Boxing Thread 2K12

[royjonesjr]

Very good show last night.. Porter vs Gomez was a great ten round fight. Porter won clearly but Gomez was there the entire time landing good shots. First time seeing Porter fight and I look forward to seeing him again. Guerrero vs Aydin was even better. Guerrero was very active which lead to him winning the decision. Aydin kept trucking forward and digging in with big rights to the head and body and looked like he was hurting Guerrero for a lot of the fight especially the last few rounds which I thought he won the majority of. But Guerrero showed a lot of hurt looking very tired he continued to be active and took some very good shots and came back.

[Wadubbin]

Porter/gomez was a really really good fight.Unfortunately Gomez doesn't have the power to handle Porter.Because the way Porter was eating right hands if he did have the power it would have been lights out for Porter.Porter is an exciting young fighter,and I will defintely watch him again.Which might be for a while after that nasty cut he took in the ninth round.I'm really surprised they let him fight on.His whole eyebrow was opened up.

Would anyone agree that welterweight is not the weight class for Guerrero???I mean he's a tremendous boxer,puts his punches together,throws combos...I just don't think he has the power to handle welterweights.He has a pretty good chin,but will he be able to handle the power of some of the top contenders.He ate some right hands from Aydin,and handled them okay.But Aydin telegraphed everything.I just don't think this is the weight that Guerrero is at his best.Lightweight/Jr.Welter would be better...

[JKidd]

Porter was close to putting Gomez down a couple times last night just from body shots. I believe in 4 and 7 when he really started investing hard to the body, you could tell Gomez was in a lot of trouble. It was a fantastic, sloppy, ugly fight with about 2 dozen headbutts - but a well fought fight from both guys.

Gomez.. he leaves a lot to be desired. If he had the power of some of his opponents, the guy could and would be a champ, because his fighting spirit is nearly unrivaled in the ring. But god damn it, he just lacks the power.

I don't expect to see Porter for the rest of the year. That second cut was one of the worst I've seen. It'll take internal staples and external to fix, and those will take a lot of time to heal.

Guerrero... it went exactly how I initially thought it would. Aydin loading up one at a time, and Guerrero touching him up... that's it. I don't think welter is the division for him. He came into the fight at 150... which to me, is the sign of a LWW. If he came in around 155-160, then yeah, welter. But, he doesn't have the power nor do I think he'll have the chin when he engages with a legit welter who is going to put punches together on him. It's much easier to take one punch at a time than it is to take 3-5 at a time.

[JKidd]

The official recap for the weekend of action.

ESPN FNF:
-Upset special, Ray Beltran MD10 over Hank Lundy.
This was a hell of a fight, especially the 3rd round. Beltran, as always, came forward and threw power punches from round 1 to the closing bell of round 10. In the 3rd, Beltran had Lundy in serious trouble, and was really hammering Hank (no pun intended on the nickname), Hank dug his heals in and then uncorked a crushing left hook that stopped Beltran in his tracks and damn near floored him. Lundy controlled the next few rounds with smooth boxing, and then Beltran took back over with pressure in fighting and power shots down the stretch. It was a hell of a fight, not a classic or anything, but a hell of a fight. Lundy didn't seem to have the extra gear for the stretch run to match Beltran, and it was the deciding factor.

The loss derails a lot for Hank. He was being eyed not only for a title shot, but for a big payday with rival Adrien Broner. As was the case with Sillakh, maybe looking ahead to greener pastures while not finding the route through the desert you're in? Either way, Beltran, showed up looking for the win, and he fought his ****ing ass off to get it.

Showtime in San Jose
*George Groves TKO6 over Francisco Sierra
Good little fight huh? Groves could have boxed the piss out of Sierra, but instead decided to stand in the pocket, let Sierra wing those wide shots, and trade with him. Only issue... he took a headbutt that opened up a canyon of a cut on his brow. But, fast forward 3 rounds later, and in the midst of an exchange with Sierra throwing wide, Groves lands three hard shots and sends Sierra crashing down. Sierra beat the count, but didn't last much longer as Groves was all over him.

Remember George Groves fellas. He's only 24, he's won major-regional titles in the UK, has great boxing skills and very solid power. The sky is the limit, so long as he limits the cuts he takes.

