Sergey Kovalev TKO 2 Blake Caparello – business as usual

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There was no drama on Saturday night at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey when Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) chopped down Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (19-1-1, 6 KOs). Caparello was brave to even take the fight but offered very little in the way of return fire and skill against the overconfident Kovalev.

The Russian started the fight by rushing head on against his unpretentious opponent. The only notable thing about Caparello is that he is a southpaw and this required some adjustments to the fine-tuned automatic skills of his opponents. Kovalev did not seem to care about his opponent’s stance other than throwing straight right hands a little more frequently.

Caparello almost made a name for himself when he was credited with a knock down against Kovalev in the first round. The referee clearly made a mistake, Caparello did land a clean left hand on his foe but his lead foot was firmly set on Kovalev’s lead foot toes and tripped Kovalev off balance. The Russian went down but wasn’t hurt at all; he wasn’t even annoyed and did not make a fuss or challenge the referee’s call. He only “revved up” and the thuds of his shots became more audible. The knock down only expedited matters and brought controlled anger to Sergey’s actions.

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Wladimir Klitschko and Kubrat Pulev sell out the O2 Arena in Hamburg, Germany

Wladimir Klitschko and Kubrat Pulev sell out the O2 Arena in Hamburg, Germany

There are no more regular seats available for the IBF heavyweight title fight on Sep. 6 at the O2 World Hamburg. Kubrat Pulev said he tried to buy tickets for friends recently and he couldn’t, he contacted K2 promotions and found out he might find separate seats if he used a German IP address and checked regularly for availability. Those seats would be either lowest price that do not offer a good view or highest price (unreasonably expensive). Pulev himself was promised “one or two” free tickets, so he is not getting a lot of compliments from Klitschko and company.

The unbeaten Bulgarian knows he is a mandatory challenger per se, that is Wladimir Klitschko clearly does not want the fight and is only complying with an obligation. This is not a big money event for K2 while for Pulev this would be a career defining fight and his biggest payday. K2 promotions are handling the event and Kubrat Pulev is just a participant, and opponent that brings some intrigue and his 0 into the contest but not too much revenue.

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GGG – a modest definition of danger?

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Gennady Golovkin did not waste a move in obliterating Daniel Geale at the Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. There were no surprises and Golovkin fought the same fight he usually does and overpowered his terrified opponent.

There was a huge difference in the expressions and conduct of the rivals while Michael Buffer made the announcements. Golovkin was calm and collected, relaxed but focused; he exuded an aura of prime physical confidence and peace of mind. Geale on the other hand was nervous, restless and anxious and he needed to prance and jitter incessantly.

Golovkin has great technique and tactical savvy but he seemed to have no time for such fancy pleasantries once the fight started. He scrapped the jab in favor of a power left that easily turned into a hook and his right hands had no scoring intentions, they meant trouble. He did not even give Geale the respect of using proper boxing defense, GGG simply shrugged off Geale’s shots or walked through them undeterred. He responded in kind for every shot he took and there was a price to pay for hitting GGG. He did not revert to deep defense after he got tagged; he kept his eyes open and seizes his chance.

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Saul Alvarez vs Erislandy Lara – a politically correct split decision could be a fancy phrase for “plunder”

Saul Alvarez vs Erislandy Lara - a politically correct split decision could be a fancy phrase for "plunder”

A figure like Saul Alvarez is good for boxing because it unifies the most loyal and numerous fan base in boxing today. Mexican fans are a dream; they are faithful to their dear, hostile to the opposition and willing to spend their hard earned money on their favorite boxer. The industry depends on them as the greatest marketing force and the „macho” element in their culture makes them the perfect target group for boxing entertainment.

There has been no shortage of Mexican talent in the lighter divisions but boxing has seen better days. Canelo is what the fans depend on today and he could only hope he lives up to their expectations. Some day he might but he didn’t against Erislandy Lara. Alvarez was thoroughly outclassed by the Cuban ex-amateur standout and he should have lost that fight by at least a 6 point margin.

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Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez vs. Erislandy Lara – The Cuban school vs. the Mexican style?

Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez vs. Erislandy Lara – The Cuban school vs. the Mexican style?

This bout at the MGM Grand tonight is as good as it gets in terms of match-making. Despite the age difference of 8 years in Canelo’s favor both fighters are perceived as up-and-comers and Alvarez has a superstar status with his home crowd. Lara on the other hand is deprived of a loyal home fan base for obvious reasons and will hardly be the draw in the fight.

