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Now Who’s The Best American Heavyweight?

003WildervictoryIMG_3358Which fighter has the best chance of bringing at least a slice of the heavyweight title back to America, the country that once all but owned the belts for decade after decade?

Last night, in utterly destroying the rusty yet experienced Serhei Liakhovich in one chilling round with one chilling right hand (if the former WBO champ’s face didn’t tell the story, his quivering limbs sure did!), unbeaten 27-year-old Deontay Wilder made some people believe in him and his title hopes a little more.

Wilder, 29-0(29) isn’t the finished article yet but his punching ability certainly is noteworthy. But is Wilder the best American heavyweight out there today?

Here are the best US big men on the scene right now:

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Q & A: Jerry Odom – fighting 6th pro fight September 13 at Newark’s Robert Treat Hotel

jerryodomFast rising prospect Jerry “The King’s Son “Odom took time to give an exclusive interview to Fightnews. The 20 year old from Bowie, Maryland has had five fights since his pro debut in October 2012. In a manner reminiscent of young Mike Tyson’s early rise all five have ended within the first round. Total ring time in five fights being 6 minutes 23 seconds. Odom has risen from a troubled youth in the Paradise projects of Washington D.C. to a Golden Gloves champion. At 14, he stood in a D.C. courtroom in front of a judge he knew was tired of seeing him. It was Jerry’s third time there. . The youngster was looking at serious time. His uncle proposed a last-ditch solution: He would take Jerry. Ken Williams, a home builder, asked the judge to let Jerry live with him and his parents in Bowie. It is in this environment that Jerry received the opportunity to turn his life around. He has fully grasped this opportunity. The super middleweight has drawn a lot of attention from community for his natural knockout punching power. He has recently signed with GH3 Promotions and is scheduled to fight September 13th at Newark’s Robert Treat Hotel in his first bout outside of the D.C. area.

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Keith “One Time” Thurman: Tale of the “Light-Skinned” Dark Horse

thurman4Only a few weeks ago, welterweight Keith Thurman stepped into the ring against a contender who few had heard of, and even fewer had actually seen. Those hardcore fight fans in the game knew that it could be an interesting night, as the scouting report on underdog Diego Gabriel Chaves was that he’s under the radar, but above the rim. Although Chaves entered the night as the relative unknown commodity, to some, Thurman wasn’t exactly popular, himself. Sitting in front of a flat screen TV in a house filled with fight fans ready for some action, I can recall hearing one young lady ask “who’s the light-skinned guy with the long hair”?

A few rounds, several power shots, and a bloody nose later, she made a conscious effort to remember his name, as Thurman gutted his way to an effort she would make a conscious effort to remember. Stepping in the shoes of that young lady for a moment, we ponder the question out loud: “WHO IS KEITH THURMAN”? In the world of Boxing you have pretenders and contenders. In many ways he has shown enough ability to escape the “pretender” tag. But has he truly established himself as a “contender” in one of the sports deeper divisions? What makes the Thurman project such an interesting one is that he appears to have all the tools to do so. 19KO’s in 21 fights is an indelible print left in the minds of both fans and future opponents. Trouble is, practically all of those KO’s came against unproven talents.

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Pacquiao And Rios Disagree On Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Is Shane Mosley over the hill or is he still capable of fighting?

Is Manny Pacquiao still the same fighter that he was before being knocked out by Marquez?

Does Floyd Mayweather Jr. run or fight?

To all the above mentioned questions, as well as any other similar ones, there will always be as many opinions as there are people discussing them. For instance, in the recent video discussion with Pacquiao and Rios posted by ESPN, both fighters disagree on how Mayweather Jr. fights.

“His style and my style if you look at it, he has an advantage because he always keeps running and not fighting,” stated Pacquiao.

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Froch vs Groves: Brutality vs Stealth

froch545445In terms of boxing, what can be said of Carl Froch? He’s not just ‘as tough as they come’, he’s tougher. He’s the epitome of resolve. He’s a vicious and hurtful puncher. He’s hugely experienced at the highest levels of boxing. He’s a very serious risk to any fighter in the world at any given moment in a fight, regardless of whether it’s the first round or the twelfth. He’s a world champion boxer. How could one argue over these statements when the world witnesses the aforementioned whenever Carl steps into a ring? It’s fact, Carl Froch is a resilient, hard-hitting world champion.

