Macklin holds Alcine at ‘Knife’point

September 14, 2016September 16, 2012 by ESB

Padraig Ivory – Matthew Macklin deployed a controlled explosion at the Thomas and Mack on Saturday night and when the smoke settled former champ Joachim Alcine had taken shelter under the arm of referee Jay Nady. The left temple of the Haitian native duly played the role of the detonator as an invigorated Macklin claimed his 20th stoppage in sensational style.

The 30 year old Tipperary hurling fanatic, who was controversially denied world title honours against Felix Sturm in 2011, emphatically reinstated his status as the major threat to the middleweight crown. The first class surroundings of the new MGM gym may have aptly provided Buddy McGirt’s charge with the script to premiere an action packed Blockbuster in front of an energetic Las Vegas crowd.

‘Mack the Knife’ executed an overpowering assault on the former champ who twice came face to face with the heavily advertised canvas. Macklin was unrelenting and forged iron from leather as he cleverly switched attack between body and head. Alcine offered little in the way of return fire forcing the experienced referee to call a halt to the explosive action with only 2.26 registered on the clock.

Alvarez stops Lopez; Maidana TKOs Soto-Karass; De Leon defeats Gonzalez

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

(Photos: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME) By Rob Smith: In a positively sick mismatch that should have never been made in the first place, WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) absolutely annihilated welterweight Josesito Lopez (30-5, 18 KO’s) by a 5th round TKO on Saturday night in one of Alvarez’s easier title defenses at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Alvarez knocked Lopez down three times, once in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds from body and head shots. Lopez, who looked soft in the midsection, had problems with Alvarez’s body shots. Alvarez obviously spotted the the coat of fat that Lopez had put on around his waist in moving up from welterweight in three months.

In the 5th, Alvarez finished off the hapless Lopez and referee Joe Cortez stepped in to halt the slaughter at 2:55 of the round.

Martinez dominates Chavez Jr; Rigondeaux decisions Marroquin; Macklin crushes Alcine

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

By Dwight Chittenden: With the exception of the 12th round, Sergio Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KO’s) completely dominated a badly over-matched WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) tonight in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Martinez, 37, had to climb off the deck in the 12th round to survive after getting hurt and knocked by a desperate Chavez Jr. However, Chavez Jr. was too slow and inaccurate to finish off Martinez when he had him where he wanted him. The final judges’ scores were 118-109, 118-109 and 117-110, all for Martinez.

Chavez Jr. couldn’t get into the fight in the first 11 rounds, as he was too slow and unable to get his shots off. With Martinez constantly moving, Chavez Jr. looked completely clueless with what to do. His past opponents had always been stationary for him to use his body attack on them while they stood against the ropes for him. But Martinez was going to play Chavez Jr’s game and stayed on the move the entire fight.

Adrien Broner vs. Antonio DeMarco on November 17th on HBO

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

By Rob Smith: Adrien Broner (24-0, 20 KO’s) will be getting an immediate shot at a title in his first fight at lightweight on November 17th by fighting WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco (28-2-1, 21 KO’s) on HBO in a still to be determined venue, according to fightnews.com. The fight still isn’t quite a done deal but it’s close.

This is unfortunately is one of the few appealing options that Broner has by fighting at lightweight, because the division is essentially empty of big named fighters now that Juan Manuel Marquez and Brandon Rios both have moved up in weight. Broner would be wise to fight once or twice in this division and quickly move up in weight to the light welterweight division where there are much better fights for him. Ideally, Broner needs to wind up at welterweight if he wants to get the big money fights. Fighting at lightweight is a dead end for Broner, and hopefully he realizes this sooner rather than later.

DeMarco is a decent fighter with okay power and skills. He’s gotten a little better since he was blasted out by Edwin Valero in 9 rounds in 2010, but not a lot better. DeMarco has won his last five fights since his loss to Valero, beating Daniel Attah, Reyes Sanchez, Jorge Linares, Miguel Roman and John Molina. DeMarco took a ton of punishment in his win over Linares last year in an exciting fight. It’s good that DeMarco got the win, but it was a grueling fight.

Atlas: Chavez Jr. is too slow, too predictable and will get taken apart by Sergio Martinez

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By Michael Collins: ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas doesn’t think that WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has the skills or the hand speed to beat a talented fighter like Sergio Martinez tonight in their fight in Las Vegas. Atlas is one of the many people who feel that Chavez Jr’s weight advantage will be meaningless for him because of Martinez mobility.

Atlas said “Chavez Jr. is a little too slow, too predictable, right down the middle. He’s not hard to hit; He likes to go to the body. He’s not going to get his way with Martinez. Martinez is going to knock him out late in the fight. He’s going to take him apart like a surgeon taking someone apart and just operates on them. I think he [Martinez] has quicker hands, better experience, confidence, everything, the whole package and his feet. Martinez uses his legs real well to get angles and to do his job.”

I think Atlas pretty much summed up my thoughts on the fight in an excellent manner. Chavez Jr. is a big guy and is young, but his whole style of fighting is suited more for the stationary opposition that his promoter Bob Arum has been matching against him up until now. Chavez Jr. is a big slow guy that needs his opponents to stand right there for him to land his shots, preferably with their backs against the ropes. With a big 15 pound weight advantage at times, the 180 pound Chavez Jr. is able to have his way with smaller middleweights and that makes things easy for him.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Sergio Martinez: Head to Head

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) By Joseph Herron: After over a year of verbal sparring from both camps, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez is finally upon us!

