The second world title fight in the US this weekend Demetrius Andrade (20-0, 13) claiming the WBO Light Middle weight title as he defeated the previously unbeaten Vanes Martirosyan (33-1-1, 21).
This fight, the first world title fight for either man, and it showed the difference between a "world title holder" and genuine bona-fide world champion. In fact it probably showed the huge difference between what it means to win a world title and to be recognised as a world champion.
For the first 2 minutes of the fight Andrade did look world class with fantastic speed, good ring control and some lovely punches. Unfortunately much of his was undone as he was caught by a crisp shot that put Andrade down. Whilst a case could have been made for a 10-9 to Vanes it's fair to say that most would have scored it 10-8 to Vanes.
Andrade came back well and made rounds 2 and 3 very close, arguably taking both of them to undo the momentum of the knockdown and it was surprising that Vanes refused to press home his advantage. By round 4 Andrade was beginning to mark up the eye of Vanes and was really starting to look crisp once again using his jab to take control of the action and by now it was easy to forget about the knockdown that Vanes genuinely refused to build on.
It wasn't until round 5 that Vanes found any major success following the opening round. It was in the fifth that Vanes started pressing the action and clearly took the final minute of the round, if not the whole round. Unfortunately his success didn't last long with Andrade coming back very well with his best round in a long time.
Andrade built on his good sixth round by taking the seventh with activity though in round 8 started to look spent as he gave the round away. Fortunately for Andrade he managed to turn things around in round 9, the last competitive round of the fight.
Going in to the championship rounds it was close though unfortunately for Vanes he was unable to keep things close in the final 3 rounds as Andrade boxed within himself but still widely out worked an exhausted looking Martirosyan who did even less than he had done in a number of earlier rounds.
Although Colonel Bob Sheridan had some how viewed the contest as a win for Martirosyan it appeared that Andrade had out worked Vanes in almost every rounds. Barring the knockdown it was difficult to gave Vanes a great deal as he simply didn't do a lot. Sure Andrade wasn't unloading either but he was doing more round after round. This was shared in one of the scorecards which saw Andrade as a 117-110 winner. The other two judges had it closer with scores of 114-113 to Andrade and 115-112 to Vanes, though thankfully we did get the right winner.
Showing posts with label Light Middleweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Light Middleweight. Show all posts
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Floyd Mayweather Jr v Saul Alvarez
The unbeaten Floyd Maywather (45-0, 26) came out as "The One" as well as the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine Light Middleweight champion courtesy of a majority decision (more about that later) over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (42-1-1, 30).
The opening round was rather weird. Alvarez, the pressure fighter, oddly decided to try and box one of the best pure boxers in recent memory, this was simply a retarded game plan and one that was made to fail, as it did in the first 3 rounds. It was simply shocking that Alvarez would even try to outbox and out jab Mayweather who has one of the smoothest and fastest jabs in the sport today.
Thankfully, for the sake of entertainment if nothing else, the pace of the fight did pick up with Mayweather showing off his class as he landed some breath taking shots including a right hand that immediately bruised Canelo's face, a left hook late in the round and a second eye catching right hand. Whilst Canelo had some success, there was little more than a single right hand that seemed to land clean.
With Canelo in a hole he seemed to realise he had to change something and in round 5 he finally began to let his hands go. Unfortunately he found the Mayweather defense to be as impregnable as every other opponent and instead of landing shots he was being forced to eat more, especially the jab from Mayweather which was being thrown in combinations at times.
By now the Mexican fans were silent, they had cheered their man to the ring but realied he was out of his depth and as a "U-S-A" chant took over the arena.
If the first 5 rounds had been all Mayweather then the sixth was just a continuation of the same dominence. Again Canelo came forward and let his hands go, with little success whilst Mayweather landed at will, especially targeting the already bruised left eye of the Mexican. It was clear that Mayweather was targeting it and landing at will, in fact it was a shock that the eye wasn't beginning to swell from the clean right hands that pierced that Alvarez guard.
Whilst the right hand that had initially bruised Canelo's face had been excellent we had to wait until round 7 for the punch of the fight, a mind blowing uppercut by Mayweather that snapped the head of Canelo back. This was followed by a spiteful Mayweather flurry that saw him force feeding Canelo with right hands. At this point it seemed that Mayweather could, if he wished, finish off the Mexican.
Unfortunately after the amazing attack in round 7 Mayweather then seemed to take round 8 off as Canelo arguably claimed his first round of the fight. Although the Mexican didn't land too much he certainly out worked Mayweather and for the first time really threw in clusters making sure Mayweather was going to have to taste one of his shots every so often. Despite the heightened work of Alvarez the round seemed to hinge more on the fact Mayweather took it off rather than Alvarez winning it on merit.
