Tag Archives: world champion.

AMIR KHAN VS ZAB JUDAH PREVIEW

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Amir Khan makes the fifth defence of his WBA light-welterweight title this Saturday night (23rd July) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. In the opposite corner will be IBF champion Zab Judah, potentially his toughest test to date.

Khan and Judah face-to-face

Judah has found a new lease of life since moving back to light-welter last year, hooking up with defensive master Pernell ‘Sweet Pea’ Whittaker and picking up quality victories over Lucas Matthysse and Kaizer Mabuza, the latter for the IBF belt on the line Saturday night.

Judah’s time spent at welterweight was filled with great highs and even lower lows. For every KO of Cory Spinks for the Undisputed welterweight championship there was a horror show of a performance against Carlos Baldomir. Judah just could not be consistently brilliant. That is what makes the Khan-Judah fight intriguing, and hard to predict.

Khan has looked excellent at times but seemed clueless and one-dimensional against Paul McCloskey in April. With all due respect to McCloskey – who is a quality fighter – Judah will be much more slippery and harder to fathom than the Irishman.

If you want to try to predict the outcome of the fight based on each fighters last performance, Judah has the upper hand. Against Mabuza, Judah was fast and was hitting extremely hard, stopping the South African in the seventh round. If Judah hurts a fighter, they usually stay hurt. He’s a great finisher.

Judah starts off great but fades against Cotto in 2007

Where Judah has fallen short in the past is when a fighter takes his best shots early and comes on strong. In his defeats against Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey and the aforementioned Baldomir, Judah started well before being overawed by his opponent. The plan B never came and he faded late in the fight.

Who can forget his 2nd round defeat to recent Hall of Fame inductee Kostya Tszyu in November 2001? Judah was majestic in the first round, but as soon as Tszyu figured him out and started to measure Judah for the right hand, Judah retreated into a shell. The one second before the bell rang to end the round, Tszyu landed the knockout blow. The resulting ‘chicken dance’ and subsequent attack of referee Jay Nady is the stuff of boxing legend, if only for the wrong reasons.

Khan must improve on his performance over McCloskey and start fast if he is to nullify Judah’s speed and not allow him into the fight. If Khan gets on top and presses the action he can dishearten Judah and wear him down for a late stoppage or unanimous points victory. But one second of complacency could be enough to put Judah back to the top of the division.

VICTOR ORTIZ: A LIVE OPPONENT FOR PRETTY BOY

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Mayweather: The ultimate challenge for Victor Ortiz

‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd Mayweather makes his eagerly awaited return to the ring against recently crowned WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz on Saturday September 17th at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

It will be Mayweather’s first fight since he defeated ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley by unanimous decision in May 2010, and comes after months of legal drama related to out of the ring issues. There was a time when the world was wondering whether ‘Money’ would return to the ring again, but then he announced his comeback against Ortiz.

Ortiz will be the first ‘live’ opponent that Mayweather has faced for a long time – and even longer since he faced an opponent that wasn’t giving up all the major advantages in the ring.

Floyd’s last three opponents have been a faded Mosley, a blown-up lightweight in Juan Manuel Marquez and Britain’s Ricky Hatton, who was stepping up from his natural light-welterweight division. Before those victories, Floyd defeated Oscar De La Hoya via split-decision, the last time that Floyd met an opponent who was anywhere near his level. That was four years ago.

Victor Ortiz was – and still is – Golden Boy Promotions’ main hope for a blockbuster fighter. Good looking, intelligent and with good power and skills, it was all going right for Ortiz until he was stopped in the sixth round of his 2009 fight with Marcos Maidana. Under intense pressure from the Argentine slugger, Ortiz went to the canvas and upon rising, shook his head and pulled a ‘No mas’ style surrender that fight fans and writers saw as a lack of heart.

