The first came over seas in Scotland when Crawford took on the 135 pound Champion Ricky Burns. Once Crawford got past some early slow moments he dominated the Scot, in the process it put him on the lightweight map.
In his first defense Crawford took less money to give his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska its first major title fight since the 1930’s (Check). His opponent was a decorated Cuban amateur Yurioirkis Gamboa, who like Terrence came in with an unblemished record intact.
Boxing fans have plenty to be thankful for with a jam-packed holiday weekend which includes a return trip to Omaha on HBO Championship Boxing and a rematch across the pond between much hated Heavyweight rivals.
Let’s start with a rematch pitting Tyson Fury against Derrick Chisora at the ExCel Arena from Dockland, London. These two characters met over four years ago in a back and forth fight that saw Tyson Fury walk away victorious.
The combatants traded punches and rounds until somewhere in the middle the pace slowed to a crawl with both fighters gassed. Fury’s excessive holding and Chisora’s inactivity made for an uneven contest.
Saturday evening at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, an intriguing crop of up and coming prospects are featured in a series of four and six-round bouts, followed by an eight-round main event between super middleweights Mike Jimenez and Rollin Williams.
Organized by Hitz Boxing Entertainment, the card should deliver some fireworks from an entertainment standpoint, despite possibly lacking on the competitive scale. Several of the fights appear to be gross mismatches on paper, so fans in attendance could be in for a belated Thanksgiving treat in the form of a few highlight-reel knockouts.
Mike Jimenez (15-0, 10 KO) vs. Rollin Williams (23-19-2, 8 KO)
Sky Sports has secured the rights to show Amir Khan’s pivotal fight with Devon Alexander exclusively live from the MGM Grand in December.
Khan tops the bill in Las Vegas as he goes head-to-head with Alexander on Saturday 13 December, live on Sky Sports 1, with the winner set to throw their name into the sweepstakes to face WBA Super and WBC welterweight world champion Floyd Mayweather Junior.
Khan’s first fight at 147 pounds came in May when he overcame Luis Collazo on points, and the Bolton fighter returns to Las Vegas again to face the former two-weight world champion from St. Louis.
Laney G. (Oakland, CA): For the first time in a few years, I feel very strongly about Manny Pacquiao. I thought he looked strong and as good as we’ve seen since the knockout. How did you rate his performance and do you think he’s a threat to Mayweather?
Vivek W. (ESB): I like to look at the big picture when making my assessments. In this situation, like any other, I think it’s another one of those times when you have to also see the good, the bad, and the “ugly”, each for what they truly are. On the “good” side, I would agree, totally, that this is the best I’ve seen Pacquiao since prior to the Marquez stoppage. He threw nearly 700 punches, he was fast, and his power proved to be very much a threat to anyone facing him. There’s a reason why I’ve rated him as my personal favorite offensive fighter in the game for nearly a decade now.
Manny Pacquiao’s shutout victory over Chris Algieri in Macau was the most one-sided 12 round affairs we’ve seen in years. Although several of the knockdowns should have been ruled as slips, Pac absolutely dominated his opponent throughout the fight, badly hurting Algieri several times. Does this mean the “old” Pacman is back, or was it all smoke and mirrors? Other than a handsome payday, what can be taken from this experience for team Algieri? What lies ahead for both fighters next year? And how does Pacquiao’s 2014 compare to that of Floyd “Money” Mayweather?
For Chris Algieri, there were indeed positives to take away from his first professional loss. Against Pacquiao he displayed the same heart, resilience and toughness that he showed against Ruslan Provodnikov in June. There was solid footwork for the most part, as well as a few nicely timed right hands that caught Manny as he lunged in. But the inexperience of Algieri and his team was obvious throughout; from coming in heavy on the scales at the weigh in, to the strategy of the fight itself. The game plan of starting with “four first rounds” was all wrong; Algieri averaged just 5 punches landed in those first four rounds. There was no “Plan B”. No adjustments were made. His corner gave the wrong advice between just about every round. On top of all that, the New York native was stripped of his WBO 140 pound title that same day for absolutely no reason (but since when do sanctioning bodies do anything logical, right?)
A flicking right jab immediately followed by a thunderous, booming left cross, detonated on the chin of Chris Algieri, sending him crashing to the canvas midway through round nine. Rising unsteadily at the count of nine, or possibly ten seconds, Algieri turned away from the referee in a desperate attempt to conceal his scrambled senses. During the first fifteen seconds after the New Yorker hit the floor it can be argued that he was in no position to continue. Nevertheless, all questions about the Filipino superstar’s dwindling punch power had been silenced. It appeared Manny Pacquiao was back to his best.
Young up and coming heavyweight Joseph Parker has been rewarded for his busy schedule in 2014 by being moved into the WBA’s top 10 ranked heavyweights.
Parker has already fought 4 times this year with a 5th and final bout being announced to take place on December 6th in Hamilton, New Zealand against WBO 15th ranked heavyweight, Brazilian knockout artist Irineu Beato Costa Junior.
Beato Costa Junior has ended 13 of his 15 victories by KO and this fight presents an element of risk for Parker, especially when considering the limited time available that Parker and Coach Kevin Barry have had to study tape on their opponent.
Chris Algieri knew he was way out of his depth although he was two divisions bigger than the champ and reportedly weighed close to the middleweight limit on fight night. His stance was awkward and uncomfortable and he moved as if he was jumping rope in the ring. Apparently he was in great shape because he was able to survive his own footwork and stance for 12 rounds under enormous pressure. He clearly didn’t belong in the same ring with his star opponent and brought a look of amusement to Pacquiao’s face.
Freddie Roach, hall of fame trainer, promised a first round knock out. He was wrong about that, but that’s about the only thing he was wrong about. He was right about everything else. He said Chris Algieri doesn’t box, he runs. Check that box correct, as Algieri wore out a pair of shoes running Saturday night at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R. China. Freddie also promised Manny would easily take Algieri’s jab away from him. Check that off as well. Finally, he said Algieri was in over his head. Put a big check in that box.