Canelo seemed to build on his success in the ninth round as he again threw a lot, though unfortunately for him, and his legions of misguided fans, Mayweather did enough to just take the round landing the most notable shot, a huge right hand whilst Canelo himself missed with a vast majority of his shots.
The closeness of the ninth round was repeated in a similar round 10, though again Mayweather seemed to do enough to make Alvarez look silly whilst landing just enough to steal the round, despite an eye catching, though ineffective, flurry late by Canelo.
Unfortunately for Canelo his run of 2 or 3 competitive rounds was ended in a clear Mayweather round during the eleventh. Canelo, again through a fair bit but Mayweather did as he pleased. He landed a huge right right early, show boated with some eye catching pot shots in the middle of the round then taunted Canelo late in the round. It was the sort of round that whilst not technically dominant in terms of what was thrown it was dominant in terms of who controlled it and who was the boss.
With the decision seemingly in the bag Mayweather did very little in the final round, a round that actually saw the fans booing due to a lack of activity by both men. There was little reason for Mayweather to force the action and Canelo was too slow to force anything of note.
To me there was only 3 rounds, if you were being generous, that Canelo could have won. The score of 117-111 that I feasibly had was reflected on the card of Craig Metcalfe, the card of Dave Moretti had some how found 1 more round to give to Alvarez (presumably the 12th as a "pity round") though then we get the simply staggering card of controversial CJ Ross. Ross some how had the bout 114-114.
How Ross came to that is a mystery, though I dare say it should be her last. This woman needs barring from judging, given some glasses and told to find a new job because she's awful at judging a boxing contest.
The opening round was rather weird. Alvarez, the pressure fighter, oddly decided to try and box one of the best pure boxers in recent memory, this was simply a retarded game plan and one that was made to fail, as it did in the first 3 rounds. It was simply shocking that Alvarez would even try to outbox and out jab Mayweather who has one of the smoothest and fastest jabs in the sport today.
Thankfully, for the sake of entertainment if nothing else, the pace of the fight did pick up with Mayweather showing off his class as he landed some breath taking shots including a right hand that immediately bruised Canelo's face, a left hook late in the round and a second eye catching right hand. Whilst Canelo had some success, there was little more than a single right hand that seemed to land clean.
With Canelo in a hole he seemed to realise he had to change something and in round 5 he finally began to let his hands go. Unfortunately he found the Mayweather defense to be as impregnable as every other opponent and instead of landing shots he was being forced to eat more, especially the jab from Mayweather which was being thrown in combinations at times.
By now the Mexican fans were silent, they had cheered their man to the ring but realied he was out of his depth and as a "U-S-A" chant took over the arena.
If the first 5 rounds had been all Mayweather then the sixth was just a continuation of the same dominence. Again Canelo came forward and let his hands go, with little success whilst Mayweather landed at will, especially targeting the already bruised left eye of the Mexican. It was clear that Mayweather was targeting it and landing at will, in fact it was a shock that the eye wasn't beginning to swell from the clean right hands that pierced that Alvarez guard.
Whilst the right hand that had initially bruised Canelo's face had been excellent we had to wait until round 7 for the punch of the fight, a mind blowing uppercut by Mayweather that snapped the head of Canelo back. This was followed by a spiteful Mayweather flurry that saw him force feeding Canelo with right hands. At this point it seemed that Mayweather could, if he wished, finish off the Mexican.
Unfortunately after the amazing attack in round 7 Mayweather then seemed to take round 8 off as Canelo arguably claimed his first round of the fight. Although the Mexican didn't land too much he certainly out worked Mayweather and for the first time really threw in clusters making sure Mayweather was going to have to taste one of his shots every so often. Despite the heightened work of Alvarez the round seemed to hinge more on the fact Mayweather took it off rather than Alvarez winning it on merit.
Canelo seemed to build on his success in the ninth round as he again threw a lot, though unfortunately for him, and his legions of misguided fans, Mayweather did enough to just take the round landing the most notable shot, a huge right hand whilst Canelo himself missed with a vast majority of his shots.
The closeness of the ninth round was repeated in a similar round 10, though again Mayweather seemed to do enough to make Alvarez look silly whilst landing just enough to steal the round, despite an eye catching, though ineffective, flurry late by Canelo.
Unfortunately for Canelo his run of 2 or 3 competitive rounds was ended in a clear Mayweather round during the eleventh. Canelo, again through a fair bit but Mayweather did as he pleased. He landed a huge right right early, show boated with some eye catching pot shots in the middle of the round then taunted Canelo late in the round. It was the sort of round that whilst not technically dominant in terms of what was thrown it was dominant in terms of who controlled it and who was the boss.
