Boxing Thread 2K12

[Shoryuken]

Originally Posted by jkidd

Some quality action going on this weekend.

...

Tomorrow afternoon in England:
British HW Prospect David Price (13-0, 11 KO) vs. Audley Harrison (28-5, 21 KOs)
*Really looking forward to this fight. Not because I think it'll be competitive in the least bit, but because I can't stand Audley Harrison and hope David Price REALLY tunes his ass up. Price should be able to steam roll Harrison, however, I expect him to slow it down a bit and be cautious from the start before rolling him later.

Seconded. I hope Fraudley gets beat, real good.

[JKidd]

Originally Posted by jkidd

Tonight on Wealth PPV in Montreal:
-Adonis Stevenson (18-1, 15 KOs) vs. Donovan George (23-2-1, 20 KOs) - 12 rounds, IBF super middleweight eliminator
*Lets just say, there isn't a way this goes the full 12. Donnie and Stevenson throw everything to KO the opponent, and I see this one being the same way. George has shown a granite chin, while Stevenson has shown that his chin is really nothing at all. If George can land a bomb, he can hurt and drop the Canadian. It's a might by if, with the way Superman throws bombs. I'll take Stevenson via KO in the middle rounds. Donnie will be looking for a fire fight with the wrong guy tonight.

This was a brutal, bloody and down right hard fight to watch.

Superman knocked George down 5 or 6 times with 3 of those being body shot droppages.

The 5th round is a round for the ages as Donnie gets knocked down twice, but fights back with everything he has, bringing the fight to Stevenson.

He got destroyed again in the 6th, lasted 6 more rounds before getting dropped for the final time in the final frame, and the ref called it off.

A hell of a fight, but as I said, Donnie went looking for a fire fight with a donkey puncher tonight, and he took a horrific beating. Word is he was rushed to a hospital immediately after the fight to check for internal injuries from the thudding body shots he ate.

Also, David Lemieux, the once heralded prospect north of the border - now in rebuild mode - landed what could be a KO of the year as he shelled Alvaro Gaona in one round. It was a brutal, one punch hook that had Gaona out before he ever bounced off the canvas.

KO is around the 5 minute mark of the clip.

David Lemieux KO1 Alvaro Gaona - YouTube

[JKidd]

David Price just killed Audley Harrison in a minute.

50 seconds of pawing at each other, then the first power punch Price throws lands, and hurts Audley. 10 seconds later, he's eaten a few more and then eats a right hook that puts him to sleep.

Out cold before he ever hit the mat.

Fast forward to about 1.50 of the clip.

David Price vs. Audley Harrison Knockout 1st...

[Blues 34]

I am surprised that no one has recapped the HBO card yet but the Rios-Alvarado tilt lived up to the hype and then some. This was a war from the opening bell and both men gave and took huge shots. Alvarado did well when he was able to keep Rios at distance but he just couldnt keep the kid off of him and Rios finished him in the 6th. This kid has a balls to the wall style as does Alvarado.

I had the fight 3-2 for Alvarado when he got stopped so I don't mean to make it sound like he wasn't doing well when they were going toe to toe chest to chest he was but Rios just kept banging away as well until he hurt and stopped Alvarado.

It's 3:30 in the AM and I forget the name of the Japanese guy that Nonito Donaire beat the crap out of, that's only because for most of the fight he was hardly doing anything except trying to survive.

Donaire finally caught him with an uppercut and dropped him and it caused him to open up and finally fight a bit and Donaire finished him a few rounds later. This was another snoozer for Donaire who looked great. I don't know what he is going to have to do to get a competitive fight. Maybe Rigondeaux maybe move up to 130.

The wierd thing to me is that his opponent tonight hadn't lost a fight in 8 years and I expected more of an effort

[JKidd]

Blues, I'm with you. I was disgustingly surprised at how little offense Nishioka threw back. I get it, you want to take away the left hook - which I knew he'd game plan for - but for the love of god, actually try to win the fight.

For the first 5 rounds, it was almost as bad as Donaire/Narvaez, and the fans - coming off the war from Rios/Alvarado - rightfully booed the **** out of them.

I was impressed with Donaire. He wanted the left hook, but when he realized it wasn't going to be there, and Nishi had no interest in actually winning the fight, he switched it up to that awesome lead right hand.

And then, he changed again to counter punching, and landed the beautiful uppercut. Whenever Nishi did open up, he was tagged.

Donaire, proved to be as good as anyone in the top 5 for the p4p, and Nishi showed how rusty he was after a full year off, and how old he was when compared to the speed of Donaire.

TKO9 for Donaire as the corner saves Nishioka

****

Rios vs. Alvarado... how ****ing good was this? How many times did they just tuck the chins and throw'em? It was as great a fight as possible, and those two did not disappoint whatsoever. We easily got the fight of the year we wanted, and we got the round of the year in a fire fight filled, well, pretty much every round.