*Shawn Porter UD10 over Alfonso Gomez
A good, hard, sloppy, sometimes chippy fight between these two. Porter showed some amazing skill, but man does he get hit with right hands a lot. As Ismayl Sillakh proved, that's not a good habit to have. Either way, he put forth a hell of an effort given a bad cut in the 1st, and an even worse one that pretty much made his eye brow dangle in the 9th. I loved the body work he employed, but would like it a lot more if he'd stick to it, and not abandon it for rounds at a time, especially when a guy is hurt badly - as Gomez was twice. All things considered, a hell of a performance from Porter, but he'll need a lot of rest to let his cuts heal properly. Hopefully he isn't rushed back in before they heal up correctly, because those are the kinds of cuts that could plague a career.

*Robert Guerrero UD12 over Selcuk Aydin
It was fast and furious for the first few rounds, as Guerrero was clearly jacked up by the emotion and adrenaline of fighting, but once it wore off, the fight was as dull and lifeless as could be. Aydin had him in some minor trouble here and there, landing hard uppercuts and some body shots, but for the most part, he threw one at a time, and Guerrero took the shots well or wasn't touched by them. And Robert did what he needed to, given he wasn't going to stop the iron chinned Turk, and that was touching him with combos (even if they were nothing arm punches), turning the corner or grabbing on, and not letting Aydin land the home run right. And when Aydin did land it, he rolled with it well. In the end, too much skill and combo work from Guerrero, securing a faux welterweight title.

Guerrero, like so many, is trying to secure a monster payday with Floyd Mayweather. However, given the fact his home town fans were boo'ing his performance and Aydin's performance at the Shark Tank, I'm not sure he overly impressed enough to garner the fight with Floyd. And if he does - it'd be a loss, and it'd be a loss that wouldn't be worth watching except whether to see if Floyd knocks him out or not. Guerrero is a lot like Paulie Mal. He's got a ton of skills, and amazing combos, but doesn't have the power to be truly be a fan favorite nor will he score the big stoppages in big fights he needs, especially at WW. His power was weak at LW, and it's even less at WW given he throws mostly arm punches.

Good event overall with some solid fights.

[JKidd]

Good morning fellas, some news and notes for today:

-Billy Dib, the IBF featherweight champ from Australia has signed with 50 Cent and Mayweather (TMT Promotions), joining Andre Dirrell and Yuri Gamboa. Lots of reports have Andre Berto as the next high profile name to join TMT.

-Orlando Salido vs. Mikey Garcia is almost set. All that's left to negotiate is the venue and date. I expect this one to be formally announced in the next few weeks. Salido just had a pretty tough fight this past weekend in a non-title bout, so his rest and recovery and prep may be a bit longer than had he not fought. Mikey though, has been inactive quite a bit thanks to Caballero pulling twice and now having to wait for Salido. As of now, he's been out of action since March, and when you think about it, October or November appears to be the time frame he'd be looking at... that's a pretty good layoff for a guy who was fighting once every 3 months.

-Tomasz Adamek vs. James Toney has been scrapped. There was a ton of backlash at Main Events for making this, and I mean a ton, from everyone. They did the right thing and cancelled it, replacing Toney with veteran journeyman Travis Walker. New date is 9/8 on Main Events PPV, but maybe on NBC fight night, if they can't secure anything to support their card in September, and don't want to go head to head with Dawson/Ward on this day.

-Back to Main Events who won a purse bid to promote Gabriel Rosado vs. Charles Whittaker in an IBF eliminator. The winner may have to fight one more eliminator for a shot at K9. Which isn't bad. K9 needs to fight someone other than Sechew Powell or Cory Sphinks.

-This is THE big one..
A. Donaire vs. Arce is being negotiated for October.
B. However, we've got a big issue in that Arce is wanting a lot more money (and for the beating he'll take - can't blame him for wanting to get as much as he can) to go through with this fight. I'm not talking a few G's here and there, but we're talking LOTS more money. In all honesty, this is such a mismatch, stylistically for Arce, that he should get a boat load of money. Donaire is taylor made to be guys like Arce, and he has the power to do horrendous damage to him - cuts wise and bad physical damage to the head/body.
C. Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado is being negotiated for the co-feature spot on this card, which is likely to land in either Texas or Carson Cali (where Donaire and Rios are HUGE draws).
D. If Donaire vs. Arce falls through, Donaire vs. Toshiaki Nishioka is the backup plan - which is a vastly more significant fight, but may not be as awesome to watch, given it's not Arce coming forward in the face of insane shots from Donaire. But, make no mistake, if it's Nishioka instead, it's a MUCH more even fight. Nishioka hasn't lost since 2004, and has beaten everyone since then in the super bantamweight division.

