Tonight in Sheffield, in a great, incredibly fast-paced action fight, George Groves became a world champion at the fourth time of asking, stopping a very tough and game Fedor Chudinov in the 6th round. Groves really did hit Chudinov with absolutely everything in the 6th, giving the referee no choice but to dive in and call a halt.
The official time was 1:14 of the sixth and Groves improved to 26-3(19). Russia’s Chudinov, in being stopped for the first time as a pro, is now 14-2(10).
Tonight on the big Sheffield bill, Jamaica’s Lenroy Thomas boxed his way to a very close, even debatable 12 round split decision win over crowd favourite David Allen. Winning by scores of 115-114 twice, the third judge scoring it 115-113 for Allen, Thomas won the vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title.
Now 21-4(10) the 32 year old southpaw boxed on the backfoot throughout, using his nice right jab as well as his sharp counter punching skills. Allen, now 11-2-1(8) was fighting his usual trundle-forward fight, forcing Thomas to work hard and a good number of people – Sky Sports pundit Carl Froch included – felt the 25 year old did more work and was deserving of the verdict.
Amir Khan has arrived in Sheffield, a guest pundit for Sky Sports, and the former 140 pound king has said he gives a slight edge to his countryman and possible future rival Kell Brook over Errol Spence Junior. Khan, when asked who he wanted to win tonight, answered Brook.
Khan said he sees Brook winning “a very tough fight,” and that if he does so, he could then fight the IBF welterweight champ in what would be a huge British super-fight. But does Khan really, truly want to fight Brook? This question has been asked now for a few years, and still we have no definitive answer. Brook definitely wants the fight, calling “Queen” Khan out so many times as he has done. But for whatever reason or reasons, Khan has not agreed to terms and signed on for the fight.
A very fine, take no prisoners welterweight who never once looked to pick and choose his opposition, the late, great Vernon Forrest more than made his mark on the sport despite his shocking and untimely passing.
Forrest, a superb amateur, was so good that twice, with both men in their prime, he beat – and beat up – Sugar Shane Mosley. These two had met at amateur level, yet despite his Sugar, Mosley never was able to get to grips with Forrest’s poison. Fast, dangerously powerful and in possession of a great chin, Forrest could have been a superstar. He wasn’t, in large part due to how one man avoided him: Floyd Mayweather Junior.
We have, as all fight fans are fully aware, one big, hugely intriguing and potentially explosive welterweight title fight tomorrow night in The Steel City, Sheffield. In the Kell Brook-Errol Spence clash we also have a genuine 50-50 fight. Who will win – defending IBF champ Brook, or unbeaten mandatory challenger Spence?
Again, it’s a tough one.
Southpaw sensation Spence has been groomed for stardom, with many sage observers predicting superstar status. Indeed, thus far in his exciting and impressive pro career, Spence has pretty much shown it all. Pretty much. The one big question mark next to any up and coming fighter resides right bang next to his chin. Can the speedy Spence take a hard shot if he has to do so? Chances are good we will get an answer tomorrow evening.
Envoking as it has, the great superfights of the 1980s, when The Four Kings – Leonard, Hearns, Duran and Hagler – led the way, this September’s Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez clash has one enormous load of expectation attached to it. Perhaps too much for the middleweight title showdown to possibly deliver?
We’ve seen “can’t miss” classics fizzle out before our very eyes a number of times; far more so than we’ve been treated to what we always want from a fight:blood, guts, knockdowns and or trading and finally a KO. But what will we get when GGG and Canelo collide?
As fight fans have surely read by now, super vocal former heavyweight champ Shannon Briggs failed a recent pre-fight drugs test; the coming up positive ruining the 45 year old’s spurious WBA “world ” title chance of a lifetime against fellow veteran Fres Oquendo.
This title bout, though much maligned, would likely have seen to it that Briggs would win a slice of a belt; possibly getting himself into position for bigger fights down the road – and of course in line for one last big payday before the “Let’s Go Champ” chants would fall silent. But now, his career and reputation in dire straights, Briggs’ fighting days may have come to an end. Sans the last big pay day.
It’s a fight that could happen this summer (although it is also possible Wilder could fight Wladimir Klitschko ) and fans would certainly tune in to see a heavyweight unification bout between Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker.
Wilder, the reigning WBC champ and unbeaten, has called out Parker, the WBO ruler and also unbeaten, a few times, and going by Parker’s recent fight – a points win over unheralded Razvan Cojanu, it’s easy to see why.
Recently, the great, the immortal, the legendary ( and also the most down to earth boxing superstar one could wish to meet) Roberto Duran paid a visit to this writer’s home town. Duran, for many millions of fans, THE greatest living fighter (above Ring Magazine’s recent choice for the honour; Sugar Ray Leonard ) dropped in at Henry Wharton’s gym in York.
Both electrifying fighters in their prime, Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa and Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez seemed to have superstar status ahead of them. Both men managed to win a world championship – in fact both fighters won a couple of belts each – but overall the lofty heights that were expected were never reached.
Today, with both fighters trying to fight on whilst being way past their best (Gamboa recently suffering a shock stoppage defeat at the hands of Robinson Castellanos, “Juanma” having suffered a number of especially gruesome KO defeats) there is a big sense of ‘what if?’