Golden Boy slowly brought Ortiz back into contention with victories over faded names such as Nate Campbell and Victor Harris, but when Ortiz threw away a winnable fight in his draw with Lamont Peterson (Peterson was down twice in round 3 but by the end of the fight was in control) the critics came back to haunt him.

vs Berto, Ortiz answered his critics in a classic war

A surprise crack at undefeated WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto was next, and a shot at redemption that Ortiz took with both hands. In what will be an dead cert for Fight of the Year, Ortiz and Berto engaged in a 12 round slugfest that saw both men hit the canvas and teeter on the brink of defeat many times. The difference this time was that Ortiz gritted his teeth and saw it through. He answered a lot of critics and earned his night in the limelight against Mayweather.

Many observers have noted that Ortiz is a southpaw, and have taken this as a sign that Ortiz is a dry run for a certain Manny Pacquiao.

But before talk of boxing’s ultimate mega-fight can resume, Mayweather will have to be on his ‘A’ game to defeat a young fighter who just overcame adversity for the first time at the sports highest level, and whose confidence will be sky-high ahead of the biggest opportunity of his life.

Nobody will pick Ortiz over Mayweather, but long layoffs, legal woes and the first sign of weakness in the ring (who can forget that second round wobble against Mosley) could make it an interesting fight and a harder fight for Pretty Boy than it appears on paper.

“I’m a strong fighter, and I have worked really hard to silence my critics,” Ortiz told the Miami Herald.

“I’m a world champion for a reason, and I am not going to let go of my title any time soon.”

This is Victor Ortiz’s shot at immortality, and he must reach for it with both fists.

KLITSCHKO-HAYE: THE AFTERMATH

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Haye's pre-fight conduct appalled many, including his opponent

Now that the dust has settled on David Haye’s unsuccessful challenge to heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday July 2nd, the fight and the repercussions of the result can be viewed without the cloud of emotion.

Britain’s former undisputed cruiserweight champion and now former WBA heavyweight champion was defeated by unanimous points decision – the scores (118-108, 116-110 and 117-109) reflecting a comfortable win for Wladimir, the long-time world champion from the Ukraine.

Klitschko outlanded Haye by 134-72 in total punches landed, with Klitschko dominating behind his jab by 105-36. It was expected that Wladimir’s cautious style and reliance on the jab would be what Haye had to overcome, what was a surprise was that he had no answer for it.

The most depressing aspect of the fight was not the result, or Haye’s surprisingly cautious approach (blamed later on a broken toe that took away his now legendary ‘Hayemaker’), but Adam Booth’s complete lack of a plan B, and the inevitable kicking that Haye will now receive in the press and with the fans as a result of the manner of which Haye has conducted himself over the last two years.

The boasts, the t-shirts, the lack of respect shown towards his opponent, the delayed ring-walk (that also left Lennox Lewis standing around like a night-club bouncer on his first shift) will all count towards Haye in a negative light given his performance and the result.

It is a great shame. Haye was a great cruiserweight but the old adage ‘a good big man always beats a good small man’ was true on fight night and the question of whether or not a super-heavyweight division should be created at professional level may be asked again soon. A three stone advantage on fight night can no longer be deemed fair, regardless of an opponent’s skill level or agility.

Haye has three months until his proposed retirement date of October 13th (his 31st birthday) and his options are limited. A return to cruiserweight for a fight with Steve Cunningham would be a great fight but without major box office attraction. Vitali Klitschko is fighting former light-heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek on September 10th in Poland and therefore is not an option and Wladimir’s manager Bernd Boente has ruled out the possibility of a return with the now WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion.

The most likely option is a farewell fight in London around the October date, but with the time that Haye’s broken toe will take to heal and the lack of quality opposition in the heavyweight division, there is a chance that Haye will fade away like so many other quality fighters that dared to dream of becoming undisputed heavyweight champion.

There was too little aggression from Haye

For Wladimir Klitschko, defeating Haye was a legacy boosting victory. He is now undefeated in seven years, and has beaten every viable contender in his weight class in that time. He may not have done it with the same intensity and awe-inspiring ferocity of Mike Tyson, but along with his brother Vitali, he has dominated the heavyweight division.  With the victory over Haye, the heavyweight division has a leader, whereas a Haye victory – then his retirement – would have left chaos and confusion in its wake. It may not have been the result the fight fans desired, but it might have been the one it needed.

