Archive for December, 2008

More talk on Lennox Lewis comeback

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

Lennox lewis doing pad work with ex-trainer emanuel steward

Following the recent news that Lennox would be consulting in the David Haye corner for his fight against Vitali Klitschko, it is now rumoured that Lennox Lewis has offered to spar with Haye to help with his preparation. This has again stirred up more suspicions that Lewis is infact considering a comeback to boxing.

Lennox Lewis has always been adament that once he retired he would not comeback, and believes some fighters just don’t know when to quit (he mentions fighters such as George Foreman and Evander Holyfield). However, on hearing about the possibility of his sparring sessions with Haye, we have all been considering the possibilities that Lewis may infact be going back on his word.

To be of any use at all in the Haye corner, Lewis would have to be in very good shape and would need to be sharp. Does he intend to start training now to get in shape, or has he been in training for a while now? What are his reasons for helping David Haye? Is it just because they are friends, or is he actually testing the water himself to see what he has left?

Either way, Vitali will be very interested in the possibility of a rematch with Lennox and of the fact that he is helping Haye. In our previous blog entry David Haye vs Vitali Klitschko June 2009 we wrote about how Vitali might see this as he only chance for redemption against Lewis, so we expect a determined and very fit Vitali Klitschko to enter the ring in the new year.

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David Haye vs Vitali Klitschko June 2009

Saturday, December 20th, 2008

It’s recently been revealed that David Haye is now due to fight Vitali Klitschko in June 2009. Originally David had targeted the younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, but Vitali has recently come out of retirement with a win over the Nigerian Nightmare (Samuel Peter). Personally I think Vitali is the better of the two brothers, so I was extremely happy with the news! Although they both have very similar fighting styles, Vitali is more aggressive than Wladimir.

To make things even more exciting, it has also been revealed that Lennox Lewis is going to be in the Haye camp in preparation for the fight. Vitali lost a fight to Lennox Lewis due to a stoppage from a horrendous cut to Vitali’s cheek. The fight was reasonably close, as Vitali rocked Lennox a few times, and in my opinion Lennox had taken Vitali too lightly and hadn’t prepared as well as he maybe should have done. Vitali has been desperate for a rematch ever since, and has tried many times to lore Lennox Lewis out of retirement. Lennox however has always said that he would not come out of retirement, so perhaps this is as close to a rematch as Vitali can get?

With Lennox effectively in the corner of Haye, Vitali can see this as his opportunity to finally try and get some redemption. With this in mind I think we can expect Vitali to train harder than ever for this fight. In his fight against Samuel Peter, Vitali looked sharp, however he also seemed to tire quickly. Peter never really him under the pressure we expected him to, and basically provided a nice static target for him to pop his jabs at all night. David Haye on the other hand, will do no such thing. I expect him to put Vitali under relentless pressure, and be very hard to hit. If Vitali tires and leaves his chin up in the air with his safety conscious style, it could all be over with a devastating knockout when the Hayemaker lands.

Where the fight is going to take place remains to be decided, however I imagine David Haye will have no problems going to Germany. He went into Jean Marc Mormecks backyard in Paris to take the cruiserweight titles and he can do the same again. I predict David Haye to win by KO, followed hopefully by a fight with Wladimir for David to unify the heavyweight division.

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The end for Audley Harrison?

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Audley Harrison contemplates where to go next

I want Audley Harrison to do well. Ever since he burst onto the scene after winning olympic gold, I had him marked as a future world champion. When he turned pro he was making slow but steady progress – I thought this should maybe be a bit quicker given his age, but he seemed sure that he was working to a plan and everything was on track.

He had some setbacks in his career that I thought signalled the end, including losses to Danny Williams and a tremendous knockout by Michael Sprott. However, in his second fight against Danny Williams he showed exactly what he was capable of with a stunning 3rd round knockout.

Audley Harrison has genetically got all the tools, and he can be a fantastic outside fighter when he puts classy combinations together. However, on the inside he gets flustered and choses to grab and hold on rather than throw punches. His work rate also drops to such frustrating levels that even if he wins earlier rounds he allows his opponents to get back into the fight.

On Saturday night he lost a points decision to Martin Rogan, the Irish Prizefighter winner. Harrison should be leagues ahead of Rogan, as he won Gold at the Olympics before Rogan had ever laced on a pair of gloves. Harrison hurt Rogan badly in round 2 but then allowed him back into the fight by just not pulling the trigger on his punches. This lead to boos from the crowd, an the majority backing Rogan to win as he was trying to force the fight.

