Month: May 2014

Carl Froch: The best of “The Cobra”

Carl Froch: The best of “The Cobra”

Britain is currently bracing itself for one of the biggest fights ever to be staged on these shores, with excitement levels soaring and soaring ahead of Saturday night’s huge rematch showdown between bitter super-middleweight rivals Carl Froch and George Groves.

Indicative of how big a deal this fight is and of how the return meeting has captured the imagination of the British public is the way the man on the street is almost constantly talking about the outcome. Seen by just about everybody as a 50-50 fight, some people are making an argument for a Froch win, with just as many fans making case for a Groves win.

Everything is on the line for both warriors, and we can expect something special for the £17.99 we must part with so as to tune in live on Sky Box Office.

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Why Juan Manuel Marquez should avoid a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao

Why Juan Manuel Marquez should avoid a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao

When two fighters, who are almost evenly matched, fight multiple times, the outcome of each bout eventually becomes subject to the law of probabilities. In other words, the more times the combatants fight, the greater each one’s chance of losing – or winning.

Applying this same law to Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, if they fought 10 times, they would probably win five fights each, on average, minus of course the controversial decisions from the judges. Now, after four fights, the question is, when is enough enough? After such a sensational ending to the fourth fight, an unbiased person would assume that the story has finally ended. Game over. Marquez finally silenced his critics.

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WBA Champion Braehmer wants to charge Bolonti with heavy bill on June 7

WBA Champion Braehmer wants to charge Bolonti with heavy bill on June 7

Juergen Braehmer (43-2, 32 KOs) brings the WBA World Championship to his hometown! Schwerin, Germany will host the 35-year-old’s next title defense against even-aged challenger Roberto Bolonti (35-2, 24 KOs) on June 7. The Argentinian already provoked the defending champion in the run-up to their fight. In the following Q&A, you can read Braehmer’s verbal counter as well as his future plans inside the ring.

Juergen, you last defended your world title in early April. About two months later, you are going to put it on the line again. Is the short break between fights a problem for you?

Juergen Braehmer: No, not at all. I see it more as an advantage to me. After enjoying a few days off, I went back into the gym after the Easter holidays. I did not start at zero and therefore I could lay my concentration more on technique and tactics.

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R.I.P Matthew Saad Muhammad – 1954-2014

R.I.P Matthew Saad Muhammad - 1954-2014

In sad news, it has been reported how Matthew Saad Muhammad, the former light-heavyweight king from the 1980s, yesterday passed away in hospital in his hometown of Philadelphia from unknown causes. Saad was just 59-years-old.

An absolute warrior in every sense of the word, Saad – born Matthew Franklin but changing his name for religious reasons in the ‘80’s – was known for taking unbelievable punishment in fights and somehow coming back to win. Turning pro in January of 1974 at the Spectrum in Philly, Saad would go on to capture the NABF 175-pound title with a 1977 stoppage win over Marvin Johnson (these two would meet again). In April of 1979, in Indianapolis, Saad TKO’d Johnson in the 8th to win the WBC crown. A number of thrillers already on his resume, Matthew would engage in plenty more.

His wars with Johnson, Yaqui Lopez and Dwight Muhammad Qawi are legendary, even if Saad was past his best a by the time of his first rumble with Qawi. Losing the WBC title to Qawi after having made eight retentions, Saad wasn’t ready to quit. Sadly boxing on way too long, losing a return to Qawi, again by stoppage, Matthew would lose 11 further bouts before finally hanging ‘em up at the age of 47 in 1992. Nothing can ever take away from Muhammad’s epic battles however.

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Who next for Adonis Stevenson? “Superman” could be in trouble if it’s Hopkins, Kovalev

Who next for Adonis Stevenson? “Superman” could be in trouble if it’s Hopkins, Kovalev

Before we get into who and what might be next for WBC light-heavyweight ruler Adonis Stevenson, a few words simply have to be written in tribute to the unearthly toughness, grit and determination of Andrzej Fonfara. Last night in Canada, the Polish warrior put on a display of guts and character that at times staggered belief.

