as he took rounds off, fought in very short bursts and relaxed.
By round 10 to appeared that Hernandez had began to be clawed back. He was still in the lead but Alekseev was beginning to make things interesting just due to the fact Hernandez was being that lazy. Suddenly however things were over, a single right hand sent Alekseev down for the third time in the bout and this time the referee stopped the fight, a right decision looking at Alekseev who was in no fit state to continue even if he had gotten back to his feet.
Hernandez, who is regarded by some as the top Cruiserweight in the world, won here comfortably in all honesty but again left me feeling like he's not that good. Physically he has it all, speed, timing, power, size but mentally there is something not there and his finishing seems awful. He has the power to put people away with single shots but if he's forced to take it to a standing opponent out he seems to lack the ability to connect cleanly. A big issue if he faces someone like Lebedev, Huck, Jones, Afolabi or even Drozd.
For Alekseev this is probably the end of his world title dreams. He's been shown, once again, to lack a world class chin and he's also shown that he lacks the skills needed to avoid being tagged on the chin. A shame given his amateur credentials but at the end of the day it is a flaw that he's failed to find a way to defend.
Friday, 21 June 2013
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk v Rakhim Chakhkiev
The Cruiserweight division may never have the massive level of prestige that the Heavyweight division has but it's getting it's self a real reputation as one of the most exciting divisions in the sport. This excitement was shown once again as Poland's Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (48-2-1, 34) retained his WBC title with a stoppage of the highly touted Rakhim Chakhkiev (16-1, 12).
The bout started perfectly for Chakhkiev who dominated the opening round with his aggression and body work. He really looked like a star in the making with through the way he dominated the champion in the first 3 minutes cutting Wlodarczyk and really imposing his will on the bout.
The dominance of Chakhkiev continued through out the opening rounds as he took the second in clear fashion and dropped Wlodarczyk in round 3 to claim a clear 4 point lead through just 3 rounds. It was the dream start and it appeared almost certain that we'd have a new champion.
Going in to the 6th round it was almost impossible to give Wlodarczyk even a share of a round. The champion was doing next to nothing offensively and was being clearly out worked by a determined challenger. As those who have seen Wlodarczyk fight will know however, the Pole is a notoriously starter and seemed that Chakhkiev was himself slowing down very visibly as we went in the middle section of the bout.
In round 6 the bout started to turn against Chakhkiev when Wlodarczyk dropped Chakhkiev with a left hook. The shot, which appeared to come on the break seemed to annoy Chakhkiev who complained, but the referee gave the count anyway with the old adage of "protect yourself at all times" ringing true.
Wlodarczyk would really come back in to the bout the following round as he dropped Chakhkiev a second time. Although the replays seemed to indicate the feet were involved, the knockdown was an eye catching one following several monster shots from Wlodarczyk. It was starting to become obvious that Chakhkiev was a man who was tiring whilst Wlodarczyk, despite taking the body shots early on, was still fresh.
Going in to the 8th round the clear lead on the scorecards had been slashed by 4 points thanks to the knockdowns. Chakhkiev was now bloodied from the nose and starting to look like a fighter who was beginning to doubt himself. The doubts were magnified early in the 4th when he tagged Wlodarczyk hard and couldn't budge the Pole who fired back. This lead to one of the bouts few trading sequences which quickly sent Chakhkiev down to the canvas for the 3rd time in the bout.
This time around the Russian was very slow too his feet. The power or Wlodarczyk and the high work rate of Chakhkiev seemed to have left the challenger with little energy and he'd be sent to the canvas once more before the referee waved the bout off.
The victory quickly saw the champion yelling to the crowd (something along the lines of "I'm the champion") which did little more than rile the crowd in to jeering at the man who had stopped their national hero.
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Marco Huck v Ola Afolabi III
In yet another excellent Cruiserweight title bout Marco Huck (36-2-1, 25) successfully defended his WBO title as he defeated Ola Afolabi (19-3-4, 9) via a very tight decision (despite the score card of one judge who had the fight scored as a dominant victory).
