Lomachenko doesn’t take the bait; Chavez, Jr. battles more than one opponent

03/02/2014 Paul Strauss

Top Rank’s grand poobah Bob Arum called for the head of referee Laurence Cole. It’s no secret Arum wanted Vasyl Lomachenko to set a record by capturing a world title in only his second professional fight. What a promotional gem that would have been. Concerning Cole, Arum had an ally in HBO blow-by-blow announcer Jim Lampley. Secure in his 26 year history of anchoring or co-hosting boxing, he threw his own low blow, but this time at Cole by describing him as dreadful. He then reminded viewers that Laurence’s father sits on the commission. Ouch!

So what’s all the fuss about? Well, Arum’s camp (and plenty of others) claim Orlando Salido didn’t fight fair, and referee Cole allowed him to get away with it. Heavens to mergatroyd! That’s a first. A fighter goes into his opponent’s backyard and gets jobbed. In this case, it’s a foreigner in a strange country. Sure, he will be taken care of. Boy, was he ever taken care of!

Another Short Notice Fight for Joey Abell, It’s a Big One in Tyson Fury

02/06/201402/05/2014 Paul Strauss

This is a late notice fight, scheduled to take place in London, Feb 15, so it doesn’t give Joey much time to prepare. Still, it’s like a late Christmas present, because Joey’s always had difficulty getting fights. Fighters need to fight to stay sharp. Those few times when Joey did get a shot at moving up, he just wasn’t ready. He’s always had the punch and decent skills, but he never had a chance to hone them. As a result, he lacks good defense and management of distance. As a result, he has come up short when those infrequent opportunities have presented themselves. His latest chance came in December (on short notice) against rising star Kubrat Pulev.

The fight took place in Germany, in front a big Pulev crowd. Pulev is a very good boxer with a big punch, but Joey did manage to drop him. Pulev retaliated with several hard body shots to TKO Joey. Those shots came from long range, and never should have landed. Normally Joey has the ability to avoid those type of shots, but he wasn’t sharp, physically or mentally, failed to step back or parry the shots away. As a result, Pulev had a heavy bag in front of him to tee off on.

Brawling Hurts the Sweet Science

02/03/201402/02/2014 Paul Strauss

“Gentlemen, come out fighting at the bell.” For years we’ve heard that or similar invitations made to two boxers, not two brawlers. When it’s the latter, the public is turned off and turns away from the sport. Ideally, brawling has no place in the sport; although, it’s always been there. In fact, some of boxing’s most popular and colorful boxers weren’t above fracturing a rule or ten. Guys like Harry Greb, Fritzie Zivic, Sandy Saddler, and Two Ton Tony Galento. The modern day list holds more than just a few. We won’t offend individuals by naming them. The truth is some of the best of our current crop of greats, such as Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Bernard Hopkins, and Andre Ward aren’t above cleverly using elbows, forearms, a glove behind the head pulling a man off balance, and the good old noggin. The difference is the men have many other skills to bring about a victory.

Two Rights Leave One Left Out – Collazo KOs Ortiz

01/31/201401/31/2014 Paul Strauss

Events at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY build up nicely for the shortened main event. First Gary “Mr” Russell, Jr. 24-0-0 (KO 14) proved he is better than most even when he’s not feeling well. He let that slip at the pre-fight meeting with the media. Any questions Fox Sports1 announcers Barry Tompkins, Paulie Malignaggi and Bernard Hopkins about how he would perform were quickly answered. Gary demonstrated he is deserving of serious consideration in the feather and super featherweight divisions by making short work of veteran Miguel “Yaqui” Tamyo. 15-8-2 (KO13) Russell gave up height and reach, but you wouldn’t know it.

He is so smooth and such a good manager of distance that he seems always to be in range, that and the fact that Yaqui cooperated as well. Unfortunately for him, it really didn’t matter whether he tried to be aggressive, either at short range or from a distance. For Gary, Yaqui was always within range. His speed, power and accuracy were just too much for Yaqui. He would try to block the shots and counter, but it was quickly apparent he was getting beat down.

Paquiao vs Bradley II – Who Learned More from the 1st Bout?

