Petrov Shows Adams How It’s Done

05/27/201405/24/2014 Paul Strauss

The finals for Friday Night Fights got their schedule for Boxcino finals got turned around. It should have had the lightweight finals first, instead of the middleweights. That way middleweight finalist Brandon Adam could have learned what his game plan should have been against the taller Willie Monroe, Jr.

It’s one thing to think you have a clear mental picture of what should be done, but it’s even better to see it done before your own eyes. Petrov could have been a visual aid, provided in graphic detail of how it’s done, meaning Lesson 101 “How to beat a taller man”.

The shorter Petrov got his jab going, mainly to Carcamo’s body. He used good head movement, side to side, up and down, coupled with movement at the waist. He quickly escalated the action by throwing combinations, beating to the punch Carcamo’s efforts to counter. Petrov wisely moved to his left, away from the southpaw Carcamo’s power left hand. He continually used inside angles by stepping around Carcarmo, requiring Carcamo to reset. For Carcamo, it was like being able to load the gun, but unable to pull the trigger, because the target kept moving.

Is Harold Right? Referees Pay No Attention

05/19/2014 Paul Strauss

HBO’s unofficial scorer, and celebrated long time judge and analyst, Harold Lederman made a valid point this past saturday night during the PPV bout between Viktor Postol (26-0, 11 KO’s) and Selcuk Aydin (26-3, 19 KO’s). During the bout, held at the Forum, Inglewood, CA, Harold made what would seem to be a legitimate, valid point.

He spelled things out, explaining that all too often tall fighters illegally use their extended lead hand as a “range finder”. The situation presented itself saturday night when the taller man, Postol, started using his extended left as a range finder for his power punch, the right. Specifically, he held his extended left out in such a way that it would not only obstruct Aydin’s vision, it would also act as a similar instrument used with a gun for estimating the distance to Aydin’s head. In this case, the projectile was Postol’s power loaded right.

Marquez Sizzles and Pops in Win over Alvarado

05/18/201405/18/2014 Paul Strauss

Forty year old Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez’ (JMM) combinations were sharp and fast. His punches hissed through the air and then crackled when they reached their target. To Mike “Mile High” Alvarado, they must have sounded like the ear popping you hear and feel with a change of altitude.

Early on both men seemed overly cautious, as though they were determined not to provide counter punch opportunities. JMM was first to explore things. He poked and prodded a bit, and when there was no retaliation, he cranked things up a bit. Mike remained in the cautious stage. The problem with that strategy was he was losing rounds, because JMM is not only a great counter puncher, he’s also pretty damn good at leading too. As soon as JMM realized Mike wasn’t going to return his shots, he naturally picked up the pace. Mike kept his gloves up tight in defensive mode, but that wasn’t enough. Mike found out the hard way that there’s too much area to cover when JMM is throwing.

Stiverne Proves 1st Win No Fluke – Stops Arreola in 6th

05/11/2014 Paul Strauss

(Photo credit: Tiffany Lam) Bermane “B Ware” Stiverne’s 24-1-1 (21KO) toughest task saturday night at USC Galen Center, Los Angeles, California seemed to be getting off the canvas himself. He put himself there collapsing, completely overjoyed with his 6th round stoppage of Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola 36-4-0 (31KO). The end came at 2:02 of the 6th round, when referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight.

The end came abruptly. Arreola had been doing a good job, winning rounds by being busier. Arreola was rocked in the early rounds by a left hook, but that seemed to wake him up, so he was a bit more cautious. But, it didn’t stop the ongoing chatter between the two. At one point, Chris smiled and raised his eyebrows in a gesture of confidence. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Wins Battle With Marcos Maidana

05/05/2014 Paul Strauss

Marcos Rene “El Chino” Maidana might not have been the best opponent Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. has ever faced, but he certainly proved to be his toughest. Often times that is said about Maidana. His awkward style turns fights into armed conflicts. He throws buzz bombs, rockets, and mortar shots. His overhand right is the most fun to watch. It should be called an overhead right, because It resembles a mortar round. It travels high up and over, and then bombs away as it decends. If Money or TBE, as he now prefers, would have pulled back from that punch saturday night at the MGM Grand, there would have been an explosion, and his first defeat might have resulted. Instead, TBE intelligently stayed inside the punch, so at worst it would carom off the back of his dome or just whiz by.

