Long time unbeaten fighter Paul Spadafora (48-1-1, 19) finally suffered a loss as he was out pointed by Venezuela's Johan Perez (18-1-1-1, 2) who in turn claimed the WBA interim Light Welterweight title for the second time.
The fight started slowly with neither man getting much of an advantage in the early going. Despite this it often appeared that Perez was doing more than Spadafora and narrowly claiming the early rounds. It was unlikely that the judges agreed but it was hard to give any of the early rounds to Spadafora who was looking his age.
Perez stepped up the pace of the fight in round 4 and by the end of that round Spadafora's face was showing the signs of a fight. A small mouse and a cut was forming on his face and his defenses were being penetrated on a frequent basis by Perez who was slowly breaking down the former IBF Lightweight champion.
Spadafora managed to gain some success through the middle rounds with some lovely counters but he was still being out worked and seemingly couldn't manage to launch a full blooded attack of his own. The speed of Spadafora wasn't what it once was and it showed as Perez was capable of controlling the pace and distance with out seemingly needing to work for it.
By the end of round 9 it was clear that Perez should have been in the lead. It appeared that even Spadafora knew it as he put his foot on the gas and tried to turn the fight around. Unfortunately for American he lacked the ability, power or speed to make Perez worry and the assault turned back on Spadafora who appeared to have gambled big in the round.
Spadafora would again pick up the pace in round 12 but by then Perez was safe in the knowledge that he had done more than enough. Barring a horror show from the judges Perez was to take the title.
The Venezuelan's heart was likely in his mouth as the score cards were read out reading 114-114, 115-113 and 117-111. Thankfully, despite the poor scores, Perez managed to get the decision and the title.
Showing posts with label Light Welterweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Light Welterweight. Show all posts
Sunday, 1 December 2013
Saturday, 19 October 2013
Mike Alvarado v Ruslan Provodnikov
It's not every fight that has fans really looking forward to it with anticipation of a sure-fire war but this weekend's WBO Light Welterweight title fight between Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23) and Ruslan Provodnikov (23-2, 16) was one such fight. It was two men who had styles made for each other, two men who had power and heart and two men who knew how to entertain fans.
Whilst many such fights can fall short of their mark I think it's fair to say that this lived to expectation and it seemed clear from the off that this wasn't going to just fall short.
The action kicked off in the way we expected. Provodnikov came forward, living up to the idea that he hasn't got a reverse gear and Alvarado showed off his superior boxing fighting Provodnikov off whilst fighting off the back foot. Alvarado certainly looked the better "boxer" but Provodnikov was having success and seemed to take the round with his harder clearer shots.
The fact Alvarado had lost the opening round saw him going to plan B. Boxing and moving. When Alvarado was fighting on the move he made Provodnikov look rather limited and in fact the movement looked like it was confusing the Russian who clearly lost rounds 2 and 3. Oddly it was whilst Alvarado was boxing on the move that a strange feeling seemed to come over the bout, "this might actually go the distance".
Alvarado's clear successes came to an end in round 4 as he began to get a little over-confident and almost seemed to fight Provodnikov's bout. This was a silly mistake though one that he likely thought could help break Provodnikov's confidence. If he could beat Provodnikov on the inside then where was Provodnikov going to go? Unfortunately, as mentioned, it backfired.
Alvarado returned to his moving tactics in round 5 as he tried to reestablish control of the bout, though unfortunately his output had dropped and the first 2 minutes or so were about Provodnikov who actually threw punches. Alvarado tried to steal in the final minute but it was too little too late as Provodnikov seemed to take a narrow lead. Thankfully for Alvarado his reestablished himself in round 6, which like round 5 had been close though he seemed to have just done enough to claim it as we moved in to the second half of the fight with a level, or near level score card.
The close nature of rounds 5 and 6 was again felt in round 7, a round that for 2 minutes 58 seconds was an even round. Unfortunately for the defending champion he lost the round in those final 2 seconds as he was shaken up, hard.
It wasn't so much that Alvarado had lost round 7 in the final 2 seconds that had proven to be a key, but that Provodnikov had hurt genuinely hurt him. It was less about the "10-9" on a piece of paper but more about the huge confidence boost Provodniov had had from the action at the bell, confidence that seemed to really boost him in round 8.
The eighth round by far the most crucial to the fight. Provodnikov grew from the previous round and hurt Alvarado early in the round. Provodnikov landed a shot upstairs that hurt Alvarado then a body shot that seemed to really shake Alvarado up. A follow up attack sent Alvarado down for a 9 count and from then on it was Alvarado never looked the same man. He was dropped again later in the round then did all he could to survive through the final minute of the round.
By round 9 it looked like we were only going to have a new champion. Unfortunately Provodnikov was starting to look tired and he could capitalise on Alvarado who was still looking very leggy. Alvarado managed to avoid a fight, despite his legs looking tired, through out round 9 though he did lose the round by doing very little in terms of offensive work.
It was starting to look like Provodnikov had missed his chance to stop Alvarado though a huge assault at the end of round 10 forced the defending champions corner to act. They knew their man was spent, they knew he had struggled with weight and they knew that he needed saving before his career was thrown away chasing a lost cause. They refused, rightfully, to let their man out for round 11 conceding the title though saving what was left of their man.
Whilst many such fights can fall short of their mark I think it's fair to say that this lived to expectation and it seemed clear from the off that this wasn't going to just fall short.