With the decision seemingly in the bag Mayweather did very little in the final round, a round that actually saw the fans booing due to a lack of activity by both men. There was little reason for Mayweather to force the action and Canelo was too slow to force anything of note.
To me there was only 3 rounds, if you were being generous, that Canelo could have won. The score of 117-111 that I feasibly had was reflected on the card of Craig Metcalfe, the card of Dave Moretti had some how found 1 more round to give to Alvarez (presumably the 12th as a "pity round") though then we get the simply staggering card of controversial CJ Ross. Ross some how had the bout 114-114.
How Ross came to that is a mystery, though I dare say it should be her last. This woman needs barring from judging, given some glasses and told to find a new job because she's awful at judging a boxing contest.
Ishe Smith v Carlos Molina
In a turgid and unexciting battle highlighted by the vocal chords of Jay Nady, Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6) claimed the IBF Light Middleweight title defeating Ishe Smith (25-6, 11)
The first of 3 title fights on "The One" was marked out as "the one to send fans to sleep" and unfortunately it lived up to that idea.
Surprisingly the fight started brightly with Molina being an aggressive front foot fighter throwing lots of shots with Smith trying to counter things with his left hook. Unfortunately Smith's shots were rarely landing in the early portion and Molina, for all his good work, was unable too land too much clean past the intelligent defense of Smith.
After clearly taking the first 4 rounds Molina's work become scrappier and in fact he started to recieve persistent warnings from the referee who was warning him for leading with the head on a regular basis. The warnings seemed to kill off Molina's work somewhat whilst Smith continued to make the bout ugly. The ugly rounds, which started in rounds 5 or 6, become a consistent which lacked any sort of clean work. Interestingly the ugliness of these rounds seemed to suit Smith who was able to land the few eye catching shots whilst Molina threw a lot but landed little.
By the time we'd reached the championship rounds it was fair to say fan interested in the contest had died. The rounds through the middle had been close but uninteresting. They'd been close due to how awful and messy they'd been and unfortunately they'd completely killed any entertainment value any fans had. In fact it was probably fair to say that fans were using the bout as a toilet break by this point.
With the bout in the balance the two men finally came alive with some clean work in the championship rounds.
The 11th round saw Smith having by far his best round before Molina came back in the final round, clearly winning that one.
With the middle rounds so difficult to score it was no shock to see a split decision rendered with 2 of the judges feeling Molina's work deserved to take the decision in what was a fair decision given the work he put in compared to Smith's lazy and lethargic effort.
If you missed this one, don't bother trying to catch it!
The first of 3 title fights on "The One" was marked out as "the one to send fans to sleep" and unfortunately it lived up to that idea.
Surprisingly the fight started brightly with Molina being an aggressive front foot fighter throwing lots of shots with Smith trying to counter things with his left hook. Unfortunately Smith's shots were rarely landing in the early portion and Molina, for all his good work, was unable too land too much clean past the intelligent defense of Smith.
After clearly taking the first 4 rounds Molina's work become scrappier and in fact he started to recieve persistent warnings from the referee who was warning him for leading with the head on a regular basis. The warnings seemed to kill off Molina's work somewhat whilst Smith continued to make the bout ugly. The ugly rounds, which started in rounds 5 or 6, become a consistent which lacked any sort of clean work. Interestingly the ugliness of these rounds seemed to suit Smith who was able to land the few eye catching shots whilst Molina threw a lot but landed little.
By the time we'd reached the championship rounds it was fair to say fan interested in the contest had died. The rounds through the middle had been close but uninteresting. They'd been close due to how awful and messy they'd been and unfortunately they'd completely killed any entertainment value any fans had. In fact it was probably fair to say that fans were using the bout as a toilet break by this point.
With the bout in the balance the two men finally came alive with some clean work in the championship rounds.
The 11th round saw Smith having by far his best round before Molina came back in the final round, clearly winning that one.
With the middle rounds so difficult to score it was no shock to see a split decision rendered with 2 of the judges feeling Molina's work deserved to take the decision in what was a fair decision given the work he put in compared to Smith's lazy and lethargic effort.
If you missed this one, don't bother trying to catch it!
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Erislandy Lara v Alfredo Angulo
In what was the best fight of the night Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12) became the WBA "interim" Light Middleweight title as he stopped Mexican Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18).
The opening round was sensational for Lara as the Cuban showed off his excellent boxing ability and landed a huge number of massive straight lefts, several of which seemed to rock Angulo to his boots. Lara's boxing seemed to also do enough to claim a second round, though Angulo was starting to get in to range and tag the Cuban's body.