Saul Alvarez, 43(KO 31)-1-1 has more KOs on his record than Lara, 19(KO 12)-1-2, has fights but Lara brings a wealth of amateur boxing experience and comes across as the boxer of the duo. Erislandy is a typical exponent of the Cuban amateur school and brings most of the assets that have made Cuban boxing such an icon. He does have setbacks however – he does not punch his weight and sacrifices power for precision and timing. Most fans won’t forgive him going down twice against one Alfredo Angulo (I can’t) and his chin/punch resistance credibility will remain spurious for a long time. Otherwise he is brilliant technician who uses all defensive dimensions the way Alcides Sagarra taught him and he has tactical savvy and always seems in good shape. Being a slick rangy southpaw who sticks to long range makes him a very tough customer – he has only one loss against Paul Williams and it is highly controversial.

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Vasyl Lomachenko is back on track with a championship performance against Gary Russel Jr.

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Vasyl Lomachenko delivered handsomely on Saturday night as he dismantled a capable and game but hopelessly over-matched Gary Russell Jr. The fight lived up to the expectations to some extent as boxing logic triumphed but Russell was swamped by a superior force from the start and could not bring drama and glamor to the encounter. Vasyl Lomachenko is the new WBO featherweight champion and he is only the second boxer to win a title in his third prize fight.

Loma is making some progress with the judges’ attitude, they grudgingly gave him the nod (116:112, 116:112, 114:114-?!?). The even score produced by one of them would have been hilarious rather than mysterious….if it hadn’t been grotesque. The punch stats indicate Lomachenko out landed his opponent 183:83 overall. He also landed the harder shots and held the initiative although Garry Russell Jr. threw more and missed much more. Missing so much is the definition of punching yourself out – it tires you more than landing.

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Vasyl Lomachenko and Garry Russell Jr. battle it out for the vacant WBO featherweight title

Vasyl Lomachenko and Garry Russell Jr. battle it out for the vacant WBO featherweight title

(Picture credit: Hogan Photos) The championship fight will take place on Saturday night at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California (Showtime) and this will be Lomachenko’s second attempt at this trophy. He dropped a highly controversial decision last time out to the overweight veteran Orlando Salido who lost the title on the scales but was somehow fouled his way to an SD.

Garry Russel Jr. and Lomachenko are both slick southpaws who boxed all their lives. Both are trained by their fathers and both train in their fathers’ gyms. They bring a lot of boxing experience and expertise and the bout should be a feast for casual fans and pundits alike. Southpaws are awkward for everyone including for each other because the fight another southpaw as rarely as anyone and they are fine-tuned to fight orthodox opponents.

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Miguel Cotto dethrones Sergio Martinez by RTD 10 – a state of the art assault and battery

Miguel Cotto dethrones Sergio Martinez by RTD 10 – a state of the art assault and battery

This was a bright sunshiny day for boxing and the bout brought memories of the golden days of boxing – a sold out Garden, two gladiators without any “0s” to protect and seemingly free of corporate clog and Swiss bank restraint jackets.

Another great ingredient was the job done by the referee. If you didn’t catch his name or even notice him most of the time than he did a rare feat – he did his job right without even touching the boxers. The most impressive thing a referee can do is remain unobtrusive and unimposing. Michael Griffin set a very high standard and quietly outclassed noisy star referees who won’t stop hollering and physically engage the fighters with the risk of injury to all parties.

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Adonis Stevenson wins but gets brutally exposed by Andrzej Fonfara

Adonis Stevenson wins but gets brutally exposed by Andrzej Fonfara

(Photo Credit: Stephanie Trapp/SHOWTIME)Adonis Stevenson won via a UD on Saturday night against Andrzej Fonfara but lost credibility as “The Superman”. Perhaps he did enough to win beyond doubt and he knocked down Fonfara twice but he struggled in the second half of bout and went down himself.

Fonfara is an unheralded and light punching prize fighter but he has several years of high level amateur experience as a cadet. Amateur boxing usually instills good technique and steady skills through methodical coaching. Fonfara showed resilience and good form which helped him to survive the initial onslaught and stand his ground in the second half of the bout.

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Wladimir Klitschko: Kubrat Pulev is “too raw and green behind the ears”

Wladimir Klitschko: Kubrat Pulev is “too raw and green behind the ears”

Wladimir Klitschko has his sights set on Bermane Stiverne who emerged as the new WBC champion after he sent Cristobal Arreola home early last Saturday. Klitschko is craving to unify the championship and reclaim the trophy his big brother Vitali relinquished and there may not be anyone to stop him.

There are formalities he needs to deal with before the unification and one of them is Deontay Wilder’s WBC mandatory challenger position. Even Bermane Stiverne would be a huge step up in class for Wilder and the winner would eventually have to fight Wladimir Klitschko. Mandatory status or not, Deontay Wilder might do what is in his best interest – avoid Wlad and hope he hangs them up soon. His initial step aside demand was reportedly unreasonable but he has not ruled this option out. One would expect a confident KO machine to go for the title full throttle and treat any distractions with contempt but the heavyweight circus is on the road again.

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