The action kicked off in the way we expected. Provodnikov came forward, living up to the idea that he hasn't got a reverse gear and Alvarado showed off his superior boxing fighting Provodnikov off whilst fighting off the back foot. Alvarado certainly looked the better "boxer" but Provodnikov was having success and seemed to take the round with his harder clearer shots.
The fact Alvarado had lost the opening round saw him going to plan B. Boxing and moving. When Alvarado was fighting on the move he made Provodnikov look rather limited and in fact the movement looked like it was confusing the Russian who clearly lost rounds 2 and 3. Oddly it was whilst Alvarado was boxing on the move that a strange feeling seemed to come over the bout, "this might actually go the distance".
Alvarado's clear successes came to an end in round 4 as he began to get a little over-confident and almost seemed to fight Provodnikov's bout. This was a silly mistake though one that he likely thought could help break Provodnikov's confidence. If he could beat Provodnikov on the inside then where was Provodnikov going to go? Unfortunately, as mentioned, it backfired.
Alvarado returned to his moving tactics in round 5 as he tried to reestablish control of the bout, though unfortunately his output had dropped and the first 2 minutes or so were about Provodnikov who actually threw punches. Alvarado tried to steal in the final minute but it was too little too late as Provodnikov seemed to take a narrow lead. Thankfully for Alvarado his reestablished himself in round 6, which like round 5 had been close though he seemed to have just done enough to claim it as we moved in to the second half of the fight with a level, or near level score card.
The close nature of rounds 5 and 6 was again felt in round 7, a round that for 2 minutes 58 seconds was an even round. Unfortunately for the defending champion he lost the round in those final 2 seconds as he was shaken up, hard.
It wasn't so much that Alvarado had lost round 7 in the final 2 seconds that had proven to be a key, but that Provodnikov had hurt genuinely hurt him. It was less about the "10-9" on a piece of paper but more about the huge confidence boost Provodniov had had from the action at the bell, confidence that seemed to really boost him in round 8.
The eighth round by far the most crucial to the fight. Provodnikov grew from the previous round and hurt Alvarado early in the round. Provodnikov landed a shot upstairs that hurt Alvarado then a body shot that seemed to really shake Alvarado up. A follow up attack sent Alvarado down for a 9 count and from then on it was Alvarado never looked the same man. He was dropped again later in the round then did all he could to survive through the final minute of the round.
By round 9 it looked like we were only going to have a new champion. Unfortunately Provodnikov was starting to look tired and he could capitalise on Alvarado who was still looking very leggy. Alvarado managed to avoid a fight, despite his legs looking tired, through out round 9 though he did lose the round by doing very little in terms of offensive work.
It was starting to look like Provodnikov had missed his chance to stop Alvarado though a huge assault at the end of round 10 forced the defending champions corner to act. They knew their man was spent, they knew he had struggled with weight and they knew that he needed saving before his career was thrown away chasing a lost cause. They refused, rightfully, to let their man out for round 11 conceding the title though saving what was left of their man.
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Danny Garcia v Lucas Martin Matthysse
In a bout seen as the most "explosive" encounter on "The One" card Danny Garcia (17-0, 16) defeated Lucas Matthysse (34-3, 32) by a decision to successfully retain the combined WBC and WBA Light Welterweight titles.
Prior to the fight their was a clear "Buzz" from the crowd, a shock considering the fact they had all fallen to sleep during the previous bout, a sleep inducing contest between Ishe Smith and Carlos Molina.
The opening round was a careful and slow one with Garcia boxing well with his movement and jab. It wasn't what we expected and wasn't a shoot out but it was a very intelligent round from Garcia. Despite the unexpected start things did heat up in the second round as Matthysse fought back and tagged Garcia several times. Unfortunately the round saw the first, of many, low blows by Garcia in what become a bit of a sub story to the fight.
Round 3 was another where Garcia's boxing made Matthysse look slow and clumsy though again Garcia seemed to get away with shots south of the border. Although Matthysse didn't seem to make much of a fuss they were becoming a common place in the arsenal of Garcia and, at least for me, they were beginning to leave questions as to what he was going to be able to get away with from Tony Weeks.
The "borderline" shots were continuing through round 4 as Garcia, who was genuinely boxing well and moving excellently seemed to have found a nice way to slow down Matthysse's assaults. It wasn't until round 5 that Tony Weeks actually told Garcia to keep them up, and that was after the second or third one in that round alone. It had by now become obvious that Matthysse's balls had become a "legal" area. Despite the low blows Matthysse seemed to take rounds 5 and 6 as he went up a gear and by the mid way point it could well have been scored even.
Despite two good rounds for Matthysse he had a nightmare round 7 in which his right eye was almost swollen shut. This nasty injury seemed to immediately effect the Argentinian who struggled through the following 2 rounds with the doctor taking a serious look at it in between rounds 8 and 9. Those rounds were all Garcia with Matthysse trying to protect the eye rather than really fight back, this saw Garcia landing his much vaunted left hook several times.
With Matthysse now looking like a man who was on the verge of being stopped he some how put on an amazing effort in round 10 as he showed their was still plenty left in "The Machine". The big effort of Matthysse in round 10 gave him his best round since the 6th and was a round he clearly won as Garcia appeared to suddenly tire.
The controversy of the low blows wasn't the only mark on the fight with a huge blown call by the referee in round 11. Matthysse started the round fast again, as he had in the previous round and actually punched Garcia's gum shield out of his mouth at the start of it. Unfortunately Matthysse's good work was undone with a knockdown call against him which appeared to come not only following a punch to the back of the head but whilst Matthysse was stuck between the ropes. The referee, who had in all honesty allowed Garcia away with ball bashing blew the call here and probably swung the round from a 10-9 Matthysse round to a 10-8 Garcia round. Those 3 points would prove to be a major issue just a few minutes later.