Angulo's body work seemed to start to pay off in round 3 as he claimed his first round and really started to go to work on Lara's midsection with powerful blows all thrown with bad intentions. It appeared the body shots were thrown with the intention of slowing Lara's legs down as much as anything else and keep the often elusive Cuban in the same place for more than just a few moments.
The determined body work of "El Perro" really helped the Mexican in round 4 as he dropped Lara for the first time in Lara's career.
Despite being knocked down Lara got back to his feet an actually looked much crisper the in the few proceeding rounds as he moved excellently and showed off his amazing boxing ability, making Angulo look slow and foolish. Despite moving well however Lara was expanding huge amounts of energy in an attempt to keep Angulo away from him as the Mexican stalked continually.
Angulo would drop Lara for a second time in round 9. It appeared that if a stoppage was going to be caused it would be from Angulo.
Unexpectedly in round 10 Lara landed 2 big left hands that forced Angulo to turn his back and walk away with left eye massively swollen and badly disfigured. The fact that Angulo turned his back forced the referee's hand as he declared Lara the winner, and new champion by 10th round TKO.
Whilst some maybe writing Angulo off following this loss the injury really did seem like a freak incident and shouldn't leave anyone questioning Angulo's heart. Instead those fans should be wishing Angulo a swift recovery as this could be a career threatening injury. For Lara this result certainly puts him into the mix at the world stage.
The opening round was sensational for Lara as the Cuban showed off his excellent boxing ability and landed a huge number of massive straight lefts, several of which seemed to rock Angulo to his boots. Lara's boxing seemed to also do enough to claim a second round, though Angulo was starting to get in to range and tag the Cuban's body.
Angulo's body work seemed to start to pay off in round 3 as he claimed his first round and really started to go to work on Lara's midsection with powerful blows all thrown with bad intentions. It appeared the body shots were thrown with the intention of slowing Lara's legs down as much as anything else and keep the often elusive Cuban in the same place for more than just a few moments.
The determined body work of "El Perro" really helped the Mexican in round 4 as he dropped Lara for the first time in Lara's career.
Despite being knocked down Lara got back to his feet an actually looked much crisper the in the few proceeding rounds as he moved excellently and showed off his amazing boxing ability, making Angulo look slow and foolish. Despite moving well however Lara was expanding huge amounts of energy in an attempt to keep Angulo away from him as the Mexican stalked continually.
Angulo would drop Lara for a second time in round 9. It appeared that if a stoppage was going to be caused it would be from Angulo.
Unexpectedly in round 10 Lara landed 2 big left hands that forced Angulo to turn his back and walk away with left eye massively swollen and badly disfigured. The fact that Angulo turned his back forced the referee's hand as he declared Lara the winner, and new champion by 10th round TKO.
Whilst some maybe writing Angulo off following this loss the injury really did seem like a freak incident and shouldn't leave anyone questioning Angulo's heart. Instead those fans should be wishing Angulo a swift recovery as this could be a career threatening injury. For Lara this result certainly puts him into the mix at the world stage.
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Austin Trout v Canelo Alvarez
In the first "super fight" of 2013 unbeaten men collided in a Light Middleweight unification bout as the WBA and WBC titles were up for grabs though sadly what should have been a great fight was marred in controversy as poor officiating and the WBC's "Open Scoring" destroyed any sense of tension.
The fight started excellently for Trout who dominated the round with his jab and seemed to clearly take the round with Canelo landing next to nothing of note, in fact the round seemed to suggest that Canelo was showing his inexperience as he made several glaring mistakes. Canelo came back excellently the following round as he started to cut the distance off and tied the scores on my card.
Rounds 3 and 4 were incredibly close with neither man managing to really establish themselves as a clear winner and when the WBC's semi-open scoring came in to play after 4 rounds it reflected the close nature of the bout with scores of 39-38 (twice) to Canelo and 38-38.
In the rounds 5 and 6 Trout seemed to step on the pace a little and forced Canelo on to the back foot especially in round 6 where the Mexican seemed to be tiring after an educated body attack by Trout. It seemed as if Canelo was starting to struggle with the pace and the attack of Trout. Though Canelo later claimed it was a problem with his leg (in the post fight interview) it was clear from watching it that he was struggling.
Canelo landed his best shot in round 7 as he dropped Trout with a wonderful straight right that dropped Trout for the first time in his career. Despite being dropped Trout got up and appeared to actually forced Canelo backwards for much of the round as he fought back well. Canelo appearedto end round 7 looking exhausted and Trout again appeared to clearly win round 8 against a lazy looking Canelo who really threw the around away.