-Manny expecting to name an opponent this week, JMM banking on a 4th try against him.

-Pier Oliver Cote (19-0, 13 KOs) vs. Ali Chebah (33-2, 26 KOs) has been added onto the Bute/Grachev card on 11/3... great fight between these two. Cote is a solid prospect and Chebah is a very solid gatekeeper

-Karim Mayfield has pulled out of 8/17 FNF citing injury. Ironic in that his opponent Mauricio Herrera just pulled last week.

-Randall Bailey vs. Devon Alexander is being moved from Memphis to San Antonio and 9/8 to 9/22, to avoid a conflict with Ward/Dawson. Great to hear, I hate having to split time on the same night between cards.

[Golden Gloves22]

My current favorite fighter to watch is Gabriel Rosado. Really enjoy watching him box and i personally think him and Canelo could turn into a war. Philly breeds great boxers...
So what do you guys think about Rosado so far??

[JKidd]

Rosado is a very fun guy to watch. And, he's not your typical star being built up against far inferior opposition on a major network like so many before him.

He's fighting on NBC, and he's fighting top level gatekeepers or contenders - and disposing of them with relative ease.

He is also showing progression as a fighter. His straight on attack lines that worked against Soto-Karass he knew wouldn't work with a polished boxer in Powell, and we seen a lot more angled attacks, which really did damage especially when Powell laid on the ropes.

I really want to see him in there with Vanes, Lara or Kirkland and lets really see what the kid has got.

[JKidd]

Remember when Showtime signed Adonis Stevenson and then searched high, low, near and far for an opponent? I do. It was essentially the entire month of June and July. Then we found out Jean Pascal is finally going to return to the ring with Tavoris Cloud, and Showtime did a great thing in combing the cards. Great!

Stay with me.

Pascal pulls from the card, and Showtime balks at the card, stating George/Stevenson isn't headline material.

Enter this:

Originally Posted by jkidd

-Karim Mayfield has pulled out of 8/17 FNF citing injury. Ironic in that his opponent Mauricio Herrera just pulled last week.

Alright, keep connecting the dots.

Herrera pulls from the ESPN card a couple weeks ago, and Mayfield has a few weeks to find an opponent. 4 days later, he gets injured, and pulls from the card as well.

What happens? ESPN, already having seen Stevenson, needing a card, and liking what they got last time, says, "we'll take some of that."

Adonis Stevenson vs. Don George, your new 8/17 ESPN FNF finale card in Oklahoma.

Thank you ESPN for not letting that fight go.

[Daaaa B's]

Great news about the Stevenson/George fight.

How do you guys like Troy Ross' chances against Hernandez in their upcoming title fight?

[JKidd]

Originally Posted by Daaaa B's

Great news about the Stevenson/George fight.

How do you guys like Troy Ross' chances against Hernandez in their upcoming title fight?

I don't like them, but Ross has a punchers chance - and with a guy like YPH, who has been dropped before, that is viable chance.

One thing to really watch is how Ross deals with the height of Hernandez, who is at least 4 inches taller and will have a massive height advantage. If Troy can get past the stick and get inside, and not be tied or just lay inside, he should have a chance to get to the chin.

At this point, I'm leaning 75/25 for YPH.

[JKidd]

Tonights ESPN FNF preview:
-Mercito Gesta (25-0, 13 KOs)vs. Ty Barnett (20-2-1, 13 KOs) - 10 rounds, lightweights
Gesta is trying to be propped up as the next Manny, simply because he's Filipino. I really haven't seen it in any of the fights I've seen Gesta in. He's light handed, and a much better defensive fighter than Manny ever could be, and doesn't like to engage in the fire fights Manny really likes to. Either way, he's a slick boxer, and a hell of a talent against very little opposition. Barnett offers next to nothing in terms of a step up, but it's a showcase for Gesta before FNF hits the road for the year and hopefully launches Gesta to HBO or Showtime or NBC. I see Gesta boxing Barnett rather easily and earning a very lop sided UD, or possibly a stoppage if he actually goes for it. He'll make Barnett miss a lot, it's making him pay to the point of getting a stoppage that will be the true question.