The fight started well for Afolabi who clearly seemed to take the opening round with his crisper, cleaner punching though it didn't take long for Huck to start to force himself in to the fight and start to fight back with his challenger who was conservative with his own shots. With the crowds cheering every time Huck threw shots early on it was clear who was the fan favourite and this was seemingly helping him just do enough to steal the earlier rounds.
In the middle rounds the action was very even with Afolabi landing some very crisp shots but Huck throwing the more eye catching shots (whether they landed clean, or at all was up for debate) which clearly seemed to catch the judges attention. It was the flurries of Huck that was the more exciting work but also the less technically effective.
With the action to-ing and fro-ing well it just appeared that Huck was just managing to bag the rounds through the middle with his attractive work. This changed however in the later rounds as a tiring Huck was forced on to the back foot by Afolabi who was much busier than he had been in the middle section of the bout and rounds 9, 10 and 11 all seemed very clearly in favour of the challenger as Huck started to feel the ill effects of the body attack that Afolabi has used through out.
Round 10 had been the round of the right as both men managed to land bombs, even though Afolabi seemed to land significantly more of them, this however changed in the final round as both men tagged the other in the final round. It was in the final round that Afolabi was clearly hurt and staggered badly for the first time but both men were too tired to really tear down the other and both men managed to make their way to the final bell.
After the bell only one man celebrated with Huck climbing the ring posts and holding his arms up whilst Afolabi looked dejected, as if he'd known that he didn't do enough with the fight being in Germany. This turned out to just be the case as Huck took a majority decision by scores of 114-114, 115-113 and the frankly ridiculous 117-111.
The fight started well for Afolabi who clearly seemed to take the opening round with his crisper, cleaner punching though it didn't take long for Huck to start to force himself in to the fight and start to fight back with his challenger who was conservative with his own shots. With the crowds cheering every time Huck threw shots early on it was clear who was the fan favourite and this was seemingly helping him just do enough to steal the earlier rounds.
In the middle rounds the action was very even with Afolabi landing some very crisp shots but Huck throwing the more eye catching shots (whether they landed clean, or at all was up for debate) which clearly seemed to catch the judges attention. It was the flurries of Huck that was the more exciting work but also the less technically effective.
With the action to-ing and fro-ing well it just appeared that Huck was just managing to bag the rounds through the middle with his attractive work. This changed however in the later rounds as a tiring Huck was forced on to the back foot by Afolabi who was much busier than he had been in the middle section of the bout and rounds 9, 10 and 11 all seemed very clearly in favour of the challenger as Huck started to feel the ill effects of the body attack that Afolabi has used through out.
Round 10 had been the round of the right as both men managed to land bombs, even though Afolabi seemed to land significantly more of them, this however changed in the final round as both men tagged the other in the final round. It was in the final round that Afolabi was clearly hurt and staggered badly for the first time but both men were too tired to really tear down the other and both men managed to make their way to the final bell.
After the bell only one man celebrated with Huck climbing the ring posts and holding his arms up whilst Afolabi looked dejected, as if he'd known that he didn't do enough with the fight being in Germany. This turned out to just be the case as Huck took a majority decision by scores of 114-114, 115-113 and the frankly ridiculous 117-111.
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Denis Lebedev v Guillermo Jones
In a thoroughly enjoyable though highly controversial bout Panamanian veteran Guillermo Jones (39-3-2, 31) unexpectedly overcame Denis Lebedev (25-2, 19)
The fight started well for Lebedev who was coming forward with his accurate and sharp left jab which forced the much bigger Jones to box on the back foot. Despite the impressive jab of Lebedev it was the right hands form Jones that really caught the attention as he cut Lebedev's right eye after lading several crisps shots.
Lebedev came out fighting to start the second round and landed several hurtful looking shots early in the round to both the head and body. Although Jones rode out much of the storm well he wax seemingly hurt late in the round as Lebedev started to connect with some real success.