Rounds 9 and 10 were hard fought with neither man managing to dominate, though Canelo did show off some impressive defensive skills and land the better shot even if Trout was visibly out working him. Sadly however by the start of round 9 the fight was over in the eyes of the judges who had clearly decided that Trout wasn't winning tonight unless he could score a knockout. The scores were so widely in favour of the Mexican that the bout the judges were watching were vastly difference from the fight that was being shown on TV.
With the result as good as known going into the championship rounds Trout did his best to try and step on the gas but Canelo managed to survive both rounds clearly giving away round 12 as he did nothing other than concentrate on seeing the final bell. Sadly round 12 was the result of the WBC's open scoring which had let Canelo know he didn't need to fight the round.
With the victory Canelo (42-0-1, 30) claims the WBA "super" Light Middleweight title to unify it with his WBC belt and he also adds the Ring magazine title whilst Trout (26-1, 14) suffers his first loss though he did take it very well. We've been left with possibly the right winner in a very close bout but the score cards need to be questioned, especially that of Stanley Christodoulou (118-109) which seemed to suggest that he had marked his card before the bout had even started.
The fight started excellently for Trout who dominated the round with his jab and seemed to clearly take the round with Canelo landing next to nothing of note, in fact the round seemed to suggest that Canelo was showing his inexperience as he made several glaring mistakes. Canelo came back excellently the following round as he started to cut the distance off and tied the scores on my card.
Rounds 3 and 4 were incredibly close with neither man managing to really establish themselves as a clear winner and when the WBC's semi-open scoring came in to play after 4 rounds it reflected the close nature of the bout with scores of 39-38 (twice) to Canelo and 38-38.
In the rounds 5 and 6 Trout seemed to step on the pace a little and forced Canelo on to the back foot especially in round 6 where the Mexican seemed to be tiring after an educated body attack by Trout. It seemed as if Canelo was starting to struggle with the pace and the attack of Trout. Though Canelo later claimed it was a problem with his leg (in the post fight interview) it was clear from watching it that he was struggling.
Canelo landed his best shot in round 7 as he dropped Trout with a wonderful straight right that dropped Trout for the first time in his career. Despite being dropped Trout got up and appeared to actually forced Canelo backwards for much of the round as he fought back well. Canelo appearedto end round 7 looking exhausted and Trout again appeared to clearly win round 8 against a lazy looking Canelo who really threw the around away.
Rounds 9 and 10 were hard fought with neither man managing to dominate, though Canelo did show off some impressive defensive skills and land the better shot even if Trout was visibly out working him. Sadly however by the start of round 9 the fight was over in the eyes of the judges who had clearly decided that Trout wasn't winning tonight unless he could score a knockout. The scores were so widely in favour of the Mexican that the bout the judges were watching were vastly difference from the fight that was being shown on TV.
With the result as good as known going into the championship rounds Trout did his best to try and step on the gas but Canelo managed to survive both rounds clearly giving away round 12 as he did nothing other than concentrate on seeing the final bell. Sadly round 12 was the result of the WBC's open scoring which had let Canelo know he didn't need to fight the round.
With the victory Canelo (42-0-1, 30) claims the WBA "super" Light Middleweight title to unify it with his WBC belt and he also adds the Ring magazine title whilst Trout (26-1, 14) suffers his first loss though he did take it very well. We've been left with possibly the right winner in a very close bout but the score cards need to be questioned, especially that of Stanley Christodoulou (118-109) which seemed to suggest that he had marked his card before the bout had even started.
Monday, 25 February 2013
Cornelius Bundrage v Ishe Smith
In the biggest win of his career so far, the talented but yet under-rated Ishe Smith (25-5, 11) claimed the IBF Light Middleweight title as he claimed a split decision over former champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage (32-5-0-1, 19).
The fight, which started slowly as the styles really clashed, wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination though it was often engaging, even if it was in hope of seeing a clean, solid punch land from either man. Despite the slow pace of much of the fight, the better, classier work came from Smith when the challenger decided to open up against the defending champion.
Despite the slow start the fight finally came alive late on as a tired Bundrage started to come under real pressure from Smith, who wasn't going to be denied in his big chance. Although Smith couldn't put away the champion he appeared to clearly dominate vast swathes of the fight, notably the final 6 rounds after the 6 messy opening rounds.
Whilst many viewers felt that Smith was the clear winner, one judge, Dave Hess, seemed to feel that Bundrage had done just enough to retain his title, an opinion not even shared by Bundrage who admitted that he lost fair and square. Whilst Bundrage admitted he made a tactical mistake not following the game plan, an emotional Smith cried in relief at his crowning glory to a 13 year career.