Going into the final round it seemed almost certain Matthysse needed a stoppage to win, and he went for it. Unfortunately low blows again came to the fray, though this time Matthysse was dropped by one and the referee, finally, deducted a point from Garcia, something he could have done 3 or 4 rounds earlier. The point however wasn't enough and Matthysse knew it, though he was forced to take another low.
Almost angered by the final low blow Matthysse let it all hang out as the two men traded to the bell, with it seeming almost certain that Garcia has retained his titles. What perhaps became important however was the margin of the victory, with the decision going to Garcia by scores of 114-112 (twice) and 115-111.
That knock down and the swing of it, effectively cost Matthysse, and that's with out mentioning the numerous, unpunished low blows.
Mr Weeks, I'm usually a fan but don't let your new Audi advert go to your head, you had a real stinker here.
Prior to the fight their was a clear "Buzz" from the crowd, a shock considering the fact they had all fallen to sleep during the previous bout, a sleep inducing contest between Ishe Smith and Carlos Molina.
The opening round was a careful and slow one with Garcia boxing well with his movement and jab. It wasn't what we expected and wasn't a shoot out but it was a very intelligent round from Garcia. Despite the unexpected start things did heat up in the second round as Matthysse fought back and tagged Garcia several times. Unfortunately the round saw the first, of many, low blows by Garcia in what become a bit of a sub story to the fight.
Round 3 was another where Garcia's boxing made Matthysse look slow and clumsy though again Garcia seemed to get away with shots south of the border. Although Matthysse didn't seem to make much of a fuss they were becoming a common place in the arsenal of Garcia and, at least for me, they were beginning to leave questions as to what he was going to be able to get away with from Tony Weeks.
The "borderline" shots were continuing through round 4 as Garcia, who was genuinely boxing well and moving excellently seemed to have found a nice way to slow down Matthysse's assaults. It wasn't until round 5 that Tony Weeks actually told Garcia to keep them up, and that was after the second or third one in that round alone. It had by now become obvious that Matthysse's balls had become a "legal" area. Despite the low blows Matthysse seemed to take rounds 5 and 6 as he went up a gear and by the mid way point it could well have been scored even.
Despite two good rounds for Matthysse he had a nightmare round 7 in which his right eye was almost swollen shut. This nasty injury seemed to immediately effect the Argentinian who struggled through the following 2 rounds with the doctor taking a serious look at it in between rounds 8 and 9. Those rounds were all Garcia with Matthysse trying to protect the eye rather than really fight back, this saw Garcia landing his much vaunted left hook several times.
With Matthysse now looking like a man who was on the verge of being stopped he some how put on an amazing effort in round 10 as he showed their was still plenty left in "The Machine". The big effort of Matthysse in round 10 gave him his best round since the 6th and was a round he clearly won as Garcia appeared to suddenly tire.
The controversy of the low blows wasn't the only mark on the fight with a huge blown call by the referee in round 11. Matthysse started the round fast again, as he had in the previous round and actually punched Garcia's gum shield out of his mouth at the start of it. Unfortunately Matthysse's good work was undone with a knockdown call against him which appeared to come not only following a punch to the back of the head but whilst Matthysse was stuck between the ropes. The referee, who had in all honesty allowed Garcia away with ball bashing blew the call here and probably swung the round from a 10-9 Matthysse round to a 10-8 Garcia round. Those 3 points would prove to be a major issue just a few minutes later.
Going into the final round it seemed almost certain Matthysse needed a stoppage to win, and he went for it. Unfortunately low blows again came to the fray, though this time Matthysse was dropped by one and the referee, finally, deducted a point from Garcia, something he could have done 3 or 4 rounds earlier. The point however wasn't enough and Matthysse knew it, though he was forced to take another low.
Almost angered by the final low blow Matthysse let it all hang out as the two men traded to the bell, with it seeming almost certain that Garcia has retained his titles. What perhaps became important however was the margin of the victory, with the decision going to Garcia by scores of 114-112 (twice) and 115-111.
That knock down and the swing of it, effectively cost Matthysse, and that's with out mentioning the numerous, unpunished low blows.
Mr Weeks, I'm usually a fan but don't let your new Audi advert go to your head, you had a real stinker here.
Saturday, 13 July 2013
Khabib Allakhverdiev v Souleymane M'baye
Russian "Hawk" Khabib Allakhverdiev (-) made the first defense of his WBA Light Welterweight as he traveled to Monaco and defeated Frenchman Souleymane M'baye (-), a former world champion himself.
The bout was a really slow starter with both men spending almost the entirety of the opening round standing off each other waiting for the other man to open up. The same occured at the start of the second round until Khabib took the initiative late on and actually dropped M'baye with almost the first really concentrated attack.
Unfortunately rather than building on the success of the second round Allakhverdiev seemed happy to stand off in the following rounds as both men again waited for the other to make the first move. This actually seemed to favour M'baye who, despite being 38, still possess very good hand speed and he was able to land single eye catching shots on Allakhverdiev.
It wasn't until the the end of round 5 that the Russian really seemed to pick up the pace again, when he did he looked a level above the Frenchman who was forced to take shots on the ropes as the crowd finally came to life. It appeared that Allakhverdiev had an extra gear he go in to at any time time, though unfortunately he kept stalling after showing flashes of exciting action.