The aggression early in round 3 was again from Lebedev who was landing with both hands though once again Jones came back well with his own offense in the middle of the round which included some lovely uppercuts. Sadly for Jones, Lebedev took the shots well and came back with his own crisp offensive work as the two men took it in turns to land heavy looking artillery.
To start round 4 Lebedev again turned up the head and landed several stunning shots that Jones took extremely well before coming back himself as the fight continued to to-and-fro at an excellent pace. Uppercuts from both men landed with Jones's head snapping back in eye catching fashion before he connected with a major body shot of his own. Both men were proving their genuinely toughness and whilst Lebedev's eye was looking like a mess he never really looked hurt.
Jones started round 5 well, targeting the badly swollen eye of Lebedev though was himself showing the results of Lebedev's hard shots. The work rate of Jones was stepped up notably whilst Lebedev was visibly slowing as if he had shot his load early on. Jones was not only looking the busier fighter through the round but also the classier fighter landing some beautiful shots on the Russian.
By the start of round 6 Lebedev's eye was swollen shut and he was genuine starting to struggle to see shots heading his way. It was obviously that Jones was targeting the eye more and more and whilst his work was a lot more limited than the previous round it started to seem like a matter of time before Lebedev's eye would force a stoppage. Despite the really messed up eye Lebedev had an excellent round landing a number of left hand howitzers that could well have taken out 90% of the fighters in the division.
Lebedev's success from 6 continued in to round 7 with a fantastic flurry early in the round. Despite the power of Lebedev his eye always seemed to threaten to stop the fight despite that it was Jones who was starting to look like a tired and old man in there. Lebedev seemed to realise that Jones was tiring and he landed a series of body shots as Jones seemed to slowly be unraveling. Jones' arms and legs were now starting to look heavy an weak, the shots lacked snap and his defensive movements seemed a lot less effective than they had early on.
Both men were proving their toughness round after round and yet their desire to win was also showing as neither man backed down from a fight. The pace had clearly slowed and Jones was looking both predictable and tired but it was still a tough mans fight with every punch being thrown with genuine bad intentions. How both men were still standing was a genuine mystery but the bout seemed to be clearly swinging in the favour of the injured Lebedev who was clearly out working the Panamanian.
Lebedev started the 9th round well and landed several hard looking shots with Jones really showing his toughness but landing very little of note in return as Lebedev came forward. Despite being clearly dominated for several rounds Jones switched to southpaw and had some genuine success, when he let his hands go. Late in the round Lebedev landed 3 or 4 monster right hooks that Jones took without blinking before coming back and probably just doing enough to take the round.
To start round 10 Jones began as a southpaw though both men were showing genuine tiredness in a close round that saw Jones try to raise the pace. Despite Lebedev showing his toughness he was cut over the left eye as his face became a real mess on both sides of his face. The round however ended in odd fashion as the two men fell to the canvas with Jones taking the brunt of the tumble. By the end of the round Lebedev really was looking like a victim of a knife attack.
Going in to the championship rounds it really was a mystery as to how the fight was still going. Lebedev's face could have seen the bout stopped for the damage on either side and Jones went out looking to try and force the stoppage. It wasn't until a minute in to the round that Jones's face got looked at in the corner with the fight being allowed to continue (unsurprisingly considering how long it had taken for the cuts to even be looked at). It was now starting to look like Jones was the fresher guy as he landed shot after shot, notably his hard accurate uppercut as a tired Lebedev went down.
With Lebedev on his knees the referee waved off the bout stopping a very exhausted looking Russian whilst also awarding the title to the veteran Panamanian who has proven that despite his age he is still one of the very best Cruiserweights on the planet.
The fight started well for Lebedev who was coming forward with his accurate and sharp left jab which forced the much bigger Jones to box on the back foot. Despite the impressive jab of Lebedev it was the right hands form Jones that really caught the attention as he cut Lebedev's right eye after lading several crisps shots.
Lebedev came out fighting to start the second round and landed several hurtful looking shots early in the round to both the head and body. Although Jones rode out much of the storm well he wax seemingly hurt late in the round as Lebedev started to connect with some real success.