-Mickey Bey (18-0, 9 KOs) vs. Rob Frankel (30-12-1, 6 KOs) - 10 rounds, lightweights
Been a while since we seen Bey, last time out was in Houston on the Chavez card. Bey is being propped up as an heir apparent for a light division at 130, so this is a HUGE fight for him, in getting into title contention in the razor thin division. Frankel, won't offer much, and has no power to worry about, so Bey should steam roll him.

-Jesse Magdaleno (10-0, 7 KOs) vs. Aldimar Silva-Santos (17-2, 9 KOs) - 8 rounds, junior featherweights
Don't even bother fastening a seat belt for his one, Jesse is easily one of the best youngsters that leaves a lot to the imagination for boxing fans. He's lightning fast, just fought 6 weeks ago in Vegas on ESPN, and has power in both hands - both of which fly like ****ing crazy. His older, far more boring and less powerful brother, Diego, is getting a lot of attention already in that he's 22-0 and fighting for a title very soon in the garbage 130lb division. But, Jesse is going to be the real star, IMO. I'm hoping Aldimar provides a little than his last opponent, but in the end, I'll take Mags via TKO.

[JKidd]

Good morning guys, hope you all had a good weekend, and without some high quality boxing action to watch, hope you wall found something to pass the time.

The recap of ESPN FNF:
Gesta TKO9 over Barnett
This was a decent little boxing match. Barnett showed some good skills, but you could tell from the 2nd or 3rd on, he wasn't going to commit any power to his punches to really hurt Gesta, and instead pushed a lot of punches - all be it ones that landed and scored, but Gesta walked right through them. Gesta on the other hand, he had a really solid night. Barnett wasn't in the pocket all that much, so it made Gesta work, and when Barnett lounged, Gesta was all over him. The 9th, he really flipped the switch and instead of showing off defensively, really started hammering Barnett and went for the finish - and he got it. Even if it came after the bell. . There is no doubt it was after the bell, but who really cares? Barnett was toast by then and would have had another round to answer for. So, Gesta does what he could have done in the middle rounds, and that's get the stoppage over Barnett.

Magdaleno TKO2 over Santos
Just when you think Santos is going to survive the opening round, he gets smashed with a straight left, and then 3 hooks hammer the side of his head in a matter of maybe 1.5 seconds sending him down in a heap. To his credit, he survives a hellacious knockdown, only to have Mags come out with renewed cause in the 2nd, and flooring him again with a massive left that lifts him off his feet. He beats the count, but it's only a formality at this point, as Mags rushes in and forces the stoppage. Santos was an overmatched opponent, sure, but lets not forget, Jesse is only 20 years old. Yes, you read that right, skills that sharp and destructive, and only 20 years old. The email with the recap said Jesse may look to fight twice more before the year is out in late September and hopefully again in December. Can't knock the activity he's got going.

Sidenote, prospect Mickey Bey walked out of the place when he was told he was going to be the opener. According to Bey, he was told to he had 30 minutes to glove up and get a lather going (aka warm up) because he was changed from the 2nd televised bout to the first. Instead of going through with the change, Bey walked out of the arena citing not enough time to get ready. Sucks to be him.

[JKidd]

Some wonderful news and notes from the weekend:
-Nonito Donaire vs. Toshiaki Nishioka is all set for 10/13 in Carson Cali. The undercard bout? Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado. Don't bother sitting down for this one, these two will go all out and engage in a war that'll bring a FOTY candidate to it.

-3 fights set for the Chavez vs. Martinez undercard:
*Roman Martinez vs. Miguel Beltran 130lbs for WBO belt - a great fight and should be an all action war.
*Rafael Marquez vs. Wilfredo Vazquez was previously going to be it's own card in PR, but Marquez withdrew citing injury (I think they seen that there was next to no interest in the fight as a headliner and moved it), and it's now going to land on the undercard... a much better position for it.
*Matthew Macklin vs. Joachim Alcine - should be a great middie fight. Both guys need to win to get back to the title picture.