Allakhverdiev scored his second knockdown in round 8 as he again went on the offensive and sustained an attack. It appeared the end was nigh for M'baye but after getting back to his feet the Frenchman really took it to champion and let loose with a fantastic flurry. Unfortunately for M'baye he lacked the power needed to ever really hurt the Russian who is genuinely a guy.
Having seen M'baye fight back well from the knock down the Russian "Hawk" was in no mood to let the Frenchman establish himself in the bout and instead went on the hurt hurting the challenger in round 10 before launching a serious attack in round 11 that finally forced the referee to step in.
With this victory Allakhverdiev has further enhanced his reputation as a top Light Welterweight. The performance wasn't great but he did become the first man to genuinely stop M'baye (who's previous stoppage loss came due to a leg injury).
Personally I'd like that to be the end of M'baye and I'd then like to see Allakhverdiev facing a fellow top fighter, maybe someone like Zab Judah, next time out.
The bout was a really slow starter with both men spending almost the entirety of the opening round standing off each other waiting for the other man to open up. The same occured at the start of the second round until Khabib took the initiative late on and actually dropped M'baye with almost the first really concentrated attack.
Unfortunately rather than building on the success of the second round Allakhverdiev seemed happy to stand off in the following rounds as both men again waited for the other to make the first move. This actually seemed to favour M'baye who, despite being 38, still possess very good hand speed and he was able to land single eye catching shots on Allakhverdiev.
It wasn't until the the end of round 5 that the Russian really seemed to pick up the pace again, when he did he looked a level above the Frenchman who was forced to take shots on the ropes as the crowd finally came to life. It appeared that Allakhverdiev had an extra gear he go in to at any time time, though unfortunately he kept stalling after showing flashes of exciting action.
Allakhverdiev scored his second knockdown in round 8 as he again went on the offensive and sustained an attack. It appeared the end was nigh for M'baye but after getting back to his feet the Frenchman really took it to champion and let loose with a fantastic flurry. Unfortunately for M'baye he lacked the power needed to ever really hurt the Russian who is genuinely a guy.
Having seen M'baye fight back well from the knock down the Russian "Hawk" was in no mood to let the Frenchman establish himself in the bout and instead went on the hurt hurting the challenger in round 10 before launching a serious attack in round 11 that finally forced the referee to step in.
With this victory Allakhverdiev has further enhanced his reputation as a top Light Welterweight. The performance wasn't great but he did become the first man to genuinely stop M'baye (who's previous stoppage loss came due to a leg injury).
Personally I'd like that to be the end of M'baye and I'd then like to see Allakhverdiev facing a fellow top fighter, maybe someone like Zab Judah, next time out.
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Danny Garcia v Zab Judah
WBA "super" and WBC Light Welterweight champion Danny Garcia (26-0, 16) and challenger Zab Judah (42-8-0-2, 29) may have entered the ring with a genuine dislike of each other though at the end of their excellent bout they certainly seemed to have a new found respect for each other.
The bad mouthing, specifically by Garcia's dad Angel Garcia may have crossed the line of "decency" several times but that didn't prevent the fighters from showing their class in the ring as the two men put on an unexpectedly solid fight.
The bout started slowly with Garcia looking to land his dangerous right hand on to Judah who attempted to score with his fast jab. The opening round was certainly hard to split though it was due to neither man managing to establish themselves as the boss. As the fight wore on though Garcia seemed to grow in to things quickly and after rocking Judah hard in round 5 he managed to dominate the challenger in round 6 as the champion looked to be on the verge of forcing a stoppage.
Oddly Judah, a known "fast starter" really first came alive in round 7 as he used his speed and skills to thoroughly dominate the champion in his first clear round. It appeared that the notorious fast starter was starting fast for the second half of the fight, sadly however for the challenger his momentum was swiftly ended in round 8 as Garcia dropped him on to his pants.
Garcia, who appeared to be comfortably up going in to round 9, helped in part to the knockdown then claimed the 9th before an enthralling fight back by Judah saw him taking the final 3 rounds whilst detonating some really eye catching left hooks that appeared to hurt the champion. Sadly for Judah however it was too little too late and Garcia had bagged enough of the early rounds to retain his title.
For Garcia this was an expected title defense though few could have expected the difficulties that he had. The most shocking thing about the bout however was the heart that Judah showed in refusing to fold at any point in the bout, in fact his ability to fight back and to fight back hard was nothing short of excellent from a man who has often been questioned regarding his intestinal fortitude.
The bad mouthing, specifically by Garcia's dad Angel Garcia may have crossed the line of "decency" several times but that didn't prevent the fighters from showing their class in the ring as the two men put on an unexpectedly solid fight.
The bout started slowly with Garcia looking to land his dangerous right hand on to Judah who attempted to score with his fast jab. The opening round was certainly hard to split though it was due to neither man managing to establish themselves as the boss. As the fight wore on though Garcia seemed to grow in to things quickly and after rocking Judah hard in round 5 he managed to dominate the challenger in round 6 as the champion looked to be on the verge of forcing a stoppage.
Oddly Judah, a known "fast starter" really first came alive in round 7 as he used his speed and skills to thoroughly dominate the champion in his first clear round. It appeared that the notorious fast starter was starting fast for the second half of the fight, sadly however for the challenger his momentum was swiftly ended in round 8 as Garcia dropped him on to his pants.