The aggression early in round 3 was again from Lebedev who was landing with both hands though once again Jones came back well with his own offense in the middle of the round which included some lovely uppercuts. Sadly for Jones, Lebedev took the shots well and came back with his own crisp offensive work as the two men took it in turns to land heavy looking artillery.
To start round 4 Lebedev again turned up the head and landed several stunning shots that Jones took extremely well before coming back himself as the fight continued to to-and-fro at an excellent pace. Uppercuts from both men landed with Jones's head snapping back in eye catching fashion before he connected with a major body shot of his own. Both men were proving their genuinely toughness and whilst Lebedev's eye was looking like a mess he never really looked hurt.
Jones started round 5 well, targeting the badly swollen eye of Lebedev though was himself showing the results of Lebedev's hard shots. The work rate of Jones was stepped up notably whilst Lebedev was visibly slowing as if he had shot his load early on. Jones was not only looking the busier fighter through the round but also the classier fighter landing some beautiful shots on the Russian.
By the start of round 6 Lebedev's eye was swollen shut and he was genuine starting to struggle to see shots heading his way. It was obviously that Jones was targeting the eye more and more and whilst his work was a lot more limited than the previous round it started to seem like a matter of time before Lebedev's eye would force a stoppage. Despite the really messed up eye Lebedev had an excellent round landing a number of left hand howitzers that could well have taken out 90% of the fighters in the division.
Lebedev's success from 6 continued in to round 7 with a fantastic flurry early in the round. Despite the power of Lebedev his eye always seemed to threaten to stop the fight despite that it was Jones who was starting to look like a tired and old man in there. Lebedev seemed to realise that Jones was tiring and he landed a series of body shots as Jones seemed to slowly be unraveling. Jones' arms and legs were now starting to look heavy an weak, the shots lacked snap and his defensive movements seemed a lot less effective than they had early on.
Both men were proving their toughness round after round and yet their desire to win was also showing as neither man backed down from a fight. The pace had clearly slowed and Jones was looking both predictable and tired but it was still a tough mans fight with every punch being thrown with genuine bad intentions. How both men were still standing was a genuine mystery but the bout seemed to be clearly swinging in the favour of the injured Lebedev who was clearly out working the Panamanian.
Lebedev started the 9th round well and landed several hard looking shots with Jones really showing his toughness but landing very little of note in return as Lebedev came forward. Despite being clearly dominated for several rounds Jones switched to southpaw and had some genuine success, when he let his hands go. Late in the round Lebedev landed 3 or 4 monster right hooks that Jones took without blinking before coming back and probably just doing enough to take the round.
To start round 10 Jones began as a southpaw though both men were showing genuine tiredness in a close round that saw Jones try to raise the pace. Despite Lebedev showing his toughness he was cut over the left eye as his face became a real mess on both sides of his face. The round however ended in odd fashion as the two men fell to the canvas with Jones taking the brunt of the tumble. By the end of the round Lebedev really was looking like a victim of a knife attack.
Going in to the championship rounds it really was a mystery as to how the fight was still going. Lebedev's face could have seen the bout stopped for the damage on either side and Jones went out looking to try and force the stoppage. It wasn't until a minute in to the round that Jones's face got looked at in the corner with the fight being allowed to continue (unsurprisingly considering how long it had taken for the cuts to even be looked at). It was now starting to look like Jones was the fresher guy as he landed shot after shot, notably his hard accurate uppercut as a tired Lebedev went down.
With Lebedev on his knees the referee waved off the bout stopping a very exhausted looking Russian whilst also awarding the title to the veteran Panamanian who has proven that despite his age he is still one of the very best Cruiserweights on the planet.
Monday, 17 December 2012
Denis Lebedev v Santander Silgado
WBA Cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev (25-1, 19) successfully defended his world crown for the first time as he knocked out Colombian challenger Santander Silgado (23-1, 18) in the 4th round with a genuinely eye catching shot.
