A Measured Storm: Fury vs. Johnson

09/15/201612/04/2012 ESB

A Measured Storm: Fury vs. Johnson By Phenyo Molefe: Given Tyson Fury’s previous bouts, recent outbursts and the clear articulation of his goals; one would not be at fault to believe that we were about to witness Tyson unleash punishment on an ‘ill-prepared’ but proven Kevin Johnson. Tyson had to make a statement.

In the opening round, Fury jumped on Johnson with some jabs to the body not giving him sufficient time to find his footing. It looked like we were about to see a new and revised Fury as he presented movement and a variation of punches from all angles. He moved with improved fluidity, comfortably establishing his range and following through with some meaningful combinations.

The second round, begun with the near feverish pace with which Fury had ended the last round. Fuming with a blizzard, setting the jab on a stinger as he pelted Johnson’s body with little restraint. Johnson did have a little success when he pinned Tyson in the corner for a moment or two; however Fury replied with a pivot setting pressure back on Johnson with some telling hooks. He was definitely boxing well and grew in confidence, taking firm control of the bout.

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Canelo fans doubt “No Doubt”

09/15/201612/03/2012 ESB

by Paul Strauss: Despite the impressive win by WBA light middleweight champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout 26 (KO14)-0-0 over Miguel Angel “Junito” Cotto 37 (KO 30)-4-0 this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden, fans of WBC light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez‘ 41(KO 30)-0-1, who was ringside, are confident their red headed warrior will remove all doubt when he meets Trout. It’s likely this matchup will be made, because both fighters eagerly want to unify the title and become the universally recognized light (junior) middleweight champion of the world.

Austin has taken the nickname “No Doubt”, because having doubt implies fear. He trains and conditions his body, his mind and his spirit to remove all doubt. It comes as no surprise that Canelo fans also feel there is no cause for fear on their part, because they see Cinnamon as a fighter who has the needed tools to beat the slick boxing Trout.

The southpaw “No Doubt” beat Cotto by employing a steady, but not necessarily damaging, right jab. It was a jab that gave Cotto fits. He was forced to spend time and effort trying to avoid and work around it. It was a disruption, a gnat in the eye, an irritant, a distraction. It enabled Trout to sneak through with straight lefts to the body and head. It also disrupted Cotto’s rhythm and ability to get off with his shots.

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Austin “No Doubt” Trout: The best kept secret in boxing is revealed

09/15/201612/03/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: Last night at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, undefeated WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KOs) retained his title in decisive fashion by winning a wide unanimous decision over three division world champion and future Hall of Famer Miguel Angel Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs) with scores of 119-109 and 117-111 twice.

While many ringside pundits will argue that the judges’ verdict was a little wider than expected, most won’t dispute that the correct fighter won the highly publicized event.

Going into the bout, most casual fight fans weren’t familiar with the slick southpaw and were expecting a customarily clear and resolute victory for the Puerto Rican favorite in his favorite fight domain of Madison Square Garden. Although the Caguas warrior put forth a valiant effort, the experienced ring veteran couldn’t mount an effective assault against the crafty undefeated champion at any time during the twelve round match.

Now that the elite level cat is out of the boxing bag, will Austin reap the benefit of his dominant and decisive victory over one of the sport’s biggest names?

Not just yet.

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Austin Trout Shows His Mettle In The Garden As Cotto Falls Victim To The “Canelo Curse”

09/15/201612/02/2012 ESB

by Bradley Pearson, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: A subdued wave of anti-climactic reality clouded the historic Madison Square Garden Arena Saturday night, as the hostile pro-Cotto crowd witnessed what just might have been the sun setting on the career of their favourite son.