Come the 7th, Rios lands a massive right hand and has Alvarado in serious trouble. Very wobbly, the guard was loose, and Rios was doing what he had to do. It forced the ref to step in and save Alvarado.

I thought it was ended a little early. Given how much each guy took, I thought the ref could have let it go a few more seconds to see if Mike recovered.

But, he didn't, and now we have Brandon Rios arrival at the 140lb division.

Rios TKO7 over Mike Alvarado.

[Wadubbin]

I'd love to see Rios fight Matthyse..

[JKidd]

Originally Posted by Wadubbin

I'd love to see Rios fight Matthyse..

Give me Lucas.

It was a hell of a fight. Rios has always said he wants to have a Gatti/Ward style war, and boy did we get that with Mile High Mike.

The winner did set them self up for a shot at Juan Manuel Marquez. But, with the way he rarely fights in the 140lb division and avoid his mandatory fights, I wonder when that fight will ever go down?

[Wadubbin]

Originally Posted by jkidd

Give me Lucas.

It was a hell of a fight. Rios has always said he wants to have a Gatti/Ward style war, and boy did we get that with Mile High Mike.

The winner did set them self up for a shot at Juan Manuel Marquez. But, with the way he rarely fights in the 140lb division and avoid his mandatory fights, I wonder when that fight will ever go down?

Highly doubtful Marquez fights Rios.I thought that Alvardo was fighting a smart fight when he fought outside,used his jab and straight right,and used his movement.But he just couldn't help himself.he just had to get himself into a slugfest and it cost him...

[JKidd]

Originally Posted by Wadubbin

Highly doubtful Marquez fights Rios.I thought that Alvardo was fighting a smart fight when he fought outside,used his jab and straight right,and used his movement.But he just couldn't help himself.he just had to get himself into a slugfest and it cost him...

I agree completely.

He looked very solid landing the right, repeatedly, behind the glove of Rios. I was hoping he'd dig to the body more, because Rios has been hurt and hurt badly, to the body. But, in a war like that, all coherent, strategic thinking is out of the window and it's a war of attrition.

It sounds like both guys are open to a rematch, and I think every fan on the planet would be too.

I highly doubt we'll see Lucas/Rios, for the simple fact we'd be looking at GBP/TR.

For Rios, the sky is the limit. He's at a premier weight class that is VERY deep, and can easily get PPV billing now. Not as a headliner, but definitely as a co-feature. For that reason as well, I doubt they take a VERY high risk, very low reward fight with Lucas, considering Matthysse doesn't have a legit title to bring to the picture, nor does he have a true following.

Got a solid collection of news and notes for tomorrow that I'll post.

[JKidd]

News and notes time!

-Andre Berto will be back in action in November, in Cali, against Robert Guerrero for Ghost's interim WBC title. Good fight, IMO.

-Tomasz Adamek vs. Steve Cunningham II is all set. These two met as cruiserweights, with Adamek getting the win in a solid title fight. Now they meet as heavy's. It'll be the main event to a card on NBC. NBC apparently favored the Cunningham bout a lot more than the Solis bout, and has scrapped those plans.

-Lots of rumors out there about Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal looking to hook up again. I said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm not a fan of Tentative Chad, and will not watch his fights. Far too boring, and far too irritating to watch a guy with so much talent, and the physical tools, not have a killer instinct. Plus, it looks like Andre Ward took his soul. John Scully, his trainer, confirmed Edison Miranda knocked Chad down and almost out in sparring for the fight, and the result is what we got against Ward, who destroyed him. I don't care to see Pascal all that much either. A regional champ at best who, twice, got schooled by Hopkins. Let him hide up in Canada for all I care.

-Back to the rumor mill with the aforementioned Andre Ward. It looks like he's got a name in his face for his next fight, Kelly Pavlik. If anyone seen Kelly last time out, it wasn't pretty, nor was it inspiring. Everyone seen Andre's last time out, destroying a P4P fighter. Pavlik is tailor made for Ward, and IMO, it'd be a cash out job from Bob Arum with Kelly. This isn't Jermain Taylor who clearly had (and still has) a chink in the armor that suits Kelly perfectly - that'd be a weakness for straight right hands. Andre Ward is THE best pure boxer in the game, or 1b with Mayweather. And we've seen what happens to Kelly when he fights these types. It's a massive mismatch and one I see only being done as a cash grab. Also, it's worth noting, Kelly will not fight Andre in Sacramento or Oakland. So, gonna have to be in Vegas or AC or Texas.

-Fresh off his dismantling win over Nishioka, Donaire is now looking forward to a fight, and mega cash grab, with Jorge Arce in Mexico. Frankly, who gives a **** where it is, the fight can take place in Arce's back yard really, as long as someone can count to 10 when Donaire sends Arce down and out.