The bout started slowly with the opening round being very quiet as both men tried to figure the other out. Both men got through with some shots though there was little of note from either man in a true feeling out round. Sadly it took a while for the fight to warm up though Lebedev was caught off balance in round 2 and was forced to eat several hard right hands from the challenger which he generally took well (apart from the shot that he appeared off balance for). It appeared both men wee showing too much respect to each other.
In round 3 we saw the action starting to warm up as Silgado continuously threw his jabs and started to control the distance excellently. At one point in the third Lebedev looked genuinely frustrated looking towards his trainer, the legendary Kostya Tszyu. Thankfully for the Russian he did manage to get through with several solid shots himself, though Silgado did seem to take them well.
With the bout warming up it seemed to be suiting the champion who would of course prefer a war rather than a tactical battle and thankfully for viewers we ended up getting the war with Lebedev rocking Silgado part way through the round. Following the shot Lebedev went straight in for the kill and both guys swung quite wildly at each other, often catching the others arms. Despite both men missing a number of shots we know with Lebedev that it only takes one and that's what we saw again as he detonated a perfect uppercut that almost seemed to behead Silgado before leaving the challenger unconcious and face first on the canvas.
Until the KO this wasn't the most impressive that I've seen of Lebedev, however his concussive and nasty punch is still as vicious as ever. It's fair to say that Silgado was better than expected however I think we all want to see Lebedev back in the mix with the top fighters in the division such as Marco Huck, Yoan Pablo Hernandez and Ola Afolabi
The bout started slowly with the opening round being very quiet as both men tried to figure the other out. Both men got through with some shots though there was little of note from either man in a true feeling out round. Sadly it took a while for the fight to warm up though Lebedev was caught off balance in round 2 and was forced to eat several hard right hands from the challenger which he generally took well (apart from the shot that he appeared off balance for). It appeared both men wee showing too much respect to each other.
In round 3 we saw the action starting to warm up as Silgado continuously threw his jabs and started to control the distance excellently. At one point in the third Lebedev looked genuinely frustrated looking towards his trainer, the legendary Kostya Tszyu. Thankfully for the Russian he did manage to get through with several solid shots himself, though Silgado did seem to take them well.
With the bout warming up it seemed to be suiting the champion who would of course prefer a war rather than a tactical battle and thankfully for viewers we ended up getting the war with Lebedev rocking Silgado part way through the round. Following the shot Lebedev went straight in for the kill and both guys swung quite wildly at each other, often catching the others arms. Despite both men missing a number of shots we know with Lebedev that it only takes one and that's what we saw again as he detonated a perfect uppercut that almost seemed to behead Silgado before leaving the challenger unconcious and face first on the canvas.
Until the KO this wasn't the most impressive that I've seen of Lebedev, however his concussive and nasty punch is still as vicious as ever. It's fair to say that Silgado was better than expected however I think we all want to see Lebedev back in the mix with the top fighters in the division such as Marco Huck, Yoan Pablo Hernandez and Ola Afolabi
Saturday, 3 November 2012
Marco Huck v Firat Arslan
The hugely popular Marco Huck (?-?) successfully defended his WBO Cruiserweight title for the 10th time as he out-pointed veteran Firat Arslan (?-?) in a thoroughly engaging 12 round war that really could have gone either way.
Surprisingly it was the 42 year old challenger, Firat Arslan that really forced the bout through out as he rushed at Huck to start every round and really went at the champion in every round. Arslan's great work took it's toll on Huck from the off as he busted Huck's nose in the second round and appeared to win almost all of the early rounds with his relentless pressure.
Thankfully for Huck he started to eventually get going as he began to generate some distance with which he could work from. At a distance Huck looked a different fighter and he really started to target Arslan's body, trying to drain the tank of the challenger who was relentless in his forward march. Although Huck's attacks were much less frequent than Arslan's they certainly seemed to contain the harder shots and in the middle section of the bout he seemed to take a slight advantage as he brought the score cards closer together.
