Klitschko Outpoints Wach; Helenius Beats Williams

09/15/201611/10/2012 ESB

Klitschko Outpoints Wach; Helenius Beats Williams By Michael Collins: In a fight that was somewhat interesting to watch during portions of the action, IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50 KO’s) defeated a way out of his depth Mariusz Wach (27-1, 15 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous decision tonight at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany. The only round you could possibly give to the 32-year-old Wach was the 5th when he landed a good hand to the head of Wladimir after backing him up agaisnt the ropes.

Wach unloaded everything but the kitchen sink on Wladimir trying to get him out of there. Unfortunately for Wach, he missed on pretty much every punch he threw. Had he landed at least one of the dozen punches he threw he might have been able to drop Wladimir. After that brief moment in the fight, it was Wladimir from then as he upped his workrate and punished the Pole with jabs and right hands to the head.

The 8th round was one where you can argue that the referee should have stopped the fight because Wladimir smacked Wach around the ring at will and it was pretty hard to watch because of all the punishment that Wach absorbed.

Fans Witness Woefully Premature 2nd-Round Stoppage As Ovill McKenzie Stops Enzo Maccarinelli

09/15/201611/10/2012 ESB

By James Slater: Tonight in Liverpool, fans were settling into a fight that might well have developed into a most memorable slugfest. Instead, after the wholly unsatisfactory stoppage that took place in the 2nd-round, fans were left with an unforgettable TKO – one of the most shockingly premature you could wish to name.

Big-hitting Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli, he of the notoriously shaky chin, the recent failed drugs test and the run of bad luck as far as impressive performances go, was “saved from further punishment” by the usually more than capable Ian John-Lewis when he was pulled out in the 2nd of his battle with reigning Commonwealth light-heavy champ Ovill McKenzie. Stuck on the ropes “Big Macc” may have been at the time of the most controversial stoppage you will likely see all year, yet the former WBO cruiser king had just landed a right uppercut, was anticipating the blows coming from “The Upsetter,” and was, as he later stated in no uncertain terms, “riding the storm.”

McKenzie, the same age at 32, had got through with a notable right hand upstairs, followed by an even more noticeable left hand to the head, but John-Lewis’ decision to dive in was immediately judged to have been a result of “panic” (commentator John Rawling’s apt description). The fans instantly booed, Maccarinelli was outraged and the potential cracker was reduced to another black eye for boxing.

Gary Russell Jr. annihilates Roberto Castaneda in 3 rounds

09/15/201611/10/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: If we learned anything tonight at the Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino in Indio, California, Gary Russell Jr. (21-0, 13 KOs) is one bad dude and will more than likely become a world champion at either 126 or 130 pounds in 2013.

The talented Mr. Russell capped off a very special Olympic edition of “ShoBox: The Next Generation”, which featured the pro debut of five members of the 2012 American Olympic squad of the London Summer Games.

In an obvious “KO of the Year” candidate, the Featherweight sensation destroyed the valiant but outclassed Roberto Castaneda (20-3-1, 15 KOs) in just three rounds with a perfectly timed right hook to the jaw of the scheduled ten round main event of the evening.

The 2008 Olympian took his time breaking down his man, while dominating the action with sharp, crisp punches. Gary showed his class by frustrating Castaneda with speed and precision. He threw lightning fast combinations which scored to the body and head, and ultimately set up the finishing blow that landed in the third and final round.

Grachev: I only lost three or four rounds against Bute

09/15/201611/04/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: Former NABF light heavyweight champion Denis Grachev (12-1-1, 8 KO’s) was having a hard time coming to terms with his 12 round unanimous decision loss to former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) last Saturday night at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Candada. Grachev, 30, felt that he lost no more than four rounds at the most despite the fact that he was getting hit with the better shots and not doing enough against the defensive-minded Bute to win.

Grachev said after the fight as quoted by the Montrealgazette.com “The judges were unfair. Maybe I lost three or four rounds.”

I had Grachev winning three to four rounds, but I couldn’t give him 8 or 9 rounds without ignoring all the jabs and left uppercuts that Bute was nailing him with all throughout the fight. If you ignore Bute’s nice shots then you can give Grachev 9 rounds easy. However, that’s not how boxing is. It’s natural that Grachev isn’t happy about losing the fight, but he needs to sit down and watch the fight again to see how he failed to do the things he needed to do in order to win.

Froch sees Bute’s win against Grachev as a so-so performance

09/15/201611/04/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: Carl Froch thinks that Lucian Bute didn’t look great in beating Denis Grachev by a 12 round unanimous decision last night in Bute’s win in Montreal, Canada. But Froch believes that it was a situation where Bute needed any kind of win to get over the hump of his knockout loss to Froch last May.