-Mercito Gesta, fresh off his FNF victory, is being negotiated for a fight with Miguel Vazquez for the IBF LW title. I'd rather see Gesta on Showbox against some much better opposition before he steps in with perhaps the best LW on the planet.

-Manny's opponents are down to 3:
*Timothy Bradley...
*Miguel Cotto... good action fight, I'm thinking.
*JMM 4... never a bad fight, but neither guy ever goes for the win, so it ends up being a chess match that solves nothing.

-Thomas Oosthuizen now in the Carl Froch mix. Strange in that he turns down an eliminator with the IBF ranked #2 Super Middie in Stevenson and instead of fighting for a shot at the with a guy he should have to fight, he just leap frogs him entirely. Oh well, I like Oosty, but it's too early for him and Froch knocks him out or beats him badly through 12 rounds. He's still too raw and is lacking the polished skills he'll need to beat a true world class fighter in Carl Froch.

-Vanes vs. Lara should be getting announced soon. TR outbid GBP on 7/20 for the fight, yet there has been no peep on what's going on with it. I'm wondering if they want to add it to the Chavez/Martinez undercard, which would be a nice addition to the card.

[JKidd]

Good morning gents, some news and notes on this Wednesday...

-Gabriel Rosado vs. Charles Whittaker 9/21 in Bethlehem PA on NBC in an IBF eliminator, winner getting K9.

-Kell Brook vs. Hector Saldivia on 10/20 in Sheffield England, as an IBF eliminator, winner getting Devon Alexander/Randall Bailey winner

-Deontay Wilder blew away a vastly overmatched can on Saturday, expected to step up competition next fight out, later this year, according to GBP.

-Alexander Povetkin vs. Hasim Rahman rescheduled for September 29... yay.

-Rafael Marquez vs. Wilfredo Vazquez moved back to it's own card
Subnote: Ivan Calderon vs. Moises Fuentes has been added to give it a Mexico vs. PR feel even more.

-Lateef Kayode is trying to get Roy Jones Jr in the ring. Even with RJJ being a vastly faded version of himself, I would favor his worn out reflexes and still there power over Kayodes' winging, ugly, poorly thrown punches.

[JKidd]

Some random thoughts given the headlines.

1. Alexander Povetkin remains one of the biggest jokes going in the boxing world. Rahman dropped out citing injury, and Wlad punishes Tony. He has the perfect opportunity to back up his words that he's, and I quote, "not running from the Klitschko brothers."

Yet, when Bernd Boente, the Klitschko adviser contacts team Povetkin, they say Rahman is back on the schedule... days later, he sure the **** is, so Povetkin avoids yet another fight with Wlad.

What a ****ing joke he is. I used to be a fan of his, sadly. Now, he's so god damn pathetic, I can barely stomach the thought of cheering for him or even wishing he leaves the ring with his jaw intact.

2. Roy Jones Jr, while I've been a fan of his for a while and can't listen to him enough when it comes to his commentary, has a chance to make me even more of a fan if he takes the Kayode offer. I know, I've been highly critical of him. Trust me, I know. But, fighting Kayode isn't fighting Danny Green or Denis Lebedev - two very polished, power punching, boxers with immense skill. It's essentially fighting a skill less gorilla (no racial jokes intended - just the way Lateef punches) who couldn't throw a punch properly to save his life, and the only reason he was "in" the fight with Tarver is because Tarver laid on the ropes or didn't punch.

3. Gabriel Rosado vs. Charles Whittaker... a solid fight, and really, this could be the first of many "network stars" born before our eyes, in Rosado. He wins this, he's onto a title fight with K9. We're used to network TV being for essentially prospects and cross roads veterans only, well it's great to see them "birth" a star in Rosado, who hasn't graced HBO or Showtime, in what could be a title shot path. It's a good, winnable fight for Rosado.

Only issue I see is that K9 isn't gunning to defend his title all that much. He's looking for unifications at this point, and that last payday to try and send him off - or so it seems. He priced himself out ridiculously in a unification bout with Austin Trout (we're talking multi-hundreds of thousands of dollars priced out). So... yeah, take that with a grain of salt as far as the "eliminator" portion goes.