In the latter rounds we were treat to some real tit-for-tat moments as each man took it in turns to attack. One minute Arslan would force Huck on to the ropes and land long combinations of shots, targeting the head of Huck with uppercuts, the next minute Huck was dominating with his body assault forcing Arslan on to the back foot. This left us with a number of rounds which were razor thin and really, really hard to split the fighters on.
When it came to the cards it obvious that it was close and the first two cards showed as much with scores of 115-113, however the third card, 117-111 really didn't reflect the nature of the bout. Thankfully for Huck all 3 were in his favour, however a really strong case could be made for Arslan winning the bout.
For Arslan this proves there is a lot more left in the old dog than any of us suspected. He really could go in with almost any Cruiserweight and hold his own and it sort of suggests that his performance against Alexander Alexeev wasn't all to do with Alexseev fighting the wrong fight.
For Huck however it could have been a case that he looked past Arslan with a lot of talk about a bout with Wladimir Klitschko...however it could also be a case that the hard fights are catching up with Huck. Huck didn't look his-self, of course Arslan played a part in that but hard fights with both Alexander Povetkin and Ola Afolabi already this year won't have helped. We don't often see championship level fighters fighting 36 hard, competitive rounds in a year and that's what Huck has done in 2012.
Huck's team needs to give 6-9 months off, let him recharge his batteries, let him recover from these wars, then look at moving to Heavyweight. Don't let Huck spar for the next few months, don't let him do anything more than pad work in the ring just to keep him sharp, otherwise the exciting Capt'n may well be done before he turns 30.
Surprisingly it was the 42 year old challenger, Firat Arslan that really forced the bout through out as he rushed at Huck to start every round and really went at the champion in every round. Arslan's great work took it's toll on Huck from the off as he busted Huck's nose in the second round and appeared to win almost all of the early rounds with his relentless pressure.
Thankfully for Huck he started to eventually get going as he began to generate some distance with which he could work from. At a distance Huck looked a different fighter and he really started to target Arslan's body, trying to drain the tank of the challenger who was relentless in his forward march. Although Huck's attacks were much less frequent than Arslan's they certainly seemed to contain the harder shots and in the middle section of the bout he seemed to take a slight advantage as he brought the score cards closer together.
In the latter rounds we were treat to some real tit-for-tat moments as each man took it in turns to attack. One minute Arslan would force Huck on to the ropes and land long combinations of shots, targeting the head of Huck with uppercuts, the next minute Huck was dominating with his body assault forcing Arslan on to the back foot. This left us with a number of rounds which were razor thin and really, really hard to split the fighters on.
When it came to the cards it obvious that it was close and the first two cards showed as much with scores of 115-113, however the third card, 117-111 really didn't reflect the nature of the bout. Thankfully for Huck all 3 were in his favour, however a really strong case could be made for Arslan winning the bout.
For Arslan this proves there is a lot more left in the old dog than any of us suspected. He really could go in with almost any Cruiserweight and hold his own and it sort of suggests that his performance against Alexander Alexeev wasn't all to do with Alexseev fighting the wrong fight.
For Huck however it could have been a case that he looked past Arslan with a lot of talk about a bout with Wladimir Klitschko...however it could also be a case that the hard fights are catching up with Huck. Huck didn't look his-self, of course Arslan played a part in that but hard fights with both Alexander Povetkin and Ola Afolabi already this year won't have helped. We don't often see championship level fighters fighting 36 hard, competitive rounds in a year and that's what Huck has done in 2012.
Huck's team needs to give 6-9 months off, let him recharge his batteries, let him recover from these wars, then look at moving to Heavyweight. Don't let Huck spar for the next few months, don't let him do anything more than pad work in the ring just to keep him sharp, otherwise the exciting Capt'n may well be done before he turns 30.
Saturday, 22 September 2012
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk v Fransico Palacios II
Poland's Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (47-2-1, 33) successfully defended his WBC Cruiserweight title by out pointing Puerto Rican born Francisco Palacios (21-2, 13) in rematch of their controversial 2011 bout (which Wlodarczyk won by split decision).