For Bundrage, who had been champion since dethroning Cory Spinks back in 2010, this is likely the end of the line. Aged 39 (and turning 40 in just a few weeks) there is little to really achieve, in fact in all honesty Bundrage was an over-achiever scoring wins over Walter Wright, Michael Clark, Kassim Ouma, Zaurbek Baysangurov and Cory Spinks (twice) and can hold his head up high after having had an excellent career.
Smith on the other hand may well look to cash in on his title and try to look for fights with either the winner of the upcoming Saul "Canelo" Alvarez v Austin Trout bout or even try to lure Miguel Cotto into a bout. Though it's unlikely Smith would do enough to defend against any of those men.
The fight, which started slowly as the styles really clashed, wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination though it was often engaging, even if it was in hope of seeing a clean, solid punch land from either man. Despite the slow pace of much of the fight, the better, classier work came from Smith when the challenger decided to open up against the defending champion.
Despite the slow start the fight finally came alive late on as a tired Bundrage started to come under real pressure from Smith, who wasn't going to be denied in his big chance. Although Smith couldn't put away the champion he appeared to clearly dominate vast swathes of the fight, notably the final 6 rounds after the 6 messy opening rounds.
Whilst many viewers felt that Smith was the clear winner, one judge, Dave Hess, seemed to feel that Bundrage had done just enough to retain his title, an opinion not even shared by Bundrage who admitted that he lost fair and square. Whilst Bundrage admitted he made a tactical mistake not following the game plan, an emotional Smith cried in relief at his crowning glory to a 13 year career.
For Bundrage, who had been champion since dethroning Cory Spinks back in 2010, this is likely the end of the line. Aged 39 (and turning 40 in just a few weeks) there is little to really achieve, in fact in all honesty Bundrage was an over-achiever scoring wins over Walter Wright, Michael Clark, Kassim Ouma, Zaurbek Baysangurov and Cory Spinks (twice) and can hold his head up high after having had an excellent career.
Smith on the other hand may well look to cash in on his title and try to look for fights with either the winner of the upcoming Saul "Canelo" Alvarez v Austin Trout bout or even try to lure Miguel Cotto into a bout. Though it's unlikely Smith would do enough to defend against any of those men.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Austin Trout v Miguel Cotto
The WBA Light Middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14) scored by far the biggest win of his career so far as he impressively out-pointed future hall of famer Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30). The fight, between two very classy fighters was not an out and out war, though was a thoroughly entertaining bout from start to end.
The opening round was fought as a high paced chess match that really set the stage for the bout with Trout's jab being fired time and time again towards Cotto's face with straight lefts to the body following as Trout used his speed and reach well. It was using those two shots that Trout clearly won the opening two rounds however Cotto tried to change the pattern of the fight over the following rounds and started to bring the pressure in the following rounds. Despite getting more success when he was coming Cotto was starting to walk on to hurtful shots that really started to mark up Cotto's face.
Although the crowd cheered loudly when Cotto had some success in the middle rounds they simply couldn't do enough to lift Cotto who was too small and didn't have the power to force Trout out of his comfort zone. In fact it was Trout's power that seemed to be telling with his right hooks landing time and time around the guard of Cotto and he also seemed to buzz Cotto a few times in latter rounds as he started to roar ahead on the cards. And although several rounds had been competitive it just seemed that Trout was bagging more rounds than Cotto.
Sadly for Cotto the youth of Trout seemed to be too much and the champion started to easily out work the challenger down the stretch who could only fight in bursts as the combination of age and being hit in the body took their toll on Cotto. The "freshness" was most evident in round 11 as Cotto was tagged time and time again in arguably Trout's strongest round of the fight as he attempted to silence the raucous Cotto fans.
At the end of the 12th round it was obvious who thought they had won as Trout and his team celebrated whilst Cotto looked somewhat dejected. The gamblers on betfair seemed to also know which way the cards were going as Trout's odds shrunk suddenly after the final bell. However there was some doubt, Cotto is a huge draw and some thought may have swayed the judges, if anything however it did the opposite with Trout claiming a clear unanimous decision by scores of 117-111 (twice) and 119-109. Although I had Trout as a clear winner in a competitive fight (116-112) it does appear that at least 1 judge was harsh on the legendary Miguel Cotto.
After the fight Trout called out Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, though in all honesty, Trout is unlikely to get that fight as he is far too tricky and too naturally big for the limited Alvarez. Instead expect Golden Boy to make Trout jump through hoops for the bout. For Cotto however this could be the end. The Puerto Rican hero was asked by Jim Gray if he would fight again and he replied with "Probably" though in all honesty, it'll be more of a case of "Probably...if the money is right".