Garcia, who appeared to be comfortably up going in to round 9, helped in part to the knockdown then claimed the 9th before an enthralling fight back by Judah saw him taking the final 3 rounds whilst detonating some really eye catching left hooks that appeared to hurt the champion. Sadly for Judah however it was too little too late and Garcia had bagged enough of the early rounds to retain his title.
For Garcia this was an expected title defense though few could have expected the difficulties that he had. The most shocking thing about the bout however was the heart that Judah showed in refusing to fold at any point in the bout, in fact his ability to fight back and to fight back hard was nothing short of excellent from a man who has often been questioned regarding his intestinal fortitude.
Saturday, 30 March 2013
Mike Alvarado v Brandon Rios II
Many say that rematches are rarely as good as the original bout though Mike "Mile High" Alvarado (34-1, 23) and Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23) proved that rematches can be just as good as the the first bout as they re-ran one of 2012's fights of the year, this time with a distinctly different outcome as Mike Alvarado claimed the interim WBO Light Welterweight title.
The fight started well for Rios who appeared to claim the first 2 rounds with aggression and the fact that he managed to get Alvarado to trade in the early rounds. The most telling moment of the opening rounds was Rios staggering Alvarado with a jab though Rios couldn't put Alvarado down as he followed up his attack.
In round 3 we saw Alvarado coming back at his rival as he starting to box well and even appeared to hurt Rios with an amazing flurry late in the round that Rios did well to take and not go over. Alvarado continued to grow in to the bout following his success in round 3 and he seemed to level off the scores as he took round 4 to move to 38-38.
Round 5 was one of the bouts closest rounds though the key moment was a low blow by Rios who had been tagged hard just moments earlier. The low blow seemed to effect Alvarado early the following round as his pace and movement stopped and Rios appeared to take the round despite both men having their moments.
Alvarado reclaimed the initiative in round 7 as he used his movement and quicker hands to land flurries on Rios and move away as Rios seemed to start to slow down a little bit. Although again both men traded it just appeared that Rios' shots lacked the power they had earlier in the bout and even in the first bout between the two men. In all honesty if either man had the power to hurt the other it appeared that it was Alvarado who stunned Rios in round 8 as Rios again showed off his amazing chin.
By round 9 it seemed that Rios was slowing notably and certainly wasn't having the success he had had earlier in the bout. Rios' slowed tempo and extra movement by Alvarado allowed "Mile High" to claim another round as Rios' corner started to become a little worried at their man who was hurt again late in the round. Although he wasn't being beaten from pillar to post Rios was certainly struggling to enforce himself in the bout.
Alvarado continued to have continued success in round 10 as he looked to be pulling away from Rios but then in round 11 Rios fought back and appeared to rock Alvarado who's face was becoming a real mess. Alvarado's face only got worse the following round as his left eye became a mess as well as his right eye (which had been bleeding from the second round) despite this he managed to see out the final and in fact seemed to stun Rios twice late in the round despite the fact that Rios was the one needing the KO.
Although Alvarado's face was a bloody mess he had done enough to claim a decision and when the cards were read out (115-113-twice and 114-113-some how). After the score cards both men seemed to indicate that they were willing to engage in Alvarado v Rios III a bout that could be just as good as this one!
The fight started well for Rios who appeared to claim the first 2 rounds with aggression and the fact that he managed to get Alvarado to trade in the early rounds. The most telling moment of the opening rounds was Rios staggering Alvarado with a jab though Rios couldn't put Alvarado down as he followed up his attack.
In round 3 we saw Alvarado coming back at his rival as he starting to box well and even appeared to hurt Rios with an amazing flurry late in the round that Rios did well to take and not go over. Alvarado continued to grow in to the bout following his success in round 3 and he seemed to level off the scores as he took round 4 to move to 38-38.
Round 5 was one of the bouts closest rounds though the key moment was a low blow by Rios who had been tagged hard just moments earlier. The low blow seemed to effect Alvarado early the following round as his pace and movement stopped and Rios appeared to take the round despite both men having their moments.
Alvarado reclaimed the initiative in round 7 as he used his movement and quicker hands to land flurries on Rios and move away as Rios seemed to start to slow down a little bit. Although again both men traded it just appeared that Rios' shots lacked the power they had earlier in the bout and even in the first bout between the two men. In all honesty if either man had the power to hurt the other it appeared that it was Alvarado who stunned Rios in round 8 as Rios again showed off his amazing chin.
By round 9 it seemed that Rios was slowing notably and certainly wasn't having the success he had had earlier in the bout. Rios' slowed tempo and extra movement by Alvarado allowed "Mile High" to claim another round as Rios' corner started to become a little worried at their man who was hurt again late in the round. Although he wasn't being beaten from pillar to post Rios was certainly struggling to enforce himself in the bout.
Alvarado continued to have continued success in round 10 as he looked to be pulling away from Rios but then in round 11 Rios fought back and appeared to rock Alvarado who's face was becoming a real mess. Alvarado's face only got worse the following round as his left eye became a mess as well as his right eye (which had been bleeding from the second round) despite this he managed to see out the final and in fact seemed to stun Rios twice late in the round despite the fact that Rios was the one needing the KO.
Although Alvarado's face was a bloody mess he had done enough to claim a decision and when the cards were read out (115-113-twice and 114-113-some how). After the score cards both men seemed to indicate that they were willing to engage in Alvarado v Rios III a bout that could be just as good as this one!