The main event will be broadcast on HBO PPV and can be purchased for $49.95 through your local cable company, satellite provider, or online via www.toprank.com. The four bout televised event will have a start time of 9PM EST/6PM PST.

The two combatants in tonight’s main event own a great amount of disdain for each other and have made public declarations of their mutual hatred. The well documented feud goes back to March of 2011, when HBO rejected Sergio Martinez’s mandatory challenger Sebastian Zbik as a suitable opponent for the former WBC Middleweight Champion.

Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez: Is the boxing world counting out Junior too soon?

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

By Joseph Herron: In what most fight scribes are calling the most impactful 160 pound contest since “Trinidad vs. Hopkins, 2001”, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KOs) will be facing Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KOs) for the universally recognized Middleweight Championship on Saturday, September 15th, at the sold out Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While most boxing experts and fight scribes were dubbing this superb match-up as a pick-em fight just two short months ago, the estimated probability has dramatically shifted to favor the lineal Middleweight king, “Maravilla” Martinez.

For weeks, rumors have swirled in and around Vegas concerning Junior’s lackadaisical work ethic and relaxed training regimen in preparation for the most important fight of his young career. It was also rumored that elite level trainer Freddie Roach had to be convinced by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum to stay in Junior’s camp for the aforementioned reasons.

Ricky Hatton wants Mayweather, Pacquiao, Khan and Brook

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

By Michael Collins: Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) is like a big kid in a candy store now that he’s decided to make a comeback on November 24th against who knows what kind of opponent. Hatton, 33, will be fighting in Manchester, England on the 24th of November and his opponent will probably be a soft touch brought in for him to shake off the ring rust from three years of inactivity huge weight gain. Hatton says he’s interested in facing Amir Khan, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Kell Brook. That’s a pretty impressive list I must say, but I don’t know that Hatton’s chances are good at beating any of them.

Even a fragile chinned Khan or the stamina plagued Brook could be enough to trip Hatton up before he’s had the chance to make the really cash in fights against Mayweather and/or Pacquiao. If Hatton is serious about wanting Mayweather or Pacquiao, he’s going to need to skip the Khan and Brook fights and go straight to Mayweather or Pacquiao. Those guys are getting older and it’s doubtful they’ll be hanging around too much longer.

Hatton told the Manchester Evening News “I’d love to get a crack at them [Khan and Brook]. I dream about another go at Mayweather and Pacquiao, without a doubt. The ultimate goal is to redeem myself.”

Josesito Lopez might be too heavy to beat Saul Alvarez tonight

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Marcus Richardson: Josesito Lopez (30-4, 18 KO’s) might very well have kissed goodbye his only chance of winning tonight agaisnt WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KO’s) by coming in a flabby looking 153 lbs during Friday’s weigh-in for tonight’s bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Before this fight, the heaviest that the 28-year-old Lopez had ever come in was 144 3/4 lbs for his fight against Victor Ortiz last June. Lopez appears to have power feeding in the past couple of months and has put on a lot of weight.

That weight, a lot of it ending up on his abdomen, will likely see him in the 160s tonight against Alvarez and that’s probably too much for Lopez to be carrying around. What Lopez should have done is stay as light as possible because his speed was his main asset against Alvarez. Lopez was never going to able to bulk up in three short months and compete with the stronger, younger and better skilled Alvarez in a toe-to-toe battle.

That’s just not going to happen. Lopez was never a big puncher, and just because he bulked up with a little muscle as well as fat it doesn’t mean that he’s going to be able to beat Alvarez at his own game. This weight that Lopez has put on is going to hurt him in a big way by preventing him from being able to box properly. He’s going to have problems when it comes to being able to move like he’s done in the past, and without his movement he’ll be a sitting duck against Alvarez.

Yoan Pablo Hernandez vs. Troy Ross tonight in Germany

September 14, 2016September 15, 2012 by ESB

By Dwight Chittenden: IBF cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (26-1, 13 KO’s) will be defending his title tonight against the dangerous #3 IBF Troy Ross (25-2, 16 KO’s) at the Stechert Arena, in Bamberg, Bayem, Germany. Although the 6’4″ Hernandez will be sporting a five inch height advantage over the 5’11” Ross, this still could turn out to be a very tough fight for Hernandez due to Ross’s excellent power.

If there’s one area where Hernandez is badly flawed it’s in the chin department. He doesn’t seem to be able to take a good shot without being wobbled badly or knocked down. Luckily for him the cruiserweight division doesn’t have a lot of big punchers because he’d likely not be where he is today if that was the case. Ross obviously is well aware of Hernandez’s flaws in the chin department and he’ll be looking to take him out with each shot he throws.

Hernandez, 27, has a 12 fight winning streak dating back to 2008. He was stopped in the 3rd round in March of 2008 in a shocking loss to Wayne Braithwaite in a fight where Hernandez chose to slug the big hitting Braithwaite instead of boxing him. After that fight Hernandez’s trainer because to slowly alter his style to make him fight in a more conservative manners so that he could use his reach and avoid getting hit as much. Hernandez didn’t look good at first, getting shaken up badly by Michael Simms in a close 8 round majority decision win in October of 2008, but Hernandez has gotten better with each fight.