The bout started well for the challenger who appeared to take a number of the early rounds on his work rate against a very passive looking champion who seemed content on throwing little more than an occasional stinging straight right hand. Despite not really doing much Wlodarczyk had the huge advantage of the crowd chanting "Diablo" every time he threw more than a few punches, which may have swayed the judging somewhat.
Despite having fallen behind on my card Diablo started to step up a gear in the middle rounds and whilst he wasn't dominating he was starting to make a strong argument to take a round here and there with one or two that seemed to be pretty rounds for the champion. By around round 8 both men were slowing which again gave Wlodarczyk a clear advantage as his it took away the one thing Palacios was doing well.
When a tiring Palacios became an easier target the champion appeared to finally show his class and championship spirit and appeared to just steal the fight due to winning the latter rounds. Despite not looking impressive he probably just did enough to claim the decision, especially at home, however Palacios was certainly a spirited challenger and may feel rather frustrated at not getting the decision.
Despite taking victory here Wlodarczyk is a very, very poor champion and someone who should be targeted by top challengers. Whilst he does appear to have some questionable judging in Poland he can be beaten and he can be out worked, and any top Cruiserweight should fancy their chances here.
The bout started well for the challenger who appeared to take a number of the early rounds on his work rate against a very passive looking champion who seemed content on throwing little more than an occasional stinging straight right hand. Despite not really doing much Wlodarczyk had the huge advantage of the crowd chanting "Diablo" every time he threw more than a few punches, which may have swayed the judging somewhat.
Despite having fallen behind on my card Diablo started to step up a gear in the middle rounds and whilst he wasn't dominating he was starting to make a strong argument to take a round here and there with one or two that seemed to be pretty rounds for the champion. By around round 8 both men were slowing which again gave Wlodarczyk a clear advantage as his it took away the one thing Palacios was doing well.
When a tiring Palacios became an easier target the champion appeared to finally show his class and championship spirit and appeared to just steal the fight due to winning the latter rounds. Despite not looking impressive he probably just did enough to claim the decision, especially at home, however Palacios was certainly a spirited challenger and may feel rather frustrated at not getting the decision.
Despite taking victory here Wlodarczyk is a very, very poor champion and someone who should be targeted by top challengers. Whilst he does appear to have some questionable judging in Poland he can be beaten and he can be out worked, and any top Cruiserweight should fancy their chances here.
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Yoan Pablo Hernandez v Troy Ross
German based Cuba Yoan Pablo Hernandez (27-1, 13) successfully defended his IBF Cruiserweight title despite being given a really torrid time by Canadian challenger Troy Ross (25-3, 16) in a thoroughly entertaining bout that really left more questions than answers about Hernandez.
The bout started well for Hernandez who managed to keep Ross at range in the opening round but the challenger swiftly grew into the bout and after a competitive second round seemed to steal the third. Despite being the much taller, and longer man Hernandez was stupidly fighting Ross' fight and getting involved in a tear up.
Ross found his best success in round 5 a round that he completely dominated not only dropping Hernandez but having the Cuban holding on for dear life. Hernandez seemed almost ready to be finished but showed incredible heart to survive the round and despite not looking great in round 6 he did manage to regain his legs by the end of it.
After regaining his legs Hernandez managed to start to actually show his ability and easily out boxed Ross in rounds 7 and 8 by controlling the distance, using his legs and jab to keep Ross at a safety distance. It appeared that Hernandez was going to manage to do what he was expected to do and actually control the bout with his excellent boxing ability.
Sadly for Hernandez, Ross had different ideas and by the end of round 9 both men were wildly flinging leather at each other looking for the knockout. Whilst both guys were rocked and Hernandez arguably took the round it appeared as if the fight was turning back in the way of Ross who was much more suited to the all action style of a brawl. Luckily for Hernandez the follow up round was a much slower paced one with both guys catching their breath as very little of note was landed.
In the final two rounds a very tired looking Hernandez did very, very little and almost gave the rounds away to the busier Ross. Despite giving away the final 2 rounds it was a close fight overall. Sadly for Ross he was fighting and Germany and this was probably the telling factor with Hernandez taking a close unanimous decision (114-113, 115-112, 116-112).
