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We return to the same venue, but this time under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom banner, who has once more delivered one of deepest undercards in recent British boxing memory in support of one of the most eagerly anticipated fights of the year.
Here we will take a look at the mouthwatering list assembled that has boxing fans licking their lips.
A trendy topic of conversation in boxing circles lately is whether Manny Pacquiao has retained his power as he has aged and ascended in weight. Some also wonder if his out-of-the-ring commitments to politics, music and basketball have re-shifted his priorities and zapped some of his natural boxing killer instinct. Let’s take a look at the compelling evidence from both sides of the argument in order to get to the heart of the matter before I share my personal opinion.
One glaring fact that stands out is that Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KO) has not scored a knockout win since his TKO victory over Miguel Cotto back in November 2009. That’s an eight-fight, five-year span in which nearly all his fights went the full twelve rounds, the lone exception of course being his December 2012 knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.
The place is Macau. A PPV perceived mismatch eerily similar to Manny’s last trip in China. Will Pacquiao pick up where he left off last November when he white-washed face-first mauler Brandon Rios? Or will the upstart Chris Algieri do the unthinkable halfway across the globe?
Bob Arum continues his eastern experiment establishing the sport we love to hate in the Communist Republic of China. Top Rank’s fearless leader is banking on the billion plus eyeballs he can attract to the tube and a live streaming PPV. Zou Shiming and Manny Pacquaio lead the charge of taken China by storm. The process has provided opportunities on the PPV undercard and more importantly given unheralded fighters an outlet to showcase their talents on HBO 2. All from the Venetian hotel and casino site-fee that fattens Bob’s bottom line.
Well, there are lots of reasons when added together sum up the better fighter. First of all, Manny has accomplished things that no other fighter ever has. He’s won more titles in more weight classes than any other fighter in history. In doing that, he has been in the “big show” many times. The pressure associated with it has already been experienced over and over, so it is no longer a distraction.
Delusional, that’s a word you’ll have heard regularly within the world of boxing in the modern era and one you will hear more and more as we approach a series of grudge matches that has lit a fire beneath British boxing that is likely to see the levels of bluster reach fever pitch. It’s a word that has always interested me, simply because despite its negative connotations it is such a crucial weapon in the armory of a professional fighter.
The manifestations of such behavior is of course dictated by an individuals personality, but believe me, to a man, every boxer, journeyman aside, have convinced themselves completely that they have the beating of their opponent. To me, the only difference between these assertions being considered delusion rather than belief is the manner in which you choose to state it. In an era when self-promotion is as important to a fighters earning potential as skill, delusion has become somewhat of an art form and three of its chief exponents will benefit in the coming weeks.
The congressman needs no introduction while Algieri came out of the blue for most fans. “Real Rocky” came to attention by outpointing “The Siberian Rocky” Ruslan Provodnikov by a controversial SD after Algieri was floored twice in the 1st round. This is the only big name in his record and based on his performance in that bout, Chris is in over his head with Pacman.
The audience at the O2 arena was roaring with excitement and there was huge support for the challenger Kubrat Pulev who was a visitor at Klitschko’s home turf. The valiant Pulev jumped right at Wladimir from the opening bell and tried to brawl with him at close at middle range. Klitschko did not back down and after some wrestling and jostling for position he found “the frequency” and exploited a big opening in Pulev’s defense.
Pulev kept his right hand up but too far forward inviting Wladimir to throw left hooks. Klitschko was cautious at first watching out for traps but tested the opening, connected and put Pulev down with a left hook in the first round. “The Cobra” rose quickly and went forward again making the same mistake and Klitschko repeated the exercise with the left hook knocking Pulev down for the second time. Pulev beat the count again and fought back at the champion who tried to finish him in the first round but the challenger survived somehow.
The time is now for Matthew Macklin. That final window of opportunity to realise his dreams of being crowned a world champion has opened in the form of a makeable fight with the winner the Matt Korobov/ Andy Lee WBO World Middleweight title fight in December.
There can be no mistakes from here on in.
This won’t be the first time the courageous Birmingham man has heard such assertions, but I have a feeling it will be the last should he fail to dispose of Jorge Sebastian Heiland on Saturday night in Dublin. Failure, however, is not something the 32 year old is entertaining, admitting openly this week that retirement beckons should the unthinkable happen.
In a recent interview with Wladimir Klitschko, the Ukrainian heavyweight champion has revealed that he is been annoyed with the way his future opponent Kubrat Pulev has been acting leading up to the fight. The Bulgarian challenger is slated to face Klitschko this coming Saturday in Hamburg, Germany.
It seems as though Pulev has been voicing his concerns more and more as the fight gets closer. This has been happening so much, that Wladimir Klitschko could only compare it to the barrage of issues that David Haye had when their fight was on the horizon.
Kubrat Pulev’s grievances with the way he is treated by Klitschko and company are piling up before their fight on Nov. 15 at the O2 Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Pulev had to wait for a long time for this opportunity and he saw the fight postponed once due to an injury Klitschko sustained. Ever since he brought the Olympic drug testing issue, the Bulgarian is treated as a ‘persona non grata” by K2 promotions. He had a hard time getting tickets for friends – he was treated as a regular customer and advised to order tickets on-line if he could find any.
Now Pulev is at a loss with the gloves for the fight. The gloves Klitschko favors were agreed upon and those are gloves manufactured specifically for Wladimir. “I can’t find the Klitschko gloves”, Pulev says, “those are the gloves Wladimir trains with, they are not available for sale on the market”. Klitschko apparently would not let him try his and “The Cobra” still has not tried on the gloves he is supposed to wear on fight night and he does not know how to wrap up his hands for these gloves. He compared the situation to “going into a Formula 1 race without knowing what kind of tires you will have on the car”.