Friday, 22 February 2013
Lamont Peterson v Kendall Holt
The controversial Lamont Peterson (?-?) made the first defense of his IBF Light Welterweight title as he stopped former WBO champion Kendall Holt (?-?) in 8 rounds and a thoroughly impressive victory.
The fight started quietly with a slow opening round which was dominated by Peterson's rangy jab that kept Holt out of range. After a good opening round for Peterson Holt then rallied well and appeared to easily claim rounds 2 and 3 with his own work rate and his ability to neutralise Peterson by tying him up when things got close.
Round 4 saw the fight turning around completely as the pace heated up significantly and became a real firefight. The tough Peterson took whatever Holt was throwing then seemed to really hurt the challenger before landing a massive right hand that sent Holts legs wobbly and the follow up attack sent him down. Although Holt was obviously hurt he managed to keep his sense and recovered to his feet at the count of 8 and managed to just see out the round almost being saved by the bell.
Holt's confidence had been shattered and in round 5 Peterson continued to dominate as he started to walk through everything coming at him. It was obvious that Holt was starting to mentally crumble and he tried to do everything to survive, including holding the ropes to wrap up Peterson, an indiscretion that he was admonished for by Tony Weeks. It was obvious from the on that it was only a matter of time before Holt was going to be stopped.
Peterson continued to dominate in round 6 and started to beat the snot out of Holt late in the round as the challenger got pinned to the ropes and sent down again. The referee seemed to be looking closely at stopping the bout but Holt did just enough to survive the round. After the huge sixth round for Peterson he then came out very quietly for round 7 and just forced Holt to work to maintain distance. Although Peterson threw almost nothing in the seventh he had effective broken Holt mentally who had realised that Peterson wasn't going to get out of his face.
After the quiet seventh round from Peterson's perspective he came out with renewed energy in round 8 and soon afterwards pinned Holt on to the ropes, where he then unleashed shot after shot after shot forcing Tony Weeks to step in and wave off the bout.
After the fight Holt seemed to hint at retirement whilst Peterson called out Danny Garcia and said he wants the WBA belt back (a belt that was stripped from Peterson following his positive test for banned substances back in 2012). A fight between Peterson and any of the top guys in the division, including Garcia, Lucas Matthysse, Brandon Rios or even Khabib Allakhverdiev would be thoroughly entertaining and a great sight for boxing fans who want to see the best fighting the best.
The fight started quietly with a slow opening round which was dominated by Peterson's rangy jab that kept Holt out of range. After a good opening round for Peterson Holt then rallied well and appeared to easily claim rounds 2 and 3 with his own work rate and his ability to neutralise Peterson by tying him up when things got close.
Round 4 saw the fight turning around completely as the pace heated up significantly and became a real firefight. The tough Peterson took whatever Holt was throwing then seemed to really hurt the challenger before landing a massive right hand that sent Holts legs wobbly and the follow up attack sent him down. Although Holt was obviously hurt he managed to keep his sense and recovered to his feet at the count of 8 and managed to just see out the round almost being saved by the bell.
Holt's confidence had been shattered and in round 5 Peterson continued to dominate as he started to walk through everything coming at him. It was obvious that Holt was starting to mentally crumble and he tried to do everything to survive, including holding the ropes to wrap up Peterson, an indiscretion that he was admonished for by Tony Weeks. It was obvious from the on that it was only a matter of time before Holt was going to be stopped.
Peterson continued to dominate in round 6 and started to beat the snot out of Holt late in the round as the challenger got pinned to the ropes and sent down again. The referee seemed to be looking closely at stopping the bout but Holt did just enough to survive the round. After the huge sixth round for Peterson he then came out very quietly for round 7 and just forced Holt to work to maintain distance. Although Peterson threw almost nothing in the seventh he had effective broken Holt mentally who had realised that Peterson wasn't going to get out of his face.
After the quiet seventh round from Peterson's perspective he came out with renewed energy in round 8 and soon afterwards pinned Holt on to the ropes, where he then unleashed shot after shot after shot forcing Tony Weeks to step in and wave off the bout.
After the fight Holt seemed to hint at retirement whilst Peterson called out Danny Garcia and said he wants the WBA belt back (a belt that was stripped from Peterson following his positive test for banned substances back in 2012). A fight between Peterson and any of the top guys in the division, including Garcia, Lucas Matthysse, Brandon Rios or even Khabib Allakhverdiev would be thoroughly entertaining and a great sight for boxing fans who want to see the best fighting the best.
Friday, 30 November 2012
Khabib Allakhverdiev v Joan Guzman
Unbeaten Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev (18-0, 8) impressively claimed the WBA Light Welterweight title as he inflicted the first loss on to Domican Joan Guzman (33-1-1-1, 20) thanks to an 8th round technical decision in a bout marred by a number of blown calls by referee Luis Pabon.
The fight started well with a very fun opening round that saw Guzman sent to the canvas in what was ruled a slip though clearly came from a punch as Pabon made his first botched call of the night. Other than the "knockdown" the round was thoroughly fun to watch as both men went at each other. Thankfully the following round continued in a similar manner with both men tagging each other with solid shots.
Allakhverdiev proved to have the power to hurt Guzman again in the third round as he sent the Dominican down, this time with the shot being counted by the referee as the Russian claimed a 10-8 round. Guzman fought back well the following round and used his feet to stay out of danger for most of the round before both men tried tearing lumps off each other in the final 30 seconds. Sadly for Guzman his momentum was ended quickly with the Domican again knocked down, as Pabon botched yet another call in favour of the Dominican. Although Pabon missed the clear knockdown, he couldn't help Guzman's face, which ended up getting tagged with a shot that appeared to really mess up Guzman's nose.