We all know how heavy a hitter Stevenson is, yet Fonfara, although hurt multiple times, to the body especially, refused to be taken out. Also refusing to quit when he had a number of occasions when he could have waved the white flag and not had it held against him, the 26-year-old instead gave us a graphic example of how mentally and physically strong boxers often are.

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Groves: Froch will be getting a beating from me

Groves: Froch will be getting a beating from me

George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) plans on giving IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s) a royal beating in the process of ripping his two 168lb title straps from him on Saturday night in front of what will be a roaring crowd of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London, UK.

Groves senses weakness in Froch, and like a shark, Groves will be looking to rip Froch to pieces to finish his title reign. Groves sees it as a process of the young lions taking over for the older lion.

“It might not even be a fight,” Groves said. “I can beat Carl for hand speed, foot speed and I can hurt him. It doesn’t matter how Carl approaches this fight, he’s just not good enough. I see panic, I see a man who’s worried, I see a man who’s got to face the inevitable and that’s a beating from me.”

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Adonis Stevenson wins but gets brutally exposed by Andrzej Fonfara

Adonis Stevenson wins but gets brutally exposed by Andrzej Fonfara

(Photo Credit: Stephanie Trapp/SHOWTIME)Adonis Stevenson won via a UD on Saturday night against Andrzej Fonfara but lost credibility as “The Superman”. Perhaps he did enough to win beyond doubt and he knocked down Fonfara twice but he struggled in the second half of bout and went down himself.

Fonfara is an unheralded and light punching prize fighter but he has several years of high level amateur experience as a cadet. Amateur boxing usually instills good technique and steady skills through methodical coaching. Fonfara showed resilience and good form which helped him to survive the initial onslaught and stand his ground in the second half of the bout.

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Pacquiao’s options are few if Marquez says no to November fight

Pacquiao’s options are few if Marquez says no to November fight

Bob Arum of Top Rank needs Juan Manuel Marquez to agree to face his fighter WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in order to pump up his pay-per-view numbers, if only for this one fight. But if Marquez says now, and that’s a real possibility, Arum has very little to offer Pacquiao with the limited fighters in his stable.

The only real option that Arum has for Pacquiao is a fight against WBO light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov. While hardcore boxing fans might like to see a Pacquiao-Provodnikov fight, casual boxing fans likely won’t be too eager to pay $70 to see Pacquiao fight a former ESPN fighter like Provodnikov.

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David Lemieux Scores Ferocious Third-Round Knockout Over Fernando Guerrero

David Lemieux Scores Ferocious Third-Round Knockout Over Fernando Guerrero

Montreal’s David Lemieux (32-2, 30 KOs) gave his hometown fans exactly what they wanted with a ferocious third-round knockout victory over Fernando Guerrero (26-3, 19 KOs).

Lemieux charged out at the opening bell and didn’t stop attacking Guerrero until the stoppage, knocking him down in the first, second and third rounds before scoring the knockout.

“I knew Fernando Guerrero is a very strong fighter. Very tough,” said Lemieux. “He’s been down many times and always gets back up. Once I started to land my shots I could see it in his eyes that the game started to change.

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Adonis Stevenson Retains Light Heavyweight Title In Thrilling Bout Against Fonfara

Adonis Stevenson Retains Light Heavyweight Title In Thrilling Bout Against Fonfara

MONTREAL (May 25, 2014) – Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (24-1, 20 KOs) successfully defended his WBC light heavyweight title for the third time Saturday night in a thrilling 12-round battle with world-ranked challenger Andrzej Fonfara (25-3, 15 KOs) on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Stevenson won via unanimous decision, with the three judges scoring the bout 115-110, 115-110 and 116-109 in his favor.

“Superman” started strong and knocked Fonfara down in the first and fifth rounds and looked to be en route to an easy win. But Fonfara showed his mettle and battled back to floor the champion in the ninth. From there, Stevenson and Fonfara went toe-to-toe, trading powerful shots and asking each other for more up to the final bell.

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