Froch said to Sky Sports News: “Let’s be honest, it wasn’t the most impressive performance from Lucian Bute that I’ve ever seen. Bute didn’t really impress, but it was a comeback fight from a devastating defeat against myself, so what did people expect? He needed to find his feet again, find his confidence. I’m sure he’s done that. I think mentally he needed to get that fight in the bag.”

Bute actually didn’t look that bad. What was missing from the performance was of course a knockout for Bute. However, he was fighting a guy in Grachev that even Froch likely wouldn’t be able to KO. Grachev has a great chin and he doesn’t stand in one place and let you punch on him. He moves around and he’s a solid guy.

Arslan feels he was robbed in Huck fight

09/15/201611/04/2012 ESB

By Dwight Chittenden: Right now 42-year-old #8 WBO Firat Arslan (32-6-2, 21 KO’s) is feeling really upset about being on the losing end of a controversial 12 round unanimous decision against WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (35-2-1, 25 KO’s) last night at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Arslan fought well, landed the better punches in the fight, and had the crowd firmly behind him from start to finish. However, instead of being given the decision, Arslan was handed a nice big loss for all his trouble with the judges giving the frequently lucky Huck the win by the scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 117-111.

Arslan said this moments after the fight had ended “I’ve seldom landed so many clean punches and the only scuffed me. How can such a thing happen? I landed so many punches. I think the whole crowd believes I’m the winner. I’ve been robbed of my win. I would have been the new world champion today. I would have written history.”

Bute defeats Grachev; Green stops St Juste

09/15/201611/04/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: Former IBF super Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) had to really battle hard to defeat previously undefeated NABF light heavyweight champion Denis Grachev (12-1-1, 8 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Canada. The fight was a lot harder than what many boxing fans thought it was going to be and it was strange to see Bute struggling so badly against a fighter that didn’t look all that special. The judges scores were 115-113, 118-110 and 116-112.

This wasn’t the kind of performance that Bute was looking for to prove that he’s ready and capable of defeating IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch in their planned rematch in the first quarter of next year. Bute was hit often by the 30-year-old Russian and had problems getting out of the way of his shots. Bute made it easy for Grachev by constantly backing up to the ropes and trying to find one big shots.

Huck beats Arslan in unpopular decision

09/15/201611/03/2012 ESB

By Kevin Chittenden: Making his 10th defense of his World Boxing Organization cruiserweight title champion Marco Huck (35-2-1, 25 KO’s) took a real beating from challenger Firat Arslan (32-6-2, 21 KO’s) in successfully defending his belt by a 12 round unanimous decision tonight at the at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The judges scored it 115-113, 115-113, 117-111(!).

However, the decision was met with boos from the large crowd, many of which thought that the 42-year-old Arslan had done more than enough to deserve the decision. It’s hard to argue with that because Arslan landed the cleaner punches in virtually every round of the fight. He was snapping Huck’s head with uppercuts and had his nose swollen up and looking broken. Huck’s face was red from the many shots he absorbed in the fight.

Huck did throw a lot more punches but many of them were picked off on the gloves of Arslan, and the ones that did land had no affect on him. Arslan was never hurt and wasn’t slowed down in the least by Huck’s constant shots.

Gavin decisions Witter in boring fight

11/02/201211/01/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: 38-year-old Junior Witter (41-6-2, 22 KO’s) really showed his age tonight in losing his British welterweight title to the younger 26-year-old Frankie Gavin (14-0, 10 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous decision at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom. The judges scored it 117-112, 119-109 and 117-110. For all practical purposes, Witter stopped punching from the 4th and did next to nothing for the last eight rounds of the fight other than flicking jabs and annoyingly changing stances from orthodox to southpaw seemingly nonstop.

Rocky Juarez KOs Antonio Escalante in the 8th

09/15/201610/28/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron – On Saturday night at the historic Joe & Harry Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, fight veteran Rocky Juarez (29-10-1, 21 KOs) exorcised the boxing demons and proved that he could still compete at the world class level. After losing his last six fights, the eleven year fight veteran dazzled the crowd in attendance by closing the show in style with an eighth round KO against a very strong and hungry Antonio Escalante (27-5, 19 KOs).

Going into the fight, both fighters appeared to be traveling in different directions professionally. While Juarez hadn’t gained a victory since 2008, the fast rising Escalante had knocked out his last four opponents.

The opening round was a surprise to most at ringside, which saw the fearless Rocky Juarez uncharacteristically use lateral movement to set traps for the younger and stronger Escalante.