The opening round was fought as a high paced chess match that really set the stage for the bout with Trout's jab being fired time and time again towards Cotto's face with straight lefts to the body following as Trout used his speed and reach well. It was using those two shots that Trout clearly won the opening two rounds however Cotto tried to change the pattern of the fight over the following rounds and started to bring the pressure in the following rounds. Despite getting more success when he was coming Cotto was starting to walk on to hurtful shots that really started to mark up Cotto's face.
Although the crowd cheered loudly when Cotto had some success in the middle rounds they simply couldn't do enough to lift Cotto who was too small and didn't have the power to force Trout out of his comfort zone. In fact it was Trout's power that seemed to be telling with his right hooks landing time and time around the guard of Cotto and he also seemed to buzz Cotto a few times in latter rounds as he started to roar ahead on the cards. And although several rounds had been competitive it just seemed that Trout was bagging more rounds than Cotto.
Sadly for Cotto the youth of Trout seemed to be too much and the champion started to easily out work the challenger down the stretch who could only fight in bursts as the combination of age and being hit in the body took their toll on Cotto. The "freshness" was most evident in round 11 as Cotto was tagged time and time again in arguably Trout's strongest round of the fight as he attempted to silence the raucous Cotto fans.
At the end of the 12th round it was obvious who thought they had won as Trout and his team celebrated whilst Cotto looked somewhat dejected. The gamblers on betfair seemed to also know which way the cards were going as Trout's odds shrunk suddenly after the final bell. However there was some doubt, Cotto is a huge draw and some thought may have swayed the judges, if anything however it did the opposite with Trout claiming a clear unanimous decision by scores of 117-111 (twice) and 119-109. Although I had Trout as a clear winner in a competitive fight (116-112) it does appear that at least 1 judge was harsh on the legendary Miguel Cotto.
After the fight Trout called out Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, though in all honesty, Trout is unlikely to get that fight as he is far too tricky and too naturally big for the limited Alvarez. Instead expect Golden Boy to make Trout jump through hoops for the bout. For Cotto however this could be the end. The Puerto Rican hero was asked by Jim Gray if he would fight again and he replied with "Probably" though in all honesty, it'll be more of a case of "Probably...if the money is right".
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Zaurbek Baysangurov v Lukas Konecny
Russian Zaurbek Baysangurov (28-1, 20) successfully defended the WBO Light Middleweight title as he defeated Czech Lukas Konecny (48-4, 23) in a thoroughly enjoy and hard fought bout.
The bout started excellently for the challenger who applied constant pressure and appeared to win the first two rounds with a high work rate and some excellent movement as Baysangurov tried to trade with him. In these early rounds it appeared as if Konecny just had too much experience, skill and toughness, sadly for the challenger however it didn't take long before the champion changed his tactics.
In round 3 Baysangurov started to utilise his significant reach and height advantage and used his jab to keep Konecny at a safe distance. Although many of Baysangurov's shots were taken on the guard he was starting to stay away from Konecny's relentless attack and whilst also beginning to control the distance. By the end of the 3rd Konecny's nose was starting to trickle blood, though it was nothing too noticeable it still seemed noteworthy.
Through the middle rounds Baysangurov started to take control of the bout and although Konecny kept the rounds close and competitive it just appeared as if Baysangurov had a bit too much movement, energy and reach. As Baysangurov started to take the rounds he was also upping his own work rate whilst Konecny was becoming less active as well as less successful.
Having fallen well behind, Konecny tried to turn the fight around in the championship rounds but unfortunately had left himself too much to do and had suffered a number of cuts, including a nasty one on his nose an usual one on top of his head and, in round 12, a very nasty one around his eye. The eye cut forced the referee to take Konecny over to the Dr but with less than 2 minutes left the Dr let the fight continue as Konecny attempted to turn the fight around but failed.
Despite being an excellent and high tempo bout with a lot of competitiveness it was fought with a lot of mutual respect by both men who both seemed to respect not only each other but the actual fight it's self. There was only 1 notable foul (a low blow by Baysangurov in round 11) and nothing deliberately dirty by either man, sadly however it seemed like Konecny, at 34 years old, was a fighter who was starting to genuinely look like a man on the slide. Hopefully it won't be the last we see of him.
The bout started excellently for the challenger who applied constant pressure and appeared to win the first two rounds with a high work rate and some excellent movement as Baysangurov tried to trade with him. In these early rounds it appeared as if Konecny just had too much experience, skill and toughness, sadly for the challenger however it didn't take long before the champion changed his tactics.
In round 3 Baysangurov started to utilise his significant reach and height advantage and used his jab to keep Konecny at a safe distance. Although many of Baysangurov's shots were taken on the guard he was starting to stay away from Konecny's relentless attack and whilst also beginning to control the distance. By the end of the 3rd Konecny's nose was starting to trickle blood, though it was nothing too noticeable it still seemed noteworthy.