-Victor Ortiz will not be back this year. He has had complications in recovering from the broken jaw, and will be going under the knife a second time. Sucks to hear. As short on heart as Victor is, he does make fun fights.

-K9 Bundrage is officially a GBP guy now. He has left Don King, and will be promoted by GBP. This is clearly a move to get into position for a shot at Canelo. But, GBP's stable at 154 is also the deepest, and this means no more dealing with whoever Don King wants. Look for fights with James Kirkland, Alfredo Angulo, and Canelo possibly in December.

-Daniel Geale is officially on the avoid Golovkin bandwagon. He's taking an interim fight in Aussie land with local nemesis Anthony Mundine, the guy who took his '0' from his record. It's a good local fight, and a personal one for Geale. But, rather see him fulfill his obligations and give GGG his mandatory.

-Still nothing from Vitali yet on what he'll do. He's got elections coming up in the next month, so likely after he finds out on that front.

-Tyson Fury continues to dance away from David Price. Instead of agreeing to fight him, he goes on camera and rants about him... which prompts the BBBofC to get involved. What a dope.

-IBF bantamweight champ Leo Santa Cruz returns to action at Staples Center on 11/10 (the Mares/Moreno card) against an opponent TBD. I feel sorry for whoever it is, Santa Cruz is a ****ing monster.

-This just in, Glen Johnson is coming out of retirement to fight super middie contender George Groves in England. Groves was last seen on the Aydin/Guerrero card scoring a great knock out over Franky Sierra, so this will be a massive step up in class for the Brit. I'm not sure why Johnson is coming out of retirement so soon, unless he feels he's still got something left and is ok with being a gatekeeper...?

Barclays premier event this weekend in Brooklyn. I'll get a preview setup in the coming day or two for the massive event.

[JKidd]

First off, before I get into the Barclays card, it's worth noting that the USADA has found a banned substance in Erik Morales urine sample. He tested positive for clenbuterol. It's a drug used to help making breathing easier, increase your oxygen carrying capability and as a fat loss supplement. However, it was a very small trace, and is likely linked to contaminated meat Erik ate in Mexico, where the drug is not ruled out for use on animals (it's banned here in the States, Europe, China and Japan). I hope he's vindicated later today given that.

Onto the card, provided they all make weight.

-Hassan -N'Dam N'Jikam (27-0, 17 KOs) vs. Peter Quillin (27-0, 20 KO) - for N'Jikam's WBO middleweight title
*Good solid fight between two undefeated guys. N'Dam is a very solid boxer with decent pop. However, his resume is lacking while Kid Chocolate keeps getting better-but fighting better opposition. This could be a jab fest and a total chess match/boxing match given their two make ups. And with that being the case, I'll take the guy with more power, and with a better resume. Give me Quillin by decision.

-Randall Bailey (43-7, 37 KOs) vs. Devon Alexander (23-1, 13 KOs) for Bailey's IBF welterweight title
*Bailey landed a very lucky bomb on Mike Jones to win that fight, I don't see it repeating this go around. I don't care for Devon all that much, and see him with 3 losses rather than just one, but this should be as easy as it gets for him. Bailey is old and won't be able to pull the trigger on the faster, more accurate, and technically sound/boring Alexander. I see this fight going two ways, neither of which has Bailey with his hand up... one, Devon sits on his punches and gets Bailey out of there in the later rounds, or he stays content to show off the hand speed and pummels him to a wide, possible shut out UD. New champ right here.

-Paulie Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KOs) vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (25-1-1, 19 KOs) - for Malignaggi's WBA welterweight title
*I really don't care for this fight in the least bit, and don't agree with it being made at all. Cano is barely a light welter (he's made 135 in the past few months, and his scheduled 140 fights he comes in routinely at 138'ish), nonetheless a welter challenger. He's entertaining and a warrior, no denying that, but this is a joke seeing him move up and go for a title. Enough of that, onto the fight. I don't think Cano has the speed to land his power shots effectively on Paulie. However, if Cano can make it ugly and make it brawl - not a boxing match - he stands a much better chance. He can't let Paulie get confident and stick to the jab. If he does, his face will tear up and we could be looking at a stoppage thanks to cuts or a UD win. I'm going to take Paulie via UD or late cuts stoppage.

-Danny Garcia (24-0, 15 KOs) vs. Erik Morales (52-8, 36 KOs) II - for Garcia's WBC/WBA junior welterweight title
*It'll be very interesting to see if Morales makes weight. He didn't last time, by a lot. But, also was battling a hospital stay thanks to an appendectomy 6 weeks prior to the fight. The fight itself, Morales looks more and more like a washed up shot fighter than anything. He got dropped last time, and I see more of the same. I think Danny is too fast for him, too good a boxer, and box with power more to beat up on Erik. I'll say this, I want Erik to win, just to shut Angel Garcia (Danny's very outspoken, asshole father/trainer) up for a little bit. However, I'm not seeing it. I'll take Danny by decision.