Whilst the fight was genuinely excellent and ebbed wonderfully, despite a number of quiet rounds, their will be numerous complaints aimed at British broadcaster Boxnation who managed to missed a sizable chunk of the 12th round as their broadcast randomly cut to adverts. Despite this we didn't miss anything too important to the result.
For Hernandez this bout really did leave a lot of question marks. Just how physically tough is Hernandez? He seemed to be wobbled repeatedly by Ross, and it's hard to imagine that Marco Huck wouldn't have gone after a hurt Huck at the start of round 12. We know he's been stopped before, and down numerous times, but is Hernandez killing himself to make 200lbs? He's a giant at 6'4" and may do better at Heavyweight with his punch resistance hopefully shored up. A mooted bout with Huck, as Boxnation were talking about, would be a seriously painful night for the Cuban.
For Troy Ross he may be able to talk himself into a rematch, claiming he was robbed, though in all honesty it was a close bout, if he doesn't manage to bag a rematch however he'll likely be questioning his future in the sport. With his age (37) he may struggle to get another big fight like this. If he can get a fight with Huck (instead of Hernandez getting the bout) then that will be one that the fans would love, however if that doesn't happen Ross may well end up bowing out with his head held high.
The bout started well for Hernandez who managed to keep Ross at range in the opening round but the challenger swiftly grew into the bout and after a competitive second round seemed to steal the third. Despite being the much taller, and longer man Hernandez was stupidly fighting Ross' fight and getting involved in a tear up.
Ross found his best success in round 5 a round that he completely dominated not only dropping Hernandez but having the Cuban holding on for dear life. Hernandez seemed almost ready to be finished but showed incredible heart to survive the round and despite not looking great in round 6 he did manage to regain his legs by the end of it.
After regaining his legs Hernandez managed to start to actually show his ability and easily out boxed Ross in rounds 7 and 8 by controlling the distance, using his legs and jab to keep Ross at a safety distance. It appeared that Hernandez was going to manage to do what he was expected to do and actually control the bout with his excellent boxing ability.
Sadly for Hernandez, Ross had different ideas and by the end of round 9 both men were wildly flinging leather at each other looking for the knockout. Whilst both guys were rocked and Hernandez arguably took the round it appeared as if the fight was turning back in the way of Ross who was much more suited to the all action style of a brawl. Luckily for Hernandez the follow up round was a much slower paced one with both guys catching their breath as very little of note was landed.
In the final two rounds a very tired looking Hernandez did very, very little and almost gave the rounds away to the busier Ross. Despite giving away the final 2 rounds it was a close fight overall. Sadly for Ross he was fighting and Germany and this was probably the telling factor with Hernandez taking a close unanimous decision (114-113, 115-112, 116-112).
Whilst the fight was genuinely excellent and ebbed wonderfully, despite a number of quiet rounds, their will be numerous complaints aimed at British broadcaster Boxnation who managed to missed a sizable chunk of the 12th round as their broadcast randomly cut to adverts. Despite this we didn't miss anything too important to the result.
For Hernandez this bout really did leave a lot of question marks. Just how physically tough is Hernandez? He seemed to be wobbled repeatedly by Ross, and it's hard to imagine that Marco Huck wouldn't have gone after a hurt Huck at the start of round 12. We know he's been stopped before, and down numerous times, but is Hernandez killing himself to make 200lbs? He's a giant at 6'4" and may do better at Heavyweight with his punch resistance hopefully shored up. A mooted bout with Huck, as Boxnation were talking about, would be a seriously painful night for the Cuban.
For Troy Ross he may be able to talk himself into a rematch, claiming he was robbed, though in all honesty it was a close bout, if he doesn't manage to bag a rematch however he'll likely be questioning his future in the sport. With his age (37) he may struggle to get another big fight like this. If he can get a fight with Huck (instead of Hernandez getting the bout) then that will be one that the fans would love, however if that doesn't happen Ross may well end up bowing out with his head held high.
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