After 5 rounds it was looking like a bout that was going to go Allakhverdiev's way, though Guzman then decided to use his brain and instead of going toe-to-toe with the Russian he instead decided to box and move. When Guzman was moving he was making Allakhverdiev look slow and plodding and this allowed Guzman to claim both the 6th and 7th round very easily. It was now that I was asking myself why had Guzman not started the fight like this, though though the answer was obvious, he's 36 and he can't do that for 12 rounds.
Controversy again reared it's ugly head in round 8 as Guzman, still boxing on his toes fell over, twisting his knee in the process. After a time out, the referee allowed Guzman to go on and Allakhverdiev went straight after his man who was now a stationary target. It didn't take long for Allakhverdiev to have Guzman in real trouble and then Guzman went down again, this time a clear push as Allakhverdiev went in for the kill. This time Guzman was unable to continue forcing the referee to end the bout with some viewers (especially those watching on TV) assuming that Guzman was wanting out of the fight considering the energy he had been using by boxing on his toes.
Surprisingly despite arguably scoring 3 knockdowns, and only losing 3 of the 8 rounds Allakhverdiev only managed to scrape a close split decision over Guzman with all 3 cards reading 76-75 (2 in favour of the Russian). A series of cards that were as mystifying as the performance of Pabon, who not only missed the knockdowns but also warned Allakhverdiev about anything and everything, splitting the fighters when it favoured Guzman and really started to get in Allakhverdiev's head. Sorry Luis but it's time to walk away after this dreadful performance.
The fight started well with a very fun opening round that saw Guzman sent to the canvas in what was ruled a slip though clearly came from a punch as Pabon made his first botched call of the night. Other than the "knockdown" the round was thoroughly fun to watch as both men went at each other. Thankfully the following round continued in a similar manner with both men tagging each other with solid shots.
Allakhverdiev proved to have the power to hurt Guzman again in the third round as he sent the Dominican down, this time with the shot being counted by the referee as the Russian claimed a 10-8 round. Guzman fought back well the following round and used his feet to stay out of danger for most of the round before both men tried tearing lumps off each other in the final 30 seconds. Sadly for Guzman his momentum was ended quickly with the Domican again knocked down, as Pabon botched yet another call in favour of the Dominican. Although Pabon missed the clear knockdown, he couldn't help Guzman's face, which ended up getting tagged with a shot that appeared to really mess up Guzman's nose.
After 5 rounds it was looking like a bout that was going to go Allakhverdiev's way, though Guzman then decided to use his brain and instead of going toe-to-toe with the Russian he instead decided to box and move. When Guzman was moving he was making Allakhverdiev look slow and plodding and this allowed Guzman to claim both the 6th and 7th round very easily. It was now that I was asking myself why had Guzman not started the fight like this, though though the answer was obvious, he's 36 and he can't do that for 12 rounds.
Controversy again reared it's ugly head in round 8 as Guzman, still boxing on his toes fell over, twisting his knee in the process. After a time out, the referee allowed Guzman to go on and Allakhverdiev went straight after his man who was now a stationary target. It didn't take long for Allakhverdiev to have Guzman in real trouble and then Guzman went down again, this time a clear push as Allakhverdiev went in for the kill. This time Guzman was unable to continue forcing the referee to end the bout with some viewers (especially those watching on TV) assuming that Guzman was wanting out of the fight considering the energy he had been using by boxing on his toes.
Surprisingly despite arguably scoring 3 knockdowns, and only losing 3 of the 8 rounds Allakhverdiev only managed to scrape a close split decision over Guzman with all 3 cards reading 76-75 (2 in favour of the Russian). A series of cards that were as mystifying as the performance of Pabon, who not only missed the knockdowns but also warned Allakhverdiev about anything and everything, splitting the fighters when it favoured Guzman and really started to get in Allakhverdiev's head. Sorry Luis but it's time to walk away after this dreadful performance.
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Danny Garcia v Erik Morales II
As a boxing fan some things are really upsetting, and watching an icon nearly have his head knocked off his shoulders is up there with the worst. Sadly for Erik Morales (?-?) I think we saw the final death knell in an hall of fame career tonight as Danny "Swift" Garcia (?-?) almost certainly ended Morales' career.
The early rounds of the bout saw a mature Garcia showing Morales little respect. The WBA "super" and WBC Light Welterweight champion seemed to no longer respect Morales as he had done when the two men first met earlier this year. Instead Garcia seemed to realise he was now a world champion.
Garcia had won the opening 2 rounds but in round 3 really made a statement as he seriously hurt Morales just before the bell. A dazed Morales headed to Garcia's corner before being guided, by his team to his own corner and from then on the writing was on the wall.
It didn't take long for Garcia to take advantage of a dazed Morales and midway through the fourth round Morales was almost sent out of the ring by a wonderful Garcia counter that saw Morales down and forced the referee to wave the bout off.
Whilst Morales isn't the fighter he once was, and in fact is a washed up fighter (despite his Ring magazine rating of #6 going into the bout) this was still a sorry and upsetting sight. Thankfully for Garcia it's job done and hopefully he'll face Lucas Matthysse next year in a fight to truly decide the #1 guy at Light Welterweight. Whilst Garcia may well be the WBC and WBA "super" champion at 140lbs, few will accept him as the stand out guy unless he can defeat Matthysse, and that appears to be the bout that the fans are calling for.