The fight in England between Kell Brook and Hector Saldivia... Brook by KO win. It's a mismatch from start to finish, and I see Brook getting what he wants and needs - a rebound KO win following that brutal 12 round war with Carson Jones.

[Shoryuken]

Jamie McDonnell has just put on a good show on the Kell Brook undercard against Darwin Zamora.. a world title shot at bantamweight awaits him as a result. Zamora was getting beaten handily, and didn't come out for the 8th round on the advice of his corner. McDonnell seems to lack a bit of pop in his punching, but otherwise looks a solid fighter.

Main event up next.

[Shoryuken]

Kell Brook KOs Hector Saldivia early in the 3rd with a big, straight left. Saldivia well wobbly on the way up, and the ref calls it before finishing the count. Saldivia had already been to the canvas in the middle of the 1st.

Big win for Kell, and a world title fight is next up for him.

[Blues 34]

Showtimes card tonight was decent, if you guys haven't seen it yet I won't spoil it other than to say it was very tough to see an all time great like Erik Morales go out the way he did. Taking nothing away from Danny Garcia. Morales is past done it was sad to see

[JKidd]

So here we go!

First, the card over in England:
-Kell Brook ices Hector Saldivia in 3 rounds. He scored a nasty uppercut KD in round 1, stalked in 2, and then put him down and out in 3. It was a cake walk, and should have been for Kell. Saldivia isn't even in the top 30 for the division, yet it was some how an elimination bout for the IBF... go figure.

This means Kell Brook is now the #1 and mandatory for the winner of the Devon Alexander/Randall Bailey fight.

Now we get to the Barclays card in Brooklyn on Showtime:
*Paulie Malignaggi SPLIT NOD over Pablo Cano.
Paulie cut up CAno, but in a decent little fight, ended up getting dropped in the 11th by a strafing right hand. Each guy had their moments, and had the knockdown come with more time (20-30 seconds remained in the round), I think Cano would have got Paulie out of there, who was visibly on uneasy legs. Either way, it was a fight that could have gone either way, and a judges nightmare. The pot shot, hard punches from Pablo? Or the combo work of Paulie? In the end, we had 114-113 & 114-113 for Paulie and 109-118 for Cano

*Devon Alexander UD12 over Randall Bailey
This was as bad as we thought. Bailey threw an average of only 17 shots per round, according to compubox, while Devon looked awful himself, I think landing something like 112 shots the entire fight. I liked how Arthur Mercante Jr took a point from both guys to try and force some action, but in the end, you have a guy in Randall who looks for only the right hand, and has no clue how to set it up. Then Devon Alexander who is going to throw grunts and hold an entire fight to win. It was a disgusting fight, but thankfully it's over.

Scores: 116-110, 115-111, and 117-109

*Peter Quillin UD12 over Hassan N'dam N'jikam
Kid Chocolate has officially landed in the middle weight division. He's a colorful guy, and a fun fighter to watch, which should lead him to some amazing opportunities. Him and Hassan really went at it for 12 rounds, and while Quillin put N'Dam down 6 times, the Frenchman never stopped coming at him. The wide shots the champ threw led Quillin to knocking him down a lot with counter, short, compact and powerful shots - especially the counter left hook. Quillin took some rounds off which made this a great fight, and allowed N'Dam some great moments, and these two really had some devastating exchanges which made this the best fight of the night. At the sound of the final bell, 6 knock downs were too much.

Scores: 115-107 across the board.

*Danny Garcia KO4 over Erik Morales
This was hard to watch. I tweeted that it was the equivalent of rubber necking at a bad car wreck, and I stand by that with every replay I see of El Terrible getting sent almost out of the ring for the KO defeat. Rounds 1 and 2 were decent feel out rounds, but at the end of the 3rd, Garcia throws a blinding double jab with a crushing straight right hand behind it that lands as flush as could be and nearly puts Erik down and out. As Morales staggers to the ropes, Danny is in pursuit with a few seconds to go. Morales is saved by the bell, only to have him go to the wrong corner, and then finally get to the right corner with about 40 seconds to rest. It wouldn't have mattered. He came out for the 4th, only to take a massive left hook that sent him down and out between the 1st and 2nd ropes. The corner, thankfully, throws the towel in to stop the fight before the count was even put forth.

I really hope Erik Morales gets his license revoked. There is no reason a 36 year old who has been through so many wars like him, should be in the ring with guys like Danny Garcia or any other titlist at 140.