01/28/201401/27/2014 Paul Strauss

Rematches can be momentous or insignificant. The Zale vs Graziano II, Raging Bull vs Sugar Ray (all), or on the other hand the Brown Bomber vs. Conn II, or Marciano vs Jersey Joe II. You just never know. When it comes to Pacquiao vs Bradley II, it would seem fans will be treated to an exciting bout. Bradley is young, and Pacquiao recently demonstrated he can still box pretty well, and both have desire and determination to reach new heights, so it should be a good one.

Andre Ward, who is friends with Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley offered his opinion that Bradley will win because he wants it more. The only thing wrong with that is Andre doesn’t know how badly Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao wants it.

Mikey Garcia Lacks Charisma

01/26/2014 Paul Strauss

Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia 34-0-0 (KO 28) once again displayed excellent skills Saturday at MSG Theater when he dominated Juan Carlos Burgos 30-1-2 (KO 20) over twelve rounds to capture the WBO super featherweight. Burgos shook up Mikey once with a short left hook, causing Mikey’s legs to buckle, but he quickly regained control. Mikey was surprised more than he was hurt. Later he returned the favor by nailing Burgos with a hard shot. It affected Burgos enough to cause him take a more defensively minded mode, making it difficult for Mikey to catch up to him. As a result, the fight became much less exciting, causing fans to boo here and there.

Burgos wanted to use his height and reach advantage by staying out of Mikey’s range. Mikey tried to close in, but couldn’t land the clean combinations he needed to put Burgos away.

Pascal’s win over Bute leaves questions

01/20/201401/20/2014 Paul Strauss

Jean Pascal’s one-sided victory over Lucien Bute last Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada ended with questions, not about the scoring, but about the fighters themselves. The fight didn’t have the kind of excitement fight fans had hoped for. For years, Canadians wanted to see these two warriors meet. Sadly, the matchup came too late in their careers.

Pascal won by a wide margin, but considering the way Bute fought, it wasn’t much of an accomplishment. Bute didn’t rally until late. His effort lacked the drama of Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.’s knockdown rally against Sergio Martinez. Bute’s fans certainly were hoping for similar results. His late rally gave his fans a glimmer of hope. It appeared Pascal was reeling, maybe ready to go? Then he burst out of his defensive shell, and started ripping off his own looping shots, sapping the enthusiasm out of Bute fans.

ESPN2 FNF Ends With After the Bell KAYO

01/04/201401/04/2014 Paul Strauss

Something unusual occurred in the season premier of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. It occurred in the main event at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. It was almost musical. The end came with a thud. Watch the replay, and see if you can keep time with the two punches and bells that ended round two of the fight. First, watch undefeated Rances Barthelemy;s land a hard right to the head of 130 pound champ Argenis Mendez.

Then he ends things with a left hook land as the bell clangs a second time. The fight is over. Oops! Referee Pete Podgorski was out of position and failed to separate the fighters at the end of the round. Can you say appeal? The winner of course didn’t know what announcer Bernardo Osuna was talking about when Osuna asked in the post-fight interview about the infractions? Naturally, Rances was excited with his big win and capturing of the IBF super featherweight world title.

Adrien Broner – What to Expect Next?

12/23/2013 Paul Strauss

It’s no secret, many fans had their Christmas Wish come early when Adrien “Problem” Broner got his clock cleaned by Marcus Maidana in San Antonio, TX. Maidana fans licked their chops. They saw the cocky little clone of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. getting his comeuppance by finally facing a big puncher.

Pre-fight Broner laughed about Maidana being a threat. He wasn’t worried. In fact, he was extremely confident, or overly confident, some thought. He joked about not spouting as much trash talk as usual. He explained, the other guy doesn’t understand English, so what’s the point?

Maidana Knocks Broner Speechless

12/15/2013 Paul Strauss

(Photo credit: Hogan Photos) Awesome, amazing, impressive, just plain great. Those were the kind of adjectives flowing out of the mouths of fans at the Alamodome, San Antonio, TX. Showtime announcer Brian Kenny said it best when he expressed his astonishment at the trio of ringside announcers Mauro Ranallo, Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi concerning their score cards. Brian unabashedly scolded the three men for scoring the fight so closely. He, along with the judges, felt Marcus Rene Maidana clearly dominated the fight! Hooray for Brian!

Why? Brian opened the door to what many fans were thinking, and that was Adrien “The Problem” Broner was finally bewildered and made speechless. The usually vocal rogue scurried back to his dressing room.