What of George Groves? He’s got power. He can box and move with skill and grace. He’s gathering experience and maturing as a fighter. He’s beating everyone that’s put in front of him, he remains undefeated, and, according to the world boxing organisations, has worked his way up through the ranks with only Carl Froch to beat in order to claim the ‘numero uno’ spot. It too is fact that George Groves is a slick, undefeated boxer with power in his punch, and is in possession of the right to challenge for a world title.

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“Colonel” Bob Sheridan Says The Klitschkos “Need David Tua”

tua432323As fans will possibly be aware, heavyweight powerhouse David Tua, arguably one of the best fighters never to have captured a major title, will be back in action later this month, when the 40-year-old will tangle with Russian giant Alexander Ustinov.

The fight, a big deal in New Zealand like all of Tua’s fights, will mark “The Tuaman’s” first ring appearance for two years (his rematch loss to Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett) and the Samoan slugger’s fans are hoping their hero can launch one last assault on the heavyweight championship of the world.

I’ve always been a fan of Tua, since he burst onto the scene with his chilling destruction of John Ruiz. And I do think that a prime Tua – say the wrecking machine that ruined Ruiz and went to war with the could-have-been-great Ike Ibeabuchi – would have given Wladimir Klitschko a fierce argument.

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Left-Hook Lounge: Mayweather/Pacquiao Demands, Khan/Alexander Riff, & Adrien Broner!!!

mayweather2256Byron M. (Tacoma, WA): Please tell me that Mayweather is joking about Pacquiao having to sign with Mayweather Promotions in order to secure a fight with him in the future! What is that about?

Vivek W. (ESB): I think the comments as printed were blown out of context. I’d be the first to say that Mayweather absolutely meant what he said. But the actual purpose behind the statement was never defined through the media source that initially reported, which made it appear that Mayweather was just doing what some feel Mayweather always does (talk). There appears to be a major disconnect relative to what he meant by this statement, so I think it can only help to add clarity.

In a nutshell, what it all comes down to is the fact that Mayweather, without question stands as the bigger draw. Once upon a time there may have been a debate. But right now, unequivocally, there are no questions. Without needing to elaborate much further, ask yourself this: why would Floyd – (who clearly feels he should get the lions share of the entire promotion) – take the bigger portion of the fight purse, yet concede the lions share of the promotional element of the purse (which isn’t small)?

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Gennady Golovkin-Curtis Stevens: Get Ready For A BANG!

stevens1As fans may have read, middleweight ruler (begging the pardon of Sergio Martinez) Gennady Golovkin is shopping around for a November challenger, with a December fight also pencilled in. Currently one of the hottest fighters/champions/out and out punchers in boxing, “GGG” has fans salivating for more pure punching action.

Fresh off his hugely impressive body punch KO over the experienced Matthew Macklin, the WBA/IBO 160-pound king wants to close 2013 with two more highlight reel wins. As to who his November foe might be, well, Curtis Stevens scored a sizzling highlight reel KO of his own last night in Connecticut, in wrecking Saul Roman in the opening round of a fight that contested the vacant NABF middleweight belt.

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Chris Arreola: A “Nightmare” Of A Fight For Seth Mitchell?

arreola56445You’ve got to hand it to former football player Seth Mitchell. The once-beaten 31-year-old had limited amateur experience and “Mayhem,” as the Brandywine slugger is known, has not found the transition from the field to the ring to be a natural one. But whatever shortcomings Mitchell has as a fighter – and his critics maintain they are plenty – the 26-1-1(19) contender makes up for them, or almost makes up for them, with sheer heart.

Mitchell is not blessed with a good chin, and he appears lost and unsure what to do when hurt (see his stoppage loss to Johnathon Banks and the early going of the return), but he is making the most of his boxing career. By even taking the revenge win over Banks – a fight that resulted in Banks seeming totally disinterested in capitalising on the early, near fight-ending success he had – Mitchell showed he is game, and his next fight, an almost-made match-up with the vastly experienced Chris Arreola, further proves Mitchell is willing to take risks. But is a fight with Arreola, 35-3(30) too much of a risk for Mitchell?

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