The early rounds of the bout saw a mature Garcia showing Morales little respect. The WBA "super" and WBC Light Welterweight champion seemed to no longer respect Morales as he had done when the two men first met earlier this year. Instead Garcia seemed to realise he was now a world champion.
Garcia had won the opening 2 rounds but in round 3 really made a statement as he seriously hurt Morales just before the bell. A dazed Morales headed to Garcia's corner before being guided, by his team to his own corner and from then on the writing was on the wall.
It didn't take long for Garcia to take advantage of a dazed Morales and midway through the fourth round Morales was almost sent out of the ring by a wonderful Garcia counter that saw Morales down and forced the referee to wave the bout off.
Whilst Morales isn't the fighter he once was, and in fact is a washed up fighter (despite his Ring magazine rating of #6 going into the bout) this was still a sorry and upsetting sight. Thankfully for Garcia it's job done and hopefully he'll face Lucas Matthysse next year in a fight to truly decide the #1 guy at Light Welterweight. Whilst Garcia may well be the WBC and WBA "super" champion at 140lbs, few will accept him as the stand out guy unless he can defeat Matthysse, and that appears to be the bout that the fans are calling for.
Monday, 16 July 2012
Danny Garcia v Amir Khan
Englishman Amir Khan (26-3, 18) went into his WBA/WBC Light Welterweight unification with high hopes though is now needing to rebuild his shattered career after Danny Garcia (24-0, 15) inflicted the second successive loss on Khan's record, by stunning 4th round TKO.
Khan started the bout well landing accurate flurries and preventing Garcia from unleashing too many shots of his own. Khan's shots started to take their toll on Garcia and by the end of the 2nd round Garcia was cut around the eye and it seemed like Khan would eventually stop Garcia (in fact Skybet were offering 1/4 on Khan by stoppage after the opening 2 rounds).
Khan slowed down somewhat in the 3rd round trying to pick his shots more and this allowed Garcia an easier time to counter Khan and it wasn't long before Garcia landed a shot that scrambled Khan's senses and dropped him hard. Whilst Khan would recover to his legs he had no idea where he was and stumbled around drunkenly until the bell ended the round.
Despite still being wobbly Khan came out for round 4 and it wasn't long until he was dropped again with an almost identical shot to the one that dropped him in the previous round. Once again Khan would recover to a vertical base but look unsteady on his legs. Rather than hold Garcia and try to buy time Khan tried to fight fire with fire and it didn't take long for him to be tagged again...and then again...and then down went Khan for a third time, this time from a glancing blow. Despite recovering to his feet the referee decided Khan was in no fit state to continue.
For Garcia it's a huge win which sees him almost certainly placed at #1 in the Light Welterweight rankings for Khan however it's a huge blow. Khan lost his IBF and WBA titles back in December to Lamont Peterson and whilst the WBA (foolishly) handed him their title back the IBF refused to do. Khan's career is in tatters and he may well end up needing to return to Britain to rebuild his career, sadly he may have alienated British fans with his talk of grandeur to the point where even they won't give him any sympathy.
Khan has literally gone from talking about fights with Floyd Mayweather Jr to seriously looking at facing the likes of Matthew Hatton and Ashley Theophane. Perhaps a less to Khan that he needs to concentrate on what is in font of him now, not what could be in front of him in the future.
To Garcia, the spoils of victory, the chance to call the shots somewhat and the ability to choose which route to go down, a solid win for a solid (but unspectacular) professional who got on with the job at hand and popped a relatively large ego and bubble of hype.
Khan started the bout well landing accurate flurries and preventing Garcia from unleashing too many shots of his own. Khan's shots started to take their toll on Garcia and by the end of the 2nd round Garcia was cut around the eye and it seemed like Khan would eventually stop Garcia (in fact Skybet were offering 1/4 on Khan by stoppage after the opening 2 rounds).
Khan slowed down somewhat in the 3rd round trying to pick his shots more and this allowed Garcia an easier time to counter Khan and it wasn't long before Garcia landed a shot that scrambled Khan's senses and dropped him hard. Whilst Khan would recover to his legs he had no idea where he was and stumbled around drunkenly until the bell ended the round.
Despite still being wobbly Khan came out for round 4 and it wasn't long until he was dropped again with an almost identical shot to the one that dropped him in the previous round. Once again Khan would recover to a vertical base but look unsteady on his legs. Rather than hold Garcia and try to buy time Khan tried to fight fire with fire and it didn't take long for him to be tagged again...and then again...and then down went Khan for a third time, this time from a glancing blow. Despite recovering to his feet the referee decided Khan was in no fit state to continue.
For Garcia it's a huge win which sees him almost certainly placed at #1 in the Light Welterweight rankings for Khan however it's a huge blow. Khan lost his IBF and WBA titles back in December to Lamont Peterson and whilst the WBA (foolishly) handed him their title back the IBF refused to do. Khan's career is in tatters and he may well end up needing to return to Britain to rebuild his career, sadly he may have alienated British fans with his talk of grandeur to the point where even they won't give him any sympathy.
Khan has literally gone from talking about fights with Floyd Mayweather Jr to seriously looking at facing the likes of Matthew Hatton and Ashley Theophane. Perhaps a less to Khan that he needs to concentrate on what is in font of him now, not what could be in front of him in the future.
To Garcia, the spoils of victory, the chance to call the shots somewhat and the ability to choose which route to go down, a solid win for a solid (but unspectacular) professional who got on with the job at hand and popped a relatively large ego and bubble of hype.
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