Maidana doesn’t have the power but maybe he has the style to beat Money

04/17/201404/17/2014 Paul Strauss

(Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime) Marcos “El Chino” Maidana is an underdog, a big bowser in his matchup with Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. Those who are trying to justify a bet on the Argentinian, bank on his punching power. When he clobbers guys, they go down. The key, of course, is the knuckle buster has to land, and It’s doubtful that will be the case come May 3rd.

After all it wasn’t enough against Devon Alexander, Amir Khan and Andreas Kotelnik. His followers might be putting too much importance on his win over Adrien Broner, because Broner’s style is like a poor man’s Money.

Here’s the Real Skinny – Pacman Must Go Beyond Bradley’s 1st Move

04/12/201404/12/2014 Paul Strauss

Boxing writers and analyst base their predictions for tonight’s rematch on the first fight and subsequent fights. As true with all prognosticators, they manipulate the facts to support their pick, not unlike students writing a position paper. They don’t lie, but they often times emphasize something beyond its real importance. Their goal is to make a persuasive, logical argument that if A is true, then it follows B must be true as well.

As a result, we end up with two seemingly valid arguments. Which one is correct. Or, are both correct? Fans of either fighter have no problem lining up with their fighter’s side. They obviously don’t need much convincing. But, what about the group that has not been influenced by personal feelings? They look at what’s been said, and are confused, because both sides have provided relevant points.

Methodical Kovalev stops Agnew; Dulorme outpoints Mayfield

03/31/201403/30/2014 Paul Strauss

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev 24-0-1 (22KOs) was single minded in his attack on Cedric Agnew 26-1-0 (13KOs) Saturday night at the Ballroom Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J. There was no feeling out period for him. At the opening bell he quickly closed in on his foe, and with the first punch of the fight he threw a right hand to the body. Agnew knew he was in for a hard night.

Early on in the fight, Agnew had opportunities to fold up. He was tagged with some very hard shots, but he refused to go out easily. He kept a tight defense, and when possible, he threw counter shots. His pre-fight plan was to keep moving just enough to stay as problem free as he could. He was very selective with his counter punches, throwing enough to keep Kovalev thinking twice about just rushing in for the kill.

Juanma TKOs Ponce De Leon; Wilder kayos Scott; Garcia beats Herrera

03/16/201403/16/2014 Paul Strauss

The first of several Showtime bouts was short, but exciting. Approximately six years ago Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez destroyed Daniel Ponce De Leon in one round. The win propelled Juanma to the top of his division. Ponce De Leon had to fight hard to regain his position at the top level of the division. Saturday the two met again.

This time both had grown into junior lightweights, and neither was young or up and coming phenoms. Rather, both men were fighting to extend their careers be serious title contenders. The question was who had the most left?

The first round was very cautious, so much so smatterings of boos could be heard from the Puerto Rican Crowd. The round was a difficult one to score. Ponce de Leon pressed the action in the second, trying hard to protect himself from southpaw JuanMa’s powerful right hook, the punch that was responsible for his kayo loss in their first bout. It seemed like he had learned how to get under it, or block it.

Tony Weeks Was Story – Angulo Should Be

03/13/2014 Paul Strauss

Referee Tony Weeks took a lot of flak after rescuing Alfredo “Perro” Angulo from further damage at the hands of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Weeks halted things in the tenth, signifying that Alfredo had taken too much punishment. Some, including Angulo and his trainer were upset. They felt referee Weeks saw Angulo take one punch, a hard uppercut, and made a snap decision to stop the contest. Weeks explained his was not a hasty decision.

He had already consulted with the ringside physician, and listened in on the conversations in Angulo’s corner, in addition to what he was closely watching over nine punishing rounds. Good referees always weigh important questions before stopping a fight. If they come up with negatives for important questions such as: Is the fighter defending himself (fighting back)? Is the fighter taking (high#) hard, clean power punches?