Three weight world champion Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KO’s) suffered his second consecutive defeat in the hands of spirited underdog Austin Trout, who retained his WBA light middleweight crown- along with his unblemished record. An ageing performance from the proud Puerto Rican gladiator, in which Trout’s (26-0, 14 KO’s) physical advantages appeared too big a task to overcome, punishing Cotto down the stretch of the fight. With the alias “No Doubt”, the American didn’t fold under the lights, repeatedly tagging Cotto with the straight left hand at will, while bullying his smaller opponent on the inside- earning what in the end was, a comfortable points decision. Despite having some early success, Cotto ultimately couldn’t find that extra gear we’ve become so accustomed to seeing; that saw him excel in previous bouts. As the fight matured, the defending champion was able to use his range well, keeping Miguel on the outside, even backing him up at times. Whilst surprisingly wide, the verdict was certainly a fair one- and one that was met with the expected rafters of boo’s from the army of Cotto fans.

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Trout defeats Cotto; Jacobs tops Fitzpatrick; Velez destroys Sanchez II

09/15/201612/01/2012 ESB

By Rob Smith, photo by Tom Casino/Showtime WBA World junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s) may have ruined Miguel Cotto’s big chance of fighting a huge money mega fight against WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez by beating Cotto by a decisive 12 round unanimous decision tonight at Madison Square Garden, in New York, New York, USA. The final judges’ scores were 117-111, 117-111, 119-109.

Trout might have lost out on a knockout in the 9th round when he hit Cotto with a perfectly legal body shot that had Cotto turning his backing away as if he was quitting. The referee gave Cotto a HUGE break by ruling it was a low blow when in fact it was right on the belt and perfectly legal. Cotto was clearly hurt by the shot and really should have knocked out.

Cotto couldn’t land his big shots during the fight, as he missed over and over again. It just looked like he was too small for the 5’10” Trout. When Cotto did land a nice shot, the crowd would roar with applause. However, this actually worked against Cotto because Trout would turn up the pressure on Cotto. It was this way the entire fight with Cotto landing a rare shot and then having to take 10 shots in return from Trout. Cotto was getting nailed with a lot of jabs, and he didn’t seem to have any way of getting out of the shots other than move around the ring. That’s what Cotto did in the second half of the fight. He was moving constantly and not fighting with the aggression that a challenger should be fighting with.

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Tyson Fury Wins Wide Decision Over Kevin Johnson In Dull Encounter

09/14/201612/01/2012 ESB

By James Slater: A penny for the thoughts of David Price!

Tonight in Belfast, Tyson Fury retained his unbeaten record in winning a wide yet dull points win over a safety-minded Kevin Johnson. Winning by scores of 119-110, 119-108, 119-108, 24-year-old Fury advanced to 20-0(14) and also moved a step closer to a shot at the WBC heavyweight crown currently held by Vitali Klitschko.

33-year-old Johnson, who promised so much beforehand but failed miserably in the delivery department, is now 28-3-1(13).

There was little action to speak of and tonight’s fight had no standout round. Fury boxed well at times, remaining focused and refusing to go wild at any point. Occasionally switching to southpaw, Fury jabbed well when he used his best weapon. Johnson, appearing to have no real ambition other than to hear the final bell, did get home with the odd jab of his own, as well as the even less frequent right hand.

Soon growing tired of the lack of action (and to be fair, Fury has never been in a stinker before tonight, and the lack of action has to be put firmly on Johnson’s wide shoulders), the crowd began booing in the middle rounds and by the 8th the boos were deafening.

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Austin “No Doubt” Trout fights with Faith, Hope, and Love in his corner

09/15/201612/01/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime – Corinthians 13:13 – “And now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love; But the greatest of these is Love” (New American Standard Bible, 1995)

In the hard sport of boxing, less than one percent of the entire populous of prizefighters are ever given an opportunity to compete for the brass ring on its biggest stage. Love of the fight game is crucial, but passion alone simply isn’t enough to reach the sport’s highest pinnacle. Countless hours of dedication to the craft, driven by a resolute belief in oneself has proven to be a time tested recipe for success in the squared circle.

On Saturday, December 1st, a 27 year old fighter from Las Cruces, New Mexico will receive his time to shine at the “Mecca of Boxing”, New York City’s world renowned Madison Square Garden, when he faces his greatest challenge to date.

WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout will defend his title against ring veteran and three division world champion Miguel Angel Cotto this weekend in the main event of a Showtime televised fight card.

While most casual fight fans and mainstream sports enthusiasts will view the slick southpaw as a relative unknown going into the highly anticipated contest, the El Paso, Texas born boxer is anything but an overnight success story. The dream of eventual super stardom began to gestate within the unheralded fighter at an early age.

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Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout: Gogue’s big fight preview

09/15/201612/01/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron, photo: Tom Casino / Showtime: Tonight from Madison Square Garden in New York City, three division world champion Miguel Angel Cotto (37-3, 30 KOs) will challenge undefeated Austin “No Doubt” Trout (25-0, 14 KOs) for his WBA Junior Middleweight Championship.

While the big event is nothing new to a proven fight veteran like the Puerto Rican favorite, the highly anticipated match-up will be Trout’s first trip to the big dance.

Expert trainer James Gogue, of “The Pugilist KOrner’s: Weekend Wrap”, analyzes this terrific pairing, which is slated to air on Showtime Championship Boxing at 9PM EST/PST.

“First of all, every time Miguel Cotto fights at the Garden it always turns into a huge event,” states the 29 year veteran fight trainer. “Cotto is a legitimate star in boxing and his bouts aren’t just fights to his fans…they’re big time events.”

“I had the privilege of featuring one of my fighters on the undercard of the Cotto/Clottey bout in 2009, and over 22 thousand screaming Puerto Rican fans showed up to support their favorite fighter. It was a very festive atmosphere, but it can create a lot of problems for any young fighter if they’re not fully prepared to handle the pressures of performing on that level.”

Although it’s easy to notice the disparity in big fight experience between tonight’s competing fighters, the talented fight trainer does recognize the fight attributes of the current WBA Junior Middleweight Champ.

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Sergio Martinez to face Martin Murray on 4/27 in Argentina

09/14/201611/30/2012 ESB

By Andy Brooks: WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KO’s) will be slipping in what amounts to being a stay busy fight against #3 WBC Martin Murray (25-0-1, 11 KO’s) in Argentina on April 27th. Martinez, who is coming off of knee surgery, can’t fight an immediate rematch with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. during that early part of the year because the chances are high that Chavez Jr. will be under suspension for his marijuana violation.

A rematch with Chavez Jr. will be taking place on September 14th, according to RingTV. So instead of that fight, Martinez will stay busy with the Murray bout. The fight will likely be good enough to satisfy HBO given Murray’s unbeaten record, and his good performance in his fight with former WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm last year.

However, it’s not a fight that will interest boxing fans because few of them have heard of Murray in the U.S other than hardcore fans. British boxing fans will likely the idea of Murray facing Martinez, but those are likely the only ones. If Martinez isn’t fighting Chavez Jr, fans want to see Martinez fight Gennady Golovkin, Peter Quillin or Daniel Geale. Those are interesting fights for Martinez, and you can’t blame fans for preferring to see Martinez against one of them rather than the little known fighter Murray.

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Ariza: Pacquiao always looks good in training camp, but then falls apart against Marquez in the fights

09/15/201611/29/2012 ESB

By Rob Smith: Manny Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza thinks Pacquiao is looking really good in his training camp for his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez next month on December 8th. However, Ariza doesn’t see that as having a real meaning because he’s seen how Pacquiao looks good in training and then struggles when he gets in the ring with Marquez.

Ariza said to the Boxing Channel “I think Manny always looks good in camp, but then it comes to fight night, he falls apart.”

Roach needs to change Pacquiao’s game around to make his fighting style a little less predictable because Marquez has said that he knows what Pacquiao is going to do in the ring. Pacquiao does the same things over and over again, and that is part of his problem in his fights against Marquez.

Ariza says that Pacquiao isn’t following the old strength and conditioning program that Ariza had for him in the past when Pacquiao was at his best. Pacquiao stopped following the program after his win over Miguel Cotto in 2009, and since then he’s stepped back and not had the full program.

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