After the fight Audley was still adament that he could still go on to win a world title, but I think that dream has now long past. There have been too many setbacks and it’s too late in his career. To realistically be in a position to challenge for a world title he should have finished Rogan in a few rounds. As for popularity, it’s probably now at an all time low and no one is going to want to see him fight again.

With those types of performances he cannot compete with the likes of David Haye who is basically up against in the same division. I’m sad that Audley didn’t fulfil his vast potential, but he would have to do something very special to turn it around now.

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Wladimir Klitschko vs Hashim Rahman

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

wladimir klitschko vs hashim rahman

When watching this fight I found myself routing for Wladimir Klitschko to win, which is something I don’t normally do. Why? It’s not because, I don’t like him. Quite the opposite infact. Outside of the ring I think he is a genuinely nice guy, and inside the ring I think he is a great boxer. His bread and butter is fighting on the outside and utilising a fast, powerful left jab followed quickly by a hard right hand. However, what I dislike is the fact his style is so cautious, and he is seemingly lacking that killer instinct. When he fought Tony Thompson, he had dominated the fight from the outside, and must have jabbed Tony more than a 100 times in the head. Tony was ready to go, his spirit was broken and he wanted out. Wladimir however still played it cautiously and couldn’t finish Tony, until he eventually dropped to the canvas. He didn’t get up more because he had lost the will to continue more than being hurt.

So why was I backing Wladimir this time? Well it’s because the outcome of this fight depended on the potential Haye vs Klitschko match in 2009! Hashim Rahman is known as being a dangerous fighter. Indeed, it was he that caused a massive upset many years ago when he knocked out Lennox Lewis in Africa. However I was watching the same Rahman in this fight. At first I thought he maybe had a plan, keeping low and looking to counter Wladimir’s jab. Unfortunately he was just too slow, and was so static in all his movements that he was basically target practice the whole evening.

Much like the Tony Thompson fight, although Rahman was hurt Wladimir seemed unable to finish the fight. He was still relying on his trusty jabs and right hands instead of throwing hooks and uppercuts on the inside to finish his opponent off. David Haye was present at the fight, and described the fight as “unspectacular”, and said that Wladimir did his usual trick of “jabbing opponents until the fall asleep”. Although this statement rings true, what was evident in the fight is that Wladimir is a very good fighter against the right opponent. Haye on the other hand will provide a very different challenge should they meet up in 2009, although I think a better fight might be with Vitali which is a very real possibility. Let’s see what happens…

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Enzo Maccarinelli vs Matthew Ellis

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

enzo maccarinelli decks matthew ellis

Enzo Maccarinelli has been itching to get back into the ring since he was humiliated by David Haye back in March 2008. He has been training harder and improving his conditioning and it showed in his fight against Matthew Ellis. Originally he was due to fight Jonathan Banks for the WBO world title, but Banks had to withdraw due to an ankle injury. Following a string of last minute changes, he was then put in against Matthew Ellis a popular fighter from Blackpool looking to make a name for himself after a few defeats (including Audley Harrison).

Enzo looked more focused and aggressive than I’ve ever seen him, and he looked fantastic. He unleashed some viscious hooks to the body of Ellis which had an instant effect. His fast and powerful shots gave him 2 knockdowns in the first round, and Ellis slumped back into his stool at the end of the first 3 minutes he exclaimed “f**k me”, suggesting he was in awe of power of Maccarinelli’s shots.

Maccarinelli then went on to finish Ellis mid-way through the second, but he could have finished it at any point. He was in a completely different league to Ellis. The fight with Banks is now due to be re-scheduled for February. Banks is a big puncher, but I watched his fight against Vincenzo Rossitto and was unimpressed with the 12 round fight and think that Maccarinelli will make short work of him. Banks is supposed to be a big puncher, but showed an inability to cut off the ring and laboured to a majority point decision at the end of 12 frustrating rounds to a fighter that David Haye destroyed in 2 rounds. Maccarinelli will back bigger than ever in the new year, and I expect him to clean up the cruiserweight division.

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Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

manny pacquiao and oscar de la hoya

Manny Pacquiao sensationally defeated Oscar De La Hoya in 8 rounds at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas! Everyone knew that Manny had the potential to win on points, but nobody thought it was possible for him to stop the larger Oscar De La Hoya. Initially Manny was using great movement and ring craft to keep his distance from Oscar, and had some good success with straight left hands. As the rounds went on and Oscars eye became more and more swollen, he actually started taking the centre of the ring and pretty much unleashed hard combinations at will. Oscar De La Hoya didn’t have anything in return, and at the end of the 8th round the doctor called the fight off as there was no need for him to take any more punishment – he was defeated.