Through the middle rounds Baysangurov started to take control of the bout and although Konecny kept the rounds close and competitive it just appeared as if Baysangurov had a bit too much movement, energy and reach. As Baysangurov started to take the rounds he was also upping his own work rate whilst Konecny was becoming less active as well as less successful.
Having fallen well behind, Konecny tried to turn the fight around in the championship rounds but unfortunately had left himself too much to do and had suffered a number of cuts, including a nasty one on his nose an usual one on top of his head and, in round 12, a very nasty one around his eye. The eye cut forced the referee to take Konecny over to the Dr but with less than 2 minutes left the Dr let the fight continue as Konecny attempted to turn the fight around but failed.
Despite being an excellent and high tempo bout with a lot of competitiveness it was fought with a lot of mutual respect by both men who both seemed to respect not only each other but the actual fight it's self. There was only 1 notable foul (a low blow by Baysangurov in round 11) and nothing deliberately dirty by either man, sadly however it seemed like Konecny, at 34 years old, was a fighter who was starting to genuinely look like a man on the slide. Hopefully it won't be the last we see of him.
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Saul Alvarez v Josesito Lopez
Popular young Mexican Saul Alvarez (41-0-1, 30) successfully defended his WBC Light Middleweight title by stopping the brave but thoroughly outclassed Josesito Lopez (30-5, 18) in a completely dominant bout.
Lopez, a natural Light Welterweight, had upset Victor Ortiz earlier this year and got this bout as a "reward". Sadly, fighting 2 weights higher than where he is at his best, Lopez was no match for the physicality of Alvarez and it showed almost immediately with Lopez unable to make Alvarez even flinch despite landing his best shots.
Whilst Lopez couldn't hurt Alvarez, the same could not be said in reverse and Alvarez appeared to shake the world of Lopez every time he landed, sending the challenger to the canvas in rounds 2,3 and 4 as the bout immediately looked to be a one-sided beat down.
Whilst Lopez didn't go down in the fifth round he was hurt and this time Joe Cortez decided enough was enough and put an early end to this ritual beating that seemed in all honesty only to have been made to punish Lopez for beating Ortiz.
I'd now expect Lopez to drop back down to Light Welterweight where he could prove to be a real handful for any of the top fighters, however obviously the biggest story if about Alvarez. It's well known that Golden Boy Promotions are wanting to push Alvarez as the next great Mexican star however the youngster has yet to have a fight that has made the world really say wow.
As a "world level" fighter Alvarez has feasted on smaller men (such as Lopez, Alfonso Gomez, Matthew Hatton) or much older men (Ryan Rhodes, Shane Mosley) and there are major question marks about when will Alvarez fight a top Light Middleweight. It may be fair to say that Alvarez's next bout needs to be with a genuine top Light Middleweight or the fans may turn against the charismatic youngster. Another mismatch like this could well be the final nail in the "Canelo Coffin" and see him disregarded as a fraud by the boxing public.
Lopez, a natural Light Welterweight, had upset Victor Ortiz earlier this year and got this bout as a "reward". Sadly, fighting 2 weights higher than where he is at his best, Lopez was no match for the physicality of Alvarez and it showed almost immediately with Lopez unable to make Alvarez even flinch despite landing his best shots.
Whilst Lopez couldn't hurt Alvarez, the same could not be said in reverse and Alvarez appeared to shake the world of Lopez every time he landed, sending the challenger to the canvas in rounds 2,3 and 4 as the bout immediately looked to be a one-sided beat down.
Whilst Lopez didn't go down in the fifth round he was hurt and this time Joe Cortez decided enough was enough and put an early end to this ritual beating that seemed in all honesty only to have been made to punish Lopez for beating Ortiz.
I'd now expect Lopez to drop back down to Light Welterweight where he could prove to be a real handful for any of the top fighters, however obviously the biggest story if about Alvarez. It's well known that Golden Boy Promotions are wanting to push Alvarez as the next great Mexican star however the youngster has yet to have a fight that has made the world really say wow.
As a "world level" fighter Alvarez has feasted on smaller men (such as Lopez, Alfonso Gomez, Matthew Hatton) or much older men (Ryan Rhodes, Shane Mosley) and there are major question marks about when will Alvarez fight a top Light Middleweight. It may be fair to say that Alvarez's next bout needs to be with a genuine top Light Middleweight or the fans may turn against the charismatic youngster. Another mismatch like this could well be the final nail in the "Canelo Coffin" and see him disregarded as a fraud by the boxing public.
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