When he retires, Wladimir will not be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Joe Louis and Lennox Lewis by writers and fight fans, but his name may be amongst  the greats in the IBHOF for his long-standing reputation as champion and his achievements.

DERECK CHISORA: WHAT ABOUT ME?

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Chisora: Options at British and European level

With the media focussing on the much anticipated bout between David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko being finalised for Germany, it is easy to forget that there is a fighter that has been brushed aside quicker than most Klitschko opponents are inside the ropes: British Heavyweight champion Dereck Chisora. 

That is not to say that Klitschko was feigning injury. A Doctor’s medical notes have been given as evidence and no lawsuit has been filed. It all seems above board, but Klitschko must be secretly rubbing his hands together at the prospect of meeting WBA champion Haye instead.

Chisora is now left to ponder what move to make next in his quest to be heavyweight champion. It must be hard to motivate himself. He had leapfrogged many more legitimate contenders to get his surprise shot at Klitschko, and may find it hard to motivate himself for a Tyson Fury or Audley Harrison bout in British title defences. The European title is currently vacant, and being contested between Alexander Dimitrenko and Albert Sosnowski on 26th March in Hamburg, Germany. The two fighters who have been defeated in their only forays into world class against Eddie Chambers and Vitali Klitschko respectively.

An option for Chisora could be Alexander Povetkin or Tomasz Adamek, two European fighters with good pedigree and reputations. A win over one of those fighters would propel Chisora into genuine world class, and a fight against either Klitschko will then have been earned.

Whatever the future holds for Chisora, the weekend of either the 25th June or 2nd July will be a painful one for him. But instead of saying ‘it should be me up there’, Chisora should knuckle down and score a few good wins over good opposition. He could be up there himself before long.

LOGIC MEANS NOTHING IN HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING

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Finally.

Finally, David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko should be locking horns in the summer, after a merry-go-round where money, ego and TV have been cited as the reason that the fight has taken so long to be finalised.

But if we look through heavyweight history, there have been many heavyweight fights that made perfect sense at the time, yet never happened. In heavyweight boxing, logic takes a back seat sometimes. 

The most recent cases of battles that alluded fight fans include Lennox Lewis versus Riddick Bowe, Lewis versus Tyson (the 1995-97 version) and Mike Tyson versus Tommy Morrison. Back in 1991, Tyson-Morrison had the potential to be one of the biggest box office fights in history, with Morrison unbeaten and coming off a role in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky V, and Tyson working his way back into contention after the defeat to James ‘Buster’ Douglas. 

In some cases fights that were meant to happen were ruined by the fists of an underestimated opponent. Oliver McCall ruined the last chance of Lewis-Bowe happening when he stopped Lewis in 1994, and when Tommy Morrison ran into the fists of Michael Bentt in 1993, it put paid to a Lewis-Morrison fight in December that year and cost both men a mega payday. 

Lewis, although a great heavyweight, had one of the most frustrating championship reigns in boxing history. Bowe famously threw the WBC belt in the trash rather than face him, Tyson did the same (opting to defend his WBA belt against Evander Holyfield instead) and even when he did finally get his defining fight – against Holyfield – the fight ended in a controversial draw. It is a testament to Lewis’ greatness that he kept going and cleared out the division the way he did, in the face of such frustration. 

On occasion, the logical fights happen too late, therefore leaving a bad taste in the mouth. There are not many people in the world who enjoyed watching Lennox Lewis beat up an old and shot Mike Tyson when they finally met in 2002, with the except of promoters and accountants. The post-fight interview for that fight is still one of the most heartbreaking moments in the sport. 

Larry Holmes and George Foreman tried to make a fight happen between them, but in 1999, not 1978, when the fight still would have had some meaning. When the two men signed for the fight, both men were in their forties and looking for one last big payday. The fight eventually fell through. 

So in late June or early July, when Haye and Klitschko are squaring off centre ring, be thankful it is finally happening. There have been many great opportunities missed through the ages and there will be many more.