Freddie Roach was ecstatic with the win, and was vindicated with his earlier statements about De La Hoya. Having worked with him for 8 weeks in preparation for an earlier fight, he said that Oscar couldn’t pull the trigger on his punches anymore and that Manny would stop him in 8 or 9 rounds. Almost a perfect prediction? His plan was always for speed, and it worked perfectly as Oscar did not seem to be able to cope with Manny’s speed or even react to some of his shots.

Oscar De La Hoya was very gracious in defeat, and gives a lot of credit to Manny on winning the fight. However, a lot of questions are being asked over his weight. At the weigh-in he was 2 pounds under the weight limit which was surprising, but what was even more surprising was that he only put on 2 more pounds for the fight. We were all expecting his actual fight weight to be much higher. Ricky Hatton thought that although De La Hoya looked good at the weigh-in, he looked ill at the fight and suspects that something went wrong with his weight management. If anymore comes out about this remains to be seen.

In the meantime however it is a fantastic achievement for Manny Pacquiao, and his legions of followers in the Phillipines will no doubt be celebrating for days after this win. It also opens the door for a showdown with Ricky Hatton for the best Pound for Pound title at 140 lbs. With the 2 fighters having the best supporters in the world and a potentially great clash of styles, I’m pinning my hopes on Hatton vs Pacquiao in 2009!

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Carl Froch vs Jean Pascal

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

carl froch vs jean pascal

Saturday night was Carl Froch’s long awaited world title shot opportunity, for the vacant super-middle weight WBC belt. Standing in his way, was the super-fit and super-confident Jean Pascal. Earlier at the weigh-in, Froch and Pascal had exchanged words and Froch was the first to break the stare leading a lot to believe his was apprehensive for the fight. Apparently Carl Froch used to have a lot of problems with nerves before a fight during his career in the amateurs.

When the bell sounded for the first round, the action started immediately with Froch counter attacking with a combination of punches that pushed Pascal back into the ropes. Pascal was fast however and both fighters traded and landed huge punches. When Froch landed his punches he seemed to pause momentarily as though he was expecting Pascal to drop to the canvas (as 19 of his previous opponents have) which left him open to big shots.

Generally I was disappointed with Froch’s defense and head movement, and he seemed to get caught hard with a lot of unnecessary shots over his low guard. However it was unbelievably entertaining to watch as he demonstrated an iron chin and returned hard shots of his own.

Towards the end of the fight, Froch began to take a lead on what was previously a close fought battle. Pascal seemed to tire (unsurprisingly based on the frantic first 3 rounds), and as his face became more swollen his work rate dropped and allowed Froch to take control. At the end of the fight both fighters raised their hands, but there was one clear winner. Carl Forch had fulfilled his ambition of becoming world champion and in front of an exstatic home crowd in Nottingham. The doors have now finally opened for him to attain superstar status that he has been trying to attain after years of chasing a fight with Calzaghe. I would hope for his next fight he steps into the ring with someone like Mikkel Kessler or Kelly Pavlik for a big name fight.

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Amir Khan vs Oshin Fagan

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

amir khan vs oshin fagan

All eyes were on Amir Khan following his devastating first round knockout defeat to Breidis Prescott. A lot of people said that Amir Khan had finally been exposed, and that he does not have the chin to box professionally. Since the defeat I have been impressed at how Amir has handled himself and the steps he has taken to get back on track. He has left his Bolton training camp for Freddie Roache’s Wild Card gym in Hollywood, where he can concentrate 100% on his boxing and address the issues with his fighting style. While at the training camp he was also exposed to other great fighters, including Manny Pacquiao who he sparred with on several occassions.

In his first fight back in the ring, he was fighting a tough Irish fighter called Oshin Fagan, who had only ever been stopped once in his professional career. He believed that this was his best opportunity to fight Amir having recently been exposed defensively and probably harbouring some inner demons after being knocked out so brutally.

When the fight started Fagans tactics were obvious as his pushed forwards throwing wild over the top rights. Khan not only looked better defensively but he was now throwing punches on the retreat (something he hadn’t done before) and was indeed throwing combinations on the retreat. His hand speed was also still blistering, and combinations of heavy shots sent Fagan down to the canvas in the first round. In the second round it was getting much worse for Fagan, and his corner threw in the towel (spotted late by referee Mickey Vann) before he took any more damage from the powerful shots flying accurately in from Khan.

Khan looked much improved, and after a fantastic display taking out Fagan is spectacular fashion I would say he is looking like he is back on track. If he continues learning and training under the watchful eye of Freddie Roach he could be ready for a title challenge in 12-18 months.

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